It has been a while, but i am back to writing Emblematic Hearts! Now that i'm passed the Paralogues (for now T^T), things should be a little easier to write (hoping to Kingdom Hearts)

Paralogue 4: Anna, the Merchant

The snow falls lightly that night in the village as the Shepherds rest. After escorting the refugees to safety, it was agreed upon to rest for the night before venturing out to find the bandit hideout. Thanks to them, the village they were staying at gave them the location of said hideout, a ruined castle back from the times of Marth. While the possibility of another night attack could work in their favour like the last time, the snowy conditions made it less feasible.

While many of the Shepherds were sleeping peacefully, the Guardians were having a difficult time. It was gradual, but they could feel a growing Darkness rising from the ruins, even at this far distance, a Darkness that could only mean one thing. Someone has just gained control over the Heartless.

"Are you sure about that?" Chrom asks with narrow eyes over breakfast. They were just going over their battle plans for the upcoming assault, only for Aqua to break the news.

"We are sure, Chrom. All of us felt it." Aqua replies with steel. "We must expect the Heartless to be swarming the place."

"But what about the bandits? Won't they be there as well?" Lissa asks. The Guardians look between each other sadly before returning her gaze.

"I'm afraid that, unless the person summoning them can actually think straight, they may have already lost their hearts." Riku says sadly. The Shepherds could only look at the ground in horror, Cordelia most of all as her mind flashes back to her fellow sisters, their bodies dark with purple mist emitting from them, the Heartless emblem emblazoned on their chests and heads of their mounts.

"All the more reason to head out there and end this." Terra says with steel in his voice. "If those Heartless are left alone, they could continue to grow in force large enough to bring the entirety of this continent to its knees before engulfing the entire world in Darkness."

"Then we head out immediately." Chrom says as he rises to his feet. "Frederick, take Sully, Stahl, Panne, Maribelle, Riku, Sumia, Cordelia and Xion and head out to secure a path to the holdout. The rest of us will follow as fast as we are able."

"Yes, my lord." Frederick replies before glancing at the riders and Panne. "Let us move out."

"One thing Frederick." Robin suddenly says, spending the entire meeting in his mind. "When you reach the hideout, try and do some scouting. Having more knowledge of what we are up against could help save lives." Frederick nods in response before mounting his horse and leaving the village, with Panne, the riders and flyers in tow. Breathing a deep sigh, Chrom turns to the remaining Shepherds and Guardians, his face narrow and stern.

"Shepherds, move out!"

Why did I think I would find something here? Anna asks herself as she walks through a ruined fortress, the snow crunching under her heels. That's the last time I let one of my sisters convince me that a profit can be made of the beaten track. She grumbles some more until the shifting of cobblestone catches her attention. Skating into the nearest cover point, Anna glances around until she sees Vincent walking down the hall. As several Heartless soldiers walk beside him, an aura of darkness emanates from him.

What have I gotten myself into now? Anna thinks to herself as she watches the scene before her. Vincent seemed not to notice her presence as he walked down the hall before turning into a vacant room. Anna follows, only to find the 'vacant' room filled with treasures and coffers. Even several weapons were lying about. Anna had to internally squeal in joy not to give herself away, hard as it was.

"This would have been for both of us, Victor…." Vincent says, sadness still evident in his voice. "I swear I will make the ones who did you in pay with their lives." The aura around him grows in intensity as Anna slowly makes her exit. Unfortunately, a random stone was behind her, causing her to trip onto the floor. Loudly. The noise catches Vincent's attention as he turns around to see Anna. His eyes widen in recognition before narrowing in anger. "YOU!" He bellows before walking over to Anna, standing up before backing away. "We have business, you and I, and I aim to settle the debt."

Anna could only tilt her head in confusion. Why is he talking like this to me? This is the first we've met! "Oh, dear. Have we met?" she asks as she slowly backs away, hand reaching for her sword. Vincent's rage seemed to increase at the question.

"Playing dumb won't save you, girly. My men told me who you helped a boy in blue kill Victor!" Vincent accuses Anna while drawing his axe, the Heartless at his side, readying to pounce on the merchant. It was then that it clicked for Anna. Oh, she was going to have some strong words for her when she got out of here. "The gold you net from the slavers will build Victor the finest grave in the land!"

"Careful, love." Anna says while taking out a small pelt in her left hand. "Prices aren't the only thing I can cut in half." She says with a smile before throwing the pelt to the ground, exploding into a thick cloud of white smoke. While Vincent goes into a coughing fit, Anna flees for the exit. "Just my luck to use one of my smoke bombs! Those things are expensive." However, her muttering was cut short when she made it to the entrance. Rising from the ground before her are several more Heartless Bandits, all glaring at her in hunger. "Guess I'm not making a quick exit as I hoped…."

"Is that the fort?" Riku asks as he and the other riders emerge from a forest line. Frederick nods in confirmation before returning his attention to their destination. Clearly seen better days, the forest was in the process of reclaiming the land; already, several trees were growing out from the crumbling ruins as the forest reclaimed what was taken from it.

"I do not understand you, man-spawn." Panne says as she stares at the forgotten fort. "You build these warrens only to leave them to bandits to claim for their own. Why?" Frederick turns to look at her, from a safe distance, before answering her.

"It can happen for any number of reasons. A lack of interest, too high a cost, or no longer any need can render a fort, no matter how powerful, into a crumbling ruin."

"I see." Panne replies before turning her attention back to the fort before suddenly her ears prick up in alert. It was faint, but she could hear the sound of blades clashing. Someone was already here. "Frederick, it would seem someone is already here. I can hear the sounds of blades clashing."

"The hell?" Sully says, surprised. "How can someone already be here?"

"Probably some boorish person is looking for some treasure." Maribelle comments dismissively. Riku, however, looks over the entrance with worry.

"Even so, they need our help." He says, grabbing the attention of all. "I can feel it; the Darkness here is on the same level as from our past encounters. The Heartless are here and are no doubt attacking whoever is in there." He looks at Frederick with steel in his eyes. "We need to move now, or that person will soon lose their heart!"

"Normally, I would say we wait for Chrom and the others." Frederick replies in his usual tone before he draws his spear. "But this is not a normal situation. I will take the blame for our actions today! So forward!" he yells at the top of his lungs before charging down the hill, the rest following closely. Panne then moves ahead of them before throwing her whole body at the ageing wooden doors, easily smashing through them. Beyond them is Anna, surrounded but a group of Heartless and with minor cuts around her arms. The sudden arrival of the Shepherds catches the attention of the Heartless before they change their sights on them, with a few still going after Anna. Up above in the sky, Cordelia, Sumia, and Xion could look on in shock.

"What is Frederick doing ordering them to charge while Chrom and the others aren't here yet?" Cordelia asks angrily. Powerful they can be on horseback, but in narrow corridors, this removes any mobility they would have on an open field.

"I don't know, but we need to head back and alert Chrom. They don't stand a chance without any support." Sumia says with worry before motioning her Pegasus to fly back to the others, Cordelia and Xion in close pursuit. Xion could only look back with fear as they fled.

You better not die on me, Riku.

"How far away are we from the fort?" Kairi asks as the Shepherds march through the trees. It has been some time since they set out for the hideout, and while the presence of Darkness seems to be getting closer, she could not tell exactly how close they were, what with the forest around them.

"Based on our trajectory, I would say we are within a stone's throw away, provided that the way was clear of obstacles." Miriel replies while having her face in her book. She had not taken a break from reading it the whole way! Then again, Vaike seemed not to mind leading the distracted mage through the trees.

"The sooner, the better." Virion replies from the middle of the group. "These trees do not make an archer feel at home." Before anyone could comment on the archer's quip, the beating of wings from above draws their attention. Diving through a gap in the trees, Cordelia, Sumia and Xion arrive before them, and distress is written plainly on their faces.

"Captain Chrom!"

"You need to hurry!"

"Riku and the others are in over their heads!"

"Calm down, you three." Chrom says to the three panicking knights as Sora walks up to Xion with a questioning look.

"Sis, what did you mean Riku and the others are over their heads? What have they done?" Sora finds it hard to believe that Riku would have done something reckless. Sure he may have been like that before their whole world-spanning adventure began, but he hasn't done anything 'reckless' since.

"Riku and the others just charged into the fort all by themselves through the front door!" But then again, he could be wrong.

"Back up for a moment." Ventus says with bewilderment as the others gang around. "Riku, the level-headed one, charged into a fort through the front door? Is that not something Sora would do?" Sora shoots a pouting glare at his brother as the other guardian chuckle a bit before a groan from Chrom catches them.

"More to the point, why would Frederick allow it to happen?" he asks aloud. "He has never been one to break the rules or regulations. So for him to do this is completely out of the blue."

"We can question them about it after we help them." Terra says before walking to the front. "The longer we stand here, the more at risk they will be in." Chrom shakes his head a bit before returning Terra's gaze with a frown.

"You are right. We can question Frederick and the others later. Move out!" Without a second to spare, the Shepherds rush off into the forest, following the Pegasus riders as they lead them to the fort, hoping they would be there in time.

"Remind me again whose idea was it to charge straight through the front door!?" Stahl yells as he cuts apart another Heartless before him. What seemed to be a simple rush and grab quickly turned into a circle defence. With no room to manoeuvre, the riders were forced into a circler around Anna while Maribelle tended to her wounds. Leaving only five of them against a horde of around twenty. On a standard field, easy, but in a confined space such as an entrance hall, not so much.

"That would have been your superior, Stahl." Panne replies in an eerie calmness as she smacks several into a wall with her paws. "It was by his choice we entered to rescue her, was it not?"

"Less talking and more stabbing!" Sully cries as she swings her spear around to slice two more. Stahl could only heave a sigh before steeling himself for another fight. Frederick and Riku, for their parts, remained calm in the sea of Darkness, occasionally throwing a glance to the entrance whenever they could.

"You know, I'm starting to regret that we didn't ask Xion or the others to fly back to Chrom to let him know of our plan." Riku switches Dawn Lance for Bravesoul before decapitating a Heartless cavalier. Frederick could only grunt in acknowledgement before turning his attention to the ones before him, eyeing him up like a delicious delicacy. He could swear he could hear them licking their lips. Fortunately, he would not need to find out, as a sudden torrent of fire, thunder, wind and water magic suddenly impacted around them, scattering the Heartless as several arrows, both regular and light, fell upon the survivors. The riders stared at the resulting outcome for a few seconds before turning slowly to the entrance to see Chrom and the rest of the Shepherds standing there. With very unamused looks on their faces.

"I know I told you to do some scouting, Frederick." Robin says slowly, his eyes displaying his displeasure. "But I don't think charging through the front door qualifies as such." Frederick, to his credit, looked down at the ground in shame.

"I will admit, the action I had us partake was most unlike me, but it was for a good cause." He says before motioning his horse to move, showing Maribelle healing an almost restored Anna. "Had we not, this young woman would be dead by now." Instantly, looks of realization swept over the Shepherds, whose eyes turned from disapproving to understanding, but still with a hint of displeasure.

"I see." Chrom says while walking up to him. "In light of this, I suppose I can let this slide. But no more heroic charges. Understood?" he says, with the hint of a promise behind those words. Instantly Frederick nodded, while Sully, Stahl, Maribelle and Panne let out breaths of relief they didn't know they had. For Riku, though, he could still feel the looks he was getting from his friends.

"Really, Riku? We know Sora has a thing for daring heroics, but you? That is seriously not your style." Roxas says with a bit of sarcasm as the others nod silently.

"Look, guys; I can explain-" Riku begins only for Sora to raise his hand.

"Riku were not mad." He says, drawing a breath of relief from the silver head. "We are just surprised, is all. Just don't do it again, alright. Otherwise-" his words trail off before looking at Xion. "I think my sister will take things into her own hands." Xion smirks at Riku, who could feel a cold sweat on his forehead as his friends broke into laughter. Trust them to make light of a deadly situation.

Chrom shakes his head at their antics before walking up to Anna, giving Maribelle a nod of thanks for her help. "Despite what happened, I am glad to see you unharmed, Anna." He says to the red-head, who tilts her head in confusion at him.

"…Mmm, I'm afraid I'm drawing a blank here. And you're not the first one either. That Vincent guy talked like he knew me, but I had never seen him." She says to a perplexed group.

"But that doesn't add up." Kairi says, vocalising the group's thoughts. "We saw you at that village, helping to fight to protect it against that bandit attack." Anna eyes her fellow red-head carefully before her eyes shoot open and break out in a chuckling laugh, confusing everyone more.

"Hee hee! Know I know. You lot must have met one of my sisters." Anna says with a cheer in her voice. A few seconds passed while the Shepherds let that piece of info sink in before they all shouted at once.

"SISTERS!?"

"Yep, that's right. We all look the same. Same hairstyle, colour, same eyes and face. Heck, same body and clothing choice." Anna says before looking over Roxas and Ventus, a smile on her face. "In fact, our situation is just like those two right there; just multiply it by a lot." The two in question share an uneasy look before looking back at Anna. "Anyway, since you've helped out two of us now, you definitely need some compensation in return. We aren't merchants for a reason. How about you let me tag along? I'm pretty good at busting locks."

"Wait, do you mean that you are a thief too red?" Gaius asks as he switches his empty lollipop for a new one. Anna, for her part, looks at him with a bit of anger in her eyes.

"LOCKSMITH. Thank you very much. But yes, door or chest, I'll have it open no problem. As a matter of fact, I saw a whole room filled with treasure and weapons not too long ago. It was right before I got spotted."

"No doubt it is the valuables they had stolen over the years." Aqua says with a finger on her chin before looking at Chrom. "I think its best we relive this forts current occupier of his valuables." Chrom nods in acceptance before looking over the Shepherds.

"I agree. Terra, Kellam, Frederick, Lissa, Panne. You go with Anna and Gaius and find the treasure room. Sully, Stahl, Riku and Maribelle will wait here while Sumia, Cordelia and Xion patrol outside. These corridors are a no-fly zone for you." Said riders could only grudgingly nod; the corridors were too tight to move about in. They could barely fight properly back in Ylisstol. "Everyone else is with Robin and me. We have a bandit leader to put down." A roar of acknowledgements echoed through the hall as the Shepherd's split up into their teams.

"Yo, what gives?" Vaike says as they walk down another empty hall. "Shouldn't we have been attacked by the bandits yet? Where are they all?" It has been a while since they had split up at the main hall. They figured that the Bandits and Heartless would be all over them as soon as they reached the next room. And yet nothing. Not even a sign of someone being here. Walking into what could be presumed a mess hall, with scattered plates and forgotten food and beverages, Naminé hesitantly gives a thought.

"There is only one thing that can explain this, but it's not a good one." Naminé says with sadness in her eyes. "It is possible that all of the bandits here have been turned into Heartless." The Guardians share a sad look as the Shepherds look at the blond inquisitively.

"You mean to say that this Vincent willingly let the Heartless attack his own men?" Lon'qu asks with a fire in his eyes. Even if they were bandits, to be left to die by the hands of these monsters was not something even he would wish upon his worse enemies. Naminé shakes her head at him, though.

"Who's to say he was even in control at the start? You heard from Anna how it seems he seems to be still in grief over the loss of his friend. It's quite possible that in his rage when he initially summoned them, he didn't even realise until they were all gone."

"In that case, let us find him so we can lay him to rest." Chrom says before looking at the Shepherds. "No matter how far a person falls, no one deserves a fate such as this. To be turned into a mindless beast." Sora would have corrected Chrom on that, he could quickly think of a few, but he could not disagree on that, having been a Heartless once before. That feeling of losing himself bit by bit until Kairi saved him was something he still remembers.

A low cry echoing down the hall put an end to his thought, though, as they neared what would have been a throne room. Sitting on one of the thrones, head in hands, in Vincent, his silver axe propped up next to his seat. The Shepherds quietly enter the room, weapons drawn, as they could see a dark aura seething from the man, who gradually lifts his head before seeing the group, narrowing in rage.

"So, the little blue man and his friends have decided to pay old Vincent a visit." He says as he slowly gets up, grabbing his axe with his right hand as the darkness around him intensifies. The group look at each other as he walks down the stairs from the throne. "Don't act all surprised. I heard about it from one of my men. You, along with the spiky-haired runt and your raid haired friend, did it to him!"

"He brought upon himself!" Sora says, stepping to the front of the group. "We gave him a chance to surrender, but he didn't take it. He chose that path. Don't you see what's happening? You're letting your grief feed the Darkness!"

"Silence!" Vincent bellows as the aura around him grows in a fury. "Nothing you say will make up for it! Nothing apart from your deaths!" he screams at the top of his lungs before the aura around him grows in size, consuming him as it elongates and morphs. As the Shepherds look on in horror, the guardians steel themselves for a fight against an unfamiliar foe.

It has two short legs connected to two large cylindrical feet. Compared to its legs, its body is massive and round, along with two giant shoulders with a horn on both ends. Its arms are the same size as its legs, while a colossal axe is held in its right, with a golden edge and the emblem emblazed on both sides, while wraps of chain wrap around its arms. Sticking out from its body, surrounded by a chain, is a sizeable circular head with a golden metal mask, the yellow eyes blazing behind it in rage. It is one of the new foes encountered on the last journey, the Rock Troll.

"What happened to 'im?!" Donnel yells as the group backs away from the Rock Troll, disbelief etched into the eyes of the Shepherds. The Guardians, meanwhile, look on with narrow and determined looks.

"Darkness consumed his heart." Aqua says as she readies an ice tomb. "He has become a Heartless."

"Great." Chrom says bitterly before looking at the creature as it lumbers towards them. "How do we stop it?"

"Aim for its legs." Sora says, looking over the familiar foe. "It's top-heavy, so knocking it over is our best bet. What out for its axe. It can use it to throw rocks at us." No sooner did the words leave Sora's mouth does the Troll swing its axe into the ground before spinning around on it, firing rocks all around it from its mouth. Instantly everyone dodged to avoid the rocks as the mages and archers pulled back to a safe distance along with Naminé.

Narrowing their eyes, they unleashed a storm of magic upon it, only for the Troll to raise its axe and deflect the blast upwards, creating a sizable hole in the ceiling. Lon'qu, along with Donnel and Vaike, skate around the side before landing at the creatures left foot, injuring it but drawing its attention towards them. Roxas and Virion fire arrows at the Troll, hitting it in the face and temporally stunning it, but it soon changed its gaze before rushing over to them and leaping at them. The two narrowly dodge the strike as it leaves a gaping gash along the floor and wall.

Chrom looks over the field frustratingly. Without Terra and Kellam, they have no reliable way of absorbing the blows, and without Maribelle and Lissa, Naminé will be pressed hard to keep everyone healthy. A glance over to Robin could tell that the tactician was hard thinking of a plan to get them out until his gaze catches the roof and the hole made by the Troll. While not large by any means, it was still big enough for a Pegasus to fly through. Or maybe three. Robin nods to himself before firing a bolt of thunder through the hole, hoping that someone would spot it as the Troll bounds towards him.

Luckily, Sora, Kairi and Ventus get in front of the brute and unleash a Sonic Blade on it, staggering it and pushing it back from the mages. The Troll turns its eyes on the couple and blond and opens its mouth, ready to fire a blast of rocks at it, until the sudden impact of a horse on its back forces it to stumble forward. Looking above, Sora, Kairi and Ven wore big grins as Sumia flew high above them, with Cordelia and Xion streaming in from the hole seconds later. The Troll turns its attention on the riders as they assume the Triangle Formation, Sumia leading the charge with Cordelia on her right and Xion on her left.

The troll tries to stop them, but the impact of all three sends it crashing to the ground, its axe flung from its grip and embedded in the wall. Everyone watches on in silence, ready for it to stand tall again, only for it to evaporate in a black mist, leaving no trace that it, or Victor, was ever there. All that remained was the giant axe in the wall.

Deep sighs echoed across the hall as everyone relaxed after the fight. Vaike rushes up to Miriel, checking her over to see if she is okay after a stray rock was thrown her way. Lon'qu checks over Donnel as the poor boy breathes in vast swathes of air as the Guardians regroup with Chrom and Robin while the flyers fly back through the hole to continue their patrol.

"Well, we have done it. The bandits in the north of Ferox won't be troubling them anymore." Chrom says with a heavy heart before looking over the giant axe with regret. "I only wish I didn't come to this."

"There are a lot of things we can't control, Chrom." Sora says, following his gaze. "The best we can do is to prevent more people from falling like him. It is all we can do." Chrom nods in thanks before ordering the rest of the Shepherds to make for the entrance halls. Their work is done.

"Are you sure you and Kellam don't need a hand?" Lissa asks Terra as he and Kellam heave two giant bags of gold on their shoulders away from the vault. It turns out that while from the outside, it looked impressive, underneath a lot of the gold was just empty boxes to make it look more extensive than what it was. Most of the weapons were useless, too, apart from one. Terra looked over to the cleric before smiling at her.

"You don't have to worry about us. This sort of thing is what I used to do back during my training." He replies casually before walking over to the entrance to a waiting cart. Lissa tilts her head curiously before glancing over to Anna. Hearing that she was a merchant with an extensive network was currently her best chance of finding those scales. Nodding to herself, she walks over to her, a determined face plastered on.

"Excuses me, Anna, but can I ask if you have any butterfly wings from this species, and do you have some perfume as well?" she asks while holding up a picture of the butterfly and perfume in question. Anna takes a one-second glance over it before nodding and putting a hand into a giant sack next to her (that had now come out of nowhere, not that Lissa noticed) and pulled out two glass bottles, one filled with the scales in question and the other perfume. Lissa smiles big and digs into her pocket to pay for it, only for Anna to hold up a hand, saying no payment is necessary. Lissa happily takes the jars and pockets the perfume before heading over to Stahl, looking rather stressed out. "Stahl, here you go." Stahl looks at Lissa confused before his face lit up at seeing what she was holding.

"The butterfly scales! At last! Oh, many thanks for your help, Lissa!" Lissa bashfully gives Stahl the jar of scales as he places it into his saddlebag.

"Hey, no sweat. I had a little shopping errand of my own to do anyway." Lissa says casually while giving Anna a wink, to which the merchant returns. "My brother wanted me to buy perfume for someone, but he wouldn't tell me who. Chrom just said to buy something I liked, which isn't really much of a clue. He's so dense sometimes! I mean, what if his special lady friend has different tastes?" Lissa rants off as Stahl stands there listening before giving a small smile.

"I don't suppose it matters so much, does it? It's the thought that counts, after all. Besides, it's hard for a man to buy perfume independently. I know from experience!" Lissa could only sigh fondly at the knight optimism.

"There you go again, giving people the benefit of the doubt. Seriously, your optimism rivals that of Sora. Besides, don't you think it's super annoying how both our brothers treat us like servants? I mean, here we both are running from market to market buying stuff for 'em!" Stahl pauses in his reply before thinking hard at what she has said. She did have a point about what they were doing for their brothers before nodding that she did. Lissa beams at the compliment before her smile fades into a concerned look at the knight.

"...And while I don't mind so much, but it's super unfair to you. You're always helping other people, and you never get anything in return." Stahl, for his part, bashfully looks away from the princess, unused to getting so much praise from her.

"Oh, but I do! I enjoy helping people and making things a little easier for them. As long as someone acknowledges my efforts now and then, that's enough."

Lissa could only smile gently at Stahl reply. "Aw, you are SUCH a sweetie! In that case, I'll watch you like a hawk and make sure no good deed goes unseen!" Stahl could only laugh at Lissa suggestion. The thought of a princess of Ylisse watching over a lowly knight like him? Still, he could not help but smile at her cheerful demeanour.

"Well, in THAT case, I'll have to be sure to give you something to see!"

"You know I'm going to hold that stunt of yours against you, Riku?" Xion playful asks as she and Riku walk alongside their mounts outside the fort, watching over the Shepherds as they ready for the march back to Ferox. "It's not every day that Riku, possible the most serious amongst us, leaps headfirst into danger every day." She chuckles to herself while Riku gives a big sigh.

"You know that if any of you were in my shoes, you would have done the same thing, Xion. So don't think I'm the only one affected by Sora's optimism." Xion playfully sticks her tongue at him before giggling to herself. Her demeanour changes, however, as she looks over the Shepherds.

"Do you think we can do it? Save Emmeryn? We managed to save her from death once, but what if we fail again?" Riku could hardly blame her. Emmeryn is one of the Seven New Princesses of Heart they are talking about. She might even be the key to keeping Grima from resurrecting.

"I know we can, Xion. We have already done impossible things before, and we will do it again. It doesn't matter who stands in our way. We will win." Xion smiles gratefully at Riku before leaning on his shoulder.

"Thanks for that. Guess I just needed someone to say it. And you are right, we have done impossible things before. Me, Roxas, Terra and Naminé being here are prove of that. Not to mention Xehanort's defeat." Riku smiles at her before putting an arm around her shoulder.

"We will get through this Xion; after all, all we need to do is follow our hearts." Xion smiles and nods, although she couldn't help but giggle at his choice of words. Her brother did leave an impact on him, for the better.

"Face it, lady—you've got more brains in your big toe than I have in my whole noggin. So why me? You must have egghead pals who are into this century-petal-force stuff." Vaike comments to Miriel as they walk near a destroyed wall. It was almost time for them to head out.

"Yes," Miriel nods in response to his query. "But you possess in abundance something that I do not—instinct. I learn a great deal from our conversations. They are most rewarding." Vaike blinked at the mage a couple of times before he shrugged his shoulders in relent.

"Well, I suppose I like talkin' to you, too. Not that I understand half of whatcha say... Speakin' of which, what's that giant brain of yours thinkin' about today?"

"Bonds." Miriel replied soundly. Hearing no reply, she looks at Vaike, seeing him looking at her with a dumbfounded expression. Then, realising he needs a better explanation, she clears her throat. "There is nothing so complex and deserving of study as the human heart. And additionally, the bonds of friendship that arise unbidden between acquaintances. Whence do these bonds of friendship occur? How do they change us? Mold us?"

"Are ya askin' me? Cause I'd say stuff like that just...happens." Vaike replies while scratching the back of his head. "It's like...when you fight alongside someone, you start to trust 'em and like 'em better. Take us, for example. You and I are startin' to like each other more. Right? I think of you as a friend, and you think of me the same way. ...Er, right?" Miriel looks a Vaike for a moment, gauging what exactly to say to the fighter.

"I certainly find you an interesting subject for observation." She says with trepidation. Vaike gives her a confused glance before shaking his head sadly.

"Er, yeah... That's not really what I meant." He heaves a sigh while giving a fond smile at the mage. "For someone so smart, you sure can be pretty slow sometimes... Okay, what about this: Why don't you and I go out together?"

Miriel's eyes open wide as a faint blush seemingly forms on her cheeks. She has not been in a position like this before. "Go out? Where? And to what end?"

"We could walk around Ferox, maybe drop by the alehouse for a pint and some chat? That's how folks strengthen their bonds. That's what you're interested in, right?" Vaike offers with an open hand. Miriel glances at him, thinking about the possibilities and outcomes of such a venture, but all seemed to lead her now where.

"I fail to see how meandering about town will impact our relationship." She says with a sigh before giving off a tiny smile. "But I am ever willing in experiment. Perhaps your instincts will teach me something new."

Vaike could hardly hide the smile threatening to split his face when he heard the reply. He had practically asked Miriel to go out with him, and she said yes. At least he thinks she did. "So...that's a yes, right? You'll go with me?"

"Yes," Miriel reaffirms. "By all means—take me to the alehouse of yours." Vaike nods at her before telling her that the moment they reach Ferox, they will head to the nearest one. And what timing, for they could hear Chrom calling for them. They were returning to Ferox on the morrow and ready for war with Plegia.

Hope you didn't mind the wait for this. Hopefully I'll be able to write up a buffer again so i can go back to posting weekly (not nocking on wood.) Till next time!