Richard Silverbrand watched over the seas, perched at the top of the most ancient watch tower orc culture had in their lands, to him it was something powerful, that would be the word to describe how he was feeling it.
There was meaning, he saw that something that was coming from himself rather than Vermilion Culture, or the influence of his new Patron Goddess, maybe he wanted to leave his name in the annals of history? be the one who stood against the Ancient Enemy at the reckoning?
These times, he missed the company of Kaine, Vivienne, and Lucrezia, compared to his other friends those 3 had a way of fitting everything into perspective, finding the words and feelings he was blind to, or wished not to see due to his own biases and passions.
Not that Hope or Richard, or his trio of underlings (something themselves came up even after his protest) were a lousy company, but they were too hot-blooded for these types of more pondering and navel-gazing moments, Impulse like his father if he had to compare them, while his mother was the more organized of the two, something he after quite a bit of self-reflection saw being mirrored in his actions.
Richard sat down, the wind picking up a bit as he watched the waves roll unevenly, trying to calm himself via the meditation Lucrezia had taught him a while ago was a curious exercise but it worked somewhat until he felt someone open the door behind him.
Hvtial grunted a greeting, the dragonkin was not his usual self Richard noticed, that something was bothering him "Hav" Richard greeted him as he plopped next to him "Richard, I envy you"Hvtial spoke, his eyes turning red for a moment.
"Do I wanna ask?" Richard spoke as his friend grunted, "Alright then, what's eating you Hav?"
"Tomoe and Rose have proposed"the Dragonkin sighed "I am just a stick in the mud man, how in the blue hell did two women fall for me? ugh I can hear my parents laughing from here already"
Ah, so that was the reason, true Richard had noticed both women were heads over hells for Hvtial but had some sort of understanding, or at the very least a non-aggression pact to not pursue him, given the two were thick as thieves.
But now that Uumaries wasn't ruling what a proper union had to be, maybe both had come up with a mutually beneficial agreement, as his mother would likely say in this particular instance.
"You say that but I have 3 other individuals trying to get into my pants and one of them is a man" Richard laughed "And they also want the girl I like, Hav I am afraid you got the easy way out of this particular conundrum we found ourselves in hah!" Richard spoke with mirth as Hvtial deflated.
"Impressive, it is not every day one gets to boast about such a thing" the dragonkin's mood improved "Ahh you should just talk it out with Hope and Arthur, I am sure both will respect your preferences in this...honorable endeavor" Hvtial made a gesture as if he was coming up with a grand discovery.
"Yeah yeah, I am aware" Richard sighed "Just wanted to complain a bit that is all, Silverbrands aren't royalty and all that"
Hvtial creaked his neck "Huh, That bothers you? most of them aren't ones for ceremony you know? Hope is a commoner even" Richard nodded and spoke "It's just...you know how it is, we get raised being taught to mind our manners and pay proper respect to tradition, maybe I just don't want to rock the boat too much, after all, we already capsized and then got it back to working order"
Hvtial nodded "We are way past that brother, way past it but I'll repeat what I said, talk with the two, see where you all fit in this mess, and then pick the best path, knowing you, I am sure you will end up in a good place" he smiled and Richard felt honored, knowing someone actually believed in him like that.
"You should talk with Rose and Tomoe, both love you as I am sure you are aware, maybe later down the line we can have our children play together eh?" Richard laughed at the idea, as did Hvtial "I'll hold you to that Chief, now then, onto the battlefield once again" and he was off.
Richard remained until sundown, gathering his thoughts before going down to face Hope and Arthur, and set this thing right once and for all.
"Someone's coming, dress up you lazy bastard," Hope said as she kicked her darling boyfriend in the shins, Arthur complained but got up, and the girl smiled as she enjoyed this little bit of vacation time with her beloved.
It truly was something else, the ancient home of the Orcs, a part of her could feel that pride the Knights often spoke about, for standing together with them was proof of the ancient oath, for when Grannarius invaded Vermilion, the Orc's response was something to behold.
And she did, standing with the veterans of the war as she toured the country together with Richard in his pilgrimage she used the blessings of Gwenarius to peer through the river of time, putting up the request for the ones who fought in the thickest of battle and those in their command tents giving out the orders.
Their hosts were more than happy to oblige, especially when Arthur with his mind and illusion magicks conjured the scenes for people to see, it was quite the show for a while as they spoke with the veterans, people would often stop and watch as their accounts were shown.
"The last time I got to do this was when Kaine wanted to learn some sort of fancy teleportation spell from his father...Oh" Arthur had said to her white doing the magic, it was the one spell he favored for when Lucrezia summoned him like a vengeful spirit.
Even that ice cube of a man had a flair for the dramatic after all.
"Did you really need to kick me? who is it anyway" Arthur asked as he finished getting dressed, Hope felt the ocean breeze upon her naked skin once more time before snapping her fingers and feeling her clothes materialize out of the aether.
"Ugh, never got the hang of that one, Kaine and his sister made it but I just can't get the right weave done...not that it matters for you anyway, miss" Arthur smiled as he leaned for a kiss, Hope replied in kind before breaking free from his embrace and opening the door.
Richard stood by the threshold, his face always the mix of austere severity and inquisitive wonder (or as he called it "How can I make this a lucrative deal for me?") Hope blossomed a smile seeing her friend "Richard! How can we help? I have a feeling something's on your mind" she didn't need to guess, after all both her and Arthur had already spoken with him about their situation.
The young man nodded "Afternoon Hope, Is this a good time?"
"Of course, I just woke up our sleepy head over there, come in!" she ushered him in, Arthur already had cleaned up their mess and was setting up coffee on the small table their room had.
"Looking less conflicted there friend, I'm guessing you have made up your mind about what we talked about earlier then?" Straight to the point, Hope knew that he preferred when people dealt with him more directly, and so did Arthur as he gave Richard a cup after everyone was at the table.
Richard drank the cup in a single gulp "Yes, gods know I am tired of having to figure this out alone, we all love Lucrezia, that I have no doubt, but will she reciprocate the feeling? I think...gods my mother would tease me to the ends of time if she heard this given she thinks I am such a stick in the mud, together godsdamned, we do this together" he sighed as Both Arthur and Hope cheered.
"We will respect your feelings and preferences friend, and hey don't be so hard on yourself, think of this as a brand new experience in bond-strengthening exercises hah" Arthur smiled as Hope gave Richard a bear hug.
"We also gotta straight things out with Vivienne, She's in the same boat as us after all" Richard spoke and the duo nodded "Of course, the first thing we do when we get back Home"
Hope clasped her hands, and finally, she thought to herself, barely holding down her wish to teleport straight to the academy, a brand new era was starting for her and her friends, and gods be damned she was going to enjoy it to its fullest!
Thanks for the chapter.
Thanks for reading!