Hello again! I had so much fun writing "The Little Ones," I decided to continue with the same characters. Also, I really wanted to write Ashe with an attitude, sooo….

Just like before, this takes place in an AU Golden Deer route where Dimitri survives and joins Claude and Byleth.

I had originally intended for this story to be all one piece, but I ended up splitting it in two. The next chapter will be up shortly.

As always, enjoy!

"Ashe, are you just going to leave your weapons like that?"

Ashe winced slightly and turned to see Felix scowling at him from the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. He had thought he was alone in the training grounds.

"They're fine," he muttered, glancing over to where he had left his bow and short sword leaning against the corner, "I'm just going to be using them again tomorrow."

Felix raised a brow, "No, they're not 'fine.' They need to be properly cleaned and stored; you know that."

Ashe did know that, had even thought about it as he set the weapons down. But something was inside of him today: something that made Felix's scolding words grate against his mind in a way that made his chest feel tight. So, instead of responding, he blew out a short breath and glanced to the side.

Felix's disapproving scowl darkened into an angry glare at the dismissive gesture, but just as his mouth opened to address it he was interrupted when Sylvain pushed his way through the heavy doors.

"Hey Felix! You ready for our training session?" Sylvain's playful grin faded as he sensed the tense energy permeating the room, "Um, what's going on?"

Felix never turned from staring down the young man before him, "It seems that Ashe has forgotten how to properly care for his weapons."

"It's not a big deal," Ashe huffed, eyes shifting to various different spots on the ground, "I'm just leaving them there until I come back to use them again tomorrow."

"When has that ever been acceptable?" Felix demanded "Stop arguing with me and go take care of them properly."

That unidentified "something" that had been festering in Ashe's stomach suddenly bubbled up, and he reacted on impulse to the sudden burst of heat in his head.

Rolling his eyes, he snapped, "I told you, they're fine. Just leave me alone!"

Both older men stood shocked for a split second at the uncharacteristic attitude from their usually meek and gentle comrade. It was unlike him to react so strongly to a reprimand. It did not take long, however, for Felix's surprised features to quickly fall back into an even darker glare.

"Excuse me?"

He was kept from the outburst of wrath that would surely have followed when Sylvain's hand pressed gently back against his shoulder. Taking a step forward, Sylvain took hold of Ashe's shoulder with one hand and his chin with the other, tilting the boy's head up to look at him. His posture remained relaxed and casual, but his iron grip on Ashe's shoulder and chin immediately pulled the younger man's attention up. His flinty gaze bore into Ashe's wide eyes despite the half smile that still touched his features.

"Alright, Ashe, that's enough," he spoke in a level tone with a steely edge, "You know better than to neglect your weapons."

"They're... I... I'm not really neglecting them..." While Felix's angry scolding had only stoked the fire in Ashe's chest, the calm authority in Sylvain's reprimand cowed his fighting spirit somewhat.

"Go take care of them properly," he nodded towards the offending weapons before continuing, "And, since it seems like you need some practice with weapon care, when you're finished you can work on the weapons in the sharpening rack. And make sure you get them oiled and polished as well."

"What!?" Ashe cast an incredulous glance over at the rack of weapons waiting to be sharpened, "But that'll take all day!"

"If you had listened to Felix the first time, you would already be finished."

"I-I'm not doing that!" Ashe knit his brow and pressed his lips together in an effort to look more determined, but only succeeded in scrunching his face into a sulky pout.

The only change in Sylvain's expression was a slight narrowing of his eyes as his fingers tightened on Ashe's face and arm, "I wasn't asking, Ashe."

The two stared each other down for only a brief moment before Ashe was unable to hold the older man's gaze any longer. Dropping his eyes to the ground, he muttered "Fine..."

"Try that again."

"Yes...sir..."

The reluctant assent wasn't quite all the way to respectful, but it was close enough that Sylvain decided to accept it. Releasing the boy's chin, he turned him around and prompted him forward with a little swat to his behind "Alright, start with yours."

As Ashe grudgingly began his task, Felix and Sylvain cast bemused glances at each other.

"What's gotten into him?" Sylvain questioned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't know, but whatever it is had better stop," Felix growled, "He's acting like a brat, and I'm not going to stand for it."

Sylvain shook his head with an exasperated chuckle, "How much you wanna bet that attitude would disappear in an instant if Dimitri walked through those doors?"

"He would have to be insane to talk to the Boar like that," Felix responded, shaking his head, "Especially right now. He's been in an especially foul mood lately."

"Yeah, I've noticed that," Sylvain nodded, "I guess the extra stress is really getting to him with everything going on this month. Actually..."

He trailed off and cast a glance over at Ashe, who was dawdling his way through sharpening his sword with a distracted pout marring his features.

"You know, he hasn't spent much time with Ashe recently," he cradled his chin with his hand, "Now that I think about it, he's been letting a lot of things slide that he never would have before. I wonder if that's why Ashe has been so difficult? Maybe he's just looking for attention."

Felix snorted, "He's not going to like the attention he gets acting like that."

"Maybe..." Sylvain continued to watch Ashe as he mused, "Anyway, I think it's pretty clear it's time for Dimitri to intervene."

"Far past time, you mean," Felix countered, rolling his eyes, "Enough of this already; we came here to spar. Come at me with everything you've got!"

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

As the sun began to wane against the western sky, the door to the Cardinal Room finally opened and the company's three leaders emerged looking worn but vaguely satisfied.

Byleth placed a hand on each of his former student's shoulder and mustered a tired smile, "I know this month has been difficult for all of us, but I want you both to know how much I appreciate your strength. I know I can always count on you."

"Heh, you're the one who really pulls us through, Teach," Claude replied, "With this plan you've devised, I think we may just be about to break the Empire's blockade."

"We'll need all of our strength to pull it off," Dimitri nodded slowly, "But I'm confident in our allies' abilities. If it is indeed possible, I believe we will find a way."

"Hey, it's good to see you smile again, Dimitri," Claude cast a little grin at his friend, "It's been a while."

"Yes... I'm sorry."

The three continued to converse as they walked together through the monastery, talking and laughing with each other with a lightheartedness that had been absent for several weeks.

As they emerged from the reception hall into the waning sunlight, they were met by Sylvain and Felix coming back from the training grounds. Sylvain waved jauntily as they approached.

"Hey, you three look happier than I've seen you in a while. I take it your discussion went well?"

"Very well," Byleth nodded, "In fact, I think we may have come up with a solution to our blockade problem."

"Heh, well I'm not surprised," Sylvain winked and tilted his head, "When the three of you get together, something incredible is bound to happen."

"That's some pretty high praise, Sylvain," Claude beamed, looping his arms around his two comrades, "We do make a great team, don't we?"

Felix rolled his eyes, "And what is this genius plan, exactly?"

"We plan to discuss it at tomorrow's war council," Dimitri answered, "There are a lot of complications, and it will be easier to share it with everyone and get everyone's feedback all at once."

"I suppose that's fair," Felix assented.

"Actually... Dimitri, there's something we wanted to discuss with you," Sylvain's smile faded into a more serious expression, "It's about Ashe."

Dimitri frowned, "What has he done?"

"Well, it's not so much a specific thing he's done; more like just the way he's been acting," Sylvain rubbed the back of his head as he considered what to say, "He's been pretty unmanageable these past few weeks. He isn't listening very well, and his attitude is frankly... horrible."

"He's been a complete brat," Felix cut in with a scowl, "And it's high time you step up and rein him in."

"Calm down, Felix," Sylvain grimaced, glancing back at Dimitri, "Look, I know you've had a lot on your mind recently, but honestly I'm a little concerned about him. He's just not acting like himself."

Dimitri sighed, "No, you're right. I have noticed a change in his behavior as well, and at least part of that is my fault."

A bit taken aback by the ready acknowledgement, the other four men simply looked at Dimitri and waited for him to continue.

"I know I've been preoccupied lately, and I haven't given Ashe the attention he is accustomed to," he shook his head with a dry smile, "I believe he's been testing his boundaries in an effort to seek out that attention, and I have not dealt with him as I should. In truth, I have avoided punishing him because I was afraid if I did, I would end up taking out my frustrations on him, and that would not be fair."

He took a deep breath before continuing in a firmer tone, "But once again, the two of you are absolutely right: he's waited long enough. Thank you both for coming to me with this. I will deal with him."

"This has been a long time coming," Claude breathed out a rueful chuckle, "I almost feel sorry for him."

"Whether he realizes it or not, I think this is exactly what he's been looking for," Byleth smiled knowingly as he placed his hand on Dimitri's shoulder, "He'll be better off for it."

Nodding, Dimitri looked back to Sylvain and Felix, "Where is he now?"

"He's back at the training grounds doing some weapon maintenance," Sylvain nodded back over his shoulder, "He made a fuss about cleaning his weapons after training, so I figured the extra practice would do him some good."

"Ah, good. I won't interrupt him, then. As Claude said, this has been a long time coming; it would be best if I took some time to think it over."

Felix crossed his arms and frowned, "Just don't spend too much time 'thinking it over.' As you said, he's waited long enough."

"Yes, I know," Dimitri acknowledged. All five men stood in contemplative silence for a moment, before Claude clapped his hands together and looked expectantly at the other four.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to head over to the dining hall and find out what they've got cooking up over there," he cocked his head with a little grin, "Strategizing is hungry work."

"Ah, that reminds me," Sylvain realized, "Weapon maintenance is hungry work as well: I promised Ashe I would bring him something to eat."

"Let's go then," Byleth nodded towards the dining hall, and the group headed off together, talking and laughing comfortably with each other as they went.