Fie let out a miserable groan as she and her partner walked through the streets of Ymir. These past two days had not been worth it at all. Trudging through the snow on patrol each day were pretty much the highlights of her time here as it kept her away from the town and its nosy inhabitants. Which was regrettably where they were headed back to right now.

Beside her her companion let out a laugh. "What's that old saying? You reap what you sow? Kinda apt, don't ya think?"

"...Shut up, Toval." The arts user might be far more reliable than Sara, but at the end of the day he could be just as annoying.

Still, as much of a pain as dealing with it was, it was at least nice to see the town looking so lively. The news of Baron Schwarzer's awakening had spread among the small community and everyone seemed to have an extra spring to their step. Even this late in the evening the town was abuzz with activity as people chatted freely and a large group entered the town from the valley-

Wait.

The ex-jaeger shared a glance with the bracer and in unison they both took off at a run towards the newcomers. Even from a distance and in the darkness she could make out many familiar figures, including some she hadn't seen in over a month. She was elated at their return. Finally things were starting to look up for her!

Of course she had her reputation as being cool and aloof, so as she neared the group she slowed down significantly and allowed a neutral expression to adorn her face. She ignored how amused Toval looked as he caught up to her and the two made the final approach together. "Oh, Rean." She muttered casually once in earshot. "...Glad to see you're all okay."

"Haha. Yep! Perfectly okay." Considering their group now included Alisa, Gaius, Millium, and most surprisingly Sharon she had no reason to doubt Elliot's word.

For a minute the two reuniting groups caught up. "What's the cause of all this commotion? Is there something wrong?" Claire asked as she took in all the ongoing activity.

Fie blinked before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, right. It's about your dad, Rean. He-"

"Oh, no..." She could have glared at the cat for interrupting her like that. Now everyone was going to draw the wrong conclusion.

"Is something wrong with Dad?!" See? Just like that.

"Nope." She hurriedly corrected before her boyfriend had a panic attack. "He woke up, actually."

"R-Really?" She considered glaring at Machias for that one. Her words were quit clear, weren't they?

Beside her Toval nodded in agreement. "Yep. He's still got some time before he's up and about again, but this is a big step in the right direction. C'mon. Let's get back to the mansion. I know he'll be happy to see you, Rean."

As one the group traveled back to Rean's home. Fie listened as she and Toval were given a very brief account of events that had transpired at Nord. Sadly, the walk wasn't long enough to cover everything and left her with more questions than answers. Ouroboros, Jaegers, even Calvard. Everything really was messed up. At least she now had an answer as to why Sharon was with them now, which was the biggest surprise in her eyes.

They all figured that Rean would want alone time with his dad once they arrived, but instead he insisted they all join him. That wasn't really something that Fie had been looking forward to, but at least being part of a giant group meant the attention wasn't on her. Especially as she conveniently found herself standing behind her taller classmates. Hurray for her short size.

The meeting between Rean and his dad... was sweet. She didn't have much reference when it came to families so it was a new experience for her. Although his stamina still wasn't back yet and he didn't stay awake for long, his concern and pride for Rean was genuine and plain for all to see.

Naturally she couldn't help but compare Teo Schwarzer to the boss. Physically they were obviously much different, as Rutger Claussell was a one man army and wouldn't have been felled by a handful of regular jaegers. But despite that, she couldn't help but see the many similarities. The pride Boss showed when she hit her first target. The concern he showed after her first few actual missions with Zephyr. The situations might be different, but those emotions were clearly the same...

She shook her head to clear those thoughts, although it did little to alleviate the pain in her heart. Since when did she become so sentimental? Was it because of her reunion with Xeno and Leo dragging up old memories, or should she just blame Rean and the others for making her feel so human?

In the end, the situation was the same as last time. Valimar would need a day to recharge, so Class VII would have all of tomorrow to relax and hang out. As she didn't go to Nord she was looking forward to the chance to hang out with Millium, Alisa, and Gaius. And maybe spend some more time with Rean. And possibly a nap somewhere.

After that would be Legram. She wouldn't deny being excited about that trip. Although she never admitted it out loud, she had been pretty bummed to miss out on the chance to see Laura's home for herself during their field studies, so this was shaping up to be a fun time. And of course, Laura's home should also have Laura in it. That was a definite plus.

After exiting the Baron's room the group made their way out, but her mindless walk was halted as the person in front of her, Machias, came to a complete stop and glared at her. "Huh?"

"Fie Claussell, we need to have a talk."

Ah, crap. She knew what was coming, especially with that tone of voice. Her fate grew darker when Alisa too marched up alongside him. "He's right! I heard all about your inappropriate actions! What were you thinking!?"

Perhaps if she made a break for it she could make it away and avoid this painful conversation- "Lammy!" Unfortunately, her exit was blocked by a large combat shell. Fie shot a look of betrayal to her fellow shorty. Given the way she was giggling it was likely she didn't actually care about her actions, but seeing her plight was hilarious to her. Treachery!

Desperately she turned to her only possible salvation, but Rean steadfastly refused to look her in the eyes. There was no way that he would betray her too, was there? "I... uh... I think I'm feeling tired. I'll see you guys in the morning. Good night!" He would! She could only watch in shock as her coward of a boyfriend turned tail and fled back to his room, abandoning her to her terrible fate.

Fie let out a yawn as she emerged out onto frigid Ymir. She would have much preferred to have spent longer in bed, but her friends insisted that she spend her day of rest doing things that weren't actually resting. Jerks. And it was their fault that she was so tired to begin with! It seemed that during their entire time in Nord Machias had been coming up with more and more things to say to her and Alisa too had some less than pleasant comments to add to the discussion.

Next time she thought she was about to get lectured she was gonna run away without hesitation. Some horrors are just too unbearable, even for a veteran of many battlefields.

But even if she couldn't spend the day blissfully napping there was something else she wanted to do. During the past few days staying at the Schwarzer's house she had learned that they were running out of meat. It made sense since the Baron was the primary hunter for the village and with him being stuck in bed there were few alternatives. Since she had learned how to hunt during her stint with Zephyr she thought it would be a good way to repay the kindness that Lucia and the others have been showing her during her stay.

Having already gathered what little she would need the skilled student prepared to exit the village and begin the hunt when she was stopped by a voice from behind. "Where are you going?" Already recognizing the voice she turned to see Gaius. Given who it was, she didn't bother to hide her intentions and explained her mission. "I see. Would you like for me to accompany you?"

"Sure. Why not?" Gaius was probably the only one of her classmates whom she could trust with something like this. In fact she had no doubts that he was the more experienced hunter of the two. With a smile and a nod the Nord native rushed back to grab his spear before returning and together the two exited Ymir.

"I didn't get the chance to say it last night, but I'm glad to see that you're well."

"Mmm. Same to you." And she meant it, too. She liked Gaius. While she had come to enjoy the company of all her classmates, the relaxed foreigner was definitely a breath of fresh air compared to their more serious friends. And bonus points as he was the only one who didn't seem keen to lecture her or take amusement out of her suffering last night.

"Elliot told me about what you've been up to since we left Thors. Sounds like you guys didn't have it easy."

She could have snorted in amusement. "That's an understatement." It could have been worse, all things considered. Speaking of... "Haven't been able to hear about what happened to you guys since leaving Thors..."

Even though it wasn't phrased as a question, the widening smile on his face made it clear he understood her intent. "It would be my pleasure."

She listened silently as Gaius gave a more thorough retelling of what had transpired over the past month and most especially the previous two days. It didn't seem like they had an easy go of it either, although getting to stay at home with his family was certainly a lot less miserable than living in a windmill. It really was a shame that she didn't go on the trip, cause listening to Gaius talk about his home made it seem like a truly wonderful place.

The fact that yet another jaeger corp was working with their enemies was annoying, to say the least. Sure Nidhoggr wasn't on the level of Zephyr or even the Northern Jaegers, but they were still a solid corp. Between them, Ouroboros, and the Noble Alliance she was kinda surprised they made it through everything unscathed. And the news of yet another mysterious shrine...

The Nord finished his retelling by the time they were far enough away from the village to possibly find game and so the two hunters quietly trudged through the snow, keeping their senses alert. Not only would it make it easier for them to detect game without scaring them away, but it was also their best option against the monsters that roamed the area. Getting into a noisy fight now would almost certainly kill any chance of them finding a good target.

As expected, despite lacking her natural aptitude for stealth her friend more than made up for it with his skill and experience. It wasn't long before he noticed some fresh tracks that he identified as belonging to a large deer of sorts. With her leading the way the two followed along.

In just a few minutes they found their prize: A large buck, more than sufficient to keep the Schwarzer family well fed for a while. With gunblades in hand the girl approached as close as she dared without alerting the majestic creature. Taking aim, she let lose a round.

Even though her weapons paled in comparison to a traditional hunting rifle when it came to taking out animals, from this range with her accuracy it was more than enough. Her shot landed home, penetrating the buck's skull and ensuring a clean painless kill. Nodding in satisfaction she approached the downed animal.

"I must say, I've never really considered the usefulness of a firearm over more traditional hunting weapons." Gaius mused as he followed in her wake.

"Plenty of disadvantages, too." She pointed out. Bows and spears were far quieter weapons, for example.

"True enough." He agreed easily enough. "Allow me to carry it back."

She watched as he swiftly knelt down and took hold of the large animal. "You don't gotta do that. This was my idea..."

"Nonsense. I came along because I wanted to help. Since you got the kill it's only fitting for me to carry it." She could do little against his confident words. "Would you like for me to skin it when we get back?"

Now that much she could deny. "Nah. I already talked with the butcher about it. He promised to take care of it for me."

"Huh..." He muttered aloud. "Seems like you have become quite comfortable here."

"I guess?" Just what was he getting at? "The people here are really nice. It wasn't hard. Why?"

The grin on his face made her feel nervous. "Forgive me for saying, but I recall it taking you months before you seemed comfortable at Trista. You've really grown."

She couldn't help but look away with an embarrassed flush. The worst part was that she couldn't deny his words, either. The old Fie quietly kept to herself and knew not to trust anyone, but now... "Shut up, Gaius!"

The kind Nord could only let out a chuckle before beginning the return to Ymir. With a pout the ex-jaeger followed suit, but before they got too far Gaius seemed to perk up and look skyward. Curious, Fie followed suit. "A hawk?"

"Could it be..?" She heard him mutter under his breath, before he eventually let out a small chuckle. Seeing her curious gaze he shook his head. "It's nothing. Just thought I saw an old friend for a second there."

Curious, but as he was saying nothing more on the matter she simply gave one last questioning glance at the bird circling overhead before shrugging and continuing their journey back to Ymir.

After dropping off the deer at the local butcher and separating from her Nord friend Fie set out to do... something. She had kinda expected the hunting trip to take most of the day, but with Gaius's help had managed to completely finish up in under half the time. This left her at a loss and she was hoping for some sort of divine intervention.

"Fie! Over here!" Not quite divine intervention, but a call from Millium was enough for her.

"Sup?" She asked as she approached.

"Not much! Been helping Claire with security." Off to the side Fie spotted the captain in question sitting at a nearby table. After nodding her head in greeting she received a smile and nod in return. "Oh! And I got to snowboard race Rean earlier! It was so much fun, even if I lost..."

That caused the silver-haired girl to tilt her head in confusion. "I didn't know you could snowboard?" She had actually been thinking about having Rean teach her at some point, perhaps when things were a little less hectic.

"Nah." She denied quickly. "He was on a snowboard and I was on Lammy. It was so cool!"

"I guess that makes sense?" It really didn't, but by this point she and everyone else understood that Millium had her own unique perspective on everything. If nothing else Fie could respect that, especially as it usually led to a lot of hilarious chaos.

"Right?" She nodded in agreement. "I know! Let's go do something fun together!"

While she wasn't adverse to the idea... "I thought you were helping Claire out?"

"It's fine!" The captain yelled, clearly having been listening in to their conversation. "Go have fun, Millium!"

"Sweet! Thanks, Claire!" The bunny cheered happily. "I know! Let's make snowmen!"

She thought about the suggestion. "Snowmen, huh? Never tried it myself."

"Same here. Should be lots of fun!"

"Right. Let's get started."

Sadly, neither of them actually knew what they were doing, but their efforts were enough to draw the attention of the local kids who arrived to provide a hand. With their guidance they were eventually able to create small figures of snow. But the funnest part was definitely giving them goofy faces with what objects they could find nearby.

"Hmm..." Millium muttered after the kids left. "This is fun, but it's missing something... Ooh! I know! Let's make a huge one! And I know just what to do! Lammy!" At her call the combat shell popped into existence. Was she planning on using him to make some really big balls of snow? It certainly had the power to do it..."

"Millium..." Came a warning voice from afar. Belatedly did the White Rabbit remember that Captain Claire was still watching them and with a sheepish expression allowed Airgetlam to vanish once again."

Still... "Later." She mouthed quietly to her friend, causing her to perk up. Perhaps not today, but eventually they would make that giant snowman. Better yet. A Giant snow Mishy. "Lammy is pretty useful, isn't he?"

"Yup yup! He's the best! Way cooler than Sammy!"

Sammy? She wracked her brain before an answer came to mind. "That's the combat shell of the other girl, right?"

"Yup! She's tough, but we're gonna win next time for sure. Isn't that right, Lammy?" Once again her combat shell appeared and gave what could only be some affirmative beeps as he struck a familiar pose. From a distance she could hear Claire's sigh of resignation. "And maybe she knows something about..."

That last bit was curious, but Fie wasn't one to pry. "Seems like we're both seeking answers from the other side, aren't we?" Answers that could only be acquired with force. "How troublesome."

"Hehe. Yeah. But we're still gonna win. Dunno why, but when I'm around you and everyone else in Class VII I get this strange feeling, you know? Like... no matter who or what we're up against, we'll still find a way somehow. It makes no sense. Weird, right?"

"It's a bit weird." The former jaeger agreed. War was a nasty and very unpredictable business, after all. And yet... "But considering I feel the same I can't really disagree with you." It was similar but different to what she felt in Zephyr. There she knew that they would win because she understood that possibly barring the Red Constellation there was no other jaeger group capable of matching them. Even most standing armies would struggle against the small elite force.

Class VII was different, however. Sure she knew they were all exceptionally skilled for their age, but none of them could hope to stand against true elites like Xeno, Leo, or some of the other monsters the Noble Alliance was employing. And yet...

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Rean exiting the general store with a thoughtful look on his face. Millium followed her gaze before smirking widely. "I think it's time I get back to helping Claire. Don't do anything I wouldn't do~"

Fie rolled her eyes. As much as she appreciated her younger friend's unique brand of humor, especially in a very serious class, even she found the girl to be rather crass on occasion. "I'm not some horny teen, you know."

At least not in public.

With one final wave to her friend the silver-haired girl departed in pursuit of the boy. He must have sensed her approach as he lowered his speed and the corner of his mouth curved upwards. "Hey." She greeted once she reached him.

"Hi, Fie. What's up?"

She shrugged lightly. "Not much. Killing time. Where are you going?"

"I'm looking for some azuki beans." That... what not at all what she was expecting him to say. Her confusion must have been plain as he hurried to elaborate. "Camilla wants to make manjuu for us, but is out of beans. Since they're for us I thought I would lend a hand."

Of course he did. Rean was a total sucker for helping others out on their free days. As much as she wanted to poke fun at him... "Manjuu?" She only had a vague understanding of the food. "That's an eastern treat, right? The one with bean paste in it?"

"That's right." He seemed pleased that she knew that much. "My master brought the recipe over and it kinda stuck here. Technically you can use other fillings, but azuki beans are definitely the most popular."

"Huh. Interesting. Cool if I tag along?" While she couldn't say she was particularly interested in what sounded like a boring fetch quest, she was at least somewhat curious about the end result. And she would never say no to spending some time with Rean."

Something which suited him just as well. "Sure. We're headed to the resort first."

Together the two made their way to the inn and she watched as Rean asked the head chef if he had any beans. His denial was unfortunate, but not entirely surprising. Still, his reasoning was a bit odd. "Wild monkeys? Really?" She asked Rean as they exited.

"They're a big nuisance up here." He answered in complete deadpan, causing her to narrow her eyes in thought. Sure she knew that monsters could be a pest to humans in more ways than just attacking them, but monkeys stealing their beans? The worst part was she couldn't tell if Rean was joking or not, especially as he began smirking at her obvious consternation, further antagonizing the girl.

Following his lead the two next made their way to the tavern, but just as before they were out of luck. Most annoyingly, however, was the reason given. Yet again wild monkeys were blamed. Either this was some big Ymir conspiracy designed to mess with her or this little town was seriously lax with its security and she and Toval had done a really crappy job with their patrols the past few days.

It didn't help that she could hear Rean laughing under his breath the whole time. Oh he would pay for that.

With the two food places being failures they were forced to chase individual rumors on who might possess the beans. The first one took them to Luke at the cable car. Yet again their questioning ended in failure and Fie found herself lamenting her decision to tag along on this tedious mission.

On the plus side the cable car employee had merely given them away and not made up some excuse about monkeys.

He did tell them that the person he gave them all to was Sister Lisa at the church, so naturally that was where they headed next. Aidios be praised cause the holy house actually delivered. All seemed well and good until the sister informed the duo that the beans were stored in the outdoor shed, causing Rean to pale before hurrying them out the door. It took a second until she realized his fears. There was no way, right?

"What the hell!?" Come to find out, there actually was a way. Sitting on top of the shed with excited look on their faces... Wild monkeys. Just what the hell was up with this town anyways? Her hands lowered to the hilts of her gunblades as she prepared to take out her frustrations on the happy looking monsters, but stopped when she witnessed something both new and kinda hot:

Rean glaring at the creatures with such ferocity that they immediately fled in terror.

After that stunning display of righteous anger the two students finally collected their prize and returned to the general shop. With beans in hand the eccentric Camilla immediately abandoned her post in the shop – much to her husband's exasperation – and began creating the manjuu.

If someone had told Fie that she would spend two hours of her free day watching some crazy woman bake up a bunch of confections she would have gone back to bed without hesitation, but here she was. She couldn't deny that there was something oddly interesting about watching the entire process unfold. From the mixing of ingredients and the kneading of dough, all the way through the cooking process. It wasn't anything new to her, but she and Rean just sat there and watched it all happen silently. Perhaps it was simply excitement at getting to try one for herself?

Something which happened soon enough as the woman presented them with a box filled to capacity for all of Class VII to try one out. "Should we wait until the others are together before we-"

"Nope." She replied instantly as a deft hand darted out and snagged one for herself. "We did all the work so we get first dibs." Technically Rean did all the fetching and Camilla the cooking, but those were just semantics. At least the Awakener was smart enough to not argue, as with an awkward chuckle he followed suit and grabbed one for himself and immediately taking a bite. Not wanting to be left behind even though it was her suggestion she followed suit, biting into the tasty-looking snack.

"Hmm." She moaned as she enjoyed the treat. Was it worth the two hours of pointlessly running around, stupid monkeys, and a whole lot of waiting? Probably not. But it was pretty damn tasty nonetheless. And considering just how much of an appetite she had worked up already she felt entirely justified in rapidly devouring her manjuu.

After finishing she noticed that Rean was staring at her despite the half-finished confection in his hand. "What? Got something on my face?" She snarked in response.

"Actually..." Before she could move his free hand darted forward, with a finger brushing against her upper lip. Pulling it back revealed that she in fact did have something on her face. Red bean paste, in fact. Given what she had just devoured she wasn't really surprised.

But she was quite surprised when a red-faced Rean brought the finger to his mouth.

So shocked was she by his surprisingly smooth action that she didn't immediately respond. But when she did it was to glare as fiercely as possible at him in an attempt to keep him from noticing just how embarrassed his simple action made her. Given how much her face burned, however, she knew it was a futile gesture.

"H-Hey!" So she instead opted to counterattack by leaning over and stealing a bite of his own manjuu.

The sound of giggling broke the two from their stalemate. Glancing over Fie was mortified to remember that they were still standing in the general store and now Camilla was swaying back and forth happily. "Oh my Aidios! You two are so adorable together!"

The baron's son let out an awkward cough before hastily devouring the rest of his manjuu. "T-They were quite good. Thank you very much. C'mon, Fie. Let's go deliver these to everyone else..." Seizing on the escape he offered she nodded in agreement and together the two fled away from Camilla's amused giggles.

After dinner all of Class VII went their own ways for the night. Fie considered spending more time with Rean, but given how much attention was currently on her from their more prudish classmates opted against it. Instead she opted to stop at the indoor bath for a while, since she had been outdoors for most of the day and was feeling rather filthy.

She had just settled into the water when the door opened and another person entered. Since this was the girl's side she wasn't at all worried about it, but she did panic somewhat upon seeing that it was in fact Alisa who entered. Perhaps if she ran now she could avoid having to sit through another lecture...?

Perhaps it was the way she rapidly glanced around for an escape route, but her blond friend rolled her eyes. "I'm not here to lecture you again." She insisted.

That was enough for her to relax her guard. Just marginally, however. She wouldn't put it past her friend to pivot into a lecture as soon as she saw an opening. She could be ruthless like that.

Seemingly content that she wasn't about to bolt, Alisa too entered the bath and sat with a contented moan. "The baths here are truly amazing, aren't they?"

"Mmm." While Fie could never see herself becoming an obsessed weirdo like a certain individual she knew, she could at least admit that the baths in Ymir were pretty awesome. Especially the ones outdoors.

Alisa giggled, clearly not minding her half-hearted response. "It's so relaxing here, almost makes me want to take a nap, but I guess that wouldn't be a good idea, would it?" As the resident expert of taking naps in Class VII Fie could confirm that it was in fact a bad idea.

She opened her mouth to say just that, but stopped when she realized her friend was staring at her intently, brow furrowed and smile having morphed into a flat line. "What? Got something on my face?" She asked for the second time that day.

"No. Well... kinda." Instead of elaborating on her very cryptic answer Alisa moved closer to get a better look at her companion. "...You're a real mess, you know that?"

"Huh?" Now that wasn't what she was expecting to hear. Was Alisa insulting her cause she was mad about Rean or something?

Fortunately the answer proved itself to be a whole lot less nefarious as the blond-haired archer reached over and ran a hand through Fie's hair. Or at least she tried to. It was too tangled for her hand to make it through. "...Oh."

"Don't just 'oh' me. You need to take better care of yourself!" She complained with a little heat.

"In case you forgot I've been living on the run the past month."

Sadly, Alisa was not at all impressed by her reasoning. "That's just an excuse and you know it." The older girl stood and moved over to a bag she had entered with before pulling out a hairbrush.

"Looking good wasn't really a priority on the battlefield..."

"Yes, yes." Once again Alisa just bulldozed through her arguments. "You're our scary little Sylphid, the terror of many battlefields. But you're also a beautiful girl who could stand to treat herself a little better." She paused before adopting a sly grin. "Don't you want to impress Rean?"

Fie couldn't deny the merit of her words, especially that last bit. Still, she couldn't help but stare with great trepidation as Alisa brought the brush closer and closer. She was stronger and faster, so how come she felt such terror at seeing her friend with that tiny instrument? "Ow..." She whined after the first brush through her tangled hair. That was why.

"Quit complaining. Aren't you supposed to be the tough one here?" Alisa teased as she continued to brush her hair. Thankfully after the first few strokes it stopped hurting as much. The two continued in silence for a few minutes until Alisa deemed the job done well enough in her eyes.

With a sigh the archer ran her hand through Fie's hair, this time successfully. "You have such nice hair, you know that? Ever considered growing it long?"

Had she...? Furrowing her eyes in thought Fie couldn't ever recall thinking about it. "I... don't think so?" Longer hair always seemed like such a hassle in her eyes.

"That's such a shame. You really should consider it. I think long hair would suit you well." She muttered mournfully.

"I'll think about it." Truth be told the idea didn't seem all that bad to her. Sure it might become a nuisance in a battle, but her life had become a lot more than just battles, hadn't it? At least the civil war would probably be finished by the time her hair grew long enough to become an issue.

And Alisa might very well be right. Would the others like how she looked with longer hair?

Her friend giggled, probably having noticed the thoughtful expression on her face. "I'm glad to hear it."

With that finished the two proceeded to wash up in companionable silence for a few minutes. Inevitably, the silence was broken, this time by Fie letting out a loud yawn. Giving in to her bodies demand for sleep the younger girl rose to her feet and slowly made her way to the exit.

Alisa narrowed her eyes. "And just where are you going?"

"To my room. Duh."

"Your room... or Rean's room?" Fie stiffened. "Don't think your off the hook for that! We're gonna need to keep an eye on you so-"

The ex-jaeger could only sigh with a wry grin as Alisa went off on a tangent. She knew her friend would sneak in a lecture at some point but still let her guard down. Still, as terrible as it was she was willing to endure this horrible torture

Because tomorrow was the day that they were finally going to Legram.