"May I sit here?" Priscilla asked as she stopped behind Raven, holding her plate of food. He glanced back at her before nodding and she smiled, sitting down beside him on the log. "Oh, hello," she said as she noticed Lucius sitting on the other side. "Are you new to our army as well?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm Lucius."

"I'm Priscilla," she said, smiling in return and his eyes widened at the mention of her name.

"Lady Priscilla? What? Lord Raven…?" he said confusedly, looking at Raven for answers and Priscilla frowned in confusion at his reaction.

"Do we know each other?" she questioned Lucius, who faced her.

"Well, no, not necessarily."

Priscilla cocked her head to the side. "Then how-"

"Lucius!" Serra interrupted, quickly running up to him and tugging on his hand. "Come and join us!" she squealed, pointing to the large circle full of laughing people. Everyone was in the large circle other than the three and Hannah, who was off on her own, mumbling a few words underneath her breath.

Lucius looked at Raven for approval and the redhead nodded. Smiling, Lucius stood up and took his plate. He followed the chattering cleric to the large circle. A silence fell between the two siblings as laughs erupted through the camp.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you say your name was Raven?" Priscilla asked quietly and curiously.

"I've changed my name," he stated simply as he looked at the crackling fire. "Raymond is a name that I've…discarded."

"Ah…" she said quietly, nodding. "I see."

"Oh," he said as he glanced over at her. "I would prefer it if we keep our sibling relationship a secret."

"…All right, if you say so…surely you have your reasons. As long as we get to travel together, I'm happy," she said and he didn't respond, looking back at the fire.

"And he glared at us while the other guy burst out laughing!" Jasmine finished her story and was followed by laughs.

"Lucius, you just missed the funniest story!" Wil said as he laughed, noticing the blond take a seat in the grass beside Serra, who sat on a large boulder.

The monk smiled. "What was it about?"

The group exchanged looks and burst out laughing again. "What did we miss?" Serra demanded, crossing her arms across her chest.

Sain wiped a few tears away from his eyes. "You didn't miss much, sweetest Serra," he said between a few laughs, unable to keep his composure. Even quiet Florina was giggling and Kent was chuckling and shaking his head.

"Oh, how I wish I'd been there," Lyn said as she stopped laughing, wiping a few tears away from her eyes as well. "It would've been even funnier up close."

Serra frowned in annoyance. "What? Tell me the story! I missed it!"

"Sorry, too late," Jasmine said in a singsong voice and the cleric pursed her lips.

"I can't imagine you doing that!" Hector laughed. "You? Saying that, to a stranger? Impossible."

She smirked slightly and Lyn smiled at Hector. "You don't know Jasmine very well, then," she said and the two girls exchanged amused looks.

"All right now, time to go to sleep," Marcus said, standing up and clapping his hands. Groans followed as everyone looked up at him. "Come now, we all need our rest to start marching tomorrow."

"Good thing we got new tents," Oswin pointed out as he stood up. "Or there wouldn't have been enough room!"

"Oh yes, that reminds me, we all need to buddy up again for the tents!" Eliwood said loudly so everybody could hear him.

"I'm sticking it out with you," Hector said and patted Eliwood on the back, earning a laugh from him. The others grudgingly stood up and Sain grinned, glancing around at the ladies.

"Well, I for one wouldn't mind sharing a tent with any of you lovely ladies!" Sain declared, glancing around at them and smiling charmingly. "No worries, I shall protect you!"

He was bonked on the head with the back of Kent's hand. "Too bad, my friend, you're stuck with me."

"Ah, but what if the ladies find themselves in trouble? Surely-"

"Surely you being with them will be even more trouble!" Kent interrupted with a snap, followed by a few giggles. He started to drag Sain away and the green knight cried out, his arms stretched out toward the ladies. They exchanged confused looks and giggles.

"Is he always like that?" Rebecca questioned as Kent practically threw Sain into their tent.

"You get used to it," Lyn said with a small smile, glancing down at her.

"Lady Lyndis!" Florina said quietly as she walked up beside her. "Would you like to share a tent with me?"

"Of course, Florina," she said and paused for a moment, glancing over at Jasmine. "Maybe we can bunk three people?"

"I don't know, it might be crowded…we'll see if anybody's left over," Jasmine said, not wanting her friends to be uncomfortable with three people in a tent.

"Rebecca, you're bunking with me!" Serra declared as she walked up to the archer, tugging her away.

"What? Oh, well, okay I guess," she said and followed the pink haired cleric.

"Lord Raven, shall we?" Lucius questioned him and he glanced away from the fire. He nodded and stood up.

"Have a pleasant night, Ray…ven," Priscilla called out quietly after him and Lucius smiled and waved to her before they disappeared into a tent. Sighing quietly, the Troubadour stood up and walked over to the remaining people to see what was going on. She found Jasmine, Florina, and Lyn glancing around.

"What's going on?" she questioned, glancing around her surroundings, wondering where everyone had gone off to.

"Hmm? Oh, look, you could bunk with her, Jasmine!" Lyn said as she turned to look at Priscilla. "What's your name?"

"Priscilla, milady," she said, curtseying.

"Priscilla, then, is it all right if you and Jasmine share a tent?" she questioned before pausing for a moment, glancing at the brunette beside her. "Is that all right with you?"

She nodded. "Yes, you don't need to worry about me, Lyn," she reassured her and Lyn smiled.

"Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight."

"Now that we're all here," Hector said as Jasmine and Wil came running up to the group, laughing. "We need to tell you where we're going. It's not like any of the places we've been before. We are going to Valor, the Dread Isle," he announced and whispers and gasps went across the group. He paused for a moment, glancing down at Eliwood beside him and he nodded.

"As you all know, anyone that has stepped foot on that island is said to never come back," Eliwood said and paused for a moment. "This is going to be dangerous and deadly. If anyone doesn't want to come, they may leave now."

Everyone exchanged looks and Lyn took a few steps forth. "I'm with you guys. I'm staying for good, no matter how hard you try to get rid of me," she declared and Eliwood chuckled gently, nodding.

"Thank you, Lyndis."

"I'm staying too," Jasmine said, taking a step forth and smiling at the three lords. "I said I'm going to help you out, Eliwood, and I'm going to. Oh, and you too, Hector," she added and the blueheaded lord scowled at her whilst his redheaded friend chuckled.

Many more declarations of loyalty followed them and Eliwood beamed. "Thank you…thank you all. I greatly appreciate it."

Hector laughed, slapping his friend on the back. "Now let's go and get your old man back!"

"We have so much to catch up on!" Wil said to Rebecca excitedly as he found her marching along beside Lowen. She glanced at him for a brief moment before looking back up at Lowen, continuing their conversation. "Rebecca?" he said and she clearly ignored him. "Excuse me, do you mind if I talk to her for a moment?" Wil asked Lowen, who nodded and left Rebecca no choice but to look back at the brunette. "Can you believe how long it's been? Well, I guess it's not too hard to believe, because you look different! Well, not too different, just older. Not really old, though!" he laughed and Rebecca gave him a look. "What?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm still mad at you, Wil!"

He frowned deeply. "About?" he asked and she growled wordlessly, jogging off. "Wait, where are you going?" he called out after her but she didn't even glance back at him. He scratched the back of his head. "What'd I say?"

"Hi," Rebecca said as she stopped running and started to walk beside Serra. She stopped babbling to Erk, who let out a grateful sigh, and looked at the archer beside her.

"Hi Rebecca!" she squealed. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

Serra grinned widely. "Well, of course," she said and glanced back at Erk. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," he said and the moment she looked back at Rebecca, he ran off. The young archer giggled and Serra curiously tilted her head.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," Rebecca smiled, shaking her head. "Anyways-"

"Ah, can such beauty exist?" Sain called out and the two girls looked to their left to see the charming Cavalier ride toward them on his horse. "Sweet St. Elimine has blessed you both with the power of beauty."

Rebecca slightly raised an eyebrow at him and Serra giggled. "I knew you had a good taste in women, Sain," Serra said and Rebecca looked back at her, raising both her eyebrows.

"What can I say? I am cursed to be attracted to all you lovely ladies," he said, smiling down at her charmingly.

"More like they're cursed," Kent said as he passed by Sain, walking and leading his horse by the reigns. Rebecca giggled.

"Oh shush, Kent," Sain said, glancing back at him. "But at least you've managed to make this beautiful wildflower giggle," he said, smirking as he glanced back at Rebecca. "Such a beautiful laugh," he said wistfully.

"Err…I think Sir Marcus is calling for me!" she said and dashed off before he could further woo her.

"Ah, something must always stand in the way of our love!" he said after her. "…so, sweetest Serra," he said, grinning down at her. "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

Jasmine grumbled a few words underneath her breath as she walked by the edge of the lake. She stomped around angrily, throwing up her hands.

"…can't even have some pudding nowadays," she grumbled as she picked up a rock and chucked it into the lake. "…stupid…tactician can't even…after everything," were the only audible words that came out of her mouth as she ranted on and on. She continued to walk and stepped onto a handle of a sword that she didn't even notice. It flung up and nearly hit her. She was quick, though, and dodged the sword unscathed. "Who the hell leaves a sword lying around in the grass?" she hissed angrily, kicking it.

"I do," a male voice came from behind her and she turned to see an angry looking redhead approach her. She raised an eyebrow but seemed to relax, though her fists stayed clenched at her side.

"That's not a good idea."

"Most people don't go around stomping on sword handles," he said as he bent down and grabbed his sword. "They usually notice it," he said as he sheathed it.

"Are you calling me stupid?" she demanded. She was still quite angry, and couldn't hide it at this point.

"Maybe," he said as he looked at her.

"I'm not in a very good mood," she hissed between clenched teeth. "So do not try me."

"And I'm never in a good mood," he snapped right back at her. "So don't try me!"

They stared at each other with hard eyes for a few moments before Raven turned around and walked off. Once sure that he was gone, Jasmine ran off to the closest tree and punched it, hard. She kicked and punched it until she got out of breath and finally stopped. She sighed and plopped down to the grass. She drew her knees up her chest and buried her face.

"Will you cut that out?" Hector snapped at Hannah as she chanted to herself in front of the fire, her eyes closed and her hands clasped together. She opened her grey eyes to look straight into his impatient dark blue ones.

"What? An old woman can't chant anymore?" she said in her raspy voice and Hector sighed.

"No, 'cause old women don't chant in the first place!"

"Hector!" both Eliwood and Lyn snapped at the same time and they looked at each other for a moment. Hector looked at the two on either side of him and groaned loudly.

"Great, now I have to get lectured by another person too!" he said to Lyn, who raised her eyebrows.

"Maybe if you were much more polite, you wouldn't have to get lectured."

"Maybe if you were-"

"Peace, Lyndis, Hector," Eliwood said. "There's no need to argue," he said and they glared at each other before finally starting to eat their dinner.

"I still can't remember everybody's names," Bartre grumbled to Dorcas as he chomped into his corn on the cob, allowing some juices to squirt out.

"It won't take you too long," Dorcas reassured. "It's a lot of names to remember at once."

"Yeah," Bartre said as he swallowed. "It is."

"Bartre," Marcus said in a stern voice as he wiped corn juice off his forehead with the back of his hand. "What did we talk about?"

Bartre opened his mouth to answer but no words came out for a few moments. "What did we talk about?" he asked and Marcus sighed, shaking his head.

"Do you like the soup?" Lowen asked Erk beside him anxiously and the mage looked up from the book on his lap to look at the teal haired boy.

"Yes, it's very good."

Lowen smiled. "Great!" he said and they shared no other words as Erk went back to reading.

"Mm, this is delicious!" Merlinus, on the other side of Lowen, said as he dunked his spoon back into the soup.

"Thank you, Sir Merlinus!" the Cavalier beamed. "It's not nearly as good as your roasted dumplings. I must learn how to make those!"

Merlinus chuckled. "That's a secret, boy. I can't go around giving everyone my recipes, or it won't be special, will it?"

Lowen frowned but nodded. "Of course, sir."

Guy's face was a beet red as the thief in front of him burst out laughing, falling down onto the grass and clutching his stomach. "Shut up, Matthew," the Sacaen hissed but the brunette paid no mind to him, continuing to roll around in the grass and laugh. Grumbling a few words underneath his breath, he stood up and walked away from the laughing spy.

"Oh, will you shut up?" Serra huffed at Matthew. "Some of us are trying to have a conversation here!"

He glared at her and finally stopped laughing. "You're telling me to shut up? You're the one who's always babbling on and on about a broken nail!" he said and quickly regretted the words that left his mouth as she looked down at her nail.

"That reminds me…" she started and the thief groaned loudly. Before she could have the chance to continue, he stood up and dashed off, quickly blending in with the dark of the night. The cleric frowned deeply before sticking her tongue out at the invisible spy and turned back to Oswin to start talking once more. He grumbled a few words underneath his breath about spies.

"What are you looking at?" Rebecca asked Jasmine, craning her neck to see what the tactician was looking at.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing," Jasmine said and quickly looked away. She was too late, though. Rebecca had spotted what she was looking at and she giggled.

"He is handsome, isn't he?" she asked and Jasmine raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"What?"

"You were looking at Raven, weren't you?" Rebecca asked, gesturing with her head toward the redhead ahead of them.

"That's his name?"

Rebecca laughed. "Yes, I asked him."

"Oh, okay," Jasmine murmured quietly, looking away from Rebecca as they continued to walk.

"You should go talk to him!" Rebecca said and Jasmine looked back at her.

"What?"

"Go say hi!" she said excitedly, smiling. "You seemed so interested in him a few moments ago."

Jasmine laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not as outgoing as you, Rebecca. I can't just go up to someone whose name I just found out and say hi!"

"Well why not?" Rebecca huffed. "You can do it! You just have to believe in yourself!"

"Well I-"

"C'mon c'mon!" Rebecca urged. "I'll drag you there if I have to!"

"I already have enough friends, Rebecca," Jasmine said. "I don't need another one."

"You can never too many friends!" she said and grinned. "If we all had limits on how many friends we could have, you and I wouldn't be allowed to be friends!" she said and Jasmine stared at her, dumbfounded. She didn't say anything for a few moments, looking away from Rebecca. "Hello?" Rebecca said, waving a hand in Jasmine's face. "Is anybody home?"

Jasmine rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yes, somebody's home," she said and Rebecca laughed, putting her hand back by her side. "It's just that…oh never mind," she said, looking at Rebecca a bit guiltily. The archer was a kind and bubbly girl, but Jasmine couldn't consider her a friend yet.

Rebecca tilted her head to the right. "Are you okay?"

"…yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"The port of Badon," Eliwood announced as he and his group entered the port. "First and foremost, we need a boat."

"Let's go ask that guy," Hector said, pointing to a man with a mustache standing by a boat. "You guys stay here while we go see if we can get a boat," he said to his comrades. "We want a boat to Valor," he said as the three lords and Jasmine walked up to the mustached man.

The man looked at them incredulously. "You want a boat to the Dread Isle? You're mad! No way! Never," he said, taking a few steps back and shaking his head vigorously.

"If you won't help us, can you take us to someone who will? Please," Eliwood pleaded and Lyn nodded beside him.

"You must be on urgent business, that's certain," the man said after a few moments, scrutinizing the four. "…there may be one way…"

"What is it? Tell us, please!"

"Pirates," he whispered and Lyn stiffened.

"Pirates?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh. They're fearless and they'll go anywhere for a fee. Who knows? They might decide to accept your mad offer."

"Pirates…it looks like we've no choice," Hector said.

"Are you serious?" Lyn hissed, looking at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Working with pirates? That's…that's unbelievable!"

"You're considering it, aren't you, Eliwood?" Hector said, wanting some support.

"If there's no other way, what else can we do?" Eliwood murmured, looking at Lyn apologetically.

"You too, Eliwood?" she said disbelievingly, shaking her head. "I've misjudged you. You don't agree with them, do you?" she asked, looking at Jasmine.

She looked taken aback for being put on the spot. "Well…maybe we can find another way."

Lyn smiled. "I knew I could trust you, Jasmine, ever since the start. C'mon, let's go find another way!" she said and the two walked off.

"Why is she so angry?" Hector asked Eliwood, curiously eying Lyn's retreating figure.

"I heard that Lyndis's parents were slain by bandits. Bandits at land, pirates at sea…they're all the same to her," Eliwood said quietly. "Lawbreakers and murderers."

"I see…my parents died of illness…but I can appreciate her feelings. Shall we abandon the pirate plan?"

"But…"

"Too bad about the girl, but there's no other way," the mustached man said.

"Let's meet the pirates. We can't decide until then," Eliwood said and Hector nodded.

"That inn over there," the man said, pointing to it. "Is a known favorite of the local freebooters. They're reckless and unpredictable. Best be prepared."

"Reckless and unpredictable…sounds like someone I know," Eliwood said with a smile as he looked at Hector. He rolled his eyes and the two journeyed to the inn. They walked in to find many pirates laughing and hollering as they drunk bottles of beer.

"What do we got here?" a large man said as he noticed the two lords, obviously out of place in the inn. He had a white beard and a bandana wrapped around his head. His hairy chest was shown with his unbuckled jacket, a low white V-neck underneath it.

"I'm Hector. You're the pirate chief, Fargus, right?"

Fargus laughed loudly. "Tell me somethin', lad, where were you raised? Is that the tone you take when you're about to ask a favor?"

Hector let out a wordless growl. "Why I oughta-"

"Peace, Hector!" Eliwood snapped, placing a hand on the large lord's shoulder.

"Bah…don't worry. All right, I'm sorry, old man. Okay? Listen, we need your help."

He scrutinized Hector. "You're an odd bird. You sure you're noble born?" he said and grinned at the raised eyebrow Hector gave him. "I'm Fargus, Captain of the Davros. Now what do you want?"

"We want you to sail us to Valor."

He thought about it for a second. "How much will ye pay?"

"Don't know the current rate. How much do you need?"

"100,000 gold," he declared and the lords' eyes bulged.

"What?" Hector shouted. "100,000 gold? You're daft, old man!"

"Well, will ye pay?"

"Fine," Hector huffed. "We don't have it with us. We'll get your gold and be back here as quickly as possible," he said and looked at Eliwood. "Let's go," he said and turned around, walking out of the inn. Eliwood followed him.

"Where do you plan on getting 100,000 gold?"

"I've got a plan," Hector said.

"A plan?" Eliwood asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got to get back to Ostia first."

"Oh. You're going to ask Lord Uther for the gold."

Hector snorted loudly and Eliwood's other eyebrow joined the first. "Don't be stupid! I will not kneel at my brother's feet to beg for money!"

"Then why are you going back to Ostia?"

"I've got some ceremonial garbs, armor, helmets, books…I'll bring it all and sell it!"

"Hector…are you sure about this?"

"Yes. My brother would be unwilling to part with that much money…not without knowing the reason why. And we don't have time to waste!"

"Good idea, Hector. I'll go to Pherae!" he said and turned around but was stopped by a pirate wearing a blue tank top.

"Hold your ground, boys!" he laughed, a short lock of his brown hair hanging out from the white bandana around his head.

"What now?" Hector said, annoyed. "We don't have the money yet."

"Fool!" the pirate said loudly. "Of course you don't! I know that. The Captain's got a message for ya."

"A message?" Eliwood asked.

"Did ya not hear me, boy? Aye, a message! All of my mates in this village are going to attack you," he said and the lords exchanged looks. "If you can beat us all and get to the ship unharmed, he'll give you passage."

"For free?"

"The Captain's a tad off-kilter. He'd rather have a bit o' fun with ya than take your gold. Smooth sailin' to ya!" he said and with a laugh, ran off. "Hey landlubbers!" he shouted as he was at a good distance from the lords. "I'm over here!"

"Do you think he's serious?" Eliwood asked skeptically.

"Let's just play along," Hector said with a grin. "It'll be fun. Let's go!"

"Listen! The Captain's waiting at the docks!" the brunette pirate shouted. "Talk to him, and you're the winner!" he shouted before dashing off again.

"Too bad we couldn't find a ship," Lyn sighed, looking at Jasmine as they walked out of a house. "But we have to get to that island…looks like I'll have to endure pirates," she murmured.

Jasmine looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Lyn."

She gave her a small smile. "There's no need to apologize. This isn't your fault," she said and perked up as she heard some commotion. "Did you hear that?" she asked, glancing around.

"What the…what's going on?" Jasmine said, glancing around as she noticed a group of pirates forming. "Let's get back to everyone else!"

"Oh! Lyn, Jamsine! Nice timing," Hector said as he noticed the two girls running toward him. "We need your help!"

"You're battling the pirates?" Lyn questioned.

"Fighting and…look, we have to reach the docks and speak to the Captain!" Eliwood said. "This is a test to see whether or not he'll give us passage."

"I don't understand, but…I'm here, so let me help!"

"Hey, you there," Raven called out to Jasmine and she faced him after giving out a few orders. "You're the tactician, huh?" he said, looking at her up and down.

"Jasmine," she said, giving a small nod to him. She looked a bit uncomfortable talking to him, if not embarrassed.

"So I guess you are smart after all, if you're a tactician."

She looked away for a moment before looking back at him. "Thank you, I guess."

He raised an eyebrow, for this was not the reaction he had expected from the angry girl he had seen last time. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm Raven. I'm just a mercenary. I work for these guys now, so it looks like I'll take your orders."

"All right then," she said and nodded. She finished giving her orders and started to follow the groups.

"Excuse me," a soft male voice came from behind her. She turned around to face a man with purple hair and a spectacle on one of his eyes. He wore a long black cloak and was clutching onto a book.

"Yes?"

"I was talking an old sailor a few moments ago. He told me that you're planning to go to Valor. Is that true?"

"…and if we are?" she asked, giving him a wary look.

"I'd like to join you! My name is Canas. I'm a scholar of sorts…I've been seeking passage to Valor, but no one will take me. My proposal probably sounds selfish," he said, smiling slightly at the look she gave him. "You should know that I can help in combat. I've some skill with a form of elder magic. Some call it dark magic, a rather biased term, if I must be blunt," he said and she raised her eyebrows.

"Dark magic?"

He chuckled. "Like I said, it's a rather biased term. But at the very least, I can take care of myself, and perhaps others. May I join you?"

She thought about it for a second. "I'll have to ask Hector; it's not my decision to make."

"I understand," he said and nodded.

"Come with me," she said and started to walk away, Canas on her heels. "Let's play tag with some pirates."

All right. This chapter could've been a bit better but...ah well. Raven and Jasmine probably could've talked some more. I do think it'll take them a while to have normal conversations, what with their personalities...

When I wrote about Jasmine punching the tree and being angry, I didn't do it just so Raven and Jasmine could talk. It actually has something do with her past that causes her to have random anger outbursts...so I didn't randomly just put that in there.

I'll try to update soon, but it'll probably take a month or so.