Humble

Cleo's POV

I sat in on a rock outside of my tent, deeply in thought over my plight. Chrom, the commander of the Shepherds, prince of Ylisse, and my best friend, had a birthday coming up. I felt that the least I could do was get him a gift, seeing as how he found me with no memory, trusted me, took me in, and let me become his tactician. I just hadn't the foggiest idea of what to get him.

"Now, what would he want more than anything? Hmm... Maybe a sword?" I pondered out loud. I grabbed my hair in frustration. "Wait, what am I thinking? He already owns the most treasured sword of all..."

A hand fell on my shoulder, making me jump. Twisting around, I saw saw a familiar green sweater. Looking up, I saw Stahl's friendly face.

"Heya, Cleo!" he greeted cheerfully. "You thinking up a birthday present for old man Chrom?"

I smiled at the nickname. "He's hardly 'old', Stahl... But yes, I am. And to be honest, I'm at a bit of a loss for ideas."

He chuckled. "Ha! Isn't that a pickle!"

I shook my head ruefully. "Buying for royalty would be hard enough, but we're in the middle of a war. It'd have to be small, to transport easily with the caravan, and nothing excessive..."

"Yeah, cheap is good. Chrom's never been much for gold and glitter anyway," Stahl agreed. "I was actually thinking of brewing up a special concoction for him."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean like a potion or tonic? I didn't know you dabbled in such!"

He laughed. "My father is an apothecary, and he taught me the trade."

I nodded thoughtfully. "Homemade gifts are always the best! Would that I possessed any such talents..."

Stahl looked preoccupied. He cleared his throat. "Er, say. My ingredients are quite costly and difficult to find in the wild..."

I smirked. "Perhaps I could help gather them?"

He looked relieved that I had caught on. "Yes, exactly! Then the present could be from both of us."

"Perfect! We can solve both our problems in one fell swoop," I said gratefully.

"Then it's a deal!" he said, and we shook hands.

Now to find said ingredients...

After he told me the plants I would need, I bid Stahl goodbye. I grabbed my book on potions and their ingredients and went to find a partner to come to the woods with me. Similar to the support system the Shepherds have in battle, we also use one for leaving the camp. It was dangerous, what with the Risen and all, so you weren't allowed to leave without a partner.

I wandered around the camp, but since it was a rare day off, most of the Shepherds were in the nearby town. I almost gave up, but just as I was about to storm back to my tent in anger, I tripped over a hunched figure on the ground.

"Nya ha ha! Look at this one, Cleo!"

Henry, not the slightest bit troubled despite that I had just tripped over him, was showing me a shiny black crow feather.

"If I gather enough of these, I'll finally fulfil my dream!" he said happily.

I rubbed my head. "Yeah, that's great, Henry."

He grinned crookedly. "Is there a reason you're falling over people? Is it Trip Over Your Ally day? Ohh, I can't wait to get started!"

"No, no, I was just... I mean, never mind. Um..."

"What'sa matter? Crow got your tongue? Nya ha ha!"

I sighed. I didn't know if I could bear this through my entire trek through the forest, but there was no one else to ask. "Henry, can you come to the forest to help me gather some plants?" I asked.

He stood up and helped me up as well. "Of course! What are we getting? Ingredients for a curse?"

I laughed. "Nope. Just a concoction."

"Oh well!" he shrugged. "Let's go!"

We went to the closest forest. Naturally, it was dark, cramped, and surrounded with a melancholy aura. I rubbed my arms uncomfortably, looking around me apprehensively, but Henry seemed fine with it. He looked like he was enjoying himself, actually. Every once in a while, he'd crouch and peer at some tiny plant barely poking out of the ground, or pick up another crow feather.

I flipped through my potion book, finally reaching the page that Stahl's concoction was on. One of the plants needed had thin stalks with clusters of yellow petals on top. Another had tall stalks and bowl shaped flowers. The third and final had bright yellow flowers on clusters of stems. I showed them all to Henry.

"Hey, isn't that one Spanish Broom? And that's Poison Hemlock! The third one is Tansy Ragwort." He grinned at me. "Are you sure these aren't for a curse? They're all noxious weeds!"

I scowled at the book. "No, it's not for a curse," I muttered. Stahl should've warned me that all the plants were poisonous.

Henry laughed. "Well, you're lucky you brought me along, because I love these plants! Did you know that poison hemlock can kill you?"

"Great," I said, rolling my eyes. "How are we going to bring it to Stahl, then?"

Henry suddenly darted to a small patch of tall flowers beside a gnarled tree. I didn't see what was so special about them, but Henry carefully parted the stems to reveal some poison hemlock. Before I could stop him, he picked it carefully.

"Henry! I thought those were poisonous to the touch!"

"Not to me! I can just curse it away!" he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes.

Finally, when we had found all three noxious weeds, I all but fled back to the entrance of the forest, Henry right behind me. When we had finally gotten out of that accursed place, I carefully took the bag holding the plants from Henry.

"Thank you for your help," I said.

Henry smiled. "You know, you have to pay the people at the town for taking plants from the forest."

I cursed and stormed off to find my money stash.

When I had finally paid the man who managed the forest, I went to find Stahl. After all, that's who this conversation is supposed to be with, no?

Stahl was delighted when I produced the plants. He explained to me that poisonous plants often were also used for medicine as well, and showed me how he extracted what he needed for the concoction. When it was finally done, we presented it to Chrom, who was quite happy to receive it. We went back to his tent, feeling satisfied.

"Chrom loved the gift, Stahl! Thanks so much for letting me chip in."

He shook his head. "Not at all- I should be thanking YOU. I doubt I could have afforded everything without your fat purse!"

I kept smiling on the outside, but inside I was mourning the loss of my money. "Oh, come now. Don't think I'll fall for that old trick... You helped me and just made it seem like I was helping you. I don't know how you do it, but I'm grateful nonetheless!"

Stahl chuckled. "Heh. I guess I've always been good at reading people. Even when I was young, I could tell what folks wanted before they even said it." He shrugged. "It's not much of a secret ability, but it's the only one I've got!"

Raising my eyebrows, I said, "On the contrary, I think being sensitive to others is a precious skill indeed."

Stahl stretched with a sigh. "I don't know if I'm sensitive, exactly. I just find it easy to read people. You'd be amazed how much you can read from a face, if you know what to look for."

I was amazed. "And you can always read these thoughts?"

He nodded, smiling. "Absolutely!"

"Stahl, that's a remarkable talent! Truly," I said, awed.

"Ha! Not at all! It's just the coping mechanism of an overly dull man."

I shook my head disbelievingly. "Reading thoughts from faces or gestures? That's every bit as impressive as magic. I bet you're always one step ahead of your rivals, on the battlefield and off."

He considered it. "Hmm... I guess it has saved my skin a time or two."

"Like how you read my mind when I was wondering what to get Chrom..." I said with reverence.

Stahl laughed sheepishly. "Er, actually, that time, I just overheard you talking to yourself."

My eyes widened, embarrassed. "Was I? Oh! Ah ha ha..."

After that, I quickly dismissed myself and went back to my tent. I could tell my face was red.

About a month or so later, June 16th to be exact, I bumped into Stahl again. I hadn't seen him for a while, but someone had just told me something that he forgot to mention to me, so I went to give him a piece of my mind. When I approached him from behind, however, he sighed.

"What's wrong, Stahl? You sound a bit down?" I asked.

He turned to face me, a little smile on his face. "Well, I apparently need to practice, then! It was supposed to be a sigh of relief. Some friends were in a bit of a row, but I managed to calm the waters," he explained.

I smiled warmly. "You're always doing things like that, aren't you? Helping others with their problems. Most of us are too busy looking after ourselves, but you always find the time."

He made a face. "Well, in a way it was for my own sake. Troubled folks make me uncomfortable. When I see friends fighting, my first instinct is to intervene and restore the peace."

I narrowed my eyes. "Ha! And now you're acting humble and deflecting praise from yourself."

Stahl looked down. "Er, sorry. Is that annoying?"

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Not annoying, no. But you should stand up for yourself from time to time, too." I folded my arms. "For example, you could start by telling people that today is your birthday."

His expression became slightly panicked. "Huh? You knew?"

"I found out, yes, but not from you! Friends should be able to tell each other that much," I said, a little disappointed. "War may be raging around us, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun sometimes."

He softened. "I suppose..."

"You spend so much time looking after other people that someone has to look after you. And I've decided that someone is going to be me!" I declared. "So, here. Have a couple of fried fig cakes in honour of your birthday." I handed a few of the specially prepared cakes over to Stahl.

He took them, his face brightening. "Aw, my favourite! Thanks, Cleo. You're a true friend."

He offered to share them with me, and we spent the night talking and laughing.

Over the next couple weeks, Stahl and I started hanging out more. He told me about his father and brother, and how he had left home to join the Shepherds. I was sad I couldn't remember anything about my past, but he didn't mind. On the battlefield, I paired us up so that we could support each other. I felt safer next to him, and I felt happy that I could protect him if needed. One day, after a particularly dicey battle, I went to check on Stahl, who hadn't come to dinner. When he made eye contact with me, he sighed and scratched his nose.

"Ah. You did it again," I remarked.

"Did what again?" he asked absentmindedly.

"Scratched your nose. You've got something you want to ask me, don't you?"

He tilted his head. "How did you know?"

I laughed at the shocked expression on his face. "Oh, I've been doing a bit of observing of my own, trying to read faces. After you described your special talent, I realized how useful it could be." I smirked. "First thing I learned is that you scratch your nose before you ask for anything."

He chuckled. "Ha! You'd think I know my own tells, but I guess not..."

"So? What is it? You shouldn't be shy about asking me for anything," I said. "You've helped me so much, I'd love a chance to return the favour."

Stahl flushed slightly. "Er...right. Guess I'll ask."

I wondered why he was blushing, but I smiled. "I'm all ears."

He fumbled with something in his pocket. "Well, I, um...got this ring for you." He showed me a pretty ring with a green stone, a peridot, I believe, on top. "And...I want you to wear it."

I could feel my own face becoming red. "Why?"

His eyes never left mine. "...Because I love you."

Say what?! I winced. "What?! Gods, I had no idea!"

He rubbed his head. "Oh, heh heh, I was kind of hoping you'd picked up on my cues..."

I still felt upset that I hadn't realized his feelings, especially because...

"I guess we're even then."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Look at me, Stahl. Look at my face," I said, deadly serious.

"Er, okay. I'm looking..."

"Can you see what I'm thinking?" I enquired.

"...Yes. Yes I can! You're happy!" he exclaimed.

"Exactly! See, if you'd have paid more attention, you'd have seen-"

"...that you're in love with me, too," he finished.

I looked down. "Recently you've been avoiding my gaze. It was... Well, it was horrible, frankly."

He blushed. "Oh, so you noticed? I'm sorry. I guess I just got bashful around you," he apologized.

"But if you'd seen my eyes, you'd have known the answer was yes before you even asked!" I cried.

He embraced me. "Oh, Cleo, even a blind man could see you've made me so happy!"

My lady, I may never take my eyes off you again! Unless...I'm about to run into a wall.

A/N

Sorry about that scene with Henry, but I just like writing the guy ^^' It went a little off topic, but hopefully it didn't interrupt the flow too much. Also I did some research about those plants, so everything listed about them is true.