For Glory

  “…Marxster Bunny…”

“Well, in /my/ world, that outfit would be considered the /height/ of fashion. Absolutely to die for. You should be appreciative of whoever designed it, for their vision was centuries ahead of this time.”

  “Is that so?”

"Are you kidding me? You look great, dude."

  “Indeed...”

@sunlessreign ;;   ♥’d

though ever intimidated by the crown prince of the gloomy nohr, she approached him. her only intent was to see if he would be willing to possibly help her with training, for she was told specifically by the half nohrian/half hoshidan royalty that he might be a good candidate.

   “uh, ‘scuse me.. i’m sorry to bother you, lord marx. i was just wonderin’ if ya could help me out with some trainin’ stuff. i understand if ya can’t or don’t want to – just wanted to ask.” 

  When it came to Mozu, it seemed that his sister’s tendency to trust almost everyone implicitly didn’t seem to have much risk involved. Still, Marx kept an eye on her. There was no reason for him to be suspicious, not when she was nothing more than a victim of war, but it was difficult to break the habit. And it was clear by the way she behaved around him that she had noticed it, which was why he was so surprised to see her approaching him.

     In such a short time, Hinoka had learned more about Nohrians than she did in the last decade. There had always been anger and resentment aimed at them. Those feelings weren’t completely gone and it was still strange to think she would have casual conversations with them, knowing how much they have hurt their family. Yet seeing them up close made her less tense and she knew that the image she had of them was wrong. Sure, there was a lack of trust and they weren’t all good people, but for the sake of Corrin and the rest of Hoshido, she would try to make peace with them.

     A sense of relief fell upon her when Marx extended his hand and she firmly took it for a brief moment. Here was to hoping awkwardness wouldn’t fall between them and that they would get along well.

     “As do I.” Hinoka returned the smile before taking a look around the area. It was open and it would be difficult for enemies to close in on them in a short amount of time, but the higher areas could prove to be a problem. “Shall we first head up here then?”

  Now that the formalities were behind them, the prince let himself relax a bit. Not too much, of course—they were going on patrol, after all—but enough. Any tension between them could not stand, or they risked their alliance breaking apart. However, he much preferred getting to their duties to standing around and talking to dispel such things, and it was a relief to see that Hinoka appeared to be of the same mind.

  Following the princess’ gaze, Marx grew thoughtful. Though they were in a clearing at the moment, the nearby hills housed a fair amount of ruins, and it would be an ideal place for their enemies to be lying in wait. He was still trying to familiarize himself with Vallite strategy, if they even had one, but it would be foolish of them not to take advantage of such a position. It was a rather obvious spot, but that didn’t make it any less favorable as a defensive outpost. He nodded once in agreement, and mounted his horse.

  Embla and Askr, although not as dramatically different as Hoshido and Nohr, were still locked in a similar conflict. Perhaps that was why Marx didn’t feel so out of place in Zenith, or even in Embla itself. Its ruler reminded him of his most beloved sibling in one way, and his father in another, and that was why he was drawn to her side. He felt that she needed him, even if she didn’t know it herself.

  Askr, on the other hand, was a place he knew little of. The prince and princess helped break him and his siblings of their forced contract to Veronica, and though Marx had chosen to still stay with her after, he admired the Askrans strength and dedication to what they believed in. And the tales he had heard in the Emblian court of their divine weapon were interesting, too. It was apparently utterly useless for battle, and only served to bring people like him from their own worlds to Zenith in a less forceful way. An artifact as valuable as that, though not directly useful in battle, would be worth protecting.

  But then, why had he found the weapon’s wielder wandering near Emblian territory without either of his royal escorts? He personally held no hostilities towards the boy, but as Veronica’s servant, he wasn’t about to let him return to Askr so easily. If he could capture him, it would surely please her. Spurring his horse forward, Marx approached the boy, and looked down on him from atop its back.

  Had someone told Marx that he would be fighting alongside a soldier of Hoshido a matter of months ago, he would have sworn they had gone mad. Yet there he was, not only fighting beside a Hoshidan soldier, but jumping in to save one. With his winged mount, Subaki was almost untouchable to those who were confined to the ground, but only almost. Had he been fighting alone, it probably wouldn’t have taken very long for him to be overcome regardless of how high he could go. Luckily for the sky knight, however, he wasn’t.

Seigrfried vs Nova the Rapidash let’s go