After Cole had calmed down and digested Lenna's departure he had paid his dragon friend a visit. This time Dramor seemed a little cautious of him at first but quikly reverted to his usual self, acting aloof and playful. No fear this time. So it really was the armor that had some kind of effect on him. It made Cole ponder as to why.

As he left the shacks he was stopped by Bermond. "There you are." He came closer. "I just thought I'll let you know we will be departing in two days. We will march in the safety of the night so you can go ahead and sleep in if you want." Bermond gave him a little grin. Cole stared at him unfazed and with a blank face, almost as if drained of all emotion. "Man, you're moody today." The old men scratched his chin thoughtful. "Anyway. You got assigned to Shens troups. Good luck with that one. He will not be as forgiving to you as I was. And you know how forgiving I was." Cole looked aside before finally opening his mouth. "Is that all?" Bermond sighed, crossing his big arms before his chest. "For now, yeah. But let me give you one last bit of advice. I know you're a loner Cole, I know you don't like looking after others. This time though you should put all that aside. Even if you have people you hate alongside you, you are together in this war, if they fall, you fall." The look in his eyes had turned dead serious, he then turned and began walking away. "Oh! Before I forget. Shen is gathering his troups in the castle garden tomorrow evening, to give them a run down on how things will go." With that Bermond left Cole behind with a lot to think about.

At the bar Cole sat in his usual seat at the front by the counter, waiting for a waiter to come up, his head lying on the desk. He only waited a minute or two before a female voice spoke to him. "What would you like sir?" Cole set upright. "I think I'll start with a bee-" He stopped as he recognized the face of the girl, as she did his. She was the one he had met on the street, who had punched him in the gut. Both pointed a finger at each other saying. "You!" He was suprised while the girl made a grumpy face putting both her arms on her hip. "What are you doing here?" Her tone a bit harsh and accusing. "Well I like to drink here once in a while. You are the new one here." He snarled back, both throwing daggers at each other with their eyes. When suddenly Cleth stepped in from the backdoor. "Hey, hey what's going on here?"

He patted the girl on the shoulder while giving Cole a smile. "So you finally meet again. It's been a while." Cleth said looking satisfied. "Wait. What? What do you mean again?" Cole asked a little paranoid, sweat forming on his brow. Cleth seemed a little shocked by his reaction. "Don't tell me you don't remember my daugther Finra?" The girl folded her arms turning away in a hurt manner. In a flash the memories came to him. A girl he used to play with when he was little. At some point she had moved away together with her mother. He absolutely had not recognize her but appearently she was the real deal. For a few moments he was completly speechless and before he could come up with an apology she had walked out the room. "Uhh. Shit." He put his head into his hands. "How the hell was I suppoused to rememeber? It was years ago. The last time I saw her was when she was six!" He tried to defend himself but he knew better. Afterall she had recognized him and he felt a little guilty in the end. The rest of the evening the girl called Finra, or Fin as he had used to call her back then, refused to speak to him again. And so he spent only little of his time in the pub before leaving in awkwardness.

In the end the fatigue he felt, both mentally and physically, made him go to bed early.

The first thing that Cole did the next day was visit his mother at the castle. On his way there, through the paths of the palace he noticed how a lot of people were giving him stares, whispering between each other. And not in a trivial kind of way but more serious and intense, and it made him feel quite uncomfortable. Could it be because of the scene they had caused when Leanna departed? Cole put a hand over his mouth as he thought and walked through the corridors. Where they seen? And if, how much did they see? He furrowed his brows annoyed. This wasn't the time. Whatever kind of rumours were circulating was not of importance right now. There was a war ahead. First they'd need to survive that. Concluding his train of thoughts Cole stepped through the doors to the library.

His mother seemed even more tired than before. Was she sleeping properly? Cole approached her carefully. Freya looked up to him giving him a weak smile. "Well look who came to pay me a visit." He took a breather before replying. "Good morning to you too mother." She looked back down to her book. "I'm sure you're not here just to say good morning." Cole shifted from one leg to the other, trying to think how to begin his question. "No. You are right. I came to ask you something." "What?" "It's about the armor you ordered for me." She looked up to him a bit worried. "You don't like it?" He shook his head. "No. That's not it. It fits perfectly, and is pretty light too. I was really shocked how well I could move in it, but..." He paused. "But?" Freya encouraged him to continue. "Well Dramor seems to react to it strangely.When I wear it... he is afraid of me."

That was the first time that Cole was this angry with his mother. As she had told him the truth he began to shout causing quite the scene. Their argument went on for a while until guards came in, separating the two. They parted on a pretty bad note. Cole in a state of disbelief and fuming made his way to the castle gardens. Blind with rage, he walked through the crowd of soldiers not caring for the people he bumped against while passing them towards the back of the group. Earning himself quite a few angry glances. No one did dare to call him out on it though as soon they saw him with his grim expression. Cole stood near a tree, clutching the hilt of his sword so hard that his knuckles turned white. Of all the things Freya could have used, she used dragon components to make the armor. Not just any to boot, but his fathers dragon.

Leanna spent the night sleeping awkwardly in the corner of one of the bunkers among other soldiers. The armour she stole from the guard was uncomfortable, awkward and heavy and she wished she could just stroll up and order someone to make her something nicer, but she knew that was impossible. She tried her hardest to be invisible for now, hiding from all the Castle staff and deliberately training, eating and sleeping alone. She felt awful and slightly depressed, especially considering how close Cole was to her, she'd see him every so often - walking around with a face like thunder.

There was a call out to all of them, that everyone would be heading out in two days. The young princess felt so unprepared, all the soldiers around her all knew what they needed to do, most of them were front line soldiers, archers and of course, the Dragon Knights. There were only a few, as far as Leanna could tell - including Cole, and she wondered if perhaps she could somehow convince Azutri to follow them from behind, keep them all safe. Leanna let out a sigh as she helped clean a number of weapons, whilst looking into the water she noticed the ink in her hair was beginning to fade, turning an even weirder green colour. And it was so short - she briefly wondered if Cole would still find her attractive with short hair like this...

As the sun started going down, Leanna headed to the shacks where Dramor and Azutri would be. The male dragon seemed agitated by something, but calmed when seeing her. "Hey gorgeous" she whispered, her false appearance not fooling the dragons in the slightest. She ran her hands over Azutri's scales, feeling the warmth that radiated from her, "Come with me... Please. I wont be able to do it alone, and I need to know there's someone else looking out for Cole" Leanna pressed her forehead against the dragon, feeling the bond between them as Azutri pushed back, both enjoying the small time they had. Leanna then went to Dramor and attempted to see what was making him so anxious, he was restless, like he had been spooked.

Once the sun went below the horizon, Leanna headed back. The armour she wore was wearing down on her so she first went to see if there was something else she could wear. She began rummaging through some of the spare parts when a voice caught her by surprise. "Hey! What are you doing in here?" he called, standing in the doorway, "Do you need something?" He didn't seem overly threatening, but not exactly friendly either. "I-uh, was looking for some better armour... mine is, uh, not very well fitted" she said, trying her best to change her voice. The man looked her up and down, "Alright. Here, I'll help you." He walked over and reached to a box at the back, picking out some lighter pieces for her to try. "I'm Mikhel, by the way" he said, extending his hand, "I'm... Syd. New here." Mikhel laughed, "Yeah I can tell. You've got a weird accent too"

They looked together for a little while, "Here try this set, the arms don't match but it should work." Leanna accepted them and took her current set off. Her mind didn't work thoroughly as she simply stripped down, the black full-length undergarments not hiding her figure, or gender. "Oh -WOAH, woah!" Mikhel yelled, covering his eyes. "Y-you're a girl?" Leanna squeaked a little. "P-please don't tell anyone!" she pleaded, quickly putting the other, mis-matched set on. "I have to keep it a secret." Mikhel peeked through his fingers, just catching a glimpse of her waist and bust before looking away again. "Y-you know girls can join if they want right? It's not a male-only thing..." Leanna sighed, "I know but I- I'm not supposed to be here. I defied my parents in order to protect my kingdom and my lo-" shit, she can't say lover, -"Brother. My brother."

Mikhel finally removed his hands, green eyes scanning her new outfit and his face slightly red, "That's a pretty noble thing to do. Are you sure?" Leanna nodded fiercely. "Very much so. Please, Mikhel, please promise you wont tell anyone." Mikhel put one hand up in defence, "I promise.". They smiled at each other. Together, they headed back to the sleeping quarters, "You can come stay in our room if you want. For some reason they've put all the weirdo's on one tent. There's this one guy who is super moody and beat up a guy on his first day so try not to get on his bad side." Leanna chuckled nervously. Mikhel brought her into a dimly lit room filled with guys all drinking beer and laughing loudly. They were all pretty gross in her opinion, burping and spitting, being generally unhygenic.

But she pressed on, and stuck close by Mikhel who offered her a drink, sitting away from the loudness of the others. They began chatting about various things, thing they liked and Leanna kept most of her personal preferences quiet. The tent was slightly warm, making her feel hot and being to sweat, she was afterall still wearing her full set of armour. "Come on, I'll give you something to wear" Mikhel offered, passing her a large tunic. "Thank you." she walked to a hidden corner the covered herself quickly. The tunic didn't really do much to stoop her from looking so feminine, but it helped. When she sat back down she noticed Mikhel giving her a weird look. "Uhh, look I don't mean to be rude but..." he placed a hand on her hand, making her recoil, and when he drew it away his fingers were covered in ink.

"Oh no..." she whispered, knowing all too suddenly that her sweat was making the ink run. Leanna bolted from the tent, into the air. Followed by Mikhel, she headed back to the water to see the ink leaking just as she feared. What was she going to do? She had thought ink was a good choice, but clearly it was not suitable. "H-hey.." Mikhel said sheepishly, "Uhh, look I won't ask what's going on but if you want to dye your hair you know you can use nemgrass, right? It's that weird red-ish plant that grows literally everywhere." Leanna wondered for a while before she and Mikhel headed out to gether some. He laughed with her about using ink, and helped her re-dye it to a more natural red-ish brown colour. Leanna was worried about him noticing the colour of her natual hair, but he didn't comment on it.

"Come on, all done. Now it's like midnight and I'm exhausted. We should sleep." As they walked back Leanna spotted Cole, alone, and wanted so badly to go to him. He looked sad, although the way he moved told her he was really angry about something as well. She swallowed a lump in her throat, ignoring the pain in her chest, and followed Mikhel back to sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day preparing to move out.

When Shen stepped infront of the crowd he emitted an authoritarian aura, yet he seemed strangely polite when he spoke. His voice a soothing low tone. Cole listened, admittingly a bit impressed by the mens appearance. His short hair had allready began to turn gray but to some extent you still could see the light brown hair he once used to have. "It's time we prove that no one simply threatens us and gets away with it!" His voice began to grow louder after he had disclosed the information Cole allready had heard from Bermond. "We won't let them take our pride, our children nor our dragons. Defend our home till our last breath is taken!" He raised his voice into a powerful shout saluting firmly and in pride. A shiver running through Cole's body, gripping his sword even stronger.

The crowd had mostly dispersed allready but he still stood there thinking. Will this war trully bring peace to them? Will it bring peace to him? What would happen afterwards? Was there going to be an afterwards for him at all? Cole looked down upon his open palm. He could see it shake. He was afraid afterall. He knew he should know better, but he simply wished to live. Yet memories of his journey to Yeurna came flashing back and the panic gripped him for a second before someone put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" He blinked confused as he looked up. It was Bermond who seemed to carry a worried expression for the first time. Cole exhaled. "Yeah. I'm fine. I should go gather my stuff. See you tomorrow." He bid him a quik goodbye giving the bearded men no room to reply.

After some training by himself Cole left to get the armor for Dramor before deciding to go visit him himself. On his way to the shacks as he was about to enter he saw a green haired person step out. Taken aback by the unusual hair colour he watched the young men disappear from his sight before dedicating himself to his usual goal again.

Cole sighed deeply as he had allready feared. Dramor bristled himself against getting dressed. "Come on! This is for your safety. Please!" He began to plead. Yet it took him two whole hours to put the few pieces of armor on the dragon. Dramor looked quite disgruntled about the whole situation but eventually gave in once he got stroked on his favourite spot. "Phew. I wonder if having a child is as exhausting as taking care of you." He joked, with a meak smile. He took Dramor into a last embrace before parting ways with his friend.

On his way back he decided to try his luck one last time with the apology to Fin. As soon he entered the Hamster Dumpster and spotted her, and she him as well. Both began to run. In a comedic run through the back door to the back house, she had grabbed after a laddle at some point and thrown it at his head, only hitting his hand. "Oh come on! Calm down. I'm here to apologize." Their chase ended in their living room. Both staring at each other relaxing slightly. "I'm sorry okay?" Cole finally opened, though Finra continue to frown at him. "Don't you think you're a little late?" He sighed scratching his head. "I simply didn't believe you'd return. After all that has happened between your mother and father."

Something seemed to hit the spot, because Fin's expression changed from anger to sadness. "I am really sorry." He repeated himself again, believing it to be entirely his fault. She seemed to look at him with somewhat of recognition for his effort, giving him a nod. Now a silence hanging between them. Cole not knowing what to say further didn't need to wait long. "Are you really going?" He was caught off guard by her soft tone all of the sudden. "Huh?" She fiddled with her hands nervously. "I mean, going to war. I heard from dad. Do you have to go?" Cole exhaled, crossing his arms. "Well I am a Dragon Knight, more or less, and all the manpower that our kingdom can muster is needed. So of course I'll take part."

Fin lowered her head for a moment before bursting out. "Then I'm going too!" Cole thought he heard wrong. "What?" he asked baffled. "You said all the manpower is needed, and I can help to-" "Oh no you don't!" Cole interrupted taking a loud step forward. "Ridiculous. You don't even know how to fight. If you want to help you should stay here." She seemed hurt by his words. "Well not everyone needs to fight. I can cook and help take care of the wounded! I'm quite capable there." She put a hand to her chest defending her standpoint. Cole on the other hand didn't undertand it. He gritted his teeth. "Then what about your mother? Doesn't she need you?" "She is dead!" Finra immediately replied in a shout, her voice cracking slightly.

In the end she yelled at him "Get out!" And so he did. He stood there paralyzed amidst the other recruits who were rushing about gathering their last belonging and maybe enjoying some last few enjoyable moments in their lifes. Cole was agitated. He didn't expect things to turn out like this. He thought he'd simply need only himself and his sword, and that's it. But things seemed to turn messy. First his mother with her reveal then his childhood friend. The only comforting thing to him was that at least Leanna was somewhere safe, until this storm would pass. Either in a good or bad way.

On the next day Cole had packed all the necessities. And the armor too. He thought it over. Thinking whenever that these pieces were made out of his fathers dragon, it disgust him, but in a sick way it felt comforting to him as well. He couldn't part from it. After loading off his bags on Dramor and giving him a proper meal, he went ahead helping the other soldiers with carrying all kind of weaponry, armor and packages they'd need for the war. He barely talked with anyone his face stone cold. And before he knew it the evening approachend and it was time to march.

Leanna stuck pretty close to Mikhel for everything, he seemed like he knew exactly what to do, taking and giving orders to other soldiers and asking Leanna to help with certain tasks. They were marching out today, and there was a horrible sinking feeling in her gut, making her blood run cold. Everyone was geared up, horses lined with carriages and stocked full of weapons, armour and supplies to last them a while. Mikhel had pointed out the man known as Shen, and that she needed to listen to him and do whatever he told her to do. He seemed pretty nice from the gossip that had gone around. Once everyone was gathered, in the square, saying goodbye to their loved ones, the King and Queen made an appearance, dressed exceptionally formally.

"My people..." he began, "It is not a pleasant day for anyone. Today we go to War. Some of you will be watching your loved ones leave, others having to leave yours behind - so you must fight in order to return safely!" The King waited after a small round of cheers and applause. "As your King I will foresee everything, do not think I am hiding away. I am not young or fit, so cannot fight, but will be with you every step of the way ensuring you are in the best possible condition." The King opened his arms, "My people, my Kingdom. Today we fight back against the oppression and dark dealings of Yeurna. I believe in all of you."

The crowd erupted in cheers, Leanna heard a few of the men whisper about not seeing the Princess before they left. But she ignored them the best she could, her job was to help with the horses but as she walked over to get them saddled she noticed an older man struggling to get Azutri out of her comfortable shack. "Oh you- uh, she doesn't like being told what to do.." Leanna intervened. "She's pretty smart so most of the time you just have to pretend like you're not interested in her." Leanna pet Azutri's face, who immediately raised her whole body, and followed Leanna out. "Hold up there, son" the man said, catching up. "Hows' a young'un like you know a thing about dragons? Let alone this sassy madam? I've been looking aft'r her for years'n' she never responds to me"

Leanna hesitated, "Uhh... well, maybe she doesn't like how you smell?" she said quickly, leaving the man dumbfounded. Once out of earshot Leanna leaned in close, "Pretty please, don't follow me. You need to behave for the Knights that are going to take you to battle." the dragon gave a low hiss, and Leanna wondered what exactly she disliked so much when it suddenly hit her. "You don't like men... do you?" the dragon huffed, resting once again. Leanna looked around quickly, trying to remember if there were any female Dragon Knights, but she could only think of Sylvia, who was long since retired. Leanna turned back. "Fine, fine. I'll come for you when you're needed. But please - for now - just behave!" She ran off, leaving a rather agitated dragon with some poor guys who had to travel with her.

Leanna returned to the horses and they all marched out of the city. The King and Queen shook hands with everyone they could, and Leanna held her breath, trying not to be noticed. Luckily, there were many who cut in front of her to receive such an honour and she slipped by. She wondered in perhaps they managed to speak with Cole? The walk was going to be long and tiring, so after an hour or so Mikhel came up and whispered to her; "So... I'll promise to keep it a secret - who exactly is your brother? 'Cause I haven't seen anyone who looks at all like you" Mikhel looked her over once more, "Not seen anyone with such bright blue eyes either... ever, even? That's a pretty colour" Leanna stammered slightly, unsure what to say. But Mikhel's face went red and he changed the subject to his favourite foods.

More hours passed until it was time to camp up. Shen gave out a list of commands and Leanna was put in a group without Mikhel setting up the food and water for the horses and dragons. It was fine at first, and she had a small chat with Azutri - "Stop nudging me! You need to behave or you're going to get us both caught" - she turned to get some food when her eyes locked straight onto Cole's and they stared at each other for what felt like hours. Leanna didn't know if he recognised her or not, and attempted to hurry past. "S-sorry I'll get out of your way!"

It hurt her, to be so close to him without being able to talk or touch him. But she had promised to keep him safe, and if he knew she was here he'd do all sorts of reckless things likely to get him killed. She needed to avoid him as much as possible, but that seemed pretty difficult, especially after Shen announced she would be sharing the same tent as him - it was a blessing, in that case, that Mikhel came and joined her, offering her his blankets. "Yo Mik - why are ya being so nice to this guy?" one of the others shouted, gainging both of them unwanted attention. "W-what? I'm not. There's no reason"

"Haha, you sure are! I didn't know you swung that way man but whatever - just don't make any noise will ya?" the entire group laughed, leaving Mikhel very red-faced. Leanna couldn't tell if he was angry, or just embarrassed, he stormed off anyway - Leaving Leanna alone with several guys who now all wanted to ask her questions about her relationship with Mikhel.

Cole spent his whole time helping out, distracting himself with work. In the end he didn't say goodbye to anyone, not even his mother. As he looked up at the sky and it's orange hue he felt peaceful in this one little moment. People had passed him by towards the royal family to recieve their blessing as he continued to simply shuffle past them. Even if he hadn't particularly tried to get their attention. At some point he had locked eyes with the king for a moment, giving him a smile and nod, Cole returning it before taking his place beside Dramor to march.

The time passed slowly. The entire march consisted mostly of the thousands of footsteps of humans and the few heavy steps of the dragons. With a few conversations here and there. As Cole marched he noticed Azutri not to far off. Which was a little suprising as she wasn't one to listen to anyone except her beloved princess. But perhaps someone was able to convince her. Hopfully the dragon would survive the war, otherwise he feared Leanna would keep on crying for days. He sighed longingly and then kept his view to the front, towards Yeurna.

As they opened their first camp Cole helped putting up the tents, then the campfires before excusing himself to go take care of Dramor. As he walked through the camp he noticed a few familiar faces from the academy and royal guards. Though he had barely any contact with them. He let his view wander over the people some more before his eyes caught a person nearby Azutri. He stared at him just as the boy stared back, it was a bit difficult to see in the dim light but he couldn't shake the feeling off that something was familiar about him. As he stepped closer the soldier suddenly apologized moving away leaving Cole with a big fat question mark on his face. What a weirdo. He thought before shrugging and continuing towards Dramor who still was sulking a little about the armor thing.

Cole didn't spent a lot of time with his dragon before Shen walked around giving out lists of who would be together in what tent. He read the names on it but none where familiar to him. He sighed once again before deciding to head there and take a well deserved rest. His feet felt a little sore after all this carrying and marching. When he entered the tent most of the people where allready there and he quitly, without greeting anyone, sat down at the farthest end. Taking the belt with his sword from his waist he placed it beside his bed, which basically consisted of only a few blankets. He angeld his one foot placing a hand on it and then his head trying to relax, closing his eyes a little yet continuing to watch as the scene unfolded before him.

He did his best to try and ignore it. What did it matter to him who was doing what with whom here, but he couldn't ignore it either. The one who stormed off was clearly flustered and ran away, whilst the other one seemed uncomfortable with the situation as well. Cole recognized him. It was the one he had seen with Azutri. He tried to get a better look at him but the other guys closed in on him getting in his view. They began making jokes and asking the young soldier rather unpleasant question. Cole grew irritated. Not only where they taking his view but he couldn't relax nor go to sleep with such loud background noise.

Cole raised from his spot walking over to the group. "Hey how about you finally shut up. It's hella annoying." He stated with a dark expression. The others seemed not very welcoming of his tone. "Hey piss off. We are just having some fun. It's nothing to do with you." The one who had the most courage of them spoke up. Cole glared at him, almost growling as he spoke. "If you haven't forgotten we are going to war. People need to rest. If you wanna fuck around go outside." Now the whole group turned to him, one stepping forward grabbing his collar. "How about you fuck off, go sleep outside if you want to so badly. Like I let myself get told off by someone like you, bastard."

If this person wasn't on his side he would have allready punched him in the face, oh how badly he wanted to! But he tried to stay calm. "I'm asking you this nicely for the last time. Quite. Down." The men grabbing him only laughed. "Who do you think you are? As if you could take us on by yoursel-" Before he could finish Cole grabbed his hand turned it to his back, kicking his foot away and faceplanting the guy in the ground, pressing down on him with his knee. "Try me." Cole said in a scowl as he looked at the others who made a step back. His golden eyes glistened dangerously and they instantly went quit. Cole stood up without saying another word to them, he walked over to the boy who had been interrogated, grabbed him by the upper arm and pulled him along out of the tent.

After they had taken some steps away from the tent he spoke. "Let them cool down." He let the boy go before looking at him. "You okay? Don't let them bully you." He said with somewhat of a compassion. Though his expression was still serious as he tried to focus his eyes, narrowing them. "Have we... met before?" he asked continuing to stare noticing that the guy began to grow nervous. But before Cole could question any further he heard. "There you are!" He facepalmed himself before muttering a tired. "Oh no..." She really did it. Finra had tagged along after all his warnings. "Cole I've been looking for you. I still have some food left over. Come join me at the campfire!"

To his suprise she seemed somewhat in a good mood. "Fin, I really had hoped you'd stay home. What about Cleth. He simply let you go?" Cole crossed his arms, his mien becoming slightly softer. She scratched her cheek. "Well It wasn't easy. But he at least understand that I want to help." She looked at him reproachful and he sighed, finally giving up. It was to late to send her back now anyway. Finra was a cheerful girl, getting along with most of the soldiers who were happy to see a normal girl tending to them.

Finra approached the young soldier coming far to close for comfort to his face. "You'r cute. What's your name?" Her eyes sparkeld in excitement. "Come join us." She grabbed him by the hand beginng to tug at him. "Hey!" Cole unsure how to handle the situation followed after them. The campfire she had dragged them to was mostly vacant, a good smelling pot sat at the middle of the fire. Finra seated them both beside each other before going over to fill them both a bowl handing it over to them, then sitting down beside Cole. He stared at it with a spoon in his hands dumbfounded before chuckling a little. He finally smiled. "You are impossible you know that? Don't cause us any trouble." She only let out a knowing "Ha!" Before laughing a bit herself. "Says the right one. Who broke into my fathers house once because he wanted to play with me?"

Cole remembered it only now that she had mentioned it. "It was decades ago." He sulked a little before turning more serious. "I'm really sorry." He let the spoon sink in the soup. "So are a lot of people, and I'm tired of hearing it." She hugged her legs. "I couldn't do anything for mother. But I feel like a can make a difference here. Even if my tasks are only minor. I want to help." Finra bent forward smiling at the new guy. "Don't you think so too?" Cole followed her line of view, meeting eye to eye with the boy. The orange of the fire reflected in his ice blue eyes suddenly made him realize something. Cole began to cough as he choked on the spoon of soup he had taken. Desperately he tried to calm down, but his heart skipped a beat. There was no way, yet his eyes reminded him so much of Leanna.

The small tussle between Mikhel and the others was quickly interrupted by Cole, who Leanna had never seen quite so aggressive. He took down the main bully in one swoop and silenced all of the others in a way that made her chest ache for him - he was impressive, if only in the worst ways. And with that, she couldn't help but smile fondly. Mikhel excused himself and stormed off, and Leanna barely had a second before Cole had come up to her, looking at her intently and making her shift and fidget under his intense gaze. "Uhh, no I don't think so?" she said meekly, trying to fake her voice once again and hoping it wasn't too much like 'Lee' and make Cold recognise her.

He seemed to not believe her for a second when a female voice chirped in, causing Cole's eyes to roll into his head. Leanna had never even thought about how she would feel seeing Cole act friendly with other women - but all of a sudden she felt an undeniable pang of jealousy as the girl, whose name she learned was Finra, seemed to have a history with Cole and was almost over friendly. It irked her. The girl seemed nice and took her along for some soup at the campfire but Leanna still held some kind of reservation about her, she simply didn't like how close they seemed. Finra then spoke directly to her, making Leanna stammer a little. "O-oh yeah, of course." She stole a few glances at Cole and recoiled as their eyes met and he seemed to choke.

"I-I mean everyone should help each other right?" she continued, trying to ignore the fact that Cole was now staring at her without blinking. "T-thanks for the soup" she said, giving the bowl back and giving the girl a look. Finra seemed to tilt her head as a massive smile spread across her face. Women's intuition was a horrible thing and Leanna felt like Finra saw right through her. "I-I'm going to go get some sleep." and she ran off. On her way she decided to stop by Azutri and sat down, cuddling close to the dragon who snored softly, although wasn't sleeping. "What am I going to do?" she wondered aloud. "Do about what?" Azutri shifted and let out an almost irritated sound. "Mikhel? What are you doing here?"

The man stepped away from the dragon, running a hand through his messy brown hair, "I was heading back after taking a pis- uhh, just you know. Heading back. And I saw you come in here looking a bit frazzled. Are you okay?" Leanna sighed, standing and leaning against Azutri who eyed Mikhel warily. "I uuh, look it's just more difficult than I thought. Seeing him without being able to talk to him properly or have fun and joke around. It's too risky. I can't have him finding out about me" Mikhel thought about it for a while, unsure what to say. "I mean... it kinda makes you like a superhero though, right?" he said with a smirk. "A hidden identity, saviour and protector and all that. It's kinda cool" he smiled gently making Leanna smile back. "Come on, we should head back. We're heading back out at dawn."

"Right, lets go". They headed back to the tent together and Leanna tried to settle down for at least a few hours of sleep. She stuck to the corner, keeping herself away from the others. It wasn't long at all when there was a chorus of shouts and yells getting everyone up and ready for more marching. Leanna's job was the same - sort out the horses and their carriages. Which she did without complaint. Shen stood central to the group; "We need to reach the Eastern boarder by at least three - our camp will be set up within the forest and near the Great Lake so get moving" Leanna could see Cole from the corner of her eyes and couldn't stop from stealing occasional glances. It didn't go unnoticed by Mikhel, who simply couldn't help himself.

"Hey." he said walking up next to Cole, carrying a heavy bag filled with supplies. "The names Mikhel - thanks for standing up for me back at the tent last night." He shifted slightly, unsure how to start a conversation, "You - uh, you're armours pretty fancy. You one of the Dragon Knights?" He looked behind him where Azutri still seemed to give him an evil stare. "That's pretty cool - how does your family feel about it? Parents, siblings?" he pressured, trying to get some information from him. Syd - who's name was still unknown - seemed to always be looking at him and Mikhel was interested to know she though he needed protecting. He was damn terrifying

Cole blankly stared at Syd, still very confused and perplexed not reacting in time, letting him flee. He quitely cursed. In trance he stared at the remainings of his soup. Finra waving a hand infront of his face. "Hey, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Finally snapping out of it he looked over to her. "Uh it's nothing." He then quikly finished eating before Finra was going to start reminiscing in old times yet again. Bidding her a good night and leaving to search for Bermond to ask him about that new soldier. The old men was acquainted with a lot of their kind. With beginners and veterans alike. It was due to him being a trainer. Though when Cole arrived at his tent someone said he was in a discussion with Shen and wasn't allowed to enter. There was no certainty when they would end their chat. Guess he would need to find out by himself. Even if it meant using the not so decent approaches.

When Cole returned to the tent most of them were allready asleep, Syd as well. He scratched his head and told himself he needs to rest before getting himself worked up over nothing. He had no substantial proof. He went to bed and took as much sleep with him as he could get before being woken up.

On the first day of the march Cole marched in leather armor mostly, for today he put on his -special- armor. Just incase some enemies might have snuck in since they were getting closer to the border. He also felt calmer in it. As if his worries were pushed down to the bare minimum, but his emotions too. In exchange though it sharpened his senses. He paid more attention to his surroundings, the clanking of armor, the rustling trees and fleeing animals. Cole hadn't put on his helmet though, he carried it under his left arm. Today he marched amidst the other soldiers, as to not agitate Dramor unnecessary.

He sharply turned his gaze, to see who the person was who had adressed him. It was the guy who had been with Syd yesterday, introducing himself as Mikhel. Cole desinterested turned forward again. "I only wanted some rest." He said coolly, dropping any further interaction. But the guy appearently wasn't willing to. Cole looked down at himself. "More or less." He admitted, since he never officially finished his training and took the final exams. But he had been close! It began to annoy him though when he began asken even more questions. What was he trying to get out of him? Cole frowned at him only replying with a cold. "I have no obligation to answer you. I didn't come here to make friends." Then putting his helmet on marching further ahead, away from Mikhel.

And suddenly out of nowhere Finra appeared in his stead. "Hey don't mind him. Cole here just has a hard time getting along with people. But he is a good guy." She smiled up to Mikhel her hands folded behind her back, her steps seemed light. "Since I'm his better half I'll tell you the answer to your question. His family only consists of his mother. And she definitly proud of him." She stepped ahead, now walking backwards. "He doesn't mean harm, he is actually pretty kind at heart. So it was nice to see you try to get along with him. He could use some friends." She laughed, putting up her palm beside her mouth for a loud whisper. "He is reaaaallly bad at making them if you haven't noticed." Fin snickered then turned around rushing ahead to Coles side. As she poked fun at him he reached back and gave her a light smack on the back of her head, telling her off but she continued for a while to tease him. Even if his reactions were pretty blunt. It felt like she had gained a part of her family back, of her happiness back from the day.

When it was time to camp once again, most of the soldiers had rushed to the Lake to get a bath. Marching for hours without rest was exhausting, especially in armor. Which of course led to a lot of sweating. Cole wasn't the one to jump on the band wagon. He'd much prefer bathing in peace at a later time without needing to interact with the lot. Especially not with his scars, which almost always led to people asking about them. He was fed up with it. It was then that Shen had given him the task to scout the area. Which Cole gladly accepted. He changed his clothes before going to Dramor. The dragon seemed happy to have Azutri accompany them. Unfortunetaly he had to interrupt their little -date-.

In the sky Cole flew about seven kilometers to each side around the main camp scouting for enemies. It was hard to see through the thicket of the forest at times but Cole hadn't picked up on anything unnatural or human made. He only returned back late to report. Shen released him of any other tasks, leaving him some free time. Almost the whole day he was so absorbed in his duties that he comepletly had lost sight of Syd. As he walked to their tent he didn't meet him there. Cole grabbed himself a blanket whilst the others were chatting loudly at first, but when they saw him they lowered their voices and he decided against asking these guys for the new soldier. To much bad blood between them as of yesterday.

Cole moved through the woods to the west for a while, the camp no longer in sight. Even though Shen had said near the Lake, it took him a good 15 minute walk. He sighed as he reached the clearing. It seemed pretty deserted. Lucky. He began to undress, actually looking forward to soak himself in some cool water. Going for a swim would be nice too. Afterwards Cole would put his hands on that new fella called Syd and make him talk. Forcefully if he has to.

Leanna tried her best to keep up with the others but it was starting to wear her down, never the less she persisted on - this wouldn't do during a fight. She cursed her frailty and sheltered lifestyle. It took longer than expected to reach the next site, all the guys rejoicing in the fact they could take a bath - well, kind of - at least it would mean the tent would smell slightly better. Leanna lagged behind, offering to finish everything for them as they all rushed for the lake. Mikhel gave her a soft smile, but seemed confused and cold towards her.

As the sun went down Leanna waited until almost every soldier was back in their tent, the water got way too cold at night apparently. She grabbed a few things and crawled through a few bushed to get a slightly more secluded area away from prying eyes. She slowly stripped, jumping at every noise and concluded she may indeed be going insane. She looked at her reflection as she stood in the water, shivering a little, "Cut you hair Leanna. Dye it a gross colour. No one will care" she scoffed, slapping her reflection away. "I look like a mess.." She walked a little further until the water came up to her hips - it was freezing. No wonder no one wanted a nightly swim.

Taking a deep breath and bracing herself, she ducked her entire body down into the water and then stood straight back up, letting out a howl at the cold. "Fuck this is cold" she said to herself, swearing for what may have been the first time in her life. She began to scrub her arms and shoulders, partly to clean but mostly to get some blood pumping round her skin again. She moved to run her hands through her hair and grimaced at it's length, forgetting for a second just how short it was. Leanna had enough of the ice water and decided to leave, stepping out and shivering badly, she got dry and dressed in record time, not bothering to put her armour back on and heading back to the camp - forgetting entirely that the dye was slowly fading, and her hair was now a strange pale copper colour.

She met back up with Mikhel who seemed lost in thought sat by the fire, "Hey, are you okay?" she asked quietly, keeping the conversation private. He shook his head and gave her a weak smile, "Yeah I'm fine. I just - so I thought I figured how who your brother was but I guess I was wrong so..." Leanna paled considerably. "Oh- uh... w-why are you trying to find out?" Mikhel blushed, "I just- I wanted to know about you a bit more I guess" he said sheepishly, "It's not often I meet a mysterious soldier who's actually a girl and is really cut- You know, it's just uh, strange and you're cool." he rubbed his face, "I'm a mess. Sorry, I shouldn't have gone behind your back" Leanna couldn't help but giggle. "It's fine I guess. I don't really have a brother here." she said, slightly enjoying his shocked reaction. "My parents would never, ever let me join though. According to them I'm... still in the Kingdom thanks to a doppleganger."

Mikhel nodded, "Alright. I guess I can believe that. So... why do you keep giving that Cole guy weird looks?" Leanna's face exploded in colour, "W-what? I don't!" Mikhel laughed, "You totally do, like all the time." Mikhel seemed slightly put off, frowning a bit, "He's dark and mysterious right? Strong and a good soldier? You like him?" Leanna didn't know how to respond so shook her head, "Jealous of the Dragon's I guess" she lied. "I've always loved them, to be a Dragon Knight would be a dream - the purple dragon doesn't seem to like men very much so I was hoping to try and win her affection" she lied again, not enjoying lying so much. They stayed silent for a while, staring at the fire when Leanna recognised Finra and tried to shy away and headed back to the tent enjoying the fact it was empty for now.

Cole immediately took a dive after undressing. The best way to get in. Quik and painless. At least in his opinion. The water was cold, truth be told, but it didn't bother him to much. He was used to swimming in colder water ever since he was a child. He made a few small rounds never going to far from the edges. Just in case he'd need to quikly get out. Lastly he took another dive under the water, testing his lung capacity. He was able to hold out for about 3 minutes. As he resurfaced he wiped his face heading to get out, freezing in place as he heard footsteps in the water nearbye.

Cautiously Cole looked at the site it came from. The view from which the noise had come was overgrown, bushes hanging over into the lake. Curiously he approached, causing only minimal amount of ripples in the water. He sneaked closer to the bushes. His body was up to his nose under water. He heard someone talk, not clearly understanding the words. As he peeked beside the bush he immediately sprung back.

A woman. That was definitly a woman. He felt a bit awkward and emberassed for having peeked. Of course there were woman who had tagged along. How could he forget? He apologized innerly beginning to retreat. But as he heard another big splash and the yell followed afterwards he recoiled. That voice was the voice of someone who couldn't be here, or shouldn't be here. His brows furrowed in anxiety, thinking that perhaps his mind was playing a trick again. Hopefully it was. As he peeked beside the bush once more the woman had her back turned to him. As she scrubbed and shivered all Cole begged for was. Don't be her. Don't be her! Don- and his mind blanked out as she turned and he could see her profile.

Finra was surrounded by a group of soldiers as she cooked todays evening meal. It was pork goulash and smelled mouth watering. Someone tried to dip his finger in and get a taste as Fin had her back turned. Though she quikly acted and hit her cooking spoon at the sneaky hand. "No touching. Wait till it's done." They all moaned impatiently. That's when Fin saw Syd approach another soldier whos name she didn't knew yet. But they seemed to be always together. She couldn't overhear their conversation but it seemed like they got along well. Finra was curious, especially about Syd who was to fidgety and far to perplexed for a normal guy. She suspected two reasons to be the cause. One of them was Cole.

As Fin approached their side of the campfire, after finally handing out the meal to the others, Syd fled. To bad, she would have liked to have a chat with him, but now his partner had to make do. She sat down beside the brown haired men, who seemed to be lost in thought. Finra stared at him quitly wondering how long it would take him to notice she was there. It took a while. She laughed. "Hello there. Good to see you're not gone entirely." She joked leaning back a little, extending a hand to him. "I'm Finra. Nice to make your acquaintance. What's your name?" She smiled sweetly before beginning to drill question after question at him. Finra tried to find out more about why he always hung out with Syd, and tried to get some information about his background as well.


Cole dragged his feet when he walked back to camp. His hair was drenched water dropping from it. He had the blanket around his shoulders but didn't bother wiping his hair, far to absorbed in his thoughts. He hadn't expected to meet -him- in their tent, alone to boot. Cole stood at the entrance staring, blocking the exit. He felt so many emotions hit his gut. Cole was furious. For more reasons than one and he didn't bother trying to hide it. "Say..." He had to put a lot of effort to keep his voice down to avoid drawing unnecesarry attention. Cole made a threatening step forward. "Could it be..." He made another step, his voice as sharp as a knife. "That you..." He grabbed onto his blanket continuing forward. "Forgot something important?" He didn't disclose exactly what he meant, now standing infront of Syd. Instead he threw his blanket over Syd's head, pulling them closer.

Cole's expression now up close was pained, he whispered in desperation. "Leanna..." Before his lips crashed into hers, his grip on the blanket tightening. He was mad, clearly showing through his roughness. He occupied her like this until he ran short of breath. As he parted he noticed the details that she had gone through to change herself so much, and a pang went through his chest. Not because she was here but because she didn't trust him enough to ask for his help resulting in this. "I told you I won't forgive you if you trick me again." He almost hissed but held back. Eventually the rage in him subsided, replaced by sadness. He let go of the blanket his head drooping. "And after such a heartfelt goodbye." He smiled bitterly stepping back.

No matter what Leannas reason was, it wouldn't change the fact that Cole felt betrayed. What if he wouldn't have found out? What if she would have fallen in the war, and he never would have known. Just thinking that she would have dissappeared just like that, not knowing what happened was dreadful to him. Cole let out a frustrated sigh, turned and stormed out of the tent without looking back. He walked until he found a secluded spot behind a bigger tree a bit off to the side of the camp. Sitting down he angled his legs so that he could let his arms rest on them and his head inbetween, staring to the ground. Cole didn't feel like sleeping in the tent anymore. He didn't knew what to feel at all in this very moment.

Leanna had dried herself off and gotten changed, standing in the dimly lit tent for just a moment of peace and quiet, tomorrow they would most likely meet enemy forces and the anxiety she had forced down came bubbling into her chest - she was at war now. War!. She was terrified to the core, praying and wishing that things could just magically resolve without the need for conflict, but she was all to aware that that was just a pipe dream. As she let out a long, pained sigh she heard someone enter. She didn't turn around at first, hesitating when the figure guarded the exit - and then he began speaking.

She knew he was pissed, oh boy she could tell. Leanna turned to face Cole who paced over to her with a face darker than she had ever seen. She swallowed hard, eyes darting to the floor in an attempt to hide away, but he threw the blanket over her head and whispered her name - in that moment she melted, wanting so badly to just hold him and take him back home. Cole kissed her roughly, pressing on her with more force than before, she enjoyed it but could tell that it was out of frustration, only letting go when they both ran out of breath. "Cole listen..." she started, hating just how much she had hurt him, "I can explain and-" but he had turned around and left in big strides, leaving her behind.

Without thinking twice Leanna ran after him, shocked at just how fast he was when angry, and jogged up to catch him, she hesitated, letting him have a few moments to himself before kneeling next to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, pressing his head to her chest and running her hands through his hair. "I'm so sorry..." she whispered, her voice already choking, "I really am. I just- I couldn't leave, I couldn't abandon you or these people. My people." She sniffled, "Trust me, I never wanted this - any of this - to happen, but if I had come to you and said 'I want to fight in this war' would you have let me?" She leaned back, changing their positions so she was knelt in front of him between his legs, "Would you? Honestly?" She looked deep into his eyes, "This was a panicked decision that has cost me everything but I don't regret it. If this war turns for the worst then at least I know I've done what I can to protect you." Leanna held Cole's face in her hands, leaning close and placing a small, light kiss on his lips. She smiled sadly, "I don't expect you to forgive me for betraying you" her heart hurt now, stomach tying up in knots as she tried very hard not to cry, "But I just- Oh God Cole I couldn't live knowing you were out here fighting while I was doing nothing" She held on to him, arms wrapped around his neck and forehead resting on his shoulder, "Please... just don't hate me..."


Mikhel's gaze in the fire seemed to have him transfixed for a while, his thoughts were scrambled about Syd, she had claimed to be here for her brother - which turned out to be a lie - and although she denied having any connection to Cole, she seemed flustered and defensive when he talked about him. Mikhel blinked and looked up, immediately greeted by the wide eyes of Finra, who introduced herself with a smile and laugh. "Name's Mikhel. Uhh, nice to meet you too." the girl was a talker that's for sure, she instantly began asking him questions - adding more before he got to answer the first one. "Uh, I'm only an foot soldier, nothing special." he tried to squeeze in, but then she mentioned Syd and his expression darkened. "Yeah sh- he's a strange one." but his slip of the tongue didn't go unnoticed by Finra who's eyes seemed to sparkle at the new information.

"Look, don't tell anyone I told you this. Syd's actually a girl - a damn cute one at that - originally she told me she was here to protect her brother but... well apparently that's not the case." frustrated he ran a hand through his hair, "I wanted to get along with her..." his face blushing slightly, "... but she's always so distant and from what I can tell has a thing for your friend Cole." Mikhel kicked the dirt by his foot, "H-Has Cole mentioned he's seeing anyone?" maybe if she was only enamoured by him, Mikhel still had a chance. He had wanted to offer taking her to see the lake but work and the other soldiers kept him too busy, and she had disappeared but the time he went looking for her.