Wood met wood, clattering and grinding as our swords collided for a heartbeat. Olivia's expression flickered, her concentration visibly shifting as she pulled her sparring sword back. It was all the warning I had before she engaged again: a half-step forward, a quarter turn to aim under my guard, and a quick jab.

Footwork, Andrew. Forgetting that is what kept getting me- so not this time. Hopefully. Giving her ground with a step back, I twisted to the side and traded with a jab of my own. At the same time, I moved my back foot to keep my side in line with her, which ideally kept her from jabbing at my chest. Also, the Sun was just starting to peek over the fortress walls, and I'd rather it not blind me.

Olivia was a liar, by the way. She'd always blush and say she didn't really like fighting when I complimented her, but if you saw the firey gleam she had while fighting? Well, that's a regular reminder that she is Feroxi.

A flick of the forearm turned her jab into a short sweep, forcing me back on the defensive with a hasty block. Her step forward turned that into another advance, and the slide down my sword made it clear she was going for my knuckles.

Right, footwork again. She can outspeed me with her swings and outpace me with her own footwork, no questions. I needed to answer in kind.

Making space with a backwards shift, I spun my sword a bit and pushed hers to the side. Before she could recover, I pulled back just a bit more and brought my guard to eye-level. It was mostly a gut-suggestion backed by a handful of observations: with the tip angled downwards and towards Olivia, I could swing down in a flourish, stab over her guard, or adjust the angle to deflect one of her own strikes. Well, that was the theory. Maybe I was overthinking it.

Olivia beamed, blowing a stray strand of pink hair from her face and nodding approvingly. "You're a quick learner, Andrew," she said softly, "I wish I could, um, tell you more, but this is how I was taught. On-on my feet, that is. It's just that..."

My wrist started to complain about holding the awkward angle, which told me a bit about how I'd need to use that move in the future. "And you're a pretty good teacher, Olivia," I croaked out, throat unpleasantly dry, "Let me guess, my footwork is bad?"

"I-I wouldn't say bad," Olivia hedged.

"If you don't mind living with scars, it's not half bad," Anna supplied lazily, reclining on a bench and reading a book, "But at this rate, you'll have Olivia's tan from practicing and more bruises than... bleh, nevermind," Anna stuck out her tongue, giving up entirely.

I held back the urge to snicker. Not every line's a winner.

Olivia blushed again. "It's not a tan, a-actually. It's just my skin tone. Um, let's just get back to work," she nodded, closing her eyes and exhaling through her nose. "If stiffen your wrist, Andrew, you won't hurt it as much with that pose."

I was holding the pose, wasn't I? Following her instruction, I discovered that the load of the sword's weight was now using my forearm (which was what I should be using anyways, but I'm working on that). "Oh, so it does. Thanks!"

And we resumed, trading jabs for blocks, deflecting swings, and generally forcing me into a corner of the sparring arena. Even as the cold started to wear at my various aches, I was beyond grateful for it- it wasn't bone-chilling, and it kept me from getting particularly sweaty. If anything, it helped me focus on the fight. Focus wasn't something I was ever great at, so every little bit helped.

By week two, a mixture of breathing exercises and bruises encouraged me to shift those wandering thoughts aside. On good days, I could even use that to toss aside noisy disruptions, like that red-haired girl shouting something and charging towards me. This must be a good day, then!

A week of training hadn't done much- it was boring, actually- and the second week was the same, but with less of me getting knocked down for silly mistakes. Now I was on to beginner's mistakes instead, which Anna assured me was an improvement.

Swing to match her swing, sidestep and wide sweep to punish overextension, realize that she hadn't overextended, she'd baited me into moving my sword away to jab me in the side. Stuff like that.

It was like that most days, and after about two hours, Olivia would excuse herself to bathe and then we wouldn't see her for most of the day. She was a lovely woman; tooth-achingly sweet, ridiculously attractive, and shy enough that I hadn't really gotten to know her yet.

Focus, Andrew. Sidestepping Olivia's jab, my trade went wide when she took three steps back, forcing me to reassess. Why would-

Oh.

Snapping back to reality, I narrowly dodged her kick and nearly received a gut punch for my troubles.

"Whoah!" I said eloquently, eyes shifting between my attacker, Anna, and Lucina (who had her face in her hands).

"You bastard!" Severa spat out, fists swinging with surprising precision, "I knew Luce was being too kind."

"Um," I said, continuing my trend of not knowing what to say, "What?"

She narrowed her eyes, but stopped her assault. Sneering, she put a hand on a hip and inspected me carefully. It reminded me of Cordelia's expression when I asked her not to arrest Anna. Not surprising, but it sent a chill down my spine.

"Severa! Th- they were sparring!" Lucina shouted from off to the side, "My deepest apologies, Andrew. Lady Olivia, we have not yet met, and my friend means no harm."

I looked at Severa dubiously, exchanging glances with Anna and seeing the cogs spin behind her eyes.

Severa looked away, crossing her arms. "Gawds. Excuse me, I guess."

I'm easily distracted, sure, and I'm almost certainly a coward to boot.

But I'm no fool.

I could see it in Severa's stance- she oozed spite and didn't doubt her actions for a second. She just wanted to punch me, and sparring with Olivia provided the perfect excuse. The man I'd become in their future... well, he'd given Severa someone to hate. Dark thoughts sunk through me, splitting old wounds and searing new paths of self-doubt.

Smiling, I put a hand behind my head and grinned. "No harm done, Severa. I've never been in your situation, but-"

A large something thudded into the ground behind me, roaring and hissing. Not a moment later, a white-scaled dragon soared over my head, crashing directly into Severa and missing Anna entirely.

"Nuh-uh!" the dragon snarled, tail lashing and wings flared, "You can't hurt nice people, lady!"

Oh, so Nowi was here. Either I'd missed her for two weeks, or- no, Anna was pulling a scroll out of a satchel on Nowi's side. Guess she's delivering a message?

Olivia made a noise halfway between a squeak and a cough. "U-um, sorry to interrupt, but- what's going on?"

I shrugged helplessly.

"Oh hey," Anna said cheerfully, reading the scroll, "Looks like they've got Gangrel pinned down at a fort somewhere. Guess that means I'll be able to get my stuff soon! They spelled 'requisition' wrong, though."

Lucina sat down on a bench with a thud, and I understood exactly how she felt.

[][][][][][][][]

So that's how I ended up nearly getting kicked in the face by Severa. It was, at least, the most interesting thing to happen in two weeks- but it couldn't distract me much from my schedule. Well, more accurately, it felt better to stick to it. Thinking about Severa's hatred for my presence led to unpleasant places.

Once Lucina and Severa had been given rooms (at Olivia's insistence and my recommendation), and Nowi had been given a stern talking to-

[][][][][][][][]

"I was getting bored and Basilio said he needed a message sent!" Nowi said cheerfully, playing with a long curl of greenish-yellow hair, "But Cordelia was busy, and Maribelle won't let me play with Lissa anymore. So I went! And then I saw that meanie trying to hurt you. She got a big surprise, huh?"

If not for the bruising along Severa's shoulders, I would have laughed as well. Still, Nowi had cared enough to intervene, and that felt... well, it felt nice.

"I appreciate it, Nowi," I said, giving Nowi a pat on the head, "Really, I do. But jumping to conclusions-"

Nowi giggled. I couldn't help but smile.

"-isn't always a good idea."

[][][][][][][][]

-or something resembling a talking to, that is, I fixed myself a quick lunch and wandered back out to the yard.

Setting down the Fire Tome I'd brought with me, I took a moment to breathe in the atmosphere. Sunlight streamed across the battlements, casting spindly shadows that stretched halfway across the yard. Cold air struck a contrast to the wintry sun, warming my skin even as icy breezes curled in my chest.

It was good that the snow had melted again, seeping through loose cobble and soil; the glare in the afternoon often forced me to follow the shadows when practicing.

As I'd said earlier, today was a good day. Sure, there was the stuff with Severa, but the war was almost over! Anna and I could head down south, pick up the rest of her tea, and then meet up with Tiki in Ylisstol. Hopefully she'd cooled down enough to stop making veiled threats towards Anna (not that I blamed her).

And, of course, prepare for the next war. I wasn't sure how to handle that... or the empty feeling in my gut. Severa was a brash, rude girl, true- but there was a heart there, and it didn't like me one bit.

Picking the Fire Tome back up, I flipped it open and scanned the page. The composition didn't seem so bad; hell, it was easy enough for someone to cast without even reading the spell, so long as they had the tome in hand. For the longest time, I had no idea how that worked.

Over the last two weeks, Miriel's notes had done their best to explain why. Skipping over six hours of confused head-scratching, the strength of a spell is decided by how much mana you put into it and how well you control that mana.

I didn't really get it either until Anna gave me an example.

If I really wanted to, I could point in a direction, throw some mana out my finger, and tell it to make a fireball. Without months or years of practice, I'd just give myself a headache and burn my hand. A tome provided a safe place to put the mana, and some basic structure to focus it.

So let's say I put a bunch of mana into a Fire Tome. Assuming I did it correctly, I'd get a violent, uncontrolled blast of fire that falls apart after two or three seconds. If I actually read the Fire Tome and put more effort into keeping that fireball together, then I'd get a longer lasting, cheaper fireball.

Combining the two results in something similar to Elfire- but to control the larger volumes of mana, I'd need a more complicated spell tome.

It was, apparently, the example she used with nobles- to prove she wasn't scamming them, of course. That didn't exactly inspire confidence, but I trusted her word.

She'd also implied it would take months for me to slog through the Fire Tome and get a good grasp on it. Tomes were dry, obtuse, densely annotated, and written by people who had no business writing. Nobody liked reading them.

Basically, I needed to read a college textbook.

Once I looked at like that, it wasn't that hard- I'd read worse textbooks and slogged through much longer ones. Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics came to mind. The only cost was five or six days' afternoons, lunch to dinner. Well, that and Anna thinking I'm crazier than expected. Maybe I was, but when the alternative was doing absolutely nothing for an afternoon, it was an easy choice.

Concentrating, I reached inside of myself, tugging on that eager warmth that signified mana. It bubbled up, fizzing like a soda drunk too quickly as it answered my call. I went through the mental motions the tome described, nudging the mana as best I could and visualizing the appropriate patterns. Heat flowing and curling, taking strange shapes as the mana burned away. Fire, I encouraged it, moulding it like a strange clay, I need fire. And then, finally, it obeyed.

Triumphantly, I lobbed a fireball across the training yard. It soared through the air, crackling a joyous orange-red even as it detonated just where I'd wanted it. It only took a few seconds, too! Judging by the scorch marks and the strain in my chest, it was both smaller than I'd hoped and more mana-intensive than desired.

Or maybe that's just how the spell was. I wasn't really sure yet. Either way, I had to be careful- overtaxing myself felt halfway between a migraine and getting stabbed. Getting stabbed by a migraine with a really big sword, even.

Hadn't I walked out here to get away from my worries? Forcing a smile onto my face, I took a long, deep breath. Focus on magic, Andrew. Practice makes perfect, and the better I am, the less likely I am to be a liability in battle.

My next spell guttered out, snuffed like a candle in the wind. Something burned in my stomach, a knotted and blackened feeling that warped my expression into a grimace. At this rate, I'd be ready for this war just in time for the next one.

Phila was right to get me kicked out- I didn't deserve to be a Shepherd. Andrew Fairmason wasn't some hero, a character of storybook morals and quirky personality. He was someone Severa hated, someone Grima had an uneasy respect for. I could find some job away from the front lines, do good without risking the lives of everyone around me.

No more running, Andrew. I promised.

Breathe. That was the anxiety talking, I reminded myself, focusing on the bad instead of the good. Sirring up the magic once again, I called up another fireball. A proper Fire spell, worthy of the game.

It didn't go off course, and it didn't take quite as long to get there, either. Maybe it was a touch too large, but I could work with that.

Plus, Frederick liked me, which had to count for something.

There were a lot of good things to focus on, really. It was just a matter of keeping my thoughts from wandering away.

"We need to talk."

My fireball sputtered out in midair, fracturing into bundles of embers before fading away. I had no desire to deal with Severa right now- couldn't I just get some peace? I bit back a curse, snuffing out the spark of frustration before it colored my words.

Squaring my shoulders, I pocketed the tome and turned towards the speaker. "We do," I agreed, sighing and rubbing the back of my head, "Yeah."

Severa was leaning against the outer wall of the fort, arms crossed over a belted tan tunic. Her outfit was much more practical than her game art had shown; the tunic was clearly padded for protection, while her arms and legs had light leather armor. The long metal boots were still there, though. Absently, I wondered if that meant she preferred to fight on horseback- why else would you wear boots like that?

I was also secretly pleased that her twin-tailed hair was Cordelia's bright and lustrous red. It made guessing the father more difficult, true, but red was a good color on her. She'd probably yell at me for saying that.

Reigning myself in, I checked my person for weapons that might spook her. With the Duke belted to my side, that meant keeping my hands in clear sight and away from the sword.

To step aside: Yes, I was reading Severa like an open book. It felt wrong, it felt manipulative, and it felt like an abuse of a skill I'd honed strictly to entertain. Reading other actor's expressions was key to building a scene, and here I was using it on a kid whose eyes held more pain than I could bear.

But it was the right thing to do. We could get this over with, and Severa wouldn't have to deal with me again.

She eyed my sword with open suspicion, her right hand twitching slightly. "Gawds," she drawled, rolling her eyes, "I'm not going to hurt you unless you do something stupid. Luce said I should talk to you, okay?"

The words tumbled out of her mouth, delivered clearly but with a haste of an actor with stage fright. It didn't surprise me, given I was nervous about this conversation as well. But showing her that would be... unwise. So I pretended to notice nothing, instead spreading my hands and looking her in the eyes.

"I'll have to thank her later. Look," I started, sighing, "You don't trust me, that's pretty obvious. It probably doesn't mean much, but I'm not that person and hopefully never will be."

"It doesn't mean much, you're right," Severa agreed acidly, drumming her fingers on her forearm and tapping her foot, "Just know that if you take a single step out of line, I'll- I'll kill you."

If I remembered correctly, none of the future children had killed a person until they came back to the present. Severa hopefully hadn't needed to kill anyone yet, and ideally she'd never have to get use to the feeling either.

"Understood," I said anyways, silently wishing I hadn't left my cane, "But that's not why you came here."

Severa scowled at me, which looked more cute than she intended. "Drych is here, and that means Grima is here too. You know the future, Andrew- what's his plan?"

I didn't appreciate the tone, but getting to the point was always good. "The future I saw... wasn't like this," I said cautiously, "It was similar, but Drych wasn't here at all, and neither was I. But his plan isn't too complicated, honestly. He-"

"He'll trick the Shepherds into assembling the Emblem and then steal it for himself, gawds. Is it really that obvious? That's exactly what King Validar did last time," Severa huffed, rolling her eyes despite obvious discomfort. "So you've got nothing for me. Perfect."

I closed my mouth, trying not to frown. "Essentially that. If it's any consolation, we're supposed to win in this timeline. Sure, Drych is here, but we have Tiki."

Until I said it, I hadn't really thought about the 'ending' that much. Drych was a hazard, one that haunted my dreams, but the scales were quite clearly tipped in our favor. Clearing my throat, I continued, "That, and Robin's already putting out feelers for the other future children. Anna actually ran into Laurent, so we know he's somewhere in West Ferox."

Severa looked upwards, muttering under her breath. "Maybe this isn't useless. Fine. Not what I was hoping, but I can work with this."

We lapsed into an awkward silence.

It stretched, counting itself in minutes rather than seconds.

Clearing my throat again, I said, "Um. Was that it? Because I was, you know, practicing magic. I'd like to get in maybe another hour before I start cooking dinner, so," I trailed off, gesturing vaguely towards the scorch marks on the other side of the training yard.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a long, ragged breath. "Ugh. Andrew, I don't like you, and Luce can't change that. But I need your- I need your help, alright?"

I blinked owlishly, watching as Severa's entire demeanor changed. She took a few steps forward, wringing her hands and doing her best not to look at me. "Plus, we both know she gets her brains from Chrom."

"I don't know where you're going with this, but that's rude," I said pointedly, frowning, "Well, you said it like an insult, so I assumed."

That almost made Severa smile. I'd take that as a win. "Luce is brilliant," Severa emphasized, clenching her fists briefly, "But she thought that best friends always got married until she was ten, Andrew. Ten!"

"Point taken," I nodded, restraining a chuckle. From Tiki's tales of Chrom's awkward and entirely accidental flirting, that sounded about right.

Severa chewed her lip, eyes an unreadable tempest of emotion. "Gawds, this is going to sound dumb. The problem, Andrew, is that in every rumor or bit of news I've heard, they say th- that the Tactician is a woman. But the Grandmaster-"

Ah. That. It was at least something I could help with, which made me feel a bit better.

"-was a man, I know," I agreed, "I've-" met him? Should I really be saying that? Probably not. "I've seen that future, if only a little bit," I hedged, "And yes, this Robin is a woman, you heard correctly."

Crossing her arms, Severa raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

Perhaps now is a good time to step aside again. At first, I'd just taken it at face value- Grima was a man, Robin was a woman. Time stuff, and all that. But some pieces didn't connect, not in a way I liked. So I did some investigating, and some of the things I learned sparked a theory. It happened in my own world, too; I just hadn't expected to see it here. Once Anna explained to me why that brand of Peach Tea was so special, my theory was confirmed.

"They're the same person," I said simply, "She's changed genders, as best I can tell."

I could see the gears grinding in Severa's head. She didn't seem too bothered, which was reassuring, but the information was clearly taking time to digest. "Uh," she grunted. "What do you mean, as best you can tell?"

Humming, I stroked my chin. "Robin's always busy, and it'd be rude to ask Maribelle to break Robin's trust," I concluded, "But I'm confident in my conclusion, Severa."

Severa forced a scowl onto her face. "Gawds," she muttered, running a hand through her hair, "Huh."

"Do you, uh-" I paused, reaching out a hand to pat her on the shoulder, "Want to talk about it?"

Her scowl became far more genuine, and she shook her head emphatically. "With you? No. I'm just... I'm going to go. Don't try anything, or you'll have me to answer to, alright?"

Those last words felt like more of an afterthought than anything- she didn't trust me, but she obviously had more important things on her mind. "Alright," I said softly, ignoring the twisting ache in my gut, "I understand."

Severa stormed off, leaving me painfully alone with my thoughts.

[][][][][][][][]

The day marched grimly to its conclusion, and with the fading sun came new concerns, new aches.

Nowi's message came with specific orders. She'd flown ahead of the soldiers she was sent with, and they were due to arrive a few hours past the dawn tomorrow. And once they did, they'd swap with the reserve soldiers stationed here, and Nowi would leave again, headed for the Shepherds and the Feroxi Army.

Olivia would go with them. Lucina and Severa would, no doubt, tail close behind.

And, shortly after, the Plegian War would end with Gangrel dead. One war ended, two to go.

I should be happy, right? Two years to get my butt in gear, two years to become useful for the Shepherds. Hopefully I'd be able to help Lucina find a few of her companions- though it seemed likely that my knowledge was all she'd want from me.

Beating around the bush wasn't going to make me feel any better. As I stood there on the battlements, watching alien stars twinkle overhead, I felt... awful. And I had no right to feel that way.

"There you are, Andrew," someone said with far too much cheer, "I was wondering where you'd wandered off to, hm?" Boots clacked gently against stone, growing louder with each step.

Anna. Here to take my mind off things, even if she doesn't realize it. Shivering in the night breeze, I did my best to force some cheer into my voice. "Yup, you found me," I said, my voice wavering, "What's up?"

Her footsteps hitched, pausing for a heartbeat. "Oh," she said softly, "I had some numbers I wanted to go over with you, y'know? But-"

She paused again, letting out a sigh. "It can wait until tomorrow, when you're feeling better."

My fingernails dug into my palms, as if drawing a little blood might help my mood. Stifling a rising temper once again, I waved, not once looking in her direction. "Sure. That's good by me, Anna," I bit out- where was this anger coming from? This strange frustration? "Maybe after breakfast."

What was I expecting from her, anyways? Some reassurance? That was absurd; I couldn't expect that from her yet, not really.

"...Andrew?" Anna said, her voice louder and far closer.

I jumped half a foot into the air, thoughts pinging around as embarrassment warmed my face. I turned to face Anna, taking a half-step back when I realized how close she was. She did the same, actually. Her eyes gleamed impishly as she put a hand on her hip. "Mhmhm. Checked out again, are we?" she smiled, tapping the side of her head with a finger.

Putting a hand to my heart, I let out a long breath. The knotted feelings weren't gone, true, but they could wait. "You got me," I grinned, only needing a bit of effort to fake it, "You got me. Just... yeah, I got distracted."

She reached out, hand inches from my face, primed to flick me in the nose. After a brief hesitation, she instead prodded me on the nose, rolling her eyes. "Spill it, Andrew. I don't plan to pay you for any extra baggage, okay?"

I raised an eyebrow, my grin becoming a touch more genuine. "You're paying me? Of your own free will?"

Her expression soured, if only for a heartbeat. "I can barely believe it myself," she chuckled, putting a finger to her chin, "But not for services rendered in... the past, nope. With the war almost over, we can get on the road again and I- er, we- can start making money. And I plan to pay you if you come along, hm?" she rubbed her fingers together, eyes sparkling.

That was a... not awful idea. It was better than staying in Ylisstol, and there was a decent excuse for us to take Tiki along. Hadn't she mentioned wanting to visit Mount Prism? "Well, as long as I keep training, I, uh," I paused, scratching my head, "I mean, why not? I'm still terrible with actual money, though, so I'll have to trust you not to con me."

"I'll do my best," Anna hummed, pulling out a battered journal and leafing through it. "But you're distracting me from the point again, Andrew. Spill the beans."

My gut twisted. "But beans are some of your favorite parts of a soup!" I protested, earning a smile from Anna, "I mean, sure, soup isn't the ideal one-dish meal, but spilling them-"

"Andrew," Anna drawled, cutting me off, "You spent two hours lobbing fireballs at a patch of dirt today, and even I know enough about feelings to know you're carrying something around. Goods take up a lot more space than gold, all right?"

I worked my jaw, watching Anna's expression curiously. There was a passion to her words, but she didn't seem confident in them.

It was so tempting. To open my mouth, and let months of feelings come spilling out, feelings I'd pushed away or ignored. To ramble on about the nightmares, and lay bare my fears. But Anna wouldn't be able to take all of that, and then I'd have no friends to talk to. And if she ran away again? I didn't know what I'd do.

So I looked her in the eye and said, "Anna, you don't really want to know."

The gleam in her eyes dimmed, focusing into an unwieldy ember. Her expression hardened. "I'm trying, Andrew," she began dully, "And I hate every moment of it."

My heart dropped into my stomach, brushing the blackened vines of anxiety. I couldn't speak, not with my throat so constricted.

"But I want to care, Naga damn it," Anna spat out, turning around and crossing her arms, "I just want things to go back to the way they were. Before I screwed up, when you could make me laugh and I could make you smile. When we were... you know, really friends, instead of whatever this is." She gestured broadly, waving her hand towards me.

I didn't expect a word of this, but it felt right. "I understand that," I replied softly, "I want that too. I miss when all three of us could stand in one place, arguing about something dumb-"

"-Without waiting for something to ruin it," Anna finished. "I," she paused, "I didn't," she tried again. And then she stopped entirely, falling silent.

Time marched on, marked only in the rustling breeze and passage of the Moon.

I called upon my courage, forcing words out my throat. "Breathing helps," I encouraged, "Trust me."

She laughed bitterly, her voice cutting through the the air. "And there you go again! You're helping me, when I don't deserve a damn word of it."

Silence returned. I could speak, but for once I couldn't find the words. Not immediately, that is.

"Tomorrow, when Olivia leaves, I'm going with her," I said, startling myself, "You don't have to come, obviously. But when this is all over, Anna? We sit down and talk, and we work this out."

Anna sniffed. "Of course you'd say that," she shook her head, looking up at the Moon. "Don't get yourself killed, alright?"

I chuckled, wincing at the hitching and wavering that came with it. "That's a promise, Anna."

There were no more words to be spoken. We watched the stars in silence, and I at least took comfort in it.

[][][][][][][][]

The day was beautiful and cloudless, even in its opening hours. A pastel sky gave way to brilliant blues, and the sunlight found me carrying a Manakete around on my shoulders.

"This is going to be wayyy more fun than the trip here," Nowi cheered, "The soldiers are so boring. They don't even like my sundresses!"

I hadn't the heart to tell her that the soldiers were terrified of her. "They're just grumpy, Nowi. It's a war, that does that to people."

"People are dumb," Nowi complained, fidgeting with my hair, "They should stop."

"Stop what? Being dumb, or being boring?" I smirked, waving to Olivia as I approached. "Hey there. Mind if I tag along?" I said, using my elbow to point at my sword. "Worst comes to worst, I can just watch from behind, maybe throw a few spells."

Olivia's eyes sparkled. "Oh! I was hoping you'd come, actually. I-I mean, I don't want you to get hurt, but by the time we get there the war should be almost over. You can celebrate with the rest of the army!"

I grimaced, recalling the party in the fort. "Eh, maybe," I agreed anyways, "Are you packed?"

She gestured to the pair of carts the soldiers were preparing. "Of course! I packed my winter gear, a-and some extra clothes, and even my dancer's garb. J-just in case, you know."

I hadn't seen her wearing it yet, and I had a mix of dread and excitement when I thought about it. On one hand, a beautiful woman dancing in very light clothing. On the other, I didn't want to unintentionally stare at her and make her uncomfortable.

"Good," I nodded, "And Nowi's packed too, because she never got properly unpacked, might I add. I brought extra food for our two stowaways," I continued, "Nowi, can you point at the two girls over there? Actually, don't, I think they're trying to hide."

"They're meanies," Nowi stated, "They wouldn't play Duck Duck Dragon with me, not even when I asked nicely."

"Just grumpy," I sighed, hiding a grin, "Most people don't like that game. Might be the part where you turn into a dragon."

"But that's the best part!" Nowi whined, "Being big is cool."

Someone shouldered past me, their off-white coat gleaming in the light. "You have space for one more?" a familiar voice hummed, "Because I have business in that direction."

I blinked. "Anna?"

She turned around, cheerfully winking at me. "What, do you think I'd let you go without me? I know how much broth you have packed, and I fully plan on getting in on that action."

I laughed, knots unwinding and tension escaping. "Soup isn't so bad, after all, when it's shared with friends."

"Naga, that's so cheesy, Andrew," Anna scoffed.

I flushed. "Am I wrong?"

Humming, Anna shook her head. "Not at all."

[][][][][][][][]

Author's Note:

We're marching ever closer to the end of the Plegian War! It's been a wild ride, hasn't it? I'd like to thank Grand Paladin Tyrux for giving this chapter a once-over; it was really helpful.

So, this comes with a bit of an announcement, but I'll keep it short. If things go well for me in the coming weeks, I might shift to a one-week update cycle for a bit. We'll see how that goes!

As always, let me know what you thought! Drop a review, PM me, or come by the discord:

9XG3U7a

Cheers,

Narwhal Lord