Just a brief look back to when Kent and Sain were still trainees, in Caelin's army... *** Fire Emblem fanfic: "Band of Friends" by Avi Sain kept his eyes on his opponent... His foe was a bit quicker on his feet than he was, but Sain knew that he had the advantage of strength. Just when he was about to lunge out at his opponent with his sword, his hair fell into his eyes yet again; Sain quickly tried to shove the strands away from his face, but his opponent, noticing his distraction, swiftly stepped forward and scored a hit on his chest. As Sain glanced down at the slash in his padded armour, somewhat disgruntled, his opponent removed his protective facemask, revealing the red hair of his sparring partner and fellow trainee, Kent. "I believe that's three hits in a row I've scored upon you, Sain," said Kent politely. He then frowned. "You should really concentrate on your swordplay, more..." "I still don't see why we have to practice swordplay, anyways," grumbled Sain, irritably. "The lance is a much more knightly weapon... Besides, I'm much better with the lance." "I realize that," replied Kent wearily, "but Sir Wallace ordered us to focus on our fencing skills, for now." Kent then poked his sparring partner lightly, with the point of his blade. "And need I remind you that if we don't improve those skills, the general is going to make us both run extra laps around the castle... Again," he added pointedly. Sain stifled back a groan. "Well, it's not completely my fault," he complained. Sain then indicated the fringes of brown hair dangling across his face. "My hair keeps on falling into my eyes, and it's affecting my concentration." Kent raised an eyebrow. "Actually, that is your own fault, isn't it?" his partner responded coolly. "Didn't I tell you to get a haircut, last time...?" At this, Sain looked rather sheepish. "I suppose that's true..." he conceded. He then gave his friend an impish grin. "It's just that I wanted to leave the girls some hair to run their hands through," said Sain, with a wink. Kent rolled his eyes. "Assuming you can find any girls to run their hands through your hair," he remarked acidicly. When Sain looked despondant at this, Kent immediately regretted his words. "I'm sorry, Sain..." he began. "I didn't mean what I said about your hair..." A thought then occurred to him. "Hang on a second," he murmured to himself. Kent then reached under his padded armour with his free hand, as his partner watched him curiously. "Kent... What are you doing?" asked Sain. But his friend seemed to ignore him; Kent was, in fact, feeling for the sash that belted his tunic together, and was untying it. As Sain looked on, Kent managed to tug the sash off his waist; he then laid the length of dark fabric across his blade, which he still held in his other hand. Grabbing the ends of the sash, he then sliced through it with his sword, dividing it two. Tying the remains of his sash around his waist, Kent then offered the other piece to his partner. "Here," Kent told him. Sain stared down at the length of fabric in his friend's hand, a bewildered look upon his face. "What's that for?" he asked. "To hold back your hair, of course," said Kent impatiently. Sain's eyes lit up. "Oh, I see!" he exclaimed. Taking the piece of his friend's sash in both hands, Sain carefully tied it across his forehead, making sure it kept the bangs from falling into eyes again... He then picked up his sword. "You won't be scoring another hit on me now, partner!" said Sain cheerfully. At this, Kent couldn't resist holding back a smile. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" he shot back pleasantly. As they both assumed a fighting stance, Sain's expression then softened. "I won't forget this, Kent," he told his friend, and then grinned. "To pay you back, how about I take us out to the local pub for drinks, tonight... My treat!" Kent raised an eyebrow at this. "Sain, you know that we're hardly old enough to drink... What makes you think they'll even serve us?" "They will if they think we're knights," replied Sain, with a wink. "Besides... It will impress the serving girls!" Kent shook his head, torn between annoyance and amusement at his friend. "You're incorrigible, you know that, Sain?" His sparring partner just grinned back at him. "I guess it's just part of my winsome charm...!" *** Sain now stared down thoughtfully at the length of dark fabric that he held, in his hands. It had grown frayed at the edges with overuse, but the young man had been careful to keep it clean and mended over the years. "Sain! Come on, let's go already!" The cavalier looked up, to see Kent mounted on horseback, far ahead in the path before him; the other cavalier was glaring somewhat impatiently at him. "I'll be right there!" Sain shouted back. Carefully, he tied the band of fabric around his forehead, making sure that his bangs fell over it, just so. Then, clicking his heels to the sides of his horse, he urged his mount forward, until he reached his partner's side. "What was taking you so long anyways?" asked Kent rather irritably, as Sain rode up beside him. "I just needed to adjust my headband," he replied easily. "That old thing?" remarked Kent. "Honestly, you should really get a new one..." "Oh, I don't know about that," said Sain, with a smile. "Besides... This one was given to me by an old friend." At this, Kent glanced at his partner curiously... Then shrugging, he continued to ride... With his friend and partner at his side. END *** I know the idea behind this story is an old one, but I think I was inspired by the Street Fighter Alpha video game (where Ken's hairtie eventually becomes Ryu's headband). ^_~ ***** Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2004. Fire Emblem and all related characters are property of Nintendo et al., and are used without permission.