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blahblahemblem · 7 years

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heroes barracks tour: cavalry + updates

exactly what it says on the tin

Note: I started writing this post last year and some things have changed since then. I’ve decided to keep the stuff I originally wrote and cross it out rather than replace it outright. Additionally, aside from the write-up on my cavalry units this post contains a small update to my armour and flier intros as it’s been long enough that I’ve acquired a few more units and changed some plans I had for the old ones.

Armour update

Build improvements

Not much in this category. I gave both BK and Arden Swap (although only BK had the SP available to learn it), and Henry learned Draw Back (which ended up being surprisingly useful in combo with Armour March).

New units

I made the first armour post before summoning on Winter’s Envoy. Here’s what I got from it:

+def –atk

Got her from the last orb on the first summoning circle.

Despite her awkward IVs, awful outfit, and my general distaste for Tharja as a character, she quickly became one of my favourite units (see also: summer Corrin). I enjoyed using her in the Arena so much that I bothered to invest into improving my score, which is how I got into tier 20 for the first time. I’ve tried using her again last week and failed because the maps weren’t as favourable (she survives and counterkills brave Lyn on defensive tiles, but last week’s rotation included the stupid fucking boat map where she got wrecked all the time because there’s nowhere to run).

Her default set is just so damn good. It’s very gratifying to have another unit with Close Counter that isn’t poor defenseless Takumi (who doesn’t even run it anymore), and Vengeful Fighter is, of course, mindblowing. Hone Armour is for Henry’s bladetome. She also has Hone Atk 3 that I gave her in a desperate rage trying to put together an arena team last week, which I regret a bit since it’s unlikely to see use again but it’s not a big deal in the long run.

Usage: I had an absolute blast running her in the last Tempest Trials in tandem with Henry and (spoilers). The boost to her defences and the Close Defence 3 seal turned her into an all-purpose tank with very few things that scared her. I might try to incorporate her into future arena teams again, and she’s of course quite the green counter option for AA.

Future improvements: I’ve seen people replace her special with a 4-charge one, since it works perfectly with Vengeful Fighter and also deals more explosive damage. I hesitated on doing that while her Tempest was running as the boost to her stats combined with the support bonuses from (spoilers) meant she wasn’t always getting doubled, but for general usage it would make sense. I’m holding out a bit since I’d rather focus on units who don’t have already functional builds first. Another thing is refining the Candelabra (haven’t decided whether to go for even more Def or round out her Res yet). I don’t see myself replacing her weapon for now except maybe with Raudrowl, but I don’t have even one Katarina yet.

neutral

Second summoning circle yielded me this strapping gentleman.

Unlike with Tharja I don’t have a very long ode to his abilities, he’s a good unit but his kit just isn’t Close Counter + QR on steroids. That said, he’s an excellent all-around blue counter with good mixed bulk, so I’m glad to have him. (Plus his voicelines are hilarious. “Party?”)

I don’t really know what else to do with him while I’m this low on quality A skills, so I just left his default kit untouched and added Fortify Armour (mostly for Henry, but Tharja obviously made good use of it too) and Ignis (Bonfire would be better with its lower cooldown, but I didn’t have available fodder and didn’t want to spend feathers on this).

Usage: See above about countering blues. He also provides Fortify buffs to those who need it in AA. Otherwise he’s stuck in the same rut as other armours: they’re great and all, but the movement makes it awkward to use them, and the colour overlap makes gluing him to Henry for Armour March a bit inconvenient.

Future improvements: IDK. Giving him a Slaying Axe could be something, but I like to leave seasonal units with their default weapons if I can help it, I think it adds to the charm. That leaves refining Sack o’ Gifts, although same as with the Candelabra I don’t know whether to go with +def or +res, and replacing Ignis with Bonfire.

Change of plans

Gwendolyn is dead. Thank god I’m free. I used her to give Tharja Hone Armour as I didn’t have an unmerged 4* copy and didn’t want to waste feathers. Rip in pepperoni, I won’t miss you. (I’ve summoned another fucking one since then but I’m not even going to bother merging her again, I just hate her art so much.)

Flier update

Build improvements

I got enough SP on Shanna for Firesweep L+ and on Tana for Swap and Hit & Run, and inherited Desperation 3 on Caeda. Otherwise nothing new.

New units

Happy New Year to me!!

+res –hp

Finally an Azura with IVs that don’t suck. In general I’m beyond happy that I have her; I love Azura, I love dancers in Heroes, her art is great, she has Hone Fliers, she’s a goddamn flying singer when I adore flying units, what is there not to love?

Very simple kit, I don’t want to waste Fury on dancers hence Spd+3 as a budget solution for improving her most important stat (TA is an option, of course, but I think with access to flier buffs Airzura needs it less than other dancers). Kind of wish I waited a bit for The Most Important Unit I’ve Ever Summoned (who will be shown in the next update) before launching to refine the Hagoita... but I really needed the Divine Dew and besides, it’s not like it doesn’t help.

Usage: She’s a dancer...

Future improvements: She has WoM3 inherited, hopefully she will get a lot of kills in today’s TT with the buffed stats (as it’s torture to grind SP for dancers otherwise).

+hp –spd

Bummer IVs, but as I wasn’t expecting to have her at all (she came in the same circle as the Most Important Unit; as the pity rate was at 4,50% I just decided to summon the rest after getting him and there she was) it’s fine. Camilla also has boosted BST to make up for bad IVs lol. In general it’s great that I have her as she fills exactly the niche I was looking to fill, a tanky sword flier.

Keeping her default kit and adding Hit & Run. With flier buffs I think her bane doesn’t hinder her so much that I need to give her something else.

Usage: I just got her four days ago... She’s about to see a lot of action in the new TT though, and afterwards I will probably arrange a secondary flier team with both Camillas and Airzura on it, fourth member being debated (Shanna? or I might replace Cordy with Cherche on the first team and put Cordy here?)

Future improvements: I’m going to refine the Kadomatsu (for +spd) instead of replacing her weapon, I think. Slaying Edge is an option, but as I said before I try to keep seasonal weapons whenever possible. I’ve also seen this video on the effectiveness of a build utilising the Deflect Melee seal and Vantage; it worked excellently there because the test subject with Michalis with WoDaoclere-charged Ignis so it might not be as good elsewhere, but there’s always the option of giving Cammy Wo Dao? We’ll see.

Change of plans

1. Since I got NY!Camilla, I don’t need to build a Palla anymore. I will hold onto the 4* neutral version, maybe even merge her into a +spd 4* if I get one, and use her for HM grinding just because I really like Palla, but I’m not investing into her.

2. I made up my mind about spring Camilla. I summoned a Nino and now that I have Hone Airzura it makes even further sense to just go for my favourite build of all time, blade nuke.

Back to cavalry, finally

My main cavalry team isn’t particularly well-put together or impressive, and in general as it turns out I don’t have a whole lot of horses available, but I did go through a period where my horse team carried me through a bunch of difficult content and they’re still my closing act in Arena Assault as I can usually expect them to be able to handle anything.

5* builds

(I don’t have ANY sword cavaliers. This isn’t true anymore, but I still wish I had Xander as well. I didn’t get him because back then I didn’t expect that I’d change my mains and I didn’t want to try dealing with a GHB when I didn’t even have a single level 40 unit on this account yet. I have everything ready for Xander’s rerun that will probably not ever happen now, I have fucking Distant Defence fodder ready, WHERE IS HE INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IT’S BEEN EIGHT MONTHS)

neutral

No, he’s not my freebie from CYL, I got him off Gunnthra’s legendary banner. Very happy about it because that’s a (relatively) fast offensive sword cavalier, something I didn’t have before. Also he’s adorable and I love his art and wah he says “Roy’s our boy” when you go into battle

I think his default build is fine, maybe he’s a bit on the slower side for Desperation but with emblem buffs, who cares?

Usage: Clearly I haven’t even got around to completing his default skillset... I’ve been busy with fliers and armours :( I’ll put more effort in later

Improvements: Needs an assist. He has Fortify Cavalry inherited but not learned, and also needs to learn his default skills.

+atk –res

Also from Gunnthra’s banner, a defensive sword cavalier to complement the offensive one. Sigurd is really awesome all around so I have no complaints. It’s so convenient that the newer units they release tend to have good builds from the start so I don’t have to scramble around trying to find anything worthwhile to put on them among the piles of trash in my barracks

Usage: Unlike Roy he got to get his default set filled out at least...

Improvements:

I should probably give him Hone Cavalry.

+res –def

My one and only red cavalier, yay!

So Leo’s been sort of shafted by Heroes in terms of default builds (aside from the fact that motherfucker comes with QR3, one of the absolute best skills in the game). Brynhildr is now overshadowed by the goddamn Gravity+ staff, Elise has better offensive stats despite being a healer, etc etc BUT.

I’ve said it before and I will never get tired of saying it: I love monotype bladetome nukes. Who made me love them so much? Cecilia Leo. He was the first unit for whom I bit the bullet and promoted another unit to 5* just to sacrifice them, and what a dazzling fucking introduction to the world of weapon SI that was

Darting Blow seems silly at first glance, dude has 22 whopping spd, but with it, Hone, Goad, and a support he gets up to 40 and can double quite a lot in PvE, and various armours in Arena Assault. Leo in particular is thriving now with all the OP green armours melting when he breathes in their general direction. QR is for when he needs to soak some magic hits, something he did quite well even before Raudrblade.

Usage: Maxed 3k HM, of course! For the rest, see above. Definitely in my top 10 favourite units. I’m very very happy I chose to summon on Male Mages over Female Mages during the third gauntlet (because lol I got all of those female mages as pitybreakers later anyway...)

Improvements: He has everything he needs for now. I could maybe give him Glimmer over Iceberg just for the reduced cooldown, but eh.

At least I made the account switch in time to get him. If I missed both of the DC cavs I’d have died of an ulcer by September

Camus is good. He’s capable of doing both enemy and player phase fairly well (unlike Xander who would be a purely enemy phase unit). Sort of like a blue horse Ryoma. I think he desperately needs merges though.

Usage: Maxed 3k HM. He doesn’t really do a whole lot of work these days even when I get out the team for Arena Assault, but that’s because I’m usually dealing with, like, armours and Ayras and I don’t want a special to trigger so I ORKO them with the ranged cav trio instead. Camus faithfully provides Goad Cavalry and an S support to Leo, and Swaps units around, and he CAN do combat if necessary, so that’s all I can ask for.

Improvements:

Going to +1 him. EVENTUALLY IS will feel maybe a tiny bit of shame and they’ll fucking give him a rerun, that would be two more copies since he didn’t have an Infernal difficulty the first time.

I haven’t been paying attention to him a whole lot before fairly recently, but I was always sitting on some plans for him just because he’s a TT unit and I sort of want to have some kind of functional build going for all of them as I only have copies of them on my main (unlike GHB units who are a lot easier to get).

Now he lucked out. I did three circles on Winter’s Envoy. The first two got me Tharja and Chrom, and the third one somehow contained THREE off-banner 5*s: Catria, Hawkeye, and Cain. They were all used as SI as they all had shitty IVs. Clive got Catria’s lance. Now he can enjoy 2 charge Bonfires.

Usage: I used him a bit in the TT he came from, haven’t done a whole lot since then. I’m hoping to put together a bunch of second-string horse teams (horse mages are a bit more available than flier mages, I’ll get a fucking Reinhardt EVENTUALLY) and he’ll make it on one of those. Plus there’s always walling reds and blues in AA.

Improvements: After I refine the weapon of the Most Important Unit, I’ll evolve his Killer Lance to Slaying Lance. Then he’ll be put on the waiting list for refinements. I’m also not that sure what to do with his B slot. Lancebreaker 1 came from the same Arthur as Swap. IDK if I should just give him LB3, or wait until I have more Subakis (but there’s a very long queue for that). I’m also debating if I should give him Fortress Def.

+atk –res

Another pitybreaker from Ylissean Summer. I don’t mind much since that same summoning circle gave me a very special unit (you will see them in the next post) that I wouldn’t have opened if I hadn’t seen that Peri’d reset my rate.

Peri gets a lot of flak, but she’s not at all a bad unit, she just has a lot of competition in her niche, as Roderick and now Oscar both have similar offensive statlines to hers. Peri is lucky in that I find her amusing and don’t give a shit about either Roderick or Oscar.

Usage: For now I occasionally get her out when I need to deal with an annoying DC Vantage red in AA. Winter Tharja’s also a pain in the ass that she can help deal with handily.

Improvements: Clearly I’m going for a Firesweep build, but I haven’t inherited the + version to her yet. She needs to learn LaD2 (I didn’t bother taking a new screenshot, but she has LaD1 learned now, everything else is the same) and inherit an assist. I’m also on the lookout for a +spd copy to merge her into because I think +spd would be a lot better.

(It’s only now that I’m adding new units to this post that I realised I didn’t have any axe cavaliers originally...)

+def –atk

Bit of an odd one. When the Christmas TT banner dropped, I had a lot of orbs since I was saving for the next legendary and spent considerably less on Winter’s Envoy than I expected. I decided I can afford to pull all reds (for Lucina) and greens on that banner. There were, in fact, only two greens and no reds, and the green was this Frederick. I’ve been considering building one for a while, so it was welcome, even though his IVs are questionable.

He picked up the Hawkeye from Winter’s Envoy. DB3 is just nice to have, and it’s going to sit around for when (if) I give Fred a Brave Axe.

Usage: See Clive.

Improvements: I’m looking for a +atk or +def copy that isn’t –def or –atk respectively, so I can merge. He needs an assist, probably a different B skill, refinement on the axe, and to learn Bonfire.

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My freebie from CYL. I don’t regret picking her, but I am kind of reluctant to use her a lot outside of Horse Emblem because frankly Arena has made me resent her. I’m so fucking tired of seeing this face. When will she fall off her horse. I have no love left for her and I’m gleefully killing the copies of her I have on alts for Swift Sparrow left and right and it gives me a rush every time. It’s kind of sad since I was initially very excited to get her but that’s what countless deathless runs ruined do to a person. I just had to unglue a Brave Bow Lyn from a QP Moonbow Reinhardt earlier today*. Ugh.

* when I originally started writing this post

Usage: She’s on my main cav team and is quite helpful, and has around 2600 HM. Those are the nice things I can say about her.

Improvements: I am not giving her anything else ever as an act of protest

4* merge projects

+spd –hp, +3

I originally intended to make him a +10 thinking I’d never get a brave Roy. Well, I have a brave boy now, but I still want to build his dad, if only because they’re a bit different. I also quite like Eliwood; he’s not the most interesting lord character in the world, but I have a soft spot for him. His Heroes art is atrocious but what can you do.

Short term goals are continuing to merge him (right now I have two more 3* copies waiting), giving him an assist, Fury 3, and probably Swordbreaker.

Long term goal is eventually, once he hits +7 or so, merging in a 5* copy to acquire the Durandal, then evolving it to Blazing Durandal.

The only blue mage cavalier I have :(

Short term goals are merging in the last 3* copy I have, giving her Blarblade & Moonbow from an Odin, Darting Blow 3, some kind of B skill (undecided on that one), an assist, and probably a horse buff.

Long term goal is merging in a 5* copy (that one is a very long way off) to acquire Keen Blarwolf+ (and Death Blow 3) for some anti-horse options in AA.

+spd –forgot, +1

I really like Titania’s art and clearly I’m lacking in the green cav department. I just don’t know what to do with her build really. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it (aka when she’s got a bunch more merges)

+spd –res, +4

The fourth member of my “main” cavalry team. An excellent testament to the power of bladetomes when combined with emblem buffs, as on my old main I in fact used a 3* -atk copy in this role to great effect.

I have a 3* copy hanging around, but I’m conflicted on whether to use her for the extra merge or to give somebody else Escape Route 3.

I’m also on the lookout for a +spd –hp copy instead, as –res bothers me a bit.

I don’t think I’ll change anything else in her build, besides maybe giving her G Tomebreaker at some point. Gronnblade works perfectly fine without upgrading it to its + version, and my obsessiveness about these things doesn’t quite trigger when it’s a 4* unit in question.

+spd -def, +2

+atk –hp, +2

Healers who require standard healer improvements, not much to say here. They might both see some kind of 5* sacrifices at some point so I can get my hands on those sweet sweet Wrathful refinements on their staves (and better healing staves too), but that’s miles and miles out there.

Not pictured

Berkut. Same as all other GHB units that I don’t want to build.

#heroes rambles

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misskikuwrites · 7 years

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Fire Emblem Fates: Rebirth

Chapter 35: Divided We Fall

Also known as: The Path We Chose

After dying at the hands of a possessed Takumi, Corrin wakes up before Hoshido and Nohr are at war.

Determinded to undo all her regrets, Corrin sets out to save Ryoma and Takumi, unaware of their true, hidden enemy.

Spoilers for all routes.

Corrin was still fuming when footsteps sounded behind her. She sucked in a sharp breath of the frosty air and folded her arms. She focused her glare at the horizon, the setting sun casting a blinding glare across the sky. Whoever followed her from the cavern stood just behind her in silence. Corrin internally dared them to speak. To tell her off, to chide her for being childish and naïve. She imagined Ryoma or Xander, disappointment in their eyes. Or Leo, shaking his head with a click of his tongue.

She thought, with a start, what she would do if it was Takumi behind her. She didn’t know how she’d face him. How she’d deal with the hurt in his eyes.

Whoever it was, they stayed silent, and Corrin forced herself to look over her shoulder. Camilla gave her a warm smile, full of love and understanding that doused Corrin’s frustration. A wave of relief washed over her. Her arms dropped to her sides as her tension fled.

“Camilla…” Corrin didn’t know what to say. She turned to face her sister fully, suddenly feeling fragile. The walls she’d drawn around herself had cracked over time, again and again, tiny faults building until one touch would be all it took for it to break again. She’d turned to anger instead, too frustrated at herself to cry.

“I’ve missed you, my darling Corrin,” Camilla said, drawing closer a step. Her smile was as gentle as it was familiar. As it had always been, brimming with unconditional love that Corrin had never felt she deserved. Camilla’s shoes crunched the loose rocks as she stepped forward slowly, her long legs closing the distance with ease. She raised a hand up, cupped Corrin’s cheek. Her gaze softened and Corrin felt herself splintering beneath her sister’s gaze.

“I missed you too,” Corrin said, forcing the words from her tight throat. She stepped into Camilla’s embrace, dropping her head to her sister’s shoulder. This was nothing like the last time they’d hugged. There would be no sharp ending, no cutting blade, no painful rejection and heartache. She was safe, here, in Camilla’s arms.

That was how it had always been. Unconditional. Camilla had loved her no matter what. Even if she’d failed her training, her studies. Even when she’d abandoned them and been labelled a traitor. Camilla had loved her through and through.

When Corrin stepped back from her sister, she felt warmer. No longer teetering on the edge of frustrating tears. She was sick of crying. Of falling to pieces.

“Don’t worry, my dear,” Camilla said, still smiling. “I had a… talk with Xander and Prince Ryoma.” There was an unsettling glint in her eyes, a sharpness to her smile. “You needn’t worry about them.”

Corrin leant against the rock face and stared off at nothing. She sighed with a tight huff of air. “They weren’t wrong. Maybe I am too trusting.”

“That’s what makes you so loveable,” Camilla said. “It’s what makes people want to trust you, what makes you a good leader. You see the best in people. That’s more than I can say for some.”

Corrin didn’t know how to feel. With her frustration gone she just felt empty. The truth in what she had said was finally hitting her. The families that she’d thought she belonged to were just lies. Illusions. Every time she’d been called sister, every time she’d called them back in return, it had been a lie.

She had no family here. She was surrounded by allies and friends but had never felt so alone.

“I thought I had a place in Nohr,” Corrin said finally. She withdrew into herself, wrapping her arms around her middle. “A family. And then I thought the same of Hoshido.” She shrugged, as if the motion would make it sting less. As if she could shuck off this weight like one would and old coat. The heaviness remained as it always would. “Now, I don’t know where I belong.”

“You’ll always have a place in Nohr,” Camilla said. She drew up beside Corrin, their shoulders almost touching. “And if anyone says otherwise they can answer to me.”

She sounded so sure of herself Corrin almost laughed.

“Thank you,” Corrin said softly. She didn’t trust herself to raise her voice above a whisper lest it crack or falter and reveal what she so desperately wanted to hide. She felt weak. That something so obvious should affect her like this. She’d known they weren’t related. She’d known for a long time that her family in Nohr was only in name, but to suddenly be told that her ties to Hoshido had been the same was like having the world ripped out from under her feet.

She was disoriented. She’d had all this guilt, all this regret, from destroying what she thought was her birth family. The guilt was still there but now it felt numb. Like it was out of place, like it didn’t fit with the rest of her guilt and regret. And with it came a niggling fear. One she couldn’t shake, one that kept resurfacing.

Would she have gone down this path if she’d known they weren’t her family?

She didn’t know. And it terrified her.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Corrin said. “That you came with me.”

“Of course I’d come with you,” Camilla said, as if that had never been in any doubt. “The depths of the Bottomless Canyon wouldn’t keep me from you. We all have your back, even if we’re not related by blood. You’re still family.”

Family. Corrin didn’t know what that meant any more. She nodded, the movement heavy. She could still feel a sliver of anger in her heart. The weight of her dragonstone around her neck was cold. She could see its cracks in her mind, staring, glaring at her. Her fingers itched, she clenched them into fists.

Corrin glanced into the darkness of the cavern. “I… need to speak with Azura,” Corrin said, not entirely wanting to leave Camilla and enter the tunnels again. If anyone knew about dragonstones it would be Azura. She would know if the cracks meant anything. If it had anything to do with the churning turmoil in her gut.

“Of course,” Camilla said. “Don’t let me hold you up.”

Corrin gave her a tight nod and headed back into the cavern. Instead of heading straight to Azura, Corrin found herself drifting towards Elise and Sakura by their makeshift infirmary. Blankets and coats were laid out across the hard rock. Those that were injured got tended to quickly with salves, bandages and a wave of magic. Corrin barely registered the dull throb in her arm anymore. She was sure that she’d reinjured it during the battle and silently drew up to Sakura and Elise. She was suddenly glad they weren’t there to witness her outburst. Glad she didn’t have to witness the heartache, the pain that would flash in their eyes.

Corrin was glad she hadn’t done that to them, though the anger in her heart hadn’t faded.

“Elise, Sakura,” Corrin began, bringing a smile to her face. The two Princesses turned to her and brightened. “Which one of you can tend to my arm?” She held up her injured arm with a shrug. “Told you I wouldn’t be able to rest,” she said to Sakura.

“A-And you were on Healer’s Orders too,” she said, forcing a pout. Her cheeks flushed, she tried so hard to bite back a smile. “Let me see.”

At Sakura’s direction, Corrin sat down a blanket and watched as her two sister’s worked in tandem. Gauntlet removed, the nasty bruising Sakura had healed away previously was now back with a vengeance. The sight where she’d caught a sword was puffy and swollen, bruised with violent purples and blues.

“Ooh, that looks nasty,” Elise noted, eyes wide. She didn’t shy away from injuries but instead took them in stride, with great interest. She gave Corrin’s arm a prod, earning a wince from her.

“You might have re-fractured it,” Sakura said. She held Corrin’s arm delicately, running a finger down the length of the bone. “What did you do to it this time?”

“What I did last time,” Corrin huffed. “I caught a sword with it.”

“Sounds painful.” Elise took out her staff, holding it high with a grin. “I’ll have it healed up in a jiffy.”

“I’ll get some salves to help with the swelling,” Sakura said. She rummaged through their supplies, digging through various jars and container of various sizes and contents. They fell into silence as Elise worked magic over Corrin’s arm. The strange sensations it brought were just as uncomfortable the second time around. The rush of heat, the weird buzzing of her skin from the magic. And then the retreat of the warmth, the dull, cold ache as it began to numb. Corrin doubted she would ever get used to it.

“How hard is it to learn how to heal?” Corrin found herself asking. She stared down at her arm as the bruises changed colour. They blurred from purple and blue to yellow and green. The swelling was just as prominent this time from having reinjured it.

“It’s totally easy,” Elise said. She smiled down at her handiwork. “I’ve been doing it forever.”

“It… didn’t take me that long to learn,” Sakura replied, casting her mind back. “Why do you want to know?”

Corrin paused as Sakura applied the cool salve to her arm and wrapped it lightly in bandages. She stared down at it, forcing images of Scarlet’s body from her mind. The way she’d felt in that moment, powerless, incompetent, hopeless, resurfaced with a heavy sickness. She never wanted to feel that way again.

“I want to learn,” Corrin said softly. She didn’t let herself meet either of her sisters’ eyes. The memory was too painful, too fresh in her mind, she couldn’t bare them asking about it. She knew it showed in her eyes. It wasn’t something you could hide.

“Really?” Elise beamed eagerly. A bright sparkle filled her eyes as she flashed a smile. “Let me teach you!”

Corrin pursed a smile. “Just the basics for now. I don’t want to hold you up for too long.”

That didn’t damper Elise’s smile. “It’s super easy,” she boasted with a grin. “The staff channels your magic; all you have to do is aim and presto!”

Sakura giggled. “It’s not exactly like that. It just takes a lot of practice to get it right so you don’t leave a scar.”

“Sakura’s amazing at it! She doesn’t even leave a mark!”

Sakura pinked, her cheeks dimpling as she flushed. “I-I’m not that amazing… but thank you.”

The friendly display between the two Princesses had Corrin genuinely smiling. To see them get alone so easily, so naturally, was a relief. They’d manage to broker a friendship despite the differences in culture, despite everything they’d grown up to believe about the other country. It was the beginning of something. The very first ripple that Corrin hoped would spread. The two Princesses were so beloved that she hoped others would see them and follow their lead. Closing the gap between Hoshido and Nohr had never seemed more possible.

Corrin pushed away her smile as Sakura gave her a staff and called Subaki over. The sky knight had a small gash to his upper arm that had yet to be tended to. He seated himself before Corrin with a flourished bow, giving her a charming smile.

“I’m at your service, Lady Corrin,” he said. “It’s an honour to be your first patient.”

Corrin swallowed, her throat constricting. She did as Sakura and Elise instructed, holding the staff with two hands over the injury. She gripped it tightly lest her hands shake. She focused on the injury, the small slice of red across Subaki’s pale skin. It ran the length a hand but was more of a scrape that a proper injury. It was the perfect wound to practice on. Not life threatening, less than likely to leave a mark or scar.

And yet Corrin felt ill. Her stomach churned, her heart thundering heavily in her chest. When she focused her magic, the first tug it gave almost made her drop the staff. She flinched, gripped the staff tighter. It was like her energy was bleeding through the staff. A warm light spilled over them, over Subaki’s arm, and slowly, ever so slowly, the scrape began to close.

Corrin snatched the staff away from Subaki’s arm when the job was done. Her body was alight with nerves for no reason. The staff hadn’t done anything to her. Hadn’t taken anything from her. It was just so strange, so foreign, she hadn’t expected it to feel like that.

She wondered if that was what it was like to weave magic. It was almost…exhilarating in a way. Her hands had buzzed with energy like nothing she’d ever felt before.

“Perfect,” Subaki mused, glancing at his freshly healed arm. “I didn’t expect anything less.” Corrin met his smile, forced one of her own in return.

“Thank you for being my guinea pig,” Corrin said. “I guess I’ll need more practice before I work on any real injuries though.”

“Don’t tell anyone that or they’ll be lining up to injure themselves,” Subaki said with a laugh. He stood and excused himself with a curt bow. Corrin followed him with her eyes for a moment before turning back to her sisters. They looked up at her with expectant eyes, glimmering excitedly.

Corrin held up the staff in her hands. “May I keep this? I might find some time to practice later.”

As much as she wanted to learn, the prospect of needing another injured person to practice on weighed harshly in her stomach.

“Of course,” Sakura said, nodding happily.

“We have heaps of staffs,” Elise agreed. She was still grinning, bouncing on her feet energetically. “I’m just so happy I got to teach you. This is all so exciting!”

Corrin held the staff listlessly in her hands, feeling its weight, the way it hung in her grip. It was lighter than her sword. Much lighter, and not just because its purpose was the exact opposite of her Yato.

She gave her sisters a final, stiff smile and bid them a quick goodbye before searching for Azura. She hated the way she cased the cavern for the rest of her siblings. Every fibre of her being wished to ignore them, to avoid them, both out of shame and frustration. She still burned inside from their argument. If it could be called an argument. It wasn’t like they’d fought. She’d just snapped at them, sick and tired and exhausted from everything.

She wondered, not for the first time, if the state of her dragonstone had anything to do with it.

Corrin felt small shred of relief when she found Azura by herself. She approached cautiously, a hand going to her dragonstone around her neck. Azura gave her a gentle smile. She tilted her head curiously, watching Corrin approach, only speaking when there was an amicable distance between them.

“Hello, Corrin,” Azura said. A question lingered in her gaze but after a moment and a brief pause, she didn’t give it a voice.

“Azura.” Corrin gave her a nod, stiffer than she’d like. “I need your advice.”

Azura’s eyes widened fractionally. As always, that gentle smile of hers settled Corrin’s nerves. There was nothing expectant in her eyes. Azura didn’t expect Corrin to be something greater than she was.

“What is it?” Azura asked. She politely lowered her voice to keep their conversation between only them. It was as much privacy as they could get in a crowded set of tunnels.

“It’s about my dragon’s blood,” Corrin began, “and my dragonstone.” She sighed, forcing the air out as she clenched her hand tightly around the fractured stone that hung from her neck. She drew it out, slowly, and opened her fingers to reveal it to Azura. She stifled a gasp with her hand at the sight.

“Oh my.” Azura reached out as if to touch it, her fingers stilling in the air. She retracted her hand in a heartbeat and worried her lip. “How long has it been like that?”

“I don’t know,” Corrin answered. Her eyes lingered on the stone before she stole it back into her hand and out of sight. “I only noticed earlier today. Do you think– is it a problem?” She couldn’t settle on just one question to ask.

Azura’s expression turned grim. “I believe so. In the state that it’s in, it can’t properly contain your dragon side.”

Corrin sighed again. Her heart sank into her stomach. “That’s what I was afraid you’d say. Earlier today, I… hadn’t realised to the extent that I’d transformed. And I’ve had this lust for battle, this anger, this frustration…” She wanted to sigh again. To huff, to complain properly, loudly, outright. Instead, she took a sharp breath. “I can feel the dragon inside me longing to get out. And, honestly, sometimes I wonder if I should just let it.”

Azura softened at Corrin’s admission, her honesty in expressing this fear. “You’ve been using your dragonstone heavily as of late. With it broken, your dragon side is bleeding out. You mustn’t let it take over.”

If only it was that easy. “Is there anything we can do?” Corrin asked. “Some way to fix it?”

Azura shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Once a dragonstone has broken it’s impossible to fix. However, it might be possible to find a replacement.”

“Where would we find one?” It wasn’t like they could just pop off to a market stall and buy one. You didn’t just find dragonstones lying around.

“It’s possible that we might find one in Valla somewhere,” Azura said, “though I wouldn’t know where.”

“I know someone who might,” Corrin said. She didn’t have to think about it and sought him out across the cavern. Anthony wasn’t hard to spot. He sat by himself in a lone corner, brightening when Corrin and Azura approached.

Corrin got straight to the point, pursing a smile, feeling her nerves light up. “Anthony, we– or rather, I need your help.” She tried to drown out the noise filling the cavern. The amicable conversations around them, the laughter, the chatter. It was a needless buzz in her head.

Corrin drew out her dragonstone, holding it out for Anthony’s eyes only. She cupped it in her hand, still holding it close to her body. The sight of the fractured stone churned her stomach. She couldn’t let anyone else see it. She couldn’t let anyone else think she was incapable of leading them. As if she was incapacitated by something so slight. “Have you ever seen a stone like this before?” she asked, lowering her voice to a gentle tone.

Anthony leant forward and studied her dragonstone. “I think I have, actually.” He raised his eyes to Corrin’s, she could’ve hugged him as he continued and said, “I believe there’s some in a nearby village. I don’t know what it is, though. I’ve never seen one with a crack like that before.”

Corrin stole her dragonstone out of sight and gave him a dry laugh. “That’s probably a good thing,” she said. “Do you remember where the village is? Can you lead me there?”

He nodded. “Of course. It’s about half a day’s journey east from here.”

Not the kind of distance Corrin wanted to be traveling away from her allies anytime soon. She shook off that thought and called Jakob and Kaze over. She filled them in as quickly as she could, before ordering them to find Keaton and Kaden. For this journey they needed a small group. No more than ten. Keaton and Kaden could act like scouts, tell them if any hostiles were nearby. Jakob and Kaze would come, of course, along with Azura, Anthony as their guide.

Corrin just wanted to slip out without argument but as her group prepared to leave, fate had other plans. She was cornered by Xander and Ryoma. She bit her lip, forcing down a sigh, as Takumi approached, with Leo and Elise not far behind.

Corrin hadn’t wanted to make a big deal of this. Optimally, she didn’t want anyone else to know about her dragonstone. But Xander and Ryoma eyed her and her team ready to leave, and Corrin knew she was stuck.

“Planning on going somewhere?” Ryoma asked. He raised an eyebrow at her before sending a glance over her small team.

“I hope you weren’t planning on leaving without saying anything,” Xander said pointedly.

Corrin swallowed dryly and forced herself to ignore the furrow on Takumi’s brow, the way he was watching her with his arms folded. “I was going to tell you,” Corrin said. She felt out the words in her head before giving them a voice. She touched the dragonstone around her neck. The groove, the crack in the shiny surface, felt like a fracture in her confidence. Her hand froze as she began to draw it out. As if revealing the crack would somehow change how her allies, her friends and family, saw her.

Slowly, Corrin pulled out her dragonstone and held it in her palm, the crack staring up into the waiting eyes of her siblings.

“That’s your dragonstone,” Ryoma noted. A frown came across his features. “It’s cracked.”

Corrin’s heart was in her throat. She nodded stiffly. “It’s breaking. And can’t contain my dragon blood.” She looked to Azura now, to Anthony, as if meeting their gazes would instil some confidence in her. “There’s a village not a half-day’s journey from here where I can find a replacement.” Her eyes fell to her dragonstone as her throat tightened. She hated this. Having to explain herself. It was as if she was back in Nohr, trapped in a castle again. Unable to leave, under constant watch… it only made her want to flee.

“Then we should mobilise our forces and make our way there together,” Xander said. “For something so important as this.”

“I don’t want this to make a big deal,” Corrin said. She shook her head, clenched her fists, heart sinking in her chest. “And some of our allies are still injured and need rest. If I take a small team we can manoeuvre easily to the village and back without any trouble. It’ll be harder to move undetected with such a large group.”

Xander seemed to ponder this for a moment, before sighing. “All right, if that’s what you feel is right.” A slight smile came across his face, gentle and surprising. “However, I implore you to take Elise and Leo with you. In case you need another healer.” He cased his eyes over Corrin’s group once more. “And I noticed you don’t have anyone adverse in magic. You never know what you might face.” He gave a nod to Leo, who sighed.

“Fine,” Leo said. “I’ll tag along. If only to make sure Elise stays out of trouble.”

“Hey!” Elise balked.

Corrin gave them both a tight smile. “I guess that’s all right. It’ll be nice to spend some time with you both. I haven’t been able to recently.” She nodded to them before turning back to her group. “Are we all ready, then?” She was met with nods and grunts of approval in return and within minutes they were heading out of the cavern and into the night.

Corrin stepped out of the cavern, relishing the cool, fresh air, when someone called her name.

“Corrin!”

She turned, to find Takumi slip out of the cavern, Fujin Yumi in hand. He stalked up to her quickly, shooting a glance behind him to the cave as he approached.

“Takumi? What are you doing?” Corrin asked. She followed his glance to the cave, only finding darkness.

“I’m coming with you,” he said defiantly. Corrin blinked at him in return.

“What?”

He folded his arms, unfolded them, and frowned. “You… don’t really have someone who can take out an enemy from afar,” he said. “So… I thought I’d join you.” He couldn’t hold her gaze and tore his eyes away. He scratched listlessly at his cheek as a flush coloured his face. He couldn’t just tell her that he wanted to come. That he wanted to fight alongside her, that he was worried about her dragonstone.

He was worried about her.

His flush darkened when she smiled at him and said, “Thank you, Takumi. I appreciate it.” She turned and fell in step with her group, completely unaware that Takumi had smouldered from her smile and words.

She had that effect on him.

The journey to the nearby village soon became a chore. They walked in an almost silence, in the dark, scattered up and down the path. The moonlight above was the only thing illuminating their path. They’d decided to forgo torches and lanterns, anything that would make them a beacon in the night. Azura and Anthony took the lead, with Keaton and Kaden darting in and out of the brush, out of trees and rocks as they scouted the nearby area. Kaze and Jakob stood on the outside of their group, always on alert.

Somehow, Corrin found herself walking alongside Takumi, who made a point to glare daggers at Leo’s back. The Nohrian Prince walked beside Elise a few metres ahead.

You know,” Corrin began. Her voice sounded so loud in the darkness. “You don’t have to fight with Leo all the time. You’re not going to die if you agree on something once in a while.”

“Me?” Takumi scoffed. She could hear the disdain in his voice. “I’m not the one who starts it. Maybe I wouldn’t hate him so much if he didn’t act like he’s so superior.” Corrin refrained from rolling her eyes, and glanced ahead to Leo. She wondered if he could hear them, and decidedly lowered her voice.

“Maybe if you spoke to each other for more ten seconds you’d find that you’re not so different.”

“Not so different? To him?” He sounded almost amused through the layer of disgust in his voice.

“You’re both the youngest Prince. That’s got to count for something.”

“Not much.”

“All right, then you both chose different weapons than your elder brothers.”

“And?”

“Well, you chose the bow, and Leo chose magic. They both require concentration and a fine hand. I’m sure you’ll find that wielding magic is as challenging as wielding a bow.”

Takumi grew silent at that, as if thinking. After a moment, he asked, “Why do you care if we get along?”

Corrin swallowed the sting she felt at his question. Why do you care? “From my experience, you’re hard to get along with at first, Takumi,” Corrin said pointedly. “If I didn’t put in the effort, things would’ve been different.”

“That’s because–!” Takumi stumbled through his words. “That’s different!” His voice faltered and Corrin wished she could see his face in the dark. She could imagine the blush on his cheeks, the indignant look in his eyes.

She chuckled. “Is it?”

“Yes!” Takumi squawked, making her laugh again. “I didn’t… I didn’t hate you. I just… you were so different. I didn’t think we’d have anything in common, I didn’t know how to approach you.”

“There’s more to a getting to know a person than just what you have in common,” Corrin said, and bumped his shoulder with hers. “If you talk to Leo, you might just get along.”

She heard Takumi huff, and fell into silence again.

“Is it that hard?” Corrin probed.

“No.”

“Then…?”

“Why are you making such a big deal out of it?” Takumi huffed again. “It doesn’t matter if we get along or not.”

“You haven’t even put in any effort.”

“I’ve put in enough! Is it that hard for you to understand that I have no intention on being friends, or anything, with him?”

“Yes, it is!” Corrin balked. Anger was building in her hands, her skin tingling, hands flexing into fists. She knew it was her dragon blood. She knew the stone around her neck was faltering again. Frustration burned into tears in her eyes. She clenched her jaw and bit them back.

“Fine,” she huffed through gritted teeth. “Be stubborn. Don’t get along with Leo, or any Nohrian for that matter. I just hope you don’t regret it.” With that, she stormed away, and joined Azura at the front of the group.

Corrin avoided Takumi for a while after that, making herself busy with catching up with Kaze and Jakob, talking with Keaton and Kaden when they came back from their rounds. Soon, she fell into step besides Leo, who carried a sleeping Elise in his arms.

“Do you want me to take her?” Corrin asked, smiling at the content on Elise’s face.

“I’m fine,” Leo said. “And aren’t you supposed to rest your arm? I heard you fractured it again.”

Corrin huffed, feeling her cheeks heat in embarrassment. “What? Did Elise tell you?” she grumbled and rubbed the offending arm. “It’s not that bad. Really.”

“Hmm, really?” He raised a coy eyebrow. “Should I test it to make sure?”

“No!” Corrin stole her injured arm away, and took a wide step to the side. “Don’t you dare!”

Leo chuckled. “I think your reaction says enough.” He hefted Elise higher in his arms; she mumbled something in her sleep and snuggled her head into his chest.

“You’re horrible,” Corrin said through her smile, and poked her tongue out at him.

“If I couldn’t see through your lies, what kind of brother would that make me?” He had a smirk on his face, the kind that showed in his eyes, in the way the moonlight coloured his features. His words should have made Corrin happy. Instead, her heart faltered, her smile fell from her face.

Leo’s smile followed suit. “When did you find out?” he asked gently, lowering his voice. “That you weren’t truly related?”

Corrin’s eyes fell to the path, to the patches of grass and weeds they trampled. Their footsteps became a steady rhythm in the quiet night, broken only by the occasional conversation.

“A few days ago,” Corrin said.

Leo let out a low breath through his teeth. “I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

Corrin sighed. “I’m sure you can. It felt the same to find out we weren’t siblings.” Her eyes felt heavy, as if weights were tied to her eyes, pulling them down in her head. “Maybe I am too trusting. But I don’t regret any of it. I don’t regret trusting anyone, because I know what it’s like to be alone, to be labelled a traitor.”

“That’s because you have a kind heart,” Leo said. “You know, being near you has a sort of unexplainable soothing effect.”

Corrin huffed a short beat of laughter that left a terrible aftertaste in her mouth. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a compliment, Corrin.” Leo huffed lightly, shaking his head. “Something about you just draws people in and makes them trust you. And I’m not saying that as if it’s a bad thing.”

Corrin mulled over his words as they walked. “You think so?”

“I do. It’s why, despite your lack of experience, you’re such a natural leader.”

“I have more experience than people think,” Corrin said dryly.

That made Leo pause. “That’s true.”

“I wouldn’t have made it so far if I’d been alone through all of this,” Corrin admitted. “I had Jakob with me from the start. He was the first person I told.” She sought him out now with her eyes, feeling her heart settle at the familiar sight. “I owe a lot to him, to all my allies and friends.” She turned to Leo with a gentle smile. “To you, as well. If you hadn’t convinced Xander or shown him the crystal… I owe you a lot.”

“Too true,” Leo said, giving her a smirk. “In fact, showing a bit more gratitude wouldn’t be out of line.”

“Leo!” Corrin scoffed. “You’re the worst!” she laughed then, finding herself relaxing, and elbowed her brother.

He laughed in return for a moment, before sobering and saying, “You know, I always thought that true strength comes from standing alone, from enduing hardships with your own power. But now… I see that was a misunderstanding born of my own arrogance.”

“Leo…”

“You’re one of the strongest people I know, Corrin. And it’s your strength that allows you to depend on others.” When a smile returned to his face, it was soft, one Corrin had never seen him wear before. “It’s also what makes you incredibly nosy.”

Corrin scoffed. “And here I thought you were complimenting me.”

Leo laughed. “Perhaps. I just happened to overhear you talking with Prince Takumi earlier.”

“Don’t remind me.” Corrin sighed in frustration. “I just thought it’d be nice if you two got along, that’s all. I mean, just look at Elise and Sakura. They get along as if there wasn’t even a war!”

Leo smiled down at Elise in his arms. “I suppose we could take a page out of their book.”

“Even Xander and Ryoma don’t act like they’re about to tear each other’s heads off,” Corrin said. “Is that really too much to ask?”

“Allegiances aren’t forged in a day,” Leo said. “Neither are friendships.”

“Could you at least try? For me?”

“I can’t make any promises,” Leo sighed. “But I will try, at least. For you.”

His assurance wasn’t enough to make her smile, or ease the worry in her gut. She only nodded, and focused on the journey ahead.

The scenery changed as they neared the beginnings of dawn, the fractured sky slowly awakening above them. Great chasms cut the ground into separate floating islands, with frail suspension bridges strung between them. The village they were after sat across a great cleft in the land, a single bridge spanning the gap.

“We have to cross this bridge to get to the village,” Anthony said. They came to a stop before the bridge, before the deep canyon that split the earth. Corrin leant over it, peering down and expecting darkness, only to find an expanse of sky and white clouds below.

“That bridge looks fairly old,” Jakob noted. He studied the ropes, the wooden planks, all with a stern look on his face. Corrin glanced to the bridge, to her allies, to Anthony.

“We’ll be all right!” Anthony beamed with a smile. “Probably.”

“Very encouraging,” Kaze remarked, raising an eyebrow. Leo sighed, before gently rousing Elise from sleep. He lowered her to the ground, making sure she could stand before pulling back his hands. Elise rubbed the sleep from her eyes, blinking blearily at the pre-dawn sky.

“Is this the only way over?” Takumi asked. He folded his arms, frowning at the bridge, at Anthony. He met Corrin’s eyes for barely a moment, before looking away.

“There’s another bridge like this one,” Anthony said. “But it’s a few hours from here. If it will reassure you all, I’ll cross first! I know it’s safe, so I’ll prove it to you!” Without another word, Anthony bolted for the bridge.

“Hey!” Takumi cried after him. “Get back here! Don’t run off!”

The bridge shook and wobbled as the young man ran across, but Anthony crossed it without fault. He stood on the other side, waving with a smile on his face. “Look, everyone! It’s fine!” The bridge swayed for a moment longer before stilling.

“Hmm,” Leo sounded. “I suppose it looks all right.”

“We don’t really have another option,” Corrin said and stepped onto the first plank. She took hold of the rope railings as the bridge swayed. She glanced back to her allies, forcing a smile. “Let’s go.”

Kaze and Jakob were right behind her, followed by Keaton and Kaden. The wolfskin bristled at the height and tugged on Kaden’s sleeve as they crossed. Kaden seemed to enjoy the view, leaning over the ropes to the shock of many.

Elise, still sleepy, crossed ahead of Leo. She yawned softly, covering her open mouth with a hand, the other gripping the rope. Behind them, Takumi stepped onto the bridge, staring off into the distance.

The bridge itself was relatively stable, save for when rouge gusts of wind rattled and swayed it beneath their feet. Though there were wooden planks missing, and many creaked beneath their weight, it held fast as Corrin reached the other side. She couldn’t help but sigh in relief as her feet touched solid ground. Anthony smiled up at her, eyes glinting brightly.

“See? I told you it was safe,” he said, and Corrin gave him a short smile in return.

“Is that the village we’re after?” Jakob asked as he stepped off the bridge. His gaze shot past Corrin and Anthony, to the worn buildings on the horizon.

“Yup,” Anthony said with a nod. “We’re almost there.”

“If all goes well, we should be back before nightfall,” Kaze said. He stepped off the bridge and came beside Corrin. Keaton dashed the remaining distance, skidding to a halt a great ways from the chasm.

“If you were scared I could’ve held your hand,” Kaden said, cocking his head.

“I-I wasn’t scared!” Keaton huffed defiantly. “I wasn’t scared at all!” The pink on his cheeks said otherwise.

Elise giggled as she stepped off, skipping onto solid ground. Leo followed with a brief shake of his head, a smile curling his lips. Corrin glanced back to the bridge, to Takumi, and caught the moment panic rushed over his face.

A sickening crunch sounded from the planks beneath his feet. He caught her eyes, wide with blatant fear, mouth opening with a cry. The ropes slackened. The wooden poles holding the bridge bent and cracked. Panic reared up Corrin’s throat as a scream.

“Takumi!” He was barely a few steps from the end of the bridge. A few steps too many. Leo turned at Corrin’s cry, Elise gasping as the planks beneath Takumi buckled and broke.

The bridge, and Takumi, fell from view.

Corrin screamed. She shot past Jakob, bolted between Elise and Leo, and sank to her knees at the edge of the cliff. All she saw was the faint light reflecting from the sky below. The remains of the bridge disappearing into the white clouds.

She couldn’t breathe. Air froze in her lungs, tainted with the metallic scent of magic, and burned. She tilted forward. Wished to fall, to follow her brother, as hot, hot tears filled her eyes.

A groan split the silence. A groan she knew, one so vivid that it shattered her panic and her heart sped. She leant further over the cliff, fingers holding firm onto the earth, no longer wishing to fall. When she saw him, her heart screamed with joy. A hand clasped her shoulder and she glanced up, to see Leo smiling with relief at her.

Takumi hung in a tangle of branches a few metres down the cliff. He sat awkwardly, the thick, dark branches weaving through his legs and arms like a misshapen net.

“Oh my Gods,” Corrin breathed, grateful that she was kneeling, as all her strength left her with a flood of relief. “Leo, you genius.”

He gave a short laugh. “It’s nice to be recognised sometimes.”

Takumi grunted. “Can we put off those thanks until I’m no longer hanging over an abyss?”

Corrin leant over the chasm again, unable to hold back her smile. “Let’s get you out of there.”

It took a few more clever spells from Leo to get Takumi up on solid ground again. Corrin promptly hugged him, quickly pulling him into her arms, wrapping her own around his neck.

“I thought I lost you,” she said into his ear, only loud enough so he could hear. She pulled him tightly against her, ignoring the stares, smiles and knowing looks her friends were giving her. Takumi flustered in her arms. His cheeks burned brightly for all to see and he squeezed his eyes shut as if that could block out their pointed stares.

“W-Well, I’m fine now,” he said, cursing the way his voice wobbled. His heart was thundering in his ears, seemingly pumping all his blood to his cheeks, ears, and neck. He gave her back a gentle, curt pat. How he wished he could just hug her back, bury his nose into her neck, her hair, and fully enjoy this moment. How he wanted to wrap his arms around her, to pull her close enough so she could feel the rapid pace of his heart and know how he felt.

Instead, he stood still, and let only a single hand reassure her with a gentle pat. When she stepped away and smiled brightly at him, he wished he could drain the blood from his face. His blush was in full view, from his neck to his ears. He coughed into his hand to clear his throat. It felt too tight. Too dry.

Takumi forced himself to turn to Leo without a scowl, without frowning. “I guess… I owe you one,” he said, albeit sheepishly. “You saved my life.”

Leo tilted his head, a smug glint in his eyes. “Of course. There was nothing to it.”

“That would’ve been a long drop,” Anthony remarked. His tone was light-hearted, as if Takumi didn’t just have a near-death experience.

“How are you so calm after what just happened?” Jakob questioned, coming to stand beside Corrin with his arms folded. “That bridge could’ve collapsed with Milady on it! She could have very well been harmed.”

“Just ignoring the fact that I was on it when it collapsed…” Takumi muttered. “But I agree with Jakob. And how do we know it wasn’t you that made it collapse in the first place?”

“Why would I do that?” Anthony blanched. “You all saved my life before!”

“You’re could be a spy for the Vallite forces,” Takumi said, cutting him a glare.

“Takumi!” Corrin chided. “That bridge was old and worn. It could’ve collapsed at any time. You can blame that on Anthony.”

“You’re protecting him?” Takumi scoffed.

“Yes!” Corrin folded her arms, stood up to Takumi. “Someone has to.”

“Corrin,” Azura said softly, touching her arm. “We can discuss this later. For now, we should focus on finding you a dragonstone.”

Corrin met Takumi’s eyes for a moment longer before cutting away with a sharp sigh. “Fine. Let’s head to the village.”

They were met with resistance as soon as they approached the village. Vallite soldiers spilled from the buildings, from the surrounding hills. Corrin was glad she made the decision to include Leo and Elise in her group now, as well as Takumi.

“Get ready,” Corrin called, drawing her Yato. “We’re in for a fight.”

Elise brought forth a fire tome, holding the book up with a grin. “I’m ready!”

Corrin blinked down at her, stunned, and couldn’t help but wonder when Elise had started training with magic. That thought was quickly swallowed as the first Vallite soldiers reached them. Corrin focused on her sword, not the burning of her dragonstone against her chest, and lunged.

The sounds of battle drowned everything out. The tang of metal, of magic and blood, filled the air. Corrin met steel with fury, fighting back-to-back with her allies. She had Jakob by her side, Kaze not far off. Keaton and Kaden fought in tandem, a flurry of teeth and claws. Any fear she had of the Kitsune had faded completely, even as he tackled a soldier by her flank, digging razor-sharp teeth into their neck. Corrin hardly blinked at the spray of blood, that final gurgle, and continued fighting.

When the fighting calmed and only the fizzle of magic remained, Corrin sheathed her sword to find her allies staring.

“What?” she asked, frowning, and caught their eyes shooting to the top of her head, to just behind her legs. She turned to see a large silver tail swish behind her. Corrin huffed, reaching up to find two pointed horns sticking up from her head. “Seriously? And I didn’t even use my dragonstone.” Corrin stole her attention from her allies and looked around the remains of the village. The buildings had no windows. There were doors and roofs missing. Some only had three walls, the other collapsed and crushing everything inside.

The sight did nothing to instil any hope in her.

Corrin sighed and turned back to her allies. “Is anyone injured?” She noted both Keaton and Kaden had flecks of blood in their fur, but only Kaden was limping. Leo was unharmed, as was Elise, but Kaze had sustained a small graze to his thigh. “Elise, if you wouldn’t mind?”

Elise beamed a smile. “Just leave it to me!”

Corrin returned the smile as Takumi came up beside her. His eyes went straight to her horns, before flicking to her eyes. Corrin swallowed and willed her body to return to normal. She waited a breath, glanced back to see her tail still here. When she reached up to find her horns still in place, she sighed again.

Her stomach flopped when she tried again and nothing happened. She felt no pull from her dragonstone, only a numb coldness. Her body disobeyed her. She tried again and again to return to normal, only to find that her hands had patches of silver scales scattered over her skin. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest. It wasn’t working.

Corrin stole away from her group, calling back to them, “I’m going to search for a dragonstone. Anyone who’s not injured, please help.”

They ended up scattered throughout the village, digging through piles of rubble and the remains of buildings. Corrin found a range of interesting trinkets, a few dolls, shattered plates, torn clothes, some jewellery, but no dragonstones. She went from building to building, lifting planks of wood, crouching beneath slanted walls, to no avail.

Soon, the dawn sun cut across the sky, and Corrin had run out of hope. She sat in the shade of a half-collapsed building, in sight of her allies, and stared down at her hands. She raised one up, catching the light, and the scales sparkled. More scales had spread across her hand, reaching down past her wrist. Soon, it wouldn’t be long until she had claws instead of hands.

She heard Takumi approach before she saw him. He came up beside her, just in the edge of her vision, and stood silently in the quiet morning. She glanced at him, to see a patch of blood on his right shoulder.

“Takumi, is that…? Are you injured?” she asked, sitting straighter, taller. He didn’t meet her eyes and she huffed, knowing she was right. “If you won’t let Elise heal you, then I guess I can try.”

“You?” Takumi blinked down at her, sitting when she motioned for him to. Corrin drew forth a staff, giving him an eager, gentle smile.

“Elise and Sakura taught me,” she said bashfully. “I’m not very good at it, though.”

“As long as you don’t turn my skin purple or something,” Takumi teased.

Corrin scoffed in mock offence. “If you say that again I just might. Take off your shirt.”

Takumi stared at her, cheeks colouring, before he worked off his clothing to reveal a jagged gash on his shoulder. It was right where she’d clawed at his skin before. Corrin sucked in a tight breath at the sight. Beneath the flap of skin she could see the tell-tale red of muscle. Whatever had done this to him had torn through his skin into the muscle. Her hands tightened around the staff as she brought it closer to the open wound. All she’d healed before was a tiny scrape. Nothing of this magnitude. Nothing this serious.

“Maybe… maybe Jakob should have a look at this,” Corrin offered, biting down on her bottom lip. She winced as her fangs dug into it instead of teeth.

“It’s fine,” Takumi said. “Just do what you can.”

Corrin clenched her jaw, focused on the wound, and wove her magic. A soft light fell over them, brushing over Takumi’s skin, forcing the two ends together. There was nothing neat about her fix. The torn flesh was red and puckered, and Corrin knew that what she’d healed had been superficial and nothing more. She focused again, bringing herself and the staff closer to Takumi’s shoulder. Takumi stiffened and Corrin retracted her staff quickly.

“Sorry, did that hurt?” she asked, searching his eyes for any discomfort. He didn’t meet her eyes for the first moment, but when he did, she noticed the red colouring his cheeks. “Takumi?”

“It didn’t hurt,” he said stiffly. “Just continue.” He hung his head, stealing his gaze from her as she continued. She touched the wound as she worked, feeling the stiff edges come together, feeling the muscle beneath weave itself back into place.

Soon enough, Corrin knew both she and Takumi were at their limits. She put away her staff and began wrapping his shoulder in the fine, white bandages she’d packed before they left. She felt Takumi’s eyes on her now, but kept her own trained on his shoulder. She tried not to touch his bare skin but whenever she did, whenever her fingers brushed his shoulder or arm, she wished she could ignore the buzz that erupted inside her.

She couldn’t ignore the fact that they were alone. That it was quiet, not a breath of conversation happening between them, and that her allies were barely in sight. And Takumi was watching her.

When she finished bandaging his arm, she leant back and met his gaze. Her hands slipped from his shoulder and she drew a finger down his bicep slowly, deliberately. He jolted beneath her touch.

“What?” he gaped, brushing where her finger had touched.

Corrin suppressed a smile. “Nothing,” she sang teasingly. “I’ve just never seen you like this before. All exposed.”

Takumi scowled, as if that would steal the heat from his face.

“You’re very lean,” Corrin remarked.

Takumi was desperately trying not to splutter, to fluster under her gaze. “I-I know I don’t have a lot of muscle. So what?”

“You have enough,” Corrin laughed. She poked his bicep, before giving it a teasing squeeze. “Right here.”

“H-Hey!” Takumi yanked his arm out of her reach. He glared at her now, though it didn’t have the effect he wanted as his cheeks were still a stunning crimson.

“Sorry,” Corrin laughed again. “Couldn’t help myself.”

Takumi grumbled and pulled his clothes back on. As he did, his hands dug around in his pocket. “So… I found this, but I’m not sure if it’s what you’re looking for,” he said, holding out a small, blue stone. It was half the size of his palm and dazzled, even in the shade.

Corrin’s breath left her lungs. She snatched it up, instantly feeling a pull of magic, a feather-light touch that flooded her body. A soft light wove around her hands, her horns and tail, as they faded away and she returned to normal. Her eyes, wide and full of tears, rose to meet his.

She breathed a beat of laughter, of complete and utter surprise. “You found one.” Her voice was so light, so full of life, it stole Takumi’s breath. All he could do was nod. All he could do was stare into her eyes as she laughed. She replaced the dragonstone around her neck with the one he’d found, and stood.

“We have to let everyone know,” she said, still smiling. A new light had come to her face, to her eyes. It had Takumi’s heart fluttering in his chest. “Thank you,” she said and pulled him into a quick hug, before skipping over to the rest of her allies.

She didn’t see that she’d left Takumi standing there, frozen, with a brilliant, burning flush on his cheeks. And he was smiling, even as he hid it from the world behind a hand.

The journey back felt just as long, if not longer. Corrin found that she didn’t mind, that everything felt easier, lighter, with the new dragonstone snuggly around her neck. She kept touching it, drawing it out into the open just to stare. As if it was just a dream. And every time, the sight had her smiling.

When they reached the caverns again, it wasn’t long until they were to set out again. This time, their destination would be Gyges, the Vallite capital, where Anankos would be. Their path took them into the mouth of a valley, the mountains on either side rising tall and thick with trees. A thin ridge ran along one of the mountain. The most direct route would be straight through the valley, but there were already signs of Vallite soldiers.

It was too quiet. No birds or insects sounded in the afternoon light. Corrin and her allies stopped behind the remains of a building as some soldiers came into view. They headed into the valley from the mountain on the opposite side. Flickers of purple, a tell-tale sign of more soliders, appeared between the trees.

“They’re in the trees as well,” Corrin noted, slipping back behind cover. “If we take the valley path we’ll be sitting ducks.”

“Then we take the mountain path,” Hinoka offered. “And throw down anyone who gets in our way.”

“The path is too narrow,” Leo said. He folded his arms, deep in thought. “We’d have to go single-file, and with an army this large we’d be just as vulnerable.”

“How about we do both?” Corrin said, working through the plan in her mind. “We send some people up the mountain path. Those with range, who can attack from afar. Like Leo, Elise, Takumi, Niles. Any mages or archers. The rest of us take the valley path. Those up the mountain can give us cover.”

“We’re going to split up?” Takumi blanched.

“That does sound like our best option,” Xander agreed.

“I think so too,” Ryoma said, nodding. “Kagero and Saizo can scout the mountain path and help with cover.”

“Then it’s decided,” Corrin said, cementing it with a nod. “Let’s get ready to move out.”

Those who were heading up the mountain path consisted of the archers, Takumi, Niles, Mozu, Shura and Setsuna; the mages, Leo, Nyx, Odin, Hayato, Elise and Orochi. Azama would join them to give them an extra healer. As Ryoma had ordered, Saizo and Kagero were to take the mountain path as well.

The rest would follow Corrin through the valley.

Before they departed, Corrin found Takumi scowling at the opening to the valley.

“You can glare at it all you want, it’s not going away,” she said as she approached. His scowl faded into a forlorn glaze.

“I don’t like any of this,” Takumi huffed. “I don’t see why I have to go up the mountain as well.

“We need you up there,” Corrin said. “I need you up there. You’re the best marksman we have.” She gave his shoulder a nudge, but he shook off the gesture.

“Still…” he glanced at her. He wanted to tell her that it was her he wanted to be with. That he didn’t want to go up there, away from her, unable to be by her side, unable to fight by her side. He sighed, knowing how pathetic that sounded. He could protect her just as well up there.

He would protect her just as well, if not better, from up there.

“Takumi,” Corrin said, catching his attention. “I want you to have this.” She held out her dragonstone – her old one, with the fracture glaring up at him as expansive as always.

“What? Why?” Takumi asked, but held out his hands, their fingers brushing as she handed it over.

“No reason,” Corrin said, shrugging. “I just… felt like I needed to give you something. Like a charm.” She laughed. “Stay safe, okay? I’ll see you at the other side.”

She gave him a final wave and hurried off to her team. Takumi stared at her retreating figure, the dragonstone in his hand. It held a faint warmth, a remnant of her body heat. He cupped his fingers around it and slipped it into his pocket.

At Corrin’s order, their group split, and a moment later were under attack. Arrows and magic burst from the trees as Corrin had predicted, and the Vallite soldiers they saw heading into the valley turned around to fight.

As soon as their enemies in the trees outed their positions when they attacked, Corrin’s allies hit back from the mountain path. Those in the valley fought their way through, over rocks and fallen trees, under a hail of arrows and magic. The terrain was rough but with Corrin’s new dragonstone around her neck, she took to it in her dragon form like a fish to water. Keaton and Kaden seemed just as at home, shooting around the valley in their Kitsune and Wolfskin forms.

Corrin’s muscles and blood sung with battle. Her movements felt lighter than ever. She fought alongside Ryoma and Xander, as the line between Hoshidan and Nohrian blurred through the fight. They fought as one. As allies. As friends.

And her plan was working. Vibrant arrows of a blazing blue shot down enemies in the trees, alongside bursts of magic. The end of the valley was in sight. She called out their victory before a thunderous rumble tore through the earth. The ground shook beneath them. It was jarring, as if the very earth was alive.

And then the mountains began to rain boulders. Chunks of earth split from the side of the mountains. The path they’d come from vanished under colossal boulders.

“Run!” Corrin cried, shielding herself as fist-sized rocks rained down over them. “Get to the end of the valley!”

She bolted for the wedge of sky before them, casting a quick, final glance over her shoulder to her allies on the mountain path, just in time to see them swallowed by a wave of rocks and trees. She cried out, skidding to a halt as she scanned the path. Or what was left of it. Clouds of rubble, of sand and dirt, filled the air, blocking it from sight.

They were gone.

And she had to run. She turned as an arrow flew dangerously close to her shoulder, and made for the end of the valley.

She couldn’t look back. Not even as tears blurred her vision, as a sob tore from her throat.

She couldn’t look back.

#fire emblem #takumi #corrin #takukamu #takurrin #rebirth #fire emblem fates #misskikuwrites #HAPPY THIRTIETH CHAPTER #can't believe we got this far lmao #WHAT AM I DOING WITH THIS STORY

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