Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for the reviews and comments! It's really encouraging! I tried making this chapter longer because of a reviewer's request. :) Seriously I appreciate all the feedback. I'm still working on making them even longer than this but I hope this will suffice. Once again I don't own any Fire Emblem Characters and any lines written in italic and bold are direct quotes from the game. (Not my work)
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Chapter 14: Make Your Move Captain.
Shinon moved to the front of the group with his bow readied and then turned to Ike. His eyes held mistrust as he addressed Ike, "Well here's your chance to be a captain."
He shot a meaningful glare, "We'll take orders from you but don't take all day."
Ike sighed in exasperation, "I know, I'm thinking alright!"
As Ike rushed to make a plan the Daein army slowly surrounded them. There were around fifty men left in the small force. Ike allowed himself to scan and get his bearings. From his quick analyzing they would be facing soldiers with iron spears and iron axes. A few men also had javelins and then there was the black-haired commander.
All of these men were trained in the military and only half of the mercenaries with him had a lot of experience. Ikyna, Rhys, Aeyori and he were going to be the least experienced. He tried to think of advice his father once told him about the fighters of the company.
Titania was a strong paladin that was pretty well-rounded. Gatrie was slow but had a strong defense and his skill and strength were decently high. Shinon, despite his less than friendly personality, could handle his own in a fight. Then there were the two mages. Soren and Aeyori. Both would be effective for long-range attack; but like Rhys they would be the most vulnerable. Ikyna was fast and agile, but lacked a great amount of strength. On the other hand she could be used for both short and long-range attacks if necessary.
"Sometime in this lifetime captain." Shinon groaned.
"Right." Ike replied as he unsheathed his own sword. "Titania, Shinon, and Gatrie, I'd like you three to lead the charge. You can deal the most damage and Ikyna and I can finish them off. We are in the open with only a little cover so Aeyori, Soren and Rhys are the most susceptible so we need to protect you."
Soren's face reflected a glimmer of pride as he nodded, "That's a solid plan Ike. Aeyori and I can attack behind your defenses."
Ike smiled in relief at the unexpected compliment, "You really think so? Okay then let's get to it."
"Aeyori!" Ike motioned for the light mage to come to his side, "You stick with me, I'll have Soren with Ikyna. Rhys, hang back unless we need you."
Rhys clutched his healing staff and nodded.
"It took you all that time just to think of that?" Shinon mocked. However he didn't disagree with the plan and he charged forward with Gatrie trudging behind him. Titania kicked her horse into a gallop and sped into the fray with her axe.
Ikyna pulled out both of her short knives, "You with me Soren?"
Soren nodded and chased after her. The Daien General backed himself behind his forces and pointed towards the advancing mercenaries. At his signal six men formed a protective barrier around their commander while the rest broke into smaller groups.
Titania made easy work of any soldiers that confronted her. She wielded her heavy axe with grace and skill. The weapon seemed more like an extension of her body than a cold piece of metal. The armored knight was like a blur of scarlet hair. Her ponytail whipped around as she expertly attacked and defended herself.
It wasn't long before the Daien soldiers noticed her skill. They began to attack her in larger numbers. It was a poor attempt to over power Titania as she still maintained a calm composure even as six soldiers surrounded her. Their spears prodded and stabbed at her white horse.
It snorted and shook its head anxiously. The mare began to buck and Titania took her focus from fighting to steady her disturbed steed.
"Blast!" She cursed as the men began driving her back into a mountain wall.
"Don't worry Titania, Gatrie is here." Gatrie charged into the fray and bowled over two men while striking down another with his spear. The man cried out sharply as he clutched the deep slash mark now running through his stomach.
"Shinon! Ikyna!" Ike was fending off the attack of a Daein swordsman as he spoke. "Give Gatrie and Titania some help."
Ikyna dodged a spear thrust as she turned her head towards her brother's voice. She noticed the red-head and the blonde back-to-back in the slowly shrinking circle of Daien men. She nodded silently to him as she spun and sliced a soldier's throat. He gurgled in pain before collapsing to the ground.
Without any more delay she attached her knives and flipped out her bow. She didn't want to get herself caught in the same trap Gatrie and Titania were in and her best bet was to give some aid from a distance.
"Don't hurt yourself rookie." Ikyna cringed at the smug voice addressing her. Shinnon appeared beside her with his bow strung and an arrow pointing towards the circle of fighters. "Why don't you sit back and watch the master."
Ikyna smirked through her irritation and drew her string back. She anchored it to her cheek and inhaled deeply as she focused on a target. It was the exposed part of a soldiers neck that she trained her eyes on with deadly attention.
Both archers had their feet planted in dense shrubbery and eyes locked on with deep concentration. In the same breath they released their arrows and a high-pitched whizzing sound cried past them.
Shinnon instantly pulled out another arrow even before his last arrow pinned a soldier through the neck. Even from the distance his sharp cry was heard and a squirt of blood-shot out as he fell. Ikyna's arrow wasn't as deadly; it missed the neck by a few inches and shot through his shoulder. She saw him stumble forward clutching his arm and whaling.
"So close, but not quite." Shinon's face was filled with a smug glint. He made a quick glance and let off another arrow. With the same accuracy as before, another soldier fell with an arrow through his stomach. "You still have a long way to go." He said as he triumphantly ran off to continue his fight.
Ikyna growled in frustration and brought her bow down and strapped in to her back again. Her aim was no match for Shinon's but she still had to finish the job.
"Ikyna, look out!" Soren warned from behind Ikyna.
The female mercenary yelped as she turned and saw a Daein Soldier yelling as he charged at her. His sword came down and Ikyna raised her arm to take the brunt of the force on her leather arm guard.
The wind suddenly picked up in front of her and a teal tornado burst from the clouds and enveloped the soldier. His pained cries were swallowed up by the raging winds consuming him. He stumbled backwards as the winds died.
"Finish him now!" Soren commanded. Ikyna swiftly grabbed her knives in each hand and made a crossing motion over the soldier's chest. She sighed as the man perished before her and then turned to Soren and gave him a smile and a thumbs up, "Thanks for the heads up."
Soren's face remained impassive but he nodded in acknowledgement. "We don't want to be left." He commented before pointing to the rest of the group still engaged in fighting.
"Yeah, lets' go."
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Reyson tightened his grip on the brown cloth sack strapped over his shoulder as he lost himself in thought. The ends of his knuckles blanched from his fixed grasp and then shook as his wandering mind brought up memories he couldn't handle.
The burnt and mangled bodies of his brethren and his charred home flashed like lightning in his mind. It was like his own personal replay of every atrocity he saw that night of the massacre. Without evening noticing his brow crinkled and his teeth clenched together.
"You ready to fly White Prince?"
"Ahh!" Reyson grabbed his chest as his startled heart pounded from shock. The friendly hawk's face shot into his view and alarmed him.
Janaff's eyes laughed childishly as he floated on his back with his legs crossed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I thought you heard me calling you."
Reyson shook his head and let his hands release the sack and fall to his side, "No, I was just deep in thought again."
Janaff nodded as if he understood before flipping into a standing position, "Are you worried about the trip?"
The hawk was referring to the trip to Goldoa himself, Ulki, the Prince and King Tibarn would soon make. He could only imagine that the frail heron would be mildly apprehensive. It was a long trip with high plunging mountain peaks and strong winds surrounded the bowl type valley claimed as the dragon land.
Janaff scratched his chin, "It is gunna be a tough trip, but you know we'll take it easy on you. Just let us know when you need a rest."
"I'm not worried about Goldoa." Reyson admitted with a sigh, "I'm not overly fond of our detour though."
The hawk's eyes widened in realization and he gave a weak smile, "Yeah, I'm not excited about going to Begnion either." He crossed his arms and shook his head, "But the king says he needs to check on things there."
"Like what?" Reyson began, "Is he wondering if those vermin are still faring well?" he made a derisive scoff, "I can assure him that roaches always thrive."
"I don't think that's it…" Janaff said as he cringed from the prince's bitter tone.
"You're welcome to stay behind Reyson."
The heron and hawk turned in attention to Tibarn as he flew into their conversation. Janaff quickly bowed deeply in respect; his face flustered from the sudden arrival of his king.
Tibarn dropped a heavy sack on the ground and adjusted the strap around his chest that secured his small dagger before crossing his muscular arms. He looked back and forth from heron to hawk with a jovial smile, "We can always come back and pick you up after we stop off at Begnion."
Reyson quickly shook his head, not liking the idea of being left alone. It was hard enough battling the demons of his past with the distractions of his friends, he couldn't imagine being on his own. He was always struggling to get out of his own head and focus on the present, but the past had such a strong hold on him. The thought of staying behind with nothing but long hallways and his unconscious father made him shudder.
Of course there would be plenty of hawk attendants with him and Lotz was friendly and accommodating, but Reyson only felt truly comfortable when Tibarn was around.
"No, I'll go with you. I just don't understand why you would want to go to Begnion."
"I have contacts that I need to check on there."
"You have men in Begnion?" Reyson questioned with a look of genuine surprise.
Tibarn nodded, "Ulki's ears only hear so far and it pays to be well informed. Especially to be informed on one's enemy."
Reyson sighed but he couldn't disagree with the kings words. He suddenly felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Tibarn gave Reyson a light squeeze, "I know Begnion is the last place you want to go. It'll be quick I promise."
He picked up his sack groaned through a stretch, "We'll be there and gone in no time; and then it's off to that bag of scales. Sound like fun?" he asked with obvious sarcasm in his voice.
"I can't wait." Reyson replied.
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Ike cried out as an archer bashed him in the face with the end of a bow. The mercenary clutched his face as he stumbled back. He blinked rapidly and tried to clear his vision but the blow turned his sight into a fuzzy swirl of colors and ambiguous shapes. One shape was inching toward him and he could only assume this was his Daien enemy.
With his head pounding from the hit he held his sword in front of him for protection and tried to steady his faltering steps. He laughed to himself; it wasn't like a sword would do him much good when he couldn't see and his opponent could pin him down from afar with one arrow.
"Captain Ike duck!" In the split second it took Ike to recognize the new voice a high-pitched whistling sound started above him. As he registered what was happening he dropped to the ground just as the stream of bright light blew past him into the Daein archer.
"Ahh!" the man dropped his bow and covered his eyes while stumbling around frantically. Ike's vision slowly cleared and he saw the mans bleached face where the light tome struck him. It looked like pale white burn marks with the charred skin flaking off and flapping in the light breeze blowing past.
Ike capitalized on the archers disorientation and thrust his sword into his stomach. The man's face contorted into a pained expression before he crumbled to the ground.
"Captain!" Aeyori cried as she ran to him when he fell to one knee while cradling his head. It was still hurting like someone was using his head as a drum. He shook his head and realized that the pain only worsened.
The light mage knelt besides him; her eyes flickered in concern. He gave a small smile, "Thank you for your help."
She quickly shook her head, "No I didn't do much…oh!" Aeyori covered him mouth and her face dropped, "Your head captain."
Ike raised an eyebrow in confusion as Aeyori stuck a trembling hand out and touched the side of his forehead. It stung where she touched and he winced away from her. She looked at him apologetically and pulled her hand back. Her fingertip was red from the blood and she stared at it as the color in her face drained away.
Ike chuckled softly before covering her hand with his own. "If you stare too long you're going to faint I think."
Aeyori looked sick, "I really am no good at this if just that is going to make me faint huh?"
Ike shook his head, "You saved me, so I think you're just as good as anyone else here."
Her face brightened from the compliment. She looked down at their hands that were still joined and felt her face burning. Aeyori snatched her hand away and looked towards the nearest object that wasn't Ike.
Ike cocked his head in confusion at Aeyori's strange reaction. At least her face got its color back he reasoned, although she did look a little red.
"Ike are you alright?" Rhys ran up to them with his heal staff clasped firmly. His face was riddled with worry as he looked Ike up and down. It wasn't that the priest hadn't seen worse bruises; but anytime one of his friends were injured it made his stomach churn.
"You came at just the right time." Ike said as he stood up and dusted himself. "I could use your help."
Rhys silently nodded before placing the staff and red orb over Ike's bleeding face. He closed his eyes and gathered his energy. Ike watched as a flash of red light covered his body. The pain in his face gradually faded and his head stopped spinning. When Rhys finished Ike felt better than when he started.
He gave Rhys a friendly pat on the back, "Thanks, I'm glad you're here Rhys."
Rhys stammered and his cheeks tinted a faded pink, "I'm relieved if I can be even a little help."
"Of course, we couldn't replace you."
The priest bashfully put his head down and muttered a thank you.
"Ready to go Aeyori?"
"Yes Captain."
Ike slung his sword over his back and charged back to the remaining soldiers. It was slowly dwindling down to the last Daein soldiers and the Greil Mercenaries were closing in on the General of the group.
As Rhys watched the two mercenaries run off he called out, "Do you need to be healed Aeyori?"
She stopped mid stride to turn and face him. With a bow and a small smile she said, "No thank you sir." Then immediately went back to following Ike. Rhys sighed contentedly. He was happy to be of use despite how often he could offer no help due to his health.
When Ike and Aeyori made it to the rest of the group only three soldiers and the black-haired commander remained. They were desperately trying to fend of the force of Titania and Gatrie. At this point even the commander was forced to battle. He was looking tired as he parried Titania's axe despite his left arm being unusable where an arrow had found its way into a space between the plates of armor.
At last the remaining soldiers fell to Shinon's arrows and Ikyna's knives. Ike slowly made his way to the cornered commander. He held his sword at his side trying to avoid antagonizing the man. The commander was panting and frantically looking from mercenary to mercenary.
He spotted Ike and gave him a vicious glare before spitting out, "You're nothing more than a bunch of ragtag sellswords. Who are you to oppose Daein? You are so terribly ignorant of your position in this world." He remarked haughtily
Ike retorted, "You refused to listen to us then attacked without provocation. Is this the way of the Daien army?"
The commander scoffed and readied his javelin, "You're a cheeky little monkey aren't you? Once you're dead you'll regret sassing me." With one last attempt he hurled his javelin at Ike. It whizzed through the air and Ike barely managed to ward it off by striking it down with his sword.
The Daien leader gasped in surprise and began desperately trying to escape as he realized his last attack failed. Ike made a charge and leapt into the air.
"Yah!" Ike cried as he slashed down on the exposed neck of the soldier. Fresh sanguine liquid spurted out into the air. He coughed and grabbed his neck as he fell to his knees. With his last gurgling breath he growled out, "Wretched curs…you'll regret…opposing Daien."
Sighs of relief escaped the mercenaries as the last of the small Daien force fell. However an ominous air hung over them; the mysteries of the country's enemy were growing quickly.
Titania dismounted from her horse and made her way to each member of the group. "No one is hurt right? Everyone is okay?" she sighed again with her hand over her chest as if it could finally relax. "Everything seems to have turned out well."
Ike nodded as the same feeling of ease came over him. He had managed to not kill every member of his crew; even better, they won and there weren't any major injuries. Rhys was already attending to any small scars.
The newly victorious mercenary looked on with satisfaction before stating, "We need to head back and tell my father what happened here."
Ikyna walked up, "Although what really did happen here? Daein went crazy for no reason."
"I guess that's what we'll have to tell dad then."
Soren joined the two and pointed to a curved road, "We should head that way…" he paused as he stared into a patch of bushes with a furrowed brow.
Ike, "What is it?"
Soren shook his head dismissively but before he could speak again Rhys addressed Ike, "I think I see something in those bushes over there."
Ike shrugged, he couldn't imagine who or what could be moving there. Perhaps it was a wounded soldier. "Let's go have a look."
Rhys led the small group but stopped dead in his tracks suddenly.
"Something wrong Rhys?"
The priest kept staring into the bushes for a few moments in silence before saying, "There is a woman here."
Ike and Ikyna exchanged surprised looks and Soren cautioned, "Leave her. We shouldn't get involved in matters that don't concern us."
Ikyna groaned in irritation, "How can you even say that? This girl may need our help."
Soren raised one eyebrow, "Haven't you picked up enough stray girls recently."
Ikyna placed her hands on her hips and shook her head while rolling her eyes, "I swear, the things that come out of your mouth sometimes. Imagine if Aeyori heard you talking that way."
With an unphased expression Soren replied, "I'm sure it wouldn't matter to me how she would feel."
"Gosh!" Ikyna held up two clinched and trembling fist, "I just wanna pinch you so hard sometimes."
The small dispute between the two was interrupted by the mystery woman's low moan. She stumbled from the bushes. Her long emerald hair hung loosely over her face and fell to almost the middle of her back and over her flowing orange dress. She had both of her hands clasped tightly together as if she had been praying.
With two more unstable steps she let out a small gasp before collapsing. Rhys ran to her side and inspected her, "It looks like she simply fainted Ike." He observed with a relieved smile.
"That's fine. We should take her back to look after her. Can you give me a hand?"
Rhys nodded and helped to get her on Ike's back so he could carry her. Soren looked on disapprovingly and folded his arms.
"Oh stop with the sour face Soren." Ikyna commented.
"This is a bad idea."
"Helping people is never a bad idea."
Soren still scowled as he watched Ike carry this other woman.
"I hope helping her doesn't cause any trouble." He said under his breath and then followed after Ike.
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Alright gotta go guys! Thanks for reading again! ^_^ By the way I'm thinking of Changing the title of the Story to Scattered Feathers and Silver Ash...I know it's not a big change but it works better with the plot of my story.
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