Fire On Fire

☾

Only the dim flames of Ramshackle's antiquated chimney had been witness of the long talk the two had shared. Vil, his precious star, would always be the first to listen to whatever was on his mind, which was nothing more than the truth behind that vote given to his enemies on the stage a few hours ago.

Its duration had been long; he himself had to ensure that he needed plenty of time to explain properly what had happened to Pomefiore's leader. He would go first, then the others in due course. As a result, Jamil was tasked with being in charge of the group until midnight.

Rook had been the most reliable witness to the performance during the contest and, as much as it pained him to admit it, he could not betray his heart when he knew with certainty that everything they had practised before the grand finale had been poisoned by Vil's overblot; his own exhausted king after the excesses of magic that had taken hold of him to play against him, the same could be said of the rest of his companions, who gave their best after the arduous battle against him and yet it was still not enough.

In his hands unconsciously laid the final sentence that sealed their defeats and, despite what many people thought, it was the right thing to do. Even if they did not forgive him nor believe him, there was someone who did, and that person's judgment was the only one he needed. In fact, it was he who told him that he had gotten a similar idea of what had actually happened when he heard about his vote, nothing less to expect from him.

Vil understood it all and shared his feelings about it, from the rage after tasting defeat to the concerns that lied within him after all that had happened, this time it was his turn to listen and, of course, shed light on his darkness every time he tried to go down twisted paths in his speech. He narrated his entire story from his childhood to the contest and Rook paid attention from beginning to end.

Seeing him so beautifully fragile caused his heart to break into a thousand pieces, which is why he did everything in his power to make him understand that it was not his fault. Vil was nothing but a victim of his environment, having always been compared, finding each time a growing dissatisfaction as his efforts increased in vain. Although it was clear to him, he commented on the decision to at least compensate the rest of the team for what had happened. It was a very generous gesture, and if it would alleviate his anguish or guilt even a little, he told him to go ahead with the idea.

Once the essential issues of the contest were settled, Rook decided to try to make Vil feel better at all costs. It had been a hard day for him, so he used anecdotes, frequent compliments and topics of conversation of interest in order to make him disconnect a bit from what had happened.

The hunter's joy grew with every sincere smile he managed to draw on his beautiful face, the only regret was not being able to see them with full clarity through the only spotlight in the room, but neither of them wanted to ruin the nocturnal atmosphere illuminated by the flames.

Vil's lavender gaze remained fixed on a specific spot on the table, Rook had an idea of what might be on his mind, but he preferred to be patient and wait for his steps. After a few hesitant seconds he finally let out a resigned sigh as his head ended up on the hunter's shoulder, who in response settled his own on top of it, silently enjoying his elegant scent.

Mundane ears would only pay attention to the dancing crackling of the embers, Rook's ears were also attentive to the calm breathing of the contrary, let's say there was no aspect of Vil that was not being observed at the moment.

"After these two years and today's events, do you know where my astonishment lies?" Vil's point of attention changed to the chimney.

"Où, Vil?" "(Where, Vil?)" He questioned.

He grinned crookedly in response. He, on the other hand, was fully aware of what he meant, that subject he had tried so hard to avoid throughout the talk. He had no intention of bringing it up unless he did, for the simple reason that he had suffered an overblot only a few hours ago in part because of the aforementioned. But if he was prepared, by all means he would let him proceed.