Chapter 9

Alfonse left with his troops, the ground shaking under their hooves and feet. The smaller team had prepared among them, the Askrian siblings always uneasy when they left on different missions, despite doing their best to look strong in front of their soldiers.

Lyn's mount was eager to leap into a gallop, stomping in impatience. "Everyone ready?" Lyn called out.

They were all mounted on horses, Sharena sharing her mount with a bright-pink haired woman, the lady actually holding the reins. Corrin, Azura and Leo had briefly been introduced to each of their comrades for this mission.

"I can't believe the professor wouldn't even wish me good luck. It's so weird that she's around but refuses to join us. I mean, I am working!" Hilda sighed.

Corrin and Azura's horse was right next to the pair of noble ladies.

"It's not everyone who can take easily to being summoned to a strange new world."

"That woman is the most unphased person I know," Hilda shot back.

"I asked if we were all ready?" Lyn called again, shooting Hilda a glare.

"We are!" Sharena called back.

Leo had his own horse, a nervous mare he'd brought under control so quickly, the gloomy prince had actually gained Lyn's respect. Raven was equally gloomy, although resolute. They needed to travel fast, and the sun was merely rising in the sky as they set forward. Leanne had been saddened to see her new friend leaving so soon, but Corrin had refused to have her tagging along. She was still traumatized by Veronica's army and so sensitive to emotions. For now, the heron princess stayed with Lilith.

They rode with only a few breaks, sharing bread, dried fruits and hard cheese to keep their strength. The ride was uneventful, allowing them to enjoy quiet conversations as they trotted over miles and miles.

"So you come from Fodlan? And Raven and Lyn are from Elibe, and Leanne is from Tellius… Just how many different worlds are there?"

"Thirteen," Sharena supplied. "And those thirteen worlds each have an infinity of reflections, spreading over time and... I want to say space, but I doubt this is the right word. I wonder if our world also nehave his own reflections. There might be over a hundred other Sharena and Alfonse out there, fighting their own Veronica."

"A hundred of you doesn't sound like something I could handle," Hilda teased her, Sharena's ears blushing as she knocked her forehead against Hilda's pink hair, both ladies groaning. "Did you headbutt me?"

"NO, I just lost the rhythm. I'm not a great rider, I warned you," Sharena instantly turned defensive, although she was smiling and holding onto Hilda's waist a little tighter.

Azura gave Corrin's thigh a squeeze to catch her attention. It sure felt like those two were flirting, and since they were both female, she hoped the knowledge Corrin and herself were not some sort of anomaly would make her feel better. The Hoshidan princess looked forward, letting go of the reins with one hand to press her palm against the back of Azura's hand. That simple gesture was enough to lift Azura's heart in her chest and completely miss the next words Hilda and Sharena exchanged. Ahead of them, Lyn suggested to go back to galloping and it was too chaotic for talking once more. By the end of the day, they were all quite sore, Raven and Leo insisting on doing the hunting for dinner, barely avoiding the jokes Hilda and Lyn made about jingling ballsacks.

They set up camp, Sharena pointing to where the tents should go and who should take first watch. Corrin was relieved when she wasn't assigned, exhausted from nightmare filled nights keeping her from getting more than a few hours at a time. Raven and Lyn were went off to find firewood, Hilda sitting on her pack next to Sharena. Corrin felt too tired to argue about being directed to clear some of the detritus around a fire spot and the areas in front of tents. If anything, it gave her something to do other than think.

Raven and Lyn returned with adequate firewood to get them through dinner, and hopefully the evening chill before they all settled down for the night. They threw some salted fish and root vegetables into a cooking pot with water to make a thin soup, which everyone thickened with their ration of hardtack and bite of cheese, making something more akin to a palatable stew.

Night passed by with stories, the small crew staying up deeper into the night than was wise. Azura told one of her famous ghost stories her siblings had told her about, Raven trying to top hers but the group unanimously decided that Azura was the champion of ghost stories, lamenting the lack of children in the camp to properly terrify.

Morning arrived far too early for everyone. Raven was the first one up and made sure he wasn't the only one awake for very long. The sun was less than a full hand above the horizon when everyone was awake and camp packed, breakfast nothing more than more cheese and hardtack soaked in coffee, eaten as they walked.

Raven and Lyn led the way with Corrin and Azura behind, Leo just behind them, and Sharena and Hilda pulling up as rear guard. Corrin spent much of the ride wondering what to say to Leo, her brother's steadfast silence growing more uncomfortable by the hour. But the tension between herself and Azura the last time they were in these woods was gone, replaced with a familiar comfort and they talked until Raven stopped the group, holding up a fist.

"What is it?" Sharena asked, directing her horse around the others so she could see what lay ahead.

"Just over that hill is the bridge, you'll see a steep incline down to the river." Raven explained.

"Tie the horses." Sharena ordered. Everyone hopped down from their horses, tying them to low hanging branches to keep them from wandering off. Azura was asked to stay with the horses while the others went on ahead.

They crested the hill slowly, lying down once they could see down below. Across from the river was the bridge and cabin where Corrin had captured her brother.

"Shit." Raven cursed under his breath. There were a half dozen men on the bridge, two overseeing their work, and likely more men inside the cabin with a now-replaced door.

"They must have thought something was wrong when I didn't report back to Veronica's camp." Leo offered. "Let me try talking to them, maybe I can smooth this over."

"I'm not sure about that." Sharena replied. "I think we should stick to Al's original plan."

"I know a few of those faces so they'll know mine. They'll remember skulking off isn't extremely unusual for me. I can say I saw some activity in the woods and went to investigate, got lost like the noble I am, get their guard down by giving them a chance to make fun of a former Prince." Leo explained.

"You sure Leo?" Corrin asked.

"You trust me?" He asked back.

"Of course I do." She replied, and then nodded, understanding his real question. "Give him a chance." Corrin said, looking at Sharena. She seemed to hesitate, exchanging a glance with Hilda, and looking over at Raven for argument, but he posed none. She gave him a nod and gestured with her hand. Leo got to his feet, and started making his way down the hall, walking sideways to keep his balance. He noticed the upturned shrubs and damaged trees from Corrin's last trip up and down this hill, feeling less confident about his plan. He looked down at the bridge again and saw his advance was being noticed. He raised a hand, waving to them.

"Hey!" He called. Three of the six on the bridge waved back. From on the hill the others watched him stumble the last meter of the hill and waved to them again. They couldn't hear from this distance, but the stiff way the six were approaching Leo had Corrin's hair standing on end.

"This was a mistake." She said, looking over at Sharena. She wished Azura was beside her to reassure her that she hadn't just sent her brother into danger, and she could see the same concern reflected in Sharena's face. She turned her attention again and saw the others come up to Leo. He was always so stiff it was difficult to tell if he had his usual stick up his ass, or something was wrong. She was drumming her fingers on the soil. At once two of the men grabbed leo and pinned him to the ground, a third kneeling on his back. Voices were loud, barking various words. Her companions cursed around her, and she leapt to her feet.

"Corrin! Wait!" Sharena shouted, her order falling on deaf ears. Corrin shifted, tripping down the hill as her limbs grew and changed, tumbling over herself as her center of gravity changed. But she was quick to right herself once she finished her tumble, letting out a great roar that startled the men enough for Leo to free an arm. He turned his elbow, catching the second man in the neck and with both arms free turned onto his back and started to draw backwards, hand going to his hip to pull out his sword.

The six men set upon Corrin, the two who had been overseeing their work charging across the bridge to join them, their shouts catching the attention of the men inside the cabin. She lowered her head, letting out the greatest roar she could muster, rearing onto her hindlegs. The first man drew a sword and held it up, but Corrin dropped her full weight on him. She felt his ribs collapse beneath her claws and he wheezed out a pathetic sound, slapping at her claws. The other man started to back away from her, holding his sword out in front of him, stammering threats. She looked at him, realizing he was a boy of no more than thirteen. His voice was coarse and he was coughing from taking Leo's elbow to the neck. She lunged, grabbing him in her mouth, careful not to crush him, and threw him at the river.

A third man took a swing at her and she swiveled her body weight to throw most of her weight into her tail, knocking him back. She tried to catch herself, and felt sudden heat in her left thigh. She roared, turning to see the fourth man finishing his swing, blood spraying across the grass. The fifth and sixth men were running at her as well, bellowing in response to her dragon's roar. The two observers stood at the far end of the bridge. She tried to bite at the man with the sword and felt a flash of heat against her neck and backed away, recognizing the zip of an arrow.

Shit. Everything about this plan was falling apart. They should have come with twice as many people and listened to Alfonse's original plan. Another zip of a missed arrow, and she hoped the pathetic archer would stay panicked and continue to miss or she'd be in even more trouble.

"Corrin!" Leo called over to her. He rushed to her side, lifting his blade in time to deflect the swordsman. Corrin backed away, the first injured man lying on the ground, still alive, though she wasn't sure for how much longer. Another missed arrow. She reared up again to slam one of the men into the ground like the first, and felt a sudden intense impact in her side. She staggered, a low rumble in her throat and she swung her head, her antlers gorging the man with the hammer, who had thrown himself off balance with the followthrough to his blow.

There was more shouting, but this time from behind her. Corrin tried to keep her focus on the two remaining men, Leo having dispatched one of the swordsmen. Another zip of an arrow, but this one found its mark, buried into the chest of the archer. Raven rushed past her with his axe, nearly decapitating one of the men. The scene dissolved into chaos, Corrin having difficulty keeping track. The men who had run from the inside of the cabin ran back inside, Hilda finished off the man with a hammer, Sharena taking out the second overseer who had been with the archer. Corrin tried to take stock of what was left. The teenager she had thrown into the water, and the men inside the cabin. But being a dragon for so long was wearing on her, and she felt a hard weight.

She shifted back into human form, and all at once her head felt too light and her vision caved in as she collapsed into the grass soaked with her own blood.

Leo sheathed his sword, dropping to his knees beside her.

"Corrin!" He shouted her name, rubbing his knuckles against the center of her chest like he had learned to wake the slug-a-bed. But she didn't stir.

"Lyn, Raven, Hilda, go after the men in the cabin." Sharena pointed. She knelt beside Corrin and across from Leo, trying to assess how bad the situation was. She was fully armored, but the plating on her thigh had been severed and blood was oozing through the gaps. There was a shallow nick in her neck, a half centimeter saved her life.

"She got hit with the hammer too. Why didn't you come right away when she went all psycho-dragon?!" He shouted at Sharena.

"She'd a three-meter dragon!" She shouted back.

"So you were willing to risk my sister's life over ooh dragons are big! Let her do all the work!" He shouted back.

"She surprised us! I needed a moment to get my thoughts together!"

"That's why Corrin is a hundred times the tactician you are! You can't think on the fly!" He looked up at the cabin, his mouth pressed tight together. "This whole mission has gone sideways! They'll notice when a dozen men don't come back!"

"We weren't expecting this many at the bridge!"

"Go back to my earlier point." He snapped. "We need to get her back."

"Do you need help to-"

"I don't need your help." He interrupted. He hoisted Corrin over his shoulder, grunting as he tried to settle her weight in a way that he could feasibly carry her. "Set the bridge on fire or something. Your plan to use the dragon to do all your work for you is moot now." He crossed the bridge back towards the hill, looking up it with a frown. "This… might be undignified Corrin… I'm sorry." He apologized. The ground had dried since the time Corrin tried to bring him up the then muddy hill, but the soil was dry enough that he could get his foot, using rocks and roots to keep himself from sliding back. He nearly climbed the hill on his hands and knees with Corrin over his back to keep from sliding. "Azura?" He called as he reached the crest of the hill and the limit of his endurance. He started to slide, and tried to shift her on his back to keep from dropping her. He called for the songstress again, and she appeared from behind a tree.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, and then her eyes took in the situation. "What happened?!" She asked, her voice pitched up. She got beside Leo, helping him get Corrin off his shoulders without dropping her to the ground. "What happened?" She asked, her voice quivering. Her hands trembled as she brushed her thumb across the shallow cut in Corrin's neck, and started to fumble with the leg plates of her armor when she saw the blood. "Is she-"
"Okay I think." Leo interrupted. Azura dropping her composure unnerved him.

"What happened?" Leo explained everything that happened since they crested the hill, Azura balling her fists as she listened. She tightened her jaw, and nodded, eyes down on Corrin. She brushed damp hair away from her forehead, starting to sing a gentle lullaby, unsure what else to do. Leo helped her get the leg plate off her leg, and as they started to pull at the cut fabric of her pants as the rest of their retinue crested the hill.

"How is she?" Sharena asked. Leo ignored her, instead dropping his jacket to pull his shirt off over his head and press it against the woud in Corrin's leg. Azura looked up, and saw that Corrin was not the only injured one in their party. New bruises were darkening across Raven's face, Hilda had an arm wrapped around her chest, supported on one side by Sharena.

"You guys okay?" Leo asked. Sharena frowned, but nodded. The others doing the same, Hilda giving a thumbs up,

"Pretty sure broken ribs are in fashion right now."

"We should make camp so the injured can rest up." Sharena suggested.

"We need to get further away from the bridge." Raven answered. Leo turned back to Corrin,

"You'll have plenty of time to rest up." He told her. He asked Azura to get his horse. She nodded, coming back to the group with the horse, helping Leo lift her and drape her over the horse's back. They walked down the hill where the other animals were still tethered. Sharena helped Hilda onto her horse, Leo insisting that Azura could ride her horse he would guide the one carrying Corrin. Their pace was slowed by their injured, but they traveled far enough that they all felt comfortable trying to set up camp.

Azura sat with Corrin's head in her lap, stroking her hair and rubbing the tip of her ear, starting to quietly sing to her again while Leo set up a tent for them, insisting that he didn't mind pitching theirs before his own.

"Sleep now, the cold is gone, you're safe warm, my darling. Dream of warmth, of soup, of fire. The storm is gone, your safe my darling." Azura sang. Leo sat down next to her to listen, but she cut herself off.

"You… you can keep singing." He said. "That song is familiar." Azura hesitated, but resumed her song. It was familiar, but Leo could not remember why. But he enjoyed hearing it, and felt some of his anger ebbing. "She stir at all?"

"No." Azura shook her head, brushing her fingers over Corrin's forehead again. "Was she struck in the head?"

"No, though they did seem to hit her pretty hard in dragon form. Maybe it didn't catch up to her until after she changed back. Or just got too tired… you know how her dragon form exhausts her." He replied, looking down between his knees. "Or I assume…"

"She always was quite exhausted after a battle that required her dragon form…" She responded, old memories coming to surface. She tilted her head, running her thumb over the scar on her cheek, thumbing the hole in her earlobe, scars from a battle fought across different worlds. "Help me get her into the tent and out of the cold?" She asked.

"Of course." Leo helped to pick up Corrin, hunching over to duck into the tent. The others seemed to be avoiding him, and by extension Azura. The other tents had been finished, Raven had a fire going and Lyn fast at work gutting and skinning a rabbit she had the great fortune of catching in a snare.

Inside the tent was cramped. It was comfortable enough for one person, or two if they didn't mind being close together. But three was nearly impossible. But Azura had Corrin in her lap, leaving just enough room for Leo to stay a few moments longer, too anxious to leave his sister alone with someone he still considered partially a stranger.

Leo sat in silence, listening to Azura's quiet song. He saw the tears that rolled down her cheeks, but wasn't sure what to say. Raven came to the tent to tell them stew was ready, and tasted a hell of a lot better with fresh rabbit than salted fish. Leo accepted three bowls, setting them down. He tried to pick at his, finding that calming his stomach was no easy task.

"Corrin?" Azura asked, and jerked his attention.

"She waking up?" He asked. Corrin mumbled slightly and shifted her head. "Hey slug-a-bed?" She mumbled a bit, blinking her eyes and staring up with groggy eyes, an all-too-familiar expression that brought a half smile to his face, and memories of threatening to dump snow on her head to get her out of bed.

"Love?" Azura asked.

"Mmm… tired…" Corrin mumbled. Azura smiled, sniffling and pressing the back of her hand to her nose.

"I'm quite sure. But surely the temptation of food is enough to get you to wake?" Azura offered.

"It's not a sugar-sweet though." Leo observed.

"Quite true, dear Corrin always has had a sweet tooth."

"Too loud… lemme sleep." Corrin complained. Azura chuckled, wiping a stray tear and sniffling again.

"Oh love, just wake up for a bit. How do you feel?"

"I think I got in a fight with a bear?" She replied. "Or just a lot of people." She corrected herself. Her voice was becoming more clear and she started to blink harder, rubbing at her eyes.

"You gave me a fright."

"Are you crying?" Corrin asked, looking up at Azura's upside-down face.

"We were just worried about you." Leo answered.

"Everything hurts." She whined.

"You should eat something, regain your strength."

"You should also take a look at that leg." Leo suggested, nodding at her leg.

"Are… are you shirtless?" Corrin asked.

"I owed you one." Leo answered, only leaving Corrin even more confused. "I'll give you some privacy since." He paused, the words you need to take your pants off to see that wound got stuck and he was vividly reminded of the last uncomfortable night with them in these woods.

"Owe you one?"

"For saving my ass. Come on, you didn't get hit in the head." He tried to tease.

"You're my brother. I wasn't going to let you get captured…" She replied, the memories snapping into place. She started to sit up, but gasped and wrapped both arms around her chest and fell back against Azura's lap.

"What's wrong?"

"Chest." Corrin grunted. Azura frowned, bending down to press a kiss to her forehead. "I went to attack one guy and another one got me with a warhammer." She explained.

"When we get back I'm finding you the best bottle of mead these people have." Leo told her. "I should go check the fire." He grabbed his bowl of stew and ducked out of the tent before Corrin could muster a protest.
"I wonder, perhaps, if I've said something to put him off." Azura remarked. Or he's still uncomfortable around us. She thought.

"I doubt that." Corrin answered, her voice sounding much more like her usual self.

"Then perhaps he simply doesn't like me." She replied, and winced at her own words.

"Nah, I doubt that. Leo is… well abrupt. But I doubt he doesn't like you. He'd be rude if he didn't."

"So this is him being polite?" She asked, and then thought about how he was talking to Sharena.

"Odd as it sounds… but even if he didn't like you, it doesn't matter. I love you enough to make up for a dozen grumpy other-brothers." Corrin replied, and gave Azurrin a wide grin, giving a flash of her abnormally long canines. Lines pulled at the corners of her eyes and a giggle bubbled in her throat, and Azura felt something within her snap. A tensed string she hadn't noticed finally, finally snapped. Her own throat felt tight, and a sob broke her voice.

"Oh love...I." She hesitated, her smile dropping, and her voice hiccuped. "I can't lose you again." Azura tried to say, her voice ragged and low. "He's right to be angry. Gods Corrin when they brought you back… I was just left there." Useless, useless girl. Guarding tethered horses, to see them bring Corrin back, bruised and bloodied on her brother's back.

"Hey… I'm a dragon! Would take more than just a few idiots to take me out. I mean, nine is kinda pushing my limits, but chug a vew vulnaries, let Sakura slap me in the head with her staff a few times to knock some sense into me, then drink that meade Leo promised, and I'll be right as rain!" Corrin cheered,but winced almost immediately, her voice dropping in volume as she struggled against the pain to find shallow breath and resist the urge to gulp for a deep breath of air. Azura frowned and started to stroke her cheeks, thumbs rubbing across the edge of her cheek and over her ears.

"Why did they even let it reach that point? Why was Leo the only one to stand beside you?" Why didn't I forsake orders so I could stand beside you?

"They thought a giant dragon was enough badassery to handle the situation?" Corrin suggested, her voice now much softer than before.

"Corrin please… do not be so reckless. I watched you fall in battle once!" Her fingers curled into fists, pushing them into her thighs. She reached out and her hand trembled as she ran her fingers across Corrin's forehead to brush at the hair already tucked behind her ear. She inhaled through her nose, letting it out slowly but her breath shuttered and she blinked hard to keep more tears from rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry… I just panicked when I saw my brother in danger. I should have given it a few more seconds." Corrin saw Azura's expression change, then relax back again.

"Oh please, do not apologize for your state. I shouldn't make you feel… why don't we tend to these wounds now that you're awake?" She asked.

"Is that code for something?" Corrin asked, attempting to give a suggestive wiggle of her brow but only succeeded in bobbing her brows and making Azura giggle, which Corrin supposed was an acceptable response.

"You're quite perplexing."

"The last time you bandaged me up we got a little… distracted." Corrin replied with a pout.

"I doubt you're in any shape for such things." Azura chided.

"Don't need to be able to dance around to flirt!" Corrin replied. Azura laughed again, Corrin responding with another toothy grin.

"That was flirting?" Azura asked.

"Oh right, I'm supposed to do something like those romance books…"

"You read romance books?"

"There wasn't much to do in that tower." Corrin answered, "Let's see… I don't seem to have any flowers stuffed into my many many pockets on this armor, and I know you don't want to hear me sing, I'd write you a love letter but I'm a bit short on quills." Corrin listed off, lifting her hands and tapping off her fingers. She winced, hissing a sharp inhale, pressing both hands around her ribs.

"Oh love…" Azura frowned. "Let me look at that." She asked. Corrin exhaled through her nose, eyes squinted shut. She let her head fall back against Azura's thighs and looked up at her.

"I could also recite that love letter, since I don't have parchment and quill."

"Perhaps you can share it with me aloud whilst I check your wounds?" Azura responded. Corrin gave a nod, and tried to take stock of herself. There was the intense pain in her ribs, and a heat in her leg accompanied by an odd dampness. She was vaguely aware of a slight sting in the side of her neck. Everything ached, a familiar discomfort that had been her companion for so many months during the war.

Azura reached over to the blanket atop her bedroll, balling it to slide it under Corrin's head as she withdrew her knees. The blanket felt cold compared to Azura's warmth, and she wanted to curl herself up against the other woman and sleep the week away. But now that Azura had voiced her fears, she needed to worry about another fear, namely how to ease the pain Corrin was currently going through. She helped Corrin out of her shirt, careful to not stroke her potentially bruised skin. She still needed to touch her to assert her state and heaved a concerned sigh.

"Broken ribs. Not much that we can do but let time do its work."

"My chest feels so tight…"

"Your wrap might be putting pressure on it."

Corrin felt herself flushing as Azura freed her breasts. It was easier to breathe like this, but she felt quite self-conscious with how weak she felt and covered her chest with one arm. Azura simply shook her head at her.

"Can't I have some motivation as I work as your nurse?"

"It sounds like you just want to get me naked."

"I would be quite pleased if it could happen in different circumstances, but I shall let you keep some of your underwear. These pants do need to go though."

Her playfulness shifted into apologies as Corrin winced from the shifting of fabric against her wound. The cut on her thigh was frayed on the edges and deep enough for worry. Corrin paled as she saw the look on Azura's face, gritting her teeth at the pressure of a clean cloth against the wound.

"Oh, I wish we had a healer with us. Can you lay on your side, and keep pressure on this? I'll have a vulnerary boiled up to disinfect this."

"Wait, don't leave me mostly naked in this tent!"

Azura hoped that the fact Corrin could get this embarrassed over being seen naked after it happening twice already meant the wound was not that bad. She covered her with a sheet, kissing her bare shoulder along the way.

"I want a real kiss," Corrin complained.

"I'll give you half a dozen once this wound is properly covered," the blue-haired princess promised.

Corrin did her best not to doze off as the throbbing in her sides and leg were making it hard to handle consciousness. She pressed on the reddening piece of cloth harder, gasping from the pain. Oh, kisses were going to be the only thing she could look forward to for a while if her entire body was going to hurt this much.

Azura was back soon enough, and alone, assuring Corrin her dignity was safe. The warm vulnerary spread on her raw flesh made her yell through the mouthful of the sheet she was biting on, Corrin squirming and Azura apologizing.

"It will be over soon. I just want to make the best I can in the circumstances."

They had little ressources with them, another oversight that convinced Azura to better prepare in the future. She cut the bed sheet she'd given Corrin into large strips, lifting her leg as gently as possible and wrapping up her thigh in at least five layers of cloth. The length of the wound made the bandage look a bit grotesque, but Azura finally declared herself satisfied. She kept Corrin's leg elevated with one of their travel bags, then tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

"I was promised half a dozen kisses." the dragon reminded her.

As Azura bent forward, her hair falling over Corrin, her lover frowned and shook her head. "I want to see your breasts too."

"Quite forward. I like that. You can ask me anything within reason, love."

Corrin blushed, feeling she was being childish, but her brain wanted the distraction and looking at Azura undoing the collar and ribbon of her dress and just rolling the white fabric down to her middle made her lower stomach clench with excitement. She didn't feel shame, she wanted the comfort of feeling her warmth, she wished she could actually move, but instead she watched attentively.

How those bare breasts bounced as Azura moved a little closer, her gloves still pulled up to her shoulders. Corrin blinked as her mind had her imagining what it would look like if Azura was to dance naked, with just the gloves and maybe the belt tied to her thigh. Her never-ending legs…

"Look up here," Azura teased her, twisting one of her breasts up to point at her face with its nipple.

"Anything within reason?" Corrin asked, her mind finally connecting the words that had been said earlier.

"I'll take a kiss first," Azura objected playfully, leaning forward to brush her lips against Corrin's, making sure to linger into slow and warm caresses.

"Touch me."

Azura kissed her collarbone since it was a safe spot, without bruise, holding herself just above Corrin while letting their chests brush. Corrin tried to arch herself up, the touch too fleeting, but her entire body protested, her whimper pure pain.

"Oh no, Corrin, you must be careful, I shouldn't even indulge you like this…"

"I just shouldn't move, but you can. It keeps me distracted."

Azura chuckled, both nervous and aroused despite herself. It seemed she had awakened an insatiable need within Corrin. She laid down on her side, wrapping one arm around the dragon. Corrin snuggled as close as she could without moving her thigh around, her free hand reaching for Azura's left breast. She palmed it fully, kneading her warm flesh as her thumb rolled her nipple over.

"Corrin…"

"I have so many things I wanna try out with you."

She pressed the nipple in, giving it a slow roll while maintaining the pressure, then a light flick up and down, her short nails carefully grazing the sensitive skin. The other breast was pressed tightly against her and Corrin was doing everything she could to stay rooted in place, despite the heat building in her core. Azura gently but firmly aligned her head with hers to kiss her while Corrin kept her near-obsessed ministrations going. Azura was panting harder than her in between their kisses, her hand travelling across Corrin's belly to slip past her panties and tease her mounds.

"If you tense up and hurt, I'll stop," she warned her, pressing her chest a little closer as Corrin stole her breath with a rougher kiss.

The beloved fingers dipped in her wetness, spreading it along her folds, Azura sighing as she felt Corrin running two fingers along their joined lips to gather some saliva and rush back to her now neglected breast. Pinches, pressing and a few twists had her aching and gasping, while her own hand grew bolder and bolder. She mimicked what Corrin was doing to her nipple to her clit, their lips even hungrier as they both rushed one another.

"Azura stop, it… My legs are shaking…" Corrin managed as the pain won over her lust.

"I'm so sorry…" she said, pulling her hand back, her fingers glistening.

Corrin caught her wrist, still panting.

"No I love it. I love you. Touch yourself for me?"

Azura blinked, finding herself even more aroused.

"You can mix us up inside you." Corrin added, not even blushing.

"Are you sure?"

Corrin nodded, her lips smacking together as she swallowed.

"We rest after that, though?"

"As long as you cum."

Azura's moan was deliciously warm, Corrin kissing her shoulder as the princess rolled on her back and removed the rest of her dress and undergarment. She left her stocking and gloves on, staring into Corrin's eyes as she reached down to herself.

"Want me to move so you can see or…?"

She sounded embarrassed and Corrin smiled.

"Shift closer so I can lay my head on your chest?"

They adjusted, Azura reaching for that space between her legs. Corrin's breath on her skin made her aware of the growing scent in the tent. They were both still breathing so hard. She was incredibly wet, her fingers still warm from Corrin, giving herself a tentative touch.

"Don't hold back. Tell me how you like it."

Azura whined in answer, her fingers curling a little as she started a pace.

"I… I start with my clit until it's..."

Corrin kissed the top of her breast, watching her moving wrist as though it was one of the most fascinating things she'd seen.

"That looks gentle compared to what you do to me," she teased her.

Azura quickened her pace, biting into her lower lip as the tingling spread, a lovely tension following in her lower stomach. She wanted to hunch over, but Corrin was watching, her voice encouraging her to be the boldest she could be.

"I want to hear you. How wet you are. How many fingers you want inside."

"Ah! One for…"

"More Azura. I can't reach, your hand's my hand."

Azura complied, gasping as she set her teeth, her head leaning back as the race towards her own pleasure overwhelmed her.

"I'm close, Corrin. I'm…"

Corrin nibbled on her skin in answer, relishing the jerk of her hips and the sighs she was letting out.

"Don't stop right away, stretch it out."

Azura moaned, not covering the wet sounds she was making, her body trembling as the first wave of bliss hit. Corrin encouraged her some more, fondling her breasts in turn, catching one nipple in her mouth. The fact she didn't scream at any point was a goddamn miracle, her hand sore when Corrin was satisfied with her own satisfaction.

"That was so hot."

"Gods… Now you owe me."

"I'll try to heal fast for you."

...

The next morning, Raven made rounds to wake his companions. Azura rubbed at her eyes and sat up, blinking away the last dregs of sleep and looked down at Corrin. She was fast asleep, but she was breathing quicker than she should and her face coated in cold sweat. She reached out and pressed her hand against her forehead, frowning at the heat she felt.

"Leo?" She called. There was some shuffling but she heard him approach.

"Safe to come in?" He asked.

"We're both dressed, yes. You may come in." She permitted, wincing at the question. He pushed the tent flap aside and worked around the minimal space in the tent to kneel down. "I'm concerned." Azura explained, quite the understatement. Leo was looking at Corrin, deep lines in his brow.

"How long as she been like this?" Leo asked, and reached out to press his own hand against her forehead. "Corrin, wake up." He shook her shoulder and she mumbled, blinking slowly.

"Morning already?" She asked.

"Sug-a-bed." He teased.

"Gods…" Corrin hissed a breath, both hands going to her leg and digging into the wet bandage.

"We should change that before we leave." Azura suggested, though had no idea where they were going to get more linen. They had been sent with minimal supplies to help them travel faster.

"We could use my shirt." Leo suggested. Azura then noted that he had entered the tent in only his jacket, and remembered him using it to staunch the bleeding after he carried her over the hill. She nodded, biting back the suggestion he be allowed to wear it until she gave it a moment of thought and shivered at the idea of having to wear a shirt soaked in the blood of a sibling.

Leo vanished momentarily and some dull conversation was heard between him and the others of their camp. It was several more minutes before he entered the tent again, a hot clay jar in one hand and the blood-covered clothing in the other.

"More hot vulnary." He explained to Corrin. "Now I know you're a picky eater-"

"I am not!"

"-but please drink the vulnary. We'll use the other half of it to soak the bandage for your leg." Leo continued as though he hadn't heard her. Corrin made a face at Azura when she snickered at Leo's comment and just shook her head at Corrin's denial. Leo poured an amount onto his shirt. He started to unwind the fabric strips Azura had wrapped around her thigh and deep lines appeared in his brow with how deeply stained with blood they were and how damp and sticky they were beneath his fingers.

Corrin drank with Azura's encouragement, finishing the half vulnary with a blech, the other half soaked the fabric that was to be wrapped around her leg. The wound was separated, Azura's efforts to rejoin its edges were in vain. It continued to ooze blood without the pressure of bandage, but the lack of pulsing of the bleeding mixed with Corrin's surviving the night told Leo that at the least an artery had not been severed. He would have taken this as encouragement she was going to be just fine, but he disliked what he was looking at. The bed of the wound was yellowed, the edges a swollen red that spread half a thumb's width from the wound edge. The smell was sickly sweet but mild, and he wished he had a healer's senses. He feared that by the time they reached the main camp the scent would be strong enough even those without a healer's training could tell that something was amiss.

The rest of the camp was mostly packed by the time he had his own shirt torn into strips and wrapped around Corrin's leg. It was difficult to tell where the edges of infection extended and what was simple staining of her skin, but it made no matter once it was bandaged up. He endured the occasional terrible flirty exchange between Corrin and Azura that had him wondering how the hell they could be so entangled after such cheesy behavior. The thought of them coupled together left a bitter taste at the back of his throat, having always dreamed that each of his siblings would find a proper match that could bear children and carry on the family name. But seeing how they cared for one another also left him feeling confused. His own parents seemed to lack the companionship they had, despite how ill it fit with his idea of a couple.

"There." He announced, if only to fill the dead air with sound and interrupt any more bad flirting between the two women that would make him feel even more uncomfortable. He managed to push away the intrusive thoughts recalling overhearing the pair, and convinced himself he had only been hearing Azura and not his own blood-sister that night.

The tears in Azura's eyes snapped his attention back around, the way she leaned over to kiss Corrin's forehead looked tender, and for a moment he forgot that he found such things wrong. His mother had been little more than a concubine to Garon, and such affection looked so odd it caught him off guard. His sisters would read books and sigh and flutter about, talking about the romantic entanglements in whatever novel they were reading at the time. Foreign concepts to him, which might be why he was so surprised to see how both women looked after one another. He certainly hoped Corrin would be fine and back on her feet quickly, but hope was nearly as foreign; he preferred facts and logic.

With Corrin tended to, most of the camp was packed up, Leo pulling up the tent for Azura while she helped Corrin onto a horse. Leo disliked how unsteady she looked upon the mare, but Azura reassured him that she would make sure Corrin didn't fall on the ride back. Leo had the tent and rolls fastened to the back of the horses's saddle just as the last of the fire's embers were stomped out. Hilda got onto her horse with Sharena's help and a lot of groaning, Leo gritting his teeth as he pulled himself onto his own ride, wondering again why the hell they lacked a healer or better supply of first aid. Lyn and Raven were already set, Raven eyeing the sky somberly.

"Do you think we'll get rain?" he asked Lyn.

"Please don't jinx us. Those clouds seem far and the wind isn't quite strong yet, but I'm not as good as Rath at predicting weather."

"Even if he knew, the damn man wouldn't speak," Raven groaned.

Sharena took a seat behind Hilda, her arms wrapping around her to hold the reins, the pink-haired woman leaning back into her despite the awkward positions of their arms. Leo sensed the same unease he felt when he watched Corrin and Azura standing too close to one another, frowning. Was this strange army somehow causing the women to get much closer than they did in his world? Then again, his sister had always been quite close with the dancer even back in his own world.

"Everyone set?" Sharena called.

They answered the affirmative, hooves beating at the ground as they set off. They kept their pace slow to make the travel easier on Corrin and Hilda, but they knew what they needed was a carriage and an actual road. None of them talked as they rode under the gray sky, Corrin and Hilda sometimes letting out a whimper of pain from all the had technically succeeded in their mission, but their hearts were heavy with the state their comrades were in.

To be continued...