Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.

Morgan POV.

"Look at these pathetic Ylissians trying to pretend they are proper Feroxi." Nathan scoffs. "Don't they know Armorslayers are Feroxi weapons? I don't see why the boss would have any interest in these weaklings. Why, I've never used one and I could probably perform better than these fools thanks to the red hot Feroxi blood in my veins."

"The boss was interested in "Ylissian crafting techniques" and "an Ylissian spin on Feroxi tradition"." I add, and then spit forcefully on the ground. "Pathetic. Feroxi techniques cannot be improved upon! It's not like we live in a harsher environment and have less time to devote to learning advance smithing techniques because we're busy trying to survive!"

"Ha! Our dangerous environment only makes our smithing more hardcore!" Nathan growls. It's cute when he tries to be gruff now, because he lacks any of the bulk or muscle that would make such a thing even vaguely intimidating or believable. "Our steel is extra strong just like our muscles!"

"And our skulls!" I add. "So hard they can't be broken!"

"Yeah!"

"Can you two please try not to offend three halves of the dukedom?" Father says dryly.

"But Father, we're true Feroxi!" I say, still in a dramatic voice. "We're reminding these traitors of their true heritage!"

Father pinches the bridge of his nose. "Why is it that as soon as we leave Ylisstol you're suddenly a comedian…?"

"We're not comedians, we're warriors." Nathan adds.

"Nathan." Father sighs. "Don't encourage her."

Fat chance of him listening to that.

"And for Naga's sake, don't let Duke Crius hear you talking like that."

"Why do you think we're doing this bit now, when he's not here?" I chirp. "And I'm not suddenly a comedian! I've always been a comedian! Ylisstol was just stifling my creative and comedic genius! Stuffy nobles to the left and to the right, my partner gone for a year! Such conditions are not conducive for a free spirited genius such as myself!"

"You fail to understand Robin." Nathan says, putting on a deep, dramatic voice, and holding a hand up in the air. "Morgan will revolutionize the ancient and powerful art of improvisational theater! The planet is her canvas, and world events are merely fodder for spontaneous skits that cut deep to the issues felt by all of humanity!"

Father sighs again. "I can understand now why Kjelle grumbled about you two so much."

"She doesn't appreciate art." Nathan scoffs, and dismissively waves his hand. I mimic the action while putting on my best derisive sneer. "Don't be drawn in by the non-believers' lies. Improvisational theater is the one true calling."

"Are we a cult now?" I stage-whisper to Nathan. "Can we make this a cult bit?

"Sure." He whispers back. He then coughs once and stands up straight. "Rob-"

"No thanks, I'm done with this." Father groans.

"Ah, uh, okay." Nathan squeaks, abruptly dropping out of the persona. "Sorry."

"It's fine, just… stop."

Honestly that reaction isn't too unusual. It's a lot harder to do bits with people that aren't future children around. Everyone's so serious. I kinda miss the days of travelling with just me, Nathan, and Noire. Me and Nathan could do whatever bit crossed our mind and Noire wasn't about to stop us.

Ahh, simpler times… simpler times with way more stress, but simpler times.

With Father disapproving of our fantastic acting skills, me and Nathan have to find something else to do on the walk. After getting some distance from the others, I manage to nudge Nathan into singing. It's been a very long time since he sang anything, and I've always found Earth songs fascinating.

That passes enough time to tide us over until we reach our destination at the very least.

###

Armorslayers are fun. I absolutely don't need one because I have magic, but I get trained to use one anyways because any Shepherd that can use one of these specialty weapons is going to learn them, if purely so we can teach others when we get to Valentia. Armorslayers are about the only fun to be had at the moment though.

We're on a bit of a time crunch, so despite the fact that those of us who were sitting around in the castle have just reunited with the rest of the Shepherds, there's no time to talk. Our days are spent in continuous training and planning. It's not just learning to use the specialized weapons that we're dealing with. The Shepherds are also getting back into the peak physical condition that has somewhat laxed in the two year grace period.

Or in my case, getting into peak condition for the first time. It sucks. It's all exercise and drilling and exercise and tactical training and exercise, did I mention exercise? Because there's exercise. There's also very little free time.

Suddenly, it's very convenient to have a partner who doesn't have to deal with as much of this stuff as I do, because while I'm constantly aching and exhausted, Nathan is much less tired and makes my life easier by dealing with all the small tasks that I'd normally have to deal with myself like sewing holes in my clothes, sharpening my sword, all the basic stuff.

Also, he gives massages, and I never realized how much I needed them until my muscles started to cramp and ache all the time.

Nathan has other duties he's been assigned (learning every auxiliary task and chore one could possibly do around a campsite, a crash course in logistics, and a few other things), but he's still technically part of the military so a certain level of physical training is required and he joins us for lots of the exercises.

Honestly I was expecting a lot more complaining from Nathan, but there's surprisingly little. I mean, if I ask then he'll happily vent and spit metaphorical acid, but otherwise he doesn't complain. He settles for thin-lipped glares behind people's backs instead.

"On an objective level, I absolutely don't blame Frederick and Chrom for drilling us. It's necessary." He explains to me once. "On the subjective level though, they're the people who make me, and more importantly you, feel like shit on a daily basis, so you bet I'm going to glare… but nothing more. Again, necessity. Not their fault."

Actually, it's that explanation that gets me to stop mocking antagonizing Frederick myself. As satisfying as it is to take cheap jabs at the person making me feel terrible, I did decide to be a Shepherd. This is on me.

Fuck your fitness hour though Frederick. Fall in pegasus shit.

###

"What do you want?" Inigo asks in confusion. Pretty justified, since Nathan walked into his room (his, Yarne's, Owain's, and Laurent's actually) "Who are you?"

"To make you and offer you can't- or totally can I guess- refuse!" Nathan says as dramatically as his nervousness will allow. For some reason he insisted on talking to Inigo by himself first, without me to facilitate their introduction. I'm currently watching by peeking through the doorway. Nathan actually tried to shoo me off entirely, saying it'd be even more nerve-wracking if I was watching, but there's no way I'm not going to watch this.

Also, if Inigo starts being mean, I want to be able to yell at him.

"Are you a friend of Owain, by chance?" Inigo asks.

"Nope!" Nathan says, keeping a (nervous) smile on his face. "I'm here to offer you something incredible!"

"Really now…"

"Well, okay, I'm here to offer you something to pass the time since there aren't a lot of options around here at the moment." Nathan admits. "I have a stockpile of games, and I was wondering if you might want to borrow some of them."

That peaks Inigo's interest. Free time is precious at the moment, but there also really isn't much to spend it on. The Shepherds can't really leave the area because we can't have too many people knowing the Prince's personal squad is preparing for war, so that means not going to town and flirting with random girls for Inigo. "What games?"

"Probably none you've ever heard of." Nathan says. "But I've got a whole scale from strategy to luck! Memory games, strategy games, dice games, card games! Mostly strategy games actually, but I have a least a few of the others."

Huh, I guess Nathan worked on a pitch for his game library idea. Also, this is not at all what I was expecting as an introduction. Actually, he seems to be avoiding a proper introduction.

"What makes you think I haven't heard of them?"

"They're not from around here." Nathan says.

"I've been to Chon'sin, I might know some."

Nathan lightly rolls his eyes at that. Chon'sin isn't going to help. "Does Chess sound familiar?"

"Yes."

Nathan balks. I forgot I introduced Inigo to chess at some point. His memory is better than I thought. He hated chess and only played a few times, but he still remembers it. "Really?"

"Yes." Inigo says, and leans forward. "You're Nathan, aren't you?"

I guess that was a logical conclusion if he remembered chess. Who else would offer him that after all?

Nathan decides to push on regardless. "That's me! I have more than chess if you want. Even have instructions written out for everything!"

I can see Inigo trying to decide what to do about this. Judging by the way his shoulders sag, I think he decided he doesn't have the energy to try and interrogate Nathan at the moment. Yay for training? "You said dice games?"

"Yeah! Did Morgan tell you about Yahtzee?"

"She mentioned it."

"Well it's mostly luck…" Nathan says, and launches into a quick explanation of how the game works. It's amusing watching Nathan try to "sell" the game to Inigo, as if Inigo won't already be happy just to have some half-decent entertainment. "You're going to need other people to play it with, of course. It's not a single-player game."

"I'll take it." Inigo nods.

"Borrow it." Nathan says. "I'm offering a rent, not a purchase. Though if you want to buy it I could figure out a price."

Inigo rolls his eyes. "I'll rent, thanks. Are you charging for that too?"

"Yes… but not for you. Gotta bribe Morgan's family somehow." Nathan says cheekily.

"Genius." Inigo says sarcastically. "Well, let's see this game."

"Just let me fetch it."

Nathtan walks out of the room, scowls a bit and pokes me in the nose when he sees me outside the door, and fetches the game from his room. After making sure Inigo understands the rules once more, Nathan beats a hasty retreat to end their first interaction on a half-decent note.

"Was that the plan all along?" I ask when Nathan steps out of the room. "Bribe my family with games?"

"No." He says, smiling. "But, I mean, if I have so many games I might as well take advantage right? Why try to win them over with my personality and skills when I can bribe them instead?"

I grin in return. "Genius."

"I know."

###

"This was normal?" I groan.

"I know, right?" Severa complains. "It's just like being back in the past! Nothing but marching and fighting and more marching! It sucks!"

"I remember the days when my muscles didn't constantly feel like molten lava." I say.

"And I remember when I could actually make my hair look nice and not have it be soaked with sweat ten minutes later." Severa says. "And when I could actually go shopping, or actually carry around more than three sets of clothes."

"And it's only going to get worse once we reach Valentia." I say. "Joy."

"Stupid wars, stupid Grima." Severa grumbles. "I can't say I'm surprised, but it still sucks."

"Yeah." I nod. "Hopefully we'll make quick work of Walhart and can go home right away."

Severa shakes her head. "It's never that simple, even if we have inside information."

"Yeah." I sigh. "I know."

"It's worse that everyone else seems okay with it." Severa grumbles. "Kjelle is actually happy about all this training!"

"You'd rather everyone complain?"

"Yes! It feels like everyone is just ignoring how shitty this is." Severa says. "We complained about our situation all the time in the future."

"That… sounds really annoying actually."

"It was, but it's better than just smiling and pretending everything is okay." Severa says.

"No one's doing that Severa. I don't think I've seen anyone smiling, not even Lissa, and certainly no one is pretending this is fun." I say. "Well, except maybe Kjelle and Sully, but they're freaks."

"Yeah, yeah…" Severa sighs. "I know, I just hate it. I can't believe I'm willingly going back to war."

"What other choice is there?"

"Anything else. Literally anything else!" Severa almost shouts. "I could… I dunno, do fashion, get a job, something that isn't running headlong at people trying to kill me with spears and magic!"

"But you're doing it anyway."

"Yeah." Severa quiets, suddenly looking very tired. Not physically tired, more emotionally tired. "Yeah, I am."

"Why? The Shepeherds could manage without you." I say. I'm not trying to be rude, that's just a fact. There are only a few people in the Shepherds who I could say are absolutely vital, and beyond that the Shepherds just need a certain amount of troops to be able to function. One person, or even five people, less really wouldn't change much. "You could go back to Ylisstol and not deal with this."

"But then who's going to look out for Mom and Dad?" She asks. "Who's going to do that as well as me?"

I can understand that sentiment. Half the reason I'm joining this war is to help Father. I know I can take some of the burden off him, and I know I can help the war end earlier than it would otherwise. "It's weird, isn't it?"

"I want to protect my parents, that's not weird!" Severa snaps.

"No, no I mean, it's weird that we're not really fighting to stop Walhart, are we?" I say. "Our personal stake is wholly independent of who our opponent is."

"I mean, I don't like Walhart-"

"But if your parents weren't a part of the war, would you be?" I ask.

"I-" Severa hesitates. "I don't know. I'm not sure I'd want to throw myself on the line if I knew my parents would be safe otherwise."

"But Grima." I say.

"Yeah." Severa agrees quietly. "But Grima. For that reason alone, I think I'd still be here, with or without my parents in the war. Someone has to tip the balance, or else we'll end up like my world."

For someone who's been nothing but bitchy for as long as I've known her, that's a surprisingly selfless motive. "What about when Grima's dead?"

"I'm out." Severa huffs. "I'm not sticking around in the Shepherds once Grima is gone. Even when this crazy training isn't happening, I'm tired of doing nothing but stabbing Risen and marching all over the place. The military isn't for me, thank you very much."

Yeah, I get it. "Circumstances are a bitch sometimes."

Severa nods. "More than sometimes."

Our conversation tapers off, but the following silence is comfortable, friendly even. At least, it is until Frederick shouts for everyone to pick up the pace, and instead of marching we're now sprinting and panting like dogs.

Fuck training.

###

Part of tactical training involves mock battles, and I hope I don't have to tell you that it's nerve-wracking. It's one thing to be Father's backup and assistant, it's another to be training to take command of the Shepherds if needed. Yet, that's exactly what happens. I'm not just given command of the future children. The teams are divided up to give each team an even mix of everything.

Archers get these flat-headed arrows that look ridiculous and probably aren't as aerodynamic, but what are you gonna do. Can't have people using actual arrows.

I'm also against Father, which is bad, because Father has way more experience than me.

It will be a legendary battle! Genius against genius! Father against daughter! Both of our egos are on the line, not to mention our dignity! All the Shepherds are involved! (Father mentioned that point multiple times for some reason)

I'm really setting myself up for a hard loss here, aren't I?

The goal of the battle is to defeat the opposing tactician. The battlefield is uneven. My side has heavy forest, and Father's side is much lighter on the trees with a decent amount of rocky terrain.

None of the terrain is particularly conducive for cavaliers, so I have Stahl dismount. Father got Sully and Frederick, which seems unfair to me, but I can take solace in that their mounts won't be particularly useful either.

I've also got Lon'qu, so I'm not lacking a one man army myself.

My main concern is actually Gaius. I'm very aware he could sneak around everyone to try and take me out. That's why I'm keeping Kellam around me. Fight sneak with sneak!

I have a significant disadvantage being in the thick forest in that I can't use high ground to watch the battle because of all the trees in the way. I have to use magic to communicate with my commanders because of it, and I rely on a small board and figurines that I move around as I get reports and give orders to keep track of the battlefield.

Ranged fighters to the left, guarded by Vaike and Lon'qu. The other melee fighters flank from the right. I have two pegasus knights (Cordelia and Cynthia) so they're going to fly around back and try to take out the enemy mages. This is made easier by my side having the only archer.

Right? No, wait, didn't Donnel pick up the bow? I think so. We didn't all come together before each team went to their respective spots, we were individually told to meet at X location. That means I have to use purely my memory to recall what each person on Father's team can do and just what Shepherds are a part of his team based on who I have.

Rather than sit in the back and hide, I hang out close to the other ranged fighters. It's not that I don't trust Kellam, I simply want some additional safety.

The plan immediately goes sideways, because Father apparently decided to go way to the right, so it's my flanking force that makes first contact, which isn't great.

I quickly shout for my fliers to start flying around our foes. It's going to take longer than I wanted because they're essentially at the rear of our formation now, but there's nothing to be done about it now. I also have my backline rearrange themselves to stand behind my flanking force, which I suppose is my frontline now.

I can sort of see what's going on through the trees, but I'm mostly relying on Laurent and Lon'qu's reports to tell what's going on.

The most obvious issue is that Gaius, Sumia, and Father's backline haven't been seen at all with the exception of Lissa who is healing up Father's frontline. Where is that backline? I don't want Cordelia and Cynthia to end up doing nothing because Father is doing something weird with his backline.

There's a shifting in the brush, and a second later Kellam dashes to my left side and raises his shield (while I duck and brandish my sword). A moment later several blunted daggers bounce off his shield, and Kellam responds with a javelin. Gaius jumps out of a bush to avoid the attack, and the two of them become embroiled in a duel of daggers and javelins.

I brandish my tome, prepared to chip in, only to spot Sumia flying overhead, realize I'm outmatched, and beat a hasty retreat while yelling at my backline to help Kellam.

After all, if I'm defeated then we lose. I don't want to abandon Kellam to the wolves, but I need to stay alive. Also, Kellam has heavy armor and can keep Gaius and hopefully Sumia occupied for a while. That's part of why I chose him to guard me, he makes a great wall to delay anyone trying to get to me.

I manage to get myself on the other side of the battlefield, well away from Gaius and Sumia. I can see Noire has peeled off from the backline and is shooting into the forest. Good. She must be helping Kellam.

Gotta focus. Father's backline is still missing, Lon'qu is reporting that we're winning the ongoing battle, and the sneak attack was foiled. Objectively, I think this is going well. If we can route Father's frontline before his backline ever shows itself, regardless of where it shows up, we should win by virtue of sheer numbers.

"Morgan!" A familiar voice calls. "Mooorgan!"

"Nathan?" Why is he here? This is a training exercise! Is he lost? "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, there you are!" He shouts, stepping out from around a tall tree. He looks decidedly nervous, but puts a smile on his face as he approaches. "I've spent nearly ten minutes looking for you!"

"Nathan, this is a battlefield, this really isn't the time." I say quickly.

"But it's important!"

"Hurry then!" I say impatiently. "Just say it and leave!" I know I'm being rude, but seriously, this is not the time.

"Your father is looking for you."

"Nathan, I'm fighting him right now, if he needs to talk to me afterward-"

"No." Nathan says, and grabs my wrist. A shit-eating grin crosses his face, and my heart drops into my stomach as I realize what's happening. Nathan's on the other team. "I mean right now."

With my sword and tomes in their holders, I'm reduced to grappling with Nathan to try and get him off me. I try and shout for help, and a few people on my side start running over, but it's going to take them a minute to get in range.

"I didn't even know you were participating!" I shout in annoyance. I brute-force my wrist out of his grip while he tries to kick my shins. "That's unfair!"

"Your father did say that every Shepherd was participating." Nathan says smugly. He's taking great amusement from this. "Now shh, submit like a good girlfriend."

"This is not the time for jokes Nathan!" I grunt as I try and fail to get a good grab on him. It looks like some of his physical training has paid off, because while I'm undoubtedly stronger and more skilled than him, he's not instantly losing either, and time is a precious resource at the moment.

"I disagree, it's the perfect time!" Nathan says very loudly. He suddenly stops trying to dodge my grabs, and instead body-slams me so that we both tumble into the dirt. I quickly manage to roll on top of him and pin his arms above his head. "Honestly Morgan. I know you're a lewd girl, but couldn't you save this for a better moment?"

I'm genuinely getting annoyed. Can he not take this seriously at least? "Nathan-"

"You know, when you're not about to get shot." He interrupts cheerfully.

Something moving very fast smacks into my back, followed by a few flares of training magic. I glare murderously down at Nathan's mad grin while I raise my hands in surrender.

Turning my head, I can see exactly where Father's backline is. It's currently forming a semi-circle around me, with all their weapons and magic pointed my way. Father strides to the forefront as I stand up to meet him.

"You used Nathan as bait." I say accusingly, as soon as he's close.

"And it worked perfectly." Father says, looking very pleased with himself.

"I didn't know he was participating!"

"I warned you that every Shepherd was going to be a part of this." Father says. "And he's a Shepherd."

"You…" I stop myself before actually cursing at him. I am livid; partially at him, and partially at myself for falling for something so obvious. Nathan isn't an idiot, of course he wouldn't be here unless he was actually part of the exercise. Wait, that means- "Your plan relied on me being an idiot!"

"And it worked." Father says. "Didn't it?"

Father, I love you, but I also hate you so much right now.

"It's not a plan I can use twice." Father shrugs. "But I might as well take every advantage I can get."

"I am going to destroy you next time." I seethe.

"Oh, it won't be that easy." Father chuckles. "But I look forward to seeing you try."

There are some other things that need to be done today, going over the mock battle in meticulous detail and analyzing our plans for one (so I can hear exactly how Father made me dance like a puppet), but first is dinner, and that means walking back to the barracks.

Me and Nathan walk in silence for a few minutes. I'm fuming over the events that just took place. I was stupid, I was so stupid, but Nathan made a mockery of me! He was smiling and joking the whole time! Even if he was bait, he could have at least taken it seriously!

I'm making a big deal out of this, but really it was all on me. I know it was all on me. Nathan's joking was obviously not intended to be malicious. He just thought the situation was funny, and with hindsight it will probably be funny to me too, but right now I'm mad.

"Morgan." Nathan says hesitantly.

"What?" I snap, glaring at him. I breath deeply through my nose to calm myself a bit before uttering my next words. "I'm angry Nathan. If this is a joke, please don't."

"It's not." He promises. "Just, uh… here."

He reaches up and pulls some leaves out of my hair, as well as brushing some dirt off my face. He finishes by standing on his toes to kiss my forehead. I glare at him all the while, but the gesture does admittedly reduce my anger a bit.

"You should have heard Robin explaining the plan beforehand. He drilled into us how we couldn't let down our guard or you'd find a way to rout us." Nathan murmurs. He offers his hand or arm, and after a moment of further glaring I huff and loop my arm through his. "You were a threat. Robin was quite worried you'd find some solution and clean us up."

I know what Nathan is doing. He's soothing my bruised ego… and I like it.

"Nathan, don't go putting words in my mouth!" Father calls.

"It's true!" He shouts back.

"I was not worried!"

"Oh, sure, then what was that whole bit when you were warning us about hidden ambushes and warning us that we'd have to adapt on the fly?" Nathan says. "Or how you kept checking in every five seconds to see if I'd found her?"

"Or how you kept muttering that we were in big trouble?" Nowi chirps. "That sounds like worry to me!"

Father grumbles something about traitors and picks up his pace to walk next to Chrom. Nathan grins and bumps his shoulder against mine.

"He was worried. You're very scary." He teases.

"As I should be." I huff. My anger is largely gone now. Nathan knows how to cheer me up. "And that includes you! I expect my boyfriend to know respect!"

Nathan laughs a bit. "Maybe let's save that for when we're not constantly exhausted."

It takes me a moment to understand what he means. "And you call me a lewd girl."

I walk into the mess hall in a significantly better mood, though the analysis of the battle after dinner is still a lesson in humility for me.

###

"Do you think I should come?"

I pause in packing up my things and look at Nathan. "You mean come on the mission?"

"Yeah."

"We're killing Risen."

"I know."

"We're not going to be setting up camp or anything."

"I know."

"You'd have to fight."

"I know."

"Wasn't your whole deal that you didn't want to put your life on the line?" I say.

"It was, and still is." Nathan nods. "But, uh, I was thinking… we're going into a war zone, right? And I've always been a coward when confronted with actual combat, so even if I don't plan to get involved in a fight I still need to be ready for one. More so than just knowing how to stab and shoot I mean. If I panic when we get ambushed, then it doesn't matter that I technically know how to fight, does it?"

"That's true." I agree. Inwardly I'm much more excited and kinda proud for him, but I keep it contained. That wouldn't be helpful right now. "And this is a relatively low-stakes way to become accustomed to combat."

"E-Exactly." Nathan says. "So, uh…"

"I'm sure Father and Chrom will allow it." I encourage him. He doesn't train with weapons as often as the rest of us, but he has basic competence. It helps that his crossbow is easy to use. "Pack up quick, we're going in literally a few minutes."

"Already prepared." He says, showing a backpack all ready to go.

Just as I said, Father and Chrom are willing to allow Nathan to come along. A wide grin crosses Chrom's face when Nathan explains his reasoning, and he pats Nathan on the back and praises his "bravery" and "heeding the call to duty".

Nathan nods politely at all this, but his pursed lips are not only from nervousness. I can tell he doesn't like Chrom's words at all. Father just nods at Nathan's explanation and points him to his place in the marching order. I'm not sure if Father is annoyed, or if he simply realizes praise is not at all helpful here. Both aren't out of the question.

Father also gives me a pointed reminder that I have to remain focused and can't be looking over my shoulder at Nathan in battle. Also, Nathan is going under his command, not mine, for similar reasons.

From my end the battle is rather uninteresting. It's Risen. Simple, low-level Risen. We mop the floor with them. I could go into the minutia of how I sent Stahl here and Noire there, but… it's Risen. There might be fifty Risen, but I honestly think maybe six or seven Shepherds could have taken on the entire hoard if they needed to.

It's a new struggle to focus knowing Nathan is off somewhere else, potentially in danger. It was easy to focus when we were travelling and had to fight because I was in charge of his safety, but now I just have to cross my fingers and hope everything is alright.

It's an uncomfortable feeling. I don't like not being able to come to Nathan's defence if he needs it. I push aside the feeling as much as I can, but it eats at the back of my mind.

Of course, when everything is over, Nathan is perfectly unharmed. He's nervous and twitchy, but unharmed.

And so starts Nathan (reluctantly) volunteering to come on Risen extermination missions whenever they arise. It's also the start of him requesting to get experience in actual melee combat during our mock battles, because other than that first battle where he was bait for me, he's been put in an archer role. He starts becoming more involved in weapons training, and soon he's just as tired and physically exhausted as I usually am.

This naturally culminates in Father suggesting Nathan take a melee role during Risen extermination, and Nathan agrees. This is right near the end of our training period. The various weapons Father ordered are almost complete, and the Shepherds will be moving out soon.

I can tell Father is taking precautions for Nathan. Nathan is put alongside all our strongest fighters like Chrom and Lon'qu and Frederick. I refrain from mentioning what I've noticed to Nathan. We don't need him feeling like a burden because he was specially accounted for. This is just a backup measure anyways. Father wouldn't be allowing Nathan at the front if he wasn't relatively sure he'd perform to a satisfactory level.

I even get to fight near him this time. The Risen group is small enough that pulling all the Shepherds wasn't necessary, so we aren't splitting command between me and Father.

There are a dozen Risen. Most of them look like they were hunters once. They've got axes and a few bows and no armor. They're going to be slow and clumsy and telegraphed and easy to cut down. Nothing too dangerous. We should be able to get through this without an injury.

We have seven Shepherds: Chrom, Frederick, Lon'qu, Nathan, me, Father, and Maribelle. More than enough to deal with the Risen.

Father and I go about dealing with the archers quickly. We've cut down all four of them before our front line has even met the enemy. From there, me and Father intentionally "miss" a few shots. This mission has a very specific purpose after all, it wouldn't do for us to take out all the Risen before Nathan actually fights.

I'm plenty nervous watching this, even if that's stupid of me. I've sparred with Nathan. I know he can deal with this, but the last time he got up and personal with a Risen he got stabbed in the shoulder and had a panic attack, so sue me if I'm anxious.

Nathan is at the middle of the formation, right where Frederick and Chrom can step in and take over if something goes wrong. I watch as Nathan carefully baits out an axe swing from a Risen, then capitalizes on the excessive follow-through and swiftly jams his blade into the thing's face. Good.

Two more Risen target Nathan, and I can see how Frederick and Chrom intentionally occupy themselves with other Risen. We've covered two-on-one combat in training, and Nathan is clearly following some of those guidelines. He shimmies to one side so one Risen is mostly blocking the other, baits out that predictable slow swing most basic Risen do, and stabs it. He then repeats the process for the next one.

It's not the most high-stakes fight, but it's a successful fight. Nathan didn't get stabbed, so I'm counting this as a complete victory.

Nathan becomes a regular on simple Risen exterminations, even in a melee role, if purely for the sake of forcing familiarity with combat.

###

You know what the best thing about leaving Ylisse is? Free time. Yes, actually leaving for war gives me more free time than I had while training.

I mean, we're also leaving for war, which is awful, but I'm trying to ignore that. Actively trying to ignore it actually. I'd do bits with Nathan, but there are simply too many people around that we can't be loud and weird without it getting in the way.

So instead, I have a long, quiet conversation with Nathan, the likes we haven't been able to have in months at this point.

"You're not worried?" I ask in surprise. "Out of anyone, I would have expected you to be worried about the whole 'going to war' thing."

"I am in the very general sense." Nathan says. "But, I mean… so you know the Ylisse-Plegia war that just happened?"

"Just" meaning two years ago, but… "Yes"

"Your father led the Shepherds to victory without a single loss." Nathan emphasizes. "Not a single Shepherd loss I mean. He also saved Emmeryn, which is impossible in the game. He also now has foreknowledge about specific battles that will happen in the future. I honestly think our victory over Valm, and even over Grima, is a foregone conclusion."

Huh. That's way more confidence in our situation that I expected.

"I am honestly more worried about my life after Grima's defeat than Grima himself." Nathan says. "That's part of why I've been putting more focus on other skills rather than fighting. I think it's unnecessary for me to fight, because I have full faith that the Shepherds will annihilate Grima."

That's strangely reassuring. Usually Nathan is incredibly nervous, yet he has full confidence that we'll win.

"Also, the Shepherds have you, and you're objectively the best person ever." Nathan says.

That makes me smile. "You know it!"

"Uh, incidentally though…" He says, lowering his voice. "We should be getting Lucina soon, and I'm mildly worried that we won't get Henry seeing as we don't need to borrow Plegian boats."

"Henry is the crazy one, right?"

"Yes. One of the most powerful dark mages in Plegia, apparently." Nathan murmurs. "He's not vital, but I'm slightly concerned we won't be getting him."

"Mmm… maybe we could try and send him a message?"

"Someone we've never met?" He says.

"Sure. I mean, at worst he just doesn't listen to us, right? No harm in trying. If we send the message soon, he even might be able to meet us at port in Ferox."

"That's a good idea." Nathan agrees. "Uh… do you know how to do that?"

"Yep."

"Oh." Nathan blinks. "Did you learn that from Miriel too?"

"Yep!"

"Wow… you're incredible."

That's actually a very simple thing to learn, but I'm not about to tell him that. Instead I preen myself. "I know! I'm amazing."

"Terribly smart."

"You know it!"

"Not so cute anymore though." Nathan says. "Unfortunately, you're too attractive to be cute."

"Oh, no, so terrible." I say, smiling. "I'm too hot to be cute. Whatever will I do?"

"Milk it for all it's worth, knowing you." Nathan says. He gives me a one-armed hug as we walk. "Anyways-"

"Don't change the subject! More compliments!" I pout.

Nathan rolls his eyes. "So what do you need for this messaging spell?"

"Just enough power to manage the distance." I say. "So, basically nothing. Just time and energy. I could do it when we stop for the night."

"Oh, uh, good."

"So now you can give me more compliments." I joke, and squeeze his arm in mine. "Unless there's something else."

"We might want to consider contacting Lucina too, if she doesn't show up."

"Okay." I lean forward. "So now-"

A smirk crosses his face. "Oh, and-"

"Nathaaan."

"Desperate for compliments, aren't you?" He teases gently, and kisses my cheek. "As if I don't give you enough already."

Well yeah, but more is always nice. "How else am I supposed to distract myself from the fact we're heading to war?"

"Read a book, play a game, talk with friends-"

"That was rhetoric Nathan."

"Ah."

"But thank you anyways. Maybe I'll have to borrow some of your games if you're not around to entertain me."

"I've actually had some people rent them!" Nathan says, suddenly very eager. "I mean beyond Inigo, and I'm actually getting profit!"

His glee is almost childish. This is clearly new to him. "How much profit?"

"Well, uh, not much at the moment. About a silver total." He admits. "But I think it'll be more profitable once people have more than, like, one hour of free time at a time."

"Great." I smile. He's happy with himself. That's good. Usually he's quite self-depreciating.

"A-And it's something I can transfer over to after the war!" Nathan says. "This can be a job! I won't have to settle for something dull and terrible, or rely on you…"

"And what's wrong with relying on me?" I pout.

"I can't rely on you to pay for my life, Morgan."

"Sure you could." I (somewhat) joke. "I wouldn't mind a house-husband."

That makes him blush quite fiercely. Maybe he didn't realize that I was joking? Ah well, I don't mind either way.

"But I'm glad you have something you feel you can build on for the future." I say genuinely. "I know that was one of your major fears, right? Not having anything to support yourself with?"

"Yeah." He mumbles. "It's thanks to your encouragement I could do it. I mean, that goes for most things in my life, but…"

"Any time Nathan." I hum. "You know how you can pay me back?"

"How? Anything."

"Compliments." I chirp.

Nathan rolls his eyes to the sky. "Alright, fine. Greedy girl."

"That doesn't sound like a compliment Nathan!"

"Alright, alright…"

###

"Hi! I'm Morgan! I'm objectively the best person ever!" I say, giving what seems to be my standard introduction at this point.

"Hi!" The cheery voice responds through the spell, directly into my head. "I'm Henry! I don't get a lot of people talking to me out of thin are! Are you dead?"

"Not yet! I'm using a message spell."

"Darn, I was hoping it was a ghost." Henry says. "Unless you're a ghost using a message spell?"

"Nope."

"Aww…"

"I'm messaging you with an offer actually! I've heard you enjoy a bit of chaos."

"Nya ha ha! That I do! A few spells here, a few dismemberments there, it's all great fun!" Henry chirps. "You're a fan too?"

"A bit less so." I say. "But I'll admit an intellectual fascination with a good curse."

"So you don't kill people by making their brain swell until it explodes their head?"

He has a spell for that? Yikes. "Nope, but we have an offer for someone who can! That's you!"

"Okay!" Henry says, matching my faux-eager tone. "Let's hear it!

"We would like to extend an offer to you to join a war against a tyrant." I say. "We could use someone with your power, and we know you love a good war! We also know you've helped Ylisse before, which is why we're asking you in the first place!"

"Ooh, a war? You mean the Valm war?"

So he's heard of it. "Yes!"

"Ylisse isn't involved in that."

"Not officially."

Laughter erupts from Henry upon me speaking those words. "Sounds like fun! I'm in!"

I blink in surprise. "Just like that?"

"Just like that! It's been too long since I've had an excuse to make people explode!" Henry chirps. "Just point me in the right direction boss! Nya ha ha!"

If Nathan didn't know Henry was a Shepherd, there's no way I'd be alright with bringing this guy along. He's a nut. "Can you make it to the west coast of Ferox? We're heading to Pinkwood."

Weird town name, I know. Apparently it has something to do with it being the main trade port with Chon'sin, so they named it after Chon'sinese cherry blossom trees, the wood of which used to be a common import (not that the wood is pink, just that some cherry blossoms have famously pink petals). It's a very out of place and cute name compared to other Feroxi towns names like Wolfwind and Blacksnow, but hey, whatever floats their boat.

"Can do!" Henry says. "Ooh, are we going to have to ride a boat?"

"Yep."

"Yaaay! Boats!" Henry cheers. "I've always wanted to ride a boat!"

You're weird Henry, and you're going to be very disappointed. It's boring. "Well, you'll get your chance! We'll be there in a month and a bit. Don't be late!"

"Okay!"

I end the spell, and before Nathan (who is sitting beside me) can ask I say, "He's in."

"Thank Naga." Nathan breathes. "That's one variable accounted for."

"And now Lucina." I say, preparing another spell. "Fingers crossed this works."

"I wish I could talk to her." Nathan mumbles. "I could probably convince her…"

"But you can't." I say. "The spell doesn't work that way."

"I know…"

"Now shush. I'm spelling."

"You mean casting a-"

"Shh!"

I cast the spell, focusing hard on the name of my target and the vague physical description I've been given. So long as there's no one else that fits that criteria, I should lock on to Lucina no problem.

A mental tingle lets me know the spell has successfully locked onto someone, so I start talking. "Lucina! Hi! I'm Morgan! The best tactician ever, objectively speaking!"

"What is this?" The voice, female, sharp, distrusting, responds. "I've never heard of that name, how do you know who I am?"

"Outside information!" I chirp, recalling the term Nathan liked to use in the past. "And by that I mean an outworlder with knowledge of your worlds. His name is Nathan, he's right next to me actually. He can't hear you, nor you him, but he's here."

"Prove it."

How the heck am I- ah, wait, this is easy. I can't prove that Nathan is here, but I can prove that I have knowledge no one should have of her. "You've been masquerading as a masked man named Marth for the last few years. You saved Chrom, who is your father, and Lissa from a burning forest and Risen. You fought against the Shepherds in the Feroxi Khanship tournament, and you helped protect Emmeryn during an assassination plot."

There's quiet for a moment, then: "You're correct. I… I suppose I must believe you then."

"Cool! Don't worry, we're good guys." I say. "We're with the Shepherds right now actually."

"I see."

"And the thing is… this is going to sound a bit crazy, but you're supposed to be here too."

"What?" Lucina sounds somewhat shocked, or is that offence? I can't tell. "Why?"

"Because that's how it works in the game." I say. "That's why Nathan knows all that stuff about you. This world was a game, and he knows how it plays out, roughly. A few things have changed, but not enough that you shouldn't be here. The other kids are already here, minus Gerome who's in Rosanne. You're the last one."

"Everyone else is there?" Lucina murmurs. "I-I see. I didn't realize…"

"So, uh, we're just entering Ferox. I'm not sure how close you are exactly, but you can join up if you want. The whole "children from the future" secret is out. I'm sure your parents would like to meet you too."

Lucina takes a deep breath, and exhales. "Morgan, was it?"

"That's me! Best tactician in the world!"

"You say your friend has knowledge of this world, yes?"

"Yep!"

"If… if I join, will the world survive?" Lucina asks. "There is so much that needs to be done. The gemstones, Walhart, grimleal… will everything still be managed, if I join?"

I parrot these words to Nathan, just in case he knows something I don't. I'm also fairly sure he's going to be able to phrase the answer to this better than me. He gives me the response, and I attempt to repeat it word for word. "Nathan says, and I quote: "Ordinarily, things do not go smoothly. Emmeryn still dies, Grima is still resurrected, but Chrom awakens the Falchion, and Grima is defeated. This world seems to be better than the game. Better than what I would expect. Emmeryn has survived, and now, with me, the Shepherds have detailed future knowledge of upcoming events and battles. I can't guarantee things will go flawlessly, they rarely do, but I can reassure you that from everything I've seen and everything I know, Grima should be defeated rather soundly. That assumes, of course, you join the Shepherds, as that was supposed to happen around this point in time."

Nathan is nodding. I conveyed everything accurately.

"Will Father survive?"

"He should, bar something unforeseen." I say. "He's supposed to survive the backstabbing that got him killed in your time."

"I-I see." Lucina whispers. "I will consider your words, Morgan. To where are you headed, at the moment?"

"We're going to Pinkwood Ferox, a western port." I say. "We're just entering Ferox at the moment. We're going under the name of the Bluescale Mercenary Company because of some political bullshit."

"Many thanks." Lucina murmurs. "I will speak to you some other time. Goodnight."

"G'night!"

I break the spell, and turn to Nathan, who awaits the news eagerly. "She'll think about it. Maybe she'll meet us at port."

"I suppose that's good enough." Nathan says.

"Yeah." I say, and rub my eyes. "Aaand now I'm tired. She must have been pretty far away. That took as much out of me as messaging Henry."

"Gonna sleep?"

"Mmm." I mumble, laying down on my bedroll. "Wake me for dinner?"

"Of course." He says. He leans down to kiss my forehead. "Sleep well."

I hum vaguely in response and drift off to sleep.

I'm finding I have too many threads I want to touch on, yet no good way to touch on them. Bleh. Lucina will be around soon, as will Henry.

I'm also having this internal debate on what I should do with travel time. On one hand, I'm aware this story is slow. I'm used to being slow, that's always how I've written stories because it gives me plenty of time to do character interaction (and that's arguably what I do best) but we've had twenty two chapters with very little happening from a greater plot perspective. Lots of prep with little payoff. That's a reason to blast through the travel time and get us right to Valm.

On the other hand… this story is not about the war, or even Grima. It never has been, and never will be. It's always been about Nathan (and Morgan, to a slightly lesser extent) figuring out what the hell they're doing in this world (sorry to you people that don't like the lack of combat or apparent plot progress, that's literally not what this story is about). Fast-tracking to the Valm war is not going to help that. Yet, I can only get so much out of characters bumming around camps and towns, and it's taken forever (waaaay too long, in hindsight) to get Nathan to the point he needs to be in order to fill the role in the Shepherds I intended for him to have and I don't want to mash too much of his new role into the next few chapters.

It's a mess. I'm still having fun with the story despite its many, glaring, serious flaws, and drastic departure from its original tone, and I've definitely learned a thing or two about protagonists from this experimental story (mostly pacing, pacing is a problem), but it's a mess and I'm under no illusions that it isn't.