I see it, you know Our little diner Music in the air It's grand

Indie, Semi-Selective Fidelio from Metaphor: Refantazio. NOT Spoiler Free. Written by Mars

[stubbornstalwart]

What kind of king are you sellin' yourself to be, exactly? Go on, let's have the pitch.

About || Rules || Verses

[muses-galore]

"We both know tha', after all if it weren't for your plan to get us outta there back then...I don't think I'd be here now. Though now's not the time to think like that. So how about we get something to eat? I'm sure they wouldn't mind us grabbing something to eat."

*Well this was just Basilio trying to get his mind off of everything and to try and help Fidelio the only way he knew how, making them something they would both enjoy. After all it had been a while since he made something that was really just for them. After all most of the time they had to have foods that suited everyone, now they could experiment a bit. That idea did give some comfort to the younger of the two brothers.*

[stubbornstalwart]

Fidelio couldn't help but laugh. He shouldn't have been surprised by his brother's suggestion, but it had still caught him off guard at the sudden shift in topic.

"Why not, I mean if we're really going to be staying here I'd hope they'd let us eat somethin'." Fortunately for them as well, this wasn't their first venture on the ship, so Basilio still likely knew his way quite well around the ship's kitchen. "What were ya thinkin' of makin'?"

[atlus-muses]

That didn't escape her notice though she did in fact decide to let it slide, whoever was hurt was healed and that is what matters.

"Really? That would be nice, thank you!" She flashed her warm smile.

"May I ask what it was they treated? What kind of injuring? I promise I won't nag about it, but knowing what needed to be treated can also be helpful in learning the methods of treating it."

[stubbornstalwart]

A brief flash of that bloody human's tentacle wrapping around his ankle and pulling him from the ship came to mind, though Fidelio quickly shook it off.

"A broken ankle, caused by a human attack." He said simply. "Traditional medicines only worked for so long due ta magla left by the bloody thing." In his defense, the paripus had tended to the wound on his own, and it did work for a while.

He continued to explain what he could recall of the treatments the mustari had applied to him . . . the patient in surprising detail. If there was one thing Fidelio was known for after all, it was being the brains of the pair of brothers.

[muses-galore]

"The world won't be that way when Lord Louis takes the throne so we will make them see the error of their ways when that time comes."

*Now came that overzealousness of his which in this body just made the whole thing worse. In this exchange Zorba got the short end of the stick,both metaphorically and literally. Still though there was little the male could do but sit and wait for the herbs. The fact multiple tribes had to deal with certain issues while only one or two tribes lived carefree lives wasn't lost on him.

Though Zorba was of course half Clemar he was also half Mustari which meant his life wasn't all that great either. Especially with the Mustari being seen as a nuisance and more often than not heathens it the whole Sanctist regime.*

[stubbornstalwart]

"Sometimes I think even tha' won't be enough to make some of them see that, they're so lost in it."

Despite their disagreements, Fidelio knew how well Zorba's excessive mood swings would go over in his body and couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. In all honestly the lack of the constant, usually dull, pain almost felt wrong to him now.

With the herbs prepared into a tea, Fidelio brought the cup over and offered it to him.

"Here, this'll make you feel better . . . for now. If you run us out of our supply, yer gonna owe us replacements you know."

[atlus-muses]

Hazel worked on making some extra medicine, sitting on a nice patch of grass nearby to have something productive to do.

She turned her head when hearing Fidelio come out.

"I am resting see?" she replied with a grin indicating that she was sitting, "I plan to take a real rest at the next stop."

"I'm glad you're feeling better. Are you hungry?"

She held up a container with sandwiches and fruit in it.

[stubbornstalwart]

"You can bet I'll hold ya to that." Old habits died hard it seemed, as the paripus' brotherly instincts kicked in.

Approaching Hazel, he decided to take her up on the offer and took one of the sandwiches from the container. After all, with everything that transpired, his body was drained and he knew he could use something to eat.

"Thanks. An' I mean that for everything . . . you're sacrificin' a lot for me. I owe you fer it."

[muses-galore]

"Del..."

*Even after all this time the younger brother could tell when it was okay to push a topic and when not to. This was probably one of those times where pushing could make things awkward, as such Bas let it go with a nod.*

"Yeah, that's good. I guess it would be a shock for everyone if you suddenly showed up. Though don't make it like that it would be a problem for everyone. I mean even the king likes going out and about so a trip wouldn't be too bad."

*It was weird calling him the king but that's who Will is now, not that anyone would guess when he randomly vanishes from time to time. With that runner of his though making the trek and back would be easy.*

"Oh, right you wouldn't know but the runner of his can teleport, only to places he's been but still it's amazing."

[stubbornstalwart]

"Tch." That was right, Will was the king now, wasn't he?

"S'pose that means I have ta try and be nice to him if I ever see him again, doesn't it?" A smirk played on Fidelio's lips as he shook his head. Even so, he likely would continue to speak with the elda the way he always had, not like the kid was likely to do much about it.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the smirk on the elder paripus' face faded, replaced by a look of surprise.

"It can what? How's that even possible? Not even the Charidus could do that?" Maybe his brother's innocence mistook traveling at a brisk speed as teleporting, but something about the way he said it made Fidelio think he truly meant that . . .

[stubbornstalwart]

Closed Starter for @muses-galore

Golden eyes watched the last of the generals shuffle out of the room before pushing himself off the wall. It seemed as though there were more and more of them by the day and he knew what each of them thought about the fact two paripus were their equals. He almost missed the days it early days when there weren't so many judgmental stares. Almost.

Once the door was closed, Fidelio approached one of the bookshelves, tracing a finger across one of the book's spines as he cleared his throat.

"Lord Louis." Though he sounded calm and collected as he always did, the slight flicking of the end of his slightly puffed tail gave away the nerves he was feeling. "I was thinkin' tha' if you had the time now, we could work on that special trainin' we've been doin'. I think you'll be satisfied with me improvements."

In true Fidelio fashion, each night after Basilio fell asleep he spent hours at the desk practicing until his wrists ached, determined to impress the clemar who was going out of his way for him.

[muses-galore]

"You've gotten us outta all those other messes so it won't change now. You gotta admit though it is something we might never be able to ever pull off again."

*Bas was more confirming it to himself than anything else, besides he knew Fidelio would not act unless they had a foolproof plan in place. However it was going to be one of the more intricate missions they had undertaken.*

[stubbornstalwart]

Fidelio couldn't help but chuckle. His little brother really did think the world of him, huh. If anything, it simply motivated the elder paripus more to make sure they would succeed, not that he wouldn't already of course.

❝'Course. After all, I gotta make sure I'm always here ta look after you. Gods know you'd be hopeless without me.❞ While he didn't necessarily mean it, he did enjoy playfully teasing Basilio. ❝It'll definitely be somethin' fer the ages, that's fer sure.❞

[willcrowned]

He paused mid-step, intrigued by the way he said that. While he was a good cook himself, he could only manage it thanks to his friends helping him. "Oh?" He turned to face him. "What kind of recipes does he make then?" They could use it in battle, after all.

[stubbornstalwart]

❝Tch. Shoulda figured that'd caught yer attention.❞ Only if they could be of use to him did they matter, huh? Either way, Fidelio was happy to speak positively about his little brother.

❝Better question's what can't he make. Maybe you'll be lucky enough ta get to try sometime.❞

[muses-galore]

*Zorba's well Fidelio's eyes widened in surprise as he was being brought along by the male. As much as he wanted to tell Fidelio to unhand him the pain was rapidly spreading. Maybe due the fact Zorba tended to go between states of calm and irritation and he just so happened to be angered by this nuisance.

However since he had very little choice in the matter he decided to at least engage in the conversation to distract himself until they got to Basilio's room.*

"Honestly you should try to at least feign it, you learn some very interesting details as a result. Still, it's not like I cared about your past as well but here we are. You forget I'm in your body right now so muttering doesn't to much good. I was aware of them but of course there wasn't much I could have done about it."

[stubbornstalwart]

❝Oh yeah? Like what?❞ A brow raised as he dragged his own body through the ship's corridors, ignoring the . . . rather confused glances by the soldiers at the unusual pair.

❝Listen, I'd rather not think about the fact yer in me body at all. Not much anyone coulda done really. The bloody church had too much damn power and no one cared what happened to a bunch of paripus street rats anyway.❞ Once they reached the brother's room, Fidelio prayed his little brother wouldn't be there for him to have to try and explain this situation to.

❝Sit down an' just try to calm yerself, alright? I'll get the 'erbs fer ya.❞

[atlus-muses]

That did not escape her notice and the wording seemed to imply he himself or Basilio had been hurt, "did someone get hurt while there?"

"True, I hope whoever does will be able and willing to improve relations between tribes, I would love to learn from them as well," all of the tribes had plenty of their own ways of handling illnesses and injuries and Hazel wanted to learn as much as she could so that she'd be able to help heal anyone who needed it.

[stubbornstalwart]

❝It was nothin' serious. Ya needn't worry yerself about it.❞ And technically it happened before they'd even arrived at the island. He had just been unable to conceal it much longer after they'd arrived . . .

❝If ya want I can tell ya what I can remember about what they did.❞ Perhaps that was an admittance that it was him that was injured, but he hoped she would let it slide. ❝It wouldn't be the same, but still, might be somethin new fer ya.❞

[willcrowned]

"I see..." Will bit the inside of his cheek for a moment. He wasn't envious of the lavish gold and wrongful fame he had at all. No, on the other hand, he wanted nothing more but to show him how wrong he was. Even if he assisted the paripus and other tribes, his true tyrannical nature had yet to be seen by those who followed him blindly.

Everyone, no matter their reasons, was so selfish towards one another except the companions he made along the way.

He exhaled and threw the other a glance. He knew that look. Eldas were always shunned in all of Euchronia and he couldn't stand it, always kept it in. "It's true that the paripus aren't... well-liked by everyone. But if he can respect what people can do, then does he have to be so arrogant and absolute about his power? It sounds... wrong to me."

"But then... I am only an Elda. Everyone in the Capital resents me." He missed his home, but he had a mission to complete. For the Prince's sake.

[stubbornstalwart]

❝Tch. Ya really don't know how the world works, do ya kid?❞ The paripus laughed, a dry, humorless laugh. "People, it don't matter what tribe, only care about appearance." Leaning his back against the ship's railing, Fidelio stretched out before crossing his arms behind his head.

"All they want is a good show. Do ya really think any of 'em really care where the bloody crown really falls? Whoever c'n put on a good show and look like they can handle things, that's all that matters. So yeah, Lord Louis does need ta come across arrogant and absolute."

Did he have a unique perspective on the matter? Sure, though he wouldn't elaborate to the elda anymore about it. The kid could think whatever he wanted about the brother's motivations. He'd come to learn about the man for a few weeks, while the paripus had known him for years.

"An' there gonna keep resentin' ya if you keep that attitude." For some reason Fidelio couldn't help but feel irked by his words. As if he and Bas hadn't gone through the same thing? "Ya gotta show 'em yer capable, confident if ya want them ta respect ya. An' even then, there will be some that hate yer guts, but if ya let 'em get to you, then you're just lettin' 'em win." Was he speaking from personal experience . . . maybe.

"Maybe you could use ta present yerself a little more arrogant. Maybe then ya'd be able to win some more people over. Cuz this little pity me act ain't it."

[muses-galore]

" You know I was pulling your leg Del, I'm sure she would be happy knowing you're alive though. But honest talk...things could go further now you know. She's busy but I know Lady Junah would show up the moment she hears the news."

*Even though Basilio was now more acquainted with Junah and the rest some things never changed. He would always treat her with respect when mentioning her to others but when she was around he was now able to just call her Junah.

Still there was a chance no matter how small that Junah and Fidelio could get together although he wondered if his brother was ready to take that jump.*

"I mean she's teaching people now so maybe she would,you dunno."

[stubbornstalwart]

❝That's part of the reason I haven't reached out. She's busy enough the way it is, she doesn't need to come all this way jus' ta see me at some little tavern.❞ Even if it technically wasn't that far of a journey, but he still wasn't sure he could face her. She'd likely be furious with him that he had kept this secret for so long.

But also with the world calmed down, there was little reason for them not to address the feelings they both knew Fidelio had for the songstress, and he really wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer . . .

❝I'll let ya be the one ta tell her, how's tha' sound? An' then we can go from there.❞

[atlus-muses]

"Alright, alright," she replied while getting them moving and out of the city, glad the market was close to the main road.

Hazel set out her map taking one of her usual roads that ran on a similar way to the main road but provided more vegetation cover that she generally used both for hiding as well as defense.

Settling in she plotted and marked two main routes in case they had a reason to need to switch roads then planning places for short stops and to camp when they needed to.

It was a few hours before they reached their first stop and she got her steeds set up with food and water and time off the reigns while checking the area for any useful ingredients to get before sitting on a patch of grass close by to feel the network of the vegetation around them, keeping track of that's or if anyone may have been following.

[stubbornstalwart]

Despite the bumps movement that came with carriage travel, Fidelio slept deeply, and for longer than he would have liked. Though perhaps it was for the best, when he awoke, the carriage was still, and though there was still some residual pain present from the process, he felt refreshed.

Golden eyes peered out of the carriage, confirming this was simply a planned stop before exiting and approaching where Hazel sat.

"If you need some rest, I can' take a watch. I'm startin' ta feel a lot better thanks to whatever ya did back there."

[stubbornstalwart]

❝I swear if 'm forced inta bedrest one more bloody time, I'm goin' ta lose it.❞

[stubbornstalwart]

(( Heyo! Apologies for being gone for so long . . . Muse was kind of gone for a while but he's now back! I have a bunch of stuff queued up, but please let me know if I missed anything! ))

[stubbornstalwart]

(( So I was editing some icons today and just feelin' a little silly.))

(( Thank you metaphor manga . . . but no idea when I'm ever going to need a faceless Fidelio. ))

(( But also while making this cute smiling Del

I ended up making this horrifying thing that I'll never use but continue to laugh at ))