Morgan went to Lucina when he noticed her. She still looked tired—which wasn't really surprising, since she probably didn't want to get up early either—but nonetheless looked at him and nodded.
"Are we going to do anything else while we're here?" Morgan asked her once he got close enough.
"I haven't decided," Lucina replied. "I would prefer not to stay, but we also need to make sure we won't get attacked on the way back home—especially if the others start on their separate ways after a little while."
"We can go town by town instead of cutting through the forest?" Morgan suggested. "Someone would just have to make sure that Mom knows that we'll be a bit later."
"We may have to," Lucina said, sighing. "I don't want to risk them catching us alone again, so no matter what we would have to move slower. Mother might worry if we're too late."
"That and Aunt Lissa won't be happy if it's August before Owain gets a birthday celebration," Morgan added cheerfully. Going back to serious for a moment, he said, "So we'll send someone ahead of us?"
"Just so no one at home worries," Lucina agreed. "I can get that settled now—we can leave tomorrow." Morgan nodded, and Lucina turned away to do what she said—then she looked back at him. "Ah, Morgan? Owain said you were talking with one of the mercenaries."
"Yeah," Morgan replied. "Do you have something you want me to ask him?"
Lucina shook her head. "No, but… You've never been told not to talk too much with strangers, have you?" Morgan just blinked at her in response, and she sighed. "Don't say anything that Father or Mother wouldn't want you to—they may have helped us, but I'd still be skeptical."
"I'll be careful!" Morgan promised. With a teasing smile, he added, "You sound like Mom when you talk like that."
"It's simply caution," Lucina replied kindly, "And I'm reminding you to exercise it."
"I will, I will!" Morgan maintained, still smiling. Lucina seemed assured enough, so she left again; Morgan proceeded to wander around, chatting with the other Mini Shepherds for a little while.
It wasn't until after lunch that Morgan saw Malin again. The mercenary approached the kids this time, and their conversation started off well enough. At first, it was just small anecdotes at the Mini Shepherds' request; Lucina had come back when she sent someone to send a letter to Robin.
Malin told stories about the battles he saw—he even recalled the battle against Grima, which was always a favorite despite how many times they've heard it—and for the most part, everyone enjoyed what he shared.
At some point after an hour or two, Malin said, "It was pretty nice back then—aside from the war stuff, I mean." He looked at the Mini Shepherds and added, "Although I will ask… How's all the people who fought in the war? Your parents and their friends?"
All he needed to do was ask, and all of them started taking turns sharing stories about home—with a lot of friendly backstabbing and teasing, since a majority of them knew at least one other person for a long time before the Mini Shepherds. Lucina was especially cruel in this, because she had dirt on all of them. When it came time for Morgan and Lucina's turn, they just helped each other tell a story about each of their parents. Malin seemed to be more interested in these—he asked more clarifying questions than with the other stories.
With Lucina's small nod of approval, Morgan told a story about how the Mini Shepherds formed. Malin was definitely intrigued by it, smiling and frowning at some parts. "I'll admit," Malin said after Morgan finished, "I'm actually surprised that Robin agreed to this. It sounds like she was cautious for a while…almost over-protective."
"Honestly, when I thought about it I didn't think she would let us go either," Morgan admitted. "I guess it's kind of like you said; she's a bit protective, but it's a safety thing. I don't…leave the castle a lot. Let's put it that way."
At that point, most of the Mini Shepherds had moved on to some other entertainment source, so it was just Malin, Lucina, and Morgan. Quiet and hesitant, Malin asked, "Do you…know why?"
"I do, at least partially," Lucina replied, frowning somewhat, "But I can't say anything exact. If I can confirm that you're actually a friend of hers and we cross paths again, I may be able to share."
"I understand," Malin said kindly. He apparently found someone he wanted to talk to, since he said "Have a good afternoon, you two." and walked away.
Lucina frowned a bit after he left. Morgan noticed it and put on a smile to combat it. "Still don't like him?" he asked.
"I don't believe you understand how many people can recognize an ill topic and still pursue it," Lucina replied. "It…feels like he already knows some of it."
"If he does, that probably means someone trusts him," Morgan pointed out, his smile falling for a little bit. "I mean…the only thing I know about it is that it happened."
Lucina frowned specifically at him now. Speaking a bit quieter, she said, "You know that's not why Mother doesn't say anything about it."
"Hey, it's either me or you when you think about it. Probably me, since I know that's why Mom didn't let me fight at all whereas you've been practicing since you were half my age." He resumed his smile and waved, saying, "I'm going to find somewhere for us to eat dinner tonight."
He carried on the rest of the day fairly happily, honestly forgetting (or maybe just ignoring) the conversation. He knew that he'd get bitter if he thought about it, so learning from the sarcastic best he opted not to think about it at all. The rest of the day passed without any more mention of sad stuff, and they only saw the mercenaries in passing.
The next day, when the Mini Shepherds were ready to leave as planned, Malin came up to them and handed Morgan a folded letter.
"Give this to Robin for me," Malin said. "Tell her it's from an old friend. And if possible, try not to call us by name at the castle? Marth doesn't usually let people know our aliases."
"Will do and understood," Morgan replied, taking the letter and offering a smile.
Malin nodded, waved, then left. The Mini Shepherds headed out shortly afterwards.