Monday: The Snowball Fight
Fir stared out into the courtyard. The blizzard had calmed down overnight, and now everything had been covered in a significant layer of snow. Including the training grounds. She groaned, grabbing a shovel; the only way she'd be able to train is if she took things in her own hands. As Fir put on several layers, she heard laughter coming from down below her room. She opened the window, poking her head through the opening. Nino, Eirika, and Athena were standing in the snow, Eirika seemed to have snow layering her head. Nino had shaped more snow into a ball, and tossed it at Athena.
"Oh! Greetings, Fir!" Athena had spotted her and began waving up to her, "You should do the joining of us!"
"What … are you doing?"
"We are doing the snowball reflex training!" The foreign swords-woman exclaimed, "Is much fu
n and helpful." Fir scratched her chin thoughtfully.
"Alright, hold on!" she called back. As she closed the door, she began thinking about who else could benefit from such training. She noticed that they all had gloves, perhaps to decrease grip? She had only had a little experience with the snow, unlike Athena. And how cold would it be out there? She probably needed, say, six or so scarfs around her head. As she wrapped herself more, she noticed her ability to move was lessened. Perfect for training reflexes! She thought.
"Alright, all ready!" Fir said to herself, "Now to get some other people."
As Fir walk out of a small side entrance of the castle, she felt the impact of something cold hit her in the chest. She could hear Nino's squeal of laughter, and she attempted to glare through the multiple layers wrapped around her head.
"Now, now, Nino, let's let Fir at least get out into the snow first." Eirika reprimanded her lightly. It wasn't as cold as Fir had initially thought, and she began to remove the scarfs around her head, until only one scarf and a stocking cap were left.
"Are you sure this is for training?" Marisa asked, "It seems to be more like a game."
"Athena called it training, so it has to be training."
"Ah, if Athena said it, it must be true." Ayra stated sarcastically.
"H-hey! Let's just give it a try, okay?" Fir responded defensively. The trio walked out onto the field, where the other three were waiting. Athena greeted them warmly, but then looked around and frowned. She motioned for the other five to follow her behind the barrack walls. As Fir trailed behind and turned the corner, she felt a strong breeze behind her, followed by a distinct "Darn it!".
"Who was that, Nino?" Fir asked. Before she could answer, they heard someone calling them from across the field. Morgan was standing on a wall built of snow, a little flag with a blue emblem upon it was perched next to her. She held up a small tome, which amplified her voice to an almost painful level.
"Greetings, friends!" She called out, "Fort Morgan is still waiting for your response to a snowball war! We will give you half an hour to prepare your defenses and flag now that you have the proper number of participants!" Ayra and Marisa shot a look at Athena, who gave them a nervous grin.
"To be fairness, I did not know Fir would be the bringing of you both."
"... A battle simulation is a much better way to spend our time out here, anyways." Ayra replied, "Besides, I'm not about to run away from a challenge." Marisa and Fir nodded in agreement. Nino attempted to hug all three of them, not able to even reach around one of them.
"Thank you sooo much!" She cried out, "I know we can win, I just know it!"
"Hey, Morgan, I thought we were calling this Fort Ylisse." Selena looked at her sister grumpily.
"I know, I know; I got caught up in the moment." Morgan admitted. Sitting in the fort were Selena, Odin, Laslow, Gerome and Lucina. The 6 of them had created a surprisingly large fort, and had spent most of the morning preparing an arsenal to challenge anyone.
Unfortunately for Morgan, she had forgotten to announce her challenge to anyone, and the group was left with harassing people. Finally, they could have the snowball fight they were all looking forward to.
"Seriously, it's cold out out here, and we're not even throwing snowballs." Selena pouted, "What a waste of time."
"I'm just glad to be spending so much time with my friends." Lucina stated kindly. Selena scoffed, but didn't complain further.
Morgan had stated the rules earlier. Each group would have a flag that would eventually need to be captured. The ones who managed to get the opponent's flag would be the victor.
"Uh, guys..." Laslow had peered over the fort's eastern walls, "I don't think Nino's group is the only one that heard our challenge." Morgan nearly climbed over Gerome to peer over the same wall. The eastern wall was the least protected, facing a large field with several small trees poking through the snowcover. At first, she saw nothing, but she noticed a couple of pegasi flying over the area. Then Morgan saw it. A shock of green hair popped up from a large base towards the east.
"Damn, how did they mobilize so quickly?" Morgan asked aloud. "Who is that group anyways?" As if on cue, she caught something a little north of that group, east of the frantically building Nino's group. A flash of purple. "There's another fort a little north of that one, too!"
"Maybe they were already out here before us?" Odin asked hopefully. Selena moved over to the wall, looking at the two forts. Another pegasi was now flying to the other base.
"Isn't that mom's pegasus?" she commented. "And that's definitely Princess Elincia's..."
Morgan went pale. "You … don't think father is in another fort?" Selena patted her sister's head.
"Well, if they are, we'll just have to beat them!"
"Oh no, I think they saw me." Elincia said apologetically. Kagero shrugged.
"It doesn't matter, they spent so much time waiting for Nino to get a group together. We're practically over-prepared to annihilate them."
"I reckon they're plenty prepared as well," Nephenee replied, "We should definitely be careful."
"I think we have a good chance of catching them off-guard, especially with Kagero on our side!" Tana said cheerfully. The team looked at each other. Nephenee had not only convinced Kagero to join them, but also Donnel and, most surprisingly, Clarisse.
"What about the ones to the north of us?" Clarisse was glaring over the wall. "They seem well prepared as well."
"Outside of their smarts, they lack our strength and accuracy," Kagero answered, "We also have twice the pegasi as them."
"Anyway, Laslow and Odin are in the western fort, so I figur'd you'd want a shot at them?" Nephenee asked the archer.
Clarisse grinned, "Yeah, those perverts are gonna pay for what they asked Kiran."
"Distance to Princess Elincia's fort?"
"35.4 meters to our south."
"Distance to Nino's fort?"
"Approximately 42 meters west and 7 or so meters vertically."
"Alright, plenty of distance from all three forts, then … We'll just need to break their defenses before we try to take the flags."
Lute and Robin were both looking through spyglasses, staring over the wall. Cordelia, Sanaki, Lissa and Felicia all sat in the snow, preparing their arsenal. For once, it seemed like Felicia was not just competant, but actually proficient. Their snowball arsenal was larger than expected in such a short time.
"Wow, Felicia, you're really good at this!" Lissa exclaimed.
"Thanks!" the maid responded, "I'm not the best in my village, but I'm sure I can at least be helpful here!"
"What kind of flag design is that?" Lute asked, bemusedly. Nephenee's fort had raised a Purple flag with a turnip emblazoned on it. Robin began laughing.
"Looks like good ol' Donny is on a different team, Cordy!" Cordelia blushed at the tactician using one of his many pet names for her.
"Don't call me that! At least, not here!" She whined, before giving Lute her rushed flag design: A red flag with a yellow sun upon it. Lute nodded, seemingly ignorant of Cordelia's blustering.
"A perfect flag for Fort Sanaki!" Sanaki began stuttering in protest.
"I-I-I thought we were just going to be the Fort of the Sun!"
"They even have their flags ready, how absurd!" Ayra scoffed. "How could we be so woefully unprepared?"
"Oh, we're not!" Eirika noted, "I've been making our flag the whole time." She pulled out a bright teal flag with crossed swords upon it.
"Fitting for warriors like ourselves, no?" Athena asked. Marisa and Fir didn't respond, focused on the lack of motion from the closest fort. Morgan and Selena had retreated into the fort, and no motion had been caught by either swords-woman since. Nino and Athena had been busy making snowballs, and Ayra and Eirika had just finished a sizeable fort.
"I don't like this, Marisa."
"Yeah, me neither."
"They must be planning something. The other forts are too far away to present a threat to us."
"Oh."
"Oh?"
Marisa gulped. "I thought you were nervous because you've never thrown a snowball before."
"Oh yeah," Fir responded, "That too."
Ayra looked over to Lute's fort. "That mage placed their fort at such a long distance from everyone else. I would guess 30 meters or so, while the rest of us are 10 meters or so."
"Lute's a little weird," Eirika said, shrugging, "I doubt they'll present an actual thr-"
There was a loud bang, followed by a snowball careening over Nephenee's fort. Nino's group could hear shouts of confusion from the other forts, followed by a barrage of snowballs hitting the sides of their fort.
"The first strike! To victory, my comrades!" Athena shouted.
"What in tarnation was that?" Donnel asked, attempting to toss a snowball towards Lute's fortress. A snowball whizzed by his ear, coming from a glowering Clarisse.
"I'll hit that fort, you get out of my way and hit the others." She said simply. "She flung another snowball with dangerous accuracy.
"Tana, do you think we could get a pegasi attack together?" Elincia asked. Tana nodded, prepping a bag to hold some snowballs.
"Nephenee, Clarisse, I require your assistance." Kagero stated, "I'll try to reach Lute's fortress, but I need you two to provide cover for me."
"Don't do anythin' too reckless, it's just a game, y'know." The ninja nodded.
"I still want to win."
"Morgan, I think dad-"
"I know! We're almost ready." Morgan insisted. She and Odin had been desperately constructing a rudimentary catapult. It might not match whatever Robin had helped constructed, but it would help them stand a chance. To make things worse, Nino's group was proving to be amazingly accurate, with Laslow suffering several snowballs to the face. Morgan was fairly sure she had heard a few jeers from that fort as well.
"Morgan, I think it's as ready as it'll be." Gerome observed.
"Alright, let's give it a test run," Morgan said nervously. Gerome and Lucina nodded. "Where do we need to aim, Sev?"
"You need to aim-"
"About 13 more degrees west." Cordelia noted to Robin and Lute. Felicia had created a large spiraling tube out of the snow, one that seemed to not be affected by heat. As such, Lissa, Lute and Sanaki could use their tomes to launch a volley of snowballs. It was rather heavy, though, and it had taken them a few minutes to move the contraption.
"Thanks, honey," Robin replied, "Alright, are we loaded?"
"We certainly are." Sanaki said. "Awaiting your orders."
"On three, then. 1, 2... 3!"
A large banging sound echoed as three tomes went off at the same time, launching a volley of snowballs directly at Nephenee's fort. Cordelia began laughing.
"A direct hit!" She cried out. As the group began celebrating, they found themselves suddenly hit by a barrage of their own. Snowballs struck the whole group with surprising accuracy. Robin had been hit the worst, his whole face covered with snow. As he wiped it off, he grinned wryly.
"Looks like Morgan and Severa are taking this seriously as well," he muttered, "Let's see who's better under pressure."
"Ah, Felicia, that explains everything." The members of Fort Sanaki all whipped their heads towards the source of the scorning voice. Kagero sat behind them, several snowballs in hand. "Ice powers are certainly not fair."
"Oh curses." Was all Lute could manage to say.
"How's the wall integrity?" Elincia asked Tana, attempting to reinforce their walls.
"Not pristine, Elincia." The barrage of snowballs had hit the walls and damaged them severely, something that the other forts would capitalize on soon. "Hopefully Kagero can keep them occupied long enough."
"It seems like that Morgan kid has a contraption of her own," Clarisse noted, "We should focus our attacks on her next."
"Alrigh', les do that." Nephenee responded. "Donny, yer with me."
"What're we doin'?"
"We're gonna flank 'em," Nephenee answered, "Clarisse can hit em from here, but I doubt we can break their defenses with just that."
"Alright, I'm with ya." Donnel said. Nephenee led the way, keeping herself just out of view of both forts within distance. The duo slowly followed the trajectory of Clarisse's snowball tosses, staying out of the way of any counter fire. There was another barrage from Morgan's Catapult, missing the fort by a few meters. "Yikes! That was too close!"
"Keep down, Donny." Nephenee whispered. She could hear Selena's voice over the small hill, yelling at Odin about something. "Let's wait until they're distracted by somethin' else." Donnel nodded, laying in the snow to camouflage himself.
"So, while we're waitin'," Donnel whispered, "You wanna talk about Kagero?" Nephenee shot him a quizzical look. "Well, I helped her gather her flowers, and she just didn't seem like somebody you'd particularly give googly eyes over, but ya are."
"She … just reminds me of somebody," she responded, "Someone I was awful sweet on."
"Ah, you think you're ever gonna tell her?"
"Nope, I don't plan on it." Nephenee responded. "I ain't in anybody's league here."
"Purty sure yer above everyone's league here," Donnel scolded, "Yer awful purty, and yer an agreeable person."
"I'm not purty, Donny. Don't start that sweet talk with me." Donnel stood up, his eyes glaring down at the farmer's daughter.
"Lemme tell ya somethin', Neph." Donnel said, a tone of seriousness unbeknownst to Nephenee was in his voice. "I used ta think the same thing, but you know what? People liked who I was, and I got married to a beautiful lady, who ended up bein' a Countess!" Nephenee blanched.
"You?! Married?! A-a countess?!" She practically shouted, "Don't ya ever worry about bein' looked down on?"
"Nah, my wife is a lil' too … intense fer the others, so don't really talk bout it."
Nephenee was quiet for a little bit. Her conversation with Tharja the previous day was stuck in her head. The mage was on the nose. Even after making so many new friends, she was too focused on what she was doing wrong. If Donny could do it, then what was stopping her?
Her inner monologue was interrupted by Donnel getting hit in the face with a snowball.
"Oh! Sorry, Uncle Donny!" Morgan cried out from over her fort wall. "I was aiming for your helmet!"
"Morgan, don't apologize to the enemy!" Selena yelled at her sister.
"Look, Nephenee and Donny are making a move!" Nino called out to the others in the fort. In a way, having the worst aim out of every team was a blessing. They had been largely ignored in counterattacks, the worst being Marisa and Nino getting hit by the same snowball that Clarisse had thrown.
Ayra grinned. "Finally, now we can make a move of our own."
"I couldn't agree more." Sitting on the wall, four tomes in hand, was Kagero. She was covered in the remnants of snowballs, but still managed her stoic exterior. "I have disarmed Lute's cannon, so it's time we took care of the catapult." A snowball to her face was the reply from Nino.
"We shall never work with the enemy!" She shouted with false bravado. Fir got in between the two, making peaceful gestures.
"Let's think this through," Eirika said calmly, "The other forts have been seriously damaged or disarmed, outside of Morgan's. It would make sense to make an alliance." Kagero nodded.
"Then let's stop wasting time." Marisa stated, her arms filled with snowballs. "I'm with Nino and Fir, they have better aim than me."
"Fine, Eirika and Athena are with me." Ayra stated, leaping over the wall. Athena chuckled to herself.
"For some, even game is battle." She muttered to herself before joining Eirika and Ayra over the wall. Fir looked over towards Kagero, to find she had also disappeared during that time, the tomes she had stolen still sitting on the wall.
"I wonder what happened to Lute's group?"
"Hahahahaha! Kagero got us good!" Lissa was doubled over in laughter, as Cordelia and Felicia were digging Robin and Lute out from their own predicament. Both had been buried up to their necks in the snow.
"I am just glad I did not have Cymbeline out today." Sanaki noted, "How rude of her to just take our tomes without permission!"
"To be fair, we might have had a teensy tiny advantage." Robin responded, "But I had really hoped ingenuity would win the day."
"All the best artists suffer." Lute said simply.
"Did she have to break my cannon?" Felicia lamented, accidentally throwing snow on Robin's face in her carelessness. "I was really proud of that." Lute, who finally had a free hand, rubbed Felicia's shoulder sympathetically.
"It was definitely adequate, Felicia."
"Thanks, I'll take adequate."
"What should we do now, you two?" Cordelia asked, freeing the duo. "There's no point in staying at the fort, should we move towards Elincia's Fort?"
"I think not," Lute said, "I suspect most everyone will be moving towards Morgan's fort."
Cordelia sighed. Of course, she was sure that Severa would be extra motivated to hit her with a snowball. Probably more than a few snowballs. "I suppose you're right, how should we approach them?"
"Flanking would be the only option I'd entertain," Robin responded, shaking powder from his hair, "Running across towards them is only asking for trouble." He pointed to the left. "Lute, Lissa, Sanaki, you head towards Elincia's Fort. Just remember that Clarisse is likely still there. Cordelia, Felicia, and I will take the right." Lissa stuck out her tongue.
"I'm surprised you two lovebirds would take a third person, Robby!"
"Don't push it, Lissa. I'm still mad about Friday," Robin shot back. "Is everyone ready to move out?" The two trios split up, moving towards the chaos in front of them.
"Sir Robin, you know I'm not much use on the ground," Felicia stated, "I'm just a little too clumsy."
Cordelia smiled back at her. "You aren't the only one. I have no stamina on the ground, I can't run very far." Robin nodded.
"The right path is shorter and doesn't have Clarisse and Kagero in the way," He observed, "So I figure it would be easier for you two." As they passed Nino's fort, the lack of people there was surprising. Robin noticed that the six members of the group were now huddled behind a set of shrubs, holding off a furious barrage from Selena and Lucina. Lucina couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but Selena was more than sufficient in the accuracy department. That was when Lucina noticed Robin and Cordelia. The princess whispered in Selena's ear, and she looked at her parents. She put her hands to her mouth.
"Hey Mom! Dad! I hope you're ready to lose!" She called out. Cordelia stifled a giggle, and Robin smirked.
"Good luck, sweetie!" Cordelia called back, before lazily tossing a snowball over in her direction. Unfortunately, years of javelin training made even a lazy toss carry a distance. Lucina took the snowball to the forehead. Selena turned to her mother. "Sorry, I didn't mean it!"
Of course, mom would get a perfect shot to hit the perfect place on th- Let's not finish that thought, Severa.
"Sev, don't get distracted, alright?" Lucina said, "That was just a pretty lucky shot!"
"R-right, We need to keep holding this group back until Morgan figures out how to stop that other fort." It wasn't looking great. Everyone else was mobilizing against them, probably because they were doing so well. For as good as that felt, having to deal with Clarisse's insane accuracy on one side and now mom and dad on the other... that wasn't looking good.
"Morgan, Severa," Gerome spoke up, "The two purple-haired women and Aunt Lissa have joined those two pegasus knights."
"Oh no, not Lute and Lissa." Outside of Robin and Henry, the only one with smarts and the willingness to do the dumbest thing possible not named Morgan was Lute. Odin had the same idea.
"Was mother with her the whole time?!" He shouted, before getting another Clarisse Special to the face. Severa clicked her tongue in disapproval. Laslow and Odin kept getting hit by Clarisse, and it clearly was no accident. One snowball that survived the trip even had several expletives written on it, followed by a signature.
At least she was enjoying herself.
"Morgan, how are you holding up?"
"Well, that scary blonde lady is focused on Inigo and Owain, so I'm doing fine!" She replied, "But Uncle Donny and that other girl are slowly getting closer."
"Those two are the least of your worries."
Morgan smirked, sidearming a snowball at the waiting Kagero. "I knew a ninja would attack from behind! I thought it would be a ninja thing to do!"
Kagero dove out of the snowball's way, and flung her own at a stunned Selena. Selena felt a body collide with her own. When she opened her eyes after the impact, she saw Lucina with fresh powder covering the back of her head.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Selena cried out, a little louder than she intended. Lucina smiled at her friend weakly.
"Sorry, old habits, I suppose." Selena frowned.
"Ugh, you idiot! I can't believe I thought you were hurt!" Selena attempted to push Lucina off of her, unsuccessfully at first. Morgan looked around the fort curiously, an uncharacteristic frown on her face.
"Uh, guys, where did our flag go?"
"Alright, I managed to take it!" Fir had barely managed to use Kagero's assault as a distraction, and ripped Morgan's flag from it's frosty perch.
"Awesome, you're the best, Fir!" Nino gave her friend a hug. "Now we need to get the other two flags."
"Easier said than done," Marisa answered, "Especially from Tana's fort."
Eirika looked at Ayra and Athena. "Do you think the two of you could get the flag?"
Ayra smiled wryly. "I would never admit it if I couldn't."
"And Lute's fort has been abandoned, so somebody from that group probably took the flag." Eirika noted. "What do you think, Nino?"
Nino pondered this question for a moment, then pointed to Cordelia, who, along with Robin and Felicia, had passed by them and were preoccupied with attacking Morgan's fort. How Fir got by those three made her sprint even more impressive. "I think Lady Cordelia!"
"Hmmm? What makes you think that?" Eirika asked.
"Cause her hair is the same color of their flag! So she could just tie it to her armor or something."
"Works for me. Fir and I can grab it." Marisa volunteered. "Nino, you and Lady Eirika provide cover for Ayra and Athena." Nino gave the myrmidion a thumbs up.
"Gotcha, Marisa!" Fir and Marisa began cautiously sneaking towards the crimson haired pegasus knight, while Ayra and Athena began a mad dash towards the last fort.
"You and Athena were right, this is fun!" Nino said, smiling at Eirika. Eirika laughed.
"I don't remember our snowball fights reaching this level of intensity, but it has been fun, hasn't it?"
"Are … you signing each of your snowballs?" Tana asked Clarisse incredulously. The archer glared at the princesses, who were now attempting to hold off an approaching Ayra and Athena.
"I want those idiots to know who's hitting them in their dumb faces." Clarisse answered, flinging another snowball at the retreating form of Odin. His squeal made the archer smile cruelly.
"Well, we might have another problem entirely." Tana pointed to the two swordswomen approaching them at a rapid pace.
"I should say you have a problem!" Lute, Lissa, and Sanaki stood over the opposing trio triumphantly. "Your flag has just been commandeered by the incredible Lute!" Several snowballs pelted the mages almost immediately. As they fell, a large portion of the wall crumbled onto Clarisse, Elincia and Tana. The three stood there, covered from head to toe. As they gathered themselves, they barely heard Ayra and Athena run by, nab the flag from a flailing Lute's hands, and run off.
"Thanks for the winning from you!" Athena called back. Clarisse shrugged, before pitching another snowball at a helpless Laslow. She honestly couldn't wait to tell Kiran about this.
Fir leaned over towards Cordelia, reaching out her arm carefully. The redhead was still focused on Selena and Morgan, somehow unaware of both Marisa and Fir right behind her. Amongst the long mane that was Cordelia's hair, Fir caught sight of a flash of yellow. Nino had been right with her guess. She reached out, feeling the cloth on her fingertips.
"What are you doing?"
Fir looked up slowly, staring into the crimson eyes of Cordelia. Her expression was a mixture of amusement and disappointment. Fir just smiled slowly, before ripping the flag from where it was being hidden.
"Marisa! I got the flag!"
"Robin! They found the flag!"
"Really? That hiding spot was perfe-" Robin was cut off by a snowball hitting him in the back of the head.
"Gotcha dad!" Selena called out mockingly. Fir and Marisa sprinted, seemingly with the wind's aid, as Cordelia and Felicia struggled to keep up. They could see Ayra and Athena jumping over the walls of the fort.
"We're almost there!" Marisa called out. Fir turned around, just for a moment.
Kagero was behind the both of them, preparing to pounce upon them. Fir shouted in surprise, closing her eyes to prepare for impact.
There was an 'oof', and no impact came. Fir opened her eyes, to see Kagero face down in the snow.
"Oh gosh, ahm sorry!" Nephenee cried out from behind the shrubs. "I was aimin' for …"
Fir felt herself being dragged over the wall of the fort. She gave the last remaining flag to Nino, who held all four triumphantly.
"WE WIN!"
"How is it that even simple games become dangerous trials of combat with you people?" Lachesis and several other healers were handing out hot cocoa and tea to everyone who had engaged in the great snowball battle. While there weren't any serious injuries, Laslow and Odin were sporting some serious welts, which Clarisse seemed very happy to point out to everyone else. Kagero had also gotten a bloody nose from a solid impact with not-so-fresh powder. Thankfully, the nose wasn't broken, though that was small comfort for Nephenee, who was attempting not to burst into tears while apologizing incessantly to the ninja. "I am at a loss for words at how absurdly dangerous things get around here."
"Yeah, I guess we were all a little too excited about winning." Cordelia admitted. Selena and Morgan were busy regaling their father with their own versions of the fight itself.
"What would you have won?" the cleric asked. Cordelia thought about that for a moment, and began to laugh.
"You know something? I have no clue!" She answered, "I think we all just wanted an excuse to play a little bit."
"Honestly, Cordelia; sometimes you're impossible," Lachesis said in a huff, "If you had hurt yourself, we may have had to cancel music club tomorrow!"
"Oh, you can handle them without me!"
"Oh, if you say so," she replied, "But I must say, I'm disappointed that you didn't even ask me."
"Next time."
"Go spend time with your family, Cordelia." Lachesis gave her a quick hug. "I'll join you soon, if I may?"
"Of course, Lady Lachesis."
"Oh criminy, I'm so sorry, Kagero!" Nephenee gave the ninja another handkerchief, though Kagero's bloody nose had long since healed. Kagero kept pretending to use them, for Nephenee's sake.
"I already told you I'm fine, Nephenee," she responded calmly, "See, it's no longer bleeding."
"Yer the only one that got hurt, though!"
"I was too focused on the mission at hand, I should've communicated with you."
"B-but-"
"No buts," Kagero said harshly, "I had fun, and getting a bloody nose doesn't change that." She smiled at the teal-haired woman. "Besides, it was a good throw. You should be proud of that." The ninja stood from her seat. "I'm going to get some more tea. Would you like a cup of cocoa?"
"Y-yes'm."
As Kagero left, Nephenee saw Donnel out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting with Gaius, Gerome and Cherche. Gaius and Donnel both gave her thumbs up. She attempted to cover her face with her helmet, which she had once again left in her room.
"Cripes, ah gads..." She muttered to herself, "Ahm such a mess."
"I'll say!" Tana practically shouted from next to her. "Nephy, you gotta go for it!" Nephenee put her head on the table, covering it with her hands. "Don't you ignore me!"
"But ya can't even confess to Lord Ephraim, so why should I listen to ya?"
"T-t-that's different!" Tana looked equally embarrassed and taken aback. "Do you want to end up heartbroken twice?"
"Heather was different," Nephenee muttered, "She was too much of a free spirit, ya know?"
"No, I do not know," was the scolding answer, "Nephy, you just spent three hours with her yesterday, and she enjoyed it! At least give it a try!"
"Nooo..."
"If you don't tell her by Friday, I'm telling her myself!"
Nephenee's face grew stern. "Fine, but if ya do that, Ahm telling Ephraim as well."
Tana's face grew four different shades of red. "You wouldn't dare." she hissed.
"Try me."
"What are you two arguing about?" Elincia asked, her and Eirika returning with new cups of tea. Tana laughed nervously.
"N-nothing! Haaaa – everything is perfectly agreeable!"
"If she doesn't confess by the end of the week, I'm gonna tell Lord Ephraim about Princess Tana's crush on him." Nephenee muttered, looking right at Tana. Eirika clapped her hands in delight.
"Ooh! I've been trying to convince her for almost a year!" She whispered, as she noticed others looking at her.
"W-well, if Nephenee doesn't tell Kagero how she feels, then I'm doing the same!" She hissed back.
"I heard my name. What are you two talking about?" Kagero stood over Nephenee and Tana, handing the former a new mug of cocoa.
"We... were talking about your flower arrangement!" Elincia explained, "Nephenee was really praising it!"
"You … were?" The ninja raised an eyebrow.
"I mean … I did like it." Nephenee answered. Kagero didn't look convinced, but didn't press further. As the group sat in silence, snow began falling outside.
"The snow is rather calming, don't you think?"
"Y-yeah."
"I'll draw a portrait of today." Kagero said, rather aimlessly.
"Don't ya draw one every day?"
"Yes, but this day was rather special."
"Honestly, I feel like everyday here is crazy like this." Kagero chuckled at this.
"I suppose you're right."
I wanted a fast paced chapter that featured as many people as possible. I love how Heather and Nephenee are in PoR, but I also feel like they would never be more than a fleeting thing. Heather's a little too flighty, in my opinion.
Tangentially, I just replayed Sacred Stones, and Ephraim might be the greatest big brother to Myrrh.
As always, thank you all for reading! If you have any requests, comments, questions, reviews, etc... I love reading them, even if I don't respond to them directly at times! I'm weird about that, but I do read them and take them to heart!
And for those who wished me well (both in spirit and in text) two chapters ago, thank you so much. I do appreciate it, and I don't remember if I thanked you in the last chapter.
Thank you guys for reading!