Fantasy Fire Emblem Divide: Nayu x Zane

[CallmeMyth]

Nayu x Zane​

Time: Before Chapter 1, prior to the attack on the bandit village.
Location: Alliance of Fire stables

Support Rank: C
Fire Emblem: Divide​

Nayu walked through camp toward the Alliance of Fire's supply convoy, to retrieve some items she knew she would need for the upcoming mission. On her way there she came upon the stables, and she happened to notice a man as he tended to the wyverns inside. In fact, Nayu recognised that the man was indeed one of her own kind, and she stopped and gazed at him for a moment. It was not difficult for manaketes to recognise others of their kind, although sometimes humans would mistake them for elves. This man in particular probably appeared quite intimidating to some of the humans in camp, although to her he appeared completely normal.

Not intending to disturb him, Nayu continued to watch him in silence as he cared for the large scaly beasts, all the while seemingly unaware of her presence. Nayu had always had a curiosity for wyverns, which were actually very different from dragons despite their appearance. The reptiles seemed rather intelligent, and Nayu never understood why they chose to allow humans to use them as mounts. Personally, Nayu couldn't imagine using any sort of animal for travel. She had ridden a horse once before, but it had not been a pleasant experience. Her legs had been sore for days afterward, and she would much rather fly using her own wings if she wished to travel for great distances.

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With a practised motion Zane pinched the tweezers around the tick and tugged it out of the wyvern's skin. The ticks were a fairly common problem in Dinne but there the wyverns could normally dislodge them by themselves through bathing in coarse sand, when kept with a marching army however they generally needed to be removed by hand.

"All done." He said to the beast rubbing at a softer patch of skin on it's neck making it screech in delight, grinning as it leaned into the contact he pocketed the tweezers and scratched the spot with both hands. "Oooh you like that?" He cooed. "Yes you do, who's a good girl eh? Yes it's you! Ooooh.." Abruptly Zane realised he had an audience and turned around and blushed a little with embarrassment. "Oh umm hi...didn't see you there." Looking more closely at the newcomer his eyebrows raised a little. "Ah I heard there was another Manakete around!" He extended a hand. "Well I'm Zane, what's your name?" With a short growl the wyvern lightly headbutted him obviously wanting him to get back to fawning over her.

 

[CallmeMyth]

The man turned around as he finished his work, and Nayu noticed his face flush as he realized she had been standing there. Her eyes widened as he spotted her, and she tried to hide her own embarrassment that she had been caught watching him. She stood there for an awkward moment, until the man broke the silence as he stammered out a greeting. He quickly took note of the fact that she was a Manakete as well, and his voice suddenly became more cheerful as he introduced himself while extending one of his hands.

Having recovered from her initial sheepishness, Nayu reached out her arm to return the man's gesture. However, she was interrupted as the Wyvern that Zane had previously been attending to let out a growl and butted him with its head. Nayu watched the two of them interact, and she raised an eyebrow in amusement. "It seems your wyvern is jealous." She told him. She had never seen this type of interaction between a wyvern and a dragon before, which only fueled her interest in the situation.

"My name is Nayu." She replied to his earlier question. She pointed toward the wyvern. "Does your wyvern always act like that..?" She asked. She wondered what bonded the two of them together in such a way. She had never seen a Manakete ride a wyvern before, so she wondered what Zane's fascination could be for the beast. She waited a moment for Zane to respond. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing caring for the wyverns? You don't ride them, do you?" She inquired.

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Barely knocked off balance by the boisterous wyvern Zane easily took the other Manakete's hand. "Nice to meetcha' Nayu." He chirped while wrapping hugging an arm around the beast's neck. "Scarlet here can get a little bratty especially when some irresponsible softy keeps on spoiling her." With short sound of agreement the wyvern playfully lifted him a few feet into the air.

Dropping easily to the ground Zane casually ran a hand through his hair, he had been answering these questions for decades already. "Just because dragons and wyverns look similar doesn't mean we automatically know everything about them just as a laguz that transforms into a bird can't instantly explain how they migrate. I basically grew up travelling around wild wyvern country in Dinne and I always thought they were interesting creatures, they seem to be just that bit smarter than they let on you know? But all anyone seemed to be interested in them for was as mounts."

He waved to a set of old but well maintained tack hanging on the wall. "I have actually ridden them a little, just for the experience not like I don't have the time to learn right?" Around any other race Zane was sure that would have sounded more than a little insulting. "But anyway all the material I could find about them was how to ride them for maximum speed to get around or how to fight using them or against them I was interested in how they lived in the wild, my father's a naturalist so bit of a head start there, but I was also surprised that no one had looked at how they interacted with each other when domesticated it was all about keeping them from fighting or how best to get them to breed."

Realising he was starting to waffle he shut up abruptly. "Sorry I don't mean to go on like that but I get asked about it a lot." He rubbed the tip of an ear sheepishly.

 

[CallmeMyth]

The wyvern picked up Zane with it's large mouth before dropping him back to his feet, and Nayu continued to watch the two of them with curiosity. She listened as the other Manakete explained to her a bit more about wyverns, and she felt that perhaps she understood the creatures a bit better. Most Manaketes did not view them as any more than beasts, although the same could also be said for humans and the other races. Perhaps wyverns also shared a bit more in common with dragons intellectually, as well. Even more so than Nayu had previously realized. She wondered if thats why the winged creatures had taken such a liking to Zane. Perhaps they enjoyed someone who valued them as something more than a steed. It was also possible that they even accepted him as one of their own kind, given their similarities.

She looked over as Zane motioned to one of the stable walls, where a set of harnesses were hung neatly. She was surprised when he told her that he had ridden the animals before, although she realized how it was possible. His statement about the passage of time was true, and she understood the concept far too well, even despite the century she had spent locked in a deep slumber... Indeed, the life spans of dragons were far greater than that of most races. Although mentioning the short lifespans of the other races could be considered rude to the wrong listener, Nayu didn't take notice of it at all. In truth, a dragon's age was a very strange process. Despite being many years older than Zane, physically she did not appear older than him at all.

She continued to listen to him speak, until he stopped suddenly and began to brush one of his pointed ears. She noticed the embarrassed look return to his face again, and she stammered as she tried to figure out a way to ensure him that she was not becoming impatient. "N-no, it's fine..." She spoke, looking over at the pegasi that were locked in their paddocks on the opposite side of the stables. Nayu found it very peculiar that the wyverns and pegasi were kept in the same stable, and she wondered how it was possible to prevent the animals from fighting. After all, pegasi could be easily spooked. Nayu reasoned that someone must have been training the animals very well to keep them from attacking the winged equines. She noticed that a few of the pegasi also seemed to be uncomfortable around Zane, or perhaps it was her that they were afraid of? She couldn't tell. "Do you train the wyverns to be so calm around the pegasi?" She asked her newfound acquaintance.

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Perking up at the question Zane grinned and started chattering again. "Well the main problem is keeping the wyverns from trying to eat the pegasi, they don't usually interact much in the wild or with flying prey in general so if they actually get in a proper chase the pegasus has pretty good odds of getting away or at least making the wyvern lose interest. Of course if they're hungry enough the wyvern is more likely to keep up the chase." At that comment Scarlet nudged Zane's arm and snapped her jaws in the general direction of the pegasi making them nicker nervously. "Don't be like that!" He said in a suddenly sharp tone while pushing the wyvern's head away from him. "You get fed plenty just be patient. See what I mean? They're smart enough to listen and try to get one over on you if you let them." Beckoning for Nayu to follow he walked out of the stable.

Outside Zane idly leaned against the wall of the stable, he didn't often get to spend much time with other Manakete apart from his parents and a lot of those he did encounter found his chosen field of work and study odd just as Nayu did. "Sorry to hustle you out like that but sometimes you have to watch what you say around them or they can start getting rowdy. Anyway where was I?" He thought for a moment still a little worried that he was slipping into lecture mode. "So wild wyverns and pegasi aren't much of a problem in the rare cases where they do come into contact, the real trouble comes from those that are trained for combat, a battle wyvern is of course trained in aerial combat and is therefore much better at pursuing other flying creatures and worse in the heat of battle they can get their teeth into a pegasus and pick up a taste for them, in these cases the wyvern generally can't be allowed to fly freely in an area with pegasi and it becomes very important to impress on them the difference between when they're meant to fight and meant to be resting, it's a little bit of a contradiction but having specific tack that they wear into battle can be used as their signal that they can 'let loose' and taking it off is when they should rein it in, even then it's not like drawing or sheathing a sword and it's best to let them burn off some of their energy before getting them back in the stable with the pegasi if the battle isn't a long one."

Rolling his shoulders he idly toyed with the flap of the pouch holding his dragonstone on his waist. "If a wyvern get's on that 'battle high' they can become aggressive towards most anything that isn't their rider, until they come up against something meaner than they are of course." With a smirk he tossed and caught the dragonstone.

CallmeMyth

 

[CallmeMyth]

Nayu followed Zane outside as the wyverns started to become rowdy. She propped her shoulder against the stable wall next to Zane as he made himself more comfortable, before apologizing for driving her out of the barn so abruptly. She paid no mind to it, and merely met his gaze as she listened to him while he continued speaking. While it was true Zane had a habit of trailing off on tangents, Nayu found conversation with him to be very relaxed and even pleasant. Like Zane, Nayu didn't normally have the chance to speak to others of her own kind.

Her eyes fell upon the black orb that Zane had removed from the pouch on his waist, noticing the way the stone swirled with what appeared to be a dark colored mist. She focused her attention back to him as he tossed the stone into the air, noticing as his face twisted into a smug expression. "Everything you've told me has been very fascinating." She told him. "I can see why you've taken such a liking to the wyverns. And not just because you grew up in Dinne. I know why they're so fond of you, as well." She added. "I've actually traveled to Dinne before. I'm from Komodo. The two countries are very different from each other. Its not nearly as hot and dry there." She told him, with a courteous tone.

Nayu felt a pang as she realized how much she actually enjoyed having a conversation with the male manakete. While it was true dragons lived much longer than most of the other races, the Alliance were currently preparing for a war. War was an ugly affair, and even dragons were not immune to death. She was not sure whether or not the two of them would be able to speak to each other like this again. "I should go now..." She told him, as she tried to push her feelings away. She hoped Zane wouldn't assume she was being rude. "I was headed toward the supply convoy. I need to prepare for the upcoming battle." She explained, as she began to walk away.

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Zane was still trying to work out whether Nayu's comment about fondness was intended as a compliment when she mentioned Komodo. "Yeah I've spent a fair bit of time in Komodo I wouldn't say it's that much cooler it's just that it's a lot more humid than Dinne, first time I was there I almost got lost in the mist and freaked out when a Menehune came near me." He smiled to himself at the memory from nearly a century ago of visiting his half-brother in the country and made a mental note to visit the family shrine if the campaign took him to the area.

When Nayu abruptly made an excuse and took off Zane frowned to himself worried that he had gone too far into lecturing mode and bored or annoyed her with all his wyvern talk. "Oh...okay I guess I'll see you later." Mildly disappointed at her abrupt exit he shrugged lightly but still loitered outside the stable lost in thought for a moment. Most of the other few manakete he had met had developed a preference for solitude after outliving friends from other races though having his extended family had helped him learn to live with it.

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[CallmeMyth]

As Nayu walked away, feelings of confliction began to well up inside of her. She hoped she hadnt given Zane the impression that she did not want to form a friendship with him. She knew that if she had, it would not be the first time she had done so. There were times when she knew she seemed distant to others, and to anyone who didn't know her it would seem like she disliked their company. However, this was not the case.

Even though her fear of losing those close to her was sometimes enough to keep her from forming a bond with them, Nayu knew that she had to overcome her past and move on. She knew it would take time, but she also realized that she had to start somewhere. At this thought, she stopped and turned to look at Zane as he stood next to the stables. Her lips turned upwards into a smile. "I hope to speak to you again." She told him, before turning back around and pacing away.

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~C-Rank Support Achieved!~

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