Every little kid asks the "big one". This is what happens when Nils asks.

Note: OOCness is almost definite. And plotholes too. And it has a slight spoiler.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

Chapter Start -----

Nils was in Castle Ostia. Everybody was preparing to go their separate way. Some had decided to stay but for the most part, the majority was leaving.

As he pondered about what everyone was going to do, a sudden wailing was heard from the nursery section of the castle. Nils wasn't far from it so he wasted little stamina and time in getting there.

When Nils peeked through a gap the door hadn't covered, he saw an aggravated woman with a baby wrapped up in a towel. The baby continually cried, making a huge racket. The woman, with much effort, managed to yell louder than the baby. "MAKE IT STOP SCREAMING!"

The nurse, who had plugged her ears with her fingers in a vain attempt to shut out the noise, yelled back, "DUDE, IT'S, LIKE, JUST BLASTING OUT LIQUID FROM ITS LUNGS!"

The woman yelled back, "I DON'T CARE! EITHER IT STOPS, OR I'M GETTING ANOTHER ONE!"

'Get another one?' thought Nils with a frown. 'From where?'

When the nurse said nothing, the woman pushed the still wailing baby toward her.

The nurse sighed. After she had put the baby in a crib and stuck a pacifier in its mouth, she muttered, "I should've become a maid, nobody forces them to do menial tasks like this!"

Just then, the baby decided that it didn't like pacifiers. So he spit it out and the pacifier hit the nurse in the head. She screamed, "EWWW, DUUUUDE! THAT'S IT! NO MORE STINKIN' BABIES AND PREGNANT WOMEN! I'M GOING TO BE A MAID!"

And so, she stomped off to find the sign up sheet for maids, ignoring Nils who was by the door.

Nils, now with a certain question in his head, ran off to see if his dear sister could provide the much-wanted answer.

---

The bard found his sister gazing out toward the sky. He knew that she missed home. But they would have to endure, just for that little while longer. For now, he would just ask her a question.

Nils approached his sister and said, "Ninian?"

Ninian, now out of her trance, smiled at Nils and replied, "Yes, Nils?"

Nils asked with an innocent face, "You know lots and lots about humans, right?"

Ninian, still smiling, replied, "Well, I don't want to boast but I do know a fair amount."

"Well, do you know where human babies come from?"

That caught Ninian off guard. She certainly did know the answer. Very, very well. She had somehow before she met Lyn. When Ninian got herself stuck in an inn with drunkards, an especially drunk one plopped down on the seat beside her and started spewing random things which would include where kids came from. Unfortunately, he did not include any storks. Fortunately, Nils had retired early and was sleeping comfortably in the room they had rented.

But she felt that Nils should not know it. It wasn't a very subtle kind of thing. So she did the only thing she could think of that wouldn't taint her brother's young mind.

She lied.

"Uh... I don't know... I've never thought about it..."

Nils looked disappointed. "Oh..."

Ninian felt bad. Then she got an idea. The humans would know. And they might have a subtle way of answering Nils. "But the humans would know. And they might have a sub- I mean, they might know the answer."

Ninian was right, in a way. But she was wrong in the other way. Very, very wrong. But for now, Nils happily thanked his dear sister and was on his merry way to find victims-uh, friends.

---

The little bard, with a plan in mind, merrily danced about the castle. Then he heard the sound of a target being broken outside the castle walls. He looked out a large window and saw Wil practicing his archery. Nils grinned. This was the perfect place to start!

Nils then jumped out the window, it wasn't very high, mind you, and ran towards the above-mentioned archer. When Wil saw the little boy run toward him, he waved and removed the arrow he had just put in place in the bow to greet Nils.

The green-haired bard, having noticed that Wil had stopped practicing, cocked his head to one side. "Am I bothering you, Wil?"

Wil shook his head. The social archer was a nice guy. So to prove his point and not worry Nils, he resumed practice. "Nope, I can practice as I listen and talk. So, do you have a question of sorts or something?"

Wil will forever regret saying that. No pun intended.

"Well, I do have this question..." said Nils tentatively. What if Wil became perturbed? What if he refused to answer? What if he gets offended? Well, there's only one way to find out.

"Yes? What's the question?" asked Wil. He paused on his practice just as he had put the arrow in place.

"Where do human babies come from?"

At that, Wil accidentally let the arrow fly. But his aim was off (Can you blame him?) and the arrow flew through a window and hit a water-filled bucket that a maid was carrying. This resulted in the maid getting soaked. She was pissed. "This is no better than being a nurse! I should've become a stable girl! They don't get disturbed by stupid dudes!"

And with that, the maid walked off in a huff to register as a stable girl.

Nils now looked concerned. "Wil? Is there something wrong?"

Wil slowly turned his head to face Nils. He was pale and laughing sheepishly. "No, nothing at all!"

Liar.

Wil continued. "It's just that I don't really know how to explain." Wil wasn't too happy about this. He knew that Nils was a good-natured kid. But just how was he going to answer him?

"Any answer will do fine!" said Nils with an expectant smile.

Wil started scratching his head. "Uh, well... You see... There's a place very high in the sky, and it's full of... babies. And that's where they're from." Satisfied that he no longer had to dwell on the subject anymore, he sighed in relief. But his moment of relief was short-lived.

Nils was still skeptical. "But if they're high in the sky then how do people get 'em down from here?"

Wil mentally groaned. "Uh... You see... These babies are in baskets... that are secured... to the branches of a... uh... humongous tree... in the sky... Archers... um... shoot the branches and then... eh... the babies land safely on the ground... because they're in the baskets... Yeah, that's it."

Nils was astonished. So that's how it is! "Wow!... But... I've got another question. I've noticed that there are lots of different sort of people. Are they all born differently? Because I think that if that was how all babies are born, then I would've noticed the tree because it would've been lots bigger."

Wil sighed and sweat dropped. He wasn't in the clear just yet. "Yes, there are lots of different ways but I only know of this one. Maybe the others will be able to tell you the other ways."

Nils was happy. Really happy. He had a chance to learn all about human babies. "Really? Thanks!" Then he started to take off as Wil slumped down in relief and looked toward the sky, thanking the tree in front of him that it was all over.

All of a sudden, Nils stopped in his tracks. "Wil? Since you're a archer, do you shoot down babies from the sky?"

Wil laughed. After having such a tense moment, he was comforted by Nils' supposed antics. "Only on Sundays."

Now the bard was ballistic with excitement. "Today's Sunday! Can I watch you shoot down a baby?"

Wil sweat dropped and quickly found a way to get out of that situation. "I meant Saturday."

Nils looked a little disappointed but was happy nonetheless. "Oh... Hey, I was born on a Saturday! Were you the one who shot me down?"

Wil laughed again. At least now the conversation was far, far away from the real answer. "No, I wasn't qualified back then."

"Oh, oh! Rebecca and Rath are also archers!" Nils enthusiastically jumped up and down. "Do they help you get babies?"

How was he going to get out of this one? Wil scratched his head with his hand. He still wasn't home free. But before he could answer Nils added in an afterthought. "Lady Louise is an archer too! Do all of you shoot down babies together?"

Great. Just great. Now Wil was stuck. What would he say? Nils' last few sentences really just didn't sound... right.

"Well, if you don't know, I'll going to the stable to ask Kent and Sain now!" Nils put on some sort of determined face on. Wil laughed again.

And with that, they cheerfully waved to each other. When Nils was out of sight, Wil sprawled himself on the ground with a smile on his face. No matter how you looked at it (or how disturbed you were), Nils was a cute kid.

Then something dawned on him. He groaned, now stressed again. "Kent and Sain are going to kill me!"

Chapter End -----

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