"No!" She hissed, and unfortunately woke up her lazy mother, who also refused to give her breathing room. "Cynthia, we're only trying to help you." Sumia reported, but the girl huffed. "I-I'm fine.."-
And she pulled the covers over her head and firmly held to her blankets. Sumia looked back at the others with a worried expression. She didn't know how to help anymore.
Cynthia jolted at the sudden contact, but her mouth was shut tighter than a lock. She wasn't sure how to respond to the gesture, and she froze, blocking out everything else in irrational anxiety.
Not making a sound, Cynthia quickly restrained from curling even further once she realized how ridiculous she'd acted. Sumia didn't want her hand chewed off by her daughter by staying, so she left as↓
soon as everyone else had. Being the introvert she was, she made a quick excuse. "I uh..I'm going to go get something to eat. I'll be back." And she dashed in the opposite direction.
Lon'qu watched as Vaike frantically scrambled around, trying to quickly ready for departure. '...Calm down, would you? We don't have to leave RIGHT away...' Lon'qu had been working on his speech ↓
Vaike had finished rolling up his and Lon'qu's tents and bedrolls. "What're ya talkin' about!? We've gotta leave NOW!" Vaike mounted his horse, waiting for Lon'qu to do the same.
'Fine... Geez...' Lon'qu mounted his horse, and started riding after Vaike who had already raced a good deal ahead of him. Making sure all of the supplies were packed and acounted for, he tried to ↓
catch up with Vaike. Peeko flew after them, and Lon'qu pulled out Vaike's portion of breakfast. 'Do you want any food?!' he yelled ahead of him and into the wind. 'You haven't eaten anything yet!'
"HA! 'COURSE NOT! THE VAIKE DOESN'T NEED TO EAT FOOD! HE'S INVINCI_" Without looking where he was going, Vaike rides directly into the only tree in a 1-mile radius. "_ble..." *falls off horse*
'Wha-? Hey!' Lon'qu does likewise, and chases after Vaike. Urging his horse to go faster, he tried not to fall too far behind him. 'Come on, girl... You can do it...'
[AHEM! I believe that the horse's gender was previously stated as male... But it doesn't matter, as long as it's still a horse, that's all that matters]
Getting the feeling that she was followed, Sumia looked behind her and instantly walked right into a pole. Not only was that embarrassing enough, but Stahl watched her do it, and she nervously dashed↓
dashed into the nearest tent, holding her forehead in agony. "Oh my gods! Can't I do anything right?!" She hissed under her breath. She was just glad Cynthia wasn't there to tease her about it.
Vaike wakes up, a throbbing pain resonating within his skull. "Gods... What happened?" Vaike looked in front of him to see a single tree and his obedient horse. "GAH! The Vaike's mortal enemy strikes↓
again! Heh... but THIS time, ol' Teach has a counter-attack!" Vaike begun hacking away at the lone pine tree with his axe, completely forgetting both Gregor and his race to Regna Ferox against Lon'qu.
'Why did he stop...?' Lon'qu quickly closed the distance between him and Vaike, and wondered why he had started cutting down a tree. Not questioning Vaike's 'Flawless' decision making, he continued ↓
Peeking from behind a shelf, Sumia began holding her breath when Stahl wound up in the tent she randomly chose. She held it as long as she could, until she finally gasped for air, and she squeaked in↓
fatal embarrassment. She would've paid double the amount of her life's worth of bullion, just to reverse time so she never whacked into that pole in the first place. "I'm over here.." She surrendered.
"I'm sorry about that. I just thought you may want to talk or something." He was glad the steam obscured his face since he was red like a tomato from realizing they were both in a bathing tent.
"Oh, yo-I do? Okay…maybe let's get out of here first.." She stuttered, feeling quite awkward once she noticed where she ran into. She was infinitely grateful that Stahl was kind enough to put up with↓
her and her childish antics, and she rushed out of the bathing tent. Luckily it was vacant at the time, or the situation could have been a lot more uncomfortable.
Lon'qu approached the outskirts of Ferox, and the Longfort came into view. '...I won the race...' He had beaten Vaike embarrassingly, and still had no idea why Vaike had started cutting down that ↓
Sumia didn't hide her frown, instead she kind of looked behind her shoulder solemnly. "Oh, I'm okay though..it's normal to worry about those kind of things…do you think she'll be alright?" She huffed.
tree earlier. Luckily, it wasn't snowing, and Lon'qu looked back the way he came and saw a speck in the distance, that could have possibly been either Vaike or the tree he crashed into. Officially ↓
"It's perfectly normal Sumia. I'm sure our little ray of sunshine will be fine." He draws her into a reassuring hug. "Just a random thought, but would you like to do something together?"
crossing the border, a few of the Feroxi guards recognized and greeted Lon'qu. As he waited for Vaike, Lon'qu chatted with his old acquaintances and learned that Basilio was at Arena Ferox ↓
"Preferably something in camp in case Cynthia were to need us for any reason." Donny walks up to Oscar. "Sir Oscar, why was you askin' bout Cordelia yesterday? Y'ain't smitten are ya?"
(this time). {Soldier} 'We could give you some more supplies if you'd like. You seem pretty underpacked.' Lon'qu realized that he was already running low on water and (stale) food. {L} '...That would↓
help, actually. ...Thanks.' Lon'qu happily accepted their offer, and in return handed over the few bullions he had on him. {S} 'We can't accept this! Take your gold back!' {L} '...No. I insist.' ↓
Restocking his inventory, Lon'qu mounted his horse again, and the soldier pitched in, {S} 'Hey, you and your friend be careful out there when you go. Been reports of Risen further uproad.' ↓
Sumia allowed the hug, slowly going into a dreamy trance when his question jarred her back into reality. "Hmm? Sure, I don't mind doing anything. Did you have any ideas in mind?" She asked, and ↓
After what seemed like ages, Vaike had felled the foul tree. "HA! That's the last time ya mess with the Vaike! ...Wait a minute..." *jumps on horse* "AUUUGH! DAMMIT! The Vaike can't lose! ESPECIALLY ↓
in a damn horse race!" Vaike began to push Tenure to her limit. "C'mon! Ya can't lose this for Teach!" Soon enough, Vaike caught up to Lon'qu, and fell into a depression after seeing that he'd lost.
appreciated the warmth of an embrace for the time being. Back in the barracks, Cordelia angrily swept while wondering what happened the day before, and why she was so cowardly instead of fighting.
(Oscar) "W-where did you get that kind of idea, Donnel?!" Oscar had unintentionally raised his voice to a yell. (Stahl) "Perhaps we could just have a little picnic?"
"How didn't I know it involved food? It sounds like a good idea to me." She giggled, somewhat shocked she didn't know he'd suggest it beforehand. She slyly gave him a kiss on the nose before slipping↓
'...Hello, Vaike.' Vaike appeared to be very sad for some reason. '...Look, I got us some extra provisions. ...Say, why did you cut down that tree earlier?'
away to grab whatever was needed. The day was quiet for recovering Cynthia, who actually hated being alone. She desperately wanted to hop out and see everyone, but her back suspended her hopelessly.
(Oscar) "I'll see you later Donnel." He walks towards the training pavilion and barracks. "Hm, now where'd I leave that Master Seal at?" Stahl, meanwhile, gathered some cakes and tea. [*Shudders.*]
[oh oops did i do something on accident?? ah sorry] Sumia chose the perfect spot of grass as she attempted to neatly lay the picnic blanket down. The spot was really just so she could pluck flowers ↓
if she was no longer hungry, and she didn't hold herself back from picking some before Stahl showed up with food. The first she tore apart was for Gregor and Virion; she just wanted them back safe.
'...Actually, it's not important.' Lon'qu once again offered some bread and cheese to Vaike. '...It's only a short ride from here to Arena Ferox. ...Sure you don't want any food before we leave?'
[You're fine. I'm just acting idiotic due to my hatred for tea. I doubt coffee exists in Fire Emblem, so that's why I used it.] (Oscar) "Maybe I left it in the barracks?"
Being cautious at this point, Cordelia's grip tightened at the sound of someone nearby, as if she could use a broom as a weapon. She made a careless mistake once, and wasn't ready to repeat it. [oh! ↓
pssh that's alright tea's not my favorite either whoops.] Cordelia had gone into full predator mode, sharpening all of her senses and honing in on her surroundings. "Who's there?" She quietly blurted.
Too wrapped up in his own search, Oscar walks into the barracks unaware of Cordelia. "Did I leave it in here? I should hope so since I apparently need it to grow any stronger."
Cordelia eased her quick aggression when she realized it was only someone, and not some 'it'. She furrowed her brow at his ability to get lost in his own thoughts. "Um, did you lose something?" She ↓
asked him, raising her voice loud enough so she could be heard. Back at the picnic, Sumia had shredded what seemed to be about fourteen flowers, trying to get a single good prophecy.
Cordelia just sighed when she discovered they had another clumsy Shepherd to look after, or at least she assumed he was one. "That didn't sound too good. Let's get you some medical attention." She ↓
suggested, then hesitate to help Oscar to the medical tent, where Cynthia sprang up at the sound of people entering. "Hey-Oscar!? What happened to you?" Meanwhile Sumia frantically tried to hide all ↓
evidence that she even touched a single plant. "Huh? May-I mean, no..no I didn't pluck any flowers…" She lied, unaware that she was terrible at it. She didn't want Stahl mocking her like Cordelia had.
Cordelia looked at Cynthia, realizing that was probably the first time she actually noticed her. She figured Chrom had been recruiting random people for no reason, then helped Oscar onto a chair so ↓
he could rest his ankle while she searched for concoctions. "Go easy on him Cordelia." Cynthia defended, and Cordelia wondered how she even knew her name. "You won't?" Sumia stopped cowering.
(Oscar) "Cynthia, if Stahl or Sumia were here, they wouldn't want you talking like that." (Stahl) "Of course not sweetheart." He plants a kiss on her lips.
Angrily, Cynthia crossed her arms while Cordelia stared blankly at them both. "What? ..What?" She then handed Oscar an elixir to help. Sumia felt her face getting hotter than elfire and she coughed.
(Oscar) "Thank you milady. *drink* I wasn't sure what to expect seeing as how you'd never seen me before." (Stahl) "Are you alright Sumia? Perhaps you'd like some elderberry tea?"
"What? Uh, no, go back to the other thing." She waved her hand, then sized down Cynthia, who was smirking right up at the bewildered redhead. Sumia tried to petitely cover her mouth, but wound up ↓
just nervously gulping down her tea, then attempted to play it off with a giggle. Nothing could fluster her easier than mundane activites with the love of her life.
Cordelia quickly stopped Oscar before he would leave her with the strange girl. "I want an explanation before you limp off anywhere." She commanded. "Your ankle hasn't even recovered yet." Cynthia ↓
prepared for a massive argument and sat up straight, focusing intently. She remembered Cordelia was stronger-willed than her own mother, and she couldn't wait to see how Oscar reacted under pressure.
"If I say I'm fine, can't you just take my word for it? Besides, she'd do a much better job explaining than I would." Oscar, again, began to leave the tent.
Vaike wasn't talking to him, and was unresponsive. '...Vaike? ...Are you okay? ...What's with the death stare?' Vaike was still silent, and seemed to be giving Lon'qu the cold shoulder.
"You're clearly in a lot of pain, but I know how men can be." Cordelia admitted, though didn't object his decision. She was far more mature than Cynthia, and knew that it wasn't worth fighting over.↓
Blinking with her mouth hanging open, Cynthia watched as the perfect opportunity for a sass competition died, then Cordelia turned back to her. "And who are you?" "Go ask Sumia and Stahl." Cinthy ↓
hissed, then Cordelia slowly held her head after a minute of putting everything together. "You have to be joking." The younger girl shrugged up at Cordelia.
"Y'know, on second thought, maybe I shouldn't try walking on my ankle just yet." Oscar sits down with his leg on a cushion. "Cynthia here is Stahl and Sumia's kid and my niece."
'Great.' Oscar thought, 'Now she probably thinks I'm some crazy nut now.' Stahl hands Sumia her favorite sandwich. "Beautiful weather today, right sweetheart?"
*Watching Cynthia and Cornelia Squabble, Michael and Halt went to go get some food and Halt made sure that his brother would not be attacked again by the Shepherds* Perhaps there is some more venison.
Staring back and forth at Cynthia and Oscar, Cordelia couldn't believe the elaborate prank they plotted. "What? How in Naga's - how old is she!? How are you her-" She stopped, and let out a big sigh.↓
Cynthia took control where she left off to try and help. "It's not like that. They're my parents, but not the Stahl and Sumia you know. -Well actually, sorta. But not really." She ended, realizing ↓
she made it even more confusing. "You're..Stahl's brother, then?" Cordelia asked, noticing he resembled him more than Sumia. At the picnic Sumia elatedly took the food offered to her and she nodded ↓
while nibbling. "I haven't seen a single menacing cloud and I've been counting! I wish it could always be this clear. I don't know why, but cloudy days make me so depressed. Is it like that for you?"
Vaike slumped against the border wall, and thought hard. Finally, a dimly-lit lightbulb appeared above his head, and he jumped onto his horse. "HA! Did I say I'd race ya to Ferox? I meant to say ARENA
FEROX!" Vaike smiled at his 'ingenuity' as he rode off in the complete opposite direction of Arena Ferox. "Pfft! This should be easy! I know the shortcuts of Ferox all too well! He'll never beat me!"
"Quite the skeptic, eh Cordelia?" Stahl turns to Sumia. "Clouds don't depress me, but clear skies are nicer. Almost makes me want to lie down and take a nap. *yawn*"
"Are you implying that people with a brain would just accept this? It doesn't make any sense that she'd be this old or even here!" Cordelia argued. She felt like the only Shepherd with common sense. ↓
Feeling sorry for rambling, Sumia quickly silenced herself before she could come off as annoying. "Oh, sure you can take a nap. We have so much free time, I've started to take it for granted."
