Fire Emblem/Super Smash Bros - Invisible Ties [Book #3]

Chapter 2 - Wandering Nomads

As the glowing sun brought light to the ground Robin and his family tread on, warming their shivering limbs, a spark of hope lit in the boy's heart. He took the light chasing away the dark night as a good omen of things to happen ahead.

It had been a while since Robin's mother had said anything at all, and so he thought it best that he kept quiet also. He looked around, taking in the scenery that he could finally see with the rising sun. The boy turned around as he heard his little sister giggle from behind him, and saw that a unique-looking butterfly began fluttering around the little girl.

"How is she doing?" Robin asked his mother, who had been keeping a close eye on the young girl's condition since Validar's recent experimenting, as well as her caring brother.

"So far so good. It's her eyes that I am more concerned about." Robin slowed down so his mother and him were evenly paced, giving him the chance to look at his sister's eyes for himself. As she giggled, he watched them continue to flicker between hues of green and blue, each eye never resting on the same colour.

"She doesn't seem to be bothered by it."

"I know, which is why I'm worried."

"She'll be fine, mother. Don't worry," Robin reassured by resting a hand on her shoulder. She smiled, and kissed her son lightly on the forehead.

"What did I do to deserve you two?"

More time passed, and the morning was becoming warmer as the cold night dissipated slowly. There were strenuous inclines they climbed, and abandoned paths that spoke "bandits" to the threesome. Thinking they deserved a rest, Robin found an isolated area where they could be free from being easily spotted.

They sat down, Iquissa finally falling asleep in her mother's lap. "There's a village that shouldn't be too much more of a walk from here. We'll see if there is a vacant hut we could possibly take, or maybe even a way we could move in with another resident," the woman explained to her son.

"Do you think father would ever find us there?"

"Only time will tell... but goodness, I hope not." With the girl fast asleep, they decided to keep on moving with stomachs begging for food. They panted as their legs grew tired, and took turns in carrying Iquissa on their backs.

Once a familiar silhouette began coming into view, Robin picked up the pace. When the shadows became clearer, he walked on with a spring in his step. He had a feeling that this was the start of a new beginning.

"There it is!" he happily exclaimed. Iquissa stirred awake at her brother's loud remark, but she didn't mind. With her mother the one holding her, she started bouncing up and down whilst holding her daughter tightly.

"Look, Iquissa. It's your new home!" The little girl not knowing what on earth her mother was talking about, smiled at her silly behaviour. She giggled, and started bouncing up and down herself. All Robin could really think about was silencing the noisy rumbles his stomach made every minute.

They approached the entrance, and there were some villagers already awake and working in the fields. A few of them stopped and turned their heads to look at the strangers that had approached them.

"Hello... may we speak with your elder?" Robin's mother huffed out. The workers looked at each other as if to question whether or not they really should call for their elder. Eventually, one of them nodded and proceeded to enter a hut not too far away. Shortly after, a man exited the same house. He wasn't as many years older than Robin and his mother had expected from an "elder".

"I am the village head."

"Yes, hello good sir," the mother began. "We... humbly ask of you to allow us to live in your village. We have nowhere else to go..."