Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
Nathan.
So, do you remember that part in Awakening where the Shepherds get attacked in the middle of the ocean by three Chon'sinese pirate ships?
You don't? They're supposed to be Valmese, you say? Yeah, that's what I thought too, and that's why I assumed we weren't going to have some mid-water battle because Chon'sin and Rosanne are still holding out, but apparently not. We just get pirates instead of the Valmese military.
"I know they're flying a Chon'sinese flag." Morgan says, peering through the spyglass. "But those sure look like Valmese generals, pegasus knights, paladins."
Or maybe it is the Valmese military, but disguised as pirates. "How did they know we'd be here anyways?" I question. "We're one ship in a whole ocean. Heck, why are supposed pirates operating so far out at sea in the first place?"
"Yeah." Morgan says, passing the spyglass back to her Father. "This does feel like a purposeful interception, doesn't it? How did they find us?"
"Spies maybe?" Frederick says, frowning. "Or a traitor in our ranks?"
The way his gaze drifts to Henry is not subtle, and honestly I don't have a rebuttal. Sure, I don't think Henry would betray us because he cares just as little for the other side as us at the moment.
"Nathan." Robin says suddenly.
"Uh- yeah?"
"Back of the ship, behind the wheel. Who is that?" Robin says, pushing the spyglass into my hands.
It takes me a second to find the right location, but when I do I can see some generic bulky sailor at the wheel, and just behind him…
"Excellus." I say, and hand the spyglass back. "He's not supposed to be here. We're not supposed to meet him for at least a few more chapters."
"Great." Robin says. "So we're officially off script?"
"Yep."
"Fantastic." Robin mutters. He turns around and starts shouting. "All hands on deck! Mages, I need you quick! Pegasus knights, get your mounts up and in the air! Noire, we need you too!"
The Shepherds, who had been milling around, waiting for Robin to identify the three ships, quickly jump to action. Everyone who doesn't have their weapons on hand rush below deck to grab them, including me. It's a testament to everyone's speed that we're all back on deck within a minute (minus the pegasus knights, because getting pegasi up the stairs is not an easy task).
"Mages, Noire, Nathan, how far can you shoot?" Robin asks.
"Around three hundered meters." Noire murmurs.
"Less for me." I say. My crossbow is too basic, and still not of properly professional design. "Probably half that."
"A spell can fly as far as it needs to, but it will take exponentially more energy the further it flies." Miriel says.
"Most dark magic spells don't deal well at long ranges." Tharja adds. She points a thumb at Henry. "Unless he knows Mire, we're even shorter range than Nathan."
"Right." Robin frowns. "Okay, standard mages, up on the bow. Noire, with them. Nathan, Tharja, Henry, stand behind them and be prepared to fire once we're in range."
"We're attacking?" Ricken asks.
"We're not outrunning them, that's for sure." Robin says. "We don't really have a choice. Kellam, bring us around to face them! Full sails!"
I can understand the logic in it. Having our ship come at them straight-on also has the benefit of reducing the area they can hit on the ship, so there's that, but…
"Did they have any ballistae or catapults?" I ask Morgan.
"Not that I saw. I don't think naval combat is developed here Nathan."
"Good." Because if they did, we would be in big trouble in this three-on-one. In a straight-up fight however, the Shepherds are elite, and I'm much less worried.
Not that I'm happy that I'm going to be in a fight, but this was inevitable to an extent. If not now, I'd be fighting some other time.
Because her Father is in command. Morgan stands with the mages. Behind us I can hear Robin ordering the pegasus knights into the air, and mine and Noire's orders are quickly changed to be dealing specifically with the enemy pegasus knights.
Not sure how easy it will be to hit a moving target, but I'll try. Also, why hasn't anyone taken up an advanced class? Why doesn't Vaike have a bow or something? The only people who have notably upgraded are Sully, Stahl, Donnel, and Robin.
I mean, almost everyone now has anti-cavalry and anti-armor weapons, but that's not the same.
Suddenly, I see a coalescing of green mist close to Miriel's feet (which she's too busy looking out at the opposing ship to see), and me and Morgan quickly pull her back as the mist violently comes together and punches a hole in the boards. "What the fuck was that!?" I shout.
"Mire! Excellus has mire!" Robin suddenly shouts. "He has Naga-damned mire!"
"I shouldn't have tempted fate by mentioning it." Tharja grumbles. "Of course he has mire. You said Excellus was Grimleal, right Nathan?"
"Yeah."
"He can use mire to punch holes in the boat from afar. He came prepared." Tharja growls. "We need to kill him, now."
"Not that simple." Robin says back. "Kellam! Keep us going at full steam! Everyone, we're going to have to steal one of their ships! This one isn't making it through!"
"I guess we're the pirates then." I joke quietly to Morgan, trying to calm my nerves. She nods absently, brow furrowed in concentration.
The first mire to actually connect with the ship and not manifest slowly at our feet (where it's too slow to actually hit anyone as long as they're paying attention) does so above sea level. It makes a nice hole in the side of the ship, but beyond a bit of water coming in when the nose of the ship dives into waves, the water intake is negligible.
"Think he'll figure out he has to aim below the waterline?" I ask no one in particular.
"Nathan." Morgan says.
"Yeah?"
"Shush."
"Okay." I mumble. Right. Now's not the time for commentary.
Excellus' mire continues to tear apart the ship. Robin makes a quick decision and orders Noire up with Cynthia, Miriel with Cordelia, and Laurent with Sumia.
"You need to fly on ahead and disrupt Excellus." Robin says grimly. "I know I'm asking a lot of you six considering they have their own pegasus knights, but at this rate I'm not sure the ship will make it. We're counting on you; and Miriel?"
"Yes?"
Robin beckons to Maribelle, who passes Miriel a staff.
"If you get a chance, have Cordellia landl and rescue Frederick over with the staff, and then as many other people as you can manage. I know you're not an expert with staves yet, but this is a dire situation."
"Understood. I shall not fail you." Miriel says.
"Go then, quickly." Robin urges. The pegasi fly off, and Robin immediately grimaces. "Should have told her not to warp Kellam, he still needs to steer the ship. Too late now."
"I wonder how much stuff we're going to lose when the ship sinks." I think silently. I hope there's time to get my stuff from my room. It depends on how quickly we go down. I imagine supplies like food will have to come first, so best to resign myself now to losing things.
Our ship continues to sail full-speed at the Valmese ships, none of which are turning away. Mire continues to blast at our ship (and eventually Excellus does figure out to hit below the sealine) right up until our pegasus knights arrive, and the mires abruptly stop.
"Coward." Robin mutters, looking through the spyglass. "One arrow, clear miss, and he dives below deck."
"At least he's out of the way." Chrom says. He's squinting at the battle. "I think Cordelia is trying to land. Frederick, prepare for teleport!"
Chrom's warning is well-timed. Half a dozen seconds later the rescue comes through, and Frederick vanishes in a swirl of green energy.
Sully and Stahl are the next to be pulled, followed by Kjelle and Vaike. More and more Shepherds continue to be pulled, so I guess rescue isn't limited to five uses.
Our ship is getting fairly close to the others now. Noire is in range and starts shooting, and soon Ricken, Morgan, and Robin are as well. Nowi and Nah, who I didn't hear orders given to, also open fire, and their dragonfire does a number on the enemies on deck. The ship Miriel was landed on is on the left, and has started to lag behind with no one manning the sails or wheel. That means we're going to meet one of the other ships first; a full fresh crew against what is swiftly becoming only half our forces.
Chrom is warped away, and Robin quickly turns to Morgan. "You're in charge when I go. I'll tell Miriel to stop. You need troops as well."
"Got it." Morgan nods. Her eyes flick to the closest ship with a frown, and starts shouting. "Nah! Now-" Nowi is abruptly pulled away. "Nah!"
"Yes?" She shouts in between fireballs.
"Be ready to carry people onto the ship! You're our only flight!"
"Got it!"
Robin is finally pulled, and the teleportations abruptly stop. We're left with the future kids (minus Cynthia, Kjelle, and Laurent), Gaius, Ricken, Gregor, Lon'qu, and Henry.
"Time to become pirates." I think as we enter the last twenty meters. We're ramming apparently. I don't think this ship is built for that. Heck, I don't think the enemy ship was built for it. I back off the bow of the ship and onto the main deck.
"Impact! Brace yourselves!" Morgan shouts.
The mast is too big to hold onto, so I opt to dop onto my stomach instead. That quickly proves to be a solid choice, as the impact of the head-on collision causes both ships to come to an abrupt stop and pushes the front of both ships up in the air a bit, causing everyone who was standing and not holding something to fall backward against the cabin or the railings.
Nah is spared, because she can fly. She swoops down and grab Gregor and Lon'qu and flies them to the enemy ship.
The front of both ships is completely trashed, but amidst all that splintered wood is a connection between the decks of each ship… if you can make a solid jump.
I don't. I use my crossbow from our ship, like a sensible person. Gaius is less sensible, and jumps to the other ship. Lucina and Owain as well. Inigo and Severa look a bit more wary, and opt to wait for Nah's return.
It's different to fight professionals rather than brigands or Risen, even from a distance. The fight lacks the usual feeling of inevitable victory and is replaced with a heavy feeling in my gut of anxiety and dread. My bolts aren't as useful as they usually are. They glance off armor if the bolt hits at the wrong angle, or don't penetrate enough to hurt. Generals just do not care about my bolts, and even paladins aren't taking much either. It feels like a waste to focus on mere cavaliers and fighters, but aside from them a few archers, there's no one else I can actually hurt.
"I'm an extra unit, what did I expect?" I remind myself. "Just deal with the generics. Leave the flashy stuff to the professionals."
I can't hear the click of my crossbow over the sound of the waves and wind and other fighting, but people continue to fall as I continue to shoot, so I assume what I'm doing is working.
Morgan shouts orders as she slings electricity around. Despite our inferior numbers, the future kids prove they're no less strong than the Shepherds proper, and they're successfully taking on a force nearly twice their size.
Thank Naga all the pegasus knights are occupied with the other half of our forces, because that means no one is trying to get at me. The ship we're standing on is starting to lean heavily to one side now though. Nah better come back and get us soon.
"Nathan." Morgan says urgently.
"Yeah?"
"You know the drawer where I keep all my notes?"
"Yes." I suppose the tactics notes would be the most important thing.
"Get them. Now. This ship is going down before we can come back at this rate."
"And Robin's?"
"His too. Top drawer. Stuff 'em in a bag, can sort later."
"Got it." I dash for the tilting stairway and scramble down the stairs. The water level isn't too high yet, but the lean of the ship is a dangerous obstacle all in itself. I push open the door to mine and Morgan's room only for it to slam into my face a moment later, and I push through after that. Morgan's fold-out desk has it's drawers against the close wall from how it slid, forcing me to push it around against gravity to access the drawers in question.
I grab the closest bag, mine, dump the contents (goodbye woodworking tools) and stuff the papers inside. I then navigate over to Robin's room and repeat the process with his drawer. The ship groans, and I fall against the wall as the tilt of the ship becomes even worse.
I feel like there are other important things I should be grabbing. How many people here brought personal items that are going to be entirely lost? There's no way I can look fast enough though.
The ship suddenly starts leaning much further than before. It's at the point I can't properly walk on the floor, and am walking at a forty-five degree angle. I practically have to climb out of Robin's room, and I swallow thickly when I can see a small amount of water in the hallway.
We really sank that much. Ooh Naga. You better be waiting for me up top Nah. My adrenaline pounds as I awkwardly scramble along the ship as it continues to tilt more and more sideways.
Then water suddenly rushes in from the stairs, signalling that the stairway is accessible by the waves. I reach the stairs, jump to reach the opening as water splashes me in the face and stings my eyes, and climb onto the planks making up the opening.
There's nowhere else for me to step. It's just the ocean in front of me. The railing is both too far underwater for me to jump down to, and I can't exactly jump high enough to grab the railing above me.
I don't see Nah. I stare blankly at the water. This can't really be it, can it? Drowing, with the Shepherds less than thirty meters away?
"I hope Morgan got off." I think faintly. I'm vaguely aware of how I hold onto the boards and pull off my boots one-handedly. I can swim, if not for long, and not very well. I won't be able to do it with boots on though. "I wonder if my bag floats."
I slide into the water, holding my bag over my shoulder to try and keep it dry because there's paper inside. The remains of the ship are currently protecting me against the worst of the waves, but that's not going to last long one way or another.
"In hindsight, we should have had the important stuff ready on deck as soon as we realized we were sinking." I think. I'm fairly sure neither Robin nor Morgan has had to deal with fighting from a sinking ship before, so I don't exactly blame them for not thinking of it, especially when they have to be worried about the battles.
With our ship mostly sunk, I push off from the remaining wood towards the enemy's sinking ship. The waves aren't huge, it was mostly the wake that was causing so much water displacement, but it's not the calmest day either. I can make some headway despite being splattered in the side of my face every few seconds (also getting the bag wet, so much for that), and reach the other ship. It's sinking from the front, and the back end is already in the air. We did obliterate the bow when we rammed it after all.
Still, it's something to cling to as I try to figure out where the Shepherds are. It seems that they've all congregated on the last ship, the one that wasn't the subject of either of our initial attacks. Nowi and Nah are flying overhead, as are two of the pegasus knights…
"Nathan!" Cordelia's voice is barely audible over the wind and waves and clashing of metal. She dives down low and slow, and I manage to grab her outstretched hand with mine. She then grabs my forearm with her other hand, and hauls me out of the water.
All that force on just one arm isn't pleasant, as the popping noise will attest, but you'll be surprised what adrenaline and cold water can numb. Still, dislocated arm or not, I'm now on the back of a pegasus and not drowning in the water.
You think I'd be ecstatic, but I feel oddly calm. Or maybe I'm in shock. Yeah, that makes more sense than calmness. It's probably shock. I may or may not have a nervous breakdown later, but that can happen when we're not in the middle of a battle.
Cordelia lands harshly on the deck of the ship she and the main force already cleared. Seeing as this boat isn't sinking, I hop off and let Cordelia return to battle.
I'd take out my crossbow, but the pain in my left arm is starting to seep through the shock and water numbness, so I let the others handle it.
My only injury from this fight is a dislocated arm from being pulled out of the water. Great. Not pathetic at all.
I stand back as the Shepherds deal with the rest of our enemies. I actually keep my eyes trained on the stairs for the ship I'm on. I don't know how thoroughly they cleared the lower decks, and I don't want some random soldier coming up and stabbing me in the back.
I'm alerted to the battle being over when I hear feet hit the deck and I get a tackle-hug from a very panicked Morgan.
"I'm fine." I say, and pat her on the back with my one uninjured arm. "I got the papers."
"Fuck the papers! You almost died!" Morgan shouts. "I'm so sorry, that was a terrible call!"
"Well yeah, but we all almost died. Besides, I probably had a few minutes left. " I say. "Plenty of time. Also, you had no idea how fast the ship would sink. Also also, mind my arm, I think it's dislocated."
That gets me a quick look from Maribelle, a quick relocation, and a wave of a heal staff. I probably had a torn muscle or two, so that's why the heal staff was needed at all.
Heal staves feel weird by the way. Healing magic is cold, numb, and leaves the healed area aching. Better than pain though.
Morgan keeps fussing over me and trying to apologize about something she couldn't have known, but I kick that conversation down the road as all the Shepherds search through the ships to find what resources we've been left with.
There's plenty of food, so no problem there. We've lost all our personal effects though, which many people aren't happy about, and that includes all our cavaliers' mounts because we didn't spend the time getting them above deck like the pegasi. We also lost a lot of money, some extra anti-armor and anti-mount weapons, and of course the personal effects (which is what the majority of the Shepherds are concerned about, minus Robin, Chrom, and Frederick who are more worried about the tactical issues).
I lost all my games and all the woodworking projects I've made. I also lost all my notes about Awakening, though I'm fairly sure Morgan keeps a copy of the core stuff in her coat, and there are plenty of other copies back in Ylisse. A bunch of stuff about Earth is gone though. Some of it was left back at the barracks, but most of it came with me.
Morgan lost stuff too of course, but by her own admittance the only personal item she really cares about is her coat, which she has on her. I imagine other people care a bit more about this than she does. Her and Robin's notes are somewhat damaged but mostly intact, which is good.
The afternoon is spent searching our supplies, locating paper and ink, and sorting out sleeping quarters and how to actually sail the ship. It's a different design than our Feroxi ship, but we figure it out well enough to sail it.
I also learn that Excellus was nowhere to be found. Somehow he got off the ship. Teleportation of some sort, obviously.
Dinner is a late and subdued affair. The sky is very nearly dark by the time food meets anyone's tongue. Morgan doesn't try to bring up the "you almost died" thing over dinner, which is probably for the best considering how many people are around. In fact, we barely talk at all. Everyone barely talks. No one has the strength for it right now.
There's no talk even when we go back to our rooms. Morgan wordlessly climbs into bed with me when we put out the lantern, and I don't argue. For once we don't go back-to-back and Morgan cuddles me, tucking my head under her chin.
All things considered, it's a pleasant way to go to sleep. It does wonders for keeping less pleasant things like almost dying off my mind long enough to go to sleep.
###
"Seriously Morgan, it was a mistake. You know little about boats." I soothe.
"My first real battle, and I almost get you killed, and not even by enemies!" Morgan insists. "That's-"
"Reasonable considering the situation? Yeah, it is." I cut her off. "Come on Morgan, those notes were valuable. You and Robin have been planning for months, we couldn't just let all that go to waste because we couldn't be bothered to grab some papers. It's not like you asked me to get the horses. Now that would have been stupid."
"Yeah…"
"Because I've basically never handled horses."
"Oh that's why it would have been stupid?" Morgan huffs. "Not that the horses were on a lower level and don't handle stairs well?"
"Whaaat? No, of course not." I say. "What's with this logic you're spouting? Pff."
With that conversation successfully(?) defused, other matters come to the forefront. It's not trauma (I'm still ignoring that, mostly) or anything. No, it's… boredom.
Turns out losing all your personal items, including games and books and such, means that there's not a whole lot of stuff to do beyond chores, and those only last so long.
I never thought I'd say chores are a good thing, but they are a distraction if nothing else.
The only other major distraction then is other people, and even me and Morgan can only talk so much before we run out of things to say in one sitting without anything new going on.
Or, well, that would be the case if the future kids didn't provide ample entertainment.
"Owain Dark, master of shadows-!" Owain shouts, raising a sword.
"-and Cynthia Dawn, mistress of light!" Cynthia raises her spear.
"Together, we are the Justice Cabal!" They shout in unison, with Owain taking a knee and swinging his sword to the left, while Cynthia keeps standing and aims her spear to the right. They hold that position for a few seconds before dropping it.
"Hmm, something's missing." Owain says.
"Yeah. It doesn't feel powerful enough. We're just swinging weapons." Cynthia nods in agreement. "Maybe we need to get more into it? I bet if we lean back while swinging out weapons, it'll look cooler because it will look like we're striking behind each other rather than just fighting next to each other."
"A fantastic idea, fellow hero!" Owain cries. "Let us rehearse again!"
The two of them keep going through this routine several times, and to be clear they're doing this up on deck where many people can watch them, and they're sort of hard to ignore. It's like having a play on the deck that you don't have an option but to watch.
That's not the only entertainment though, at least for me. Ever since Nah kind of asked me for advice, I've been keeping an eye and ear out for anything involving her and Laurent. For her part, Nah had that one not-really-a-date with Laurent, and hasn't done anything since.
That's not the end of it though. Nah has returned to being a weird stalker, but Laurent hasn't. I don't know if something finally clicked in his head, or if there's some outside reason, but he has been trying to spend more time with Nah.
However… well… this usually happens.
I'm sitting in the mess room at the time, eating Lunch with Morgan and Inigo. They're occupied talking to each other about their parents ("Why hasn't Father made a move yet!?"), and I'm only half-listening. Nah is at the table next to us, eating a whole pig by herself.
Manaketes can fucking eat by the way. Nowi tends to shovel down even more than Nah. Turning into a dragon takes a lot of energy I guess.
Anyhow, Laurent walks in purposefully, making a straight line towards Nah. it grabs my attention immediately, as it does Nah's whose shoulders immediately hunch.
"Nah! I've been looking for you!" Laurent says. "I have a request."
"I'm busy." Nah says quickly.
"I'm flexible." Laurent responds just as quickly. "My schedule can be easily shifted."
"I-"
"Perhaps you'd like to know what I'm requesting first?"
"Fine." Nah says anxiously.
"I would like to request your assistance with an experiment." He says. "I wish to conduct an experiment testing the ability of dragonfire to boil water."
"Is that it?" Nah asks warily.
"Yes."
"You're telling the truth?"
"Of course."
"Fine, I'll help." Nah says tersely. "After I'm done."
"Of course. I shall await you up on deck." With that, Laurent sweeps out of the room, his expression totally neutral and giving nothing away.
I stare pointedly at Nah until I catch her eye, and then I raise an eyebrow with the silent question of "what the heck was that?"
A blush creeps up her neck, and he firmly returns to her food and refuses to look my way for the rest of her meal, at which point she all but runs out of the room.
I wonder what happened. By all accounts that first totally-not-a-date went well, so I don't know why Nah makes such an effort to turn Laurent's attempts to spend time with her, and thoroughly scrubs his advances of any possible romantic implications with her suspicion.
I really don't get it. She was anxious but willing before. What changed? It's possible Laurent did something weird, but my bet is on Nah being the cause. She's eccentric and idiosyncratic, though in a confusing, unclear way unlike Owain or Cynthia who are also both eccentric and idiosyncratic but are pretty easy to read.
Then again I'm usually terrible at reading people and situations, so my guess could be way off. Still, maybe I should try to talk to Nah again at some point. It worked before.
Anyhow, the future kids are entertaining. Some might say "annoying" more than entertaining, but distraction is distraction. Anything to break the monotony of endless ocean.
###
"You two sent magic messages, right?" Robin says without preamble as he walks into mine and Morgan's room (after knocking, of course). "To Henry and Lucina?"
"Uh, yeah." I say. I glance at Morgan, who gives a confused shrug. "We did. Why?"
"Our movements were predicted." He says, thrusting a paper into Morgan's hands. She immediately starts reading it. Robin sits down on a bed and rubs his forehead. "Apparently Excellus had a contact in Plegia who listened in on your conversations with Henry and Lucina, and after you mentioned the Shepherds had just gotten into Ferox and were headed to Pinkwood, they made a rough guess as to our timeframe and used that to intercept us."
"He's telling the truth." Morgan mutters, handing the paper back to her Father. "I didn't know intercepting magic messages was a thing, and I didn't figure they could predict our movements so accurately from information that vague."
"I speculate they must have had someone in Pinkwood who sent a magic message of their own the exact day we left." Robin says. "And since intercepting magic messages either requires focus at the exact time the message is being sent, or an expensive ritual spell cast on an object to make it a permanent detector, we obviously wouldn't have intercepted such a message in return."
"Well… shit." I say. I don't know what to say. Am I in trouble? Is Morgan in trouble? Morgan shouldn't be in trouble. It was my suggestion to message Lucina and Henry. "That means they also know the nature of the future kids then."
Robin frowns and nods. "That wasn't mentioned, but I'll keep that in mind."
"Also, what's the paper? You said they sent a magic message ahead." I ask.
"Notes from what we assume is Excellus' room." Robin says. "He pulled together most of the papers before he left, but not all of them."
"I see."
"How many Chon'sinese ships did they have to get past to get all the way around the continent to intercept us?" Morgan wonders. "They invested a lot of effort into this interception."
"Indeed." Robin says grimly. "Incidentally, don't send any more magic messages."
"Got it." Morgan says.
I nod my head. "Noted." I guess this clears Henry of suspicion at least, though that's small consolation considering me and Morgan directly caused everyone to lose all their personal possessions.
I think Morgan came to the same conclusion, because she asks: "Who knows?"
"Myself, Chrom, Maribelle, Frederick, Lucina." Robin says. "Though, I doubt the information can stay secret forever. The Shepherds want answers as to why we were ambushed when we assumed we'd be safe."
"Right." Morgan says. She glances at me. "We need a plan."
"Uhh… mind control."
"I like it, but we can't do that. Next plan."
"I'm glad you think so highly of the Shepherds' emotional control." Robin says dryly. He stands up from the bed. "Also, please tell me if you're going to do anything unusual from now on that might, in any way, impact the army."
I can tell immediately that Morgan wants to make a joke about that, so I say, "Understood." before she can comment. Robin nods tiredly, and leaves.
"Do you think that's because he's worried I might be a screamer when we eventually have-"
I chop Morgan on the head (lightly) before she can finish that sentence. "I knew you were going to say something like that."
"You know me so well."
"Besides, I think he'd be more concerned about the fact you were doing the deed in the first place." I say.
"Maybe he's jealous because he isn't getting action."
You know, most people would avoid any thought of their parents doing that. "I'm fairly sure that's not the case." Though it would be mildly amusing if it was. "How worried are we about everyone learning we caused them to lose everything?"
"Sort of?" Morgan frowns. "Honestly I have no idea. I don't think the future kids are going to be too angry about it, they keep all their important stuff on them because of being on the move all the time. The first generation might not be too happy though."
So the more scary people. Yaaay…
"Don't worry though, If they try anything, I'll stab them." Morgan says, brandishing a dagger from the depths of her coat.
"Restrain your Yandere. I don't think there will be that big of a problem." I say.
"Me neither, but I thought it was funny."
###
"Nah…"
"It's nothing." She says, refusing to look at me standing across the table from her. She fiddles with a bowl of food that's clearly finished already.
I cross my arms. "Bullshit. What's going on?"
"With what? I don't know what you're talking about. Nothing's going on." The manakete mumbles.
"You already said 'it's nothing', so you clearly know what I'm talking about." I say. "Nah, come on, what's the problem with Laurent?"
"None of your business." Nah says. "It's my relationship."
"Yeah, and you were doing well before." I say. "So what happened? You're not being a stalker anymore-"
"I was not a stalker!"
That's a blatant lie. "-but now you're actively pushing him away. What's up?"
"I am not…"
"Nah." I say flatly, and take a seat next to her. "Literally no one is fooled."
Nah sighs. Her fingers tighten around her bowl. "I realized he's human."
Well yeah, of course he is. "And…? Is this the same issue as before? You don't have a hundred years to build up your courage?"
That gets a small glare out of her. "I was joking about that, and no."
Sure you were. "So what's the problem?"
"He's not going to live as long as me." Nah says. "In eighty years maximum he'll be gone, and I'll still be here."
"Well yeah, but unless you can find some male manaketes, and one that you like, humans are kinda your only option for romance." I say bluntly.
"Yeah, I know, thanks." She snaps. "How's that supposed to help?"
"Because you know there's no way around it. Not yet, at least." I say quietly. "I'm not one to say 'get over it', you're well within your right to despise the fact that humans die so quickly."
Nah is silent, listening warily.
"But that doesn't mean you should never get close to them. Like… you know dogs?"
"You're going to compare humans to dogs?" Nah scoffs.
"Yes." I say honestly. "Because it's a good comparison. If you've ever had a pet dog, you know how quickly they become family, and when they die it's sad, but it doesn't mean you regret loving them, or don't go find a new one once you've recovered. It's not dishonoring their memory by taking in another dog."
"You think I should look at humans like dogs?" Nah frowns. "Cycle through them?"
It sounds callous when you put it that way. "Sort of. I'm more saying you don't have to keep your distance. Yes, loving a human is signing yourself up for eventual heartbreak, but that doesn't mean the time is wasted. Besides, from a purely selfish standpoint, you can live your life in distinct phases by having human partners. Once one partner is gone, you have a chance to do something else, unbound by the necessary settling down or compromising that marriage entails, until you find someone else that you don't mind binding yourself to for a while."
"I… yeah…" Nah frowns. "It feels wrong to think that way though."
"Maybe." I shrug. "I'm not a manakete. I'm making suggestions based on speculation and how authors in my world usually handled immortal or long-lived characters. I have no idea how applicable they are. If you want real, concrete advice rather than speculation, ask Nowi or wait to ask Tiki. Heck, ask Naga. She might be able to tell you something."
I lean forward and poke her forehead.
"But either way I think we both know you're not cut out to be a recluse, so you're going to be dealing with humans no matter what. It's just a matter of how you deal with us. In this case, you like Laurent. You're only going to make yourself more miserable by intentionally pushing him away. At the very worst, he'll be a learning experience… and he'd probably be happy about that."
"He's not weird!" Nah almost shouts.
That makes me smile. I forgot how weirdly protective she was. "I didn't say anything."
"You implied it!"
"It's your imagination." I say, trying not to let my amusement show. "Your totally-not-boyfriend is very normal. I'm sure obsessively studying everything and messing with dragonfire is totally normal."
Nah narrows her eyes. "I will eat you."
"Kinky." I say, and then remember I'm dealing with Nah and not Morgan. "Sorry. Morgan is a bad influence."
Nah narrows her eyes at me. "I'm worried about you two now."
"You don't get to say that, Miss Stalker."
"I am not!"
"Lies~!" I sing.
Nah's face scrunches up at me. "I hate you."
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
"Also thank you."
"Any time. Seriously though, consider talking to your Mother. I'm neither a manakete nor a genius."
What's this? Conflict? How rare.