Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
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Six days later…
Like one great stroke of luck after another, the Daein Liberation Army's successes had continued to build. Each day since their Umono prison camp raid, well-trained soldiers ready to fight for Daein's cause appeared in droves. Veteran soldiers from Talrega had greatly increased their military potential and had expedited their process of rescuing soldiers from other prison camps.
All the while, the Dawn Brigade had been at the center of the success. With backup from the newly rescued soldiers, they conquered place after place, getting ever closer to the Daein capital of Nevassa. While all of this had been happening, it would only be a matter of time until news of Apostle Sanaki's Inspection team became public, which would greatly speed up the process of Daein's independence.
For the time being, Khimari settled with being with his mother and Rafiel, as he opted not to go on this mission. "I'm not a babysitter, good luck!" he said to Micaiah when she asked the wolf why he wasn't going. That was part of the reason...The other part was a little more complicated, not that anyone else needed to know about it. He just had a little...personal obligation to fulfill, of sorts.
"Mom, I'll be right back," he said to the wolf queen as he rose from his sitting position next to her.
"Off again? Alright, my little cub," the woman said, quickly turning her attention to grooming her white coat of fur. Leaving the Fluffy People Tent, Khimari scented out Pelleas' tent, which unfortunately had a Daein guard posted at the front. Stopping in front of the soldier, Khimari assumed a sitting position and began to wag his tail like a common dog.
"Eh? What's a dog doing here...Oh, you're from the Silver-haired Maiden?" the man asked. In response, Khimari barked while slightly panting as a sign of friendliness. "Okay, come on in, little doggie," the Daein said, slightly moving by and petting Khimari on the head. Not liking that, Khimari slapped the Beorc's hand away with a paw. "Oh, you're a feisty one!" he commented as the blue wolf entered the tent.
'Idiot,' Khimari thought to himself as he came face to face with Prince Pelleas. Reverting to his Beorc form, he waved to the surprised man. "Hello, Prince Pelleas. How are you doing?"
"Umm...I'm fine…Prince Khimari, is it? I've heard...quite a lot about you," the man noted. "How may I help you?"
"I just want to know where your mother is for a little talk. Can you tell me where she is?" he asked politely.
"Um...she should be in her own tent. It's a little near the camp outskirts, on the way to your own tent, actually."
"Okay. Thank you!" Khimari thanked before readying himself to leave.
"Uh-wait!" Pelleas interrupted, prompting Khimari to turn around and face the blue-haired man once again. "How...do you handle being a prince? Or...even a king?"
"Heck if I know, I haven't seen my homeland in years," the wolf bluntly responded. "But you don't know? You should be used to things like this, right?"
"Well...the truth is that I haven't even known I was Ashnard's son for that long, and I only met my dear mother recently" the man sighed. "I don't think I'm ready to lead Daein."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with thinking that, but one day...you'll have to do it one way or another. Just one tip," the wolf prince said, coming closer to Daein's Lost Prince and giving him a piercing stare in the eyes. "Don't be like your father. I'd hate for things to end up ugly.."
"Is...Was that a threat?"
"It was some advice. Are all you Beorc this slow? Anyways...Take care, Prince Pelleas. Make good decisions," the wolf curtly said with a small smile before transforming and leaving the tent. Intentionally bumping into the Daein soldier on guard, he barked at the Beorc before running off.
Making his quick trip, he was pleasantly surprised to see that the living quarters of Queen Almedha was without a sentry. Walking up to the woman's tent, he wondered how to be polite about entering, considering that he couldn't knock on a tent or say anything lest he run the risk of a Daein soldier finding out he wasn't a regular pet. "Ah, screw it," he said to himself, before choosing to simply walk in like he would do with anyone else.
Formalities never were Khimari's strong suit.
Fortunately, the woman wasn't doing much of anything when the wolf came in. She turned her attention to the wolf when he transformed into his Beorc state and did a very clumsy bow, as if to show that he didn't care much about the formal things. "Who invited you in here? Don't you know it's rude to walk into someone's dwelling without saying anything?" she replied scathingly.
"I'm not a very proper person," Khimari shrugged in response. "I just wanted to ask how...how Kurthnaga was doing," he asked after making sure no one would be eavesdropping on them. "I know he planned to give you a sending stone." The woman's eyes widened at the mention of the object.
"How do you know about those? That should be something only a dragon Laguz possesses," she questioned. Reaching into a small pouch on his side, Khimari pulled out a green-blueish rock that looked to be made of the purest mineral. In complete shock, Almedha gasped as she put a hand over her mouth. "How did...How can you use the stone? I did not think the capability of a wolf's telepathy extended that far."
"In most cases, our ability is outclassed by dragons," Khimari conceded. "I can only use it on nights of a full moon or other lunar events, when our spiritual connection to the world is at its strongest."
"Then why ask me about Kurthnaga when you could wait until the next full moon to contact him?"
"Okay, who the heck wants to wait another lunar cycle to know how someone is doing? I don't know if you look at the moon often, but it's in the waning phase. It doesn't work on new moons, either. Besides...Kurthnaga doesn't exactly know that I have one of these stones." Seeing the confused look on Queen Almedha's face, the wolf sighed as he almost regretted the fact that he said anything. "Your father gave me this stone." The black dragon paused, motionless as her eyes stayed fixated on the wolf and the sending stone.
"You...talked to him? I…He gave you that? Why would..."
"Well, since all of you dragons are about as old as dirt, I'm going to assume you knew my great-grandfather, Yohe," Khimari said, smiling as he saw the critical glint in her eye at the subtle insult about her age. "Let's just say...some friendships can last more than a lifetime...Why don't you try and talk to him?" he asked.
"I...he wouldn't...want to speak to me," she said, casting her eyes down to the ground.
"I think he would," Khimari rejected. "No one goes that long without missing their child even a little bit. Even you dragons. It's better if you try, before it's too late...You never know," he said, looking down. It wasn't something that he thought of often, but he still felt bad that he never was around when Greil died. In hindsight, it didn't make much sense for the wolf to blame himself for something that happened while he was unconscious, but a lot of things the wolf did didn't have a lot of logic to it, admittedly. Well, at least from a holistic standpoint.
"I...Okay, I'll...think about it," she said, before resetting the veil on her head. "For now, I shall pay a visit to my son and see how he fares."
"Speaking of which," Khimari started, knowing that he would be treading very dangerous water with his next thoughts. "Have you smelled something...off about Pelleas?"
"...Off? Explain yourself, there's not possibly anything off about my dear Pelleas," she started defensively.
"He doesn't smell like a Branded to me," the wolf said bluntly. "Are you sure that he's your-"
"Silence! I will have none of what you say about my child," Queen Almedha interrupted, with a fierce look in her eyes. "Any mother knows their own child, no matter how long they've been separated. Your own mother would know something about that, wouldn't she?"
"...Looks like I overstayed my welcome," Khimari laughed bitterly, trying miserably to hide the fact that his blood was boiling at the open disrespect to his mother.
"You're quite right." Not wanting the quickly escalating tension to get worse, Khimari quietly took to his Laguz form and walked out of the tent to return to his mother.
A whirlwind of thoughts plagued his mind as he walked back to the Laguz tent. That was the first time he talked alone with the Daein Prince, and he had gotten more than enough time to catch his scent. He was certainly a Beorc, which meant that the mark on his head was a Spirit Pact, not a symbol of the Branded. Something didn't add up in the wolf prince's head.
"If he's not her son...then who could it be?" he thought aloud. As far as he knows, the child is definitely a boy, as Almedha clearly remembers it as a boy. He either had blue hair like Ashnard or dark green hair like Almedha and Kurth…
'Hold on a second,' the wolf stopped, also stopping outside the tent where he and the others slept in. "Branded...dark green hair...red eyes...I can't believe it. No. No way. Can't be real," the wolf kept denying to himself. That made absolutely...perfect sense. But how could that even work? Where in the world would that even… "Things just got a whole lot more complicated," he said to himself.
"What got complicated?" someone said. Taking a strong sniff of his nose, he found out the voice belonged to Rikari, who ran up to the prince's side.
"Don't worry about it," he said nonchalantly. "How'd the mission go?"
"It went great!" the orange wolf yelled. "We got everyone out without a problem."
"What he meant to say was that he decided to go after the prison warden by himself and almost got fried by a group of fire mages," Tora cut in, walking up to the two.
"Sounds about right," the wolf said, lightly shrugging. "He's still a walking hormone bomb, after all."
"I am not!" the teenager growled. After he woke up the day Khimari knocked him out, Hatari's prince took it upon himself to tell Rikari that he'd be more prone to outbursts for the time being and that he had to get his emotions under some level of control.
"You really want to go there right now?" the blue wolf asked. "You're out of the woods when I say you are."
"That's not f-" He was silenced when Khimari gave him one of his infamous gazes that dared him to finish his sentence.
"Go inside so I can talk to Tora, please." With his rebellious spirit subdued, the orange wolf went inside so that the older two could talk privately. "He's been a ball of fire lately," Khimari sighed after they'd gone a decent distance away from the tent as not to be overheard.
"Tell me about it. Sometimes he growls at me," Tora admitted. "Were we really that bad at his age?"
"Knowing us, we were worse," Khimari responded. "Without any older wolves around, we just snapped at whoever we pleased. I feel bad for anyone who had to deal with me during that time," he muttered as he recounted the experiences during his phase. The Boyd incident notwithstanding, Titania got a heavy injury to her arm, Greil suffered a bite to the shoulder, Ike even got a nasty set of claw marks to his stomach and legs. If the wolf remembered correctly, Ike still had a small scar on his leg from that attack that happened during a training fight that got a little too serious for the both of them. Although Ike sustained more permanent injury, one of the wolf's fangs came out, leading the wolf to be even more irritated than usual.
Yeah, that was just not a good time to be around him, Khimari deduced. "I'll just go on the rest of the missions with him right next to me," he told Tora. "Until he gets that under control, we're gonna have to make sure he doesn't hit a frenzy." The red wolf nodded at the assessment as Sothe walked over to them. "Hey, Sothe! Sounds like everything went well."
"Yeah, it did. Micaiah and Laura are healing the wounded right now," the rogue said. "Some got hurt pretty bad, but everyone will have recovered by tomorrow."
"That's good news!" the wolf responded in kind. "So, what are you off to do now?"
"Take a small rest," the teen responded quickly. "Then I'll see what Micaiah needs."
"Well, come nap by this tree," the wolf invited, motioning for him and Tora to take a load off. "I'll hunt some food for you, if you'd like."
"No, thank you," Sothe declined, with a small smile on his face. "Last time you offered, you brought me back a dead shrew and a raw fish."
"Well, would you want to eat a LIVING shrew?" the wolf countered. "It's not my fault Beorc get so sick from eating real food. How about I find you some fruit or something and Tora can get the fresh-kill?"
"Works for me," the red wolf said, leaning on a tree. With everything considered, the blue wolf bounded off into the forest for a quick hunt to get the two food. Tora gave a quick snort of amusement after Khimari left, drawing Sothe's attention to him.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"The prince is the one getting us food...The irony of it is hilarious," he admitted. "I still can't believe that furball sometimes."
"Personally, I think Pelleas could learn a thing or two from him," Sothe remarked.
"Most royalty could learn something," the red wolf shot back, shrugging his shoulders. As Sothe nodded his head in agreement, Khimari returned with a dead rabbit in one hand and an apple in the other.
"Alright, fruit for the picky teenager, and rabbit for the moody sack of fur," he said as he threw the food over.
"Who are you calling moody?" Tora returned with a critical look in his eye. "You change moods faster than the wind can switch directions."
"Eat your rabbit, Grumpy," Khimari commanded. "That's an order."
"Whatever," the red wolf shot back before transforming and taking a healthy bite out of the dead animal.
"I'm going to check on Micaiah," the rogue decided, leaving the two wolves alone once again.
"Let's head back to the tent," Khimari said to Tora. "I'm sure Tormod and the others are wondering where we are." Finished with his rabbit, the red wolf nodded, taking a quick moment to bury the bones and leftovers. The two entered to see everyone back in who stayed in the tent. "Is everyone doing alright?"
"Yeah!" Tormod answered, full of pep like always. "We didn't do much this time around, though. We just stayed as backup for the Dawn Brigade in case anything got out of control. They're definitely more tired than we are." Nodding his head absentmindedly, Khimari opted for silence at the moment while he decided to clean his tail, checking it for any dirt or animals. That's how they continued until a frantic Sothe came to the tent.
"Hey, Tormod! Khimari! We need help!" he said, grabbing everyone's attention.
"What happened?" the wolf asked calmly, not moving an inch.
"There's talk around of a mass execution of Daein prisoners at a nearby swamp. Iz...no one wants to help and Micaiah wants to go alone to investigate. But half the Dawn Brigade is already exhausted and we need extra manpower in case it's a trap like they say."
"Well, that's a predicament alright...Who's available?"
"Only Leonardo and Jill." Tormod's eyes widened greatly; that was only four people including Sothe and the Silver-haired Maiden.
"Well, we can go with you, but that'd still only be nine including Rikari, Tora and Vika," Tormod counted mentally. "Is it enough?"
"You forget, we're still here," Queen Nailah's voice sounded. "If it's as urgent as it sounds, then I won't mind lending a paw or two." Her quick decision had stunned everyone. Well, everyone except Khimari, it seemed.
"Alright, hurry up and get the others here so we can work a quick battle plan. Move it, Sothe!" Khimari yowled, snapping the rogue out of his stupor and sending him to fulfill the request. Before long, Micaiah, Leonardo and Jill joined the rest of the ragtag party.
"Okay, Micaiah, what does this swamp look like?"
"Um...There's a narrow passageway in the middle, but with two shallow lakes of sorts on both sides of the path," she quickly described. "The swamp is surrounded by forest."
"...Okay, great. Here's the plan," Khimari started with a serious face that invited no argument or interruption. "Micaiah and Sothe, you two go out with Leonardo into the open to lure out everyone who wants to trap you. Tormod, you and your group go around from the side. Don't let them out of your sight and attack as soon as all the soldiers are revealed," he then turned to the dracoknight. "Jill, you and Vika will watch everything from the sky. When the fighting starts, get any potential victims out of harm's way. Only engage if they attack a prisoner directly or after you rescue everyone in the swamp. Meanwhile, Mom, Volug and I will mop up everything else. Rikari, you're coming with me to help Mom keep Rafiel safe-and if I hear as much as a peep out of you you're gonna wish Tibarn dropped you from the sky when I get finished with you," he quickly dictated, showing everyone the wolf that fought with Ike in the Mad King's War three years ago. "Now, lead the way."
"Okay," Micaiah said, before breaking off into a run. Following the girl, they had crossed through a great forest that extended for a long time. After a while, the distinct smell of a muddy swamp started to fill the wolf's nose.
"Stop," Khimari quickly said as soon as the swamp started to become visible to everyone else. "We split here. Tormod and Maurim go around with Tora. Jill and Vika, take to the sky when hell breaks loose." Right as Tormod and the others separated from them, a shout rang in all their ears.
"Now, begin the execution!"
"No time to waste. Go on!" Khimari motioned. Nodding at his words, Micaiah, Sothe and Leonardo all ran out into the open as the remaining wolves and Rafiel advanced slowly to get a better look without getting spotted by anyone. Staying still, they watched as Sothe killed a bandit while the other two took out another one.
"We are the Daein Liberation Army!" the silver-haired mage announced. "Everyone, hold tight! You'll be safe soon!"
"All hands! Take battle positions!" a voice belonging to a thunder sage, who apparently was the leader of the operation, yelled. Showing that the mass execution was indeed a trap, dozens of Begnion soldiers came from the nearby trees, surrounding Sothe, Micaiah and Leonardo.
"Now! Tormod, here's your chance!" the rogue yelled, taking a defensive position around Micaiah. Without missing a beat, the perky young mage flew out of hiding with Maurim and Tora, completely surprising the Begnion soldiers.
"You ready, Mom?" Khimari asked as the wolves looked at the targets closest to them, a few soldiers and mages.
"Always, my little cub."
"Khimari! Nailah! Volug!" they heard Micaiah call, signaling their entrance. Jumping out of the bushes, they each pounced on a soldier, ending them within seconds.
"More sub-humans? Agh!" one myrmidon cried out before getting killed by Khimari. As he jumped back to his mother to survey the battlefield, a song very similar to the one he remembered from Reyson and Leanne touched his ears, filling him with a great energy.
"Volug, help the little one keep Rafiel safe," Nailah ordered before looking at her son. In front of the wolves stood many bandits and Begnion soldiers, with the prisoners already being assisted by Vika and Jill as planned. "Come, Khimari. Let's help Micaiah the best we can."
"Of course," the blue wolf agreed before the two jumped head-first into the fray. A massacre quickly ensued, with soldiers and bandits alike falling like flies before the Hatari royals. Before long, they reunited with the Dawn Brigade around the center of the swamp after felling about 30 men in a matter of a few minutes.
"Queen Nailah," Micaiah called. "Are you sure it's okay to be involving you, and Rafiel as well?"
"It is fine," she growled softly. "Even if Rafiel can't fly, his galdrar makes him useful in battle. I only ask that you help keep him safe."
"Of course," she obliged.
"We should take out the leader," Khimari added, looking as the last few forces consolidated themselves. "Tormod and the rest are almost done rescuing all of the people."
"Right. Let's go," Sothe agreed. With that, the five, Leonardo included, quickly made their way up to the thunder sage in command, in no small part due to Khimari and Nailah absolutely destroying anyone in their path with their vicious fangs and claws.
"Silver-haired Maiden!" the stubby short man called as Micaiah ran up to confront him. "I knew you'd come! Your reputation would suffer greatly if you did nothing to help these poor prisoners."
"How many innocent, defenseless people have you ordered to be killed...just to lure me here?" she asked, with a quiet anger present in her voice as she readied her light tome.
"Look who's passing judgement!" he mocked, brandishing his thunder tome. "Maiden of Miracles. Savier of Daein. You've spun quite a web of lies to inspire these broken people you call citizens. That ends now!" he declared with a laugh. "Let's show the world how insignificant you are!"
Shortly after the words came out of his mouth, he sent a thunder spell that hit the girl directly. Grunting slightly, she countered by calling a beam of lighting to strike him from above. It seemed that her magic had the greater power as the man found himself pushed back a few inches.
Giving him no room to breathe, Sothe threw a knife as Micaiah started casting another spell, catching him directly in the mid-section.
"Strike!" the silver-haired girl called, with a large ball of light forming in the air. The Begnion commander was helpless as the ball exploded, engulfing him in a blast of light that left him dead.
"...Are there anymore soldiers left?" Micaiah asked. As Sothe moved to say something, a body dropped right in front of them, causing the girl to scream in fright. Jumping back, everyone quickly noted it to be a dead soldier. Looking up, they saw Vika flying down while Jill was taming the wyvern that the Begnion soldier apparently fell from.
"Sorry to scare you," the raven girl quickly apologized.
"First, swamp executions, now falling dead people," Khimari started, rolling his eyes in clear irritation and disgust as everyone saw that he had some splattered blood on him. "What the hell else do you Daeins have going on? It's a damn craphole here."
"Khimari…" Nailah called with a tone of warning not to be too rude.
"I didn't say anything wrong, Mom. Where else do dead people fall from the freaking sky?" he argued, clearly in a bad mood at the moment.
"Let's...go back to the camp…" Sothe intervened, holding Micaiah in an effort to help the girl's anxiety.
"Hopefully, no one else falls on the way back," Khimari muttered, obviously irritated as he quickly finished washing the blood off his fur in the dirty swamp water.
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A while later…
"We're almost back at camp," the Silver-haired Maiden noted with relief. Jill had seen the prisoners off to their homes since they all lived close by to where they were kidnapped, and would come back after all of them safely returned to their families. Sothe and Leonardo took the worst cases ahead to camp to get healing from anyone available since Micaiah was too tired to use Sacrifice.
"I'm going to take a bath in the river," Khimari quickly noted, his nose wrinkled with disgust as the rank scent of the swamp water followed him the entire journey back. "Don't wait for me. I'll be back around moonrise, probably." After the wolf's departure, the Dawn Brigade leader's attention was taken by the sound of...cheering?
"Sothe, do you hear a sound from the canyon?" she asked quietly, only to be confirmed when the noise got louder. Curious, Micaiah walked up on the ledge to see a large group of soldiers outside the camp that were indeed cheering. Straining her ears, she slightly deflated when she couldn't catch any words that the people were shouting. "What could they be celebrating?"
"It sounds to me like they are celebrating your liberation of the Daein prisoners," Nailah answered, coming closer but not too far as to avoid being seen by the masses. "You should wave to them. People like it when their heroes acknowledge them. Makes them seem approachable."
A bit taken back, Micaiah looked down for a second before turning back to the large crowd. "I'm no hero...but if she says so…" Taking a deep breath, she put her right hand in the air and waved it back and forth. To her amazement, the people started to cheer even louder, sending a wave of warmth throughout her body that felt completely foreign to her. As great as she felt, a small wave of fear crept in her stomach that invaded the deepest part of her mind. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, she left, passing by Nailah and Rafiel to find a quiet place to relax a little bit. As she leaned against a tree on the camp outskirts, Yune gave a small chirp, as if to comfort her. "Thanks, Yune...You always know how to cheer me up, don't you?"
"Here you are," a voice said. Looking up from the orange-ish bird, Micaiah's smile got a little wider as she laid eyes on Sothe. "I've been looking for you."
"Sothe...After all those soldiers cheering...I feel like I'm doing real good here," she admitted, the sight she witnessed a while ago still fresh in her mind.
"Micaiah?" Sothe called as she closed her eyes, coming closer to her.
"Sothe!" Tormod called, drawing their attention away from each other. The fire sage had a look of extreme worry on his face, which perplexed the both of them. "Please, come quick! There's something wrong with Maurim!"
"What? What happened?" Sothe asked, but he received no answer as Tormod was already running in the direction of the tent where the Laguz stayed. Quickly looking back at Micaiah, he nodded a silent agreement before the two of them broke in a run after the distressed mage. Entering the tent, they found nobody there except the green tiger, who seemed to be in a state of anger.
"Grrr…." he growled in Tormod's face, worrying the rogue greatly.
"Maurim, get a hold of yourself!" the Beorc yelled. "Look at me!" His words seemed to have an effect, as Maurim stopped growling and reverted to his Beorc form. However, it was easy to see that something was definitely wrong. The tiger panted heavily, exhaustion and tension clearly present in his posture.
"Ah….gr...Little...one…" he wheezed as his breathing became more labored by the second.
"This about the third time it's happened now," the mage said, not leaving Maurim's side. "Maurim suddenly transforms, then growls like he's completely lost his mind...If I grab him and yell his name a few times, he'll revert back….but then it just starts all over again!" he cried out in complete worry. "It's...like one of "them" is staring at me."
"What's going on here?" a voice sounded. Everyone turned to see Khimari standing at the tent, right behind Micaiah. Everyone became silent as the wolf scanned the room before laying eyes on Maurim. Instantly, the wolf's breathing quickened as all of the memories from Gritnea Tower flashed through his mind.
"...Khimari?" Micaiah called, worried as the wolf started to take a few steps back. "Are you al-"
"Get away from me," the wolf growled as she began to approach him. His eyes became slits and he started to back away, like a caged beast on the verge of fighting back for survival.
"Micaiah, stay back!" Sothe said, pulling her away from the wolf. Just when it seemed like everything hit a low point, the sound of singing reached everyone's ears. The rogue's ears perked up at the sound. "That song…" Near the end of the song, Rafiel and Nailah entered the tent, with Rikari and Tora behind them.
When the heron finished, a blue glow around Maurim dissipated, leaving the tiger unconscious on the floor. "Maurim! Maurim!"
"Don't worry..the galdr of rebirth restores twisted bodies and souls to their proper states. He will be alright now," the Serenes royal explained.
"...Khimari?" Rikari called, seeing as the wolf still looked at all of them with distrust. "Hey, Khimari!" the orange wolf called again, approaching the blue wolf.
"Stay away from me!" he growled loudly, baring his fangs at the little wolf. Shocked, the young cub recoiled back in fright at what he was seeing.
"Khimari, calm down," Tormod tried to ease. "It's alright now," the mage tried to ease, coming forward. Unfortunately, the wolf Laguz couldn't register the voices of those around him. He only heard the horrible sounds of Gritnea tower and remembered the horrible pain of his experiences in that prison.
"GET AWAY!" the wolf shouted, transforming into his wolf form. Stumbling back, Tormod found himself look death in the eyes as Khimari glared at him with murder in his eyes.
"Khimari! Enough!" Queen Nailah yowled, walking between everyone and her rabid son.
"Grrr…." Hatari's prince growled, scaring everyone in the room. Despite her fright at seeing her child this way, Nailah wouldn't let him be alone again. Walking forward, the wolf queen looked her son straight in the eyes as she advanced towards his form. "...STAY...AWAY!" the wolf howled, jumping at Nailah with his claws outstretched. Quickly, the wolf queen wrapped her arms around the blue wolf, slightly wincing at the bleeding set of scratches on her side. Refusing to give in, the wolf snapped and wrestled as much as he could, everyone else watching as Nailah tried her best to keep herself safe from the prince's sharp teeth.
"It's alright, my cub. It's alright, Khimari...Please, listen to me. Khimari!" she eventually yowled. As if a spell had been broken, the wolf stopped in his tracks. Everyone watched as Khimari reverted to his Beorc form, eyes full of confusion.
"...Mom?" the young adult said, taking in the situation and seeing that everyone was giving him a frightened look. Thinking back to three years ago, he recognized exactly what happened. Just then, the slight scent of blood reached his nose. Looking down, he found Hatari's queen bleeding from multiple cuts on her side and stomach, as well as what seemed to be bite marks on her arm. "Mom...Did I…"
"Don't worry about that, Khimari," she eased. "It's over…"
"...I need to be alone…" the blue wolf said.
"No, stay with-"
"I can't stay here right now!" Khimari interrupted, breaking away from her mother and looking her straight in the eyes. Instantly, a feeling of hurt and pain unlike anything Nailah had felt washed over her. The helplessness and regret in her son's eyes made her want to cry out in despair.
"...I will accompany you, at least," she tried to bargain. "Khimari."
"...Okay." With that, the two wolves departed the tent, leaving it in complete silence.
"What...just happened?" Micaiah asked. "Why did he act that way?"
"I'm not...That's it!" Sothe exclaimed as his eyes widened.
"Well, what was it?" Tormod put in.
"Remember that Khimari once...was like Maurim," Sothe explained, gulping. "He must have had a trauma relapse."
"A...relapse?" Micaiah echoed. "But I thought he was cured!"
"He was!" Rikari yowled. "Reyson and Leanne used the same song Rafiel just did! But...that look he gave me…" the orange wolf shuddered as he recounted Khimari's glare at him. It was full of fear, hatred, and murder. "It was...feral."
"Rafiel, shouldn't that galdr completely restore someone's state of being?" Tora asked, disturbed, like everyone else, at the display they had just witnessed. "What happened to him?"
"Although the Galdr of Rebirth is used to restore twisted bodies and souls to their proper state, it cannot always completely cure things so traumatic. From what I felt, young Khimari's mind had much more trauma and pain than Maurim's...It was almost overwhelming in comparison…"
"How...how long was he in that tower?" Tormod asked. No one could answer his question.
"Tora and I will go check on him," Rikari volunteered, looking at his older brother for confirmation. At the red wolf's nod, they left the tent to search for the wolf prince.
"We need to pay Prince Pelleas a visit about this," Sothe determined, his fists balled so hard the color began to leave them.
"Right. Rafiel, will you stay with them?" the Silver-haired Maiden asked.
"Yes. It is of no trouble to me," the heron obliged. The two Dawn Brigade members promptly left the tent to track down King Ashnard's son.
XXXXX
Meanwhile…
"I'm so sorry…" Khimari repeated for about the 20th time as he and his mother sat by a tree in a small clearing even further away from camp.
"Please, my cub. You've nothing to be sorry for."
"Yes, I do! You got hurt because of me…"
"These wounds are nothing," she dismissed. "Seeing you like that hurt me far more than any scratch...What happened to you?" she asked as Rikari and Tora arrived at the scene.
"I...told you already…" he tried to avoid, looking at the ground to avoid the pairs of eyes staring at him.
"Khimari...Look at me," Nailah said. As much as he wanted to, every time he tried to look at his mother, he would divert his gaze back to the ground. "You only told me the bare minimum."
"..."
"Please...Khimari, tell her!" Rikari yelled, worried even more when the wolf didn't respond. Instantly, the teenage wolf's mind returned to Gritnea Tower, when they rescued Leanne. The wolf was unresponsive to anything the orange wolf said the entire time, leading him to wait for everyone else to return from the basement to try and help him. "How bad was it?"
"...I don't know how long it was…" the wolf started, his hands trembling. "Days...I was helpless. I screamed for help until I couldn't anymore. Every waking moment was pain...Seeing blood on my chains made me want to spill it everywhere. I wanted to...kill everything." At this point, his entire body began to shake as if he were on the top of a bone-chilling mountain range. "I…screamed louder. I struggled harder. I wanted to kill...I wanted...I couldn't…"
Not wanting to hear another word, Queen Nailah again embraced Khimari, eyes closed as she felt the silent tears of her son fall onto her body. While the two stayed that way, Rikari and Tora left them so they could have their own moment, seeing a little orange bird fly towards the blue wolf as they returned to the Laguz tent.
XXXXX
One week later…
After the incident with Maurim and Khimari, Sothe, Micaiah and Tormod went to interrogate Izuka. The madman had no sorrow nor regret for his actions, claiming them to be a "great advancement for the scientific world." Fortunately, Pelleas forbade any further use of the "Feral One" medicine. To take extra precautions, everyone in the Laguz tent started to eat their own hunted food, with Tormod cooking with his magic to avoid any possible drugging of their food.
As for the Laguz, the situation had improved. After Rafiel's song, Maurim woke up with only a fog of a memory of what happened during the situation. Unfortunately, it seemed that Khimari's mental recovery was progressing much more slowly, understandable considering he had suffered the feral drug's effects much longer than Maurim had. Thankfully, it had never come close to a repeat of the day he attacked Nailah, who had since completely recovered from her wounds.
Another rough patch during the week was Tormod himself, who had suffered nightmares of both Maurim's condition and the feral look Khimari gave him. Thankfully, some songs from the heron prince, his situation had completely eased, and he'd once again become his energetic, perky self.
"BIG NEWS, EVERYONE!" the mage called to Micaiah and Sothe, running up to the two with a great smile on his face. "Listen and be amazed! The apostle is sending an inspection team to investigate the Begnion Occupation Army's abuses." Just as expected, the Daeins' faces brightened up considerably.
"Really?" Micaiah asked, almost feeling like it was a dream.
"She sent me a message that it's finally complete. But wait! That's not even the best part!" he said giddily, like a child who just received the best birthday present ever. "She also issued an imperial edict to the occupation forces telling them to cease all military action immediately!"
Okay, Micaiah definitely thought this was a dream. "Does that...mean the fighting is over? That we've won?"
"Indeed," Sothe answered, feeling the same euphoric energy throughout his body as she did. "It's hard to believe that it's over. It almost seems too easy."
"And best of all, Duke Persis is leading the inspection team! We'll be home free the moment they arrive," he grinned. "Our worries are over!"
"Duke Persis…" Sothe said. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite...That's who it was! "Lord Sephiran? So Apostle Sanaki is dispatching one of her best men to handle this situation."
"What kind of man is he?" Micaiah asked, not familiar at all with these people.
"He's amazing...the best ever!" Tormod yelled excitedly. "He's incredibly influential and high up, but he never really stood on ceremony with us...Well...Go on you guys!" the redhead exclaimed at seeing the lack of movement between the two. "Don't just stand there. You have to spread the news!"
"We have to spread the news?" Sothe asked with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you going with us?"
"Umm...nah," he said quickly, his eyes moving towards the ground. "It's mostly your doing. We'll hold back...so you can get all the glory."
"It's Izuka, isn't it?" Micaiah sighed. "You don't want to come with us because he might be with the prince."
"Yeah, basically," Tormod admitted without any hesitation. It was understandable, since all of them had an extreme dislike of the old man. Some more than others.
"Alright, but wait here!" she called as the quick-footed mage was about to run off to wherever he was going. "We'll come back once we've announced the good news." Like she said, they quickly returned to see the mage impatiently fidgeting around, trying to find anything to keep him occupied. "We're here! Prince Pelleas is very pleased and is making a feast."
"Oh...Well, enjoy it! We'll be there in spirit," he said, no longer worried to say that he didn't want to be in close proximity at all to Izuka.
"We understand. Do you want us to go with you to tell them the news?" Sothe offered.
"Sure! Last one back is a rotten egg!" the mage howled, breaking into a sudden run. Shocked, Sothe and Micaiah tried to follow after him, amazed at how such a short person could run so quickly. Right as Tormod arrived at the tent, he spontaneously tripped, falling face-first in the dirt.
"Tormod! Are you al-ah!" Micaiah started, running up to the mage only to share the same fate he did. Now thoroughly confused, Sothe walked up to them, only for something hard to hit the top of his head.
"What was...what!?" he said as he put his hand to the top of his head only to feel something wet. "Is...that an egg?" he asked before Micaiah's groan brought him back to reality. "Micaiah! Are you alright?"
"Yeah...I'll have to wash my hair out, though," she informed him after seeing some brown dirt mixed in with her hair. "How strange that this happened…"
"This isn't strange at all," Sothe sighed, already knowing what happened. "Let's go inside," he said. Following the rogue into the tent, the three saw that everyone was present and having their own activities going on. Maurim and Nailah were talking about something as Rafiel and Volug sat by her side. Tora and Khimari were in the middle of an arm wrestle as Rikari watched with rapt attention. Vika laid on her back, playing with her wings in the corner of the tent.
"Hey, we have news!" Tormod yowled, getting everyone's attention.
"Little one, why is your head so dirty?" Maurim asked out of concern.
"And why does someone smell like a raw egg?" Khimari asked, earning a side-eye from Sothe.
"You don't know? I was hoping you could tell us…" the rogue returned, narrowing his eyes at the blue wolf.
"Nope! Not a clue."
"Khimari," Queen Nailah sighed. "Did you prank them?"
"Pranked is a strong word, Mom!" Khimari complained, a content smile on their face. "It looks to me like they were the victims of an unfortunate set of life circumstances."
"...So you pranked them."
"Can you prove it?" he challenged. Knowing full well that she couldn't, Hatari's queen simply sighed and rolled her eyes at her son.
Some things never change. "What news did you have?" she asked Tormod.
"The Apostle's inspection team is now officially en route to Daein! They'll be here any day now!" he excitedly revealed.
"Really!?" Rikari shouted, clearly sharing the excitement. "So we're finally done fighting?"
"Yup! There's been a cease fire for all occupational forces. We're home free!"
"That certainly is good news," Rafiel commented, putting a hand over his chest in relief.
"So, what next?" Vika asked.
"Well...I guess we stay for another day, then we can leave tomorrow night," Khimari suggested, shocking Micaiah.
"What? But at least stay and celebrate!" the girl said. "You've all done so much for us...You deserve to enjoy the occasion with us when it happens!"
"Yeah, I'm not keeping my tail stiff to celebrate with Beorc who'd want to hang me from a tree otherwise," the wolf rebutted with a roll of his eyes. "That aside...We have to get going to Gallia, still. If Mom stays away from Dad for one more week, I think I'm gonna have a little sister on the way before the next full moon."
"KHIMARI!" the wolf queen yowled, completely out of character for her. Ignoring the laughter and rising to her feet, she marched over to her son before yanking him on the ear.
"OUCH! Mom, let go!" the blue wolf yowled, trying to pull his mom's arm away from his head to no avail. "You know my ears are sensitive."
"You need to learn to watch what you say!" she returned, before pinching Khimari's ear even more.
"MOM!" he screeched. Feeling that she proved her point, she let go of her cub's ear. Instantly, the blue wolf retreated, massaging his right ear with his hand to ease some of the pain. "That was mean! I'm not little anymore!" he argued, sounding just like a toddler.
"Then act like it, little prankster," she retorted, reverting back to the ancient tongue to call him by the name that she always used in Hatari. When her son heard that, a giant smile crossed his face and his eyes brightened as he mentally went back in time to see his mother scolding him in the desert streets of Hatari surrounded by plenty of passersby doing their daily work.
"...Never," he replied, before hopping up and leaping out the tent as a blue wolf, surprising everyone.
"...Is he alright?" Rikari asked, tipping his head in confusion over what just happened.
"Volug, go find him," Nailah told her vassal. "It seems that our little Khimari hasn't changed a bit."
"As you wish, my queen." Volug then left a short moment after. With the other two Hatarians gone, their queen turned back to Rikari to answer his question.
"Yes, my Khimari is just fine," she answered with a small smile on her face. "That's something that he's done ever since he could walk. In Hatari, he'd run away after a punishment as a way to make Volug or I play "hide and seek." They were surprisingly effective at ending council meetings that I had, so I never had a problem with it, to be honest."
"Why am I not surprised?" Sothe sighed as he recognized that the egg on his head had started to take a foul stench. "Anyways, we need to clean ourselves off and tell the rest of the Dawn Brigade."
"Be careful on the way out," Tora advised as the two Daeins made their way to leave. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to fall for the same trap twice...or a new trap."
"Khimari just ran out the tent," Tormod noted in confusion. "How could he make another prank that quick?"
"..." Tora did nothing but give a blank look at the mage. "It's Khimari." As if those words were a chant to a spell, the fire sage's eyes widened in understanding.
"True...Be careful, you two!" he said to Micaiah and Sothe. Sharing a look to each other, the two Dawn Brigade members silently prayed to the goddess to keep them safe as they exited the tent.
XXXXX
That night…
Sitting in a tree, Khimari found himself watching the waning moon as he hummed the song that he always hummed to the medallion to himself. Of course, he saw Volug and told him that he'd be back later, since he was much better at hiding than when he was seven. The wolf figured it'd be better to tell his uncle-figure so he wouldn't be out during all hours of the night.
Lightly chuckling to himself, he closed his eyes as he continued to hum the song he and Mist knew. A few moments later, a chirp distracted his thoughts. Opening his eyes, he saw Yune flying around him, and gave the bird a little smile.
"Hey, you," Hatari's prince greeted. "You always did like that song, didn't you? Little Yune." In response, the bird chirped even louder before pecking him on the shoulder. It didn't hurt, but it was definitely irritating.
"Ah, fine, fine! I'm coming," he gave in, jumping down the tree. "That old lizard was right when he said you were pushy," he muttered as he transformed into his wolf form. Running after the orange-cream colored bird, he was surprised to hear the sounds of battle get louder as he ran through the forests outside of camp. Eyes hardening, he sped up his pace as the smell of iron and steel hit his nose.
"This is not the end!" someone shouted. Immediately turning towards the sound of the voice, he slowed down to watch what was happening behind some bushes. Apparently, the only people there were Micaiah and...him.
"You would simply let him go?" the Black Knight asked the light mage.
"...Exactly let who go?" the wolf growled as he came out of the bushes.
"Khimari!" Micaiah yelled in surprise as another rustle in the bushes caught her attention.
"Micaiah! Are you safe!?" Sothe asked the girl before he laid eyes on the Black Knight. "You! Micaiah, run!" he said as he moved to grab her hand.
"Sothe, it's okay! This knight just saved my life," she tried to explain.
"Oh, now you're in the business of saving lives?" Khimari snarled. "Want to explain?"
"...Desist, wolf prince Khimari. I merely fight for Daein to raise its banner as a kingdom once again."
"He saved me from General Jarod. Had he not been here, I would've died," the girl tried to defend.
"Good to know," the wolf said half-heartedly, not taking his eyes off the armored man. "I beat you with my own claws. Castle Nados fell in a heap of rubble. How are you alive?"
"Perhaps your claws weren't as sharp as you thought them to be," the Daein relic taunted.
"Really? Let's find out!" the wolf challenged as he pounced on the Black Knight. Meeting the former Rider's sword, a flash of sparks flew between the two. As he hit the ground on all fours, Khimari rushed past the knight in a burst of speed, before digging his claws in the ground and swerving his body. Using the momentum, he burst forward and gave the knight a scratch to his left arm before jumping back to avoid a strike from Alondite.
Not wanting to lose any ground, the Black Knight sent a blast of blue energy from his sword at the wolf. Jumping to the left to avoid it, Khimari jumped high, delivering a sharp bite to the knight's shoulder and cracking his armor as he flipped over the menace. Not expecting the pain, the Black Knight grabbed his shoulder but for a moment to make sure that the wound wasn't substantial.
"Stop it! Stop it now!" Micaiah yelled, running in-between the two of them. "That's enough!"
"Get out the way, Micky," Khimari denied, growling at the knight.
"I know you two fought each other in the war," the girl responded. "I know you have a bad history. But right now, we're all fighting to free Daein! Can't you put it aside before you kill each other?"
"...As you wish, Maiden. I apologize for my behavior," the Black Knight complied, sticking his sword in the ground lightly.
"...Listen here, oh great Black Knight," Khimari started, as he reverted into his Beorc form. Walking past the Silver-haired Maiden, he continued until he was right in front of the knight's covered face. "Whatever you helped Micaiah with, you're still in hellfire with me. Ike may be a more sensible person with time and place, but I am not. If you move out of line, one time. Try one thing. Move the wrong direction. Ruffle even one fur on my body the wrong way or threaten any one from my family or my friends while we're helping them fight Daein, I will personally make sure that you die slowly, brutally and painfully. And I will take pleasure in ripping that helmet off along with your head." The sheer poison in the wolf's words made Micaiah's very skin prickle with fear.
"Mess up, and I will make you suffer," Khimari hissed before turning his back and leaving the three Beorc alone in the small forest clearing.
XXXXX
A/N: Well, things sure got heated, didn't they? There's only a week and a half left of the semester left, so expect to see the end of part 1 by the end of the month, I wager! Updates here will be a little more consistent, although I need to get Blazing Light and North Wind updated (A New World as well, although I'm rewriting the first 2 or 3 chapters of that one.) Anyways, I hope all y'all enjoyed that chapter! Remember to fave, follow and COMMENT and I hope to see y'all next time!
Blizzard, out!