No, is that...? It can't be! AN UPDATE?! Sshh! don't yell! You'll scare it away!

Haha, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I swear, next time I'll spring for the real muffins.

Inside Joke Theatre:

"Do you want to help dice carrots?"

"Not really."

"Oh"

"You know what you need? Adam Lambert."

"Does he dice carrots?"

"That's not what I meant, mom."

~WARNING~ Beware of lots of explaining in this chapter.

ENOUGH FOOLING AROUND, INITIATE CHAPTER 2, DEPLOOOOOY!

Year 638, the year Radiant Dawn begins.

Chapter 1

Nyala was strolling aimlessly; because that's what her life happened to be, in her opinion. An aimless stroll through the happy-go-lucky universe that obviously had it in for her. She had wonderful brothers and sisters, two of each, a hardworking father and used to have a cleaning obsessed mother. Her father was Barrett, a middle-aged man with a young face even considering he had raised five children on his own after his wife passed away from a lung infection when Nyala was seven and a half, though she had been alive for ten years. It wasn't really sad or anything, her mother didn't seem to like dark mages much, so therefore the girl wasn't extremely fond of her mother either. When she died, her siblings grieved but Nyala shrugged it off, not being able to deny she did have at least a little affection for her caregiver. Caregiver. Not mother.

She wasn't an angst-filled teenager, (quite like her only friends happened to be) but was actually decent at dealing with situations without too much conflict; of course, part of the reason was she had no chance of winning in a fight. She had never been able to find her true calling like her siblings and friends had, all of them simply picked up whatever weapons and tomes felt right and away they went, blasting trees and handmade training dummies to bits. Nyala was a dark mage. She was only a little better at it than any of the other tomes she'd tried, and a good million times better at it than any weapon. She was still pretty bad at magic though, only finally casting spells of the same power when she was twenty years old than Orland had when he was thirteen. Yeah. That bad. Of course, she wasn't really 20, that was just how many years she'd been alive.

The Branded aging system was annoying, Nyala thought, mostly because of the basic mechanics of it. Laguz age slowly. How slow, she had to do some intense math to find out. It was a weird percentage slower than beorc, and she used her friend Winnie as an example. Winnie was a full Laguz and exactly one hundred years old, and the town adults agreed she looked to be about how a beorc girl would look in her early seventeenth year, or very late sixteenth. .17 percent slower growth than beorc. One thing she knew for sure about both the Branded and laguz aging system was this: it doesn't matter how many years you've been alive, because you don't mentally develop at a beorc pace. You grow up slower, and though you look fifteen at twenty years, you're only fifteen in Branded years. You act like a fifteen year old beorc would, you're simply twenty. If the wolf laguz acted her beorc age, she might actually stop thinking about anything before she did it. No such luck, and if anything, she acted younger than seventeen. It's a hard concept, granted, but that really didn't make it any less annoying to try explaining to little kids or generally stupid people.

Nyala was born twenty years ago, but lived in not only the body but the mind of a fifteen year old, because of her stupid Brand. It was no secret she was Branded, the whole town knew.

Even in the mind and body of a seven year old, it wasn't past a decently smart child to figure out that none of her "siblings" had Brands, and it couldn't have been only the first child to bare the Branded marking due to the fact she was the middle child. That was out of the question anyway- she technically wasn't the middle child, she as an only child. She knew Barrett knew she knew she was adopted, but neither of them really spoke about it. He was still her father, even though his wife hadn't wanted to adopt some stupid Branded Cecilia and Nifco had been too negligent to look after, considering shortly after Nyala had turned three, they had gotten themselves killed trying to fight for "the honour of their town." At least that's what her "mother" had always told her. Always.

The black-haired girl sighed audibly to herself, trying to force her mind to change the subject. Maybe she should go see what Orland or Winnie was up to, or maybe go practice her magic like she knew she should. She decided to visit her friends.

The walk to Orland's house took her along a pretty route- right through the park being the shortest way to get there. She had always loved the park and its many strong, good cherry trees, the way the air smelled there, and the memories of playing with her friends here. It had both a sentimental and nostalgic air to it. She let her hands graze a cherry tree's bark as she passed and smiled to herself at the feeling for a bit, then her hand moved onto wrought iron gate indicating the exit of the park. The view of the town was stunning from this part of the park- it lead right into the southern corner of the town square. Pretty much everyone on the town was in the square around this time, it was just midday and the sun was high. Everyone knew each other's names, there weren't many to learn. Ah, the beauties of a secret town. No one called each other by formal names, it was either first name or "Aunt" or "Uncle", such as the seamstress who went by Aunt Isis though she wasn't related to anyone in the town, or the blacksmith Wal. Everyone here was family.

Nyala suddenly realized she was standing in the gateway for quite some time now, and trekked off again to find Orland. Her friend Orland worked with his mother in the hospital as trainee healer, but he wasn't as good at healing as he had been at thunder magic. Had been being the keywords there.

Nyala sobered up immediately at the thought. It was a painful one to think about. The Branded girl had always tried to be strong about it for Orland's sake, but the memory of the day her spell casting friend lost his ability to use magic had been hard for her too. The memory engulfed her quickly; it was a hard memory not relive when it enters your thoughts.

Nyala and Orland had been attempting to catch frogs in the ravine in the forest not too far from town, and hadn't been expecting an encounter with any thieves. They had attempted to steal whatever they could it seemed- tomes, clothes, and food. The two mages were well equipped in case of an emergency and were shooting off spells at lightning speed. Orland had managed to summon quite a powerful spell for his age, nearly killing his target, whose colleagues became enraged at this. One dashed with blinding speed at the young boy, his dagger flashing in the sun's rays, and jumped. His knife slit Orland's throat in a clean motion and the sound of ripping flesh was drawn. The thieves took off after that, carrying their wounded friend and most of the two children's possessions. Nyala remembered how she had not screamed for help like she wanted to; no one would have heard her. Instead she ripped off part of her black cloak and used it to put pressure on her dying friend's bloody wound. He was groaning softly, his hands trying to make it to his throat to hold. His eyes were squeezed shut.

"Orland! Please, you're okay Orland, you'll be okay! We're going for help right now, it isn't far... you can make it..." Nyala was choking out, hoisting her friend as gently as possible into her arms.

His groans of pain were getting scratchy sounding, and his breaths were raspy. Blood from Orland's throat was seeping right through the material it was wrapped in and was dampening Nyala's arm, matching the moisture on her right shin were she had been slashed too. The dark mage didn't even notice. She was now trying to run as fast as possible without jostling her bloodied and dying friend too much, sometimes having to slow down to awkwardly climb over a tree branch or jump over a root. Orland was becoming quieter and quieter in her arms, and his eyes remained closed.

Finally they emerged from the trees and were only yards from the town's borders. Nyala then began screaming loudly.

"Help us! Please, someone! We need help! Hurry!" She had been shrieking, tears threatening to falls in fear. Her calling was responded to by Manya, a lion laguz who owned the weapon shop near the edge of town. Manya came bolting over as soon as she heard the cry and was over to the two children in a matter of seconds. The small Branded girl was sweating and covered in blood, out of breath but still screaming for help.

"Shh, it's okay, Nyala, dear, I've got him." The lioness said, taking gently the boy from Nyala's arms. As soon as he had been taken from her, Nyala regained some control and said "Let's go, we've got to hurry." And she and Manya made their way to the hospital in a frenzied haste.

Nyala shuddered at the memory of how Orland's mother had shrieked and dropped the glass jar she had been holding when Manya carried in her pale faced son. She was practically hysterical, and the Healer's apprentice had to do the healing for her. Her apprentice had a bizarrely calm face about her and that made her more likable than ever at the time in Nyala's eyes. She healed Orland as best as she could under the circumstances- he had already lost a lot of blood, and the damage was very, very deep.

Little to say, her friend had dealt a serious blow straight to the vocal cords and would never be able to speak properly again. He could still form raspy words sometimes, but they were almost completely incoherent. Not only had he lost his simplest way of communication, he had lost his ability to use magic because he could no longer read out the ancient scriptures to summon spirits. Two major losses from one unfortunate accident involving some lowlife thieves who tried to kill a child.

The Branded girl now rounded the corner that put her right in front of Orland's house and knocked on the door. He answered immediately, like he knew she was coming before Nyala even chose to go. He nodded happily and stepped outside with his friend.

Nyala grinned and asked if he wanted to help her find Winnie, already forgetting the pain the memory had caused her when she saw his smile.

Orland was barely taller than Nyala, who had always been short for her age. He had blond hair that was quite pale and hung to his mid-throat, halfway between his ear and collarbone. He had sharp features and pointed, lynx-like ears that made him look elfin. He had eyes that were blue as the ocean and a piercing stare. His friends were the only ones who broke his always unamused expression in favour of a one-sided smile. His main apparel was a white tunic with a thick brown leather belt around his waist and nondescript white pants. He wore a pale yellow cloak that mostly obscured his clothes and went right to the floor, covering his leather sandals.

Orland nodded once more at the younger girl's suggestion. Nyala claimed she was fifteen because the Branded system was not to be influenced by the beorc one, so she wasn't twenty. She had been alive longer, but was still younger than her sixteen year old friend? Apparently so.

Nyala walked quickly through the streets, waving and calling out greetings to everyone who passed. She knew Winnie would be at Manya's by now, helping her with inventory or something. Both were fascinated by the "strange beorc weapons" and loved crafting them. They worked with the blacksmith Wal to create new and better weapons for beorc; the laguz seemed to think fighting with weapons was unsportsmanlike. Nyala had no idea how it would be, but it was what Winnie told her every time they sparred.

The two teenagers walked into Manya and Wal's store, but Winnie wasn't in sight.

"Hi there, Manya. Where's Winnie?" Nyala asked, waving happily at the lioness perched on the counter, who was bent over a solid-looking battle axe. She was a woman of enormous presence, being incredibly tall and loud, and sometimes that could be quite frightening when those traits manifested themselves while she was working on a sharp-looking new weapon.

"Morning Nyala, Orland. " She responded, looking up from her weapon for a minute to greet them properly. "I let Winnie leave early- it's a nice sunny day and she's worked hard this week. She might be in the forests or around the park if you didn't see her in town. Hey, do you want some tea? I made way too much and I don't want to throw it away, here, come and sit! I bet you've worked hard, Nyala, being on the farm all day and-"

Nyala laughed. "No, no, that's alright, but thank you anyway. We have to be on our way." She said, trying to reject the woman's offer as politely as possible. Once Manya started talking, she didn't stop. Ever. Or at least until someone eventually dragged her away by the ear of she fell asleep mid-sentence. Manya shrugged, un-offended. "Maybe next time! See you around!" She chirped, going back to her axe.

The two mages set off to find their disappearing friend again, but she was nowhere. Absolutely none of the town's few stores, not in the park, her house, the square. They even checked the forest thoroughly, but they couldn't see her. She must be quite far in, Nyala decided, abandoning her forest expedition.

"Let's go home, Orland." She proposed with a sigh. "I'm tired, and we've been looking for her all afternoon." The taller mage nodded and made many quick, brief motions with his hands. He was speaking in the sign language Winnie and Nyala and he had made up with him years ago, and all spent countless hours memorizing.

"I don't know where she could be, and her parents must be worried. She's a little too important to go missing." She answered as she turned on her heels to go back towards the town. They weren't too far into the forest, but the sun was already lowering in the sky at just a few marks past midday. It was early autumn, too early for snow and still quite warm during the day, but this was around the time when the sun began setting noticeably earlier.

The black-haired girl was pondering whether or not Winnie's parents knew where their daughter was; they of all people should know. Her parents kept very close tabs on her and were concerned for her safety, which they really didn't have to be. She was a wolf laguz of massive power and a far better fighter than Nyala, and better at was of equal power with Orland- when he could use magic, of course. She was always getting herself into situations that somehow always seemed to end up with Nyala fixing them for her, whom the dark mage actually didn't mind much; she never got to be the hero in battle. Winnie also happened to be one of the most important people the town due to the fact her great-uncle had been the brother of the town's laguz founder himself. The founders never had children, but the laguz's older brother moved to the town his brother had written to him about. When the founders died, the tiny population announced they thought the brother should be the new mayor. Thus, Winnie was next in line for the position. She would be a good one too. Nyala thought, her ever-changing thought pattern shifting again. The hyperactive wolf would be a great leader once she settled down a little, and stopped getting into things far over her head. The whole town loved her to death; she had a naturally confident air around her without being too haughty, and was charismatic in the extreme. A true people person who was destined for great things. It made Nyala proud that the girl had chosen her for a best friend out of the other teenagers in town, who admittedly weren't that plentiful, but still.

Nyala smiled to herself and then at Orland, who gave her a confused smile back. The two approached Nyala's house and stepped inside, greeted by the bustling chaos of dinner preparation. It was even crazier than usual today, too- today was the day her oldest brother had come home on a short leave from his serving as an apprentice at a craft guild in Nevassa.

Orland had always told Nyala and Winnie how much he loved being with Nyala's family- his and Winnie's consisted of very few people. Winnie had her parents; Orland had just his mother, who had found this place shortly after her husband was killed by bandits.

The oldest child in Nyala's family was one of her sisters, who was dicing tomatoes at lightning pace while also yelling for Nyala not to forget taking off her shoes over the noise. The Branded girl frowned. She never forgot; she didn't need to be told anyway. Orland read her expression and easily guessed what she was thinking, sighing slightly. Her youngest brother then came careening around the corner, slamming full force into his adopted sister's legs. He wrapped his arms tightly around the girl and was telling a story of how he had chopped celery all by himself with a plastic knife like it was some epic tale of adventure. It was positively cute.

Nyala rumpled the four-year-olds hair and said, "That's spectacular, kiddo! I didn't know you could use a knife like a big boy!" overenthusiastically. The boy's eyes shined with pride at her words, and ran off again.

After greeting her two other siblings, Barrett was the last person to stray into the small kitchen. "Hey, Ny. Staying for dinner, Orland?" He asked, even though the answer was always a polite and slightly shy shake of the head. Orland never stayed for dinner, he was too polite to accept. Barrett shrugged as the tradition continued. "Next time, you will stay for dinner." He said jokingly, his eyes narrowing in mock suspicion. Orland grinned, and then made more quick hand movements toward Nyala.

See. You. Tomorrow. He explained, and left with a wave without waiting for a response.

"HEY!" Someone shouted loudly from the hallway, where the young girl couldn't see, but that was alright. She knew the voice well. Her brother came sprinting around the corner and into Nyala's line of sight, running at her. Happiness swelled inside of her; she hadn't seen her brother in months, and the house was quieter than normal without him there to yell things. "Nyala!" He yelled, tackling the younger girl and squishing her in a monster hug. Nyala let out a shrill and hugged her brother back; loving him despite the fact he was crushing her ribs. It had been too long since she had gotten a hug like this. Her brother let her down and met her eyes, his a deep brown while his sister's were a clear grey.

"I have something to tell you." He whispered, leaning close to his sister. "I'll tell you after dinner. And don't let me forget." He said, frowning slightly. "Oh, and, don't bring it up around the others, because they can't know what I'm going to tell you."

"Oh, um... okay, sure. Yeah." Nyala replied, confused but happy that she was the only one allowed in on the secret. Her brother nodded and straightened up, the uncharacteristically serious look he had for a minute vanishing in favour of his usual cheery grin. Dinner was then announced by their oldest sister, who was the self-proclaimed head chef of today's feast.

After dinner and all the discussion about anything they hadn't been able to talk about with their oldest brother and son gone, the family was happily chatting around the large table. They all wanted to know different things about their brother, and he was trying to answer questions as fast as possible. Head-chef Sade, the oldest sister, was demanding to know what kind of merchant guilds they had in Nevassa, repeatedly asking about which kinds seemed to travel the most. Nyala's other sister, ten year old Jenia, was asking if any of the horses sold in the capitol were reddish in colour, it was her latest obsession. Her younger brother, four year old Terrill, was asking if his brother could pour him some juice, not really caring that his brother had been somewhere foreign and completely opposite of where they lived.

Nyala, however, remained silent and just listened to her brother answering the questions he was being bombarded with. Her family was being annoying, or at least she would have been annoyed if she were in her brother's position. Kest always had this insanely happy aura around him, and it only made sense. He wasn't the oldest or the youngest, he wasn't Branded, and he had a well-paying job and a loving family. It was only natural he got to be the care-free one while Nyala was seemingly uptight in comparison, which she wasn't. She was just not a ball of undying energy and happiness. Kest didn't seem to notice her silence, and if he did he was simply too smart not to draw attention to it.

Finally, after endless hours of catching up, the family decided it was time to get some sleep and departed for different parts of the household. Nyala, who had been restless all evening thanks to dying to know what her brother wanted to tell her in secret, was bursting with excitement when he said,

"Alright, I know that was a lot of waiting, but hey, what kinda kid would I be if I came him for the first time in months and said "Hi, hello. Yes, very good food, thank you. Nevassa is very nice, yes father, the city is big. Well, I think I'm going to retire to my bedroom after I tell my sister something no one else is allowed to hear! So clear out!" I think that would be al little rude, don't you?" He said, speaking as fast as ever but in a very quiet voice while his sister chuckled happily.

"Anyways, I want to tell you something, so listen up!" Nyala nodded intently as the older boy's expression grew serious for the second time that night. "I met the Dawn Brigade." He breathed, waiting to judge his sister's reaction. Nyala gasped audibly, her eyes growing wide with glee. She idolized the Dawn Brigade, and it was no secret she planned joining them someday. She bounced up and down excitedly on the balls of her feet and started demanding he tell her everything.

"I don't know much." He admitted, hoping not to disappoint his sister. "I saw them in a really small town a while outside Nevassa, it was easy enough to tell it was them, the leader really does have silver hair! It's incredible! And the others in the group were there too, and they looked exactly like they were described! Aw, man, I wish I could have talked to them..."

"But you got to see them!" Nyala shrilled, still bouncing hyperactively. "You're so lucky! I would kill to get to see the Dawn Brigade!" Silence hung in the air after that, but Nyala really wasn't sure why until...

"You want to leave don't you? You and your friends? I know you want to leave here and fight for Daein." Kest said solemnly, not quite meeting the younger girl's eyes anymore. She was taken aback with shock, but regained herself after a brief second.

"Well... yeah, I guess. I and Orland and Winnie all decided we wanted to leave... none of us can stand it here. Everyone says it's so great because we're all like a big family, but there's nowhere to go to get away from your family! And, I mean, Winnie doesn't even want to be the new mayor, she doesn't like politics or responsibility or anything, and Orland is just miserable anyways, and he would obviously put coming with us above staying in some stupid nameless town!" Nyala growled, her bottled up frustration breaking the surface.

It was her brother's turn to look shocked now. Even though he knew the restless girl didn't like the place much he hadn't expected her to yell. She never yelled, and especially never at him, and she knew it. Nyala was fuming, though when she became this mad it usually made her come to a sudden halt. She was good at controlling her temper.

Kest knew she needed to leave this town if she'd burst out at him so easily. It was driving her up the wall, and she couldn't stand it any longer.

"I want to leave, Kest." She said, relaxing her face and voice but her hands remaining in tight fists that made her knuckles go white. "You were right, we both know it. How did you find out, anyways?"

Kest stayed quiet for a few seconds, but then launched himself into a short explanation, speaking too fast and tripping over his words. "I saw Winnie today at a town we stopped in while I was coming home. I was just browsing the fair, and I saw her whispering to someone I didn't recognize. She was wearing a cloak that looked like yours, and had the hood up. She was covering her ears.

Nyala sputtered and blinked a few times. "Wh- that's impossible! You saw someone else! Or you're lying completely! You're just trying to get me to tell you something, aren't you?" She growled, her mind filling with suspicious thoughts about her brother, too dominant for her to feel guilty about.

"I'm not lying, Ny." The brown haired boy said calmly, assuring the suspicious girl. "I went up and talked to her, you can ask her. She's not denying it, she asked me to tell you why she was there, even."

The Branded girl did a double take and gasped. "Why was Winnie around Nevassa? Tell me!"

The girl was bursting with both fear and excitement, thinking that her friend sneaking around beorc territory disguising her laguz being meant something was up. Whether it had something to do with herself, she wasn't sure.

"She said she was there to see the Dawn Brigade, but that's all she would say." The taller of the two shrugged. "I guess she somehow heard they were headed there."

"So Winnie was in some town outside the capitol waiting for a glimpse of the Dawn Brigade she somehow knew was coming?"

"...I guess so."

"Are you touched in the head or something?"

"Maybe."

"I'll believe you anyway, because Win wasn't in town at all today, Orland and I looked for her." She said, thinking back. "...Do you think she's... trying to get us into the Dawn Brigade?"

"That was my guess." Her brother nodded. "Oh, wait, I forgot something. She also said she wouldn't be back until tomorrow, and I was to tell her parents some made up lie, which she didn't even supply for me. Think her parents will believe me if I told them she joined a convent?"

Nyala laughed loudly at her brother's joke and shook her head, letting her hair tumble over her shoulders. "I guess we'll have to see, then, won't we?"

Meanwhile in Nevassa, Daein

Bandits. Again. It was becoming a huge issue now, these bandit groups attacking all sorts of places in Daein, from very small merchant wagons to where one particularly notorious team was attacking now: the capital city itself. It was heartbreaking, first losing Daein to the solemn treks of war, but then having its new superiors watching it crumble from the inside out?

The Imperial Occupation Army, who were supposed to be the peacekeepers in Daein were really just a bunch of dim-witted and power-hungry Begnion soldiers who were only around to try and catch the Dawn Brigade, not to help Daein villagers in situations such as this one. Micaiah remembered how bitterly the woman who warmed her and Edward of the attack had laughed when Micaiah asked if the Imperial Occupation Army were helping the situation.

Micaiah, of course, was furious at Begnion's treatment of Daein's residents. If the Occupation Army was human enough to fight for the country they now ruled, the Dawn Brigade wouldn't have to deal almost singlehandedly with all these attacks! And on top of that, every time they needed to help out a town, they had to leave after because they revealed themselves again! That was the hardest part, seeing as they would hear word of the Dawn Brigade being spotted again, but it would absolutely never be a Daein to rat them out. Showing themselves and taking on a group of bandits in the very capitol was going to have them in hiding for months. Yes, it was Begnion soldiers who were there or maybe at least near during bandit attacks but never cared to help. So, to put it simply, Micaiah and the Dawn Brigade constantly risked capture or their life to help citizens who could be helped by those who were supposed to be there to help them. No wonder Sothe was always so agitated, it was simple luck Micaiah had such a calm personality and a wise head on her shoulders to keep her group safe.

The screaming was everywhere, woman were grabbing their children by the hands or waists to pull them into the nearest house or store, the men were all blocking their wives and kids from danger. None drew their swords to these bandits for they had made a name for themselves, and had apparently burned down entire towns within hours and made off with tens of thousands of money in gold in a few short months. The kind of bandit the Dawn Brigade lived to destroy. If they were to restore their country to its former glory, they would do it one terrorizing band of thugs at a time.

The team was shockingly small, really, no more than, what, twenty men?

Edward was already rushing headlong at one, dangerously brandishing his sword in all directions. He knocked over a pile of apples during one of wild swings, but didn't seem to notice. Micaiah smiled to herself and hurried to go help Edward not slay himself accidentally. Yune gave a frightened tweet on her shoulder, reminding Micaiah of her presence.

"It's alright, Yune." She whispered to the bird. "Go find someplace safe for now, it's dangerous here."

Yune tweeted loudly again and fluttered away, leaving Micaiah and Edward alone to fight off the bandits. Sothe, Nolan and Leonardo weren't around, but Leo was supposed to have arrived a while ago; he would show up and help any moment.

Micaiah finally caught up to Edward and immediately began firing off Light spells. It was an overwhelming feeling, casting a spell... the sound of the ancient tongue they were written in was beautiful, and the feeling of the spirits shooting forth, through you, and helping you in your time of need was magical. Sensational. The feeling was simply too hard to describe.

She summoned a Light spell to pierce the nearest bandit, rays from all angles raining down on him repeatedly; striking his heart over and over as he screamed in pain. The hard thing about using Light magic, it was slow to kill. Micaiah flinched in shock and gasped loudly as another axe-wielding maniac came her way; she had been too busy thinking about what it might feel like to be pierced by pure Light to notice him earlier.

He jumped the last few feet to quickly close the distance between and swung his axe downwards with great power, only to see his weapon smash forcibly into the ground and send a painful burst of recoil into his arms and shoulders. He grunted in anger and went for another slow swing in Micaiah's direction. The Maiden knew she had little time to cast a spell before the axe would hit her, so she lithely dodged again quite a bit. She immediately began casting, her fingers starting to tingle where they rested on her tome, only to have to stop abruptly when a tiny flash flew right into the bandit's stomach. A long wooden arrow was now protruding from his blood-covered flesh, and Leonardo was walking calmly towards Micaiah with his bow in hand. Edward was fighting off the last bandit; somehow managing to kill at least twenty in the time it took Micaiah to kill a single one.

"How long have you been here?" Micaiah asked Leonardo breathlessly.

"Only a few seconds, I just helped Edward with some thugs while you fought that one." He replied, absently trailing his pale fingers along his shining bow.

"I wish I had foreseen this," the fortune-teller frowned, "I would have been able to stop more bandits than one. I feel like you and Edward did all the work here."

Leonardo grinned. "Well, we did."

He and Micaiah made their way back to Edward, who had travelled quite a distance due to running and jumping before striking, which he seemed to love doing.

The eager myrmidon rushed to meet them, pink in the face and grinning broadly, knowing he deserved praise for taking on so many bandits singlehandedly.

"That was quite a show, Ed." Leonardo complimented, patting his friend on the back. Edward smiled the kind of smile where all the light in the universe entered his eyes and you simply can't help but smile back. He had a kind face that matched his heart.

Micaiah was brushing dust off her deep red tunic when the blond archer suggested they head back to their base, which they had to pack up now due to exposing themselves in the presence of Begnion soldiers. Not that it would take long, Micaiah thought, still trying to beat the settled duct off her well-worn clothes. There really isn't that much to pack.

Edward was nodding in approval at Leonardo's suggestion absently, but then his expression darkened a little.

"We have to leave again..." the brown-haired boy trailed off, his brow furrowing. "But Nolan and Sothe aren't back yet."

"Oh no, I forgot!" Micaiah moaned, running her fingers through her shiny silver hair. Her worried tone was a bad sign, not to mention her actually forgetting something. The Branded girl was known for her infamous calm among the Dawn Brigade. The leader had become increasingly agitated recently; the pressure of trying to save villagers while being on the run from people whose mission was to kill her wasn't an ideal burden. She sighed. "Let's head back, I guess."

Edward and Leonardo nodded obediently and followed Micaiah, who was still running her fingers through her silver tresses. They knew from experience that a worried Micaiah was not a happy Micaiah, so they didn't ask her any questions they wanted an answer to. Are we going to leave without Sothe and Nolan, or are we going to wait and hope we don't get caught? And for that, the Maiden had no answer.

Instead she forced her brain to come up with ideas, trying to put things together in her head in the most logical solution she could find. Only one Begnion soldier was present at the time, and if he had to report back to his head, he would have to go on a day trip by wagon or a few days walking. It could take only two days for reinforcement to come and capture the Dawn Brigade, unless they were on the move by then. Admittedly, it was plenty of time; but not when you aren't sure when your other members were going to come back to the base. She decided they would wait for as long as they could, even if it meant increasing the risk of getting caught.

Then of course, there was also that laguz girl who was supposed to meet them in three days time in Nevassa... but they simply couldn't wait that long. She'd spoken with the wolf earlier that morning in a town outside Nevassa, but she hadn't planned having to leave so quickly... everything had been ruined in such a short time! There had to be a way to get word to the girl, Winnie, but how? Micaiah had not the slightest idea as to where she lived, and then there was the whole Sothe and Nolan problem. Micaiah, Edward and Leonardo separated from not only Sothe and Nolan but also what could have been three new fighters. If nothing ended up working out right... this could mean the Dawn Brigade would be split up with almost no chance of rejoining, and the Maiden wasn't going to settle for that.