The gardens were packed with life, both from the countless flowers that bloomed from the nearby bushes and the students all idling at their tables nearby. It was there that Byleth sat at his table and patiently waited for his invited guest. He and his personal tea set had become a very familiar sight in that area and most of the students there had gotten used to his presence.

Teatime was an intricate and careful affair, with the setting often dictating the flow of the conversation. Here the conversation was often casual and lighthearted, words that were perfectly fine with being spoken around others that might happen to overhear. Further south toward the fishing pond was where the least words would be spoken. The quiet environment, the serene atmosphere of the pond and the fishers nearby, all lead to a teatime that more subdued and meant for relaxation. Finally, his room was perhaps the most intimate spot of all. It was a place where privacy could be assured and was where his students would often open up the most to him.

Though Byleth would've like to invite Ashe for teatime in his room, he hadn't spent enough time with the Blue Lions student to do so. For now, it would be best to keep the conversation casual and hopefully get an inkling about his current condition. If there was something wrong with Ashe that might jeopardize his safety in the coming mission, then Byleth would be able to see it. Most students couldn't hide mask like Claude could after all.

I swear half of our funds go into these tea parties you host for all your students.

We still have plenty of funds left over.

Which gets spent on the gifts you get for them immediately after.

You wanted me to pick up a hobby. It was either this or I go back fishing.

Even after you were banned from the pond?

Byleth grumbled as he was reminded of that incident. It had been one of the few times that Jeralt had had to chastise him. All because he wanted to keep doing something he liked for a change

I still don't agree with that ban and there are ways to get around it.

A month- long ban was perfectly reasonable for what you did. You got most of the staff and your students angry at you because of that incident!

And I still disagree with that sentiment.

Why is this the one thing that you have to be stubborn about!

I like fishing.

Yea I can tell. Too much in fact. Just be glad that they'll let you go back there once the month is up.

Only under constant supervision by one the staff or a Knight.

Still perfectly reasonable. You've shown that we cannot trust you anyway near a body of water.

Ashe stepped into the gardens just as Byleth had been prepared to continue arguing with Sothis.

"Professor," the student replied curtly as he walked toward the table and took his seat. "Thank you for the invitation." Though Ashe seemed fine, there were medley of red blisters and bruises across his hands. He had likely been overdoing with his training with a bow.

"Mint or Angelica tea?" Byleth proffered to him.

"Two of my favorites," Ashe quickly took a seat at his chair, "I'm surprised you know that."

"I did my research. So, which one?"

"Mint would be nice…" Ashe glanced around the gardens. "No wonder your tea parties have become the talks of legend in the monastery."

"You exaggerate," Byleth replied plainly as he put the tea leaves into the pot and poured in hot water from a kettle to let them steep.

"Everyone knows about your tea parties. In fact, you're a lot like Astaphor of House Itha. He too was recorded as a Knight with an extensive knowledge and love for tea."

"Tell me more about him," Byleth replied as he handed him a filled teacup. When talking with his students it was imperative to stick to topics that they were interested in. It was the first step to forming a proper relations with them, or at least that was what he had assumed from experience.

"Despite being born in a noble family Astaphor would constantly go out to the villages on his fief to provide aid and succor with his healing." Ashe gently held the cup by its handle and took a brief sip before setting it down. "He was an accomplished mage in both faith and dark magic and actually had quite the sweet tooth in addition to his love for sweets."

Byleth was instantly reminded of a certain white-haired student of his that had a passion for sweets. "He sounds very interesting. Is he one of your favorites?"

"He is… but Loog will always hold a place close to my heart and perhaps his best friend Kryphon," Ashe admitted.

"You spoke about Loog before, but this is the first I've heard of Kryphon. Tell me about him," Byleth replied plainly. It wasn't that he was uninterested in the topic, he simply lacked the passion that others would feel. That his students would often express towards the things that they loved. Just like Lindhart with Crests or Lysithea with sweets, Ashe too had a passion for knights and stories involving them. It was interesting to hear him talk about it, if only to get some clue of the emotions that he apparently lacked.

"Kryphon was Loog's best friend. A knight of great regard whose devotion and loyalty enabled Loog to become king. He went to great lengths to see things through, all for the honor and safety of his king."

"And you too wish to be a Knight, like Kryphon was to Loog," Byleth observed.

Ashe nodded. "I do… in order to make up for my past and repay Lonato for what he had done to me."

Normally Byleth wouldn't try to go for such an intimate subject in this area but it was fine since Ashe had brought it up himself. It was what he had been planning to do anyway, to inquire about Ashe's feelings toward his adoptive father. The same man that the Church had cut down. "You loved him," Byleth replied plainly.

"I did," Ashe admitted. "He was my father. He saved me and my siblings you know. Took a young thief like me and taught him how to read. He was an honorable man, a great man… I still can't figure out what happened to him."

"Do you resent Catherine and I for fighting him?"

It was easy to imagine why. Byleth had his own father that he cared for after all. The thought of Jeralt's death... well it wasn't very pleasant at all. Not that he had to worry though. His father was one of the strongest people he knew, it was unlikely that he'd ever be taken down.

"I did," Ashe admitted as he stared at his reflection in the tea. He looked sullen and confused. "Or at least I tried to for a time. In the end the you two were fighting for the honor of the Church, like any good knight would. I couldn't hold that against you."

"But you can hold it against the people that gave them the order."

"I can…" Ashe admitted as he fiddled with his sleeves. "The Church is supposed to serve Fodlan… but I am not so comfortable living on the Monastery as I was before."

There were some things that were suspicious about the Monastery, turmoil and chaos being hidden underneath its pristine image, but Byleth had grown used to it as part of the world. His students though had spent nearly their entire lives in a sheltered environment. Not that he would fault them for the circumstances in which they were raised in, but it had left them suitably unprepared for the reality and perhaps cruelty of the world.

"Will you be able to protect Lady Rhea?" Byleth asked.

"It is my duty; despite any personal feelings I have. Besides I believe that my anger is better placed against the Western Church. I'm quite certain that they were the ones who set Lonato against the Church. If I could find out why though…"

"You will. We'll make certain you get the information you need." Byleth took a long sip of his own teacup. "What about Lysithea? How do you feel with her cutting down your father?"

Byleth had noticed the long stares that Ashe gave to her whenever she was within his view. He had noticed the way that Ashe's schedule had changed to avoid coinciding with any lectures or activities involving her and how he seemed tense anytime she entered a room.

"You've been avoiding her," Byleth explained as he received nothing but silence from Ashe. "And acting tense. I wonder if that will make it difficult to fight with her on the field"

"I…" Ashe hesitated to reply

"I can't let you come if your emotions risk jeopardizing the both of you," Byleth continued

Ashe clenched his fists. "It's just that… anytime I see her I see Lonato being cut down all over again… and she's always the one holding Thunderbrand." He took a deep breath. "I do have a hard time being around her, but I can assure you that I won't act on these feelings, at least against her."

"There's still a significant risk with having you two come together on this mission."

"I need to do this Professor, please," Ashe begged. "This is something I have to do."

There was a sincerity in his eyes that Byleth simply couldn't refuse. "You can come then… but I will take you out of the battle if I notice you having any issues."

He was taking a risk with this, but he also knew that there were just some things that you couldn't stop people from doing. It would haunt them for the rest of their lives if they didn't or they would try anyway and get themselves killed. Best that he bring Ashe along and keep track of him as they fought.

"I understand and I'll do my best… I know she isn't to blame for this. But I can't help but be uncomfortable around her."

"Fair enough… I don't know what it's like to hate someone or to want to kill them. But I have seen a number of mercenaries act strangely due to hate. I've seen some of my students hurt themselves because of anger or vengeance. Try not to let that happen to you on the battlefield. Your life and the life of everyone here is worth more than that."

Killing had always been simple for him. He never felt much of anything doing, so little in fact Jeralt had been worried when he was younger. The emotions that others felt, whether or not they came from killing, puzzled him at times and yet there were some observations he could make upon watching them.

Ashe looked at him gently as if pondering his words. "I'll try Professor," he eventually conceded. "I understand that I'm not the only one with reason to be angry and its unbefitting of a knight to have such emotions anyway."

"No one's perfect. Even I've made mistakes."

"I wouldn't have known from watching you though… you always seem so impenetrable."

"There is always an opening even in the thickest of armor… but in the end I have to be strong."

"Might I ask what for Professor?"

"At first it was mostly to protect myself. Now it's to protect my students."

"And what will you do once we all graduate?"

"I don't know…" Byleth admitted. In all honesty he never really thought much about his future before. He had always just been focused on what he needed to get done each day. "But I do think I want to see you all grow and for you to be justified for showing kindness to that thief."

"You seemed doubtful about me letting him go before. What changed?"

"Nothing much… I've just learned to hope for the best." Hope was a strange emotion to have. There were no facts or numbers behind, there was no certainty that it would ever be rewarded, yet it proved to be the drive for so many people around him. Perhaps it was time for him to partake of it.

"Hope… can be very powerful." Ashe agreed. "I believe it is what drove Loog to become King. That hope of creating a better future."

"I expect much from you all. This Monastery houses the very best after all," Byleth replied when he heard a very loud wailing above him.

It was loud, primal, fear, that was reverberating through the skies and could be heard throughout the Monastery grounds. Nearly all the other students around them also heard the noise and turned their heads up towards the sky?

"Is that screaming?" Ashe asked.

"It is." Byleth glanced upwards into the sky in order to discern the source of it. His eyes went wide once he made the rather startling discovery. "Is that Hubert and Flayn?"

"I think it is, Professor," Ashe replied as he also looked at them. "Why are they flying together… and why is Hubert screaming so much?"

That would be his fear of heights I believe.

I thought he was just trying to mess with me with that confessional.

Apparently not. Nothing can replicate the pure and utter fear that he is expressing right now.

How did Flayn get him on a Pegasus with her?

Perhaps this was a plan of his to dispose of her?

Do you think he'd willingly subject himself to this if it was?

Hubert was currently screaming bloody murder and gripping very tightly on Flayn as she navigated the Pegasus swiftly across the skies of the Monastery. He looked close to fainting at any point and would've likely fallen off by now if he hadn't kept such a tight embrace on the girl. Flayn on the other hand, thought not as scared, was blushing furiously and seemed panic over his grip over her body.

This was probably one of the few times she had ever been touched by a person and if Seteth ended up seeing this… Well maybe Hubert would be better off falling to his death.

"Should we help?" Ashe suggested.

"That would probably be a good idea."