Fiori frowned when he realized he was digging up painful memories, so he scooted over a little on the bed to open some space for Levi. "Come sit with me," he said, and it was soft enough to be a request instead of an order. "They are not my soldiers, which means they are… most likely my uncle's. His generals would not be doing work considered 'filthy', like trading in slaves, which means they are probably troop leaders."
“I see,” he nodded, setting his empty plate on the desk. He abandoned the chair and went to sit on the bed beside Fiori. “Then they would be ones to take a trip across the continent to my country?”
Fiori set his plate between them, a wordless offer that he didn't acknowledge, and nodded. "Yes. They are… ideal for that sort of work. Trusted enough to do the job, expendable enough to get caught, low enough on the ladder to want to do well."
Levi briefly glanced down at the plate between them. Was it an offer for him to share the food? If it wasn’t, he didn’t want to be rude. Not that he was afraid of angering Fiori, it would just be a rude thing to do in any situation. He looked back up again. “That makes sense,” he agreed, nodding slowly. “I’m glad it was you who I might, or else I might have gone to them…” his expression became heavily again.
Fi nudged the plate a little closer to Levi when he noticed him looking at it. "Eat," he said. "It will make you feel better. I… I am glad you ended up with me too. You are a good person, Leviticus, you deserve to be treated with respect and dignity."
“Thank you, you’re a good person too,” Levi smiled. Relieved that Fiori really was offering him the food. He took another bite, “Mm…” It did make him feel better. Drinking alcohol and eating, the best ways to feel better, right?
Fiori smiled at the compliment, sitting back a little like he was preening. He didn't get many compliments, his uncle was a man of few words and his friends were either too sharp or too practical to hand them out. "Many thanks, Leviticus! You can help yourself, I ate a bit with Cadmus while I was in the kitchens."
Levi smiled warmly and the acceptance of his compliment, and when he finished his bite he replied, “You’re welcome. And thank you again.”
When giving compliments, Levi always loved watching the recipient’s reaction. Even if the emotion was limited to their eyes, the warmth and appreciation in them was gratification enough. He took yet another bite of food.
"You don't need to keep thanking me, Leviticus." Fiori took a bit of fried meat from the plate, munching on it with an appreciative hum. "We're friends. This is what friends do for each other."
“Absolutely, I’m just appreciative and it’s polite to thank friends for their kindness,” he grinned, munching on his own fried meat. “Anyway, is there anything happening today, or is it just a normal day?”
Fiori laughed quietly and nodded, accepting Levi's thankfulness with a bashful ducking of his head. "Today is the last normal day," he said, and there was an almost childish excitement in his voice. "Festival season starts tomorrow, and then the day after that I will challenge my uncle and gain the throne!"
“Oh!” Excitement spread across Levi’s face. “I didn’t realize that was so soon! Do you have anything to prepare?” He raised his eyebrows. If Fiori bested his Uncle, then all of this misfortune could take a quick turnaround for the better. He might even be able to be freed and left to go home.
"No. I have my armor, my weapons." He grinned, shifting around with more excitement than he could really express. "I will win. And then, once I have, we will go to the great temple and the gods will surely decide that you must be freed."
“And then I can go home,” He added excitedly, until he realized that if he went home, Fiori likely wouldn’t be able to go with him. “There might even be a day when you could visit. I would put in a good word for you.”
Fiori snorted. "With what influence? The new prince is firmly set against my country, Leviticus. It will take weeks of peace talks and posturing for us to even officially end the war, let alone allow enemy leaders into our respective cities. I know that you were noble, but even noblemen only have so much sway over a prince."
“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."