Sophie and Siegbert didn't return to camp until morning had dawned, having the humble sun peek over the distant horizon. Controlling Avel and luring Siegbert's horse all at once proved to be a challenge for the girl; Avel was difficult enough to handle, but having him go the way she wanted him to while holding onto the reins of the other proved to be even worse. To relieve her of such a stressful job, however, Siegbert's horse was much more obedient than Avel. The effortlessness of guiding him eased the struggle, even if it was a little.

"See there Avel? Why can't you be more like this one?" she had asked at some point, which Avel disobediently ignored.

The amount of time it took to get back took a toll on poor Siegbert, who rested on the saddle of his steed limply, huffing roughly in attempt to ease his pain. With his wounds crudely patched up, thankfully, he wouldn't have much to worry about besides the constant pulsing of his body. He wondered if opening his wounds so he could bleed out would be better in the long run. He'd never have to worry about being attacked by those darn Kitsune with their razor sharp teeth and claws again... or worry about being responsible for sending Soleil with Nina to the enemy's capital (a definite mistake, in retrospect). His father was sure to kill him for that.

Perhaps dying didn't sound so bad after all.

Upon returning to the castle, wandering inside its walls and into the lawn, Sophie and Siegbert would be surprised to find everyone out and about, striding around the camp as though they were searching for something. Not a nook or cranny was left unviolated, and not a rock went unturned. Some places were even visited twice. The moment the sight met Sophie's eyes, she felt her teeth slide over her bottom lip, and she released a slow squeak.

"Oh dear... I hope they're not looking for me and Soleil..."

Siegbert, beside her, lifted his head weakly. A tear of sweat slipped down his filthy nose and dropped off its tip.

"It can be best assumed that they are," he murmured. "We need to find Uncle Corrin and inform him of what happened at once."

Finding Corrin wasn't difficult, seeing that, after a while of wandering, it was Corrin that found them instead. He was moseying along, minding his own business on patrol, when his garnet eyes happened to catch sight of them upon a lucky turn of his head. Almost immediately, he altered his direction and made his way to them in quite a hurry, urgency in his gaze. He was breathless upon observing Siegbert's condition, and he was quick to act upon it.

"Let's get you to the medical tent," he muttered, taking the reins from Sophie. Absentminded, the rider gave Corrin a glance, releasing the umpteenth huff before clearing his throat. Corrin would interrupt him before he could begin saying anything further. "I want you to tell me everything that happened. Is Nina alright?"

Siegbert sighed, running his dry tongue over his lips.

"Well..."

Somewhere else, across the land, through trees, thick and thin, over hills and over valleys, Soleil and Nina ventured on, having recently woken up from an intense night's sleep. They had spent most of the morning negotiating over the piles of cargo left behind by Siegbert's horse (they would have asked for the horse to be left behind, but neither knew how to properly ride one). With so much weight, it would be impossible for them to take everything for the journey. Deciding what was the most important became the most difficult problem they had encountered thus far. To worsen matters, they couldn't dally for long; to reach the capital at the time Corrin expected, they would have to make it to certain checkpoints by nightfall... Not to mention they had to reroute their trek to work their way around the Kitsune territory, which would take longer than the original route. Sophie and Siegbert should be telling Corrin of the change of plans.

Let's see...

They had lots of crates to go through and lots of sorting to conduct under such a pressing time constraint. Ultimately, they settled on making three separate piles: one pile was for definite needs, such as rations, money, weapons, lantern oil, medical herbs, and supplies. Another pile was for things that would definitely prove useful, but they could likely go without, such as a few not-so-necessary sets of clothing, Hoshidan-style trinkets (since they were "merchants"), and lavishes (alcohol was one of them for some reason). The third pile was for things they weren't entirely sure about. When they were done emptying the crates and barrels, they would discuss whatever had been thrown there.

To their misfortune, however, when they were finished and turned around to observe their handiwork, they would find that the first pile was bigger than the other two combined. It still hadn't slimmed down to a manageable size, so the two eventually decided to weed things out even further.

"Do we really need the tents? They're mainly what's making the load so bulky," Soleil asked out of the blue, evoking the attention of her neighbor. Nina's eyes grew hesitant. If they had to, a crude lean-to may do the trick for a night, but for the most part, they would definitely need proper shelter.

"If we stay along the main road, we'll likely run into a bunch of inns. The only problem is that Corrin hasn't marked the map to have us to travel on the main roads... I suppose that's for obvious reasons. The closer we get to Hoshido, the more soldiers we're likely to see on merchant trails."

"So... is that a no?"

"We'll try to stay as close to trails as we can, and every once and a while, we'll look and see for a place to stay. If we have to, we can always construct a temporary tent for a night or two." She lifted a load of quilts. "But I'm not sure about blankets. What do you think?"

"Definitely not. It's summertime, so the nights'll be hot for a while."

"Yeah, but that's just for now. We might be out here for several months. By the time we get back to the rest of the army, it may be wintertime. Besides, Hoshido is a little ways up north. It gets colder up north in case you didn't know."

"So what? We still don't need blankets." She drew near to Nina, smiling lecherously. "If we ever have to endure through a cold night, we can always snuggle to keep warm." When she didn't receive a response, Soleil's grin dropped, and she scooted away nervously. "Heh... That was a joke..."

"Hope you see that I'm not laughing." She reached into the pile of goods once again, pushing things aside to multiple directions. First, there was a canteen, then a back basket. A fishing rod. A few dozen extra arrows. A kodachi. A silly looking Hoshidan hat, some knives, a few blocks of fire starter, three distress fireworks, a box of matches, a bucket, an iron skillet... but nothing that looked like something they could let go. "Do you see anything else we don't need?"

"Not really." Soleil discarded the tents to another pile, then kneeled beside her and conducted a search of her own. Nothing. Everything, so far, was absolutely necessary. "Looks like we won't be traveling light. Don't worry, I'll take the heavy stuff." As she begun gathering things, prepared to organize it to where it was more compact, she was interrupted by a set of clothes which were thrown into her face. When she took them off her head, she would observe attire similar to that of Nina and Siegbert's. Her eyes glanced at the other strangely.

"Before you get everything loaded, you should change into those. You'll stick out like a sore thumb wearing your Nohrian clothes."

There was no room to argue.

Once completely loaded down like mules, the two carried on, walking in thongs that clicked against the rocky ground. Being a rather chipper soul, Soleil was humming, even though her melodies were horrendously off key and liked to crack. Unbeknownst to any random bystander, she kept her hand beside her hip because there happened to be a small katana hidden beneath her robe, ready to be grabbed at any moment. It wasn't likely that they were to run into trouble, so that was why Nina carried on beside her, her face buried in a map. She turned it every which way, whether it be forward, sideways, upside down, or backward. Her stiffening face gazed at it with prejudice.

While walking, Soleil had already retrieved the canteen from the basket hanging from her back, popped its top off, and began to help herself to a gulp of water. Shortly afterward, she held it before her companion's face, distracting her from their directions.

"Thirsty?" she inquired, to which Nina folded up the map and took it. Instead of taking a sip herself, however, she pulled the cap back over its spout, then returned it to her.

"We haven't been walking that long. Save it for later."

"Well, for starters, I have a heavier load than you."

"Because you said you'd take the heavier stuff."

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard that Hoshido has lots of natural water springs, so I'm sure by the time we have this thing emptied out, we'll have run into one for a refill. Come oooon, I'm supposed to protect you, right? I think you should get a drink to avoid dehydration." So she shoved the bottle back in her face. The other continued walking along side her, but at last decided to give in. Without a word, she snatched back the canteen, ripped off the top, then took a quick, but not large, chug. Seconds later, Soleil would be handed the canteen back, and she was more than happy to receive it. She smiled. "There, feel better?"

"I guess," Nina answered. In the course of a swift change of subject, she presented the map. It was fairly detailed and quite expensive looking. One could best assume it was accurate. A line, drawn in charcoal, ran through the eastern side of the continent, crossing through a distinct location marked "Kitsune Hamlet". Not exactly savvy with direction, Soleil waited for explanation, which she would eventually receive when nothing happened for a good minute. "It goes without saying that we want to stay in one piece, so we're going to work our way around the Kitsune territory. Well, unless you want to end up like Siegbert."

Soleil quickly shook her head.

"Better safe than sorry," she injected. There was enough common sense in that head of hers, so she traced her finger around the map, outlining the marked zone that was forbidden from them. It had two sides available for them to take. Based off the way Nina was looking at her, she wanted her to choose one. "Is there a particular route we're taking?"

"It depends on what we want to deal with," Nina replied, placing her finger on an elevated range to the left of the territory. "If we go west, we'll run into the Nohrian Sea again. From there, we can travel northwest along the coast. It would be a good route to take, since we're less likely to run into Hoshidan forces."

"There's a catch. I can tell just by the tone of your voice."

"Yeah, and a nasty one at that: as we head further north, the terrain starts getting mountainous. It's steep, got lots of wild animals that run toward you instead of from you, and no inns or shops whatsoever. As a matter of fact, nobody'll be out there besides an occasional gang of bandits. Since we chose not to bring our tents, we might not want to go long without cover from people who might prey on our stuff while we sleep."

Soleil pulled her head back, bewildered.

"Bandits? Really?"

"They stalk merchants such as ourselves. Trust me, I'm a thief myself. If I wanted to rob someone, I would wait in places where my victims are secluded, such as a mountain pass."

"Okay... So what about the other side?"

"If we head east, it's equally risky. Before we hit the Hoshidan Sea, we'll run into the neutral kingdom of Izumo. It would be a good place to rest and stock up on supplies, but that's where the easy part ends. When we leave, we'll head along the shore, but the further north we get, the less foliage there'll be. See this area around the Wind Tribe territory? It's nothing but desert."

"So is water the problem? If we're traveling along the shore, we can just get some from the ocean."

"You can't drink ocean water, Soleil."

"Yes you can! Water's water no matter where it's from."

"It has salt in it."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

Nina stopped, narrowing her eyes as she turned back to the map with a frown.

"Anyways... If we take this route, we can settle that later." Her finger roughly smacked another distinct area of the map, just a few inches away from the ocean. "We'll avoid any trouble with the Wind Tribe if we stick to the coastline, so they won't be an issue. What is one of the issues is that this route is further east, where the Hoshidan population outnumbers Nohrian. We'll have to step up our disguise game if we want to travel somewhere so densely populated by people that would be suspicious of us." At last, she relieved the map, clearing her throat. "Alright, now that you know the pros and cons, which way do you think we should take?"

Clueless, Soleil stared back at her.

"Lord Corrin made you the Adventurer, so aren't you supposed to know which way's best? You pick."

"If I wanted to, I would've already. You."

"I don't want to be responsible if anything bad happens. You."

"Both are equally problematic, so I can't decide. You."

"No, you."

"You."

"You."

"You"

"You."

At last, Nina released a frustrated growl, then roughly folded up the map (in a way that happened to not be the way the creases wanted to go), and stuffed it into her satchel. She exchanged it for a compass, which she quietly observed. The needle pointed north, she would come to see, so she lifted her head and noticed the fork in the road. She nodded toward the right.

"Fine then. We'll head to Izumo. We could use some more packing equipment anyhow, so visiting their capital should do us good."

They would travel uneventfully until nightfall, but yet to meet with their goal, the independent nation of Izumo. Their feet were tired, sore from the unfamiliar strings of the thongs that rubbed against their skin all day. When it finally came time for them to stop for the evening, Soleil hurled them off of her feet, where they flew into distant bushes. She released a hiss, observing the redness of unwelcomed blisters, before snapping a foot around in the air.

"How do they wear these things?" she growled. "Something wrong with a good pair of boots?"

"Heck do I know." Nina was more than obliged to relieve her feet of the forsaken shoes as well. "Whenever they decided to wear them, it's been a while; Mozu wears them casually and doesn't let out a peep about it. The Hoshidans must have tougher feet than us."

"Pft. Yeah right." Soleil weakly shed her back of her load, watching as it hit the ground, accidentally spilling a few items that once sat at the top of the hoard. Even so, she left it alone, seeming not to care. "They're probably just used to it. If that's all they wear, they have no choice." She cracked a smirk. "Since we're Hoshidan now, we should best get used to it too."

"The blisters might be a sign of us being foreign..." Nina was less rough in taking off her pack; instead of letting it fall to the ground, she set it against a tree with care. "Maybe we should invest in longer pants when we get to Izumo. It wouldn't be good to have soldiers seeing our feet when they're red like this."

Without a word, Soleil agreed with a nod.

Soon enough, the two girls would end up pulling their equipment close and plopping beside a tree, leaning against it tiredly. Just a day's worth of traveling had already taken it out of them. It was a nightmare to even think about how exhausted they would be after doing the same thing for weeks on end.
Nina released a grunt.

"What I'd give to go to the bathhouse right about now..." she grumbled, closing her eyes tiredly.

"Maybe we'll find a spring somewhere down the road or, when we get there, there'll be one in Izumo. Or the ocean. When we get to the Hoshidan Sea, we can wash up there."

"I already told you there's salt in the sea."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yes there is."

"Is not."

"Is too."

The two ended up arguing into slumber, leaning against the tree, no more than a few inches away from each other. Neither had any dreams to report, but every once in a while, one of Soleil's eyes would peek open at even the slightest of rustles in the bushes. Of course, those rustles turned out to be nothing worth fretting over, but she didn't know that at the time. She got up a handful of instances to survey the area. Everything in their packs hadn't disappeared, and nothing struck her as terribly off, seeing that she didn't feel any presences besides that of she and her companion's. Ultimately, with a shrug, she would end up sitting herself back down and returning to the realm of sleep, bound to eventually repeat the process.

Nina couldn't lie to herself: on a couple of such instances, Soleil's movements happened to stir her. Without muttering a word, she watched, at first wondering what she was doing but eventually figuring it out. Even though she would never admit it to that frenemy of hers, she appreciated every act of caution that was taken.

In a strange sort of way, she felt safe...

But like always, not a thing, even The Great Wall of Suzanoh, was meant to last forever, including that sense of security.

The next morning, after a light breakfast, the two were trekking along once again. To their luck, they happened to come across a dirt road, clearly still in use based off of traffic patterns. So long as the compass was pointing east, the two were much obliged to take a clear path over the potential danger which was the thick forest of orange and yellow. For what seemed like forever, the two made their way down the trail, yet to encounter anything that snatched their interest. Every once in a while, a conversation broke out between the two, but those conversations would ultimately evolve into arguments.

"Geez... I sure hope there's a tea shop in Izumo. I could really go for some right about now..." Soleil began the umpteenth conversation with a groan. "If they have one, I want to take you out. Nothing like chatting over tea, miright?"

In response, Nina frowned.

"If you're still going at trying to ask me on a date, you can for-"

"No no no. Just as friends. Can't friends have tea? I bet we can spy up some cuties while we're there," she grinned, an expression that was no stranger to her face. "And maybe, if we're lucky, they'll come sit with us... Heh."

"I'd rather search for a nice young man."

"Okay. I'll look for cute girls and you look for... eh... smelly ol' boys..."

"Smelly? Not all of them are smelly. Some smell quite nice, in fact. Especially the good-looking ones."

The other shrugged.

"Whatever you say. I'm not buying it."

"That's fine. Not all of us have good tastes."

"H-Hey! What was that about my tastes, boy-lover? You'd rather be stuck all day with a sweaty horn-dog than a pure, innocent, and caring young lady?"

"You're saying that as though your opinion is superior."

"Only because it is. Girls care about each other's feelings and are considerate of what may hurt them."

"Oh yeah? Well boys are strong and will lay down their life to protect their families, not to mention they tend to have-"

They were too engrossed in their debate to even realize the presence of the carriage approaching from behind. Only when they heard the thundering hooves of a horse did they finally turn around, where they would be met with the sight of a man sitting on his cart. He was aging, so testified his wrinkles and spots, but he seemed healthy and hardworking. He beckoned his steed to slow as he approached their side.

What alarmed the two was his way of dress, which was obviously that of Hoshido. Like them, he too wore thongs upon his feet, and over his head was one of the same silly hats Siegbert had worn. If the clothing didn't give it away, the mild slant of his eyes certainly would.

"Good morning, ladies," he greeted, setting down one of his two naginatas upon the floorboard of the cart's driving seat. "You look like a pair of merchants such as myself. Where're you headed off to sell today?"

They both were quick to respond, but began speaking at the same time, which drew their dialogue to a halt. Awkwardly, the two exchanged glances, waiting for the other to finally speak up. At last, Nina took the initiative, leaving Soleil silent and watching.

"We're headed to Izumo," she answered. "There hasn't been any drama from the war there, I've heard. It sounds like a good place for selling."

The man chuckled.

"Good luck penetrating commerce there. Sounds to me like you've never visited. The capital of Izumo is chock-full of shops and the suchlike, and they offer 'most everything you can imagine. Most other merchants normally don't visit to sell due to fierce competition, but they do like the sanctuary from the war. There isn't a safer place nowadays."

"Y-Yeah... We recently traded for a lot of Nohrian goods, so we figured they were things the Izumites would be interested in buying. We have some stuff you don't see every day over here in the east."

"Oh? Is that so? I have to say I'm interested. As much as I hate the Nohrians, I do have quite a fondness for their products. They're innovating quite quickly over there. If you have anything that might capture my absolute desire, I'd be more than happy to give you a ride on my cart to Izumo for a trade. I'll be passing through by midday if I'm uninterrupted."

The offer instantly sparked their interest, and the pair of girls quickly turned to one another for conversation. Nina leaned in closely, cupping a hand over her mouth to conceal her words.

"Quick! Where's the trinkets Corrin sent with us?"

Soleil's eyes became puzzled.

"Have you forgotten? We left them back at the front of the Kitsune border. You said they would just be weight we wouldn't need."

Nina's face became sour.

"We left everything?" she echoed, horrified. "Well we have to have something we can offer this guy. What've we got?"

"Nothing we can't go without, and I can't say if Izumo will have replacements for anything we give away... Unless you just feel like wasting some valuable medicine and tools..."

The air about them became stiff, and they gazed at one another questioningly. Ever so slowly, their faces sank with time, and sweat began to bead around their foreheads.

"What should we do then?"

"I dunno. You're the one who's the con artist or whatever."

"Well you're the one who's good at convincing people to do stuff."

"So who should talk to him?"

"I don't know. You?"

The man, evidently growing impatient, crossed his arms.

"Everything okay?" he inquired. "It doesn't sound like you're discussing what I figured you'd discuss..."

Nervous, Nina turned back to the man, clasping her hands together to keep them from fidgeting.

"U-Um... Well... We've decided that we don't really want to trade with you... N-No hard feelings. We're in no shape financially to trade for something that has no value in commerce. Our living is walking on a tight rope. If even one piece of merchandise is stolen or missing, we might spiral into bankruptcy."

The man eyed them, squinting his eyes.

"Ah. I understand. I've been in the same situation a couple of times myself. Sorry. I hope the times eventually pick up for you two."

By now, Nina and Soleil had begun backing away, plotting to flee back into the thicket which bordered the side of the road. In the meantime, they presented a forced grin.

"Thanks a bunch," Nina murmured. "Same for you..."

And she waved.

She waved.

The two turned around then, and it was a mistake. Boy was it a mistake!

Suddenly, out of the blue, a force hit the ground just inches away from their heels, barely missing them. When they looked, they would be horrified to find one of the naginatas behind them, its blade jabbed into the ground. In the distance, the man, taking the horse's reins, bore the second one, a frown covering his face. Needless to say, he seemed rather angry.

"Just so you know..." He snapped the reins, driving the steed toward them. "Hoshidans don't wave, you pieces of Nohrian scum!"