[center][h1]Renar and Fleuri[/h1][/center]

Final adjustments. One last fitting, and the armor of the knight of the Midnight Hunt would be his to wear. It had taken days for Candaeln’s resident smith to go over the armor to his liking and determine that it wouldn’t have any ill effects should it be donned. Then came the reforging and refitting. And all that was left were a few loose straps. 

Or at least, there would have been, if Renar didn’t enter the smithy and see someone ahead of him in line already. A frown came across his face as he beheld who it was. Of course. It seemed the esteemed Sir Fleuri just couldn’t help but keep getting in his way. How typical.

[color=ff5000][b]”Ought I return after midday meal, then?”[/b][/color] Renar forced civility into his tone, leaning against the doorway. [color=ff5000][b]”I was led to believe the queue was relatively free.”[/b][/color]
[color=A0A0A0]“I thought so too, but it looks like he’s not ready for me either,”[/color] Fleuri replied as he turned to Renar.  [color=A0A0A0]“You could probably come back later, but I can’t guarantee that some other knight won’t show up and take your spot in the queue.”[/color]
Fleuri typically sought to avoid Renar around Candaeln, as the other Iron Rose had made clear his dislike for Fleuri.  They had to work together, so it was best to just not risk making things worse, he had reasoned.
[color=ff5000][b]”Blasted dwarf.”[/b][/color] Renar grumbled, electing to stay where he was with a huff. [color=ff5000][b]”He’d insisted on alterations to the armor once he’d gotten his hands upon it as well. I suspect he just wanted the chance to work with fey iron, for whatever value [i]that[/i] has.”[/b][/color] 

His gaze shifted back towards Fleuri, questioning.

[color=ff5000][b]”And what brings you here, then? I’d not seen you take excessive injury during the fracas with the Midnight Hunt, so that rules out necessity. Vanity, then? As I am?”[/b][/color] A humorless smile crossed the bastard’s face. [color=ff5000][b]”And here I thought you’d ‘reformed’ to be a man of faith.”[/b][/color] Renar goaded, suddenly discovering newfound entertainment value in this conversation.
[color=A0A0A0] “This matter of mine goes back further than our run-in with the Midnight Hunt,”[/color] Fleuri answered earnestly.  [color=A0A0A0] “After the mission to Fort Daelantine, I had a feeling that we’d be facing increasingly higher stakes and deadlier foes in the coming days.  So, some time before that unexpected business with Merilia, I spoke to Ardor about crafting me some new equipment, something that’d be a step up from the weaponry and armor that I scraped together with my tournament winnings.  To my knowledge, he should be nearly finished with it.”[/color]  He was unsure whether Renar’s aim was just to goad him or if he sought an honest answer.
[color=ff5000][b]”You speak as though the purse for winning a tourney isn’t substantial. Unless you frittered most of it away in your earlier years.”[/b][/color] Renar needled, that old jealousy of his always managing to make it to the fore whenever he spoke to Fleuri. Not that he tried to suppress it much. 

[color=ff5000][b]”Regardless, I was doing much the same. That knight of the Midnight Hunt I faced cost me my favorite trophy. It was only fair that I take everything he left behind in turn.”[/b][/color] He shifted, still wearing the cloak he’d ripped from said trapper’s body. The flame effect had largely died down after a few days, though sparks and embers still rippled on occasion. 

[color=ff5000][b]”Ardor hadn’t been pleased until he’d determined the armor was safe to don, though his tone shifted considerably once he did. About time, really. I tire of ill-fitting plate. An Iron Rose’s stipend still isn’t enough for a bespoke set of armor, though I find the spoils of war suit me better.”[/b][/color]

[color=A0A0A0] “Claiming trophies from the Midnight Hunt.  It seems wild that we have reached that point," [/color] Fleuri remarked, continuing to ignore Renar’s jabs.  Just a few months ago he would never imagine that they’d be where they were today, honed with the aid of a Witch and victorious over the Midnight Hunt.

[color=ff5000][b]”Perhaps it does.”[/b][/color] Renar allowed himself to agree with Fleuri for once with a shrug. [color=ff5000][b]”I would have called such idle fantasies of the deluded not half a year ago.”[/b][/color] He was [i]strong[/i] before, to be certain. Everyone in the Iron Rose had to be, to even be recruited. But now? The captain’s personal retinue seemed on the path to becoming legend in their own right. A shame he had to share it with such personalities as Fleuri.

[color=ff5000][b]”You were a tourney champion before, o Flower.”[/b][/color] Renar gave a mocking bow. [color=ff5000][b]”Imagine how much less strenuous the task would be now, after all this training and experience we’ve been granted. Ah, but you’ve sworn off such things, I’d forgotten~”[/b][/color] Of course he hadn’t forgotten. 

[color=A0A0A0]"Not...entirely,"[/color] Fleuri admitted.  [color=A0A0A0]"Haizea, head of the Reonite Church, has a habit of jumping into tournaments when the opportunity presents itself, and I reckon she would have some stern words for me if I were to suggest that complete abstinence from tourneys is the Reonite way.  Nothing wrong with an Iron Rose taking part in festivities as long as it doesn't interfere with their duties, but such an opportunity has not yet arisen since I joined."[/color]

In theory, Fleuri could probably request leave to travel to and from a tournament, but with how things were escalating with the thefts of the Shards of Angroron, it wouldn't feel right to potentially not be on call the next time the Roses were needed.

[color=A0A0A0]"What about you, Sir Renar?"[/color] he asked.  [color=A0A0A0]"If we're in Candaeln the next time there's a tournament in Aimlenn, would you be participating, as unexciting as it might be compared to battling the Midnight Hunt?"[/color]
[color=ff5000][b]”You do recall my [i]entire spiel[/i] I had regarding such privileges when last we spoke in any great detail?”[/b][/color] Renar fixed Fleuri with the sort of incredulous look one gave to a particularly dimwitted child that had just asked the most obvious of questions. 

[color=ff5000][b]”Of course I will be, so long as the tourney warrants the time. The only reason I’ve not done so thus far is thanks to how middling the opportunities have been when we’ve not been on deployment. What, were you intending on doing the same?”[/b][/color]

Fleuri raised an eyebrow at Renar's frustrated response- he had wondered since their last conversation if Renar hated what tournaments represented- opportunities for prestige and upward mobility restricted to those already of high social class- enough to forgo taking part in them, or if he truly wished to compete.

[color=A0A0A0]"Certainly, it wouldn't be very Reonite of me to not follow in the example of her representative, would it?"[/color] he joked.  [color=A0A0A0]"In all seriousness though, there are old associates and rivals I haven't seen in a while, and I'd like to face off against them again, find out just how far I've come since joining the Roses.  I wonder how much stronger they've gotten since I last saw them.  What about you, Sir Renar?  Any rivals you're looking to face off against while all of Aimlenn is watching?  With the way you pretended to play nice with me to goad Felix into a duel at the ball, I'm guessing you're not finished with your half-brothers."[/color]

There was no reason [i]not[/i] to inform him. 

[color=ff5000][b]”You.”[/b][/color] Renar said simply, maintaining the exact same tone implying that Fleuri was an utter simpleton. 

[color=ff5000][b]”My half-brothers would be a feather in my cap, to be certain. Though Felix is worthless, as you and half of Thaln’s collective aristocracy have seen now. But the Flower of the North?”[/b][/color] Renar gave a crooked smirk.

[color=ff5000][b]”I daresay defeating you would be more than enough to catapult my name into the higher echelons of power. So do keep yourself in good condition, yes? I want nothing to mar our inevitable duel whenever we should have another tourney.”[/b][/color]

Renar's answer made Fleuri realize just how differently they viewed the tournaments.  With all the time he had spent near or at the top, his tournament aspirations fulfilled or cast aside, Fleuri had come to focus more on the personal side of rivalries.  Sometimes even winning the tournament would sometimes be secondary to the goal of obtaining a rematch against a specific foe.  For an up-and-comer like Renar, however, ambitions of championship yet unfulfilled, his eyes would be firmly on the prize- the prize in this case being the reputational boon of defeating a past tournament champion.  Whether or not Renar’s dislike for Fleuri further fueled this aspiration, he couldn't say.

[color=A0A0A0]"I'll do my best, but when the day comes I hope they put us on the furthest brackets apart,"[/color] Fleuri replied.  [color=A0A0A0]"I've got a few rematches to fight, a tiebreaker or two to resolve, before I'll be ready to be eliminated."[/color]

[color=ff5000][b]”Tch.”[/b][/color] Renar refrained from expressing any more disdain past that, his eyes narrowing. [color=ff5000][b]”Do as you wish before that. Then face me with all you have, nothing held in reserve. I will match you, surpass you, and throw my victory into the face of all who ever denied me my due.”[/b][/color]

A call from inside the forge. Renar raised an eyebrow.

[color=ff5000][b]”But enough of that. Seems it’s to be your turn with Ardor. Go, get on with it.”[/b][/color]