A/N: Awhile ago, I went through this Fire Emblem binge where I really wanted to type nothing more than just different couples and whanot. Now, most of them ended in failures while others are on the fence and probably leaning more towards being deleted instead. Some of them survived but my attempt to be romantic failed miserably and I ended up with just conversation pieces like this. So, do I see this story as a success? Not really, no but I kind of liked the dialogue and the couple so I decided to give it another chance at living. Where the setting is, I can't remember exactly because I haven't played in so blasted long but I believe these two were on a team at one point- I could be severely wrong though. So if you want a proper setting, I'm sorry but I don't have one at this moment. As for the couple well... I'm a weird person who likes weird couples; I cannot explain it.
"Sir Haar… I'd like to speak with you."
The heavy yet whimsical wings that moved in rhythm at her sides didn't seem to cut the air but merely redirect it and guide it elsewhere. The darkly-decorated Pegasus snorted as it followed her guidance through the air; its body weaving and waving through the empty sky as she watched the ground move below her. Not from their own movement but from the rush of the two conflicting armies as they charged and rampaged one another.
His single, dark eye glanced up at her words and seemingly forgot what it had been preoccupied with earlier. Slowly, he pushed himself away from where he had been polishing the rough, broken leather of his Wyvern's saddle. The appearance of the Pegasus Rider was nothing new to him, he had seen her plenty of times out on the battlefield but… this was one of the first times she had approached him without the need for other soldiers around. Or at least, with the lack of them possibly dying in thought. Well now, that was still a possibility actually.
"Well I have all the time in the world, Lady Tanith."
The break in the air pulled back at her dark bangs and seemed to rip at her tunic as she held tight to the thick post of her lance; bracing herself for the impact but still keeping in mind that she needed to hit her target perfectly. Not that she ever missed. The Pegasus dipped forward and manipulated the air enough to make a slight turn, allowing her the space and momentum she needed to rip her lance through the body of her target. The dying scream and convulsions did little to sway her as she tore her weapon free only to move onto her next living victim. The Pegasus Knights were once seen as these beautiful symbols of equality and balance… it seemed like everyone chose to ignore the aggressive skills they used to enforce their murderous tendencies. It was all used for protection though; protection of Begnion's sovereignty and honor. She held no greater role above this one.
She drew in a short breath and used the momentary pause to get a better look on the man. Most of his black and silver armor had been removed to reveal the dark clothing he wore beneath; his hands were covered in the polish he had been using seconds before her interruption… she tried to keep in mind to not get near him. "Yes well… as we all know, Wyvern riders and Pegasus Knights do not usually fare well with one another."
"Oh believe me, I am well aware of this; I've nearly been dragged off my saddle by your kind." he remarked.
"And I have been belittled by yours." she countered as she moved her hands to her hips. "But, I want to… make a proposal to you."
"I assumed I was the one who was supposed to do that."
"Very funny."
She felt the sheer hit of the axe as it flew right past her; her body barely maneuvering out of the way in time to avoid it. However, she wasn't entirely quick enough to avoid the second one that flew in from another direction. The sharpened edge somehow managed to rip its way across her tunic and leave a bleeding gash that spilled blood from her open stomach. It wasn't bad, just a surface wound, that was all. She pushed the pain from her mind and grabbed for a new weapon; her fingers choosing the Javelin that seemed eager to enter the air and fly with only one purpose: to kill.
They had a lot in common in that manner.
He could tell from the way those hardened eyes of hers were just slightly narrowed that she meant business and that he shouldn't take her words lightly; not that he really could regardless. "So… you wish to seek a temporary pact between Wyvern Riders and Pegasus Knights?"
"Yes, perhaps it seems a bit absurd but in times of war, I believe we're allowed to do such in calls of desperate measures." she nodded.
"You're kind of treating this like we're infectious diseases."
"In the skies, yes you are."
"How lovely." he muttered to himself. "Well, if this is for desperate measures, then I suppose there's nothing that I can complain about."
"It's not… entirely for desperate measures… in fact, it's really not for desperation at all."
"… Then what's it for?"
Her Pegasus had barely made it off the ground before she spotted the rush of black matter coming in her direction. Their collision was anything but soft and she felt the massive force throw both her and her mount whirl pooling through the air; it was like being stuck in a horizontal twister that ripped at every limb and called for her to merge her inner strength with her outward training. She had been knocked heavily from her saddle and left sprawled away from her Pegasus; she could hear him whining and snorting as the animal became desperate to gather its footing and return to the safety of the skies.
"Lady Tanith!"
"Well… I'm not going to beat around the bush, so I'll get straight to the point." she started. "You and I are pretty much the ones controlling the skies at this point and we're fairly on the same sides here. So, I wish to extend an extra pact to you."
"Let me guess." he interrupted. "Uh, I watch your back, you watch mine?"
The slight stiffness of her frame told him otherwise but slowly it seemed to melt away back into a more relaxed pose. "Yes, something of that sort. I just wish to avoid another conflict like we had earlier today."
"Oh believe me, as do I."
She pushed herself to her feet as pain seemed to wallow through every limb and numb the tips of her fingers; she watched as blood spilled out to the ground beneath her and eventually gave sight to the stained tunic as the crimson liquid rushed downward from her stomach. Just a surface wound… that was all.
"Lady Tanith!"
Dark eyes turned back at the call and she watched as the massive Wyvern landed close by; his Rider dismounted easily and walked towards her- leaving the beast to snarl and howl at any soldiers who dared to come too close. There was something in the way that his armor was slightly disheveled with several of his straps snapped clean and dangling loose; something that told her that he was the one who had caused for their mid-air collision.
Without a blink of hesitation, she waited for him to get within distance before she decked him hard in the face; feeling the way her knuckles almost seemed to peel at his cheekbone. She watched as the sudden attack caught him off-guard and just about knocked him off balance; he stumbled to keep his footing. Without a word, she pushed past him and hurried over to where her Pegasus seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown; she grabbed the reigns and hoisted herself back onto the saddle while her fingers grabbed for another weapon. With a soft kick, they were back in the air and she held her tongue for now.
"You know, you hit pretty hard for a Pegasus Knight; I'll give you props for that." Haar started; touching slightly at the still sore and soon to be bruising skin on his cheek. "But the next time you want to hit me, let's try to do it outside of battle- I wasn't entirely sure if I was suppose to be targeting you or not after that."
"Well I apologize for my behavior earlier, you ran into me and I-"
"No, you ran into me." he interrupted.
"Look, I'm trying to apologize and you're making me want to hit you again." Tanith spoke; watching as the Wyvern Rider seemed to frown at the words. "Anyways, as I was saying, I apologize for that behavior and I realize now that it was inappropriate to do when wearing the emblem of my country. Whether you accept that or not, is up to you and will not affect me either way."
He supposed there really was no point in accepting or not accepting the apology seeing as she said herself that she couldn't careless for it; after all, she was just making sure it didn't come off making Begnion looking bad- not that he was their biggest fan. "I'll accept it to be polite."
"Good enough for me." she shrugged lightly. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, it's getting late and I must be getting back to my tent. I hope you think over that offer of mine; I'll be looking for an answer in the morning."
"You don't dwell on a lot of things and you don't necessarily let little things ruin your concentration; that's what I like about you, Lady Tanith; that's why I respect you." he started; catching her eye as she had started to leave but stopped at his words. "You're a fighter and while many think they're just for looks, you actually know how to handle your Pegasus and how to handle your weapons properly. Despite how… 'fragile' you appear, you can take a lot of damage easily- by the way, how's your stomach healing?"
"It was a surface wound, nothing more." she reminded as one hand moved to push aside her dark bangs. "You, sir Haar… you're an interesting one."
"Thank you, Lady Tanith."
X
"Just how long do we have to keep working this façade?"
"Until the war's over and most of the continent is dead or struggling."
He stopped at her words but watched as she continued to strap her weapons onto her saddle bag; securing each one tightly so there was little change of them falling during flight. "You know, when you talk like that… it makes me wonder if you're being serious or not."
She ran her hand down the Pegasus' neck and checked his reigns before she turned back to the Wyvern Rider behind her. "The first part was true. All I ask is that… we keep this on the low-down until the war is over and… when I have time to focus on other things… we can continue."
"Are you sure?"
The rare, soft chuckle left her as she moved her hands to her hips; for once, her feminine figure seemed to come to light as that small, barely noticeable smile hinted at her overshadowed soft features. "Why do you ask that?"
"Face it, Tanith." he started as he leaned back against the black-scaled Wyvern behind him- the beast snorted slightly as though to call him lazy for using him like a post. "You work for Begnion and you work personally for the Apostle- tell me when exactly you're going to find this 'time' that is so mystical and rare for you?"
He was only teasing her because he loved to see that wrinkle in her nose- which, as always, showed up once more. However, she held it only for a few seconds before those tight features softened once more. "Say what you wish, Haar…" she replied before she walked over to where he was leaning; crossing her arms as she stood so just a few inches separated them. "But, Begnion and the Apostle do not please me like you do; do not believe that I will be able to have you so easily replaced."