"Lady Ishtar, you need to get up."

Ishtar groaned. She had spent most of last night with her new gaggle of friends, and she didn't remember much. She was aware of her throbbing head, though. The mage peeked from under her blanket. She could see a disapproving Reinhardt staring back. "Reinhardt, can I not rest?" She asked evenly, "I was celebrating rather late into the night."

Reinhardt cleared his throat. "I am… quite aware, milady," he replied, "Who else could have carried you to your bed?" Ishtar's eyes widened. "When was the last time you drank so much? I seem to remember it was in…"

"H-how dare you?" Ishtar blurted out. "I am but a young maiden! You… you are merely meant to protect my honor!" She covered her head with the blanket. "Oh, I am so embarrassed!"

Reinhardt chuckled, a rather dangerous move in the not-so-distant past. "Milady, I swear on my life I protected your honor well." Ishtar didn't reply, hiding behind her sheets and hair. "I must admit, I find your reaction to all this amusing."

"How is this amusing?"

"Well, as I was saying, the last time you acted like this was-"

"Oh, do not say it." Her voice came down harshly, silencing Reinhardt. Ishtar rubbed her temples and sighed. "I thank you, Reinhardt. I owe you a great deal."

"No need to thank me, milady," came the reply, "I imagine that you wouldn't want Kiran to see you in such a state, after all." A pillow made swift contact with Reinhardt's face.

"Leave me in peace!" Ishtar shouted, "Did you only come here to mock me?"

Reinhardt laughed, in spite of the real threat that Ishtar presented. It had been so long since she had acted in such a childish way. "No," he answered, "The caravan is starting to pack; Kiran wanted me to inform you, given that the healers refuse to let him move from his cot. He also wanted to speak to you; there is to be a ball of some sort planned for our victory, perhaps he wishes to invite you out?" Reinhardt smirked at this, hoping to get another reaction.

Ignoring his last barb, Ishtar looked outside the window. It was past daybreak; in fact, one could be mistaken for thinking it to be nearly midday. "Have I missed breakfast?" She asked cautiously. She felt her stomach turn slightly. Ishtar wasn't a food maniac like some of the other heroes, but missing out on breakfast during a marching day was bound to have repercussions.

"I'm certain we can find you something to eat, milady," Reinhardt responded coyly, "Ah, you better get dressed, we will be returning as heroes today!" He glided out of the room, hardly making a sound.

Ishtar began combing her hair. "Heroes…" she mumbled. It felt foreign to her tongue, but she couldn't deny it felt good to say.

Kagero peeked out from her perch, set behind a parked wagon. Nephenee was standing next to a woman who defined 'frilly'. Her blonde curls bobbed as she spoke to the Helberdier.

Maribelle, if Kagero remembered correctly, spoke first. "No, no no no! That will simply not do!" She touched Nephenee's back. "You are much too stiff. You must make this look effortless!"

"Ahm sorry," Nephenee replied, "This is really exhausting!"

"It will be worth it when you turn heads at the inevitable celebration, will it not?"

"I … the Crimean celebration wasn't all that fancy, so I wasn't worried'bout this stuff ... "

Maribelle ignored her. "Even if this party is not quite so high-class, this lesson will be quite worth it!" Maribelle insisted, "Let's try again. I will lead, all you have to do is follow me." She placed a hand on Nephenee's hip. "Now, let us start with a classic waltz."

Kagero couldn't look away; she wasn't the best at expressing herself, but Nephenee looked so … adorable. Her expression was filled with excitement, and maybe just a bit of nervousness. Maribelle twirled her expertly, and they rotated around and around; Kagero could hear Maribelle humming a tune. The ninja observed intently. She had never been to any sort of ball, and just like Nephenee, had not been properly trained in dance. So she watched. Every step that Maribelle took, where she put her hands, and how she held herself.

"Ah, young love," she heard a voice behind her, "Cordelia would enjoy this." Kagero cursed herself for letting her guard down, and faced the speaker. Cherche gave her a friendly smile and gave her a light wave. "Hello, Kagero! How are you this morning?"

Kagero has spoken to Cherche a few times. They both enjoyed fine art, and had the same unapproachable countenance; though Cherche was much more friendly and open than herself. "Good morning, Cherche," she responded, "How can I help you?"

Cherche waved again. "Oh, you have helped me quite a bit already!" Kagero felt her face heat up briefly, which elicited a laugh from the Wyvern rider. "I was going to ask if you had seen my husband, though. Gerome and I were planning a morning flight with Minerva, and we wanted him to come along."

"You are married?" Kagero asked, "...Who is your husband, if I may ask?"

Cherche looked quizzical. "Gaius," she responded, "I would've assumed you knew that." It took the ninja untold levels of self-control to not make a face. She hoped Cherche didn't notice, as the Wyvern rider might've been the only person that legitimately made her nervous.

"Hmm," Kagero replied, "Have you looked for the Muspellan General? Gaius has been trying to get his hands on her baked goods since we captured them."

Cherche's eyes gleamed dangerously. "Ah," she said, "I see. Excuse me, I have something to see to." She stalked off, which reminded Kagero of the Wyvern she was often riding. The ninja could've sworn she heard her mutter about 'another woman's baked goods' as she walked away.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I stepped on ya again!"

"Do not apologize, Nephenee," came the harsh reply, "Learn and improve! Again!"

Kagero turned her attention back to Nephenee's lesson. She felt herself grow jealous of Maribelle, with a hand on Neph's waist. She began to imitate the motions the noble made. Kagero was too proud to ask for help now, but she could still learn a dance or two.

"Good morning, Tharja!"

The dark mage covered her eyes from the light as two shadows encroached on her private sanctum. She hissed in protest, covering herself with her book. She felt a pair of hands wrap around and lift her from her cushion. "Leave me alone, I'm working!" She growled.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You are nearly as melodramatic as Severa, my goodness." She said. She put Tharja down, and the mage glared at her.

"I'm glad you're awake!" Sumia stated, "I wanted to ask if we could come in, but…"

Cordelia sighed, "This is a caravan, not Tharja's room."

"It is the only place with any privacy in this forsaken place," Tharja pointed out, "So I would appreciate it if you didn't barge in." Sumia apologized profusely, while Cordelia gave out a half-hearted response. "What do you two want anyways?"

Sumia perked up again. "Well, as part of our mission, 'Be as good of friends as our daughters' -"

"What a great name. Rolls right off the tongue."

"- I thought we could all be on sky watch as we march home!"

Tharja looked incredulous. "You're both joking, right?" She asked.

"It would be an excellent chance for all of us to bond!" Sumia insisted, "You know you want to!"

"I'm pretty sure I want nothing to do with this." Tharja felt Cordelia move behind her; like prey in front of a lioness, she stayed still. "You know I will curse you two into oblivion for this, correct?"

"You won't," Cordelia replied, "You wouldn't curse your best friends, would you?" Tharja scoffed.

"I don't have best friends."

"Your only friends, then," came the flippant response, "Don't worry, it'll be fun."

Tharja groaned. "You know… I've never actually been on a pegasus." Sumia and Cordelia looked at each other, and the dark mage smiled. "Since that seems to be the dealbreaker, I'll let the two of you see yourselves out." She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"If Noire can learn, you can learn." Cordelia gave Tharja a smug look, before lifting her up and tossing her over her shoulder unceremoniously. "You are… much lighter than I thought you'd be."

Tharja glared ferociously at the redhead. "Put me down this instant." She said through gritted teeth.

Sumia smiled, and looked at Cordelia. "Cordy, did you hear something?"

"No, Sumia, I don't think I did."

Tharja muttered a complaint or two, but remained limp over the Pegasus Knight's shoulder. There was a limit to how much she would fight. She could only hope Noire didn't see her like this. That would be mortifying.

Ishtar had found herself outside the medical wagon. Reinhardt had not been subtle about the idea that Kiran had some breakfast set for her, but she was hesitant to go in. With everyone working so hard to prepare for the march, it seemed frivolous to socialize at a time like this. Plus, some of the other heroes kept looking at her, and it was getting more and more awkward as time went by. She felt a tug on her dress, and looked down. Nino looked up at her, a large chunk of bread in her mouth.

"Mmmphmrrr mhhmmm?" Ishtar lowered herself to face Nino, giving her a warm smile.

"You should finish eating that bite before you talk to me, Nino," she scolded lightly, "You don't want to get your food on others, do you?" The child shook her head, and began to vigorously chew. After a hearty swallow, she faced Ishtar and took a deep breath.

"Ms Ishtar! What're you up to?!" She asked loudly.

"Ah, I was just … looking for something to eat," she replied, "Regrettably, I missed breakfast."

Nino nearly hopped out of her skin in excitement. "Oh! You can have some of my bread!" She shouted, "Marisa gave it to me!" At the mention of the name, Ishtar detected some pink hair that quickly popped out of sight. She saw another swordswoman scramble from her poor hiding place, her ponytail smacking her in the face.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I will decline." Ishtar didn't want any misunderstandings with the two mercenaries watching Nino like a hawk. "I think the Summoner set something aside for me."

"Hmmmm," Nino thought aloud, "That makes sense to me. Lord Ephraim keeps saying that the Summoner likes you." Ishtar coughed on reflex. "But he keeps looking at L'Arachel, so I don't think he's allowed to say anything!" Nino huffed with that last word.

"You … you're very mature, Nino." Ishtar finally said. "But you should run along. I think you have a couple of friends that want to spend some time with you." She motioned to the peering faces of Marisa and Fir, who waved awkwardly at the duo. Nino waved back, and ran off with the two myrmidons. Ishtar gave it some thought. Perhaps a discussion with Ephraim was needed …

"Summoner, what do you mean by you gave it away?" Ishtar heard Reinhardt's voice from the wagon. It was slightly raised, and cut through the hubbub, so it had to have been louder that it seemed. The mage immediately moved to the side of the wagon, and listened in.

"Reinhardt, the healers have been working hard," Kiran explained, "I just repaid their kindness."

She heard Reinhardt sigh; and could visualize him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Kiran," he began, "What did we talk about last night?"

"... Getting Ishtar breakfast as a way to show I forgive her."

"And what did you do, at four in the morning?"

"... Made breakfast for Ishtar." His voice was getting smaller by the word, Ishtar noted.

"And then what did you do?"

" … But they looked so tired, Reinhardt."

"I swear I will strike you."

"Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing."

"On my name, I swear I will strike you." Ishtar decided that it was time to intervene. She took a deep breath, and moved towards the wagon entrance.

"Kiran, may I come in?" She called out. Ishtar smiled darkly when she heard the two scramble and hiss at each other. She also didn't wait for a response, opening the cloth flap and looking in.

"Ah! Lady Ishtar!" Reinhardt exclaimed, "What a surprise!"

Ishtar raised an eyebrow. "Reinhardt, I would hardly call a planned meeting a surprise. Or do you think that I am so unreliable as to miss a social call?" She made no attempt to lessen the bite of her words, and she could see Reinhardt look away nervously.

"O-of course not, milady, I was just … um … May I take my leave?"

"You may, yes. Thank you, Reinhardt." The knight nearly tripped through the wagon entrance, as Ishtar climbed in gracefully. Ishtar noted that Kiran was extremely nervous. "You do not need to worry, Kiran," she said, "What you did was very kind."

The summoner let out a sigh of relief. "So you aren't mad?"

Ishtar approached him. "I must admit, I am rather famished," She began, "So perhaps I should be angry…" she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. "Or perhaps I am just toying with the two of you, given that it is so much fun?"

Kiran chuckled to himself. "You villain." He teased. Ishtar sat beside him, and laughed as well. "So, I can still probably order some more breakfast for you."

Ishtar felt her stomach rumble. "Please," she groaned, "I really am quite hungry." She nearly collapsed onto Kiran's chest, feeling the quickening beat of his heart. "Anything will be fine."

"This … could be seen as a compromising position." Kiran squeaked out. Ishtar waved him off.

"My reputation is mine to do with as I please, Kiran," she replied, "Let me enjoy this."

They were silent from then on out.

"This is humiliating."

Tharja found herself holding onto Cordelia tightly, a position she would never voluntarily take. She heard Cordelia laugh at that, which only served to irritate the dark mage further. The worst part is that now they were too high up to actually hex the woman. It was such a frightening prospect, that Tharja's eyes had been closed ever since she mounted the pegasus.

"Apparently, Noire really enjoyed her first trip on a pegasus!" she heard Cordelia say, though the wind and the flapping wings made it harder to hear.

"How is anyone supposed to enjoy this?" Tharja screamed into the pegasus knight's ear, "This is a living nightmar- ahhhhhh!" Cordelia had gone into a steep dive; Probably meant to torture me, Tharja concluded.

"That might be the first time I've ever heard you scream!" Cordelia shouted back.

"I will hex the nose right off of you!" Tharja shrieked.

Cordelia laughed again. "Just look around you, Tharja! You can see everything from up here!"

"If I open my eyes, this will be real," Tharja replied, "And if it's real, then I'm too high above the ground." She felt Cordelia heave a rather large sigh. "What?" she asked harshly.

"Gods, you really are more dramatic than you let on!" Cordelia stated, "Just trust me, you'll be okay!"

Tharja hesitated, but finally chanced a small peek. She could see a sea of oak and pine below her, and the bright blue sky surrounding the pegasus sent a chill down her spine. "Wow." She whispered in spite of her best efforts. Tharja could already envision the smarmy expression on Cordelia's face, and she cringed.

"What was that?" she heard the pegasus knight ask.

"I said 'Wow, I can't wait to hex you'." Tharja replied harshly. Sumia's pegasus flew into Tharja's view.

"How are you feeling, Tharja?" Sumia asked sweetly.

"I feel like I'm being constantly grasped by death," Tharja answered, "How do you manage this with your other … balance problems?" Cordelia sighed, right on cue. The dark mage assumed that this question was a frequent one amongst the other Shepherds.

Sumia laughed at this, "Well, to be quite honest, I just have a really good relationship with animals of all shapes and sizes. It's like I belong on a pegasus!"

Tharja pondered this, and began to giggle. "Hee hee hee," she mumbled, "Perhaps that would be worth investigating …"

"Don't even think about it." Cordelia muttered back. Tharja couldn't help but giggle again.

Fir leaned back in her seat. The only issue with a fast caravan was that there was little time to spar, and Marisa seemed very intent on avoiding any duels for the moment. Fir had been catching her looking up in the sky longingly, and it was starting to irritate her. "Seriously," she muttered, "It's not like they're gonna get ambushed right now…"

"An ambush is, in fact, incredibly likely," Marisa replied bluntly, "And it's our job to make sure it doesn't happen."

Fir rolled her eyes. "You just want to stare at your girlfriend." Marisa turned around and glared.

"I told you already, that's impossible."

"What's impossible?" Nino piped up from her resting place on the wagon floor.

"Nothing." Marisa answered quickly.

"Exactly," Fir replied, "Nothing's impossible."

Marisa growled. "No, what I want is something that is not a possibility."

Another voice spoke up from the back of the wagon. "Oh, Marisa wants something? This I must hear!" Marisa shrunk as Tana peeked her head in.

"M-m-milady!" She squeaked out, "What are you doing?"

"Well, Lady Cordelia and Lady Sumia volunteered to take my place on sky patrol, so I've been socializing. And I realized, 'I have not seen Marisa today, I must visit her!'"

"The wagons are moving!" Marisa replied, "That was incredibly dangerous!"

Tana waved away Marisa's worries away. "The wagons are moving so very slow! You shouldn't underestimate me, even if I am a lady!"

"I wasn't-" Marisa stopped herself and looked from Fir back to Tana. "How much did you hear?"

"I heard you have something you want," Tana replied in a sing-song voice, "And you never want an-y-thing, so I'm very intrigued!" She walked over to Marisa carefully, and sat by her. "You'll tell your old friend Tana, will you not?"

Fir smirked as she watched Marisa's face grow pinker and pinker. "Yes, Marisa," she added, "She deserves to know, as your close friend."

"I … I'm not ready for thaaaat!" Marisa mumbled. Tana leaned into the myrmidon, which only worsened the redness on Marisa's face.

"Okaaay," Tana whined, "But I will expect you to tell me when you're comfortable, okay?"

Before Marisa could answer, the wagon came to a screeching halt. The group could hear a loud commotion from outside. "Speaking of an ambush…" she said loudly, looking at Fir. She opened the cloth flap, and the four peered outside.

Four people stood in front of the wagon train, dressed in dark robes. Marisa heard two pegasi whinny from above, and there was a horse poorly hidden behind the quartet. She could also see that the group consisted of three women and one man, for what that was worth. One had a hand on a sword hilt, while the other three had a lance, bow, and what Marisa assumed was a large knife.

The lance user moved forward. "Halt!" She cried out, "We have received information that this caravan belongs to a group of horrible thieves! Who are set to torment the nearby village!" She posed, and continued on. "We, the Scions of Justice, will defeat you!"

"Wait, Scions of Justice?" The man spoke up, "I thought we were going to be the Golden Brigade."

"No, you are doing the mistaking," Answered the girl with the knife, "We were in agreeing about the Scions of Justice!"

"Kill … Blood …"

"Even Spooks McSlashandStab agreed with that name?" came the sharp retort.

The lance user stomped her foot. "I-It doesn't matter, and where is our grand entrance with all the flower petals?"

Two other hooded figures appeared behind the tree. Marisa could see that they were both short in stature. One had a giant axe strapped to their back, and the other … was weaponless? That seemed odd.

"Cyn-"

"CODE NAMES!"

"..." there was an irritated sigh that came from one of the new hooded figures, "Pega-Pony Princess, you never gave us a cue for the flowers."

"In addition, this seems rather superfluous," the other hooded figure continued, "We're here to stop a group of thieves, not prattle about with silly introductions."

The lance user looked exasperated in her body language. "Not you too, Empress of Fire! You were into the naming part."

The axe user crossed her arms. "Nobody liked 'Judicial Strike Force'." She replied in a pouty voice. The bow user patted her back in empathy.

"An-anyways!" The lance user posed again, "Prepare to be brought to justice!"

This Chapter was shorter than I thought it was, considering the amount of editing went into it! I hope you can guess our 6 new friendos!

I want to thank all of you for reading, liking, subscribing, commenting, questioning, etc. I know I'm not the fastest, but you guys are the reason I keep going with this when I don't always feel the most put together.

Thank you all so much!