Comms and Other Long FE Oneshots

Family

        Maria knew it was probably a bad idea to be wandering around the AAW so late at night. She still remembered how sharp Michalis had been about her staying with him because "he couldn't keep an eye on her every second of the day" if she did. He apparently trusted the rest of the castle more than the people he lived with, not... that Maria blamed him after what she'd heard from Sakura.

The slightly older healer had stammered out that an awful king lived here, one that could turn into a dragon and eat her up. King Zephiel wouldn't harm her, but he tended to see all humanity as a bother, something that he had shown her himself her first day here after he had a short conversation with Michalis about Idunn.

Maria liked Idunn. She was distant, sure, but she was pretty and she was gentle, and she had great friends. She still had trouble believing that the manakete worked for someone like Zephiel... or that Narcian would be so scared of her.

Valter was scary. She didn't fault Michalis for not wanting her around him when L'Arachel had told her a few things, and he was just plain creepy from a distance besides...

There was a flare of light from outside, and she moved towards it cautiously, her tense posture relaxing when she saw who was out there.

There were decent people in this wing. Michalis, for one! Berkut was kind of gruff, but he was willing to talk to her and listen to her stories for a time before he moved on with his day.

Arvis, however...

She watched as another target in the little training yard burst into flame. Arvis never pushed her away when she came, listening quietly to everything she chattered about until Michalis pulled her away and scolded her gently for bothering the emperor so. Sometimes he even asked questions or agreed to walk outside the castle with her.

She'd never seen him actually use his tome to set things on fire before now, she realized as another target was reduced to ash. Normally he just threw it at Narcian and Valter when they were either too close or being particularly irritating. It usually knocked them out. He was a good shot. It was times like those that he was fierce, scary, but he was protecting her so it was alright.

He didn't seem fierce now. The last target was left smoldering, and Arvis sank to a sitting position, exhaustion showing clearly as he brought a hand up to his long red hair. Maria watched for another moment as he he sat there, breathing heavily, and then she stepped out of the building. "Emperor Arvis?"

He flinched slightly, and she blinked. He... didn't do that. "Maria." He didn't have to turn to face her to know, apparently. His voice was slightly hoarse, rough. "What are you doing awake at this hour?"

"I... couldn't sleep," she admitted, coming closer to sit next to him. She wasn't even tired, not really, with her stomach all tied up in knots.

He glanced to her, sitting up slightly and letting his hand fall. His expression, as usual, unreadable. "Then why would you come to this wing? Surely there are other parts of the castle that you can explore."

"My brother lives here." Maria shook her head slightly, looking down. "I... I was thinking of him and here is where my feet took me. I know he doesn't want me here at this time of night, it just happened to be where I ended up."

Arvis was silent. She felt his gaze move off of her, though. After a few long moments, he took a breath. "What's so heavy on your mind about him that you can't sleep?"

Maria shifted. "W-well... we talked about Minerva today." She looked up, and a hint of recognition had entered his gaze. "He and I, after Kiran had you move out for that daily thing? He said... some pretty harsh things."