Summary: It's not until five years later that the fleeting thought of Severa's strength having changed somehow finds itself at the forefront of Owain's mind as she stands beside him, her body poised proudly before the portal but her dark eyes clouded with doubt. [short Owain/Severa drabble that is honestly hardly a ship fic at all]

Pairing(s)/Character(s): Owain/Severa

Rating: K

Warning(s): Mentions of canon character death

Words: 463

A/N: why do all my intended Owain/Severa fics turn into Severa-centric angst these days. w h y. also this is really short and was written in the span of... what, half an hour? it's hardly worth uploading but i'm still hoping that someone'll be able to enjoy it anyways ^^;;


Severa is undoubtedly strong.

There's nothing surprising about this, of course; even when Owain had first met her, it had been remarkably clear that she had inherited her mother's unwavering conviction and drive. It was that same strength and motherly kindness that she had taken from her mother that drove Noire to hide behind the other girl when she was too timid to confidently march forward as Severa always had.

But after not seeing Severa for two long years after Cordelia's death, there is something Owain finds undoubtedly different in the strength she carries compared to the one before, but at that time he simply shrugs the thought away - after all, there are far more important things for a ten year old boy to dwell on than the character development of a girl he hardly knew.

It's not until five years later that the fleeting thought of Severa's strength having changed somehow finds itself at the forefront of Owain's mind as she stands beside him, her body poised proudly before the portal but her dark eyes clouded with doubt.

The strength Severa displayed when they first met was proud. She carried herself confidently because what reason did she have to not be confident? Her mother was the famous Pegasus knight Cordelia, and while there had been whispers at first, there was no doubt that her parents unconditionally loved one another and built a stable household for Severa upon that love. Severa herself walked with a certain grace reminiscent of her mother that Lucina herself had expressed envy towards, and Owain remembers overhearing Aunt Maribelle once praising Cordelia on her daughter's table manners when his mother and some of the others had been making idle small talk, back when times had been far simpler even despite the threat of war constantly on the horizon. Yes; back then Severa had every reason to be proud and her strength stemmed from said pride.

But the strength Severa has hidden behind since she returned to Ylisstol two years after her mother's death is just that - a shield to hide behind. It is a wall built to distance herself from the world around her, a world so frightening that it could even rob her of her incredibly perfect mother. It is meant to protect her from being hurt in the same way that she had been before, as they had come to learn far before now that there are truly no guarantees in war.

As Owain idly watches Severa's hands anxiously knot themselves in the fabric of her tunic, he finds himself wondering if maybe changing the past will allow her wall to crumble, if just a little bit. After all...

He thinks he'd like to see her smile as she had before her mother died.