#rarepairs week

It was unlike Ravus to require her presence in Tenebrae on a whim. Nevertheless, she met with him in a location that was..unusual. Standing in a field of sylleblossoms; Ravus was found standing before four headstones whilst holding a flower in his hand. Donning a black and white suit with his family crest engraved on the back, he closed his eyes as he smelled the lavender perfume of the approaching dragoon. “Did you know that sylleblossoms were Lunafreya’s favorite? She enjoyed many simple things in life, despite knowing her fate would end in ruin. What I would give to show how proud I was of her. Instead..I denied the prophecy that was foretold by our blood and argued with her till her death. I was hardly the supportive bother she needed.” He hated that all those he cared for were bound by death. Death for serving and protecting the line of Lucis. Needless to say, he was not pleased with the revaluation he had made, though kept to himself. Aranea listened to him as she looked at the names in order. King Jasper Nox Fleuret Queen Sylva Nox Fleuret Oracle Princess Lunafreya Nox Fleuret Pryna She knew that death was a touchy subject. Being the last of a royal line couldn’t have exactly have been easy. Taking a small step closer to him, she held her right hip as she spoke.“Sorry for your loss, Ravus. But..you know..if Lunafreya was here, pretty sure she’d tell you to not blame yourself. She was just doing what she had to. As much as you might hate hearing it, she was doing her duty.” An irritated sigh left his lips. “I am well aware. However..that does not mean I have to approve how eager she was to toss away her life. She was so ready to face death’s embrace.” His features fell, tossing the flower he had in hand into the tall grass before Lunafreya’s grave. “I could see in her eyes how she was slowly dying; taking in the Starscourge. It pained me to see her suffer and unable to do anything about it..” He prayed that she was at least at peace. However he could not do anything about her situation, not even if he wanted to would he be capable of doing so. The magitek attachment on his left arm was all the proof he needed. He may have the blood of the Oracle in him but he was far from pure like his beloved little sister. Had he not been so consumed in his need for revenge against the line of Lucis after the death of his mother, he could have been the supportive elder brother he was meant to be. Clenching his left hand, he turned to Aranea. He could still redeem himself..maybe. “I need your assistance, Commodore.” She rolled her eyes, giving him a small smile.”You know you can just call me Aranea, right? What do you need?” “Ensure the people of Tenebrae are safe. I..may be following Lunafreya’s footsteps by calling out the Empire on how wrong they are. This will likely be the last time I will be here in Tenebrae.” Aranea rose a brow. “You aren’t planning on doing something stupid, are you?” A faint smile tugged at his lips.”Perhaps.” “You know..you’ve already been marked as a traitor. Going to Niflhiem is a suicide mission, especially if you go alone.” His smile faded, looking back to the graves of his family. All of them died protecting what they held dear to their hearts -- even Pryna; a mere messenger hound and faithful companion to Lunafreya, was unable to continue living without the Oracle at her side. He had the unfortunate task of burying the poor thing here this afternoon. It seemed that the blood of the Oracle; bound to serve the Kings of Lucis, was haunted by death. “I know but I have to make amends with my failures.” Aranea pinched the bridge of her nose with a cringing sigh. “You’re crazy, you know that? Ugh..fine. I’ll do what I can. I left the military anyway; so I’ll be able to escort people out of here in no time. Just do me a favor and watch your ass.” Sighing in relief, Ravus inclined his head to her. “Thank you,Aranea.” Looking between the stones of his family, he couldn’t help but wonder how his parents would have acted -- had they been alive today. Corners of his lips twitched to a sad smile. “She would have liked you. My mother. Though I may have been too young to remember much of her, I do remember how free spirited she was. Quite the opinionated woman as well.”

Jean Valjean blinked several times, opened his mouth and closed it again, feeling quite at loss. He frowned and tried again.

"While there are certain merits to your proposal..." he trailed off, realising the choice of words was perhaps not the most tactful. Nonetheless, Fauchelevent continued to beam at him, an expression far too cheerful and innocent to be completely genuine. "Surely you realise the matter is not quite so simple."

"Matters of heart rarely are," Fauchelevent agreed with a solemn nod that did nothing to conceal his satisfaction with what he clearly considered to be a stroke of remarkable genius. "The plan is quite clever, if I can say so myself. The prioress... well she is an old school girl, but in her own way. Very well versed in such chapters of ecclesiastical history that the church officials would rather forget. She is sympathetic, and willing to jump through some hoops if necessary"

"Nevertheless." Jean Valjean bit back a sigh of frustration. It would be the height of ingratitude to snap at Fauchelevent, and useless besides. "You cannot just say that we are married. There must be paperwork. Licences. Certificates. Administrative records." He run his hand through his hair for what must have been fifth time in last twenty minutes. More than that, if Fauchelevent's amused expression was anything to go by. He made a half-hearted effort to tame the disrupted curls, before giving it up as a bad job. "I'll still need some form of identification, even if - particularly if I'm to have your name. And a proof of marriage is not enough to guarantee adoption, even with the prioress's help..."

"I expect your experiences in navigating the bureaucratic machinery will help you out there, monsieur le maire" Fauchelevent shot back. "And I have dabbled in law myself, back in the day. As for the matter of holy matrimony, why, I'm several steps ahead of you. There is this fellow I know; a drunkard by day and a gravedigger by night, but sometimes surfaces enough to recall he has the permit to officiate weddings. It will be a simple matter to keep him for long enough to, ahh, amend the documentation to fit our needs." He made an expansive gesture that no doubt was meant to convey a complicated and well thought-out plan for clandestine document forgery,

"I see," said Jean Valjean, who didn't really see. Yet, there was something oddly encouraging in the mixture of caution, flippancy and dark humour Fauchelevent was expressing in regards to their current conundrum. Mad as the plan was, he had clearly given it more thought than Jean Valjean had initially assumed, and there was nothing disingenuous in his desire to help. Perhaps he should have felt guilty over the lengths the other was willing to go, but all Jean Valjean could find in himself was gratitude, and a spark of warmth that was still new to him, and usually reserved for Cosette alone.

"Are you quite sure you wish to do this?" he asked quietly, forcing himself to meet Fauchelevent's eyes. "This is not just a matter of filling in the paperwork. The risks alone are more than I should ask of anyone, but even if everything goes according to the plan, it won't end there. We have chosen roles for ourselves, and will have to keep acting the part, for years if necessary, to keep this little girl safe and happy. Is this something you are willing to accept?"

For the first time since he had witnessed his erstwhile mayor scaling down the convent wall, Fauchelevent looked truly taken aback. An odd mixture of emotions flickered across his face, too quickly for Jean Valjean to follow or make sense of. Then he laughed.

redrom porrim<3kankri counts!! do you know i have never drawn Porrim??

criminal. po+sitively criminal. what a h9ttie.