Cairn
"A heap of stones used to mark a path or the place where someone died."
Fire Emblem is copyright to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. I make no money off this use of my imagination and their characters.
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For those who enjoy Kent/Lyn. Have fun.
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"You'll die here if you stay. Go to her." The speaker coughed hard and turned away. "I'll take care of things here, so don't worry about that. Just go and make her happy."
"Besides, you still have your promise to aid her with those bandits, don't you?"
There is a long silence with the speaker's ragged breathing as the only sound. Finally it is broken by the sound of receding footsteps hastening towards the door...
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Awakening slowly, Kent blinked the sleep from his eyes. Beside him, Lyndis shifted in the darkness of the ger, pulling the blankets away from him in her sleep. Pausing to press a gentle kiss to his wife's forehead, Kent listened to the contented sigh that she let out with an unseen smile. Rising carefully so as to not disturb her from the rest that she so desperately needed now that their child was born, he sought the source of his awakening.
A quick compass of the ger in his bare feet brought no enlightenment. Lyn continued to sleep, and the baby wasn't crying. No one had entered their domicile. Still silent, Kent moved to the doorway, hand dropping down to grasp the sword that leaned there. Bandits had not been as much of a problem since Wallace had rampaged through the mountains; he and Lyn had only had to clear out the last vestiges from the high mountains when they arrived back in Sacae. Still it wouldn't be the first time that someone had come to try and steal either food or a horse.
The night air was cool as he slipped outside, and the tiny corral where he kept his mount was quiet. Kent spoke softly, calling his horse. It whickered and trotted towards him. In the darkness its shape moved, Kent strained his eyes and listened to the moonless night. Another horse shape snorted and moved on the far side.
Sudden adrenaline flooded his veins and he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. His hands shook with the effort that it took to suppress the heady rush of fight or flight that suffused his body. "Who's there?"
Dead silence, and then ever so slightly the rustling of the long grass. Kent listened, his hand grasping the hilt of his weapon. Footsteps receding off into the distance... And then a series of hacking coughs. Letting his ears guide him, Kent stepped out beyond the corral towards the source of the noise. He found a dark blurred shape shaking on the dewy ground as it coughed.
"Who are you? Why have you come here?" Letting a little bit of steel slide into his tone, Kent allowed himself to relax a little. This stranger wouldn't bring much peril to his household. From the sound of things, he doubted that the man could hold himself upright, let alone wield any kind of weapon accurately. "Do you need aid?"
There was a moment of silence, when the coughs ceased. "Kent?"
The former cavalier stirred a bit, the voice vaguely familiar to his ears. "How do you know me?"
A short laugh was followed by a longer spasm of coughing. "Is Lyndis with you now?"
Kent frowned in the darkness. "She's inside, asleep."
"Good. She can't see me like this."
Now he could place the voice. "Wait... you're..."
"Yes." There might have been a hint of amusement in the voice that answered his unspoken assessment. "I didn't think that you would forget me."
Kneeling down on the grass now, Kent could make out the other man's form more distinctly now. "The last that I remember was leaving you in Caelin. How have things fared there?"
"Fine. Ceded to Ostia now. Hector is in a better position because of it. At least I hope that he is." A weary sigh turned into another coughing fit. Kent frowned in the darkness.
"What happened to you? You were ill when I departed, but not so much as this surely? Should I call for a healer?"
Another sigh. "Mark took a position with Bern at the end of the war. He was much in demand, you know. He took all the credit for the strategy, and I was content to let him. It might have been a mistake." Silence fell, and Kent held his peace, waiting for the other man to continue. "He made me an offer to serve in Bern underneath him. I refused. I didn't realize at the time that it no mere offer."
"I am dying. Poisoned, since I would not be controlled."
"Is there no aid?" Kent spoke hesitantly into the darkness. He could not gauge the other man's condition without light, and wondered whether he should bring a lamp. "Let me wake Lyndis, and I'll fetch a light."
"No! Please..." There was a choked cough after the half-shout and he stilled his motions.
"She's had too much death around her already. Her tribe, her parents and her grandfather." Kent could almost feel the other man shaking his head in the darkness. "I can't be here when the end comes. She needs life and happiness, not more sorrow. Not now, when she's barely begun to live again."
There was a moment of pained breathing before he spoke again, this time just above a whisper. Kent had to lean forward to catch the words. "You make her happy. It's something that I couldn't do, and I'm grateful to you for it."
"This is my last stop on this journey. I brought Lyn a horse, so that you both could ride together. On the horse... in its saddlebags... what goods I could acquire for the two of you. Flower seeds from Caelin too, she always loved the flowers you know." The voice dropped away, barely a whisper now. "I should go now... the long journey still. If you find my body... build me a cairn? To mark the way?"
"I will." Kent allowed himself a bit of pride that his voice remained steady.
Ragged breathing, followed by another whisper. "Thank you."
Solemnly Kent watched as the dark form of his friend picked itself up off of the ground and staggered off into the night. He stood and watched until he could no longer see the blurred form, nor hear the coughing that sporadically carried back to him upon the hints of a breeze.
When he returned to the ger, Lyndis stirred. He could hear her sleepy voice as he shut the door behind him. "Kent? What was it?"
He set his sword down by the door and turned back to his wife, mindful of the past hour. He hesitated, "Just the horses."
Lyn shifted as he slipped back into bed beside her, already returning to the land of dreams. Kent pulled her close, grateful for her nearness once again. The morning would come soon enough. For now he allowed her presence to ease him back into slumber.
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On the endless plains, beneath the blue sky, a lowly cairn stands. Ringed by blossoms that return after each fading year; a testament to life and death and happiness.
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AN: ...I'm going over my limit of cheesy endings, I think. I've also just killed my most favoritist character to give Kent/Lyn a happy tale? [sigh] Whatever. It works for what it is, I guess.
For the record, I do enjoy a good Kent/Lyn fic.
Just in case it confuses anyone, the character who died was the tactician. Based off of a two tactician tale, where there is "Mark" and "Other Tactician". (I never called my tactician "Mark".) Someday I'll (maybe?) get around to finishing the tale where this comes into play. Until then, read this and enjoy.