Eisso saw plenty of people he knew on the way to the castle. A few of them were his friends—others were just acquaintances. Most of them were agemates.
The castle's doors were always open for visitors, at least during the day. When the two siblings entered, Robin was heading towards them.
"Hello," she said once she was within earshot. "How have you two been?"
"Good," Kenzie said. Eisso nodded in agreement. "And you?"
"Busy," Robin replied. "As you know, in a few days is the festival that marks the defeat of Grima. I'm helping Chrom get everything ready. Morgan, Lucina, and some of the others are training area; you can join them, if you want."
"Thank you," Eisso said. "And I can try to help if you need it."
"Me too," Kenzie offered.
"Thank you for the offer, but I can manage," Robin said. "I've handled worse. You two just have fun, alright?"
Eisso and Kenzie both nodded, and Robin smiled and walked away. Eisso was able to lead Kenzie to the training area where, like Robin said, Morgan, Lucina, Owain, Inigo, Yarne, and Noire seemed to be doing some sort of mock tournament. Only Lucina and Owain were fighting; the other four were sitting on the grass, watching. Morgan had a score board next to him.
"Another point for Lucina!" Morgan called. "That makes five! Who's next up to defeat our undefeated champion?"
"I'm next," Noire said. Owain, seeming defeated, walked off the marked off area, and Noir replaced him, brandishing his bow.
"Learn from example, Noire!" Morgan said. "Learn from other's mistakes; it's a good way to defeat your enemy in practice combat, but in normal combat it's easier to dodge and learn the attack patterns. Either way, you have an advantage provided Lucina doesn't change tactics. Ready? Set! Fight!"
And with that, Lucina and Noire started their mock fight. Noire's initial hesitance to use her bow—even though the arrows wouldn't cause any real harm—reminded Eisso of his training failure earlier that day. The thought made him stop watching and instead turn his attention to Ylisse's tactician-in-training.
"Morgan," Eisso said.
It took a few more moments for Morgan to stop watching the battle. "Eisso! Kenzie! When you'd get here?"
"When Owain lost," Kenzie said.
"Okay," Morgan said. He gestured to either side of him. "Come on, sit! Watch! Mother says it's good practice. So far, Lucina hasn't lost a single duel—I wanted to see how well she would do against Nah, but she couldn't come. I could only round up Owain, Inigo, Noire, and Yarne. It was interesting to see a taguel-against-sword fight, though. You two can join in, if you want."
"Yes," Kenzie said. She sat down beside Morgan, with Eisso taking up his friend's other side. "Definitely and utterly yes. You don't have any wooden daggers, do you?"
"We should," Morgan replied. "What about you, Eisso?"
"I can try," Eisso said. "But of all people, Lucina would know how I fight."
"Mix it up a little," Morgan suggested. "When you're fighting the same person over and over again, you can't use the same tricks—that gives them the advantage, because they know what you'll do next. But if you stayed unpredictable, then that gives you the advantage again. Just try to outsmart her."
Eisso nodded. It didn't completely reassure him, but it worked to an extent, at least.
"Let me try first," Kenzie said. "Then once I get my dignity ruined, you can give it a go."
"You're not helping," Eisso replied. "And sure, losing to Lucina is embarrassing, but it's not too bad. Trust me; Morgan, Lucina, and Owain are the people I always train with, and to this day I've only beaten one of them."
"That was…Owain, wasn't it?" Kenzie asked.
Morgan nodded. "He got too dramatic doing a 'special move,' and lost his focus. Ended up missing the attack; Eisso was able to land the final hit and won." He explained, looking back at Lucina and Noir. It seemed like Noire was winning—or at the very least, trying not to get hit.
"I vaguely remember that," Kenzie said. "I helped Lissa patch him up."
"It was just about my only victory so far," Eisso replied. "I feel like no one that lives in this castle believes in holding back."
"Lucina doesn't, at the very least," Morgan said. "But most of the people who live in this castle—definitely the adults—have been in actual battle. They know what it's like to be in a situation where your opponent won't play fair. They're just trying to prepare us for if we are ever in a similar situation."
In the marked off training area, Lucina and Noire were still fighting. Lucina was winning again, though; the small crowd of watchers were trying to cheer Noire on. Eisso watched, showing his support for the archer by trying his best to help.
(A/N: (1) my excuse for some/most/all of the kids to be in/around Ylisstol is for the defeat-of-Grima festival, (2) just because Owain, Inigo, Noire, and Yarne appeared now does not mean they'll have much of a role later in the story, and (3) wow, uh…Owain you seem to be losing a lot…)