When the Lions, all slightly groggy and worn from the previous day, filed into the Dining Hall, they were slightly surprised. They were met by not only Cetanu, but all of his mercenary allies. Jeralt was absent, as usual, but the other five were there as well.
"I'm glad you all decided to show up." Cetanu said, a chuckle emanating from his left. "You know that you'd drag them out of bed if they didn't show up on their own." Asmodeus said, and Cetanu shrugged, not saying anything.
The Lions all sat down, some of them still in light cloth garments meant to sleep in, Sylvain's shirt loosely buttoned and Felix wearing a pair of shorts. Ashe was fully dressed as expected, since he didn't sleep very much anymore.
"You all did very well yesterday. The mission was a resounding success, and I applaud your individual growth." he said, and they all smiled or nodded, liking the praise. "However, I'm sure that after the mission a few of you might have some questions. We are here to answer them." he said, and they all looked to each other.
"What happened to that sword?" Felix asked, and Cetanu drew it from his hip, laying it on the table in front of him. "It's called the Sword of the Creator. Apparently it's very important, and even without a 'Crest Stone', it's compatible with my Crest." he said, and Annette looked at the weapon.
"What kind of crest is compatible with this? I've never seen anything like it." she asked, and Cetanu shrugged. "According to Hanneman, who has been an immense help, my Crest is rather rare. Infact, according to Hanneman, the only known bearers of my Crest are King Nemesis, and the Goddess herself." he said, and they looked to him.
"You mean that you have the Crest of Flames?" Mercedes asked. Cetanu nodded. "I do. With Hanneman's aid, I will be looking into my Crest to see how I can employ it in battle and how to implement it's usage into training regimens." he said.
"What… what happened with that mage?" Dimitri asked, trying his best to not think about the grisly sight. Cetanu folded his arms, sighing. "When I touched the Sword, I felt a wave of energy, and of knowledge. With the Sword, I'm able to do stuff like that to people. It's almost like the next level of my Fleshcrafting." he said, and Dedue narrowed his eyes.
"Fleshcrafting?" he asked, and Cetanu nodded. "Fleshcrafting is magick exclusive to… people like me. Of course, Abaddon here can tell you about different kinds of our magick that I probably can't use." he said, and the one eyed sniper nodded.
"It's true. In Brigid, we encountered a few that had a kind of magick we called 'Delirium'. It was odd mental magick that let them communicate and attack telepathically." he said, and Cetanu nodded.
"What do you mean 'people like you'?" Sylvain asked, the question Cetanu was waiting for. He inhaled, looking to his brothers in arms, who all nodded to him, the five of them knowing that despite his outward personality, Cetanu was still worried at heart.
"Blood Demons. Blood drinking individuals that aren't human. The 'Demon' comes from the fact that our creator, the Sky Dragon, daughter of the Goddess, deemed us failed experiments and her and mankind eventually wiped us out." he said, and they all seemed dumbfounded, unable to speak.
"There's a couple of stragglers we've been hunting on and off since joining the Boss, but most of them are gone." Samyaza said, the man's serpentine features oddly normal and rounded out, his eyes not bloodshot for once.
"When Abaddon eventually told us what Cetanu was, most of us were cautious about it. We weren't sure when he'd snap and start feeding on people. Thankfully, we can tell that he's pretty much in control." Beelzebub said, brushing his golden locks from his face.
"So.. you healed Ashe..." Ingrid trailed off, and Cetanu nodded. "I turned him. The process is called the 'Embrace' in some texts, and it thankfully works." he said, and they all looked to Ashe.
The silver haired boy was slightly somber, his eyes head pointing to the ground. "I.. I didn't want you guys to know, but it's just really hard keeping it a secret." he said, and Cetanu nodded.
"We don't feed often. In the month or so since we both started living as Fleshcrafters, Ashe has fed three or four times, and I've fed three. However, starving can lead us to losing control, as you all saw." he said, and Ashe only made a whimper.
"Three times? So you guys don't eat normal food?" Sylvain asked, and Cetanu shook his head. "We do, but the magickal energy in humans and the dopamine from them being surprised or scared is what satiates us." he said, and they all seemed to have different reactions.
Cetanu glanced to Abaddon, who nodded. "Now, I understand this is a lot to take in. I offer you the chance to continue speaking with me, or going back to bed to mull it over. Of course, in the unfortunate scenario you do not wish to be around me and Ashe, I've already informed Hanneman and Manuela, and they'd be willing to open their Houses to you." he said.
Ashe nodded. "I'm staying with the Professor. The only one who can teach me about what I am." he said, and he looked to his classmates. They all seemed to be deep in thought. Cetanu rose from his seat. "I must away. One of the Black Eagles found out before you guys, and I've been doing everything to keep them from snitching to Edelgard." he said, leaving without another glance or another word.
Beelezebub nodded as well. "I too must depart. I need my beauty sleep after all." he said, and Asmodeus rolled his eyes, silently and oddly following the blonde Grappler.
Ashe frowned at the lack of movement, or of a reaction from his classmates. "I.. I have to go. I still need to sleep sometimes." he said, laughing awkwardly before leaving.
"So? What are you runts gonna do?" Samyaza asked, and the Lions looked to him blankly. "I.. I'm staying. I'm the house leader, and I've had more time then everybody else to deal with this." Dimitri said, sounding unsure of himself before he left.
"Some leader. He sounded like he was scared to say what he really wanted to." Samyaza said, oddly talkative compared to most days. Abaddon looked to his wyvern taming friend. "What do you expect? He's the only one that Ashe fed from but not Cetanu. His memory is unaltered." he said, and the rest of the Lions looked to the pair.
"He.. he fed from Dimitri?" Ingrid asked, and Abaddon looked to her, nodding. "Yeah. Ashe sometimes comes to us to talk about his problems because we like listening. He said it was real weird for him. Even weirder than when he fed from that Ignatz kid." he said, and they all seemed rather unsettled by that.
Samyaza blinked. "You know, I just realized that as far as we know, Ashe has been feeding more than Cetanu. He fed from Cetanu to come back, than Ignatz and Dimitri and than the guy during the mission. His appetite is a lot bigger than Cetanu's." he mused.
"So he could turn on any of us at any moment, is what you're saying." Sylvain said, and Abaddon shook his head. "According to Cetanu, his appetite is easy to suppress and ignore. It's the inner inhuman instinct that wants him to feed that he battles. He calls it either his 'Beast' or his 'inner Fiend', but he has more control than Ashe, who has very good control." he said, and they all seemed skeptical.
"How can we be assured that he remains in control?" Dedue asked, and Samyaza shrugged. "You can't. But, that Bernadetta girl from the Black Eagles slept in his room last night and didn't get bit. You guys should be fine." he said, and they seemed slightly more relaxed.
"Regardless, I'm sticking with the Lions. It's weird, but I'm glad he's on my side at least." Sylvain said, sounding far more sure of himself than Dimitri, the red haired cavalier departing with his head held high.
"Well, the Professor seems really devout to us. He's put in so much time training all of us uniquely and helping us grow, even if it was through all of you." Mercedes said, and Lillith, who had remained silent, smiled and nodded.
"Cetanu is a big softie at heart, and now that he can express himself, you'll see it. Look for the pride in his eyes while training, or when you all achieve something. It's genuine. No amount of weird magick or plasma in his diet is gonna change that." she said.
Mercedes nodded, rising and heading back to her room, Annette following close behind. Dedue soon left silently, likely off to seek Dimitri's counsel. This left Felix and Ingrid. Lillith left it to her two brothers in arms, heading to bed herself.
Samyaza shook his head. "I'm gonna go do some recon. That Hubert kid has been getting on my nerves asking the Knights about us." he said, and Abaddon nodded, looking to the two remaining Lions. "So? Are you two going to remain as part of the Pride, or are you going to change sides?" he asked, and they both looked to each other.
"I.. I'm staying. There's no way I'm going to abandon Faerghus and the others to that boar over someone completely unrelated." he said, his fist quivering as he almost timidly departed. Abaddon looked to the other cavalier in the class.
"Is.. is he going to feed on us?" she asked, and Abaddon rose a brow. "Cetanu has immense control over his body and great control over his mind. He will not feed from anyone he cares about without permission. He even made sure to ask multiple times before he fed from Asmodeus earlier. I can assure you of this as someone that's known him since he was born." he said, and Ingrid sighed, her breath quivering.
She reached down to her bandaged thigh, thinking back to the mission. "Can… can open wounds trigger them? Make them lose control?" she asked, and Abaddon hesitated. "Cetanu will not falter. I can not speak on Ashe. He is Cetanu's progeny, so I assure you that Cetanu will teach him to remain calm at all times." he said, and Ingrid shook her head.
She rose to her feet. Her leg wobbled a little, but she walked back to her room. She was very worried about Ashe. He lost it, and drained a man dry, all because he saw her bleed.
The next morning, they found that they had the day off. Cetanu chose to allow them respite, giving them free reign to do whatever they pleased. This was good for them, as they all had a lot to think about. They knew this themselves, and they all gathered in the Blue Lions classroom, Ashe oddly absent.
"Mr. Abaddon told us that Ashe… fed from you." Ingrid said to Dimitri, the Prince closing his eyes and nodding. "It.. it was something I don't like to think about. Not because I had my blood drained by a 'Demon', but because I was powerless against Ashe." he said, his hands intertwined and shaking ever so slightly.
"It wasn't like a feeling of fear either. It was a feeling of… submission. Like a dog scolded for trying to eat off the table. I don't know what he did, but Ashe was able to get me to lower my guard… it was almost like my body wanted to give in." he said, closing his eyes at how unpleasant it was.
"Why stay then? Couldn't you just change classes?" Felix asked, and Dimitri shrugged. He didn't honestly know what it was. Ingrid shook her head. "I think we should ask Seteth or Lady Rhea for help on this. They have to know, right?" she asked, her paranoia almost infectious.
Annette frowned, her hands folded in her lap. "Ingrid is right. I… I don't think we should keep it a secret. Someone could get hurt." she said, and the all mulled it over. "That someone could be Ashe." they heard, seeing Cetanu standing in the doorway.
"Professor!" A few of them called, shouting in surprise as the demon nodded to them, his demeanor oddly blank. "I don't wish for any of you to be afraid of us. However, I must ask that you remain quiet about this. I'm putting in effort to prevent Edelgard from knowing. I don't want to have to think about Seteth knowing." he said, his blank face slowly turning to a frown.
"If anything happened to me or those I care about because Seteth went behind Rhea's back to kill the Blood Demon wielding the Sword of King Nemesis, I'd be rather displeased." he said, the statement sounding at least part threatening.
Felix rose to his feet, his eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat?" he asked, and Cetanu closed his eyes. "It's not. You are all my students, so I want you to do the best that you can for yourselves, but allow me that one request." he said, and Felix grit his teeth before sitting back down.
Cetanu sighed, leaving before anyone could say anything else. He wanted to leave them to their own thoughts, and he'd remain with his own. "I've never seen you so worried before." Sothis said, and Cetanu nodded. "If I ever go back to being a merc, I don't want to end up having to kill them. Or if we go to war and I side with Faerghus, imagine if they turned on their homeland. I would actually falter on the battlefield." he said, and Sothis laughed.
"You sound rather adorable right now. It's not every day I get to see you so worried. But I understand. Imagining them on the other side of a war from you would give anyone pause. I'm not sure what you can do to convince them that you aren't so bad, but you should do it quick. A few of them look ready to jump ship." she said, and Cetanu chuckled, knowing when she was teasing.
With the sun high over Garreg Mach, Ashe found himself alone, sitting in the courtyard by the classroom, the warm grass pleasant on his exposed legs. He chose to wear a pair or shorts today, the warm weather something he still enjoyed. He found himself deep in thought, as he did a lot recently.
His change did more than change him physically. It changed his perception of things. It was as if his inhuman existence, and his sharper vision, allowed him to see things that weren't there before. Suddenly, people were more attractive, and he could hear the blood running through their veins.
He was trying to cope with his newfound strength and perspective, but it was incredibly difficult. Infact, his own hunger was difficult to control. In the last week or so he'd already fed three times, compared to the two times Cetanu had fed. He was worried that his hunger, almost a nagging inner voice telling him to drain the life from others, would get someone he cared about killed.
This is why he was very worried when he found himself feeding from Dimitri. It was incredibly odd for him. With Ignatz, he had Cetanu there to guide him, help him before and after. This time, he was on his own, out of battle. It wasn't something he was fond of remembering.
Seeing Dimitri's flustered face, tasting the sickeningly sweet liquid that came from his neck, or the way Dimitri hung onto him limply as he fed. Ashe shook his head just thinking about it, realizing that he might have made a mistake.
"Ashe, right?" he heard, looking up to see Cetanu's Father, Jeralt Eisner, standing in the courtyard. He rose to his feet, nodding and bowing lightly. "Yes sir." he said, and Jeralt sighed. "You don't need to be formal with me. I'm just a mercenary." he said, jabbing his chin to the right as the two started walking side by side.
"You've been out of it according to my men. What's ailing you?" he asked, and Ashe looked away. Dare he tell Jeralt about Cetanu? Did he even know? "I've been… questioning myself recently. You see, Sir, I made a very important decision, and I think I might regret it." he said, and Jeralt hummed, glancing to the bright, cloudless blue sky above.
"How so? You seem to at least be in far better health than a while ago." he said, and Ashe looked to him, trying not to frown. "Well… I think the people around me aren't happy about it. They act alright, but I… I've already hurt someone I care about, more than once." he said, and Jeralt closed his eyes as the two continued walking, heading through the halls.
"I heard about the Western Church thing. Lonato was a good man. I'm sorry for your loss." he said, and Ashe nodded his thanks. "I was so torn up about fighting Lonato that I forgot all about my siblings. I hope they're alright." he said, and Jeralt chuckled as they headed up the stairs of the Monastery.
"Cetanu and Beelzebub took care of them. We had a couple of friends in the area that took them in." he said, and Ashe was rather surprised that Cetanu would go so far. "Is.. is he someone I can trust?" Ashe asked, and Jeralt sighed, entering his office and offering Ashe a seat. He inhaled, shaking his head as he thought about Ashe's question.
"Cetanu is… special. He's smart, but he's still trying to understand himself. I'm sure that he won't do anything to hurt you brats. Infact, I think the people that should be the most worried are his enemies." he said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a flask of some form.
"Are you scared of what you'll do to people, Kid?" he asked, and Ashe blinked. Jeralt knew? When did Cetanu tell him, or did he always know about his son? "I.. I am. I already hurt Dimitri. I don't want to hurt anyone else." he said, and Jeralt laugh, taking a large gulp from the flask.
"Cetanu is the same, you know. He comes to me when he gets hungry, asks me how he can suppress it. You might think you're appetite is voracious, but Cetanu has been training constantly to keep himself in check." he said, and Ashe found himself surprised.
"Doesn't he… feed from people?" he asked, and Jeralt nodded. "He tries not to, but after a battle like the one you guys had during the Rebirth, he has to. It heals wounds and calms him. You shoulda seen him coddling Asmodeus through it. It was rather funny." he said, and Ashe laughed.
The thought of his teacher being cautious and coddling anyone, much less Asmodeus, was infact amusing. "How do I get them to understand that it's normal?" he asked, and Jeralt shrugged. "That's up to you, Kid. They liked you before, what's really changed about you? Your diet?" he asked, and Ashe nodded. He was right. Deep down, he was still exactly the same. And he'd make everyone see that.