Important: This is a half-sequel to 'The Beast (and Dragon) Within' which, in turn, is an AU sequel to 'Thirst for Blood'... which is also an AU to the normal Conquest path. This starts around the time Kana is introduced in Velouria's viewpoint in the previous fic.
A/N: Awwww yeah. Kana's viewpoint, who is probably the most 'in-character' one out of Yasei's family. While Velouria's side of things, more or less, sets the area of this AU version of 'Thirst for Blood', Kana's side will be making the most AU canonical changes to 'One More Chance'. That's right... 'AU Canonical'.
'One More Chance' is going to be set in Fire Emblem: Awakening, and Kana is going to be a major influence on changing the events in Awakening... well, to be fair, Phoenix is too, but she's an antagonist and I don't do those viewpoints.
Ah yes, 'Thirst for Blood'... my beloved fic is going to get a wonderful re-work... eventually. Hopefully relatively soon.
Life in the Deeprealm tended to be a peaceful place, as the denizens who lived and maintained the realms were strictly neutral. At least, that's what they told me, but also apparently certain ones were 'aligned' to Nohr or Hoshido, but that was only to ease the burden of waiting in this place. I sort of enjoy my time here, the people were really nice, I got to play with other children, and they even were quite knowledgeable about the history of nearly everything. Even my Draconic heritage, despite Mother being the first dragon shifter. Mother said something similar about miss Azura knowing things about that topic, too. 'I miss them…' For me, I don't see any of my family for years at a time, though for them it's only a few hours. Mother said they were waiting for me to come 'of age' before I can join.
Mother usually comes to visit alone, since there is some kind of rule that the Deeprealms have about multiple visitors. I've met all of my family by now, except my sister. Father is sort of uncomfortable being here, a feeling that increases when we're being a family, rather than a pack. 'I just don't have that strong of an urge from my Dragon or Beast.' Uncle Ryoma is nice and calm, he even gave me some katana lessons! 'I mean, I can use both a Dragonstone and Beaststone, but I'm more comfortable being in my human form… even if I'm really short.' Aunt Sakura is the one who came with mother the most, she quickly became my favorite! 'Right next to Mother and Father, of course.' From the way she laughs, to that small tinge of nervousness, I really enjoy my time with her. She gave me a few lessons on staves, though I'm not too great at it. My favorite part of being with her is when we have a spare moment, as I've found she enjoys dancing.
However, it's not always good news that comes with Mother. The first two is that Aunt Hinoka is dead, Uncle Takumi outright hates Mother. Though, she also told me that she considers herself part of the Nohrian royal family, despite being blood-related to the Hoshidans, and as such, once the Nohrians clash with the Hoshidans again, we're leaving the Hoshidans behind. '...We're leaving Sakura behind.' Sakura and Ryoma are so nice to me, they love me so much, so why do we have to leave them? Surely there's a peaceful alternative, right? I want them to be with me, I want… a scent enters the air, "Mother!" All of my negative thoughts leave the moment I notice her, "Mother!" I sprint towards her, jumping into her open arms, giggling the whole way.
"It's good to see you too, Kana." Mother coos as she strokes my hair, her Human on full display. 'Actually, now that I think about it, I never really seen her Dragon out when she is here.' "How's my boy doing, hm?"
"Now that you're here? So much better." I admit as I bury myself into her, relishing her warmth. My ears twitch and I catch another scent in the air, it's a new one, similar to my own. I poke my head around mother and spot a woman… nearly naked, save for a red shawl over her head. While I have light blue scales on my chest, she has a combination of purple, black, and white fur, like my hair. Where I have that same fur pattern on my arms and legs, she has light blue scales. One word immediately came to my mind, "Sister?"
"Mhm, Kana, this is your sister, Velouria." Mother gently says as she breaks the embrace.
I rush over to her and greet her with a hug, though due to my ridiculously short height, my hair ends up brushing against her breasts, 'Gods, apparently I'm shorter than Elise… who is shorter than mother.' Everyone else is taller than me, which I find bothering from time to time. Uncle Ryoma is like a giant, he's twice my height! "Heya, sister!" I giddily greet as I push those thoughts away.
"Hello, Kana." She replies with a gentle hug of her own. "It's good to finally see you."
"It's good to see you, too." She 'feels' more like Father than Mother, as I can sense both her Dragon and Beast rather strongly. It honestly kind of unnerves me, like she could lash out at any given moment.
"Kana, dear." Mother's voice rings out, "Grab your things, okay?"
I gasp, end the hug, and turn around, "I'm finally going to join you all?" Mother's smile is one of the most beautiful things I can ever hope to see. She gently nods, "Awesome! I'll be right back!" With that, I dash off towards my temporary house. My eyes scan the room, I don't exactly have that much to bring. 'Already have my Stones, there's my katana from Uncle Ryoma, some jewelry from Aunt Sakura…' My face flushes as I pick up the necklace and ring, they are in the colors of Hoshido, they both are adorned with a single ruby each, while the metal is white. It isn't exactly common for men to wear this type of stuff, but… 'I really want to see her smile, to hear her laugh… to just make her happy.' I slip the necklace and ring on, well, I would have put the ring on, were it not just a bit too small. 'At least I grew… some.' Why do I have to be so short?
Compared to the Deeprealms, the air out here feels kind of weird. Like, I can't quite pinpoint what it is, but I just know it's off, but I like it. I walk along with Mother's army as we make our way towards Fort Jinya, where we will be stationed first. I haven't gotten to see Aunt Sakura yet, but I did have a chance to see Uncle Ryoma. "It's good to see you happy, nephew." He smiled at me.
"It's so good to finally be out of the Deeprealms, I really wanted to travel with you all." I reply.
He chuckles, "I can see that." A pause, "How is your katana fairing? I hope you're taking good care of it."
I eagerly nod, "You bet. I obviously don't have much chance to use it, but I have been making sure to clean and make sure it's sharpened, anyway."
He raises an eyebrow, "How? There was no grindstone in your village. Or anything related to a blacksmith."
I shift my arm to its draconic form, "My nails." My smile doubles at his reaction.
"...Clever." He finally says.
"Uncle Ryoma? Where's Aunt Sakura?" I decide to ask, "I really wanted to see her."
He chuckles, "My little sister is in the cart, sleeping in."
There is something… off about his statement, but without a grasp on scents like Mother, I can't get much out of it. Despite that, I quickly nod, "Thank you!" I then skip away towards the cart, where Hana is guarding, "Heya, Hana." I slightly lower my voice.
She smiles, "Hello, Kana. This is the first time I actually got to see you." She looks me over, "Lady Sakura wasn't exaggerating, you are adorable." She reaches out and pats my head.
My face flushes at the direct complement, and it doesn't help she giggles with it. "I, um… thank you, Hana." I pause for a moment, "How have you been?"
She hums, "I've been well. Training, mostly. We need to be ready for when the Nohrians attack." She spares a glance at me, "Would you like to spar one day?"
"Sure." I honestly don't like fighting, but if it's just a friendly spar… "Is it okay if I see Aunt Sakura?"
Another giggle, "I'm sure she would love to see you, go right ahead."
Needing no more encouragement, I gently climb into the cart, where she is, in fact, still sleeping. 'She looks so cute.' I slowly lower myself onto the cot she is using, being extra careful not to disturb her slumber. I can feel my heart racing as I look her over, 'Still wearing your Shrine Maiden outfit even while sleeping?' I pull the covers over her some more, yet before I could pull my hands back, she grabs my right hand. For a moment I though she was about to wake up, but nope. My face flushes from the sudden contact, 'She's so soft.' A nap won't hurt, right? My teeth gently scrape my bottom lip, before I nod to myself. 'Seeing her so sleepy is kinda making me sleepy anyway.' I climb into the cot, with my arm still in her grasp, and cuddle up next to her, above the blankets.
We're still several days away from Fort Jinya and there is an underlying tension as the thought of a battle looms closer and closer. If I could have my way, there wouldn't even be a war to begin with, I just want everyone to get along and be happy. Why was the war even started in the first place? Why does Nohr and Hoshido have to be so aggressive towards each other? I haven't got to see my Nohrian family yet, but the Hoshidan ones are really nice. Even Father, a pure-blooded Wolfskin, is handling the peace really well.
My sister on the other hand… she has a hard time staying still. Mother tries to get her to do more with her Human, but she isn't really taking the advice much. 'It's like she doesn't care that she is part human.' I might not tend to my Dragon and Beast as much, but that doesn't mean I outright ignore them. 'I really hope she'll come around on that.' It would be nice if I could play a normal game with her, but the only things she seems to want to do is hunt. As such, I tend to spend my time either with Mother or Aunt Sakura.
Then there are times that I can spend time with both of them, like right now. "Will your hair ever calm down?" Mother giggles as she tries in vain to smooth my unruly hair down.
"Believe me, Mother, I tried so hard, but I eventually gave in." I let out a small giggle as she continues to brush, only for it to pop right back up afterwards.
"And you are sure you don't mind Sakura giving you a makeover?" She whispers.
"I just want to spend time with you all." I reply, "I don't care how."
"You like her, don't you?" I'm picking up some sort of sweet smell with those words, 'I haven't associated an emotion with that one, yet.'
"I do." I hum as she puts the brush aside, before wrapping her arms around me from behind.
"Alright then, I'll personally see to that she's spared." She rubs my head, "For you."
"...I'd rather not have this war in the first place." My mood dampens somewhat, "Why couldn't Nohr and Hoshido get along in the first place?"
"I'm back!" Aunt Sakura walks into mother's tent, "Sorry that took so long." I hear a number of things being placed down near me, "...and you're sure you don't mind doing this? This is more of a girl thing, after all."
Mother snickers and I try to hold back a fit of laughter, "I'm… sure, Aunt Sakura."
"I just asked him that, sister." Mother moves aside as Aunt Sakura brings a few different colored vials to me. "Do you have lavender?"
"I was hoping to use Cherry Blossom." She states.
They both look at me, and I in turn look at the bottles, 'Nail polish, I think.' "Why not alternate between the two?"
"D-Don't feel like you have to do either of them… I do have more colors, after all." Sakura adds.
"Whichever you think I will look better in." That causes her to flush quite intensely, 'Gods, I can even hear her heart racing, too.'
Mother gives me a smile before she turns back to Sakura, "Cherry Blossom it is, then." Aunt Sakura squeeks out, before placing the other bottles aside. "And I do apologize for any messes, I haven't done anyone else's makeup before."
"Then relax, this is about having a good time, after all." I giggle, relieving some of the tension pouring off of Aunt Sakura.
"You're right." I can hear her let out a sigh, "I'm so happy to have you all here… we missed you, sister, and now you've brought along a wonderful pair of children!" She gently takes one of my hands and slowly applies the Cherry Blossom colored nail polish to it, 'Gods, her hands feel so… right.'
"You don't need to hide it, Vella is a handful." Mother takes my other hand and starts doing the same, "She doesn't give her Human enough attention, and it's going to bite her later on."
"I… suppose you're right, even if I still don't get the 'Animal' and 'Human' stuff you keep referring to." She sounds regretful for agreeing on my sister's more feral nature.
"It was overwhelming, at first." Mother continues, "Seeing what I became, that is. I'm sorry I lashed out when I woke up from my first transformation."
"I forgive you. I mean, you are back with us, after all." From there, it falls to a comfortable silence.
I'll be honest, it feels really weird having the makeup on, but after seeing Sakura's beaming face, it was more than worth it. However, due to my Dragon and Beast, "It's a little overwhelming," I admit, "The smell is too potent."
"O-oh! I'm sorry," She quickly apologizes, "I…"
"Hey, it's alright." I add, "We didn't know I would react that way," I reach out to her, before she grabs a cloth, she then squeaks as my hand touches hers, "Don't worry about it, alright?" I give her my best smile.
"Y-you're really warm…" She whispers, just barely loud enough for me to hear. "I… whew," She takes a breath, "It's um… kind of hot in here. I… need a moment, excuse me." Her hand slips out of mine, 'Gods, she was sweating really badly.' She quickly walks out.
"What scent are you picking up, Kana?" Mother turns her gaze on me, a knowing smile on her face.
"It's sort of sweet." I start off, "I've been getting it for a while now."
She wraps an arm around me and pulls me close, "It seems my little Kana has a potential lover."
"Wh-what? But, she's family and…" I pause.
"Follow your heart, if you love her, then you can't help that." She plants a kiss on my forehead.
"...If I love her." I echo Mother's words, 'Do I?' I tilt my head, "I think I need a moment, too."
A/N: Yes, this Kana is short. Like, Nowi-levels of short, almost everyone towers over poor Kana.
I should stress that the Ylissean trio, well there are four of them this time, didn't arrive through Anankos, as Valla doesn't exist here. However! Unlike 'Confined', the Outrealms do exist here. Though, without Valla and no Anankos, it means that Yasei is, in fact, directly blood-related to the Hoshidans. Which means that Kana and Sakura are truly Aunt and Nephew...
Which means I'm putting out legitimate incest.
Eh, this isn't the first time, and I doubt it'll be the last time, either.