More responses to reviewers! More!

Millenium Slinky: Maybe she would, but this is my story :P
Also why do you keep saying "snark," and what exactly does it mean?

khmerboi919: Raven > Guy. Enough said.
No, I'm not going to put everyone in, but I'll introduce new characters from time to time. And if you want more action, I put some in this chapter.

kf: Fixed.

Gyrfalcon: Long chapters are better? Good, this one's even longer than the last. :P

On with the story...

Chapter Four
Friends

"Heath..."
Priscilla was rousing him. "Mmmf. Are we leaving already?" he mumbled, then fell asleep again.
"Heath...wake up...please wake up..."
Heath noticed that Priscilla's voice was broken as though she had been crying. He quickly sat up, a look of concern spreading over his face. One look at her confirmed it—her eyes were red, and tears were still streaming down her cheeks. On her face was an expression of terror. "Priscilla? What happened?" he asked.
"I...I..." She was unable to speak as she continued to sob.
"Are you all right?"
She shook her head.
"What...what's going on?"
She suddenly flung her arms around him and began to sob into his shoulder. "Heath...i-it was...terrible..."
"What was? What happened, Priscilla?"
"A...n-nightmare...b-but...so real..."
Heath placed his arms around her, trying to comfort her. "Priscilla...it's all right now. Nothing can hurt you here."
"I-I know," she replied. "B-but...it w-was...so t-terrifying..."
"What happened?" he asked.
She took a deep, shuddering breath and let go of him, sitting down on the bed next to him. She took another deep breath. "I-I was at...the Dragon's Gate. I...I saw the dragon c-come out of the p-portal...b-but it didn't stop...it came all the w-way through..."
"Priscilla...you have to stop thin—"
"Th-that's not all," she interrupted him. "The d-dragon...was going to b-breathe fire at me...b-but...y-you came..."
Heath's eyes widened. "I came? What happened next?"
"Y-you pushed me o-out of the way, a-and st-stood in my p-place...and...and..."
Priscilla didn't need to tell him what happened afterward. "Did you wake up then?"
"Y-yes...everything became white...and I woke up. Heath...it was so frightening..."
Heath placed a hand on her shoulder. "Priscilla...it's okay now. It was just a nightmare..."
"I...I know," she said, sniffing. "But...it was so vivid...so...so real..."
"Even so," Heath said, "it was still a dream, and it can't hurt you. I know it scared you, but...you're safe, Priscilla."
"Heath," she said, wiping her eyes, "I-I don't know if that's true—"
"I do. I'll make sure nothing hurts you, and—" he smiled slightly, "—if that ever does happen, I'll make sure to get out of the way as well."
Priscilla made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "Heath," she said, smiling slightly through her tears, "even at a time like this you can make me laugh."
"Well," he said, his smile growing larger, "isn't that what friends do for each other?"
"I suppose," she said as she wiped her eyes again and stopped crying. "Thank you, Heath."
"Any time, Priscilla. You probably want to get back to bed now—remember, think about flying."
She laughed. "I will."

The next few days, spent traveling to Bern, passed much as they had before they had reached the desert. It was on one of those days that Heath flew down to Priscilla.
"Priscilla," he said, as he flew alongside her.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Well...do you want to try flying now?" He smiled.
She smiled back nervously. "Well...I suppose...but I can't just leave my horse here..."
"Then ask someone else if they want a ride—it'll do them good if they've been walking this whole time."
She thought about this for a moment, then called to a man walking near her, "Raven!"
The man walked over to her. The first thing Heath noticed about him was that he looked like someone he didn't want to mess with. He had dark reddish-brown hair, and piercing eyes of the same color. He was about the same height as Heath, wearing little armor in favor of a heavy blue shirt and pants. A large broadsword was strapped to his back.
"What is it?" Raven asked, in a gruff voice.
"Well...Heath here asked me to ride with him...so that means someone can ride my horse. Do you want to?"
Raven looked suspiciously at Heath, then back at Priscilla, putting two and two together. "Priscilla," he said, "are you sure you want to ride with him? Wyverns are dangerous creatures—"
Hyperion growled at Raven, but that only furthered his point.
"—and you could fall as well."
"That won't happen," Heath said.
"Yes," Priscilla added, "Heath will make sure I am safe."
"Very well," Raven said, and Heath could have sworn he sounded a bit disappointed. "I will ride your horse if you will let me."
Priscilla smiled. "Thank you, Raven," she said as she got off her horse and onto Hyperion, holding onto Heath. "Heath...please don't go too high this time."
Heath smiled. "Okay." He directed Hyperion upwards, until they were a good ten feet above the group. "Is this all right?"
"Yes," she said, although Heath could see she was quite nervous.
"Just don't look down," Heath advised her.
"I-I'm trying not to," she said, "but it is a rather amazing sight. I've never been able to ride a flying animal before now—besides that time in the desert, but..."
"You were too scared to look then?" Heath teased.
Priscilla laughed. "I suppose I was," she replied, sighing with slight embarrassment. "Now though...I can't believe this is happening."
Heath smiled. "It is pretty amazing, isn't it?"
"It is," she replied. "I should have tried flying earlier. This isn't so bad."
"Of course it isn't," Heath said, faking disappointment. "Why do you think I asked you to ride with me?" He put his hand to his heart in an exaggerated melodramatic way. "Don't you trust me, Priscilla?" he asked sarcastically.
Priscilla just laughed.
"That hurts, Priscilla," he said, continuing with his sarcasm. "It really does."
Priscilla laughed harder.
"Heath," she said after she had calmed down, "how do you always have something funny to say?"
"It's because I've spent my life with a wyvern," he replied jokingly. "They make you go crazy."
Priscilla laughed again as Heath smiled at her.
After she stopped laughing, she looked down again. Heath saw her face pale as she looked at the height they were at, but she tried her best to hide it. "It's amazing," she said finally. "Everyone looks tiny from here."
Heath looked down with her, scanning the group. At the front were the three lords and Mark, their faces turned toward one another as they talked. He could see Serra talking away even at this height, as she moved her hands in exaggerated gestures as she spoke. Sain seemed to be moving around, stopping at one of the women of the group, then leaving a few seconds later to find another one. Meanwhile another, red-haired cavalier was following Sain, and seemed to be reprimanding him for what he was doing. Finally his eyes settled on Priscilla's horse, and the man riding it.
He was only mildly surprised when he noticed Raven was staring up at him. Mistrust was etched all over his face. Obviously, he did not want Priscilla with him, for reasons Heath could not surmise. He could only barely see it, but Heath thought he saw Raven's eyes narrow as he noticed Heath looking down at him.
"Priscilla," Heath said, "why does Raven seem so worried about you?"
Heath saw her face pale. "Are you all right?" he continued.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. "Raven is—" she seemed to be considering what to say, "—a...childhood friend of mine. We hadn't seen each other for a long time before this journey."
"I see," Heath said. Although he could tell Priscilla was lying, he didn't press the matter further, as she didn't seem to want to talk about it. "Want to go higher?" he asked, changing the subject.
Whatever color had returned to Priscilla's cheeks quickly left it. "I...I don't know," she replied. "Not...not now. I am content up here. It's so nice...I don't have to listen to everyone talking. I must try this again." She smiled at him. "Thanks for taking me up here, Heath."
Heath placed his hand on her shoulder. "Any time, Priscilla. I must say, you seem a lot less scared of the height we're at than I thought you would be."
She didn't reply, just continued to smile at him.

Heath continued to let Priscilla ride with him, despite the glares he was getting from Raven. Soon their group arrived in Bern, the lords dressing as travelers as to not attract attention.
They stopped one night in a town on a lake. Somehow, though, the group found themselves under attack there from a mercenary group. Their leader was apparently one of the dreaded Four Fangs, Linus. Heath went to Mark to ask what he should do in the battle.
"Okay," Mark said to him. "Look above the lake over there."
Heath did so. "Wyvern riders?" he asked.
"Exactly. I need you to take them out before they can get to the rest of our soldiers traveling along the lake."
"On it."
Heath immediately took flight, soaring as high as he could go. He could see below him three knights on red-skinned wyverns.
The wyvern riders above the lake were meant to act as scouts, and they were focused on the beach of the lake, where Eliwood's group was traveling. They never thought to look up.
Heath pointed Hyperion straight down and shot like a bullet towards one of the riders. He didn't notice Heath until it was too late, and Hyperion crashed into him while Heath plunged his lance into the rider's mount. The rider fell to the lake below, screaming.
The other two riders quickly turned after hearing their companion scream. Heath was able to fly straight upwards and attack the second rider, sending him down as well. The last rider, however, would not go down without a fight. Raising his lance, he charged straight at Heath.
So inexperienced. Heath waited until the last possible second before swerving out of the way and stabbing the passing wyvern with his lance. The last rider fell.
Heath smiled triumphantly before he heard the roar of another wyvern. Okay, one more inexperienced rider to take out. Heath turned around...
...and stared at a wyvern larger than Hyperion flying straight at him. The knight riding him was carrying a sword in addition to a lance, and Heath gasped—only the elite Wyvern Lords were trained in airborne sword fighting. Heath swerved out of the way again, but the Wyvern Lord did not make the same mistake as the previous rider. Instead of flying straight past Heath, the wyvern turned to the side and looped around so that he was facing Heath, and charged again.
As the Wyvern Lord came again, he raised his sword. This time Heath did not swerve out of the way—instead, he held up his lance sideways with both hands to parry any incoming attack. But the Wyvern Lord wasn't stupid. He raised his sword as if to strike, and Heath, thinking an attack was coming, raised his lance to block the blow. But it didn't come until the Wyvern Lord suddenly lowered his sword and sliced, under Heath's lance, into his left side.
Heath cried out in pain. He had no armor on his sides, as he never expected to fight a sword-bearing rider. Although the wound was not deep, it was not shallow either. Heath would have to end this quick and get to a healer—but he only had one chance.
Taking his lance in one hand again, he watched the Wyvern Lord loop around and come for him again, while clutching his side with his left hand. As the Wyvern Lord came, Heath swerved out of the way, and as expected the Wyvern Lord looped to the side, away from Heath's lance—or so he thought.
Raising his lance, Heath suddenly hurled it as hard as he could. The lance stuck itself in the retreating wyvern's belly, and the Wyvern Lord fell.
Still clutching his side, Heath directed Hyperion towards the shore of the lake, to Priscilla. She didn't even need to ask what was going on; she just raised her healing staff and closed her eyes. A warm white light suddenly shone from the sapphire on the staff's tip, and the healing energy moved from the staff to Heath's body. He closed his eyes as he felt the pain in his side going away. When he opened his eyes again, it was as if nothing had happened.
"Thanks, Priscilla," he said.
Priscilla just smiled at him.
Of course, now Heath had no weapon—but he had done his job. He retreated back to the camp, where he found a purple-haired horse rider guarding a tent.
"Ah, Heath," the rider said. "My name is Marcus. I saw your battle in the air just a moment ago. You truly are a great fighter."
"Thanks, Mar—"
Heath was suddenly cut off by a loud snore. Looking to the tent Marcus was guarding, he saw a blue-green haired man with a mustache lying on the ground, asleep.
"Merlinus!" Marcus yelled. "You can't be sleeping in the middle of a fight! What if someone attacked?"
Merlinus got up and yawned. "Sorry, Marcus. But sitting here is just so boring...I need a wagon for this tent."
Heath gave Merlinus an inquisitive look.
"Oh, you're our new recruit, huh? My name is Merlinus, and I carry the spare items for this army."
"Pleased to meet you, Merlinus. I'm Heath. Happen to have a lance in there?"
"Of course!" Merlinus shouted gleefully. He went into the tent, and after rummaging around for awhile he came out with a lance. Heath looked at it—it didn't look like an ordinary lance. It shone as though it were made of—
"Silver," Merlinus explained. "This lance is exceedingly powerful, although it is a bit fragile. Go on, take it."
Heath took the gleaming lance, staring at it in awe.
"I knew it was a good idea to get one of those!" Merlinus shouted.
Heath laughed at the merchant's exuberance.
"Heath!"
Heath turned around to see Priscilla riding towards him. "Priscilla," Heath said, "why aren't you out there with the army?"
"Serra's taking care of it," Priscilla explained, with a worried look in her eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay—that wound was pretty deep."
"I'm fine, thanks to you. Do you really doubt your own healing abilities?"
"No...I...I was just worried..."
"Well, I'm fine." Heath smiled at her. "You might want to get back. I know you're worried about me...but your duty is to help the entire army, not just me."
"Okay," Priscilla said, relieved. She started to ride back to Eliwood's group, but they were already coming back. They had won, and everyone was in a good mood.

The fact that Priscilla was so worried about him nagged at him all day. It wasn't until they returned to their tent that Heath was finally able to talk to her.
"Priscilla," he said as he sat on his bed, "why were you so worried about me earlier today?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean, why are you worried about me over everyone else?"
"I wasn't," she said, her face paling. "You j-just had a deep wound..."
"Priscilla, you healed that. Why are you so worried about a wound that's already healed?"
"Because...because..." She was unable to keep going.
"Because what?" Heath helped her.
"Because...Heath...I don't want to lose you."
That surprised him. "What?" he asked.
"Heath...you've been...a great friend to me...I don't want you to leave me..."
Heath walked over to her bed and sat down beside her. "Really?"
"Yes...Heath...you're the best friend I've ever had. Nobody else can make me laugh like you do...and nobody else will take me flying..."
Heath placed his hand on her shoulder. "Priscilla...you don't have to worry so much about me. I know that you think of me as your best friend...and I think of you as my best friend too."
Priscilla's face suddenly brightened.
"But...I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry that I'm going to leave you if you don't help out. I don't plan to leave this army anytime soon, and I'm not planning to die anytime soon either."
"Heath...you promise me you won't leave?"
"I promise. Who else am I going to take flying with me?"
Priscilla giggled. "Good point," she said. "Thanks, Heath."
"Anything to help out my best friend," he said, playfully exaggerating the last words.
She laughed. "Heath...what would I do without you here?"
Heath smiled at her. "You'd stay on the ground."
She laughed again. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Good night, Heath."
"Good night, Priscilla."

***

Whoo! Long chapter there. Lots o' fluff, too...but it's not quite time for the romance yet. What do you guys think of this one?
Also please don't expect updates as often for the next week or so. Mid-year exams are coming up. If I live, I'll try to have the next chapter up by next weekend, but I can't guarantee anything.

Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT