"Sometime during the night, Sheik ran away." Chrom said, looking exhausted. "The only reason why I've got all of you here is to explain how we're going to find him, and why this is so concerning."

Lucina winced and looked over at Corrin. The poor guy looked stressed out, but he was clearly trying to hide it. She made a mental note to talk to him once Chrom had finished the briefing of sorts. 

"With all due respect, don't you think that goes without saying?" Marth asked. 

Chrom sighed. "I honestly don't have the patience to deal with sarcasm right now. I assume you all are aware of the presence of military members in the city?" 

"Besides our own, yes." Marth replied. It was good to see him stepping back into the role of leader, but... honestly, Lucina kind of resented him for it. It had taken so long for him to get to this point, and now it just felt anti-climatic. 

"If Sheik gets caught by one of those military members, he will be dragged back to stand before the Headmaster. He will likely be executed for some fabricated charge of treason, because you all became failed experiments as soon as you left the Compound." Chrom explained, zero emotion in his voice whatsoever. 

"Executed?" Zelda asked incredulously. "Surely the Headmaster- the government- can't do that?"

"Executed." Chrom confirmed. "The government doesn't work like it should. It's deeply corrupt and controlled by the Headmaster's organization. Innocent people die because of the corruption of the people who are supposed to protect us."

"So we're at war with them." Robin said. His gaze was unfocused as he stared at the wall just above Chrom's head, which was a sign that he was deep in thought. 

"Yes. Those with power are afraid to lose it, so their resistance is much stiffer than we anticipated. But I digress. Samus, you and Link will be searching for him. Before you leave, I'd like to have some words with you in private. The rest of you are excused from training for today, but you certainly can do some solo practice." Chrom nodded his head in response to Robin, then turned his attention to Samus and Link. Something that she had initially found surprising was that neither Caeda or Shulk had been present at this particular briefing. Now that she'd heard the news, she understood why they were absent.

Marth was the first to leave, and he was followed closely by Robin and Ike. The trio struck up a conversation as they left, but Lucina was too far away to hear what they said. Zelda said something to Corrin, then walked out of the briefing room. 

Since now was as good a time as any, Lucina walked over to him and smiled reassuringly. "Would you like to go spar with me? I think it might help distract you a bit."

"That would be great. Thank you." Corrin half smiled at her and turned to leave. She followed him out, taking one last glance back at her father, who was deep in conversation with Link and Samus. He was pointing at an area on the map of Ebonfell that was laid across the table, seemingly frustrated with something that Link had said. 

She sighed and closed the door behind her as she left. 

While they walked through the streets of the city, weaving through the crowd on the sidewalks, Lucina tried to start a conversation three times. Each time, Corrin gave a maddeningly short response. His eyes were scanning the crowd like he thought Sheik would be one of the many strangers they both saw. After the third attempt, Lucina gave up and resorted to walking along in silence. It made the walk both awkward and feel longer than it should have. Eventually, they reached the loft apartment where their lessons were normally held. 

He seemed agitated while they grabbed wooden practice swords and slipped on some light protective gear, just in case. But he didn't say anything, which was somehow more worrying than if he had actually spoken up. 

Lucina held the wooden practice sword out in front of her and assumed her ready stance. Corrin did the same, and there was a brief pause. They locked eyes, and the bout began. 

Corrin struck first, attacking with a sweeping overhead swipe that was basically telegraphed. She sidestepped it easily and tried a strike at his ribs, but he blocked it. Their blades locked together, Corrin braced himself and shoved her back. Lucina stumbled, but recovered quickly. She lost a few precious seconds when she looked down to be sure of her footing, and sure enough Corrin tried to take advantage of her distraction. She didn't even have to use her Gift to know what was coming next- a direct chop downwards, meant to hit her neck. Thinking quickly, Lucina switched her grip and blocked the chop. She then kicked out at his knee, allowing her to slip out from under his blade and return to a neutral stance. 

In a real duel, she knew that returning to neutral was the worst possible option. You were supposed to press your attack as soon as possible, because the best defense was a good offense. Or something like that. Lucina didn't really pay attention to the finer points of battle, because she preferred to let her blade do the talking. You could learn a lot about a person from the way that they fought, after all. 

And right now, she could tell that Corrin was upset. Not just from the subtle hints in his expression, but from the way he was fighting. His strikes were sloppy, and she was able to parry them with ease. She hadn't even used her Gift once this bout. 

Lucina lunged forward, stepping under his swipe and leveling her sword at his chest. She poked him just above where his heart was, making sure not to use too much force. 

"I win." Lucina said, backing off and resting the sword at her side. 

Corrin closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. "It's usually a bit closer than that. I'm off my game today."

"It's okay, Corrin. You're upset, and you have the right to be upset." Lucina said, concern lacing her voice before she could think better of it. She knew Corrin didn't like to be pitied, and he could easily interpret her words as pitying. 

"I should have done something. I could have stopped him." Corrin's free hand tightened into a fist at his side. 

So he was blaming himself. Lucina knew how that felt, but no one knew that feeling better than Marth. Before thinking about her irritatingly self-deprecating brother could drag down her mood, she dismissed the matter entirely and took a step forward. 

"It's not your fault, Corrin." Lucina said. 

"But what if it is?" Corrin shouted. "There had to be something I could have done!" He threw the wooden sword down in disgust and ran a hand through his hair. The worry in his eyes was painful to see, in all honesty. It was rare to see him so upset. He had a lot of patience and he was remarkably composed in most situations. 

Lucina was half considering using her Gift to see if Sheik was... well, alive or captured. Or worse. But the fact that she could alter his future if she dared to look kept her from actually doing anything. 

Or maybe she was just afraid of what she might see if she did. Honestly, Lucina was terrified of the power she wielded with her Gift. She had the power to try and stop people from dying, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with it. 

Seeing the future was both a blessing and a curse, when it came down to it. 

"Blaming yourself isn't the right way to go about this. I know you're worried. We all are. But I really don't think there was anything you could have done." Lucina whispered. 

"I just- I don't know. It feels like I failed him. I feel like I failed him. I'm supposed to be there for him, and clearly something happened that would have made him want to run away." Corrin mumbled. 

"It's going to be alright. I think we'd know if he had been captured by now." Lucina rested her hand on his shoulder, offering her support. 

"Gods, he's an idiot." Corrin laughed once. It almost sounded like a sob, really. 

Lucina didn't say anything in response. She waited for him to keep speaking, because she could tell he needed to just talk without interruptions. 

"He's always been there. For as long as I can remember, it's always been the two of us. I didn't realize how scared I am of losing him until now. Honestly, I feel really fucking pathetic for even having these emotions. I just- ugh." Corrin exhaled harshly and let his hands fall to his sides. 

After a long moment of silence, Lucina took a deep breath and said "Being scared is human. I don't know what I'd do if Marth or Robin disappeared like this."

Corrin didn't reply immediately. Clearly he hadn't been expecting to hear what she'd just said. "What am I supposed to do if he doesn't come back?"

"Hopefully, you won't have to find out." Lucina responded. "Sheik is smart. I don't think he'd go down without a fight, if it came to that. Besides, I'm sure he'll be back. Link and Samus will find him."

"That's another thing that's frustrating me." Corrin said, his frown deepening. "I should be out there looking for him. I don't see why Chrom picked Samus, of all people. Link I can understand, but Samus?" 

"My father is... many things, but he is a practical man first and foremost. He probably knew that your judgement would be clouded by emotions, so he picked the two people out of our group who are best suited for a task that requires quick, clear thinking." Lucina's eyes widened as she realized that probably wasn't what Corrin wanted to hear. Thinking quickly, she hurried to apologize for her harsh assumption. "I'm sorry, that ended up sounding a lot more rude than I thought."

"No, it's fine. You have a point." Corrin said. His shoulders slumped a little, though it was hard to tell if he was relieved or unhappy. "Sitting here and doing nothing useful just feels like a waste. I half want to go out and look for him on my own, but I know that I'm doing the best I can by staying. I'd probably fuck things up, and then I'd never be able to forgive myself."

"This will work out, Corrin. It's highly unlikely that the worst will come to pass." Lucina smiled reassuringly at him and took her hand off his shoulder. 

Hesitantly, the corner of Corrin's mouth twitched upwards in a half smile. It was the closest she figured that he would get to smiling right now, so it was a victory in her book. "Thanks, Lucina."

For a moment, a spike of fear gripped her as the thought that he would ask her to use her Gift passed through her head. That was one thing she wouldn't do. 

Thankfully, the moment passed and Lucina was able to breathe a silent sigh of relief. "Of course. I'm always happy to listen if you have something you need to talk about."

"I appreciate it." Corrin responded. He paused for a moment before leaning down to pick up his discarded practice sword. "Since we're here, might as well keep sparring. It helps me think, in an odd way."

Lucina nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. Sparring helps clear my head. Sometimes I even end a session and realize that I've figured out what's bothering me."

So they assumed their ready stances again. Corrin still looked tense, but he didn't seem nearly as wound up as he had before. Which was definitely a good thing, because the more relaxed he was, the more of a fight he'd put up. Lucina preferred a challenge when she fought, and an angry opponent wasn't much of one. 

Again, Corrin moved first. He tried a backhanded slice that was impressively controlled and executed, and Lucina very nearly didn't block it in time. Thankfully, she was able to bring her blade up right before the wooden sword hit her upper arm. She shoved him back to give herself some breathing room, then went for a straightforward jab. Corrin knocked it aside and immediately tried another backhanded slice. 

Lucina saw it coming this time and sidestepped, nearly losing her balance because of the momentum from her missed jab. She spotted an opening in his guard and struck, hitting his side and drawing a grunt of pain out of him. He kicked at her knee, a dirty move but a clever one. She faltered in her step as her knee gave out, and Corrin went for a risky overhead strike. It was risky because of how open it would leave him if he missed, and it was likely to do that- it was practically telegraphed. Lucina rolled to the side, hearing Corrin's blade strike the floor with a dull thunk. 

This placed her in a bit of a precarious situation. He had already recovered from missing the strike, so most of Lucina's usual options were covered. All she could do was get off the floor and block the next strike. As she was getting up, Corrin tried to strike at her blind side. She was barely able to block it in time, and then it hit her- she'd used her Gift without even intending to do so. Her eye was aching, and Corrin looked shocked. Lucina would have apologized, if it wasn't for the fact that they were in the middle of a duel. This was significantly more difficult than their earlier match, and she was grateful for it. If he had pushed her to the point of using her Gift involuntarily, he was a challenging opponent.

When he was thinking clearly, of course. Intending to use his moment of surprise to her advantage, she tried a diagonal cut downward. Corrin blocked it, like she had expected. Instead of shoving her backwards, he stepped in closer. Caught off guard, Lucina didn't think to try and escape the lock their swords were now in. She felt something pressing into her stomach, so she looked down to find Corrin with a wooden dagger in his left hand. 

"I win." Corrin said, backing off and resting both hands at his sides. 

"When did you get the dagger?" Lucina asked, completely confused. She hadn't noticed it until it was far too late, which perplexed her. 

"At the beginning. I've always had it." Corrin replied, having the grace to look a little embarrassed. "It's a trick Sheik taught me."

"I should have known." Lucina sighed and shook her head. "It seemed a little too underhanded to be one of your own strategies."

"Are you implying that I'm predictable?" Corrin asked, laughing slightly. 

"Of course not. I'm just saying that you're not exactly fond of sneaking around." Lucina rubbed the spot where the wooden dagger had jabbed her and winced slightly. "I'm lucky you weren't actively trying to kill me."

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you? I wasn't trying to." Corrin's expression changed from amused to worried, and he placed the wooden dagger back in the little loop it had previously been hanging in. Not that Lucina had noticed that, of course. She felt a bit silly for not realizing it was there sooner, but there was nothing she could do about it now. 

"Nah, it's alright." Lucina laughed and shook her head. "It just surprised me, that's all." Which was a lie, because she could feel a bruise forming already. But Corrin didn't need to know that.

Corrin didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't comment on it further. "Want to go again?"

"Sure." Lucina said. She wasn't tired yet- she could probably keep going for a while longer yet. 

So they assumed their ready stances again. Before they began, Lucina glanced over at the clock. A surprisingly long amount of time had passed since they'd first arrived. That was both good and bad. For a moment, the slightest shadow of worry passed through her head. What if something had actually gone wrong? 

But no. Allowing herself to think like that wouldn't end well. So Lucina shook her head once to clear it and refocused on her bout that was about to start.