A/N: Sup dudes and dudettes! Well this chapter is a bit later than I wanted it to be. Things got really crazy with work the past couple of weeks. Good news, school is starting up again soon so I won't be working as much. Bad news, it's school, so I'll have other stuff to occupy my time. :( But things are definitely back on track for the time being (at least I hope). Mind you, this chapter is rather uneventful and is basically filler, but I had to start up again from somewhere. Filler or not, though, I hope you guys like it and keep reading the new chapters that come out. I really admire your patience lol. :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters you recognize belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.

Ike and his company recuperated in Nevassa for about a week. During this week, the blue-haired general had not seen his tactician very much, except for at mealtimes and during briefings. Needless to say, Ike was worried. Soren only avoided him when he was feeling especially bothered about something. Which coincidentally, was quite often. Ike decided that after dinner one evening, he would talk to Soren.

Knocking on the tactician's stay room door three times, Ike was met with a quiet 'hello?' from the other side. "It's me," he answered, lowering his fist. There was a muffled grunt from inside the room, followed by Soren's quiet footsteps, then Ike heard the tumblers at work inside the door's lock.

"It's open," came Soren's quiet response. "I don't have all night, so don't stand out there too long."

Ike allowed himself to heave a little sigh. Soren's greeting was as charming as ever. The commander opened the door slowly, scanning every inch of the room as it was revealed to him. Ike found the sage in a slumped position over the study desk, papers sprawled everywhere around him. Soren himself looked no better than his documents. His long hair was free of its ties and cascaded down his back and over his shoulders. The candle sitting beside him was nearly burned down, indicating that he had been sitting there for quite some time. Ike gently put a hand on Soren's back. "Hey."

Soren straightened himself out and turned to face the commander. "Yes? Can I help you with something, Ike?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Soren. I'm pretty sure you know why I'm here," Ike said sternly, folding his arms over his chest. He looked into Soren's eyes and noticed they were a little bloodshot. "Have you gotten much sleep lately?"

Soren began organizing the unruly pile of papers. "Not really, but I've been managing just fine." He glanced down at one of the documents and scowled. "Damn it, I messed up the numbers again." He proceeded to violently crumple the paper into a tight ball and throw it across the room, where many other wads of paper laid.

"Call it a general's intuition, but I think something might be bothering you, Soren," Ike said, scratching lightly behind his head.

Soren's eyes narrowed a bit. "And what exactly have I been doing to give you that idea?"

"It's not really what you've been doing, it's what you haven't been doing," Ike clarified. "You've barely talked to me since we've been here. I just want to know why." He took a seat on the desk space that had recently been cleared of papers. "I know this happens every time you're frustrated. So come on. Dish. You know you'll feel better after you tell me."

Soren stared at Ike for a moment, then sighed, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "Have you noticed that Lady Almedha keeps giving me strange looks? Ever since we got here, she's been staring at me every chance she gets. I find it most unsettling."

Ike stretched his arms out a bit and yawned. "Yeah, I have noticed. And she and Kurth keep talking in hushed tones about something when they think no one else is around. I wonder what that's all about."

Soren turned his head away and stared into the soft, dancing flame of the candle. "Indeed."

"Interesting bit of information she told us about Pelleas, though," Ike put in. "I would've never guessed that he isn't Ashnard's son. He really looks a lot like the Mad King."

"Yes, and it would appear Lady Almedha was fooled by that fact, too," Soren said, and Ike couldn't help but notice a bitterness in his tone that wasn't there a moment ago. "To think, she couldn't even tell her own son apart from an imposter. It's almost laughable, if it weren't such a disgrace on her part."

"Easy, Soren," Ike said, raising an eyebrow. "She said her son was taken from her when he was only a baby. Of course, he would look quite a bit different years later and she wouldn't have been able to remember his appearance when he was that young, anyway."

Soren snorted a bit. "Still, you'd think she would've had some sort of maternal instinct or something."

The two of them were silent for a moment, listening to the sounds of their breathing while they each anticipated what the other would say next. Finally, Ike got up the nerve to break the silence. "Something tells me you've been giving this quite a bit of thought, Soren."

"Nevermind, Ike," Soren said briskly, turning to face him again. "Just forget I even said anything, alright?"

Ike sighed, getting up from his seat on the desk. "Fine, I'll forget about this conversation as long you promise to stop dwelling on it, too. That's always been a problem of yours and you know it." Ike began making his way toward the door but stopped on his way out. "And get some sleep, will you? I don't want Mist coming in and sacrificing her sleep, too." Ike noticed the way Soren stiffened at his words and smiled a little. "Goodnight."

Soren sat at his desk motionless for a few minutes after he heard the door close. Finally after what seemed like hours, he decided to get some much needed rest, though he knew he couldn't guarantee that his mind would allow him that pleasure. "But...it all makes sense," he said aloud to himself as he crawled into bed. "Could she really be..." He grimaced and pulled the blankets over him. "No. That's impossible."

"That's the last of our supplies, Commander," Oscar informed Ike as he hoisted the last sack of vulneraries onto one of the many supply wagons. "I think we're ready to depart, now."

The remainders of the Crimean forces stood outside Daein Keep in the freezing cold, waiting for their next orders. Ike allowed himself to look over each and every one of them, wondering who would survive the next battle and who would have to be carried home in a canvas wrapping. It was an awful thought, but it was unavoidable. "We can't leave until Soren's finished taking inventory of everything. You know how he likes to be thorough," Ike told Oscar.

Soren made his way to the wagon the two of them were standing by with a pad of paper and a quill in hand. "Eight sacks of dried meat and four sacks of vulneraries should be on this one," he said, looking at his records. He instructed Oscar to open each of them to be sure. "That seems to be it, then," Soren informed Ike. "We move out on your orders, Commander."

"Wait!" The voice of Micaiah called out to them. "Wait a moment!" She rushed up to them as fast as she could, and they could see a brazen Sothe coming up behind her.

"Micaiah, what in the goddess's name are you doing?" Ike asked, amazed she could still run that fast in her condition. Micaiah finally caught up to them, and she was breathing rather heavily.

"I'm coming with you," she said, trying to regain her lost breath. "I have to."

"Like hell you are!" Sothe broke in, grabbing onto her shoulder. "Micaiah, we've talked about this. You have to stay here. It's what's best for the baby."

"What's best for the baby is that we put an end to this war, Sothe!" Micaiah barked back at him, tearing away from his grasp. Then she turned back to Ike. "Please, Ike. You have to let me come. I've been hearing a voice in my dreams ever since you got here. It's always the same one, and it's telling me that I have to go with you. I don't know what will happen, but I feel that it's imperative for our victory." She grabbed Ike's hand and looked him straight in the eyes. "Please."

Ike just stood there dumbfounded for a moment. His eyes wandered over to where Sothe stood, and the green-haired man was eagerly awaiting the commander's decision. He sighed, glancing back at Micaiah before he lowered his eyes to the ground. "Alright, you're welcome to join us, Micaiah." Sothe was about to protest, when Ike continued. "But Sothe has to come, too." Micaiah's mouth opened for a brief moment, but she quickly shut it again.

Sothe looked down at the ground and let out a small laugh, striding over to Ike. "Ike, no offense, but what the hell are you doing?" he asked, albeit a bit harshly, his green eyes turning sour. "She's over halfway through her pregnancy. If she goes with, then she's not only risking her life but the baby's as well."

Ike clapped a hand onto the young man's shoulder. "I realize that, Sothe. That's why you're going to be there for her." Ike stole a glance back at his small army, just in time to see Soren rolling his eyes at the display in front of him. "Look," he said, turning back to Sothe. "Micaiah's visions and whatnot have been dead on lately. If she says something bad is going to happen, then I'm not going to take a chance being completely unaware of it before it happens. If she's with us, then we can at least get the jump on the beasts." Ike sighed, knowing the pain Sothe was feeling. "I know it's not what you want, Sothe. But it's what we need."

Sothe's grim facial expression didn't change. "Alright," he finally agreed. "But she isn't leaving my sight. Ever."

"Done," Ike said, holding out his hand to Sothe. The two men sealed the deal with a firm handshake, then continued preparations to march.

"Here, Micaiah," Titania said, reaching down to the queen of Daein from her horse. "You can ride with me. In your condition you should avoid being on your feet as much as possible."

Micaiah gave a small smile and nodded. "Thank you, Lady Titania."

Ike made his way to the front of the marching formation, next to Soren and Tibarn. "Sothe will be the end of us, I swear it," Soren said bitterly, eyes trained on the path ahead of them. "What with all the emotional rubbish that seeps out of him, it's not going to benefit us in any way."

Ike was almost surprised at the words that came out of his friend, but then he remembered it was Soren who spoke them. "Come on," he said. "Even you have to admit, his love and devotion for Micaiah is admirable."

"Are you forgetting that I'm not really accustomed to showing that much emotion?" Soren asked, a wry smirk gracing his features. A smirk that he would only ever show in front of Ike.

Ike chuckled. "Not really, but I can tell you're getting there."

And with that, the commander gave the signal to move out, but not before receiving a quick swat on the arm from the map coiled in Soren's hands.

A/N: Yeah, I had to add that little bit at the end. It was practically begging me lol. :P Peace out, bros! Until next time! :)