The next few weeks kept them busy. Dimitri was still not sure how she had managed it all herself and he felt rather guilty for staying on the overlook so long the first time. He still hadn't been in the right mentality then, the whispers and nightmares keeping him awake and angry. The amount of peaceful sleep he had been getting was doing wonders for him, and to wake up at her side every morning was something he didn't think he would get tired of. His peace was broken a few nights by nightmares, but she had woken up to comfort him every time. There were some nights all they did was talk about whatever was on their mind, others just laying there in the silence with their hands intertwined, and to her laughter, some nights he kept her up just to enjoy her kiss and touch. She was usually tired the next day but the way she's wake up and stretch with that content look on her face and the kiss she would give him told him that she forgave him for it.
The monastery also had a completely different attitude around it. The people seemed to have more hope. With his help a lot of the things that had been too heavy for just one person to handle were taken care of quickly instead of having to manage groups. The monastery was already in much better shape, and repairs weren't taking near as long. The people started to approach them both with their questions and approval and she had been right as king this would be something he would have to learn and know. He wasn't sure what to do every time, but she would just take his hand, smile, and offer a few solutions for him to choose from. She was always patient with him and it made him grateful for her help.
When the pond was clear and the fish starting to return she had taken her father's old rod and started catching one fish after another to help with the rations, as well as grab Ashe to help her with the greenhouse duties. Yuri and the other Ashen wolves had even come up to help. Yuri rivaled Ashe in cooking skills and together Byleth, Yuri, and Ashe would often be found cooking together to make meals that didn't waste ingredients, but the people were delighted in the taste of. They took care of bandit groups for training and opened the roads for more traders, who were already flocking in, bringing more supplies from the outside. She had commented that the monastery hadn't been this bustling even before they had set out for the bridge.
Seteth had even pulled them both to the side to congratulate them both. He had told Byleth about asking the questions to Rhea and this time she just smiled and said that she could wait to hear it from Rhea. Also to Seteth's surprise she had hugged him when he had told her that he considered her family. He had coughed, a rare blush on his face, and told them to keep up the good work.
One of his favorite routines was the morning training sessions. The entire group would gather in the mornings with them to train sometimes, other days it was just him and Byleth. Today it was a gathering and he noticed Darren on the sidelines today watching her a little too closely for his liking, but then his eyes turned gold and he stood.
"Would you mind if I cut in?" He asked, grabbing a training sword.
Dimitri wasn't so sure about this, but he stepped back. "If she would like to, by all means."
She sighed. "I know that tone Guren. I'm for a rough time aren't I?"
Guren tapped the sword on his shoulder. "You're overextending your arm on those thrusts and leaving your side open for one. Two if this is training and not play time you're both holding back too much."
"I don't want to hurt her during practice." Dimitri responded.
Guren rolled his eyes. "She can take a few bruises, as long as you're not smacking her around for the fun of it you're fine. What's the human expression? Kiss em and make em feel better, you two could probably have a bit of fun with that."
"Guren!" Byleth gaped.
Sylvain burst out laughing in the sidelines. "Good one!"
Guren glanced at her and shrugged before circling her. "If you're on the battlefield and someone is trying to kill you they won't hold back. What did I teach you? You've gotta bare your fangs and hide your emotions. It's you and your enemy and only one of you can leave the battlefield."
He attacked her and she blocked, twirling around to meet his blade. He backed off and continued making strikes to test her. She blocked every one before going on the offensive. The next few minutes was a dance of blades, the smack of the wood ringing throughout the training area. He would critique her form and give her another blow to correct it before going after whatever he had seen, like the overextension he had mentioned. That earned her a blow to her hip. Dimitri clutched his fist as his anger rose.
"Enough playtime Ashen. I catch you making those mistakes again and I will take advantage. Any enemy notices those and your dead." Guren said.
Byleth flipped the training sword in her hand and got into her stance taking one even breath as she readied herself. Her face was a mask and her eyes trained on him.
"There you are. I taught you that shell for a reason. Emotions have no place in battle. Defend yourself as if your life is on the line. I won't be testing you this time." He growled.
He came at her again, this time his blows had a lot more force behind them. Byleth dodged most of them, retaliating with some of her own. When their blades met again he used one of his hands to try to strike her, she rolled out underneath it and tried to kick his leg. He jumped back away from it and she rolled back into a standing position, shaking her arm a moment. Guren was relentless and she had to take the defensive or evade. They met one more time, she was getting faster, not striking out as far and it made it easier to dodge his blows. She deflected his sword, attacking from the edge and at some point she had brought out her dagger, she was within his arms, her blade at his throat.
He lifted up his hands and stepped away from her. "Good. You've been slacking Ashen. You're breathing is way too hard and that took you too long. Every second counts. You don't have the stamina or strength to wear down an enemy. You're more suited for fast strikes and getting around defenses."
She nodded. "Thank you. You've always pushed me towards becoming stronger and you're right. I shouldn't be so careless."
"Is your hip alright? I tried not to hit too hard, but that should teach you not to let it happen again." He asked.
She only nodded.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You've kept up well and I'm sure against the run of the mill soldiers and rouges you've been nothing but glorious. The problem is if the enemy has any good warriors on their side you need to be ready. Play time is over Ashen, this is war." He pat her head. "Your father would be proud of you. Now go sit and rest a bit. Mind if I play with your packmates?"
"Only if they want to." She answered sitting down next to Dimitri.
Felix stood up and brought his training blade with him. "I'll be your next opponent."
Dimitri ignored the fight putting an arm around her shoulders. "Are you alright?"
She looked at him. "Just frustrated. I feel like a child all over again. He's the one that taught me a lot of my battle skills alongside my father. Darren is only average, but when Guren is in control that's when his opponent needs to worry."
She looked up to watch as even Felix was having a hard time with the fight, but he was at least keeping pace with him. She could tell that Guren was evaluating him, but he wasn't using his full strength. He had been with her and her arm was still tingling from it. Felix had a look of pure delight and determination. Besides herself there weren't all that many swordsman that could stand their ground with Felix. Dimitri had been practicing using swords as well as lances, but it wasn't his weapon of choice, and Felix would rarely choose to spar with him.
"Keep watch, and challenge him after Felix is done. The one thing he respects is strength. The thing he distains is cowardice." Byleth said noticing Dimitri's attention was still on her.
Gladly, Dimitri thought. He understood the reasoning for it, but for Guren to willingly strike her like that still made his blood boil. It wasn't long until Guren threw Felix back onto the ground with a shoulder tackle when their blades locked again.
Guren put the sword on his shoulder, tapping the flat edge against him a few times. "Great potential….you're hungry for the victory too, but not so much that you're losing yourself, which is good. I'll be happy to give you a few pointers later." He said finally.
Felix stood up and brushed himself off. "I look forward to it."
Dimitri stood up and went to stand in front of him.
Guren's eyes narrowed. "I can already tell from here you're angry. As I told her there is no place for emotion on the battlefield. As long as you hold that anger you will fail in protecting your pack."
Guren struck hard and fast. Dimitri barely had time to block. The force of the blow ran up his arm and he wondered how Byleth had managed it.
"Lances are used best to keep the enemy away from you, to give you longer reach, but when your enemy invades your range, you need to be ready to strike." Guren said.
Guren dodged his sweep and forced Dimitri to jump back as he brought his sword down to try to strike his shoulder. Dimitri's grip tightened. Guren hadn't been kidding when he said that he would attack as if he was an enemy. The next few blows he had to block, and avoid getting his hands hit. Guren would tap the edge of the lance trying to get it to move out of the way, but Dimitri was able to keep the distance he needed to keep Guren away and attack with jabs that didn't give him any openings. He was also able to keep his strength equal to his to parry a lot of the blows.
"You're definitely experienced." Guren commented.
The veining was starting to show back underneath Guren's eyes. "I've gotta let Darren take back control. This is so damned frustrating, but thank you. It's been a while since I had anyone worthy to fight. Ashen work on your formation and I want you two to start sparring as a team rather than against each other. Understood?"
Byleth nodded. "Understood."
He gave her another look. "One other thing Ashen. He is sorry for that kiss he gave you all that time ago. I know that's why you hate him, but can't you leave it in the past?"
"It's not the kiss that I'm mad at it's when he hit me afterwards! I did nothing wrong to deserve that!" she burst out standing up. Dimitri had never heard her tone so angry.
Guren tilted his head to the side. "What? By the time I managed to get his sorry ass back under control you had already ran off. If I had realized what he had intended I would have stopped him sooner."
"Do not play coy with me Guren! It happened right after I pushed him away from me. I was looking down, but the moment I brought my eyes up to apologize and say that I didn't feel that way I got smacked hard enough to make my head spin." Her fists were tight at her sides.
"With as fast as you heal….. I had wondered who the hell had hurt you that badly but you wouldn't talk to either of us. We did that to you?" He listened a moment, tilting his head. "Darren doesn't recall it either. It must have been when we were fighting each other for control of the body. It was not intentional Ashen I promise you. He's asking if there's any way to make it right."
"It may not have been intentional, but it stil hurt like hell! It's the one thing I haven't forgiven him for." She said, turning away from him.
"Why didn't you say something?" he said, coming over to her.
"I had no emotions practically back then! I knew what they were, but not how they worked! All I knew was the one person I trusted almost as much as I did my father hurt me!" she said, whirling on him.
The veining faded and his eyes went back to brown. "All these years… I have been angry at you for all these years for something that never even crossed your mind. No wonder you were so adamant about avoiding me after that. Your dad was ranting about how you might lose your eye, but because you healed so quickly…." His hands were shaking as he knelt in front of her… "I'm sorry Eisner. Is there nothing I can do to make this right?"
"I don't know if there is a way to make it right, Darren. Even after all this time I still find myself flinching at the memory." She said, walking away.
Darren called out her name and reached for her. Dimitri had heard enough, slamming his lance down to stop Darren's advance before he could grab at her cloak. Byleth turned at the sound. The expression on Dimitri's face was one she hadn't missed, dark and angry. She placed a hand on his arm and he glared at her. He brought his gaze back down to Darren who had sat back away from the lance with his head bent down.
"Get out of my sight now!" Dimitri growled.
Darren got on his feet. "Eisner…"
Dimitri stood between them. "I did not permit you to speak. If you value your life, leave. Or I will make you atone for hurting her."
Darren swallowed and nodded. His eyes were downcast as he left the training area. The tension in the room was tangible.
"You had once said that there are things in this world that a person can not bring themselves to accept. He taught me mine, Dimitri. Sparring aside, if you raise your fist at me in anger, that will be enough to shatter my faith in you. Raise your voice at me all you wish if you're angry, brush me aside if you need to get away from me until you simmer down, but I will not take a blow like that from someone I trust." She said before heading out herself.
Dimitri was trying to get his anger back under control. He remembered her words at the goddess tower. She had told him the same thing then, but he didn't realize the reason she deemed it unforgivable was that she had been through it once before. Nine years ago she would have been younger than he was when he had entered the academy. The wood of the lance was starting to splinter under his hands. The only thing stopping him from gutting the bastard here and now was that it was an accident, and it wasn't his vengeance to take.
He breathed deep to calm himself. So that was what her anger towards someone she had cared for looked like. She had gotten irritated with him, but he was glad that she had never treated him in that manner before. He left the room to find her, checking her room first. He found her inside the Cardinal room filling out paperwork.
"You don't know how hard it is not to hunt him down and murder him where he stands. The voices have calmed down and my sanity has been clearer… but….what has been described, just imagining you hurt like that makes my blood boil." He finally said.
She looked up at him. "I know. There's part of me that wants to forgive him, especially if it had been an accident, but I'm afraid that if do then I'm accepting it as alright, and I don't want to. Fear is not something that should enter the equation when you are with someone you are supposed to trust."
Dimitri started to pace and she continued to work.
She set down the quill. "I hope I didn't offend you Dimitri. I don't think that you ever would do something like that, but it's also better that you know now. Once that line has been crossed there's no erasing that mark. Would there be anything that you'd ever want me never to do?"
He stopped and looked at her, wondering how best to answer her. He had never thought of anything of that sort. "To be frank, I'm not sure. I know imagining you with anyone else would bother me, but I doubt that would ever come into play. You wouldn't lie or betray me. You are correct that unless we are sparring, it's not good for partners to come to blows with each other, not even over a quarrel."
He sat down and she came over. She began to massage his shoulders. Any anger still simmering dissipated under her touch. Darren had looked sorry for his actions, and he knew just how bad guilt alone could torment. Dimitri would see what Darren did to make up for it, but he did agree with Byleth in that he preferred the wolf to the man. He was a strict teacher, but all of the points he had given were valid ones. It was best to get a bruise rather than a death blow. When he sparred with Byleth in the future he would try to watch for openings to warn her, but he didn't intend to hurt her with his strikes.
She trailed her hands down his chest and kissed his neck. "You are the only one I want Dimitri. I won't promise not to keep secrets, because I imagine there will be times that I will want to surprise you with something, but I won't keep harmful secrets or lies."
She came around to straddle his lap and began her rain of kisses on him as he moved his hands to embrace and explore.
A low whistle echoed in the room. "Teach, if that's the perk of being your chosen house leader, I definitely regret not getting you to choose the golden deer a lot more now."
Eyes wide, Byleth's gaze snapped to the door where Claude was leaning against the doorway.
Claude started chuckling, holding up a letter. "Sorry for just dropping in, but I thought something like this would be better discussed in person. Please don't stop for my sake, you two put on a nice show."
Notes: The one thing I appreciated was the tug of war with Dimitri between the boar and the noble, they are both sides of him and yes, he mainly has gotten back to his nicer self, that doesn't mean he doesn't still struggle with his darker impulses, its shown more in his support conversations then within the story mode itself.
