AN: You should probably read this if you don't want to be confused in future chapters :)

While I'm going with the default Kris for his appearance - blue hair, 1st face, etc. - most of these will have him as a myrmidon instead of a mercenary. This is partly because I don't really know how to write someone wielding that huge sword, partly because I like the myrmidon sprite more than the mercenary sprite, and partly because Kris as a myrmidon is awesome.

Mark is his usual NPC self with the brown hair and green cloak. Looking at what you see of his appearance in the cutscenes (the first one with Lyn and later the one with Lyndis's Legion where he's off to the side) and combining it with the fact that Mark's a tactician-in-training, Hector said he was 'so young' compared to Ostia's tacticians, and most of the characters seem to treat him like a younger sibling when not talking about tactics (that's the vibe I get anyway) I think it can be safely said that in-universe Mark is probably younger than the lords (who are all around 17 or 18).

Robin is the default tactician/grandmaster Robin unless stated otherwise, and his (or her) children and spouse will change from story to story. Sorry if it seems I don't have much to say about Robin, but I think most people are more familiar with him compared to the others so he doesn't require as much of an explanation.

Now that all the boring stuff's out of the way, on to the main attraction!


Gift


Kris dropped to the ground and crouched on top of the freshly killed corpse, pulling out his sword as he strained his senses searching for any other intruders. After a long moment of silence he finally determined the coast was clear and went to light a candle.

There was a very good reason why Kris had volunteered to be Marth's body double - his similar height, build, and hair color meant he could easily be mistaken for the prince from a distance if wearing the right clothes - but he couldn't deny having an ulterior motive. It was juvenile, but the sight of blood soaking into Marth's eyesore of a rug made him grin.

The expensive rug was a gift from King Mostyn and had become a bit of a joke among Marth and his guards. The prince hated the bright, clashing colors but he couldn't exactly throw away a present from an allied king who also happened to be his fiancee's father. Placing it in the more public areas of the castle was out of the question, so he'd compromised by locking it in the relative privacy of his bedroom with the intention of tossing it at the first opportunity.

Kris stepped over the would-be assassin and left, heading to the guest room where Marth was spending the night. He couldn't wait to see the prince's face.


Gift


Mark crouched down to study the items arrayed on the bottom shelf. Potions...hex bags...more potions...and was that a baby wyvern skull with sapphires in the eye sockets? He gingerly picked it up and held it to the light for a better look. He was much more familiar with newly dead wyverns than he was with their skeletons but as far as he could tell it was indeed a real skull.

"You've got a good eye," the shopkeeper said approvingly from behind the counter. "Imported from Bern, made with real sapphires and the skull of the clutch's runt. Superstitious folk say it's good luck."

Mark raised an eyebrow at the enthusiastic sales pitch. "What's it used for?"

"Just a decoration, nothing special. It's rare to see a kid with taste these days so you can have it half off."

"Deal," Mark said immediately, pulling out his coin pouch. A quick look at the price tag told him the skull was already ridiculously cheap in the first place, so a fifty percent discount made it practically free. Did the shopkeeper have a reason for wanting to get rid of it so much? Maybe it was cursed or something. He should show it to Canas later just in case. "Can you wrap it with the best paper you have?"

"Oh?" The shopkeeper looked taken aback. "Is this a gift for someone?"

"Actually, it's Lord Hector's coronation present."


Gift


Naga generally didn't interfere unless it was absolutely necessary, but today was Robin's birthday and no one - the tactician himself included - knew it. Robin had been nothing but kindhearted and unfailingly loyal; how could she let this day pass without any acknowledgement?

-0-0-0-0-

"Hmm...regular swords look good but the killing edges are beginning to dull. Axes are fine, I should probably replace that hammer though." Robin carefully returned the weapons to their racks. A second later he almost sliced off his finger on an axe when something heavy crashed behind him.

He spun and raised his hand, fingers crackling with lightning, then froze and stared at the hammer lying innocently on the floor.

He was still staring when there was another, softer thump; beginning to grow slightly paranoid, he turned to find two brand new killing edges lying on the table. Red silk ribbons were wrapped around their sheathes and tied into an elaborate bow, and was Robin seeing things or were the dust motes floating above them spelling out the words 'Happy Birthday'?

Robin slowly inched around the table and backed outside, carefully closing the tent flap behind him. Then he turned and ran to find Libra, fervently hoping the priest was qualified in exorcisms.