Yaaay, I'm alive!

For the record, I haven't had any computer access in, like, forever, so...yeah. You get the point.

And if Wolf seems a little...hard-headed, I guess is the right word, I just needed someone who had no clue as to what was going on. He still wrecks, though.

Anyways, disclaimer's at the end, as always. But I forgot to include in there that the Pokémon reference doesn't belong to me either (since some people are so picky about that).

Enjoy the randomness that is my everyday life.

"Okaaay…eel."

"Let."

"Tyke."

"Ebb."

"Is that even a word?"

"Yeah. Like 'ebb the flow', or something like that."

"Ohhhh. Don't hear that word very often."

"Exactly why I used it."

Wolf looked between Rickard and Radd. "What are you two even doing?"

Roshea chuckled. "You really don't understand it?"

"Not really, no."

"Hm. You will eventually."

The young prince giggled. "Right, eventually. So what was it? B?"

Radd nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright, bear."

"Which one?"

"The animal."

"Then rare."

"Ear."

The younger boy scoffed. "What, were you trying to keep rhyming?"

"Well. it was the closest thing I could think of off the top of my head."

Wolf tsked and muttered under his breath, "Please. There are plenty of things that rhyme with rare: heir. care, lair, mare, tear…" He jerked his head to the side at his brother's soft laughter. "What?"

The paladin shook his head. "Nothing, nothing."

Radd looked up in thought and tapped his chin. "Alright then…rake."

"Eat."

"Ten."

"New."

"Well."

"Lock."

"Key."

"Yew."

"Up."

"Wrong one."

"What? There's more than one you?"

"Yew leaves," the horseman answered, inspecting his nails. He looked up at Radd. "Y-E-W, not Y-O-U."

"Huh. Didn't know there was another form."

Rickard gave the swordmaster a sly grin. "Exactly why I used it."

"Oh, so you're using my words now?"

"Because it's fun messing with people. Now go. W."

"Wash."

"Ham."

"Make."

"End."

"Deer."

"Which one? Aw, it doesn't matter. Red."

Radd's smile widened. "Dear."

The thief gave him a hard, pointed look. "Really."

"Yes."

He shook his head, scoffed, and looked away. "Stupid…"

"Dude!"

Roshea chuckled softly and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "I swear, these two could orchestrate an entire performance if they felt like it," he said quietly.

The elder Aurelian cocked his head at the younger. "What?"

"It's too bad they spend all that time doing things like this," Tomas said, appearing next to Roshea on the couch, leaning against its arm.

Wolf thrust his hands in front of him, completely dumbstruck. "What the f-"

The sniper held up a finger to stop him. "Ah, come now, brother, language. This is supposed to be a K-rated story."

Roshea shook his head and snorted, looking back at the other two boys. "And there goes the nonexistent fourth wall…"

"Elk."

"Kill."

"Like."

Radd rubbed his eyes. "Ugh, all the E's…"

"Hey, you started it."

"Actually, Rickard, your first word was an E word, so technically you started it."

"Oh, whatever. Go. E."

"Ever."

"Rain."

"Neat."

"Train."

The swordmaster squinted his eyes. "Noob."

"Bane."

"Y'know, there was a reason why I used that word."

"Wha- heeeey…" Rickard crossed his arms. "That's mean."

Tomas scoffed and looked away. "You both are noobs…"

"You're only saying that 'cause you're older."

"And it's a valid argument."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"Not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Okay, both of you chill before Sedgar ends up coming in here." Wolf ran a hand through his hair. "You know how he is with these types of things."

"Right…" The sniper's sweat dropped. "Complete death."

The prince stuck his tongue out at him. "Meh. Whatever. Radd, go. E."

"East."

"Test."

"Tear."

"Am I the only one who just realized that tear and tear are spelled exactly the same but pronounced differently?"

"What? Oh, hey, they are! Didn't notice that. But anyways, go. R."

"Ram."

"Maid."

"Which one?"

"Housemaid."

"Oh, okay. Dare."

Radd's eyes squinted. "I should have used the verb."

"Well, sucks to be you. E."

"Epic."

"Cake."

"Of course it's food."

"Stop stalling for time and go!"

"Meh. Eave."

"Eevee!"

"No names! We've already gone over that!"

"But it's Eeeevvveee! Fine, whatever. Eeveelutions. That's not a name, that's a term."

Radd pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You just HAD to go there, didn't you?"

"Well, you're the one hating on the Eevees! Now go. S."

"Ugh. Sanity."

"Yesterday."

"Yodel."

"Lion."

"Nerd."

"…Are you trying to insult me again?"

"…Maybe…"

"Oh, I see how it is. Dork."

"Oh, come on, I was kidding!"

"Geese."

"Elder."

"Rainbow."

"West."

"Tent."

"Tame."

"Every."

"You."

"Unicorn!"

Roshea slapped his forehead and laughed. "I just knew you were going to say that."
"Why's everyone hating on my words today? And go. N."

"Nest."

"Team."

"Mean."

"Not."

"Tea."

"Apple."

"My gods, the E's…uhh…Edible."

"Easy."

"Yet."

"Top."

"Pleat."

"Tan."

"Neat."

"Table."

"Envelope."

"Essay."

"Yarn."

"Wish you could add an E, don't you?"

"You think? But it's still no names."

Wolf leaned in to Roshea. "Umm…yeah, I still don't get what they're doing."

The paladin chuckled. "You haven't gotten it by now?"

"Clearly not, or else I wouldn't be asking."

Tomas scoffed. "And here I thought you were supposed to be smart."

He growled. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It's a word game," Roshea said quickly, cutting Tomas off from giving one of his smart aleck remarks. "You have to give a word that starts with the same letter the previous word ended with. Whoever can't manage to come up with a word loses."

"Oh, so that's what it is. And here I thought the two were just spouting random nonsense the whole time."

The paladin shook his head, sighed, and turned back to the other two boys. "I really can't understand what's running through their heads sometimes…"

"Neck."

"Kite."

"Engine."

"Esper."

"Wait, what?"

"It's the Japanese term for a psychic."

"Since when were we using words in other languages?!"

"Just deal with it."

"No! That's cheating!"

"There was never a rule that said we couldn't."

"Bu-"

Tomas groaned. "My gods, just let it go!"

Rickard glared at him. "Don't make me start singing Frozen."

"What's with murdering the fourth wall?! That's not even supposed to exist yet!"

The boy crossed his arms. "Well, oh well. It does now."

The sniper slapped his forehead and stifled a loud groan, slamming his head against the back of the couch. "Just. Go. R."

He made a pouty face before turning back to Radd. "Fine. But no more other languages. Ranch."

Radd shrugged. "Sure. Whatever. Heat."

"Turn."

"Near."

"Rent."

"True."

"Egg."

"Gave."

"You're really going to keep doing this, aren't you?"

"You have no right to talk! You were the one who was doing it to me earlier!"

"…Your point?"

"Just go. E."

"Extra."

"Atlas."

"Saber."

"Reap."

"Page."

"Elegant."

"Tattered."

"Desk."

"Knit."

"Two."

"Which one?"

"Does it matter? They all end in O."

"Mehhh. Open."

"Note."

"Uhhh…Education."

"Nation."

"Newt."

"That's a name!"

"No it's not! It's an animal!"

"So are Pokémon."

"It counts," Tomas said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "As much as I hate to side with Rickard, it counts."

The prince stuck his tongue out at Radd. "Told you."

"Whatever. To."

"Own."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Tempest."

"Transform."

"Master."

"Relic."

"Cast."

"Transfer."

"Rotate."

"Ensnare."

"Entwine."

"Enter."

"Reenter."

"…Really?"

"Yes, really. Now give me an R that hasn't already been said."

"Raft."

"Tamper."

"Relax."

"Oh, really?! You just go and give me an X?!"

Rickard gave the swordmaster a wide grin. "Hey, all letters are up for grabs."

"Okay then…xylophone. That's the only one I can think of off the top of my head."

The boy mentally giggled in a devious manner. All I need is another X, then… "Effort."

"Too."

"Observe."

"Exist."

"Tend."

"Death."

His mouth split into a devilish grin. "Hex."

Radd's jaw dropped. "You've gotta be kidding…"

"Nope. Now you've got one minute to come up with another X word."

"Uggggghhh…alright, ummmmmm…"

Tomas leaned in to Roshea. "So, is there even another X word?"

Roshea chuckled. "Come now, I'm not about to give Radd any ideas. It's up to him to come up with something."

"But you can't even tell me if there even is one or not?"

"You'll find out."

Wolf tsked. "Knowing Roshea, it'll probably be a word no one would even consider thinking of."

Rickard tapped his wrist. "Come on, Radd. Thirty seconds."

The boy entangled his hands in his hair. "Come on, give me a break! How do you expect me to come up with another word that starts with X?!"

"All you have to do is think."

"Do you even know one?!"

He hesitated. "No…but-"

"Then why are you forcing ME to come up with one?!"

"Because it's the easiest way to win."

Radd squinted his eyes. "Y'know what-"

"And time." Wolf turned to his brother. "What's the word, Roshea?"

The paladin smiled widely. "Xenophobe."

The horseman nodded. "Thought so."

Rickard cocked his head. "Zen-what now?"

"What does that even mean?!" Radd cried, exasperated.

Tomas scoffed at his like-brother. "You really expected a ten-year-old who rarely even bothers reading to come up with something like that? You really have WAY too high expectations."

"Coming from someone four years older who couldn't think of such a word either," Wolf said, crossing his arms. "Hypocrite."

"No I'm not!"

"Uh, yes you are."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

The door swung open, and in stomped a VERY ticked-off Sedgar. He growled. "Who…is going back and forth in such a childish manner-"

"You do realize that, other than Wolf, we're all children here, right?" Rickard interrupted.

"Even though Wolf was one of the two people doing the 'childish' thing…" Radd added quietly, suppressing a snicker.

The younger horseman sighed and stood up, moving over to the elder. "Sedgar-"

"Come, on, Wolf, you know how I feel about that," Sedgar said, cutting him off.

"Well. Although this most likely isn't going to make things much better," Roshea started, "Tomas was one of the two people involved in this, too. Both times, in fact."

Courtney: Oh my gods, I seriously just used all three to's in one sentence. ^.^

Tomas jumped up out of his seat. "Now wait just a minute-"

"I offer Sir Grumpypants up as a sacrifice to the God of Murder," Rickard said quickly, pointing to the sniper.

"Eh?! What is that supposed to mean?!"

Sedgar gave him a hard look. "What does he mean by 'both times'?"

"W-well, um…"

Radd pointed to and backed away from the prince. "Rickard did it! I had no part in this."

Rickard jumped up and stomped his foot, glaring at the swordmaster. "No, you called me a noob! You're the one that started it!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Oh boy…" Roshea groaned quietly and looked away. "I just knew this was going to happen…"

Sedgar's eye twitched slightly before he growled and made to move for the boys. "That's it, get over here."

Radd's eyes widened before he glared at the thief. "You see what you do, Rickard?!"

Rickard took a step back before grabbing the other boy's collar and yanking him back with him. "Oh, don't worry about that now; just run!"

"Waugh!"

The elder horseman growled again before darting after the pair. "Get back here!"

Tomas winced. "Ooo…" He dropped back down onto the couch and propped his feet up on the table, leaning back, his arms behind his head. "Well, aren't I glad I don't have to deal with my brother's rage just yet!"

"Keyword: yet," Roshea said, watching his elder like-brother chase his friends around the room.

"Ugh, don't remind me."

Wolf, who had sat back down during the thief and swordmaster's argument, scoffed lightly before it turned into a snicker as he shook his head. "Just proves what one little word can do, doesn't it?"

Roshea chuckled before settling back into the couch. "That it does, brother. That it does."

Courtney: Oh my gods, it's a miracle; I actually finished something for the first time in, like, months!

Rickard: Well, maybe you should be paying more attention to your stories than videogames.

Courtney: Hey, I was Smashing, thank you! That's a viable excuse!

Rickard: And what about the months before Smash Bros came out?

Courtney: I was writing! I just never…got any finished…

Rickard: Courtney.

Courtney: Don't give me that look! You know my inspiration comes and goes by now!

Radd: Which is why you have several unfinished stories that you're currently working on.

Courtney: Exactly!

Tomas: Are you seriously trying to explain this to a 12-year-old who I doubt really even half understands what you're saying?

Rickard: Nooo, the bully's back!

Tomas: Will you quit with that?!

Rickard: Then stop bullying me!

Courtney: He's not; he's just being Tomas.

Tomas: Thank you!

Rickard: But- But- mm…*sniff*

Roshea: Oh no, here we go again…

Courtney: Noooo, don't cry little Ricky!

Wolf: He's only doing it to get your sympathies. It's not as if the tears are real.

Courtney: Wait, what?

Rickard: Oh, um…wah?

Courtney: Rickard…

Rickard: Eeep! Run away!

Courtney: …*Glare*

Sedgar: And you're not going to go after him?

Courtney: Meh. I'm too lazy for that right now. Besides, the disclaimers are more important.

Radd: Can I do it?

Courtney: …Should I really trust him with this?

Tomas: No.

Courtney: I don't care about your opinion.

Tomas: *jaw drop* Then why am I even here?!

Courtney: To make the story interesting.

Tomas: Hmph.

Roshea: …He'll be fine.

Courtney: Really? Well, if the psychic says so.

Radd: Yay!

Sedgar: Well, this should be interesting.

Wolf: Quite.

Radd: Courtney doesn't own any of us. We all belong to the creators of Fire Emblem.

Courtney: If I did own them, Rickard would be Marth's brother, Tomas would be Sedgar's, and Roshea would be Wolf's.

Radd: Well, you never really know about the Aurelians, considering their pasts in the game.

Sedgar: And Tomas has literally no backstory in the game.

Wolf: Well, his title was "Quiet Bow" for a reason.

Roshea: Though he's no such personality now.

Tomas: Why are you people always hating on me in here?

Courtney: Because Vyland's not here; we'd be doing it to him otherwise.

Vyland: That's rude.

Sedgar: Where did-?!

Roshea: Now all we need is Will.

Will: You called?

Wolf: Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Radd: I thought he already was here.

Wolf: What was that?

Radd: Nothing.

Wolf: I thought so.

Sedgar: This is turning into a repeat of the first story…

Radd: But I'm here! And all the real people aren't.

Tomas: Please don't say things like that; we don't need the whole zoo in here at once.

Will: Where did Rickard go?

Courtney: Wolf scared him off again.

Wolf: I did not!

Courtney: Yes you did.

Sedgar: We are NOT starting this in here again!

Roshea: Even though your reaction is amusing?

Sedgar: Even though- wait a minute!

Vyland: …Anyone else want to get to the reason we're here in the first place?

Will: Well, look at you, taking control! My little brother's growing up!

Vyland: There's only a two year difference between us. And I'm 17.

Will: And?! A big brother can't be proud?!

Vyland: …-_-

Courtney: Well, as he was trying to get to before, this all came as an idea from my friends' everyday antics.

Radd: Do we know what friends you're talking about?

Courtney: Steven and a guy I haven't brought up in my stories until one I'm currently working on. They always have these types of things going on. And they're hilarious.

Sedgar: We can only assume.

Tomas: And I'll take it they're version of this game's a lot crazier.

Courtney: Naturally. Consider this: Steven's tactics are all based on instinct, while Kenny sees a strategy and thinks several moves ahead to predict you movements. They have two entirely opposites strategies, which makes every game between them all the more interesting.

Roshea: The perfect game of chess, right there.

Courtney: Exactly! And they play chess, too.

Roshea: Even better.

Tomas: Well, these too are certainly getting all nerdy on us.

Will: Don't go acting like you're not one of them; I see you with Sudoku's all of the time.

Tomas: Hey, no snooping into my privacy! …And I pretty much just confessed to it… *facepalm*

Courtney: So which are you more like: instinct or prediction?

Roshea: Definitely prediction. You have to be able to adapt to any situation you're put into. That's what makes a good tactician.

Radd: But if you think too much on the battlefield, you might end up with a lance in your gut before you can get a strategy out. Instinct is the way to live. It's all you need.

Rickard: Coming from the person who comes out of nearly every battle bleeding half to death, while Roshea's rarely ever injured.

Radd: Wha- Get out of here! This has nothing to do with you!

Sedgar: Where did…?

Vyland: It's Rickard. What do you expect?

Will: So Wolf DID scare him off!

Wolf: I- You know what, I'm not even going to bother anymore.

Courtney: We should probably be wrapping up here anyways. No Rickard, no wrapping up Roshea with bubblewrap this time. We've done enough torturing him in the past.

Roshea: Thank you!

Rickard: Awwww… *sniff*

Wolf: Not again…

Courtney: Nope. I'm done. Peace, people.