The next day, while waiting for Rhea and Seteth to inevitably give him his next mission, Cetanu found himself outside Garreg Mach, walking the forests around the Monastery, very aggravated. He'd been unable to solve any of his problems, and his students were actively trying to avoid him, even Ashe.
He stood in a small clearing, realizing that his frustration was clouding his mind. And of course, Sothis was asleep, the girl ignoring his mental attempts to wake her. All he wanted to do was go back to the pleasant way he felt when he first returned to Garreg Mach.
Cetanu balled up his fists, lifting his hands up high before casting them down and releasing a bellowing roar, his frustration causing all of the animals within a few miles to instinctively flee, the trees and ground shaking, as if afraid of the raging demon.
Bernadetta heard the roar from her place sitting in the training grounds, watching most of her classmates train. The sound, a horrifying, unearthly bellow, caught everyone's attention. A couple of soldiers immediately went into a fight or flight mode, holding their blades out and wondering if they were under attack. The sound terrified all of Garreg Mach, it's source eerily close to home.
The only one who knew without a shadow of a doubt what that roar was, was Ashe. When Cetanu released his angered bellow, Ashe's very being quivered. It was if Cetanu's emotions were trying to force themselves on him. It was difficult to resist, but Ashe suddenly felt a nagging urge to be angry. He wondered what was wrong with Cetanu, who was normally so well put together, so serene, so… happy.
Cetanu looked to the sky, his emotions simmering down as the sun beat down on his face. It was so difficult for him to remain in control anymore. He didn't understand, but between how he chose to feed as little as he could, the difficulty he was having with his students, or Edelgard, he wasn't in control.
Suddenly, his anger was joined by another feeling. A venomous, disdainful feeling that he wasn't sure of. He blinked, realizing that this was a feeling that his brothers in arms called Hatred. He HATED not being in control. It made him feel weak, idiotic, and made him question himself. He had to get back in control, and he had to do it now.
The Blue Lions, again missing Ashe, sat somberly, quietly in their classroom. They had yet another day to think about what they had learned, and yet… none of them were sure how to feel. The indecisiveness led them to avoid Ashe and Cetanu, something that they weren't fond of.
"My, this place is a killjoy." they heard, turning to see Manuela and Hanneman entering the room, both of them appearing outwardly happy. They sat on opposite ends of Cetanu's desk, looking to each other.
"We figured that you've had plenty of time to think things over. Do any of you have any questions for us?" Hanneman asked, and Dimitri glanced to the ground before speaking. "How did you guys take it?" he asked, and the two other Professor glanced to each other.
"I, personally found it fascinating. Professor Cetanu agreed to share information with me back and forth, as Crests I have little information on him and his fellows have fought themselves. This and I wish to study how a known Crest would alter when bared by a… Fleshcrafter." he said.
"So… you just look at it like a research subject?" Sylvain asked, and Hanneman nodded. "I'm far too old to let a young man with pointy teeth and an odd diet derail so many years of research. Especially when he's such a willing colleague." he said.
"What about you, Professor Manuela?" Annette asked, and Manuela giggled. "I think it's rather seductive, truly. There's something about the gaze he gives you that's both so comforting and unsettling at the same time. It's like a girlhood fantasy of a brooding warrior." he said, and Felix rose a brow. "So you don't care that he drinks blood and morphs people's bodies because… you think he's attractive?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" she asked, a look of genuine confusion on her face. Hanneman cleared his throat, and Manuela sighed. "Regardless how we feel, the one that matters here is all of you. We were told to extend this offer to you, so… do any of you want to change Houses? You'll have the same dorm, but you'll have far less mandatory or required interaction with Cetanu." she said, and the room fell silent.
It was as if they were waiting for each other. Trying to gauge and see if anyone would actually do it. It wasn't something easy, changing your focus and teammates and training regimen after months, but it was more of a peace of mind thing, and they all understood that.
Which is why the group was surprised when Ingrid stood from her chair, her hand brushing over her still bandaged thigh. "P-Professor Manuela…. Can I… join your class?" she asked, and they all remained silent, dumbfounded by her actions. Manuela smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll file for some paperwork, make Hanneman do it all and you should be able to join us tomorrow morning sweetie." she said, rising and leading Ingrid from the room.
After they were gone, their shock shifted into other emotions. Dimitri was outwardly angered by Ingrid's decision. "How could she do that!? We've been together for so long!" he said, and Felix folded his arms. "Perhaps she finally had enough of you. Using the Professor as a front for her disdain for you would be rather genius to me." he said, and Dimitri shot up, grabbing Felix by the collar.
"This isn't some kind of fucking joke! She just turned her back on all of us because she's a coward!" he screamed, and Felix shoved the Prince. "If you ever put your filthy hands on me again, I'll follow right behind her." he said, and Dimitri balled his fists. Dedue placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Please, Your Highness, you should calm yourself." he said, and Dimitri inhaled sharply, exhaling slowly as he sat down. Hanneman nodded to himself. "Are there any who would wish to join my class?" he asked, and they all looked between each other.
Hanneman rose, scratching the back of his head. "I understand that this is difficult for you all, but you must remember that your safety is our primary objective. I would not want any of you to spend your time here afraid of anyone or anything, nor would I want you to allow yourself to fall to harm." he said.
"Your Professor might not be human, but he still feels. I am sure that you all avoiding him is very upsetting. Perhaps you should all try to speak to him privately. I am sure that he would make time for you. You are all important to him, as my students are to me." he said, bowing lightly before departing.
With the sun low in the sky, Cetanu stared up at the flaming expanse above him, inhaling. He had spent all day in the forest, practicing his magick. He had expended an immense amount of energy, and all he wanted was to head back to the Monastery. Right now, he just didn't want to be alone anymore, this odd desire to have somebody at least around him rather pleasant.
As he entered the gates before the moon rose, he absentmindedly wandered towards the classroom, only to find Dimitri and Dedue staring at his desk. "Isn't it a bit late, Dimitri?" he asked, and the prince looked to him.
And he smiled. It was a weak action, but it was genuine. He walked over to Cetanu, who seemed rather surprised at the odd body language coming from the Prince. "Ingrid… she asked Manuela to join the Black Eagles." he said, and Cetanu closed his eyes.
He sighed. He had liked Ingrid, and felt that Asmodeus' training would make her a rather strong warrior. He seldom spoke to her alone, but their conversations were always happy, filled with tales of valiant warriors and her desires to be a knight.
"I see. Well… we'll get through it." he said, and Dimitri looked to him. There was an odd look in his eyes. It was somewhere between sadness and anger, and Cetanu was able to understand it. He smiled, chuckling as he shook his head.
"I'm going to miss her too, Dimitri. But, she's still one of us. When we all depart from this Academy, she will return to Faerghus, same as you. You can still be friends with her." he said, and Dimitri nodded, the anger fading from his face, only the deflated sadness remaining.
"Dimitri, I am forever grateful that you still wish to be my student, even when I gave you a way out. You mustn't worry about anything besides training tomorrow. Go get some rest, before I send Ashe after you." he said teasingly, Dimitri chuckling before smiling weakly.
"Thank you, Professor. It means a lot to hear that." he said, and he nodded, watching the blonde royal walk off in a slightly better mood. Cetanu looked to Dedue, who hadn't moved or said anything. "You can tell me what's on your mind, Dedue."
"I think that you are a danger to His Highness." he said, and Cetanu nodded. "That I am. However, I have no intention of being said danger. I am a teacher, and I have grown rather attached to that role." he said, and Dedue nodded. "I understand that. I.. I too appreciate your tutelage. However, whatever you did to Ashe can be done to His Highness, and I feel that makes you a threat to him." he said, and Cetanu began to laugh.
"We should honestly spend more time together. You never fail to make me laugh." he said, shaking his head and looking towards Dimitri's direction. "I would never Embrace him. He's too important to his country and the people who care about him. I wouldn't ever think of it." he said, and Dedue nodded. "As long as you keep your word, that is enough for me." he said, departing with a slight smile on his face.
Cetanu moved to the Dining Hall, wondering if there was anything still warm worth eating, finding Mercedes and Annette, who were rather upset. "Is everyone going to be moping?" he asked, the two of them looking to him.
He sat next to them, his appetite forgotten. "Are you two dealing with it alright?" he asked, and they looked to each other. "Ingrid was our friend, Professor. We just don't know why she'd do that." Mercedes said, and Cetanu nodded.
"She was afraid. She didn't know if an open wound would set us off, or if Ashe can control himself. I'm not mad at her." he said, and the girls smile. "I just wish that you could have convinced her that everything's okay." Annette said, and Cetanu shrugged. "Some people are too convinced by their own ideas to listen to others. If she was scared enough to turn on all of us for her safety, than there was nothing that you could do. It is regrettable, but I suppose that you two can handle your fear better."
The two of them looked to each other. "We're not afraid of you, Professor." Mercedes said, and Cetanu rose a brow. He blinked, his eyes shifting to their odd feline appearance, the girls gasping at his pupils, which narrowed to diamond shaped slits. He laughed at them, rising and nodding to the pair. "You two make sure you get some rest. I expect to see you in class tomorrow." he said, glad to receive two smiles in response.
Moving on from the Dining Hall, Cetanu headed through a courtyard where some met their friends for tea, a garden filled with beautiful flowers meant to uplift the spirit. It was a place Cetanu seldom spent time in, but a place that was pleasant none the less. Of course, the garden's serene magickal energies made him feel incredibly at ease.
And he saw Sylvain sitting at one of the table, staring off into space. Shockingly enough, there was no girl with him, and he wasn't smiling in an attempt to get into her pants only to move onto the next girl later in the day.
"Did all the girls turn you down?" he asked, and Sylvain blinked, looking to Cetanu. The red haired noble must have realized that this was the first time they've been alone since Cetanu 'changed', because he immediately began looking for an escape route.
Cetanu wasn't happy with this. He sighed as he sat, looking at Sylvain with a weak smile. "I do wish you wouldn't be afraid of me. I would never turn on you, especially unprovoked." he said, and Sylvain chuckled. "Sorry, it's just really weird to me, you know?" he asked.
Cetanu nodded. "I understand how you feel, Sylvain. It's been mostly a hassle for me. I have to keep it a secret, treat Ashe like a child because I turned him, and most importantly, deal with how everyone I tell responds." he said, and Sylvain sighed.
"I know this must be hard for you, but it's something that I can't really get over so quickly. Especially because I.. because we lost her today." he said, and Cetanu smiled. It was a sympathetic act. He finally understood Sylvain a little better. All of those flings, his flirtatious action, they were all a farce. He truly cared about Ingrid, and now that she was gone, he felt even more conflicted.
"She's still the same person, but she's just in a different class, Sylvain. You should keep trying if you care about her that much. You might fail, but you should try just enough to get your point across. Don't keep trying to beat a dead horse, or you'll spite yourself." he said, and Sylvain looked to him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, and Cetanu chuckled. "Beelzebub is just like you, you know. He had a girl he fell madly in love with, and she refused his affections so much he grew to dislike women and viewed himself as better than the women who wouldn't give him attention. It was the thing that turned him from a simple man into the person Adrestians call the Demon Lord of Pride. Don't be like that." he said, and Sylvain chuckled.
"I appreciate you looking out for me, Professor. I'm glad I chose to stick around. Nobody gets me like you do." he said, and Cetanu chuckled. "I'm no different than you, Sylvain. I just hope that you'll be well rested for class tomorrow." he said, patting his student on the shoulder before he moved on.
Heading to the training grounds, Cetanu glanced up at the sky. The moon was high, half full and shinning brightly. Ever since Zanado, the mercenary found himself staring at the moon here and there. It was as if the celestial body had a spell on him. He wondered if Ashe felt the same.
And, much as Cetanu had predicted, Felix was standing in the training grounds. He swung his sword at air, his uniform covered in sweat and sticking to his body. He could see the mixed emotions on his most troublesome student.
Unlike the other seven Lions, Cetanu always trained with Felix personally. His fellow mercenaries never really vibed with Felix, who seemed argumentative and combative at everything. It was something that Cetanu had an easier time with, as he kept it as professional as possible.
Felix noticed Cetanu, turning to him and frowning. "What do you want?" he asked, and Cetanu simply stared. "Are you mad?" he asked, and Felix narrowed his eyes. "One of the few people I trust just turned on me because she's afraid of you being a monster." he said, and Cetanu nodded. "Stupid question." he noted, amused.
"Are you going to go with her?" he asked, and Felix raised his blade. He pressed it against Cetanu's collarbone, the mercenary remaining unphased and emotionless. "I know you being a monster is what made her run, but the boar calling her a coward was uncalled for. Don't make the same mistake he did." he said, and Cetanu found this rather interesting.
He could always tell that Dimitri had a temper, and a mean streak. From the way Felix was talking, it seemed like Dimitri had a tantrum when Ingrid left the class. It was understandable, as he lost a friend. "Is it really about you and Dimitri?" he asked, and Felix pressed the blade against his collarbone with more pressure.
"It matters not. All that matters is that one of my few… friends, is now going to be one of those Adrestian Eagle bastards." he said, and Cetanu glanced down to the blade, before looking back to Felix.
"Do you want to kill me and Ashe?" he asked, and Felix blinked, looking to the blade himself and stepping back. Cetanu could tell that he was going through a lot. "Unfortunately, because of the specific type of 'monster' we are, you can't succeed unless you take our heads off with a flaming sword. And well… I'm not sure that would be enough." he said, and Felix grit his teeth.
"If you wish, I will allow you to take your frustrations out on me. Please, attack me with all of the pent up emotion yearning to be released." he said, and Felix grit his teeth. "You monsters think everything is so simple, don't you!?" he roared, advancing.
He jabbed forward, his blade tearing through Cetanu's garb and piercing his abdomen. The blade slide through his flesh like a knife through butter, passing through whatever organs or muscle it came into contact with. Felix released the blade inn shock, the blood beginning to pour from Cetanu's wound.
The mercenary looked down to the blade sticking through his abdomen. He sighed, able to ignore the pain he felt, looking to Felix. "Is that all?" he asked, and the swordsman looked to his teacher. Cetanu frowned, seeming disappointed with Felix's lack of emotion.
"I skew your view of reality and scare your friend into changing classes and possibly lifelong allegiances and all you have is a single jab at my stomach? I expected more." he said, reaching down and pulling the blade from his abdomen, the wound closing with sheer force of will. Cetanu jabbed the blade into the ground, looking at his blood as it coated the ground.
When he looked back to Felix, his emotions shifted to that of surprise. Because, overwhelmed by everything, Felix had broken down, and begun to cry. In all of their time together, through strict training sessions, stories of Felix's deceased brother, or even Felix's own rebellion against his father, he'd never shed a single tear. Cetanu sighed, walking over to Felix and embracing him.
Despite their similar height, Felix's conflicted emotions caused him to almost curl up in Cetanu's arms. "I understand that the passed day or two have been very confusing. Losing a friend, learning about monsters, being held by one. It's a lot. Please Felix, take your time. I am here, my brothers are here for you, and so are the rest of the Lions." he said, and Felix nodded against Cetanu's chest.
This feeling, this emotion he felt while embracing someone and comforting them in a time of need, was pleasant. Cetanu, for all of his vile monikers and existence as a 'Demon', liked comforting people. He ran a hand down Felix's back, ignoring the sweat coating the glove he normally wore. "Go take a bath and rest. You need your energy for tomorrow." he said, and Felix nodded, walking weakly over to his sword.
"Professor… don't… don't tell anyone about this, alright?" he asked, the most unusually soft, child like thing he'd ever done. Cetanu smiled, nodding to him and watching him depart. He remained in the training ground for a moment, staring at the small pool of his blood on the ground.
Heading back to his room, Cetanu noticed another mental block, Sothis avoiding him as much as anyone else had been before sunset. He found it rather odd, and made a note to tease the pointed eared girl when they next spoke.
Heading close to his room, he noticed that Ashe was sat outside his door, as if waiting for him. His silver haired student looked to him and smiled. "I've been looking for you." he said, and Cetanu rose a brow. "I had to speak to the others. You heard about Ingrid, right?" he asked, and Ashe nodded.
"Yeah. It hurt to hear, because I know it was my fault that she left." he said, and Cetanu shook his head. "It was her own fault. She let a temporary fear be more important to her than our almost half a year together. It's her choice to make Ashe. Not ours." he said, and Ashe nodded, wishing he didn't have to hear that.
"What if she tells people about us?" he asked, and Cetanu shook his head. "Relax. I've got that covered. More importantly, did you get Bernadetta on board with our plan?" he asked, and Ashe nodded. "She said that she'd be willing to play along. She thinks Dimitri is a little scary, but anything to get away from the Eagles." he said, and Cetanu chuckled.
He was glad. He knew that it was his fault that the girl was suffering such harassment, and he figured that the faux marriage to Dimitri would buy them time to find a more permanent solution. Cetanu worried about what that was, but he chose to worry about it later.
"What do you think about being a… Fleshcrafter, Ashe? Do you feel like you're a monster that can't even control yourself?" he asked, and Ashe looked to the ground. He shook his head. "I… I can control myself. It's just that there's like… a voice in my head. It tells me to feed all the time, and sometimes I want to listen." he said, and Cetanu nodded. "It's the same with me Ashe. You'll never be able to silence it, but at least keep yourself in check." he said.
Ashe sighed. "How am I supposed to do that? How much is too much?" he asked, and Cetanu shrugged. "You feed more than me, so I can't hazard a guess. I'd recommend at least twice a weak, preferably from the same source. Perhaps you can make use of that Ignatz boy from before. Or… you could feed from Bernadetta." he said, and Ashe blinked.
"I can't do that! If we're putting on this show to protect her, I can't just turn her into food." he said, and Cetanu shrugged. "What about Dimitri? You've fed from him before, and he seems to be the most understanding of our friends." he said, and Ashe looked to the ground. He sighed. This was the only thing he hated.
"You aren't eating people, Ashe. You're simply draining a little blood. At the worst, they'll pass out and be a little lightheaded when they wake up. You aren't frying them up with vegetables or anything." he said, and Ashe laughed.
"Thank you Professor. This is… hard, but I'm glad I have you." he said, glancing to his repaired right arm. Cetanu nodded. "Of course. Now let me get a little rest before we get to class tomorrow." he said, and Ashe nodded, bowing lightly before heading off.