Weathered Feathers

“I don’t exactly care for spending time with drunks, so I hope you’re not planning on making me drag you out of here by the end of it.”

With that said, he leaned back in his chair and looked around in boredom. Though he did say that he didn’t care, he would and will drag Raven back to the guild if the old man went overboard with the alcohol.

“What’s got you in the mood to drink this time?” Honestly, he’s expecting a ‘just felt like it’ answer, so he wasn’t sure why he even asked. 

“Ye o’ little faith! Ya think just ‘cause ol’ Raven wanted a drink or two that he’ll drink himself silly? You act like I treat’cha as a glorified babysitter!” 

As if to highlight his lack of truthfulness, the old man’s ears wiggled with every tiny lie. Raven was worried about ending up in such a state, and knew how easy it was to let his demons get the better of him. Of course, he was sure, Yuri knew that just as well as he did.

“...You could say it’s ol’ Raven’s birthday! Though it ain’t the most joyous of occasions, consider’n it also marks the day of someone else’s death. Ain’t that just how life is sometimes...? Someth’n can’t come ta be, without someth’n else be’n swept out from under ya!”

A birthday....yeah, that was one way to put it.

If there was anyone that deserved to get this beating, Raven was a fair enough candidate. After all, he had done more than enough harm to have earned it. Schwann’s hands were stained red with the blood of many an innocent person, and Raven was not, himself, a saint either. They both, with the same pair of hands, took and took and took. It was about time he paid his dues.

Regardless of what he was put through, he had no right to reveal even the smallest sliver of information..and so they beat him again and again. Broken fingers, a bloodied nose, and a face starting to swell from bruising…..he had been through much worse than this. Although he wouldn’t say these injuries were nothing. 

Woe to his poor fans the world over! That mug of his would be a lot less pleasant to see for a while to come, after all this was over.

And it was over, much faster than he had thought it would be! Brave Vesperia, saving this old fool of a damsel in distress….! What a funny notion that was, after all, not too long ago he had found himself on the other end of Yuri Lowell’s blade. A traitor, through and through, despite whatever reconciliation had happened after the fact.

Raven had broken the trust of someone precious. It was his actions that lead to much more than that by the end of her stay with Alexei. Her very spirit had been shattered, and she begged for death in a way someone so innocent never should.

And yet there she was, that angelic princess tending to his wounds with an almost motherly fretting to her movements. The very person he had betrayed the most. The one who he deserved nothing short of burning hatred from.

It was almost ironic how kind she was, compared to the unkindness he had done to her.

“Oh, darl’n…just see’n a friendly face was enough ta do this old fool some good! Poor ol’ Raven thought he might never see another beautiful maiden in his life, an’ yet…it seems you lot have granted him that chance!”

Send Me ‘✍’ and I will doodle your muse in Paint Tool Sai

‘You gotta ho-o-old me downYou gotta ho-o-old me backCause I’m might [s l i p   a w a y]Slip into the [p a s t]’