"How am I supposed to do this?"

Robin scratched his head, perplexed as he looked over the chart handed to him by Frederick.

It should have been an easy task; a psychiatric evaluation of a potential new shepherd. He had done this plenty of times before. In fact he had finished one not too long ago with the sellsword, Gregor. This one however, was different for a number of reasons.

"I guess I'll just have to jump in with both feet and hope for the best."

Robin entered the tent they used for interrogations and evaluations.

Inside were a table, two chairs facing each other, and a small lantern providing a source of light.

Sitting in the chair facing him was a young girl with pointed ears and long green hair.

Covered in a blanket that Cordelia provided, she was snacking on cookies that Lissa brought in. She was so fixated on her meal that she didn't even notice Robin when he walked in.

Feeling it best to just get things started, Robin sat in the seat across from her. He looked at the chart and cleared his throat.

"Your name is Nowi, correct?"

The girl looked up with widened eyes, crumbs falling from her mouth and onto the table.

"Mhhm!" she muffled.

"Ok. That's done." Robin scribbled something on the notepad. "How are you feeling?"

The girl finally swallowed her food.

"Good." she replied. "These cookies really hit the spot."

"I'll be sure to let Lissa know. My name is Robin. I'm the tactician of the the Ylissean army, as well as a member of the Shepherds. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, but you look a little young to be a tactician. Usually they;re old men with gray hair and stuff, but you hair is white so I guess it works out."

Robin chuckled a bit. "That's strange. I would assume I'd look like an 'old man' to you."

Now it was Nowi's turn to be confused.

"Why's that?"

"Usually children make it a point to call out how old someone is. Not the other way around."

"Hey! That's rude!" she pouted. "I am not a child! I'll have you know that I just celebrated my 1017th birthday last month."

Robin quickly looked at his chart. Nothing in his notes indicated such a thing was possible. She could have easily been lying to him, but he had to be sure.

"You're...over 1000 years old?"

"Sure am!"

"How is that possible?"

"Because I'm a manakete, silly!" she giggled. "We live for a really long time."

Robin was completely taken aback by this discovery. He had heard Chrom utter the word "manakete" when they first saw Nowi transform into a dragon during battle, but due to the chaos he never had time to put two and two together.

Upon joining the Shepherds, Robin had read many books to familiarize himself with Ylissean history and battle tactics. One of them happened to be about the species in question.

A race of magical dragons that can take the form of humans, and are said to have descended from the great Naga herself. They were similar to the Taguel race that Panne was a part of, but much older and much more revered. He was interested in their history, but had no idea that they still existed.

"Hello? Earth to Robin." Nowi waved her hand in front of the tactician's face, bringing him back to reality.

"S-sorry about that. I was lost in thought for a moment."

"No worries, handsome." Nowi smiled.

"…Handsome?"

Nowi quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment, her cheeks burning red.

"Oh shoot! I didn't mean to say that out loud! Wait ,I mean didn't mean to say it all! I just-I mean it's not like I don't think your handsome! I do! I mean-"

"I-It's fine." Robin interrupted, doing his best to hide his own blushing cheeks as he cleared his throat once again. " Let's get back to the questions. You mentioned during the battle that you wanted to join the Shepherds. Is that still the case?"

"It sure is!"

Robin was taken aback by her joyful tone.

"You do understand that we are currently at war right? If you stay with us you will see far worse horrors than slavers. No one will blame you if you decline."

Nowi pouted again.

"Geez, Robin, just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm senile. Of course I know about the war. That's why I want to help. I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else." She smiled and puffed out her chest. "Besides, I owe you guys for rescuing me, and a manakete always repays their debts!"

Robin could feel the resolve in Nowi's words. It amazed him. Despite the torment she went through while enslaved, she was still willing to lend a helping hand to those in need. It was inspiring in a way.

"Very well then." He extended his hand. "Welcome to the Shepherds, Nowi."

She shook his hand.

"Thanks!"

"I'll ask Cordelia to show you to the women's area of camp."

"Hold on." Nowi called out to Robin before he left the tent. "Wanna play a game?"

"It's a little late for games isn't it?"

"It's never too late to play, young Robin. Thinking like that causes wrinkles. Come on, sit down."

Since he had nothing pressing to attend to at the moment, Robin did as Nowi requested.

"Ok. What game are we playing?"

"Twenty questions. We can ask each other whatever we want, but nothing dirty."

"Alright. I'll go first then. Are you really 1017 years old?"

Nowi's eyes narrowed. "You know it's rude to ask a lady their age."

"S-sorry."

"I'm just kidding." the manakete laughed. "I don't mind. Yes I am. My turn...do you have a girlfirend?"

Robin's cheeks burned red. "W-What?!"

"I asked if you had a girlfriend. There's plenty of pretty girls in the camp. You have to have your eye on at least one of them."

"I-I don't." Robin quickly replied. "I have to focus on the war and my duties as tactician. I have no time for romance."

"Aw that's too bad." Nowi started to laugh again.

As her sweet voice echoed in the tent, Robin's blush deepened.

So I've been reading a couple of stories based on the 100 Theme Challenge. So I wanted to throw my hat in the ring as well. This won't be updated regularly. It's just a side project to do when I'm working on other stuff. That being said I hope you all enjoy it.

As always R&R. Thanks for reading! :)