It had been four months since Little Bird joined the Shepherds.
It had been such a chance encounter. The Shepherds had been traveling through the freezing blizzards of Ferox when they had been challenged by the guards, accused of being brigands in disguise. With no other options present to them, the frozen group had no choice but to engage in combat. By this time, the new tactician had more than his fair share of battles and knew just how to arrange his troops so that they could effectively rout the enemy. Therefore, he had no quarrels with teaming up with his captain and taking the lead for yet another battle.
The enemy fought bravely even though as their comrades-in-arms fell around them. The Ferox, Robin was told, were known for their fighting spirits. Facing off against them, with steel slamming against steel and sweat dripping from his overheated skin, he was certain of that fact. Even though they fought valiantly, the white-haired tactician was forced back to heal, leaving Chrom alone to lead the vanguard. This one choice, this one little decision nearly cost them their leader.
As Lissa busied herself with healing the tactician's wounds, a hulking knight slipped from behind an icy staircase and crashed into her older brother. The field let out shouts and screams as the blue-haired swordsman was left alone to face off against the cold warrior, his weapon raised and his condition worn. Chrom fought bravely and with many strikes of his Falchion, he drove the intruder back only a few feet. His blue eyes widened as he found his enemy rearing up and readying a strike that would surely be a death-blow. His feet slipped on ice, forcing him to his knees and his sword crashing to the ground. The Shepherds screeched out against this horrible end, unable to aid their leader.
And that was when Little Bird showed up.
Just as Chrom braced himself for the strike, a cloaked figure raced ahead and blasted the walking suit of armor with a yellow orb of Thunder magic. The man inside let out a harsh yell as his body surged with untamed energy and grew still, crashing to the chilled stone below with only a murmur of farewell. All eyes lifted to find another violet cloak with golden accents billowing in the snow, the sure sign of a tactician. Robin found himself rushing up the stairs of the mighty fort with wide eyes, unable to believe what had just happened. Did his eyes deceive him? Or did another tactician really just appear and save the lord's life?
He soon found an answer when he found the figure lifting Chrom to his feet with a gentle tug of his wrists, even stopping to pick up his sword for him and hand it back to his gloved hands. The two men stood there, astonished and silent before Chrom finally spoke his thanks with an outstretched hand. His blue eyes then lifted as he asked for their name, a bit of a smile rising on his face. The mysterious tactician just stared at his outstretched fingers with their hooded face, not saying a single sound. After a few strained heartbeats, the figure lent a shaking hand and spoke only one sentence.
"You may call me Little Bird."
"Little Bird?" Robin was the first to speak up about the name, taking a cautious step forward as he did so. His brown eyes narrowed as he recalled the similar circumstances under which they had met the mysterious swordsman Marth only a few weeks ago. "That is a strange name." The figure just let out a grunt at his words, unwilling to speak about the subject. His yellow tome brushed against his cold fingertips as he rubbed the cover in thought. "Are you from around here?"
The hood lifted as the individual looked him in the eyes, exposing only the unnerving shadow of the purple brim. Both men waited for their answer, hands on their weapons just in case the events soured. The person shifted their attention slightly towards the young royal, the sleek fabric pressing against their face from the wind as they did so. The snow billowed around them as the figure just shook their head, silently claiming that they were not from Regna Ferox.
The conversation had practically died after that point and the Shepherds managed to catch up to their leader. Their focus once again returned to defeating the hostile commander of the Longfort, leaving Robin alone with the interesting Little Bird. The white-haired tactician scanned their uniform before taking a step forward with an outstretched hand, watching as they hesitantly leaned back on their heels to preserve some sort of distance from his hand.
"Would you like to help?" The man tilted his head as the wind swirled around them, donating an extra layer of white to his head and drowning their purple cloaks in white dust. Little Bird just stood silent as they tilted their head down to stare at his outstretched hand. His skin was a burning red from the cold, splashing the white world with a bit of color. The hand was pushed out a bit further as the man gave the fellow tactician an uneasy smile. "You seemed like you wanted to help, so I thought you could join us for this battle."
They stood there, staring at him for a long moment before slowly reaching out and brushing against his numbed fingertips with a brown glove. "Yes, thank you," they breathed. The voice was strange, almost muffled to Robin's ears. He pushed the thought aside to quickly grasp their hand and roughly give it a shake of agreement, earning a jolt of shock from Little Bird as he did so. The bleached tactician then lead the way to the fray as Little Bird wandered after him, each step quiet and unsure.
Since that day, the new member of camp had been most secretive. Frederick, being known for his caution, always seemed to have an eye on Little Bird, even more so than he did with Robin—which was quite a shock. The newest tactician rarely offered advice on battle plans or the like and instead seemed to focus on training alone and assisting the other members of the group. Chrom and Robin would both watch as the purple cloak would fly about as they leaped from training dummy to training dummy, an iron blade at the ready and slicing through the canvas bodies cleanly and orderly. They hardly talked to anyone, even if they happened to be directly addressed. Most of the Shepherds grew accustomed to this behavior however, especially the more solitary members such as Lon'qu. Even after a few weeks, the ever present sight of the hood covering their facial features became a normal expectation.
Then, rumors started spreading.
They were not quite harmful rumors as one might expect, but instead rumors of another sort. For instance, a quite popular rumor happened to involve Little Bird during a battle against some particularly nasty Risen. As the story goes, Little Bird had been tailing one of their mages, Miriel, for quite some time during the skirmish. They did not exactly aid in the many battles that took place, instead choosing to supervise the woman's efforts. Risen seemed to drop at a steady rate before the poor redhead became just a bit too tired. It was then that a Risen solider had decided to spring up and attack with his lance, aiming straight for the woman's face. Then, out of nowhere, a powerful stream of golden magic pierced through the pale flesh of the beast, killing it instantly. Miriel turned to find Little Bird with a palm full of crackling energy and a tight stance used only while firing magic.
After the battle, Miriel had rushed to Robin to tell him of what she had seen. The redhead claimed in her quite precise and eloquent way of speech that the hooded tactician had utterly decimated the Risen with Thoron magic, a highly complicated and powerful tome of magic that was most certainly out of their mastery range. The white-haired man had shaken it off with a tight frown, claiming such a thing impossible. If Little Bird had managed such an effort, then that would make them far more powerful than much of their camp. Why, the only person who could equal that sort of strength would be Frederick! No, it was utterly impossible that the newest member of their merry band could use such a tome.
So, rumors of Little Bird's power level and items spread throughout the camp. Each one seemed a bit more outlandish than the last. Some insisted on seeing a silver sword among her weapons, hiding within the darkness of her cloak. Others, Miriel included, claimed that she was carrying high-level magic within her items, waiting for any other threats to the safety of the Shepherds. However, Chrom and Robin both shoved the rumors aside and even went as far as scolding those who told them. Anyone with that kind of power would have much better things to do than waiting around for a life-or-death situation to use it, they said. No, they insisted that Little Bird was just like them.
And then the hood came off.
It had merely been an accident during a training session. Shortly after their saving of the capitol—and consequent fleeing of said capitol—Chrom had decided to to the unthinkable and ask Little Bird to a spar. Robin, as any concerned tactician and friend would do, had strongly advised against it. After all, if Little Bird preferred to work alone, they should honor that wish. However, the stubborn lord would hear none of it and instead rushed off to ask. The white-haired man had cringed and waited for some sort of blast to ring out in camp or even some other manner of rejection to take center-stage of camp. To his surprise, Little Bird agreed to the prince's demands and dropped into a ready position.
The young royal grinned as he did the same, his eyes narrowed with challenge and his blade ready to strike. The two simply circled each other for a while, waiting and analyzing their opponent in hopes of finding an opening. Other Shepherds soon gathered to watch, interest sparking in their eyes. The tactician carefully stalked around the worn training circle, watching Chrom with unseen eyes. Robin just took a heavy inhale and watched nervously from outside his tent, unsure of what to expect. The blue-haired commander's eyes flew over his enemy searching for some sort of shift in position that could be exploited.
Then, Little Bird's shoulders eased.
The young lord rushed ahead with a mighty yell, trying to startle the quiet opponent. The shout, although loud and disorienting, had no effect on the young sword-wielder. Instead, they stumbled back and lifted their iron weapon in defense of a high strike of the Falchion. Robin's eyes grew wide as he unconsciously walked over to the dueling duo, his eyes trained on the tight stance of the other tactician. Little Bird abruptly shoved their leader off with a grunt and tried to stagger back, hoping to put some distance between them.
Chrom immediately noticed the shift of their feet and rushed again, this time his body twisting down and readying a strike to the side. His opponent effortlessly dodged his incoming blade by simply twisting their body backwards. Slight sounds of appraisal and approval rippled through the crowd as the white-haired man watched on. It was almost as if Chrom was sparring with Frederick. The way that Little Bird moved was akin to someone who had sparred many a time with their opponent, unthreatened and confident. However, this was the first time Little Bird had sparred with anyone. Therefore, how could they know how to counter the young lord's moves so easily?
Little Bird let out a grunt and halfheartedly gave a swipe of their own at Chrom's side, the effort clearly lacking in the slow swing. The blue-haired man just chuckled as he swung his body out of the way, positioning himself behind his opponent.
"Come on," Chrom jeered. Little Bird slowly turned to face him, the speed being similar to someone who was either unaware or deliberately trying to hold back. The shadow of their face lifted just enough to expose a clench of the teeth and chapped lips, giving one of the very few insights of their emotions. "I know you can do better than this! Please," he paused just long enough to snatch the back of their cloak, twisting it around his fingers. Little Bird let out an audible gasp as Chrom just grinned. "Don't hold back on my account!"
Then, a blinding flash of light went straight for Chrom's side.
Blue eyes widened as the royal found Little Bird's blade racing for his side and slamming into his body with an astounding amount of force. The group watched as the air was shoved from his lungs and his body was sent flying across the clearing, taking the cloak he had held only seconds before with him. The Shepherds watched out with shouts of worry as their leader rolled feet-over-head multiple times, his Falchion falling from the sky a few yards away. He eventually came to a crashing halt only after hitting a barrel of ale, breaking the wooden container and sending its precious contents all over the lush grass.
The crowd rushed to his side while Robin just stood there, trapped within a state of disbelief. What in the world was that? Little Bird had only hit him once! There was no way that the tactician should have been able to grant the stationary Shepherd that much momentum! The prince laid still for an agonizing amount of time before slowly letting out a whistle and lifting himself into a sitting position with his hands. His mouth twisted into a cringe as the audience crowded around him, offering their hands, exclamations of shock and their general worry.
"Incredible strike, Little Bird!" His right hand slowly snaked up to his wounded side as his eyes remained shut with both pain and the pouring of alcohol from his deep blue hair. "That felt like I was just hit by Frederick—with him and his horse!" His unoccupied left hand reached up and wiped the wasted drink from his eyelids, effectively allowing him to see again. His eyes slowly fluttered open as he continued on with his praise. "You've got quite the strike, you know—"
His voice suddenly died as his eyes focused on the victor of the spar. Chrom's earlier amusement dropped clean off his face as he sat there, staring at Little Bird with bulging eyes. Eventually, little sputters of confusion filled the air as he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of the scene. The lord's worried followers turned just in time to get the exact answer behind the man's reaction. Gasps of horror, shock and confusion filled the air as Robin simply stood there, silently taking in the guilty party.
A thin figure bent over with shaking arms, shielding themselves from the burning eyes of the crowd. Their brown boots tilted inwards to try and provide some sort of stability as their sides heaved with labored breathing. Pale hands shivered as they struggled to hide a small, rose-kissed nose and their eyes, their arms blocking a head-on view of their chest. The pale grey shirt grew and quivered with their broken breathing and their white pantaloons shifted around their thighs. White shimmered in the midday sun as their hair proudly took in certainly the first rays of sun it had seen in over two months. Two long, smooth pigtails reached down to their ribcage as they still struggled to breathe, unable to stand tall against the stares of the crowd.
Slowly, Little Bird's fingers unwrapped from their face as they let out a shaking exhale. Their hands instead sat in front of them, outstretched only slightly as if trying to grasp some invisible object in front of them, fingers rigid and knuckles white with what Robin could assume might be—dare he say it—fear. Their eyelids reluctantly fluttered open to reveal tearful brown eyes, shrouded in a dense black of lashes. Despite the way Little Bird hid their form, there was no denying the obvious sight. The purple tactician's cloak had been torn away to reveal a thin frame with very soft features, pale skin and deep brown eyes that could now hardly look at the accumulated people before them.
The cloak was pulled back to reveal a woman.
Chrom sputtered as he fought to regain his footing. Stahl, being close to the fallen commander, gently aided him in his efforts, allowing him to keep a hand on his side at all times. The blue-haired man took a few steps past the crowd and stared at the woman that had sent him flying a good five yards from where he had been standing. His blue eyes narrowed as he gave her one last glance.
"Y-You're...a woman." The words came out confused and quiet, as if the rest of the group could not see the events for themselves. Robin inhaled through clenched teeth and stepped forwards, silently hoping that this event would go down in a similar fashion to Marth's sudden reveal in Ylisstol and not a more drastic or violent one. The prince lifted a hand to his forehead and swallowed hard, unable to think of a better question than that.
"...You really are bad at judging the gender of your companions, Chrom." A light, gentle voice slipped out of Little Bird's mouth for the first time, free of any restraint. Robin lifted an eyebrow as he found that despite her wording and her earlier nervous shaking, the woman's voice almost sounded as if a jest. The white-haired man slowly slipped out of his own cloak and tossed it her way, trying to make up for the ale-stained purple garment that Chrom had left behind in the grass.
Little Bird easily caught the offered clothing and wrapped it around her shoulders with downcast eyes. Her brown orbs stole an unsheltered peek at the royal before her before snapping back to the tactician beside her. Her lips parted to breathe for a single instant before she let out quiet and regretful sigh. "What are you going to do to me?" She glanced back to the head of the Shepherds with narrowed eyes, her gaze containing some sort of dull pain. "You must have some sort of punishment for those who withhold secrets in your group."
"Nothing." Chrom shrugged, ignoring the incredulous look on Little Bird's face. His blue eyes shifted to his trusted tactician with a straight face, oblivious to the way the crowd he left behind was murmuring in a veil of astonishment. "The Shepherds do not have such harsh rules." His attention shifted back to the woman in front of him with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I will not punish you for keeping your gender a secret." His hand swept back to the crowd of people coming towards them, their faces now holding apologetic eyes and light smiles. "It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman here; as long as you can fight and have the drive to aid Ylisse, it matters nothing."
Tears seemed to leap up in her eyes as she shivered again, her shoulders jumping to hide her neck and let Robin's cloak brush against her skin. "Th-Thank you, Chrom." Her voice cracked as her cheeks gained a very faint, almost unnoticeable shade of pink to them. Her lashes shoved a few droplets away only to allow more to come. "I-I just—"
Suddenly, Little Bird broke down. Her arms shot to grab the prince before either man beside her could blink, wrapping around his arms and bringing her face straight into his blue uniform. The scent of ale mattered not as she just sobbed into his chest, shivering with every breath. The blue-haired man gave Robin a pity-filled twist of the lip before just gently placing a hand on her back and waiting for her to gather herself once again.
Robin's brown eyes narrowed as he watched Little Bird cry. Everything seemed so much stranger. Little Bird had literally gone from not a shred of emotion to crying in front of her fellow Shepherds in less than an hour. The man eyed the stained and abandoned cloak in the drenched grass before turning back to Little Bird. Slowly, the hair on the back of his neck began to rise in fear as a horrible thought emerged in his mind.
Little Bird looked like him.
The current of unrest and wonder gradually died away as the Shepherds adapted to Little Bird's revealed identity. While a flicker of speculation still existed over her actual level of strength, her fellow soldiers quickly grew used to the idea of Little Bird actually being a woman under her now clean cloak. As time went on and Plegia's menace became a bit more apparent, she grew to be a valuable asset. For the duration of the battles, she tended to stay at an equal distance to every one of the Shepherds, waiting to lend a hand to those who needed it most. Off the field of battle however, she began spending a bit more time with planning and advice than she had in the past.
Robin gradually grew a bit more used to the idea of having a second mind to lend to battle plans, even if she never really gave any outright. She was more of an editor than a creator and that helped to balance out Chrom's impulsive behavior and Robin's more bloodthirsty battle ideas. However, the young man found himself wondering more and more about Little Bird as a person as time went on. The young woman, despite opening up just a bit more than she had been, still silently refused to speak about herself. So many different theories bounced in his mind as he watched her train. She wasn't from around here, that much was obvious. To add to his wonder, she had acted a bit reserved around most of the group with the only real exception being Chrom himself. Then, there was the unmistakeable fact that Little Bird struck a haunting resemblance to himself, with the only difference being that they were of opposite genders. The white-haired man's curiosity managed to get the best of him eventually and after four months of being in the Shepherds, he asked to have a private discussion with her about the subject.
She agreed.
The entrance to the meeting tent fluttered in the air as someone walked through the canvas gate. Robin turned his head just in time to find Little Bird standing behind him, her brown eyes fixated on the blue-haired man across from him. The leading tactician gave the woman a nod and motioned to a nearby cushion on the floor and a small offering of tea. The woman silently bowed her head in thanks and sat down, gently cradling the cup with both hands and staring up at the two men standing around the great map of the continent outstretched on the table between them.
"Good to see you, Little Bird." Robin slowly stepped away from the map and headed for a blue cushion across from the young woman. His legs neatly folded below him as he reached out to the nearby kettle of tea and poured himself a cup, his eyes never leaving the white-haired tactician in front of him. "I must say that I was very surprised by your decision to join us this afternoon." He placed the kettle back on the spit and held his own cup carefully, almost as one might hold a small flame of fire magic. His brown eyes narrowed. "You never did strike me as one who would feel comfortable talking about herself like this."
The woman glanced up from the swirling brown in her cup before looking back down at the murky lake. "Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I had expected that your desire to talk in private would only include the two of us and not a third party." Her eyes shot up to the royal in the room, giving him a slight nod of respect as she did so. "No offense to you, of course."
"O-Oh no, not at all," Chrom sputtered. He quickly cleared his throat and sat down on the last cushion in the room, holding out his hands for the kettle of tea. Robin simply poured him a cup and resumed staring at his guest, ignoring the spark of protest in his leader's eyes. The blue-haired man took a sip only to scald his tongue, leaving him to quickly place the cup down and fan the burning pink. Little Bird let out a chuckle before quickly hiding her amusement and resuming her awkward staring of her drink.
"I simply thought that our conversation would benefit Chrom as well, that is all." Robin recovered his friend's embarrassment with ease as the prince tried to calm himself. Once the man beside him had regained some dignity, Robin continued with his words. "I was hoping to ask a few questions about you, mainly where you came from and the like." His guest nodded before straightening her posture and waiting for the first question. The white-haired man opened his mouth to speak but was quickly cut off by his friend.
"You're not from here, are you?" Brown eyes shot the blue-headed man a glare as the commander just sat there with a worried glance. Little Bird's chocolate eyes grew wide before she shut them and let out a slow breath. Chrom took this as a sign to add a bit more explanation, hoping to ease a bit of the bluntness of his speech. "To be honest, you never did seem at ease around any of the Shepherds. Feroxi, Ylissean or even Plegian, you always seemed uncomfortable. At first I thought it was from hiding behind your cloak for so long, but then the events at the Outrealms happened and—" He abruptly let out a sigh and shook his head, unsure how to continue. Robin just rolled his eyes and once again tried to clean up the threads of Chrom's ideas.
"When we discovered the Outrealms, you seemed visibly shaken." The man narrowed his eyes as Little Bird shifted on her cushion with a tight twist of her mouth. "At first," he stated, "I had assumed it was from the very idea of having connection to other worlds. Then, I started to think a bit more on the subject. I realized that you had multiple instances of knowing key events, names or other things about us that even we did not know at the time." He slowly lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip, signaling to the others that the tea had finally cooled enough to consume. As soon as he lowered the cup, he continued. "That was when I realized the distinct possibility of you coming from an Outrealm. It would explain quite a bit about things, actually."
Little Bird nervously looked between the two hosts before turning her attention to the entrance of the tent. Her eyes narrowed as she searched the canvas for the shadow of an eavesdropper or the movement of passing figures. When she found all to be still, she let out a withheld breath and returned her attention to the men in front of her. She paused for a moment with her eyes closed in thought before opening them and giving them a weak, almost dead smile. "It's true." Chrom's eyes widened in amazement as she let out a breath of a chuckle. "I indeed come from an Outrealm, as you guessed. Or, in my case, I'm in an Outrealm. It's all relative to the person, after all."
"Really?" Wonder seeped from the prince's voice as he subconsciously leaned in towards the woman. His hands lifted his cup once again and gripped the fine white surface tightly, his knuckles turning red from his grip. "That's amazing! To think that we've had a visitor from another world this whole time..." His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes and leaned backwards. He opened his eyes once again in a dream-like state, his mind imagining the very concept. He then snapped back to attention and blurted out, "What is your world like then? Is it like ours? It must be if you know so many things about this war with Plegia."
The white-haired woman let out a small noise of confusion before snapping her head down and glaring at her murky drink, her emotions unreadable except for the harsh contours of her shoulders and white knuckles. Little Bird let out a quick sigh before nodding her head slowly, almost as if she was lost in her own thoughts. "M-My world..." Her voice was barely a murmur as she reluctantly looked up and stared at her two hosts. "My world is considered a mirror of this world. The events that transpire here have already happened in mine, long ago."
Blue and brown eyes widened as the two men exchanged shocked glances. Robin quickly regained his composure and lifted his chin a bit higher, trying to ease a strange swirl of fear in his mind. If this world was a mirror of hers—or hers was a mirror of his—then that meant that everything that happened here had already happened, and that Little Bird knew every battle plan to come. The skin on his arms rose as his mind turned this bit of information over and over. It was as if the Shepherds had stolen the enemy's plans. For every battle from the beginning of the war to the very end of it all. They knew exactly who they would face, where the battles would take place, everything. Tactically speaking, this was basically the equivalent of a rigged match!
"That's...incredible." The prince spoke up with wonder slipping off his tongue, his blue eyes locked on Little Bird's pale face. "So, you knew that we would be facing assassins in the castle?" The woman, who had once again shifted her focus to her tea, looked up and gave the blue-haired man a nod. Chrom let out a quiet whistle before leaning his head back and closing his eyes, his hands clenching the cushion he occupied. "That would explain why you refused to leave Ylisstol that night." A bitter smile slipped on his face. "And to think I simply took it as a dislike of evening walks."
"I'm sorry," Little Bird gushed. All eyes slipped back to the young tactician from another world as she clenched her chilling tea and gave the men an apologetic look. "I know this must be hard to swallow, but I am telling you all that I can." Her eyes blinked away a bit of fog before she continued with her words. "I don't exactly know how my being here affects this world, but I know that I cannot tell you everything I know; I fear that doing so may endanger this world in ways you cannot possibly imagine."
"I understand." Robin nodded at her reasoning before finishing off his tea and placing the cup aside. He then held out a single palm as if a scale. "Saying too much could upset some sort of balance. Anna told us about such things while we were visiting the Outrealms." A smile slipped on his face as his eyes grew a bit softer. "You must have gone through a lot to get here. I cannot imagine that such travel is pleasant." His expression suddenly darkened as he became aware of a single fact. Just as he was about to ask, Chrom beat him to the punch.
"Why did you leave your world?" Little Bird visibly flinched at the commander's voice before slowly sitting tall, holding the cold cup of tea as if it were some sort of anchor. "I mean, you said that our world and yours happen to be parallels, correct?" The woman gave a nod, allowing Chrom to continue. "Then, if I may be so bold as to ask, why did you leave it? You must be the Shepherds' tactician in that world. So, why would you leave?"
A bit of a pained fog slipped over her brown eyes as she stared blankly at the two men. Her hands shook as she fought back some sort of panic, her mouth twitching as if holding back tears. After a few moments, Little Bird shook it off and glared back up at the two men, her vision seemingly looking through them instead of at them.
"The Shepherds of that world no longer require my services." Her voice was cold and firm as she continued her unfocused glare. "The war that plagued them is long over now; everyone has settled down, taken a spouse and generally moved on with their lives." Her glare abruptly disappeared as a raw pain filled her eyes, causing her shoulders to guard her neck even more. Her voice suddenly grew quiet as she went on, "Th-They...they do not need me anymore."
"Nonsense!" Chrom nearly leaned forward in his seat as he shoved his cup aside and placed his empty hands in his lap. Little Bird looked up with clouded eyes to find the prince's face contorted in a strange sort of scolding, his eyes narrowed and his frown tight against his face. "The Shepherds would never abandon someone like you!" His hand lifted just long enough to motion to Robin before falling back in his lap. "Even though Robin has been with us little more than four months, I would trust him with my life! This war brings us closer every day, not shoves us aside!" His chin lifted in a quiet show of dignity as his voice became a firm tone. "If there is a Chrom of that world, then I am certain that he must feel the same—even stronger, perhaps—about you."
It was as if his words were a trigger. Her cup was thrown aside, spilling across the grass as her hands shot up to her face and covered her eyes as she let out choked sobs. Robin jumped to her side with wide, almost panicked eyes, a hand reaching out for her shoulder. Surprisingly, she shoved his pale fingers away with a muffled grunt, signalling that she wanted her space. Robin awkwardly lingered on the edge of his cushion as Chrom looked on in guilty confusion. What had he said? How could mentioning such encouragement break her like this? It was almost like when her identity was revealed; she sobbed in the same manner as that day, with hidden face and violent shivers. Just what had happened that would bring her here?
Little Bird shoved her hands aside to look at the two men with red eyes and a tight clench of her teeth. Robin slowly leaned back into his spot with sympathetic eyes and closed fists. The white-haired woman stared at the two with a thinly-veiled anger, the source of such emotion unknown. "Listen here, Chrom." Her voice was bitter and sharp, almost as if she was speaking to an enemy instead of her companions. "I cannot tell you much, but this much is certain. In the world where I came from, this war was the least of your concern." Blue and brown eyes widened as the woman rose to her feet and glared down at the two seated individuals, ignoring how her tight stance and higher standing was commonly a sign of aggression.
"In my world, this war was only the beginning. You will soon find that peace is just something that a tactician and a prince can never expect to give to their home." Her eyes gained a strange, faraway look yet remained sharp, almost as if lost in a memory and still angry at the events she saw. "This war is just the start of a long chain of wars, wars that will change everything and shake the Shepherds to their very core." Her brown boots silently took a step back as her dominate right hand gripped the sword at her hip. "Your lives will be filled with strife, and there's nothing you can do to change that."
"Peace will always just be out of our reach."
With those words, she turned away in a silent fury, lowered her shielding hood over her face and slipped out of the tent, leaving the two men alone in the silence. A strange, ominous sort of energy filled the small space as Robin rose to his feet and stared worriedly after her. What did she mean by those words? This war...would it really bring such terrible things as a constant state of battle? That was impossible! Once the Plegia ceased with its hostilities, Ylisse could finally be at peace again. Chrom rose to his feet as Robin simply stood still, lost in his thoughts.
"A...a life of strife," Chrom muttered. Robin watched as the man slowly shook his head and looked after the woman, his face just as confused as his his tactician felt on the inside. "A long chain of wars? Surely such a thing cannot exist. Peace must come to Ylisse someday. I'm certain that after this war, things will finally be peaceful again. There is just no possible way that a world filled with endless strife could exist, especially from this world."
Robin just absently nodded in feigned agreement as he stood there and stared down at his boots, his knuckles bleeding red under his skin from his tight grip. Little Bird had seemed so vehement about the subject, almost as if she blamed them for what had happened to her own world. Could it be that she was a refugee of that war, forced to flee her own world due to its toxic environment? The hair on the back of neck rose as Chrom quietly slipped away, leaving his tactician alone without a word.
No, that was impossible. If Little Bird was the mirror of him, than he knew that she would never do something so selfish. Besides, had she not said that the rest of the Shepherds had families in her time? Surely two such conflicting statements could not coexist. However, a strange feeling lingered in the back of his mind that her words were far more pointed and meaningful than he knew. Robin felt as if he had just been given an omen, an omen wrapped within poisoned paper and waiting to be revealed. His head spun as he numbly walked forward, thinking over and spinning around Little Bird's words and behavior.
How could everything grow so complicated in just four months?
Author's Note: Hey there, Illusion Of Insanity here! This one-shot ties in with an idea I have for a project, but once again, I'm too busy to take on yet another full-series. However, I thought I might as well write a little one-shot for it to fulfill that desire to write for it. This one is an AU, as you can tell. I've always been interested in the Outrealms, especially after trying my hand at the Bad Future DLC pack.
So, seeing as I cannot write the full idea right now, please enjoy this one-shot. This was also a bit of practice on having three main characters at once in a scene, so please do not hesitate to tell me how I did on juggling Chrom, Little Bird and Robin as mains in any of the scenes.
Thank you for reading!