A/N:
Well fuck dude guess im doing more of this.
Once again, dimitri and byleth are not romantic. Platonic intimacy ONLY here, folks.
review from Wolves Running: "I just finished reading the chapter and could not believe you wrote exactly what I have been looking to read (a byleth dragon story). It is also very well written and can't wait to read more! I just have two questions so far:
1. Is this going to follow the blue lions route or are you going to deviant (more than byleth turning dragon I mean)?
2. Is there going to be any pairing (just curious, doesn't matter to me if there is or not)?
Thanks for making my day and keep up the good work!"
First off, thanks for the compliment on writing quality! Dragon Byleth is something of a favorite of mine, and while this particular fic is short, theres a far longer au currently in progress (somewhere around 20k? and still a ways to go)
1. this is just a twoshot, with the second chapter being, well, here. Loosely connected, just kinda getting a feel for characters and setting. And some feel-good interactions because im a softie.
2. Nope! No ships! I'm a genfic writer at heart, always will be.
Byleth spent his first two days after the Sealed Forest in the infirmary, tired and supposedly feverish. Physically, he felt fine, just… different. His skin felt too tight, the sensory input was far more than he was acclimated to, and something about the monastery had him on edge now.
He was also strangely lonely, despite his students dropping in to visit a few times. He hadn't realized how accustomed he'd become to the little dragon sharing headspace with him. Even the revelation that she was a goddess, the Goddess, hadn't been much of a surprise, with how much their thoughts and memories intermingled.
The silence was strangely deafening.
At least the school days would fill the silence, once he was out of this accursed infirmary stuck with Manuela of all people. As soon as she told him he was free to go and that the Archbishop wanted to speak with him, he was out of there as fast as he could walk. Byleth didn't particularly care about his lack of armor or coat, since after he found out what Rhea wanted he was heading back to his quarters to get some actual work done.
When Byleth arrived in the audience chamber, it was empty except for the Archbishop and her advisor. And despite receiving instructions or giving reports many times here, he was much more on edge now. And he knew why. Byleth wasn't sure if it was a smell, or a visual cue, or some other unknown sense, but he knew those two were dragons.
Rhea looked more pleased than he could ever remember seeing her, showing a genuine smile rather than the carefully-constructed pleasantry she wore every day to her followers.
She turned that smile to him, and perhaps her teeth were more like fangs, and her pupils slit like a cat's.
"I presume you know about us?" Rhea questioned, tilting her head towards Seteth, who remained stoic as ever.
Byleth really, really didn't want to stay here any longer than needed. This room, more than most others, was without a doubt the territory of the dragons before him. Byleth was younger, smaller, and less experienced.
He wondered if Jeralt was aware of just how dangerous Rhea was, when he told Byleth to be wary of her.
"Ah, excellent." Rhea beamed. "I am glad you seem to be settling in. It's good to have you back, Sothis."
And the world dropped from underneath him.
Byleth's face defaulted back to his normal flat affect, but in reality his mind was whirling and his body tense as a coiled spring.
Rhea knew about Sothis. She thought he was Sothis.
It wasn't a massive leap in logic to realize she had something to do with the one he shared a body with.
"I am not Sothis" He growled, feeling the empty gap in his mind that was still fresh from her absence.
In the months that he'd seen her, this was the first time Byleth saw Rhea look actually surprised. "Oh, I- I… must have been mistaken. My apologies Professor."
Seteth looked just as stunned, but valiantly attempted to redirect the impending argument. "Now then, onto the business of this month's assignment-"
Byleth cut him off with a growl deep in his chest that rattled his throat. "No, you can't try and ignore this, Seteth."
And it shouldn't surprise him really, he knew Seteth had always had problems with wanting to avoid social confrontation, even as a hatchling-
But wait, he didn't know that, or did he? Did he really pick up so much from the new senses that came with his draconic form or did he really know them?
… How long had Sothis known Rhea and Seteth?
Rhea's eyes hardened at his anger, and she snapped, "That's enough, Professor. At the end of the month, the church will expect you to receive a revelation in the Holy Tomb, as all touched by the Goddess are expected to."
"And what is this 'revelation', Archbishop? Is it to hear her voice, or invite her into my body again? It's not going to happen, because she's gone, Rhea!"
"How… dare you." Rhea hissed, fangs bared and hands grasping at her sides like claws. Byleth shrunk back at the elder dragon's rage, and was a hair's breadth away from crashing through the window and flying as far as his inexperienced wings could take him, because he would not win this fight.
Seteth slammed his fist into the pillar behind them, expression grim and stony. "Enough! We ought to discuss this later, when tempers are cooled and the professor is more... fully recovered from his ordeal."
Rhea directed her heated gaze to advisor "Seteth, he-"
"Please, Rhea. Later." And to Byleth's surprise, she acquiesced.
"You are dismissed, Professor Eisner." Seteth said.
Byleth wasted no time scurrying out the door and back to the dorms.
Despite Seteth heading her off, Byleth knew from somewhere deeper than just personal experience that Rhea would still get him down to the Holy Tomb even if she had to wrestle him into the throne herself. Not like it would do anything to him, anyways.
(Throne? What throne?)
Byleth rested his head in his hand, attempting to stave off the oncoming headache. After merging with Sothis it felt like he was always on the verge of something, like a thousand years of half-forgotten dreams. It was infuriating.
And when he saw Felix and Ingrid parked by his quarters, he nearly groaned aloud because yes, he did promise to explain the dragon form to his students.
Ingrid had perked up as soon as she saw him approaching. "Professor! I'm glad to see you up on your feet."
"I know why you're here anyways. Go fetch your classmates." Byleth said. The two students, used to their teacher's rather blunt manner of speaking, trotted off to get the rest of the Lions.
And Byleth wondered just how he was going to explain all this to his students. 'Oh, I had the Goddess sharing a body with me and she gave me her power so we could escape the Void'? Sure, that'd go over well.
Not to mention it would make his students a target, if they knew. Rhea didn't scare him that much, as nonsensical as it seemed, but the kids? Something inside him roiled at the thought of her getting too close. At the very least Byleth needed to make sure they kept it a secret. He'd likely fudge the truth just a little bit, too. Byleth didn't like lying to his students, but his instincts pointed that ignorance was the best way to keep them safe, especially since he trusted Rhea even less.
It didn't take long for the rest of the Lions to file in after being fetched by their classmates. It was a bit cramped in Byleth's office-slash-bedroom, but they made do. Byleth opted to wait for one of them to throw the obvious question out.
"Sooo…" Sylvain started, clearly feeling brave. "What's with the uh. The hair? And the dragon?"
"When Solon banished me to the Void, I… wasn't alone. Sothis was there."
If they were shocked by Byleth's casual use of the Goddess's true name, they didn't show it.
"She told me that it would take a god to leave the Void, the space between worlds." This much was true, at least. "She then gave me her blessing, so I could escape and smite Solon. She… doesn't like him, and I'm sure you all understand why."
Ingrid tilted her head curiously. "It does make sense, I suppose. Saint Seiros had a divine blessing from the Goddess before she created the Empire, and all of the saints are traditionally depicted with green hair."
"And the dragon?" Sylvain prodded.
"... Also part of it. It was needed to escape." Another technical truth.
"So can you transform again?" Annette asked, eyes alight with curiosity.
Now this was something Byleth was unsure about. The thought of touching that well of power, even though it was now his, both natural in an exhilarating way and terrifying in the oddity of it, because he could still identify he no longer thought like a human. All of his different reactions to his environment, things that brought him satisfaction, feelings towards people, all of it had changed in some way. It wasn't Sothis's fault, but Byleth bitterly wished that she had at least warned him that it was a merging of more than just power.
Byleth shook his head to dispel dark thoughts, once more meeting the eyes of his students. "I think so, but it's not exactly like I can test that in the middle of Garreg Mach."
"Why not just train somewhere more isolated then?" Felix interjected.
"Indeed. Many of our assignments on weekends are far from normal civilization." Dedue agreed.
And that really got the ball rolling, so now his students were planning on a training session without consulting the one right in front of them.
"Enough." he instructed, and they fell silent. Even though the students now knew how deeply he actually cared, they still found his stern commands intimidating. "I'll think about it, depending on how our schedule looks like. In the meantime, unless you have any genuinely pressing questions, you're free to enjoy the rest of your day."
Sylvain started raising his hand. Mercedes gently grabbed it and lowered it for him. Thankfully she could actually read the room.
"You're dismissed, then. I'll see you all in the morning."
It wasn't long before Byleth's room was empty of students, except Dimitri, who stopped at the door before turning around.
"Professor, if you really don't want to try and take that form again, you are not required to."
Byleth sighed. "I know, Dimitri. It's not so much worrying that I can't do it, as much as it is not knowing if I can change back. It feels too natural."
"But," he adds before Dimitri can reply "I'm still going to try. Repressing anything, let alone Sothis's power, always has consequences."
"I- Oh. Alright, Professor. But if you need any help… reverting back, as it were, we will be there to help." Like last time.
Somewhat wryly, Byleth said "Not getting stepped on would be a better first step for the class, I think. Now shoo, enjoy the rest of your free day."
Dimitri bowed shallowly (always so formal, Byleth hadn't been able to train him out of it yet), and left the dorm, looking ponderous.
Byleth turned back to his room, and the spot where Sothis preferred to float seemed more conspicuously empty than ever.
That Wednesday, Byleth made an announcement before class.
"I hope you all don't mind camping unassisted, because I have approval for a solo mission this weekend."
Byleth let the whispers permeate the room before calling for silence and explaining the mission. It would be a simple mission for them: a King of Fangs was venturing out of its den to the nearby village to steal sheep, and recently had killed a farmer. There was only one, so there wasn't much concern over the mission being a completely solo one. And of course, if they took out the beast quickly, there would be an extra day or so for personal training.
And it didn't take long before the day was upon them, and the class packed up and headed out to the remote village in Kingdom territory. As Byleth had expected, the beast was nothing in the face of overwhelming waves of magic slung at it. After the brief hike back to camp, he instructed the students to cool off and do whatever, so long as they stayed in the campsite while he 'trained' his transformation.
Except, he really didn't need training, not for this. It felt so tantalizingly easy to take the form of a dragon. All it took was a moment, a tug on the fire in his belly, and he felt like he could breathe again, after being in the compact form of a human for days.
Byleth heard a whoop of excitement from below him and tilted his head down to see Ashe waving at him from the ground. Feeling more than a bit silly, he raised a claw and waved back.
"I'm going to have a look around from above." Byleth rumbled. "If you get into any trouble while I'm gone, I will know."
Ashe saluted jauntily and backed up, followed by the rest of the Lions. Byleth caught a few of their yells from being buffeted by his wings, but soon he was too far away to hear them anymore. And it incredible, flying. He had to keep himself in a small area to avoid being spotted by the nearest village, but the exhilaration almost made him forget. Byleth felt as if he had the world in his clawtips, like if he flew high enough he could reach Sirius, the star the Goddess was supposed to watch over Fodlan from.
He wondered how Rhea could stand to remain earthbound and tiny for so long, since he'd never heard of her exiting the monastery grounds. Even just being in this form for a few hours was enough for Byleth to feel less incongruent, less stifled.
The simple feeling of air beneath his wings was wonderful, but Byleth knew he should be getting back to his kids soon. Oh, he knew they could take care of themselves, their weapons were sharp and their minds moreso, but something still directed him to at least check on them, they couldn't even fly yet-
No, that made no sense, they were humans, not dragonets. How much of his brain had Sothis scrambled when they merged?
Still, he was happy to see them up and about in the campsite, which thankfully was still intact. Byleth circled above and decelerated, landing as softly as he was able in the area of the clearing not occupied by people.
Annette was the first to reach him. "Hey Professor! How was the flight?"
Byleth lowered his head down to her eye level, because speaking to his students from this high up still felt a bit strange. "Fairly easy, actually."
"Great! Once you turn back there's some leftover dinner in the pot for you!"
And Byleth stilled. Desperately grasped for the sensation of being human- only four limbs, clawless fingers, softer and warmer and smaller.
The smallest thrill of panic laced through his unbeating heart, when he realized he couldn't find the energy to transform. He sat on his haunches, closed his eyes, forced his awareness along every part of his originalunnatural body.
Nothing.
"Professor?" He heard from below. Annette looked concerned. His emotions must be showing through his expression enough to be visible to her, even without a human face.
That was another thing that changed with Sothis: Byleth found himself emoting more, feeling more. It was, strangely, the least altered thing about him after he escaped the Void.
"I will be fine, Annette. It's just… probably going to take a while. It was easier the first time."
She still looked concerned, but the reassurance seemed to have reached her. "Alright, Professor. Should I leave you alone for now?"
He wasn't sure if it would help, but it certainly wouldn't hurt his concentration, so he simply nodded at her.
With a wave and a promise to let everyone else know, Annette trotted off back to the camp, where everyone else was starting to roll out bedrolls and laying down for the night. The sun set, and the world quieted, and still Byleth couldn't find his human form. When the night watch was exchanged, the student on rotation would eye him, but wouldn't approach. To be fair, Byleth was laying down with his eyes closed and head resting on the ground. He probably looked asleep in his attempts to relax and return to human shape.
When Sylvain yawned and stretched after getting up from the stump he was sitting on for watch, Byleth cracked one eye open. Even in the deep black, he could see incredibly clearly. It was a novel experience for him, even if his night vision had been unusually sharp for a human beforehand.
Sylvain picked his way across the campsite, lance in hand, to wake the next student on the watch rotation. When he reached Dimitri's pallet, he poked at his shoulder from afar with the butt of his lance. Not a bad move, considering Dimitri's habit of coming up swinging if it was a bad night. And it seemed it was a bad night, as Sylvain yanked his lance out of the way when Dimitri's hand lashed out and he sat upright, hair mussed and eyes wild. He didn't take long to snap out of it, and grabbed his own lance by his bedroll to begin his own watch shift while Sylvain gratefully shimmied back into his own bed.
However, he didn't approach the place where most others had spent their night watch. Instead, the young prince ventured out into the dark clearing next to the camp. For a moment, Byleth wondered if Dimitri was coming to him, but he stopped some 30 feet from his professor and started going through lance drills.
Ah, so it was one of those nights, indeed. Chasing your demons away with exhaustion and false fighting wasn't the healthiest coping mechanism, but it could be far worse. Byleth had seen a couple of mercenaries self-destruct, after all.
Dimitri had been gradually moving closer to Byleth in the midst of sparring the air, the steps of his lance drills leading him to the not-so-asleep professor. When Dimitri finally fully stopped for a break, Byleth fully opened his eyes and softly huffed. "Hello."
Dimitri's breath hitched and he whirled around, clumsily throwing his lance in the direction of the 'intruder'.
Despite his aim and throw being terrible, there was enough force to send the lance sailing at Byleth's neck, enough to barely pierce his scales. Byleth winced, but it was nothing, really. Like getting a shallow splinter.
"Oh sweet goddess, Professor I am so sorry." Dimitri looked wretched, with the immense guilt on his face and his hair lank with sweat and sleep.
Byleth simply shook his head like a dog, dislodging the lance with ease. "It is nothing, less than a paper cut."
"It's not nothing, Professor, I hurt you, I-"
Byleth cut him off, turning his head to face the student at his side. "It was an accident, and I should know by now when my students react badly. A splinter like this? It's nothing."
Still looking tremendously guilty, Dimitri shook his head. "No, I should be more aware of my surroundings. It's my watch, after all."
Byleth hummed, but it came out more like a soft rumble. "Then you can repay me by keeping me company. It gets boring, staying awake when alone." And lonely, when you're used to sharing your headspace with someone else.
"I shouldn't, professor, I need to dedicate myself to the night watch more thoroughly-"
Byleth bit back a sigh. With how self-destructive Dimitri could be, working himself into the ground, it was best that he wasn't alone with his thoughts. And Byleth really would like some company too, with the absence of Sothis still fresh in his mind.
Gently, all too aware of how pathetically fragile humans were, Byleth unfolded his wing and placed the clawed thumb of the wing on the other side of the prince, herding him closer. Dimitri stumbled and placed his hand on Byleth's neck for support, and looked horrified when he saw the tiny red stain on grey scales from the lance-cut.
"I told you not to worry about it." Byleth grumbled.
Dimitri didn't even get to open his mouth for a retort before Byleth bulled onwards. "I'd prefer your company to your guilt. I know I can't stop you from feeling it, but at least know this doesn't reflect poorly on you, not to anyone who matters."
Dimitri shut his mouth with a click. Then, careful, as if worried he'd make a wrong move, he slid into a sitting position, tucked between Byleth's foreleg and his neck. Byleth sighed, feeling some of the tension from the previous conversation bleed away. It was nice, just having amicable silence.
It took a while, but the silence was soon broken.
"Professor?" Dimitri prompted quietly. "What was the Goddess like, when you saw her?"
Now that wasn't a question Byleth expected from the prince. He turned over the question in his head, deciding how much to reveal, before he replied.
"She was… chiding. She felt kind of like a grandmother scolding a child for doing something stupid. In my case, falling for a trap and getting sent to the void."
"But, she cares. She cares so personally, the same as you or I would. I don't think she's all-seeing as the church claims, but she wanted the people she did see to live, and be contented, and loved."
Dimitri was quiet, processing that. "How long were you really there? It seems like you knew her well by the time you escaped"
"Only a few minutes, same as on your side. I just… felt like I'd known her for all my life, seeing her in the Void." Byleth said, aware of just how close to the truth his half-lies were.
"Do you think she would have stopped the tragedies of our generation, if she saw them?"
Now that, he knew the answer to. "In a heartbeat."
"... I see."
Dimitri went quiet after that. And slowly, the companionable silence became less companionable as his breaths evened out and he slumped against Byleth's scaly neck. Really, It's a surprise he lasted this long, with how often he worked himself down to the bone. Technically, Dimitri should still be on night watch, but it wasn't like Byleth was getting any sleep himself, not like this. He may as well take the watch for the rest of the Lions.
He'd still be running early morning drills once the sun rose, even if he had to do it from the form of a dragon. Can't have the students thinking he's gone too soft.
A/N:
Me: ok people want more dragon byleth, so im gonna want to hit important plot points
Also me: here's over 3k words of plotless fluff.
Also i never remember to post my tumblr link in fics but surprise! I have one! It's .com.