The Shepherds had been travelling for a few days with the assistance of several scouts and one of the Hierarchs of Ylisse, they had made good progress the weather had been fair and they had encountered little traffic, the addition of another healer in the form of Maribelle made the travel even easier as the extra set of eyes allowed the clerics to get to where they were needed and meant that those that needed rest got it, as the days passed Corrin found herself slipping into old habits changing the patrol roster to pair up Sully and Frederick, making sure Ricken was assigned to assist Maribelle in the Medical tent and convincing Chrom to assign Lon`qu as Lissa's retainer.
Anna assisted her where she could but the merchant thief had wasted no time in using her absurd amount of sisterly connections to open a small requisitions tent within the camp repairing weapons with the help of Vaike and with Stahl's help producing Vulnerary's and other medical treatments as well as some homemade perfumes and makeup all of which she sold for a fair price or fair by Anna standards.
Whilst this was happening Robin acquainted herself with the scouts making sure that she and Corrin could utilize their skills correctly, she found it interesting that the Shepherds scouts were almost as quirky as the main force, she usually found herself spending time with them when they returned for the evenings during this time she had gotten to know the scout Captain and his Lieutenant quite well, the Captain had introduced himself as Nico he had a lithe frame with messy green hair and deep brown eyes while most considered him lazy Nico had easily settled into the role of leader his martial skills only being matched by his keen eyes, like most scouts he wore the attire of an assassin without the arm blades and a few extra tools for mapping out locations, his lieutenant was a quiet girl with black shoulder length hair with a long fringe that covered her left eye she wore a similar attire to her captain but with a longer scarf, Nico had introduced her as Whisper and explained that whilst she could talk you'd struggle to hear her outside of a one on one conversation in an enclosed space as such she communicated via a notepad and quill that retained ink for several hours, Robin enjoyed the time she spent with them however her eyes constantly wandered to Corrin whenever she walked by which only lead to her feelings of longing growing.
Eventually they reached the northern pass, the mountains around them left Robin and Corrin feeling nervous the two of them constantly exchanged looks as they pushed deeper into the pass after a day they slowed the pace much to the relief of some.
"Ugh, my poor feet. I've got blisters the size of eggs!" Lissa's usual remarks punctuated the journey as they ventured to the deepest part of the pass with a large chasm on their right which only caused them to slow down more.
"Oh, it's not so bad, Lissa. Just a healthy little stroll! How are you holding up, Robin?" Chrom smiled at his younger sibling before looking to Robin, they had settled into a friendly rivalry of sorts over the days since Maribelle's rescue, sparring both with blade and mind, Chrom was just glad the animosity between the two of them had faded.
"My legs feel like pudding... Your endurance astounds me, Chrom." Robin smirked as she spoke her eyes locked in a look of steely determination and challenge as she glared at the Prince.
"Hah! Should I carry you?" Chrom's teasing tone only drove the tactician to push harder to keep up with him and Corrin as they lead the convoy.
As Lissa more than happily volunteered to be carried Frederick approached the Hierarch with a look of concern on his face "Is something troubling you, Hierarch? You keep glancing up at the peaks." As he spoke the knight looked around his gaze falling on what seemed to be loose stones simply skittering down the slope.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm just a b-bit nervous I'm afraid. Gh-ghastly times, these!" The Hierarch chuckled nervously his eyes flicking from peak to peak almost as though he were searching for something.
As he did Corrin approached Chrom with the Shepherds roster in hand "Chrom, might I ask who that is?" as she spoke she gestured to the Hierarch, Chrom however was focused on her, somehow he hadn't known that she wore a pair of half-moon glasses that now rested on the tip of her nose.
"The Hierarch? He's been a friend of House Ylisse for many years. He guided Emmeryn during the early years of her rule." Even as he spoke he continued staring "How long have you worn glasses?"
Corrin sighed as she adjusted her glasses "Ever since I got this" She gestured to the scar across the bridge of her nose "Among a few other injuries my vision got slightly impaired, now back to my question please?"
Chrom cleared his throat trying not to kiss the rather cute divine dragon that had stolen his heart "Uh yes… Ahem as I was saying, the Hierarch helped House Ylisse through many a hard time and assisted Emm when she needed it, why do you ask?"
"Something just feels off to me" Corrin did her best to ignore the Prince as he did his best to focus, she was thankful when Robin approached.
"I know what you mean I can't put my finger on it but something is definitely…" Before the Tactician could finish her thoughts several Plegian soldiers charged the Shepherds.
"Grah ha hah! Time to die Princey!" As the Brigand spoke Corrin rolled her eyes at the predictability of that statement.
"Plegian soldiers? Damn! How did they know we were here? Everyone! Prepare for battle!" As the Shepherds scrambled to prepare Corrin took up her usual place alongside Chrom, when she was in position she sized up the enemy.
The force matched the reports they`d been receiving from the borders mainly axe wielding Brigands with a handful of Archers and Wyvern riders not particularly challenging force for the Shepherds however they had to worry about the Exalt and the Hierarch which provided an additional concerns namely they only had Sumia to protect the flank over the chasm, Virion could provide support however the high speed winds that seemed to pick up randomly would hamper his attempts no matter how skilled an archer he claimed to be, obliviously the mages could provide support but it would leave them exposed to attacks from the Plegian Archers even as Corrin tried to formulate a strategy Robin was organizing the Shepherds as best she could.
"Please tell me you have a plan" Corrin removed her glasses and readied the Yato alongside a fire spell while looking to where Robin had positioned herself.
"I'm working on it but…" As she spoke Robin's eyes darted around looking for something anything to make their situation easier, even as she tried to formulate a strategy the Plegian soldiers advanced with Wyvern Riders advancing along the chasm Sumia had already taken to the skies with her Pegasus and Robin knew although her intentions may have been good she wouldn't last long, as the Shepherds engaged the enemy Robin finally spotted something that may turn the tides.
A/N: I cannot apologise enough for the lack of uploads, the year has been busy and a little rough for me but hopefully I'm back for good now. Honestly I'm just glad that some people are still reading this, it was just a silly project I was writing for myself and I'm glad that as many people liked it. Enough rambling this was an apology and me saying I'm going to be back and try to continue where I left off. – R.J