#azurrinweek2016

That becomes apparent that afternoon, when a column of dust arises in front of the column. The forward scouts gallop back, shouting an alarm. Enemies have been sighted ahead: the strange, otherworldly soldiers that have plagued them since the square at Shirasagi.

The enemy comes hard on the heels of the scouts. Caught unprepared for the onslaught, Corrin's forces scatter in small groups.

Corrin throws herself flat as a wyvern flies past, its rider swinging an axe in one hand. On its second pass she stands her ground, sidestepping the wyvern to cut into its rider. Her opponent falls to the ground without a sound, and she turns to take stock of the battle. She sees a flutter of white cloth vanishing into the trees, enemies in pursuit. "Azura!" she shouts, taking off at a full sprint after her disappearing friend.

Corrin overtakes an enemy axeman, dispatching him without a second thought, and continues her pursuit. If Azura is alone and cut off from the others, she'll be hard-pressed to defend herself.

She hears the sound of running water ahead and quickens her pace. Crashing through a low bush, she's confronted by Azura's wide-eyed face, and the blade of a naginata.

"Corrin!" she says breathlessly, hurriedly pulling her weapon back. "I'm sorry, I thought you were..."

Panting, Corrin shakes her head. "No... I got here first... couldn't leave you... alone..."

She straightens up, holding a stitch in her side. Azura has halted at the edge of the stream, a broad stretch of water flowing little more than ankle-deep. Beneath its clear surface, Corrin can see the sandy streambed, pulled into a rippling pattern by the constant flow.

A fast-moving shadow passes overhead, wings beating, and Corrin flinches, her heart leaping into her throat. Her body moves almost of its own accord, and before she knows it she's hurling herself at Azura, shouting "Get down!"

She has a brief view of Azura's surprised face before the two of them collide, falling back to land in the stream with a loud splash. Corrin rolls over, grappling for her sword...

...and finds herself looking back at a rather puzzled bird perched in the trees. It chirps at her twice before fluttering away.

"I... I thought..." Corrin says, her mouth falling open. Her face is rapidly turning red as she realizes her mistake, sitting in the shallow stream with no enemies in sight.

There is an odd sound from beside her, and she looks down at Azura. The other girl is still lying down, long hair drifting about her, her clothes soaked through, shaking.

"Are you... all right?"

"I'm..." Azura's voice sounds strained. After a moment, though, her face cracks into a smile, and Corrin realizes that she had been shaking with laughter, her face flushed as much by that as by her flight through the woods. Some of that laughter bubbles through, merry as the flowing stream. "Corrin... you should have seen the look on your face!"

"I was worried about you!" Corrin protests. "I thought that I'd hurt you, or that..."

Azura sits up and continues, one hand dragging sopping hair out of her face, her voice still bright with glee. "No, not at all. You protected me from the big, scary bird!" She leans forward, clutching at her side, unable to stop giggling.

Corrin tries to assume an expression of injured dignity, but Azura's laughter is infectious, and soon she too is laughing--laughing until her eyes blur with tears and her sides ache.

At last, the two get themselves under control. Corrin is the first to get to her feet, wringing out her waterlogged cloak. "We should get back before they send out a search party." She turns to offer a hand and averts her eyes, blushing: the water has rendered Azura's white dress completely transparent. Pulling Azura to her feet, Corrin sheds her own cloak, offering it out at arm's length. "Um... here."

Azura regards the cloak in puzzlement for a moment, then looks down at herself and bites her lip, her own cheeks flushing as well. "Oh. Thank you." She drapes it around her shoulders, smiling. "Quite the day we've had, wouldn't you say?"

"Really..." Corrin shakes her head ruefully as she picks up her sword, shaking drops of water from its blade.

"It'll make an interesting story to tell the others," says Azura, her voice all too innocent.

"Please don't... I'd never live it down."

Unexpectedly, Corrin feels the soft touch of Azura's lips against her own, still slightly damp from their fall in the stream. Azura withdraws, a faint smile on her face.

"It will be our little secret, then." She picks up her fallen naginata settles Corrin's cloak more securely around her, turning. "We should get back to the others before they start to worry."

Sword held slackly in her hand, her breathing unsteady, Corrin stares after Azura as she leaves.