The Long Road to Love
Title: The Long Road to Love
Rating: T to be safe
Summary: Part One of a series of fics.
Okay, so this is my first FE Yaoi fic. This might actually be a ficlet? Dunno. It is a little short, so I apologize. I've decided to start from scratch with this. That is to say, there is no already-established relationship (which I did in some other yaoi fics, mostly out of laziness). Since this is such a rare pairig, I thought I'd give it justice.
So this is slight AU, and takes place during Path of Radiance. Specifically, I belive it was Chapter 11 where Zihark was introduced. So this is how things would have happened if I wrote the game. Also, please, please forgive me if the dialogue is not entirely accurate. It's been a while since I've played FE 9.
Ranulf hid his ears and tail under his cloak as best he could. He cursed the stupid beorc and their hateful ways that discriminated against the laguz. The sun beating down did not make the scratchy cloak any more comfortable. At least he would leave here soon and be free to transform. Just as soon as Ike arrived. He could explain everything to Ike, and get on his way.
Ike arrived, and began to look around. Ranulf approached Ike steathily, trying to sneak up on the commander. Ike really did need a lesson in minding his surroundings. Ranulf passed Oscar. The knight smiled at him cheerfully and began to open his mouth. Ranulf put his finger to his lips looked at Oscar, his eyes asking him not to speak. Oscar nodded at Ranulf. Ranulf reached Ike.
"Boo!"
Ike jumped a little.
"You scare surprisingly easily, Ike."
"Shut up," Ike replied, a little bit ashamed that he jumped. He was still doubting whether or not he could ever live up to the legacy his father left. The last thing he needed was more doubt at the hands of Ranulf.
"Okay, okay. Look, you see the dock over there? I've arranged passage with a friend of mine. Get your entire army there and he will be able to give you safe passage. Just try not to disturb any of the villagers. As for Lethe and Mordecai, you might want to give them these." Ranulf handed Ike two cloaks; one for Lethe and one for Mordecai. "The villagers aren't too accepting of us laguz..." Ranulf trailed off.
"That's horrible." Ike said.
"Yeah," Ranulf was cut off by a woman who bumped into him.
"Oh, excue me."
"It's quite alright," Ranulf said. Ranulf looked at the woman's horrified reaction.
"SUB HUMAN! KILL IT!"
=============================
Zihark heard the cry from inside his home. Everytime he heard it, it made his heart bleed. "Beorc can be so cruel sometimes," he thought. Zihark looked around for his killing edge. He grasped it in his hand and quickly made sure the blade was clean. Perhaps he would be able to give the laguz a head start. Although in order to do it, he would have to be pretend to be a laguz hunter. The thought of it made him shudder. At least he'd be able to help out the laguz.
Zihark exited his house and looked around. He found a rather burly man holding a laguz-axe.
"What's going on?" Zihark asked.
"Sub-human hunt," the man grunted. "You in?"
"Hell yeah!" Zihark feigned enthusiasm. "So long as I get to hunt 'em."
==============================
A crowd gathered around Ranulf and shoved him down, each member of the group taking turns kicking and punching the huddled mass that was Ranulf. Ike finally had enough and broke it up. Ranulf was thankful for the kind act, but was still injured. Thankfully, Mist was right there and able to heal him. Ranulf felt immediately better. But he knew what he had to do to give Ike and his crew a fighting chance.
"Ike. I'm going to lead them on a chase. No matter what, get on that ship. Okay?"
"Wait." Lethe interruped him. "Ranulf. I'm faster than you. And you just got beat up a little, even if that hum...beorc, Mist did heal you. Let me lead them on a chase. You stay here and stay safe."
Ranulf was torn. He was higher ranked than Lethe, and had numerous contacts if anything went wrong. But Lethe did have a point.
"Alright. Get them away from here and give us time. When you get away, go back to Gallia and talk to Giffca. He will provide you with more information."
"Understood." Lethe transformed and ran off, leading a group of villages out. The only people left were Ike, his company, Zihark, and the people out to kill them.
"Ranulf," Ike said. "I'm not going to ask you to fight after-"
"I will," Ranulf interrupted him. "These are nothing," Ranulf said, referring to a bruise.
The battle began. Ranulf transformed. Oscar had charged forward with Titania, attempting to clear out some of the mercenaries. Boyd stayed back, providing defensive support for Rolf, who fired arrows at anything that came close to him. Ike, meanwhile, attempted to get closer to the dock. Ranulf roamed around the village. He found Zihark, and saw the blade he was holding. Not recognizing him, Ranulf charged, and pounced on Zihark. Zihark fell backwards, blade still in hand, and landed on the ground with a thud. Ranulf was now pinning him to the ground. Zihark looked up into Ranulf's mismatched eyes. Ranulf looked down at Zihark, and saw kindness in his eyes. He als saw that he was making no effort to fight him off.
"Why aren't you fighitng me?" Ranulf questioned.
"I mean no harm to the laguz," Zihark replied as calmly as possible. Ranulf was still skeptical however. Sensing this, Zihark let go of his blade. "There. I'm now unarmed."
Ranulf backed off of Zihark and transformed back into his human form. Zihark stood up, dusting himself off. "Why did you call me a laguz?" Ranulf asked.
"Ashera created us all equally, beorc and laguz." Ranulf was impressed. Not many people shared that view point. Even some members of Ike's company still harbored some hatred for laguz, though they would never act on it.
"What is your name, beorc?" Ranulf asked. It was Zihark's turn to be impressed. He was happy that Ranulf referred to him as a beorc, as opposed to a human. Normally, laguz would still call him a human, and it pained him. He wanted nothing more than to live in a world where laguz and beorc were equal and harbored no ill-will towards each other.
"Zihark," he replied. "And yours?"
"I'm Ranulf."
"Nice to meet you, Ranulf. It looks like you are having a little trouble here with some of these thugs. Mind if I join you in taking them down?"
"Not at all," Ranulf replied. "Oh, and sorry about jumping on you."
"Think nothing of it," Zihark assured, smiling at Ranulf. Ranulf smiled. Finally, he met someone that fought for the laguz.
"Maybe the beorc aren't so bad after all," Ranulf thought as he transformed back into cat form, ready to fight.
I apologize for any OOCness. Again, first FE fic, so feedback is much appreciated.
Rating: T to be safe
Summary: Part One of a series of fics.
Okay, so this is my first FE Yaoi fic. This might actually be a ficlet? Dunno. It is a little short, so I apologize. I've decided to start from scratch with this. That is to say, there is no already-established relationship (which I did in some other yaoi fics, mostly out of laziness). Since this is such a rare pairig, I thought I'd give it justice.
So this is slight AU, and takes place during Path of Radiance. Specifically, I belive it was Chapter 11 where Zihark was introduced. So this is how things would have happened if I wrote the game. Also, please, please forgive me if the dialogue is not entirely accurate. It's been a while since I've played FE 9.
Ranulf hid his ears and tail under his cloak as best he could. He cursed the stupid beorc and their hateful ways that discriminated against the laguz. The sun beating down did not make the scratchy cloak any more comfortable. At least he would leave here soon and be free to transform. Just as soon as Ike arrived. He could explain everything to Ike, and get on his way.
Ike arrived, and began to look around. Ranulf approached Ike steathily, trying to sneak up on the commander. Ike really did need a lesson in minding his surroundings. Ranulf passed Oscar. The knight smiled at him cheerfully and began to open his mouth. Ranulf put his finger to his lips looked at Oscar, his eyes asking him not to speak. Oscar nodded at Ranulf. Ranulf reached Ike.
"Boo!"
Ike jumped a little.
"You scare surprisingly easily, Ike."
"Shut up," Ike replied, a little bit ashamed that he jumped. He was still doubting whether or not he could ever live up to the legacy his father left. The last thing he needed was more doubt at the hands of Ranulf.
"Okay, okay. Look, you see the dock over there? I've arranged passage with a friend of mine. Get your entire army there and he will be able to give you safe passage. Just try not to disturb any of the villagers. As for Lethe and Mordecai, you might want to give them these." Ranulf handed Ike two cloaks; one for Lethe and one for Mordecai. "The villagers aren't too accepting of us laguz..." Ranulf trailed off.
"That's horrible." Ike said.
"Yeah," Ranulf was cut off by a woman who bumped into him.
"Oh, excue me."
"It's quite alright," Ranulf said. Ranulf looked at the woman's horrified reaction.
"SUB HUMAN! KILL IT!"
=============================
Zihark heard the cry from inside his home. Everytime he heard it, it made his heart bleed. "Beorc can be so cruel sometimes," he thought. Zihark looked around for his killing edge. He grasped it in his hand and quickly made sure the blade was clean. Perhaps he would be able to give the laguz a head start. Although in order to do it, he would have to be pretend to be a laguz hunter. The thought of it made him shudder. At least he'd be able to help out the laguz.
Zihark exited his house and looked around. He found a rather burly man holding a laguz-axe.
"What's going on?" Zihark asked.
"Sub-human hunt," the man grunted. "You in?"
"Hell yeah!" Zihark feigned enthusiasm. "So long as I get to hunt 'em."
==============================
A crowd gathered around Ranulf and shoved him down, each member of the group taking turns kicking and punching the huddled mass that was Ranulf. Ike finally had enough and broke it up. Ranulf was thankful for the kind act, but was still injured. Thankfully, Mist was right there and able to heal him. Ranulf felt immediately better. But he knew what he had to do to give Ike and his crew a fighting chance.
"Ike. I'm going to lead them on a chase. No matter what, get on that ship. Okay?"
"Wait." Lethe interruped him. "Ranulf. I'm faster than you. And you just got beat up a little, even if that hum...beorc, Mist did heal you. Let me lead them on a chase. You stay here and stay safe."
Ranulf was torn. He was higher ranked than Lethe, and had numerous contacts if anything went wrong. But Lethe did have a point.
"Alright. Get them away from here and give us time. When you get away, go back to Gallia and talk to Giffca. He will provide you with more information."
"Understood." Lethe transformed and ran off, leading a group of villages out. The only people left were Ike, his company, Zihark, and the people out to kill them.
"Ranulf," Ike said. "I'm not going to ask you to fight after-"
"I will," Ranulf interrupted him. "These are nothing," Ranulf said, referring to a bruise.
The battle began. Ranulf transformed. Oscar had charged forward with Titania, attempting to clear out some of the mercenaries. Boyd stayed back, providing defensive support for Rolf, who fired arrows at anything that came close to him. Ike, meanwhile, attempted to get closer to the dock. Ranulf roamed around the village. He found Zihark, and saw the blade he was holding. Not recognizing him, Ranulf charged, and pounced on Zihark. Zihark fell backwards, blade still in hand, and landed on the ground with a thud. Ranulf was now pinning him to the ground. Zihark looked up into Ranulf's mismatched eyes. Ranulf looked down at Zihark, and saw kindness in his eyes. He als saw that he was making no effort to fight him off.
"Why aren't you fighitng me?" Ranulf questioned.
"I mean no harm to the laguz," Zihark replied as calmly as possible. Ranulf was still skeptical however. Sensing this, Zihark let go of his blade. "There. I'm now unarmed."
Ranulf backed off of Zihark and transformed back into his human form. Zihark stood up, dusting himself off. "Why did you call me a laguz?" Ranulf asked.
"Ashera created us all equally, beorc and laguz." Ranulf was impressed. Not many people shared that view point. Even some members of Ike's company still harbored some hatred for laguz, though they would never act on it.
"What is your name, beorc?" Ranulf asked. It was Zihark's turn to be impressed. He was happy that Ranulf referred to him as a beorc, as opposed to a human. Normally, laguz would still call him a human, and it pained him. He wanted nothing more than to live in a world where laguz and beorc were equal and harbored no ill-will towards each other.
"Zihark," he replied. "And yours?"
"I'm Ranulf."
"Nice to meet you, Ranulf. It looks like you are having a little trouble here with some of these thugs. Mind if I join you in taking them down?"
"Not at all," Ranulf replied. "Oh, and sorry about jumping on you."
"Think nothing of it," Zihark assured, smiling at Ranulf. Ranulf smiled. Finally, he met someone that fought for the laguz.
"Maybe the beorc aren't so bad after all," Ranulf thought as he transformed back into cat form, ready to fight.
I apologize for any OOCness. Again, first FE fic, so feedback is much appreciated.