wings of justice

— i guess i can respect that kinda

— but i still think a hero contest wwould be upright dumb like howw wwould you evven go about judgin somethin like that

— wwhat kind of trials wwould you evven havve

She thought long and hard... Trials...

— especially wwhen evveryone an their lusus oughta knoww the TRUEST STRENGTH is cold hard science

"Why wouldn't it be worth celebrating? I am a hero after all!"

"A contest? But how could you ever determine the most noble fighter in a place like this?"

"We would need to find a way to test heroism and strength!" Cynthia nodded. "Along with spirit and vitality."

Cynthia got her at “eating” though.

"Eatin’ contest? I’m tellin’ ya right now you would lose ta me."

"I-..I'm sorry, Tharja, but a knight contest is no place for a mage. I hope you can understand!"

"Well. Well!" Hmm. Nothing came to mind.

Unhinged words soon ended as it is followed by a loud crash. The screen projected in front of the coated warrior shattered as his fist found its way to its center, utterly destroying it with one punch backed by unrestrained rage. His fist and by extension his whole arm shook visibly, the broken screen rattling slightly as the hooded figure retracted his limb from the broken device and back down to his side. 

Was it true? All of it? Despite his power, his status and everything he had worked for? He, a god by all accounts, captured so easily and spirited away from the world he knew?

These questions hovered around the mind of the hooded Intoner as a desire to not believe in the reality now shoved onto him surfaced. He did not want to accept it. How could he? He still had so much to do back in his world and so much error to set right once again. He felt angry, but knew it’d be pointless to throw a tantrum.

He wasn’t young anymore, no. He knew how to channel this anger now.

Taking his inferior wooden replica of a sword, the Intoner left the white room and continued on into the new world, without so much as looking back. He had resolved his heart and knew what he had to do. He will find the people who sent him here, demand them to take him back before removing all their heads.

For now, however, an exploration was in order.

The world here looked significantly more advanced than his, the buildings impressive for the height the reached, some taller than the tallest of structures back in his world. It wasn’t long however before the Intoner found himself in the bad side of town. 

He had wandered into an alley and almost immediately, the male found himself surrounded by a group of men. A look on their faces suggested that they thought of him as easy target for loot. Or, perhaps, mistaking him for… well, a girl. How did this always happen to him? An accidental curse perhaps, for having his beloved sister’s face. Well, no matter. He knew how to take care of himself now, after all.

“I suggest you back off now," he warned, his deep voice belying his feminine appearance. "I find myself in a rather foul mood.”

Speaking of stopping, a scene a few meters away had interrupted her aimless walking and excitable train of thought. There was a young girl surrounded by a flock of strange men. Well. A scenario like this screamed bad news anyway you looked at it. She locked eyes with her pegasus, and they exchanged a brief nod. Cynthia charged over to where the girl was standing and proceeded to jump  in front of the girl in a fierce protective manner.

"How dare you wretches prey upon this frail girl?" She raised the lance at them. "Do you have no sense of honor? No sense of decency?!"

She turned her head a little to face the person she was now hell-bent on protecting. "Have no fear, lass! Cynthia, the Bringing of Justice, has come to your aid!" Her grin was confident and her eyes shone almost radiantly. "These villains will rue this day!"

— Katarina pushed thoughts of Marth to the back of her mind. It didn’t seem like she would find the answers anytime soon; besides, she was enjoying Cynthia’s company, and it would be rude to let Marth preoccupy her too much.

— She turned her attention back to the pegasus.

— “You know, when I was little, I think I wanted to become a pegasus knight,” she said. “There’s something so lovely and elegant about them. So graceful. Talking to you now, I can’t help feeling a little jealous!”

Maybe this Marth was a bad guy and she was a hero trying to stop him! She could picture it so clearly. The heroic tactician Katarina facing this mysterious figure and right as she was about to land the final blow, he used his final gambit move to strip her of her memories. A likely possibility!

"Well, maybe we'll figure it out together," she said earnestly.

"Also, maybe I could train you a little bit of what it's like to be a pegasus knight! My pegasus... is a little too small for that at the moment. But I can teach you the mentality."

— Katarina smiled brightly.

— “Okay, then; we’ll be Katarina and Cynthia: Adventurers of Justice!”

— Katarina’s smile turned sheepish. It wasn’t a great title, but…they could work on it. She was just so thrilled to have found a companion so quickly. She didn’t really care if she sounded cool.

— “Your mother’s name was quite lovely as well. Su-mi-a.” The syllables felt foreign on her tongue. Whoever Cynthia’s mother was, she certainly wasn’t an Altean. “I’m sure she is — was — an amazing person.”

— Katarina trailed off, feeling awkward. It sounded like Cynthia’s mother had died, but…perhaps it was indelicate of Katarina to mention it? She tried to smooth things over by changing the subject:

— “While we’re on the topic of names, Cynthia…does the name ‘Marth’ mean anything to you? I feel like it’s supposed to be important to me, but I can’t remember why.”

Marth... She wondered if it was worth mentioning Lucina to her.

"Well, other than the fact that a friend of mine took the name Marth, that's the only way it's particularly relevant to me."

— “I see,” Katarina said, thoughtfully. “Well, in that case, why don’t we search for the truth together? Since we’re both new and all.”

— Katarina thought to mention her amnesia…but it was hardly relevant to the situation at hand. Besides, it would be unkind to burden this girl with anything else, when she was already being so helpful.

— In an effort to befriend the girl, Katarina smiled at the animal circling overhead.

— “I see you’re a Pegasus Knight,” she said. “That must make you a hero, after all! I’m glad to know I’m in good hands with you.”

— “I myself am an aspiring tactician. I’m Katarina, by the way.”

— She offered the girl a hand.

"Yes, together we will succeed!"

She reached upwards and pat her pegasus gently when the creature was acknowledged. "A pegasus knight indeed. I take after my mother. She was an amazing heroic knight named Sumia!" Cynthia aspired to be more like her mother, in all honesty.

"Wowwww,, a tactician. We'll make a great team then."

She reached out and shook the stranger's hand, her cheeks reddening a little at being called "my hero" by her.

—- Katarina had just stumbled out of that awful room, where those strange people claiming to be scientists had assaulted her with all that information. She was confused. Not just about where she was, but about who she was. She could remember nothing, other than the fact that she was, firstly, training to be a tactician, and secondly, from someplace called Altea. Or…she thought it was Altea. Had she actually been from someplace else, before that…?

—- Something else kept coming to mind, a single refrain, in the form of a name:

—- Marth.

—- “…Hm?”

—- Katarina did not have long to wonder who Marth was, or dwell on her predicament; mere seconds after leaving the room and heading into the streets, she caught sight of a young, buoyant girl, shouting to the streets and bouncing so gleefully that her pigtails bobbed behind her. Katarina smiled to herself. Maybe this girl couldn’t give her the answers she sought, but…at least she seemed friendly?

—- “Um — Excuse me?”

—- Katarina drew level with the girl, and offered her a kind smile.

"You need a hero? You're talkin' to the right gal!" She gave her a friendly smile and a thumbs up. Her pegasus floated around in a circle eagerly above Cynthia's head.

However, all of Cynthia's enthusiasm quickly vanished when she realized what the unfamiliar girl was asking. ...She did not have a single inkling where anything was in this city. How was she supposed to engage in heroic exploits? How was she supposed to aid the citizens? Changes must be made. She needed to memorize every route of this city. She made a mental note of that.

"Well, you see. I'm kinda new here myself, and I d-don't really know much at all."