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“Sothe!”
Sothe froze, the familiar voice stopping him in his tracks. He started to glance around, searching for any sign of the orange cloak, the red hair.
“Sothe, focus!” Edward was beside him, catching an enemy soldier’s lance with his blade. He shoved the soldier away, looking back at the green-haired youth. “We’ve still got a battle to fight, remember?”
“R-right.” He could find him after the battle. They had prisoners to free right now. He darted forward, his daggers finding the holes in the enemy’s armor.
A cry of “Elthunder!” warned Sothe, and he jumped back as lightning pierced where the soldier was. Ilyana ran past him, Laura and Aran in front of her, and she gave a small wave.
“We’ll handle things here,” the lavender haired girl said quietly. “Go on. I know you’re dying to go after him. They seem like they could use the help.”
Sothe nodded, sheathing his dagger and he turned, launching himself off the railing. There were fewer soldiers here, and he hurried down corridor.
“Tormod! Answer me!”
The rogue could hear the sound of battle as he ran, and uneasiness formed a lump in his throat. Turning the corner, however, Sothe could feel it ebb away. With a roar, a large green tiger tore into an armor knight, leaping away when Fire magic enveloped them.
“Was that the last one around here?”
The voice sent a shock through Sothe, and he took a step forward. The tiger, Muarim snapped his head towards him, haunches relaxing as he realized who is was. The Laguz shifted back, crossing his arms. An almost fond smile on his face. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise.”
“Muarim? What’re you-” Tormod stopped looking down the other corridor, eyes widening. “Goddess above.”
Sothe’s voice caught in his throat. Three years since they had seen each other, and it seemed Tormod had finally grown into himself. His babyface was gone, and his limbs were long and lanky compared to the rest of him. Despite the physical differences, as the redhead ran over, wrapping himself around the other, Sothe noticed height was one thing he had not gained.
“You scurvy dog.” Tormod’s hands gripped tightly on Sothe’s shirt and Sothe pulled him closer.
“Do you know how long it’s been since your last letter?” Tormod pulled away, an angry pout on his face. “D’you have any idea how worried I was?”
“Sorry. Things just… came up,” Sothe said, “I haven’t had time, lately.”
Tormod scoffed, though a smile tugged on his lips. “Come on, then. Let’s finish this battle up, yeah? We have some catching up to do. And I got some info on that issue too!”
Sothe felt himself smile. “Right. Let’s go.”
After managing the damage from the battle, a short meeting with Pelleas, and setting up camp, Sothe retired to his tent. Exhausted, he welcomed Tormod’s company in his tent. A short while passed, and the two were all but pressed against each other, and Tormod had nearly drifted to sleep until Sothe’s voice piped up.
“I missed you.”
“Hm? Well, I missed you, too.” Tormod sighed, curling more into Sothe’s side, and the other pulled him closer.
“How long has it been… since we did this?” Sothe asked, resting his head against Tormod’s.
“ ‘Bout two years. Why? You gettin’ sentimental on me, Sothe?” Tormod joked.
Sothe hummed. “Maybe a little… You’ll be staying won’t you? For a little while, at least?”
“Of course I am!” Tormod replied, huffing, “With that Izuka guy around, I’m not comfortable leaving you alone.”
“...Thanks, Tormod.”
“What’re you thanking me for?”
Sothe shrugged, and he felt Tormod stifle a laugh as he buried his head in Sothe’s shoulder. Sothe smiled, pulling the redhead closer. When he and Tormod were able to simple, sweet moments like this, Sothe truly felt blessed.