(A/N: Another one! Honestly, I'm just writing this to avoid writing Chapter 16 XP But other than that, I've had this dialogue floating around in my head for a little while now.)
This paralogue is in Morgan's view, after Chapter 15.)
Morgan woke up and went out of his way to find Malin. The man was…honestly a bit unsettling for Morgan to spend a lot of time with. A lot of the others seemed to feel the same, but overall Malin had been useful so far. He did as he was told and—for the most part—kept to himself. Or at the very least, that's what Morgan has seen.
Malin was in his tent. If Morgan remembered correctly, he had shared this tent with Inigo. However, Malin was alone and writing something down.
"Malin," Morgan said, entering the tent slowly.
Malin took immediate notice. "Oh! Hello," he said. "While you're here, which one sounds better: 'I offered to fight for their cause,' or 'I had convinced them to let me join their small army'?"
"If you're looking for accuracy, the first would be best." Morgan replied, walking a little closer. "What are you writing? If I'm allowed to ask, that is."
"It's just a journal-of-sorts," Malin said. "Like I said earlier, I don't remember my childhood. When I was still living in Ylisstol, I caught up on my life and started writing regularly after that. The parts I remember and the parts I made up…all on paper, ready to be make into a pretty impressive novel." He gestured to the spot beside him. "You can sit down, if you want. And you don't have to look so uncomfortable."
"…right," Morgan said. A bit reluctantly, he sat down next to Malin. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead," Malin said.
"Why have you only called me by my name once?" Morgan asked. "And why did you hesitate to say your full name when you introduced yourself? And…and why do you look almost exactly like me?"
Malin readjusted himself a little. "That'll be a bit complicated to answer. But the easiest answer? We're more alike than you think. But you'll have to ask Robin for more details. Honestly, I never expected to see you or Lucina after I left the castle…in any form or circumstance. I never thought of a way to explain it. It's a long story." He paused for a few moments. "But with that out of the way…I have something I want to ask you."
"Okay," Morgan replied. He wasn't sure if Malin's answer satisfied him, but since neither of them were going to be leaving the army any time soon, he figured he could try again later.
"It might be personal," Malin said. "I'm just curious. But feel free not to answer." He took a deep breath. "What…what was it like, growing up with both parents and agemates, in a time of peace? Was it boring? Exciting? Hard? Easy? When I write about myself…it's never happy. One of my parents was dead or never home, and the other…she wasn't herself. I can imagine…talking to others…that it was torture. We wouldn't know when our parents would come back. War was upon us and it wasn't going to go away. But then I think of how you must've grown up. We are, quite literally, nearly the same exact person, yet we must've been raised differently and taught different things. So I want to know what it was like. Just…just for curiosity's sake."
"Well," Morgan began, "I was never alone. But in a good way. I always had Lucina and Owain, or the others. Mother introduced me to tactics through toys and sweets, of all things; 'Which direction should you go in if you want to eat a cookie without anyone noticing?' Of course, then Lucina and Owain insisted I got them some too, and Mother had to start hiding them. I was still new at magic when Eisso's mother died, so Mother taught us together. For a little while, it was just us—she wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing. Then she let us train with the others. I learned how to properly swing a sword around by watching Lucina, but it's not my weapon of choice.
"When Eisso and Kenzie's father died, I was one of the main motivation sources. Mother offered to let them stay at the castle—Kenzie declined, though. Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like, seeing them every day. But since then, everything was fine. This probably sounds a bit weird, but most of the time I forget I'm living in the castle. Then this happened." He didn't know how he could continue, so he stopped there.
"Were Eisso and Kenzie a big part of your life so far?" Malin asked.
"They're practically family," Morgan replied.
"…what if they were?"
Morgan looked up at Malin. "You…you lost me. What?"
"I told you I made theories about Robin," Malin said. "And after I wrote about her childhood and learned about a woman that just so happened to look exactly like the woman that was supposedly imaginary, it became a popular theory of mine."
"That's… You really make theories about living people?" Morgan asked. "I mean, I can get Mother if she was helping, but…"
"By the time I did more than a few minor connections, she was dead."
"That's even worse! You don't make crazy theories about people you've never met and try to plug them into someone else's family tree. Does Mother even know you're trying to force family ties on her?"
"She does! Or, at the very least, I left her a copy of most of my work at that time, before I left."
"I am starting to see why no one likes to be around you. But if you'll excuse me, I would like to eat breakfast. Start getting ready to leave."
Morgan left Malin's tent. He was also hoping that someone would let him rant to them. Malin was more than unsettling…now his presence was just unbearable.