~Fire Emblem-War of the Dragons~

Lon'qu gently rested his strong hand upon Olivia's small, slender shoulder. He gave a nod of acknowledgment to Lissa. "Thank you for looking after the little one for us."

~

Magnus' brow darkened and he moved in with Cherche, shouting for the villagers to make way for the docks and they would catch up to them to escort them once the beast was felled. Like a pair of demons Magnus and Razylym descended upon the dragon, his axe coming down to strike the beast hard upon the snout right between the eyes, blinding it with pain. Nothing was going to harm those he was in charge of protecting, and goddess have mercy on anyone-or anything, that tried.

~

"Well, aren't you just the snotty little know it all?" Gangrel sneered. "I left to enlist the aid of Ylisse, not take a casual drop in for tea you foolish little guttersnipe. And don't think I won't deal with you harshly for such disrespect just because you're an 'effective' member of the army. There are plenty of Competent Plegian warriors and you're just as replaceable as the ones you stepped in to replace. Do well to remember that." he said. "I may not have been doing as many executions as I once did but I can easily make an exception. There will be no running, and I assure you I'll be around to collect your head if you cross me too far."

The dragon roared loudly, swiping with his long tail where Magnus was, right as Cherche came in and cleaved into its arm with her axe.

~

Lucina gave a faint sigh. As much as Gangrel had improved over the years, sometimes it seemed like he took quite a few steps back when someone crossed him.

Heane couldn't contain it anymore. In front of all of his little friends, she laughed at his threats. "Are you deaf? I just told you that we're already spread thin. So no, there aren't plenty of others to replace me with. But no, please, kill the ones who can fight while dragons are razing the country to the ground. Plegia is sick and tired of bleeding, especially at your hands, or did your soldiers abandoning you so quick after Exalt Emmeryn's fall not speak loud enough?" she rolled her eyes and turned Archie around.


"Come on, ladies." she addressed the two dark fliers that had accompanied her. "We best get back on patrol for the villages. These people will be more than enough to keep our precious little king safe from dragons. I'm willing to bet he finishes the country off before our pest problem does, though."

Razylym gave a roar and bit hard into the dragon's neck, his claws digging into his back and holding himself tightly on there as his rider hacked away at the beast with a very powerful axe, intent on severing the creature's spine before it could fight them off. Mercilessly, the creature's dark blood splattering back against his dark armor Magnus chopped through muscle and sinew, striking into the bone with a sickening crunch.

"You are to return to the castle," Gangrel ordered, sending the one of the higher-ranking knights who escorted him to Ylisstol in her place. "I have new orders for you," he sneered. He would teach her to berate him so. He had toiled tirelessly to repair the kingdom after the damages both he and Validar had done to it. Had she also forgotten how she brought Plegia back to greatness after the assault led by Emmeryn's father? He would show her not to ire him. "You'll like what I have in mind for you. You'll get to do a lot more for this country than just slaying the dragons that pop up here-you'll get to find out where they are and help put a permanent end to the problem plaguing the continent. Come, let us return to the castle," he called to the Shepherd's.

~

The mage dragon roared loudly in pain, blood spurting from its wound as it fell over onto its side, tongue hanging out of its mouth.

Heane watched Gangrel for an entire minute, sizing him up and very slightly waving her lance in her hand, the blade end seeming more like an upside down pendulum as she weighed her options. "Fine." she answered sharply. She knew all about his pouring money into their country, but she remembered his ruthlessness toward his own soldiers and people more. She didn't trust him to act in Plegia's best interest. She moved to join in the ranks of the Shepherds, looking them over measuringly as well. Some of them looked as if they'd be competent fighters who could hold their own, while others looked like children still. She wasn't exactly old herself, but she had been doing a lot of growing up while most children got to play with their friends and enjoy their childhoods.

She didn't trust Gangrel to keep his word at all, and wondered if she'd be losing her pretty head when they reached what was left of the castle.

Razylym released the dragon and glided over to the grass. Magnus wiped his axe off in the greenery and put it back across his back. There wasn't a whole lot he could do about the mess on his armor and some had spattered on his face as well. He took a saddle rag from Razylym's saddle bag and wiped as much of the blood and sweat from his face as he could. Hopefully Cherche had the villagers being safely loaded on the ships now.

~

Lon'qu scowled faintly. Great. Another woman to deal with. He stood beside Olivia, who had been rather quiet and subdued since they had parted from Lissa and their little Inigo. He could tell that she was taking having to be separated from their son pretty hard. He hoped they could get this over and done quickly, so they could get back to him, and Olivia could smile again.

The castle still stood, much to Gangrel's relief. A castle was a great symbol for the kingdom, and if it fell, it would cause a great deal more panic within the common folk. "I must thank you all for coming all this way," Gangrel said, seating himself upon his throne, an hour after they arrived. He had taken the time to assess the casualties and showing concern for his subjects.

"As you know, the Exalt..." Gangrel paused, a faint grimace tugging at his face. To call Chrom that was a strange thing for him. "...he has asked that you make way towards the grounds of the Divine Dragon and seek out her 'Voice.' Hopefully she will be able to shed some light on this sudden insurgence. As per my agreement, I shall grant you a ship and crew already docked in Ferox to take you to Valm," he said, writing down a note and marking it with his seal. "This shall inform the captain of the ship of his duties."

Heane seemed bored with waiting, her pegasus outside in the stables cooling off and being taken care of, but leaving her alone with these foreign strangers and ultimately bored. She sat herself down at a bench where the large group were being served drinks and a select bit of food. She imagined they'd be guests for a bit at the very least and if she had been told to march along with them, well she was going to take advantage of that too. She was the captain anyway, right? She assumed she may as well indulge.

She was finishing off her second glass of wine when they had been called into the throne room to be addressed by Gangrel. She got to her feet after chugging the last bit of her drink and walked out with the rest of these people. Not a single one had offered to introduce themselves, so she couldn't be assed to do it either.

She arched a brow when he said something about giving them money to send them all the way up to Regna Ferox and pay their way across to Valm. "And what about our problem here, hmm? How kind of you to pay their way in full when we have villages destroyed and need rebuilding? Make the Exalt and those Khans pay a third at least." She didn't understand why Gangrel was so quick to spend money she felt their people needed more than paying for these foreigners' boat tickets.

Gangrel looked over to Heane. "I'll be sure to send a letter to Khan Basilio stating those terms," he replied. "As it stands, the castle's coffers will be more than enough to cover rebuilding this nation twice over."

Sonya agreed with that in some ways. After all, she had sunk over half of their battalion beforehand, and that hadn't put much of a dent in Plegia's treasury.

"So where do we get to the fun and dismemberment?" Henry chirped cheerily, that odd smile on his face as usual. "Not going to get any killing at all done at this rate if all we're going to do is march, after all."

Lon'qu glanced at Henry. That man still disturbed even him after all these years of knowing him. He was an odd one to a dangerous degree.

~

Magnus was pleased to see that Cherche had finished loading the boats with the refugees and after ensuring all were present and accounted for on the rosters, he gave clearance for the ships' captains to set sail.

"There'll be plenty of gore for you Henry, if these dragons continue to multiply, that is," Leon said. He looked quite eager to crack a few draconic skulls himself.

"You will, of course, be accompanying them," Gangrel added, looking pointedly at Heane. "No doubt they can benefit from your prowess."

~

"I don't see another dragon out and about nearby," Cherche said. She hoped that Minerva didn't smell any, either. They didn't need any dragons out while anyone was on the boat.

Heane couldn't help but stare at Gangrel's ugly, smug face when he dropped the news. "Excuse you, what now? No. I don't do boats, I don't follow a bunch of strangely dressed people, and I don't like the cold. No. I took over when your general and last captain either kicked the bucket or deserted, so I won't be going anywhere, thank you." she answered waspishly.

Olivia kept really close to Lon'qu, holding onto his arm. What was being discussed seemed not to be reaching her, her thoughts more preoccupied with Inigo's safety. She leaned into her husband's side some and prayed he would be all right, and that they would be able to return to him.

Lon'qu wrapped his arm around Olivia a bit. He could sense her mood and knew where her thoughts lay. "Can we stop arguing over who stays and who goes and just get moving already?" he said.

"I'm with him. We're missing out on all the fighting just standing around wasting our time." said Henry. "There's dragons to kill and I've concocted the most delightful hex I can't wait to try out on them."

"You will go there because I ordered you to, and as a part of the Plegian army, or even a simple subject defying your king is treason and harshly punishable." Gangrel glared. "I don't care how good a soldier you are I will not have a loose cannon breeding insubordination in my troops and certainly not in a commanding officer. You will either go or you will be stripped of your rank and dismissed IF I'm in a good mood, and I am not, so I'm sure you don't want the alternative." he glared.

~

"They shouldn't follow us to the sea. We've got plenty enough to last on each ship. These people may be sick of the ocean by the time we can bring them home but it's better than being a roast dinner."

Sonya frowned. They certainly could use the help, but Gangrel was being quite brutish in his methods.

~

"I just can't help but worry, I suppose," Cherche murmured, keeping Minerva close to the ship to protect it.

Heane's glare was full of venom and hate. "Yes, I'm sure you would. You want to talk about breeding insubordination, who was the one who had the soldiers who deserted your lost cause when the late Emmeryn gave her speech before her death put to the sword? Who was the one who led those who still followed him to their deaths at the hands of Chrom? That would be you." she hissed.

"Fine." she continued. "I'll leave. But you aren't sentencing my girls to their deaths. I'll be taking them with me. You have so many willing replacements, after all, I'm sure they won't be missed. And we won't be returning. Perhaps the Khans or the Exalt would be far more accommodating to outsiders than you are to your own people." Heane then turned to the leader of this rag-tag looking bunch she would be traveling with. "I need to round up a few of my girls. I can't trust the rabid king not to punish them in my stead, after all. I'll catch up with you and your party well before you reach the border." She turned and left the audience room promptly before he could say another word. She was done with his awful treatment, and if he wanted a fight, well, she wouldn't go down quietly.

Gangrel glared after her. "The hell she is." he hissed. A loose cannon like her was dangerous to his still shaky authority and he couldn't have it. He was not in the business of randomly killing any soldier that disappointed him anymore but that didn't mean that he was going to just sit by while some self appointed general tried to undermine his authority at every turn. Perhaps a few days in the dungeon to put her in her place would change her attitude and he ordered a few of the guards to arrest her. She had done nothing but undermine his authority since she had arrived, and it was time she really learned a lesson of who was in charge and who was not, and he would be damned if she took any of his troops and tried to make them dessert with her.

~

"Let us just hope the demons can't reach them here." Magnus said with a faint sigh.

Heane's first reaction was to cave the skulls in of the men who rushed and grabbed her. She restrained herself, but gave Gangrel a smug look. "Oh yes. Imprison me, no doubt you'll have my head after all. Show your soldiers what you'll do to them after they've fought so hard to keep your people safe. You haven't changed a bit. You can't stand it when someone throws your mistakes in your face, despite them filling in a position that was needed during your absences. You can't stand it when someone doesn't trust your already very, very faulty words. Prove to them how expendable they really are once again so you can save face. Even when these people already know. No doubt some of them played a hand in ousting you the first time."

"Adieu, lucky Ylliseans and Feroxi, and maybe even Valmese. You get Plegian money and Plegian ships, while the Plegians themselves get nothing but this man to ruin them again." she shifted a bit against the men holding her. "What are you waiting for, boys? Follow your king's orders, hmm?"

The guards grabbed her arms at either side, placing her under arrest, though they glanced at Gangrel to see how he would react to the woman's words. "You're in trouble because of your insubordination and for intended desertion with an entire squadron of my pegasus knights. I ordered you to go with them because they could use an airborne scout, which they have lost since Sumia is no longer going into battle and most of the other flyers at their command have scattered to the four winds. I have another purpose in mind than you would like so you have the audacity after trying to make it out that I am leaving Plegia unprotected to react by threatening desertion and taking 'your' knights with you in desertion, leaving my army more short handed by taking more competent pegasus riders than is necessary. Those are treasonous words, Heane. You can either do as you're ordered and go on your own as I have ordered, or you can sit in the dungeon and be useless to everyone. This country needs stability and I won't achieve that by balking in my decisions the moment someone gets an attitude with me. I am the king, my word is law, and unless I'm cutting down everyone in sight and ordering Plegia to be completely defenseless in favor of protecting Ylisse or anywhere else your job is to do as you are told."

Cherche nodded as she and Minerva patroled outside the ship. SO long as they could keep their ward safe,hopefully they could dock.

~

Sonya herself was baffle. It seemed that quite quickly that things had turned sour for the young woman, and she didn't want to see her locked away

"You sending me away with these strangers to go talk to some ancient dragon may as well be you exiling me. I'm done talking to you, since you can't open your blind, beady little eyes wide enough to see just what you've done. I swear to the gods, if I return and one of my girls have died, one way or another, I will flay you to the bone and have your head mounted above the portcullis on this castle." she hissed. He was beyond any reason. She had done her best to fend off the dragons while he was away, took over where his general and commanders left off, and now she was being sent away to as some courier to some old dragon who was probably past any use even for a handbag. It was a kick to the teeth after being stabbed through the back.

"Might be better served just taking one of her subordinates with you, but at this point I don't want her in charge of any of my squadrons right now." said Gangrel. "Attitudes like hers are dangerous. If you think you can keep her in line, Lucina, she is all yours." said the former mad king. "Release her so she can do as ordered." said Gangrel to the guards, who released her promptly, almost seeming relieved it didn't turn out worse. "I will bid you all farewell now, I know that you are anxious to move on and complete this journey, and I have my own matters to attend to now. You will find all arranged when you go to the docks, I sent word ahead to have the ships loaded and prepared."

~

Magnus allowed Razylym to land on the deck as the ships swept into deeper waters. His sharp eyes scanned the sea as he dismounted. He would need to clean up as well, the dragon's blood had made quite a mess of his armor, and there were children aboard the ship he didn't wish to frighten, and he did not want his armor to grow rusty.

"She'll be in good hands, Your Majesty," Lucina replied. She was relieved that the argument hadn't broken out into a full-blown brawl.

~

Cherche had started as soon as she landed, Minerva taking a quick swim before the former maid began to tend to their charge. It seemed as if everyone was safe.

"Gods speed you on your errand. I've got plenty to straighten out myself now. Heane, don't give them any shit. Their work is directly involved from keeping more dragons from reaching Plegia, so serving them, you serve our country still."

~

Magnus headed below decks, bathing and cleaning his armor of the bloodstains. Soon he was clean and his armor freshened and buffed of its new scratches.

Heane turned and shot Gangrel another nasty glare. At this point she believed the best she could do for this country was to get rid of the rat sitting the throne here and now. She rolled her eyes at him and fell in ranks with the others. So much for any proper rest, too. She retrieved Archie and set out on the road for the docks.