After some discussion and open vote, Cynthia and Gerome were sent back to Ylisstol with letters for almost everyone's parents.
They decided to wait for the two to return before continuing. A lot of them were on edge—they were in a thin forest, about an hour's walk away from the nearest town, but it was weird staying in one place after moving around constantly.
Lucina had taken it upon herself to help the others train. Eisso was one of the only people not participating, and that was because he just…didn't feel like it. He knew he should—to set a good example, at least—but he didn't want to.
At first it was one-on-one duels against someone and Lucina, with the same rules at the mock tournaments back at the castle. Then Malin joined them, and encouraged them to try to take him down in a combined effort. It was fascinating to watch, honestly.
"Don't be afraid that you'll kill me," Malin said. "Treat me as you would an enemy. I can handle a few scratches."
The statement made half of them fight harder. They all had weapons capable of drawing blood—Lucina was even fighting with Falchion. It looked almost impossible to actually hit Malin, though; they were genuinely trying their best, but Eisso noticed that Malin was always dodging or counterattacking.
Most of the day was spent training. Lucina was the first to withdraw, and the rest followed.
Eisso, Lucina, and Malin were the only three left in the training area, since everyone else decided to eat food.
"Good fighting," Malin said. "Reminds me of an old friend."
"You have a lot of 'old friends,'" Eisso observed.
Malin shrugged. "That's what happens when you fight in a war and seclude yourself for over a decade afterwards," he said. He gestured to the spot beside Lucina. "May I?"
"Sure," Lucina replied. Malin nodded and sat down beside her. "You were great, too. I swear, you're invincible. We were training for hours and you don't have so much as a scratch on you."
"You guys were still holding back," Malin said. "But I wanted to ask about your sword."
"Falchion?" Lucina asked.
"Yup," Malin replied. "How'd you get it?"
"My father gave it to me before we left," Lucina explained. "It's…not something I would find difficult to guess."
"I know, I know," Malin said. "Oddly enough, though…I think that's the Parallel Falchion as opposed to the real thing."
"There's only one Falchion," Eisso pointed out. "Even I know that much."
"Okay," Malin began, "Long story short, my previously mentioned old friend wielded a Falchion that everyone just called the Parallel Falchion to avoid confusion. She left immediately after the war—I'm not sure where she went. And I thought she brought her Falchion with her, but the Falchion Chrom wields looks…slightly less worn than this. She must've left it behind; either for you or for Chrom."
"That doesn't make sense," Lucina said. "This isn't a 'theory,' is it?"
"I'm being one hundred percent honest," Malin replied. "But like all else, I don't know how to explain the whole thing."
"Would it really be that much more difficult to understand than anything else we know?" Eisso asked, a bit skeptical.
"It could probably give you an existential crisis," Malin said casually. "But I've never been known to have excellent explanation skills."
"Like Father's any better!" Lucina said. "He could barely tell me to take Falchion; I doubt he would be able to explain whatever mythical nonsense happened during the war."
"Robin would be able to explain, though," Malin protested. He stood up and stretched. "But that aside, I'm going to get something to eat. I'll see you there?"
"Right," Eisso said.
Malin left, but Lucina stopped Eisso from following him.
Eisso looked over at Lucina. "What is it?"
"You know how, before we left…when you followed me out into town…and I sort of just…screamed my insecurities at you?" Lucina asked.
"That's not how I remember it, but yes," Eisso replied.
"Do you think that Malin's old friend was that other Lucina everyone refers to?" Lucina said, not looking at him. "I mean…why else would Father give me her Falchion, if not to make me more like…more like her?"
Eisso couldn't think of a reasonable response. He couldn't say "It's possible" because then she might lapse back into reclusiveness and avoid everyone. But saying "You're just imagining it" might have the same result. So he decided on the next best thing: "I'm not sure."
Lucina seemed to understand, nodding and standing up. "Well, let's get some food."
(A/N: Yay! My subtle hint turned into a confirmed fact! But the reason why Parallel Falchion looks more dented/worn than normal Falchion is because it…just makes sense to me for some reason. Other than to give the two some differences.)