Suikoden III (Lucia/Chris)

[misura.livejournal.com]

Title: - (untitled)
Author: misura
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Summary: Summer, daisies and swords.
AN: manga-based


In a field of daisies in the general environs of Budehuc castle, on a hot summer's afternoon, Chris Lightfellow, Captain of the Zexen Knights, decided that it was, indeed, hot. Her harnass, she supposed, wasn't helping, but Chris knew what (or rather: whom) to blame for the fact that she felt like she was about to run out of breath, and it had little to do with her outfit.

"You want to be my son's shield, ironhead girl?" Lucia had said. "Then perhaps you'd like to show me if you can actually fight instead of jumping into the nearest river when things get a little too hot for you?"

It had, Chris assured herself grimly, been a good decision to agree to Lucia's proposal. Some people would doubtlessly think differently - Chris fancied she could imagine what Sir Salome would have to say about sparring with the leader of the Karaya-clan on the eve of a decisive battle, but Lucia had been right in claiming they'd never really finished their first duel, and even if Chris felt certain neither of them wished to kill the other, that didn't mean she wasn't curious anymore to see just how good Lucia was.

With any other sparring-partner, even Sir Salome, Chris couldn't help but feeling they were holding back sometimes, not pressing her as hard as they might have, had she been a man. With Lucia, concerns like that didn't exist - Chris felt certain that Lucia was coming at her with everything she had, and it was more than enough to leave incapable of doing anything more than pant and parry, parry and pant, and pray for a cool breeze of some kind or at least a breathing pause.

Lucia herself was sweating as well, but her breath, while it came faster and harder than usual, was still steady, and her attacks seemed only to grow in strength as time passed - that, or Chris was getting weaker, which she supposed wasn't all that unlikely.

She'd no idea how much time had passed since she'd told Sir Salome she'd be 'busy' this afternoon - he'd glanced at Lucia and nodded as if he understood, although Chris rather doubted he'd known just what she and Lucia would be busy with, or if he'd approve if he knew.

Lucia took advantage of her temporal distraction and advanced aggressively, forcing Chris back a few steps - not towards a cliff and a river, luckily, but rather towards more grass and daisies. Retreating rather than wasting precious energy on trying to parry or dodge, Chris reflected that if she'd learned anything this afternoon, it would have to be the value of warhorses. Of course, Zexen Knights were trained to be just as capable of defending themselves mounted as on foot, only the emphasis lay on mounted combat.

If Chris could only get her wind back, she'd have to point that out to Lucia, maybe propose a rematch for tomorrow, with mounts this time. It'd only be fair.

"Enough," said Lucia, sheathing her sword and nodding once. "I don't want to have to carry you back to the castle and explain to everybody you've simply fainted from the heat."

"I'm not going to faint," Chris said, her labored breath making her words sound a little less firm than she'd have liked. She sheathed her sword in one fluid movement, hoping that would prove the truth of her statement where her voice failed her.

"Only because you're too stubborn." Lucia smiled. "You're not bad at all, ironhead girl."

"I do have a name, you know." Chris sat down. "You're free to use it."

Lucia grinned. "Why, thank you."

"And you're fairly skilled yourself." Chris paused, then gave a mental shrug. "Lucia."

"That heavy armour of yours made you slower than last time," Lucia mused aloud, sitting down as well. "Under some circumstances, it wouldn't have mattered, because it does provide a better protection than my leather armour does, but in this heat, it dragged you down."

Chris considered whether or not she truly wanted for this conversation to turn into a discussion about the pros and contras of heavy armor, and the defensive value of speed versus protection.

"In other words, you think I overdressed for the occasion." Now that Chris thought about it, it did sound wonderful to get out of her armour for a while, feel that cool breeze that had to be coming some time today.

"That's one way of putting it." Lucia sounded amused as she rose and helped Chris to her feet. "But you're far from the only one who's feeling sweaty and in need of a bath, not to mention a bit of cooling down and something cold to drink. And the bathhouse probably isn't that busy at this hour of the day."

"A bath does sound ... appealing," Chris agreed a little warily. Public baths weren't unusual in the Zexen Confederation, but she'd never been to one herself. Undressing in front of Lucia was one thing - undressing in front of women she didn't even know was something else again.

Lucia smirked. "I'll scrub your back, if you'll return the favor."

Chris sighed, knowing an offer she couldn't refuse when she heard one.

Comments

[mithrigil.livejournal.com]

Oh, hot (literally) and lovely. I love the tension between them and how it continues even after the fight, even after Lucia offers relaxation. You write them both so well!

[misura.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! *beams* It's not (quite) my very first Suikoden III-fic, but it /is/ my first time writing these two characters, so I'm super-happy to hear you think I did a good job.

[laylah.livejournal.com]

*prrr* This is so cool! You've done a really good job at bringing out their competitiveness and Chris's determination. (And oh, man, I am going to be having happy thoughts about that bath. <3)

Thank you!

[misura.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the game, but in the manga, the bathhouse is, like, pure fanservice - as if the author's saying: 'Look! I can have nude-scenes and still keep this manga T-rated!'.

Thank you very much - I had a lot of fun rereading the manga and trying my hand at these characters, and I'm happy to hear the end-result was fun to read, too.

[laylah.livejournal.com]

*grin* Very much the game as well. Sadly you don't get to see any of it, but if you put the right characters into the bath together, you get special dialogue scenes. The one about Cecile's crush on Chris -- and admiration of her womanly figure -- is one of my favorites.
...I think they're written up on gamefaqs somewhere, if you'd like to see them without having to pick up the game. ^^

[misura.livejournal.com]

In the manga, you get to see Caesar and Hugo (completely naked, but shown from behind or sideways so as not to compromise the rating), several of the ducks and those-two-guys-who-are-looking-for-the-flame-champion (forgot their names), a lizard, and Lucia and Queen (both shown only partially) - Chris arrives /after/ the bathing-scenes so there's nothing of her at all.

*scurries off to go browse gamefaqs* Thanks for the tip! That sure sounds like a must-see/must-read.

[toxictattoo.livejournal.com]

[hyperventilates] Someone is writing Suikoden III based off the manga? Hot damn!

I am now in my happy place. Nicely done!

[misura.livejournal.com]

Hee! I really do wish I owned the game, too - even if I'd probably destroy the world at least a dozen times before I'd either give up or go looking for a walkthrough. ^^;

Thanks for the comment!