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Author's Notes: And our story plods along slowly because I keep forgetting to post it.
Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.
Fermat's Principle
It had been almost two months since Yuri had come to live at the palace and he hadn't left yet. Flynn wasn't quite sure why he was so glad about that, but he was. Yuri was chaos and energy, but he brought a change that Flynn was learning to welcome. It wasn't the only thing he was learning. He had finally finished the heavy tome that Estellise had directed him to on the subject of 'Earth,' the mysterious world that Yuri claimed to be from. Flynn hadn't exactly been able to pinpoint if Yuri missed it or not. There had been some homesickness, or at least he had assumed that was what it was, but he had also learned that Yuri was good at hiding any worry or fear he may have felt.
The book told him an awful lot, and all that knowledge took its time to sink in. Once he had finished it, he spent more than one night being roused from a slew of strange dreams about the place. Some place like Yuri had described: a city filled with buildings that vanished upward into the stark blue dome of the sky, droves of faceless people, endless noise, and no stars. A sky without stars was too alien, too lonely to bear. He woke from each one with a jolt and only found comfort in looking at the stars in his own familiar sky. He knew the stars and constellations, the dark gaps between them and the stories that connected them. But 'Earth' was different.
The knowledge of that book, and what Yuri had told him, didn't seem to be the only thing causing his strange dreams and sleepless nights. This night's dream had been the strangest so far. He tried not to think about it. It was a trivial thing at best, but it left a lingering warmth in his face and heaviness in his limbs that he had trouble shaking loose even after a pre-dawn shower and a very early start to his day. There was no point going back to sleep. He wasn't sure that he was ready for further dreams yet.
There was frost on the glass panes of his balcony door, melting at the slightest touch as he opened it and walked into the chill of the early morning. The sun was not up yet, but the warm yellow-orange of its coming light had started to stretch over the horizon, chasing back the blue-black of the night sky. Soon it would be dawn, and those comforting stars would fade. Even Brave Vesperia would be gone for another day. But they would return this evening just as always.
Flynn stood there on the balcony for a long time, listening as the cold air filled up his lungs and left much warmer, his breath a white cloud of steam against the receding darkness. The chill stung, but there was something relaxing about it.
He went almost straight to work after that, pouring the strain in him out onto paper and into orders. Breakfast came shortly after dawn, and then he was back in it again. By the time noon came around, he found himself with his tasks largely completed for the day. There were a few small things still, but they could wait.
The sun was up, but the coming winter still chilled the air, and twist of it in his limbs made him restless. He had gotten a little time away from the palace when they had gone to Rorael, but something inside of him wanted more. Maybe a ride outside the city would clear his head a little.
Deciding on that course of action, Flynn headed down to the stables, pulling on his heavy, warm, woolen coat as he went. It wouldn't take long for his horse to be saddled and then he could feel the cold winter in his face as he rode through the plains surrounding the city. It was something of a guilty pleasure for him, but if he had no work at the moment, what harm was there in a simple ride? Even he deserved to get away from his duty for a short time and collect himself.
He didn't know what had been clinging to him so hard. It had been impossible to shake loose between the book and the events in Rorael. And Yuri.
There hadn't been much in the way of problems with Yuri lately. His behavior hadn't really changed, or at least that's what Flynn told himself. He came and went from the palace as he pleased, although it wasn't always through the front door. He had plenty of energy, even after Flynn had seen him taking down small and easy monsters just outside of town, or any who had managed to take up residence in the palace gardens. He seemed in better spirits also. Flynn hadn't noticed him sleeping in the stables anymore, and something about that made him very glad. He tried to convince himself that it was simply because Yuri wasn't an animal and deserved a proper bed to sleep in, but he wasn't sure that it was it. Whatever it was, it was still bothering him.
He greeted the stablehand and asked that his horse be prepared to ride. He checked Repede's stall, just in case, because he knew that Yuri had spent time there before. With as cold as it was outside, and as cold as it would soon become, he would hopefully stay away from the drafty stables.
Yuri was in the garden, however. Flynn could hear him playing a game of fetch with Repede, who, unlike most dogs, had never seemed to care much for the game. But he had never cared much for a lot of things before Yuri had come along. It was interesting to watch from a distance how much Yuri impacted the life of someone else. Flynn couldn't help but think that he wasn't escaping that either, no matter how hard he tried.
He threw the stick, and Repede dashed after it, vaulting over the fountain to grab it mid air. He spun back and charged toward Yuri once more. Yuri had a time of wrestling the stick away from him to keep the game going. Repede had apparently had quite enough of the redundant game by the time Flynn arrived.
"I'm surprised to see him play this much."
"Who? Repede?" Yuri asked, yanking the slobber covered stick out of the dog's mouth.
Flynn nodded.
"So what are you doing down here? I thought you'd be waist deep in paperwork and drills."
"I have a little free time this afternoon." It only just occurred to him that Yuri might be interested in leaving the city as well, since not that long ago he had put up a pretty big fight about being cooped up there. Flynn wasn't sure why he was so interested in the idea, but what harm would it do? "Would you and Repede care to join me for a ride?"
Yuri gave him a look that questioned him, but only said: "Sure. Why not?"
Flynn motioned for him to follow him back up to the stables, and Repede dashed along ahead. He skittered in, breaking his pace for a long drink in the water trough while he waited for them. The stablehand met them at the entrance, shooting Yuri a curious glance before turning to Flynn.
"Another one, Commandant?"
"Yes. Sorry for the trouble."
He shuffled off to the storage closet for another riding set without another word, and once he returned, started to saddle up one of the older horses that didn't get to see a lot in the way of riding.
"I've never ridden one of these things before," Yuri said a little flatly from behind Flynn, where he was stroking the face of Flynn's steed, already saddled and ready and being quite patient with someone who had never touched him before. Yuri seemed to have a way with animals. First Repede, and now Flynn's horse.
"A horse?"
"Wow. So this a horse?" His fingers moved over the feathered edges of its face. "I mean, I've never seen one in real life, but I know for sure that they don't look anything like this back where I'm from."
"Riding isn't all that hard, although sometimes maintaining control of the horse can be a challenge. I'm sure you'll do fine." Flynn found himself saying that and simultaneously wondering when he had become so confident in Yuri. Before that, the first thing out of his mouth would have been caution and careful direction and concern about the idea. But there was a strange ease in his mind about this, something that told him that Yuri would be fine, that he could do this. After all, he had picked up sword fighting fast enough. During their sparring practice, Flynn found that he was getting better and better all the time, and quickly. He was something of a natural, even for being so alien to this world and all that it had to offer.
Once Yuri's horse was saddled and ready, Flynn mounted his own, and saw that Yuri followed easily by example. The horse seemed to handle a stranger with ease and didn't give Yuri any trouble. He pointed out, only briefly, how to hold the reins and steer and told him how to urge the horse faster and how to get it to stop. Yuri nodded the whole time, and settled into the saddle, his feet in the stirrups.
And they were off. Flynn led the way, a slow walk to ease Yuri into it, as they left the city. By the time they hit just beyond the city walls, Yuri was off, having enough control to get the horse into a half run.
The wind in his face, biting cold, was so refreshing that he just let it take him, and allowed his horse to simply follow Yuri's. This was just what he needed, a little time away from things to just relax and the fact that Yuri was with him didn't add to the pressure like it would have not that long ago. What exactly had changed? It hadn't been that long ago that he had found Yuri to be something of an annoyance, but now he almost enjoyed his presence. It was an odd sensation, the anchoring of that fluttering warmth in his chest. It wasn't so bothersome anymore, either.
He only noticed Yuri coming to a halt when his own horse followed suit, slowing as they approached the bank of the river that ran along the outskirts of the city. Yuri tried to urge his horse back into a run, but the old mare seemed much more interested in the sweet riverside grass. He slid off a little awkwardly, but landed on his feet with the reins in his hand. Flynn dismounted also and showed Yuri how to tether his horse to a low hanging tree that sat on the river's bank.
Yuri promptly flopped down in the cold grass, leaning back to look up at the sky. Flynn sat a few feet distant, although that amount of space seemed awkward and strained. He maintained it.
They sat there in the quiet cold of the autumn that seemed to be so rapidly slipping away. It only reminded him of all the work ahead of him. The Lower Quarter was still under equipped for the first winter without the blastia. The factory had been producing long-burning fireplace logs as fast as possible, but Flynn feared that it wouldn't be enough. He still needed to secure routes for supplies through Fortune's Market and--
"I thought you came out here to relax."
"What?" he sputtered, turning to Yuri.
"I thought that you wanted to get away from work for a while. Why are you so tense?"
He sagged a little, fingers fumbling in the grass. "There's just a lot going on. It's impossible to stop thinking about completely."
"What's going on?"
He wouldn't tell him yet about the book, or the dreams and would stick to all the other things on his mind right now. "Winter's almost here, and the Lower Quarter is still ill equipped for it. We've got new methods of heating, but I'm afraid that it might not be enough. Illness is normally widespread this time of year and securing enough medicine to keep everyone healthy is a challenge. Since the outlying farms don't produce much this time of year, getting enough food is another big problem."
Yuri seemed to let all that sink in, plucking at the brown grass and in the fallen red-orange leaves. "Can't say I know of a good way to help. But I'm sure that you'll figure something out. And if there's anything I can do to help, just lemme know."
"Thanks." Something about those simple words meant a lot of him and it was hard to ignore the shiver in his stomach.
The silence stretched out again, leaving Flynn with only one question. It had been previously unsuccessful last time he asked. Today might not be any more fruitful, but it was at least worth a try.
"So about Earth...."
"What about it?"
"What was it like there? Where you lived. I know that you spoke of tall buildings and no stars but--"
"Look, I was in a bad place there." That answer surprised him more than it should have. Yuri kicked his legs up toward his chest, closing himself off from whatever he expected Flynn to continue with.
"What sort of--" Flynn stopped himself from asking that and continued on a slightly different note. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"I'd rather not."
Flynn would leave that subject alone then. Yuri was a troublemaker. He had no doubts about that, but what sort of 'bad place' could he have been in there? In spite of his mischievous streak, he was good natured and friendly, and where Flynn's mind turned made him shift uncomfortably on the chilled ground. He didn't want to think about it, or the book or the dream. There were other days for that, maybe when Yuri would be a little more open to talking, days when adding one more concern to his already long list wouldn't deter him. For now, this should just be an opportunity to relax, for the both of them, even though he still had many questions for Yuri. The book had been weighty, but still left him questioning so much, and those answers would be within Yuri. But he didn't pressure him. He supposed that they weren't all that important anyway. It was mostly his own curiosity.
"How's your training going?" Flynn asked, an off-handed change of subject that would hopefully ease them into comfortable conversation once more.
"Pretty well, I guess. A lot of the local monsters are nothing that Repede and I can't handle." At least he got a response, even if it was still laced with a strange sullenness.
"That's good to hear."
"Soon, you'll have to take me somewhere more challenging." There was a small smirk on his lips, while he petted Repede. Perhaps the conversation wasn't completely lost.
"First, we'll have to get you a sword of your own."
Yuri's eyes lit up a little.
"That practice blade won't do much good on anything tougher than a Filifolia." It was really about time that Yuri got a better sword anyway. He seemed all too eager for it. "Then we'll see about some tougher creatures for you to fight."
"Awesome. I can't wai--" He curled back and sneezed hard, nearly blowing himself backward into the grass. He braced himself and wiped his nose on his dark sleeve.
"Bless you."
"Thanks." There was a sniffle to his voice that Flynn hadn't noticed before. Now it was plain.
"Are you all right?"
"Just a sneeze. No big deal."
The sound was worse this time, and Flynn found himself pulling off his coat. Yuri must have been cold. It was stupid of Flynn to think otherwise. It was the chill of coming winter, and he had only the clothes on his back. No winter coat, no particularly warm clothing. Flynn had really been to blame for that. When they had gone to get Yuri clothes, he hadn't paid any mind to the chill in the air, even while worried about getting the Lower Quarter ready for the season. He hadn't bothered to try and get Yuri ready.
His faced burned with shame, so red-hot that he wondered if it would just melt off and save him the trouble. Why hadn't he noticed before? He wanted to chalk it up to Yuri hiding things from him again, but Flynn was just as much to blame.
Flynn tossed his coat at Yuri, who looked at him a little dazed for it.
"I don't need this."
"It's about time we got back. It'll be dark soon." Even with the warmth of his coat gone, his skin just below his uniform was hot. Maybe it was his own stupidity. Maybe it was the sight of Yuri pulling on the heavy, blue coat and trying to clamber back onto his horse. Whatever it was, it was warm and lingering and strangely comfortable.
They rode back to Zaphias. Flynn still had questions, but he doubted that would change. For some reason, he was just glad that Yuri was there.