Comms and Other Long FE Oneshots

Which Way is Home? (2)

Shigure woke up to a hand being gently laid on his shoulder. The cool metal of the gauntlet very quickly reminded him of his situation, because that hand definitely did not belong to any of his uncles. "Mm."

"I second what Reina said last night- you are most certainly your mother's son," Gunter's voice chuckled. "That would not have woken up your father."

"No," Shigure agreed, uncurling and carefully coming out of the bedroll, rubbing his eyes. He was a little sore, but his headache was completely gone. "He still struggles in the mornings."

A wry smile crossed the knight's face. "Of course he does." He stood. "On your feet. How are you feeling?"

"Better. Much better, actually." Shigure got to his feet, looking up at Gunter.

"Good. You look better, too." The knight's smile remained as he knelt down and quickly rolled up the bedroll, the efficiency surprising Shigure. Though... he supposed it shouldn't. "Come along. We need to clear the way for Hilmar and Namine."

Shigure frowned at the unfamiliar names, and then he heard the hoofbeats from deeper in the cave. Oh. "The kinshi stays in the cave too?" he asked as he trotted out of the cave.

"Namine doesn't deserve to stay outside at night in a Nohrian winter," Reina, who was already outside, snorted.

"Vallite," Gunter corrected. "Vallite winters are milder than their Nohrian counterparts."

"And harsher than their Hoshidan counterparts! So Namine doesn't deserve such nonsense anyways," Reina shot back, and Shigure watched as the horse - Hilmar - came out of the cave first, clearing the way for the massive white bird that came out right afterwards. Gunter strapped the bedroll right next to another on Hilmar's gear, and the horse snorted softly. "That is a good girl," Reina cooed, and Namine cooed right back.

"Up you go." Shigure blinked when he was lifted up onto Hilmar's back, but he was used to being randomly scooped up. And he found the saddlehorn that he could hold onto easily, he'd spent quite a bit of time in saddles. "We'll be walking for this first part," Gunter informed him, and he and Reina began doing just that. "We're rather far from any civilization and the woods are a little treacherous around here."

"I don't think he wants a discussion on what we're doing with the terrain, Gunter. He can't be more than six, and while he's very smart for his age, he's still recovering from a concussion and really shouldn't be thinking too hard," Reina commented and then gave Shigure a small grin. "Short explanation is that we need to walk right now. But perhaps you could tell us a story to pass the time, little one?"

"Ooh." That was unexpected, no one ever asked him for stories. Shigure thought for a moment and then smiled slyly. "Well, I found out that Laslow's real name is Inigo. He still tends to go by Laslow nowadays, but-"

"People change their names all the time, kiddo." Reina arched an eyebrow. "You're going to have to do better than that."

"I was just trying to figure out how much I should tell you before I get to the part where Laslow's girlfriend met Inigo's wife," Shigure protested, and then grinned when her eyes widened and she grinned back at him. "I mean, if you don't want all the crazy stuff about him- well, it won't make much sense without it."

"Slog through all of the stuff you need to, this story sounds worth it."

So Shigure did. He told them about the Shepherds, the great battle against Grima that they waged alongside their children from the future, and how three of those children had come to help Corrin kill Anankos and free Touma from his attempt to wipe out humanity. Deciding that the part about Anankos's remaining good side could wait, he simply stated the portal that brought the trio to Touma had been destroyed. He then told them how Odin and Lilith had worked together to create a new gate back to the trio's homeland while Laslow, believing there was no way home, had moved on with his life and began seriously dating Hana. And then, just after the portal had been rebuilt, Morgan had crashed in, finding her husband in the middle of a date with another woman. As a result, Laslow had to make things up to both of them with an extraordinarily over-the-top double date that involved hopping through several realms full of people who regarded him with...disapproval.