𝖜𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖇𝖞 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙 𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗
fauni led yet another successful battle against the remnants of the enemy kingdom. yet another battle that he had won under his belt, and now his men were celebrating below. half of them were atleast twice as old as he was, and yet they still obeyed his orders without delay- the white death's orders. they celebrated as if the world would end tomorrow, and for a warrior that could be the case. any of them could die the next day, and so they made the most of the time they had. the sounds of the several knights who knew how to play music echoed out below as a queit, white haired and armored man watched below from a small cliffside.
"the supreme commander doesn't wish to celebrate with his men?" a familiar, gruff and deep voice could be heard from behind him. he didn't need to look to find out who it was: janus. he could seperate that voice from the largest and most chaotic combat, let alone the faint sounds of celebration below.
"you know i dont like alcohol." fauni spoke, as janus sat down beside him. the man had streaks of grey hair in his matted back brown hair, and a bulky figure that was covered in armor, a greatsword sitting on his back. his eyes were slightly closed, giving him a sense of constant tiredness and weariness. fauni knew better though: the man was anything but on the battlefield.
"i'm not talking about that." janus's voice was low, cutting through the slightly foggy night like a sharp blade. they sat there in silence queitly. fauni's gaze went up to the stars, stars that shined and twinkled like little gems. "i can tell you've got something on your mind. you have that scrunched up look on your face."
"i do not."
"do too."
another comfortable silence settled over them. fauni...his mind was wandering again. he found that it often did, ever since the moment he had ended up killing blackthorn village. he couldnt help but question yet again whether this was the right thing...killing at the king's command, leading an army. the burden of responsibility made the 20 year old man's shoulder sag, as if he were atleast triple that age. on his pale skin, dark circles under his eyes betraying that the weight was even more crushing. a good while passed before either spoke again, and this time it was the white death speaking.
"janus, i lost several men today."
there was no suprise there- battles against other kingdoms, even just the remnants and stragglers, always led to causalities. it was impossible for his group of 500 to not end up up losing a few men here there, but that didnt make the weight of those deaths any lighter on fauni's back. it felt like the sky itself pressed a hand down on him, suppressing him and disconnecting him from the real world.
"their names were adam janekaurt, valina cavarhart, xion laerdus, bereth enamiha, orion farekarne, hoshi mournmark, teresa nerellac, lanaus amberheart, damian marqbane, elias raugnes, wassix duskflare, rolfland redmane, rexet albedros, lilias kausman and relas saustel."
janus stayed quiet as fauni listed off the names of dead men and women. by all accounts, the losses of 15 people for such a battle was great- wonderful even. but janus knew otherwise. the white death was presented as a terrifying, cunning, slightly cruel and callous military commander...which fauni was to be sure, there was no doubt. but fauni felt responsible for the men under his command. it was the reason he memorized every man and woman's name whom joined his army, assigning faces to names. he was seen as a commander who kept his men alive because of battle necessity, not kindness. those rumors werent wrong either...but they werent right.
"dont blame yourself. their deaths do not lay on your shoulders. the lives of those you saved through excellent military counsel however do." janus spoke, leaning back with his hands to the grass.
"they do janus. they do, because if not me then who else?" fauni spoke this earnestly, almost stoically. almost.
fauni was a man who both exemplified what a commander should and shouldnt be. he was wise. intelligent. powerful. skilled. but there were certain things that simply couldnt be changed no matter what battle they went through, and one of those things was the fact that fauni was still a young man. still a child, who bore the weight of countless men on his shoulders. "they die because of the decisions i make. i choose to go into battle with that formation."
janus shook his head, his hair lightly swaying with the shakes of his head. "you cant expect to save everyone fawn. they'll die one way or another- they enter the army knowing that." the war veteran spoke true words, but they fell on dead ears. "i understand fauni. i do. but these men aren't children, they go into battle knowing the risk. you know why?" janus raised an extended finger, prodding it into fauni's chest. "you. they know they have a competent, level headed leader on their side, one who wont lead a charge in a show of power, but one who will observe strategically, and make formations and attack plans that will stop them from dying in swathes. see them celebrating down there? look at them." under janus's tone, fauni had no choice but to look down at the men again. "they get to celebrate because you managed to make a sound plan. theyre happy, because you're here leading them. don't forget that."
fauni's gaze stuck on his men. despite the souls that had fallen, many of them were sitting at long wooden tables, smashing their wooden cups of ale and beer together, much of liquid sloshing and spilling overboard the rim of the cups and staining the wood. their cheeks were reddened with intoxication, wide, stupid grins on their faces. they were alive. joyful. there was another long period of silence as fauni's expression softened, a rare expression of thoughtfulness appearing on his features. janus didn't need to look to feel the mood around fauni change, his eyes gazing and taking in the stars once more. slowly, fauni scooted closer to the veteran.
"thank you, general." despite outranking janus, he still showed his respect as if he were still a normal knight.
"aint a worry fawn."
an hour passed before anything else happened. the two of them simply basked in each other's prescene, enjoying the safety and security they brought to each other. soon enough, fauni ended up with his eyes slowly closing, and his head gently fell into janus's shoulder. the general looked down at faunis, his eyes closed and his expression no longer hardened by the mantle of the white death. his own eyes finally showed a bit more than just the cold, sharp emotions of a warrior. they gazed at faunis with a parental sort of love, the type of gaze a father would give his son after he won a tournament. after a moment, when he was sure that fauni was alseep, he murmured something audible only to him.
"you protect all your soliders fauni. but in the end, who will protect you?"
________________________
A/N: 1211 words, much shorter than a tale of bone and blood, but im proud of this! im still a bit lacking in giving my writing some real soul, but this was short and sweet. It expanded on janus and fauni's relationship more, and how close the two truly are to each other, aswell as how much the other person is okay with being vulnerable around the other. I intend on also writing another possibly short story like this one for him again, though im not sure whenill have it released. if anyone has any suggestions on anything in my writing, please feel free to comment below! Good day, afternoon and night to you all!
