Emmeryn walked numbly on the dirt road alongside Chrom and Lissa. She stared blankly ahead as she walked. Chrom and Lissa tried to talk to her, but she was too distracted to converse with them.
"Why must this always lead to war?" She muttered to herself.
Emmeryn looked down to her staff: a symbol of peace. She gently traced her fingers along the intricate details engraved in the staff. Slowly, her finger made it to the glowing emerald orb at the tip of the staff. Emmeryn's normally peaceful demeanor shifted. She felt a pang of sadness in her chest. She heaved a sad sigh.
"Mother," she whispered, "I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise. If only you were here…you'd know exactly what to do."
"You say something, Emm?" Chrom asked.
Emmeryn shook her head, and her peaceful demeanor returned, "It's nothing important, Chrom."
Chrom nodded. The siblings continued to walk in silence, and Emmeryn's thoughts drifted back to the upcoming conflict.
Robin was in the middle of bickering with Sully.
"Sully, you can't just run off in the middle of a battle!" Robin said angrily.
"Hey! I've seen you fight! You can take care of yourself, just like I can take care of my own arse!" Sully countered.
"Yeah, I CAN take care of myself! But what if there were enemy reinforcements? I have my limits—just as YOU have YOUR own limits! There's a reason we fight in pairs!" Robin retorted.
"You don't know my limits, Robin!"
"You're not immortal, Sully!"
"I never said I was, Sparkles!"
"Stop calling me that!"
Meanwhile, Sumia and Stahl walked behind the pair and watched the two bicker.
"Geez, they're fighting like Chrom and Vaike," Sumia muttered.
"Heh, and to think they've only known each other for about two weeks," Stahl replied.
Sumia sighed, "Well…fighting is sorta a way Sully bonds…so I'd say this is good! Right Stahl?"
Stahl nodded.
He pursed his lips, "I don't want him getting too close with her though…"
"What was that?" Sumia asked, missing Stahl's last statement.
"Oh! Uh, nothing!"
Sumia grinned, "I'm just glad Robin is getting along with everyone…well, mostly everyone. It's weird to think that we've only known him for about two weeks! He fits in so well!"
Stahl nodded, "Yeah, he's definitely very likable. Even the new guy, Lon'qu, has seemed to have warmed up to Robin."
Sumia grinned, "Yeah! Crazy, right?"
Stahl smiled and shook his head.
The group had been marching for about four hours after the battle, and everyone was exhausted, especially Robin. All he thought about was a nice, soft, warm bed. He would do just about anything to get some good sleep. Aside from the argument with Sully, Robin was able to chat with Vaike, Ricken, and try to converse with Miriel, although he understood absolutely nothing she said.
Robin took quite the liking to Ricken. He was young, and seemed to be a little older than Lissa, and slightly younger than Maribelle. Ricken came off as a little headstrong, but he was definitely a respectable young man. Not only that, but he knew wind magic.
Though everyone was exhausted, the morale was pretty high. Yes, the Ylisseans and Plegia are probably going to go to war, but they have managed to get Maribelle safely back with no casualties. That alone was enough to give the shepherds a little bit of hope.
The shepherds were still a few hours away from the capital. Unfortunately, it was starting to get dark. Because of the Risen, Chrom had decided that the group should just stay the night at the nearest village.
"Yes! Villages mean taverns! Taverns mean beer!" Vaike said, pumping his fist in the air.
"Heh, I could go for a beer or four," Sully chimed in.
Chrom shook his head, "We depart for Ylisse at first light tomorrow. I need everyone to be sober for the march back in case we run into trouble."
Vaike and Sully grumbled.
"Milord, the Crescent village should be about a mile away. If we hurry, we could get there before nightfall," Frederick said.
Chrom nodded, and the group continued to march.
"Crescent village?" Robin asked as he walked up to Chrom.
Chrom shrugged, "It's one of the halidom's minor villages. It's named 'crescent' because the village is shaped like a crescent."
"Oh."
"Heh, they do have good Ale there," Chrom mused.
"Hey! I thought you said we weren't allowed to drink!" Robin replied.
Chrom shook his head, "I said everyone needs to be SOBER. I never said we couldn't have a drink or two."
Robin rolled his eyes, "Fine. You owe me a drink, though. Being a tactician is hard work, ya know."
Chrom grinned, "Deal."
Sure enough, the village really did take after it's name. An odd shape for a village, but it did look cool. The shepherds all checked into the village's inn, which was actually a lot nicer than Robin expected. Each of the shepherds got their own rooms, each complete with soft beds.
Robin wanted nothing more than to flop down and fall asleep, but Chrom promised him a drink.
After Robin got situated, he reluctantly made his way to the village's tavern. Surprisingly, it was quite busy. Robin saw that Vaike, Sully and Stahl were already there, each of them holding a bottle of some sort of beer. He even saw Lon'qu sitting at the bar with a large mug of what Robin assumed was also beer. Honestly, Robin didn't know much about beer, at least he doesn't think he knows.
Chrom wasn't there yet, so he decided to take a seat in the back corner of the tavern. All the people were a little overwhelming for Robin, and he longed for his quiet room.
"What can I get for you, sir?" A pretty waitress asked as she approached his table.
"Oh, uh, nothing yet. Waiting for a friend." Robin replied.
"I'll just have your signature bottle of Ale," a voice said from behind Robin.
The waitress nodded, then walked off. Robin turned to see the source of the voice, and was met with…Marth!
Robin's jaw dropped yet again, "W-what, what are you doing here?"
Marth sat across from Robin and sighed. "Same reason as you: Needed a place to stay, so I chose here."
Robin shook his head, unconvinced, "Have you been…following us?"
"Heh, it may seem that way, but I assure you, this meeting is purely coincidental," Marth replied quickly.
Robin sighed. The waitress came with the bottle of ale and a couple of glasses, though Marth just opened the bottle and took a swig straight from it.
"Rough day?" Robin asked as she downed about a third of it.
Marth put the bottle down and grinned, "More like a rough few weeks."
Robin grinned too, "Yeah, tell me about it."
Marth looked around, "So, what is someone like you doing at a tavern? You don't strike me as the drinking type."
"Waiting for a friend. Chrom, the-"
"I know who he is." Marth interrupted.
She pursed her lips, then took another swig.
Robin slowly nodded, "Right…well, he promised me a drink. But, he's kinda running late."
"Typical," Marth muttered with a faint smile as she stared intently in her bottle.
Robin sighed as he looked towards the entrance of the tavern, hoping to see his friend.
Marth knew Chrom would show up soon, so she decided to get up.
"Robin, please, don't tell Chrom, or anyone else, that I was here," She said, as she pushed in her chair. She dropped a few coins on the table and reached for the bottle, but Robin quickly snagged it.
"You're not just going to disappear again, are you?" Robin said half annoyed, half desperately.
Marth sighed, "You'll see me again."
And in one swift movement, she snatched the bottle out of his hand, and turned to walk away.
Robin watched her figure disappear through the door. About a minute later, Chrom appeared in the doorway.
He scanned the room until his eyes settled on Robin. He grinned, and made his way over to his friend.
"Glad to see you're here, Robin! Wait till you get a taste of the Ale here! You're going to love it!"
Chrom sat down right where Marth was just sitting. The two began to talk, and Robin pushed his thoughts of Marth aside so he could enjoy his time with his friend.
Lucina pushed through the crowd in the tavern, trying her best to ignore Robin's boring eyes from behind her. She remembered her father talking about this day when she was little. This day was the day that her father and Robin became closer friends…and the day Robin set up her mother and father. She smiled at the thought.
As much as she wanted to watch that for herself, she couldn't risk altering the timeline more than needed. Her following the shepherds and talking with Robin was already risky enough. Last thing she needed was for her parents to not fall in love. Then she technically wouldn't exist, right?
As soon as she left the tavern, she could see Chrom's figure in the distance. Luckily, it was dark enough that he missed her. That, and he isn't the most observant person in the world.
Lucina sighed as she made her way towards her room in the inn.
Yes, she was following the shepherds, and she felt bad lying to Robin about it. Apart from that, it was nice for her to actually talk to someone. Someone that she actually trusts…
She continued to walk through the quiet town. Most of the townspeople were settling down in their homes for the day. Pretty much every building, with the exception of the tavern, were empty.
Lucina smiled.
It was nice to see actual peace, and not just constant unrest.
She then frowned as she thought back as to why she was here.
'This peace won't last for long, though,' she thought sadly. She replayed the events over and over in her head. 'The assasination attempt is in a week,' she thought.
Lucina looked at the bottle she was clutching, then sighed.
"This is no time for me to lose myself. I must stay alert at all times…and not forget my purpose here," and with that, Lucina dropped the bottle with a loud crash. All the contents inside exploded out of the bottle, and washed down the street.
Lucina then continued back to her room, and began to prepare for the upcoming events.
Pretty much all the shepherds were at the tavern, including some of the younger ones, too. Even Emmeryn showed up for about an hour, but she didn't have anything to drink. Chrom's rule about no one getting drunk was pretty much down the drain by now. The only ones who were still sober were Lissa, Maribelle and Ricken.
Robin was starting to feel the alcohol get to him, but he could still think somewhat clearly. At least, clear enough to come up with a way to set up Sumia and Chrom.
Robin's plan was simple: Get Sumia and Chrom super drunk, then get them together to "talk". Robin hoped that the alcohol would loosen their lips a little, and maybe make them spill some 'romantic feelings' for each other.
Chrom, as it turns out, was a sucker for beer, and Robin had managed to get him to down at least four beers. Sumia, who was one of the last to show up to the tavern, appeared to be very lightweight. She only had a beer and a half, and she was starting to lose her balance (more than what's normal for her).
Chrom was still sitting at the same table. He stared blankly at his beer, then started to giggle.
Robin grinned and shook his head, then walked over to Sumia, who was starting to fall out of her seat.
He caught her, and helped her to her feet. "Alright, easy. Steeeeady….yeah that's right," Robin muttered as he walked her over to Chrom.
"Hmhmhm…R-robin? Where are you…taking me?" Sumia managed to get out.
"To your boyfriend."
Sumia furrowed her brows, "I-I don't…have a…boy..friend."
Robin chuckled, "Trust me, you will."
Sumia grinned and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Yay."
"Robinnnnn…what are you doing with…Sumia," Chrom mumbled as Robin sat her down across from him.
Robin grinned.
His plan was working.
'Heh, like I expected anything else,' Robin thought triumphantly.
Slowly, he backed away from the pair. "I'll just let you two, uh, talk. I'm going to go over…here now, okay?" Robin said, then hurriedly walked away from the unsuspecting duo.
Sumia and Chrom both wore dazed expressions as they watched Robin walk away. They looked at each other confused, then began to giggle. They clinked glasses, and both downed their drinks.
Robin watched as the two "talked". It was more like mumbling gibberish, but maybe something would slip out.
"Robin, you dastard," Sully said from behind, arms crossed.
Robin turned around, and grinned. He held up his hands in surrender.
"Hey, you and I know how far that would've gone had I not stepped up. I'm doing them both a favor here."
Sully rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure you are."
"How many drinks have you had so far, Sully?" Robin asked. He swore he saw her taking a bunch of shots earlier, but he didn't understand how she didn't seem fazed.
"Uh, let's see…I've had three beers, one bottle of Ale, two glasses of wine…and six shots," Sully said as she counted them off on her fingers.
Robin's jaw dropped, "H-how are you not…do you feel anything?!"
Sully grinned, "I was told that I was heavyweight. Anyways, I'm betting that Cap and Sumia will get together within the next week or so."
Robin looked back to the pair. They both held onto their bottles for dear life, but they were laughing.
Robin grinned, 'At least they're making some progress.'
The trip back to Ylisse was horrendous. Robin was starting to get a disastrous headache, probably a hangover from last night. Despite this, Robin was in much better shape than most of the other shepherds. Chrom and Sumia both had bags under their eyes, and they yawned like every three seconds. Stahl and Vaike slowly walked side by side, shoulders slumped. Miriel, who had had one too many glasses of wine, walked with her hat pulled mostly over her eyes, and Robin assumed that she, too, had a bad headache.
Virion was exhausted, and he had a red handprint on his left cheek. He also had a lot of wine, and went a little too far when flirting with the waitress, earning a hard slap across the cheek. Even Sully seemed a little tired, but nothing compared to everyone else.
Robin groaned, and pulled his hood over his eyes.
"What's wrong, darling? Long night?" A singsong voice chirped from behind him.
"Ughhh…hey, you can't cure a headache with that staff of yours, can you?" Robin replied.
Maribelle scoffed, "No, it can't. But even if it could, I wouldn't use it on you."
"Gee thanks, Maribelle. I'll keep that in mind." Robin replied, sarcastically.
Maribelle huffed, then stormed off, leaving Robin to his thoughts. His thoughts once again drifted to Marth.
'I didn't dream that, did I?' Robin thought, 'Maybe I had a little too much to drink last night…'
He groaned again as a searing pain shot through his head. 'This is going to be a long trip home, that's for sure…'
As soon as the shepherds made it back to the capital, nearly everyone immediately went to their rooms. Robin made his way in the direction of his room, but was intercepted by Sully.
"Not so fast, Sparkles. You still owe me a match." She said, crossing her arms.
Robin sighed, then clutched his head. He still had an awful headache, and did not feel like sparring, especially with Sully.
"Can it wait? If you can't tell, I'm suffering from a massive hangover right now, and I want nothing more than to just lie down."
Sully shook her head, and looked unconvinced, "All I hear are excuses, Sparkles. You chickening out on me?"
Robin groaned, "Hey, it wouldn't be a fair match if I can barely stand up on my own! That wouldn't really be a true victory, now would it?" Robin said, then slowly inched his way over to his room, "Besides, I don't like losing. So, I want to fight when I'm strongest."
Sully took a moment to think, then sighed, "Fine. But you WILL spar with me later. Enjoy your beauty sleep," She said, then walked away.
Robin watched her retreating figure, and sighed in relief. In the distance, he could see Stahl running towards her. The two then walked over to the training area.
Robin grinned to himself. 'Aw how sweet. Looks like Sully has an admirer,' Robin thought. He then departed to his room for much-needed "beauty" sleep.
Sumia trudged over to the stables. Luckily, there was an open stall for her mount. She led her Pegasus over to the empty stall, and patted its neck.
"That's a *yawn* good, girl." She cooed. The horse gave a happy whinny in response.
Sumia smiled, then yawned again. She decided it would be best to get some good sleep. As she walked, she thought about the night before.
Sumia was never much of a drinker. Sure, she's had a glass of wine every now and then, but never three bottles of beer in a single night. There were blank patches in her memory, but she knew for sure that she and Chrom were the last to leave the bar. Sumia smiled. She remembered the two of them stumbling over to their rooms, laughing the entire way. Nothing happened between the two that night. They went their separate ways, and that was it.
However, there was one thing that Chrom had said in his drunken state that really bothered her. Sometime in their conversation, Chrom had mentioned that he 'fancied' some girl. What bothered Sumia about this the most was that this mystery girl could be anyone: Commoner, Nobility, or even Royalty. It could even be someone in the shepherds' ranks.
Sumia frowned. There were plenty of attractive women within the shepherds: Sully, Maribelle, Miriel…and even her best friend, Cordelia. Chrom could like literally any of them, and the chances of this woman being her were, well…low.
All these thoughts made Sumua feel restless, so she decided to just take a walk. She walked with her head hung low and deep in thought, that she failed to notice the approaching Vaike.
She walked right into him, causing her to jump back from surprise…then falling on her butt.
"Oww," she groaned.
"Oh, hey Sumia. Ya know, when you wanna talk to somebody, people usually say somethin', rather than just, uh…walking into them," Vaike said, then held out a hand to Sumia.
She tentatively took his hand, then was helped to her feet, "I'm so sorry, Vaike! I didn't see you there!" She said quickly.
"Heh, don't worry about it! Ol' Teach is fine. Bahaha, I'm like a human wall! I'm more worried about your poor arse."
Sumia blushed a little, "I-I'm fine! Honest! I'm used to falling…so I'm not hurt! Nope, not at all!"
Vaike raised an eyebrow, "Ya sure 'bout that? You seem a little, uh, I don't know…out of it? Somethin' wrong?"
Sumia pursed her lips. 'Wow some actress I am…'
She sighed, "I'm just feeling a little…conflicted. It's complicated."
"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing the Vaike can't handle! What's up?" Vaike said, and grinned.
Sumia smiled. As stupid as Vaike can be sometimes, he truly was a good friend. They grew up together, and she thought of him as a brother. She knew she could tell him anything.
"…Vaike, if you were interested in uh…dating…what would you want to see in a woman?"
Vaike's eyes shot wide, and he shifted his weight on his feet, "O-oh, that's what this is about? W-well I'm flattered, but I'm not interested in-"
"This isn't about you, Vaike!" Sumia quickly said.
Vaike exhaled a long breath, and relaxed, "H-haha, y-yeah of course it's not. I totally knew that!…Hey! Don' give me that look! Anyways, I'm not sure." He shrugged, "I guess a gal who knows how to cook some good food."
An idea hit Sumia.
"Truly? A girl who knows how to cook…" Sumia spun around. All the exhaustion she had was gone.
"Thank you, Vaike!" She hollered over her shoulder, then turned and ran to Ylisse's food market.
Vaike watched as she ran off.
"Heh, guess she hasn't changed much since we were kids." He said.
Vaike grinned mischievously, "Hehe, it's only a matter of time until she and Cap get hitched…"
Robin felt great. He slept for a solid six hours with no interruptions, and he felt wonderful. As of right now, there was nothing for the shepherds to do…except to prepare for a war.
As much as Robin didn't feel like it, he knew he should be doing something productive, like training or studying. Slowly, Robin got out of his soft bed, and went to go change…only to realize he was still dressed, boots and all.
Robin started to make his way over to the library.
He was the shepherd's tactician after all, meaning that in every battle, the lives of his soldiers were in his hands. Robin silently vowed to not let a single shepherd down...
"Gotcha! I've been looking for ya, Sparkles! Now, ready to spar?"
Robin turned around to see Sully, dripping in sweat, running up to him, grinning ear to ear.
"You sure you're up for that?" Robin asked, gesturing towards her.
Sully crossed her arms, "Underestimating me will be the biggest mistake of your life."
Robin rolled his eyes, "Fine. Whatever you wish for, 'milady'." He said mockingly.
Sully glared at him, then started to walk toward the training area.
"Well then, Sparkles. What're we waiting for?"
Word got out about the match fast. By the time that Sully and Robin made it to the training arena, nearly all the shepherds were there with the exception of Maribelle, Ricken, Lon'qu and Kellam. Actually, Kellam may have been there, too…he just wasn't in view.
Robin went over to go get a training sword, whereas Sully got an iron lance.
Robin gave her a strange look, and she chuckled, "What, you thought that because I'm a woman I can't handle metal?"
"No, it's just-"
"I was joking, Sparkles. Anyways, we're using REAL weapons. So, I suggest you pick out a good sword. You're gonna need it." Sully added.
Robin shook his head in exasperation.
"Alright fine," he said, then dropped the wooden sword and went to go pick out an iron sword.
Robin saw Chrom standing off to the side. He still looked exhausted, maybe even worse than earlier. It looked like he didn't get any rest since they got back, and that worried Robin. He made a mental note to go talk with Chrom later.
Sully already made her way over to her side of the arena, while Robin stayed put.
Robin noticed that the shepherds seemed to be picking sides, and betting on who would win. Unfortunately, most of the shepherds seemed to have sided with Sully, but instead of bringing Robin down, that made him more optimistic and wanting to prove himself to the others.
"Psst, hey Robin," Vaike whispered behind him, "I'm betting ten gold on ya…so please win, will ya?"
Robin smiled, "I'll um…do my best!"
"Ready to get your arse kicked, Sparkles?" Sully hollered.
Robin studied her stance. She was tense…very tense. Not a good sign for her, but great news for Robin. He has already won.
Robin smirked, "Alright listen. Once I win, you have to agree to quit calling me by that name."
Sully arched an eyebrow, "Oh? Cocky are we? Well, we'll see how far that gets ya!"
Sully made the first move and ran at Robin. Even though Robin had the disadvantage, he easily parried her attack and sidestepped to the left. Unfortunately for Sully, she was focusing more on brute strength rather than fighting smart. Rather than trying to anticipate Robin's next move, she focused all her energy on the current attack, causing her to be more vulnerable. Sully took a couple seconds to recover after her jab to his ribs, but Robin acted fast.
Robin slashed his sword at her abdomen, barely missing flesh. Sully let up one last desperate attempt to block his attack, but it didn't matter. She had already lost.
Sully's jaw dropped as she stared at Robin's sword pointed directly at her throat.
"Impossible," She muttered.
Robin lowered his sword, and held out a hand.
"You fought well," he said.
Sully shook her head, "H-how did you—I didn't even get a direct hit on you! How did you beat me so fast?!"
Robin dropped his hand and frowned.
"You let your emotions fight for you, not your head. You focused on brute strength, rather than being smart about how you attack," He said plainly.
Behind them, Robin could hear a cheering Vaike and a grumbling Stahl.
"Ha ha! Yeah, I knew you had it in ya, Tactician-Boss Man!" Vaike cheered.
Robin frowned, 'More nicknames?'
Sully heaved a heavy sigh of defeat, "Fine, you win Spar—er I mean, Robin," she looked him dead in the eye, "But I will beat you next time. You just wait!"
Robin smiled, "I look forward to it."
Sully rolled her eyes, then turned to walk away. Robin snuck a glance at the rest of the shepherds, and saw that they were all just as amazed as Sully was. Even Frederick had a look of respect plastered on his face.
Chrom walked up to Robin grinning while Robin put back his sword.
He clapped Robin on the back, "Well done, my friend!…Not like expected anything less from our tactician," Chrom added wistfully.
Sumia ran up to Robin, practically running into him as she did so. Robin noticed that unlike Chrom, she had a lot of energy.
"Oh my gosh, Robin! That was incredible! I don't think I've seen anyone beat Sully in a fight so quickly! It takes Frederick at least a few minutes to best her…and Chrom at least ten!" Sumia said excitedly, practically jumping up and down after each word.
'Odd, I don't think I've seen Sumia so bubbly. Maybe this has something to do with the alcohol?' Robin thought.
Chrom rolled his eyes at Sumia's last remark, and Sumia just giggled. Robin sighed. This is usually when he starts to feel like a third wheel, so he decided to bail.
"Anyways, I have some reading I should catch up on. I'll leave you two alone, okay," Robin said as he slowly backed away. He didn't think they heard him because they were too busy ogling at each other.
Robin grinned, then turned back to the direction of the shepherd's library.
Lucina smiled as she watched Robin and Sully duel from afar. She was currently sitting atop one of the halidom's larger buildings, which overlooked the entire training area. When she was little, her and her best friends, Griffin and Severa, would sneak up here to watch the soldiers train. Now, this was where she would take refuge as she waited for "the day" to come. Lucina knew the halidom like the back of her hand, so it was easy for her to sneak in without much trouble.
Lucina looked back to the dueling pair, and wasn't surprised to see Robin come out victorious, especially against Sully. Lucina smiled again as she saw the shepherds cheering and laughing together at Sully's reaction. It was nice to see the shepherds again…the ORIGINAL ones. Not just the group that Lucina and her friends called themselves.
Lucina thought back to all her friends, and felt an aching pit in her stomach. Not knowing where they were, or even if they were okay, really worried Lucina. They were her family, and everything she had left. Losing them would be like losing a piece of herself…
*10 years ago in Lucina's time*
"Alright Junior Shepherds! Line up!"
Nine year old Lucina walked up and down a line of kids, each of them trying to put on tough expressions…with not much success.
Lucina herself walked with a long stick in hand. She had named it Falchion, just like her father's sword.
All the kids stood in a line, back's straight, pretending to be like their parents.
"Alright troops! You know your mission. Today, we rescue that cat," she pointed her stick to a nearby tree, "from that tree!"
She walked to the middle of the line and looked at everyone, "Any questions?"
She got a series of ununited nopes and no's. Lucina nodded, and turned to the tree.
"Alright then. Junior shepherds," she raised her stick to the tree, "Move out!"
All the kids ran to the tree, and looked up to the cat. It meowed as it stared down at them.
A shy girl with blond hair, clutched a necklace close to her chest as she stared up at the cat, "Aw, p-poor baby. D-don't worry! W-we'll get you d-down soon!" She hollered up at the scared cat.
Cynthia's eyes practically sparkled as she stared up at the cat, "Awwwww it's sooooooo cute! Lucy, once we rescue it, can we keep it? Pleeeeeease?" She begged to her elder sister.
Lucina grinned, "That's up to mommy and daddy, but I'm sure they'll let us!"
"So um, how exactly do we get it down, Lucina?" A boy with floppy rabbit ears asked.
Lucina frowned and tapped her chin, "Um, I'm not sure Yarne…but that's what Laurent is for! You know some sort of math equation thing to help us solve this problem, right Laurent?"
A boy with a huge hat and glasses pursed his lips, "Well, technically speaking. There is no mathematical equation to rescue a feline from a tree, at least to my knowledge. However, if we were to find something that could decrease the distance of us to the feline, we could potentially rescue this cat without any flaws."
Severa rolled her eyes, and turned to Lucina, "Translate please?"
"So…your saying that if we were to make something like a ladder…we could save the kitty?" Lucina asked.
Laurent nodded, and Lucina beamed.
A short girl with green hair and pointy ears huffed, "Why don't I just turn into a dragon and fly up there. I have wings for a reason, ya know!"
Griffin shook his head, "Yeah, I don't know about that. You might scare the poor cat…or cause other problems."
"Hey! I've almost done six whole months of training! I think I can turn into a simple dragon!"
"Yeah? Last time you nearly caught the castle on fire during your training, Nah!"
"That was two and a half months ago, Griffin! I'm way more controlled now!
"Guys, quit yappin' will ya? Jus' let the boss figure this out!" A boy with short brown hair yelled over the two.
Lucina smiled gratefully to her friend, "Thanks B. I think we should do Laurent's idea. I mean, how hard can building a ladder be?"
"I-I *huff* didn't think this would be so *huff* difficult," Inigo said, as he handed another stack of wood to Lucina.
"Oh, don't be such a wuss, Inigo. This ain't too bad," A girl with short black hair said.
Inigo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, says you, Kjelle. You train with your mom like ten hours a day! You know how many hours I train with my mom? Two. Two hours a day."
"Well pal, that's on you," Kjelle said while rolling her eyes.
Lucina finished tying another rung. She was starting to get tired, and the heat of the sun was not helping either. She wiped beads of sweat from her forehead, and looked up to the sky. She had learned in school how to tell time just by looking at the sun's position in the sky. She figured it has been about three hours since they started their 'mission'.
Lucina looked back to the ladder, which appeared to be nearly finished…which was close enough.
"Alright Junior Shepherds, it's time to rescue that kitty," Lucina said, and stood up.
"You sure Luce? You're sure it'll hold?" Gerome asked as he carefully studied the ladder.
"Positive," Lucina replied. "Everyone, give me a hand, please."
The group began to carefully stand the ladder up, which made a creaking noise as they did so.
Severa's eyes widened, "Uh, should it be doing that?"
Lucina quickly nodded, "Y-yeah sure! You know what they say, 'a creaky ladder is…the best ladder'."
The group positioned the ladder against the tree, and the cat hissed at the group.
Lucina sighed. "Okay, here's what's going to happen: you all hold the ladder steady while I climb up to get the kitty."
There were protests, but Lucina held up a hand. She grinned. She felt just like a true hero, like the ones daddy would tell her about. She thought about something a hero would say…
"I have to do this. Thank you…for all your support. Truly, thank you," Lucina said as dramatically as possible. There were fit giggles throughout the group.
"Hehehe, geez Lucy. You're starting to sound like uncle Robin," Cynthia said as she broke down into another fit of giggles.
Lucina grinned, "Hehe yeah, I guess I do. Anyways, just keep the ladder still."
Lucina slowly began to walk up the ladder, each rung creaking under her weight…but it held.
As she drew closer to the cat, it began to hiss. Lucina thought of her mother, and how good she was with animals. She thought about how her mother would handle this.
"Shhhh…it's alright, uh, easy now," Lucina cooed as she got closer.
She was now in arms reach, and the cat began to quiet. Lucina slowly stroked the cat's fur, and watched as it purred in content. Slowly, Lucina reached to pick the cat up, and it let her. Unfortunately, the cat was bigger than she expected, and Lucina couldn't hold the cat and climb down at the same time.
'Cats always land on their feet, right?' Lucina thought.
"Hey Owain! You're good at catching things. Can you catch the kitty?" Lucina hollered down.
"You're not seriously going to drop the cat from that high, Lucina?" Severa asked as she crossed her arms.
Owain grinned, "Why cousin. I am truly honored that you would give me such a valuable job! Yes, I can catch that cat! In fact, I don't think there's—"
"Great! Catch!" Lucin yelled, and dropped the cat.
Unfortunately, Owain was too busy blabbering to notice the cat falling right above him until it landed heavily on his head.
"Arg! Ow, geez what has this cat been eating. It probably weighs more than the continent of Elibe!"
Lucina hopped down from the ladder and ran over to her cousin, "Owain! Are you okay? You were supposed to catch the cat! Not let it fall on your head!"
The cat jumped off Owain, looked at Lucina, and hissed. Then, it ran off.
Inigo walked up next to Lucina, "Well, I guess ol' tree climber has only eight lives left. A shame," He said sadly, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Lucina shook her head and shrugged his hand off, "Well, I'll say that today was a success! Great job everyone!" She said grinning.
Everybody cheered in response, then everyone left to go tell their parents about the day's events.
*Present day*
Lucina sighed. She missed her friends. More than anything, and she would do just about anything to get them back.
But right now, she has a mission, and she can't let anything get in her head and prevent her from completing it.