Chris: Awwww….I only got two reviews.
Farina: Maybe it's because you updated so late that no one remembers this fic.
Chris: Good point. Anyway, I'll do my reader reviews, then its chapter time! Oh, and I don't own FE. Yeah.
Reiko5: Well…If it's a special case, I guess you can have two OCs. Anyway, good luck with deciding!
DotDotDotMan: Heather is kind of like a Myrmidon that can use bows. She doesn't gain any special benefits when promoted (if she was a real unit). If you want a class name, she's a Ranger/Forester. You know…since they can use swords and bows….Yeah. And I know about the dual-promotion thing for FE 8. Sounds interesting.
Dias of All Final: Thank you for making a character. You're actually the only person to do that so far. Anyway…As to your character…I'm gonna make him a myrmidon first. Cause pre-promoted characters usually suck. Usually. Pent, Jaffar, and maybe Louise could be exceptions. You'll probably comein a little later.
Chapter 7: Chance Meeting
"I'm so tired…" Chris moaned as they walked down the dusty path through the mountains of Bern. "Do we have to walk?"
Lyn turned and gave the tactician a rueful grin. "Well, if you know of another way, then I'm all ears. But until then, it's walking for us."
"This is so unfair…" Chris moaned again.
"Stop complaining." Kent rode up, and looked down at the tactician. "I appreciate that you're doing the best you can, but talking will only waste more of your energy."
"Hmph. Fine." Chris folded his arms.
"Come on! We don't want any bad relations here! Especially since those bandits from earlier are chasing us." Sain rode up, a cheerful smile on his face. The moment he said that, Chris perked up.
"Bandits? Again? How far away are they?"
"Oh…I'd have to say a couple of miles. My lovely Florina spotted them first." Sain sighed. "Such a beauty that has strength and can still be as charming as a nightingale."
Lyn raised an eye at the cavalier. "Sain…I'm warning you. Don't make her sad or make her cry, okay? Friends, maybe…But don't go too far. Or else I'll make you regret it."
"Oh, of course, lovely Lady Lyndis!" Sain gave a small bow in his saddle, and turned to check on his passenger. Heather smiled faintly at the cavalier before falling asleep again. Chris looked worriedly at the swordswoman before turning to Wil.
"How's the wound look?"
"In a word, horrible. That sword went straight through the arm, you know. Using the limited knowledge I know of injuries like that, along with Lyn's knowledge of herb lore and medicine, I've been able to stop the bleeding. But we need a healer if she wants to regain full use of that arm." Wil spoke up from behind the group, his bow strapped to his back.
"That's just great…" Chris sighed. "Okay, it's getting dark. Let's get some place to stay and fortify it in case of attack." He turned his face to the sky. "YOU HEAR THAT, FLORINA?"
The pegasus knight nodded, and swooped down to hover a couple of feet above Chris's head. "U-Um…F-Find a p-place t-to stay…R-Right? T-There's an abandoned f-fortress a l-little farther away." Florina nodded timidly, stuttering out the information. Her orchid colored hair fluttered in the breeze, flying into her face. She quickly brushed it aside, blushing slightly.
"Thanks Florina." Chris clapped his hands and faced everyone else. "Okay guys. We make tracks for that fortress and see what we can do before the bandits arrive, right?"
"Right." They all nodded.
"Okay, let's go!" Chris dashed off, leaving the rest of the army in his wake. Sain looked at his partner while they rode up behind the tactician.
"What was he saying earlier about being tired?"
"I don't know. Maybe he got a new burst of energy. Tacticians are weird. Remember the one back at the castle?" Kent smiled as he remembered the tactician's antics.
"Oh yeah! He was really funny. And he always held parties for us. I wonder what happened to him. I heard that he left to take care of his son."
"Yes, I am well aware of that. Let's just hope that our current tactician is as good as he seems so far." Kent turned and looked at Chris, whose face was lit up with joy.
An hour later, they reached the fortress. "Boy, this place is a dump." Sain frowned at the sight. The others were forced to agree with him. There was ivy hanging on the walls, and some parts of the wall seemed likely to break with a little maneuvering. Plus, some of the ceiling was also destroyed as well.
"Think of it this way. It's our only shelter." Chris pointed out the fact, and started walking towards the entrance.
"Ah! Suddenly, this place feels so much better!" Sain smiled. "Just look at those sturdy, stone walls! And we get a sky light!"
"Don't go too far, Sain." Chris pushed the gates to the fortress open, and walked inside. "Boy, it's really cold in here."
"Cold? I don't feel that cold." Sain rode in and carefully dismounted, trying not to dislodge his passenger. The brown-haired cavalier slowly lifted her off of the horse and held her in his arms. "Is there a bed in here, or will we have to feel the joy of cockroaches?"
"Be quiet, Sain." Chris said in a dangerous tone. He looked through the crumbling rooms in the castle. "Oy! I found a bed!"
"Oy?" Sain walked up, carrying Heather in his arms. He eyed the bed warily. "Is that a bed, or just a bunch of rats disguised as a bed?"
"It's a bed, Sain!" Chris stamped his foot on the ground angrily. "Come on!"
"Fine, fine! I'm just worried about the sanitation here!" Sain placed Heather on the bed and walked outside. "I'm gonna go scout for a bit, okay? It'll be better if we're aware how close those bandits are!"
"Okay! Good luck!" The tactician waved farewell at the cavalier, and slowly closed the wooden door so Heather wouldn't be disturbed. He felt his sword clank against his thigh, and he suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah! I was going to ask Lyn about how to use this thing!" Chris ran outside, where the others were getting ready for the incoming attack.
"Hey Chris. What are you doing out here?" Kent looked up, a brush in one hand. He ran the brush down his horse's coat, attentively caring for it.
"Do you know where Lyn went?"
"Lady Lyndis? She practicing her swordplay around the side of the castle." Kent pointed. "She seemed quite determined to hold her own in this battle."
"Glad to hear it. I hope you do well also, Kent." Chris waved at Kent as he ran to where Lyn was.
"Hey Lyn! I need to ask you- SHIT!" Chris collapsed on the floor as Lyn's sword passed through where his head was a moment earlier. "I'm going to die!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Chris!" Lyn sheathed her sword and ran up to the shuddering tactician, who was curled up into a ball.
"DON'T…DO THAT, Lyn…" The tactician staggered to his feet, still shaking. "I'm too young to die by a freak accident. Maybe when I'm fifty."
"I'm really sorry about that." Lyn steadied the tactician, who waved her off, still dazed. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Right! I forgot about that! I was wondering if you'd teach me about sword fighting. Since I have this sword here." Chris pulled out the Sange, which shined in the light.
"Where'd you get that?" Lyn took the sword from Chris's hands.
"Ah…Um…Ah…I found it!" Chris stammered out the lie because he didn't want Lyn to know that the priest from the temple gave it to him.
"Hmm…Well, if you say so." Lyn swung it a few times, clearly not believing Chris's explanation. "It's a lot lighter than a normal sword, I'll give you that. You sure you found this somewhere?"
"Uh…Yeah!" Chris nodded vigorously, probably too vigorously.
"Right…" Lyn raised an eye at him. "What do you want to learn how to fight? You're a tactician. Tacticians don't belong on the field of battle."
"But that's with full-scale assaults! Our band right now numbers only seven, including me! I need to be out in the field, seeing how my forces are doing!" Chris spread his arms out wide. "Come on, Lyn."
"Well, fine. As long as you tell me where the sword really came from."
"…Gah. You're not going to let that go, are you?"
"Nope. Not a chance."
"You totally suck.
"Thanks. Now where'd you get it from?"
"Sigh…The bishop from that temple gave it to me."
"There…That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Lyn smiled and handed the sword back to Chris. "Okay, for your first lesson…You actually need to know how to hold a sword. Are you left-handed or right-handed?"
"Uh…Left-handed."
"Okay." Lyn moved to Chris's side and pointed out the locations where the hands should go. "Your sword is a type of katana, okay? They're typically two-handed swords with a longer reach than traditional swords. Since you're left-handed, you want your left hand positioned above your right. Now, come on, let me see you do it."
Chris nervously positioned his hands in the places where Lyn had motioned. "Uh…Like this?"
Lyn clapped her hands. "Good, good. Now, for actual combat…You'll probably need to strengthen your arms a bit. Hmm…Every day, I want you to do at least fifty swings with your sword. They don't all have to be the same swing, although that helps. And don't kill anyone, okay?"
"Uh…Right!" Chris nodded, smiling. He started practicing right away. Lyn smiled at his enthusiasm and walked off to consult Kent about the condition of their weapons.
An hour later, Chris finished with his practice. He carefully slid the sword in its sheath, slightly afraid he might stab himself in the leg. The tactician wiped the sweat off of his forehead and decided to check on Heather. As he was opening the door, however, he heard something moving behind him.
Chris spun around and screamed. "AHHHHH! BANDITS!"
"Bandits? Where?" Lyn and Kent rushed in, holding their swords. Lyn sighed when she saw that the 'bandit' was actually just a young woman.
"Chris? Is your imagination working in overtime today?" Lyn sheathed her sword. "I'm sorry for his actions."
"That's okay." The young woman had brown hair that was tied in pigtails. "I was just wondering what was happening in here." The woman winced and fell against wall.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Chris walked up to her.
"It's…just my leg…My name is Natalie. I've had a problem with my leg for a long time…My husband said he'd get a job to help pay for an operation….But I can't find him. Have you seen him?" The woman pulled out a small picture of her husband. "His name is Dorcas."
"I'm sorry, Natalie." Lyn shook her head. "Hmm…How about I take the picture? If we ever come across him, we can tell him to come back home."
"Thank you very much for your help." Natalie nodded thankfully. "What are your names?"
"This is Kent." Chris pointed to the orange-haired cavalier.
"It is nice to meet you." Kent bowed to Natalie.
"And this is Lyn."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Lyn smiled.
"And I'm Chris." The tactician pointed to himself. "Sorry about calling you a bandit."
"Oh…That's okay." Natalie gasped as another flash of pain flew up her leg.
"You better rest. Come on, we'll put you in our makeshift infirmary." Chris helped Natalie walk into the room where Heather was sleeping.
"Thanks…I can make it on my own." Natalie nodded gratefully and sat down on one of the beds. Chris checked on Heather to make sure nothing seemed wrong, and walked out of the room, closing the door.
"Bandits! We'd better get ready!" Sain rode in on his horse and jumped off. "They should be here in a matter of minutes!"
Florina flew down and dismounted her pegasus. "Y-Yeah…T-They're c-coming…T-There's a l-lot of them…"
"Okay. Here's what we'll do." Chris kneeled on the ground and drew a small map with his finger. "You guys all know that this castle has two entrances, right? I want Sain and Kent to help defend the entrance, and Lyn and Florina will sneak out from the side entrance and combat any bandits we might find there. And as for Wil, I want you up on the battlements, peppering any enemy you see with your arrows. Got it?"
"Haha! All right!" Wil gave a huge smile and started running for the castle battlements, checking his bow for any damage.
"Of course. We will be glad to do our duty." Kent nodded and ran to get his horse. Sain mounted his horse and rode towards the entrance.
"O-Okay…A-As long a-as I'm w-with Lyn…It'll b-be fine." Florina nodded timidly and went to get her pegasus.
"Aw, come on, Florina. You're stronger!" Lyn ran after the pegasus knight, but stopped when Chris halted her.
"Hey, and if you ever find Dorcas, don't forget to tell him to go to Natalie, okay?"
"I won't forget!" Lyn nodded, and chased after Florina.
"Phew…Now I just have to hope everything goes as quickly and smoothly as possible." Chris stood up and brushed the dirt off of his robes. "Hmm…Sain and Kent can handle themselves just fine. And I'm certain that Wil won't get into any trouble up there. Either I stay and help protect Heather and Natalie, or I go out and try to help Florina and Lyn…I better just stay with the injured people. I don't want to see a bandit spring in and kill them." Chris unsheathed his sword. "I can get in some more practice, too!"
The tactician ran back to the infirmary, standing outside of the door and swinging his sword. Sain and Kent stood guard in front of the castle's ruined gates, swords in their hands. Wil was up on the battlements, whistling to himself and testing his bow string. Florina was flying high over the castle, watching as the bandits slowly advanced. And Lyn was pacing in front of the door, getting herself ready for battle.
"There they are! They will pay for messing with the Taliver Bandits!" The man that seemed to be their leader pointed at the castle. "My brothers, kill them all! Make sure nothing remains! Charge!" His fellow warriors rushed at the gates, swinging their axes, full of battle lust.
It was only a matter of minutes until they reached the castle gates, and the battle began.
Chris: Well, there it is! Anyway….Like I said, I still have openings for original characters in this fic. I would be honored to have OCs of your making in my fic. Of course, once again, no ubarness. So, yeah. Hope you like it, and review please!
Oh, and there is going to be a sequel to this fic where we go to Magvel. Any OCs in this story got to Magvel as well. Just pointing that out. So….Yeah. That's about it!