Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
I'm going to announce the official start of that other collection I keep mentioning I'd get around to: Varied Awakenings. Now, this is going to change my writing schedule, usually I did two chapters of this and one chapter of Five Stars within about every ten days, so Varied Awakenings is going to take up one of the chapters I'd usually spend on this story. Expect this story to update half as often.
Oh, and Varied Awakenings doesn't have the first chapter out yet, give me a few days for that. Just thought I'd give those of you who care a heads-up. I won't be starting with any of the Other requests just to establish expectations of new readers before pulling out the strange ones like Pokemon Trainer and Second Generation replacement. Give me a few chapters before you see those, but you will see those.
Minor: Dark Flier, Regenerating, Immortal, Boxer (Pugilist).
Standard: Elemental, Deaf, Foreign, Alien, Future sight, Tiny, Nurse/Medic, Valmese Tactician, Medusa, Goddess, Racer, Amazon, Genderfluid, Slime, Gift from Validar + evil to good, Mind Control, Banshee, Bard, Consistent Amnesia, Old, Dancer, Mimic, Emotionless, Khan, Savage, Crippling Overspecialization (Idiot Savant), Coward, ESP, PTSD, POW, Magician, Mute, Handicapped, Secret Helper, Crazy, Respawn, Morpher, MPD, Dreamwalker, Motherly.
Unlikely: Chrom's child, Minotaur, Paladin, Werewolf, Assassin, Future Soldier, Bounty Hunter, Weather control, Kleptomaniac, Druid, Steampunk, Shadow Familiar, Magic Augmentation, Lucky, Exile, Piper (Charmer), Gladiator, Witch Doctor, Centaur, Drunk, Demon, Punk, Harpy, Revenant.
Other: Pokemon Trainer, Self-insert, Second Generation replacement.
Kamencolin's request: Lamia. I've been wanting to get to this for a while.
"This would certainly make for a good story," thought Stahl, passing another slab of meat to the girl sitting across the fire from him. The girl in question: a purple-haired lamia with similarly colored scales and eyes, and a surprisingly well-kept longcoat. She bites down into the meal, easily tearing the meat apart with her sharp teeth.
Stahl was just on patrol when he found the girl, named Robin, starving along the side of the road. The cavalier, of course, stopped to help her, and that's how he found himself sharing lunch with an amnesiac lamia.
Lamia are rare compared to other demi-humans, usually living in the Plegian desert sands in small tribes. They aren't exactly known for associating with large civilizations, so it's surprising to see one out here in Ylisse, especially dressed in Plegian garb.
Robin can really eat though. Stahl always takes a lot of food with him to satisfy his cravings, but this girl is totally cleaning out his rations in this one meal. Maybe that massive snake tail takes a lot of energy to maintain. That tail is basically pure muscle right? It's twice as long as her upper body!
"So, you're a Shepherd?" The girl grunts, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. "In full armor…?"
"The Shepherds is the name of our military unit." Stahl chuckles. "I'm a knight."
"Ah, that makes more sense." Robin says. "By the way, I have another question."
"Yes?"
"What should I do?" She asks bluntly. "I have no memories, no idea where I am, and you're the only person I've met so far. How am I supposed to live…?"
"Well…" Stahl's mind races. That's a very good point. "How about you come with me? I'm sure I can help you find lodgings and maybe a job…"
The girl nods eagerly. "Thank you! I'm glad for the help."
It turns out that Robin is actually rather swift. When they leave she easily keeps pace with a trotting horse, slithering along the dirt path with relative ease. They make good pace back to Southtown, the sun is only just starting to set when they crest a hill and the town comes into sight.
The smoking, burning town.
"Oh crap." Stahl mutters, yanking his bronze sword from its sheath. "Uh, sorry, I have to deal with this."
"We have to deal with this." Robin corrects, pulling a weapon of her own from her back. Stahl hadn't paid it much mind before, but the girl actually had a harpoon with a sturdy chain attached to the shaft over her back, the chain of which she also wraps around her hand. "I know how to fight… I think."
"Well it's your own choice." Stahl says, and kicks his horse into a gallop. "Let's go!"
The two barrel down the hill, making all haste for Southtown. Stahl spots some civilians fleeing down the road or to the treeline, those fleeing down the road are pursued by bandits. The cavalier curses, and spurs his horse into a sprint.
Stahl swings his sword at head height as he passes by a brigand, severing the man's head from his shoulders. Robin's harpoon rattles through the air beside him, impaling an unfortunate attacker. She then yanks the chain back, pulling the impaled man towards her, and wraps her tail around his chest. There's a brutal crunching noise as she tightens her coils enough to break his ribs and she wrenches her harpoon free of his corpse, still dripping blood from the tip.
The two move on to the city after dispatching the brigands outside. The smoke gets a few coughs out of Stahl, and Robin squints against the bright light of the fires. The cavalier does spot something good though.
"Captain!" Stahl shouts, catching the blue-haired man's attention. He rides up alongside Chrom, falling into combat next to him. "How are we doing?"
"The attack started an hour ago, we've been trying to push them out with limited success." The man grunts. "Glad to see you made it back safely from patrol."
"I found a friend." Stahl informs him. As if on cue Robin's harpoon jams itself into a nearby archer, and the girl makes quick work of the man by smashing his skull with a quick lash of her tail.
"I sense a story here." The Prince says, scanning for his nearby foes. "Later though. I got separated from Frederick and Lissa, we need to find them. Sully should be returning here soon too, so we need to make sure she doesn't arrive to a bandit ambush."
"Got it. Robin!" Stahl shouts, grabbing her attention. "We're looking for a blue knight and a cleric in a yellow dress! We also need to keep a lookout for a red cavalier approaching the village, she's an ally!"
"Understood!" She calls back, wiping her weapon clean on the dead archer's clothes. "Who's the blueberry?"
Chrom doesn't seem to know if he should be offended or amused. Stahl answers for him. "My Captain, Chrom."
"Ah, hello then Captain." Robin nods politely. Her eyes dart around the opening as she speaks, still watching for more bandits. "I'm Robin, my harpoon is at your service."
"Glad to have your help." Chrom greets quickly. "Now let's get moving, I want to find the others quickly."
###
"You never told me you were a tactician." Stahl chuckles as the Shepherds bed down for the night just off the side of the road.
"Well to be fair, I only discovered it myself just then." Robin grunts, biting into her portion of bear meat. It turns out lamias require a large amount of protein in their diet so she got the lion's share (snake's share?) of the bear Chrom and Frederick managed to catch. Stahl is a bit envious, he finished his own portion all too quickly.
"Tactics always went over my head." The cavalier admits. "It's too much to remember at one time."
"I does require keeping a lot of variables in mind at once." Robin says. "And you don't strike me as someone with incredible observation skills."
"I don't?"
"The first thing Frederick and Sully pointed out was that I have a grimleal cloak. Chrom noticed it too but ignored it because you said I was a friend. You are the only one who didn't notice I was openly displaying a sign I might be an enemy." The girl says bluntly.
"Okay, so maybe I'm a bit scatterbrained." Stahl coughs.
"A bit, hmm?" Robin says, and shakes her head. "Sure…"
"Hey now, can we not focus on that?" Stahl asks pleadingly. "I get enough ribbing from Sully as is!"
"Alright, alright." The tactician smirks. "Shall we focus on how you're staring at my food then?" She pointedly holds the plate away from the green knight. "Mine."
The cavalier sighs. "I'm hungry though…"
"You already had seconds! How can you still be hungry?" She scoffs.
"Says the one who took half the food!"
"Hey, I need a lot more food than a human does!" Robin protests. "I've got a snake for a lower body! This is all muscle, it takes up a lot of energy!"
"But I'm hungry too!" Stahl whines.
The lamia sticks out her tongue at him and pointedly takes a large bite out of the meat on her plate, she's sure to exaggerate the motion and show just how much she's enjoying the food.
"Stooop." The cavalier groans. "You're not helping!"
"You bet I'm not." Robin grins. "Get your own."
"I shared with you earlier today! Doesn't that count for something?" Stahl pleads.
"Oh, so you're holding that over my head now?" She huffs.
"If you'll give me more food, yes." The cavalier says honestly.
"Glad to know you have your morals straight." Robin says dryly. Stahl looks at her hopefully, and she gives him a wicked smile. "Too bad I don't care."
"Nooo!" Stahl wines, trying to grab at her plate as she rapidly scarfs down the food. "Give me something! Anything! Just a little!"
"It's all mine!" The girl cackles, and triumphantly puts the last forkful of food in her mouth.
"What the hell are you two doing?" Sully calls over, and at this point both Robin and Stahl realize that everyone else is watching their conversation.
The green cavalier shrinks back sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. The lamia has no such reservation and grins victoriously. Through a mouthful of food, she says: "I'm winning."
###
"I come bearing gifts." Robin says, coiling up next to Stahl. She can't really sit on anything, so instead she curls her tail into tube and rests her upper body on the top when she wants to mimic the action. She opens a cloth bag to reveal at least two dozen muffins inside.
"How can I refuse?" Stahl says, eagerly grabbing two out of the bag. "Ooh, is this blueberry?"
"Yep. Good ain't it?"
"Heavenly." Stahl moans, biting into the warm treat.
"I realized I bought too many and they won't stay warm. Figured you'd eat some." She says, taking one for herself. "I'm disappointed this town doesn't have meat pie though."
"Ooh, that would be good." The cavalier agrees. "I keep an eye out a the next town we visit."
"Assuming it isn't burned down or abandoned because of a Risen invasion."
"I was trying to stay optimistic…"
"Right, right, my bad." Robin coughs. "Of course, it'll go just fine. We'll find some great pie."
"And more muffins."
"And more muffins."
"And some cheese, a little bit of wine, some fresh fruit… oh, some honey to glaze the pie would be nice..."
"There is such a thing as excessive optimism Stahl."
###
"You're surprisingly light." Robin says cheerily. It's a sharp contrast to what she's actually doing, which is stopping him from falling down a cliff to his death. He's dangling over the edge with Robin's tail wrapped tightly around his chest. The girl is curled tightly around a tree, keeping herself anchored as she pulls him back up.
"Or you're just really strong." Stahl rasps, spitting out blood. "Is my horse…?"
"It ran off back towards the convoy." The lamia responds. "I think it had an arrow in it's flank, but it was moving just fine."
"Not too bad then." The cavalier coughs.
"Unlike you." Robin scolds. "What the hell were you thinking charging into half a dozen axemen on your own?"
"I had a sword…"
"Weapon triangle doesn't compensate for stupidity Stahl." Robin scolds. She stretches her hands out, managing to grab the man under the arms and properly pull him onto solid ground. Stahl hisses in pain as his rips scrape the cliff edge, and the cuts on his chest flare up in pain. "Here's a concoction, next time listen to orders."
"Donnel was in danger." Stahl protests weakly, accepting the drink. "I had to move in."
"Kellam was with him Stahl."
"Really?"
"Yes! Didn't you hear my instructions to everyone?"
"I may have been thinking about muffins…"
"Maybe your food obsession really will be the end of you someday then." Robin scolds.
"Robin, Stahl! Wyvern riders incoming from our rear!" Chrom shouts from up ahead. The tactician looks up, and finally notices a redheaded pegasus knight giving her report to the Captain. "Robin, orders!"
"Fuck, get up." The girl grunts, forcing Stahl to his feet. "Chrom, Frederick, Sully, to the back! Virion, Miriel, Ricken, be prepared to fire on them as soon as you can see them! Everyone else keep pushing forwards! Keep those brigands away so the others can deal with those wyverns!"
The Shepherds scramble to reposition. Chrom, Frederick, and Sully need to move from the front line to the back lines, and the rest of the Shepherds split down the middle to give them a quick path. Kellam, Lon'qu, and Vaike fight doubly hard to fill in for their absence, trying to beat back the renewed tide of axemen trying to break through their newly weakened line.
"Can you fight?" Robin asks, letting Stahl stand on his own two feet.
"I need another swig." He coughs, motioning towards her concoction. "If you don't mind…"
The girl allows him another drink. The cavalier stands upright with a grimace, but grabs his secondary weapon, a bronze lance, from off his back. His iron sword got knocked away when he fell off the cliff.
"Alright." He says, still looking a bit ill. "Let's do this."
###
"Kicking me while I'm down, are you?" The cavalier chuckles weakly.
"Oh, so you don't want one of Sumia's pie?" Robin asks, smirking. "Fine, I'm sure someone else-"
"No, no, I do, I do!" Stahl says eagerly. "Gods, it's been too long since I had good food."
"You'd been sick for two days Stahl, that's not very long." The tactician says dryly, handing him a slice of the pie on a plate.
"How'd you know today was the day I was allowed to start eating normal food again?"
"I asked Lissa of course." Robin snorts. "I figured just eating infirmary food was like torture to you."
"Gods, it was." Stahl says, his voice slightly muffled through a mouthful of pie. "Nothing but chicken soup and bread… is this strawberry?"
"Yep." The lamia nods. She puts the pie down on a little table next to him, and then pulls out a small bag. Stahl knows this is where she keeps her own snacks; usually dried meat to satisfy her primarily carnivorous diet. Just as expected she pulls out some salted rabbit and starts chewing on it as they talk.
"Aren't you having some?" Stahl asks, motioning towards the pie.
"Nah." She grunts. "It's yours. Sumia made it for you, I just delivered it."
"Oh, that's nice of her." Stahl mumbles, a bit surprised. He doesn't know Sumia very well, so he's surprised she made anything for him. Then again she seems nice enough, so maybe she makes pies for anyone who gets sick?
"Isn't it?" Robin says. "They're good pies, aren't they?"
"Very." The cavalier agrees. "I'll have to thank her later."
###
"Pardon?" Stahl blinks, surprised.
"It wasn't my idea." Sumia admits, smiling. "Robin requested I bake one for you."
"Since she can't cook." The cavalier fills in mentally. Robin has cooked a grand total of one time for the camp, and then was quickly put on the same list as Sully for 'never let her do this again'. "Oh, well that's nice… still, thank you for the pie. It was very delicious."
"You're welcome." She says.
Stahl waves goodbye and moves off to find their tactician. It takes a good twenty minutes of wandering around the camp before he finds her in the tactics tent. She's in a meeting, so he waits patiently outside until it finishes.
Eventually Chrom and Frederick file out, nodding absently to Stahl on the way. When Robin slithers out though, Stahl quickly stands up and greets her.
'Oh, hey Stahl." She says, surprised. "What's up?"
"You could have told me it was your idea to make the pie." Stahl says.
Robin huffs. "Of course she'd reveal that. I told her not to."
"Why?"
"Because that makes me look lazy! I asked someone else to make pie for you rather than doing it myself?"
"Will all respect… we both know your cooking isn't fantastic." Stahl coughs. "I appreciate you going to someone you know is skilled at cooking."
"Well yeah, it would be a crappy gift if it tasted awful." She scoffs.
"I appreciate your consideration." The cavalier says. "No need to hide it though, it's not like I'd ever think you're lazy. You're the tactician! You keep everyone alive with your planning."
"Yeah yeah." Robin mumbles. "But it's annoying to admit that I had someone else make my gift. I didn't even buy it!"
"You didn't?"
"No! Sumia refused to let me pay for it!"
"Well that's not your fault then."
"Look." She huffs. "I didn't want to admit I can't bake okay? Can we leave it at that?"
"Alright, alright." Stahl chuckles, finding this terribly amusing. "By the way, I hear the next city we're reaching is famous for its quality beef."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Ooh… we'll have to get some. I think Chrom is going to give everyone a day to do what they want in the city."
"Food tour?" Stahl suggests, grinning.
"Food tour." Robin agrees.
###
"Stahl? Hey!" Robin's voice cuts through the haze on Stahl's mind. He blinks his eyes open, squinting against the little bit of sunlight that shines through the leaves above him. He can feel his head resting against something tough but flexible, like chainmail… or scales.
The tactician is lying in a coil under a tree, her lower half proving a (somewhat scaly) resting spot for Stahl's head and shoulders. She is looking down on him, holding the vulnerary she'd just used to revive him.
"Warn me if you're going to pass out next time." She scolds, pocketing the drink. "What happened? Heat stroke? Dehydration?"
"No, no…" The man mumbles, sluggishly moving up a hand to block his eyes and therefore the light intruding on his sensitive eyes. "Sick. Overdid it on the march yesterday."
"Then why did you come along!?" Robin huffs.
"We had plans. Food tour." Stahl says. Even he can feel the heat radiating off his forehead. "Wasn't this bad in the morning. Got worse after we left…"
"Well it was still a terrible choice to come along." The lamia says curtly, scowling at him. "You collapsed in the middle of the street!"
"Sorry…" Stahl mumbles. "I guess that means we didn't get those glazed ribs…?"
"I never said that." She scoffs, holding up a bread trencher with a slab of glazed meat on it. "I have your portion right here."
Even his sickness can't quell his hunger, and the cavalier reaches out to grab it. Robin holds it just out of reach.
"We're going back to camp after this." the lamia says firmly. "You're getting more rest."
"Sure, sure." The man says, still grabbing for the food.
"I mean it Stahl."
The cavalier sighs and nods. "Yes, I understand. Sorry for ruining the outing…"
"I'm more worried about your health than the food tour Stahl."
"Ah right." He coughs.
Robin shakes her head. "You always have food on the brain, it's absurd…"
"Hey, food is essential for life." The cavalier protests weakly.
"So is water, but I don't see you obsessing over that." The tactician scoffs.
"Water isn't tasty."
"Yeah, fair enough."
###
Stahl forgot about his food. He only realized it after Robin points it out, but he's barely touched his muffin for the last ten minutes. Usually he wouldn't have hesitated to scarf the whole thing down, but he's been so distracted in conversation that he totally forgot about it.
It happens again the next day, and again a few days later. The cavalier finds that he's eating less for once, his snacks are going from several times a day to just one or two. He finds himself less hungry in general, and starts to actively wait for his talks with Robin to eat so that they can share meals.
Stahl knows his eating obsession is mostly due to stress, that's no surprise. Sully trains, Miriel studies, Sumia does flower fortunes, Frederick does tons of chores, and Stahl eats. They're all coping mechanisms… and yet Stahl is finding he doesn't need his as often anymore. He's just feeling better overall, and he knows exactly why.
Robin. Ever since that first meeting they had all those months ago, actually about a year ago at this point, she's been a good friend to him. First it was just sharing food, but now she's really just become a close companion, someone he can go talk to whenever they're both free. She just puts him at ease… and he'd bet his boots she's why his mind hasn't constantly been on food for the last month.
Even though their conversations often turn to food, Stahl still finds he cares more about the discussion than actually finding something to eat. It's just fun to talk with her, which is something Stahl can't really say about the other Shepherds. Well, sometimes he can, it's not like he doesn't enjoy chatting with the Captain or sparring with Sully, but Robin is the only one he can say is enjoyable to be around by default rather than needing an activity to spark his interest.
The cavalier would like to think he's not quite as bone-headed as he looks. He knows from watching Chrom and Sumia or even Maribelle and Ricken what the start of a relationship looks like: consistently seeking the other out during downtime and a general improvement in mood for both parties are the most obvious signs. He notices that in himself and Robin.
They won't be a couple today or tomorrow, maybe not in a month, but Stahl can definitely see it happening sometime in the future… and he looks forward to when that happens.
I expected to end this chapter on a proposal, but this seems more fitting. Definitely more of a slow-burn style for these two.
Mram99: Originally the power was going to play more of a part, but I realized very quickly it didn't do much for the story and just focused on the gambling gimmick.
Darkness is complete: If by chicken you mean coward, then that's already on the list. If you mean a literal chicken, then no. I'm find if you dump your ideas, just don't expect them all to be accepted.
SirHaloFan: MPD Robin is an one that's been floating around for a while. It'll come up eventually. Destiny Robin (renamed Respawn Robin) is interesting enough. Maybe I'll have to take a leaf out of TheRepeat's hat with that one. Morpher Robin is fine, though it's nature as a combat-oriented quirk is going to make it harder to use.
The Restless Drifter: Interesting, I like that idea.
DDD Hunter: That would require me making up an entirely new faction and turning Robin into the enemy of the story, so no.
Guest (X3): No to Narrator, Unlikely to Punk, Harpy, and Revenant (since it's very close to Risen and Ghost), Mom is an interesting one though.