"Mother?"

"What's up, sweetie?"

"When did you know you were in love with Father?"

Surprised, Nowi put down the books she was holding and looked to her youngest daughter for a moment. A few seconds later a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"So who's the lucky kid?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Come now, Morgan, there's no need to lie. Tell Mama everything." Nowi inched closer to her now frightened daughter. "I bet it's Inigo! He's a quick one like his Dad. Or maybe Gerome? Kjelle? Girls like the strong, silent type. Oh! I got it! It's Owain isn't it?!"

"Mother…!"

"Can't blame you. He is royalty after all. Those guys are loaded! Plus he has his father's looks. You know before I started dating your father, I had a bit of a crush on Gai-"

"Mother!" Morgan's puffed out cheeks were burning red and her eyes were starting to water from embarrassment.

"Ok. Ok. I'll stop." Nowi chuckled. "I was just teasing you, honey, but seriously why the sudden question about love? You didn't really seem to be interested in that stuff before."

"Well, I borrowed some romance books from Cynthia recently, and it got me thinking. What if I used to love someone before I lost my memory? Maybe I had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, but I…forgot about them." She started to tear up again.

"Aw don't cry, honey. It's ok. Have you asked any of the other kids about it? Maybe they would know."

"No! How could I?! It would be too embarrassing and awkward. I might end up hurting that person more. So I wanted to know, how did you know when you were in love with Father? Perhaps that would jog my memory if I knew the feeling you did."

"Hmm." Nowi sat down and scratched her head. "That's kind of a hard one. I mean I knew your father was a handsome guy the moment I met him, but I wouldn't say I was in love with him. In fact, I didn't think much of him for a while. He was just the Shepherd's Tactician to me."

Morgan was dumbfounded. Normally, whenever her mother spoke of her father it was with the utmost love and sincerity. There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't tell him how much she loved him – and vice versa. To hear that wasn't always the case literally left her speechless.

"But," Nowi continued. "If I had to pick a moment where I started to see your father in a different light, it would have to be…"

"There you are!"

It had been a long, arduous, journey fraught with peril, but at long last Nowi the manakete had cornered her prey. The dastardly serpent had evaded the nimble huntress for hours. It was certainly a foe to be reckoned with, more cunning than any enemy soldier or risen, but it's luck had finally run out. She pulled back her arm, trusty stone in hand, and let loose.

"Hiyah!"

"Ow!"

In a rare occurrence, the normally precise manakete had miscalculated her throw and injured an innocent civilian. The serpent retreated, mocking it's nemesis with a pointed hiss. Ignoring her enemy's taunt, Nowi checked on the bystander foolish enough to interfere in her hunt.

She came upon a most personable young man wearing a dark cloak, who was nursing the red bump that poked out of his snow-white hair. Nowi recognized him immediately as the noble tactician of the Shepherds, Robin.

"My deepest apologies, Robin. Are you hurt?"

"Apart from this lump on my head? I'll be fine. What did you just throw at me?"

"My most prized possession." The manakete boasted. "A precious stone passed down in my family for generations."

The tactician looked to her quizzically. "If it's so precious, why did you throw it?"

"Why obviously to catch that monstrous serpent that passed through here. Did you not see it? It was huge! No doubt it would send a shiver down the spine of the even the hardiest of soldiers!"

"Why are you talking like that?" Morgan interrupted.

"Shh! It's rude to interrupt someone when they're telling a story." said Nowi.

"Sorry."

"Now, where was I? Oh yeah!"

"So you thought it best to hunt game…with a rock?"

The manakete chuckled at this question. The gallant tactician was certainly second to none when it came to planning battles, but he was woefully ignorant when it came to basic skills such as hunting. It was almost adorable.

"Of course! There is no better tool to use when hunting. Look! The wicked creature has returned!"

The huntress pointed past through the tall grass; eyes locked on the illusive serpent as it slithered up a nearby tree. The tactician offered his hand.

"Let me give it a try."

Nowi the brave was taken aback. "Can you hit it?" She was right to be skeptical, just a moment ago the boy was questioning why she chose to hunt with a mere rock. Now he wanted to test his mettle. Nonetheless, she gave him her stone. There was something about the look in his eyes that made her want to test his resolve.

He gripped the stone tight. "Whether casting magic or hurling stones, all that matters is focus and control. Though what is most important is leading your target…like this!"

With a flick of the wrist the stone glided through the air, striking the snake on the head and killing it instantly.

"Amazing! You hit it square! What a throw!"

She had never seen something so magnificent before. This novice had made hunting look as easy as breathing.

"I have my moments."

Perhaps it was the way the moon illuminated the smile on his face, maybe it was the throw, or perhaps it was the adrenaline pumping through her. Whatever it was the normally stoic manakete found her heart briefly shaken by the tactician. She gripped his cloak, her eyes flashing with anticipation.

"Please! You must show me how you did that!"

He once again smiled and picked up the stone. "Ok. First you grip the stone like this…"

"And that's the end." Nowi nodded sagely. Morgan was unimpressed.

"That's it? You fell in love with father because he could throw a rock?"

"Hey, it was a nice throw!" her mother defended. "But no, it wasn't that. It was just…I don't know. Something about that night just seemed a little magical. It was the first time I had been alone with your father since joining the Shepherds. He was just really…cool."

Morgan still didn't quite understand what her mother was saying, but she felt she had still got the gist of it when she saw the warm smile on her face.

"Now that's enough lollygagging. We gotta finish moving these books before your dad and Nah get home."

"What are you two doing in here?"

Robin peeked his head into the study, Nah at his side.

"Speak of the devil! Hey, babe! Welcome back!" She kissed him on the lips. "You two done running around for the day?"

"It seems like it. Chrom let us go early."

"Well that's good. Let me put these books away and I'll get dinner started."

"Wait, Mother, let me help." Nah took half the books Nowi was carrying.

"Aw thanks, sweetie."

Robin noticed a perplexed look on Morgan's face once Nah and Nowi were gone.

"What's wrong, Morgan?"

"Father, when did you realize you were in love with mother?"

Robin thought for a moment. "I don't think I can answer that."

"Why not?"

"Well… because when I think I've finally found the reason…" he smiled wide. "I always find something new the next day."

Wow! This took a long time, but I had so much stuff going on I couldn't get back to it. Feels good to update it though. These prompts just keep getting harder for me. This one I thought to put a small twist on Robin and Nowi's C-Support. Hopefully it turned out well.

As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)