[IC] Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

[TwilightDragon]

[font=timesnewroman][size=6]Story[/size]

[size=3]We once served to defend the good people of Ylisse. It is different, now… because who are we to defend but ourselves?[/size]

A group of people came together under the leadership of Prince Chrom of House Ylisse; men, women, mages, warriors… all people of shapes and sizes, all people from different corners of the world. This group of mercenaries were sometimes called Chrom’s Vigilantes, or, more often, Shepherds. They had one purpose—to protect the people that could not even swing a sword from Plegia’s ruffians and bandits. The Shepherds once proudly proclaimed that they tended the sheep and fought the wolves that wanted to harm their peaceful flock.

After a very large war had ended, the land was left in peace. However, the Shepherds continued to defend their people. They made sure that no bandit was to spill the blood of any loyal maiden, fierce warrior, or wailing babe. At this time, the Shepherds had begun to grow. Hundreds of men and women begged to be accepted into the Shepherds’ ranks, proclaiming that they would serve until their lives were ripped away from them. As more people signed up to take up arms, the Shepherds decided to make larger and more spaced out barracks. They placed a barracks where they thought was needed most, and soon there were eight or so large living quarters in the whole of Ylisse. The Shepherds’ numbers grew to about fifteen hundred heads, and soon became one of the fiercest known warriors in the whole land.

But the peace would not last for long.

A new exalt took power in Ylisse ten years after the sharp growth of the Shepherds. His name was Darrian—a strong and handsome young man that proudly bore the mark of the Hero-King. His hair was jet-black, and eyes such a blue that one could see crashing ocean waves in his gaze. Of course, many women swooned when he passed by them in town. He was fair and kind in public, proclaiming peace and tranquility when he found the chance.

They say to never judge a book by its cover.

Darrian was a dark man when he was alone. You see, his plan was going according to plan. As if Darrian wanted peace! Pah! He thought peace was for the crows. Darrian wanted power, he wanted reign over all of the lands of the world! Now that he had the support of all of Ylisse, he could make a devious plot. Forge a dark lie.

Three months later, news of a suspicious battle took place in the sea between Valm and Plegia. Valm was currently Ylisse’s ally. They promised each other protection and aid if something were to ever happen, such as a natural disaster or a war. Surprisingly, the outcome of the battle reached Ylisse in the matter of a few hours. Plegia had attacked a squad of Valmese warships out of the blue. Thankfully, the Valmese had sunk the Plegian ships and made sure to leave no surivors. Ylisse was in distress; this was a storm on the horizon.

Why would Plegia suddenly attack Valmese warships?

The question crossed everyone’s minds, but more so the Shepherds. Like the other lands, Plegia was very peaceful after the war. The king and queen were good people. They would not order such an attack, not even in a spurt of rage. The mercenaries had begun to investigate to preserve the peace. They intercepted letters, shot down messenger hawks, eavesdropped on conversations in dark corners. The Shepherds smelled something fishy, and they were doing everything they could to see exactly what was going on.

But before they could, it was too late. On a dark summer night, two Shepherds were caught eavesdropping in Ylisstol’s castle courtyard. The new exalt was outraged, not only because he could not be trusted by the Shepherds, but because he didn’t know how much information had gotten to the mercenaries. The two Shepherds were executed on the morrow, but that did not sate Darrian’s anxiety. He sent his most loyal and seasoned men and women to hunt down and assassinate the Shepards before they could do anything that might harm his rule.

The Shepherds did not even have time to prepare for what came next. The people they had served were now coming upon them with swords, lances, axes, and tomes. That very night, the first barracks fell, taking six hundred and forty six lives with it. Within the week, two other barracks fell, the death toll of Shepherds rising to eight hundred and ninety eight. It was then that the Shepherds pulled themselves out of their confused mess and began to fight back. Yet, the third barracks fell and the number of dead Shepherds rose to one thousand. Every attack on the Shepherds became more and more powerful. By the time the last barracks fell, there were only fifty or so Shepherds left. Many of the Shepherds gave up on their mission and fled to different corners of the world to start new lives with new identities, leaving the mercenaries’ numbers dwindling dangerously close to zero.

The Shepherds that remained and were still loyal to their cause fled to Plegia, making sure to remain in their scrawny group. That group soon became a family, much like when Prince Chrom first started. They remain in Plegia to this date, hiding in the forests and in small villages when they can, dodging assassins and bounty hunters, and hoping to make the world see who Darrian really is… for when he takes Plegia, who can stop him from taking the world?

[size=6]Classes[/size]

A class is what your character is described as. A character can be a Paladin, an Archer, etc. Below is a list of classes that your character can be. Classes are in italics. The weapons they can wield are in brackets . The classes that follow a “…” can be only be occupied by experienced warriors.

List of Classes

Lord* [Sword] … Great Lord [Sword, Lance]
Tactician* [Sword, Tome] … Grandmaster [Sword, Tome]
Cavalier [Sword, Lance] … Paladin[i] [Sword, Lance] -or- [i]Great Knight [Sword, Lance, Axe]
Knight [Lance] … General [Lance, Axe] -or- Great Knight [Sword, Lance, Axe]
Myrmidon [Sword] … Swordmaster [Sword] -or- Assassin [Sword, Bow]
Thief [Sword] … Trickster [Sword, Staff] -or- Assassin [Sword, Bow]
Barbarian [Axe] … Berserker [Axe] -or- Warrior [Axe, Bow]
Fighter [Axe] … Warrior [Axe, Bow] -or- Hero [Sword, Axe]
Mercenary [Sword] … Hero [Sword, Axe] -or- Bow Knight [Bow, Sword]
Archer [Bow] … Sniper [Bow] -or- Bow Knight [Bow, Sword]
Dark Mage [Tome, Dark Tome] … Sorcerer [Tome, Dark Tome] -or- Dark Knight [Tome, Sword]
Mage [Tome] … Sage [Tome, Staff] -or- Dark Knight [Tome, Sword]
Cleric[F]/Priest[M] [Staff] … War Cleric[F]/War Monk[M] [Staff, Axe]
Troubadour [Staff] … Valkyrie [Staff, Tome] -or- War Cleric [Staff, Axe]
Pegasus Knight [Lance] … Falcon Knight [Lance, Staff] -or- Dark Flier [Lance, Tome]
Wyvern Rider [Axe] … Wyvern Lord [Axe, Lance] -or- Griffon Rider [Axe]
Villager [Lance]
Dancer [Sword]
Taguel** [Beaststone]
Manakete** [Dragonstone]

[size=2]* = Will be limited to one. [Tact. Taken, Lord Free]
** = Will be limited to two of each. [/size]

Information on Taguel and Manaketes

Taguel: the Taguel was once a massive race of beast-people who could shift into various animals. Taguels transform from their humanoid form to a beast form using Beaststones. However, Taguels are capable of mix-breeding with humans, resulting in children who can shapeshift like their Taguel parent. There are only two left in existence.

Manaketes: can also be referred to as simply Dragons. Manaketes transform from a humanoid form to a dragon form using dragonstones. As a race, Manaketes are often shown to be in conflict with humans during the games story or backstory. They are sometimes divided into tribes based on their element, such as fire, ice, flying, and earth dragons, although tribes not based off a particular element, like magic and divine dragons, have appeared as well.

More information on classes here.

[size=6]Description of Weapons[/b]

Axe: blade on a handle, used for throwing.
Bow: long stick with thick string fastened to both ends. The string is used to hook an arrow and have it pulled back, sending the arrow long distances into an enemy.
Sword: pointed weapon used for cutting, jabbing, slicing, etc.
Lance: long stick with sharp, metal tipped end used for jabbing and running through an enemy, usually on the back of a beast.
Staff: long stick with magical properties, used for purely casting healing magic.
Tome: book used to cast spells.
Dark Tome: book used to cast darker, life sucking and poison spells.
Beaststone: stone used to change into the form of a dangerous beast. Can only be used by Taguel.
Dragonstone: stone used to change into the form of a small dragon. Can only be used by Manaketes.

More information on weapons here.

[size=6]Locations[/size]

There are three locations that are to be mentioned and may be explored in this RP. They are [url] http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/Ylisse]Ylisse[/url], Plegia, and Valm.

Ylisse is currently allied to Valm and the two are at war against Plegia.

[size=6]Rules[/size]

- No godmodding, powerplaying, etc. In other words, be polite to one another.

- Write clear, coherent paragraphs of at least six sentences per character.

- There is no character limit.

- I know I left out the information on the characters of Awakening, but I am trying to avoid as many spoilers as I can, and grant us more freedom.

- This is a semi-mature rated RP. This means that it is rated R but toeing the line on PG-13. Rated R applies mostly to gore, language, and mentions of sex, but the actual act of intercourse can go a bit further than PG-13; like those times in the movies where the characters are in bed making out in their underwear and then there’s a black out, then the characters are naked in bed and snuggling together. That’s what I want. If you go too far you will be warned.

- In order to prove that you have read the rules, state your favorite phrase from any Fire Emblem game in the “Other” section of your form.

- Do not remove the bold lettering in the character application forms.

- Fill out all of the form. Do not leave anything blank unless it tells you to. However, you do not have to write stories for each heading. Five sentences for personality and eight for biography is good enough.

- Be active.

- Have fun!

- If you need any information from me, ask. If, for some reason, I am not able to answer your questions, please refer to the Wiki.[/font]

[TwilightDragon]

Darrian had shooed everyone that had been in the dining room away, yes. Surely, they would show disdain for him later, but that was not what was on his mind. His blue eyes flicked back to Xanxus, as they had been resting on the stained glass window. He was angry; he had told these men to get the Shepherds deep into the earth no matter what it took. They had found out about his plot, and he was not willing to give up so easily. Then came another man. This one was significantly older than the two of them, but there was wisdom in his old eyes. He stood straighter, tipping his chin up at the man. ”Lantus.” he greeted, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
Lantus had been a general once before. He was a good and intelligent man, and very cunning with the way he worked. Yet he had gone into retirement, and as soon as Darrian felt turmoil rise up in his heart, he knew he needed Lantus at his side. ”Pleasure to see you again.” with this general, he would feel more at ease. Lantus knew how to get work done. So did Xanxus, but he was probably prone to becoming distracted. At least, that was what Darrian felt. ”My orders were clear before. Hunt down the Shepherds and send them back here on a silver platter. And yet, do I see any of them in the dungeons? No.” his voice was stern, but distressed. And everyone knew when Darrian was stressed, he would become angry.
”They have begun to hide in Plegia. I have a simple command for the both of you.” he looked between the two soldiers. ”Go to Plegia. Bring your finest men. And tell those… Plegian dirt balls that we’re hunting for the Shepherds. Tell them that they are the reason for the war. Say… well… you both know how to lie, right? Tell them a good story. And kindly explain to them that if they don’t comply, Ylisse will slaughter many innocents in her search.”
Sloppy, yes, but Darrian wasn’t known for clean work. He only knew how to kill. It was his specialty.

[phillmyster]

The same old sand, the same old hills, patrolling Plegia was as fun as staring at a wall, the only upside was that sometimes, a bandit would appear to spice things up, not to be one to welcome conflict but, maybe that was what Phill wanted, he focused on keeping awake walking next to his horse Andrew, hoping that something interesting would happen, all the men at the barracks grew tired of sparing with him, always the same results. "By the gods, this dessert is endless and stale... " Phill yawned as he talked to his horse, who looked rather annoyed and sleepy too "C'mon, lets just go up the mountain, there’s a stream there and the high vantage point will give us lookout of the land, and we can take turns sleeping too", Andrew nickered as he rose his head to the idea. Phill and Andrew walked up the nearby mountain...

[Solace]

"You know, the rounds."

Xanxus muffled his voice slightly, not wanting to divulge into his previous journey the night before. Darrian's frequent tantrums of the furious anger he commonly expressed around the denizens of the palace never ceased to entertain him; he'd known his friend for a good six years and he never seemed to change a bit. Most people were either disgusted or, in most cases, terrified of the Exalt's two shades of character and morality, Xanxus himself was not bothered by it in the slightest. Moreso, he respected his friend deeply for his insatiable desire to seize a future he craved for, which was to unite the countries of both continents under one banner of his ruling. No matter how positive or negative they were, people with dreams to fulfill were real humans to him. He cared not for those with or without the power to change things, rather, he searched for the root of ambition nestled deep in their being. There were few in the world with true motivation, and Darrian was one of them.

Just then, Lantus entered the dining hall and stood a few feet from Xanxus' side, earning a salutation from Darrian. Lantus was a particular fellow that he did not revere nor detest, like most; the old man was merely an associate who happened to work alongside him. He knew that the veteran had a daughter within the ranks of the Shepherds, and considered the large possibility that she had been among the thousand and a half casualties. He had killed many weaklings that night, and individually, decimated the seventh and eighth barracks without his detached unit. He knew the old man knew of Xanxus' involvement in the mass slaughtering of the Shepherds, and wondered if Lantus despised him for such. Folding his arms and leaning to the side, he quietly listened to his friend.

Lie.

Xanxus scoffed at the mention of that word, masking disdain in his mind as Darrian went on to further explain their objective. "Like I said before, I need not lift a finger and I could take Plegia by myself. My men's participation is not required."

"Perhaps Lantus could bring his own troops to tag along. It'd be great exercise for them, not to mention the desert heat'll get 'em sweating a bit to burn some calories," He joked, taking another bite out of his apple. Xanxus turned over to Lantus and bumped him slightly on the shoulder, yawning. "Let's get to it, then."

---

"... Xanxus?

"Oh, my." Zaino watched as Xanxus, almost as if he was just as surprised as he was, lean in to get a closer look at Zaino's face. He seemed to appear a bit troubled, lowering his sword and extending a hand out to Zaino as he continued:

"Quite the fiery reunion, don't you think? Whatta ya doing here, grumps?"

***

Zaino tilted his head briefly at the startled woman, halting the advance of his sword that hovered over his head. He was mildly confused by the act; why would someone who was after him plead for mercy? He took a quick look at the woman's bow and noticed its fine quality; though the Shepherds had some access to the Ylissean Armory, their arsenal had consisted primarily from scavenging off of bandits and such, or the common wares you would always see being sold at an average armory. Such a weapon of its material was expensive and somewhat rare for these parts.

"Enough of your games! I won't be fooled again!" Zaino shouted, not willing to show any hesitation as power returned to his hand and resumed his sword's plummet.

[TwilightDragon]

[I will post as Darrian when Psy posts. ^^]

The man stopped, his sword a bit over his head. She peered up at him, fear lighting her eyes as she silently begged for him to just go away. The spitting pain that ran up and down her back from the fall was starting up again, and she knew that she would not be able to dodge a heavy blow. She had to bargain, and so she would. For a moment, she thought that the young man- probably a mercenary from the look of his powerful arms, strong enough to carry that sword. He bore no mark of a Ylissean soldier, nor the look.
Suddenly, he said that he had enough of her games. That he wouldn’t be fooled again. Ambra’s eyes widened as the sword came at her, and she covered her face and screeched, ”Stop! I’m a Shepherd!”
Mayhaps this man was one as well? There was no use in hiding it. If he was a soldier or an assassin, he would kill her no matter what. But in the slight chance of this rogue of some sort being from the faction, then she would be saved. At least she could try, right?
If only she knew how to wield a sword. Ambra was only trained in the art of the bow, as Scipio said that an archer was a very important person in a battle. They would usually be perched on some precipice and looking over the scene that unfolded beneath them. They would then knock, pull, and shoot, and that one arrow could be the difference between victory and defeat.

[phillmyster]

""Stop! I'm a Shepherd!""
the sound came from no too far, caching Phill's attention.
"You heard that Andrew, looks like its our lucky day" Phill mounted Andrew, took out his lance and rode to were the shout came from. "The shepherds.... thought they all died in that Ylissean "purge" war... I better hurry up, sounded like she was in danger..." Andrew picked up the pace, It had been too long since he last fought, and an opponent that could endanger a shepherd that survived that "purge" meant no common thug, he had to be prepared for a real fight, it could also be a trap he thought but, it didn't matter a fight is a fight and someones in danger. He arrived to see two figures in the distance. "HALT IN THE NAME OF PLEGIA! STATE YOUR NAMES AND REASONS TO BE HERE" Phill shouted as he was required to.

[Fisk]

(Collab post incoming! Just know that both participants have NEVER done a collab post before. The perspective switches each paragraph as though they're responses.)
Silas & Talbot

The hot, dry sun climbed its way up from its sandy bed, lazily shying its hot rays onto Silas' face. The mountain that he was perched on was facing a vast expanse of sand, the infamously lethal Plegian Desert. He, along with the rest of the surviving Shepherds, found refuge here. The make-shift camp was arid and dry, and the incoming sun did nothing to alleivate these pains. For some, the stark contrast between mountainous forest and desert side-by-side would be breathtaking, and even beautiful. But with Silas' companions either asleep or dead silent, the only way to describe this place, for him, was pure, concentrated boredom. There was no gossip to overhear, no friends to speak to. Fatigue and depression claimed most, and even Silas found it difficult to keep spirits up. He let out an exasperated sigh, scratching his head and pulling his hand down over his eyes. They glazed over, dry and still as he looked out into the distance.
Like a small, quiet whimper, he muttered under his breath. "This place sucks."

It was always hot in this horrible, horrible place. Sweat made bodies sticky, made minds weary, and all the group did was sleep or try to remain still as possible. They searched for shade, but sadly, there was a limited amount of the sweet, cool refuge. The sun bore down on them without mercy, almost like it was laughing at their suffering. Talbot, usually a very and happy upbeat sorcerer, was already as grumpy as a male wyvern in heat. At any moment, he could snap and hiss and breathe fire at anyone! At least he had his lute. His lute, or what some would call an annoying piece of wood with strings coming down it, was as dear as life to him. Ever since he had joined the Shepherds, music had grown so close to him that it now ran in his blood. He could sing and play well, but he would never dance. Now that was too embarrassing.
A low murmur came from across the camp, and he raised his eyes from his fingers, which were picking away at the strings. The lute let out a very high pitched tune, almost displaying the distress that Talbot was writhing under, if it actually had a voice. Silas, an archer, was complaining already. It couldn't possibly be nine in the morn, but at the same time, Talbot could not blame him. This day was hotter than the rest, and while Talbot did not wear his complete mage uniform, only bearing his undershirt and pants, sweat rolled off of his body as if he were some sort of rock that was getting in the way of a waterfall.
"Really, Silas, it doesn't suck that bad. Oh wait, it does." Talbot offered Silas a crooked smile. The sweat was rolling down his face, into his eyes and into the corners of his mouth. "Maybe I should sing a song..?"

Silas' eyes darted off to the side as his ears picked up sound. Immediately, his invisible shackles that tied him to this Naga forsaken rock broke free, and he turned to see Talbot with what seemed to be as forced a grin as one could bear to look at in this heat. He smiled back, happy that someone went out of their way to talk to him.
With a dry laugh, Silas stood up, immediately regretting taking in all of that dry air. He swatted the sweat off of his neck like one would swat a fly from their food, balancing himself off of the rock he had perched on.
"As much as I'd appreciate a nice song, I think our friends are a little too tired for a listen." He dismissed, rolling his eyes towards their compatriots.
"Now that I think about it, though, coming this high up the mountain was a poor idea anyway. There's more trees down there, and..." He trailed off, eyes darting to Talbot's face. "...You're sweating into your mouth. Gross." He let off another laugh, again regretting making that decision "Anyway, what do you say we do? There's absolutely nothing to do on this rock, and everyone else is too tired to do anything."

Who was too tired to listen to a song? They weren't moving their bodies, or singing along. Would listening to a song make their brains sweat as well? Talbot sighed and put his precious musical instrument to the side, his eyes closing as he felt the sun's tormenting increase. It seemed that the sun had picked him as a particular victim, and was attacking his very dark hair with its rays. It was true that everyone looked tired- personally, Talbot thought it was a little dangerous for everyone to not have their complete suit of armor or battle equipment on. Bandits, or more dangerous villains could swoop down on them and finish them all off. Mere cloth could not protect blows from an axe or sword as well as a suit of steel on.
When Silas commented on the sweat dribbling to his mouth, he opened his eyes and glanced at him. "As much as I wipe it away, more follows. The taste of my sweat is very salty, so it makes me thirstier!" he let out a low, angry, and frustrated whine. "The guy who went on his rounds said that he was going to get some water, and he even took my water pouch. Sure, it was filled with sand, but..." he sighed, his throat irritating him and making him feel more uncomfortable. "... I know there's nothing to do in this hell. Everyone seems like they're dying." he looked to the side at a young man who was stretched out and sleeping under a dried tree. Even he looked very uncomfortable. "Maybe we should go and look around? Make a little round of our own?"

Silas' eyes widened as Talbot suggested leaving this deathly plane, if even for a moment. Quiet excitement quivered through him as he prepared himself to leave. Subtly moving one of his arms towards his back, he did a small inventory check. He talked aside to himself as he searched his things in an incredibly untactful manner.
"Bow, check. Provisional snacks... Check. Arrows..." He found his quiver and shook it around. It made a comforting jostling sound as the arrows jumped around in the container. He smirked a little as he completed his check, and he draped the longer end of his scarf over his head like a sloppy turban. Silas grabbed Talbot's hand forcibly. Sticky and sweaty. Yech.
Turning around and beginning a very energetic march, he looked back at his company.
"The answer's yes, by the way." He confirmed, with a pleased look in his eyes and a goofy smile. The sun was beating, the ground was blistering hot, his clothing stuck to his skin, and nary a living thing in sight, besides these lost souls. But none of that mattered. Silas finally had something to do.

---(Magical Timeskip wooahhh)---

Talbot moaned loudly, making some carrion birds that were perched on a nearby rock scatter in a flurry of feathers and "caw"s. He had placed his mage hat on his head, and that had helped protect his scalp from the unforgiving rays of the sun. Yet his head felt itchy and wet, and sweat still dribbled down into his face. Not to mention his satchel, which was doing a glorious job at keeping him comfortable, was making his left shoulder ache. It was weighed down by around three tomes that he had taken with him: one of fire, one of wind, and one of thunder. These tomes only contained basic spells that would simply fend off some bandits. He didn't need the tomes that contained powerful spells, not yet, anyway. "I'm tired," he groaned, slumping a bit. "I think it was better if we would have stayed and played cards. I regret this."
He smacked his lips as he struggled to wet his mouth, but his throat screamed with thirst. If he kept on like this, he would hardly be able to speak. "Silas, do you see any danger? Because I sure don't. All I see is... sand. Oceans of it. I mean, how could animals even live here?" he had seen the occassional fennec fox here and a snake there, but they were probably well suited for the desert. "You know what I can't wait for? When we actually go to an inn. Sleep in a real bed for once." his gaze became softer as he imagined rolling around in pleasure in a cotton sheeted mattress. "How about you?"

With an ungraceful slump into a nearby tree, Silas sighed. As much as he wanted to come down here, Talbot was right. Even though there were more trees, and consequently, more shade, the wind blew colder higher up, and their marching only dehydrated them further. His bow poked into his back, and he felt a bruise coming on, but that was the least of their troubles.
"Eh..." He audibly moaned, wiping the sweat off of his brow. "If we're talking about what I really want..." He drew his bow from his back, partly to relieve him from some pain. He held it out, plucking the bow lightly. "...I could really go for some meat. Maybe raw. Then it'd have a lot of blood." Silas trailed off as he thought to himself, salivating as the word meat echoed gently in his head. "Blood's basically, water, right? That'd be great, right about now."
With a quick look back to his friend, he noted how strained his eyes were, and the sheer buckets of sweat the both of them were shedding. Putting his free hand over his mouth, he withdrew his bow as he lowered his eyes in apology. "I'm going to shut up about water now." His voice cracked at the end, and he grabbed at his throat with his hand in a futile attempt to soothe it.

At Silas' words, Talbot's stomach began to grumble. The Shepherds did their best at hunting and catching game, but all the prey they found were some of those scrawny foxes and crows. One brought down a vulture. That was the biggest meal he had had in a while. He, too, began to salivate as he imagined a great, thick, juicy, wet steak sitting on a platter. He was pretty sure that if someone decided to drop said steak in the middle of their camp, there would be a huge squabble as to who would take the first bite. Talbot meant to sigh, but it came out sounding like a very raspy wheeze. "Whose great idea was it to come to Plegia?!" he yelled, risking the pain in his dry throat to relieve some of his anger. "They're not exactly friendly, you know. It's not like they're going to say 'Well, hello there! Come to Plegia! We'll feed you and clothe you and water you Ylisseans! What's that? Oh, we don't care what happened in the past and what's happening now!'." he began to cough, keeling over as the bout continued. It didn't stop until his dry throat bled. Great. Just as he was about to curse, he heard a sound. A scream. A womanly scream. "Hey... did you hear that?" he asked Silas, glancing over at the green haired fellow. "It's a woman."

With an abrupt, clumsy motion one could hardly call standing up, Silas cupped his hand over his ear. A shot of adrenaline cut through the dreadful mood as his ears perked. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, I hear it." Nervously, he moved around the tree, cupping his ears once more. "I hear cutting, too. Like... Like the sound of cutting wood."
Despite the nature of the situation, Silas smiled to himself. His ears never failed him, after all. While he composed himself, his thoughts dueled uncomfortably in his head. What was someone-- barring the Shepherds, of course-- doing in the middle of nowhere like this? He furrowed his brow as he gazed out to where the sounds were coming from. The two of them were weathered by the sun, and Silas was certain he'd pass out if he fired more than one arrow. It was tough enough to not want to just lay down and let the sand bury his thirst.
He shook his head violently, as if to chase the thought away. 'No,' he thought to himself, shakily reaching for his bow. 'I'm a Shepherd. If danger threatens anyone, I'm to heed the call.'
With newfound resolve, he looked back to Talbot, reaching his hand out. The poor soul was groveling on the ground, shouting his grimaces at the heavens for a while, now. As much as the two of them needed a break, he offered him the hand anyway. "Are we going?" He asked rhetorically, giving Talbot one more smile. As though to preserve his throat, Talbot gave a silent nod, and took Silas' hand.
They made a light jog out of their search, fatigue burning almost all of their drive. Pressing onward, Silas eventually stopped, with Talbot close behind. Far ahead, a trail of dates made a short line around a tree. From their angle, the scene was mostly hidden-- All that could be seen was a sword and two figures, one of them being a lady laying on the ground. Farther off to the side, two more figures stood, claiming authority. Alarm shot up through Silas' spine, and he instinctively stretched his arm out, as though reaching out to the scene.
"H-hold on! What on earth is going on here?!"

[Psyker Landshark]

Somehow, he saw this coming. Of course the Exalt called him in to hunt down what was left of the Shepards. He couldn't have been called in to command in an actual war. Instead, he was tasked with hunting down the remnants of an already-shattered organization. But this way, he could find his daughter.

Alicia had been a Shepard. Lantus had never quite liked the organization's foolish ideals of heroism, but even he had to admit that they had their uses in cleaning up the countryside. And if nothing else, they were still a substantial military force. Still, it had been his daughter's choice where she served. But then the purge came. Before Darrian had called him back into service, Lantus had been frantically searching for his daughter, sending his bannermen riding across Ylisse to try to find her and bring her to safety.

Then again, Lantus supposed that he should be thanking Darrian. If the Shepards had escaped into Plegia, he now had an excuse to hunt for Alicia. He would bring his daughter back by any means necessary, even if he had to make war against Plegia again. He would save his daughter, no matter what it took.

"I understand, Your Majesty." Lantus said, nodding at Darrian. "Rest assured, I will find the Shepards. And if Plegia should stand in my way, I will destroy their army and anyone else that gets in my a second time." The old general smiled bitterly and turned to leave, following Xanxus out.

Once they were outside, Lantus's two knights flanked him once again, guarding their lord, who turned to Xanxus.

"Well then. My lands and bannermen are three days' ride away. Since the Exalt wants this done quickly, it'll be impractical to use my men, considering that it would take even longer to prepare a march. And since you refuse to take your own forces, I trust you won't object if I take soldiers from the regular army, will you?"

[Solace]

"I apologize for my remarks, Lantus. Excuse my brief lack of professionalism." Xanxus spoke a true apology as the two departed from the dining hall, pocketing his hands when the general's two knights joined them. It was a rare sight that he ever included humor within his dialect; he was always straight to the point, both brutally honest and honestly brutal with his words. Likewise, it was commonplace for others to think that he always spoke in a passively aggressive tone. His eyes darted between the first and second knight before he reverted his sight onward. [b]"I've a habit and reputation for thinking lowly of grunts. I like to do things on my own; preferably, the way that I'd like them to be done, though we both share the same rank. I look forward to cooperating with you."

After a few moments of Xanxus listening to Lantus, he answered: "Sure. Perhaps a few wyverns or pegasi riders to have an aerial view across the land, as well? I imagine that after the initial operation, there are very few survivors, it should not be extremely difficult to locate them."

"The chances of the survivors finding and banding together is unlikely, though that's only if there were that many survivors heading into Plegia to begin with. We'll have to assume that that is the case." Xanxus paused for a moment before continuing.

"Plegia itself is comprised mainly of desert and mountainous regions, as I'm sure you're well aware of. Fliers are our best bet in these two environments, but otherwise, our alternative is leading a force comprised of ground combatants that will travel by horseback until we reach the sands, where we continue on foot."

---

Again, Zaino's sword arm barely halted as the blade was just inches away from slicing the woman, who had just claimed that she was a Shepherd. He paused momentarily as his head tilted to observe the woman more, attempting to recall if he had ever seen her. It's no use. What's the chance of recognizing one person out of fifteen hundred?

"You're one, too?"

Zaino shook his head, a part of him wanting to believe the woman but the other dominant portion warning him otherwise. "No, that can't be. I'm the last Shep--"

"HALT IN THE NAME OF PLEGIA! STATE YOUR NAMES AND REASONS TO BE HERE!"

Oh, boy.

Zaino shifted his head slightly as a stranger called out to them, seeing the spear held in its arm and instantly seeing the stranger as a threat. He wheeled around and, though it was still in his grip, he lowered his sword temporarily as he prepared himself for a surprise attack.

"A name isn't something given so easily to the likes of strangers."

[TwilightDragon]

Ambra’s eyes were focused on the sharp edge of the blade. A little bit more and she would have been decapitated. The man seemed fairly confused, as he tipped his head and asked if she was one as well. What? He wasn’t the only Shepherd left. Because she was a Shepherd! The woman frowned and dragged herself further away from the situation, if it was only a little bit. Her gaze, misty with fright, glanced over the man now that she did not have a sword in her face. The man was tall, firm with muscle, and had dark hair. Clearly a challenge, especially with the way he held himself. Her eyes flicked to the side, spotting people running up to them. More men, alas they were not nearly as hostile as this one. And then a man with a horse and spear, demanding that they say who they were.
”My name is Ambra.”
The woman heaved herself to her feet, eyes scanning over the men that surrounded her. Ambra offered the mounted knight a strained smile, and then offered it to everyone else. Yet, when she reached Zaino, her smile faded and became more strained. She wasn’t so sure that she should trust him. He had almost killed her twice.
”I’m a Shepherd, yes. I… actually was the first to come here. So you can say I’m a bit more experienced with wandering the deserts.”
She smiled more at Zaino. He was the most hostile so she wanted to make sure that he didn’t see her as an enemy. But then again, she shouldn’t have said anything about being a Shepherd. She did not know the intentions of the mounted man nor the mage and archer that showed up. Ambra was too innocent for her own good.

[phillmyster]

"Ambra is it?, Im Phill, I mean you no harm, step away from the bandit" Phill told Ambra never loosing sight of Zaino, "Bandit, why were you attacking this woman! Answer or I will be forced to take action" Phill advanced on Andrew towards Ambra.
Phill hadn't noticed the other two men, the hostile answer given by Zaino took all his attention. He noticed Zaino had lowered his blade, Phill did not waver in his stance, he did have the advantage on attack distance but not mobility, so he made sure to keep his distance, this man looked like a genuine threat, there was no telling who would win if a fight broke out but, that motivated Phill even more, all these rules of conflict were a bother to him, non nonetheless he had to follow them as a cavalier, if the man answered the wrong way, then Phill could cut loose.

[Fisk]

Silas stood there, frozen in place. The world seemed to move while he struggled to keep himself balanced, yet all he did was stay perfectly still. The scene continued, with just about everyone confused as to who’s on whose side. Fingers were pointed, voices were being raised, and sword point was being waved. And yet, with all the effort he’d put in to reach the scene…
He’d been blatantly ignored.

His head hung low, he let out a weak whimper, as he was pretty sure even Talbot didn’t notice him say anything. Even worse, the scene only got busier, and he still didn’t know anything about what was going on. “Looks like that self pep-talk didn’t do much in the end…” He said to himself in a defeated tone. At that, however, Silas propped himself back up to a proper posture, with a less than impressed face on. After a heavy sigh, he put on a courageous face again and drew his bow. “Well, we’re here anyway, right? If they don’t notice me, I’ll just make myself noticed…”

Despite being a terrible idea, Silas cut himself a path, grabbing an arrow. With no regard for transparency and context, he neared the small cluster of people, bow drawn. His green hair fell over one of his eyes, and his makeshift turban fell back into scarf-like form.

With his presence known, he took a clean, sharp breath. Or, it would have been a clean breath if a few grains of sand hadn’t flown directly into his throat. Before he could even speak, he began to cough madly as his already dry throat strongly protested the invasive grains, and he fell against another tree to hold his pained throat with both hands. After a cacophony of coughing and wheezing, he brought his throat under control. Looking up with misty eyes from the coughing fit, he re-evaluated the situation. The fellow with a sword was lowering his blade but not his stance, and the cavalier fellow remained firm on the ground.

“—Oh, you two must know eachother! Are, are you friends? Are you going to duel?” He chimed in weakly, regaining his voice. With a slight pause, he stood up again, convinced he was right. “Can I watch?!”

[vancexentan]

The Silver Hawk Mercenary Carn

---

As Carn entered through the gate of the city of Ylisstol and looked around the city. This place made him feel ill almost immediately. The savior of the land Chrom had once been here as exalt as well as her sickeningly sweet sister. In Regna Ferox he was taught that power was everything. The sickening notion of friendship ran through the blood of the Hero King's bloodline. What was friendship in a world of warriors? What were warriors of old to this old fool? He respect Ike more than Marth as Ike was never afraid to use his sword when he had to or at least that's what he heard. He was hearing rumors about the slow decay of this nation as well...was peace finally becoming stagnant and polluting this place? Maybe or maybe not. The young man known as Carn could not care either way. "This place has many good people in it though...so I suppose I shouldn't wish for it's demise so soon." Carn said to himself when a guard told him to move along. He grunted and did as he was told but he didn't like being ordered around by the local guard. He had killed better men without a thought. His time with Red Fist had taught him one thing though: All men need to earn their worth and that was why he was stopping here before moving to the even more repugnant ransacked area known as Plegia. Carn walked down the path keeping his sword within easy reaching distance and he stopped by a merchant stall buying some water and more supplies, meat especially, from a nearby stand exchanging his silver coins in exchange for the supplies. Eventually after sometime he eventually found himself sitting down on a nearby bench in the middle of a busy sidewalk.

[TwilightDragon]

Well, Silas was enthusiastic. That was, until they were ignored. It was quite odd really. He believed that a mage donning blue clothes and a green haired man in the middle of a dry forest. Silas let out a low whimper and Talbot heaved a sigh, his eyes growing slanted. His shoulders sagged and the sweat rolled off of his nose. Great. They left a shaded camp just to be ignored? Wow. That was just… wow. Talbot rubbed the bridge of his nose and groaned loudly.
Silas said that he wanted to make himself known. Talbot gulped, grabbing tighter onto his satchel. He felt like his arm was going to be ripped off. Why should they make themselves known? One wrong move and he could end up as a saddle throw for that man’s horse. “Silas, maybe we should… Silas?” Talbot was surprised to see the archer cut a path to the people, but, afraid of being alone in this heat, followed. His bout of coughing made his hair stand on end, and the mage glanced toward the people. The girl was up now moving away from the suspected bandit, shaken and seemingly in pain, but maintaining her composure. Impressive. She seemed the weak type.
”I don’t think they’re friends. I think they’re going to kill each other. And I don’t want to get in the way of that.” Talbot muttered to Silas. ”And Naga damn it, do you have to be so loud? You probably woke Grima up with that last bit.”

[AgniSpirit]

Helena wished she had started her journey closer to Plegia's shores. At least there she would have seen some life. Or at least feel a breeze. Here in the famous Plegian deserts, all she got was sand, heat and more sand. She had only begun her travels a week ago and she was already rethinking her decision to come down here. The image of her condescending father immediately flashed through her mind a second later. Helena shook her head, braced herself against the sun's hot rays and continued her march. There was no way she was going back without accomplishing what she had set out to do. That was the whole reason behind the fight after all. Even though Regna Ferox had pulled away from the other countries due to internal strife, there was no way she herself could turn a blind eye from the ailing countries. Valm and Plegia were on the brink of war and there was the horrifying stories of the massacre of Ylisse's shepherds soon after. Instead of interfering, the Khan simply turned his back on Plegia, ignoring their so-called 'alliance'. Sadly, Helena knew her father would do the same. Having grown up with the stories of Chrom and her grandmother, there was no way she could idly sit by.

That was what brought her here today, climbing up a particularly large dune hill. Sweat coated her entire body, allowing her long blond locks to stick to her face and neck. It was terrible but she swallowed her complaints. A descendant of Flavia would never complain after all. After what seemed like hours that spanned only a few minutes, Helena finally reached the top. Surprisingly, the hill gave her a good view of the remaining land she had to cross. There were a couple of trees a mile or two north east of her but when she took a closer look, she realized she saw a few silhouettes. The blond wasn't sure if they were mirages until a loud shout erupted from that area. Something about being from Plegia. Knowing now that she wasn't hallucinating, Helena quickly slid down the hill and headed for the cluster of trees.

It wasn't until she was about halfway to her destination that she got a better look of the silhouettes. There were a total of five people gathered; four men and one woman. They all seemed to be soldiers, maybe of Plegia? Helena placed a hand over her own sword as she drew closer, finally catching the tense situation. From the looks of it, the man with the sword had tried to attack the woman with the bow only to be stopped by the other man on the horse. Helena did not know how the mage and the other archer played into this. The archer had babbled something on the lines of confusing, but nonetheless proved he and his mage friend were not part of the trio.

"Is there a problem here?" She finally called, letting her presence be known. The only one who seemed hostile was the swordsman and she was confident that she could take him down, even without the added help of the cavalier.

[Solace]

Solace - Zaino's Flashback said "... Xanxus?"

"Oh, my," Zaino watched as Xanxus, almost as if he was just as surprised as he was, lean in to get a closer look at Zaino's face. He seemed to appear a bit troubled, lowering his sword and extending a hand out to Zaino as he continued:

"Quite the fiery reunion, don't you think? Whatta ya doing here, grumps?"

Accepting his support, Zaino coughed violently from the virulent clouds of smoke around them. He couldn't find the words to answer his older brother; all he could do was marvel at how much he had changed since he'd last seen him, of which he couldn't even recall vividly. His eyes trailed to the sword that Xanxus held, its fine blade tainted by a fresh coat of blood. His brother placed a hand atop of his shoulder, leaning in to whisper in Zaino's ear as he led him out of the collapsing building. "Don't ask any questions, Ylisse is purging all Shepherds. We need to get out of here, and quickly.

"What?! Zaino exclaimed as his senses returned to him from their dull state.

"You heard me. Darrian's behind all of this."

Zaino cringed as they exited the building to find themselves in the center of the heated battle between the Shepherds and the Ylissean Army, the latter having the upper hand. He could see his friends barely holding themselves against the militants, wishing that he could take up his sword and fight alongside them. He would rather die with them than watch it all unfold or retreat. Just then, the building behind them began to collaps-

"Sorry, it's nothing personal." Xanxus mumbled, suddenly hurling Zaino forward as a haymaker punch met his face, throwing Zaino to the side. Before he hit the ground, Zaino was fast enough to bring up his sword to counter Xanxus' coming attack, partially deflecting his slash but receiving the brunt of it along his upper torso and right shoulder. He landed on the ground and found himself unable to move as Xanxus placed his boot on his head, sighing. "You might have not seen it, but I also cut the vital portions of your limbs, crippling you. Your wounds aren't fatal though, grumps."

"Instead, you earn the privilege of watching my swordplay."

---

phillmyster said
"Ambra is it?, Im Phill, I mean you no harm, step away from the bandit" Phill told Ambra never loosing sight of Zaino, "Bandit, why were you attacking this woman! Answer or I will be forced to take action" Phill advanced on Andrew towards Ambra.Phill hadn't noticed the other two men, the hostile answer given by Zaino took all his attention. He noticed Zaino had lowered his blade, Phill did not waver in his stance, he did have the advantage on attack distance but not mobility, so he made sure to keep his distance, this man looked like a genuine threat, there was no telling who would win if a fight broke out but, that motivated Phill even more, all these rules of conflict were a bother to him, non nonetheless he had to follow them as a cavalier, if the man answered the wrong way, then Phill could cut loose.

"You so-called high and mighty knights are all the same, always treating us Shepherds like ruffians. Did Xanxus send you to kill me like how he slaughtered all of us?" Zaino scowled, returning his sword to his side and cringing slightly at the movement, the cuts around his body having not fully recovered, not to mention the other countless wounds he had sustained from the battles at the other six barracks. He had pushed his wounded body to its capacity when he had attacked Ambra, of whom he would return to later, despite knowing the possibility of her easily being able to stick an arrow or dagger into his back at any time. It was then that his senses picked up more people around them, but In the state he was in now, he couldn't possibly hope to tackle a group of people, but he could hold his own in an individual battle.

So the assassin has friends... more surprising than intriguing. Another archer and magic user, both weak up close.

Zaino wasn't sure how he had been able to keep himself alive since all eight barracks fell. Maybe it'd been his will to live or pride as a swordsman, or maybe it was to gut Xanxus like the pig he was. His grimy and blood-stained face, the same that covered his clothing, had been an easy way in discerning him as a survivor of the Shepherd manhunt. However weak or broken he was, he would keep fighting, even if he had no more friends or allies. They were all dead, and after running away for so long, he was prepared to join the ones he watched die, but not without one last act of defiance. Zaino began to feel the crunch of exhaustion, dehydration, blood loss, sickness, and whatever else he was afflicted with, set in. "If you're going to kill a Shepherd, you're going to need more than a horse and lance, knight."

That was, until a new presence joined in on the fray, but it wasn't just am average person this time around; it was someone that Zaino actually recognized. "Helena?
The daughter of the East Khan, the rival to whom his master had served. Zaino remembered when he'd been selected as the West Khan's champion, and defeated the East Khan's champion to secure the West Khan's rule. He couldn't actually remember if he'd seen her at any moment of that time period, but her name had been all over Ferox, and there was no mistake.

[TwilightDragon]

Ambra had backed away from the so called “bandit”. It seemed that this man meant no harm, as if he had, she would have been struck down by him in an instant. Her eyes flicked to the mage and archer, one of which who scared the soul out of her, and she could not help but smile. That was kind of cute. They looked like little mongrel puppies! All shriveled and lost and alone in this large expanse of sand and rock.
Another person joined them, this one a woman. Ambra raised her eyes to her, and her eyes widened in shock. Zaino took the word out of her mouth. ”Helena!” she breathed, trembling a bit. But not out of fear, out of pure pleasure. She laughed, her legs bending a bit as she bounced up and down like an excited pup. ”Oh, Gods above, it’s you! I thought… I thought that… they got you…”
Ambra was a very emotional woman, and she felt tears come to her eyes. Helena should be recognized by all Shepherds as she was their Lady, and Ambra was one of those Shepherds. She admired the blond lady’s strength and spirit, along with her sense of leadership. Sobbing, she ran to her and leapt on her, clinging to her with both her arms and legs. ”I thought they killed everyone.” she breathed, trembling.
Thinking that she was the last Shepherd was very, very depressing. She knew that she would not be able to restart the faction. Ambra had no leadership skills, no sense of direction. By the time she would get their numbers up to one hundred, they would be slaughtered again. ”You know me, right?” said Ambra, letting go of her and beaming up at the stronger woman. ”I’m Ambra! You… were in the largest barracks, right? I was an archer there. Well… I’m… I-I’m still an archer…”
She turned to Phillip and held up a hand. ”Halt, good sir! Do not harm this man! Do you not know he is a Shepherd?”

[vancexentan]

Carn was still sitting on the bench when a sudden ruckus erupted around him. He immediately pulled out his sword and stood up looking around for immediate danger. A woman ran up to him and was breathing heavily, "Are you a Shepard!? Please help us! There is a robbery going on." the woman begged him as Carn's face twisted in reluctance. On one hand he hated thieves. On the other he never denied a call for help from an innocent person who genuinely needed his help. "I'm not a Shepard but I will help you because I must." Carn said plainly which were words he never used often. Because he must? Heh that was laughable he didn't need to do anything. Red Fist never did shit without someone paying him to do so. Carn was much more compassionate than people gave him credit for and Red Fist did his best to help Carn get rid of it. But he only succeeded in a technical sense. Carn ran alongside the woman until the reached an inn where a group of guards surrounded the place. Carn looked at the woman and frowned and then turned to the guard, "Guards excuse me I'm a mercenary for The Silver Hawk Company and I'm here to get rid of the thieves inside of the building." Carn said plainly to one of them who shrugged and told him to go ahead.

There's four of them and it's his funeral for going in there but really...what were four bandits to him? He entered the building and saw two hostages along with the criminals. Two barbarians it looked like and the others were mercenaries. The barbarian one the left stupidly charged him in an attempt to surprise him and immediately got a sword through the lung for his trouble and somehow regained enough strength for another swing but Carn dodged handily and was finished off with a quick slash. "I believe that this is the part when you say some stupid line about not giving up. I recommend doing the exact opposite before I disembowel your livers and feed them to you then disembowel your stomachs." Carn replied with a down right disturbing calm as if he had done the exact same thing many more times than he should have. In truth Carn had...but only in the battlefield and never in this situation. His group rarely went into town. Carn's enemies demanded to know who the hell he thought he was and he responded with a simple, "Me? I'm death walking with an iron sword." Carn replied with pure malice in his voice as he was so easily trained to do. Being from the West Khanite from the time he was little he knew had to naturally act like this. One of the last two, mercenaries by the looks of them, straight out gave up which made him happy he didn't need to waste his energy on killing him. The other carefully approached him and stabbed at him but was parried and Carn quickly slashed back at him twice but was blocked both times and then was hit by the enemy's weapon but just barely. "Ha you're not as good as you think punk!" the other barbarian moved to hit him only for Carn to dodge out of the in a roll and block the next blow with his sword quickly then pushed the mercenary back with a quick kick to the gut and tackled the barbarian who was able to keep from falling back and grabbed Carn. Damn he hated these types of bastards! They always had so much bulk behind them that physical attacks were like a child's poke. However....playing dirty was in Carn's area of expertise as he kicked the man in his private area and dodged as the mercenary recovered and accidently killed his friend with a quick stroke of his blade. Carn wasted no time and killed the man with a brutally precise stroke to the throat. "They almost got me." Carn replied plainly as he breathed in calmly. A nice work out this was but it was nothing to hard for him it seemed. One of the hostages got up and asked about the cut on his arm and he brushed it off as a flesh wound. Leaning down he felt the pain but he ignored it and cut off some of the cloth from the mercenary's clothes. He quickly wrapped it around him and looted the man's body for coin. That would be his reward for this mess...as Carn left through the front door he told the guards to do their jobs next to before walking away to somewhere more quiet. He had no interest in thanks from peasants....

[phillmyster]

TwilightDragon2 said
She turned to Phillip and held up a hand. ”Halt, good sir! Do not harm this man! Do you not know he is a Shepherd?”

"I heard him miss, I heard all of you now.....[whisper: just my luck]....so some shepherds survived and they all entered Plegia, and I find you all by pure luck.... well... then lets start this over again, I'm confused enough already as it is "
lowering his spear and putting it away on Andrew, and taking out some of the rations, a first aid kit and a water pouch.

Speaking towards Zaino "I'm sorry Sir Shepherd, but I mistook you for a bandit, as it so often happens in this parts, so here" he threw the First aid kit at him, noticing his wounds "the desert can help infect severe wounds, also you there, Archer man, here" Phill first took a drink of the water puch so they all could see him, then threw it towards the sweaty men, then the same with his ration, so they could trust that they weren't poisoned.

"Well, Hello, Welcome to the magically unforgiving desserts of Plegia, If you need any clothes, water or food, I can help you with that, there's a small town I'm currently stationed at not too far from here, and don't worry, that town is grateful to Ylisse, they saved them from bandits in the past, and personally I don't care of the past, whats happening now is whats important"

Silas looked at Talbot, who was surprised to hear those words while his own resonated in his head ("Well, hello there! Come to Plegia! We'll feed you and clothe you and water you Ylisseans! What's that? Oh, we don't care what happened in the past and what's happening now!")

"So, to finally introduce myself, I'm Phillip, this is my horse, Andrew " Andrew bowed his head.

[Fisk]

Silas scratched his head in confusion as everything unfolded. Mayhaps the stroke was finally settling in, but Helena of the warrior kingdom Ferox was in their midst, and all of a sudden everyone’s friendly. I was looking forward to seeing a fight, too. With drama! Oh man what if it turns they were related or something, and— Silas shook his head lightly, dismissing the thought. It may not be stroke, but the heat was definitely getting to him. As the word ‘Shepherd’ was tossed around casually, his eyes brightened. In his excitement in the prospect of seeing potentially two stray Shepherds here, he was hit deftly in the face with a canister and a sack. Managing to catch the provisions in his hand, before he could protest injury, the weight of the canister felt weighted but fluid as he lowered his hands. This was water, wasn’t it?
Curious, he shook it around once or twice, deciding it was indeed water, and without a second thought, took a small swig. The glorious liquid flowed down his throat. It wasn’t cold, by any means, but it felt a whole lot better than sand. As he finished the first gulp, he lowered the canister, taking a good look at it.

With a guilty look, he passed it back to Talbot without hesitation. He’d drank half the canister without so much as a glance to his friend, who was clearly suffering more than him. Bowing his head apologetically, he handed him the rations, as well. He turned back to the scene, his eyes caught sight of the previously threatened woman, who now bawled at the feet of Helena.
“H-hey, we’re Shepherds too! We—“ Cut off once more to another coughing fit, he resigned his statement. His throat felt better, but there was still sand lodged in there. He wheezed, albeit audibly, “Gods damnit, what kind of asshole makes a home out of the desert?”