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Levi chewed on his other cheek. Since Fiori knew his name close enough, he decided he wouldn’t tell him that his brother’s name was Johan. Maybe something similar? “Close, Johan.” He nodded. “My brother admires him.” It was fun in a strange sort of way, fabricating a story that wasn’t fully a lie, and wasn’t fully the truth.
"Johan," Fiori said, trying the name out. It seemed such a simple name, almost too plain for the man he remembered facing. "Your people, you have such strange names. What do they mean?"
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Levi silently mused how he felt the same way about Fiori’s people, and their name. “Well, I’m no expert on everyone’s name meanings, but I do know his…just random information I’ve learned. His full name is Johannan Anatoli Elerib. It’s meaning is something like—if I remember right, that is— ‘The rising sun comes from the gracious champion.’” He read books about their name meanings, but other than the ones that stuck in his mind, he didn’t know them.
Fiori hummed, turning it over in his head a few times. It was better than Johan, flashier. "Seems more fitting for him. I do not wish to offend, but Johan seems… plain, for a prince. Leviticus is better, I think. It seems a very noble name, what does it mean?"
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“Yes, Johan is just a shortened version of his name. Others call him Johannan, but I know him more personally—with my relationship to the first prince. So I refer to him as Johan.” He pulled his other leg up onto the bed now, sitting cross-legged. “And as for my name, it means ‘the joined defender of mankind.’ That’s including my second name, as well.”
Fiori nodded, moving the plate over to the desk and then plopping down on the bed with a contented sigh. "The joined defender of mankind is a pretty lofty title, Leviticus. Your parents had high hopes for you." He turned his head to smile at Levi, soft and sincere. "Will you live up to them?"
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Levi watched Fiori with a content smile. “I sure hope so,” he answered just as softly. “I’m doing my best, but in my…situation right now, I don’t think I’m doing the best job.”
Fi hummed. "My gods are not cruel ones," He said, almost teasing. "You will be freed by the time festival season is over, I can feel it in my bones, but… I will miss you when you leave."
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“Hm,” Levi hummed back with a growing smile again. Talking with Fiori was an emotional roller coaster. “I’ll miss you too, Fiori. You’ve been nothing but good a good friend to me.”
Fi smiled back at him, and there was something sad in his eyes. "I am glad that you think so highly of me, Leviticus. It is an honor to have earned your respect."
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You have no idea. Levi’s lips quivered as if he was going to say something, but he remained silent. He smiled a bit wider. Festival season began tomorrow, so that meant only a few more days as a slave. He reached up to brush his fingers against the silver collar again. Only a few more days until the silver ring on his finger meant more than the silver collar around his throat. But it was bittersweet, because that also meant only a few more days of being with Fiori as a friend, and not the opposing leaders of warring countries.
(this seems like a pretty natural ending point for the day, would you like to skip to the first day of festival season?)
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(Sure! That’s good with me)
Fiori had been pacing the room for what felt like hours, waiting for Levi to wake so they could leave the castle and hit the streets. He was already dressed up, wearing a thick ruff of wolf's skin across his shoulders and two fabric bracers on his arms, silver roses embroidered across the edges. The not quite anxiety of knowing what would come made it impossible to sit still or even pause long enough to sort through his normally quiet thoughts. Today he would fight. Today he would be proven a weakling or a champion.
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Levi stirred awake, pulling his arm from over his eyes. He blinked sleep away from them, and yawned at the blurry ceiling. This was his third day here, or was it his fourth? How had he lost count already? Slowly, he looked around the room, and seeing Fiori, remembered exactly what day it really was. “Oh,” he sat up. “It’s festival day.” He blinked just eyes wider to try and wake up faster. His hair was a tangled mess, strands sticking up in random places, and a little bit greasy.
"Yes!" Fiori grinned at him, bustling over to the bed and tossing away the covers. "We should go! It's already…" he peered out the window, gauging the time by how high the sun was in the sky. It barely peeked over the tops of the trees, but he didn't seem dissuaded. "…5:30. They've probably begun to decorate the streets already, Leviticus. Time is wasting."
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“5:30…” he echoed, laughing softly. He wiped his eyes with his palm. “I have to get dressed too, don’t I? You said something about a shirt…silver bracers…right? Or something.” He yawned again, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Ohh… he remembered again, but without the excitement this time. Fiori has said that he would meet his uncle at the festival. But it was surely nothing to worry about.
"Yes, but first you need to bathe. And eat. And tame your hair." Fi reached over to try and comb his fingers through it, wrinkling up his nose. Levi needed to be presentable to meet his uncle, and right now he looked like a mess. "I put it into such a nice braid before you fell asleep, how does this always happen?"
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He laughed more heartily as he chased sleep away. “It does what it wants when I’m asleep.” He stood up, reaching up hid own hand to feel his hair. “It isn’t as bad as when it isn’t braided. So that’s something. I’ll need a brush for my hair after I wash it.”
Fiori gave his hair one last disdainful look before he decided to let Levi deal with his own bedhead. "I can brush it while you're in the baths if you wash it out first. Will shampoo do anything, or is it impervious?"
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“Shampoo helps the grease, but makes the tangles worse. But it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a complicated braid,” he replied. “I’ll head over to the baths now.”
Fiori nodded, already on his way to the door. "Your hair confuses me," He said, holding the door open for Levi to walk through. "Why do you keep it so long? Mine is much easier to take care of than yours, does it not get inconvenient?"
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Levi passed through the doorway while he talked. “It does get inconvenient,” he admitted, “But for us, hair length and any jewelry we decorate it with shows our status. For myself, as a nobleman, I keep it long and elaborately braided. And I have conditioner to keep it soft, and ways to keep it healthy at home. I don’t have that here.” At home, during the day he would wear little gold rings and expensive jewels fastened into his hair. He had longer hair than both of his brothers to show his position as heir to the throne.
Fiori hummed consideringly, closing the door behind them as they started the short walk to the baths. "I see. For us, hair is… not a factor? We tend to keep it short for ease in battle, so nobody can drag you around by it, but beyond that it has no real purpose. Traditionally you wear it long and then cut it short when you go to war, but that has become… tedious. It only really extends to royals anymore."
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Levi let his hands swing at his side while they walked. “Going to watch with long hair is a consideration. From what I’ve seen my brother do, and what I assume every soldier does, is he ties it tightly behind his head in a bun. That way it stays out of his face and is less likely to be dragged around by it.” He smiled as he thought about how scars didn’t mean much in his culture, and hair meant everything. And yet in Fiori’s culture, scars meant everything, and hair didn’t mean much.
Fiori nodded, recalling the Widonian's he'd fought on the battlefield. "From what I've seen, most of your warriors tie it back in a bun. On our side, women usually do a braid around their head, to make a sort of crown." He traced the back of his head, showing where the braid would sit. "There isn't a lump that way, so they can wear helmets if they wish. Menfolk keep their hair short."
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“Some of our warriors are of lesser status,” Levi remembered seeing soldiers in the battalions with short hair. “Their hair would be short, about the length of your soldiers’.” The length of hair on the battlefield didn’t necessarily betray a soldier’s rank, however. A nobleman with long hair could be just a regular soldier, and a man with short hair could rise through the ranks and become a commander or even lieutenant.
(Can I get a description of what Johan looks like? It doesn't have to be fancy, I just feel like I should have a vague idea since Fi's seen him in person and stuff.)
Fi hummed, accepting the new information. "I see. How does one determine their status? I assume it is passed down through blood, but beyond that my understanding is… fuzzy." Fi still didn't really understand the whole passing prestige down through blood thing, but if it worked for Levi's country he wanted to do his best to understand it.
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(O right! He’s looks similar to Levi since their brothers, but not exactly. He’s a year younger, about 18 years old. His hair is dusty brown, length about to his collarbone when unbraided and over his shoulders, kept back in braids like Levi’s, with little gold ringlets hooked on the sections of hair that are braided. His eyes are darker blue, more like sapphire blue instead of icy blue. He has a broader jawline than Levi, and a bumped nose bridge, freckles speckled across his face, neck, and chest from training/being outside. He has a few small scars on his face, including one of his right eyebrow where a line of hair doesn’t grow. The most noticeable scar is the deeper one dragging from his ear down the side of his face to his jaw (from Fiori). He’s more muscular from training which makes his shoulders appear broader than Levi’s. He has a naturally small and narrow frame, but he’s well built (when compared with other Widonians) and muscles from the extensive training. With his scars, darker tanned olive skin, and his build, someone at first glance would probably assume Johan is older than Levi. Oops I didn’t realize this got so long)
“There is,” Levi replied, “Kind of. It’s based off of wealth, titles, and bloodlines, but there are no distinct classes when going below nobility. Below nobility, the citizens keep their hair no longer than the base of their neck.” He gestured to the top of his neck.
(Very helpful, thank you!!)
Fiori smiled, face smoothing out as he began to understand. In that aspect, it wasn't too different from Usigen society, though instead of bloodline status depended on the offices you'd help in the past and how well you'd done in them. "I see. For us it is… different. There are ranks; citizenry, low court, high court, and royal, but there are also deamhan– devotions to different gods."
