A/N 1: This is my first time uploading something Fire Emblem: Awakening related. This takes place at the start of chapter 7, where Cordelia first joins the Shepherds. Hopefully I managed to keep the characters in character.

While I don't intend to deviate majorly from canon, I won't be following the established supports strictly, though you might see some of them popping up in some form or another.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Survivors

Prologue: Support Rank F

"Prince Chrom! Captain Phila! Enemy reinforcements to the rear! They'll be upon us soon!"

Cordelia hadn't originally planned on assisting anyone in particular, having pushed her pegasus to its limit to reach the pass on time. Opting instead to hover out of range of the Plegian archers for the moment, the red-haired pegasus knight kept one eye on the horizon, watching for the enemy reinforcements she'd just warned Prince Chrom and his Shepherds about. Her position gave her a clear view of the battlefield, and of the various skirmishes unfolding between individual Shepherds and Plegians. Fortunately, despite their numerical disadvantage, the Shepherds hadn't taken any casualties.

Thank the gods. The pegasus knight unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. Too many good people had died today.

Her eyes fell upon one of the Shepherds on the front lines - a stoic, black-haired myrmidon. Either by accident or device, he had drifted just out of position, enough for a group of Plegians to flood into the gap between him and his nearest comrade. The other axe-wielding Shepherd could do little more than shout a warning to him; surrounded on all sides with nothing but his sword, the myrmidon was surely doomed.

Images flashed through her mind's eye - getting separated from her fellow pegasus knights, everyone fighting desperately to stay alive. Watching them getting picked off one by one, falling by arrow, spell or blade. The squad leader waving her away, screaming at her to live, to warn the Exalt and everyone else about the dire situation, a distraction that would prove fatal -

She would not stand by and watch this time.

Adjusting her grip on the lance, the pegasus knight gritted her teeth, tightening her hold on both the weapon and the reins. A tap of her knees sent her mount into a steep dive, the wind howling in her wake, whipping her long hair behind her like a cloak of fire. The Plegians, their attention on the myrmidon, did not notice the pegasus knight until her mount slammed head-on into them, throwing one side of the square that surrounded the myrmidon into disarray. Cordelia's battle cry was an impassioned scream as she rammed her lance through an enemy warrior's body, chestplate and all. Shaking the corpse free, she turned in the saddle, stabbing a second warrior with the lance before ripping one of the javelins kept at her mount's side from its bindings and hurling it at a mage. He was in the midst of a spell when the weapon pierced his chest, the magical tome doing little to protect him against the projectile. She grunted in satisfaction as he fell, finishing off the warrior she'd wounded earlier.

"Over already?"

There was a sharp tug on her lance as a Plegian attempted to drag her off her mount, beefy hands gripping her weapon just under the tip. Scowling, Cordelia urged her mount forward, the beast's momentum sending the point of the lance into the soldier's chest. Another Plegian turned to engage her, raising his axe - the weapon fell limply to the ground as the myrmidon's strike nearly severed him in two. Over the falling body, she caught sight of the Shepherd whose defence she had come to, relief surging through her body as she realized he was uninjured.

His stoic visage abruptly crumbled; eyes widening, the myrmidon leapt towards her, tackling her armored form off her pegasus.

There was a moment of disorientation as she fell. Whilst the height wasn't great and her armor cushioned her somewhat, the impact still jarred every bone in her body. Her mount's distressed neighing reached her ears as a bolt of arcane lightning flashed overhead, missing the pegasus by inches. Without its rider to guide or calm it, the spell was enough to scare the animal skywards, effectively grounding the pegasus knight for the foreseeable future. Cordelia fumbled for her lance, the myrmidon's weight vanishing from her torso almost as soon as she noticed it. Just where was that blasted thing?

An axe embedded itself in the blood-soaked ground inches from her leg, startling her into action. Lashing out with her foot, she felt her greave connect solidly with the Plegian's forehead, and the man crumpled to the dirt like a sack of potatoes. Cordelia pulled herself to her feet, hastily locating and snatching up her lance from where it had fallen, bringing it around just in time to parry a blow from another enemy soldier. Her senses felt as if they were amplified, every minute movement and detail of her foe clear to her as day; she had forgotten just how frightening - or thrilling - close combat could be. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, the safety of the skies may as well have been a whole world away. There was nothing she could do but fight.

And lose herself to the fight she did.

Dodge, parry, strike, counterstrike. At some point of time her lance snapped in two, unable to withstand the rigors of prolonged close combat, and she switched to the dagger that hung at her belt. It was more of a tool than a weapon, but it would have to do - the Plegians were falling before her like stalks of wheat. Cordelia hardly took notice as the bodies continued to pile up, her armor now more red than silver. These dastards had annihilated her squad, and they would all pay.

"Blood for blood!" The pegasus knight snarled as a spray of the crimson liquid hit her in the face. She jerked the dagger free, breathing harsh and eyes alight with savage fury. Footsteps reached her ears and she spun, weapon poised and ready to strike. This time, however, a firm hand gripped her wrist like a vice, stopping the dagger inches from the man's chest.

"Enough, woman. Stay your hand."

Her eyes met those of the myrmidon she'd saved earlier. It was as if time had frozen and the world around them had vanished, leaving her to fix her full attention on the black-haired man. He definitely didn't appear or sound Ylissean, but that was all she could discern before he abruptly released her hand, taking the dagger with him. The myrmidon frowned as he eyed the metal stump that was once a blade (when did it break?), shaking his head as he discarded it. His gaze returned to her, intense, stern, calculating. Self-awareness blossomed in her chest as she struggled not to quail; she was suddenly aware of how much her body ached. For a moment, it was as if she was back at basic training again, lined up alongside her fellow pegasus knights for the commanding officer to examine after a grueling day of practice-

"You were fortunate this time. Lose your mind again, woman, and you might not live."

Something in her snapped as reality came crashing back down around her. Her fellow pegasus knights were dead. Her entire squad was dead, yet she lived. She was alone.

"...by the gods, who-"

"You insane buffoon!"

The next thing she knew, her fist had collided with the myrmidon's cheek. For the second time that day, his eyes widened, then narrowed as a furious snarl left his lips. Yet before he could contemplate the moralities of striking a member of the opposite sex, she had tackled him to the dirt, shouting curses and insults that were barely coherent and definitely not ladylike as she rained punches down upon his face. With a curse, he shoved her off of him, rolling to the side and to his feet, attempting to put some distance between them. Cordelia did not relent however, and promptly tackled him to the dirt once again.

It took all the Shepherds present to pry the two of them apart.

A/N 2: Cordelia and Lon'qu attained support rank F!

Feel free to leave reviews and constructive criticism.

~Blazing