8/15 Wednesday: Morning; Robin's Residence
The past few days had been nothing but catching up on sleep. Finals had burned them out and now with no need to get up early for school, Robyn and Robin went to bed at the same time and got out of bed at the same time.
The doorbell rang as they were having breakfast. Robin and Robyn got up at the same time, though Robyn realised that it was more appropriate for Robin to answer. She hadn't heard the doorbell ring for a long time and it was her first instinct to go answer it. But this wasn't her original home, per se.
Morgan was curious and went to check on the door too.
"Good morning, Robin-san!" Lissa's cheerful voice.
"Oh, good morning," Robin said with a smile. "What brings you here?"
"My big bro and I were thinking of hanging out in Gartenstadt today. Want to join us? If Robyn-chan wants to join us, she certainly can!"
Robin didn't expect to make plans like this on the spot, although he appreciated it. An outing to Garden City didn't sound too bad and Robyn might want to join too. He was about to reply when Morgan came down to also check on the door, since she was curious.
"Oh hey! Morgan-chan!" Lissa greeted. "Want to come to Gartenstadt with us?"
"Oh? Maybe, maybe… If my big bro says it's okay…?" Morgan looked at Robin's eyes.
Robin replied with a warm smile. "It'll be fun," he said, to which Morgan smiled with bright eyes.
8/15 Wednesday: Daytime; Gartenstadt, Gartenstadt Station
They took the train from Iris-shi and had no sooner arrived at Gartenstadt Station. The station was the primary transportation hub of the city, hence its name, and was rather large. Restaurants, convenience stores, a shopping mall including boutiques and a department store, as well as a movie theatre were based in the station. One would think all business activity in the city would be focused here! It may be true that the station had a lot of business activity, though it certainly didn't have all of it. Nevertheless, it was still a sight to behold and visitors may as well spend half a day here.
That was exactly the case when Robyn, Robin, Chrom, Lissa, and Morgan got off the train platform and then exited the gates of the train station. Then they were in the main concourse of the station building, and it was a sight to behold. In addition to the main commercial complex, the station was also decorated with lots of trees, flowers, and gardens like miniature parks. Well, since Gartenstadt was known as the garden city, there was no surprise it had these.
"Wow… It's so big!" Lissa remarked.
"Have you never been to Gartenstadt Station before?" Robin said.
"Nope. I usually hang around home or at Aritia. We have passed by Gartenstadt but that's about it," Lissa said. "Neither has Chrom!"
"It is a nice place to walk around," Chrom remarked.
They walked around the station for some time, browsing the stores, food stalls, restaurants, and even the movie theatre. Then they went outside to visit one of the arcades out on the street. More restaurants populated the street on the way there, in addition to shops selling figurines for the discerning eye. Robyn wondered if she could find a Pokketo figurine in there somewhere.
Then then arrived at the arcade, which took up five floors of this building and was divided by game type. Crane games at the ground floor, video games (ranging from racing to shooting and more) on the first and second floors, and music games on the third and fourth floors. The atmosphere was stuffy and noisy (except for the ground floor), which made Robin wonder if Morgan was okay with this.
"You like playing rhythm games, don't you?" Lissa said to Robin and Robyn. "Let's see who can best each other!" She pointed at the guitar game, which had guitar-shaped controllers designed to be worn on the body. One hand would strum, the other would handle the buttons.
Robyn picked up the guitar first and then she exchanged a smile with Robin who did the same. They then inserted a coin each to play the game, with Morgan watching in amusement to see what would happen. They were playing the co-op mode, in which they would play two different parts of the song and try to sufficiently play the song to get a passing score.
"I wonder if the Demon Slayer theme song is in here…" Robin said as he cycled through the enormous playlist. It was a shame he had little time to look through them all.
"Oh, there it is!" Robyn said, pointing at the title track excitedly.
They played for some time with Chrom, Lissa, and Morgan cheering them on. Robin and Robyn were quite the team too. They played as if their minds were in sync and they knew when to help each other out without need for cues. By the time they finished their last song, they wore nothing but smiles at each other.
8/15 Wednesday: Daytime; Gartenstadt, Gartenstadt Station
The group decided to grab a late lunch before heading back to Iris-shi. They ate at a burger joint located inside Gartenstadt Station, which conveniently had its own space for tables and chairs but certainly none out in the concourse.
"Um… you two, you sure you can eat that?" Lissa said, a little worried.
It was because Robyn and Robin had ordered burgers made with bear meat. Even Morgan and Chrom were raising looks at the pair.
"Positive," they said in unison.
"You could say they have an obsession with bear meat," Morgan remarked. She herself had a regular burger, complete with a tomato slice, onions, lettuce, and pickles. The same as Lissa and Chrom, come to that. "Good thing I've got time to make lemon puffs with them."
Lissa clapped her hands together. "Oh right! Almost forgot, I have to thank you, Morgan-chan!" Lissa said, the excitement evident in her voice. "Your lemon puffs are the best things ever! You have to show me the recipe, okay? Or make some specially for me."
"I wouldn't mind a few myself, Morgan-chan. You are very talented. Anyone ever tell you that?" Chrom remarked.
Morgan only smiled sheepishly and also slightly embarrassed. She wasn't used to getting compliments like these. "You have to credit our mom. It's her recipe."
But hearing that caused Robyn to think back to her parallel world, which caused her smile to fade. She was reminded that the lemon puffs, being Robin's mother's recipe, was also her mother's recipe and that her Morgan always tried to replicate it. Just the way Morgan said it now caused a slight heartache in Robyn, as if she missed her family. Was it worth tearing up over a lemon puff?
"Robyn-chan…?"
Robyn blinked and then looked up. The voice was Chrom's, and the others were looking at her with worry.
"It's nothing. Sorry," Robyn shook her head and looked down.
There was some awkward silence in the air as the five of them continued with their meals. Feeling the need to break it, Morgan spoke up. "Whatever's bothering you, Robyn-oneechan, don't let it. You're in good company! You've got me, Chrom-niichan –" (Chrom scoffed at that remark) "– Lissa-neechan, and most importantly, my onii-chan here!"
No one was expecting Morgan to try to cheer up Robyn like that, and the result was that Robyn breaking into a slight smile. With that kind of demeanor from Robin's little sister and her intentions well and truly positive, how was it possible to resist it? To think they brought her along to Gartenstadt just to get away a little, but in the end it was Morgan who was lifting everyone's mood.
8/20 Monday: Morning; Robin's Residence, Kitchen
Robyn had managed to grab several nights of well-deserved rest and by the time she got up for breakfast on a warm Monday morning, she looked like in better spirits.
She greeted Robin and Morgan in the kitchen shortly after. "Hey, Robin? Morgan? I should have this mentioned earlier. I'm sorry if I messed up the mood by feeling down last week. It's just…"
The guilty look on her face caused Robin to raise his hand for her silence. "Robyn," he said. "Don't worry about it. If you need an ear, I'm happy to lend one." He paused, trying to think of what to say next. "We've got the summer break ahead of us still! If you keep your head down like that, we're not going to save the world at this rate!"
That statement sent a weird feeling in Robyn's head. That sounded exactly like the sort of thing she would say to cheer herself up, except it was coming from someone else. Then again, hearing it from someone else did bring up her spirits a little, just like that.
She nodded back, trying to smile.
Robin chuckled. Then there was a slight nervousness in his voice. "If you want, want to head to the summer festival in Aritia tomorrow?"
How did Robin know that that festival was on her mind too? It occurred to Robyn that Robin didn't mention the others. Could he mean…?
"Just you and me?" she said.
Robin laughed nervously. "If you want."
8/21 Tuesday: Evening; Aritia, Waterfront Park
But they ended up bringing Morgan with them instead. It was a hot day. Robyn, Robin, and Morgan caught the express bus on Ignis Avenue which, on its way to Aritia Station, would stop by Aritia's Waterfront Park where the city's summer festival would be held. While Iris-shi did have its own, the one in Aritia was better-known by far and was also bigger. They got off at the appropriate stop and ventured inside.
Being on the waterfront, hence its name, the park was situated far east of the skyscrapers of Aritia and was in a quieter part of the city. It had an amusement park, and with a sea breeze blowing in the area, it was a popular place for friends and families in the summer, it could get busy and loud when the season allowed it. Many food, game, and souvenir stalls were set up as part of the event, adding to the atmosphere of the festival.
"Wow…" Morgan remarked. "The lights are pretty."
Morgan was referring to the lanterns. They gave off a glow that would make one shiver in a night like this. It was fortunate that it was a warm evening, despite the sea breeze blowing into the park.
Unlike most of the girls and women who showed up at the park in beautiful robes and garments intended for this festival, Robyn had come casually dressed. That is, in a tank top and shorts. Maybe it was because of her similar to Robin who had also come in casual clothing, though he wore a polo shirt. They seemed fine with that.
Then there was Morgan, who opted to wear a garment for tonight. It was a bright pink with sparse patterns decorating the sleeves and the main body.
"You're definitely the star tonight, Morgan," Robin remarked.
"Aw, you think so?" Morgan said with stars in her eyes.
Robyn smiled. They walked together and passed by the stalls, enjoying the warmth and smell in the air. The air smelled of freshly grilled fish, fried potato slices, and red bean. And that mix of flavours, enough to make their mouths water, was enough to lure them into buying something.
A certain vendor was selling ice cream bars with a distinctive sky-blue colour. Upon closer inspection, he turned out to be selling sea salt ice cream. It gave off a refreshing appearance that seemed appropriate for a warm evening like this and beside the water no less. Ice cream sounded refreshing, for sure.
The vendor noticed Robyn glancing at the ice cream. "Were you thinking of buying some ice cream?" he said, motioning her to come forward. "Come now, there's no need to be shy. I've plenty for you, your brother, and your little sister there!"
"Wha- He's not my brother! And that's… his sister…" Robyn's voice went quiet.
"Oh, you're not related to him? You sure look similar…" The vendor looked at Robyn and Robin more closely. "Never mind! Boyfriend then. How would you feel for sea salt ice cream? I can get you half off for the little one."
Morgan's eyes then brightened at the prospect of ice cream. Smiling and scoffing, Robyn nodded at the vendor and handed over the money ("Boyfriend?" she said to herself). Within moments, the three of them were enjoying sea salt ice cream together amid the summer festival atmosphere. They walked together once more, wandering around aimlessly while checking out the booths and games.
There was one particular game booth involving balloon darts which caught Morgan's eyes. So that was when Robyn and Robin went to check out the booth. Pay a flat fee for a round of four darts, hit a balloon, and win a prize. After mulling over whether to play or not, the paid the one fee so that each of them would throw at least once.
Robyn went first.
"Can you hold this for me?" she said, handing her ice cream to Robin. Of course, it was probably obvious Robin would need to hold but it was better to ask. Then Robyn threw the dart.
She missed.
"Argh, this is harder than it looks!" she remarked.
Morgan went next. She missed too. Then Robin handed both ice cream bars to Robyn and went to have his go. Even then, he also missed. It wasn't easy when the balloons were spaced out! So it came down to the last dart when he went to hold the two ice cream bars from Robyn.
"You've got this, big sis!" Morgan said, as Robyn stepped forward to take the last dart.
Now that she got a second try, Robyn tried her aim again, this time aiming just a little higher. Could the dart have enough moment and speed before landing right? It seemed to work, since a balloon popped after.
"We have a winner!" the vendor said. He went to look at what was behind the popped balloon. "Looks like you got a green ribbon here, so you can pick one of the small prizes." He gestured to the prize display.
Robyn smiled. "Morgan. What do you want?"
"I want the Master Ball!" Morgan pointed excitedly, seeing she was a Pokketo fan, after all.
And so, afterwards, the three of them continued enjoying their sea salt ice cream while walking around the festival again. Morgan was happily carrying the Master Ball in her other arm, which frankly wasn't too big and could easily fit in Robin's bag.
Then they saw the sky crackle with a display of brilliant lights, with the familiar bang of fireworks.
The sound caused Morgan to shudder at first and she her eyes tight. Then as she opened them, she saw Robin gesturing to follow her.
"Let's get a better view!" he said.
He did have a point. It was better to enjoy the view of the fireworks in a clearing than in the middle of the stalls and booths. They walked to the clearing above the waterfront where the staff were setting off fireworks near the water (the park was slightly above sea level).
Standing at the clearing, they watched more fireworks explode in the night, lighting up the sky.
8/23 Thursday: Daytime; Aritia, Astra Bay Beach
Even though it was still late August, the forecast said a cold current would be sweeping through the region and temperatures were expected to drop by the end of the week. For that reason, Chrom thought it would be a good idea to go the beach and catch some sun. That was, of course, part of the reason why he invited the Shepherds. The other reason was more to do with business, to discuss Frederick's latest report on daylight hours.
Unfortunately, the closest thing Iris-shi had to a beach was Lake Caduceus, which had anything but the ocean; whereas Aritia had many beaches, if one where knew to look.
Astra Bay, so named because it offered amazing views of the stars at night, was an oceanfront situated where the cityscape met the ocean. It was actually located on the other side of the metropolis where Aritia Station was – just a bus ride away – and had a beach, making it a popular place for those who wanted to experience the fun of the seaside. There were other beaches that probably weren't so urbanised, but in consideration of time (particularly the daylight hours), Aritia was closest.
So the Shepherds caught the train together from Iris-shi Station to Aritia Station, then subsequently took the bus which took them through the busyness of the Aritia metropolis and to the quieter environment of Astra Bay. As usual, Robyn brought the Fire Emblem with her.
"Finally! The beach!" Stahl said, pointing at the distance just as the bus stopped to let them off.
Then they went to the changing rooms to get changed into swimsuits. When most of them came out, they were still waiting on a few who were taking a little longer than expected – namely Gaius, Chrom, Cordelia, Tharja, and Robyn.
The boys came out first. To Robin's amusement, Gaius was mumbling something about not being able to store candy in the pockets of his swimming trunks, and also worried that his current stock of candy might end up melting in the heat. Robin guessed Gaius must have brought soft candies with him. Behind Gaius, Chrom was wearing a pair of trunks that bore the monarch brand… It could have been less conspicuous.
Then finally the girls came out next. Cordelia looked extremely nervous or embarrassed. Perhaps she wasn't used to showing her body publicly. Robin smiled. It wasn't the first time he had gone to the beach with the Shepherds and Cordelia looked fine as always. As for Tharja, well, she looked too fine. Enough said.
But Robyn… Robin had to look at her for a little longer than the others. She looked very pretty, wearing a purple two-piece swimsuit that was reminiscent of the Plegia school colours. What struck Robin was that, first, he hadn't seen quite someone like Robyn. Second, was that really the type of swimsuit his other self would wear? The thought of it made him blush.
Robyn also made eye contact with Robin. Then she blushed and looked away. She had worn this swimsuit before in her world and the Shepherds she knew were used to it. But here, they were seeing her for the first time. It did make her wonder how much she stood up. As far as Robyn was concerned, her appearance was not too bad, but certainly couldn't measure up to Tharja or Cordelia… Ugh, there would be time to think about that later.
"Robin? Is something bothering you?" Of all people, it was Virion who said that.
Robin blinked as if he snapped back to reality. "Oh! It's nothing."
"You sure? You have that eye as if it was love at first sight. I know how to see things like these, friend."
"Wh-what? No, it's not like that. How could I possibly–?"
"Oi! Robyn-san. Please come over here." Virion waved for Robyn to come closer.
"Um… okay? Is something the matter?" Robyn said.
"Nothing! Robin here just has a few words for you."
Robyn looked at Robin, whose face was a mix of embarrassment and shock (mostly from Virion's antics, actually). She waited patiently for Robin to say something, but Robin's mind was a blank.
Mercifully, Frederick called the meeting to order, using several towels so that everyone could sit on the beach. Miriel, who was wearing a sundress, made sure everyone was accounted for before beginning the meeting. Gaius and Stahl had made a run to buy a large purchase of chilled milk tea from the beach shop just for everyone's pleasure, especially in this sun.
As the bottles and bottles of milk tea were handed out, Miriel outlined the issue at hand. "We may be on summer break, but we can't tarry too long. Daylight started running out on the last day of school, and we will have until the end of next month before daylight will be gone."
"Right in the middle of the new semester…" Lon'qu grumbled.
"And during summer break…" Lissa muttered.
"Exactly," Miriel nodded. "Who knows what kind of disaster we'll be heading into if we don't investigate early?"
Then Frederick said, to add onto Miriel's point, "For that reason, Miriel-san and I have agreed that we should travel to the Halidom before the end of the month. If we don't check it out now and know where we're heading, we might as well give up."
No one objected. There were a few nods and that was about it. It was either they agreed or they didn't know how to reply to that. The fact of the matter was that it had to be done, but did it really have to be done during summer break? It was like they couldn't catch any rest.
Robyn stood up. "Aw, let's not get so down. We're at the beach! I'll make sure we'll finish this on time!" She took a mouthful of milk tea from her bottle. "How about we play some volleyball?"
"I'm down," Robin said, also standing. "Anyone else?"
Chrom and Lissa smiled. Of course Robin would be down for it, and just like that – because of a second voice – some of the Shepherds joined in on the fun. Chrom himself, then there was Sully, Vaike, Gaius, Panne, and Cherche. So it was a four-on-four game, from the looks of it, not that Robyn could complain.
So as the teams were divided up evenly to have two boys and two girls on each side. Robyn was grouped with Gaius, Vaike, and Panne, whereas the Robin was grouped with the rest.
"Alright, Melonpan-chan. Let's see how you fare on the beach," Gaius said.
Smiling, Robyn tossed the ball into the air and struck it to send it over the net. It was received by Chrom, who bumped the ball to Cherche, who then set the ball for Sully to deliver a devastating spike even though Panne tried to block it.
On instinct, Robyn dived for the ball and felt the softness of the sand cushion her fall (although a bit of it nearly got into Robyn's nose). With the ball saved but not controlled, Vaike had to bump it to the net in time for Gaius to lob the ball far back.
"We've got a chance!" Chrom said, bumping the ball to Cherche, who set it what appeared to be Sully once more, but instead, it was set for Robin.
Robin, taking the opportunity, went for the spike, but as he struck the ball, it just managed to touch Panne's fingers, meaning that his spike had basically failed. It also allowed Robyn to bump the ball to Vaike again, who set the ball for Panne.
As a result, Panne struck the ball with the same ferocity that Sully had and this time the ball hit the sand.
"Yes!" Robyn cheered.
Panne smiled, seeming satisfied.
"Don't mess with Melonpan-chan," Gaius said. "Currypan-kun. You need to step up your game!"
Robin made a face. Gaius really wasn't letting go of that nickname, was he? He had to turn his attention to Robyn again, who was ready to serve the ball once more. If Robyn really was his other self, did that mean that Robin had levels of competitiveness that he wasn't aware of? Did he have more potential, perhaps?
He had to push those thoughts aside as the ball came flying in his direction again.
