Day 28 of the Red Wolf Moon

"C-Cousin? I have no idea what you are-"

"Amaryllis was my mother's last name. She had light green hair, pointed ears, and a major Crest. Just like you, and to an extent, Rhea and Seteth. I'm not stupid Flayn. Spill." The green haired woman swallowed nervously, no doubt in his mind she was looking for a way out. "I need to know Flayn. This is my family we're talking about, and with that Caduceus Staff on your hip, you just entice me further due to it's similarlity to my Holy Twins. There's too many interconnected parts to ignore and write off as coincidence." Santaniel stood his ground and stared at her heavily, her resistance already cracking.

"I- I don't know Santaniel. My father may know something though, you should ask him."

"Father?"

"I must go!" The green haired gal took off down the corridor before Santaniel could call out or catch up, he was far too slow to catch up to most people anyways. "Ugh, whatever, I'll talk to Seteth later… Wait, she said Father… I know her Crest is Cethleann, and Seteth has Cihol… A fifth Saint… Too many ties and binds to follow at such a small scale."

"Ah, Santaniel, there you are." He turned his head and met Claude's mischeviois gaze, bad sign already. "I understand your birthday is coming up soon-"

"Mention a word of it to anyone and I'll remove your legs from your body and then fuse them to make a walking stick. Don't test me about that day." Claude looked at him warily, no doubt his interest and curiosity already spiked. "Any why would that be-"

"Curiosity kills the cat. This time Claude, no amount of satisfaction would bring you back."

———

Day 1 of the Ethereal Moon

"That was a good meal, thanks Sant." Xavien patted his brother on the back and hopped out of his chair, pacing lazily to the door of the dining hall. He stopped, hearing a small grunt, his ears were sharp so it was quite hard for him to leave something unnoticed. "You ok Sant- Sant!" His brother shook his head, hopping off from one knee, "I'm fine. Seriously, just a muscle ache, we did our chests today. It was the only way I could get Byleth's stubborn ass out of his room anyways. He's been really cooped up lately. Lysithea has been seeing him, but it's been a strange couple days. Seems like he's talking to himself more."

Xavien shook his head, "Mate, c'mon, you know it's impossible to hide something from me." Santaniel smirked, "Well, not entirely."

"You can go back to gloating with whatever shit you decided to pull another time." Xavien honed in on Santaniel holding his hand, a bit too much for normal. Kid fidgeted a lot, but he never hid his hand. "Show me your hand." Santaniel looked away sheepishly, uncovering his left palm and revealed a small streak of purple on his leathery skin. "Sant… How long has it been going on?"

"Well… This one appeared just recently-"

"This one?!"

"Uh… There's a couple on my chest." Xavien shook his head, "Which side?" Santaniel looked at his feet, a sure sign of secrecy. He hated keeping secrets. Eventually he cracked due to the questioning, "My left side. Right over my heart."

"You'll need to speak to Hephaestus and Arti, they'll know what to do."

"Ok…"

———

Day 3 of the Ethereal Moon

"Felix, why are you in my house again?" The Fraldarius man glanced at him, "You promised we'd train here today."

"Xavien's out on a job, he usually sets the course and it takes me a couple hours to do it. We should wait until tomorrow." Felix grunted and sneered, Santaniel giving him a blank glare. "What are you two talking about?"

"Hey El. We were apparently supposed to train here on the island today, but Xavien is out on a job. So we're gonna have to reschedule to another day later this week. If you want you can join us." Edelgard considered it for a moment before continuing, "Hm, perhaps. It would be interesting to see your training regiment and it would provide enrichment for the class."

"When you say 'enrichment' like that it makes us sound like your pets." Edelgard flushed a bit and shook her head, "I apologize."

"All good. Go ahead and ask Professor, I'll start marking up our path for tomorrow and clear any debris from the storm last night." Edelgard nodded and regarded Felix with a wary gaze, strange.

———

Day 4 of the Ethereal Moon

"Alright. No one be stupid, please, for the love of the goddess, follow the path. Caspar and Raphael, go put your shirts back on, you'll get sunburned, badly." The two muscle heads both went back and got their shirts, it was like babysitting half the time and he was younger than most of them. "Santaniel?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you going shirtless?" Hapi was staring at him, she hated most beasts, and it seemed he was on the list, red underline too. No one could hide their true feelings on the island. He didn't bother answering instead letting his wings unfurl behind him, "I don't feel like tearing anymore of my shirts, and knowing the classes' luck, I'll need to fly someone back to the house." She nodded and took a half step back from him, like he was just another damn monster. Whatever.

"Everyone ready? I'm bringing up the rear so if you get lost just stay still and call out for me." Most everyone nodded and started running the course, it was only a gentle slope, nothing awful should happen. Santaniel took a deep breath and sighed, crouching, "Ok. Count of five… in… out…"

His anxiety spiked like a stalactite out of the ground during this month. "A-are you ok?" Santaniel looked up and glanced at Bernadetta, her legs quivering. The young man smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Go ahead and catch up with Felix, Berns." The violette nodded her head vigorously and shot off like a missile, kicking up some sand in the process, causing him to sneeze.

Santaniel stood and started jogging, he felt off. Something was here that wasn't supposed to be. 'Ugh, I'm just being paranoid.' He jogged in silence while staring at the ground, following tracks. 'So, this month there aren't any missions, but something feels off. Something isn't adding up in my head, but what? Edelgard, Monica, Hubert… Rhea, Seteth, Flayn… There's tension there, but it's one sided. Edelgard seems so tense around her, and Hubert is tense around me, my brothers, Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn. I could usually write that off as just being paranoid, but my gut feeling has never been wrong.'

'I'll talk to Professor this month. Perhaps this ball will be what we need to unwind and my head will go back to being neat- Yeah that one ain't ever happening. Just a bit too scrambled up there for that to happen. Someone wondered off the course, damn it. Just like babysitting. Swear to it!' He gave a flap of his wings in irritation, furling them back up and they flashed, getting rid of his shade. He followed the tracks and ended up hearing someone speaking.

"So. What are the plans?" He stepped closer and listened, closing his eyes and summoning his scry. Two souls, Edelgard and Hubert. Wait, no, three. Just one that… Is entirely pitch black. He went back to listening, maybe it was just someone who was hiding their soul. He knew Linhardt and Lysithea requested the spell to ward off scrys and the such.

"We shall continue as planned. By the end of the month, we should be fine~."

'That's Monica… She never came through the mirror though.' He kept listening but the crunch of leaves made him press flat in his bush, cursing silently. He'd have to wait until they passed, and he could track their souls. Unless one of them sensed his presence, he should be fine. Hubert and Edelgard continued down the path, suspecting Santaniel to still be behind them. 'Well that's just a rude assumption. I'm not that damn slow… Especially mentally.' He kicked out his left foot and caused a stifled shriek from Monica, who had been trying to sneak up on him. She landed hard on her back and he placed his knee on her stomach, drawing a pained growl.

"Why the hell were you sneaking up on us?!"

"Why were you guys even off the path having a secret conversation anyways?! Better have a damn good explanation, otherwise, you three are never coming back to this island. I do not play these games Monica." The small red haired woman seemed to more or less enjoy the interrogation, blushing at it. He growled in frustration and got up, "Leave. Now. I'll ask Edelgard and Hubert later." He got up and jogged towards the cave, no longer at his easy pace. He figured he may as well indulge the princess and her twink's prediction. He may love Edelgard, but that won't stop him from calling her out on her bullshit.

...Hopefully.

———

Edelgard huffed and puffed as she ran the track, Hubert steadily keeping pace with her using his long legs. She honestly envied his height. She was also very pleased with their prediction to keep Santaniel behind them during their meeting with Kronya. "Lady Edelgard…" She turned her head back and caught the gleam of Santaniel's axes in the sunlight. "What's the odds of him seeing our meeting?"

"I'd say about-"

"Why the hell was Monica on the island? And why the hell are you having secret meetings in my own home?"

"Well. Now it would seem to be one hundred." Edelgard tensed and turned her head back towards a simmering Santaniel. "We were unaware-"

"No. You weren't. You know I saw you. You can't wiggle out of this one Edelgard." She swallowed and tried to think of a lie, but the truth couldn't be hidden after being revealed so easily. He truly did see through people. "It was about your birthday."

"Great. You can quit the charade because I hate my birthday. I'm pretty sure I told you that." Santaniel stepped closer, an air of suffocation around him. He'd choke the answer out with just his presence and his eyes. "It is true Santaniel. We were discussing your birthday. We have warned Monica not to speak about such an occasion. Lady Edelgard has also mentioned it to me, as to not allow it to slip into the hands of more rash classmates."

Edelgard mentally sighed a breath of relief at Hubert's quick thinking. This island drew out one's true nature, that was for sure… Or, it was Santaniel's basilisk-like eyes. Whatever it seemed to be, Hubert was almost always truthful, in one way or another, so he'd been spared the suffocating air around him. "Alright. Still doesn't explain why here of all places, but whatever. Just carry on with the lap, I'm going to fly the rest of it. Damn leg is cramping up."

'That's a lie.'

Nonetheless, Santaniel unfurled his wings with an irritated wind launching him into the warm island air.

———

"So, Santaniel, how do we finish our training here?" Caspar was tapping his foot impatiently during the question. "Nice question, you see that pit down there?" The baby blue boy looked down towards the slope, cocking his head, "Uh, yeah. What does that have to- Gah!" Santaniel gave him a 'gentle' shove into the pit.

"S-Santaniel-"

"Relax Lin. It's a gentle slope and it's very climbable. If he can't get out I'll just fly him up." Santaniel turned his attention to Felix and nodded, the Fraldarian man slid down after Caspar and tossed the smaller man a pair of gauntlets. "Welcome to the Pits. It's a one on one fight, and whoever can stay in the for ten wins in a row, gets out. We rotate people in until that happens. So, Caspar, go ahead and kick us off. Begin!" Santaniel bellowed the last word and the fight commenced. Santaniel watched as Caspar desperately dodged Felix's strikes.

He studied Felix's movement with the katana, his sharp, precise moves. He moved like a big cat. Caspar moved fluidly, but he had wasted movement. Something Xavien always harped on never doing. Felix would win this fight. Judging on people's reactions… Petra was eager to fight. She'll be next.

As he came to his conclusion, it seemed Yuri did as well. They nodded their confirmation towards each other, stepping back from the pit and letting Petra hop down. The fighting started again. "Hey Yuri, wanna take Petch? I'll hop in afterwards." The lavender haired man giggled and nodded, "Sure thing big guy. I've always loved these types of scraps." Santaniel leered over the edge and watched as Petra drove her elbow into Felix's stomach, and he dropped.

"That's your cue." Yuri rolled his eyes and slid down smoothly. Santaniel checked his nails and noticed they were growing a bit too long, 'Hm. I'll have to clip these later.'

"Santaniel."

"Hubert." The man drew himself out of his crouch and gazed over at him. "Need something?"

"It is a question Lady Edelgard has let slip to me. She was wondering if you would appreciate taking a trip to Enbarr for your birthday." Santaniel shook his head slightly, "I have to politely decline this offer. I apologize, but, that's the same day my parents died. I prefer celebrating their lives and achievements over my own life, besides, it hasn't come to an end yet." Hubert peaked an eyebrow, "It is quite the compliment to be invited to the royal palace, for any occasion. I implore you to reconsider."

Santaniel chewed on the inside of his cheek, glancing down at the pit. Witnessing Yuri fire off a Nosferatu at Petra, nailing her square in the chest. She bounced back up though, continuing the fight. She wouldn't rest until someone put her lights out.

He admired it.

"How about this Santaniel… If I can choose someone to beat Yuri, you'll accept her Highness' invitation." The half breed rolled his eyes, "Hubert. You know I love Edelgard. You know I'd love to go, on any other day I would accept. This is just something I can't do. It's a sacred day to my brothers and I."

Santaniel looked down at the pit, "However. If you wish to make a bet on me coming to the palace before my birthday, just to celebrate it, I would accept that." Hubert drew his grin into a… smile? That was rare. "I do believe that would be acceptable. If I may make my selection?"

"Go ahead."

"Raphael. Would you mind taking Santaniel's place in this next fight? He wants to take care of an aching leg before he joins in the… Fun." The nasty drawl he topped the word 'fun' with, was disgusting. Like someone topped their beef with lemon juice and chocolate. He still never understood how Xavien could stomach that shit.

"Sure thing." The cheerful man took Petra's place, exchanging bountiful praise with Yuri before she clawed her way up. Yuri glanced up at Santaniel and the man just mouthed the word 'Bet.' Yuri nodded and readied his blade while Raphael strapped his gauntlets on. Santaniel sat at the edge and dangled his legs whilst Hubert stood over him like a gargoyle on its perch. They didn't seem to be different after all.

Yuri took the first lunge, his rapier glancing off of Raphael's shield arm. The big man retaliated with a downward hammer fist, cracking stone beneath his strength.

Impressive.

Raphael swung out and caught some of Yuri's small frame, knocking him down. The man scampered back to his feet and fired off Nosferatu, nailing Raphael in the chest. 'That's Xavien's tactic…' The thought coursed through his mind as Raphael used the force of the blast to roll backwards and onto his feet. He then used his rolling momentum off the slope of the pit and launched. Santaniel grimaced as Raphael crashed into Yuri and a muffled grunt of pain rang out from underneath the big man. "Yeesh… Alright, good pick Hubert. Tell Edelgard that I prefer sweeter desserts after dinner."

"As you wish Santaniel." The smug satisfaction in his voice was as thick, sweet, and disgusting as Arti's attempts at making custard.

———

Day 8 of the Ethereal Moon

He sighed as he picked Marianne off the ground again. "Marianne, it is ok. Take a deep breath. Just like we practiced." The pale woman only shuttered in his grasp. "It's ok. Let's practice the steps again."

The past few of the days had filled Marianne with quite a bit of anxiety and dread. She had been selected as the representative of the White Heron Cup. "Deep breaths, then match your steps to the rhythm of the music… There you go Marianne."

"Arti, why are you so kind?" Arti looked up from their feet and entertained the question. He was feeling more vocal with her than others lately. "I give people what the world never gave me. If I had never met my mentor and Hephaestus, I wouldn't be here anymore. Santaniel gave me my wonder for the world back, and Xavien gave me a reason to laugh again."

He corrected their steps, and continued, "The world is harsh, cold, and unforgiving. It's up to me and my family to give warmth to those that need it, and for them to spread it further. I have seen that you need it more than anyone here. You deal with what I had long ago, and you need to see it isn't the end if you are unfortunate enough to wield our Crest. It can bring fortune or despair, however, it is up to you to decide what it will bring." Marianne nodded with a small smile on her thin lips, "Thank you Arti. I'll try my best to bring fortune."

"I'm sure you will."

———

Day 12 of the Ethereal Moon

He hummed as he wandered down the lofty monastery stairs, ears alert for any sound possible. His hands rested on his daggers, the sedative poison glimmering in the faint torchlight. His assailant would be attacking him in the open.

Well… If he knew Raphael well enough, he would. Xavien crept down, his feet bare against the chilling stone. 'The kid is learning fast…'

His ears perked at a slight noise, just enough to be wary of. His assailant was here. He couldn't exactly hide, so he had to be somewhere- He whipped around and drove his bare heel into Raphael's chin. The student had yet to surpass the master. Raphael stumbled and fell backwards, Xavien closing in and putting his foot on Raphael's chest. "Sorry Raph. You just aren't able to- AH!"

Raphael grabbed him by the leg and twisted in an alligator roll. Xavien slammed into the floor and felt Raphael sit on his back. "I haven't surpassed you. Not yet. But I still won!" The big man let out a hearty laugh and Xavien laid his head down on the marble tiles, hiding his smile.

———

Day 16 of the Ethereal Moon

"Oh Hephaestus, you're too much~!" The mentioned man grinned brightly as he left a kiss on Manuela's hand, "Oh sweetheart, you haven't seen most of my ideas yet."

The couple had been out on a date and were drunk off their asses. The couple was stumbling back to the monastery when they decided it was a good idea to take several short cuts through the darker alleys. No one knows what goes through the minds of drunk people.

"Hey punk, hand over the gal and we'll let you go with your life." Hephaestus looked towards the group of thugs with dead eyes. They were carrying simple weapons, subpar to Santaniel's beginning craftwork at the forge. "Uh huh, and, why do you think I'm currently threatened and or scared?"

"Because you're a scrawny little prick who's about to get his head bashed if you don't hand over the whore!"

"First of all, I'm taller than all five of you. Your muscles are smaller than your pricks. And I'd show you what a real whore looks like if I had a mirror." Hephaestus summoned a small, blood orange flame in his palm.

He tossed it between his hands and stalked closer, his eyes dead, but his smile lively. His breath reeked of alcohol. "I'll make this quicker than you in bed you little sewer rat." He crushed the flame in his hand and swung, a glaring blow to their leader's head seemed to drive them off enough. Good thing he had taken brawling lessons from Byleth. "Shall we Manuela?"

"We shall."

———

Day 19 of the Ethereal Moon

"Someone explain to me why we're going to the Empire today?" Arti rolled his shoulders as he fixed his mask's cracks in a private corner. A rare sight to see his bare face and the scars covering his lips and chins. Unsavory memories always flooded into his own head when he saw his face in the mirror. "Lost a bet."

"Oh? Someone actually beat you in a bet?" Xavien slid the slightly bitter remar and Santaniel shrugged it off. "Eh, kinda. The class left about two days ago, we should get a move on eh?" Arti nodded and threw an empty paint bottle at Hephaestus to wake him up. Did it quite successfully too. "I'm awake!"

"Stay awake until we arrive at Xavien's tavern. Remember, two days only. Then, we have an actually quiet day for my real birthday." Both the mages nodded and Xavien stayed silent as he casted the spell for the mirror. Arti was just looking forward to a simple break honestly.

———

"Ah. So you are the young man who will be turning seventeen." Santaniel bowed his head in respect, "Yes sir. I am. I'm grateful for the invitation from her highness to spend my next two days here." Santaniel looked back up at Lord Arundel. Something was odd about him. He couldn't place it, nor could he lower his guard enough to search his soul with Scry. "No need for such formalities, child."

'Child?'

"If it is alright with you, I would rather be attending the main hall with the rest of my class." Arundel nodded, dismissing him silently. Seemed he met whatever expectation he had. He sighed and walked down the stairs in his sharp suit. Xavien kept up his end of the bargain and let him meet the tailor.

The man was amazing at his craft, made him somewhat envious of how someone could be so delicate… Though, his delicate touch was in the kitchen and forge.

He hummed as he approached the entrance hall, eyeing the crowd and attempted to locate some of his friends. Edelgard was out with the kitchen staff at the market, so were his brothers. It had been quite a while since they celebrated his birthday, the last time was… His twelfth. When he received his father's jacket and the jewel in his mother's wedding ring.

His heirlooms.

"Hey, Santaniel!" He peeked over his shoulder and spotted Felix and Bernie, Lysithea not too far off with Byleth. Typical. He giggled at the clueless Professor and smitten star student. Santaniel nodded at Bernie and Felix while he walked over, his smile easy as his eyes. "Hey guys, you two heading out soon right?" The couple smiled shyly and Felix had just a slight tinge of red on his face. "Heh, have fun, don't do anything stupid, don't die."

———

To Be Continued…

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Hey guys! Just an update, school has made me busy as hell. Anyways… I hope you enjoy this part of the chapter!