"Ah, please, somebody help," Ananias monotonously and nonchalantly cried out as he casually fell to the ground. "This evil man is trying to steal my moneybag. Somebody please help, I need a hero."
"Never fear! Cynthia is here!" Cynthia cried out as she swung her lance forward, forcing the imaginary assailant away from the unconvincing actor. She then froze, took a moment to think the entire routine over again in her head, let out an unsatisfied grumble, shook her head, and muttered, "Nope! Still not good enough!" She turned herself around and gave Ananias an enthusiastic smile and clap of her hands. "Alright Ananias! Let's take it from the top!"
Ananias let out an exasperated sigh before picking himself off of the ground and dusting himself off. "Sure, whatever you say." He waited until after Cynthia had gotten back into position before monotonously and nonchalantly crying out, "Ah, please, somebody help." He apathetically fell to the ground. "This evil man is trying to steal my moneybag. Somebody please help, I need -"
"Never fear!" Cynthia cried, swinging her lance forward and coming in a bit too early this time around. Cynthia swung her lance forward, spinning herself around as she did, before looking around her shoulder at the fallen Ananias and confidently and reassuringly saying, "Cynthia is here!" She gave him an equally confident and reassuring smile and wink before looking up, pondering on whether or not that particular performance would suffice or not, shaking her head in dismay, and muttering, "No, that's not it either." She looked back at Ananias, grinned, pointed up her index finger, and said, "One more time!"
Ananias let out a weary and exasperated sigh. "No offense, but how was that last one any different from the other one… or the one before that… or the one before that?"
"Aw, come on Ananias!" Cynthia cried out exuberantly. "Don't tell me you're getting tired of acting like a damsel in distress already!"
Ananias sighed. In all honesty, he should be used to Cynthia's level of unique obliviousness by now. "No, of course not," he deadpanned. "I'm just saying that if you're already committed to your lines, then do you really need me to keep playing the damsel in distress for you?"
"Well duh!" Cynthia answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Just because I've committed myself to a certain script doesn't mean I automatically know how to direct myself once I need to say them! A dynamic hero entrance is more than just the opening lines they say. It's about timing! When to say which lines and how you say them!" She grinned innocently at her fellow actor who was still sitting on the ground. "That's where you come in! I can't expect to know how well a line works a certain way unless I act it out first, and I can't practice my saving-a-damsel-in-distress lines unless I have a damsel in distress to play off of?"
"Which is why you asked me to be your 'damsel in distress'," Ananias dully answered.
Cynthia gave him the thumbs up. "You got it!"
Ananias let out an exasperated sigh. "Method acting, huh? Fine; but even you have to admit that you picked the worst possible actor to help you out, right?"
"Are you kidding me?" Cynthia asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "You're, like, the best actor I know!"
Ananias raised an eyebrow at the surprising amount of sincerity Cynthia spoke with. "I don't think heroes of justice are known for their white lies."
"No, seriously!" Cynthia insisted. "You're such a straight liar Ananias! Even when I know the truth, whenever you lie, it sounds sooo convincing! I even start to question myself sometimes!"
"Lying and acting are two completely different things," Ananias calmly pointed out. "And the only reason why I'm so good at lying is because I'm always saying things the same way."
"Exactly!" Cynthia cried, letting out a small giggle at the fact that Ananias had pointed out the exact reason for why she picked him to be her 'damsel in distress'. "What else could an aspiring actor ask for?"
"The ability for an actually convincing emotive performance?" Ananias suggested.
Cynthia looked up as she scratched her chin before letting out an awkward and acknowledging giggle. "Yeah, I guess they would, wouldn't they?" She held her chin as she thought of the best possible way to help Ananias get in touch with his inner actor. "Hmm. How about we take it one step at a time?" Cynthia suggested.
Ananias raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Hm?"
"Well," Cynthia explained, "first, let's start with your volume. I mean, it's pretty cool that you can sound so, well, cool about everything all the time -"
"That's not exactly what I would call it," Ananias muttered.
"But really think about it, would a lady under attack from evil men normally sound so cool when under attack?"
Ananias simply shrugged. "I guess not."
Cynthia nodded excitedly. "Exactly! So even if emotions are hard for you, the least you could do is yell out your lines instead of casually reciting them! Do you think you can do that for me Ananias?"
Ananias contemplated over Cynthia's request for a little bit. He shook his head uncertainly. "I don't know. Yelling out for help at a time or war doesn't sound like the smartest thing in the world."
"Aw, come on!" Cynthia begged. "Please! I really need to get this down before our next battle, otherwise I'm going to totally botch it, and what type of hero botches their heroic entrance? So can you please, please, please do it for me?"
Ananias sighed as he wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright, fine, I'll do it. If it'll really help make you look more like a real hero, then sure, fine, whatever."
"Yes!" Cynthia cheered out triumphantly. "Thank you soooo much Ananias! I promise I'll make it up to you."
"Just continue being the hero of justice you've always been and promise to use this entrance in the near future and we're even, alright?"
Cynthia giggled before giving Ananias the thumbs up. "You got it!"
She then jubilantly got back into position to rehearse her "dynamic hero entrance", and as she did that, Ananias simply shook his head and slowly lifted himself off of the ground. Was it a bad thing that he let her indulge in her heroic fantasies? In all honesty, even after all this time, he still couldn't tell. Sure, it made being with her annoying and frustrating at times, but her insistence in being a "true hero" honestly brought out her best qualities, which had been sorely needed back in their original timeline. In the long run, perhaps it was a good thing, but then again, Cynthia would always ask him to join in on the tomfoolery, and Ananias, no matter how much he would protest, would always find himself joining in anyway, much to his own chagrin sometimes. Ananias mentally shrugged to himself. More of the same he supposed.
Ananias took a deep breath before yelling out, "Ah, please, somebody help! This evil man is trying to steal my moneybag! Somebody please help, I need a hero!"
Cynthia swung her lance forward and kept the imaginary bandit at bay before calmly saying, "Never fear! Cynthia is here!" She then paused for a moment before giddily squealing to herself. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! That's it! That's how I'm going to do it!"
"I'm happy for you Cynthia," Ananias dully drawled.
"Oh, thanks again Ananias!" Cynthia cried, nearly tackling Ananias down to the ground with the amount of force she put into her surprise and sudden hug. "You've really helped me out!"
Ananias simply and apathetically patted Cynthia on the head. "Anytime Cynthia. Anytime."
Just then, the leader of the Shepherds, Chrom, suddenly appeared, with a band of Shepherds following his frantic lead. He looked around frantically for a moment before looking at Ananias and Cynthia and asking, "Where is he?"
Both Cynthia and Ananias blinked in confusion before Ananias asked, "Um… where is who?"
"The man who was trying to steal your moneybag!" Chrom answered matter-of-factly. "The man with whom you called assistance for!"
Ananias and Cynthia looked at each other for a moment before Ananias let out an exasperated sigh and Cynthia gave Chrom a sheepish smile and muttered, "Oh boy, are we in trouble…."
Author's Note: I'm back, which means these are coming back as well... that is all (so far).
