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When Rowan and Lianna had been transported to Askr at long last, they had taken it with stride, having finished their quest and experiencing something similar - heroes from other worlds appearing to help them - while doing so. The twins had even known some members of the Order already, greeting them as old friends and compatriots. They appeared to be settling in quite all right, and Florina saw no need to introduce herself right away, not wanting to overwhelm them.
However, when Florina heard from Lyn that Rowan's wish to become a pegasus knight had been shot down by many of their battle companions, she simply had to intervene. No one deserved to have their dreams crushed like that! Besides, it simply was not true! Azura had told her about her son, Shigure, and Florina herself knew that a pegasus does not truly discriminate based on gender, but rather on what is in a person's heart. Though it wasn't common, and admittedly quite looked down upon, there were not only women in Ilia's Pegasus Knight battalions. She was sure the same could be said of other countries' armies as well.
The idea that only women could ride was simply a popular myth, told across many worlds. Many Heroes, hailing from a variety of empires throughout the Order, could relate to the experience of men being discouraged from even trying to approach a pegasus. This unfortunately means that many men will never realize their true potential of doing so.
Florina knew that, under the right guidance, Rowan could flourish as a pegasus rider, and it was a pity that the notion had been treated as an impossibility.
Hearing from Anna that she would find the child at the Order's training grounds was not a surprise. Sure enough, the fiery blonde she's looking for is there, attacking a reinforced cloth mannequin with zeal.
"H-hi, Rowan… Are you training?" Florina asked as she approached, stepping softly across the dirt grounds.
"Yep! Even though our quest is over, I need to keep my strength to protect Lianna as her knight when we get back to Aytolis!" Rowan's assault on the training dummy doesn't let up.
"Hehe…" Florina smiles, thinking of her own Lady she must protect, though the situation between the two of them is very different from the bond shared between two siblings. "May I join you? I have more faith in myself than ever that I can protect Lady Lyndis, but… th-there is still always room for improvement, I think."
"Of course! I know what you mean. I know I'm strong enough to protect Lianna, and that she can protect herself but… as her sibling, I still worry that when it comes down to it, I won't be strong enough . I have to make sure that doesn't happen!"
Florina simply nods in silence, preparing her training lance. They practice beside each other for a while longer, before Rowan collapses, exhausted. Though breathing noticeably heavier, Florina is not nearly as spent, having just started herself. She rummages around for a canteen of water to share, watching Rowan down it expeditiously.
When she moves to take it back, Rowan looks at her, as though pondering the knight she has become. It makes Florina feel a little self-conscious, and she shifts uncomfortably.
"Lady Florina, before you met Lady Lyndis, did you ever think of yourself as the ruler type?"
"Um… no, not really. I still don't, even as Lyn's wife…" Florina chuckled lightly, taken somewhat off guard by the question. "However, she would probably say otherwise."
Rowan looked thoughtful. "I never wanted to be, either… I just wanted to be a brave knight, on the battlefield! I have a different perspective now, but I still want to be strong enough to protect my sister."
"Atop a pegasus?" She can't keep herself from questioning.
"Yeah…" Rowan's face falls. "But I've been told that's not possible. Because of… who I am."
Florina shakes her head furiously, so hard the force of it hurts her a little. "Men not being able to ride pegasi is simply a myth. If you try to approach one, perhaps you will see that you can. It's not only a women's sport, just as how women can ride wyverns just as well as men."
"But, what if I wanted to? Ride a pegasus, or… be a girl?" Rowan looks unsure even as the words enter the space between the two of them.
Florina thinks back to her Lyn, brave, beautiful, caring Lyn, about crying into her lap over not feeling like a boy. She had not understood Florina's distress, yet she had held her close to her heart even all these years later, promising never to treat her any differently. It had meant more to Florina than Lyn had realized at the time. "You can," she promises. "You can."
And when Rowan wraps their arms around her, tears in their eyes, she pulls them a little closer, feeling heat spike behind her own. She thinks about the child in front of her, and the children she'd met here, said to be from alternate futures of her world. Florina wonders if there's a future timeline for her and Lyn. She wonders if this is what being a mother would feel like. She thinks she wants that kind of future, eventually. She hopes Lyn does too.
"I'll take you riding," she promises, caressing their hair, and pressing her lips lightly against the top of their head. "There's a pegasus out there that will love you; I'm sure of it."