AN: I'll just let you read, but I've got something to ask of you at the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem
It was all that damn light's fault he was stuck here.
In a different world somehow, that he was sure of. In some world that didn't even feel the same as the one he used to live in. In the other world, yes there was magic, but there was so little of it that you had to concentrate heavily just in order to feel the mystical powers. That is, unless you were more sensitive to magic, but even then it was most likely difficult. But here? You practically smell the dormant power in the air. And he wasn't even trying!
It was as worrying as it was intoxicating for him.
Padding away from the body of water that contained the island where he came from, and from where that stupid light dropped him off at, he began to think of how he got here in the first place. Wherever 'here' was.
It was a perfect night. The wind was blowing softly, carrying the scent of the healthy forest he was running in. A full moon hanging in a star filled, cloudless sky. And aside from the slight noises he made while running, from the occasional twig crunching underneath his weight to the calls of nocturnal animals, it was wonderfully silent.
The day's hunt had been successful; a tasty male bear who thought it was smart to invade his territory, along with several other small beasties he managed to catch. Aside from the unpleasant reminder that winter was fast approaching, with migratory birds flying above his head, it was a normal day for him. And he spent a majority of it lazing around in the sun.
But then came night, and with it came an unfamiliar feeling that kept him from falling asleep. Exiting from his den the feeling insisted he begin moving in a single direction. Oddly enough he began running without a second thought. At the time he must have thought it was his instinct telling him something was wrong and he should investigate it.
And he'd thought 'why not?'
And so he ran, weaving in and out of trees, jumping over large roots and other obstacles in his way, heading in the direction his 'instincts' were telling him to go to. Eventually after some time he broke into a clearing. Yet he still couldn't see anything that required his attention. Well, aside from the perfect view that the cliff at the end of the clearing was giving him.
Then it appeared.
The damn light that no doubt changed his life forever.
It appeared as the size of a small dot, no bigger than the stars that shined in the night skies. Suddenly that small dot grew in size and brightness, nearly blinding him with it's intensity. After giving his eyes time adjust to it, he looked at it once again, squinting his amber coloured eyes against a brightness that rivalled the sun's.
'Jump,' the unfamiliar feeling told him.
He had resisted at first, suddenly doubtful of the urge that had been leading him to the strange light. But it lured him in, gently coaxing with silent whispers and wordless promises of safety. That, piled with his growing curiosity, lead to him approaching the light. Then without a second thought he jumped, taking the leap of faith into the unknown. His eyes were filled with so much light to the point that he was sure that he'd lose his eyesight if he hadn't closed them.
He landed quicker than expected. As if there was solid ground behind the bright light. Cracking open his eyes just enough to see what was in front of him, he saw there was —as he guessed— more light.
'Run,' the feeling urged again.
He looked back in the direction he came from, his perfect home. There was a sudden feeling that he should just return to his comfortable home and forget this ever happened. To just leap back out and never look back.
'Run.'
But… 'Maybe just a quick look.'
With his actions planned out, he turned the other way and continued running, the feeling guiding him through the endless light. Within a few moments he came across something unexpected; someone who actually lived in the odd world. The sight of him must have been unexpected to the old man, who had until then been staring intently at something in his wrinkled hands, since he gave a yelp of surprise and flung whatever he was holding into the air. He didn't hear the old man cursing in the distance as his cards disappeared.
Feeling his destination fast approaching, he picked up the speed, eager to find out what it was then return to his home. The world of light ended somewhere in the distance, showing the image of a world that looked very much like his own. With another leap he exited the portal and landed on some small island. He glanced around quickly, sniffing the air for any nearby threats.
Debating whether to stay and investigate longer or to just head back, he came to the conclusion that it would be better to just return to his home. Turning to the light, he prepared to make the trek back… only to find it wasn't there anymore. Panic began rising in him as he looked about, frantically searching for it.
He didn't find it. It was gone.
He was stuck. In a world alien to him. Grief and anger welled up inside as he came to that realization. Never again would he go back home. With nothing to shred apart in order to vent his emotions, he looked up into the sky. Hanging there in the sky was the only constant between his world and this new one: the moon, just as beautiful as it was when he last saw it. Staring up at it, he released his emotions in the only way he could at that moment.
And so he howled. A mournful sound that echoed throughout the lands of Ylisse.
The Werewolf in Ylisse
Breaking out of his reminiscing, he continued along his path. What's done is done. Nothing he could do about it anymore. The best he could do now would be to find a new home in this new word he was trapped in.
But first things first, he was tired and wanted to sleep badly. As much as he enjoyed staring up at the moon he had to rest in order to regain the strength needed to face anything. The standards for the ideal spot were pretty low, just enough to shelter him from the weather and capable of hiding him from any hostile locals.
During his aimless wandering he spotted a few potential shelters. Tall wooden dens that appeared sturdy enough. There were also large beasties roaming nearby, slow things with their black and white patches absently eating the grass. They looked easy enough to kill, and he almost did so. But that was when his nose picked up something familiar, another thing from his world.
Humans.
He immediately started in another direction.
'Of all the things…'
He wasn't very fond of humans. They always chased him with their pointy weapons and fires on sticks, burning down his previous homes and forcing him to leave. Just because he'd eaten one or two of their feathered animals that laid eggs.
There were always a few that carried damn silver on them!
And they somehow managed to infest this world to.
With a huff he tried calming himself down. It wouldn't do to go on a rampage at that moment. Maybe after he slept. Then he would.
'I just hope there aren't any people that can use magic.' The last time he encountered people that could, they tried to kill him for something called "werewolf teeth."
That was an unpleasant experience to say the least.
But what ever heavenly powers up above, or perhaps down below really, merely took his plea, laughed, and continued on with their day.
When he looked up into to night sky he saw that he didn't have much time until the sun started rising. Faster. He needed to move faster.
He spotted a safe haven at last. A forest that was far enough from a human settlement —that seemed to have been recently attacked— for him to comfortably deem worthy enough to rest. He just about to enter the forest when the world underneath him shook violently. Flight or fight systems were activated and he desperately ran deeper into the forest, where several other animals were also awakened and were running around frantically. Birds took off from their nests and flew into the sky. It was utter chaos for the dwellers of the forest.
Then the ground split open and magma came bursting out, catching any nearby trees on fire. The smell of smoke filling the air was enough to make his sensitive nose hurt.
And just as suddenly as it arrived, the earth stopped. One moment there was total pandemonium, the next it was as if you just imagined everything. The only things remaining was the forest fire and that strange light a short distance away.
'Eh?'
Strange light? Then, that would mean… a way home! Breaking into a sprint with a surge of renewed energy, he cleared the distance within a few seconds. He burst into the clearing just to see the one of strangest things he'd ever have the chance of seeing.
Staggering like newborn deer, two human-looking… things rose from the ground. He could tell that they weren't human just by looking at them. Their glowing red eyes, and rotting skin was enough visual evidence. And by extending the very limited magical sense that he gained through experience, he could feel the unnatural energy powering the humanoids. It was just, dark.
But they weren't what he was there for. He looked up to find the light that brought him to this chaotic and strange world.
Only it wasn't the same one.
The one he first encountered was just a really big light that shined as bright as a miniature sun. This one looked like a crystalline eye with odd patterns surrounding it. It was a lie.
Whatever hope that had grown was dashed away that instant.
By that time all the rage that had been building up since his arrival surged forward. And he had just the perfect thing to vent it on.
Two perfect things in fact. And they were shambling away to some unknown location.
To hell with caution. He was pissed.
If he wasn't sure it wouldn't happen, he'd have thought his own eyes were glowing red.
Chrom and Lissa had both managed to survive the earthquake and escape from the forest fire that had followed right behind it, and were now cautiously watching the two figures that had fallen from some sort of giant eye.
One of the things somehow managed to stand back up, popping every single vertebrae on the way. Like a puppet it took a single awkward step forward, it's companion a literal step behind it. Then the creatures spotted the royal duo and stared at them with their red unblinking eyes.
"Chrom…" Lissa said, unease creeping into her normally cheerful voice. The princess began backing away from the disturbing things.
"Stay behind me Lissa." Chrom ordered, pulling out his Falchion. He kept a watchful eye on as he moved with his sister away from the two. It almost seemed like they would get away without incident until the creatures decided that it was time to strike.
They took one last staggering step forward before they began running at an unexpected speed.
Chrom prepared to meet the charge, shifting his sword into a defensive stance.
The running corpses had cleared half of the distance between them before they were ambushed.
Leading in with an animalistic roar that froze the royal siblings in their tracks, the first moving body was tackled to the ground by a dark blur emerging from the tree line. Now illuminated by the moonlight and the nearby fires raging in the forest, Lissa could make out that the newcomer was definitely not human.
A large maw filled with many bone breaking teeth were clamping firmly down on the torso of the now struggling humanoid. Pinning it down were two long and powerful arms that lead to vaguely human-like hands if you didn't consider the claws. Releasing it's victim for a short moment Lissa could see the shape of the head resembled that of a wolf's, its pointed ears were slicked against the top of its head.
The wolf-like creature bit down again onto the other creature, crushing its head between powerful jaws. A purple mist launched into the air and the corpse fell lifelessly to the ground.
There was a quick hiss of metal travelling through the air as the second creature swung its axe, either avenging its fallen comrade or just because that was the only thing it could do. The axe buried itself into the back of the wolf creature, an attack that would be devastating to any fighter. And while it let out a short snarl of pain, it didn't at all affected.
With a low growl it rose to its full height, easily taller than the other now that it was standing on its hind legs as easily as a human would.
Lissa vaguely heard someone shouting in the distance, but was transfixed by the sight.
In the light of the forest fire the beast's eyes glowed a dangerous yellow.
The shouting was getting louder. She could feel Chrom shaking her to get her attention.
A roar of challenge echoed through the forest and the taller beast tackled the smaller humanoid, sending the two rolling out of sight.
"Lissa!" Chrom's voice finally registered to the princess.
Tearing her gaze from where the the two unknown creatures were fighting, Lissa looked up into the worried eyes of her brother.
"Oh Gods Chrom," she said weakly. "What were those?"
Chrom visibly struggled to come up with an answer, before he settled on a simple, "Trouble." With that he took his sister's hand and pulled her in opposite direction of where the two creatures were finishing their fight. He didn't want to be near either of them when it was over. "Let's go find Frederick and Robin."
The siblings had been too occupied with the sudden appearance of the wolf-beast — known as the fabled werewolf in another world— to notice the other figure that had jumped out of the crystal portal.
'These things must not feel pain or somethin'.'
It didn't matter how many times he clawed at the abomination of life, aside from leaking more of the purple magic that energized it, it just kept on going. Having already lost the axe it held it resorted to try to claw and bite its way through his thick hide.
Using the same method that was used to take out the previous one, he pinned his weakened foe to the ground and bit down on its head.
With a crunch the body ceased moving.
Tired and now wounded the werewolf was in dire need of sleep. His anger left him along with most of his energy. And he refused to eat the magical puppet, the energies that powered it rang just about every alarm in his head.
The sound of a twig snapping alerted him to a new presence, causing him to growl warningly.
"It's okay," a soothing voice said as a human stepped into his line of sight, hands held out in a placating manner. "I'm not going to hurt you." Clad in blue cloth the human slowly approached him. An odd thing covering its face.
If anything the growls grew louder. The sight of a human approaching him in his current state was making him antsy. And its weapon, while it wasn't like that of the puppets', it radiated a power that he had never experienced before.
Warily watching the human —a female from what he could smell— he slowly tried turning away and escaping. But nearly collapsed onto the ground when took his first step, he then realized that nearly all feeling in his right arm was gone.
The puppet must have gotten in a better shot than he realized.
"There will be more of them," the female warned. "But there is another group of humans nearby, that will protect you as long as you don't harm them."
Why was she talking to him? It wasn't as if she knew he could understa—
"I know you can understand what I'm saying.
Please, Faolan, listen to me."
The beast froze in nearly all functions. That name, he'd never heard that name in many winters. How could this human know it? Faolan turned to face her, but she was gone. Straining his senses could pick up her nearly silent footsteps as they headed deeper into the forest.
He could also hear the faint sounds of fighting not too far from where he lay.
'The other humans.' He thought. Suddenly he knew what to do.
Gathering every last remaining bit of strength he had left, the werewolf pushed himself onto all fours and headed in the direction of the fighting. He knew he was running on fumes now, but he had to move. He could hear other things moving around in the forest. More puppets.
And they were heading straight for him.
Robin stared at the weird-looking things shambling in the forest for a few seconds before hesitantly asking Chrom: "A-are those normal here?"
"They're not from Ylisse, I'll tell you that." He responded immediately. More portals had appeared when he and Lissa were looking for the tactician and their retainer, Frederick. And with them came more of the unnatural creatures.
Frederick had crashed through the forest plants on his horse, calling out for them frantically. Robin arrived a few moments later, panting tiredly from trying to keep up with the knight as best as she could.
Now they were getting ready to confront the things.
"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if these things attacked a nearby village." Frederick had said after making sure his two charges were unharmed.
Robin looked to Lissa. "And you said there was something else out there that you don't know about?"
"Mhm." She confirmed with a nod of her head, now almost at her normal energetic self after experiencing the earthquake and running away from a forest fire. "It was fighting the other things!"
"Right…" That definitely seemed odd, even for the amnesiac.
"It's true." Chrom added. "It just jumped out at them and started attacking."
Robin was about to question the two more on the mysterious creature when an impatient Frederick interrupted.
"We should deal with the immediate problem first."
"Right, of course." Multiple creepy moving things to take care of.
And so the small group of Shepherds engaged the new threat. They moved around the clearings in the forest, using the light from the dying forest fire to help guide them. Chrom and Frederick were to lead in first, being the most physically adept out of the group of four, while Robin and Lissa stayed further behind. With Robin using her range to her advantage. It was easy at first, picking out the more isolated creatures as per Robin's suggestions, but the noise made from doing so quickly attracted larger numbers to them.
Quickly firing off electricity from her tome, Robin pulled away from a sword strike meant for her head. Swapping the tome for her blade she leapt back into the battle. She flicked a telegraphed swipe at her head away and burrowed her sword into its chest.
But when it didn't fall to the ground or slump over like the others did she grew worried.
"Graagh." The thing moaned as it clawed at her.
Faced with no other choice she abandoned her weapon and fell to the ground, but not before receiving a gash on her arm. Clutching at her arm and hissing in pain Robin watched as the monster advanced. Her blade, while not killing it, appeared to have at least slowed it down. With its movements becoming sluggish as its life energy flowed freely from the wound.
Yet it still moved towards her.
Before she could reach inside her cloak for her tome a voice called out.
"Back off ya freak!"
The creature's head was suddenly impaled by a lance and got sent flying from the wounded Robin. Slamming into a tree it collapsed bonelessly to the ground.
The tactician looked to her saviour, to find a red-headed woman staring curiously at her. With her hair slightly spiked and armor the same colour to match it, the rider gave off an intimidating look. Though that could be from the irritation easily seen on her face.
"Uh t-thank y—"
"Truly a masterful display of strength my dear Sully." A second voice interrupted, causing said rider's to suddenly scowl in annoyance.
"Oh you can't be serious…" Sully muttered.
Turning to the direction the voice came from, Robin spotted a man running up to them. Clad in elaborate clothing and judging by the accent she heard earlier, she classed the newcomer as a noble. But upon further inspection she noticed that he also carried a bow and its accompanying quiver. So also an archer.
"And to save a maiden in the process, magnificent!" The fancy archer said upon spotting Robin.
When he saw the wound on her arm he frowned suddenly. "Such a nasty wound un befitting of one as lovely as you." He tutted. Ignoring a comment from Sully, something about ruffles and a "can't believe this creep followed me all the way here", he bowed with a flourish. "I am Virion." He greeted. "But you may know of me through other titles, such as the Archest of Archers and—"
"She gets it Ruffles."
"Er," Robin finally cut in, wincing as her pain flared, "it's nice to meet you, but I should go to Lissa and get this healed."
"No need," Virion said, accompanied by Sully's question of "Lissa's here?" With a flick of his wrist a blue vile appeared in his hand, which he then offered to Robin. "An elixir, to heal your wounds."
Robin hesitantly took the elixir from the archer, and looked to Sully for her opinion, not exactly sure if she should drink it or not. When the cavalier nodded in impatience from not having her question answered, she uncorked the vial and took a gulp. It tasted somewhat sweet. Not like the vulneraries she drank during the bandit raid in Southtown. Immediately the pain coming from her arm ceased.
"Wow, thanks Virion." Handing the vial back she looked at where her arm had been damaged, along with some of her cloak. It was as good as new. As if she only accidentally ripped her coat.
"Now can ya answer my question?" Sully groused.
"Yes, Lissa's here. Actually she was right beside me when those two… things… attacked…" Robin trailed off as a sense of dread set in. Lissa had been next to her. They must have been separated when they were attacked. But that meant she was vulnerable to atta—
A scream shot through the forest.
"Oh no."
Lissa watched in fear as more of those red-eyed monsters cornered her to a large rock.
Earlier she had been with Robin as they went through the forest, clearing out the monsters Chrom and Frederick missed on their rampage. She'd been cut-off from the amnesiac when a second group of monsters burst out of the darkness. She yelled at Robin in an attempt to get her attention, but she must not have heard her, being too caught up in her own fight to notice.
With no other option to choose from Lissa ran.
Through the forest where she could hear the monsters' attempts to chase her.
Until they finally cornered her. The princess berated herself for getting herself trapped, and wished for Chrom, Frederick or even Robin to come save her. Despite just meeting her just recently, Lissa could tell the amnesiac held no ill intentions to her or her brother. And after Southtown she could tell that Robin would fit right in with the rest of the Shepherds.
If they lived through this.
She shut her eyes tightly as the closest of the monsters raised its axe and screamed.
There was a loud snarl, the impact of metal striking flesh, and the sound of bodies tumbling to the forest floor. A brief scuffle was also heard, followed by a strangled moan before a crunch silenced it.
Now growing curious as to why nothing happened to her, Lissa cracked open her eyes to see what was happening.
Crouched over the dead body of the red-eyed monster was the same wolf-like creature she saw earlier. It growled warningly at the others as it stood in front of her. With a better chance to observe the animal, Lissa quickly noticed that it had taken more damage from when she last saw it. Now it was heavily leaning on one of its front legs and bleeding freely from the many deep gashes on its back. Breathing coming in and out in laboured rasps it was clear the beast was close to falling.
That was when a shocking possibility came to Lissa's mind.
What if it was protecting her?
Then whether not hearing the warning growls or just not caring in general, the monsters started approaching again.
Faolan stood his ground against the puppets as they closed in, guarding the young human from any harm. He figured the humans that accompanied the young one would be more willing to help him if he protected one of their own. That and the things seemed to pose a bigger threat to the both of them at that moment than each other.
Two of them charged forward, weapons raised and ready to strike. Faolan swiped with his good arm, destroying the handle of one of the weapons but receiving a slash in return. With a ragged cry he backed off, his growling returning tenfold.
Soon he too pressed against the rock, right beside the young female. He paid her no mind, his brain desperately going through every option he had left. Faced with none he went silent as a switch flicked in his mind.
Ever wondered why a cornered animal is the most dangerous animal?
It's because by then they have nothing else to lose.
With a feral roar that made the human cover her ears Faolan threw himself at the closest enemy, forgoing any sense of caution for killing as many of them as he could before he went down.
Using his limp arm as a blunt weapon he clubbed one away while biting another by the shoulder. He then flung it to a nearby puppet with enough force to kill both of them. Within the next second he was atop another and crunching down on its head. Rising up on his hind legs he roared in challenge.
A searing pain lanced threw him when a blast of fire struck him from the side. And just like that, he collapsed to the floor, his energy completely leaving him as the fire extinguished itself.
His vision beginning to fail him, Faolan saw a puppet wielding a magical tome.
'I hate magic...'
The last thing he saw before his conscience departed was a yellow flash followed by snow white.
Robin found Lissa the moment a blast of fire impacted a different creature than the ones the Shepherds had been fighting. She heard the roar not too long ago and had feared for the princess' life. But aside from looking shocked Lissa was unharmed.
Thank the gods for that.
Sully —who was also a Shepherd as she had learned— arrived a few seconds later, having a harder time manoeuvring through the forest. Virion was close behind, impressive considering that he got kicked in the gut when he tried getting a ride from Sully.
Without a moments hesitation Robin pulled out her tome and fired lightning at the mage wielding the fire tome, catching it by surprise. Sully saw the situation and also attacked. Eager to prove himself as the Archest of Archers, Virion took aim and let loose expertly aimed arrow after expertly aimed arrow.
Using the cover fire from Virion to her advantage, Robin ran to Lissa.
"Lissa! What happened?" She questioned.
"It…" Lissa whispered, pointing to the now collapsed body of the unknown beast. "It was protecting me. They surrounded me yet it still did." The shock in her voice was mingled with a small sense of amazement. Without another word the princess ran to the downed beast, leaving a confused Robin behind.
At that point Chrom and Frederick arrived, the former riding on the latter's horse as they burst into the clearing. Both of them calling for Lissa. Chrom spotted her first, and panicked when he saw her heading towards the wolf-thing they had encountered earlier.
"Lissa!" He yelled, jumping off the horse and running straight for her. "Get away from that thing!"
Lissa ignored her brother as she crouched down next to her unexpected protector. She could hear its ragged breathing and see its chest slightly rising and falling. 'It's not dead.' She thought in amazement. An idea suddenly came to mind and she gripped her healing staff tightly. The gem on the tip of the staff glowed brightly as she aimed it.
'I won't let you die.'
Chrom reached Lissa in time to see her healing staff activate. Frederick had lagged behind due to the battle going on around them, but was bound to arrive sooner or later. Ready to scold his sister for not listening to orders, Chrom opened his mouth to begin.
"Gods damn it work!"
Only for his words to leave him as he gaped at how his sister showed genuine signs of frustration. Not the little tantrums she had been throwing before they had set up camp for the night.
Concentrating intensely on her staff Lissa's anger grew at just how slowly the beast's wounds were healing. Normally the healing magic would wash over and into the wound, reconstructing bones, muscles, and skin to the best of its ability. But instead the magic was acting as if it was getting resisted.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Chrom asked after regaining his wits. He glanced quickly around him, noticing that the battle was nearly over, and turned back to his sister expectantly.
"It saved her life apparently," Robin said, walking to the surprised prince while watching Lissa curiously. "Protected her when she was surrounded by those things. I guess she wants to return the favour." She turned and watched as Frederick punched a hole straight through the last of the monsters with his silver lance.
"I see…" Confused yet curious Chrom also watched Lissa intently, but ready to move in case it attacked. He absently waved at Sully when she greeted him, and paid Virion's exaggerated introduction no attention.
A full minute from when she first began passed by the time the glow of her staff dimmed. Sweating lightly Lissa stood up and smiled tiredly at her handiwork.
"There. That'll make sure you live."
"Which might not be such a good idea Milady." Jumping at the voice Lissa saw Frederick frowning down at the beast. He held his lance with purpose.
"Why not? It saved my life Frederick!" The royal retainer sighed at her innocence.
"Milady even if it has done such a thing, it doesn't mean that it will do so again. From its looks alone I can guess that it's a sort of wolf." He gestured to the comatose figure. "Wolves attack livestock, and farmers when they try to keep them away. Imagine the damage this wolf creature could cause if left free to roam these lands." Frederick shook his head and sighed again.
"While I am grateful that you are safe because of it, I think that it would be best to put it down before it awakes."
"Frederick!?" Lissa cried in disbelief.
"He's right Lissa." Chrom admitted.
"You too!?"
"It'll be quick Lissa, I promise. Now please stand aside." He unsheathed his Falchion and waited for Lissa to do as told.
The princess looked to the observers for any support. Sully looked indifferent to the situation. Virion was nervously looking off to the side, unsure of what to do. And Robin looked apologetically at Lissa, obviously wanting to help, but she wasn't moving to interfere.
Lissa felt tears well up, but she still stood her ground. It saved her life and so she was going to do the same. "I won't let you."
Frederick's eyes softened for a moment, before the warmth disappeared behind an armor of steel.
"Very well."
He took one step before the beast rose from its sleep.
Faolan awoke to someone yelling. His eyes opened to a blurry world. Next his nose picked up a familiar scent.
Humans.
The last few hours rushed to his mind, bombarding him with memories almost painfully. Injured. He'd been injured. Badly. So why didn't he feel any pain? His memories were telling him that he couldn't move one of his arms yet his nerves were telling him otherwise. He knew he healed quickly but it wasn't that fast.
'Weird.'
The talking continued and he strained to listen in.
"…it…best to put it down…" One voice, a male, said.
"Frederick!?" A second cried out, this time a female.
"He's right Lissa." Another male joined in.
"You too!?"
The words "put it down" and the solemn way it was said raised alarms in Faolan's mind. Desperately he tried to force himself onto his legs, but found them slowly responding to his commands. The conversation continued until he managed to more or less gain full control of his limbs.
With a final mental order he staggered onto all fours. He glanced around quickly, observing the shocked looks on all of the human's faces. He noticed the weapons currently drawn and figured he was the target. Looking down he saw the young female that he protected earlier. It appeared that she had done the same thing he had and defended him while he was vulnerable.
"Lissa get away from it!" The blue haired male that had spoken earlier said.
Faolan looked at the blade the male held, it felt familiar to the one he saw the female using. His eyes lingered to the silver weapon the other male held.
'Time to leave.'
He looked down to the small human in front of him and gave a small, almost unnoticeable, nod of thanks, before he turned and ran into the forest.
The Shepherds —plus Virion— found that it would be better to leave the wolf beast alone in favour of going to Ylisstol to see if the earthquake had any effect on the city. And so it was a happy Lissa, who was still mad at both her brother and Frederick, that walked out of the forest with a spring in her step.
Robin had slowed to match her pace and apologized for not coming to her support. But she had waved it off and said that it was all fine.
She still had her surprise for Robin for when they got back to Ylisse to make up for that.
Maybe a frog or two as well. But those were mostly reserved for Chrom and Frederick.
She stopped when she felt something watching her from the forest. Turning around her eyes landed on two glowing orbs staring right back at her. But these weren't the frightening red ones that belonged to the monsters that attacked her.
They were amber. The colour of the eyes belonging to the beast that had saved her.
She smiled in the direction of those eyes, then turned around and continued on the path to Ylisstol.
Robin stared curiously at Lissa, before turning her own gaze to the forest. Seeing nothing there she shrugged and followed.
A single howl accompanied the group of Shepherds on their way. A sad sound that made them pause as to why they thought that. It occurred to them later on that wolves normally travelled in packs. Yet this one was all by itself.
Of course none of the Shepherds knew that the werewolf had just met it's future pack.
AN: This was an idea formed alongside my other series (The Other Way) and I've finally gotten around to writing it. And since I was having a hard time writing the new chapter for that series I decided to make this one.
Like the title says this story is a one shot. But that doesn't mean it can't be a series. I'd like some feedback on this sole chapter, criticisms, complements, what I could do better and what you liked about it. I'm already playing around with some ideas for if it continues, but I'd like to make sure people are interested enough to read it.
As for possible pairing (as in if it continues) it was originally supposed to be Robin, hence why there was a female Robin instead of the male one, but I see one with Lissa as well, so that's also up in the air.
Oh, and if another chapter is needed for the final decision, I'll make one up as fast as possible.
Until then.