"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know." He said. "Take my hand."
He refused, despite how exhausted he felt, with a shake of his head. He got to his feet on his own. He felt incredibly stiff and disjointed.
"Hmm." He grunted, as he examined the people in front of him. A swordsman, a knight, and a cleric. The knight was clearly the most experienced of the three. He looked suspicious of the dark haired mage, almost as if he were expecting him to attack.
He had slept for several hours, it seemed. It was broad daylight now. He covertly tried searching the fields for any sign of reinforcements.
"Are you hurt?" The man asked again.
"No."
"Then why were you sleeping out here?" The girl demanded. Younger than the others, she also seemed to be far the most fiesty.
"Why would I tell you?" He retorted sharply. "Where I sleep is none of your business, thank you."
She recoiled in shock. She was clearly not used to being addressed in such a way. "That's no excuse to be rude!" She huffed.
"Peace, friend." The blue haired man spoke. The tactician felt as if he was addressing the knight, rather than himself. "We did not mean to frighten you."
They stared each other down. Despite his words, he felt a certain threatening vibe in the air.
"I understand." He said. "Please excuse me."
Whirling his back to them, he began making his way down the path.
"Well, thanks a lot- Chrom!"
Soren looked over his shoulder. The others were looking off, far in the distance, at the smoke rising from the forest.
"It can't be the town, can it?" The girl asked nervously.
"I think it is!"
The smoke was absolutely billowing into the sky. No small flame could make smoke that dense...
Before he could register what was happening, the three of them ran off to the source of the flame.
Heroes, were they? He thought, as he watched them go. The slightest sign of trouble, and off they were. They had even approached him, to make sure he was alright.
Something close to guilt began to well up inside him. Hadn't someone else, long ago, shown him a similar kindness? Hadn't that man been the closest friend he had ever had?
His mind set, he ran after them, gripping his wind tome. It had been far too long since he had seen battle.
...
The town was on fire. They were right to be panicked. The three stood at the town entrance, sizing up the situation, as he approached them from the rear.
"Hold!" He shouted. They jumped, and whirled on him.
"I mean you no harm." He said, holding his hands out in an attempt to make a peaceful gesture. "What is going on here?"
The blue haired man looked at him. "Bandits." He replied. "They've taken over the town."
"Hm." He said. Stepping forward, he examined the situation for himself. "They already know we're here." He commented. "They're just watching us now. They're clearly not very well trained, or equipped." He frowned. "HIt them fast and hard, I'd say."
Ignoring the stares of the others, he pulled out his tome, flipping through the pages. "You." He said to the girl. "Stay behind me."
Her mouth and eyes were wide open. Looking between her companions, she nervously shuffled away from him.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He said impatiently. "The other two will need to go ahead of us, and lure the bandits towards us, out in the open. I'll be covering them, but I don't have a heal staff on me. It will be your responsibilty to keep us all alive."
She looked helplessly towards the blue haired man. He himself was staring intently at him.
"Do as he says, Lissa." He said at last.
"What?"
"I trust him." He said simply. "Frederick."
"Yes sir!"
And they were off, expertly charging off into the battlefield. Two bandits were struck down almost effortlessly. Although the Knight was clearly far more skilled, something about the blue haired man reminded him of a friend long lost...
"Hey!" THe girl snapped. "Are we going to help them, or what?"
He snapped out of his reverie, as he looked over at her. "Of course." He said coolly. "Follow closely."
He slowly began to walk across the battlefield, his eyes darting around the place, searching for the enemy in hiding.
"Umm." She said, as she crept behind him. "Why are you so slow?"
"Hush." He scolded. The bridge was clearly the most occupied part of the town at the moment. Four bandits were standing around it, wary of getting any closer to the warriors cutting down their comrades.
"This is going to require precision." He muttered. There was a mage there. Ill trained as he was, he surely knew enough to fry any man bold enough to charge towards him.
"I'll take the mage." He declared. "Steer clear!"
As they approached the bridge, the mage fired off a fire bomb at him. He blocked it, rendering it harmless with his own power, hardly thinking. Shooting his own power forth, he attacked the two men who tried to rush him. A third attack of wind magic killed the mage, despite his attempts to defend himself.
"Wo-wow..." the girl whispered in awe. "That was incredible."
Blue took down the last one, leaving the way to the leader clear.
...
"That was absolutely incredible!" The girl, Lissa, gushed as the townsfolk came forward to thank them. "Tactics, and such powerful sorcery..."
He brushed off the compliment, looking around at all the people sending thankful smiles his way. He had not seen such simple people this happy since...
"Lissa is right." Chrom rumbled. "That was truly an impressive display. I've never seen anything like it. You did that was an elwind tome, didn't you?"
"Wind tome." The tactician corrected instinctively. He then flinched. He sounded rather like a braggart.
"I suppose this is where we part ways." He said. "It was..." he flinched. "a pleasure." He made as if to push his way through the crowd, only to be stopped by Chrom.
"Wait, friend! You never even told us your name."
"Soren." He said, ice coating his words. "Good bye."
He did not let go.
"Soren." He repeated. "Where are you headed?"
"No where in particular."
"With skills like yours?" He pressed. "Have you no family?"
"None that I care for."
"No kingdom to serve?"
"No." He said. His eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"You came to these people's aid the instant you realized they were in trouble." He said. "With no reward in sight, at that."
He scoffed. "So?"
"I want to make you the tactician of our little group." he said. Ignoring the surprised looks of the others, he tightened his grip on Soren's shoulders. "We could really use someone like you.
And it then hit him, that he could use someone like Chrom as well.
"I accept." He said. "Now unhand me."
...