Fire Emblem: Change of Heart

Celin acknowledged the lack of total sincerity in Charles' reply, but chose not to make the matter an issue. He had, after all, taken it with some merit, and as long as he considered his advice, the Manakete was pleased. "Brilliance flourishes only after hardship: any obstacles you face now will only seek to improve you." the dragonboy offered in consolation to the pupil being without his sword for the meantime. Although he didn't personally agree with Kial on the notion of leaving the man defenseless, he was not in the right to say anything and what he offered to the man was true. Life, after all, consists of jumping through hoops until you reach the end, and anything in the way of the next ring would help him (and the others, himself included, by extension) in the long run. "A practical learning experience if I've ever seen one."

Kial

I noticed the look on Celin's face when I kept Charles' sword away from him. I have my own reasons for doing this, and voiced very little of them. At the very least, I should rationalize with Celin. We don't want to have the dragon worrying about us. He has enough to worry about with people trying to kill or steal him. Having a dragon sold on the black market would certainly fetch quite a pretty penny. I and Charles have no such inclinations, I'd much rather protect the dragon. It is much more useful to befriend a dragon than to sell one for money.

"Don't worry, Celin. I can guarantee you Charles here can take any assassins on bare-handed. It's what he's trained for, after all," I say, rather happy with myself.

"Yeah, I can handle myself," Charles adds, albeit a little reluctantly. "Just don't ask me to take on any heavily armored units."

"We'll leave those to the mages," I laugh. Basic tactics really, nothing new or surprising here. Our styles of fighting determine what kind of enemy we'll be fighting. Though for some of us, like our friendly dragon friend here, that doesn't really matter. I also have a bit of skill, so I might be able to get through some armored units. I prefer not to fight any knights on horses though.

A slight tinge on the back of my neck made my hairs stand on end. It was slight, but I definitely felt someone's eyes on me. I take a quick look at our surroundings, but only see the movement of the camp and a few onlookers that have since moved on. Where are the eyes watching us? They didn't feel dangerous. It might just be me overreacting. It's happened before, though I tend to trust my instincts. Still, the only thing I can do it wait.

And so out the eager girl stepped. Riesa raised an eyebrow at the light forming in Caelia's eyes. It was just about sickening. There was no harm in getting excited, but this was ridiculous. "We are going to be focusing on the fundamentals today, my protege," Riesa stated simply, her stoic, falcon-like gaze piercing every fiber of Caelia's being, unwavering. The sorceress sighed and raised a hand, watching as the shadows were more than happy to congregate into a sphere hovering listlessly above her palm. It took not even a thought to manipulate the darkness for her, but Caelia in her current state couldn't even dream of doing such a thing. That was a problem. "You need to get a handle on your inner darkness. You lead by example, Caelia. If you show the shadows that you are fit to wield them, they will bend to your every whim." As if to emphasize, Riesa raised her other hand and slowly swept it side to side, watching as the sphere of darkness in her palm stretched in the direction that her hand went, back and forth.

"Do you see? See how the shadows love me. They cloak me and protect me. Do not hope to possess this kind of power, but if you wish to access the power of the dark tomes, you will need to understand what the darkness holds," Riesa concluded firmly, folding her arms over her chest. She gave Caelia another once over. This probably wouldn't end well, but progress was progress. "I want you to seat yourself. Meditate. Steep your mind in darkness; I want not a trace of light in there. Draw the darkness towards you. Invite it. Be friends with it. As long as you devote yourself to it, it will never betray you. The shadows are more trustworthy than some people; keep this in mind," she instructed, gesturing towards the ground. They had performed this exercise several times in the past, but it was all for naught. Riesa would have loved to say that each time Caelia got a bit closer, but there was honestly no telling.

Caelia's eyes widened when Riesa conjured the dark sphere and controlled it to move about in accordance to her hands. Whenever she saw Riesa bend the darkness to her will Caelia could hardly contain herself. Despite the fact that her mentor had said time and time again that she would never be able to achieve her level of mastery simply the idea of being able to use those dark tomes almost made Caelia jump from her excitement. "Okay~" Caelia replied cheerily when Riesa gave her instructions on her training, kneeling down and somehow managing to calm her nerves enough to cease movement. After setting her hands over her knees Caelia became perfectly still trying to eradicate all the light in her mind as Riesa said. However her mind didn't seem to want to cooperate for whenever Caelia thought her mind was nothing but pitch blackness she would always find that tiny speck of light. The pegasus rider wasn't aware of how much time had passed when she finally opened her eyes again, failing to accomplish the task Riesa had instructed her. "I-I'm sorry Riesa, I couldn't manage it." Caelia spoke looking up at her mentor pleadingly, "Help me Riesa?"

"The last bit of light is always the hardest to snuff out," Riesa replied indignantly with a look of detest on her face, not towards Caelia, but towards the light in general. She could see the darkness trying to converge on it, but for some reason, the last light was particularly strong in the dark flier. Troublesome. Taking a few calculating steps, Riesa pondered before coming to a stop behind Riesa. Yes, she definitely needed some help, so help the sorceress would provide. She was ashamed the idea had not occurred to her before. Kneeling down behind Caelia, Riesa wrapped her arms around the dark flier in an embrace. Closing her eyes, Riesa began to concentrate. "Just try once more. I will see if I can extinguish the light long enough for you to feel what it's like to be completely enveloped in the darkness," Riesa explained softly, although her smile was far from friendly. Her fingers lightly gripped Caelia's stomach, and she hoped the girl would not notice. Besides, Caelia had more important things to focus on.

"Now, begin." Riesa began calling upon the shadows for their aid, welling them up within herself. The collective would build and build, and eventually, she would transfer them into Caelia's mind and soul to quell the light, if only for a moment. Once Caelia knew what it felt like to be steeped in darkness, it would give her a final destination in her future practices. Now to hope that things go well from this point.

Caelia frowned as she met Riesa's disapproving gaze. It seemed she was upset about something, probably her failure to accomplish even the most basic of training exercises. When Riesa took some steps toward her Caelia instinctively shut her eyes, preparing to be somehow punished by her mentor. Maybe she would choke her again, though considering what else the woman could do being choked was the least of the pegasus rider's worries.

She was pleasantly surprised when nothing happened to her even after Riesa's footsteps came to a stop behind her. And she was even more surprised when she felt the sorceress' arms closing in around her pulling her into a rather tight embrace. She could feel an aura of darkness and cold emanating from her mentor's body, causing her to shiver. Keeping her eyes closed Caelia attempted again to draw the darkness into her. She might have succeeded with Riesa's help however with the older woman being in such close proximity to her Caelia couldn't even calm herself down enough to concentrate. The fact that Riesa's breasts were pressing on her back hard wasn't helping. Rather all it did was bring a slight shade of red to the dark flier's face and brought her heartbeat to a point where the girl could practically hear it racing.

"A-ah...I'm s-sorry Riesa..." Caelia managed to stammer out after a few minutes had passed,. She opened her eyes but didn't dare look back at her mentor in case she was further upset by her failure. "I-I can't c-concentrate when you're s-so close to me..."

A frown appeared on Riesa's face, her body expelling the darkness she was gathering and sending it outwards in an icy wave that would chill any living thing to the bone, if only for a few seconds. There was no point in keeping it welled up like that seeing as how this training exercise was done for now. How was this girl supposed to get anywhere if she let such trivial things such as the proximity of their bodies get in the way? She brushed Caelia's hair aside and placed her lips next to the girl's ear. "You have priorities you need to straighten it seems," Riesa whispered in sweet malign. "How do you expect to progress if you let such trivialities cloud your mind? Does my body against yours make you quiver that badly?" Riesa took a hand and ran it along Caelia's side. "You should shiver....and relish it. Feel the cold of my body; it'll give you something to shoot for--a dream to achieve. For my aura is one of power."

With that, Riesa drew back and released her protege, standing up and brushing off her clothes for they were slightly soiled. The sorceress seized Caelia by her beautiful hair and yanked her up, letting go once the girl was standing. "You have meditation to do tonight before you go to bed. Mandatory. I'll be staying the night with you in your tent to make sure. You have the enthusiasm but lack the detachment from the physical world. It's somewhat irritating," Riesa directed sternly, crossing her arms over her chest so that they rested just beneath her breasts. Caelia was proving to be her most difficult student yet. There were certain things she just did not understand. Her other students had managed just fine under her training--at least the ones that lived. Though...

How tragic. No time for nostalgia... Riesa thought tersely, quickly derailing that train of thought, saving it for another time. "Caelia, you must become accustomed to my presence. We will be spending a lot of time with each other when we can. I hope you are okay with this for I am not giving you any choice." Her foot tapped against the ground in thought. "If I'm not mistaken, there's somewhere we have to be soon. I prefer it that we don't be late. Shall we?"

Caelia let out a quiet yelp as she felt a strong wave of cold wash over her, Riesa was definitely upset with her. Then as Riesa whispered into her ear the girl could not do anything except utter a quiet "sorry" and nod slightly when she finished. Then when Riesa yanked her up by her hair Caelia winced but kept quiet, yet again muttering a soft apology and nodding as her mentor mentioned a mandatory meditation during the night. However her face turned to a shade of red again when she added that she would be staying the night with her, even though there would only be one bed. Though she didn't speak out against it knowing that it was futile, after all Riesa did say that she didn't have a choice. "Y-yes Riesa...I-I'm coming..." Caelia replied and made way toward the meetings tent.

The meetings tent, though the largest in the camp, had a very simple interior. The only furniture was a large table in the center with no chairs. Upon the table are pieces of parchment along with a quill pen and bottles of ink with each of the parchment being a rather detailed map of a location on the continent. An oil lamp hung down at the center of the tent in case a strategic meeting went into the hours of dusk. At the table stood Basilio, the West Khan of Regna Ferox. He was a bear of a man with a massive muscular build. His baldness gave away the fact that he was much older than most of the soldiers at the camp and the hardened look he possessed as well as the eyepatch covering his left eye indicated his experience as a warrior.

Once the group had arrived at the tent Basilio took a moment to clear his throat before speaking. "Alright you sprogs. Name's Basilio, West Khan of Ferox. From today on you'll be under my command as part of the Feroxi army." the man declared with his booming voice, "Now I'm not much for all the strategy and planning so I'll make this quick. Our first order of business once we set out on our march toward those Plegian bastards is to cross the border and establish a foothold, which will be this fort right here." Basilio pointed at a point on one of the parchment marked with a red dot. "The march will only take us about two days, those bastards won't have time to prepare extra defenses or call for reinforcements. So we hit 'em hard and we hit 'em fast. We start our march tomorrow at the crack of dawn, and if any of you sprongs end up sleeping in you can bet my brown Feroxi arse that I'll personally come into your tent and slap you with a raw trout until you wake up. Any questions?"

As the same party from earlier today crowded into the tent, she glanced around the room briefly. Again, Nichiu didn't find herself confiding in anyone except perhaps Elwood, but she guessed that would have to change eventually. Nichiu made sure to push her way to the front, eager to see one of the khans in person. Of course, it was just Khan Basilio, not Best Khan Flavia, but still a khan of her country nevertheless. She had no notion to disrespect either one of them. As the woman listened to Basilio, she nodded her agreement and understanding throughout his monologue. When the brown-skinned khan inquired for questions, Nichiu was of the first to ask.

"Yes, Khan Basilio." She saluted the other man briefly, bowing her head curtly and bringing her forearm across her still leather-plated chest. "After our stop in Plegia, will you continue to stay with us for our next mission as well?" Even her own respectable voice without her usual country cant surprised her. "Or will we be on our own from there?"

-----

Standing in the tent with his not-so-familiar party, Etel sat in the back and remained quiet as usual. Still feeling on-edge without being near Soire's side, he still listened intently to Basilio's words. However, no questions had crossed his mind, as everything he had presented made sense, and he was perfectly fine with it. The young wyvern rider was already used to waking up before dawn to tend to the wyverns, and marching was of no concern when he could just soar the skies. Etel, too, was eager to get on the road. The sooner they got their battles over with, the sooner they got paid, and the less he would have to worry about his family and the wyverns at home. The young man sighed, waiting for the so called "brief" meeting to come to a close so he could finish the rest of his day's activities.

Kial

Khan Basilio of Ferox. He was just as the stories of him said. A giant man with an incredibily strong aura. This titan of the battlefield has seen many battles and many wars. He was not a man she could take on in a fight, not by a long shot. This was good. the more strong warriors on our side, the better. No matter what the other soldiers here think, this was won't be over for quite some time. Plegia is one of those countries that perseveres. It won't go down easy.

My attention was altered as my hardy companion without a weapon spoke up, addressing Basilio rather easily. Another mercenary had just finished having her question answered, so it was time for a switch. "Khan Basilio, I also have a question. Surely Plegia won't just sit back and wait for us to attack them. They will want to get off some initial damage with a strong assault, most likely flanking us and striking during the night. What is the course of action to take if such an ambush were to happen?"

Oh Charles, I am so proud of you. That was an excellent observation to make.

Upon hearing the archer's question Basilio didn't even take a moment to think before letting out a loud laugh. "What's the matter? Ya sprogs can't take the Plegians without ol' Basilio?" the Khan joked in his loud booming voice, "Don't worry yer pretty little head, I'll be going along with ya all the way until we take those bastards' capital!" He raised an eyebrow at the next question directed at him, turning toward the speaker. He appeared to be rather serious and imposing, especially to anyone he actually locks eyes with. However his tone of voice stayed the same. "We won't have anything to worry about that. Plegia's main forces are currently preoccupied with the Ylissian forces. That only leaves them with a few free units along with the guards at each fort. They won't be able to be everywhere at once and the march to our targeted fort will only take two days. News will travel far slower than that. So by the time their forces are informed of our movements that fort of theirs will already be ours! And Flavia herself is guarding Ferox so there's no worries of an enemy attack on our land either." Basilio let out another hearty laugh as he turned again to face the group as a whole, "If there's nothing else then ya sprogs are all dismissed. Don't stay up too late and get a good night's sleep, you'll need that energy for tomorrow."

After the group left the tent the sun had already begun to set and people were starting to return to their tents. A few soldiers had passed by the group and eyed them curiously before moving on with their own business. And although most of the soldiers have returned to prepare themselves for the march tomorrow morning there were others who were still out for whatever reason. Caelia approached Riesa and gave her mentor's clothes a gentle tug to get her attention. "Riesa, what do we do now?" Caelia asked, hoping Riesa would continue on with their lesson. She felt like she was getting so close to learning the basics of dark magic after what she had (sort of) accomplished today.

Elwood was glad to be able to meed the Khan. Granted, it was not the Khan to order Elwood the entire life, but still a Khan, and that was in no way a small thing. The Great Knight entered the tent and just stood still as a steel statue, watching and listening. The Western Khan was gigantic. Few men could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Elwood, which brought a pleasant smile to the Knight's lips - not that anyone could ever see this smile, as the closed helmet seemed to be always present - but this man could, and the former commander deeply respected that, even more than his title. Elwood WAS a little bugged by the lack of strategy in the strategy meeting, but was in no place to confront the Khan, so just kept the mouth shut and waited until all was over. Heading out, the knight headed to Nichiu, the pretty archer who, so far, was the single trusted member in the party.

-He talked about a fort, but I heard nothing about a siege weapon. I wonder if we are bringing any ballistas with us.

Elwood's thundering voice was sure and carried no worries. The knight had no doubts about the Khan's competence, but if there is one thing a commander knows, is that even great leaders can misjudge.

------------------

The strategy meeting was as short and simple as Kael expected, so he decided to just sit in his corner and smile. At one point, he thought he had heard light feet walking around, and some sniffing, but he discarded them as just imagination. His eyes rested most of the time on the pair of swordsman in the group. He had been ordered to take part in that team. Late, yes, but still. They would probably be the easiest duo to approach. Once the mercs started heading back to their tents, he neared them slowly, eyeing each carefully. It was clear as day who was the most experienced one, so it would be best to talk to her first, even if she acted like a mere bodyguard.

-So, I guess I'm not the only one here choosing the lightness of a edge over brutality. It sure soothes my heart to at least know that much.

As the meeting drew to a close, Etel was one of the first to slip out quietly. So they were moving out tomorrow... He sighed, running his fingers through his silvery locks. Well, the sooner they got to Plegia, the better. And sooner they were in the fray, the sooner he could get paid. Exalt Lissa was kind enough to put a 'down deposit' on all their lives, Etel was happy for it; the amount of gold she had provided was enough to allow his family to eat for at least another month or so, with some set aside for his own personal needs as well. The wyvern rider took his time to the tent, mulling over what to do with the remaining hours he had. He could always take a bath, or perhaps pack the rest of his things so they were ready the next morning... Seeing his wyvern partner seated in front of his tent made him remember that he had promised a brushing to Soire, but had never gone to do so.

Happily, the young man trotted over to his winged partner, seeing that she was rather irritate. "What's wrong, Soire?" he cooed, placing a gentle hand on her neck. The wyvern, usually very docile, replied with a shake of its head and a snap of the jaw, followed by a low growl towards the entrance of Etel's current residence. He understood immediately that something wasn't right within his tent, and silently commended Soire for alerting him. Was there someone inside? If so, how did they get through with Soire guarding the front? The chain that she was attached to was not long enough to reach the back, though, so the culprit could have possibly slipped in through there. Quietly, he unhinged Soire from her bondage and crept close to the opening flap, his companion on his heels. 

With a sudden movement, he flipped open the cover to his temporary home, revealing a... fox? What was a fox doing in his tent? It seemed to be examining Soire's bejeweled, silver brush. Well, a fox explained how it had gotten in his tent. There was something off about this animal, though... "Fox!" he yelled, reaching for his hand axe at his belt. "What do you think you're doing?! Get out of my tent!"

-----

Etel stared down the little fox as he approached slowly, his hand axe now fully gripped around his fingers. Thinking that the critter would back off after he scared it, the young man loosed his axe towards it, only to have it land a few inches away. It did run, but to his surprise, the animal did not drop Soire's brush, but rather ran with it, under and out of the back of the tent. Gritting his teeth, Etel wasted no time to pursue the fox, grabbing his axe and releasing Soire from her chains. Making a motion this his free hand, signaled Soire to fly on without him, as he pursued his beastly thief on foot.

Sprinting after the fox with axe in hand, he briefly wondered why a fox would try and steal his bush. He had some bear jerky that had been drying in his tent for he and Soire to eat on the march, but instead it had chosen to steal something else that wouldn't benefit it in the wild... How strange. Perhaps foxes liked shiny things; Etel was an expert on scaled, winged beasts, not cute woodland animals. After pursuing for a few seconds, the man realized that the fox was trying to get back to its home in the woods, and boy, was it a long run. Getting into throwing rage of the animal, Etel once again lined up his shot and threw his axe, purposefully allowing it to fly over the beast's head and in front of it's current path. As the animal hesitated to avoid the path of the axe's blade, the wyvern rider whistled, and his winged partner swooped to the ground, its razor sharp and long talons extended and ready to grab its prey. The dragonkin's long claws closed in and around the small animal, preventing any other escape.

"Nicely done, Soire." Etel complimented, giving the wyvern a friendly pat, which the beast reacted with what could be interpreted as a headshake of happiness and pride. The rider lowered himself to where the fox was pinned down, and retrieved the brush. He hadn't wanted to hurt or kill the animal, but he wasn't sure if it would come back to the camp to steal again -- foxes were cheeky creatures. "Sure gave me an evening work out, didn't you? Make sure not to steal from a man and his wyvern from now on, eh?" he spoke to it softly, trying not to scare it any further. Looking at it up close, Etel did not expect to see an acute intelligence in its eyes that he only ever saw in riding mounts, and often in wyverns. It was pretty cute... perhaps he should keep it, and tame it as a pet. He had tamed and trained wyverns all his life, how hard would a cute, fuzzy creature be? "Come, Soire. We're taking this critter with us." he turned on his heel and returned back to the space of his tent.

The plan was so simple and brutish, but certainly effective if they could carry it off without a hitch. Riesa gazed attentively upon Basilio as he filled the group in, but though her eyes were upon him, her mind was elsewhere. Such a powerful sorceress would not let the plan fall into ruin. They would strike swiftly and the Plegians would have not the slightest idea regarding what hit them. Her primary focus was on her student and how effective she would be in a true battle--and not even that. This was war. Riesa would relish in the bloodshed and harvest body parts from the corpses, but how would Caelia handle the situation? The girl needed to get some grit and fast. The sorceress listened to the Q&A, and at the sign of Basilio releasing them, she felt a gentle tug on her clothing that had come from none other than the source of her present troubles.

The others began to dissipate to carry on with their own preparations, and Riesa decided to depart from the Khan's presence as well with Caelia in tow. She stopped a little ways outside his tent and turned her attention on her apprentice, violet eyes unreadable as she glanced up and down Caelia's body with a well-hidden hunger. The girl might have been somewhat useless but at least she made for decent eye candy. The sorceress placed a cold hand on Caelia's cheek and looked the girl right in the eyes with that fierce gaze.

"We still have training to do," Riesa stated simply, a trace of a smirk starting to form on her thin lips. "I don't trust that you're ready for this. It would...make me much more comfortable if you had access to dark magic," the sorceress purred, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against Caelia's. "I hope that's what you had in mind. Otherwise I'm afraid you're going to have to be disappointed." Her voice dropped the malevolent sweetness and became something more stern and commanding--typical of the rather dominating sorceress.

When Riesa stared at her Caelia returned her mentor's gaze with an eager smile. She was hoping that the older sorceress would continue the training for her to be able to at least utilize the dark arts. However that smile quickly faded as Riesa placed a hand on her cheek which prompted a quiet squeak due to the sheer coldness of the woman's skin. The look that Riesa then gave her frightened her to the point where she just wanted to curl up into a ball and sink into the ground. But she didn't back away. In fact the only movement she made was to move a hand up to cover her neck as she remembered the feeling of being strangled. "O-of course..." Caelia managed to quietly stammer out.

Rather than fly Soire back to the camp, Etel decided to walk back with Soire in tow. When it had seemed like the wyvern had a well-enough grip on the fox, the two made their way back to the camp. As Soire was flying rather low, trying not to scare the poor creature any further, this gave Etel a bit of time to examine it. He had thought it seemed more intelligent than the normal foxes he had encountered, but perhaps he had been wrong about this one? When the furred animal and the man were eye to eye, he had thought that he had seen a deeper spark of understanding... Now it was acting as any other animal would: frightened and highly alert. It had also seemed to be... scowling at Etel -- its deep blue eyes piercing him frequently. Ah, what could he expect? It was being held captive by a hulking piece of dragon, and the wyvern trainer was the one who issued it all out.

It didn't take them long to reach the confines of the camp, and locate Etel's cramped but humble tent. Upon arrival, it occurred to the man that he had thought of no way to contain the fox; surely he couldn't just leave it on its own, else it could escape again and potentially come back to commit more petty thievery. And Soire couldn't possibly keep it in her talons all night, as she had to sleep as well. Etel left wyvern and fox outside the tent as he rummaged along his few surroundings -- mercenaries had to travel light, after all. His eyes finally came to glance over a trapping cage -- one that had doors so when the baited animal stepped into the confines of the cage, likely trying to get the food that was held within, it would shut automatically, ensnaring it within its walls.

As much as he disliked the idea of holding it prisoner, Etel had little to no other option. Donning his leather gloves, he and the cage moved outside and prepared to transfer the fox to its temporary 'home'. Very carefully, he seized the fox from Soire's claws, careful not to scare or hurt it, but still maintaining a strong, firm grip. "Shhh... it's fine, buddy... I'm not gonna hurt you... I just want to be friends... Everything is going to be okay... He spoke softly to it, attempting to calm it down, but of course it still thrashed wildly in his hands. As swiftly and gently as he could, he dropped the fox down into the cage and shut the door, preventing any more escape. With that done, he chained Soire up once again, gave her an affectionate pat on the neck, and took the cage that contained the fox inside the tent.

Etel sat the cage on a crude 'table' with a rattle, and took a seat next to it. It was very pretty, with its snow white fur and glistening blue eyes... It looked rather... fluffy for a fox as well. While the animal inside still seemed unnerved by its containment, Etel thought it best to leave the beast alone for just a tiny amount of time, so that it may get used to its very temporary living quarters. Taking Soire's previously stolen brush out of his pocket, the wyvern rider got up and made his way to the exit flap of the tent, giving the jailed fox a salute as he began to exit. "Don't try any funny business, fox. It won't be as fun running after you again." he said cheerfully. With this comment, he was out of the tent, and right outside the entryway, finally preparing Soire for her much-needed brushdown.