title: we drew a map to a better place

"Very well. I suppose if you're all determined to do this...I shouldn't hold this back. Please, take this."

"What is it, Leo? A book?"

"Yes, a warp book. It has the power to transport you instantly to Notre Sagesse. Consider it an even trade for the item Azura gave me."

"What?! That can't be possible, can it?"

"Oh yes, Corrin. Believe it. This is why I've always put my faith in books rather than blades. Given the size of your party, I'd say this book has the power for ONE round trip. So, don't push your luck with it..."

Or,

Leo does not just 'happen' to have a warp tome powerful enough to teleport a large group of people a considerable distance away. It was never what he intended for the book, but it was always meant for Corrin.

Warp magics were, quite justifiably, one of the hardest non-life-related magics to cast. It involved – safely – moving a person from one place to another, bypassing distance and the time needed to move them. Using a summoning spell bound and carved on a staff it could be done with more ease, but to actually warp on one's own, without the aid of a stave it was far harder. Witchcraft took dedication and talent, and not many had the necessary requirement of both.

But Leo was nothing if not persistent, and he was able to craft an entire tome of warp spells. Witches, of course, would be far superior and faster at warping, but this tome wasn't meant to be used on the battlefield. It took too much time and focus to be effective in direct battle.

It was meant for travel purposes, to take someone to a place, as long as they had the coordinates and as long as the location wasn't magically secured.

Which would be fine. It wasn't as if Corrin would be interested in going to places that were so securely warded it would be impossible to warp to them. There was still so much in the world for her to see and explore.

"A smile on milord's face!" Niles exclaimed sarcastically, breaking through his thoughts. "What does mark the occasion of such a rare sight?"

"Niles," Leo said stiffly. "Your face is too close. Back away."

"As milord commands." The former outlaw stepped back, but the mischief in his remaining eye didn't fade.

Before he could say something, Leo beat him to the punch. "Find Odin, and prepare for my visit to the Northern Fortress," he ordered, closing the tome. "Ensure we are packed lightly. We won't stay long."

Niles smirked. "I would hope not," he said, before bowing and exiting the room.

Leo lightly tapped at the cover of the warp tome with a finger. The emblem that he had inlaid himself with crushed topaz powder and sealed with sap from a Brynhildr tree looked back up at him, glittering in the candlelight. It was a gift three years in the making, ever since he snuck Corrin out of the Northern Fortress and nearly lost her. Despite everything she had been through, Corrin still claimed it was one of her best experiences, and promised that when she did finally leave, they would all go to the meadows together, watch the stars fall from the skies open beyond the confines of the walls.

With the warp tome, Corrin would have a much easier time getting to places to see. She would have to serve like they all did, fighting at the border in skirmishes with Hoshidans, but in between times, she'd be able to take time off and see the beauty of the world outside, instead of battle's bloody ugliness.

The only question, Leo supposed, was timing. How did he give her this tome without coming off as ridiculous? Her birthday was still a distance in time, and yet to give it to her immediately made him drag his feet.

Which in itself was ridiculous. No doubt Camilla and Elise were conspiring to throw Corrin a party celebrating her freedom, and Xander would support them fully. There would be gifts to bury Corrin in, as well as recommendations on where to go, and the warp book would be a perfect fit with all of them, a fantastic gift to celebrate her long-awaited release to the outside world. Camilla had the map with all the places she wanted to take Corrin, and Elise knew the winding tunnels of Windmire, and Xander the nobles –

And she would be happy. Joyous. Ecstatic, even.

He should have been excited to give it to her, and yet he wasn't.

Leo buried his face in his hands, disgusted with himself. Wasn't it just jealousy, worry that his gift would be buried and forgotten? Wasn't it just his selfish desire that his gift be her favorite, and worry that it may not be? Or worse, that she would like the gift, like it enough to use up all the stored pages that he had labored over for months, pouring in his knowledge and magic, use it all up on visiting the slums with Elise or to a girls' night at a hot spring with Camilla or on visiting a field of flowers with her retainers?

Wasn't it just him being selfish and wishing that she would only use the book with him? To share sights with him, build new memories in places she had only read and dreamed of visiting with him and only him?

But a dark part of him, the part of him that wanted to seize the attentions of his siblings and be as possessive as a Wolfskin purred at him. Was it not right for him to feel this way? This was a magnificent work, not to be wasted. It was a work of art, meant to be appreciated, and who better to appreciate it with than a master of magic? Who better than the wielder of the divine Brynhildr, master of gravity?

It was a gift, he told himself firmly. Once it was in her hands, it was up to her to use it however she pleased.

But it was a gift from him.

Leo hated himself a little for it, and later hated himself more than anything, but he left the warp tome behind as they made their way to the Northern Fortress.