Chapter 13: Appetite
In the end, he hadn't helped Lady Rhea at all. It was the rest of the Golden Deer who had stopped the Western Church from defiling the Holy Mausoleum—it was Byleth who had been of use to Lady Rhea when she needed it the most. He might as well have slept through the Rite of Rebirth.
It was pheasant roast day, but Cyril had no appetite, even as the normally wonderful scent of the dish wafted up his nose. His stomach was still twisting at the thought of staying with the Golden Deer. But what else could he do? The matter with the Western Church was far from settled, and he had no doubt that the Golden Deer would be sent out when the need arose. Aside from that, he clearly still had plenty to learn...
"Oi, Cyril!"
Cyril looked up to see Claude half standing at a table, arms waving in circles to motion Cyril closer.
"Come on, don't be a stranger and eat with us!" Claude shouted.
Others in the dining hall were beginning to take notice of the commotion and look around for the recipient of Claude's loud conversation. Flushing, Cyril ducked his head and quickly walked over to the table where Claude was sitting.
Only Marianne, Raphael, Ignatz, and Lorenz were with him. Cyril let out a small sigh of relief as he sat down across from Claude and as far away from Lorenz as possible. At the very least, Claude knew better than to ask Cyril to join while Hilda was present. The stuffy purple haired noble was bearable as long as he showed no inclination to speak to Cyril, and Lorenz was content to act oblivious to Cyril's presence to talk animatedly to Marianne.
Ignatz scooted to make more room for him. "It's rare to catch you during regular meal times. I'm glad you're able to join us today."
"Eh, I eat when I have time," Cyril said with a shrug.
"Whaaaat?!" Raphael's voice boomed even when Cyril knew he didn't mean to make it so. "That's super unhealthy! No wonder you're so tiny!"
"I-I'm not tiny!" Cyril said, hating how his voice squeaked at the end.
Claude made a small choking noise and took a long swig from his mug. "Cyril, you're the same height as Lysithea. You're teeny tiny. Itsy bitsy."
"Lysithea is older than me, so I'm not that short!"
"She's older than you by 8 months."
"Neither of you seem to sleep at regular times," Ignatz said, brow furrowed. "That could also be affecting both of you physically."
Cyril glowered. Even Ignatz was suggesting he was small. He stabbed at his pheasant as Raphael let out another loud exclamation. He scowled as he thought of how Lady Rhea still patted his head as if he was a child of eight years.
"Cyril, don't you want to grow big? And strong? With muscles—" Raphael gestured to his impressive biceps. "—like this?"
If he was built like Raphael...well, his swings would be stronger. His bow would fire farther. And...and...he'd look daunting! No one could ever think of him as a kid!
"...yes," Cyril muttered with a red face.
"Whoa, seriously?" Claude's eyes darted from Raphael to Cyril. "You want to look like that? Good luck, because I don't think your bloodlines are on your side."
"Hey!"
"I mean no offense by it, I am in a similar predicament," Claude said. "My father is willowy and you know what, he can still swing an axe with the best of them. Just be realistic is all I'm saying."
"Aww, don't say it like that, Claude!" Raphael said. "You never know! Both my parents were short, right Ignatz?"
"Well, they were average," Ignatz replied when both Claude and Cyril gave him incredulous looks.
"The point is, you gotta start from somewhere. So come on, Cyril! You wanna grow don't you?"
Looking away from Claude's amused smile, Cyril nodded once. Raphael slapped the table and the dishes leapt and clacked from the reverberation. Marianne let out a small squeak that could've been a very good imitation of a mouse.
"Raphael!" Lorenz cried, acknowledging the conversation on that side of the table for the first time.
"Oops, sorry about that." Raphael turned back to Cyril. "Alright, so let's get started now. First of all, go get another plate of pheasant."
"B-but I'm not done with this one—"
"One plate isn't going to cut it. You need more meat! Two now, and then another one right after afternoon training. You gotta eat even more meat while your muscles are all warmed up because that's how they build themselves. And for breakfast, I notice all you do is drink some juice most mornings, but you need—"
"More meat," Cyril said flatly.
"Exactly! Now hurry!" Raphael waved his hand towards the food line. "Go before they run outta pheasant."
"Oh, were you going to get more food, Cyril?"
Cyril froze. That sickeningly sweet voice.
"I can get it for you, so just sit tight!" Hilda said cheerfully.
Distantly he could hear Ignatz say, "Wow, Hilda's offering to do someone a favor."
"Well, she owes Cyril," Claude said.
He could leave now. If he left now, he could be out of sight before Hilda returned. But then she would likely corner him and ask him why he left, and he'd have to talk to her alone. Again.
His gaze flickered to Claude.
Claude was watching him, face neutral.
Cyril swallowed. He supposed it would be better to stay.
Time seemed to drag, but he knew that Hilda must've returned quickly based on Ignatz's surprise. She set the hot plate above his current one with a chirpy "Here you go!" and sat next to Claude.
Claude's eyes seemed to continue to watch Cyril, but he drew Raphael and Ignatz into another conversation. Despite being surrounded by students, the atmosphere felt oddly focused between Cyril and Hilda alone.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Hilda said from the corner of her mouth, other side already taken up by a large bite of fish.
Cyril licked his lips. "...I gotta go. Work to do—"
"Aww, no, finish eating first! Besides, I wanted to talk to you for a bit."
Another stab of ice made him freeze.
"I talked a lot the other day about my impression of Almyrans," Hilda said, her own fork now spinning idly as it hovered above her plate. "But you know, now I wonder. What do you think of us? Of people from Fodlan I mean."
His first instinct was to regurgitate a pleasant spiel about how the people of Fodlan were wonderful and he was immensely grateful to have been brought here, but as he opened his mouth, he caught himself.
Cyril breathed. He wasn't in House Goneril. He was at Garreg Mach. There was only Hilda.
Hilda who was watching him patiently. She wasn't eating, even her fork was still.
"...I can't really tell you," Cyril said.
"You can be honest, I promise."
"No," Cyril shook his head. "I mean I don't really got an impression of people from Fodlan all together."
Hilda tilted her head and waited for Cyril to continue.
"I mean, there's all sortsa people here, right? Can't really say everyone from one place is any one thing. That's how it is for Fodlan, Almyra...anywhere ya go really." Cyril swallowed, wondering if he should continue. Hilda seemed to be waiting as if she could sense there was still something he had yet to say.
"...the only thing that's the same," Cyril said at last, "is that the people in power keep the weak ones down."
"Huh." Hilda chewed thoughtfully on a piece of fish. "Guess I never thought about it that way. You've got an open mind, Cyril. Bet you can get along with just about anyone if you wanted to."
Cyril shrugged.
"So, one person shouldn't be enough to ruin your experience in the Golden Deer, right?"
At that, Cyril went rigid.
Hilda smiled a small smile. "You get along pretty well with most of the class. I'm probably the only one who makes you uncomfortable, but...I won't bother you unless you want me to. So, don't feel like you have to leave, ok?" She stood, and Cyril's followed her movement with his eyes. "That's all I wanted to say. I hope I'll still see you around, Cyril."
Cyril continued to stare where Hilda was, even after Hilda had moved to sit next to Marianne and her cheerful chattering informed him that she had already inserted herself into another conversation.
"Eat, Cyril," Claude said. "You want muscles like Raphael, right?"
Cyril picked up his fork. The first plate of pheasant was already growing cold, but an open appetite made the bite more delicious.
There was a delay of like a week when I originally wrote this where Hilda's supports was just half finished on a bad note, but there's instant gratification in this batch upload haha.