Clovis whooped with joy as he and Shadowmere flew freely through the skies. Flying was everything Clovis imagined it could be and so much more. All those days he spent in his room imagining sprouting a pair of wings to freely fly away… His dreams came true. He could go anywhere he wished. Just him and Shadowmere against the world.

Clovis warped higher into the air to get a better view of Ylisstol from the skies. From above, he could make out every important landmark within the city of Ylisstol. Naga's grand church and his family castle! Those were the only things that mattered.

Although…

Clovis's gaze drifted towards the far outskirts of the city, a ways away from the walls. There was a minor location he could consider to be notable. Chrom's gardening club manor that he tried to drag Clovis to was somewhere out there. Clovis had no clue why Chrom thought he would ever want to herd sheep.

Chrom was probably at his little farmer's club. He was pretty much always there these days. Hardly ever at home. Hardly ever there to run interference with Emmeryn. Hardly ever there to even offer a short spar.

Clovis grumbled to himself, "Should have been Chrom that got mauled instead of Vaike. Bastard."

"Shadowmere!" Clovis yelled before warping towards the manor.

Clovis felt comfortable guiding Shadowmere in the skies. He was feeling relieved that flying a pegasus was nowhere near as difficult as it could have been. It did make him wonder what the fuck it was the Pegasus Knights did all day if flying was this easy. He'd have to interrogate Cordelia about their activities someday.

Shadowmere began to slowly descend as Clovis reached the dilapidated manor Chrom had taken as his own. The outside of the building was just as messy as he remembered it being the few times he was forced to visit. A few crops were planted in a small fenced off area just to the side of the manor, likely planted by Sumia. At least Chrom's club accomplished something.

Shadowemere picked an overly grown patch of weeded grass to land on near the front of the manor. His massive dark wings falling into a resting position just as the manor doors were thrown open.

It appeared Clovis's descent had been noticed as Chrom, Frederick, and Vaike rushed out of the building.

Chrom's face was alight with childish glee, "Clovis! You crazy fool! You're riding a damn pegasus! I don't think that's ever happened in Ylisse before."

Chrom rushed over to Clovis's side to take a closer look at Shadowmere.

Clovis jumped off of his steed, landing next to Chrom.

Chrom lightly tapped Clovis's shoulder, "By Naga! How did you manage such a feat?"

Frederick and Vaike were seemingly just as confused as they remained frozen at the doorway.

Frederick looked like he swallowed a lemon as he hesitantly moved by Chrom's side, "Good question, milord. A better question is if the Exalt knows…"

Vaike laughed loudly as he approached Shadowmere without caution, "Oh man, I gotta go grab the ale barrels. Ole Teach knew you were good with animals all along. That mean ole bear was just afraid of Kellam's ugly mug. You would have tamed it if that giant wasn't there."

Clovis's chest swelled with pride, "This is Shadowmere! I told him I'd feed him an endless supply of Plegians if he let me ride him!"

Chrom rubbed his chin in thought, "That worked?"

Frederick hurriedly spoke, "Don't try it Chrom. It's Prince Clovis. Of course it worked. First male pegasus rider in Ylissean history…"

Vaike nodded, "Sounds right to me. I'll grab your buddy some apples! Good boy deserves a treat!"

Chrom stared longingly at your mount, "What made you attempt such a glorious feat?"

"I'm leaving for Ferox soon. Emmeryn said I needed to prepare a plan befitting my station. Taming a pegasus sounded like an excellent idea for my disguise."

Frederick looked bewildered, "How?! Being a male pegasus rider is an achievement unseen, perhaps ever. How will this sell your disguise once it's known a Prince of Ylisse has tamed a pegasus?"

Hm. Frederick had a point there. Clovis stared at Shadowmere for a few moments before nodding to himself, "I'll just have him pull my wagon with the other horses. He'll blend right in. I could wear a wig to better sell my disguise as the great Cyrille Dusk!"

Shadowmere poked Clovis's chest with his nose, "Neigh."

Clovis rolled his eyes, "Yes. You'll have to pull my wagon. Would you prefer to be left behind and not have a chance to eat tasty Plegians?"

Shadowmere hung his head low, "Neigh…"

Vaike momentarily headed into the estate before coming out with a small bundle of apples. He tossed one towards Shadowmere. Shadowmere immediately snatched it from the air. He seemed somewhat mollified.

Clovis gave Vaike a thankful nod, "Thanks, Teach. Did I hear you right? Were you going to pull out some ale?"

Frederick nearly growled, "No! Absolutely not. It's the middle of the day. Vaike's ale is far too strong for day drinking."

Chrom frowned, "Don't be like that, Frederick. Clovis just accomplished a great feat worthy of celebration. He deserves a party."

Nice. Clovis almost felt guilty about fanning the flames of Cordelia's desire. Almost.

Emmeryn usually kept stronger ales away from him for some reason. If Vaike wasn't in Chrom's gardening club, Clovis would have considered bringing him along just for his ale.

Clovis held another mug of ale to his lips as the four continued to celebrate inside of the manor. Vaike was regaling everyone with another one of his stories.

"And so there I was, naked as the day I was born! Just me and a large branch from an ole rotten tree. I was surrounded by five, nay, fifty wolves!"

Frederick scoffed, "Bah, I bet a week's pay that it was but one stray dog."

"Oi, shut up! I'm telling a story here!" Vaike slammed the table with his mug, his face stained red.

Clovis couldn't contain his laughter. Chrom joined him in laughing as he poured more ale into Clovis's mug. Some of the ale missed the mug, staining the sleeve of Clovis's simple shirt.

"I was naked and afraid! Lost in the forest outside of the city surrounded by a horde of hungry wolves."

Clovis took a large gulp of ale from his mug before interrupting, "How did you get out of that mess by yourself, Teach?"

He grinned, "Wasn't just me. The alpha of the pack, a huge hulking beast, charged at me! I slapped it in the face with my giant stick. It snarled before lunging back at me with its sharp teeth. I was forced to drop my branch as it pinned me to the ground on my back. I was holding its snout back with both of my hands as it tried its best to rip my throat out."

Chrom grunted out, "Damn wolves…"

"Just as I thought it was all over…" Vaike spoke quietly.

Vaike took a deep breath, "A giant bunny jumped out of the bushes! It swiped away the entire pack with just one mighty paw!"

Vaike held his mug high up in the air in celebration. You met his mug with your own, spilling some more ale on the table.

Frederick swirled his mug of ale, "A giant rabbit? At least try to make your tale more believable…"

Chrom reached out and poked Frederick's chest, "If Clovis can tame a pegasus, Vaike can be bailed out of a deadly situation by a giant rabbit. Why is that so difficult to believe?"

Vaike slammed his mug back down on the table, "Yeah, come on! It happened! You think Teach would lie about that?"

Frederick sighed, "I don't know what to think is possible anymore…"