#Like sir why are you holding the horse directly by the halter

[fairyeunji]

I love le sserafim so much but seeing facilities where people can ride horses like that always makes me mad

[roxannarambles]

I don’t really intend to continue with this, but this is me playing with the idea of Heath/Legault in the world of Fire Emblem Heroes.

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"Galanthus, hold. Something doesn't feel right."

The pale-haired pegasus knight tugged the reins, halting her steed and bidding it to fly in place, its snow-white wings flapping gracefully to keep her afloat. She cast a curious gaze over to Heath.

"What is it?"

Heath absent-mindedly stroked his wyvern's neck as he peered down at the land below them. The brigand camp was still and silent, showing utterly no signs of life.

"Not even a sentry posted. Where is everyone? It shouldn't be this easy."

Galanthus tightened her grip on her lance, looking anxious and impatient as she eyed the enemy base.

"With all due respect, Sir Heath, you may be looking a gift horse in the mouth."

Heath narrowed his eyes,

"Or I'm avoiding a trap."

The two knights, pegasus and wyvern, circled above the valley.

"Do you really think these brigands are smart enough to do something like that?"

Heath switched his gaze from the ground to look at his colleague. She watched him with raised brows, her arms crossed.

Heath sighed.

"I guess you have a point there."

Galanthus smiled faintly.

"Your instincts are honed from years of fleeing very dangerous foes, Sir Heath, but they're likely misplaced here. Shall I lead the way?"

Heath shook his head.

"No, I'll lead. Wait ten, and then follow in a swallow formation. We'll dive-bomb them. Should be over for these fools quickly enough."

Galanthus nodded smartly.

"Understood."

Heath guided his wyvern through one last circle over the enemy camp, his eyes darting quickly, measuring, calculating.

Then he clicked his tongue, tapping his wyvern on the side of his neck, commanding him to nose-dive. The creature gave a sharp cry, tucked its wings, and dropped.

Heath squeezed his legs and gripped the reins, leaning back into the dive as the wind whipped past him. He could feel the forces tugging at his body, flipping in his belly, all the while the ground came screaming up at him. Heath grabbed hold of the lance looped to his wyvern's halter, readying the weapon and poising his body, preparing to attack the moment he was in range.

The wind whipped faster, faster, rough on Heath's skin.  He lifted a hand, preparing to signal to his wyvern again. He counted the seconds.

"Hyperion, now!"

With a leathery explosion, Hyperion opened his wings, tilting the arc of their dive, preparing to rush the enemy camp.

And then, directly below them, a light appeared, blinding like the sun. It happened in an instant, giving them virtually no time to react. Heath gave a startled cry and yanked on the reins.

"Up, up!"

Their speed was far, far too great to avoid it-- Hyperion went careening into the pool of light almost immediately. As they did, Heath felt a white-hot burning and a terrible tearing sensation at his skin. The light engulfed him completely, blinding him to anything else.

Then everything went black.

An unknown length of time passed. When Heath regained consciousness once more, everything was still an awful, blinding whiteness, and he was completely disoriented. Gradually, the light faded, the world around him rushing back into focus. Green trees, blue sky, white clouds-- but Heath noticed he was no longer flying. His wyvern was standing on the ground, shuffling his feet nervously. Automatically, Heath reached down to soothe him, and Hyperion chirped anxiously, turning his head to look at him. Heath gazed into Hyperion's blue-marbled eyes before casting a look around him.

They were in a small clearing in a forest, surrounded by evergreens. Hyperion was perched upon some sort of marble platform. Surrounding the platform were intricately patterned stones set into the ground, swirling in Celtic knots and various shapes. Behind them, there stood a marble statue of some sort, which seemed to depict an ornate tree. And to the opposite side of the statue, several feet away, Heath's eyes met with a figure, clothed in white and gold robes, a hood drawn over their face.

The person held a strange metal object, pointing it directly at Heath as if it were a weapon, although it was none that he recognized. Regardless of the mystery of the object, Heath recognized a threatening posture when he saw one. Immediately, he took hold of the lance at his side and raised it at the intruder, urging his wyvern to back off a few paces.

"You! Who are you? What do you want?"

The robed figure lowered the strange weapon, and to one side, another person stepped into view from the trees-- this one a fiery-haired woman in golden armor and a white cape. She looked at Heath with a bright, cheerful expression that seemed wildly out of place, given the circumstances.

"Hello there! My name's Anna. I'm the commander of the Order of Heroes. This here is Kiran, our Summoner."

The robed person gave a shy little wave. Heath darted his eyes around, scanning for more intruders. He barked,

"Remain there! I don't want you coming any closer. What is this place?"

The woman held up her hands as if in surrender. In the very least, it appeared she wasn't armed, unlike the other one.

"It's ok, take it easy. We come in peace, I promise. This is the Summoning Shrine. We just completed the ritual that brought you here."

Heath stared at the woman, his expression incredulous.

"You . . . ritual? Does that explain that awful magic that . . . teleported me here?"

Anna nodded, beaming at him.

"Sure does! Although I wouldn't call it awful, personally. It's just a rite that allows us to call upon heroes who can help us out."

The woman gestured to the robed person standing next to her.

"Our Summoner is the one who performs the rite. They use Breidablik, the divine weapon, to reach out to heroes and bring them here."

Heath frowned. The robed person was some sort of mage, then, who brought him here. They had to have been a very powerful one, at that-- the only time Heath had experienced magic on this level was Archsage Athos.

Warily, Heath asked,

"And where exactly is here? Are we still in Illia?"

His last awareness was of flying high above the frozen plains of Illia, and this rich, sun-dappled grove seemed far removed from such a place.

Confirming his suspicion, Anna shook her head.

"You've been brought to an entirely new world, actually. You currently stand in the territory of the Askr Kingdom, on the continent of Zenith. I know it's a lot to take in at once."

Heath drew in a startled breath. That far? A new world? That . . . that was absurd.

Sharply, Heath demanded,

"Why have you done this?"

Anna raised her hands again, as if trying to emphasize her harmlessness.

"It's normal to be angry at first. But I promise, it's for a very good cause. The people of Askr are in the midst of waging a very grave war. The consequences of this war reach far beyond the borders of Zenith itself and out into many different worlds across the multiverse."

Heath kept his lance at the ready, pointed at the woman and the robed stranger. The woman continued talking;

"We fight against the Emblian Empire. Our foes have many gateways they use to access other worlds and timelines. They invade these worlds, enslave their peoples, and use them to fight in their wars. They aim to eventually conquer the entire universe, and I believe they will succeed if we do not oppose them. That is why we've built the Order of Heroes."

The story was ridiculous. Heath scrutinized the woman, but he had no way of discerning what her true intentions were.

"That is also why we've brought you here. We hope that you might join us in our cause. We need many powerful allies to fight against Embla's combined forces. You musn't decide immediately-- we only ask that you consider it and hear us out."

Anna turned to the robed person, nodding, and looked back to Heath.

"Would you like to join us back at the castle? You can meet many other heroes just like yourself. It should give you a chance to learn more about everything."

Heath continued staring at the pair of strangers. He remained quiet.

Anna smiled graciously.

"What do you say?"

Heath's lance still had not budged. His eyes roamed over the strangers, the woods, and the strange marble decorations of the shrine. He thought about the bizarre predicament he had been suddenly thrust into.

He looked back, again, at Anna.

". . . no," he finally answered.

Anna's cheery expression faltered.

"No?"

Firmly, Heath confirmed;

"No."

Anna swallowed.

"W-well, uh. Hmm."

She glanced to her friend, murmuring,

"They usually say yes after all that."

She looked to Heath, her red eyes imploring.

"Are you sure? You can always decide to leave if you want to, but the castle's really not that far of a walk. You'll probably feel much better after meeting everyone--"

"Look," Heath interrupted, waving his lance,

"I don't know you people. I don't know this place. I don't know why you've brought me here. You've told me your story, but I have no basis on which to judge its truth. I have no reason to follow you somewhere which may or may not get me into deeper trouble. Do you understand?"

Anna was certainly a good actor, if it was an act. She looked truly troubled and saddened by his reaction.

"I know it's asking a lot of you, to trust us like this. And I agree that trust needs to be earned. So give us the chance to do so. Let us try to earn your trust."

Heath stared her down. He shook his head.

"I'd rather not."

Anna appeared to balk. Helplessly, she looked to her friend, but her silent companion seemed unable to offer her any assistance.

"You . . . you'd rather just stay out here, then? Just . . . alone in this forest?"

Heath nodded.

"I would."

Anna laughed, awkwardly.

"That might get a little boring, don't you think?"

Heath's serious expression betrayed nothing.

"I'll manage."

Anna glanced around. She seemed to be struggling with thinking of what to try next.

"Ok, well . . . I guess we could just leave you here. Um . . . would you like anything to eat, at least? I could bring something over to you. We have all kinds of food and drink, and I wouldn't want you to starve or anything."

"No," Heath answered,

"That won't be necessary."

Anna looked again to her companion, desperately. The robed figure shrugged. Anna heaved a sigh.

"All right, well . . . if you refuse everything else, could you in the very least give me your name?"

Heath pondered her request, measuring the potential risks of indulging her. He couldn't think of any real danger to it.

"Very well. My name is Heath."

"Heath," she repeated, looking pleased at getting at least that much.

"Heath. Thank you, Heath. It was a pleasure meeting you, even if the feeling isn't mutual. We . . . we'll leave you in this forest, but we may return later on. I hope that you spend some time reconsidering our offer."

Heath gave a noncommittal hum.

"Perhaps."

And then, with a great deal of awkward glances and smiles, Anna and the robed figure left the clearing in the woods, shuffling slowly along a path cutting through the trees. Heath watched until they vanished from sight, then spent several minutes listening and watching the woods attentively.

When he'd determined they were truly gone and did not seem to be returning, Heath released a small sigh.

He reached down and patted Hyperion's side.

"Well, Hyperion," he murmured,

"Looks like it's just you and me."

And then, Heath did what any wyvern knight would do when suddenly thrown into a wildly unfamiliar place, with no bearings on who was friend or foe. He sought a bit of perspective.

"Hyperion, up!"

The wyvern spread his wings and flapped. There wasn't much room in the clearing for him to gain altitude, so he had to be fast, but he managed to get just above the trees as he reached the tree line. Flapping heavily, the wyvern quickly climbed the sky. Heath felt some of his tension and anxiety easing, the higher and higher they rose.

The world below Heath opened up: he could see the woods, framed in by a chain of mountains in the north. To the south was a clearing, dotted with what seemed a collection of villages and buildings, and beyond that, the castle that Anna had apparently been referring to. To the immediate west, he spied a river snaking through the woods and terminating in a rather sizable lake. To the east, Heath identified farmlands, plowed fields filled with grains and what was probably a fruit orchard.

Heath drew a breath, the air warm and sweet up here, a strange contrast to the frigid air of Illia he'd grown so accustomed to. He laid out plans in his mind. First he would circle over the villages and the castle, see if he could spy what its peoples were up to. Then he'd do a survey of the woods and farmlands, and next he'd check the northern borders of the forest that met with the mountains. That should take him a few hours to complete. He didn't want to do any more than that for now, and risk tiring his wyvern out. There was no telling when he'd need the wyvern's strength for something later.

Nudging Hyperion, Heath leaned into the turn that would bring them in the direction of the castle.

Several hours later, Heath had completed his precursory survey of the land, yet he was no closer to feeling any better about anything. In fact, the more time he spent exploring, the tighter the knot in his stomach seemed to grow. It became starkly clear that he was no longer anywhere near Ilia, just as he had been told; this land didn't even seem to be in the same season as the place he had left, the sun's path across the sky contradicting what it had been in Ilia. When he surveyed the woods and farmlands, he found plants he did not recognize, and the clothing and equipment the villagers seemed to be sporting were of a type that Heath could not really place. There was nothing distinctly Lycian about it, but nor was there anything Bernlike or Etruianlike about it, or similar to any of the countries of Elibe. The inevitable conclusion seemed to be that Heath had, indeed, been magically transported very, very far from anything that he knew-- perhaps even to an entirely new world.

Under different circumstances, such a thing might be exciting. But at the moment, it was only extremely stress-provoking. Heath had meant what he had told Anna and her friend. He truly had no way of knowing whether their story could be accepted at face value. He could imagine a dozen different potential reasons a powerful mage might abduct people from their worlds and yank them halfway across the universe. Well, perhaps not a dozen. But a number of possibilities, to be sure. Heath's favored theory, for a time, had been a very elaborate trap set up by the brigands he had been ambushing in Ilia. But he quickly grew to realize how unlikely a scenario that was. His next favored theory had been something to do with the Dragon's Gate. After all, it was the only gateway he knew of that connected to an entirely new world. Had a human somehow managed to operate the gateway again? Was this actually the world of dragons he now resided in? Or perhaps the gateway could connect to other worlds, as well. There really was no guessing, as it made use of technology and magics far beyond Heath's grasp.

Even if he had a sound theory as to how he was sent here, it wouldn't have brought Heath any closer to determining the most important thing: what he should do next. Heath had decided to land in the woods back where he had originally appeared, after he completed his aerial explorations. It seemed an examination of the structures there was in order. They likely related to the magics that brought him here. So Heath examined the so-called "shrine" with great detail and patience. He looked about for any unusual sensations or sights that might indicate residual magics floating about-- perhaps even a gateway left open through which he might return home again.

Unfortunately, Heath's search had turned up nothing. The stone statue of a tree was an interesting sight, but it offered no knowledge as to its purpose. There was a round depression in the tree's center, which Heath prodded at, but seemed merely decorative. The marble platform and the stone steps likewise seemed only ceremonial, without any real function. Apparently the source of the power had fully resided in that mage he had seen, and the bizarre sort of weapon they had held.

This was troubling news.

Heath crossed his arms and sighed, leaning his back against the marble statue. How rapidly the events of today had come entirely undone. Today was supposed be to a simple job; clear out some brigands with Galanthus, pick up the payment, buy some beef stock and some vegetables for a good stew that night. Celebrate putting some food on the table and cleaning up some of the scum hanging about that had been razing the local village. It was going to be good. Simple.

Now what was he supposed to think? He was apparently miles and miles from . . . well, he wouldn't exactly call Ilia home, really, but he was miles and miles from anything he previously knew. He apparently was caught in the midst of a war between two opposing kingdoms, if anything Anna said had any sort of truth to it. He'd have to sort things out from absolute scratch.

Feeling drained, Heath let his eyes slip closed for just a moment, sighing again.

Then a velvety voice came from beside him, dangerously close to his ear;

"Is someone chasing you or something?"

Heath cried out and leapt, his heart threatening to bound out of his chest in shock, and he whirled around to face the intruder.

What his gaze fell upon made his jaw fall slack in shock. A tall, lanky figure; sweeping, tattered cape; rippling, lavender hair; bright, sharp purple eyes; a cocky, self-assured smirk. He'd know the man from anywhere.

"L . . . Legault?"

The man's playful little smile shifted into something almost warm. He spoke, his smooth voice like a river gliding over pebbles.

"Hello, Heath. I was wondering when you'd finally get here."

Heath exhaled, finding himself speechless for a moment.

"Why . . . what . . . what?!"

He threw his arms up in total exasperation.

"Of all the people I could have run into, why did it have to be you?"

The man held a hand up to his chest and clutched at it, feigning pain.

"Is that how you greet a dear old friend?"

Heath gave a short laugh.

"I'm not sure that describes whatever our relation was."

"Oh, come now, Heath, I know you like me," the man purred, drawing uncomfortably close. Heath lifted a hand to push him back.

"Legault. What exactly are you doing here?"

A sunny smile lit on Legault's face as he replied,

"Enjoying a delightful walk in the woods and the pleasure of your company."

"No, I mean-- here. In this . . . world. How did you get here?"

"Ah." Legault tilted his head slightly.

"So they gave you the whole speech after abducting you, I assume? The very rousing recruitment request-- Be a hero, come join our mighty army and save countless worlds from invasion?"

Heath eyed Legault carefully.

". . . Yes. They did the same to you?"

"Mmm. I was fairly crabby after they plucked me straight from my bed and tossed me out here. I might have held one of them at knifepoint to express my disdain."

Heath squashed down his smirk at that.

"How'd they take to that?"

The man crossed his arms and leaned casually against one of the pine trees.

"Well, they weren't exactly thrilled. But they did eventually convince me to join them for a grand tour of their charming little kingdom. Apparently their recruitment campaign has been rather extensive-- I found more than a few familiar faces there."

Heath frowned. Legault clarified,

"Mostly from Eliwood's old crew, though there's even a few old Black Fang as well."

"That . . . that's actually disconcerting."

Legault smiled lightly at him.

"Don't trust them, I take it."

"Should I?"

The thief shrugged.

"That's up to you."

Heath felt a prickle of irritation.

"That isn't very helpful. Are their claims true? If you've been to their castle, you must have learned something."

Legault eyed Heath for a bit, although Heath couldn't tell what was on his mind.

"You're interested in finding out what I've learned?"

Heath crossed his arms.

"Obviously."

Legault's smile edged back onto his face.

"So you trust me more then you trust them."

Heath huffed indignantly.

"Absolutely not."

Legault raised his brows, and Heath continued,

"It simply would be foolish of me to not ask. Are you going to tell me or not?"

The thief hummed in thought for a moment, and then said,

"Truthfully, I could tell you a lot, but it may not mean much to you, coming from me. It would be better to just show you."

Heath shook his head.

"I'd rather not go to this castle. At least not yet."

"I wasn't suggesting the castle."

Heath studied the man.

"Then what?"

Legault beamed at him.

"There's a much more interesting place I can take you. It's about an hour hike from where we are now. I promise it will make for a very educational trip."

Heath stared at him, wary. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Look," the thief said, shifting from his casual slouch against a tree,

"The way I see it, you have three options. Take Commander Anna up on her offer and tour the Hero's castle. Stay here in these woods and start a new life as a cranky hermit. Or come with me, and see exactly what this new world has to offer."

Legault extended a hand.

"What do you say?"

Heath froze.

He flashed back to a time, many months ago, back when he'd first met this strange man. He'd never really been able to tell what it was Legault had wanted from him back then. Even now, he still couldn't tell. His motives were inscrutable.

Yet, for some odd reason, Heath felt a compulsion to . . . push past his wariness.

Heath slowly let out a sigh, his mind flickering over his choices. The thief's eyes glinted at him.

"Fine," Heath relented,

"I guess I'll take my chances with the weird ex-assassin instead of the people who abducted me."

"That's the spirit," Legault answered happily.