Happy New Year! A bit late, but better late than never!
This was initially supposed to go out after Christmas, then before the new year in the last days of 2021, but then 2021 was a bit of a bummer so now we'll start 2022 with an update! Unfortunately the update is still filler, but then we recruited everyone we can for now and the plot has to move. So if you think about it, it's plot-filled filler, which is better than regular filler!
Anyway, the usual thanks to everyone out there for your continued patience and still being here. You're the real heroes!
Owain dismounted his horse and grimly looked ahead to the task before him.
He was deep in enemy territory and the enemy's evil taint was everywhere. Even the sky itself was blackened by smoke and ash spawned from the surrounding volcanoes. The desolation of the environment seemed to match the darkness in his opponent's heart.
Owain stopped, seeing a cloaked figure looking out at the rivers of lava in front of her.
"Ah, Owain. You survived," she said without turning, her tone conveying slight irritation.
"It will take more than a few hundred soldiers to bring me down."
"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself…"
"It's not too late, Morgan. There is still hope. Return to me so that we can end this madness and things can be as they were before!"
"Are you still on that?" Morgan laughed. "I'll have you know I serve a greater power now. All these years I have been taught the merits of 'truth' and 'justice.' Ha! I now see through the lies of the Justice Cabal. I do not fear the darkness as you do. It has given me such power...power to bring peace, justice, and security to my new empire!"
"Your new empire?" Owain asked, aghast.
Morgan sighed. "Don't make me kill you."
"Morgan, my allegiance is to the Justice Cabal! To the light!"
"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy."
"Only a Dread Knight deals with absolutes," Owain said, steeling himself and his heart for what came next. He then unsheathed his sword. "I will do what I must."
"You will try," Morgan said, amused.
In a blink of an eye, Morgan materialized her sword from whatever dimension it was sealed in and closed the distance between them.
The destined duel between partners of countless lifetimes for the fate of the world had begun!
Although Owain was a legendary fighter and master of the sword, he knew from experience that Morgan was more than a match for him with her own equally impressive sword skills. What's more, Owain's innate heroic speed was matched by Morgan's power, no doubt enhanced by whatever foul and evil magics she learned while in the service of evil.
The two warriors exchanged blow after blow, their epic clash shaking the sky and earth around them.
With the speed and aggressiveness of Morgan's attacks, Owain found himself on the backfoot.
"Hrgh!" Owain fended off Morgan and put some distance between them. "Tempest Slash!"
Morgan dodged Owain's assault and countered. "Blight!"
Owain blocked the quick and aggressive strikes. "Brave Blade!"
"Deadly Fury!"
Morgan and Owain were knocked back by the force of their legendary swords clashing, enhanced by their moves.
"You're just as good as I remember," Owain said, panting.
"I'm better," Morgan responded. "Which means that you're only delaying the inevitable."
"We'll see."
Owain could sense Morgan's power levels increasing, which meant that she was preparing something very powerful. Okay, two could play at this game.
Owain closed his eyes and channeled his power into his sword.
After a moment, the Scion of Legend and the Herald of Doom were glowing with power.
"Primal Force!"
Mountains shattered and forests were flattened by the force released from the two legendary swords clashing, each powered by the same secret and awesomely powerful spell.
In the immediate aftermath, Owain and Morgan were facing each other, surrounded by a crater.
"You still remember…" Owain muttered.
"Heh, of course I do. It's the signature move that we came up with together. It's also incredibly powerful. Did you really think that I was going to let that go?"
"To see such a powerful technique being used for nefarious purposes…"
Morgan grinned. "What're you gonna do about it, chump?"
"I'll do whatever it takes to stop your evil!" Owain vowed. "Even if it costs me my life…"
"Oh, it'll definitely cost you your life, but you won't be stopping me anytime soon. No one will." Morgan stood up and pointed her sword at Owain. "Let's finish this, once and for all."
"Very well."
Just then, the skies parted and a ray of light emerged to shine upon the battlefield.
Morgan raised a brow.
"For all that is good and pure!" came a voice from the heavens.
Owain's eyes widened. "It can't be…"
"Radiant DAAAAAWN!"
Morgan grunted as she just barely dodged being struck by a powerful blast of energy.
"No way!" Owain exclaimed, seeing who just landed near him. "Cynthia?!"
"That's right! It's me, the Wings of Justice, come to save your butt heroically again in the nick of time!" Cynthia declared.
"But how? I thought you were dead!"
"Ha! It'll take more than a couple of hundred monsters and evil minions to take me down!"
"I'm glad to see you made it, Cynthia," Owain said, smiling. "Now, join me so that we can end this evil once and for all!"
"You got it, partner!"
Owain adopted a fighting position while Cynthia readied her spear atop her pegasus.
"What a sickeningly annoying reunion," Morgan said distastefully. "Why is it so hard to find good help these days…? Although I guess this gives me the chance to tie up loose ends and finish you both with my bare hands, so thank you, Cynthia. I'll enjoy this."
"Give it up, Morgan! You're outnumbered! Surrender now and we can work on cleansing your soul of the evil that has possessed it!"
"Oh, you sad, pathetic fool…" Morgan shook her head. "Allow me to show you my response."
Morgan grinned and snapped her fingers.
The ground around her immediately illuminated with magic sigils. Out of those magic sigils slowly emerged swords made of pure magic. With a flick of Morgan's fingers, the magical swords all pointed to Cynthia and Owain's direction.
"W-what foul magic is this?!" Cynthia exclaimed.
Morgan laughed. "Dark magic is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Those people being weak and foolish, that is. For the worthy, there is only power. Allow me to demonstrate!"
Owain and Cynthia braced themselves as the salvo of magic swords was—
"What're you three doing?"
The dramatic scene dissipated at the new voice.
"Aw man, we were just getting to the good part!" Cynthia whined.
"I know!" Owain exclaimed. "The setup was perfect for our heroic and awesome scene where we use all of our powers to avoid the sword barrage for our epic showdown with Morgan. We've been building this up for weeks!"
"Come on, guys, it's not the end of the world. We can always recreate this and further scenarios in the future. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna let you take me down that easy!" Morgan said before addressing the visitor. "Heya, Nah! What brings you over to this side of the camp?"
"I was just doing some research and looking for a quiet place to read when I heard shouting and very long descriptions of...something. I came over to see what the commotion was all about and saw, well, I'm not entirely sure what," explained the manakete. "So what was all that?"
"It was just the conclusion of the latest chapter in the epic struggle of good and evil!" Owain said dramatically. "The continuing adventures and struggles of the Justice Cabal…"
Nah rolled her eyes as Owain, joined by Cynthia, went on talking about their imaginary nonsense. She then looked at Morgan for an explanation.
"They're right, you know. It was an epic tale of their struggle to fight for good and justice and also a story of how I make an awesome villain." At Nah's pointed stare, she continued, "Buuuuut I guess it can also be seen as more creative training."
"What? How?"
"You know regular training? I mean, yeah, you could do that and hit each other with your practice weapons and such, or you can do that, but spice it up a little by giving an elaborate background and naming your moves! Gives it a little more excitement while still keeping the training aspect, you know?"
"And that works?" Nah asked skeptically.
"Hey, we still get the training in. Did you see how hard we fought back there? It's just this way adds a bit of flair, too. Flair, and story!"
"Right…"
"Anyway, what're you reading, Nah?" Morgan asked, noting the big book Nah was carrying with her.
"Practical combat studying, yes. If you must know, I'm training in secret to overcome my one critical weakness."
"You have a weakness? Seriously? But, um, you're a dragon. How can you have a weakness?"
Nah sighed. "Unfortunately, there is a rare subset of weapons that are a bane to my kind... Wyrmslayers."
"The swords said to cleave even the mighty scales of a manakete? I think I've heard about those."
"Correct. So to defend against it, I'm training in the art of blade grasping."
Morgan blinked. "Blade what-ing?"
"Grasping. It's a foreign technique used by the greatest of swordmasters," Nah clarified. "You stop the opponent's sword midswing by clasping it between your open palms."
"That seems really...hard. Like impossible hard. Still, I guess it would be a pretty good way to stop a Wyrmslayer, if you could."
"Yes, I know. But I'm having a difficult time figuring it out. Maybe I just don't have what it takes…"
"No, Nah! It's way too early to give up on something so completely awesome! In fact, I'm gonna help you train!" Morgan declared.
Nah looked up. "Huh? Really?"
"I don't know much about swordplay since Dad's still showing me the ropes, but two heads are better than one, right? Just let me know what I can do!"
"Thanks, Morgan! That's very generous of you. Okay, then. Why don't you attack me, and I'll try to catch your strike."
"Really? Now?" Morgan shrugged. "All right, got it! We'll start with a bare-handed chop. Ready? ...Yah!"
"Ow! That hurt!" Nah exclaimed, rubbing her head.
"Aah! Sorry! I'm sorry, Nah!"
"If I can't even stop that, it's going to be a long time before I'm stopping swords…"
"You'll get it. I'm sure of it! Just take it one step at a time. Together, we'll be unstoppable!"
Nah smiled. "Aw, thanks, Morgan!"
Morgan's optimism sure was contagious. Before this, Nah was feeling a bit down since she was having trouble learning this technique. Now, Nah really believed that with Morgan's help, she could see some results!
"...And that is a short summary of the epic struggle between the Justice Cabal and the Injustice Cabal," Owain concluded, oblivious to Morgan and Nah's conversion.
"Ah, we're actually called the Black Tempest now, Owain," Morgan advised.
"Aw, why'd you change it?" Cynthia asked. "The Injustice Cabal was perfect! It was basically the evil version of us! It was obvious and to the point!"
"Yeah, a bit too obvious if you ask me. Sounds like something someone would make up immediately on the spot due to lack of creativity and imagination," Morgan said. "I'm gonna talk to Dad about it, but our cool and awesome evil organization needs an equally cool and awesome name, you know? And not something that's just you guys, but the opposite. So I'm playing around with some names to try and see what will work best. I want a name that will immediately strike fear into the hearts of ordinary people and make them tremble with fear at the mere mention of our evil organization!"
Owain nodded in understanding. "You have a point there. After all, an organization is only as powerful as its name."
"But how long is this gonna take? We can't go around changing your faction with every new encounter," Cynthia said.
"It'll take as long as it needs to until we find the fight name," Morgan stated definitively.
"Right…" Nah had lost interest in this conversation a long time ago. "If I'm not needed, then I'll just…"
"Wait a moment, Nah!" Cynthia exclaimed. "Before you go, could you do us a teensy-weensy favor?"
"And what might that be?"
"Could you turn into a dragon? Just for a second! Pretty please?"
Morgan and Owain looked at Cynthia curiously.
Nah blinked. "Um... Why?"
Cynthia hesistaed. "Er, um, because... Becaaause... Because I'm going to strike a totally awesome pose on top of you!"
Nha was sure she misunderstood. "...What?"
"A dashing knight, perched atop a dragon's head, crying victory to the four winds! Can you imagine anything more amazing?"
"It is pretty amazing," Owain said, nodding.
"Yeah, amazingly stupid," Nah deadpanned. "I mean, I suppose it's kind of amazing for the posing knight... But the dragon's part seems pretty lousy, if you ask me. Sorry, but I'm not going to serve as some kind of elaborate prop."
"H-hey! You're not a prop! Knight and dragon stand together as a single unit!" Cynthia insisted. "Equals in every way! You'll love it, I promise!"
"The word 'equals' rarely applies when one person's rear is on the other's head."
"It would really depend on your character and backstory," Morgan said thoughtfully. "If you were, I dunno, a huge threat and threatened to end the world and were only defeated after a long and bloody battle, that sounds pretty equal if you ask me."
Cynthia shook her head. "Aww, you guys are overthinking this! C'mon, Nah! Transform! Please? Let me pose on your head!"
"No," Nah stated flatly. "This whole conversation is silly! Do you know how scarce dragonstones are? Using one to stage your ridiculous farce is simply not going to happen!
"Oh you're so stingy! And stubborn! You're being kind of childish here, Nah. I've got to admit."
"Hello, pot. Meet kettle."
Morgan snickered.
"Well, I don't give up so easily. I'll be back as many times as it takes to get a cool and dramatic pose with you!" Cynthia declared.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."
Nah then walked off before Cynthia could respond.
"I'm totally gonna get her to transform and pose with me."
"What's with this all of a sudden?" Owain asked. "Why the sudden interest in Nah and her dragon form?"
"Because it's awesome. Nah can transform into a dragon, you know. Can you imagine what we could do with our adventures if we can get her on board? You can have epic adventures in justice without a dragon."
"But we totally do have—!"
"A real dragon, Owain."
"...Oh."
"Besides, this can be a great way to get her to loosen up. She's always so uptight and serious, you know? And that's not good for anyone, especially not someone as young as her."
"I dunno. Nah didn't seem to be too keen," Morgan pointed out.
"That's because we haven't sold it to her yet. Or well enough. I'm sure she'll be on board once she gets how cool she'll be."
"If you want her to see how cool she'll be, why did you start off with her lying defeated with you posing on top of her defeated head?"
"...Okay, I'll admit that the initial pitch wasn't the best…"
"Besides, I'd have thought that Nowi would be more receptive given the fact that she likes to play games in her spare time…or all her time."
"Heeeey, now that's an idea!"
"I can't believe her. 'A knight perched atop a dragon's head.' Why does she have to involve me in her nonsense?"
A loud noise snapped Nah out of her irritated thoughts.
"Okay, that one HAD to be secret taguel focus training!"
"Huh? Oh, hi, Nah," Yarne sighed. "And nope! Still just a sigh."
"Who sighs that aggressively? I thought you were channeling energy to smash a boulder or shoot fire or something."
"It won't be the last time I disappoint you, I'm sure…"
"Geez. You're a real downer, you know that? So what's the problem? Tell me. Manaketes and taguel are practically cousins, so I'm sure I'd understand," Nah stated confidently.
"I was just thinking how much I hate fighting and how I wish the war were over already."
"It sounds like someone needs to get in touch with his inner warrior."
"What makes you think I even have one?"
"You're a taguel! Your people have always been fighters, the same as us manaketes. If you can tap into that innate clan instinct, you'll be a whirlwind of death in no time."
"But it's also up to me to keep that clan alive. If I die, we go extinct!"
"I agree, that's a weighty responsibility. But this war could just as easily kill you whether you fight or not."
"And this is supposed to encourage me how?" Yarne asked dubiously.
"If you're not truly safe either way, why not stop worrying and fight like a taguel?"
"If it were that easy to just stop worrying, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Nah sighed with exasperation. "Grow a spine, Yarne! Gods! I'm half your size, and I'M fighting!"
"Yeah, until you turn into a dragon! Then you're nine times my size! You know what? This is dumb. We're not the same at all! Plus, there are other manaketes out there if something happens to you! So quit talking like you have any idea what it's like!"
"I suppose, although the only other manakete around is Tiki, and our parents are still alive, so…"
"Nah... Look, I'm sorry. I should go."
"Yarne, wait." Nah tried to say something comforting, but the taguel was already walking away, looking more morose than when Nah first saw him. "...See you around, I guess."
Gods. That could've gone better…
"I really have to stop worrying everyone. It was just a bit of dizziness…" Noire sighed as she lay yet again in the medical tent.
"Ugh, genius move, Brady. You're a regular Robin! Leg heals up just in time to get sent back here for another boneheaded injury…" Brady grumbled as he limped into the tent.
"Hi, Brady." Noire waved. "Back here with another injury?"
"Yep. Lookin' at a real genius over here. Tryin' to toughen up and all I end up doin' is fallin' in my ass and heading back to the medical tent."
Noire giggled. "Looks like we're neighbors again."
"Am I a court jester? Do I amuse you? 'Cause I ain't laughing!" Brady exclaimed. "What kind of idiot blocks a hit and pulls his groin while falling on his ass? You couldn't come up with a more pathetic injury if you tried!"
"Er, it's better than not blocking it at all, right?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Brady mumbled. "So what's got you back in the tent of shame? Anemia acting up again?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"Tough break," Brady said sympathetically. "...Ugh, and then there's the boredom to add insult to injury. I want to get outta this two-bit tent. Gotta get back to the field of honor and get my magic up to snuff so Robin can take me under his wing."
"Getting better has to come first, though," Noire pointed out.
Brady sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just wish there was more to do than sleep. I've done more than enough of that already."
"I know how you feel...but what else would you do?"
Brady was silent, looking around. He then spotted a crate. "Hmm, that looks about right…"
"Brady? What are you doing with that crate? It looks awfully heavy…"
"That's kinda the point. May as well use this time to build up a bit of muscle lifting weights," Brady said, getting ready to lift the crate.
"B-but you're hurt! Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"
"My leg is hurt! No reason I can't work on the old cannons, though. Am I right?" Brady grinned confidently. He then turned to the crate. "Here we go... One! Two!"
Noire watched as Brady managed to lift the crate despite her doubts. Maybe Brady was stronger than he looked...
"Th-three... ... FFFFFfffff!"
And as soon as Noire thought this, she watched as Brady crumpled to the ground.
"Are you all right? Don't tell me you hurt your arms?!"
"G-guess I should've started with a lighter crate…" Brady huffed. He then tried to get up. "Hngh!"
"I told you you ought to take it easy! Wait right there. I'll go get help. Er, I mean, I guess I'll yell for help. Or...something. Hello? Is anyone there? Brady's hurt! ...Er, more so!"
Noire ran off uneasily out of the tent.
Brady tried and failed to get himself up again.
"All right, so I spoke too soon. There IS a more pathetic injury. Gods, I just hope that it ain't Ma that sees me like this. Or Robin. I might die of embarrassment right here and now if Robin sees me in such a state right after I swore I'd be good enough to be his right-hand man…"
"Give me an update on the Goddess Staff research," Robin said, walking through the camp.
"Progress is...adequate," Laurent reported, walking alongside Robin. "While we have managed to warp us from the Divine Dragon grounds closer to our designated rendezvous point, Mother and I still have not managed to determine exactly how the staff functions or how to permanently increase our accuracy with the warp. All we can currently rely on is conjecture and trial and error."
"You two did good enough for now. We were on the opposite side of Valm the first time and I'd have probably lost my mind were it not for the two of you giving it another shot and getting us closer to where we needed to be."
"We were happy to assist."
"Indeed, although that little stunt has lost us valuable time…" Robin muttered, shaking his head. "What's the status on our equipment?"
"Our current stocks are adequate. Anna has responded positively to our request to deliver further weapons and equipment to the designated locations. Delivery times have not been affected by our slight detour."
"Good. What of our allies?"
"Messengers have been sent to every sympathetic lord with the location of our gathering. Say'ri has reached out to her contacts and informed them of the updated military situation. Responses are currently still coming in, but Say'ri believes that the majority of the forces pledged to us will make it to our agreed rendezvous point."
"How have the reactions been to us asking them to suddenly march all their forces into enemy territory?"
"No issues of concern that I am aware of. The pledged contingents will arrive, no doubt helped by the fact that Walhart's local allies won't engage them unless provoked."
"We're sure of this?"
Laurent nodded. "Say'ri's agents report that the regional lords have their own forces, but they pale in number compared to our total forces. Moreover, they are neither loyal nor suicidal enough to engage our numerically superior forces passing through their territory if our forces do not threaten them."
"Then it's a good thing that we're just passing through instead of taking their territories and cities."
"We have dropped hints indicating as much. The reports received indicate that we can be confident that the local lords will not engage us without reinforcements."
"And Flavia?"
"Although she commands the largest contingent of our forces, they are the ones that are farthest away from us. Despite this, Flavia has assured us that she and her forces will be present in time for our planned encounter with Walhart."
"I hope she doesn't push her troops too hard. They'll be no good if they're dying of exhaustion on the day of our engagement. I'll have to gently remind her to let her soldiers rest..."
"I will bring this point up when next we meet."
"Thank you, Laurent."
"If I may, Robin? The gathering of our forces in Walhart's territory will not go unnoticed."
"It definitely won't. Walhart's probably getting reports of our movements every day. But that really can't be helped."
"How do you intend to counter this?"
"I don't."
Laurent raised a brow.
"We're taking a gamble out here, Laurent. Engaging Walhart directly like this wasn't the initial plan, but this may be the best chance we'll get to take him down since he doesn't have his entire army behind him. And we can't really hide our tracks now that all of our forces are simultaneously headed to one place. However, I'm counting on Walhart knowing where we are."
"Robin?"
"Do you think he'll pass up the opportunity to try and crush us in one blow since we're all gathering in one area? And a chance to have an epic battle that will be sung by the bards for years to come?"
"I…"
"Of course not! He'll be crazy not to! Even with his reduced forces, the odds are still in his favor on paper. What Walhart doesn't know is that I am a master evener of odds," Robin said, grinning. "All I have to do is pick the location of our epic showdown and out-strategize the enemy. And given that my speciality is drafting battle plans that overcome unfavorable odds…"
"We are in good hands."
"The best in the business. Give me time and I'll bring this war to an end, even though time is the resource that's in short supply…" Robin muttered. He then shook his head. "Anyway, thanks for the status updates, Laurent. You know, you've been a great help since you joined. Not everyone is willing or able to do all these mundane-yet-important tasks, and fewer still do it with such efficiency as you."
"I try my best to be of assistance."
"And for that I am grateful. Curious as to why, though."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Don't get me wrong—I really appreciate your help and all that you do, but I'm a bit curious as to why you do it. It's a lot of work, you know, and not all that glamorous. You obviously don't have to and no one's making you, yet you kind of assumed this role not long after you joined us."
"Ah, yes. Well, I've initially kept a more passive role observing and familiarizing myself with the inner workings of the Shepherds. And I've quickly noted that in your role as chief tactician, you always work alone."
"Not always! At least, not anymore. I have the likes of Morgan and Cordelia to help me with plans and reports and stuff."
"True, but I note that you only ask for assistance in limited areas and at certain points. However, in general, you tend to prefer to do the initial and general work yourself."
"That's not true! ...I don't think. Is it…?"
"It is," Laurent said definitively. "And in observing this, I was wondering if perhaps you might not be overburdened by your duties. Or if you might be in the need of a lieutenant. ...Such as myself."
"I'll have you know that I'm a master of multitasking! As for your other point regarding a lieutenant, well..."
"Simply put, I have decided to alleviate your work burden and assist you in your work. If you are amenable, of course."
"Ordinarily my pride wouldn't allow me to accept anyone's unsolicited help with my duties. However, I will admit that with the ever-expanding army and my all-encompassing role, my list of things to do has expanded dramatically and I don't always have the time to go through everything on it. So in the interests of optimizing my role, I suppose I can delegate some of my tasks and reminders to you. You've already proven yourself more than able and capable of handling it and your help thus far has been useful and appreciated."
"Excellent. I will continue with my current tasks. Please, do not hesitate to summon me at any time if you require my assistance or have any additional duties for me."
"Sure thing. But remember that you mustn't let this interfere with your other duties, all right?"
Laurent raised a brow. "How do you mean?"
"I have a lot of things I do and may unload some of them on you, which will mean that you will have a lot of things to do too. We can't have you running ragged at two jobs, now can we?"
"An astute observation. I shall bear my own mental health in mind. But do not forget to ask me for help whenever you need it."
"Right. I won't. Thanks, Laurent. Now, I believe that I have a strategy meeting with Say'ri and the others later today to discuss the situation and plans on how to move forward. Do we have any reports of the status and location on Walhart's forces?"
"No new reports as far as I am aware."
Robin frowned. "We'll need accurate information on Walhart if we are to successfully plan for this ambush. How is it that we're not getting updated information on this on a regular basis?"
"I believe that this has something to do with the pace of Walhart's advance, but I will review whether we have received any new information since our last update."
"Thank you, Laurent. Remind me to raise this point during the strategy meeting with the others if I don't."
Laurent nodded and departed.
"He's actually quite helpful."
"Robin!"
That shrill voice could only belong to one person, and that made Robin frown. He was about to turn around and give a cutting remark to Severa before he caught himself and remembered what he promised Lucina. So instead, he put on a neutral expression (smiling for Severa was asking for too much) and turned around.
"Severa."
"I have a bone to pick with you."
"I can't imagine why else you'd seek me out…" Robin mumbled under his breath. "What can I help you with?"
"I have to come back to that battle scenario we discussed a while back."
"The what?"
"Gawds, don't tell me you forgot. Remember, that hypothetical battle plan you were discussing and then challenged me to do better when I questioned your strategy? And then you kept on changing the parameters whenever I came up with a solution?"
"The parameters weren't changing as much as reflecting the reality of that particular situation, but go ahead anyway."
Severa frowned. "Well I've been thinking about how to solve that annoying little scenario of yours and think I've come up with a solution: what if we sent a scout group by air? Like pegasus knights or whatever. They map out the area, nail down the enemy's position, and sniff out any traps. THEN we send a ground force to take out the enemy."
"Not bad. Nuanced and well-considered. I'm guessing you spent quite a bit of time thinking up this little plan?"
"Just a bit," Severa said nonchalantly, leaving out the part where it took her an unreal amount of tactical and strategic reading to get to this scenario. "I gave it some time and managed to craft this plan. The aerial units just avoid archers, and the ground troops aren't going in blind. It's the perfect scheme!"
"...Well I can certainly give you marks for trying."
"What?!"
"The idea is...passable, but the scenario we ran at that meeting lacked air support. In this hypothetical situation, there ARE no pegasus knights or 'whatever' to send. That's why we decided not to pursue the enemy in the first place."
"Y-you can't do this! You can't keep making up new rules all the time!"
"I'm pretty sure this was one of the first things we discussed when this scenario was brought up."
Severa growled. "Now I feel like a total idiot for wasting all that time thinking about it!"
"There's no such thing as waste when thinking of tactical plans!" Robin advised cheerfully. "Considering a problem from different angles often leads to useful discoveries, later on if not immediately. I'm sure we can make your answers work down the line if we come back to them."
"Yeah, my WRONG answers! Bah, I'm done talking about this!"
"And yet another conversation ending with Severa storming off…" Robin mumbled to himself, watching Severa march off yet again. "I don't know how Lucina expects me to work with this. Least I held myself back from saying anything mean this time. Small victories, I guess."
"Is everything okay?"
"Hm? Oh, hey, Lucina," Robin greeted. "Yeah, nothing serious. Just Severa being Severa."
"Oh dear."
"Hey, don't worry about it. I remember our conversation from before and have taken your advice to keep an open mind about Severa to heart."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Indeed. And that means biting my tongue when I want to speak my mind to her. That still didn't stop her from yelling at me, though…"
"May I ask what you two were discussing?"
"Strategy and tactics, mostly. She came back to me with a plan for the scenario we discussed a while back. Offered me what was probably the most productive answer yet, and when I said it was good but outlined why it wouldn't work, she got all angry and stormed off. Maybe her discussing strategy and tactics with me isn't such a good idea. She really flies off the handle when I tell her why her suggestions need improvement…"
"Oh dear. Allow me to talk to her and try to calm her down."
"If you want to, I guess. She usually calms down herself just fin—Oh, okay. Good luck, then!" Robin said as Lucina headed off to find her friend. "She really wants me to get along with Severa. Must be a pretty good friend if she's spending so much of her time and energy trying to have us get along."
"Ah, Robin, there you are."
"Olivia. Did you need something from me?"
"Have you seen Lucina anywhere?"
"I have. She just went after Severa to talk to her about something or other."
"Oh, I have to catch her!"
"What's the rush?"
"It's time for our scheduled dance practice!"
"Lucina dances? With you? Together?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Should I not be? I feel like this is the first time I'm hearing about this."
"Robin, this was your idea in the first place."
"...Come again?"
"Remember? I was having a bit of trouble connecting with Lucina and you suggested that we try and arrange some dance practice as something we can do together and bond?"
"Not sure if that's something I'd suggest, but sure."
"Anyway, it worked!" Olivia said happily. "It broke the ice between us and helped me close that initial distance and connect with my future daughter."
"And dancing became a regular thing with you two?"
"It did. Lucina has talent, even if she doesn't know it. She's been eager to learn and I've been helping her. It's become a regular mother-daughter activity we do together. With the war and everything else going on, it really helps to spend some time doing something not related to the war, you know?"
"I see. It's good that you spend some quality time together. You know how much we all enjoy your dancing, Olivia. Is a dual performance maybe in the cards?" Robin asked jokingly.
"Perhaps. Maybe once we defeat Walhart, Lucina and I can share with you all a special victory dance."
"I ask that question as a joke, but really?"
"I think Lucina needs a bit more confidence before being able to perform for others, but it's definitely possible! That is, if nothing happens to us…"
"Well that just gives me more reason to ensure that nothing happens to you or any of us during this war! I'll plan extra hard so that everyone survives and we can see you and your daughter wow us with what I'm sure will be a wonderful routine."
"I think you give me and my dancing a bit too much credit, Robin," Olivia said, blushing.
"You deserve that and more. I know you fight with us now, but we all appreciate your dances. I'm sure I've said before that they rejuvenate both the body and the soul."
Olivia blushed harder. "Robin, stop it!"
"Hey, it's true. Ask anyone!" Robin chuckled. He then decided to spare Olivia and change the subject. "By the way, I seem to recall that you were doing some saving a while back. How goes it? Also, what're you even saving for?"
"You mean my big bag of loot? I…" Olivia hesitated. "...I want to build a theater."
"A theater? You mean, with a stage and stands and seats and everything?"
"YES! And fly lofts and trapdoors and a huge proscenium arch! A place where people of all walks of life can experience the wonder of dance," Olivia said dreamily.
"...When you say dance, are you referring to YOUR dancing?"
"Well...kinda, yeah. Why? Does that sound egotistical? Because I—"
"Not at all. In fact, I'll be first in line when it opens!"
Olivia sighed, relieved. "Why, thank you, Robin. How kind of you! I'll make sure you get the first tickets once it's open, even if it'll take a while…"
"Wait a minute," Robin said, a thought occurring. "Why are you building the theater?"
"Because it's my dream?"
"No, I mean why are you, Olivia, building this theater?"
"...I don't follow."
"Olivia, do you know who you are?"
"I'm...Olivia?"
"You're Olivia, who is also Chrom's wife, meaning you're queen of Ylisse and one of the most important people in the country."
"Oh."
"What I'm trying to say," Robin continued, seeing Olivia's confused expression, "is why are you trying to build the theater yourself instead of, you know, ordering one built?"
"Oh, I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not very good at telling people what to do."
"Well it's a good thing you're not in a position where you'll have to do that…" Robin remarked dryly.
"I know, I know! I married Chrom and I should've known what I was getting myself into, but with Chrom, everything happened so fast that I…" Olivia trailed off, remembering the pace of their romantic journey. "A-and you should know by now that I've never been very good at being assertive or telling people what to do!"
"Olivia, it's been two years."
"And I've gotten better at it!" insisted the dancer. "I can now ask my maids and servants in the castle for favors, and tell the waiters what I would like to eat!"
Robin raised a brow.
"Besides, you and Chrom are far better suited to order people around. And comfortable, with it! I'm mostly happy just to hid—I mean, leave that business with you."
Robin sighed. "Okay, well it looks like I'm going to have to step in, then."
"What do you mean?"
"I will, in my position as Grandmaster of Ylisse, order the building of your dream theater."
"Robin, you can't do that!"
"Sure I can. As you said, I'm very comfortable with ordering people around to do things. It's literally my job!"
"Yes, but I can't let you spend time and money building this theater just for me."
"Why not?"
"Because it would feel like you're doing this as a favor to me, which would be wrong."
"...I'm not following."
"I don't want to feel like you're going to order the building of a theater just because we talked about it. I'll feel bad that all that time and money that could've been spent elsewhere is being spent on this just because we're friends."
"I mean, you could always use your position to order me to build it…"
"No, Robin. I want to do this by myself and feel like I earned it!" Olivia said resolutely.
"You people and your sense of fairness always make my life so difficult…" Robin sighed, rubbing his temples. "How about this: I won't be doing it for you."
"But you just said—"
"You gave me the idea, yes, but actually this has been on my list of things I need to eventually get to for a while now."
Olivia pouted. "Robin, you don't have to make things up just to try and make me feel better about this."
"I'm not making things up! This is actually a real thing that I've been meaning to do ever since we temporarily occupied the Grand Ylisstol Theater and made it our army headquarters."
"Isn't it still the army headquarters?"
"...So the arrangement ended up being a lot less temporary than I initially anticipated, but in my defense, I was totally planning to move out once we got a proper building to serve as our army headquarters. It's just that building a new headquarters would've taken forever, cost a lot of money, and the Ylisstol Theater was already there and in the ideal location. Also, it's big and very nice inside."
Olivia raised a brow.
"And to make it up to the theater people, I promised to get them a new, better, grander venue once things calmed down."
"And?"
"Well we were initially busy building up after the war with Plegia, and then this whole Valm thing happened when I was going to get to it, and now we're here, the theater people have no new theater still, and their new director has been pestering me with meeting requests and petitions. Part of the reason I was happy to leave Ylisstol was to get away from her. She's really persistent, you know. It's as admirable as it is annoying." Robin paused. "So what I'm saying is that this isn't a fake story I made up to make you feel better, Olivia. This is actually a real issue that I've wanted to solve for a while now, and this way I can do it while helping you at the same time!"
Olivia remained silent and waited for Robin to continue and explain further.
"See, this way I can help you realize your dream of dancing in a fancy theater, and you can help me help you by ordering me to build you that theater so I can get those dramatic people out of my hair. To sweeten the deal we can even slap your name on it and call it, I don't know, 'Olivia's Grand and Totally Awesome New Theater of Dramatic Arts' or something."
"I...don't think we need to go that far…" Olivia said, grinning.
"Too long? Okay, we'll just slap the word 'Royal' onto it and call it a day. Everything sounds better when it's royal!"
"You do have a point there, but do I have to order you to do it?"
"Huh?"
"Robin, I'm not comfortable with ordering people to do anything, and that is especially true for friends."
"Okay, fine. Why don't you remind me of this brilliant plan of mine when we get back to Ylisse. That way, I get to remember what I wanted to do, you get your theater and don't have to order anyone to build it, and everyone sees that you are a wise, generous patron of the arts, and I'm a keeper of promises and humble servant of our wise and generous royal arts patron."
"You certainly do have a way of making things sound grand," Olivia remarked, amused.
"Life with me is generally grand," Robin noted sagely. "So, deal?"
"How can I say no when you're trying so hard?"
Robin bowed dramatically. "I live to serve."
"Thank you, Robin. I really appreciate this."
"Just remember that this plan's success also depends on you reminding me of it when we get back to Ylisse after this war business. I'd note it down myself, but I'm unfortunately down on pockets in my current attire, which means that I can't keep my notes on me and jot important things down when they come to me."
"But how do you remember everything?"
"Usually pretty good at going down my mental list of things to do. But failing that, I need to get my notes from Morgan." At Olivia's confused expression, Robin continued, "I gave my most important things to her to keep in her coat pockets, since she has more than I do. Upside is that she'll keep them safe. Downside is that she's not always by my side when I need to jot things down."
"I see."
"Anyway, sorry. I'm distracting you with my talk of theaters and stuff. I think you were looking for Lucina before this?"
Olivia's eyes widened. "Oh, that's right! We were supposed to have our dance lessons now! Where did she…?"
"She went that way."
"Thank you, Robin!"
Olivia then ran off to catch up to her daughter.
"Okay, that's that. Now I—"
"My lady, this is most unwise!"
"I must politely disagree. This is something that I wish to be part of."
"But surely you have more important duties to attend to as the Voice—"
"What can be more important than bonding with my fellow teammates and seeing what the humans of this era are interested in?"
"B-but my lady—!"
"Ah, Robin. Hello," Tiki said, smiling and walking over to the man in question. "Perhaps you can help us resolve a little dispute."
"I pray so," Say'ri muttered, following the manakete. "Robin, I ask if you would kindly talk some sense into lady Tiki this day."
"Uh…" Robin looked between the two women. "I'm not sure I'm qualified to wade into a debate that sounds like it involves Tiki's role as a religious symbol among the people."
"And you would be correct were that what this conversation was about," Tiki said. "However, this concerns mainly the activities that I undertake in my spare time."
"Oh. Well unless they directly relate to the war, I don't think I'm in a position to advise on that either. What people do in their spare time is their business as long as it doesn't interfere with the war effort. Or involve romance during the war. …Or is an explicitly prohibited activity as stipulated in the contract. You got one of those, right?"
Say'ri looked at Robin, confused.
"Besides, who am I to tell the Voice of Naga what she should or should not be doing?"
"Robin, please, I believe I have told you to treat me as you would any other soldier in this army," Tiki reminded. "My role should not be any more important than that of anyone else who fights under your command."
Say'ri was about to object.
"Oh. Okay. I guess I suppose I can help when you put it that way," Robin said. "What seems to be the issue?"
"Thank you, Robin." Tiki smiled. "It has felt like an eternity since last I've spent any significant amount of time with humans. In order to bond with the others, I was hoping to try and get a better sense of what the humans of this era did in their spare time."
"Sounds reasonable enough."
"Unfortunately my lady has heard of a children's card game that is quite popular in some quarters and now insists on trying her hand in this game," Say'ri said, her disapproval evident.
"Oh?"
"I think it only natural to try my hand at 'building a deck' and 'duel' with others who share this hobby," Tiki explained. "I hear that this game is based on various myths and even characters from my past."
"Ah, you mean the Heroes of Legend card game?"
"The very one. I believe that your daughter mentioned it when you fought off the Risen not too long ago."
"And as admirable as bonding with fellow members of the army may be," Say'ri interjected, "I am of the opinion that my lady has more productive ways of doing so and in any event more important matters to attend to."
"Now, Say'ri, while I do my best to attend to the spiritual needs of those who seek my counsel, surely I am allowed to sate my curiosity in how humans pass their time now?" Tiki asked.
"Of course, my lady. I do not object to your relaxing in your spare time. However, you are a rarefied and exalted being, sacred unto all. To see you spend your valuable time gathering and playing a card game…! The very thought of it fills me with horror."
"I wouldn't say that taking part in this little game would be horrifying, although I would probably need money to buy the packs…"
"My lady!" Say'ri looked aghast. "Money? You are the Voice of Naga! Were spending your time on a children's card game enough, but now you speak of requiring money for it?"
"As I have said previously, I should be treated no differently than any other soldier in this army," Tiki said firmly. "That means that I am also entitled to a salary, yes? Free to spend however and wherever I see fit?"
"Fie!" Say'ri closed her eyes and turned to Robin. "See what madness my lady speaks of? I beg of you, Robin, let her see reason!"
"I think Say'ri may be overreacting just a little bit. You don't think that this is that bad, do you, Robin?"
Both women looked at the grandmaster expectantly.
"...Yes. Well. As a matter that should clearly be escalated to me and not, I don't know, sorted out between yourselves in private, let me just clarify a few things in that multilayered package of issues I just heard. First of all, Heroes of Legend is not just a children's card game, Say'ri."
"Is that really the first—"
"While I understand why you might think so, it's actually a pretty complex game with increasingly complex rules and skill descriptions. So while it may be aimed at kids, I feel that the increasing complexity of the game requires skills and dedication that is beyond kids. Also money, because some of those damn packs are expensive!"
"I…"
"And that brings me to my second point of clarification. Well, second and third. Second point being that yes, I should reiterate that we should be treating Tiki as just another regular soldier in this army, which means that she should also be getting a salary to spend as she pleases, which is also the third point."
Tiki smiled. "Thank you, Robin."
Say'ri, meanwhile, had a look of incredulity mixed with horror.
"So in conclusion, Heroes of Legend is not a children's card game…or rather, not just a children's card game and not just for children, Tiki is a normal soldier like the rest of us, should get a salary, and is free to spend it as she wishes."
Say'ri opened her mouth to object.
"But please be aware that it is your responsibility to spend your money wisely. If you find yourself in a situation where you're having to ask to borrow money for food because you gave away all of yours to the local children because 'they liked the shiny coins' and you don't know the value of money, then I'll have to revoke your salary privileges."
Both women looked at Robin questioningly.
"I wouldn't be telling you this if it wasn't something I had to deal with before. Coincidentally also involved a manakete. Tiki, you, uh, know the value of money, right?"
"You can rest assured that I do, Robin."
"Is that even a question that needs asking?!" Say'ri cried indignantly. "My lady is a divine being who has lived for millen—"
"And Nowi is a being that has lived for a thousand years, yet still I had to revoke her salary privileges and assign responsibility for them to Donnel," Robin interrupted. "So you really can't fault me for being cautious. One of my biggest pet peeves is throwing away money unnecessarily…or just throwing away money in general."
"I can assure you that you will not have to worry about such things with me," Tiki said. "I promise that I will use the money I receive wisely. I don't require much, so I doubt my expenditures will be anything extravagant or extraordinary."
"My lady—"
"Good." Robin nodded, satisfied. "Then feel free to spend them however you wish. Please speak to Laurent so we can get you all set up and recalculate our expenditures."
Tiki smiled. "Thank you, Robin."
Say'ri, meanwhile, could not believe what she was hearing.
"So, Tiki, I guess your only expenditure now is going to be card packs?" Robin asked.
"Indeed," confirmed the manakete. "I couldn't stop thinking about the game ever since Morgan mentioned it. I was even more determined to start once I saw how you can summon the characters on your cards."
"It's pretty impressive, isn't it? One of the reasons I collect is the pretty art. Speaking of, how are you going to build your deck?"
"I would like to build a deck with characters from my past."
"Ah. Marth and friends, right?"
Tiki nodded.
"It's going to be a bit tough on the competitive side, though. Archanea era heroes have not aged well with each new pack and skillset introduced. Morgan will unquestionably demolish you, but you'll have a tough time against even Owain and Cynthia."
"Oh, I'm not going to do it for fighting. It's more for…nostalgia's sake."
"I see," Robin said, noting the wistful tone in Tiki's voice. "Well you'll be happy to know that the game's designers did a really good job! I think everyone looks historically accurate, or even better, since they need to look good to sell."
"That is good to hear. I'm curious as to how the people of this era see those from Marth's time and how their depictions compare to what I remember."
"My lady…please forgive me." Say'ri looked ashamed. "I have been pestering you with what I assumed was the best course without even trying to understand your reasoning behind your request. I have no excuse for my disregard for your—"
"Peace, Say'ri," Tiki said, raising her hand. "You do not need to apologize. I understand you were doing what you thought was best and had my interests at heart."
"But, my lady—"
"Do not blame yourself, Say'ri. I hold no ill will against you. Let us move on now that Robin has confirmed that there are no issues in my taking part in this game."
"Thank you, my lady. Your generosity and forgiveness knows no bounds."
"Think nothing of it," Tiki said, smiling. "Will you be joining me in card collecting?"
"I…will have to respectfully decline, my lady. The war effort unfortunately leaves me with little time for…other activities."
"Nonsense! Surely you can spare a few minutes here and there to open new card packs with me?"
"My lady—"
"Besides, Robin seems to find the time and he's arguably busier than anyone here. I'm sure he can give you some tips on how to loosen up and have fun."
"With all due respect, my lady, I doubt I have time for 'fun' as long as the war remains active."
"What do you think, Robin? Do you think that Say'ri needs to loosen up a bit?"
Both women looked to the grandmaster for a response…only to find him gone.
"Robin?" Tiki looked around. "Did he just walk off while we were in the middle of our conversation?"
Say'ri sighed. "I suppose we cannot blame him. The conversation did stray off-topic somewhat after his confirmation…"
"Well. At least we've managed to settle the issue with the card game. Come, Say'ri, let's go see who it is we need to speak to in order to receive my salary."
Severa growled as she walked through the camp to nowhere in particular.
All that time reading up on tactics and strategy and making that damn plan only to fail yet again at the end! …Well, not really fail, since Robin did say her plan was 'passable.' 'Passable' from Robin was actually an acceptable outcome since Severa knew she'd never get anything better. Severa considered herself to be an adequate strategist—not hopeless like Cynthia, but not nothing special, either. So 'passable' was perfectly fine. Then again, the only one who could probably get praise from Robin for strategic planning was Morgan.
Severa frowned, thinking about the aspiring tactician and how close she was to Robin and how his face lit up every time he saw her and how he showered her with affection every moment he could.
Who the hell did she think she was?! Just because she was a good strategist and wore the same cloak and looked all cute and innocent didn't mean that Robin could just treat her like his daughter no questions asked!
It was times like these that Severa cursed her lack of tactical brilliance. Of all the things she could've inherited from her parents, would it have been too much to ask for their tactical skills to be one of them?! If not from her father, at least from her mother. From what Severa knew, Cordelia herself was competent in the tactical department (because of course she was, being ever the perfectionist), maybe not Robin's extent (because really, who was?), but enough to be entrusted Sky-Commander of Ylisse and thus attend and advise during high level meetings. If Severa had at least some of her mother's brilliance, then she'd be able to draw up better plans faster, bring them to Robin, and give Morgan a run for her money! Severa would be able to show Robin that she was just as good (if not better!) than Morgan and he would have to pay attention to her as well!
But no. What Severa could manage was getting a 'passable' mark from Robin, and then yelling at him and storming off. Again.
And the worst part of it was that it wasn't even what she was planning to do!
Although aiming for passing with flying colors was too optimistic, Severa planned to thank Robin for his comments (since she was positive her drafted plan was good enough to not be shot down), and then get him to acknowledge that she maybe had some tactical skill and maybe she should be part of his strategy sessions to help brainstorm ideas. Or something. Anything to force herself closer to him and between him and Morgan.
Instead, being 'passable' triggered her internal complex of not being good enough, which then led to her thinking that she wasn't good enough, which obviously meant that Morgan could do better, and that made Severa see red and lash out and storm off.
And now Severa felt the depressingly familiar sensations of hating herself for not being able to control her reactions and feeling frustrated at the consequences of her not being able to control her reactions. She wanted to force herself into Robin's schedule and instead ended up pushing him away and storming off. What the hell!
And Lucina was there, somehow. Was probably there to be a good friend and calm Severa down, but was unfortunately pulled away by what looked like her mother.
So now Severa was stuck stewing in her own issues and frustrations, aimlessly walking through camp.
"Huh?"
And somehow, her aimless wandering brought her to the stable area.
Severa was about to keep walking when she heard a voice coming from inside the tent.
"There we go. Enjoy! I know how much you like apples."
Wait, wasn't that…?
Having nothing better to do and looking for any excuse to not think about her failure with Robin today, Severa walked into the tent and saw a familiar figure feeding her pegasus.
"You liked that, didn't you? Do you want another one? We have a full basket today!" Sumia said gently, reaching into her basket for another apple.
Ah yes, Sumia. Basically Severa's second mother in all but blood. Severa had fond memories of Sumia growing up.
While Severa remembered her mother (and father, for that matter) being more of the disciplinarian sort of parents, Sumia was always more relaxed, easygoing, and generally the one who liked to spoil Severa (much to the bemusement of the latter's parents). Sumia was always gentle, and loving, and treated Severa as if she were her own daughter. That didn't change even after Cynthia was born.
And unlike Cordelia, Sumia wasn't the subject of various vicious, ridiculous, and salacious rumors that made her out to be some sort of desperate and manipulative harpy, sinking her claws into the next hapless man she could reel in when she couldn't get the main target of her affections.
So…yes. Severa had fond memories of Sumia that were uncomplicated by vile rumors in the future. And while Severa still didn't think she could talk to her mother, there was no reason she couldn't try to get closer to Sumia, right? Sumia was always nice and approachable in the future, and that seemed to be true for her past self.
…Yeah. Yeah!
Thus making up her mind, Severa walked into the tent.
"Daisy? What is it?" Sumia asked when she saw something distracting her pegasus. She then turned around and smiled. "Ah, Severa, hello."
"H-hi." Severa waved awkwardly.
"What brings you over to our side of the camp?"
"Nothing much. I was just walking around and heard your voice and now here I am."
Severa was well aware that her personality could be…difficult (at best) and she tended to snap at people for next to no reason, but Sumia was one of the few people with whom Severa could hold her tongue and be…not difficult. Sumia was gentle and nice and eager to help and Severa knew she would feel absolutely awful if she behaved with Sumia the way she did around other people (she tried not to behave the way she usually did with Robin too, but that ended in frustration more often than not).
"Ah, forgive me. Sometimes I tend to lose myself when feeding Daisy…" Sumia said, embarrassed. "I'm just always so happy to see her when we're not fighting for our lives, and her face just lights up when I bring her favorite treats! It's just really nice spending some time together here and not on the battlefield, you know?"
"I guess I can see the appeal…"
"And she's always such a good listener, even if our conversations are a bit one-sided sometimes…" Sumia laughed softly, feeding Daisy another apple. "Anyway, are you interested in pegasi, Severa?"
"I…you know…here and there…maybe…" Severa mumbled, looking around.
That much was true—Severa always did wonder if she had any skills riding pegasi. Given who her mother was and how Severa grew up with Sumia (another renowned pegasus knight), she had to have some skill, right? Or at least have inherited something from her mother? Then again, it was because of her mother that Severa deliberately avoided pegasi and riding. Always hearing about how perfect and skilled and talented her mother was always left Severa feeling inadequate in whatever she chose to do, since her mother inevitably did it better. Severa knew that were she to pick up pegasus riding, the comparisons would be inevitable and inevitably negative, so she chose something completely different. But that always made her feel sad since she did love her mother (despite her complicated feelings for her) and she did love Sumia, and picking up pegasus riding would have been a fitting tribute to them and a way to continue their legacy…if Severa was better. Which she probably wasn't, which meant that she would just be embarrassing herself and failing to carry Cordelia's and Sumia's mantles.
Gods. Severa really did envy Cynthia sometimes. Careless and immature as she may have been, at least Cynthia was sure of herself and didn't hesitate to pick up her mother's mantle (and pegasus). And there were no unfavorable comparisons to be made since Sumia was a normal human being and had faults and wasn't a little perfect expert at everything! …Actually, she mostly earned her reputation as being a renowned pegasus knight despite her other reputation of tripping over thin air.
"Really? Well you've come to the right woman! I may not look like it, but I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to all things pegasi!" Sumia said rather proudly. "Maybe not in the fighting department, but pretty much everywhere else! Oh, do you want me to give you some of the basics?"
"I…"
Severa hesitated. But then she saw how eager Sumia looked and remembered how she committed to at least spend time with Cynthia's mom if not her own parents. And this was a chance to do just that. Besides, Severa supposed extra knowledge couldn't hurt. Her father always did say that there was no such thing as useless knowledge, after all.
"Okay. Sure. I guess I can spare a few minutes to—"
"Really? That's wonderful!" Sumia grabbed Severa's hand and brought her closer to Daisy. "Now don't be scared, Severa. Some people feel a bit nervous being close to such large animals, but I can assure you that Daisy is the nicest, most gentle pegasus…"
Cordelia was weak. And she hated herself because she was weak and pathetic and had no willpower. She was doing so well for so long, too! And then it just…it was all Sumia's fault, really.
Here Cordelia was, happily living her life having finally weaned herself off racy novels after having weird and lewd dreams (well, dream) based on the aforementioned racy novels which involved people she knew, and then suddenly Sumia showed up asking how far Cordelia got in Ribald Tales of the Restoration War. Sumia talked so excitedly about what she read and absolutely insisted that Cordelia read it too so that they could talk about it. Cordelia wasn't sure what it was, but given the source material, it probably involved sex.
To her credit, Cordelia did try to decline and tell Sumia that she moved on from lewd novels because of reasons that were not the real reason, but Sumia was so insistent and excited that it piqued Cordelia's curiosity. And as soon as that happened, it was only a matter of time before Cordelia's will crumbled completely and she was back to reading lewd novels. Cordelia tried to resist, she really did! But the book was sitting there in her chambers, almost calling her to read it.
So first Cordelia decided to sift through a few pages. And when nothing happened, a few pages turned into a few dozen pages, and then a few chapters, and before Cordelia knew it, she was fully engrossed and it was midnight.
The only upside was that she made it to the part Sumia was so eager to discuss and it sure was something! The close friendship between not-Eirika and not-Tana became a lot closer and a lot more intimate and Cordelia was engrossed as she read just how intimate their relationship became (the answer was intimacy over several pages). Reading about two women together was certainly different from what she read up to that point, and that piqued Cordelia's curiosity. Was that really what happened and how they did it? It couldn't have been, since these books were obviously written to titillate and exaggerated certain things, but there had to be some truth to them, right? Because the things that not-Eirika and not-Tana did made Cordelia blush in her tent as she continued reading.
And if Cordelia thought that part was interesting, the next chapter had not-Tethys and not-Marisa bonding over their shared interest in not-Gerik. And their bonding was a lot less touchingly romantic than not-Eirika's and not-Tana's and more…not-Tethys having her way with not-Marisa. Cordelia had to admit that the author was quite faithful to the source characters' personalities despite the implausibility of the entire situation.
So after pages and pages of very explicit activities between the two, Cordelia thought that would be where the book peaked, because surely nothing could top that. But as she kept on reading, it became more and more obvious that not-Tethys and not-Marisa were both headed to not-Gerik…or more specifically, his bed. With him in tow.
It was at that point that Cordelia put the book down and went to bed, feeling very flustered and hot despite the cold night air.
Fortunately, Cordelia's mind didn't conjure lewd dreams with people she knew based on what she just read. But it did try to give her a picture of the scenes she just read when she woke up. And she kept on thinking about them despite her best efforts, with the result being she had a blush on her face, people asking her if she was okay because of said blush, and her stammering that she was fine and that nothing was wrong with her (and she was definitely not having very lewd thoughts on her mind inspired by her previous day's reading).
How did Sumia carry on like nothing was wrong after she read that part of the book?! In fact, she was happy and excited to talk about it! Like it was nothing embarrassing or anything! Cordelia wondered if Sumia always had this little perverted streak in her. She then wondered if it wasn't Sumia being perverted as much as it was she, Cordelia, being a prude. Was she a prude? She didn't think so, but then reading that and the other books…
Cordelia's mind was full of confusing and distracting thoughts (when she wasn't busy trying to shoo away the lewd ones), so she decided to find something to do to focus on and divert her attention from her unwanted thoughts.
"Ha! Ya!"
Which was why she was now on the training grounds, practicing with a sword.
"Stab, and sidestep…"
Swords weren't her forte, but then she couldn't count on being atop her pegasus all the time and Robin did say they should all try to build their abilities with secondary weapons.
"Jump back, and…!"
Well, technically magic was her secondary "weapon" even though she didn't feel comfortable going into combat with magic just yet. Robin was actually supposed to oversee her and Sumia's magic development, but he spent more time focusing on Sumia, and Cordelia couldn't get the time in for him to review where she needed improvements and it was a whole thing that made Cordelia feel a bit frustrated. She would really have to get Robin to examine her moves next time they trained. And it wouldn't be like in her novels where training led to training, now no longer confined to just herself and Robin since Sumia was there too and—
"Rargh."
And now Cordelia had to focus more since she was slowly drifting back to lewd and unwanted thoughts.
"Oh wow, that was a really clean hit!"
The sudden comment caught Cordelia off-guard, causing her to almost miss her next strike.
"Oops, sorry! Didn't mean to break your concentration like that," Morgan said, approaching.
"Think nothing of it. I suppose it's my fault for being too focused and not paying attention to my surroundings." Cordelia shook her head. "Anyway, what can I do for you, Morgan?"
"As you may be aware, I'm always in the market for tips and tricks to impress Dad and one up him maybe during our sessions. It's kinda our thing."
Cordelia raised a brow.
"In training," Morgan clarified. "Dad's training me on how to handle the sword since I've mostly been zapping bad guys with lightning bolts when we fight. I've been making progress, but I'm always on the lookout for tricks and skills that I can suddenly bust out during our sessions to show him how good I am. If he doesn't expect and doesn't know the move, the better!"
Cordelia smiled. "I see. Always trying to surpass your old man, huh?"
"Yep!" Morgan nodded enthusiastically. "It's an ongoing project since, you know, Dad is pretty awesome, but I'll beat him eventually! I just have to keep looking for moves he won't know/won't be ready for. It'll take determination and persistence, but those are some of the many qualities that I have loads of!"
"Well I think it's admirable that you have a goal that you work so hard toward."
"I think so too. Anyway, I…I…" Morgan trailed off, a perplexed expression on her face.
"Morgan? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Cordelia asked, concerned.
"I…"
"SUPER SECRET SNEAK ATTACK! FLYING BIRD KICK!"
Cordelia wasn't entirely sure what happened in the next few seconds.
Morgan opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, then suddenly sneezed. And just as Morgan bent down because of her sneeze, there was a whitish blur above her head.
"OH N—!"
There was also the brief sound of someone's panicked voice, but that was swiftly followed by a crash.
"Oh gods. I feel like that sneeze took forever to finally come out!" Morgan exclaimed, wrinkling her nose. "But it's the best feeling once it's out there. You ever had one of those?"
"I…"
Cordelia's response was interrupted by the sound of groaning.
"Huh?"
Both sets of eyes turned to a pile of crates.
"I'm totally gonna be feeling that one in the morning. Oww…"
"Cynthia? Are you okay?" Cordelia asked, reaching out and helping the prone girl up. "What happened?"
"I missed, is what happened," Cynthia groaned, rubbing her head. She then turned. "Morgan! You were supposed to stay still!"
"But I was?" the young tactician said. "And for what?"
"Nuh-uh. You were standing still until the very end, when you bent down and totally caused me to miss!"
"Miss…what?"
"My super sneaky sneak attack, duh! I would've had you dead to rights if you didn't bend and dodge at the very last moment! …But how did you know I was coming, anyway?"
"...Coming? Sneak attack?" Morgan looked around. "I just needed to sneeze."
"Man, are you serious? I have the worst luck sometimes…"
"Er, if I may?" Cordelia felt compelled to intervene. "Although it may not be any of my business, can I know why you were hoping to launch what looks like a very painful and unprovoked attack on Morgan?"
"Hiya, Cordelia! And to answer your question, it's just our little thing," Cynthia said nonchalantly.
"Your…thing?"
"Oh yeah. Me, Morgan, and Owain have our feud going on that stretches for eons! A battle of good vs evil that's as old as time itself. Basically Morgan is a master servant of evil and me and Owain have to take her down by any heroic means necessary!"
"Ooooh, that's what this is all about." Morgan finally understood. "Yeah, it's a thing we do."
"And you just…do this sort of thing at any time?" Cordelia asked, trying to understand.
Both girls nodded.
"...Doesn't that seem a bit dangerous? Not only does it seem like that kick would hurt if it ever connected, but it looks equally dangerous if the kick missed."
"I'm okay!" Cynthia assured. "It'll take more than a few bumps to slow me down! Besides, I took way worse hits in the future. All I need to do is wait for the world to tilt back to normal…"
"Cordelia does make a good point now that I think about it," Morgan commented. "We should probably come up with a rule or system or something for guidance on when to do our thing. I mean, I know Dad won't be the only one upset if you try and spin kick me while we're walking in the middle of camp discussing strategy."
"Come on, Morgan, give me a little credit. I'd never do that to you!"
"You kinda tried something like that just now, though," Morgan pointed out. "What if me and Cordelia were talking tactics or something important? Or worse, what would you do if you missed me and kicked her instead of crashing into a pile of crates."
"First of all, my aim and execution were perfect. I would've got you if you didn't duck, okay? But I see your point. Maybe we should plan this stuff for the future," Cynthia conceded.
"Great. I'll check my planner for when I'm free for a session."
"You really have that much to do?"
"Oh yeah. You won't believe how busy I am. Schedule's booked for basically the entire week."
Cynthia looked at Morgan dubiously.
"It's true! Between the chores and the strategies and the me time, there's not really enough time in the day to relax and spend time on myself."
"Then what's the 'me time' that you just mentioned?"
"There's a big difference between me time and free time," Morgan said matter-of-factly. "I can give you the full breakdown if you have a few hours."
"...You have enough material to go on for a few hours?"
"I mean, I could give you the abridged version, which is an hour tops…"
Cynthia stared at Morgan, trying to figure out if she was joking.
"Er, right." Cordelia cleared her throat. "Is that all that you came to talk about, Cynthia?"
"Yeah! Well, not talk per se, but I guess that's how it ended. Anyway, what were you two doing together before I almost perfectly executed my surprise sneak attack?"
"I was talking to Cordelia about getting some cool new moves and/or insight to impress Dad with."
"Really? You decided to pick up spears and lances now?"
"No. Still swords."
"Oh. Then I guess you picked up swords?" Cynthia asked, turning to Cordelia.
"While spears and lances are still my preferred weapons, I have been diversifying into swords lately. Magic too, but I feel more comfortable with swords since physical weapons are a lot more straightforward," Cordelia said, nodding.
"And I think I recognize some of your moves. Did you get tips from Lon'qu, by any chance?" Morgan asked.
"I'm impressed you noticed, Morgan. Yes, I've had some sessions with Lon'qu, among others."
"Wait, how did you manage that?" Cynthia asked. "Doesn't Lon'qu have some kind of issue with women or something?"
"He does, yes. We managed to avoid complications by me keeping my distance from him while he watched and gave me advice from several feet away."
"That doesn't sound very efficient," Morgan remarked.
Cordelia shrugged. "It was the best we could do. Lon'qu is probably one of the best swordsman here and I'd take what I could get. Besides, he did manage to close the distance and show me how to pull off a complicated series of attacks."
"How did he manage to get close to—" Cynthia began before Morgan butted in.
"Who cares? What's important now is that Cordelia can teach me whatever Lon'qu taught her!"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Morgan was shaking her head excitedly. "Lon'qu teaching Cordelia a super secret and complicated move is good, since then Cordelia can teach me it. That way I'll be able to pull off either something that Dad doesn't know, or something that Dad does know, but also knows how complicated it is. Either way, I'll be totally cool and impressive and I'll knock his socks off with how much I've learned!"
"I see…" Cynthia nodded her head, thinking. "Hey, can I get in on that?"
"You want to practice sword moves? Don't you prefer fighting with spears atop your pegasus?"
"Well, yeah, but a true hero needs skill and versatility in both weapons and, uh, skills! And what weapon is more heroic than a sword? All the greatest legendary heroes had swords, which means that I need to build up my skills with them too!"
"Do you have any now?"
"A bit, although my skills aren't as good as I'd like them to be…" Cynthia admitted. "Which is why there's no time like the present to start! Besides, this will also give me the chance to learn fighting and riding techniques from the great and mighty Cordelia!"
The woman in question raised her brow at that.
"Oh yeah. Your reputation in the future was something else!" Cynthia informed helpfully. "The Sky-Commander of Ylisse's pegasus knights, with her fiery red hair, riding through the skies and smiting those who would threaten Ylisse with precision and unmatched skill! While Sumia was deployed to slice indiscriminately through waves and waves of enemies, you were more precise, picking off specifically designated targets along with anyone who got in your way. Think of it as the club and the scalpel."
Morgan whistled. "That's some reputation!"
"I'm not sure how to react to that…" Cordelia muttered under her breath. "And this was how Sumia and I were remembered in the future?"
"From the stories I remember, anyway," Cynthia said casually.
"Gods, looks like Sumia isn't the only one who needs to be on the lookout for what she says to historians…"
"Right. So!" Morgan said, clapping her hands. "I think we have our schedule and plans all set. Now it's just a matter of getting our teacher here to agree to pass down what she knows to us. You'll teach us, right, Cordelia?"
"We'll be counting on you!"
Both Morgan and Cynthia turned and looked at Cordelia expectantly.
Cordelia often heard Robin talking about how he worried he was a terrible parent. One of his principal concerns was what he called "The Look" and how he just caved into Morgan's demands whenever she gave him The Look. Cordelia thought Robin was being his usual dramatic self, but she was starting to see where he was coming from now that she was on the receiving end of The Look (which Cynthia was unconsciously doing her best to replicate). With young eyes looking at her full of hope and pleading, Cordelia felt like saying no to that and the ensuing disappointment would be akin to kicking a puppy. A puppy with one missing leg. And that was starving. To make things worse, Cordelia was faced with two sets of those eyes!
It was just a good thing Morgan didn't know the power of The Look and what effect it had on her father. She'd be able to demand anything she wanted and Robin would be powerless to stop her if she did! It was a good thing Cordelia was stronger than Robin in that regard. The Look would not work on her! Although she didn't need to be subjected to The Look since she was going to agree to teach Morgan and Cynthia regardless.
Cordelia looked back at the two girls.
…She'd need to agree right now as making them wait was making her feel bad.
Robin was a busy man, but that didn't stop him from doing his part around the camp, and that usually meant doing chores. It was a good way to show that he was not above such things and also something to get him out of his usual state of being buried under reports and spending hours crafting plans. Unfortunately, Robin ended up doing more and more of the latter as of late because they were nearing their big confrontation with Walhart a lot sooner than expected. However, he had drafted a schedule of chores that outlined everyone's duties and even took into account substitutions in case one or more Shepherds had to take care of some emergency and were thus unavailable for their assigned roles. So Robin could rest easy knowing that the chores would be taken care of despite him being pulled away to make plans for the upcoming battles.
So it was as Robin was in his tent planning when Lucina came up and informed him that there was some kind of issue with their supply deliveries that she had to look into. When Robin asked what was wrong and how serious it was, Lucina assured him that it was just "a minor issue" that didn't need his attention and that she would take some of her friends to investigate and report back. Their absence, however, meant that there would be gaps in the chores schedule which needed to be filled in.
And that's how Robin found himself once again in the cooking tent.
"Well at least I'm prepared this time…" he muttered, putting on his apron.
Cooking was a dirty business, doubly so for someone who didn't yet get the hang of it. And being a dirty business, the cook himself got dirty, including his clothes. Robin was just glad that he didn't have his coat on him, since the inevitable stains on it would probably continue to bug him until he scrubbed them out of his coat completely.
So now that everything was set, all Robin had to do was wait for one of the more culinary gifted Shepherds to arrive so they could oversee the entire food preparation process. Robin may have been a man of many talents, but he knew enough about himself to know that he absolutely did require supervision when preparing food for others to eat.
While waiting, Robin looked over the ingredients they had and the exotic-sounding spices on display. He had to find a way to use them somehow…
It was while Robin was examining the spice rack that someone entered the tent.
"Robin? You're back already?"
"Well don't sound too surprised. I did say I wanted to get to a level where I could do this well, didn't I?"
"I suppose," Cordelia said. "Sorry. I just didn't expect you back here since you were so busy with the war and all lately."
"Yeah, unfortunately. However, some nonsense has come up that required a little shifting around the usual schedule and my stepping in for cooking duty today, so here I am. But that's fine since I've been meaning to follow up on our very successful session last time."
Cordelia opened her mouth to make a witty remark.
"It was edible, so that counts as a success!" Robin said preemptively. "Despite your constant holding me back."
"Robin, adding ungodly quantities of every and all spices we have won't make your food taste any better," Cordelia stated flatly. "In fact, it'll just land people in the medical tent."
"You speak as if I'm just going to dump all the spices we have without measuring the quantities at all!"
"Need I remind you of the—"
"Do you remember every little mistake I made just to hit me over the head with it?"
"You do the same with Chrom, do you not? I figured we're at the same stage in our relationship."
"Awfully brave of you to put yourself on the same level with Chrom."
"Tell me I'm wrong."
"We'll have to see how today goes. If you keep me from reaching my culinary potential, I'll have to demote you."
"It's a sacrifice I'll have to make in order to ensure the gastral integrity of the others," Cordelia declared dramatically.
"Come on, I'm not that bad."
"Not with supervision, no. Now come on. Let's—"
Cordelia was interrupted as more people entered the tent.
"What the hell? What're you two doing here?" Severa asked.
"As pleasant as always, I see," Robin said sarcastically. "Anyway, Cordelia and I are on cooking duty tonight. What are you two doing here?"
"Apparently we're on cooking duty too," Cynthia responded. "Yeah, weird, right? We were off doing our own thing when some of the others came and said that some stuff happened and we were doing the cooking today."
"Really? You two? Do you even know how to cook?" Robin asked dubiously.
"More than you do," Severa retorted.
"Wha—?"
"Yeah, we heard the stories. We understand that you're not, say, Kjelle's level of bad, but…"
"Okay!" Cordelia decided to intervene and calm the situation. "Regardless of everyone's cooking skills, we'll make sure that nothing terrible happens and everyone will get a good meal today."
"Don't we need more people to—"
"I'm here, I'm here!" Sumia panted, running into the tent.
"Sumia! You're here too?!" Cynthia asked excitedly.
"Yes, and sorry I'm late. There were some last minute changes apparently and I was only told—"
"Man, this is awesome! We're totally gonna cook the best meal ever!"
"Oh. I…" Sumia was taken by surprise by Cynthia's enthusiasm and looked at Severa for an explanation.
"She really liked your food when she was a kid," the redhead said simply.
"Are you kidding? It was the best!" Cynthia enthused. "And I'm gonna get the first taste and even learn to make it myself!"
Robin chuckled. "Looks like your cooking skills have only improved, Sumia. You even have fans coming and raving about your food from the future!"
"It was pretty good," Severa admitted, before turning to Cordelia. "You weren't bad either, I guess."
"Pretty good, in fact," Cynthia said. "You two were probably the best cooks in all of Ylisse. Cordelia, I remember every time you made us soup, it was…"
"Wow. She's really drooling remembering it," Robin remarked, amused. "Okay, I guess you two ladies have some work to do not to disappoint the kids here and make your meals as tasty as they remember. Let's get to it, shall we?"
"Right. We won't disappoint!" Sumia vowed, fiery determination in her eyes.
"No pressure," Cordelia quipped. "Okay, today we're making a simple…"
And so everyone in the tent got around to preparing dinner for the camp. It was much like a battlefield situation, only it was Sumia and Cordelia who were issuing the orders and Robin was merely following.
"Man, how cool is this?" Cynthia said next to Severa. "We're actually helping our parents make dinner! It's just like when we were kids!"
"...We've never helped our parents make dinner," Severa said flatly. "The most we did was watch or occasionally carry some things since we were too little to actually do anything else. And by the time we were, there was no time to learn since things were already going to hell."
"Okay, but it's like we always wanted to."
"What—"
"Oh, oh! Maybe at the end we'll be able to cook those meals we loved when we were little! Do you think we can make food as good as our parents?"
"Nothing I make will ever be better than Mother's cooking…" Severa mumbled.
"But if we try hard enough, maybe it'll come close!" Cynthia insisted. "Although Mom's pies were out of this world amazing. How did she do it? Think she'll give me the recipe?"
"Cynthia, I'll need you to peel these vegetables, if you don't mind," Cordelia said, pointing to a pile of vegetables on the table.
"You can count on me! I'll have these peeled in no time!"
"Thank you, Cynthia. Severa, would you mind cutting them when Cynthia's done peeling?"
"Sure. Whatever."
"Just like that, huh? No resistance or yelling or even an insult?" Robin remarked. "What's your secret, Cordelia? When I try to get this one to do anything, all I get is either one or a combination of everything mentioned earlier."
"Hey—!"
"Ah, none of that here," Cordelia chided. "We keep our issues outside the cooking area since everyone out there is depending on us for their meal. We have to work hard to ensure everyone gets a healthy and hearty meal on time, which means working together in a friendly and cooperative manner."
Severa grunted. "Whatever. I'm just here to make sure none of you screws up the food for everyone."
Robin rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah. I'm sure we'll need your keen senses to make sure we do the cooking right."
"What did I just say?" Cordelia said sternly.
"I am nothing but friendly and cooperative," Robin said, raising his hands. "Both on and off the battlefield."
"Come on, guys, let's not get distracted," Sumia said from her end of the table. "I'm sure we can work together to get this done for everyone. We'll have to be as efficient here as we are on the battlefield!"
"We'll be more than that and be done with time to spare. Watch as I peel all of these vegetables in record time!" Cynthia proceeded to enthusiastically peel the vegetables in front of her.
Robin chuckled. "At least this one has the right attitude!"
Severa bristled at that.
"I'll show you attitude!" she huffed, taking the peeled vegetables and aggressively cutting them into little pieces.
"Wow. Look at her go," Robin commented, actually impressed by how fast Severa was cutting her vegetables.
"She really puts her mind into it when she gets going, doesn't she?" Cordelia agreed before grinning playfully. "She might even be better than you."
"She's not better than me."
"You want to bet on that? We have a lot of vegetables to get through."
"You know what? You're on. I'll bet you our dessert portions."
"Deal."
Robin smirked. "I look forward to enjoying your portion of dessert. Hey, Severa."
"What do you want now?"
"Move over."
"Huh?"
"Cordelia here was impressed by the speed of your vegetable cutting. So was I, honestly. However, she thinks that your vegetable cutting skills are better than mine, which is not—"
"They are," Severa said immediately.
"Wow, no hesitation on that, huh?"
"I'm sure I can do it better than you," Severa stated confidently.
"Prove it." Robin brought a cutting board next to Severa and picked up a knife. "You, me, this pile of vegetables. Whoever has the higher pile at the end wins."
"You are so going to lose."
"Let's see what you say when my pile is going to be twice as big as yours."
"Hey, am I peeling vegetables for two people now?" Cynthia asked.
"Don't worry, I'll help," Sumia said, sitting next to her. "You're going to need all the help you can get now that Robin's in his competitive mode."
"Thanks! With all of us working together, we'll get this done in no time!"
"Just make sure there's enough vegetables for us to cut, yeah?" Robin said.
"Don't worry, Robin, you'll have all the vegetables you'll need for your little competition," Sumia responded.
"And if one of you isn't satisfied with the outcome, we still have meat that needs dicing," advised Cordelia.
Severa smirked. "Great. I'll be able to prove myself better than you twice!"
"Keep dreaming, kid," Robin scoffed. "I can't wait to knock you down a peg."
"Are the contestants ready?" Cordelia asked.
Robin and Severa nodded, their knives ready.
"And...begin!"
The tent was soon filled with the rapid sounds of knives hitting boards.
While working, Severa looked at the scene nostalgically. For a brief moment, the wider world melted away and she didn't have to worry about saving the future, keeping herself alive during a brutal war, or the weird time travel issues. No, for a brief moment, Severa felt like she was with her family, that she belonged, and that everything was okay.
It reminded her of the happier memories of her youth when she and Cynthia would hover around the kitchen and watch as their parents prepared dinner, albeit a bit more eventful…
"For the last time, Robin, we're not adding any extra ingredients to the stew."
"But Cordelia! I hear turmeric is healthy and exotic and makes everything better! Why don't we just add a teeny little—"
"No extra spices!" Cordelia repeated, slapping Robin's hand away with her wooden spoon.
"Ow! No need to hit me! You can poke someone's eye out if you swing that thing, you know."
Sumia giggled. "Cordelia is a tough taskmaster in the kitchen, isn't she?"
"I'll say…" Robin muttered. "Hey, Sumia—?"
"No turmeric."
"...Fine. What about—"
"No habanero peppers either."
"Man, come on!"
"You know, if you add a little bit of these ingredients, it'll give extra flavoring to the stew," Severa advised.
"Really? How interesting." Cordelia looked at what Severa pointed to. "I never considered adding these. Should be interesting. Let's see, shall we?"
"Wha—? You shoot me down every chance you get but take her advice on the first go?" Robin asked indignantly.
"To be fair, Severa doesn't seem to advocate putting powerful peppers and spices into everything," Sumia said.
"Hey, I—"
"This is quite good," Cordelia said, sipping a spoonful of the stew after adding Severa's suggested ingredients. "Really brings out the flavors. Where did you learn this?"
"You hear a lot of things in the future," Severa answered nonchalantly.
"Well it's excellent. I'm going to steal this recipe from now on, if you don't mind."
"Whatever." Severa chose not to mention how this was Cordelia's recipe in the first place. Cordelia was happy with Severa's input, so Severa would take it.
Robin looked on reproachfully.
"You can try some, if you want," Cordelia said patiently, passing him a spoon.
"Hmph. Ignoring all my suggestions for this. I bet it's not even all that good…" Robin grumbled, getting himself a taste.
"Well?" Cordelia asked.
Severa was also anxiously watching Robin's reaction, even though she tried to pretend she wasn't.
"It's okay I guess…" Robin said, trying to be casual.
"He means to say that it's delicious," Cordelia explained, amused. "He just doesn't want to show how much he enjoys it because it'll hurt his pride."
"I still say it could be better with spices…"
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You big baby. Come on, help me with the…"
"Yeah, yeah…" Robin quickly took another spoonful and followed Cordelia, making sure to avoid Severa's knowing smirk.
For her part, Severa felt pretty proud of herself. She basically helped her mother create her famous stew recipe from the future, and also one of her father's favorite dishes.
"We're ready with the—ACK!"
"Cynthia, watch—Argh!"
Severa's good feelings were interrupted by the sound of Cynthia dropping her plate of ingredients, swiftly followed by Sumia tripping over her prone daughter.
"Ow…"
"Here, I'll help them…" Severa muttered, seeing Robin and Cordelia's concerned expressions.
Things may have been different here in the past, but it was still eerie how they were also the same. Severa helping Sumia and Cynthia pick their ingredients off the ground reminded her of her childhood, and how Severa had to help clean up after Cynthia when the latter (being eager to help their parents in the kitchen) inevitably tripped and caused a mess. It was always a pain in the ass, but Severa remembered those moments fondly. It was a happier, simpler time…
Lucina walked away from the cooking tent feeling a sense of relief. It felt good to see everyone getting along and (hopefully) getting closer. Cynthia seemed to be having a good time, and even Severa was smiling, although she did try to hide this. It also showed that she was capable of spending time with Robin without antagonizing him, although that may have been because they had others there with them. But that was okay since everything started with baby steps. Hopefully Robin and Severa could spend time together and be civil with each other without Lucina having to concoct scenarios for them to be together.
Lucina was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost ended up walking into someone.
"Ah, I apologize. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Hm."
"Morgan? What's wrong?" Lucina asked, seeing the young girl looking unusually frustrated.
"Huh? Oh, hey, Luce. Say, do you know what you're doing today?"
"I—"
"Because I thought I did, but then the schedule got all messed up!" Morgan exclaimed.
"Ah. I see."
"Do you? Because something like this is not supposed to happen! Dad has made a schedule that assigns everyone specific duties at all times and takes into account absences, but somehow everything is all wrong now and no one is where they're supposed to be. It's basically total anarchy!"
"Morgan, I think you might be exaggerating," Lucina said, amused. Morgan really was her father's daughter.
"Really? Because the schedule provides order and structure and stability. Where are we without it? It's like a taskless wilderness out here now where no one knows what they're supposed to do or where they're supposed to be! Like me! I was supposed to be on inventory, but apparently Inigo and Brady are there now, and Laurent is doing what they were supposed to be doing. I've spent the past thirty minutes running around trying to figure out who is where and supposed to be doing what, and you know what? I'm lost! And taskless!"
"Quite the dilemma indeed. If you currently have nothing to do, might I suggest accompanying me for my patrol?"
"Patrol? I don't remember you being assigned to that…"
"The schedule is 'all messed up,' no? I thought it would be nice to have some company as I do my rounds, unless you object, of course."
"It beats running around trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do, I guess. Okay, sure. Let's do the rounds together." Having something to do, Morgan immediately perked up. "So, while we're on patrol, I thought I might ask about…"
Lucina smiled, happy to let Morgan talk and bounce from subject to subject.
Morgan's constant upbeat attitude was infectious, and Lucina always found herself in a better mood whenever they were together. It was always a delight spending time with Morgan, especially since she shared her father's trait of talking about the most nonsensical things with the utmost seriousness. Perhaps she could help smooth Severa's relationship with Morgan by pushing them to spend more time together too. There wasn't anyone Morgan couldn't win over with her naturally optimistic disposition, and Lucina doubted that Severa would be any different.
"Pretty good stew, huh?" Cynthia asked, eating a spoonful.
"Actually yeah," Severa admitted. "Reminds me of what we had at home."
"And we totally made it ourselves!" Cynthia sighed contentedly. "So, what do you think?"
"Think about what?"
"Back there. You know, with our parents?"
"What about them?"
"Well, you know, with the cooking and us all spending time together, it felt, I dunno, like old times?" Cynthia said hesitantly, looking at Severa. "You felt it too, right? Like when everything was better and we'd help out in the kitchen?"
"We'd try to help," Severa corrected. "And then you'd fall over or knock something down and I'd be stuck cleaning it up."
"Which is exactly what just happened! Come on, you have to admit that it felt like when we were kids, right?"
"...Yes. Kind of."
"I knew it! So we've confirmed that it's just a matter of spending more time with our parents!"
"Wha—? Since when have we confirmed anything?!"
"Since right now, duh! I don't know about you, but I've been spending time with our moms and feel like I've been making some real progress!"
"Wait, you've been spending time with my mom?"
Cynthia nodded. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"
"Doing what, exactly?"
"Oh, you know. Stuff. Got tips on my fighting technique and things like that. Anyway, I feel like I'm really getting to know them now. What about you?"
"I…"
"Still haven't talked to your mom for real, huh?"
"I just need the right moment, okay?!" Severa said defensively. "There's a whole lot to unpack and…I just need to find the right time!"
"Right, okay, but you've spent time with my mom without any issues, right?"
"Yeah. She's talked to me about pegasi, and pegasus care, and all sorts of pegasi-related things."
"Did she tell you what makes a good pegasus knight, by any chance?"
"What? Why?"
"Well we were talking before and she thought I had skill, but when I told her that my dream was to lead the pegasus knights, she said Phila would turn me down!"
"Did she say why?"
"No. She said lance skills alone are not what makes the pegasus knights so formidable."
"And?"
"And then she told me to go think about it while I bathe in the springs."
"Really?"
"I know! I don't get it either."
"Have you done so?"
"No." At Severa's raised brow, Cynthia continued, "It's really cold, okay?"
"Well I'm not sure how qualified I am to comment on pegasus knight acceptance criteria or whatever, but what I can say with certainty is that your pegasus is filthier than a pig."
"What?! You take that back!" Cynthia exclaimed indignantly. "Daisy is as presentable as her heroic rider!"
"When was the last time you even groomed or washed her?"
"I…" Cynthia paused, trying to remember.
Severa said nothing, smugly eating her stew.
"It couldn't have been that long ago…right?"
"If you're having to ask, then it was definitely long overdue." Severa paused. "...You want to run over and check yourself right now, don't you?"
"...No."
"Go. Gods know that you'll get antsy the longer you don't do it."
"Hey, I don't need to do it right this instant, okay? I have the patience and willpower to go check whenever I want."
And Cynthia lasted exactly ten seconds before quickly gobbling down her food and running off to check on her pegasus.
"She lasted longer than I imagined…"
"Hello, Severa."
"Hey." The redhead waved lazily as Lucina joined her at her table.
"I hear that you were on cooking duty tonight and we have you to thank for this delicious stew."
"It was nothing. Mother and Sumia did most of the work."
"Still, the stew tastes different tonight. It reminds me of what your parents served in the future. Did they discover their future recipe?"
"I may have helped push them along," Severa tried to say modestly.
"Thank you, Severa. I'm sure everyone will be grateful for the improved stew."
"It's all right."
"So…who else was helping you all in there?" Lucina asked delicately.
"Cynthia, although 'helping' would be generous. Robin too, although he 'helped' even less than Cynthia did."
"I see. How was it? I know your relationship with him is somewhat complicated."
"It was actually all right. We were in the same space and somehow didn't get snippy with each other. You know, it was actually…"
Lucina watched quietly and let Severa describe her evening with her parents, noting with some satisfaction that Severa's otherwise constant frown lessened while she was talking, and she even managed to smile here and there while describing the antics in the kitchen.
The final battle with Walhart was approaching, if all the reports were to be believed, and the problems were mounting.
It was decided that the battle would have to take place before Walhart and his troops got to the defensive gate leading up to Rigel, which was the only land route to the Valmese capital. As such, the troops would have to assemble in the nearby forested area and set up the battle to happen at least several days away from the gate to avoid being ambushed by reinforcements from behind. The deadline was a bit tight, and that was made worse by the various logistical problems.
"What do you mean Renacia's troops will be late?! Tell them to march through mud and marshes if they have to!"
"I don't care what anyone says, we need our supplies in this location by the deadline. No exceptions!"
"Some of our allies are having doubts about this offensive? You tell those lazy, cowardly sons of—!"
And being the man to plan and coordinate everything, the stresses and pressures were making Robin slightly more irritable than usual.
"Gods…" Chrom sighed heavily as he entered his tent.
"Rough day?" Olivia asked.
"Seems like we're getting a lot more of those lately as the battle with Walhart draws closer. Also seems like the problems keep multiplying."
"Oh no."
"Yeah. But Robin's having a worse time than I am. Logistics and the battle plans with all the uncertainty are really getting to him."
"Is he okay?"
"He's…a bit stressed out," Chrom said, laughing tiredly. "And you know how he gets when he's a bit stressed out."
Olivia winced. "It's that bad?"
"It…could be worse?"
"...the hell are these reports?! The estimates of Walhart's army are now about half of what they previously were! How is this even…!"
Chrom and Olivia waited until Robin's voice faded as he walked past the tent.
"He sounds…"
"Yeah…" Chrom scratched the back of his head. "Do you mind if I spend a few minutes here? It's been strategy and diplomatic meetings all day today and I need some time before jumping back in."
"It's your tent too, dear. You don't need to ask."
"Thanks."
As Olivia turned to rummage through her trunk, Chrom took the time to admire his wife's figure. Looking at her shapely rear, it occurred to him that it has been a while since they were intimate together…well, since they were intimate without being interrupted.
Chrom realized that he had some time now, and that gave him an idea.
Sealing his tent flap closed, he walked up to Olivia and wrapped his arms around her.
"Ah! C-Chrom?"
"I missed you, my love," Chrom murmured in her ear. "How long has it been since we were together?"
"We're together all the time, aren't we?" Olivia responded. Her eyes then widened. "Ooh, you mean together, together."
"Mmhmm…" Chrom smiled, running his hands over his wife's body.
"C-Chrom! This is so sudden! Can you even afford…?"
"We should have some free time now, and I've sealed the tent entrance to ensure that no one barges in. Unless you have somewhere else to be…?"
Olivia's response was to mewl in response to his ministrations.
"All right, then."
Chrom grinned and brought his hands lower to—
"...is a bunch of crap!" Robin's voice returned outside. "Are we just supposed to take this? Where the hell is Chrom?"
Olivia looked back at her husband.
"I'm sure it's nothing important," he said.
"Chrom? Chrom!"
"If we stay silent, he'll eventually go away."
"If he's doing anything less than fighting for his life right now, I swear to Naga…!"
"Okay, Robin? Come with us," came Sumia's voice.
"What the—? Hey, where are you taking me?!"
Chrom stayed still with his arms wrapped around Olivia until the voices faded away again.
"...Okay, I think they're gone."
"I think you should go see what that was all about."
"I'm sure it can wait."
"It seemed urgent…"
"If everything is urgent, nothing is. Now, where were we?" Chrom grinned, resuming his exploration of Olivia's body. "Besides, I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, but I think that Robin—"
"Trust me, Robin can wait." Chrom kissed his wife's neck as he brought his hands downward. "But if you're that worried, I'll make this quick."
He then spun Olivia around, kissing her deeply before bringing them both down to the ground.
— Meanwhile —
"Sumia, what is this? Where are you taking me?" Robin demanded.
"Robin, some of us have noticed how hard you've been working lately and how the extra pressure you've been under has made you a bit cranky."
"What? I'm not cranky. You're cranky. I'm fine! …Buried with loads of work, but fine otherwise!"
"Which is perfectly okay, but we figured that you needed some time to relax and unwind a bit with some non-war activities."
"Who has time to goof off when we have perhaps the most important battle of our lives coming up? Now let go of me! I have work to do!"
"And you'll get to it after our meeting."
"Meeting? What meeting?"
"Of our book club! Oh, I mean our literature society. You remember those? We haven't had one in ages and we thought it would be good for us all to discuss our thoughts on the latest books."
"Sumia, for the last time, I don't have time for this! And who is this 'we' you keep referring to?"
"Nonsense! There's always time for books and discussion of said books! I'm sure it'll do you some good and help you relax."
"Sumia, I refuse. Let go. Let go, I say! I can't afford to waste my time with this trivial nonsense!"
— Much later —
"...And that sums up the first part of my thoughts on the Jugdral series and why they're the best entries in the series."
Lissa whistled. "That was just the first part?"
"I have many complicated thoughts about my favorite entry in the series," Robin said seriously. "Granted, it's technically two since Thracia is a separate entry even though the books are in the same world, but…"
"Well we're glad to have had the chance to discuss it," Cherche said. "I'm sure you've been wanting to tell us your thoughts for a while now."
"Yeah. Maybe. Got still more to say, but glad I managed to get at least the first part out. Man, feels good to finally get that out of my system!"
"I bet it does. You look much better for having done so, too," Cordelia remarked.
"Really?"
"Yes. It's been a while since we all got together like this, to talk about our shared hobby and not think about anything else…"
"I suppose it does feel good, yeah."
"I still don't think Jugdral is all that," Cynthia huffed. "It's all dark and gloomy and not heroic at all. Like, everyone dies in the first half!"
"And it's up to their kids to take up their parents' mantle and avenge them and eventually stop the bad guys from their evil plans. It's perfect!"
"It's depressing! Wish we got more happier moments, like focusing on the heroic friendship between Sigurd, Eldigan, and Quan. Ooh! Maybe a focus on their youth and days in the academy together!"
"What? Gods no. That's a terrible idea!"
"Is not!"
"It does sound like an interesting perspective shift…" Cherche mused.
"Yeah, in the wrong direction," Robin said. "We come to the Stories From series to get a war story and how our ragtag group of heroes overcome adversity and go on to defeat the evil empires and eventually evil gods that want to destroy the world or something. No one reads this series for some crappy focus on the school lives of the protagonists."
"I kinda agree," Lissa said. "If anyone wrote a book about me, I'd want it to be about the most exciting part of my life and focus on how I helped during the wars and stuff. I don't want to read about my boring school days. I mean, that compared to now when I'm helping everyone in the middle of a war? That sounds way cooler!"
"But focusing on the school days of the protagonists could be a great way to flesh out their existing relationships and set up the reasons for their worldviews!" Cynthia insisted.
"Cynthia, school days are the most boring part of anyone's life," Severa stated flatly. "Who comes to the Stories From series wanting to read about that period of the characters' lives instead of the war stories that the series is known for?"
"Exactly! I mean, I guess it could be a cool thing for like, a flashback chapter or something, but anything more would be something completely unnecessary and not what we read the series for," Robin said. "Not to mention extremely tedious. Besides, we have books that deal with the school lives of their main characters, like, what was that popular one? With the teenagers and their demons that they summon from their minds? Personal Five or something?"
"Well I think it would be a neat thing to read about," Cynthia declared. "You can set out the childhood of the main characters for half the book and focus on the war part in the second half."
"Gods. Spending half a book reading about the main characters and how they spend their time in school. The moment the Stories From series does that is the moment it starts dying." Robin shook his head. "Might as well make branching paths, and then make it several books, with each book being from the perspective of the faction in question. Basically repeat the Fates recipe and sacrifice the story to increase profit."
"Hey, there was nothing wrong with Fates!" Cynthia insisted.
Robin opened his mouth to object.
"Okay, we are not going through this again, otherwise we'll be here for the next few days," Cordelia quickly interrupted.
"I dunno. I think it could be neat, but I also kinda miss it when the series had a linear story," Morgan said. "Series seemed more focused and coherent then."
"Well let's just hope that the next entry goes back to the series' roots instead of doing whatever the hell Fates started," Robin grumbled. "Anyway, before we move on, has anyone seen Chrom? And Olivia? They usually show up for our sessions."
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen milord after the strategy meeting ended," Frederick said. "Curious. I recall seeing him walk out with the others but not after."
"And I think Mother was in her tent looking for something," Lucina informed.
"Wonder where—"
"Ah, is this where everyone is?" Chrom asked, entering the tent with a very cheerful expression.
"Someone seems in a good mood," Robin remarked. "What happened? Back during the meeting you seemed almost as annoyed as I was."
"Well, you know. Those things are just temporary and shall pass, but family is forever."
"...What?"
"S-sorry I'm late!" Olivia apologized, rushing into the tent. "Something came up and took all of my attention!"
"Must've been serious if you're so late," Morgan commented. "You're usually never late for these."
"Yes. It was a very urgent and insistent problem that I thought would be over quickly but kept on, uh, demanding more and more of my time."
"Mother? Are you well?" Lucina asked. "Your hair looks a bit disheveled."
"Ah? Oh, sorry! Let me just…"
Olivia sat down next to Chrom and started smoothing her hair.
"So what've we missed?"
"Jugdral good. School bad. School in the Stories From series even worse," Robin summed up.
Chrom looked at Lissa questioningly.
"It's a long story," the princess said, shrugging.
"Anyway, what we were moving on to was what to read next."
"Oh, I have a suggestion!" Cherche clapped her hands. "But first, Sumia? Cordelia? I believe that you had pies ready in the cooking tent, yes?"
Morgan, Severa, Cynthia, and Robin immediately perked up at the mention of pies.
The women in question looked at Cherche, confused.
"Uh…"
"We need someone to get them. If you don't mind, I can—"
"I'll do it!" Morgan immediately shot out of her seat. "I'll get them real quick and bring them here with definitely no pieces missing!"
"Hey, you can't bring them pies here all by yourself! I'll help!" Cynthia volunteered, running after Morgan.
"I'm not trusting either to be alone with the pies! Don't worry, I'll make sure those idiots bring them in one piece," Severa said to everyone in the tent before running after Morgan and Cynthia.
"Um, Cherche?" Sumia spoke up. "You do know that we haven't prepared any pie for today, right?"
"Oh, I'm well aware. I was just trying to get some of our younger members to leave the tent before we move on to the discussion. Lucina, I believe that you are old enough to participate in such matters, unless your parents object?"
Lucina, Chrom, and Olivia exchanged confused glances.
"Wonderful! Anyway, I've heard that the next entry in the 69 Shades series has just been released." Cherche paused for dramatic effect, taking in everyone's reactions.
Sumia and Cordelia looked at her with a mixture of horror and embarrassment at the mention of the series, Olivia was avoiding making eye contact, Chrom looked like he was trying to remember which book Cherche was talking about, and Lucina was looking away, her face getting redder by the second.
"Huh? What's with the reaction?" Lissa asked. "Is the 69 Shades something special?"
"Oh, it's special—"
"It's nothing," Robin said dismissively. "Just a supposed love story that's actually pretty twisted. Lots of rope and chains and whips and borderline torture."
"That does sound—"
"Oh, and sex. Lots of that too."
"Ah…"
"Oh gods. That one…" Chrom mumbled, remembering what they were talking about. "L-Lissa, get out of here. You're too young to be hearing these things."
"Hey, I'm a fully grown woman, I'll have you know!" Lissa huffed. "I'm married too, remember?"
"That's not—"
"Anyway, it's not anything special," Robin continued nonchalantly, ignoring the awkward atmosphere in the room. "The Ribald Tales series is arguably a lot worse and a lot more explicit."
"Oh my, Robin! I never knew you read the Ribald Tales series!" Cherche leaned in, a very interested expression on her face. "What else are you reading in your spare time?"
"I don't seek those books out, if that's what you're implying. I just happened to have borrowed the book from—" Robin stopped himself, seeing the horrified expression on Sumia's face and remembering how she swore him to secrecy after she accidentally lent him the Faith War book. "...I mean, uh, it was recommended to me by a shopkeeper…?"
"Of course it was," Cherche said politely. "Anyway, who else has heard about the series?"
"Not me!"
"Or me!"
Cordelia and Sumia denied almost at the same time.
Cherche gave them a knowing look, causing both women further embarrassment.
"I haven't, but from Robin's comment and the reactions, now I gotta." Lissa looked excited at the prospect.
Frederick sighed. "Cherche, why must you insist on having us discuss this type of literature?"
"I think it would be good to expand our horizons," Cherche replied innocently. "Besides, the series is inspired by the Stories From series, so we will be familiar with the characters and settings, even if the names have been changed."
"Please tell me you're not just choosing these books because of the sex," Robin said tiredly.
"Robin, there is more to these books than just sex," Cherche informed, before adding, "Besides, I think we'll all be able to learn something. After all, wasn't 69 Shades a learning experience?"
"What? …How? And what?"
Robin looked around at how almost everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.
"Oh man. I'm definitely getting the book now," Lissa said.
"So we're agreed, then? Ribald Tales shall be our next topic for discussion? Now to settle on which entry…"
"W-wait, this is ridiculous!" Cordelia blurted out. "We can't seriously be talking about discussing this series here, can we?"
"We're well past that, Cordelia," Robin said. "Besides, we've all read and talked about 69 Shades. Ribald Tales isn't too far off that, although with admittedly much more incest than the former."
Lissa scrunched her face. "Ew. Gross."
"Exactly!" Sumia pointed. "What about the children, Robin? Do you really want Morgan and Cynthia and Noire to hear us discussing this?"
"Definitely not Morgan." Robin thought a bit. "Maybe not Cynthia too. Noire I'm not sure about."
"But that won't be an issue. We can have meetings without certain members for a time. After all, there are only a handful of us who come to every meeting, and that does not include Morgan," Cherche pointed out.
"I guess that's true. We just have to make sure we don't serve pies when we discuss this," Robin mused.
"Are we really going to read the Ribald Tales series?" Lucina asked, remembering how she felt reading 69 Shades and her mother's reaction when she brought a Ribald Tales book she stumbled upon to her in the future.
"I mean, you don't have to if you feel uncomfortable," Robin offered. "Although you read the 69 Shades book and you were fine, right?"
"Well…"
"Guys, you'll never believe this. There wasn't any pie!" Morgan exclaimed, rushing back into the tent, a despondent look on her face.
"Which means that someone must've stolen all of them!" Cynthia said indignantly, following Morgan.
Severa sat in her chair sullenly. "No pie…n-not that I was looking forward to it or anything!"
"How sad. We'll certainly make sure we'll get to the bottom of this matter," Cherche said. "In the meantime, we've decided our next reading material, yes? I suggest the entry inspired by Magvel since—"
"N-no!" Cordelia cried, recalling how her recent and awkward troubles were because of that particular entry. At everyone's curious expressions, she continued, "I mean, uh, I don't think we agreed to anything, right? W-we were still in discussions and…uh…"
"I-it's not right to start there," Sumia said.
"Y-yes, that's right!"
"I'd say the books inspired by Elibe would be better."
"Sumia?!"
"It looks like it's happening, Cordelia! We might as well start with the one some of us feel most passionate about!"
"...Are we talking about re-reading the Elibe series again?" Morgan asked. "I mean, I really like it, but didn't we discuss those books plenty already?"
"And why are your faces so red?" Cynthia added.
"We…"
"They're…"
And the scene developed into a confused mess of poor excuses, awkward explanations, and deflections.
"You do this on purpose, don't you?" Frederick asked.
"Some people just want to watch the world burn," Cherche said, and Frederick couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "But I've meant to read the Ribald Tales series ever since I heard about it and since I became familiar with the source material. Tell me you aren't at least a little bit curious, Frederick."
"I…"
"You know, Cherche was right," Olivia whispered to Chrom. "69 Shades did…teach us some things."
"Right…"
"So maybe this would be a good opportunity to learn more…?"
"You mean…?"
Olivia nodded timidly.
"If you want to, my love, I'll be open to anything."
"Urgh. Sometimes I wonder how things end up this way…" Robin fell back into his chair, rubbing his temples while the others talked over each other.
"Do you at least feel better?" Lucina asked, regaining her composure.
"I suppose, although I wouldn't say I've been feeling terribly bad."
"Come, Robin, we've noticed how much pressure you're under and how that was affecting your mood."
"So you're part of this gang distracting me from my duties?"
"I will only apologize if you say it didn't make you feel better."
"...It did, actually. Talking about my favorite books and what I like about them was a nice change of pace from the usual war stuff." Robin smiled. "So I guess I should be thanking you, Lucina."
"You should also thank Sumia and Cordelia as it was their initiative."
Robin and Lucina looked back at how both women were talking to the others and most likely digging themselves deeper into whatever hole they found themselves in.
"Heh. I'll be sure to do that once whatever that is finishes."
"That might be for the best."
"Anyway, while I have you, there's some things I wanted to get your thoughts on, if you don't mind."
"By all means."
"So, you know Falchion? I was wondering…"
"...new reports coming in regarding Walhart's army."
"The estimates of Walhart's army are now about half of what they previously were! How is this even possible?!"
"The sudden discrepancy does seem…discouraging. We have received word that the enemy…"
"...can't do this! You can't keep making up new rules all the time!"
"I'm pretty sure this was one of the first things we discussed when this scenario was brought up."
"Now I feel like a total idiot for wasting all that time thinking about it!"
"There's…"
"...no use, Dad. I'll probably get every card in this game before you pull one Ninian."
"Morgan, where in the world did you get your luck from? Since it's obviously not from me!"
"Heh, maybe it's all natural. Besides, I…"
"...can't hold the gate! The enemy is breaking through!"
"Very well. Give the order to fall back to our positions as planned."
"Yes, Grandmaster!"
"Exactly as planned! The fate of Ylisstol depends on…"
"...seeing her."
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Robin."
"She's my wife, Chrom. I…I have to see her, even if…if…"
"I understand. But you might want to brace yourself. Please…"
"...know I can't love you as you love Chrom."
"I know."
"Do you regret what you did?"
"...No. This might be the last time we even see each other, so—"
"Don't say that. I'm getting you all out alive after this battle, and if I find out that you're set on throwing your life away because of Chrom…!"
"...no. I did not spin myself out of the ether—I am you."
"This is not your…your fault. P-promise me you'll escape from this place... Please, go..."
"Accept the inevitability of what you will become."
"Argh!" Robin bolted upright, frantically looking around and trying to figure out where he was.
Apparently he was back in his tent.
"About time you woke up."
And apparently he wasn't alone.
"...Basilio?" Robin said, after squinting to adjust his vision. "What're you doing here and why am I getting visits from dead men?"
"Honestly, this again?"
"Didn't you visit me before at some point? When I was in some kind of drunken stupor?"
"...Sure. Let's go with that," Basilio said, being in no mood to correct Robin. "And this time I'm coming to you in a state of stupor brought by what seems like overwork."
"Overwork? There's no such thing as overwork for me!"
"Oh yeah? I've seen how you've been working by candlelight until the early hours of the morning, going over all your plans while also worrying that the blue-haired lass will find you. Eventually you let exhaustion take you until you suddenly jolted upright a few moments ago."
"...Just how long were you in here and how did you even get past the patrols?"
"Got instructions direct from you to ensure that I could sneak in here undetected by the patrols. But enough of that. I've got an update for you since our last meeting."
"Buh?"
"There ain't much time, so just listen!" Basilio hissed. "As discussed, I've been sneaking around and gathering intel on the quiet. I'll tell you, it's amazing what you can get done when everyone thinks you're dead. Here."
"What's this?" Robin asked, taking the papers Basilio handed to him.
"My reports on Walhart's troop movements."
"...How accurate are these?"
"More accurate than the so-called intelligence you've been receiving so far! These are first-hand notes from yours truly, without any false intelligence from the enemy."
"But how—"
"Dead man, remember?" Basilio smiled wryly, before his expression turned serious. "So I think you know by now that your current plan isn't going to work."
"I can't believe this…!"
"Besides this, I've also got news on…"
"Urgh…"
The sunlight shone into Robin's tent, forcing him to drag himself out of his blissful state of unconsciousness.
Robin yawned and immediately winced, realizing he had a pretty bad kink in his neck. Looking around, he also realized that he had fallen asleep at his desk, with papers and half-finished plans strewn all over.
"Gods, that was a terrible dream. Guess Lucina and the others were right when they tell me to not work through the night. I hate it when I knock myself out at my table…"
As Robin was rubbing his neck, he noticed a few papers that seemed a bit out of place.
"Hm?"
Robin reached out to examine the papers. The information he read immediately woke him up.
"Son of a…!"
"—reports yesterday about how Walhart's approaching forces are now somehow a lot less than what was estimated previously? Well they were true, and that's because Walhart managed to pull the wool over our eyes!" Robin exclaimed. "While we were trying to get our intelligence reports filtered back to us, Walhart somehow managed to split his damn forces and transport them, along with himself, on their way to Rigel via the area around the Mila Tree instead of taking the obvious land route!"
Chrom frowned. "So the forces that we've been tracking and planning to ambush…?"
"Are just diversionary forces. Likely Walhart's main force is already on their merry way to Rigel since we've had so much trouble getting any accurate information. He could've been on his way there for several days for all we know!"
"Pray tell, Robin, how can you be so sure of these developments?" Say'ri asked. "We have not received any information as of yet to suggest what you describe."
"Walhart must've put some work into counterintelligence and covering his tracks. I'd be impressed if I wasn't so angry. As for information, here." Robin tossed his newest reports he found on his desk in the morning on the table. "The information there corresponds with the timing and details of our other reports received thus far. It also fills in the gaps we had from our other sources."
"I assume the report is accurate?" asked Chrom.
"More accurate than what we've been getting so far!"
"Dad, that's not good. If this is true, then we've lost a bunch preparing for a fight that may not even be worth it now. What do we do?" Morgan looked to her father, worried.
"Well we still have to take out the advancing forces," Robin responded evenly. "A distraction though they may be, we still can't risk them linking with Walhart's main forces. Fortunately we can use a smaller force given the reduced size of the enemy army."
"And Walhart? Now that he is en route to Rigel, how are we to confront him and get past the defensive gates leading to the capital? I understand that the gates are heavily fortified and we do not possess the means to break through, let alone the speed to intercept him," Say'ri noted.
"I know, I know." Robin rubbed his temples. "So we may need to get us past the gates and attack from behind, taking the forces there by surprise so we can open the gates for our allies to march on Rigel."
"I trust you have a plan, Robin?" Chrom knew better than to doubt his friend when he came up with a seemingly impossible course of action.
"An outline, yes. It'll depend on several factors, the most immediate being the Goddess Staff. Laurent?"
"Robin."
"I'm going to need to speak with you and Miriel after this meeting. I really hope you can give me some good news."
"Of course."
"Morgan, with me. I'll need to run some scenarios by you for comment and criticism. Hold nothing back."
Morgan nodded resolutely.
"Right. Now, our allies. Say'ri, have you heard news from…"
So that wasn't ideal. Now Robin's entire plan was thrown into limbo and he had to quickly come up with something workable or they'd lose their opportunity (and the war) forever. Fortunately he had some drafts in case of emergency, but the downside was that they were rough and dependent on things that he had no control over. Robin hated when he didn't have time to draft proper plans, even if it did happen more often than he felt comfortable with. It was a good thing that Robin worked well under pressure and could draw plans out of thin air, or this would've been really, really bad!
