Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.
XXXXX
Two days later…
"Flaguerre is close now," Ranulf announced to Ike and Skrimir as the three went over the predetermined battle plan with the Beorc. "It's a fortress city near the Begnion border. We'll storm the city at night and hit them fast enough so that the soldiers won't have enough time to put up any defenses."
"Finally, a chance to rend my foes!" Skrimir said with a battle-hungry smile. The lion had been absolutely insufferable for the last few weeks, always wondering when the fighting would start. As things currently stood, even Nailah would have a difficult time helping the cat to relieve his headaches. "But I would rather have a head-on fight. Must we truly wait until nightfall, like a pack of cowards?"
"..." Doing his best to hold back a biting retort, Ranulf simply took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down as much as possible.
"What's our role in this?" Ike asked with a stern face as usual. Happy to change topic, Ranulf quickly turned to the mercenary commander.
"We want the Greil Mercenaries to act like a guerrilla force," he answered. "Take out their fire mages and ballistae. They are bad news for us Laguz."
"Pah! Enough talking!" Skrimir complained. "To the battlefield! It is time for our enemies to taste fear! No more waiting."
"Skrimir," Ranulf sighed, feeling his headache come back tenfold. "This isn't a fight where a general needs to take to the field. You'd be better staying beh-"
"Are you insane!?" Skrimir boomed, making the cat sincerely want to claw the young lion's tongue out. "I will fight! A general of Gallia does not fight behind his men. Leave this "tactics" garbage to the Beorc, for we only need claws and teeth. I call an end to this meeting!" the lion declared, before abruptly walking towards the exit.
"Wait, Skrimir!" Ranulf called to no avail, seeing as the lion ignored him completely and likely went to either train or cause some sort of ruckus. "That red-hot sack of fur…" the cat grumbled irritably, lightly massaging his temples to try and ease the headache.
"Are you okay?" Ike asked, seeing the stress the cat was showing all over his face. That, and the 'sack of fur' comment was something he didn't imagine Ranulf saying casually.
'Calm down, Ranulf,' the blue Gallian told himself as he took a few more deep breaths. "Yeah," he breathed out after a few seconds. "That thickheaded fool...This will be his first major battle. Hopefully, he won't get his teeth kicked out," he joked, though a smaller, more sadistic part of him wanted it to happen in hopes that it would knock some sense into the lion. "How about you, Ike? Are you sure about this?"
"Sure about what?" Ike parroted.
"Well, ya know…" Ranulf started, scratching his head nervously. "You're a Beorc. I'm a Laguz. You sure you want to take our side?"
"...Remember that I grew up with a Laguz," Ike reminded subtly, his eyes hardening at the question that Ranulf gave him. "Even so, the Laguz Alliance is in the right. The Senate ignored your demand entirely, and even worse, attacked your messengers and murdered one. Why wouldn't we help you get the Senate's attention?" Before the cat could respond, Ike continued. "I'm sure my people understand. Besides...I would never abandon a friend in need." The last comment brought a small smirk to the cat's face as he recollected all the good times he shared with the Greil Mercenaries. It was then he realized that he was sorely mistaken in asking Ike whether or not he wanted to ally with the Laguz.
"Thanks, Ike," he simply said before leaving the tent. Deciding to double check on the red lion, he went to see Skrimir training, as usual, against five tigers. Choosing to ignore that extra headache, the cat rolled his eyes as he waltzed into whatever part of camp his feet would take him.
'I wonder how Nailah and Khimari are doing,' Ranulf thought as he drifted through the Gallian Army campsite. Before all of these shenanigans began with Begnion, he had spent as much time with his mate and child as possible, and now a bond had been permanently set between them much stronger than it had been beforehand. Every moment away from Nailah honestly felt like his insides were caving in on themselves, and being away from Khimari's usual craziness deflated his normal energy a lot more than it should have. All in all, Ranulf couldn't wait to be back with his family. "Maybe we should've let him come…" Ranulf muttered as he started to hit his foot along the grassy slope. His mind quickly rejected that thought; as much grievance as it gave the cat to be without any of his family, he knew that keeping them, specifically Khimari, in Gallia would be the most sure-fire way of keeping them safe. Well, that's what he was telling himself, anyway. For some reason, a feeling of panic rushes through him whenever he thinks about his son's safety, though he attributed that to him being an utter 'mother cat,' as he put it.
"Are you alright?" a voice said, taking the cat by surprise. Jumping slightly, he quickly turned to see Ike right behind with one of those looks on his face. "You look distracted."
'No durr, Sherlock,' Ranulf inwardly thought as he rolled his eyes, amazed at how one of Khimari's phrases imprinted itself in his head. The cat himself didn't even know who this 'Sherlock' person was, but according to Khimari, he was an extremely smart detective who somehow managed to only point out the most obvious part of every investigation. It was a Beorc thing, the wolf would always say. "Oh, it's nothing," the cat tried to play off. "Don't worry about me."
"Ranulf, you know you can talk to me," Ike returned after a small sigh. Ranulf felt even worse about what was going on now, especially since he would give the exact same sigh whenever he tried to break through Khimari's iron-hard emotional shell.
"I just...I feel bad about this whole thing, ya know?" he admitted, deciding it better to let it out than keep the sentiments buried.
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," the Beorc slowly said. Resisting the urge to snort, Ranulf looked directly at Ike's confused face.
"I've pulled you lot into our affairs," he clarified. "It's not exactly your problem, ya know? The only reason I even agreed to look was to-"
"Listen," Ike sternly said, cutting the cat off. "You offered me a job, and I decided to take a contract. It's as simple as that. I've already told the others that if they didn't want to work with Laguz, they could leave, and everyone decided to stay. Don't worry about it, Ranulf."
"...And the Black Knight?" the blue cat suddenly asked. "Are you going to abandon your search?"
"...Yeah, at least for now," Ike revealed. "I figure that if he's really alive, we'll cross paths again. There's no rush."
"Hmm…." He normally would completely agree with Ike's sentiment, but he honestly couldn't get this conflict over any quicker to reunite with Nailah again.
"Hey! Don't go out on me again!" Ike lightly yelled, waving his hand in front of the cat. "Now I'm really concerned. Is everything alright, Ranulf?"
"Of course!" he instinctually answered, before turning his eyes down. "I understand everything you said, and I appreciate it and all, but there's something about keeping Nailah and Khimari waiting that makes me feel worse every day."
"Nailah? Who is…"
"My mate and Khimari's mother," Ranulf answered. The Beorc's eyes widened larger than a full moon as his entire body snapped in shock. "He found her in Daein and brought her back over a month ago. After finally getting well...our family together, this Begnion mess made me leave them alone again."
Instantly, Ike had an understanding of what nagged at the blue cat. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to leave his family alone in another country to go to war. Even before his father died, he never had to make a choice like that, and Mist was a part of the Greil Mercenaries, so they were never too far apart. "I can't imagine that feels good," Ike admitted. "But if anything, they're probably worrying about you just as much as you worry about them. If Khimari got anything from his mother, then they'll be fine."
At that, Ranulf gave a deep exhale. Khimari being Nailah's child was the EXACT reason that he was worried about the two's wellbeing. Unbeknownst to most, the wolf queen of Hatari was capable of holding VERY deep grudges, and Khimari had inherited that trait in stride. His biggest worry was not being there to protect the wolves from doing anything utterly reckless. "I guess. Sorry, it hasn't been easy considering the headaches I've been getting from dealing with that hotheaded lion."
"You mean General Skrimir?" Ike asked.
"That's the one," Ranulf confirmed. "Skrimir is King Caineghis' nephew, and is on track to be the next king of Gallia."
"He's the successor to Caineghis? He must be a terror in battle," the commander noted.
"Indeed he is. So strong, I think he's going to get himself in trouble."
"You really need a sympathetic ear to all these problems, don't you?" Ike noted.
"Thanks, Ike," Ranulf dryly returned. "But we can catch up on this another time. First, we get rest for the battle tonight."
"All right."
"See ya!" As Ranulf turned to take a catnap, he stopped at Ike calling his name once again.
"You can come talk anytime you have to," the mercenary extended. "Don't think you're all alone in this."
Without turning around, Ranulf snorted in amusement. "What are you, an inquisitor?"
"A guy's got to do something in between battles," Ike answered. His very tone told the cat that he shrugged as he said the statement. "See you later." While Ike walked away, Ranulf began to think again, before deciding that a thoughtless nap is exactly what he needed at the moment.
Surely if Skrimir can go without thinking every moment of every day, his brain could spare a few hours of critical thought.
XXXXX
That night…
"Is everything ready?" Ike asked. He and the Greil Mercenaries gathered around Ranulf and Skrimir, who were at the front of the gathered Gallian forces.
"Yup!" Ranulf confirmed. "They have no idea we're right outside, yet. Remember, when Skrimir gives the call to advance, that's your cue."
"Noted. Mercenaries, we have the left fork where the ballistae are stationed," he quickly informed his unit. "Move out!" With that, they went to their positions in order to wait for their aforementioned cue.
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long before it came. "Run down all who get in your way!" Skrimir's voice boomed, full of bloodlust and hunger for battle. "Make your path of blood and bone! Advance, my brothers! Advance!"
"Sheesh!" Ike said. That speech was certainly gruesome, to say the last. "Glad he's on our side! The family resemblance is clear," he muttered as he saw a large reddish lion charging ahead with the Gallian forces. "Alright, let's go everyone! Time to get to work!" Jumping into battle, the Greil Mercenaries found themselves going up against many fire mages and bowmen who were stationed by ballistae, exactly as was expected. With the element of surprise on their side, Ike found no problem as he quickly disarmed a bowman and killed him with a slash of his giant Ettard sword. Rushing forward, he quickly found that most of the mages had been dispatched, as the next group of enemies were either armored generals or axemen for the most part.
Letting Soren disorient them with a strong Tornado spell, Ike stayed back for a moment before the spell struck. When he saw the disarray in the ranks, he and Boyd took to the vanguard, finishing off the injured generals while Rolf and Shinon sniped the axe warriors with practiced ease. Pleased with how the current flow of battle was going, Ike decided to lead the charge with a burst of vigor, coming forward to see Skrimir well ahead of the rest of the Gallian forces. "Weaklings!" the lion roared, once again making Ike glad that he was an ally. "Where is your general? Come out and fight, coward! I am Skrimir, General of Gallia!"
"That's one way to approach it," Ike muttered as the rest of the Greil Mercenaries caught up to him. "Soren, how are things going?"
"All fire mages and ballistae are out of commission," the wind sage quickly reported. "The only people left are those at the very re-" A mighty roar of what sounded like triumph cut off the tactician's assessment. Sharing a look with Soren, Ike quickly gave orders. "Mia, Gatrie, Shinon, Boyd, check around for any leftover soldiers. If they retreat or surrender, leave them be. Mist, Rhys, check on any wounded Gallians," he continued seeing that none of the mercenaries had sustained a wound of any sort. "Rolf, Oscar, notify the civilians that the conflict is over. Soren, Titania, you're with me." Splitting to finish their tasks, Ike and his group made their way forward to see Ranulf and Skrimir at the head of the Gallian forces, neither wounded. Although Ranulf stayed relatively clean, Skrimir had the occasional blood stain on his body, though Ike knew better than to believe for a second that the lion was wounded in the conflict.
"Ike! How are things on your end?" the blue cat asked.
"My group is sweeping the area and going out to the civilians. They'll be back momentarily."
"Good. We sent a few forces to survey the surrounding area for extra resistance," the cat informed. Nodding, they waited until the rest of the Greil Mercenaries returned.
"Report."
"All the soldiers are done for, and the rest gave up their weapons," Shinon lazily said, seeming bored. Ignoring the lackluster response, Ike turned to Oscar for his answer.
"The civilian population isn't going to commit any violence. They have promised not to do anything," Oscar reported. Satisfied, Ike returned to Ranulf, who by the look of it, had just been briefed by a tiger about the current affairs going on.
"Are we done?" the Beorc asked as he saw the tiger Laguz walk away.
"Yup," Ranulf confirmed. "The guards are dead, and the rest of the forces fled to the east. We're in good shape." Apparently, that news was not pleasant for Skrimir, who scoffed loudly at the news.
"Is that it? I still crave blood!" he announced, sounding like a barbarian. "Find me more humans to kill!"
"The civilians have no quarrel with us, and the few soldiers remaining gave up their weapons," Ike reported, trying to subtly reason with the lion that the fighting was over for the night. The commander knew the message was received when the lion growled in obvious displeasure.
"If this is all the fight Begnion can give, then this war will be over too soon!"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Ranulf warned. "We won this fight, yes, but remember that Begnion has a vast army. Don't be so quick to forget that once upon a time, they ruled over us."
"You forget, that was before my time," Skrimir batted away, not even bothering to look at the blue cat before walking to the mass of Gallina soldiers gathered close by them.
"...Did he even listen to a word I just said?" Ranulf muttered aloud as Skrimir stopped in front of the soldiers.
"Warriors of Gallia!" the lion bellowed. "The battle is over! We have won!" A great chorus of shouts rang from the gathered Laguz. "No human can stand against the Laguz! We are not done yet! We will continue to fight, kill and CRUSH our enemies!" Completely hyped on adrenaline, the Laguz let out a collective roar filled with energy and lust for battle.
"...What an utterly ridiculous speech," Soren commented as they watched the spectacle.
"Don't say things like that," Titania chided, watching Skrimir rally the soldiers. "I hear that King Caineghis of Gallia was not so different when he was young. So try not to judge so quickly."
"I don't know," Ike drawled out, completely unsold on the idea of the wise Gallian king once being like...Skrimir. "That's really hard to imagine."
"I'm sure Skrimir will settle down, give time," Ranulf tried to reassure, before he gained a faraway look in his eye. "Well...I certainly hope so, anyways."
"...Ike, I've been thinking," Titania quietly muttered, drawing him and Soren into a more private conversation. "Is this war...something we should really be fighting? After all, we know about Lehran's Medallion." A clear silence reigned between the Greil Mercenaries, even tuning out the sounds of Laguz raving behind them.
"...As long as the dark god sleeps within the medallion, the world shall not war. Is that what you mean?" Soren asked. The red-headed paladin nodded in confirmation.
"That's right. Our ancestors made that vow with the goddess, and it's our responsibility to uphold it to prevent the destruction they fought so hard against. If the land is covered in war, the dark god will awaken and destroy the world, as it goes. This war could easily spread across Tellius, and we were only just fortunate enough to avoid such an eventuality in the Mad King's War. Can we count on being lucky again? Already, we're talking of a war between Begnion, the largest country on Tellius, and every Laguz nation except Goldoa."
"That's already half of Tellius," Soren aptly noted, seeing why the deputy commander felt such a great unease.
"Hello, all," Ranulf suddenly jumped in, making the three Crimeans turn their attention to the cat. "Sorry for interrupting. Lady Titania, Soren, you two are extremely perceptive," he complimented, showing that he heard the entire conversation. "I'd expect nothing less from the deputy commander and strategist of the Greil Mercenaries. You don't have to worry, though. We have that situation under control." At the confusion on their face, Ranulf felt the need to explain a little further. "The medallion is under the protection of the Serenes royal family. Even if the god escaped, the herons can control it with their galdrar."
"Reyson, Leanne and...Prince Rafiel, was it?" Ike recalled, remembering the first two very clearly. As it were, he had never met the newest found survivor yet, and couldn't help but wonder how he was.
"Ah, since Lehran, a heron, was said to be the one who sealed the dark god in the medallion, his descendants should be able to have the same power," Soren deduced. A quick nod from Ranulf revealed that, as usual, the mage was correct.
"So that's the story. We'll be heavily relying on the power of the Greil Mercenaries. I'm counting on you all," the cat said with a smile.
"Understood," Titania returned, though something still nagged at the back of her mind. "We'll do our best to see this conflict finished as quickly as possible. Right, Ike?"
"Of course," the commander simply said.
XXXXX
Later that night…
After the rapid fall of Flaguerre, the Gallian Army and the Greil Mercenaries quickly made camp near the base, as to be in a better position to scout for their next target, Mugill. With so many arms, the campsite basically made itself and mostly everyone had settled down for the night.
Just walking around for the heck of it, Ike decided to enjoy the nighttime air for a while before heading back to rest in the tent he shared with Soren for the time being. Stopping for a moment, he relaxed his shoulders before deciding to get as much shut-eye as possible before the upcoming battles.
"Commander? A moment, if I may?" he heard Titania's voice ask before he entered his tent.
"You know you're welcome at any time, Titania," Ike said, before noticing a rather perturbed look on the face of his second-in-command. "What's wrong?"
"I couldn't help but notice...Khimari was nowhere to be found. If the Laguz Alliance wanted to effectively fight Begnion, it would help to have him somewhere around here."
"Ranulf told me he was still in Gallia," Ike revealed. "Maybe it's because he found his mother and is staying with her while Ranulf is gone." Completely shocked, Titania's eyes widened greatly.
"His mother has been found? When did this occur?"
"A little over a month ago, in Daein…." Even then, Titania had brought up a good point. Unknown to most, Khimari and Soren spent a decent amount of time with each other, even outside of wartime, talking about strategy and tactics among other things. Though the two had a rather hidden bond, it was stronger than one would expect. Surely the wolf would have a decent level of tactical ability to help lead the Laguz Alliance through the war. "I'll ask Ranulf at our strategy meeting," Ike determined. Satisfied with that, Titania walked away, leaving the commander free to sleep for the night.
XXXXX
The next morning…
The sun hardly shone at all on the Daein city of Nevassa when Khimari and Ena arrived on its outskirts. As it were, telltale signs of reconstruction lingered everywhere; piles of wood beams, an array of hammers and other tools, as well as any other construction utensil imaginable decorated the capital city. "Do you want to go in the Keep with me? I understand if you don't want to," Khimari asked as the two walked around the populated parts of the city, favoring a quiet entrance to the keep.
"I can enter. Besides...Lady Almedha still is present, is she not? Perhaps she could assist us."
"Doubtful," Khimari snorted. "She dotes over Pelleas like he's a newborn puppy." Not responding to that comment, Ena simply walked by the wolf prince's side as they eventually left the residential districts and came in front of a large building that overlooked a great part of the city. "We're here." Walking up, the two quickly found themselves stopped by Daein guards.
"Halt! State your business here!" they demanded, gripping their spears.
"We're friends of Micaiah, the Silver-haired Maiden," Khimari answered with a smile on his face. "We have some news to tell her before she goes out for the day."
"The Silver-haired...What should we do?" the guard as the other.
"Erm...Stay right there!" the second man said before running into the large building. For a few minutes, Khimari and Ena stood there in silence waiting for the return of the guard. Eventually, the wolf came to fiddling with his cloak before the sound of three sets of feet caught his attention. Attentively watching the entrance, the wolf found himself immensely pleased to see Micaiah and Sothe leaving the Keep entrance. At first, the light sage looked confused, but quickly recognized the two differently colored eyes of the wolf Laguz.
"Khimari! You're back!" she said, sharing a quick hug with the girl. "What are you doing here?"
"Just some news for you. Can we come inside?"
"Oh, of course!" the girl agreed, leading the two cloaked Laguz inside the keep.
"So, Khimari, what brings you here?" Sothe asked when they left the presence of the Daein soldiers around the Keep. Walking into a room, probably Micaiah's, Khimari assumed by the girl's distinct scent invading the entire space, the green-haired boy closed the door behind them to ensure as much privacy as possible.
"I'll keep it simple. Where's Izuka? We have to...talk." The atmosphere instantly turned tense, as a heavy silence killed the friendly greeting merely moments earlier. Sothe and Micaiah shared a look with each other, before the latter sighed in resignation.
"We don't know. The day after we took back the Keep...he disappeared," she answered. "Both he and the Black Knight left after King Pelleas had his official coronation that night."
"...Well, things certainly got interesting around here, I see," Khimari said, his eyes closed. "Any chance we can talk to Pelleas and his mother?"
"They're inseparable. I doubt that'll be a problem," Sothe snorted. "She clings to him tighter than a mosquito does meat in the summer."
"Come, we'll take you. He should be in his throne room at the time." With that, Micaiah led the two to the way of the room. In the middle of their route, she tried to make conversation. "So, Khimari, who's your friend? I haven't seen her before."
"Oh, this…"
"I am Ena," the dragon spoke softly and simply.
"...Nice to meet you," the silver-haired girl returned, seeing that the lady wasn't one for small talk. Falling into silence, the four listened to the sound of their footsteps as they made their way to the new King Daein's throne room. Soon, the sight of an easily recognizable man in pure white armor standing guard at the entrance to the chamber became apparent. "Tauroneo!"
"Ah, Lady Micaiah and Sothe…" the man started before he noted the other two people in the hallway. "Prince Khimari and...Is that you...General Ena?"
"...Yes, it is," the girl admitted, closing her eyes.
"...Tauroneo, what do you mean by General?" The man seemed hesitant to answer, before a slight nod from the dragon told the Beorc that he had permission to speak the truth.
"General...Ena was...a General of the Daein forces during the war," he revealed. "She was the one in charge of protecting the Daein Keep when it was conquered by Commander Ike's forces." The Silver-haired Maiden had a starstruck look on her face, as if she had just found her biggest idol.
"Wow….I can't believe….You-"
"Are King Pelleas and Queen Almedha busy?" Khimari interrupted, slightly stepping in front of Ena as a sign to leave her in peace. "We have business to chat about."
"Yes, I will inform His and Her Majesty of your visit. I imagine they will be pleased to see you," the man said before going to do his duty.
"Lady E-Ena…What was it like..."
"Micky, don't bother Ena too much, okay?" Khimari said straightforwardly. "Her being a Daein general wasn't exactly a bright spot. Besides, Tauroneo's already walking back to the door." True to the wolf's words, a few seconds later the elderly general returned to his post.
"They will see you now. If you would follow me." Taking point, the general led the four into the throne room, where only the recently coronated Daein King and his mother currently occupied. "Here are our guests."
"Thank you, Tauroneo. Y-You can leave us now," Pelleas directed. With a "By your leave," the old man left the small group by themselves. "Prince Khimari, how are you doing?"
"Pretty good, more or less. I had a deer to eat last night, so I'm in a good mood."
"I imagine the chef must have been very adept at his craft," the blue-haired boy remarked. The small talk took an interesting turn when the wolf laughed at King Pelleas' comment.
"You forget…" Khimari started as he lowered the hood of his cloak, revealing his sharp teeth in a wide smile. "I hunt my prey. Fresh-kill raw deer is almost as good as Oscar's cooking, and that's saying something. But besides the point," the wolf started, before taking a much more serious look on his face. "Where's Izuka?"
"What would be your business with him?" Almedha blurted, with a critical look in her eye.
"Oh, I'm going to kill him." Silence reigned over the Daein throne room after Khimari's comment. Not knowing exactly what to do, the Daein royal looked at his mother, before turning his head to Micaiah and Sothe, who were just as stumped as he was.
"Uh...I-"
"No one knows where he nor the Black Knight went off to," the mother answered. "Now, is there anything else you'd like to bother us about?"
"Sure, but Ena and I would just like to bother you by yourself, if we could," Khimari shrugged, being very clear in his language. Recognizing the girl, the widow froze, before letting out a sigh of defeat and...guilt?
"My dear Pelleas...I shall return in a moment. Please, don't hurt yourself while I'm away."
"I won't, Mother." Ignoring the urge to snort, Khimari settled for letting the King's mother take him and Ena to her own personal quarters, to ensure the best privacy possible.
"Now, What is it you would have to say to me?"
"Are you sure you know nothing about Izuka's whereabouts?" Khimari pressed, his eyes turning to slits.
"I already-"
"Liar. Your scent is betraying your words," the wolf snarled, stepping towards the queen menacingly. Thinking quickly, Ena intervened, grabbing the beast Laguz's shoulder and shaking her head. Taking a step back, Khimari let Ena try her hand at getting the information out of the woman.
"Lady Almedha...Please, tell us what you know," the pink dragon calmly requested. Compared to Khimari, the reaction was a complete reverse. The estranged Goldoan visibly flinched at Ena's words, before looking down at the ground.
"I...All I heard was him talking to himself," she began. "He mentioned something about...What was it? A hidden place north of Castle Gaddos, near the base of the Ribahn River."
"...Thank you, Lady Almedha," Ena said before putting her cloak on.
"...That can't be it," the black dragon suddenly blurted. "Nothing else? No spite? No anger?"
"None," the pink dragon quietly replied.
"But...You...You should hate me!" the queen said, her voice slightly rising. "It's because of me that my brother...your betrothed...Rajaion." The woman couldn't even finish as tears started to well from her eyes.
"Rajaion...Did what he did to save you, and his nephew," Ena started after taking a deep breath. Though her eyes held deep sadness, there was a deep resolve that also steadied her words. "Hating you would be an insult to his sacrifice...and to him. I could not dare treat his memory that way."
"Oh...Ena...Rajaion…" Almedha mumbled, the tears now openly falling from her face. "I must call Father…"
"You get to that," Khimari said. Although the situation had diffused, he still maintained the same serious expression on his face. "We'll be going now...Take care and tell the old lizard I said hello." With that, the two pulled their hoods back up and walked out of the room to see Micaiah, Sothe and a brown "dog" walking up to them. "Volug!" the prince called, going down to hug his uncle figure. In response, he received a lick to his cheek. "How are you?"
"I am well, young Prince. Where is Queen Nailah?"
"She's in Gallia, still. She sent me to retrieve you. Ena here and I are going on a dangerous mission and she forced me to come get you before we started it."
"...I see. As you wish, Prince Khimari." With that settled, the blue wolf looked at both Sothe and Micaiah.
"Sorry, guys, but Volug's coming with us for the time being," Khimari revealed.
"Volug!?" Micaiah said in shock, before understanding came to her face. "Well, I understand. After all, you couldn't ignore Queen Nailah and Khimari forever. They need you more than we do."
"...I never understood a word he said, but he'll be missed," Sothe simply replied.
"See, this is why I never try to talk," Volug muttered snarkily. Khimari only smiled at the brown wolf.
"Welp, we'll be going on, then. Thanks for the map, Micaiah," the blue wolf said as they started their walk out of the Daein Keep.
"Uh, okay, goodbye Khimari…" the silver-haired girl waved before realizing something a moment later. "Sothe...When did I give him a map?"
XXXXX
That evening…
After leaving the Keep, the three had made considerable distance, considering that Ena rode Khimari's back for most of their route that day. "We're almost at the river," Khimari noted as the sun set. In the small forest they walked through, the distinct smell of freshwater paraded around his nose. "We can stop here for the night if you want, Ena."
"...Okay." With nothing to unpack, the three simply sat around in a small clearing. "...Khimari, how did you convince His Majesty to…"
"Honestly, I have no answer for you," the wolf shrugged. "I was just as shocked as you were when he requested this of me. But I'm not complaining. Perhaps this is the first step of Goldoa actually communicating with the outside world."
"...I could only wish it were that simple," Ena said with her eyes closed. "We are far too ingrained in our ways."
"But...King Deghinsea asked me to take you outside Goldoa to hunt Izuka down. That has to count for something."
"...I suspect...That you were more the motivation for that than anything," Ena revealed, drawing a confused gaze to her. "More than anyone, you've left quite an impression on our king. Your blunt disposition, your blatant lack of care about borders, your unwavering perseverance. Your tenacity surpasses that of even Yohe. You are the only person on Tellius that could have moved him to do this."
"...If that's the case...I won't let him down," Khimari resolved, digging his fingernails into his arms. "I'll make sure Izuka dies if it's the last thing I do."
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A/N: There it goes, folks! This one is done for the time being, and I'm already working on the next one. Unfortunately, I already have a slew of projects and essays that need to be written and I haven't started much on a single one of them, so there might be an update later this month, if not in March at the latest (knocks on wood.) Anywho, hope y'all liked it, and I'll be seeing y'all later!
Blizzard, out!