They only lingered for a day before moving on. Lucina noticed fairly quickly that Morgan's mood was a bit tainted by something—it didn't happen often and it wasn't anything more than a little frown on occasion, but it was hard to ignore considering that he learned how to hide things based on how Lucina did (that being poorly depending on the company)—although she initially opted not to say anything. Within a few days it resolved, but she still kept an eye on him in case he just grew more cautious in showing it.
They moved slowly. For one, it was a large group; Malin also said that they wanted to mostly keep to towns, which meant that they would occasionally stray from the more straightforward path. They made up for this, in Malin's words, by renting a twelve-person ship to sail across the sea instead of walking over land.
Suffice to say, it did seem to pique Morgan's interest. "Where are we going where it's easier to go over the sea?"
"We're heading to a specific place in the east," Malin explained. "As long as everything's favorable, we should be able to get there quicker if we go through the sea—that and we figured going on a short overseas trip might be more interesting than walking all day."
"I won't argue," Brady noted. Most—if not all—of the Mini Shepherds agreed with him.
They spent a day at the port, making sure they had everything they needed. Once that was done, they settled on to the ship and headed out. A day into said trip, Lucina opted to help Morgan practice with a sword; Morgan opted to complain in response, although he did still train with her.
"Good grief, are you trying to kill me?" Morgan asked at one point. "You're harsher than Mom—and that's saying something!"
"Mother goes easy on you," Lucina pointed out. "So am I now. We need to address this if you consider what we're doing now 'hard.'"
"I'm not used to being close to the people I fight," Morgan said in defense. "I'm a mage, not a swordsman."
"You're a tactician. If you must blame anyone for this apparent torture, blame yourself for wanting to be more like Mother."
"'Torture' is a bit strong. It's more like…'perpetually losing against people who've trained most of their life in swordsmanship.'"
He fell silent for a little bit so he could actually try to improve, and she did what she could to help him along. At some point, Malin came over to the siblings.
"Exchanging barbs?" He asked with an amused smile. "Or blows, I guess. Mind if I watch?"
"I'd say we're due for a break, actually," Lucina said.
When she lowered her sword, Morgan let out a slightly nervous chuckle. "Thank you. I was about ready to call for a break anyway; this is why I only use magic."
"Hey, but by what I saw you've both gotten better," Malin noted.
"Keep in mind that Lucina's been doing this for a while, whereas I wasn't told I had to even touch a sword until a year ago," Morgan replied, putting the training sword away for now. "I'm glad I have the chance, sure, but I swear every time I fight with Lucina she's trying to get back at me for something I don't remember anymore."
Malin laughed, then just spoke while smiling. "Still, with only a year of practice, you're pretty good."
"I still prefer to make sticks fly in people's faces," Morgan maintained. "Or shock them. Not so much burn them because, you know…forests."
"I can recall several times when that didn't stop us," Malin mused. "Then again, we fought in more open areas and buildings than actual forests." He only paused for a little bit before he asked, "So, have either of you been on a ship before?"
"I've been to Valm with Chrom and Robin," Lucina said, looking at him. "That being said, most of the Mini Shepherds haven't left Ylisse except for on missions—that includes Morgan."
Morgan nodded to agree, and Malin carried on with the conversation. "Where have you been in Valm?" He asked curiously. "Aside from probably helping out with exalt stuff, I mean."
"We visit Rosanne a bit," Lucina replied, "And Chon'sin, if we have time. It tends to be more of visiting with Chrom's old friends—Virion, Cherche, and Say'ri—than doing any work."
Malin looked over at Morgan. "Are you hoping to come with them next time?"
He thought about it for a moment, then answered, "I guess it depends. If Mother's there, then yeah—if not, then probably no. Cherche's son only knows me from the reunions and he already doesn't like me, and if it's just Father, Lucina, and guards I'd end up following Lucina and therefore I'd be around him."
"Gerome wouldn't mind as long as you don't try to train with him," Lucina pointed out kindly, glancing at her brother. "If you think I attempt retribution when we train, you'll believe that Gerome is trying to murder you—and if you can't keep up, he will do whatever he can to make you stop so he can train with someone else."
"Yeah, no thank you," Morgan replied with a small chuckle. He looked at Malin and asked, "You fought in the Valmese campaign, right? Were you fighting in the army when Mother set the Plegian ships they were using on fire?"
Malin laughed. "I enjoy how that's the question you ask," he said.
"What can I say, my mom's pretty awesome," Morgan replied with a smile.
Malin smiled in response and nodded. "I actually got recruited in Ferox on their way to the sea," he explained. "They came to look for treasure or something, and found me instead—that and a bunch of Risen; I had wandered there by accident, I think, trying to figure out where my parents were. Long story short, Robin and Chrom decided to let me join the army—I don't remember anything before that, so it wasn't safe for me to be on my own. I was traveling with them on their way to Valm."
"I've always found it partially inspiring and partially concerning," Lucina admitted. "It was brilliant, but almost reckless. I hear the story a lot while we travel to and from Valm."
"It is one of the more exciting battles," Malin said. With a little smile, he asked, "Would you like to hear yet another retelling of it? I can bring Marth over to correct me if I'm wrong."
"Anything to not train with Lucina," Morgan said.
Although she did cast him a glance for a moment, she nonetheless nodded to Malin. With that, he managed to bring Marth over and the two mercenaries told the story. It was a common story, but it was still interesting to hear because of the personal notes added to it.