Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. Ain't got much to say other than to say this is a breather chapter before I write the next chapter where I try to do the thing i love but fear writing... Actions scene. Anyway, enjoy, and I'll try to get the next out sooner!
Amber considered herself a realist; if something was too good to be true, it probably was a trap. And despite how much her little brother Sparrow whines about her "pessimistic" attitude, it saved their lives. And right now, she thought the crap the blue-haired man was saying was too good to be true. Although the Sparrow seemed to believe it, she didn't. Most of Ylissan didn't trust Plegian, and Amber had no reason to think they would start now. At best their Queen would give them a pat on the back and send them on their way.
The one who called himself Sir Frederick never took his eyes off them during her entire conversation with his lord. However, getting to the capital would be more dangerous for her and Sparrow, so she decided to tag along in their best interest. Safety in numbers, As Jack taught them.
Amber stood away from the back as she let Chrom and Sparrow talk to the Mayor, trying to reward them for their effort.
"Please, will you stay with us? We are simple folks, but we will throw a feast for your courage!" The Mayor begged, desperate to show the four his gratitude.
"A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand... But I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol." Fredrick replies, already setting up his horse to move.
"Dark meat only for me, medium well, and no salt in the soup. I—" Lissa blinks and whips her head toward the knight, shocked. "Wait, what?! We're not staying! But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!"
"When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs, and the like... I believe you mentioned you would be 'getting used to this'?" Fredrick finished with a smirk. Lissa groaned, stamping her feet a bit in frustration.
"Sometimes I hate you, Frederick." She grumbled aloud, causing Sparrow to laugh at her as he walked next to her with a smug look.
"What, you can't handle a night out in the woods," he said as he gave her a playful poke in the side. "It sounds like something someone delicate would say. Don't worry, Milady, I'll make sure the twigs are extra soft for you; such a fragile lass won't be uncomfortable while I'm around."
Lissa gasped in shock, grasping her chest in the faux offense before getting closer to Sparrow as she tried to hide her smile.
"I. am. Not. DELICATE!" Lissa growled out jokingly, poking him in the chest with each word spoken. "You think I can't handle the night?"
"You were whining about it a second ago," Sparrow replied, still grinning. Lissa gave an unladylike snort and crossed her arms.
"You know what? Let's go right now!" Lissa declared suddenly, grabbing the still-grinning Sparrow by his collar to drag him off toward the town exit. Chrom blinked, taken aback by the events that just transpired.
"Well, convincing her was much easier than I'd thought." He muttered aloud, not used to his usually stubborn little sister's mind changing so quickly. Amber chuckled at him before she followed after the two teens with a genuine smile on her face.
"Well, at least one of us gained something from this." She spoke softly, almost quietly enough that Chrom almost didn't hear her.
"Does he not have many friends?" Chrom asked as he matched pace with the lavender-haired girl. She side-eyed him and shook her head, keeping her brisk pace.
"None of us did, well, not long-lasting, at least. Friends were a luxury at best due to us constantly being on the move." She said rather stiffly.
"My apologies," Chrom began, feeling like he overstepped his boundaries. "It wasn't my intention to drag-"
"It's not a big deal," Amber said as she waved his apology off. "There's no need to apologize for things that aren't your fault."
"Still, I-
"I said it's fine." Amber cut him off again, this time more forcefully. Chrom took the hint and dropped the conversation altogether, leaving a peaceful silence only broken by Sparrow and Lissa's playful banter.
"I could make a better twig bed than you; I've been on the road longer." Sparrow boasted, putting his hand in his pockets and giving Lissa a taunting grin.
"Pfft, show what you know! I'll have you know I'm the best twig bedmaker ever!" Lissa shot back as she puffed her chest out in pride. The two gave each other a pointed look before breaking into giggles at their so-called "Boasts."
The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled them out of their shared laughter before they turned to see Fredrick staring down at them with a pointed look.
"As interesting as this is to hear," He began in a dry tone. "I believe it's getting dark, and we should consider making camp."
The two blinked before looking up to see that Fredericks's words rang true. The skyline had grown darker, and the sun began setting over the treeline of the Forest they were traveling through.
"Huh, guess we were talking a lot longer than I thought we were," Sparrow mumbled aloud, with Lisaa nodding dumbly in agreement.
"Yes, if a few hours is a bit." Amber points it out, barely hiding a smirk. "You two were quite into your conversation." Her tone seemed to hint at something, but both teens didn't seem to catch it; Chrom, however, did, his eyebrows raising as he couldn't help but grin as well.
"Yes, you two have become close so quickly." Lissa finally catches on and glares at her brother. She starts to get ready to tell him to shut up, but Sparrow beats her to the punch.
"Yeah, I guess. Lissa is pretty cool; she is fun to talk to." Sparrow smiled genuinely. It's nice talking to someone who laughs at my jokes, AMBER!" The boy gave his sister a hard stare, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"I'll start laughing when you become funny," Amber snarked before walking off. "Now help me collect some firewood." Sparrow grumbles and gets up to follow his sister. She turned back to look at Fredrick, whom she could see in the middle of objecting. "Is that okay with you, milord?" Her tone was as if she were looking him dead in the eyes. If it bothered the knight, he didn't show it.
"If Milord Chrom is fine with it, I'll be fine."
"Well, Good. Spar?"
"Fine, whatever." He mutters, dusting his coat off as he follows his older sister.
"Don't run off, or we'll hunt you down," Lissa calls behind them. Sparrow turns to give Lissa a big grin, walking backward easily as he calls back out to Lissa.
"We wouldn't dream of it; we still have to see who makes the best twig bed!"
Lissa gave him a thumbs up with a broad smile, and Sparrow returned it before running after Amber.
Chrom turned to Fredrick with a smile. "While they do that, I will hunt for food."
"Of course, Milord. I will watch Lady Lissa."
"Thank you. Lissa?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up! The bugs won't leave me alone! PTOOEY! AH ONE FLEW INTO MY MOUTH! Lissa cried out, trying to swat the menaces out of the air. Chrom laughs, shaking his head a bit before setting off to hunt.
Amber was already collecting firewood as Sparrow ran up behind her, getting to work as they started cutting branches off the nearby trees. Amber stayed quiet for a bit, keeping her eyes on Sparrow and watching him hum a tone while collecting wood.
"So," She started, taking her eyes off him for a second, "What do you think?"
"Of what?" Sparrow asked. "Of the Shepherds?"
"Is that what they called themselves? Well, they aren't tending to sheep in full armor." Amber mused to herself. Sparrow could not help but stop what he was doing to frown at her.
"Don't steal my jokes; I made that joke early. Thief." Amber flicks his forehead, causing Sparrow to grunt in pain.
"I wasn't stealing your lame joke, you dork; it doesn't count as one. Now answer my question."
"They're fine. I just met them; I can't say much, you know. Chrom's nice, Lissa's cool Frederick got a stick up his ass bigger than this!" Sparrow then held up a stick that nearly dwarfed him in height with a wide grin on his face. Amber couldn't help but let out a snort disguised as a cough. "They're pretty cool for nobles."
"Nobles?"
Sparrow nodded. "Yeah. Didn't you see Chrom's sword? Ain't no way nobody that isn't a Noble holding a sword like that. Unless he stole it, I doubt it was from someone like Chrom. Doesn't seem like he condoned that."
"No. But I'll take your word for it. Also, you are getting chummy with Blondie, trying to get a better payout by flirting with the rich girl?
Sparrow stopped in his tracks before turning to his sister with a confused look.
"What are you talking about, Amber? I just met her. I like talking to her. It has nothing to do with money." Amber lets out only a hm in response before continuing to talk.
"We should collect the reward and leave after we make it to Ylisstol."
"And taking the job and joining the Shepherds?" Sparrow asked. Amber couldn't help but let out another snort, not bothering to hide it this time.
"Please. As if Jack would go for it. Plus, I doubt the Exalt would want a bunch of Plegian in her ranks anyways." She said while spanking a log into a smaller one with her hands. "No matter what the Blue Scout leader says.
"You know. Technically, I'm not a Plegian." Sparrow points out. Amber rolls her eyes at him while handling a bunch of sticks over her shoulder.
"Yes, little brother, you were born in Regna Ferox; it doesn't matter. You're going to be considered Plegian no matter what. It's in your blood. And the people in this land won't look past it." Sparrow just grinned at her.
"Well, that's because they didn't get to know me well enough. If I challenge them to a friendly traditional Ferox brawl, they'll understand that I'm not from Plegia!
"Can't you stop with the dumb jokes for a second?." Amber sighed, already knowing the answer.
"No."
Lissa couldn't help but stare at her brother in disgust as she watched him chow down on the bear he brought back to the camp. Oblivious, Chrom continued to chow down. "Mmm... It's been too long since I last had bear meat. Delicious!" Noticing Lissa wasn't eating, Chrom offered a piece of meat to his kid sister. "What's wrong, Lissa? Dig in." The blonde made a gagging noise and turned her nose at it. "Pass! ...Gods, couldn't you spare us an animal normal people eat for once? I mean, come on! Who eats bears?! You're meddling with the food chain. Right Sparrow?" When Lissa didn't get her agreement, she turned to see Sparrow happily going to town on the slab of bear meat. Lissa gave him a look of disgust before sighing. "Never mind, you're worse than my brother."
"Just eat it, Lissa. Meat is meat." Chrom states while holding out a piece again.
"Since when does meat smell like old boots?! Wait, I take that back—boots smell better!"
"Sounds like someone being delic-" Sparrow began to say before Lissa glared at him.
"QUIET YOU! YOU EAT LIKE FREAK!" She screamed
Every experience makes us stronger, Milady. Even those we don't enjoy." Fredrick said helpfully. Lissa side-eyes the knight, looking at his uneaten meat and back to him.
"Then why aren't you eating your food, Frederick."
"I… had a big lunch earlier! Yes. A massive lunch." Fredrick replied hastily. Sparrow looked up from savagely chowing down to look up at the two.
"More for us then! He cheerfully reached for another piece before having his hand smacked by Amber, who took the piece for herself. He yelped and rubbed his hands, glaring at his older sister, who quietly stared back while eating her meat before turning to Chrom.
"It's no venison, but it is good. Nicely done. The kill seemed to be quick and painless." Amber quietly said.
"Thank you," Chrom said with a smile.
"That high praise coming from Amber!" Sparrow stated in between bites. "She loves hunting, so if she says a kill is good, it's good. But she is right; venison is better." Chrom shook his head a bit in disagreement.
"Gonna have to disagree. The toughness of bear meat makes it way better."
"I'm not saying it's terrible, just that deer's softness makes it better. "
Amber closed her eyes and tuned the boys out, listening to the crackle of the fire. The sooner she falls asleep, the sooner daylight will come. But… something stopped her. Something wasn't right. She opens her eyes and looks toward the Forest. She wasn't the only one who felt off, as Frederick and Chrom seemed just as tense as she did.
"You all feel that, right? "Chrom spoke softly, pulling his sword out, readying for battle.
"Feel what? Lissa asked before a shiver went up her spine. "W-what? Did it get colder, or was it just me? "No one said anything in response; everyone seemed to be holding their breath; even the talkative Sparrow went quiet, pulling his blade out as he looked around for danger. A creak was heard within the darkness, and the ground began to split open, separating Chrom and Lissa from the others. The blonde shrieks as she nearly falls into the blazing hot manga below, caught by her older brother in the Nick of time with his quick reflexes. "What happened?!" She cried out, holding on to her big brother tightly.
"I don't know, but standing here wondering about it doesn't seem like a good idea!" Chrom states, grabbing Lissa's hands and running, calling out to the others. "Guys! Let's move; staying here would be stupid! I can see a place with lower ground where we can meet, let's go! "
"Yes, Milord! "Frederick called back, getting his horse and following his ward, Sparrow and Amber not far behind, the Forest slowly being turned into an inferno.