With Naga's holy blessing and Tiki's divine grace
Beyond the edges of the earth and the reaches of heaven
Until the sun swallows the moon and the stars fall from the sky
Lon'qu, I promise to love you always
It was three years to the day that Ke'ri died. Lon'qu awoke with a start, her final words echoing through his mind. These dreams came less frequently, now, but the thought of her was never far from his mind. He took his time getting up, working out the kinks in his shoulders and cracking the joints in his neck.
"Long day ahead of us," Stahl nodded towards Lon'qu. "You'd better stretch everything out properly."
"Why, what's happened?" Lon'qu asked. The Shepherds had been tasked with escorting Exalt Emmeryn to the Plegian border, but he wasn't sure why.
"Maribelle has been kidnapped by the Plegian army. We're dealing with a possible hostage situation here," Chrom explained as he passed by.
A short ride later, Lon'qu watched the confrontation between the Exalt and the Mad King unfold. It was remarkable, he thought, how their personalities perfectly contrasted. But it looked as though a battle was unavoidable, and quickly, the Shepherds gathered in a huddle around Chrom and Robin. Lon'qu marveled at how quickly the tactician had been accepted, no, integral to the inner workings of the Shepherds.
"Alright, here's the plan," Robin said, speaking quickly. "Sumia, you'll take Lon'qu to where Ricken and Maribelle are. Lon'uq, keep the two of them safe until the rest of the group can rendezvous with the three of you. Sumia, after you've dropped Lon'qu off, come back and regroup with us. I don't want you to be exposed to enemy archers for too long. After we've all rejoined, we can clear out the rest of our enemies at our leisure. The main priority right now is keeping the Ricken and Maribelle safe. Got it?"
"Got it," the Shepherds chorused.
Thankfully, Sumia was one of the few Shepherds who wasn't always trying to "cure" his gynephobia. As a result, the ride passed by in utter silence. High up in the air, Lon'qu spotted the two Shepherds, completely surrounded by enemy forces. He gritted his teeth. Considering that only Ricken was capable of dealing damage, this situation could be harder than he previously thought.
"Looks like they're in a bit of trouble," Sumia commented nervously as she alighted on the ground. "Good luck, Lon'qu."
And with that, she was gone in a flurry of feathers. Good thing too, Lon'qu thought to himself. Surely she had spotted the archers that were beginning to close in on the cornered Shepherds. With a few flicks of his blade, he dispensed the few soldiers that were the most imminent threat.
Now, he turned towards the approaching archers, assuming a battle stance. However, a tap on the back caused him to whip back around, blade at the ready.
"O-oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The boy gazed up at Lon'qu with childish, innocent, eyes. "Hi. My name's Ricken, and this is Maribelle. Thanks for getting the two of us out of that tight spot back there."
Lon'qu grunted noncommittally. "Just following my orders."
"Oh," Ricken said, crestfallen at the abrupt reply. "So what's your name?"
Maribelle sniffed. "Leave him alone, Ricken. He clearly doesn't want to talk to us. Besides, there are more pressing issues at hand." She nodded towards the several Plegian archers, now backed by a few reinforcements.
"Well, what are you dunderheads waiting for?" their captain yelled. "There's only three of them, and one's a girl and the other's a little kid!"
Ricken's eyebrows furrowed in anger. "I know I'm small, but don't underestimate me!" An elfire spell burst from the air and set the enemy captain alight.
"Hmph. Serves the barbarian right," Maribelle commented.
In short order, Ricken and Lon'qu dispatched the remaining soldies while Maribelle healed whatever glancing injuries that they sustained.
Wave after wave of enemies came at them, one right after the other, so that there was no time for speaking. Lon'qu would have gladly died before telling Ricken, but for once, he appreciated having somebody cover his back. These days, Robin almost always put Lon'qu on solo missions, having long ago given up on getting the aloof swordsman to 'buddy up' with anyone.
After what seemed like an eternity, Chrom and the other Shepherds regrouped with the three of them, cutting through what little was left of the Plegian attack force.
"Good work, Lon'qu," Chrom commended, surveying the destruction with a critical eye. Lon'qu nodded his thanks. Behind him, he heard a sharp intake of breath from Maribelle but couldn't be bothered to ask her about it.
"It's not like he did all that on his own!" Ricken blurted out. "I helped a lot, too!"
"Yes, yes, and good job Ricken," Chrom added, humoring him. "Now, it's time we took out the rest of these Plegians. Shepherds, to arms!"
A/N: Just a companion piece to Until the Stars Fall from the Sky. I'll be trying to update semi-regularly, haha.