Beruka stared down the veridian-haired girl before her. This was supposed to be a member of the Black Fang? Conversations listened into from Lyn, Bartre, and Oswin caught her interest when they spoke of a feared circle of assassins. As of now, Nino was the only member of that circle that had been summoned here. Nino was the only person in this garden at the moment. And Nino was most definitely one of the least feared heroes in this order.

Beruka took a step forward. The softness of the grass was able to silence her movement. Nino was seated on the grass and had her back turned to Beruka, examining a bed of flowers. The serene scene was sullied by the daunting aura that Beruka flexed. Nevertheless, the other assassin, if she could even be called that, didn't seem to notice her.

Not before long, Beruka was right behind her. Nino sighed, which caused Beruka to stiffen, but made no indication that she knew Beruka was there.

"I miss all of them."

And sentimental too? What manner of assassin was this girl?

"Tch."

"Ah!"

Nino somersaulted forward and took a tome out of her belt, which had been concealed under her cape.

"Wh-Beruka! Wh-what are you doing there? You scared me!"

Beruka had a knife hidden inside the calf of her pants, and another hidden on her belt, but had no intention of using them. "I was just watching you."

Nino waited for her to say more, but no more words came.

"O-oh. Why? Did you need something from me?"

"Nothing."

Beruka turned around and walked away. This girl was no threat at all. She had wasted her time coming here.

Beruka stared down the veridian-haired girl before her. This was the girl who successfully lead an ambush the day before? Word had gone around that Nino had succeeded in getting Valter and Astram to get along and collaborate on a surprise attack. Within a day, Nino had become one of the most respected heroes in this order.

And she was still the only person in this garden, just as she had been last week.

Beruka took a step forward. She didn't bother trying to minimize the amount of noise she made this time around. Nino, sitting in front of the same flower bed as last week, had her back turned to Beruka and was humming to herself as she swayed her torso from side to side. Once again, Beruka felt that she was ruining a tranquil atmosphere. Even still, Nino hadn't noticed her.

Beruka was right behind her again. Nino still hadn't noticed her.

"I wish Jaffar was here."

Again with the sentimentality?

"Tch."

"Ah!"

Beruka stepped back in surprise, and Nino did the same. Beruka made a mental note to herself to stop audibly responding to sentimentality.

"B-Beruka! You scared me again! Gosh, you don't need to sneak up behind me if you want to talk."

Beruka wasted no time. "I have a question for you."

"S-sure." Nino appeared to be afraid of her. It seemed Beruka's reputation reached her.

"Why did you become an assassin?"

Nino tilted her head and scratched at her grassy hair. "Gee. I, I guess I never really had a choice."

Beruka blinked. She didn't have a choice herself, having been raised by an assassin after getting thrown out onto the streets at a young age.

The colder assassin stared her down, this time from the front. Now that she was alert, Nino looked a lot more prepared for any attack Beruka might carry out. Calculated eyes, feet set to move in any direction, a hand on the tome hidden behind the concealing cloth of her cape. Despite first appearances, this young girl certainly had the makings of an assassin.

Maybe it was time to test her.

Beruka stepped an inch forward, and Nino stepped back. Beruka stepped to her right, Nino stepped to hers, still facing her. Nino's eyes remained focused.

The Nohrian assassin sighed and decided she'd seen enough. "I see. I will be going now."

Beruka was about to turn when Nino stepped forward again. "Wait!"

"What is it?"

Nino looked around, no longer looking as prepared to fight as she did before. "Um, uh. I thought maybe you looked a little lonely. Would you like to sit here with me?"

"No." Nino almost flinched at how quickly the response came to her.

"W-wait! I've heard about you. You're an assassin, right? Just like me. I thought maybe you looked lonely, because, um, well… I am too. But just a little! Anyway, you don't think we could talk?"

Beruka thought about this for a moment. Nino looked like a normal harmless village girl, but she was clearly a trained assassin. Beruka was also considerably older than her. The Nohrian was never good with words, but Nino had a ton of potential. Perhaps she could try and teach the young girl a few things.

She nodded her head. "Understood. Perhaps we may find a more fitting place to talk?"

Nino seemed surprised by her response and looked around. "Um, what's wrong with where we are now?"
Beruka closed her eyes. "I see. In that case, let us begin immediately. What is your preferred metho-"

"Great!" The green-haired mage smiled brightly and sat back down onto the grass. "Aren't these flowers great? They remind me of some of the fields back home in Elibe!"

Beruka growled, causing Nino to back up and shrivel up like a puppy. "You are wasting my time. I must have had you mistaken for someone else, because you are useless."

She turned to leave then. To hell with this child. There was no way Nino was the starchild of a feared circle of assassins.

"I'm not useless!" Nino exclaimed. It was the first time she had ever raised her voice in anyone's presence. Beruka made no motion indicating that she was listening, so Nino continued, louder. "L-Lady Lyndis and Lord Eliwood told me so! I don't know what you've been through in your life, but you don't know what I;ve been through either! I'm really happy to be here, and I've done my best for the Order of Heroes so far. Everyone's been really nice to me, so I'm hoping that I can do the same for you. You look alone all the time, Beruka. I was hoping that maybe I could be your friend, because we have something in common."

The Nohrian assassin stared at her for a moment and contemplated the situation. Nino looked very determined to get what she wanted. It was the first time Beruka had seen the young girl be so assertive. Her eyes gave off a different vibe, a whole different star. Beruka was never one for fraternizing with her comrades (or anyone for that matter), but she supposed she could make one exception.

Finally, Beruka sighed. "I see. In that case, why don't we go for a walk?"

Nino's eyes gleamed, and once again she looked like an excited young child. "Really? Great! There's this nice path that goes around the entire castle and eventually leads to the courtyard. Why don't we go there?"

The older assassin couldn't help but crack a smile. "That is acceptable."

Acceptable is the correct word. Maybe it was a bit foolish to believe that all assassins would be just like her. Beruka was beginning to feel a bit at home here, and she may learn to enjoy using what little time she had with Nino. She was surprisingly not afraid to admit it to herself, but Nino's lively energy was a bit contagious.

Acceptable is fine, perhaps only for now.