When the ground stilled beneath her fingertips, the first thing that she registered was the lack of pain. Her body felt eerily numb like she was in her own body but owned no control. Something was pushing her down and she can't even move her head to see what it was. When her eyes finally fluttered open, a raging inferno greeted her. Fire licked everything at her sight and spared none. Not even a person.
When she saw her, her lungs finally caught up with the suffocating smoke.
Lissa!
She wanted to call her name, to reach her, but her voice betrayed her and so did her body. Pinpricks of pain spontaneously blossomed throughout her body as tears pooled at the corner of her eyes.
No, not her! Please, Naga! I'm begging you! Not her too!
Robin tried to reach her hand out to the younger girl, but the flames roared and walled her out of sight. Her hand withdrew back reflexively as heat seared her skin.
I'm begging you...please…
She choked back a sob. Her fingers clawing at the sand as she tried to haul herself out to no avail.
I can't lose her too!
"LISSA!"
Blood.
Someone screamed his name but all he could see was blood. Three deep gashes ran across the body that should have been his.
"M…Milord…are you alright?"
Chrom looked at his retainer standing before him in his wolf form. Frederick's body was shielding him from the view of the she-wolf as blood seeped from his wounds and mixed in with the stained sand beneath their feet. The other Shepherds were frozen in shock. Some tried to approach them but the growling from the white wolf made them stop on their tracks as it circled around the two men.
"Frederick!"
"These are nothing, Milord." He winced and drew a ragged breath. "Nothing…to worry…about…"
"But you're hurt! You took that blow for me!"
"'Tis a knight's vow...to serve and protect his liege with his life." He reminded him. "But it is no longer you and Princess Lissa that I…I only serve. Lady Robin too…is now one of my lieges." He nodded at the prince with wolfish smile. "It is now my duty to bring her back safe and sound…no matter the cost."
"Frederick, you…" Chrom placed his hand firmly on the retainer's furry back. "Thank you, my friend."
Frederick looked slightly surprised but composed himself rather quickly. The faint smile on his lips fading as he turned his attention back to the she-wolf. Robin has stopped stalking them and was pawing at the ground as she studied them with cold calculation.
"If I may be so bold," He said as his chest heaved. "Once we are done here, I believe Lady Robin is due for…some explaining and additional lessons to avoid future mishaps such as this. That is to say…if Milord will allow me to mentor her so?"
Chrom managed to let out a raspy chuckle. "I'm sure she will appreciate that even without my consent, especially that we're not dealing with an ordinary wolf."
"That is…reassuring to hear." Frederick's tail flicked tentatively as he kept his eyes on Robin. He could try communicating with the tactician just like what his liege did, but Robin's body language told him that she was not in any right mind to hear reason. Wrath clung on her thickly like an old friend, muddling any rational thoughts and other emotions. It was raw and primal, yet so alike to many young werewolves who transformed for the first time.
That's what this is. The retainer assumed that this is not exactly the first time the tactician transformed but something akin to it. Perhaps the loss of her memories and the heavy weight of the war have placed a great burden on the tactician and strained her ability to transform. The stress kept piling up, ready to snap at any moment, and a shock unleashed it all at once.
They could tire Robin out until her transformation come undone, but they don't have the luxury of time and safety. Even with their numbers, it wouldn't be enough, and everyone is hesitant in harming their friend. Plegia isn't exactly the ideal place for them to stay long - it is still a hostile land crawling with bandits and beasts that they might have already attracted attention from. The only way is to incapacitate Robin and wait for her to calm down.
Robin lunged at him. Frederick sprinted to the side to lure her away from the prince's direction. Robin might be larger and more powerful, but Frederick is more comfortable and skilled in using his wolf form than her. She is a pup compared to him. A rebellious pup throwing a dangerous game of tantrum. He skidded to a stop as she approached and crouched down. His body springing forward as he slammed against her throat as she pounced at him.
The impact knocked the air of the tactician and a fountain of sand exploding around where she hit the ground. Grains of Plegian sand rained down the crouched white wolf as her chest heaved for breath. Frederick took advantage of her disoriented state and lunged at her. His fangs burying themselves on her right shoulder. The she-wolf howled in pain as she pawed at him. Her claws almost grazing the retainer's eyes. Frederick kept his grip on the tactician's shoulder as her markings pulsed in angry purple. Sparks began to fly off the tactician's fur and a familiar magic circle lighted beneath their paws.
Frederick haven't had the luxury of knowing how it felt being struck down by the tactician's favored thunder magic, but the aftermath of every battle that the tactician was involved in was enough for him to know it was a force to reckon with. But even so, he buried his fangs deeper on her skin as the air around them sizzled with intense heat and the smell of ozone. If he hesitates for even a fraction, he will face something worse than the wounds on his side. He must do this for his lord and for his comrades. He must do this for Robin.
Then, something slammed against them at the opposite side and the magic circle dispersed into harmless pinpricks of light. The smell of Robin's blood grew stronger as the droplets turned into rivulets watering the sands beneath them. Frederick caught a mass of blue fur from the other side of Robin as another wolf sunk its fangs on her other shoulder.
"Milord!"
"I am sorry about this, Robin…" Chrom's voice echoed loud and clear as he tightened his hold on her skin. Robin howled as she thrashed against the two wolves. "But this is the only way…Miriel!"
The red-haired sage walked forward. Her dominant hand crackling with magic as she held a different tome with another. The light reflecting off her glasses as she stood calmly a few meters away from the three wolves. Robin snarled at her as she tried to shake off the two males.
"Forgive me for this, Robin." Miriel spoke as she placed her palm in front of her, right in front of the raging tactician. The brilliant light spreading out into a golden magic circle of ancient words. Her gaze hardening into a stony façade. "But what must be done, must be done."
