"Alright," Cynthia said confidently after taking a deep breath to calm herself down after having excitingly grabbing Ananias, taking him away from what he was currently doing, dragging him somewhere private and enthusiastically reassuring him that she had found a way to get a genuine smile out of him. "This is definitely going to work! I just know it!"
"It better," Ananias replied dully. "You dragged me out of doing my chores for this."
"I know, I know, and I'm sorry about that, I really am!" Cynthia cried out frantically as she gave Ananias a couple of quick, apologetic bows. She then stood up straight and confidently and cheerfully smiled at the stoic redhead. "But trust me! It'll definitely be worth it!"
Cynthia then took a deep breath and cleared her throat before cheerfully saying, "Alrighty then! Say, Ananias… what is a hero's favorite part of a joke?" She then smiled and waited for Ananias to answer in expectant and excited anticipation.
Ananias' eyes widened in surprise before answering, "Um… a 'punch' line?"
Cynthia let out a gasp of both surprise before giving Ananias a disappointed and somewhat frantic look. "W-What?! B-But how did you know?" Before Ananias could answer her, however, she shook her head defiantly and said, "Actually, you know what? It doesn't matter. Cause there's more where that came from!" She then cleared her throat once more before asking, "Alright, what is a hero's favorite drink?"
Ananias simply stared at Cynthia's enthusiastic and excited face for a moment before letting out a long, drawn out, and exasperated sigh and monotonously answering, "Fruit 'punch'?"
Cynthia's eyes widened as she let out a gasp of surprise. "H-How did you...?" She then shook her head frantically before giving Ananias another look of pure determination. "You know what? That also doesn't matter! Alright," she cleared her throat, "What type of cocktail do hero's like the most?"
Ananias cocked an eyebrow in surprise before asking, "Didn't you just try to tell this one?"
Cynthia grinned before cheerfully shaking her head. "Nope! This is a completely different one! Why? Do you not know this one?"
Ananias thought about it for a moment before answering, "Ones with lots of 'kick'?"
Cynthia gasped. "What?!" she cried out incredulously. She then fidgeted nervously as she frantically tried to remember what other jokes she had made for the occasion. "Um… how do heroes like their escapes?"
"Clean?"
Cynthia couldn't believe this. "Uh… um… what is a Pegasus knight's favorite plan?"
"Winging it?"
"W-Which type of hero is the most romantic?"
"The ones who like wearing lots of armor?"
"H-How do wyvern riders ask for directions?"
"'May I 'axe' you a question'?"
"W-What are a mage's best magic words?"
"Please?"
"Um… why are manaketes always such bad story tellers?"
"Because their stories 'dragon'?"
"Um… what uses a Beaststone and are extremely scary?"
"Ta-Ghouls?"
"W-What is a hero's favorite puzzle?"
"World piece?"
"Argh!" Cynthia cried out in both distress and frustration. "How?!" she distressingly demanded. "How do you know all of this?!"
Ananias simply shrugged. "I've got an aunt who runs a joke shop and another one who sells books for a living; and they both sell joke books, so….."
"Agh!" Cynthia cried, frantically clawing through her hair as she did. "No way! My entire plan is ruined!"
Ananias raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Were you planning on making me smile by telling me jokes?"
Cynthia dejected nodded her head. "Uh huh. I thought that, since we couldn't get you to smile naturally last time, we could at least get you to laugh and work from there." She crestfallenly hung her head. "Not that it matters. This plan was a total bust! What type of hero am I if I can't even get one of my friends to smile every once in a while?"
"A well-intentioned one," Ananias answered, earning a small, surprised gasp from Cynthia and causing her to raise her head and give Ananias a look of surprise. "Isn't that what matters?" Ananias continued. "That it doesn't matter how many times you fail, it's the thought that counts?"
Cynthia let out a sad sniffle before saying, "I guess. But what's the point if it doesn't save anyone or make anyone feel better?"
"That you tried," Ananias responded gently before patting Cynthia gently and reassuringly on the head. "You may be a hero of justice, but you're still just a human being with limits and imperfections. You can't save everyone, but the fact that you even tried will help them rest a little bit easier." He mustered up the best reassuring smile he could muster. "Just like how no matter how many failed jokes you tell, if you're doing it to make someone smile, they might just smile anyway."
Cynthia stared at Ananias in awe for a moment before muttering, "Ananias, you… you just smiled." She then looked forward at nothing in particular for a moment before a great, big smile spread across her face. "I did it! I did it! I did it!" she cried, jumping up and down excitedly as she did. "I made Ananias smile!" She then stopped jumping, gave Ananias a triumphant "v" for victory, giggled, and added, "I'm officially one step closer to becoming a real hero!"
Ananias smiled, this time a little bit more naturally and contently before murmuring, "Yeah, well, you're already a hero in my book, but if you say so…."
Author's Note #1: Quick, recite a lame, Fire Emblem related, joke starting... now!
Author's Note #2: So many jokes, so little time. Be prepared for Cynthia's S Support, and after Cynthia, it'll be Noire, Kjelle, Zephyra, Lumaria, Yarne, Laurent, and then Brady. See you next time!
