With a sigh, Chrom looked around at his group of Shepherds. Although everyone was in good spirits, he could tell they were tired of the war, tired of all the killing and death. While it was some sort of miracle that they hadn't lost anyone on their side yet, Chrom could tell it was of small comfort to his soldiers.

All except one.

"Milord," Frederick called as he dashed over, his handheld dustpan and broom ever at the ready, "Are you ready to go over today's battle plans?"

"Battle?" Chrom echoed, weariness in his voice. "I think 'movement' is the proper word of the day, Frederick. Or better yet, how about rest? Unlike you, I think all of us are on our last legs."

Immediately, Frederick bowed and shuffled away a few steps. "Of course, Milord," he said agreeably. "Then, shall I assume we are to stay here for the night?"

Chrom sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, despite his mind telling him Emmeryn would not approve of such a display. "Yes, that would be best," he said. "I think if our tactician were here, she would agree that everyone needs some R and R. Where is she anyway?"

At this, Frederick coughed slightly. "Well, sir…" he began, "remember that today…"

"…Ah, of course." Chrom turned, to only hide the small smile that was growing on his face. "How could I forget? By the way, you might want to duck."

"Duck, sir?" Frederick asked before a whoop was heard behind him and Frederick just had enough time to dodge a pair of horse's legs sailing over his head.

Chrom smiled to himself as he watched his tactician goad her horse on, barely looking behind her to see if the shaken knight still had his head on his shoulders. "Sorry, Frederick!" came the vanishing call as she turned the horse into the camp and towards freedom.

"Roo!" Frederick shouted back, barely keeping any of his dignified manner in his shaking fist. "You'll pay for this at training…mark my words!"

But Roo barreled through, paying no heed as she passed Laurent and Miriel in their experiments with a worried looking Noire, giving a passing wave to Owain and Cynthia cheering her energy on, ducking just as Virion did to avoid Minerva's jaws as Cherche smiled absentmindedly and Inigo pushing the young man known as Marth out of her path before getting slapped in the face. Libra was grasping at his wife, Tharja, to prevent her from running to Roo's, a pained look on his face. Only Lissa and Vaike seemed to avoid the warpath; however, they were caught up in their own argument about where Vaike's axe had disappeared to.

Back at Chrom's tent and brushing himself off, Frederick sighed. Then, pulling out his portable dustpan and broom, he gently swept at his master's shoulders and pretended not to notice the groan of exasperation. "I'll never understand why you allow her to carry on in such an unlady-like manner," Frederick scoffed. "It is quite unbecoming."

Watching as Roo finally cleared the camp and headed off into the beaten path of the forest, Chrom smiled. "I guess I'm just too easy on her," he said nonchalantly, leaving Frederick wondering what he meant.

Wind threw about her long dark hair as Roo laughed to herself. Carelessly, she pushed the stray strands back, focusing in on the movement of her horse and the way the path was winding. It was after a deep breath that Roo suddenly leaned forward, grabbed the top of the saddle and pulled herself up so that she balanced her feet on her horses back, shifting her movements in time with the movements beneath her, her arms slightly outstretched for balance. Taking a deep breath of air and closing her eyes, Roo couldn't help but feel the elation and sheer joy of finally being away from the confines of the war, the politics and just get in touch with herself, if for only a few minutes.

In this place, in this time, she could feel free.

Soon, taking a small break was in order and Roo sat thoughtfully to herself as her horse grazed nearby. Peaceful moments like these were rare during times of war, and even though Roo did her best to try and catch some stray thoughts of what made the sun move or how did rain fall, inevitably, her mind would push such idle thoughts aside for more "important" matters. They had found some children of the future, or at least people who said they were from the future and hadn't killed them in their sleep.

Yet.

Even so, there was something about the children. Something that bonded them together in a way Roo had observed in families, but not quite so. It was then that the mark of Grima on the back of her hand caught her eye and quickly, Roo pulled on her glove to cover it. Everyone around her seemed so open with each other, but she couldn't help but fear how their emotions and more importantly, their opinions of her would change if they knew. How could she even begin to explain herself when her very name only manifested itself because it was the first fragment she could remember of what she could only speculate was in fact, her name?

Suddenly, a whinny rose over the air and Roo turned, shielding her eyes against the shining armor of a familiar Pegasus Knight. "There you are!" Sumia called happily as she landed on the ground beside her friend. "I'm sorry, Roo, but I came to ask you to come back. Something's come up and Chrom would like to speak with you."

Instantly, a groan escaped Roo as she slumped her head into her hand. "Man, I can't even get more than two hours before something happens nowadays," Roo whined bitterly. "Did his Royal Highness get his panties in a twist? It's ok, you can tell me."

"Elegant as always," Sumia giggled as she held out a hand for Roo to take. "But there are some bandits raiding a village nearby. One of the villagers escaped and asked to come help them. Naturally, Chrom wanted to help."

Roo frowned. "Are these super Risen bandits or regular bandits?"

"Regular I think."

"Then what does he need me for?" Roo sighed as she slumped back down to the ground again. "Chrom's got a brain, doesn't he? He can handle a bunch of clowns like that any day of the week."

"Or any month or year," Sumia smiled, not seeing Roo's look of surprise melt into a mischievous grin. "Chrom will save the village, I'm sure…it's one of his greatest traits."

"Not including the junk in the trunk."

Sumia nodded, not fully understanding Roo's words. "Yes, not including the junk…" Immediately, Sumia's face began to burn a bright red and Roo belted out in laughter.

"Ok, ok," Roo conceded as she picked herself up and brushed herself off. "I'm coming. If you want, you can fly ahead and tell Chrom I'll be there shortly."

Gently, Sumia's smile returned. "If I'm not careful, I'm going to pick up on all your bad habits," she teased. "I've already been told I burp a little too loudly for a lady."

"No doubt courtesy of Fred-ictator," Roo sighed, a defeated smile on her face. A pause passed as Roo looked over at Sumia. "You still haven't gotten past the maid, huh?"

Once again, Sumia's face lit up like a red flame and she shook her head. "Every time I try to visit, Frederick always says Chrom is busy or resting," she sighed. "I…I haven't been able to spend much time with him."

Draping an arm around Sumia's shoulders, Roo gave her a wink. "It's ok, buddy," she said lightly. "Maybe Frederick can have a little 'accident' if you happen to look the other way and come back in let's say, an hour?"

"Oh, no, missy," Sumia scolded, giving Roo back her arm, causing Roo to laugh. "Don't think you can sweet talk your way out of more time again! That was only a one time deal and Chrom really needed you!"

"Oh yes, I'm sure I was needed if we wanted to go left around the mountain or right," Roo teased. "But ok, I'm coming. I guess it's my duty after all."

Seeing a slight blush creep up on Sumia's face, Roo grinned wickedly. "What? Does saying the word 'doody' bring up some bad memories?" Roo snickered as Sumia tried to edge away. "Doody. Dooooooody? Doo-tee? Pegasus dooooody? All over Chrom's cape? Hey, it's not my fault you tripped with that bucket when I ever so gently nudged you into him."

"You are bad!" Sumia pouted, but could barely stifle the giggle in her voice.

"Don't worry, Sumia," Roo grinned as she left to get her horse. "We'll make a bad girl out of you too!"

"Are they coming soon?" the young man asked nervously, wringing his hands together. "Couldn't we just go ahead and let them catch up? I don't know how much damage the bandits could have done by now."

Stone-faced, Chrom kept his gaze trained on the horizon. "I'm not leaving my best Pegasus Knight and tactician alone by going ahead into a battle I don't know," Chrom sighed, trying to hide the worry in his voice. "They'll be back soon…"

Suddenly, a familiar sound rose across the air and Chrom let out the breath he had been clutching inside him. Hearing the familiar whinny of Sumia's Pegasus and seeing Roo come up over the hill in one piece did more for his sanity than any of Lissa's healing potions and once the two women were beside him, Chrom could feel tension in places he didn't even know he had melt away. "Sorry to call you back so soon," he said to Roo who playfully pouted at him. "But this fight is in Wyvern Valley and I wanted to get your opinion before we headed out."

"That's a new place," Roo said, her eyes opening in curiosity. Then, gesturing to the worried man beside Chrom, "I take it this is the one who got away?"

"Yes! Yes, that's me!" the villager spouted happily. "Now, please…can we go? Sire, my wife and children…"

A rush of wind blew up around them and all turned to see Cherche, smiling as always with Minerva who had a familiar piece of blue cloth in her teeth. "What's this I hear? We're going to Wyvern Valley? How exciting!" Cherche said brightly. "I'm sure Minerva would be so pleased to hear that, wouldn't you Minerva?"

An earth shattering shriek was the reply.

"Wow, ok," Roo said, wiggling a finger in her ear to restore hearing. "Anyway, we can get a small force together and see what we can do. The rest of the camp can follow as backup if need be, but I doubt we'll have much of a problem."

"A-HEM," the villager coughed, desperately hoping someone would see him, "can we go-…?"

"Alright, everyone heard the plan, so myself, Sumia, Roo and Cherche will head out at once!" Chrom declared as the rest of the camp busied themselves. "Cherche, is Virion in any shape to help?"

"Honestly, not for another few hours," she admitted, tearing the cloth from Minerva's jaws.

At this, Chrom shrugged, unsurprised. "Ok, then just you for now, I suppose," he said casually. "When Virion regains consciousness, someone make sure he is in fighting condition before he arrives? We don't want a repeat of last time."

"I'm on it, sir," Frederick instantly volunteered.

"So…my village?" the villager spoke up, making sure to exaggerate his movements.

"Hm? What? Oh yes, you," Chrom said, blinking in surprise. "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

Irritably, the villager sighed. "Never mind."

"Well, that was weird," Chrom frowned as the villager stomped away, muttering under his breath. "Who was that guy? I feel like I know him from somewhere…?"

"It's ok, I know the feeling," Roo smiled as the others broke away to attend to their needs. "Anyway, you'd better get ready."

Chrom's frown deepened as he failed to meet Roo's gaze and turned his head. "Roo, I'm sorry to call you back like this," he murmured. "I know how important your free days are to you. No one has more pressure on them that you and I know that these few and precious times are for you to relax."

A smile was returned to Chrom as Roo put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to face her. "Don't worry about it, Chrom," she reassured. "The war comes first. I know I complain a lot, but…I don't really mean it. It's just hard to pull myself away from something once I get locked in."

"Then, no hard feelings?" Chrom said shyly.

"Are there ever?" Roo grinned. "I know you hate it, but you could really stand to try Sumia's rhubarb pie. I promise it's just the thing that cures you."

Watching as she turned to leave, Chrom's face slowly broke out into a small grin. He could have guessed that maybe this was Plegian culture to be more carefree, but who really knew if Roo was Plegian? Whether it was her background or her nature, he couldn't be sure, but he could be sure that he was grateful for the way she put him at ease. In fact, it seemed to be something that permeated from her into the entire camp – she was the only one he knew of that seemed to get along with everyone.

However, now was not the time to dawdle on such thoughts. A fight was coming up and he would need his wits about him.

Wyvern Valley lay before them, the hills and valleys cut deep into the earth. The only modern shapes breaking the horizon were the fires of the village and the shadowed movements of the bandits raiding the houses. Chrom, Sumia, Cherche and Roo sped their steeds on as fast as they could as all prepared themselves.

"It doesn't look like there's too many," Roo called out as she pulled out her wind tome. "Stay together and watch each other's backs! If we get surrounded, close ranks and form a circle to make sure they can't get through!"

"What about you?" Chrom called as Roo slowly fell behind the group, Sumia and Cherche charging ahead. "Roo, stay focused!"

"You too!" Roo called as she let Chrom charge ahead. Already, Sumia and Cherche were striking enemies down left and right, Minerva roaring above the fray. Chrom joined in too and it wasn't long before their enemies lay at their feet.

"Is everyone alright?" Roo called as she caught up to them, dismounting quickly.

Sumia smiled and nodded breathlessly. "That wasn't so bad," she said after taking in a gulp of air. "I just hope there aren't more around."

"Actually, that's what I'm afraid of," Roo said, her eyebrows furrowing. "There's little chance that these few men could do this much damage. I hate to say it, but I think there might be more units somewhere in the area."

Worry quickly settled over everyone's expression and Roo turned to mount her horse again. "Make sure everything here is secure," she said. "I'll scout ahead and see what I can find."

Quickly, Chrom reached out and grabbed Roo's reins to prevent her from leaving. Aware of the apparent need of a conversation between the captain and his tactician, Sumia and Cherche quickly shooed themselves away, only Sumia taking a second to glance back at the pair before sadly frowning to herself.

"You can't think I'll let you go out there alone," Chrom frowned. "Not after what we talked about."

Here they went again, and Roo tried not to groan as she averted her gaze. "Chrom, I have to do something," she whispered. "I won't be seen as completely useless."

However, Chrom did not let go and gently put his hand on Roo's knee. "I don't care if you don't want to take a life," he whispered back. "But these men…they'll kill you and won't hesitate. The time it would take to wound them before they landed a blow…"

"Always the worrier," Roo teased lightly as she reached down and took Chrom's hand in hers. "This isn't my first wyvern rodeo, Chrom. I can handle it." The look in Chrom's eyes caused Roo to give a second to pause. "Are people talking again?" she asked sadly.

"No," Chrom quickly lied.

A sad smile broke out on Roo's face as she let her shoulders droop. "I see. I suppose it does really look hypocritical, doesn't it? Chrom…" Picking her head up to look at him straight on, Roo gave him a determined frown. "I want to be helpful. If I can't bring myself to take a life, then I'll do whatever I can in the meantime."

Silence drifted between the two as Chrom slowly let his hand down in defeat. "I just want you to be careful," he said quietly. "Your life is important to me."

"Don't worry," Roo smiled as she picked herself up and took the reins in her hands. "Everything will be ok."

Chrom could do nothing else except watch her go, hoping that she was right.

That was the last thing that Roo could remember as she lay on her side. It was dark. So dark, Roo barely see a few feet in front of her.

And it was cold. So cold, she shivered through her coat, even though she felt it over her back, covering her like a blanket.

Everything about her seemed to hurt. Taking in a deep breath, Roo gently tried wiggling her toes and fingers, checking for broken bones. Feeling all appendages respond normally let Roo breathe a sigh of relief and gave her the courage to crack her eyes open into the darkness.

Above her, she could see the hole she fell into, the light streaming in from above. Only a few minutes prior, she had dismounted her horse to get a better view of what looked like the footprints of the remaining bandits when the ground had given way and she fell into this cavern. She had narrowly missed being impaled by a stalagmite beside her on her way down, only grazing her side. She thought she could hear voices above her, but her head was still spinning too much to be sure and there were more important things to be worried about.

Such as the wet puddle beside her that she had just put her hand into.

Slowly, Roo turned her head and lifted her hand to her face and immediately felt dread wash over her.

Her hand was covered in blood.

"I'm dead," Roo said out loud, as if waiting for someone to affirm back to her. "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead…"

But she wasn't in pain that would signify a wound for that much blood and after slowly picking herself up, Roo could see the scratch on her side wasn't much more than that. The blood puddle wasn't hers, but it was fresh and as Roo's gaze slowly followed the puddle, watching it snake its way to its origin.

A large white wyvern lay beside her.

Gasping, Roo struggled to find her feet, but failed and flopped about like a fish out of water before it dawned on her that the wyvern had not moved, nor even looked like it was breathing.

"What happened to you?" Roo asked the body as she found her courage and her balance enough to stand and hobble over to investigate. "Why are you down here, of all places? I thought wyverns liked being in the open?"

However, it was upon closer inspection that Roo noticed the wounds in the wyvern's side were not natural. Precise and deep cuts that only lances, swords and axes could have made littered its side and Roo frowned and closed her eyes in disappointment. Wyvern hunters were the obvious culprits, but it seemed strange to Roo that the teeth and claws of the wyvern were still attached to the body.

That's when Roo's boot stepped in something wet and squishy. It was with great disgust that Roo looked down and saw the splattered remains of something that could have been human, but were no longer anything immediately recognizable, having been flattened. "Good," Roo spat as she lightly jumped over the puddle. "You all got exactly what you deserve if you think you can take on a wyvern for no reason…"

And that's when she saw the small round shape hiding under the dead wyvern's wing.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

A soft growl was his response as a young man in black looked out over the valley with his wyvern beside him. "It's everything you could ever want," he said as he tried to mask the sadness in his voice. "I know you'll be happy here."

The wyvern said nothing, but simply lay her head on the man's shoulder. Instinctively, he raised his hand to stroke her head. "Find a mate worthy of you," he said as he broke away and reached for the armor covering the wyvern's neck to loosen it. "Never settle for less. Make your children and your line strong and proud. I know you can."

Looking deep into the wyvern's eyes, the man tried his best to put on a brave smile. "Goodbye, Minerva," he said gently.

"You!"

Turning at the sudden noise, the man immediately scowled as another young man with blue hair hurried towards him. "You there! Are you with the villagers? Who are you?"

The young man frowned at the noisy intruder. "A traveler, nothing more," he said firmly.

"I see…" the blue haired man said. "Then perhaps you can help. There's a village not too far from here that suffered an attack from bandits. We fear there might be others in the area that could rally and strike back. Have you seen anyone of this description?"

"No," came the cold response. "And I do not wish to be involved with such matters. Leave the village to its doom."

A look of shock came over the other's face. "You would leave innocents to die and lay the blame on fate?" he snapped, clearly taken aback. "I cannot understand such thinking. Nevertheless, I cannot force your hand. Thank you for the information. If you should ever find yourself in Ylisstol, ask for Chrom and I shall assist you in whatever you may need in return for today."

Nothing more was given than a snorted grunt and Chrom sighed to himself. "Oh, one more thing," he said as other man showed no signs of acknowledging him. "Our tactician and friend has vanished while she was scouting ahead in the valley. She has a brown horse and wears a long purple coat with a hood. Have you seen her?"

"No."

"I see…" Chrom frowned bitterly and turned away. "Very well then."

It wasn't much for the traveler to conclude that whatever was happening around him needed assistance. Bandits…a missing girl…he growled softly at the inconvenience and turned to his wyvern. "How pathetic. It's a fool who breaks himself against fate's tide…and he's trying as hard as any."

Softly, the wyvern growled and nudged her head against his. Giving his wyvern a look, the traveler sighed loudly and took her head in his hand. "Don't look at me like that," he snapped, but the wyvern growled softly and the man rolled his eyes. "Very well. I suppose I'M as big a fool as any."

Then, without another word, he quickly mounted himself on Minerva's back, felt her beat her powerful wings and take flight.

Back at the village, Sumia felt the lump in her throat rise and it was all she could do to hold herself together as a much larger and more terrifying man waved the tip of his axe in her face as his friends laughed and held their weapons pointed towards her and Cherche. "Of all the Shepherds, little princey sent you two?" Morristan the bandit teased as Cherche smacked away a spear tip from Minerva a little ways away. "Wow. I bet when he comes back and finds both of your pretty bodies in pieces, he'll regret leaving to find help."

"Fiend!" Sumia snapped back, hoping her voice wasn't shaking as she stood between him and the remaining villagers. "When Chrom gets back, he'll-…"

"Aw, does the wittle peggy seggy knight miss her boo boo?" Morristan laughed. "It's ok…soon you won't be missing anything for long…"

"Sumia!" Cherche cried as she grabbed Minerva's reins, heading for her friend.

A whistling sound caught Cherche's ears and she had just enough time to move her head back to keep it from being taken off as Morristan's sword moved through the air in front of her. Grabbing Morristan's arm as he tried to swing again, Cherche did her best to pull him to the ground.

"Insolent wench!" Morristan screamed as he used his brute strength to overpower Cherche and throw her to the ground as Sumia cried out helplessly. Cherche could only feel her body freeze in terror as she watched the blade raise high in the air above her.

Suddenly, another roar tore through the air and Morristan suddenly found the end of a lance coming out between his neck and shoulder, and a large black wyvern snarling behind him. "What…what…?" Was all he could make out before his body fell to the ground.

Looking up at her savior, Cherche struggled to pull herself together to open her mouth to form words. "Thank…" she began.

"Save it," came the gruff reply. "Focus on your opponent."

Before the shock of seeing their leader struck down could wear off, Sumia quickly grabbed for her lance and drove it through another of the bandits as the newcomer attacked from the front, pinning their enemies against them. Once Cherche had grabbed her wyvern's reins and her axe, the bandits were soon made short work of and the three heroes stood together, trying to catch their breaths and their thoughts. "I can attend to the villagers," Sumia offered after all was said and done. "Whenever the Captain comes back, he'll want a full report."

Letting Sumia go off by herself, Cherche turned to the new young man and smiled. "Whoever you are, thank you," Cherche said as her Minerva came to her side. "You saved my life. What's your name?"

The man frowned, his mask hiding his emotions, but Cherche could still see a flicker of something she did not recognize move across his eyes that could not meet hers. "Gerome," he said quietly.

Cold and to the point, Cherche thought as her smile faded a bit. Clearing her throat, Cherche continued, "I noticed you and your wyvern on the battlefield and was hoping you might introduce me to your mount?"

"Why?"

At this, Cherche's smiled returned and she pulled Minerva's reins to bring the wyvern closer to her. "To see which of ours is cuter. Not very sporting of me when mine is the finest in the world, I know."

A sigh escaped Gerome's lips as he tried not to roll his eyes right out of his head. "Do as you please," he huffed, Cherche smiling at his approval and skipping ahead to inspect his Minerva.

"Wait…" Cherche gasped as familiar scars and markings revealed themselves to her, "This…"

"Sumia! Cherche!"

Over in the distance, Chrom was running back, his sword already drawn and ready. "Stand back!" Chrom boomed, heading straight for Gerome. "I'll-…"

"Captain!" Sumia called, rushing for him for an embrace, but falling at the last second in a heap on her face. Silence stunned the crowd as Chrom stared down at Sumia, who was nervously and sheepishly picking herself up. "You're back!" she squeaked. "Don't worry! We've taken care of the enemy for you!"

"Without Roo? Well, um, excellent, I suppose," Chrom said, rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, I see you've also run into the same traveler I have before."

"You have?" Sumia said, now just getting a glance at the newcomer who was patting his wyvern's nose. "This…this is…?"

"Gerome," Gerome sighed heavily, hating to repeat himself.

"Right, Gerome," Sumia said brightly as if she had known all along. "He's from…uh…"

A low growl came from Gerome as he turned his head away, feeling as if he had enough foolishness for a lifetime.

Chrom's mouth turned into a frown as he narrowed his eyes at Gerome. "There's no need to be so harsh," he scolded lightly. "It's true that while we are…allies, we know next to nothing about you. It's only natural to be curious."

"Save it," Gerome spat. "I didn't come here to consort with the likes of you," looking at Cherche, "And I've had enough prattle. Farewell."

And good riddance, Chrom thought to himself as Gerome mounted his wyvern to leave.

"Wait!" Cherche called, placing her body in front of Gerome's wyvern to stop him. "There is still more 'prattle' to be had. I have questions that have to be answered."

"No."

However, Cherche stood firm. "Your wyvern and mine are exactly the same in every way. What manner of sorcery is this?"

"Identical? How?" Chrom asked, his hand reaching for his sword again.

A brief silence settled over the group. Looking down at Cherche, Gerome sighed, feeling something inside him give way as he gazed in her earnest eyes. "Here. Take a close look at this ring."

Looking at his hands, Cherche's eyes grew wide as familiar markings and stone glittered back at her. "It can't be…" she whispered as she looked up at the young man in front of her. "My son…?"

"I had not intended that we meet," Gerome said quietly. "I came back only to release Minerva. In my time, she is among the last of her kind."

Familiarity for the love of something more than a pet, but still not human echoed in Cherche's heart as she stared into Gerome's face. "You crossed the bounds of time just to set her free?" she said, her voice breathless. "She is indeed lucky to know someone of such kindness. As I imagine, am I."

"Don't get so close," Gerome spat back with a sudden ferocity. "I have no intention of getting to know you. I'll not weep twice for losing the same mother. My burden is heavy enough."

"Yet you carry it still."

"Enough," Gerome snapped, turning Minerva away from Cherche, even though she let out a small growl in protest.

"Wait!" Chrom called out as he now stepped in front of Minerva, Gerome sighing heavily at the new distraction. "I know earlier you said that you hadn't seen our tactician. However, with two eyes in the sky, it could be much more helpful than one and us on the ground. She still hasn't been sighted. Please…"

A snort came from Gerome. "She still hasn't been sighted? What sort of useless person gets lost here?" Gerome said.

Immediately, Chrom felt the anger well up in his chest again. "She is indispensable," he shot back.

"To your team or to you?"

With a sharp piercing noise, Chrom's blade was drawn and both wyverns drew up and roared as the onlookers drew back in shock or fear. "You would raise a hand against me?" Gerome mocked as he steadied his lance in his hands. "You won't live to make the same mistake twice."

"Funny," Chrom spat as he took a fighting stance. "I was just about to say the same to you."

That's all it took and Gerome charged forward, Chrom dashing for him as well. Clashing together, Chrom gritted his teeth at the strength he hadn't expected bore down from Gerome, barely dodging Minerva's teeth and feeling some of his cape running through her jaws, tearing the ends to shreds.

Above Chrom, Gerome had to give the prince credit for his fighting prowess as he watched him twist away from his and Minerva's attacks. It was almost frustrating to watch this high-nosed, high class know it all not be skewered on the end of his lance to shut him up. Staring at each other as they fighters broke apart, Gerome leveled his lance at Chrom, as Chrom did so with Falchion, neither of them noticing the figure that stepped forward towards them.

"Ugh. I'm gone for fifteen minutes and already you're starting fights," a familiar voice said as all heads turned in surprise. "Chrom, if you're not careful, you're going to break more than your surroundings this time."

"Roo!" Chrom cried out in happiness, promptly forgetting all about the fight and not noticing Gerome's lance speed by his head, mere millimeters from its point. Rushing up to her, Chrom sighed to himself in relief as he took her arms in his, not noticing the small bundle she was carrying. "Are you alright?" he asked tenderly.

A small sigh escaped Roo as she looked up at Chrom the Prince of Worrying. "Yes, I'm fine," she said, pushing him back. "Really. I just had an unexpected…there was…I was sidetracked."

It was then that Chrom noticed the small bundle in her hands: a round, lightly cream colored egg bundled in her coat. "Is that…" he whispered breathlessly and Roo met his gaze and frowned nervously.

"Chrom, I couldn't just leave it there," Roo protested.

"You should have!" came a sharp reply from behind Chrom and both he and Roo turned to see Gerome, jumping down from Minerva's back. "A wyvern egg! What were you thinking?" he hissed. "Where is the mother? How dare you take something that isn't yours!"

"Who the hell is that?" Roo snapped to Chrom who gave her a panicked look and held up his hands in defense. After not getting an immediate response, Roo turned her attention back to Gerome, instinctively holding the egg away from him. "For your information, I found it and the mother had been killed by wyvern hunters," she said defiantly. "It would have died otherwise."

"Then you should have left it!" Gerome shot back, moving himself right into Roo's space, glowering down at her and reaching for the egg. "Death will always have its due and I have no intention of denying its prey."

With a surprising speed, Roo's hand slapped away Gerome's and he leaned back in shock. "Death will always have whatever? How stupid!" Roo hissed dangerously as she narrowed her eyes at Gerome. "Tell Death to shove it."

More taken aback with her language than her actions, Gerome found himself frozen in his spot as Roo moved away and hugged the egg to her and pulled up more of her coat around the shell. "I found it," she said, her voice full of determination to Chrom. "I can take care of it."

Chrom could recognize the look in her eyes as he sighed and let his hands fall to his side. "If that's how you want to look at it…I guess," he said weakly, picturing a giant fire-breathing monster he had just fought with as something that would be running around his camp. "There's no arguing this matter, is there?"

"Nope."

"Thought not."

A cry came from the distance and the group looked up to see the rest of the Shepherds coming for them. "Prince Chrom!" Marth called as he jumped down from his horse. "You're alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. We're all fine," Chrom said, smiling in relief. "It's good to see you."

However, Marth was no longer looking at him, but past him at Gerome, standing behind him. "It's you…" Marth breathed as Inigo and the other children of the past came up behind him. "You…"

A bitter frown drew itself over Gerome's mouth as he turned his head to look away. "It was not my intention to contact you," Gerome said. "In fact, I would have preferred if we had never seen each other at all."

However, the atmosphere was broken by the cries of euphoria from the other children as they rushed up to Gerome, patting him on the back, circling him with questions and statements of surprise and welcoming. It was almost too much, as Gerome's mouth cracked into a small smile as Inigo slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I take it you'll vouch for his good character?" Chrom said, bringing the celebration to a halt. "We've had an…unorthodox introduction."

"Yes, by all means, yes!" Inigo smiled as he pulled Gerome to Chrom, ignoring the grunts of protest from the masked rider. "Don't be fooled, sir. Gerome may be a bit of a hardass, but…um…"

"Good. Character," Gerome spat ungratefully, flinging Inigo's arm off of him.

"Yes! Good character," Inigo repeated, reaching out and grabbing Gerome again. "In fact, he's the son of Cherche-…"

That was too much and with a swift punch to the stomach, Inigo found himself doubled over and groaning in pain as Marth rushed to his side. However, the damage was done and Gerome could only bring himself to briefly look at Cherche's face before he turned away in shame.

"I suppose you're coming with us, then," Chrom said, awkwardly holding out his hand for Gerome to shake. "I'm sorry about…earlier…"

However, his hand was left hanging in the air as Gerome glared at him and snorted indignantly. "Don't think I want to stay for your cause," he said, Chrom not bothering anymore to hide his rolling eyes. "I'm staying because your tactician has stupidly decided to take a wyvern egg into her care."

"I fail to see how that effects you," Roo snapped.

Gerome turned to look at her, his gaze intense and focused. "It is my duty to protect all wyverns," he said forcefully, Minerva coming up behind him to put her head on his shoulder. "For the future. You wouldn't understand."

A huff came from Roo as she turned away from Gerome. "Don't listen to him," she told the egg. "It's not his fault he's got a lance up his butt."

It took a lot for Gerome to ignore what had just been said and not break out into another fight as Marth and the others now moved their attentions to Roo and her new acquisition. "Wyvern's can be pretty rambunctious," Sumia was saying as she and the others took turns patting the egg. "I have a book that might be able to help that you can borrow on their behaviors and mannerisms."

"What is this new addition to be called?" Laurent asked as Noire hid nervously behind him.

A pause passed as Roo thought for a moment, her eyes rising to the sky. "Well, I don't know if it's a boy or a girl," she said. "And I haven't really given much thought to it, so for now, I guess it's nameless."

It was difficult for Gerome to listen to their braying laughter and following jokes for names that would never suit a wyvern. Had his friends really forgotten the future from which they came? Had they all deluded themselves into thinking this was anything but a dream where their parents were still alive and peace was still a hope the people held in their hearts? Gerome knew better. Looking up at Minerva, he sighed and gave her a small pat on the head.

Sometimes he could be such a fool.