Chapter 35
Ikyna's lips were tightly closed as she pushed her chin out and thought. She sat on her bed with a transfixed gaze on the checkered board below her and tried to find a way to save her little black stones. They were woefully outnumbered by the white ones.
The archer had found herself actively engaging in this game the princess had taught her. Though Ikyna didn't like to give much credit to the nobles for anything, she had to admit their game of checkers was rather entertaining. That fact was especially true since she'd had been confined to bed rest for a little over a month.
Less than seven days after departure from Begnion Ikyna was mad with boredom that gnawed at her from her toes to her ears. But Ike had been annoyingly insistent and Rhys only agreed with her overly protective brother. Of course Mist was no help either. She nearly started crying every time she saw her sisters splinted and bandaged arm. The brunette's barely withheld tears only convinced Ike more that he should keep Ikyna under strict watch.
Thus she became restless in her tent, wherever they set up camp at the time, and it was only until Elincia taught her the new game that she felt some relief. The challenge of defeating her opponents white stones and keeping hers from being captured was a well needed distraction.
Yakuzo stretched behind her, his front paws extended as his claws sprang out, and he let out a long yawn that showed his teeth before quickly curling back into a ball at Ikyna's back. He'd been playing the game with her, but Ikyna had beaten him too many times for him to have the patience anymore. After she had triple jumped him for the second time in one game he had seethed through his teeth, half shifted, and declared he didn't want to play the silly Beorc game anymore. At that point he crawled on her bed and ended in the position he was then at and went to sleep.
Now Ikyna was engaged with a much more challenging opponent. But perhaps challenging wasn't giving Soren enough credit. He was quickly and effortlessly destroying Ikyna every game. The raven-haired boy didn't need to be taught, he'd apparently learned it from studying a long time ago.
He'd won twelve games in a row, and if Ikyna had been any less stubborn then she probably would have been sleeping right next to Yakuzo and pouting as well. But she was determined to win against her scholarly friend at least once.
She made a happy sound as she slid one of her five remaining stones into a corner where it would be safe from Soren's predatory ones. She sat up with a grin on her face and then felt it fall as Soren took his stone and double jumped her already scarce game pieces.
Ikyna groaned pitifully as her defense dwindled down further. Soren impassively removed two more of Ikyna's pieces and put them into his tauntingly large pile. "Can't you go easy on me? I'm injured you know." The archer said as she bent down and went back to trying to wiggle her way out of the winless situation.
Soren's response was matter-of-fact, "Your arm is hurt not your mind. You can play without any handicap."
"You are merciless." Ikyna said, partially amused but mostly annoyed at his one sided victory.
"How will you learn to improve if I throw a game for you?"
Ikyna lifted her head and looked at Soren's blank expression, "I don't know whether to be impressed by that scholastic attitude or really irked by it."
"I'm sure you'll find a way to do both." Soren commented with the slightest ironic tone in his voice.
Ikyna had not missed it and she smirked, "Well I am good at multitasking." She replied with two impish pumps of her eyebrows. She then returned to her game and tried to salvage her two remaining checkers pieces. Her legs were crossed as she sat and her good hand was raised and resting under her chin.
"Hey Ikyna?"
"Hmm." She responded to her mage friend without taking her eyes off of the board.
"What do you think about Aeyori?"
Ikyna placed her hand on one of her pieces and started to slide it forward but shook her head quickly in disagreement with that idea as she changed her mind. "She's nice. I like her." She said distractedly.
"Don't you think she's rather close to your brother?"
The archer shrugged her shoulders, "I suppose so." Her voice trailed off as she agonized over her next move.
"Doesn't that worry you?"
Ikyna sensed the subtle hint Soren was implying and she lifted her head barely to make eye contact. His mouth was a flat line that gave no emotion away but Ikyna knew what the mage was trying to get at without having to read his face. She was fully aware that he was not fond of the light mage.
"No it doesn't worry me."
"Why?"
Ikyna sighed and looked back at the board before she responded, "Because I trust Ike's judgment completely. Anyway they both seem to like each other so why should I be concerned?" then she briefly gave Soren a meaningful stare, "Or why should any of us be concerned for that matter?"
"Because," he began slowly, "we don't know anything about that girl, or very little."
Ikyna was still very focused on the board. She was leaning almost all the way over eyeing the pieces while moving her lips from side-to-side in thought. Her finger wandered to her second piece, "If you really want to know about her you should ask." She stated simply.
Soren rolled his red eyes, "I have no desire to talk to her."
"Then don't complain about not knowing her." Was her matter-of-fact reply as she decided on her moved and slammed the piece down with a triumphant, "Ha!"
She sat back and crossed her arms happily as she looked at her well thought out move. Soren looked blankly at the black and white board as he tilted his head to the side and let his ebony hair slip from his shoulders and hang in front of his face. With no more than a few seconds of thought he moved one of his pieces and doubled jumped Ikyna's remaining survivors.
The stones clanked as Soren picked them up and added them to his pile and then he sat back with no expression on his face. Not a hint of triumph or smugness, he was just sitting back knowing the absolute fact that he had beaten her again.
Ikyna's jaw dropped and she frantically searched the board and tried to process the game winning move her friend had just made. She stuttered in surprise then glared bitterly, "I swear you must be cheating."
Soren shrugged as Ikyna looked completely dumbfounded, "I mean, no one can be that good." She complained aloud as Soren's final move replayed in her mind.
"I'm not cheating. I'm just better than you." He responded.
Ikyna shot him an icy glare, "You really are a prick sometimes."
"Now play nice Ikyna." Ike said as he entered his sister's tent behind Soren and interrupted the small fight.
The mage and archer shivered as their commander walked in and brought a gust of cold wind in as his companion . The forests of Serenes had been hot and muggy, but that was no longer the case. The end of fall had come and gone and the tittering calls of winter were abounding.
Though it was not snowing in the base camp, the mountains that bordered Begnion and Daein were capped with white beanies of frozen rains. They were both a beauty and a reminder that much tougher battles lay ahead of the mercenaries and the newly acquired Begnion army.
"I am playing nice." Ikyna said and flicked her head in Soren's direction with a disapproving frown, "Soren's the merciless one here." She complained as she began to set the board up for another game.
Ike laughed softly, he was fully aware that Soren took no prisoners when playing games. It wasn't in his personality to do so. Ike had suffered many devastating defeats at the hands of his pale faced friend. "Sorry, I can't help you with that; but I can give you a break if you don't mind me stealing him away for a short while."
Ikyna had all the pieces back on the board when she offered her brother an inquiring look, "Where are you taking him?"
Her brother let out a long exasperated sigh, "I have another meeting with the captains of the Begnion troops." There was no endeavor on his part to hide his irritation.
"Another one?" Soren questioned in surprise similar to the look on Ikyna's face.
Ike nodded with a bitter smile, "Yes another one. I don't even know what for, but I just keep going to them because they need the general of the army." He pumped his shoulders signaling he couldn't make sense of the situation, "If I'd known being a lord was going to be this much trouble I'd have refused."
His sister's lips lifted in a smirk, "I thought you did refuse. That didn't do you much good."
"I would have refused harder." He said as his lips pressed into a flat line.
By this time Soren was standing and hitting out the wrinkles in his robe as he smoothed the creases, "But you couldn't refuse a direct request from princess Elincia." The mage finished the Ike's thought with a disinterested look as he straightened his posture.
Ike let out a rough sigh but did not deny Soren's words. He had found that he was easily swayed when the princess requested anything of him. Not that he had lost any of his own values; but the princess had lost so much and he both pitied her for her loss and admired her strength that allowed her to endure it. She wasn't so different from Ike and his siblings. The war had taken away the ones that they loved; the difference was that Greil's children at least had each other. Elincia had no other family to call her own and Ike felt responsible to get her back to Crimea where she belonged.
"Hey, hey, be careful." Ikyna said with a smirk, "If you're too nice to the princess Aeyori will get jealous." She teased.
Soren flinched at Ikyna's words and Ike merely offered a barely visible pleased smile. The female twin hadn't missed it and she leaned forward on her bed and rested her chin on her good arm. "Do tell me what that satisfied grin is for." She prodded eagerly. For weeks she'd seen her brother and Aeyori playing a coy game with each other but she'd had yet to see them make any commitment.
"No particular reason." He dodged, "Anyway, Aeyori doesn't need to get jealous."
"Because she's confident with her relationship with you?" she pressed playfully.
Ike crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes but refused to entertain his sister's form of questioning. He could indulge her another time.
"Captain." Soren interrupted the twins banter with an even tone, "I have some ideas for what we should go over during the meeting."
The commander couldn't hide his irritation with the thought of another long meeting where he'd rather split his head open than listen to chatter of the Begnion army captains. The last thing he wanted was for Soren to add another topic to their list. "Well what's that?" he said as he waved his hand in an exhausted gesture as if he'd already been through the meeting.
"I think you should go over the strategies for the next fight. I've been thinking of a few that can compensate for the terrain disadvantage. We need to be able to deal with the hindrance of the snow."
Soren continued speaking, it was more a series of mumbled strategies, but Ike was looking at his sister. Her formally teasing smirk was gone as she stiffly moved checkers pieces on the board. They scraped against the stone square but couldn't distract Ike from his sister's abrupt silence.
He watched her lids fall over her eyes and her chest rise and fall heavily. She was holding in her frustrations, Ike could tell. He glanced at his sister's bandaged arm. There was no way to tell from a glance, but he'd seen the enlarged veins that ran down his sister's arm and the purple discoloration from the poison that had traveled through her arm. Ikyna's cast have come off a month ago to check its healing process. When the splint had come off Rhys had cringed at the sickly yellow pigmentation of Ikyna's not fully healed arm. He'd pressed her wrist and felt up her forearm and warned her that she'd feel pressure or even slight pain. But it hadn't made her wince or flinch; Ikyna had only stared at Rhys with panic and fear as she realized the truth. There was no feeling from her elbow to her fingers and she'd lost their movement as well.
Ike could remember the absolute helplessness that he felt as he watched his sister nearly crumble in defeat. If she couldn't move her hand then she couldn't shoot her bow or use her knives, and if she couldn't use her weapons, then she couldn't fight. After months of travel and seemingly unwinnable battles, when the mercenaries had finally started making headway with their mission for princess Elincia, Ikyna was out of the fight.
Since then no one could even mention the rest of the mission in front of Ikyna without her instantly clamming up like a shellfish. There was nothing more discouraging to the maimed archer than knowing that the mercenaries were going into their biggest battles and she wouldn't be there to help.
Soren was still speaking when Ike cut him off by clearing his throat softly. "Soren, can you give us a moment?"
The mage paused and tilted his head in confusion, "Did you have another idea for the meeting?"
"I think that all your ideas are fantastic."
"You weren't even listening." Soren stated without hesitation. He knew his commander well. Ike had been an important person to the often melancholy mage since he was a child. Though he wished that the blue-haired lad paid more attention to the meetings he could take his cue that Ike had other things on his mind.
Ike shrugged, "Then tell Titania and she can explain it to me later."
The mage cut his eyes at the army general; he doubted Ike would be eager to listen a second time when he hadn't bother to pay attention to the first explanation. He dropped his arms to his side and met Ike's expression that was silently dismissing him.
Soren made no further protest as Ike's insistent stare ushered him out of the room. He departed quietly and Ike could focus again on his sister. She was then flipping the checkers piece with her thumb. She didn't look at her brother whose glance she could feel boring through her head.
"You don't have to worry about me."
Ike wanted to stop her from going into another one of her well-rehearsed responses where she pretended that her unusable arm wasn't bothering her. He'd heard his sister say the same things so often in that steady monotone voice of hers. Sometimes she could fake it, but most days, including that day, she couldn't muster the enthusiasm.
The young general started to speak but Ikyna was swift to cut him off before he could say anything. She might not have had the energy to fake a good mood but she could force herself to stop her brother from going into another speech where he tried to make her see the best out of the situation.
Both knew that Ike meant well, just like they knew that it didn't help. "Look," she began, her tone already ringing in utter defeat, "I'm already no use to you out in the field anymore, don't miss your meeting for me."
Her brother sighed as he shook his head. If his sister didn't want to talk he couldn't force her. Instead of wearing them both out by insisting, Ike settled for bending over and kissing his sister on her forehead, "Fine, but you'll have to teach me how to play when I'm done."
"Sure, teaching you can't be any worse than losing repeatedly to Soren."
"He has been exceptionally moody lately." Ike agreed.
"Aeyori." Ikyna flatly replied.
Ike nodded, knowing that Aeyori was high on the list among a myriad of other things that were souring the mages' disposition. "Yeah, I'll take care of it eventually."
"Why'd you wait so long?" his sister asked with an arched brow.
Ike turned and started heading for the tents entrance. His sister called to him for an answer. He looked over his shoulder with a straight face, "Because it wasn't really any of his business."
Ikyna smirked and then leaned forward on her bed, "But it's my business isn't it?"
Her brother offered her no more than a shallow secretive grin, "Get some rest Ikyna. I won't be long."
Then he left the tent and ended the conversation without adding much more than another heaping helping of curiosity to his sister. She shook her head and sighed as she sat back down on crossed legs. Yakuzo was still quietly resting behind her, he hadn't been very talkative in the past month. She thought of waking him and asking him to play with her but if she was honest with herself, she wasn't really in the mood. With a heavy breath sadly leaving her lips she looked at the tent ceiling and thought of how things had changed; and as she looked at her stiff arm she knew there could be no turning back.
)(
A flake fell on Ike's nose as he daydreamed with his eyes cast toward the sky. He knew he had a battle just in front of him about to start but all he could focus on was his conversation with Tanith earlier that morning.
He shouldn't have expected any different, but he had wanted to hear something encouraging about the mad king, Ashnard. The commander knew so little about his enemy and now with just the little he had learned the weight of the monumental task ahead of him was growing.
Ahead of him in his journey was the Daein's army and the mad king who Tanith said could battle an entire fleet of Pegasus Knights on just his own strength. Ike was acutely aware of the formidable opponent he would be facing in the end. It was an unavoidable battle, just as much as his match with the Black Knight was.
From the corner of Ike's eye he could see Titania standing. He turned to her as she studied him with her discerning eyes and hair that was peppered with the falling snow. She'd been standing there a while, waiting patiently to talk with him during his silence, "Commander." She began in a steady voice, "At the meeting last week you didn't have much to say."
Ike merely looked at her but didn't respond. It wasn't like he could deny what the scarlet paladin was saying, he had kept most of his comments to himself while Soren and Titania had taken the lead in the strategies for the battles.
"Why was that?" She prodded further."
The commander sighed, "I know what I'm good at doing. When I have my sword I know what to do, but making strategies isn't one of my strong suits."
Titania gave him another speculative glance before she continued, "I don't believe that fighting is the only thing you're good at, you're the general of this army Ike. It's your right and responsibility to voice your thoughts and opinions during meetings like that." She watched the son of her lost commander turn away as he digested her words.
"You have to show your men that they made the right decision to follow you."
"Right decision?"
Titania gave a short nod and brushed a snowflake from her nose, "When Greil died and Shinon and Gatrie left, the rest of us could have gone with them, but we stayed. And although I'm sure you think it's merely because of some obligation to your father; we simply trusted Greil's decision and also what we saw in you."
The Paladin gave him a warm squeeze to his shoulder and softened her normally serious face for a brief smile, "So trust yourself more, just like we all do."
Ike let her words sink in as he stood in the cold snow. Sometimes when he thought of his responsibilities it was overwhelming. All of the mercenaries and an army were working under him and depending on him. Yet at the same time it was heartwarming. Those friends he had depended on for so long, Boyd, Titania, Rhys and many others, weren't looking down on his youth or experience. They trusted him with his father's company and their very lives.
"Then I'll do my best to not let you down, Titania."
Titania seemed satisfied with his response and dropped her arm with a firm and content nod, "I'm positive you will."
"General Ike!" Someone called as Ike spun around to meet a lightly jogging Begnion soldier. Ike couldn't see much of the man's features under his red armor and helmet. The soldier stopped abruptly in front of Ike and gave him a quick salute by tapping his spear against the frozen ground. He held his head stiffly up and never made eye contact with Ike.
"Did you need something?" Ike asked.
"Pardon my interruption General Ike."
Ike shrugged, "It's fine. Can I help you…" He lingered at the end of his sentence as he tried to grasp for the soldier's name. It was impossible, there were too many new faces to keep track of now that the Begnion army was under his command. "What's your name?" He finally asked after a short beat.
"I'm just a low ranking foot soldier my Lord. There's no need for you to worry about knowing my name. I just need your orders."
Ike made a small irritated groan. He didn't like being called lord. That may have been the title that was forced upon him but he didn't want to be lumped in with that royal lot. He was just an ordinary mercenary who got roped into the job, not a high class overly privileged lord.
But he didn't push the soldier. Begnion was staunchly set on its traditions. He'd probably have a harder time getting the name out of the young man than just sucking it up and having the army call him lord.
"So my lord, what are your orders for us? I was sent by commander Tanith to get your orders for the men sir."
Ike rubbed the tip of his nose and grumbled under his breath. It wasn't like he had a real plan for all of them. The Begnion army had been fighting on its own long before he had come into the picture. It wasn't like they needed his help or like he wanted to micromanage an already functioning army.
"Tanith can give you your orders." Ike said finally after managing to soften his scowl.
"Sir?"
"Well she's the person you took orders from before so I don't see why she can't be in charge of you now."
The soldier looked perplexed by the general's orders. No doubt he was used to the Begnion generals taking full command and never relinquishing their authority to anyone else. That wasn't the way Ike wanted to run the army. He had gotten as far as he had because of the support and insight of his friends. Just because he was technically a lord didn't mean that he would stop. It would be easier on him and the army if he could delegate.
There was a small protest the soldier wanted to make; Ike could see it in the way the man's lips were twisting as he stood. It was as if he was trying to hold the words back with his mouth. Ike looked at the soldier with a raised eyebrow and the Begnion skillfully avoided eye contact before complying. "Yes my lord, I will inform commander Tanith." He gave a jerky bow of his head and scuttled back to his commander.
"You handled that well." Titania observed.
Ike didn't say, but he could sense the undercurrent of something sarcastic. He doubted that Titania didn't notice his irritation.
"Now, where are Marcia and Mia?" She said and could not hide impatience. "We sent them out for recon almost an hour ago. They should have returned by now." Her stern face and sharp eyes looked through the falling ice.
"I'm sure they're fine. Maybe they were delayed by the weather." Ike said as he held his palm up to the descending snow and watched it melt in his palm.
"Perhaps. Though I suspect they just aren't taking their job seriously. Mia is an excellent swordsman, but it wouldn't hurt for her to goof around less."
Ike laughed and gave no more than a pump of his shoulders and a small grin. Mia was a very playful young woman. She was the type of person who smiled in the middle of duel like she was playing a game and not fighting for her life. And it didn't matter that Mia wasn't as straight laced as Soren and Titania were. He liked the little bit of life she brought to their mercenary group. It reminded him of the spark that his sister brought.
"I'm going to go check with the rest of the group and see if they've caught sight of them." Titania said and excused herself.
The girls would be in for a long lecture whenever they arrived. Ike just hoped he wouldn't be there when Titania delivered it. But he couldn't help smiling at the thought of Titania scolding the girls as he turned to find Aeyori.
She wouldn't be far from him. Aeyori had only stepped away to give him and Titania some privacy.
As he suspected she was just a few feet away standing alone in a mix of the white powder. Ike could barely make out her pale face amongst the snow or her hair that blended into the stormy background. Her cloths were barely outlined as they blew with little resistance in the wind. But Ike was easily able to see her looking at him through the haze with her round scarlet eyes.
He reached her and stood while looking down at her pink nose and ears that the cold had nestled on and bit. Aeyori had her arms folded tightly over her chest as she shook and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Are you cold?" he asked though the answer was obvious.
She nodded stiffly as her teeth chattered loudly. "I know I should be moving more to stay warm, but I'm too cold to move." She complained softly.
Ike breached the already small space between them and wrapped his cape around the shivering mage's shoulders. He tied it tightly in front of her chest and gave her arms a quick rub to make friction. "You'll warm up once the battle starts."
Aeyori nodded as she brought her hands up to mouth and blew on her chilled and aching fingers. Ike smiled sympathetically and brought his hands to her ears as he pulled her into his chest. He cupped the frostbitten ears.
"That does feel better." She admitted while still blowing on her fingers. But I can't hear anything now."
"It seems we'll have to get you some winter cloths."
"What?" Aeyori said with a smile.
Ike smirked and realized his mistake. "Sorry." He said and lifted his hands, "I said…" he stopped as he watched the snow land on her ears again and she shivered at their icy touch. "Sorry again." And he placed his hands back on her face and found himself back in the same situation.
Aeyori watched her commander debate whether to talk to her or warm her face. His lower lip started to protrude as he contemplated the dilemma. Aeyori could not resist the urge to giggle freely as she reached for Ike's arms and pulled them to her chest and cupped them in her trembling cold hands.
"It's fine Ike. What were you going to say?"
His chest tightened as he looked down at her face that was red from the cold and even her mouth that was chapped. He knew she was freezing under the weak barrier of her thin clothing but for some reason his hands felt warm against her chest. Ike couldn't contain the grin that spread from his lips as dipped his face down to meet her forehead with his own. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"General Ike! General Ike!"
A familiar voice called the general as it approached. Ike rubbed his forehead into Aeyori's as he closed his eyes and let out a low groan. "If it's not Soren it's something else." He grumbled.
"Excuse me General Ike."
Aeyori laughed good-naturedly and let go of Ike's hands. She put her hand on his back and gave him a gentle nudge in the direction of the voice addressing him. "Duty calls."
Ike complied with little more resistance than a playful tug on her ear. "Oh, it's you again." Ike said as he realized the soldier talking to him was the same soldier from earlier.
"Yes my lord." He saluted again with the same tapping of his spear against the ground.
Ike rubbed the back of his head. He wondered what the same person could want from him again, and so soon after they had just spoken. "What can I do for you…again?"
"My lord, commander Tanith would like to know what your orders are."
"My orders?" Ike's fingers trailed through his frosty hair and dropped to his side. "I already gave you my orders."
"Yes you instructed commander Tanith to give us our orders." He said stiffly and a little over zealously."
Ike squinted at the force of the soldier's voice and scratched his ear, "Yes, so what's the problem?"
"Commander Tanith would like to have your orders on how she should command the troops."
Again his voice was tight and loud as he spoke. When those words came from the soldier's mouth Ike's hand flew from his side and ran down his face with a heavy sigh. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. First the soldier wants commands for him, and now they were for Tanith. It didn't seem possible that Begnion could be such a powerful and functioning kingdom when every one of their soldiers couldn't seem to think for themselves.
The commander could hear Aeyori let out a trail of soft laughter. He looked over his shoulder and raised one brow curiously at her but it wasn't a hostile glance. He watched her eyes widen in surprise before she took Ike's cape over her mouth to muffle her laughter. It worked; but just barely. She couldn't hide her amusement at Ike's barely concealed irritation.
He turned his attention back to the soldier, "Tell commander Tanith that she's free to give commands to the soldiers under her as she sees fit. She doesn't need me giving her orders when she's perfectly capable on her own."
Again the soldier looked unsure of Ike's instructions but there was less hesitation and he bowed his head as he left. Ike let out a sigh and rolled his shoulders that had stiffened.
When the soldier had disappeared back into the group of Begnion soldiers Ike faced Aeyori again. She was looking amused while failing to hide behind Ike's cape. He strolled over to her casually, eyeing her smirking eyes that weren't hidden behind a cape. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing." She said and giggled.
"That laugh sounds like something." He teased as he crossed his arms and enjoyed the sound of her laughter that was enough to lighten his mood completely.
Aeyori shook her head as she unwrapped herself, "You just make me laugh." She said as she handed Ike his cape.
He gave her a questioning look, "Are you sure?"
Aeyori shrugged and smiled coyly, "Well, I can't fight with this so I'll have to take it off eventually. Thank you though."
Ike took it back and tied it around his neck, "That's probably true." He agreed.
"General Ike! General Ike!" Again Ike's attention was snapped from the mage to a recently very familiar voice. Before he even turned he already knew who was calling him. It was the same soldier from the two times prior.
The soldier rushed up to him and was panting this time. He looked disoriented as he arrived. He didn't salute Ike like he had done prior. The boy's interruption was getting ridiculous. He couldn't imagine who else needed instructions.
"You know if you're going to keep asking for my help, I should probably learn your name."
Ike could see the soldier noticeably blush through his red armor. He stammered and his helmet fell over his eyes and he dropped his spear. He apologized frantically while trying to lift his helmet away from his eyes.
The commander bent over and picked up the spear and handed it to the soldier. "Your name?"
He cleared his throat as he took the spear with a murmured thank you. "Bob, my lord. My name is Bob."
"That's a good name." Ike said passively, "So, Bob, what do you have to tell me now?"
"It's birds my lord."
"Birds?"
"Yes huge birds are headed this way fast from the North. I think they're the hawk sub-humans."
"Hawks?" Aeyori said as she placed her hand on Ike's forearm gently and looked up at him. Ike placed his hand briefly over hers and gave her a reassuring smile. He wasn't worried about the incoming hawks, despite the lingering ring of apprehension in the soldier's voice.
"Should I prepare the soldiers for an attack?" asked the Begnion with tremors in his throat.
Ike shook his head dismissively and scowled as he squinted at the winged creatures that were indeed descending quickly upon the army.
"It's fine, I'll handle it." He said with authority he barely knew he could muster. He turned sideways and gave Bob a short yet serious look, "And one thing Bob. Don't use the word sub-human in my army."
Bob's mouth fell partially open but Ike's stern look told him it was better to keep silent. Even Ike was stunned by the words he'd said. 'My army,' that made Ike sound like a real commander. The type of unapologetic commands his father would give. But he continued despite his surprise, "You can have your opinions of the Laguz, but keep them to yourself." He said forcefully but not maliciously.
Ike made a slow easy movement to grab the hilt of his sword as he walked. He kept his hand placed loosely on the weapon, not ready to make an attack but not averse to making one. The commander had been caught off guard by the bird Laguz once and but he wouldn't be this time. But the hawks were supposed to be friends; at least that was what Ike hoped.
Ike lifted one hand to shield his eyes and peer through the falling snow and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that familiar and friendly hawks were landing. He recognized the scars on the large light feathered hawk and the two smaller hawks behind him were not strangers either.
King Tibarn shifted in a spiral of blue light and landed effortlessly on his feet. His arms immediately moved to cross over his chest as he shook out his wings and shivered as a stream of frosty air rushed from his mouth. "It's a bit cold out here my friend. I don't even like flying in this weather." He said and swiped an unruly strand from in front of his face and flexed his wings again, "It kind of weighs down my wings; but you Beorc want to start a war in it."
By this time Ulki and Janaff had landed and Ike noticed that the heron siblings had accompanied them. He nodded in their direction as they slid from the hawks feathery backs before her offered a short smile to Tibarn. "Beorc can start some silly things." Ike agreed while offering his hand.
Tibarn grinned jovially and thrust his hand out before shaking the hand heartily, "It's good to see you my friend."
"Same to you." Ike said but frowned as a question came to mind, "Although, I am surprised to see you. Weren't you taking the siblings back to Phoenicis?"
Tibarn cut his eyes but still smirked good-naturedly, "Yes that was the plan; but a certain bird got all the way to Phoenicis then suddenly realized that he just had to help the Beorc mercenaries." He made a not-so-subtle glance toward Reyson, "So we flew like half crazed birds trying to catch you before the weather got worse." He looked toward the grey and stormy sky, "That was probably a longshot." He said wistfully.
Ike watched the prince helping his sister wade through the snow by guiding her by the hand. She looked at him with adoring eyes but Reyson was looking elsewhere. His eyes were darting around the snowy scenery, peering past people and trees as if he was looking for something.
"Prince Reyson?" Ike addressed calmly.
Reyson's peridot eyes fluttered in surprise and he reddened for a brief moment. He dropped his sister's hand and brushed his fingers through his golden hair while clearing his throat. "It's good to see you again Ike."
"Thank you." He looked at Tibarn who was grinning for a mysterious reason while Reyson glared back at him. Ike looked between the two birds having there silent conversation. He interrupted by coughing softly, "I see you've come a long way, how can I help you?"
Reyson shook his head, "Ike, what you and your sister have done for Leanne and myself is something that we can never repay; so it's not about what you can do for me, but what I can do for you."
Ike paused at the interesting information. "What you can do for me?"
"Yes." He motioned to Tibarn, "Tibarn and I have discussed this already. If you will allow it, I would like join your army."
Ike looked stunned for a beat as he processed the request the prince was making. "I don't understand, I thought that herons couldn't fight."
The prince made a low murmuring sound of agreement as he tipped his head from one side to the other. What Ike had said wasn't wrong. "It's true that we herons can't fight with weapons or thomes, but we have another way of helping."
Ike leaned forward, intrigued by the new information. Reyson saw that he had Ike's attention and he continued, "Herons have an ability to use seid magic. We call them galdars and they can be used in a lot of different ways."
"You mean the singing?" Ike asked.
"Yes. My sister and I sang a specific galdar that could bring the forest back to life. That was just one of the galdars. Depending on the melody sang there can be many variations to the effect."
"For instance?"
Tibarn spoke to continue the explanation, "The herons have a particular gladar that can be especially useful. It's a song that can restore a person's energy when heard. It gives you the strength to do the work of two men."
"That sounds incredible." Ike said in a pleasant surprise. "It certainly couldn't hurt to have that kind of help; if you're willing to fight with us. I wouldn't think that a heron could join any battle."
"Believe me," Tibarn began "I've seen what herons can do in a battle. It's not an ability you want working against you." The king finished his sentence as his expression hardened with a deep and dark scowl. For a second Ike could see the hawk's face that was riddled with anger and something painful that Ike couldn't name.
It passed quickly and the king regained his easy stance and expression. He brought his hands to his mouth and cupped them before blowing into them and rubbing them together. "But anyway, it couldn't hurt to use him."
Ike looked from king to the prince, "I really appreciate the offer, but is it really alright for Reyson to stay with us? I know that the heron siblings are under the protection of the hawks, do you mind letting him fight in a war with us?"
Tibarn shrugged and made a low murmur, "I'd try to stop the prince, because it's more than a little dangerous for someone who can't defend himself." Reyson made an unhappy sound at Tibarn's comment but the king continued, "But Reyson was insistent. I'd have a harder time telling him no than just letting him come." he made a dismissive shrug of resignation.
"That kind of personality sounds a little familiar." Ike thought with fondness as he remembered his sister. She wasn't the type of person who could be persuaded so easily either.
"That being said," Tibarn began, "I'm still responsible for the herons. Their father wouldn't forgive me for letting his son die right after he gets his daughter back." He made a quick gesture with his index to Ulki and Janaff. They stood straight at attention at their commander's signal.
Tibarn flicked his head in Ike's direction. "I'm lending you my men. They can both support you in this fight and keep track of Reyson."
The hawk attendants bowed and flew to Ike's side without hesitation. Ike looked between both new forces and additions to his team. They regarded Ike stiffly, no doubt still wary of Beorc. Tibarn had given them an order that they would follow but it would still take time for him to earn their trust completely.
"Tibarn this is really too much…" Reyson began, "I can't let you do this."
The king dismissed Reyson's protest with a firm shake of his head, "No fighting on this one." He took steady steps toward the yellow-haired boy. His hands went to the heron's shoulders and gave them a friendly squeeze. "You're not the only one who has the ability to be stubborn."
Reyson smiled genially at the king's comment; amused that his friend admitted to his own knack for digging his heels into the ground. "Thank you."
Tibarn nodded, "Don't worry. Take care of what you've set your mind to do, and don't worry about your sister. I'll keep looking after her."
The prince looked at his sister as she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Her pale pink lips curled into a grin and she said something sweetly to her brother in their mother tongue. "I'll be safe, I promise." Leanne then drew her brother into a hug and whispered something into his ear.
Reyson withdrew quickly, his face was a suspicious flushed red. Leanne let out a gentle giggle as her brother scowled. "Don't make such a scary face." Tibarn said with a heavy laugh, "Haven't you missed your little sister teasing you?"
"Not as much as you would think." He grumbled bitterly.
"Did I miss something?" Ike questioned the group of Laguz.
"No." Reyson quickly said.
Tibarn spoke at a much easier pace, "Nothing that you won't understand later. Or Ikyna for that matter." Ulki and Janaff smirked at the king's comment and received a withering glare from the prince.
Ike raised one eyebrow. He didn't understand what the birds all found to be so universally amusing, all except Reyson of course. But he hadn't missed the weird way Tibarn had said Ikyna's name. He made another glance at the birds as they enjoyed their private joke before shrugging and letting the matter go. If it was important he'd know soon enough.
"Well, as fun as laughing at your brother's expense, we need to get going princess." Tibarn looked up and scowled at the ominous sky that was starting to flow heavily with snow. It layered like a blanket against the kings wings. He reached his hand out for the princess and she trustingly put her thin hand in his. The birds looked at Ike and the friends they would be parting with soon. "Take care of yourselves."
The king then shifted and Leanne flew and landed delicately on the king's feathered back. With a final wave to her brother and the hawk attendants Tibarn spread his strong wings and took to the sky, his cry clawed at the stormy heavens that swallowed him and Leanne up as they disappeared.
"Sooo…" Janaff began with a playful grin on his face as he flew and hovered in front of Ike. "What do you want us to do, commander?" The word commander bubbled from the bird's mouth as a poorly contained laugh. Not that the bird could help it, it'd been a while since he'd taken orders from someone so young, or weak looking.
He was tempted to give the young man a pinch on the forearm to feel his muscles. Janaff titled his head to study the lad's physique. Ike watched passively, aware and yet unbothered by the hawks studying glance.
Janaff made a small approving sound. The Beorc commander seemed to have a decent amount of muscle under his clothing. But despite his strength and the fact that Ike might have saved the herons, Beorc were a very funny and strange lot to be around, especially during war time.
"I've never fought with any type of bird Laguz, so I think you guys should follow your instincts." He rubbed his head, "Mostly just keep the prince safe."
Janaff smiled, "We can do a lot more than that. Tibarn didn't lend us out to just be watchbirds."
"It's true." Reyson agreed, "Besides the strength when transformed, Ulki and Janaff have the best ears and eyes I know of. I'm sure you can put them to good use."
"I guess that I will owe King Tibarn a great deal for what he's done."
"Please Ike, you and your sister saved my life and my sisters, I don't think you will ever owe us anything." Reyson paused to make another sweep with his eyes across the snow covered ground. Ike was sure he was looking for something, or probably, someone.
"Looking for someone?"
The prince glanced down briefly and looked uncomfortable. He was looking for someone but he didn't want to admit it yet. Not that he could deny why he was really insistent on searching out Ike and his army.
Yes, he wanted help the people who saved him and Leanne, he supported their fight against Daein, who had long since lets it's prejudice and hatred punish both Laguz and Beorc, but what made him so desperately want to meet with Ike, to return and work alongside Beorc for the first time, were those deep blue eyes.
Ikyna's of course, not Ike's. They were so striking and hauntingly familiar. Like the ones of the child in his dreams. Wide and open like a still ocean. They peered at him and into him. And his dreams had been coming back, more frequently and vividly. Although now Reyson was sure they were memories just as Tibarn had suggested. But Reyson didn't know of what. The only descriptive bit he could remember was that he was in Gallia at the time.
Reyson was sure that Ikyna was the trigger, but he didn't know why. When he'd spoken to Tibarn about it after arriving back in Phoenicis, the king thought maybe they were memories of Ikyna, but Reyson was sure that wasn't possible. The child in his dreams was too young. Ikyna wouldn't have even been born the time he'd last been in Gallia. But there was still something that shook him as odd about his dreams and the mercenary archer. Whatever it was, Reyson was determined to find out.
"I was looking for Ikyna." He said as evenly as he could even though there was a definite lump in his throat as he spoke her name. He put his hand over his chest as casually as he could to still its sudden jump in rate. Reyson caught Ulki looking at him, his angular face and sharp ears no doubt caught the hitch in his voice.
The dark bird didn't let on that he'd heard, not that he would. That was what Leanne and Tibarn were for. Especially Leanne, who must of missed her younger sister duties a great deal because she didn't spare her brother playful mocking over his new fixation with the female archer.
"If you can't find her right away, I'm sure Janaff can." She'd whispered pointedly before she left with Tibarn.
Reyson stood taller and made direct eye contact with Ike, attempting to appear in more control than he felt, "I noticed she wasn't here. Is she alright?"
Ike paused before answering; he didn't feel that he needed to tell Reyson that his sister wasn't with him because her arm was completely paralyzed.
"She's back at the main camp with Yakuzo, resting." He said carefully.
"Yakuzo?"
"The red Laguz cat."
Reyson smiled tightly, "Aww, her red shadow." He looked mildly upset for a flash then it was gone, "Well, I'm glad she's resting. I suppose it's still too early for her to be fighting just yet."
"Yes." Ike said with a hint of barely masked sadness.
"Commander Ike?"
Ike shook away the depressing thought to look at Aeyori as she approached behind him. His expression softened a fraction when he saw her. "So here you are."
Aeyori darkened around her cheeks, "I thought you would want some privacy to talk to the hawks."
"Why? It's not like you don't know them too."
Aeyori glanced at Reyson, he was staring pointedly at her. He watched her with a stiff look of mistrust. The mage shrugged and didn't bother to offer Ike any excuse. There wasn't one that she had. She couldn't tell Ike that she wanted to stay as far away from the perceptive heron as possible. Aeyori knew herons could see emotions and even memories, and she was sure the Reyson had seen some of hers. Though she didn't know what, Aeyori wasn't willing to risk giving anymore of herself away to the white bird.
"Well what do need Aeyori?"
"She's going to tell you that Mia and Marcia have returned from their scouting mission." Ulki stated.
Ike and Aeyori exchanged glances. Ulki didn't know many members on the army, and definitely not Mia or Marcia. What was more, it wasn't like they'd told the birds about the girls scouting. "But how…" Aeyori began in shock.
Ulki was staring into the distance and a straight expression. "I heard you talking with Titania when I arrived with the king." He shrugged. His hearing wasn't anything new to him. It had always been acute since he was young.
"You weren't kidding when you said their hearing was good." Ike mused as he nodded to Reyson who grinned proudly at the commander's acknowledgement of his friend's skill.
"We should go and meet the girls. The sooner we check in, the sooner we can get this fight over with." He looked at the two hawks grimly. "You guys couldn't have come in at a better time." He added as he waved for the birds to follow him.
It was only a few yards away that the birds and the mercenaries met with Titania, Mia, and Marcia. Titania's arms were folded as she engaged with the girls. Marcia's face was oddly serious as she steadied her Pegasus that dug its hooves into the ground and shook its head as the snow collected over its eyes.
Mia looked less serious, though she rarely was one to wear a solemn expression. Titania caught Ike's eye as he approached. She looked surprised when she saw the Laguz land behind the general. With a small bow she turned to her commander, "The hawks and prince Reyson will be joining our army as of today." He cleared his throat, "We can go into the details later. I want to know what you girls saw."
Marcia and Mia exchanged uncomfortable looks. Marcia looked at Titania, whose scowl was both to reprimand the girls for being late and also to prod them into telling whatever thing was making look so worried. Mia looked like she wanted to speak first but she glanced at Marcia, waiting for the older girl to say something. Marcia instead busied herself with rubbing her horse down by the snout.
"Okay, I guess it's my turn." She said with an awkward laugh, "Well commander, there's good news and bad news."
"Go on." Ike said with a low groan, "What's the good news first?"
"So you're a good news first kind of guy." She said thoughtfully with a finger to her chin. "Go figure." She shrugged and smiled and continued, "The good news is that the enemy encampment isn't as fortified as we first thought. There's about thirty to forty men guarding the fort. Just soldiers and a few knights. But nothing too serious; at least not anything we haven't faced before."
"Good." Ike said as his brow kneaded together tightly, "But what's the bad news?"
Mia bit her lip, "Well, when Marcia and I were flying over the Daein soldiers I saw someone familiar." She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead as if trying to pull back a memory, "What was his name again?"
"Whose name?" the general asked as he edged forward.
"Red haired guy…he could drink a lot." She blurted excitedly.
"Shinon?"
Mia snapped her fingers and pointed at the commander, "That's the guy. Shinon!"
"You saw Shinon?"
The violet haired swordsman nodded without responding. She shook her head and signaled that she didn't know what to do with the information either. Her commander mirrored her expression
"Did you see Mr. Shinon?!" Rolf suddenly burst into the gathering between the mercenaries. The Pegasus shied away from the boy when he charged in and Marcia pulled down on it reigns before she soothed it softly.
"Rolf, what do you think you're doing? You've disrupted our conversation." Titania scolded.
Rolf made a brief apology but it sounded less than sincere. He was too focused on having his question answered to worry about interrupting. The leafy haired boy looked up urgently at Ike, "Did you say you saw Mr. Shinon?"
"How did you hear that?" Ike questioned.
"I was listening." He admitted shamefully.
"Rolf?" Titania said with a raised brow that signified her displeasure with the child's nosey behavior.
"I'm sorry." Rolfe murmured, "But if you guys know where Mr. Shinon is…"
"You little twerp what do you think you're doing?" Boyd then jumped into the group and put his brother into loose headlock. The boy grumbled as his brother ruffled his hair roughly, "What are you sneaking around listening to other peoples conversations for?"
"You're not one to talk, you were listening to my conversation!" he complained as he struggled against his brother's grip.
"That's different I'm an adult and you're just a kid." He retorted back.
"That's enough" Titania commanded and gave both boys a sharp and pointed glare.
The brothers quieted, though Boyd still had his brother secured under his arm.
"That's better." The scarlet haired paladin said as he cleared her throat to calm herself. "What were you saying about Shinon?"
Rolf glared at his brother who looked irritated but didn't let the boy go. "I just want to make sure that Mr. Shinon is okay. Did Mia and Marica really see him?"
"Shinon? Why are you worried about that traitor?" Boyd said roughly. He turned his nose up in disgust at the thought of the archer who'd abandoned the crew in a time when they were at their lowest. He could barely stand the thought of Shinon when he remembered what he'd done. But Rolf didn't seem to be as appalled with Shinon. The boy appeared to be almost excited about finding that foul-mouthed deserter.
"Don't call him a traitor!" Rolf growled.
"That's what he is." Boyd roughly released his brother and glowered down at the boy in disapproval of his bad taste in friends.
"Easy." Ike cautioned. He knelt in front of the young archer, ready to get to the bottom of the boy's peculiar interest in Shinon. He put his hand on Rolf's shoulder gently, "Yes we do know where Shinon is. Or at least we suspect we know where he is."
Relief flooded over the boy and genuine happiness. Ike looked down unhappily at the ground. It was obvious the boy held much kinder feelings toward Shinon than either Ike or Boyd had. "There's a problem though."
"Problem?" Rolfe asked as the color fled from his face.
Ike nodded, "It looks like Shinon is fighting for the Daein army."
Rolf shook his head in disbelief, "No he wouldn't do that. There has to be a mistake."
"Marcia and Mia saw him." He looked into Rolf's wide and open green eyes as they flickered fearfully, "I'm trying to work with you Rolf, but he's working with the enemy. What do you think I should do?"
The boy was at a loss as he processed the information. He knew what Ike's question implied. But what could the general really do for him? What if Shinon really was the enemy unlike Rolf's hopes?
Rolf pulled his cheek into his mouth nervously as he dug his short boots into the ground and gripped his bow tightly and let its string rub against his shoulder. He thought of his teacher and the secret about him he'd sworn to keep. "Shinon really isn't so bad." He began timidly, still wringing his hands over the bowstring, "he just comes off that way sometimes."
Ike let out a long heavy sigh through his nose. His sympathies were with the boy, but he had to protect his company and the army. "I hear you kid. So what do you want me to do?"
Rolf's head shot up in a hurry. His pupils expanded as his mind raced with ideas. He reached for Ike's arm and grabbed it, "Let me talk to him." He blurted.
"Talk to him?" Boyd asked incredulously. He scoffed as he crossed his arms. Titania gave him a sharp glare that nipped any further complaints from the older brother.
Ike was mirroring Titania's face before he looked back at Rolf. "What will you say?"
The young archer shrugged. There wasn't an idea in his mind, just a feeling in his gut that told him he had to try. At least for the sake of a friend, even if no one felt the same way about Shinon. "I don't know. But if you give me a chance, I'm sure I can figure out what he's doing before we have to fight him."
Ike drug his hand down his face in frustration. He was definitely facing a big problem. Making a compromise for Shinon could be a disastrous decision. Shinon wasn't compliant to begin with when Ike was in command; it was unlikely that the red head would be eager to listen to anything the army had to say now.
But Rolf was pleading with Ike. His round innocent green eyes implored Ike desperately. And Ike's own conscience was fighting with him. Shinon was difficult, but that didn't mean the commander wanted to fight. They had their differences, big ones in fact, but Ike didn't desire to cross blades with a former comrade.
"Fine, I'll give you a chance to talk with him." He conceded with a small groan, already regretting his choice.
Rolf's face lit up with a smile, "Thank you general."
Ike shook his head, "But I'm going with you."
"With me?"
The general stood and shook the snow from his knees, "I'll be there to keep an eye on you and him just in case."
Rolf was hesitant to accept the terms but finally conceded. It would be less comfortable with the commander at his side but Rolf would have to be alright with the chance he was being given. "Okay, that's fine."
"Good." Ike said with a little relief, "But you need to be careful. I know you have your reasons to trust him Rolf, but if I think that he's going to put you or anyone else in this army in danger then I won't hesitate to take him down. Do you understand?"
The archer swallowed and sighed but nodded. "Yes general."
…
Late afternoon was fading away like the dimming light of the sun as it started to vanish behind the last shower of snowfall. Most of the storm from earlier had burned off and dissipated to nothing more than a tiny lazy drizzle. But the air was still frigid with winter's hold and the ground was covered in an icy carpet.
The army camp was mostly quiet as part of the army had left with Ike and the rest were bundled in their tents as they tried to warm themselves while they waited. The horses were tied to their posts showing partial, but not extreme interest in their winged friends. Mostly they busied themselves with nibbling at the sleeves of whichever low ranking soldier had the misfortune of feeding them in the nippy air.
Ikyna wasn't huddled under a blanket in her tent however. She'd been stuck under cloth walls for too long to be bothered by the brisk air. It was bracing and even relaxing to her mind that she felt was on the verge of shattering. Never had she felt such an acute since of cabin fever in her life.
All the female archer wanted was to move around but her chances were mostly limited. The army traveled most of the time at a grueling pace to Crimea. When they weren't on the back breaking pace most of the soldiers and mercenaries were preparing to travel. In either case there was little to nothing that Ikyna could do.
The bandage on her arm had come off finally but no one was treating her any better. Everyone around Ikyna treated her like she was completely handicapped. Constantly offering her help or, rather, unsubtly suggesting that she take a rest. The number one culprit of that was the feral looking creature skulking behind her.
Ikyna glanced icily as Yakuzo strolled casually at her rear, never looking her in the eye or speaking to her. He'd been rather cool with her lately. Always scolding her and taking every chance he could to remind her of the things she couldn't do. If she'd been any less irritated with her own predicament she'd have given him an earful but it was hardly worth her effort.
She turned sharply away and clutched her bad arm as she walked. It had a tendency to swing wildly as she moved. More than once she'd banged her arm against a tree or a soldier in passing. By the end of the day it'd be bruised, cut, and bleeding. It only took a few mortified gasps from her younger sister to remind Ikyna that she had to take better care of herself. Things were very different for to get used to with only one arm. She was learning well enough how to carry herself but she still felt awkward as she hobbled around and steadied her arm with little to no telling on her face.
Her feet slid on a patch of particularly slick ice. Ikyna yelped and tried to balance herself before she took an unfortunate tumble onto the unforgiving snow. It was hard to steady herself with only one arm. Ikyna grumbled to herself as she grabbed for her arm again. She looked up at the sky as she slowly eased herself to the ground. It was hard and unbearably cold but she'd rather be stationary on the floor than worry about falling and hurting herself further.
The snow crunched loudly as Ikyna shifted and rubbed her paralyzed arm. Yakuzo's shoes were the next things to disturb the silent day as they ground into the icy floor. She looked up blankly at the cat whose arms were folded over his chest aggressively.
"What?" she drawled languidly.
"We need to go back inside the tent."
"Why?"
"Because it's cold out here and you're supposed to be recovering."
Ikyna gave a lazy stretch and a yawn as she turned her gaze toward distant snow capped mountains. She'd missed the outside and the chance to take in the scenery. There wasn't as much opportunity with the entire mercenary crew telling her to rest and 'take it easy.'
"I've been recovering enough. I don't want to go back in the tent yet." She responded with little enthusiasm.
Yakuzo barred his fangs, "Well that's too bad. If you stay out here you're going to get sick." His words bit sharply. Ikyna put one arm behind her back and leaned back into the snow as she rolled her eyes. This hadn't been the first time Yakuzo had spoken to her with such poorly hidden aggression.
"Ikyna!" he snapped, "Are you listening to me? You can't stay here!"
Ikyna was not listening of course. She had her eyes closed as she faced the sky, intent on ignoring Yakuzo until his tantrum blew over. It was always a lot of mumbling and griping but nothing worth wasting her short time of freedom on.
She heard Yakuzo let out an exasperated sigh, "This is so typical of you." Ikyna's ears perked up at the cats words. "Whatever, stay out here and freeze if you like." The rest of his sentence was murmured bitterly.
Ikyna shot up, with a little teetering as she failed to grab anything with her bad arm. She stabilized herself and glared at Yakuzo. "What'd did you say?" she bit through clenched teeth.
Yakuzo shook his head and bit his lower lip. He put his palm up and waved it dismissively, "Nothing, it doesn't matter."
Ikyna stood with a frown, "No I think it does. If you have something to say, than go ahead and say it."
"I don't have anything to say."
"Yeah you do Yakuzo; and you have for a while. Or is there someone else you're complaining about under your breath all the time!"
The Laguz threw his hands into the air, "Just give it a rest Ikyna, you don't want to listen anyway."
Ikyna laughed derisively and rolled her tongue around her cheek. "Really, this conversation again." She tugged at her hair in frustration. She'd heard this story more than once from her brother, her sister, and most of all Yakuzo. The classic reprimand that was as much part of her day as sitting in her tent.
"This conversation? You act like we've had it before but you always ignore me Ikyna!"
"That's because I'm done with this conversation. Haven't you yelled at me enough? I know you're mad that I got hurt. I was stupid and reckless and about a dozen other things just like that." She blew out from her nose harshly in frustration, "But give me a break from the lectures Yakuzo; I've had about all I can stand of them."
"Of course you have. But that's your problem."
"My problem?"
"Yeah, you give this half-baked apology that you don't mean. You're not sorry that you almost got yourself killed or that you were stupid and reckless."
"You're right, I'm not sorry Yakuzo. I'm not sorry that I saved the prince's life!"
"Who cares about the prince!" the cat shouted as he threw his fists into the air. His teeth were bared as he rubbed his hands roughly through his red locks and growled.
Ikyna looked disgusted with her friend's response. "What do you mean who cares? Reyson is a member of an almost extinct race and a special friend to the king of the hawks. I'm sure Tibarn cares." She retorted harshly.
Yakuzo heaved, "You know what, I'm sure that the hawks would have been devastated if something had happened to Reyson but you need to realize something Ikyna." He reached for Ikyna and grabbed her shoulder, "There isn't anyone on this mercenary crew, not Ike, Mist, Soren, or myself who would take Reyson's life over yours."
His words came out pointed and they resonated loudly in Ikyna's ears. Her mouth dropped open slightly; what Yakuzo had said, struck a cord with her. She stammered slowly, "How could you take my life over his?"
The Laguz sighed, "I know you're just enamored with this prince, but we care about you, I care about you." He said and swallowed thickly.
"That's remarkably affectionate of you." Ikyna mocked weakly but found that Yakuzo's words made it difficult for her to do much more.
"Well, I like you Ikyna." He gave her a pat on her head as a slow small smile spread, "Even your bullheaded parts."
"That's a lot of parts."
Yakuzo managed to laugh, the formerly tense situation was fading. "If anything happened to you, a lot of people would be devastated. Do you understand that?"
Ikyna nodded slowly. She'd been set on justifying that she was right. At the time when she'd been fighting to save the prince, her thoughts had been short sighted. It was all about protecting Reyson, not about her own safety.
"I sometimes get tunnel vision." Ikyna admitted quietly.
"Yeah well try to remember that after you had your tunnel vision you ended up nearly beaten to death and the rest of us had to watch."
Ikyna dropped her head as she bit her lip sheepishly. She hadn't thought of everyone else, or the repercussions of her action. But they were very real; as real as the serious expression on Yakuzo's face. "I'm sorry." The apology that time was much more sincere. Yakuzo looked satisfied with the response and decided to let the conversation end there. He was tired of being upset with Ikyna as it was.
He offered his hand to her and placed it around her back to help her. "It's alright. You're fine, so that's good with me."
Ikyna looked sadly at her limp arm as Yakuzo began to guide her steadily back toward her tent, "Well I think fine might be an overstatement." She squeezed the lifeless arm, "but at least you know I won't be getting into any more trouble. That must make your job easier."
Yakuzo looked down at her bittersweet smile and sought to console her, "Don't worry, you're not getting rid of me just yet. I'll be sticking it out with you for a while."
The sentiment pleased Ikyna; she looked at Yakuzo affectionately. He grinned toothily back at her and scratched the tip of his red ears. He watched her smiling at him, then look past him and suddenly frown. Her jaw tightened and she pushed Yakuzo gently to the side as she continued glaring.
"Ikyna, what?"
"What is he doing here?" she snarled.
"Who?" Yakuzo questioned as he turned to follow Ikyna's angry and direct gaze. There was very little to look at past the camp. It was mostly an empty camp, everyone else still tucked away in their tents, but there was one lone man. He was walking confidently with a bow and quiver comfortably over his shoulder.
A smug look rested on his angular face that was covered with red hair pulled into a long ponytail. Yakuzo didn't recognize the Beorc who was strolling into the camp with little regard. "Who's he?" the cat asked suspiciously.
He spun around for Ikyna's reply but she had left his side and was on a very determined path toward the man. Her bad arm was clutched at her side and she was stomping angrily toward the intruder. Yakuzo followed after her quickly; he could tell by the stiffness in her walk and the tone of her barking call that there was going to be trouble.
He was right. "What are you doing here?" she demanded viciously to the young man without any pleasantries or introductions. The wandering archer made one glance at the girl but walked past her with little more than a dismissive smirk.
Ikyna grabbed his arm as he brushed past her, "Shinon!"
The male archer yanked his arm away with a scowl. Ikyna stumbled off balance from the force but Yakuzo was there with his arm under her stomach to catch her. She groaned but still managed to snarl at Shinon who looked at her and rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing here scum!"
Shinon snickered as he looked around at the camp and brushed stray strands of hair from his face and placed one hand on his hip. "You know I was right to leave this group when I did." He said while starting to make a steady circle around Ikyna as she scowled viciously. "But I never expected it to fall apart this much." He snorted haughtily through his nose, "But that's what happens when you give a young brat command."
"Then why did you come back?"
"I had to save the company; and good thing too. If I'd been gone any longer this whole place might have been overrun with sub-humans."
Those words caught Yakuzo attention. His ears turned sharply to the harsh tongued Beorc and he locked onto him with his feline yellow eyes. Yakuzo opened his mouth to reveal his fangs and let out a hiss as he spoke, "You might want to watch your mouth Beorc."
Shinon's returned Yakuzo's glare with a hate filled one of his own, "Just because the rest of Ike's men mix with your kind doesn't give you the right to speak to me sub-human." He emphasized the last word forcefully and pointedly. There was no attempt to hide his prejudice or contempt for the Laguz.
Yakuzo flexed his fingers and extended his claws with every intension of slashing the foul Beorc's throat. It had been a while since he'd felt such an acute hatred for Beorc. Most of the mercenary crew had made him forget what it was like to feel the burn of bigotry among their races, but that particular red head was reminding him of a very unpleasant past.
As he inched toward Shinon Ikyna blocked his path as she poised herself for a verbal assault of the former mercenary. She jammed her index finger into Shinon's face angrily, "You listen to me, don't you dare come into our camp and say anything about the Laguz. You left and have no right to give any of your nearsighted opinions."
Shinon shrugged, "You're right, my opinions about this company don't matter much since it won't be around for much longer."
"What did you say?" Yakuzo growled; having had enough of the Beorc's talk.
Shinon didn't look at the Laguz, but intentionally directed all his comments toward Ikyna. "Once I take over this company I'll get rid of all the filthy vermin sub humans running around."
"What did you say? What do you mean, 'take over the company?'
Shinon grinned smugly, enjoying the surprise and confusion in Ikyna's voice. He started his sentence slowly in order to provoke the young woman further, "Your brother made a deal with me."
"My brother?" she asked impatiently at the smile on Shinon's face.
"When we met on the battle field today he asked me to join the team again."
"Like he'd ask for a traitor like you to come back to us."
The red head scoffed, "Trust me, I don't want to be a part of this group either; so we made a deal. Your brother and I will have a duel. If I win, the company is mine to do with as I please. But if Ike wins, I'll join without a fuss." Shinon gave another shrug with a disinterested grin, "But I know that won't happen."
Ikyna could hardly breathe she was so furious. The audacity of Shinon to even suggest taking over the company made her a dizzying angry. It was her father's mercenary group; and when Greil had died, it was to pass on to no one but Ike. Ikyna put a hand to her chest to steady its angry palpitations in some kind of poor attempt to gain some control of her anger. It was next to impossible as she looked at Shinon's smug face that grinned devilishly at her; as if he'd already won the fight with Ike. Like his victory was assured.
She took a step toward Shinon; she was debating on just how she was going to shut his mouth. Her mind filled with a dozen wicked thoughts, each more enjoyable and entertaining than the first. It wasn't like Shinon didn't deserve it. He'd done more than enough to receive a sound beating from her. She raised her good arm slowly, already anticipating the pleasant ring her hand would feel when it smacked his stupid face. She was too angry and tired from staying up longer than she should have to be reasonable with her decision making.
"Ikyna!"
Ikyna froze with her hand raised to the height of her shoulder and turned around quickly. She stood with her mouth open in surprise when she saw it was her brother who'd called her name. He'd said it in a hauntingly familiar way. Just like her dad had; demanding and firm, but still affectionate. Like a forceful warning given to protect someone. She looked at her brother as he stood, a little dirtier than when he'd left that morning, with some fresh bruises and cuts on his face and several unidentifiable stains that were either from him or someone else.
He was frowning slightly at her and standing a short distance from her. For some reason, he looked taller than he had that morning. A little bit more confident, like a man in control. To anyone else he'd probably be a little intimidating. His furrowed brow, sharp blue eyes that were so much like her own, and the angular chin like her father, were usually more than enough to zip lips and send more than one person scuttling off with their tail between their legs, but Ikyna had lived with that face her whole life and it had lost its effectiveness on her. Typically it only encouraged her to dig her heels in farther.
Ike could tell what his sister was thinking as she engaged him in his stare down without a hint of backing down from his challenge. "Ikyna just calm down."
Ikyna raised a lone eyebrow and leaned back in disbelief, "What did you ask me to do? Did you just tell me to calm down?"
Her brother nodded his head slowly as he raised his palms and held them in front of himself while he walked toward her and tried to calm that volatile part of her personality. Just like Ikyna was aware of his mannerisms he could tell by the way her lip was curling that he only had a short time to ward off her anger before she became inconsolable. She lifted her hand and pointed her finger stiffly at Shinon, "What's he doing here Ike?" She said his name in that manner that showed Ike he had less time to salvage the situation than he thought. "And what is he saying about fighting you and taking over the company?"
Ike covered his face with his hand and groaned. He'd wished he'd gotten back to the camp sooner so he could have avoided the conversation he was having at that moment. But he hadn't, he worried about watching Aeyori settle into the merchant tent and helped Mist settle down the horse she'd started riding, and about four other things instead of rushing to intercept the meeting between her and one of her least favorite persons. It was going to happen eventually, Ike just hadn't planned for it to happen so soon.
He cleared his throat and tried salvage the situation. As he put a hand on his sister's shoulder and gently began to guide her in the opposite direction he started to explain, "Shinon and I came to an agreement. I wanted Shinon to rejoin our crew but I had to make a bet with him for him to even consider the option."
His younger twin was scowling lividly at her brother. A mixture of disgust and disbelief sat over her forehead as she turned and twisted her nose in contempt at Shinon. "Why? Why do you need him or want him on your crew?"
Ike tightened his lips in discomfort. That was the question he didn't want answer because he could already predict her response.
"Ike?" she questioned tightly.
Shinon volunteered unwanted conversation, "Don't be so angry Ikyna. From what I can tell this mercenary group seems a little short staffed for a war. Maybe that's why he's willing to risk losing to me." He said with a sneer.
Ikyna turned swiftly to look at her brother. Her expression surprised Ike when he saw it. He'd been preparing for an outburst, a lot of anger but what he saw looked a lot like sadness. Her mouth fell at the corners in a mixture of hurt and shock. Her pupils expanded as her eyes started to water. Ike reached for her as he thought she was about to cry. The news, and Shinon's weak taunt had hurt her that much.
As his hand grazed her shoulder she stepped back with a stiff nod of her head and a sniffle. "No, no, I'm going." She waved her brother's gesture off and started to leave. Shinon called out to her, "Are you that worried about Ike losing?" The red archer scoffed, "Don't worry, I won't let your father's mercenary crew fall apart any more than it already has once I take over. I'll take very good care of it." He said with a self-assured smile.
Ikyna spun around slowly and eyed Shinon like a feral animal ready to rip Shinon to shreds. She took a threatening step toward the red head and stood just in front of him, looking up at his eyes with a vicious scowl. Her lips were tightly sealed as she looked at him through her stray strands of blue hair.
Shinon crossed his arms, too confident to back down from the smaller woman. "What are you going to do?" he made a suggestive nod toward her lame arm, "Punch me?" he mocked.
Ikyna tilted her head slowly then without warning she quickly shifted forward onto the tip of her toes and slammed her skull down into Shinon's. Shinon groaned as his hands flew over his face while he hunched over in pain.
Ike quickly grabbed his sister by her good arm and pulled her away from Shinon as she shouted at him. "You think you can just come in and take over this company? You think you have the right to command any of us?" She was pulling furiously against her brother's group and her voice piqued passionately, "No one in this crew owes you anything! You left us after our father died, your commander, who trusted you!"
The older twin wrapped both arms around his sister's chest in a poor attempt to restrict and calm her. But she continued to fight against his restraints, "But even though we needed you, we found a way to survive without you. We've fought for our lives almost every day since you've been gone. What have you been doing? Wandering around and hoping to find an army dumb enough to put up with your rotten personality? You're weak, and we don't need you."
Shinon lifted his head as he breathed heavily through his nose that had started bleeding considerably. His hand went swiftly for his bow as he lunged angrily for the young woman who'd injured him. Yakuzo was in his path before he could do any damage to his friend. He flashed his long canines with a growl and held his palm against the archer's chest stiffly. It was a blunt warning that if Shinon tried anything, the cat would give him much worse than a bloody nose.
Ike on the other hand was more worried about his sister attacking Shinon again. "Calm down." He said through a strained voice as he held her. She panted as she glared but tried to focus on her brother's advice. Ikyna took a deep breath, "Fine." She conceded as her body relaxed.
Ikyna shrugged out of her brother's hold roughly and pushed passed him. He called her name once but she kept walking away and Yakuzo took that as a cue to follow her. Ike groaned but made a quick glare at Shinon, "You and I have business to finish later; please avoid antagonizing the members of my team while you're here."
Shinon's hands were over his nose again but he didn't say anything in return. He just watched the twins and the Laguz drift away from him.
"Ikyna slow down." The young commander called as he jogged lightly to catch up with his sister who was taking a very determined and heavy footed march. She was too far away for her brother to hear anything, but he could tell she was engaged in a lively angry argument with herself.
He yelled her name again but she didn't turn. Ike looked at Yakuzo in complete loss for what to do. The red Laguz shrugged his shoulders; he'd just gotten out of a fight with Ikyna, he didn't want to start another one. He wished that he could offer some help to Ike, but it seemed better to let the siblings work out their own problems rather start another one for himself.
Ike sighed as he read the Laguz's expression that told Ike he'd have to fix the situation on his own. "Ikyna just wait." He said when he reached her and grabbed her shoulder. He spun her around gently, and watched her frown dejectedly.
He said her name softly and Ikyna sighed in defeat, "You needed an extra guy? You have an entire army, what do you need him for?"
Ike rubbed his hands against his cloths uncomfortably before sliding a hand down his face with a low unhappy murmur.
His sister chuckled bitterly, "I guess you needed an extra archer huh?"
"Ikyna."
"It's fine Ike. I'm useless to you in the war now, so you don't have to feel bad about replacing me."
"I'm not replacing you." He said insistently, not a hint of untruth in his words, "I could use another archer under my command; but no one, let alone Shinon, could replace you Ikyna."
Ikyna let out a heavy sigh that was both out of relief and her own disappointment in the truth of her brother's words. He hadn't lied, Ike didn't want to replace her, but he didn't have a choice. Ikyna was injured and incapable of fighting any longer; Ike's only choice was to find someone else who could partially do her job.
"Well, that's comforting to know." She said ironically.
"So what are you going to do?"
One pale hand went over the young woman's face as she rubbed her eyes tiredly with a sleepy moan. "Well I'm feeling grumpy and tired, so I'm heading back to my tent to take a nap." She put a hand behind her back and swayed with a small smile on her lips as she pulled her lower lip into her mouth. "It's kind of my favorite activity now."
She laughed, "Although, it's all I can do now, so what would I know."
"That's good to hear." Ike said with some relief. His sister tilted her head quizzically at him, "Why?"
"Because," he began with a smile, "before the issue with Shinon, I actually had a nice surprise for you."
"A surprise?" She asked with a happier tone in her voice suddenly.
"Yes, and it's waiting in your tent."
"What is?" she prodded excitedly.
"It wouldn't a surprise if I told you." He teased as he gave a brief pinch to her cheek.
Ikyna allowed herself to pout for a second before she gave a short shrug of her shoulders and laughed. "Whatever, I'll go see myself." She decided and reached for Yakuzo's arm as she tugged him toward her tent. He gave little more resistance than a half-hearted growl before giving into her insistent pulling.
She looked over her shoulder as she walked, "Oh, and it's good to see you back safe."
Her brother was happy that her somewhat mercurial personality had her in a better mood so quickly. "Thank you, and it's good to see your mood so improved."
"Well it'll be better once you pound Shinon a few times." She grinned evilly and pumped her eyebrows at her brother.
"That shouldn't be too hard. I'm at an advantage now; you broke his nose for me."
"Then you have no excuse; you better win." She threatened cheekily.
Ike nodded with a grin then shooed her away playfully.
The tent wasn't far and it didn't take long to reach it in the middle of the camp where the mages and priests were. Ikyna couldn't help feeling even more sensitive about her predicament when she realized she was being tucked away safe with the other members of the army who were more or less defenseless. But she tried to think positively about the surprise her brother had in store for her. On the walk Yakuzo excitedly hoped that Ike had brought fish back from the battle. He went on about how the fish became very scarce in the winter months when many of the lakes and ponds were frozen. Ikyna disagreed with the cat; her brother wouldn't call fish a surprise.
The two friends argued playfully over what could be waiting for them inside of the tent. "Stop saying it's fish." Ikyna said as she laughed when she pushed the flap of the tent open, "It's my surprise not yours."
"Don't you like fish?" The Laguz said.
"Yeah but I…"Ikyna's sentence stopped and faded into silence suddenly.
Yakuzo noticed when he ducked into the tent behind his friend. He could see only her back when he spoke, "What's wrong?"
"My brother didn't bring me fish." She stated in almost a whisper. The quality of her voice was strange. It shook like she was nervous about something. Yakuzo stepped to the side to see past Ikyna and found that his reaction was very similar to hers. He gasped softly, "Prince Reyson?" he questioned in disbelief at what his eyes were seeing.
"What are you doing here?"
Reyson gave a soft smile to Yakuzo but turned to look directly at Ikyna who was gaping at the heron standing in her tent. "It's good to see you again." He said in a voice barely above a whisper as he tried to contain his excitement. There she was, Ikyna, the girl he'd been wanting to see for weeks. Her blue hair was as wild and untamed as the open sea like he remembered and her eyes that had widened from her surprise were just as piercing as his memories told him.
She watched him silently, like a deer caught in the sights of a hunter. Reyson cleared his throat uncomfortably, this wasn't what he'd expected for his reunion with his savior. "How have you been?" he began with another attempt to start a conversation.
Ikyna's eyes fluttered in response; it was like she'd managed to wake up from her daze and notice him. Her cheeks flushed and she bit her lip jerkily and rubbed her bad arm. "I'm fine." She managed to say as she swallowed a nervous lump in her throat that was threatening to choke her. "What are you doing here?" she asked Yakuzo's question.
The heron shifted in his thin boots as he made an easy stroll to Ikyna. She watched him with her breath held into her chest and a barely concealed embarrassment. Reyson circled her slowly, "First off, I wanted to say thank you."
"Thank you?" she parroted.
Reyson nodded, "Yes, I came to thank you before I left Begnion but you were sleeping when I came to visit."
Ikyna felt her face warm all the way down to her neck. She brought her good hand up to cover the redness she knew was forming. But there was no way to stop the satisfied smile that spread across her face. She looked downright gleeful at the white bird's words, "You visited me?"
"Yeah, but you seemed exhausted so I couldn't say thank you in person." He grinned, "Thank you."
Ikyna laughed bashfully, "You're welcome." She said uncharacteristically shyly.
"What's the second reason you're here for?" Yakuzo interrupted as he wedged himself in between the heron and his injured friend.
Neither the bird or the former archer missed the unmistakable harshness of the Laguz's voice. He raised an angry eyebrow and took a threatening step toward Reyson before Ikyna grabbed him by his shoulder. She made a questioning look at her friend while she wondered about his sudden aggression.
Reyson cleared his throat again, he didn't need to read the feline's emotions to tell that the Laguz had serious issues with Reyson appearing. He decided to take Tibarn's advice and avoid antagonizing the people he'd meet. "I'm here to help with the army as well."
Yakuzo scoffed and crossed his arms as he turned around and growled while he began to pace. Ikyna watched him with a disapproving frown but turned to Reyson again to ask the question that was most pressing, "You're helping the army? How? Why?"
"I want to help you with your cause, with this war. Besides that, I owe you for what you've helped me with."
"But how can you help us?" she questioned while still eyeing her pacing Laguz friend warily.
Reyson smiled, he didn't feel like explaining the effects of his galdar when it would be better when she could see it in action. It wasn't something that Beorc could just understand if he explained it. "When I go into the next battle, you'll understand."
"Will you be okay?"
Reyson lifted a hand to slide through his hair bashfully, "No need to worry about me. I didn't come here alone. Tibarn sent Ulki and Janaff to help look after me." He made a small awkward laugh, "So that means you won't have to worry about protecting me out on the battlefield."
The heron's smile dropped as he watched Yakuzo and Ikyna exchange an uncomfortable look with each other then look back at him. Yakuzo looked angrier and Ikyna looked suddenly very upset. The prince knew he stumbled on an awkward subject but he didn't know what it was.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No." Ikyna blurted quickly. Too quickly for it to not be suspicious. Yakuzo spoke just as quickly afterward, "Yeah you did." His arms were tightly folded over his chest as he barred his teeth.
"Yakuzo!"
"What?!"
Reyson looked between the friends and felt another surge of tension that he knew he was the cause of. "What happened? Why are you two making those faces?"
Ikyna shook her head at the Laguz and made a silent plea with the cat to not say what his aggravated expression implied he was going to say. Yakuzo's eyes darted from bird to girl quickly before he spoke, "We're making this face because Ikyna doesn't want to tell you that she won't have to worry about helping you on the battlefield because she won't be fighting anymore."
"Why won't she be fighting?" Reyson questioned. He looked to Ikyna for the answers but she was only looking at the ground as she rubbed the back of her neck. But Yakuzo was looking at him judgmentally as he continued, "Because when she was saving your life she sustained a very substantial injury to her right arm and she can't fight anymore."
There was evident blame and accusation in the cat's voice. He had his lips pursed out tightly as he shot a withering and damning glare at Reyson. Reyson would have spent more time feeling wounded by the Gallian's disgust with him if he hadn't found himself focused on Ikyna's arm. He hadn't paid attention at first but he realized that it hadn't moved since he'd seen her.
Like he was being drawn by a string, he walked in a trance toward the girl he knew almost exclusively as his kind hearted savior. He stood in front of her, at least a head taller, and looked into her eyes briefly as she shivered below him.
"Give me your arm." He commanded roughly, but not intentionally.
Ikyna looked at Reyson in confusion but didn't move.
"She can't move it, her arm is completely paralyzed." Yakuzo spat venomously.
Ikyna shot him a harsh look as she used her good hand to lift her limp arm into Reyson's grasp. Yakuzo said nothing further but his disapproval was obvious from the growl he made before returning to his circular pace around the tent.
Reyson grabbed the arm and lifted it to take a look at the evidence of a truth he could barely believe. He knew that Ikyna had suffered for his sake, but he didn't know it had been so severe. He rolled his fingers over her arm that was yellowed and discolored, like it had died. There were deep violet veins that crawled like a sick web to her shoulder. He turned the hand at the wrist and watched Ikyna's gaze follow it with a controlled sadness. Reyson could feel the archer screaming silently within herself as he traced the dead limb while knowing that she couldn't feel his touch.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered painfully. "This is my fault."
"I'm pretty sure the man with the silver hammer is the actual one to blame."
Reyson looked up mournfully, "I can fix this."
"What are you talking about?"
Reyson nodded quickly as if to reassure himself that his theory would work. He sat down abruptly on the floor on the long rub that separated the group from the icy snow. Ikyna was pulled down with a small yelp but not much other discomfort. "I promise you I can fix this."
He crossed his legs as he sat and placed Ikyna's own limp hand into her lap. The prince rubbed his hands together to ward off the cold as he closed his eyes and thought of what he needed to do. "What are you going to do?" Ikyna questioned.
"I'm going to make you better."
"Wait, how are you going to do that?" Yakuzo said as he stopped his pacing and turned it into a swift walk in the heron's direction. He loomed over him skeptically but with more curiosity than anything else.
Reyson kept his eyes on Ikyna, "I have galdar that can restore her injured arm."
"Are you serious?" the Gallian asked and Ikyna could only mirror the reaction with a shocked gasp.
Reyson nodded, "Yes, at least partially heal it." He put cupped his hands together and closed his eyes. The laguz and archer watched curiously in anticipation of the bird's next actions.
The prince inhaled slowly and started to sing. It was a soft melody that sounded like quiet whispering of tree leaves rustling in a swift wind mixed with Reyson's smooth and full voice. Ikyna was reminded of the day in the Serenes forest when Reyson's and Leanne's song had brought the forest to life. The tune was similar but not the same as its volume started to rise and bring with it a glitter of golden light.
The expansion of the gold was not as large as the night in the forest, but it focused on her arm. Ikyna squinted through her hair as it whipped into her face and then looked at the heron who was singing and completely focused on the melodious incantation.
The song soon started to die down, and with it left the wind and the trail of shimmering light. Ikyna felt dazed when the prince slowly opened his light green eyes. There was a moment of stillness until the prince nodded at Ikyna. She swallowed and looked at Yakuzo for an answer but he looked as perplexed as she felt.
Ikyna then turned her gaze to her hand; its coloring wasn't much different but she focused on it. Almost two months had passed since she'd moved it; she'd nearly forgotten how. But then she saw, and then she felt her pinky finger move against her lap. Then it was her index finger and her thumb and soon she turned her wrist and palm around fully.
A smile spread widely on her face and she let out a happy and emotional laugh as she lifted it slowly to her face. "Yakuzo!" she called in elation, "Look!" she held her palm up for him to see its new found movement.
Yakuzo was kneeling next to her with a toothy grin and a tail that was excitedly twirling. "Is this real?" he asked, his former rotten mood gone and replaced with the joy of seeing his friend healed. Yakuzo looked at Reyson with elated disbelief, "Is it really healed?"
Ikyna smacked him with her original good arm, "Of course it's real, I'm moving it aren't I?" she said with a laugh that was followed by tears.
"That's incredible." Yakuzo said as he let out a steady breath in amazement.
Ikyna could do barely more than agree as she clenched her hand into a fist for the first time in weeks. She could feel the muscles in her hand contracting and even the cold in the tent was nipping at her revived skin.
She was shaking her head in amazement. Ikyna thought that the forest coming back to life was the only unbelievable event she'd see in her life but the prince had done it again. He'd done something that didn't seem possible, that she wouldn't have believed could happen, but there her once paralyzed hand was, wiggling her fingers and turning in front of her face. "It's amazing." She said as she cried and laughed at the same time.
Her palm was up and facing away from her as she marveled at something as simple as movement in her hand. "Yeah it is." Yakuzo agreed without hesitation.
Reyson watched and felt a warmth spreading over him, one that he hadn't felt in a while. The young woman who had lost so much to save him, he'd actually been able to do something good for her. He was able to return part of the favor.
He lifted his hand, without thinking, and touched it to Ikyna's. She turned her head quickly from Yakuzo with a small yelp of surprise. Her eyes dilated as she blushed, hardly understanding the heron's strange gesture. She wished she could read his thoughts as she watched him lock his fingers into hers. But all she could think of was how it felt to feel skin after what seemed like forever; and of all the touches it was, it was Reyson's.
Reyson's thoughts weren't much different from Ikyna's. He was thinking, as Ikyna's fingers curled around his and she smiled shyly at him, that he'd never touched a Beorc that way. In fact, the only time he had was when he'd punched the senator from Begnion.
There was a stark contrast from that time to how he felt then. He didn't hate this girl, or want to run away from her. It was the opposite; Ikyna intrigued him, drew him in, and instead of wanting to escape all he kept wondering was if all Beorc's hands were as warm as hers.
