Half-beastdragonsoul2013: That was part of the influence. The other part was an actual Japanese shrine that I forgot the name of. Very useful overlap.
Temporal King: Figuring out how to pace the story and how much to include each chapter, both in events and details, is probably going to be the biggest challenge of this fic. I have loosely settled on two major events that are linked per chapter, but that is not always going to work. Also, thank you for more ideas.
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"Hi guys, been a bit, huh?" rang a high-pitched and familiar voice throughout the palace.
"There's just five of us, plus the guards let us in, no CAWS for concern!" rang a lower pitch, but still familiar voice.
Robin, Morgan, and Say'ri all stopped Robin's Chon'sinese lessons (which Robin had been somewhat relieved for, as they had been going for about 5 hours at that point) to meet with the guests.
The five guests in question were Tharja, Libra, Lissa, Henry and…
"Owain, good to see you, how's the Justice Cabal?" Morgan asked the last guest.
"Oh fated partner, the Cabal has been able to keep going strong, despite the temporary loss in membership. I was able to get Noire to work with us while we're in Chon'sin. Speaking of which…" Owain then took Morgan into a huddle and whispered, "Cynthia should be joining us here soon."
"Okay, that would be nice. And since our parents are talking, want to have a quick spar?"
"Of course, Owain Dark is always ready for a spar!"
Speaking of the parents of the two, plus Noire's, they were having a conversation.
"Nice to see you all. How are things? Lissa, don't put that frog in my hood, I know you already have one" Robin said cheerfully.
Putting her hand back into a hidden pocket for a moment, Lissa responded with, "It's about the same since you left. A few boring parties, Chrom and Olivia are trying to run the country, and most of the Shepherds are doing the same. At least those that didn't leave for somewhere else."
"Aye. Though, pray tell, where is Noire?" Say'ri asked.
"She's just back at the inn. Poor thing is terrified of the new country that speaks a language she does not understand. As such, she remains in her room," Libra responded.
"That is fair. By the way, is there going to be anyone else showing up in the near future? I'm just concerned about how many rooms we might have to prepare?" Robin asked.
Libra was first to respond, "Some of the other Shepherds have made arrangements to get here before long, though given how we spread out, it is hard to know how many are going to come here."
"Of those definitely arriving, Nowi, Donnel, and Nah are amongst them, as they plan to stop by as they go to visit Tiki to help Nah with learning how to commune with Naga," Tharja said, having developed a sister-like relationship with Nowi.
"Well, guess we definitely need to get another guest room ready," Robin said.
"Why?" asked both Lissa and Libra. At that moment, "Good morning," said a soft voice with a slight British accent, which was recognized as Tiki's.
—-
Earlier that day
Robin and Say'ri slept in bed together, a standard tradition amongst those engaged. This was about a few days into Robin's new life in Chon'sin, so he began to start sleeping more easily. The process was made easier by the two cuddling up throughout the night.
When Robin woke up first, he heard his fiance's relaxed breathing, but he heard another, familiar snoring.
Taking a look at the foot of the bed, he could see a familiar crop of light green hair flowing over the end. Deciding he was not completely ready to deal with this yet, he went back to sleep, with the plan to deal with the circumstance when Say'ri woke up.
When Say'ri woke up, she was surprised that Robin was still asleep, but even more so by the additional sound of snoring in the room. She then looked to the sound of the snoring, which resulted in her finding Tiki resting on the foot of the bed.
While she was glad to have her friend so close, she was also not willing to deal with it right now. So, like Robin before her, she went back to sleep, waiting for her fiance to wake up.
This might have continued on for a while if not for one person.
"Hey, why haven't you woken up… Oh his Aunt Tiki!" Morgan had decided to enter her parents room due to them seeming to be sleeping in (which was true, just not for the normal reasons).
Having spoken quite loudly, everyone in the room woke up. Tiki started rubbing her eyes, saying, "Is it morning already?" whereas Robin and Say'ri were slightly startled and looked at each other, Tiki, and Morgan in quick succession.
"Well, guess it's time to deal with this," Robin said, with Say'ri adding on, "Aye. Tiki, while I am glad to have you here, why have you fallen asleep in our room?"
Tiki, still rousing herself from her sleep, responded with, "It was quite lonely at the Mila Tree, and I thought that it would be nice to head here. After being let in, I was given a room for the night, but I wanted to talk with you both, and when I found you, I was very tired and fell asleep here."
"How did the guards or servants react when you were walking around the palace?" Robin asked, wanting to know the nature of those defending his family. "They actually helped direct me to the room. Something about the Voice of Naga blessing the imperial family."
Robin sighed, "That makes sense." "In any case, if you plan on staying here, we will need to organize a room for you," Say'ri said, possibly already having a few spare rooms ready.
—-
Present
"Well, this might make things a bit more awkward," Lissa said. "I do think it could become a cause for concern given the palace has only so much room," Say'ri said, knowing the palace very well.
"Especially given what we are going to ask," Libra said. Before anyone else could say anything, Henry, who had been somewhat quiet for a bit, said, "It's because we want to stay here for a while."
Both Robin and Say'ri were somewhat surprised by this. "Why are you all trying to stay here? I'm not saying I would not be glad to have you guys around, just that it's a bit sudden."
"Well, Chrom wanted you to not lose all the members of the Shepherds. Plus, Ylisse still has interests in keeping an eye on the continent of Valm in order to maintain peace. And so me, Henry, and Owain are here to establish the Ylissean embassy in Shi'ma," Lissa said, a bit more quickly than necessary.
"And what about you two?" Say'ri said, referring to Tharja and Libra. "Tharja wishes to keep the now second most important man in her life, as well as the person she considers her closest friend, somewhat close." Tharja glared at Libra for speaking openly about her confidential thoughts, while Libra said the part about the second most important man with a hint of smugness not usually associated with the priest.
"I can't really say no to that, so I think that if you guys were to work with the Ylissean embassy, it can easily be arranged for you two, along with Noire, to stay in Shi'ma," Robin said, being a person willing to accommodate for his friends needs and desires.
"Aye, it can be arranged, but it is impossible for you to stay in the palace. The nobles will see it as an attempt to fill the court with Ylisseans to influence the country," Say'ri said, still concerned with how the nobility viewed the imperial family. "However, we do have the ability to start work on either building an embassy or refurbishing an already existing building. For now though, you will need to stay at that inn."
"I also wish to add if it would be possible to perform sermons in Chon'sin," Libra said.
"I don't see-""Absolutely not." Robin had been cut off by Say'ri, who went on to say, "I do not have issues with your sermons in any capacity, but that the singular worship of Naga and the religion of Ylisse being spread may cause concerns for the spreading of Ylissean institutions. Though I believe that would only happen if you held these sermons in public."
"I guess I'll hold them only for those who are at the embassy," Libra said, still serene.
"There is something I do need to bring up," Tharja said, "There was a message sent out to all Grimleal priests. This included myself and Henry." "I got mine via Henry Junior," Henry said, referring to one of his crows, "The letter said something about organizing a mission to Chon'sin, though not a bloody one."
"You guys worked with us in defeating Plegia and the Grimleal, why did you get this message?" Robin asked, given how weird this was. "Not to mention both of you married the enemy in some sense."
"I think it's just because all those who saw me work with you are dead," Henry said in his usual macabre happiness. "It's probably because we are the two Grimleal closest to you."
"Why would the Grimleal care about Robin? He killed Grima at the risk of his own life," Say'ri said, also confused.
"It only makes sense, they never cared for Chon'sin before now, and now that Robin is here, they wish to get him back. For what, I do not know," Tharja said, somewhat confident in her ramblings. "And there is the possibility that they know he did that. He did disappear for a bit."
"Well, it's probably nothing we can't handle," Robin said, somewhat confident in his statement.
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A/N: Well, there goes the hope of uploading a chapter twice a week for this month. I at least got this chapter out before the end of the year. All I can say is that I was unmotivated and distracted. But hopefully I can start the new year off by writing at least one chapter a week, even despite college starting back up again. Beyond that and onto the actual chapter, I just wanted to include some of the main cast of Awakening back into the story, and so I came up with plenty of excuses for many of the characters. That's all I really have to say, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter.