Yay, finally Donnel is going to make an appearance! I don't use Donnel much, so I don't know how accurately I'm going to be able to portray him. I also realize that in the game, you don't recruit Donnel between (geographically speaking) Ferox and Ylisstol, but I don't logically see why Chrom and the Lollipop Guild would go to an island type... thing... (I haven't played the game in over 2 weeks, heck if I remember the map) The paralogue you recruit Donnel is in the middle of BFE, so I figured for story's sake his village would be closer to the Northroad. Also, I just love stretching stuff out, and I'm kind of sad that we never got to know what kind of a person Donnel's mom was, so in this chapter I'm actually going to give her some character. I was also going to have Anna make an appearance and give me some of the street pass items, but that's just not going to happen. I'm also finally getting around to talking with Kellam (Well, if I can find him that is) and just a heads up, there are going to be major feels in this chapter.

"Milord, I think there's some sort of commotion going on over there. Looks like that village might be in need of some help."

"You're right Frederick. Let's go Shepherds, we need to lend a hand if we're able."

A part of me deep down was beginning to enjoy fighting. There's nothing whatsoever remarkable about me, yet get a tome in my hands and I'm suddenly a bad ass. Yeah it's scary, and I'm going to have nightmares eventually about all the people I've killed and helped kill, but until then having a little bit of power isn't so bad.

'I always had a dark side, didn't I?'

The village we were helping was where Donnel lived. I saw various people fleeing from the bandits carrying farming implements and children. Some were wounded, some were falling to the ground and not getting up. Far away, backed against a wall, I could see Donnel. He looked prety scared, holding his Lance and jabbing it wildly at the bandits who were closing in on him.

"Virion, over there," I called, pointing to the bandits. "Do you think you could hit one of them with an arrow?"

Virion scoffed and quickly drew his bow.

"Observe my lady." And he let loose an arrow.

It struck one of the bandits dead, the shaft of the arrow protruding through his skull. The bandits stepped back after seeing one of their comrades so easily slain and I led the Shepherds forward to fight them off. Donnel was understandably thrilled with our arrival, and knowing he was eager to join us anyways, I had him tell us where the bandits were in the village. With his help of the area, we rescued the village by nightfall and they offered us the chance to stay the night. I could tell Chrom was having a hard time deciding whether we should stay or go. It was almost too dark to continue, soon we'd be making camp anyway.

"Perhaps we should stay Chrom, we won't make any ground with night so close at hand."

He nodded.

"You're right Sane, as usual. We'd be grateful to stay, thank you ma'am."

We spread out among the houses of the village. I ended up staying at Donnels' house, I had the feeling someone else was there as well, for occasionally I'd hear a chair move or bump into something metallic, but I could never see them.

'Honestly, this whole Kellam thing is getting freaky.'

Donnels' mother, who I found out was named Irene, was busy in the kitchen making dinner for us. I didn't have anything really to do so I stepped in and began to talk to her.

"Thank you again for allowing us to say in your home ma'am, I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am."

She smiled at me.

"Now don't you be a thankin' me, I'm on'y doin' what I can fer you fer savin' my boy."

She was working busily over several large pots simmering over the stove. She moved stiffly at times, kneading her joints and wiping her face with a cloth.

"Irene, is there anything I can do to help you?"

She hefted one of the pots from the stove and began to peel potatoes. The peels went on a large dish, the potatoes were chopped up and dropped into the pot.

"No m'dear, I've got it all under control. Why dont'cha have a seat? I can get cha somethin' to drink if'n you're thirsty."

"Oh no no, I don't want to be a bother."

She chuckled.

"I've been keepin' up with my Donny for goin' on 18 years now, if I can keep up with him, ain't nothin' gonna be a bother fer me."

"Oh, really, I don't need anything Irene. Are you sure there isn't anything I can help you with?"

One of the pots on the stove suddenly boiled over sending vegetables and broth spilling out onto the stovetop, counter, and floor.

"Oh, shuckey darns! Lemme just git that cleant up."

I moved over to the stove and took the pot off the burner. I then took a nearby rag and began mopping up the spilled soup.

"Oh, really you don't need ta be helpin' me with that."

She tried to stop me, but I continued to clean up the mess.

"Sorry ma'am, where I'm from it's kind of custom to help when you're a guest at someone's home."

"Oh, you're a sweet one you are. Yer folks musta raised you real good."

I laughed.

"They tried, I have a bit of rebellion in me, but for the most part I'm a good kid."

Irene cleaned up the rest of the spilled soup and I began cutting and peeling the potatoes. I had to use a knife, not a peeler so it was slow going, but I still felt like helping her.

"Well, yer certainly a polite one. I'm sure yer folks are right happy 'bout that."

I shrugged.

"Eh, my dad was never one for manners or anything. My mom was the one who taught me to be lady like and what not."

I was still peeling and cutting the potatoes, without chopping off any fingers I might add, despite the fact I wasn't accustomed to using a knife.

"Well, I wish my Donny had manners like you when he was a young'un. He didn't know no better 'bout what he should 'n shouldn't say. Didn't know bout askin' for nothin politely. He learnt it right eventually, but he still forgets 'em sometimes. He's such a sweet boy though, most nobody minds if'n he forgets his manners. You seem ta be havin' trouble with them taters dear, why don't you chop up some carrots?"

I flashed Irene a sheepish smile.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

"I learned ta keep a close eye on things 'cause of Donny, ain't much get past me."

Glad to be relieved of potato duty I moved down the counter and began chopping the carrots.

"How thin do you want them Irene?"

"Oh, thin nuff they can be eat I reckon. Don't care much long as no one chokes. Ain't good luck if'n you make a meal and kill someone dead from it. Actually..."

Irene looked out the window and towards a large barn.

"Donny should've been done with the pigs by now, I hate to ask but could you go an see if he needs any help?"

"Of course Irene, it's no trouble at all."

I left the warm kitchen and stepped into the cool dusk air. It wouldn't be long before all the light was gone from the sky and walking around the village would be nearly impossible without a torch. As I walked closer to the barn, I began to smell the pungent scent of various animals and wrinkled my nose.

'Ugh... Animal poop...'

I stepped into the barn and looked around. It was spacious and neat looking, despite the odor. There were four cows, a pig pen, two horses, an ox, some sheep, and a great fuzzy animal I couldn't quite recognize.

'A city girl in a barn. Never thought this would happen.'

"Donnel? You here? You're mom's looking for you!"

"Sane? I'm over here!"

"Where?"

I looked around the barn, trying to find Donnel. I saw him poke his head over a wooden wall by the horses.

"Oh, hai thar."

"Hello Miss Sane. I'll be done in a jiffy, Mookey here got herself some splinters in her hind quarters. Try'na get 'em out fore they have a chance to fester. She ain't too happy 'bout it though, makin it awful hard."

He motioned for me to join him behind the wall. I walked around and in through a door into the horse stall. I could see a few bloody scratches on the horse, and a bloodied rag sat in a bucket next to Donnel.

"She don't mind me none wiping the blood away or cleanin' up the scratches, but soon as I try to dig out them splinters she gets all tiffy. You think you could lend me a hand?"

"Er..."

I didn't know the first thing about taking care of a wounded horse. I know about taking care of a wounded person, a horse can't be that different can they?

"I guess I could help, what do you want me to do?"

"Well, Mookey always feels comfortable if she can see someone. Could you jus sit there in front of 'er an give her a pet? That should calm her down 'nuff fer me to finish gettin' these splinters out."

"Okay? Just sit and pet her? I can do that."

I moved around in front of the horse. She looked at me and snorted.

"Um... She's not gonna bite me, is she?"

Donnel chuckled.

"Naw, she's friendlier than baby ducklin's. Look, I'll show ya."

He came to stand beside me and pet the horse.

"See, friendly."

He gave the horse a final pat on her muzzle before moving back to her hindquarters and resuming the careful task of removing the splinters.

"You ever pet a horse before Sane?"

I nodded, then spoke realizing that Donnel couldn't see me.

"Yeah, I've been to a few fairs and pet horses."

I carefully reached out and caressed the horses neck. She nickered softly and leaned into my hand.

"There you go Sane, just keep that up and I'll be done in no time."

"She ever done this before?"

"Done what? Get herself some splinters? Yeah. It ain't her fault though."

"Oh? Why does it keep happening?"

"Well... My pa told me once, since he figured I was old enough..."

He was silent for a while.

'Is he gonna finish this story?'

"Well? Why's she keep getting splinters?"

"Well, since we only got two horses, Pa didn't want Mookey gettin' a foal, 'cause if she came down with a foal she won't be able to work till it was born, then she'll be tryin' ta raise it like a good mother. Well, we got the stallion an' well... Mookey can smell him..."

'Oh wow...'

"It don't help none every chance he gets Booker, that's our stallion, tries an gets all frisky with Mookey. Well, way Pa explained it, Mookey's got it sweet for Booker an... The stall wall is all she can get to."

"And this has happened more than once? Doesn't she, I don't know... Get tired of splinters? Isn't it most creature's instinct to avoid pain? Why does she keep... You know what? Forget it, I don't want to talk about this."

Donnel and I sat in awkward silence until he finished getting the splinters out of Mookey and got her cleaned up. He rinsed out the rag, dumped the bucket and gave her one final affectionate pat before heading out of the barn.

"Wash bucket's out front the barn Sane."

I looked back at the horse.

"It must suck to be you huh? Alone in a stall all day, with the perfect guy just a few feet away?"

The horse whinnied in response, as if it understood me. I probably did, horses are a heck of a lot smarter than people give them get credit for.

Dinner was wonderful, the vegetables were cooked to perfection and Irene made some of the best beef tips that I've ever had. She cooked them in the broth from the vegetables, making a delicious Minestrone with meat soup. There was freshly baked bread and a sweet, flaky pie for dessert. I finally found Kellam, I guess the trick to seeing him is you have to have an empty belly and be surrounded by friendly people.

"Kellam, could you pass me another slice of pie please?

"Wow Sane, are you trying to break Stahls' record?"

"Hmm, only if it's Irene baking."

Throughout the meal there was pleasant conversation and laughter. I found out Kellam had been helping Irene with household cleaning and fixing some creaky furniture, which Irene repeatedly thanked him for. Kellam was very humble, and somehow Irene had no trouble seeing him.

'Maybe it's an age thing? Or if Donnel was half the hassle she made him out to be, spotting Kellam would be second nature.'

After dinner, I helped pick up the table and Kellam stayed with Irene in the kitchen doing dishes. I decided to walk around the property for some after dinner exercise. As I walked, I reflected on dinner as well as other dinners I've had in my life. Dinners with my family, with friends, even lonely dinners I've had with just two cats and a TV for company. I leaned against a fence, resting my palms on the rough wood posts and sighed deeply.

'I miss dinners like that... With talking, laughter... Warm voices and...'

"Kyahk... *sniff*... Huup..." (A/N: I obviously fail at typing a person cry lol)

'My family...'

"Sane? Irene asked me to make sure you were alright. Do you want some company?"

I turned and looked at the person speaking to me.

"Oh, Kellam... I'm fine. Just getting a little sentimental is all..."

He came and stood beside me, leaning against the fence as well.

"Anything you want to talk about? You seem kind of distant sometimes..."

I wiped away some tears that were falling.

"Do I? Sorry, I don't mean to be."

Kellam absently-mindedly picked at the fence posts.

"Irene made me think of my mother." He told me.

"Oh? Funny, I was thinking the same thing actually..."

"I thought you don't remember anything?"

I mentally facepalmed.

"Bwell..."

"That's okay, it's not a big deal if you don't want to tell people stuff."

"It's not that..."

"Oh, what's your mother like then?"

"Well... She liked puzzles, sewing, cats, she made some great food, she read a lot. She tried to help people as much as she could, even if you weren't family. I remember one time, we were both really sick. Like, throwing up every few minutes sick almost. We were the only two home and she brought me medicine, crackers, tea, whatever I needed. She was even cleaning up after me. And she didn't ask me to help either, she just wanted to make sure I was alright."

My voice cracked on the last sentence. I took the handkerchief Chrom had given me and wiped away the tears streaming from my eyes.

"I know every kid probably says this about their mom," I took a deep, shaky breath. "She was the best ever. And tonights dinner just... Brought back some powerful memories..."

Kellam lowered his eyes and gently pat my hand.

"How long has she been gone?"

"Dyouh... A few months..."

He gave my hand a soft squeeze.

"My grandpa passed last year. It was hard because nobody could see how hurt I was. They all assumed I was taking it, you know? They kept saying, 'Kellam's fine, he's not crying. He's not angry.' They assumed because I wasn't showing any feelings, I didn't have any."

He sighed.

"After that... I just dissapeared..."

We were quiet for a long time. Kellam was still gently holding my hand.

"I was almost... Calm when my mom passed. I never threw a fit... I cried a little bit, but I never flat out bawled. I never reached out to anyone for help, even though people kept trying to reach for me. I just wanted to deal on my own terms. My dad... I felt like he felt ill of me because of how I reacted. And other people... The looked at me like I was heartless..."

'Too bad no matter how much you try to deal with something, sometimes it bites you on the ass anyway.'

"I wanted people to reach out to me. I was never a big 'feelings' person."

"I can reach out if you want."

Kellam looked at me with sad eyes. A faint smile tugged at his lips and a tear trailed slowly down his cheek.

"Thanks..."

I don't know how long we stayed at the fence in silence, Kellam holding my hand. I know eventually I was leaning against him and no longer upset.

'Funny, I wonder: Who am I to everyone? Am I Robin, Ms. Support With Everyone? Or am I Sane, and these are my friends?'

I realize that the little bit of action in the chapter was pretty lame, sorry about that. I'm not really an action writer, characters and development are more my cup of tea. Now if you excuse me, I have to go lie on the floor, try not to cry, and cry a lot. I have absolutely no idea how I'm suddenly confiding in Kellam, I have this magical ability to stare at a wall for a couple hours while I'm typing and suddenly, words! xD I also don't know who, if anyone, I'm going to become legitimately romantically involved with. So I'd like input from you guys. Here's my list of possible romances: Lissa, because she's a princess. Chrom, because I married him my first play through by Chapter 4. Brady, because nobody (myself included ironically) likes Brady. Lucina, because... Hm... I would love to see her fathers reaction to me getting 'friendly' with her xD or Tiki, because the wonderful skywolf666 is sad there isn't more AvatarxTiki love. If you guys have any other suggestions, I'm open to those as well.