With Nym being stuck as an Eevee life was little more than a hell on earth. Nym prayed for Naga to have mercy on him, as Little Lucina hugged him so tightly he felt like he couldn't breathe. Nym could scarcely believe that he was even in this crazy situation. Here he was being doted on by Chloey's toddler and eldest daughter! It was the most strangest thing that he'd ever had happen to him! Nym eventually decided could have been worse. He could have been kept in a cage and been unable to talk at all if Chloey were less than kind about the situation. Though it didn't help that Noire was constantly apologising to him when she got the chance and he'd had a close brush with death from Frederick's horse when he'd tried to go to the mess hall on his own. It was not worth the risk of what almost happened to have it happen again so Nym had stayed close to little Lucina after that.

Still he supposed he should count his blessings. He got his head pet by Chloey! He never had his head pet before by anyone! Nym however thought it was because he was an "Eevee" rather than a normal human (doubtless he was sure that Chloey wouldn't have done it at all but that she did made Nym make a theory about the Shepherds' tactician). But to him it almost didn't matter as it was totally worth getting turned into a helpless little furry creature that couldn't reach anything for himself. Nym sighed. He was beginning to rethink that.

The toddler felt that he needed to eat cakes (obviously thinking that would help him feel better) while her 'elder' sister suggested a more practical diet for him. He appreciated the thought but really he just wanted the curse lifted. There was however an unexpected perk of being an furry creature. He noticed that Inigo was rather foolishly flirting with Lucina and Amelia (the future ones) which if Nym recalled correctly was a death sentence. He decided that he would let the tactician know what the silly dark blond haired merc was doing...just for kicks. Perhaps someone like Chloey and Henry could cast much more useful hexes than Noire had with more control...and thus Nym had his revenge for Inigo laughing at him when he'd been turned into Eevee. Nym wondered if he "slipped up" about it what exactly would happen. It was something that the "Eevee" mage took comfort in. At least he was hoping it was ample compensation if the stories about Chloey being an over protective mother were true to any degree and were not exaggerations by some of the more colourful Shepherds. He waited for what felt like a few hours when Chloey had come to put said toddler to bed for "nap time". Usually Nym would have to stay put but today he was going to shadow the tactician. He waited until after she'd finished playing her lullaby on her newly received clarinet from her brother Henry (a gift that he'd apparently been keeping safe) and Nym said rather casually (though quietly as he didn't want to wake the small toddler who really needed her nap) "Hey Chloey..."

"Yes Nym," the tactician had put the instrument in its case and had closed it with a soft 'zooowoop' sound,

"I don't know if you heard but Inigo felt perfectly fine making a nuisance of himself around Amelia and Lucina,"

The effect was surprisingly instantaneous Chloey's eyes flashed crimson as an almost death-like aura filled the tent. Her voice was deathly calm, "Was he now?" The tactician looked set for murder but it was too late for Nym to back down despite the healthy dose of fear that was warning him not to,

"Uh, yeah," Nym said shakily, "he was..."

Chloey was less than pleased. Nym who had only known the tactician for a short while knew he never wanted to get her that mad. She was frighteningly emitting some kind of flames that he'd never seen before. They were not the purple flames of vengeance. Nym had seen several of the sorcerers of the army produce that flame. This flame was different entirely to that. Nym hastened after the tactician even though he was terrified. He kept reminding himself that it was payback but still...the flame that was coming from Chloey's small frame was insane. He noticed flower like petals floating around her, it would have been pretty had she not been so furious. Nym spotted Lucina looking annoyed at Inigo. He was of course flirting like normal and Chloey's approach was soft and quiet. Nym watched as Inigo finally became aware of what was upon him. Never had Nym seen Chloey pull a sword as fast as what she did on the hapless young man,

"Fear," She said deathly calm, "is a noun that denotes a state of terror," and there was no doubt that he was terrified of what was to come. Chloey's entire sword was covered in little bolts of lightning magic but it wasn't a levin sword. It was a silver blade of all things. Chrom was quick to spot the dangerous situation and never had Nym seen the lord move so quickly,

"Inigo get out of my sight," Chloey warned, "If I so much as see you near one of my daughters I'll send you to the seven hells,"

"AHHH!" Inigo bolted as Chloey shot the bolts of thunder in his direction. Lucina looked relieved,

"Thank gods," she sighed "I feared he'd never leave me alone, Mum?"

And just like that as Chrom reached her side Chloey calmed. She seemed the least bit concerned by what had just happened. In fact dare Nym say it; she was a little dazed,

"Chloey, love are you alright?" Chrom asked her before the tactician fall back into his arms.

The whole camp was in an uproar. Not only was Inigo cowering in his tent; Chloey had collapsed.

Nym would have cried if not for one important factor. Henry had come and muttered some sort of strange words. Nym had no idea what they were but it seemed to make sense to the Sorcerer.

Eventually they found out that Chloey was fine, just a little bit exhausted. Nym was glad that she was fine but still he felt worried.

The next day came and Nym was still a furry creature. He was unhappily eating some breakfast with Little Angel; she was trying to get him to have some of Gaius' pancakes which smelled delicious but poor Nym was too upset to want to eat. It was at this point that Inigo sauntered over, a smirk on his face. The little girl had gone to get another helping of breakfast which was lucky as the young merc was dangerously close to getting into trouble.

"Well well well what have we here?" Inigo smirked, "A little pathetic mage that got hit by a hex that's what,"

Nym growled and if ever there was a time to make his displeasure known, almost bit Inigo, "Hey! I wasn't being serious Nym!" The merc winced as Nym's sharp little teeth were inches from his flesh, "Look I wanted to do you a favour," Nym glared at Inigo for a while and the Merc knelt until he was level with Nym, "Could you...possibly come with me to town as my wingman? You'll get to be somewhere other than the camp and I might finally get...well never mind that," he grinned and offered Nym a hand, "What do you say Nym,"

The mage would have groaned if he were human but Inigo was offering something that...well Nym wanted to sort of do; go into town and not be stuck in camp all day with the toddler (as nice as she was he needed some time to himself and nap time wasn't enough for him). He put a paw in Inigo's out stretched hand and the pair shook.

An hour later Nym was in head pat heaven, so many of the women in the local town found him to be the most adorable thing. They consequently ignored Inigo which Nym noticed seemed only to depress the young man. Nym couldn't help but wag his tail though and after a couple of hours Inigo had enough and bought Nym back to the camp where a very annoyed Chloey was waiting with her hands on her hips. Inigo gulped and Nym tilted his head. Then he saw Little Lucina clinging to her mother's robe looking like she'd been crying a lot. Nym felt bad for the little girl and jumped out of Inigo's arms and ran over to her. "Nymy!" The little toddler cried burying her face in his fur crying and gripping him not as tightly as he expected but perhaps Chloey had talked to her about that. Nym tried to talk but he was stopped by Chloey who said furiously, "Inigo...you...Frederick's Physical Fitness Hour...now...I don't want to see you for the next three hours...get out of my face before I legitimately kill you..." (At least that is what Nym thought she said as there was a lot of Plegian words that he didn't understand but he guessed by the way he was essentially distracting the little toddler Lucina that they were very bad words. She looked like that strange fire was around her again.

Which lead Nym to feel a little guilty. Inigo had only been trying to help Nym feel better about being stuck in the Eevee form he was currently. Nym decided that he would take whatever punishment Chloey had for him but he saw her expression soften when she looked at him the fire dying down, "Eh...Chloey..."

"I'm glad that you're alright Nym," Chloey said calmly now, "I had feared the worst when Little Angel couldn't find you,"

He frowned and then realised that Chloey had been worried for him, not just because of little Lucina who was still crying into his fur, but the tactician had been genuinely concerned with him. Nym felt even more guilty than before and resolved to try to lighten Inigo's punishment if he could. He tried to say it wasn't all Inigo's fault but the words died on his tongue when Henry spoke, "Alright Lucy it's time to say goodbye to Eevee,"

"Bu-bu Unkie Henwi," the little bluenette cried even more, "I jes got Eevee backs!" and Nym spoke,

"You mean...je...je vais...être...I'm going to be normal?!"

"Yeap," Henry confirmed, then he knelt before his niece, "It's for the best Lucy, besides you'll be able to play even more games with Nym when he's back to his real self again,"

"At...at least let her...well at least let Little Angel..." Nym said struggling with how he felt about it, "Well at least let her come with us...please Chloey, Henry,"

"As you wish Nym," Chloey said gently. While little Lucina carried Nym to where her mother and uncle had prepared to break Noire's hex and return Nym to a human mage again. The little girl's eyes were glistening with tears but she knew she would have to say goodbye to Eevee. Her mother had explained that as best she could. The toddler wasn't so sure but she trusted her mother and uncle.

It was about as sudden as when Nym had the hex cast on him. Little Lucina was clinging onto his leg clearly upset. Yet Nym couldn't help but try to soothe her. Chloey and Henry nodded to one another and she said calmly, "I know it's hard Little Angel, but you sometimes have friends that leave you, but they are never truly gone,"

The little girl sniffled but she knew her mother was right. She just missed Eevee. Nym was a good friend. He was like a big brother in her mind but she wasn't sure how to put that into words. Nym sighed and realised that there would be a battle ahead. He realised that he just couldn't go back to not talking to the toddler at all. His heart ached in a strange way that he was certain had something to do with the fact that he'd began to bond with the small girl. He resolved to make sure that he at least got her to smile again. After all he didn't want her to feel sad.

Things seemed to go almost normal...well as normal as they could for Nym after the "Eevee" incident. He'd spent some time playing with little Lucina and she had enjoyed it. So much so that they got hungry. He was heading up to the mess with the little girl in toe. However when Nym took a look at the menu he frowned. Bear meat. He sighed and went to see who was on duty and came across Severa, "Excuse me...Severa.." he began only to have the red haired girl snap,

"There is no other meals! It's bear meat only!"

"But..."

"GAWDS if you have a problem with it go and see Chloey or Chrom, don't come and whine to me!" Severa snapped at the blond haired mage, clearly annoyed.

Nym flinched and said "Yes ma'am,"

Nym let out a low sigh of discontent. He wished that he didn't have to have bear meat. And there was the tactician tucking into it like no tomorrow. 'I wonder why,' though Nym. He then decided to find out, "Hey Chloey..."

The tactician was too happy eating her meal to notice at first but she swallowed the last mouthful and said calmly, "That hit the spot." Then she noticed Nym, "Oh hello Nym," she said cheerfully, "enjoying lunch?"

Nym sighed and muttered , "Why do we get bear meat so often,"

Chloey said calmly, "Because it is the easiest food to catch, and it's delicious," the tactician grinned. Nym tried not to moan about that one. Bear meat was more a matter of personal taste than actually being "nice" to eat.

"Some people might, but I'm sure that the army might appreciate a menu that has a bit more variety,"

Chloey frowned, "Then what do you suggest Nym? Bearing in mind it has to be simple enough to catch so that we all don't go hungry."

"What about fish?" Nym suggested and Chloey pulled a face,

"We had enough trouble with that..." she muttered, "Especially since Donnel and I nearly burned the damn camp down with our escapades. At least bear is simple,"

"Er, Chloey?" Nym said frowning,

"It's nothing Nym," she said with a wave of her hand but Nym got the distinct feeling there was something hiding behind her words. He sighed. Nym would find out soon enough what she meant. He would have to see to it that he did.

Little Lucina quickly climbed up onto her mother's lap and started to pick at Chloey's food. Nym gaped as the girl ate the bear meat no problem. She was definitely Chloey's child. Chrom came to join them and chuckled at the sight of their little girl. Nym noticed that he was eating a serving of bear meat quite happily. The little bluenette was definitely their child...who else would eat bear meat at that age and not dislike it. He frowned as the little one tucked into her mother's food. He had a feeling that Chloey had deliberately made sure to have enough on her plate for the small girl.

By the time the Shepherds had reached the Valmese capital it was heavily fortified and defended. Chloey had spent her time focusing on what she had to do. She was doing a check on her gear when Noire came in, "Aunt Chloey..." The shy archer spoke, "I was uh...wondering if you could help me," She began and Chloey turned to face her niece,

"Noire, what is it that you need help with?" Chloey asked kindly,

"Well...um...if it's alright with you...I want to learn how to get stronger,"

Chloey looked thoughtful and said, "It's not so much learning as it is understanding what your strengths are and using them accordingly,"

"Wait so what's that supposed to mean?"

Chloey sighed, "Well Noire, do you wonder why I only use magic and not much else?"

The archer looked confused at her Aunt and then it dawned on her, "Is it because you're stronger that way?"

"Correct," Chloey replied, "Although I still learned how to use other weapons as I k now there will be situations where I won't be able to use magic...like swords or lances for example," She continued calmly, "I might not be as strong with them, but the the knowledge that I do have I in theory should be able to handle any situation that I might come across,"

"Do you think you might be able to teach me how to use tomes?" Noire asked and Chloey smiled,

"I don't see why not," Chloey said, "Have you tried asking your mother or father?"

"I...well I don't think I want to...since...since mother...well I just didn't do as well as she expected and I...might have made her more annoyed than needed," Noire said guiltily,

"Oh I see," Chloey said calmly, "Well we can only try what we can." She said, "No one is perfect first go and it takes time and effort to make it work,"

"Thank you Aunt Chloey," Noire smiled weakly, and Chloey noticed that her niece had Shadowgift as well. It was a slight shock but it meant that she was going to have to have a conversation with Henry.

"You're welcome dear," Chloey replied, "I have some preparations to see to in the meantime, so do you think that you can get your father for me? I need to make sure that he's ready for the battle as well,"

"Of course Aunt Chloey," Noire smiled and skipped off in the direction of her parents' tent. Chloey sighed after Noire was gone and went back to working out what she needed to do in order to defeat Walhart's Army. This was going to be interesting indeed.

Henry was about halfway through his own preparations when Noire came to see him. She had of course done as Chloey had asked, told her father that Chloey wanted to talk with him. Henry chuckled and decided that the talk could wait a bit as he wanted to spend some time with Noire. He felt that it was best to do that.

"And then mother used to say, 'I won't let you have dessert if you keep acting like that'," Noire said seriously while her father chuckled,

"Ah so you were a little trouble maker huh?"

"W-well not always," Noire said, "It was usually when I'd not wanted to do something and she asked me to do it,"

"Ooooh," Henry grinned, "Say how come you never ended up with a pet or two?" He asked stroking Edgar the raven calmly,

"Well I always remembered asking mother if I could but she wouldn't let me," Noire frowned, "I think she was trying to forget that she'd lost you in a way. Mother was always scary so it was hard to ask her, well that and Mr Kellam once stole her cursing implements..."

"Nya, ha," Henry laughed suddenly, "And got cursed afterwards didn't he?"

"Um...how did you know father?"

Henry roared with laughter and Edgar let out a displeased caw, "Heh, heh, heh, oh I know all about that one." He grinned widely, "Because he's already tried that one before and oh gods was the curse HEXcellent fun to break,"

"Eeep!" Noire squeaked as Henry's sudden pun made her wince. She knew her father was a man of many puns (some awful ones mostly) and the fact that he'd made one so casually was just...well not pleasant to listen to. Thankfully her father thought it was for another reason that she squeaked,

"Not the most fun but interesting enough. Not outresting though."

"Um...father..."

"And that's not the only hex your mother's cast...but your aunt..."

"BLOOD AND THUNDER FATHER SATE WHAT YOU MEAN!"

Henry grinned entirely unfazed by his daughter's sudden outburst. He just grinned and said, "I've broken some eggcellent hexes in my time, and I'm wonder why I never taught you how to do it,"

Noire deflated instantly and looked visibly upset. She then said quietly,

"You promised to before you left for the war," Henry suddenly hugged Noire, "F-father?!"

"There, there, I guess I'll have to start teaching you now then," He said gently stroking his daughter's hair, "You'll be a great hex breaker like your aunt and I. It does run in our family after all,"

"Father..." Noire sniffled and buried her head into his chest.

Meanwhile Tharja heard what her daughter had said and felt a slight pain in her chest. Surely she wasn't going to lose him. She knew of only one person to talk to and that person was more like a child than grown up however it was Tharja's only option. She had to make sure. Well that and she wanted to make sure of something else.