A/N:

Oh my gosh... A new chapter! Yeah... I'm really sorry it took so long to update. I'd been out of the swing of writing for a really long time, but I'm back in the groove now, and I promise you, it won't take another YEAR for me to add a new chapter for this story. Ahem. As I said in the last chapter, POVs will change, so prepare for the female tactician! So sit back, R&R, and most importantly, enjoy! :D

The female tactician sat by the desk in her tent, twirling a card around in her fingers. Many thoughts swirled around through her head at this moment, one of which concerned the troubles Old Hubba might get himself into in the Shepherds camp. Letting out a sigh, she set the card flat on the desk before her. The portrait faced towards her, bearing the image of a purple-clad mage. "Atoning Strategist…" The tactician repeated to herself, as the card bore such a title. She hummed briefly as she thought on what she already knew of this Katarina. Would that help her though? The Einherjar certainly thought of themselves as the real person, but they were only a reflection. Still, they weren't as mindless as what Hubba thought them to be. Oh, they certainly had minds of their own. Did they hold all the original's memories though? It was something Raven was certainly curious about. She always was more interested in these cards than her brother.

Shifting the card on the desk once more, the female tactician finally convinced herself to summon this Katarina. A blue light shone from the card, and from it, the form of a woman began to appear, before finally materializing in front of the tactician. The being from the card opened her eyes, settling them upon Raven. "You. You worked for that horrible man."

Raven's eyes closed as she heard the Einherjar speak of Hubba in such a way. "Not… exactly." She tried to explain. "Erm…" The tactician got up from her seat, gesturing for the mage to sit. "Go on. We might be here a while."

Katarina eyed the other cautiously as she approached the small chair before seating herself. "Thank you… I suppose. Now, will you explain to me what's going on here?"

"Alright." Raven stated. "Well..." She had no idea how to explain this, and she was usually the articulate one. "Hubba is an old friend of ours. My husband puts much more faith in him than I do…" She added, thinking of all the looks he would give any woman. "But he isn't all that bad I suppose. You and your friends… this isn't Archanea. We can't have you causing trouble in a world that isn't your own. That's why we had to bring you back with us. We already have a war of our own to deal with, and we've already dealt with many of your kind before, causing trouble in lands that didn't belong to you. But now that you're here, we could certainly use your help." She said, offering a hand to the mage.

"Help?" The mage asked. "Well, I suppose we were defeated soundly." The mage looked back up to the tactician before her. "Perhaps I should join you… Yes. Marth, Kris, they always believed we were strongest together. I will aid you." She said, accepting Raven's hand.

Raven was quite relieved she was able to get Einherjar to cooperate. Having these cards meant nothing if they didn't obey orders. "Thank you, Katarina." She said. "Now, I may have something a little more personal to ask though…"

"Oh?" The mage stated with a raise of an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"I would like to learn more of the strategies used in your time, the War of Heroes." Raven started. "There's only so much one can learn from the history books. After all, they do say 'history is written by the victors'. Please?" Oh, if only Robin were there to see his sister asking the "card" for tactical advice. This is why she always met with them by herself. She was supposed to tease her brother, not the other way around! Besides, she was never as much of a bookworm as Robin. She learnt by doing; something they couldn't afford on the battlefield. She couldn't tell him she was learning from the Einherjar though, or from Virion.

Katarina finally nodded after she had the time to think. "Yes, I suppose I could teach you what I know."

Raven immediately jumped for her joy, tightly holding her eyes closed in an attempt to keep all her reactions inside so the others wouldn't pick up. That would only work so well though, as she soon backed up against her cot and fell back against it. Picking herself back up, a little more serious this time, she let out a loud sigh of relief. "Okay. Thank you. I… really appreciate it. Natural talent only takes me so far after all."

"Indeed." The mage added.

"Alright." Raven started, getting back up. "Okay, I'll need to take you to our strategy tent. My brother and I have a few things set up in there. Just…" Raven picked the card back up off her desk and held it before her. "We'll be there shortly." She said, calling Katarina back to the card.

"Alright." She stuffed the card in her coat's pocket before looking around the tent for anything she might need. The pieces she was carving for that board. Yes, in a box under the cot. After she grabbed that, she headed out.

Camp was as busy as ever. There was also the recent addition, aside from the Einherjar Hubba gave them. Another niece! Cynthia, it was this time. Oh, the things she could learn about her brother now. A grin spread across her face as she thought of the possibilities. Yes, Robin's beloved "pega-pony princess" could tell Raven so much about her brother in the future.

As Raven neared her destination, she could see Chrom still arguing with Hubba though. How long had it been? Well, Frederick had stepped in now, and didn't seem to be helping the situation one bit. Raven shook her head and chuckled as she imagined what they might still be discussing over there. Whatever it was, Chrom would be embarrassed by his trusted knight. That was a given.

The female tactician finally made it to her destination, but one of the last people she wanted to see was there. Well, aside from Hubba.

"Oh, hello there." Robin said, peeking up from a book he was reading. "How was your chat with our new addition?"

"It was fine." Raven replied, looking back to the exit, sorely tempted to leave, but another idea came to mind instead. "How was yours?"

Robin peeked up from his book again, his eyes quite wide. "Fine." He squeaked.

"You did speak with Cynthia after the battle… didn't you?" She awaited his response, only to see him glance nervously to his book. "Robin, you better go find her before Sumia finds you, and… you know she knows exactly where to find you."

"I really hate you." Robin said as he finally closed his book and left.

Well, now that her brother was out of the way, Raven could finally pull out the Einherjar for a little history lesson. She reached into her pocket to pull out the stash she kept within. Marth, Roy, Seliph, Elincia… Where's Katarina? The tactician reached into her pocket again, frantically searching for the missing card. No, no, no! As she dug deeper, her fingers found a hole within. Raven's eyes widened at the revelation. She spun around, rushing out of the tent. "Chrom! I need you! Now!"

A/N:

Raven's such a goofball. Writing Hero kinda skewed things for me at the beginning of the chapter here, but with that one being so serious, it wasn't easy to make the switch. And remember what Raven said about natural talent only taking you so far! (That's why I barely passed Physics even with the best test grades).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Be sure to leave a review, if you may.

And have a wonderful day, all! :D