[1537 words]
The rose garden finally has need for a knight.
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“Perfectly on time as always,” That angel chirps, glancing up at the sun. “You’ve got this stuff down to a science, huh?”
They were already getting up from their seat, walking alongside Florian, clasping their hands together behind their back and leaning forward.
That angel, Aster, they insisted on walking with him to his post, on chatting endlessly the entire way, on knowing his name… Didn’t they have anything better to do with their time? It wasn’t as if he was an engaging conversational partner.
“So, anything interesting on your patrol route?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary to report, no,” He answers, as if it them who he is supposed to be reporting to in the first place. As if he ever had anything to report.
“Well, I saw some interesting things today!” And, as usual, Aster begins talking endlessly about entirely mundane things. New blooms in the garden, how the weather was, what new books they were reading…
Florian attempts to not be invested in the conversation, to not listen at all, to be as cold as he can be. They will tire of this eventually, of this routine they have made. It’s better to not get too attached to it.
He fails at this task that he sets out for himself, completely and entirely. When they talk about the latest book they were reading through, the way their face lights up with emotion, and how they gesture their hands wildly… They are passionate, if nothing else. It would be impossible not to listen.
"You could talk for hours, hm?"
Oh. Why did that make them stop talking? Did he say something wrong? Aster tilts their head, examining Florian's expression with a raised eyebrow.
"Did you mean that in an 'Aster please shut up' way?" They sound amused, but he feels immediately mortified.
"If I wanted you to stop talking I would have said that." He regrets the words the instant they're out of his mouth. In his mind, it sounded like a reasonable explanation, but in his voice it sounded more like scolding. Surely he can fix this situation. "...And I didn't. Say that, that is. So feel free to continue."
Aster laughs, so, he must've saved it to some extent. "I need to get better at just taking you at your word. It's just hard when you sound so..." They wave their hand absentmindedly as they search for the words. "Hmph, serious knight mode." They attempt a mimic of his monotone speech style, obviously glancing over at his face to see if it makes him crack a smile.
"Hmph. I don't sound like that." He did that on purpose, the small noise. He's playing along, but he won't admit that.
"Ha! You hmph-ed!" Aster points and grins ear to ear. He restrains himself, forces his mouth into a straight line. He won't smile, won't treat this as enjoyable. It's temporary, it's temporary...
"This is my post. It is the most dangerous area of the garden, so you should head back," he says his usual speech. He's sure Aster could recite that line from memory now.
"Just a bit longer? I never get to see the cliff here!" They lean forward, looking down the cliff, unable to see the bottom. "It's supposed to lead all the way out of Heaven, right?"
"Which is precisely why it is so dangerous." He grabs their sleeve, gently pulling them back a step. Sure, there hasn't been any dangerous activity in the rose garden in years, but that doesn't mean he's going to be any less serious about this. It's the principle of the thing.
"Weeeeell...." They extend the word, bouncing on their heels. Ah, that's not a good sign, is it? That's a clear sign that they've decided exactly what they're going to do, and all chances of him saying otherwise have gone out the window. "It's a good thing I've got such a skilled knight keeping an eye on me, then!"
He wanted to at least try to continue his argument, even if it would be futile, but... He's too thrown off balance by being called a skilled knight. He can feel his ears heating up, and he quickly moves his hair in an attempt to hide the red tint they're gaining. "...Just stay close."
"Of course, of course!" Aster approaches the cliff again, examining the area. Well, at least they weren't leaning over the edge anymore. "Do you hear that?" They turn back to Florian, tilting their head.
Time begins to move in slow motion. First, he hears the sound of wings flapping, the sound comes from below them... From below the cliff.
Then, he sees the black wings, spread wide, framing either side of Aster's head. He can't see the actual creature, Aster is standing in exactly the wrong spot, covering it completely. Or rather...
It's going right for them.
No hesitation can be tolerated, this is his duty. He bolts forward, grabbing their wrists and throwing them back, away from the cliff, to safety. They fall to the grass, letting out a surprised little yelp.
"Run-!" The forcefulness of his own voice surprises him, but it's quickly cut off as he is knocked down to the grass as well. Whatever that creature was, it slammed into him, he's dazed, but it doesn't matter.
He reaches out his hands, gripping the beast by the throat. It's a snake, just about as long as he is tall, with wings on its back that flap wildly as he holds it back. It opens and closes its mouth, clearly aiming directly for his throat. Well, they're thinking alike, at the very least. If only this monster was smaller, he could likely just squeeze the throat harder, and it would all be over.
Florian is still in slow motion, his mind going faster than it ever has. His life is in danger, Aster's life is in danger. But, this is what he trained for! This is why he's here! This is his purpose-
His sword isn't attached to his belt. He can feel its absence even without reaching down for it. It may as well be an extra limb with how aware of it he is, and with how suddenly lost he is with its absence. Time crashes back into him, and all at once everything is too fast, too frightening, too dangerous...
Florian allows himself two glances away from the threat.
One, there's his sword, in the grass, just out of reach. Too dangerous to go for, the snake is too strong to hold back with one arm. If he tries for it, he will get bitten, it is not a question.
Two, there's Aster- damn it all, there's Aster! Why didn't they run?! They haven't even gotten up from the grass, they're just staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. They're in danger, he needs to do something.
"My sword!" His voice comes out as a desperate cry. "Aster! My sword!"
He can hear them get to their feet, pick up his sword... He hasn't yet figured out how he'll actually grab it from them without getting hurt, but-
The snake's head falls on to his chest, blood spraying on to his armor, staining everything bright red. He stares up, Aster is holding his sword, blood dripping down from the blade, breathing so heavily... It takes several seconds to pry his hands open, to drop the rest of the carcass down.
Florian doesn't know what to say. He's somewhere between thanking them and asking them to never tell anyone that they killed the snake instead of him. Of course, the one monster in the rose garden in years, and he wasn't the one to slay it.
"Are you okay?!" Aster throws the sword aside, like it's a worthless stick, and pulls Florian's hand, so that he's sitting up. "Please tell me you're not hurt!"
"...My sword is quite important, do not throw it." That's somehow the response he lands on. But it earns a laugh from Aster, tears pouring down their cheeks so openly as they pull him close. They realize their mistake a second too late and pull away, blood staining their bright yellow shirt now. They glance down at it with a mixture of sadness and disgust.
"...Thanks for throwing me out of the way."
"We are even. We both saved each other." Florian pushes himself to his feet, brushing the snake to the ground and collecting his sword. He's prepared to kick the two pieces of the beast down the cliff, when Aster suddenly grabs his sleeve. Great, now that's stained as well.
"Can we bury it?" Their voice is choked. It's foolish, it's pointless, it's overly sentimental. It's just a beast, one that would have killed them both if things went only slightly differently.
And yet, he remembers the first monster he killed. He remembers how it felt. And he signed up for that, willingly, where Aster did no such thing. Aster, who seemingly cared endlessly for everything, regardless of how deserving. Perhaps it was foolish, to have any sympathy for a monster, but he couldn't bring himself to criticize it.
So, he nods his head. "I know where we keep the shovels."