5/4
Lying in bed for most of the day was not something Forneus could do very well. Ironically, sitting around and not putting in effort took more effort than surviving some of the most grueling battles he ever took part in. Jeralt, Byleth, and Alois stopped by every now and then to say hi and make conversation, and Edelgard had started bringing dinner to him and talking over that, but he had spent 3 days confined to his own room and the mess hall. And Manuela wasn't happy to learn he visited the mess hall, so even that wasn't open to him anymore.
Yes, he couldn't talk much and had to be careful not to puff up his chest, but considering how he handled himself following his stabbing, surely he didn't need to be confined to his room?
"Professor Eisner." Someone knocked on Forneus' door; a man with a monotone, deep voice. Forneus got up and opened it to see Dedue standing there, holding two plates of delicious-looking eggs, hash browns, meats, and fruit. "We'll be having breakfast the Blue Lions classroom with Professor Hanneman. We would appreciate it if you would join us." "We?" "Yes. People who would be happy to see you."
He didn't have much of a reason to refuse.
"Give me one minute to get into something more formal." "No need. It's nothing formal. Besides, it's humid." "...Very well, then. I'll join you."
It was a humid and wet morning; the stone pathways were still damp, and while passing by the courtyard, the grass and dirt looked very muddy. The sun had yet to rise, so the sky was a rather dark blue, yet it was still brighter than the night. Forneus pitied whoever had to do weeding the coming week, and Dedue appeared to share the sentiment. As they neared the Blue Lions classroom, a small ruckus could be heard. Hardly a party, but a lively conversation was going on behind those doors.
Dedue handed one of the plates over to Forneus. "I'm not certain what you like, so I got you a variety. I hope that's okay." With his free hand, Dedue opened the doors, and Forneus was quickly ushered into the room by the numerous people waiting for him. Between the many greetings and well-wishes of those there, he noticed a steaming teapot with multiple free cups, right next to a display covered with biscuits, berries, cookies, crumpets, and more. On the table besides it, a cake sat yet to be cut, with fresh bread and an untouched plate of sweet buns behind it.
Not to mention the many people sitting in the classroom with him.
Magnus sat at the desk nearest the door, his usual bear-fur overcoat nowhere to be seen, replaced by a simple string necklace with boar tusks. Hanneman had left his coat in his office, giving a short speech about the importance of proper nutrition to Bernadetta, who was huddling in the corner of the room with multiple cookies and biscuits in her hands. Dimitri, dressed to the nines as usual, escorted Forneus to his seat personally, Dedue by his side. Ashe forwent his cloaked tunic for the standard Garreg Mach undershirt, and kept talking to Shez, sitting in the corner of the room, his silver brooch still pinned on his shoulder. And Mercedes and Annette were embroiled in their own conversation over tea.
"Professor, it's good to see you." Dimitri spoke with a candid contentment in his voice. "I understand this is rather unorthodox, but we thought we'd try to help make things more manageable for you while you recover." "It's not a problem, Dimitri. To be honest, I was dying to leave my room. But where is this coming from?" Dedue motioned towards Magnus, before sitting down with Ashe and Shez to enjoy his breakfast.
"Magnus, did you organize this?" Dimitri and Forneus took a seat as Magnus scratched the back of his head. "...Well, I didn't organize is, so much as I was the spark that started this fire. Before I tell you, though, will I get in trouble if I admit to breaking any rules?" "...It depends on the severity of the rule." "You seem laxer than Professor Hanneman, so I suppose it's safe." A quick chuckle arose from the three boys before Magnus started telling his story.
"Bernadetta and I snuck into the kitchen after curfew to make you some sweet buns. Just something to help you through the day-to-day. But while we were waiting for the buns to bake, I got reckless and went outside, running into Professor Hanneman on my way back in. I thought, 'I'm getting expelled for sure.' But the funny thing is, he was leading Mercedes, Annette, Ashe, Dedue, and Shez to the kitchen because they all had the same idea we did!"
"I would have gone as well, but I'm afraid I'm an utterly incompetent cook. The last time I tried cooking a meal, I broke the handles on two pots and the result tasted like dirt." "You broke the handles on two different pots? What?" "...You must be a lot stronger than you look, your highness... But on a related note, the cake was made by Dedue and Ashe, and Shez made most of the biscuits with help from Mercedes and Annette. Bernadetta made those buns over there, they're specifically for you. I just stood around holding a torch so we could see better. ...By the way, if your wound starts hurting again, have a sweet bun. Love heals, and Bernadetta made it with lots of love."
"M-M-MAGNUS! THAT'S NOT T-T-TRUE! I-I MEAN IT WASN'T MADE WITH H-HATE OR ANYTHING, BUT-BUT-BUT-" "You do realize Bernadetta doesn't respond well to teasing, right, Magnus?" Shez called out to the hunter, simultaneously trying to coax the embarrassed, whimpering heir of Varley out of the corner with some cookies. "...Right. Bugger me... All teasing aside, though, those sweet buns will make all the pain go away."
Magnus shoveled in one more handful of meat before getting up and running over to Bernadetta and Shez, the former now quietly munching on a cookie as Magnus came over, apologizing. A rusty smirk formed on Forneus' face, which didn't seem to go unnoticed by Dimitri. It felt nice to have people doing things for him, not because they were getting paid, or threatened, or because it was their job; they were doing it just because they were good people. It was something wholly unfamiliar to the mercenary, coming from anybody besides Jeralt and Byleth, but for him, at least, it was most welcome.
"Seteth, may I borrow some of your time?" "...Professor Eisner? Please, come in. I'm surprised to see you up and about. Are you certain you're well?"
Something in those sweet buns at breakfast made Forneus' wound much less sensitive. Given Magnus' parting comment before leaving to help Shez calm Bernadetta, he knew it was spiked with some form of painkiller. He didn't know if it was something Manuela would approve of- or if it was even obtained in a legal manner- but it gave him enough strength to get back to work, and he was already 3 days behind, so he really didn't care.
Forneus took a seat opposite the attendant, the bright, violet-like glow of the early dawn sun pouring through the window Seteth had his back to. Had he not known better, he might have mistaken it as a message Seteth was a saint or deliverer of some sort. The green-haired stoic put aside a stack of papers, along with his inkwell and pen, giving Forneus his full attention.
"I'm doing quite well. I can talk and exert myself without any pain now. And given I'm 3 days behind on my work, I'd like to resume my teaching position a bit earlier, if at all possible." "...Are you certain you're fit for this? Manuela's diagnosis implied you need at least another week of rest." "I can assure you, Seteth. As it stands, my condition is manageable, and shouldn't interfere with my classes."
Seteth paused, unsure of how to move forward. He wasn't exactly complaining about Forneus returning to his position, given what he had heard from the Black Eagles students under Byleth's tutelage, but...
"...I... believe that can be arranged. But before that, I have received some... concerns. Regarding your sister's teaching."
"What did she do?"
Seteth quickly looked around to ensure nobody else was in the room before continuing. "...If I may be blunt, almost every single student in your house has filed a complaint against her. For the last three days, she has abandoned classroom learning in favor of constant sparring."
"...I had a feeling she might not understand one of the subjects, but all three...?"
"That's not all. The first two days, the fights were entirely against her, and nobody else. As a result, many of the students have reported minor to moderate injuries. And she chased poor Bernadetta around the entire campus."
"Why in all of Fodlan would she chase Bernadetta?"
"According to the other students, she had been getting more and more irritated as results failed to show from their trials. And she ended up shouting in exasperation, causing Bernadetta to panic and throw her bow at her without thinking. It struck Byleth in the face, and... I'm afraid her fears of going to class have doubled. Getting her to the lecture hall on time tomorrow may prove a challenge."
Forneus leaned back and covered his mouth, turning to face the wall before turning back to Seteth. "I suppose the reports also stated her having the face of a demon while running after her?"
"...Yes. I suspect this isn't the first time she's done this?"
"Byleth is much more emotional than she likes to let on. Being raised as mercenaries, we both learned to suppress out emotions young. But she suppresses her feelings to a degree where it becomes unhealthy. I'm usually there to help her release her true feelings, but I suppose she didn't want me to think she was incompetent or the like.
"So while she can bottle up her emotions better than I and most others can, when she reaches her breaking point, the resulting explosion are much more... violent. And I suppose being hit in the face with a bow would be seen as an act of contempt or malice, even if it was just Bernadetta having a panic attack. Sometimes her stoic facade breaks on the battlefield, and she starts to fight like a woman possessed. If that managed to come out during a training session, I can only imagine it's not much better for the health of the students."
"...I agree, Professor Eisner." Seteth said, pulling out a piece of paper and writing on it as he continued to speak. "I'll do what I can to convince Rhea and Manuela to let you back into your position as soon as possible. But before you go, I have one final question." He handed the piece of paper to Forneus. "Later today, I'll be inspecting the bookshelves to see if anything inappropriate has been set in. It seems some of the staff have gotten into the habit of stocking the shelves with various forms of pagan nonsense, overly explicit content, and outdated accounts. Given their actions, I keep needing to purge the library. I'd like you to deliver this on your way out, please."
Seteth got up to leave and talk to Rhea, but Forneus kept sitting. Seteth opened the door, holding it open for Forneus, but he just remained sitting there, squinting hard at the message.
"...Is there a problem, Professor Eisner?" "I'm sorry, who is this addressed to?" "It's addressed to Tomas, the Librarian. I believe you two have met?" "Oh, it says Tomas. My apologies, I couldn't see the recipient."
Forneus moved to walk out, but Seteth grabbed his shoulder. "Professor, do you have any problems regarding your eyesight?" "Hm? No, I... don't believe I have any eye problems."
"His vision has been horrible for as long as I can remember. He has his mother's eyes, and not just in the good way."
It wasn't often Seteth visited the bar in town, but it was where Jeralt liked to spend his free time. And he needed answers Forneus wasn't willing to give, so Jeralt was his only source.
"His mother could barely read. Her vision deteriorated a lot while we were together; everything became a bit blurry, and she eventually had to get glasses to read without hurting her eyes. She also couldn't recognize people at a distance, nor could she read large signs unless she got close.
"Forneus himself never had good eyes. He had a hard time discerning who was who in battles, and nearly killed some of our own mercs before recognizing them right before he was about to strike. It affected him off the battlefield, too. Although we taught him how to read early in his life, we've always hit the same walls, that being he just can't see the letters without putting the paper right to his eyes."
"I see... Why haven't you invested in glasses all this time?"
"I tried, but it feels like there's not one glasses-maker in all of Fodlan who actually knows what they're doing. Most of them didn't do anything, or just made it worse, so we eventually stopped trying."
"What about Byleth?"
Jeralt chuckled a bit. "Her eyesight is the complete opposite of Forneus'. She can spot an owl at midnight in a tree from 30 meters away. It reminds me of when I was younger, I suppose. Why are you asking me this, anyways? You don't plan on wasting money on useless crap, are you?"
"I don't waste money on useless things, Jeralt. I simply wish to know if there's anything I can do for them."
"Heh, I doubt there's much to be done about it. He's basically half blind. Unless you've discovered some form of magic to correct eyesight, then I don't think those glass shams are going to do anything."
Jeralt got up and slapped some coins on the bar. "I should go. The captain is probably wondering where I am. And don't be too hard on the kids, okay? This entire operation is foreign and new to them." As Jeralt left the bar, Seteth pulled out his notepad and a thin rod of graphite. Seteth didn't know anybody who made good glasses, but he knew somebody who did.
