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Lucina breathed through her nose. The scent of daisies scattered amongst the other smells of the bright night. Lucina always liked the scent of daisies, but not for the reason one might expect.
The future princess walked down the hill, her hair fluttering behind her. Her father and Robin had decided to stop by a small town for essentials, however— like many of their "short" stops— they were interrupted by a band of bandits who were terrorizing the villagers.
As the good Shepards they were, they defended the town. They managed to take all of them down, with only around five to six soldiers defending.
Lucina didn't partake in the fighting too much this time around, as she was tending to the town's folk as they were in a bit of a panic. It was nostalgic to see her father fight like that. Actually, it was a very long time since she saw her father fighting in the shoes of a bystander. But that was irrelevant.
What was relevant was the voice calling out to the female Lord at that moment.
Lucina swirled around at the call. In turn, she saw a familiar figure out in the distance. It was Morgan, Robin's daughter and co-tactician for their army. Lucina brought her hand up to quietly wave back at the eccentric girl. Deliberately ignoring the fasten pace within her chest, Lucina approached the other.
"Lucina! Hey! What're you doing so far out from town? Everyone is having a fun time up in town!" Morgan laughed and Lucina let out a soft sort-of laugh, but mostly a weird "Ha".
"I was just taking a breather." She replied softly and Morgan huffed, The aspiring tactician's face let out a "Boring!" expression. "What about you? I figured you'd have fun with parties."
Morgan shifted her footing. "I, uh, actually don't do well with crowds. So, um, I guess you can say I'm taking a breather too..?" It came out more like a question rather than a statement, but Lucina didn't press.
"Alright. Do you want to walk with me?" She asked and Morgan brighten up. "Yeah! Of course! Lead the way!" With Morgan's strange gestures, it was hard to keep Lucina's laughter in. Yet she did just that, and in turn was left with a warm feeling pooling and curling at her stomach.
They walked across the daisy-covered fields. Talking about smaller things. Some subjects were akin to either-or questions. ("So who would win in a fight? A really angry, honey-deprived, grizzly bear? Or Gaius?" "I would suppose Gaius. However... I do have a feeling the grizzly bear would win, despite my hopes.") Sometimes they would ask each other ice breaker questions. ("What is your favorite color, Morgan?" "Purple! You?" "Despite my color scheme, I am quite found of white." "Oh! Oh! Like my hair?" "Hm, I would suppose so." It was the whole point, actually.) And at times they would talk about their hopes and dreams. ("Don't tell anyone but... I really want to find my mom. I want to know her. I want to talk to her! But I can't do that unless I can actually remember her..." "I'm sure you'll remember someday, Morgan. I believe in you." "... Thanks Lucina.")
The air was crisp as they finally settled down underneath a grand tree. Morgan sat with her knees to her chest while Lucina chose to set with her legs out. They had settled onto a quiet, but not awkward, silence.
Lucina noticed the wind tingling her cheeks, and looked onto the night sky. Stars twinkled and danced as they burned brightly beneath the clouds. The moon laid in an omniscient manner as it viewed all and everything.
The daises still smelled delightful under Lucina's nose, but it was mingled with something else other than the nightly scent.
It was Morgan.
Morgan's scent was akin to a huge, outside feast. A coal smell laid siege on her coat, there were also some scattered food scraps on the hem of her shirt, and remnants of blood from the prior battle still stuck to her body like a second skin. Her hair, tussled and mangled beyond repair, smelled of the daises Lucina grew ever so fond of. Overall, the princess-lord had become infatuated and obsessed with such a smell.
(Each and every time during those despair-ridden days, Lucina found herself desperately searching for that smell. After every battle, every fight, Lucina would scour the battlefield for it and its owner. Sometimes, she would find it and with it, her. Sometimes she couldn't and she wouldn't sleep that night until that familiar creak upon wood would resound their make-shift homes. However, that's a story for another time.)
Lucina looked over Morgan once more. The other seemed deep in thought, so Lucina took the chance to gaze at her.
The brown eyes that swirled life in them(contrasting to what Lucina was originally use to), the white hair that the princess found her hands tugging to touch, the nimble fingers that Lucina desperately wanted to hold, the lips that she wanted to touch again and again, the eye lashes that dusted her cheeks like feathers to the skin. Lucina looked at them all with the same amount of love that caused the warm pool in her stomach to curl and twist.
(The features weren't the same to the one she knew, and it never would. Because this Morgan will not suffer the same as the one who remembered. Lucina will make sure of this Morgan will remain the pure goodness that she was now.)
"Lucina?!" She snapped out of her trance upon the worried yell. She was brought back to her tactician who seemed relieved at her response. "Oh thank the gods! Thought I lost you there!"
"Lost me?" Lucina was confused. "What do you mean?"
Morgan stared at her for a moment before explaining. "Your eyes were weird."
Weird? "Do you care to emphasize, Morgan?"
"Like," Morgan threw a gesture. "Your eyes grew BIG." Another hand gesture. "It stayed like that for awhile. It got me worried."
Lucina flushed. She was embarrassed. How could let her guard down like that?! "I assure you it won't happen again. I was just... In thought." She wasn't lying, but she wasn't telling the truth either. Morgan seemed to pick up on this, but she didn't press.Similar to what Lucina did prior, she carried along another conversation.
"We should probably go back though. The moon set more quickly than I anticipated." Morgan stood and dusted of her pants and the back of her coat. Looking down at Lucina, she gave a smile that stretched from ear to ear and gave put her hand. "Shall we go?"
Lucina smiled back, although, with not as much intensity. She allowed the other to assist her up, and was disappointed in the lack of the presence in her palm as they released each other's hold. It seemed it was the same to Morgan, if the frown on her face was anything to go by.
"Um..." Morgan furrowed her eyebrows. "Can we... Can we hold hands? I don't know why but..." Her teeth gnarled at her plush lips and it tugged at Lucina's heart.
"Yes." She responded before the other could cause red to spill from pink. "Yes, we can." She took the other's hand and gripped tightly. Morgan's hand responded the same.
(It seemed that despite the lost of the memories in her mind, Morgan remembered through the workings of both their bodies.)
They walked back to the town like that. Hand in hand and shy smiles to big ones.
It was a small start to what Lucina experienced with Morgan prior, but it was a step. A very, very small one, but it was a step nether the less. And at this point, Lucina will take what she could get.