Chapter 13: Predators
Robin dreamed.
She stepped out of foam-flecked waters, the ocean falling from her like a set of old clothing. A bright sky greeted her, flecked with clouds white as the wave caps. Someone splashed through the waves next to her, and by reflex she took their hand. The fingers were smaller than her own, but the grip was a match in strength.
"Did you see how well I handled the sails? I kept up with you, didn't I?" The voice squeaked with enthusiasm. She glanced down to see a boy with sea colored hair, and found herself smiling at him.
"Yes; you'll be better than I am, soon enough." The boy grinned, before glancing around. With how his head darted back and forth, he was fascinated by the coast, and never tired from the crash of the waves. His face light up even more once he found something, and she followed his gaze. A man walked the shore, heading towards them. Mirroring his steps was a second child, perhaps a little taller than the boy at her side.
That sight alone pushed a light, gentle feeling into her chest. It was like someone had grabbed a fistful of sunlight, and left it resting in her heart. The feeling was almost motherly, though she didn't miss how both children shared Chrom's hair color. She also noticed just who was leading the girl towards them; even at this distance, his messy bangs and the mark on his shoulder were unmistakable.
'Chrom.' She thought, right as the boy called something out.
"Father!"
-o-o-o-
Chrom dreamed.
He stood at the beach, waves lapping at his feet and the sea breeze tickling his face. Sand stretched out to either side, empty and lonely. There was no sign of anyone else, or even a hint of sails on the horizon; just the call of seagulls, and the blue mirror of the bay.
"She'll be here soon, right?" A voice chirped in his ear; one that filled him with warmth and banished his loneliness. It prompted Chrom to smile despite the emptiness of the beach. A hand rested on his, just a tiny thing dwarfed in his palm.
With how he held it, he never wanted to let go.
"Yes, soon I hope-" A splashing sound filled his ears. He turned to see someone walking from the ocean, her white hair already drying. That sight, and the small hand in his own chased the last of the solitude away. He grinned as he picked out pale hair, and a violet-black robe on the woman's shoulders.
"Mother!" The voice called out, and the hand left his, a pair of feet pattering on the sand. His eyes found a blue haired girl, splashing through the waves with a giggle. She called out "Mother!" again as she ran towards Robin.
-o-o-o-
Robin stirred awake, surprised that her surroundings were only wood.
'Where's the ocean? Where's the beach and-?'
And Chrom… and those figures in her dream. Robin froze from folding the blankets off herself, when she remembered their features; blue hair, the same as Chrom. And… What they'd called her.
'Mother.' Robin groaned, kicking the blankets off and flopping out of the bed.
"What on earth brought that on." Robin muttered. A twinge in her heart suggested exactly why she'd dreamed such a thing. The gentle sensation hadn't left her, even though she was mostly awake. "Dreaming about a family, with…"
"F-family what?" Came a voice. Exactly the LAST voice she wanted to hear. Robin jolted around to see Chrom. He stood in the open doorway, morning sunlight streaming in behind him.
"NOTHING!" Robin yelped out. "B-but you really need to learn to knock."
It was a lucky thing she had learned to sleep with a few more bits of clothing thrown on. Even so, Chrom froze from the words and ducked his head.
"S-sorry." Chrom managed. "Didn't mean anything untoward. But I… I thought you might want to be up and about. Get some fresh air, now that we're free of the storms."
Robin nodded. Her dreams still hung heavy in her thoughts, making dressing and stepping onto the deck a blur. But eventually, she realized that she was basking in the warm sunlight. Chrom was nearby, leaning against the ship railings. He kept trying to relax; that much was clear with how he forced deep breaths… But it was also undone with how much he fidgeted.
'Looking like he somehow got a fish stuck in his pantaloons.'
"B-by the way," Chrom broke into her thoughts. He had a strained note in his voice, trying and failing to treat things as casual conversation. "Did you happen to have any, ah, odd dreams last night?"
A part of her marveled over how that question could leave her with ice cubes in her stomach, and a fire in her cheeks. Images of those two children and their uncanny similarity to Chrom, played through her head. With them came a warm feeling curling inside her chest, at odds with the panic also trying to rise up.
"No!" Robin blurted out, before she could feel anymore torn in two. "I mean, no, not really."
'Just a dream of raising a family with you.' Her thoughts wryly noted. 'Nothing too odd about that, right?'
"Oh…" Chrom deflated at that, but only for a moment. The next breath he sucked in, he'd gathered some courage. "I admit, I sort of had this weird-"
"ALL HANDS TO STATIONS!" Frederick's voice cut Chrom off. They both flinched up, looking to the wheel. Frederick stood at it, glaring at the horizon. "Black sails, spotted off the port bow!"
That wasn't a good thing, with how a crew-wide shiver worked its way through the Shepherd. Robin rushed to the ship's side, to look out over the ocean.
A new fleet rode the waves. It only took a glance to realize those ships weren't of Ylisse, nor of Ferox. They were carved in a leaner fashion, and their lateen sails were black teeth. They didn't look very friendly… And they were on a straight path towards the Shepherd.
"Pirates." Chrom said the word like it was a curse.
-o-o-o-
"So, any particular reason we're following that big blot of a thing?" Morgan asked. With how strongly he swam, it was clear he'd shrugged off his encounter with the gem.
The same was true for Lucina, her pain a distant memory. The new sheen of ruby on her scales was the only hint of red in the water. Her wounds had closed up, and her muscles were strong and willing.
It meant she could easily keep pace with the ship. The oceans still seemed amiable towards her, ready to help her cause. Whenever her strength flagged, there was a push in the current to help her along; it meant that no matter what sort of breeze the ship caught, they were still able to shadow it.
"Lucina?" Morgan pressed, swimming close enough to give her a brief poke in the ribs.
"Ow! Y-yes, yes there's a reason." Lucina blurted out, hoping that would keep him from prodding her again. Another poke at her side discouraged that hope.
"And? That reason is?" She batted his hand aside before he could prod her again.
"It's that…" She trained her eyes towards the ship, wondering if the sight would give her a solid answer. "It's… A little hard to explain. But I have a feeling, whenever I look at that ship, that it's important. Sort of like when I first saw you, even though I didn't know who exactly you were."
"So it's less a plan, and more intuition?" Morgan did a quick turn over, spinning like a dolphin as he considered her. "Well… I sort of wish we had a better plan. But on the other fin, we've done pretty good with making it up as we go. I'm good for continuing with that!"
"Thanks… I think." Lucina answered, looking back up.
She froze, almost tumbling over in the current. There wasn't just one ship any longer. Other wedges of black moved against the sunlight… and there was something about them that she didn't like.
-o-o-o-
"Any suggestions?" Chrom asked. "We don't want to meet those ships if we can; they outnumber us… And they have the look of pirates."
Robin frantically scanned the waves, trying to pick out something that might help them. In another breath, there was a shift in the waves, a slight dip that showed the seas were about to turn from a flat plain into rolling hills of water.
"Y-yes, I think I've got something! Look at the dip in the waters; can we use that to drop out of sight? If we can stick to the valley of the waves, we might be able to slip past them, once we get down there." Chrom followed where she pointed, and gave a quick hum in agreement.
"Kellam, hard to port." Chrom murmured, looking worried his voice might carry across the waves. "Maybe we can lose them, past that swell."
"A-aye sir." The Shepherd easily slid up and over the wave, then down into the trailing valley of water. The sails billowed out, every available scrap trying to catch wind. The Shepherd shot forward... Until a new wave slid under them, lifting them back up and into view, no matter how they scrambled to stay out of sight. The waves seemed to have their own ideas, dragging the ship back up, ignoring how by all rights they should have stayed low.
Robin grit her teeth, trying to figure out what was pulling them back up… And wondering at the noise that lurked at the edge of her hearing; a single, discordant note scratching its way into her ears.
The black ships drew closer, like a swarm of cloth and wood ravens riding the wind. Chrom hissed out a curse... But Robin could only stare. The ships hadn't floundered in any of the swells.
Worse, they were catching up.
"I-I don't understand," Robin stared at the pursuing fleet. Trying to will them into making sense. Or force them to fall back. "How can they read the waves so well? Unless-"
She trailed off, finally able to pick out the crew. They were a match for the black flags and sails. The sailors dressed in ragged cloth, most dyed the color of night. A few slashes of scarlet fabric peeked through the black uniforms like fresh wounds.
Standing apart from them, one leg up on the railing was a woman all in black. Robin could make out a pleased smile creasing her lips. And she realized where that note was coming from.
'Unless they have someone with the same gift.' Robin's thoughts seemed to lurch, once she saw the lady in black. But what really held her attention was the gleaming white hair, so similar to her own.
'What-?' The sight of another woman, another who could've been like her, slowed Robin's thoughts to a crawl.
The ships darted forward, more soldiers lining the edges and resting their hands on an array of weapons. They made no motion to call out to the Shepherd even though they approached hailing distance, and malevolent intent seemed to bleed off them.
"Blast them." Frederick grumbled. "They've pinned us; we can't slip out without running into them, or hitting the Dragon's Teeth."
'Teeth?' She followed Frederick's flickering eyes, and picked out a hint of rocks, beyond the sway of waves… But she couldn't focus on them for long.
"Draw steel, everyone!" Chrom yelled. "They won't take this ship easily!"
He motioned to a collection of the crew, their robes snapping in the sea breeze. His attention was focused less on the strange woman, and more on the fighters lining the ships.
"Mages! Any ship that gets into range, you turn it to ash!"
The crew rushed to their battle stations. But how they moved so quickly was a mystery to Robin; her head was still wrapped in fog.
That was why her voice didn't come to her throat fast enough, when she really needed it.
She could only manage a squeak, when something tugged her attention away from the woman in black. Robin picked out a shadow moving across the Shepherd. A second later she wrenched her gaze up to see a dark shape dashing through the sky. One that didn't look anything like a pegasus.
"Ch-Chrom!" She tried to call out. By the time she could raise her voice, the dark shape was already arrowing towards the Shepherd. She charted the course, still too slow to do anything more than cry out.
"LISSA! MARIBELLE!" The two girls lifted their heads from the enemy ships, but too slowly.
They didn't see the talons. Not before winged creatures latched their claws around the shoulders of both girls. With a wrench they left the spell circles, lifted into the sky before the mages had a chance to fire a counter spell.
Miriel tried to trace runes out, only to stop with a snap. She'd realized at the same moment as Robin that the flyers were using Lissa and Maribelle as human shields.
Sumia's pegasus was still penned below decks, unable to get into the air fast enough. The stomping feet and shrieking neighs showed how the beast wished to be in the air … and combat those things.
"Wyverns-!?" Chrom put a name to the creatures. The two flyers angled back to the pirate ships, dropping the girls a few feet off the deck. For a moment Chrom could only stare, the same as Robin. But once he gathered his breath, once he realized what had happened, he sheathed Falchion and ran to the edge of the Shepherd. The look in his eyes promised murder.
"Hang on, both of you!" Chrom shouted to Lissa and Maribelle, climbing onto the rails. He was going to throw himself into the sea and swim to the enemy if he had to.
And everything about that screamed either 'bad idea' or 'didn't think this through.'
"S-stop him!" Emmeryn cried out, a note of desperation creeping into her voice. Robin threw herself forward, grabbing Chrom by one shoulder; Frederick took the other. Chrom fought against both of them, desperation fueling his struggles; Robin had to cling to his arm, weighing him down.
"LET GO! I have to-"
"Oh bravo, crew, bravo!" Came a mocking voice, stopping Chrom short. "Excellent flying, and not a single hair harmed on the heads of our new guests! Well done indeed. Now… mayhaps we can see about speaking with these strangers."
-o-o-o-
"What exactly is going on here?" Morgan asked. He stuck close to Lucina as they circled the fleet, moving in and out of the shadows cast by the new ships. His skin prickled in the shade, like the black sailed ships were leeching the warmth out of the waters. "What are these things?"
"I wish I could tell you; all I know is they're causing trouble for our ship." Lucina answered, glaring at the interlopers. "They're like sharks circling a wounded animal, with how they move. And we need to find some way of stopping that… Like we did before, in the rocks."
"Right-!" Morgan hushed himself, hoping his words didn't carry to the surface. "I mean, you're right. We scuttled those ships once. Bet that we can do it again."
His enthusiasm dimmed as they drifted beneath another ship.
"But how did it work…?" He trailed off, as Lucina gave a faint hum.
'There was a song involved. Like we were tapping into some ambient verse and the magic in it.' Morgan remembered. And if he really concentrated, he could hear snatches of it now.
To his confusion, the hum centered on one of the invading boats. He swore there was something, or someone strange there. Someone who gave off magic the way a bell radiated notes. But strange or not, it gave Morgan something to focus on, to match his voice to.
While the rest of him prayed this would work.
-o-o-o-
Chrom seethed, glaring at the pirates. The dastards had already surrounded his sister and Maribelle. In a blink, they'd been taken from him… And he could do nothing about it. He wasn't a strong enough swimmer to bridge the gap between ships quickly enough. Not without getting turned into a pincushion.
But damn his enemies and himself, if he wasn't ready to try. What kept him pinned was Frederick and Robin weighing him down, and pulling him back from the edge.
"Yes, quite well done." The voice continued. On the leading ship, a man in yellow and black strode through the ranks, stopping in front of Maribelle and Lissa.
"Now, it would be quite the shame if these girls DID come to harm, after all our trouble to keep them safe as welcome guests. So perhaps, your excellency," he raised his voice to Emmeryn. "Would be so good as to calm that firebrand you call a brother."
"Chrom," Emmeryn whispered. "Stay your hand for the moment-"
"GUESTS!?" Chrom shouted out, though he stopped struggling in Frederick and Robin's grips. "You have a lot of nerve, letting that dreck pass your lips!"
"...Ah, the young lordling deigns to speak with humble pirates such as us. I must introduce myself, so we're on equal footing; I'm the leader of our brotherhood." The man's grin widened... and didn't once flicker as he dug a hand into Lissa's hair. He wrenched her to her feet.
"Now, with the pleasantries and introductions over, shall we get down to business? Ah, ah," he drew a sword with his free hand, when Chrom tried to lurch forward.
The blade was curiously made, jagged like a lightning bolt. A low hum buzzed in Chrom's head at the sight... then cut out with when the pirate pressed the sword against Lissa's throat.
"Prince, I expect better conduct from you. Unless you truly want to force my hand, and have the blood of this girl and her friend coat the deck."
Another pirate grabbed Maribelle, and pressed a dagger to her throat. "Granted, my ship COULD use another coat of paint, and red does make for a fetching color-"
"Please, enough!" Emmeryn's voice stopped the threats, and froze Chrom. His elder sister moved in front of Chrom, arms stretched out to show she held no weapons.
"You have the advantage... please, let us parlay." Chrom's face burned, hating how his sister had to practically beg to talk terms.
"Ah, so the one with sense speaks. You know of me, don't you your Graceliness?"
"Yes, Gangrel." Emmeryn answered.
"Pirate king." Chrom spat out. Gangrel simply leered, his lips splitting to show all his teeth. They looked not unlike a shark.
"A title I wear with pride; there isn't much left of my homelands left to rule, save for our humble brethren. We have the efforts of your father to thank for that, don't we?"
He didn't look like much of a king in Chrom's eyes. His silks were black and yellow and a cut above the other pirates, but Chrom saw where the salt had stained them. His hair was wild and twisted up, and his sneer looked like it belonged to a tavern bully. The one thing that marked him as remotely king-like was the crown of gold on his head, the points almost thorns the way they jutted from his hair and caught the gleam of the sun.
From the greedy looks that gold caught, Chrom wondered how many of his crew Gangrel had to kill on a regular basis, to keep his title and his wealth.
"Still! Despite the sins of the past, I have an offer for you. One that will help assuage our rage, and reduce the attacks on your vessels." So he was the one to blame, for the raids they suffered. Lissa stiffened in his grip, realizing the same thing. She glared at him, despite the pointed sword grazing her throat.
"You-!" Lissa cut off, gasping as he hefted the jagged blade, pressing a needle point at her skin.
"We're but simple pirates. A little gold goes a long way with us."
"What would you have?" Emmeryn insisted. Her voice was quiet... but Chrom wondered if there was a hint of anger brewing, as she watched her sister squirm. "Part of the treasury? Ransom fitting those of Ylisse's noble houses?"
"You're half right, your Queenship. But there's a particular bauble I want from your treasury. I'll gladly return these two ladies to you, whole and unspoiled... in exchange for the Fire Emblem."
A hush dropped over the ships. Even the waves seemed curiously muted in Chrom's ears.
"Th-the Emblem?" Emmeryn finally managed.
"Surprised I know of it?"
"King Gangrel... I don't know how you heard of it, but..." Emmeryn dropped her eyes. "We don't have the Emblem. It's been lost."
Chrom winced at that. He hated laying bare their weakness. But even that wasn't enough for Gangrel. Lissa yelped in pain, the lightning sword drawing blood. His grin was gone, replaced with a scowl that he leveled on Emmeryn.
"LIES! You're telling me that the sacred treasure was something you LOST? Do you intend to play me for a fool!? You know where it is." He hissed the last words out.
Chrom's blood boiled, when he saw the red threading down Lissa's throat. The ship wavered around him, his rage making everything feel hazy. For an instant, his surroundings blinked out entirely. Images of the Feroxi lighthouse, and the sigils carved on the floor flashed through Chrom's memory. And now, they almost seemed to form something in his mind.
'A map-?'
The thought shrunk away, as Gangrel cursed them for liars and fools both. The snap in his words showed how thin his patience was… As did the tight grip he had on his sword. Lissa paled, pain making her eyes glaze over.
'We're running out of time.'
"Chrom," Robin whispered at his ear. "Please listen. I'm trying to figure out how to get Lissa and Maribelle out of there, and find an escape route. I think the winds will change soon, but I need an opening-"
She paused as Gangrel finished his tirade. The pirate king looked down at Lissa, an expression on his face that made Chrom's blood run cold.
"Perhaps this one will talk more freely, with the right incentive-"
A crash stopped his words and threats short.
Something exploded underwater with a spray of foam. The shockwaves rocked the pirate ships, throwing everyone to the side or to their knees. Gangrel fought for his balance while his guards lost their grip on Maribelle.
She didn't hesitate, half rushing Gangrel and half crashing into him. Maribelle drove an elbow into his side, while Lissa slipped under his grip. The blast set the decks askew, the ships fighting to avoid tipping over completely. Maribelle and Lissa both staggered to the edge of the railing-
And then over the side, into the waiting waters.
-o-o-o-
'This has to work,' Morgan begged.
Lucina's scales flared bright red as she concentrated, the color flashing down to her fins. A bolt of magic gathered in her hands, matching the shimmer in her tail. Morgan's voice rang out, lending strength to the glow.
'Come on, come on.' His note strained, agitation hitching in his throat.
Lucina struggled to keep a grip on the spell, holding the magic for a breath. Morgan would have let it fly right there, but she kept her grip and fed a little more power into the spell. She let it spark pull against her control, before releasing it.
It shot forward, boiling the water before it slammed into the lead ship. The impact threw them both back, tumbling head over tail.
Morgan forced himself upright for an instant, to see the spell snapping at the hulls of the fleet. Like before, the ships lurched from the impact. Some took on gouges in their hulls, but the main ship was made of sterner stuff than the phantom ships. It stood against the blow, and filled Morgan's ears with a discordant hum.
The ship still listed hard, and shed a few bodies. They sank like stones… And among them were two girls. Their blonde hair trailed bubbles behind them as they sank.
They struggled in the waters, so clumsy compared to him and Lucina. Even if he and his sibling were still tumbling from the spell backlash. The girl's hands lacked webbing to help them swim, leaving them to claw at the water. Morgan threw his own fingers out to stop his rolling, the webbing catching against the water and slowing him. Water rushed around his ears, tangling his hair and fins for a moment. But he finally came to a stop, as did Lucina. They both watched the girls sink deeper into the ocean, unable to swim.
He gave a quick glance to Lucina, then to the girls.
"We'd better do something, if that's what you're thinking." Lucina answered, darting forward.
-o-o-o-
This was their best chance, Robin knew. Frederick and the rest of the Shepherd had gone still, watching an unseen foe tear into the pirate fleet. The pirates themselves were in a roil, and even the stranger had lost that amused, smug look on her face; she was more busy with hanging onto the rails, the same as the pirate king.
"Chrom-?" He started at her voice, eyes still fixed to the waves. To the spot Lissa and Maribelle had fallen.
"R-right. Let's go."
At Chrom's nod, they both jumped over the side of the Shepherd. He hit the water first, with barely a splash. Lissa and Maribelle were struggling in the tides, desperately trying to stay afloat… and failing to do so.
Robin dove into the waves. She kicked hard, plunging into the gloom. Maribelle and Lissa's hair both shone bright against the darkened ocean. But as brilliant as that was, a glimmer of something else caught her eyes. Fish scales, set against a human frame.
'Mer. That's one of the seafolk.' What little breath she was holding left her in a rush. Her shoulders tensed, ready to lash out with her bare hands if she had to.
She picked out a second Mer. Both had their hands around Lissa and Maribelle… but they didn't pull them into the depths. Instead they made powerful strokes with their tails, bringing the girls closer to the surface.
Chrom froze at the sight, also looking half ready to fight. Robin threw a hand out to stop him short.
The sun fell across Maribelle and Lissa's faces, showing how deathly pale they'd gone. The sight shot alarm into her chest, but Robin's eyes stayed focused the features of the two Mer. There was something familiar about them… something like looking into a mirror. Their hair, almost blending into the water, was the same shade of blue as Chrom's.
-o-o-o-
They were so close to the surface. Yet Lucina found that she couldn't swim another hand's breadth. Her fins froze, her arm half reached out… but she couldn't move. Not under the sight of those people, framed so brilliantly by the sunlight.
Skeins of white hair fanned out around the woman's face, while a mess of blue hair framed the man's. And she knew it wasn't her imagination, that it matched her and Morgan. But more than that, it was the faces of the two.
She'd seen them before, in her dreams, her visions… and in her memories.
'M-Mothe-' She tried to say the words, but they wouldn't come. Something was drowning out her voice. A strange hum echoed through the water. Someone was singing, beyond the water's surface.
"No, child…" It seemed to mock. "You don't play us for fools, and escape us that easily!"
Something crashed through the waves; a heavy spar of mast from one of the broken ships. It was heavy enough to crush anything it caught, and she saw it was falling towards the two swimmers.
All of the sudden she COULD move. The girl in her grip thrashed, her pigtails lashing at Lucina's face. She ignored them, throwing herself against the humans. She pushed the girl into their arms and shoved them free-
The mast crashed into Lucina in their place. A blow caught her across the shoulder blades, and she twisted in pain. But the wince stopped short, and she stared down at rigging from the mast, entangling her limbs.
-o-o-o-
A song echoed through the waters, from the throat of the sea witch. But Robin didn't have time to dwell on it.
Robin stared down at the Mer girl, twisting and dragging in the currents. Ropes tangled in her throat, tightening in a noose and obstructing the gills along her neck.
'You have to save a few more people now.' She had time to think, before passing Lissa on to Chrom. Nearby, the Mer boy froze, caught between saving his companion and Maribelle. The Mer girl was still sinking, thrashing usessly against her binds.
Robin flashed a hand out, tapping into the faint melody humming overhead. A bolt of lightning scorched the ropes… and yet didn't part them completely.
A flash of blade, however, finished them, cutting the ropes free from the mast. Robin followed the strike to see Chrom. He brandished Falchion with one hand, clinging onto Lissa with the other.
The girl hung limp in the severed ropes, stunned by the blow from the mast. Robin solved that by grabbing the ropes, and kicking towards the surface. When her head broke from the waters, the witch's song cut out.
"THERE!" Frederick's voice greeted her. The Shepherd was the only ship still stable, the crew able to throw down ropes… thankfully without tangling them any further. She caught a glimpse of Maribelle clinging desperately to a line. The boy looped it about her waist before darting away before he could be ensnared. The finned girl still slumped against her, barely even wincing when the Shepherd lines plucked her and Robin from the sea. A splash of foam chased them up the side of the ship, splashing at Robin's mouth and making her sputter. Robin clung onto the ropes, losing track of what was pulling her up and what was a tangle that needed to be cut-
Chrom solved that the second their feet hit the deck. He gave Lissa a hard pat on the back to clear any water out of her lungs, before leaving her in Emm's care and darting forward. Falchion weaved expertly through the ropes, slicing them clean… and leaving the girl to blink at them in confusion.
Her tail twitched, trying to swim through air. The shimmering blue scales caught the sunlight, along with a red edge that made all the nearby crew gasp.
"What the hell-?" Vaike muttered. Miriel was a touch more verbose.
"Incredible. I've never seen such a display or seen one of their kind so close…" Robin glanced down, wondering what Miriel meant by 'display.'
'She's glowing!' Robin realized with a shock. The mer's skin was glowing, trails and patterns of light traveling over her skin, dimming and then flaring up. The scales along her body also gleamed, pulsing in an odd pattern.
Almost like they formed a word.
'Mother.' It sprang to Robin's mind. The scales pulsed in a rhythm, and the word 'Mother' translated itself again.
The girl stared at Robin for one long moment... then hauled herself over the railing, half climbing and half falling over it, into the waiting sea. She vanished with barely a ripple, the Mer boy following her.
"Wh... what WAS that!?" Chrom hissed. Robin couldn't bring herself to speak, shock leaving her mouth dry.
"Whatever it was, we've got other things to worry about!" Sully grabbed Robin by the shoulders as she spoke. "So if you don't mind, maybe you can get your head on straight? BOTH OF YOU?"
"R-right…" Chrom staggered to the wheel as he spoke, and Sully marched Robin behind him. "So Robin, what's the plan? You thought you could see an opening for us… We still got a hope in hell?"
"I-" she had to figure out what to do next. Robin blinked, and rubbed at her ears. Her senses cleared, but only by a fraction. Chrom put his hands on the wheel, looking between her and the waves.
"I think…"
For a heartbeat she thought they were going to die; either from the currents, or the pirates. The raiders were rallying, screaming for their blood. But instead of her life flashing before her eyes, all she could think of was that blue haired mer.
'So similar to Chrom…'
She saw a shimmer of scales ahead, that matched the azure tail. The Mer crested the waves once, darting into a rocky passage. Watching her, Robin saw the flow of the waves… and saw what they were going to do next.
"R-right! I mean, go right! Starboard!" She yelped the last out, and Chrom slammed his weight into the wheel. The Shepherd leapt into a gale, sails filling and a current seizing them up. Just like Robin had hoped for.
Over the white flecked caps, she saw the beginnings of a set of islands. They reached up in rocky teeth, just visible through the haze.
'Those must be what Frederick was talking about. The Dragon's Teeth.' She remembered seeing the name on a collection of maps.
"Head for those!"
"Hells Robin, that's a sea canyon! We go in there, we might as well slit our throats now." Sully protested.
"Maybe, but didn't people say the same about the Feroxi straits?" Robin returned.
"It's better than waiting for the Plegian fleet to pounce on us." Chrom pointed out… and kept the ship on course. A moment later, Robin understood Sully's fears. The passage was less a collection of islands, and more a thread through solid rock walls. The crags grew close together, ready to bite into ships.
'But it's still the only chance we have.'
Chrom turned the ship towards the rocky straits, while the pirates gave chase. She didn't dare glance back.
They had enough to dodge ahead of them. The waves crashed against the rocks, cloaking them in tide-made mist. But Chrom didn't falter, squinting against the spray and sending the Shepherd into the passages.
Navigating grew harder with each turn. The wind carried a dark voice on it, and with that sound, came bolts of magic from the pirate ships. The spells struck home along with a treacherous wind, crashing into the main mast. Spars of jagged rock bit at the cross beams with a sickening crunch, making the entire Shepherd tremble. Each hit, from spells or stone, took another scrap of sail and rigging with it, and dread chilled Robin's stomach at each loss.
A rock tried to tear a hole in the Shepherd, but only succeeded in gouging out one of the railings. A harsh crash echoed behind them as they weaved the passage, revealing one of the Plegian ships hadn't been so lucky.
"We're in a bad way." Frederick lowered his voice, to keep panic from rushing through the crew.
"We do have one consolation, however… the Plegians are suffering equally, if not more so. They've taken their share of gouges." Miriel spoke up. She nodded towards the rear of the Shepherd, tugging her hat out of the way to better see. Robin risked a look back.
The ships were all limping now… save for the leader of the pack. It kept dodging every twist and yank of the current, heedless of how its siblings bled. Robin swore there was still a melody on the wind, making her skin shiver. And diminishing anything the waves threw at the lead ship.
'So why can't the same happen to us-?' She thought she caught a flash of silver hair, from the woman accompanying Gangrel.
"You can't run forever!" The woman's voice echoed out, mocking.
Robin didn't want to see them get any closer. She turned her eyes to the currents, studying and hoping they would answer her again.
They offered a scant hint; a twist and swirl of foam, showing the currents were about to shift. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that it was going to be a violent change.
"Try twisting the wheel to starboard! It should…" Work, she hoped. If they could get into the middle of the current in time.
She was had doubts that they could. The Shepherd was so sluggish to Chrom's commands. They'd be dashed on the rocks-
But the Shepherd skimmed across the waves, and her sails caught the wind at the right moment. The ship was moving almost too fast, too responsive to Chrom's commands. Where it had limped, now it surged like a hound following the orders of its master.
The same wasn't true for the Plegians. They crunched against the rocks, left behind on the canyons.
"How... how did you do that?" She whispered. A troubled look washed over Chrom's face.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I... for a moment I thought I saw the right way to take. It was one moment of clarity... but it's gone now, so I hope your head has cleared up a little."
"Y-yes." Robin managed. The canyon passages were clearing, giving them some much needed room to breathe. More importantly, there was no trace of the Plegians, or their pirate king. Or their sea witch. "Just enough to see us home."
Even if a part of her still wondered, at what had happened to the Mer children. And at the odd feeling that echoed in her chest, when she thought of them.