Genres/Rating: Family, War, Truth, History. (T)

Characters: Raine, Dimitri, Warin, Seteth, Flayn, Claude, Rhea.

Summary: It was a long tale, and one not told entirely willingly. The truth however was no longer a matter of secrecy, not when it had come knocking on their front door so brazenly, and had nearly taken the entirety of the continent down in flames. There was shame, guilt, and regret in those seafoam-green eyes of hers as she explained the history that she had guarded so carefully, and the like-coloured eyes that stared coldly back at her made her wince. She would find no redemption in this truth, but the matter she desperately wanted to speak of was not for the ears gathered there. Not yet.


Verdant Rain Moon

Enbarr Castle Dungeons

Night

Stern, firm hands grasped her shoulders, pulling her away from the warm, comforting figure she had thrown herself at thoughtlessly on sight and sight alone, and for a moment, Rhea thought to struggle before she saw Seteth's face watching her quietly. His brow was furrowed in a familiar frown, but there was a deeper disturbance in his eyes as they flickered from her confused expression and then back to the professor. He kept her firmly at heel, needing little more than a light grip to ensure she was pulled well back and away, and a lingering glimpse over her shoulder proved that perhaps he was far more capable of reading the situation than she was, and it would be wiser to follow his lead in this matter.

Raine's expression was tense and uncomfortable, her seafoam-coloured eyes almost incapable of being read for all the speeding emotions that were flickering through as she moved automatically closer to huddle herself next to the hulking man who had escorted her to the dungeons. It was as if she was seeking his protection, and he moved immediately with her, shifting himself to settle a shoulder in front of her like a shield without a single word spoken between them. A glimpse of that golden-coloured hair was a faint reminder as Seteth pulled her back towards Flayn and the spread-out cloak that she had been sitting upon, and a small part of her heart ached with the realization that this was how the prince of Faerghus had grown in the near six years since she had been imprisoned.

It was so strange, watching those she had left behind coming to her rescue, though she would not lie and say that her dreams had so often featured such a scenario. Yet, never had her hero been escorted, and always had she been received with warmth and relief. The reality was far more cold, far more stern, and her battered and bruised body tensed with annoyance. Was it so much to ask, after the pain and the torture and the loneliness, for her to indulge herself in her happy dreams now that the shackles had been sundered? It seemed it was as Seteth guided her to the ground, his hands commanding and unyielding, and though she sat, she could not help but look up at him silently in question.

He gave her no answer, merely shaking his head as his daughter reached for her wrist without a word of permission. Flayn's hand was gentle and warm as it glowed with that familiar pulse of magic, once more beginning to soothe the red and raw skin the manacles had burnt in their vice-like grip, but Rhea was well aware that like her father, she, too, was bothered by this scenario. Her expression was likewise pulled into a frown, her eyes downcast and firmly focussed on her work, and confused, Rhea raised her own head as she glimpsed at her surroundings and took in the expressions of all of the others who had arrived at the dungeons.

Claude's expression was a familiar one, even if it was on a more grown face than she remembered. There was hunger in his eyes, a deep-seeded and lustful want for knowledge that he was not permitted to have, and a willingness to cross any and all boundaries in order to get to it. He had grown physically, but deep down he was still that pesky troublemaker, and he didn't look one whit apologetic or even caring about how he had to appear in the moment. He had come for one reason and one reason only, to sate his lust for the truth, and he did not care who knew, or what they thought of him for it.

In comparison, Dimitri's growth was clear and almost astonishing to look at, and Rhea had to examine him closely with both surprise and a small pang somewhere deep in her chest. He looked older, but there was also a haggard sort of edge to him that cut down his size and made him look just as worn as his clothing. The eyepatch he wore too was old, a sign of a long-pained wound, and the way he held himself also spoke of innumerable scars and pain from too many battles in too short a time period. He had become a behemoth of a man, tall, imposing, and rugged, but there was a clear and battered edge to him, too, that could not be hidden by his sheer size and strength.

Where Dimitri had weathered, Warin instead had grown hard, and Rhea had to admit to herself that she was not sure she would have believed such a thing to be possible. He stood cold and imposing, a long, jagged scar peeking out over his collar and disappearing under his hair as his arms folded across his chest in testament to the last iota of patience he seemingly was clinging onto. His eyes were icy, colder than the giant wastelands in the far north, and his expression was painfully neutral despite the way his gaze bit into her like a pair of fangs. He was watching, ever the silent predator, and yet now more than ever did she feel danger and fright at the sight of him. He had always been a mercenary born, but whatever had happened in the last five years had turned him from a soldier for hire to an expert killer.

It was Raine and only Raine who seemed unchanged against the trio of men she stood amongst, though there was some age in her seafoam-coloured gaze that had not been there before. She knew already it was not those five years, Seteth and Flayn had told her already that she had "disappeared" in the chaos of the fighting, only to return at the last possible moment to rally the rebellion. What had truly happened to her no one seemed to know, other than she apparently had "slept", and whatever she had experienced, she had not shared with either of the two she knew best. Now, the professor seemed guarded and wary, unnerved and relying on Dimitri's silent support that he seemed to offer without hesitation or worry.

The eyes on her felt piercing, restraining, moreso than the shackles that had chained her down and the steel that had pierced her flesh for the blood that the Imperial mages had so hungrily sought from her. It made her tense, and she unconsciously leaned back to feel Seteth calmly standing at her back and watching over her protectively. Flayn's hands were gentle on her wounds, her magic even moreso as it reached out to soothe her aches and pains like an old, old friend. Yet even their steady, familiar presences felt tense, and their expressions were troubled by something that put her all the further on edge under so much intense scrutiny. She began slowly, hesitantly, simultaneously hating herself for the show of weakness and yet altogether too drained and disturbed to do anything else, "You all... have come here to rescue me...? Is the war... truly over, then? Have you managed... to defeat the Emperor?"

"Edelgard is dead, but the war is far from over. We've more enemies that must be taken care of before we can claim a victory." Claude spoke up first as the questions hung quiet and hesitant in the air, and he crossed his arms as he looked abut the room to see the varying expressions that all spoke of hesitation or disinterest in providing an answer. It irked him, having finally come all this way only to see the rest of them stumble, and he knew his temper showed as he turned on Rhea instead alone, heat entering his voice and turning it sharp and piercing, "Enemies we believe that you know of, to be perfectly frank, Archbishop. While it's true for some here that your rescue was the end-game of this confrontation, that wasn't why all of us gathered. You've so many answers to our many, many questions... and you aren't going to get away with half-truths, or twisted lies anymore."

"More... enemies? I don't under-"

"You've been here for over six years, have you not? Don't lie!" Claude's voice rose to an abrupt shout, and almost everyone in the room cringed automatically from him at the sudden display of anger as he threw out an arm in a sweeping dismissive gesture of her stammering reply. His eyes were blazing as he took an automatic step forward, and he wasn't at all surprised to see Flayn move just a little to insert herself between him and Rhea without an ounce of hesitation or fear. Her expression was serious and fearless, firm and defensive, and her father was quick to mirror her actions to create a shield between the two of them. He shook his head, annoyed but unsurprised by their act of defiance and protection, and he continued in that same sharp tone, "Don't tell me that you've been hidden away from those pale-faced bastards that propped up the Empire and made puppets of us all for this entire war! They were here, with Edelgard, when we took this castle for our own! You must have seen them at least once! You must know what they've been doing with you, with your blood, just as they did with Flayn's back in our school days!"

"She didn't know, Claude. And you would have known that had you allowed us to finish explaining before you started your questioning." Flayn's voice came quiet but defiant from the floor where she was still sitting, with Rhea's shivering hands tightly gripped in her own, and her eyes flashed with annoyance as Claude looked down at her with no small mixture of contempt and irritation. She returned his glare flatly, unafraid of him and unimpressed by the attempt at intimidation, and she continued in that same calm, but obviously annoyed tone of her own, "Edelgard only permitted her own trusted Imperial mages to interact with Lady Rhea. She created a buffer, to ensure that Thales would never be able to directly see or interact with her. Her blood was taken for the experiments with the Demonic Beasts, and likely for whatever it was that happened to Edelgard herself, but Lady Rhea was never aware of what was happening outside of this cell. To say otherwise is foolish. Who would inform a prisoner of why they are being tortured, unless they wish to break her down further? Edelgard cared only for the means to the end to her power. Lady Rhea's mental state was never of interest to her."

"Fine. So she never had direct interaction with them, but there must be a reason why Edelgard made it that way. What do you know of them, Lady Rhea? These enemies of ours that Hubert called those who slither in the dark?" Claude brushed away the explanation with a flick of his wrist, and he sidestepped about Flayn's shielding so he could directly cast his gaze fiercely on the woman who was still sitting quiet, vulnerable, and startled on the floor next to her. Her battered and weary state meant little to him, not when he was so painfully close, and he waved a hand about the cell when he continued on, "Enemies of not just the Church of Seiros, but the entirety of Fódlan... Enemies who have been trying, and almost succeeded, in wiping what they called "vermin" off of the map of this continent. Their grudge with humanity, with these so-called "children of the Goddess" seems to span generations, and their power is immense. They destroyed Fort Merceus with the use of the javelins of light of legend, that caused the Valley of Ailell... Hubert didn't name them directly, but he didn't need to. The power they gave the Empire in their war nearly doomed the whole of the continent. What kind of enemy did the Church make all those years ago?"

Rhea shook her head, feeling her temples throbbing as Claude's loud voice pierced through her ears and made her body tremble with remembrance. Those "scientists" that had come to her cell, always with new enchanted chains and knives and vials had spoken to her in similar tones, and always that searing pain had taken away everything else when they had finished with her. They took too much delight in their tasks, in her pain, and she winced away from the familiarity as she felt Seteth's strong hand gripping down firmly on her shoulder in a show of silent support. His words were difficult to understand, even though a faint part of her was waking with realization, but it was difficult to balance the two halves of herself that were at war with the sudden feeling of freedom, and the cell that had been her home for so many years.

It was Seteth, and not Rhea who answered Claude, bringing all eyes to him in alarm and surprise as he took a firm step and put Rhea at his back. His face was grave, yet still composed, and his dark emerald eyes glinted coolly as he stood in front of both his daughter and the archbishop when he spoke calmly, "The enemy you speak of was not made due to the Church's actions, Claude. Rather, the feud you reference was born before the Church's very creation. Those who slither in the dark... They are a very real enemy, whose existence was once thought to have been totally stomped out, but at the time of the full-fledged war when they fought openly, and not from the shadows, they had a name that we recognized, and had subsequently erased from history when their defeat was called. I did not know of this myself until today, when I fought them personally, but I know now who they are, what they wish for, and why they have done what they have done. The Agarthans have ever been the enemy of the children of the Goddess, and it was a mistake, all those many years ago, to have thought them wiped out."

"Seteth!" Rhea felt new energy surging through her body, a raw sort of primal fear she had not known even in her six years of imprisonment, and she struggled to stand only to find her limbs would not permit it. She turned her head, shaking it fiercely as her loyal companion looked down at her with a mixture of sadness and guilt painted across his face. Yet there was also something akin to relief, as if he was letting a long-infected wound finally drain rather than permitting it to boil, and the very idea made her skin cold. This was not permitted, and her teeth ground together as she struggled to find some hidden reserved of energy to allow her to stand, to silence him, "You cannot-"

"Rhea. The time for secrecy... is over. We cannot keep up this charade... and we have no right to do so in front of the professor, and everyone else here." Flayn's hands tightened on Rhea's, keeping her anchored with what little strength she had, and she was both surprised and hurt to realize it did not take very much to subdue the much older woman. Rhea was weak even if she was frightened, and her body simply was too exhausted to flee, as it clearly wished to do. It made her chest throb as Rhea's panicked eyes turned from her father and to her, and she squeezed those trembling fingers in her grasp comfortingly as she urged her softly, "Father speaks truly. Of who our enemies are, and what they wished for. We saw it for ourselves, and we cannot deny the truth any longer. To do so would put more innocent lives at risk. They are not worth our secrets. Too many have paid too high a price for it already... and the professor deserves the truth. We cannot hide who we are any longer. We must trust in those who came this far to save Fódlan, and you. They will finish what they started. You must believe in them, as we do. The truth will only hurt us, and them, should we continue to hide it."

"Then speak. No one here is about to stop you." Warin interrupted before either Rhea or Claude could do so, and his voice was a powerful whip that drew all eyes to him. He had not moved from where he was, leaning against the wall in a casual, calm pose, but his expression belied the look of comfort. His face was drawn and sharp, his eyes glinting with life and barely leashed wrath, and the arms that had been crossed over his chest were bulging in a testament to the way his fists had to be curled tightly under his armpits. His eyes however were for Flayn, as odd as it seemed when he looked so angry, but his voice remained clear, not projecting that wrath in any given direction as she met his stare without hesitation or fear, "Take as much time as you wish to sort it out amongst yourselves... but tell us the truth. What war did we get dragged into against our wills, and better knowledge? What foes are we fighting, that are capable of destroying an entire fort without ever making themselves known? And who are you, knowing all of this, but deciding to keep it from those who put their necks on the line, as if our deaths, our victories, won't mean anything to you at the end of all this?"

Seteth looked to Rhea for a long moment as he felt the weight of the burden on his shoulders, and the fear and panic on her face cut him deep to the bone. It was primal, and despite his decision, he winced with guilt for putting it there. Her fear was justified, and he would never say otherwise, but so many other factors had come into play that he could no longer account for her emotions. If even Flayn had persisted, had pled for the truth, it meant that the time to shine the light was now, and it was his duty to do what Rhea clearly would not. He took in a deep, steadying breath before he turned his eyes to those who were assembled in the small, dank cell, and he spoke with quiet, firm clarity as he felt their gazes piercing him through, "As I said before, the foes we face are that of the Agarthans... Enemies of the children of the Goddess... The Nabateans. Those who once dwelt in Zanado, in the days when the Goddess herself walked amongst humanity. They were bitter foes who spurned her gifts, and were suspicious and bloodthirsty. War was their calling, and they waged it furiously... Do you all recall the name Nemesis?"

"The King of Liberation. The original wielder of the Sword of the Creator." Dimitri spoke first, his eyes flickering to the sword at Raine's hip before he glanced back up to Seteth with a furrowed brow. Raine's hand lunged almost immediately for the hilt of her blade at the mention of its former owner, and he winced with the realization that even now, she could not bear the idea of having the sword not rest in her hand. It didn't matter how much battle she had seen, how much more was to dawn on the horizon, as she had made that Relic into an extension of her being, and it was now as much a part of her as her own arm. Still, he was confused as he looked to Seteth and Rhea, and his words came slowly as he wondered, "Why does he matter to this story? The Goddess gifted him his blade, did she not?"

"That... is the story as it is now told, but the truth is not so... Nemesis was no liberator... nor did he receive the Sword of the Creator as a gift. It was... stolen from the Goddess, and now I believe that he used the power of the Agarthans to do so." Rhea now spoke, startling the others, but she was not looking up from where she was sitting. Her hands were crossed in her lap, tightly gripping one another to stop them from trembling even as Flayn laid her own over them. Her eyes were cloudy, distant, and her lips thinned as she felt Seteth's hand once more coming to rest comfortingly on her shoulder at her show of speech. It was difficult, trying to put thought to words, but she tried all the same as she watched out of the corner of her eye as Raine's hand gripped down all the tighter on the hilt of her blade, "If all that you are saying is true... That the Agarthans have risen once more... Then Nemesis' benefactors are now laid bare to us... The Agarthans have long sworn death to the Nabateans. To use Nemesis, and the Ten Elites to do so, and now once again using the Empire as a prop in a similar attempt... How could it not be their hand again at play...? How did this happen yet again, without our knowledge...?"

"Wait a moment, the Ten Elites as well?"

"Of course. Nemesis didn't act alone. If you wish to craft a fine lie that will stand the test of time, there must be seeds of truth within it." Warin's comment at Claude's surprise drew a searching glance from Seteth, Flayn and Rhea, and he looked at them with a cocked eyebrow and a mixture of amusement and curiosity. How was it that they seemed so shocked each time one of their stories were unravelled? It wasn't as if they were playing a game that long preceded their very existence, after all. He shrugged his shoulders, not moving from the wall as he kept his eyes firmly focussed on Rhea as he studied her reaction closely, "Am I right? Nemesis waged war on the Nabateans, at the behest of the Agarthans... alongside the Ten Elites of old. The so-called great war against the evil gods was really the war between the Agarthans and the Nabateans, and those all in between. Do I have the story right so far?"

"The... gist of it..." Rhea murmured rather begrudgingly, and she felt her back stiffen as Warin's eyes narrowed down on her like a predator awaiting the proper moment to pounce. He seemed so sure of himself, of everything he said, and it irked her beyond belief to hear such arrogance coming from his mouth. It was so galling, to see him standing before her mockingly, threateningly, with those same beautiful colours she had once envied and loved, and now could only recoil from in bitter memory. She avoided his glance, unable to bear that cold, deadly weight as she forced herself to continue as Flayn's hand squeezed her fingers comfortingly, "You spoke... of power beyond your comprehension... Power enough to destroy the entirety of a fortress... This is power the Agarthans have had, and have used before, once in the distant past. If nothing else, this is enough proof that the foe you seek now is indeed the foe of old... But, as Seteth said... It was believed after the war that the Agarthans were defeated... and to ensure that no one else would follow in their footsteps... It was decided that history should be rewritten. The tragedy of Zanado... The needless deaths of so many innocents... The sheer destruction of the war... It could not be permitted to happen again."

"And thus you condemned us all to a repetition in a vain attempt to steer clear of it. Idiocy." Warin continued in that same cold, blunt tone, but he took no satisfaction as he watched the trio in front of him wince as if his words were iron barbs. Rhea in particular was still avoiding his gaze, and she was grinding her teeth as if in annoyance, but she either did not have the courage, or the energy, to challenge him. He pressed further, understanding now was the only chance he would have, and he seized on the opening with cruel efficiency, "Yet, some part of me can understand how you'd be so damned arrogant to have such a belief... I've noticed you haven't answered my question about who you all are, and yet you speak of these ancient times as if they were only yesterday to you. As if you lived them. The Nabateans aren't all dead, are they? There's some in this very room, isn't there? Your arrogance dragged everyone here into a war that had nothing to do with any of us, and the blame for it can be laid solely at your feet. And still you try to avoid ownership by speaking half-truths, and mincing your words. I said I wanted the truth, not your version of the past. Don't test me with this asinine, half-arsed charade of yours. Out with it. Who are you?"

"We are the Nabateans. Or, at least, we are all that remains of them." Flayn now spoke, startling both Rhea and Seteth, and she stood before Rhea's hands could become grasping, and her father could pull at her to stop her from continuing. She stepped away from them both, turning her backs to those who stood away and against them and now turning her gaze fully to those she called kin, and loved from the depths of her heart. Her promise held her tightly in iron chains, but she found comfort in them, comfort and relief from the freeing of the other shackles, and she could feel Warin's stare on her shoulders as she looked both of the startled older two in the eyes and confronted them quietly, "Father... Rhea... I will not keep this secret from them any longer. I have promised... that when the time came... I would give all I had to give to them, for the trust they have put in me. I cannot give them what they truly seek, and even now, they are not pushing for it... So, in turn, I will give them what I can. You must understand I do not do this as a betrayal... but as penance. We have lived with our secrets for so long, we have forgotten why we chose to hide in the first place. Our duty is the protection of humanity... Not to be their leaders. We are the last of the children of the Progenitor God... We must fulfil our duties... while minding the hearts and lives of those who have come to our aid, time and time again, when they had no reason to do so. You understand, do you not? You agree with me, don't you?"

"F-Flayn..." Seteth began in alarm as he heard all of those precious secrets slipping freely from her lips like rainfall. It stunned him, and made him frozen as she met his stare evenly and with utter conviction. She had never feared for herself the way he had, she had never been hunted like they all had, and she had always, always yearned for a freedom he knew she could never truly grasp. He had known all of this, and yet to see her now, standing before him and letting the truth go for the humans at her back made his spine turn to jelly, and all of his instincts demanded flight. She didn't know of what she was doing, how much she was risking, and it sharpened his voice as he scolded her, "Do not speak so lightly of these things! It is not a matter of agreement, or understanding! Once already they sought and captured you, and now you would openly tell all?! Did you learn nothing?!"

"I learned that your mistrust of humanity was mistaken, Father." Flayn's answer came calmly, and her eyes flickered unhappily as she stood her ground against his wrath that she knew was grounded in worry... but her promise compelled her, and she did not shy away now. It was far too late for that, and she felt the warm support of her professor and her brother at her side, even though they had not once moved, and that was all that she needed to have her confidence bolstered. Her voice was steady, even, as she stared both her father and Rhea down without fear or worry she was wrong, "At every turn, I have learned that when needed most, I can rely on those who took me in without question and with the uttermost kindness. That my secrets were of no matter to them, because they trusted me, and they cared little for what I hid from them for my own safety. When needed most... They would put their faith in me. Now, it is my turn to repay their faith. I am an ally first and foremost to the professor... and now that she needs me... I shall stand at her side, as I should have done from the very beginning."

The shocked silence that followed her proclamation was oppressive like the weight of a coming storm, and Raine felt her throat tighten as she looked at the stricken faces of Seteth and Rhea as Flayn stood protectively before her. She could feel Warin's quiet satisfaction at her side, proving that this was nothing of a surprise to him, but to her she felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. The secrets were of little matter to her, especially when she had already harboured her suspicions, but to see Flayn turn her back so pointedly on those she called on kin, for her own sake, to boot... She shook her head slowly, her voice tight as she began weakly, "Flayn, this really isn't necessary..."

"Forgive me, Professor... but it truly is." Flayn glanced over her shoulder, locking eyes with the woman who had taken her in with a small, gentle smile, and had treated her with absolutely no favours ever since the day she had joined her class. She had given her a taste of sorely-needed normalcy, of a life without trappings, favouritism and paranoia, and she wished for nothing more than the chance to return to such sweet days. To know she had played her part in robbing her professor of that balance, of choice, would always be her biggest regret, even if she had not known the truth of it all at the time. "I do this not only for your sake, but also for my own. To clear my guilty conscience... and make things right. I was never your best student, but you treated me fairly... and I did not show you the loyalty you deserved, when push came to shove... Today is when I show my mettle. When I stand my ground. You were treated wrongly. I will have no more part of it, and I will stand at your side and fight with you to the last to give you what you seek. No matter what it costs me."

"That is truly your wish, then...? You've grown even more stubborn, haven't you?" Seteth shook his head slowly in defeat as his daughter's words whipped at his heart, flaying his defences and leaving him completely bare to her ire. It was strange, how proud and saddened he felt at the sight of her growth and her defiance, but he supposed that was simply his due coming far, far later than it should have. She was a little girl no longer, no matter how her growth was delayed due to the blood that flowed in her veins, and that sharp, commanding light in her eyes was far too much like his late wife's for his heart's liking. He bowed his head, knowing the battle was lost, and he sighed heavily as he agreed quietly, "As you wish it, then, Flayn... The secrecy ends here... They may have all the answers they wish for."

"Is that truly your choice, then...? You'd put your trust in humanity again, after everything that was taken from us all those years ago?"

The question came so weakly from the woman still kneeling between them, and Seteth winced at the sheer exhaustion that was dripping from her voice as she glanced from face to face almost beseechingly. He understood her fear, he understood her reluctance, but... his daughter had pointed out their flaws, and sheer pragmatism told him that even if he was to struggle and hide, he was too far outnumbered to fight it now. They were cornered, but those who held them at their mercy were not the monsters of old they had been taught to fear and hide from. He knelt down slowly, again placing a calming, placating hand on Rhea's thin shoulder as he reassured her quietly, "These are not the humans of the past, Rhea. We cannot hold onto our grudges... and our fears. They have come this far, ignorant and being pushed and pulled from all angles... They deserve the truth, for that much, if nothing else. It does not need to be all at once, but their questions of their enemies are fair. Even you must see the wisdom in that, at the very least."

"Then ask what it is you wish... I cannot go against the will of my kin. And I've no strength left to me to fight any longer." Rhea's reply came tiredly, grudgingly, and she stared with quiet defeat at her hands as she felt both Seteth and Flayn crowding next to her to offer her comfort despite their blatant betrayal. Whatever had occurred in the past six years had changed them, and though she wondered sorely what it was they had lived through, she honestly was not sure if she was ready to know. Flayn's declaration of utter loyalty to her professor had shaken her to her core, and it took all of what little willpower she had left not to lift her eyes to look to the woman in question. Still she could feel her warmth in her arms, feel her reassuring strength and hear her quiet promise that she would have freed anyone from such cruelty... but it was trite kindness. The woman she had left behind with her power was not the one who stood before her now, and despite herself... She was frightened of her, and of the men and women she had rallied behind her banner, and her power, separate of the Church, of herself, and of the Goddess. "Ask what you will... and I shall answer to the best of my ability."

"The most pressing questions have already been answered for the moment... The details we can go over at a better time and place. Knowing your connection to these... Agarthans explains much of the mysteries we've been trying to unravel on our own these past few years... But don't allow that to lead you to believe you are off the hook yet, Archbishop." Claude spoke, head tilting to the side as he scowled down at the trio sitting down in the end of the cell. He had so much more he wanted to know, wanted to pry from their reluctant grasps, but even he was aware that he had reached a hard limit. Rhea's complexion was sickly, and the tension within the cell was so thick it could easily be cut through with a dagger. Already he could sense there had been several moments where a wrong word had almost been spoken, where violence had nearly broken out, and his appetite for fighting was long gone... For the moment. "You've much to answer for, and you will, in due time."

"Despite it all, you have not changed all that much, have you, Claude?" Rhea mused with a half-hearted sort of shake of her head, but her smile was bitter and her eyes sharp. Under her exhaustion and pain there was cold appraisal, and it cut through his carefree and commanding demeanour with little effort. Still, after all these years and all his growth, he was still that meddlesome boy, sneaking where he did not belong in search of truths he did not deserve to know. He had come this far with the rebellion, but she knew he had not done so out of anything remotely like charity. It was not in him to be so kind or empathetic. He was selfish, he was greedy, and the kinship he shared with her former captor did not make him any more endearing to her, even if he was part of the vanguard who had cut her chains. "You've grown into a fine young man, but still you cannot hide your greed... Yet, you look unhappy with your victory. It's not enough, is it, to have partial claim of the overthrowing of the Empire. There's still more you need... or is it that there is still more you want?"

Claude bristled, but any ideas he had of challenging her remarks died as he heard Warin's quiet snort of mirth from behind him. He was aware he was outnumbered, and he had no plans on pushing his luck farther than this. The tension was still too thick, and the mocking amusement from the elder Eisner was more than enough to warn him not to overstep the boundary that had been drawn. There was no love lost between the siblings and Rhea, but that did not mean he had any favour with them, either. He swallowed his ire, quietly placing it into a box that he would open in due time, and instead he announced his leave with cold precision, "I'll have what I want, and what I need, when the time comes for it, Lady Rhea. I did not come this far to leave empty-handed, no matter what it is anyone else thinks. We'll speak again together, you and I, and when that time comes, I'll leave satisfied, and for good. I've been patient thus far. A little while longer is little to me."

Raine watched him turn on his heel, leaving with the coldly announced words hanging like a heavy threat in the already thick air, but she was not overly bothered by it. She could tell, however, that Rhea was, and almost felt sympathy for her. It could not be easy, having her freedom only to have her rescuers turn on her in the same breath, and the weight of it all looked to be frighteningly exhausting. Still, her own long-held wrath was still burning away under her skin and did not allow for much kindness, even as she remarked mostly to herself with a mutter, "Getting him out of our hair will not be as easy as it looks... I'm almost regretting our little promise. I don't think Failnaught was worth this... He's no longer leading the Alliance, so what good will he do with this information once he leaves?"

"That's of little consequence to us. Let the politicians deal with it when he returns to his homeland. Regardless of what we know, it won't change how the masses see things in the long run. The Archbishop is soon to return to the church, and the monastery... Our victory over the Emperor secured her safety. What we learned here in this cell doesn't need to leave it." Warin answered with a careless shrug, but his eyes did not entirely match his body language. They instead were on the door, having followed every step Claude had taken in his exit, as well as the guards he had posted at the cell that had eagerly left alongside him. He continued slowly as he leaned again into the wall, crossing his arms over his stomach, "The Church of Seiros will need to take part in the reconstruction to come, and regardless of Claude's will, he alone can't erode the trust in the institution. Not when so many will attribute the victory we won today to the Knights who housed the beginning of the rebellion."

Seteth tilted his head, watching as Rhea looked to Warin with sharp, untrusting eyes and musing that despite things, the young mercenary was far more knowledgable of the way of politics than he seemed. He read the lines of power, both hard and soft like the lines of a map, and it was both astonishing and somewhat fearsome to see. He had understood, long before anyone else had, that the Empire's victory over Garreg Mach was a foregone conclusion, and he had prepared himself accordingly. But still he had remained to fight, knowing it to be a useless endeavour, because it was simply his way. Still, his words made him take pause, and he questioned despite himself, "Reconstruction efforts, you say... Then, your will in Derdriu remains the same? You do intend to return the Empire to its former glory, despite it all?"

"Edelgard was a symptom of a disease that plagued this continent. A disease that, she, herself, did not realize she had become a part of. To condemn the Empire for her misdeeds as a whole is not the way that this disease will be cured. Fódlan has long been a continent of three parts... It ought to remain as such, despite any beliefs to the contrary. At least for now." Dimitri answered Seteth's question, and his gaze flickered to Raine as he saw her stiffen in annoyance at it. Rhea was watching them all silently, taking in the information she was being given with narrowed eyes, but knowing better than to comment just yet. Despite her weakness, her fragility, there was still something deep in her eyes that made Dimitri take pause. She was not the prey that she looked... and in her posture, in her gaze, Dimitri could indeed see a predator equal to that of a dragon taking the measure of those about her in quiet hunger and wrath. "And as I said before... I have no desire to be a king of a world united by force. I wish to restore Fódlan, not rule it... My rule begins and ends in Faerghus, as it should be. The same should be for the Empire, and the Alliance."

"And who will you entrust those lands to?"

"To their proper leaders. The roundtable has already elected Lorenz to secede Claude, and he will do a fine job of it... As for the Empire, there are strong candidates to consider, but I believe Ferdinand would be the wisest choice to take over. His house was second to Edelgard's as it was, and with there being no heirs, the control should fall to him." Dimitri answered the cutting question from Rhea with a measured tone he did not truly feel, but he felt no concern over her judgement. Her will, the will of the Church of Seiros, was of no consequence to him. The coronation was still far off, he had yet to take his seat upon the throne, but he was a king all the same. He knew the deadly dance of politics, and he played his role well as he continued in that same even voice, "The Empire should not be punished for the crimes of a few... Indeed, the Empire has already suffered enough at the hands of those who were meant to lead in earnest. To punish them still further, by stripping them of their sovereignty... No, it will not be permitted. Fódlan is not yet ready for a so-called unification."

"You, too, have grown, haven't you...?" Rhea shook her head slowly, watching Dimitri's calm expression and his one clear cerulean eye with a mixture of bemusement and some grudging sense of pride. He was a behemoth of a man, and she had heard of his leading the charge with his heavy Relic in hand, side by side with his professor. Six years ago it would have been something she would have expected of him, but now he had grown a ragged and pained edge, and she still could still recall that gleam of madness and wrath in his youthful face when he had challenged the freshly unmasked Flame Emperor. He had sworn that day to take her head and hang it from the gates of Enbarr itself, and yet now he spoke of mercy, of a gentle hand, and she admitted with a rueful curl of her lips, "Grown, and deeply changed... I did not expect to hear such words from your lips."

"We all have grown and changed these last six years. Some more than others, but change has come to us whether or not we wanted it to." Raine's voice cut through the sudden uncomfortable silence that fell between them all, and her eyes flashed warningly when Rhea turned to look at her with no small amount of surprise. Meeting that gaze, seafoam-green and so much like her own, Raine had to fight the urge to clench her fists at her side as an ugly wave of heat twisted its way deep into her innards. The flickering in those irises, the way she could not hold her stare for longer than a moment did not do the former mercenary any favours, and as she felt her temper rising, her tongue moved before her mind could leash it, "For the moment, I'll stay satisfied with the answers you've given, though I'll be honest and say I don't want you out of my sight until you tell me everything I want to know. I know what you've said to be the truth, though not the truth entirely. You spoke to me of the Nabateans once. You know much more than you're letting on, even now."

Seteth looked sharply to Rhea, surprised and yet somehow not to hear such words, but Rhea did not meet his searching glance. Instead she was staring at the ground, unable to meet Raine's sharp and accusatory glare. The weight she was projecting was heavy, and Rhea clearly felt the burden like a physical blow. It did not help that at her sides, her brother and Dimitri had taken up their natural positions, giving her their support in silence and with feral purpose, and the thought almost was enough to make him chuckle. She did not need their support, neither physically nor emotionally, and yet how quickly the two men were to leap to her side... He wondered what they would do, if they were to know who the woman they flanked was, and the power she possessed, but he supposed it did not truly matter. Instead, he shook his head, taking in a breath as he mused, "If Rhea has already spoken to you of the Nabateans, than I imagine that you have put together much from Flayn's... revelations, yes?"

"I noticed that Flayn didn't call herself, or you, either, as descendants of the Nabateans. Rather, she called you the Nabateans... and from the little Rhea spoke of, there were none left. If that's the case, you're either a very well-hidden linage spanning centuries of secrecy equal to that of the Agarthans, or... Flayn spoke both truthfully, and literally, and you are the last of those who were massacred in the Tragedy of Zanado." Raine answered with narrowed eyes, and her gaze flickered from face to face, taking in the quiet exhaustion, the brittle defiance, and the soft shame in those exceptionally kind eyes of the youngest of the trio. It made her sick to her stomach, thinking deeper, forcing aside her own confusion and wonder and self-disgust, but she had to bury it all as she forced her voice to be firm and cold, "I'm inclined to believe my student... and your own actions are evidence enough against you. But... At the moment, I'm not interested in the finer details. You've the Archbishop to attend to... and I've my men to look after, and another war to prepare for."

"Another war? What do you mean?"

"I don't intend to stand by and allow the Agarthans to escape me again. Thales' body was not recovered, and we've a lead on where their base of operations may be. On the next moon, I'll take what forces I can amass, and we'll bury them in the dark. Permanently, this time." Raine's answer was flat and cold, as sharp as a steel blade that knew no mercy when it plunged through flesh and bone to find its precious target deep within. She turned on her heel, facing the door as that ugly bubbling feeling in her stomach threatened to overwhelm her and rise up in her throat. She could taste bile on her tongue, and wasn't sure if it was her sudden nausea, or her rage manifesting itself as she continued, "I was dragged kicking and screaming into this mess, and I've fought like a good, little obedient soldier so far... As a mercenary, I'll see it through to the end. And when that ends... You, Warin, and I shall settle things, Rhea, once and for all."

If there was a reply given, Raine did not hear it as her feet automatically began carrying her out of the cell. It had become small and stifling, and she was having trouble catching her breath as if the very air was stagnant. At first it was a walk, careful, cautious, but as she found the stairs, she realized dully she had broken into a sprint without thinking. The walls were closing in tightly, squeezing like those spindly, crimson-coated claws about her chest, and her lungs craved the open air, and her clammy skin was desperate for sunlight. She hadn't realized she hated the underground, but now all she could think of was her utter loathing of being sealed away from the sky.

Fast footsteps echoed in her ears as she dodged about corners, panting as the weight of her deadened arm unbalanced her usual gait and made her curse for the added slowness. Even the sprawling openness of the castle wasn't enough. It was still a steel-jawed trap, waiting to close on her and crush her, and she didn't trust a single brick or pillar within the damned place to hold up. Even if she was far from the throne room, far from where she had made her last stand, the memories of the battle pulled at her gut, ached in her arm, and she could still see that dark, vengeful glint in the long-dead pair of eyes as that silver dagger came speeding for her throat...

Fresh air assaulted her lungs as she broke free through the doors, but the scent of it was acrid with smoke and did her bubbling stomach no favours. She felt it flip uncomfortably, and she rounded the nearest corner, her one useful hand clutching at her midsection as her feet began to stumble. She made it three steps before she found a row of trees, somehow miraculously untouched by the soldiers who had stormed the castle, and she disappeared behind them as she tasted bile on her tongue. The lurch became a heave, and everything spun as the contents of her stomach came rushing up her throat as her knees gave way.

An ugly mixture of panic, disgust, anger and grief ripped through her with every heave, and she heard more than she felt herself vomiting the meagre lunch she had forced down after the battle. It burnt and her eyes stung, but the physical sensations felt distant and dull against the swirling of her head. Flashes of faces, some dead, some alive, were rippling before her eyes like lightning in a far-off cloudy sky and each one burnt into the backs of her eyelids. It was too much. She had spent everything she had to give, both physically and mentally, and she had nothing left. She wasn't ready for more, no matter how much she had tried to convince herself otherwise... Not yet.

Another heave of her stomach left her reeling, and she groped blindly at the ground in an attempt to steady herself from collapsing face-down into the grass. Her limbs felt so damned weak, injuries or no, and she could feel the trembling coming from somewhere deep within becoming worse with every passing moment. Her fingers curled into the grass, grasping and tearing, and she coughed as that bitter, sour taste of bile lingered on her tongue and left her eyes watering. Her hair dangled on her cheeks, damp and clammy against her already cold skin, and another full body shudder rippled through her and brought goosebumps erupting across her flesh.

A soft, careful hand gathered her hair, making her twitch in surprise, but she had no more strength to react any more violently to the sudden intrusion. The sharp and clear scent of the woods and pine resin filled her nose as a strong arm wrapped itself supportingly about her middle, and she shuddered despite herself even as she was pulled carefully up from her slump. A slightly accented voice spoke calmly in her ear as the comforting hand about her shoulders squeezed down, "Easy there... Any reason you're hiding behind the grove, rather than looking for a healer? And don't say pride, or I'll carry you there myself, argument or no. And it doesn't look like you could fight me off right now, either."

"Shamir." Raine answered with a weak, shaky sigh, and she coughed twice, tasting copper on her tongue before she turned her head somewhat to see the sniper crouching down next to her on her left. Her expression was neutral as always, but her wine-coloured eyes were surprisingly soft. It was somewhat akin to the look she would give to Warin, when she assumed no one was there to see it, and to have it directed at her was something of a surprise. Though, she mused tiredly, that it was better to be found by her than any of her students, and the thought made her let out another long breath as she asked, "Were you waiting for Warin...?"

"Partly. He'd warned me of the little... conversation that was going to take place down in the cells. I'm glad I waited around... Had any of your students seen you, they would have stormed the dungeons themselves, all warnings to stay put be damned." Shamir answered placidly, by the supportive grip about her shoulders didn't lessen even as Raine straightened her back. She let go of the woman's hair as she understood she was no longer again in danger of vomiting, but she still watched her closely and with a slightly narrowed eye. Out of everyone to leave the cells first, she had not expected it to be Raine, nor had she expected her to be in such a state. It was almost more alarming than it was puzzling, but Shamir allowed none of those emotions to reach her face as she watched Raine grimace. The look made her sigh, herself, before she began again in the same matter-of-fact tone, "There was no one about to see you, so I believe you're safe for the time being. Injured and sick, you're still faster than most... but I imagine you'd prefer to stay here rather than go to a healer?"

Raine shook her head automatically before she could answer with speech, and she was grateful when the sniper did not push her farther, as others might have. It was true, she felt absolutely exhausted and hurt, but she had no intention of skulking away into the healer's tents when others needed attention so much more sorely than she did. She was simply still trying to absorb everything she had learned and saw, and the process was not an easy one. Her stomach was still swirling and clamping down painfully, and she cradled it with her good hand as she replied shakily, "No... I'll be fine, given a few minutes..."

"You're a poor liar. Just like your brother. It must be an inherited trait." Shamir mused with a cocked eyebrow, but she knew she was only repeating old comments as Raine dodged her gaze and merely stared down with a look of broken exhaustion on her face. Shamir shook her head, wondering at the stubbornness, but understanding it intimately all the same. Warin had bottled his emotions so tightly that the ensuing explosion when he had finally managed to find safety had taken a toll on his body, too, and she could see clearly enough that his sister was feeling the same. It didn't surprise her a whit, considering how fiercely the woman took on the burden of commanding, but she was still human at heart. She could not hide her true feelings or reactions forever. She smiled wanly, lips thin and eyes flat with cool amusement as she continued, "Seeing Rhea again must have been something of a shock. From the Almyrans, she wasn't in good shape, but still had the energy to remain tight-lipped and arrogant, yeah? At least whatever was done to her here wasn't permanent, if that's truly the case. Does that relieve you, or anger you?"

Shamir received no answer, but she did not truly expect one as she felt Raine's hot glare on her like a knife slashing over her skin. It was a surprising show of irritation, especially for someone who looked like she was ready to fall face-first back into the grass if she let her go, but Shamir knew personally just how strong the Eisner siblings truly were. Even if their minds were ready to break, even if their bodies hovered on the brink of collapse... Somehow, they always managed to stand again to keep fighting. It was admirable, but also horrifying, how they had such strength of spirit. Any lesser men or women would have broken long ago, but still the brother and sister continued dragging themselves forward as if they were made of something sterner than mere flesh and bone.

"You're not as alone as you believe yourself to be, you know. It would do you some good to let your students in to support you." Shamir was aware it wasn't her place to be saying such things, and from the sharp, warning glint in Raine's eyes, she knew full well she was overstepping... but she didn't much mind. She was stirred to overstep, to ignore the boundaries and the rules by both a sense of obligation and compassion, and she allowed those feelings to spur her on as she refused to allow her arm to be shrugged off of the frailer woman's shoulders. She tightened her grip instead, proving her own mettle, and she held those exhausted, but still smouldering eyes with her own as she continued, "They know full well that something else is waiting for you, after we deal with the remnants of Thales' men. They've been watching you closely, waiting for a signal you've yet to give... and they're ready to leap the moment they feel needed. To a man, and for better or worse, the entirety of your house will continue to wage war, against whatever enemy you point them at, until you say they can lay down their arms. Why are you hiding the truth from them?"

"They don't need to fight my battles."

The short, curt answer brought a sharp chuckle from Shamir despite herself, and she shook her head as a smile curled at her lips. It was so expected, and yet so exasperating... She truly was blind. Blind, or either deliberately obtuse. Shamir had no patience for fools, even injured and sickly ones, and she did not spare the woman she was kneeling beside as she remarked idly, "Is that so? Then why did you risk life and limb, time and time again, to fight theirs? Don't call it obligation. You were doing it from the very beginning, when you were first roped into this mess, and you had no reason to do so, then. Now, you have even less. From the start you made your students' problems your own, and then it escalated from there, until you were dragged all the way to the steps of the throne of Enbarr to put an end to a civil war raging across Fódlan. You may have had your nose put somewhere it didn't belong, but you kept it there of your own volition when you were let go of your collar. Why the double standard when it comes to your students doing the same for you?"

"They've fought enough. All of them have." Raine's answer was tired, world-weary, and she sagged despite herself wishing she could access that ball of flame that was swirling around so thickly in her gut. She still ached so deeply at her five lost years, and all of what it meant. She had been gone, asleep for all lack of a better word, while her precious students became soldiers and fought like madmen as their homes burnt down about their ears. Who was she to tell them that they had to continue, now that the first glimpse of peace had finally been sighted throughout the smoke and embers of war? "If there's to be conflict between the Church and I, I would prefer they stay out of it. Far out of it. Their futures would be at risk otherwise. Especially Dimitri's. Regardless of my opinion on Rhea, there's little question that the Church of Seiros is still needed for the future... I won't see it torn down over something as petty as ego."

"Ego, is it? If your students saw you now, they wouldn't be going to war for your ego, Raine." Shamir noted with a raised eyebrow, and she felt a macabre sort of interest to hear Raine parroting her brother, albeit completely unknowingly. How little did they truly think of themselves, did they think of their impressions on others, to believe that this fight of theirs was a fight they had to handle on their own? She knew the answer already, and she had to chuckle again as she pointed out bluntly, "They love you. Each and every last one of them, in their own peculiar and particular ways. You earned not only their trust, but their gratitude and their loyalty, because of how deeply you cared for them and their woes when they were young. Doubly so because you returned to free their homelands. You say it's not their fight, but all of them would disagree on that... and, speaking frankly, so do I."

"You're on Warin's side, so of course you would disagree..."

The comment made her smile, though it was with genuine amusement rather than exasperation or annoyance. It was rare, exceedingly rare, that even Raine would ever make mention of the relationship between herself and her brother, and she admitted she had a fair deal of respect for her politeness. If anyone had a right to stick their nose in her business, it was Warin's little sister, and she had well prepared herself for a scolding or an interrogation the moment she had chosen to share her room with the man. Yet, Raine had kept her distance, only showing an approving smile every so often, and granting their wishes to be paired up on the battlefield at all times. She didn't need to heed them, but she did, and that alone spoke volumes of how she felt of them. Of her. She sat back on her heels, allowing her smile to widen as she corrected her with a dismissing wave of her hand, "Wrong, actually. Even if I wasn't involved with your brother... I would be willing to put my bow to your cause against the Church, should you need it."

Those words caught Raine off guard, and for a moment, she forgot everything that had brought her to this point. She turned on her knees, looking at Shamir closely and with narrowed eyes. Those words were not words to be spoken lightly, especially by someone in the profession of taking lives for coin, and she felt a deep pulse of both unease and confusion as she looked Shamir over. They both knew the code. They had all but been raised by it. To hear her denounce it, so readily, so easily, when she knew that the code was the one thing keeping her brother from saying the words they all knew he was desperate to say... Raine shook her head this time, and she replied, none too kindly, "You're a mercenary, and I understand better than most how that works. You're under contract with the Church still, despite things. Your debt to Rhea is no more, I do know that much, but you'd still turn on your employer at my behest? Why?"

"I've turned on others, and for far lesser reasons. But if you want the truth of it, as it stands now, if you requested it of me, I'd turn on any employer in a heartbeat. As for why... That's quite simple." Shamir replied with a light shrug of her shoulders, and she was totally unbothered by the flicker of distrust and confusion that was her answer. She supposed she earned it, considering how alike they were and how deeply enmeshed their mercenary work had become in their lives, but some things were more important than a code, or a contract. She met and held Raine's stare again, and explained simply, "All that time ago, when Flayn was kidnapped, you came to question me about it. But before you said a word about your investigation, you apologized. Do you remember that?"

"I... I do. But why does that matter?"

"Because for the first time in quite a long while, someone was approaching me not as a mercenary, not as a knight, but as a person. Even when suspicion was justified. You had no doubts of my innocence, but because the situation was dire, and on someone's word, you came asking for me all the same. But you still apologized before doing your due diligence. That was a courtesy I wasn't owed... but I appreciated the gesture. And all of the other gestures you've given me since." Shamir's explanation came easy, though a small part of her wished to fidget awkwardly at having to speak her secrets. Raine was much like her brother in many ways, but she did not understand her in the strange, wordless way that Warin did. Words were necessary if they were to reach a true accord, and it went against her usual nature to speak so frankly, but she forced herself on as she understood she owed her that small courtesy, "I am Dagdan. I am a mercenary. I am an outsider. All of these things I'm used to, and it hasn't earned me many friends. I preferred that. I still do. But that doesn't make me immune to acts of kindness and compassion. You treated me as you treated anyone else, and I was grateful for it, even if it confused me at first. I mourned your loss, and celebrated your return... and I've realized that if I'd let anyone lead me, without question or contract, it would most likely be you. You have my loyalty, and my respect. And I don't say such things lightly."

Raine bit back the words that threatened to overwhelm her at the proclamation of friendship and care, and her stomach clenched again violently as it fought with her internal reaction and her knee-jerk desire to clamp down on it. She wanted to rant and rave, to scream that she was not worthy of loyalty or respect no matter what anyone said, but the words simply would not come out. It was all lies, sweetly uttered and likely true in the mouths of the ones who spoke them, but she felt a traitor for accepting it. She could only offer a small smile, faking gratitude and acceptance, as her chest tightened and her inner self screamed for her selfishness.

It was obligation. It always had been, and she couldn't accept anything else. She had had no love for anyone in her house when she had first accepted the mantle of professor, and it had taken moons, long moons, before she had felt affection for anyone. She had awkwardly been bumbling her way on the path put ahead of her, and it infuriated her that no one could see the reality. She was no saint. No woman blessed by the Goddess. She was just a monster in the shape of a human, trying to understand why she was as she was, and fighting against a current that continuously swept her along. She did was she was ordered to do, because that had been her nature. Nothing had changed enough to excuse her past behaviour. Not a single thing.

Shamir was silent as she watched the emotions flickering wildly through the pale-faced woman's eyes, and she let out a breath as she understood she was fighting too much of a losing battle. Her voice simply wasn't enough to convince her but she knew many others were. It would take time, time, rest, energy and more than a little shoving, but eventually... She fully believed that Raine would one day see herself the way so many others did. For the moment, she had said enough, and she positioned herself more comfortably on the ground before sighing lightly, "Take a few minutes to get the rest of your breath back before you try to get to your feet. Your prince, or your brother, will come to find you soon enough. You don't mind my company till then, do you?"

"So long as you never again call Dimitri "my prince", I don't." Raine answered with an exhausted, and defeated, sigh. Shamir was a stubborn woman, and she was emotionally and physically drained. She doubted she could get to her feet on her own anyway, and she also was fully aware Shamir would hold her still until someone stronger, and more trusted, arrived to help her on her way. She was grateful even if she was exasperated, but she knew better than to voice either such thoughts. This moment, between her and the woman her brother loved, was something rare... and despite it, despite her own feelings, she wanted to enjoy what little she could. It was better than the alternative, being left alone with her illness and her dark thoughts, and she closed her eyes as she allowed herself to lean on Shamir's proffered shoulder. She'd chastise herself for her weakness later. For the moment... She would rest. Tomorrow was another day.

AN:

Not much to really say here, as it's more of an intermediary chapter than anything else. I'm currently in a weird place of transit (as I'll be heading home to Canada very soon after a short stay over in the south for my fiance), and I'll need a lot of rest once I get home. Hopefully it won't be bothering me too much though on the writing front. I need to cuddle my cat so much. I love him to pieces, even if he annoys the ever-loving fuck out of me. He's such a doorknob, but he's also MY doorknob... I've got separation anxiety.

Anywhosit, a firm two and a half weeks of government mandated quarantine will be enjoyable? I've got a new game to keep me occupied; Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Ever since the announcement of the remaster, I've been hopping wildly about waiting for it. I played the original, and still own it, but having a remaster where I could finally play with others, even if it was online... Whoo, I'm stoked. It'll be an interesting time, playing that one damned level with some help beyond Mog. I mean, I love Mog, don't get me wrong, he's my baby, but... CAST FIRE/THUNDER AND I WON'T KICK YOU AND MAKE YOU A STAR, GOD DAMN YOU.

Ahem. Anywhosit. Is time for sleep for me. I am exhausted, and am totally in need of packing it in before doing some refreshing in my FE playthroughs. I've got a lot of lore to reread and study for the coming chapters, and I don't want to make too many errors... Mind, I also don't want to stick so close to the lore that it becomes boring. It's a weird balancing act... and I'm rambly. Time for bed. Y'all stay healthy, and I shall see you again soon!

Mood: Sleepy.

Listening To: "Fallen Leaves" - Billy Talent

~ Sky