"Where's Yarne!" Robin yelled as they held the line against a significantly larger bandit camp. He had been in position just five minutes earlier, but now he was nowhere to be seen.

"I saw him run off that way," Severa grunted as she parried a blow.

Robin groaned in response, "Severa, Owain, hold this position. I'll take care of it."

"Well, he looks ticked," Severa commented watching the tactician go.

"I do not envy our fleet footed friend right now," Owain retorted keeping his guard impeccable.

"Wow, we actually agree on something."

Robin trudged through the thick trees keeping track of the rogue taguel. He was fast, but in such a hurry that he did a horrendous job of covering his tracks. Fortunately, Robin had picked up a few tricks in tracking from his comrades, so his biggest issue was just waiting for Yarne to run out of steam.

Keeping a steady pace, it was not too long before Robin found the young taguel exhausted from his adrenaline-fueled flight panting with an arm braced against a tree. For one so paranoid, he was really leaving himself open. Robin decided he deserved what came next.

Lightly tapping him on the shoulder, Robin lightly spoke, "Yarne."

"Gyaaaah!" Yarne practically leapt his own height vertically from a standstill. Impressive for his human form. Holding onto a low hanging branch, he turned his head to the tactician, "R-Robin. Don't sneak up on a guy like that. You could have given me a heart attack!"

"I hardly snuck up on you," Robin folded his arms, "And it wouldn't have been an issue if you were where I had posted you."

"Eeep! I, er, mean, would you believe I was running reconnaissance?"

"In the opposite direction?" Robin deadpanned.

"Right. I'm sorry, it's just…terrifying out there."

"They were bandits. Only about average skill for bandits too. There were just a lot of them. You were hardly in grave danger."

"Easy for you to say!" Yarne lashed out, "You don't have an entire species riding on your back."

"Fair, but what about Chrom?"

"What about him?"

"According to Lucina, the fate of the world rests on his shoulders, and yet he doesn't let that stop him. He keeps fighting. He refuses to give in to fear, and I know he does feel fear. For our sakes though, he buries it, and marches on."

"I'm not Chrom though. I'm not some sort of action hero."

"And that's okay. You don't have to be. If you want out, I can discharge you here and now with no repercussions."

"I-I can't do that," Yarne admitted after some hesitation as he finally dropped down from the branch.

"Oh? And why not? It would present a lack of danger. We could get you a cozy room at the castle. What more could you ask for?"

"Hey!" Yarne stood up straight showing how tall he actually was, "I'm not some animal to be put in a cage. I have a stake in this fight too. I lost my parents to that…that…thing, and I won't do it again! I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't try!"

"So you'll fight?"

"Yes, I'll fight!" Yarne practically growled.

"Good," Robin nodded slightly, "Then I expect you to stay in formation."

"Wha–"

"I knew you had to want to fight to some degree, or you would have absconded the moment you ended up in this world. You understand better than most what we're up against here, as well as the stakes. It takes courage to stand up and fight despite your own fears and knowledge. You are deathly afraid, but in a way, that makes you braver than most. However, you have to make up your mind. No more straddling the fence, will you fight the enemy, or run from them?"

"You don't pull any punches, do you?"

"Not when I know you can take it."

"Heh, well, you have more faith in me than I do, but I can't really say no after what you said about me. Do…do you really believe it?"

"Of course. I think it takes more courage to fight even when terrified than it does if you feel no fear. Though, let me tell you, we all feel fear. Well," Robin paused after reconsidering, "Maybe not Henry, but most of us feel fear."

"Even you?"

Robin smirked, "Yes, even me."

"O-okay," Yarne swallowed, "I'll try to be a bit braver."

"Thank you, and I am aware of your situation. Don't you worry. That's my job after all."

"Heh, thanks!"

"Now, let's get back to the battle assuming it isn't over," Robin started back but stopped after a few steps. He looked off to a small clearing and grinned.

"Uh, you okay?" Yarne asked after realizing that the tactician had stopped.

"Fine," Robin started moving again, but he made a point to come back.

"Robin, where are we–"

"Shh," Robin cut the princess off, "Stay quiet."

Lucina did not particularly like being cut off, but she trusted Robin enough to believe he had a good reason for dragging her out here after they had finished with the bandits and demanding such quiet. Not that she was not curious. This was odd behavior for him to say the least.

After some time traveling in silence, Robin stopped allowing Lucina to look at what had been so important. When she did so, she gasped at the sight. In a small clearing sat hundreds of butterflies of varying shapes and colors. It was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"I thought you might like it," Robin whispered from behind her.

"It's beautiful," Lucina gushed as she took note of a particularly bright blue one that seemed to glow in the dying light of the evening. However, as she got too close, they all stirred and took flight in a vortex of color watched by the two in awe. Lucina kept track of the blue one for as long as she could before it left her vision. The whole time Robin noted the wide smile on her face. A genuine smile.

Some time later, the blue butterfly came to rest on a pale nose. It moved around for a few seconds before the surface shifted causing it to fly away. The shifting was followed by a few groans, the butterfly only being seen by blue eyes fleetingly before flying back off into the wilderness.

A/N: While I may not be too thrilled about my future, at least the story is finally getting to part two.