A/N: Well, I've been wanting to write something in the Fire Emblem section for a while now, thus how this was spawned! Oh, and this is a nice little twoshot. Timeline for this story isn't all that important, but I figured it's more of a FE9 fic than anything (and obviously set in Tellius).
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.
It was dawn at the Greil Mercenaries camp, and Oscar slept peacefully on his makeshift cot. He shifted as the sun shone through the open tent flap, penetrating his closed eyelids. His eyes opened slightly, but still remained in their usual squinted form. He turned his head as his squinted eyes examined the bright opening of the tent. Oscar could hear voices in the distance, ones very recognizable to the knight. They were getting louder and louder, and soon he heard a loud thump and a yelp. He groaned slightly as he heard Rolf's cry, and then Boyd's loud laughter.
He walked out of the tent and towards the training field. He could see them clearly, Rolf sitting on the ground with Boyd towering over him.
"Oh dear..." Oscar thought as he saw the two boys arguing with each other, "what could it be this time?"
"Shut up, meathead!" The youngest of the three brothers yelled.
"Hey! Don't talk to me like that, you little twerp!" Boyd shouted as Oscar pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Okay you two, what is it now?" Oscar asked his brothers calmly.
"No one asked you!" Boyd and Rolf shouted in unison; Oscar seemed unaffected by the rude comment. The two of them continued to argue angrily as the oldest of the three watched with a calm smile that always adorned his face.
"I told you, Shrimp! I am obviously superior to you in every way possible! Especially fighting, I can use a bow better than you any day! I also have an axe, and that makes me awesomer!" Boyd boasted.
"Awesomer?" Rolf questioned, "You say that you're better than me at everything yet you use made up words? You are such an idiot!"
"I am not an idiot, you little midget!"
"Hey! I'm not a midget!"
"I know the perfect solution!" A voice behind them quipped, the brothers turned around to see Mia smiling mischievously.
"Oh really?" Boyd questioned sceptically.
"Yes," she started, "you could do a bunch of challenges, and whoever does the best in those challenges is obviously the winner!"
"I don't th—"
"That's a great idea!" Boyd and Rolf exclaimed, silencing Oscar.
"Oh boy..."
Challenge 1: Archery
"Okay! All you have to do is hit the target, and whoever hits closest to the center wins!" Mia announced; Shinon decided to watch out of amusement and secretly hoping that his apprentice would win. Oscar stood on the sidelines as his brothers got into place.
Boyd went first, he carefully aimed, and fired the arrow with shaky arms; he hit the outer ring of the target. Cursing loudly, he asked for a redo.
Rolf was next; he carefully aimed his bow with precision and shot the arrow at the target. He hit the bulls eye with ease.
"That's not fair! I demand a redo!" Boyd shouted; Mia simply shook her head.
Rolf: 1
Boyd: 0
Challenge 2: Magic
It soon became apparent to everyone—including Mia—that this was a stupid challenge. Especially considering that neither of them is capable of doing any magic at all.
Therefore, the score still stands:
Rolf: 1
Boyd: 0
Challenge 3: Cooking
Oscar was reluctant in allowing his brothers to cook lunch that day for all of the mercenaries. They could be pretty picky at times, but when Mia had her mind set on something, it was almost impossible to change her mind.
"You have one hour to cook lunch for all of the Greil Mercenaries! Whoever has the best tasting lunch wins!" Mia left the two green haired brothers to their work as they began to cook. Oscar took one look at the very unoriginal food that they were making.
This would not be pretty.
"Your hour is up!" Mia's voice rang through to everyone. All the mercenaries were sitting at tables awaiting their lunches. She selected three judges for this ordeal: Ike, Soren and Oscar.
Clearly, she picked the first three people that she could think of...
Boyd and Rolf both emerged out of the tent; carrying their creations. Little did they know that they both made the same thing.
Sandwiches.
"The epiphany of culinary perfection is right here..." Soren said sarcastically. Before anyone had the chance to say anything, Ike dove into the sandwich that Boyd made. He chewed slowly and his eyes widened.
"This is... actually really good!" Soren looked at him in disgust.
"Bah, it looks like tasteless rubber."
"You think everything tastes like that!"
"Your point is...?"
"Oh come on Soren, just try it!" Mia interjected.
"If I do, will you let me leave?" He deadpanned.
"Yes."
"Deal," Soren agreed. He grabbed Boyd's sandwich and took a small bite. A look of surprise graced his features.
This is... Really good..." Gasps were heard and mouths were agape at Soren's comment. If Soren could actually admit to liking something, then it had to be good. Oscar quickly tried the sandwich; his eyes actually opened.
"...Wow..." Oscar said with a surprised tone. Mia and the other mercenaries were in pure shock.
"Uh... Now to try Rolf's..." Mia said quickly. The three judges took a bite out of Rolf's sandwich. Ike had a look of disgust, Soren spat it out—which spoke for itself—and pushed his plate away, and even Oscar gulped the chunk down reluctantly.
The winner was obvious.
Rolf: 1
Boyd: 1
Challenge 4: Athletics
"Now," Mia began, "you two will run an obstacle course! Whoever completes it first, wins!" She announced.
The course itself was fairly basic; a few hurdles, a large climbing wall, a wire net that they would have to crawl under and through mud, a tight rope-like obstacle with a water pit underneath, and finally, a simple tire run. Boyd smiled gleefully at the course; Rolf grimaced.
"Alright! Now we're talking!"
"Ugh..."
"Ready... Go!" Mia shouted.
The two brothers took off quickly, Boyd just slightly ahead. They both cleared the hurdles with a fair amount of ease, even if Rolf came close to stumbling a few times—mostly because of his small stature.
When they came to the climbing wall, Boyd quickly leaped up and began scaling the large wall. Rolf on the other hand, hesitated for a moment before starting to climb. Boyd soon reached the top and jumped off the edge and landed swiftly on the ground while his brother was only halfway up the large wall.
Boyd dived under the barb wire net and into the mud with a resounding SPLUNK! He began crawling through the mud with a look of determination, meanwhile Rolf hopped off of the wall and also down into the mud. However, Rolf moved much faster than his older brother and quickly made his way to the other side. He ran quickly to the next obstacle—the tight rope. Rolf hopped up onto the rope and carefully walked on it. Unfortunately, his balance slipped and he fell into the water; he had to start again. By this point, his brother had caught up and Boyd got to the other side with ease. Rolf tried the rope for the second time, but he fell in again.
Boyd tripped on the tire run, but he quickly recovered and crossed the finish line. Poor Rolf still hadn't crossed the treacherous rope.
Rolf: 1
Boyd: 2
Challenge 5: Tactics
Mia was running out of ideas, so naturally she started to ask around.
And who better to ask than the merchants?
Mia didn't even take Aimee's idea into consideration, but Daniel and Jorge came up with a great idea: their war game. They explained how it worked with Mia and she agreed that it would be a good challenge.
Rolf was eager for this challenge, but Boyd simply groaned.
"Okay," Jorge began to explain, "So, if the enemy was flanking your unit on both sides, what would you do?" He showed them the small map in front of them.
Rolf took a moment to think and examine the map, but Boyd responded quickly.
"Easy, attack the stronger one, hope you don't die, and hit the other one!" Boyd explained vaguely; Daniel and Jorge both slapped their palms on their foreheads.
"Um, no... If you do that, you'll get killed." Daniel explained before Boyd cut him off.
"Nooooooooo! You could get lucky and the enemy could miss, and even if you do die, it's just a stupid game, anyway!" Jorge pinched the bridge of his nose as Rolf begun to speak.
"Why wouldn't you move on the other side of one of them, kill them, and then get healed by a healer who is a safe distance away with a Physic staff, like Rhys."
"...Not the best, but it works," Daniel paused, "much better than what he came up with."
"HEY!"
Rolf: 2
Boyd: 2
A/N: Well, that's the first chapter! I hope you all like it, and reviews are much appreciated!
