Here's chapter seven in the continuing AU adventures of the Greil Mercenaries. I took a bit of a different tact with this one.

"So how's the roommate?" Shinon asked, leaning back in the swivel chair and watching Rolf's face on the monitor.

"Eh, he's okay," Rolf answered, fiddling with a pencil and watching Shinon shrink away from the computer screen.

"Not good though?"

"You remember Tormod?"

"Ugh. That kid's learning curve was criminally slow."

"He just wouldn't take hints, and my roommate's like that. It gets on my nerves sometimes, but it's just for the year and I want to be nice; I can deal with it. How's everyone back at home?"

"Feh, they're fine. We're just taking turns following Elincia around like a pack of lost puppies; it's boring but she pays well."

Rolf gave him a critical stare, "Shinon, that's an important job. It involves a lot of sitting around, but after what's happened in the past five years I can't believe even you would be so obstinate."

"Oh don't you start on me too," Shinon said, crossing his arms as he stared dully at monitor, "I've got enough trouble without you giving me lip."

"I'm just saying. Anyway, I used the scope yesterday at the shooting range, it's so much better than the ones they issue."

Shinon smirked and sat up, "Big surprise there, what are they issuing these days? A cardboard tube with two pieces of glass in either end?"

Rolf laughed, "Not quite, although I'm sure it's the same thing you used back in the day."

"Hey I'm not that old," Shinon replied, his brow wrinkling, and then, "Shoot, I hear voices, they must be back early. I gotta go, I dodged security duty with Boyd by saying I was sick, talk to you later."

"Yeah I have class soon anyway, talk to you later Shinon."

Shinon nodded absentmindedly and then the image cut out, leaving Rolf staring at his computer desktop. He sighed, and pushed himself back from the desk; he really didn't have class for another two hours. Looking at his laptop he reached out, bringing up the document file he had on a tab on the taskbar. He watched the cursor at the top of the white screen, blinking next to the words 'Mob Psychology' and then shut the laptop. He didn't feel like doing his homework.

Getting up from his chair he kicked a pair of his roommate's boxers towards the laundry hamper, not bothering to pick them up when they fell short of the target. He should really make him clean up his half of the room, but Rolf didn't want to start anything.

Picking up his key and I.D. card, Rolf headed out the door and towards the main part of the campus. He still had to log some time at the shooting range, might as well get it out of the way.

"Rolf, Rolf!"

"Or maybe not," Rolf sighed, turned as his roommate came running towards him.

"Hey Ross, what's up?"

"You have to see this girl at the café! She's so cute, I think I'm going to ask her out."

"I'm actually going to the shooting range; I need to get another hour in this week."

"What?" Ross said, looking confused, "No no no, I need you to be my wingman!"

Rolf closed his eyes and brought a hand to his forehead, "Does she have a friend or something?"

Again, Ross looked confused, "No, why?"

"Do you even know what wingman means?"

"Yeah, they give moral support."

"Cause two guy getting together to ask one girl out isn't creepy at all," Rolf muttered, and then, "All right whatever, let's go."

Ross nodded his head, "Yesss. Thanks so much."

"I do what I can."

As they walked across the sunny campus Rolf looked around, watching students lounge under trees on the lawn. It was Thursday and many of them probably didn't have Friday classes.

"Ross, how many credits are you taking?" he asked.

"Twelve, why?"

"Just wondering. You seem to have a lot of free time."

"Hey twelve's full time! It just seems like I have a lot of free time because you're so busy."

"I guess," Rolf nodded. It was true though, he had to take eighteen credits per semester if he wanted to graduate in the spring.

Walking into the university's food court, the two headed for the café.

"Where is she?" Rolf asked, looking around the nearly empty room.

"Behind the counter," he answered, his eyes locked on the girl at the register.

"Oh wow," Rolf said, surprise in his voice. "Yup, she's pretty cute. Now why am I here again?"

"Because I don't know what to say man!"

Rolf looked at the girl, pursed his lips as he tried not to smile, and then back at Ross, "I'd say something cool."

Ross's eyes lit up, "Yeah that's what I was thinking! Like…like…like when I go up, and she asks me what I want, I was thinking I should say, 'I dunno, I don't see anything I want, unless you're on the menu,' or something, you know?"

Rolf's eyes widened, and he smacked Ross on the shoulder, "I'm not good with girls, but I'd probably go with that. See, you didn't even need me."

Ross exhaled, "Right right. Okay, here goes."

Rolf's jaw slackened and he covered his mouth, concealing silent laughter as Ross walked up to the counter. Listening to the distant dialogue, Rolf suddenly felt bad. At the same time though, he didn't want it to be his fault if any girl wound up with Ross. Especially that girl.

Rolf's expression grew serious as Ross turned around and walked back.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

Ross blinked, frowning slightly, "I'm not sure."

"What did she say?"

"Oh. Just like that, 'Oh,' and then she stared at me. I'm not sure she got it."

"Well don't let it get to you," Rolf said, "She looks like a senior so she's probably graduating this year anyway, and then where would you be?"

Ross nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. Good point. Anyway, I'm going to class, see you later Rolf."

"Bye."

Rolf watched him go and then turned back around, walking towards the girl at the counter. As he approached she looked up; a puzzled expression still lingered on her face from the encounter with Ross. Seeing Rolf though, she smiled, her eyes brightening.

"Hey!"

Stopping at the counter Rolf looked across at her and smiled back, inhaling slowly before replying.

"Hey Nephenee."

Her smile widened, "I did not know you went here Rolf!"

"I didn't know you went here either," Rolf answered, noting her accent was gone. "I thought you went back to Ohma after the war?"

"I did, but then I found out the government would pay for college, so I thought why not?"

"They paid for Mainal?" Rolf asked. "That's expensive, the only reason I'm here is because they're the only place around with the program I need."

Nephenee looked down, "Yeah well, I think Elincia had something to do with that…"

"Hey that's a good thing," Rolf said, "What are you here for?"

"Speech pathology and linguistics," she said.

Rolf shook his head, "Wow. That sounds confusing. Does it have anything to do with you losing your accent?"

Nephenee looked around before answering quietly.

"I didn't. I'm tryin' though," she said, slipping back into her country accent, "It's so hard, I hafta' think about everythin' I say and how I say it. I'm actually tired by th'end of the day just from that."

"I don't blame you, that's a lot to think about. I'm sure it'll be natural eventually though, you've only been here since the beginning of this year right?"

"Yeah, only for a month and a half now," she said, changing back to what Rolf considered 'normal' speech; although he'd been told once he and everyone else from the company said their 'a's funny. He furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes rolling off to one side as he recalled the memory before looking back at Nephenee.

"Same here," he replied.

"Well how long do you have before class?" she asked, "I am out in half an hour, if you do not mind waiting it would be great to talk to someone from home."

"Me too," Rolf said, "and I don't mind."

"Great, do you want anything while you wait?"

"No I'm fine. I'm not much of a coffee drinker," Rolf said, moving aside for the man who'd got in line behind him.

Sitting down, he watching as Nephenee talked with the man and then turned to make a latte. He wondered what it was like to be able to speak in an accent at will; was there some kind of mental switch she threw? Looking out the window he rested his elbow on the table, placing his chin in an upturned palm. The day had certainly taken a turn for the better.

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"Oh!" Nephenee said, sitting up in her chair, "I wish I had known Gatrie and Rhys were here! I would have liked to say hello."

"Well they left last week so it's not like you just missed them," Rolf answered, looking at her from across the circular coffee table, "They'll be back to pick me up in May though, so you can say hi then. Or at least someone from the company will be here."

"Good, I miss everyone. How are Boyd and Mist doing?"

"Fine, they had their first anniversary a week after I left for school."

Nephenee nodded, "That's right, they had an August wedding…it was such a pretty ceremony."

"I do have to admit Boyd did a good job picking out the flowers," Rolf replied.

"Boyd picked them out?" Nephenee asked.

"Ha, no! Gotcha! Boyd didn't have anything to do with the coordinating, Oscar and I helped with that."

"See that makes more sense. Boyd seems like he would be more likely to help pick out the food."

"Yeah," Rolf conceded, "he did. Actually, the wedding was the last time I saw you, now that I think about it. How are you?"

Nephenee shrugged, "Well I was only home for a few months before Elincia called to let me know about going to university. I talked with my family, and they said since they handled the farm while I was gone during the war they could handle it if I went to school. After that it was kind of a waiting game until the next fall semester."

"That's cool, are you the first in your family to go to college?" Rolf asked.

"Shoot no!" Nephenee laughed, "My dad has a degree in agronomy and crop science, and plant breeding."

Rolf grimaced, "Well, excuse me while I remove my foot from my mouth…"

"Do not worry about it, a lot of people think like that, probably because it is true. Not a lot of people in Ohma have gone to college really, just my parents and one of Brom's sons. And I am definitely the first to go to Mainal."

"So how many credits are you taking?" Rolf asked.

"Sixteen, pretty normal from what I hear."

"It's still four more than full time; it'll keep you busy. It's too bad I never stopped in here before though! I could have spent the last month and a half hanging out with you instead of…well no one really, I'm pretty busy, but still."

"I know, and it is hard to meet people here. They are all so important."

"Hah, no, see they just think they're important. If you go to Mainal you're either a genius who got a full ride, or a war hero I suppose," he said, nodding toward Nephenee, "or your parents paid for it all, and fifty-thousand dollars is an abstract concept since you've never had to work for money."

"You sound like Shinon," she said.

Rolf started to protest and then stopped, "I—huh… I do, wow. He did say that before I came here; I didn't believe him at first, but after getting to know people I guess I'm starting to agree. Cynicism must be contagious…"

"Well, he is right, sort of. You just have to find the right people," she said.

"So you've made some friends after all?"

"Well…I guess so, cause I cannot think of anything else to call them. I met a foreign exchange student in the first week and he was just so friendly. He was in my orientation group actually, so I was with him for the whole first week. Just by the end of the first day though he said we were BFF's or something, and now I hang out with him and some of the others from our group every once in a while."

"Well I'm glad you're having more luck than me, although I'm not too worried since I really don't have time for anything else."

Nephenee looked concerned, "Maybe, but you still need friends. We are all going to the open mic night at eight; your class is from five to seven-thirty right? You can come if you want."

Rolf considered it for a minute and then smiled, "Why not? I do need to get out, even Ike has been telling me that much. And speaking of five to seven-thirty, it's almost five now. I gotta go, see you later Nephenee!"

"Bye Rolf," she said, getting up and giving him a hug before watching him run off towards the social science building. Smiling, she picked up her backpack and headed off for the cafeteria. A good day had gotten better.

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Rolf stretched before quickly snatching his arms back as he felt his hand brush someone behind him.

"Woops," he said, turning in his seat, "Sorry, long class."

The girl smiled as she got up from her chair, "Noooo lie. But the weekend is nigh!"

Rolf laughed as she headed for the door and then stood, gathering his own books and following the rest of the class out the door. Walking the short distance to the Altina Performing Arts Center, Rolf couldn't help wondering at his good fortune running into Nephenee. He would have to be more patient with Ross in the future. Pulling open the silent glass doors, he stepped into the building and looked around. He was half an hour early, but he thought it would be less awkward if he was the first one there instead of walking up to group of people and trying to get to know everyone at once.

"Rolf!"

He was not, however, the first one there. Turning, he spotted Nephenee coming into the atrium from around the curved inner walls of the auditorium.

"I was hoping you would be here early, come on, we already have seats."

"How many people usually come to open mic night?" Rolf asked, following her in.

"Oh not very many, maybe thirty? And the performers are usually the same people every week. We just come because one of our friends sings. How was class?"

"Boring and long, I almost fell asleep."

"I can relate. Last time, in my etymology class, I was sure I was awake the whole time, but when I looked up from my desk I realized twenty minutes had gone by and I had no idea what my professor had said. Poof," she said, spreading her fingers to emphasize the word.

Rolf laughed, looking around the auditorium, "Exactly. Where is everyone?"

"Up front, but there are just three of us at the moment. Well, four now that you are here."

Making her way down an aisle, Nephenee called out to one of the figures sitting in the front row, looking up at the empty stage, "Hey Ewan!"

A young man turned around at the sound of her voice, a wide smile plastered on his face.

"Is this your friend?" he asked, getting up as they reached the front row.

"Yes," she answered, "this is Rolf. Rolf, this is Ewan."

Rolf smiled and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you." He looked to be about Rolf's age, with russet hair and eyes to match. He radiated energy, and Rolf didn't find it hard to believe he made friends quickly.

"And this is Marisa," she said, gesturing to the girl who had been sitting next to Ewan.

"Hey," she said flatly, getting up and offering her hand to Rolf. She wore a sleeveless black top with wide, brown and gold bands around her upper arms, and clay red boots over her jeans. Her eyes were an off shade of blue, almost purple, and her hair was tied back in high ponytail.

"Hey," Rolf replied, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah," she answered, "same here. Nephenee says you're a crack shot with a rifle."

Rolf raised a shoulder, "Eh, I'm not awful. Do you shoot?"

"No, too busy," she answered, sitting back down and crossing her legs at the ankle.

"What she means by that," Ewan said, "is 'I'm a nationally ranked fencer, but can't be bothered to tell anyone for fear of being interesting to talk to.'"

"It's Iaido, and don't pretend you can't pronounce it. I know it's somewhere in that drug addled brain of yours," she replied, crossing her arms.

Ewan's eyes rolled around until he was looking at Rolf out of the corner of his eyes, "I have ADHD, the real kind, not the 'my child is doing poorly in school, let's diagnose that business' kind. I take meds for it; Marisa on the other hand won't so much as touch an aspirin."

"They don't even help," she said.

"So I can stop taking my meds and you'll take responsibility when Tethys and Gerik come kicking down the doors after they find out?" he asked.

"…they rarely help," she amended.

Rolf laughed, taking a seat next to Nephenee, "So you two knew each other before orientation week, I take it?"

"Oh yeah," Ewan said, waving the question off like the answer should be obvious to everyone, "Marisa goes way back with my sister and her husband."

"So you're foreign exchange as well, Marisa?" Rolf asked.

"Yup. That's the only reason Ewan's here; his sister heard I was attending Mainal and she said if Ewan was going to school anywhere, it would be where someone could keep an eye on him. That means me."

"So where are you from?"

"Magvel."

"Wow. That's like a twenty hour flight isn't it?"

"Twenty-one," she answered.

"Marisa likes to keep track of things," Ewan said. "That, or she wanted to make it clear that she really did have to spend twenty-one hours on a plane with me."

"Next to you," Marisa said quietly, and Ewan continued to talk away, not really caring if no one was listening.

Rolf turned to Nephenee, "Is it always like this?"

"Yup, hope it will not bother you."

"Not at all," Rolf said, leaning back as a few more students came into the auditorium. "It reminds me of home. It's like having a surrogate Soren and Mia."

"Oh no," Nephenee said, "Marisa is not mean…just straightforward."

Rolf smiled, that was exactly what he had meant, but he didn't say anything as the first act walked onto the stage.

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"You know Shinon, I should probably get going."

Rolf looked at Shinon, who looked back at him quizzically. It had been a week since they'd last talked.

"Go? And leave me here with nothing to do? What, you have an exam or something?"

Rolf shook his head and stood up, "No, just meeting up with some friends."

"Friends? What do you need friends for, you're coming back in less than a year, isn't it kind of pointless to make-"

"Sorry Shinon, gotta run, tell everyone I say hi!"

"Yeah yeah, have fun or…something."

Shinon closed the video chat program and swiveled around in the computer chair, staring into the empty room. Seemed like everyone had something important to do, even the college kid. After a moment he stood, stretched, and sighed.

Leaving his room, Shinon walked down the hall and stopped at a closed door.

"Boyd," he said.

"Yeah?" came a voice from behind the closed door, which swung open shortly after.

"You find anyone to take your shift tomorrow?"

"No not yet."

"I'll do it."

Boyd blinked, and stared.

"Don't make anything of it," Shinon said, grabbing the door handle and closing it. "I'm just bored."

So yes. Planting multiple FE universes on one planet was an idea I toyed with, rejected as too much, and then found too much fun to throw out all together. Rest assured this is still going to be almost exclusively FE Radiant Dawn characters, I just COULDN'T LEAVE THE IDEA ALONE. If it will come back in the future has yet to be decided, meaning I don't know any more than you. Speculation abounds. Thanks for reading, if you wish to praise or criticize go ahead and click the little "review" button down there, I promise you will make my day. Until next update,

Twilight Rurouni