Our Tomorrow, Again

Also I apologise for any strange typos in this text. I’m writing this by hand and I’m using handwriting conversion software to convert my handwriting when I write. I’m giving this the once-over to find any egregious errors, but there still might be some minor ones in the text.

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“Robin?! Robin, are you okay?!” Chrom stood over her. He held her hand, warmth coming through his glove. The edges of her vision grew dim and dark. Her breathing grew labored but also slowed down. “Robin, why?!” “It’ll be okay, Chrom. We’ll meet each other again. I promise.” She smiled at him. Naga had promised her bonds with the SHepherds would bring her back. All that mattered was that Grima would never rise again. The Fell Dragon would no longer keep Ylisse, Plegia, and Ferox bound. Society could progress. The future was safe. Lucina, Morgan, Miran, and the rest of the future children could rest easy, knowing their task was accomplished. She might never see them again, but it would be worth it. The future was secure. “Robin? Robin—!” Chrom’s voice faded along with her vision, darkness enveloping her.

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Robin snapped awake, groaning from the crick in her neck. Her right hand lay stretched across the table. The remnants of her dream clung to her mind like cobwebs, just as ephemeral as the structures abandoned by spiders. She knew she had had the dream before, but she couldn’t remember it. She’d had it all her life, losing someone or something important to her. But what—or who—it was always eluded her. Her hand was always outstretched whenever she had the dream. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking around. A now-cold cup of coffee sat next to her. It had to be near closing time, considering the sun had gone down. She picked up the paper cup and sighed, downing the bitterly cold remnants of her coffee. Waste not, want not. Her sleep schedule was erratic at best in the first place, though caffeine had long lost its effects on her. She had relied on it too much starting in her undergrad years at age twelve. Sixteen to twenty credit hours per semester wasn’t easy even for a genius of her caliber. The bell above the store door clanged and a young man with blue hair walked in. He went over to the overworked barista and made an order. The woman glared at him, but he paid her no mind. It didn’t take long for him to get his order and he sat across from her. Of all the— Why here? Aside from the barista, she was the only person here. She sighed and rubbed her neck. “What’s up with you?” he asked, taking a sip. “Accidentally took a nap on the table,” she muttered, her cheeks heating up. She probably shouldn’t be explaining this to a stranger but something about him seemed…familiar. She couldn’t place it but… She wasn’t sure. She couldn’t explain it or put her finger on it. He smiled. “There are better places to take a nap than on a table, you know.” His tone was light. She wanted to glare at him, but something about the words were…beyond familiar. Why was she so familiar with her? Why did his voice soothe her so much? He was making fun of her, but she didn’t want to outright murder him. She wasn’t sure what these feelings were, but they were very real. She didn’t make rational sense why she’d felt like this toward a random person… “Yeah, yeah, it’s not like I was intending on it.” She sighed. A bunch of napkins and notecards lay scattered in front of her. They had been somewhat organised before her impromptu nap, but now nothing made any sense. She had been in the middle of an important breakthrough in neuro-aetherics, but the momentum had been lost and her notes scattered. She would need to sort through all of this again to figure out where she’d been. The guy followed her gaze and was quiet for several moments before screwing his face up. “What is all of this? It looks like complete gibberish.” “It’s neuro-aetherics. I’m here on my PhD for it.” “I have no idea what that is.” “Basically, the effect of magic on the brain. It’s pretty complex stuff.” She couldn’t blame him for thinking it looked like gibberish. “If one wasn’t deeply ingrained in magic theory, neuroscience, anatomy, cognitive psychology, healing arts, ethics, philosophy, mathematic modeling, and pattern recognition, it’s going to be beyond you. It’s…a lot.” Most people didn’t go into neuro-aetherics for a reason. It was a highly interdisciplinary field with high demands. Most people could spend an entire lifetime in just one of those fields, let alone trying to get to the level of competency required for neuro-aetherics. She thrived on challenge, so it really was the perfect field for her. "And you're here for yourPhDin that? You don't lookthatmuch older than me!" He stared at her and she sighed. She'd gotten thissomuch at the Plegian universities she'd been at since she was twelve. She'd skipped a bunch of grades in Ferox due to how lax the school system was. Plegian universities had been reluctant to accept such a young child into their programs, but once they saw what a bright mind she was... Well, they clamored to accept her. She'd really had the pick of the litter when she'd tested and had been accepted into the Society of Infinite Resonance. "I have an IQ of over 300. I've been in universities since I was twelve." Granted, Rezies could be quite insufferable. They lorded their high intelligence over people. She'd been to a couple meetings in her teen years, but she couldn't stand the intellectual elitism that existed there. She was formally part of the society, but she didn't interact much with it. It was just frustrating to see people that could use their intelligence for good wasted it on elitism and even eugenics to a degree. She didnotwant to be a part of that. “Seriously?" She nodded. "Seriously." The guy held his hand out to her. "I'm Chrom, by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself sooner." She returned the handshake. "Robin." He blinked. "I'm surprised you have an Ylissean name. You have quite the heavy East Ferox accent. You're quite fluent too.”Thatearned a glare out of her. She said she had an IQ of our 300 and he doubted her ability with language? What kind of backhanded complimentwasthat? "Woah. What got your panties in a twist?" "That was an extremely backhanded compliment, Chrom. I speak Eastern Feroxi as my first language, but I grew up in Ylisse. I just have strong ties to East Ferox because I grew upon the border. I'm an Ylissean citizen." Her small town had strong ties to East Ferox. The town was mixed between Eastern Ferox and 'Ylisseans. She wasn't a citizen of East Ferox because she hadn't done any sort of military service. Then again, she had also been too young until this year. She wouldn't be surprised if they came knocking on her door to be a tactician or something. Granted. it wasn't like there had been war between the many nations on the continent in centuries. Valm had also been relatively calm. He flinched, color draining from his cheeks. "Sorry. I… didn't mean it like that. Most people from New Ferox, East Ferox, and the Frostmark Territories just tend to not bother learning Ylissean well. They still tend to stay to themselves like during the Khan times. I was surprised to hear someone with such a strong East Feroxi accent here... Most of Feroxi descent don't care about academics." She nodded a bit. "Yeah, That is true." There really weren't any universities or places of higher learning in any of the former Feroxi territories. The inclination toward martial prowess and then disdain for education remained. It'd been over a thousand years since the three superpowers had broken into somewhat smaller territories, but a lot of cultural divides persisted into the modern day. But there was a lot of mobility through the countries which was good for her since it allowed her easy access to higher education. "So what are you here for?" Might as well ask him some questions since he was so interested in her… He blinked and looked at her. "Sports physical therapy. I want to help kids in sports after injuries." That wasn't what she'd been expecting for some reason, Then again, why was she surprised? It wasn't like she knew Chnm beyond his name. She still wasn't sure why she was being so open to him. This entire thing didn't make any sense to her. "But I'm no genius like you. I just graduated high school." He shrugged. "It's unfair for anybody to compare themselves to me and you should know it too. I'm a freak of nature." She was a once-in-a-millennium genius. She wasn't developmentally normal. Being shunted through education so fast definitely had its downsides. She hadn't had the time to do normal child or teenage things. She'd been surrounded by people quite her senior pretty much her whole life. She was technically the right age for college now, but her peers were all PhD candidates, not the people doing their associate's degrees. She probably should try to mingle with those that had just graduated, but it just... didn't feel right to her. She was really stuck between a rock and a hard place. Chrom's gaze was soft. "You're not a freak; you're just you." She felt her cheeks heat up a bit, glad her dark skin hid her blush. Wow, that was smooth. If she hadn't been constantly on the hunt for predators while in the East Region Free Cities, she might have fallen for his charm. He didn't seem the predator type... But she knew predators were often disarming and incredibly charming, she had spenta lotof time studying the tactics predators used. She'd needed to protect herself because a lot of men would like to groom and manipulate her for her intelligence. She was of age now, so she needed to get out of that mindset. It wouldn't serve her to hyper analyse every man she met. She shook her head. "This isn't normal. I shouldn't be in a PhD program at 18." she wasn't sure why she was telling him this. They'd literally just been introduced. She shouldn't be spilling her guts to him. Most people would probably think a genius of her caliber would be secure. But no. She wasn't. Being amongst people many years her senior sacked. She'd not been allowed to be developmentally normal. Her mother and father were good, loving people that wanted the best for her. She didn't resent them a tall because they had thought her pursing her education had been good for her. It had left her alone, isolated, and without age-appropriate peers. But by the same token." her intelligence would've isolated her any way and she would've been bored if she followed the normal school path. There was really no winning for her in the end. He looked at her, concerned. "Do you have any friends, Robin?" "They're all back in the Free Cities." Despite her general isolation, she had made some good friends with a couple of people. Most people had shunned her. but a few saw past her age and befriended her. But this was the best place for neuro-aetheric, when it came to the physical side of things. The Free Cities had great universities. but they were more magic based than focused on the body side of it. She'd had to study a lot of Ylissean material to compensate for the glaring flaw in the Free cities' education. The look of concern didn't go away. "You had to start over when you came here?" "I should get back to my dorm." She stood up and started gathering the scattered note cards and napkins.This was getting too close to home. She still had no idea why she was being so open with him. Something about him made her drop her guard. She really didn't like it. She was so used to having to fight day in and day out for basically everything. People just wanted to use and abuse her for her intelligence. It was hard to let go of that entirely. She'd had to be on the lookout for predators of multiple types since she'd been around so many people her senior. “Would you like to share your link number with me?" he asked. She hesitated. He seemed genuine, but... Ugh. She knew she was probably being overly paranoid; he was her peer in age, though not experience. She'd spent a lot of time around Feroxi, Plegians, and Ylisseans. She knew a lot the cultures and languages well, even if she retained her East Feroki accent while speaking. She felt like he was getting too close too fast. He could disarm her in ways nobody else could. she didn't understand how or why. Reluctantly, she pulled her link out and they swapped numbers. With that done, she gathered up her scattered notes and stuffed them into her bag. She hurried out of the café and back to her dorm building. She'd left the light on which wasn't good for her birds. It was late summer so hormone season was still raging. She really should've been back to put them up around five, but she had fallen asleep at the table. Naga damn it all… She reached up around her neck for her lanyard and mentally swore. She'd been in a rush To get out this morning that she'd forgotten to grab her ID. She had a single dorm room, so it wasn't like she had a roommate to link to let her in either. For a genius, she sure could be stupid sometimes. Legitimately the only person whose number she had on campus was Chrom's. She looked after link and groaned. She needed to get back to her dorm and put the birds to bed. But the only way she could get into the building was with an ID... which she’d forgotten. This sucked. Hard. She sighed and dialed Chrom. "Robin? What's up?" "So for all my intelligence, I forgot my ID card and can't get into my dorm." Damn it all. Even the most intelligent people could be prone to forgetfulness. She was still human and could make mistakes. And this wasn't the first time this had happened either… "Which building are you in?" She told him. "Be over soon." The call clicked off and she sighed. She was such an idiot. She tended to be in such a hurry she forgot her ID sometimes. It was hard when her schedule was entirely erratic. She was a night out by nature which made diurnal existence for her hard. She needed to have a diurnal schedule for her birds and classes, but it was just.. So hard when she seemed hardwired from youth to be awake at night. It took a while, but Chrom eventually came jogging up. He slid his card through the reader then smiled at her. "There you go," he said, to he warm. She was surprised by the lack of judgement from him. Those from the Free Cities, no matter how close, looked down on her for her absentmindedness. "Thanks," she muttered, walking past him the door closed behind her and she sighed. What a mess. This probably wouldn't be the last time she called him for this. Her friends back in the Free cities always got annoyed when they had to bail her out like this. Chron probably would in due time. She was very intellectual, but she could be highly absentminded when in a rush to get to her classes and everything. It was largely her birds that suffered due to it, not her. But it wasn't like he'd purposely fallen asleep at the table. She'd been up for 24 hours at that point and her body had given out. She hustled up the stairs to her room and her keys out of her pocket. She heard alarm calls from her room and sighed finds were both wonderful and a pain in the ass. She loved her bonded pair a ton, but they definitely shouldn't have been kept in captivity parrots were incredibly high-maintenance birds. Why couldn't it have been pigeons that bonded with herinstead of parrots? At least those were domesticated... “Relax relax," She said. Thankfully her voice seemed to calm the alarm calls. She could only imagine how annoyed her neighbors wer with the noise. Parrots were noisy and there wasn't much she could do about it. They were designed to be heard across miles of forest or desert. Their cries were absolutely meant to be heard across vast distances. But she couldn't leave these two behind. She was a part of their flock and they would have become depressed without her around. Thankfully, Nawira and Khalir quieted down when they saw and heard her. Nawira cooked her head to the side, obviously asking Robin where she'd been and why they were still awake. She sighed. “Fell asleep in the café…again.” It was humiliating to admit to. It was far too frequent of an occurrence for her, falling asleep in random places like she did. Nawira was always on top of bed time, letting Robin know when they were awake too late. She got up and held her hands out getting both of them to step up for her. She put them in their large cage and covered it. Honestly. She needed to get to bed too, considering how long she'd been awake, At least barring her impromptu nap . She wanted logo back to her neuro-aetherics notes she'd made earlier but she knew she'd be up all night if She started delving back into them. She desperately needed sleep and she knew it. So she hopped in the shower for a quick rinse off, then took some supplements, and then climbed into bed. She drifted off to sleep thoughts of a lost person playing in her head again.

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Chrom hurried back to his dorm after Robin had link-called him. It was definitely annoying to have to trudge all the way across campus to bail her out, but he also wasn't cruel. He wasn't going to leave her to sleep outside on a bencher go to a hotel or something. It was just hard to believe somebody intelligent enough to be in their PhD program at eighteen would forget their ID in their room. Apparently academic intelligence didn't translate to not forgetting things. It was just weird that she would forget her ID. He managed to get back to his building after a ten-minute walk. He entered the dorm only to hear Kael hooting and hollering. He sighed. Apparently there was another Emberfall game tonight. That meant the dorm wouldn't know peace until about two or three in the morning. Kael was ahugeEmberfall enthusiast. It wasn't the deep into the semester, but this was the third or fourth time Kael had been up like this. Chrom had been looking forward to going to bod early tonight, but to know that wasn't happening now. Beyond annoying. Kael hooped again and Chrom sighed. Emberfall was a traditional Feroxi night sport that Kael was deeply invested in. Chrom had made no attempts to learn because he valued his sleep. Going to bed at a reasonable time to balance all of his classes and school work was important to him His program was pretty difficult, so he needed a of the sleep he could get. He had to a his program done in six years or else his parents would pall his education money. The stakes were pretty high. "Kael, could youpleasefind somewhere else to watch Emberfall? I can't keep staying up like this. I seriously can't stay up into the morning without risking my grades.” His program was already stressful enough without having a dormmate that randomly kept him up late into the night. His parents wouldn't be happy if he fell behind due to lack of sleep. He couldn't keep dealing with this. Kael was East Feroxi which made sense with Emberfall. But still. Then again, Robin hadn't mentioned anything about Emberfall to him. But did she care? It seemed like she cared more about academics than anything else. Kael looked at him and signed. “You're such a wet blanket sometimes, Chrom.” He stuck his tongue out but turned the TV off. "Fine, fine. I'll see if I have any Feroxi buddies on campus that'll put me up on Emberfall nights. I'll catch the VOD laterint he week." He turned around on the couch and faced Chrom entirely. “Where did you go all of a sudden?" “To help somebody out." He didn't want to admit he'd been helping agirl out. Kael had a tendency to tease him a lot. It seemed to just be Kael’s personality, the teasing. Was it a Feroxi thing or a Kael thing? He hadn't spent much time around Feroxi because a lot didn't come down to Ylisse. Even in the modern age, Feroxi were notoriously xenophobic He was surprised to have seen so many here on campus. Running into East Ferox's most premier genius…or at least, who he assumed she was. “Have you ever heard of a girl named Robin in academic circles before?" Kael made a face for a bit before shrugging. Nope never. “Why do you ask?” He grinned. “You got a crush or something?” Chrom felt his checks heat up "W-Wha ?! N—No! I just met a girl tonight that's from East Ferox that's in Php despite being our age. She forgot her ID in her room somehow.” He signed. “I was just wondering if you've ever heard of her.” “No, but there was a famous Feroxi tactician that went by the name Robin a few millennia ago. She helped put the Fell Dragon down for good. And she was an Ylissean queen too. I wonder if they're related?” Chrom shrugged. “Now that you mention it, I think the name sounds familiar? It's so deep into history Ylisse didn't focus on it" Ylisse wasn't above teaching its own history, but something so ancient wasn't the focus when there was more relevant modern history. Why should he worry about some old tactician from two thousand years ago? There wasn't anything that some ancient person could do to impact the modern era. “I can probably dig some stuff up on her if you wanted. She was a prolific author, I think." Kael grinned. “Anyway, you were complaining about sleep. Why don't you go to bed?" “Chrom nodded. I think I will." He got changed into his pajamas and then turned off the light. It didn't take too much longer for him to drift off to sleep, his dreams fall of a certain tactician.