Chapter 5: Lessons

Richard was a curious man by his very nature, mostly due to the fact that he could barely remember anything when he woke up in that field all those months ago. He spent almost every waking moment of his life learning how the world worked, and pored over battle strategies all the way back to the early days of Ylisse. Simply put, Richard loved to learn. And he was especially excited to learn more about Panne.

After his meeting with Chrom, Richard returned to his tent and began to think of questions that he wanted to know about the taguel. He carefully avoided questions that boiled down to family life and certain cultural aspects, but in the end, he had compiled a list of questions that he would ask Panne the next day. After all, they would be riding for most of the day, and they needed something to pass the time. So, after all that, Richard went to sleep, awaiting the morning.

Richard awoke in a small glen, and silently sat up while grabbing his head. He had no idea where he was, and for a minute he had started to worry that maybe he had gone back in time and forgot everything again, before realizing that such a notion was absurd considering that he remembered everything.

After getting up and looking around the glen, he realized that he was the only person there. Once more, worry started to rear it's ugly head, and he began to wonder if he was lost. It was then he noticed that a dark shadow was starting to cast itself over the glen, and a roar could be heard as well. Richard covered his ears to block out the deafening sound, but even with it's protection it soon began to overtake his sense of hearing. He once more scanned the glen, looking for something, anything, to block out that horrible noise. It was then that he noticed a figure standing among the treeline of a nearby forest, gesturing him to come closer.

Without any other options, Richard ran towards the figure, who quickly ducked into the woods. Richard, not wanting to lose sight of the figure, ran faster after it, shouting out, "Wait!", while jumping over roots and large stones with ease.

He was able to keep sight of the figure, who looked as though they were owning the forest at this point. Even though Richard as doing well with the rock and root jumping, this person was doing even better. It seemed as though they were a ghost just running right through everything. The roar was even more omnipresent now. The darkness was spreading, and because of this, it had become impossible to see the forest floor, as well as the figure that he was following. Richard kept trying to run, but he eventually tripped over something and fell. Thankfully, he was able to turn enough so that he fell on his side, protecting his face and back, but unfortunately, not his arm.

Rolling onto his back, Richard was finally able to look up and see what was roaring and causing the land to darken. A large black dragon, with giant horns, and six glowing red eyes were staring back at him. Seeing this creature filled Richard with fear. He wished to run once more, but he couldn't move. It was like he was being held in place by some unseen force. He assumed the worst would happen at this point, and shut his eyes, hoping that the pain would subside quickly. But then he felt a hand grab onto his tightly, and pick him up. He had barely gained his footing before the figure dragged him away, and leaving the black dragon to breathe what could only be described as pure darkness at where Richard was laying.

The figure and Richard continued to run, and eventually, they came to the edge of the forest. The darkness that was caused by the dragon was much less prevalent here, as was it's roar. Still, the two pushed on, until they made it to what looked like a valley, filled with flowers. It was a peaceful place, one where there didn't seem to be much danger. In fact, it seemed like there was no danger. The dragon from earlier had long since been left behind, and the darkness that covered the land was gone.

Richard wanted to thank his savior for all that they did for him, but before he could say anything to them, they were gone. He looked around the entire meadow. There was nobody there. Hell, there weren't even any birds in the trees. It was eerie to say the least, being all by himself in a void. Yet, it was also... peaceful. He felt like lying down for a while in this place... at least here, he was safe.

So, he settled down on his back, and slowly closed his eyes. As he fell asleep, he rested his hand on the ground, and almost instantaneously, another hand grabbed it. Rather than recoil away, Richard chose to accept it, and allowed the other hand to grasp his. It was soft and warm, and it squeezed his own hand with a gentle yet firm grip. Momentarily he opened his eyes in an attempt to catch a peak at the person who was holding his hand. Unfortunately, all he could see was a blurry outline... and a small, but truly happy smile. He mirrored it, and quickly fell to sleep.

He awoke back in his tent, slightly surprised that he was back here, and not in a meadow. He then realized that it was all a dream, and sighed because of it. He liked that valley. But there was nothing to do about it now. He out of his bedroll and stood up, before getting ready and leaving his tent.

A few hours later

The ride would be a long and hard. Plegia was a long distance away from Regna Ferox, and it was going to be a long while until they were able to reach the border and pass over into the offending country. Still, they were ready for whatever would come. The exalt may have been back in harms way, but at least they had incredibly solid leadership in the form of Chrom and Richard. Speaking of the two friends, they rode at the front of the procession on their horses. Beside them were Lissa and Frederick, and they were having a discussion of what the plan would be when they reached Plegia.

"Obviously, we can't directly charge at the border and hope for the best.", Richard said, "It would be suicide. There's no doubt that they're waiting for us there."

"Well, that might be our only option.", Chrom responded, "After all, Plegia is mostly a desert. Who knows how thinly spread their military is?"

"I agree with Richard, milord.", Frederick said, "After all, a head on attack will more than likely take a lot of lives. And really, the troops are spread thin enough as it is. Too many casualties could prove deadly in more than one sense."

Chrom then turned over to his younger sister and said, "What about you, Lissa? You have any suggestions?"

"Hey, don't look at me.", she said, "I'm not the strategy guy."

Chrom sighed and then said, "Richard, just tell me what you think the best course of action is, please."

Richard closed his eyes in thought for a moment before saying, "...We could cross the border, yes. But we'll have to be care. Extremely so. There's no telling what Gangrel will do if he caught us, or somehow knew of our plans ahead of time. So, yes Chrom, I do agree with you. But still, we need to exercise caution. No one got anywhere by charging headfirst into a situation without thinking."

"Right.", Chrom said, "It would be foolish to ask for so much, especially after what had just happened. But we still need to keep going, or else we'll never get there."

"I know.", Richard said, "I know I promised you a plan... I just wish that it was a better plan."

"It's alright Richard. You're doing your best.", Chrom replied, looking at Richard with a reassuring smile before turning his attention forward again. There was silence for some time as the group continued to ride on, but soon, Richard looked behind him, and noticed a large, furry creature bounding alongside the procession at a distance. Panne in her beast form, no doubt. Remembering that he wished to have a conversation with her, Richard quietly excused himself from the group, and turned his horse around and trotting towards the taguel. Soon he caught up with her and had the horse trot beside her. It nickered and shied away slightly, but otherwise the horse did its job well. He then said, "Good morning, Panne. Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough.", she said nonchalantly, "I didn't have any dreams of the unsettling sort, and I have been controlling my screaming habit since I first came here."

"That's good.", Richard said with a smile, "Glad to know that you're starting to adjust to life with us."

Panne didn't say anything for a few moments, but then her reverberating voice replied, "I hadn't lived with groups for a while. To stay with you for so long is unprecedented to say the least. Normally, I'd stay in a town for one or two days a month to get a good night's rest and food, and I'd always cover my ears."

"Why's that?", Richard asked, "Did you want to hide your heritage?"

"Of course.", she responded, "The first few times I went out, many people would notice my ears. I didn't want that kind of attention, especially after the genocide of my people."

"I see...", Richard said.

"The last time I didn't cover my ears in a town, I was practically chased out by a few of those who participated in... the hunt, as they called it.", she said, without emotion.

"Hmm...", the tactician said as they continued down the road. After a few moments, he then asked, "Would you mind if I asked about your people?"

The rabbit creature shook her head and said, "No, I would not. What would you want to know?"

"Well...", Richard began, "What was the Warren like?"

Panne took a deep breath, and said, "It was a peaceful place, surrounded on all sides by trees. We all lived in burrows, much like our feral kin. Ours were bigger of course, and could house entire families. They were more like traditional human homes, rather than holes in the ground. The usual home could house five people."

"Five?", Richard asked, "Was that the usual family size?"

"Yes.", she replied, "It was a common misconception among the man-spawn that we bred at the same rate as rabbits did. In actuality, it is no different from your species."

"I see.", Richard said, making a mental note, "On a different topic, where was the Warren?"

Panne closed her eyes as though in thought, and said, "I... haven't been there in so long. I forgot it's location exactly, but I know that it was in a forest somewhere between Ylisstol and Regna Ferox."

"That's a lot of ground to cover, if you ever decided to go back.", Richard replied.

"I never can.", she said, "The memories would be too painful...", she said as her ears rang with a remembered cry of pain...

Richard was silent for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, it was careless of me."

"It's alright, really.", she said, "It's painful, yes. But at the same time... I'm glad that someone is finally interested in talking with me, rather than ignoring or trying to kill me."

"I can only imagine what you must have gone through.", the tactician said.

They were silent for a while, bounding and trotting side by side. It was slightly awkward, but Richard attempted to work through it by saying, "Moving on from depressing topics, I was wondering more about your physiology. After all, if your ears are able to detect heartbeats, what else is it that you can do?"

Panne let out a chuckle. His curiosity was rather amusing to her. He was like a child, asking questions left and right, and always giving their fullest attention whenever the questions were answered. She actually rather enjoyed the attention, and hoped that he had more questions after she answered this one. She then said, "We are like humans, in most respects. However, we subsist entirely on a vegetarian diet, and our senses are much more heightened than those of a human's. We also have much more endurance."

"I see...", he said, "That must have really helped if your race lived in a forest."

"Of course.", She said with a swell of pride.

"But what about your transformations?", he asked, "How do they work?"

A bright light shone around Panne before she appeared once more in her humanoid form. She reached into a pouch around her waist and pulled out a spherical, purple-colored stone about the size of a fist.. She handed it over to Richard and said, "This is a Beaststone. When a taguel reaches their 7th birthday, they're given their first Beaststone, and taught how to transform into the beast-form."

Richard looked at the object with a curious gaze, studying it carefully. On a closer inspection, he could see a faint glow within the stone, a sign of it magical quality. It was completely smooth, and didn't have a single blemish marring it's purple surface. He then handed it back over to Panne and said, "Are they hard to come by?"

She shook her head, then turned back into her beast form, and began once more to bound alongside Richard, saying, "Fortunately no. Man-spawn constantly find them and sell them, considering them to be semi-precious stones. Only in the hands of a taguel are their full potentials utilized."

"Interesting.", he said completely serious. He then asked, "Do you still have your first Beaststone."

She shook her said again and said, "No, I do not. After they've been used for a while, their crumble into dust, and are no longer usable. Naturally, this is not a good thing to happen in the middle of battle."

"I can imagine.", Richard said, before continuing with, "So, it's impossible to transform without a Beaststone?"

"Yes, it is.", she said, "We can defend ourselves if we decide to pick up a blade, but I wish to stay true to my taguel roots. I am more powerful in this form than any Risen"

"I understand.", Richard said. Truth be told, he admired Panne in a way. She had survived more than he could ever imagine, and that made her stronger and more courageous than most of the other people that he knew. He didn't know why, but he felt that they would be good friends in the future.

Panne then turned her attention to him and said, "So, where are the Feroxi soldiers?"

"They haven't had a real war in a while.", Richard said, "It's going to be a while until they're going to be able to get their forces in order, and march all the way to Plegia. At the very least, we have their full support in the war, and if things start to go wrong, we have a definite place to retreat to."

"I see.", she said, "All their infighting has made them weak."

"In a sense, yes.", Richard said, "But they'll be a force to be reckoned with when they get their forces together."

"Let us hope so.", Panne said before a pure white pegasus swooped down beside Richard. The rider of this particular pegasus was an alabaster skinned woman with fiery red hair.

Richard looked over to her and said, "Oh, hello Cordelia. What's the matter?"

"Chrom sent me to come fetch you.", she said, "He said that he had a few ideas to discuss with you."

"Alright then.", Richard said, "Go tell him I'll be up soon."

Cordelia nodded and flew off toward Chrom to deliver the message. I hope that we get to talk again soon."

"As do I.", Panne said before Richard rode off to the front of the procession. And as he did, she couldn't help but feel a little lonely now that he was gone.