The fluffy friendship chapter we needed for the girls to get better after all the losses they had to face. Please let us know what you think!
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Once an ally
Chapter 3 - Reunion
Azura
It had to be impossible. But there she was, standing with the Askrian leadership. She blinked, rubbing the heel of her hand to her eyes and pondered for a moment if she had dozed off in her tent. But when she opened them again and still saw that familiar face through the narrow row between the tents doubt left her mind, her energy poured into her feet as she broke into a run.
"Azura?" she cried out, voice cracking and raising in question at the end of her name. The blue-haired woman seemed rooted to her spot, but when she came close to her, Corrin brought her arms up and wrapped them around her. She failed to halt her charge before embracing her, and together they crashed to the ground with a mutual grunt.
The impact seemed to jar Azura from her stupor. Corrin's arms were still wrapped around her waist, digging uncomfortably into her lower back, her face was buried against her chest, Corrin murmuring something she couldn't quite understand. A familiar desire to tease her rose in instinct, and for a moment she forgot that Corrin was dead. It took a moment for Azura to realize that Corrin wasn't mumbling against her chest. She's weeping. She knit her brows and looked down, finally lifting her own arms in response and wound them around Corrin's back.
"It's all right." she spoke before she could think of words, and they only made the sobs stronger as she stuttered on breath and in spite of how her arms were pinned, somehow embraced her tighter. She couldn't recall ever seeing Corrin so upset, save for the death of Elise. She blinked, a thought invading her might that drained the color from her face, head suddenly feeling far too heavy as her pulse raced in her chest. I'm dead in some other world.
"Azura…" Corrin mumbled, her words difficult to discern between the sobs.
"I'm right here." She replied quickly. Both women were brought back to nights Corrin would wake with nightmares, soothed by her comrades with promises of I'm here, you're here, we're both right here. Having her repeat it until her breathing would calm, and repeat it she began.
"I… I'm here." she stuttered, finally releasing her embrace and pulling back, sitting on her heels, pressing a fist beneath her nose. Azura sat up, feeling her eyes burning and her throat beginning to burn. She locked with those familiar red eyes, swimming with tears.
"You're…. you're here." she whispered, the words coming with difficulty. The crack in Azura's voice was not unnoticed by Corrin, a frown adding lines to her face.
"What happened?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "How.. how are you? How are you here?" The question caused Azura to blink, sitting up straighter. Footsteps finally pulled her attention to something other than the miracle of her friend, alive, very much alive, sitting before her.
"Umm. Perhaps we can get you two somewhere more private to talk?" The blonde woman in the troop suggested. Her name had already fallen from her memory, as did most of the information the Askrians had tried to give her.
"Yeah. Lilith! Lilith will be so happy to see you!" Corrin jumped to her feet, holding out her hand, smiling down at her. She smiled, a genuine smile that pulled on her eyes and lifted her brows, and accepted it.
"Lilith is here too?" Azura asked while Corrin helped pull her to her feet. "Now I wish I had some onigiri with me." The bird-like dragon's favorite shrine offering was the simple rice balls, though she had always stuffed it with some marinated fish. She wondered if this world was an afterlife,and made a mental note to ask these Askrians more about how this summoning went. Perhaps Garon had cursed the ring Leo had held out to her to finally end her. Maybe Lilith can make another pocket-world where we can just rest and catch up away from the rest of this. she mused, noticing how many people were suddenly lining the narrow path watching this odd little show.
"Yeah! Come on, I'll show you the way." The excitement in her tone was simply so damned Corrin. She wanted to get away from all these curious eyes, though she scanned the rows for other familiar faces that died in the war. Elise must be here too. Somewhere. She was yet to decide if she hoped to see Xander. She nodded at the ash-haired girl, and looked to the Askrians.
"I'll call upon you later once you two catch up." Sharena suggested. Her brother stepped up and she held up her hand, looking over her shoulder. "That's fine, right Kiran?" she asked, and got a shrug in answer.
"I don't think she'll listen to us right now anyway if we tried to pull her away from someone she knows. Besides," she used a thumb to gesture, "this one here can turn into a dragon when pissed off. I don't recommend pulling our new friend away right now for a chit-chat."
"Thanks Anna." Corrin smiled, earning her a confused look from Azura who was almost offended on her behalf. The red-head shooed them off, and they gave a polite nod before walking down the row. With the show over spectators returned to their tents to speculate, and Anna turned to her companions after letting her gaze wander over the camp for a moment. "We should really consider charging rent for these tents. Imagine if we asked for just one copper per person per month? Think of how much gold that would-hrghk!" she gagged at the end of her sentence as Alphonse gripped the back of her collar and jerked her away to follow him and the others back to their own tents to continue their debate over their next course of action.
"I can't believe you're actually here!" Corrin's smile was almost infectious enough to draw one on Azura's face. But she couldn't quite bring herself to be so cheerful about the afterlife. And it seemed there was some sort of war even in here. How fair is it I lose one war, finally die, only to discover the afterlife is more war? Is this all there is? she started to muse, but Corrin's statement finally registered. Why would Corrin be happy that she was dead?
"Where is here?" she asked, finally casting aside her preconception that this was some cursed afterlife.
"It's called Askr. They're… they're caught in a war. Like we were…" the cheerful tone in Corrin's voice dropped, her eyes remained steadfast forward as they continued through the rows of tents. "I don't know how they gather the information but they know about people from all different worlds. They knew about our war. They use these odd stones to summon people here." she summarized, curling her lip slightly. "That didn't make things much less confusing did it?" she asked, turning to Azura and lifting a brow.
"I suppose I understand. So… you were summoned here?" she asked.
"Yeah." her expression fell, head tilting down. "I was trying to learn how to sew with Sakura. She thought having something to occupy my hands would help me feel better. What were you doing when it happened?"
"Feel better?" Azura started, ignoring the question. Corrin stopped walking then, biting down on her lip. There was a pause before she answered the question, Azura allowing her the time she needed.
"I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Training, war. It was all I knew. And after…" she paused again, brow knitting and expression turning distant. Her hands clasped together, fingertips digging deep into the backs of her hands, knuckles flushing white. "Elise, Xander, Kaze… you."
"Perhaps we should continue this in private?" Azura answered, having to clear her throat to find her voice. Corrin nodded, scratching at the back of her hands causing the dancer to frown. She reached out, grabbing her friend by the hand and giving it a squeeze to cease her nervous motions.
"Yeah." She agreed, nodding. They spent the rest of their walk in silence, both of their minds racing with questions, and the questions they thought the other would ask. Azura tried to take in details of her surroundings. She disliked how trapped she felt here, though she assumed if this was indeed a war party they had selected quite the defensible location. But if she wanted to run, where would she go?
"Down here, you see that little pond?" Corrin pointed after changing directions. "Okay it's more of a large puddle… but that's Lilith's tent. Though she likes to sleep at the pond." Upon their approach Lilith took notice of the woman walking beside Corrin. She let out an excited chirp, twirling for a moment before rushing towards them,
"Azura!" she cheered, the dancer smiling back at her.
"It's wonderful to see you Lilith. Though I'm afraid I have no onigiri on me." She chuckled a bit, "nor do I have some fish. I only just arrived to… what did you call this place?" Azura turned her attention to Corrin.
"Askr."
"How far away from Nohr are we?" she wondered aloud.
"I… I have no idea." Corrin answered, Azura discerning from her tone the question had yet to strike her. "We can ask Sharena and Alphonse when you see them. They'll probably want you to go to their tent to explain everything."
"This camp is huge, do they typically dine and talk with every individual that they call upon? Even assuming a dozen people a day they would have had to do exclusively that to accrue such an army." to this question Corrin shook her head, shrugging a bit.
"I don't really get it all the way myself. But it's only some people that get special treatment. Yesterday I saw that shrine lighting up like there was a lightning storm but they just got one big lecture together from the looks of things." she provided, chewing on her bottom lip, "I should make it a point to ask them more about those orbs…" her cheeks heat up at the thought she was helping them collect such powerful items when she understood so little about them. "Well come on in, you probably want to sit down and rest?" she offered, walking over to the tent. She thumbed the toggles and opened the flap, gesturing for Azura to go in first.
The blue haired woman entered, and took her surroundings in. It was fairly large, which surprised her a bit since Corrin had explained this was originally Lilith's tent. There was a small low table, lacking a chair meaning that to be used one would have to kneel before it. There was a bed roll that looked hardly large enough to just fit one averaged sized human, a wooden crate at its feet. The tent's material was thin, but still provided some degree of protection from the wind outside.
"It's not much but it's temporary home." Corrin chimed from behind her, almost making her startle.
"No treehouse, but its something." Azura answered. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, blowing out a long breath of air and rubbing her face roughly with both hands. She looked up to see Corrin still standing in the doorway.
"I won't bite." she invited. She was suddenly acting almost as timid as the day they met. She took note of the girl, she was different from the one she remembered so dearly. Her hair was longer, and the circles around her eyes were darker. Her clothes even seemed a bit loose, rather than the form-fitting black uniform she wore beneath her armor. A scar ran from just before her ear, leaving an odd shaped earlobe before continuing on her neck.
Corrin crossed the room, sitting next to her on the bed as close to the tent wall as she could get herself. She idly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear in an all-too-familiar gesture. Whenever her hair had grown too long Corrin would almost obsessively tuck it behind her ear to keep it out of her face, until Camilla finally got her a headband and told her to stop fussing or her hair would become oily.
"Where did that scar happen?" Azura asked, and almost slapped a hand over her mouth at the rudeness of her question. Corrin reached up and touched the spot, thumb playing with the partially mangled earlobe.
"Got hit with a dragonslayer blade. Never healed right." she shrugged. "Don't really remember which battle. But Sakura gave me one heck of a lecture, you sang to give me a little more energy to get back up." a memory stuck Azura, of singing for a wounded Corrin during battle, getting a side grin that gave her a flash of those elongated canines before she rushed back into battle, Sakura calling out to be more careful her festals couldn't cure everything.
"You should let me braid your hair." Azura asked after a moment. "You always braided mine, I never got to return the favor." she added, her hands folded neatly in her nap, eyes moving away from the dragon princess to taking in more of her surroundings, though there wasn't much more to see.
"I usually just pull it to a ponytail, guess I can try something new." Corrin answered her, reaching up to pull the ribbon that held it up. Her ashen hair fell in wavy locks around her shoulders, framing her face in a way that made her look far younger. She shifted on the bed so her back was to Azura, the other woman scooching closer to her so she could better reach her hair. As she divided it into three locks, she felt the old urge to sing rise in the back of her throat, and bit down on her lip to keep it back. Instead, to fill the silence, she heard Corrin humming a song, which cut off sharply after only a few notes.
"Why'd you stop?" she asked. She almost finished humming the interrupted notes back to Corrin to encourage her to continue, but her shoulders were starting to shake.
"That… that song." she stammered her words, hesitating. The rest of her sentence sounded crazy to her own head. With Azura sitting there right behind her how could she state so plainly that that accursed song had taken her away? Then she began to wonder… had Azura merely been summoned during that horrible battle with Garon? "What were you doing when you were summoned?" she asked in place of her explanation. Azura squinted one eye skeptically, but decided not to probe about the deflection just yet.
"I was in my… room." the word came out more difficult, that dark and cold room more of a cell. The small tent threatened to bring back those feelings of claustrophobia, the sense of being trapped forever. She looked over at the tent flap, the toggles undone and it flapped open lightly in the breeze. I could bolt from here right now should I want to she told herself, and found comfort in the words; though dashing from Corrin's side after finding her deceased friend very much alive and well was not what she truly wanted. "Leo came in. Garon had betrothed us and he was coming to give me a ring, so I could walk around the castle more. I thought it was the ring that brought me here…" her voice grew an airy quality as she mused over the final words, tilting her head slightly recalling Corrin mentioning something about orbs when casually talking about summoning. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
"You weren't… you weren't singing?" Corrin asked. Azura noted that her hand went up to her neck, though she couldn't tell what she was doing.
"Are you all right?" she asked, tilting her head further to attempt to see what she was doing. Her hand was over her chest, her thumb idly brushing over her armor. Corrin lifted her arm further, reaching into her collar to tug on a metal chain, pulling it loose from where it was tucked in her armor, holding it high so Azura could see. She nearly gasped as she looked at the object tangling on its end.
"My pendant?" Azura asked, and pressed a hand to her chest and was surprised to find it still against her chest. I'm obviously not the same Azura as the one in her world. Nor is she the Corrin from mine. She bit down on her lip, tears stinging her eyes. She tried to refocus on her braiding of Corrin's hair.
"You aren't her. But you are her… it's really confusing." Corrin admitted, a scratch in her voice. "You… she? died singing to keep Garon imprisoned so we could fight his army and finally defeat him." she continued, bringing the pendant back into her own lap. You died… I couldn't even talk to you one last time Garon just struck you down. Did I not sing hard enough? Did… did I kill you through my inaction? She took in a breath, letting it out slow, counting in her head to try and regain a sense of control and ground herself. To push away the image of Corrin's mangled corpse under Garon's draconic claw, and instead of the princess sitting cross-legged on this small bed before her, whose hair was in her hands while she braided it in return of the favor given to her before battle countless times. "I'm just so happy to see you again." Corrin broke the silence, and Azura let a small smile come to her face.
"I'm happy too." she answered, sighing as Corrin resumed humming her song.
"Perfect." Azura declared once she tied off the end of Corrin's hair with the ribbon she had been using. The dragon princess reached up to run her finger over the tight braid and smiled,
"I usually just pull it into a ponytail off to the side to keep it out of the way, and so no one could pull it from behind." she explained, and recalled her brothers. Loneliness crept back into her heart for a moment before Azura drew her back to the present preventing her from falling back entirely.
"That's the same reason you cut it short." she answered without thinking, her face growing hot when she realized how odd it sounded. She played with the end of Corrin's braid for a moment before the girl turned to look over her shoulder, shifting so she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs dangling over the edge, foot tapping against the ground.
"I used to think about cutting my hair short when I was little but my… Garon used to tell me it was un ladylike and Xander used to threaten to lock me in my room until it grew back out if I ever cut it short." Corrin flushed at her explanation, hands folded in her lap. "Camilla would always tell me my hair was pretty long and kept trying to talk me into keeping it down instead of ponytails all the time." she continued. "Well we should get you up to the command tent before Alfonse and Sharena get impatient with me." she suggested.
"Are they trustworthy?" Azura asked.
"I think so." Corrin answered with a shrug. Azura wanted to trust Corrin's judgement, but remained skeptical. "We better get going then." She stood up, straightening her skirt a bit and giving her hair a quick comb-through with her fingers. "After you." she gestured. Corrin smiled at her and walked through the tent flap, holding it open for Azura to come out. She squinted, adjusting to the brightness outside surprised the tent did such a good job obscuring light.
"You never told me what happened when you were brought here." Azura stated in way of a question. Her heart pleaded for her to answer fighting Garon. But she knew this wasn't the same Corrin she lost.
"Walking around the lake." she answered. "I have trouble sleeping at night and went for a walk." She left out the part where, like she did nearly every night, she debated throwing the accursed pendant into the water. Her hatred for the object that murdered her friend conflicted with the deep sentimentality causing her to cling to that last relic.
"I have trouble sleeping too." Azura concurred. "Perhaps we could bunk together for a short while. The idea of sleeping alone in this place is… unsettling. We may each sleep better with a familiar presence nearby."
"Yeah! I've been meaning to give Lilith her tent back anyway. Though she sleeps by the water so I don't know if it even makes a difference…" her nose scrunched up with thought, getting a chuckle out of Azura. Gods, I missed her laugh. When was the last time I heard anyone laugh? she thought to herself. "Just hope you don't need too much personal space. Most tents are pretty darn small. Lilith's is just big as a special case. I guess they just think she was adorable." Corrin explained.
"Have you thought about running away?" Azura asked her after an extended silence. Corrin paused for several seconds before answering with a short nod.
"Several times. But I don't know where to go. We're surrounded by forest and mountains. And these are people asking for my help… and they're my best chance at getting close enough to my brother to talk to him."
"Xander is here?" Azura asked, brows shooting up. Hope glimmered in her heart again.
"According to Alfonse and Sharena yeah. They'll probably explain more but I'll give you the rundown they gave me." Corrin started, and explained everything she could remember about this war against the girl Veronica. The more she talked, the most pessimistic Azura began to feel about their circumstances. She didn't think she was ready for another war again. She curled her fingers at her side, tempted to reach out for Corrin's hand, for that familiar calloused grip, to remind her what friendly contact she felt like. Sitting on that small bed roll braiding Corrin's hair was the calmest she had felt in weeks. But she halted, feeling a bit awkward walking down the rows needlessly holding Corrin's like a lost child.
"Maybe once he sees you he'll figure…" Azura stopped her thought. Simply seeing Corrin was unlikely to get him to change sides. She watched him cut her down, wipe her blood against his horse's saddle blanket to resheath his sword and gallop away with his army without even offering her a proper burial. "Maybe he'll come to reason." she forced the words out, reaching out to grip Corrin's shoulder. "You know. Now that I think of it. It's quite odd seeing you without your armor." she commented.
"Oh." Corrin looked down at herself and shrugged. "I have it with me, I was wearing it when they summoned me but it's literally all I had for clothing. I mean, unless I want to stink I have to wash my clothes so they gave me these." Corrin explained, and looked over to Azura. She wasn't in her usual dancer attire, rather she was wearing a more traditional red Nohr dress that was more modest than her white and blue garment. "Weird to see you in red."
"It feels weird to be in red."
"I'm sure they'll give you some clothes too."
"How do they have the money to buy so many uniforms?"
"I don't think they do. Most people I see walking around look like they have their own clothes." Corrin explained, then began to wonder why she was given preferential treatment. Was it all part of their ploy to sic her on her own brother? She made a mental note to ask them. When the command tent came into view after making a turn in the rows she pointed, the pair finishing their walk.
Corrin could make out voices on the other side and paused, wondering if they had started some meeting that she would be intruding on. She absentmindedly rubbed at her cheek, remembering a time her father had visited her tower when Xander was there for lessons and the mistake it was to enter the room that served as her office while they were talking.
"Should we go in?" Azura asked when she paused. Corrin hesitated to answer, then shook her head.
"Sounds like they're talking." she answered.
"Well they are expecting us." Azura tried to reassure her.
"Yeah you're right." She looked for a bell, or a piece of wood to knock on, or anything else to announce their presence besides simply walking into the tent. "Hello?" she called. The conversation inside stopped, and after a moment the tent flap opened and Sharena broke into a smile.
"Hey! Perfect timing, we were just talking about you." then she quickly put up her hands, "nothing bad I promise." she invited them in and the pair looked at the table. Corrin recognized all but two faces, cocking her head slightly and waited for Sharena to offer an explanation. Azura was a pace behind her, and Corrin finally started walking towards the two open seats at the wooden table when she felt her friend's hand on her shoulder. She sat down, and was grateful that the other empty seat was right beside her, and on the side of the table closest to the tent's opening.
Once sat down Corrin took stock of her surroundings. On the table was a pitcher, mead she assumed. Plates with bread and fish, a fact she found curious and wondered if they had to trade for that fish or if there was a body of water nearby. Sharena introduced Azura to everybody; Kiran in his white hooded jacket, face down in his folded arms on the table, partially asleep if his breathing pattern meant anything. Alfonse was drumming his fingers on the table and based on how he was vibrating Azura assumed he was bouncing his leg. Anna was tilting her chair back, a mug in her hand waving when she was introduced, and at last Sharena repeated her own name.
They began to explain their situation to her, and she gripped her hands in her lap until her knuckles flushed white. She bit down on her tongue, eyes focused on the table to keep herself from trying to read too hard into their expressions. She let out a hard breath through her nose, almost expecting someone to slap her in the back of the head for the disrespect. She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up quickly to catch Corrin's face. She had a soft smile on her face, and Azura took a long breath to let it out slowly and released the grip on her own hands. She was provided several seconds to speak, silence hanging in the air. Anna winced, pouring herself more mead and taking a long swig, eyes shifting to Kiran still fast asleep and gave him a hard kick in the shin.
"Wake up already!" she barked, the man flinching and sitting up, looking around blearily before leaning against the table, this time to pick at the half-eaten piece of bread on his plate.
"Corrin… I know this is a lot to ask of you but we've given you several days to get acclimated. We want you to join our ranks as a tactician. Like you did back in your world."
"Do not make me murder my own brother." She demanded in answer.
"We are asking you to defeat Veronica." Sharena clarified. Her gaze turned to Anna, lips thin as she conveyed an unspoken threat, Anna holding up her palms and shaking her head. "But we need your help. We'll introduce you to the other tacticians soon" Sharena continued. "We've had a tent erected for you in the tactician quarters of the camp. You'll be pleasantly surprised I think, it's bigger than the tent you've been staying in."
"Are you bribing me?" Corrin asked, lifting a brow.
"Not at all!" Alfonse interjected before his sister could. "All tacticians get the same accommodations." He explained.
"What about Azura?" Corrin asked, giving the young woman's hand a squeeze.
"She can stay with Genny in the support quarter until we get our latest supply caravan to put up a tent for her and the other latest summons." Sharena offered.
"May I stay with Corrin instead?" Azura asked quickly. She flexed her fist, slipping her hand out of Corrin's to grip her own hands, knuckles white, hands aching as she dug her fingertips into the backs of them.
"Of course." Sharena answered, her brows shooting up. "I don't know why I didn't just think of that in the first place…" she trailed off with a mumble. "I'll have an extra bedroll and crate brought to Corrin's tent."
"Thank you" Azura answered, gripping her hands harder. Her eyes were locked on a knot in the wood table, her brows a bit furrowed as she tried to focus on the words being said over the drone of her pulse in her ears. Prisoner again. You're just a prisoner again. her mind insisted. Her shoulders tensed, making a muscle stand out in her neck, and she licked her lips before pressing them together.
"Perhaps we shall let our new ally get some rest," Alphonse cut in after hearing the dancer's shoulder click when she shifted in her chair slightly.
"I am quite tired." Azura agreed, wanting out of this tent that suddenly felt too hot. She glanced over at the tent's opening, looking for something barring her exit. She flinched when she saw movement from the corner of her eye, settling herself and standing up beside Corrin.
"I'm gonna finish drinking and eating, you guys go pass out" Anna saluted. "Though you didn't touch your food. Mess hall should still be open, get something to eat before the cooks get pissed and go to bed." she suggested.
"Are you hungry Corrin?" Azura asked,
"No, I ate not long ago." she answered.
"I think I just want to lie down and just process."
"I need to check on our wounded ally." Alfonse explained before getting up to leave the tent as well. Corrin wondered why said wounded ally was being personally looked over by one of the Askrian leaders or if their latest battle just had so few casualties he could see to them himself.
Kiran was still picking at his food, Anna taking to flicking crumbs of bread at him getting a middle finger in return before both of them chuckled a little and Anna went back to drinking her mead.
"We're a little short on blankets… but there's a market in the next town over." Sharena started. "To the south, I can have one of our troops familiar with the area escort you there." The pair following her tried to listen and retain information as she explained that they would indeed be paid for their services, though some of the details of it failed to register. "Here we are," she stated, smiling and gesturing at the tent she was standing in front of.
It was larger than the one Corrin had been sharing with Lilith, and made of a thicker material. The front flap was covered by a banner that detailed Corrin's status as Tactician bearing the Askrian colors of white and gold. Sharena pulled the banner aside, the toggles on the tent flap were already undone and gestured for Corrin and Azura to enter. The pair ducked under the Askrian's arm to enter. There was a thick bedroll on the floor with a wool blanket folded on top of the wooden crate at the foot of it. On the other side of the tent was a desk with a chair, furnished with parchment, an ink bottle, and a quill. A crude map was on the center of the desk, small wooden figures. It took a moment for Corrin to notice a small sack on the center of the bed roll, and she wondered if it was more clothing.
"That's just a little something for you." Sharena explained, gesturing to the small satchel. Corrin hesitated for a moment but gave the blonde woman a smile and walked over to the bed roll, kneeling down to open it. She pulled out a white and gold tunic with the Askrian emblem on the chest, "That's for you to wear on missions over your armor. So the troops know you're their tactician." she explained. "And there's a little something else too," she brought her hand up to her mouth, chewing her thumbnail. Corrin reached into the sack and pulled out a small wooden dragon, painted in an array of colors. She smiled at it, her thumb brushing over the wood.
"This is very nice of you!" she cheered. "But-"
"Not buts. We got off to a bad start… we're asking an awful lot of you." she explained. Corrin walked over to the desk and placed the dragon figure atop it, turning back to Sharena.
"Thank you."
"We'll have someone come drop off a bed roll for Azura." Sharena explained. "A uniform as well." she added when she noticed the dancer's dress. "Before you protest we issue everyone we summon a uniform until they have a chance to go to the market to purchase their own clothing." the explanation didn't ease doubts, the pair wondering how they managed the coin to pay for that many uniforms. Corrin herself was never able to provide such for her own army, relying on them to provide their own clothes. Food sometimes had felt like a stretch. But home for everyone was obtainable. Everyone here was pulled from another reality. No money, no clothes, no resources. Nothing. How do they motivate an entire army in those circumstances? Corrin mused. She wasn't even sure herself how she felt about fighting with these people. With few other options, she reluctantly chose to place her trust in them, rather than fall into scepticism.
"Thank you Sharena." Corrin smiled. Sharena returned this smile, wishing them good rest and parting from the tent. "Azura you can go lie down, I'll wait for the other bed roll if you're tired." Corrin suggested, sitting down at the desk chair.
"I'll wait. It feels rude not to. But thank you for the offer." She smiled, then looked down at her clasped hands. Her throat began to hurt, her eyes burning. She squinted, biting down on her bottom lip and sitting on the foot of the bed roll.
"Azura?" Corrin asked, her brows knit. She stood up, crossing the small space and kneeling down beside her.
"I… I feel so confused." she admitted. "I was a prisoner… locked away like some treasure. I would have done anything to escape. I get pulled here and… I'm just so happy to not be back there anymore. But now I realize I'm just in another war again. I'm just trapped again." The words came before she could halt them, and by the gods did it feel good not to for once. "I missed talking to you." She added in a whisper.
"I missed you too…" Corrin answered, leaning her head against Azura's shoulder. "But I'm here now. And you're here now." she suggested, nudging Azura's shoulder with her own. The dancer let out a light chuckle, tilting her head to lean it against Corrin's. She flushed a bit, relaxing her palms in her lap.
"I'm so tired I could fall asleep just like this." Azura admitted. Corrin thought about offering her the bed roll again but knew that Azura would refute it.
"I wonder what everyone back home is wondering." Corrin asked aloud. "Camilla must be losing her mind." she frowned, and wished there was a way to get a message back home that she was okay. But there were people here who needed her, and Azura was here. She wanted to focus on that, something happy to latch onto.
"Garon is losing his mind." Answered simply, and couldn't help the smile at the idea that the bastard had something go against his plans. While not the kindest to her, she did at the least hope that no harm would come to Leo as a result of her disappearance. Corrin frowned at this, sitting up so she could turn to look at her,
"Garon?" she asked. "You were still fighting him?" Azura hesitated, not wanting to ruin this little bubble of serenity she had found. She let out a long breath, hanging her head and weaving her fingers together again. "We lost the war Corrin." she stated. "You…" she paused, knitting her brows together. "Her? I… I don't know. You were struck down by Garon. During the final confrontation… we lost. Nohr won." she continued. Corrin flinched, her neutral expression furrowing, eyes downcast. "Please don't dwell on it." Azura asked, seeing the shift. "I didn't want to make you sad again."
"In my world… we won." Corrin explained, wondering if this would help ease some of the pain she could hear in Azura's voice. But a truth got stuck in her throat, unsure she had the courage to admit it. She remembered it. She remembered being slain by Garon. She woke, Lilith by her bedside, presented with a choice. And the option to accept rest had been almost overwhelmingly tempted. Had she simply caved to temptation in some alternate world? Had she given in to her own desire instead of helping everyone to win the war? She bit down on her lip and looked away, unable to meet Azura's gaze until she could banish the thought from her head.
"That's wonderful." Azura answered, a genuine smile returning to her features. "At least there's one world where he was stopped. I wonder if this means there are more? But… I'm too tired to think about it much more." she admitted, and yawned, pressing the back of her fist over her mouth.
"Oh don't do that-" Corrin complained before yawning herself. Azura chuckled, apologizing, and asking how they defeated Garon. Corrin frowned, sitting up straighter causing Azura to sit up herself. A silence hung between them, and she knit her brows.
"I didn't mean to…" she trailed off, not sure what words she was searching for. But Corrin quickly shook her head, looking up and smiling.
"Together, that's how." she provided.
"I can almost hear Takumi rolling his eyes at your sentimentality." Azura chuckled. Their conversation was interrupted by a voice outside the door. Corrin told Azura to stay put, getting up herself to answer the call. A tall unfamiliar man in a green uniform held out a bedroll and wool blanket to her; she thanked him and watched him walk a few paces away before letting the tent close, dropping the roll to the carpeted floor of the tent before fumbling with the togglers to keep the flap closed for the night.
"I'll set it up for you." Corrin stated quickly when Azura motioned to move. She gave her friend adequate space away from her own bed roll, and laid the blanket down for her. Once finished they swapped places, Corrin taking her roll and Azura lying down on the newly obtained one. Corrin began to lift her shirt off, and the dancer felt a hard blush coat her cheeks until she realized that her friend had an undershirt beneath the loose top that she was rolling up to use as a pillow, lying down on it and pulling the wool blanket up to her shoulder. "Do you need something for your head?" Corrin asked.
"I can ball up part of the blanket." Azura answered, lying on her side. She rolled so she was facing Corrin, startled by how powerful of the feeling of being trapped was when she was staring at the desk, the tent growing darker as dusk fell upon them. "I feel like a child sleeping so early."
"You're tired, sleep." Corrin insisted, yawning again. Azura caught her yawn, and let her eyes close with the sharp exhale. She curled up on her side, a habit that had developed during the weeks since the fall of Hoshido.
A sudden yelp jerked Corrin from her sleep and she was on her feet, her palm slapping against her thigh as she cursed the fact she hadn't ensured Blazing Yato was beside her when she fell asleep. Her eyes flicked around the tent until she realised Azura was sitting upright, palms over her face.
"Azura?" she asked, knitting her brows together.
"Corrin?" she asked back, her voice high with a scratch to it.
"Are you okay?" she asked, and the dancer nodded.
"Nightmare… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." she bit down on her lip, hands folded in her lap. "Like I said… I haven't slept well in a long time." She remembered that empty room, how cold and drafty it would get when the wind blew. How damned lonely she had grown without companionship. The din of the tent-city around them brought her back to the war, and she felt like she was losing her mind. Conflicted between harsh memories of war, and the overwhelming seclusion, nightmares invaded her sleep with fractured images that the only sense she could pull from them was the intense fear and isolation they made her feel. "I'm not…" she hesitated, feeling childish and curled her lip, lying back down. "Go back to sleep."
"You're not what?" Corrin probed, brows knit together.
I'm not ready for another war.
"I'm not sleeping well tonight" Azura answered instead. "I was so alone in that tower…" she trailed off, unsure how to face the thoughts in her head.
"Is that why you can't sleep tonight?" Corrin asked.
"I don't know." Azura answered in herest.
"Move your bed roll closer. Maybe if you have someone you can see or hear you won't feel lonely and you can sleep" she suggested. Azura smiled in the darkness, nodding at the suggestion and whispering a quiet okay before getting up to move everything over until she was just beside the other princess. She laid down, her heart racing in her chest for a moment before she closed her eyes, finding her center to will herself to calm down. Corrin reached out a hand, Azura feeling her fingers brush her arm before she reached out in response, gripping her hand and closing her eyes as serenity found her once more.
"Sorry I woke you. Goodnight Corrin."
"Goodnight."
To be continued…
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More to come soon, with more Alfonse and the first mission of Corrin and Azura!