Disclaimer: I don't owe shit from the Fire Emblem series, all property belongs to Nintendo.
He gazed down on the worms beneath him upon his perch, one leg dangling off the edge of a cliff, the other used to rest his left arm. Quiet hatred burning within the back of his eyes only concealed by disinterest. His eyes watching the worms slithered around beneath him, unaware of his presence with their inferior eyes. His right hand twitched.
It would be so easy to slaughter them all.
Even with a fraction of his strength, the effort needed to kill them be like breathing to him. Yet he couldn't, lest he draw the attention of his former host. It was a miracle he was still alive, waking up, floating in the ocean where he once fell. He went to hiding immediately, lest he was found by one of the companions of his former host. He wouldn't doubt his former host would sacrifice himself once more to slay him again.
Still, that didn't explain why would he come back with his once host?
His former host had bonded with these insolence worms and by some fluke of a miracle, those bonds were enough to bring him back, but why would that drag him along?
He felt his arm twitch again, informing him of a familiar intruder. Yet his ears could not pick up on any sounds except the natural world around him. He breathed in the air, crisp, clean, and smooth. Entering his lungs without difficulty.
It was her.
"When are you going to show yourself Naga?"
Any outsider would see a man talking to thin air, but he knew better.
"If you are going to slay me, do it quickly, I hate having my time wasted," bitter annoyance seeping into his voice.
The silent air was all he heard in response, yet his senses tingled to the, now noticeable, mix of magic and aura drifting slowly through the wind. He felt the ground shift beneath him, almost unnoticeable, but it felt like a tornado to him. His eyes glanced to his right, the figure of Naga calmly standing next to him, looking towards the same settlement of worms he was looking at. His teeth clenched.
Was he so weak that Naga no longer viewed him as a threat to her?
Turning his gaze back towards the worms, eyes burning with hatred no longer restrained.
They sat/stood there in silence, where both knew she could wipe his existent as he could with the worms beneath them.
"Why have you come back, Grima?"
He glanced over, her eyes still focused on the worms. He scoffed.
"You tell me, I shouldn't be alive right now. Well, neither should be my former host and he's still kicking."
She shook her head, "That's not what I mean Grima."
He rolled his eyes, "Then asking more specifically, or else it'll waste both of our times."
"Why have you stayed here Grima?"
He silently looked over to her figure, her eyes no longer focused on the worms but now focused on his.
"You could have left the continent, stayed in hiding to regain your strength. Yet you stayed here in Ylisse, where you have the greatest chance of falling once again. So I ask, why have you stayed here?"
He was silent. She made fair points after all. Staying here would be a risk to his life, with both the falchion and his former host residing in this land. He could very well perish at a moment's notice. But he knew the reason why he stayed in this dangerous land, no matter how much it disgusted him to admit to.
He pointed his figure down to the settlement. Eyes focused on the worms within.
"What you think of the worms down there?"
She followed his finger and smiled softly at the humans living together.
"I see worms, arrogant and stupid, drowning in hypocrisy, seeking only to benefit themselves at the cost of others, beings filled with an infinite well of hatred and malice," his voice even as his body trembled in anger.
Naga exhaled softly, the closest thing to a sigh for her, "Arrogant and stupid, drowning in hypocrisy, seeking only to benefit themselves at the cost of others, beings filled with an infinite well of hatred and malice, does that not describe you as well?"
Readying herself for an outburst, she was unprepared by the calmness of his response.
"I do not deny that, yet these worms will insist they are flawless, that they do not have the same hatred that resides in me, ignoring their own faults yet pointing out everyone else's, only to respond with anger when other's do the same. They disgust me.
"That may be so," she admitted with a sigh, "yet they are also filled with an incredible amount of good and kindness, the ability to unite when needed, to use their limited time to create a better future for not just themselves, but the ones after them, is that not beautiful?"
He scoffed before turning towards her, glaring with an unmeasurable amount of hatred.
"Do not speak like you know better Naga! In the world that I ruled I saw these worms commit horrible acts of their own will, murders, rape, torture. These worm's true forms are nothing more than self-serving savages, only held back by the fear of death!"
She glared back, an unbreakable will within them.
"Do not speak like you know better Grima! You're hatred of humans clouds your judgment, these people are able to hold onto their hope despite the destruction of their world, sacrificing their lives on the chance that their death will help their allies slay you. After all, that hope within them is the very reason why they fell you in the first place!"
Their eyes continued to glare into each other's, both unwilling to back down. One pair filled by hatred, the other by love. His right hand began to crackle with electricity, the grass beneath him wilted, an aura of hatred and malice flowing around him. She narrowed her eyes further, embers of fire floating from her right hand, the winds blowing around her like a shield, wings flicking into existence behind her. She may be able to vanquish him now, but it would still be quite the effort, enough for him to slaughter a couple of hundred of innocents to spite her. They both know that. It was just a matter of who blinked first.
"Tch," he averaged his gaze first, electricity from his hand slowly fading. The aura of hatred retracting into him, still noticeable to one sensitive to magic, yet now just a natural part of his existence. She shortly followed behind, fire dissipating into the air. Wings disappearing from existence, the holy aura fading as quickly as it came. They both looked back down at the settlement in silence, a tense yet strangely comfortable silence surrounding them. Soon she sat down next to him, continuing to watch the settlement as the world continued to turn around them.
They sat there till the sun began to set, the glow of the setting sun wrapping them in a comfortable blanket of red, yellow, and oranges. As the final few people settled into their homes for the night, the tension between the two began to grow, as there was nothing but each other to focus on.
"I wish to see if you are right," he spoke, breaking the silence between the two casually.
She turned towards him, her silence asking him to continue.
"These worms...they were able to slay me despite my power. Of course, they obtained the method through my arrogance I'll admit, yet they accomplished the deed. So I wish to see what side the pendulum will swing to."
Her body didn't even twitch at his response, yet her eyes shined with curiosity at his response.
"When faced with an inhuman, all-powerful force, these worms will unite to remove the greatest threat, yet I wonder what would happen without my involvement. If they are to be left alone, what will their future be?"
He turned towards her, eyes now filled with a dull neutrally yet still containing hate.
"Will they perish by their own hands, or will they live on and thrive? That is what I wish to see, the eventual fate of humanity."
He turned back towards the now silent village beneath him, leaving Naga to gather her thoughts. He could care less about Naga's reaction now, he would soon perish by her hands or his own failures anyway.
He was never meant to live on.
Yet the silence he created between them broke almost immediately as Naga spoke soon after him.
"Why stay here then?"
He glanced towards her for a brief moment, pausing in silence, before returning his gaze downward.
"Those two worms are the reasons why they were able to gather such a force to fell me, they are currently at the center of this world. I could observe from a distance where I was in no danger, I could even observe an unknown land for my answer, yet that wouldn't satisfy me in the least. Call it pride, but I wish to see what answer my former host will give me," he answered casually, quieting Naga.
They continued to in silence, the sunset now only a faint glow on the horizon, the shadows of night beginning to cover the land, not that was a concern in the first place with their eyes.
His gaze was directed towards the settlement yet his eyes no longer focused on it. It was pointless to find any movement where there were to be none. So his mind entered a state of limbo, processing info in a random order. He felt the winds now carry the chilly air that blew onto his skin, it was the closest thing to comfort he had. He could still sense the natural aura of Naga beside him although in a much more subdue manor, her magic no longer blessing the area. Causing a small amount of discomfort to his sense, but he preferred this much more than feeling Naga's immense will surrounding him.
As the horizon swallowed the last rays of sunlight, he felt the shadows of night swallow their forms. The chilly breeze before now constantly surrounding them, causing his body to developed goosebumps, a reminder of how weak his body was to be affected by the night air.
The subtle shifting of grass entered his right ear as he glanced over, meeting face to face with Naga's open hand. He raised his head as sparks once again flew from his right hand, was she looking down upon him!? Yet, to his surprise, when he looked into her eyes, he found no trace of pity within any corner in them. He recognized what this truly was soon enough.
It was an olive branch.
No, she was offering more than an olive branch. She was offering companionship. An existence where they lived side by side, watching these worms in harmony. Past her pupils however, he found something that made him both inwardly scoff and develop a minuscule amount of pity towards the Manakete. Loneliness, so small within her soul it was almost unnoticeable, probably even to her. But when he found it in her, it was as clear as day to him.
She was becoming more like these worms, developing the want, no, the need to have bonds. With only the dragon in her keeping her steady and sane. Yet he knew it would not last, she would break one day. Perhaps in 1000 years or 10000, it matters not. She will be consumed by the loneliness and isolation that she forced upon herself, becoming mad. Causing mass destruction and death in her wake, he could see it clear as day. It would be so simple to just leave her there, refuse her hand, and wait until she becomes mad, causing the death of the worms she loved so much.
It infuriated him.
Her actions would only cause the worms to, once again, unite and fight. It would be his story all over again and he refused to let her decide the destiny of these worms. They were to live or fall by their own hands, not by the actions of another.
So he gripped her hand, and the deal was made.
AN:
This has been brewing in the back of my head on how Naga and Grima would interact in a non-I-will-kill-you setting.
I may turn this into a series of interconnected shorts if you guys want or not.
Otherwise, stay safe, remember to social distance, and enjoy your day.