5/25/14

Ugh, I've been writing and rewriting various sections of this chapter since I orginally wrote it, most of the dialogue from the 1st...draft? is gone.

I'm definitely happiest with this version but darn, out of the 25 chapters I have written this one took the most work, funny since the game chapter that happens here is one of my faves and an easy one (Stormclouds)

Whirling Emotions

"So…hungry…"

"You just ate! More than all of us!"

Ilyana groaned as Heather rolled her eyes. Still, she couldn't resist the poor girl "I'll go see if I can scrounge somethin up for you, just hold on."

Ilyana smiled at Heather "Thank you."

Hopping out of the first cart, Heather began walking towards the food cart in the back, passing by Nephenee.

Heather turned to Nephenee but the Halberd was looking elsewhere, she had been doing that all day.

As Heather retrieved some food for Ilyana she thought to herself "Nephenee hasn't spoken to me all day…she hasn't even looked at me…did I do something…wrong?"

Heather shook her head "No, impossible…maybe she's just…lost in her thoughts…thinking of the war…or her friends we're about to see…that's probably it."

As Heather walked past Nephenee again she felt the urge to call out to her, ask her if something was wrong but she decided against it, leaving the issue to rest for now she sighed and silently walked past the Halberd.

Laguz Alliance Camp

Crossing over a ridge, Heather was amazed to see the massive encampment before them and the countless Laguz soldiers roaming around.

Muston turned "We're here!"

Aimee rolled her eyes "Obviously…Jorge, Daniel keep an eye out for the Mercenaries."

As the twins nodded, Heather jumped off the caravan and walked over to Nephenee, who was also looking about the camp.

"Neph."

"…"

"Neph!"

"…"

Groaning, Heather walked in front of Nephenee and grabbed her shoulders, shaking the Halberd.

"What? What's going on?"

"You tell me. Are you alright? You've been in somewhat of a daze all day."

Nephenee looked at Heather, seeing the concern in the other woman's eyes she sighed "Sorry…I just…"

"Nothing to apologize for Nephenee, but if you want to talk about it or talk about anything, I'm here." With those last words, Heather released Nephenee, though she kept one of her hands on Nephenee's arm.

Nephenee looked down at the contact then to Heather "Actually…there is…something-"

"Neph!"

The pair turned, Heather barely made out a figure rush past her.

Nephenee was now being held tightly by another woman "Oh I'm so glad to see you! It's been too long! How have you been?"

Nephenee, with a large smile hugged the woman back "Mia…"

Heather tapped her feet until they separated with Mia glancing at the Halberd's scarf "Still wearing it?"

"Always."

"It's so good to see you. It really is."

Nephenee noticed Heather and turned Mia to face her "Sorry Heather, I've been neglecting your proper hellos with my friends. This here is my bestest friend ever, Mia."

The orange clothed, purple haired swordmaster held her hand out "Hello Heather, it's nice to meet you."

Heather nodded as she took Mia's hand in hers. "Firm grip you have there, Mia."

Mia nodded and flexed quickly with a smile and a laugh "I do A LOT of sparring and practicing and dueling and all that."

Nephenee nodded "A lot is a bit of an understatement. She never stops."

"So, Heather, how do you know Nephenee?"

The rogue scratched her head "That is quite the story; maybe we could find a better place to talk than out here?"

Nodding quickly the swordmaster led them to her tent.

"I see…so you two were involved in that as well. Glad to see you're both alright."

Heather and Nephenee nodded, now finished recounting their tales about Ludveck's rebellion in Crimea.

"I saw you and the Mercenaries save Lucia…I was really tempted to go out and say hello but…"

Mia shrugged it off "It's okay, we're all together now, right? Fighting against Begnion and all that, it's going to be dangerous."

Heather smiled "What's new?"

Mia was about to say something when her attention turned elsewhere "Be right back!"

With that the swordmaster vanished, leaving Heather and Nephenee alone.

"So…she's the close friend who gave you the scarf." Heather commented.

Nephenee nodded "Yeah…she likes orange so she made it for me…said it makes me…more unique…"

After a short silence Heather turned to Nephenee "What was it you were trying to tell me before?"

Nephenee looked away "Nothin…it was nothing…"

"Are you sure? You can run it by me, no charge, no judgments. I just want to help."

Heather reached out and touched Nephenee's shoulder, the Halberd turned slowly to see Heather's hand "Um…you…how do I put this…"

Heather remained silent as Nephenee thought to herself "You like me…right?"

The rogue thought over what Nephenee could possibly mean by that. Did she know? Did she lay it on to heavy? Too obviously? Is this a bad thing? Is it a good thing?"

"Yeah…I figured that was obvious…what with the compliments and the by your side always and so on…why?"

Nephenee just breathed out slowly "Nothin…I guess I was just…concerned over nothin."

Heather took her hand away from Nephenee just as Mia returned "You two don't mind being put on the next battle…right?"

The pair shook their heads "Just tell us when and where!" Heather stated with a smile.

Nightfall…

Despite the rather comfortable day, Heather found herself tossing and turning in her sleep, thinking of a conversation she feared happening.

"You…like me, right?"

At Nephenee's question Heather nodded and smiled "Of course I like you…"

In response Nephenee shook her head and clarified her question "I mean…do you…have feelings for me."

In her subconscious Heather was trying to tell herself to stop but she continued speaking.

"Feelings…romantic feelings?"

"Yeah…are you…interested me in that way?"

"Don't say it! Don't tell her! Not her!"

Despite Heather's internal struggle she still managed to say "Yes…I do, I-"

Only to be cut off by a distraught and seemingly disgusted Nephenee who now asked "How could you!? What's wrong with you!?"

"Wait! Neph! Neph!"

"Don't talk to me!"

Sitting upright quickly, Heather looked about her tent frantically "Neph…no…it was just…a nightmare…everything is alright…"

As the rogue kept thinking to herself she shook her head "She'd never…she wouldn't turn on me like that…I know she wouldn't…she wouldn't…"

The rogue closed her eyes and thought of the people who did turn on her for the same reason. Too many to list and too many were important to her once.

"Neph…"

Strategy Meeting

"Our enemy is Istvan of Duke Seliora's army. Once we take him out, his forces and the defensive lines in this area will crumble. With Tibarn and Naesala's forces attacking the Central Army's supply lines we'll be in a strategic and superior place."

The group nodded to Soren and left the strategy tent to get armed and move out.

As Soren folded his things someone entered the tent "Hey."

Turning he spotted Mia "Hello, are you all set?"

"Yep, I'm always ready."

"Good."

"So-"

"I've got a few things to check on, join up with Ike, we're moving soon."

With that Soren exited the tent and Mia sighed.

As she exited the tent she bumped into Heather "Oh, hey! Ready to go?"

The rogue nodded, some lingering thoughts from her nightmare were still floating around in her head.

Mia saw the strange expression and put a hand on Heather's shoulder "Are you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah…yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Heather continued to nod and Mia decided to drop it. The rogue didn't want to turn away Nephenee's best friend so she decided to take this opportunity to see if she could learn more about the woman. "If you don't mind, I'd like it if we stuck close to each other in the upcoming battle."

Mia turned and raised an eyebrow "Really?"

At Heather's quick nod, Mia smiled "Wanna check out my moves? See if I'm all that Nephenee has said? Trust me, you'll be amazed. I've been training with the boss himself."

"Ike?"

Mia nodded "Yep, he has gone so far as to teach my some of his family's unique combat style."

"Wow…are you two…you know…"

Mia's eyes widened in shock "What!? No! I mean, it's not like he isn't attractive but…no, we're not, it's nothing like that!"

Heather laughed at Mia's freak out "I'm not arguing against it, you say it isn't, it isn't."

"It isn't!"

"Okay!"

As Heather continued to laugh, Mia eventually calmed down and laughed along with her.

Sestohl

Sure enough, Heather was impressed. Mia dashed back and forth, her blade singing and slicing through the air and flesh of her enemies.

As Heather leapt onto a sniper and buried her dagger in his throat she noticed Nephenee fighting next to a man with massive blue armor. Both lance wielders smashed through a line of paladins with little effort.

As the body of her enemy fell dead, Heather flipped over to Mia "We in the clear?"

Mia looked up to see a few wyverns heading towards them only for Haar to shoot in and strike one, the others became occupied with the new enemy and they began circling in the sky.

"Yeah, for a bit at least, we'll keep to the rear, gain back some stamina and such then charge back in."

As Heather nodded they followed the rest of the troops, the rogue quickly realized that Nephenee's stories about the Greil Mercenaries were more than true. Ike, on his own, ripped through entire lines of swordmasters and warriors while the brothers teamed up to take down the approaching generals.

All around, their superiority was clear.

Shortly after, Ike and Boyd brought down Istvan, just as Soren predicted the enemy forces began to scramble, most began a mass retreat in four different directions.

Using this momentary peace, Heather approached the purple haired swordmaster, once again her nightmare at the forefront of her subconscious she couldn't hold a certain question in anymore. If anyone in the company could clear some of her doubt's, it'd be Nephenee's best friend.

"Mia, mind if I ask you a rather…strange question. I know I just met you and all but-"

Mia waved her off and smiled "You're a friend of Nephenee's, I'm fine with whatever it is…so, what's up?"

"What do you think of people with…unique romantic interests?"

Mia scratched her chin and tilted her head "Unique romantic interests? You mean like…a guy that likes a guy? Like that?"

"Yeah…"

Mia shrugged "I knew a pair of women during the last war that were really close, though honestly in the case of strangers it isn't any of my business what someone or who someone chooses to love or whatever…why do you ask?"

"A pair of women?" Heather wanted to ask about that but decided against it, realizing Mia just asked her own question the rogue quickly answered "Just curious...that's all..."

"Pretty specific thing to be curious about…do you have an opinion on it?"

As Mia put her hands on her hips, Heather scratched her head "No…I don't mind it. Like you said. It wouldn't be any of my business anyway."

The two remained silent though Mia's intense focus on Heather began to worry the rogue. As she started to move away, Mia approached her "Heather. Are you-"

A loud roar rang out causing the pair to turn and see the Begnion Central Army approaching.

"We've got to go! Now!"

Just as Mia said that, Ike yelled out the fall back order which was quickly obeyed though the Laguz stood back as Skrimir had clear intentions of challenging the massive enemy force.

Laguz Alliance Camp

"Excuse me, pardon, hey! Did you not hear me!? MOVE!"

A male Laguz practically jumped out of the way, allowing Heather to pass. The rogue could not find Nephenee anywhere and with the commotion over Ranulf and Skrimir's battle as well as the retreat, it was even harder to just move around the camp.

With all the people moving about, Heather felt her ire growing and any unfortunate man that came to a stop in front of her received more than an earful.

After thinking about the situation she realized something, the camp was crowded and loud, where would Nephenee be in a situation like this?

Snapping her fingers, Heather ran in the opposite direction and out of the camp.

Just as she guessed Nephenee was sitting down near a tree.

"Hey, Neph."

The rogue sat down next to her, close enough that their arms brushed against each other.

Nephenee turned to her "Heather…"

"Saw you in that last battle, it is honestly like looking at a completely different person."

"You were…looking at me?"

Heather thought for a moment before continuing "I wasn't distracted, it was only between encounters, trust me."

Nephenee looked away "It still isn't the best idea…lookin away from the battle…"

Heather sighed "You're right…sorry…it's just…odd."

"Odd?"

"Poor choice of words…you in combat and you out of it…you know."

Nephenee brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

"Neph…do you mind if…I ask you a…somewhat odd question."

At Nephenee's silence Heather continued "What do you…think of…"

The Halberd turned to see the silent rogue "Heather? Are you alright?"

"How could you!? Don't talk to me!"

Heather swallowed "It's a little embarrassing…what do you think…of me?"

Nephenee tilted her head "What do I think…of you?"

The gold haired woman nodded quickly "It is a rather odd question. I'm just…interested is all…"

"Does my opinion…matter to you?"

"Immensely…"

"Yeah…like I keep saying, you are fantastic person, like, amazingly, stupendously great…I hold your opinions in high regard."

Nephenee smiled "Well…I think…you're a really nice gal…"

The Halberd glanced at her quickly before looking away "Real pretty as well…"

"You think I'm pretty?"

Nephenee blushed, refusing to look at Heather "You're also unique in your own ways…for such a nice gal you can just…turn in some situations."

"Like?"

Nephenee recalled Heather calling out Ludveck and basically threatening to torture him as well as mentioning her outbursts around camp.

"You can hear me?"

"No…I hear people talking about the wily golden haired woman practically biting some poor guy's head off when all he did was ask you a question."

Heather laughed nervously "How about that…"

"Though I take it you're fine with the women around here?"

Nephenee was now looking at the rogue who nervously rubbed her arms "Huh?"

"Well, in all the stories it's some poor guy that crosses your path…seems like no women ever do."

"It's just…a…coincidence! Every time! It just happens to be a guy…"

As silence fell around them, Heather glanced at Nephenee quickly. "She thinks I'm pretty…"

Smiling to herself she didn't notice Nephenee stand up "We should get movin on back to camp…you know, figure out the going ons."

Heather nodded and stood up, taking Nephenee's arm she began walking back to camp with the Halberd in tow.

Nephenee looked down at their interlinked arms then at Heather, with a smile she allowed the rogue to pull her along. All the while Heather thought of the things Nephenee said about her.

"I wonder if there is anything else she thinks about me…"

In my personal head canon, Mia and Nephenee are best friends, every story I've written (many of which I never uploaded) they're always extremely tight friends. I guess its a result from them being paired together and wiping entire fields clean on their own in the real game.

BTW did you see the opening credits for RWBY Volume 2? So many characters! So colorful! I can't wait!