I can't believe it! I'm updating again! Holy crow! This probably won't help, but this chapter has been mostly written for months, but I couldn't find a good place to end it. Then the tests, the band competitions, the concerts, the new doggy...yeah. Life is hectic at home!
Mihara: ...Stop making excuses!
Me: Fine! Without any further delay... REVIEW REPLIES!
Fluffystuff101324: Yep, the guns may or may not be involved... (evil laugh) The...the happy ending...? It's...(sobs) I can't say if everyone does or not! Thanks for your review!
dracomancer6491: Sorry it took me so long to update...again... But I'm gonna try and promise that it won't take as long next time... Then again, it may be a realllllly long action chapter? It'll probably be a part one, part two thing, instead... Thanks for the encouragement!
TheSilverHairedMaiden: I'm sorry Kieran seemed out of character! Meep! I'm just trying to...show his more calm and collective side. Was it too much at once, you think? =/ Ashera's deal is she's just- (the following is bleeped out). But I'm still glad you liked the chapter! Hope this one isn't a disappointment! Thanks for reviewing!
Midnightxwolfx: I'm glad you like the story! Sorry it's so long, but I'm one of those people who can try and do so much with the plot and everything. I've always been one of those people who are like, "THIS BOOK ISN'T A MINIMUM OF 200 PAGES! I DON'T WANNA READ IT!" Haha. But thank you very much for your review! (hands you a cookie)
XxXxXxX
Chapter 34
The hero of Tellius walked aimlessly down the halls of the palace of Sienne. Late last night, he had heard shouting and went to go investigate. He found that Tibarn's daughter had been attacked – again – by Ashera. Her pulse was still strong, but her breathing was shallow. Leanne, Harmony, Ranulf, and her family were at her side, watching over her. The fact that Ashera was still so...threatened, practically, by Mihara worried him. No matter how many times he tried to figure out why, he always hit a dead end. It also appeared that Mihara herself wasn't sure why Ashera was after her, either. The most he and Tibarn could come up with was that three years ago, Ashera tried to "care" for her "children" by turning them stone. She had wanted them to stop fighting. However, now she was attacking her "children?" The best theory they had was that she feels it's necessary to put a stop in the defiance of people. She obviously didn't like when the group at the Tower of Guidance stood up to her and her judgment three years ago. Now, she merely feels like putting a stop to that by getting what mortals call revenge.
As Ike turned, he found himself heading out to the courtyard. Perhaps that was a good thing. He needed some air. As he took his first step outside, he saw that there were drifting white snowflakes falling from the sky. The sky was gray, and the air was easily freezing temperature. He gazed up toward the sky, taking in the feeling he always received when it snowed. Though the snow gave him a sense of peace, he couldn't help but be reminded of Ashera's War, when everyone was turned to stone. It made him feel slightly paranoid, like he was going to walk outside and relive it all over again.
He then spotted someone sitting on a bench in the courtyard. Whoever it was was wearing a black cloak around their body, and was sobbing. Ike took a few steps towards the person, only to discover that it was Sylvia. She was hunched over, her hands over her face, crying into them. She didn't even hear Ike approaching her. When he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, she nearly jumped. When she looked at him, Ike gave her a concerned look. Her eyes were red a slightly puffy, indicating she had been crying for a while. When she saw who it was, she quickly turned her face away, sniffling, trying to calm herself down.
"What's wrong?" Ike softly asked her.
"It's-it's nothing... I'm just...b-being self-fish..." she replied, wiping her eyes.
Ike walked around the other side of the bench, sitting down beside her. He leaned forward, trying to look her in the eyes. "There's nothing wrong with being selfish."
"I j-just... I feel s-so horrible... I haven't even been ab-able to tell my own friends how I fe-feel...!" Sylvia didn't turn her gaze to Ike. Quite frankly, she felt rather embarassed that he was seeing her in a state like that. She clenched her hands tightly as they rested upon her lap.
"Why not?"
"I don't want to look like a crybaby!" she snapped, her voice raised a little. When she realized what she had done, she lowered her voice again. "Even though...I-I've tried to be str-strong since I got here...I can't help but think of my f-family..."
"That's only natural," Ike chided lightly. "You were brought to an entirely new world. You haven't seen them in such a long time... You didn't even get to say goodbye, as I understand it."
She nodded slowly, keeping her head down. "My father... He was...is...a soldier for m-my country...but...a long time ago, he...he went missing in action..."
Ike listened intentionally, understanding the pain of losing a father.
"And my mom... She's...terminally ill...so...I don't even kn-know about her...and I don't know if she-she's alive... I don't have any s-siblings, so...I've lived with my cousin, Giselle...and...I don't know what sh-she's doing...or...anything!" Sylvia's sobs intensified again. "I just don't know anything! I've not t-told Mihara, because I know it's got to b-be, like, ten times worse! She's l-losing her memory more and more by the d-day...! She can't remember...all the amazing times she's had...! She doesn't remember her other f-family...! She can't remember her friends...! She just can't remember!"
Ike slowly brought his hand up and set it on Sylvia's back. He rubbed small circles, and just as he was about to say something, Sylvia added, "And now...my chance to go home is h-here...but..." She took shaking, deep breaths, and slowly looked at him again. "But now... I've made s-so many new friends here... I've learned magic...and I've had experiences here that...just can't be ex-experienced on Earth... And..."
Ike then awkwardly wrapped his arms around Sylvia in a comforting hug, making her freeze. "It's okay to be selfish...and it's okay to be confused and indecisive. You just need to make the choice that you believe is the best. No one can help you with it; only you can."
Sylvia slowly buried her head in Ike's broad shoulder. She scoffed through her sobs, looking at the ironic side. "Not too long ago, I'd pr-probably be flippin' like a fangirl right now..."
Ike frowned with confusion. "...What?"
"Hah... It's nothing..." She sniffed again. "Thanks, Ike..."
Yune, who had been watching from afar, smiled gently to herself. "...I'll just talk to her later. No doubt, she'll start thinking even more about what she wants to do."
XxXxXxX
Shoen looked his father full in the eye and said, in a low, ired voice, "Dad, this is just ridiculous. Ashera just attacked Mihara again and you're planning on having me stay here when I want to be rid of her just as much as you?"
"I am," Tibarn replied with an identical tone. "We don't know what's over there on Earth, and we don't know what to expect. I would much rather you stay here with your sister."
"Be honest, Dad. What can I do to help her here when I could help uproot the source of her pain?" Shoen challenged.
Tibarn narrowed his eyes at his son. "You will stay here. That's final."
Shoen watched his father as he walked back down the hall, his hands clenched and trembling with anger. He heard quiet footsteps approaching him from behind. A warm hand touched his shoulder. When he glanced back, he saw his mother, giving him a sad smile. "...He just wants you to be safe," she told him. "But I also think...that he forgets that you aren't a little boy."
Shoen averted her gaze for a moment. "I just... I feel like...when I fought that dragon assassin...that I...failed him in some way. I want to make it up to him...and you."
Zelena gave him a puzzled expression. "Failed him how? You fought an assassin and you got away with a few injuries. That was more of a success in my eyes."
"Yes, but...when we started...he said he wanted to see if I could fight as well as Dad."
Zelena practically sighed and took her hand off his shoulder. She stepped over so that she was looking up to his face. "Shoen, look at me."
Hesitantly, he brought his golden eyes up to meet her hazel ones. Zelena stated sternly, "You can't expect to be as good as your father. He's much older and much more experienced. At your age, he was not much better than you. ...Do you know how he got that scar on his face?"
"...By fighting for Phoenics," Shoen answered quietly, recalling Silvan's tale.
"Do you know why he got it?"
This question made Shoen pause. When he couldn't come up with a good enough answer, he scoffed lightly and replied with a smirk, "Rotten luck?"
Zelena laughed lightly. "No. He got it because he was not experienced. He had had plenty of training, sure, but he hadn't fought in too many real battles. Ones he had were for his life and others', and they simply needed to get away. He had no time to put his real skills to the test."
"My fight was life-or-death. I had time." Shoen's eyes hardened. "I see what you're saying, Mom, but..."
"No buts," she interrupted. "Shoen, don't be headstrong about this. You know what I'm trying to say. I understand you want to fight and I understand you want to prove yourself to your father. This...just is not the right time for it."
As Shoen opened his mouth to retort, a loud shout of confusion was heard, resounding off the palace's walls: "YOU WISH FOR ME TO DO WHAT, YOUR MAJESTY?"
Both raising identical quizzical eyebrows, and momentarily distracted from their conversation, Shoen and Zelena glanced a short distance down the hallway to the closed door that held the Queen of Crimea behind it. Obviously, the one that had shouted was none other than Kieran of the Royal Knights. Inside the room, Kieran was standing, his armor and axe laying nearby, his hands clenched into tight fists. Elincia had a sober expression, not looking away from one of her Royal Knights. "Exactly what I said, Kieran."
"Why can I not go to aid Your Majesty?" he demanded. "Why must I remain here?"
"We can only bring a limited number of people to Earth, Kieran. It is not that I don't wish for you to go, but we are choosing a large number to remain behind. If we need aid, we will send for it." Elincia sighed, then added, "Yune suggested it, and we all discussed it late last night. This is the best approach. Lord Soren believes so, as well."
Kieran remained silent, his jaw set with slight anger. He had been selected to accompany and protect Queen Elincia, yet he was being left behind on such an important and life-threatening mission? He didn't like it one bit, but he couldn't just disobey his queen, either. With a defeated tone, he replied, "...As you wish, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Kieran." Elincia gave him a smile. "Don't worry. Geoffrey, Lucia, and Bastian will all be close by."
For some reason, this didn't seem to reassure Kieran. Elincia dismissed him, and he walked out into the hallway, leaving his weapon and armor. He glanced at the suspiciously swift retreating figures of the Hawk King's wife and son. He shrugged it off and headed the opposite direction.
XxXxXxX
"It's rather surprising you've already woken up." Ranulf continued speaking, trying to discourage Mihara from leaving the infirmary yet.
"I guess that means I'm getting used to it," she replied sourly. She looked up into Ranulf's eyes as he blocked the doorway. "C'mon, Ranulf. Let me by. I'm going to go talk to Dad."
"He isn't going to let you go," the warrior reasoned. "No matter how much you talk to him, it won't change his mind."
"Then I'll follow him again," came the response with a tone that said it would be a piece of cake.
From behind her, Leanne agreed with Ranulf, "Please, Mihara. Even though I have come along with Reyson, I have been chosen to stay behind."
"You're also pregnant," the Hawk Princess pointed out. "It's a seriously big deal for you, your brothers, and the king. Me, on the other hand: I'm not pregnant, I'm not weak, and I'm smart enough to know my limits, even in battle." Her eyes narrowed at the floor, not making eye contact with either one of them. Adrenaline pumped in her veins. "I'm going to fight, one way or another."
Ranulf's arms were suddenly wrapped around Mihara, making her freeze momentarily as she inhaled his scent that she knew so well. They didn't need to worry about anything in front of Leanne – she had been waiting for a while for something to happen between them. He whispered softly in her ear, "Mihara, I don't want you to get hurt. I wouldn't be able to fight well, knowing that you were somewhere else. Don't you remember what I said last night?"
"Yes..." For a moment, Ranulf thought he heard a defeated tone in Mihara's voice. However, he knew that she still wouldn't give up that easily. "But don't you remember what I said?"
"Of course I do..." Ranulf's ears twitched. "But you would be one of those who would get chosen to be reinforcements."
"What if the messenger can't get back to tell us?" she challenged, burying her head into his shoulder.
"Then I don't want you to be in the middle of it if it gets bad." Ranulf let his embrace loosen, and his hands slid down to hers, holding them tightly. "Please, Mihara."
She inhaled sharply and squeezed his hands back. Before she could open her mouth and reply, the infirmary door open, startling all three in the room. Ike stood there, taking in what he was seeing, and gave Ranulf a smirk. It quickly faded from his face as he looked past Ranulf's shoulder to Mihara. "You should go see Sylvia."
Alert shone in Mihara's eyes. "What's wrong? Is she okay?"
Ike shrugged slightly and shook his head. "She just...needs to talk right now. Harmony will meet you there."
"Where is she?" Mihara stepped around Ranulf, though she didn't let go of his hands yet.
"Out in the courtyard," the blue haired warrior replied. "You might want your cloak. It's snowing out."
Mihara nodded understandingly, glanced once more at Leanne, then Ranulf, and let her hands slip away from his. She moved past him with urgency in her steps, not even caring to grab her cloak all the way from her room. She was closer to the courtyard, and if Sylvia needed her, she would rather go to her first. Her steps echoed in the dead halls, though her ears caught pieces of conversations from behind closed doors. She heard familiar and non-familiar voices put together.
As she came to the courtyard, she saw two figures sitting in the falling snow atop a bench. She figured that it was Harmony and Sylvia and walked towards them. The sound of suppressed sobbing reached her ears, and she instantly became alarmed. Harmony raised her head and turned to see who was approaching. Her face was contorted with sadness, and her eyes shone with unshed tears as she saw Mihara. One of her arms was draped around Sylvia's shoulders. Mihara moved to the front of the bench and knelt into the thin dusting of snow. She looked at her close friend with concern. "Sylvia...? What's the matter?"
Sylvia glanced up with slight surprise, not having heard Mihara's footsteps. She made a noise in her throat that almost sound like an aggrivated scoff. "Ah... I just...really hate this."
Mihara's brows furrowed with confusion. "Hate what?"
"Even though...it's sort of easier for you...but also harder..." Sylvia averted her gaze, her eyes red and puffed. "I can't forget...everyone."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what Sylvia was talking about. Mihara couldn't feel the longing or sadness or homesickness that she was sure Sylvia and her "sister" were feeling. She had been like a slate: wiped clean. She remembered neither her parents, nor her friends. She heard voices and saw shadows, but not enough to make her long for Earth. Mihara slowly wrapped her arms around Sylvia and swallowed the knot in her throat. She couldn't stand to see her strong friend broken down like she was. "I'm sorry, Sylvia... I wish...that I could do something for you." She buried her own head into Sylvia's snow-covered shoulder. "But if...you want to go home... This...is your chance."
Sylvia held onto Mihara tightly and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know..."
The Hawk Princess looked at Harmony. "It's your chance, too, Harmony..."
She nodded silently. "I'm just...a little more confused on my position." At Mihara's slightly puzzled look, she explained, "I mean...I was changed back on Earth...so...how do we know I'll go back to normal? What if...," her voice caught a little, "I'm stuck like this?"
Mihara gave her an understanding look. "Yeah, but...if the plan works, and Yune and Ashera become one again, then they-er...she can turn you back to normal."
Silence answered Mihara. She then managed, "Do either of you...regret this?"
Sylvia pulled away and gave Mihara a fierce look. "Of course not! That's why this is all...just so damn hard."
"I agree." Harmony placed her free hand on Mihara's shoulder. "There's nothing to regret. This is...just plain amazing, even if the reason I'm here wasn't under the best of circumstances. I'm...still trying to process that this world exists. It just..." She laughed without humor. "It just really makes me question everything on reality."
"Yeah... I think I know what you mean. This place shouldn't exist to us...but now that we know..." Sylvia shrugged half-heartedly.
"So...what will you do? When the time comes?" Mihara's golden eyes passed from Sylvia to Harmony, and back again.
The two girls looked at each other. Harmony replied for the both of them, "We still have time to think about it."
Silence fell between the three once more, snow falling on them, but melting on contact with their bare skin and dampening their hair ever so slightly. Then, all at once, they stood and entered a three-way hug. They stood there for a few minutes before Sylvia released a long and shaking sigh. Then, with the strongest smile she could manage, she pulled away from them and her entrancing blue eyes locked onto Mihara's maroon colored wings. She removed the arm that had been around Mihara's shoulder and proceeded to poke her primary feathers. Mihara and Harmony couldn't hold back their amused smiles and laughed.
XxXxXxX
"So will she be okay?" Mist inquired, concern laced in her voice.
"I think so. She's pretty strong, to have lasted this long before breaking," came Ike's reply.
Ranulf, who had followed Ike back to the Greil Mercenaries' area and where Tormod and Muarim had also gone, placed his head in his hand. "Yeah. She's only recently learned magic, even though she's been here for a while now. She's obviously been trying to occupy herself so she wouldn't think about her home."
"Then she should not be involved in this battle," Soren spoke up.
All the heads turned towards him to hear what he had to say. Before he could continue, Oscar made his concurrence known. "I understand where you're coming from. Even though she's been affected by this as much as the rest of us, she's too conflicted to have her mind in the fight."
The branded man nodded. "Yes. She would be a danger to even have on the reinforcements."
Shinon, who was in a corner of the room, examining his lethal arrows, commented, "Maybe she should stay here for a while. Maybe it'll toughen her up."
Anger flashed in Titania's eyes. "Shinon, really? She was torn from her family and all she knew and thrown into a different world. All of this strange and, no doubt, stressful to her."
The archer shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, indicating he really could care less. Even Rolf, from across the room, near Mist, seemed like he wanted to say something, but didn't speak up against his teacher. When a tense silence fell in the room, Gatrie decided to throw in his two cents. "Well, not to mention, she's such a lovely girl, we don't want to throw her into the battle and end up having her get scarred anywhere!"
Ike's eyes shot up for a split second at Gatrie, but he quickly looked away again. Mist's eyes narrowed at her brother. "Is something wrong, Ike?"
"Hm-?" Ike looked back up. "No, nothing's wrong."
Ranulf blatantly coughed before excusing himself with a sly grin. Tormod chuckled before asking if he was okay. Though Ike gave his close friend a skeptical look, Ranulf assured them he was fine. Muarim then decided to change the subject. "Who will go in first?"
"I think we're going to decide that later tonight," Ike answered. "Sanaki is going to call another meeting, but with only the leaders of each group."
"There might be a scouting troop going in first," Mia added, leaning back in her chair. "To see if Ashera has any dirty tricks up her long, creepy-feathered sleeves."
The tiger laguz murmured in understanding, then glanced up towards the door, as did Ranulf. Only a moment later, it cracked open to reveal Reyson, his face appearing grim. As all the heads in the room turn towards him, he announced, "The Empress wants to see Ike and Ranulf."
"What for?" Ike still stood. "Is it time for the meeting already?"
"No. It's something else. She's summoned Tibarn as well, but no one else."
Puzzlement passed through the room as Ike and Ranulf followed after Reyson and out of the room. Out in the hall was Shoen and Irea, also waiting. Ranulf questioned, "Are you guys going to Sanaki, too?"
"We are now." There was easily anger and possibly defiance in Shoen's voice.
"What's up?" Ike frowned.
Irea seemed noticeably nervous and worried as Shoen replied, "I caught the scent of someone familiar...and I want to know what he's doing here."
As they began walking towards where Sanaki waited, Ranulf repeated, "'He'...?"
Shoen merely nodded. Irea walked close to him, suppressing her urge to grab his arm for security. The three other laguz could sense her distress, and it made them uneasy. Shoen turned to Irea and whispered something to her that even the other two laguz couldn't catch. Ike sighed and shook his head, used to not being able to understand things like the laguz race.
They came quickly to the throne room, only to hear furious bellowing from inside. It was none other than the Hawk King, and he sounded pissed. They urgently opened the door to see what was going on. As they stepped in, shutting the door behind them, Ranulf inhaled the scent of the visitor with Sanaki and instantly, his blood boiled. Behind him, Irea grabbed Shoen's hand and squeezed. At Ranulf's side, Ike and Reyson both became stone-faced and still.
"...way on Tellius would I ever cooperate with him!" Tibarn growled, his wings quivering with rage. He turned his dangerously gleaming eyes towards the visitor. "Because I believe I promised to kill you the next time I saw you."
Kyo, the black dragon laguz, stood perfectly calm, his arms crossed, his crimson eyes watching the Hawk King. He replied lowly with, "It was a job."
As Sanaki gazed at the two, Yune perched on her shoulder in the form of a bird, Tibarn's clenched hands trembled. His voice became extremely quiet. "You're telling me...that you attacked my family twice...for money?"
Kyo nodded his head once, not saying anything else.
"You know...your little attitude is really managing to piss me off."
Ike, from across the room, found his voice first. Directing his question at the Empress of Begnion, he inquired, "What's going on?"
Despite the fact that Tibarn was about to supply his own answer, Sanaki quickly managed to answer first. "Kyo has been hired...to aid us with Ashera."
"What?" Shoen and Ranulf snapped at once.
"Are you insane?" Shoen added, no hesitation in his voice that he was insulting the Empress of Begnion.
Sanaki's eyes hardened. "We hardly have time to be choosy with out allies, Hawk Prince. I understand that Kyo has clashed with your family before-"
"'Clashed'?" Tibarn growled. "He's attempted to murder my family. You expect me to fight Ashera with him?"
"If you can't accept the fact that his help would greatly profit us, then maybe you should remain behind, Hawk King," Sanaki challenged.
Complete silence fell in the throne room as Tibarn and Sanaki glared profusely at each other. His hands balled into tight fists and his entire body trembled. He took a few steps off to the side, and with another dagger shot at Kyo, he began to storm from the room. "Watch yourself, Empress."
The door slammed loudly.
Ike kept his eyes trained on Kyo, attempting at being the calm one in the room. Reyson had run out of the room after his close friend. "...Why should we trust you?"
Kyo's red eyes trailed over to the hero, his expression unchanging. "I have nothing to offer to you." His gaze then shifted to Irea, still standing mostly behind Shoen. "...Any of you."
As the branded girl shivered again, Shoen shifted his weight to make himself cover her more. He demanded, "Why did you attack Irea?"
"...I was paid to," he replied cooly.
"By who?" came Ranulf at last.
Kyo shrugged indifferently. "A cloaked figure from here in Begnion. Their scent was hidden, so I do not know who it was."
Rage flashed through Shoen's eyes. He shook Irea's hand off his arm and he began stepping forward. Sensing what was about to go down, Irea ran in front of him. She placed her hands against his shoulders and pushed back gently. "Shoen, please calm down! What you're about to do isn't going to solve anything!"
Shoen paused, not taking his eyes off Kyo...or rather, his target. His victim. He was sick of Kyo's existance. His constant attacks... His pissy attitude... His entire life. Irea's words didn't even register to him. All he wanted to do was tear Kyo apart...piece by piece...
He grabbed Irea's wrists and practically tossed her aside, causing her to hit the floor. Just as she did, Ranulf had transformed and tackled him to the ground. Ike tensed and rested a hand on Ragnell's hilt. Ranulf called, "Hey! Shoen! Get ahold of yourself!"
Kyo watched as Shoen struggled against the cat laguz's hold on him. Ike went to go kneel beside Irea to make sure she was okay, then made eye contact with Sanaki, who was watching the scene with analyzing eyes. The dragon laguz smirked ever so slightly. "So even the gentle Hawk Prince can become bloodthirsty. I suppose I will keep my distance."
As he turned with a swish of his cape, Shoen roared, "Don't walk away from me, you bastard!"
His voice echoed in the room, bringing a chill to Irea. Aside from her, no one had heard Shoen like that before. To Ike and Ranulf, he sounded like...
Tibarn. He sounds like Tibarn...when he gets beyond pissed...and pushed over the edge. Ike glanced towards Tibarn's son and listened to his growls and words of ire, directed at the retreating figure of Kyo.
XxXxXxX
Tibarn slammed his hand repeatedly against the brick walls of the palace, causing a slight echo. He had already snapped at Reyson, but at the moment, he didn't care. His jaw was set in a tight line of anger and he was still quivering. If he had remained in the same room as Sanaki for another moment, he would have, no doubt, attacked her. That alone was a mess he didn't need. His people were already dealing with enough without adding Begnion to the mix. Still...he didn't know why Sanaki seemed to purposefully push his buttons. She knew how dangerous he could be when pushed the wrong way... Maybe she had a death wish?
Not likely.
Tibarn breathed slowly, finally calming himself down. He heard faint shouts coming from the throne room again. As he turned to try and listen to what was going down without him, he heard footsteps walking his direction.
"Tibarn?" came Zelena's cautious voice.
The Hawk King turned to see Zelena standing there, appearing slightly winded. He frowned at her with concern. "...Zelena? What's wrong?"
"Reyson happened by. He said you were...upset." Zelena scanned him as she stepped closer. "Are you okay?"
Tibarn sighed. "Yeah. I'm fine now. I just...needed a minute."
"What made you upset?"
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's fine. Beorc are just hard to understand."
This brought a light smile to Zelena's lips. "Well, I can understand that."
Behind the two, the main door leading to the throne room opened. Ike was forcefully dragging Shoen from the room, Irea following with Ranulf behind her, a hand on her shoulder for support. The Gallian warrior made sure to close the door behind them, standing between it and Shoen. Tibarn instantly demanded, "What happened?"
"Shoen about lost it in there. Well...he did. Ranulf stopped him before he stained Sanaki's expensive furnishings," Ike informed him.
Tibarn and Zelena both looked at their son with surprise. He, being about Ike's height if not a little taller, made the hero struggle to keep his grip on him. Still, all he saw was Kyo. Kyo's blood... Kyo's lifeless form... He wanted to run after him. He wanted to kill him...!
Irea suddenly stepped away from Ranulf and before Shoen, her eyes pleading. The way he was acting terrified her. He seemed like a wild beast, with no sense of reason. "Shoen...please calm down. It's okay..."
He blinked his golden eyes, breathing heavily. He stopped struggling against Ike and stood perfectly still. Ike waited a moment before beginning to loosen his grasp. Shoen caught his breath and sighed shakily. "I'm... I'm sorry, I'm...fine."
"You sure?" Ranulf tested, not moving away from the door.
"...Yeah. I'm sure..." When Ike released him, he still remained motionless. "I...don't know what came over me."
"I do!" Ranulf stepped forward, waving a hand in the air, sounding like a pro at the subject. "Your genes kicked in! The ones you got from the paternal side!"
Zelena restrained a quiet laugh as Tibarn pointedly glared at Ranulf. The cat laguz held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry! I can't hide the truth!"
Tibarn just merely sighed and took Zelena's hand gently, as though she would break otherwise. "Come. Let's escape the feline."
Ranulf seemed to pout as those words left Tibarn's mouth. Zelena gave him an apologetic smile as she and Tibarn began to walk away. "Sorry, Ranulf!"
Ike patted Ranulf's shoulder. "Well, rejected again. -Not even by your girl, but her father."
Ranulf slowly looked up towards the ceiling. "I think...someone really enjoys laughing at me."
"Ah, don't say that. Come on. Let's go back to the others. What do you say?"
The cat laguz's eyes drifted to Shoen and Irea. "...Should we be worried?"
Ike waved it off without a second thought. "They're fine. Let's go."
"Alright..." There was still hesitation in Ranulf's voice, but only from teasing. He and Ike began to walk down a separate hallway, their footsteps echoing in the hall.
Silence fell at last, and Irea wasn't sure what the say first. She decided with a shy, "It...made me happy that you were worried for me, but..." Irea glanced down at the floor. "I don't want you to do anything rash."
Shoen began to say something, but he closed his mouth. He averted his gaze, not knowing how he should respond to that. "I just...have a really bad feeling about him. He can't be trusted. Last time we met, he injured me pretty badly. And then he just about killed you..."
Irea suppressed a shiver. She didn't need to be reminded. The last thing she wanted was to die by freezing – she was from the Grann Desert, for goddess' sake! For those two facts put together, Kyo was like the messenger of death to her. Just seeing him struck an unnatural fear in her. Not to mention, she was a distance away from everything that made her feel safe. She did miss Stefan...but still, she had a debt to repay.
"But, still...Irea." Shoen placed a warm hand on her shoulder, which caused her to look up into his face. "I give you my word that I won't let him hurt you."
Irea instantly felt her face heat up. She hoped that she wasn't blushing in front of him... She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a slightly awkward hug. "Th... Thank you...Shoen."
XxXxXxX
Evening arrived quickly, and all the leaders of groups left their comrades and went to the war meeting room, guided by Tanith. This left all the others in a tense state as they stood around together in the snow in the courtyard. There was quiet chatter, but hardly any lighthearted speech. The first one to point this out was Boyd.
"...C'mon, guys. Really?"
All heads in the courtyard turned to look at him.
"Well, most of us here have been here before. We all know it's not cheerful, but..." He smiled to everyone. "We aren't in battle yet! Why not celebrate tonight before going off tomorrow? Hell, why else do we get together, if not for a battle to save the continent?"
There was silence in the courtyard as everyone turned and looked at each other, unsure if they should uptake in a little celebration. Mia backed her friend up. "Yeah! He's right! I'm not up for all this gloom and doom! Let's cut back for now!"
Slowly, murmurs of agreement came from the crowd. Mia whooped, "Alright! Kieran! Go get the alcohol!"
Several cheers roared as Kieran demanded loudly, "Why me?"
Instantly, the mood lightened and talking ensued through the large group of people. Harmony, who was standing with the usual group, pondered aloud, "Can I drink?"
Mihara grinned. "If you want to be technical, I'm old enough..."
The new otter laguz glared at her. "What did I say about technicalities?"
"You think I care? I love annoying you!"
"Now, now, children," Sylvia chided. "Let's all play nice at this random mini-party."
Both the female laguz narrowed their eyes playfully at Sylvia. Shoen rolled his eyes. "You're asking them to behave? I'm more worried about you."
Sylvia grumbled at Shoen, then pulled forth a thunder tome threateningly. The Hawk Prince flinched and braced himself. Sylvia attracted many looks as she began to laugh very evilly and very loudly. Tormod, who was standing close by, leaned over. "Umm...I'm gonna guess that someone's a party person? It's not even been five minutes!"
Shoen sighed and shrugged. "She doesn't even need to drink to act dru- Ow! Damn it, Sylvia!"
The lightning mage giggled and hid her tome once more. Irea looked back at the fire mage. "Yes. I believe that is is safe to assume that."
Shoen rubbed his offended limbs. "I think I need to find a different group..."
"One with more guys?" Mihara suggested, then laughed.
"Definitely." Shoen turned with hope towards Tormod, who waved him on over to join himself, Muarim, Rolf, and Mist. Not needing another invitation, Shoen migrated over. All the girls could only laugh at him.
A short distance away, Oscar inquired, "Mia, are you serious about drinking? We don't even know how early we're leaving tomorrow..."
"'Course I am! I know some tricks. So me and all the girls here will be just fine!" The swordswoman punched the knight's arm lightly. "And only if I get somethin' to drink will you all figure it out!" She pumped a fist. "Who's with me?"
More cheers came and a group slunk back inside, ready to hunt down and steal from the Empress of Begnion's winery. It wasn't like she was old enough to drink, anyway! Those who were still under eighteen sighed. "Great. Now we get to babysit."
XxXxXxX
At last! Here is the end! -Of the chapter! Okay, as it's plotted in my mind, the battle with Ashera may either be one or two chapters. So, those one or two, a short one, and then an epilogue, and then that's it for Adjustments! Don't worry, I'm still gonna work on Successor to talk about Tibarn and his siblings and the birth of Phoenics! And a story explaining Ranulf's relation to Tibarn and Zelena... Oh, how I love you, Fire Emblem!
Any suggestions or anything? Let me know in a review! -As kindly as possible, as I apparently need to remind people of that. Shaaame.
