This little thing is based on Cynthia and Kjelle's convo in the hot springs dlc, which was too freaking cute to not write something about.
I highly recommend you watch it first before reading this story.
Cynthia and Kjelle's Hot-Spring Scramble Conversation
''Ha...Ha...n-no! G-Go away! Stop! Ha...Ha...no...sniff...''
The think blanket of smoke choked at little Cynthia's lungs as she stumbled through the flaming ruins in a desperate panic, face matted with sweat and grime. Tears, half frightened, half shameful, ran free down her bruised face as ash stung at her skin and regret at her soul. Her eyes drifted upwards to try and utter a short prayer to the stars, yet only soot and fire was visible, trapping even her hopes in this desolate, burning prison. Her face scrunched up.
Darn it, why was she so weak? She practised so hard, sparred with her sister so much that her lance arm wanted to fall off. These were the risen that took her parents from her, that reduced her beautiful country to a wasteland. She was supposed to be a hero, to defeat them all and bring peace back to Ylisse.
Yet, when she saw that rotten, sickening, grey corpse shambling towards her, vile miasma escaping from its mouth and a devilishly sharp axe raised at her head, her resolve and bravado crumbled to dust, leaving only complete fear in its wake.
The piecing sound of steel rang high in the humid air as her prized lance clattered forgotten upon the ground. All those heroic lines she had practiced the months before were never said and replaced with a pathetic, shrill whimpering as the girl turned tail and ran for her life.
''Aunt Lissa! Lucy! Anyone! H-Help! Please... MOTHER! FATHER! HELP ME!''
In her hysteria, Cynthia failed to notice a piece of debris right at her feet, sending her crashing down to the hard, charred ground. Every movement she made in order to get back on her feet, sent waves of pain down her broken body. Yet, even this torture could not remove her from the dreadful rustling of a figure behind her. Terrified eyes darted back and trembled at the grisly form of a risen assassin slowly moving towards her. It's demonic eyes seemed even more bloodthirsty in the glow of the fire as one, glistening dagger was paraded threateningly in it's hand.
''Ahh...n-no...'' She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Shaking eyes could only watch as her executioner ominously walked towards her. She would die a nobody in this tragic world. She would never get the chance to avenge her mother, to be the hero that was worthy of being called the great Sumia's daughter. Her eyes shut in despair as the risen suddenly made a rush for her. Her voice cracked in order to shout one last plea to the unseen stars.
''HELP ME!''
''Cynthia!''
Slash
For a few tense seconds after the sound, Cynthia's eyes remained shut, still paralyzed in fear. Yet, when she decided to open her eyelids just a sliver, that fear was instantly replaced by complete awe, before quickly shifting to worry.
''...K-Kjelle!''
Standing before her was a girl no older than her, yet almost twice as big. Her finely toned body lightly trembled before her as her saviour's normally stoic face was tainted by a suppressed stock of pain. Beautiful, brown eyes bore into Cynthia's soul as they silently scanned the girl for injuries, even in light of Kjelle's own dreadful one. Peaking behind, Cynthia almost hurled when she saw her friend's back cascading with red, vivid blood and the striking base of a dagger protruding damningly from it.
Before Cynthia could resume her tears, Kjelle's eyes lit up with a fire brighter than any of the flames around them. Despite her grisly wounds, she savagely spun her body to face the risen, grunting as the motion caused the blade to tear her back even further. Producing a hatchet from her side, the girl made a focused, yet powerful swipe at the stunned assassin's neck, it letting out a loud shiver before crumbling to smoke. Kjelle made no motion to celebrate, however, as her shoulders weakly sagged and legs began to give out.
''What...what did I say about w-watching...y-your...''
Using the last of her strength, Kjelle faltered from her wounds and collapsed, Cynthia rushing over to catch her before she hit the ground. Her friend's breathing was so shallow, so heavy. Cynthia desperately tried to control her violent shaking as she felt Kjelle's warm blood drain and pool on her bare hands.
''Kjelle! W-Why d-did you...S-Stay with me! D-D-Don't...'' Tears returned to her face, dripping down like dew off a leave as she cursed her worthlessness.
''H-Help! Help! Somebody!'' she bellowed, lone shouts echoing loudly through the crackling ruins. ''Help! My friend...! Help her, please!''
''KJELLE! Ouf!''
Cynthia fell out of her bed with a groan. She made a wild scan of her now much less fiery surroundings before calming the rushing blood in her veins. ''O-oh...Just a dream.'' she whispered, a touch of fear still on her voice.
The pegasus knight lightly rubbed her bruised rump as she steadily picked herself up and made her way over to her mirror. Picking up a brush, Cynthia began methodically combing her navy blue hair as she silently stared at her reflection, eyes pausing to access both her complexion and her growth.
Cynthia liked to think that she really had grown from the snivelling little girl from all those years past. She did have plenty of experiences to grow from, after all. She eventually learned how to fight for real and cut down hordes of risen from Plegia and back before travelling back in time of all things. Now she fought side by side with her parents and the other legendary heroes of legend in order to stop an ancient evil from making her future as bleak as it was. You know, hero stuff.
But...recently, that particular memory had come back to haunt her. Sometimes, she wondered what would have happened if Aunt Lissa hadn't have found them when she did, if somehow, her weakness had managed to have gotten Kjelle...
''Bwah! No, bad Cynthia!'' the girl squeaked, smacking her cheeks with both hands. The weak Cynthia was looooong gone, replaced by the new, totally awesome, heroic Cynthia! Kjelle said it herself. If she was to become a true hero, and make Kjelle scar into a badge of honour, she had to prove herself and slay bad guys, save the world, make heroic poses (She was especially interested in that one). But, the great heroes that the bards sing of gotta start somewhere. Maybe she couldn't be everyone's hero right now, but she at least can matter to someone, be someone's gallant knight who would bravely fight and die for the maiden's honour, and she knew exactly who that princess would be.
''Haaaargh!''
Kjelle's great shield just barely was able to resist shattering from Minerva's crushing tackle as the general used her great fortitude to hold strong against the tremendous weight of the beast. With a shout, she throttled the metal plate to push the wyvern out of the way and chance a strike at it's masked rider. Gerome winced as the wooden spear nicked the side of his chest, but bit down the pain as he commanded his wyvern to give a wide berth between the two fighters, the two taking a moment to catch their breath as they searched each other for openings.
''Pah! That was a cowardly trick, Gerome, having your mount fight for you!'' Kjelle taunted, a pumped smile eager on her face as sweat glistened off her brow. ''Perhaps I should just spar with Minerva from now on!''
The stone-faced man merely grunted at the jab, brandishing his practice axe and fiddling with his wyvern's scales. ''You do whatever you can to survive in a fight. Foolish notions, such as honour is what gets stupid men killed in war.'' Without so much as a warning, he suddenly flew his mount towards the knight, axe raised high in the air and teeth snarling. ''But if you wish to see my bladework, allow me to give you a closer lo-ARGH!''
''Hiya!''
In a snap, her battle instinct was washed away as Kjelle's eyes bulged and jaw dropped when she saw Cynthia abruptly materialize out of nowhere and smash a log right into Gerome's jaw, sending the rider flying to the ground, unmoving and rump raised high in the air. Minerva gave a horrified screech before she raced over to help her passed out master, though Kjelle doubted that the frequent licking did much to help.
''Da, da, da, dun! Evil-doers beware! None shall harm my princess!'' the peppy girl announced, her sunny demeanour ignorant to the fact she had knocked out one of her friends. Said look then flashed towards Kjelle as she scrambled her way over, eyes beaming and singing for praise.
'Oh no. Not again.'
''Your hero has arrived, my lady! Now, come, rest your tired feet as we run heroically towards the sunset!''
''N-No! I told you not to do this again, Cynthiaaaaaaaahhh!''
In a surprising bout of strength, the pegasus knight scooped up her friend, armour and all, and held her firm and secure in her arms, bridal style. Oblivious of the blushing and shouting of friend, Cynthia skipped and frolicked towards the midday sunset as happy as can be, the armoured general still trashing about in her arms.
''Time to make haste, princess! Let's go find Nah, so I can show you how cool I look when making poses on her head!''
''STOP CALLING ME PRINCESS! YOU'RE AN ACTUAL PRINCESS AND I'M AND ACTUAL KNIGHT! STOOOP!''
Gerome returned to consciousness just in time to see the tiny Cynthia adamantly carry his plate-mail clad sparring partner off as she cried and flailed. He allowed his normally passive face to break as he stifled a laugh, remounting his wyvern as they flew off.
''Come Minerva. This is usually the time when Inigo sneaks off to dance.''
Kjelle slammed her head down on the torch-lit mess hall table as groans and moans paced out of her mouth, Lucina beside her and gingerly comforting her friend with a pat. She had caught a glimpse of her sister parading around Kjelle for the entire camp to see before she managed to pry the knight from her humiliation and sent Cynthia on her way with promises of sweets. Now she spent her downtime listening to the ramblings of her friend as the knight drowned away her sorrows in a glass of ale.
''This is the third time this week, Lucina! My mom can't even look me in the eye without cracking up!'' she moaned, hands covering her shame. ''Why did I have to say all that hero stuff to her?''
''Yes, I never knew Cynthia had it in her, especially the upper arm strength.'' the blue-haired lord giggled, remembering a particular instance when her sister had decided to carry a half-naked Kjelle out of the bath hall, believing that her 'princess' was in need of a good cleaning. ''But, I'm sure she just wants to be of use to you. Believe it or not, she really used to look up to you when we were children. She said you looked like a knight in shining armour.''
Kjelle continued the hiding of her face, though this time, it was likely to cover up her slight blushing. ''And now the knight in shining armour is a princess in distress.'' she sighed, prompting a chuckle from Lucina. The knight's eyes suddenly became downcast, brown orbs squinted in deliberation. ''...She still feels really guilty about what happened despite it all. Sometimes, when the little scamp is lugging me around, I see a little bit of pain and worry looking down on me, like she's still hurting from that day.'' The knight hardened her stare, pushing her half-full mug away as a hand gingery massaged her back. She sighed. ''I've already moved on, why can't she?''
Lucina flinched as memories of that stressful day flashed through her head. They were barely teenagers back then and still she remembered seeing her little sister screech and bawl as her friend bled out in her arms. Thank Naga her aunt was close by with a staff. ''Just bare with it for a little, Kjelle. Cynthia was so traumatized after that day, she would wake up screaming on some nights, crying and hugging her knees for dear life.''
Lucina grimaced as she tried to pry such images out of her mind. She could still hear the terrified screams in the dead of night and the whimpering that accompanied bitter tears. ''She'll learn to deal with it in time. For now, let her act out her praise on someone who deserves it. Please, for me?''
''Hmph, you talk like her 'praise' is a good thing.'' the knight joked, a small smile blooming on her stoic visage. Though, any rebuttals were quickly shot down when she became scrutinized by her friend's pleading, azure eyes. ''Hah, alright, fine. But you owe me ten practice sessions for this!''
The woman's voice jingled with mirth, placing a friendly hand above Kjelle's own. ''Never have I met someone who treats sparring as currency! But, it is a deal nonetheless. And once again, thank you, Kjelle, for saving my little sister's life.''
With a sheepish nod from Kjelle, the two friends resumed their meal of tomato soup and stale bread, finding conversation in more light-hearted matters.
Owain grumbled irritably to himself as the blank scrap of paper before him mocked the swordsman. He was in the midst of devising heroic plot devices that would unleash the true power of his sword hand and drive him into an invincible rage of rage, crushing all who opposed him!
''...Oh, perhaps I should wait until uncle fells in battle! Then, when I catch his dead, lifeless, body in my arms, the power of his brand will transfer to mine!...No, that involves him dying...Oh, or maybe when Robin has been gruesomely slain, the sight of our tactician's horribly maimed body will cause Robin's dragon blood to pour into mine, turning me into Omega Grima Owain!...No, that involves Robin dying...Darn it, this hero stuff is hard!''
His brooding was interrupted when an excited pegasus knight decided to burst into his tent, sugar and crumbs littering her lips and a determined glint in her eyes.
''Owain! Put aside your third-degree murder plots for a minute and give me some advice here!'' she said, plopping herself down on his cot.
Happy to take his mind off his failed plans, the swordman quickly pushed the pens and empty parchments off his desk before adopting his signature hand-over-eyeballs pose, an equally eager grin on his face.
''Cynthia! If it isn't my fellow Justice Cabal, the handmaiden of heroes, the crown of cousins!...err, but don't tell Lucina that.'' he chuckled with shifty eyes, but never allowed the enthusiasm from leaving his face, puffing out his chest. ''What sort of heroic consultation do you need of me?''
For a moment, Cynthia's enthusiasm, on the other hand, made a momentary retreat, a brief flash of nervousness replacing it. But no angst could stop the infallible will of the great Cynthia! Taking a deep breath, the pegasus knight resumed her request, eyes strong and nostrils flared.
''It's Kjelle, cousin. I'm starting to think she doesn't enjoy me being her hero! I mean, who wouldn't love a personal, dashing Cynthia carrying them wherever they went and undressing them whenever they needed a bath?!'' the girl miffed, feeling rather unappreciated.
Owain could help but to laugh at memory of his cousin's 'hospitality'. ''Pffft, oh man, that was hilarious! I can't believe you actually dragged Kjelle wearing only a bath robe across camp just to get her the right kind of soap!''
Cynthia put on an angry pout at the sight of Owain's mocking tears. ''Hmmmmmph, That's not funny! I didn't know what kinda of soap she liked! Plus, more people should get to appreciate Kjelle's figure!''
''I don't even think Kjelle uses soap! And I'm sure a lot of people got to 'appreciate' her figure. Inigo certainly looked like he did!''
Cynthia puffed out her cheeks even more. This clearly wasn't going where she wanted it to. ''Awww, knock it off, Owain! How do I get her to like me more!'' the girl whined, a cute little little frown on her face. ''Oh, you and Nah really seem to get along! She lets you carry her in your arms! How did you do it!''
Owain paused his laughter as a patch of red started to grow on his features. He wouldn't put it pass his cousins to be this oblivious, but carrying another person in your arms is usually something reserved for couples...which he and Nah recently became.
''Ergh, hm, um...''
This wasn't exactly something Owain wanted to talk about and definitely something Nah wouldn't want mentioned to other people, especially not to the person who frequently tries to mount her head.
''Well, N-Nah and I...we...'' Cynthia's glossy eyes weren't making this easy. ''N-Nah let's me do that b-because I'm...uh...funny?''
Cynthia raised an unconvinced eyebrow that deeply wounded his pride. ''U-Uh, I-I just make her happy, alright!'' he yelled through his blushing, perhaps a little too loud. ''L-Look, if you want Kjelle to like you, just make her smile a little or something. Tell some jokes, do stuff with her that doesn't involve embarrassing her! Nah seems to like it when I just hang out with her!'' the man skittishly finished, oddly out of breath.
Looking past her cousin's fidgeting, Cynthia's eyes glazed in contemplation. 'Hanging out huh?' she pondered. Did hanging from her arms count? Probably not. But, she did want to get to know Kjelle a little better... They never really got a chance to have a friendly conversation when they were shoulder deep in risen or when Kjelle was half-conscious from blood loss.
''Hmmmm...Getting to know the princess behind the veil...'' she hummed. That certainly sounds like something a hero would do.
''You're never going to drop this princess thing, are you?''
Feeling satisfied, Cynthia sprung up with a smile. ''I'll think on it! Thanks, Owain!'' And with a quick wave, she dashed out of the tent in a blur, leaving quickly as she came.
Freed from his torment, Owain gave a hefty sigh of relief, happy to have kept his secret with Nah from falling into the wrong hands. Turning back to his desk, the man resumed to his scheming.
''Now, back to heroic plots! Hm, maybe I should wait until Kellam dies. Yes, no one will even notice!''
Kjelle thoroughly gave her tense shoulders a good stretch as she strolled through the cool, evening breeze. Her little conversation with her friend had eventually evolved into a sparring match and while she didn't like to admit it, Lucina could run circles around her with that rapier. Her battle-lust sedated, all the weary knight wanted right now was to get better acquitted with her mattress.
''Yohoo! Kjelle!''
Sadly, it seemed Naga was indifferent to her wishes, as she saw Cynthia race towards her once again, arms ominously out-stretched and that chipper grin reflecting promises of great embarrassment. But she was too tired to fend of her attacker after that training session she just had! (though, it's not like she could fend her off normally) Thus, the knight could do little more than brace herself against the coming storm, eyes closed and unable to face her imminent disgrace. Just a little more, and...
''...Hey!''
Kjelle peaked an eye open. To her surprise, she wasn't a couple feet in the air. ''Umm, hi?''
''Hi!'' she repeated, making no effort to advance the conversation past pleasantries.
They stood there in the middle of camp for a few seconds longer, Kjelle giving her a greatly confused stare while Cynthia stayed motionless, the big, dopey grin never budging an inch.
'Oh! Yeah! Hanging out!' the blue-hair girl remembered, her excitement getting the better of her.
''Uhh, so hey! Whatcha up to, Kjelle!'' she chimed, though with a slight squeak to her voice.
The knight raised an eyebrow, half-wary, half-pleasantly surprised that she wasn't being thrown about like a sack of potatoes. ''Er, heading back to my tent?'' she approached, cautiously.
''Oh, let me come with!'' giving a little bounce. She caught herself. ''Ahem, I mean, a hero needs to escort her princess back to the castle.'' she charmingly said, giving her a slight curtsy. Unfortunately, her genetics decided to kick in and the girl quickly stumbled to the ground face-first.
''Owww!'' she peeped, wiping away clumps of dirt from her hair as she knelt on the dusty floor.
Kjelle simply winced at the cheesy display. But, that little smile her friend does when she's excited could convince a risen to dance. She sighed in defeat. ''F-Fine. Just...just none of that carrying crap, alright?'' the knight conceded, offering a hand. Her exhaustion was too great to try and convince her friend.
With an eager nod Cynthia took the hand and accompanied her friend back to her tent, ready to initiate part one of her super, awesome plan. Or so she thought. After a full minute of walking in silence, the blue-hair girl realized that she had no idea what to talk about when hanging out with Kjelle. Her usual icebreaker of lifting Kjelle up had been ruled out in this situation, making her feel oddly uncomfortable without the knight in her arms. This lead the pegasus knight to squirm and mumble at the odd air between the two of them.
'Ummm...darn it, Cynthia! What does Kjelle like to talk about?! What did Owain say he does with Nah? Make her laugh, right? Oh, jokes! I can do jokes...I think. Hmmm...oh! That's a classic!'
''Kjelle!'' the chipper girl suddenly and loudly announced, causing her friend to yelp and nearly trip in surprise.
''W-What?''
''So a griffon walks into a bar, and the bartender says, 'Why the long-'...oh, darn it! I was supposed to say horse...''
Her friend just gave her a strange stare.
'Oh no, this is totally not going well!' she mentally cried, fingers fidgeting about in her palms while small rivers of sweat dripped down her forehead. 'Think, think!'
''Ah, Bwah! S-So, w-what's the deal with airplane food?!''
''I don't even know what an airplane is, Cynthia!''
''Errrrr...'' the girl groaned. She didn't know what an airplane was either. Tiny pools of frustrated tears threatened to leak out of her eyes as her wavy mouth lips started to quiver. 'This is so embarrassing!'
Noticing the imminent waterworks, Kjelle's hand instinctively found it's way to her friend's shoulder, eyes glinting with worry. ''C-Cynthia! Why are you- Are you hurt? What's wrong?'' the doting tomboy asked, inspecting the girl for bruises.
Cynthia squirmed under her friend's scrutinizing stare, feeling awfully unheroic right now. ''N-No, sniff, I'm okay.'' The great Cynthia felt uncharacteristically shy as she tried to voice her thoughts. ''I mean...do you like me, Kjelle?'' the girl whimpered, staring up at her friend with big, sparkly, eyes.
It seemed like Cynthia's embarrassment was contagious, since as soon as the words left her mouth, a deep blush raced like wildfire across Kjelle's face, tickling her ears a light strawberry hue. ''W-W-What k-kind of question is that?!'' the knight shouted, though Cynthia's increased whimpering made her greatly soften her tone. ''Ahem...I-I mean...o-of course I...like you, Cynthia.'' she lamely muttered, the blush now moving down her nape.
But Cynthia wasn't convinced. ''B-But, you don't look like you enjoy it when we spend time together! I...I just want to be your hero, Kjelle...plus get to know you a little better...'' The snivelling still hadn't fully died down.
The knight gave a low hum of realization, before smiling a tender smile.
'Is that what this is all about? Hah, the little crybaby...'
With a brief chuckle, Kjelle raised a hand and scuffled the pegasus knight's messy, blue hair, getting some huffs, before continuing their pace. ''Cynthia, do you really think I can enjoy your company when I'm being dragged half-naked around the camp?''
The girl winced guiltily in response, her own cheeks fogging with red as she just now realized how degrading that must have been. ''Oh...sorry!''
Kjelle light heartedly scoffed. ''Sorry? That's all you have to say after half the company, including my parents, got to see me dripping wet and only wearing a bath robe?'' she teased, though quickly reassured her friend after she saw her mouth start up another apology.
''Relax, it's fine. I know you're dead set on this hero thing, but there's more to being a hero than lugging me around, Cynthia. Just having my back in battle and fighting the way you do is already worthy of a song or two.''
''R-Really?!'' Cynthia squeaked, a child-like twinge of hope in her voice.
''Really. But, if you just want to talk, I'm game for that too. Heroes need some time to bask in their public, right?'' the knight smirked, wiping a stray lock of blue hair away from Cynthia's eyes.
''P-Public? Me?!'' she yelped. Was this the recognition Cynthia had been waiting for? Had her heroing finally paid off? She looked over her friend with wide eyes, taking in the handsome, chiseled physique of her body, along with the surprising softness and tranquility of her fair face. An image of that face staring back at her against the glow of flames flashed through her mind, her saviour looking at her with selfless eyes that were more worried about the minor wounds of another, rather than the much more severe wounds of her own. A face of a true hero, and a face that she also wanted to protect.
Lowering her eyes, Cynthia cracked a serene smile. 'Not yet, Kjelle. I'll turn that scar into the most awesome badge of honour ever! Just wait a little longer.'
''So, nice weather we're having, isn't it, milady?'' she piped, swiftly wiping any remnants of tears away and slapping on her usual charged smile.
Kjelle gave the briefest of stares, intrigued by the odd choice of responses, but chalked it up to the usual, whacky, Cynthia. Nudging her head forwards, the two continued on their stroll to Kjelle's tent, looking up to enjoy Naga's sparkling, star-studded night. The evening breeze felt cool on their skin, both of them sharing a quick laugh after they simultaneously sighed, wisps of smoke dancing past their lips.
''Yeah, looks bright, doesn't it?''
They eventually found topics to talk about. From fairytales to armour choices, the two girls finally were able to relax in each other's company as the moonlight radiated gently above.