A/N: LOOK I'M ALIVE. I was busy doing school and then failing two classes and then working my butt off to pass classes. And then summer happened and I worked 6 days a week. And now I'm back in school and learning how to teach kids between 9 and 13 years old how to play music! So it has been crazy.

I want to complete one of these a week so we'll see how that goes. No, I haven't abandoned the rest of my fiction. Probably. XD I am just very busy.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Ike couldn't help grinning when he saw it, and from the corner of his eye he saw Soren quickly hide a smile behind his parchment.

Around them, people were clearing a path, laughing behind their hands and informing anyone who didn't know about both the Pegasus Knight's strength and temper, in that order. Ike saw Soren's bottom lip shift just slightly—the sage was biting the inside of his lip, hard, to keep from openly smiling. Ike had never bothered hiding such things and he was in no mood to start now.

As Marcia stopped in front of them, her brother still howling for her to release his ear at once, Ike burst out laughing.

Soren managed to keep it together far better than Ike.

"And how may we be of assistance to you?"

Ike only laughed harder.

Marcia looked ready to explode. "This rat is the reason I had to leave my job. My best guess at how much money he owes is somewhere over two hundred—" at this point, her grip tightened on the man's ear and he started screaming again, "—thousand gold! Do you hear me, Soren? Two hundred thousand. Even after the group we just took out!"

The sage's expression finally settled and he nodded. "Two hundred thousand gold. If we have debt collectors hounding us for money, it will cause considerable problems to our reputation."

Marcia nodded, finally releasing her grip and sending the man tumbling to the ground. "They'd be lined up out the doors of the barracks. Now that word is out that I'm travelling with you and that I'm back, they've probably started lining up again. There's no end to it." She turned to Ike. "I'm leaving him in your hands."

Ike finally caught his breath. "Two hundred thousand is quite a bit of money." He glanced down. "Get up. What's your name?"

The man was on his feet almost instantly, eyeing the swords on Ike's back. "Makalov, sir."

"Makalov." Ike didn't flinch. "I'll be sending Soren to the barracks tomorrow morning to pay off your debts."

Makalov looked ready to fall over again. "J-just like that?"

Soren snorted. "You can't believe that the world is so forgiving. Or that we are so foolish." He glanced down at his parchment briefly. "Once this is paid off, we'll have lost nearly all of our money."

Makalov paled. "You can't mean—"

Ike smiled. "You, my friend, are now in our debt. You will fight to repay the Greil Mercenaries."

"I—just so you know, I'm rather prone to illnesses—"

The butt of Marcia's lance hit him in the back of one knee, hard, and he tumbled to the ground again. "Horseshit," she growled. "You've never been sick a day in your life. Starving, sure, and beaten so badly that you had to spend a week in bed, but never sick."

Ike chuckled. "It's settled, then. Payment will be deducted from your wages. Until you have paid the two hundred thousand gold you owe, you work for free. Don't even think about leaving the company. Or getting sick." He clapped his hands together. "Right, then! I trust you'll do your best. Meet Mia in the training grounds in an hour and we'll see what you're capable of."

Makalov stared after them as they left, not bothering to move even after the crowd had dissipated and his sister had stormed off.

"…nuts."