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telliusbigbang · 2 months

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Artwork one and two by Mawwy Mawwy

Artwork three, four, and five by @vellatra

Title: The Distance Between Us

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Warnings: Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Major Character Death

Fandom: Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn

Relationship: Ike & Mist, Mist & Titania, Mist & Rhys

Characters: Ike, Mist, Titania, Rhys

Additional Tags: During War, During Canon, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Morning

Word Account: 5,155

Ao3 Link

Mist let out a breath, seeing it in the winter air, as she looked at the town in front of her. The town she was in was hustling and bustling and it brought a smile to her face. There were so many people here with their families playing games, eating food, and hanging it. Seeing the families spend time with each other, especially the siblings, made her jealous. She couldn’t even remember the last time her and Ike hung out with each other. The last time Mist could even remember it was before their father had died, but that was over three years ago. This wasn’t going to do, she needed to spend some time with her dear older brother. Whether he likes it or not, she was going to force him to spend some time with her and she knew exactly how to do it.

She slapped her face, reminding herself why she was in the town to begin with. She needed to pick up the ingredients to a certain medicine Rhys had wanted to make. Mist was on a mission, not only for the ingredients, she also wanted to see all the games her and Ike could play together. It was truly amazing to her that, even in the midst of a war, people still found the time to have fun and have a festival. It brought her so much joy to her heart. Maybe more days could be filled like these ones when the war was done.

Mist skipped around town, picking up everything Rhys needed. She felt pretty accomplished being able to hunt down everything he needed, even the rarer things. She wasn’t surprised to see him constantly overworking himself by healing their soldiers.

“Hello Rhys,” Mist greeted him, handing him the ingredients.

“Hello Mist!” Rhys chirped, taking them off of her hands. “I assume your trip into town was a safe one.”

“It was! It was really nice being able to see everyone being so lively,” she said, sitting right next to him to help him out with his patients.

“Wonderful!” He smiled, going over to his little desk. He took out a little mortar and pestle to grind up the medicine into a paste. “Was there anything there you got for yourself?”

“No,” she said, slowly wrapping the bandages around the soldier’s arm. “There are a few things that I want to get, but I don’t want to go back there alone.”

“Why’s that,” he asked, handing her the medicine.

Mist took the paste from him and walked over to another patient. She rubbed it all over the man’s arm, allowing it to set before banding him up. “There is this festival taking place there and I want to go with Ike.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!” He chirped again, helping her with her patient. “I bet he would love to go with his beloved younger sister.”

“Are you sure?” Mist asked, starting to feel the crushing loneliness setting in her body. After her father died, it was hard to get Ike to do anything with her and she felt a void take over her body. She felt like crap ever since then and it felt like it was never going to go away. “He has been so busy with war councils, training, and running our mercenary band, he has been all over the place.”

“I’m sure,” he reassured her, patting her head. “He may not be the most emotional man, or the most expressive unless you have meat, but he does care for you. He would do anything for you. I’m sure of it.”

“I want to believe you, I do,” she sighed, placing her hands on her knees. “But it just seems like he’s ignoring me.”

“Mist, go ask your brother or I will,” he glared at her.

“What about everyone here? You need help,” she said, getting up.

“I’ll be fine,” he reassured her, putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“You’ve been at this all day. You need a break,” she reminded him, trying to pry his hand off of her. “I don’t want you to fall over in exhaustion again.”

“I will be fine. I have more healers coming to help me,” he said, pushing her out of the tent. “Now go ask your brother to spend some time with you.”

“Fine, fine,” she said, caving in.

Mist took one deep breath in and exhaled, she knew this was going to be a challenge to find Ike. He was always hard to track down; she knew he could be anywhere in camp. She walked around, and around, and around but he was nowhere to be found. Mist began to feel another void enter her body. It felt heavy, staticy, and it hurt her a lot. Could Rhys be right and that he truly wants to spend time with her? Or was she right and he was just trying to avoid her? The many thoughts that swirled her mind were giving her a headache.

She started to sniff, trying to hold back the tears she didn’t want to cry. She has cried too many tears the past three years and all she wanted to do was laugh, like the people in the town nearby. It hurt her that she couldn’t do that right now, or at all. Her brother was not being kind to her right now, she couldn’t find him at all.

Deciding to give up her search for him, she thought it would be best to go back to helping Rhys. Mist, stopping a few feet away from the medical tent, clutched her stomach. She could feel her stomach begin to burn; maybe coming back was a bad idea. Mist knew that if she didn’t come back with good news, Rhys was going to scold her again and she didn’t want that. She decided the best course of action was just going back to her own tent.

She fell right onto her cot, curling up under her blanket, the warmth was not helping her get rid of the emptiness that she felt throughout her body. Not even the tears that were strolling down her face weren’t helping, and they usually did, if for only a few days. Before she knew it, she was asleep in a groggy haze dream.

Mist could see herself reaching out towards an axe on a cliff, feeling the rain drop against her skin. She recognized that axe, she felt her heart sink when she recognized the person behind the weapon. It was her father. Her heart beat faster, and faster, and faster, trying to catch up with him as he turned his back to her. No matter how far she ran, no matter how fast she went, she could never reach him. Before long, he vanished in thin air, unable to hug him one last time.

Then she felt her body chuck her somewhere else, into a field full of flowers and grass. She could feel the breeze violently move her hair and dress around. Between trying to move her hair out of her face, and looking around, she was able to find Ike standing a few feet in front of her. For only a few seconds she felt a great sense of relief, but it slipped away when he turned around and started to walk away.

He was getting further and further away from her and she couldn’t keep up with him. Mist cried out his name but she was getting no response. By the time she was able to catch up with him, he disappeared, leaving her behind. She could see herself picking up the Ragnell and holding it close to her body as she fell to the ground to cry.

“Mist,” a low voice called out to her, lulling her out of her sleep. “Mist wake up.”

“Ike,” she groggily said, rolling over to her side to face him. “Ike!”

She sprung into his arms, holding tightly as she began to cry.

“Mist, what’s wrong?” Ike asked, wrapping his arms around her body. “What’s wrong?”

“Ike!” She cried out. “I’m so happy you’re alive!”

“Of course I’m alive,” he sighed, pushing her back. He took his hand, wiping the tears off of her face. “I have too many people depending on me to end this war.”

“Including me,” she cried, clutching onto him.

“Mist please,” he groaned, trying to pry her off of him. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I can’t help you.”

“It’s-It’s because you won’t spend time with me,” Mist said, slowly breathing. “You’ve been avoiding me lately.”

“I’m sorry Mist,” he sighed, helping her clean up her face. “This is to be expected in a war. It’s not like I don’t want to spend time with you, I have other pressing matters to deal with.”

“Ike,” she softly said, moving away from him. She laid down on her cot, her back facing her brother. “Then go, I will be by myself then.”

“Stop it Mist,” he said, shaking her body.

“If you want to make it up to me, you can take me to the festival that’s happening in the town next to our camp,” she pouted, not even fending him off.

“You know I can’t do that,” he reminded her, stopping what he was doing.

“Then go, I don’t want to spend time with you then,” she said, coldly.

“Fine,” he sighed as he left her tent.

Mist glanced over her shoulder, watching him leave. What a brother she had.

She closed her eyes, hoping that this next dream won’t be the same as the last couple. She was all wrong. It was the same dream she had, Greil and Ike both leaving her.

What was unlike Mist, she avoided Ike whenever she could. It didn’t go unnoticed, most of everyone became concerned about it.

“Mist,” Titania said softly, taking a hold of her arm.

“Yes, Titania?” Mist asked, turning around to face her.

“Is everything alright?” Titania asked, letting go of Mist.

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?” Mist asked, curling her lips.

“I’ve noticed that you have been avoiding Ike lately,” Titania sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I have not,” Mist huffed, trying to storm off.

“You are a bad liar,” Titania said, stopping her.

“I am not!” Mist said, moving her feet, but unable to move anywhere with the second-in-command’s grip held tightly on her.

“You are. You get all huffy when you are hiding something,” Titania rolled her eyes before getting Mist to face her. “What is really going on?”

Mist took one deep breath. She didn’t know how Titania knew saw right through her, but she isn’t surprised. They have known each other for years. Mist looked up into her green eyes before looking at the grass beneath them.

“Mist, it’s okay, I won’t judge this for this,” Titania said, placing her hand on Mist’s chin to look her in the eye.

“It’s, it’s because,” Mist said, beginning to fidget with her clothes. “It’s because Ike won’t go with me to the festival close by. Something to do with being a commander.”

Titania chuckled a little. If she could choose, she would much rather deal with a sibling squabble than dealing with this war. “He’s always been thick headed.”

“He has, and he doesn’t want to spend any time with me,” Mist vented, kicking the grass. “He hasn’t for a while.”

“There is a way to get him to spend time with you,” Titania smirked, putting her hand on her hip.

“What way is that?” Mist gasped, clutching her clothes.

“Beat him in a training match,” Titania said, placing her hand on Mist’s head, and ruffling her hair.

“You know that’s not going to work,” Mist pouted, moving Titania’s hand off of her head. “He is already years ahead of me and he trains relentlessly.”

“If you keep talking like that, you won’t get anywhere,” Titania scoffed, squishing Mist’s face. “Plus you’re not half bad with a sword. You just need some refinement and I can help you with that.”

“Really?!” Mist asked, her voice becoming higher.

“Yes, really,” Titania smiled, releasing her face. “Just meet me in the training grounds in a few hours and we can train for a little bit.”

Mist nodded and watched Titania walk off. She went back to her tent to grab her sword, but was unable to find it. She rushed around camp trying to find it, but with no luck. This was just as frustrating as trying to get her brother to spend time with her. Mist whined a little as she took her training sword instead. Her breath was heavy when she saw Titania stand in the middle of the training grounds, flailing her axe around in the air.

“I’m here,” Mist said, interrupting Titania’s training.

“Hello Mist,” Titania greeted, moving her arm to her side. “Ready to train?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Mist said excitedly.

“First you will need to stretch,” Titania said, ruffling Mist’s hair again.

“Right! I always make sure to have everyone else stretch so it won’t be a good idea if I didn’t,” Mist laughed, getting on the ground.

Once Mist was finished with stretching, Titania showed her how to hold a sword properly. They started with basic techniques, slowly moving to some lighthearted training against each other. They practiced a lot in the day, and a lot more throughout the week. With the amount of training Mist did, she felt confident that she could take on Ike and at least land one blow on him.

“Ike! Ike!” Mist called out.

“What is it Mist?” Ike asked, walking out of his tent.

“I challenge you!” Mist chirped, holding out her training sword.

“What? Why are you acting like Mia all of a sudden?” He asked, moving her sword out of his face.

“No, I’ve just been training a lot,” she smiled, clutching her sword.

“Oh, so you want to train with me now. Are you sure about that? Dad didn’t exactly go easy on me,” Ike smiled, warmth swelling in his heart.

“Yes, but on one condition!” Mist smirked, putting her hands on his arm.

“What would that be?” Ike sighed, as she tugged him.

“If I win, we will go to that festival in town,” she said, unable to make her brother move.

“Mist, I told you I don’t have time for that,” he groaned, feeling her trying to push him.

“If you have time to train, you have time for fun,” she whined, still not being able to budge him.

“Mist, training is important because we are in a war,” he reminded her, taking a hold of her. “The stronger I can get, the better.”

“So is relaxing,” she said, hitting his leg with her fist. “It won’t mean much if you overwork yourself. You can die that way.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ike sighed, dropping her on the ground. “Fine, I will train with you and if you win, I’ll go with you to the festival.”

Mist laughed, kicking his leg in return for dropping her. She followed behind him as they walked to the training grounds. She held up her sword, positioning herself in a normal myrmidon stance. She smirked as she looked at her brother, who seemed a little impressed with her. It was all she needed to feel the fire igniting in her body. She knew she would be able to beat her brother. She knew all his tricks from watching him train with their father.

She waited as long as she could, hoping her brother would be bull-headed and rushed her first. She dodged his attacks as much as she could, he was unrelenting. It was becoming hard to fend him off, she was unable to even land a blow on him before her sword slipped out of her hands. Mist let out a sigh as she fell to her knees, feeling a pit in her stomach. There were many things she thought of that began to fry her brain.

“I won Mist,” Ike said, reaching his hand down towards her.

Mist swiped his hand away from her, not saying a word.

“Mist, why are you acting like a child?” He whined.

“Why do you care?” She mumbled, turning away from him, and clutching her knees close to her chest. “You haven’t cared before. Why start now?”

Ike pinched the bridge of his nose before walking away. “Whatever. When you are done acting like this, you know where to find me.”

Mist peered over her shoulder, watching him leave. Remembering her dream, she reached out for his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

“Mist?” Ike asked, looking down at her.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, letting go of him.

Mist felt her heart wrench when she watched her brother shake his head and walk away. It was almost as she was being thrusted back into one of her nightmares. The feeling of the breeze in her hair, the smell of the nice flowers, and the grass swaying around her. She only wished it could rain, it was more befitting than her starting to hate such beautiful scenery. Tinted with the somber hues of orange, purple, blue, and white only to be undercutted by the crisp breeze that carried a faint smokiness through the air.

The worst part about this whole ordeal was that Ike is right. He was way too busy with the war, commanding an army, making war plans, confirming war plans with Soren and Titania, carrying out missions and many more things. Why would he have time for her selfish request and going to a festival with her. She knew it was better just to spend time with him the way she has been for the past three years. Her priority, much like her older brother’s, should be ending the war and she needed to be okay with that.

Mist finally got up off the ground, taking her time to get to her tent. Her eyes grew dim when she approached the mess hall that was illuminated by the candles in the midnight sky. The appetite she worked up trying to beat Ike, and crying over him, she lost when she looked at the building. She knew it was a bad idea to go to bed hungry, but she would rather not be near people, especially her own brother. She knew only more heartache was going to creep into her already broken soul.

She wiped the last of her tears off of her face as she entered her tent. Through the heavy heaving, she smushed her body whole into her cot. Mist wishes she could enjoy the nice warmth of her thick blanket, but not with what's been happening lately. She always told herself that a nice warm sleep was deserved after a joyous and kind day, but she didn’t deserve this, especially not after the past week has been going.

She wished her father was alive, he was always able to get Ike to spend time with her. That was so long ago and they were children, it wouldn’t work now. Not with Greil dead and gone. Thinking about her father, she sniffed herself into a deep sleep. Her nightmares didn’t let up, they were just as bad as before. Mist couldn’t believe what she was seeing, the battlefield was covered in fire. She placed her hands over her nose to cover the stench of the decomposing bodies.

Standing before her was Ike. She watched as her arm reached out towards him as he rushed someone. Her eyes began to water when he was struck down, falling into her arms. He was wrapped in her arms, letting out his breath. Her tears falling onto his lifeless body.

Mist twisted and turned, patting the ground around her. She had latched onto something weirdly portioned, something that was hard as a rock. She didn’t care very much, she just held it as tightly as she could. Only after hearing a grumble that followed with the person shaking her off.

“Mist,” Ike grumbled, prying her off of his arm. “Get off of me.”

“Ike,” she murmured, letting go of his arm. “Where…am I?”

“You’re in my tent,” he replied, pushing her away. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t know,” she said, rapidly blinking. “I was in my tent when I fell asleep.”

“I need you to leave,” he sighed, rolling his eyes.

“No!” Mist chirped, attaching herself to his arm again.

“Mist! Stop this!” Ike groaned, trying to pry her off again.

“No! I’m not leaving!” She said, tightening her grip.

“How is your grip so strong?” He asked, giving up. “Why are you acting like this?”

“Not any of your business,” she mumbled.

“It is my business, you’re my little sister,” he said, hitting her on the head with his free hand.

“It doesn’t feel like it is,” she sighed, loosening her grip on him. “You’ve been ignoring me for a while. Ever since dad died, you really haven’t cared.”

“Mist,” Ike softly said, putting his palm on the top of her head.

She let him go and as she began to leave, he held onto her. “Let go of me.”

“No.” He sighed, pulling her closer to him. “I’m sorry Mist, I didn’t mean to make you feel like that.”

“I know,” she pouted, prying his fingers off of her. “I just miss spending time with my brother.”

“I know you do,” he softly said, letting go of her. “How about we go to that festival then?”

“Really?” Mist asked, her face lighting up.

“Yes really,” Ike smiled. “Now go get ready.”

She nodded her head and rushed out of his tent. She quickly cleaned herself up and grabbed a few things before meeting up with her brother again. It was mostly a quiet walk to the next town over. She bounced up and down, letting a little gasp, as she saw the many people that were here. Mist smiled, grabbing Ike’s arm as she dragged him further into the town.

There were so many things that they could do, she couldn’t decide. Luckily for her, her brother already knew what to do. Not that she was surprised that he went straight to eating some meat. She laughed a little, there was nothing new with Ike inhaling his food. Mist looked around, trying to find something they could do together. She was a little surprised there weren’t very many games they could play. The more surprising thing to her was that everything was food related. It was baffling to her that this town was able to have all this food during a war.

She shook her head, trying not to think of the logistics of it. Mist was just happy that people were able to eat and have fun. She turned her attention back to her brother, who was chowing down on some kind of meat dish, with it all over his face. She laughed, handing him a napkin.

“Why haven’t you gotten anything to eat?” Ike asked, taking the napkin.

“I’m not really all that hungry right now,” Mist smiled. “Plus, I need to keep my appetite. It looks like we are at a food festival.”

She laughed even more when she watched her brother’s face light up, wondering why he didn’t decide to come sooner.

“I better finish this then,” he said, inhaling his food.

“You need to chew first!” She gasped. “I don’t need you to choke on your food!”

He nodded, slowing down his chewing.

“Seriously, if I weren’t around, you would be dead by now just eating your food,” she sighed, shaking her head.

“Whatever,” he laughed, finishing up his food. “We better get going.”

Mist nodded as she got up from her seat. She walked with him around the town, looking at all the yummy desserts that they were passing by. She couldn’t choose what to get. There were coffee cakes, cream cheese cakes, coffee eclairs, strawberry shortcakes, chocolate mousse, and so many other things. She was drooling when she stared longingly at the food. Mist could hear her brother laugh.

“If there is something you want to eat, I’ll get it for you,” Ike smiled, patting her head.

“No, no,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I still need to make space in my stomach.”

“How are you related to me?” Ike laughed. “I thought you would have a big stomach like me.”

“Thankfully, I’m not you,” Mist teased, turning to face him. “I actually appreciate the food I eat.”

“I appreciate the food I inhale,” he scoffed, playfully hitting her shoulder. “Why do you think I shove it down so fast?”

“If this war doesn’t kill you, you eating will,” she laughed.

“Ah, that would be the life,” Ike smiled. “Let’s keep walking, you want to work up that appetite don’t you?”

Mist nodded, following him around. She smiled as she watched everyone be like her brother, quickly eating their food while they laughed and told stories. It brought her relief that people were still able to have fun right now. If this meant anything, it meant she needed to end this war faster so they could have many more days like this. She shook her head as she looked back up to her brother who had the dopest look on his face. He found a little area where a small group of people were holding a little sword competition. She could tell he was giddy. Mist gestured for him to go over, and without a second thought, Ike rushed over.

She watched her brother have fun beating everyone that fought him. He didn’t even break a sweat when he battled against anyone. Not that she is surprised by it, his training was insane. Everyone was impressed by his skill; they even asked him to give them some pointers on how to train and use their sword. Deep down, it made her so happy that he was actually enjoying himself and being able to relax for once. She could tell he was a lot less stressed than he usually was at camp.

“Hey Mist,” Ike said, stretching his arms.

“You had fun playing with everyone?” She chuckled, walking up to him.

“I did,” he smiled, meeting her half way. “Are you hungry yet? I think I am hungrier than ever right now.”

“I mean you just went up against ten people and helped them train,” she said, poking his face. “You usually get hungry afterwards. I would be concerned if you didn’t.”

“You know me so well,” he agreed, fending off her finger. “But you still haven’t eaten yourself, I’m getting concerned.”

“Yeah, I think I’m getting hungry,” she smiled, persistent on her poking.

“Will stop that,” he groaned a little, grabbing her hand.

“Let’s go around to get something to eat,” she laughed as he let her hand go.

“Onwards,” he gestured for her to lead the way.

She looked around, seeing that the town was starting to wind down a little bit. It also looked like some people were starting to gather around the food stalls. She rushed around, trying to find something that would be filling and she could carry around. She smiled as she came across a stall with nothing but potatoes. She gave the vendor two gold to get twenty mini potato pancakes with a couple of other vegetables.

Mist let out a little gasp as she tasted the potato goodness. The butter tied into the wonderful taste of the salt, pepper, and other spices and herbs the person cooked it with. The other vegetables that went with it, helped it so much more. She waved at Ike to come try it along with his other meat dish.

“Taste this,” Mist demanded, shoving the potato into his mouth.

“Mist-” He said as he bit into the little snack. Without a second thought, he grabbed another and another. “This is so good. I think this is better than what Oscar can make.”

“You better hope that he never hears that,” she laughed, handing him another piece. “You know how much he likes hearing your compliments.”

“Do me a favor, never tell him that,” he said, choking on his food.

“Don’t worry, they will never come out of these lips,” she smiled, eating a little more. “Just make sure you tell him you appreciate what he makes.”

“You know I will,” he said, coughing up his food. “Anyway, what do you think is going on over there?”

“I have no idea,” she said, looking back at the people in town. There were even more crowding the stalls. She thought the town was winding down. “We should go see.”

“Right,” Ike nodded, following her.

They then realized that everyone was gathered around certain areas, it was because of a taste testing contest. Mist laughed loudly when she saw Ike was beside himself. He looked like a child in a candy store. When they walked around, she grabbed any dessert she laid eyes on. It broke her heart when she was dragged somewhere else by her brother.

It was unsurprising that he found an area that had taste testing for people making ribs. It was his favorite food after all. She sighed before smiling when Ike handed her different types of ribs. She kept to herself how she really felt about them, she really wasn’t impressed by the taste. It was a bit bland, the sauce wasn’t really helping to cover it up, and the meat was a bit chewy. Mist didn’t mind too much, whatever she had leftover she would give to Ike and it made him so happy.

By the end of the night, she could feel her stomach overflowing with food. She knew she would be able to sleep easy tonight. She could also tell her own brother was getting sleepy from the amount of food he ate. It almost looked like he would fall to the ground and just sleep there.

“Hey Mist,” Ike murmured out, holding onto his sister.

“Yeah?” Mist asked, holding her brother.

“Here, I have this for you,” he smiled, handing her a cup full of chocolate mousse.

“No way!” She gasped, letting go of him to grab the dessert. “When did you get this?”

“When we were at the corner with the ribs,” he said, falling to the ground. “I snuck a way for a few minutes to grab you some. Sorry if the freshness isn’t the greatest.”

“It tastes amazing,” she laughed, bending down to the ground to pat his back. “Thank you.”

“Good,” he smiled, trying to get off the ground.

Mist put his arm around her shoulder, helping him get back to camp and into his tent. He was out as soon as they got back. She rested next to him, and for the first time in weeks, she didn’t have a nightmare when she went to bed.

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So I got to participate in @telliusbigbang and got to write for one of my fave dynamics, sibling bonds! I wrote about Ike and Mist trying to bond together but Mist failing most of the time but happy that she was finally able to! She is having a time to say the least. It was also very fun to work with both Vellatra and Mawwy Mawwy who drew the cute art that went with this fic!

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