Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.

A/N: Hey y'all! Welcome back after a WHILE! I hope y'all enjoy, so get to reading!

XXXXX

That night…

Returning to the campsite, Ike and the small group that went to Gritnea Tower were awaited by a small crowd of people. Instantly, they took note of their solemn faces. "How was the trip?" Boyd asked as they entered the camp proper.

"Mission completed," Ike simply said. He then turned to see Princess Elincia approaching them. "Greetings, Princess."

"Good evening, my Lord Ike," she returned. "I hope all went smoothly."

"...I guess you could say that," he dodged, not wanting to tell the troop about the horrors they witnessed in the twisted tower. "Leanne has been rescued and she is with us," he continued, pointing to the little heron.

"That news gladdens my heart." While those two continued, Tora went over to Ranulf, Tibarn and Rikari.

"Is he alright?" the red wolf asked.

"Yes, He'll recover quickly," Tibarn answered. "He's a heavy one, though. Mind taking him off my back?" After a quick smirk, Tora complied with the request, putting Khimari on his own back.

"I'll show you back to the tent," Ranulf volunteered, taking the lead. Beckoning Rikari with his tail, the wolf followed the Gallian back to the tent where Khimari slept. Fortunately for Tora's back, the tent wasn't that far away.

'Tibarn wasn't kidding when he said this lug was heavy,' the red wolf thought. Coming into the small structure, Tora laid the prince down where Ranulf showed him. Getting up, he prepared to say something before he hit something with his foot. Looking down, he reached to pick up a book with a paper sticking out of it. "What's this?" he asked Ranulf.

"I...don't know," the cat answered, looking at it. "What's on the paper?"

Taking it out of the book, Tora was surprised to see plenty of strange letters that he'd never seen before. "...What the heck is this?" he bluntly asked, leading to a snort from Ranulf.

"Hey...it looks like those letters we saw in that temple place," Rikari mentioned. While in Daein, they stumbled upon a temple where some sick man used priests as shields to stay safe while they tried to kill all of them. Needless to say, he had died a horrible death.

"It does…" Tora admitted. "Then this is that ancient language crap that I've been hearing about."

"Should we take it to Reyson?" Rikari asked, curious to find out what's on the paper.

"As long as we put it back, shouldn't hurt," Tora said.

"Hey, don't you think it's a little rude to look through someone's things?" the cat said.

"He'll be fine. He's not reading it," Tora rebutted in true wolf fashion. "Besides, we might be able to help if it says something about how he's feeling," he said, tactfully appealing to the father side of Ranulf that would do anything to make sure the blue wolf was safe. Sighing in frustration, the Gallian raised his hand in defeat.

"Fine. You win." Gaining a small smirk, Tora walked out of the tent, followed by the other two on a mission to find the heron prince. They quickly found him outside with an apple in his hand. Reyson turned to them as they approached.

"Greetings. Is there anything I can help you with?" he politely asked.

"We found this in Khimari's things on accident. Since we have it though, we were wondering if you could translate it for us," Tora said.

"Otherwise, you bumped into something and decided to take it in an effort to be nosy," Reyson translated, getting an approving look from Tora and an astonishing one from Rikari.

"How...did you know?" the orange wolf blurted.

"I've been around Khimari long enough," Reyson laughed. "That crazy wolf had to have rubbed off on you two, not that it would've taken much." After his quick minute of fun, he went to reading the paper. The three beast Laguz waited in anticipation, getting more and more anxious at the heron's changing facial expressions as he read it. "...He's homesick," he answered at the end, before turning the paper on the other side to find nothing but a small drawing. It wasn't professional, but one could clearly make out a small village in the middle of the desert with three wolves on it. "The wolves are labeled as 'Khimari, Nailah and Volug,'" Reyson explained. "The main writing says that he wishes he could return and that he misses everything about Hatari. Frankly, I'm surprised he has this much advanced grammar in the ancient tongue," he noted.

"Something else to ask him when he wakes up, I suppose," Ranulf concluded. "Anyways, thank you again, Reyson. I'll be forever grateful for everything you did."

"Think nothing of it. No one should have to suffer what happened in that...place." The atmosphere grew more solemn thinking about the tower that they had just rescued Leanne from. For a small while, the four had stayed quiet until an idea had come to Rikari's head.

"Hey! What if we make here at home?" he suggested.

"Rikari, make sense," Tora bluntly stated. In response, the wolf breathed loudly through his nose at his big brother before elaborating.

"Khimari misses Hatari and these people, right?" he asked, grabbing the paper and pointing to the drawing. A few nods answered his question. "What if we made a little Hatari for him to see? And then we cou-"

"No."

"Why not!?" the orange wolf shouted at getting shot down by Tora.

"We have no time for it. We are in the middle of a war, and we'll probably be too busy working on preparations for the final battle anyways. Sorry, but we'll just put the paper back and pretend nothing ever happened."

"You know he'll find out anyways," Rikari snidely remarked.

"Not the point. No is no," Tora finalized, putting his foot down on the proposition.

"I can't believe you!" the orange wolf shouted, before running off. Sighing, Tora shook his head at his headstrong little brother.

"You're not going after him?" Reyson asked.

"Nope. He can handle himself." Secretly, he was very pleased that Rikari had defied what he said to him. That meant that he was growing up to be his own person. Even more, he had hoped that whatever his brother would come up with would mean the world to Khimari.

XXXXX

A half-moon illuminated the star-filled sky as it reigned over the endless desert. A calm wind blew across the sands and in the nation of Hatari. The motionless of night had gripped the great place, with everyone either sleeping or preparing to sleep for the next day.

An exception to that rule would be a brown-skinned woman who sat on a rooftop that overlooked the entire city. She wore a black outfit under a collection of loose-fitting garbs and clothes. Looking out to the horizon, she sighed as her white tail curled around her knee in a self-comforting motion.

"Mommy?" a child's voice called out. Looking back, the woman saw her little four year-old ball of happiness coming over.

"Khimari? What are you doing up at this hour?" she asked, beckoning him over with her tail. When he came, she shifted slightly so the small blue-tailed wolf could sit on his mother's lap.

"I had a dream about yesterday," he answered. "Some people were talking to me, but I didn't know what they said."

"People like what?" she prodded, curious about what he could be talking about. "What did they say to you?"

"They were in Hatari," he said, pointing to the left side of the city. "They were wolves, but they didn't talk right. I think ...I think one said "hello" or something like that," he explained. Nailah's expression became knowing upon hearing what Khimari meant. They were speaking the modern tongue of Tellius, which Khimari didn't know. He had been raised entirely on the ancient tongue, since mostly everyone here spoke it, as well as Volug who had always been around. However, some of those who can't forget their home between Gallia and Serenes had taken to remembering the modern tongue, though the wolves, like the herons, usually taught both at the same time.

"That's a different language, Khimari," Nailah answered. "They were saying hi to you in a language that they used in Tellius."

"What language?" he said, confused.

"Before we came to Hatari, we lived in a place called Gallia," she recounted for what must have been the fiftieth time. Technically, she hadn't told the entire truth since wolves were more or less forced to the outskirts to live by their own at least two hundred years before she was born.

That's a story for another day, she concluded.

"Over there, they spoke a different tongue that we call the modern language," she continued.

"Why is it modern?"

"...Because it came later," she answered the best she could to a four year-old. "Before it was the ancient tongue, that we're speaking now."

"No! It's backwards!" Khimari rejected, crossing his arms. In response, Nailah rolled her eyes and decided to indulge in her son's clearly fake pouting.

"Why is it backwards?"

"I'm not ancient. That's Novel." She quickly stifled a laugh before she woke up half of Hatari with this foolishness. One thing wolves were habitually angry about was getting enough sleep. Even if they did wake up naturally earlier, not getting enough sleep could get a wolf to fight like a dragon.

"Now, Khimari, what have I told you about being rude to your elders? You treat them with respect, not call them ancient," she admonished. While she couldn't really care less about Novel, she had to draw a line so he wouldn't apply this behavior to every person a certain age.

"It's not rude!" he denied, shaking his head. "You called him that earlier when you were yelling about pompous bags of bones with sticks up the-"

"You need to listen to me less when I'm not talking to you," Nailah interrupted, keeping her cool despite her embarrassment when she quickly realized that he had overheard her rants that she did in the privacy of their home after tiresome council meetings. "Besides, my little cub, I'm an adult. You're just a child, so make sure to stay in a child's place."

"So when I get to be an adult, I can say ancient?"

"Yes, as long as it's appropriate," she conceded, the boy celebrating his small victory with throwing his hands in the air in happiness. "Careful, don't hit me."

"I won't…" Khimari promised, before a thought came to his head. "Hello!" he said to his mother in the modern tongue like those people said to him.

"How are you?" she replied, making the small wolf's eyes go wide as he didn't know what to say.

"...Hello," he repeated, not knowing any other words in the language. Laughing, she thought now would be as good a time as any to start Khimari on learning the modern tongue. It wouldn't hurt.

"Repeat after me, Khimari," she directed. "Hello, how are you?"

"...Hello ...How...are...iu?" he said, a heavy accent accompanying his words as he tried to repeat what his mother said. "What does that mean?" he asked in the ancient language.

"It means 'how are you,'" she answered simply.

"Cool! I can speak modern!" he said excitedly, before he felt a hand shaking in his hair.

"You have a lot to learn, Khimari," Nailah said. "But for now, you need to go to bed so you don't wake up cranky."

"I don't wake up cranky…" her son muttered, rolling his eyes as he got up onto his feet.

"That's not what Volug said. He told me you tried to bite his tail off for at least ten minutes when you overslept last," she ratted, smirking in victory as Khimari looked over and down to the ground to prevent looking into his mother's eyes.

"Ya know, I was getting sleepy anyway."

XXXXX

Early that morning…

Waking up from that memory, Khimari looked up expectantly to be in his old room in Hatari, with Volug waiting on him to get up so they could go hunting for breakfast or retrieving water. The only thing that greeted him was a small tent that had a sleeping Ranulf and a few other things laying around, one of which being his book he was too lazy to put up yesterday.

Deciding to ignore it again, he simply walked out of the tent, deciding to take a little walk around to clear his mind. "What I'd give to be back in that desert…" Khimari said to himself as he walked, grateful that everyone was sleeping at this hour. That's what he thought anyway.

Leaving the camp proper, he went to a small stretch of woods where a small creek flowed under a mess of arching branches and vines. It reminded the wolf of the spring that stayed a little ways outside Hatari that served as their main water source. Except a lot smaller.

Suddenly, a familiar scent hit the wolf's nose. Following it, he quickly found Ena sitting alone by herself, with the closest thing to company being the tree that provided her back some support. Slowly coming up to her, he decided that another small talk wouldn't hurt.

"...Are you thinking about him?" he asked, seeing that look of sadness on her face.

"It feels almost impossible not to. He is a simple hillside away, and I can feel him so strongly. I want nothing more than to run to him, but…"

"Don't give yourself a heart attack about it," the wolf eased. "One more preparation day and then...everything will be over. No more war, no more mass death, no more innocent blood being shed…"

"The end...is truly near…" she said somberly. "Many times, I wish I could turn back time before all of this began."

"..." Khimari had no words to say to this statement, only agreeing completely with her. Staying with his mother in Hatari again would make him burst with joy. But...that would mean that he would never see his dad, or Ike, or anyone else…"Maybe...these things happen for a reason," he said, prompting Ena to raise her head at him. "Despite all the bad that happens in a period of time, positive outcomes can still be realized. It's a matter of making it through to the end to see."

"...That is true," she agreed. "...When I fought you...You nearly defeated me. Had not Nasir intervened...Maybe…"

"I was fighting for everyone I loved that night," he said. "When you have someone you're fighting for, courage can be found, even in the face of two dragons...Or their king," he continued, confusing the Goldoan.

"What...do you mean?"

"One day while on a mission in Serenes...I left and stumbled upon the former home of the wolves…After some exploration, I accidentally ended up in Goldoa and came face to face with King Deghinsea." A gasp sounded across the small space they occupied, with Ena's eyes widening in disbelief. "After we found out about each other's identities, I interrogated him about why he did nothing to help my people, and...I fought him."

"The king? He is far above any living being in power!"

"It was only because of Prince Kurthnaga I survived. Even then...I had to fight. Every bone and functioning part of my brain told me not to be so stupid, but...someone had to be an outlet for the tribe's pain...So I decided to do it…" Transforming into his Beorc form, Khimari took Ena's hand. "Tomorrow, if you decide to fight...I promise I'll help you. The wolves won't turn our backs on Goldoa's pain...especially since there are only three backs here," he said, his slick humor coming back.

"I see you have no lack of dry humor," another voice said. Turning, the two found Nasir walking among them. "Nonetheless, you have made a very serious dedication. Do you find yourself prepared for what may come with that declaration in the future?"

"Yes," the wolf said, looking straight into the white dragon's eyes. Closing his eyes, Nasir allowed a small smirk to grace his face before leaving and heading back to camp. "Should we follow him back?" Khimari asked, turning back to Ena.

"I'll stay here a while longer," she said. "Before you go...thank you." The two words put a small smile on the wolf's face.

"It's nothing," he replied, before walking back to the camp himself. The sun still had yet to rise, though the earliest rays of sun began to permeate the nocturnal sea of darkness. Entering the campsite, he immediately found himself slightly thrown in the air by a force crashing into him. Rolling along the ground, he transformed and growled at whatever form was laying on the ground.

It only turned out to be Rikari. The small wolf slowly got to his feet, holding his head "Oww…" he groaned. "What are you doi-" He started until he looked up to see a blue wolf looking at him with a peeved look. "Oh, hey ...Khimari…" he nervously stated.

"Where are you going, crashing into people this early?" he interrogated. "You got my fur dirty and it's not even noon yet."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean ...I gotta go!" he hurriedly said, before retreating the scene. Dumbfounded and highly confused, Khimari decided to let it go and headed back to his tent to see Ranulf walking out and stretching lightly.

"Well, look who it is," the cat said. "Did you enjoy your early morning stroll?"

"Sure did," Khimari replied to his father. "Rikari crashed into me on the way back, though. Know what that was about?" The cat paused for a moment, looking up at the tent before shaking his head negatively.

"That was really random," the cat commented. "Are you ready for tomorrow? The end is in sight." Khimari nodded in response.

"After everything that's happened in this war, it feels...surreal," the blue wolf said. "To think, all of this will be over tomorrow and then..."

"Then?" Ranulf pressed.

"...I don't know," he answered, sighing. "It's been so crazy focusing entirely on this war, I don't know what would come next."

"Come back to Gallia with me," Ranulf blurted, causing Khimari's head to snap over to his dad. "No, really. It would be nice to have you there, and maybe you can liven up the place a bit with your antics."

"King Caineghis would have a riot if I did half of what I did here," the prince shut down.

"Perhaps, but Skrimir would definitely meet his match."

"Skrimir? The lion guy?"

"The very same. You can help me keep him in check," Ranulf said. Khimari rolled his eyes, but inside his head was a different story. After the war, what would he do? Would he go back to the Greil Mercenaries and try to live life as it was before all of this happened? Would he go to Gallia with his dad and try to catch up all those years he had never known him?

...Or would he try to finally find his mother after being separated for so long? Every continuing thought bogged him down even further, to the point where everything around him seemed to evaporate into an afterthought.

"...Khimari?" Ranulf called, only to receive no response. Turning around, he saw his son staring at a random tent wall. "Hey, Khimari! This way," he called, snapping the wolf out of his stupor. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just...thinking," he quietly said. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"Last-minute preparations. I'm about to head over and say some words to the Gallian soldiers for a game plan before meeting with Ike around the evening time and getting our finalized strategies for the battle."

"Gotcha...Welp, I guess I'm your assistant for the while being," Khimari said, drawing a snort from the cat. "What, you don't want my help? I see how it is, then," he fake pouted.

"Get over here, ya big hairball," Ranulf returned, starting his trek to the Gallian troop to begin the plans. Laughing lightly, the wolf began a jog to catch up to his father for whatever was coming next in the day.

XXXXX

A little while later…

"Hey, can you go find Tibarn and Reyson?" Ranulf asked Khimari. "Ask them how much support they want from us around the castle and how we should advance after their initial attack." Nodding, the wolf transformed and set his scent on the hawk king and heron prince, weaving his way through a mass of tents in his search for the two bird Laguz. Fortunately, it didn't take long.

The two, accompanied by Leanne and...Naesala, were having a quite intense conversation. Deciding to be polite and nosy, he stayed back for a while and watch until they finished.

"Naesala, please help out! Everyone needs your help to defeat Ashnard!" Leanne pleaded to the raven king, who looked the other way in an attempt to avoid setting his eyes on her face.

"Naesala, you know what Ashnard has done to all of our people," Reyson continued. "Support us, old friend."

"...Fine!" he snappily said. "I will tell my troops that we will be working with the hawks. Update me on the specifics later." With nothing left to say, he hurriedly rushed away to do what he said and cling to whatever form of cool pride he had left. Seeing that whatever that was just ended, Khimari untransformed and walked up to the three remaining birds.

"Well, look who it is. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Tibarn said with a smirk on his face.

"Right back at ya," the wolf returned without missing a beat. "Dad wants to know how much ground support you want around the castle when we attack."

"We shouldn't need too much. We would just need a good sizeable wave of tigers and cats to rush the ballistae so we can focus on the wyvern riders without interference," he answered. Nodding, Khimari planned to leave before Leanne called him.

"Hold on!" Turning around, he walked back up to the three. "How...are you doing?" she asked, referring to yesterday.

"I feel a lot better," he answered. "Thanks for everything you and Reyson did for me. I'd be even more mentally unstable than I already am if you two didn't help out."

"You know what, hold on a second," Tibarn cut in. "Okay, spill it."

"I'm not holding anything."

"You know what I meant."

"Do I?" Khimari would be lying if Tibarn glaring bloody murder at him wasn't the slightest bit intimidating, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to get on the hawk's nerves.

"First in Serenes, now here. How'd you learn that much of the ancient tongue by yourself?"

"It was my first language," he answered. "I didn't know this modern language until I was about 4, and couldn't speak it worth a lick until I was about 6 or 7."

"Really? Guess you learn something new every day…"

"Over the years, I haven't been able to talk like how I used to, but I can read and write it better than this modern language crap you Tellius people use." At this, Tibarn snorted.

"Modern language crap…" Soon, he burst out into a full-blown laugh.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go now," he announced to Reyson and Leanne before transforming to run back to Ranulf. On the way, for the second time, something crashed into him while he was running and threw him into a slight tumble. Jumping to his feet, he once again found Rikari in a daze from colliding with him. "What have I told you about running into me? Stop trying to get yourself killed, Rikari," he irritably said. That was before he noticed a familiar looking paper falling to the ground from the air. Going into his Beorc form, he grabbed it and instantly recognized it as the paper that he used as his letter back home when he got bored in Begnion and decided to keep it. "Where did you find this?" he interrogated, only to see Rikari with his head down. "Rikari, head up. Now." Slowly, the orange wolf lifted his head to see Khimari's piercing gaze and flinched at the strength of his eyes. "Where did you get this?"

"...When Tora dropped you off in the tent last night, he found it after he accidentally kicked your book. We had Reyson translate it for us, and then I kept it because…"

"Because?"

"I was making something for you," he revealed, changing the wolf's expression from anger to confusion in the blink of an eye.

"...What?"

"Um...follow me," he said, before turning and heading in the other direction. Wondering what was going on, he followed the little wolf out of the camp and into the neighboring forest. Curiosity filled his bones as they neared wherever Rikari was taking him.

"Are...you ready? I hope you like it," the orange wolf.

"Come on, already," Khimari said. "I'm not a baby."

"Close your eyes." Breathing loudly, the blue wolf complied anyways and followed the orange wolf's direction. "Now, open."

When his two eyes flew open, his mouth soon followed. A mess of branches held up by mud had created some small building-like structures. Two fur coats had surrounded the buildings, one white and one brown. "What in…"

"I tried to make it like how you drew the buildings from Hatari on the paper," Rikari explained. "And then you said your mom was a white wolf and the other one was brown, so I-" He was interrupted by a giant hug from the older wolf.

"...Thanks, little pup. I love it. Sucks we have to kill Ashnard tomorrow….actually, that doesn't sound too bad, now that I say it out loud." Just then, a stray thought came to the prince's mind. "Rikari?"

"Hm?" the small wolf hummed.

"Where did you get these fur coats?" After the question left his mouth, a nervous laugh served to be Rikari's first reaction.

"Huh...funny story about that...I got it from Boyd, well, the white one anyways. The other one is from an animal. Oscar skinned it for cooking and I asked to keep the fur."

"That's...interesting…"

"You're not mad?" Rikari asked, surprised at the rather lackluster response, given the wolf's...exuberant nature.

"Why would I be?" Instead of pressing further, Rikari just shut up and thanked his lucky stars that his teacher was a little...unorthodox. "Welp...we can leave the building, but we should really carry those furs back to camp. Come on." Nodding, the two gathered the fur coats before heading back to the camp.

XXXXX

Later that evening…

When they got back to the camp, Khimari remembered that he forgot to give Tibarn's answer to his dad, and ran in a beeline across camp to find him. A couple minutes later, he found Ranulf with Ike. "Hey, dad!"

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" the cat snarkily responded. "I'm going to go on a limb and say something out-of-the-ordinary happened that took up your focus, so I'm ready to hear the answer that Tibarn gave."

"He said that the cat and tiger troops can rush the ballistae so they can focus on fighting the wyvern riders without interference." Nodding, Ranulf processed the information before giving a quick sigh. "What's up?"

"This war has been going on for the better part of a year...But it'll all be over by midday tomorrow. How do you feel, Ike?" Ranulf asked, shifting the attention to the Beorc. "Think we'll win?"

"I know we'll win," he said without hesitation. The cat gave a snort at that cut and dry response. If that wasn't Ike, then he didn't know what was.

"I knew you'd say that! But you can't fool me this time...But even so, I appreciate the bravado."

"Without such courage, it would be impossible to face King Daein," a random voice said behind the three. Turning around, Khimari blinked at seeing a large man with dark hair and a dark outfit that looked fit for royalty. Immediately, Ranulf quickly got down onto a knee to give his greetings.

"Master Giffca! What are you doing here?"

"The king felt uneasy knowing that you were here on your own. I come in his name."

"So, are you going to fight with us?"

"So…who is this again?" Khimari cut in, very lost on whatever the heck had just transpired in the last ten seconds. Shaking his head, Ranulf moved very quickly to explain the newcomer's origins.

"This is Master Giffca, Khimari. He's a black lion, and regarded as our king's shadow. They are very close to each other and in any situation where the king isn't directly there to settle it, he is the next best thing to it."

"Thank you for that introduction, Ranulf. Your son is definitely as spunky as the stories say," Giffca jabbed lightly. "Anyways, assisting you in battle would be my purpose. As long as General Ike grants his permission."

"Of course,' Ike agreed. He'd be a fool to refuse Giffca's help. "The Daein Army is massive, so we're going to have to attack from the front while holding the two eastern gates. I'd be very appreciative if you would agree to take control of that front," Ike quickly briefed.

"If that is your wish, I can but agree," the black lion curtly responded, before taking his leave of the three.

"What's this? You don't approve of my work anymore?" Ranulf fake pouted. "I know that I'm no Master Giffca, but please…"

"Ranulf, I want you to fight with me. Is that alright?" While the cat's eyes open in realization, the wolf silently cheered in celebration.

"I see now. Sure, that'd be great! Being a part of the main pack is the highest of honors, you know."

"I bet it is," Ike said, looking at a certain wolf.

"Welp, let me go assist Master Giffca with settling in. Not that It'll take much of course," Ranulf mentioned. "I'll see you all later." At the cat's departure, the two adopted brothers just shared a look.

"What now?"

"I was going to check with Soren about any strategy changes. You want to come?" At the wolf's nod, the Beorc turned and went to the strategy tent where the mage had been for probably the entire day. Entering, Khimari saw that Soren had seemed like he'd been days without sleep, which was probably pretty close to the truth considering who the branded was as a person.

When the two came in, Soren stopped his work for a second to look up at the two, his expression becoming more tense when he realized Khimari was in the room, something that the wolf noticed instantly. Looking over, he saw Ike had no idea of the slight change in Soren's mood. Taking that into account, he decided to ignore it for now. "How's everything going? You alright?" he asked, trying to break the silence.

"Preparations are going smoothly," he answered simply, going back to his paper to look away from the wolf.

"Soren, you should take a break," Ike said. "You've been at this since last night with barely any sleep."

"A strategy to beat Ashnard isn't made with sleep and preparations don't materialize from dreams," he said harshly, his sleep-deprived crankiness now showing.

"Ike, get out," Khimari commanded.

"...What?" he said, not expecting that at all.

"Get out, please. I want to talk to Soren alone." That got a rise out of the mage, who began to rise out of his chair.

"That won't be nece-"

"I beg to differ," the wolf interrupted, giving a piercing glare that dared Soren to say anything else. When silence followed, he turned back to the mercenary commander. "Ike."

"Alright, I'm going," he gave in, wondering what the heck happened between the two of them. As soon as he exited the tent, the wolf turned his face back to the livid mage.

"What was the point of that?" Soren asked, every word dripping out of his mouth like venom.

"Let's hear it from you. What's your problem?"

"What problem?"

"Don't play dumb. When you saw me, you looked like you wanted to stone me to death or something." The branded snorted in disbelief.

"If a look bothers you so much, then I pray you can make it through tomorrow's fight."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want me to disappear into thin air." At that, the mage's face faltered slightly before returning back to his stoic expression. It didn't change back quickly enough, however. "Why the face?"

"My face has been the sa-"

"Cut the crap. Your face changed when I mentioned disappearing...Do you think I'm going somewhere?"

"..." The mage's anger soon became bitter sadness as silence spread throughout the entire tent.

"Let's try this again: Do you think I'm going somewhere?"

"..." Soren turned his head away from Khimari.

"Soren," he called, before walking over to the boy. "Look at me." The mage didn't move an inch. "Ya know, this is really childish," Khimari commented, his temper slowly beginning to burn. "Can you turn around please?" he asked, putting his hand on the mage's shoulder.

"GET OFF OF ME!" he suddenly yelled, turning and punching Khimari in the face. Coming from Soren, It didn't hurt at all, but the outburst had the wolf utterly shocked. "Disappear like you half-beasts always do! Ignore us and be with your own filthy excuse of a fami-"

He quickly realized he went too far as he found himself pinned to the floor by an angry transformed Khimari glaring bloody murder at him with slitted eyes. The blue wolf's growl reverberated in Soren's mind as the sight of his sharp teeth and claws inches from his face frightened him to the core. "Don't. You. Dare." Untransforming, he pulled Soren back up to his feet by his robes. "Nobody has done anything to warrant this behavior, Soren."

"I'm...not a child!"

"Yes you are," he dryly rejected. "Just an emotionally restrictive child. What makes you think I'm leaving?"

"You...talked with Ranulf about it this morning. He extended you an invitation to Gallia…" Now everything made sense. Soren took the conversation as Khimari abandoning the rest of the group without telling anyone.

"I wouldn't disappear like that. I planned on telling everyone about the conversation. Well, Ike and Tora, at least."

"Is everything alright here?" Ike asked, bursting through the tent with Titania following closely behind him. "They reported to us yelling and screaming from here."

"So, you're staying?" he asked, sounding like a hopeful child who wouldn't want to be separated from a big sibling.

"I...don't know, to be honest," Khimari answered truthfully, much to the confusion of the commander and deputy commander of the Greil Mercenaries.

"Staying where? Khimari, what's going on?" Titania questioned, lost by the current atmosphere of the room. It was rare seeing Soren show so much...emotion. Not to mention that a small struggle had taken place if Soren's scratched robes and Khimari's hardened expression was anything to go by.

Sighing, Khimari realized that he had to tell everything. "Soren overheard me and Dad talking this morning."

"About?" Ike pressed, with an eyebrow raised.

"After the war...he wants me to return with him to Gallia and live there." Silence followed his words. "I...don't know what to do," he sighed, putting a hand on his head to ease the incoming headache. 'I sigh too much sometimes,' he randomly thought while massaging the side of his face.

"...Khimari, don't get too caught up in this," Titania eased, jumping into the motherly position. "You have time to think about this, and tomorrow's battle is more pertinent at the moment. Soren," she continued, turning her face to the mage, "You shouldn't be so upset at Khimari. It's hard when you have a choice like this, and we need to support him wherever he chooses to go."

"..." Saying nothing, the mage left the tent. Breathing loudly, Khimari soon followed Soren in exiting, wondering how in the hell he was supposed to handle all of this at the same time.

"This is going to be the craziest week ever…"

XXXXX

A/N: AAAND that's it! Sorry for being gone so long, but y'all know my life schedule is hectic as all hell. Anyways, I really have been trying to work this part, and it's planned. The problem is that between me and this cast on my arm (apparently my thumb was broken for two days before I went to the doctor), typing and writing is definitely more of a hassle.

Not to mention, I am still in the senior year/college search phase of my life. Thankfully, I may be completely decided in about two weeks thanks to some WONDERFUL news that I received yesterday. But I digress..Between Blue Wolf and Blazing Light (Which truthfully I could have updated MONTHS ago), I have a lot to catch up on and not much free space to do it with. But, I sincerely hope y'all enjoyed, and I am definitely looking forward to the action-packed finale at Castle Crimea!

Blizzard, out!