Genres/Rating: Friendship, Action/Adventure, History. (T)

Characters: Warin, Gilbert, Ashe, Petra.

Summary: They were tied together for two reasons, one to find his missing liege, and the other to fulfil a promise, five long years in the making. Though their motives differed, their paths lay side by side, and for the moment, that was enough of a reason for the trio to travel together. It would be a surprise, then, when they realized that they were not only hunting, but also were acting the role of prey for another that they had all believed was long gone from their world.

Ethereal Moon

Garreg Mach Territory Outskirts

Dusk

"So, he truly is circling back for the monastery after all... It seems that you were correct with your assumptions, young Ashe. I must congratulate you." Gilbert sighed tiredly as he leaned on his lance and took pause for a moment to catch his breath, glancing forward at the ruins of the monastery that were only now peeking out above the forest that he and the other two former students with him had been travelling through on foot for the past several days. Their movements had been heavily restricted due to the fear of being spotted by the Imperial troops that were still watching over the monastery, but their intelligence, however sparse, had already told them that the troops were a mere token force. The Emperor had more important things for her men to be focussing on rather than the wreckage of the abandoned monastery, but both he and Ashe had wondered if this would change considering the upcoming date, and all that it entailed. It wasn't as if the promise had been a secret, there had been no need for such things then, but did it matter to her, or would her mind be preoccupied with the war? It was gamble they all were taking, but one that had been agreed upon almost unanimously when the old knight had stumbled upon the two Blue Lions only a moon earlier in their travels during his search.

"I don't deserve any praise, Sir Gilbert. When I considered the date, it all made sense." Ashe refused the praise with a shake of his head, and though he stopped as Gilbert had, his bright, green eyes continued to scan his surroundings unceasingly. It had been long years since he had stepped foot in the forest surrounding the monastery, and while it didn't seem to have changed much since his days as a student... He still found himself on edge despite being in such familiar territory. How many times had he and his former comrades ran training drills in this very forest until their arms and legs ached with exhaustion and exertion? So many. It made his chest ache and his hand tighten on the handle of his bow without thinking as he mumbled to himself, "He may not realize it, but... Perhaps he is also remembering the promise, and that's why he's being drawn here."

A gentle hand placed itself on his shoulder and squeezed, and Ashe fought a smile at the comforting touch as he glanced over to see Petra watching him with concern painted clearly across her face. Her reddish brown eyes were watching his face worriedly, and he had to admit he was more grateful than ever that she had been the first old teammate he had ran into when he had abandoned Kingdom territory in order to return to Garreg Mach. He had found her just as he had been, travelling alone and trekking across the wild for the monastery, and while their reunion had been short, he had to admit he couldn't have been happier to see her, even if he had been momentarily caught off guard by how much five years had changed her.

But couldn't the same be said for him? The five years of endless war had to have changed all of them. He was sure of it. He had grown taller and stronger, his hand steadier with a bow and a lance, and even his riding skills had improved vastly since his days as a student. He was well on his way to knighthood, even if the Kingdom was in no state for such things, and it made him both proud and profoundly sad. All of the teaching he had received, all of the training and the encouragement and the kindness had not been wasted, and though their professor was gone, he had still taken everything she had given to him to heart. It was why he had chosen to return, leaving his post in the north when that day had started to come too close to ignore any longer, and he knew Petra was not the only one who would be following in his footsteps.

Finding Petra had reassured him of that. When she had been questioned on why she was so far from Brigid, why she was alone in enemy territory, her answer had been refreshingly simple. She had made a promise, just as he had, and she was following her duty by returning, just as he was, to where it had all really begun for them. They did not know, nor did they really care, if they would be the only ones to return... but the sight of one another had lifted their spirits. Perhaps they all would come, their former classmates and friends, but what would happen afterwards was still a mystery. It was not as if they were not already fighting. They all had been, ever since the war had begun and Garreg Mach had fallen to the Empire. The Kingdom was broken, crippled by the coup, but it was not yet defeated. Not yet.

The smile came easily enough as he took Petra's hand in his own and squeezed, and her skin felt warm underneath his callused fingers as she offered a smaller, much more gentler smile at his contact. It made his face redden, reminding him that for the past moon she had been his constant, and only, companion in their travels, and he was quick to remember himself before he was scolded for touching the future queen of Brigid so casually. It was not good for a future knight to forget his place no matter how close they were, and worse, he could feel Gilbert watching them rather searchingly as he scrambled to maintain his composure as he reassured his friend, "It's okay, Petra. I think we'll be fine. And I think we'll find him, and the others, too."

"I am having the same belief. I just do not want you to be worrying, Ashe. We have come far together already. There is only of little more to go." Petra's reply was easy, and as gentle as her smile as he dropped his hand and turned away from her with his ears burning through his silver-grey hair. It amused her, how easily embarrassed he seemed to be over the smallest things, but she knew now was not the time to be teasing him. In any other circumstances she may have, but Gilbert's appearance into their lives had changed their light-hearted routine vastly. He was on the hunt, unlike their promise, and the news he had brought had shaken the two soldiers to their core. He still did not quite believe his own words, which only left Petra and Ashe wondering, but if he had come so far alone... There had to be some truth to what he had seen, and what he believed.

"I think it is time we continue. We can travel faster underneath the darkness... and it is still two more days before the date of the Millennium Festival." Gilbert spoke up as he watched the two friends interacting with a hint of a smile playing across his creased face. It was pleasant to see, even in the stress of wartime, how the youth managed to shoulder both the burden of being a soldier while still embracing their love for life. He had grown far too old for such things, but he could admit freely that he was glad they were not falling into a veteran's old ways, even if they were battle-hardened themselves already. Perhaps it was their age, or their hope that made them that way, but he knew better than to wish it gone. It had carried them this far over the past five years, and he hoped it would carry them all the farther as he mused, "Should we continue at our current pace, we shall arrive there by nightfall of tomorrow... With time to spare for your friends to arrive with you, should they also be coming."

"They will be, Gilbert. I don't doubt it. All of them will come." Ashe reassured the much older knight, and he felt nothing but optimism and certainty at the thought of all of his friends. They would be there at the promised time, on the promised day. He knew they would be, even if it meant abandoning their posts that they currently were holding during the fighting with the Imperial forces up north. They all had their duties, their lives, but they had also been tied tightly together by what had happened to them five years ago. If he had come this far.. If Petra had come this far... He did not doubt the others would likewise be following closely behind. They were Blue Lions no longer, not with the monastery gone... but they still all remained their professor's students. It bound them more tightly together than anything else could have, and his expression was serious and grave as he met Gilbert's stare and told him firmly, "We made a promise. Everyone will be there."

"It's good to see your optimism, lad. Then we shall-"

In a whirlwind, everything changed as Gilbert spoke, and it happened almost too fast for the eye to see. Out of the foliage came a sharpened gauntlet, and the nicked, but still keenly hewn blade slid almost effortlessly underneath Gilbert's armour to press against his throat. As Ashe's bow raised at the sight of the threat, a lance came flying from the same place as the gauntlet, knocking it uselessly aside and leaving him scrambling before he realized that their older comrade was being held at the point of blade and could not move to defend himself, or either of them. Only Petra remained with a weapon in hand, and she growled a curse under her breath as she changed stance almost instantly to face this unknown threat. But Gilbert's situation held her still just as it did Ashe, making her eyes flare with both anger and frustration, and she snarled into the woods at their unseen enemy, "Coward! Show yourself rather than hide like a snake and fight as a man!"

The challenge went unmet for a moment, and then their foe stepped out of the trees, his gauntlet still raised level with Gilbert's throat as he forced the knight to move backwards against the threat of having his throat sliced open by his bladed weapon. Cool, calm navy eyes held Gilbert's surprised stare as the gauntlet finally lowered, and the two former students looked to one another uncertainly as they were entirely ignored as the man responsible knelt down for his lance and picked it up in one smooth movement. He spoke idly, almost conversationally, as he rolled his head from side to side and retracted the blades on his gauntlets with a press of a button, "You're getting slower, Gilbert. If the kids hadn't been here, your head would have been on the ground already. Not a good look for a former Knight of Seiros."

"Warin... You're alive?" Gilbert wasn't quite sure what else to say as he took in the young man who had went missing shortly after his little sister had disappeared, but his eyes were not failing him, and he was sure Jeralt's eldest son was indeed the one standing in front of him now. He looked worn, ragged, but there was little doubt it was him. His clothes were dirty and his armour was dented and nicked in several places, and there were dark stains on his leather cloak that the experienced knight of the Kingdom knew for a fact were blood rather than evidence of travel. He had acquired a colder, harder edge to his face, as well as a prominent scar slicing down the side of his throat and disappearing underneath his collar, but it was him all the same. Those gauntlets were one-of-a-kind, specially forged by and for the man in front of him, and Gilbert had fought beside him long enough to know that nothing but death would have separated the former mercenary from his beloved weapons. "Where have you been? The Knights searched for you, after the fall of Garreg Mach... but they could not find you. We assumed you were dead."

"They weren't the only ones looking for me. I was running. Have been for the past five years." Warin's answer came curtly as he checked his gauntlets to ensure every blade had retracted properly before he hooked his lance back over his shoulder and into his belt so it would not be of bother to him. His weapons hadn't seen proper care for ages, and he was due to have them looked over or completely scrapped, but it was of little mind to him as glanced from Gilbert astonished glance and to the eyes of his sister's former students. Ashe was looking at him as if he had seen a ghost, but Petra had yet to drop her axe and was looking him over with suspicion and anger painted across her face. It almost made him smile. It made sense she would be more vigilant than the other two, considering he had just proved that he could have had all three of them dead and in the ground with complete ease, but he ignored her as he looked back to Gilbert and continued idly, "Little Miss Empress apparently considered me such a threat to her goals that I've been named one of the few men to be killed on sight by any and all of the Imperial Army should I be found. I've seen the orders on the strike teams I've slaughtered. She offered quite a bounty. I suppose I should be honoured."

Ashe looked from Gilbert and back to Warin in astonishment, but he knew almost immediately that there was no lie on the older man's face. He looked like a hunted animal, even if his eyes were as hard as stone, and his expression colder than the ice of the north. He looked as if he had been fighting for five whole years without a moment of peace, and from the state of his armour and his weaponry, Ashe wondered if he had truly been alone, alone and fighting, for all of that time. His professor's brother had always been a cold and distant man, but now there was an edge to him, a sharpness that could only come with harsh, unending trials, and Ashe had seen that look many times in his youth as a thief. This was a man who had been fighting for his life for far too long, and knew no other way of how to do so but through violence. It made him sad, both for him and for his sister, and his voice was quiet, muted with sympathy as he asked weakly, "You've truly... been on the run for five years? Fighting, for five whole years? All by yourself, Sir Warin?"

"Give or take a few moons. The Empress apparently doesn't take criticism very well. I think I made her and her little mage friend angry when last we spoke in Garreg Mach." Warin answered with a careless shrug, but the fire in eyes proved that even if he was speaking casually of what had happened to him since he had last been seen by any of them that it had not been an easy venture for him to have gone through. He was world-weary, moreso than he had been when he had arrived in the monastery, and the past five years had not been easy to him. He had had no allies, and had only known the hunt. Being chased down no matter where he went, endangering anyone and everyone he saw should he dare to take a step into a village that had even one Imperial soldier there to see him, and being forced to kill every squadron of soldiers who had been unlucky enough to find him and challenge him, even after numerous attempts to let them go to spare their families the pain of the coming slaughter. But it was much easier to shrug it away, to speak idly and lightly, than it was to ruminate too deeply on it... He had earned it, after all. He was well aware that he had.

"Ah, I see... So, you've come straight to me, then. That spares me time." Hubert's eyes were alight with bloodlust, and dark flames crackled in his right hand as he stood fearlessly at the foot of the staircase to block Warin's path forward. His expression was a sadistic and cruel smile, clearly pleased with the way the battle had been going, especially if one of his main targets had come right to him and vastly expedited the process of destroying him. He had his orders, and was perfectly happy, glad, almost, to be able to carry them out. And it showed as his fingers crackled with the magical sparks that danced about his skin as he mused, "I would almost call it a gift; you seeking me out like this."

Warin didn't bother him with a reply right away, and instead merely clenched and unclenched his hands as he looked over his surroundings. He had the height advantage, but Hubert was flanked by two other mages in Imperial armour, and farther behind were more soldiers that he would need to tear his way through once he was finished with him. It didn't concern him however, especially as he shrugged his shoulders back and errantly wiped away a streak of blood that his last enemy foolish enough to block his path had left him as a parting gift. He was not at all surprised by Hubert's announcement, nor the near happiness he was showing at their coming clash, but he couldn't quite help himself as he questioned lazily, "Let me guess... Your master wants me dead?"

"Indeed she does. You are a threat to her goals... And therefore must be eliminated." Hubert found no reason to not entertain his prey, at least for the moment. He was a strong soldier, and would have been the perfect ally, but Edelgard had already come to the conclusion that he was a lost cause, and worse, a very real threat to her dream. It was only natural that she would wish him removed, and Hubert's only regret was that he had not acted first to remove him from the equation far before this stage of their plan had been enacted. Still, he couldn't say that meeting him in open combat would be terrible, as it was at least a chance to rectify his mistake as he told him flatly, "I will kill you myself for her, as I should have done before."

Warin's lips twitched into a smile as he watched the mages behind Hubert readying themselves at their master's orders... Of course Hubert would not come at him in a one-on-one battle. He was too clever for that, and too wary. Warin however did not mind. He had faced worse disadvantages before, and he was quite used to fighting magic-blessed opponents. It had almost become a talent of his, fighting against larger numbers, and against the magically inclined who suffered greatly in hand -to-hand combat. They needed distance and room, and he was currently in the exact position a mage could take great advantage of by being boxed into the stairwell. Still, he felt no concern. They didn't know him half as well as they thought if they believed he was already beaten, and he told them so with a cold little chuckle, "It won't be that easy."

"Now!"

Warin leapt the moment Hubert gave the order, and the blades on his gauntlets sprang free as he went flying over the mages' heads to have their back as the spot where he had been standing moments before was lit up in flames. The blades whistled as he swung his arms, and in an instant he had two mages on the ground, bleeding profusely as their backs split open underneath his sudden assault. Hubert was faster, turning and leaping away from him, but Warin had already anticipated that he would not fall nearly as easily as his own lackeys. He was stronger and smarter, but he was also proud... and Warin used that to his advantage as he shook the blood from his gauntlets and stepped forward, forcing Hubert to back up into the stairwell, "You know what will be easy, though? Putting a lance through your skull. Yours, and your mistress's. I don't fear you. You, or any of the people you're scraping before for power. But I will kill you. The lot of you. And I'll enjoy every minute of it."

"Impertinent...!" Hubert's teeth ground together as he sent out a fireball, only to watch as Warin took it head-on, crossing his gauntlets in front of his face to take the blow and guard himself from the majority of the blast. It barely made him flinch, and Hubert felt an icy chill go down as his spine as he wondered just how deeply he, too, had misjudged the elder child of the Blade Breaker. He had known him to be arrogant but powerful, but this was something beyond that. No, as Warin dropped his gauntlets, watching him with coldly amused eyes... Hubert knew better. Arrogance came from ignorance. This was not arrogance. It was confidence. He was the better fighter... and he knew it.

Still. The insult could not go unmet. Hubert would not permit it. Confident or not, better fighter or not, he was still completely ignorant to the truth of the world. His lady had told him as such. He knew nothing, and was not inspired to learn more, or willing to change it. He was a coward and a nihilist. An insult to all that his lady stood for. He needed to die. Hubert could not allow for his existence. His majesty's orders were absolute. He raised his hand again, eyes narrowing as again those dark flames began to wreath his wrist and fingers. He was not like the soldiers he had brought with him. He was stronger, faster... He would not go down so easily now that he was aware of the extent of the threat Warin truly was.

"Too slow."

Hubert fell back with a snarl of pain, his cheek laid open almost to the bone from Warin's bladed gauntlets before he could even blink to realize the older man had covered the distance between them in a single bound before slicing down. It was a superficial wound despite the pain, Hubert had taken too many blows to overestimate his own injuries, but he still cursed quietly as the blood flowed freely down his face to stain his collar as proof of his misstep. He pressed against the wound with his free hand, eyes flashing with anger even as he understood with a painful clench to his gut that he was not going to be able to win.

Warin's eyes were alight with that cold, cruel mirth that made Hubert's spine stiffen and his skin crawl as he watched the dawning comprehension in his enemy's eyes. It was what he had been looking for. For that composed and arrogant facade to come crumpling down as he realized how useless he truly was against an actual soldier. He stepped forward as Hubert backed away from him, still hissing with pain and defiance that the older man ignored entirely as he took his turn to muse, "You're not used to fighting in true combat, are you? No, your methods are underhanded and shadowed, like some sort of stage-hand assassin. You don't know what it is to fight in real combat. To have your life constantly on the line, and one wrong move is all it takes to cost you everything. No, you're too used to slinking about in the shadows and taking your opponents in the dark, before they can fight back and beat you down. You're pathetic. You learned nothing here. You'll never beat me."

"Even if you should win here...! It matters not! I will chase you to the ends of the world until you are cold and buried! You will never know a moment's peace! I will never stop hunting you! You... You and all those like you... shall not be permitted to live in our new world."

"Why are you coming out of hiding now, then?" Gilbert's voice brought him back to the present, away from that moment he knew his fate had been sealed for catching the mage's ire so personally, and Warin looked back up at him with a carefully calculated stare. Of course the veteran knight would question his motives, especially after he had all but turned himself into a ghost for the past five years. His sudden reappearance was fair to question, even though Warin was aware the answer had to be obvious to others, even if it wasn't to his former fellow knight. But, he supposed, that wasn't really Gilbert's fault. It wasn't as if he had tried to ingratiate himself with the man when he had joined the Knights. He hadn't tried to be friendly with anyone. They only knew one another as soldiers, and barely as men.

Warin nodded towards the two young soldiers behind him who had now completely relaxed, even if Brigid's princess was still looking over him with sharp suspicion bright in her eyes. She didn't like the fact that she had been caught off guard so easily, especially with Ashe in tow, but he didn't mind her ire. It was only further proof of the fact that she was putting Ashe's safety above her own, just as she had been taught to do by his sister. Though he had seen her kinder glances from afar when he had been watching the trio earlier, and he was well aware it was nowhere near as innocent as friendship. It never was, even if Ashe was not yet ready to know or even think of such a thing yet. He answered the question with an idle shrug as he leaned back comfortably on the nearest tree, secure in the knowledge that the area was empty, and his sister's former students could handle anything if they chose to fight with him, "I'm here for the same reason as the kids are. I knew Raine made a promise with them. I'm here to see how many of her students hold to it. Two is better than none, though I am hoping for more numbers."

"More numbers... What are you planning, Warin?" Gilbert was unsure of what to think of the younger man's words, and it caught him quite off guard to hear him speaking of arriving students as if they would of use to him in some way. Despite how gently he spoke his sister's name, there was still a cold hardness in his eyes, like he was constantly calculating and processing information, changing a plan that he was carrying in his head as new factors continued to pop up. It was a look he had seen on seasoned tacticians many a time, but Warin was not a tactician. He was lieutenant and a mercenary, a fighter, and the words of "numbers" concerned him deeply as he wondered what plan the assumed-to-be-dead man in front of him had been conjuring up during the last five years.

"I could ask you the same thing, Gilbert. How do you think I found you so easily? It wasn't you I was tracking back to the monastery." Warin's answer came brusquely, and his eyes took on a colder edge as he looked Gilbert over speculatively. He was not naive. He hadn't found Gilbert and his sister's students by chance. They weren't the object of his search, though it was good fortune he had found them all the same... He knew who and what Gilbert's loyalty truly was to, and it was not the two young soldiers who had chosen to follow him thus far to the monastery. He had been watching over that subject himself for the past moon, close enough to watch, but far enough to avoid detection... He had no desire whatsoever to actually interact with the man in question. It would end poorly, for the both of them, if he had to.

"Then, you've seen His Highness?"

"His Highness...? Is that what you're going to call him?" Warin had to scoff despite himself, and he felt his disgust making itself known on his face without his consent. Calling that beast "high highness" seemed to be the height of hypocrisy. That wasn't a noble man. It wasn't even human. Not after what Warin had seen him do. It hadn't been hard to track him, he had done the same to rabid wolves and bears during his time as a mercenary, and this was no different. Perhaps that was what made it easier for him to pull away from the horror, to think so calmly about it, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not as he spoke pointedly to the tangerine-haired man before him, "He's not a man anymore, Gilbert. He's an animal. I've seen the same things you have. I've even watched him do it. He might be alive, but any hopes you're having of bringing him home to Faerghus, you may as well drop right now. He isn't interested in becoming the focal point of uniting the Kingdom. All he wants is the Emperor's head on the end of his lance."

Gilbert hesitated for a reply as he saw the truth in Warin's eyes, but he knew there really was no choice in the matter for him. Hadn't he made the decision long ago, when he had first begun to suspect the truth behind Cornelia's lies? Even when he had come upon the horror himself... It was beyond him as a single man. It was for the good of the Kingdom entire, now, and it fell to him to find the truth, even if it was not one he wished to meet head-on. It did not matter if Warin was right. All that mattered was finding the rallying cry that the Kingdom needed to soldier onwards with, and he remarked quietly with a shake of his head, "It is fortunate then, that those two things will coincide..."

"You're a selfish arse, as well as a blind one. It's good to know that things don't change. Allow me to make things very clear to you, Gilbert... I couldn't care less about the Kingdom, or its delusional prince. I'm not here for either of those things. I've come to see who will stand against the Empire." Warin's voice dripped venom, and he shook his head as he mused that it really did not matter where the nobility came from. Their thoughts were all the same, and it was growing both tiresome, and extremely irritating to be exposed to it again and again in such times. It didn't matter... but he had long decided it was not his battle to fight any longer. He'd done enough. He could do no more. Not for them. "True, perhaps those things do coincide with one another, but it's best you remember where my priorities lie. If Fódlan's burning is unstoppable, I don't intend to risk my neck to try and smother the flames. It can burn to ashes, and the Emperor can rule for as long as she likes. She'll get a dagger in the back one way or another, in the end. It isn't my duty to save the world. I'm just a plain old mercenary."

Gilbert's eyes narrowed, and he was reminded of exactly why the Knights of Seiros had taken so coldly to the man in front of him at the end of the all the fighting. He had no loyalty to king or country, nor to Lady Rhea, and he had not been afraid to make that clear. When his father had died, he had lost his leash, and it have made every knight wary of him and his motives for remaining behind. Even if it was for his sister's protection, that did not endear him to his fellows. He was dangerous, to his enemies and to them, and no one trusted him and for good reason. Gilbert felt that same mistrust, especially now that Warin was voicing his thoughts so openly, so cruelly, yet his words were at odds with his actions, and he pointed that out with a cold glance of his own, "Yet you're hoping to find those willing to rebel?"

Warin turned away from him, as if he had had enough of chatting with the older knight who was clearly stuck in his ways. His eyes fell on Ashe, and the younger man snapped to attention despite having not yet been called upon. He couldn't quite help it, Warin's dark, navy eyes were commanding, and worse, they reminded him far too much of his professor. It felt instinctual to straighten his spine and stand at attention, waiting for orders even though he had no reason to believe they'd come or that he'd have to follow them. And Warin did not give him any, but instead merely gave him a question, though the weight behind his words were enough of a blow all the same when it came, "Let me ask you something, kid. Are you here for your king, or are you here for yourself?"

Ashe bit his tongue before he could answer, and he felt himself tear in two as he struggled to find the truth of what he wanted to say under that familiar, painful gaze of his professor's elder brother. He owed him the truth, though he admitted he wasn't entirely sure what the truth was. He had abandoned the Kingdom and its war to come to the monastery... That alone had to be answer enough. Yet it felt more complicated than that, and he winced as he thought of his friend, who he had mourned when he had heard he was dead, even when the circumstances were incredibly suspect. His words came slowly, hesitantly as he shook his head and stared at his boots, "I... I'm here... because I made a promise. A promise to someone very dear to me. Professor... She saved my life. More times than I can count. When I lost everything, and could have very well lost myself, as well... She was there to help me. I... I am not here for the Kingdom. I am here for her. For her and my friends."

Warin nodded, both pleased and grateful for the answer despite the way Ashe's shoulders slumped when he finished speaking. It was clear he was still torn, he wished to be a knight above everything and anything else, but his personal loyalties had come before his knightly duties, and knowing that was indeed a burden he had to carry. Warin however did not have time for his concerns, as his own were far more pressing, and he turned to Petra, who was still regarding him with a fair measure of suspicion and dislike in her adust eyes when his gaze fell on her. She, too, stiffened, and her hand tightened on her axe, but he ignored both as he questioned her simply, "And you, princess?"

"Brigid wishes to stand alone, and with pride... It cannot be doing so in the shadow of the Empire. And it cannot endure forever." Petra's reply came slower, and the weight of her duties to her country lay heavily on her shoulders. It hadn't just been loyalty that had kept her firmly rooted beside her professor when the Imperial Army had invaded Garreg Mach, there had been a fair amount of pragmatism at play, too, but that had been five years ago. Brigid still remained in a precarious position, just as her professor had predicted it would, but she did not regret her choice. It was a step on the path to being equals, to no longer being under the yoke of the Empire, and that was far more important than anything else. Yet... Ashe's words brought a small, painful smile to her face, and she shook her head, too, as she admitted wistfully, "But more than that... I am of like Ashe. Professor was kind, and strong... I wish to be like her. To follow of her footprints. To fight... for what I wish to be fighting for. Without having regrets."

"If the rest of your class proves to be of the same mind, then perhaps we can get somewhere. If not... I'll take what I can get. Alone, I can't do very much other than perhaps a suicide attempt at making for an assassination. With real numbers, a true, concentrated rebellion isn't impossible." Warin remarked with a roll of his shoulders, but he was pleased nonetheless by the answers he had gotten. Even five years later his sister's grasp on her students remained strong, and he was proud of her, and of the young man and woman in front of him who had admitted how deeply her influence had changed them. One year of teaching had been carved deep in their being... and he did not see that changing with the rest of the students she had taken under her wing. It was a good sign. A promising sign. And it gave him hope for the first time in five years since the hunt had begun, and he had found himself to be the prey for the first time in his life.

Gilbert however was unsure of what to think as he heard Petra and Ashe voice their true thoughts aloud for Warin to hear without very much hesitation or remorse. He had known why they were on their journeys, and why they had chosen to follow him as far as the monastery, but it still made him pause all the same. He had not known their professor long, though he did admit she was a rather singular creature, from the short time he had fought alongside her. She inspired hope and confidence, and was as stubborn as a mule, yet also as fearless as a lion. She made an impact on anyone she had met, and it was clear her brother was aware of that, and wished to take advantage, which made him wonder as he asked him openly so to hear the exact truth from his mouth, "You hope for a rebellion?"

"Don't you? Why else would you be tracking him, knowing what he's become and what he wants to do?" Warin's reply was biting, but it was also completely truthful and Gilbert could not deny it. He would not, as it would only make him a hypocrite, and Warin was more than aware of that as he explained with a bitter smirk and another scoff, "You want to use him as a figurehead, and if so, you're more than welcome to try. It won't be inspiring, and it'll likely scare off more men than you'll hope to have... but at least you have a legitimate claim to taking back the Kingdom, even if it's built on false hope. He won't rule. He can't rule. Trust me on that. Even if the whole of Faerghus was to rally behind him, he'd throw them mindlessly at the Empire until they all fell, and he along with them. If that's the man you're going to place your faith in... You're going to end up dead."

"Then who do we look to, if not the king?"

Warin shook his head, wondering what it would take to get through to the older man before him, and realizing that any attempt he made would never dent his will, or his feelings of loyalty. It almost disgusted him, how blind he was to everything but his liege, but there was little he could do about it. His own plans were far more important, but he couldn't leave Gilbert without an answer, even if it was so painfully obvious to him. He spoke sharply, no longer having the patience for his nonsense as he answered without preamble, "To yourselves. To your own will. You're a knight, not a slave. You don't need a king in order to hold yourselves together as one and come together for a greater purpose. You may need a leader for that, but anyone can become a leader if they're willing to take the burden. Find like-minded men. Arm yourselves. Steel your will. And march."

Ashe wondered at him as he listened intently to the exchange and heard the disgust dripping from Warin's voice, and a quick glance over at Petra proved that his words were ringing true with her as well. They were cold words, cruel words, but truthful all the same. He didn't need or want something to rally about when his goal was clear, and Ashe marvelled at his will. He hadn't thought beyond the day of the promise, but someone clearly had, and it gave him both hope and fear as he understood perhaps it was his way of stepping in for his sister. For doing what she would have done, had she been the one to survive and he had been the one to be lost. He had to ask though, had to hear the words, and his voice was quiet but earnest when he questioned, "Is that what you plan to do, Sir Warin? To find men like us... and fight?"

"It is. I haven't just been running around to avoid capture or battle for five years. I've searched for allies, too." Warin told him with a nod, and he reflected on all he had seen in his five years of travel and hunting, and what he now knew for certain. Claude had dismissed him outright when he had extended a hand, too busy with his plots and schemes and his own self-interest to listen, and so he had written off the Alliance leader without delay. But Claude was not the Alliance, and a cursory look about the fractured territory had told him all he had needed to know. The Empire was also in shambles, but Edelgard was hiding it much better under the threat of force, but there were dissidents, even if they were hiding so deep in the shadows that it seemed they were not there at all. The Kingdom had proven to be the most ferocious in their attempts to fight back the Empire's influence, and he had known without needing to search he would find allies there, if his sister's students had the mettle he believed they had.

Warin took a breath, cracking his knuckles as he glanced about at the three before him, and he was well aware his thoughts were far and away from the reality of where he stood. Still, they wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was planning, and he would not keep them in the dark. He spoke slowly but truthfully, bluntly but honestly as he explained, "If, and only if, we are able to rally a sizeable enough force to become a true threat... There are allies out there that we can pull into the fold against the Empire, and form a true rebellion that might even become enough to unseat the princess. The Alliance is fractured, and Claude is a coward who will wash his hands of this mess the first chance he has, but the soldiers there are formidable, and proud. He may run, but they won't. It's possible we may find aid from them, should we ask for it and provide in return. And there's unrest within the Empire, too. Not everyone is quite so happy to be underneath the princess' boot. The only problem is unification... and with everyone having spent the last five years fighting only for themselves and their homelands, it's no wonder the Empire has managed to spread its reach so far. It's about time to beat her back, if the will can be mustered to do so."

"You say you do not care of what becomes of Fódlan... But your actions do not have matching with your words." Petra spoke up for the first time since she had been addressed directly, and her eyes were shrewd and calculating as she looked Warin over sharply. She saw the dichotomy in his words and actions as easily as anyone else, but she was also unafraid of being the one to call him out directly on it. He was much like his sister, saying one thing and yet doing another, but at least her professor's words and actions had come from disbelief in herself, and not a general sense of apathy and distrust in humanity. She watched Warin closely, head tilting slightly to the side as she asked him pointedly, "You would find more friends, more people, to fight the Empire, even if you are not caring of the world about you? Why?"

"It's what my sister would have done, and what she would have wanted. I'm here to see that through, to the best of my ability. But, as I said... It's only if you play your part, as well." Warin answered honestly, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling at Petra's bravery. Both Gilbert and Ashe continued to hesitate to confront him directly, too intimidated by his nature and his words to speak to him as an equal, but Petra did not have such issues. He wasn't sure if it was her personality or her upbringing, but he respected it all the same and looked her in the eyes as he continued in reply, "I won't fight a one man war against the Empire. That'd be like throwing my life away. But should you and all of your comrades return... That's a spark of hope to cling to. And that's far more than I've seen in five years. Is that an acceptable answer?"

"Yes. I accept it. For the professor." Petra replied after a moment to digest his words, and she nodded in acceptance before looking over to Ashe to gauge his reaction. His eyes were brilliant and harsh, full of that same fighting-spirit she had so admired since they were students, and she was proud to see that Warin's words had stirred him enough to throw himself fully behind him. For their professor, they would do anything, and it was clear that her elder brother meant every word he had said. They did not need more to rally their spirits, or to throw their loyalty behind. Warin knew it as well as they did. He had counted on it. And it made her smile grimly as she answered again, now knowing that Ashe was fully behind her, "We both accept."

"Warin... I must ask you something. For five years you've fought alone... Why?" Gilbert spoke up again, pulling everyone's attention back to him as he looked Warin up and down and took him in. He was scarred, inside and out, from his five years on the run... but Gilbert did not understand why he had took on such a monumental task on his own. It was true that teamwork did not come naturally to him, he was much more efficient as a solo soldier, but still, his actions defied logic. He had been alone for five entire years, allowing former comrades and people who could have helped him to believe him dead rather than risk reaching out to them, and had instead turned to strangers. It made little sense to the veteran knight, and he made it clear as he continued, "Not once did you contact the Knights of Seiros, or even your sister's students in Faerghus. What made you choose to shun the help you could have received had you reached out to us? Why did you choose to go it alone for all of this time?"

"Difference of priorities. The Knights are searching for Rhea... and I'm not interested in getting in their way, or being conscripted into the hunt. And as for my sister's students... They had their territories and families to look after. I knew about the promise. I could bide my time to see if it would hold out." Warin replied curtly, and his eyes had taken on a hard shine as he spoke of the activity the Knights had been up to in the last five years. He understood why they would be searching for the archbishop underneath Seteth's leadership, but he had no interest in joining their forays. He didn't care what happened to Rhea. She had been missing for as long as he had, and he had removed her from his chessboard long ago. She did not matter anymore to the picture he was now seeing, and hoping to combat. If she was dead, it would be a blow to the church, but not so much to his own goals. And should she live... Perhaps he could finally wrangle answers from her if he would be lucky enough to find her once the Empire came crashing down. "Clearly, my patience paid off. Five years is a trifle. I want to know what happens next, don't you?"

"Indeed..." Gilbert could agree to that much, though he admitted he still had many reservations about allying with the man before him despite knowing their goals were truly well aligned. He saw the truth in Warin's eyes, that he had seen the prince himself and knew exactly what he had become with his own eyes, but it did not change the older man's resolve. The Kingdom was in dire need... They had no one else to turn to with the Empire slowly but surely clawing their way deeper and deeper in. He turned his head towards the remains of Garreg Mach, wondering if they would find what they sought there, and he questioned as he straightened his clothes and armour, readying himself once more for the long march ahead, "Then, you will join us in returning to the monastery?"

"That is my intention. From there... We'll see." Warin replied, and he adjusted his worn gauntlets before likewise following Gilbert's gaze south. That huge, sprawling building in the distance called to him, called in a way he had not felt in almost five years, but he did not trust himself to believe in the pull that came from somewhere deep in his chest. It had been too long. He had been alone for too long. He let out a breath as he glanced to his unlikely friends of fortune, but it was better than anything else he had known for the past several years. He couldn't complain. He would not complain. There was only the way forward, and that small, faint flicker of hope that he had to cling to with both hands... He'd have gone mad without it, perhaps... and the thought steeled his spine and locked his jaw as he took a step forward once more, "Let's go... and lets see who'll be waiting there to meet us."

AN:

And so begins Azure Moon! Of course, I had to start a tad earlier than canon since I wanted to reflect on what Warin and a few others had been up to, and also make clear how the world's changed not just him but everyone before diving on in with Raine. As with my previous collections, this will serve a lot more like a companion novella rather than a retelling of Azure Moon (barring a few incidents that are subject to change and revision), but I hope that I do it well enough to make it enjoyable to read!

As I've said before, I am super excited to get into the real meat of Three Houses, as well as the more mature aspects of the War Phase. There's a lot to cover and a lot to write for, but I'm eager for it. Now, mind, I do want to address that since the third wave of the DLC has dropped, and since this began before the DLC dropped, I'm not really going to include anything that's been added in it here. The same can probably be said for the fourth wave of DLC that comes out in April (depending on how long this goes on for) as that involves changing way too many things on the fly, but we'll see what happens if I end up finishing this early enough to adjust to it. Anna will just be a normal merchant, Jeritza isn't even available on this route anyway (I'm still salty about that, poor Mercedes deserves better), but things shall continue as if the DLC really didn't come out. Though, maybe I'll write some sauna and cat and dog shenanigans... That's harmless enough, ne?

I am taking into consideration what you guys want to see for this collection, so please drop me a review and tell me what parts in particular (or characters) you'd like to see mentioned, touched upon, or focussed on as Azure Moon starts to play out. If there are couples you'd like to see, moments you want mentioned, events changed, or anything of the sort, don't be afraid to let me know! Even throwing out guesses of where I intend to go or what I might be changing is welcome! I cannot promise to do all of it, as I do have a general sense of where this story shall be headed, but I do like to know what my readers like to see!

Thank you very much for reading this far, and I hope you'll stick with me as AM starts to kick off and go crazy. I've been really excited to get to the M-rated stuff (and I'll be leaping right into it, don't you worry), but I do apologize if that ends up not being your cup of tea. Each chapter really will be earning it's own individual rating despite the overall rating being "Mature", but if there will be graphic content of either a violent or sexual nature, I will be sure to note it in the beginning with a warning, so nobody will be caught off guard. I'll likely be tweaking the little introductory notes with little summaries of what to expect for the coming chapters, and I'd like feedback on how that looks, or if it works in the future, too!

I'll see you guys all soon, and I hope you have a good one!

Mood: Sore.

Listening To: "Skyfall" - Adele

~ Sky