Fire Emblem: Soul of Heaven [IC/PG-16]

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"But in her case, it really was my oversight."

 

Aleithe failed to anticipate the lunge properly, and shifted his body too late, making the wooden sword to graze off him. Should they wee in actual combat, it would have caused a noticeable wound. Aleithe attempted to follow it up with his own strike, but his unsteady footing ended up making it a complete whiff.

 

"We could have assigned our people effectively to cover our right side, but this oversight ended up forcing Chitose to deal with it on her own." Aleithe stopped himself, trying to correct his footing before going for a quick thrust. "I would normally feel disdain for such act, but at the same time, it is a necessary act for her to cover our position there."

 

---

[Yui]

---

"H-he's good. Kinda scary."

 

You're kidding, right? You should have seen him when he got his lizard back. Guy's a big softie. Not that I'd want to be on the wrong end of that lance.

 

When Yue got to the topic of Raynor's lizard though, she seemed much more enthusiastic than with the person that owned it.

 

"Eh? You could? But the salamander is sooo cute. I could just go and pet him every single day, yes I could. Did you see how gentle, yet independent he was? Such a sweetie. I can't wait to go visit him. I wonder what he eats. Meat? You know, I've never met a salamander face to face like this. That's just so incredibly wonderful I, I just don't even know what to say! If he could talk, I wonder what he would say. Isn't he just precious? Oops. Um...yeah. I think it's a g-good thing he joined...the more the...merrier,"

 

"You don't have to lie to me, you know," Cassia commented. With a shrug, she continued "If you don't like him, you don't like him, and that's the way the cookie crumbles. Speaking of cookies..." Cassia got up from her bed, stretching her limbs a bit as she resumed "I could really go for something to eat right about now. You hungry?"

---

[Blake]

"Your skin looks cold. You should probably put some clothes on," Ada replied cheekily, beginning to lean against the doorframe. She suppressed a desire to wince as her red skin made contact with the surface, but held another bag out with her hand, shaking it slightly, a satisfied grin on her face.

 

"Well, if you have time to take care of this room... Do you wanna head with me to feed Cormag and the others? I made a stop in Neston for some snacks for them... Layne told me not to spend money on it, but I can't resist taking care of such a cutie!"

 

Ada beamed as she reached into the bag, showing examples of dried meats, corn, and other such things that... were probably fit for people. In fact, as Ada rifled through the foods, she could have sworn some of what she purchased was missing. Looking over her shoulder for her companion, Ada narrowed her eyes.

 

"... Layne, did you steal some of the food for the animals?"

[Sethera]

"You don't have to lie to me, you know," Cassia commented.

 

"I-I...um..." Yue stammered, embarrassed at being caught out like that.

 

With a shrug, the thief continued "If you don't like him, you don't like him, and that's the way the cookie crumbles. Speaking of cookies..." Cassia got up from her bed, stretching her limbs a bit as she resumed "I could really go for something to eat right about now. You hungry?"

 

"S-sure," the archer replied, then looked up, eyes wide. "The kitchen...I think it has cookies...also a village about an hour away has food too." She didn't have a personal preference, as while the kitchen was closer and more convenient the village would allow her to stock up on extra supplies. She hadn't run out yet, though, so either way was fine for her.

 

Whichever way the redhead decided on, Yue would go along with little to no protest. The archer felt a little uncomfortable around the other girl still, but...she was just trying to be friendly, right? And she needed to be braver...more assertive, more sociable. Less...shy.

[Alaina]

Leon let out a sigh as Aletihe seemed to insist that it was a failure on their part, as their swing had missed him as well. Recovering from his own lunge and standing up straight once more, Leon said, "if the issue is with positioning or tactics, then the fault belongs to me. It is my job to make sure everyone is where they need to be and doing what they need to. If not, then I'm not doing my job properly. So," with a more stern expression on his face, Leon pivoted away from the thrust. As he did, he brought his blade to parry it, opposite the direction he was moving. Once the light parry was finished, Leon did a small step forward as he retaliated with a quick riposte of his own. "Don't let it weigh on you too heavily."

[Ralsei]

"You wouldn’t get it... At least they had the second book in the Ribald Tales of the Faith War series available. Maybe I’ll lend it to you if you can remake that ‘fancy outfit’, hm?”
 
Layne let out a little huff as he rolled his eyes slightly, glancing back to Ada as he carried his own bags with him. His hand rubbed at his cheek gently, a little mumble escaping him, "I already told you I would try... You'll have to be around to help out though, I dunno the specifics of the outfit and I'll need to take your measurements for it."
 
He hummed softly as he Ada peered through the doorway, a little sigh escaping him as he listened to the... Awkward conversation between the two of them. He just leaned against a wall, reaching into one of the bags to pull out a little bit of the dried meats they had picked up, nibbling lazily as he watched Ada and Rona some...
 
"Ah, just doing some inventory. This place hasn't gotten much cleaning since we came here. Thought it could do with some fixing up now that we have some downtime!"

 

"Cleaning, huh? That's not a bad idea, this place seemed a bit... Worn down. Maybe we could do some repairs to make sure stuff doesn't fall apart on us either. It could be a lot worse, but could be better too." Layne yawned a bit as he nibbled on the food they bought. His hand brushed along his cheek as he chewed, his eyes widening for a moment as he heard Ada mention the food... And quickly ate the little strip of dried meat he had pulled out. He swallowed before she turned her head to look at him, giving her a wide grin.

 

"Me? Steal food? That's absurd! Now... Come on you two. We gotta go feed the animals, hop to it!" He clapped his hands together, pointing towards the vague direction of the makeshift stables as he did. He turned and walked out of the room, leaving them behind as he made sure that the little stash of food was hidden still.

 

Nailed it.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"Your skin looks cold. You should probably put some clothes on,"

 

Rona looked down at herself at Ada's comment. Was there something wrong with the way she dressed? Sure, it didn't cover as much as Ada's usual garb, but...how could she survive with all of that? Rona couldn't stand how hot it was around these parts. Is this a weakness of herself? Should she attempt to dress more like Ada? To show them that she could handle the heat?

 

Ada's next statement completely went over the girl's head, so lost was she in her thoughts, but she smiled and nodded with what seemed like confidence. She hoped it was the proper response.

 

Layne's comment gave her something to latch onto.

"Me? Steal food? That's absurd! Now... Come on you two. We gotta go feed the animals, hop to it!"

Yes, she'd go feed Cormag. He deserved it after all this.

 

"Let us be off, then, hopefully you have enough for him. He could eat all of us and still be hungry!" She halted. Perhaps that joke was too much for them? "Not that he would, of course!" She added.

 

As they began on their way something crossed Rona's mind and, before she could stop herself, she said it. "You two seem quite close, especially close, closer than many of the others even in this small group. I've always wondered about that..."

 

No, no, Rona, what are you doing? She didn't want to dig into their personal feelings. It might cause them to turn it back on her. And what if they uncovered something? To try and brush her own words she laughed. "Just kidding of course. We're all just comrades here!"

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Don't let it weigh on you too heavily."

 

And just like that, Aleithe ended up conceding defeat after Leon's riposte went through his attempt to block it. He was still unsure about what Leon said, and it didn't really bring any feeling of closure to him yet, but he felt a bit better than before and decided to move to the side, letting Raynor to challenge Leon if he still wanted to.

 

"Perhaps you're right, leader."

 

It's hard to put the blame on someone else however. Even if it was the right thing here, it didn't sit with Aleithe well. He's supposed to be the noble here, the one that shoulders the burden of the people. At the very least, he knew he wanted to feel that he was responsible to this to some degrees.

 

In the end, all that he could do was to sit on the side as he attempted to sort out his mind.

[Yui]

---

"S-sure. The kitchen...I think it has cookies...also a village about an hour away has food too."

 

"The village sounds like an awful long way to go for just a snack," Cassia shrugged. Best head for the kitchen. And so, the thief led the way to the kitchen, glancing here and there for something suitable to munch on. She wasn't really in the mood to cook, so something she could just eat as-is would have to do. Like bread. It was pretty plain stuff, but Cassia kind of liked that about it. Plus, bread was actually pretty easy to steal from unsuspecting bakers. That little fact came in handy once upon a time.

 

But this wasn't then. This was now. And now, content with finding a basket of small bread loaves, Cassia reached for and took one. She then took a second one, holding it out in Yue's general direction. "Want one?"

---

[Sethera]

"The village sounds like an awful long way to go for just a snack," Cassia shrugged.

 

"Oh...yeah." She wanted a snack? Oh...that made more sense then. She had thought the thief had wanted to eat a meal or something. 

 

The thief led the way to the kitchen, glancing here and there, probably for something to eat. Yue wasn't particularly picky, though she did prefer vegetables to meat. Even with her experience in hunting, she had never really gotten too comfortable with it. The fruits of her labor, or rather meats, went to the tribe. She could still eat it, but...it was really difficult.

 

Cassia seemed to be thinking along the same lines, or at least that she wasn't in the mood for meat. She grabbed a basket of small bread loaves and took one, holding a second one out in Yue's direction. "Want one?"

 

"Sure!" the archer reached out hesitantly before grabbing it, marveling at the fluffy feel and the smell coming from it. Even if it hadn't just been taken out of the oven, the nice-bread scent still lingered. She started to eat it right then and there, smiling happily at the yummy taste.

And now...was she supposed to be speaking here? She probably was, but she had such a hard time talking to people, that...she would pretend she hadn't noticed she should be speaking, filling the silence, and instead took her time eating the bread.

[King K. Azo]

Raynor hadn't been paying attention to the words spoken in the fight, just the fight itself. And it seemed that the one called Aleithe was full of self doubt at the moment. Whether because it was because of the words being exchanged, or if Leon had proven himself as Aleithe's superior in the past he wasn't able to determine. The spar didn't last long, with Leon coming out on top. As to be expected of his new boss. Grinning, he stood up, picking up a staff. It was long and slender, and in about the same length and shape as a spear. It was really handy... a walking stick, a toy for Gojira, and a sparring weapon. At times, he'd even used it as a weapon. It was so useful for just being a stick.

He stepped forward with a grin. "That wasn't a bad spar, but it wasn't enough to get either one of you fired up. Now, it's my turn!" He spun his staff around until he got it into position, wielding the staff like he would a spear. When Leon was ready, Raynor would go on the offensive, doing a quick jab at Leon's stomach. However, he saw how Leon would always block or move his attack, so he quickly stopped and retracted his attack. Taking a guess, he then launched the attack to Leon's right, hoping that was the direction he would dodge in.

"Oh, right, boss," He commented while he attacked. "I was wondering if I could build some extensions to the stables. As it is now, Gojira and Cormag will be fine, but if they're stuck in such a small spot for too long, a fight might break out,"

[Alaina]

With Leon's final strike having finished the bout, the boy seemed more silent than anything as Aletihe walked off. Seeming to be wrapped up in his own thoughts, he was then caught off by Raynor suddenly calling out to him. "Fired up?" Leon was partially confused, as he wasn't really sure one was supposed to get fired up during sparring. All the same, the man let out a small sigh as Raynor got up, ready to fight him as well. As the man took his stance, he saw Raynor was quick to the offense. Stepping back a bit, trying to parry the lance away, Leon's weapon only managed to find air as the lance was pulled back. Seeing the follow up attack of the lance, Leon had managed to swivel his body away from the brunt of the attack, however still winced as part of his side was hit. 

 

Nodding he said, "yeah, that's fine. I had to fix things up for Reina and Cormag when we first came here so, if you need any help." Shrugging, the boy then went in for his next move. Moving forward, making an attempt to lunge forward towards Raynor, the boy stopped and tried to step both around the lance and closer to Raynor, trying to reduce the effective range of the man's weapon. As he finished his step, he swung his sword out towards the man's side. 

[Yui]

---

"Sure!"

 

The kitchen was quiet for a bit after that. Just two girls eating bread. It was as bland a moment as moments can get. Ultimately, it was Cassia who broke the silence. After downing her current bite of bread, the thief said "So, we've been on the Falcons together for a bit, and we know names and stuff, but I don't think we really know all that much about each other. You feel like sharing first, or should I start us off?" Worst case scenario, Yue didn't respond and the two went back to just munching on bread. Which, that would actually be an even more awkward silence than the first one, so it was actually pretty bad.

 

This stuff's pretty good. I'll have to figure out where it came from.

---

[Sethera]

The kitchen was quiet for a bit after that. Just two girls eating bread. Yue kept eating, hoping she didn't have to speak. Ultimately, it was Cassia who broke the silence. After downing her current bite of bread, the thief said "So, we've been on the Falcons together for a bit, and we know names and stuff, but I don't think we really know all that much about each other. You feel like sharing first, or should I start us off?"

 

Ugh, she did have to speak after all. It would help if she knew just what to say though... "Um..I uh...I'm Yue," wait, she already knew that, didn't she? "I, uh, like animals, butterflies, and music." The archer paused, unsure what else she was supposed to be saying here, and starting to quiver in nervousness. How could other people talk so easily? It was really, really, hard.

 

The girl looked down, poking her fingers together. She had been oddly fearful of this girl, and wrongfully so. Cassia had already shown she was actually a really nice girl, so she had to try to make up for her attitude in the past. Not really wanting to talk, she had mainly avoided the redhead whenever she could, just because she had reminded her of a bad fox.

 

Hadn't she already known that people had all sorts of kindness? She knew better than to judge by how one looked, but she still did so. So she had to try and make up for it now. Talk, Yue, talk! "Uh...what about..you?"

[Blake]

"Me? Steal food? That's absurd! Now... Come on you two. We gotta go feed the animals, hop to it!"

 

Ada narrowed her eyes at Layne, scanning his body as he turned away. She was sure the cleric had a stash of food hidden on his person...

 

"I believe you~" Ada said as sweetly as possible, likely alarming Layne, "I mean, if you did steal the food, I'm sure Gojira would sniff it out immediately, if not Cormage, and you know they'd get it! Not to mention how bright Reina is..."

 

"Let us be off, then, hopefully you have enough for him. He could eat all of us and still be hungry! Not that he would, of course!"

 

"Of course he wouldn't. He might not be as cute and friendly as Gojira, but Cormag's a good boy! Besides, Layne is skin and bones, unless he's hiding something."

 

The unlikely threesome began to head to the mounts' area, only for Rona to slow down and ask a question along the way.

 

"You two seem quite close, especially close, closer than many of the others even in this small group. I've always wondered about that... Just kidding of course. We're all just comrades here!"

 

Ada wasn't even given enough time to respond before the wyvern rider doubled back again, prompting a raised brow and confused look from Ada. What was she so nervous about?

 

"We just get along. Similar interests, I'm half-Aeoran, he's an Aeoran raised in Yon'lou... It's easy to understand where each other is coming from, a lot of the time. But if you're wondering about anything else..." Ada sidled up to Layne, rubbing her hands along his body in a sensual, but exaggerated, manner, and giving Rona a playful wink, "I'm preeeeeetty sure I'm not this pretty boy's type, if you know what I mean."

 

Dammit, still no sign of that food...

[Ralsei]

"I mean, if you did steal the food, I'm sure Gojira would sniff it out immediately, if not Cormage, and you know they'd get it! Not to mention how bright Reina is..."
 
He hummed for a moment as he turned to give Ada a little wink, "Exactly! I know I can't hide food around them, it ain't even worth trying." He hummed lazily as he shrugged his shoulders some, a little sigh escaping him, "It really is a shame."
 
Layne chuckled softly as he listened to the two of them, nodding his head as he continued on towards the stables with a little smile. "Ah, they ain't so bad. I was never great with animals, but I like 'em. Let's go say hey to 'em then!" He flashed a quick smile as he continued onwards, leading the strange group off to the stables. It wasn't a long journey and he was mostly humming to himself, not really paying the most attention to this surroundings as he focused on making sure the little stash didn't get revealed.
 
"You two seem quite close, especially close, closer than many of the others even in this small group. I've always wondered about that..."

 

"Eh?" Layne paused for a moment as he rubbed at his cheek, before giving a little shrug, "She was one of the few who wouldn't run away from me after seeing my style in combat. A flashy sort in this group tended to cause people to avoid me, I think. So I just talked to her since she was interested in staff magic. Then it just snowballed from there."

"I'm preeeeeetty sure I'm not this pretty boy's type, if you know what I mean."
 
Layne smirked a tiny bit as he faked a little gasp, "Oh! I know exactly what you mean..." He brushed a finger against his cheek for a moment, a little grin on his face, "I caught Ada here eyeing up a lotta girls on our little trip, I feel. I respect those boundaries.~"

 

That smirk stayed as Ada failed to find the stash of food, a little hum escaping him once more as they made it to the stables. He bowed towards the other two, waving his arms off to the side towards the doorway as he looked up, "After you, ladies."

[King K. Azo]

"yeah, that's fine. I had to fix things up for Reina and Cormag when we first came here so, if you need any help."

 

"Sweet. I'll let you know if I need help. Hell, maybe could get the group to do it. Nothing like building to build up a team," Was that true? He didn't know, but it sounded cool to him.

 

Leon then went in for his next move. He made a feint like he was charging in, which was totally stupid, considering the range Raynor had, but then Leon went around, closing the gap and swinging at Raynor's side. Raynor hopped back to keep his advantage, but Leon's weapon managed to smack his side as he hopped back.

 

"Looks like we both got a hit in," Raynor commented, ignoring the spot that was struck as he swept his stick at Leon's feet, intent on tripping him. If he was able to trip him, he'd be able to press his advantage even more. The sword/lance match up was really bad.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Half-Aeoran? That would explain some things. Perhaps that was why Ada could wear robes in this terrible heat so easily...
"I'm preeeeeetty sure I'm not this pretty boy's type, if you know what I mean."
No, no she did not know what Ada meant. Though from the girl's tone it sounded as though she SHOULD know what she meant. They were close, but she wasn't his "type"? That seemed unusual to Rona.
 
Then again she didn't have many relationships to base this off on. Her second oldest brother had been quite...prolific with his relationships, and then there were her parents, but that was all she really had for examples.
 
"Oh! I know exactly what you mean..." He brushed a finger against his cheek for a moment, a little grin on his face, "I caught Ada here eyeing up a lotta girls on our little trip, I feel. I respect those boundaries.~"
 
Rona narrowed her eyes at that. It sounded like something that was rather common knowledge. At least around here. Ada...and girls? Were they talking about relationships? Perhaps they had misunderstood what Rona was asking. Which was, overall, for the best. She shouldn't have said anything to begin with.
 
"Ha, yes, of course!" Rona responded confidently. She shouldn't make an even bigger fool of herself than before. "I understand what you mean just fine." She smiled at Ada and nodded as though she knew what all of this meant.
 
Rona entered the stable and breathed a sigh of relief. This was a place she was much more comfortable. Though now there was a stranger to her. The lizard was something she was used to but she usually only ever saw them in combat. Off the battlefield they were usually kept away from the rest of the troops so that their bond with their rider could be kept entirely singular.
 
She didn't wish to ignore the lizard however would it be wrong to try and get closer to him? He wasn't her mount, after all.
 
Cormag was looking at the lizard with some measure of suspicion. She expected this. This place was his place and had been for so long. It took time for even Aleithe's mount to be accepted by the Wyvern. She approached Cormag and placed a hand on his head.
 
However Cormag seemed to be focused on something else. He moved past the girl, after pressing his head against her hand in acknowledgment, and towards the others.
 
Or, more specifically, towards Layne. The large beast craned its head down and opened its mouth wide, showing off its many teeth, and began to sniff at the healer's pockets before letting out a hungry grumble and attempting to take Layne's bag into his mouth. "Cormag, what are you doing? That's not food!"

[Alaina]

As the hit landed on Raynor, the boy instinctively retreated away from Raynor, not wanting to run himself into the wooden lance. As Raynor commented on the two of them both having landed blows, Leon merely nodded before going to press the attack once again. As he did, he slowed his pace as he got close to the lance, awaiting the move of Raynor to counter. As the man moved the lance around, Leon prepared himself to parry it and slide closer towards the Jourun. Unfortunately for Leon, the attack went far lower than he was expecting as the shaft of the lance struck against his ankle. Wincing in pain, Leon's foot was knocked out from under him, causing the boy to fall to forward and onto the ground. Merely laying there, Leon said, "well, look like you win two out of three." 

[Yui]

---

"Um..I uh...I'm Yue. I, uh, like animals, butterflies, and music. Uh...what about..you?"

 

After swallowing down the final bite of her roll of bread - it felt as though no matter how much she tried to take her time with bread, she always blew right through it - Cassia thought for a bit, and responded "Well, I like bread for one. It's probably a really boring thing to like, but I could eat this stuff for weeks and never get tired of it. And then for animals... fish are pretty neat. Not that I know much about them. I grew up near the ocean so maybe that's got something to do with it. I'm not much of a swimmer despite that though, believe it or not." Put solid land beneath her feet any day. Cassia had always been a bad swimmer, and even if she wasn't, going out to sea meant probably having to deal with pirates. Bandits she didn't mind. Barbarians? No problem. But pirates? funk those guys in particular.

---

[Blake]

"Oh! I know exactly what you mean... I caught Ada here eyeing up a lotta girls on our little trip, I feel. I respect those boundaries.~"
 
"Wh- no you didn't! You were too busy flirting with the bookstore's shopkeeper to know if I was doing anything, anyway!"
 
"Ha, yes, of course! I understand what you mean just fine."
 
As the rider smiled at Ada, the shaman grew bright red and shook her head quickly.
 
"Don't listen to him, I was implying he was interested in a boy! Why else would I say that I'm not his type?!" 

Ada continued to protest as the group neared the stables, grumbling at Layne's smirk. She only hoped that Cormag and Gojira would pull their weight... Lo and behold, the two reptilian mounts eyed Layne, with Cormag making the first move, and Gojira quickly took a bite out of Layne's bag from the other side, shaking his head a bit.
 
"Cormag, what are you doing? That's not food!"

Now it was Ada's turn to cross her arms and smirk as the beasts tore into Layne's stash... But she would be the bigger person. Moving over to Gojira and producing some of the dried meat, she managed to lure the oversized lizard away, rubbing its head as she began to feed him.

 

"That's a good boy... Cormag can have whatever Layne has stashed in there, you can enjoy this!"

[Ralsei]

"Wh- no you didn't! You were too busy flirting with the bookstore's shopkeeper to know if I was doing anything, anyway!"
 
"Ha, yes, of course! I understand what you mean just fine."
 
Layne gave a wide grin to Rona as she spoke up, his gaze turning to Ada as he stuck his tongue out at her! A smug look of success of deflecting Rona away from him seemed to appear on him for a moment as he entered the stable.
 
"Don't listen to him, I was implying he was interested in a boy! Why else would I say that I'm not his type?!"
 
"Me? Looking at a boy? Sounds kinda farfetched to me, Ada..." He shook his head as he clicked his tongue, a little puff escaping him as he shrugged lazily. Layne smiled as the two began to approach him, before Cormag started to grab at the bag! He hummed a little bit as he reached into the bag, slowly pulling out some food that he held towards Cormag.
 
"Cormag, what are you doing? That's not food!"
 
"That's a good boy... Cormag can have whatever Layne has stashed in there, you can enjoy this!"
 
"It's okay! A little bit of the food was in there so that I could carry it easier, Cormag is just a smart boy, finding the food." He grinned as he pat the Wyvern's head gently as he waited for him to snatch up the offered meat, a hum escaping him as he rubbed at Cormag's head softly. He paused for a brief moment, a look crossing his face as he sighed...

 

"I used to help out with the animals back home, before they took me off. I was never very good at it though. I never asked you Rona, but... How long have you known Cormag here? It been a long relationship or relatively new?"

 

There was a slightly longing tone to his voice as he smiled, his hand brushing at the back of his neck as he turned towards the rider. The question definitely sounded more curious than anything... Though if Rona took the moment to look away, he would grin back to Ada, his tongue poking back out at her briefly as he smirked slightly. What was that about?

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

As it turned out Layne had food inside of his bag which Cormag had sniffed out. "Well, that's good then." Rona said, relieved that they weren't upset. Cormag for his part put up with Layne's petting so long as he was able to eat. But only for a little while! After a brief petting session Cormag huffed to himself and backed away, laying down and munching on the offerings the humans had brought him. While keeping his eye on Ada and the lizard whom he now shared his stable with.

 

"Make sure you wait for it to be offered first." Rona told Cormag, who grunted in reluctance acceptance.

 

"I used to help out with the animals back home, before they took me off. I was never very good at it though. I never asked you Rona, but... How long have you known Cormag here? It been a long relationship or relatively new?"

 

While Ada went to greet the new mount Layne was asking Rona a question. She relaxed a bit, looking at the Wyvern and growing more calm as the topic went to something she understood. "I was a newborn when I first met Cormag. We were born a few days apart but I did not have much interaction with him after the first day of my life, beyond the standard duties of caring for the Wyverns, until five years later.

Her gaze on the Wyvern didn't move as she started to lose herself in memory.

"My eldest brother had begun training with Cormag's sibling several years prior and Cormag had only just reached the age where a Wyvern was to be trained. He was a troublesome boy. I broke both my legs the first time I rode him. He felt bad for weeks. But after that passed we had grown closer."

Rona paused in her story and her eyes widened. What had she just let slip? Would they be able to glean that she had been raised as a soldier from that? "Wyverns were an important part of the culture of where I grew up, you see." She said with an awkward laugh.

[Sethera]

After swallowing down the final bite of her roll of bread, Cassia looked to be thinking, and responded "Well, I like bread for one. It's probably a really boring thing to like, but I could eat this stuff for weeks and never get tired of it. And then for animals... fish are pretty neat. Not that I know much about them. I grew up near the ocean so maybe that's got something to do with it. I'm not much of a swimmer despite that though, believe it or not." She looked like she was thinking hard about something, probably something bad judging from her expression. Maybe she didn't like water?

 

"I-I..." Yue forced herself to continue past her slow start. "I like bread too. It smells nice and doesn't give me tummy aches." Now what? Oh, yeah. "Fish are really adorable. Have you seen the way they move? All wriggly and cute, but their bodies are so sleek and smooth, like an arrow." The archer coughed, a little embarrassed. "Um...I don't know too much about them either though. They're cute, but I've never tried to raise one." She sighed. There was that one cutely colored carp she had thought about taking in, but then it had swam away.

 

The silver-haired girl looked down, not sure how to broach this next topic. "So...do you...not like water?" Maybe she had a bad experience with water. Maybe she fell into the ocean once, and couldn't swim out right away. Or got bit by a fish. But then, she probably wouldn't like fish then, right? Or maybe her imagination was running away again.

 

She would just wait and see what Cassia said. And try not to cringe at the answer.

[Ralsei]

I was a newborn when I first met Cormag. We were born a few days apart but I did not have much interaction with him after the first day of my life, beyond the standard duties of caring for the Wyverns, until five years later.
 
Layne rubbed at his cheek a little bit as he listened to that, a little chuckle escaping him as nodded his head. He couldn't speak in a broad sense, but that wasn't too uncommon for people who took care of the animals around his tribe. He stayed quiet as he pulled a little piece of jerky out of seemingly nowhere while Rona was distracted, shooting a cocky grin over at Ada as he quickly scarfed it down!
 
"My eldest brother had begun training with Cormag's sibling several years prior and Cormag had only just reached the age where a Wyvern was to be trained. He was a troublesome boy. I broke both my legs the first time I rode him. He felt bad for weeks. But after that passed we had grown closer."

 

Layne smiled a little bit as he nodded his head quickly, a grin on his face as he did, "Oh! We had some horses back at the tribe, I was never great at taking care of them, but I did ride them from time to time... I ended up getting a very minor injury, one arm and it healed up fast, but that horse always seemed to slow down for me after that..."

Layne trailed off for a moment as he looked up at the ceiling, a little sigh escaping the cleric as he smiled softly. He seemed lost in his memories for just a moment, but was quickly snapped out of it as he glanced back to Rona, hearing her start to speak up as he nodded his head quickly.

 

 "Wyverns were an important part of the culture of where I grew up, you see."

 

"I can see why! They're such interesting creatures... Well, maybe it's wrong to call them creatures. That sounds demeaning a little bit..." He rubbed at his neck, before smiling again, "Maybe if I get the chance, I would like to learn more. I wasn't great with the animals, but I've got a soft spot for them... I can't imagine how difficult it is to train a Wyvern."