Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening nor any of the canon characters from there. As for any original characters that may show up, any resemblance they may have to others is highly likely coincidental. If not and they happen to reference some other character or fandom on purpose or by accident, I don't own that either! (Also don't own the summary quote, which is from InuYasha.)
Other Notes: No longer being posting to my tumblr, but Chapters 1-9 are still there. Anywhere else and it isn't me.
Also, I apologize for the late update. My mother died a short while after posting the last chapter and I've been a little busy getting my life back in order. Touching this story took a while because of Eve's similar circumstances, and it hit a little too close to home.
Also-also, note that this timeline takes place perhaps several weeks earlier than the game's timeline. In the original, Robin was found in a field close to the southern town after Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick are down there for an expedition (according to the official comic, which I saw at serenesforest). Given that they walk everywhere, it could take days to even weeks depending on their destination. Given that, in this story's timeline, the trio finds Eve moderately close to Ylisstol, only a few hours or so out, and returned before they could really make the journey, instead sending Phila's knights to take watch and report back instead.
The Wings of Goodbye
Chapter Ten
When they arrived at the Shepherds' garrison, Lissa had only enough time to proudly announce it to Eve before a vision of pink and blonde just about materialized before the princess.
"Lissa!" the woman called, all curls and lace with a parasol clutched between pristine, gloved hands as she looked Lissa over. "Darling! I'd heard of your early return and could scarcely stand the wait! Whatever happened? Did you run into bandits? Are you hurt? Because I swear if they harmed one hair on your head, I will positively…!"
"Maribelle!" Lissa cried, hands reaching out to placate the other blonde, resting on her shoulders. "Maribelle, I'm fine! We didn't run into any trouble. Promise!"
"Are you certain?" Maribelle pressed, giving the younger woman another critical once over.
"Maribelle. I'm fine. Honest." When she could be sure her friend—for Eve surmised they could not be anything but friends to incite that level of worry—would not spring forward again, Lissa stepped back and gestured to Eve. "We didn't find trouble, but we found Eve! She's our latest recruit! Er, sort of."
Maribelle gave her a small glance that could only count as dismissive, but others in the area that heard Lissa's words moved curiously closer.
"'Sort of'?" one man asked, amused. The look of his green armor, heavy enough to provide decent protection but light enough for mobility, told Eve that he was likely a part of a cavalry unit. He smiled when she caught his eye. "Nice to meet you, Eve. The name's Stahl."
"Likewise," she said, bowing her head.
He returned it in kind as Lissa nodded. "Yep! This is Eve. Chrom invited her to join, though it's not completely official yet," the princess explained, seeming to take great pleasure in doing so. "She's a traveler, see, so he said to give being with the Shepherds a try before deciding if she wanted to just continue traveling instead." Eve found herself subject to an impish smile at this. "I really think you'll like it here, though!"
The Grima avatar only smiled politely in return, saying nothing to confirm or deny. A part of her still wanted very dearly to leave with Kyanos and grieve alone, dedicating her life to the anonymity her mother had worked so hard to cultivate for her. Joining Prince Chrom's Shepherds would be rather counterintuitive, risking the chance of gathering attention with every action they made. However, another, smaller, part of her deep down whispered that it would be okay—just this once—to try.
"Say, you the owner of that pegasus with the black coat, by any chance?" a gruff-sounding woman inquired during the lull in conversation. She strode forward from somewhere behind Stahl, as if to emphasize the similarity between them. But while his armor was green, hers was a bright red to match her short and fiery hair.
Blinking, Eve nodded, though she denied outright ownership in favor of saying, "Kyanos is my partner, yes."
"Kyanos, huh?" The woman looked more accepting at her words, as if pleased. "Nice name. And nice to meet you, too. I'm Sully."
Before Eve could say anything in response, a somewhat timid voice spoke up from the side. "E-Excuse me, did you say that you were with the pegasus that was in the stables?"
Vaguely, Eve wondered just how many people were around as she turned to face the light-haired brunette. Her armor and hairstyle indicated some level of wealth, and there was a certain air of delicacy surrounding her that led Eve to the conclusion of a somewhat sheltered member of nobility. Her hesitant and almost naïve manner, however, was refreshing in comparison to the haughty types she had seen over her travels. "Yes. I am Eve, and my partner's name is Kyanos, Miss…?"
The other girl seemed stunned when she replied, as if she had not expected to receive one. "…Oh! Sumia! My name is Sumia. I just wanted to tell you that your Kyanos is absolutely beautiful. I've never seen a pegasus with a coat so dark!"
Sully chuckled. "Sumia here is a pegasus knight herself, you see," she explained at Eve's questioning look.
"Barely," Sumia added in a miserable tone. "I had the training and everything, but I'm really not very good… I don't have the experience in battle like the other Shepherds. I'm the very definition of greenhorn."
Eve wondered at the self-loathing evident in the pink-armored girl's voice. If she did not have experience and was a "greenhorn", as she put it, then it was simply a matter of getting experience. Everyone started somewhere, after all. No doubt, everyone in the room had been in her position at one point in time.
Still, it was not her place to say anything. Even if she had thought of something to say, Eve was thoroughly distracted when Lissa came bounding up, Maribelle hovering behind her in a protective manner. "Oh, good! You met Sumia! I was really looking forward to introducing you two since you're both pegasus knights in the Shepherds instead of under Phila's command." The princess linked her hands behind her back, rocking to and fro on her feet. "I thought you two might get along that way since it's something in common, y'know? And who knows? You might learn something from each other!"
Sumia sputtered, turning red as she waved her hands in front of her. "L-Learn something from m-me? Oh no, there's no way—"
"Hey, now, don't be like that," Sully interjected. "Everyone can learn something from others."
Maribelle sniffed. "Indeed. At least, that is my hope. Somehow, I will impart some manners into our more… uncouth members."
"Uh, Maribelle, I think we meant more along the lines of things 'in battle'…" Lissa said.
"Then I shall teach them finesse and elegance while beating our enemies to the ground!"
Sully laughed along with Lissa while Sumia stammered her way through the conversation. And what a strange conversation it was, Eve noted, mentally logging down as the subject switched from elegant battle styles to riding, which all of them were familiar with. Out of the five, only Lissa was without her own war horse or war pegasus, though she did have riding lessons on account of being royalty. From there, it became a conversation about their individual steeds, which Eve was drawn into as the other women pressed curious questions about Kyanos.
It was, perhaps, the most talking she had ever done with anyone. But she could not find it in herself to be troubled. If anything, it was pleasant.
Perhaps this was a bit of what her counterpart had felt in her own life, surrounded by the people she loved?
Settling in with the rest of the Shepherds was not as hard as Eve believed it would be. The women seemed to take to her well after "breaking the ice" and getting her to talk about her pegasus. The only one that seemed distant of their current numbers was Miriel, though Eve suspected that was more due to Miriel's preference for solitude rather than any fault of hers. Still, she was glad that, for the most part, the Shepherds welcomed her. A few were noticeably wary after learning of her origins, but she could not fault them for that. They were soldiers, after all. If they weren't at least a little suspicious of her in the beginning, she would be more worried.
Out of the Shepherds, however, the one to most quickly attach herself to Eve was, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly?), Sumia. The inexperienced pegasus knight seemed to take to her like a duckling, eager to soak in information as Eve wandered about the barracks. She had been reluctant at first, watching curiously from afar especially when Eve wandered to the stables to attend to Kyanos, but was shyly pleased when Eve invited her to walk by her side.
"I don't want to bother you…" Sumia began, but paused, uncertain, when Eve shook her head.
It was a bit lonely, being in such a new place with so many strangers about. Eve could admit that. But she would not say anything so self-pitying aloud. It was not her way. So she said only, "You won't. It's… nice, having someone to talk to."
She supposed there was something self-pitying in that statement regardless, for Sumia had given her a strangely assessing look. But she said nothing and simply nodded before chatting away. Whether it was about horses or pegasi, or fighting or life as a nobleman's daughter, Sumia spoke and chased Eve's loneliness away. It was a much different atmosphere than speaking with her mother, but she took comfort in it nonetheless. And she was grateful, too, for the conversations helped take her mind away from the painful recent events that would have plagued her otherwise.
The days passed slowly in this way as Eve acclimated herself to the Shepherds and the Shepherds to her. They still had a long way to go before they were completely at ease with her as they were with one another, but she expected as much should she decide to stay with them. And though she was still a bit hesitant about declaring herself a full Shepherd, she found herself leaning more and more towards that decision every day.
Shaking these thoughts from her mind, Eve decided that she would do more than simply wander around, waiting for some epiphany to strike her and formalize her decision. Whether she stayed or not, she owed these people, owed the royal family especially, for their kindness and hospitality. So she would repay them in the ways that she knew how.
"Sumia," Eve beckoned after the morning meal was finished.
The brunette immediately looked up at her name before smiling and waving in Eve's direction as she approached. "Yes, Eve?"
"Find your lance," Eve said, watching with some tendril of amusement as Sumia froze. The barest of smiles lifted the corners of her lips. "I want to train with you."
"Um, Eve…? I-I don't think this is a good idea…" Sumia called from the other side of the training field as she stood beside her white pegasus mare.
"It will be fine," Eve reassured her as she finished saddling Kyanos. His wing's minor injury was healed and she knew it was time to check how it was in flight. She knew he could fly alone without the extra weight after letting him loose to exercise the other day, but she wanted to test if he were battle-ready once more. From what she heard, Chrom sometimes had the Shepherds go on expeditions through Ylisse to observe the country's affairs for himself, so it would not do if they were unprepared.
When Sumia did not respond, Eve looked up to find her still fidgeting beside her pegasus. Patting Kyanos's neck, Eve led him over to the two before looking over Sumia's partner. What she saw pleased her and she was sure to let Sumia know aloud.
"She's strong," Eve commented as she patted the mare's neck. "My mother had a pegasus like her. I can feel that they are similar." At Sumia's questioning stare, she inclined her head to the pegasus. "Ilyas is—was—loyal and brave. My mother trusted him with her life and beyond, and so did I." She gave a sad smile as she turned to the mare again, petting her neck. "Trust in her. I'm certain she won't let you fall."
There was a brief silence as Sumia took in her words. Then, with a determined nod, Sumia said, "I-I'll do my best!"
"Good." Stepping back, Eve returned to Kyanos's side and mounted, gesturing for Sumia to do the same. Once they were both ready, Eve had Kyanos turn and walk to put space between them to accommodate their wingspans. "We'll work on some aerial maneuvers first and then continue from there."
"Okay!"
Although Eve could not boast of being a genius soldier able to whip any of them into shape given time and a prayer, she would do what she could to ensure that Chrom's troops were ready for his orders. That way, even if she decided to leave them in the end, she could at least say she gave them a parting gift that would continue helping them in the long run.
If they survived, anyway.
Training with Sumia was pleasant. Eve used it to refresh herself on the basics (and not-so basics) by running them alongside her with Kyanos.
Then training with Sumia became training with Sully and Stahl when the two knights, having observed from afar, decided that the moves the pegasus knights pulled could be translated easily to their horses.
Which then became training with Sumia, Sully, Stahl, Maribelle, and Lissa when the two resident healers decided to keep themselves in form by healing the others whenever they took a bad spill.
Then Vaike showed up, never one to be left out of training and becoming stronger, which brought Chrom in as his resident training buddy, which attracted the attention of Ricken, who brought Miriel in somehow… and, needless to say, the Shepherds' training fields were a lot more crowded than before. Eve had watched this occur with no little trepidation and found that she was not the only one. A certain wary knight captain was always looking over them with a critical eye, and she would be lying if she said she did not feel his gaze burning into her shoulders most of all.
"How lively…" Eve murmured as she shook the thoughts of Frederick's close scrutiny out of her mind for now. "One has to wonder how anything gets done when you're all together like this."
Lissa laughed. "We normally don't train together—at least not all at once. It's usually more of an individual thing. But, I guess, we all just got sucked in."
In the background, Eve heard Vaike crow out something involved a "free for all" and sent a vaguely concerned look in his general direction. The prince was there, looking rather exasperated. Young Ricken looked intimidated while Stahl was giving one of his easy laughs. They were then nearly mowed over by Sully, who laughed and teased them about not starting something they could not finish.
Then Maribelle went stomping over, prim voice raised just enough to express her displeasure at everyone acting like buffoons and warning them to keep still or she would be pressed to maim rather than heal them. They scattered regardless, much to her unending frustration.
"I think it's nice!" Sumia chirped. "It's not often that we're all together like this. I think some group bonding is definitely good."
At those words, Eve had to wonder whether it was truly an army Chrom had rather than a group of misfit friends banding together.
She never would get her answer, in the end.