Corrin woke up at dawn, illuminated by a strange yet familiar sun. When he sat up, Corrin didn't see Azura straight away, but saw a small blue shape a few meters from where he sat, near the trees. Bleary eyed and half asleep, he briefly wondered how she had gotten so small before remembering the events of the previous day. A song was in the air, like that of a bird.

Did that wake me up? But there are no birds here. Corrin recalled. The familiar tune made him realize that it was his downsized friend making the noise, singing at the edge of the clearing. His vision clearing, he could see her dance as she sang. Corrin stayed still for a while, watching her performance wordlessly. The song soothed him, the lyrics resonating with him on a level he did not understand. He smiled, recalling their conversation last night. They had stayed up late last night, talking about Hoshido, Nohr and themselves. He felt like he was really getting to know the mysterious songstress.

He didn't want to interrupt the song, so he waited until Azura seemed to pause before approaching. His movements were quite loud, the tiny dancer turning towards him before he was near.
"Good morning, Corrin," Azura smiled at him.
"Good morning, Azura. That was a fantastic performance just now!" Corrin said.
"Thanks you, but I was just practicing..." Azura looked away, a bit embarrassed.
"Anyway, we should probably get ready, then head off right?" Corrin suggested, gesturing to what was left from their forage yesterday.
Azura nodded.

Not long afterward, Corrin was back on the path. He still didn't feel hungry, so just ate a single peach for breakfast. Azura was still eating, sat on his shoulder. She was munching on a grape again, making Corrin think she liked those. Not only was Azura eating on his shoulder, but she was kicking her legs happily too, her thighs drumming on his clavicle like small fingers. This was quite irritating to Corrin, but she seemed to be in good spirits so he kept quiet and alert for any potential enemies.
"Seems like we're still alone..." Corrin said.
"Mmhmm," Azura mumbled, finishing off the last of her meal, "if anyone was around, we would probably have been attacked in the night."
"Yes..." Corrin said with a gulp. That was an unpleasant thought. Last night, he had almost forgotten about the danger they were in. What if they had been attacked? He tightened his grip on the Yato.
Corrin stopped when he felt something on his neck. He almost moved to brush it off before realizing it was Azura's tiny hands grabbing onto him. Small feet scrabbled up his neck as Azura's grip moved to his jaw, tugging at his chin. Irritated, Corrin remained still as she continued her climb, grabbing onto his ear. She let out a small yelp as his ear folded down under her weight, jumping to grab hold of his hair. Reaching the top of his head, she paced around for a little while before lying down on her front, facing in the same direction as Corrin.
"Are you comfortable up there?" Corrin asked, his irritation barely masked by his tone.
"Yes," Azura answered cheerily, "there's a lovely view up here! It's almost like being tall again!"
Corrin sighed. Now that he had gotten to know her, he realized her calm and distant nature was just a front. He wondered if she was always this impish. He continued to walk, now having to be extra careful not to move his head too quickly...

The journey was eerily quiet, no signs of life to be found. The path was straight and long, framed by trees. Corrin was still tense, thinking an attack could come at any moment. The same couldn't be said for Azura, who had sprawled out on top of his head and seemed to be lounging around. She had too much energy, he thought. Probably because she didn't need to walk anymore. She had been driving him mad with her antics, but Corrin was too polite to say anything.
Suddenly her movements stopped. "Corrin," she called down to him, "can you feel it?"
He hadn't been able to feel anything, save for the tiny woman on his head and her occasional tugs at his hair, but he concentrated for a moment.
"A dragon vein!" he replied.
"Yes, it's somewhere straight ahead," Azura informed him.
Corrin picked up the pace, Azura clinging to his scalp. He stopped when he saw enemies appearing ahead.
"Keep going," Azura instructed, "they will probably disappear when I use the dragon vein."
"All right," Corrin agreed.

Lunging forward, he cut down the first foe. The second swiped at him with an unseen weapon, but he parried it and took them down. More closed in behind him but he ignored them, pressing towards the dragon vein. Yet more appeared seemingly from nowhere, surrounding him. He took some of them down without difficulty, but more kept appearing. Worn down and outflanked, he barely blocked a blow from the side. Retaliating, he spun with his weapon, clearing his surroundings of enemies. More foes moved in. Corrin raised his weapon again. He couldn't keep this up forever. He flinched as he felt something land on his shoulder, but quickly realized it was Azura. Standing up, she started to sing.
"You are the ocean's gray waves..."
Corrin felt energized, revitalized by the song. In a single moment, he cut down all of the foes in sight. The way forward clear, he sprinted for the dragon vein, Azura clinging to his neck. He could see it now, a stone circle on the ground, but more of the mysterious enemies were waiting. Ready to face his foes, he suddenly felt a weight lifting from his shoulder.
"Corrin!" Azura cried. He whipped round to see her in the grasp of an enemy, the mysterious foe retreating with the shrunken songstress.
"Azura!" He shouted for her but was blocked by yet more enemies. Determination surging, he felled them in a single blow and lunged for his friend. His blade found its target, impaling the shadowy figure. Its hand faded, dropping the tiny woman. Corrin caught her in mid-air with his free hand.

"Are you all right?" Corrin asked the dazed dancer in his hand.
"Behind you!" she shouted, pointing over his shoulder. He turned and swung his sword in a single motion, foiling the ambush. He went for the dragon vein, his movements taking inspiration from Azura's dance to keep flowing towards his goal while defeating his foes. He quickly set Azura down, turning to block an attack.
"Do it, Azura!" he shouted.
Azura paused, about to sing for her friend. He was clearly having a harder time with these enemies but decided to waste no time in activating the dragon vein. She would just have to trust him to defend her while she channeled its power. She wasn't sure why, but it seemed like this one was somehow different from the others...