Chapter Text
Despite all of the noise and destruction and senseless fighting he’d seen in the war, it was quiet that unnerved Rean the most. He’d faced down armies and uncovered sinister terrorist plots, but nothing frightened him quite as much as the empty stillness that settled over Leeves when the sun had set and most of the townsfolk had gone to bed.
The war was over. And if the government planned to invade any more little countries, it hadn’t notified him. All he had was this: a handful of good-hearted students, struggling to make their own way in the world. A house on the edge of the cozy town, wood floors and tall windows, creaking on windy evenings. A few friends, none close. A life devoid of danger, violence, and intimacy.
He was walking home in the still twilight, a few birds singing their devotions as the sky purpled, when he caught sight of something glistening silver on the ground. He leaned down and picked it up.
“Y’know, that’s good luck.” Another instructor approached Rean with a friendly smile. “But only if you found it heads up.”
“Hey, Randy,” Rean said, pocketing the fifty mira coin. “Fancy seeing you here.”
Randy laughed good naturedly. They were almost neighbors, Randy’s apartment only a few blocks away from Rean’s house. The other instructors at the branch campus, Towa and Michael, also lived in those apartments. But Rean had opted for solitude, to spare them all the disturbance he would have inevitably caused. If he sometimes woke up in the middle of the night sobbing or his hair trigger reflexes tricked him into attacking a stray shadow, that was no one’s business but his own.
“I was just on my way to get some dinner,” Randy said. “You wanna join me?”
Rean was a little surprised by the invitation. He was friendly enough with all the other instructors, but he’d assumed that Randy, although always professional and easygoing, was not fond of him. A notorious jaeger turned hero of the Crossbell Resistance Movement, Randolph Orlando wasn’t likely to make friends with the Erebonian soldier who played a key role in conquering his once free city.
But here he was. And the offer seemed genuine enough. An olive branch, perhaps.
“Sure,” Rean said. “Might be nice to have something other than instant noodles for once.”
Randy gave him a wide smile. “That’s the spirit. C’mon, first round’s on me.”
Randy was easy to talk to, with a warm, friendly charm that had Rean relaxing and lowering his guard by the time he’d finished his first beer.
“You know, you’re not what I thought you’d be,” he said.
“Yeah?” Randy shrugged. “I’m not surprised. They give you a name like the Red Reaper, and people start to make assumptions.”
“I think I know a little about how that goes,” Rean admitted. Although “Ashen Chevalier” didn’t have quite the same ring to it, there was still plenty of baggage.
“I guess you would.”
They were quiet for a moment, focused on their food. It didn’t feel terribly awkward or forced, in fact it was maybe the most pleasant social interaction Rean had had in recent memory. But even so, he couldn’t pretend that everything between them was fine.
“I’m a little surprised you asked me to dinner,” he said.
Randy’s eyebrows lifted, and he studied Rean for a long moment. “You mean because of what happened in Crossbell?”
Rean nodded. “Did he tell you…”
“That you two fought?” Randy laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah. When I started here, he told me to go easy on you. That you seemed like a good guy, deep down.”
Rean couldn’t hold Randy’s gaze. He wasn’t surprised Lloyd would have spoken of him so kindly. Lloyd was just like that, open-hearted and gentle. Rean still deeply regretted how things had ended between them, though that conclusion had been inevitable from the very beginning.
“I’m not sure he’s right about that,” Rean said ruefully.
“Hey. I’m an ex-jaeger myself,” Randy said, with a warm grin. “Everybody’s got a past. Let’s just let bygones be bygones.”
Rean smiled. He couldn’t help it.
“To bygones,” he said, lifting his glass.
Aurelia liked to hold faculty meetings early, as she rose with the sun and considered anyone who didn’t to be slothful. Today, she’d promised an announcement, and true to form, had refused to give any hints as to what it might be.
Rean, who also had the habit of rising early, was training in the academy field just before the meeting when he caught sight of a stranger in a long dark coat, white hair tied back with a black bandanna.
The stranger waved, and crossed the field to meet him. In the morning light, his eyes were red as rubies, and Rean thought he caught a hint of deep, unfathomable anger in them, before it cleared so quickly it was almost dizzying. The man gave him a friendly smile.
“Can you help me?” he asked. “I’m a little lost.”
“Sure,” Rean said, sheathing his tachi. The stranger was also armed, two guns half-concealed beneath his coat, but that was hardly unusual for this rural region of Erebonia. Still, Rean kept his guard up.
“I’m trying to find the tactical conference room,” the man said, scratching the back of his neck. “Got a meeting there in a few minutes.”
This was probably related in some way to Aurelia’s mysterious “announcement.” Rean nodded and returned the smile.
“I’ve got a meeting there too,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Rean Schwarzer, an instructor here at the branch campus.”
There it was again, that flash of something in the man’s eyes. It was gone before Rean could be certain he’d seen anything at all.
“Nice to meetcha. Name’s Crow Armbrust.” Crow shook his hand. His grip was firm and strong, hands calloused in the same way Rean’s own were. Rean hadn’t realized using a gun could do that, but it was true he knew very little about guns to begin with.
Crow chatted amiably as they made their way through the academy field and into the main building. Rean found himself enjoying the company more than he usually did with people he didn’t know. It almost felt like he did know Crow, or perhaps that in some way Crow was a kindred spirit.
When they reached the conference room, Towa, Michael, and Randy were already there, chatting quietly. Rean introduced them to Crow, who greeted them warmly. Rean’s intuition told him to be cautious, but already he liked Crow, with his rough charm and his cawing laugh. Despite the pale hair, the name suited him. He seemed untethered, somehow. Unpredictable. Like he could take flight at any moment, and move with the whims of the wind.
“Ah, you’ve found him.” Aurelia stepped through the door, her aura swirling around her like an invisible cloak. It was always present, and strong enough Rean couldn’t help but sense it, though he wasn’t sure if the others did.
“Heya, Principal,” Crow said, with a distinct lack of decorum.
“I see you’re already acquainted,” Aurelia said. “Crow is here because we are in dire need of a marksmanship instructor. While Towa has done a wonderful job up until now, I am aware that her workload is becoming unreasonable. And we need someone versed in sniper rifles and machine guns as well as orbal weapons.”
Towa blushed and smiled. “Thank you, Principal. I don’t mind all the work, but it is a bit of a relief.”
Rean breathed a soft sigh of relief. He’d been concerned about the amount of work Towa had taken on, and had spoken to the principal about it previously, which was probably one of the reasons for this change.
“Crow,” Aurelia said. “Would you tell everyone a little about yourself?”
“Sure thing.” Crow looked around at all of them. “Well, uh, I don’t have any illustrious qualifications, not like some Chevalier I could name.”
Rean bristled slightly, but said nothing as Crow continued.
“I served in the war in a special ops unit I’m not at liberty to name. Before that I was a marksmanship and combat instructor at a military academy in Jurai.”
“Thank you, Armbrust,” Aurelia said. Rean made a mental note to ask Altina later if she knew anything about Crow.
After the meeting, the faculty drifted into the hallway. Rean was the last to leave, and when he stepped out of the main building, Crow was there, leaning against the railing on the stairs.
“Hey,” he said. “You got a fifty mira piece on ya?”
Rean frowned at him. “Why?”
“I’ll show you a trick.”
It was kind of a strange request, but there didn’t seem to be any harm in it. Reaching into his pocket, Rean pulled out the coin he’d found on the ground earlier. Tails up—this must be his bad luck.
“Thanks,” Crow said.
He tossed it into the air and caught it deftly, the coin winking in the morning sunlight. Then he threw it again, moving his hands in a flashy pattern to distract from its bright arc.
“Okay,” Crow said, holding out his hands, fingers curled into fists. “Which is it in?”
Rean wondered if he should tell Crow that he’d seen the coin slip into the bag at his feet. You didn’t reach the intermediate level in the One Blade Eight Leaves school without learning to watch an opponent, after all.
But it seemed like a friendly gesture, a way of getting to know each other. So he played along, choosing the right hand.
Crow grinned gleefully, opening his right palm to show that it was empty.
“Better luck next time, eh?” he said.
“Yeah,” Rean said. “It was nice meeting you, Crow.”
It wasn’t until Rean made it to his first class of the day that he realized Crow had kept the fifty mira piece. Oh well. He seemed like a scoundrel, but maybe not a bad person.