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Chapter Text

At first, Soren thinks the bird is something like the grim reaper.  An angel of death, here to guide him to the afterlife.  It’s about damn time, really, because he is so hungry he’s been eating strange plants and the world is so hazy it might as well not even be real.  But the bird chirps at him and lands on his shoulder.  He tries to grab it and eat it, but it dodges and continues to sing.  The song is soothing, but maybe that’s because at least something isn’t throwing rocks at him or pretending he doesn’t exist.  

He closes his eyes and rests under a large tree.  The bird continues to sing.  A funeral dirge.  Fine.  He could be done.

“Hi!”  

Soren is too weak to jump, but adrenaline starts up anyway at the sight of a young boy running up to him.  Shit, he must be too close to the town.  But in his defense, it seems like everything is ‘too close to town.’  He curls up on himself, hoping the boy will go.

The boy doesn’t, but he starts to walk instead and he looks very nervous.  “Um… hi?  Are you okay?”  Soren doesn’t answer, because he doesn’t know how, but the bird changes from singing to chirping.  The boy looks at it, frowning, before returning his gaze to him.  “I’m Ike, I hope we can be friends!”  He says this with a soft whisper.  “Um, here, you look hungry.”  He holds out a sandwich.

Soren is terrified.  This is not the first time someone has played this trick on him.  But… this boy is alone, not holding any rocks, not with any dogs… and there’s something about him.  He just seems… genuine.  How… odd.  

The bird chirps.  It seems to say, Trust him.  

Soren is not so easily convinced.  But, the boy doesn’t leave, and Soren realizes that if he doesn’t eat, he’s going to die anyway.  

So, he takes it, and eats it.  

He has no idea what the sandwich even tastes like, that’s how fast he eats the damn thing.  He chokes twice but forces himself through it.  The boy - Ike, he looks impressed.  “Wow, and I thought I eat fast!  You must’ve been really hungry!  Hmmm… You should come with me!  My mama makes good food, and you could use a bath.”

Go with?  No, no way.  The last time he went with someone, he ended up essentially being the slave to an old man.  Yes he learned a lot of magic from it, but still.  He shakes his head.

Ike looks disappointed.  “Why not?  We’re friends now!”  Then he perks up, looking back to town.  “Aw man, time to go in already?”  He looks back to him, and now that Soren has some food in his system he finds himself memorizing the boy’s face.  Blue hair, blue eyes, spark of life and kindness, also has scraped knees and a big stick.  Ike.  Why is he memorizing him?  

Oh… because no one has ever been this nice to him before.  

“Okay, so I gotta go, but I’ll come back tomorrow, okay?  Bye!”  The boy beams and runs off, yelling to someone that he’s on the way.

It’s back to Soren and the bird, now.  But the world is different, somehow.  What is this strange feeling?

Hope, he hears.  He looks around, terrified again, but there is no one else here.  He must be going insane.

So be it, if he is.  But he has to be here tomorrow.  And to do that, he has to live.

He has to live.

The boy - Ike, Soren keeps the name in his head like a mantra, his name is Ike - does not come back the next day.  But Soren certainly can’t judge him for it, because the town is filled with corpses, and it definitely wasn’t like that yesterday.  It is the most valid excuse he can think of for Ike to not show up again.  Sane people would be running away from this as fast as possible.

So of course Soren goes into town, ironically more comfortable now than he ever was before.  Dead people don’t throw rocks.  He is, however, highly anxious to find a certain little boy with blue hair.  He does not want to see him here.  

The bird flies overhead before settling in a nearby tree. Soren inspects each and every body, taking valuable items as he does so.  But while there are children among the dead, there is no Ike.

So there is still hope.

The bird lands on a nearby food stall, and Soren takes the hint.  He eats his fill of whatever he finds, becoming full for the first time in his life, and puts the rest into a bag that he can barely carry.  Then the bird flitters to a tree again, chirping, then to the next. It wants him to follow it.  Are all birds this… helpful?  But it wants to go east, and there is this feeling that east is the right way to go.

So Soren starts the journey, for the first time not alone, and for the first time with hope in his soul.

Chapter Text

Soren is aware of a few things.  

First, he is a spirit charmer, but also not a spirit charmer.  The old sage said no, but the monks and priests here believe he is.  He believes the old man was correct, because he does not recall ever signing any pact.  But he can read between the lines, and he realizes that the only reason the monastery will house him is because he is a spirit charmer, so he will embrace the ruse for now.

Second, the boy - Ike, Ike, Ike - is not a priest, because he isn’t here.  It’s weird to think he might have been, but honestly since Soren has no information about him other than “nice,” what’s to say he wasn’t?  There are young acolytes here so it isn’t out of the question.

Three, speaking is hard work.  They are teaching him, and he repays them with transcription and magic, and it is a good match for both.  But he goes to bed every night with exhaustion.  

Fourth, he can respect the devotion of the clergy, but the idea of an all-powerful Goddess is too far-fetched for him.  She definitely exists, given the presence of holy magic, but…. She’s supposed to punish sinners, and violence is a sin, so where has she been the last few years?  But he certainly isn’t going to bring it up.  The last thing he needs is to be kicked out for heresy.

And fifth, it is not normal for a bird to be so attached to a person, but the little orange songbird is still with him, in a nest in the tree outside his window.  She sings the same song every time, and now that Soren has mental resources to spare on such things, he finds it repetitive and irritating.  He’s learned to whistle so he can try to convince her to sing something else for once, but no luck so far.  He always makes sure to spare some of his bread for her, although everything inside him curses him out for not eating it all.

It’s the dawn of a new day, and it starts the same as it always does: with the clanging of the church bells and the trilling of the bird outside his window.  He’s not sure which is more annoying. He is the only boy in the cots still sleeping.  He gets up for the daily chores, as he knows to.  Some things never change, even if he very much wishes he could sleep in. 

But some things do change, and today the bird flies in the window and lands on his dresser.  It sings the same song as always, but it’s looking right at him now.  

“What?” Some of the priests and monks talk to the cats and dogs in the monastery, so surely he isn’t weird for talking to his stalker bird?

She continues to sing, swaying as she does so.  Soren is baffled but curious. “Seriously, what do you want?”

Yune . 

“Who said that?” Soren demands, looking around his room and his body preparing for a fight.  But there is no one here.  “What?” He looks back to the bird, which continues to sing.  There’s only one conclusion here.

The bird talked to him. 

The bird talked to him.  

Strangely, he can’t help but find that funny.  He starts laughing, over and over, because he is clearly insane and why wouldn’t he be?  

It’s time to go.

He forces himself to calm, although he can’t resist a few more giggles.  Now that he’s paying attention, talked isn’t the right word - it was in his head.  So maybe he’s not crazy, and this bird is unordinary.  

“Yune?” he said, remembering her earlier ‘word.’  This gets him enthusiastic singing.  “Your name?”  The singing continues.  “Okay then… um… time to go?”  He considers.  Safety has been finally attained here, and he’s loathe to leave it.  But he’s older, stronger, can talk, and has learned some botany so he can pick actual edible plants in case of an emergency.  Plus he can be a “spirit charmer” to get by.  Maybe she’s right.  But… where would he go?   

He closes his eyes, thinking.  There is an impulse.  Northeast.  He needs to go northeast.  

“Northeast?” he asks the bird, unsure why.  The tweeting is not illuminating, but it also doesn’t seem to say ‘no.’  “All right.  I guess I’m trying this.”  He packs up his meager belongings and just leaves.  He hadn’t formed any real bonds with the people here, so he doesn’t feel bad going without a word.  

Once on the path outside, he turns to look back at the church.  He may not be religious, but he outside a monastery, so he finds it somewhat appropriate to pray to the Goddess he doesn’t care about that he will eventually find Ike.  

Chapter Text

Soren is weird.  Not that Ike judges!  But he randomly appeared one day already knowing Ike’s name, he’s secretive and somber, high-strung and well-organized, has stepped in as Ike’s shadow, and… he talks to birds.  

Well, Soren would argue with that.  He’d say I talk to a bird and largely against my will, but that doesn’t really make it any less weird.  Especially since the bird has a name and that bird told Soren the name.  So yeah, the bird talks back.  Super weird.

“It’s your own fault for being an idiot,” he can hear Soren say as he walks toward their bedroom.  All the mercenaries have a roommate, and his is Soren.  It’s nice, because Soren is neat and calm and pretty.  The bird chirping every morning is annoying, but Soren threatening it every morning makes it worth it.  Ike walks in and finds Soren sitting on the bottom bunk with a small box he’s filled with part of one of his shirts.  “Honestly, you’re lucky you didn’t smash your skull in.  Not that you have a brain that would be affected…”

“Who are you talking to?” Ike has to ask, even though he knows the answer.

“This moron,” he says, gently picking up the tiny orange songbird and placing it in the box, tucking it in.  “Dumbass flew into a window.” 

Ike winces, because he’s seen some birds do that and wind up dead.  “You’d think she would know what glass is…”

“Her brain is the size of a pea.”  The bird tiredly chirps.  “Well unless I crack open your skull, how am I supposed to know how big it actually is?”  He picks up a tiny amount of birdseed on his palm and holds it to her.  As she eats it, Ike melts on the inside.  He almost calls Soren out for being an enormous softy, but he’s too busy falling in love with him to do it.  “There, you ignoramus.  Sleep it off and pay attention next time you go flying.”  He puts the box behind his pillow, out of sight.  Then he sighs and looks up at Ike.  “Why are you staring at me?”

“Nothing, sorry.  Just… should you really be so mean to her?  I can’t imagine what her self-esteem must be like.”

Soren scoffs as he stands, brushing himself off.  “She’s a bird.  They don’t understand us.”

“She talks to you, though.”

“And she deserves all the insults I send her way,” he says, finally not arguing (lying) that he doesn’t hear her.  They are way past that.  Apparently Yune’s been his constant companion for eight years, and Ike’s seen them interact for five of those years.  There’s no hiding the fact that the bird talks to him.  Which is, as Ike mentioned earlier, super weird, even if he is used to it.

“So what are you thinking about that other mercenary team?” Ike asks, nervous at the answer.  Another group came through and requested to hire Soren as a mystic and a scholar, an apparently rare combination, to do some research for them in the libraries of Melior.  A big opportunity that Soren, a nerd, clearly found interesting, even if it made Ike fret at the idea.  “I know it’s a big deal, but you’d be gone for so long…”

“Only a month or two,” he says quietly, looking concerned, and Ike fleetingly hopes it means he won’t go.  Selfish, yes, but they’ve been together for five years.  Ike isn’t sure what he’d do without him.  “I’m still not sure.  It’s something that might never happen again, and I do have some things that I want to look up… plus we could use the money… but I don’t want to leave for so long.”

It is relieving that he’s not the only one attached.  Then again, Soren is closed off to everyone but Ike, so it shouldn’t be too shocking that he feels the same way.  Ike wholeheartedly embraced their bond, but Soren is the one who made it in the first place.

Ike wants to volunteer to go, but that’s months he wouldn’t get to spend training and he knows that would set him back badly.  He’s still not able to land a hit on his dad and that’s with the constant sparring to hone his skills.  He’d never get on the team if he took that long of a break.  “We’ll, I’d miss you a lot, but I guess it just gives me a reason to practice my writing,” he says, hoping he’s not blushing.  “I can use my chores money to send letters.”

Soren does blush, which is gratifying.  Ike is about half sure that Soren has feelings for him too, but he’s not brave enough to test that yet.  Too much to lose if he’s wrong.  “I’d like that,” he says softly.

“And it’ll be nice to sleep in,” he has to joke.  “Although I’ll miss you threatening to murder your bird every morning.”  That was mean.  He’ll probably even miss Yune and her limited song selection.  Even if it’s super weird that her song is the same song as his mom’s lullaby, the one Mist hums all the time even if Ike can’t remember his mom actually singing it.  He can’t remember much, honestly.  

“I wouldn’t know what sleeping in is like,” he says darkly.  

“Some day you’ll get to.  Probably.”

“If she ever gets slow enough for me to get her with the fly swatter…  I’ll give her credit where credit is due, she is an excellent dodger.”

Ike laughs a little as they go to talk to his dad, and tries to not be too sad at Soren leaving.  He’ll come back.  Ike knows it.

Research is going well.  He’s found out everything that his benefactors want from him, and has been looking up more information on what’s wrong with himself.  The thing about him that made everyone hate him, before he could just tell people he was a spirit charmer.  Plenty of people had called it a curse.

After he had left that dead village, Yune had eventually led him to a monastery.  The monks there had helped him by teaching him to speak, cleaning him up and nursing him back to help.  They had said he was a spirit charmer, and he had a feeling that if they hadn’t thought that then they wouldn’t have helped him.  But the old sage specifically said he wasn’t a spirit charmer.  He isn’t even entirely sure what a spirit charmer is.

So, it stands to reason that his birthmark, which he has noted no one else has, is connected to his being cursed.  But what is it?  And is it somehow related to Yune?  No one else understands her like he does, and he can’t get her to go away.  Even when she flies off, she always comes back.  Like bedbugs.  

Speaking of Yune, she flies into the room, trilling loudly.  He’s never heard such a noise from her, and it sets him on edge immediately.  Something is very wrong, very very wrong, even if everyone else in the library glares at him for the interruption to the silence.  Every single one of his instincts is telling him to run, and the bird going uncharacteristically crazy hammers that home.  He gathers his belongings and immediately leaves the library, heading west.

Melior is sacked that same day, invaded by an army in all black.  

Chapter Text

Yune likes the Greil Mercenaries.  They are a chaotic bunch for sure, and her little porcupine fits right in with them. They’re a lot of fun.  The perfect found family!

First, there is Greil himself.  She knows he had touched her medallion and lost his mind all those years ago.  She can feel the residual energy in his aura, as well as the sorrow.  She isn’t sure why her aura affects people like that.  Not everyone becomes violent, but most do and it is sad.  But still Greil is a genuine guy, very calm and dependable, and good in a crisis.  

Titania is very sweet, reminding Yune of Altina - motherly and kind, with an undercurrent of danger.  A mother bear.  But she also has sadness in her aura.  Unrequited love, poor thing.

Shinon is a jerk, but Yune likes him all the same.  He is much like her porcupine in that way.  Although she does not condone his racism.  Although to be fair, while he hates laguz, he also hates most beorc too.  Also she does not appreciate him using her for target practice, even if it is fun to show off her sweet dodging skills.

Gatrie is just hopeless.  He means well, but is so dopey!  He has no swag whatsoever.  Completely swagless.  Negative swag.  Also she still judges him from when he had a short stint trying to start his own business by selling someone else’s products and recruiting people.  So, so stupid.

Rhys is the ultimate culmination of human sin.  He is disturbed, degenerate, and horrifying.  There is something seriously wrong with him.  

Oscar is the best, because he’s the one who planted an herb and flower garden and there’s all the sunflowers and they are tasty!  She does not like his horse, though.  

Boyd is very silly as well.  He tries hard, but he’s pretty dumb.  

Rolf is her second least favorite, because he’s a kid and they run and play and he found one of her nests and ruined it!! The AUDACITY.  

Then there’s Mist, and Yune likes her a lot.  Yune’s godly essence is asleep in the medallion that Mist somehow has, and the girl is a perfect caretaker for it.  Although a bit pitchy.  Yune only recently “woke up,” so she’s not sure how Mist got her, but the steady decline in hair length and singing talent of her bearers has been very sad.  At least Mist is nice!  Although bossy.

Ike is one of her favorites because he loves her porcupine as much as she does.  He also encourages her porcupine to be nicer, which he can always use reminders of.  He’s very dependable and determined.  Yune kind of has a crush on him too, but it’s clear that Soren and Ike are in love, even if they don’t know it yet.  

And then, her porcupine, Soren.  Very few people have the power to sing the galdr of release and be close enough to the Goddesses to commune with them.  The list is pretty much “descendants of the Legendary Heroes.”  Soren has no idea that’s him, but Yune knows he absolutely must be descended from Dheginsea, the silly old man with the lovely mustache.  He’s had it rough, although Yune has tried to help as best she can when only weighing a few ounces.  He can be very mean and harsh, but he is also a doting and loyal boy and she adores him.  And he finds the best seeds somehow!

And so things went on, with flights from their fort, the death of Greil to a man in black armor Yune finds very familiar, and into Gallia.

Ahh, Gallia.  Home of the beast tribes.  She loves the peoples of Tellius, even if she understands why Soren hates them so much because she’s seen them pretend he doesn’t exist.  However, when Soren becomes so tense at meeting Mordecai and Lethe that she knows he’s going to do something stupid, she dive-bombs his face until he’s distracted enough to not cause a scene.  He is not happy about it, but she is.

There is a slight problem, though.  

They are cats .  Yune hates cats.  Cats like to stalk and eat poor innocent songbirds!  And the Gallians are no exception!

The Mercenaries are staying the night in the capital castle, so Yune does a quick fly-around, only to attract the attention of the one cat with turquoise hair.  She definitely isn’t anything more than a tiny snack to him, but he still licks his lips and transforms, jumping in the air to try to catch her.  She trills loudly, once again praising herself for her expert dodging skills as she flies away as fast as possible.  The cat man seems to be having fun, but he stops when Soren leaves his room and Yune flies to him.  She is the goddess of chaos, but he has opposable thumbs, so right now he is the safer bet than going alone.

Unfortunately, this brings them right back to her porcupine getting his quills up.

The Gallian transforms back.  “Oh, is that your pet?  Sorry about that, then.  I was just doing some light hunting before bed.”

“Tell everyone that if anyone tries to hurt Yune, I will set them on fire,” Soren sneers in response.  Yune trills her agreement.

The cat’s head tilts.  “Yune?  If I’m right, that’s the name of the goddess of chaos, the dark god of Lehran’s Medallion.”

Oh, someone who knows her reputation!  That’s nice.  But calling her a dark god? The AUDACITY.

Soren looks uncomfortable, not answering.  The cat shrugs and moves to leave, and Soren ruins it with a mutter of, “Stupid sub-human.”  If Yune had hands she would face-palm him.  

The cat stops walking, slowly turning to look at them with a tilt of his head.  Soren clearly realizes he messed up because he freezes up.  Yune chirps to encourage him to get inside his room again, but he’s stuck, trembling.

The cat slowly stalks toward them, and Yune can’t figure out if he’s curious or hunting.  Thankfully it’s the first.  “Ah, I see.  That explains quite a bit.  You’ll want to be careful and keep a low profile, I think.  Many would not be understanding.”

“Wha-wha-what do you mean?”  Soren is shaking. And unfortunately his grip is so tight that she can’t fly off.  If he got them both killed because he needed to be snarky, she is not going to be happy!

“You don’t know?  You’re Parentless.  Like I said, you’ll want to be quiet.  Plenty of people here are old-fashioned.  Not me, though.”  He pauses, very thoughtful.  “You’re just a hurt kid, so I’ll let the insult slide.  Just watch yourself, yeah? Have a nice night.”  He transforms again and runs off, probably to go murder more defenseless birds.  

Soren is frozen until the Gallian is out of sight, and then he finally has the sense of self to go into his bedroom - a sparsely furnished room that is still better than a bedroll.  Once the door shuts behind him, he leans against it and slides down to the floor.  “Parentless?  I mean I have no parents, but what did he mean?”  Yune tweets to tell him she has no idea either.  It’s news to her that the kitties don’t like orphans.  “That’s something to look into the next time we’re in civilization.”  That wasn’t very nice.  “And would you stop flying off at night, you crazy bird?  You almost got us killed!”  She almost got them killed?!  Well she almost got herself killed, but he was the one who almost did himself in, not her!  He lifts her up to look her over before letting her go.  “You don’t seem injured, at least.  Your dodging skills are supernatural.”  She chirps her approval of his acknowledgement as she flutters to his shoulder.  “But we’ll be heading out when Ike wakes up, and he’s been waking up at sunrise ever since… his father died.”  Soren is sad about the old man too, but he’s not letting anyone know that.  Doesn’t want Ike to worry about him.  Which is cute, because Ike is going to worry about him anyway!

He gets up and switches into lounge clothes, which is a luxury he has given to himself since the monastery.  Then he gets into bed, curled up, before murmuring, “Also, you being named after the dark god of chaos is really appropriate.”

The AUDACITY!

Chapter Text

Ike is not having a fun time in Begnion.  The place is just ridiculous, and he gets snide looks because he uses the wrong fork every time, and it just is the worst.  At least he’s not alone and Elincia has some semblance of an idea of what’s going on.  But he just wants to get on with it.   They have things to do!  

They’re in another meeting with Sanaki, as she wants to hire them for something, whatever.  The monotony is disrupted when a little orange songbird flies into the Grand Chamber and starts to, uh, dance midair?  Sort of?  Directly in front of the guy who is apparently the Prime Minister of Begnion.  

Yep, it’s definitely Yune, and she is definitely really, really, really happy to see Sephiran.  

Or she’s horny.  Do birds have sex?  Ugh.  

Sephiran looks delighted, which is just incredibly weird.  If Ike got a gold piece for every time he met a long-dark-haired beautiful mage who had a weird relationship with a specific orange songbird, he’d have two gold coins.  Which isn’t a lot, but it is weird that it’s happened twice.  

Anyway, Sephiran holds his hand out and Yune lands on his finger.  Everyone in the room is looking at him as if he is insane, which is a nice change of pace from everyone looking at Ike like he’s crazy.  “It is lovely to see you,” he says, smiling serenely as Yune continues to shake her tail feathers.  He looks up as if remembering that they aren’t alone, and he smiles.  “She used to be mine,” he explains.

Sanaki claps her hands with delight.  “So lovely!  We shall have to get her a fine cage and the best of seeds!”

“Here here!” says one of the senators.  They make his skin crawl.  “Only the best for the Empress will do!”

Sephiran shakes his head as Yune stops her dance.  If birds could give death glares, Ike is pretty sure she would be.  “No, my sunshine, birds were not meant to be caged.”

She lights up.  “A metaphor!”

“Very good.”  For all his serene stoicism, it is very clear that Sephiran adores Sanaki.  It’s good someone likes her, because Ike thinks she’s a spoiled brat.  

“No cages for her then,” she says, looking like a proud puppy.

“Of course not, no cages for the Empress’ favorite bird,” says another senator.  “She is wise beyond her years!”

“Hey, you were saying something about a desert?” Ike interrupts. He doesn’t want to see Yune try to seduce Sephiran anymore (although he will enjoy ribbing Soren about Yune cheating on him), and if he hears one more person pointlessly flatter Sanaki he is going to stick one of those stupid forks in his ear.  “Or was it dessert?”  Thankfully Sanaki finds his incredibly stupid joke to be funny, so he doesn’t get yelled at for interrupting this time. 

Yune spends the day with Lehran because she hasn’t seen him in ages and she just loves him!  She feels at home perched on his shoulder, chirping in his ear to chime in on his conversations.  The others can’t understand her, but he can.  Because he is the most beautifulest and super special.  She meets all of Lehran’s new friends, including his boyfriend and also including his great great great great great great great great great granddaughter Sanaki, who wanted to put her in a cage, the AUDACITY, but wisely did not do so and now she can love her too.  Although Lehran did not like how many ‘greats’ she attached, saying that he knows he’s old but he’s a baby compared to her.  Which is true.  And he was a super cute kid once upon a time.

At night, Lehran gives her a smooch on the head.  “Go back to your littles, my dear.  And know that I am very, very happy to see you and that you’re starting to wake up.”

She chirps her thanks, kisses him as well as one can with a beak, and flies off, unsure where she’s going.  Oh, right!  Soren.

The strength of despair she senses almost knocks her out of the air.

Well that’s not good!!!  She flies off, weaving past guards who actually salute her in her effort to follow the beacon of sorrow she’s sensing.  It leads her to the grand library of Mainal Cathedral, and she finds her porcupine curled up in the corner, barely visible in the dark.  Uh oh.  That’s really not good.

She lands on the ground beside him.  He’s shaking and he doesn’t look up.  She chirps to him, and he doesn’t respond.  Now she feels bad for leaving him alone all day to be with Lehran.  He clearly got up to some shenanigans without her to guide him.  

He finally looks out from his arms.  His forehead is covered in blood, which is not something that typically happens.  “Go away.”

She refuses, doing a little dance to say whatever the problem is, they will get through it together.  He will use his magic and his prehensile hands, and she will be his moral support.  They’re an unstoppable team!  But first they need to get his forehead healed.  By Mist, it must be said.  Only Mist.  Not he-who-must-not-be-named.  

“Go away, ” he says again, curling up more and hiding his face again.

Hmm, this isn’t working.  Every day he justifies why she calls him her porcupine.  She chirps that she’s going to get Ike before taking flight back out into the large marble hallways.  She knows where the family is staying and flies there, and thankfully Ike’s door is open.  It has taken many years to train him to not close doors because closed doors are not acceptable, but the lessons have stuck.  

“Hey Soren, Yune is cheating on you,” he says, laying on his bed tiredly. She yells at him that just because she is there it doesn’t mean Soren is there and Soren is apparently losing his mind and Ike is taking a nap and he needs to get up now!  Of course none of that registers for the typical beorc, so Ike only opens his eyes when he doesn’t hear Soren’s voice.  “Huh?  Where is he?”

Dear Her, this boy was exhausting!!  She is frustrated and so lands on his face to peck him on the nose.  As you sometimes have to do with these mortals, since they have no common sense.   

“Ow okay okay!  I get it, you want me to come find him with you.”  He rolls out of bed, and she can see he looks so tired he might fall asleep on his feet.  Too bad, he has to fix her porcupine!!  She takes off in the right direction, leading him back to the library.  The guards know better than to test the Emperess’ favorite bird.  She can applaud their dedication to a literal child.  

The corner is empty.

“Uh,” says Ike.  “I take it he left?”

She starts to pull out her own feathers in her fury.  How dare he run away from her trying to save him!!  She senses and uuugggghhhhh, he’s all the way back where they just were!!! He clearly has no appreciation for how hard it is to fly!!!!  Yune lands back on Ike’s shoulder, now needing to fix her ruffled feathers.  

“I wonder what he was doing in the library so late,” Ike muses as they start the walk back.  “Then again, I don’t think he ever really sleeps.”  

When they get back to the room that Soren has, it is closed! And locked!!! The AUDACITY IS BEYOND CAPACITY!!!!!!

“I think he found out about your affair with Sephiran,” Ike says with a sideways grin, so Yune pecks him in the eye.  “Oww!  Would you stop that?!”  He swats at her, but she dodges like the expert she is.  He sighs and knocks on Soren’s door.  “You okay?”

“Yes,” comes his voice from inside.  Yune lets out a relieved tweet. Then she of course demands he opens the door.  “No.”

“You’re not?” Ike sounds worried now, aww.

“I was talking to her.  She needs to find somewhere else to sleep tonight, I want a full night’s rest.”

Well FINE, she has other friends too!  Well, just one.  But still!  She chirps to express her rage.  Ike snickers at her, but she ignores him like the benevolent god she is.  

“Okay Soren, see you tomorrow,” Ike says, zombie-walking back to his own bed.  And Yune flies off to go sleep with her bestest friend ever Lehran, and her feelings are definitely not hurt and she is definitely not worried at all about her porcupine!!

Chapter Text

Soren suffers from panic attacks, which is incredibly annoying now that he understands he’s not actually dying. But sometimes he just can’t help it – if someone raises their voice, or their hands, he will flinch and prepare to fly, fight or freeze, bathing is a struggle, and when Ike caught pneumonia Soren almost stressed himself into an early grave. Here lies Soren: approximately thirteen years old and dead from watching the only person he ever trusted struggling to breathe. 

And, unfortunately, when he finds Yune laying on his bed and breathing heavily, he is forced to add something being wrong with her to his triggers. 

He picks her up to look her over, looking for any sign of a wound. There isn’t any, thankfully. “What’s wrong? Why are you breathing so hard?” She tiredly chirps, but it’s not illuminating. Okay, fine. He clearly needs to learn healing arts, because he is going to freak out and he hates it, but he’s going to have to ask for help.

“Rhys,” he calls, trying so hard to not sound as terrified as he feels as he breaks into the priest’s quarters. “Rhys, something is wrong with her.”

Rhys peers up, immediately concerned. “Let me take a look, then.” 

Soren hands her over. “She was laying on my bed and breathing very heavily.”

Rhys examines her, and then smiles at him warmly. “I, ah… how to put this…”

“Just spit it out!”

“She probably needs to cut down on sunflower seeds…”

“What? Can those hurt her? I thought those were good for her!”

“No, no, Soren.  She’s just fat.”

There is a long pause of silence as Soren digests this information. “Oh.”

“I’d say limit her-”. He lets out a shriek as Yune goes right for his eyes with a trill of pure fury. 

Soren catches her in both hands, but she is absolutely enraged and he finds himself struggling both to hold her and to not laugh at her. “You probably snuck into Oscar’s stash of sunflower seeds again, so don’t blame Rhys for it!”

“Owww.” Rhys grabs a vulnerary and washes his face in it, healing what little she’d managed to accomplish. “It is so weird she understands us! No bird should react like that.”

“She is really weird in general,” Soren agrees.  Then he has to swat her out of the air as she attacks Rhys again.

Approximately five years later, they find themselves in a very similar situation, only this time it’s on a battlefield that is freezing and it’s not Yune who’s struggling, but a much larger bird. Soren has finally learned to use heal staves and he spends many afternoons tending to the wounded if he isn’t managing personnel. 

And he is fairly confident that Ulki, a hawk laguz, is flirting with someone in the healing tents, because he’s been showing up here very frequently. 

(Not himself, of course, because Ulki doesn’t acknowledge his existence. Much like most of the other laguz. Of course now Soren knows WHY, even if he refuses to address it. It’s a secret he plans to bring to his grave. And it doesn’t help at all that all of the laguz present save the herons would happily eat Yune if they could catch her, so he’s on edge for a number of reasons.)

Anyway, Ulki sits down in front of Rhys, one wing fine and the other spread out. “I think I sprained something.” Rhys giggles and blushes like a schoolgirl as he uses a heal staff. This makes Ulki frown.  “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing…. Just maybe don’t go flying unless you’re transformed.”

There is a long pause as Ulki reads between the lines. “Are you saying I’m fat?”

“No, no of course not!” Rhys flinches, looking around as if preparing for to be attacked. Which is a fair assumption, because Yune does in fact appear out of nowhere to attack him again. Rhys screams and ducks while Soren tries to swat her out of his face with a heal staff. And Ulki remains completely unfazed, calmly watching this all go down as if he’s seen weirder.  

“Why is she attacking me!” Rhys cries with dismay as he hides at Ulki’s back.  Yune makes to dive-bomb him before she wisely reconsiders and flies to one of the tent supports, tweeting her rage.  

“Do you want me to eat her for you?” Ulki offers.  She responds with a trill of indignation.

“You would deserve it,” Soren says to her as he heals the scratches on Rhys’ face.  She responds with some choice words about his mother.  

“No thank you,” Rhys says demurely, having sounded tempted by the offer, “she’s just had her feelings hurt, is all.  She’s sweet.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you could understand her…” he says dryly.

Soren is surprised by that.  “You can understand her?”

“I can understand all birds,” Ulki replies with an uncaring shrug.  “You can understand her?”

“Yes,” he says, but doesn’t volunteer more information.  

Ike comes in with a wound on his arm and a sheepish smile on his face.  “Hey Soren, do you have a vulnerary or something?  Mia finally got a hit in.”  

Soren tsks as he readies his heal staff.  “You need to be more careful.”

“Yes, you’ve been here a lot lately,” Rhys chimes in with a knowing smirk.  

“Er, well, you know, it happens,” Ike replies lamely as Soren heals him.  Soren is not entirely sure what’s going on here, but he resolves to ignore it.  “Hey you haven’t eaten yet, right?  Can you give me the reports over lunch?”

Soren has been trying to avoid alone time with Ike since his revelations in the library, but he’s a weak man and can’t say no to that face.  And Rhys doesn’t even give him the chance to.  “Yes, go ahead Soren, Mist should be here to help with the wounded soon and you do need to eat.”

“Enjoy your date,” Ulki agrees wryly.

Soren feels his ears heat up.  “All right, but you are absolutely not allowed to eat Yune.”

“Don’t worry, your judgmental and annoying bird buddy is safe from me,” he replies with a shrug.  He is immediately tested on those words when she dive-bombs his face.  But considering he’s here to flirt with Rhys, Soren doesn’t feel too bad for him as he and Ike go for lunch.  

Chapter Text

It's dusk and Soren is sitting in his tent, freezing his arse off and thinking through his options as he stares at the candle stub.  They are few and they are not good.

They're marching into Daein, and yet the topic in camp is not the war but rather the fact that the strategist is a Branded.  Soren has no idea how this information got out.  He hasn't told a soul, and he doubts Stefan has either.  They're the only two people who know.  Well, except the laguz.  But Reyson, Lethe, Mordecai, Janaff and Ulki have been around for a bit and haven't told anyone, so why would they now?  The whole thing makes no sense. 

But regardless, it's happened.   He hears the comments every time he leaves his tent, about how he's going to doom the army by his presence, or how he's dirtying Ike by his very proximity and this shows an extreme lack of judgment by the General that makes them wonder about him.  It's decreasing morale, causing doubt, and, well, a little too close to his life as a child.   It's only a matter of time before people with power make Ike banish him.

So, what are his options?

First, he can ignore this, watch himself, and keep being the strategist.  He is one person in a whole army.  He can close his eyes and cover his ears and hope it never escalates beyond what it's at.  This is a stupid idea and he's not going to do it.

Second, he can leave.  He can pack up his belongings and run in the night, leaving a resignation letter.  What would be the point, though?  He doesn't want to be alone anymore, and he would be.  Ike needs to be here, and Yune has decided Mist and her heirloom necklace are her new best friends.  He doesn't have other friends here, not really, but he has other pleasant relationships that he doesn't want to disappoint either.  It's an odd thought, but a true one.

Third... well, the most drastic option.  He could simply... not take precautions, happen to go into dark places by himself, not watch his back... and he could let the rabble take care of it.  That way he's not guilty of abandoning anyone, and maybe he'll be a martyr or something.  He can rest.  It'll be nice.  He's not afraid of death. 

He takes deep breaths as he pins his hair up.  He wants to leave a pretty corpse.  It seems like the least he could do.  He would like to end his life with two middle fingers out, but sadly that doesn't seem possible.  He gathers up his stack of paperwork and throws on his heaviest cloak, heading out into the setting sun.

Daein is a cesspool of frigidity and he understands why Ashnard would turn his sights west, because Crimea is practically paradise in comparison to these freezing winds and scattered snowfall.  Sadly, his plan necessitates leaving his hood down.  He walks, step by step with his heart pounding in his ears, to the war tent to drop off his reports. 

No one accosts him, or even seems to notice he's here.  Maybe he's being dramatic.

Someone is after her medallion.  She's just sure of it.  

Yune completes her daily rounds, checks that Soren is busy being dramatic as per usual, and then goes to find her new best friend Mist.  She feels like her medallion is in danger, and it works out that she and Mist get along just great so she can guard it!  Although it is a huge change going from Soren to Mist as one's primary source of companionship. 

"Oh, there you are!" the girl exclaims as she pulls off her necklace and places it on her pillow.  Yune sits on it, getting comfortable.  It's warm and soothing, being with her godly essence as much as possible.  "We have a lot to talk about today.  I think I'm in a love... uh, what's a shape that has five sides but they're all pointed at one?"  She has no idea, that doesn't sound like a shape at all.  "Pentagram?  Because Boyd, Rolf, Lethe and Jill have all made it clear they think I'm pretty."  Oh, teenagers.  When ‘someone is nice to me’ means ‘they're clearly in love with me.’  "But I don't know, do I like any of them back?  What do you think?"  Yune chirps to say she has no idea.  Even though Mist has no idea what she's saying, she continues, "I'm thinking eenie-meenie-miney-mo.  Although Lethe is like... I mean the laguz live a lot longer, so isn't she like, in her thirties or forties?  I get there's a like... aging difference, but that's still kind of not good?  I mean I just turned sixteen.  So maybe she's out.  And Jill is from Daein so that's kind of, it doesn't bode well for after the war, you know?  And then living with Boyd and Rolf is awkward, plus they're brothers...  You know, I am strong independent woman!  I don't need a relationship!" 

Yune tweets her agreement.  She spots Soren walking outside, looking like he's marching to his funeral.   

Mist hops into her bedroll, facing Yune.  "Yeah!  Oh, and let me tell you all about how my brother is a moron.  I know you like those stories."  She does!  Mist regales her with a tale of how Ike apparently ate an entire deer by himself on accident.

Then she sees Soren come back the other way... followed by five guys who do not look like they have his best interests in mind.  She tweets her apologies and flies out to go see what's going on. 

When he leaves again, he has to resist a victorious smirk.  A small crowd of at least five soldiers is following him, trying to be inconspicuous.  One ruins the illusion by saying "that's the freak?"  Yes, this is the freak.  Good job. 

He walks ostensibly to go to the well and get a drink.  It's isolated enough that what is about to happen is unlikely to be spotted, but not so far that it would be suspicious.  It's happening, it's happening, it's happening, his heart says with each quick beat. 

It starts with, of course, a rock.  It's thrown hard and he could dodge, but doesn't, so it hits him right on the side of his head, high enough the blood drips down into his face.  He collapses to his knees, because he might have been expecting it but it hurt.  The soldiers rush him and drag him a bit further away, congratulating each other.

"When I was a kid, Branded Hunts were a fun event," says one.  "The skin patch of their marks could get a couple gold!"

"That's a waste, we could probably sell his scalp to Daein," says the second, "He's the tactician, so I bet they'd be happy for him to be dead."

"I just hate this little prick for being the General's whore," spits another, sounding jealous.

"He's not!  General Ike would never!" says another.

The fifth takes him by the neck, lifting him up.  Soren gets a good look with his good eye, the other covered in blood.  He has no idea who any of these people are.  "He's pretty for a cursed freak!  Seems a waste to just kill him.  What do you think, baby?  Want to not die a virgin?  You should thank me!"

Seriously?  Soren lets some of the blood into his mouth so he can spit on the man's face.  This earns him a slap to the wound on his head, which he is not surprised by.  He is shocked he doesn’t pass out from the pain.

Then suddenly the man holding him has his hair wrenched back and a sword sliced across his neck, spraying blood everywhere and causing quite a delightful look of shock on his face as he lets Soren go. 

"The rest of you, drop your weapons and get down on the fucking ground right now," Ike snarls, and Soren has never seen him so pissed off.  He's like an angel of punishment, silver sword bloodied as he throws the dying man onto the grass and takes Soren into his free arm.  No one moves, too shocked.  "NOW!"

They stammer apologies as they kneel for their general.  Ike is in no mood.  "I am ashamed and disgusted by all of you, and you're lucky you didn't lay a hand on him or else you'd be dying too," he all but growls.  Soren hears strides from his blind side.  "General Tanith, get your men in line."

"Absolutely, General Ike."  Oh boy, out of the frying pan and into the fire for these guys.  He almost feels bad for them.  Ike pulls his hood up over his head and picks him up.  He hears the very high-pitched scream of someone getting their testicles smashed. 

"I've got you," Ike mutters.  "I'm so sorry.  Yune let me know you were in danger, but I should have known..."

"Aw," says Soren, kind of oddly touched.  The world is wavering and he squints his eyes shut.  Then the wind is gone and he's sat down in front of Ike and fed a bottle.  As he swallows what's in it, the pain recedes and he feels his head heal.  "Oh, much better."

Ike starts to clean him from the blood.  They’re in his tent.  "I'm so sorry.  Is this... because you're part laguz?  That’s the rumor around camp at least and it’s the only reason I can think of…”

Soren closes his eyes again.  And here it is.  The conversation he was hoping to avoid.  "Yes," he says carefully.  "They were very clear about that.  I'm sorry."

"Sorry?  Sorry for what?"  Ike finishes cleansing his face and starts on clothing.

He sighs.  "You just saw.  People are going to demand my death or banishment the longer I'm here.  I had hoped to get out without causing too much drama, but..."

Ike goes silent for a few seconds, pausing in his cleaning.  "You want to leave?"

"Want?  No.  Need?  Yes."

"No," says Ike, he hugs him tightly.  "No.  No no no no no!  You can't leave!  You can't leave me!  Soren - Soren you promised you'd never leave me!"

Soren's eyes burn and not from the residual blood.  "I'm sorry.  But it's not safe for you."

"I don't care!"  Ike's voice is choked.  "I'll keep you safe, I promise!  Please don't leave me too!”

The hug hurts at this point, but Soren thrives off the feeling.  He raises his arms to hug him back.  "Ike..."

"Don't leave me," he says again, his eyes pressed into Soren's shoulder.

He's helpless.  Time to put everything on the line.  "I love you.  I've loved you for a very long time.  I would do anything to help you, to keep you safe, to make you happy.  Including leaving the army so you don't get a mutiny.  It would kill my spirit, and possibly my body, but for you I would do anything."

Ike picks his head up, staring at him.  Tears drip down his face.  Soren has never seen him cry.  Then he tilts his head, just a little, and presses their lips together.

Everything bad that has ever happened to him is wiped out in that moment, the feeling of their bodies pressed and the insistence of Ike's kiss that makes it clear this was not some fluke.  His own body is trembling, but he kisses back as best he can.  He has no idea what he's doing. 

Eventually Ike backs up just a little, so they can make eye contact again.  "If you'll really do anything for me... then stay for me.”

Soren kisses him first this time.

IT’S ABOUT TIME, Yune thinks with satisfaction.  Her porcupine being beaten to death is not ideal, obviously, but the fact it didn't end up happening, the ringleader died painfully and Ike and Soren finally got together means it was all worth it! 

People are all over, talking about what just happened.  Mist is included, and Yune feels anxiety.  This is the correct feeling, because she flies back to Mist's tent... and the medallion is gone.   

(Nasir feels a bit unclean.  He'd needed the medallion, and it was only ever off Mist's neck when she slept or rested.  It was hard enough trying to sneak past her, but then the bird started showing up and made the theft impossible.  Once Nasir figured out where the bird was coming from, he realized he had to take drastic measures.  Subtly hinting to the masses that Soren was Branded was underhanded, but successful in distracting his bird and leaving the medallion undefended.  Now he can take care of his granddaughter.  He only hopes they can all forgive him one day.) 

Chapter Text

Ike finds himself as one of Soren's two bodyguards, which he is quite pleased with.  No one accosts him again, although Ike does pick up on the dirty looks.  Too bad, jerks.  There's no time for that nonsense in his army.  The other bodyguard is, of course, Yune, and they seemed to have patched up their relationship.  Ike can tell Soren missed her, even if he knows he will never admit it.

(There is one other incident.  A few Begnion pegasus knights give them dirty looks as they walk by, and the tallest gets a disproportionately large bird turd to the face.  Soren smirks and Ike laughs.  He doesn't feel bad.)

But Ike is mindful that someone told everyone Soren's secret, and he'll punch whoever it was in the face as the least amount of violence, more to be determined based on motives and guilt.   Thankfully, they can move on for now. 

He's more grateful than ever to have Soren, because they're taking the capital of Daein and the gates to the castle are wide open.  He has no idea what to make of it.  Neither do any of his advisors, but at least they can make guesses about it.  He doesn't even have that.  But Titania, Tanith, Elincia and Soren are all here to help him figure it out. 

"We have a few plausible scenarios," Soren says, tapping his fingers on the war table.  "There's a possibility that they're surrendering without a fight; it's unlikely, but since Ashnard is in Crimea it's not completely implausible.  But most likely this is a trap."

"That's almost a guarantee," Tanith says, arms crossed.  "Depending on desperation, I can see them blowing up the keep with us in it."

"No," says Soren, visibly confident in his assessment.  "It's a symbol of Daein as a whole and has been for centuries.  If given a choice between the enemy capturing it or it exploding, then they'd pick it being captured.  Then there's hope of them getting it back.  Besides, causing a building to explode is not easy.  It would take a number of powerful mages, and that level of might is most likely to be with Ashnard in Melior.  But I agree there is a trap of some kind."

"There isn't a choice here, though," Ike chimes in.  "We can't not go in.  We have to take the keep."  He feels accomplished, because he participated. 

"A small strike force," Titania agrees.  "Princess, you should remain out.  That way if something goes wrong..."

Elincia is nervous, as per usual.  She does not like the fact that she is not able to participate in the battles, but nobody is letting her.  If she dies the whole things falls apart, after all.  So she nods.  "All right."   

"The Greil Mercenaries are a perfect fit for this," Soren says.  "Units should be on foot though.  No horses or fliers."  He then deeply sighs.  "Except Yune."  Ike hears a smug tweet before the bird seemingly manifests from nowhere to land on his shoulder. 

Titania, Elincia and Ike are all used to it.  Tanith however says, "By the way, my forces are reporting the bird is a nuisance."

"She is," Soren agrees.  Yune pecks his ear, and he ignores her. 

"What is..."  She gestures to her vaguely, "The deal?"

"It's a long story with a lot of question marks, but the short story is that Yune is the Greil Mercenaries' Mascot," Ike says, not really feeling like saying the whole thing.  Yune looks quite smug as she cleans her feathers.  "Yes, she does understand you, and yes, she is very judgmental."  He is not shocked at the death glare this earns him.  It just proves his point.  "She's also got great aim and is an expert at dodging, so just watch what you say and do when it concerns Soren.  And not just because of her."  Soren blushes, awww. 

Tanith just sighs.  "I don't suppose you can put it in a cage, could you?"  No one but her is shocked when Yune dive-bombs her face. 

The Greil Mercenaries move out later that day into Daein Keep, the capital castle of Nevassa.  Ike is perturbed that the entire city has been evacuated, but Soren gives a rather harsh reality check to him (and poor Elincia) that typically speaking conquering armies destroy or enslave places they capture and that yes, that is what happened to Crimea, and poor Elincia would be out of this fight anyway because she goes to sob somewhere privately after that little revelation. 

So they enter the castle... and the draw bridge closes. 

"And there's the trap!" Boyd says with excitement. 

"We press on," Ike says, "Everyone stay on your guard and keep your ears open."  His heart is racing like he's already in a fight. 

It's a grueling slog through the castle, with winding hallways and a surprising amount of enemies.  Add on there's no retreat, and he can see what the trap is about.  Cut the head off the snake, so to speak.  That turns into a strange sort of pun when they find the enemy commander.... who is a dragon. 

He refuses to be daunted, though.  Dragon, beorc... he's going to fight his way through everyone and everything.  And even a dragon is no comparison to the might of the Greil Mercenaries. 

The dragon turns back into a woman who is remarkably small.  "I yield," she says softly, not seeming all that upset about losing.

"Why are you here? What possible reason could a dragon have for joining Ashnard?" Ike asks her.  It seems a little racist to assume that she must have a reason related to her being a dragon for being here, but come on, he's never met a dragon outside Goldoa!  She doesn't answer.  "Fine, maybe you'll talk once we get you in a cell."

This gets a reaction.  "I can't!" the dragon woman says in horror.  "I can't let you!  I'm sorry!" 

"You don't have a choice," Ike argues, but she proves him wrong when she darts past him, surprisingly spry for someone who is on death's door.  "Someone stop her!"  More than a few people move to do so, but she makes it into the hallway and then someone is blocking the exit.  "Nasir?!"

"I'm sorry," Nasir says, arms out. 

Ike sees red.  "Explain yourself, because right now you look like a filthy traitor!" he orders.

"I'm sorry," is all Nasir says again.

"Ike, I'm confident he is the mole," Soren says, coming up to him.

"Did you steal the medallion?!" Ike demands of him. 

"Among many crimes," he says, looking defeated. 

"Stealing the medallion, feeding information to the enemy, trying to get the strategist killed," Soren says heatedly.  "And now directly assisting the enemy's retreat!"

If Ike was pissed before... "Did you tell people about Soren?"  Nasir says nothing, and Ike finds that an admission of guilt.  "You're lucky I don't gut you!"  Instead he punches him, hard.  He feels Nasir's nose break and his own bones in his hands snap.  But he doesn't feel pain anymore, and he knew that Nasir was laguz, so he's not even shocked at the collateral damage.  It was completely worth it, especially because Nasir looks downright shocked.  It hits him that he's probably related to Ena, who is a dragon, and it all makes sense, but he's still enraged.  "Get this traitor out of my sight," he orders to no one in particular.  He doesn't even register Mist's healing of his hand. 

The only consolation is that Yune manages to drop a turd right in Nasir's mouth.

Chapter Text

Yune is kind of over all of these “forts” that they have to trudge through.  She was meant to be free in the sky, not stuck on Soren’s shoulder providing her completely vital suggestions into his ear.  Alas, she must go where she is needed, and they’re taking this fort.  

It’s just a smidge awkward.  They’re taking this fort to kill the Black Knight, who killed her best buddy Greil and hurt her other best buddy Ike.  But, and this is a very important but, he is also the boyfriend of her bestest buddy Lehran!  She doesn’t approve of him killing people, of course, nor does she approve of him wearing such big armor (how is she supposed to peck him in the ear if he’s covered up like that?!  Thankfully her new family knows better), but she doesn’t want him to DIE!  

It is these important thoughts she conveys to Soren as he throws magic around, killing enemies between them and the main target.  “We don’t have a choice,” he tells her.  “He is the enemy commander.  He is not your friend.”

Oh, but he is, doesn’t he understand?  Surely this is a misunderstanding!  She knows his boyfriend!  Although, she doesn’t explain that Lehran is actually Lehran. That’s a secret, and she is great at keeping secrets.  It unfortunately makes it difficult to truly convey just how much she can do here, and she doesn’t get through to Soren.  He is adamant that this is going to end in death, one way or another.  How disappointing!  

Everyone in the family knows that the Black Knight killed Greil.  They are a crazy bunch who argue a lot, but they all agree on getting vengeance for him.  No one is on her side.  However, she knows better than all of them!  She can fix this!  She doesn’t want people to be sad anymore.  

When they come to the end of the fort, chaos ensues.  Ike insists on going in alone, which no one is happy with.  Mist insists on going in with him, which even more people are not happy with.  Yune herself manages to fly in before the grand doors slam shut.  

The Black Knight - Lehran’s Boyfriend - is standing over the near-dead body of that cute little pink dragon they’d met before.  He slowly turns to face the doorway where Ike and Mist are standing.  Yune lands on Ike’s hair in preparation to intervene, but she has her work cut out for her because all three have swords drawn and they start yelling at each other.  This is troubling for a few reasons, but the primary issue is that she has itty bitty lungs and cannot be heard over the noise!  

She flies off Ike’s shoulder as he charges ahead, and frankly she feels second-hand embarrassment at the duel that follows.  Ike is like a kid compared to Altina, and Zelgius is like a young teenager.    The only one she’s ever met who would have had a chance against Altina was Greil before he did that silly thing to his arms.  Now that would have been an awesome fight!  Yune knows that Altina was technically her enemy so she probably shouldn’t be talking about her nicely, but she’s just being honest! 

Besides, as part of Ashunera, Altina technically worked for Yune, too! Yeah!  Wait, when it’s framed like that, one could argue that Yune won the war and wasn’t technically trapped in a medallion only to centuries later come to consciousness in the body of a bird.  She was awesome!  This story is way better.   Yeah, that’s gonna be her go-to from now on.  It totally makes sense.

The world starts shaking and she belatedly realizes the whole castle is coming down.  Oh crud!  Ike and Soren are going to get her killed some day, she just knows it, but not today!  She flies down and leads the way for Ike and Mist to get out of the wreckage before it all comes tumbling down.  She’s helpful!  

It’s a hard escape, but they make it!  She makes a crash landing on the nearest safe person’s head - Titania’s.  She has to force deep breaths out of exhaustion, but it’s not enough and she falls into a faint.

Everyone is angry.

Yune is a little overwhelmed, to be honest.  The whole camp is alight with rage-filled feelings coming from everyone - everyone is angry with both Ike and Mist, Ike is angry with Mist, and Mist is angry with Ike.  Poor Reyson gets a migraine from the emotions he's picking up, and Yune feels his pain, literally.  But she's a benevolent soul and has to fix things, of course, just like she's fixed everything so far.  Her priority is Soren, her porcupine, her Person, and so she starts with him. 

Soren is hiding outside of camp, standing in the grass with his arms out and eyes closed, feeling the wind.  He's not responsive, literally.  It's like it used to be, when they first met, when he was not able to talk.  She lands on his shoulder and is silent, too, because she knows him well enough to know that if she talks when he's upset, it won't go well for her self-esteem.  So she just nuzzles into the side of his neck and gets comfortable, showing her support. 

The silence is calming, even if Yune is not typically one to let her opinions go unsaid.  It goes about 30 minutes before Soren finally sighs and says, "I hate Ike, sometimes.  One person should not make me feel so many strong emotions."

She chirps her understanding.  That's the danger of letting someone get close, after all.  They get a place in your heart all for them, and can strengthen or hurt it.

He sighs and looks up at the sky.  "But I should be better than this.  People rely on me to be level-headed and to have the right answer.  Ike relies on me to have his back.  That means I should be standing behind him no matter what."

She tweets her respectful disagreement.  Beorc and laguz are complicated and even the two most in-sync people will not always be on the same page.  It's silly to think he will always approve of Ike's choices, just like Ike won't always approve of his.  That doesn't mean they're not compatible.  That just means they need to be able to talk to each other about their feelings.  

"True enough."  He sighs, and then stiffens, looking off to the north, into the woods.  She isn't sure what the problem is until she picks up on it too - someone is coming, extremely chaotic, holding her medallion?!  She chirps her warning that the medallion is coming closer.  "That big, the medallion - shit, Ashnard rides a huge wyvern, but why would he-"

Said huge wyvern crests over the trees and lands hard in the field with them, knocking Soren off his feet.  And yes, on its back is the Mad King of Daein, his smile broad and really really really unpleasant. 

Yune doesn't know what to do!  What the heck is Ashnard doing here?!  By the time Soren scrambles to his feet, Ashnard has dismounted his - wait, that's not a wyvern, that's a dragon seeped in chaos, this is insane! 

"The Crimean forces have gotten further than I ever thought they would," Ashnard begins his monologue as he confidently stands before them, not seeming to mind as Soren recovers his bearings.  "Imagine my shock when I heard the reason why.  Oh, some say it's the son of Gawain, but he's a whelp, making progress but nowhere near the level of his father or being the deciding factor.  No, the reason why, is the strategist... a half-breed boy with a birthmark on his forehead."  He says this as if it means something more than just that's you, by the way.  "You'll be coming with me, either intact or just your head.  It's all the same to me."

Oh hell no!  Ashnard is not hurting her porcupine!!  The problem is that with the winds picking up around him, she can't fly to get help!  Ashnard and a dragon versus Soren and a bird is not a fair matchup!!!  She trills at him to run!

"You're a fool," Soren says, his voice remarkably calm despite the fact that he's trembling.  "You're far too late to stop the army's momentum.  If you were smart, you'd go back to your castle and prepare for the inevitable!" 

Why!  Isn't!  He!  RUNNING?!

"True, but where would the fun be in that?  Besides, I want to see if that dragon blood of yours is worth it."  Soren's eyes widen, but Ashnard then says, "Go, Rajaion!"

The chaotic dragon lets out a loud roar of anguish and fury.  The good news is that it's loud enough that the camp can definitely hear it unless they're all still yelling at each other.  The bad news is that the dragon takes to the skies above, clearly following orders despite being feral.  Soren pulls a tome out of his satchel - lightning, the one he's least proficient with, but his stress and power come together and hit the dragon with an impressively strong strike, making the dragon scream in pain and crash.

Right on top of them.  Yune is able to dodge, but Soren is not.