A/N: Sorry for the mega-long wait, I was working on another story and this kinda got put back onto the side burner. This is going to be kinda short to see how many people are still reading and all, but I'll try to get the other chapters up sooner then this one, 'k? Anyway, glad that you all seemed to like the last chapter, and sorry about the poker scene. I have recently learned that no, a flush does not beat a four of a kind. So I supose Shinon should have won. But, well, this is Fire Emblem. And Soren PWNS. Any questions?
Thank you for all the input! It was so helpful to see so many different comments on only two chapters! I've put in a few changes and I'll explain why Mia was crying in the previous chapter. I'm still not sure how long this is going to be; this is not the last chapter though.
Soren ran after Mia, the dark hall seeming to grow longer then it was before, and darker. The already dim lights flickering with an almost synical feel to it all. Soren could hear Mia's footsteps as she retreated down the hall, heading towards her room. Soren's robes fluttered out behind him, and he looked like a ghost (admitedly a black ghost), or maybe a wraith, as he ran. Mia wasn't really trying, Soren could tell. Or else he could never have been able to catch up to her as he did, grabbing her arm as she ran, nearly tripping both of them.
As it was, he stumbled as if his legs struggled to keep up with his brain, half tripping, half stopping. Mia looked at him, tear still etched down her face. Soren found himself staring at her, just staring. Not quite sure what to say, and no sure what he could say even if he had any words left in him. The usually fast paced, quick witted archsage was at a loss for words. What did one say to a girl who ran away from you in tears? What could you say? So, trying to just break the akward silence, Soren put his hands akwardly on Mia's shoulders.
"Mia... I didn't mean that we couldn't see each other or anything... I, uh..." Yes, the archsage of the Greil Mercenaries was at a loss for words. Mentally swearing enough to match Shinon, Soren felt something inside him die inside when Mia looked down (since when had he cared? Since when had he felt anything?). "M-Mia? What's wrong?" Mia looked up now, giving Soren a small, faint smile.
"N-Nothing Soren... I guess I just c-couldn't deal with what you were saying." The smile was bigger now, but fake. Soren could tell easily that the trueblade was trying to make him feel better. Why? Why would anyone want to make him, a Branded (filthy, blasphamy of the goddess' order), feel better? Soren had frozen during the time it took to think that over, and Mia gave him a worried look, puzzling him even more. She was worried about him? No one was worried about him, ever... "Are you ok? Did I say something?" Mia asked, her voice tinged with worry. Soren shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Why were you crying?" He asked, deciding to wonder why someone would care about him (only Ike had ever done that, and Ike was unlike any other beorc Soren had ever met) another time in another place. Mia rubbed her eyes for a second, clearing them. She looked at Soren's red eyes and bit her lip before replying.
"Well... I guess to someone like you it would be a stupid reason... I really shouldn't waste your time, if you don't want to see me-" Mia turned away, about to leave and Soren found himself grabbing her shoulders with his hands and yanking her around again.
"Mia I really do want to see you! I-I don't know why I didn't want to before... I'm just not used to being... Being..." Soren found himself struggling for words and mentally swearing. What made Mia different from any other person? Why couldn't he just control his damn self? Mia's eyes were larger then usual, the orbs gleaming in the torch light.
"You're trying to say friends, aren't you?" Soren wasn't used to being at a loss for words, so he just shrugged, looking at the floor. Mia was a friend, right? Soren thought over what a friend was. Was it just someone you 'hung out' with? Was it something more? Soren couldn't quite say.
Mia hesitated, seeing Soren. She had gotten upset, too upset, when he said he didn't really want to see her anymore. But goddess! Was she supposed to stand there like she had done in times before, letting the other person walk away? Her friends had left when she took up a sword, leaving her alone. And then she went through the army; well she was talented but nobody really respected her. Nobody could see past the fact she was a women and she was always stuffed into the 'safe' areas, her sword growing dull and her mind wondering if she should just leave.
Then the Greil Mercenaries, Ike. Ike treated her like a real person, sparring with her daily. Rhys had been a small mistake; of course the frail priest couldn't use a sword! But Mia was able to stay friends with him, so she supposed that seperation, the end of that little joint, wasn't so bad. Not like the others.
Mia hesitated before moving, her hand slipping under Soren's chin (she was taller then him, she realized) and gently forcing him to look up at her, his bright red eyes no longer startling her. At first they had; she had never seen a color so fibrant, and Soren's personality at first left something to desire. But if you took the time to look at them, look deeply, you could see a real person behind the cold wall Soren put up.
"Soren, we're friends; right? I consider you one, if that means anything to you." Soren opened his mouth but didn't say anything, closing it promptly after. The archsage's arms fell to his sides, dangling there like he wasn't quite sure how to continue. Mia gave him a small smile. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm always going to be there and all... And I was wondering if, maybe, you could always be there to help me?" Mia wondered if she sounded too much like a small child talking to their parents; would Soren even take her seriously? Soren blinked slowly, his red eyes regarding her carefully.
"I can understand what you're saying but... Why me? I'm not what you're looking for Mia, I can't be a constant for you." So, turning back to his room, Soren started to walk away. Mia stood still, stunned. Soren, at the turn in the hall paused. "Although I will see you tomorrow morning at dawn...And Mia?" Soren didn't turn around as he spoke, but he was slightly hunched over.
"Yeah?" Mia replied, wondering what the archsage was thinking. He could be a constant for her! Mia knew that, he knew that. So why wasn't he offering her some support? Wasn't he the one who thought team-work would help on the battlefield?
"I... I wanted to thank you. You've let me have some... Interesting insights in the past day. Good night." With that, Soren walked away, his footsteps fading into the dim torch light, leaving Mia standing outside of her door. Mia swallowed; what insights could she have given Soren? Then, opening her door softly, she murmured,
"Good night Soren. Sleep well." And walked inside.
Soren fingered his tome lightly, the cool morning barely warmed by his white archsage robes. He had decided that, in the heat of the month, his old black robes weren't nearly as pratical. And, in the colder mornings, his archsage robes were slightly heavier so he wasn't as cold. Although, Soren admitted to himself, it was still colder then he wished it was. His back was to the fort so he jumped in surprise when he heard Mia's voice come out of what felt like nowhere.
"Hya Soren! Glad to see you decided to come!" Soren turned to face Mia, his heart pounding several times faster from the shock (only the shock Soren, nothing more). His face was still smooth and calm, but he raised an eyebrow at her different sword. "Yeah, I decided I use a steel sword all the time so I should learn how to use a different one too! Its a steel blade; harder to make and more dangerous but a lot harder to use! Are yah ready?" Mia was grinning and enthusiastic, as usual. Like nothing had happened. Soren wondered how she could keep it up so easily.
"Good. I brought a new tome too, instead of elwind... I believe you have seen an elfire tome before?" Mia thought for a few moments before remembering seeing Tormod running around after he had set fire to a few tents. The trueblade nodded, eager to start training against a new kind of weapon. "Well elfire is more dangerous the elwind in certain ways. I just want to make sure you realize that you can get burnt by elfire; badly burnt." Soren told Mia. It wasn't like he didn't want her to feel the full force of his tome, he just knew the Mercenaries couldn't afford to have both of their sword-users out at the same time.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on Soren, let's fight!" Mia easily jumped over the fence that surrounded the training area, brandishing her sword. Soren walked to the other end where he had set a mend staff, just in case. "Are you ready?" Mia called out, her voice easily carrying across the area. Soren nodded and Mia charged, her sword in front of her, ready to strike. Soren chanted and twirled around; elfire blasted out of nowhere and singed Mia. The quick and nimble trueblade had been expecting it. She started by a slash to the ribs which Soren quickly dodged.
He had expected that too... They were getting to know each other's styles well, Soren noted. Soren wasn't fast enough to start another spell and this time Mia's blade hit him; a solid blow to his right leg with the flat of her blade. Soren stumbled backwards, only avoiding the follow-up blow by sheer luck. Soren spun around and hit Mia with elfire in return, the heat blasting away any morning mist that lingered. The fire ended quickly though, but Mia came out with several burns.
"Do you still want to continue?" Soren asked. Mia's response was to try to hit him in the arm with the flat of her blade, causing him to drop his tome. Taking that for a 'yes', Soren backed up and attempted another elfire. Mia dodged out of the way, although both her clothes and the ground seemed to have smoke comming off it. Mia lunged forward, the tip of her blade slicing into Soren's middle. Gasping in pain, Soren backed up even further (he was close to the fence now, not much more room behind him) and fingered the wound for a second.
Not big enough to worry about, good. He lept to the side as Mia's sword occupied the spot he just was, the blade nicking the hem of his robes. Shouting his spell as quickly as he dared, Soren was just able to hit Mia as she retreated a few feet. The trueblade's hair was a mess, as was her clothes. She had several burn marks on her arms, and her clothes were darker in some places. Soren couldn't see himself looking much better. He was gasping for air now, the quick movement and spell-casting wearing him out quicker then usual.
Damn; he needed to practice with fire tomes more often. Taking in a deep breath, Soren ended their short rest period with a quick elfire. Mia rolled forward, avoiding the blow but Soren was able to back up in the time it took her to get back up and get her sword into a ready position. Soren had to take several more deep breaths but the second one was stopped when Mia launched a sudden attack at him, nearly skewering him on her sword. As it was, his side went from perfectly fine to having a huge gash in it within seconds.
Instantly the friendly trial mood was broken, Mia's eyes growing wide. Soren fell to the ground in pain, stars running around his eyes. Damn... He wasn't used to being hit like that before, but the logical part of his brain said it was good for him to experience some pain some time or another. The other part of his brain was too busy dealing with the pain. Mia was saying something, but all Soren could see was the growing red spot on the ground and on his side; it was like he was just shutting down.
Mia was panicing, her steel blade dropp on the ground. Ike never acted like this on the rare occasion Mia landed a solid blow on him, but Soren wasn't as tough as Ike. She should have seen that, but now the archsage was bleeding to death right in front of her. Rhys? No, he was too far away and still asleep. Mist? No, she was also asleep and it was doubtful she could even heal something this large if she was still tired. Wait, the mend staff leaning against the fence! Mia ran over to it quickly, picking it up carefully.
She didn't know how to use one, she used swords. But Soren did, maybe he could heal himself! Mia ran back (seemingly) even faster. The blood flow was slowing down, though Mia wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Maybe it was clotting, or maybe Soren was just running out of blood to loose. Either way, Mia knew they couldn't have much time left. Shoving the staff into Soren's hands, Mia said,
"Come on Soren! Use it!" Soren's red eyes were fainter then usual, or was it just her? Soren's usualy pale skin was now chalky white, and fading as she looked at him. He looked so small, so frail. Was he always so tiny? Soren's eyes met her's and she begged him to use the staff. "Please Soren! Come on! You can't die; Ike'll never forgive me!" And I'll never forgive myself. It was a silent oath that Mia made, this was all her fault anyway. Why in the world did she act like Soren was Ike? Nobody was like Ike, and Soren wasn't nearly as fast or strong.
"M-Mia..." Soren was gasping for air. Mia put a hand over Soren's mouth.
"No, don't talk. Use the staff! Come on! Soren!" Mia shook the archsage softly as he raised his hand and muttered something under his breath. The staff glowed blue and Mia could see the wound in his side heal. The blood stayed though, and Soren passed out quickly after. Sighing now that the moment of panic was over, Mia felt her heart slow down again. It being obvious Soren couldn't just stay there, Mia put her sword back on her belt and tucked Soren's elfire tome into her belt as well. Wincing from her burns, she grunted as she picked Soren up. He wasn't very heavy, sure, but it was more akward then she thought to hold him in her arms.
Still, akward or not, they both probably needed to see a healer. So Mia started the long way to the fort (and Rhys' room, asleep or not), half stumbling, half walking.