Morgan happily helped Robin with her work throughout the day. It was a practice that Lucina had begun about four years ago with Chrom, and it was one of the many things Morgan was able to do now that he was a teenager. At the very least, he didn't help to the extent he did now; he would occasionally run a few papers back and forth, sure, but Robin was actually letting him read the papers! Reading documents about foreign affairs and such might not be exciting to everyone, but it at least made Morgan happy. It meant that Robin trusted him with it, which by extension meant that she believed he was mature enough to handle it.
They worked until lunch, and Robin briefly left to bring the prepared food outside. The two of them ate at a table in the garden, talking about almost anything but the work they had spent the morning on. "…So in the end, Noire ended up pelting the whole tree with arrows," Morgan said, ending off a story. "I don't think we ever saw that bug again, though—which is almost a shame. Almost; I know if it got inside the castle it wouldn't last a second."
"Your aunt would kill it in a heartbeat," Robin agreed. "If Noire didn't get to it first."
"It would be crushed, burned, and drowned if Noire found it again," Morgan replied. "It's probably died of natural causes by now—I'd rather imagine that then a horrible death at the shoe and arrow of Noire."
Robin nodded, then went on to say, "What do you want to do for the afternoon?"
"We haven't done tactics in a while," Morgan said after thinking for a few moments. "Or we could get a head start on finding the Mini Shepherds' next mission. You and Father don't have to work for the rest of the day, I take it?"
"Your father needed the break," Robin explained. "Well, what he needs is a full week off—Lissa's been taunting him for a while, and Lucina is starting to worry me again."
Morgan recalled dinner the night before when Lucina came with a bandaged arm, and this morning at breakfast when Chrom asked her to talk with him after lunch. "Is it about when she got hurt back in Ferox?" He asked, saying it cautiously—he hoped he wasn't wrong when he thought that Robin already knew about it.
Fortunately, Robin nodded. "She didn't tell me until yesterday."
"That…must not have gone well," Morgan admitted. "You'd get mad at me if I kept something like that from you."
"It's not to much as what she was hiding rather than she was hiding it at all," Robin said. "I'll be speaking with Marth, too—I don't see hiding an identity enough to hurt anyone just to 'gain ill reputation in the eyes of the royal family.'"
"I'll admit it now; Lucina…kind of told all of the Mini Shepherds not to say anything," Morgan replied, shrinking down into his chair a bit. "I don't think she even planned to tell me until Owain mentioned it, but I told Father when he asked about it. Sorry; I probably should've said something to you before now."
Robin put on a reassuring smile. "It's all right; none of us can change it at this point," she said. "But moving on to something else—have you ever found something to use as an anchor?"
"I was thinking of a few things, but I didn't actually get anything," Morgan said.
"Do you think it could be a book?" Robin asked after a bit of thought.
Morgan nodded. "Tiki said that 'an object or point in time' would work," he explained. "I was thinking of using the book you wrote with Malin, but I wasn't sure what you'd say about it."
"You can use it," Robin offered kindly. "Just don't purposely damage it—the thing's older than you are."
"All right," Morgan said. It was a good thing to know; they had decided to start experimenting with Outrealm Gates sometime after Lissa's birthday but before Lucina's, so until the former everyone agreed to think of things they could use as an 'anchor.' With any hope and luck, they could get a letter sent through and receive some form of confirmation that it got there by Morgan's birthday in May. Given time, they might be able to sent a person or two over—or convince people from the future to come back here, which was the ultimate goal.
They continued talking about something else, eventually deciding on reviewing tactics for the rest of the day. It was, in Morgan's opinion, the best part about Robin's job—although it did imply that there would be battles that would need a strategist. Morgan had been doing tactical practices for as long as he could remember, whether he realized it or not. It was his daily dose of reality for the most part, even if the scenarios were almost entirely hypothetical.
Dinner came and passed with nothing stopping Lissa from relentlessly asking Owain what he'll be getting her. Her son eventually admitted that he had tasked Severa with finding a gift; Lucina and Morgan both agreed that he should have at least came up with an idea on his own. Lissa forgave him, however, and they moved on to whatever other topics crossed their minds.
The next few weeks went by quickly, and the night of Lissa's birthday they made plans to start experimenting. Morgan worked alongside Robin, Miriel, and Laurent on most days, resting and hanging out with Noire on the rest, and they were able to round up volunteers who were willing to go down to where the Outrealm Gate was. At first they were asked to only send a few letters, dating them with whatever day they sent them. Willing volunteers then went inside and came back themselves, with their return dates varying between a few hours or a week.
Everyone working with him at the castle stayed with him—when he stayed up late, Robin would stay up with him. When he went to the library during the day, Laurent was right around the corner. When he was bouncing ideas around, Miriel was never far. And, of course, Noire was always willing to walk around the castle and chat when he needed a break. Lucina, Chrom, Owain, and Lissa supported him during meals, since they couldn't devote all of their time to the project like Morgan could. It was a team effort: should everything go well, Morgan knew they could reach Malin and the others.
