Author's Note: This idea popped up a long time ago when I was listening to Ed Sheeran's "Little Bird" and then I thought about Edea's theme song haha. Some warnings for violence and spoilers (mainly Ch 4 and beyond of the game). Thanks to bobandbill for the great beta!
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Whenever Master Kamiizumi was absent from the dojo, Edea would still take every opportunity she could to test her sword fighting skills. She often practiced with Einheria, who didn't go easy on Edea even though she was several years younger than her. Sometimes she would also train with one of her friends from school. No matter whom Edea fought against, she always loved the energetic feeling from battling.
Today, she and Einheria trained together for a while at the dojo. Einheria often used her jump techniques against Edea, but she was able to accurately predict when she would come back down and block her attack. After Edea successfully defended herself from her friend's Crescent Moon, she noticed Einheria's unwavering expression throughout their practice has changed.
"Edea, Alternis is here."
"Huh?" Turning around, Edea indeed spotted Alternis heading towards them. He had visited during their training a few times before. She (still) wondered why he rarely took off his black armor.
"Am I interrupting another sparring session?" he asked.
"No, we're just about finished," Edea said, putting her sword back in its sheath. "What brings you here?"
"It's for Einheria." He turned to Einheria. "The Grand Marshal wants to meet with you and your sisters after dinner tonight concerning your upcoming post in Florem."
"All right, I'll do that," Einheria said with a nod. "I take it the meeting with the Council of Six went as usual."
Alternis nodded. "Still no sightings of the vestals, but the push for Anticrystalism is still making some headways." He paused, facing back to Edea's direction. "And no, Edea, your father doesn't think you're ready to join the council or Eternian forces yet." That caused her to pout.
For a while she always wondered what it was like to be a member of her father's council. Alternis had been a member for almost two years now, but he never said much about what went on behind the scenes. Even if she wasn't in the Council of Six, getting a mission like Einheria would be just as good. Both he and her father explained before she still had a lot to learn before she was ready for the more complex stuff the council and Eterian forces had been dealing with. That always frustrated her. An idea then hit her.
"Hey, I thought of something. Why don't we do a quick round together, Alternis?"
"Are you sure about that?" Alternis asked, sounding surprised.
"I have to agree with Alternis here." From Einheria's wide eyes, Edea assumed she too didn't expect that. "I'm sure his fighting style is different from mine."
It was true Edea didn't know much what a Dark Knight could do except releasing some dark energy at his target. There was a good chance she could get seriously hurt. However, she wouldn't accept backing away at this point.
"I think it'll be a fun challenge, and I want to show I can handle him."
Even though he wore his helmet, Edea could tell Alternis was deep in thought when he bowed down his head. A sigh then escaped from him.
"If you insist. I'll warn you, though, I might use my Black Bane to keep up on your toes."
"It's best to take this outside," Eiheria said. "I don't want Master Kamiizumi to get upset at me if anything happens to this dojo."
Once everyone got outside of the dojo, she and Alternis assumed their fighting stances while Einheria watched from the sidelines. Edea acted first, charging at Alternis with her sword. He immediately blocked her assault with his own sword and also thrust it toward her, but she defended herself in time. They exchanged blows like that for a few minutes, Edea sometimes barely able to defend herself from Alternis's swift attacks, the sound of metal against metal loud but exhilarating. She heard stories of how he was very fast and she was experiencing that first hand.
Eventually Alternis let out a stream of dark energy towards Edea, causing her to jump away from it. A large explosion occurred and dust of snow began to pop up. Her lungs and legs burned, but she charged at him once more, only for Alternis to block the attack and kick her away from him. Alternis rushed at her while she was still on the cold ground, but she rolled away and picked herself up. He shot another Black Bane and she dodged from it the second time. Another explosion was set off, and Edea felt something stinging behind her leg. She glanced down to see a burnt mark on her pants; that was very close. As she ran forward to make another attempt, he blasted a third Black Bane that caught her this time. Edea screamed, feeling as if hit by thunder, and fell on the ground. While catching her breath, Alternis stood in front of her with his sword close to her face.
"That was not a bad fight here," he said before putting his sword away. She too could hear him breathing hard, the Black Banes taking a toll on him. When Alternis let his hand out to her, she accepted and he helped pick her up. "But still, you acted like a baby bird."
Edea blinked in confusion. "Baby bird?"
"You know how they want to fly shortly after they're born? You're too eager to want to prove yourself. It's not your time to spread your wings just yet." He turned and walked away, leaving her and Einheria alone.
"Mrgrgr, I can't believe he has the nerve to call me baby bird," Edea said, shaking her fist.
"He's right, you know. You can get ahead of yourself on occasion."
Edea stared at her surroundings in silence. Alternis and Einheria weren't wrong in that she could be rash sometimes, but that doesn't mean she should be treated as a child. Her father and everyone else should give her a chance sooner or later.
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After Edea and the rest of group finished off meeting with Yulana in the world they were currently stuck in, everyone went back to Grandship to rest for the night. As always, she and Agnes shared a room and when it was late into the night her friend was in a deep sleep while Edea still stayed up, tossing and turning.
She couldn't stop thinking of seeing Ringabel hurt like that. Edea had gotten some time to digest there were multiple versions of her, but it was tragic that she had died in another world and he actually experienced witnessing that. Not a second goes by without her worrying if he would hurt himself for this.
Now that she thought about it, it was strange she hadn't recognized Ringabel as Alternis. Then again, she couldn't remember the last time Alternis wore something else besides his armor and he traveled very often, so it was understandable his appearance would change. She herself had been very busy with her training—she never had much free time, using any spare moment to train more.
Knowing she wouldn't sleep anytime soon, Edea jumped off her bed to grab a robe to cover her nightgown and stepped out of the room. After leaving the inn, she headed towards the deck, only to stop when she spotted—
"Ringabel," she said in a low voice.
Ringabel flinched and spun around to face Edea. "Couldn't sleep either?" he asked, his eyes wide but tired. This wasn't the first time she saw him looked exhausted, especially when he did the majority of the piloting and fought alongside the group on several occasions.
She shook her head. "I've been thinking about how—" Edea paused to make sure Airy wasn't close by. If she eavesdropped, that would cause problems. "—you got your memories back and what you've been through."
An awkward silence followed. Knew this was a sensitive subject for him, Edea wasn't sure what to say to comfort him. She was glad when he began speaking.
"You can already guess I haven't gotten a good night's rest ever since I regained them."
"If you don't want to talk about them now, then I won't force you."
"No, it's all right." He let out a sigh before continuing. "I joined you three to find out more about my past, but now I wonder if ignorance is indeed bliss. Sometimes it's hard for me to look at you." Edea already figured he was blaming himself for what happened in his world. He shouldn't have to.
"None of this is your fault, it's Airy's. There's no reason for you to feel guilty." She could tell he wasn't convinced when he dropped his head, frowning.
Quietness surrounded them once more, which this time felt strange to her. She actually missed the times when he would say something ridiculous and then she told him to be quiet. After they started visiting different worlds, their interactions seemed to have differ. There was no denying she had gotten softer towards him.
"Not all of those memories were bad," Ringabel said, interrupting her thoughts. "One of them was when you…well, the other Edea and I sparred three or four years ago. I called you 'baby bird' because of your stubbornness and erratic nature."
Edea regarded him a moment. It didn't surprise her he would recall that memory and now Alternis's words echoed back to her. You're too eager to want to prove yourself. It's not your time to spread your wings just yet. Indeed, she was still a baby bird. When she was allowed to join with the Sky Knights, she wanted to show her father she was capable with the mission she was assigned to do. Later on plans changed, but she went overboard in trying to have Father see her side of things. Thinking back to Ringabel, she realized why that was a good memory for him.
"You still miss her, don't you?"
"Before I became the irresistible Casanova standing before you, she was the only woman I ever loved. I then got a second chance by meeting you, even though you despised me in the beginning."
She snorted in amusement. "You're right about that." Her smile fading, Edea then said, "In all seriousness, though, I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you." Ringabel offered her a small nod, and a moment later a grin stretched his face. "You know, 'baby bird' fits you very well, and I mean it as a compliment."
Already Edea shot him a glare. "I would greatly appreciate it if you don't call me that, ever."
An upset expression settled on Ringabel's face. "Now that hurts," he said, making a dramatic gesture, placing a hand over his heart. "I thought I deserved it."
"I don't owe you anything." She folded her arms against her chest.
Ringabel let out a chuckle and then sighed. "Well, I guess we should try to get some sleep before heading to the last crystal, again. Good night."
As Edea watched him walking slowly away from her, her stomach dropped. There was something she wanted to say before they headed off to bed.
"Wait, Ringabel!" she called out, though not so loud as to wake up their friends. Ringabel turned around, raising an eyebrow at her. "I want to say that I'm glad I found you here and that we got to talk."
"Me too," he said, smiling a little. "Before I go, may I give you an innocent goodnight kiss…on the cheek?"
Edea's first reaction was to say no, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. His request seemed to be sincere and he asked, at least. Only a kiss on the cheek, right?
"Fine, but only one."
She stood still until Ringabel got close to her, his breath hot against her neck, and placed one hand on her shoulder. His lips touched her cheek, and that made her heart quicken. When she gazed at him, a smirk formed on his mouth. He then headed off.
When alone, Edea rubbed where Ringabel kissed her. The kiss was actually warm, nice. She felt her face heating up, not expecting to feel this way, as she turned around to watch the bright moon looming over the vast ocean. Maybe one day she wouldn't mind Ringabel calling her baby bird.