Look who's back:D Aren't you all happy to see me? Yes? No? Doesn't matter!
Oscar: So, what will this story be about?
FireEdge: Geoffrey and Nephenee. Together. Which means romance. And there's Calill in here, too (man, she's funny).
Oscar: Let me guess, Calill is playing the matchmaker?
FireEdge: Maybe… Yes... sort of… Either way, this is pretty random, and it just kinda popped into my head after I got Calill's supports with Geoffrey and Nephenee. I couldn't resist writing it. :)
Oscar: Well, let's hope it turns out good then!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
With A Bit Of Magic
Chapter 1
"Nephenee!" Calill called, walking through the many tents that were set up. "Nephenee! Where are you, missy?" Approaching Nephenee's tent, she heard the flap rustle and a pair of green eyes stared at her.
"Tsk, why are you hiding in there, my dear?" the sage demanded, her slender arms crossed across her chest, one purple-clad toe tapping the dry dirt beneath her.
"Well… It's going to be my first day without my helmet. I ain—I'm not ready!" she replied nervously. Calill's blue eyes bore into Nephenee's.
"If I recall correctly, you were fine with taking that hideous thing off a few days ago! Why are you shy all of a sudden?" The shadowy face from within the tent frowned uncertainly.
"It was easier to say than to do it… I mean, now that I've took it off, and I'm about to walk out; I feel all nervous-like," she replied. Calill gave a small empathetic smile. Nephenee was still somewhat afraid of what the city folk would think of her.
"Nephenee, look around. There's hardly anyone here. There's only Brom and a few soldiers wandering about. Why don't you come out and get used to walking outside without hiding your pretty little face?" Calill asked kindly. Hearing his name, Brom ambled over to Nephenee's tent.
"Howdy, Miss Calill. What's going on here?" Spotting Nephenee hiding in her tent, Brom smiled. "Are you tryin' to get her out of her tent without her helmet? She's been talking 'bout it for awhile now, but she says that she ain't got the guts for it." From inside, Nephenee nodded vigorously.
"Maybe I should wait another few days—"
"Buck up, missy! I've been teaching you how to act like a true lady for nearly a month now!" Calill chided. "Your speech has improved and your accent is much lighter now! You can apply make-up and you've been able to look those city people in the eye when you have to talk to them. However, you can't take off your helmet and show off your beauty?"
"I-I'm sorry, Calill—" Nephenee started apologetically.
"Don't just apologize! Get yourself out of there right now! I want to see you walk down to the dining tent with us and get your breakfast. And you'll hold your head up high all the while!" Calill ordered in a very commanding tone, one that you couldn't refuse. Grinning all the while, Brom added,
"And you should smile too, Nephenee! Remember what we were talking about the other day? Smiiile! Then all the young fellas won't stop staring at ya!" Inside, Nephenee blushed, not entirely sure what to say to that.
"Exactly, my dear Brom. I'm glad at least someone here is being sound!" With that, Calill pushed the tent flaps out of the way with one hand and with the other, she reached in and grabbed Nephenee's arm. With strength that betrayed her fragile looks, the blonde sage hauled the girl out of the tent.
So surprised was she, that Nephenee came stumbling forward, her green hair flying around her as she almost fell. Regaining her balance, she stared nervously at the ground, looking at everyone from the corners of her eyes. The people walking around didn't seem to be giving her funny looks. A few of the male soldiers clad in Begnion's armour did give her a few appreciative stares. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Aw, look at you Nephenee! You look so pretty. It's just like magic! Shame that we have to wear all this armour. You'd look so nice if you could wear some real clothes!" Brom commented with a smile.
"Oh, I know! If only you weren't a soldier! Now, if you were a mage!" Calill added enthusiastically.
"But, I like using a lance! It's real easy and I've finally gotten the hang of it and everything!" protested the young halberdier.
"Haha, don't worry Nephenee! I was only kidding!" The sage waved a gloved hand at the young woman. "Anyway, take a look around you. No one's laughing, right? If anything, they're admiring you! What did I say?" Nephenee took another glance around and realized that Calill was correct.
"I guess you're right, Calill—"
"Of course I'm right!" the sage interrupted. "Now, for the real test, let's go have our breakfast." With that, she set off down the camp, heading towards the centre of the jumble of tents.
As they walked, Calill steadily reminded her pupil about eating properly and to not make slurping sounds while drinking. Nephenee nodded, listening intently as to try and block out the stares she was receiving. At first, she didn't really mind, since before they were people she didn't know. But, now there were some of the units that she fought alongside with during battle that were giving her looks. For example, she recognized the blond knight and fuchsia-haired sniper following her with their eyes. The knight was especially enjoying her it seemed. Barely suppressing a blush from all the attention that she was receiving, the halberdier was glad when the dining tent came into view.
Ducking inside after Calill, she let out a sigh. Inside the tent, it was much more crowded than outside, but almost everyone was too preoccupied with their food to notice her. Half of them left the tent as soon as they retrieved their breakfast as to escape the chaos; they didn't have time to stare at some random girl coming in.
Taking her place in line, Nephenee relaxed considerably. Turning to Calill, she was about to say that she was starting to get used to it, but then she realized that the older woman was gazing intently at something. Looking over the sage's shoulder curiously, she followed Calill's line of sight. All she saw was General Ike with the princess and one of her retainers. Titania and Soren were also seated at the wooden table with them. What was so interesting about them?
"Calill? Is something the matter?" Nephenee decided to ask. The sage started and turned to look at Nephenee over her shoulder.
"Hmm? Oh, ah, no it's nothing. I was just thinking," the blonde woman answered with a shake of her head. "Well! It looks like it's our turn!" Advancing forward, Calill accepted a bowl of thick stew and a roll of crusty bread and stepped out of the way.
"Here you go!" Mist said cheerily, handing Nephenee the same thing. Nephenee smiled and nodded in thanks. Whenever Ike's younger sister was serving breakfast, most people seemed to be in a better mood. "Oh! You're not wearing your helmet! Did you take it off because of the weather? It really is hot outside! Oops, have to serve the next person! But you look real nice, Nephenee!" With that, the brown-haired girl turned to give Brom his breakfast.
"See, you were just complimented! Didn't it make you feel good about yourself?" asked Calill as they left the tent.
"Y-Yeah. It did," Nephenee replied with a genuine smile.
"Oh, and there's your smile! All the young men will be following you around like lost puppies in no time!"
"Wh-What! N-No! You're embarrassing me, Calill!" protested Nephenee, a horrified look on her face.
"No, I am certainly not! You shouldn't be embarrassed by your good looks! I'm just telling you the truth!" Calill stated offhandedly. Nephenee shook her head.
"But it ai—it isn't true!" She was trying to protest so desperately that she didn't notice that someone was walking towards her. Well, she noticed when said person rammed right into her and her breakfast ended up on the ground. Luckily, none of it had gotten on her.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The man who had bumped into her exclaimed. Nephenee took one look at him and quickly realized that he was part of the Crimean army, and also from the city.
"Uh… um…" she stammered, not entirely sure what to say. She couldn't talk to him! He'd laugh at the way she talked, no matter what Calill said about her improvements.
"Geoffrey!" Calill cried. Nephenee turned to Calill in surprise. She knew who this man was? "Really now, you should watch where you're walking! You're supposed to catch young ladies, not make them nearly fall!"
"Calill! I didn't realize that you were there!" Geoffrey answered with a small smile.
"Well, don't just make small talk with me! Fix the problem that you just made! Letting poor Nephenee standing there gawking at her breakfast, while you ignore her and talk to me! Be considerate, man!" scolded Calill with a scowl, an eyebrow cocked at the paladin.
Flushing with embarrassment, he quickly returned his attention to the green-haired girl in front of him.
"Er, I apologize for what I did, uh, Nephenee, was it? Here, you can have my share. I just acquired it and I haven't eaten it yet," he said, not entirely sure what to say. When Nephenee still continued to stare at the ground and not answer him, he frowned. "Uh, is something wrong?"
"Tsk! Answer him, missy! You have a nice young man here, trying to apologize and offering you his breakfast. At least thank him for the food and forgive him for running into you," Calill said reprovingly. Now it was Nephenee's turn to turn red. Her Ma had taught her better than that!
"Th-Thank you…" she answered, taking the bowl and roll from him hesitantly, not looking him in the face.
"Look up, you!" Calill snapped, watching her carefully. "Don't let my hard work go down the gutters!"
Taking in a deep breath, she forced her chin up and looked Geoffrey square in the eyes. Nephenee then realized that he was one of the princess's retainers. She was practically talking to a noble! Was he like those other nobles? All snobby and looking down their noses at country folk.
"I apologize again, I should've watched where I was going," Geoffrey said once more, not really understanding what was going on between Calill and the girl in front of him.
"Uh… It's alright… It was my fault, too," Nephenee replied slowly, making sure that every word was pronounced clearly and without bad grammar. It was hard for her to keep eye contact with the paladin. She wasn't sure why, but it wasn't just because of the fact that he was from the city and of high status. Perhaps it was something about his bearing and looks.
"Ah, I should get going, I suppose. I'll talk to you later, Calill," the paladin said as a bit of an awkward silence ensued. Letting his eyes return to Nephenee he spoke, "It was nice meeting you, minus the circumstances of course. Have a nice day."
Hmm, it seems that my dear friend must have been in very deep in thought for him to have run into us like that! I'll have to have a chat with him, Calill thought to herself as she watched the young man walk away. Turning her attention to Nephenee, she found the girl staring at the food in her hands.
"Well, missy, we have a lot to talk about," she started, walking back to Nephenee's tent. "For one, what did I say about looking someone in the eye when you're talking to them? You must show confidence! Don't be a meek little girl, be proud of who you are… …"
Well! That's the end of the first chapter! Not too interesting, I suppose, but I think it was a good way of laying out the characters. The only aspect that I'm worried about is probably the characters. I'm not too concerned about how I portrayed Calill and Brom, but Geoffrey was a little awkward. Nephenee might've been a little less confident than she should be, but I think I'll just make her build it up as the story goes along.
Oscar: Anyway, please review and tell us what you think! Hopefully, she'll have an update up soon!
--FireEdge--