Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
The next morning…
The Dawn Brigade returned back to the Daein Liberation Army base the next morning, even if a little later than planned. With the addition of the groundskeeper, Fiona, they had to stay a little while longer so that Marado could accommodate a change of hands and to catch a small break after the day's conflict. Even then, yesterday had given way to a great victory for Daein.
"We're finally back!" Edward called excitedly as the sight of familiar tents became easily apparent for everyone. "Time to sleep."
"For once, I agree," Leonardo said tiredly. "A rest would be nice."
"You go on ahead," Micaiah told them. "We'll go inform Prince Pelleas and Izuka." Afterwards, she, Zihark, Jill, Tauroneo, Fiona and Sothe left in the direction of the meeting tents close to where the two heads of the Liberation Army stayed. As they left, Volug took their leave of them as well, sniffing out the trail of Nailah and Rafiel to meet up with them while Ilyana went to find the merchant caravan.
"So...back to the tents?" Edward asked the remaining five. They all shrugged or nodded in agreement, before separating to go back to their respective places. Meg went by herself, while Laura and Aran went in a separate direction, leaving Edward, Leonardo and Nolan to take up residence in their own tent that they shared. As soon as they entered, Edward crashed onto the ground, not bearing to be on his feet another minute.
"Edward, why are you always so unnecessary with your actions?" Leonardo criticized, calmly taking a seat.
"I'm bushed!" he replied, waving a hand in the air. "Tell me you aren't tired."
"That's not the point."
"But you didn't say it! So there!" Edward finalized, leaving the blond to roll his eyes. "Besides...Everything went like it was supposed to! What's wrong with celebrating with a nap?"
"There is still a long way to go, Edward," Nolan advised. "Even still...today's victory was a crucial one. I imagine it won't be long before news of our actions spread throughout Daein."
"And then what?"
"That would be the pressing question," the man conceded. "As of now, our only priority should be continuing our fight as the Dawn Brigade to free Daein." Looking over, the brown-haired man noticed that Leonardo seemed to be deep in thought. "Leonardo, is something on your mind?"
The teenager snapped out of his stupor. After a few seconds, he sighed as he waved a hand through his hair. "I've been thinking about the blue wolf sub-human."
"Khimari?" Edward asked. "What about him? And I'd start saying Laguz from now on," he added. Taking into account what happened when Edward first said the phrase "sub-Human" in the wolf's presence, Leonardo made a mental note to avoid saying it from now on.
"I just...I have no idea why we're letting him this close. He worked against us during the war."
"So did Sothe," Edward replied. "And Jill, Tauroneo, and Zihark as well."
"That's different," the blond denied, shaking his head. "All of them are Daein-born. He grew up with Ike, for goodness sake! I just don't think that it's a good thing that he's so...involved. He even went to the strategy meeting."
"Concerning that, we'll just have to trust the judgement of Sothe and the others. I'd imagine that there's a good reason that they let him in so quickly.
"Well...I trust Sothe and Micaiah...but I still don't like it."
"Like what?" a voice said. Looking towards the entrance of the tent, they watched as Sothe entered the tent.
"Where's Micaiah?" Edward asked.
"She sent me to check on you guys. Looks like you have an interesting conversation going on," he noted.
"Well...It's nothing much, really," the archer downplayed.
"Leonardo is paranoid about Khimari working with us," Edward blurted, drawing the ire of the blond-haired kid. "He doesn't know if we should trust him." Interestingly enough, Sothe gave a grunt of amusement at the answer.
"That's an interesting one. But he's completely trustworthy," Sothe confirmed. "Although his methods are...questionable at times, he puts his personal values before any grudge he may have had."
"How do you know all this?"
"I've seen it. As crazy and hellish as that wolf is, he means it when he says he wants to help Daein achieve its freedom...Even after everything that happened. You don't have to believe me, but you'll see it sooner or later for yourself," he summarized, before walking out of the tent to give the three some time to think upon his words.
XXXXX
Meanwhile…
"Can we get in the freaking Cathedral now?" Khimari asked, irritation clear in both his face and tone. "It's almost sunhigh and we came a little after dawn."
"My apologies, Khimari, but it is now a policy that whenever you come to visit, there must be a thorough inspection of the entire building and the surrounding area," Sigrun informed. "You should know, it has been in effect for at least the last six months."
"Yes, and every single time your guards came back with pigeon crap on their armor," the wolf replied. "Can we go in, please? This is a little more urgent than me allegedly setting Sephiran's robe on fire," he said, drawing strange looks from the other five that were accompanying him.
"You set his robe on fire?" Tormod asked aloud, trying not to laugh at the mental image.
"Yes, among other offenses to various members of the Begnion Senate," Sigrun sighed, though she also had to try very hard to suppress the smirk that threatened to come onto her face.
"You've literally caught Sanaki more times than you've ever caught me," the wolf deadpanned. "And you've never caught me because there is no such proof that I've ever done anything like you claim."
"Whatever the case may be, we must exercise full caution concerning our governing officials," the mint-haired woman said as a small group of soldiers arrived.
"There is nothing out of the ordinary to be reported, ma'am!" a pegasi knight said. "They're cleared for entry."
"Thank you. If you would," the Holy Guard commander guided, motioning for everyone to follow her. Following the woman down the pristine white halls of the Mainal Cathedral, Khimari reminisced on the time that the Greil Mercenaries had spent here after finding Sanaki on their vessel in the open ocean. Those were some crazy times.
'Well, these are still crazy times,' the wolf thought internally as they reached the entrance to the Apostle's throne room. At the presence of Sigrun, the guards parted ways to make space for everyone to pass through.
The room hadn't changed at all. The throne room was still a giant and utterly stunning place of grand proportions. But, that wasn't the concern of the moment. As Sigrun left the rest of the group to take her place next to Sanaki and Tanith, Khimari and Tormod stepped forward a little bit. "Khimari? It's rather puzzling to see your face here at this time. Your visit shouldn't be for another month or so."
"Well, about that...I'm on vacation for the time being from my diplomatic job," the wolf explained. "But anyways...I have to ask you about Begnion's oversight of the country of Daein."
"Oh? What do you wish to inquire me about?"
"Do you have any idea what's going on with your own people?" he asked bluntly, riling the small girl up.
"I suggest that you not make such barbed insults in my presence, Prince Khimari. Now, if you would like to explain your impudence, you may."
"Yes, Empress Sanaki," he said, rolling his eyes. If this was any other person, they'd be on a one-way trip to imprisonment and a painful execution. However; Khimari's style of diplomacy prided itself on its forwardness and lack of useless gestures. "I had the great fortune of going to Daein a few weeks ago. Within the day of arrival, I was arrested by Begnion soldiers without any basis and was thrown into a prison, one of which violated every personal right in the book. There was only one hour outside of the prison daily, the rest of the time was pure solitary confinement at its best. Prisoners were forced to stink and sleep in their own urine."
"After breaking out, I found myself seeing firsthand the iron fist Begnion has exacted on the people. Everyone is starved, and the little things they get are at the whims of Begnion soldiers who treat them worse than dirt. There are labor camps all over the country that break every rule of decency that exists."
"...I must thank you, Khimari," the apostle said after a heavy heartbeat. "That was exactly what I needed."
"...Come again?" Tormod blurted, completely lost. Before responding, the apostle took a deep breath.
"I had suspected something was amiss among the Daein populace for quite a while, and even had put Sephiran in charge of finding any hint of corrupt behavior by the Senators in charge. For the longest, we had come up short; without any compelling evidence or testimony from a source of high importance, our hands were tied behind our backs," she explained. "However, with Khimari's personal testimony as evidence, I can quickly organize an inspection party within the coming weeks to head directly to the heart of Daein to assess the severity of the Senate's treachery."
"I knew you were a smart little teenager!" Khimari complimented with a smirk on his face. This was turning rapidly into one of the best-case scenarios.
"Tell me, what are your next plans, Khimari?" Sanaki asked curiously.
"After this, I plan to return to Daein and help some vigilante freedom fighters fight a revolution for independence against your country's trashy authority," he said plainly, drawing crazed looks from all the other occupants in the room. "What? It's just the truth."
"...A moment, please. Guards! Please...escort them outside," Sanaki said, putting everyone except Khimari on edge. With the arrival of the Cathedral guards, the group of six left the royal hall. At their exit, the sound of childish laughter boomed from the place they had just exited.
"She laughs like that, she's gonna cough a lung…" Rikari mentioned.
"Hopefully she doesn't," Khimari said. "Anyways...it's about time to get to Daein. Are you guys ready?"
"We have to go back to the compound first," Maurim mentioned. "We must stock on supplies for the journey and organize everything before leaving."
"That works with me! We should be back there in about two or three days, then. Well, come on, everybody!" he said starting his way outside the cathedral.
"Shouldn't we wait for her to dismiss us from the palace?" Rikari suggested, only to be answered by a snort.
"Oh little cub, this is me you're talking about," the blue wolf replied. "She knows what's happening. Now let's get a move on before those Daein kids try to bite off more than they can chew."
XXXXX
Four days later… (Daein Liberation Army Camp)
News of the Daein Liberation Army's victory in Morado spread quickly. About two days after their return to the base camp, stories about citizen uprisings spread like wildfire throughout the ranks. The effect was easily noticeable; morale was high among the soldiers and everyone had an extra spring in their step that wasn't there before the successful attack. In addition, many other people who weren't taken by Begnion sought out the Liberation Army's Base to fight for their cause. Probably another fifty or so people had joined in the last few days.
The downside to that was that most of the new recruits weren't exactly ready for a war. Many overzealous teenagers or men past their prime were among the main people seeking them out. Without a unifying figure or someone who can give a proper training regiment, there'd be little they could do to fight. This was the dilemma that Sothe and the others were currently worried about as they thought about the next steps in the fight against Begnion's tyranny.
As for Sothe himself, he'd sent a letter a week ago to Tormod, explaining the situation in hopes that they'd bring over some necessary firepower. With the special delivery service, it should have gotten there maybe yesterday, but that's still quite a bit before any news regarding Sanaki would return back.
And Khimari...no one knew where the elusive wolf had gone. Queen Nailah had expressed little concern regarding him, however, simply saying that he had taken to having little "self-adventures" as a child quite often. Although it wasn't Hatari, she declared him strong enough to handle whatever he needed to, so that was that.
Sighing, he made himself aware of the people around him as they began another strategic meeting to discuss their next point of action.
"Ahem!" Izuka coughed, bringing his attention to the weird man. "As general staff of the Daein Liberation Army, allow me to outline my latest strategy." Before he could start his surely-to-be unhinged rant, Micaiah raised a quiet hand to get the person's attention.
"Excuse me, but shouldn't we have Prince Pelleas here?" she asked.
"There's no need to distract the Prince with the war's petty little details," Izuka deflected. "He won't be coming to anymore meetings, therefore, just consider my words as if they came from the mouth of the prince himself."
"I'm...not sure that's-"
"Enough idle chatter," Izuka cut her off, earning a suspicious glare from the green-haired rogue. "Come have a glance, my pretties." Suppressing his desire to find a place to throw up, he leaned in along with Micaiah and Tauroneo to look at the map of Daein. "Our next target will be Umono. Among all of the work camps, it is among one of the largest."
"Conditions within the prison camp are harsh," the white-armored general noted. "If we are to save the prisoners, every moment matters."
"One of the largest work camps...Do we have enough forces to handle that?" Sothe questioned. It wasn't out of bad faith, but with the current condition of many of the army's soldiers (who aren't military-ready), it'd be risky to attack one of the largest camps in the country. Instead of receiving a direct answer, Izuka broke into one of his evil cackles. 'Maybe Khimari should've killed him by now…' the teen thought.
"Such a trivial concern, and one that my limitlessly profound genius has already addressed!" the robed man shouted with unnerving glee. He then pointed to a large body of water next to the prison camp. "Behold this lake next to the camp that provides freshwater to all there. Into this lake, we shall dump out a toxic poison of my own devising...then we simply sit back and let the enemy slowly perish…"
"W-What are you saying!?" Micaiah shouted in pure horror. "Poison is...inexcusably vile! I will not agree to any such plan like that one." It seemed that Micaiah's dissent did not go well with the old man, as he began to twitch uncontrollably as if being possessed by a demon.
"Wh...wh-wh-WHAT WAS THAT!?" he burst, glaring at the Silver-haired Maiden in a way that made Sothe instinctively reach for his dagger should Izuka try anything. "You...You dare to question my plan, conceived in a state of exalted meditation!?"
Even still, the girl held her ground. "No matter how misguided our enemy may be, we must fight with compassion and consideration for the innocent."
"She's right," Sothe jumped in. "Poison doesn't discriminate. Prisoners would die, too. Nearby villages would also be affected. And then what would happen? People would doubt us, question our cause...Some may even begin to turn against us." Just to take his point home, Sothe gave one last thorn in Izuka's side. "And it would cause a stain on Prince Pelleas' name, don't you think?"
"Rrr…..Fine then!" the crazed man said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Do as you like! And when you find yourselves hopelessly defeated and outclassed, you can crawl back begging to ME!" he yelled, before leaving in a fit of rage. A small silence followed his exit before Tauroneo gave a great sigh filled with an ancient patience that few people could ever hope to possess.
"My apologies to both of you," the knight said. "When Lord Izuka gets excited, he can lose sight of all reason."
"I will apologize, too," Micaiah added. "General Tauroneo, he stormed out because I-"
"You needn't apologize," the man interrupted, raising his hand in good-nature. "You are in the right. Whatever the end, using poison is something that I would never condone. However, if we are to have any chance of obtaining victory, we must devise a plan quickly."
"Yes...you're right. In that case...How about this plan?" Micaiah started, moving closer to the map. "We could devise a distraction team on the outside while the Dawn Brigade infiltrates the inside. We can free the prisoners while the main Begnion guards are occupied."
"Hm...that would take quite a bit of manpower, but it can be done," Tauroneo deemed.
"But who would lead the force?" Sothe asked, not sure how this would go. "They'd have to keep casualties to a minimum, especially since the trained soldiers are inside the prison."
"I will take charge of the outside forces myself," the white-armored knight declared. "I will notify Prince Pelleas of our plans and begin mobilization. We can begin the march shortly after noon."
"That would be fine. We'd get back by nightfall," Sothe deduced. With everything decided, Tauroneo left to notify the prince, leaving him and Micaiah alone in the meeting tent. Looking to his left, he saw Micaiah deep in thought, staring at the map with a blank look on her face. "Is something wrong, Micaiah?" he asked softly. The question seemed to snap her out of her stupor, as she looked her head up in surprise. Just as quickly as she reacted, she returned to a calmer look on her face.
"No...I'm fine," she denied horribly.
"I can tell you're lying," Sothe bluntly replied. "Don't worry, we can talk if you need to."
"Can...Can you tell me more about Khimari?" she asked quietly. Even with her soft tone, Sothe couldn't help but recoil in shock.
"Wh-what? I thought you'd be over me talking about anything to do with Crimea."
"Please...What do you know about him?" Seeing how distressed the girl was, Sothe sighed before submitting to her request.
"He was always a mysterious one, even to those closest to him. He always showed great kindness to me, and mostly anyone else in the army. Even then, that niceness can change to a frightening mercilessness at the blink of an eye. That, and he's a stickler for certain things. Though...he's trustworthy without a doubt, moody or not." As he finished, he saw Micaiah unconsciously grab her arm with her hand. "Is there any reason for this all of a sudden? You never asked me about this before…"
"He knows...about my mark," she revealed to him. "And he said he's known for a long time...They call me a "Branded," one with mixed blood. I don't…"
"Don't worry about it," Sothe soothed, embracing her. "He's not going to spread your secret...He knows what he's talking about, especially concerning things like that."
"But...okay," she changed, breathing deeply and nodding her head. "I trust him."
"Just like that?" Sothe said, surprised.
"Well, yeah," she admitted. "I see how relaxed you are with him, Sothe. Whenever he's around, you almost act like there's no problem at all. So...carefree. You're never like that."
"Really?" he said, once again surprised by her observations. "Well...I guess I see him as a kind of big brother of sorts...He really did look out for me and the others in the Mad King's War, even when he didn't have to."
"Just as I thought. If that's how you feel, I can't betray you by refusing to trust him," Micaiah resolved. "I'll go see how things are going. Can you check on the rest of the Dawn Brigade for preparations?" Nodding, the green-haired rogue split ways with the vice general of the Daein Liberation Army for the time being.
XXXXX
A little later…
Alright, just follow me everyone!" Khimari said exuberantly.
"Isn't that what we've already been doing?" Tora muttered before he found a handful of dirt thrown on his shirt.
"No sass, mister! That's an order!" the blue wolf returned with a smile on his face.
"...Whatever, oh great prince," the red wolf sarcastically replied.
"That's the spirit!" he said, before his face got a little serious. "Now, while we're following Sothe's scent, be mindful not to get spotted by anyone and to avoid contact with the main troop of the Daein Liberation Army. When we get to wherever they deployed to, our job is to regroup with Sothe and the rest of the Dawn Brigade. Got it?"
"Um...how do we hide Vika?" Rikari asked. The rest of them had cloaks on, but there weren't any extras for the raven girl.
"Oh for Ashera's sake, take mine," Khimari said, slightly irritated. Taking it off in one yank, he threw the bird Laguz his large brown cloak, which she caught easily. "Make sure to tuck in your wings as much as possible and keep them down unless you have to transform. They'll be stiff if we have to fight, so just flap them extra hard for a few seconds before you engage any soldiers."
"What...about you?" Tormod asked. "Now you don't have any cloak." At that, the wolf snorted with amusement.
"I don't need a dang cloak," the wolf defiantly responded as a blue light danced around him, signaling a transformation. "Unlike the rest of you, I can be comfortable just like this," he continued, a gruff voice coming from the transformed wolf. "Anyways...Time to go!"
With that decided, Hatari's lost prince led the group by Sothe's scent, which was extremely fresh and mixed in with Micaiah and the rest of the Dawn Brigade, signaling that they had decided to stay together. Inwardly smirking, the wolf quietly laughed to himself as the scent got stronger, motioning for the others to break into a run at the sound of fighting. "Look...The Daeins are fighting against Begnion," Rikari noted.
"The Dawn Brigade's scent breaks around here," Khimari added, before noticing a side entrance to the prison-looking building Sothe had undoubtedly entered. "Come on. We'll enter through the side."
"Shouldn't we survey to see if there's any heavy resistance, first?"
"Normally, yes, but the fighting's already started, so just let me run in first and you guys keep each other safe," the wolf added. "So are you re-"
"Hey, what are you people doing?" someone yelled, calling all of their attention away. Unfortunately, a full unit of about twenty Begnion soldiers were marching towards them, armed and ready to attack.
"They must be with the Daeins! Capture them!"
"Change of plans, you hurry up and go inside. I'll catch up."
"Wha-You can't possibly take all of them by yourself!" Vika said, before getting her arm grabbed by Tora.
"Come on! We have no time!" the red wolf prodded, running with the rest while Khimari blocked their path. Surprisingly, Tormod had already traveled the most distance, followed closely by Maurim.
"Get them!" the soldier yelled, before a growl from Khimari stopped them in their tracks.
"Sorry, but no," he calmly denied, before throwing himself into the crowd of Begnion soldiers.
XXXXX
Meanwhile…
"Zihark, look out!" Sothe yowled, throwing a dagger that caught an enemy guard in the throat. Already wounded, the Begnion soldier dropped to the ground, dead.
"Thank you for looking out," the blue-haired swordsman said as Micaiah and Jill joined up with them. Volug, Edward and Leonardo had gone around trying to free as many prisoners as possible while Ilyana, Laura, Aran, Nolan and Meg worked to keep any reinforcements from overwhelming them. "Should we go deeper into the prison?" Micaiah nodded in affirmation.
"The others are keeping extra Begnion soldiers away and helping the first group of prisoners escape. While they're occupied, we need to free everyone else and confront the warden."
"Okay," Sothe started. "Let's get mo-"
"SOOOOOOOOOOOTHE!" a giant shout resonated, bouncing off all the walls around them.
"...What?" said green-haired rogue sputtered, not sure of what the heck was going on or why anyone was calling his name. For better or worse, his question would very soon be answered by another yell.
"Have no fear...for Tormod is here!" the voice rang out again, this time a group of five people, all cloaked, coming in from a separate entrance into the main prison. "I'm coming to the rescue!"
"Tormod!?" Sothe yelled in disbelief, his eyes almost coming out of his sockets. "You...crazy...fool…"
"Time for the trusty hero to save the day, huh, Tormod?" Zihark muttered while shaking his head with a similar disbelief that Sothe possessed at the moment.
"It's more of a reunion every moment," Jill put in, wondering how in the world Tormod and his group just happened to waltz in here while they were in the middle of a mission. 'If only Harr were here…' she thought quietly with a bittersweet feeling.
"Time to run wild!" the mage thought, brandishing his tome and throwing off his cloak. Following the short teen's lead, Maurim, Rikari, Tora and Vika all transformed into their Laguz forms, causing a ruckus among the Begnion soldiers.
"S-Sub-humans! All of them!" one shouted.
"Calm down!" another scolded. "Use fire magic for the beasts and wind magic for the bird. That'll do the trick. And get the kid, before he takes form as well!" In response to that, Tormod opened up his book with a confident smile on his face.
"Take form? Sorry, but that ain't what I do!" he proclaimed as an elfire spell left the tip of his fingers, causing a powerful fire that sent a Begnion soldier crashing to the wall and caused an even greater uproar.
"A-a mage! Don't get too close!" one soldier said, before looking back. "Call reinforcements! Redirect all units to the main inside entrance!"
"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen!" a familiar voice shouted. Before Sothe and the rest even knew how to react, a blue blur shot ahead of Tormod and his group, killing a soldier with a slash to the neck and jumping to end a mage with a bite to the same area. "Alright, let a rip, everyone!" the blue wolf shouted.
Just like that, everyone else spurred into action. Alongside Khimari, Tora and Rikari started to make short work of the group of Daein guards, while Maurim, Tormod and Vika regrouped with Sothe and the others. Finally snapping out of their phase of stunned inaction, the Dawn Brigade followed the wolves' example and re-entered the fray. With the addition of the six, the remaining Begnion defenses were shattered like glass. Any knights that could have proven difficult were bowled over by the addition of Tormod and the rest of the Laguz. Before long, the prison warden had already been defeated, and the soldiers freed.
"Alright, looks like it's time to get back to the base," Sothe mentioned as Micaiah and Laura healed the last of the wounded Daein prisoners. He had been standing alongside Tormod, Khimari and Maurim while the others had been off preparing for the way home and making sure there weren't any reinforcements on the way. "Say, how did you find us? I didn't send that letter very long ago."
"See, we were already on the way when you sent it!" Tormod revealed with a smug smile on his face. "Khimari visited us the day before we even got your message. He sent one that arrived a little while earlier."
"I work quick, little kiddo," the wolf smiled, rubbing Sothe's hair like he did three years ago.
"Oh, brother. I'm not a kid anymore, Khimari," he muttered with mild irritation as Micaiah and Tauroneo approached them. "Are we ready to depart?"
"Yes, everyone is stable enough to travel," Micaiah reported. With that news in hand, the Daein Liberation Army started the trek back to base camp.
XXXXX
A little while later….
"Here's the tent we stay in," Khimari said as he led the other laguz and Tormod into the space. Nailah and Rafiel, who stayed there while they were away on the mission, watched the large group enter. "It's big enough for all of us, so we should be fine. Also, it's on the edge of camp so we don't have to worry about privacy, relatively."
"Relatively?" Tora repeated, an eyebrow raised.
"Well, you know privacy with Laguz doesn't exist, more or less," the blue wolf responded. "But speaking of which, can anyone who's not a wolf get out please for about ten minutes or so?"
"What? You just said we didn't have to worry about privacy!" Tormod complained.
"Tough luck, I said you didn't have to worry about privacy. We have wolf business to discuss, so out ya go!" the wolf rebutted, effectively leading everyone out of the tent by shoving Tormod out. After he stayed outside for a little while to make sure they were out of earshot, he turned back to see Nailah, Volug, Rikari and Tora, the only ones remaining in the tent. "Alright...So, who wants to start?"
"...Tell me, who are your parents? Do you remember their names?" Nailah began, her eyes narrowed as she looked over the red and orange wolves.
"Kataro and Nala," Tora answered, surprising Rikari.
"You said you didn't know their names…" the orange wolf said, confusion in his eyes.
"It was better that you didn't know," his big brother replied. "They were dead, so why would their names matter to you?"
"I still…"
"Not the time, Rikari," the red wolf shut down, before returning his attention to the white wolf queen. "What do they have to do with anything?"
"Hmph," the wolf queen started. "Those two were traitors to the wolf tribe."
At her simple words, Tora exploded, approaching her threateningly until a growl from Volug stopped him. "What!? How dare you say something like that? Explain yourself!"
"While we were discussing our plans after the Serenes Massacre, two factions of sorts emerged. One, which your parents supported, was to stay and fight away the Begnion soldiers to the best of our ability. The other, was to rejoin Gallia and be absorbed into their kingdom."
"Rejoin? What are you talking about?" the red wolf spat, clearly angry.
"The wolves had been secluded in the mountains for at least two hundred years before we were chased out of our territory, which included the mountain range and some of the outskirts of eastern Gallia that were basically uninhabited," Khimari explained.
"Secluded? Why?" Rikari asked.
"A wrongful blame for an unfortunate death and a really crappy peace agreement," the wolf prince answered with a twinge of bitterness in his voice. "After all of that, eventually we became a fairy tale in the country, with most Laguz never having seen one of us in person. That's why those Gallian soldiers looked at you two so funny during the war. You were most definitely the first wolves they'd ever seen in their lives." Nodding at her son's words, Nailah took it upon herself to continue the conversation.
"Unknown to me, they had gathered a group of wolves to track down and attack some Begnion soldiers leftover in the Serenes forest. Although they chased away the soldiers, a few casualties occurred, and Begnion had managed to get one of the bodies of our tribesmen. With that body, they spreaded 'evidence' that the wolves indeed had conspired with herons to kill Apostle Misaha, and we found the full might of the Begnion Army at our doorstep. Thanks to the terrain, we were able to hold them off, but our numbers slowly dwindled as winter came, which meant a rougher season than usual for us. I had petitioned the other Laguz tribes for aid of any sort, or even to take refuge in their lands. Every country except Goldoa refused to even entertain the thought, not wanting Begnion's wrath to be directed to them. After King Deghinsea, the dragon king, eventually declined, we had no choice but to leave."
"During our escape, once again, Kataro and Nala believed us cowards for not wanting to avenge our fallen brethren. They tried to start a coup and failed. Since I couldn't deal with their mess any longer with everything presented before us, I banished them and they were left in the Grann desert," the queen finished. "The rash behavior of those two, Kataro especially, blew our cover and put all of Begnion on our tail before we had the chance to weigh our options."
"..." Tora was silent, trying to absorb all of the information that he had just received. Nailah, however, had her mind on more pressing topics.
"Now, what possessed you to challenge my son for the throne?" she asked, leaning forward. "Not that there's a problem with a challenge, that's customary. Even so, you had never stepped foot in Hatari. Explain."
"I...I had to avenge my parents," the red wolf choked out, before looking Hatari's queen straight in the eyes. "You sent them to an early grave, and he," he said, pointing his head to Khimari, "was the only way I could do it."
"Imagine if you had won. Then what? Walk around until you found Hatari then challenge me? You didn't think anything through, just like them."
"Mom...don't be so harsh," the wolf softly cooed, embracing the woman. "He's not bad at all. He's changed." After a while, the tension deflated as the woman took a deep breath.
"Sorry, I suppose that I let myself get carried away," she admitted. "See, my parents, as well as my brother and sister died in the conflicts. I haven't exactly let go of it, I guess."
"I'm sorry," the child said, consoling her mother.
"...It's fine," she replied after a moment, lightly hugging her son. "Anywho, what is your allegiance? Where do you find yourself?" she pressed, her eyes narrowed with a paralyzing stare not unlike that of her son.
"Khimari is our prince!" Rikari jumped up, surprising his bigger brother (and everyone else) when he stared into the wolf queen's eyes without a flinch. "He's family, too, so don't you think of judging us because of our parents!"
"...What's your name?"
"...Me? Rikari," he blinked, not expecting that. The woman gave a slight laugh, before turning to her son.
"I like him. He has spunk."
"Welp, he's my apprentice after all!" the blue wolf announced with pride, also happy that the heavy atmosphere had been lifted.
"Yours? Have you by any chance inherited my son's penchant for pranks? I'd hope not, they caused a lot of trouble in Hatari," she said, giving him a pointed look.
"Well…"
"That's a secret!" Khimari jumped in, effectively shutting Rikari up with a harder-than-usual head rub. "Anyways, I'm glad we worked all this stuff out without anyone being maimed. Tora, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, you crazy furball," he replied calmly, before turning to Nailah. "Queen Nailah...it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," she said as Rikari took an interest in Volug.
"Hey...Volug is it? How was Khimari as a kid?" the young wolf asked, only to be confused as he didn't understand a single thing the brown wolf told him. "...What?" His only response was a slap upside the head courtesy of the wolf prince himself.
"Volug doesn't speak the Tellius language," Khimari informed. "Remember what you learned with the wolf colony three years ago? Speak as wolves, not as Beorc." Nodding, the orange wolf breathed deeply before turning back to the queen's vassal.
"Okay, I'm ready."
"Can you hear correctly this time? Young Khimari wasn't even this dense as a child, and he could make a chicken want to jump off a building," he snarky said, making everyone break into a laugh at the younger wolves' expense.
"Oh yeah...Volug has a very….snarky personality," the blue wolf explained.
"No more than you," Tora muttered. "I see who you take after."
"Hello," a voice came from outside the tent. Looking over, the wolves saw Vika, Rafiel and Maurim standing outside patiently. "Can we come in now?" the raven asked.
"Oh yeah, come on! We're done," Khimari allowed.
"Young prince Khimari, my little one and young Sothe requested your presence," Maurim informed upon entry.
"First Volug, now you. Just young Khimari will work, Maurim. But I'll be off! Act good, everyone!" With that, he took his leave in high spirits, easily finding Micaiah, Sothe and Tormod with the green tiger's aid. "Hello, you needed something, Tormod?" the wolf asked him upon arrival.
"Yeah, I just wanted your help for the explanation and to give Sothe the big news!" the fire sage proclaimed with great energy.
"Um…" Micaiah muttered, getting everyone's attention. It was then that everyone recognized that Micaiah and Tormod had never officially met.
"Oh, sorry I haven't introduced myself yet," the teen apologized sheepishly. "I'm Tormod, and you're Micaiah I take it? I fought with Sothe and Khimari three years ago in the Crimean Army...sorta? In the Mad King's War alongside Commander Ike and the Greil Mercenaries."
"Oh...right...Commander Ike, again," the silver-haired girl breathed out in irritation, much to the confusion of Tormod and the amusement of Khimari.
"Um...Pardon?" the fire mage asked, unaware of what he said.
"Oh, nothing," she waved off. "So, what is this about an investigation that Sothe asked of you?"
"Well, I had begun to doubt that the Apostle, Begnion's empress, actually knew what was going on," the rogue started. "She's only thirteen and really young, but she's a very...proud individual. She'd never allow these things to happen in Dain, or anywhere else for that matter. So, I asked Tormod to fill her in on what was happening here."
The mage nodded his agreement. "Before his letter even arrived, we received a message from Khimari asking about the same thing. The next day, he showed up and we went directly to the Apostle the morning after," he revealed, making Micaiah shift her large eyes to the blue wolf. "Apparently, she noticed something shady was going on, and had already been investigating Daein on her own. She had already traced the actions back to a certain group of senators, but couldn't act without any substantive proof."
"And that's when I stepped in," Khimari took over. "I told her everything I knew about what was going on so she could get a better look at things."
"Yup, and now she's organizing an inspection team that should be deployed in a few weeks at the latest! Meanwhile, Khimari told us to come back with him to help you fight against Begnion in the meantime."
"She's already organizing an inspection team? Even as an apostle...she would have to consult Begnion's Senate with that, and they are rarely on good terms."
"Tsk, use that big head of yours, Sothe!" Tormod insulted. "Khimari here is an official diplomat from Gallia and is in regular contact with Crimea and Begnion. Given his importance in international relations, they'll have to act on what he said!"
"You...you're a diplomat?" Micaiah asked in surprise.
"I was," he nonchalantly answered. "Technically, I've been off duty for a few weeks, but Begnion's senate doesn't need to know that."
"So...does that mean the five of you are staying?" Sothe asked, returning his attention to Tormod. "At least, for a little while?"
"Hah, try getting rid of me!" Tormod returned with a great deal of fire.
"I can only try!" the rogue shot back, before the two got into a small argument while the three adults watched on the sidelines.
"Those knuckleheads," Khimari muttered with a little smile on his face. "They never change."
"It seems that way, young Khimari."
"Sothe...seems so happy," Micaiah noted, grabbing the attention of both the Laguz.
"Because of Tormod?"
"And you, too, Khimari," she added. "Even when Sothe was small, he'd try to act more grown-up than all the adults...I've taken care of him so long, and it's still so strange to see him smile so easily."
"Watch what you say," Maurim warned, to the girl's confusion. "Statements like that reveal that your appearance belies your true age…" he mentioned, making the girl's blood run cold.
"You mean…"
"Remember our talk, Micaiah," Khimari jumped in, hoping to de-escalate the situation. "Some Laguz won't know what you are at first, but saying things like that will serve as confirmation."
"Oh...so you know, too…" the Branded girl directed to Maurim.
"Only from what you said. Most senses of distinction among Laguz are not as strong as Prince Khimari's. That being said, take due care." The Laguz then went along to collect Sothe and Tormod, leaving the Silver-haired Maiden alone with one hand over the other thinking about the events that just transpired.
XXXXX
A/N: Alright, folks! There's a chapter, and now comes my sleep! Another update SHOULD COME next month, but considering I have four tests and an essay this week (yay, midterms…) we'll see about getting another chapter done by the end of October. If not, then definitely in November/early December.
Storytime wise, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Once again, to be honest, about 2/3 of this chapter was already done for about two weeks or so. I don't know why that happens with all of my stories, lately. It's like I get mostly done, then I get off-tracked on how to finish them and they stay half done for a few weeks, then boom! Maybe it's me being more analytical than when I busted out a whole chapter in two days without much thought. Granted, I have to reread to see if the content quality decreased or increased or stayed the same. Depending, I might just have to write out the events (I actually planned up to Part 3, but I have no idea on what kind of plot-torture I want to burden y'all with yet), so...Fave, Follow and Comment!
Blizzard, out!