A/N: Well for some reason ever since I got Tiki in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon I've seen her to be paired with a certain cavalier/paladin. I don't know why I thought of it but I'm glad I did. So here we go~

Verdant Love

Chapter One: (Dragon) Girl Meets (Paladin) Boy

Life sure changes quickly. Things can be bad, then good, then bad, and good very quickly. People lie. Some people lie just for personal gain. The full-blood humans have no problem with that.

These and other thoughts ran through the chartreuse-haired girl's head. In her world, everyone she knew had been taken from her. Gharnef had poisoned her mind with lies. The worst of them all: that her Ban-Ban had abandoned her.

That was before the Archanean League came for her. Bantu delivered her from her trance, and he introduced her to the League.

"You must be Tiki! I am Minerva. It is an honor to meet you, even in these troubled times. We sorely need your help."

"Oh, you're… younger than I expected! I-I'm Lena, the Sage*… it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Wow, never thought I would meet a real life divine dragon. Jeorge's the name, archery's my game."

"You must be Tiki. Bantu told me about you. I'm Marth, it's an honor to meet you."

But one soldier in particular stood out to Tiki.

"Young madam, I am Abel, of the house of Altea, vassal to Prince Marth and Princess Elice. I must say, you are quite pretty for one so young. I am saddened by the story of the extinction of your clan, and wish to say if there is anything I can do for you, do not tarry, ask."

Tiki smiled, overjoyed at his introduction. "Thank you, Abe-Abe!"

"Er… 'Abe-Abe'?"

Tiki had already nicknamed Marth "Mar-Mar" and thought her style of nicknaming was appropriate for his entire group, but Abel didn't seem to enjoy it.

"Oh, I'm sorry… Abel."

Abel chuckled. "It's all right, you just caught me off guard. Not even Cain called me that. I rather like the name… er, Ti-Ti."

Tiki blinked, and began laughing, Abel soon joining her.

And so the bond between kind paladin and the divine dragoness was formed. One that would flourish into something beautiful. There was a major catalyst to this growth. At Dolhr Keep.

Tiki had been marching with the League to Medeus's throne room, cautious of the enemy units around her, marking each one in her internal compass… but she had missed one. A ballistician launched a Pachyderm bolt at her from afar, and by the time she saw it, it was too late to avoid it. Tiki panicked and raised her arms in self-defense, not having enough time to shift to her dragon form either. Her doom was nigh. She waited for the hit…

But it never came.

Tiki opened her eyes, and saw Abel in front of her, smiling at her. She couldn't help but smile back.

"Abe-Abe…"

Abel's face suddenly flashed in a wince of pain, and he turned slightly. Tiki gasped in horror. There was a ballista bolt implanted squarely in his lower back, on the right side. Luckily for Abel, it would not have hit any vital organs, but blood loss was another problem entirely.

"Abe-Abe!! Y-y-your back!"

"Gheh…" Abel coughed roughly, blood trickling down from his mouth, a very bad sign: it meant some blood vessel in his stomach, though not torn by the bolt, had been ruptured by impact. The same would be true for a vessel on his lungs. If too much blood pooled in his lungs, he would literally drown in his own blood. "It hurts, but I'll be okay." Classic denial of injury.

"Let me give you a vulnerary…" Tiki hurriedly grabbed a vulnerary from her bag and gave it to Abel. He drank the curative potion, which clotted his wound after Abel yanked the bolt out of his body. One last spurt of blood shot from his closing wound after he removed the invasive weapon, and then it was sealed.

Tiki jumped up to hug Abel, and he caught her reflexively. He hugged her back warmly.

"Thank you, Abe-Abe. You saved my life."

"Don't worry about it, Tiki. It's what I do. I'm not going to leave you behind, I promise."

Tiki smiled and kissed his cheek, hopping back down to the castle floor, to resume the campaign against Medeus.

Since then, Tiki had grown excessively fond of Abel. When he volunteered to challenge Medeus with Marth, Tiki was not thrilled.

"Abe-Abe! You can't challenge Mede-za [see footer notes, 1]! He'll kill you! Please don't go!" Her eyes began to mist up with tears.

Abel dismounted Adam, his horse (a rare gesture), and kneeled by Tiki.

"Tiki… I have to. Besides. I said I wouldn't leave you behind, and I won't. I'll be back, I promise. This isn't just my decision. I must do it to ensure a future for Altea… I must do it because I am in Marth's service… and I wish to secure a future for you too. You had your entire world taken from you, and I want to see you growing up in a peaceful world, one without the strife Medeus has caused." He hugged Tiki, stroking her back gently with his gauntleted hand.

Tiki continued crying, but it was less forceful, slowing down. She sobbed and hugged Abel back. She truly didn't want him to leave, but deep down she knew he had to, that it was for the best. That didn't make it any easier though.

"Please come back safe, Abe-Abe."

"I will." Abel rode into Medeus's throne room with Marth, hefting the lance regalia of Archanea, Gradivus.

Tiki tried to calm herself by talking to Lena, who had also been hurt by the same ballistician that wounded Abel (Minerva gleefully carved up that ballistician with her Brave Ax).

"Hello, Le-Le. Are you okay?"

Lena smiled. "Yes. It hurts, but I'm okay now. How're you holding up?"

Tiki frowned downwardly. "Abe-Abe went to fight Mede-za. I really hope he'll be okay. I can't imagine him not being here." She looked down, depressed.

Lena put her hand on Tiki's shoulder. "He's a smart man. Hardy, too. I'm sure Medeus doesn't stand a chance. Marth went too, and I don't want him to go either, but I know that he's been chosen by fate to win. He has to come back. And Abel does too."

Tiki sniffed and placed her hands adoringly and receptively on Lena's. Tiki thought of Lena as a big sister, and she looked up to her. So she calmed down again.

"Thanks, Le-cha [2]. You always know what to say to help me feel better."

"You're welcome, Ti-chi [3] (Tiki had taught the League some basic phrases and suffixes from her native tongue)."

Tiki sat on the ground, rolling her Divinestone from hand to hand to pass the time…

About 15 minutes later, Abel and Marth came back outside the throne room. Marth was bleeding from a gash in his left abdominal region, and Abel clutched his right arm, which was clearly broken. Elice and Gotoh, the bishop healers, were on them in an instant with some Mend spells.

"Abe-Abe!!" Tiki shouted, running up to him. "You're okay! … except for the arm…" She reflexively handed him another vulnerary, which Abel took and swigged. Tiki glanced over and saw Marth being hugged by Lena, so Tiki hopped on Adam's back and hugged Abel from behind. Abel smiled, reaching back with his good arm and holding her close with it.

Tiki could feel the bond growing, and began mentally toying with thoughts of a life spent with Abel…

Months after the fall of Medeus, Abel, fully healed, was riding Adam through Altea, keeping the peace. He had broken up a minor altercation over the prices at a shop, and he was on his way back home to the castle. Abel liked to talk at Adam as he rode. Adam enjoyed the pleasant noise his master made, and Abel was… erm, able… to tell his inner feelings and thoughts without fear of judgment.

"It's too bad Shiida was killed by those Macedonian archers. Marth had a thing for her, I could tell. Lena seems to have jumped on the opportunity and comforted Marth, though… Everyone went home after the battle. Minerva and Palla returned to Macedon, Ymir went back to Grust, and Tiki and Bantu to wherever the heck it is they live. I kind of miss that girl. She was so nice…" Abel continued like this for about a minute, until he was suddenly grabbed and lifted bodily from Adam. He dropped Gradivus in transit, and Adam panicked for a second, then stopped, as if seeing no threat.

Whatever had grabbed him seemed to be holding him close to it. Almost like a…

… a hug…

Abel looked at the thing holding him. It was white, and Abel recognized it instantly.

"Tiki!!"

A/N: Well, there's chapter one. Won't be too many more, I just felt like that was a good place to stop so I could publish it.

* I reclassed Lena in my game from Cleric to Mage, so she's an offensive character now (but as a Sage she can still use staff magic such as Fortify).

1 "-za" is a draconian suffix (that I made up, like all the others) used to indicate a very mean or evil person

2 "-cha" is a suffix meaning "older sister"

3 "-chi" is a suffix meaning "younger sister"