[][Andrew][]
A soft breeze curled across my face, ridden by birdsong and distant city life. I drew breath, allowing the crisp, barely-warmed air to fill my lungs. Inhale, exhale.
Thin, wavering shadows danced across the walls and ceiling, rippling in time with the wind. I watched them quietly, allowing time to slip through my fingers. A pleasant side-effect of 'waking' from Naga's realm was a lack of grogginess; no matter the situation, I always found myself fully awake in an instant.
And, despite falling unconscious poisoned, I didn't feel fatigued in the slightest. I resolved to thank the healers for that one, and then apologize to Anna and Tiki for... nothing, actually. I'd been poisoned, and neither of them had noticed. That didn't mean I wanted to blame them for anything, it wasn't their fault, but it wasn't my fault for passing out either.
What sort of poison was it, anyway?
I reeled my thoughts back in with a long, patient breath. "Should've asked Naga about it while I had the chance," I muttered.
Chuckling as the absurdity of that statement caught up with me, I started to take in my surroundings properly. Tempting as it was, I couldn't just lay here forever, staring at the ceiling.
First order of business: my location. Definitely the healers' ward at the palace- from the cot I was laying on, I could see Ylisstol through an open window, and a wooden divider blocked off my ability to see more of the room. Also, I'd been poisoned, and typically poisoned people are taken to healers or doctors.
Which meant that Maribelle, Libra, or Lissa would be giving me a piece of their minds soon. Wincing at the thought, I moved on; there was no use dwelling on it.
Second order of business: sitting up. Sinking my hands into the mattress, I swung myself up-
I let out a hiss, grimacing as various scratches on my body made themselves known. From the feel of things, it wasn't serious, just unpleasant. I'd just have to hope the healers agreed with my inexpert guess.
Though my guesses had gotten better as of late, what with all the time spent in medical wards. One of these days, I mused darkly, I just wouldn't wake up at all. A dull ache formed in my chest, cold and sharp like an ember sinking stubbornly through ice.
Shaking those thoughts off, I brought myself around to my third order of business.
Erm. Once I figured out what that was.
Propped up against the wall, I took a deep breath. In and out. Was there anything I needed to do, still? Duke Warren had wanted me to do something, I had a gut feeling that I should check in on the future kids, and I really, really wanted a hug.
"I can work with that," I shrugged, wincing. Might as well think out loud to fill the silence. "Duke Warren wanted me to vouch for some people, right. Donnel and Anna. Or, uh, to get Tiki to vouch for Donnel and Anna. Because I'm- because my word isn't worth very much, unless I can spin it into something futurey."
Future-y? Futuristic? Futurist? None of those sounded right. If I could prove that Donnel and Anna were assets to the Shepherds in the future, then I wouldn't need to ask Tiki for a favor. Not that she'd mind, but I already relied on her for loads of stuff. As for the future kids, it was about time I tried to dig through my memory for anything helpful. They deserved it, and hopefully it'd get Severa to hate me less.
I snorted. Future me had done something awful, and Severa had every right to hate me for it. If I could just figure out what it was-
I looked out the window, allowing my thoughts to drift. "I probably don't want to know," I said quietly.
"Know about what?"
An almost-familiar voice jolted me out of contemplation, sending my pulse skyrocketing. Red hair, lopsided smile, and a red tunic. "Gods," I sighed, absently running a hand through my hair, "Guess I'm wound up. Is this revenge for- Wait."
Pausing, I blinked. This was an Anna, yes, but not Mary. The voice wasn't quite right, her skin was a few shades darker, and her posture was entirely open.
"Oops!" Anna giggled, leaning against the wall. Arms crossed over her chest, she flashed me a cheshire grin. "Sorry for startling you, Mister Andrew. I didn't want to wake anyone up, but when I heard someone muttering back here I just couldn't help myself. The name's Anna, but I'd bet money you already knew that."
This was a bizarre experience. Sure, I'd known for a while that Mary had siblings, and I'd played multiple Fire Emblem games. To see someone nearly identical to a friend behaving like a stranger is disconcerting, and to see them behave like an entirely different person was almost too much.
Absently, I wondered what this Anna's first name was. There couldn't possibly be that many names that ended with -anna or -anne, right? Or maybe they didn't stick to a theme at all, and I was just overthinking it.
"Hello? Is anyone home?"
I shook my head, furiously ignoring the flush in my cheeks. "Sorry," I said, smiling apologetically, "I'm a bit out of sorts right now. And, um, yeah. I know one of your sisters."
Anna put a finger to her chin, pursing her lips. "Mhm. Spotted her this morning. She's a bit of a stick in the mud, isn't she?"
"A bit," I admitted, biting back a chuckle, "But we get along just fine. Usually." Maybe I'd get a visit from Mary today, too? I knew she was still struggling with the 'being nice' thing, but I could hope.
"You look tired still," Anna said abruptly, walking over to my bedside and inspecting my face thoroughly. It was a bit uncomfortable. "I'd hate to keep you awake while you're healing, so I'll make this quick, alright?"
"I'm not that tired," I countered, mentally doing a once-over to make sure I wasn't lying, "Just unfocused. And, um, let me guess, it's about Duke Warren?"
Anna snickered. "Suuure. But you're right on," she nodded, taking a step back, "Duke Warren wants you to vouch for Donnel and I. I think he's being a bit optimistic, so... vouch for Donnel first, alright? He needs and wants this more than I do."
Inhaling sharply, I took another moment to collect myself. I'm not an idiot- I know that Mary's selfish and not the best at empathy. But to see a sibling of hers act like a proper, decent person? It made me wonder what had happened to Mary.
I resolved to give her a hug, assuming she didn't try to stab me.
Anyways, Anna. "That's really nice of you," I said warmly, grunting as I swung my legs over the side of the bed, "But you shouldn't have to worry about that. I'll try my best to get both of you in, and if I can't do it, well," I paused for breath, making sure my footing was solid.
"If Andrew cannot, then I will vouch for you," a new voice declared, followed by a long yawn. Tiki stepped into view, one hand against her mouth as the other raked through her long green hair. "So long as they agree to hear my arguments in the afternoon. It baffles me that humans can be up this early on a regular basis."
Anna yelped, jumping a full foot into the air before levelling a familiar glare at Tiki.
Tiki smiled back serenely, much in the way a shark would. "It would seem skittishness runs in the family."
"Tiki, your teeth are showing again," I remarked, holding back a laugh.
"Ah," she sighed, covering her mouth, "How silly of me."
When her hand came back down, her mouth was full of normal, human teeth. The canines were longer than usual, though, giving me a brief mental image of Tiki dressed like a vampire. It was a good look for her, honestly.
Finally collecting herself, Anna gave Tiki a curt bow. "Lady Tiki," Anna said carefully, "It is an honor to meet you. I would be in your debt if-"
"Think nothing of it," Tiki waved her off, walking towards me. "I overheard your request. Anna, if you are willing to step aside after coming all this way, you certainly have enough heart to join the Shepherds."
"It's not all heart," I added, ignoring the pang in my chest, "But, um, I have a hunch that you're also pretty good at fighting. If Duke Warren wants you in the Shepherds, you'd have to be."
Anna blushed, batting her eyes. "Aww, me? I'm just a gal looking to turn a profit, and maybe do some good in the process. But I'll owe one of you for this, and I can't just leave a debt unpaid."
"You are very much unlike your sibling," Tiki said bluntly, smiling, "I will consider it a debt paid if you keep my titles a secret, starting now."
Ooh, clever. I did recall Anna trying to turn a profit off of Tiki in their supports, and this was almost certainly that Anna. Tiki wasn't aware of this, probably, and I decided to tell her the story later. She'd get a kick out of it.
The expression Anna made, just for a heartbeat, confirmed my suspicions. "Oh," she sighed, deflating slightly, "Well, I suppose that's fair. I'll keep that secret as long as I can. But if I could just get an autograph from you...?"
Tiki frowned. "An autograph? I will consider it after I have vouched for you."
"Great!" Anna cheered, looking between Tiki and myself. "That's more than I'd hoped for, and more than I expected coming into this. Now, I'll stop taking up your time alone, hm?"
But Tiki's here. "Alone?"
Oh. Oh. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as Anna started to slip away. "We're not like that," I protested, "We're just friends!"
I looked towards Tiki, who was inspecting her pointed fingernails. "Right?"
Anna winked. "I'll keep that secret, free of charge." Before I could argue, she'd slipped away entirely.
An awkward silence stretched out, though Tiki didn't look embarrassed in the slightest. "This isn't going to help the rumors," I sighed, resting my head in my hands. "We aren't together. Not that you aren't, you know, awesome and attractive, but... yeah."
Tiki rested her hands in her lap, closing her eyes and taking a long breath. "I apologize, Andrew. I enjoy teasing you, and I did not consider that the rumors might bother you. Do they?"
"Well," I frowned, tapping a finger against the cot, "No. If I was, you know, looking for a relationship, it might bother me, but I'm not. But I don't see a reason to let people believe something that isn't true, so why let it spread?"
"For the same reason that it would bother you, Andrew," Tiki replied wryly, "If I am supposedly courting a man or woman, I am much less likely to be bothered by suitors."
I thought about it for a moment. It didn't sit well with me, even if it was sensible. "Manipulative, but practical," I admitted eventually, "I'm not sure I like it, but neither of us were spreading the rumor to begin with, so I'm not too beat up about that."
The silence that followed was a comfortable one. I know I'm a talkative person, but even I can enjoy quiet companionship. There's something comforting about it; knowing someone is there that you can rely on, without having to say anything out loud.
Sticking one arm out and clasping it with the other, Tiki stretched languidly, eyes closed and expression contented. "Mmm," she purred, "I would prefer to stay quiet, and hold this discussion later, but slumber calls and I expect to sleep for a full day. Andrew, we must talk about your injuries and our travel plans."
I winced. "I'm going to guess these three things are related? Erm, sleep, injuries, and travel plans, that is."
Her eyes flashed over a faint smirk. "You would be correct. I have... strained myself, Andrew. Used too much magic, stayed awake too long. I must leave for Mount Prism within the week, to petition Naga for more of my power."
"And you want me to come with," I guessed, excitement bubbling up in my chest, "And the answer is absolutely yes. I need to do something." It'd be like when I first arrived, minus Mary unless she decided to tag along. Just us on the road, enjoying nature.
After all, I wasn't exactly useful as a Shepherd.
"I am happy to hear that," Tiki smiled warmly, reaching back to run her hands through her hair. "But it leads to the second subject, and one more worthy of discussion. Your injuries."
"Which ones?" I joked weakly, laying a hand over my stomach, "I've got a collection going."
"This is precisely the issue, Andrew. I much prefer you alive, and if you continue to throw yourself into battle as you have," Tiki's smile curled downward, and she reached out to grab one of my hands. "As you are now, Andrew, continuing to walk with the Shepherds will get you killed."
"Oh," I said quietly, voice hitching in my throat.
My heart was caught between hot and cold- between Tiki's concern, and the cold truth of her words. She was right, of course. That's why Phila wanted me kicked out of the Shepherds to begin with; because I wasn't strong enough in the ways they needed. A few weeks of training wouldn't change that, not when the Shepherds had trained their whole lives.
"Are you alright, Andrew?"
I tightened my own grip on her hand. "Not really," I croaked, taking a deep breath, "But you're right. Just- just talk about the third thing, unless we covered that with the travel stuff."
She squeezed my hand back. "I can do that, Andrew," she closed her eyes, nostrils flaring. "We are travelling to Mount Prism so I may petition Naga, my mother. You speak to her in your dreams, Andrew; the next time you see her, please let her know I am coming. We are, ah, not on good terms."
"I'll try," I nodded carefully, wincing at every waver in my voice, "It's a bit hard to tell when I'll see her, though. Mostly after I fall unconscious, or if I have a bad dream."
Tiki opened her eyes, snorting. Bluish embers drifted outwards, fading before they could hit the ground. "And she has not given you a straight answer on how to find your way there, correct? All apocryphal proclamations and gentle advice."
I chuckled faintly. "Nailed it. She's nice, though. I think I can find my way there if I really concentrate on it, but her 'you never left' advice wasn't much help. Or it was, and I just don't understand it," I scratched my head, letting Tiki's hand slide away.
"If there ever was doubt that you were seeing Naga, there is none now," Tiki laughed, standing up. "And thank you, Andrew. I will enjoy your companionship on the journey to come... I am sure the rumors would agree." Her eyes sparkled as she flitted away, leaving me to blush and sputter.
[][][][][][][][]
The good news was that a healer dropped by and confirmed that I was alright. A little beat up, but the poison was intentionally nonlethal.
"It was Miss Anna that identified it last night, I'm told," the healer told me, stroking his stubbly chin, "A concentrated extract of a sleeping herb from Chon'sin. Though, you might experience strange dreams for a few days."
I snorted at that. All my dreams are strange. Regardless, I filed away all that trivia for later; I'd be curious to hear the full story from Mary.
The bad news was that the healer informed me that I had a visitor.
Well, that's not the bad news. It was that the visitor was bad news. It did make me wonder if Tiki and the other Anna had just snuck in, but I kind of assumed that to begin with.
So, skipping past a few minutes of anxious waiting, I found myself alone with Severa. She only looked the regular amount of irritated, and there was a faint glimmer of sympathy in her eyes that gave me hope.
"Let's get this straight, Andrew," Severa snapped, arms crossed as she tapped one foot against the floor. "I don't want to be here, and I don't want you wasting my time with your jokes. Got it?"
At least she was honest about it. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I didn't consciously make jokes, more often than not; it was more like a reflex, a desire to make people happy. But Severa would be happier if I didn't, though that was more because she despised me.
What I could do for her was cut to the chase. "Deal. What do you want?
Satisfaction flickered over her features, and she stood up a little straighter. Tossing her hair over her shoulders, she levelled a glare that failed to intimidate me. "Hmph. Good. You know some of this future, right? Then tell us where the others are, if you bothered with learning anything useful."
I fought against the impulse to clench my hands. She was trying to rile me up, and I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of taking the bait. Not out of spite, I reminded myself, but because it was the right thing to do.
Collecting my thoughts, I tried to puzzle out how to explain everything to her. In the game, the future kids had appeared after their parents got married, with the exception of Lucina. Mechanically speaking, video games can't tell the future, and the only guaranteed marriage was Chrom and his wife, so realistically I had nothing to go off for timing.
As for location, I'd been mulling that over ever since Lucina punched me in the face. Er, ever since I met Lucina, but those were basically the same thing. Point is, I'd never paid much attention to where the kids' something-logues were, and it meant I had to think pretty hard about it.
Naga could dredge up teas from my brain, so maybe I could ask her to dig up other memories?
"I've been here for a few months now," I sighed, looking out the window, "And things are already off track. Drych wasn't supposed to be here. Hell, he didn't come up at all in my, erm, research. But!" I paused, holding up a hand against Severa's intensifying glare, "I can tell you the areas they were found in, roughly speaking. Hopefully you, Riley, and Robin can make something useful out of that. Actually, is Riley still helping you out?"
"Gawds," Severa huffed, "Why would you care?"
After it became clear I wasn't getting an answer, I shrugged. "No reason. If you've got a map, I can start pointing out locations."
Severa rolled her eyes, duly producing a map of Archanea and Valm. They were actually farther apart than in the game, if my memory was anything to work off of. And, interestingly, they weren't actually aligned; Archanea was shifted slightly northward.
"Are you going to stare at it, or do something useful?"
I grit my teeth, taking a deep breath. Something bubbled up inside me- not anger, and not frustration. Severa might not like me, I realized, but I could still help her personally. It's not like I had much to lose, after all.
"You know," I said calmly, accepting the map with both hands, "Most people don't like being treated like this, Severa, and I don't have to help you."
I did have to help her, but she didn't need to know that just yet. She deserved better than the lot she'd been handed, and I'd be damned if I let her suffer.
But I looked her in the eyes, pulling on every dreg of acting experience at my disposal.
Her face reddened, her fists clenched, and she took another step towards me. "Sh- shut up. We don't need your help anyways, okay? Gawds."
"Just think about it, alright?" I nodded, keeping my voice as level as possible. "Now, get ready to take notes, if you've got a journal or something. I'm fairly certain that Nah was up around here- the eastern coast of Ylisse, maybe even on this island. There was a haunted house involved, I think?"
Severa was quiet up until she left, map in one hand and journal in the other. Maybe I'd taught her a lesson, but it didn't feel very good.
I'd help them even if it hurt me, after all.
"...ah," I said, mostly to myself, "That's what Tiki was worried about, wasn't she?"
"Worried about what?"
I did not yelp, or bite back a curse, or otherwise show any evidence that I had been startled. I refused to be caught out the same way twice in less than a day.
Even if it was Kellam this time.
"Oh," I said, doing my best not to make a show out of being not startled. "Hi, Kellam. Didn't expect to see you here."
Kellam fidgeted with his long brown tunic, shrugging. It wasn't often that I interacted with him, so it was still a little odd to see him out of the armor from his portrait. "Most people don't. I'm just here to drop off a message from Maribelle."
"She's mad at me?" I guessed, raising an eyebrow.
"She's mad at you," Kellam agreed, "But I like to think that means she cares, y'know?" And that was something that I didn't understand the first time I played Awakening. I'm glad I moved past that; yeah, Maribelle's abrasive, but underneath it all she's a great friend.
"Glad I'm not the only one that sees that, and Lissa doesn't count," I chuckled, wincing as I strained a cut on my side. "So, what's the message?"
"She's mad at you, and she expects to see you for afternoon tea," Kellam listed off, "And, um, sorry to make it short, but I promised to help Olivia with something, so..."
I waved him off. "I get it. Thanks for delivering the message."
When I looked again, he was gone. I resisted the urge to make Batman comparisons, but only because nobody here would get them.
[][][][][][][][]
I was declared healthy just after lunch, with just enough time to change into something nice before heading over for tea with Maribelle.
Well, with just enough time to get lost twice on the way to Maribelle, because the palace is huge.
According to a guard, the tea party was being held outside the library, just past the portrait of Lady Tiki, Voice of Naga. The guard who informed me appeared to have connected the dots between the painting and the person, so I hurried away before he could confirm his suspicions.
In any case, I did find my way over. Maribelle and Libra were in attendance-
"Whuf," I grunted, staggering back as something collided with me at high speeds. I looked down once I'd stabilized, grin forming. "Hi, Nowi! Are you, um, taller?"
Oh, and Nowi was there too. "Uh-huh! I'm eating all the vegetables!" she cheered, her voice muffled by my tunic. "I've been having loads of fun with Mister Libra. He's super nice!"
Libra smiled serenely, sipping at his tea. "It was my pleasure, though I fear we may need to order more food than expected."
Maribelle coughed politely, eyes fixed on me. "And?"
"Um. Hi there, Maribelle. Hi, Libra. I think I'm a bit late," I admitted, patting Nowi on the head, "I was stuck in the healer's ward, and then I got lost."
Maribelle frowned, gesturing to the empty seat beside her. "You should be more careful, dear. Medical gowns are a dreadful look, and I'd much rather you be uninjured."
I looked down at Nowi, then back up at Maribelle. Something stirred in my gut, glowing with subtle warmth.
I wasn't cut out to be a Shepherd, that much was clear. But I didn't have to be on the front lines to be their friends, and to help them.
That didn't sound so bad, really.
[][][][][][][][]
Author's Note:
I finished this one on time, I swear! I just couldn't find the energy to edit it until the day after, which sucked. And yeah, it's another short one. They should start getting longer again soon; after all, Andrew and Tiki are back on the open road as of the next chapter!
Anyways, thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought!
Cheers,
Narwhal Lord
