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

XXXXX

"There! That'll be more than enough for them to capture Castle Seliora!" Khimari saw with a smile on his face. He had just vacated the surrounding area after seeing the exodus of the surviving Begnion soldiers that escaped the full-on frontal assault of the Laguz Alliance. Pleased with the results of how things were going, he let out a howl to give a farewell to his dad before taking off in the direction of Daein.

Now that he had more assurance that the war effort seemed to be going alright, the wolf prince's next priority was the wellbeing of his uncle, Volug. After the unexpected events that occurred during Izuka's apprehending, the brown wolf had been incapacitated for a while before Ena could bring back medicine for him. Amazingly enough, Homasa, a former commander under General Petrine that Khimari convinced Ike to spare in the last war, ended up coming to their aid, protecting Ena as she was attacked by bandits on her way back to the cave where Khimari stood watch over his fellow Hatarian (not that she needed protection, but it wouldn't have been good if word got out about a Goldoan dragon in the Daein countryside.

XXXXX

A few days ago…

Just as Ena said, a day, then another passed from when she went to get any medicine for Volug's recovery. During that time, Khimari had not moved, standing guard over Volug and refusing to listen to the various voices inside his head that screamed for him to sleep and let down his guard.

Thankfully, the brown wolf's situation had slightly improved; the wounds on him had no scent of infection, and his breathing was stable. Even through the rhythmic rising and falling of Volug's side; however, the fact that he hadn't regained consciousness worried Khimari greatly. 'Please Volug, don't let my mistake get you killed,' he pleaded. 'Ashera…Yune…anyone. Save him, please.'

A few moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps instantly put the wolf on guard. There were two sets of feet moving, meaning that it couldn't have been Ena. As the sound neared, Khimari growled loudly, refusing to show any weakness.

"Prince Khimari!" a voice called, stopping him in his tracks. "Please don't attack. It's Ena, back with the medicine." Seconds later, the dragon appeared once again, with a concoction vial with her. "...There's someone else I saw along the way. He aided my return here after a bandit attack."

Now Khimari was more confused than threatened. "Bandits attacked you?" he echoed. "Are you okay? Who…who helped you? I should thank them…"

"It is of no consequence, Prince Khimari," a masculine voice entered. Wondering who that was, the wolf simply stayed in position as a green-haired beorc man made his appearance, stopping next to Ena. He had a simple robe, as well as a sword by…

"Wait…Homasa, was it? Is that you?" Khimari asked, rising to all fours. A blue light signaled his transformation from his beast form to his two-legged form, where the difference in the normally proud wolf's stature became much more obvious.

The Hatarian's hair was greatly disheveled, and his face was stained with both tear marks and small smears of dirt. His tail was also matted, a huge shock considering how kept together the wolf usually was.

But that was nothing to be concerned about; the medicine arrived. "Ena? May I?" Without hesitation, Ena handed him the concoction. Turning back, he kneeled to Volug's side once again, opening the vial. "Uncle, drink this. You'll get better, I promise," he whispered in their native language, slowly putting the liquid towards the brown wolf's face. Cautiously lifting his head, Khimari poured a little bit of the medicine into Volug's mouth, trusting that he could swallow a small portion.

Thankfully, the small white light that signified the medicine's effect soon followed, and Volug quickly jerked. Stepping back, Khimari gave the brown wolf space to slowly rise and stretch as he took in his new surroundings.

"...Prince Khimari? Where…" Before he could continue, Khimari gave him a gentle hug around his neck. It was then Volug could tell that something was amiss with the lost prince of Hatari. "You haven't…rested."

"I refused until you woke up. Ena went to get medicine for you," Nailah's son explained. "It was my fau-"

"No," Volug interrupted. "You did no wrong, my young prince. You need to rest."

"But…"

"I will heal. You need to rest," he repeated. Khimari wanted to continue arguing, but merely decided against it. With no other words to say, he once again assumed his wolf form and began to wash his pelt as he began to ask and listen to Ena and Homasa's journey here.

XXXXX

Thankfully, Homasa was more than happy to help out Ena, and even went back to Nevassa with Volug to make sure that he returned to Micaiah safely. Khimari definitely owed the swordmaster a thousand times over for what he did for his family.

And speaking of Nevassa, that was exactly where he was going. Running north, he hoped that they had already met up with Micaiah at the Keep and were in safe hands.

XXXXX

Four days later…

After a relatively dull and slow-paced trip, Khimari soon found himself on Nevassa's outskirts. The sun had just begun its ascent into the sky and the capital city was nowhere near bustling. Obvious reconstruction efforts could be seen by the large amounts of wood and other supplies laying about, which put a smile on Khimari's face. 'Hopefully, this'll be a better Daein,' he thought as he reverted to his Beorc form once again. Going around the city, Khimari avoided the waking populace in the city to have a quieter time on the way to the Daein Keep, where Micaiah, Sothe, the Daein king, Pelleas and his mother, Queen Almedha, resided.

Thankfully, he saw that the guards at the front of the Keep were the same ones that saw him inside with Micaiah and Sothe. "So they should recognize me," he muttered. He soon snorted in laughter as he had to fight to keep his tail wrapped around his waist, considering it wanted to wag in happiness that entering would be easy and simple.

"Halt!" one soldier ordered as they both approached him. "State your business here."

"Hey, is Micaiah here? I came over last time, remember? I was going to check up on her and Sothe," he answered, which was true, in a fashion. Although Volug was the main priority, he could never miss a chance to check up on the little kiddies (though Khimari was almost completely sure that Micaiah was older than him).

"The Maiden is not here. Have you not heard about the Daein Royal Army's deployment? It's been the talk around town lately," the soldier said.

This certainly came as a shock to Khimari, who internally perked up greatly at the news. "I'm not a really big city dweller, so news comes slowly to me," he played off. "What happened? Did someone attack the King?"

"No, nothing of that sort, thank goodness," the other soldier answered. "But get this-He decided to attack the Gallian sub-humans! They set out on Begnion's behalf about two days ago."

"Begnion?" Khimari almost yelled. "But didn't Daein just finish fighting against them?" Yes, as a matter of fact, they did. He would know, he was at the final battle against Jarod and the Occupational Army that terrorized Daein in the three years after the Mad King War's conclusion. This was unraveling more and more at the second, and the wolf only got more confused and worried with each passing second.

"Yeah, it is strange…But some dead sub-humans probably won't be too bad of a battle for the Maiden of Dawn."

Ignoring the racist rhetoric from the man, Khimari closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath to collect himself. "This may sound crazy, but can one of you give word to King Pelleas and his mother Queen Almedha that Khimari wants to speak to them? If they ask for a description, mention my two differently colored eyes."

Just as he suspected, the soldiers gave each other a strange look, as if they weren't sure what to do. "...Alright, one of us will go. Don't expect to get an audience with the King like that, though, even if you know the Maiden personally," the soldier warned. With a quick wave of dismissal, Khimari resolved to wait as one of the Keep watchmen went to inform the Prince of his arrival.

'What is going on here? Why are they attacking Gallia of all people?' the wolf thought. Although Daein was most definitely still a country where prejudice against Laguz was praised and encouraged, Micaiah was an exception to that rule. As was Sothe and most of the Dawn Brigade (with the exception of the day Edward referred to him as a sub-human and an incident with Aran and Leonardo that Jill thankfully was there to resolve). Worry once again overtook him as he imagined both Ike and his father, Ranulf, not being prepared for whatever in the world Daein had planned.

Every moment felt like an eternity to the wolf as he waited for the soldier's return. "Where is he? Are all Beorc this damn slow?" he grumbled to himself, having a quick moment of internal irritation. Thankfully, the Daein soon returned from his short excursion inside the Keep.

"King Pelleas will see you now. Please follow me inside." Ignoring the shocked look of the other guard, Khimari wasted no time in beginning his advance to the throne room. With haste in his steps, he passed by a much emptier Keep than last time, accompanied only by his thoughts and the two soldiers taking him to the throne room.

Arriving quickly, the soldiers stopped as a third person at the door nodded at them. He then used one hand to open the door, allowing the first two to lead Khimari into the Keep's interior room, where Pelleas and Almedha both sat. Upon one whiff of the Daein ruler's scent, Khimari knew that something was wrong.

Very wrong. "Thank you. If you would leave us alone…" King Pelleas said to the Daein soldiers.

"At once, Your Majesty!" As soon as the soldiers left them alone and Khimari heard the sound of their footsteps getting quieter with more distance, the wolf dropped the hood of his cloak, exposing his entire head to the two figures of Daein royalty.

"Pelleas, why in the world is Daein attacking Gallia? I came to make sure Volug arrived safely back to Micaiah's side only to find out that everyone's gone off to fight already. I really hope you have a good reason for ignoring reconstruction to fight a crazy battle."

"Do not patronize my son as if he were a toddler!" Queen Almedha butted in, coming immediately to her child's defense. "If that-"

"Mother," the blue-haired sage called out, cutting her off. "Can Prince Khimari and I talk…alone? I promise I won't be long."

"...Hmph. Fine. But if you need anything, call your Mother and I will come running to you. Khimari, don't you dare touch a hair on his head, understand?"

"Yes, crazy dragon lady," Khimari answered while rolling his eyes at the display of overprotectiveness exhibited by King Deghinsea's daughter. "I will not touch a hair on his head. I'll come talk to you later, as well." While the insult went all the way over Prince Pelleas' head, Queen Almedha huffed in irritation and grunted as she took her leave of the two, closing the door behind her. "Now…Your answer?"

"...Prince Khimari," Pelleas started after a long pause and a frustrated sigh. "I understand your frustration, however…I can't tell you why I started this war. Just know it was not motivated by prejudice of the sub…Laguz tribes at all. Begnion asked us to aid them in the extermination of the Laguz Alliance, and we agreed."

"...Agreed? You agreed to put your people in a conflict that had nothing to do with them?" Khimari repeated incredulously. He could feel his anger rising as he heard the crappy reason that came out of the Daein King's mouth.

"Please, understand, we mean no malice against Lag-"

"Cut the Laguz racism crap," Khimari growled. "Plenty of people and families are in danger of dying over nothing, and your excuse…You don't even have a damn excuse! You just up and went with whatever the hell the Senate told you!? What kind of leadership is this?"

"I…I made a mistake. I'm sorry, but unless the Laguz Alliance is eradicated, Daein…will cease to exist."

"...Come again?" Khimari said, genuinely thrown off by what was just said. "Did you just say Daein will cease to exist?"

"Yes," the Beorc king confirmed. "I cannot tell you all of the events that transpired, but I had no choice but to do this for the sake of my country."

"...Okay. If you can't say a word about what's going on," Khimari started. "I'm going to see Micaiah personally and see how the situation is faring. Then I'm going to check on my family, who are in the Laguz Alliance. If you can't fix this 'mistake' by then, you can either come clean and tell the entire story or I'll have no choice but to kill you myself." Instantly, the king's eyes widened as he rose with a start.

"Khimari, it's not that simple!"

"Of course it is. No hard feelings, but Daein on a warpath again for no reason is the last thing this continent needs. I was in the last war. I took more lives than I could count, and I've seen more lives taken than I could count. The mass majority of them were because your father decided to go on a power-hungry rampage against the rest of the known world. I refuse to take that risk again, King Pelleas. If you want to conspire with the Senate for power, just say so. It'll save me the return trip."

"It wasn't for power. I was tri-" The Daein stopped himself before the word came out, but it didn't matter anyway. Khimari's ears picked it up without the slightest problem.

"...Were you going to say 'tricked'?" Khimari asked. "How…" Just then, he remembered the moment when he talked to Sephiran alone in the Mainal Cathedral before all of this mess began.

"Beware of the evils from your past."

Khimari recognized everything instantly. Just as he thought, Izuka manipulated Daein to be a suitable pawn for the Begnion Senate's devious schemes.

"...It was Izuka. He used you and left you under Begnion's thumb." King Pelleas's shocked face was the only confirmation that Khimari needed. "You don't have to confirm nor deny. Your secret's safe with me. Just one thing…Who was the senator who ordered you to war?"

"...Lekain."

"Go figure…I'll see what I can do," the wolf huffed. "Let nothing of this conversion escape this room. They likely have spies everywhere to keep track of your every move."

"Please…Go check on Micaiah for me. The army should be encamped on the west side of the Ribahn River. Tell her that I'm sorry."

"...Fine."

"Prince Khimari…Thank you." Without replying, Khimari reapplied the hood of his cloak and left the room, letting the guard escort him to the room of the queen.

"Queen Almedha! The King's guest is here to see you."

"...He may enter," a lone voice answered from the other side. With the guard out of the way, Khimari entered the room and closed the door behind him. Quietly, he came up to the queen so they could speak without worry of eavesdroppers. "How is my son?"

"...He's going to need a lot of help," Khimari bluntly said. Before the woman could go on another rampage, the wolf simply raised his hand to stop her. "He'll probably tell you himself, so I won't say anything, but it's not looking very good." Seeing the woman's distress, Khimari closed his eyes and sighed; this was one hell of a mess to be caught up in. "...How's your father? Have you two talked?"

"...Yes," she answered. "He wants to see me and my son…in Goldoa."

"Hm…That sounds problematic," the wolf noted. "Considering he has to stay in Daein now."

"Father…He still said he loves me…even after all of the mistakes I made."

"That's what a parent does," Khimari responded. "You could never hate Pelleas, right? Why would your father be any different towards you? Well, besides the fact that he's probably been mean-mugging people for well-over two thousand years."

"Hmph."

"Runs in the family, I guess. At least Kurthnaga can smile," the wolf goaded as he shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'll be off. If you can, tell your father that I'll be in contact soon."

"...Yes, I will."

XXXXX

The next night…

On the way to the war meeting tent, Ranulf massaged his temples as much as possible to soothe his headache. Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with Skrimir, but instead the surprise attack levied against the Laguz Alliance by Daein of all people. They just left an ambush a little while ago, forcing them to backtrack to camp and rethink their strategy of crossing back into Gallia.

Entering, Ranulf saw Ike, Soren, Titania, Tibarn, and Reyson already in conversation about what was going on.

"The Daein Army is working with Begnion?" Ike repeated with a surprised expression. "That's unexpected…to say the least."

"Why would Daein join the war?" Tibarn asked with his arms crossed. "Wouldn't all their resources be tied up in the reconstruction effort?"

"That bothers me, too," Ranulf agreed. "There's something weird in all of this. Didn't Daein resent Begnion's occupation? Why so quick to help out their former enemy?"

"It doesn't matter. We are running out of time," another voice said. Looking back, everyone saw Skrimir walking inside. Although he wasn't standing as tall as he was before his battle with Zelgius, he still maintained an aura of power and authority around him. "We must deal with this quickly if we are to get home."

"General Skrimir!" Ike called out in surprise. "Have you recovered from your wounds already?"

"Do not underestimate the healing powers of the beast tribe."

"All right, everyone's here," Tibarn noted. "Let's begin the meeting."

With the council meeting officially in session, everyone gathered closer around the map to take note of what was going on, logistically speaking. "The main concern at the moment is the Daein Army," Ranulf immediately pointed out. "They're dug in around the area that we have to use to cross the Ribahn. Perhaps we'll have to find another way to cross?" he suggested.

Soren immediately shut that idea down. "We can't afford it. If we waste too much time, the Central Army will catch up to us. In that scenario, we're dead." With that blunt assessment from the tactician, Ranulf huffed loudly through his nose as his brain racked up possible ways to get them out of this mess.

"Ranulf," Ike suddenly called. "Tell me your impression of the Daein Army. Anything special?"

"Hm…" The blue cat hummed as he thought of the night's earlier events. From Lethe, he heard specifically about a powerful brown-haired swordsman that took out half a cat battalion, but in general…their numbers didn't seem to be all that high. "...Well, there weren't very many of them, but their morale was really up there. Their commander seemed very clever as well."

"It must be the Maiden of Dawn, then," Soren muttered, catching everyone's attention.

"Who?" Ike blurted, voicing everyone's question.

"She was the hero of the recent Daein uprising," the sage explained. "Micaiah is her name, if I recall correctly. Supposedly she has performed miracles and turned many losing battles into victories. An interesting figure."

"Miracles?" Ranulf echoed. "I'm finding that a bit hard to swallow. Are you sure about that?" he asked as he tipped his head to the side.

"Who knows?" Soren shrugged. "Personally, I doubt it. All I know is that the Daein Army believes in her miracles, which makes her dangerous. This Maiden of Dawn is supposed to be the savior of Daein, whose miraculous powers freed their people from tyranny. In other words, her followers are fanatics who see her as a goddess. She will make a formidable enemy."

A brief stint of silence followed Soren't assessment. "If we attack them head-on, the fighting won't stop until one side is decimated," Ranulf pointed out. "There's got to be a way to avoid that, right?"

"What if we used a decoy force, like in the past?" Titania suggested.

"That only worked because the enemy didn't suspect it," Tibarn noted. "I wouldn't count on the same strategy working twice."

"...That may not necessarily be the case," Soren cut in, looking hard at the map. "The empire assumes superiority over all other countries. Begnion is only using Daein as a pawn to stop us, and won't care if they are destroyed in the process. As such, they are most likely uninformed about our past tactics."

"You might have a point there," Ranulf admitted. "I went scouting right after the fog cleared, and their forces looked really unprepared to fight us. They had no ballistae, nor did they field many fire mages. It's like they knew nothing about fighting beast Laguz."

"Then we'll definitely go with the decoy. This force will hit them head-on while the bulk of the army crosses the river in the meantime," Soren decided, making some drawings on the map.

"I'll head up the decoy force then," Ike volunteered. "The armies of Gallia and Phoenicis can cross the river while we keep them occupied."

"Sounds like a plan," Tibarn agreed. "Take some of my men if you want. I don't want their talons getting dull."

"The Laguz Alliance might have lost the war of might, but we haven't lost the war to bring our brothers home!" Ranulf declared with closed eyes. "This fight will be ours!"

XXXXX

The next day…

This was it.

After Daein's surprise tactics the night before, the Laguz Alliance quickly formulated a strategy to cross the river before the arrival of the Central Army of Begnion, which would mean an inevitable defeat. Since that obviously is what they wanted to avoid, the Alliance decided to repeat their successful decoy strategy against Daein with the hopes that they could successfully circle around and force them to retreat, allowing them to rejoin the entire army and continue their march towards Gallia.

"Come on! We'll be marching soon," Ike directed to the rest of the Greil Mercenaries as well as the small band of hawks and beasts that came with them. Though there wasn't many, this size should prove enough to keep them busy long enough for Tibarn and Skrimir to cross the river.

"Ike! Here I am," Ranulf called, running over to the start of the Ribahn River where they intended to "cross." "The van's marching already, and they're completely undetected so far."

"Good. Soren, status report?"

"...We may have a problem. A big problem." The sage's words instantly put everyone on edge, as they carried a weight of possible doom.

"Soren? What are you talking about?" Ike asked with a sense of urgency.

"Look across the river." Following the tactician's gaze, Ike and Ranulf both found themselves utterly floored by the sight they saw.

Right next to Sothe and a silver-haired girl with a blue cape stood two transformed wolf Laguz, one of which they knew very well.

"Is that...Khimari?"

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A/N: OOOOOOH PLOT TWIST! What's going to happen in this next chapter? You will find out soon because by the time I post this one, the other one will already be almost completely written!

Also, I'm aware that these chapters are a decent deal smaller than the ones I usually have, but I'm trying to make up for lost time, so instead of making longer chapters, I'm more or less cutting them up to make for quicker updates. Let me know if you want longer chapters like before or if the current model works (although I do plan to lengthen the chapters when I get my **** together).