Step by Step

Prompt/summary by the wonderful Salazarfalcon, one of the greatest Vesperia fic buds I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I hope I was able to do it justice for you, Legi.

Yuri has had almost twenty-two years worth of practice sneaking in and out of places and by now he's come pretty close to perfecting the art, so slipping away from the royal banquet and out to the castle gardens unnoticed is child's play. It's not like Yuri's ungrateful for the invite, and he's actually more than happy to be attending Ioder's coronation as a show of support for the promising new emperor. But the ceremony itself was honestly just as much of a bore as he thought it'd be, and the afterparty in the ballroom just screams fancy clothes and formal manners and everything that the nobles are and Yuri's not.

They can make him look the part by dressing him up in this official paladin uniform, but Yuri belongs in that atmosphere about as much as he belongs in the Knights. And just like with the Knights, staying there for too long is outright stifling.

So the fresh air outside is a welcome contrast, a crisp nighttime breeze that he eagerly inhales as he hops the line of bushes and then strolls along the garden walkway—but he doesn't actually get to spend all that much time with the moon and the flowers before he hears footsteps coming up from behind him. He rolls his eyes and turns around, half expecting it to be Flynn, here to drag him back to the party and force him to socialize with the nobles, but the sight that greets Yuri instead is a blur of pink and light blue that he recognizes instantly.

"Yuri!" Estelle calls, beaming at him from behind the hedges, and Yuri's schooled annoyance melts into a soft grin as she pulls the hem of her fancy blue dress up to her knees and clears the bushes perfectly with an impressive leap. "There you are. I was looking for you."

"Sorry," Yuri chuckles. "Were you looking for long?"

"Well no, not really. When I realized you weren't in the ballroom, I figured you probably would have come out here." Estelle just shrugs, like finding him so fast was one of the easiest things she'd ever done, and Yuri can't help shaking his head. It's a little scary just how well she knows him sometimes.

"Heh. So what now, you gonna drag me back?"

Estelle bites her lip, putting her hands behind her back as she rocks on her heels. "I was sort of hoping to," she says tentatively, shooting him a sideways glance. "I saved you a dance."

Yuri playfully rolls his eyes. He doesn't know the first thing about formal dance and he's sure Estelle knows that perfectly well herself so she has to be kidding him. "Estelle, I don't dance."

"It wouldn't hurt to try."

Yuri just barely catches a glimpse of something sly and scheming in her smile and the next thing he knows, she's firmly grasping both his hands. Estelle moves so quickly that by the time Yuri can even think of resisting, she's already guided one of his hands out to the side and is trying to pull the other to her ribs, and just looking into those green eyes which gaze insistently at him with an oh so familiar gleam of eager, headstrong determination tells him she's not going to take no for an answer.

...Okay, so Estelle's not kidding him.

"Hey, wait—!" Yuri shoots her a disapproving look, but he's not even trying to pull away from her, and he can feel the futility of his protest growing with each passing moment. "Estelle..."

"Just one dance, alright?" Estelle pouts her lips and shoots him those damned puppy-dog eyes, and at that, Yuri can do nothing but sigh helplessly and wish he wasn't such a big sucker. Forget her not taking no for an answer—when Estelle gets like this, Yuri's not even capable of giving a no in the first place.

So Yuri slumps in defeat as he puts his hands where Estelle wants them, then straightens up when she beams and starts instructing him on where to step. He's admittedly a little glad nobody else is around to see this, because he starts out with no idea of what he's supposed to do and that definitely shows in his first attempt. Yuri awkwardly tries to follow her verbal directions—step here, put your hand here, arms straight, don't be so tense!—all while gripping Estelle's side like a lifeline.

Estelle's a pretty good teacher though, methodical and accommodating as she gives her instructions slowly, one at a time, and she catches his mistakes quick enough for him to correct himself. In a weird way, this kinda reminds him of those drills he went through back when he first became a knight, except now he's learning spins and dips instead of thrusts and backsteps, and Estelle's soft warmth is nothing like the hard strictness of the battle instructor. Yuri's a pretty fast learner too, always was, and after several more rounds, he's got the basics down well enough that he can afford to concentrate on something other than whatever step comes next.

So he chooses to concentrate on Estelle, who's bright-eyed and grinning as he pulls her into another twirl, who's one hell of a stubborn princess for having managed to rope him into this little moonlight waltz. If they were back in that stuffyass ballroom, Yuri definitely would have resisted this more vehemently, but now it's just the two of them, gliding amidst the garden and the cool air, and Estelle is so obviously glowing with glee that Yuri can't help the slight quirk of his own lips. Like hell he would ever admit it, but this actually isn't all that bad for him, either.

...Until Yuri's foot unexpectedly kicks against what feels like Estelle's heel and oh crap, he was supposed to step left just then—

Yuri's the one who trips over himself but Estelle's holding onto him pretty tight and soon enough, they're both slipping, teetering off balance. Estelle's squeal of surprise rings like warning bells in his ears and it's only sheer, honed battle instinct that allows Yuri to whirl mid-fall and brace himself as his back hits the grass with a thud. Thankfully, the ground is pretty soft, and his quick maneuver helped break the fall, so the impact doesn't seriously hurt.

Still, he can't help but groan once when Estelle collapses in a heavy heap onto his chest.

...And then again when she proceeds to burst into laughter.

"Oh sure," Yuri grumbles, glaring mildly at her, "laugh at a man while he's down."

"Sorry, sorry!" But Estelle is still giggling as she disentangles her arms from his, pushing herself up on her palms until she's hovering over him. "...Sorry," she says again once her laughter has died down completely. "Are you okay?"

Other than a soft sting in his back that's already fading fast, Yuri's perfectly fine, so he smirks in response. "Just peachy. Although I don't think those guys back in the ballroom will be too impressed with the grass stains."

His pants are suitably dirty now, and there are very obviously green smudges on Estelle's dress too but she doesn't seem to care. She beams in fact, eyes twinkling, teeth shining in her smile as she rolls off and stands up. "Well, they don't need to find out just yet."

Yuri blinks. "Didn't you come out here to drag me back?"

Estelle shakes her head. "All I wanted was a dance, and I got it. A little more time away from the party wouldn't hurt." She proffers her hand down to him. "Come on, I want to show you the section with the lilies. They're my favorites."

Yuri has to take a moment, during which he just stares at the hand blankly. But when her offer finally sinks in, he can't help but grin up at her, bright and relieved and more than a little eager as he reaches out to take it.

He really can't say no to that.

If it was up to Yuri, he would never have set foot in the frozen-over hellhole known as Zophier ever again for as long as he lived. But Rita put in a request for Brave Vesperia to get her a sample from the aer krene there and it's not like their guild can just refuse a job. Especially not if that job is from their genius researcher of a friend, whose work towards creating a new type of blastia—one that runs on mana instead of aer—may just be the key to getting the whole world back on track.

Still, the air here is frigid and he can barely feel his own toes anymore, and while it's one thing for Yuri to clench his (chattering) teeth and stick this out to the end, it's another thing for the rather young and comparatively vulnerable boss to be shivering just beside him, his lips even starting to look kind of purplish as he yells up towards their third member:

"Dammit, Judy! H-how can you s-s-stand this?!"

Karol manages to sound perfectly indignant even through the stuttering and Yuri can't help but share his sentiment, especially since they're both wrapped up in layers but Judy is dressed like this is a day out at the freaking beach and is somehow managing to even enjoy herself. She strolls along the ice path calmly, serenely, always a few steps ahead of the other two, and occasionally she even holds her arms up, embracing the chilly winds and falling snow as if they were instead refreshing summer breezes.

Her tolerance for the cold is seriously inhuman. Hell, maybe it's just a Krityan thing.

Not that Yuri really has enough willpower to spare pondering that right now.

"You boys should really hurry up," Judy chimes, a hint teasingly, and Yuri swears when they get out of here there will be payback of some sort. "The sooner we get to the aer krene, the sooner we can leave." She stops then, and turns on her heel to smile at the both of them. "Besides, movement helps keep you warm. Maybe jumping around a bit will help."

"Really?!" Karol sounds desperate enough to do anything at this point, so it's not really a surprise when he immediately starts hopping in place. Yuri swears he can feel his heart hit his throat from fear as he quickly shifts into a position where he will hopefully be able to catch the boy if he slips on the ice.

"H-hey careful! You're gonna fall."

"I'll be fine. Y-Yuri, you too!" Before Yuri can protest, Karol has already grabbed both his hands, shaking them vigorously as he continues to jump with renewed vigor.

"Whoa, easy! W-why do I gotta do it?"

"You're cold too, right? Come on!"

Karol apparently has no intention of letting up on the jumping anytime soon and that leaves Yuri with no real choice in the matter, because he knows if he let go, he would be way too worried about Karol potentially slipping on the ice and falling and seriously hurting himself. Not to mention, Yuri can already feel his once numb arm tingling a bit again from the constant movement, so he gives a sigh of defeat under his breath before giving in. Yuri starts to jump along with the boss, firmly keeping his grasp on the boy's hands and making sure to time his own hops in accordance with Karol's to create a constant rhythm, until they're both steadily skipping their way along the path.

From up ahead, Judy suddenly starts humming.

That's weird, even for her, so Yuri turns Judy's way and does his best to quirk a brow at her through the dark bangs that are bouncing in and out of his eyes. When the song shows no signs of stopping, he calls out, "Alright, why the sudden solo?"

"Oh, no reason," Judy remarks lightly, though he swears he can hear laughter underlying her voice. "I was just thinking the two of you have a nice little dance number going there."

Yuri rolls his eyes and puts on the most irritated scowl he can muster in this cold.

"Ha ha, very funny, Judy," Yuri mutters, unamused but finding himself unable to ruin her fun. Karol is still bouncing on his heels so Yuri too has to keep bouncing on his, and his feet and his hands and his cheeks and his everything are still freezing so if he's gonna get back at her—which he absolutely will—it'll have to be later because he just doesn't have it in him right now.

Judy keeps humming, now apparently more focused on watching them and providing musical accompaniment than on anything else, so Yuri shuts up and goes along with it as he and Karol end up bouncing and gliding and spinning their bodies all the way to the aer krene. When they finally reach it, Judy pulls out the icepick they brought and holds it out towards Yuri, who manages to smirk at her even as he continues jumping up and down ridiculously.

"Why don't you take care of it, Judy? Boss and I are a little busy with our 'dance number' right now."

Judy laughs, lightly shaking her head. "Fair enough," she agrees, and sets straight to work on the krene without complaint, still humming as she attempts to chisel a decent chunk out of it. Metal cries out as it bangs against rock, filling the air with rhythmic clangs, and when Yuri realizes that she's actually striking the blade against the crystal in time with the beat of the song, he starts laughing too, and turns back to Karol. The boy is still dancing his heart out, but now he seems to be doing so even more enthusiastically than before.

Well, at the very least, he seems to be enjoying himself, and Yuri breathes a sigh of relief when he notes that Karol's face is now a much healthier sheen than the almost lifeless-looking pale it was earlier. Yuri himself is even able to feel his toes again, and though he hates to admit it, Judy did at least give good advice back there—haphazard dancing is actually a pretty good way to keep warm in an ice field.

Still, that's not gonna stop him from getting his revenge on her.

So Yuri stops jumping for a second and gestures for Karol to stop too before bending down to put his lips to the boy's ear. Whispering conspiratorially—and really really quietly, because for all he knows, Judy's huge Krityan ears might give her inhuman hearing in addition to her inhuman affinity for cold—he asks, "When we get back to headquarters, wanna help me saran wrap Judy's room?"

Karol laughs lightly at that, and they both shoot a quick sideways glance towards the still hard-at-work Judy before turning back to meet each other's gaze. "Count me in," Karol whispers back, his eyes shining with boyish amusement as he suddenly ducks in, swiftly wrapping his arms around Yuri's waist and clutching tight. Warmth washes over Yuri's whole being as he slings one of his own arms around Karol's neck in a brief, returning squeeze, and after they both pull back, the kid wastes no time grabbing for his hands again.

The dance starts back up, and this time, Yuri doesn't even try to resist.

When Yuri went to bed last night, Repede was sniffling forlornly in his corner of the room, and his loud, whine-like sneezes would even rouse Yuri every now and then during the night. Obviously, the dog was still very much afflicted by the cold that had been plaguing him for the past several days. So it's a bit of a surprise when Yuri finds himself awoken this morning by a loud, enthused bark sounding directly in his ear, followed by the familiar wet roughness of a tongue licking at his face.

"Ack, hey!" Yuri yelps, trying to push Repede's head away. He didn't exactly get the best sleep after having been periodically awoken throughout the night, and he's not in any mood to get out of bed just yet—but his attacker is insistent, continuing to lick all over face and neck until Yuri gives in, sputtering helplessly, "Okay, okay, I'm up!"

Repede retreats at last and Yuri groans, groggily wiping the slobber from his cheeks with the back of his hand. His dog yips merrily and starts nuzzling at his side as Yuri forces himself up, rubbing his eyes, opening them, and then rolling them when he sees that Repede is pawing excitedly at the floor, apparently full of energy. "Well, at least one of us feeling chipper this morning."

Repede barks in an affirmative response and leaps up off the ground, even doing a backflip in the air from what can only be glee. Yuri allows himself a slight chuckle.

"Hey hey, easy Repede. You don't wanna exert yourself."

Repede responds with a happy sounding yip that Yuri interprets to mean something along the lines of "I'm fine" and does another flip before skittering back up to the bed and slapping his paws down onto Yuri's lap. Yuri tries to bat him away, laughing through lighthearted protests, until the dog actually captures Yuri's hand in his mouth and bites down on it.

"Ouch!" Yuri yelps, although it doesn't actually hurt—they both know it was only a play bite. "Ah jeez, come on, what is it? Are you hungry? I'll get you kibble, just don't eat me."

Repede doesn't seem to appreciate the flippant joke, because he growls at Yuri before pedaling backwards, proceeding to do another mid-air backflip, and then returning to nuzzle at Yuri's legs. Yuri stares down at him and Repede stares right back, a rather pointed stare that gets across far more than a one-eyed dog really ought to be able to.

Yuri sighs.

"Alright alright," he concedes, and stands up on his feet, hoping that's what Repede wants. Apparently it is, because the dog gives a delighted bark and spins, sliding around and nudging at his legs to push him forward, to the center of the room. Repede starts jumping around, then, and Yuri catches his drift perfectly, but it's only after he glances over at the window and feels secure in that the panes are closed and nobody can see inside that he lets himself do what Repede wants of him.

"You're such an ass," Yuri tells his dog, but he starts bouncing on his feet nonetheless.

It's awkward, and dumb, and really really stupid, but Yuri has always been able to act his stupidest in front of Repede, when he couldn't with anyone else. So Yuri lets himself go, throwing his arms up and thoughtlessly letting his body sway to some imaginary beat in his head as Repede starts leaping circles around him, hitting the floor and launching into the air in perfect time, as if they're both somehow listening to the same mental song.

Yuri knows for sure that they're synchronized when he lowers his hands, holds his palms out at waist level, and Repede does exactly what he wants. The dog jumps up to hit both his hands with his front paws, and Yuri chuckles, clapping his own hands together once before holding them out again. And again, Repede jumps, but this time not like Yuri was expecting—this time Repede launches straight at him, sending Yuri scrambling backwards, butt hitting the floor, gasping with laughter as Repede towers over him and starts licking at his neck again.

"Hey, come on!" Yuri gently shoves his friend off before sitting up, scratching him behind the ears and chuckles. "Yeah yeah, I get it. It's great that you're over your cold, but gimme a break, will you?"

Repede just gives a pleased, self-satisfied bark, and Yuri can't help himself from curling his arms around the dog's neck, pulling him closer until Yuri is laughing into blue fur. Dancing with his dog like an idiot is one of the silliest things and he would hope that nobody ever finds out, but Repede's joy is his joy too and Yuri can't help but want to share that with him.

"You tell anyone about this and you're dead," Yuri jokes, managing a half-hearted glare, but Repede barks twice in a response that Yuri just knows exactly how to translate.

Even if Repede could tell, he wouldn't. Not in a million years.

The only role Yuri has in this mission is shadowing and surveillance. Estelle made that very clear to him before she sent him off to stake out this middle-end tavern on the outer edge of Zaphias, the location that she'd singled out as the most likely meeting place of the assassins they were trying to track down. He's not an official knight, she warned him, and until they can rally the troops and get a hold of the commandant to warn him of the potential attempt on his life when he returns to the capital, they only need information.

Stealth is top priority. Absolutely no confrontations. It's not Yuri's preferred way of doing things, but he's not about to argue when Flynn's life is at stake.

At the very least, Yuri is pretty sure now that Estelle was on the money when she pinned down this place, because he's had an eye on the group at the back corner table for a while now and their low whispers to each other combined with the cautious glances they keep sending around the bar has him fairly suspicious. Furthermore, although it's certainly not abnormal to possess weapons (Yuri would know, he openly carries his sword everywhere and hardly anyone ever bats an eye because it's so commonplace), the man with the bandana has been shifting in a way that tells Yuri at least several knives are concealed on his person, and the one wearing the coat that looks eerily similar to the old uniform of the Red Eyes...well, it would make sense that even after the group was disbanded, some of the assassins would have just gone rogue.

Yuri has gotten as close as he can to their table without seeming conspicuous—which is actually only about two table's distance away because this place is crowded enough for him to blend in rather well—but he still can't hear their conversation. Sighing to himself, he takes another swig of the drink he ordered for the sake of appearances (non-alcoholic, though, since there's no place for getting drunk on a mission like this) and briefly averts his gaze from the shady table to have another glance at his surroundings.

Amongst the sea of people, his gaze happens to flit over an all too familiar head of blonde hair strolling into the bar—and Yuri chokes, only barely managing to prevent himself from spit-taking all over the table.

Shit, what the hell is he doing here?!

Yuri quickly sets his drink back down, coughing as quietly as he can to clear his throat without making a scene, and wipes at his mouth with his sleeve before turning his gaze back to the crowd. Yes, he realizes with a growing sense of dread, that is undoubtedly Flynn who just walked in, and while he's thankfully in casual clothes rather than his usual uniform, he could still be easily recognized as the empire's commandant if anyone knew what they were looking for and got a good enough look at him.

Well obviously, someone had screwed up on the part where they were supposed to warn the potential assassination target.

Yuri sends a panicked glance back at the men he's been observing for the past hour, but luckily, it doesn't seem they've noticed the newcomer—they're still too busy whispering amongst themselves. That won't last forever, though, so Yuri is gonna have to intervene and do it fast. When Yuri leaps out of his chair, his feet move faster than his brain, taking long, brisk strides towards Flynn, and the moment that he gets close enough for recognition to show on Flynn's face, for Flynn to open his mouth to try and say something—Yuri beats him to the punch, words spewing like acid from his own tongue.

"Flynn, get the hell out of here now."

It comes out as a vitriolic hiss and the face Flynn makes next reminds him of a spurned puppy, but the knight doesn't shut up and Yuri really shouldn't have expected him to. "Yuri, what's going on? Adecor said I'd find you here, just what—?"

"Dammit, Tweedle A!" Yuri growls under his breath, giving a barely perceptible turn of his head back towards the assassins again there, then nearly jolts back around when one of them starts turning in their direction, dark eyes gleaming...

"Shit!"

Thinking fast, Yuri grabs both of Flynn's hands and pushes him backwards. "Look down!" Yuri orders harshly, and Flynn does so, albeit a bit hesitantly, and Yuri quickly starts coordinating his steps in time with the folksong that's being sung by the girl with the guitar on stage. It's a hasty disguise but it's blocking Flynn's face from the assassins' view, so hopefully if they look over here, they'll only see the illusion of two regular civilians dancing together (and if they mistake Yuri for a girl, all the better for the sake of blending in with the other couples on the floor).

Flynn still looks lost by it all at first, but when Yuri quickly jerks his arms down in a dip and whirls them both around, he catches on soon enough. Thankfully, folk dance is one thing he and Flynn know like the back of their hands—Yuri still remembers the lower quarter festivals they went to when they were kids, where everyone in town would gather around and one of the Marcus brothers would pull out his guitar and he and Flynn would always hold onto each other and jump around together because they were the only close friends each other had then. They stopped around the time they hit their teens, so they haven't done it in ages, but now the moves come back to Yuri like clockwork and Flynn obviously still remembers them too, because he's keeping up just fine.

Flynn is still giving him a questioning look but at least now he's doing exactly what Yuri needs him to do, so Yuri sends a glance back at the assassins through the corner of his eye and presses on once he affirms that they still haven't noticed. A series of strategic turns and spins is all he needs to lead Flynn to the other end of the tavern, until they're just a sprint away from the exit. So Yuri proceeds to break into one, dragging Flynn with him out the door, through the street, into a back alley, where they're away from any possible prying eyes and it should be safe.

Flynn stares and Yuri can't help the sense of relief that washes over him when blue eyes shine back at him like ice, now steelier and much more serious than just a few minutes ago. "Yuri," Flynn says again, more solemn this time, "what's going on?"

Yuri takes a deep breath before the whole thing comes out in a rushed exhale: "We caught wind that someone in the Council hired a hit on you and Estelle managed to figure out some of the conspirators would be having a meeting at this tavern and I'm trying to keep an eye on the assassins hanging around in there but that's a problem if you're here so you really gotta go now."

Flynn blinks at him, apparently taking a moment to process everything Yuri just said, before he suddenly goes wide-eyed. "Assassins were in there?" Flynn hisses, and at Yuri's nod, the commandant stiffens instantly, the gravity of the situation visibly hitting him. "How many?"

"Four that I could tell, they might be waiting for more," Yuri tells him before shaking his head. "But that's not important. What is important is that you get lost before they recognize you and realize we're onto them."

(Because later, Yuri will be able to trail the assassins after they leave the bar and locate their abandoned shelter of a hideout on the outskirts of town. Later, Yuri will return to Estelle with a report of the location and the approximate number of total enemies and Flynn will rustle up a band of knights who storm the shack and quell the potential threat with minimal effort. Later, their investigations of the area will yield enough evidence for Estelle to figure out which bastard ordered the hit in the first place and then let the law take care of the rest.)

But for now, Flynn nods carefully, and lays a hand on Yuri's shoulder as he agrees, "Okay. Just be careful."

For once, Yuri is perfectly willing to obey that command.

It's really only by pure chance that their party end up stopping by Heliord on the day of a city-wide festival, but Yuri isn't about to complain and neither is anybody else, if the unanimous decision to stick around is any indication. They are on vacation after all—that's the reason they all even got together like this in the first place—so they can certainly put aside a day to indulge in the local celebration.

But with the city as crowded as it is and with everyone wanting to do their own thing, naturally, the buddy system has to be invoked to ensure that nobody gets lost. So as Judy drags Estelle off somewhere to get her dressed up in "appropriate festival attire" (whatever that means) and Karol takes off with Raven to head towards the game booths together and Repede runs towards the food booths in what Yuri's pretty sure is an attempt to beg the socks off of some poor, unsuspecting suckers, Yuri finds himself blinking at Rita, who merely offers him a helpless shrug that he returns with one of his own.

"So, you have anything in particular you wanna do?" Yuri asks. He doesn't, and he's pretty sure he'd be cool with just about anything, so he might as well just go along with whatever Rita decides.

To his slight surprise, Rita bites her lip and nervously glances around them, seeming to contemplate it for a while. Finally, she murmurs, "Well, there is one thing."

Yuri quirks his brow curiously at the vague answer, as well as at the various emotions he can see flashing across her face, but he doesn't get a chance to say anything else before Rita ultimately settles on what looks like a to hell with it expression and abruptly grabs his sleeve, dragging him along towards...well, wherever it is she wants to go. They brush past tons of people along the way, the crowd only seeming to get thicker with every passing second, and Yuri could swear that all the energy and cheer that's abuzz in the air only magnifies the further they go.

Rita is still striding ahead of him and though her grip on his sleeve remains firm, Yuri would still prefer to not risk potentially getting left behind, so he quickens his steps until he can keep up. He realizes at some point that the jazzy tune he's been hearing in the background for a while now has been getting steadily louder, and when Rita stops right smack dab in the central square, where a band is playing up on a stage and everyone around them is moving to the music, Yuri knows exactly what Rita came here for.

Hell, she only just got here but Rita's already bouncing on her feet a little, and the grin on her face is not unlike all the ones he'd seen on almost every young, excited child they'd passed on their way here.

That only last for a few seconds, though, before Rita suddenly blinks and whirls on Yuri. "Hey. No smartass comments, or I roast you." She tries to glare as she says it, but Yuri has been on the receiving end of far too many of her actual glares to be fooled by this one, this one that lacks the usual edge and grit and anger. Even so, Yuri puts his hands up in surrender, and that's apparently enough for Rita to drop her guard entirely, turning away from him and immediately jumping in place, throwing her arms straight into the air and even giving a light whoop of laughter as she does.

Well, it's not like it's any secret among their group that Rita really, really likes dancing. She revealed herself a long time ago during their journey, back when she danced at Mantaic, and although she used to get sort of shy and embarrassed about it, it's apparently gotten to the point where she no longer seems to care. At least, not when she's in a party mood, not when everyone else in the vicinity is similarly giddy and their mood must be contagious, because now Rita is twirling and shaking her hips in the most uninhibited fashion and the enthused grin splitting her face in two hasn't wavered for even a second.

Yuri himself is content to just cross his arms and stand there, calmly watching her. It's not all too often that Rita lets herself go like this, but when she does, she goes the whole nine yards—already her cheeks are flushed red from exertion and energy and her brow is lined with sweat. But she's beaming too, shining as she dances her heart out, and with how much and how innocently she's enjoying herself, Yuri knows he can't bring himself to even try teasing her.

But then the music suddenly seems to shift, and there's a visible wave of movement amongst the crowd. Rita stops right in her tracks, looking more than a bit put out that her groove has been thrown off, and Yuri blinks in confusion—until the announcer onstage yells into his microphone, "Annnnd now, time for a partner's dance, everyone! Grab the first person you can and let's do-si-do!"

Yuri doesn't have time to fully realize the implications of that before Rita is on him, grabbing his hands and yanking him in. Only then does it click.

"Rita, do we really have to—"

"There isn't anyone else in this crowd I'd want to do this with," Rita cuts him off dismissively, and that tells Yuri that she has to be drunk on adrenaline right now, because there's no way in hell Rita would be able to say that and not get all stammery if she wasn't high on something.

"I don't want to do this at all," Yuri groans, but his hands are still in hers and honestly, he's not even trying to pull away.

Rita just grins, an almost wild gleam in her eyes. "Shut up and shake it."

The announcer on stage starts calling out the moves and Yuri begrudgingly plays along, as Rita somehow manages to drag him around despite being at least a head shorter than him. Surrendering to her unspoken demands, he picks up on her rhythm and does his best to follow it—and then the rest comes surprisingly easy. When Rita turns, Yuri does the same; when Yuri steps back, Rita steps forward and kicks into a lock step; when Rita releases one of his hands, Yuri does a spin around her; until soon enough it's like they're flowing against each other and Yuri is letting himself be washed away...

"Woof!" a familiar bark breaks through Yuri's thoughts, and he and Rita both jolt out of it as out of nowhere, Repede breaks through the crowd and dashes up to them, and the rest of their group soon follows.

"Ah, you found them. Good boy," Judy says, giving Repede a congratulatory pat on the head. She and Estelle are both wearing entirely different outfits from before, Yuri notes, and with how new they look, his guess is that Judy only bought them just now. Trailing right behind the girls is Karol, who's lugging a stuffed animal that's twice as big as he is on his back with seemingly no trouble, and Raven, who takes one long look at Yuri's and Rita's conjoined hands before smirking.

"We interruptin' something here?"

Rita flushes red, immediately snapping her hands out of his, and Yuri can't help chuckling a little. It seems the party mood and adrenaline have finally worn off.

"D-don't be ridiculous. It's nothing!" Rita gasps, sputtering and embarrassed as per usual, and even when the other two girls pounce on her, even as Estelle and Judith start to drag her off with the intent of buying her a new outfit of her own, Rita is still red-faced and sulking.

"Hey Rita," Yuri calls after her, and the mage pauses in her step for a second. "You were pretty good back there." He means that, too, his voice and demeanor completely devoid of teasing—and as Rita slowly turns around to face him again, he sees that there is a slight, pleased smile on her lips.

"You were...okay, I guess," Rita calls back. Despite the insult, Yuri knows it's her way of saying thanks, so he grins in return and waves to see her off.

Oh well. He'll take what he can get.

Brave Vesperia is widely considered to be the "jack of all guilds" guild these days, and they've really only managed to get away with having no real "specialty" by being the guild special enough to have saved the world. So Yuri supposes that in a way, it's their own fault that they've been forced into this position. Anyway, it's not like there's any point in complaining about it now—a job is a job and their guild doesn't squelch on it's jobs.

Even if that job is emergency-filling-in for the final act in the Performing Guild's dance production.

Yuri suppresses a sigh at the vast audience he sees spread out before him, then turns to level his gaze towards Judy at his side, who merely shrugs and twirls her spear. Using their weapons for this was her suggestion, the idea behind it being to treat this impromptu dance "like a spar, only with music," as she'd put it—and while Yuri gets the idea, he's not so sure how well it's gonna work in practice.

Judy seems like she knows what she's getting herself into, at least...but then, Yuri is also all too aware of her ability to appear calmer than she really is. He himself is pretty clueless at how they're supposed to pull off doing a dance number at the last minute, without any prior preparation or rehearsal, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time Yuri's performed improv. And he wasn't half bad at it before, if he does say so himself.

Karol though, apparently, is considerably less skilled at faking confidence than either of them, because when Yuri glances back to the front row of the audience seats, the kid is wiping his brow and fidgeting in his chair. And even if Yuri can't hear him, he can still see the boy's lips clearly mouthing, "This is bad, this is soooooo bad."

"Yeah, thanks for the faith in us, boss," Yuri mutters to himself, knowing perfectly well that Karol can't hear him. Judy, however, obviously does, because she laughs lightly and bumps her shoulder with his.

"We'll just have to show him what we can do," she murmurs, violet eyes twinkling. "Don't go too easy on me."

Yuri smirks. "Back at you."

Judy shoots him a confident grin of her own before taking her leave, gracefully taking position on other side of the stage and adjusting her grip on her spear. Yuri takes a step back himself, readying his sword, and when Judy's eyes meet his again, they both simultaneously nod as a signal to the band.

The drumming starts, and suddenly, the performing stage is a battlefield.

Judy launches at him first, leaping into the air so that she's well above him, her spear poised to come down on his head—and Yuri swiftly brings his sword up to block. Their blades clash, causing a harsh metallic thrum to ring out in harmony with the beat of the bass drum, and Yuri catches just the barest glimpse of an enthused grin on Judy's face before she's retreating again, even going as far as to do a backwards flip in midair before she sticks the landing. And it's barely an instant after her feet hit the floor that Judy is back at it, breaking into a storm of whirls and thrusts and slashes, each one successfully (and rather easily) blocked by Yuri's sword, each one managing to land in perfect time with the beat.

Alright, Yuri thinks, more than a little impressed, so apparently Judy knew exactly what she was getting herself into.

She's being incredibly predictable too, though, and that is nothing like how Judy actually is in battle. Yuri would know, with how often they've sparred each other before—when she fights for real, Judy is both a whirlwind and a lightning bolt, moving so quickly and cleverly you can barely keep track of her.

But this is a performance, and Judy isn't fighting so much as she is simply putting on a show—striking, spinning, doing twirls in the air—all in perfect synchronization to the music. Judy is acrobatic, and eye-catching, and admittedly, she's doing most of the work in this display right now, because Yuri isn't nearly that nimble and he'll never be able to be as flashy as her.

Still, that doesn't mean he's about to let her hog all the spotlight.

So Yuri does a completely unnecessary but wonderfully ostentatious spin, twirling his sword in his hand, and at the next beat of the drum, he turns just in time to block her next strike, then proceeds to parry with a straight thrust that's aimed to graze her arm. Judy gives him a tight, almost imperceptible nod, her smile both impressed and encouraging, as she easily glides out of the way.

Adrenaline is coursing through Yuri now, even though this isn't a real spar, even though all this attacking and dodging and parrying are being done in time to the music. He really is dancing, and now nothing else matters except the thrumming of the bass drums in his ear and his eyes carefully watching Judy's lithe form, discerning any twitch of her muscles that will indicate what move she's gonna make next...

Judy vaults up into the air, revving up in all too obvious indication of an incoming high kick, and Yuri ducks under her leg just as it whizzes over his head. She turns as she lands, and that leaves an opening—an opening that's way too big and way too evident to be anything other than intentional—and no way in hell Yuri is going to let that pass. He coils the muscles in his arm and twists his whole body, letting his sword slice through air...

Until the blade stops, less an inch from Judy's throat, right as the final beat rings out.

For a moment, they're both still as statues, frozen in time, gazes locked on each other. Amusement shines clear in Judy's eyes despite the blade at her neck, and approval is etched into her face through the almost giddy curl of her lips. Of course, Yuri would be lying if he said that the smile stretching across his own face wasn't just as enthused and stupidly pleased as hers, and when the spell is broken by the audience's clapping—not polite clapping, but growing, rousing applause that indicates a performance well done—it stretches even wider.

Time flows again as Yuri lowers his sword from her throat and lets it fall to his side. Judy turns to the audience and bows, low and deep and extravagant, and Yuri knows he's gonna feel so stupid about this later but the adrenaline's still in his system and before he can stop himself, he's bowing too. Out of the corner of his eye, Yuri catches Karol collapsing in his seat, looking as relieved as if they've just barely avoided another world crisis, and Yuri laughs.

Well, they sure showed him.

They rise from their bows together and Yuri turns towards Judy, quirking a brow at her. "You lost on purpose," he remarks, mock-accusing, even though they both know it was never even really a battle in the first place. "I thought we weren't gonna go easy on each other."

Judy gives him a sideways glance and shrugs. "But it made for a good show, didn't it?"

She faces him then, and holds her arm out, elbow tucked but palm outstretched and expectant. Yuri recognizes the gesture and chuckles.

"Can't argue with that," Yuri agrees, and high-fives her hard enough to leave both their hands stinging.

It just figures that when Yuri finally finds Raven, he's in the tavern, splayed out lazily over his table with a cup in one hand and a large bottle in the other. Recognition slowly seems to come over the old man's face as Yuri approaches, and Raven halfheartedly raises his cup hand in greeting before pouring himself another round.

"Heyyyy kid, what brings ya 'round here?"

Yuri frowns, not really liking the sound of that slur in his voice, before answering, "Karol went looking for you at Altosk."

Raven furrows his brow. "Aw damn, did he need me fer somethin'?"

"Just a few signatures. Nothing that Harry couldn't do in your place. But when Karol heard you hadn't been back since noon, he got worried about you." Yuri wrinkles his brow disapprovingly as Raven proceeds to chug down half his mug in one gulp. "Turns out, you're just here getting smashed."

"He sentcha out as the search party, huh?" Raven swirls his cup. "Sorry 'bout that. Tell yer boss m'sorry for making him worry, too."

"How about you tell him yourself?" Yuri shoots back, sounding a lot calmer than he actually feels as he eyes the half-gallon bottle that has to be at least two-thirds empty already. "I think you've had enough to drink tonight."

Raven just chuckles, a humorless and low noise that sends an uncomfortable chill up Yuri's spine. "It'll never be enough, kid."

Well, whatever's going on with Raven, it's obviously got him in some real bad melancholy. But even if Yuri himself isn't exactly Mr. Responsibility, it still doesn't feel right to just leave the old man alone to wallow and suffer and potentially drink himself comatose. So Yuri stays right where he is, standing over Raven, giving him the evil eye as he takes another swig of his cup—until Raven finally sets the now-empty mug back on the table. The old man stares down at it, quiet and still and expression almost longing, and something tells Yuri that he's not just pining for more bourbon.

"It's the anniversary, ya know," Raven murmurs suddenly.

Yuri sighs, "Of what, old man?"

"The day Casey died."

...Oh.

Shit.

Yuri's breath hitches in his throat, and all the irritation that he had been feeling towards Raven up to this point immediately ebbs away in favor of something more alert, more concerned. Of course Yuri recognizes the name—even if he himself never knew the woman from Raven's past, there is no way he could forget Raven's stories. And there is no way in hell Raven is okay right now.

"Well, it's the day we both died, actually. She just didn't get to come back." Raven keeps looking down into his cup so intently that you'd think it held all the secrets to the universe, and Yuri still isn't sure if he can feel himself breathing. "God, it really shoulda been me who—"

"Stop," Yuri gasps, cutting Raven off harshly, because he knows where this is going and he really doesn't wanna hear it. Yuri is more than familiar with how badly you can fuck yourself up with your own self-depreciating bullshit when someone isn't there to stop you, and while he may never be able to truly understand Raven's pain, there's still no way in hell he's gonna let the old man get swallowed up by it. "Do we really need to go over this again? What's past is past. But this is now and you're alive, so you damn well better act like it."

Raven sighs, letting go of his cup and his bottle, rolling his head back against the head of his chair until he's staring up at Yuri with clouded, unfocused eyes. "I know, I know. It ain't just me I'm livin' for, right?"

"Exactly." Yuri digs out his wallet to pull out what is definitely more than enough gald to cover the old man's drinks, then slams the money onto the tabletop. "Check please!" he calls at the nearest waiter, then turns back to Raven. "You've had enough. Come on, let's get you home."

Raven groans and grumbles as Yuri grabs him by his elbow to yank him up to his feet, but Yuri pays no mind to his complaints, proceeding to curl an arm loosely around the old man's waist so as to better drag him along. Raven stumbles a little on his feet at first, but soon enough, his steps even out to something close to steady, and upon seeing that he can apparently walk on his own, Yuri starts to let go. But just as he's retracting his arm, Raven grabs it again, yanking him back.

"Hey. Dance with me."

Yuri blinks once, then twice, then furrows his brow. "Come again?"

Raven shoots a sideways glance at the singer before turning back to Yuri, shrugging at him helplessly. Yuri frowns—he hadn't really noticed before, but now he realizes that at some point, the band up on stage had apparently started up a new song. A freaking slow song that only seems to add to the already somber mood.

"I'm...buzzed 'nough fer you ta kinda look like her right now. So long as I don't look too hard."

Yuri sighs. "Raven..."

"Please, Yuri. Just this once, and then we can go home."

Well, Yuri doesn't really know how to feel about the fact that apparently there's some sort of parallel between him and the woman Raven was obviously in love with. He can't help but wonder just what it is he has in common with Casey, but Yuri also doesn't bother to ask. Instead he just sighs, sighs in a way that's sure to let Raven know that he wholly disapproves of everything that's happening right now, but takes the old man's hands in his anyway.

"Fine, but I'm leading," Yuri says, pulling Raven in and swinging him around. Lower quarter folk dance doesn't really fit the song that's playing and the only other "real" dance he knows by heart is the waltz (thanks Estelle), so Yuri ends up defaulting to that. And after performing a few experimental steps together, Raven meets Yuri's eyes, shooting him a soft, thankful grin.

"Heh. Fair enough," the old man murmurs, and from there his movements follow Yuri's perfectly, if not somewhat unsteadily from the alcohol. Yuri's not too sure at first what to make of the fact that Raven apparently remembers the traditionally female waltz part well enough to replicate it flawlessly while he's drunk, but then again, it's none of Yuri's business. Actually, he's honestly less surprised about it than he probably should be.

But at some point during their coordinated routine, Yuri notices that Raven has managed to finally drop that wistful, melancholic face that he's been wearing since the moment Yuri stepped in here. Now, it's been exchanged for a foolish grin, still underlain with longing but also holding a certain contentment that tells Yuri that Raven isn't really here. He's somewhere in the past, or maybe somewhere in the now that he had wished for but that never actually came to be—but in any case, Raven's expression is dumbstruck, and tender, and so sincerely lovesick that it makes Yuri feel like he's intruding on something he's not meant to see.

So the next time Yuri twirls Raven, he averts his gaze until he can't see the old man's face at all.

Yuri has to give credit to the people of Aurnion—their ability to keep a celebration going for a ridiculously long amount of time is honestly impressive, if not rather exhausting. Don't get him wrong, Yuri likes a good party as much as the next guy, and when this one in particular is celebrating the first anniversary of the day his group destroyed the Adephagos, the least he can do is enjoy himself to the fullest. But the celebrations were already in full swing when he arrived in the city around noon and now it's approaching to midnight, and it amazes him how the townsfolk are somehow still going at it full throttle.

Oh, it's been a fun twelve hours, for sure—being together with all of the gang again never fails to be one of the greatest feelings in the world, and adding onto that all the joys of storytelling and great food and open-participation boxing matches (he can almost still feel the sting in his shoulder from where Judy slammed him to the ground in that brawl an hour ago and that. was. awesome), today has been a wonderful time. But although it doesn't feel like the city itself is ready to sleep yet, honestly, Yuri is.

So Yuri slumps back against the wall he's been leaning on and, after reaching down to pat Repede on the head, glances around to locate the rest of his friends. Rita and Raven are apparently trying to break the day's last record in hacky sack, Judy and Karol are by the picnic tables where they've been chowing down on watermelons and having a seed spitting contest with some local kids for a while now, Flynn the ever-righteous is keeping a rather watchful eyes on some of the more drunken civilians, and Estelle…

Well, Estelle was hanging around Flynn until a moment ago, but now she seems to be flitting about the square, immediately heading to Rita's side and whispering something excitedly to her, then calling at Judy and Karol to "stop spitting and get over here!", and finally running straight up to Yuri, her green eyes managing to sparkle in the dim light as she approaches.

"Yuri, come on. It's almost time for the fireworks; we gotta get together for the circle dance!"

Yuri blinks, then quirks his brow incredulously. "...Circle dance?"

Estelle nods vigorously. "Yeah, we all get together and hold hands and just start moving in a circle. It's easy, come on!"

Yuri frowns. "That sounds sappy. Didn't I tell you no more sappy stuff?" Not that Yuri really has any right to talk—he's perfectly aware just how much of a sucker he's become since meeting her—but old habits die hard. And anyway, he's just about partied out for tonight. "Sorry, I think I'll pass."

Honestly, he was a fool to hope that that would be the end of it, because it's not, oh it is not; and Estelle is getting all pouty and all the others have apparently noticed, too, because now they're all approaching. Rita in particular shoots Yuri a glare that tells him she will not hesitate to consider murder if he makes Estelle unnecessarily upset.

"Come on, Yuri," Karol whines, having apparently heard. "Don't be a spoilsport. These things are best when we're all doing it together."

"Or could it be that your shoulder still hurts?" Judy pipes up, and Yuri's not quite sure if that's genuine concern in her voice or if she's just teasing him for losing against her. "I was rather rough on you back there."

Estelle frowns. "I could heal you—"

"It's not that, I'm fine," Yuri grumbles. "Geez, Judy didn't beat me that bad."

"Well then, you can join us, right?" Raven drawls, shooting him a crooked grin. "Gosh kid, you really gotta learn how to just shut up and have a good time."

Yuri sighs. "Guys, I just...I don't dance." The moment it leaves his mouth, though, Yuri knows that it's a worthless protest—and Rita and Karol immediately call him out on it.

"Lies!" Both kids simultaneously chime back at him, even crossing their arms over their chests in perfect synchronization and with the exact same disapproving expression on their faces. Seriously, it's scary just how in tune with each other they are on this of all things.

"You know, he actually used to love this kind of thing," Flynn remarks with a shrug. "When we were kids, he would dance so much that he'd throw up afterwards."

"That was one time," Yuri mutters, leveling Flynn with a vengeful glare. "And how about I spill all your childhood stories, huh? Bet your squad would just love to hear all about the time you got scared by that snake and pis—"

Hands viciously shove at Yuri's chest, cutting him off before he can finish that sentence, and Yuri gapes at Flynn, who returns the look with his own glare of warning. A sense of challenge flares up within Yuri, making him seethe, but before he has to chance to shove back, Estelle grabs hold of one his hands and Karol quickly takes the other. Yuri shifts his gaze between the both of them for a minute, but once it's obvious that neither intends to let go anytime soon, he resorts to simply glowering uselessly at Flynn, who shrugs false-innocently as Estelle takes his hand too. And once Judy comes up to occupy Karol's other side and Raven and Rita come in to close up the circle, Yuri knows that he's done for, trapped expertly in their snare with no hope of escape.

He shoots a helpless, pleading look towards Repede, his last hope, but the dog only barks and dashes into the middle of the circle to start jumping up and down excitedly. Traitor.

Estelle beams bright and starts singing then, some simple melody that Yuri recognizes as a nostalgic children's song with lyrics that never really did make sense (seriously, "a ram sam sam"?), and Judy must recognize it too because she's the very first to start singing along. Someone, Yuri thinks it's Rita, starts stepping to the left and soon everyone is following that lead, stepping in time with the rhythm and circling around Repede, as two more join in on the song: Karol, who can't hold a tune in a bucket but apparently isn't about to let that stop him, and Raven, who to Yuri's complete surprise, has an impressively rich and melodic singing voice. By the time Flynn and Rita have piped up with their own voices too, the whole dance routine has gone from slow stepping to something more like skipping, something fluid and fast and powerful that has Yuri bouncing on his feet and occasionally even feeling like he's floating atop air.

A high-pitched whistling and a crackling pop are what tell Yuri that the fireworks have started, and he ventures a glance up to the sky to see brilliant colors shattering against the calm darkness. Explosions resound, too, and the singing, almost as if in competition with the fireworks, grows louder until Yuri's ears are almost ringing from it. Even Repede is howling along now, and Yuri averts his gaze from the sky to toss an amused glance at his dog—but then his gaze strays to the others in the circle, to bright eyes and soft grins and breathlessly gleeful faces, and suddenly, Yuri can't help himself. He starts singing along, too, loudly, and with no real regard for keeping in tune—and with how this song keeps repeating on end, Yuri knows that his original hopes of retiring from the party have now been sufficiently dashed.

Honestly though, Yuri decides, he doesn't actually mind that at all.