Central Valm

The Mila Tree

Morning

Morgan hadn't thought it was possible for her wings to ache, but ache they did as she recklessly threw herself higher into the air with every pumping motion she made. She wasn't sure how high she had climbed, though she was rather certain she'd never attempted to gain such altitude by power alone before. Even with those things, the half-blooded manakete refused to let the gigantic tree beat her, and gnashing her fangs together in irritation, she pushed herself harder than ever to gain the top.

She could see the swirling branches not too far above her now, almost waving to her in the wind, and every single scale on her dragon's body was screaming for relief. She had paced herself relatively well when she had started, using the branches as springboards to lighten the load on her wings every so often, but there seemed to be no end to the Mila Tree's gigantic height. If she hadn't known it was completely impossible, she would have said the damned thing was growing every time she flapped her wings.

Despite her tiredness, as she gazed along the knotted and gnarled trunk that she continued to shoot by, she mused that she had to have it easier than the humans who were forced to walk the winding staircase inside of the tree. No one had kind words for that particular march, and Morgan had been more than happy to skip that part of the journey by flying straight up. She didn't much mind the challenge, she was always happy to test her limits, but she did admit that looking down was beginning to make her a little sick to her stomach if she focussed too much on the blurry landscape below her.

'I am a manakete who is afraid of heights. I am a disgrace to my species.' Morgan thought with an unamused and inward snort, and the mere thought made her body strain to her limits in order to prove it wrong. Her mother had said that she had never seen a stronger flier for such a youth, and she had teased that perhaps one day she would be the one keeping up during their flights. Though she knew it unlikely, Tiki had three long millennia of life and experience where she was guided only by instinct and a thirst to prove herself, she was still glad for the praise. It gave her hope for the future, and a goal to chase after.

It seemed to take forever, and yet in less than a blink of an eye Morgan found herself cresting the top of the tree and leaving it below her with five more strokes of her wings. She heard rather than felt herself gasp in alarm as she finally managed to see the Mila Tree in its entirety now that she was above it. The thick branches and leaves seemed to make a miniature forest of the single treetop, yet all of this only encircled the shrine that was just as her mother had described it.

From her bird's eye view, had she not spent so long working for the altitude, Morgan would have first thought the shrine had made its home in a giant clearing, hedged in on all sides by a dense forest. Grass and wildflowers peppered the circular space, unhindered by the branches which spread so naturally outwards and up to give the shrine its natural freedom. For a moment the half-blooded manakete simply hung still in the air, catching the wind with her open wings to keep her height as she tried to take it all in. 'It's... beautiful... Just like Mother said it was...'

A painful whine in her muscles warned her that she needed to land, and quickly, if she wanted to spare herself a very long, and very deadly, fall. Angling herself expertly, Morgan made for the clearing's edge, and she hoped fervently that the grass was as soft as it looked. She'd lost count of how long she'd been flying now, and every muscle she possessed wanted nothing more than a chance to rest. 'I should have known better than to think Mother meant my levels of stamina when she was talking about flying all the way up here. She's seriously in a class all of her own when it comes to strength... Yeesh!'

Flaring her wings to slow herself at the end of her dive, Morgan inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as she surrendered her hold on the dragonstone which had allowed her to assume her dragon's form as she reached ground-level. Though she had transformed and reverted more times than she could possibly count at this point, she still had to brace herself for that cold and unpleasant tug that took away the dragon's strength and speed that her human body could not bear. She felt herself shrinking, was aware of her wings folding in on themselves past their physical limits, and worst of all felt that strange coldness as her dragon's scales replaced themselves with human skin.

The instant of unpleasant change was over just as quickly as it had come, and Morgan landed easily on her feet as her hand loosened on the dragonstone that had made it all possible. She stood tall at the edge of the clearing, inhaling deeply as she steadied herself against the momentary pulse of nausea that always followed a prolonged reversion from one form to the next. A soft breeze whispered against her cheeks, carrying the scent of plentiful wildflowers, and with another deep inhale, Morgan smiled unconsciously as her physical complaints all but vanished with the wind.

"It's really like another world up here..." Morgan mused softly to herself, and unable to help it, she glanced around as she tried to take it all in at once. As she had expected, the shrine stood tall and solitary in the very center of it all, a monument of cold stone that seemed all the more unnatural against the grasses, flowers, and branches. Even from a distance she could see the dias rising above the steps, swirling in an odd pattern that made her think instinctively of wings. The thought however did not evoke any feelings of familiarity, but all the same she felt a soft but unyielding tug in the center of her body that urged her forward.

Her smile fading, Morgan unconsciously placed a hand over her stomach where the tug seemed the strongest. It was a feeling she knew well, and instinctively she wanted to resist and draw back against it. She well remembered feeling a similar yank deep within, an instinctive urge that was much older than the dragon's blood that flowed within her veins, when she had first heard of Mount Prism. Every step she had taken closer to it had both satisfied that urge and made her rebel all the harder against it as a single question screamed continuously within her head.

That question echoed now in her mind in a soft and uncertain whisper, and with a weary sigh, Morgan forced herself to accept it. She wanted to cast it aside, to stubbornly insist that she knew the answer when she truly had no idea, but to do so would only undermine everything she was attempting to do. The mixed feeling within her heart was a bitter agony, but all the same, Morgan spoke aloud to the whispering breeze as if she could find the solution to her problem in the wind, "What half of me does Naga's power call out to...? The Divine Dragon... or the Fellblood?"

The warm breeze that had been blowing only moments before dropped rather abruptly in temperature, drawing a shudder from the half-blooded manakete as she realized that something, something alive, had responded to her question. Gritting her teeth angrily at what could have been taken as a wordless rejection, Morgan found herself striding forward recklessly towards the shrine. 'Is that how it's going to be? Well, fine. I don't want to be here any more than you want me here, but I have a job to do and I'll be damned if I let you scare me off!'

She made it halfway to the shrine in her angry lope before realizing that she had been beaten to the dias, and she pulled up short as she gazed in surprise at the small figure kneeling at the steps in obvious prayer. For a moment her hand moved instinctively to her sword, but she checked herself as she recognized that fluttering red cloak that was resting snugly on that figure's slim shoulders. Her irritation dissolved into honest pleasure, and she shook her head as she laughed to herself, "First Severa and Owain, and now Nah... Who's going to be next, Kjelle and Yarne? So much for making this a solo journey..."

Kneeling down at the dias with her eyes closed and her hands pressed together, the only other half-blooded manakete in existence almost looked as if she could be a statue as she prayed at the foot of the staircase. Only the wind tossing her cloak and braids to and fro caused movement on her slim form, and her lips pursed together as she silently spoke as she so often did to the goddess that held so much sway over her.

Hanging back politely, Morgan folded her arms over her stomach as she watched Nah praying. She knew better than to interrupt even though her mind was spinning with questions. The last she had seen of her friend was her, Nowi, and Gregor setting off for a journey across the continent from Ylisstol after the party. The family of three, likely with much prodding and begging from Nowi, had simply left with what they had in their packs and the clothes on their back for an adventure rather than settle down in any one place. Morgan was rather sure Nah had only elected to go with them in order to keep an eye on her parents, but she had wisely decided not to state her suspicions aloud.

'I wonder what she's doing here... Maybe she separated from them to go it alone? I didn't see Nowi or Gregor on my way here...' Morgan wondered inwardly, but any and all further questions went unasked as Nah let out a low sigh in front of her and finally relaxed her stiff posture. She pushed herself easily to her feet, brushing the dirt from her knees with a gloved hand, and taking her cue, Morgan called out cheerfully, "Took you long enough! Can I say hello now, or are you going to drop down and pray for another fifteen minutes?"

"Wh-What?!" Nah whirled about at the voice, and the surprise on her face was almost tangible as she spotted Morgan standing in the clearing with her arms akimbo and a brilliant smile gracing her features. Her surprise was quickly beaten out by her delight to see her friend again, and forgetting herself completely in her happiness, Nah bounded forward with a glad cry, "Morgan! I can't believe you're here!"

"And I actually can believe you're here." Morgan laughed as she hurried forward to meet her friend halfway. The two embraced tightly, giggling like schoolgirls before they separated and took each other in with happy eyes. Nah looked just as she remembered her, and Morgan mused she couldn't have changed very much either in the two or so months since they'd last seen each other. 'Gods, time is a funny thing... It feels like forever, but it's really been so short... I guess that's what happens when peace comes. There's no more marching or battles or meetings that draw out the days... It's just... peace.'

"What are you doing all the way in Valm? I thought you were staying in Ylisstol for the next little while." Nah remarked curiously, and she tilted her head to the side as she took Morgan in with those keen violet eyes that seemed to miss nothing. She didn't wait for an answer but rather plowed onward as she was like to do as she immediately added, "And all the way here of all places, to boot! I can safely tell you I've never thought to see you at the Mila Tree shrine!"

Smiling wryly, Morgan mused that she was getting used to the startled and bemused reactions that always followed the explanation she gave for where she was going. It didn't much bother her, she actually enjoyed surprising her friends, but she was beginning to wonder what kind of person she had to look during the war, turning her nose up at religion in such an obvious manner.

Knowing that Nah would not accept a half answer like Lucina or Severa had, Morgan instead glanced about the shrine and took it in with a different mindset. The space atop the Mila Tree was a strange new world in and of itself, and even though she was actively resisting the pull it had upon her dragon's half, she could still understand why manaketes and humans would wish to come here. Though not nearly as strongly as it did in the Divine Dragon Grounds, or on Mount Prism, Naga's power did radiate here and sent out its call to any sensitive to it. She answered with a soft of sigh that she couldn't entirely control, "Well, I'm sure you can guess I'm definitely not here for the same reason you are."

Nah didn't react outwardly to that, though she hadn't assumed Morgan's motives had been identical to hers. She knew, better than almost anyone, how deeply Morgan's feelings for the Divine Dragon truly ran. Even though the tactician in training had been so careful to keep her words mild and her emotions chained, Nah had understood everything when she explained why she simply would not pray.

"I get why it happened, and I like to think that it was for the greater good, but I don't have the heart to say I condone it, you know? It's... hard to reconcile the differences. I get so... so muddled... whenever I think about it. I figure that the safest thing to do is just to keep my distance... at least that way... I'm not entirely letting my mother down."

Frowning as she recalled that weak conversation from long ago, Nah fumbled for words as she examined the pensive expression her friend was wearing It seemed strange, almost wrong, on the usually smiling girl's face, and Nah admitted that she had absolutely no love for it. Wanting to break it apart but rather unsure how to go about it, Nah glanced about the shrine before asking, "Are you here by yourself?"

"Yeah." Morgan replied simply, knowing that Nah would get it without any further explanation. There were only certain things that could be done without aid from friends, from family, and Nah would understand that this journey was one of them. A little smile curled at her lips as she took in the obviously very thoughtful half-blood, and she returned the question with as much lightness as she could muster, "And what about you? Last I saw you, you were going to play the shepherd for your parents. Did you finally decide enough was enough?"

"Oh no, I'm still with Mother and Father. We were just passing through the area, but since we were so close by to the Mila Tree, I wanted a chance to visit. I never really had the opportunity during the war." Nah explained with a flippant wave of her hand, but her smile had returned and there was a childish sort of happiness lighting up her features as she spoke. Morgan couldn't help but return her grin, and Nah needed no further bidding before she continued on cheerfully, "Mother and Father got a room at an inn in a nearby town, and they'll be waiting for me to come back by late noon before we set off again tomorrow."

"That's good. They need you to keep them out of trouble." Morgan remarked with a little chuckle, and Nah's knowing smile proved that she was completely up to the challenge. Shaking her head, Morgan couldn't help but smile at her friend's ability to be so capable despite her age. 'And that's putting aside the fact that she'll be growing slowly for the rest of her life... It's kind of mind-boggling when I seriously think about it all... Nowi's a thousand or so years old and she still looks like a little kid...'

"I wish I could tell you it's the other way around, but seriously, I think they like seeing how quickly then can exasperate me." Nah sighed in an indulgent way that one would expect a parent to do when talking about their children. Still, there was a warm sort of joy that didn't let her sound too seriously upset about the circumstances, and they both knew why. Unlike her comrades, Nah had never had the chance to meet her parents in her future. Spending time with them now was her way of making up for what she had lost. "Father was getting into such a self-indulgent lifestyle before Mother's badgering started sticking... Now I have to be the one badgering them to stay on task."

Morgan tried and failed miserably to hide her smirk at Nah's choice of words. If there ever were two people who had no idea what the words 'stay on task' meant, it definitely was Nowi and Gregor. It was almost amazing how Nah was Nah considering her parentage. Of course, it didn't help that Morgan didn't actually think there was a task involved in what the family was currently up to. "Is there even a task to stay on, Nah?"

Smiling despite her efforts to remain straight-faced, Nah admitted that Morgan had a very good point. Nowi hadn't had a destination in mind, and Gregor seemed happy to just follow his wife wherever she wanted to go. There was no real task to stay on top of. It was a mindless journey with only the wind directing their next course, but Nah had an honestly difficult time finding faults with it all. "Well... Not really. Still, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." Morgan agreed with a small nod, and without preamble she seated herself on the grass as her muscles reminded her that even in her human form, she was still tired. Nah gazed at her with a cocked eyebrow, silently questioning her actions, and the tactician explained with a sheepish grin, "I don't know how you got up here, but I flew the entire way. I'm a little bit tired."

The shocked expression on Nah's face was enough to send Morgan into a fit of giggles, and she had to admit her current soreness was completely worth it to have elicited such a reaction. Nah looked completely lost for words, a rather satisfying first, and Morgan didn't even bother trying to be polite about her amusement as she clutched at her sides and snorted loudly. That seemed to allow Nah to reorganize her thoughts, and after joining her friend at the foot of the steps, she demanded,"You flew the entire way up here?"

"Yeah. I wasn't really in the mood to walk... I hadn't flown since leaving Ylisstol, so my wings needed the use. Of course, now I'm pretty sure I'm not going to want to fly for the next decade considering the effort it took to get up here." Morgan amended with a shake of her head, and she stretched out her legs as her shoulders gave an uncomfortable throb. Nah's raised eyebrows only proved she had been the only one foolish enough to test her limits by flying, and she asked with a chuckle, "I take it you decided to take the stairs?"

"I didn't even consider flying. In case you haven't noticed, this tree is huge. I wasn't going to risk getting too tired to continue with no branches to land on part-way up." Nah replied almost primly, and she shook her head with that all too-familiar look of indulgent exasperation. Reaching to lightly shove her friend on the shoulder, she teased her warmly, "Then again, you did make it up here, so I'll admit that I'm pretty impressed. Not so much surprised, though. You've always been a powerful flier... when you finally got over your acrophobia."

Sighing at the jibe that she likely was never going to outgrow no matter how old she became, Morgan pushed back against Nah's shove good-naturedly. There was no real point taking the teasing to heart, especially when she always felt better after looking her fear straight in the face and overcoming it. The thought however stopped her cold, and she found herself looking at the dias as she mused just how correct she really was when using that turn of phrase. 'Why else would I be here... if not to overcome something that's been getting in my way?'

An odd silence fell between the two when Morgan didn't answer the teasing, and Nah watched her for a long moment as she read the flickering emotions in her friend's dark eyes. Frustration led the pack, with tiredness and bitterness following close behind, but in the end there was only a pained sort of acceptance that made Morgan look much older than she really was. Quietly, as if she would spring some sort of trap if she didn't keep her voice low and level, Nah asked as delicately as she possibly could, "Why are you really here, Morgan? I mean, I can guess well enough, but seriously... What made you come to the shrine? What are you hoping to accomplish by coming here?"

"Nothing." Morgan answered her honestly, but the simple answer sounded so out of place even to her own ears. Smiling ruefully, Morgan leaned back on her hands and scoffed at her own foolishness despite the truth of it all. She wasn't sure what she had expected to accomplish by visiting the shrine, especially when she had no knowledge to help her reach the understanding she so desperately wanted to have. Closing her eyes and letting the wind blow over her face, she explained in a much more subdued voice, "I didn't hope to accomplish anything by coming here. I'm... just here to measure where I am right now... and to make sure I have a starting point to compare myself to later down the road."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I left, when I was arranging this entire journey, I got in touch with Say'ri. I asked for permission to research her home's historical, and religious, texts. She gave me permission... and so I'm heading to Chon'sin." Morgan elaborated with a small, almost sad smile. She gazed up into the cloudless sky, searching the wide expanse of blue for nothing in particular. She had told no one of her correspondence with the Chon'sin princess, and had made sure to explain her desire for secrecy on the matter. She was there only to study, to find answers to her questions, and the best way for her to do that was to appear a pilgrim rather than a daughter of an oracle. "For the next few weeks, I'll be spending all of my time studying... and once I've read everything they have that I want to read, I'll be going to the Divine Dragon Grounds... to put an end to it once and for all."

Nah felt herself smiling in the same manner as Morgan had, and she watched her friend staring at nothing for the longest time in silence. Shaking her head, she allowed herself the softest of sighs before she leaned over to rest her head comfortingly on her taller friend's shoulder. Morgan started in surprise, but Nah pulled away and then met her gaze evenly before speaking in a perfectly clear, and perfectly serious voice, "You really love your mother, don't you? You're going to all this effort for her sake, because you think she'll be disappointed in you somewhere down the line... but you have to know that she could never be disappointed in you, right?"

"I know. Trust me, I know." Morgan chuckled weakly, and she reflected on the many times her mother had told her in that so firm but so gentle way of hers that nothing she could ever do would disappoint her. She didn't doubt those claims either, even if she couldn't sense lies, there was simply no way she couldn't believe in her mother's words. Tiki loved her with everything she had, and that would never change, no matter what. Running a hand through the messy emerald hair she loved so much because of the physical tie it made to that kindhearted oracle, Morgan repeated softly, "I know she'd never be disappointed in me... but that's exactly why I have to do this. She may never be disappointed in me, but I'd be disappointed at myself. She's done so much for me... this is something I have to do for her. Otherwise, I'll never be able to look her in the eye without feeling like I'm a failure. I'll never be able to remember our memories together... I've come to terms with that... so I can do this instead... and make up for forgetting her in the first place."

Like Tiki had before her, Nah understood that no amount of argument would sway her mind. She was exceptionally stubborn, too much like her parents, and once she had set to something there was no way to ever break her out of it. Sighing yet again, Nah decided to do the only thing she could as she mimicked Morgan's pose and leaned back on her hands, "All right. If you're set on this, which I'd bet everything I have that you are... Then, good luck. I hope you get what you're looking for once you reach Chon'sin. Though, even if you don't... Remember you have a long life ahead of you, and nothing's stopping you from trying again somewhere down the line."

The words brought a flicker of a smile to Morgan's face, and she turned to look sidelong at the smiling Nah on her right. As she always did, Nah somehow knew the exactly right words to say to soothe her fears and make her feel better. She had been one of her greatest friends when she had first been introduced to the army, and they had bonded fiercely as they understood each other better than anyone else would. They were, after all, the only two half-blooded manaketes in existence. "Thanks, Nah. That means a lot."

"I'm just paying you back for all of the times you stuck up for me during the war. There's no need to thank me." Nah replied with a flippant wave of her hand, but her smile was truthful. She had bonded with Tiki before Morgan had been found, but it was Morgan who had finally made her feel like she had a true peer. She couldn't count how many times they had spoken at length over their heritage, tested their skills against one another and mused about the importance of who they were. Those days seemed far away to her now, but Nah knew full well she wouldn't be as confident in herself now if Morgan hadn't been her friend.

Stretching her body out with a low grunt of effort, Nah twisted her arms over her head and cracked her knuckles audibly. Morgan was smiling again, finally looking more like her old self, which cheered Nah up to no end. Answering that smile with a beaming one of her own, Nah asked her conversationally, "So, where are you meeting up with Say'ri?"

"Here, actually. I'm pretty early though. She won't be here until nightfall. She'll take me into Chon'sin personally." Morgan pulled a bit of a face even though she knew she should be grateful for Say'ri's kindness, but she had insisted she didn't need the guidance. Say'ri, however, was twice as stubborn as her, and hadn't been swayed in the least. She would come to meet her at the shrine, and escort her to her home. There was simply no arguing with her. "I tried to tell her I didn't need to be shown the way, but you know how Say'ri is. She's completely stuck on protocol. It drove Mother absolutely crazy, and now I see why. Thankfully, since she promised to keep my identity a secret, I don't need to worry about people poking their nose into what I'm doing." She paused, then smiled somewhat bitterly before adding on sourly, "I have more than enough of that already."

Nah once more pulled a face of question, and Morgan quickly explained her circumstances to the baffled half-blooded manakete. As she had seen with Severa and Owain, Nah's expression darkened with each word she spoke, and also like the couple she had left behind in the port, Nah's hand moved automatically to the pouch she carried on her belt. She continued on about the last time she had sensed her hunters, and Nah tilted her head to the side in obvious thought when she had finished. Her eyes were dark and curious, and she spoke very slowly as she repeated Morgan's words, "So, you think they're already here in Valm... but you haven't sensed them since leaving Port Ferox, so you can't be completely sure... That's... Well, frankly, that's pretty damned odd. I've never heard of something like that. Normally if someone's being chased, the idea is to not let them roam where they want to. If they seriously wanted something from you, wouldn't they have stopped you at the port instead of letting you go out to sea?"

"I don't know if they really want anything from me, that's the thing. I don't know anything about them but the fact that they obviously know who I am. How else would they know just how far away they need to stay from me before I sense them?" Morgan replied with a little shrug, and for once, she felt at ease discussing her pursuers. She mused that her change of heart on the trip overseas likely was the reason she wasn't so anxious now, and she was glad for it even if Nah looked troubled. "But I do know that unless they start getting violent, I have no reason to stop what I'm doing. Of course, I'll let Say'ri know exactly what's going on, but I have a feeling she'll say the same thing I am. If no harm's been done, what can I really say about my mystery guests? That they're irritating me?"

Nah snorted despite the seriousness of the situation, but she mused that if anyone could find humour where they shouldn't be any, it was definitely Morgan. Plus, it helped that Morgan had a point. There really was nothing she could do unless she was eager to turn the tables on her hunters and track them down instead, and they both knew that would be a bad idea. It would be better to let them come to her. Sobering, Nah drew her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees before saying firmly, "I suppose so... Still, be careful. Remember that if something happens, it's not just your parents who will be extremely cross with you."

"I have a list of people who would be extremely cross with me. And it's a very long and very intimidating list." Morgan pointed out with a lopsided grin, and that was enough to make Nah chuckle again. She was again completely right, as when she scrolled mentally through the names of people who would be absolutely furious with her if she got into serious trouble without bothering to ask for help, she wasn't certain if the trouble would be facing them again or not. "And, speaking only for myself, I really don't want anybody on that list being even a little bit cross with me. I mean, have you seen my mother when she's mad? Or Lucina? I fear them as much as I love them!"

"That's a very wise decision." Nah agreed with a grin, and she shivered despite herself at the mere idea of being on the receiving end of Lucina's, or Tiki's righteous fury. She had seen Lucina angry before, and the young princess was truly a sight to behold when she lost her temper for one reason or another. However, she had never seen the usually kind-hearted and soft-spoken manakete furious, and that alone was enough to tell her it would not be pretty. Cail had apparently, and he had said it was the closest thing he had ever had to a near-death experience. Nah still wasn't sure if he had been joking. "So, if you want to keep your skin on your bones, I'd recommend treading carefully."

"I plan to, Nah. I seriously plan to." Morgan chuckled, and she flopped back into the thick grass in a gesture of complete comfort. She was surprised at how relaxed she was, as when she had first caught sight of the Mila Tree, she had been seized with a horrible tightness in her chest. Yet, all of her unease had melted away while she had been chatting away the time with Nah, and she almost couldn't remember why she had been so out of sorts. The shrine still rested just out of her reach, but no longer did it seem to be as foreboding as it had first appeared.

The air was sweet still, the wind was warm despite the passing seasons, and she was in good company. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, watching Nah tilt her head back into the breeze and inhale the scent of wildflowers greedily. There was a strange magic at work for both of them, something that they couldn't exactly see but understood unconsciously. Morgan closed her eyes, wondering if it was Naga's power reaching out to them, or perhaps something else that made them feel almost at home here.

She could almost feel a gentle touch in her hair, smoothing back the uncontrollable mess that her father so often made worse just because he liked to see how exasperated his wife became when she tried to put it back to sorts. Smiling to herself at the sensation that reminded her of her parents who were waiting for her to return to them, she sighed and wondered if it would be blasphemy to fall asleep curled at the foot of the shrine. It was how they had found her mother, she mused with an inward giggle. 'Maybe I'll get a free pass because I'm her daughter...'

A little poke in her shoulder told her Nah wasn't going to let her fall asleep no matter what she may have been feeling, and smiling wryly, Morgan tilted her head back and opened her eyes to watch Nah watching her. She wasted no time in speaking again, though her voice had dropped to a quiet sigh as if she, too, was feeling tired, "I wish I could keep you company until Say'ri arrives, but my parents are expecting me. I should get going before they decide to leave without me... or start searching for me. Both of which would be disastrous."

Stifling a snicker, Morgan stretched her aching limbs and then bounded to her feet. Nah stood up rather neatly in contrast, but the two traded mirrorlike smiles as they dusted themselves off. Glancing sidelong at the winding staircase which would take Nah down to the ground, Morgan offered with an idle shrug, "I can walk you down if you want."

"As if you really want to walk all the way down those stairs after flying all the way up here." Nah laughed as she dismissed the offer with a shake of her head. She was happy for Morgan's kindness all the same, and explained as she tilted her head towards the edge of the top of the tree, "I think I'm going to take a note out of your book though... I'll fly down. It'll be quicker for me, and I'd like to stretch my wings anyway."

"Sounds like a plan." Morgan agreed, and she joined her as she began her walk to the twisting branches that appeared to be their own trees at the circumference of the shrine. Nah's pace was slow and measured, and she continued to look around her as if she wanted to memorize her surroundings before she left. Morgan satisfied herself with watching her friend, and was touched by how much care Nah honestly was showing for the shrine she had come to visit. Unable to help herself, she folded her arms behind her head and asked curiously, "What were you praying for, by the way?"

"The same thing I used to pray for during the war." Nah replied, lifting one shoulder and dropping it in a half-shrug. Morgan blinked in response, causing her to grin before she elaborated almost neatly, "Come on, you're the daughter of a tactician... and you spent a long time with Lucina in the castle. You know full well that the world isn't entirely at peace, not yet. It probably will take a long time before that really happens... and until then, I'm going to keep praying for it. Grima may be gone, thanks to your father, but there's still plenty of work to do before his remnants are fully erased from this world."

"You can say that again." Morgan agreed almost quietly, and again, just as she had when she had uttered the word Fellblood, a cold shiver raced up her spine. Ignoring it and focussing instead on her conversation, she dropped her arms to her side and followed Nah's ambling pace as she asked in what she hoped was a conversational tone, "And did you get an answer?"

"No. I never do, not when it comes to that request. But I know it just means I have to work for it rather than hoping someone else will make it come true for me." Nah answered with a grin, echoing the words Morgan had once told her long ago when she had first discovered her praying. Morgan colored somewhat as she realized she was being quoted, and the embarrassment on her face only made Nah laugh. "Besides, I have a long life ahead of me... I'm willing to spend a few centuries working to make it happen. Aren't you?"

"Totally." Morgan agreed with a firm nod. Nah appeared rather satisfied with the quick agreement, but they had no more time to continue their conversation as they reached the edge of the tree. Nah rummaged in her satchel for her dragonstone, and Morgan immediately skipped back fifteen paces to give her friend the room she'd need to transform without accidentally swatting her in the process. Raising a hand in a little wave, Morgan called, "Safe flight, and safe journey. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will. And you do the same. Good luck." Nah replied warmly, and she raised her dragonstone over her head before closing her eyes. Morgan felt herself smiling as a warm glow surrounded her friend, emanating from the sphere that was resting in her palm. There was a moment when the light became too harsh for her eyes, and then the brightness shattered to reveal the crimson-rose-scaled dragon Nah truly was.

Nah wasted no time in throwing herself bodily off of the edge, her wings spreading out as she dove hard and recklessly. Laughing, Morgan shielded her eyes with one hand, watching with great amusement as Nah allowed herself to tumble to the left, waving her wing almost as she would wave a hand in farewell. Knowing full well Nah would not see it but not much minding, Morgan returned the wave with her free hand, watching her progress with a chuckle. No matter how much Nah tried to deny it, she was just as wild as her mother when she got the chance in flight, and it showed as she returned to her dive and began a gentle but still relatively speedy corkscrewing motion down.

Snickering as Nah's path brought her around the tree's wide trunk and out of sight, Morgan shook her head as she commented to herself, "That little liar... She can fly just as recklessly as her mother..." She made a mental note to say so to her the next time they met before turning her back on the sky and instead gazing once more towards the shrine. The pull she had felt before was gone, and she was truly relieved that she had satisfied the urge without really meaning to. She had no intention of praying, she never had before and didn't want to start now, but there was a new beckoning that she wanted to satisfy now that she was truly alone.

Walking back in the same slow pace Nah had used to leave, Morgan glanced about her surroundings with a new and critical eye. There was beauty, yes, she would never deny that the shrine was in its own way an amazingly gorgeous place... but even with the sun shining warmly down on her shoulders, she couldn't help but find it cold. The shrine seemed smaller than it had before now that she was by herself, and the stone looked bleak and gray amidst the grasses and wildflowers.

Curling her arms about herself, Morgan frowned as she imagined the long years her mother had spent alone here, with no one to call a friend. The long sleeps she had taken, almost as if shielding herself from the outside world when she retreated to her dreams and memories of days long gone by. The mere thought made her wince inwardly, made her wish that she could again go back in time to change it all, but she knew it was an empty desire. Her mother would have scolded her too if she knew she was thinking such things, but that didn't change her mind.

"You had to be so lonely here... caged by a duty you never wanted... I can see why you were so eager to leave this place when the chance arose." Morgan wasn't sure why she was speaking aloud, but something in her heart felt lighter by giving voice to the dark thoughts that swirled about without end inside of her mind. She had reached the shrine again, and without thought she extended her hand to rest it against one of the columns. The stone felt remarkably smooth under her palm, as if unaffected by the weather and time that would have slowly but surely worn it down, and she wondered absently if her mother had ever done what she was doing now.

Running her finger absently down the swirling patterns that marked the column with ancient designs she didn't much understand but strangely seemed to recognize, Morgan felt a tiny smile curling at her lips as she mused to herself, 'The war was terrible... but it brought you, me, and Father together... So, is it okay... if I say that I'm glad for it if only because of that? Would you or Father be angry if I said that aloud...?'

Sighing, Morgan drew back her hand and retreated from the column. She turned back to the steps, and sat down in silence on the top so she could gaze back out at her surroundings as her mother had done before her. The shrine was quiet once more, the wind had stopped and left the tree painfully still. That warm and comforting feeling she had experienced with Nah was gone now, but she didn't mind that absence. It allowed her to slip back mentally through the centuries, to experience the world had another had long before her.

Leaning back on her knees, Morgan closed her eyes and exhaled again, taking stock of her emotions and thoughts as her father had taught her. She felt the warm weight of her charm hanging from her neck and allowed a ghost of a smile to curl at her lips. The gift made her strong and sharpened her focus, and she spoke aloud to better cement this moment in her memory so she could use it later to mark whatever progress she made in the future, "I'm not ready to speak to her yet like Nah does... and I'm not ready to say it happened for a reason, like Mother can... But I'm here. I'm here, and I am going to continue forward like I said I would. There's nothing else I can do but keep on going straight ahead... and I'm not going to stop until I'm really ready to go home and face my parents with my head held high. That's a promise."

AN:

ONE HUNDRED PAGES ON THE NOSE! 8D (Holy crap, have I seriously stretched this story out to a hundred pages? Yikes...) Well, it's a landmark in my book, and one I like keeping track of. It always helps me remember just how far I've gone, and how far I have yet to go. And for anybody interested, I write in Times New Roman font, and at size nine. so when I say one hundred pages... It's a long one hundred pages! (I also love how my mother-substitute loathes Times New Roman. She gets so funny when she goes on tirades about it. The best one yet was, "It's unoriginal, unpleasant to look at, and it probably votes Republican." I lost my shit laughing at her when she finished. And no offense meant to anyone who voted Republican! XD)

So, this was my first Morgan-centric chapter... and it really marks the end of the traveling and the beginning of the destinations. Things will be happening much faster now, as Cail and Tiki will be arriving at their own destination for the next chapter, and will be discovering some things about Mariah. How much and what things...? Can't say! Though, that reminds me, I ought to update the summary now. It's really not just a CailxTiki centric story and I should make sure people get that... XD The funny thing was, the story really did start out just focussing on the couple... then my muse came in and slapped me, saying I had to show Morgan, too... and here we are. -snorts-

This is also probably the fastest I've been in banging out another chapter. It's only been a few days since I finished my last one. Of course, that means I have a tiny cushion for my arse in uploading now... So I'll probably be working on the next chapter after this one by the time this one gets uploaded. That sentence looks extremely convoluted, but I'm way too lazy to go back and change it. I make weird author's notes, don't I? -snort-

So... Ah, what am I doing in my playthrough right now? Currently, I'm focussing on Skye's playthrough. I've succeeded in grabbing all the required Limit Breaker skills I needed for my team, and am in the midst of re-capping their stats to improve/replace my old SpotPass team... Once I finish that, (and beat the new SpotPass team I just met today, who has a team built almost in mirror image of my Cail team, much to my honest and intense amusement), I'll be moving onto the DLC. I utterly loathe the Future of Despair chapters, but... -sigh- I have to do them again. It just makes me wince, every single time, no matter who's playthrough I'm on when I do it!

With Cail's, it's just one continual punch in the gut. He's assumed alive and a traitor at best, dead at worst, Morgan's fighting for him and has obviously been extremely abused, and Tiki gets to die at his hand. Then she gets to turn around and help Lucina kill him to make it even worse!Morgan doesn't even get the victory bit of the pyrrhic victory, which hurts to think about when you're playing through it... -whimper- Her dad's dead, her mother's not really dead but can no longer be with her, and she's alone... (And of course, I wrote a fic about it. XD)

Then with Skye, poor Morgan is fighting his sister, and I'll assume for my own peace of mind that Lucina has no idea where her brother really is, or her mother for that matter. (Did that time's Lucina know Skye killed Chrom? Because when FOD-Lucina sees her mother again, she doesn't bring up Skye killing Chrom... Though the FOD-Skye sure mentions it...) What happens with him when the war is said and done? It has to be somewhat better than Female Morgan, though I can't imagine it's really that happy... The poor kid has been seriously screwed up... I wanna hug everybody, I swear to god...

PS: So, question time again for fun. What class would you be if you got the chance to enter the FE:A world and be a member of the Ylissean army? (Oh fine, you can be Feroxi, Valmese, Plegian or Grimleal if you want to...) Ignoring gender-only specifics because gender-specifics aren't fun, what would you choose to be? I'd probably be a tactician, just because my skill set is more suited for tactical roles than actual physical warfare, and I don't have the brains to be a full-on mage, either. XD But what about you guys? What would you be if you had the chance?

Mood: Hungry.

Listening To: "This is War" - 30 Seconds To Mars

~ Sky