A bloody ambush… Is that any way for a hero to go? Owain asked himself, as he stumbled his way through the woods, the dark of night all around him. The bolts that pierced his body made him cringe, as blood dripped from the wounds and a sudden cough had him spitting blood at the ground before him.
Arrows… Of course it's them… He reminisced, having to support himself against a tree. Owain's memories rushed to his father, to that moment, that awful, awful moment when his father took an arrow to save his son's life.
Father… This was my turn… To take an arrow for the one I love! Owain reaffirmed to himself, between gasps for air, taking some form of comfort in his actions, even if they would lead up to what he was expecting them to.
''I have to make sure…'' He told himself, wiping the red off his mouth. With all the strength that he could muster, Owain marched on. What he saw before him was the border of the woods into an open field, but he continued seeing the same for quite a while; the world seemed to stand still, almost if nothing in it was even real. The only real parts of it were piercing Owain's body, through his right shoulder, his left side and his thigh; the three could very well be hot iron rods, burning him from the inside out. He was well aware that he wouldn't survive this one, unless he could meet up with… him.
Owain bit hard on his lower lip, as if to cover one pain with the other, as a distraction. Tripping on a tree root was about the worst thing that he could do, as he found out, the bolt that pierced his thigh hurt so badly that he could no longer contain a scream.
His blood of heroes stained the ground around him. He remembered Lissa's voice, telling him: ''Just do your best; don't give up, even if you are sure that you just can't do it… Try.'' The young man didn't remember the context of that phrase. All he could recall about it were his mother holding him, a tombstone, and the crying figure of the person who was now the closest to his heart, and a starry sky, like this night's.
Owain's vision was shaky and hazy, but at least now the open field was better to navigate than the dark woods before, even if its ground was peppered here and there by bodies, of soldiers, women and even children. He breathed slowly, focusing his all on standing up. The pain was unreal, but this time, he did not cringe.
The young man risked another look back, seeing the smoke from the battle still rising to meet the sky, which was incredibly full of blinking stars, reminding him of their current situation. If there's any hope for this world, it's Lucina, she must be at the castle now… The others are taking the gemstones back to her… the only ones left are me and… ''Brady! '' He shouted, running up to the lying figure before him.
No, no, no, no, please, gods no!'' Owain begged, running despite of his injuries. A sudden blow took him off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground, wincing as the bolts inside him were sent in deeper. His hand grazed the fourth arrow, the pain surging through his every vein, causing him to violently rip them all off, salting the grass with his red.
Crawling on the soft grass with all the strength his arms had left, Owain was already expecting the one who shot him down to appear, to finish him off for once, but that did not happen, and he had more important businesses to deal with. His eyes grew as wide as saucers, and his skin became as pale as a corpse's when he reached him.
Lying on the ground before him was Brady. ''Owain…'' He whimpered, causing a momentary relief on the other man.
''Brady… you're alive…you're…'' Was how Owain started, before realizing the blood that stained the priest's robes and ran across his face, matting his hair and streaming down his nose.
''Got caught, ain't nothin' more to it…'' He said between clenching teeth. Grabbing his own stomach in silent pain. Owain lay next to him, without saying another word, also facing the starry sky above them both.
''Your staff?'' Owain inquired, without facing him.
''Stolen… The punk hit me with a club fer it, too.'' Brady explained, as Owain realized that there wasn't much that any of them could do.
''I… failed you…'' Owain told him in a forlorn tone, causing Brady to turn his head towards him.
''Ya did yer best, and got poked full of holes for it, ain't yer fault…'' Brady affirmed, knowing fully well what Owain's wounds were from. After all, he had only got them because he was defending the other man in the first place.
''That's not what I meant…'' Owain started to speak, his voice weak from the wounds, surprising Brady.
''I failed to cherish what I had… To admit what I felt… I failed to be with you.'' Owain confessed, looking the other man in the eyes. He happily took glint he saw on them as reciprocity, and he was correct.
''You always knew… didn't you?'' Asked the myrmidon, who already knew the answer, but wanted to hear Brady say it.
''That I felt fuzzy fer ya? Always…'' Brady replied, facing away from the other man's pretty eyes on the last word, now struggling with two completely different kinds of pain in his gut.
''If only I realized earlier how much you meant to me…'' Owain whispered, more to himself than to the other man.
''If only I had got the balls to admit it…'' Brady cursed under his breath, at the same time.
Owain stretched his hand towards the other fallen man, who promptly met it with his own, in a gentle, yet frail, hold. ''If I had the strength, I would take you in my arms and love you.'' Owain stated, stroking Brady's hand with his thumb.
''I guess a man can dream… And that's a damn great dream, too'' Brady smirked, despite feeling an intense pain on his head again, where a club had hit him.
The two men continued to watch the stars for a while longer, remembering how they would do just the same as kids, also holding hands… But neither of them could recall when they had stopped doing that. Was it after Maribelle's death? No, I was there for him, or at least I tried to be… Was it after mom's? I don't really know…
Watching the stars with Brady filled Owain with joy. Now the butterflies in his stomach were stronger than the pain he was feeling. His thoughts drifted back to the castle and the others. He prayed to Naga that they would be able to perform their plan and that they would save the world from the one who threatened it.
Owain could only hope for the best, and hope he did. He knew his cousin, Lucina, he knew her determination, and knew that she could do it… He just wished that he and Brady could be a part of it too…
''Brady, let's go… we may catch them on time, and there are healers in the castle still'' Owain proposed, but Brady doubted their plan to begin with.
''I'm sorry, but I ain't sure it matters at this point…'' The young man admitted, turning his head to Owain once more, while still grasping his belly and squinting his eyes from the pain in his head.
''We can still recover from this… Can't we? Owain asked, turning to meet his beloved's eyes, but the answer never came.
''Brady…?'' Owain called, his eyes watering as they met Brady's, the eyes that could no longer see him, but were now watching those stars with a look of peace. ''Please… Don't leave me.'' Owain pleaded, his vision getting even hazier because of the tears that ran down his cheeks. He used his last ounce of strength to crawl closer to him, nesting on the other man's arms. ''I won't let you go… Not alone.'' He whispered, before not long after, departing as well.