Naga – Stalking Type
Two people go on a romantic walk – but only one of them is aware of it
As of late, Kiran was used to being scared. Despite what some might've said as a show of bravado, the nerves that struck before a battle never got all that easier to deal with. And of course, he was constantly afraid during a fight until everything was said and done. To his great chagrin, he'd quickly gotten very accustomed to having fear's specter looming over his shoulder.
Having to suddenly be the tactician and recruiter for an interdimensional fantasy army was the last choice he'd have made for a career. He'd only had the job for about four months now, and it often times almost became too much to handle. Despite their lofty title as 'Heroes', the people he summoned were only human and no more invincible than anyone else. He had to come up with plans that both accomplished the Order's goals and kept everyone in one piece, which was enough to keep anyone up late into the night from nerves alone. And, of course, getting a bunch of strangers to play nice and synchronize in the heat of battle carried more than its fair share of problems.
By his account, the sole factor keeping the whole thing glued together was Naga, the 'Divine Dragon' who was worshipped as a goddess in several different worlds. Whatever she was, she was obscenely powerful compared to even the strongest human in their number and as such could provide enough raw strength to balance the Order's otherwise grossly unfavorable odds. What's more, the vast majority of Heroes he'd summoned worshipped her in their homelands, so her presence acted as a stabilizer that helped bring disparate Heroes together. Her daughter, Tiki, was nowhere near as powerful nor was her own sacred status as important in the shadow of her mother's, but she did whatever she could and had salvaged a desperate situation on more than one occasion.
He had no clue why he got so many of Naga's faithful (from what Tana, Lorenz and Sothe said, there ought to have been dozens of worthy candidates for summoning in their own worlds that he just wasn't pulling for some reason) but considering how the religious homogeneity was smoothing things over, he wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth. If he didn't have that load off his mind and her dominance on the battlefield, he'd probably have cracked from stress weeks ago.
But, for all that she unintentionally helped to alleviate, said nerves were always in preparation or the middle of a suitably frightening experience. Since he knew when to expect it, he could at least try to mitigate the effects that continued to appear. By contrast, he was still paying an exceptional mental toll when suddenly struck by fright in his day-to-day light. And as of late, though he couldn't fathom why, that toll was becoming due every waking second.
Something indescribable had him perpetually on edge. Almost everywhere he went, almost every time of day, he would constantly glance around as if he'd caught movement in the corner of his vision. Despite the fact that nothing was ever there (at least nothing that he could see), he remained unable to shake the feeling of…well, of being watched. He'd brought his concerns to some of the more healing-inclined or accomplished Heroes, like Lachesis or Chrom, but he universally got told some variation of "Your inexperience is exacerbating your anxiety about the war. Give it time and it'll eventually pass." Even Gaius had brushed him off with assurances that he was keeping an eye out and there was nothing around to produce the reaction Kiran described. Logically, he knew they were probably right, even if their answers weren't very comforting in the here and now. Still, he couldn't shake the gut feeling that there was something else at play. Something a lot worse than a bad case of jitters…
Even now, sitting in the decently filled dining hall for dinner, he couldn't stop himself from looking over his shoulder every few minutes. Goddammit, what was wrong with him?! There were no battles scheduled for the immediate future, nobody was in any danger and he was as safe as possible with every Hero in spitting distance. So then why in the hell was he so tense? Every time he looked back, he saw the same thing: to his left, Linde and Maribelle were talking about what looked to be their respective schools of magic while Lorenz and Inigo constantly tried and failed to inject themselves into the conversation. To his right, Naga was sharing a meal with Shannan, Frederick and Caeda (though none of the three were without some awkwardness given their unique company).
Nothing was amiss, but he still felt like there was a dagger against his back anyway. He turned his head forward again to find Alfonse and Sharena sharing a concerned look. The blonde gave sound to their worry, "Kiran, are you alright? You keep looking all…shifty. Like you're walking down an alley notorious for having pickpockets."
"Oh, you know," he started, his voice too flat to match the sarcastic nature of his words, "I just keep getting the sensation of someone trying to make my head explode with their mind."
The prince sighed; Kiran had already brought this up with him last week and been less than satisfied by his advice. "I understand it takes time to acclimate, but you'll have to master your fear sooner or later, Kiran. Your command will suffer if you're too busy jumping at shadows to give your tactics their due diligence."
Were he of sounder mind, Kiran would probably have scoffed and rolled his eyes. As it was, all he could manage was an exhausted sigh. "You're a real font of wisdom, you know that? 'Bro, just don't get scared' is right up there with telling a depressed person, 'Dude, just don't be sad'. With all your good ideas, you ought to start a business selling dirt to the poor." The second his mockery was finished, Kiran went rigid in his seat. It was impossible to describe how, but he could feel something eyeing him like a juicy piece of meat. In that moment, he was less the Great Hero and more a mouse that suspected a cat was stalking it unseen from some underbrush.
He had to leave. He had to get out of that room right now.
"If it's not too much trouble, I would rather appreciate–" Kiran cut off Alfonse's annoyed response by shooting to his feet, the apple he'd been nibbling on still clutched in his hand.
"I'm turning in early." He said, his words delivered even curter than Lon'qu's. Without waiting to see their reactions, he made his escape as quickly as possible while still looking somewhat natural. He might've gotten a few curious looks on his way out, but he was too tense to notice or care.
Getting into the halls did bring some measure of alleviation, but he still couldn't escape the sensation of some great eye gazing down at him. Glancing around, he decided the problem was the plethora of angles and entrances littering the hallway, from branching paths to windows. It was too easy for someone (or something) to see him in there and be unseen while doing it. My office. He concluded. My office only has one way in and usually feels safer.
If only to loosen up his jaw, he took one last bite out of the apples and threw it half-eaten out of a window into the gardens as a he walked past. He passed a crossway that took him further into the castle, where the walls had no openings whatsoever. Only a handful of seconds after doing so, however, he noticed a sudden lack of any perceived watching. The looming presence wasn't gone per se, but it felt like its attention had abruptly been pulled elsewhere. While he should've been elated and sighing in relief, he couldn't help but sense that he wasn't any safer. Almost like he was both the source of interest and the reason for the unforeseen distraction…
Immediately, he pulled an about-face and retraced his steps towards the dining hall. First, second, third… he counted to himself along the way, his mouth dry with anticipation. When he reached his destination, he peered over the windowsill into the garden at the exact spot where he'd thrown his apple away. What he saw sent his heart plummeting into his stomach and made his knees shake in place.
There was nothing in the garden but flowerbeds and empty benches. No people, no animals, not even so much as a flattened patch of grass to indicate some kind of life had recently passed through.
And no apple to be found anywhere.
Her newest prize was small and short-lived. It would not last as long as the others, but that was no reason to discard it outright. For it had come from her beloved and was thus worth more than all the riches of man put together. It was something else that, millennia from now, she would be able to remember him by.
It may have just been a lowly apple with a few bites taken out of it, but to Naga, it was an irreplaceable treasure.
Claiming it had meant she had to let Kiran vanish from her sight and whisk it off to safety away from prying eyes – especially when he surprised her by doubling back to presumably recover and finish it – but she'd have more opportunities to observe him. This fruit had to be cherished while it lasted, before it decayed just like everything else she'd seen over the years. Fortunately, even minor levitation enabled her to move with swiftness enjoyed by very few of the humans around her. It was admittedly close, but she retrieved her keepsake and slipped out of view behind a wall just in the nick of time, leaving her free to bring it back to her domain.
Of course, she took a moment to enjoy her seclusion and ran her tongue over the bite marks left by his teeth before departing.
It was a curious sequence of events that led to her current behavior. The initial call for help that resounded through her chamber on Mount Prism was unusual enough in and of itself. But what truly caught her attention and made her decide to answer it was the unconventional lack of reverence in it. The sons of man who asked for her aid in ages past always did so with an overabundance of veneration. They saw her as a goddess and themselves as mere mortals, and as such were excessively humble in their requests. It wasn't as if their behavior wasn't without precedent – she had always been selective about whom received her gifts – but the various standings on ceremony blurred together in her memory. It was…refreshing to hear something so unabashedly earnest.
So, since the world outside had not needed her intervention in many centuries, she decided to answer the summons and found herself hastened away to another world entirely. Upon arriving, she was face to face with the one who requested her assistance, and he couldn't possibly have been more different from her past champions if he tried. He had no blade at his side, a physique not remotely suited for combat, and the most naked display of nervousness and uncertainty she'd ever seen. Perhaps most baffling of all was his bafflement at what he was seeing. While his companions instantly became in awe of her presence and practically tripped over themselves to bow their heads, he just tilted his head and tried to make sense of her. It was immediately obvious that his lack of piety was born of ignorance, not principle.
At a glance, it would almost have seemed a mirthless joke at her expense. But it was not the surface that mattered – it was the beseecher's heart which received her judgement. As his friends snapped at him to show the proper respect, she peered within the depths of his being. Even after countless such appraisals, some of which ended in a lethal baptism by fire, she was surprised by how swiftly she evaluated him.
As a matter of fact, it barely took more than a second for her to deem him worthy.
More surprising than the speed of her verdict was the rationale for it. Or rather, the lack thereof. Her prior assessments had been made by weighing the subject's vices and virtues in her mind, comparing the risks of them having her power against the benefits. While the process was largely instinctive, she would be remiss to claim logical deduction didn't play a role. At least, it was supposed to play a role. But in this hooded stranger, she instantly felt that denying him her gifts would produce regret that she would bear for the rest of her countless days.
Beyond the initial compulsion to approve of him was a magnetism drawing her further into his core. There was such warmth to be felt by gazing into him, it seemed a waste to stop now. This feeling was quite unlike like anything she'd ever experienced before, after all. Perhaps…she should stay like this for just a few moments longer…
"Your Holiness, words cannot describe our humility and gratitude that you would even consider lending your sacred might to our cause."
…And the reverie was broken by some blue-haired lad. She blinked twice to gather her bearings now that her attention was back in the physical world and began taking stock of who was around the summoner. The bluenette, a blonde, an oddly familiar redhead, a swordsman who appeared to carry the blood of that Od fellow from Dahna…all together, the group comprised either those in white and gold or those whom she could sense hailed from some part of the same world as her.
Once they had her attention, introductions began pouring in, and she learned the name of the captivating stranger before her. Kiran was an unusual name, but she supposed everything was relative. She also learned more about the struggle she had been called to aid against; preventing the subjugation of countless worlds, including hers, was indeed a noble and just cause, providing further validation to her immediate approval of him. To their overwhelming delight, she was glad to join them in their crusade and they all began returning to the castle in which the natives resided shortly thereafter.
Askr would be an otherwise unremarkable place were it not for the multitude of 'Heroes' who temporarily called the land their home. There was beauty to be seen, true, but it was nothing she hadn't already experienced in her eons of life. The summoning of different people from across the ages, with a small handful even being from worlds unknown to her, made for a curious sight. Though the novelty was unfortunately diminished when she was recognized by most as their 'goddess' and the worship began rolling in as it always did. Even those few who weren't familiar with her quickly caught on and began making what they saw as the proper shows of deference.
Just about the only person who went against the grain was already the most intriguing. Kiran had already stayed in her eye due to the abnormal pull she felt when judging him, but his lack of reverence piqued her interest further. Just who was this strange man, who hailed from a world unknown to anyone and did not treat himself as a paltry mortal before her? What odd turn of fate led to him serving as this realm's 'Great Hero' and wielding such supreme summoning power? Why had she been so captivated by gazing into his heart? Her curiosity continued to burn ever brighter and drove her to start down the path that eventually led to the present day.
It had started out small: nothing more than some prolonged looks when they happened to share a room together. During meals or whenever he happened to patrol nearby, she'd divert attention from whatever she was doing to gaze at him. The experience was pleasant enough (even if she couldn't fully explain why), but she soon grew frustrated by the lack of progress. Watching Kiran when he happened to be nearby wasn't good enough; she neither gained new knowledge nor felt the heat inside her die down.
So, she started surreptitiously following him when he went on his way. Were a human to do what she was doing and be caught, they'd have been in store for a confused inquiry at best and an interrogation at worst. But her? She was a goddess in their eyes, outside their comprehension. If she were to act strangely, who would dare have the audacity to call her out on it? Nobody – they would simply write her behavior off as being beyond their understanding and forget about it. Thus, so long as the object of her interest (who had no such blind reverence) didn't catch wind, she was free to track him all she wanted. That same freedom had enabled her to abruptly leave the dining hall after him – those three she'd been sitting with could be as confused as they wanted, but they'd never ask her what she was doing.
When the initial pursuits didn't bear the fruit she hoped, she heightened their intensity by accentuating her tailing with further peers into his heart. That got her results, providing the all-consuming warmth once more. She gained deeper insight into Kiran himself, getting glimpses of his fears and insecurities, but also his accomplishments and comforts. She perceived brief fragments of a world beyond even her understanding, where glass spires appeared to pierce the very heavens and flocks of giant steel birds laid waste to cities by dropping hundreds of fire-spawning eggs on them.
It was all utterly enchanting…and more than that, he was utterly enchanting. Gazing into his soul soon became addictive – she craved the rush that it gave her. Soon, every possible free moment became dedicated to haunting his steps and prying within. She supposed someone else might've thought it more prudent to merely speak to Kiran directly, but she knew better. She knew very well that all life, human and dragon alike, put up a mask that hid its true nature. Her approach skipped any need to break down said barriers and gave her what she desired without delay.
For several weeks, she was content to let herself believe her behavior was merely the product of an unprecedented fascination. She thought she'd eventually have her fill and this enthusiasm would fade. But then an incident after a battle made her realize she was only just beginning, and that Kiran would only escape her gaze once one of them was dead.
The battle itself was a typical affair: Embla's numbers were intimidating but insufficient to overcome her and the other Heroes' might. The village they were guarding was safe and they began making ready to return to the castle, when she realized a certain someone hadn't escaped the battle unscathed. Kiran was hanging back with Lachesis (who seemed to have a fraction of Hezul's blood in her veins) so that the latter could wipe blood off his arm with a rag and begin healing it with her staff. Naga didn't know how Kiran had come to be injured – perhaps a stray arrow or a glancing blow from a swordsman – but that was of no consequence to her. No, what mattered was the blood-soaked rag in Lachesis' hand. When she threw said rag to the ground so she could focus on healing, Naga's mouth went dry.
She needed that rag.
It took all her willpower to hold still while Kiran got patched up, since she couldn't swipe it right in front of him without raising his suspicions. Thankfully, neither he nor Lachesis considered the rag to be of any interest and were happy to leave it there while they left to attend to other matters. With a quick glance around to make sure Kiran's attention was elsewhere, she glided forward to swipe her desired object from the ground. She had no pockets or sleeves to hide it in, and so had to keep it balled up in her fist.
She hadn't the faintest idea why she was doing what she was. What could possibly be possessing her to abscond with a sample of Kiran's blood? It was just like before, when she'd judged his heart – there was nothing rational about her behavior. The decision to steal this rag had been purely instinctive, like the compulsion to breathe. Whatever the possible reason, it hadn't mattered one bit in the heat of the moment. She had her prize, and that was what was important.
She kept it clutched in her hand all the way back to the castle until she finally had the chance to be alone in her room. Finally away from any prying eyes, she raised her fist to her chest and uncurled her fingers. The second she saw the scarlet streams streaking across her hand, the fragile dam of self-control she'd built crumbled. She dove forward with tongue extended to lap up every last droplet of blood she could find. Simultaneously, she pressed the rag into her nose to make sure every breath was twinged by Kiran's coppery scent.
Once every last digit had been licked clean, she stood there and stared at the rag itself, heavily panting and heart racing. What…what was that? Now that the anticipation and high had passed, she finally had enough clarity to think about what came over her. It was obvious at this point that Kiran was not some transitory interest. This desire to feel him, see him, and indulge herself in his essence…what did it all mean?
After a few minutes of sitting on her bed and contemplating, she recalled the various champions over the ages who used her fang and the Fire Emblem to rid the land of evil. They had always had a woman at their sides who featured prominently in their hearts, no? In fact, she was fairly sure the earnest ardor they felt was part of her decision to grant them her blessing. What she was feeling…it wasn't dissimilar to what they had felt, was it? There were differences, of course, but that could easily be chalked up to their particular races and ages. At its core, she and them all desired someone else with all their hearts, and wasn't that the most important part?
And if that was true, did that mean she…loved Kiran? Was this how love felt? Eons ago, she had borne a child once, but so much time had passed since her conception that Naga could no longer remember the emotions that led to the act. The sons of man lived such brief lives that their passions did not appreciably fade before they died, but she had had thousands of years to forget the fondness and lust that made her a mother.
Suddenly, she went rigid, her eyes wide with rare fear. If she did love Kiran…did that mean she would one day forget him as well? Would he one day slip from her thoughts without her even noticing the way her other lover had? No… She had decreed. No, that will not come to pass. I will not allow him to be nothing more than a fading memory. Perhaps nobody else would call what she felt love. Perhaps, by the standards of man, obsessively chasing after Kiran and ingesting his blood was something else entirely.
But to her, it felt right to call it love, and so call it love she did.
And since she was in danger of eventually forgetting that love, she was most grateful that her behavior until now had already enabled her to better remember Kiran once he was gone. Thanks to her actions, she already had a clearer picture of him in her mind than any of the other Heroes. But even now, she could tell it wasn't enough. She needed to not only see him more, but also smell, taste, hear and feel him more. She couldn't let a single sensation be lost to time. Of course, this was a delicate matter that needed to be approached in the proper manner. If Kiran knew what she was doing, he would naturally be happy to help, but it would color his everyday demeanor. That would come in time, but she wanted to make sure she had a perfect recollection of him in his natural environment first.
She had needed to step up her observations. Everyday sight would have to take priority, for that was the only one that relied on his not knowing about her. But the rag would have to only be the beginning. There were more treasures touched by his presence to be collected and adored, and she would be remiss to let even a single one slip past her net.
Hence, her joy at claiming this apple in present day. She returned to her room, lavish and secluded from everyone else, and deposited it next to the other valuables that adorned her vanity. Said vanity had gradually transformed into a sort of pseudo shrine to her love, which she found humorously ironic given her own status as a religious figure. As she always did upon returning to her dwelling, she now took time to enjoy the collection she'd amassed.
First, she licked the faded, rust-colored stain of the bloody rag.
Then, she smelled the cloth that still faintly held the scent of Kiran's sweat. After swiping it from the training grounds Ayra had forcibly dragged him to one day, she wrung out every last drop of perspiration into her mouth like a dehydrated man in a desert.
Next, she traced her fingers over his signature on a meaningless inventory report, trying to imagine every last twitch of the muscles in his hand as he wrote it.
One by one, she delighted in every last one of her couple dozen trinkets, with the apple now briefly joining the group so she could suck on the indentations left by his teeth. Yet, for all her enjoyment, she had become frustrated. She was close to being able to reveal her affection, but the wait had become too much. If she wasn't able to close the distance between them, just for a little while, she was going to go mad.
Luckily for her, she had spent so long at her shrine that the sun had long since sunk beneath the horizon and given her just the opportunity she needed.
She only needed to keep Kiran ignorant for a little while longer, and while that limited her options when he was awake, she would have far more freedom when he was entrapped by sleep. Just for this one night, she would sate her desires under the pale light of the moon. She left her room and began traversing the dark, empty halls to her destination. She often heard humans complain of the spiraling stairs leading to Kiran's tower, but her casual levitation rendered them a non-issue.
Unfortunately, her journey hit an unexpected snag when she found herself face-to-face with a sweet-scented, orange-haired man slouching guard before Kiran's door. His eyes widened upon seeing her and he scrambled to stand straighter. "Oh, uh, Your Holiness! Um, how may I help you tonight?" His words were so painfully stilted it was obvious that he was trying to 'correct' a more casual speech for her.
She had to pause for a moment to remember what this one's name was, during which time his eyes nervously flittered back and forth. "Please, Gaius," she began once it finally came to her, "do not stand on ceremony. Speak with me as you would any other."
"Oh, alright then." Yes, that sounded much less forced. "So…what can I do for ya?"
"You are acting as Kiran's guardian, yes?" He nodded. "Would you be so gracious as to allow me to bear the honor for this one night? I am…curious as to how it feels for mortals to carry out more mundane duties."
"Um…" he began, scratching the back of his head, "I guess I can kinda see where you're coming from. But I don't think this is really the right job for that. He's the summoner, so we can't really take any chances with Skitters' safety, you know?"
She raised a single eyebrow. "'Skitters?'"
He awkwardly coughed into his hand. "Oh, uh, I've got this habit of nicknaming people. Kiran's been all on edge lately, and I swear he was tossing and turning in there for a couple hours before he finally fell asleep, so I just thought…" He shook his head. "Look, I've got the training and experience to do guard duty, which is why I'm here. I-I mean, I'm not sayin' you're incompetent or anything, but…"
He trailed off, embarrassed by the fact that they both knew he was calling her unfit for the job. "Gaius," she said, just the right twinge of condescension dripping from her voice, "I assure you, my power and senses are far beyond anything you could ever hope to achieve. My several thousand years of existence tell me Kiran will be more than safe under my watchful eye."
He winced and looked away, likely ashamed of the realization that he had tried to claim more experience than someone as old as her. "Yeah…yeah, alright, I see what you're saying." He fished a key out of a pouch on his belt and held it out to her, which she then took without delay. "Honestly, nothing ever happens, but…just keep the guy safe, alright?"
"Of course – I assure you that Kiran's safety is at the forefront of my thoughts." They walked past each other. "Oh, and Gaius?" She called back, amused by his apprehensive expression when he turned to meet her. "Since they'll only say that I shouldn't trouble myself with such menial tasks, I see no reason to tell anyone about this. Do you?"
Though her words were delivered as a question, it was abundantly clear that she wasn't asking for his silence. He saw as much and nervously swallowed. "Uh, nope, can't say that I do, Your Holiness. Nobody'll hear about this from me, I promise you that."
She made sure he could hear the low chuckle in her throat. "Your compliance will not go unrewarded. Should I receive any confectionary offerings, I'll make sure some find their way to you."
Her assurance soothed him over, giving her confidence that he would indeed keep his mouth shut. He ambled off without another word, leaving her free to enjoy her prize. Silently, she cracked open the door to Kiran's office, crossed the room to access the entrance to his bedchambers, and slinked inside. It was illuminated by nothing more than a sliver of moonlight shining through the window, but that was more than enough for her enhanced draconic senses. She saw a number of potential treasures throughout the room, like a pile of clothing laden with his scent or the toiletries resting by the bathroom door, but put them all into the back of her mind to focus on the real fortune: Kiran himself, fast asleep in his bed.
With barely restrained excitement, she glided to the object of her desires, glad that his gentle snoring was doing its part to help mask her presence. Once she was hovering over him, she had to consciously stop herself from reaching out to caress his face. Her breathing had automatically picked up in pace, necessitating that she keep a hand over her mouth to muffle its sound. While she was musing over what to do, her gaze was drawn to a small trail of drool that was running down his chin. Her rapid breath caught in her throat and she was unable to fight the urge to sink towards him.
Once her face was inches away from his, her tongue began to slither out from behind her lips. Whilst taking great care not to alert him by touching his skin directly, she dragged her tongue along the surface of his saliva. Her hands clenched around his blankets while she struggled not to moan from his taste. If only to not blow her cover, she left his drool alone for the moment and redirected her attention to his tangled head of hair. With a brief exhale to empty her lungs, she buried her nose into his messy locks and deeply inhaled. He smelled of stale shampoo and sweat, and she found it a more heavenly aroma than any of the flowers on Mount Prism.
He stirred in his sleep, prompting her to bolt back. Luckily, his rest was not disturbed to the point of waking, but she still found herself disappointed at the interruption. It's not enough, she cursed, wanting nothing more than slide her hands and tongue along every inch of his skin. It will be naught but a fraction of time's passing before he's gone, and at this rate only fragments will be left for me to remember. It drove her mad, but she couldn't push her luck with Kiran himself at the moment – while he returned to the depths of somniferous captivity, she would have to make do with other means of strengthening her imprints of him.
Almost aimlessly, she wandered to his bathroom door to start poking through his toiletries. Obviously, being a man meant his space was, as Kiran himself would say, 'Spartan', but that didn't mean there weren't treasures to be found. Like a well-used toothbrush whose bristles had long since started fraying. It wasn't much, but she enjoyed coiling her tongue around it and feeling the coarse hairs dig into her gums. The faded flavor of ground sage and salt was tempered by her newly acquired taste for Kiran's saliva. His comb seemed interesting at a glance, what with all the old hairs caught up in it, but dragging it through her own scalp brought only disappointment.
She went back into his bedroom and scanned for anything else that seemed it would have any importance. Her eyes passed over the dirty laundry once again, drawing a content grin from her lips. She crossed the distance without delay, unable to resist the pull of his aroma now it was at the forefront of her mind. She pulled out a bundle at random that appeared to contain everything from smallclothes to one of his signature coats and buried her face within it. She alternated between pressing the pile into her skin, sucking on the fabric and sniffing the different items individually. A muffled groan rumbled in her throat while she began rubbing her thighs together in an attempt to stifle the growing heat in her core. A heat which would be unfamiliar were it not for a distant memory at the farthest reaches she could recollect…
Her reverie was broken only by the sound of Kiran shifting in his sleep. She dropped his clothing and turned back to see him now sleeping on his side, his head resting on a different pillow. She nervously swallowed when she made out the vulnerable nape of his neck facing her – if only she could reach out and cup his throat in her hands, feel his veins throb under her sucking mouth… Gods, it would be so easy to simply claim him here and now. She knew her humanoid form was considered exceedingly beautiful – what man would possibly be disconcerted to wake up and find her embracing them? And even if he did try to resist, he would surely give in when he realized the futility of his defiance before her might. Yes, she could have him right now, body and soul, with only the barest of effort…
All in good time, she reminded herself with a furious shake of the head. Soon, he would give her everything he had, but for the time being she would have to make do with what she could gleam without his knowledge. A rejection had only the barest chances of happening, but even that was too great a risk. Humans tended to be skittish and irrational – much as the thought made her grind her teeth, she had to admit that the middle of his slumber wasn't the ideal time to play her hand.
But she needed something to remember this moment by. After a moment's consideration, she decided that the open pillow would do nicely. Gingerly, she pulled it from his bed and pulled it close to nuzzle against. It would be rude to keep something like this indefinitely, but it wouldn't hurt him for her to hold onto it for a few days. Normally, this would've been the proper time to make her exit…but she was his guard for the evening, wasn't she? It would've been both heartless and irresponsible to leave him all by his lonesome until morning.
You needn't worry at all, my beloved. She leaned over to press her pursed lips against his forehead. Now and forever, I shall always be watching over you. For you are mine…and I will not suffer anything that might separate us.
Kiran was seriously about to snap. He felt like the doomed protagonist of a horror movie, forever in the range of some horrible monster that always stayed just out of sight. A few days ago, his apple had disappeared from the gardens in only a handful of seconds, and then, that very same night, his pillow went missing while he slept. He knew, beyond any doubt whatsoever, that something was hunting him, but nobody would believe him! The apple got written off as 'a rabbit snatched it while you weren't looking' and even the pillow got dismissed as 'one of the chambermaid's took it away for cleaning before you woke'.
Sure, those explanations were possible, but he wasn't about to believe them for a second when taken on top of the endless feeling of being watched. This wasn't just him having jitters about a stressful job in a new world – he was utterly convinced something was going to try and kill him before long.
Just about the only silver lining of late was that he got a brief bout of sympathy from Hector. The burly axe-fighter from Elibe (their only Hero from Elibe, in fact) had taken pity on Kiran for being a ticking time bomb of nerves and organized a little night on the town in nearby Holms Village to help take his mind off things. Kiran joined him, Arden, and Luke at a local pub to share drinks and take a load off.
It was…alright. Being away from the castle had managed to lessen the sense that someone was staring at him from behind a corner, but he still couldn't shake it entirely. The three Heroes were good company, but Kiran could tell that he wasn't and was bringing down the mood. Thankfully, a few mugs of ale made Kiran's dour disposition a non-factor and enabled them to have some good fun. Kiran himself just sipped at his pint, too afraid of the negative effects of alcohol when he had a dagger lining up against his throat.
They all stumbled back home in the witching hour, Luke having struck out on every lass he tried flirting with, and Arden having thrown up in some poor person's windowsill plants. Kiran was the only sober one, which felt like a curse when he was deemed capable of getting back to his chambers alone by the guards that greeted them. Once he was back inside the castle, he felt like he was back in the lion's den and marched up his stairs like a condemned criminal heading for the gallows. As he stepped back into his room, all he could think was how, given how long it took him to fall asleep lately, he wouldn't get a wink of rest tonight.
"Welcome home, Kiran."
"GAH!" He screamed and leapt away from a sudden voice, his hand pressed against his chest in an attempt to stem the frantic beating of his heart. Amidst the oily shadows that blanketed his room, he began to make out the figure of whomever must've called out to him. They were tall, had flowing green hair, and were…sensuously curved? He finally realized who was sharing his company and took a few exhausted breaths. "Jesus fucking Christ, Naga, is that you?!" She stepped forward with a gentle hum to help his perception, prompting him to collapse against the wall and run his hand through his hair. "Fucking hell, don't do that! Do you have any idea how on edge I've been this past month?!"
He heard a low rumble similar to a chuckle from the back of her throat. "My apologies. I hadn't intended to let my presence be known, but when I saw you come in, well…I suppose I just couldn't help myself."
"Huh?! What were you doing in here if you weren't waiting for me?"
"Merely returning this." She held out her right hand, which he noticed was filled by some object. His eyes still hadn't fully adjusted to the dark, so he had to tentatively reach forward and determine its nature by touch. When he recognized just what she was offering him, his heart skipped several beats and his legs nearly collapsed out from underneath him.
She was giving him back the pillow that had gone missing.
"I-I…" He stammered, now very much frightened to be alone with the Divine Dragon. His fear became accentuated by an acute bout of nausea when he felt a large damp spot positioned straight in the middle of the cushion. It didn't smell like urine, and he had a sinking feeling it wasn't just a lot of accumulated drool…
"I trust you've been able to make do without it." She said and started gliding towards him, prompting Kiran to back up against the wall. "Though it was taken without your permission, I'm grateful for the chance to have used it. I'm giving it back because I've already committed its sensation to memory." He felt her hands rest on his shoulder and went rigid in turn. "Just as I've memorized so many other impressions of you. You are…precious to me, Kiran. I only want to make sure I never forget a single detail about you once you've departed from this mortal coil."
"Um…w-what kind of details have you memorized?" He asked, against his better judgement. Though he knew he was grasping at straws, he was hoping for her to say something innocuous that proved he was just stressed out and reading too deep into things.
"Everything." She purred and tightened her grip on him. "The sight of how you hold yourself when formulating a plan, the different inflections of your voice, the smoothness of your skin, the smell of your sweat-stained hair after a long day, the taste of your fluids…anything I can perceive, I commit to memory."
It's her. He realized, deeply disturbed by the way her voice grew more needy and desperate as she talked. God almighty, it's been her this whole time! The missing stuff, the feeling of being watched…she's been behind all of it!
His dawning horror was such that he almost missed it when she kept rambling. "Even now, as I gaze deep into your eyes, I can feel the warmth and peace others speak of when they are at your side. To be frank, it is most unusual for one such as I, with power second to none, to drift into this strange world and find myself consumed by these foreign urges. Especially for who ought naught be more than a mortal." He stiffened further when her right hand glided up to cup his cheek. "Yet…these unusual feelings have put down roots in my heart. And your eyes tell me you feel the same warmth as I."
Like hell I do! What the fuck was she on?! To any sane person, an 'unusual feeling' would be having butterflies in their stomach, not a compulsion to start stalking! Whatever was wrong with her, he had to make some kind of attempt to make her stop, though it was almost certainly a waste of time.
"Naga," he began, taking the time to choose his words very carefully, "I get that you want to have a perfect memory of me for posterity's sake. But for my sake, could you please stop doing what you've been doing? The stress has been driving me so crazy I can barely sleep, and I don't think that knowing you're behind it will remotely help."
The silence that followed made him scared that he'd struck some kind of nerve, especially since her grip tightened again ever so slightly. Eventually, she spoke once more. "I'm terribly sorry for the trouble I've caused you," he began to brighten up, "but I'm afraid that simply isn't possible." His resurgent dread was punctuated by a wince when her nails started to dig into his shoulders. "Though I can't explain why, I need you, Kiran. I understand that my approach might be a tad unorthodox, but there's no cause for concern – I'll only need to observe you from a distance for a few more days. Once I'm satisfied…" she leaned in closer to the point that he could feel her breath on his face, "we can start learning all about each other on a more intimate level."
So, to summarize, this stalking is a short-term problem that's about to be replaced by something infinitely worse. He may have gleaned more of her ultimate intentions, but that knowledge wasn't liable to do him a lot of good. He had tried telling her to back off, but since she'd refused, what was he supposed to do? She was the Divine Dragon, the one worshipped as a goddess in several worlds – who would seriously believe that she was also a crazy stalker who stole his half-eaten apples out of the gardens? Worse, he got the feeling she knew that she was practically untouchable – she wouldn't have so brazenly admitted her guilt otherwise.
"But that is still a bit of time away." His internal panic was halted when she kept speaking. "Please, don't fret so much; I swear that I mean you no harm, so you may simply think of me as some form of silent protector. Or perhaps a guardian angel – such an appraisal is fitting given the religious standing I have obtained." She chuckled and leaned forward so that her lips grazed against his, causing him to stop breathing out of sheer fear. "Worry not – under my watchful gaze, you shall have security and happiness everlasting. In under one hundred hours, we will be united in body and soul."
Was that supposed to be enticing? Because he felt like he'd just been given a date for his execution. The sole reprieve he had was that she finally pulled her head and lips away, leaving him free to sink to the ground, shivering in terror. "Sleep deeply and peacefully, Kiran." She said while she glided towards the door without breaking eye contact. "And when you wake…take heart in knowing that I am always watching over you." At last, she left him alone with his dread. Like a child, he pulled his knees up and began cradling himself in a fetal position in a futile attempt to give himself some modicum of comfort.
He wasn't a dead man – no, rather he was the object of the affections of a psychotic, godlike stalker. The fact that Naga was physically attractive was completely inconsequential in the face of her unhinged insanity. He had no doubts whatsoever about what she would do when she decided it was time to close the distance between them or his ability to resist her. Nor did knowing she was the source of his anxiety do anything to diminish it.
If she had been literally anybody else, even someone popular like Caeda or strong like Ayra, he'd have options for dealing with her. Someone would've been willing to at least hear him out if not help him collect evidence against or deal with her outright. But this was Naga – nobody could so much as scratch her and she was universally worshipped as a goddess. Just about the only thing that was possibly in his power to do was send her home, but that would end up tearing the Order apart at the seams. She was both the powerhouse keeping them from getting steamrolled and the glue that bound everyone together despite their differences. If he suddenly sent her away and tried to explain what she really was, any remaining faith in his capabilities would shatter and they'd be near-fatally weakened. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place…
…Or am I? He realized, his eyes catching a faint spark of optimism. There was one person who might be able to help him with this. One person who didn't have the blind devotion for Naga that everyone else did, who knew her on a more personal level and might be willing to believe she was less than perfect. And they might even be able to convince her to back off by offering a perspective he couldn't.
They were his last hope. If they couldn't do something about Naga, nobody would, and he'd have no choice but to accept his fate.
Tiki still couldn't believe she was actually about to do this. It sounded insane when she first heard it and it still sounded insane now! But it's not just what I heard, she reminded herself with a tired sigh, it's also what I saw.
Everybody knew that Kiran had become…unhinged. He was jumping at shadows, constantly peeking over his shoulders and trying to avoid open areas. She, like many others, had begun to think he was losing it entirely. He hailed from a peaceful life and a world unlike any of theirs, so it only sounded natural that the stress of everything would become too much sooner or later. But when he caught her right outside the gardens after the morning patrols left and outright begged her to hear him out, she had to admit there seemed to be more afflicting them than the chains of commanding.
Only somewhat reluctantly, she agreed and followed him to a secluded location and hear what he had to say. Right away, she was flabbergasted by the panicked rambling that spilled from his mouth. By the time she managed to get him to calm down a bit and stop talking, he was actually crying.
"Kiran, please, just slow down a bit." She gently requested, her hands outstretched in a calming gesture. "Now, I believe I heard something about my mother?"
"It's her, Tiki!" He implored, his voice warbling from the tears. "My paranoia about being watched, the feeling that I'm never really alone, the missing pillow…she's the reason for all of it! She's been stalking me for at least a month now!"
A…missing pillow?She repeated to herself, leaning slightly away from him. "…Kiran, I hope you can understand what this sounds like to me."
"I know!" He snapped, hands wildly gesturing. "God fucking dammit, of course I know how crazy I sound! You think it was easy for me drag you away and tell you this?! I'm only telling you because she told me last night! Tiki," he suddenly closed the distance and gripped her shoulders, "she was waiting for me in my room when I got back. One of my pillows went missing a few nights ago and she was there to give it back to me with this…big wet stain on it. Then she told me all about how she'd been following me every chance she got…" He shuddered and held her tighter. "Tiki, please. You're the only one I can go to with this. She's your mom, not your goddess. You're her daughter, not some random devotee. If anyone can talk to her, it's you."
The sheer desperation etched in his face and delivered in his words made her very uncomfortable. This was unusually specific, and his terror was far too sharp to be born merely of stress. Still… "…Kiran, I-I'm not sure. I wouldn't really know–"
"Just talk to her." He interrupted. "Please, once she gets back from the patrol I sent her on, just talk to her somewhere out of the way. She'll admit it if you press her, I swear. She thinks she's doing the right thing. If she doesn't, I'll admit I've lost my mind and step down." He stared her straight in the eye. "Please."
She looked away and nervously chewed her lip. After some dozen seconds of deliberation, she sighed. "…Okay. I'll talk to her and see what I can do."
The pure relief in his eyes and arms when he wrapped her in a hug furthered her internal conflict. The idea that there was even the smallest kernel of truth to his words was absolutely ludicrous…but those emotions had been too raw to be faked or the result of some lesser cause. Now, as she approached her mother in the gardens just an hour past noon, she couldn't deny the seeds of misgivings taking root in her heart.
"H-hello, mother." She greeted, cursing the stutter in her voice.
Naga smiled with all her usual serenity. "Ah, good day to you, Tiki. Pray tell, what may I do for you?" Well, she looks and sounds normal… Tiki noted, confused by the usualness of Naga's behavior. She almost let down her guard before remembering the immeasurable terror Kiran displayed when asking her to do this. However things might appear, something made him like that. It's up to me to figure out what and put a stop to it.
"If you're not preoccupied, could I speak with you?" She glanced around the gardens where several Heroes were relaxing. "…In private, please?"
Her mother took a moment to appraise her before nodding her head. "Of course. I believe it's supposed to be common for daughters to seek their parents' advice away from prying eyes. We may have missed out on a millennium or two, but that's no reason not to begin now. By all means," she stretched out her hand, "guide me to whatever destination you have in mind."
Actually, Tiki didn't have any specific location to do this talk, but she figured a random spot on the edge of the Metsä Forest would do as well as anywhere else. Wordlessly, she began trekking towards the line of trees, Naga gliding along behind her. Within 25 minutes, they were beyond the perimeter of the castle ground. She chose to stop at a small rock formation at the entrance to the woods, just in case it became necessary to rest her legs.
With a nervous swallow, she turned back around to face what Kiran claimed to be his demented stalker. Since she had been the one to dictate this meeting, Naga waited for her to speak up, but Tiki found her throat bereft of any words. For gods' sakes, what was she supposed to say?! 'Alright, mother, did you steal Kiran's pillow and use it to pleasure yourself?' Nobody, Hero, manakete or otherwise, would ever be able to ask their mother something like that!
While Tiki internally fumbled for the right way to phrase the accusation, her delay provoked a reaction neither she nor anyone else had never seen in the Divine Dragon before: Naga's brow began to crease with annoyance. Tiki was so caught up in her struggle that she didn't even notice the uncanny display until Naga actually spoke up in an impatient tone. "I have lived for ages untold, Tiki, but that does not mean I enjoy having my time wasted." Surprised by her mother's irritable attitude, Tiki's snapped her attention forward and was further put off by her expression's departure from its normal tranquility. "Speak now or be gone – I've more important matters to attend to."
The words came pouring out before Tiki could stop them. "You mean like stalking Kiran?" Her jaw slammed shut, but the damage had been done – Naga's restlessness was replaced by surprise. But, controlled as her emotions typically were, Tiki could tell that it wasn't surprise at the nature of the allegation; it was surprise that she knew to ask it in the first place. Gradually, Naga's surprise faded back into her normal grace, though Tiki was no longer put at ease by the smile directed her way.
On the contrary, something in her mother's eyes sent a chill of instinctive fear down her spine.
"I see." Naga said, her speech now devoid of any maternal warmth. "So he did decide to tell someone. I thought he and I both knew everyone else in the Order was too devoted or in awe of me to believe any tales he might tell, but I'll admit I forgot about you." Eyes closed, she hummed to herself, and Tiki felt a sharp pang of regret for not having her dragonstone on her to transform and fly as far away as possible. After a few seconds, Naga's eyelids peeled back open. "Well? What do you think is going to happen now?"
Kiran entrusted me with this. She reminded herself in an attempt to steel her nerves. She recalled his naked panic and resolved to do all she could to help her friend, primal fear be damned. "I'm going to tell you to leave Kiran alone." Her willpower strengthened when a flicker of derision appeared in Naga's eyes. "Whatever your reasons or intentions, you've been tormenting him with this behavior. You have to stop this, mother, for his sake if nobody else's."
"Of course I do." The mockery in the older dragon's voice just sounded so wrong – what in all the heavens could possibly have produced all this…this scorn? "Tell me, Tiki: when you were roused from your slumber by Chrom, how much did you remember of Prince Marth?"
"I-I'm sorry?" She blinked in confusion. "What does that have to do with–"
"Answer the question." Naga interrupted, her voice colder than the stones around them.
Tiki took a step back but gathered her words all the same. "I remembered enough to mistake Lucina for him at a glance. I can still remember his face and voice, and I imagine my memories will be reinforced whenever he's summoned to Askr."
Naga tilted her head to the side, her expression an unsettling mixture of pity and ridicule. "A face and a voice? That's it?" She shook her head with a smile that might have looked sympathetic to an ignorant observer. "You'll have to pardon me – I often forget just how young you are. You've little experience with mortality, so it's rather unfair for me to judge you too harshly."
"Excuse me?!" Tiki indignantly shot back. "I'm no longer a naïve child! I know very well the pain of being trapped on earth while all those I've loved are beyond reach in the sky!"
"No, Tiki, you don't." Naga countered, that same insufferable smile still plastered on her lips. "You've yet to understand the true aguish afforded by your longevity. So you still remember Marth's face and voice – how long do you imagine it will take for you to forget those details along with everything else you can't recall? How many more millennia will it be before you can't even remember his name?"
"I won't!" She rebuked. "I'll never forget Mar-Mar!"
"Oh, but you will." Naga began to close the distance, prompting Tiki to back up until she was pressed against an unusually large stone. "One day, you'll wake up to find that you hadn't thought about him in several centuries. Then, you'll realize you're not even sure who 'he' was. You'd met so many blue-haired, sword-wielding lords over the years…which one were you trying to remember, again? You're pretty sure he brandished my fang at some point, but that doesn't narrow it down much. Honestly, why are you even wasting time on someone who's been dead for so long anyway? If they're this hard to remember, they can't have been very important, right?"
While she averted her gaze, tears burned in the corners of Tiki's eyes as Naga leaned close enough that they could feel each other's breath on their faces. "Mar-Mar won't even be a memory, Tiki. It'll be like he never existed. But there's no need to shed tears if you only consider the positive side." Naga gripped her jaw and forced her to lock their gazes together. "Since he won't mean anything to you anymore, you won't be able to feel sad about forgetting him."
"Please…" Tiki murmured, her voice quiet and warbling. "Please, stop it, mother! Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because I love you, Tiki." She gave the most insincere declaration of affection Tiki had ever heard and finally pulled her head back. "And I want to give you the perspective you lack. Had you taken the necessary steps, this wouldn't be the fate in store for you."
"N-necessary steps?" She parroted, confused by the ambiguity of the explanation. Naga gave no further clarification, choosing instead to wear her enigmatic grin. Tiki mulled over the possible meaning behind her words for nearly a minute before her eyes began to widen in horror when she caught on. "Y-you mean…"
"I will never forget Kiran." Naga proclaimed. "Even after all the children of men have died out, after all the great kingdoms have been reduced to rubble and nothing walks the land…I will always remember Kiran. I'm making sure that not a single facet of his being goes unrecorded in my memories. That he may be offput by my approach is of no concern – this time of unease is but a brief fragment of his life, one that will be forgotten when he has given me all that he has and we are joined as closely as any man and woman can be." Naga's speech was probably intended to be persuasive, but the deluded, fanatic note she ended on left Tiki disturbed instead of convinced. "If you truly cared for Marth, you'd have done what I'm doing. Alas, you wasted your window of opportunity thousands of years ago…though you may get a second chance should he ever be summoned."
Tiki couldn't help but imagine what her mother was describing, and the picture painted in her head was so disgusting that she had to stifle a gag. Along with a bout of nausea, her brief spot of imagination provided her with the right thoughts to rebuff her insane elder. "No…" She muttered, her featured contorting into a defiant expression. "No! I'll never do that to Marth!"
Naga raised an eyebrow. "You are content to let him fade from your memory? Perhaps you don't care for him as much as I believed you did."
Tiki narrowed her eyes. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I will forget about Mar-Mar someday and not even realize it. But I'd rather that than have his memory of me be tainted by fear and disgust! I do care about Marth, and that means I did what I could to make whatever time we had together happy, however brief it was!"
She earned a brief but poignant hum of disapproval. "For one so long lived, I've met sons of man less shortsighted than you. I assure you, Kiran and I will be ecstatic together – I have gazed into his heart and seen the ardor he feels for me. That he has yet to realize his feelings is of no importance."
"Ardor?!" She repeated, unable to believe the sheer depths of her mother's delusions. "You're the one who can't see what's right in front of you! Kiran doesn't feel any kind of love for you; he's terrified of you! He's desperate to find some way to make you leave him alone! Why do you think he asked me to talk to you?!"
Naga's lips turned down further into the beginnings of a scowl. "Your obstinance would be amusing were it not so pathetic. If you remain determined to persist in your naïve foolishness, then I see no more reason to continue this farce. Farewell, Tiki." Just like that, she spun around and began gliding back towards the castle.
Flabbergasted, Tiki hesitated for a moment before gathering her bearings. "Wait!" She cried and reached out to grab Naga's shoulder. "We aren't finished here, mother!"
A second passed until Naga turned her head back, the undisguised contempt in her eyes jarring Tiki enough to make her let go. "Yes, we are. Neither of us will change the other's mind, so further discourse is but an exercise in futility."
She was about to set off again when Tiki called out, "I won't let you do this to Kiran! If you won't stop, then I'll make you!"
That got her to halt, though the ensuing dread in the air almost made Tiki wish she'd kept her mouth shut. "Is that so?" Naga said, her voice the coldest it had ever been during their whole discussion. Slowly, she turned around and nearly sent Tiki tumbling to the ground in sheer terror when she saw the look in her mother's eyes. Naga didn't look angry or hurt or upset or anything like that.
Rather, the Diving Dragon looked absolutely soulless. There was nothing behind her eyes. In that moment, Tiki knew that whatever was standing in front of her, it wasn't her mother. Not anymore.
Is this what she was like before Kiran? She wondered, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Is this what he was remembering when he begged me to do something?
At last, Naga deigned to speak again. "By all means, tell me what it is you intend to do." She planted her feet on the ground and took a step forward. "Will you try to kill me, knowing my power is infinitely greater than yours?" Another step forward. "Surely you're not foolish enough to think anyone would believe your word over mine, Voice of Naga." A third step on the grass. "Perhaps you intend to fatally weaken the Order and earn the ire of nearly every Hero by encouraging Kiran to send me away?" Naga now loomed over her daughter, her head at just the right place to eclipse the sun. "Please, Tiki, enlighten me. What do you, who doesn't have anything that I didn't give you, think is in your power to accomplish?"
Tiki's quivering lips stayed shut and she cast her gaze to the ground. "That's correct: nothing." Naga's spiteful voice cut through the brief interlude of silence. "So long as I'm here, you possess and are nothing. You are naught but my inferior spawn, and everyone knows it – they're simply too polite to say as much to your face." Tike felt a palm fall upon her scalp and was soon wincing when said palm clenched a clump of her hair in a fist. "I suggest you stay here a while and think about how superfluous you are. Make no mistake, Tiki," her hair was pulled back so she'd be forced to meet Naga's dull, empty eyes, "should the need ever arise, you are expendable."
Without another word, she threw Tiki against the rock she was pressed into and turned around to depart once more, her feet back off the ground again. This time, there was no challenge or protest to halt her movement. Tiki was too busy sinking to the ground with tears streaming down her cheeks. It seemed like something out of a horrible nightmare, but there could be no mistaking what just happened:
Her own mother had threatened to kill her.
No, she told herself, that thing wasn't my mother. It had looked and sounded like Naga, but whatever Tiki had been speaking to was not the Divine Dragon who brought her into the world. However much she repeated that fact to herself, it did little to lessen the sting of enduring such cruelty from her mother's hands and voice. If there was anything she wouldn't forget anytime soon, that sinister malice would be it.
She hadn't the faintest idea what 'Naga' really was – some kind of demon, or perhaps a Naga whose mind had been irrevocably twisted by foul magic – but it was a threat to her, Kiran and everyone else in the Order. And, if she was willing to face the bitter truth, it had been right: there was no clean, easy way to stop it. The simplest way of resolving this issue would be fraught with fallout, but it was just something they were going to have to endure.
And it had to be done without delay, lest Naga decide she'd become 'expendable'.
Kiran was as anxious as ever, but at least this anxiety was born more out of anticipation for Tiki's report than fear of Naga's stalking. He'd spent the night with as much apprehension as usual, but he wasn't sure if Naga was actually hovering around the corner or if it was just his newly ingrained paranoia. And until Tiki told him how her talk went, he had no way of knowing which it was.
Luckily, he'd managed to get Naga out of the castle again on another random bullshit scouting mission, but neither she nor anyone else would put up with using her for things like that much more. Alone in his office, he nervously rapped his knuckles against his wooden desk. It hadn't even been ten minutes since Naga left, and he knew he had to give Tiki time to realize it was safe to talk and come to him, but he still couldn't help the tension.
Just as he started to grip a clump of hair in his free hand, a series of frantic knocks came from the door. He immediately leapt out of his seat to yank the door open, earning him the sight of Tiki on the other side. Right away, his heart sank into his stomach – Tiki looked every bit as disturbed and scared as he was, which couldn't have meant anything good. She hurried inside, slamming the door behind her and giving them the privacy they needed.
The second they had the appropriate seclusion, she gripped his shoulders and said, "Kiran, you have to send her away as soon as possible! Do you hear me?! The second you can get rid of her, do it!"
Fucking hell, did it really go that bad?! "But I can't! She's too powerful to lose, and even if she wasn't, I'd get crucified if I kicked out the de facto goddess of the Order's biggest denomination!"
"It doesn't matter!" She refuted, her voice every bit as frantic as his. "Look, I'll admit I didn't take you seriously at first. I was confident that, whatever was amiss, there must've been a rational explanation that could either make Naga stop or get you to calm down." She swallowed and shot her eyes to the floor. "But I was wrong. Dear gods, I couldn't possibly have been more wrong…" She shook her head. "It's no wonder I didn't entirely believe you – my mother could never be capable of such depravity and cruelty."
"Well, she is." He said, gingerly lifting her hands off him. "That woman is completely insane, and I'd have already sent her packing if she wasn't who she was!"
"No, she isn't Naga." Tiki rebuked, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know what it is, but that…that thing isn't my mother. It has her power and face, but not her soul."
He gave a bitter scoff. "Good luck convincing anyone else of that. You're the only person I could think of to bring this to, and even that was kind of a long shot. We both know damn well she's faked being normal in public enough to make our story unbelievable. Even if we got some spies to follow her around and see her in action, it wouldn't be enough to turn anyone who matters against her."
"I know." She muttered. "It knows it too – it mocked me for how powerless I am compared to it." Tiki pulled her head up, her eyes now alight with a determined shine. "But I don't care. Whatever evil is walking around in my mother's skin, we have to get rid of it. Yes, it'll severely weaken the Order. Yes, we'll make ourselves pariahs to all her faithful. But if we don't do something about it now, it'll do more than just stalk from the shadows."
Both a shiver and wave of nausea rolled through Kiran's body. "You don't need to tell me twice. I've already been told that we're supposed to get more 'intimate' with each other within a few more days. Whenever she decides to cross that line, there won't be a whole lot I can do to stop her."
"Well, I've been told that I'm 'expendable' if it ever comes to that." While Tiki's eyes drooped with disquiet, Kiran's widened in aghast awe – Naga scared the shit out of him by being nightmarishly creepy, but he never would've imagined she'd have the heart to threaten her own daughter like that. No wonder she says it isn't really Naga…
"Alright, you've made your point: we're on borrowed time and need to send her away the first chance we get. But how are we supposed to do that? We've got to not only think of a way to smooth things over here in the aftermath, but also get Naga to come with me to the shrine in the first place. Don't you think she'll be able to see it coming?"
Tiki pursed her lips and paused to think. "…No. No, I don't think so. I'll bet anything that she–" she shook her head, "it is too arrogant to suspect we'd resort to this. Like I said, it mocked me for not having any real options – part of that was taunting about how disastrous it'd be to suddenly send it home. On top of that, it thinks you genuinely love it deep down inside, so I'll wager it can't imagine that you'd ever be willing to get rid of it."
Yeah, I figured that out when she said I felt the same 'warmth' she did. "Okay…if she can't fathom that, then I guess I could take advantage of the fact that she probably wants to watch me summon anyway. Maybe I should feign resignation about the whole thing to draw her close or something. Of course," he crossed his arms and sighed, "even if all that works, there's still the fallout to consider. There's always a small handful who come to see summoning ceremonies who probably won't take it well when I suddenly send her away. To say nothing of the backlash that'll come when they spread the news…"
"Let me worry about that. I'll think of somethingto lessen the backlash – I am Naga's Voice, after all. My word will carry weight once that fiend is no longer around to dispute it. And should worse comes to worst and I'm unable to come up with any explanation," she grabbed his hands, "I'll take the blame and tell everyone I forced you to do it. I'll say I was jealous of my mother's greatness and threatened you to do what I said."
"What?!" He exclaimed and wrenched his hands free. "Tiki, you can't take the fall like that! We're in this together – I won't let you be the scapegoat by yourself!"
"You have to, Kiran! If it truly does end up that way, the Order is going to need to be able to trust you to stabilize. You're the Summoner and tactician, which means everything will unravel at the seams if a large portion of Heroes harbor misgivings about you."
He threw his hands into the air. "So what, I'm supposed to let you be vilified as a traitor?! Let you go down in official Askran history as some kind of war criminal?!"
She sighed and rested a palm on his chest. "If that's what it takes, yes. I know you're not terribly experienced at this yet, but making sacrifices is part of being a leader. I guarantee you; this won't be the last difficult decision you have to make before the war is over."
Kiran's lips tightened and he glanced at the window behind his desk. "…This is wrong." He hissed. "You're more of a Hero than anyone else here – they ought to know that."
"But they won't, and it'll be for the best." She retracted her hand. "Assuming, of course, that things even turn out that way. How long before you can lure Naga to the shrine with a summoning session? That'll be how long I have to think." Kiran stayed silent, giving no indication he heard her beyond a clenching of fists at his side. She resisted the urge to sigh again and merely slumped her shoulders. "…It'll be very soon, won't it?"
"…Tomorrow." Kiran muttered, still looking away from her. "Sharena stumbled over a few orbs in the flowerbeds this morning. Given what we already had stashed up, Anna's said we can easily justify the time for a small handful of summons."
Neither of them spoke for a couple minutes; they both recognized that Tiki's worst-case scenario had most likely just become an inevitability. Tiki was the one to break the silence, her voice not much louder than the stillness that preceded it. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it has to be this way. Neither of us should ever have been put in the positions we have. Still, whatever my fate may be," she weakly smiled, "you'll know the truth behind our actions and be safe because of it. That's enough for me."
Suddenly, Kiran swung his head back to look Tiki in the eye, his gaze having hardened beyond its earlier trepidation. "Someday." He declared. "Someday, when the Order is powerful and stable, when we've won the war and have nothing left to do but send everyone home…then I'll tell everyone the truth. I'll make sure they all know."
Tiki's smile grew stronger. "I couldn't ask for anything more." She proceeded to huff and start wringing her hands together, her grin now taking on a wistful edge. "Well, I can't imagine Naga will be away for much longer. And since it'll be watching once it gets back and I'll be in hot water once it's gone…I suppose this is goodbye."
"Hopefully not forever." He mused. "Who knows, maybe I'll find a way to the Ylisse you came from tell you everything you missed."
Her smile was accompanied by a gentle hum. "I'd like that, if it's at all possible." She walked past him towards the door, pausing only to let her hand rest on his shoulder. "Take care, Kiran, and whatever happens in this dreadful war, know that I believe in you."
Kiran nervously tapped his feet against the stone walkway leading from the gate to the castle's inner grounds. He'd only get one chance at this, and he knew both how easy it would be for it to go wrong and how disastrous the fallout was going to be. But he and Tiki had decided that they had no choice, and so he took the first step to solving their problem.
"Alright, Naga, I know you're there." He called out, his head bowed and his words weak. "Can you please just come out into the open already?" After several uneventful seconds passed, he became worried he'd been mistaken about her presence for once, but he was vindicated by the sight of her gliding out from behind a wall towards him, a pleased smile adorning her features.
"I see you've come to embrace the inevitability of our bond." She said upon completing your approach. Of course, he had done no such thing, but he was doing everything in his power to project meekness and submission to lower her guard.
"Well, I don't exactly have any other options, do I?"
Her smile grew a fraction of an inch, though it still didn't quite reach her eyes. "It pleases me to see Tiki made that perfectly clear." She rested a hand against his back, and he fought the urge to shudder. "It pleases me further to see you begin to accept the love you feel for me at your core. I understand that humans are prone to irrationality, but your ability to overcome that deficiency speaks volumes." Yeah, I'm sure it does. His internal sarcasm was largely an attempt to distract himself from the feeling of her breath on his ear. "Now that you've overcome your inhibitions and I've seen all that I require…we can become truly one tonight."
He swallowed down the bile rising in his throat. "It sure seems that way." He cracked with a forced grin. Luckily, she couldn't tell the difference and seemed to take him at face value.
"I look forward to spending your remaining decades forever at your side." Suddenly, she pulled back, with a glance to the inner castle revealing why: Alfonse, Sharena and Libra were walking towards them. "Worry not," she whispered, "I understand the controversy our love would cause and will have no trouble keeping silent."
Well, that'll help me avoid a couple uncomfortable questions once this is done. He noted, glad things were going right thus far. Then again, Libra was among the worst possible peanut gallery members he could've gotten "Your Holiness," Alfonse greeted with a small bow his small group all reciprocated, "I was unaware you'd be joining us today. We're honored to have your company."
"I've merely decided to take a greater interest in the dealings of the Great Hero." She explained, shooting Kiran a very unnerving look as she did so.
"Truly, your dedication and grace remain boundless as ever, o radiant Naga." Libra praised with a deep bow. Kiran could tell she probably didn't give a damn about Libra's devotion, at least not anymore. Still, she had the decency to keep wearing her smile and let him think otherwise.
"Welp, let's get to it!" Sharena exclaimed, a small sack of orbs clutched in her right hand. "We've got Heroes to summon!"
From there, they made the trek to the summoning ruins. The other three made conversation amongst themselves, believing that Naga was too good for such idle chit-chat and that Kiran had become too manic to really make for stable company. The sole words he exchanged with anyone was to ask Sharena for an orb, which she was happy to provide. He was glad for the lack of attention, as it helped him try to get a grip on his nerves as they made the trip. Especially since Naga took advantage of the relative social privacy to keep giving him a variety of unsettling glances. It felt both like an eternity and no time at all before their destination was before them.
Alright, he swallowed and gripped the Breidablik tighter, it's now or never. He walked up to the cracked altar, Naga hovering at his side all the while. Whereas before he usually summoned from the outermost ring, he now kept walking to ensure Naga was well within the circle as was required to send a Hero home.
This was it. Alea iacta est! He cried to himself and wrapped his finger around the trigger.
"Uh, Kiran, why are you so far–" He cut Sharena off by whipping around and firing the Breidablik point blank in Naga's stunned face. Just was with a normal summoning, there was a bright flash of light accompanied by a high-pitched whine. The process was so similar that he initially feared that he had indeed just summoned someone by mistake, but the light dimmed to reveal nobody before him. There was neither a new Hero nor the Divine Dragon standing on the altar.
Naga was finally gone.
As the full impact of that truth began to settle in, he realized a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. There was no omniscient gaze, no dread creeping up from the base of his spine. For that one moment, he felt something he couldn't remember feeling in ages: he felt at peace.
"KIRAN, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!" At least, he felt at peace until Libra's uncharacteristic exclamation sent his ears ringing. That cry brought him back into the moment and tempered his relief with the guilty realization of what he had just irrevocably condemned Tiki to. The conflicting storm of emotions slackened his grip to the point that the Breidablik slipped out of his hand without him noticing. In a similar vein, tears began slipping unbidden from his eyes. It was becoming too much – he was so happy to be free from Naga, but so distraught to be using Tiki as the scapegoat!
"Kiran…?" Sharena called out, her voice much more concerned than distressed.
"I h-had to!" He sobbed, stumbling to the ground when his weak knees gave out. "I had to! I didn't have a choice! S-she made me do it!" He cradled his face in his hands and continued to cry his heart out. "I had to! I had to! I had to…"
He was so caught up in his maelstrom of mental strife that he barely noticed when a pair of arms wrapped around him. "Who, Kiran?" Sharena asked. "Who made you do that?"
He just shook his head. He couldn't bear to sell Tiki out – not yet. She said she'd be the one to tell people the 'truth' and it was better for their story if he acted too scared to expose her anyway. "She made me do it," he continued, as if chanting the same few phrased like a mantra would make him feel better.
"I had to…"
The Order of Heroes had certainly seen better days.
A week after the Naga debacle, there was still a looming cloud of uncertainty over how they'd manage going forward without her power. The lack of her overwhelming strength was, thankfully, the only issue they were still sorted out. The matter of keeping everyone on common ground ended up solving itself more perfectly than Kiran could ever have predicted.
As it turned out, people united just as well over a common personal hatred as they did a common worship.
In a manner of hours, Tiki went from the venerated Voice of Naga to a despicable, dastardly traitor. She'd certainly put on quite a performance, acting like she was too guilty over her 'crimes' to perpetuate them any longer. She couldn't manage any tears, but Kiran thought she still made the best show of contrition he'd ever seen. The Heroes she was duping were, understandably, not feeling very sympathetic. In their eyes, Tiki had not only dealt them a major blow out of nothing but petty pride, but had threatened Kiran to do it. There was a brief moment of panic for the both of them when a few of the harsher Heroes had actually tried to push for a death penalty, but the lack of any actual damage meant her sentence was proclaimed to be the expected exile back to her own world.
Kiran and Tiki only exchanged a few glances across the entire affair, and the grief they exchanged felt far too insufficient to properly convey what they were both feeling. While she grew more hated by the second, public opinion on Kiran had pulled a total about face. Since the 'revelation' of Tiki's true nature coincided with him no longer bordering on a stress-induced heart attack, everyone naturally assumed that she had been the cause of all his nervous breakdowns. Everyone, even the sternest Heroes who once brushed him off without a second thought, profusely apologized for ignoring what they now saw as obvious cries for help.
Even if nobody was remotely close to the mark, Kiran still appreciated the spirit of their apologies. It might've been too little, too late, but he was just glad he'd been vindicated on some level. He was much less glad to see Tiki stripped of her dragonstone and bound in chains. It was sick that she should be treated that way, but they both knew there was nothing to be done about it. Four days after the loss of Naga, Tiki followed her out of Zenith, though Kiran actually hesitated when pulling the trigger that time. The consolations afterwards that 'she couldn't hurt him anymore' made him nauseous, but it helped if he pretended they were talking about Naga instead.
Once the Tiki business was dealt with, they had to decide how the Order would survive in such a relatively crippled state. The most obvious issue was the lack of manpower – Naga had been worth several dozen Heroes all on her own, so filling the void she left would necessitate summoning as many Heroes as possible. Which, of course, led back to the summoning shrine. He was admittedly relieved to finally be summoning people again instead of sending them away, even if most of them were still from worlds that worshipped Naga.
He was currently standing on the altar and rolling one last orb between his fingers, a small crowd of newly summoned Heroes behind him. Truth be told, he was still terribly anxious, but at least now he was anxious about the right things: making strategies, keeping Heroes safe and ensuring the Order was in proper fighting shape. With a slight shrug of the shoulders, he loaded the little jewel into his relic and set about doing his part to make things a little better for them.
He heard the new Hero before he saw them, and the sound of their voice stopped his heart dead in its tracks.
"I am she who is called Naga, the Divine Dragon." It just wasn't possible…given the odds, it couldn't be possible… "If you intend to face your fate," he saw the same emerald hair before anything else and instantly filled in the face it framed when it had yet to appear, "prove to me your resolve." She manifested out of the light entirely and caught Kiran's horrified gaze. The second their eyes met, her lips curled back into a familiar grin.
He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. Nor could he flee. In the ghastly silence between her introduction and the excited gasps of those around him, Kiran realized Naga's true nature was not that of a Divine Dragon, a Hero or a goddess. No, she was an unstoppable horror.
And she was coming for him.
Full disclosure: this was originally supposed to be Ursula. But I just couldn't for the life of me manage to justify why she'd be merely stalking instead of bumping bitches off (something something perfection, but the details never panned out), nor could I figure out a justification for Kiran wouldn't immediately dump her ass back to Elibe the second he figured out what she was doing, so I was forced to discard her draft at like 65% completion and start over. Honestly, I'm still not totally happy with how Naga turned out (I can't shake the feeling that there was a very simple solution I've completely overlooked), but at least this type is finally done.
Naga was a Stalking Type, meaning she obsessively follows/studies her beloved in secret. She didn't hurt anyone (at least not yet), but the idea was to make her so insanely fucking creepy that you'd almost prefer her to just kill a couple people instead. Hopefully, she made you blanch and cringe. And yes, that's the same Naga who's somehow summoned again in the ending.
Alright, bad news time: you know how this took an unusually long time to come out? Well, that was partially a consequence of being much busier IRL this summer, and since I start graduate school in a couple days, updates in general are almost certainly going to be slowing down across the board. On the upside, some of you may have noticed that I finally did what I should've done two years ago and started posting update progress on my Bio ( )/Profile (Ao3), so at least now you won't be totally in the dark about how things are going.
Please leave comments, good or bad, since your feedback is how I learn. Thank you for reading.