Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.
Characters: Tana, Ephraim.
Pairings: Tana/Ephraim.
Author's Notes: First fic of the new year! And one of if not THE first birthday fic on FFNet of the new year, I'm willing to bet. I've been writing this over the course of the past few weeks to present to my boyfriend Darth Slaverus. Tana/Ephraim is not a pairing I commonly focus on –nor the pairing he was expecting, as I recall; SURPISE!- but it's one of his favourites and I hope with everything I have that I didn't throw them too far out of character and that he likes it. Happy birthday, Darth!
Ephraim didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. By the time he realized a Wight had taken aim at him, the arrow had already embedded itself in his shoulder, and the impact had knocked him off-horse. Normally, he'd get up, pick up the lance he had dropped during his fall, and repay the favour, but his body felt funny. He managed to push himself up, but when he reached for Siegmund, he realized his fingers were numb and he didn't feel the steel of the lance shaft.
Poison, he immediately realized. Without the ability to feel his own grip on the lance, he gripped it so hard his knuckles turned white, and he tried to make a run for his horse. Fortunately the numbness spread slowly, and he still had feeling everywhere else. He wanted to throw himself into the saddle and gallop towards where L'Arachel was holding a large group of Mogalls at bay, but something interrupted that plan.
A particularly large Mogall had caught up to him and its eyeball had turned black, a sign that Ephraim had long since learnt to mean it was in the process of preparing a magic attack. He wanted to dive aside, but a strong gust of wind bowled him over instead as a familiar, large, white beast landed next to him. "Ephraim!" the voice of his sister's best friend called, "Get on! There's more of them coming!" He felt her hand wrap around his wrist and decided to give in, letting her drag him onto the back of the Pegasus.
The beast tolerated him on account of its mistress liking him, but Ephraim had no love for riding the flying horse. He'd always been a little awkward with heights, and the vertigo that he normally felt was not made any better by the poison that he was painfully aware was spreading slowly through his body. Achaeus took off suddenly, something else Ephraim hated, and before he had really registered the wind on his face, they were in the sky, flying a little ways under the clouds in the direction of Rausten's princess.
"Are you okay?" Tana asked, without turning around as she wanted to focus on her steed. Ephraim couldn't say he'd seen the navy-haired Pegasus Knight this serious ever before, but then again they -were- in Darkling Woods. "I'll get you to L'Arachel and then we can get that arrow out." When he didn't immediately respond, she looked over her shoulder. "Still not over your fear of heights, are you?"
"I'm not afraid of heights," Ephraim wanted to say, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. He held on to Tana for dear life, as he was getting dizzy and his sense of balance was entirely thrown off- if he were to let go, he WOULD fall. Putting his head on her shoulder for support and squinting, he saw the Gargoyles around the same moment Achaeus did.
The Pegasus abruptly stopped, turned around and flew off in a different direction- Ephraim didn't realize until well after they'd taken off that Tana had turned him, herself. Good decision on her part. The numbness had now spread to his entire hand, so he was only half as reliable as he normally was in his spearwork, and she had to worry about keeping him balanced on the Pegasus' back. There was no way the two of them could have outfought a flock of Gargoyles that size; fleeing had been their only option.
Ephraim didn't know how long the two had been flying for when Tana spotted a gap in the canopy and Achaeus plopped down through it, landing perfectly smoothly. Apparently confident that they had lost the Gargoyles, Tana jumped off the Pegasus and held out her hands to help Ephraim off. "That's funny," the lancer muttered as he finally dropped Siegmund and leaned towards her, knowing full well he didn't have the strength to climb down normally, "Normally it's I who helps you dismou-" he was interrupted by gravity, which pulled him from the Pegasus' back and dropped him into Tana's arms so abruptly she wasn't prepared, and they both fell over.
"Are you okay?!" Tana exclaimed almost immediately after landing, but the arrow hadn't dug any deeper into his shoulder- to the Pegasus Knight's evident relief. She pushed him off of her, helped by the fact that he was still conscious. She rolled him onto his back and propped him up against the nearest tree, with Achaeus looking at them. Ephraim suspected the Pegasus was amused at his misfortune.
"Stop grinning at me you-"
"Ignore him," Tana said, confirming his suspicions. He'd always had the feeling she could understand the Pegasus on an emotional level that he and his horse simply couldn't match. "Let me see that shoulder…" before Ephraim could bring a hand up to help her, she'd removed his shoulder panel and had snapped the shaft of the arrow. Was he so lethargically slow, or was she more competent than he'd thought her capable of? He supposed it was a combination of the two.
"Careful," he said, "The tip's poison."
His words seemed to unleash a fresh wave of panic on Tana's face; as a Pegasus Knight, she had an almost irrational fear of arrows to begin with, but the poison didn't make things better. Even though she wore gloves, she gingerly reached for the part of the arrow that was still stuck in him, pulling it out and throwing it to the ground in a gesture of frustration. "Don't move," she said, "I'll get something to treat the wound!"
"Don't scream," he muttered as she got up and rushed over to where Achaeus stood observing them. He wasn't stupid- he knew the pain it caused him to hear her speak so loudly was a sign the poison was spreading more quickly than he had anticipated, making him weaker. He could still lift his arm, but the longer he sat still with his back against the tree, the heavier he felt his body become. It didn't take long before Tana returned to his side with a vulnerary in her hand, still looking consternated. At least he still saw clearly, Ephraim supposed. "Don't you have any antitoxins?" he asked as she knelt beside him again to bare his shoulder and treat the wound.
"No," she said, "I tried to find one but there's none in my pack… This is the best I can do." With that, she started applying the salve to the wound, leaving Ephraim to ponder how to flush the poison from his system. Tana was neither a cleric nor a medic- her work was usually sloppy, if good enough to keep the patient alive until a proper healer could see to them. Perhaps in a desperate attempt to stay conscious, Ephraim noticed how minutely she worked this time, gently applying pressure around the wound to gauge his reaction and applying the thick goop carefully, trying not to waste any. "What are you smiling about?" she suddenly asked.
She was right, this wasn't really a moment to be grinning. And still, Ephraim found the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curling up. He'd known for a couple of years that Tana harboured feelings for him. He'd always pretended to be oblivious when around her, because if Tana found out he knew then Eirika would know within moments and if Eirika were to learn Ephraim was aware of her friend's feelings and willingly ignored them… he was pretty sure he'd rather take another poisoned arrow to his other shoulder.
But he hadn't expected her to be quite this determined to make him notice her. Hell, she hadn't even taken the time to remove Achaeus' bridle for safety concerns, and he'd always thought the Pegasus was the most important thing in her life. …honestly, he found it quite endearing. He looked up in surprise when her hands drew away from his shoulder and Tana dumped part of the contents of a flask of water into the vulnerary container. "Well, keep thinking of whatever it is that's making you smile, you're gonna need it."
She closed the container and shook it a few times, presumably in hopes of mixing the two liquids. Peering in and apparently satisfied with the results, she then handed it to him. "It won't cleanse the poison," she said, "But it might help keep the symptoms at bay for a little while." He momentarily regretted taking her advice and taking a gulp of the foul-tasting concoction, but as it burnt down his throat he remembered something his knight general had once told him. As long as he registered pain and discomfort, he wasn't dead.
He had to count his blessings, and in fact, it did help almost immediately- his mind cleared up a little and his body felt lighter. He almost felt as normal as he had before the poison had kicked in, with a slight numbness in his fingers as the only indicator that there was anything in his body that didn't belong. Wondering how long it would take for the next wave to spread, he put a hand on Tana's shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly. "How much of that stuff do we have?"
"Just that one," Tana said, "So we'll have to make it last…"
"Well, it should be enough... Eirika won't rest until she knows we're both well, and we pay Seth to ensure our safety. Between them and Innes I'm sure they're already looking for us as we speak. At least one of them should carry enough medicine to keep me alive until we reach a healer."
"That's provided Eirika and Innes are alright, themselves…" Tana muttered. "We shook those Gargoyles, but they may have turned towards the rest of the army."
"They'll be fine." Ephraim reassured her. "Innes is more competent than I like to admit, and Seth will be watching Eirika more closely than a hawk."
"So really, as far as Eirika goes nothing will change." When Tana said that, Ephraim burst out laughing- a bad idea that ended in a coughing fit. She was right, though. Ephraim had been half-tempted to bet with Forde and Kyle when the redhead would confess and propose to his sister, so stuck as he had been to her ever since they'd been reunited at Renvall. He thought he was discreet about it, but… he wasn't.
Ephraim leaned back against the tree, noting that Tana had taken to staring at his shoulder. Hoping to distract her, he brought up his other hand to gesture at Achaeus. "Shouldn't you feed him or something?"
"He can graze, and my brushes are at camp," Tana said without taking her eyes off of him. Ephraim tried something else.
"Could you give me Siegmund?" he asked, gesturing instead to the lance that still lay where he had dropped it. Tana nodded, got up, and retrieved the weapon, handing it to him along with a rag. Yet again, despite the situation, a smile found its way to Ephraim's face. She knew him too well. He wasn't one of those warriors who were obsessed with keeping sacred heirlooms clean- Siegmund was a lance like any other, just far more powerful than most. Still, Ephraim found an almost meditative peace in regularly cleaning and inspecting his weapons.
The Flame Lance was old, and while he wouldn't use the word brittle to describe it, it wasn't the most durable lance he'd ever held. Still, it looked to be in good shape for the moment, and Ephraim set to systematically running the rag over the warm steel.
He must have been about halfway down the shaft when he realized that Tana had sat down on his other side and her head had come to rest on his good shoulder. Noting that the entry wound didn't hurt anymore but that he was now numb in a good portion of his forearm, Ephraim put aside the lance and put one arm around his sleeping friend, hoping to ensure she wouldn't fall over the course of the night. He didn't expect to sleep, himself- he was far too afraid that during his sleep the poison would spread and kill him. With his free hand, he grabbed the vulnerary and took another swig, smaller than the last one this time.
"This stuff does not get any better," he muttered, setting the flask down and looking to his side at Tana. She was sleeping peacefully, and had had one hand already resting on his arm while he had been cleaning Siegmund. He did appreciate her. Her care, her company, hell, he could tolerate the Pegasus if it meant having Tana around. He bent down slightly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
He woke up to a Pegasus' nose being pushed into his face and sighed through. He didn't recall falling asleep, but here he was, and the lack of vulnerary ingestion in the past few hours meant he could hardly move his limbs. He was back at square one, and to make matters worse, he was hungry. He hadn't eaten since shortly before yesterday's battle. Not far from where Achaeus was staring at him, Ephraim saw Tana rummaging in her pack, a panicked look on her face. When she caught him looking she explained. "I have nothing edible in here," she said, her face red. "This is so embarrassing…"
"Well, you're not exactly a scout," Ephraim said, "And I wouldn't want you to be one. Too dangerous."
"I am not a child, Ephraim!" Tana said, "I am a full-fledged Pegasus Knight of Frelia-"
"No, you're not," Ephraim interrupted, shutting his eyes as he leant back. "And don't waste the precious time of a dying man with this discussion."
"You're NOT dying!"
"I am." Ephraim held up the flask he'd just taken a swig from and turned it over. Nothing came out. "That was the last of the vulnerary." He'd last either until the search party found him and fed him new medicine, or until death. Tana realized the severity of the situation, as she immediately dropped her pack and sat down with him again.
Time passed- about a few hours, judging from how far his symptoms had worsened once more. He willed himself to stay conscious, but he knew he wouldn't last for much longer- and what was worse, Tana knew it too. She clung to him in despair, begging him not to leave her and telling him why he COULDN'T die. Ephraim sighed, then coughed momentarily, and then slumped back. Well… it didn't look like that search party was going to be there in time. Mustering the strength he had remaining, he squeezed Tana's hand. He might as well tell her now. Not like he was going to get another chance.
"Tana, listen… there's something I want… to tell… you…" Dammit. Whereas most of the consequences of his poisoning had been reduced to a dull pain, a bit of numbness, and vertigo, the last phase kicked in like a grumpy horse, the sudden pain making him double over and gasp- the gasp unchained another coughing fit and he could no longer support himself, and fell over. Confirming that this was his dying stretch was the pure blackness of his vision and the fact that he could HEAR Tana screaming, but not decipher her words.
Soon after falling over he heard a different pitch, and vaguely felt something on one of his shoulders, but he passed out almost immediately afterwards.
His eyes opened agonizingly slowly, but he wasn't looking at Heaven. Not at Hell, either, so that was good he supposed. At least, unless the devil looked suspiciously like Seth keeping watch at his bed with a book in hand.
"Wait," Ephraim muttered, drawing the paladin's attention, "You know how to read?" He was mocking, of course- he knew the general commonly received as well as issued written orders. He just didn't know Seth had a fondness for leisurely reading.
"My father taught me letters before he passed away," Seth simply replied, marking his page and demonstratively slamming the book shut. "You may experience some discomfort, milord. Sister Natasha said you would need another Mend treatment to fully restore all damage from the past day. You have been cleansed of the poison itself though, so you are no longer in mortal danger."
"That's something," Ephraim said, sitting up. Seth didn't have a heart attack and beg him to lay back down, so he figured that was safe enough. Ephraim realised something else though. "You're the one who found us, aren't you?"
"Myself and Princess Eirika," Seth confirmed, to which Ephraim groaned.
"So you got to drag me back to camp with not one, but two hysterical women about you?" He shook his head. "I don't pay you enough. Where's Tana?"
"Outside. She was caring for her Pegasus when I relieved Forde's watch."
"Good. There's something I need to talk to her about; can I go?"
"Camp is patrolled at all times and Sister Natasha has cleared you to move around as long as you report back for additional treatment," Seth said, getting up himself. "If you'd excuse me, I have matters of my own to see to." With that, both men left the tent, Ephraim soon finding Tana in the corral with the horses and the Pegasi.
Achaeus snorted when he saw Ephraim approach, prompting Tana to turn around. "Ephraim," she said, sounding surprised to see him. She then dropped the brush she'd been using and embraced him tightly, pressing her face against his good shoulder. "Y-you're alright… thank god…"
He put one hand on the back of her head, patting her as she spent a few seconds sobbing. He supposed that seeing him alive and well enough to move around in a straight line had finally given her relief and the tension of the past few days finally came out. "You're better off thanking Seth and Natasha," he said, "They're the ones who did all the work. How is Eirika?"
"Asleep," Tana answered without letting go of him. "I've been told she hasn't slept since our disappearance, so when we found camp and you were taken to the healer's tent, she went to her own tent and I assume she just passed out."
Good, that meant she wouldn't be interrupting. "As long as she's okay," he said. "What about you?" He brushed her bangs out of her face, his hand lingering on her cheek. "Today hasn't exactly been the easiest of days for you either. Why don't you get some sleep as well?"
Tana turned red at his touch and didn't answer, perhaps remembering what he had been trying to tell her before he'd passed out. Ephraim only smiled. It felt good to feel her skin under his fingers. He hadn't been able to imagine the sensation while under the influence of the poison. "Tana," he said, "There's something I want to tell you." Tana gasped quietly, but audibly. Ephraim could quite simply not stop smiling as his eyes locked with hers. "Thank you," he said. "If you hadn't shown up when you did and stuck with me last night and today, I would've been dead." He chuckled. "Had you been a knight, I'd be rewarding you for excellent service right now."
From Tana's confused face, he could tell that gratitude was not what she had expected. It wasn't all he had to give her- it was just the first time in his life that he couldn't find the words he needed to express what he wanted to tell her. He breathed in, moving his hands to rest on Tana's shoulder. "Look," he said, "I'm not the most articulate man in the world. I would gladly confess with honeyed words, but I don't have them. I can only tell you bluntly." He waited there, until she put her hands on his chest, urging him on.
He'd resolved to tell her, but he couldn't get the three stupid little words out of his throat. If he had to wait until they would come out on their own, he was going to be here for days, so instead, he leaned down and kissed her. He'd like to think he was gentle, but from Tana's jolting under his hands he knew that their lips met both too abruptly and too hard. She didn't protest though, even as he took his hands from her shoulders and wrapped them around her waist instead. As she put her own arms around his neck, to his surprise it was her who gently pushed his lips apart to slip the tip of her tongue into his mouth.
He pulled away from her for air and to free himself up to talk, but didn't take his arms off her waist nor hers off his neck. As he carefully rested his forehead against hers, he sought words. They didn't come to him, but to the smiling Tana. "Me too, Ephraim. For years now."
For a brief moment, Ephraim considered pointing out that he'd known, but decided against it. Even he knew when to not ruin a moment. It stayed quiet between them for a good few seconds, until Ephraim finally found words. "Tana, after we clean this mess up, I want you to come to Renais with me." She didn't reply right away. "I need a queen."
Tana froze up for a moment, but relaxed quickly. "Ephraim," she said, smiling into his chest, "Are you proposing to me?"
"…I suppose I am." He hugged her more tightly to him. "The truth is, Tana, I think I've felt like this for a while myself. I just needed to almost die to realize it." He felt himself turning red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive my idiocy of the past few years?"
Tana looked up at him, grinning. "I can," she said, "Under one condition."
"Anything."
"You're the one who tells Innes about our engagement."
He felt the colour left his face as he imagined the sniper's reaction to the announcement. "C-come on, Tana! I just came back from near-death; have I really wronged you so much that you'd send me right back?!"
"Come now," she said, with that not-so-innocent smile on her face, "It won't be that bad."
"No, you're right, my bad," Ephraim said, letting go of her and following her back into camp, "Not even SETH will be able to save me from Innes' wrath. I don't want to die!"
Tana gave no reply other than chuckling, so Ephraim gave up trying to convince her verbally and instead took a sprint towards her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her there to continue kissing her.