#savanaclaw my belovedsss

[traumxrei-archive]

【 noble gentlemen; savanaclaw 】

— or, the noble gentlemen series, in which the genre of the world is historical fantasy, and you and the twst boys are citizens of a distant magical land !

details: gn! reader, drabbles, can be read platonically or romantically

note: apologies for the wait !! had a few pressing assignments so i put those first, but i'm glad to say that i can be back to a more regular schedule now ^^

[ part three out of seven in the noble gentlemen series ]

It wasn't common to meet knights randomly in your kingdom. Often times knights were found either patrolling or training within the palace walls, so it was quite a rarity to see knights in a more relaxed setting. Now that there was a visit from another royal from a distant land, it seemed that the streets were teeming with knights to make sure that no distractions occur.

However, you weren't expecting to meet a knight in the woods of all places. It was a nice day for a picnic, which is why you decided to go into the woods in the first place. So when you walked into a clearing only to be met by a training sword to the throat, you froze.

You made eye contact with the man and his eyes, which were brimming with concentration suddenly shifted, "Oh. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to attack you. I heard footsteps and…assumed the worst." From the way he was dressed to the quality of the training sword, you knew instantly that you had met a knight.

You asked for his name and the other awkwardly sheathed his sword, "Name's Jack." Huh, so maybe this guy wasn't so talkative... You offered to share your picnic spread with him and he reluctantly agreed. This was the first time that you met Jack from Afterglow Savanna's Royal Guard.

———

Sir Jack was...new to the knight thing. Even though he was very much fit for it, it turned out that Jack had only been a knight for a couple of months. You voiced your surprise. His form had been so steady and natural that it seemed to you he had been a knight for a long time.

"Le— I mean, his Highness picked me up from the lands of Pyroxene when he was visiting," Jack said, repeating his sword drills in front of you. "I'm grateful for it, but also, he really works me and Ruggie to the bone…" You smiled at his words. He seemed to get along well with his superiors. You said as much, and he flushed deeply, his ears flattening on his head. He turned around quickly after that and continued practicing, although you could still see his tail wagging lightly.

———

When you invited Sir Jack to your house, you were surprised to see him interested in your humble greenhouse. He crowded around your cacti, marveling at the tiny blossoms and giving you advice on how to cultivate them. Your gardener was most pleased with this, taking notes as the burly man continued talking about cacti care.

"Why I like cacti?" Jack tilted his head. "I guess it's because they're the one plant that doesn't die out in the cold of Pyroxene. I have lots of them back home but I've never seen this type before." He then coughed, seemingly realizing that he was...being more talkative than usual. But if all it took was cacti-talk for Jack to open up, then you really didn't mind. (Besides, it was kind of charming to think about the big and burly Sir Jack and his collection of cacti.)

———

Although it was fun to have those rendezvous and picnics with Sir Jack, you always knew that there would come a day when he would have to leave. You stare at the packed streets wistfully as the parade is led down the middle. It had been a hectic few days and you haven't had the chance to say goodbye to Jack, so you thought that you could at least do it from the parade. You didn't even get to join the crowd when a gentle hand tugged at your wrist. You whipped around to see Jack in plain clothes, leading you into an alley.

"Hey," Jack said awkwardly, and you echoed the greeting back. The two of you stood in silence for a bit before Jack's hand was shoving something into your arms. It was...a wool hat, intricately knitted and beautifully colored.

You tilted your head and Jack coughed, "Pyroxene is cold even in the summer. You should come and visit. If you have the time, that is." You smile and you can see his tail start to wag the slightest bit. You told him to make sure he has some good food when you visit, and his tail started wagging harder. Now you didn't have to think too hard if an opportunity for vacation came. You knew exactly where to go to meet your favorite knight once more.

With the second prince visiting, people were abuzz about the people accompanying him. Of course, you heard about the sandy-haired retainer that was always at the prince's beck and call. You also heard about his skillfulness and talent in a wide array of different things.

It's just...you didn't expect to run into him in a situation like that. With a big party being held for the second prince came the hustle and bustle of crowds. You were stuck in the fray of the dance floor when you suddenly felt it. Someone's hand was lightly tugging at your wallet. You immediately grab at the culprit's hand, holding on as the crowd jostled you together.

"Oho, so you felt that. Not bad for city folk, shishishi~" The culprit refused to let you turn around, and instead you felt yourself being led away.

When you were finally able to turn around, you saw sand-colored hair and blue-grey eyes, complete with a big grin, "Sorry ‘bout tryna steal your wallet. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't report me, my boss told me not to get into any trouble."

You...were speechless. But you told him that you could only do that if he promised not to pickpocket at the festival anymore. He pouted, "...You drive a hard bargain. I made sure to only go after the wealt– I mean...alright."

You sighed in relief and he grinned, "You're amusing. The name's Ruggie, and you are?" The thief-apparent wouldn't leave you alone for the whole festival. And it wasn't until later on that you realized he was the visiting Prince's retainer.

———

It wasn't like you meant to figure out that Ruggie was a skilled cook. No, really. You hadn’t even planned on meeting him again. It was more like…you walked into your dining room and saw him talking animatedly with your chef one afternoon.

"Woah, don't look so mad! There weren't many people with your name, y'know," He chuckled before pointing at the apron. "Besides, I'm the one that cooked your lunch for today. 'S a favor for letting me pester you for the remainder of the festival." He winked as the dishes rolled out. And you had to begrudgingly admit that...the food was good. Ruggie was indeed a talented chef. You could see him preening over your reaction in the corner. (If you asked him about what recipes to use, he would have the smuggest expression on his face.)

———

Another thing you learned about Ruggie was the way he loved playing with kids. This time around you had a few errands to run, but it was unexpected to see Ruggie leading a group of kids toward you. All the kids were smiling and giggling in delight as Ruggie said something.

"Y'know, I used to take care of all the kids in my neighborhood," Ruggie grinned, watching the kids run around. "I was kinda like their big brother~ 'S why I like kids so much." You watched with a smile as he joined in their playing, feigning getting caught by the children as they played. And you let yourself be lead into the crowd, spending your afternoon playing instead of finishing your errands.

———

You knew the day would come that Ruggie had to leave. It was inevitable; the visit was never meant to last forever. But you were quite sad to be losing such a great companion. So when Ruggie visited the day before he had to leave, you told him your thoughts.

Ruggie looked mildly surprised at your words, "You're...sad? Aww, don't be sad." You frowned at his teasing tone before he cleared his throat, "How about this: I'll write to you. And if I pester Leo— I mean, get a vacation, then I'll come and visit you. Or vice versa." It...wasn't a bad proposal. It would be nice to be penpals with Ruggie, and you could feel your mood lifting as he advertised many of Afterglow Savanna's natural wonders.

"That's why this isn't a goodbye," Ruggie said brightly before grabbing your hands. "Now c'mon~ Laugh with me, shishishi~" If there was one thing that you'd miss about Ruggie it was his ability to make you smile. Well, since this isn't a goodbye, then you'd just have to make sure to see him again one day.

Leona Kingscholar. Hailing from the distant Kingdom of Afterglow Savanna, he was the talk of the town. You were content just watching the festivities happen, listening to people talking about the prince that had the presence and power to be a king yet stayed forever second place. It was a bit sad to think about. Although you were a bit curious about this prince, you really didn't want to try your luck and run into him for fear of accidentally pissing him off.

So when you entered a seemingly-empty private room and were met with a low growl, you immediately froze. "Oi, who told you that you could come in here?" You turned slowly, seeing the prince sprawled on the couch. Shit.

The frown etched itself deeper onto his face, "Well? Are you going to answer?" The nerves buzzed under your skin as you apologized, watching as the prince raised himself up, sauntering over to where you were.

"Hmm...herbivores shouldn't poke their noses where they don't belong," The prince reached behind you, and you braced yourself for the worst. However, all you could hear was the click of the door opening. You turned your eyes back to the prince, finding him walking back to the couch. "Well? Run along," He yawned and you could see the slight glint of his teeth. "Or would you like me to change my mind?" You scurried off after that, heart still pounding in your chest from your encounter with Leona Kingscholar.

———

Funnily enough, the second time you met Prince Leona was at a restaurant. You didn't know what he was doing at the restaurant near your abode but what you did know was that he had seen you.

It was evident in the way his ears twitched before he was calling out to you, "Oi, nap-disturbing herbivore. Come over here." You could see the prince's attendant looking at you with pleading eyes and you relented. Turned out that they had gotten separated from their carriage, and Leona had gotten hungry enough that his nose led him to this restaurant.

"Order me the best, and get whatever's good for these two," Leona said, leaning his cheek into his palm. "And get something for yourself. I'll cover it." Huh. So maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all. The Prince ended up devouring close to five plates of the finest meat at that restaurant. The owner definitely appreciated your hand in this development.

———

The next coincidental meeting was strangely at your house. Or you shouldn't say it was coincidental, because his Highness had looked a little too smug while sitting in your drawing room. The outside world clamored as the "Prince of Afterglow Savanna went missing!", and guards started lining every corner.

"What? You weren't hard to find," Leona watched with very thinly veiled interest as you paced around. "Your house seems to be a good place to sleep. Lend it to me for a few hours, before those prissy knights find me again." You half-wondered if you should go up to the nearest guard station and report that, yes, the missing prince was not missing, he actually was at your house and he simply ran away. Yet you didn't do that. Instead, you let him find a spot of sunshine in your backyard and watched as he catnapped till his attendant finally found him.

———

Leona was never meant to stay for long. His visit to the kingdom was a political one, and once the negotiations were over, he was to go home. Much to your disappointment, Leona had not been visiting for the past few days till his leaving parade, and you half-heartedly thought that maybe Leona had forgotten all about you. But it turned out that you were wrong as soon as you opened the door to your drawing room.

"What? Thought I'd leave without saying anything?" Leona's lazy smile brought you a sense of normality that broke you out of your stupor. You sat across from him and asked him what he's doing here instead of at his parade. "Can't leave without this," Leona tossed something and you caught it. It was one of the beaded bracelets that often adorned the Prince's forearms.

"To clarify, that is still mine. I must've forgotten it here on one of my visits. So you're gonna have to give it back to me when you come visit Afterglow Savanna, alright?" And it took you a second to realize that he was asking you to promise that you'd meet again one day. You did an exaggerated bow, playing along with Leona's whims and promising to deliver the bracelet back safely. After all, who was going to turn down an invitation from a prince himself?

[ bonus : how do these gentlemen know each other ? ]

— Leona was actually visiting the kingdom for a negotiations! He works as a diplomat for Afterglow Savanna. It might sound out of character, but with Leona's sharp tongue and keen intellect, he makes an excellent negotiator and gets even more benefits than expected for his kingdom.

— Although he was bitter when he was younger, that sense of bitterness has been watered down and pushed aside by a determination to support his kingdom. People call him a "Shadow Ruler" because of the way he can greatly influence Afterglow Savanna's allies, but he has no ambitions to forcefully inherit the throne.

— Leona and Ruggie met during one of Leona's many visits to areas of poverty in Afterglow Savanna. Ruggie tried to steal something off him and Leona caught him immediately. But instead of turning him in, Leona just told Ruggie to get better at it, so that next time he could take his wallet without him noticing. Ruggie developed a begrudging respect for Leona ever since then.

— The only reason that Ruggie ended up becoming Leona's retainer was because Leona was sick and tired of all the prissy retainers that Falena would assign him. He remembered Ruggie and basically asked him to become his retainer on the spot.

— It went something like:

Leona: You.

Ruggie: Me?

Leona, rolling his eyes: Yes, you. I know you remember me. Can you clean? Can you cook? Are you able to keep secrets?

Ruggie: ....For a good price I could.

Leona: Great. *throws a bag of thaumarks at Ruggie* You start tomorrow.

[ And now Ruggie runs circles around him tryna keep him on track. What a happy ending. ]

— Jack, on the other hand, wasn't as easily convinced. In the first place, it wasn't like they had known each other for a long time when Leona had offered him a job as a knight. So he was very hesitant to accept the offer, even more so after seeing how ragged and rundown Ruggie was.

— Leona ended up challenging Jack to a duel of swords. The terms were if Jack could beat him, he'll leave him alone. But if Jack couldn't beat him, he would join Leona's retinue as a knight for two years. (If it wasn't clear already, Jack lost the duel. And this ignited his determination to one day best Leona in a fight, which is why he trains so hard.)

— Even Ruggie didn't understand why Leona was trying so hard to grab Jack. But well, maybe Leona saw a bit of his younger self in Jack? Who knows, all Ruggie was supposed to be doing was figuring out ways to further drain Leona's wallet.

— Jack and Ruggie got along pretty well. At first there was some wariness, but Ruggie kinda took Jack under his wing after a bit. That wasn't to say the troublesome hyena didn't play pranks on the trusting wolf, but well...they got a long. (Especially when it was time to complain about Leona—)

thank you for reading ! if you'd like to read more, check out my masterlist, or the rest of the noble gentlemen series :D