A Vow of Friendship & an Oath of Loyalty

                                                ❝ Hehe! Sorry ‘bout that. ❞

   Guess she had more strength than she realized if it made poor Uncle Silas think he was beieng attacked. Ah, no matter. He’s just going to have to get used to being ‘attacked’ now that she was apart of their troop. It was still a little weird to be out of the deeprealms, but it was wonderful to be able to actually be with her family, and ‘family’. It wasn’t as lonely anymore..

“Don’t worry about it -- I’ll just have to learn to predict your approaches!” Silas chuckled, seeing this as an opportunity to make keeping his guard up something easier to want to do. After all, if he was looking out for Midori, than it wasn’t a chore.

While he didn’t like to think that such a young girl would be in danger while with them, it was also a nice, lifting feeling to have her presence around.

Faced with such a large creature -- armed with claws, teeth, and who knows what other abilities -- Silas was at a clear disadvantage if it decided to attack. But, as it lowered its head to break the silence once more, it seemed that the dragon was willing to house them for the night -- provided they didn’t steal anything from it.

“Really? You will?”

“Kill you? No I would never! If I...If I even could, I would only do such in self-defense,” the knight responded, trying to gauge if this beast was friendly or not. “I merely came upon your territory by accident. My group is looking for a safe place to rest for the night, and this cave seemed a good option for staying out of the weather.”

“Something bothering little ol’ Niles? Hmm, I suppose there is. You see, it started just a moment ago; my peaceful lounging was interrupted by the most peculiar phenomenon. It had two legs, two arms, messy silver hair, was quite inquisitive and couldn’t mind it’s own business,” he answered, mockingly pondering what it could be, in heaven’s name.

The knight didn’t know much about Niles, he was more than willing to admit that. Other than the fact that he was Prince Leo’s retainer, Silas couldn’t comment on much outside of Niles’ ability on the battlefield.

Actually, this may not be a point to argue on...

“My apologies, ma’am, for the mistake. But, you say that you are lost? I can tell you where you are, though; you’re in the kingdom of Nohr. Sorry if this seems prying, but...where are you coming from? Perhaps I can help you get back to somewhere you recognize.”

>The monk listened to Silas’s tangent and was doing his best to hold back a smirk. Well, that was easy. Azama was known well around the army and various towns for his sharp tongue and teasing attitude. The poor Nohrian obviously didn’t get the memo. Or he was just stupid. Maybe both.

>”My superior?” He snorted at his words. “Listen,” Oh, this would be amusing. “No ones my superior, except maybe Lady Hinoka. But then again, I don’t really listen to her. Not many people trust you Nohrians, you know. Take Oboro for example, the poor girl is filled with anger every time she sees a filthy,” Azama put emphasis on filthy. “Nohrian like yourselves. Anyway, I only show respect to those I’ve deemed have earned my respect.”

>”You would think being friends with someone who trained under Lord Xander would give you some form of tactics, but I suppose not.”

“If you somehow think you’re above everyone else, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise one of these days,” Silas grit out, attempting to regain some civility here. “I don’t know what you’re used to, Azama, but this is an army. In an army, you will always have a superior when you are not the one in command. Last I checked, that was certainly not you.” Taking a breath, the knight crossed his arms stiffly. “Corrin and I...have only recently been reunited. I did not have the honor of training under Prince Xander.”

The insults were...something he was used to at this point. He did not expect a warm welcome from the Hoshidans, did not expect to be viewed as an equal or even as a trusted ally. But the words and thoughts of a few would not change his mind, nor effect his resolve in trying to help these two nations find peace together.

This battle was a frightening experience, he felt as though he was doing his best at avoiding attacks rather than slashing at his opponents. There were quite a few enemies carrying those dragon weapons – he could always sense them. Of course, the people in his army were also aware of this fact. They had trained themselves to be on the look out for Kamui, and his servants were extra protective during these times of need.

Yet there was room for mistakes, even for the most careful units. The enemies weren’t weak – each battle proved to be more challenging when the opposing army grew smarter and stronger. Fellow comrades needed to accompany each other, pairing up being the most wise decision. In this battle it was Silas who Kamui was partnered up with. An old friend and trust-worthy knight, they fought alongside each other, but Silas couldn’t always see where his friend was standing. A slip-up was made – the Anya prince had miscalculated his approach, and the fear from within rose with great force, his heart racing during the time of dodging a dragon sword.

– A miss! Kamui managed to survive such a brief moment, but his heart couldn’t stop its intense beating. Heavy breaths began to form, Kamui’s balance becoming loose, leading him to his fall. A nasty landing was all he took, but the pain he felt would be nothing in comparison to a wound from those dastardly weapons. There was a few seconds of recovery, the instinct to survive kicked in, causing the prince to take out his dragonstone, using it immediately and finishing off his surrounding enemies with an aqueous blow.

He made sure to return back to normal after his transformation, but his breathing became more laboured than before. The fear he felt has gotten the better of him, losing his sense of logic, but all that was forcefully pressed aside when the grey-coloured knight approached him with concern. Kamui felt incredibly relieved to see his partner by his side again. Although he mustn’t let the other worry too much, forming a weak smile was all he could muster for the moment. The battle hasn’t been won, yet he had already felt the exhaustion of an aftermath.

「 It was a close call, wasn’t it? 」 He tried to bring a bit of humour to relieve the stress, noticing the search for wounds on his person.

It was a close call, but Kamui was a competent fighter. Still, it put Silas on edge that it had even been that close in the first place.