Solace

Fire Emblem: Twin Blades

Sup Rethel we're totes not in the other roleplay what are you crazy
Sure!

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

Xanxus' eyes, having been closed for a brief moment in deep thought, bolted open at the sudden threat by Darrian. He simply laughed, guiding the horse close to the side of Darrian's steed and taking him by the sleeve, struggling to not hurl the man off of their horse and to the ground. "I don't care who you are, nor what flashy authority I have in your little game of kings and queens; your privilege of my friendship and association is one easily severed, and one I never asked nor wanted. Your label of my mercy as a failure is clearly a theory beset by an ignorant understanding."

Xanxus spoke louder for the rest of the troops to hear, finding it more difficult to hold himself back from tossing Darrian off of the horse. If Darrian had sought to incite Xanxus, he had been successful, albeit with a different reaction than expected most likely. "If you would like, I will make your reign as Exalt shorter than your mother's was. I will put you and this entire incestuous, disgraceful country beneath the soil."

"So, would that be enough to redeem myself, Darrian?" Xanxus released his grip on Darrian's sleeve, transitioning back into boredom.

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

"I concur." Xanxus sarcastically agreed with Darrian; it was true that he rarely ever saw his friend anywhere but the Ylissean palace. He'd been surprised to see him when he had suddenly arrived at their temporary camp the night before, and the fact that Darrian still stuck around was even more appalling. He looked at the tattered sleeve of his shirt, remembering the grin that belonged to the person who had crossed swords with him, and lived. His true power remained dormant, though, and the last time one had seen it was the King of Chon'sin, whose title and life he had claimed years ago. It was a remarkable feat how men could live such uniform, meaningless lives.

"What else would be done? We pursue them, obviously." Xanxus said in a mocking tone. "Strategy is pointless; complicated and wasteful thinking over something doable in a linear fashion. Only scum 'plan' instead of taking action."

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

"If you're so worried about lazing around and Plegia mobilizing its fighters before Ylisse can, which even then would prove futile," Xanxus let out a sigh as he rode his horse beside Darrian's, a bit surprised at his friend's ridiculous claim of Plegia having a nick of a chance against Ylisse in an armed conflict. Now, he understood why he frequently thought of Darrian as a blatant hypocrite, or an ignorant buffoon, at times. He wondered how Darrian could've forgotten that they possessed an army whose only equal was Valm; he had expected a different reaction out of Darrian, whom he knew as one who held a deep fascination for warfare.

"Then do something about it, Exalt. These Shepherds are not worth the precious time you could be devoting to bloodying the sands of Plegia; why not let us waste our time on them, instead?"

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

Despite being still overwhelmingly angered over the previous night, Xanxus couldn't help but burst into a loud chuckle, finding humor in his friend's words and especially towards his own horse toppling over him. The entire company had stopped as a result, and in unison with Xanxus, some had laughed as well, though they made sure to keep theirs hushed unlike himself. He watched as Darrian struggled to pull himself from beneath the horse, sighing. "Correction; I was not beaten by a mere stranger, I granted them temporary solace. Though I've said there's nothing to truly gain from conquering a country with nothing but sand, I'm sure you might enjoy spilling some blood yourself."

Xanxus scratched his head, ignoring his friend's statement to dismount from the horse. "At this point, war with the Plegians seem inevitable, anyway. Might as well loosen up a bit, Darrian."

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

"Release."

=THEME=

"Hmm?" Xanxus looked down at the person who had intervened, who had intercepted his attack with a partially-drawn sword (similar depiction of the scene). The person, emitting a malevolent yet faint red aura, was left-handed and their entire right arm was adorned in an armor plating down to their hand, where they wore a gauntlet, donning a mask over their face in anonymity. He tilted his head, wondering just where this person had appeared from; it certainly wasn't one of the soldiers that he'd slain earlier.

The person proceeded to draw their sword completely and posed to strike, prompting Xanxus to do the same as they both went in for a quick attack before they both stepped back to face one another. The lower half of the person's mask from the nose down fell off as a cut, planted on the person's left cheek, showed itself, a single trickle of blood trailing down their face. It was then that he saw that part of his clothing at his right arm had been cut as well, though not deep enough to break skin. This person's movements had been similar, if not, almost identical to his own; just who is this?

With Parnell simply standing back and watching the two, Xanxus saw that the corners of the other person's mouth rose to form the ghost of a sinister grin, seeing the aura begin to swirl around their right arm and gathering in intensity at their hand. Even from where he was standing, he could feel the person's killer intent slowly rising as the energy around their arm continued to manifest itself, raising it at him. Magic?

As a stream of lightning generated from their hand and roared towards Xanxus, he stepped to the left to dodge the magic. Did this person really think they could hit me with their magic upfront? Though, before he even landed on his two feet, the person had already charged and attacked from that direction as if they had known that he would move there beforehand. He brought up the Iron Sword to counter the person's strike, finding himself on the defensive as the person attacked continuously. When his sword met theirs once more, he forced the person's sword to the ground to throw his opponent off balance and lunged, only to find his attack seen right through and deflected with an unseen reaction time.

In frustration, Xanxus sought to take the offensive; he was not inclined on allowing the person's luck to continue any further. He did not hesitate for a single breath during the next series of attacks, surrounding the person at such a high speed as if he were gliding, and aiming to overwhelm them by striking continuously in all directions.

The sound of metal clanging had grown loud enough to travel throughout the throne room, evident that the person was still deflecting each and every attack of his as if they were nothing, and could see through all of his movements, though he could tell that the person was mildly struggling to keep up. Using this to his advantage, he applied strength into one powerful slash and pulled his arm back, swinging upward at their right. The person hadn't had the time to use their sword to block it, and surprisingly enough, brought up their right arm to shield themselves.

The armor surrounding the limb had managed to sustain the attack, though large cracks had begun to form around the location of the blade. The person seized the opportunity of Xanxus stopping momentarily to channel another spell, pushing the blade to the side and directing it their enemy. Xanxus leapt back as a column of fire, aimed for his feet, erupted from their hand and singed the floor of the throne room. For a moment, Xanxus could still see the person's figure beyond the flames, still grinning. "I've had fun here, Uncle. I believe I understand the message you wish to send to Darrian; I suggest you prepare your armies."

---

Xanxus kept his arms folded as he slowed his horse to join Darrian, still quietly fuming in anger over the memory of the inconclusive duel. Had he not been carrying out official business, he would've taken the time to kill both his opponent and Parnell where they stood, then. He was furious over how he had allowed himself to be forced on the defensive at the beginning, and when he was able to shift into the offensive, the person did not relent on solidifying their defense. When he had returned to the camp hours after and went to report to Darrian, he had strangled one of the Ylissean soldiers to death in his frustration right in front of Lantus and his friend. He was angry enough to bury the entire Plegian wasteland in sand, along with all of its people. "What do you want?"

---

Zaino was still confused about why Ambra sounded embarrassed, deciding not to concern himself any further on the matter and laying back into the tree. He was exhausted, and he didn't want to re-open any of his wounds a second time; he felt uncomfortable during the times that Ambra had to readjust the bandages, and even then, he was still suspicious of her intentions. Keeping his sword by his side, he sighed, shutting his eyes in hopes of letting his mind drift away into the comforting vestige of sleep...

"... Plus Zaino looks like he knows how to trap, at least."

It was the same woman from the inn who'd offered food, and the same one who'd also offered their sword for him to use. Though Zaino was too tired to visibly display any hostility, he simply looked at the woman and shook his head after looking down at his bandages; not because he didn't know how to trap animals, but because he wouldn't make it far after suffering from having no food or water for days.

It was strange that only now, he could feel the dryness of his mouth and the violent rumbling of his stomach as he and his body refused to cooperate with one another. Once he had some food and water in his system and he rested a bit, Zaino intended on continuing to keep his distance from these people and keeping an eye out for any more pursuers.

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem | High Casual

Nudge

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

Sorry! D:
She got off for the night.

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

yeah
We kinda lost track and only realized that after reaching like, three quarters of that. You can see when we actually started to tone things down a lot so we weren't writing a book anymore.

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

No, not really. I've discussed these things with Twilight multiple times, actually. But thanks for your assumption.