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31_days2012-04-14 12:50 pm
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2012-04-14 12:50 pm
[April 14] [Breath of Fire IV] Fine, I'll Encourage Them
Title: Fine, I'll Encourage Them
Day/Theme: April 14, 2012 "a woman, partly brave and partly good"
Series: Breath of Fire IV
Character/Pairing: Scias/Ursula, OCs
Rating: G
Author's comment: The conclusion of City of the Senses (continued from APril 9th).
The boys tore their bread and dipped it into a heavy sauce. The little girl fought with the stiff crust to eat likewise, but the strength of that surface was just beyond her strength and Scias was compelled to break it into bits for her and cut the newest fish to pieces. He would have left the roughhewn chunks on the plate for her to pick at with her hands, but she was still so eager, her pink lips darted for the fish still in his hand and plucked it from his fingers. It was like feeding a puppy.
"Would you like a little more?" he offered. He was sort of embarrassed.
"Uh-huh," the girl agreed.
The sun was down by the time they were finished with their feeding. It wasn't until this juncture that he learned the girl's name- Sia- as the second oldest boy turned out to be her brother. He handed her over to her brother's care and she put her head down on his shoulder, moving swiftly toward sleep. Scias smiled at the coincidence of their names when he heard it, but to mention it to the urchins would be nothing but self-indulgence.
In the kitchen, near to closing (they would stop serving hot food here several hours before the flow of liquor was cut off), something was burning, probably having fallen from a spit directly into the fire. The boys were thoughtful enough to thank him again before they disappeared out into the night. Sia was already snoring. He hoped they had eaten only enough to satisfy their hunger and not so much as to make themselves sick. It was easier to get sick that way when you weren't eating regularly. Kids never knew when enough was too much.
Which brought his mind back to that disciplined woman- Ursula. He couldn't picture her ever having that problem. She knew her limits; although she was human and, thus, must surely face temptation, he had never known her to give in to any kind of indulgence. When he glanced back toward the door, the children were already gone. His sake cup was empty, but the bottle was not. He poured himself another cup.
"If you encourage them like that, the next time they see you here, they're going to come back for more."
The very woman he'd been longing for. "W-would you like some?" he raised his cup in her direction, an impromptu toast to a visitor he'd no longer expected.
Bold as ever, though this was hardly a move he would have predicted, she took the white porcelain cup from his fingers and sucked down the sharp, sweet liquid. "Just a bit," she allowed, and took the chair beside him, "Sharing your cup will suffice."
Scias couldn't help himself now from smiling.
"What's that? What are you thinking about?"
"Y-you. ...And that- that ma-maybe I want to encourage them." What sense and logic would Ursula apply to that?
"It's very good and noble to want to assist those who don't have enough, but there are legitimate sources of aide they can go to. The one probably isn't going to be enough to cope with the need, but Chedo has an orphanage again. ...Or are you so eager to become a father?" Ursula pressed him. She was serious, but she was also teasing. She was just barely able to joke like this and it showed, but he appreciated the effort.
"No," he shook his head, "Just b-big brother."
Ursula drank another cup. "Well, I have enough managing and minding of everyone to do without being anyone's mother or big sister."
"I know." He had seen for himself- both via her works and operatives and through observing her personally. Scias would be hard to convince that anyone in all Chedo was working as hard as Ursula. ...the matter of who actually had the greatest, most proper claim to be ruling this country (and in what capacity) when the dust settled was going to be difficult though. There were probably some imperial cousins or bastards out there somewhere, but it would take a wise and noble individual for Ursula to support their claim.
"I don't want to be either of those things anyway," she added at length.
"You-y-you're more than enough as you are."
"One of these days you'll build the house that's going to be yours, won't you?" she asked. It was her way of insinuating that she hoped he would stay, wasn't it? That was what he wanted it to be, but how could he be sure?
"I staked out a plot," Scias admitted, gently taking the cup from between her fingers. They were drinking from the same vessel. It was the closest he had come to tasting her kiss. Even tired, at the end of this long day, she was beautiful. "I k-keep draining my f-funds be-before getting started," he confessed further. "Not enough desire..."
"That's no good, Scias," Ursula shook her head, "I don't want you suddenly getting the urge to run off and disappearing back west on me forever."
"Even with a- a - a h-house, I could st-still go."
"Maybe. ...But you'd have a reason to come back."
"E-even without the house, I have a reason to c-come back," Scias answered bluntly, "I have you."
The general didn't know what to say to that.
"I was ho-hoping it w-would be our house," Scias laid his dream out on the table.
"Build it then," Ursula said, "And it will be."
[...and that's the end! Thanks for sticking with me through this one!]
Day/Theme: April 14, 2012 "a woman, partly brave and partly good"
Series: Breath of Fire IV
Character/Pairing: Scias/Ursula, OCs
Rating: G
Author's comment: The conclusion of City of the Senses (continued from APril 9th).
The boys tore their bread and dipped it into a heavy sauce. The little girl fought with the stiff crust to eat likewise, but the strength of that surface was just beyond her strength and Scias was compelled to break it into bits for her and cut the newest fish to pieces. He would have left the roughhewn chunks on the plate for her to pick at with her hands, but she was still so eager, her pink lips darted for the fish still in his hand and plucked it from his fingers. It was like feeding a puppy.
"Would you like a little more?" he offered. He was sort of embarrassed.
"Uh-huh," the girl agreed.
The sun was down by the time they were finished with their feeding. It wasn't until this juncture that he learned the girl's name- Sia- as the second oldest boy turned out to be her brother. He handed her over to her brother's care and she put her head down on his shoulder, moving swiftly toward sleep. Scias smiled at the coincidence of their names when he heard it, but to mention it to the urchins would be nothing but self-indulgence.
In the kitchen, near to closing (they would stop serving hot food here several hours before the flow of liquor was cut off), something was burning, probably having fallen from a spit directly into the fire. The boys were thoughtful enough to thank him again before they disappeared out into the night. Sia was already snoring. He hoped they had eaten only enough to satisfy their hunger and not so much as to make themselves sick. It was easier to get sick that way when you weren't eating regularly. Kids never knew when enough was too much.
Which brought his mind back to that disciplined woman- Ursula. He couldn't picture her ever having that problem. She knew her limits; although she was human and, thus, must surely face temptation, he had never known her to give in to any kind of indulgence. When he glanced back toward the door, the children were already gone. His sake cup was empty, but the bottle was not. He poured himself another cup.
"If you encourage them like that, the next time they see you here, they're going to come back for more."
The very woman he'd been longing for. "W-would you like some?" he raised his cup in her direction, an impromptu toast to a visitor he'd no longer expected.
Bold as ever, though this was hardly a move he would have predicted, she took the white porcelain cup from his fingers and sucked down the sharp, sweet liquid. "Just a bit," she allowed, and took the chair beside him, "Sharing your cup will suffice."
Scias couldn't help himself now from smiling.
"What's that? What are you thinking about?"
"Y-you. ...And that- that ma-maybe I want to encourage them." What sense and logic would Ursula apply to that?
"It's very good and noble to want to assist those who don't have enough, but there are legitimate sources of aide they can go to. The one probably isn't going to be enough to cope with the need, but Chedo has an orphanage again. ...Or are you so eager to become a father?" Ursula pressed him. She was serious, but she was also teasing. She was just barely able to joke like this and it showed, but he appreciated the effort.
"No," he shook his head, "Just b-big brother."
Ursula drank another cup. "Well, I have enough managing and minding of everyone to do without being anyone's mother or big sister."
"I know." He had seen for himself- both via her works and operatives and through observing her personally. Scias would be hard to convince that anyone in all Chedo was working as hard as Ursula. ...the matter of who actually had the greatest, most proper claim to be ruling this country (and in what capacity) when the dust settled was going to be difficult though. There were probably some imperial cousins or bastards out there somewhere, but it would take a wise and noble individual for Ursula to support their claim.
"I don't want to be either of those things anyway," she added at length.
"You-y-you're more than enough as you are."
"One of these days you'll build the house that's going to be yours, won't you?" she asked. It was her way of insinuating that she hoped he would stay, wasn't it? That was what he wanted it to be, but how could he be sure?
"I staked out a plot," Scias admitted, gently taking the cup from between her fingers. They were drinking from the same vessel. It was the closest he had come to tasting her kiss. Even tired, at the end of this long day, she was beautiful. "I k-keep draining my f-funds be-before getting started," he confessed further. "Not enough desire..."
"That's no good, Scias," Ursula shook her head, "I don't want you suddenly getting the urge to run off and disappearing back west on me forever."
"Even with a- a - a h-house, I could st-still go."
"Maybe. ...But you'd have a reason to come back."
"E-even without the house, I have a reason to c-come back," Scias answered bluntly, "I have you."
The general didn't know what to say to that.
"I was ho-hoping it w-would be our house," Scias laid his dream out on the table.
"Build it then," Ursula said, "And it will be."
[...and that's the end! Thanks for sticking with me through this one!]