SLAM!

Rinkah panted heavily as she leaned against the inventory room's door before locking it. "Cripes," she breathlessly muttered. "What in the world is wrong with these people? Do they really not see any value in a little bit of peace and quiet?"

"Um..."

"GAH!" Rinkah cried, quickly leaning her back and spreading her arms against the door before looking to see who had startled her.

"Should I... leave?" Ananias meekly, but monotonously, asked.

Rinkah couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you."

"Yeah, um," he took a moment to glance and take note of Rinkah's troubled state, "should I be worried, or..."

Rinkah shook her head as she took a moment to coolly shake off some of her jitters. "No, I just... needed to take a break from everyone, that's all."

"Ah," Ananias said, nodding understandingly. "I see."

Rinkah skeptically raised an eyebrow at this. "Do you? Do you really?"

Ananias lightly shrugged. "Well, yeah, kind of. I mean, everyone around here is nice and all, but their personalities can be a bit... much sometimes. It can make someone appreciate what little time that they actually have to themselves."

Rinkah smiled. "Ah, so you do get it. That's good. For a moment, I really thought that I was alone in all of this. I mean, everyone else around here just seems so hellbent on socializing with one another. As a proud member of the Flame Tribe, I'll have to admit, everyone's constant advances... they really started to get the better of me."

"Oh, right, the Flame Tribe," Ananias mused. "That's the one that values solitude, right?"

"That's the one." Rinkah than gave him a solemn frown. "Which is why I would really appreciate it if you'd leave me alone and not tell anyone that I was here. Can you do that?"

Ananias shrugged apprehensively. "Well, I could, but... -"

Rinkah let out a disappointed sigh. "But?"

Ananias raised the piece of parchment and the quill pen that he was holding for Rinkah to see. "I'm keeping track of inventory today. But if you'd like, I could keep quiet and keep my distance while you... do whatever it is that you plan on doing."

"Train," Rinkah said. "I'm here to train."

Ananias' eyes widened in surprise before examining the very room that they were in. "Well, yeah, I guess you could train here. As long as you don't accidentally break or knock anything over, then yeah, we should be good."

"Good." Rinkah then waved him off. "Now shoo."

"So, um, hey," Ananias meekly said. "Are you finished here yet? Because I'm kind of done and I can't exactly leave you in here."

Rinkah places her hands onto her hips and let out a satisfied sigh before turning to him, wiping the sweat off her brow with her arm, and answering, "Yeah, I'm done." She gave him a small smile. "You know, I'm actually surprised. You actually kept your end of the deal."

"Well, yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I?"

Rinkah nonchalantly shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I've just gotten so used to people pestering me all the time that I slowly just started to expect it." She curiously frowned. "But you didn't. Why is that?"

"Well, besides the fact that I'm not very good with small talk, I was raised to respect other people's cultures. After all, if you respect them, then they'll respect you. And if they respect you, then that just means that they're that much more willing to do business with you."

"Oh, that's right, you were raised by merchants. Humph, I suppose if I were to respect any particular quality that they had, it would be that... even if it is all just in the pursuit of money. Hmm. But you left that life, didn't you?"

Ananias nodded. "Yeah. Nowadays, I'm a messenger."

"Really?" Rinkah inquisitively folded her arms. "What brought that about?"

Ananias simply shrugged and answered, "A bunch of stuff, really, but I guess you can say that one of the reasons was because I was never really comfortable with socializing with people. I mean, a little bit of conversation I'm fine with, but when you stick to one place, you're sort of expected to... keep up with everyone, you know?"

Rinkah smirked and nodded. "I hear that. It's so ridiculous, right? How everyone just expects you to play a part that you didn't even agree on playing?"

"I know, right? Like, if I don't go along with it, then they're just going to think that I'm an antisocial jerk, but if I do go along with it, then they're just going to think that I like doing it, when really, I don't."

Rinkah shook her head. "You just can't win with these people." She then grimaced and added, "And you know what really burns me up? The fact that we would never do the same thing to them! We just so happen to leave them alone and they just so happen to go along and keep asking more and more out of us!"

Ananias nodded and sighed. "I know, right? How convenient for them."

Rinkah chuckled. "Well, well. And here I thought that I was all alone around here, but I was wrong. There just so happens to be another kindred spirit around here after all. One who actually values solitude above all else."

"Well," Ananias awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, socializing IS a bit of a chore, isn't it?"

"Oh, it so is!" Rinkah said. "Honestly, the useless stuff that people bring up in conversation, I can never decide whether I want to fall asleep or give them a piece of their mind!"

"Better the former than the latter. It wouldn't be practical for us to burn bridges with everyone around here."

"I know that!" Rinkah hotly insisted. "It's just, grr! I just don't have the patience for all of it, alright?"

Ananias sighed. "I do," he dejectedly said. "And trust me, it can be a real time waster."

"Ha! See? All this frivolous socializing? It's all just a waste of time! I mean, just look at how much we accomplished today without it! I got in a lot of training and you got your chore done in record time!"

"True," Ananias said. "But it's more what we do after that other people seem to be concerned about."

Rinkah stubbornly frowned. "So? The more training the better, right?"

"Yeah," Ananias admitted. "Same goes for the work around here. If it's all out of the way, then we can focus our attention on other important things."

"Exactly!" Rinkah let out a huge sigh of relief. "Finally! Someone who gets it!"

Ananias couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Yeah, I guess I do." He then took a moment to consider something before suggesting, "So, hey, I know that it may sound a little... contradictory, but how about if I'm ever assigned to something by myself, I let you know? Then the two of us can be alone and get things done together."

Rinkah chuckled. "Yeah, that does sound a bit ironic, doesn't it? Being together in order to get some alone time. But sure, why not? Gods know that I can't get any real alone time around here, so might as well go with the next best thing, right?" She then held out her hand for Ananias to shake. "Alright. You've got yourself a deal. But I'm warning you! You'd better keep your end of the bargain! It isn't wise to make a deal with someone from the Flame Tribe and then never come through on your end! Trust me, it's never pretty when that happens!"

Ananias smiled and shook her hand to finalize the deal. "Sounds like a deal."

Author's Note #1: The next supports will be Arthur, followed by Silas, Leo, Keaton, and Subaki.

Author's Note #2: The Fire Emblem Warriors poll is up on my profile! Vote for which five characters you want for Ananias to support with from that game the most and, in the end, ten characters will be selected for Ananias to support with, so make your voices heard. Happy voting!

Author's Note #3: As Ananias has no real connection to the Three Houses cast and has no real reason to be there anyway, there will be no Three Houses supports for him. I know that an Anna is in Three Houses, but if we went by that logic, Ananias would have to support with every Fire Emblem character that has ever existed, which would be unrealistic to do, at least for one person. If any of you want to do that yourselves, however, then you have my blessing, it's just that I won't be the one doing it. Sorry.