The unnatural stillness of the woods was unnerving. Save for his own padding footsteps and the hushed whispers of ferns as they parted, the only noises within earshot were the occasional breeze through tree limbs and a distant, low rumble, too far to triangulate.
Maybe he'd wandered too far from the army's wave of footmen. The second wave's quick march was long behind him and the young prince found himself decidedly and thoroughly isolated.
Takumi scowled to himself as he continued north, following the faint rumbles and keeping the sun to his left. These scouts for rogue faceless often turned up empty, but he'd been looking seeking opportunities to prove himself independent and every bit as capable as his siblings, anyway. Between Ryoma's expectations, Hinoka's exasperated supervision, and even Azura's vague hovering – only Sakura, whose dependence upon him was matched only by her own self-doubt, seemed confident in his abilities.
To prove himself capable was proving to be a tall order, between the war, the loss of his family and the new burden of coddling the newly-returned Nohrian princess. Takumi's nose wrinkled as he remembered the way Hinoka fawned over her, how she reproached him for his just unease, and Corrin's beseeching attempts at empathy.
"It seems like you just don't care to get to know me at all." The indignant jut of her chin was betrayed by the deep furrow in her brow – although she feigned confidence, his refusal wounded.
"You hit the nail on the head. I know I should trust you, since we're siblings. But we were raised worlds apart, so we really don't have much in common after all."
And, just like that, she'd roped him into archery training. Precisely what he'd wanted to do with his free time. He kicked at a shrub as he passed, but was hardly placated by the unfeeling bush.
The unmistakable bellow of a faceless brought Takumi back to his senses. Whirling around, he took off in the direction of the sound, running in a low crouch to stay below the cover of shrubs and low lying pine branches. The tree line broke into a clearing, and from his hiding spot he spotted the faceless engaging a lone soldier. Limping and with an arm hanging uselessly at its side, the faceless was fighting a losing battle as the swordsman ducked and weaved past its slowed attacks, cleaving at its remaining limbs and slowing it further.
Takumi squinted to identify the fighter and huffed irritably when bare feet betrayed their identity. Her highness clearly doesn't need me or the rest of the family, battlefield or otherwise, he thought poisonously and nearly turning heel. Just before he set off the monster gave a deafening howl and swiped with its good claw at unprecedented speed. Beyond the thicket another bellow and the jangling of chains answered – another faceless on its way. Corrin ducked a hair too slowly and was raked across the shoulder, red blooming through mangled armor. Takumi's stomach rolled as she hit the dirt, Yato clattering to the ground a meter away.
"GET UP!" Takumi roared, flinging Fujin off of his shoulders as he tore into the clearing. Arrows buzzed into his right hand and he leveled one at the injured faceless. He exhaled, drew back, and the arrow found its target within the faceless. It fell like a great tree, growling and taking a number of young saplings down with it.
Just as he leveled the second arrow towards the monster's neck the snapping of branches announced the arrival of the second faceless, a stronger one. Its athletic gait was quick for its kind and Takumi barely had time to loose the arrow at its kin before wheeling around, cursing as he found himself in the shadow of an arm mid-swing.
A flash of light distracted Takumi as he braced for impact. He blinked hard to clear his vision and nocked a third arrow, drawing the bowstring while white spots erupted in his sight. As they cleared a new snarl joined the cacophony, a great dragon erupting from the ground, sunlight glinting off of its silvered form.
Torso obscured by the metallic beast, Takumi took aim instead at the monster's legs and buried an arrow in each. The stronger faceless crumpled to its knees and fell forward onto the prongs of the dragon's antlers. The dragon charged, tossing its head and flinging the speared faceless onto its fallen comrade with a deafening crash.
Pine needles rained as the dust settled. The dragon limped towards the mountain of limbs and Takumi readied another arrow, but the faceless lay unresponsive, defeated.
Takumi finally lowered Fujin and turned to face the dragon. Its horns were dark with faceless gore and its head hung level with its shoulders, right foreleg dragging along the ground.
He approached it uncertainly, pulse still racing from battle and unfamiliarity keeping his heart rate from going down. The last time he'd seen the dragon was in the aftermath of his mother's murder and the decimation of the castle town. Then, the beast had raged unbridled through the smoking rubble of the city, thundering toward its adversaries with wings unfurled and an animalistic cry. Now it sank to the ground, wings folded, tail curled and foreleg splayed awkwardly to the side, hardly the fear-inducing monster that nearly killed Azura.
"Corrin?" Takumi racked his memory and prayed he wouldn't have to employ Azura's song to get its attention. How did the opening lyrics go, again?
With a low rumble and a flash of light, the dragon dissolved into blue droplets and was replaced by Corrin, curled on her knees and clutching her right side. Fresh blood seeped past her shoulder, staining her sleeve and reaching across her back.
"Corrin!"
Takumi let Fujin fall to the ground and raced to her, pulling the sash free from his waist and winding the wide fabric around his hand. Corrin looked up when he came to kneel at her side, hair plastered with sweat and her complexion sallow. In stark contrast with the dragon she looked so small, so organic, dragonlike only in the eyes and ears.
"Th-thank you," she panted, teeth gritting as the gash seared. "For coming to help."
"Forget it." He tore the belt in half and held one swatch to Corrin's upper arm, winding the red fabric around her shoulder and pulling it tightly. She blanched and hissed, swaying slightly on her knees. "I know this hurts, but I need to slow the bleeding."
Corrin nodded, clamping her eyes shut. Takumi frowned deeply as he looped the remainder of his belt into a makeshift sling. Each sharp breath through her teeth made his chest constrict – traitor or otherwise, she didn't do anything to invoke this upon herself. He slowed his hands as he knotted the ends of the sling together, lightening his touch and keeping an eye on Corrin's face. Her jaw unclenched as he was finishing, and she took a shaky breath in to steady herself.
She almost smiled, looking up at him through glassy eyes. "Thank you."
A slight upturn to the frown was all that Takumi could afford. Although the gash wasn't deep enough to risk severance, it was long, drawing from above the elbow to her to collarbone and Corrin was greying by the second. She needed to see a healer before she went into shock or bled out too much, and they were too exposed in the middle of a field…
"Hold tight for a second," Takumi instructed, looking around for their dropped weapons and retrieving Yato and Fujin. "Can you stand? We need to get to cover so I can find a healer."
Corrin nodded. Setting her jaw, she pushed herself upright with her good arm and came to stand with a wobble and a gasp. He pursed his lips, unconvinced of her stability.
"Nope. Come on, brace yourself."
He cautiously wound his right hand around her waist, minding the sling, and pulled Corrin's good arm around himself. She let some of her weight fall to Takumi who, feeling her shallow breathing against his ribcage, gripped her tightly and set off for the edge of the clearing. Takumi shortened his stride to match Corrin's and he marched them to the tree line, each yard feeling like a mile. By the time they reached the underbrush of the woods Takumi was nearly dragging Corrin along, her stride weakening and head lolling onto his shoulder.
At the inner edge of the tree line Takumi found an aged oak tree with plentiful moss at its base. As gingerly as he could, he lay Corrin at the foot of the tree, propping her shoulders up. Her head rolled to her chest, eyes fluttering closed.
Takumi's felt his mouth run dry. "Stay with me, Corrin," he pleaded, cupping the sides of her face and holding her head up. When she opened her eyes they were swimming with pain.
"I'm sorry, Takumi." Her voice wasn't more than a whisper.
He shook his head. "Don't be. Just stay awake, okay? Can you sit up on your own?"
"I think so."
Carefully, Takumi lowered his hands. Corrin swallowed hard but kept her head and shoulders against the tree, bracing her feet and hand against its roots to stay upright.
"Good. I'm going back to the trail to find Sakura, I need you to stay awake and to keep your head up. Can you manage?"
She nodded.
"I'll be back. Sit tight." Takumi threw a half smile over his shoulder as he took off into the woods. Incomplete thoughts tinged with panic entered and left his consciousness as he ran west, following the sun as he vaulted around boulders and over knotted tree roots towards the main path through the woods.
In what felt like no time the trees began to thin and Takumi met the low chatter of voices and marching steps through the well-worn main road through the woods.
Heady relief overtook him as the back wave of troops came into view – Kaze led the group, followed closely by Sakura, clutching the arm of Azura, and the faint outline of a Subaki's pegasus overhead, ever watchful over his liege.
"Sakura, wait up!"
Takumi ignored the stitch in his side as he cleared the distance in long strides. Sakura wheeled around, startled.
"Brother! What are you doing here? I thought you went ahead to scout." She unlatched from Azura and wound her arms around Takumi's arm, a habit from childhood that she'd never grown out of. Takumi would never admit how fond he was of the childish gesture, especially not to his closest sibling.
"I did, but Corrin took a bad hit from the faceless and needs help, now. She'll bleed out before long, we need to hurry." He squinted at the pale underbelly of the pegasus circling overhead and waved his arms to get Subaki's attention. With a seamless, athletic dive, Subaki came to land nearby in a gust of wing beats and feathers.
"Lady Sakura, Lord Takumi," Subaki said with a calm smile and a quick bow. "Something amiss?"
"We need to get to Corrin in a hurry, can you give Sakura a lift? She's at the base of an old oak tree near a clearing a few minutes' run east. I can lead you in the right direction and you can take it from there, I assume?"
"Of course, she'll make excellent time with me."
Takumi fought the urge to roll his eyes. Subaki's ego stemmed from excellence, to be sure, but the needless reminding tired quickly.
"But brother, you know I'm no good with pegasus rides…" Sakura whimpered, eyes welling up. Along with large monsters, spiders, snakes, darkness and the unknown, Sakura naturally harbored fears of fast movement and, of course, heights.
"I know, sister. I'll be right below, and Subaki has everything under control."
Sakura smiled weakly. "Okay."
Takumi gave her arm an encouraging squeeze before boosting her up into the saddle in front of Subaki. "I'll start while you takeoff, the clearing is east of here. Good luck, you two."
With a final wave Takumi tore back into the forest, smiling to himself as rapid clopping and a high scream signaled Subaki's takeoff. The pegasus quickly overtook him and Takumi watched their progress until they disappeared over the tree line ahead of him. Although he was sure Subaki would beat him to Corrin without issue, he picked up the pace, feet pounding in the dirt and greenery blurring past him until he finally came to the edge of the clearing, chest heaving and blood hammering in his head.
As he came to the great oak tree he passed the pegasus, tethered to a lower limb and munching on the undergrowth. Subaki and Sakura knelt by Corrin who lay much as Takumi left her, still curled against the tree but breathing deeply and slowly. Both Sakura's festal and Corrin pulsed with a faint light while Sakura muttered an incantation. In a few moments it was over, the light dissipating as Corrin's eyes fluttered open.
Takumi was relieved to find no trace of pain in Corrin's expression, only gratitude and fatigue. "Sakura, Subaki, thank you," she said, smiling warmly. "How did you find me?"
"Big brother showed us the way, and Subaki offered transport…" Sakura replied darkly, not entirely recovered from the trip. "You were out cold when we found you. The bleeding should be under control now, but your arm might be stiff for a day or so. How are you feeling, big sister?"
"I'm well, thanks to you three." Corrin looked past the two kneeling at her side to Takumi, who hung by the pegasus. "Takumi, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you. Thank you."
The beseeching warmth and gratitude wasn't lost on Takumi, but his head throbbed persistently and he gnashed his teeth around the ache.
"It was nothing." His response came more sharply than he'd meant. Takumi watched her smile slide off with a pang of regret. The apology never made it past his lips as the throb in his temples crescendoed – he needed to bring an end to the battle so he could return to the Astral Plane and cope with the headache, alone. "I'm going on ahead… Gonna keep scouting."
He registered the hurt and confusion on Corrin's face and a quiet "Brother?" from Sakura as he turned heel. Gods help the remaining faceless that slow him now, hopefully taking them down would relieve his pounding headache.
Once the army returned to the Astral Plane, Takumi tore into his quarters and sat at the edge of his bed, head throbbing. After a choked glass of water failed to allay the pounding behind his eyes he busied himself with the process of removing and cleaning his armor for distraction. Once his wrist guards, belts, vests and kerchief were off he paused, mouth in a thin line as he pulled one of his gloves off. The steely blue of the royal archery militia was dulled to a rusty maroon, dark with blood. Pain seared through his head and he dropped the glove with a moan, holding his temples, eyes watering.
Something deep within Takumi relished the stains, glad at Corrin's injury, took delight in the karmic justice behind her pain. It was only just, after the agony imparted when Hinoka sobbed into Mikoto's robes, Ryoma grew distant and determined, a young Sakura quietly reflected everyone's sadness and he was left with nobody to run to when ghastly flashes of Sumeragi's murder woke him in the middle of the night.
The pain in his head roared. It was only just. She was the reason Mikoto fell in the town square that day.
No.
Takumi tossed his head angrily, ripping off the remaining glove and hefting the basin of water at his bedside table between his knees. Teeth gritted and brow furrowed, he scrubbed furiously at his gloves, working the stains from the palms as the sun began to set.
Task completed, he hung his gloves to dry at the edge of his bed and collapsed onto it, fully clothed. The ache in his temples dissipated as fatigue overcame him and he slept dreamlessly.