Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
A/N: Okay, I'm about to list off the many reasons why this story is so late. First, my computer was totaled, and I had to get it fixed, which costed a heck of a lot of money that really didn't help my family's situation any better (but in today's technologically advanced society, I have to have a computer at school every day.) Also, when I got the computer back in the middle of DECEMBER, I found out that the original ch.19 of Blue Wolf (some 3000 words) was COMPLETELY deleted, forcing me to start from scratch. But…I digress, and the chapter maybe a little shorter than usual just to get me back on my feet. Okay, well, get on to the story! (And to a little brasileiro, I found out that pluperfect is a fancy term for past perfect! :P)
Last time on Blue Wolf,
"Stop," Khimari ordered quietly, yet so forceful that Tora couldn't resist obeying it. Turning around, he was face to face with the blue wolf.
"What do you want now?" he huffed, trying to not show his nervousness that the other wolf was giving him.
"We need to talk."
"…" Tora stared, looking at the wolf prince in silence as time passed between the two. "…What?" he finally asked, when he came to the conclusion that he couldn't get anything out of Khimari.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, his unwavering gaze boring into the red wolf's skin.
"What's with you trying to help me?" Tora shot back, narrowing his eyes at Khimari. "What's in it for you?"
"Making sure that you're alright."
"Well, what does that have to do with-"
"Yes, it does," the blue Laguz interrupted. "You're a wolf, and an ally. Looking out for each other is the least that we can do. Besides, it's not like it'd be nice to ignore someone's pain."
"…So you're doing this to be nice? What, are you trying to trick me?" he cautiously asked.
"No. I don't do control tricks, just pranks. Look, I honestly just want to see to it that you're sane, at the very least," he poked, drawing a snort from the red wolf.
"Sane, or…"
"No…maybe sane wasn't the right word. What I mean is that we should at the very least look out for each other. It's the right thing to do," he amended, leaning on a tree as he finished. Tora's expression changed to an unreadable one, though it still betrayed the red wolf's feelings of mistrust between him and Khimari. Eventually, he sighed and put his head down in confusion.
"I'm done." Khimari gave him a blank look in response, simply raising an eyebrow as a way of urging him to explain. "Okay, you're no faker. I admit it. Maybe…We can start over," he choked, clearly not comfortable with admitting that he was wrong about something.
"Alright then," Khimari said, walking up to Tora before reaching out with his hand. "I'm Khimari, and I like eating fish," he joked, a large grin on his face. In response, the red wolf slapped Khimari's hand while rolling his eyes.
"Can you ever be serious?"
XXXXX
"Is everything ready?" Ike asked his little group consisting of Tanith, Khimari, Soren and Titania at the moment.
"Yes, all of the Begnion troops are mobilized and at your command," the Pegasi Knight relayed.
"We're all here and alive," Khimari lazily told the newly-minted Lord, giving a yawn as he scratched his side with his forepaw.
"Thank you…" he drawled, wondering why he thought that his surrogate brother would actually try to be professional. "Umm…So, we can depart now?" he asked Tanith, not used to leading an entire troop.
"Why yes. All you have to do is tell them," the Holy Guard deputy commander informed Ike, a hint of mirth in her voice. Ike took a deep breath and looked at the giant mass of soldiers around the large field, conversing with one another as they waited for their command.
"Nervous?" he heard a growl, making him turn to Khimari, who was sitting calmly to his left.
"Yeah, kinda. It's just…a lot of people to talk to," he admitted, drawing a snort from the wolf.
"True…Well, I'll help you out this time." Before Ike could ask what Khimari meant, the wolf prince let out a howl, bringing all of the attention to the mercenary commander.
Ike exchanged a quick look at Khimari, who nodded his head towards the now watching audience of soldiers. Turning his gaze at the crowd, Ike took a deep breath before he addressed them. "Alright! Soldiers, Greil Mercenaries, move out!" he called, raising his sword as the march began.
The road to Daein was already preplanned by Ike and the others. They would make their way to the border before the opposing country could have word of these recent events, and make a surprise attack to capture Tor Garen. All they would need was some haste, strength, and a pinch of luck.
Strangely, Khimari would not feel that feeling as he felt an ominous chill crept along his spine, causing him to stop and stab his claws through the ground for a quick second. Not wanting to fall behind, he quickly shook himself and padded his way back up to Ike, who looked worried, though he didn't say anything.
The long trek to Daein continued without much incident, and when the sun got closer to the horizon, Ike decided to stop there for the night. With that established, everyone started to set up camp for the night. The two blue-haired brothers, along with some other soldiers, decided to find some firewood for the campfire. Trekking through the woods, Khimari and Ike were collecting some more firewood before Khimari heard the soldiers gossiping behind them.
"Hey, what do you think about that guy?" one soldier asked.
"You mean General Ike? I can tell he's a newbie, but I think he'll be fi-"
"No, not him!" the first soldier interrupted, rolling his eyes before he got in closer. "I mean the wolf," he clarified, whispering so that he thought Khimari couldn't hear it.
"Oh…Well, I heard the Apostle trusts him, so…" he drifted off, not knowing what to say about the Laguz.
"I guess, but maybe a close eye would be better. Begnion can't get sucker-punched by those guys again. They killed the apostle before, so who knows what they could do next?" Not wanting to hear this conversation anymore, Khimari picked up his firewood with his hands and his tail and went back to the camp.
It was hard not to say anything in defense of his tribe, but the people don't know any better. The best decision in that case would be to simply ignore it and move on, the wolf concluded. With a hard sigh, he threw the wood into the fire, which was already growing past a foot and a half in height. With the wood that Ike and the other soldiers collected as well, it was enough for the time being. His next thoughts were taken away by a growl of his stomach, which sent him on a quick journey to the mess hall where Oscar and Mist were serving the present members of both the Begnion army and the Greil Mercenaries.
"Hey, Khimari!" he heard a voice call. Turning his head to the left, he saw Rolf and Boyd along with Zihark and some guy with green hair and yellow armor. Ignoring what seemed to be a halberdier, the wolf walked over to the table where the older of the brothers was in the process of stuffing his face with food.
"Hey you guys," Khimari returned. "How are you?"
"We're doing great!" Rolf responded, his usual exuberance coming out full-force. "These soldiers are really nice people! One even showed me a neat trick with my bow! You wanna see?" he basically rambled while he seemed ready to jump on the walls.
"Woah, calm down there. Maybe you can show me later, but right now some food would be nice!"
"If a meal is what you desire, honorable puppy, then you must travel to the sacred cooks and receive your offering!" the unknown halberdier laughed, setting off a warning light in Khimari's head.
"Did you just call me a puppy?" he calmly asked, though his narrowed eyes contradicted his even tone.
"Why yes, I did call you a puppy!" he obliviously replied, being the only one at the table to not notice that Khimari's expression kept getting more annoyed by the second. "You are young, and a wolf, so you are merely a puppy! If it would not be too much of a hassle, I would ask to pet you, even!" he joked, laughing as the wolf prince's eye started to twitch. It only got more confusing as the halberdier stopped laughing and looked at him with a somber expression. "Why do you not laugh? Is Devdan's joke not funny?" he asked, appearing as somewhat genuinely concerned with Khimari's laughter.
"Umm…It's fine…I don't like being called a puppy. It's kind of insulting," the wolf admitted.
"I am sorry, but you must expand your sense of humor. If one gets offended by everything, how can peace be attained?" he asked after muttering a quick apology.
"…I think I get it," Khimari said, a sickly-sweet smile growing on his face. "Maybe it would be a good time to have a good laugh or two," he ominously agreed, warning lights in both Boyd and Rolf's heads going off at the foreshadowing of a prank.
"Okay, how about we go get Khimari that food he wants?" Boyd hastily mentioned, getting up and guiding the vengeful wolf over to where Oscar and Mist were working hard in the kitchen. "Oscar! We need to get Khimari some food!" he yelled over, and the two didn't have to wait too long until the horseman brought the wolf a nice, hot plate of food.
"Here you go, Khimari!" Oscar greeted, giving him the plate as he caught the look of emergency in Boyd's eye. That explained his weird behavior in getting Khimari food. "Please, Khimari, no pranks now."
"…Alright Oscar, no pranks will be pulled for now," he agreed, stressing the "now" to show that there were no promises for the foreseeable future from the blue wolf. Not wanting to be around all of these people, Khimari took his food outside until he found a comfortable area under a tree. Transforming into his wolf form, he devoured every morsel on the plate, even licking some of the leftovers he couldn't get with his teeth. Feeling satisfied after that meal, he grabbed the plate in between his jaws and padded back to the mess hall. Ignoring the strange looks that many of the Begnion soldiers gave him, he kept looking forward as he went back to the two cooks in the company.
"You're done already? No seconds?" Mist questioned, rightly so as it was unnatural for Khimari to eat so little food.
"Remember, I did hunt just a little while earlier," Khimari mentioned with a roll of his eyes.
"Ohh…That's why you weren't at the very beginning of the line," she giggled, laughing at the wolf who gave a strong huff from his snout in light embarrassment.
"Gee, thanks," he replied sarcastically, giving another huff as the cleric burst into another fit of giggles. "Anyways, it's past your bedtime. You need to get to bed," he told her, giving her a triumphant wolf smile.
"What? No!" she refused, turning around and crossing her arms.
"Don't resist. I'll just pick you up and carry you myself."
"…Fine," she pouted, stomping to the tent that she was sharing with Jill with half-hearted anger. Smirking in victory, Khimari walked out after Mist and went over to his own tent, which he was sharing with Mordecai and Zihark. It was one of the only three-people tents throughout the entire camp, but some people had to triple-down in some of the larger tents to conserve space. The whole sleeping arrangement went over pretty well; keep some people away from others and family members go very well together.
As Khimari walked into the tent, he was greeted by two figures in the form of Mordecai and Zihark. "Hey," he lazily growled, stifling a yawn as to be polite to the others He laid down while the other two returned the greeting.
"How is Khimari?" Mordecai asked.
"I have a feeling that something soon is going to happen that I don't like," Khimari responded honestly, thinking about everything that's happened since this whole Daein war fiasco started. He could definitely say that there were many positives and negatives during the war, even though said war itself wasn't good for any people involved.
"Why do you say that?" Zihark, the one who usually keeps to himself, pressed.
"Quite the nosy one, aren't ya?" the wolf cheekily shot back. "It's just that this is a reality of a serious war. I can't help but feel that something's going to pop off."
The swordsman let out a dry laugh at the retort before he stretched out a little. "Maybe a little curious. You are quite the mystery," he noted.
"And you aren't?" Khimari snorted.
"Fair enough," Zihark admitted.
"So…why don't we stop being mysteries?" the wolf offered. "I mean…why did you join us at that port place? I have no issues, but I missed that part of the conversation."
"I saw that you had Laguz in your group, and I wanted to protect them," he explained, his face growing solemn.
"That's considerate…although Laguz can take care of themselves pretty fine. I mean, fire mages excluded; those guys make my skin crawl."
"I know…but it was for something…much more personal…" he mumbled, going down to a whisper as he continued to speak.
"Is Zee-hark sad?" Mordecai asked. The blue-haired swordsman lifted his head and gave a sad smile to the tiger Laguz.
"Some things are rather…personal. I'd rather keep that to myself, if you don't mind it," he revealed.
"That's perfectly fine," Khimari soothed as a sense of understanding was made between the two. "So…lights out?" he joked, earning a snort that came from Zihark.
"Sure," he agreed, Mordecai giving his own growl of agreement as the three lied down in the large tent.
XXXXX
A week later…
"Are we there yet?" Rikari pestered, walking along with both Khimari and Tora as the army continued to march to the Daein border of Begnion. They had made considerable progress across the Begnion territory since their departure a week ago. According to the scouts that they sent slightly ahead, they should reach Tor Garen by noontime, or even a little earlier.
"Almost, pup," Khimari replied, with the information in mind.
"Why do you call me pup? I'm 12 years old, you know," the young wolf pouted.
"Because…It's fun, and you are a young little pup," the prince retorted, ruffling Rikari's orange hair.
"Tora! Tell him I'm not a pup! I'm a grown wolf!"
"He's the prince, and your teacher," Tora commented, with a calm look in his eye. "It's good to behave…like a nice little pup," he finished, a smirk breaking out as his little brother gaped.
"Suspense…I like it," said prince commented, his own smile forming while Rikari was silently glaring at the elder wolves.
"Attention!" Tanith's voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention. "Tor Garen is a mere jog ahead! Begnion soldiers, clear the surrounding perimeter! Mercenaries, your leader has his own commands for you," she informed.
"Come on," Khimari told the two, weaving between the large crowd of Begnion soldiers with the other two wolves hot on his tail. Upon getting out of the large sea of red armor, they were greeted with the sight of the rest of the Greil Mercenaries.
"Nice of you to join us," Soren snidely remarked.
"Sorry honey, but it takes time to look this good," Khimari retorted, smirking at Soren who rolled his eyes before turning back to Ike.
"Alright, listen up," the mercenary commander started. "The Daeins shouldn't know that we've come this far yet. We're going to launch a surprise attack in order to catch the wall while the Begnion troops secure the area and prevent any unwelcome reinforcements." Thinking of another thing, he turned to the right, where Princess Elincia was calmly standing in her extremely noticeable orange dress. "Princess Elincia, please go back to base and wait for us to return."
"Bu…Very well," she gave in, nodding her consent.
"Don't be worried about us. We're prepared for whatever Daein has to throw at us," Ike soothed. "That, and you're our good luck charm." Khimari couldn't help but raise a quiet eyebrow at the statement, especially when the princess lightly blushed in response to the compliment.
"T-Thank you for that, but please be careful, my Lord Ike."
"Hey, there's no worries!" Khimari butted in. "Just because we're an army now doesn't mean we're going to lose. Daein's been a thorn in our sides for a while; just wash and repeat from here on out! Besides…Ike is a snooty noble. He can't lose or else we all will mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night."
"Hey!" Ike indignantly cried out. He was about to give a retort, but Elincia silenced him by pointing to the sky.
"My Lord Ike! Look! There's something in the sky!" Everyone looked over to see three rapidly approaching figures flying in the sky.
"Who're they?" Ike asked, squinting at the three figures.
"It looks like hawk Laguz," Khimari answered, recognizing the green feathers possessed by the hawk king Tibarn. His assumption turned out to be correct as the group of four reverted from their bird form to their Beorc form, revealing Tibarn, Reyson, Leanne, Janaff, and Ulki.
"Ike! Khimari! Well met," he greeted. "Looks like you're about to have your first battle as Crimea's official army.
"Yeah…I thought you escorting the heron siblings back to Phoeni-"
"You stubborn bird. You want to come with us, don't you?" Khimari interrupted, looking directly at Reyson before shaking his head. "You're something else."
"Wow, Reyson. This guy's already got you pegged," Tibarn joked.
"Yes…I wanted to show my thanks to you and the Beorc who helped Leanne," Reyson explained, before turning to Ike. "You treated us with courtesy. We must act accordingly, right Leanne?" he asked, looking back at his sister for confirmation.
"Yes, my brother," she responded. With that said, Reyson turned back to the blue-haired Beorc.
"You said that your name was Ike, correct?" he questioned.
"Yes."
"You and Khimari both aided us when we were in a time of danger," he said, holding hands with his sister. "Courtesy is held in high esteem among us herons. We must repay our debt to you."
"Ummm…That's not really a must," Khimari noted.
"We are wielders of sage magic. We cannot fight, but we can give our allies strength. If you say to, I will travel with you," he explained, ignoring Khimari's side comment.
"…" Ike didn't say a thing while he contemplated having Reyson as a part of the group. His abilities sounded nice, but he didn't have any way of knowing if it would be worth the danger the heron would get into. "Khimari," he called. "You've seen Reyson's magic, right? How was it?"
"Saved my life. Dumb bird, great partner, alright friend," the wolf commented, earning a stink eye from the "dumb bird."
"…You can come with us," Ike decided. "But…you were lucky to find your sister; are you sure you don't want to be by her side?"
"Leanne understands what I do," Reyson answered, a nod from the former solidifying his claim.
"Welcome along, then," Ike welcomed.
"Thank you. I swear by my clan's honor that I will do anything possible in order to strengthen your cause."
"In that case," Tibarn cut in. "You'll get some aid from me as well. Janaff! Ulki!" he called.
"Right here, Your Majesty!" the peppy elder said.
"Go with the Crimean Army and protect Reyson," he told Janaff.
"Tibarn!" Reyson yelled in surprise. "This is too much! You're already watching over Leanne and our father as well."
"After all of these twenty years, I'm sorry that I can't do more," Tibarn solemnly said.
"Tibarn…Thank you," Reyson told his longtime friend.
"King Phoenicis, I promise that I will guard Reyson well. I'll return him safely to you when this whole ordeal is over," Ike committed.
"I'll take you on your word," the green hawk replied. "You have created a bond of trust between yourself and the heron and hawk clans. If you ever find yourself in a grave position, you can call on me. I will fly to your aid as soon as possible." After giving Ike his support, he turned to Leanne and motioned towards the sky. She nodded and started to flap her wings. Transforming, Tibarn stayed close to the female heron as the two left the Greil Mercenaries.
"We have gained a valuable ally in a place not expected, haven't we?" Elincia commented.
"Yeah…The beast and bird tribes… At long last there is no difference between us. We can understand each other."
"Yes, I think you're right," the Crimean princess agreed.
"Princess Elincia, it's time to return to base," Ike reminded her, before turning to the rest of the group. "Alright, it's time we get this started! Everyone, move out!"
The princess turned back and left for the base with a small group of those who weren't participating in the battle, which were only three people or so.
The Mercenaries prepared to begin their climb of Tor Garen, when Khimari heard the sound of wing beats coming from the nearby woods. "Ike, I think we might have some wyverns on our tails," he informed.
"What? They didn't know we were here…Did they?" Ike said, caught unaware by the revelation of incoming wyvern knights. "Okay, then we'll adjust. Astrid, Gatrie, Oscar, Brom, Tormod, Maurim, go handle those wyvern knights and protect the entranceway from any other unexpected reinforcements," he ordered. Said people left from the group to do their designated task as the enemy soldiers started to file in at the entrance of the fortress. Forming a group with Rolf and Rikari, Khimari led them to the first wave of soldiers, some lance wielders and a bowman in the rear.
"Rolf, stay clear of the lances. Rikari, come on," Khimari quickly commanded. The two wolves charged forward before Khimari stopped right in front of the troops. While Rikari attacked a soldier head-on, the prince jumped straight for another's neck, biting it before turning around and slashing the third soldier in the same place.
Looking back at Rolf for a second, Khimari saw that he had gotten rid of both the halberdier and the enemy bowman by the time the wolf himself finished his enemies. "Good jo-" he started, before a chill went up his spine. The weather was also getting colder… "Run!" Khimari said, realizing that this was the work of a Blizzard spell. Both Rolf and Rikari followed his lead, ducking behind a wall just a few seconds before the makeshift wall of ice broke into a chaotic hurricane of ice shards.
"Are you two alright?" Khimari checked.
"Yeah, we're fine," the young wolf confirmed.
"Let's go back and keep up our advance. Volke!" he called, seeing the thief picking a treasure chest lock right behind the three.
"What?" he casually queried.
"Go tell Ike that there's a mage with a Blizzard spell, just rob Boyd for the payment; he keeps all of his earnings in a blue-green cookie jar that he hides in the back pocket of his sleeping bag," he quickly explained.
"Fair enough," the enigmatic stealer agreed before disappearing to go to Ike the news.
"Ummm…Won't Boyd be mad?" Rolf asked.
"What Boyd doesn't know won't hurt him. He'll just be broke, but meh, he'll be fine," the blue wolf reassured Boyd's younger brother. "Come on," he told the two, closing down any discussion on that topic as he led the two along the main path along the fortress. The central part of the mercenary force had went considerably deep into the Daein ranks, Ike and the others fighting a sage, a, a fighter, and a warrior. Seeing a knight and a bishop further back, the makeshift group of three went past Ike's group to take care of it.
Khimari and Rikari double teamed the knight, going on both sides of the heavily-armored Daein soldier. Said soldier chose to go after Khimari, while leaving his back completely unguarded against the orange wolf. Rikari took the opportunity and slashed at the man's backside, leaving a considerably deep scratch in his armor. The knight turned around to confront him, only to be slashed in the back by Khimari, who then bit on his arm, his fangs breaking through the armor and piercing the knight's arm. Rikari gave the finishing blow with another slash to his back, bringing him down.
"Good," Khimari praised. He looked for Rolf, but was mystified when he wasn't behind the two. His questions to the archer's whereabouts were answered by a quiet sob by Rolf.
"It..It's not fair…" the youngest brother cried, attracting the two wolves to the boy.
"Rolf, what's wron-" Khimari asked before he saw a smug and ugly face that he NEVER wanted to see again in his life.
"Oh HELL NO!" the wolf growled in extreme disgust, a disgust that only deepened when the sniper gave that irritating smirk on his face.
"After all this time, all you do is bark," Shinon taunted, pulling out an arrow from his quiver.
"Trust me, dirtbag, my bite is a whole lot worse," Khimari shot back, readying himself before pouncing. Shinon quickly fired his first arrow, which was the wolf easily avoided. Khimari continued avoiding the sniper's arrows until one nicked him in the shoulder. It was burning; it was like poison to him. Hissing, the wolf narrowed his eyes at the sniper, who smirked at his pain.
"Laguz Bow. One of the greatest weapons for demons like you," he insulted, throwing Khimari into a near frenzy. Renewing his assault on the sniper, Khimari slithered forward like a snake, reaching the sniper in seconds. As a last-resort defense, Shinon quickly reached by his side and pulled out a dagger, clashing with Khimari's claws. Now in close combat, Shinon's advantage virtually disappeared, becoming slowly littered with cuts and scratches, although none critical blows.
"Dang…Thing…Lay down and die for me, will ya?" Shinon huffed under his breath.
"No thanks, but it sounds like a great job for you," the wolf prince retorted. With that, he charged once again, another close range clash occurring. Shinon tried to block as much as possible against the wolf, but his proficiency with the dagger wasn't enough to deter the angry Laguz. In an attempt to turn the tables, Shinon stabbed at the wolf, cutting a little deeply into his belly. However, in spite of hurting Khimari, the red-haired sniper left himself open for much worse.
Capitalizing on Shinon's mistake, Khimari quickly sank his teeth into Shinon's arm before twisting his body, his fangs almost creating a circle of blood from the sniper's arm. Not giving the Laguz hater any reprieve, he pounced once again, scratching Shinon's body quite deeply all the way across his stomach. The sniper clutched himself, crashing onto the cold ground of the fortress while using his free hand to try and keep blood from freely flowing from his body.
"Damn…Beat by…a mutt…" he choked. Khimari relished the victory, and prepared himself to put the sniper out of his misery, before an anguished voice found its way to his ears.
"Khi…mari," Rolf called, making the wolf turn around to see him. Rolf was in shambles, tears running down his face and his whole body conversing in worry. "Please…Don't…" Before Khimari could mutter any response, Ike and the rest of the group converged on the scene, causing a large uproar at what they saw.
"Khimari! What's going on?" Ike asked, while Boyd immediately came to Rolf's side to check for anything.
"…Get Mist and Rhys, please," Khimari asked, avoiding the question.
"Why do you need-" he started before he saw the bloodied body of Shinon lying next to a wall. "Shinon?!" he shouted in shock. "Quick, get Rhys and Mist, Titania!" he told the paladin, who quickly left to retrieve the two healers. "Khimari, what happened? Tell me everything."
"I got into a fight with Shinon. That's the end result," he said, cutting to the chase short-and-simple.
"…Okay, but why do you want to heal him?" Ike continued, knowing that Khimari would much rather prefer the sniper dead than alive.
"If it was up me, his head would be rolling," the wolf retorted. "But…It's for Rolf. I can't do that to him," he admitted, knowing that the relationship that the two bowmen possessed, while still suspicious and sneaky in his eyes, was a heavy part of Rolf's development.
The chat between the two was cut short as two bird caws pierced the air. The group readied itself, though shockingly, the incoming enemies were ravens! Quickly, Marcia, Janaff and Ulki took to the sky to meet the ravens on their turf, while the rest went to attack the grounded mercenaries.
"Everyone! Protect Rhys and Mist while they heal Shinon!" Ike ordered. Creating a defensive wall from the ravens and the three, along with Rikari who untransformed from weariness, the group began to go head to head against the Kilvas ravens.
Almost instantly, two ravens went down on account of Soren's magic and Rolf's arrows, giving a desperately needed morale boost against the unexpected enemies. Tora and Khimari both rounded on one raven, the two not giving the crow any space to attack either one of the two. The large bird found its end with a well-timed double bite done by the two wolves, bringing down the black menace. It apparently took them longer than the others, because most of the others had already left to confront the enemy commander by the time they finished.
"Should we keep going?" Tora asked.
"…We can go and check, but I don't think that they'll need any help," Khimari shakily decided. The two followed the trail of the fortress to see Ike and Soren dispatching an enemy wind sage, who seemed to be the commander of the Daein platoon. "Are you all finished?" he asked.
"Yes, all of the Daeins are either gone or handled. Begnion is taking care of the rest from here," Ike relayed. "Now…we have another issue to handle." Khimari's face darkened as he knew that the commander meant Shinon. Knowing that he couldn't get out of this, he simply sighed and put his head to the sky in a lax position. "Come on, everyone. We're going back to base," he told all the mercenaries. Looking at his surrogate brother, he quickly motioned for him to come here. "Whatever you do, please make sure that no Laguz are near Shinon for the time being," he told the wolf prince.
"…Can I get some fish?" Khimari asked, making Ike sigh in disbelief. "Alright, alright, I'll do it."
XXXXX
"This is getting really annoying," Khimari growled, obviously unhappy about something.
"Come on, Khimari. Ike wants to speak to Shinon alone," Oscar tried to calm. "All we can do is wait for the verdict."
"Guilty," Khimari said in a singsong voice. "…He's gonna ask the pink-haired nut to come back again."
"Why can't you accept it?" Boyd asked obliviously. Khimari simply gave him a blank look.
"…Really?" he retorted, not even having the need to come up with a sarcastic retort.
"Okay, so he hates you...and Laguz…and tried to kill you…and has always despised you…and has-"
"Boyd, you're not making Shinon's case any better for Khimari," Oscar interrupted.
"Don't worry, no one can change my mind about this," said wolf reassured.
"Not even-"
"ESPECIALLY not Gatrie." That seemed to shut Boyd down. The conversation derailed nearly instantly when Titania came in the tent.
"How are you doing?" she asked softly.
"Boyd's annoying the crap out of me with all of these horrible reasons why I should accept Shinon being a part of the group again," the wolf explained, much to the middle brother's chagrin.
"Hey!" Boyd cried. "You aren't supposed to tell-"
"Cut the crap," Khimari intervened, clearly in a bad mood over the whole situation. "If Ike wants the hu…him to come back, it's only for Rolf's wellbeing," he finalized, impressing Titania once again with how much displeasure he's willing to hold back to make the youngest of the group happy.
"Why would Rolf need Shinon?" Boyd questioned.
"That's who taught him," the wolf answered like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"What…OOOOHHH!" Boyd finally realized as it clicked in his head. "I knew he couldn't be that good!" he triumphantly remarked. "Wait…How did you know?" he asked Khimari.
"I have my ways," he vaguely responded. "But as for you, don't say anything, pretend you're still too dense to figure it out."
"Hey, I'm not…too…Okay, I get the point, stop staring at me like that," Boyd gave in from seeing the looks on Oscar's, Titania's, and Khimari's faces.
"As entertaining as this is, I'm going to see how Ike is doing with Shinon," Titania said.
"I'll go with you," the wolf joined, before looking back at the two brothers. "You coming too?"
"Nah, we'll let you handle it," Boyd answered lazily, raising a hand to say bye. Leaving the tent, Titania and Khimari started for Ike's tent where Shinon was until they heard the sound of someone hitting the ground. Wondering what it was, the two walked over to the clearing at camp to see Shinon on the ground with a sword at his chest.
"That settles it," Ike said, unaware of the presence of both his surrogate brother and deputy commander. "Shinon, you're coming back."
"Tch…Beat by a mutt, then a kid," the sniper spat, getting up and dusting himself off. "You get your way," he conceded, before walking away from the commander.
"What…was that?" Khimari questioned.
"Yes, that would the prominent question at the moment," Titania piggybacked, making Ike sigh at the reactions that he would receive, particularly from his brother, when he answered the question.
"I was trying to get Shinon to join the Greil Mercenaries again…I…agreed to a challenge that he proposed…If I won, then he would fall in line," he started to explain.
"And if you lost?" Khimari pressed, narrowing his eyes at the thought of what Ike might agree to.
"If I lost…Shinon became leader of the Greil Mercenaries."
"…That was a very risky gambit," Titania observed. "Don't you think that there could have been better ways of recruiting Shinon back into the ranks."
"Yeah, gag him and tie him to a tree by his ankles," the wolf snorted, drawing confounded looks his direction. "What? Just offering suggestions."
"Anyways," Ike continued, ignoring the blue wolf. "What matters is that Shinon is here now, and staying this time," he finalized, Titania in agreement with that.
"…Meh, I think he never should've left," Khimari added, drawing more curious looks from the two commanders. "We could have left him in Goldoa, or maybe even shoved him in the ocean! Do you think that the ravens would have given him something to think about?" he mumbled, returning to his thinking of ways to punish Shinon.
"Okay, how about this," Ike started, stopping Khimari's trail of loud thinking when some of the options started to get…graphic. "Let's focus on Daein first, then you trying to kill Shinon, alright?"
"…Can I prank him?" he asked, feigning ignorance to Ike's words.
"Warn all of the Greil Mercenaries before you do it, and make sure no Begnion soldiers are involved. Also, nothing that will take him out of battle or deplete our resources," Ike listed, making sure that some of the wolf's more…dangerous pranks were taken off the list.
"Does diarrhea count?"
"YES!" Ike screamed, knowing exactly what hellish "prank" that Khimari was talking about.
"Are you still-"
"Khimari, I'm ordering you not to talk about that until next week at the very least," Ike said, showing how serious he felt about the prank.
"Alright…Your wish is my command, general," the wolf replied, before another soldier came up to the two, more specifically, to Ike.
"General! We've seized control of the surrounding areas, and the Daein troops are retreating," he relayed, before seeing that something was off with Ike. "General?" he called, snapping him out of his stupor.
"Understood. Thank you," Ike responded.
"I beg your leave," the soldier requested. When Ike nodded, he left the brothers back to their bidding.
"Are you alright, Ike?" Khimari asked, wondering what was wrong. It didn't get through; however, as Ike returned to his stupor.
"General…weird," he said to himself, clearly not used to the title. Khimari moved to say something, but another voice behind them beat him to it.
"You know, you never look relaxed," someone said, snapping Ike out of his stupor as Khimari turned around to see the face of Nasir.
"Nasir? What are you doing here?" Khimari questioned. "I thought you were selling your crew and stuff."
"Why, I already did all of that," he answered with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Now, I've decided to travel with you all."
"So you really are a part of our struggle now, eh?" Ike rhetorically asked. "Are you sure about this? I mean, you probably have other things that you could do instead of this?"
"It's not like I've abandoned my own interests to join your party," Nasir said. "I've judged that there is a value of traveling with you, so don't think about it too much," he eased.
"Alrighty!" Khimari cheered. "We've got the smart guy back!" He celebrated for a second before he remembered what he told Ike in Sienne. "Hey Nasir?" he called.
"Yes?"
"You wouldn't happen to have any news about Dad or Gallia, would you? I kinda miss him…" he asked, knowing that the Laguz had relations with the beast kingdom.
"Your father is fine and in good health," Nasir confirmed, bringing a sense of relief to the wolf. "I heard that he got into a skirmish with the infamous Black Knight, however."
"What!?" Khimari yowled, knowing that the Daein general mentioned anywhere wasn't good news.
"Fret not, young one. He did have injuries, but he managed to escape, by what I heard," Nasir added, calming the wolf down. "In additional news, much better, Gallia officials are starting to move into action," he informed, catching their undivided attention. "For a long while, they've been content in waiting the war out, but now this perpetuated stalemate has exhausted their patience. Ike," he started, bringing the conversation directly to the commander. "Your victory here is an important thing. This may be just the decisive action to break apart Daein's power. News of your continued victories will spread across the continent, undoubtedly to the Gallian's ears as well. If Crimea continues to become a rallying point, Gallia may be tempted to join the war as well. Keep on winning, and the door to victory will open to you and your cause," he explained.
Ike was in deep thought, thinking about what the teal-haired man said. Could he really be the thing that defeats Daein? "Could…Daein truly fall at our hands?"
"If we play our cards right, I don't see why not," Khimari mentioned, Nasir nodding his head in agreement with the prince's statement.
"Use every resource that becomes available to you and your cause, and great things will come of it. The necessary skills to lead are inside of you, Ike. As of now, it's only a part of the bird tribes, but the relationship has already been established. You resolved yourself in gaining their trust, and you made it come to fruition."
"Well…It's all because of my father," Ike praised solemnly. If anything I do turns out to be the right way to victory, it's because of the way my father raised me to be. "If you treat others with good faith, they will follow you of their own volition." That's what he taught me," Ike said in a somber tone.
"He was…a magnificent man, wasn't he?" Nasir asked, thinking about the quote that Ike supplied to him.
"When I was younger, the most important thing to me was becoming stronger than my father," Ike reminisced. "I wanted to surpass him. Now, that's a goal I'll never achieve." Khimari put a hand on Ike's shoulder to support him as Nasir stayed silent in contemplation. The Laguz left the brothers in the field, where Ike decided to stand looking at the snowy landscape leading up to the horizon where the moon was lifting its face into the darkening sky.
"Hey, Ike," Khimari called, getting the commander's attention. "If you truly put your head to it, I think you can still surpass Greil one day," he said.
"…How? It's so far away it seems like a dream…"
"You know what we do with dreams? We chase them, and we make them reality. Keep on believing, and one day, you will. I can promise you that much," he enlightened.
"…You're right," Ike admitted. "There still is time, isn't there?" His face grew a smirk as he looked at the sky. "Khimari?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to surpass my father one day, but I've decided to take another step first," he said. "I'm coming for you." Khimari had a good laugh at Ike's proclamation, not a mocking laugh, but one that expressed his excitement.
"You're gonna have one heck of a time getting there," Khimari returned. "Who knows, you might actually beat me one day in the not so near future."
"Don't be overconfident," Ike advised.
"I'm not overconfident, I'm just confident," the wolf defended. "Anyways, I know that our fight is going to be something awesome!" Ike nodded his agreement before giving a yawn that was by no means small. "Go to sleep," Khimari told Ike.
"Are you ordering me?" the mercenary commander joked.
"No, I'm telling you, and you're going to do it. I'm still older than you," the prince reminded him.
"Alright, alright. I'll go to sleep, bossy," Ike conceded, turning around and walking back to his tent. He wondered why he didn't hear any footsteps beside him until he saw a bright blue light from the corner of his eye. Looking behind him, he saw Khimari walking a circle three times before laying down under a tree. "You aren't going back to your tent?" he asked.
"Nah, I don't feel like it," the wolf responded. "Besides, I promised Rikari that I'd help him train tonight. Can you tell Mordecai and Zihark that I'm out here? I don't want them to worry."
"Alright," Ike agreed, "Good night, Khimari," he said, walking through the powdery snow to his tent as the wolf let himself drift to sleep listening to the song of the dancing wind.
XXXXX
(Warning: LONG/REMINISCING A/N)
(Any derogatory, insulting comments about this WILL be deleted/ignored. If you want to make fun of something, make fun of how I basically pushed Tora and Khimari to be friends. It's kinda rushed anyway.)
A/N: And there ya go! I'm back! Now, I already told you why I was EXTREMELY late when this, because I actually planned this to be out in November, but the above reasons happened. And ALSO, for everyone in the world, the U.S has a new president…Shoot me…Welp, that's democracy for ya, sometimes things happen that you don't like. The upside is that I can express that I don't like it, and even though I can't vote (I'm 15), I still felt like this was something that I can tell has affected me deeply. Now, I never liked the Donald, and something tells me that I never will (I have a forgive but sure-as-hell don't forget policy ESPECIALLY when it comes to something like what he has said), but for the sake of democracy, I have to let him have A chance.
I remember election night 8 years ago, when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. It was the middle of the night and I was 7 years old, but when the people on TV said that he won, my mom and I rejoiced all through the night. I can still remember hugging my mom while we woke the entire house up screaming. Then…This election happened.
The reaction was exactly the OPPOSITE. I didn't go to sleep, but I didn't watch the entire thing. I turned and twisted in the bed, knowing that a lot of people would wake up finding themselves in what to me seemed like a living nightmare. It wasn't just me, either. Living in a black community and being black myself, everything flipped upside down. The teachers were quieter, the kids were depressed and some were genuinely scared of what Trump would do to them or their parents/families/friends (remember: many of my best friends are Hispanic).
Now I know people don't think Hillary was a good choice for president, but in my OPINION, I think that she would have done a fine job. Personally, I connect with her very well, in terms that I can understand all the criticism and the hate that she has had to go through. I must say that through my short lifetime, I've been called things by people that I don't ever want to repeat in my lifetime. The difference is that I cut it out of my life, while she still fought on. Even after the scandals, the hate directed at her for the last few DECADES (I wonder if it kills her on the inside whenever she says 30+ years. I mean it kind of makes her feel old, in my opinion), but she still tried and WANTED to SERVE the people that HATED her…I don't think I could, or would do that, if presented with the opportunity. I support her because I can relate to what she feels, and I can clearly see that she wants what's best for the country. But once again, I must respect democracy. (however lopsided it can be)
Well…Now that I have you all depressed, it good to be back on Fanfiction! I just got out of school for the semester on Friday after taking all of my tests, and I surprised myself with my grades for finals! As for classes, I start my Orchestra class in January! Also…hmmm…I forgot…OH YEAH! We did our little concert for the group orchestra I'm in on last Wednesday, and we ROCKED IT! Besides that, I'm going to enjoy my vacation by kicking back and writing some Fanfiction! (I would travel, but ya know, my whole family is a little on the poor side.)((Don't tell my mom on me))). So…There are BIG things coming up in the next few chapters, and I hope to get to ch.22 before I go back to school on Jan.3 so you can send curses at me for doing some pretty wild stuff. But for now, I'm done.
Blizzard, Out! (I missed doing that)