Birthday Wishes
Dedicated to Cheyenne2014.
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A/N: Well, I promised to write something for my best friend's birthday, and this is what I came up with. It's set during FE: PoR and told from Jill's point-of-view.
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I carefully hopped down from my wyvern, one hand behind my back. I tied my mount up next to Haar's wyvern and all of the camp's horses and pegasi. My left hand still clutched the package within its grasp as I did so.
I sighed unconfidently and brushed the loose strands of vermillion hair out of my face. I was still quite nervous about today, though I didn't really know why. That's just how I am, I suppose: nervous to the core. Normally it's not so bad, unless it gets to the point where I lose myself, not caring who I hurt. I guess that's probably why I've never thought twice about my hatred for laguz. It just always seemed so natural, never cruel or unjust. That's just how I felt until becoming a member of Ike's mercenary company.
The whole time I'd been thinking, I'd also been walking unknowingly. I stopped for a second, looking at my surroundings to make sure I'm headed in the right direction. I soon began my trek again, after spotting that lone pine tree up ahead--that's how most of us found our way back to camp. We knew that heading from camp and spotting the tree meant we were going in the direction of the lake, where our mounts were kept. Heading in the opposite direction and coming upon the tree meant that we were nearing camp.
I stand there for a couple of minutes, gazing at the tree. It's a few feet taller than I am--maybe twice my size actually. Shinon says it's not very old, and I guess he probably knows what he's talking about since he used to make bows and arrows from tree bark in his spare time. The tree's needles are a deep green color and prickly to the touch. The bark has a rough texture; there are a few pine cones here and there, but not many.
As I continued to stand there, I soon realized that I had gotten sidetracked again--something I kept getting scolded for lately. After all, it was quite dangerous to just go off into space during the middle of a battle, now wasn't it?
I made my way past the tree and into camp. The serene atmosphere I'd just left was quickly replaced by the loud bustling activity of the camp. People were shouting, weapons were being sharpened, duels were taking place--honestly, I was surprised that I hadn't heard the noise all the way back at the lake.
As soon as she saw me, Mist rushed over, dropping the staff she was practicing with. Her light brown hair bounced as she scampered to where I was standing, waiting for her.
"Jill! Where have you been?" she exclaimed.
I laughed, "That's none of your business."
She frowned. "So, what's behind your back then?" the brunette asked, attempting to peek around and see the object in my hands.
I pushed her back a step. "Nothing important. Say, you wouldn't happen to know what today is, would you? It seems like it's something special, but I can't quite place what it would be..." I joked with her.
"Oh, Jill! Don't even try that with me!" she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.
I rolled my eyes at the action. "Fine. Happy birthday, Mist," I gave in, handing her the package.
It was a simple thing really: a small package covered in a brown paper-like material and tied with a thin string. My friend carefully untied the knot that kept it together and pushed the paper away from the gift inside.
She pulled out a little paperback book. On the front cover, a large rodent was grazing on a patch of grass. The animal's feet were web-like, and it did not have a tail. Tiny ears sat on top of its head, its eyes were a dark brown-black color, and a fur-covered muzzle was pointed towards the ground. This was just one of the many animals whose photos had been painted into Mist's birthday present by a local artist.
"Oh, thank you, Jill! I love it!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck.
I chuckled, "I though you would like it...considering you'd mentioned something about loving capybaras just the other day."
"Ha, I'd forgotten all about that..." She continued, "I'm so lucky to have a friend like you who listens to what I have to say!"
Though I didn't tell her this, I knew that I was actually the lucky one to have her as a friend. There weren't many people that could be as selfless and kind as she was. She accepted me regardless of my past. She was a true friend, and, despite our differences, we were able to get along.
Happy Birthday, Mist.