At first everyone gathered in Ferox was too quiet. The tension in the room tightened up to the point Gaius felt sure in thinking it would snap soon. Everyone had a chance to dry off and pull themselves back together, but this only gave others time to think more on their failings. The mood among the Shepherds hit a new low when Robin, the two Khans and Chrom gathered everyone for a meeting.

They had intended to discuss the next move and strategy of course, but open wounds showed very soon within beginning. Gaius couldn't say he'd seen Chrom that unwound and Lissa wasn't much better. It wasn't until Robin spoke up more powerfully with so much intensity that everyone started to cool off a little. In fact that chill quickly turned to heat. In no time the tactician had everyone fired up, ready to stand for their ideals, for Emmeryn's ideals and to take Gangrel head on. It would have seemed insane, but coming out of such a level headed guy like Robin it sounded a lot more believable.

No, they weren't crazy for this; motivated was the word he thought fit best. Once Robin had spoken it seemed like everyone perked up a little. Lissa even looked ready to go out into battle right then. Despite how ready they felt, there was still a lot of other preparation to be done. The feelings never really seemed to cool in anyone's hearts, but there was a slow, steady dispersal from the throne room. The leaders needed to talk out the details and the rest of the Shepherds had equipment to check and smaller duties to attend to as well.

The situation had changed, but that familiar rhythm—like a steady beat on a drum—still pulsed through the Shepherds' activities. There was something almost normal in the way everyone carried on. Dinner still had to be cooked, swords sharpened; all regular things Gaius was used to taking part in by then. Perhaps this army would not be broken just yet.

He took to picking up slack where he could and where he might be needed. He didn't really commit to any one activity for too long; there was help needed just about everywhere. With the camp set up here like it was, he was pretty sure he was just getting himself lost and finding work to do in the process. It worked well enough and kept him busy into the night.

By the time darkness settled deep over the skies, most of the Shepherds were heading off to get some rest with everything ready for the morning. Gaius let himself wander a bit farther around the area. It was one part being used to being up in the night and another part that all the activity still had his brain running at double speed. It felt like there was a lot to think on, but none of it was really forming very clearly. He wanted to talk with Lissa and apologize for earlier at least. He didn't really need to pick a fight with Lon'qu when he did. He had worked out that much.

His wandering brought him to a longer hall in the stronghold, a few torches lit down the narrow stretch to light the way. He kept his footsteps light and quiet—a force of habit more than anything else. It wasn't intentional to find Lissa, but as he carried down the hallway he picked up her voice.

"Really, I'm fine. I'm ready! I'll show that King...There's no way he's going to get away with it," she said, at least what he could pick up faintly. Gaius carried on down the hall, meaning to knock on the half-cracked open door, but the second voice stopped him.

"Most certainly that impertinent fool will not! You and I together, we will show him. But you must remain safe all the same. Promise me you will be careful, won't you, Lissa darling?" He could hear Maribelle answer her more clearly. He kept pressed to the stone wall, breath caught in his chest. Making himself known would only make Maribelle angry, but listening in was not the best thing to do either. He would just have to sneak back down the way he came to be safe. Still, he couldn't help lingering a little longer.

"I promise if you promise. The way you took off earlier I was worried you were going to get hurt. I think even Gaius was worried; he almost ran after you," Lissa replied after a short pause.

There was fairly obvious disgust in Maribelle's voice. "Oh did he? Well, it was none of that malefactor's concern. I am so sorry you were stuck with him and that brute. Perhaps I should not have left."

"Maribelle! That's not very nice...Besides, Lon'qu is just...rough around the edges. He's actually very sweet under that. And Gaius is really nice too. Even though he calls me 'princess' that really annoying way."

He could at least be a little proud of being called "nice." Maybe the princess leaned on the naïve side, but she sounded genuine. On the other hand, Maribelle's distaste of him seemed pretty damned genuine too. Was that coming out even at the end? He had no clue.

"I would say he should be calling you nothing. What business does he have with you? Would he like the keys to the royal treasury this time? He will not step foot on Ylisse castle grounds if I have anything to say about it," Maribelle said firmly, sounding very decided on the issue.

"He's my friend. Please stop...I wish my friends would just get along..." With the way Lissa's voice fell then, he could have sworn she probably slumped all the way over. He wasn't going to risk looking in to see though. The princess certainly had a way of rubbing in the guilt for fighting with Lon'qu earlier, even if she didn't know it. They really did need to chat, just not when Twinkles was around.

There was a bit of shuffling from inside the room that Gaius could hear. "Lissa, my darling, I do not approve of that man but if you insist...I will be civil as I can allow myself. I don't do this to make you unhappy."

She sounded a bit muffled, but Gaius caught most of Lissa's reply. "I know, just try please." There was a hum of agreement and something a bit quieter he couldn't hear properly. He knew he'd stayed much longer than he needed to however.

Gaius silently pushed himself off the wall and made barely-there steps down the hall the way he'd come. Instinctively, he held his breathing back to keep the noise down as low as possible. It wasn't until he reached a farther away, more open area that he let out a sigh. That was probably a good a sign as any that he should try and get some rest.

His path back led him down another hallway—one he expected to be dark, but instead there was one door cracked open, a dim light pooling out from there. There was no more eavesdropping in his plans and he hoped to avoid it altogether. He crossed the door more openly this time, only stopped once he peeked a little instead. It looked like Robin had borrowed a study or library of some sort and made himself a home. Books and papers were strewn about with a large map pinned up on the wall with notes and markers in it to note various things that the tactician surely understood. It was all nonsense as far as Gaius could ascertain anyway.

Robin looked up for a moment, catching Gaius' form in the doorway. "What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked, putting his pen down for the moment.

"I could ask you the same question, Bubbles. You should be sleeping," Gaius replied and let himself into the room. That was as much as an invitation as any.

The tactician sighed heavily. He looked tired—more so than usual—with his hair in a mess tied at the back of his head. It seemed like he was working even harder every time Gaius came to visit. "There's a lot to do. I'll sleep before too much longer."

"Soon?"

"Soon, Gaius. I can't leave this unfinished is all. I want to have studied it fully," Robin insisted, looking very slightly annoyed. Gaius let it go. The man was stressed on top of being tired.

"Easy, you gotta do your thing. I get it. Shepherd-ly duties, everything for Chrom and all. I guess we all got that."

Robin raised an eyebrow, his head tilted very slightly. "I suppose that you do." He fell quiet for a moment before his eyes narrowed. It was that seeking look again. "Is there something on your mind?"

He had a way of hitting things right center target. Gaius crossed his arms and tried to avoid Robin's gaze, but wound up giving in. "Yeah, I was kinda thinking about what happened out there in the ravine."

"It was not my best showing, but we did pull through. I do understand there was some trouble."

Leave it to Robin to be completely in the loop already. He must have spoken with Lissa or Lon'qu already. Gaius nodded and waited a moment, trying to find the right words for this. "I was thinking...you left just me and the Super Swordsman to covering the Princess out there. Was that on purpose?"

There came another sigh from the tactician as he closed his eyes for a moment. His gaze soon fixed back on Gaius once he spoke up. "It was. I admit, I underestimated the defense the enemy would put up that direction and I apologize, but the three of you together was on purpose. I know Chrom has requested Lon'qu look after Lissa and you've been training with him as well. I assumed you two would know how the other moves better than anyone else so I thought you might play well off each other. Is that incorrect?"

Gaius immediately recalled his motion to rescue Lissa and how quickly Lon'qu took out the threat after. Did he know he was going to do that after all?

"No...I guess that's probably about right."

Silence fell over the room for what felt like an uncomfortable lifetime before Robin said anything else. "I heard you were hurt pretty badly during that battle though. I apologize for that personally...I should have had more foresight." The weight in Robin's voice would have sunk a ship on its own. Gaius couldn't help letting out a groan. He didn't deserve that at all.

"It's fine, Bubbles, seriously. We're all gonna get hurt out there eventually. It really wasn't that bad."

"Still...All I can do is apologize. I admit I was not at my best at that moment. Someone has to keep this army together and yet even I couldn't do it properly when it counted."

"Jeez, you're being way too hard on yourself," Gaius began as carefully as he could. Robin looked unwell, but at least he wasn't crushed yet. He wasn't sure if he could help much if it got that bad. He didn't think he could really even help at this point, but not trying would probably be worse. "Look, you do something nobody else can do. I mean, did you even hear yourself calming Blue down earlier? You knocked it out, Bubbles. We're all kinda counting on you here and all, but you know, we're supporting you too. So...relax a little. You got all us."

Robin gave him an odd smile. "I suppose that was part of my point, wasn't it?"

"It was. Even I figured it out. It's gotta be pretty simple if a guy like me can work it out."

Finally Robin cracked and laughed a bit. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?"

"Yup. You got it under control now though, I think. If you get some sleep anyway. Getting sleep deprived is a good way to start saying weird stuff."

"I might be a bit on the tired side. You're trying to push me to bed now though, if I'm not mistaken."

"You got that right too. Just looking at your mug is making me feel kinda like nodding off too."

There was another soft chuckle from Robin before he closed his book and stood. "Not the best way to put it, but if anyone found out you were the one nagging me I'm not sure I could live it down." The tactician moved around the table to stand at Gaius' side, giving him a slight smile.

"I'm watching out for you, anybody would do it," he replied a bit put off by his own reputation for once.

"No, you certainly do your own part around here, Gaius. I do recognize you're working hard. Thank you."

"I don't do anything for thanks, it's just..."

"Just?"

"Just...what you do. I guess it's more like...we're all relying on each other, huh?"

Robin cracked a knowing smile at that nodding his head and politely leading the way out as Gaius joined. "We do. We fight and work together and get a little closer. It forms those bonds the Shepherds have stronger than anything else. We're here for each other, that is why we won't lose at the end," he said more confidently this time. "I'll make mistakes, we'll all make mistakes, but we have the strength together to pull each other through."

As Gaius strolled at Robin's side, he hummed more thoughtfully. It was pretty close to what Robin had said earlier to everyone, but now he felt himself thinking on the idea a bit harder. "So you're saying all strength comes outta having people to count on?"

"Well, partly. There's physical strength too. Strength of the mind, strength of will, the strength in one's ideals, the strength to protect someone or something too. I think all those factors play a part in strength in general. But the power of this army lies in our bonds. I think the other pieces...those may be a bit more individual..." He stopped there and shook his head. "Maybe I don't have a clear answer for you right now. Our battle with Gangrel coming up will tell us a lot more about where our strength lies together and apart, I believe. Once we've defeated him and made it back home come ask me again about it. For now, I am relying on everyone together as a whole, but apart as their own person with their own strengths as well."

Gaius wasn't entirely sure he understood it just yet. Maybe he was tired too, but he could at least try. "Gotcha. It's a deal. You owe me one class on all this stuff."

"Agreed." Robin came to a halt with a smile, his decided place to stay the night here. "For now you should get some rest as well, Gaius."

"No problem. See ya' later, Bubbles," he said easily, giving him a wave over his shoulder and continuing on his way. He heard the door shut softly and felt more sure the man had actually gone to get some sleep. He looked like he was dying for it at that point.

One more good deed done. That might have been pushing it, but Gaius was a touch proud anyway. They didn't need their tactician falling asleep mid-battle.

Robin's words still rung around in his head as he continued on to where he would be sleeping. The reason they succeeded was because they shared this bond? He remembered Lissa's words in the room earlier and the way Lon'qu counted on him out there in the ravine. Even Olivia had included him right in with the rest of the Shepherds like it were naturally so. Maybe there was some kind of connection there.

There had to be a way to connect with them all, even if they didn't trust him at first. The thought spurred some confidence in his mind. At the end they would hold together and he stood a chance.