“Hm,” Levi resisted a knowing smile with a singular nod. We’ll just have to see about that. As first born prince, he would have more sway than a noble would, but it would still take some insistent convincing. “I suppose, that’s true, yes.” He furrowed his brow. “I’ve never liked the second prince’s aggressive mindset. I fear for the future of my country, especially if he refuses peace treaties.”
Fi snorted. "He is no fool. Arrogant and impulsive, yes, but not stupid. He will accept peace talks because he knows that in the very end, Usige will pull through this war and Nord Widonia will not."
Levi’s expression tightened as he thought, looking off to the side again. He couldn’t tell Fiori that this was his brother they were talking about. It was a complicated subject. The sooner he got home, the sooner he wouldn’t have to worry about Johan worming his way into Levi’s place. “I’m not so certain about that. And our soldiers would pull through this war just fine. Even if he did accept the peace talks, it wouldn’t be for that. They can stand their ground.”
"For a time, yes, but… Nord Widonia was not built for war, Leviticus." Fiori glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, wondering what he was thinking about. Perhaps it was the second prince, the one who fought instead of planned, or perhaps it was simply unhappiness at hearing his country wouldn't weather the war as gracefully as Fi's. "Do you know why my country was founded?"
Levi set the remainder of his fried meat back down in the plate, wiping his hands again like he did after eating the chocolate covered coffee beans. Fi was right: Nord Widona wasn’t built for war, it was built for peace. While it was built with sturdy architecture and stone walls, it was only ever meant for security from the weather. He had to get back before anything terrible happened, before Johan could wreak havoc. He looked back, “Not that I recall, exactly,” he answered absently.
Fi nodded. "We were the slaves of a greater nation, and we rose up, killing our masters to forge the country anew. Our history is steeped in blood, Leviticus, because we have never stopped fighting for long enough to let it dry. My country was not only built for war, it was built because of it." He let the words sink in, taking a bite of the fried meat now that it looked lke Leviticus was done. Everything about Usige was built for seige and struggle, with walls surrounding the major cities and seige holds in every town. "Widonians, as tough as they may be, do not have a fight in their blood. They are not raised warriors."
Levi was quiet for some time as he absorbed the information, looking down at his ring. He twirled the silver piece of jewelry around his finger. Fiori’s country and customs were still so backwards to him and his innate beliefs, having believed that peace was the answer, but when it wasn’t available they would fight until it was. “So, do you respect the second prince because he is so keen on being a warrior? And fighting?” His brother was the closest person he knew in this country that resembled having the warrior blood Fiori spoke of. He didn’t know of anyone else with that kind of fire.
Fiori had been raised to fight, as badly as his mother wanted a different future for him. His whole childhood had been a daze of swords and sparring, with pockets of song and sweetness interspersed among the bruised knuckles. His morals were his father's, his temperament his mother's, his beliefs a fractured mess of the two. "I do. He has a fire in him, Leviticus, a fire unlike so many in your country, and it burns bright within him. But… to be honest, the first is who I feel would be best to lead. He is… different from me, and from the second prince. He knows how to fight for peace."
Levi’s demeanor lightened, his brow raising with interest. “You do?” He took it as a compliment, chest flickered with pride, even if Fiori didn’t know. Especially since Fiori didn’t know who he was, because it meant he really did mean it. “I agree with that. His country meant a lot to him. It’s a shame he was assassinated.”
Fiori nodded, chalking up Levi's interest and excitement to some kind of secondhand pride. He had been friends with the prince, after all, perhaps he approved of Fiori's choice to support him, not that it mattered anymore. "It is a great tragedy," he agreed. "He seemed very passionate about his country, he would've made a fine king. You know… before the war, when I was young, my father would've had me betrothed to his younger brother."
Levi hadn’t known that. In another world, Fiori could have been his step-brother? “Really?” He shifted away from Fiori, but only so he could turn his body at an angle to face him. “That would have been able to keep the countries from warring with one another.” He was lost in thought again, reeling at the possibilities if the betrothal has gone through. He had to admit: Johan and Fiori might have made a good couple. Maybe.
(Alright, pause for plot, I was thinking about having Fi's uncle kill Cadmus for trying to protect Fi to kind of give him someone to fight for/something to grieve over as Levi whisks him away to his kingdom. Would you be alright with giving Johan some kind of redemption arc and possible romance, or would you prefer it if we stuck to just Levi and Fi and whatever side characters we need to support them?)
Fi laughed, brushing his hair from his face as he nodded. "Yes. Our countries were in an alliance then, albeit a weak one, and my father wished to marry me off to secure it. It was my mother who stopped him, but…" He shrugged, trailing off as his words failed him. "…I wonder what it might've been like, sometimes. It was almost a relief to meet him on the battlefield."
(Oohhhhhh yeah!! I like that a lot! I’d totally be up for all of that! I’ve been wanting to give Johan some more character development and personality so that definitely works. It’s gonna be painful when Cadmus dies though :( )
Levi listened whole heartedly, nodding along. He wondered why Fiori’s mother stopped the betrothal, but he was curious about Fiori’s last statement even more. He cocked his head slightly, “How so? I mean was it a good relief to meet the person you were about to marry? Or…” he trailed off.
(Oh yes! I fully intend to torture Fiori with the deaths of his friends so he's forced to seek out help from people he's not as close to like Johan or Levi. Also in Fi's story outside of RP he dies with Cadmus on the battlefield, so one of them kinda has to die for me to be content.)
Fi blushed slightly, though he didn't turn away from Levi as he spoke. "Part of it was knowing who I would have married, but… another part was something more childish. I dreamed about what he might be like– my husband I mean– and I was… sad, I suppose, when my mother said I would never get to meet him. I had spent so long wondering and hoping about our union, it hurt to have that torn away."
(Ah Yess, that’s perfect lol! Also, for Johan’s redemption arc should he have to be punished before he realizes he messed up or should he just have a slow epiphany and eventually try to make things right?)
Levi empathized with that to an extent. He always dreamt of the possibility of marrying Mordecai, and imagined what their life would be like together. But it was all only to be torn away when he was betrothed to Marya. Of course he knew why he was betrothed, it was just painful. He couldn’t imagine Fiori’s exact pain, however, because it wasn’t the same. “That’s understandable. So…was it even more painful when he called you a demon?” He wondered, pulling up one of his legs to sit on.
(Hmm, decisions decisions. Maybe you could have him be kind of in the process of figuring out what he did was kind of shitty (like he misses his brother, he's not a super great ruler and he doesn't know why, etc) when Levi swoops in and has him punished for what he did, which kind of pushes him all the way into realizing he made a really bad decision)
Fiori shrugged. "Not particularly. I had my Cadmus by then, and… I was a bit thrilled." He laughed quietly, realizing that probably wasn't the most normal reaction. "It was exciting to meet him with battle thrumming through our veins– to see what he was like when he had everything to lose. He was beautiful like that, Leviticus. I do not recall a second of our meeting with pain."
(Oo, yeah definitely! I was kinda thinking along the same lines. Maybe when Johan is in the prisons, Fiori could visit him and that’s how they start getting closer?)
“Interesting.” Levi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He’d talked to his brother after he returned from war, and Johan had nothing but ill speak of the man who put the scar on his face. He couldn’t imagine Johan thinking about Fiori in the same was Fiori thought of him. “He was beautiful…” he echoed thoughtfully. He never really thought about anyone seeing his brother as attractive. “Even when he gave you that scar in your back?”
(yessss!!!)
"Yes." Fiori spoke without hesitation or doubt. "It seems strange to you, I'm sure, but… I thought him a wonderful fighter. It was an honor to have been marked by his blade, though I doubt he feels similarly about the mark I left on him. Things are different in my culture, your scars are things to be proud of. They are things you have survived, and what greater badge of strength is there to have survived the most vicious fighter of the north?"
“He is pretty vicious,” he agreed with a small smile in the corner of his mouth. “Not many people dare to mess with him. He’s fiery and temperamental. Some even call him cruel, but…I never personally saw that part of him.” Until recently, he finished his thought. “In my country, scars aren’t seen as a badge, nor are they looked down upon. I think it’s just seen as a neutral mark.”
Fiori laughed. "Yes, your second prince is a daemoling. My people call him the spitfire prince, and it seems a name most appropriate." He shook his head when Levi mentioned his country again. "Your country is so strange to me sometimes. I can't imagine not seeing the value of a scar."
“Oh, yes, that is appropriate,” Levi chuckled through his nose. “He’s definitely a spitfire,” he nodded his agreement. “And your country is still so strange to me too. A scar is just a scar, if not a story to tell around a fireplace.”
"Every scar has a story, Leviticus." Fiori said it like he was repeating something he'd hear a thousand times and believed wholeheartedly. "They are not all pleasant ones, make no mistake, but they are all marks of things endured and survived. Only living tissue scars, so it is like… rebirth. You have moved on from what once hurt you, with new skin and a new story."
Levi nodded, “I don’t disagree with that. The warriors in my country talk about their scars more than anyone else does, and that makes sense. They’re the ones who get the most scars.” He remembered his brother, however, disliked the scar on his face. It was a reminder to him how he had been bested by the enemy prince. Johan stood in front of a looking glass, staring at it constantly with a distasteful frown, while it slowly healed over the course of several days.
"Yes." Fi nodded. "Scars are… they are things passed. Things that could not kill you. They are not beautiful things but they are…" He paused, not really sure how to finish the sentence. He remembered his father, tall and dark and covered with scars, patting him on the shoulder after every sparring lesson, looking down at his cut fingers with something like approval. He flexed his fingers now, rubbing his tub over the tiny papercut scars crisscrossing his skin. "They are important."
Levi glanced over at Fiori’s hands, and the paper cuts his thumb brushed over. “Your culture is fascinating,” he murmured. “I’ve enjoyed learning about it, even in the situation I’m in,” he admitted. Although he couldn’t wait to go home, and to show Fiori his own culture and kingdom. Granted, the castle hadn’t felt completely like home since his parents passed.
Fi smiled, Levi's voice pulling him from his memories. "I'm glad I could be the one to teach you about it," he said, letting his hands drop back to his lap. "There are many who have their own interpretation, and they are not… quite so reverent of our core beliefs as I am."
“That’s a shame,” he looked back up from his hands. “I feel the same way about people in my kingdom. My brother…and the prince for example. I fear they don’t hold as much reverence for the values in our country as I do. Like the first prince did.”
Fiori nodded, perking up with interest when he mentioned a brother. "Your brother… he is the one who sent you here. I didn't realize he was similar to the second prince, were they friends the way you were with the first prince?"
“Similar, yes,” he considered how about he could say this. “My brother is quieter than prince, but still a fierce warrior. They knew each other and fought together. But I don’t think they were ever close like the first prince and I were… Do you know the second prince’s name?”
Fi listened eagerly, excited to hear about Levi's family. He was an only child himself, so it was interesting to hear about siblings and extended family. "I'm not sure, it's been a while since I've thought of him as anything but spitfire. It was… Jonah? Or… Johannes, maybe?"