Chapter 6

Morgan whistled, walking along the rather desolate road, leaves falling from the trees above, which were turning yellow and orange with the cold of autumn. Watching, he saw a leaf fall, a caterpillar on it, freezing up as it hit the ground atop its leafy land. After a few moments, it slowly began to crawl away from the leaf, and inched forward in a random direction.

Like a kid leaving the house for the first time, he thought. "Hm..." Or...

"I AM CYNTHIA, VANQUISHER OF EVIL!"

"JESUS!" shouted Morgan, even whilst exclaiming bringing his tome out of a pocket and raising a hand to aim at her. The Thunder magic manifested around his hand, with the Pegasus Knight stopping to beam at him. After a moment he allowed his hand to relax and the magic dissipate, feeling himself sweat. I almost... "Gods, Cynthia... you scared me a few years off my life!" he deadpanned.

"Whoops! Sorry, Morgan!" grinned Cynthia, a laugh coming from her afterwards. "Just... my heroic entrance, ya know?!"

Taking a deep breath to re-compose himself, Morgan offered a smile. "Well, you're certainly as chipper as ever," he spoke. "That Warrior with the Silver Axe last battle didn't get you too badly?"

"Well..." She rubbed at a forearm, smile fading somewhat, which was the location she had suffered the drastic wound.

He would know. He watched it happen just as he let his guard down, after using Thunder to kill a Sniper and-

"I got all healed up, so it's alright!" Cynthia's smile returned, though a bit more forced now. "Brady's a really good healer, after all!"

"Yeah, he is," spoke Morgan. rubbing his abdomen inside his cloak where a Mire spell had gotten the jump on him. Not as good as Lissa, but...

"And besides, if I've gotten anything to offer, it's pep!" declared Cynthia, skipping forward as the two of them walked next to each other. "Belting out catchphrases and awesome hero speeches never fails get me going!"

"Heh... so that's your secret, huh?" Morgan gave her another smile.

"Yep!" Cynthia gave him another smile. "Y'know..." Pausing, she peered closer at him. "And if you're ever feeling worn down, I just can't recommend it highly enough!" She tilted his chin up a little bit. "Hm... you should try it right now, Morgan! You're not looking that... up, I guess?"

"Well... alright, I guess I will," spoke Morgan. "Let's see... um..." He looked sideways, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I... I am Morgan, the, uh..." Dammit, what do I... well, light is a contradiction to dark and gloomy, which I've kinda been feeling lately, so... "The... unwavering light... that makes bad guys... really sad!" he declared, trying a pose.

Cynthia watched this all with apparent glee, judging by the growing smile on her face once again. "Well?"

Morgan blinked. The dark thoughts that had been plaguing him seemed... a little farther away somehow. "Wow... you're right, Cynthia!" He grinned, laughing. "That felt really good! With some practice, I bet that I could really get used to this!"

"That's the spirit!" declared the Pegasus Knight. "And it's always great to find someone else who appreciates the art of heroism!"

"Heh... yeah, it does seem like we're something of a matched pair," he spoke, the words coming out. He blinked after saying them, realizing the truthfulness in said words. And yet...

Being with Nah has that little bit being with Cynthia just doesn't have...

"And that means it's gonna be up to the two of us to keep the speeches going until everyone's energized!" declared Cynthia.

"Yeah!" grinned Morgan, looking outwards. "Look out, world! I'm gonna shout until my voice is hoarse!"

"Ya nailed it!" spoke Cynthia. "Nice, Morgan! Oh, wait!" She gasped. "I was supposed to have a hero chat with Gerome! Sorry, Morgan, gotta go!" Sumia's daughter rushed off after her words, leaving a trail of dust behind.

"Huh... really is flighty," spoke Morgan. "Well... maybe I'll go back to camp and get some rest, or... hm... I could go to the nearest town and maybe buy something..." He dug out his coin pouch, tied with a dull gray string.

"Though... it feels like Nah's been... nah, not indifferent, but..." He palmed his face upon realizing his mistake. "Yet... we haven't spent that much time together recently... which has translated into battle too... He kept walking the road, which led to town, which had some bakeries and goods.

"Huh..." Morgan put his gold back into his cloak as he entered the town itself. "Though..." Cynthia with that Galeforce skill from Sumia, as mother and I have found, makes her and I a really good team. She can attack and I give covering fire with magic, especially with there's an Archers or Snipers...

Nah and Brady make for a devastating team, too. Ever since he became a Sage, her draconic breath and his Bolganone tome can take out essentially anything, even Falcon Knights or Dark Fliers...

Or Yarne and Nah. Warne can take out Cavalier with ease as Nah takes out Wyvern Riders, as well as the two of them being rather slippery and difficult to hit. She can provide cover from a distance as Yarne gets up close and personal.

"A lot of combinations better then Nah and me," he spoke aloud, a sigh coming out unheard amongst the busy town.

Maybe I should just try to... stop being friends with her? Where are my thoughts going? thought Morgan, restraining the urge to slap himself. Mother spends time with every member of the army, so I should try to be like her! I can't avoid Nah, I just... should be a bit more careful of what I feel towards her, I guess... He allowed another quiet sigh to escape, and stopped to note where he was.

"Morgan!" shouted a panicked voice, which the tactician recognized as Yarne from the shadows in the nearby alleyway. "Come over here!"

"Okay..." Morgan moved over. At Yarne's nod the two proceeded to move deeper into the alleyway, until they were trekking to the edge of the town. "Wait, what's the-WHOA?!" He gasped, instincts urging him to flip out his Thunder tome and deflect the thrown Short Spear about to claim his head. "The hell just... NAH?!" he shouted. "Why's there so many..."

"Gh! The boy has backup!" shouted a Soldier, readying a Steel Lance. "Take the girl away, boys! We'll hold them off!"

"NNGH!" gasped out Nah, mouth covered by a rag. "MMGH!" She got dragged away by some more soldiers, desperate sounds rushing out of her.

"I was hoping to buy something... Yarne, do you have your Beaststone?" spoke Morgan, using a quick Thunder blast to take down the enemy with the Short Spear. Gonna be too dangerous to use my sword...

The Taguel beside him flashed before the familiar rabbit form emerged. "How're we gonna do this?!" he shouted.

"Simple... I use magic to take out the guys dragging... Nah..." Pausing, he let loose a Thunder spell at the Soldier rushing at his side. "Geh... and you cover me from the rest of them. Then, clear a path really quick so I can grab her and we run! Though if they also have Cavalier units, then... I'll deal with them as they come. Ready?!" grunted Morgan.

Yarne nodded at him. "Yeah!" He charged forward, his tackle eliminating the first Soldier to come at him.

Morgan breathed out, concentrating another Thunder spell, looking to where one Soldier was still dragging Nah along by an arm.

I need to kill him in one shot, he thought. But this guy's tough... from what I can see, he can just barely survive a single spell.

If that happens, I can't get another chance. I won't be able to catch up and Nah's gone.

He closed his eyes, the cries of the battle before him intense and harsh.

Morgan felt his blood turn hot, his physical strength rapidly starting to drain. He panted, opening his eyes again.

The Thunder spell was was larger now, at least twice as large now.

He felt a weak smile come to his face, looking forward to where the Soldier was rushing away. This... mother's told me about this.

This skill is...

"Ignis!" he shouted, firing off the spell.

The Soldier froze as the spell struck his back, before falling with an odd sense of gracefulness.

Morgan panted, falling to one knee, groaning. Damn... how does mother manage to use that skill so much? It's exhausting...!

"MORGAN!" shouted Yarne, rushing over to him. "Quick, get on me! We gotta get Nah before they do!"

"Y-yeah..." The tactician managed to heave himself on to the rabbit, who dashed towards the Manakete. Swallowing, Morgan reached out and grasped the girl's arm, with her landing in his lap. He took the gag out of her mouth and smiled weakly at her. "Hi..."

"Morgan!" she cried, coughing as she buried her face in his chest. "Oh, gods... that was... that was just...!" She started to cry.

"It's alright," he spoke, embracing her. "It's going to be alright." He breathed out, letting her go to flip out his Thunder tome again. "Man... these bandits don't know when to give up," he mused. "Also, you alright, Yarne?"

"Y-yeah... why... hah... do you... ask?" panted the Taguel, as he kept running.

"Nah, do you have your Dragonstone?" spoke Morgan.

"No," she spoke. "When they surprised me in my tent, I dropped it."

"Okay then..." He wiped his brow of sweat, letting a harsh breath out. "If only there was an aerial unit..." He shot a Thunder spell and a Soldier fell, dead. We're gaining, but Yarne's getting tired pretty fast... Nah can't fight... got no choice.

"Yarne," spoke Morgan. "I'm gonna take out the rest of them. You get back to camp as fast as you can, and get Nah healed." He rubbed some blood from his cheek. "Looks like she's taken a bad knock to the head. Anyways, I'll see you guys later!"

"Wait, Morgan-" He ignored Nah's words and leapt off of Yarne, groaning as he stumbled and slid along the ground.

"Ugh..." Taking in a large gulp of air, Morgan prepared another Thunder blast. This is going to get tricky...

"Well, well, well... so you're gonna sacrifice yourself to make sure your friends get away?" spoke one of the bandits. "Mighty kind of ya."

"I don't plan on sacrificing myself," spoke Morgan, shooting out a Thunder spell to deflect a Spear. This is bad... four of them and I'm too tired to use my sword...

"Well, well... come to papa!" roared a bandit, charging forward.

"But I won't lose." Raising a hand, Morgan fired another Thunder spell before the spears were all upon him.

What soon happened next was Morgan on the ground, panting hard, covered in blood.

Most of it was his own, Lissa later told him, though a fair amount belonged to the four bandits whose bodies lay burnt on the ground from an excess of electricity forcefully blasted into them.

The tactician's left arm had been impaled by a spear, and thus had a few shards embedded in the limb. Morgan clenched his teeth together as Brady managed to get them all out of him.

He received several visitors throughout the days afterward, though the one he really wanted to see only came to him once in the night.

A sigh rose from him, shifting with a slight grimace. Brady was gentle getting the spear fragments out of him, but it still hurt, despite some Physic spells thrown at him.

Morgan rested his head on the pillow again, closing his eyes. The throb of his wound caused him to hiss and open his eyes, however.

"Ugh," he mumbled out. "Damn, this still..."

"Morgan?"

It was barely a breath, almost the winds howling through leaves and branches, in fact.

"Nah?" he spoke aloud, and the gentle quietness of the medical tent seemed to make his voice louder then it was. "You..."

"I... couldn't sleep," she admitted. "Whenever I close my eyes to do so, I... I see those bandits coming to get me again... over and over..."

Morgan nodded. "Mm..." He groaned, shifting to one side so his exhausted left arm wasn't banging against the bed.

"Um..." From the Manakete, he sensed an intense blush, and she looked away. "Morgan... could I... ah... sleep with you tonight...?"

"Sure," he replied, adjusting himself a little bit to make room for his companion on the cot. When she didn't come over to lie beside himself Morgan looked over at her. "What're you waiting for?"

"I... didn't think you would agree that fast," spoke Nah, moving until she rested beside him with ginger movements.

"If you ever need anything, just ask. I'll help you as best as I can," spoke Morgan, intertwining his hand with hers without thinking much about what he was saying and doing. His face feel hot as he took her hand in his and yet...

It just seemed... right somehow.

She near flinched, though a warm smile settled on her face afterwards. "Thank you," she murmured, settling her head on his chest with a very aware slowness.

Morgan breathed out, feeling the light, warm weight of his friend atop of him. A smile settled on his face as Nah's expression became one of blissful sleep.

Being there, watching that peacefulness on her face, tiny breaths moving out of her with colourful hair almost tickling his nose...

It was nice.

That was actually pretty fun to put together.