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Description
Gales of a First Meeting
“Well, well. Hello there! This is quite the take.”
Giggling to herself the gold haired woman flipped a coin before putting it back and slinging the sack over her shoulder.
“Today really is a great day.”
As she hummed to herself she heard someone approaching from behind.
“Um…Heather? We-“
“Oh! Right!” Turning the rouge smiled “Thanks for the help!”
“N-not at all. If anythin, I should be thankin ya…you were a big help.”
Heather made a brushing off motion with her hand and continued to smile “It’s all good…so…what did you want to say?”
After a short silence Nephenee remembered “Oh, yeah, we’re leaving now. We can’t just sit by…not if what Yeardley was claiming is true. Crimea could be in trouble and-“
“Alright.”
Nephenee tilted her head “Alright?”
“Alright, I’m comin with you!”
The Halberd turned to see Brom still talking with the other villagers before facing Heather again “You don’t hafta-“
“Of course I do! I can’t let you go out there all alone! I’d never do that!”
Nodding slowly Nephenee checked again to see the villagers leaving and Brom turn towards them.
“We fought in the war against Ashnard…we’ll be fine.”
“So you don’t want me along?”
“It’s not that…I just…it’s not…you don’t have to get involved with this-“
Groaning Heather grabbed Nephenee’s arm and walked her over to Brom “We’re going now, right?”
Raising an eyebrow the older man glanced at Nephenee then shrugged “If you want to tag along, not my place to stop you.”
Heather beamed a smile at Brom who nodded to them before turning and heading for the village exit.
Heather turned to Nephenee “Off we go!”
Despite some small reservations, the Halberd was glad to have Heather along and nodded. The rouge hooked her arm around Nephenee’s and followed Brom.
All the while Nephenee thought to herself “She is a very odd girl.”

That night…
“So…you two fought in that war, right?”
Brom nodded to Heather’s question “Yep…we went toe to toe with Ashnard’s forces and to be honest…sometimes it feels like it happened to someone else.”
Heather nodded slowly, casting an occasional glance to Nephenee who remained silent near the fire, messing with her scarf.
“I don’t fancy myself a hero by any means…a good friend once called me an old country bumpkin and he didn’t believe I could catch up with my…what was it he said? Jiggling weight or something?”
“Yet here you are…with that experience. I gotta say, looking at you I wouldn’t expect any of that. No offense.”
Brom laughed at Heather’s statement and let out a deep sigh “The war was somethin all right. But the people I met…the friends I made…I wouldn’t trade them for anything, I’m sure Neph feels the same, right?”
Nephenee looked up at Brom “Hm? I’m sorry what are we talkin bout?”
“The Mad King’s War. Fair to say I did nothing for the cause…but you did, how was it? What do you remember the most?”
Nephenee saw the intense curiosity written all over Heather’s face as the rouge focused on her. Looking down Nephenee mulled over a few memories before looking back up.
“Well…the way it started…even now I don’t know how I maintained myself…”
Heather tilted her head “What do you mean?”
“Our first fight.” Brom stated “Almost forgot about that.”
“What happened?”
Clearing her throat, Nephenee began.
“After Daein’s initial invasion of Crimea’s capital, countless people from the countryside hopped up to fight for their country. It sounded like a good thing to go about doing…fighting for our home but fair to say we didn’t know what we were up against. Brom and I went in defense of our homes and families…our friends and neighbors marched with us…though we didn’t have enough weapons for everyone…”
As Nephenee trailed off, Heather tilted her head again. The Halberd was staring deep into the campfire and it seemed like she had gone off elsewhere.
“Right…that was a bad time.” Brom commented before turning to Heather “In the shortest way possible, we were wiped out. The very few of us who survived were taken prisoner…though that didn’t stop some Daein soldiers from torturing us…with needles and the like.”
Heather glanced over at Nephenee, Brom noticed and shook his head “Not us though…we were lucky…while our friends died or were tortured around us, the Goddess saw fit to have us move among prisoner groups and from established prison to prison, along the way we met with the Knight Kieran and the wise saint Sephiran...the four of us where imprisoned…not too far from here I believe.”
“That’s when we met Ike.” Nephenee stated, looking back up.
Ike. Heather knew this name, heck; everyone in Crimea and possibly Tellius knew his name now. The leader of a small band of Mercenaries that would be the core of the movement to retake Crimea, Ike himself was the one who felled the Mad King.
“He saved ya’ll from a prison?”
Nephenee nodded “Yep, along with Kieran and the blessed saint…I was immensely grateful…I had planned that if I was ever rescued to go back home and see my family but…I couldn’t leave...I felt I owed him for saving my life.”
Brom laughed “Same here, I didn’t really want to join a fight that would take me to Ashnard himself in the beginning but…well whatever the reason I’m glad I fought with em.”
Heather nodded to them as Brom yawned and stretched his arms. Once again she glanced over at Nephenee who returned to playing with her scarf “Well, I’m beat…best get some rest, we’ve got a ways to go before we reach Melior.”
As Brom entered his tent Heather cleared her throat “So…Nephenee…”
The Halberd looked up slowly as Heather continued “I notice you’ve been messing with your scarf for quite a while now…are you alright?”
After a quiet nod, Heather scratched her head “By the way, I do like your scarf, where’d you get it?”
Nephenee smiled “From someone very close.”
“Close? What does that mean?”
“A friend you met during the last war?”
Nephenee’s smile remained as she nodded “Yeah…a very good friend.”
“Very good friend? What does THAT mean?”
Seeing Nephenee yawn the rouge couldn’t help but giggle to herself causing Nephenee to stare at her questioningly.
Seeing the Halberd looking her way, she coughed quickly “Well, Brom did have a point, we should turn in.”
With that Heather put out the fire and lay down in her tent, staring at the top as countless thoughts went through her head.

Description
Gales of a First Meeting
“Well, well. Hello there! This is quite the take.”
Giggling to herself the gold haired woman flipped a coin before putting it back and slinging the sack over her shoulder.
“Today really is a great day.”
As she hummed to herself she heard someone approaching from behind.
“Um…Heather? We-“
“Oh! Right!” Turning the rouge smiled “Thanks for the help!”
“N-not at all. If anythin, I should be thankin ya…you were a big help.”
Heather made a brushing off motion with her hand and continued to smile “It’s all good…so…what did you want to say?”
After a short silence Nephenee remembered “Oh, yeah, we’re leaving now. We can’t just sit by…not if what Yeardley was claiming is true. Crimea could be in trouble and-“
“Alright.”
Nephenee tilted her head “Alright?”
“Alright, I’m comin with you!”
The Halberd turned to see Brom still talking with the other villagers before facing Heather again “You don’t hafta-“
“Of course I do! I can’t let you go out there all alone! I’d never do that!”
Nodding slowly Nephenee checked again to see the villagers leaving and Brom turn towards them.
“We fought in the war against Ashnard…we’ll be fine.”
“So you don’t want me along?”
“It’s not that…I just…it’s not…you don’t have to get involved with this-“
Groaning Heather grabbed Nephenee’s arm and walked her over to Brom “We’re going now, right?”
Raising an eyebrow the older man glanced at Nephenee then shrugged “If you want to tag along, not my place to stop you.”
Heather beamed a smile at Brom who nodded to them before turning and heading for the village exit.
Heather turned to Nephenee “Off we go!”
Despite some small reservations, the Halberd was glad to have Heather along and nodded. The rouge hooked her arm around Nephenee’s and followed Brom.
All the while Nephenee thought to herself “She is a very odd girl.”

That night…
“So…you two fought in that war, right?”
Brom nodded to Heather’s question “Yep…we went toe to toe with Ashnard’s forces and to be honest…sometimes it feels like it happened to someone else.”
Heather nodded slowly, casting an occasional glance to Nephenee who remained silent near the fire, messing with her scarf.
“I don’t fancy myself a hero by any means…a good friend once called me an old country bumpkin and he didn’t believe I could catch up with my…what was it he said? Jiggling weight or something?”
“Yet here you are…with that experience. I gotta say, looking at you I wouldn’t expect any of that. No offense.”
Brom laughed at Heather’s statement and let out a deep sigh “The war was somethin all right. But the people I met…the friends I made…I wouldn’t trade them for anything, I’m sure Neph feels the same, right?”
Nephenee looked up at Brom “Hm? I’m sorry what are we talkin bout?”
“The Mad King’s War. Fair to say I did nothing for the cause…but you did, how was it? What do you remember the most?”
Nephenee saw the intense curiosity written all over Heather’s face as the rouge focused on her. Looking down Nephenee mulled over a few memories before looking back up.
“Well…the way it started…even now I don’t know how I maintained myself…”
Heather tilted her head “What do you mean?”
“Our first fight.” Brom stated “Almost forgot about that.”
“What happened?”
Clearing her throat, Nephenee began.
“After Daein’s initial invasion of Crimea’s capital, countless people from the countryside hopped up to fight for their country. It sounded like a good thing to go about doing…fighting for our home but fair to say we didn’t know what we were up against. Brom and I went in defense of our homes and families…our friends and neighbors marched with us…though we didn’t have enough weapons for everyone…”
As Nephenee trailed off, Heather tilted her head again. The Halberd was staring deep into the campfire and it seemed like she had gone off elsewhere.
“Right…that was a bad time.” Brom commented before turning to Heather “In the shortest way possible, we were wiped out. The very few of us who survived were taken prisoner…though that didn’t stop some Daein soldiers from torturing us…with needles and the like.”
Heather glanced over at Nephenee, Brom noticed and shook his head “Not us though…we were lucky…while our friends died or were tortured around us, the Goddess saw fit to have us move among prisoner groups and from established prison to prison, along the way we met with the Knight Kieran and the wise saint Sephiran...the four of us where imprisoned…not too far from here I believe.”
“That’s when we met Ike.” Nephenee stated, looking back up.
Ike. Heather knew this name, heck; everyone in Crimea and possibly Tellius knew his name now. The leader of a small band of Mercenaries that would be the core of the movement to retake Crimea, Ike himself was the one who felled the Mad King.
“He saved ya’ll from a prison?”
Nephenee nodded “Yep, along with Kieran and the blessed saint…I was immensely grateful…I had planned that if I was ever rescued to go back home and see my family but…I couldn’t leave...I felt I owed him for saving my life.”
Brom laughed “Same here, I didn’t really want to join a fight that would take me to Ashnard himself in the beginning but…well whatever the reason I’m glad I fought with em.”
Heather nodded to them as Brom yawned and stretched his arms. Once again she glanced over at Nephenee who returned to playing with her scarf “Well, I’m beat…best get some rest, we’ve got a ways to go before we reach Melior.”
As Brom entered his tent Heather cleared her throat “So…Nephenee…”
The Halberd looked up slowly as Heather continued “I notice you’ve been messing with your scarf for quite a while now…are you alright?”
After a quiet nod, Heather scratched her head “By the way, I do like your scarf, where’d you get it?”
Nephenee smiled “From someone very close.”
“Close? What does that mean?”
“A friend you met during the last war?”
Nephenee’s smile remained as she nodded “Yeah…a very good friend.”
“Very good friend? What does THAT mean?”
Seeing Nephenee yawn the rouge couldn’t help but giggle to herself causing Nephenee to stare at her questioningly.
Seeing the Halberd looking her way, she coughed quickly “Well, Brom did have a point, we should turn in.”
With that Heather put out the fire and lay down in her tent, staring at the top as countless thoughts went through her head.