#ironleaves | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

darkgreiga · 6 years

Text

Wishes, Dreams, and Memories Chapter 4

Fandom: Rune Factory 4 Rating: T (to be safe) Genre(s): Adventure, Hurt/Comfort Characters: Lest, Dolce, Amber, Dylas, Leon Summary: She had a wish to see him again. He had a dream of her last moments. They had their memories of having only each other. The amnesiac Earthmate never knew that by bringing his best friend back wouldn’t make his daily life go back to normal. Nor did he know she was the key to his and his ancestors’ past. Chapters: list Navigation: <<prev | next>> Author’s notes: The first chapter to contain the actual pairing stuff and definitely the hardest for me to write lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 4 – Lunch Date

-First Person POV-

I’m standing in the dragon room again and I feel hurt and sad in my chest. I’m looking up at my dragon friend, whose body is slowly losing its color every passing second. Tears are falling from my eyes, knowing that I might never see Venti anymore. What about my memories? She already did give me a lot of memories here by letting me stay in Selphia. Whether they’re sad or happy memories, they’re all within me. Maybe these memories are much better than my original memories being brought back.

My callings aren’t changing anything. I ask her to stay, but yet she insists that it’s her time to go. Don’t you have a choice to stay, Venti? To stay here, in Selphia, with the other townspeople. Stay with the Guardians. No, stay here with me. For someone I’ve known for only a year, I feel like I’m losing a childhood friend I’ve been spending time with for years.

I feel powerful for defeating Ethelberd and saving Venti, but seeing how she’s slowly losing her existence in front of me makes me feel so powerless. She’s given me a home, a job, and even a title as the prince, but I can’t do a single thing to help her in her case. No, I never even know she has been feeling all this time. Getting weaker and weaker as I release more Guardians… It’s something I’ve never imagined feeling. I only know how to fight them and bring them back for the sake of goodness, only to bring suffering to her.

My hands can only grab the empty air in front of me, missing the dragon god who lives in there. The dragon god who is my friend, my first friend that I remember. Now, that friend is gone. Gone and there’s nothing I can do for her. Nothing to be done to help her. I fall to my knees as I hear footsteps coming into the room from behind me.

-Third Person POV-

“Venti!” The hazel-haired Earthmate suddenly got up from his bed, surprising the purple-haired butler who was going to wake him up.

“Whoa!” The sudden movement had snapped the drowsy butler wide awake, making her almost jump back in surprise and dropping the food tray she was carrying.

“Oh…” Lest noticed the surprised look on his butler’s face, “Sorry about that, Clorica. I’ve just got some bad dreams, that’s all…”

“It’s okay,” Clorica walked towards the nightstand next to Lest’s bed and set the tray on it, “Here’s some apple pie for your breakfast. I hope this is enough to make you feel better.”

“Okay, thanks,” Clorica bowed politely before she left the room with her usual yawn.

Lest saw the purple-haired butler leaving and let out a sigh. The vision of his dream came back, which made him let out another depressed sigh. It wasn’t the first time he dreamt about his missing dragon friend as it was what he had been dreaming since the night Ventuswill left Selphia. He was the only one to witness her passing as the Guardians came after she had left. The Guardians, like Lest, had a bond with the native dragon, strong enough to be able to sense when Ventuswill was leaving.

He turned to the food tray on his nightstand and took it in his hands, staring at the apple pie placed on it. He knew dwelling on the past wouldn’t do him any good, but his heart was still hurting over the loss of his first friend. He slowly finished his meal and got himself ready before heading towards the main room. As he was walking towards the door to head for the town, his steps came into a stop in front of the pathway leading to the dragon room in the center of the castle.

Lest stared at the pathway for a moment before letting out a sad smile, “Maybe I’ll hang out in Venti’s place for a bit,” He turned to walk towards the dragon room instead and found that the room wasn’t empty that morning. A man with light blue hair was standing in front of the spot where Venti used to be, talking as if the original room’s occupant was there.

“… and it seems like Xiao Pai had just broken her own record of the most plates broken in a single day,” The man continued talking to himself before letting out a grin, “And it’s a great morning, you.”

“So you know that I’m here, Leon,” Lest walked up to the Guardian before letting out an annoyed sigh, “I already told you my name, so why are you still calling me ‘you’?”

Leon let out a small laugh, “You’re always fun to tease, aren’t you?” Leon’s smile turned into a frown as he closed the feather fan he was holding, “Hey, do you think it’s possible? For Venti to return here?”

“I… don’t know…” Lest let out a disappointed sigh, “I still don’t understand much about all of this… Earthmate stuff…”

“I see,” Leon turned to Venti’s spot once more, “I think I need some time here,” Leon turned his head to Lest and grinned slyly, “I’ll play with you some other time then.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Lest let out a laugh before heading to the town to gather some information.

Lest’s effort of trying to find some information led him going back to the castle empty handed. He had checked on the other townspeople he hadn’t asked the day before, but none of them seemed to have any idea. He had also tried checking on Kiel and Arthur, who were doing some reading together at the manor. As much as he wanted to ask the two, the serious looks on Kiel’s and Arthur’s face told him that it was best not to bother them.

With barely any new information, the hazel-haired Earthmate decided to head towards his fields and began working. Being used to tending his farm every single day for almost two years in Selphia, Lest managed to tend his crops while thinking about what he had learned the day before. A certain spell name came into his mind as he put his watering can down, stopping him from taking the hoe sitting next to the can.

‘The Omni Gate spell…’ Lest’s thought went back to the time when he was told to release the last Guardian, ‘If my incompetence was the cause at that time, then it should work this time…’

Lest had been training by defeating the monsters around town for a while, thinking that his skill would become more and more useful as he trained more. Comparing his current skill with his skills back then, he felt confident that he had improved his abilities as an Earthmate and as a fighter. Even so, he couldn’t say for certain how far improved he was. Letting out a sigh, Lest knew that doing the spell carelessly wouldn’t do him good.

Lest had finished his work and looked around his field before stretching his arms, “Okay, I think I need a relaxing walk around town now,” The hazel-haired Earthmate left his field and headed back towards the castle’s front door, walking towards the west side of the town.

Meanwhile in one of the buildings on the west side of the town, a certain pink-haired woman had just finished mixing some medicine which a customer had requested. The customer took and paid the medicine before leaving the building. As the customer left, the woman let out a tired sigh and sat down on a nearby chair before her ghost friend popped up in front of her.

“Dolly, are you okay?” The ghost asked while looking worriedly at her tired friend.

“I’m fine. Jones and Nancy should be back soon, don’t worry,” The woman replied before turning to the door as soon as it opened, “Welcome, how can I-”

“Hi again, Dolce,” The hazel-haired Earthmate came into the clinic with a smile, “I’m done with my work today, so I decided to come and visit you again for today.”

“Ah, perfect timing! I think Dolly wants to see you again today!” Pico turned to see her friend with a smile, who glared at her before putting a talisman on her face, “OUCH!”

Lest let out a laugh after seeing the scene, getting Dolce’s attention, “D-Do you need anything?”

“Not really, I’m just visiting after working,” Lest stretched his arms up tiredly, only to have Dolce grab his right arm, “Huh?”

“Where did you get this scar?” Dolce pushed Lest’s arm lower, pointing at the sleeve which had been thorn to reveal a small scar, “Here, this one.”

“Oh, that? I think I accidentally scratched myself against the ironleaves when I was harvesting them today,” Lest rubbed the back of his back of his head in embarrassment, “I forgot to put some more distance when planting the ironleaves.”

“You can’t leave a wound open, big or small,” Dolce gently released Lest’s injured arm, “Wait here.”

The pink-haired Guardian walked towards the other side of the room and opened one of the drawers of the table with medical tools. Pico had recovered from the talisman attack she got earlier and approached the Earthmate who was watching Dolce digging through the drawer.

“I know that she’s happy to see you again today,” Pico told the Earthmate, getting his attention, “And she’s always been worried when she knows that you’re going out of town.”

Lest laughed, “Yeah, I noticed.”

“What are you two talking about?” Dolce had returned while carrying some bandages, cotton, and her own sewing kit in her hands.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” Lest noticed the items that Dolce was holding, “Are you going to treat that scar? I don’t think it’s necessary, though…”

“Just to be safe, I’ll clean and bandage it for you,” Dolce turned to Lest with a smile, “You don’t need to pay me anything.”

“Because a loving hug is… OUCH!” Before Pico could finish her sentence, Dolce had thrown another talisman to land on her head.

“Be quiet!” Dolce told the ghost, but her eyes hadn’t left Lest’s arm as she was bandaging him. With the bandage secured on its place, Dolce took her sewing kit and patched the thorn sleeve.

“Thanks!” Lest moved around his arms comfortably as the bandage didn’t restrict his movements.

“You’re welcome,” Dolce smiled and went to put the rest of the bandages and her sewing kit away.

“I guess… I can’t take you out today, huh?” Lest’s question had the Guardian’s attention, “I mean, you shouldn’t be leaving the clinic when you’re in charge, right?”

“We’re home, Dolly!” The door suddenly opened, revealing the older couple, “Oh, hello again Lest. Are you here to see Dolly?”

“Yeah, I was planning to take her out for lunch, but I can’t if she’s in charge right now,” Lest saw Nancy as she pulled Dolce to his side despite her protests.

“She’s free to go now, isn’t that right Jones?” Nancy turned to her husband with a smile.

Jones looked at Nancy in confusion for a moment until he noticed what his wife meant, “A-Ah, yes. In fact, she’s taking over my shift temporarily while we’re out for lunch.”

“And I think it’s been quite a while since the last time the two of you went on a date, correct?” Nancy looked at the younger couple, getting a nod from Lest but Dolce was looking flustered.

“Come on, Dolly,” Dolce noticed that Pico was at her side, smiling at her, “I know that you wanted to spend some time with him.”

“T-That’s…” A slight blush was visible across her face as she looked at Pico, Nancy, and then Lest, “I… I’ll wait outside,” Dolce ran through the people in the room and headed out of the building.

“Make sure you get her home safely too, okay?” Pico turned to Lest with a smile.

“Wait, you’re not coming?” Pico shook her head in response, “Okay, don’t worry about it.”

“Have fun in your date, you two!” Nancy told the Earthmate with a smile as he was leaving.

As Lest went outside, he noticed that the female Guardian was waiting beside the door, “Dolce, shall we get going?”

“O-Oh…” Dolce was surprised at Lest’s sudden calling before she recovered and smiled, “Yes,” Dolce took Lest’s hanging hand, surprising the Earthmate as he turned to her with a blush on his face. He smiled at her and held her hand while both of the headed for Porcoline’s restaurant.

It was already time for lunch, making the restaurant crowded with hungry people. The couple managed to get a table at the rightmost corner of the restaurant and had their order taken. While waiting for their ordered dish, Lest noticed that the smile she had when they were walking towards the restaurant had turned into a frown and she had started knitting instead of talking to him.

Just as he was about to say something, Dylas had come to their table with their ordered dishes, “Here’s your order.”

Dolce looked up at Dylas, who was looking at her with a serious face. Both of them nodded before the male Guardian left to get more dishes quickly before the chef of the restaurant himself devoured the customers’ orders. Lest saw the female Guardian in front of him had started eating in silence.

“Is everything okay?” Lest asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Dolce looked up from her plate and at Lest’s, “You should eat before the food gets cold.”

Lest knew that something wasn’t right when they entered the restaurant. He looked at his plate and an idea to get the Guardian to talk struck him. He took a spoonful of his dish and turned to Dolce, “Dolce,” The female Guardian responded to his call, “Say ahhh…”

“W-What…?” A slight blush returned to her face as Dolce noticed that Lest had a spoonful of food to give her. After a slight pause, Dolce leaned forward a little as Lest put the spoonful of food into her mouth.

“Well, is it good?” Dolce responded with a silent nod, still feeling a bit embarrassed, “I just want to lure you into saying what’s on your mind. But if you don’t want to say it now, I don’t mind waiting.”

“Lest…” Dolce gave him a smile, but it soon turned into a frown, “I’m just… still thinking about Ventuswill… and how to bring her back…”

“So am I,” Lest responded with a smile, “But I don’t think I’ll get anywhere if I let that thought affect my daily life.”

“That’s true,” Dolce nodded in agreement, “The other Guardians are looking into this as well.”

“Yeah, so let’s just take it easy and we’ll find our way to save her,” Lest replied with a smile.

“Thanks…” Dolce took a spoonful of her food, “Here, say ahhh…”

“Ahhh…” Lest leaned forward as Dolce put the spoonful of food into his mouth, “It’s delicious!”

“Isn’t it?” Dolce smiled before getting a spoonful for herself, “Let’s start eating before the food gets cold.”

“Yeah,” Lest nodded before he continued eating as well.

Once they had finished their lunch and paid for the food, the couple walked back towards the clinic with their hands locked. After they had reached the clinic’s door, the female Guardian turned to Lest with a smile, “Thanks for walking me home.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be going now then,” Lest was about to let go of Dolce’s hand, but she was still holding his, “Huh?”

Dolce turned away for a bit in embarrassment before walking closer to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, “Thanks for today.”

Lest, with a blush on his face, was still frozen in his place as he watched Dolce going into the building. Once he had snapped himself out, he let out a smile, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

#rf4 #rune factory 4 #fanfiction #adventure #rf4 lest #rf4 dolce #rf4 amber #rf4 dylas #rf4 leon #rf4 lest x dolce

1 note · View note