Lion Sin of Pride (Ban x OC)

Feelings

Leo approached the camp early the next morning, and was surprised to find Ban already outside and awake, sitting beside the ashes of the cold fire. He was lying on his back beside the coals, his arm flung over his face.

When she reached him, she kicked the bottom of his boot before sitting down beside him. He let out a low groan. "Headache, Foxy?" She asked in a slightly amused voice.

He raised his arm just enough to squint his eyes at her, and said in an irritated voice, "What do you think?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You know you do this to yourself."

He lowered his arm and covered his gaze again. "I'm pretty sure the headache is my fault, but I don't think sticking a sword through my stomach was my idea."

She was surprised that he remembered any details from the night before. He had been pretty drunk. She unsheathed Megil and began to clean the blade on the edge of her tunic, not looking at him as she said, "What was I supposed to do? You were being an ass and I didn't think you'd listen to anything I had to say at that point. Am I wrong?"

She glanced over at him, taking her focus away from her rapier for just a moment, but he didn't move, just simply said in an annoyed tone, "Just keep that idiot Holy Knight away from me and we won't have anymore problems."

She scoffed and slid Megil back into her sheath as she said in an annoyed tone of her own, "If I remember correctly, you're the one that came at him looking for a fight. And why do you care? I know we've been inseparable since the sins were formed, but that doesn't mean you're my lover, or my father, or my older brother. You don't need to protect me." She formed a dagger in the palm of her hand and studied the ornate blade in the light of the morning sun, before she flicked it into the ground at her feet. "I am more than capable of handling myself, Foxy. You should know that by now."

"Whatever. But don't blame me if that knight turns out like all the rest." Ban pushed himself up off the ground, his movements stiff with anger. "You know what they do. They use us and then when things go wrong, they blame their own misconstrued sins on us."

He stalked away from her and slammed open the door to the pub, banging it shut behind him, the loud noise ringing across the clearing in the silence of the morning.

She let out an exasperated breath and stood from the ground, stretching her arms over her head in a graceful and practiced manner. She rolled her neck on her shoulders, working out the kinks from the night before, and then glanced across the clearing, noting that King was down by the stream on his own.

She padded across the grass silently and came up beside him. He glanced over at her, but didn't speak to her, and they both stood in silence for several moments, staring at the clear, trickling water at their feet.

Finally, Leo broke the silence. "What are you doing out here?"

He floated lower, coming to eye level with her, even though he kept his gaze on the stream. "Just thinking."

She glanced over at him, a smirk on her lips, and teased, "About Diane?"

His cheeks blushed crimson and he gave her a startled look before a glare came over his features. "Very funny. The elf has a sense of humor."

She raised a shoulder slightly in a shrug and they fell into silence again, until King spoke again. "They're right you know." He flipped upside down, his hair sticking up, and finally looked at her, his gaze studying her.