Just a little establishment work here, for both characters. This one is largely unedited from the original post. Ves is on the server, but Aden is my main focus.
![[Image: tumblr_nzosx0UbEK1v0ltaqo2_r2_1280.png]](https://40.media.tumblr.com/ad3bee96533553de4327d8fcd1defd67/tumblr_nzosx0UbEK1v0ltaqo2_r2_1280.png)
Five days passed, five days of instructors taking Aden through drills to determine what holes they needed to fill in before he could continue training. Nadine had taught him all of the things students struggled with most–reaction time, how to make the correct snap decisions, how to guess a feint from a real blow. But Nadine herself wasn’t a lancer, and in the specifics he was an utter novice. Aden wanted this, and badly enough that he set aside pride and self-assurance. The instructors turned out to be less patient than him, vexed by his ability but unfamiliarity, and quite often he’d find himself going through two or three different senior lancers in a day, each taking a turn trying to figure what to do.
In falling evening he left, sore and exhausted and frustrated, but ultimately pleased. He was here, and everything else would sort itself out eventually. He stared off into the brush as he walked, only half paying attention to where he went, watching fireflies rise up in the growing dark and listening keenly to the insect chorus warming up.
“Aden?â€
He stopped, for a second considered just continuing on, but again he remembered Arild’s tutting. Aden turned, but he did not smile or otherwise greet Ves.
Ves pulled himself from the shade of the guild hall where he’d been leaning, moved up to a more comfortable speaking distance. He crossed his arms as he went, gave a lopsided smile, arched one brow. “You stood me up.â€
“What do you mean?â€
“I was going to tell you a story over breakfast, only you weren’t there.â€
“Oh.†Stood me up was unfamiliar phrasing, and Aden frowned at it slightly. “I didn’t realize you were serious.â€
“Didn’t…?†Ves’ smile widened, and he leaned forward slightly as he gave a soft, short huff, almost like a laugh. “I do want to make it up to you. Everything I did was part of my job, but I don't want to make an enemy of you. Especially if you’re going to be in Gridania for a while.â€
“Why does it matter what I think? Won’t you head back out into the wild soon?â€
“Not for a while. I’m on a sort of leave.â€
“Damn!†And Aden stilled, ears flattening down, as he realized he’d spoken aloud.
The smile practically melted from Ves’ face, replaced with something carefully neutral, and he uncrossed his arms, let them fall to his sides. “If you want me gone so badly, I’ll do my best to avoid you.â€
“No!†Aden sucked in a harsh breath, ears still flat. Ves had saved his life, and here he was, an ingrate. Arild would pitch over in a faint if she saw him. “That’s not–I’m sorry. I’ll meet you in the morning.â€
He left before Ves could say anything else.
Aden had walked past the cafe a few times while trying to familiarize himself with the city, little wrought iron tables out front and the overhang of the roof heavy with greenery, trailing vines almost making a curtain from the street. Ves was waiting when he arrived, sitting at one of those tables. Aden seated himself, and they sat awkwardly for a while, neither one quite sure where to start.
Thankfully a server came by, a miqo’te woman, brought them tea. She leaned over while she took Aden’s order, a little too close for comfort but he remained in place politely. Her tail swished with a little flourish when she turned from the table. When he turned back to Ves Aden caught him grinning.
“What?â€
“Nothing.†Ves took a sip of tea, and Aden thought it might be a stalling tactic. “How’s the city so far?â€
“Big. Confusing. But I know how to get from the house to the lancer’s guild, and that’s all I really need.â€
“If that’s all you know don’t you think you’ll get bored?â€
Aden shrugged. “I’m here for the lance. That’s it.â€
Ves leaned back in his chair, sprawling out some with the mug of tea held in one hand. “Not impressed with the city, I take it.â€
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful.†Aden picked up his own mug of tea and sniffed it, found it floral and earthy, blew on the surface a little. “There’s not enough space for all these people.â€
Ves chuckled, and one of Aden’s ears flicked to the side briefly as he finally took a sip. “Not fond of crowds?â€
Aden pursed his lips slightly. “It’s not that.â€
“Oh?â€
“Aren’t we here to talk about you?â€
Their food arrived, and neither said anything while the server placed plates. She drew a little uncomfortably close again, and Aden stared after her when she left.
Ves cleared his throat, and Aden turned back. “Well?†he asked, and started eating.
“Well,†Ves echoed. “My father is a healer of no small skill, and my mother a surgeon. They taught me.â€
Then Ves tucked in to his breakfast, and after a long period of silence Aden realized he meant to leave it at that. “That’s it?â€
“That’s it.â€
“Then why are you with the Gods’ Quiver?â€
He sighed, chased a wayward berry with his fork around the edge of a stack of hotcakes. “They kicked me out.â€
“What?†Aden’s ear flicked again, a very different kind of annoyance.
“They have an estate out in the woods, and I grew up there for the most part. It’s where I learned bushcraft, and to hunt and shoot. And everything I know about healing. We had some neighbors across the vale, so distant you couldn’t see their house from ours.†Ves finally speared the berry, but did nothing with it. “I was good friends with their son, at least until my parents caught us fooling around. That’s the crux of why they turned me out.â€
It made little sense to Aden, and he said as much. “Why would they care?â€
“He’s duskwight.â€
Aden swallowed, jittered his knife between the fingers of his left hand–something Arild always chastised him for at the table. He knew he was lucky, but it seemed every story he heard about other people’s families reinforced it. “You’re better off without them, then.â€
“You think?†Ves started rearranging the food on his plate, making it look as though he’d eaten more than he had.
“If they care more about who you fancy than the fact that you’re happy, yes.†Aden said it with certain confidence, and Ves’ eyes widened a little. “Though I guess I should thank them for their bigotry; I wouldn’t be here without it.â€
Ves smiled, and Aden followed suit, forgetting for a moment who sat across from him and only pleased he seemed to have made it a little better. “I suppose,†Ves said.
“When you’re back out that way, don’t tell Arild that story. She’d adopt you on the spot.â€
This time Ves laughed, just a short sound, but surprised and honest. He looked up, grinning. “I don’t know, is she a good cook? I might tell her just for that.â€
“Don’t you dare.†Aden twirled his knife between two fingers then jabbed it in Ves’ direction. “They’re my parents.â€
The laugh returned, a little roll this time, and Ves settled back in his chair again. “Alright! Fine. You win.â€
Peace Over Pancakes
Five days passed, five days of instructors taking Aden through drills to determine what holes they needed to fill in before he could continue training. Nadine had taught him all of the things students struggled with most–reaction time, how to make the correct snap decisions, how to guess a feint from a real blow. But Nadine herself wasn’t a lancer, and in the specifics he was an utter novice. Aden wanted this, and badly enough that he set aside pride and self-assurance. The instructors turned out to be less patient than him, vexed by his ability but unfamiliarity, and quite often he’d find himself going through two or three different senior lancers in a day, each taking a turn trying to figure what to do.
In falling evening he left, sore and exhausted and frustrated, but ultimately pleased. He was here, and everything else would sort itself out eventually. He stared off into the brush as he walked, only half paying attention to where he went, watching fireflies rise up in the growing dark and listening keenly to the insect chorus warming up.
“Aden?â€
He stopped, for a second considered just continuing on, but again he remembered Arild’s tutting. Aden turned, but he did not smile or otherwise greet Ves.
Ves pulled himself from the shade of the guild hall where he’d been leaning, moved up to a more comfortable speaking distance. He crossed his arms as he went, gave a lopsided smile, arched one brow. “You stood me up.â€
“What do you mean?â€
“I was going to tell you a story over breakfast, only you weren’t there.â€
“Oh.†Stood me up was unfamiliar phrasing, and Aden frowned at it slightly. “I didn’t realize you were serious.â€
“Didn’t…?†Ves’ smile widened, and he leaned forward slightly as he gave a soft, short huff, almost like a laugh. “I do want to make it up to you. Everything I did was part of my job, but I don't want to make an enemy of you. Especially if you’re going to be in Gridania for a while.â€
“Why does it matter what I think? Won’t you head back out into the wild soon?â€
“Not for a while. I’m on a sort of leave.â€
“Damn!†And Aden stilled, ears flattening down, as he realized he’d spoken aloud.
The smile practically melted from Ves’ face, replaced with something carefully neutral, and he uncrossed his arms, let them fall to his sides. “If you want me gone so badly, I’ll do my best to avoid you.â€
“No!†Aden sucked in a harsh breath, ears still flat. Ves had saved his life, and here he was, an ingrate. Arild would pitch over in a faint if she saw him. “That’s not–I’m sorry. I’ll meet you in the morning.â€
He left before Ves could say anything else.
Aden had walked past the cafe a few times while trying to familiarize himself with the city, little wrought iron tables out front and the overhang of the roof heavy with greenery, trailing vines almost making a curtain from the street. Ves was waiting when he arrived, sitting at one of those tables. Aden seated himself, and they sat awkwardly for a while, neither one quite sure where to start.
Thankfully a server came by, a miqo’te woman, brought them tea. She leaned over while she took Aden’s order, a little too close for comfort but he remained in place politely. Her tail swished with a little flourish when she turned from the table. When he turned back to Ves Aden caught him grinning.
“What?â€
“Nothing.†Ves took a sip of tea, and Aden thought it might be a stalling tactic. “How’s the city so far?â€
“Big. Confusing. But I know how to get from the house to the lancer’s guild, and that’s all I really need.â€
“If that’s all you know don’t you think you’ll get bored?â€
Aden shrugged. “I’m here for the lance. That’s it.â€
Ves leaned back in his chair, sprawling out some with the mug of tea held in one hand. “Not impressed with the city, I take it.â€
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful.†Aden picked up his own mug of tea and sniffed it, found it floral and earthy, blew on the surface a little. “There’s not enough space for all these people.â€
Ves chuckled, and one of Aden’s ears flicked to the side briefly as he finally took a sip. “Not fond of crowds?â€
Aden pursed his lips slightly. “It’s not that.â€
“Oh?â€
“Aren’t we here to talk about you?â€
Their food arrived, and neither said anything while the server placed plates. She drew a little uncomfortably close again, and Aden stared after her when she left.
Ves cleared his throat, and Aden turned back. “Well?†he asked, and started eating.
“Well,†Ves echoed. “My father is a healer of no small skill, and my mother a surgeon. They taught me.â€
Then Ves tucked in to his breakfast, and after a long period of silence Aden realized he meant to leave it at that. “That’s it?â€
“That’s it.â€
“Then why are you with the Gods’ Quiver?â€
He sighed, chased a wayward berry with his fork around the edge of a stack of hotcakes. “They kicked me out.â€
“What?†Aden’s ear flicked again, a very different kind of annoyance.
“They have an estate out in the woods, and I grew up there for the most part. It’s where I learned bushcraft, and to hunt and shoot. And everything I know about healing. We had some neighbors across the vale, so distant you couldn’t see their house from ours.†Ves finally speared the berry, but did nothing with it. “I was good friends with their son, at least until my parents caught us fooling around. That’s the crux of why they turned me out.â€
It made little sense to Aden, and he said as much. “Why would they care?â€
“He’s duskwight.â€
Aden swallowed, jittered his knife between the fingers of his left hand–something Arild always chastised him for at the table. He knew he was lucky, but it seemed every story he heard about other people’s families reinforced it. “You’re better off without them, then.â€
“You think?†Ves started rearranging the food on his plate, making it look as though he’d eaten more than he had.
“If they care more about who you fancy than the fact that you’re happy, yes.†Aden said it with certain confidence, and Ves’ eyes widened a little. “Though I guess I should thank them for their bigotry; I wouldn’t be here without it.â€
Ves smiled, and Aden followed suit, forgetting for a moment who sat across from him and only pleased he seemed to have made it a little better. “I suppose,†Ves said.
“When you’re back out that way, don’t tell Arild that story. She’d adopt you on the spot.â€
This time Ves laughed, just a short sound, but surprised and honest. He looked up, grinning. “I don’t know, is she a good cook? I might tell her just for that.â€
“Don’t you dare.†Aden twirled his knife between two fingers then jabbed it in Ves’ direction. “They’re my parents.â€
The laugh returned, a little roll this time, and Ves settled back in his chair again. “Alright! Fine. You win.â€
