Beginning Commentary: Appearance change time! Anne, thanks to her pregnancy, now has a larger bust. She's grown taller, but doesn't tower over everyone. (In fact, she's as tall as Flavia at this point). Her hair is still brown, but it goes down her back until it reaches her bottom. She tends to wear it in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. For those with the Robin customizer online or with the game on you, her design is Build 3, Face 1, Hair 4, and Color 5.
And of course, everyone else grows older with different designs, too, but since we're still talking about the Robin customizer, let's talk about Morgan. (Future Morgan, of course). He's definitely hit a growth spurt, being as tall as Owain now (who's quite the tall fellow). He keeps his hair in its usual bowl-shaped form, and tries his hardest to hide his signature cowlick. In the customizer, he's Build 1, Face 4, Hair 2, and Color 1. (He gets confused for Henry a lot).
Chrom's starting to outgrow his bangs, as they're now parted on the side. He's also in his Great Lord outfit, meaning that he has two sleeves and armor. (WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT?) Lissa, on the other hand, is bringing her bangs back and now wears a ponytail instead of pigtails. She's in a yellow War Cleric outfit. Sumia's now a Dark Flier, and wears a tiara similar to Emmeryn's instead of her wing hair clips. Lucina's now also a Great Lord, as she wears armor as well. (Again, WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT?!)
Basically, everyone is in their advanced classes. Some of the men are getting stubble and/or five o'clock shadows, the women are either growing or cutting their hair, the animals are slightly growing in size, and then there are those who simply don't change at all (Nowi aside from her outfit. It's far less revealing now, but it still has its charm through its scales). The most radical change would have to be Ricken, as he's growing taller before people can take notice.
Excerpt Twenty-Eight: Near and Far
"This isn't good," Tharja stated as she looked into a crystal ball.
"Why, what's going to happen?" Chrom asked.
"We're about to enter blizzard territory."
Damn, that would mean that I'd be out of commission…Wait, Nowi, Nah, and Lady Tiki are Manaketes, so the cold should also hinder their performances as well. Does that also apply for Morgan? I mean, he's my son… Did he inherit cold blood from me? He should have with the Mark of Grima being on his back and all…
"Milord, I suggest we halt our advances until the blizzard becomes a minor snowstorm," Frederick suggested.
"This blizzard will last until late spring," Tharja pointed out.
"Five whole months?! We can't risk waiting that long!" Flavia exclaimed. "If we did, we'd be captured in no time!"
"Well, why don't we re-locate and find another way?" The Pirate King pointed out.
"Fie, we will face more Valmese resistance," Say'ri cringed. "Damnation, why have we not recruited Yen'fay yet?!"
"Either he's really good at playing hide-and-seek, or we made a bad choice of going through the mountains," I responded.
"Forgive me for that, Miss Anne," Laurent sighed. "I failed to calculate the sudden temperature drop we would face. I was only concerned about escaping before more of the enemy troops would arrive."
"Don't blame yourself, Laurent. It's my fault, too. I'm still adjusting to being Head Tactician."
"Aye, these adjustments are straining us all," Say'ri admitted. "Even I am growing weary…"
"But hey, maybe Yen'fay and Walhart are getting tired, too? Who knows?"
"If they are, they're certainly not showing any signs of it yet," the Pirate King grunted.
"Let's stay hopeful until this is all over, at least," Chrom replied.
"Naturally," Laurent nodded. "If we were to surrender now, all of those who have sacrificed themselves for our cause would have died in vain."
We all remained silent. Virion, Olivia, Miriel… I clutched my heart to prevent myself from causing a scene.
"If it is possible, when this war has finished, may we also pay tribute to those who fought against us?" Say'ri asked.
"Of course," Chrom responded gently.
"Thank you, Lord Chrom."
The meeting had come to an end, but Laurent wanted to tell me something before I made my exit.
"I shall handle your paperwork and strategy revisions if you find yourself incapable of completing such tasks due to the temperature," he notified me.
"Laurent, you really don't have to," I replied. "You'll be overworking yourself."
"I shall be fine, fear not."
"Just don't collapse from exhaustion, okay?"
"Lucina and Kjelle will make sure of that, I assure you."
Gods, I can already feel the cold… My heart rate was starting to decrease… Not even Lieutenant Qiang'wei's cloak was helping me keep warm…
But wait, I need to see if Morgan's okay…
"M-Morgan?" I stuttered when I entered his tent. "Y-you here?"
"Y-yeah," he responded. He was huddled up in his cot's blankets.
"You cold, too?"
"Mhm."
Normally, I would scold him for wearing a Sorcerer's outfit, but I felt like that wouldn't be appropriate for the moment.
"Come on, let's huddle," I suggested. "We'll stay warmer that way."
"B-but, the blizzard's not even here y-yet," Morgan shuddered.
"I know, but it's s-something."
I quickly ran to Morgan's side and wrapped Qiang'wei's cloak around him. He managed to wrap his blanket around me.
"Whew, much better…" I sighed.
"Mom, Nah's cold, too," Morgan said. "I-is it because we're c-cold blooded? Is that why we're s-so cold?"
"A-are you cold blooded?"
"Y-yeah… At least, half cold blooded…"
Well, seeing as how his father was a regular warm blooded human and I was an odd cold blooded human vessel for a dragon, it makes sense…
"So you don't feel too cold when we set sail," I began. "But when we're in the snowy winter, you become too cold?"
"Sounds about right…"
"Poor us, then…"
"N-Nah said that she, her mom, and Lady Tiki have to h-hibernate for this blizzard, Mom. Do we have to do that, too?"
Hibernate? As in sleep for the winter until spring comes around?
"If we have to, then everyone's going to struggle carrying us around," I responded jokingly.
"Yeah, but it'll help us stay alive," Morgan pointed out, burying himself within my chest. "Our hearts won't fully slow down and stop beating… And when we wake up, everyone will be there to greet us…"
He was already starting to fall asleep…
"It'll be nice and warm," I added on, stroking his hair as he began drifting away. "We might even be able to see Yen'fay when we wake up. He'll be so happy to meet you, and he'll be so proud of what you've accomplished…"
"I can't wait," Morgan yawned.
"Neither can I."
Almost as if by instinct, I started humming a little song and slowly placed Morgan properly in his cot.
"That's a nice song," Priam's voice softly interrupted the moment. He stood right in front of the tent's entrance, arms crossed.
"I think I remember my mom singing it when I was little," I smiled. "It reminds me of a flower field."
"If you remember the medley, it should be a real memory. I don't think your father would be that twisted to put such a happy memory within all of your sad ones."
"Who knows?"
Priam eventually sat down on the edge of the cot.
"Even when he's seventeen, he still looks like a little kid when he's asleep," Priam remarked.
"Heh, yeah… Though I guess you could say that about anyone who's sleeping."
"True, true."
"So apparently, the Manaketes and Morgan are thinking about entering hibernation," I said to completely change the subject. It came out of nowhere, really.
"I heard the other, what do you call it, Taguels and the Wyverns are going to do that as well."
"Panne and Yarne?"
"Yep. I think Henry wants to find a way to prevent it while still keeping them efficient for upcoming battles and/or ambushes."
"If it's by potion, you can count me out."
Priam and I exchanged awkward glances.
"Understandable," he simply put. "I just want to know if you're going to hibernate as well."
"It sounds ideal, but with the overall time this will happen might make it impossible for us to really get the advantage in sneak attacks."
"Five months is a long time, I won't lie, but you make it sound like we won't be able to handle ourselves."
"I'm sure you can. I'm just worried I won't be there to help."
"You'll definitely make up for it in the spring when it's warmer and we can move again."
"But what if we run low on supplies? Or you meet Yen'fay when I'm sleeping?"
"We'll be fine with the supplies. And if it's not too cold and you won't be too cranky, I'll wake you and Morgan up so you can reunite with Yen'fay properly."
"Waking up after a very long nap would make cranky regardless," I snickered.
"Fair enough," Priam shrugged. "I was thinking more of the 'I'll slit your throat if you attempt to wake me up' cranky if anything."
"Oh Gods, I hope that doesn't happen."
"So yes to hibernation, then?"
I paused to think over this. Yes, I wouldn't die from the lack of heat, but would I even be able to sleep for that long? Don't I usually have to stuff myself so that I don't die of starvation whilst being asleep? Hibernation should be called elongated food comas if that were the case.
"I don't think it'd be the traditional hibernation," I finally said. "It's more similar to me making small check-ups and then going back to bed if anything."
"Why's that?"
"Well, I've never hibernated before. In fact, the first time I've really ever been in the cold was when we had to talk to Khan Flavia in East Ferox. Heck, I avoided the cold as well as I could since it nearly killed me."
"Is it because of Grima?"
"Yep. My blood suits His reptilian attributes. Has to so that He can survive when He's revived."
"You'd think he'd go for warm blood, then. Sure, it'd be difficult to get used to, but it'll help him take over the colder regions."
"Oh my Gods, I can't believe you're trying to make Grima more efficient."
"Just saying."
I lightly punched him on the shoulder. Though, I soon yawned.
"Sounds like you're wanting to start hibernating," Priam grinned.
"Mm, but I don't want us to decrease our numbers…" I once again yawned.
"The Valmese army would have to be completely nuts if they wanted to track us down here, especially with a blizzard on its way."
"Still…"
"Not going to risk you dying, though. Do you want to stay near Morgan, or should I carry you back to your tent?"
"Hm, my tent, I guess."
"Alright, will you be carried bridal style or sack of potatoes style?"
"I'm pretty sure I can walk," I retorted.
"Damn, there goes my villainous scheme of trying to help you," Priam smirked.
Villainous? Pfft, now he's just messing with me.
Before I decided to get up, I gave a light kiss to Morgan's temple. Motherly things and such.
"Sweet dreams, Morgan," I whispered.
"You know, you have killer maternal instincts," Priam told me as he readied me for the cold.
"I thought I'd be a terrible mom, to be honest. I mean, I have no idea what the hell to do most of the time and what I do try comes out of my rear end."
"I think that's what parenting is. Just as long as you love the kid and pay a moderate amount of attention to them."
"Not too much that they're over sheltered and spoiled, but too little that they feel unloved."
"Exactly."
"How do you know so much about parenting? You're not one yourself, are you?"
"Nope, but I've had to babysit for some of my recruits and boy, hearing the parents argue about what's best for their kid is not pleasant."
"Oh geez, I bet…"
We hurried through the cold all the way back to my tent, making the twenty feet journey quite the expedition.
"You dead yet?" Priam joked.
"Hard to tell," I replied. Really, I felt numb.
"Ah geez, snow's already starting to fall."
Priam brushed the top of my head to get any snowflakes he could find in my hair, though I'm certain some of it was also dandruff.
"Any get on your skin?" He asked.
"Nope. The air's really cold, though, so I can't feel my anything."
"Anything? How are you forming sentences so clearly, then?!"
Okay, that got a good chuckle out of me.
"Willpower, I guess," I went along.
"Does that also explain how you're able to breathe? Or how you're able to think? Heck, how you're shivering as we speak?"
Was I? …Oh my gosh, I was. I decided to ignore the fact that Ninon was sleeping in the center of my cot, as I leapt on top of it and pushed my way through the scratchy, green blanket. Ninon was awoken, yes, but all she did was nibble at my hair in spite.
"Gods, you're still shaking," Priam observed, walking over to my side.
"And it's gonna get colder…" I frowned, wrapping myself more and more into my blanket.
"If you want, I can go get Henry or Tharja so that they can give you a Fire spell to keep you warm."
"I'm in the tent, though. It could catch on fire and I'd be even more screwed."
"Do you want another blanket, then?"
"I'd need five."
"Stop being so picky," Priam said as he flicked my forehead.
"But if I need five, then Morgan and the Manaketes and the Wyverns and the Taguels will need five as well and we might run low on supplies and-"
My forehead was flicked once again.
"Stooooooooooooop," I whined.
"Funny, I should be saying that to you," Priam remarked. He then expressed a revelation. "Will you allow more blankets if I decide to stay beside you until I'm sure you're asleep?"
"Y-you mean…cuddling?"
"Well, I meant staying by your side, but if you interpret that as cuddling, that's your problem."
"Rude… But I understand. I can't go back on my word."
"Atta girl. If you want, though, you can cuddle with Ninon. I'm sure she's big enough to be just as warm."
I decided to put this to the test by placing her next to my head. She wasn't bear sized, thankfully, but was now at the wolf size. Improvement from the coyote size, that's for sure. She chirped as I started to pet her.
"Alright, I'll go get you your blankets now," Priam said.
"Thank you," I smiled.
