"Hey," Ananias dully greeted upon spotting Yarne sitting all by himself and deep in thought.
The Taguel slowly lifted his head to address his crimson-clad friend. "Oh, hey there, Ananias," he said, and by the sound of his voice, obviously crestfallen about something. "How's it going?"
Ananias nonchalantly shrugged. "Alright, I guess," he answered truthfully.
Yarne let out a heavy sigh as he once again hung his head and let his ears droop. "Good for you," he said. "At least one of us is having a halfway decent day today."
Ananias then let out an exasperated sigh of his own. "Okay, what's wrong? Did Chrom turn you down on the whole asking-to-get-out-of-the-whole-front-lines thing?"
Yarne shook his head. "No, not exactly."
Ananias cocked an eyebrow in mild surprise. "'Not exactly'?"
Yarne heaved out another sigh. "Chrom said that he doesn't mind, but that I at least had to find someone else who was willing to take my place for me before he could officially agree to it. But -"
"You couldn't find anyone who was willing to take your place for you, did you?"
Yarne hung his head even lower and pathetically nodded. "Uh-huh." He let out an anxious whimper. "I just don't understand! Doesn't anyone realize that I'm the last of my entire species? I can't just go around putting my life in danger on the front lines all willy-nilly like that! I've got the future of an entire species to think about here!"
"Well, is that what you told them?" Ananias asked.
Yarne nodded excitedly. "You bet your socks, I did! And yet, they still said 'no' to me! Can you believe that?!"
"Kind of, actually," Ananias nonchalantly answered.
Yarne's eyes widened his mouth hung agape in surprise. "Huh?"
Ananias let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, no offense, but you are really good in a battle. Like, insultingly good. So insultingly good that it's actually a bit more insulting when people find out just how much of a coward you are."
"Wait, seriously?" Yarne cried. "Is that really how people see me?"
"Well, I can't exactly speak for everybody," Ananias muttered, "but yeah, based on personal experience and from what I know, maybe just a bit. They're probably just a little bit too sick of you running away from battle and all and decided that enough was enough, you know?"
"Aw geez, that's just great! I can just see it now! The entire Taguel species, extinct! And all because the last Taguel's friends were just a little bit too sick of him putting his species first whenever they needed him!"
"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds even worse."
"I know, right?! This isn't a time for life changing lessons! This is the time to preserve a species in great need of it!"
"That's... not what I meant, but yeah, I guess that too," Ananias admitted.
"Ananias!" Yarne cried, placing his hands onto Ananias' shoulders and looking deeply and pleadingly into his eyes as he did. "Please, you've got to help me! You're my only hope!"
Ananias' eyes widened in mild surprise. "Hmm?"
"You've got to take my place on the front lines, man!" Yarne frantically clarified. "Please," he knelt down and bowed at Ananias' feet, "I'm begging you here!"
Ananias sighed. "You realize that compared to you, I'm a complete novice out there on the battlefield, right?"
"I know," Yarne grudgingly admitted, "but still -"
"And you know that I'd probably get mowed down the first chance I get, right?"
"W-Well, I wouldn't go THAT far. I mean, come on, man. You're at least halfway decent, you know? You wouldn't be THAT bad up there!"
Ananias once again sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is this really what you want?" he asked, already knowing the answer he was going to receive before Yarne was even going to say it.
Yarne gasped in surprise before nodding his head excitedly. "Yes, absolutely!"
"Yarne..."
"Look, I know that this is asking a lot from you, but I need to think about the future of my entire species here! I can't afford to let them down!"
Ananias sighed grudgingly. "Fine. I'll... I'll volunteer for the front lines."
"Yahoo!" Yarne cried, enveloping Ananias in a great, big hug as he did. "Thank you so much, man! You don't know how much this means to me and my entire species! And don't you worry! I'll definitely find some way to pay you back, I promise!" He then began to make his way back to Chrom to inform him of his replacement. "Thanks again, man! I really appreciate it!"
Ananias waved back for a bit before shaking his head and heaving out a weary sigh. "I am so dead."
