Claude stared deeply into the devilish pink eyes of his best friend as though trying to peer into the evils of her soul would glean some kind of answer. She looked innocent enough to most people but he could see the swirling of a dark entity's machinations in that lazy gaze.
Hilda regarded Claude in the same manner as though either would be able to find the answers they were looking for by mentally interrogating the other.
"What the hell are they doing?" Claude heard whispering, but for the most part blocked it out. It sounded like Dorothea so of course she wouldn't understand. The Golden Deer had decided to have a little tea party since it was a beautiful day out. The likes of Dorothea, Petra, Anette, and Mercedes had decided to join them. Claude and Hilda were presently sitting across from each other, posture tense and eyes narrowed. Just looking at each other as though an entire silent conversation was going on between the pair. For those who weren't members of the Golden Deer and weren't very well acquainted with their quirks, it was obviously going to look a little strange.
To the members of the Golden Deer, it was just your everyday occurrence.
Lysithea answered Dorothea's question, sounding utterly bored as she observed the two idiots. "The entirety of the Golden Deer house has a single brain cell that's split between those two. Usually when Claude's trying to figure something out or coming up with a new scheme, they have to rub their halves together like a pair of fire sticks to get anywhere. Pretty sure that's what they're doing now. Or it's just Hilda and Claude being weird. You can never really tell with those two..."
Dorothea's following silence spoke volumes as to how confused she and the rest of the non Golden Deer tea party members were. The most confused of all was Petra, who seemed worried by the implications of what Lysithea said until Dorothea just muttered the word 'idiom' under her breath and Petra's expression softened slightly.
"Aren't you also the included? Does that mean you are missing the brain cells as well?" Petra asked hesitantly as she glanced between Hilda and Claude. Instead of answering, Lysithea just sighed heavily. Such was the fate of all who joined the Golden Deer.
Claude didn't break his gaze from Hilda's. He could feel Hilda's gaze starting to sharpen. They were close. One of them had an idea, he could feel it. Who, he wasn't sure. They weren't necessarily wrong about him and Hilda sharing the only brain cell in the entire class. Didn't matter though!
"What are they even trying to figure out?" Mercedes' voice sounded notably worried as she spoke, glancing between Hilda and Claude like they were going to spontaneously combust if they tried to think any harder. Something clicked and then immediately disappeared.
Claude, without any kind of warning, slammed his head down on the table and Hilda leaned back with a groan. There it went, the idea they were so close to grasping flitting off into the never realm like a pale memory. Goodbye idea. "I don't understand." His whine earned him a small pat on the head from Lysithea. He internally bemoaned his lot in life as he continued to think through this problem with his half of the brain cell. Now that their little ritual was done Hilda was the one to turn to Mercedes and answer.
"Claude is curious about the new professor, so we've been trying to figure out what she's all about. She's a bit of a puzzle. Almost more of a puzzle than Claude, but then again I've known him so long I think most people are more puzzling than Claude. It's been upsetting him for days that he can't figure out literally anything about her," Hilda said, leaning back in her chair as she looked out towards the other Deer and the four interlopers who'd joined them for tea. Claude turned his head to get a better look without removing it from the table. He was getting a little sulky over this puzzle in particular. Puzzles could turn dangerous if left unsolved for too long.
"Yeah, I have to admit I get what you mean. The new professor is just so strange sometimes. She almost never shows any emotion and when she does it seems pretty close to disappointment. It's made all the worse by how enthralled Edie seems to be," Dorothea took on a similarly sulky air to Claude. He hadn't realized she was just as frustrated. Maybe she'd make for a good collaborator?
Claude finally lifted his head and quirked an eyebrow. "Elaborate on enthralled," he said. He might know what she was talking about. He picked up on it ever so slightly when they first met the new professor. He wanted to know if he was right. Byleth had amazed all three of the house leaders when they first met her. She killed that monstrous creature with so little effort she made it look like child's play. She was obviously strong on top of cunning and that was something both attractive and tempting to the leaders of future countries. Claude would have loved to scoop her up, but so would Dimitri and Edelgard.
She somehow managed to simultaneously chose all three while brushing all of them off.
Edelgard's fascination over the course of the return trip though had slowly begun to feel different from Claude and Dimitri. It wasn't something he immediately picked up on since Edelgard was okay-ish at hiding her emotions. The more she tried to steal glances at the new professor and drag her into conversations the more obvious it became. At least to Claude.
Claude was good at noticing these kinds of things. Dimitri was pretty fucking oblivious, so he probably didn't notice shit. Claude would have to spell it out for him later.
He didn't think it was weird for Edelgard to look so enthused over the new professor. Byleth was wonderfully attractive, even with the weird clothing she wore. It was exceptionally weird, but she also seemed to act and carry herself in a manner that was foreign so Claude wouldn't judge that. He knew how that felt and it wasn't a good feeling, so he wouldn't judge what might be cultural. Strange clothes or not, from an objective standpoint she was beautiful and the aura of power she seemed to carry herself with only added to that. At the same time, she displayed no visible emotions. Her thoughts were hard to read, which frustrated Claude and definitely made him more cautious of her.
He probably would have been a dopey school boy with his hands down his pants just like Edelgard if he didn't detect what could have been the slightest hint of danger from her overall demeanor. It was nothing he picked up on directly, but she was too good with that mask of hers, which meant that by default she was probably dangerous.
Dorothea gave an over dramatic sigh. "Oh, you know exactly what I mean, Claude. Girls like her and beautiful women like the professor. Poor Edie's gonna get her heart broken if she isn't careful." Dorothea shook her head ruefully but Claude didn't agree.
Claude liked to think he was good at gauging reactions and the only time he ever saw the professor wear her emotions even remotely close to her sleeve was (so far) almost always in the presence of Edelgard. Frustration mixed with just a tiny bit of attraction. Okay, a lot of attraction. Yeah, the teach had it bad. They were both just so obvious on top of oblivious! It was painful to watch. Which was part of why Claude decided that Edelgard needed to be the one to give the new professor a tour around the school.
His intentions hadn't really been to play matchmaker as much as it was to lower Byleth's guard by giving her a distraction. He had hoped that maybe by getting them together he could see more of Byleth's true face. Unfortunately, it seemed to have had an opposite effect. Judging by the way she'd taught the class the other day her guard had gotten even higher. More professional, leveling emotionless gazes at Edelgard with purposeful intent instead of her generally passive but still warm looks that she gave the rest of the student body.
Claude couldn't understand why.
Hilda shook her head and decided to jump into the gossip alongside Dorothea. That was his best friend! Hilda had a much easier time getting other girls to gossip than Claude did, and gossip always led to loose lips. Hilda, being his best friend, was quick to jump into the gossip to try unearthing some extra details for him. "Aren't student-teacher relationships banned or something?"
"Well, yes and no," Mercedes pipped in. "It's illegal throughout all of Fodlan to have sexual relations with someone under the age of 18 unless you're married, which can be done at 16 specifically for women with the consent of a parent or legal guardian or 18 for men. While it's a taboo for a teacher to date a student, because of how the Officer's Academy works a lot of students are over the age of 18 or turn 18 during the school year. So it's less frowned upon, especially if they're near to the same age. Assistant teachers, like the professor, are a different topic entirely since they exist in a middle ground between student and teacher. There isn't even a taboo surrounding that. So Edelgard isn't entirely out of luck."
"Yeah, but what if the professor turns out to be straight?" Hilda asked.
Claude and Dorothea both burst into laughter the moment Hilda asked. "Hilda, sweetie, best friend of mine. You and I are probably straighter than she is," Claude managed to get out in between his giggles.
"Straighter than the bi solidarity duo?" Lysithea said, fake shock lacing her voice. "No, I don't think that's possible. Anyway, though. As much as we want to speculate, she'd have to tell us if she was bi or a lesbian before any of us could say for sure. No matter how good Claude's gaydar is."
"Sylvain says she is," Anette said, turning her attention away from the book in her lap. She'd been trying to get a little studying done while half way tuning into the conversation. This was enough to pull her fully away from the textbook. "Sylvain said he almost tried to flirt with her and she, without hesitation or remorse, shot him down by declaring herself a lesbian."
"I'd tell Sylvain I was a lesbian too if it got him to leave me alone," Leonie said with a shake of her head.
"You aren't?" Lysithea again faked her shock.
"Let's be real Lysi, she's too obsessed with the professor's dad to be a complete lesbian." Hilda's smirk turned devilish as Leonie turned bright red.
"I, you, I don't," she stuttered out in a pathetic attempt to defend herself. "I'd rather date the professor than her dad!" she blurted. Leonie was only making the situation worse for herself.
"Oh I see," Claude swooped in for the kill. "So you're saying you have a thing for the professor. My, my. That's awfully bold of you Leonie! I can't fault you though. Who here wouldn't tap that if they were given the chance?" Claude shook his head as absolutely no arms went up. Hilda even fucking winked and made a clicking noise with her tongue. That was his best friend alright.
At that point, the tea party just started to devolve into chaotic laughter as Claude and Hilda teased everyone present.
Of course, all good things must come to an end, and Claude remembered the reason he wanted to meet with Hilda in the first place. "Speaking of the professor though, what do all of you think of her?"
"What do you mean what do we think of her? We just went over the fact she's attractive and mysterious, what else are we supposed to think?" Lorenz said with a dismissive expression. "Of course, she is a commoner, so she has that going against her I suppose. That being said, she doesn't ever quite act like a commoner. There's an air to her that implies that she's acted in a court setting before, which confuses me as from what I've heard the Eisner family has no ties to any of Fodlan's nobility!"
"Who gave Lorenz the right to speak?" Dorothea asked, turning to Claude.
"No one, but he brings up a valid point. The professor doesn't have any noble blood from Fodlan but she acts like nobility. I've seen it too. Sometimes, especially in the presence of Rhea, she'll just freeze up and go into what's best described as an autopilot. Whenever she does it, well, I've met actual nobility with less grace than what she suddenly starts displaying with no warning. It's like she defaults into a princess mode or something," Claude said, pressing a finger to the tip of his chin. That was only the start of the mystery when it came to the professor.
A couple other students nodded as though to express their agreement. "It's not quite Fodlan nobility though, is it?" Mercedes offered. "It's an obvious aura of grace and prestige, but there are some quirks that just seem out of line for a Fodlan noble. Like, maybe a foreign noble? Petra, have you seen anything familiar to it?"
"I have not seen the nobles of my country ever acting in such odd manners. She is quite the confusing." A couple more nods from around the group as Petra spoke.
"I think I might know," Raphael said. Raphael? "Before my ma and pa died, occasionally we'd meet with people from far-away countries to talk out trade deals. My parents were really good at global trade, which is pretty rare here in Fodlan thanks to the isolationist attitude. We were probably one of the only merchants in the country to do it. Anyway, a noble from Ylisse I think it was got in touch with us and I got to meet them! The way the professor greets people reminds me a lot of how the Ylissean noble used to act!"
Claude nodded slowly, taking the new detail in. "Do you think she's nobility in Ylisse? It would make sense, especially with Seteth suddenly assigning her as a world history and economics professor or whatever her official title is. She seems experienced."
"Nobility is passed down through the blood," Lorenz said, even though the group had agreed he wasn't allowed to speak. "She would need to have a relative in nobility. As honorable as Jeralt is it obviously isn't him since he was born and raised in Fodlan according to he himself. It could always have been her mother, but we know little about her. Given the way she acts, I don't think she married in either. So we have no way of saying if she's an actual noble."
"That isn't necessarily true. The part about needing noble blood." Raphael was again the one to correct the group. "In a lot of foreign countries they don't have crests. Ylisse has something close but only the royal family has it. Nobility gain and lose power all the time through their own actions. I've heard that in some countries like Ylisse a noble title can be gifted to someone who shows exceptionally strength or valor. Like playing general in a war or something. If the professor and Jeralt lived in Ylisse at any time it would have been possible for Jeralt to gain a noble title when the professor was little and for the professor to be raised a noble."
Leonie flinched slightly. "With all due respect to captain Jeralt he doesn't really seem the type to hold a noble title well. Let alone want to. I doubt he would have been the one teaching the professor court manners of all things."
Claude had to admit there was a sharp contrast between the professor and Jeralt on that account. Jeralt seemed to have the aura of your typical mercenary. More refined from all that time spent as a knight and the legendary Blade Breaker, but a mercenary nonetheless. Byleth had a noticeable lack of jagged edges in the character she wore. Claude would almost be tempted to assume, if it wasn't for her skill with a blade, Byleth was never a mercenary at all. There were no sharp edges, no sudden slips into a mercenary persona. It was all polished and smooth, and Claude for the life of him couldn't tell if that was an act or a natural facet of her personality. He wanted to take her at face value but it all seemed so much like an act that he couldn't.
He didn't distrust her, but he certainly didn't trust her either. She was an enigma, and that was one of the few things that truly frustrated Claude.
"Since we're getting near to that topic, let's talk about her combat skills. Hilda, how did your group fair against her in the mock battle?" Claude hadn't gotten the chance to debrief with all the Golden Deer present. Furthermore, he knew that 3 out of the 4 interlopers actually got to go against her during the battle, so they could provide some interesting insight.
What he didn't expect was for the four Deers who went against her to outright shiver. "Yeah, no, I'm not fighting her again. Not outside of the safety of training practice. I refuse to, and you can't make me," Hilda said quite decisively with a quick shake her head. "I tried to hit her with my axe and she didn't so much as flinch when she blocked it. She just blocked it and took the axe from me. She's obviously more experienced, so I decided a tactical retreat was the best option."
"She got scared because she's not used to someone being stronger than her and she decided to run away," Lysithea cut in. Claude was almost taken aback. Hilda was possibly one of the strongest people he knew. Yeah, they were all students and none of them could stand up to a professional, but still. Even after seeing Byleth kill that monster, it hadn't quite clicked just how powerful this new professor was. Again, they were all still students. But Claude was pretty damn sure he wouldn't have been able to take her in a fight.
That being said, Claude had his cunning. Perhaps he could trick her in a fight?
"Claude, I know what you're thinking, and just don't," Lysithea said with a resigned sigh. Claude jumped slightly and turned to the mage. "We probably would have been able to rush and take down Alois and maybe Shamir with minimal casualties. But we tried to attack the professor first and that was our mistake. She used a spell I've never even seen before." Leonie and Raphael both shivered as Lysithea spoke and Hilda pressed a hand to her mouth.
"What kind of spell?" Claude was almost too worried to ask as one of the strongest people he knew tried to shake off the memory.
"It was this weird spell that knocked me and Raphael off balance. Like, it started out as some kind of powerful force that staggered us so I thought it might be wind magic. But then I got really dizzy afterwards and Raphael and I couldn't stand. Lysithea was dazed for a couple moments afterwards too. And then once the dizzy passed I started to feel sick to my stomach and stayed that way until I got knocked out. Hilda was the only one who was able to stay on her feet!"
Hilda made a bitter expression and shook her head at Leonie's words. "It was miserable. I was able to stay standing, but it was pretty hard to charge her when everything started spinning. That's why I attacked her at full force. You know, last resort kind of thing. And she just blocked it. With no effort. I walked away before the sickness kicked in but it was vicious."
"That has more to do with your magical intolerance than a drawback of the spell," Lysithea said, a finger pressed to her chin. "A lot of people with a low tolerance for magic will feel sick after it gets used on them. Especially with high level spells. While it might not have done significant damage, whatever spell she cast was an extremely high level spell and wasn't from Fodlan either. She must have had a teacher at some point, and a strong one at that."
Annette frowned at the memory of what happened to her. "I would have loved to see that, but she got me and Hubert out with Shamir's bow before we could even get a spell off."
"I promise you that you got the better end of the bargain," Dorothea said with a grimace as she pressed her teacup to her lips and tried not to think about the way she'd gotten taken out.
"I hardly believe she could have been quite as strong as you're trying to make her out to be. We are, after all, just students. If she'd been paired against someone of greater skill and renown like Catherine or Jeralt himself, then I'm sure she wouldn't have faired all that well."
"Shut up Lorenz you weren't there."
Claude began to tune the rest of the group out as they continued to talk about the professor's mastery of blade and magic. And apparently also bow if what Annette said was true. He couldn't be certain as he hadn't seen any part of the battle with the professor in it. Maybe he should have switched with Hilda so he could see the professor in action. If they were bound to lose either way, he could have thrown the match in order to get a better feel for her capabilities. As it was now, he'd only seen a fraction.
If he'd seen her take down both the monster and gotten to observe her during the mock battle, maybe he'd be getting a fuller picture, but as things stood now he was left almost entirely in the dark. Seeing Lysithea looking so shook and Hilda borderline worried gave him a good impression, but he needed more before he could make a single conclusion regarding the woman.
He needed more.
He needed to know if she was dangerous. He needed to know if his dreams were right.
Ever since he watched that monster get killed he'd been having stranger dreams. Futures that hadn't happened, watching the professor become anything from the Archbishop to the queen of a new united Fodlan. Always with seemingly effortless grace in front of everyone else, an air of being unbeatable. Yet, he had memories of her pulling him into small rooms and crying on his shoulder whenever he'd visit as the king of Almyra. How she'd weep for those lost, weep for her own weakness, weep for how badly she wanted to be free again and how she despised being in power.
When she'd done such as the new queen, Claude actually felt bad since according to his dream self he put her own the throne. She'd almost begged for her freedom, but the moment their solitude ended she choked back her grievances and her weakness to focus on her job.
She'd been displaying weakness that he just couldn't see on the face of this professor. Maybe the dreams were fake. Maybe they were just dreams with no meaning or rhyme as dreams often tended to be. He couldn't very well ask anyone else. If it was something stupid anyone besides Hilda would probably tease him. Hell, even Hilda would tease him over something this insane. If they were real and other students were having them, then it suddenly became dangerous to mention it.
There might be other students not acting on such dreams because they've assumed them to be false. And that terrified Claude because it meant there was more things he didn't know and more potentially unpredictable students running around like fire barrels that could explode at any given moment.
He felt like he was stumbling around in the dark and he hated that. Hated the feeling. He would have hated the professor if he didn't feel his heart wrench every time the memories of dreams with tears in her eyes came back to him and battered his chest like an angry ram.
She shouldn't cry, his subconscious told him. She was too good for tears, deserved better, but he couldn't for the life of him explain why he thought so. Why his subconscious seemed to trust her so much when he knew damn well he couldn't trust a single thing about her. Before he could have his answer, he needed more information. There were too many unknown variables in a situation like this and for someone who enjoyed plotting and planning and pulling the strings that both terrified and frustrated Claude beyond measure.
He hated it. But it was also kind of fun.
The thing that truly worried him was the nightmare he'd had the night after the mock battle. It had seemingly been entirely normal. Until something bad happened. The professor and Edelgard got into some kind of spat. Claude couldn't remember why or what. But slowly it evolved into Edelgard, Dimitri, and Rhea all being against each other and against the professor. The Professor... no, Byleth. In that dream she hadn't just been the professor, she'd been Byleth, and she led Claude in a crusade against monsters who slipped and scurried around in the dark like leeches because he was the only one left who'd follow her. And he knew. Deep in his soul he knew, just like all the student who switched houses, he should follow her.
He couldn't remember much of the dream after that. All he could remember was monsters and pitch black wings. And he was afraid.
If these dreams had any bearing of truth, he needed to make sure that whatever happened didn't happen again. Something about this felt like a last chance situation and he didn't like that.
"Hey Hilda." He'd suddenly gotten an idea. The girl in question turned her attention back to Claude, bringing a stop to whatever conversation was going on. "Wanna help me follow around the professor for the rest of the day?" He asked, grinning ear to ear. He needed something. Anything. Just a small little detail that might prove his dreams so much as possible. He was willing to take just about anything. Of course, a small little detail could just be happenstance. But anything that put it into the realm of possibility would be enough for now. Enough to validate his concerns and make them worth looking into.
Hilda's eyes lit up and she gasped. "I thought you'd never ask! Mari, go grab the stalking gear!"
Marianne jumped, a look of worry in her eyes. Not that she could really stop Hilda once Hilda got an idea in her head. She left the two to go to Hilda's room and retrieve the cloaks which were the aforementioned stalking gear. Why did Marianne have a key to Hilda's room? Did he want to know? Claude decided he didn't and Hilda's attempts to seduce the much shyer girl were her business and hers alone. The entire group was buzzing after that. The Golden Deer were all very chaotic people with loose morals, so no one questioned the thought of stalking their professor for seemingly no reason.
Dorothea had similarly questionable morals and didn't give Petra the chance to question Claude. Not just that, but she also craved the entertainment this would inevitably cause.
Mercedes and Annette seemed a bit awkward about the idea but decided it was probably safer for them if they just went along their business and pretended they didn't hear anything. Smart girls. Deers knew how to shut people up.
So with that, the Golden Deer Tea Party came to a chaotic end and Claude started to drag Hilda halfway across the school on a professor hunt. It was about midday so the cloaks were sketchier than just walking around like normal. Hilda and Claude decided to abandon said cloaks somewhere they could easily be retrieved should the situation change.
Claude led the hunt, checking all the usual places they knew the professor liked to spend time. So essentially the greenhouse and the fishing pond. Why did Claude assume that when he'd known the professor for all of a couple weeks? He didn't know. Unfortunately, the professor wasn't anywhere to be seen so Claude and Hilda expanded their search to the front gate where the merchants gathered and pawned goods off on the students. Bingo.
They found the professor talking to the one guard that Hilda liked to con into carrying the things she bought. The saccharine sweet one who gave everyone passing by a smile. Claude liked him well enough. He didn't seem all that cunning which made him a low to no threat on the Claude Danger Scale meaning that Claude could safely get along with him with little worries. The two were just chatting, mostly. Out in the open no less, so it couldn't have been anything important.
Claude and Hilda were careful in their approach, staying behind the professor so as not to catch her attention, stepping quietly and breathing shallow. They were the epitome of stealth!
"Are you going to name the new kittens?" The Gatekeeper asked, overexcited. Kittens? Seriously? That was what the professor talked about in her off moments. For some reason it felt right, but it was still disappointing.
"Of course, I already have 3 picked out," Byleth said with a nod. Hilda and Claude couldn't see it, but Claude swore he heard a hint of a smile in her tone as she spoke. It was remarkably sweet in a way that Claude hadn't been expecting, which made his heart give an uncomfortable clench that he also wasn't expecting. Who was this woman? She suddenly perked up as though noticing something. "I seem to have lost track of time. My apologies, Locke, but I need to teach a very special lesson. Continue keeping a good lookout."
The Gatekeeper smiled brightly and bid Byleth a quick goodbye as she started setting out in the opposite direction of Hilda and Claude.
A special lesson? This, Claude wanted to see.
The two followed dedicatedly as she just kept walking and walking. And walking. And more walking. Where in the heck was she heading? The two continued as she passed the various monastery landmarks. If she was teaching a super secret special lesson, then Claude would have expected her to head for a classroom or somewhere discreet. Such wasn't the cause. Instead, she just kept walking. Looping around past the cathedral, going past the student's rooms, and... did...
"Did she just loop us all the way around back to the gate?" Hilda asked after the two had been following her for the better part of an hour all while she lazily patrolled the monastery grounds, talking to just about everyone she saw. Offering random flowers to random people who looked like they were having a bad day. Answering the questions of students. Just doing this and that and nothing related to any special lesson. What in the world was she doing exactly?
If nothing else, Claude at least could compare how to she was acting now to portions of his dreams. It was familiar enough to be eerie without being conclusive, which frustrated Claude.
The two ended up just following her in one big circle all the way back to the front gate where she suddenly disappeared without warning. Easily too. Claude had been looking at her one moment, blinked, and suddenly she was gone. This resulted in Claude and Hilda looking at each other and gasping back and forth in shock. He couldn't understand how it happened; He was being so careful. Did she duck behind a cart when they weren't looking? Did she straight up just use foreign magic to turn invisible and ghost the pair?
"I thought she said she was going to teach some special lesson," Hilda said dejectedly. Claude couldn't blame her pouty expression. If it was a secret lesson, he would have loved to try sitting in on it. It could have been something special.
"I was."
The voice came from right behind Claude. He absolutely did not scream like a girl when the voice suddenly appeared right in his damn ear. Hilda screamed just as high pitched! Okay, maybe that wasn't a very good comparison considering she was a girl. The two turned on their heels, hands pressed to their chests as they turned to look at their professor.
Claude looked at Byleth, his expression turning mystified. She was... she was actually grinning. Like literally, legitimately grinning. The first time he'd seen her show visible emotion, and she was smiling at him like the cat who just stole the cannery. Like she was enjoying whatever the heck this was.
As the fear began to ebb away it gave way to anger, confusion, and a small sense of endearment that he couldn't really place. The situation felt nostalgic and once again he was reminded of his dreams. Yeah. This was enough. This was enough to make them worth looking into. It was almost enough to change his position on the professor who leaned back, allowing her vicious grin to turn into a much smaller smile. It was still a smile though, gentle and warm, perhaps even fond.
"I was teaching a special class. I was teaching the two of you. Or at least trying to. They say the best way to learn is the practical application of a skill, though if you two really wanted to practice your stealth skills you should have come to me first," she said as though what had just happened was completely and utterly normal.
"How did you notice us? We were so careful," Claude said. He felt a little put out knowing they were caught. That meant she really was just messing with them, looping them around the entire school.
"You were careful, and someone else probably wouldn't have noticed you. Especially not with so many other people around. You were quiet and did a good job of staying out of sight. But the thing is, everyone has a very distinctive presence. Those who are attuned with the world might notice this presence. The same way a spiritualist has an easier time noticing a ghost, a warrior has an easier time noting other people's presence if they're tuned in properly. While you were trying to be stealthy, your presence made itself very well-known. You two both have unique presences. Often, a presence can also be strengthened by your intentions. Your intentions also made themselves know. Think of it a bit like an aura," she said, pressing a hand to her chest.
"Everyone has an aura they impart onto this world. It's proof they exist. Some people are good at suppressing this aura and can go easily unnoticed in plain sight. You two aren't very good at camouflaging yourselves. Good try, though. If you want to, I can teach you to be better at it," she offered.
Claude shook his head. "That won't be necessary, professor. Thank you, though. I think Hilda and I learned a lot today!" Byleth frowned slightly as though she was disappointed, but nodded anyway. She bid a quick goodbye when Claude and Hilda staged a very hasty retreat.
He'd reassured himself in his decision to investigate the professor more. But after all that, he was just more curious about her!
(-)(-)(-)(-)
Hi, friends! As some of you already know, there's only going to be one update for this week. I just want to quickly say this change isn't permanent and I'll be back to regular updates soon.
The first reason for this is that I'm officially back in class this week! In the best interest of making sure my grades and my writing don't suffer, I'm going to be taking it slowly to properly get back into the swing of things.
The second reason is something that's been brought up quite a few times. Grammar. More importantly, why things look a little messy.
The core issue here would be my editing practices. I'm aware that sometimes I end up typing the wrong word and I don't catch it in post. I know there's a different between its and it's or your and you're, and again, I don't always catch it in post. For a while, I only ever skim edited my fanfiction, so I miss a lot of the smaller details when it comes to editing. If only 5 people at most are going to read your story regularly that tends not to matter. If it wasn't a school assignment or something I had the intention of professionally publishing, editing thoroughly just didn't matter to me. After all, it was "just" fanfiction. Not practice. Not work. Just entertainment.
I have never written for a popular or recent fandom. So I didn't walk into this expecting to get attention at the level this story is currently receiving. This story started as mindless self indulgence for yours truly and I just decided to share. I never thought it would get any attention. Now it's getting a ton. So, in with that vein I'm going to be attempting to up my editing process for future updates and looking into hunting down a beta reader (unfortunately I couldn't find one in time for this chapter). I have a couple friends who've agreed, but they're on a 'whenever I have free time' availability, so I'm still looking for someone that can keep up with my update schedule.
With all that said, I apologize for the temporary delays. I'll continue trying my hardest to post at least one chapter a week and things should be back to normal soon.
Cheers! And as always, thanks for reading and commenting. I really appreciate it. Especially those of you who leave me tons of long comments, you're all the reason I keep going.