To say that Leon was pissed at Alex was an understatement. At the moment of Alex's transgression, he'd wanted nothing more than to shoot an arrow through his throat. With any luck, that might've placated Chenoa too - or at the very least calmed her enough not to doom an entire nation to die a slow death.
By now, however, Leon's anger had given way for-- he hesitated to call it curiosity, but found no other word to describe it. He wanted to understand why Alex had said what he had. Was it pride? Ignorance? A moment of utter madness? Truly, there was only one way to find out.
Leon found Alex where he assumed he would; cleaning the latrines.
"Hard at work, huh?" were the words he chose to greet the boy with, arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame. Neither his tone nor expression could be called friendly, but they weren't exactly hostile either.
As if expecting Alex to be defensive, Leon spoke up again, "Relax. I'm not here to beat on you - verbally or physically. Pretty sure you've gotten your fair share of both by now."
Alex was on the tail end of finishing up cleaning the latrine when he heard Leon. He sighed. Part of him had been worried about this confrontation, though it seemed like the guy hadn't come to fight. Alex took a deep breath. Unfortunately, after spending so much time in this horrid place, he wasn't quite in the mood. Still, he could at least humor the guy. Assuming his intentions really were as he claimed.
"Don't worry I figured you weren't here for a fight. I considered that you might be coming to kill me at some point, but well... If you were, I'd seriously question your stealth skills."
"Funny," Leon commented dryly, not moving from his spot. "Trust me, if I didn't want to be seen, your eyes would be useless."
Alex chuckled, "We should test that theory some time." It could easily have come off as overconfident or maybe even a little challenging. Of course, that was only partially the case. Alex had no intention of engaging in a battle of stealth and assassination with the heir apparent to House Sylmare. Still, it could have made for fun training.
"Maybe another time."
Briefly, Alex stopped what he was doing, mop in hand as he turned to face Leon. "So, if you're not here to attack me, and you aren't here to chew me out, why are you here?"
There had to be a reason, right? He didn't seem angry, a little frustrated maybe, but not angry. His stance was perhaps a bit defensive, though it was likely that part of him still anticipated some form of retaliation.
Leon shook his head. There was disdain in his tone, though it seemed more directed towards the subject of his words than the boy in front of him. "It's not me you should be worried about, though. It's Chenoa's little birds. Real vultures, those. If she gives the command, you're dead before you can blink."
Leon tilted his head, gaze inquisitive. "But you knew all that, didn't you?" And yet Alex put his life - and the life of others - on the line for what? A witty comeback?
"I'm here to understand. So help me out and tell me..." his eyes narrowed, and the word came out coated in exasperation, "Why?"
Leon didn't seem keen on mincing words. He got right to the point. Chenoa. Lady Sylmare. Alex scoffed. "I'm not, nor was I, looking to die, Leon. I'd be spitting in the face of everything my mother went through and taught me if I were hellbent on ending my life prematurely." His words were matter of fact. And yet, wouldn't that made was came next worse. "I was pissed. That b-- woman, was throwing a temper tantrum, and what? We roll over? Offered 'sacred' Sylmare land for a mock battle and use it as a bargaining chip for whatever it is she wanted. The whole situation was suspicious."
Alex rolled his eyes. "But, none of that really matters now does it?" he scoffed, shaking his head. How many times had he explained this now. "I spoke out in frustration. Although, I'd be lying if I said I knew anything more about Lady Sylmare than what I learned that night and from passing info I'd heard since finding a 'home' in House Ravaleth." Alex wasn't stupid, but in this case he had been willfully ignorant. In fact, at the time, part of him had thought Lady Sylmare had been Leons sister or something. At least until she was referred to as otherwise.
Leon listened with a held tongue so as to not interrupt Alex midway through - even if his body language did speak of impatience.
"Weren't you born a noble?" The question slipped out immediately after Alex was done, far before Leon had a chance to consider his word choice. "You said dying would be spitting in the face of all that your mother taught you. Is speaking out of turn to someone more powerful than you not tantamount to that?"
He now understood that Alex had spoken in a fit of anger without much forethought. What he had yet to understand was how doing something like that was possible for someone of noble blood. From what he knew, the life of nobility was all a big play, each lord and lady an actor. He'd had to learn to play his own part at an accelerated pace, considering he hadn't been born to riches. So to find someone who did a poorer job than him - could it be that he and Alex had more common than he'd thought...?
Leon shook his head. "Look. I'm not saying I agree with what mother said - or what she did. Dooming thousands to die of starvation over the quip of one brat is the biggest temper tantrum of all."
He fell silent, angry over the words he heard come out of his own mouth. "... It sucks, but..." he sighed, so very tired of playing the part of an heir himself, "yeah, as nobles, we aren't exactly supposed to let personal feelings get in the way. Sometimes we're expected to just roll over - much as you'd like to stab someone instead."
God, Leon hated nobility.
"I was born with the noble blood of Zandus Shearmund Ravaleth coursing through my veins, then the answer is yes. I was born of nobility." Alex said calmly as he took the mop to continue cleaning. "But, I was born not only out of wedlock, but as a bastard child. A stain, besmirching the honor of House Ravaleth." Alex shook his head. "My mother left Ravaleth territory before my birth. So my early years were spent among the so called 'riff raff' of the lower city of Fadell." Yhirel... how many times was he gonna explain this? Oh well, it wasn't like it was particularly a secret. But it wasn't surprising that Leon wouldn't know.
Alex looked at him for a moment, studying his perhaps. "As for what my mother taught me. Defend myself. Survive. Adapt," he paused, seeming to thinking about other things. In truth, Alex was leaving off a few things. Love life, don't take what he had for granted, show compassion for those less fortunate... For a long time, even now, he'd tried to keep positive or look on the bright side of things. But a lot of that changed when she passed.
Still, Alex didn't Alex laughed a little. "A brat, huh?" He stopped his cleaning again to look at Leon. "I suppose that's true. Especially after that." He shrugged. "But it beats trying to force myself to be someone I'm not." At least he thought it did. "And it beats lording my power over others or using my influence to hurt innocent people."
Maybe that was a bit hypocritical. Would he have spoken up as a mere commoner without the privileges that came with nobility. Maybe not, but there was no point in dwelling on what ifs.
"At the end of the day, I don't really give a fuck if a noble isn't supposed to let personal feelings get in the way." Alex looked away, once more. "Maybe if we did use our hearts as well as our minds we could do something a little different... Course, that's a whole lot easier to say with a cool head," he added laughing a little towards the end.
So Alex was a bastard and had not, in fact, grown up as a noble? That explained a lot, Leon supposed. They both came from a life of poverty - which meant that the lapses in judgment Alex had could've just as well been Leon's own. He'd come close to calling out nobles and their shitty ways before, too.
Feeling a new sort of kinship, Leon shook his head, voice mellow. "I didn't know. I-- hm," he pondered how much he was ready to share, and decided on very little. "I had some rough patches too, when young. You know how Cretus is."
As Alex laughed at his brat comment, Leon offered a chuckle in turn. "If it makes you feel any better, we're all brats in Chenoa's eyes. Me especially; she's said so multiple times. Mother of the year, that one."
But then Alex went on, admitting that he didn't care if he let his emotions take the best of him, and Leon ended up lecturing him anyway, be that it was out of worry. Not as a noble, but as a commoner trying to help his kin understand the world they had been thrust in.
"As someone who-- sort of understands, here's a piece of advice: you'd better start giving a fuck, or more people are going to suffer. Survive and adapt, yeah? That was some solid advice from your mother. How 'bout you follow it? Like it or not, your words have power now. If you aren't careful, you're going to hurt even more innocent people with them."
He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "No one's asking you not to have emotions, just not to let them get the better of you. The truth is that following your heart wherever it takes you is stuff for the storybooks - not real life. If you want to help people, swim with the current until you find a subtle way to influence its flow. Trying to swim upstream kicking and screaming just makes you drown before you can help anyone. That's how nobility works."
Leon would know, he'd made his fair share of similar mistakes in the past. Even now, he was messing with the other students at times - all nobles, even royalty. The trick was knowing who you could and couldn't mess with - and to what extent.
He grinned. "So, yeah. A cool head's a good start."
"Of course, you didn't know," Alex said calmly. "It's not like I'm particularly ashamed of my upbringing, but it still isn't something dear old dad is looking to draw much attention too." He scoffed, disdain lacing his words. He breathed in slowly, and then out in an exhale of relief.
Still, Leon seemed to hold something back. Alex opened his mouth to question him, but ultimately decided against it. Still, he laughed. "Well, with a leader like that, I'm not surprised Cretus isn't particularly great. Although... I'm torn. I wanna say she can't be that bad, considering you seem like a good enough guy, but-" But Alex wanted nothing more than to punch the woman's face in. He wanted to hear her beg for mercy before he took her head. But he wasn't about to say that.
Still, he seriously considered it as Leon proceeded to lecture him. Alex didn't necessarily think Leon was wrong, but... "If we never say anything, if we wait and never speak up when presented the opportunity, an opportunity we have now only because of our positions, how many will still suffer? There's an old folktale about a fish that swims against the current and upstream, swims up a waterfall, and becomes a dragon if it succeeds." He sighed. Did that even make sense. "There's something about perseverance, and strength in the face of adversity, and maybe some other lessons there. But either way..." He trailed off continuing to clean.
"I don't think I handled things well. And keeping a cool head will be important. Well, that and learning to pick my battles better. But sometimes, the subtle way, the way you wait for, isn't always the best way." Alex sighed as he finished cleaning. Maybe he just had to start smaller.
"A good enough guy? You flatter me," Leon laughed, a bit unsure if that was a sleight or a compliment. He assumed it was meant as the latter, so that's how he took it. "But whatever I am or am not, Chenoa can claim no credit for."
He wondered if he'd said too much. Regardless, the words were already out his mouth, so there was no taking them back now. Instead, he moved on quickly, hoping Alex didn't dwell on them for long.
"Oh, yeah. That. It's a nice story - but it's just that, a story. I've read plenty where people learn to fly, or travel through time."
Still, the fact that Alex was listening made Leon more open to returning the favour. He'd been there, once, believing in all ideals Alex did. Only he'd been forced to grow out of it. He couldn't decide whether Alex was lucky or unfortunate not to have met the same fate yet. Regradless, Leon felt as though he'd gotten through to him at least a little, and Alex seemed to understand what he had done wrong. Maybe that was enough for now.
Leon sighed. "I suppose there's no changing your mind, at least in full. But maybe that's fine. The world could use a few dragons." He grinned. "Just don't drown on the way."
He would have looked forlornly at the sky, but all he saw above was a dirty latrine ceiling. "... I'll keep your words in mind too."
He shook his head. "Anyway, I've kept you long enough. And you missed a spot-- right there," he pointed. "Better get to it."
With that, he turned to leave - only to peek back a second later, grinning. "Oh! And about pitting your eyes against my ability to avoid them, you're on. Better watch your back - I know I will be."
Leon pointed at Alex with two fingers, then back at his eyes - and slipped back out.
