Chapter 3: Human-Manakete Relations
The next few days of travelling caused Brady to think once again about his current relationship with Nah. There was something about her that was making him feel unnerved, uncomfortable even. The first day or two seemed to be okay, but as the days went on, Brady started to realize that there was a big problem between the two.
Nah wouldn't stop following him.
Every time the convoy prepared to travel, Brady would be assigned his position within the march. However, with every march, he always found that Nah was adjacent to him. In front of him, behind him, to his left or right (but never diagonal), every march she was stood beside him in one place or another. He had dismissed the first couple of marches as coincidence. However, with every passing march, he'd noticed Nah's behavior around him. She'd usually say hi, but other than that, all she would do was stay near him. If he had to be frank, he wasn't really happy with it. Even when a bout of the Risen or a battle would call for him to take up his axe and staff, Nah would always be right next to him. It helped when she was smashing her enemies into dust, but did she always have to stand so near to him when he was trying to heal someone?
Brady couldn't really call Nah out on her behavior when they were marching. The last thing he needed was to cause drama within the march. He'd cracked that Nah wasn't quite the normal person; her erratic behavior seemed to switch from composed to fluster in a matter of seconds. Despite his fondness for her, having her following him around every second of the day was starting to get annoying.
When the convoy had set up camp outside of an abandoned fortress, Brady set off towards his personal tent, sweating from the strenuous march. His tent was small and humble; it held inside a small pillow and blanket that constituted as his bed, a small crate with his possessions inside and a lantern for light. There were also a couple of books that he had for reading during the sleepless nights. Kneeling into his tent, Brady removed his robes and slid a white vest on, laying his staff on his bed, before stretching his back and yawning. The march had left his feet and legs quite dirty, not to mention the amount he had sweated during the trip. He relished the fact that he was one of the few people who were allowed to bathe today, based on a roster organized by Chrom. A bath and bed, he thought. Perfect.
Turning around, he jolted in fright again as he saw Nah standing right in front of him, still dressed in her red robe and marching gear. Unbelievable, Brady thought. Not content with following him during marches, she was now following him around camp. He could already tell that he was getting strange looks from a couple of passers by. Sighing, he scratched his head and adjusted his eyes to look down at Nah, who was a head's height shorter than him.
"Um, Nah?" he asked, preparing his point in his head. He had to tell her now, before things could get out of hand.
"Yes, Brady?" she replied, a small smile on her face. Her pearly teeth were showing again, Brady felt envious of her teeth, whishing his could be just as straight and shiny. He looked around him with a critical eye, making sure nobody was watching them outside of his tent, before looking down at Nah again.
"Is it me…" he begun, choosing his words carefully. "…or have you been following me around constantly the last few days? Did you, uh…need something?" He couldn't quite figure out Nah's motive for following him, yet he restrained himself from losing his patience with her as he did before.
"Do I need to need something to be around you?" she asked innocently, with Brady's subtle point flying right over her head. However, she did have a point, and Brady did feel like a fair verbal battle with her.
"Are ya talkin' legally?" he asked, opening his hand out as he asked. "…'Cause then I guess not" He started to walk towards the direction of the middle sized blue tent positioned near the river, where the water for bathing would be taken, cleaned and heated up. Brady expected Nah to follow him, which she did.
"Also, I'll be introducing myself as your little sister from now on" she suddenly revealed, stopping Brady in his tracks. "Just so you know"
"Wait, what?" Brady asked as he stopped, turning to look at Nah again. He watched as she smiled, standing up on her toes and holding her hands behind her back. Her head cocked slightly as she chuckled a little.
"I always wanted a nice, protective older brother" she explained to a gob smacked Brady, who had only just processed her words and realized what she was saying. "I'd say rescuing me from drowning qualifies you as nice and protective, no?"
Brady had learnt to be patient with Nah by this point, but even this was going too far for him. He didn't deny it: he liked Nah, he liked her quirkiness and was starting to get used to her swinging moods. However, for her to consider him a brother after such a short while didn't sit well with him.
"Yeah, but not as your brother!" Brady retorted. Despite trying to concede some points to her, Nah let the point fly over her head again.
"Oh, don't worry" she reassured, putting a hand on Brady's arm (much to his surprise). "I'm sure you'll fall into the role with practice" Brady subtly moved Nah's hand away from his hand with his own, stuttering at the prospect that Nah was making him face. He didn't want to be her brother, he thought. Why was she trying to progress their relationship so quickly?
"That's not the…" he begun, before tripping up on his words. "Gah, I don't even…" He didn't want to say the wrong thing. Brady wanted all options available to him, and his muddled words reflected that.
"Plus, I still feel terrible for thinking my poor, misunderstood brother was scary" Nah continued, a hint of sadness appearing in her eyes momentarily. "I'll make it up to you from here on as your doting, adorable little sis!"
"Good grief" Brady thought. "This girl's nuts! She ain't lettin' me get a word in!" Brady cleared his throat in an attempt to convey some clarity to Nah.
"I told ya!" he spoke loudly and clearly, hunching slightly to match her height. "Ain't nothin' to make up for!" he watched as Nah stepped down from her toes, her face suddenly becoming serious.
"Every debt left unpaid is a threat to the stability of human-manakete relations" she recited, as if from a handbook. Brady let out a frustrated sigh, his patience once again thinning.
"That your overblown way of saying you're too stubborn to back down on this?" he asked. An end to the conversation was what Brady was seeking; his bath could have already been poured by now. The last thing he wanted was a cold bath.
Nah nodded to his question in response, ever defiant against Brady's frustrations. Watching her nod, Brady stood back up straight, yawning a little.
"Fine then" he conceded, flapping his arms slightly. "Do what you want". He stretched his arms for a lengthy amount of time. Nah stood and watched. Finishing his stretch, he quickly remembered something and looked down at Nah again.
"But ditch the brother-sister stuff!" he warned, his face flushing slightly red. Hushing his voice, he put a hand to the side of his mouth. "Folks might get the wrong idea…" Nah closed her eyes in sadness and sighed, allowing her body to droop slightly. Her head followed suit as she looked at the floor in disappointment.
"Oh, all right" she huffed. "It's a grave shame, but I'll concede the point"
Brady was surprised at the response. She had finally allowed him a point in their verbal showdown. For some reason, Brady felt the urge to smile. Hiding it, he gave a nod to Nah.
"Well, now that's that settled" he sighed, relaxed that the battle was at its end. "See you around, Nah"
He started to walk, but suddenly realized that Nah had started to follow him. Brady groaned to himself; was she really thinking she was going to get away with following him to the bath tent? Did she even know that he was going for a bath? Stopping, he turned around again, taking a breath to ready himself.
"But I make no such concession with regards to following you around!" Nah spoke, cutting off Brady's attempt to scold her. He really wondered if she knew where he was going.
"…Uh, hold on a second here" he said, putting his hand out, revealing his palm to her as if he were stopping her. Nah maneuvered her face around his hand and stood right up to Brady, getting up on her toes again. Brady was caught by surprise, taking a quick step back; he didn't expect Nah to get so close to him.
"I intend to stay by your side until I manage to repay my debt to you" Nah said staunchly, refusing to let her obligation go. Brady sighed, desperate to shake her off. The last place he wanted Nah following him was into the bath tub.
"Y-yeah, but there's gotta be SOME exceptions! Right?" Brady growled, feeling the need to gain control of the situation. If he let Nah follow him, there had to be rules, he thought. "Like, I don't really want ya following me where I'm headed now…" He shot a gaze to the bathing tent, trying to illustrate his point. No reaction from Nah. Brady sighed and rubbed a hand across his face.
"…By which I mean I expressly forbid ya from following me" he explained, trying his absolute best not to tell Nah where he was going. "Got it?"
But Nah still didn't get it. Her face displayed her worry as she stepped up towards Brady again.
"What? Why?" she asked, her voice rising slightly. "Where are you going?"
Brady hated to make a scene, but as he spotted some of his fellow companions strolling nearby where his exchange was taking place, he knew he had to tell her.
"To take a bath!" he revealed, pointing towards the bathing tent. He saw the shock appear instantly on Nah's face as his own face flushed red with embarrassment.
"Eep!" Nah yelled, jumping back suddenly. Her pale cheeks flushed completely red as she struggled to control her composure. "S-sorry! I'll, um…I'll see you around, Brady!" With a quick wave, Nah quickly retreated into the darkness. Unable to believe how naïve she had been, Brady stood still, watching her vanish into the darkness. Tutting, he shook his head and chuckled to himself, before turning his back to where she had been standing and proceeded towards the bathing tent, hoping that his bath hadn't gone cold during the exchange.