A/N Well, sorry about the lateness of the story, though I should have a bit more time now that it is summer and I only have a few weeks of classes left. I'll to thank everyone for continuing with this story, and a special thanks to StrikeFreedomV2, NinjaSheik, blblblblbl, and TheLoveBrigade.
I still don't own the game, rats.
Ike sighed as the Princess's new army marched toward the Daein border and Ashnard. He already had to give a speech as a noble, and he had seen Sanaki smirking during it, at least none of the soldiers saw her in the back. He had successful hidden the fact he was disgruntled, and the soldiers seemed to agree to following his orders. His tense marching loosened upon Soren slowing his stride to meet him.
"Ike, this is going to be difficult with the size of our forces, one regiment is not going to be enough against the Daein army."
"Well, they should still have quite a bit of forces in Crimea, just to hold it. And if Ashnard is planning to invade Gallia is true, he'll need his forces in position to strike quickly. Besides we have the best strategist in Tellius." Soren nodded as Ike took a look around before asking, "Where's Titania? I've haven't seen her these last couple of days."
"She is helping Astrid learn how to properly use an axe. I also believe that Astrid did not want to be seen by any of the higher ranked Begnion forces."
"Well that is good news, as we could use another person with an axe. As almost all of the Begnion forces using either lances or bows, the mercenaries make up the core of the axe division."
"I would hesitate to even call it a division. However, Ike, if the normal garrison of troops is stationed at the wall, I already have a battle plan for your approval." Soren explained as he handed over a couple of pieces of paper bound at the top. Ike chuckled as he started to read it over and summarized it in his head.
One of the closest ways to pass into Daein is at Tor Garen. However, it is also rumored to be impenetrable, which is why it makes a perfect target. The forces there will be expecting an easy victory. The one weak point is the wyvern rider reinforcements that are stationed nearby to trap and finish off attacking enemy forces. The bulk of the Begnion regulars and most of our group will engage them there while a strike force hits the actual location. When we defeat them, it will also be a morale blow for the nearby Daein forces. This will also ensure that the likelihood of rear attacks is greatly diminished.
"Looks good to me. I assume that you're going to suggest that Titania leads the main force?" He mentioned while returning the plans. Soren nodded before walking off again as Ike grimaced. What's bothering him? It had to be something he learned in Begnion, but I know he hasn't told anyone else.
His thoughts were interrupted as one of the soldiers hurried over, asking about who Tanith's pegasus knights were supposed to listen to. Just great, knowing my luck, I'll have to order everyone else to march, even when it is obvious.
Ike slumped into his cot in his new tent, while it was more comfortable than what he had before, he just wished that he was able to put up his own tent, was that too much to ask? "Brother, can I come in?"
"Of course." He smiled as Mist hurried inside, her new sword in her scabbard, and she rushed him into a huge hug.
"I can't believe you actually got the merchants to make such a sharp sword for me. I thought you wouldn't let me fight again." He patted her back as he was pretty sure that she might have started shedding a tear or two.
"It's dangerous for our healers to fight unarmed and if you are going to fight, then I have to make sure you have the best protection possible."
"You're going to have Titania ride next to me at all times, aren't you?" He chuckled as she pulled away with a fake pout.
"What did Mia say about your sword-fighting?" He wondered as he started ruffling her hair, which made her mock pout even more.
"That she's willing to let me fight on the battlefield with a sword and I can tell people that she taught me how to fight, though she did ask me to convince Rhys to ride a horse as well." He raised an eyebrow as she started to giggle. "I think she likes him, which is funny as Father probably hired her to help you talk to girls." This statement caused his eyes to bulge.
She took off out of the tent as he recovered his bearings before quickly giving chase. As she turned left at the first tent, he had an idea of where she was going, and he was not going to try to catch someone on horseback, so he had to stop her now. Unfortunately for the newly made noble, his path was intercepting Kieran's. A collision was barely avoided, as Kieran's fighting instincts did not seem to dull in camp at all as both suddenly halted their momentum.
"General Ike, I must thank you for testing my reflexes, have they proven to be satisfactory?" He wondered as he stood at attention, which also made it so Ike had to either push him out of the way or wait until he moved.
"Yes, Kieran they are satisfactory, is Oscar the cook tonight?" At that question, the man hunched his shoulders as he glared past the general. "Thank you for the information, Kieran, make sure to get enough rest for the battle tomorrow." At that the red-armored knight nodded and after saluting marched to his tent.
Ike sighed as he decided to head to the mercenaries' kitchen as he shrugged in his outfit. The worst news to come about it was the fact he had multiple versions of this particular outfit made for him. His sister probably had something to do with this, saying he did not understand that he had to look the part of a noble now. At least it looked good on him, supposedly.
His poor humor rapidly improved as he pushed back the tent flap and very familiar aromas assaulted his nose. His gaze quickly found Oscar above a very large pot where he was slowly adding a few spices. He smiled and walked over to get a better look.
"Ike, just like I tell Boyd, no sampling until it's on the table." Ike chuckled as he found a seat.
"I am surprised the rest of the mercenaries aren't waiting in line for the food." He commented.
"Well, the Begnion troops already have their food being served, so I suspect most are there." Oscar explained as Ike fiddled with his uniform edge again. The two were quickly joined by one of the two newly promoted Knights, Brom. Ike smiled as he noticed that Brom did not notice him. "Are you here for the usual double order?" Oscar asked as he faced him, while Ike narrowed his eyes.
"Wait, you mean when I wanted more food I could have ordered it?" He complained.
"Sorry, General, I must have been plowing the fields when I walked in. I apologize for not noticing you." Ike waved him off, though he kept his gaze on the cook. "Yes, Oscar, I would be happier than a pig in an orchard if you could do that. General, I'm grabbing food for Nephenee as well."
"And why doesn't she come here and eat as well, not enough people?" Ike turned to the stout man as he wondered.
"Well, that's not quite it I'm afraid."
"So where do you two usually eat then?" He wondered as he let go of his 'costume.'
"Usually wherever the ground is soft, General."
"The food isn't ready, yet, right Oscar?" He noticed out of his peripheral the cook's head nod. "Why don't you go find her and have her come here? Don't worry, I'm not going to give you two extra duties if you don't come." Brom smiled as he nodded and walked back out.
"Do you think she is feeling uncomfortable with the rest of the group? This might be something I should let Titania know about." Ike posed as Oscar chuckled.
"Perhaps it could be that she does not like eating with Boyd and Rolf always arguing at the table." Oscar turned his gaze back to the steaming pot.
"So, have you three figured out that secret you were working on while ago we were at sea?" Oscar paused in his stirring as he looked up.
"Actually, I need to see someone about it, but it soon should be ready." He smiled as Ike chuckled as he moved to where the bowls were and started setting out six. The tent flap opened as Brom and Nephenee walked in, the latter gluing her gaze to the floor. Oscar motioned for everyone to grab a bowl as Ike naturally was first. Of course if I had waited, Brom may have waited for me to grab my food anyways. Brom and Nephenee followed behind as he noticed that Brom chose a seat that she would have to sit next to Ike as well, or sit away from both of them. When she took the seat, he noticed that Brom smile grew a little bit, as Ike shook his head.
"Thank you for inviting us General." Brom stated before starting on the food.
"You should be thanking Oscar for the incredible meal." He explained as Oscar smiled as he sat on the other side of Ike.
"Thank you Oscar." Brom nudged Nephenee who was staring at the spoon in her hand, which she promptly dropped into the bowl.
"Thank ya, kindly." She slowly enunciated as she picked up the spoon and started to methodically eat the soup. There was a long silence as both Oscar and Ike continued to glance at the tent, it seemed that Soren and Titania must not have needed nourishment at the time. Brom would occasionally say something about their travels, as Ike finally caught on to the fact he was trying to get Nephenee to talk. While he could understand why Brom was doing it, he remembered how Soren did better without feeling like he had to talk while eating with the rest of the mercenaries.
Dinner ended as both Ike and Brom stayed after finishing while Nephenee continued to keep her slow but steady rate of eating, which got much slower when Ike looked in her direction. Oscar after finishing kept himself busy by cleaning up all the extra materials not used as he seemed disgruntled about the amount of food left. Glancing back and noticing Nephenee had finished, Ike spoke,
"Nephenee, don't worry about being formal because I'm the general, as meals like this are one of the few times I can relax."
"I… see… General. Excuse me." With that she left her bowl on the table and marched out of the tent.
"Thank you, kindly General, I greatly appreciate it." Brom saluted and walked out as Ike groaned.
"At least I don't have to wear a floppy hat." He looked around the tent one last time and headed towards the door. "If I see any of the other mercenaries, I'll let them know that you have left-overs. Unless you're willing to let me have seconds?"
"Come back in an hour, and if I do, sure." Ike's leaving was followed by a chuckle as he quickly marched towards his tent.
A scowl took over his face at the sight of the two men that the Begnion troops had stationed in front of his tent as they saluted as he walked in. He was greeted by the sight of a table that had both Titania and Soren flanking it, with the papers on it an organized mess.
"Oh, there you two are," Ike commented as Soren gave him a quick glance before returning to the table.
"Sorry, Ike, the Begnion troops were not exactly thrilled to hear our battle plans. Especially since we didn't have any of them with the strike force. After an hour of pointless arguments, I assume you are fine with having Tanith joining the strike force?" Ike nodded as his scowl erased itself from his face. Soren picked up one sheet of paper and handed it over. Ike looked down and noticed the names were all from their mercenaries, except for Tanith.
"Well, this force definitely has the power to strike while they are in the base, though why only one paladin in this group? I am thinking that Rolf might be useful as well, unless the main force can keep the wyvern camp completely pinned down. Especially since they may have a few wyverns at the wall as well." He returned it as Soren nodded while Titania smiled. "Lastly, Oscar has left-overs, you two better grab some before Boyd or Gatrie find out." The red-haired knight chuckled as she walked out, while Soren dropped the roster and crept out, avoiding eye-contact with his best friend. Ike sighed as he started to put the plans away, while it took him longer than his staff officers to do, if they put up with the other nobles for over an hour after he left, they deserved a break.
His silent work was interrupted by a knock on one of the wooden shafts that held the tent up.
"Hey, handsome, mind if I ask a favor?"
"Yes, what is it?" Ike looked up to see his preferred pink-haired soldier, as she hadn't tried to shrink on her duties yet.
"I ask Titania and she said that we're attacking two different areas, with the Begnion main force split from the mercenaries. Can I fight with mercenaries instead?" Marcia asked as she leaned against the corner.
"Still have trouble with your former teammates?" She nodded as he ducked down and dug out the forces information. "Actually, yes, you will be assigned to work with the mercenaries." Besides, Nephenee seems comfortable around Brom, so that should help her a bit.
"Thanks, handsome, I'll see you later." With a wave, Marcia walked out as Ike paused at her comment. You know, Oscar commented that Kieran and her were getting along well, but then she says stuff like that. Mist is right, I'm not exactly practiced with the whole talking to women. I'll ask Titania later about it. Leaving the confusing thoughts of women behind him, he shuffled into one of his normal outfits, swung his cloak around him and crashed.
OoOoO
Ike had been up earlier than usual, though fortunately he had found someone to spar with, who was now standing across from him with a strange grin. He had been silent when he was first found today, but now…
"Are you going to attack, Ike? You rarely hesitated this much before." Ike decided that the man may get bored enough to leave, and thus took the offer and charged with a swing. After a couple of swing and blocks, he finally decided he had enough of the man's smirk.
"Do you know what is bothering Soren?" As he suspected this was why the man was smirking.
"Perhaps, but it is not my place to tell even if I did." Stefan swung to push him back. "Though, the question is, if he believes it to be so worrisome that he cannot let his best friend know?" He noticed that Stefan was expecting another blow from below.
"What could it be, he's the son of Ashnard? It doesn't matter, he's still my friend." With that declaration, he threw his sword into the air, jumped after it, and slammed it at his opponent. Stefan hopped out of range of the swing and prepared to back pedal as Ike rocketed back up with a swing, barely missing the man.
"Impressive, Ike. And I do hope you keep your resolve." Stefan dropped the sword and walked off, giving him the victory. Ike walked over and picked up it, Soren would scold them for wasting still usable weapons as he headed towards his commander's tent, where Titania and Soren would be waiting.
Ike grimaced as he marched ahead with his forces, both Titania and Soren had determined that it would be better if they lead the Begnion forces, since their normal forces were lead by some noble's son that had never been in a real battle before. They had just reached the outer walls, and it seemed a good thing that only two horseriders, Oscar and Astrid, were with the strike force. It seems that there was better reason that he had thought. Which meant that he was probably going to have them stay back because…
"My lord Ike. Is everything prepared?" Elincia interrupted his thoughts as she moved next to him.
"Yes, the joint attacks should keep the reinforcements here to a minimum, please stay back with the remaining of the forces. We shall be fine."
"Of course."
"All right, let's-" he paused as he heard the flapping of wings behind the squad that were very distinct compared to wyvern's or pegasus's wings. Turning to the noise, he nodded to five fliers.
"Ah, Ike! Well met. It appears that you're getting ready for your first battle as Crimea's army."
"Yes, weren't you escorting the herons back to Phoenicis?" He questioned as he gave the group a look over.
"That was the original plan, but... Someone here insisted that we follow you. Quite unreasonably, I might add." Tibarn remarked with a grin, to take out any sting from the comment.
"You treated us with courtesy, beorc, we must return it, isn't that correct, Leanne?" The heron prince commented while his sister spoke back, in the ancient tongue, leaving almost everyone else bewildered.
"Thank you, Reyson. Though a battlefield is not time to discuss courtesy."
"No, I wish to repay the debt I owe because of this courtesy, we herons hold it in the highest regard. I wish to fight with you." Ike bit back his first remark, as the heron had mostly like thought about staying with his sister and they must have agreed.
"Very well, we would be glad to have you and I will ensure your safety to see your sister again." Tibarn's grin grew even larger.
"I swear upon the honor of my clan that I will not let you down." Reyson returned.
"Good, now that it is decided on, I shall aid you as well, Janaff, Ulki, you will join them and protect Reyson."
"Thank you, King Tibarn, you are quite generous. We appreciate the extra manpower." Ike answered and he noticed that Reyson was about to speak before he interrupted.
"Ike, I will take you at your word. Your actions have created a bond of trust between yourselves and the hawk and heron clans. If you find yourself in a dire position, you can call on me. No matter what, I will fly to your aid." With that, he and Leanne left.
"Ulki, Janaff, you will be ensuring that Reyson will be able to aid whoever he chooses, is that acceptable?"
"Of course, they don't call us the King's eyes and ears for nothing." Janaff crowed.
"Elincia, please return to the base camp. Oscar, escort her there." The green armored paladin nodded as he followed after the princess.
With his forces in position, he called for the attack to begin, and hopefully the enemy had not had enough time to fully prepare. With that he charged as well, being one of the first making it to the steps. The group of enemies, mostly soldiers with their squad leader seemed ready. As he reached the man, he threw his sword in the air, and before the enemy's lance could touch him, he leapt to his sword, and quickly fell upon the enemy. The first blow destroyed any attempt the man may have made at defense as Ike burst straight up with his blade killing the man as he turned to see Sothe slipped past everyone, with Tormod, who had stayed after getting the Empress's guarantee that all possible slaves would be freed, following close behind.
Turning forward to the front of the battle, he pressed on, with Boyd flanking him on the side, grinning. As they continued on, a blast of lightning slammed in front of him, forcing him to jumpl back. He noticed that both of the hawks had retreated as well, unwilling to risk the dangerous magic. They also kept Reyson from moving forward, much to the heron's annoyance.
"Rolf! Wait until that fire mage gets here." Boyd yelled while Ike kept looking, however the youngest of the three had charged ahead, with his younger older brother rushing behind him. Sighing at the two, he quickly verified that Mist was catching up as he followed after them. As they rounded the corner, the blast of magic struck again. As he attempted to dive out of the way, the lightning clipped his shoulder, causing it to lock up as the pain jolted down his body. Looking over the field of battle, he could see one of the hawks fly down quickly.
"The enemy forces are being supported by the ravens, General."
"Understood, make sure that they don't get past our front lines." The hawk nodded as he flew up again. While this happened, he felt the familiar comfort of healing magic pass through his arm. Seeing the hawk charge ahead meant that either Boyd or Rolf had taken down the mage, he charged forward. It seems that Stefan had also slipped past him after the initial strike. What had really surprised him was seeing Shinon talking to Rolf. Rolf was crying as his hands started shaking, which had been missing from the boy after fighting the ravens in the southern sea. Father saw something in Shinon and he's important to Rolf, there is no way I'm letting Rolf suffer by fighting him.
He rushed forward catching Shinon's glance, who quickly turned toward him, stringing an arrow, while Ike motioned to Rolf towards one of the approaching enemy soldiers.
"Heh. I always knew it would come to this, Ike." The gloating that always there no longer entwined with his words.
"Shinon…"
"Watch yourself!" Shinon released the arrow, as Ike dodged towards him, he noticed how the arrow should have been aimed better. Sure it would have dropped him before Shinon left the group, but he should have know that Ike had gotten better. Hoping he understood the man better than Shinon claimed he did, he took the opportunity and landed two quick slashes across the chest. His opponent attempted to pull back, but all it did was prevent the blows from being fatal, which caused Ike to smile.
"Curses…" Noticing how Shinon was talking with Rolf, Ike guessed,
"Don't move. You'll tear the wound open. How do you think Rolf will feel with you dead?" Shinon tsked at that but stayed still. As Ike pushed forward, the smile on his lips unnerved the next enemy he ran into, giving him time to chuck his sword into the air and slam down on the knight, and quickly slashed back up, catching the enemy inside his guard, dropping him.
The charging enemy horse riders caught his attention as he heard Gatrie clanking into position with a Knight Killer prepped for the enemies attack. Once the enemy was close enough to hit, the man swung down at Ike, who rolled and stabbed at the horse. The blow hit just right and dropped the horse, which caused the rider to fall and be crushed by the weight. However, he had to give up his Regal Sword as it would take too much effort to wretch it out of the horse's body. Drawing the other weapon he brought with him, he saw Sothe run towards him as Gatrie continued on, the Knight Killer was not lodged as his sword was.
"Commander, I was sent to tell you that the front line has been taken care off. One of the hawks says he heard enemy horsemen from the rear. Also, all of the treasure has been recovered." With a nod he started to run back, as he heard Boyd announcing his presence.
"Hey, Ike, I better come with you in case there are more lance knights to give you trouble." He nodded as the two rushed back toward the entrance of the wall. Sothe didn't say anything about the hawk hearing any of our team being injured.
The two rounded the corner to see Tanith standing at the ready with her Sonic Sword drawn. Upon seeing him, she stood at attention and announced, "General, we received word from our other forces, they took care of the wvyern base with few causalities. Also, we eliminated the enemy reinforcements."
He waved her off as he noticed the messenger from the main Begnion forces heading over, as he sighed before answering his questions. He had taken a quick glance and noticed that Marcia was avoiding Tanith while Astrid walked up and asked the pegasus knight for her next orders. Returning to the messenger, he finished his answers.
However, before he could talk to Astrid, he had to deal with Shinon who wanted a rematch. Fortunately for the group, the fight went similar to how the battle earlier went, except this time Ike had an arrow sticking out of his arm that Mist complained about healing. It was worth it to see Rolf beaming at the man though.
OoOoO
Their forces were camping at the wall tonight, while it was the best to repel enemies from the Begnion side, it would allow them the ability to avoid the elements, as it had started to rain. He shook his cloak out as he watched Rolf show Shinon his improvement with the bow. Perhaps he now knew who taught the boy, though he would never ask the man, it was not worth the argument. Turning around to leave, he smiled as he nearly ran into Astrid.
"I am terribly sorry about that Ike, I expected only Oscar to be here." She fiddled with her partially strung bow. "I guess he does not need anymore help."
"No, and we should probably leave those two alone for now. Shinon would get haughty and it would ruin the moment." Ike explained as he motioned for them to leave. "Tanith did not question you or ask for you to return to Begnion did she?"
"No. I also doubt someone working for the apostle would be helping the senator, the two are at odds according to what my father has said to a few of his guests."
"That's good to hear. So, feel more comfortable using an axe now?" She nodded as they continued towards the stables. He watched her as they walked, noticing her pace continually decreased while they walked. "You're not pushing yourself too hard are you?"
"Sorry, Ike, it has been a bit difficult for me to adjust, I am getting worn out too quickly, and I have been having difficulties sleeping." She explained as she stumbled into sitting on the nearby stool.
"Mist makes some tea that should help with that, would you like me to get you some?"
"Ike, that's too much, you should be resting as the General of the army!" She pleaded with a weak hand failing at grabbing his arm.
"Don't worry, besides this gives me time away from having to hear from the great son of Duke Culbert his version of the battle, where he heroically saved the day after Soren and Titania made a blunder that was more likely what he actually wanted to do. I'm quite glad you're not like him, Astrid." Ike added while walking out to find his sister.
He smiled upon catching her making a batch as he wondered, "Mist, do you mind if I steal a cup of this?"
"Oh, are you having nightmares of being a noble?" She patted his arm with a grin.
"Yeah, something like that. So is the other cup for Jill?" Ike adjusted his cape while questioning. She nodded while handing him the cup that Astrid had given the group full of the delicious tea.
"Aren't you going to drink that here?" She wondered as he started to walk out.
"And fall asleep here to be found by some Begnion guards that are horrified that I was not in my room, no thanks." He waved in thanks as he returned to the stables.
He shook his head at seeing Astrid brushing her horse. Seeing the extra-long pauses in between her brush strokes reminded him of the fact she had not been a soldier for very long. Though it is admirable how far she is willing to go, and when she's concentrating like this, she definitely cute. Walking up to her, he announced his presence with,
"I'll take care of that, I have the tea right here."
"But, Ike-"
"That's an order." He remembered how his father had to command Soren to eat sometimes because of how absorbed he was while studying. She nodded as she sat down, the horse eyed him as he moved closer, but once the brushing started, went back to munch on the horse-feed.
"Please tell your sister that this is a delightful tea." He nodded while letting the silence permeate in the room. "Gatrie is a really caring person, isn't he?" Ike paused mid-stroke, which elicited a neighing from the horse, before responding,
"He definitely can be." Pausing and seeing that she was looking better, he asked, "Did you become a knight just to become stronger or was there another reason?" She bit her lip as she paused in her drinking before taking a deep breath.
"You know how when I talk about my family I rarely mention my sisters' more recent activities?" He nodded as she continued, "Unlike my brothers, who are given glory and are seen as people, my sisters and I are seen as nothing more than commodities. My parents have betrothed me to a man thirty years older than I am. He also sounds exactly like the husbands my sisters have. They can barely send messages as it is, as they do not like it when they write to me. It would be different if they had found a man like my brothers." She paused as Ike laid a hand on her shoulder. She then added, "However, I also did do this to become stronger. He gave her a few moments before assuming,
"It's Lekain, isn't it? That was why he came by," feeling her stiffen underneath his hand, he finished, "don't worry, like I said before, you're family, and no snobby senator is going to force you to go away." She broke out into a huge grin before starting to down the tea. "You should probably find somewhere to sleep, unless you're comfortable sleeping next to the horses."
"Actually, when I was younger, I would sneak into the stable and pet my older brother's warhorse and forget what time it was and fall asleep out there. My oldest sister would find me and scowled me for it being not lady-like." She giggled at the end as he moved his hand as he added his chuckles along. "I should be fine making back to my bed, Ike, thank you for the tea." She stood and walked out the door, her pace more confident than before she walked into the room.
Well that is one problem uncovered, now to see if Soren is willing to talk now.
With that decision, he attempted to hunt him down. Though the place was not large, he found it obvious that Soren did not want to be found, or he was already sleeping. The many salutes he received may have been the possible reason he took less time looking than usual. Hoping to find him before the next battle, he headed to his room, and with only a quick change, crashed on the bed.
OoOoO
Ike had expected many things before the next battle, difficulty with how little he had Reyson actively protected, having to punishing Makalov for trying to spend money he didn't have, or heaven forbid, not allowing the son of Duke Culbert to fight with the strike force. Instead, he had the blued armored General standing in front of him.
"You stole away my training partner and Shinon only had one complaint of her as well." Gatrie whined while standing in front of his employer. Ike sighed, as he knew the man would get into a state when he felt that someone he knew stole the girl he was after. Usually Ike had been too young to do so, as quite often it had been Rhys with his kind smile and willingness to help that had grabbed the single women's attention, according to the grumbles of the man in front of him. He wanted to just brush him off, but that would cause problems later. Obviously Gatrie had no clue of the fiancé situation, and Ike really did not want to deal with the fall-out of having a senator beaten up by one of his mercenaries. While he would approve of it, Ike decided to go with a different tactic.
"Gatrie, what type of enemy do you have the most difficulty protecting people from?"
"Horse riders and flying knights, why?"
"And most of those type of enemies wield lances, correct?" Gatrie raised his eyebrows before retorting,
"But I would never allow her to come to harm."
"Isn't the point of her second weapon to protect her in the rare chance the come from a direction you cannot?" The man harrumphed before walking off. He just shook his head as he continued on to the front, that was the best he would have gotten from the man.
"Your father would have been glad to see how well you handled the situation." He turned to see Titania beaming at him, as she rode over and upon reaching him, kept her horse at his pace.
"Thanks." He pulled out his other sword and checked its sharpness before returning it to the sheath. "Titania, do you think that Father hired Mia so that I could have practice talking to girls that aren't family?" She chuckled at his question before answering,
"Perhaps it might have been a bit on his mind, though I suspect it might also have been because she asked to join us, after all, she had hunted us down. Did Mist say that to you?" He nodded. "She probably was just trying to make sure that her brother hadn't ran away because he became 'a snobby noble.' Though with the fact you and Astrid are becoming good friends, I wouldn't worry about it." Looking around and noticing that Soren was not at the front lines, he questioned,
"Did Soren give a reason he didn't want to be on the field of battle today?"
"He claimed to not be feeling strong enough to make a positive contribution on the field of battle and wished to sit out." She explained while watching him as well.
"I think Soren has been distracted by something, it probably started after meeting with the apostle, remember how he went to study in the library for a while?"
"That is true, I will see if perhaps that is the case after this battle." She assured him as the two made it to the front line and saw the Daein force, which was reinforced by Kilvas Ravens. The brothers suggested they may be able to help bring down Naesala, however, the hawks were willing to talk with him, if necessary. After seeing the ballista and only having one Full-Guard with their forces, Ike decided on having the Hawk King's Ears replace Rhys, who gratefully thanked him before coughing as he left the battlefield. He then order both Marcia and Tanith to wait until Ulki got the enemies archers and ballistas' attention before attacking themselves.
After hearing Nasir's warnings, Ike commanded the forces to move out. Ulki had the order to wait until the first wave of enemies was struck down before charging in to talk with the Raven King. His team charged ahead, as he brought his sword to the ready as he caught the eye of an enemy warrior, his axe gleaming in the sunlight. As he approached, the warrior took a swing at his head, that he ducked under before stabbing through his opponent's chest. The man gurgled while Ike shoved him off of the sword as he watched the man fall. He heard Astrid rush by as she launched two successive arrows at one of the archers on the ballista, the enemy's dying cry alerting him to her success before she moved behind him.
The rest of his team stood back, as they wait for Ulki to initiate conversation. Fortunately, after a blast of wind did little damage due to the Full-Guard, he had admonished the King, who was watching the Heron Prince with deep intensity. Motioning for all the archers on the team to be ready, they allowed the Raven passage. As the two talked, Ike kept his eyes on the other approaching Ravens who were transforming, but not engaging.
"Listen to me, darkwings! We of Kilvas are leaving. Turn at once and head for home." At that, the mercenaries pushed forward, as Marcia and Tanith moved to remove the second ballista on the left side of the enemies. The Daein forces seemed to have been galvanized by this statement as they charged. Ike watched as Oscar, Boyd, and Rolf took aim and downed a wyvern rider as their arrow all hit him at the same time.
Turned back to the charging enemy he caught a myrmidon attempted to take his head. He slammed his sword in the way and the two weapons clanged as he maneuvered both of the two swords to the ground. Bringing his blade up quicker, he landed a small slash on his opponent's arm. The man attempted to stab at him, as his dodge turned the strike into a small injury on his left arm. He brought the iron blade around and the slash fell the swordsman.
He turned towards the main force of his teammates. The remaining enemy riders battled with Oscar, Titania, and Astrid. He tightened his grip as he noticed the green-haired enemy commander digging in and preparing to stab Astrid's horse right where he had done so before in the last battle with Daein. Launching his sword into the air as quick as possible, he quickly followed after it and brought the blade down upon his enemy. The man jumped back, barely avoiding having blood drawn, however, like all the enemies he fought before, he was caught completely off-guard by the quick swing up. The blow lifted the man up slightly, before his body fell to the ground, his sword clattering as well. The force of the blow ruined his own weapon. Reaching for the other blade he carried, he let out a sigh of relief, the enemy forces were running, and quite a few were just leaving their weapons, afraid of being weighed down.
"Ike, thank you for stopping him, I did not realize he had gotten behind me." Astrid explained as she replaced her axe.
"Well, I owe you a couple, so I better get started on that, huh?" She giggled as Ike noticed Titania and a 'recovered' Soren walking over and wanting to talk to him. Nodding, he waved to Astrid before following to see what they had found.
Ike's mind was reeling, his father had been hiding the truth all the time. While he had guessed at what Volke might have wanted to tell him, this was not definitely not what he was thinking about. He took another deep breath, at least Volke told him far enough away that he will have some time to recover before others would see him. His legs were propelling him towards a nearby clump of trees. Once inside and finding a tree large enough, he slammed his remaining sword, and slumped against the base of it. He did not know when to tell his sister, or even if he should. At least definitely not during the war, he could not afford to have her risk being killed because of the distraction. Though he would have to ensure that Mist never lost it. The only person he may have talked to about it, his best friend, was avoiding him. He took another deep breath, he had to center himself, now. He had not let a single tear fall when his father died, and since no one except Volke knew the truth, he could not let anyone else know. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps behind him, he grimaced, they were much heavier than Soren's.
"Ike?" The young woman paused her walking, perhaps at his sight.
"Astrid." He closed his eyes yet again. "Am I needed back at camp?"
"No, I was looking for you." She replied hesitantly as she walked closer. "Something the matter?"
"I'm just exhausted from the fighting and marching. I just need a good night's rest is all." He blinked a couple of times and looked up at her. She lowered herself to the ground next to him, a small smile graced her face. Ike sighed, while Astrid had become quite closer to him, she knew next to nothing about his parents, and besides she had enough problems with her family. Also, he would have to tell Mist first before letting someone else know. A calloused hand grabbed his, feeling different compared to when he would hold his sister's hand, which had been until very recently, was unmarred by training of any kind.
"Thank you for everything, Ike." He nodded as she turned to look out at the forest as well. He waited patiently for her to ask the obvious question. After a few minutes, the odds of her asking plummeted. His breathing started to slow to its regular pace. It was definitely the right idea to ask for help back then in Begnion. He thought as they both sat quietly, away from everything at the moment, with her thumb slowly rubbing the back of his hand.
By the way, the part with Nephenee and Brom, Brom in the game had been trying to get Nephenee to talk more in general with people, and the General is a good place as ever to start with no? I'll be trying to have the other character mentioned at a bit in the chapters coming up. Also, I stole some of Astrid and Ike conversation from Astrid and Sothe's support conversation, but I felt they fit. Also, I have no idea if the comment about Mia is true, but I thought it would be interesting to have. Anyways, let me know what you think and if the battles aren't as rushed as before.