AN: I did 2 supports in one this time because I felt they were kind of short, so the next update will get back to the plot. It will be either this weekend or sometime next week. I'm trying to work on updating my other fanfiction too, so that slows me down a bit.
(edited to add depth)
C-Support: Chrom
Chrom was a literally a born leader. His very blood was the blood of ancient Hero-kings, and people respected it. But that didn't make him arrogant man. It was quite the contrary, actually. People seemed to naturally gravitate to him when they needed someone to give orders and make decisions, and it put pressure on him-humbling pressure. Chrom bore the weight anyway, trying the best he could to do what was right, just like his sister Emmeryn. Every duty Emmeryn performed, she did it with grace, to the point where it was near impossible to go against her without feeling in the wrong. She wished for peace, and it held for fifteen long years of her reign. He would do anything to keep it, and that was what Chrom strived for. Lately, this was getting harder to achieve, with Plegia constantly trying to provoke them with bandit attacks. His group of Shepherds tried their best to keep Ylisse together, but they were starting to falter. And when they faltered, they turned to their Commander. All that pressure was starting to make him crack, but then he found Aly. She was a somewhat strange amnesiac who looked barely 18 years of age, but she was a Tactician. Sure, she was a bit naïve at times, she constantly fought with Frederick, she was as stubborn as an agitated pegasus, and she had a short temper when it came to people's taunting of her, but she took some of the burden of leading from Chrom, and he would always be grateful for that. Yet sometimes he had thoughts that he was putting too much of a load on her. So he promised himself he would check up on her more, just to make sure his friend didn't overdo it. He finally got a chance to talk to her alone after departing Regna Ferox.
"Finished training for today, Aly?" Chrom asked, approaching his Tactician as she walked back to her designated tent. The Shepherds had set up camp for the day after getting halfway back to Ylisse, and the vigilante force was starting to wind down. Aly had just finished drilling with Frederick when Chrom had found her.
"With combat practice, yes. But I thought I might review a few battle histories…" She responded, thinking of the other things she still needed to accomplish today. Just because she was training more didn't mean she could slack off on her strategic studies. Her nonchalance about her workload fueled his concern that she was maybe doing too much at once. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed her into being his Tactician so quickly after becoming an amnesiac.
"You should relax a bit," Chrom said, touching her lightly on the shoulder. "Put your feet up. Experienced soldiers rest when they can. On a campaign like this, you never know when the next battle might break out." Aly gave a weary smile.
"Heh, so I've noticed. With all that's happened recently, we've barely had time to even eat." They always seemed to be doing something lately, and it was rather draining on everyone. Chrom sighed. Now he felt as if he were using her, even if he wasn't actually trying to.
"It's been a tough road, to be sure. And it's only going to get harder." Aly shrugged. She worked pretty hard, but she tried not to stay up too late into the night. Unless something caught her attention during her studies, then all bets were off…
"I do try and rest when I can, though. A lady needs her beauty sleep, after all." Chrom stopped, looking confused. "...What? Did I say something?"
"Er, no... No, it's nothing. It's just that... Well, I just didn't consider you the type to care after beauty and such... I suppose I've never really thought of you as a lady." He admitted, smiling nervously. He had a feeling that this conversation could go south very fast if he wasn't careful. Maybe if he didn't beat around the bush about it, she wouldn't…
"Excuse me?!" Aly's voice rose, attracting the attention of a few people around them. Chrom backed off a little. Okay, that strategy obviously failed.
"No! I mean-I didn't mean-not like that! That is to say, a "lady", per se..." He tripped over his words, trying to find the best way to explain his reasoning. "Er... You know, how you fight and strategize, and... Not to say a lady can't fight, but... Gods, this is coming out all wrong." Why were women so complicated?
"My goodness, Chrom. You're the scion of a noble family, aren't you? Didn't they teach you manners at your fancy schools growing up?" Aly ranted at the retreating Commander.
"Oh, gods, yes. Of course they did. We spent a whole term on etiquette." he said, trying to assert himself again. Half the camp was watching at this point.
"Perhaps you could use another term, this time on how to talk with a lady." Chrom paled at the thought of a second term of schooling.
"It's just my image of a lady is someone so prim and proper...perfumed, and pretty... Nothing like you at all!" he said quickly, not thinking about his words as hard as he should have. "When I look at you, I just don't see a "lady." Does that- ...Er, Aly? What... What are you doing with that rock?" The anger in her eyes had tempered, leaving only a gleam of malicious intent, and she now had a decent sized stone in her hand.
"I'm thinking a sharp blow to the head might help fix your eyesight." She said darkly, tossing it up and down. Chrom paled even more and took a few steps away.
"N-no, wait! It was a just a joke! Ha ha... ha?" He gulped when she didn't laugh with him. "...Gotta go!" He turned and left, dodging between the tents as people jumped out of his way. She hesitated before going back towards her own tent, dropping the rock and muttering to herself. She didn't really have the time to chase him down like she wanted to.
"I don't believe it. The little craven actually ran away! What kind of manners... Sheesh..." Her expression softened, and she sighed. All her anger had dissolved in an instant, like water in a teakettle. "Oh, well. Perhaps it's only fair. It's not like I think of him as a gentleman, let alone some fancy noble." There were other people whose opinions carried more weight to her-not that she didn't care for what Chrom thought. They had an oddly constructed, yet solid relationship. She made plans and he gave orders. Why he had let a person he found on the side of the road be his Tactician, she still didn't know. Why she felt the need to try her best for him confused her further. She knew him for what, a few weeks? But here she was, willing to sit in a tent with him for hours discussing battle plans and diplomacy, willing to train her mind a body to handle any situation he might need help with, willing to die for any cause he saw fit to chase after. It was like she and Chrom had an invisible bond the moment they met, but she had no idea where it came from. What was she even doing again? Right, reviewing battles records. At least those were straightforward in comparison to men…
C-Support: Virion
Aly say in front of a crate, her Battle Planner spread out in before her. She had been working on strategies for hours, running different scenarios on different maps to test her effectiveness. She was completely in love with her new tool, and had been playing around with it whenever she had some free time to kill. She couldn't wait to get back to Ylisstol and raid the library for more books on tactics to try.
"So if the Cavaliers spread out in a fan…And the Pegasus Knights sweep in from the flank…" She mumbled, moving around a few of the pieces shaped like horses. The sounds of the camp faded into white noise as she concentrated. In her head, she could literally see the soldiers and the enemy clash. She could picture the constantly shifting battlefield as clearly as reality. But there was something off about her simulation that she just couldn't put her finger on.
"Goodness, I can practically see smoke rising from your head. Whatever could have you working at such a fevered tilt?" She jumped a little and looked up to see Virion leaning over her shoulder, studying her handiwork curiously. Aly rolled her eyes, refocusing on her "game". Virion loved romancing the female half of the Shepherds, but he tended to tone it down near Aly. He figured it wouldn't be smart to irritate the person who sent you out to battle.
"I'm practicing strategies and scenarios on this game board. After a hundred forced marches, these pieces are still ready for more. It saves me from running everyone ragged with training exercises," she explained, only half paying attention to the Archer behind her.
"…How very clever. You even carved little enemy forces for them to fight. I'm impressed. And that doesn't happen often…with other people, I mean." There was a hint of smugness in his voice, but that was normal for Virion, so she wasn't offended. Actually, it was mildly flattering. He could be noble and charming when he wanted to be, she could give him that.
"Well, as long as I control friend and foe alike, it's not as effective as I'd prefer. After all, I can't plan for the unexpected when I know all the moves ahead of time." She had suddenly realized the flaw of playing a one man game of chess, but she couldn't think of a solution to it. Virion hummed thoughtfully before going over to sit across from her. He had spent large amounts of his free time attempting to woo Sully, who had taken to verbally jousting with him and occasionally physically jousting to get him to leave. He had a feeling she was just playing hard to get though. Aly, on the other hand, usually didn't rise to any bait he could set; therefore she tended to ignore him. Using nothing but hi good looks and charm wouldn't cut it this time, as she was completely infatuated with the Stahl to the point of not really noticing other men in that way. But if he volunteered to go against her in a battle of wits, how could she refuse?
"Then permit me to be your opponent. I shall stroke with the nobility of the lion and defend with the grace of the swan!" He said loudly, as if he were going to war. Aly raised a brow. Since when was Virion a tactical person? The only few people who were willing to play her in strategy games were Muriel and sometimes Frederick. Everyone else knew they would lose eventually, so they didn't try. And what was with his weird animal simile? She couldn't understand similes at all, they weren't literal enough for her….
"Because swans are…good defenders? Er, never mind. I accept. So then, we'll take turns moving units until one of us claims the other's commander. Agreed?"
"Agreed and agreed again! Oh, what fun! …Begin, please. By all means." He picked up an enemy piece, twirling it around between his fingers.
About a full hour later, Virion and Aly were still absorbed in playing war. Virion made a surprisingly unrelenting opponent, managing to drag out the match for so long. Aly had to admit that he was good practice. He was definitely making her sweat with his unorthodox tactics. She pushed a piece forward, only to see her mistake as soon as her hand left the carving. She bit her lip nervously.
"Hold! I need to retract my last move."
"Ha ha! Were that all enemy generals so generous! But alas, this is war. Checkmate, my good lady." His knight slid forward to meet her commander, ending the game. Aly groaned and tipped her miniature Chrom over.
"…Blast! I hate to admit it, but I am well and truly beaten," she said.
"Oh ho! I told you I was both a lion and a swan, did I not?" Virion boasted, leaning back in his chair.
"More like a chicken and the far end of a horse!" Aly retorted, her temper flaring up already. She might work for royalty, but she wasn't exactly taught to speak by them. "I'm no noble lord, but your strategy wasn't exactly what I'd call honorable."
"Heavens! Aren't we plainspoken." Aly huffed angrily, but controlled herself and got up from her seat, putting away the pieces of the Battle Planner.
"At any rate, I appreciate the practice, but I must return for a meeting," she said, sticking the board under her arm. Virion was disappointed. He half expected her to challenge her to another match.
"But I've barely had time to gloat!" He pouted.
"Ah, well, all part of the simulation. In actual war, you see, the loser is never present to witness gloating." She briefly stuck her tongue out at him before leaving his sight, not giving him time to stop her.
"No, wait! Don't leave, Aly! Let us play again!" She heard him calling from a distance, but she kept going. Okay, so maybe she was a bit of a sore loser. That didn't make her a bad Tactician, right?
Virion sat back down, seeing that she had escaped him this time. Oh well, this just gave him some time to plan his next attempt at grabbing her attention. He fingered his bow in contemplation. Next time, he'd try the battlefield. Then she'd see his magnificence.
