Lethe lay back against the ship's railing. Her eyes were half-closed, her irritated face was glazed over by the worst kind of boredom. The cat's lips and tail, twitched sporadically as the sailors' footfall echoed mildly in her ears. Ignoring her, and not getting too close, the sailors went about their work, both on deck, and in the flailing ropes above.
The laguz paid the workers' scuffling footsteps little attention, as she stared past the main mast, and the sailors that nested on the sails' branches. Her eyes rested on the clouds, yet she failed to ignore the sailors as they darted about the main mast's sails, but not like the birds did in Gallia's trees. Lethe sighed, exasperated, she had no hope of dwelling in memory here, it was too different..
And yet, she drew from the puffy white masses what she could, memories of her homeland, and the feelings they provoked. It was all she could do to drown out the boredom, and the nagging feeling in the back of her mind; that this endless waiting only made worse. Lethe stretched her stiff arms, and let out an annoyed growl.
It had been painfully hard for her to sit on the deck's flat surface for more than a couple hours, but true to her nature, she'd been miserably sprawled out on the railing for hours. She'd lost track of how long it had been. Just how many hours had ticked by as she'd tried, desperately, to daydream of the comfortably-bowed limbs of Gallia's trees? It all seemed so far away from her now, and ahead of her there was Beignon, and Daein...
Her discomfort was getting to her again, egging her on, telling her to move, the flat hardwood pressed not only against her flesh, but through it, exercising unpleasant pressure on the bone underneath. And while her butt had long gone numb, her tailbone cringed as she shifted her weight, and once again, she fell back against the railing.
The laguz took a deep breath, and let out a frustrated sigh as she began to tap the deck; playing out a droll tune with her fingertips. The influence of her simmering laguz blood, had grown increasingly unbearable as the days went by. Something needed to be done about it, she felt like she was losing her mind... but what could she do? Ask someone to fight with her? Even though she may lose her better sense, and claw out their throat?
With an annoyed groan Lethe looked down from the clouds; her fingers froze in place. There, on the other side of the deck stood a young woman, her hand nesting on the railing, her blood-red ponytail cutting gracefully, almost dancing in front of her rosy armor. Lethe's eyes narrowed as a wave of blood-lust rolled over her.
She tried to fight the sensation, and she was successful, to a degree. But, it had taken all she had to stop herself from attacking out right, and her eyes narrowed, affixing to the young Daein woman, a murderous glare. It happened slowly, but her rush of blood-lust began to fade, and when it did, thoughts of the beorcs' betrayal squirmed in her head. The Daein soldier was free, and she'd been left unaware, at risk.
Lethe caught a whiff of a familiar scent, and broke her glare, looking over to her right. It was Soren, he seemed less calm than usual, and he quickly made his way toward her. Lethe followed him with her narrowed eyes. Until he stopped, and knelt in front of her. Blocking her view of the Daein soldier, with his face. Her glare did not lose any of it's edge.
"What?" She asked, her tone unrepentantly unpleasant.
"I was hoping to get to you before you... met her..." The mage said, before subsequently mumbling something under his breath.
"Well, you failed." Lethe stated.
"Clearly." Soren affirmed.
"Whose idea was this? Was it yours? Or was it Ike's?" She asked, glaring at him.
Soren closed his eyes, and sighed. "It was my idea, and I stand by it. She may be useful."
Something in his demeanor triggered a violent response in her, and before she even knew what she was doing. Lethe had caught him by the neck of his robe, and pulled him upright, as she shot up from the ground herself.
"Hiss...! Her! Are we still so little to you?! Are we?!"
The mage looked startled, but said nothing in response, She had no idea what she should do, or even think. "Soren! You...!"
"You'd put us at risk, for! All for...!" The cat shouted at Soren as she tightened her grip on his robes.
"Lethe!" Mordecai saw them and hurried over.
"Lethe! Calm... be calm... Soren is not enemy. Leave him, do not hurt." Mordecai said, trying to get her to back down.
"Mordecai?! How...! How can you say that! They... they...!" Lethe ranted, angrily. She didn't even know what she was saying anymore.
"Lethe, there is more, more that you do not know, Soren is careful." The tiger put a hand on their shoulders and used his strength to push them apart.
He forced her to look at him. "I trust Soren. I trust Ike, we are safe."
Lethe let go of Soren's robe; She heard the mage hit the ground as she looked away. "..."
"Lethe..." Mordeicai murmured, trying to comfort her. The cat hissed at him under her breath.
"...To let myself loose control like this..." Lethe grumbled, clenching her fist.
"Lethe... it is hard for you, I know." Mordecai said. "It is ok, tell the beorc. They will understand."
Lethe gave the tiger laguz a hesitant look, before she hissed and walked away. Soren couldn't tell who she was more angry with, but it couldn't be clearer to him what she was angry about. Soren looked over at the wyvern rider. "Mordecai was behind this idea, but..." Soren sighed. He had his doubts.
Rising from the ground, Soren turned to Mordecai. "What were you talking to her about? Do you know why she's like this?" The mage asked.
"She left because... she is ashamed. The rest... have her tell you. It is better that way." Mordecai nodded to the mage, and walked over to where the young Daein woman was. The tiger was completely unlike Lethe, he was calm, and patient, a perfect juxtaposition for that stubbornly indoctrinated wyvern rider's ludicrous beliefs. Which, as before, made converting her seem plausible.
But as the mage watched the laguz leave, he scowled. Soren hadn't seen Lethe act like that for quite some time. Was she really so volatile? He'd begun to think otherwise, but... no, that was probably the wrong conclusion to draw from this. This was one instance of seemingly random volatility, too little to draw a conclusion on. He would give her the benefit of the doubt, but the reason for it. That, he wanted to know.
"Hm…?" Soren heard footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder.
As the mage turned around, he found himself greeted by Zihark. "Good day to you, Soren. I-"
"Oh, it's you." The mage muttered, recognizing the swordsman.
Zihark looked mildly annoyed. "…Am I really such a nuisance?"
"What do you want?" Soren asked, bluntly. His mind was preoccupied.
"I'm concerned… about Lethe, Mordecai too." Zihark stated.
"Why?" Soren asked, a wry smile tugging at the side of his mouth.
"It's that Daein wyvern rider, Jill..." He started.
As soon as the words rolled off the man's tongue. Soren knew his intention, and he had little patience for the moralizing apologist. "That, is not your concern."
"Think about Lethe-" Zihark started.
Soren cut the man off without thinking. "If there's one person on this ship who doesn't want to be coddled and fussed over, it's Lethe. She'd hit you if you tried."
"Yes, but...! You have no idea what it's like for them. Especially for those still trapped inside beorc nations." The swordsman pressed.
"I fail to see how the state of laguz trapped in Beignon, and possibly some parts of Crimea and Daein, has any bearing on Lethe or Mordecai." The mage stated.
"Argh, I suppose not, but... even so..." The swordsman protested.
"From what you have observed, has our mercenary company mistreated them in any way?" Soren asked, giving the swordsman a hard look. "You obviously feel guilty about the abuse suffered by laguz and want to see them treated particularly well. Maybe to compensate them, or perhaps to ease your own, more personal guilt? Regardless, I see no compelling reason to humor you."
"The... that's not. I..." Zihark faltered.
"What you, seem, to fail to grasp about this particular situation, is that Lethe and Mordecai are here because of an agreement between rulers." Soren couldn't help but scoff under his breath. "To say that they are in the same positions as slaves, and former slaves, is... simply ludicrous."
The swordsman closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I get it, and both of the laguz seem to trust you... I suppose that... I'll do the same."
He turned his back to the mage. "...Good day, Soren."
As the swordsman left, Soren expelled any lingering thoughts, and headed off to find Ike, his mind firmly focused on his current issue. If Lethe wasn't ready to talk to him, he'd do what he usually did, and consult Ike.
...
The flustered laguz paced around the ladies barracks, ignorant of Mia who was laying on a hammock in the back of The drab, creaking, old room, watching and listening. Lethe stopped and punched one of the many round beams that the hammocks hung from. Not hard enough to do any real damage to her hand, but as a way of expressing her anger, and despite her own wrongdoing. She couldn't help but feel betrayed.
Lethe realized that the beorc's situation was desperate, but just how desperate do you have to be to recruit a Daein racist who only just paused in her quest for your head, to "bleed the half-breed".
"Are she and Mordecai not worthy of more respect than that? Why would Soren expect her to fight alongside such a loathsome human, why would Ike even allow it?!." She thought, a hiss on her tongue. The words alone, and unspoken, made her blood boil. Her rage flared, and her lip curled. She hated this, doubting people she wanted to trust.
"It's not a slight, it's not because they don't care. Stop thinking that. I need to stop it...!" Lethe hissed, clenching her fist.
The anger would not go away, but was she not justified in her anger? Ike's actions had convinced her that he was someone she could trust. Soren had saved her life, risking his own in the process, that's not something you do without reason. He'd said it was because they couldn't afford to lose an asset. She'd thought that a lie, and after all of their interactions, she was even more certain of it. The mage was hard to read, but he must care about her on some level.
"If he must do this, why not tell me? Does he really trust me so little?!" She ranted under her breath. But, in truth, she knew the mage's reasoning all too well, in this particular instance, I was, in his eyes, a liability. I would feel the same way about trusting a raw recruit with an important mission. The cat threw herself on a nearby hammock, and sighed. In the end, Soren didn't think that she would be able to keep her composure, and intentionally withheld the information from her. The fact that Mordecai had done the same to her, made it hurt even worse…
...
Soren strode across the deck, his pace brisk as he headed for the stairs that led down into the ship. As he headed down, he grasped the stairway's smooth wooden handrail lightly with his left hand and descended the stairway's short, but steep grade; running his fingers down the rail's grain as he went. At the bottom of the stairway, he was once again engulfed by the vessel's all too familiar hallway. Over the last month, he'd grown somewhat used to the under ship's distinctive smell. A unique mixture of sea, and old wood, which gave the vessel an odd kind of "lived in" feel.
He was walking down the hall toward Ike's room, when he saw Lethe emerge from the ladies barracks, down the way. Catching sight of him, she headed in the opposite direction, likely to one of the ladders that led above deck. Soren shrugged off the encounter and kept his course. The mage walked up to the entrance of Ike's room, faced the door, and knocked. There was no response.
"Hello? Ike are you there?" He asked.
"...It would seem that you are not." The mage muttered, looking away from the door.
"Hm? What's up, Soren? You lookin' for Ike? Or is it Lethe this time? If you were lookin' for her, you're gonna' have to wait a bit. Didn't look like she's ready to surface again, if you know what I mean." Mia said, walking up on him.
"Did she say anything to you?" He asked.
"Nope, I heard her muttering things though, like you do sometimes. Couldn't quite make out what she was saying." The swordswoman stated. "I haven't known her that long, although, when she's broody it always seems to have something to do with you. Am I right, or am I right?"
"Regardless... I was looking for Ike." Soren stated.
"Uh-huh, haha." Mia laughed.
"What?" He asked.
"I'm sorry, it's just... you and Lethe are alike in the strangest ways." She said.
"What do you mean? I don't even..." Soren said.
"At first glance, you might seem completely different; you use your noggin', Lethe uses her good ol' instinct, different enough right? But when faced with a problem outside the battlefield, both of you brood over it like old hens stuck to their nests. How similar, right? You might even call it, what was the word...? Peculiar?"
"..." Soren paused, unsure of how he should respond to the swordswoman's casual assertion.
"In any case..." Mia stretched her arms. "See ya round. I'm goin' back above deck, I think I've spent enough time in the belly of the beast for today. Gotta stretch these limbs of mine."
"No swor-" Soren started.
She cut him short with a sigh. "I know."
Soren sighed as he watched her leave, the girl always exhausted him.
…
Mia had left earlier, the laguz hadn't even noticed the girl until she'd walked by her hammock. The cat's tail twitched at the thought of the young swordswoman watching her as she worked her way through her tangled thoughts. Mia stuck her nose into everything, she never talked about the things she uncovered... but, it had never sat well with Lethe.
The cat clenched her fist, and rolled out of the hammock, landing smoothly on her feet. "Enough of this delaying. I'll accept the shame, and face my punishment as any loyal Gallian soldier would. I have a standard to maintain." Lethe thought to herself as she left the barracks.
The laguz stretched her neck, arms, and back, as she walked down the hallway, toward the stairs. She'd only just popped her neck when she saw Zihark leaning against the wall, to her right. Must have been waiting for her, she had nothing against him, but his needless and constant concern for her was annoying.
"Lethe! There you are. I heard about what happened are you-" The swordsman started.
"I'm over that, beorc, re-open the wound... and I'll hit you." Lethe growled. "I'm having enough trouble keeping myself under control as it is."
"I...! Is-" Zihark started.
"You know nothing, and my problems are mine. I will solve them myself." Lethe stated, he tone was hard, and harsh. It left the swordsman with nothing to say, as she walked past him to the stairs, and ascended to the deck.
A quick scan was all she needed to locate Soren, and... there he was. the mage stood by the railing near where she'd grabbed him earlier. Lethe looked at him, she'd really messed up. Being left in this position always hurt her pride, and yet... she sighed. At least Ranulf wasn't here, he always made a habit of pouring salt in her wounded pride, hassling her about her impulsiveness and lack of self control. Both of which, had been at play here in this little... mess, she'd made. She felt that Soren, and whoever else had been involved in letting the Daein out, without informing her of it, had wronged her; but she was responsible for her actions. If she had behaved that way in the Gallian military, she would have been disciplined for her actions. That's what she was expecting.
Lethe stepped forward to meet with her punishment, and soon she stood in front of Soren, her head and eyes slanted to the left. Unable to meet his gaze with her own, she stood there, silently, for what felt like minutes. Soren said nothing, he was probably waiting for her to initiate the conversation. So she did.
"I'm s-sorry for attacking you like I did... it's just that when I get like that, it's..." She said it, but she still couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze.
"You're being too vague. Tell me why." The mage said, blunt as he usually was, but his tone was not hostile. That was good, at least.
"It's our urge, our... instinct to fight, hunt... use our claws. It's difficult to explain..." She said, trying to explain something that her people called, "not being right in the head."
"Bah! No, that does not matter, the failure is mine. I will own it." Lethe stated, finally. She was still unable to look him in the eye. He'd saved her life, and she'd turned on him because...
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. Not entirely, but that can come later."
"...How can you understand those pitiful ramblings? I don't even know what I was trying to tell you..." Lethe muttered, looking at the ground. "I have misbehaved, as my... superior, I will accept whatever punishment you find appropriate."
"If this incident was caused, even only in part, by a kind of... pent up need to fight, or to hunt... would having a sparring match help this... stress, of yours?" Soren asked. "It's not hunting, but..."
"That... it would help... but I'm not sure it's a good idea... Look at what I've already done..." She said.
"I'm more concerned about sending you out onto the battlefield like this." Soren said, to her surprise. "You're already reckless enough."
"You think there aren't beorc who carelessly throw themselves into battle? With little or no regard for their lives? Ashnard is an infamous example of this, but for every warrior like Ashnard, there are thousands of people who die because of their carelessness and blood lust." Soren stated, coolly. "Behaving that way on the battlefield will get you killed. It's nearly killed you once already. And I- Well, let's just say that... you wouldn't be much of an asset to us then, would you?"
"Ranulf says things like that too..." She muttered.
The mage sighed. "It sounds like you should listen to Ranulf..."
"Who are you going to have me fight?" Lethe asked, kind of excited, she knew the mercenaries were more formidable than most of the beroc she'd fought.
"Titania." Soren said.
"Ah, her... the vice commander..." The cat recalled.
Soren nodded. "She is the strongest and most experienced soldier among us, she's even sparred with laguz before. And... I think that a few rounds with her will be punishment enough. Two birds, as they say."
…
The match hadn't taken long to arrange, Titania had been willing, surprisingly so, and Ike was always willing to do anything he could to help his allies. Relaxing the rules is not something mercenaries are are against doing, if it will be a benefit the group. Judging by the number of people in attendance, boredom was rampant, this would be good for morale, if nothing else.
With his cool gaze, he watched them square off. The match was soon to start, but it wasn't what was on his mind. That place, was occupied by thoughts of Lethe, and laguz. It had been arrogant of him to believe that what he knew of laguz, was all he needed to know, and arrogance, was an easy trait to exploit.
Laguz are formidable, but many, such as the beasts of Gallia, have taken to arrogance. Perhaps, laguz once took pride in their natural talents, in order to soothe the pain from their former lives as slaves, and grant themselves a measure of dignity? He'd had not spoken with Ranulf much, but the cat had seemed intelligent, insightful, even by beorc standards. Certainly, he had seen this glaring weakness. Whereas, he had taken his own bias as truth, and if he had faced a laguz like Ranulf on the battlefield back then, it would have cost him.
Lethe adopted her animal form, and began to circle to the paladin's left side. Her head low, her strong legs ready to send her forward, as she slid her paws over the deck, watching her beorc opponent with sharp, attentive eyes. Impatiently waiting for her opponent to make a move. The Paladin stood firm, moving only to necessarily shift her stance, as she followed her laguz opponent with the calm experienced eyes, only a veteran soldier could possess.
Watching half minded, Soren thought about Lethe's reaction to his decision. The truth of the matter, is that his bias had led him to think of Laguz as impulsive, foolish and short-sighted, and Lethe fit into this mold too well. So he treated her like he would have any other person he would deem to be impulsive, foolish and short-sighted. Yet, he didn't consider traits he knew she had, because of his bias. She was loyal, disciplined, and resourceful, easily enough to counterbalance her more typical, inherited traits. And yet, somehow her reaction had seemed nearly as bad as it had been when he'd met her for the first time, and insulted her, at that fort on the Gallian border. Clearly, there was something that triggered this kind of behavior. He'd seen it in Mordecai as well, back at the fort on Gallia's border.
And while Lethe was ultimately responsible for her behavior, something she recognizes herself. He was ready to admit that the judgment he'd made, stemming from his lack of faith in her had caused this to end poorly. Because for better or worse, Lethe had bonded more with him and Ike, than anyone else here and to have them both withhold information on someone she considered an enemy from her... It's not a surprise that she would feel deeply betrayed, and though the stress she'd professed to have, was an unanticipated factor, it only helped to explain the reason why she acted as she did.
Soren tried to end his thoughts on the matter there, but one thought ate at him as he stared blankly at the pair of warriors. Just what repercussions did his decision, have on his relationship with Lethe. If she saw it as a betrayal warranting such a response, there couldn't be none. When she'd grabbed him by the hem of his robe and looked at him the way she did... He couldn't quite articulate the feeling to himself, was it fear? Guilt? Did he also feel... betrayed? Some combination of the three? The thought hit a dead end, and he didn't really feel like talking about it with Ike. Leaving him with no choice but to wait and see, because he had no idea how to go about apologizing, or even what he should apologize for.
Titania eyed Lethe expectantly, waiting for her laguz opponent to come at her again. The paladin opened her stance briefly in an obvious feint, and Lethe pounced forward taking a swipe at the knight. Titania moved smoothly to the side, stepped in, and struck Lethe in the face with her gauntlet. Soren saw the fighter sitting next to him cringe. The laguz retreated quickly enough to unwittingly avoid the paladin's follow up with her wooden axe. Lethe shook her head, still reeling from the solid hit, but Titania didn't press her advantage, instead choosing to wait for the laguz to recover.
"Man, this brings back some painful memories..." Boyd mumbled, shaking his head.
"Oh yeah? Did'ya go through somethin' similar, Boyd?" Mia asked.
"She taught me how to use an axe... I went through this kind of thing a lot, actually." The fighter admitted.
Mia looked back to Titania. "Really? Well, the vice commander sure is strong, almost makes me want to learn how to use an axe... but, I'm a sword girl through and through. Not gonna change."
After taking that solid hit, Lethe became more judicious. As she analyzed her opponent, in the same way she would study the movements of her laguz brothers and sisters, Lethe began to see through the axe woman's feints, even use them to set up an exchange on her terms. Which is why it became more and more frustrating, that her claws, still failed to reach beyond the paladin's rock-solid guard.
Titania started to smile a bit, clearly pleased with something, and she began to push back, Lethe reacted by trying to hold her ground. Titania's response to this was a wooden axe blade leveled at her right foreleg. The laguz leaped back in response, yielding ground.
"Try to hold your ground, and my axe knows where you're going to be, Lethe. You have speed and dexterity, make use of it." Titania said, striking her shield with her armored gauntlet. "I'm not the kind of opponent an agile laguz like you should try to fight head-to-head."
The axe woman had been fighting her defensively, counterattacking, as her only means of striking back. Now that Titania moved against her, she felt uncertain. Her opponent was nimble like a human halberder, but much more dangerous up close, and she had to admit, the woman's individual skill was considerable. Easily the strongest beorc she'd ever fought, but she wouldn't allow herself to lose. Lethe's posture showed no intention of backing off, or giving ground as she prowled about the paladin, her sharp eyes set on her opponent, her muscles flexed and pensive.
Her practice axe at the ready, Titania eyed her opponent, a slight frown present on her face. "Lethe. I've seen you fight. Trying to fight me like this... you're only limiting yourself."
With a growl, Lethe charged. Coming in low, she took a swipe at Titania's ankle. The paladin stepped back and with an amused grin, descended on Lethe from above, pinning the cat to the deck. As Titania regained her feet, she grabbed the laguz's left foreleg, and threw Lethe over her armored shoulder, sending the unfortunate laguz barreling toward the ship's deck.
Lethe struck the deck, hissing and clawing the hardwood as she slid violently backward on her side. When she'd risen from the deck, the cat prowled restively about the paladin, eager in her aggravation, but overly tense and expectant. It stung her pride to admit it, but this beorc... she was strong. Lethe eyed her opponent, a low growl echoing in the back of her throat. A worthy foe stood in front of her, but... could she win? The realization that she might not, made her feel restless, and hesitant.
As the fight went on, Lethe began to try and feint the paladin into attacking, so she could try her luck with a counter attack. The paladin only smiled, making it clear that her opponent knew what she was trying to do.
"You're much more timid than I thought, Lethe." The paladin slung her wooden axe over her shoulder. "Well, if you're not coming after me anymore..."
The cat watched the beorc advance on her, the experienced knight's long red braid bouncing off her armor. This was the first time that Titania had fully gone on the offensive. Deciding to take the paladin's earlier advise, Lethe resolved herself to better utilize her speed and dexterity. As she countered the paladin's attacks she began to realize that her opponent's shield was functionally a blind spot, because she could not strike through her shield. The plan that formed In her mind was simple, as though the solution was obvious.
Using the paladin's shield to unbalance her, Lethe used her far superior agility to come at the paladin from behind. The laguz leaped, and as soon as her hind legs sent her into the air, her instincts screamed at her. The paladin seemed to disappear, and she felt a mighty blow strike her. One fragmented thought, her next move, echoed in her head as she struck the deck. A splitting pain emanating from her ribs, she saw her human hand, and confusion, gave way to the biting realization that she'd lost. Another wave of intense pain hit her as she was forcefully rolled onto her back, and saw a tuft of light brown hair as her eyes fuzzed over to a blackness that enveloped the blue sky above.
...
The creaky melody of swaying hammocks welcomed Lethe back to consciousness, as she breathed in the musty air of the old barracks, where she'd been sleeping. She instinctively grabbed at her ribs, the pain was gone, there was no sign of her injury and she fell back in the hammock. Beorc healing magic was frightful, in an amazing and good way, but it's ability to undo trauma unnerved her. She remembered the sharp pain, and blacking out, but nothing remained. There was no physical reminder of her injury; it felt as though she had just awoken from a bad dream.
"Maybe that's all it was..." She muttered to herself with a wry smile, fully convinced that what had happened, had been no dream. She looked around, none of the other girls were there. That was odd, there was almost always someone else in the barracks, typically Mia or Nephenee, With a sigh, Lethe descended to the floor and threw her arms out, stretching her muscles.
"Arrrrrah... let's see what the beorc are up to." Lethe muttered, heading for the door. As she climbed the nearest ladder to the deck, she heard voices. "We shouldn't be surprised that she knows about Princess Elincia, right?"
"No, but it's extremely unusual for Begnion to send an envoy to meet a princess whom they do not even acknowledge." A different voice interjected, she recognized it as Soren's. and threw the trapdoor aside as she climbed up onto the deck.
"What do you mean?" Ike asked.
"It is a complicated matter. You see, the envoy is essentially an extension of the empress herself. Both Crimea and Daein were once part of Begnion. Both nations have only recently splintered from the theocracy. I can't fathom why the empress would extend the courtesy of an envoy to a nation she must consider somewhat beneath her. She must be planning to use us for something." Soren explained.
Lethe walked up to the gathering as the mage offered up his thoughts on what was apparently the matter at hand, Schemes, something, something else, beorc nobles. The most cowardly beorc, as she'd always thought of them.
"Beneath her? That is somewhat harsh, don't you think?" Nasir asked, scowling at the sage. "You say that she plans to use us? What do you mean?"
"It's harsh, perhaps, but true. Clothing it in sweet words will not hide its bitterness, will it?" Soren countered, eying the captain. "As for what she wants from us... I could only speculate. All I know, is that her actions are unusual, and initiated by her. She is leading us to her, and that means that she has a use for us."
"Soren, even I would question the tactfulness of the words you're speaking." Ike glanced over at Elincia. "And from what I saw of her, you're lucky that the apostle's envoy didn't hear you say that..."
There those beorc go again with their "politeness" and "tact", opinion and truth are not hostile. You have to choose to take offense. Foolish beorc, always challenging the lies they've let grow.
"Then... I will try to be more diplomatic." The mage said, looking away from Nasir.
"Ike, Nasir. You've no need to scold Soren. His words are just that. They do me no harm. I cannot speak for the apostle or her envoy, but that is how I feel. There is no need for any of you to suppress your opinions." Elincia said.
Lethe smiled a bit, it seemed her king had a good eye for beorc. She'd been told that Crimea's rulers were not so bad, for beorc anyway. Perhaps she would actually find something to fight for here. Fighting to not have Daein at her doorstep was a good enough reason to fight, but ultimately a hollow one.
Nasir gave the mage a hard look. "I'm glad to hear that Princess, but really, he should mind his manners."
Soren's head tilted down slightly as he suppressed a bitter look, that was obscured by his black hair. "As I said,...I will be more mindful in the future."
"Deciding how we ought to treat with this envoy is a more pressing issue. Princess, will you meet her, and hear her message?" Ike asked the princess.
"I believe I must. We gain nothing, if I refuse to see her. Let us meet with the Apostle's envoy." Elincia replied, walking toward the pegasus knight waiting on the aft deck.
Lethe approached Soren, who simply stood there, holding his head with his hand. As the others walked away.
"That went well." She commented.
"It might have, if I was trying to get myself drawn and quartered." He replied, wryly.
"Drawn and quartered? What's that?" Lethe asked.
"Something unpleasant." The mage stated.
"Right..." Lethe gave him a questioning look. "You know that this is nothing to be upset about, right?"
"What do you know? You're not beorc, and I've made a fool of myself." The mage said, bemoaning his actions.
"I don't think you sounded foolish, at all." Lethe stated. Soren began to walk away from her.
"Hey, where are you going?" Lethe asked.
"I don't feel like being consoled by you." The mage stated, bitterly.
Lethe sighed. "Fine then, see it that way."
Soren was just too stubborn, he'd let the negative opinions of others get to him. But her honest opinion was some kind of consolation? She didn't form her opinions so people would like her more. In fact, her outspoken nature had ruffled and risen more than a few hairs. Her thoughts drifted back to Gallia, again. "I wonder how my sister is doing." Lethe murmured.
"Lethe, have you seen Soren?" Dragged away from her thoughts, Lethe turned to the voice. "Hm? Ike...? What are you doing here?" "
"I thought you were with the nobles?" Lethe asked.
"I was, but it seems that something has gone... awry. As Soren would say." Ike started to look around. "Where did he go?"
Lethe gestured to the mage with a jerk of her head. "Over there by the railing, he's in a mood because of what Nasir said. Made some little comment about drawing and quartering. I don't know what that is."
"Well, he'll need to get over that. We've got trouble." Ike turned toward the mage. "Soren!"
A good look at the ships was all it took for Lethe to reach her conclusion, raven pirates. Their king was a crafty one, they usually picked fights they could win. You'd think that the mere sight of pegasus knights would be enough to scare them off. "Think this problem has something to do with the ravens around their ships?" She asked, rhetorically.
"About that, the apostle's emissary said, their "ship" not ships." Ike informed.
"Maybe she misspoke? I can't imagine that the ravens would ally themselves with hu-beorc, beorc pirates." She spoke, sounding sure of herself. Even as she strained her eyes to see if she was wrong.
"Who can say? But, their ship is imperiled, regardless of what we think." Soren interjected.
"Indeed, and we aren't going to stand on the sidelines, are we?" Titania stated, axe slung over her shoulder.
Lethe jumped a little. "Where did you come from?"
Titania smiled. "I saw the apostles envoy off with the princess, and then, I followed our commander over here. We'll never get a better opportunity to discuss our next move."
"There is nothing to discuss, this is far too good an opportunity to pass up." Soren stated. "For once we seem to agree implicitly, allow us to intervene, Ike."
"It's not like you to want to help someone, Soren." Ike said.
"Helping people carries its own unique set of benefits, and this is a great opportunity to put the empress in our debt. We'd be fools to pass that up, wouldn't we?" The mage explained.
"I should have known you'd have an angle." Ike said, turning to the paladin standing next to him. "What do you want to do, Titania?"
"Well, I don't approve of Soren's motivations. But he does read me like a book sometimes, as he suggested. I do think we should help them" The paladin said.
"Then that's what we'll do." Ike said, turning around. "I'll tell the princess what we've decided, and I'll leave the final decision to her. But I know what she'll say, so get everyone ready to fight. Oh, and Titania have Nasir begin to close on the ships"
"Right away." Titania affirmed, running off.
"Ike… wait a moment." Soren said.
"Hm? What is it?" Ike asked, giving the mage his full attention.
"About earlier…" Soren started.
"Oh, that… don't worry about it. Elincia wasn't insulted so… it's fine. What's important right now is getting everyone ready to fight, right?" Ike reminded his staff officer.
"Yes, of course. I'll help Titania and tend to the preparations." The mage walked off, leaving the young commander. Instead of going off to inform Elincia of their decision, Ike looked at her.
"What?" She asked. "You waiting for something?"
"Are you feeling alright?" Ike asked. His tone was firm, as if he were demanding an honest answer, and she gave him one.
"I feel fine." She stated.
"Are you sure?" Ike asked, again. "I don't want to tell Ranulf that you got killed because I let you fight after you'd been injured."
"When I woke up, it felt like I had a bad dream. I remembered getting hurt, but nothing was wrong. I felt normal."
Ike smiled. "If you're sure."
Lethe nodded. "I am."
"That's that, then. Assemble with the others." Ike said, leaving her with an order.
Author's Note: Truth be told, I wanted to do this as one whole chapter of twice this length... but I feel bad about making you wait all this time for a new chapter and this is all ready to go. So, I'm going to split it. The other half is just as large, and is taking a ton of time because of all the action! I LOVE ACTION, BUT IT IS SO HARD TO WRITE. Also, I'm busy I'm remodeling my room and working a full time job, with some school on the side. So updates are going to be sporadic, at best. But, I do plan to eventually finish this story. I don't know how long it will take, but I will do it.
Kolimanien: Sorry, if there were any errors, I really tried to get them all.