Hello again, dear friends. I hope you are all doing well.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't have much time this week and so this chapter will be a bit on the shorter end. Expect some new friends meeting, some not-so-new friends meeting, and some reconciliation.

With that, please enjoy the eighth chapter of Case Study: Fodlan.

I got spurs… that jingle jangle jingle… as I go... riding merrily along…

I got-

Rook shot up. He twitched his brow and the song of his helmet's alarm fell silent. His eyes adjusted to the fresh light pouring into the room. Was it morning already? He was about to stand up before realizing that he was not on the floor. His tome was splayed out on the desk in front of him, the pages creased where his head was resting. He must've fallen asleep while writing last night.

The last hours of Rook's mind were a blur. He and Bottlecap were redeployed. He remembered that it was late, but there was a few hours of daylight left so he elected to go take samples of the wall. He remembered that Bottlecap went her own way, unusually silent. Looking over to her empty bed, the armored man groaned. She must still be angry.

Rook stumbled off the chair and walked over. Her sheets were undone and her blanket was strewn, so she must've stayed the night and left before he woke. His head still ached, but now he wasn't sure whether it was exhaustion, the anchor pull, or thinking about trying to find Bottlecap. He had just finished clumsily making her bed when there was a sharp rapping on the door.

He hoped it was the young, silver haired girl, but he was not totally displeased to see Jeralt standing before him.

"There he is, the slippery bastard." Jeralt grinned. "Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all, take a seat."

"Thank you." Jeralt sat down on the chair opposite of where Rook was snoozing. He unclipped a canteen from his waist and took a deep swig. "Where have you been? I was looking for you all yesterday."

"Oh, uh… I was outside inspecting the perimeter walls. It's surprisingly simple craftsmanship for such an esteemed facility." Rook said, pulling a random fact that he recalled when writing in his tome the night before.

Jeralt tapped his canteen thoughtfully. "Is that so? I was talking to the boys on patrol last night and they didn't see you when I asked about it. These brats have gotten soft, can't even keep their eyes open for the biggest man around."

"I suppose so. Do the knights seem different from the ones back in your day?"

"There's certainly a lot more of them, but time will tell whether they're still quality." Jeralt said. "Back in my day there were only a handful of us, and we were the best of the best."

Rook chuckled at Jeralt's boast. "Of course. Anyway, why were you looking for me?"

"Uhh… yeah. Is that door closed?"

"Closed as can be."

Jeralt nodded and leaned forward to Rook, folding his arms. "Good. The fact is, I'm not comfortable being back at the monastery."

Rook listened carefully as the orange armored knight continued. "I left because I had… complications with the archbishop. Even without those issues, the captain of the most venerable order of knights disappearing without a trace should've earned much more discipline than Rhea just offering me a position back."

"Fair enough. I'm surprised they made your daughter a professor, too. I didn't know she had teaching experience."

Jeralt's jaw set. "She doesn't. Even if she did, Byleth is nowhere close to the brainy types that the officer's academy usually grabs. She's just the kid of a famous mercenary, for goddess' sake."

"So you feel something is up because of how readily they accepted you back?"

"Right." Jeralt nodded. "They didn't just let us back in, they insisted that we return to the monastery. Rhea and her council want us to stay close."

Rook leaned back into his chair. "Uh huh. I suppose that's why you wanted me around."

"Yes. My vouching for you was not entirely altruistic."

"You wound me, captain."

"Save your tongue, Rook." Jeralt growled, although a smirk graced his lips. "I'm gonna be really busy now that I'm in charge of the Knights of Seiros again. I know how to take care of myself just fine, but it would make me more comfortable if I knew someone else was looking out for my kid."

"I'm busy too. I wasn't spending yesterday staring at walls just to be out of sight, y'know."

"I know, but your work is much more independent, which means you can afford to drop by her class every now and then."

Rook placed a thumb on the chin of his helmet. Seeing his feigned reluctance, Jeralt scratched at his temple, tilting his head at Rook. "Look, I don't need you to be a baby-sitter. Just keep it in your schedule."

"I can do that." Rook scribbled down a note in his tome and snapped it shut. "I'm surprised you trust me."

"Should I not?" Jeralt asked, not missing a beat. Rook shook his head.

"I don't mean that I'm untrustworthy. It's just… we've only known each other for little over a week."

"I make good calls, Rook. I wouldn't be the top mercenary cohort if I didn't." Jeralt said before his face suddenly grew serious. "Besides, if you do turn out to be a yellow-bellied urchin, I'll show you why they call me the Blade Breaker. I can tell you that it's not just blades that I snap in two."

"Alright, alright, I get it. Don't get so full of yourself." Rook chuckled, putting up his hands defensively. "Threatening a historian isn't very becoming of a knight-captain, y'know."

"I'm not your usual bushy-tailed officer, for sure." Jeralt took another drink from his canteen with a grin. "Speaking of daughters, where's your kid at? Is she an early riser?"

Ah, right. He still had to find Bottlecap. Rook shrugged. "I was about to go looking for her. We had a… disagreement yesterday. I hate to admit that I was in the wrong."

"At least you've the guts to admit it." Jeralt said. "I've done plenty of boneheaded moves that Byleth still pulls over my head."

"Sometimes I just really wish she wasn't here." Rook folded his arms, sighing. "She's making my job a lot harder."

Jeralt gave him a crooked grin. "You should appreciate her, she's not gonna be around forever and neither are you."

Rook didn't say anything. If only Jeralt knew the forever that he and that young girl were living. Noticing the giant man's unease, Jeralt picked up the conversation again. "I think you should cut her some more slack. It's clear that she wants to be just like you, otherwise she wouldn't have tracked you halfway across Fodlan."

Rook hadn't even thought about it that way and pondered to himself as Jeralt continued. "How long has it been since you've seen each other?"

"An imperial year or so."

"I thought someone would miss their daughter after that much time." Jeralt shook his head. Rook frowned.

"We're not on the best terms, alright? Even if we were, I don't want her in my line of work."

"As a historian?"

"It's not as safe as it sounds."

"Clearly." Jeralt gestured to Rook's heavy armor. "Well, then get her interest piqued to something else. Why don't you sign her up for the academy?"

"What?"

"Students are kept busy and it'll teach her good stuff. It'll be heat off your back and when she finishes her enrollment she'll be more capable when she tags along with you."

"If she tags along." Rook corrected.

"Sure, sure." Jeralt stood up, the chair scraping away from his legs. "I need to go. I'm scheduled to oversee some training in fifteen. Think about it though. I'll put a good word in, too."

"Got it, Jeralt, begone with your wisdom." Rook said dismissively. Jeralt made his way out of the room before returning to the threshold, peeking in his head.

"Oh, yeah. Rook?" The armored man turned to see Jeralt resting an arm on the door frame, his face scrunched in thought. "... love your kid, alright? You don't know what's going to happen to them or what you'll have to do to take care of them."

Rook blinked. It sounded like he was speaking from experience. He wanted to ask what was on Jeralts mind.

But it was none of his business. He had bigger fish to fry.

"Good luck with the training, Jeralt." Rook waved. "I'll see you around."

Flayn hummed softly to herself as she tipped a half-full watering can into a planter. She watched the soil soak into a dark, brown hue before turning to the bucket behind her to refill the can. Where upon earlier observation the greenhouse was empty, now Flayn spotted a subtle shimmer from around the corner. Flayn set down her gardening supplies, brushed off her dress, and creeped over.

It was a silver haired girl, crouched over a stalk of small tomatoes. She had a pad of paper in hand and was prodding one of the round, red fruits with the end of a pen.

Flayn leaned close. The writing was not any language she knew of Fodlan. She could not study it further as a dizzy spell came over her. She brought a hand to her head, but the dizziness passed in the moment before her fingers graced her temple.

"Hey, It's not cool to sneak up and read people's stuff." Bottlecap said, looking over her shoulder. Flayn swore that she approached silently. How did the girl know?

"I am so sorry, I did not mean to intrude! I was merely curious as I have not seen you in the monastery before." She said. Bottlecap raised an eyebrow, flipping her notepad shut and tucking it in her cloak. Flayn smiled warmly. "Are you interested in tomatoes?"

Bottlecap shrugged. "Kinda. Just writing stuff down for my dad."

Flayn's eyes widened. "Oh! You must be Mr. Rook's daughter. I'm Flayn!"

"Bo. Nice to meet ya." Bottlecap smiled. She reached down and pinched a few grains of soil between her fingertips. "Do you mind if I take this?"

"I'm not in charge here, but I do not think that the greenhouse's keepers will mind." Flayn said. "Your father must be very thorough if you are taking soil samples!"

"Yeah, he's super dedicated." Bottlecap nodded. "But it's really annoying sometimes."

Flayn sighed dramatically and squatted down beside her. "He sounds similar to my father Seteth."

Bottlecap recalled the name, envisioning the stern-faced advisor of the archbishop. "What about him?"

"He is very zealous with his duties, often to the point that it detracts from his health. When he's not dealing with the church's affairs, he has a terribly annoying habit of trying to micromanage me."

"So he's always telling you to do something?"

"More like not to do anything!" Flayn pouted. "If he sees me talking with anyone he whisks me away. He doesn't let me walk around the campus anytime after sundown, and goddess forbid a boy looks at me!"

Bottlecap paused, her eyes flicking to the door. "Should I... not be here with you?"

"No! I can make friends and I do not need father watching over me like a hawk!"

Bottlecap giggled. "Alright, my dad isn't that bad. He's a bit of a worrywart but he still lets me tag along."

"One may dream for just a worrywart." Flayn said. "But alas I should get going. My father is finishing up a meeting and I am supposed to be in my room."

"Sounds good. Tell me if you ever need a distraction to sneak out, okay?" Bottlecap joked.

Flayn's smiled happily. "Truly? Oh, that would be divine! But do you not fear his punishment?"

"Eh, not really. I'm super bored." Bottlecap said. "Besides, I'll just pin it on my dad."

The two girls jumped as the greenhouse doors swung open. Flayn let out a squeal and quickly hid behind Bottlecap. "I-Is it my father?"

A tall, armored man rounded the corner.

"Nah, it's mine. Hi daddy."

Rook nodded and squatted down beside them. "Hey Bo. Are we hiding from someone?"

"Seteth, I think. Right, Flayn?"

"I am not hiding! I am…" Flayn cleared her throat and stood up. Even at her full height, the hunched form of Rook still dwarfed her. "My name is Flayn. Are you Mr. Rook?"

"Indeed." Rook said. "I hate to break things up, but I need to speak with my daughter."

"I don't need to-" Bottlecap began, but was cut off by Flayn's gasp.

"Oh of course! I was just on my way. I'll see you later Bo! And it was nice to meet you Mr. Rook!"

The green haired girl waved to them cheerily as she departed, leaving the two agents to themselves. Bottlecap stood up, brushing dirt off of her shirt.

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now, Mr. Rook."

"Then don't. I just came here to apologize."

Bottlecap raised an eyebrow, looking down curiously at Rook.

"You are one hundred percent right that I was an idiot. I got distracted and didn't keep my head in the game. You were making the right call at the right time and I ignored you, and I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't just disrespectful to you but also very dangerous. I'm really, really sorry."

Bottlecap tilted her head at him. There was a pause and the ambience of the greenhouse filled their ears.

"You rehearsed that, didn't you?"

"Yeah, was it too quick? I wanted it to be a little more than just 'sorry' but I didn't know if it dragged on too long."

"No, no, that was good, especially the idiot part." Bottlecap grinned.

"I thought you would like it, but I'm serious. I really am sorry." Rook restated. Bottlecap giggled and kicked his knee lightly.

"I know. Thank you." Bottlecap gestured for him to stand up with her and lead him out of the greenhouse. The two walked out to the pond, stopping by the side. "I hope you're not just saying that to make me feel better though. You gotta start taking me seriously Mr. Rook. I'm not the little newbie agent like I was in Ylisse."

"Yes, Mr. Oddman gave me an earful about it." Rook sighed. "It's just been a while and well… I guess I'm still not used to you yet."

"Mhm. I heard that you didn't want me deployed." Bottlecap said cheekily. Rook scowled.

"Boss needs to keep his damned mouth shut. You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Suuuuure, whatever you say. Just know that I got an anchor on you now." Bottlecap patted a pocket of her cloak just beneath her chest. "You better be on your best behavior."

"Brat."

"Try again."

Bottlecap saw Rook's helmet turn to her blankly. She stuck out her tongue.

"Meh. I'm glad it's in good hands." Rook said more earnestly than Bottlecap expected. "On a different note, I ran into Jeralt earlier."

"Oh yeah? What did he want?"

"Nothing much, he was just wondering where we were. I think he noticed our absence back at HQ. The guy's sharper than I thought."

Bottlecap twirled a silver lock of her hair. "That's not good. You think he's looking into us?"

"He's curious, but he definitely trusts us, so no. In fact, he wants us to keep an eye on Byleth 'cause he thinks the archbishop's lackeys are up to something."

"Huh. That's weird."

"Yup. He even recommended you to enroll. Said it would help have more eyes out for his daughter and that it would keep you out of trouble."

"Hehe! As if!" Bottlecap laughed, although it faded quickly as her expression grew serious. She and Rook turned to each other at the same time.

"Actually, that's a really good idea."

"Agreed. I'll go look into it."

Like I mentioned before, this week was busy. Too much stuff to do and not enough time to do it. It really bummed me out because I had a lot planned for this chapter! It was supposed to be much lengthier but alas, I am too stubborn to betray my schedule.

On a different note, I do plan on including romance eventually. It is a very critical game mechanic after all! Give me a heads up if there's any lesser known pairings that you want to see, or if you simply have a favorite. I'll be sure to take a crack at it while still keeping it within what I have planned.

Oh, and kudos to whoever recognizes the lyrics of Rook's alarm. It's one of the songs I frequent when writing.

Reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Tell me what you like and don't like; I will take it into account.

And of course, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

Go in peace,

Louproxy