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The Mercenary (Beautiful_Disgrace and I)

"I am well aware," Ike assured, faintly uncomfortable of that...public revelation. "Do what you feel is comfortable, Palutena." It was the only reason he had come this far, it felt like. As much as he loathed himself for relying on it, the world had changed Gurgurant into something terrifying. Something far more than it used to be, Ashnard's memory breathed in it, craved every moment of it. Ike had done nothing more but feed into that desire, that hunger.

Alondite grimaced, but said nothing. It was no doubt that he was not worthy to hold a sacred blade if he had such a bond with this one. Disgusting. Was this what they had come to?
 
While Palutena focused on Gurgurant, Lethe slowly approached them from behind. She had been listening and...after everything she had decided to go with them. She hadn't talked to Ike since he had mated with her and she had been wanting to apologize to him for not understanding what he did for her. Sona had..put things into perspective the more they talked and she had forgiven him. "I would like to go too..." She said as she looked Ike in the eyes for the first time in a long time. "For Sona...and my sister. I have to get Lyre back and...Ragnell too. Ragnell is the only thing left of Sona." She didn't know where it was, but she knew it's scent. As much as she hated the smell of weapons, Ragnell was the only thing that didn't make her sick.
 
"...You're more than welcome to join us, Lethe," Ike murmured. "Your expertise will be appreciated." It was a surprise to say the least to see Lethe, and more that she was willingly talking with him after everything. Sona had matured while he wasn't looking, and all that did was make him feel like a terrible friend. Maybe one small step could make things better, could make him feel like he had a sense of his old self again.
 
Lethe only nodded in response. There were so many things that they needed to talk about...but she couldn't just because they needed to be alone. And she wasn't sure if she had the courage to ask him, honestly. Even though she promised Sona she would talk to him...she didn't know when the appropriate time would be.

Palutena's magic faded and she looked at the blade for a moment before passing it back to Ike. "It's important, Ike...that you use this with caution. I sealed it but...It's possible it can break my seal in the right circumstances. You cannot let yourself kill out of anger or hatred. It will only get stronger and possess you. So promise me you'll be careful and only use this when you have to." Palutena probably should have just taken it away, but she understood why he was using it right now.
 
"I promise," Ike said, for all the good it would do him...he'd promise all the same. Magnus and Gaol eventually arrived, the blonde haired woman smiling easily at Samus and the arrival of Soren.

"Well," Magnus scoffed. "Guess we're going to have a little get-together adventure, aren't we?"

"It's exciting, Gaol said easily. "Stop being such a grump, you should get out more anyway."

"Feh," Magnus grunted, eyeing Ike over. So, this was the guy that Sona kept talking about, huh? The Radiant Hero?
 
"Glad to see you two looking so well. Take care of Ike for me." Palutena said with a smile. As she recalled, Magnus didn't care much for her. But that didn't stop her from being friendly.

Soren regarded the two for a moment before clearing his throat. "All of our supplies is packed and we're ready to go when you two are." It would be different not traveling with their usual partners, but Lethe added a certain familiarity he supposed. He was worried for Ike, he too had sensed the evil that Palutena spoke of when he touched his late fathers sword. He didn't like thinking of Ashnard that way, but sometimes he just couldn't help himself ever since he found out the truth.
 
"Yeah," Ike murmured. "Let's get going, we've got a lot of ground to cover." It'd take time, but it wasn't as if they lacked that.

"Fun," Magnus said, scratching his chin. "And a lot of bad guys from here to our next destination."

"Which is fun for you," Gaol reminded flatly. "Besides, we have new companions! That's something to be happy about." The cheerful optimism reminded Ike of Sona, and that just made him feel worse. But he and Samus didn't belong here anymore, they needed to find their own way now. They'd do whatever they could to keep their forces away from the others...if they could, anyway.
 
It was a quiet walk for the most part, though Samus did enjoy the fact that she didn't feel like she was an outcast. Even if she had been trained by Impa...there was never any sense of acceptance. Not that she needed or deserved any. She did notice, however, that Lethe was intently staring at Ike when she felt like no one was watching. She obviously had a lot on her mind, and Samus couldn't blame her considering everything that happened between the two of them.

"Lethe," Samus began, breaking the laguz out of her stupor. Those violet eyes of hers shot towards Samus and glowered over her. Nothing she wasn't used to already considering. "Are you alright? You seem very pale."

"I'm fine..." Lethe responded as she looked away from Samus. She couldn't hold her gaze for very long. Not when she was...well theoretically she was a problem when Lethe finally told Ike what he had actually done all those weeks ago.
 
It took some getting used to, but the familiar shadow of Soren seemed to relax Ike more than he had in a while. The normal gloom of the initial journey seemed to fade as time wore on, it had been a long, long time since Ike could properly savor a journey. What they were doing...it was good, it felt good, he knew it was good. Plus, Samus and his own combined knowledge of the confused, slammed together world allowed them a freedom that very few had anymore. It helped that Gaol, Magnus and Soren were either indifferent or simply ignorant to the problems, which was good in it's own way, too.

But for now, the pace was slightly brisk and camp was settled somewhere in the evening. Soren had done his homework in securing some kind of map made from scouts and other information that Ike had no desire to question how. Soren just had...ways, and Ike never really thought too much about it.

"Getting from here to the other half of Galia is going to be a pain," Ike said, tapping the north-eastern portion of the map. "There's a village that we can stop for, a lot of these outward villages don't worship Medusa like the others. They don't want much trouble, as long as we go right through, there shouldn't be much problems." More to the point though, they needed to make themselves known to give the others a chance to buy time. "We should take the longer way around."
 
"Why are we taking the longer way?" Samus questioned as she knelt over the map and studied it. It was all foreign to her, she wasn't sure what they were avoiding or even why their journey would be more difficult depending on the path they took. All she saw was a lot of forest...perhaps the longer way was easier in that regard.

Soren stayed quiet as his red eyes continued to study the map. He had an idea of why Ike wanted to go around, but he never needed to speak for him. Besides, he needed to make sure they were properly prepared...
 
"Because we want to draw attention," Ike murmured. "She can't ignore us, even if she knows what we're doing. We take the long way around, there's a stronghold here." he said, tapping where the forest opened up to the roadway. "We hit that, move up the road then move back into the forest to make our way to Gallia. Like it or not, this isn't going to be easy. But we have to buy time while we do this."
 
"I see...if her attention is drawn to us she won't have time to look for the others." Samus stated as she glanced up at him thoughtfully. A lot of things that they did hadn't been easy, but they still did them successfully. At this point the only real hope they had was Palutena, Pit and Link. Two heroes that beat the evil that was ruling now, so she had heard...and a Goddess who seemingly had unending knowledge of the mortal world..and of Medusa. She just didn't have the power.

"Ashera needs time too, wherever she is. Either way, we don't want Medusa taking any more initiative than she already has done to find the other areas of Tellius. You two are probably her top interest right now. She seems like a vengeful witch." Soren commented blandly as he started rolling up the map. "We destroy the stronghold, we leave a survivor or two so they know who we are...that will accomplish what we're hoping to do."
 
"Exactly," Ike murmured, arms crossing as he answered both of them. "We need to make a statement, but we can't waste time either. Fast and quick." He felt...better, better than he had in a long time. "But that's for the morning. We should relax for now, we might not get another chance when Medusa sees what we're up to."
 
"Yeah...that's a good idea." Samus agreed as she leaned closer to Ike. She could tell that he was feeling..somewhat of his old self. And she was glad for him.

"This is a good time for anyone that needs to say something to come out and say it...what we're doing is reckless and we could die. After all, there aren't many places to hide from a Goddess." Soren said out loud as he put away his map and rose to his feet. Lethe's ears twitched faintly as she heard Soren's words. Even he had noticed? She never really liked Soren...but the two of them came to a mutual understanding after a while. She felt like he was talking directly to her. "In the mean time, I'm going to collect firewood. Or attempt to anyway."

"I'll help you, Soren." Samus stood up and gave him a small smile. She knew what he was doing...and she figured the only way Lethe could say what she needed to say would be if she were..semi alone with Ike.
 
Ike nodded faintly, but like usual...he was fairly unaware of what they were getting at in the slightest. Ike decided to busy himself with preparing the firepit, it was good to do this sort of thing again. It really helped clear his head about things. He felt like he was...just a mercenary, before everything crazy happened.
 
Lethe waited until the other two were gone. This was as good as a time as any...and she promised Sona she'd do this. It was...somewhat off putting that they had barely exchanged a few words since what happened to them. She wasn't really sure what to say. If only this could be solved with pouncing...she was good at that.

Nonetheless she forced herself to get up and move closer to him. "Ike," She began, her tail twitching slightly in agitation..and nervousness. A flustered Lethe was never a good sign, especially when she decided to cross her arms as she resolutely decided she would talk to him about what he had done. "We need to talk."
 
Ike glanced at her from his attentive making of the firepit, trying to hide the mild surprise on his face. "...Yes, I suppose we do," he agreed, motioning for her to sit. "What do you want to talk about, Lethe?"

He had rarely seen her so...agitated looking, which may or may not bode well for him. A lot of things had happened, and he had a lot of questions for her too.
 
"I..think you already know." Lethe began as she looked down at him. She had thought about a lot of ways to explain things, to tell him what he had actually done to her. She had so many words she needed to say, so many traditions she needed to go over. She even wanted to apologize for the way she had treated him before when she didn't understand what he had actually done, which was protect her. Instead, she skipped over all that and went straight to the point. "You're my mate." She bluntly said with an unapologetic expression.

That was probably a bad idea, but everything she would have said before that would lead up to that statement. So it was better for her to just say it like that.
 
"...I figured," Ike admitted, scratching his neck in a true sign of nervousness. "If I had another way, Lethe...if I could change anything, it would be that. But I tried." he murmured. "I'm not expecting you to forgive me, just for you to understand."
 
She was quiet for a moment, wondering if he even understood where she was going with this. But then she decided to speak up...he probably felt bad enough as it was. "It took me a while, but I realized what you were trying to do. And I forgive you...but it still doesn't change the fact that I imprinted on you and now you are my mate until one of us dies."
 
"...I see," Ike said. The bitterness came and went, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. "What does that mean, exactly? For us?" It was a stupid question, but in his position it was also...complicated to figure out.
 
Lethe's ear twitched slightly as her eyebrows furrowed. How could she explain things in a way he could understand? "It means...well, it means that I belong to you. You told me I was yours. So I am yours. Forever." Her cheeks were starting to burn. It was hard to explain...her culture. This was something that came natural to laguz, but he wasn't one. "...And I want to be yours, Ike. It's not like beorc love. I have deep feelings for you that I can't control because of what you did to me that day. What you did..for me."
 
"Then I must honor that," Ike said. "However way that I can, for what I have done." No, he didn't understand it. What he did was...horrible, but it was a dominance aspect. He was certain, they were after all...animals of a sort. Some things were not so easily explained on either side. But it did explain why her sister was so attached to Ganondorf, what had he done? Something similar? "I promise, Lethe, we'll figure something out about your sister."
 
Her ears relaxed slightly and her expression darkened before she finally had a seat near the pit he was building. "...He has to die or she will never be free." Lethe told him as curled her legs up to her body. She had finally told him but...she wasn't sure if it even mattered in the end. She was his no matter how he felt about her. "That monster, he already got her pregnant. I smelled it."
 
Ike slid a comforting arm around her shoulders, staring at the fire pit. "...I know," Ike said. "That's why we're doing this, Lethe. To give Link and the others a chance to figure out what to do." Not that he knew what they could do, but that wasn't his place now. His place was here, trying to do what Sona was planning to do in the first place...and hopefully, find her again.
 
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