If this chapter suddenly gets weird halfway through, it's because I got distracted by Ike/Soren bathtub smexx. Same reason this chapter is up so late tonight.

I have the next few chapters planned out, as I said, so it's really only the possibilities of playing PoR and Ike/Soren fluff that are keeping me from updating regularly. However, as both Ranulf and Shinon will be appearing in the next few chapters, and they're both in my top 5 characters, I do have somewhat of an added incentive. So don't give up hope entirely.

Please review. -cries- I've had 1000 hits on Ellipsis alone now, and yet there are only 3 reviews.

Speaking of which, if you visit my Facebook page (Flinch Hayward), you will see I have updated with a pretty picture to thank you guys for those 1000 pagehits. I decided to show you a little of what Ike missed out on in Chapter 8. XD

"Soren! Are you feeling better?" Ike came running up beside the medical tent, grinning in his usual way.

Soren nodded. "Rhys has said that I should be fine to participate in the next battle."His hand instinctively reached for his side. "There's a small scar there, but I can live with that."

Ike laughed. "They're a part of the job. You'll be covered in them by the time you leave the company."

"I don't intend to leave," Soren said briskly. There was an awkward pause. "You seem…in better spirits than when we last spoke."

"I was half-asleep. What do you expect?"

Soren's mouth twisted into a slight scowl. "I meant that you seem rather less irked by my actions during the previous battle."

Ike held his gaze. "I was worried about you, that's all." Soren bit down hard on his lip. What right did Ike have to say that in such an offhand manner - to make it seem like the normal thing to do?

"Commander!" Mia came sprinting up, disturbing the lapsed silence between the two. She stopped for a moment to half-catch her breath. "Commander…Daein troops…right-right behind us!"

Ike looked horrified. "What? How could they have followed us this far over the mountains without us seeing them?"

"I don't know," Mia said, "but we've had no word from the decoy group for a while, either. Commander, they're right outside the camp!"

Ike nodded decisively. "Right. We can figure out how they caught us up later. For now, we have to fight. Get everyone in formation." Mia stuttered affirmation before setting back off in the direction she had come.

Ike turned to Soren. "Remember, you're with me in this battle." Soren nodded, swallowing the bile rising in his throat. "If they're outside already, we have to hurry. Come on." He grabbed hold of Soren's arm, half-dragging the mage as he attempted to run.

~*~

"Don't move," Soren whispered. "If we stay in this patch of forest, we have better defence should they decide to attack."

"I can hardly move among these trees, Soren!" A branch scratched its way across his armour.

"Trust me on this!" the young mage hissed. "You can hit them a lot more easily than--" He broke off to cast a thunder spell at an approaching wyvern. "Than they can hit you," he finished.

Ike frowned. "Hey, I thought you said you were better with wind tomes."

"I am admittedly more proficient with them, yes. However, dragons and wyverns are more susceptible to thunder magic."

"Huh. Do you know that stuff about all weapons, or just tomes?"

"Most weapons."

Ike looked at him curiously. "Really? How?"

"I read," Soren said bluntly. "It's rather stupid not to know such necessary information."

Ike grinned weakly. "Gee, thanks. I suppose it makes more sense for you to know - you can change tomes depending on the situation, right? But for me, a sword's a sword. I know you can get lancereavers, but I've never used one. I just use whatever's strongest."

"You're such an idiot." Soren sighed. "Take that myrmidon up ahead, for instance. What would you attack her with?"

"A steel sword. It's the best I've got with me at the moment."

"But it would weigh you down. If you used an iron sword, you could probably attack twice, dealing her more damage overall."

"I never even thought of that." Ike paused. "My…my father probably knew all of this. But I never quite understood. I don't blame some of the company for leaving when I was named commander. There's so much I ought to know that I don't."

"So learn it. And commander?" Ike glanced up at him. "That scenario was also a subtle hint telling you to take care of that myrmidon before she attempts to kill either one of us."

"Now that I can do!" Ike grinned once more and set off towards the myrmidon, dealing her a double blow.

Soren ran to catch up with him, taking out a nearby general as he went. "There's a pegasus knight coming in at us from the right that you'll want to avoid - she's holding a killer lance. But we can easily take that paladin up beside those trees. With an axe that large, he won't be able to dodge our attacks." Soren quickly switched to an Elwind tome. "You'll forgive me if I take the forest ground - my defences are rather weaker than yours."

Ike laughed as he came at the paladin from behind. "Don't worry about it. Trees restrict my movement too much anyway."

Soren couldn't help but smile as he and Ike systematically took down nearly half the Daein troops, aided occasionally by Boyd and Mia.

"You know," Ike commented as they returned to the camp, bloody and exhausted, "you really were a great help out there."

Soren nodded stiffly. "Thank you. I…tried to maximise efficiency."

The stupid grin that was becoming so familiar to Soren played across Ike's face once more. "That's one way of putting it. Hey…Soren?"

"Yes, Ike?"

"I was…I was thinking, during that last battle." Soren bit back a comment about how dangerous such a thing might prove. "I've still got a lot to learn about being commander, and I need a lot of help. Being without Titania made me realise how useless I am on my own. Would…would you consider being the company's tactician?"

OK, so I skipped an update on here to update Sellsword instead. The thing is that both stories are about to get very interesting (and take very different approaches, I might add). I'll try to update both with a chapter tonight, and maybe on Friday, too...but then I'm on holiday and there won't be any updates for a week. So leave me lots of nice reviews for when I get back. ^___^

And if you haven't popped by already, go check out The Stench of Iron, my random Stefan/Lethe fic. It's written as a support conversation, so there are only three chapters and they're all quite short. I might do other pairings if I have the chance. I only wrote Stefan/Lethe to get back at the Stefan/Soren and Ike/Lethe supporters, but from the reviews I'm getting, I apparently made the pairing plausible. Oh dear.

Anyway. I'm done shamelessly advertising my fics now. I'm off to Forbidden Planet. Tarah.