Brave Blizzard Training
Fir's Room: 7:00 am
Fir awoke to her window open, a frigid winter wind cutting through her sheets. Shivering, the swords-woman attempted to cocoon herself in. Another whistling wind sheared through the room, the window banging against the wall. Fir groaned loudly. She slowly dragged herself towards the window, her sheets creating a protective igloo. She slammed the window shut, locking the latch with incredible force. "Ughhhh..." Fir groaned, looking around the room sluggishly. Scanning across her small quarters, she found herself looking into bright yellow cat-like eyes. Fir shouted in surprise, flinging herself backwards towards her bed.
"Fir! Time for the morning greetings!" Athena yelled out with unbound intensity, "I hope you are ready for the training today!"
"Training? What're you talking about?" Fir asked through her protective shell. "It's still snowing."
Athena nodded, "Yes, is actually perfect for brave blizzard training!"
"Brave blizzard training." Fir responded, annoyance laced in her voice, "This isn't like your other training, is it?"
Athena waved her arms frantically. "No no no! That was just game! This is useful!"
Fir looked skeptical, but slowly unwrapped herself from her sheets. "This better be worth it." She muttered, as she began to change. Fir shivered as she wrapped a coat over her normal myrmidon garb. What's the point of training outside in this weather? She asked herself. The swords-woman felt a strong hand pat her on the back.
"Ready, yes?" Athena asked. Fir nodded.
"Ready as I'll ever be," She answered, "How did you get in here, anyway? Through the window?"
Athena giggled, "No, I went through door. It was stuffy, so I open window for you."
"Gee, thanks."
"You're welcome!" Fir decided to guide Athena out of her room, lest she decide to do more impromptu 'good deeds'. The duo headed down the stairs towards the main hall, the chill of winter still permeating the stairwells and halls. A small group had gathered in the hall, talking amongst each other and putting on extra coats. The usual faces of Marisa, Ayra, Lucina, Selena, and Hinoka were there, as well as Nephenee, who was bookended by Kagero and Mia, the former of whom looked irritated. Standing by the door, already prepped for the winter weather, was Titania, Shanna, Chrom and Ephraim. Fir wouldn't call herself familiar with most of them. At most, she was friends with Marisa; and acquaintances with Nephenee, Kagero, and Hinoka. She stood next to the desert mercenary, who gave her an amused look.
"Hello, Fir," Marisa greeted, "You look rather warm already." Fir groaned in response.
"If this is warm, I'd hate to see what cold feels like." She replied bluntly. Marisa smiled wryly.
"Yes, this is something I'm not used to as well," Marisa said, "I think this weather holds value to our growth, though."
"As long as I'm training with the best, I won't complain anymore." Fir stated, giving the mercenary a nod and smile.
"What's taking so looong?!" Shanna shouted from the door, "It's not that hard to put on layers, you lazy-butts!" Selena shot a quick glare to the pegasus knight.
"You come over here and put on our coats, then!" She snapped back. Lucina placed a calming hand on her shoulder, as Shanna stuck her tongue out jokingly.
"Alright!" Athena shouted, clapping her gloved hands aggressively. "Let us get on the coats and get with the going, please!" As the group finally got everything together, Athena led them to the front door. A harsh wind brought with it a layer of snow, which assaulted the group's faces as the door was opened.
"Man! Just like home!" Shanna yelled into the frigid air, "I could get used to this!" She ran out into the pathway, giggling with childish wonder. "Come on! Training's gotta start sometime!" As she ran forward, Titania chuckled.
"She has lots of spunk, that one." She noted, before she joined her in the bitter cold.
ping
Nephenee shifted her lance, and another metal disk bounced off the weapon. Kagero was sitting on the remnants of one of the snow forts, flinging the training shurikens lazily at her friend. Nephenee weaved through the incoming attack, deftly maneuvering towards the ninja. She felt an object hit her leg, and she winced.
"You would have lost mobility in your leg in that moment," Kagero stated, "I thought you said you would focus better today."
"Ahm tryin'," Nephenee insisted, swinging her lance casually, "Hard ta focus in this cold."
ping
"The point of this training is to maximize your strengths in all types of weather, Nephenee." There was another swing, and Kagero finally left her perch, rolling in the snow. "And on a positive note, I can finally spar with you." Another swing caught the ninja off-guard, and she tumbled, barely avoiding the strike. Nephenee gave her a cheeky grin.
"I thought you told me ta be focused." She taunted. The spearwoman felt another object strike her gut, and she grimaced.
"I did," Kagero answered simply, "Two points to me." Nephenee scowled.
"I gotcha off yer perch, so don't get cocky!"
"Your daughter is quite an impressive swordwielder, Prince Chrom."
"Thank you," Chrom responded as he parried a swipe away, "Honestly, It feels like she's surpassed me at this point!"
The brittle and dry sound of clashing wood echoed in the frozen air. Long black hair made a sharp contrast with the ground, as Ayra came in for another attack against the Exalt. Chrom parried the vicious assault, grunting at the surprising force behind the her attack. It felt like sparring with Lon'qu.
Except that Ayra was faster. Chrom barely deflected a short thrust aimed at his shoulder, before rolling away from another thrust. He heard a dark chuckle come from his sparring partner.
"If this is the best the Exalt of Ylisse has to offer, I'll just make this quick." Ayra commented, moving forward in the snow. Chrom grinned. She held herself in the same way as the myrmidon, which meant...
Ayra shielded her face as a handful of snow was flung towards her. She saw the training blade of Chrom slice through the powder, and managed to block it. Another slash struck the blade, knocking Ayra off balance. She tumbled into the snow, and Chrom moved to strike her side. Arya growled, and pushed both feet into the Exalt's stomach. As he fell backwards, Ayra flung herself at the man, holding the blade against his neck. "That … is my … victory!" She said between gasps.
Chrom chuckled, "So it is." Ayra helped up the Exalt, patting his back. "You're quite an impressive fighter yourself."
"Flattery doesn't work on me, I'll have you know," Ayra replied, smirking, "But you are not so bad yourself." She turned, staring at Lucina and Selena as they sparred. "I would be proud."
"Lucy, come on!" Selena whined, "You can do better than this!" Lucina was on her side in the snow, panting heavily. As Selena watched her get back up, she felt a tinge of guilt. She hadn't expected to be much better than her friend. In fact, Selena was fairly confident that Lucina would still be better than her.
"... Sorry Sev," Lucina gasped, "I guess you got a step faster."
"N-no way! Maybe you're just not 100 percent!" Lucina shook her head.
"Your training in Nohr must have been fantastic. Your attacks are much harder to defend against than before."
"You're just saying that," Selena muttered in response, "I bet it's the cold, I'm used to cold weather and you're not. Yeah, I bet that's …" She kept muttering on as Lucina slowly got up. The princess put a gloved hand over her friend's mouth, smiling brightly.
"Sev, I don't need you to make excuses for me," Lucina pulled her hand away, and put out her training sword in front of her. "Let's make up for my lack of training instead."
Selena smirked. "Don't expect me to slow down, then!" She shouted into the frigid air, before launching herself forwards.
The winter sky looked an unfriendly, unyielding gray. The dense cloud cover lay above the field, much like a blanket.
At least, this was what Nephenee saw. Mia had taken over sparring with Kagero, claiming that she could 'best the foe her nemesis could not'; or some sort of crap like that. Nephenee had nothing against Mia; in fact, she found the girl's energy infectious. But the whole nemesis thing was confusing and honestly, not something Nephenee was interested in. After three different people fell flat – including Ilyana, who Nephenee couldn't see opposing anything – Mia was now focused on the country girl. And that, at least to her, was a little stressful.
Apparently Kagero had been thinking the same thing, as she was fighting Mia with a renewed vigor. Her face remained expressionless, but her movements were a step quicker, her throws a little more punishing; and even with her seemingly boundless energy, Mia looked to be tiring out. Nephenee decided to sit up. Five minutes of panting on the cold ground was probably enough to regain some stamina. As she stood up, Mia dropped to one knee. She grimaced, attempting to pull herself up.
"Stay," Kagero ordered, "It looks like Nephenee has regained her strength. Regain your's" Mia didn't answer, just nodded and lay down in the snow. The ninja turned to face Nephenee, giving her a small smile. It must've been just her imagination, but Kagero looked … kinder, softer, than she did with Mia. "Come, Nephenee," she said kindly, "Let's continue."
"Your movements are quite quick."
"Wow, that's saying something, coming from you!" Fir and Marisa thrust and parried, creating a rhythmic clacking sound. The speed of which had attracted both the duos of Hinoka and Titania and Shanna and Ephraim. Even Athena had backed away from training with the two of them to allow the spar. It was musical, in a way. "Your nickname is appropriate as well!"
"I'm not comfortable with that nickname," Marisa responded, blocking another slash, "It's too flashy for me."
"I imagine," Fir ducked under a slice before attempting a thrust, "that sort of thing is good for business though."
crack
"Yeah, it really gets customers lining up." Marisa remarked blithely. She unwrapped her scarf, which she had worn over her coat, and tossed it at Fir. As the article of clothing got tangled with Fir's sword, Marisa quickly tapped the girl's ribs with the training sword.
"Point!" came from five separate voices, Shanna's being the loudest. Fir gave Marisa a dirty look.
"That's cheating!" She protested. Marisa shrugged.
"You wear extra clothing too," she answered, "Take advantage of anything you have at your disposal." Fir bowed her head in reverence.
"I spoke out of turn, I apologize," Fir said, "May we spar another round?" Athena got up, moving towards the duo.
"You two have gone no stopping since we started," she interjected, "I believe is time for training to end."
"What?!" Fir exclaimed, "It's only been an hour or two!"
"In cold, you must take what you can," Athena said, "But too much take, cold take away from you. Get inside, drink something warm, share stories, get on with day. That is also important part of Blizzard Training." Fir groaned in response, but accepted Athena's words. The group once again headed inside, exhausted but perhaps stronger than before.
Mess Hall 10 am
"You guys have a death wish, you know that?"
"Training mind and body is important, Lady Tana," Kagero replied, "Perhaps training outside would benefit you as well."
"No thank you!" Tana replied, "I'll leave that to you two!" She motioned to Nephenee, who was speaking to Fir, Nino, and Marisa. Tana had a mischievous grin on her face. "Sooo …" She whispered to the ninja, "How goes it?"
"How goes what?"
"You know," Tana motioned to Nephenee, "that." Kagero raised an eyebrow, then continued eating her breakfast.
"Her training is quite commendable, though she's still not used to getting hit." The ninja stated. Tana rolled her eyes in frustration. "Not what you wanted to hear, I assume?"
"Just forget it." Tana muttered, "I was going to see if you had anybody you were eyeing. Romantically."
"Ah," Kagero replied, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, I'm not the kind of person that feels particularly romantic towards anyone." As she paused to sip her tea, there was an grating sound that came from her left. Nephenee had quickly backed the bench out, and was hiding her face with her helmet.
"Hey, Nephenee! Let me at least go with you to the greenhouse!" Fir spoke up as the spearwoman stood up abruptly, and walked out of the mess hall. Fir began bundling up, and quickly followed her out. As Kagero stood to follow as well, Tana shook her head. The ninja tilted her head.
"Was it something I said?"
"Hey, wait up!" Fir called out. Nephenee had briskly walked through the main hall, just keeping in touch with the myrmidon. They both walked through the main entrance, back up the hill towards the greenhouse. Nephenee paused as she reached the door, staring at the key in her hand. Her helmet still obscured her face, preventing Fir from gaining any insight into her emotional state. Fir heard a heavy sigh before Nephenee opened the door and walked in. She followed close behind.
Hinoka and Tharja were already in the greenhouse, sitting amongst the overgrowth. Hinoka was carefully tending to her Hibiscus, sporting the bruises from her spar with Titania only an hour prior. Tharja was attempting to camouflage herself behind the ferns, but her muttering could be heard from the doorway. Her cactus was already twice as big as before, and it seemed to pulsate to her rhythmic voice. Fir made a note to keep avoiding Tharja. The myrmidon paused, looking at Nephenee. She had stopped in front of a selection of yellow tulips, and she began murmuring to them.
"Nephenee? Are you..." Fir tapped her shoulder. Nephenee shivered, before slowly turning her head.
Honestly, Fir expected worse. She had a deep frown, and her eyes reflected worry, but Fir had expected worse. "Ah, sorry, Fir," Nephenee answered. She sounded exhausted, more than she looked. She kept working on her tulips. "I just wanted ta work on my flowers before everyone else showed up."
Fir didn't press the issue, but she seriously doubted that statement. She moved to her orchid. Fir smiled; she had few memories of her mother, as she was sickly by the time Fir was old enough to really remember anything. She always remembered that she looked radiant in white; and that, despite her reputation as one of the demon swords, she was always soft-spoken and gentle with her daughter. Fir saw a droplet of water hit an orchid petal. She smiled reflexively. I suppose you never really get over it, she thought. She looked around for the fertilizer that Nephenee had given her last week. She had watered the orchid two days ago, and the soil was finally dry again, but she wanted to give the plant some needed food. As she lightly mixed in the fertilizer and prepared a water pail, she heard the others in the botany club walk in. Tana walked in with Nino, Kagero, and Clair in tow. The mage sat down next to the myrmidon, as Tana whispered something in Nephenee's ear. The duo walked to the back of the greenhouse.
"What's that about?" Fir asked Nino, already fairly certain she knew."
Nino frowned, "Something about 'clearing the air'," She crossed her arms, "I'm glad I'm not in love."
"Preaching to the choir."
Eirika and Elincia walked in and immediately moved to the back with Nephenee and Tana. Kagero was now working on her flower arrangement, occasionally asking Tharja for her opinions. Fir shivered involuntarily. Of course Tharja would like Kagero's art. Cordelia, Julia, and Donnel walked in, with Sanaki following them closely.
"- That's when Mari says, 'It's whom did you piss off?' I swear I ain't ever laughed that hard ever!"
"Knowing Maribelle, I imagine you met the end of her parasol for that one."
"Well, it was worth it."
"Oh, hiya, Tharja! How's that cactus?"
Tharja looked up from Kagero's flower arrangement, shadows covering half her sinister smile. "It's almost ready to harvest," she said sweetly, "Thank you for the newts you procured for me."
"Gosh, no trouble at all!" Donnel replied. Julia looked at the sorceress.
"What hex are you preparing?" she asked. Tharja's grin widened.
"Hee hee hee …" Fir could feel the room grow slightly colder. "It's a curse of good health for everyone in the castle." Nino and Fir looked at each other with a quizzical expression.
"Always helpin' everyone out, Tharja!" Donnel proclaimed, "Always happy to help ya!" The group passed by the seated duo, and Tharja moved back to her cactus. Fir sneezed, and noticed that the sorceress smiled.
"Hey Kagero!" Hinoka called out to the ninja, "Could you possibly help me out?" Kagero nodded, making her way towards the princess.
"What seems to be the problem, milady?" she asked, looking at her Hibiscus. The flower seemed fine, but Hinoka still looked extremely nervous.
"Well," Hinoka frowned before continuing, "Nephenee told me to water this every day when it was warm outside, but I've been watering it every day since it got cold." Kagero's face shifted slightly, which caused Hinoka to cringe. "Your face says I shouldn't do that, huh?" Kagero stuck a finger in the soil, and looked up at her.
"You shouldn't water it today," the ninja said, "Wait until the soil dries, or else you'll drown the plant."
"Yowch, that wouldn't be good."
"If you are growing this plant for Prince Leo, then yes, this would not be ideal." She looked the plant over. "You're lucky, though. The plant will be fine."
"Thanks, Kagero." When the ninja didn't leave, Hinoka turned to her. She saw the ninja, with an uncharacteristically nervous look on her face. "Uh … is everything okay?" Kagero leaned in, and shook her head.
"I'm having some trouble, but I don't feel comfortable explaining it here." She whispered, "Can we talk about it afterwards?" Hinoka nodded.
"I'm not the greatest person to talk to, but I'll listen and help."
Kagero nodded. "Thank you."
Nephenee hadn't spoken since Tana had taken her to the back. The princess was apologizing profusely, but Nephenee remained silent. It wasn't like she was mad at Tana, anyways. She was upset, but she wasn't sure why. She thought back to what Kagero said. She felt her chest tighten.
"Nephy, I shouldn't have pushed so hard," Tana continued, trying not to raise her voice, "We can stop our little wager, okay?" Nephenee hid her face from the princess.
"I dunno, I don't want ta end our wager," she answered, "I just … I feel tired, ya know? I think I'm gonna go take a rest." Nephenee started putting on her coat. "I ain't mad at you or nothin', Tana, I just got some things to think about." With a slump in her step, she walked out the door. Tana looked at Elincia and Eirika miserably, but said nothing more.
The rest of the club meeting was awkwardly silent, with just the intermittent mumbling of Tharja breaking the silence.
"Ahhh, yellow tulips," she muttered, "Maybe she should have chosen a different color."
West Hall: 4:00 pm
Tharja stalked the hallways, eyeing a nearby stairwell. She had been looking for Lute since lunchtime, but the mage had been aggravatingly absent. While moving about the castle, she felt a strong magical aura coming from this hallway. She looked from side to side, hoping to catch a glimpse of her maroon dress.
"Hiya, Tharja!" The obnoxiously positive voice of Nino echoed through the hall. "What're you doing?"
The dark mage smiled sweetly. "Hello, little Nino," she began, "I'm looking for Lute. Have you seen her?"
"No …" Nino looked around quickly, before looking back at Tharja, "But I bet I know where she is!" Tharja's smile widened.
"Why don't you show me?" Nino nodded quickly, before grabbing her hand and dragging her towards another set of stairs. Tharja groaned in irritation. She should've realized earlier that Lute would be here. As they passed through a small doorway into the large cylindrical room, they saw the mage, gritting her teeth. Lute's hair was unkempt, her eyes bloodshot, as she kept fiddling with Bridablik in the center of the room. While Tharja entered with her usual silence, Nino couldn't match, and Lute stared at the two with a look of confusion.
"I'm sorry, but no visitors at this hour." She mumbled, before turning her attention back to the divine weapon. Lute grumbled, placing another orb into Bridablik. Nino looked back at the pedestal. Unlike yesterday, there were no lights or bursts of air. After a few seconds, Lute cursed softly, before attempting to grab another orb. Tharja quickly intervened, touching the mage on the forehead. Lute's eyes rolled backwards, and she collapsed onto the floor. Tharja groaned audibly, and began to carry the mage out of the room.
"Finally, I thought she'd never leave." Clarisse was leaning casually against the doorway, staring down the now-sleeping Lute. Nino noticed that she didn't have an angry expression, so much as a pitying look. "She's been working at this since we left her room last night."
"So she hasn't slept yet," Tharja confirmed, "It would explain why my hex was so effective." She handed the mage to the archer, who grumbled in protest. "How many orbs did she use?"
"About 40."
"Heehee, that's got to sting. Kiran will be upset." Clarisse bristled at that, glaring at Tharja, "I'm guessing she didn't summon a single person?"
"No."
Nino spoke up. "That's weird, she managed to summon Delthea the other day." Clarisse shrugged.
"Sometimes weird stuff happens," she answered, dragging Lute behind her as she left the room, "I don't worry about it too much."
As the trio left the room, Lute in tow, Nino turned to Tharja. "Hey, I heard you mention that Nephenee should have grown different tulips," she asked, "Why?" Tharja attempted to look like her normal, scary self, but her face darkened in a different way.
"Well, Nino," she explained, "Yellow tulips are certainly pretty. Tulips usually represent love, much like other flowers and useless trinkets; but in my line of … work, yellow tulips have a bittersweet meaning to them."
"Which is?"
Tharja paused, looking down at the young mage. She affectionately ruffled her green hair, and began walking down the hallway. "It's hard to explain, little one." Nino pouted.
"I can't read good, but I'm not an idiot." she grumbled, following the sorceress into the lower levels of the castle. Clarisse turned, looking at the rapidly retreating mages, then at Lute, peacefully napping over her shoulders. She rolled her eyes.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with you?"
Basement: 4:30 pm
"I thought we were studying science tonight?" Leo asked, casually biting into a whole tomato. His collar seemed to be attempting to fold itself into a paper crane or other form of origami, which amused Nino and the others greatly. Even Tharja's sinister grin seemed a little lighter and perkier than before.
"Lute overworked herself the past two days, so I gave her a hex for a good night's rest." Was Tharja's simple response, before turning her attention to the rest of the group. "So today, instead of the planned lesson in science, let's talk about something I enjoy deeply." Her eyes began to glow a deep purple, and a chill entered the air. "Hexes." Nino heard Robin sigh, and Henry clapped his hands in delight.
"Hexes? Aren't those dangerous?" Micaiah asked. Tharja rolled her eyes.
"Any type of magic is dangerous," she retorted, "Hexes have a multitude of uses, and only some are … deadly."
Henry raised his hand eagerly, waving it about. "Are we doing death hexes today?" He asked, "We gotta do some death hexes!"
"Be quiet or you'll be receiving one for yourself." Tharja cleared her throat, and pulled out a jar filled with small black orbs. "These are eye of newt, one of the more common ingredients in your average hex." Julia raised her hand nervously. Tharja sighed. "... Yes?"
"Are those … real newt eyes?"
"No. Eye of Newt is a term for mustard seeds," Tharja replied, "The frog slime and dragon teeth are real, though."
" … What kind of hex are we preparing?" asked L'Arachel, looking slightly perturbed.
"Oh relax, it's nothing you goody-two-shoes can't handle," Tharja snapped, "It's a simple hex to keep your clothes warm in the cold weather. More utility than a fire spell, at the very least."
Henry frowned. "Aww, I wanted death hexes..." he whispered to Robin. The tactician patted his friend's back sympathetically.
"Oh Henry, sometimes you just don't get everything you want."
Lute felt extremely warm. Her eyes snapped open and darted from side to side. She was in her bed, wrapped up in a blanket that she was unfamiliar with. The blanket seemed to be emitting it's own heat, which initially worried the mage. That was when she noticed Sanaki, sitting at her desk, meticulously organizing her notes.
"You should put the notes on Askrian herbs with the fauna and flora primers," Lute said, "It'll be easier for me to get out later."
"So you can mess up your desk again?" The empress asked, "Forget it. I am taking these notes to get bound tomorrow, considering the immense amount of pages already here."
"342 pages of fauna, flora, magic, and notes on Bridablik." Lute proclaimed proudly. She opened her eyes and saw Sanaki staring her down.
"I noticed," She replied sharply, "Be glad you have friends like Tharja and I who are willing to help you when you refuse to help yourself."
Lute furrowed her brow. She vaguely remembered something happening before she fell asleep, but decided it wasn't that important. "Did you imbue this with fire magic?"
Sanaki puffed out her chest and smiled haughtily. "Ha! I used a warmth hex! For someone like me, it was no trouble!"
"So … five tries?"
"Seven attempts over two blankets." Sanaki quietly admitted.
Lute smiled. "This is a good gift," she replied, "I'll use it frequently."
"Well, of course you will! It's a gift from the apost-" Sanaki giggled, "I'm glad you like it."
"Ah, so you're up here."
Nephenee was sitting on the library balcony, holding her knees to her chest. Her helmet lay next to her, her aqua hair covering her face. She had come up here after lunch, figuring she had already embarrassed herself enough for the day.
"Yeah, Ahm here." She replied weakly. Nephenee was surprised at how bad she sounded. She had been crying for the first time in a long time, and she supposed it shouldn't be too shocking.
"You have been crying." It wasn't a question. Nephenee couldn't look up, though she knew who was talking to her. After a moment, she heard Kagero sit next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?" Nephenee shook her head.
"It's stupid," she replied, "I'm just overreactin'."
"You're not prone to overreaction," Kagero replied, "I'm willing to listen if you want."
Nephenee bit her lip. "I dunno how ta explain it. I just, ya know, we've gotten to be real good friends over the past few days..."
"Yes, this past week has been among my favorites."
"... Yeah," Nephenee squeezed herself tighter, "Me too." She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't think that I don't know about that wager Tana forced you into," Kagero's hand tightened, "I am … not pleased with her toying with your feelings like that." Nephenee finally looked at Kagero. The ninja's face was slightly contorted with anger. She took a deep breath, and loosened her grip. "My apologies, it is not your fault."
"Ya think I'm crying because of Tana?" She asked. Kagero shook her head.
"I know that you're … attracted to me," she admitted, her face growing a rare shade of red, "And I'm sorry that I have made you cry." Nephenee wiped her eyes, looking at the ninja. She smiled.
"Don't be, Ahm just bein' a numbskull," she replied, "I should've figured..." Kagero tightened her grip again.
"I'm sorry," Kagero said quietly, "I'm not exactly the type of person you deserve." Nephenee frowned, tilting her head. "You deserve somebody that can settle down, somebody from your own world, who is not … well … only good at killing." The spearwoman got up, and stared down Kagero.
"What're ya sayin'?" She asked, "Yer good at so many things!" She slapped Kagero's hand off her shoulder. "And how dare ya say who I deserve! Ah can't think straight when yer 'round! I've only known ya for a week, but I can't imagine never knowing ya! Yer so graceful and nice, and ..." She grew quieter, "Yer purty..." Kagero blushed again. "Ya don't have to accept how I feel, maybe it's jus' a passin' thang; but I need ta know how you feel!"
Kagero was silent for what felt like forever. She was staring through Nephenee, biting her lip out of nervousness. The ninja slowly put her hands in Nephenee's. "I'm … not used to affection," she admitted, "So I hope you are okay with that."
Nephenee smiled, "Gosh, even when yer embarrassed, yer rather beautiful."
Kagero snorted in surprise, "What happened to the embarrassed Nephenee I've grown fond of?" She asked playfully, moving the hair from Nephenee's face. She began blushing and stuttering in response. "There she is." The ninja continued.
"S-so," Nephenee began, "Should we tell Tana and Elin?" Kagero shook her head.
"I'm not done with Tana yet." Kagero said darkly. Despite her normally quick reflexes, she didn't react as Nephenee moved in. She felt a peck on her lips, and Kagero's mouth opened in shock. Nephenee smiled triumphantly.
"That's what I like 'bout ya." she said. She moved in to whisper in Kagero's ear. "And thassa point ta me." Nephenee picked up her helmet and skipped back into the room. Kagero shook her head and smiled to herself.
"What on earth am I going to tell Lord Ryoma?"
So the last review on here made me laugh, because that was exactly what I was thinking. Trust me when I say that things aren't quite what they seem with Lute and Bridablik.
Thank you all for reading, and reading through the last two chapters of mixed angst. And thank you for your patience! I hope you guys like this chapter as well.
As always, thank you so much for reading, commenting, questioning, and so on. I love reading all of them, even if I don't respond! I'm still not sure how the comment/review sitch works lol.
Thank you so much!