Here I am again, pulling this pre-release fic stuff yet again. Another lengthy one too, but not a 20k monster like my last one. I can't help it, I never intended to do this, but the Blue Lions childhood friends stuff hit me hard. By the way, I don't think I mentioned this but I've actually been on Team Blue Lions since basically day one. I mean, they're blue, and blue's my favorite color so I was automatically drawn to them. I liked all three house leaders pretty evenly at the start but when I saw everyone mocking poor Dimitri, I immediately latched onto him. I have a weakness for characters who get unfair/unjustified levels of hate (such as Ash Ketchum and Ron Weasley). And then Blue Lions blessed me with all their students either fitting into one of my favorite character archetypes and/or favorite character designs. Plus, I love all the connection between them. The whole childhood friends squad was just icing on the cake! And then E3 struck me with showing that my poor son is suffering post-timeskip. So yeah, Blue Lions was custom made for me. Anyways, enjoy the fic!

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over the Fire Emblem series or its characters.

Novice Pegasus knights have some of the highest mortality rates among soldiers. One would expect it to be because of archers or wind mages, two of their most lethal enemies. But while those enemies are indeed dangerous, they're not the biggest risk to an inexperienced Pegasus knight.

It's the falls.

Veteran Pegasus knights train diligently to keep seated on their mounts, regardless of violent weather or frenzied battle or whatever other chaos life throws at them. But even the most experienced veteran ran the same risk of falling as one who rode a Pegasus for the first time. The difference, other than experience, was trust. Once a Pegasus and its rider had spent enough time together, fought enough together, an unwavering bond was formed between them. This bond was often a lifesaver for many a Pegasus knight, especially the ones who fell from their mounts. If a Pegasus trusted their rider enough, and if it was able, it would often swoop down and save their fallen rider from a gruesome death.

Those who were new to being Pegasus knights did not have the benefit of that bond. As such if those novice riders fell off their mounts from a high enough distance, their mounts would often not think to try and save them. Even the riders who didn't die on impact would more often than not be left with career ending injuries. Yes, falls were the biggest danger to an amateur flier. But they were practically unavoidable as well. Every Pegasus knight would fall at some point.

Whether that fall would be the end of the rider or not, though, was all a matter of trust.

"Please, Marcia, be a good girl!"

All Ingrid received in response to her plea was a snort to her face and a beat of a large wing slapping her to the ground. Ingrid glared up at Marcia, the moody Pegasus that knocked her to the ground, huffing as she got back to her feet, patting the dirt and grass off her clothes.

Ingrid's dream had always been to be a knight of Faerghus. But when she was little and saw the Pegasus knights of the kingdom fly high above her across the vast blue skies, she knew there was nothing else she could possibly long for. She had to become a Pegasus knight.

And so, once she turned fourteen years old, Ingrid applied for and was accepted into the Pegasi basic training course, an approximately year long program that prepared potential Pegasus knights by testing their capabilities with Pegasi. Those who successfully passed the program could then proceed to apply for official Pegasus knight training at the castle. Or, in Ingrid's case, the training course would count for credit when she started at the Officers Academy in two years, allowing her quicker access to the academy's highly revered Pegasus knight training classes. Furthermore, the top graduate of the training course would be allowed to keep the Pegasus assigned to her. So many benefits awaited her so long as she could pass the course.

…If she could pass the course…

Much like the other trainees of the course, Ingrid was assigned a Pegasus when she started a month ago. Unfortunately for her, she had been assigned Marcia, one of the unruliest mounts at the stables. Marcia, who had joined the stables five years earlier, wasn't necessarily violent. She would have never been available for the course otherwise. But she was incredibly stubborn and moody, never listening to anyone but the official Pegasus knights in charge of the course. Ingrid had heard the gossip that Marcia was nicknamed "the rookie crusher", as anyone assigned to her would drop out or otherwise fail. Marcia's role was, apparently, to weed out the younger, frailer looking trainees.

Of course, that would be her luck, being assigned such a Pegasus…Life had never given her a break before, why would it start now, when she was so close to her dream? But Ingrid's own stubbornness wouldn't be outdone by Marcia's. She would become a Pegasus knight, like she had always longed for. Nothing and no one would stop her.

"I thought Pegasi were supposed to be friendly around ladies?"

Ingrid glanced over to the nearby stables. Felix stood there next to a giant wheelbarrow holding hay that would be food for the Pegasi, leaning against the wall of the stables with his arms crossed in front of him, watching Ingrid and Marcia battle it out with amusement. Ingrid put her hands on her hips and frowned at him.

"They only allow ladies to ride them, Felix," she said, "That doesn't mean it's easy to train them. Don't look down on Pegasus knights!"

"I'm not," Felix replied with a sigh, hands held up in mock surrender, "It's just…we've been here for two hours now and she still hasn't let you ride her. This is just getting sad to watch, you know?"

Ingrid briefly stuck her tongue out at him, but she secretly agreed. Her fellow trainees had long since bonded with their mounts enough to ride them. And yet Ingrid was falling behind, having been unable to convince Marcia to let her ride her once in the same amount of time. If this went on much longer, Ingrid wasn't sure they would let her remain in the program. And so, she had come to the stables on her own time, to put in extra practice.

"You don't have to stay and watch," Ingrid told Felix when she saw him yawn.

"What else am I supposed to do?" he asked, pushing away a Pegasus in the stables that tried to take a nibble at his hair, "The boar's busy at some meeting and Sylvain's in Charon with his parents."

"Good to know I'm third choice," Ingrid said sarcastically, Felix rolling his eyes at her in response, as she turned to face Marcia once more.

Although she was glad she had run into Felix on her way to the castle's stables and made him come with her, as Ingrid wouldn't have been allowed to take Marcia out unless she brought someone to watch her. It was highly encouraged that the other person be a Pegasus knight, but beggars can't be choosers.

"Marcia," Ingrid called out in a soft, soothing tone, "C'mon, girl. Won't you let me near you? Just once?"

Marcia spared her a quick glance before letting out what sounded like a dismissive snort. Slowly, carefully, Ingrid walked towards Marcia, hands held up slightly to show she meant no harm. Ingrid let out a sigh of relief when Marcia allowed her to stand close, Ingrid slowly stroking Marcia's neck.

"See, that's not so bad, right?" Ingrid said gently, a warm smile on her face, "We can get along, can't we, girl?"

Marcia refused to look at her, simply flapping her wings a couple times.

"There you go, you pet her," Felix called out, "Can we go now?"

"Of course not!" Ingrid hissed, "I need to get her to let me ride her first. I can't keep wasting official lesson time on this!"

Felix let out a long groan of boredom as he took a seat on the ground by the stables, out of reach of the Pegasus that had been nipping at his hair while Ingrid was busy with Marcia. Ingrid shook her head at him before walking over to grab the saddle and gear she had left on the ground. With the equipment in hand, Ingrid kept a pleasant smile on her face as she carefully approached Marcia.

"Marcia, can I put this on you?" she asked slowly, making sure the Pegasus saw the gear. Marcia let out a whinny, stomping the ground a couple times with her hoof, "Please? We can go for a ride together, can't we?"

Much to Ingrid's surprise, Marcia allowed her to set up the equipment. The Pegasus would occasionally stomp her hooves or look back at her for a second but made no other move to stop Ingrid.

"Alright, I'm all done," Ingrid said as she finished setting up, "Shall we go for a quick ride, Marcia?"

"Hey, Ingrid."

Felix had a rare nervous look on his face as he looked between Ingrid and Marcia.

"Let's stop here for today," he said firmly.

"But Felix, Marcia's never let me do this much before!" Ingrid replied anxiously, "I need to at least try."

"Can't you try when there're other Pegasus knights around?" the faintest hint of worry in Felix's voice was clear to Ingrid, who had known him for years, "What're you gonna do if something happens?"

"I can't fall behind any more than this, they'll force me out of the training course," Ingrid responded, her voice leaving no room for argument, "I have to try, to trust in my abilities…And I have you keeping an eye out for me, don't I?"

Before Felix could protest any further, Ingrid stuck a foot into one of the stirrups and swung herself up and over onto Marcia's back. She only had enough time to get a firm grasp on the reins before Marcia started bucking wildly. It took all Ingrid had to keep seated on the saddle, desperately trying to remember what she had been taught about calming down a Pegasus that was as annoyed as Marcia was. However, before she could do any more than try to speak to Marcia in a calming voice, the agitated Pegasus started galloping, wings flapping faster and faster.

And then, they were in flight.

Twenty feet…Forty feet…Sixty feet…By the time they were eighty feet up, Marcia stopped climbing, instead hovering in place, occasionally flying in circles while jerking suddenly to try and unseat Ingrid. Ingrid looked down to the ground, where Felix was looking up with a panicked expression she'd never seen on him before. Before she could call out to him, his look became determined and he ran off.

Ingrid took a deep breath and returned her concentration to Marcia. This wasn't the time to focus on anything but her agitated Pegasus. They were far too high for Ingrid to safely get off Marcia, so Ingrid instead focused on petting Marcia's neck and speaking to her relaxingly. Calm her down, simply calm her down…It was all she could possibly do.

"Marcia, please, it's just me," she said, trying her best to make the Pegasus focus on her voice alone. Ingrid made the mistake of briefly glancing towards the ground, a flash of terror going through her at the thought of being bucked off from such a height, before she forced herself to return her focus to Marcia, "I will never hurt you. I swear on my life, so please…"

For the briefest of moments, when Marcia stilled, Ingrid believed her words had gotten through to the moody Pegasus. How foolish she was to relax, as if she didn't still feel how tense the animal's muscles were beneath her hands and legs. Lowering her guard made it easy for Marcia to jerk violently once more, the reins slipping from Ingrid's loose grasp as she finally slipped and plunged towards the ground.

Ingrid closed her eyes the second she slipped, not wanting to see the ground get closer, her end drawing nearer. She thought of the ones she loved most in the world. Of her family. Of Dimitri, Felix, and Sylvain. She thought of her beloved Galatea. Of her childhood dream, so close yet out of reach…

She prayed that Marcia wouldn't be punished because of her.

When she reached the ground, it wasn't hard, unforgiving earth she crashed into, but something so much softer yet scratchier. Ingrid opened her eyes, finding herself surrounded by something golden, prickling at her skin.

…Loose hay?

Ingrid climbed up through what was indeed hay and realized she had dropped into one of the giant wheelbarrows that was filled with feed for the Pegasi in the stables. But this hadn't been anywhere near her before…

"Agh, why's this damn thing so heavy?"

At the familiar voice, Ingrid pulled herself over to the side of the wheelbarrow and peered down. There was Felix, panting heavily, leaning over the handle of the wheelbarrow.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"The hell are you saying?" Felix replied, snapping his head up to glare at her, "You're the one who fell! This was nothing."

Ingrid looked down at Felix and then over to the stables in the distance where the heavy wheelbarrow, that usually required two people to move, had originally been.

"…Thank you, Felix."

"For saving you from your own stubbornness?" Felix had the nerve to smirk at her, "You're welcome."

"Oh, just forget what I said, you little-"

At the sound of a neigh, Ingrid looked up to see Marcia coming back down and landing on the earth. The Pegasus slowly walked back towards the stables, pausing to look over at Ingrid. The glance lasted just a moment, long enough for Ingrid to desperately wish they could speak to each other, before Marcia went back to the stables, entering through an open door on her own.

"Could you lock the stable door for me?" Ingrid asked Felix softly.

By the time Felix returned from locking up the stables, narrowly avoiding another swipe at his hair by the Pegasus from earlier, Ingrid had climbed down from the wheelbarrow. The second her feet touched the ground, her left foot buckled on her, Ingrid grasping the side of the wheelbarrow to keep herself from falling.

"My foot must've hit the side of the wheelbarrow when I fell," Ingrid winced, lifting her foot and carefully running her hand over it to see where most of the pain was focused, zeroing in on her ankle.

She hoped the injury would heal quickly; she couldn't afford to skip out on the training course. She had made progress, she had to work on it! If only she hadn't pushed so far. She should've waited, given Marcia more time. Hadn't her trainers said over and over to never push a Pegasus too far? What was she going to do if all her hard work for the past few hours had been for nothing?

Felix looked at Ingrid's foot and then looked back towards the castle, a decent walk ahead of them. He let out a sigh before crouching down, his back to Ingrid.

"C'mon, you'll never make it there on your own with that leg," he muttered.

Ingrid blinked at him in surprise. She hesitated, her hand grasping at her skirt as she stared at Felix's back.

"This isn't the time to worry about propriety, Ingrid, let's go."

After a moment, Ingrid giggled softly before carefully positioning herself so Felix could easily carry her on his back to the castle.

"If only you showed this sweet side more often, I wouldn't have to scold you so much!"

"I changed my mind. You can hobble back for all I care."

It had been two years since Ingrid had been assigned to Marcia. One year since she successfully completed the Pegasi basic training course.

When Ingrid fell on that day two years ago, she thankfully only sprained her ankle hitting it against the wheelbarrow during the fall. But she had to explain to her instructors what had happened so that she could be excused from most activities, and her honor wouldn't allow her to lie about the actions leading up to the injury. Instead of being dismissed from the course entirely for her foolishness, the instructors were impressed that she had managed to mount Marcia at all, as no other trainee had ever managed to get her to even wear her saddle. Ingrid's minor success kept her in the program. Although, once she was healed, she was still punished for her recklessness by being assigned solo stable duty for two weeks straight.

Over the next several months, slowly, carefully, Ingrid worked hard to earn Marcia's trust, to convince the Pegasus to allow her to ride her. During the four weeks Ingrid spent healing from her sprain, she would stay in the stables with Marcia for hours. She talked to the Pegasus, pat her neck and body, over and over and over. She fed Marcia her favorite treats on occasion, brushed her mane, and groomed her wings. Slowly, carefully, gently…Little by little, progress was made. Eventually, Marcia would be calm when Ingrid pet her. She wouldn't fuss when Ingrid put the saddle on her. And then, one day, she didn't react at all when Ingrid mounted her. Weeks and weeks of persistence finally paid off as Ingrid and Marcia took off into the skies.

And yet, Ingrid feared it wasn't enough. She had lost so much time, both due to her injury and from how difficult it was getting along with Marcia. Ingrid feared there was no way to make up all the activities she fell behind in and still pass the course. Her road to knighthood, it seemed, would just grow longer and more winding.

But it had been unexpectedly easy. Once Ingrid and Marcia understood each other enough to fly together, everything else simply fell into place. Within a single month, Ingrid had caught up with her fellow trainees. Within another two months, she was surpassing them. When the training course reached its end, Ingrid had been told by her proud instructors that she was the top graduate of that year's training course. As promised, her position as top graduate meant she would be allowed to keep Marcia, her ever moody partner.

Some small part of her was against the idea. While she and Marcia had trained enough that they could fly together decently enough, there still wasn't full trust between them. Marcia wouldn't obey all of Ingrid's commands, occasionally following her own instincts and wants. But Ingrid had done so much. They had worked so hard over that year. Ingrid didn't want all that time to go to waste. She worked so hard to form that bond.

She needed Marcia.

But now, just four months into being a student at the Officers Academy, Ingrid and Marcia's bond wasn't much different than it had been a year ago. Perhaps Marcia listened to Ingrid's commands a little better. But the Pegasus was still incredibly independent and stubborn.

"Ingrid!"

Ingrid, who had been setting up Marcia's saddle in preparation for a scouting assignment she and a few other students would be going on, looked in the direction of the familiar voice that called her name. There was Sylvain heading her way, leading a horse by its reins.

"Sylvain, I didn't know you were attending the horse-riding classes now," she said once Sylvain and the horse stopped by her and Marcia.

"I've been thinking about trying to be a cavalier," Sylvain responded, patting his horse on the muzzle, "Don't know if I'm gonna stick with it, but me and Alec here are getting along pretty well! Aren't we, old boy?"

The horse, Alec, gently bumped his head against Sylvain's shoulder, as if in agreement. Sylvain looked over at Marcia, who was calm while being prepared for riding but seemed to otherwise be ignoring Ingrid.

"Still unfriendly as ever?" Sylvain asked, nodding his head towards the Pegasus.

"Marcia's not unfriendly!" Ingrid insisted, "She's just having an off day, that's all!"

"If you say so. Oh, I have to show you something!"

Sylvain happily reached into one of the pockets of his coat and pulled out a pale blue handkerchief, beautifully embroidered with purple lilacs.

"A lovely young lady who works in the academy gardens gave this to me," Sylvain said, beaming, "She told me to keep it with me for good luck during today's scouting assignment."

Ingrid stared at the handkerchief in surprise. This was possibly the first time in a while that Sylvain had successfully captured a lady's attention.

"My, how I wish Dimitri and Felix were going with us today," Ingrid sighed, "It would've been wonderful to set up another bet."

Last time she had been on the mark in guessing that the young Pegasus knight who Sylvain tried to sweettalk during their first week at the academy would turn him down in four minutes. She blissfully recalled winning Dimitri and Felix's desserts for the next three days as a result.

"You three still bet on me?" Sylvain huffed, "Give me a break already! This time's different!"

"How so?" Ingrid asked amusedly as she went around Marcia, adjusting the reins and stirrups.

"I told you, she gave me this handkerchief willingly! So, once I get back from today's assignment, I can tell her how her lovely handkerchief was the perfect good luck charm I needed to return safely, and I…"

As Sylvain detailed his plan to ask out the young woman when they come back, one of the Knights of Seiros arrived to inform them that it was time to set out. Sylvain and Ingrid mounted their steeds, lances in hand, and met up with the other students participating in the scout, led by the knight. The group travelled for some time before they reached the area they were assigned to. The knight broke the students off into pairs and sent them in different directions for scouting.

Sylvain kept an eye on things from the ground while Ingrid kept a lookout from high up in the air, barely skimming the tops of the trees. Everything was quiet, save for the occasional call of a wild animal. Nothing strange, nothing dangerous…

"Everything looks secure down here," Sylvain yelled out to Ingrid.

"I don't see anything either," Ingrid replied, "We've checked out the perimeter we were assigned, let's head back."

As Sylvain and his horse turned to head back to where the knight overlooking their group was waiting, Ingrid pulled on Marcia's reins to do the same. Except Marcia refused to move.

"Marcia, please, not now," Ingrid moaned, alternating between petting Marcia's neck and tugging the reins.

"Ingrid?" Sylvain called, pausing by the trees.

"Go on ahead of me!" Ingrid replied. Even from as high up as she was, she could see Sylvain's worried frown, "Don't worry, I'll catch up. Marcia's acting up again!"

Sylvain stayed where he was for a moment before finally nodding and heading off. Ingrid let out a frustrated sigh as she squeezed Marcia's sides with her legs, trying to break the Pegasus out of whatever strange trance she was in.

Marcia didn't respond at all to Ingrid's commands. The Pegasus flapped her wings, hovering in place. No matter how often Ingrid tried to make Marcia turn, the Pegasus would struggle. But Ingrid eventually noticed Marcia's head would always turn back to the same direction, her eyes staring off into the distance. Ingrid followed her steed's gaze, trying to see what could be distracting her.

At first, Ingrid couldn't see anything but endless blue skies dotted by clouds and the mountains on the horizon. And yet Marcia's gaze was fixed, unmoving, unflinching. There was something the animal was seeing that Ingrid wasn't…And then, hidden by the cries of the birds, Ingrid heard…something. It was faint, far away, but now that she was aware of it, she could focus on it.

…A roar?

Ingrid and Marcia both became transfixed on the same spot, a small dot in the sky coming into view, gradually becoming larger…Make that three dots…Three rapidly approaching dots, releasing loud roars and flapping their scaly wings.

Wyverns.

"Damn," Ingrid uttered a rare curse under her breath, one hand tightening around her lance, the other gripping Marcia's reins, "They're not wild, I see their riders."

Soldiers from one of the nations? No, even from this distance Ingrid could tell they wore no soldier's armor or markings associated with any of Fodlan's ruling powers. Bandits, possibly? The wyverns and their riders were still too far away to tell for sure, but it seemed the more likely option from what she could tell. Or they could be perfectly innocent, and Ingrid was simply overreacting. She didn't know, she wasn't sure. But she was running out of time.

The wyvern riders must have spotted her, Marcia's pure white body and shining armor standing out amongst the green trees and blue skies. Ingrid could try and fly away, Pegasi were generally faster than wyverns. But by the time she reached her group and informed them of the situation and got the knight's opinion on what they should do, the wyverns would have caught up. Among their group, the single knight in charge of them was the most experienced. After him was Ingrid and Sylvain, the two oldest of the students brought along for the scouting mission. The other members of their small group were younger, smaller, less experienced. And none of the students had ever fought wyverns before. If the wyvern riders were hostile, the odds were not good. Furthermore, what if the other students hadn't regrouped by the time Ingrid reached their meeting point? That would make the situation even worse if they had fewer numbers.

And so, Ingrid took a deep breath, pointed her lance in the direction of the rapidly approaching wyvern riders, and yelled out.

"Please, halt! I ask you to state your business!"

They were close enough. They should have heard her. They should have stopped. But instead, the three wyverns suddenly went in separate directions. As Ingrid struggled to pick one to follow, Marcia neighed and soared upwards, Ingrid's iron grip on the reins and automatic tensing of her legs on Marcia's sides being all that kept her from slipping. Ingrid looked down below and saw that one of the wyvern riders, armed with a sword with jagged edges, was below, in the same spot Ingrid and Marcia were before.

If Marcia hadn't moved…

Ingrid shook her head, lifting her lance. She could count the number of battles she had participated in to date on one hand. But no more overthinking. She couldn't run, the wyverns were surrounding her. She had to fight; she had no other choice.

Two minutes…Five minutes…Ten minutes…

Ingrid and Marcia ducked and weaved, dodging the blades wielded by the wyvern riders. Marcia was being more obedient than usual for the battle. It was one less stressor for Ingrid, whose heart was hammering with every near miss. One of the riders had gotten horrifyingly close to decapitating her, only for Ingrid to duck at the last moment and thrust her lance out, jabbing the pointed end into the rider's neck and sending him falling off his mount, the wyvern flying off without anyone to control it.

The two remaining riders were much faster, flying circles around Ingrid. Her head was spinning trying to keep track of the pair. Suddenly, one of the wyverns flew straight at her, Ingrid just barely getting herself out of its path. As it flew past, Ingrid pulled on Marcia's reins to get her to turn around and face the wyvern and its rider. Only for Marcia to ignore the order, pulling against the reins.

"Marcia, not now!" Ingrid shouted, eyes locked on the wyvern rider who was taunting her, "Why won't you listen to-?"

Wait…The other rider.

The second Ingrid turned her head, Marcia let out the loudest cry Ingrid had ever heard, a flash of red crossing Ingrid's vision. The third rider, while Ingrid had been stupidly, so stupidly, distracted, sliced at Marcia's side, cutting deep and slicing across part of her wing as well. Blood flowed out of the wound, Marcia's injured wing flapping out of sync with the other, the Pegasus letting our pained cries.

And Ingrid, foolish distracted Ingrid, so focused on the blood, didn't pay attention to the other rider, who flew by her and slashed at her, the blade slicing her shoulder. The burning pain that hit her made her cry out, but also forced her mind back into the battle, Ingrid's eyes darting this way and that, trying to keep track of the two riders' movements. Marcia was shaking…Ingrid needed to end this as quickly as possible.

The rider who had hurt Marcia got cocky, coming in for another attack in full view of Ingrid. She gripped her lance tightly and, with a quick apology, urged Marcia forward. The Pegasus, much to Ingrid's relief, listened to the command, using all her power to fly straight at the wyvern rider, not changing directions, not flinching. The rider, seeing that the pair had no intention of flying out of his path, changed direction at the last moment. Just as Ingrid wanted. The second the wyvern swerved away, Ingrid struck out with her lance, piercing the rider's side, right between the ribs. As the rider let out a shout of pain, Ingrid released Marcia's reins and, ignoring the searing pain coursing through her shoulder, used both arms to shove the lance further into the rider, sending him and the weapon plummeting to the ground, the wyvern flying off.

No weapon. A bleeding shoulder. Marcia bleeding profusely, one wing badly injured, struggling with all her strength to stay in the air. And one armed wyvern rider left, quickly approaching the unarmed Ingrid, blade raised.

Dimitri had his unflinching courage. Felix had his rebellious heart. Sylvain had his tenacious spirit. And Ingrid? Ingrid had her steadfast will. That would never change. And so, she carefully stood on top of Marcia's saddle, Marcia's strength leaving her as the flaps of her wings slowed with each passing second. With blazing eyes, Ingrid locked onto the approaching wyvern, steeled herself, took a deep breath.

And leapt.

Between the shock of the unexpected act and the violent shake of the wyvern when Ingrid landed unsteadily on its back, the rider was thrown off enough that Ingrid was able to successfully grab the sword away from him. Ingrid swung wildly, a deep slash cutting across the rider's chest. She reached back with one hand to hold onto the wyvern's reins and then kicked the rider in the chest, sending him off the wyvern, cursing Ingrid as he fell. The wyvern let out a wild cry and Ingrid, reacting more on instinct than thought, jumped off its back towards one of the trees.

She wrapped her arms and legs around the tree the second she felt the leaves and bark against her skin. Her heart pounded as the tree swayed, cracking and groaning from her weight. Thankfully, the tree settled down and Ingrid didn't fall. She frantically searched the skies for Marcia, but the Pegasus was nowhere to be seen. Marcia had been hurt so badly…What if she…?

No. No. She refused to think like that. Marcia had just landed somewhere, and Ingrid needed to get down from the tree and find her. Slowly, carefully, Ingrid made her way down, trying to ignore the ache in her shoulder as she went from branch to branch. And then she hit a dead end…The last branches on the tree were still twenty feet above the ground.

She could jump. But from such a height…She already had a bad shoulder, if she hurt her legs as well…

"INGRID!"

Ingrid's eyes widened as Sylvain, atop his horse and with lance in hand, showed up, frantically looking around and calling her name. Before she could answer him, he glanced up and locked eyes with her. The smile on his face was so wide as he got off his horse, dropping the lance to the ground.

"You're okay!" he shouted, relief palpable in his voice, in the way he held himself, "You were taking so long to show up at our meeting point, I came to find you. But then I saw all these dead bodies, and then there's your Pegasus-"

"Marcia?" Ingrid cried, "Is she alright? Where is she?"

"I saw her in a nearby field. She's alive, but she's not doing well."

Sylvain then stepped forward, arms opened wide and stretched out towards Ingrid. She realized what he wanted.

"Sylvain, I'm too high up, you could get hurt."

Sylvain said nothing, arms still open and waiting for her. She really didn't have any other way to get down. And she had already taken two leaps of faith, hadn't she? What was one more? Plus, it was Sylvain. So Ingrid took a deep breath and, for the third time that day, jumped.

The second Ingrid made contact with Sylvain, his arms locked around her, the weight of the hit sending both of them crashing hard into the ground. Sylvain let out a low groan of pain.

"Oh, Sylvain, I'm so sorry!" Ingrid said as she scrambled off him.

"No, it's okay," Sylvain coughed, "…Heh, looks like you've fallen for me, huh-? OW!"

"If you can make jokes like that, you're fine," Ingrid pinched his cheek hard.

With a quick apology, Sylvain got to his feet, Ingrid following him. His brown eyes were staring at her injured shoulder. Sylvain rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a familiar blue handkerchief, pressing the cloth against her wound.

"…How will you explain this to that lady?" Ingrid asked as she took over pressing the handkerchief, rapidly staining with her blood, to her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," the reply was instant, "Now, c'mon, let's go to that Pegasus of yours."

Within a few minutes, the pair reached the field where a familiar white figure was laying on the ground. Ingrid jumped off Sylvain's horse and sprinted towards Marcia, her eyes watering. The Pegasus was on her side, the blood shining on her skin, staining the feathers of her wing. Her breathing was labored. Sylvain went off, saying he'd bring the rest of their group so they could figure out the best way to bring Marcia back to the monastery.

"I'm so sorry, Marcia," Ingrid's voice wavered as she closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to Marcia's head, the steed letting out a weak whinny.

She should've trusted Marcia's instincts.

By some miracle, Marcia survived her wounds. However, she wouldn't be allowed back onto the battlefield for some time, to allow her wing time to heal. In the meanwhile, Ingrid was assigned to another Pegasus temporarily.

At first, Ingrid didn't want a replacement. She hadn't trusted Marcia, even after everything they had gone through together, and her poor Pegasus had suffered for it. She felt like it would be a betrayal, rubbing salt on the wound, to use another Pegasus, however briefly. But, first and foremost, Ingrid was a knight. She couldn't allow herself to fall out of practice, to take away manpower from the Blue Lions, just because of the consequences of her own foolishness.

While Ingrid got used to her replacement Pegasus, she didn't neglect Marcia. Every single day, for weeks and months, Ingrid would visit the stables where Marcia was slowly recuperating. At first, she feared the little trust Marcia had in her would be broken due to Ingrid's mistakes. Part of Ingrid felt that she would deserve it if that happened. But, strangely enough, it seemed that Marcia was more affectionate than she had been before. Whenever Ingrid came by, Marcia would lean into Ingrid's pats and bump Ingrid's shoulder whenever their time together was drawing to an end. Ingrid would brush her mane and carefully groom the feathers of her wings, talking to her all the while about her classes, what her friends were up to, what the latest letter from home said, and any other subject that popped into her mind.

Strange as it was to say, Ingrid and Marcia seemed to be bonding far more during the time Marcia was out of commission than they ever did in the past two years together.

It had been three months since Marcia was injured, and while the Pegasus was mostly healed, she hadn't been given the okay to return to battle yet. So Ingrid was busy preparing the replacement Pegasus she had been assigned for the Blue Lions' upcoming mission. A sizable group of soldiers from one of the large towns bordering Faerghus and the Adrestian Empire were rebelling against the Church. Such rebellions popped up here and there, although this was a larger than usual one. As such, the Blue Lions were ordered to accompany the Knights of Seiros in quelling the uprising before innocent people were hurt.

"Ingrid?"

Ingrid, who had been looking over her lance, looked up and saw Dimitri walking towards her, papers in hand.

"Milord, do you need me for something?" she asked, placing the lance down and performing last minutes adjustments to her Pegasus' armor.

"I just wanted to talk with you about something in the reports I've received," Dimitri said, referring to the papers in his hands, "It seems there are only a handful of archers from what scouts have said, but there are a good number of mages, though we have no confirmation yet on how many of them know wind magic."

Ah, archers and wind magic. Two of a Pegasus knight's most fearsome enemies. Archers were generally considered the worse of the two, since they mostly stuck to the ground, meaning that fliers usually had to rely on their ground allies to take care of them. Mages were easier to defeat but they were versatile, so a mage could easily strike from the ground or from the air.

"Don't worry, milord," Ingrid smiled at the prince, "I have plenty of experience handling both archers and mages."

"I know," the corner of Dimitri's smile twitched ever so subtly, a hint of nervousness, "It's just…I know you've said you still haven't gotten used to your new Pegasus yet."

And that was true. It had been three months since she was assigned the replacement Pegasus, Thea. Thea was probably the calmest and most obedient Pegasus Ingrid had ever known. An ideal mount for any Pegasus knight. And yet, Ingrid couldn't get used to her. Marcia had a strong personality and would often do her own thing, regardless of what Ingrid wanted. While Marcia was certainly much better than when Ingrid was fourteen, she was still a stubborn one.

But Ingrid knew Marcia. Knew her quirks, her likes, her dislikes. Knew just where to scratch her to make the Pegasus melt into her touch. Knew, after her harsh lesson months earlier, that if Marcia was being stubborn out of nowhere, then there was something she'd noticed that Ingrid hadn't. And in the past three months of healing Marcia had undertaken, Ingrid had learned so much more. Thea was a perfectly lovely steed, but Ingrid never felt right with her.

"Is your original Pegasus, Marcia, doing well?" Dimitri asked when Ingrid went quiet for too long.

"The healers told me she's almost fully recovered," Ingrid responded, recalling the last time she had spoken with the healers, who were most likely exhausted by how often Ingrid went to them for updates, "It's just her wing that's taking time…Just her wing…"

Ingrid met Dimitri's gaze and saw a trace of pity on his face. She shook her head, ridding herself of the worries running through her mind.

"I can handle this," Ingrid said, more to herself than to Dimitri. She smiled at the prince, hands on her hips, "I'm perfectly capable, I'll have you know!"

"Haha, yes!" Dimitri chuckled, looking a little relieved by Ingrid's confidence, "I don't mean to make it seem like I doubt you, Ingrid. After all, you're the finest Pegasus knight the Blue Lions have!"

"…I'm the only Pegasus knight we have."

"Doesn't stop you from being our finest, my friend!" Dimitri grinned.

"Still as much of a flatterer now as you were as a child, Dimitri," Ingrid chuckled.

But Dimitri was the first person to ever believe in Ingrid's dream of becoming a knight. He was the first to look at her and say, without the slightest hint of doubt, that she would certainly become a brilliant knight, one Faerghus would be proud of. So, as much as she joked about it, she appreciated his words more than she could ever say.

"Ah, that's our signal," Dimitri said at the sound of a whistle, "Shall we head out?"

Ingrid grasped Thea's reins and began to lead her out.

"Yes, let's go."

By the time they had reached the large field where the Knights of Seiros had already began engaging the rebels, a scout informed them that all archers had already been downed. This allowed Ingrid to freely take to the air, even though there were plenty of mages. Thankfully, only one of the mages was a flier, taken out by Ingrid and Thea charging towards her, Ingrid's lance piercing the mage's chest, but not before the mage cast an Elfire that hit Ingrid's side. The smell of burning flesh and the sting of the wound was intense, but Ingrid forced herself to ignore it, quickly downing a concoction to temporarily numb the pain.

With the single flier mage down, that meant the only mages left were on the ground, the Blue Lions and knights taking care of them one by one, while the other fliers were wyvern riders and fellow Pegasus knights.

It was easy for Ingrid, riding atop Thea, who listened to every command without a second of hesitation. Thea was fast, was easy to maneuver, quick to respond to even the slightest tug of the reins or taps to the sides.

But she wasn't Marcia…

Ingrid kept overcorrecting, too used to years of Marcia fighting against her commands. A Pegasus who reacted to the slightest action was a blessing for veteran Pegasus knights but only served to throw Ingrid off when an accidental move would make Thea react in a way Ingrid didn't want. And then there was Marcia's unparalleled sixth sense for danger, always catching what Ingrid missed, always doing her best to make up for Ingrid's mistakes, even when Ingrid hindered her efforts by not understanding…

The fact remained that, for all the struggles Ingrid and Marcia had been through over the past two years, the two were used to each other. They had started to become partners, the way a Pegasus knight and her Pegasus should be.

Thea was wonderful, but Marcia was truly her one and only steed. And she couldn't wait for Marcia to be ready for battle again.

"How many are left?" Ingrid wondered to herself, quickly scanning the battlefield.

All enemy fliers had been taken out, leaving only ground units. Ingrid estimated there to be about two dozen or so rebels left. A couple of mages were still alive, but she had yet to see any of them use wind magic. She winced, clutching at the side that had been burned earlier. If she was starting to feel the pain of the burn again, that meant the concoction was wearing off. In a few minutes the intensity of the burn would hit her full force. Not to mention the sting of all the other little wounds that littered her body.

"A temporary retreat," Ingrid muttered to herself, guiding Thea to turn around.

She knew she had to reach the healers, or else the pain would eventually distract her enough to make her a liability. Thea obediently obeyed the order to turn, without a single moment of hesitation. Ingrid was scanning the field for where the nearest healers were.

Making it easy for one of the ground mages to fire an Arcwind spell, slamming into Thea's side.

Thea let out a loud whinny, Ingrid gasping as she was nearly thrown off her mount from the force of the spell. While Ingrid saved herself from falling by locking an arm around Thea's neck, the wind magic sliced her skin, one particularly nasty slash cutting across the burned patch on her side. Her vision was fading, the searing pain so excruciating that she nearly threw up. But she couldn't black out. Not yet, not yet…

Ingrid located the mage, who was already preparing another Arcwind. Ingrid quickly reached into the pack attached to Thea's side and pulled out a short spear. Just as Ingrid carefully aimed and threw the spear, nailing the mage in the throat, the spell was cast, striking Thea once more. This time, between the force of the spell and Ingrid having let go of Thea's reins to throw the short spear, Ingrid fell off the Pegasus.

As she plummeted to the earth, her vision blacking completely, Ingrid could have sworn she heard a voice scream her name.

What seemed like mere seconds later, Ingrid opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself lying on the grass, a pair of faces she vaguely recognized as healers in the Knights of Seiros leaning over her. The healers were talking to her, something about how she'd been knocked out for ten minutes and how the battle had ended, about how her burn was slowly healing and that she had broken her arm and fractured her collarbone from the fall. But Ingrid didn't pay attention, turning her head to the side.

Thea was there, alive and being looked after by other healers. Ingrid breathed a sigh of relief, only to flinch from how the action hurt her chest.

And then Ingrid heard another gasp of pain from near her. She craned her neck, trying to ignore the ache coursing through her. There was a young man with golden hair lying just a couple feet away from her.

Dimitri.

The healers held her down when she tried to struggle to her feet, not wanting her to reopen her wounds. One healer kept reminding her to breathe while the other slowly informed her that if Dimitri hadn't seen Ingrid get struck and rushed to cushion her fall, dislocating his shoulder and fracturing his ribs and an arm in the process, her injuries would have been much more severe.

"Dimitri," Ingrid gasped weakly. She didn't know which emotion was stronger, her anger or her gratitude, "You…You…"

"I recognize that tone," Dimitri chuckled, only to wheeze with obvious pain, "Could you maybe save the lecture…for when we're back…at the monastery?"

"…You fool…"

The "thank you" was unspoken, but Ingrid was certain Dimitri knew. But she'd make sure to say it again…after giving him a proper scolding.

Once they arrived at the monastery, an oh so familiar neigh reached Ingrid's ears. She hears the people leading the cart she and Dimitri were being transported in say that a Pegasus was galloping towards them.

"Marcia," Ingrid sighed when her dear steed's head peered over the side of the cart, looking down at her.

As one of the stablehands arrived, explaining that he had taken Marcia out for some exercise and she had slipped away from him suddenly, Marcia gently nuzzled Ingrid's head.

"I've missed you too, girl," Ingrid whispered gently.

Now that Ingrid was eighteen years old, she and Marcia had been together for four years.

After Ingrid and Marcia both fully healed from their respective battles, they were back to fighting as a pair, though Ingrid made sure to properly thank Thea for being with her for all those months. One would think that months without practicing with each other would dull their partnership. But Ingrid's efforts to visit Marcia while the Pegasus healed had kept the bond between them alive. Enough so that when Ingrid flew with her again for the first time since their encounter with those wyvern riders, it was as if they had never been apart for a minute.

But they had changed, both of them. Marcia was quicker than ever to respond to Ingrid's commands. But the few times she went against her, Ingrid wouldn't try to force anything but instead looked to see what Marcia had noticed that Ingrid didn't. It still wasn't perfect, they still made mistakes now and then. But they were more in sync than ever before.

But Ingrid hadn't truly realized how much their bond had changed until she and Marcia had gone off on a solo scouting mission. It wasn't the first time she had done such a mission, and certainly not the first time she had done something like this with no other Blue Lion or knight with her. So Ingrid hadn't been nervous. Besides, Marcia was with her.

Everything had looked clear as they flew over the thick forest. Ingrid was satisfied and had started to give Marcia the command to return to the monastery, when the Pegasus suddenly tensed. Ingrid allowed herself a second of confusion before she quickly scanned the area, wondering what Marcia had sensed.

Out of the corner of her eye, for a split second, there was a glint. Without thinking, as if her body knew what was happening before her mind caught up, Ingrid stuck her leg out.

And gasped as an arrow struck her leg instead of Marcia's side.

The trees were packed together too tightly, the leaves thick, masking whoever shot the arrow. And who knew who else was waiting down below? Ingrid had no one with her. So she and Marcia raced off, back in the direction of the monastery before they were caught up in something worse.

Two or three miles later, Ingrid blinked quickly as her vision suddenly went fuzzy, as if she were staring at the world through a thin sheet. Her arms felt heavy, and her heart hammered. And was her throat closing up?

Ingrid glanced down at the arrow embedded deep in her shin. She wasn't an expert in medicine but she knew some basics. If one was stabbed or had an arrow stuck in them, do not remove the object. She had no idea what blood vessels the arrow pierced, removing it could make her bleed out before she reached safety.

But the way her body was reacting…Poison? Had the arrow been poisoned? Of course, she thought as she leaned heavily against Marcia, hands tightening and loosening around Marcia's reins rhythmically. Of course this would happen to her…

Wasn't this just her luck?

Marcia let out the softest whinny, moving her head as if trying to look back at Ingrid.

"Okay…" Ingrid whispered, smiling as she released the reins entirely, patting Marcia's neck, "I'm…okay…"

Ingrid's assurance only made Marcia flap her wings faster. Ingrid carefully wrapped her arms around Marcia's neck. Marcia was so, so soft. Ingrid didn't understand why her steed was so panicked. It wasn't so bad, she was okay.

Her body was growing heavier by the minute. And it was difficult to keep her eyes open. Not that there was much use to keeping them open, her vision flickering between a hazy white and bouts of clearness.

Sleepy…She was so sleepy…And…sliding? She was slipping…At least she thought so…

Ingrid felt like she was falling, the wind whipping by her. As she closed her eyes, for just a moment, she thought she saw something white.

The next thing Ingrid knew, she was lying on something soft and warm. Her body no longer felt heavy or sore, and as she slowly opened her eyes, she noticed her vision wasn't flickering. She was in a familiar room…The medical wing of the monastery…?

"Ingrid!"

There was Dimitri, standing by her bed, looking down at her with relief. Ingrid saw red out of the corner of her eye and noticed Sylvain sitting at the end of her bed, a tired smile on his face. By the wall near the foot of the bed, sitting on a chair, was Felix, staring at her with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Finally, you're awake," Dimitri let out a sigh as he fell back onto a nearby chair.

"I told you two she'd be alright," Felix said, leaning back in his own chair, "You big babies."

"As if you weren't pacing around for the past hour!" Sylvain exclaimed.

As Felix reached out to smack Sylvain, Dimitri shaking his head at the pair, Ingrid carefully sat up. She pulled the blankets off her legs, noticing the bandages wrapped around her shin.

"Nice to see you awake!"

Ingrid glanced over to see one of the Officers Academy's teachers, and the physician, Manuela Casagranda, walk over to where Ingrid lay.

"You know how to make an entrance, little lady," Manuela laughed lightly, "Your Pegasus landing in the middle of the crowded training grounds, you unconscious on her back. It's a miracle you didn't fall off!"

But…she had fallen off…Ingrid's memories of the ride back to the academy were foggy, but she was certain she had fallen off Marcia at some point. And she had seen white before she lost consciousness…The white from…Marcia?

Marcia had caught her.

Without warning, tears spilled from Ingrid's eyes. She fell back on the bed, her arms covering her eyes, as she let out sniffles.

"Wha-? Hey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"What the hell, Professor? You said she was alright!"

"Ingrid? Is your leg hurting you?"

"Boys!" Manuela clapped her hands once, silencing them, "Calm yourselves."

Ingrid felt the bed shift as Manuela took a seat beside her, gently pressing a hand atop her head.

"Does something hurt?" Manuela asked, "We cleaned the wound from the arrow nicely, and all the poison in your body should be gone by now."

"Not that," Ingrid sniffled, "I'm just…happy."

Happy that Marcia had caught her. Happy at what the action, as insignificant as it may seem to others, meant to Ingrid as a Pegasus knight. A Pegasus catching its rider. The ultimate sign of trust between the two.

Marcia truly trusted her.

"…You sure she didn't hit her head or something?"

"Felix."

Ingrid startled everyone by suddenly sitting up, briskly wiping her eyes with one arm as she got out of bed.

"Am I free to leave, Professor?" Ingrid asked once she disentangled herself from the blankets.

"Well, I would prefer you rest a little longer," Manuela sighed, "But it seems you're eager about something. So long as you take it easy today, feel free to go."

"Thank you!" she replied before turning to face her dearest friends, "I'm sorry I worried you all. Thank you for visiting me!"

"Don't look at me," Felix mumbled before pointing at Dimitri and Sylvain, "These morons were the worrywarts, dragging me here."

"No one forced you to stay," Sylvain teased lightly, resting an arm on Felix's shoulder before it was shrugged off, "Seriously though, we're glad you're okay, Ingrid."

"Go on," Dimitri gestured to the door, "Marcia must've been as worried as we were."

Ingrid nodded before racing out the door, down the stairs, and through several halls. Eventually, Ingrid reached the Pegasi stables, going past stall after stall until she found the one she was searching for.

"Marcia!" Ingrid cried happily.

At the sound of her voice, Marcia let out a whinny and approached the door, Ingrid gently stroking the Pegasus' head, pressing her forehead to her muzzle.

"Thank you so much," Ingrid whispered, nuzzling against Marcia, "You saved me."

Marcia merely let out a soft whinny, nuzzling Ingrid in return. It had taken four years, several mistakes, and plenty of trouble. But Ingrid and Marcia had finally done it.

They were, without question, partners.

Bonus points for people who can guess where I got the names for the two Pegasi and Sylvain's horse from!

For the record, I hate writing battle scenes. I always try my absolute best to avoid them whenever I can. So I can't tell you what the heck I was thinking when I decided to put so many battle scenes in this fic. Good grief...You can tell that after the wyvern riders scene I couldn't do it again and just zoomed through the other battle moments. By the way, I'm not done. I'm already planning another fic for Sylvain, but I need a few days before I start writing that. "Rebuild From Zero" was the Dimitri centric fic. "Since Sticks Were Swords" was Felix centric. "Trust Falls" is Ingrid centric. So I need a Sylvain centric fic to round out the squad. But I'm also planning to write one more Dimitri centric fic, just because I feel so bad that my poor son's fic is Tragedy Central while the others have angst but are more happy and friendship focused. But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this! Please read and review!