Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
A/N:
Last time on Blue Wolf,
Nailah had risen from where she was sitting to hear the story.
"Let's find out what you've picked up, then," the wolf queen challenged with a battle-hungry smile on her face. "It's been a while since I've seen you fight, my cub."
"Against you?" Khimari said, blinking. He hadn't seen his mother fight in years, but concerning stories from Ranulf, who had never beaten her once, he couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of fighting her.
"But...Isn't the sun down? How would you fight like this?" Micaiah asked.
"We beast Laguz have basically perfect night vision," Khimari answered. "And as for you, mom, I'm ready."
XXXXX
"I hope you haven't forgotten how to fight in the sand dunes," Nailah said jokingly to her son. "That's the only place where there'll be enough space."
"You won't have to worry about that, Mom," the wolf replied. "You'll see I'm not a little baby anymore." The two, followed closely by Volug, proceeded to venture off into the desert.
"Should we...go follow them? I don't want anyone to get hurt…" Micaiah asked Sothe as the rest of them saw the three wolves go off into the desert. Much to her surprise, her longtime friend gave a snort of laughter at the question.
"If his mother is anything like Khimari, we won't have a thing to worry about," Sothe responded with a content smile on his face. The silver-haired girl couldn't help but stare at him, surprised to see such an expression like that on his face. It was easy to see the level of companionship that he shared with the wolf. "Let's see if we can watch," he suddenly suggested.
"What? How will we see?"
"Nailah's fur is white, and the moon is out," he mentioned. "Come on, it'll be quite a sight."
"Sure!" Micaiah nodded, the two going. Edward, Aran, Meg and Rafiel decided to follow them, with the rest choosing to stay behind.
While the crowd started to make their way towards them, Nailah and Khimari took their positions opposite each other, with Volug standing a bit-off in the middle. "Give it your best, okay Khimari?" Hatari's queen supported, transforming into her Laguz form. A wolf with a brilliant white coat of fur took the place of the brown-skinned woman.
"Okay, mom," the blue wolf agreed, transforming into his own Laguz form. Most of his fur was great light blue, like the sky, contrasting amazingly with a darker blue fur color under his chin and belly that resembled the seas. "Volug?"
The brown wolf, who hadn't transformed since they left the ruins where they fought the Laguz bandits, nodded in response. Silence had gripped the plains for a couple of heartbeats, before Volug gave a piercing howl that cut through the dry desert air.
Almost instantly, the two wolves jumped towards each other in a burst of speed. Tensing for a jump, Khimari narrowed his eyes when he caught his mother matching his movements. Jumping, Khimari made sure to make the jump smaller than anticipated, so that Nailah would be in the air longer.
It seemed to have worked, as Nailah went in for a full pounce. Rushing along the ground like a snake hunting its prey, Khimari went under the queen and jumped right into her. They then ended up as a rolling ball of blue and white fur going over and under each other. Not expecting Khimari's strength to be so great, Nailah found herself pinned down.
Surprised that the tussle ended so quickly, Khimari blinked before he felt a funny sensation on one of his back legs. His grip loosened slightly, allowing the wolf queen to throw her son off and whip back onto all fours. "Nice maneuver," she complemented.
"Same to you. I liked that one."
"Your father did, too," she teased before rushing at him once again. Shoving his great level of embarrassment aside, Khimari readied himself, waving his tail rhythmically from back to forth. As his mother pounced, he rolled to the side, immediately rising to face her. Not losing a second, she slid along the sand before pouncing again, a soft orange glow surrounding her. Meeting her attack, another collision occurred between the two. Nailah managed to get a quick bite to the back before they separated.
Feeling the small blood leak from his back, Khimari decided to take the offensive. Rushing at the wolf queen with all his speed, Khimari resembled a blue lightning bolt as he pounced. Prepared, Nailah gave a swipe at her son's paw to throw him off-balance. Much to her surprise, however, the wolf gracefully used the momentum from her strike to flip through the air, managing a scratch on her back.
Not wanting to lose his advantage, Khimari skillfully twirled through the air before rushing to his mother, scoring a more direct claw strike to the side. Slightly flinching, Nailah still pressed forward as if nothing had happened to her. Quickly thinking, the blue wolf flexed his claws through the sand as his mother swiftly approached him.
Waiting for the right moment, Khimari stayed still until his mother was almost on top of him. He then rolled to the side, this time scooping a great pawful of sand and throwing it at Nailah's face. Clearly taken aback, she snarled as she closed her eyes to prevent the dust from entering them, though the attempt wasn't completely successful.
Seeing his chance, Khimari whipped around, dealing a savage headbutt to his mother before pinning her down again.
"That'll be enough," Volug decided, walking up to the mother and son. "You did well, young Khimari."
"Well, indeed," his queen agreed, shaking her fur coat. "You're going to help get this sand out of my fur, too."
"Sorry, mom," Khimari sheepishly replied. "But a fight is a fight."
"I can't argue with that logic," she laughed, before continuing. "I can't believe that you're so flexible. It seems that Ranulf really did pass something down to you," she commented as they made their way back to the village proper.
"Is it really that noticeable?"
"Well, most wolves can't use their claws as effectively as you can, or flip with that catlike balance," Nailah explained. "Although your fighting style is...unique, it suits you perfectly." In response to the compliment, Khimari snuggled up to his mother.
"That was a good fight, Khimari," Sothe commented when they returned. "I see you haven't lost your touch at all."
"Of course I didn't!" the wolf said. "You know me better than that. Besides...I've had some interesting training partners over the last few years." Although no one noticed it, Kurth's mouth twitched upwards into a small smile. "You've been slacking, though...We'll have to fix that."
"What do you mean, fix that?" the green-haired rogue replied.
"You're too slow," Khimari answered. "Not good for someone with a dagger. Have you ever seen Volke fight?"
"Volke?" Sothe echoed, thinking of the mysterious man that traveled with them in the war. "Not really...He was like a shadow. I never saw him much at all."
"Exactly," the wolf replied, confusing him. "So quick that his opponents are dead before ya know it. That's what you should go for."
"Well, that's just-"
'We'll work on it later," the wolf said. "Now, we should probably get some sleep for tomorrow. The search isn't over for you guys."
"Alright," Micaiah agreed. "Everyone can pick from those four houses. Nailah? Volug? Khimari? Do you...want to sleep inside or outside?" In response, both Nailah and Khimari snorted in amusement.
"Don't worry, we'll go inside. I'm housebroken," Khimari said.
"I can't say the same for Volug, but we should manage just fine," Nailah continued, making the Silver-haired Maiden sputter in surprise.
"I didn't mean to call you dogs or anything! I just-" She stopped talking when she realized she had no way to properly give her reasoning.
"Mom? I think we broke her," Khimari said, tapping the girl on the head a few times.
"Hm, she's probably had a little desert hallucination. Not everyone is used to continued heat exposure," the wolf queen rationalized. "She should be fine by tomorrow." With that, the three wolves, Rafiel and Kurth went into one of the houses. Not exactly knowing how to react, the rest of the group simply stared at the five of them.
"Are wolves always that...blunt?" Micaiah said after a few moments of silence. Sothe simply sighed in exasperation.
"Unfortunately, yes. I had no idea that it was hereditary, though…" Sothe muttered. "Let's get some rest, though. Good night everybody." Without any more conversation to make, the rest of the Dawn Brigade dispersed into the other three houses in order to catch up on enough sleep to continue their search at daybreak.
"Sorry, again," Khimari once again apologized as he helped his mom get the dust off her white coat of fur.
"No harm done, my little cub," Nailah cooed. "Rafiel? Do you need us to make a bed for you?"
"Hm? No...This will suffice," the heron denied, taking a small blanket and laying it on the floor. "Thank you for the offer." Satisfied with the answer, she turned back to Khimari and Kurthnaga, she presumed.
"So, how in the world did you two meet?" she asked the Goldoan. "Last I checked, Goldoa had a zero-tolerance policy against trespassers."
"Well...um…"
"We met after we got attacked by Naesala's crew in the sea," Khimari answered, seeing that Kurthnaga was very uncomfortable with talking at the moment. "Our ship hit a reef right on Goldoan soil, basically. We were found by Kurthnaga and some other dragons that helped us out and gave a lot of supplies."
"I see...And how did you get into traveling outside Goldoa? That stingy old lizard would cough a lung out if he saw so much as a tumbleweed crossing the border."
"Erm…" Kurthnaga grumbled, admittedly trying not to laugh at the wolf queen's comment. "I asked Khimari to...help me leave for a while. He was very familiar with the outside territories...Also, I...wanted a friend alongside me."
"A friend?" Rafiel echoed, listening with rapt attention.
"We have been talking regularly for years," Khimari mentioned. "I've been to Goldoa often to visit."
"And how does one manage that?" his mother asked, with a knowing look on her face as she recollected the memory of her grandfather, who honestly disrespected every boundary and border known to life itself. That old bag of bones once walked in on her and Ranulf making out to ask about a fish gone bad and didn't even flinch at the sight of them.
Of course, no one would ever know about that night.
"Well...I'm a special kid," Khimari simply answered, closing one of his eyes.
"That...we knew," Volug chimed in.
"Anyways, it'd be best if we went to sleep as well," Nailah decided. "We can decide how to sort the rest of this situation out at dawn." In total agreement with Hatari's queen, the other four Laguz found themselves going to sleep.
XXXXX
Later that night…
Waking up from his slumber, Khimari quickly looked up to see that the moon was still shining strong in the sky. Moving his head around a little bit, he surveyed the room to find everyone still sleeping. Wanting to go outside for a quick walk, the blue wolf slowly got away from his mom, who he had ended up cuddled next to, and silently jumped out the shack window.
Walking away from the village, Khimari headed to where he and Kurthnaga stood before they left to complete the first day of searching for Daein's lost prince, or whatever. Aside from the calming desert wind, silence and stillness of the night gripped the dunes. For as much dead as the place felt, the blue wolf closed his eyes to feel the heartbeat of the desert. Just like the ocean, the desert ebbed and flowed. He couldn't help but close his eyes as he thought of how similar this sand was to Hatari's.
While he was thinking, he quickly heard familiar pawsteps approaching him. Turning slightly, he saw Volug walk up right next to where he was. "Can't sleep, young Master?" he asked, leading the wolf to breathe loudly through his nose in mild irritation.
"Volug, you know I hate that 'master' stuff," the wolf complained. "It makes me feel a million years old...Khimari, please."
"How could I forget? You never stopped complaining about it," the brown wolf recounted.
"Then please do it," Khimari rebutted sharply, before softening his tone. "How is...Hatari doing?"
"Times are still as trying as ever," Volug bluntly stated. "Some from the council have grown tired of our constant 'desert vacations,' as they put it. The majority of the populace is still in good spirit, however."
"Those ancient bone-bags!" Khimari snarled, seeing that they haven't changed a bit. He then forced himself to calm down, taking a deep breath. "How is everyone doing?"
"You already asked."
"...Fair enough," the blue wolf ceded. "Does this sand...seem familiar to you?"
"...The sand?" Volug echoed, not sure of where this conversation was going.
"Yes, the sand. It reminds me of Hatari's sand...The color, the feel, everything...It's been so long…" the wolf said, putting his head down. "I honestly wondered if I'd ever find you all again."
"Little Khimari, do not stress yourself," Volug advised. "We are here. You are here. We are all alive."
"True...and that's all that matters," the young wolf summed up. "I guess wisdom does come with age."
"Are you calling me old?"
"Weeeeelll...You never were the best at tag," Khimari snorted. "Unless...you want to prove me wrong." Seeing the challenge, Volug smirked at the prince's suggestion.
"You will see very soon how 'old' I am...Khimari." With that, the two wolves began to play a game of tag just like the old times, under the watchful eye of the moon, the stars, and a white-coated wolf.
XXXXX
That morning…
A little while before the first rays of dawn came, Sothe found himself waking up to Micaiah beside him, like usual. Looking over to Edward and Leonardo, the other two that they shared the shack with, the green-haired rogue decided to take a quick trip outside before waking Micaiah. Quietly walking to the door and opening it, he was slightly shocked to see a certain blue wolf sitting outside by himself. Figuring that there wouldn't be any harm in a quick conversation, he decided to approach him.
"Morning, Khimari."
"Hey, kiddie!" the wolf exuberantly returned, making the teen roll his eyes.
"Khimari, I'm not a kid anymore…" he complained. "You don't have to call me a 'kid' or anything like that anymore."
"...You are a kid. So I call you a kid," the wolf explained, before tilting his head a little to the side. "What's wrong with being called a kid?"
"I'm not a little boy anymore! I'm 17, for goodness' sake."
"Ike is 20, he's a kid...What's your point Sothe?" the wolf deadpanned, only serving to drive said teenager crazy.
"You know what...I don't want to talk about this anymore." As if a sign, Volug came up to the two, stopping right where Khimari was. He growled something to the prince, who nodded and stood up.
"Sothe, Mom wants to see Micaiah about something," Khimari said suddenly. "Could you get her? Then we can keep talking."
"Okay, I'll get her. Could you wake up the cabin with Aran, Laura and Nolan? As well as the merchants?" Sothe requested.
"Consider it done," the wolf replied with a grin on his face that seemed eerily familiar to the rogue. Shaking it out his head, he went back to his hut and knocked on the door.
"It's time to get up, everyone," he announced before kneeling down to the Silver-haired girl. "Hey, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine, Sothe. We should be leaving out soon before the heat sets in," she noted as she looked outside the shack window. He simply nodded.
"Okay, but Queen Nailah wants to talk with you about something," he informed, confusing the girl.
"I wonder what it could be...I'll go right now. Could you wake everyone el-"
Micaiah found herself interrupted by a loud scream of terror that startled the sleep out of everyone. Grabbing their weapons, they all rushed outside to see Khimari laughing while a red-faced Aimee looked so angry she could explode. "What happened?" the Maiden asked.
"Khimari had the great idea of throwing a cactus at me to wake me up!" the merchant woman complained. "Not only that, but there was a SNAKE on it! Is that how you treat people who sleep!?"
"Well, I haven't done a prank in a while," the wolf admitted, wiping a tear of his eye. "Besides, I was told to wake everyone up, and you scream the loudest. Killed three birds with one stone."
"Three? I thought the expression was two…" Edward mentioned.
"No, three because I ate a bird getting the cactus," the wolf explained, before smiling at Sothe. In response, the rogue could only slap his forehead at the blue Laguz's antics, although a smile found its way onto his face.
"Well, we're all up and have our weapons," the rogue noted as Micaiah went into the shack with Nailah, Volug and Rafiel inside. "Let's do some last minute preparations before we head out." After that hectic start to a morning, nobody had any qualms with some last-minute preparations. Sothe himself simply waited for the others to get prepared since he had nothing to do. Curiously, he looked at Khimari, who also stood there watching everyone else. "Don't you have anything else to do?"
"I don't use weapons like you guys," the wolf shrugged. "All I have to bring is me!"
"Khimari, are you coming along, too?" Micaiah asked, now back with a transformed Volug at her side. "You already found your mother...You don't have to do anything else if you don't want to…"
"Of course I'll come!" he enthusiastically replied. "I have no problem helping you guys out…" The blue wolf then said something to Volug in the ancient tongue. The brown wolf barked back, making Khimari chuckle a bit. "Welp, looks like you have TWO pets now, Micaiah," Khimari said as he transformed into a wolf and walked next to Volug.
"Wha-what do you mean?" she asked, caught off-guard.
"Well, Mom was right that people would probably be suspicious of you with Laguz, especially me since I'm still somewhat recognizable from my dimplat crap. Although Volug has a half-shifted form, I can stay fully transformed for as long as I want, so I'll just go with you like this," the wolf explained. "I won't obey commands, though. Tell me to do doggy tricks, and I'll bite your hand off," he growled, a complete personality shift from his first sentence.
"Uhh….Alright, then," Micaiah muttered, a little freaked out by the blue Laguz. "Well, since we went north yesterday, let's go in the opposite direction, towards the south-southeast." When the Dawn Brigade set off, Micaiah stayed back for a second with Sothe. "I've never seen anything like these wolves before...It's like they have two different heads."
"You don't know the half of it," Sothe sighed. "Come on before-"
"Stop kissing each other and come on!" a certain wolf prince yowled through the air.
"Hey! We weren't doing anything!" the rogue, shouted in embarrassment. Even then, he ended up with a smile on his face that surprised Micaiah. She could easily see and feel the ease Sothe had around Khimari, even with his...unique antics. Yune chirped on her shoulder in what sounded like laughter.
"Oh, Yune...Not you too," the silver-haired maiden groaned as they left the outpost to go back into the desert.
XXXXX
When the outskirt shacks that they used to sleep in went out of sight, the group stopped to plan their next plan of direction. "So...where to this time?" Edward asked, opening the discussion.
"Well….we've already been to the North, which is where we met Prince Rafiel and the others, That leaves...either east or south," he deduced. Just then, Khimari felt a strong iron stench hit his nose. Quickly, he turned to Volug for confirmation.
"You smell that, Volug?" the wolf asked. When the older of the two nodded, it caught the attention of Micaiah.
"You sense something?"
"Yes, many Beorc due South. And they stink of iron," Khimari informed.
"Well, that settles it. We go south," Sothe vocalized. "Khimari, Volug, lead the way." The two wolves nodded their agreement, before leading the Dawn Brigade in the direction of the iron smell. After a quick while, the sound of fighting reached the ears of the two Laguz, making them take a quick look at each other. Picking up their speed a little bit, the group soon became aware of the fighting noise that waved through the air as the outlines of moving soldiers became apparent. "Is that fighting?" the green-haired boy asked.
"Yup," Khimari answered in a serious tone. "By the armor, I'd say Begnion."
"Who could Begnion possibly be attacking here in the middle of nowhere?" the rogue asked.
"Whoever it is, we have to help!" Micaiah resolved, rushing ahead before getting stopped by a growl.
"Sweet Ashera, girl! Think for a second!" Khimari scolded. "This is an organized unit we're dealing with. Rushing around all crazy will get you killed." After reprimanding the Silver-haired Maiden, he turned to the rest of the group. "We'll split from the rest of you guys. Sothe, you take everyone directly straight and find out who's being attacked. Keep them safe and stay there. Volug and I will handle the rest of them."
"What?" Micaiah blurted, completely caught off-guard by what just happened. "The two of you can't beat a whole-"
"Micaiah, let's go!" Sothe interrupted, grabbing her hand in support. "Everyone else, come on! You heard him." Much more confident at Sothe's word, the rest of the Dawn Brigade mobilized and went straight ahead.
"Volug, ready?" Khimari asked as they started to head around the structure to pick off the Begnion forces.
"At your call, young Khimari," the brown wolf responded. Heading their own path, they quickly found a squad of Begnion soldiers consisting of four fire mages and three soldiers. Looking over to Volug, Khimari nodded to the unsaid plan communicated between the two. Dropping into a stance, the blue wolf quietly stalked up to the unaware soldiers, with Volug right by him. When he had a perfect sight of the mage, he pounced. A clean claw slash to the throat dropped the mage to the ground, shocking the other three. Before the other mages could properly chant any spells, Khimari dispatched them with two bites to the throat and a fatal claw slash across the stomach.
Looking over, the wolf prince found that Volug had already finished the three soldiers off and was waiting for him to continue on. "Alright, let's go," Khimari motioned. Going deeper into the sandy outskirts, they came face to face with more Begnion soldiers, this time four myrmidons and an archer. "You want the bowman?" the blue wolf offered. Nodding, Volug quietly went off to the side, leaving the myrmidons to Khimari. Rushing directly to them, he pounced on one, dragging him to the ground before finishing him with a bite to the throat. Jumping off to avoid sword slash, he killed the second swordsman with a lightning quick slash to the stomach, causing him to bleed out on the desert floor.
Looking towards the last two myrmidons, Khimari took the one on the right, pinning him down and delivering a killing bite to the throat. Unfortunately, Volug took the last one out before he had a chance. "No fair!"
"I recommend being a little more faster, then," Volug joked. "Shall we continue? Not many soldiers remain," he mentioned after sniffing the air.
"Yeah, let's find the leader. I have some questions." Going ahead, the two wolves stopped when a soldier ran up to a fire mage.
"Report!"
"Commander Wystan, the Daein soldiers we're attacking have received reinforcements from an unknown band of fighters," the soldier informed. "In addition, all of our forces stationed outside the building have been wiped out. We don't know who did it."
"How could you-"
"I can answer that," Khimari said, coming out of his transformed state for a moment. "We killed them. Now my turn for a question. Who's order brought you out here?"
"Pah, who are you to be asking…" the mage started, before his eyes widened. "You're the sub-human diplomat!"
"Laguz, but whatever floats your boat," the wolf corrected. "You gonna answer my question or not?"
"Kill him!" Wystan ordered. "If any news of this breaks out, it'll be disastrous!"
"Oh, brother," Khimari breathed heavily, before transforming into his Laguz form once again. "This'll be quick." Avoiding a basic fire spell from the commander, Khimari quickly killed him with an easy swipe to the neck. As the Begnion commander fell to the ground, he found himself surrounded by six soldiers and two more fire mages. Exhaling loudly in irritation, Khimari let out a small growl towards Volug before the two pounced, reducing them to nothing within a matter of moments. The blue wolf quickly tasted the air, before turning to his uncle figure. "Do you hear anymore soldiers?"
"No, it seems that they've been routed," Volug responded.
"Cool! Let's go meet up with the rest!" Khimari said. Walking forward, he found an unexpected group gathered outside. In addition to Sothe and Micaiah, a big man in great white armor, a blue-haired swordmaster in a purple outfit and a red-haired wyvern rider were present. "Tauroneo? Zihark and Jill, too?" he said, turning the attention to him.
"Khimari? Who else is going to show up today?" Jill said in complete surprise.
"Who has arrived now? I will not tolerate these continued interr…" a man shouted, before getting a good look at the blue wolf. "My precious...My most valuable experiment has returned to me!" he exclaimed, rushing over to Khimari. As soon as the stench of the man hit the blue wolf's nose, a torrent of images and memories from Gritnea Tower and the pain that came along with it rushed through his head.
"Stay. Away." Everything in Khimari's head said to kill this monster where he stood, but something inside him reasoned that pouncing wouldn't be the best course of action at the moment.
"Is something matter, Khimari?" Tauroneo asked, completely unaware of the history between the two. "I know Lord Izuka can be…"
"Izuka...That-" Sothe quickly acted, running towards the blue wolf. "Go away for a while. He has the Daein prince with him. Go back and get Nailah and the others."
Breathing as calmly as he could, Khimari nodded and turned around. "Where are you going? Come back to me! I will not have you leave once again!" Izuka shouted, starting a mad dash towards the walking wolf. He found himself stopped by a growling Volug, who put himself between the crazy scientist and his prince. The brown wolf's eyes promised pain if he went any closer.
"Leave them alone already!" Micaiah shouted, the tension between the two enough to suffocate all of them. Not caring about the rest of what they had to say, Khimari continued his walk back to the cabin to get his mom, Kurth, Rafiel and the rest of the merchant group, with Volug by his side the entire time.
"Who was that...Beorc?" the brown wolf asked when he was sure they were alone.
"That was the one who tried to turn me into a mindless weapon." With no words to put behind that answer, the two returned to the outskirts to find everyone outside except Kurth, who Khimari assumed was still inside.
"Just you two? Where are the rest?" Nailah asked.
"They've found the Daein prince. We came to bring you all there," Khimari responded.
"They found him? Wow...I can't even believe it myself," Daniel said, voicing what everyone though. "We're already packed, so we can leave now.
"Rafiel, can you go get Kurth?" the wolf queen asked. The heron quietly nodded before turning back to her son. "Are you alright? You seem out of it…"
"I'll tell you later…" Khimari dismissed. Understanding, Nailah left the incoming talk for a future time. As soon as Rafiel returned with Kurth, they all left to the hidden compound of Daein's prince, led by Khimari and Volug.
XXXXX
A/N: And I'll leave that off here! Sorry that it's shorter, I honestly had planned for this one to be bigger, but I have to leave for college on Saturday and preparation has honestly killed all the free time I've had. I do plan to update in school, but I'll be the first to admit I have no plan regarding writing….