6/5/14
This chapter has some of the best conversations so far, in my own opinion of course. I just read em and get really happy. It isn't too hard to imagine the actual scene of the Mercenaries just being people, happy and bonding despite the ill times. That's part of the reason I'm really looking forward to Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, even if its only the flagship lords representing the Fire Emblem parts, seeing them all active and interacting among each other and the SMT cast is going to be where the gold is.
Enough of me! Here we go!
Ohma's Hearts
"Hikin never gets any easier." Brom stated as he wiped his brow. Heather rolled her eyes as Boyd laughed "I told you to keep up those exercises I showed you before! Besides, you do farm work! How are you not buff like me?"
As the two conversed, Heather noticed Ilyana stroll over to her with a smile "How are you doing, Heather."
"I'll be better when we reach Gallia and stop marching…how about you, hungry?"
Ilyana shook her head "This is about you."
"I thought you wanted to talk over a meal, right now is a little…not private."
The sage tilted her head "Private? Heather…I don't see you as a person afraid of other's opinions."
"I'm not!" The rogue yelled at Ilyana who just blinked in response as Heather apologized.
"Didn't mean to snap…"
"It's alright…I now know there is something eating away at you."
"Nice choice of words."
Walking next to each other in silence Heather looked up to see Mia talking with Soren. The rogue couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction, unlike her, Mia was not hiding what she was trying to say but whether or not the sage understood he wasn't reacting the way she wanted.
After a bit, he excused himself to do something and Mia spotted Heather watching her. As the rogue smirked, Mia walked over to her "What?"
"You aren't doing too well, are you?"
Sighing the Trueblade shook her head "I just wanted to know what types of food he prefers…couldn't get much out of him, he doesn't really have a preference."
Heather crossed her arms "Trying to find an in? Never easy to do."
At that Mia tapped her chin and got close to Heather "Could you help me out?"
"W-what?"
Mia shrugged "Well…any…suggestions? You're never one to mince words so I'd like to know if I could be more direct…but not too forceful."
Heather laughed "Direct and forceful usually come together…I'm afraid I don't have much experience."
"Really?"
Hearing the surprise in her own voice Mia apologized "I don't mean it like that, I just thought-"
"It's alright. I've not been in a relationship before, nothing criminal to find out or comment on."
"Haven't found the right guy?" Heather and Mia turned to Ilyana who spoke up before Heather swallowed and replied lowly "You could say that…"
Ilyana looked to the rogue questioningly "What else could you say?"
As Heather remained silent she looked between Mia and Ilyana who wore odd expressions, watching her closely. As if the very heavens were interjecting, Skrimir roared that they'd arrive at the Castle. Cheers erupted from the Alliance as their marching pace increased.
Ilyana and Mia looked back to see Heather had vanished.
Near Castle Gallia
Nephenee sat on her bed, running her comb through her hair. The army had encamped around the castle and out of gratitude the Gallians offered several empty homes for the Mercenaries and other Beorc allies to stay in while the leaders conversed with King Caineghis.
As she stared at her reflection, several thoughts ran through her mind.
"I'm just…not sure what it is I think about Heather. I mean she told me she likes me…I like her too…but…"
She sighed and gently knocked the side of her head with her fist as a knock and voice came from behind her and through the door "Hey, Neph, how ya doin?"
"Good, come in Mia."
As the swordmaster walked in she looked to Nephenee "Comfortable?"
"Very."
"Well, Oscar just reported that foods up, wanna go down and get some."
Nephenee realized at that moment how hungry she was after the march and nodded. A thought came to her mind and before she could process it, it came out "Is Heather coming?"
Though Nephenee was internally shocked at the question, Mia thought nothing of it "I asked her, but she actually had plans with Ilyana. We goin?"
Nephenee grabbed her helmet, eliciting a chuckle from Mia before the pair departed.
"I love Oscar's meals!" Ilyana stated as she continued to eat with an extremely happy demeanor.
Heather picked at her food, occasionally glancing around, looking for a certain someone.
As Ilyana exhaled, content she looked to Heather "You can talk whenever…I won't rush you."
The rogue glanced at her as she laughed "Though I hope you don't make another hasty escape."
"Sorry."
"What was that about anyway?"
As Heather cut a piece of chicken and ate it she made a muffled 'I don't know' type sound to which Ilyana nodded "Very well…so what did you mess up on?"
Heather inhaled deeply and started "Well…there is someone…that I've…grown to like, quite a lot."
"A lot? For some reason I don't think that is a strong enough term."
"When you aren't constantly scavenging for food you are highly insightful."
Ilyana shrugged "I do read the ancient language for my spells. I'm pretty bright to say the least."
Chuckling Heather continued "This person asked me about my feelings towards them a while ago…I don't know what brought that to their mind that they felt they needed to ask me but…I wasn't ready to tell them. Or rather, I was worried about how they would react when I told them."
Ilyana waved to Mia and Nephenee who Heather turned to see before speaking "Worried? Why is this such an issue? Let them know how you feel, I know that you are a brave and self-spoken person."
Heather looked back to the sage and nodded "I know, I speak my mind and all that…but…I've never felt this way before. I joke around, I flirt a lot but with this person…it's so different."
The golden haired woman then noticed a large smile on Ilyana's face "I think I got it."
"What? What do you-"
"This person…is a she."
The sage noticed the expression on Heather's face change and it looked like the Rogue was about to split when Ilyana moved one of her hands onto Heather's.
"I'm not judging you…in my travels I've met a few people like you. Though most of them make the eyes at Aimee…in addition we had two allies, women, who were very close to each other during the Mad King's War."
Heather remained silent as Ilyana continued "To be fair, you comment a lot on your hate for most disgusting men you meet...uh, your words not mine…and you surround yourself with other women most of the time, preferring to speak with Mia, Nephenee, Lethe and me as opposed to Ranulf, Brom or Gatrie. You don't hide it very well…then again; you don't hide anything about yourself. You're proud of who you are…it's just no one notices or bothers to look too deeply."
As Ilyana moved her hand Heather nodded "You are…so insightful it's unbelievable."
"I figured that liking women is why you are so willing to feed me, right? If that is it, then I'm truly happy to know you. You are a great friend…and whoever she is, the one who has caught your attention. I'm certain she'll accept you."
Heather smiled "Maybe…but…she isn't like me…"
Ilyana shrugged "You weren't like this from birth, one day you probably just started having feelings for a woman you knew, right? Maybe spending more time with this person, expressing yourself, learning more and caring more…they'll love you in return."
Heather thought of Nephenee and smiled "Maybe…just maybe…"
"Thank you, Ilyana."
Smiling the sage looked down to Heather's plate "Are you going to finish that?"
The rest of the day proceeded fairly well until a report was received from the Alliance's advance scouts. The Begnion Royal Army was apparently pillaging cities along Crimea's Border only to be stopped by the Royal Knights.
There were murmurs of Crimea's position in the war and as Queen Elincia met with the new leader of the Begnion Army, Senator Valtome of Culbert, the Alliance held its breath as to what Crimea's decision will be.
Tired of the debates, Heather stomped through the Alliance camp in a foul mood. She hoped to ride the wave of happiness and good thoughts Ilyana left her with for the rest of the day, but it was soured a short while ago and she wasn't having any of it.
Instead she found her way to the showers and decided to try and wash the foulness away.
"Stupid men. Stupid lechers. Stupid brainless…just…stupid everything!"
As the water hit her she continued to mutter the same words over and over again until she heard something.
"I-is that you? Heather?"
The rogue went silent, only now realizing someone else was taking a shower "Uh…Neph?"
"Yeah. Are you…alright? I mean. I guess not. What happened?"
While the current situation was not ideal, Heather decided to run with it. She hadn't talked to the Halberd all day, time to fix that.
Heather: Just ran into some guys.
Nephenee: Oh. What did they do?
Heather: You know…guy stuff.
Nephenee: Uh…that's a little…unclear…and worrisome.
Heather laughed off the Halberd's concern "Please, if anyone tried anything they'd find my dagger in less than pleasant places. If you know what I mean."
"I-I'd rather I didn't." Nephenee stated, trying not to think about it.
Heather: It's just the usual…drunk guys see a girl walk by and they have to say stupid and sometimes offensive stuff…
Nephenee: Oh.
Heather: Doesn't that ever happen to you?
Nephenee: No…not really.
Heather: I still find that truly hard to believe.
Nephenee: Why?
Heather: I've said so before, Neph, you're a beautiful person, does no one in your life ever notice that?
Blushing the Halberd looked down; even though Heather wasn't actually there she could just imagine the rogue's face.
"Well…you must live around pleasant guys all the time."
Nephenee nodded to herself "Most of them are friends from the war. We're close…we don't offend each other like that…we accept each other, faults n all."
Heather ran her hands through her wet hair as Nephenee continued "I think I asked before but…have you never met some nice fellas? I'm sure there would be someone to catch your fancy, someone who doesn't just…look at you."
The rogue sighed "No one like that…well that's not completely true…there was someone…a long time ago…but it didn't pan out…"
"Or the second…or the third time…"
Nephenee: Why?
Heather: …personal…stuff…
Nephenee: You don't want to…talk about it…
Heather: I'd love to, I know you'd listen but…right now it'd be a strange time for that kinda talk.
The Halberd giggled at that "True…well Heather…enjoy your night and sorry bout the rude fellas around. Just stick to our people…we'll never treat ya wrong."
As the water stopped and the footsteps began to recede, Heather called out "You aren't still wearing your helmet are you?"
Hearing Nephenee laugh, Heather felt warm as the cool water continued to rush against her.
The next day started out cool and calm, many more Laguz warriors were emerging from the medical tents ready to fight again. The Alliance was organizing with the leaders preparing strategies for reengaging with the Begnion Central Army.
Little did they know Valtome and Elincia's meeting ended on poor terms and the Central Army was preparing to mobilize through Crimea.
"Are you sure? I-"
"Mia, yes I'm sure…now go, Ike's waitin for ya."
Mia looked at the swords and lances at Nephenee's side "I can do them when-"
"I got it."
With a quick thank you the swordmaster turned to seek out Ike for a sparring match. Nephenee volunteered to fix up some of Mia's blades in addition to her own lances.
As she got down to it she found herself thinking about Heather. She wasn't sure why but the rogue was on her mind. Shaking her head she continued working on Mia's steel blade while humming the heron galdr.
After what seemed like a few minutes she noticed a harmony to her tune and stopped humming to see Heather enter her tent "Hey Neph."
"Uh hey…I was just thinkin-"
Heather raised an eyebrow as Nephenee stopped "Thinking about what?"
"No…it was nothing, forget about it…uh, what's up?"
"Well I was going to see if you wanted to take a gander around the place but I see you've got quite a load of weapons to work with."
At the rogue's observation Nephenee smiled "I'm helpin Mia out. Sorry to disappoint I would love to go-"
After contemplating her moves, Heather sat down across from Nephenee and picked up the Brave Sword "I'll help."
"I couldn't ask you to-"
"You aren't. I'm offering."
The two began working on the weapons, making them shine and inspecting scratches to see how weak the weapons were.
Heather looked up to Nephenee and decided to make a few more moves "Y'know…I don't think I've asked about your family."
"My family?"
Heather: Yeah. Here you are, fightin for Crimea and you're friends and family every chance you get…are they alright with it? I imagine they're very worried.
Nephenee: Yeah…when I went out to fight against the rebellion my Ma begged me not to risk my life again…but I'd do anythin for her and my siblings.
Heather: Siblings…how many?
Nephenee: Five. Two sisters and three brothers…they're triplets.
Heather: Wow…
Nephenee: What about you?
Heather: Me?
Nephenee: Siblings.
Heather: Only child.
Nephenee let out a silent "Oh." Then proceeded to put the first sword aside and pick up one of her lances.
"I couldn't imagine livin without my siblings…they're troublesome but I love em to death."
Heather smiled, looking at Nephenee's joyful expression as she thought of her family "Why are you an only child, Heather?"
The rogue sighed, looking down at the gleaming Brave Sword before putting it aside "…it's not a nice story…"
"Oh…"
Heather kept her eyes on Nephenee, the Halberd's hands that were cleaning the lance slowed before stopping completely. Looking up the Cerulean haired woman saw Heather looking right at her, "H-Heather?"
After a few thoughts the rogue looked down "My father…that disgusting man…"
"Y-you shouldn't talk about your Pa like that…"
Heather continued to look down, clenching her fists "He…cheated on my mom when she fell sick…left us before long…haven't seen him in over ten years…"
The room fell silent with Nephenee not sure of what to do "I take care of my mom the best I can…doing anythin I have to do. That's why I turned to stealing from every dirty man I find…it started with takin my father's bag right under his nose before he left us and continued from there…"
"So…that's why you hate men…"
Heather looked up to Nephenee who scooted over to her and embraced her "Sorry for diggin up such bad memories…"
Heather put her arms around Nephenee as well and smiled "It's alright…it means a lot that you care…it really does…"
Heather closed her eyes, absorbing the fact that Nephenee was holding her before speaking "Neph."
"Yeah?"
"You…you're the greatest person I've ever met."
About an hour later the two were walking through a nearby Laguz town. While there were a lot of the Beast Tribe wandering about there were a few Beorc who set up some shops and homes and live in Gallia.
As they continued to stroll, Nephenee told Heather stories about her siblings and the trouble they get into on the farm and in the family household. They shared laughs and the rogue absorbed every second of Nephenee's smile.
The sun directly above found the two sitting at an outdoor table, having just finished eating Nephenee looked to Heather "Thanks again for all the help…I'm glad I came out here with you."
The golden haired woman smiled before noticing something and laughing. Leaning over she used her finger to take some cake off of Nephenee's cheek.
The Halberd giggled as Heather licked it off her finger with a smile "I don't have anythin on me, do I?"
As Nephenee shook her head she decided to ask about something from the night before "That uh…not to pry but you said there was something that didn't pan out in the past…relationship wise."
Heather nodded slowly "Y-yeah…I told you I've never been in a relationship before and I meant it, wasn't a lie…the closest I got was a…one day…thing."
"One day? How does a person choose to be by someone then…take it back one day later?"
Heather shrugged "I still haven't figured that out…"
Heather trailed off and cursed inwardly, she knew why it didn't work but she didn't want to let Nephenee know about this part of her, not yet, even so it was a sort of lie and she didn't feel comfortable telling any lies to the other woman.
"Sorry, not the best topic…"
Heather shook her head and waved it off "It's fine, I've been asking about your past, it's only fair. So, anymore sibling stories you'd like to share?"
As Nephenee brought a finger to her chin and began thinking about something to say two men approached their table with the lead guy pulling a chair up next to Heather, both seemed like they were drinking just a short while ago.
"Hey there goldilocks…doin anything?"
"Why, I am actually! If you turn your head to the left you'll see my friend that I am spending the day with. Run along."
The other man sat across from the first "Good! Then we can all spend some time together! Just the four of us."
Heather stood up, Nephenee following her soon after "Thanks but no thanks."
Quickly the rogue took Nephenee and pulled her along back down the road with the two guys following close behind. The first spoke up again "Come on beautiful, we don't bite."
Nephenee turned nervously "W-we're fine…thanks."
"Oh, so she can speak!" At the Nephenee looked down, her free hand pulling her helmet even lower as Heather's pace slowed.
"Don't talk to her."
The first man put a hand on Heather's shoulder "We're not bad guys! The rest of the afternoon is all we ask!"
As Heather was about to respond she noticed the second guy put his hand on Nephenee "That's it! All bets are off!"
Bringing her knee up she struck the first guy, he fell to the floor in pain as Heather turned and used the hilt of her dagger to strike the second man in the face.
As he fell back clutching his broken nose he cursed "You bitch! What was that for!?"
As Heather was about to speak, Nephenee approached the man "What did you just call her!?"
The man looked up to Nephenee and saw the anger in her eyes "N-nothin!"
Quickly he helped his friend up and they took off.
Nephenee turned to Heather who took a step back "I-I'm sorry. I just-"
"Sorry about what?"
"I…lost my temper again…I mean…they didn't…I just-"
"It's alright Heather."
Nephenee took a step forward and took Heather's left hand in her own.
The two found themselves staring at each other; Heather thought to herself "This…could be it…"
She took a step towards the Halberd who was frozen in place, staring at Heather "What is…happening…do I…want…"
Just before Heather started leaning towards the other woman the two heard roars from the Alliance camp.
Nephenee released Heather's hand and took two steps back before turning away, hiding her extremely red face from the rogue.
Heather looked back towards the camp "Somethin is up…"
Nephenee just nodded, Heather reached for her arm but stopped "Maybe I should just…slow down…" Sighing she pulled her arm back and turned towards the camp "Let's go."
The pair began running back to the camp with Nephenee still thinking about what just happened.
Apparently, the Begnion Central Army was passing through Crimea and nearing the Gallian borders. This time however, Crimea's forces did not mobilize against them leading many Laguz to believe that the Beorc nation had betrayed them.
Lethe and Mordecai made the rounds trying to convince the other Laguz that was not the case. Only a massive roar from the King's Shadow, Giffca was able to silence them as Skrimir and Ranulf appeared and ordered the Alliance into their positions and prepared to move north to meet the Begnion army at the border.
Heather swallowed "This encounter…it's going to be huge…"
She turned to Nephenee who still wasn't looking at her. Normally she'd let it go but she couldn't stand it "Neph…"
"Nephenee! Heather! We're going!" The two turned to see Mia approaching "I just need to stop by your room to get my blades; I'll be right with you!"
Heather waved after her and turned back to find Nephenee gone.
Crimea / Gallia Border
The massive encounter both armies were expecting was narrowly avoided thanks to Elincia. General Zelgius commanded his army to pull back as well as Tibarn and Skrimir agreeing to pull back the Alliance forces.
Heather breathed a huge sigh of relief and looked out to see Elincia next to her Pegasus and her blade on the ground. "She truly is glorious."
However the mood was broken when Senator Valtome ordered his personal army to attack under the command of Bow Paladin, Sergei.
The Royal Knights charged down the cliff, while the Greil Mercenaries moved forward and cut off the enemies approaching from the forests.
"Those dirty cowards!" Heather yelled to which Mia nodded "Let's teach em a lesson!"
As Mia launched into the fray Heather noticed Nephenee far ahead fighting alongside Titania, Oscar and Brom holding the line against several Culbert forces.
Sighing, Heather joined Mia in battle with support from Gatrie, Ilyana and Haar they ripped through the paladins and generals in the trees.
With the combined might of the Greil Mercenaries and the Royal Knights they were able to rout the Culbert forces including the commander, Sergei, forcing the Senator to retreat.
In the aftermath Marcia flew over to Nephenee, dismounting and running up to the Halberd to hug her.
"Good to see you again, Neph!"
"You too Marcia, looks like you all have been doin your job well…no sarcasm."
The Falco Knight nodded "Definitely. We stay together as Knights for the Queen. We're unstoppable…though your support during the rebellion will always be remembered."
As Nephenee brushed off the compliment Marcia spotted Mia and Heather and waved them over "Hey Mia! How-"
Before the Falco Knight could finish Mia tackled her with a massive hug "It's been too long!"
"I know!"
As they laughed, Heather stood next to Nephenee; the two awkwardly avoided each other's eyes as they exchanged brief hellos.
"So, Heather, how has it been hangin with the Greil Mercenaries?" Marcia asked as she split up from Mia.
"Good, they're a good group of people…don't think I've ever found this many bearable guys together."
The Falco Knight nodded to that "Yeah, there are a lot of slime balls out there."
"With that said, I really like em all. Brom's cool and on Neph and Mia's suggestion I gave Gatrie a chance and found that he is a nice guy as well."
The group turned to see Ike, Mist and Titania speaking with Elincia, Geoffrey and Lucia. Despite the battle they were just in they all seemed at peace and happy to be among each other.
"Nephenee!"
The Halberd turned as Calill embraced her "How are you my dear, dear Nephenee."
Smiling the younger woman nodded to the sage "I'm good Calill, have you been with the Royal Knights this whole time? Even after the rebellion?"
Calill: I volunteered my services to them freely and when Begnion came a-knockin they asked for my help again, couldn't let old friends down.
Mia: Hey, Calill, how's Largo and Amy?
Calill: Oh you know, handsome and adorable. Truly, my life is perfect.
Nephenee: Good to hear.
Calill: And you! Heather, good to see you standing strong among these titans, I saw you in battle…though I can safely say none of your targets did.
Heather ran a hand through her golden hair and smiled "Thanks. It's been quite the trip."
"I've been hearin about this war everywhere I flew to in Crimea, things went pretty bad not too long ago, are you all still pursuing Begnion?" Marcia stated, recalling all the reports and the citizens worried for their friends.
Mia sighed "Yeah…after the mess in the Soze Pass it got really bad, we wound up having to retreat and as we just saw, Begnion was very determined to get at us."
Heather noticed Ike and Mist join them with the Hero shaking hands with Calill only for Marcia to tackle him with a hug.
"Hey, handsome! Doin well?"
Ike smiled as Marcia hopped off and hugged Mist "Of course, it really is good to see the two of you and thanks for the support."
Calill laughed "Always the serious one, aren't you boy?"
"You all know that's how he is." Mist stated, earning laughs from Marcia and Calill along with a small groan from Ike.
Heather looked at the scene before her and understood why they were all so close and so strong. They all shared a determination and a belief in a goal and they would always fight together.
"So what do we do now, Boss?" Mia asked.
"Well, Elincia heard from a source that someone from Begnion would be coming to meet with us at the Castle. She asked all the leaders to be present. Skrimir, Tibarn, Caineghis, the herons and me specifically…not entirely sure why…"
"Begnion?" Heather asked "I highly doubt there calling a meeting to surrender."
Ike chuckled "If only we were so lucky."
"Ike, we've got some preparations to make before we go." Ranulf commented.
Ike once again thanked everyone for their help and took off with Ranulf. The meeting would be set and hopefully it would go better than Valtome and Elincia's.
That Night
Nephenee lay awake in her room, the leaders were departing at dawn for Castle Crimea and the army would follow soon after.
She tried to keep thinking about the war and what lay in wait but every lapse in focus brought Heather to her mind.
Little did she know the rogue was outside her room, about to knock. After a few moments her hand fell to her side and she sighed before returning to her room.
Outdoor showers aren't an odd thing for the army right? I mean, right now there in Gallia and would Gallians need indoor showers? Couldn't they just morph and jump in the lake? They are very animalistic not as an insult?
You know, we need to put a research team together and figure this whole Laguz thing out.
These are the advances in science the really matter and Miriel would surely agree.
5 days out from E3 and all that's on my mind are the living characteristics and habits of Laguz...hmm...