4

The rain began slow, just a few droplets across the sand and soil but in just a few minutes the slight drizzle had ramped up to torrential proportions. The heavy winds were nothing to scoff at either since at points it almost seemed like rain was falling sideways as it was coming at Robin head on and with impressive force.

Robin tried his best to regain his bearings, forgetting what had gotten them into the situation and instead dealing with the situation at hand. He takes a moment to examine the landscape, at least what he could see with the limited visibility.

They had recently escaped the palace courtyard thanks to an opening the Feroxi had created through a valley towards the west. The biggest problem would be the high vantage points atop the cliff the Plegians held, archers and wyvern would control the area around them.

Because of that Robin wasn't sure if this rain was a blessing or a curse. He could have never predicted the desert could contain so much rainfall, but archers and fliers were next to useless for now, that meant the Plegian forces were forced to attack head on, on foot like the rest of them. It was slow moving, horses especially having a hard time getting steady footing, but slowly they were distancing themselves from Gangrel.

Robin could hear fighting going on around him, but it seemed wherever he looked was just a curtain of water, it was absolute chaos. With each step he felt the mud attempt to claim his boot, and the weight of his wet cloak was finally beginning to weigh down on him, luckily Chrom wasn't around to comment on it.

"Father we need to keep moving" a voice rings from behind him, but he doesn't even need to turn to look at the girl who has been chirping in his ear since the incident in the courtyard.

Letting out an exasperated sigh he nods and continues trying to move before he feels someone running into the side of him, clamping onto his arm and attempting to pull him out of the mud he found himself in.

"Come on if we get caught, we won't last long!" she shouts, her voice quite loud now that she's yelling directly at his face.

Has she been giving orders to the Shepherds and Feroxi this entire time? The girls unending energy must have something to do with it, it's like she was an agent of chaos or something to be able to work in this situation. Craning his neck around he peers through the rain to inspect the state of the situation, wanting to see if the Plegians were close by. Slowly the frown on his face morphed into a look of confusion as he recognizes Donnel and Vaike who he thought was rearguard, begin to rush downhill, the direction they were escaping from. The only thing they would accomplish is slowing down the Plegians but only for a brief moment before the two would be quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered by the forces from behind.

"Wait Morgan, what about them? They're heading towards the enemies; we're attempting to escape" he says confused he even has to explain this.

"Oh, I know! Of the Shepherds they're easily the most expendable." she smiles, speaking in her usual tone but her words seem so unfeeling and cold.

Where did that come from? The response is so quick and curt it nearly knocks him over. A shiver runs down Robin's spine as the slight shock wakes him up some, a renewed energy filling him as he takes a few steps forward to grab onto Morgan's shoulders.

"What? What are you saying?" he finally gets out of his mouth, not sure what to think at this point.

Morgan blinks, a bit confused, mouth agape as she ponders why her father is acting so oddly. Thinking he wants an explanation she begins laying out her thought process with a grin "Well, they're going to help guarantee our escape, I would have liked more, but see at that bottleneck t-"

"What? No…" Robin shakes his head, still not over the shock of the statement "No, no, no, Morgan what are you thinking?" he grimaces not understanding where this behavior is coming from suddenly.

Morgan who is staring up at her father tilts her head back slightly, unsure if she did something wrong and almost seems too afraid to ask. "I don't…"

Never having had to really explain this to anyone Robin begins struggling to explain his thoughts that seem to spill out with any "The… Shepherds may not be the strongest or most well trained… but they have their own strength"

"Versatility?" Morgan chirps in quickly, trying to finish his statement as if being tested.

"No, it's the bonds they've all forged!" Robin gestures, arms splayed, nearly getting angry. He's about to elaborate before the itching question in the back of his mind forces him to ask, "What possessed you to even call an order like this?"

"I don't get it, what's the problem? I'm securing our escape, even some peasant and barbarian could delay them in this weather" she responds a bit competitively.

"That's inane! We can't just callously throw away their lives like that!"

"Uhh yes, we can, it's our job to make those sorts of decisions! A tactician can't hope to keep every single person alive during a war, the very thought is mad!"

An awkward pause falls over the two, the only sounds heard was the raindrops hitting the puddles around them.

"I don't have time for this, I need to get them back up here…" Robin drops the topic with the wave of his hands.

"What!? In your state you'll never even make it back up the hill!" Morgan's annoyance quickly dissipating at the thought of her father's well being put in harm's way.

"Then so be it, as long as I get those two back here…" he says while walking past her

"This doesn't make any sense, those two are nobodies! You're the tactician! And I was only doing what you showed me! I am not in the wrong here" she continues to defend her actions.

Robin freezes in his tracks, being an amnesiac it's impossible to tell what he was like before… but surely, he wasn't so heartless to go and teach someone as young as her things like that… If Morgan really is his daughter, then he can't say he likes the image he's getting of his past self.

Morgan seemingly not getting any sort of reaction begins to growl "Fine, just continue to stand there and daydream" she stomps past him, turning her head to flash him an angry look "I'll go retrieve those two, you can just go home."

With a blink Robin, ready to apologize raises a hand "Wait, Morgan" he says feeling a bit apologetic, there was no reason to get in argument in the middle of a battle like this. Though before he can call her name again, she turns at him, tome in hand.

-0-

Morgan scouts the surrounding area in an attempt to distract herself from the argument as she scurries back down the hill. Alright, just have to go collect the two buffoons while Frederick and Chrom deal with the general and hopefully all before the Plegians can catch up to the stragglers of the group. Frederick seems reliable and should be able to fulfill the orders she gave him earlier before moving the check up on her father, her very ungrateful father that is…

The rain has made the hill a bit perilous at this point and it's a miracle Morgan had made it so far without a misstep, but one misplaced step sends her heel digging deep into the mud unable to be pulled free easily. As stuck as her foot may be the continuing the momentum of her body sends her flopping forward, her body tumbling several feet down the remaining height of the hill.

"Dammit…" the girl whines, trying to wipe some tears from her face with her sleeve. "A tactician shouldn't be doing all this running…" she says as if trying to convince anyone who might be watching that it was the fall she was crying about. Composing herself she gets back onto her heeled feet, finding the footwear of dark mage's outfit a bit detrimental on this terrain.

After a bit further she happens upon the two, luckily still alive. "Hey! Change of plans, regroup and make sure no one else falls behind, you'll be the rearguard until we're out of the valley" she shouts hitting Vaike in the shoulder as he seems a bit slow on the uptake but quickly joins Donnel.

Morgan's a bit happy the two of them followed orders without complaint, unlike the first time around, and she's about to head off when through the rain she thinks she spots someone else trudging down the path. They don't appear to be a Plegian so she starts to approach the dawdler "Come one we gotta get back to the others!" she shouts, arms waving and pointing up the hill.

The stranger who was staring at their feet, seemingly deep in thought tilts their head upwards to look at the voice and seems to freeze, but only for a moment as their hand reaches to the hilt of their sword hanging from their waist.

Morgan's eyes widen a bit, sensing the danger, yet also seeming to recognize the person, Chrom?...No he should be at the vanguard. "H-hold, despite my outfit I am on your side" she tries to explain with a smile as she steps forward to get a better look at the person, a young woman with a tired look and soaking wet hair.

"You…" she growls under her breath, more menacingly than Morgan would like as she quickly draws her sword on the young tactician.

-0-

Robin groaned, face down in the sand and dirt as he tries to figure out his situation. Morgan sent him flying with a Wind tome which wouldn't be so bad had he not rolled his ankle, probably spraining it. Maybe he was thirty or forty years old, and his bones and joints are just pathetically brittle...

Robin was content with playing dead at this point, but someone had other plans as they clear their throat trying to get his attention. Though before Robin even gets the chance to respond a blunt object begins to sharply prod his back insistently.

The person is anything but gentle and could even be an enemy though Robin is soon calmed by the soothing warmth of a healing staff. Ohhh... its Lissa he thinks to himself as she continues to prod his back.

"Thanks Lisa-" Raising his head he's a bit startled to discover who it really is "Maribelle…" he fixes his sentence hoping she won't respond with some snide comment.

"Are you alright?" she asks in a soft tone, a hint of concern on her voice. She must be worried not to have made a remark on his appearance.

"Not particularly" he sighs, a bit surprised Maribelle had descended from her horse and into the ankle high mud to help him.

And stunning him for a third time, Maribelle bends down and grabs one of his arms and with a bit of huff and some yanking, she helps him to his feet and uses her body to support him. Robin will have to reevaluate his opinion in Maribelle. Though this must be the first time he's been alone with her, usually Lissa is around to mediate, speaking of, this could just be Maribelle acting on Lissa's behalf.

"I saw what happened" her voice cuts Robin's thoughts short and he turns to look at her.

"Ah...yeah I fell…" he admits hoping Maribelle hadn't been around longer than that and luckily for him, she doesn't seem continue her thought.

Or so he thought "You're stronger than you think you know..." she starts much to Robin's chagrin, and before he can respond she continues. "Ever since that girl appeared you've been acting strangely, distant… Chrom might not have noticed it and Lissa might be too shy or afraid to bring it up directly so leave it to me…" she states acting as if talking to him is some monumental task. "We would have never made it this far without your guidance...I might not be here" she pauses after the sobering thought. Clearing her throat she continues, trying to get back onto the topic at hand "So you need to snap out of your envious induced depression and get back to being the tactician, since, despite your lowborn status and all… it is something you're quite proficient at…" Robin a bit surprised at the kind tone of Mari- "Since if something were to happen to my dear Lissa while you were off sulking I would never forgive you" There it is…

Though despite Maribelle's questionable motives and dubious opinion on him, she did give Robin a bit to think about… was he jealous of his supposed daughter, and has he really been acting so depressed? He chalked it up to low energy, but she might have a point. He'd have to give it more thought when he wasn't being chased by enemies in the middle of a typhoon.

The two continued to walk in silence for a bit as he tries to parse what Maribelle meant by the statement, fortunately the rain was seeming to finally let up some, though the two were already completely soaked throughout. With a content sigh, Robin turns to Maribelle ready to thank her and end the awkward silence between them when he feels his face heat up slightly, and with cheeks-tinged pink he quickly turns to face the opposite direction, and with that Robin decides for the rest of the walk not to face Maribelle… "I never did thank you properly by the way…" she admits, and Robin can feel her eyes burning into the back of his head, waiting for a response.

I make poost

This one is really text heavy, so sorry, also I don't remember writing this chapter, been a while.

This took longer than necessary to make but my interest in Fire Emblem always comes and goes every now and then. I really like the series but things like Fates really makes me sad. I hope Three Houses is good, but that title makes it sound like another Fates. I started playing Heroes again though and my gacha luck is still unmatched, my IV luck on the other hand not so much. I got 2 FemMorgans in a row so I guess that helped push me to finish this.