Edelgard seemed agitated, to say the least, as she paced back and forth in front of Hubert, her brow dangerously creased over with worry. They'd been over it ten different times, trying to figure out why Those Who Slither had attacked the Golden Deer and what the monster that the professors had reported seeing even was. It could be happenstance that it showed up alongside a band of TwS, but nothing surrounding them ever seemed to be happenstance. Edelgard didn't much care for Claude or the Golden Deer. She would feel guilty later, but for now she could keep telling herself she couldn't care less if it brought her closer to her goals.
At least, that's how Hubert kept reminding her to think whenever he saw the way her brow occasionally would crease with worry or regret whenever it was the two of them alone. Anything, as long as it brought them closer to their joint goal.
Whatever the heck that attack was, it didn't seem to do anything good for Edelgard's goals. In fact, the more they reflected on it, the more it seemed like a setback or worse. On top of that, something else was bothering his lady.
"You are aware that the professor was nowhere near seriously injured, correct?" Hubert asked. Edelgard flinched. So he was right. He'd been hoping his hunch would prove inaccurate, but if there's one thing Hubert knew, it just so happened to be the inner workings of Edelgard.
Ever since the new professor had appeared and seemingly charmed Edelgard, she'd been taking up a good chunk of his lady's attention. It frustrated Hubert. He wanted to be rid of the menace as quickly as possible before she became a danger to Edelgard's plans. If he'd had his way, he would have killed this new professor ages ago, before she became this big of a problem for himself and his lady. Unfortunately, something was stopping him.
Not Edelgard. She would never know. She'd be sad for a while but she'd get over it and be none the wiser that Hubert had been the one to eliminate his Lady's peftect little crush. No. It was something else entirely that seemed to stall Hubert's hand every time it started to hover closer and closer to the dagger strapped against his hip.
A rush of chaotic emotions and thought he couldn't quite accurately ascribe words to. Something deep down in the pit of his empty chest which twisted and churned at the idea of harm so much as coming to the professor, let alone him hurting her himself. A voice in the back of his mind kept screaming no, no, no, as if there was something subconscious Hubert knew that conscious Hubert didn't. He couldn't understand it.
Hubert hated not being able to understand something.
Edelgard finally stopped her pacing for a moment, sighing heavily. "The fact that Those Who Slither acted of their own accord in a way that could have easily proven counterproductive to our goals has me more upset then that, though I will admit that's been one of the things on my mind. Not just that, but also the incident back with Jeritza..."
Ah, the dog. Edelgard had been in quite the fuss afterwards, going so far as to scold the man who'd said he was only doing what Jeralt had asked of him. A proper combative demonstration. Though, if Byleth had died, he wouldn't have been opposed. Regardless, he'd acted without orders from Hubert or Lady Edelgard, which agitated both of them. It had especially upset Edelgard, who gazed at Jeritza with pure ire the entire duration of the conversation where they demanded the man explain himself.
Jeritza very discreetly implied he knew more than he was sharing, which upset Edelgard and infuriated Hubert. Unfortunately, there wasn't much they could do about it for the time being. If they acted too familiar with Jeritza, it would only reflect poorly in the future, so they just had to disengage.
That being said, Jeritza acting on his own was still a problem. They'd have to watch him more closely.
Just when she was done with her fussing over the Jeritza debacle, she had this problem to deal with. He decided now would be a good time to voice his own opinions. "I'm more concerned with whatever monster the other class saw. A Rift Beast, I believe they decided to call it? Though I can't begin to fathom why. From the descriptions I've heard, the beast bore no semblance to any kind of 'rifts' I know of."
Edelgard shook her head at Hubert's words, chewing on her bottom lip as she went back to her pacing. Neither one of them wanted to say it out loud, but the event had put a certain sense of worry into both of their heads. A sudden understanding of an inevitable outcome, but something Edelgard had hoped to avoid until after the war. What if Those Who Slither turned on them? As though sharing his exact train of thought, a shiver visibly ran up Edelgard's spine and she sat down in a huff. "Perhaps I should contact Thales to hear some of the situation from his own mouth. Er. Letter."
"Your orders for me, my Lady?" Hubert already had a feeling as to what she was going to request of him, but it was worth asking.
"I want you to tail Professor Byleth and figure out anything you can. Try to gauge her skill set and if she's possibly recruitable," Edelgard said, picking up a quill and hunting out a fresh sheet of paper off her desk.
"Would you also have me figure out her favorite blend of tea?"
"Ye- Hubert! Whatever is that supposed to mean?" Edelgard turned to him, looking absolutely scandalized. Why look so guilty if there's nothing to be guilty over?
"Nothing, my lady. I'll see to it that I gauge her capabilities to the best of my own. All people on this earth have a price at which they can be swayed. I'm certain that she's no different in that regard. I'll figure out just what it'll take for us to to recruit her." He said with a quick nod.
Edelgard frowned as though that had been the wrong thing to say. "I'm not so certain about her. Be careful. And try not to get caught. Dorothea spent an hour regaling me with the wild goose chase the professor led Hilda and Claude on a couple days prior to their mission. From what I've gathered, she's quite the cunning individual, and a perceptive one to boot. I wouldn't take her too lightly."
Hubert scoffed. That was Claude and Hilda, though. A man who was both blind and deaf would probably be able to find those two with little difficulty. Hubert was a highly trained professional who'd been in the service of Lady Edelgard for a great many years. He didn't care how extraordinary this professor was. She was no threat. She was no brilliant creature. She was just some woman who was a little more skilled than the average mercenary, and as such had caught his Lady's eye for the simple merit of saving having saved her life once. If she grew to be a problem, Hubert would deal with her quickly and effectively before his Lady had time to mourn the loss.
At least, that's what he kept telling himself. No matter how tight his chest felt every time he contemplated it. How strange.
He'd almost mistake the sensation for loyalty, but Lady Edelgard was the only person on the face of the earth that Hubert was loyal to!
Admittedly, he was a bit excited to be stalking the professor.
The biggest reason Hubert wanted to follow her around himself was partially due to the upcoming monthly mission for the Blue Lions and the Black Eagles. After what happened to the Golden Deer, Rhea made it very clear she didn't want anything like that happening again. In honor of that, she was going to be sending the two classes out together on their next monthly mission with some extra knights as a band of reinforcements should things truly turn hairy. A bit of an overkill in Hubert's opinion, but understandable after what happened to the incompetent Deer. They were truly worthless creatures, their only saving grace on the last mission having been the assistant professor.
It was likely that the professor would be coming along for their own monthly mission. On top of Manuela's hands being full (leaving the Blue Lions teacherless, a role the professor had been filling as of late), Jeralt had made his opinions of his daughter and her skills known. He was of the mindset that the professor's presence was necessary to ensure nothing went wrong. It was strange how reliant on her he seemed. Was he not supposed to be the parent? Yet the professor seemed to possess his full faith and trust.
Hubert would need to measure her skills. Not to mention the dangers she might pose. He had to ensure she wouldn't become a problem on the mission. He'd need to be wary.
It was fairly early in the morning by the time Hubert stalked out of Edelgard's room out into the crisp morning air. Early enough to still be dark out. There was no other movement except for Hubert, which meant a stake out was probably the wisest course of action.
He knew which room was the professor's. All the way down at the end, the room which had originally been empty. Seteth said she'd been given the room in an attempt to help her get emotionally closer to the students, but in reality Hubert had a feeling they'd either just run out of rooms where the teachers usually slept or Seteth distrusted her enough to not want her anywhere near Rhea.
A valid fear. Hubert didn't want Byleth anywhere near Edelgard. Apparently the one thing he and Seteth had in common was the fact that those they served seemed to have an unnerving fascination (borderline obsession) with the strange mercenary. Hubert couldn't even fathom how she'd become a teacher.
She seemed strong, but so what? A lot of people seemed strong, that didn't mean she was actually all that powerful, intelligent, or any good at teaching. It just meant she was a mediocre mercenary. Hubert could kill her. Hubert could sneak up and kill her easily. Hubert could sneak into her room while she was sleeping this very instant and dispose of her. It was a tempting idea, but he shoved the thought away and instead found a comfortable hiding spot. One where he'd have a clear view of the door, but he'd also be out of her line of sight.
He hunkered down and began the long wait. He had no clue how long he'd be waiting considering it was Sunday, which meant it was a day off unless she'd gotten dragged into teaching some kind of lecture. Given the fact that Manuela had been telling her to take it easy after the battle against the beast, he kind of doubted anyone would have allowed her to teach a lecture even if she asked. Least of all Jeralt. Hubert probably would've heard about it if the professor was teaching a lecture today anyway. Goddess knows Edelgard would have found any excuse under the sun to attend it.
He was lucky that he could say with some certainty she'd at least come out. She had taken no days so far dedicated just to rest. Even on her days off, she ran around the monastery, speaking to random students and solving their problems. Not to mention speaking to the Gatekeeper. He was a forgettable man, unworthy of a spot in Hubert's memory, so he usually ignored the professor's interactions with him as much as he ignored the man himself.
He continued to watch the door. Waiting and watching. Just waiting... She was coming out, right? Hubert was starting to get frustrated. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. The sun rose and as time passed, it became mid morning. When he started this mission of his, it wasn't even sunrise. How long was this woman planning to laze about in her room?
With a huff he abandoned his hiding spot and slunk around to the side of the building. She had a window. He'd just pop his head in and hopefully he wouldn't see anything disgraceful. Worst case she was sleeping, best case she was just working on papers and Hubert could continue to wait for her.
Hubert hadn't even considered that there could, in fact, be a worse worst case scenario in which Byleth was already gone.
How?
Hubert hadn't looked away. He didn't hear the door open or close after he changed positions. That meant she needed to have already been out of her room by the time Hubert had started his stake out, which had been literally before sunrise. Before sunrise! Had this mad woman of a professor really been out and about doing important or interesting things since before sunrise? And he'd missed it?
Hubert almost felt ashamed of himself. Where in the world was she? What kind of things had he missed since she'd started whatever daily activities she got up to?
Had he underestimated her?
No, certainly not. Hubert was Hubert, he'd just miscalculated slightly. Underestimated not her, but how early she tended to rise. She was a mercenary. It wouldn't be odd for her to get up early for the sake of training before the students began to swarm her with questions that needed answers. He could find her easily enough and once he found her he wouldn't lose her a second time. She was still just some random mercenary Rhea had assigned a position for no foreseeable reason.
And he was the clever Hubert.
This job would be easy as soon as he caught up with her.
Now the question just came down to finding her. He decided his first try would be the training grounds. They were fairly close to the professor's room and it would make sense for her to be there. What else would she be doing this early in the morning?
He didn't find the professor, but he found Leonie. Leonie hadn't much liked the professor in the first couple weeks of her teaching at the school. The professor didn't respect Captain Jeralt enough, according to Captain Jeralt's number one fan. Ever since the little mess with the Golden Deer though, Leonie and a good number of the Deers had all changed their tunes to songs of praise. It wouldn't be wrong to say Leonie had started looking up to the professor nearly as much as Jeralt. Not quite as much, but it was a close comparison.
What in the world had the woman done to earn Claude's approval, that's what Hubert wanted to know. She couldn't have performed all that spectacularly during the Deer battle. She was just a mercenary. Unfortunately, Claude had been in and out of consciousness for the last couple days. Only staying awake long enough at one point to lavish the professor with thanks and praises for keeping his house safe and helping everyone get back alive and mostly uninjured. It was sappy. Hubert thought it disgusting.
"Hello," he said, materializing behind Leonie. The woman shrieked, jumped, and nearly smacked Hubert with her spear as she turned on her heels. Hubert was expecting such a reaction and dodged just at the right moment. Not that it mattered, since none of them were allowed to practice alone with live steel yet. Professor's rule.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She complained, glaring at Hubert. "What do you even want?" Her disposition towards Hubert wasn't positive, but that didn't matter as she'd give him what he wanted, regardless. The opinions of others mattered not to him.
"Have you seen the professor?"
Leonie frowned, looking at him for a long moment before eventually answering. "She was talking to Jeralt not too long ago. She was in here training, but she left with him when he showed up. I'm pretty sure the two went to breakfast together."
Hubert left without so much as a thank you for goodbye, having the information he now needed to complete his assigned task. The opinions and thoughts of others matter not as long as he completed the tasks Lady Edelgard demanded of him. All else was moot.
At least he tried to leave.
"Hey, wait!" Leonie called after him. He surely hoped she wasn't expecting some kind of payment. She should have asked before she told him if that was the case. "Can I ask a favor really quick?"
"You may ask, however, I may not undertake said favor. I am not the professor. I don't enjoy running meaningless errands." He glared at her with poorly veiled disdain.
Leonie's lips pulled into a snarl and it looked like she was thinking about just punching him instead. However, she managed to calm herself down with a quick breath and look at him evenly. "I was wondering if you'd take a message to Bernadetta if you see her around. She's been really worried about Claude ever since we got back. She and Hilda have been at his side the most ever since. Could you maybe tell her that he's awake and okay to take visitors?"
Hubert knew Bernadetta wasn't fond of him. He tried to get along with all of their classmates for Lady Edelgard, at least those within the Black Eagles, but it was hard with Bernadetta. She feared him so. "I will try," he said before finally getting the chance to take his leave.
Leonie didn't stop him again, simply watched him go as he made his way out of the training area and started to cross the campus.
In the dining hall it was easy enough to find the professor and her father. It was a fairly empty room. The two sat together at a table with multiple cups of coffee between them. Unnervingly, there were more cups than Hubert could count on a single hand... They were talking animatedly. Or, well, Jeralt was talking and the professor was nodding every couple of minutes. It seemed like a normal conversation as Hubert settled into a dark corner where no one would pay him any mind.
It seemed like a normal conversation, anyway.
Except Hubert for the life of him couldn't understand what they were saying. Considering how few people were in the room and how loudly Jeralt was speaking, his words should have been clear. Yet they came to Hubert's ears sounding muffled. He frowned deeply and shifted his attention to trying to read the lips of the older man. That didn't work either. The harder he stared at the pair the harder it became to concentrate, the words and his thoughts blending together into an unclear mess until he had no clue what either party was trying to say.
It was strange to say the least. Was this some type of spell? Hubert fancied himself a fairly skilled mage, but he'd never heard of any spell similar to what was happening now. The longer he tried to look at the pair, the harder it got to focus. It got to the point where even his vision was blurring.
If that wasn't unnerving enough, the longer he stared at them, the more he felt like something was staring at him. There wasn't anyone in the room paying him any attention. No one he could see, anyway. But it felt as though there was a presence nearby him. Starting over his shoulder, moving from side to side, peering right into his soul. Which was an awkward feeling since Hubert had gotten to a point where he'd just assumed he didn't have one anymore? Whatever soul he might have had was surely forsaken by the Goddess considering the number of things he'd done in the name of Lady Edelgard.
He'd follow her and her strong determination to the end of the world without question. Her passion and her strength were enchanting; he wanted to see the ideal world she'd envisioned become a reality. Even if it meant going against the very Gods to do so.
Yet the presence that peered into his very being didn't feel unwelcomed or malignant. It didn't even really feel uncomfortable all things considered. It just existed. So it was, looking at him with a gentle kind of appraisal. It was distracting. Distracting enough that he looked away from the professor for all of five seconds and looked back up only to realize she was fucking gone again. What the hell, where did she go?
While the professor might have disappeared without a trace, his own professor had not. So he removed himself from his shadowy corner and began his approach of the Blade Breaker. Whatever presence was leering over his shoulder suddenly felt amused before fading away to nonexistence. What an odd feeling.
"Professor Jeralt," Hubert said, catching Jeralt's attention.
Despite being early to midmorning, the man already had a flask in his hand. Hubert had heard the man had a liver of steel, but what in the world could drive a man to drink that early in the morning? The answer was on the flask itself. On one side of the flask was written 'Rhea did a thing'. The scratched words looked exceptionally old, decades at least. The other side of the flask was marked with 'Byleth did a thing'. These markings were comparatively much newer, like they could have been scrawled on yesterday for all Hubert knew.
Jeralt looked down at the flask in his hand after catching Hubert's line of sight and then looked back up at Hubert with an unflinching gaze.
"You must lead an interesting life... I was curious as to where exactly the professor had gone. I have a question for her regarding our most recent lectures and if we'll be going over any of the countries that are more within the range of Fodlan." A very clever lie if Hubert said so himself.
Jeralt snorted. "Kid went to town for brunch. I think she was going with that Gatekeeper fellow? The two seemed to become fast friends after the mock battle, and I haven't really had the heart to question Byleth or complain since she doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong. She probably won't be back for a couple hours. Regarding your question though, I think she has plans to go over Dagda, Brigid, Almyra, and Duscur after she talks to some of their locals. She's mostly just been starting with what she knows."
Hubert nodded. "Very well, I have a couple more questions but I believe I have the time to wait for her." A couple hours was nothing to Hubert. Not compared to how many hours he'd already wasted on this endeavor. He was used to sitting and waiting. It was all part of the process that came with gathering information, and Hubert would do absolutely anything for Lady Edelgard.
Hubert would have his analysis of Byleth and her skill set before the day was through.
There was only one real entrance into the monastery. At least, one entrance that most normal people were willing to take. Hubert could list a couple side entrances, but no normal person would take those and if the professor did, then he'd need to readjust his assessment of her and her character. That being said, so far all that'd happened was her getting repeatedly lucky. Waking up early and him getting distracted by some unknown presence were hardly indicators of any kind of skill or knowledge that she was being followed.
Surely Claude and Hilda were just exaggerating, and he was going to prove it.
Once again, Hubert found a comfortable, out-of-the-way position near the front gate, sat down, and began a second stake out. He didn't expect to be taken off guard a second time. If the professor actually slipped past him, then he'd be genuinely impressed.
So he waited, and he watched. As the seconds ticked to minutes and the minutes slowly turned to hours, he continued to watch the gate and the slow trickle of people who came in. None of which looked even similar to his professor, so he just kept waiting and watching, glancing over each and every person who entered. That being said, it wasn't like she was trying to sneak in, so he didn't expect her to accidentally slip through his fingers.
Key word being he didn't expect that to happen. As he continued his vigil, he occasionally allowed his gaze to wander to the various merchants when the trickle of travelers coming into the monastery dulled to enough of a lull that he wasn't going to miss anyone by turning away to check his surroundings.
He saw lots of interesting things. Dorothea haggling tea prices with one of the merchants. Ferdinand later getting conned out of his money by the same tea merchant. The poor fool was so helpless it was almost adorable. Wait. What? Adorable? Hubert's face twitched in a grimace of disgust. Ferdinand was anything but adorable. Annoying, yes. A sunshin-y pain in the ass, yes. A constant insult to Lady Edelgard, absolutely. Adorable? No way.
A couple members of other houses also came out and about. Mercedes and Annette usually went shopping together if they could, so he wasn't too shocked to see them together. What was interesting was the fact that Ashe was with them, picking out various ingredients and showing them off to the pair. Was he cooking tonight? Hubert certainly hoped that if he was, he was cooking alone or with that man from Duscur. He dreaded the thought of what might happen if Annette was allowed into the kitchen again...
There weren't as many Golden Deer as there usually were. A lot of their members were still stuck on bed rest. The only ones who weren't were probably Ignatz and Lysithea who'd mostly hung back. Leonie was supposed to be on bed rest but she was impatient. Even Marianne, who was supposed to be a healer, had gotten a little scuffed up trying to heal some of her classmates who'd taken the front lines. Raphael took an absolute beating, and Lorenz did his best to protect the others as it was his 'noble duty'. Hilda took her fair share of damage trying to keep their idiot house leader alive.
Then there was Claude...
Yes, Hubert could find a lot of interesting things looking around the market. Like the professor trying to haggle with Anna. Wait, what!?
When the?
How did she?
Hubert couldn't help gawking when he caught sight of the teal haired woman quite adamantly arguing with Anna, showing more emotions than Hubert had ever seen on her face before. She was holding a large pouch of money but Anna seemed reluctant, which was rare and almost worried Hubert as to what kind of request the professor was making. Hubert caught her lips forming the letters for 'It's just a wyvern' and he decided that he really didn't want to know, but he probably should know.
Anna finally relented, taking the bag of coins. The professor handed her some type of card; the Anna checked it and then handed the professor the card right back. She'd claimed to be related to the Annas on her father's side, but Hubert doubted there was even more than one Anna. It just sounded like some ludicrous story the professor had made up to explain some kind of trade connections she didn't want coming to light.
Perhaps everyone's favorite professor had some skeletons in her closet she didn't want anyone else seeing?
That idea intrigued Hubert, and he inched a little closer.
"According to my sisters, Morrigan, Morgan, and Gaius are all on a boat together with Avalon already. I'll make sure to get ahold of your damn wyvern when they dock since it's probably better Morrigan and Morgan don't come anywhere near this place," Anna said with a heavy sigh. She looked at the coins in her hands with a bittersweet expression.
"Thank you, Anna. This means a lot to me. Has everyone already gotten the other letters I sent along the pipe?"
Anna nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! We Annas never disappoint a paying customer. Not one with such close ties." Anna grinned a little before shoving the coins in her bag. "Anything else I can do for you while I'm around? I can probably get you some seals cheaper than the places around here. Honestly, they don't even provide Master Seals. And these people call themselves merchants!"
The professor shook her head, but a small laugh bubbled in the back of her throat. "No, no. I think it would be a bad idea for the little ones to promote too quickly. Although, when you get the chance, tell Kellam a quick thank you for me," she said with a grin before bidding Anna goodbye. It sounded like a regular enough conversation, though certain parts had caught Huberts interest. In particular, the talk of a wyvern. Edelgard had told him the story of how the professor tamed a wild wyvern. Again, he didn't believe it. Not until he saw proof. Though, this creature could act as proof depending on what exactly it looked like. He'd always heard that wild wyverns looked slightly different than the ones raised by breeders for riders.
There was also the mention of letters, as well as those three names. Morrigan, Morgan, and Gaius? Who were they to the professor? Could they pose a threat to Edelgard? Or perhaps were they just family? While Hubert hadn't been present for the Golden Deer Tea Party not too long ago, Dorothea had filled him in on the details. Getting in touch with these three strangers might give some valuable insights as to who exactly the professor was before getting plucked up by Rhea.
Hubert was sure he could make them talk.
After bidding her goodbyes, the professor turned the direction of the stables. She walked for a little bit before finding a barrel and sitting down on it. The moment she settled down... cats came out to greet her. Hubert continued to watch from the shadows, mystified. Was she just going to sit there and play with cats?
At this point, Hubert was actually starting to wonder if she was messing with him, using a piece of string to make the cats jump in acrobatic feats. Occasionally picking one up and playing with its paws. She did all of this with a completely neutral and absolutely emotionless expression.
He was just about to give up and leave when her expression cracked into a grin. "You know," she announced rather loudly, "you're quite the terrible spy von Vestra."
It was at that point Hubert truly felt shocked. He'd misread her. He'd misread this situation. He'd made a terrible, terrible miscalculation. This entire time... was she just toying with him?
He left the shadows slowly, shoulders hunched and sulking like a chided child. She beckoned him forward like a dog, and he bit his tongue and answered the summons because this wasn't what he was expecting. This woman wasn't what he was expecting. She freed the wiggly cat in her lap and looked up at him, almost seeming to appraise him for a moment.
"I'll admit you're better than Hilda and Claude, but that's not all that hard. That being said, you seem to still have the same problem as them. You lack the ability to hide your presence. The intentions of a person speak loudly. Even if I can't see you, even if I can't hear you, when you have the intention of following a person it's something that someone will feel if they've had any basic training in threat detection. Your intentions, much like the dynamic duo, are loud. Mostly because they're a lot more malignant," she looked him over a couple times, and Hubert almost shrunk under that gaze. How had he ended up being the one getting appraised?
Surely he could still... no. No, he couldn't. If she turned out to be a threat to Lady Edelgard, Hubert didn't think he was going to be able to kill her. Not while also making it look like an accident. He'd have to play this smart or leave it to Edelgard herself.
He… had to admit defeat. For now.
Byleth stood up and, committing the sin of all sins, patted Hubert on the head. Patted. Hubert. On. The. Head. He refused to say he leaned into the touch even if it was slightly. He grit his teeth and tried not to snap at the woman. She just grinned and continued to speak. "I had a very good teacher when it came to learning how to detect the presence of another person. Unfortunately for you, you've also seemed to catch me on a rather good day. You might have actually got me a couple days ago, but I got a full night's sleep last night. And I'm always aware of where my children are."
With that she left. Her children? Her children? Did this insolent woman just claim Hubert as one of her children?
He was telling Edelgard!
(-)(-)(-)(-)
"Hello Kellam!" The small girl almost instantly greeted him as he stepped into the room. Ten years old and sharp as a knife, both Gaius and Kellam turned to Byleth who was looking at them expectantly.
"Good morning," Kellam said, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. "How do you always notice me?" He asked.
Byleth paused for a moment. "Well, no one else would, so I figured I had to. It's pretty faint, but you've got a really distinct kind of… thingy around you. What did Tiki call it? A presence? It isn't nothingness as much as it's like the little things you don't pay attention to. But even if you don't pay attention, it's all the little things that made a day feel good. You remind me of a breeze that makes the leaves rustle, or the shade cast by a huge tree during summer. Gentle, good little things." Byleth smiled at him, a rare sight indeed, before running off.
Gaius and Kellam both watched her go, trying to process the information.
"That child is gonna be dangerous one day," Gaius said with a shake of his head. Between Kellam accidentally giving her a boost to her perception and Gaius intentionally teaching her how to trick and rob a man blind, she was going to be a threat if she ever decided she didn't wanna play hero anymore.
Instead of speaking, Kellam just nodded silently. Dangerous indeed...