Robin stood awkwardly outside the well-worn tent. A faded blue in colour, it was starting to represent his mental state. For his brief three years of memory, he had known months upon months of constant battle. With a brief respite in the middle, it gave him the chance to lean back and relax. Then there he was again. Knee deep in mud and bone.
It tired his mind and his body. He was tearing at the seams, ready to fall apart any minute. The constant strain of war, the tire of battle. It rubbed on him like sandpaper, whittling away what he thought 'Robin' was.
Then here he was. Standing outside this old and worn navy blue tent. His tent. He was in the war room when he got the news. Too focused on the old maps and books, he failed to notice Lissa's rapid footsteps.
"Robin! Robin! You'll never guess who we found!" Robin looked up at the excitable princess. "What are you talking about?" The tactician said with a suppressed sigh. It was probably another one of the future children, maybe another of Lissa's based on her excitement. "C'mon Robin! There's no time to waste!" Lissa rushed over and grabbed Robin's arm, dragging him towards his tent. "We put her here, and said you would be along shortly." Lissa explained. "Lissa, what are you talking about?" The princess groaned and pushed him towards the tent. "Don't make a lady wait, Robin!"
Secretly, Robin dreaded what could have been inside the tent. A long-lost wife? A child he didn't know he had? Another stalker? It was all too scary. With a shake of his head, Robin reached for the tent flap. His mind was overworked and tired, he was probably just over thinking it and it was just a prank by the princess.
Pushing side the fabric, Robin stepped inside the tent. He was shocked to find a small version of himself staring back at him. Albeit female, there was no doubt she was related to him. Large brown eyes, the same snow white hair, even the same clothes. It was all too similar. Based on her age, it seemed that she was only a few years younger than himself. Maybe she was his sister! She could finally reveal to him his long-lost past!
The girl's eyes widened in shock. Robin smiled warmly, she was an adorable little sister if he ever saw one. "Father!" The girl screamed with joy, rushing towards the tactician and wrapping around his chest in a massive hug.
Father!?
Robin's mouth fell open in shock. Father. He looked down at the small white-haired girl, noticing small details that were not quite his own. The nose was slightly different, her cheek bones slightly higher. He slowly wrapped his hands around the girl's shoulders. He swallowed before breaking the silence.
"And what is your name?" He spoke softly, rubbing her shoulders affectionately. The girl looked up at him in surprise. "What do you mean? You don't remember me? Daddy's little girl?" Her eyes watered and her face twisted into a destroyed expression.
"You don't remember me? Little Morgan? Daddy's l-litt.." Her words were cut off by sobs as she hugged him tighter, refusing to let the tactician go. "I lost my memory, Morgan." As Robin spoke, he noticed that her name felt...right.
"So I don't remember much else." Morgan looked up at him again, her cheeks teary. "You too?" She giggled.
It seemed that Robin finally found something worth the war.
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When Robin woke up, he did not know how late it had gotten. The candles were all but burnt out, and the books were still scattered about. Raising his head, he was met with arguably the most adorable sight he had ever seen. Morgan had her head resting in an open tactical manual, drool spilling out and onto the page. While he silently mourned over the book, he went towards Morgan to take her to bed.
Most nights ending like this as of late. It had been almost a month since Morgan had arrived, and yet he still did not know who her mother was. He had very few guesses. She was practically all him, save for the small attributes that clearly came form her mother.
When the tactician confronted some of the future children about it, they all agreed that they had not known Morgan. So she had either followed them through the portal, or she was from somewhere else entirely.
Pushing those common thoughts to the back of his mind, Robin leaned in and gently picked his daughter up. He walked over and gently laid her down in his bed. It was a rarity that she even slept in her own tent now, having spent so much time in here studying with Robin.
He smiled and gently brushed his thumb over her cheek. With her sudden and joyful appearance in his life he felt great. The other Shepherds had even commented on how he was 'Smiling more' and other small compliments. It was true, he felt so much brighter now that he had Morgan.
He brushed a small white lock of hair over her ear, and his breath stopped.
Her ear, something he had never noticed, was longer and pointed. A sign that Morgan could be a Manakete. His mouth dropped open. His theories could be true!
It explained so much of why Robin still looked like a fifteen-year-old and all the other Shepherds still aged. Heck, even Ricken was starting to gain a little bit of height on him. Now he had almost definite proof that he was a manakete, or at least part manakete!
He smiled widely. If he could get his hands on a dragonstone, one for himself and Morgan, then he could put this theory to the test. It would have to wait, however, the objects were quite rare in Ylisse.
Robin fell asleep to the sounds of his daughter snoring beside him.
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Robin and Morgan stood opposite each other in the training ground, each holding a dragonstone. Robin was shaking in anticipation and began to focus on the stone. Nowi had given him some advice about how to go about using the thing, but she had been following Henry more and more these days, and was quickly distracted by the dark mage.
Nowi had mentioned something along the lines of 'Pouring your soul into the stone,' but Robin could hardly figure out what that meant. He focused all his power, and he felt something. He couldn't put it into words effectively, but it felt like a piece of him was desperately pulling towards the stone. Like a ravenous wolf for a meal.
No matter how hard Robin focused, he could not get the stone to respond. It lay dormant and dull in his hands. With confusion and disappointment, he looked up to see how his daughter was doing. She held the stone in her hands, a bright green light pouring out form it. "Morgan!" He screamed, before she was enveloped in a familiar rose-like covering, similar to how Nowi looked when she transformed.
When she emerged, similar to Nowi, Morgan had become a sparkling green dragon. Robin's mouth dropped open. "Father!" Morgan's distorted manakete voice echoed out. Robin started to laugh. "Way to go, kiddo!" He cheered.
Secretly, Robin was immensely jealous of his daughter.
When the dust had settled and Morgan returned to her human form, she was met with the curious inspection of Nowi. The child-like manakete circled her, occasionally sniffing. It was rare to see Nowi with such a serious face on.
Nowi stepped back, balancing on her heels. "Yep!" She yelled. "She is a manakete for sure!" Robin palmed his face. "I get that Nowi, but why can I not use the dragonstone? She must have inherited it from me." The tactician explained.
"Well, maybe your not really a dragon, only like you dad or something was one?" Nowi offered. The small manakete jumped onto Morgan's back, startling her. "Buuuuuuuuuuut..." Nowi trailed on. "You do smell familiar!" She proclaimed, before scrambling down and heading into the camp, most likely after Henry.
"Wait! Nowi!" Robin called after her.
Robin slumped his shoulders and scratched his head. "No luck?" A familiar voice called from behind. The tactician turned and faced Chrom, shaking his head. "Afraid not." Chrom chuckled. "Maybe Nowi has a point."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "Maybe your father or mother was a manakete, and you just don't have enough blood in you to use a stone?" The prince offered, shrugging his shoulders. "Or maybe you just meet a nice dragon girl." Chrom joked and ruffled Robin's hair.
Robin stood still for a second.
"Gods Chrom. The only other manakete is Tiki. I haven't had a single conversation with the oracle since we recruited her."
Chrom was silent a moment more, putting a hand to his chin in thought. 'You should try to talk to her, then. Who knows? Maybe she really is Morgan's mother?" Chrom laughed and walked off, leaving a very flustered tactician.
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Weeks of attempted conversation with Tiki were quite well, actually. To Robin, however, it seemed like there was no connection. It seemed that Tiki just wasn't interested in a romantic relationship, and to be honest Robin did not feel like it either. He just wasn't attracted to Tiki, no offence to her.
He shook himself free of those thoughts. The Shepherds were outside the gates of the 'Manor of lost souls.' Robin shook his head. There would be nothing worthwhile in this creepy place, despite rumours of a powerful weapon or some sort.
Oh how wrong he was.