Oh God…

For fuck's sake, I drank too much.

I thought the years of training I had under my belt would help me power through the usual hangover, but never did my bed feel so wobbly after I miraculously got to my room. I didn't remember much of what happened after I had more than five pints. There was this Ylissean orange spirit as well, and it tasted good, but I probably had more than I was willing to admit.

Thank God my liver was accustomed to my shenanigans already.

I rolled around in my bed, unable to even move my arms before a stray ray of light assaulted my half-closed eyes. Lazily lifting my head, I gazed at the small window and saw the sun barely rising before I noticed a strand of saliva running down my cheek. I ungracefully sucked it back in before wiping my face clean.

While I wished I could lie in bed until my hangover faded away, I had stuff to do and I was willing to sacrifice an extra hour of sleep if it meant Frederick wouldn't come banging at my door. With how omnipresent he could get, it wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

It would require some cold water though.

Forcing myself to get up, even with my bed head, I marched outside to get refreshed at the well. Thankfully, I didn't meet anyone on my way. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the Shepherds were on the same boat as me, because I swear we drank more than one keg's worth of ale.

Once I was by the well, the first wave of cool morning air washed over me and I instinctively took a deep breath. It felt reinvigorating. I threw a bucket inside the dark hole, it fell down with a wet splash before pulling it full of water. I dipped my finger into the bucket, and thankfully, it was cold.

I splashed some on my face before I dunked most of my head inside. A sudden jolt went down my spine and my eyes shot wide open. While I still felt like I weighed a ton, at least I was able to stand firmly on my legs. I took a sip of the water and breathed a satisfied sigh while idle drops soaked my clothes.

"Much better."

"I'm surprised to see you this early," a stern tone snapped me from my trance and I whipped my head in the voice's direction.

"Frederick!?" I shouted, leaning on the well for support. "What are you doing here!?"

He let out a breath. "I ask you to not be so loud. It is still morning, after all."

My lips tugged in. "Right, sorry about that. I just wasn't expecting anybody here of all places."

"An early rinse always helps to combat sleepiness," he said, slowly turning his sight to the well behind me. "If you would?"

"Oh, right." I quickly stepped away before Frederick soaked himself while I awkwardly waited for him to finish for no particular reason. He had been smart and brought a towel, and once he wiped his face clean, he offered it to me.

I flinched before gingerly taking it. "Thanks."

"It's unbecoming of a lady to walk around half-drenched," he said and I snorted.

"I don't think I can call myself a lady. Especially not after yesterday."

A hum escaped Frederick's lips. "Adequately said, but I have nothing against loosening up from time to time. It boosts morale quite effectively."

He eyed me with one eye. "Although I have to say, keeping tabs on you was more challenging than I expected."

My breath hitched while I was rubbing my face with the towel. I lifted my head and my cheeks reddened more and more with each moment. "Yeah, I may have gone a little overboard."

"That is an understatement, lady Theresa," he stated before putting a hand on his chin. "I remember, after your sixth pint, you took a bottle of an orange moonshine and ran outside the pub."

I buried my head back into the towel. "Okay, look. It was really good and my mind wasn't in the right place."

He breathed a sigh. "I'm only surprised you were able to find your way to the barracks."

I finished cleaning myself up before giving the towel back to Frederick. "That comes with practice. Remembering your way into your place after a long night was something I had to get good at."

He narrowed his eyes. "Then you'll need to learn how to control your alcoholic tendencies."

"Look, it's been some time since I was able to blow off some steam. I usually don't drink that much—you could let me have that for once at least."

"Besides," I put a hand on my hip. "I'm up and running. Even if my head still feels heavy, somebody has to count all the stuff in the supply room after all."

Frederick huffed, but I swore it came out as approving, even though it sounded monotone. "Very well. Then the next time we are in the pub, you'll keep track of all the drinks."

My eyes shot wide open. "Wait, you counted all the stuff we drank!?"

He nodded. "All of it, yes. Somebody has to be sober enough to help the bartender keep track of all the mugs and such. This is part of the quartermaster's job as well, although with a less serious note."

I threw my hands into the air. "Great. More stuff to do even after—" I paused while my mouth hung open before I gave Frederick a stare. "Wait…"

I pointed a finger at him while my other hand remained on my hip. "Is this your way of making sure I won't drink as much next time? Because for the life of me, I don't remember reading anything about 'keeping tabs on drinks' from the books."

His lips curved up ever-so-slightly. "Are you sure you didn't miss anything?"

Now he was just screwing with me. "Positive. I restored all of them, for crying out loud."

"Then take it as you will. Gods know this won't be the last time the Shepherds go out and drink." He put his hands behind his back before slowly marching back inside the barracks. "I'd continue this conversation, but I'm sure both of our lines of work require our presence."

I let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're not wrong there."

"There isn't much time left before the march towards the Farfort." He tilted his head, revealing a glaring eye. "Get to it."

"Y-yes," was all I could say while adorning a stiff posture. Once he was out of sight, my shoulders relaxed, but with what I had in front of me, I'd rather start now rather than later.

Aiming for the supply room, it didn't take long before I was hugged by the cold humid air of the cellar. Not much different from the outside, but it still didn't prevent me from getting shivers.

Taking in a deep breath, I opened the first box containing all the vulneraries, or what they were called. While counting all the bottles here would be a cinch, once I took two of them out and shook them vigorously, I could easily hear not all of them were completely full. Their weight indicated as such as well.

Letting out a groan, I slowly but surely took them all out and began doing what I was enlisted for.

Because God knew this was going to take a while.

{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}

It was hard to tell the time here.

With how enclosed the supply room was, very little natural light pierced through the small barred window that kept this place from being too suffocating. Bricks and mortar captured all the water that hung here like a sponge, and I had a difficult time understanding how this place wasn't filled to the brim with mould.

Sure, it didn't smell nice here, and there was no place for said mould to settle on bricks of all things, but the wood already saw some use. It wouldn't surprise me if they broke on their own with time alone. Maybe, if there ever came a day I would be in charge of renovation—because that was one of the few things the school was able to teach me—this place would face many changes.

Granted, I wasn't in the twenty-first century, but I was sure the theory behind it would be similar, if not identical.

However, I was daydreaming, and I had better stuff to do.

"Like finishing this damn chart for weapons and being able to tell which one is dull or not!" I shouted, slamming my hands against the desk and almost spilling the ink bottle on my papers.

Sure, I could simply cut myself and see how sharp it was, but… no.

Just no.

I let out a groan before falling back on my chair while a spear leaned against my table, the greenish tip facing the ceiling. The only thing I knew about this thing was that it was pointy.

That was it.

I grabbed the spear by its handle and stared at it intensively, waiting for the spear to give off any hints of its state. The dim lighting didn't help either, but I was quickly losing patience due to my lack of experience with actual mediaeval weapons. For all I knew, this thing could be completely fine, but I had a gut feeling it wasn't.

Two loud knocks resonated in the supply room, making me jump in place before tilting my head to the doors.

"Hey? Is anybody in here?" I heard from the other side.

I stood up and quickly reached for the doorknob while whipping out my keys. With a single click, I opened the doors and they revealed the red knight of all people with a torch in hand.

Sully's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a grin adorned her features. "Well, didn't expect you here."

A sheepish smile grew on my face. "Hey, Sully."

"Hot damn, Theresa. I knew you were enlisted for something, but definitely not this." Her grin grew larger. "Not to mention the show you gave us in the pub. You're just full of surprises."

I waved my hand awkwardly. "Can we… not talk about that? I'd rather we forget everything that happened yesterday."

She let out a snort. "Hardly. That was one hell of a debut to not remember."

I breathed a sigh. "Look, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now and I don't really have the time for idle chatter. What do you need?"

Her cheery expression fell when she peered over my shoulder. "Yeah, I can see the mess behind you alright. I'm just here to get a new lance. Mine broke during practice against dummies again."

"A lance?" I parroted before I put a hand on my chin. "Actually, you could give me a hand right now."

She raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

Instead of answering, I beckoned her inside the supply room before grabbing the spear I had next to my desk. Once I gave it to Sully, she stared at it dumbfoundedly.

"Aaaand what do you want me to do?" She asked, her upper lip raised ever-so-slightly.

"I need you to tell me what is wrong with this spear, because for the life of me I've never used a weapon nor ever taken care of one," I explained while crossing my arms. "It's kind of hard to tell whether this thing is even usable."

Sully didn't answer. Instead, she put her torch away and firmly grasped the spear. She took a stance, facing the wall with the lone window.

"There isn't much room here, but it should be enough," she said under her breath before bracing herself with her left foot forward.

She took a step and thrust the weapon with a resonating swish. As a frown adorned her face, she let the light illuminate the tip of the spear and stared at it for a solid moment.

She then brought the tip up for both of us to inspect. "So, first of all, the tip is a little bent. That already is enough for the weapon to be bad, but once you level the lance to make a straight line, you can see how uneven it already is."

I stepped behind her and she was right. The wood and the tip weren't aligned properly, not to mention the handle itself already had a few battle marks on it as well.

How did I not notice that before?

"And lastly," she pointed at the spearhead. "These dents are quite nasty, even with how small they look. This thing is probably duller than hearing Miriel speak."

"Um… who?" I asked, making Sully sigh.

"The brains of the Shepherds, or at least on the magical side," she said before scratching the back of her neck. "Half the time I don't know what she is even trying to say."

She twirled the spear before leaning the end of the shaft against the ground with a soft click. "Anyway, you can apply this to pretty much any weapon. Just look for dents and if it's bent or not. That already should tell you if the weapon needs a repair."

She kicked the shaft and the spear neatly settled itself on her shoulder. After she made her way out of the room, she flashed me a smirk. "But I think my time is up here. Hope you got what you wanted, my legs are getting sore from just standing here."

"W-wait!" I exclaimed. "Are you… taking that spear with you?"

"Of course I am. I thought I told you from the start that I needed one. No use in saving it with how bad it looks," she stated before leaving me to my charges with a small wave. "See ya later!"

I stared at the opened doors with a half-lidded look. I swear, if any of these guys were going to take things as they pleased, I would have to have a word with them.

At least Sully showed me the basics, because I would be stuck here otherwise.

Speaking of being stuck…

I walked my way out of the cellar to check where the sun was and how much time I'd spent in the supply room. God knew I started to have a problem with time after I was appointed. Thankfully, once I was outside and looked up at the sky, the sun was…

Yeah, it was there. Not close to setting, but it surely was about to.

"I guess it's late afternoon?" I said while shielding my eyes from the sun. If I couldn't look at it without my eyes hurting yet, afternoon it was then.

It was time for my regular break anyway.

{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}

"You were able to wake up that early!?" Lissa shouted, her voice resonating in the field and making me flinch.

"Yeah, I have practice," I said, leaning on the mat sprawled over the grassy ground. "Comes naturally with how wild my life was back where I came from."

"But still! I'm shocked you were even able to get up with how much you drank. How do you do it!?"

I shook my head. "No, don't ask that question. I think you're too young to have your liver destroyed by these shenanigans. Trust me on that."

Lissa arched her brow. "Young? But you don't look that old. Or am I missing something here?"

I let out a small chuckle. "I'm in my twenties, Lissa, but don't worry. You're not the first one to get my age wrong."

Her mouth hung agape for two seconds before snapping shut. "I'm… I didn't expect that, that's for sure." She then flashed a bright smile before raising her hands into the air. "Then that makes you something like a big sister!"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "I definitely do not feel like that. If anything, I think I'm being babysat by the Shepherds. God knows I got here knowing almost nothing."

"Don't be like that, I told you we're here to help. Besides, I honestly don't know what I'd be doing if I was in your shoes." She leaned her head on her hands while gazing at the field. "It's actually kind of amazing you're able to adapt this quickly."

A snort escaped my lips. "I'm pretty sure Frederick did most of the work. He forced me to adapt if anything." My face formed a frown. "It helps me distract myself from what I left behind anyway."

She shifted in place, her lips curving downward. "Was it really that bad?"

My head sank. "It wasn't at first, but circumstances change people. And my parents changed for the worse. I already told Chrom, and I don't want to talk about it now. You can ask him for details."

"Are you sure? My brother can be really secretive sometimes."

"You make it sound like you're not," I quipped, making Lissa pout. "You can say you have my permission to ask him about it."

I stood up, brushing away any loose grass from my clothes. "But I think we've talked long enough. Can we get some practice in? Like we always do?"

Lissa perked up, jumping from her own seat as well. "Oh yeah! About that! I've told Miriel, and I think it's about time we get you geared up!"

My eyes went wide before I took a single step back. "Um… what do you mean by that?"

She leaned in, her smug smile present. "You know exactly what I mean. You already know the basics of a staff. So, I asked Miriel to order a set of cleric gear for you."

"Wait," I took my time to let her words settle in before I gave Lissa a wary stare. "When did you take my measurements? Shoes I get, but the rest?"

She fixed her posture before touching her chin. "I asked you when we were in the pub. You don't remember?"

"I…" I let out a sigh. "No, I don't. Half of what happened is probably gone from my brain. Especially after I found out I ran out from the pub with a bottle in hand."

Lissa snorted, hiding her mouth with her hand. "I've gotta admit, it was very funny seeing you like that though."

My head jolted away. "Can we not?"

"Yeah, sure." She took me by my hand before briskly guiding me back to the barracks. "Let's go. I think you're going to like it."

I softly wiggled myself out of her grip before matching her speed. "I'll just hope I won't have to wear a hoop skirt or something."

She abruptly stopped and let out a sheepish laugh. "Maybeeee?"

My face morphed into a frown. "Lissa."

She put her hands up defensively. "Hey, don't judge it until you wear it, okay? Or see it for that matter."

I groaned. "Let's just go. I've yet to meet Miriel anyway."

The idea of me wearing something so… frilly made me feel uncomfortable. Of course, I had a lot of different dresses before, but the idea just didn't sit right with me. Especially with the fact that hoop skirts were ancient to me. To wear it on the go just seemed impractical and painful. It wasn't like I didn't have a choice. I could simply decline and be on my merry way back to the supply room, but with how much Lissa had helped me so far, I thought she deserved my compliance.

I hated having debts. Which was why I was hoping to repay the Shepherds one day for everything they had done for me.

Something told me it was going to be only a matter of time.

Anyway, the trek was rightfully uneventful, as Lissa was skipping her way back while I trailed only inches behind her. We went past the training grounds, which were finally breathing with life and it made me stop and gaze at everything that was going on.

Most of the people I met in the tavern were here, focusing on their activities. Some were in front of a training dummy—like Sully—who had that ready-to-break spear in hand and another knight in almost identical armour, only coloured in green, taking notes next to her.

I don't think I ever caught his name. Makes me feel bad.

A loud clang snapped my gaze towards the blonde Vaike and Chrom, who were sparring together. It seemed dangerous to me, but with the smirks they had and not a single visible gash oozing with blood, something told me this wasn't the first time they fought.

Even Virion was here, practicing his archery with three bullseyes on a faraway target already. Though he was currently taking a break on a self-made chair and table of hay with a teacup in hand. How he was able to drink that during this heat was beyond me.

With Frederick overlooking the entire thing, this place felt like an actual barracks now and served its purpose well enough.

Discounting the mess that was inside.

Lissa then wordlessly took my hand as she went inside and we followed a path leading deeper into the building. This place kept getting bigger with time for some reason, but we eventually reached a set of doors.

She let go of my hand before gently knocking. "Miriel? You in there?"

A small gust of hair pierced through the roughly made doors and they opened on their own, revealing a woman with glasses and a small boy with ginger hair behind a desk with ridiculously high stacks of books. They wore simple robes that hid their bodies completely, and they each had a ridiculous leather pointy hat on their heads.

Great, now I'm going to think I'm in a fantasy world.

The woman fixed her glasses and took the smallest of glances at us before tilting her head towards the boy. "Ricken, take your theory elsewhere."

He jolted in place before bowing. "Yes, Miriel."

Once he took several scripts from the bookshelves, stacking them so high he couldn't see in front of himself, he left the room and closed the doors behind him. Miriel leaned her chin on her crossed arms while intensely gazing at me.

"You are Theresa, I presume?" she asked, her tone etched with an analytical purpose.

I didn't like it.

"That's me," I answered plainly. "And you're Miriel, right?"

"If no identical twin in the world is present nearby, then yes," she said, fixing her glasses again before tilting her head to my left. "Ah, princess Lissa, are you here for your requested clothing?"

She nodded. "Yeah, although it isn't exactly for me."

"I've noticed the sudden change of proportions in your order," she stood up from her chair, aiming for a drawer neatly lined up with all the bookshelves. "The lack of a brighter colour scheme didn't add up to the usual either."

Lissa sheepishly put her hands behind her. "I guess I wasn't really all that subtle."

"No worries," she said before opening the drawer and revealing…

A birdcage.

I lazily tilted my head towards Lissa whose sheepishness got more apparent with her smile and posture. She then clapped her hands together before giving a set of puppy dog eyes.

"Please?"

"If it makes you sleep at night," I said with a sigh before taking a closer look at that… thing. Yes, it was a hoop skirt, but it was surprisingly more intricate than that.

The black leather corset was bound together by a series of belts, some of which would go over my shoulders and neatly keep the cage in place so it wouldn't only weigh down my hips. In fact, it was pretty much identical to Lissa's when I saw her in Southtown.

Just slightly larger.

I tilted my head back towards her. "Think you can help me get into that?"

Might as well let her have the fun. Unsurprisingly, her eyes began to sparkle. "Of course!"

The whole process was tedious and very tight. Almost every belt needed to be fastened in one way or another, and I swear I wheezed more times than I was willing to count. Not to mention I had to strip my long skirt, otherwise it would have looked weirder than it already did.

Once the skirt was draped over the cage and I took a look at myself in a convenient mirror in the room, I felt huge. I tripled in width with that thing alone, but once I made a single twirl, it surprisingly wasn't as hampering as I first thought it was.

To be honest, I didn't hate it.

I could freely move my legs without the skirt hindering me, and the support belts made the cage not as heavy as it looked. Although my shoulders did feel the extra weight and I swear my waist was getting thinner with each moment.

"So?" Lissa asked, impatiently waiting for my thoughts with her enclosed hands hiding her lips.

"It's… not as bad as I thought," I answered. "It's a weird feeling though. And tight."

"Don't worry about that, you'll get used to it faster than you'd think," she said while sizing me up from every angle. "But my gosh! You look so beautiful in it!"

My breath hitched. "D-do I?"

"Yes! It feels like the skirt was made for the hoop almost perfectly!"

I gave her a sheepish smile. "I think that's just a coincidence. But can I ask why I have to wear this?"

"Culture," Miriel chimed in breathlessly, her gaze focused on an opened book in her hand. "These garments are only meant to distinguish the clergy from the rest, allowing the masses to associate."

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "But I'm not a part of this… group."

"You are able to utilise your staff, are you not?" Miriel asked while closing her book with a thud. "It is easier for the common folk to tell you are, without them needing to guess. But that reminds me…"

She stood up from the seat before stepping right in front of me and, to my surprise, she was taller than me. Not by much, but I had to look up to meet her eye-to-eye.

"Some information has reached me about your special capabilities," she said, making me tense up. "Would you mind showing me?"

"I…" I gulped before narrowing my gaze. "No."

Her eyes widened for a second before fixing her glasses. "Any particular reason?"

I glanced at Lissa before giving Miriel a stern look. "I made a promise that I won't use it unless it's necessary. Hence why I asked Lissa to help me understand how to use a staff

properly, and I'm not about to let myself become someone's muse just because."

Miriel hummed before going back to her seat and opening the same book again. "Then that will be all. You may leave."

Huh? That was it? I thought she was going to be more persistent.

Suddenly, Lissa grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. "Thanks, Miriel! See you on the march!"

Miriel only nodded before shooing us away with her hand, and Lissa quickly closed the doors behind us. She let out a sigh before tilting her head in my direction with her ever-present smile.

"I'm so glad you like it!"

"Um… yeah," I let out while still staring at the closed doors. "What was that all about?"

Lissa followed my gaze before putting her hands on her hips. "That's just Miriel being herself. She's more into research than socialising, so small talk is something she is allergic to. But, she is a really good mage."

"Huh. I guess everybody has their quirks. I don't know if I'll ever find some common ground with her."

"I don't think that's necessary. Most of us don't even know how to interact with her, and she doesn't seem too bothered by it either," she argued. "Just give it some time."

"I'll take your word for it then." I looked down at the hoop skirt for a moment before lifting my black skirt draped over it. "Could you help me get out of this thing? It's nice, but I don't think I'll be able to do my job lugging it around."

She gave me a nod. "Sure!"

{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}

After a long day of work, surprising encounters, and gifts, I was finally able to lie down on my bed with a large and drawn-out sigh. The mattress bounced from my heavy landing, eventually settling down and making me face the window, the sky dark and clear.

Even though I had done a lot today, I was surprisingly not as tired as I thought I would be. It was rather surprising. There were still at least a half-dozen boxes to sort through before I could call it finished, but I'd wager the novelty of finally doing something that was a part of my job made it refreshing.

Well, besides all the writing I had to do.

However, despite all the counting and inspecting, I just didn't feel sleepy. My eyelids weren't twitching, nor did I let out a yawn, my body literally refused to relax. I didn't know if the remaining alcohol was making a mess inside me, or if Lissa was right about my workaholic tendencies.

It didn't change the fact that I couldn't sleep, so I forced myself out of bed, and decided to take a late-night stroll. Tiring myself out seemed like the best way to go about it.

Thankfully, it was still warm enough outside that I didn't need to wear anything extra, and I didn't have it in me to take that hoop skirt. As much as it would help me get used to wearing it, I'd rather breathe than suffocate.

Once I took my staff and slid it into an impromptu sheath that was supposed to be for spears, it thankfully nestled itself in with surprising ease. I didn't know why, but I just felt more secure having it with me rather than not. A thing I got from Lissa, alongside all the clothing.

With the training grounds as my first destination, I had an easier time navigating through the barracks now more than ever. Once I visited Miriel, it seemed to click for me where everything was supposed to be. It would have been easier if I just asked for a sketch of the building plans, but I was sure that was a lost cause anyway.

However, once I got outside, thwack after thwack resonated in the fields, making me increase my pace. To my surprise, I wasn't the only one who couldn't catch a wink.

Robin, with a wooden sword in hand, kept whacking away at a training dummy with surprising vigour. Idle beads of sweat fell from his face, illuminated by the moon's light before his hands fell limp and he let out laboured breaths.

However, he didn't stop. He gritted his teeth and took hold of his sword with both hands before continuing to strike the dummy relentlessly. A frown formed on my face and I slowly approached him without him noticing, and with one more thwack of wood forced Robin to grunt, dropping his sword on the ground as well.

He brought his arms up for inspection, and they were shaking uncontrollably, but he balled them into fists anyway before bending down to pick up the sword again.

"Hey," I called, making Robin whip his head in my direction.

"Oh, Theresa." He took a deep breath. "I didn't expect you here."

"Same here." I crossed my arms. "What are you doing?"

He lazily tilted towards the dummy before standing upright. "Getting some practice in. After a long day of sitting, I needed something to do before I went to sleep."

"And that means literally running on fumes before collapsing on a bed?" I asked pointedly, and he gave me a stare.

"What are you getting at?"

Instead of answering, I closed the distance before grabbing one of his hands. "Your hands were literally shaking when I saw you picking up that sword. I don't know much about training, but I'm sure even Frederick would call it a day if he saw you like that."

He yanked his hand away. "That doesn't concern you. I only needed some form of cardio before going to bed. That's all."

I glared at him. "What are you not telling me?"

"I told you how it is," he said plainly before picking up the sword and throwing it into the barrel full of wooden replicas. He dusted his hands off but inwardly hissed.

I brought one hand out. "Just let me look at your arms."

Robin rolled his eyes before giving me his left arm, still hidden by the glove he was wearing. Instead of asking, I brought the palm up and yanked the glove away and I couldn't help but gasp.

"Your hand…"

"It's full of blisters, I know," Robin said. "Again, not something you have to worry about. It'll heal eventually."

My eyebrows narrowed. "You do realise if anybody would see these hands, they would throw a hissy fit?"

His lips curved up. "Kind of like what you're doing right now?"

I huffed. "Fine, you don't want me to fix it up?"

"I mean, you can. I'll get to practise for a little longer," he remarked, making me breathe a sigh.

"Look, I'll patch it up, but with a promise. You'll go to bed. Do you hear me?" I said. "God knows neither of us needs to be a workaholic."

Robin hummed. "Hard to do that when our jobs require more paperwork than a regular soldier. Besides, I have to keep my body in shape, and I thought I was spending too much time in my office."

"Great, but that doesn't mean you have to go out of your way to tire yourself out," I argued.

He raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you doing here at this hour?"

"I'm…" My mouth clamped shut. "Look, I may or may not have the same problem with the sleeping thing"

Robin snorted. "Hello, pot."

"Shut up, do you want me to heal this or not?" I demanded and Robin shrugged.

"Go ahead."

I gave a slight nod before I took my staff out of its holster and tapped it once against the ground with a dull click. While I didn't need to do that, the sound it made helped me concentrate my thoughts. The staff started to light up, and I brought the gem against the beaten-up hand and the illuminated skin started to stitch itself back together.

Once Robin flexed his arm, I let out a pleasant hum.

"There we go, and not even tired from it," I boasted before I gave him his glove back. "Now, your other hand."

"No, that's alright," Robin said, a smile present on his face. "I use my left hand the most. I'm sure nothing is on the other one."

"Yeah, nice try. I'm not that dumb to not notice your dominant hand. Just let me see it already," I said before reaching out for Robin's other hand, but he instinctively took a step back and faced me with his left side. I looked up at him before my eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

His head was lowered. He didn't even meet me in the eyes and was more focused on the ground. I had never seen him this… hesitant.

"What's wrong?"

"I'd rather if you didn't," he said quietly, hiding his hand in his pocket. "There are just some things I want to keep hidden."

So there was a reason for the gloves, but what would he need to hide?

It took me a moment to realise, but once I did, I let out a hum.

"I see." I put my staff back in its holster before grabbing the end of my left sleeve. "It's a tattoo, isn't it?"

Robin's breath hitched, but it didn't stop me from rolling up my sleeve up to my elbow and revealing a motif of black wings hugging my skin. It circled my arm in a mesmerising pattern and it almost reached my wrist, but it wasn't long enough to be seen through the shirt I had. It went deeper into the clothing, up my bicep and ended near my shoulder, but I wasn't about to strip for him to see everything.

Robin stared at it with wide eyes before I rolled my sleeve back up. "When my father made me mad once, I let myself have this. I still don't know what was going on inside my head, but I guess I wanted to spite him."

My expression fell. "I still remember the moment he found out. It wasn't as pretty as this tattoo."

Robin looked up. "But you don't regret it."

A chuckle escaped my lips. "No, I don't. It only solidified my… distaste for my father."

He eventually eased and pulled out his hand out of his pocket. "I guess we all have family issues then."

"Yeah, I envy those who don't." I unhooked my staff. "So? Can I take a look?"

It wasn't immediate, but once he rubbed his right hand, he took out the glove before giving the back of his hand a forlorn look. It had similar bruises and blisters, and he extended it, palm facing up, before I carefully took it.

Once the staff was done, I tentatively tried to turn his hand, but Robin still tugged. I gave him a reassuring look before revealing a purple mark. Three pairs of eyes connected together in the shape of a torch stared right back at me, and for some reason, their gaze made me shiver.

"Wow," I let out before tilting his hand ever so slightly and under the right angle, the mark glowed under the moon's light. "That is… quite eerie."

"Tell me about it." He pulled his hand back before quickly hiding the mark behind his glove. "Just keep it a secret, and I'll be silent as well."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody. Bragging about tattoos feels wrong anyway," I said before putting my staff away for the second, and hopefully, final time today. "Alright, I think it's time for both of us to go to bed."

"Yeah," Robin said with a nod before he blinked twice, far in thought. "Actually, there's still one thing I need to ask."

I brought my hands on my hips. "Sure, what is it?"

"How long will it take you to get all the supplies counted?"

I touched my chin. "I'd say two days max, but why do you ask?"

"I need to plan out the march towards the Farfort and I need to know if we have all we need or if we will need to stop by a town to restock," he explained.

"Oh, right," I let out. "Wait, now that I realise, we'll probably work together a lot more than I thought."

A chuckle escaped Robin's lips. "I'm surprised it took you this long."

I glared at him. "Can you not?"

"Then don't make it so easy."

"...shut up."

AN: Well, long time no see.

Yeah, I'm alive and well. I came back with a chapter to let you know my break from writing is officially over. Again, I won't promise anything, but I'm glad I got back into things.

Anyway, a shoutout to the Fanfiction Treehouse for being a great community of writers and readers. They are a big help when it comes to polishing your work. Also, a special thanks to Cavik for beta reading today's chapter. Honestly, I don't know what I'd be doing without them.

Also, here is the active link to the Discord server. The previous one is no longer working: u89gs745fn

Hope you enjoyed today's chapter.

God's speed.