Fire Emblem: Before Awakening

Tactician

"Anna, what do you want to make of your life?"

I looked up from the board, raising an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"What purpose do you want to serve? What do you want to be remembered for?" Mom too directed her attention away from the game and onto me. 

I swallowed, suddenly feeling uneasy. "Well... I don't really know. I hadn't thought of it that much, to be honest," I replied. "In all honesty, I think I should just live my life the way I want and see what happens. I don't really think I believe in the whole concept of fate; I don't think I have a set in stone path of existence. I mean, I was meant to help resurrect the Fell Dragon, and that obviously was prevented."

"...Wise answer, Little Bird."

About a half hour later, Mom's king had fallen. I smiled. "Checkmate."

"Checkmate indeed." She began to clean up the board. "That was a very impressive strategy you played there, kept it up from the very start, too."

I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Er, actually, not really. I had to change it up about halfway through the game."

Mom gave me a knowing look. "And that's what makes you such an amazing tactician?"

"Wait, what? But my first strategy was a bust! How does that make me a good tactician?"

"It makes you a good tactician because you were able to see that a certain strategy wasn't working early on as to not lose even more pieces," she replied. "A good tactician can realize her mistakes and fix them as quick as possible. You can adapt and change to whatever situation and turn it in your favor. You have an outstanding talent to do that. No doubt."

My heart buzzed with her praise. "Really?"

"Really," she giggled. "Your tactical abilities have truly astounded me over and over, and not just that! Your magic capabilities are evolving swimmingly, your poise in sword-combat has a lot of room to improve but there is nothing wrong with that - Naga knows I'm not the best teacher in that field so I'm really the one at fault. You can hunt and track with ease and your environmental knowledge and cues are phenomenal. I can go on and on about all of your skills, but we would be here for far too long. Just know that I am incredibly proud of you."

I grinned widely, brushing away a tear with my wrist. "Heh, thanks, Mom."

She made to stand up and retrieve a box from the closet. "And...and that's why I'm ready to give you this." She placed the box in my lap. "I wanted to wait until your birthday to give it to you, but I just have this gnawing feeling in my stomach that I should present it to you now."

I swallowed, lifting the top of the box. I covered my mouth as a gasp escaped, more tears threatening to spill from my eyes. "Mom, no. I-I can't-"

"You can and you will." She smiled. "My mother wanted me to pass down this robe to my child so it is rightfully yours."

I pulled the dusty black robe from the box, letting it unfurl in front of me. A light purple line ran across both arms and even decorated the sides and back, the inside of it being the same color. On each arm, three eyes sat in the middle of the lines near the gold cuffed sleeve. That same gold color outlined the whole robe, more prominent on the bottom. On the inside were many cleverly placed pockets to store things. Most were empty, but I noted that a few of them had some objects in them.

I could barely believe it was in my hands. For years, I dreamed of even wearing the thing for just a day. "S-still. This is too much!"

"Anna, please, listen to me." Mom took my face into her hands, making me look up. "You deserve this robe more than anything, trust me. I know you will do amazing things in your life. This robe will serve you better than it will me."

I looked back down at the article of clothing. "B-but what about you?! What are you going to do without a robe?!"

She giggled. "I can easily find another tactician's robe somewhere, my dear. These things aren't a huge rarity." She encouraged me to stand. "Now, put it on. I want to see how well it fits you."

I nodded slowly, hesitantly drawing the robe around me. I already knew how to tie it together and adjust from watching Mom do it many times over, but it still felt foreign to me. Once the robe was on, I turned to look at myself in the mirror, gasping at my reflection.

How everything seemed to fit together just felt...right. The stark contrast of the black robe against my white shirt and pants, the way it appeared to be the same color as my combat skirt, how well it adjusted around my excessive number of belts, my yellow collar folder easily over the dropped hood, and how much power it radiated in combination with my boots.

Mom covered her mouth, tears glittering in her eyes. "Oh, gods... H-how do you feel?"

I was speechless. I gazed at myself in every angle I could, still unresponsive. The new weight was welcoming like it was a second skin. "I-I..."

I clenched my fists, resolve burning within me. Standing straighter and smiling, I said, "I feel like a true tactician, now."

*****

She got the coat now. So some important updates! I have finished writing this story (this isn't the last chapter don't worry) but...Before Awakening will be over next month. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. I'm so freaking shook. So I've done this multiple times in the past but it hasn't really worked, but I want to do a Q&A at the end of this story. All you have to do is comment a question on any chapter (on this one, next week, etc). I will be taking questions until March 12th. I also request that you ask your questions just in this book so I can navigate easier. You can also ask two questions and I'll try to answer and get to them the best I can (although, I won't be absolutely averse to having a big chapter dedicated to answering your questions). Yee. Another thing! This Thursday (February 14th) I will be posting a special Valentine's Day one-shot in My Random Thoughts! If you read The Best is Yet to Come, you'll really want to read this. ;) Anyway! Thank you so much for reading  and look forward to reading more!

Also I made a thing

(Not hating on Wattpad. I just made this for giggles. Also I'm salty about the new design. No tea no shade)