AN: Fire Emblem is owned by Nintendo and Intelligent systems.

Felix woke up early the next morning and was the first out the door of the dorms. Classes would resume after breakfast, and he wanted to get in some training before any of the other students came. It was when the Training Grounds were quiet and devoid of other clatter and clamor that he could actually focus and think, and today he wanted to think about what had happened at Camp.

As Felix stepped through the doors, he found the only person there was Professor Jeritza, who gave him a modest nod of acknowledgement, before heading off to talk quietly with a knight that was in there working with an axe. Felix liked Jeritza. He was a man of little words, and more actions, and so far he'd picked up more skills from studying under the instructor. Though Jeritza didn't ever say one way or the other if he believed Felix's skills were improving out loud, the boy noticed his strikes had become far stronger and faster.

Pulling out a practice sword, he began his routine and let his mind wander for the moment, giving his muscle memory time to work over the stances and strikes. He counted to himself as he went.

"One… two… three…" His father had told him before he'd left for the Officers Academy about the training camp that the students went to in the first few weeks of the year, and had imparted that there was always one or two small tests for the students from the Knights to evaluate how much work the students would need in order to advance themselves.

"Seventeen… eighteen… nineteen…" But Felix was sure that the assault the other night had not been some test. The reaction from the Professors, even the one that had run off into the woods, showed they did not know that the bandits were going to attack. And, from the way they had chopped at the students, the men that had come at them were not trained in any way.

"Twenty-five… Twenty-six… Twenty-seven…" And, from what he had heard from his cousins–who had attended a few years before–the typical 'attack' was that of a handful of the youngest guards in training playing up thieves. They knew how to come after the students without causing them harm or destroying their supplies. These fools had wrecked several barrels of food and drink. Which splattered all over the place, forcing the students that had remained at the camp to clean up after the knights had sent the stragglers packing.

"Thirty–four… Thirty–five… Thirty–six…" So, who had informed the bandits they were there? The area around the campsite had been secured previously. From what the Boar had informed them of regarding the perimeter, there shouldn't have been a means for the bandits to even get near them. Yet, they knew exactly where they were, how to get past the guards, and who to target. Had it not been for the quick thinking of the knights, they could have easily routed. But that was cold comfort given that they had been in danger.

And the church decided not to inform any of the families of the attack. He found that to be the most upsetting; though he understood it. It was a good maneuver politically, but he felt a bitter sting from the choice.

Felix recalled the early days after the Duscur Tragedy, and the many deaths which were covered up. The church had helped with that too, making several deaths seem to be not related to the tragedy. Even now, he didn't fully understand what the plan was for covering up some aspects of the incident. Why the nobles had gone along with it, and who had decided in the first place?

Felix had always felt it was a slap in the face to Glenn and his memory, never mind the likes of Lord Lonato, who had to suffer the death of his son Christophe over it.

It persisted that the church was more worried about saving face, as always, than of alerting the local towns to the possibility of actively roving bandit groups. It bugged him, but there was nothing he could do about that. He was only a student and had none of the influence that his father had.

He could, though, find out what or who the bandits were after, and then alert his father. At least then it would put pressure on the archbishop to push for a more serious investigation.

He stopped when he reached one hundred and glanced up when the bell chimed indicating that breakfast was ready in the Dining hall. He set aside the sword and went back to his dorm to clean up some from the workout. On his way there he paused only for when he noticed the woman that Dimitri had introduced to them the other day as the Professor, coming out of her own dorm room. She had glanced up at him and nodded to him as a greeting before hurrying off herself with a clipped step.

Whatever, he thought as he went back to his room. He was just stepping back out when Sylvain came out of his room, yawning, and mussing with his hair. Felix took one look at him and knew he'd come in late the night before and probably was going to sleep in, if not for the bells.

"Hey Felix, you're up late for a change." Sylvain walked over to him, stretching as he did so and winking. "Doing some late night extra credit?"

Felix sneered, "Hardly. I'm not you." He motioned with his hand. "And you could at least clean up some before heading down."

Sylvain shrugged. "Ah, but being so neat and meticulous is your job. Besides, not all of us can look as good as you do in this uniform."

Felix shook his head at the teasing. "You are an idiot, you know that."

"But you love me for it," his friend smirked and walked down with him. "So, yeah… can you do me a favor?"

"What?" Felix knew he was going to ask for a favor. "If it's covered with you for someone, count me out."

"No, no, nothing like that. Just that, if anyone by the name of Mary were to meet with you–tall girl, mousy brown hair, gray eyes, has a very nice figure," Sylvain was saying to him and Felix rolled his eyes hard.

"Just spit it out."

"Could you please just say I was in my room studying last night?" He begged.

"No." Felix said and headed down the stairs.

"Oh, come on, man. Just this once. I promise it will be the last time."

The red head followed him down at a fast pace and Felix doubled his steps to get a bit of a distance. He was in no mood for Sylvain's foolish romantic games.

"You said that the last time you made the mistake of dating two girls and I covered for you. Never again, I will not end up on the receiving end of a scorned girl and a well-aimed pale of water." Felix warned him as they made their way into the dining hall and he saw the others were already seated.

Grabbing a plate, he stood in line to get his breakfast with Sylvain still bemoaning his fate. "Oh, come on, it's not like that can happen again. Can't you have my back just this once? Please Felix. Okay, fine, what if we make a deal? I will get the new Professor to agree to spar with you, and you help me out? What do you say?"

Felix turned to him and shook his head. "Ingrid is right. You are more of a damn fool than the Boar is if you think that pathetic offer was enough to sway me."

He took his plate and went to sit down across from Ingrid as Sylvain joined them beside her. She looked between them as Sylvain intoned in the sweetest voice he could muster.

"Ingrid, could you please tell our dear friend here that he shouldn't deny a fellow student in need when he's in a dire straight?"

Ingrid lifted her head from the book she was looking over and glanced at Sylvain for a moment, and then looked to Felix and asked him bluntly. "What did he do this time?"

"Apparently the fool got mixed up with two women at the same time or something." Felix snorted as he cut the sausage links on his plate and ate.

"I did not," Sylvain stated, and then walked it back sheepishly. "Well, not exactly. I'm not going out with one of them, just, you know… flirting with one right now."

"Sylvain!" snapped Ingrid, and he held up his hands.

"Look, it's not that bad. I'll talk to Mary when I see her next time, but it's so hard to just walk away from someone as good looking as that."

Felix closed his eyes and sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with you, or him, in the first place."

"Because your life would be dull without us," Sylvain laughed as he avoided and blocked Ingrid's well placed jab.

He couldn't disagree with what the fool was saying, but he didn't want to say he was right, either. It would only inflate Sylvain's ego and give both of them reason to think that maybe he had forgiven Dimitri. He hadn't.

"Speaking of Dimitri, did either of you see how excited he was to bring Professor Eisner into the classroom yesterday?" Sylvain tried to change the subject once Ingrid had given up her assault on him. "I've never seen him like that before. He was actually blushing."

Ingrid swallowed her bite of toast. "Yes. He was gushing about her so much when he came back. I was sure she was going to be some charming lady knight, like in the plays of Lady Hawke and her band of Rebels. But she's not at all how I assumed she would look, and very humble."

"I have to wonder though which house she picked," Felix mused as he finished his eggs. "The Boar will be disappointed if she didn't pick our house, given all the work he was putting in showing us off to her."

"Eh, I wouldn't call it showing us off. More selling us as the right choice." Sylvain told him and grinned. "Besides, I wouldn't mind having someone like her as our instructor. Wouldn't be bad on the eyes, and certainly would make me pay more attention than Professor Hanneman."

Felix and Ingrid rolled their eyes at his comment and the purple haired future duke quickly inquired. "So where's the Boar, anyway?"

"Dimitri," corrected Ingrid, and she sighed, "I wish you would stop calling him that."

"When he stops acting like one." Felix cut her off and gazed around, finally spotting the prince sitting off to the side with Dudue and Annette. "What's Annette doing over there? Doesn't she normally eat with Mercedes and Ashe?"

"I think she mentioned that Mercedes went with Ashe to set up some flowers that they got from the greenhouse as a welcoming gift for whomever our professor is going to be," Ingrid told him and Felix nodded. He watched the red head girl for a bit, curiously. He'd heard she had joined the Academy even though her marks at the Royal School of Sorcery could have gotten her easily into any position as a noble's mage. Neither she, nor Mercedes, nor Ashe, had struck him as the type that would enroll in the Officers Academy, yet they had. Granted, he could guess Ashe's reasons were because of Lonato, but Mercedes and Annette were total mysteries to him. Not that he had time to unravel them, he still had other things to worry about.

They finished their breakfast with simple chatter and then hurried to their classroom to await and see who would be their teacher. It wasn't a long wait.

Professor Byleth walked in confidently as the group had assembled in front of her desk to greet her. There was a tiny smile on the blue-haired woman's face, and a rather large one plastered on the Boar's. Felix raised an eyebrow. Sylvain had been right. The fool was smitten or something by this woman.

Annette was the first to speak up when she approached the group.

"Wait! Does this mean our new professor is…?" She looked embarrassed and her cheeks became tinted pink. "No, I really can't believe it! I was speaking to you so casually, as if we were companions!" She bit her lip, Felix noticed. "Oh, I am so sorry, Professor! You just look the same age as the rest of us, and… Oh, and I'm sorry I just said that too! I really must watch my tongue…"

The Professor shook her head and glanced at Annette. "It's fine Annette, Really. I'm happy that you could speak to me like that. I don't want you, or anyone in the class, to feel like they have to keep their distance from me." She looked at them, and Felix found the emotion hard to read in her face, but something about the way her stance was told him she was a kinder person than he'd first heard about. "I'm going to be learning from all of you, too. I've never taught a class like this before, so I'm going to try my best, and I know if we work together, I think we can make this a good year for all of you."

"She remembers my name Mercie," Felix heard Annette squeal quietly. Her friend nodded happily.

"I know Anne. She seems like a wonderful person to teach us."

Byleth smiled. "I don't mind if you treat me as a friend. You can call me Professor if you like, or Byleth, or Professor Eisner if that's what you prefer."

"You say that, but… I just know about all of this!"

Felix watched as Annette looked down and fiddled with her fingers as she held her hands. The Boar spoke up next, his face taking on a calm seriousness, a mask Felix had seen all too often in recent years.

"I'll admit, it doesn't sit well with me either." Dimitri admitted to the woman. "After all, we wish to show you due respect."

Keep telling yourself that. We know what we saw yesterday. You were practically red in the ears and following her like a puppy. Felix thought as he listened to the others. Of course then Sylvain had to interject with his own opinions.

"Sure, but if the professor says it's OK, shouldn't that be enough?" He winked at the Professor who had a slightly worried look on her face. Nerves, Felix guessed, as Sylvain went on. "That is… if Your Highness can consent to such a thing."

The Boar glanced at Sylvain as the older boy went on. "After all, we're already speaking this way to our future king, so we may as well relax our speech with our professor too, right?"

Well, what do you know? He actually came up with a decent argument. Not that I think the Boar will agree to it, but what he says makes sense. Maybe there are some brains still in that head of his. Felix crossed his arms and leaned on his heels. To his surprise, the prince took the suggestion to heart.

"Well, we're not in the Kingdom, so it only goes to follow that we should all speak companionably…" Felix watched as Dimitri looked at the Professor standing before him. "I concede. If the professor says it's fine, we ought to accept that kindness gratefully."

Byleth nodded to him. "I appreciate it, Dimitri. Thank you." She turned and Felix watched as Sylvain grinned as she added. "And thank you also Sylvain."

Ingrid looked pensive as she lightly shook her head. "As for me, I'm not sure I can manage…"

"You don't have to force yourself if it's too difficult." Mercedes commented to Ingrid. "You're fine with that too, right, Professor?"

"Of course." Byleth nodded to Mercedes, and he noted a soft smile on her face. "Whatever, you feel comfortable with Ingrid."

"Thank you, Professor." His friend nodded, and she seemed relieved. For the moment Felix felt their house could show that they were more mature than the others to the Professor. Then Sylvain had to put his foot in his mouth.

"Such benevolence is a sight to behold!" Sylvain winked at the Professor as he tried to smooth talk her. "I don't suppose you would care to join me for tea? We could discuss education… and marriage."

The others had glanced at the redhead, and Felix glanced at the Boar. He furrowed his brow some. Was that a glare there for a second? He wasn't sure he had seen what he supposed he saw, but if Ingrid had been right about the Boar having something of a crush on the Professor, then the look may have come from that. He hoped the fool did nothing stupid to change her opinion of them.

"Control yourself, Sylvain," Felix scolded the redhead, and then put a hand on his hip as he observed the Professor. "I have more important matters to discuss with our new Professor." He moved to her and looked her dead in the eye. "Come to the training ground later. There, you will show me what you are capable of."

He wasn't about to simply learn from someone who couldn't surpass him in battle. Only his plans were countered by the Boar, who was fast to jump in to anything to spend time with him; as always.

"You aren't wasting any time, are you Felix?" Dimitri grinned like a kid that had just opened up a present. "As it were, count me in for any such battle."

He scoffed at the prince. This wasn't for him. It was to see what this woman could do and interrogate her about what she could teach him. I have no time for this. He is going to make this much harder if he keeps hovering around her like this.

Ashe spoke up nervously from the back of the group. "Pardon me, but I would also love to observe you in battle, for future reference. If that's okay with you…"

What is this? An arena show battle? Felix was growing annoyed. He didn't need people watching him. He didn't want the Boar there. Why could they not understand this? And then, the fool of a prince just had to add more invitations to a private event as well.

"Ashe, I won't have you speak of merely watching. You should join us as well."

He wanted to throw up his arms and shout 'Do I not have a say in this matter? I challenged her myself! None of you were on the guest list!' His scowl grew as Mercedes spoke.

"If you get injured, simply say the word and I'll patch you up straight away!"

Felix had hoped that at the very least Dudue would set them all to reason that this was a two person only event. But, no, he rolled along with what the Boar wanted.

"Your Highness," the older boy spoke to the prince. "Do take care not to go overboard."

Dimitri shook his head, and he saw a smile on the Boar's face. "You worry too much Dedue. I'll be fine. I promise."

He gave up. There was no way to win this and just rolled with it. Felix sighed and closed his eyes. He'd have to catch her alone at some point and get a real challenge out of her.

"My companions!" Sylvain started up again. "Is there not something inherently wrong with crossing blades as a way to bond with each other?"

Ingrid's calm, sarcastic tone made Felix smirk. "Huh, I never thought of it that way. Well, if that's how you feel, I suppose you'll just stay behind while the rest of us are at the training ground?"

Sylvain gave her a melancholy look, and Felix inwardly sighed as the older boy spoke with dramatic flair. "Ingrid, my dearest friend! You really are too harsh on me."

If you were born a commoner Sylvain, you would have become one of those hammy stage actors. Felix shook his head as Dimitri continued speaking with the Professor.

"Well then, Professor, what do you think? As you can see, the Blue Lion House is a lively bunch, but you'll find none who work harder." The prince seemed pleased with his speech. "I'm certain we'll cause our fair share of trouble, but I'm very much looking forward to the year ahead."

"I'm certain that whatever trouble you get into, I'll get you out." Professor Byleth told him and she closed her eyes and seemed to relax. "And I will work just as hard to teach you as well. If you give it your all, I will too. No hesitation." Her eyes snapped open, and he saw determination and fire in them. "I'm looking forward to this year as well, and I'm sure by the end you'll be able to graduate with as much expertise that I can impart on you."

Felix smiled hearing that and gazed over at his classmates, who all looked excited, especially the Boar. He could swear there was a small bit of the boy he remembered from childhood glowing in there.

Byleth quickly made the students head to their desks and moved the flowers onto the side of the desk as she set things up. Felix watched as she seemed to consider everything and then checked off the students as they sat. He caught her gazing over the group and then took a calming breath before she spoke.

"I'm sure you have some questions about me, as I have questions to ask of you. I hope to get to know each of you personally through-out this year, so for now, I want to let you get to know me better." She gestured to the class as she went on. "When you work together with others, no matter who they are: a team of knights, a band of mercenaries, or a group of classmates, you have to know each other well enough to trust one another. And that's the first thing I want to teach you, finding the trust in one another. And the only way I know how to do that is for you to learn to trust me."

The professor crossed her arms. "That's what my father taught me and what I'm going to teach you this year. So starting with that trust, I'm willing to answer whatever questions I can about myself so you know who I am. Though, I will admit," she looked at them seriously and Felix could see some pain in her blue eyes. "I don't have all the answers about my family or my past. But I will try to fill in what I can."

She again relaxed. "So questions?"

He noticed Sylvain raise his hand, and she nodded to him. "So, Professor, what sort of guy do you like?"

"Sylvain!" Dimitri's eyes went wide.

"What?" Sylvain smirked just a tad. "She said she was open to answering any question. So I'm asking."

Felix groaned. This was going to be one hell of a day. He felt embarrassed for her, but he was rather pleased when she just stared at Sylvain.

"Sort of guy I like? Well, my father is a guy I like. Does that answer your question?"

Sylvain chuckled. "Okay, you win this round, Professor." The older boy winked at her. Ingrid raised her hand next.

"Professor, can you tell us a bit about Jeralt and his time as a mercenary?"

Felix listened and took notes as she explained some events that happened to her father and the tactics he used to route his enemies. Ingrid came with a follow up.

"What about the novels about him? Is any of that true?"

"Some of it is, yes. But most are exaggerations of actual stories," Byleth told her. "Though, if you want, you can talk to him about it. He finds them amusing."

Ashe threw up his hand, "Professor Eisner? Where are the places you've traveled so far?"

The woman pinched her chin as she leaned back against the front of the desk. She'd moved there while talking about Jeralt to the students. Her head tilted up slightly and Felix could see her thinking hard. "Let's see there was…"

For the next half hour she explained places from the Empire that she had traveled, and the Alliance and the Kingdom, noting the different towns she could remember. Her descriptions were on point, though they lacked certain details, and Felix felt she wasn't used to talk about the places she had been with the flowery language that travel tomes usually did. Ashe, though, seemed pleased and interested in all of it. Felix guessed it was because, as a commoner, he didn't get to do extensive travel, especially ever since the death of Christophe. Lonato had taken to staying in his domain, and he was forcing the same onto Ashe.

"Professor, may I ask what that charm is on your outfit?" Annette asked her, and Byleth gently touched it.

"This…" she went quiet for a moment and Felix noted a wistful look come over her face as she touched it. "This is the one thing that my mother left for me. My father gave it to me when I was small. I've always had it, and I cherished it. He told me she wanted me to have it." When she looked up at them, there was an unsure look on her face. "I never knew my mother, so I don't know how to feel about it all the time. But it is something that's special to me."

Mercedes smiled and commented, "It's a lovely piece, Professor." Byleth nodded as she then asked. "What about healing on the battlefield? Did you ever have to do that?"

"Personally, no, but we had a healer, and he could keep up with us. But part of the lessons that I learned was to observe what's going on around you to keep from being hit. You want to not to put your healer into a situation where they have to constantly be healing you in the middle of a fight." The Professor explained to them and Felix raised his hand.

"Yes, Felix?" She glanced over at him.

"What sort of sword style is your best? Do you have one?"

She chuckled, "I can guess you want to know so you can have an advantage. To be honest, I've learned to adapt to different styles. My father taught me quite a few over the years, so I couldn't tell you which is my best since I don't really think about what I'm using. Every skill that I've learned comes from listening and observing others on and off the field of battle."

"So then, what about your choice of strategy? Is there anything you can tell us today about how to handle tactics?" Dedue inquired when she gestured to his raised hand.

The Professor took a moment then went over some basic choices that he could use to deal with different situations, though, as with her travels, she did not go into details, explaining that she wanted to save that for the next lesson. The older boy nodded and wrote everything down she was saying. Other students jumped in, throwing out random questions.

When was her birthday? "20th of Horsebow Moon."

"Where was her father from originally?" She recalled he once told her about Faergus.

Did she know how to ride a horse? Yes, though not very well. Did she have hobbies? Yes, but they were limited, among them training, reading–especially histories, fishing and walking.

"What were her likes and dislikes?"

"My likes? Swords, helping others and listening to them. People have interesting stories to tell if you just listen. My father, allies that I can see as reliable, the trust of others." The professor expressed to them and seemed to think. "Oh, and smiles. I enjoy seeing the smiles on people." She put her hand on her hip as she stood up.

"As for dislikes, I don't think there's anything I really dislike. But I will say I detest the killing of others out of senseless violence."

The students seemed enthralled by her, and Felix wasn't sure what to make of it. The way she spoke was direct and there wasn't much emotion in it, yet, there was honesty in her that made him feel she wouldn't screw with them about the actual life in combat they would have to lead should it come down to it.

"Any last questions?" she inquired, and Dimitri's hand shot up. Felix looked over as she gestured to the prince.

"Professor, what are your opinion s about leadership? Or rather, how would you lead if given the chance?"

"Lead what exactly, Dimitri?" she looked a bit confused and Felix had to wonder what the hell the Boar was getting at. The blonde boy furrowed his brows as he was thinking and rested his chin on his hand as he rested his elbow on his crossed arm.

"A kingdom, or an army, or anything, honestly. As you know, eventually, Claude, Edelgard, and I will take over our respective homelands. And I was curious. If you were to become a leader of some kingdom, how would you go about, well… ruling it?"

Felix looked to the woman. An interesting question for the Boar. I suspect he's trying to see how she'll work with him to make him a good ruler. Though nothing will ever do that given his personality.

Byleth leaned back again and went silent for a moment. Felix wondered if she couldn't answer him due to who he was. But his supposition was wrong, and she spoke up after a moment.

"I'd use the rules my father laid out for me, and what we use as part of our mercenary band. There are three rules." She held up her fingers as she spoke. "Listen, Observe, and Learn."

"Listen, Observe, and Learn?" Ashe inquired, and she nodded. "What exactly does that mean, Professor?"

"A mercenary needs to have skills to understand the world around them, not only to protect ourselves and our allies on the battlefield, but also to protect innocent civilians." She gestured as she spoke. "My father laid out these tenants, as our men put it–though he would say they're just guidelines but important ones."

Byleth gazed over at her students, and Felix crossed his arms as he listened. "First, Listen. The world is full of sound, and information can come from anywhere. You can tell about danger when you're walking around based on what you hear in the woods. Animals can make noises as they move; a wolf can have different footsteps when it is running from something, or running at you, or even just trotting around on its own."

"Second Observe. Once you know you heard something, you need to find out what is going on, so you have to observe what's around you." The blue-haired woman spoke frankly to them. "If you see a wolf, you need to study what it's doing. Its body language can tell you right away if you're in danger or not. Is it sitting there, relaxed? Or does it look scared or angry? Depending on how it looks, you can then do the third. Learn. Learn about the wolf before you. Learn from your mistakes, as well as use what you learned with what you heard and what you saw to formulate the best plan of action."

He noticed the Boar taking notes as she went on and found himself nodding, finding her philosophy fascinating. Not that he agreed with everything, but he saw where she was coming from with her example.

"So if I was to apply that to leadership, I suspect I would listen to not only what my advisors and citizens had to say. What could be good for nobles could be terrible for a commoner, and I would be more likely to want to do what I could for those who couldn't protect themselves from others with wealth and power. Then I would observe what was going on in my kingdom, I would travel it to see every inch so I could gather as much information on the people that lived there, the terrain, and whatever else I could glean from watching and visiting towns and villages. Then last, I would learn from the people and learn everything I could about both the politics, the culture, and the economy. I would use what I learned then to make choices."

She shook her head. "I know it seems simple to you, but that's honestly how I would do it."

Felix glanced at Dimitri, who seemed contemplative after she finished, and he shook his head. "No, it's an interesting theory, Professor. Would you be teaching us about it?"

Byleth nodded, then went to the board to write the words down. "Yes, absolutely. So let's start by doing this. My father gave me this idea. I want everyone to take a piece of paper and write what they had for breakfast."

"What are we doing that for? How is this going to help us?" Felix asked her and the Professor glanced at him and blinked slowly.

"It's part of a demonstration to show how it can work."

"Felix, please, I'm certain everything will make sense." Dimitri said to him and the purple-haired boy snorted as he did as requested. The Boar smiled up at the Professor once he was done. "What next Professor?"

Of course he's a teacher's pet. He thought as she told them to turn to the person behind them and pass the paper to that person. Felix handed it to Mercedes and then waited. This whole thing seems like a waste of time.

While the other students passed around their papers, the Professor had gone behind the desk and written and folded several sheets of paper. She looked around and then walked over to each of the tables, and handed each of the student sitting there one of the papers she folded. Felix took his and blinked.

"Didn't we just hand over papers?"

"You did." Byleth told him, giving the Boar one.

"So what is the point of giving us another damn piece of paper?" he held it up as she went back to her desk.

"I want you to open that up and look at what's written on the paper." She asked the students, and he sighed and followed her instruction. Upon opening it, he found the name of Ashe written neatly in the center. A confused look passed across his face as he glanced up at their teacher. Felix still didn't get what she wanted them to do with it. It's a damn name. How does this connect to what she's talking about?

"Alright, did everyone read the name?" several people nodded. "Good. Now, find someone to talk to. I want you to use what we just talked about to find out what that person, whose name you have, had for breakfast. But you cannot ask the person directly, nor can you ask the person who has the answer that they wrote on their piece of paper."

"So, how do we figure out what they ate?" Sylvain protested. "This seems pretty unfair."

"I assure you it isn't." Byleth told him and stared at the boy seriously.

"When you say Listen, Observe and Learn. How do you mean in this case, Professor?" Annette asked, and Felix sighed.

"Isn't it obvious?" He cut in before she could answer and looked over at Annette. "You listen to conversations about the person, or talk to others who know that person to gather information. It could be anything from who they are to what they ate earlier in the week. You could also eavesdrop on the person. Then you watch them. How they dress, what they do, how they talk, etcetera. It tells you the sort of person they are, and that can also tell you their diet, I suppose. Last you learn about what you can about them, same idea as the listen but you apply that also to the information you gathered. Make a hypothetical guess and then test it to see if you're right based on what you know. Worst case, you're wrong about what they ate, but I'm sure it works better for something more targeted."

The others stared at him for a moment, and he frowned. "What? It's a guess on my part."

"No, that's about what I was going to say. Thank you Felix, you've been very helpful." Byleth told him.

"That was really impressive Felix," Dimitri told him with a smile and he snorted. He didn't need compliments from the likes of the Boar.

"Yeah, who knew you could explain something really well?" Sylvain teased him and Felix grunted.

"Maybe you would be able to too, if you applied yourself."

"Ouch! You wound me good sir." Sylvain joked as he got up and the students moved around. Felix went over and talked to André, who was by the fireplace. As they were discussing things, he felt a finger tap his shoulder. The boy turned around to look at who was touching him and blinked when it was Annette.

"What do you want?"

"Uh, well…" Annette looked nervous and glanced at Mercedes, who gestured to her to go on. She nodded firmly and then faced Felix.

"Well?"

"I just wanted to say that I thought you were really cool just now."

He blinked, "Excuse me?"

"I just wanted to say that you… you were really cool when you gave that explanation, Felix. Oh, and it helped me to understand the assignment, too."

Felix stared at her. "Is that all?"

"Is what all?"

He sighed. "You just came over here to say I was cool for telling everyone how to do what she asked us to do. How is that even cool?"

"I… I don't know. It's just… I thought…" Annette looked upset and he could feel the eyes of André watching him. What was he supposed to do? Why would you compliment someone for explaining something?

"Just thought you would come over here and tell me that? Well fine, thank you, but it's not really all that impressive." Felix informed her. "Anyone could probably do it. Even Sylvain, or the Boar." He gestured to Mercedes. "I'm sure your friend could have explained it as well to you."

Annette blanched a bit and muttered something like "I'm sorry," and ran back to Mercie, who glance up at him with an angry look as she tried to talk to her friend.

"Nice going there," André told him, and Felix groaned.

What did she expect me to say to that? He didn't get it. How was explaining something impressive? The purple-haired boy sighed and went back to talking to André and trying to observe Ashe.

The gray-haired boy was speaking with Ingrid nearby, and he let his eyes do as much watching as he could. What he already knew was that Ashe had been a commoner before being adopted into Lonato's family, that he had siblings, and that he saw Lord Lonato as an idealized leader. Felix found it all foolish, but he figured that the boy, who was pulled up from nothing, was trying to deal with suddenly being thrust into the world of nobility and now into the academy.

"Oh yes, I dust the jacket every night before I go to bed," Ashe was telling Ingrid, who was talking to him about her brother's time at the academy and the changes to the regulations about their school uniforms.

So he's meticulous about the upkeep of his clothing. Felix nodded to himself as he looked over the uniform that Ashe wore. Under the jacket he had put on a hoodie, which Felix assumed came from his time before being taken in by Lonato. How Ashe stood with Ingrid showed he was relaxed, but that there was still a nervousness about him being around someone of a higher class, even though he was now a noble himself by being adopted.

"Felix?" André asked suddenly, and he glanced over at the boy, who looked ever so slightly irritated. "Are you even listening to me?"

"No. Why?"

"Argh!" André uttered and put a hand to his forehead. "Man. I was asking you if you knew anything about James' food choices."

"Why would I know that?" Felix asked him, puzzled, and the boy leaned against the side of the fireplace.

"Because your brother was friends with his brother and I assumed he came over sometimes."

"Sure he did, but it wasn't like we were close. He was more interested in what Glenn was up to. And he ate whatever we were serving." Felix told him of the other student. André sighed and waved it off.

"Thanks, I'll go ask around."

The other boy walked off and Felix put himself against the spot where André had been leaning, and listened. He didn't want to seem like he was eavesdropping, but that was exactly what he was doing. The purple-haired boy put a foot up against the stone and rested his back on the cool wall, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. He knew Ingrid would know he was listening, but Ashe hadn't known him since they were little, so he was sure the boy would have no clue.

"Right," Ashe was answering an unheard question to him. "And it was always hard to get my sister to eat certain vegetables. My mother would always have to cook them a certain way to get her to eat them. Though she used to say I wasn't so picky."

"I had no idea your family ran a restaurant. I bet the way they make here the food reminds you of that." Ingrid was saying, and Felix opened his eyes to glance over. The gray-haired boy nodded and smiled.

"Well, it takes me back a little. Though the food here is way more expensive." He explained to her and then went softer. "Our restaurant mostly served the working class, but it did well and was a lot of hearty meals. These are at least similar to what I was used to before moving in with Lord Lonato." He shook his head some. "I'm still not used to the fancy meals that he provides. Though, ever since Christophe's passing, he doesn't come down to eat with us as much as he used to. But I do sometimes make him a meal or two, and he always appreciates it and says it's good. Though I'm sure he's eaten better."

Ingrid smiled at the boy. "If he says it's good, then he means it. I know that I've appreciated a meal or two that was made by my brothers," she wrinkled her nose slightly as if recalling something rather unappetizing, "Even if what they made didn't taste that good. Still, I knew it was from their heart, and I'm sure Lord Lonato feels the same way."

"I owe him a lot, Ingrid." Ashe told her earnestly, and she nodded. "That's why I want to become a knight as strong as he is."

Felix snorted. He wondered if a boy like Ashe could handle what that would mean. He was too kindhearted. On the battlefield, it was a struggle to survive, and you had to cut down people. Yet hearing them talk gave Felix some hope that there were still people like Ashe out there willing to do the right thing and fight for their beliefs and ideals rather than fighting for the wants of the nobles and power.

Ingrid had moved on to other matters, and Felix was thinking he would never get the information he wanted, when she mentioned something that caught his attention.

"Wait, you took some bread? Why? You could always grab some whenever you wanted."

Ashe looked embarrassed as he held out a wrapped a bit of cloth and Felix realized inside had to be a bun of some sort. "I know, and I realized it after I took it. After my parents died, I had to steal to afford food for my sister and brother. And well, it wasn't that uncommon for me to swipe bread to have as a snack so I could have something to eat while I was waiting to…" He shook his head. "Never mind. It's a habit that I'm trying to break. I don't do it often, only when I'm nervous, and today I was rather nervous about who was going to be our teacher."

"Me too," Ingrid told him honestly. As the two talked, Felix ran through his mind, the breakfast items they had that morning, and settled on a simple dish that had buns with it. When the Professor called the students back to their seats, she looked them over.

"Alright now, I will ask you one by one to tell the person whose name I gave you what they had to eat this morning, and the person who has the student's breakfast paper, check to see if the person speaking is right."

The students nodded, and one by one she called out names. The Boar had gotten Mercedes's and got it right, Sylvain had gotten Ingrid's name by chance, and easily revealed what she had.

"That's not fair! You were sitting right next to me." She shouted, and to his shock, Byleth shook her head.

"A person trying to learn everything they can should use what they know. And if Sylvain was next to you, then he used what he learned from that moment." She looked at Sylvain, "Although I would ask the next time we do something like this, for you to please tell me if you were next to the person whose name is on the card, so I can switch it."

"Right, sorry Professor." Sylvain gave a light chuckle as Ingrid huffed.

When his time came Felix glanced over at Ashe, "You had something simple, like a porridge and some fruit to put in it. With a side of bread."

Ashe smiled, "That's right! How did you figure it out?"

"Earlier I heard you and Mercedes went to fix the room, so you had to have eaten something quickly, and what's quicker than porridge?" Ashe nodded, listening as he went on. "You're the type of person who wants to preserve your clothing, so you wouldn't eat anything greasy or messy, so that ruled out all of those offerings. And you mentioned to Ingrid you're not used to the fancy food at the academy, but you are used to hearty meals. So that leaves us with porridge."

"Impressive Felix, thank you." Byleth told him and he nodded. She talked about ways to use it on the battlefield, though he had to wonder if this was less of a lesson about learning the method and more of getting the students to learn about each other more than they did. He had to wonder if she was cleverer than he gave her credit for.

As they were running through the normal addition studies, Felix glanced up. Outside the archway, peeking in, was Flayn. He'd seen the green-haired girl around the monastery, and also knew her brother was overly protective of her. He watched as she stared at the board, as if memorizing what they were writing. She seemed interested in what they were learning, and he wondered why she wasn't allowed in the room.

"Flayn?" Seteth called out to her and the girl gave a squeak, who then vanished within a moment.

It wasn't long after lunch that Felix once more returned to the training grounds. The sound of blades clashing drew him in as he went about his business of sparing with other students that were training there. It wasn't until he was finished with a difficult series of movements that he heard clapping and turned quickly to see who was making the noise.

"Well done there! I have to say I was impressed with your maneuvers." Ferdinand von Aegir cried as he stood there watching the young noble. Felix huffed. What did this guy want? He'd seen the orange-haired boy in the Training grounds before, and most of the time he just ignored him.

"That sweep there was perfect, not as perfect as mine is, but it shows you have talent."

"And you are?" asked Felix as he put a hand to his hip, his sword loose in his grip.

"I beg your pardon," the boy said and bowed quickly. "I am Ferdinand von Aegir. Eldest son and heir of House Aegir. My father is Ludwig von Aegir. I'm sure you have heard of him. And you are?"

Oh, Felix had heard of the man from his father. He'd heard he was as corrupt as they came when it came to the Empire. The purple-haired boy crossed his arms.

"Felix Fraldarius. And I don't care who your father is. What is it you want?"

"Well, a pleasure to meet you…" Ferdinand blinked and stared, his eyes going wide. "Wait, as in Duke Rodrigue Fraldarius? The 'Shield of Faerghus'?"

Felix groaned. Typical that a brat from the Empire would have heard of his father. "Yeah, that's him."

"And you are his son? No wonder you have such excellent skills." Ferdinand commented and smiled brightly at Felix, who was feeling more and more aggravated that this boy was cutting into his workout time. "I should have realized it. You look like him. Of course, someone as daring as him would have a son that understands the way of combat, and clearly you do."

"What do you want? I have no time for your prattling." Felix glared at him, and Ferdinand paused for a moment.

"Want? Well, I simply wished to congratulate you on such a fine series of strikes. The way you held your sword, Felix, it was like a painter using a brush. Such refined movements, truly worthy of a noble gentleman. Not only that, but you are a testament to your father's teaching and his abilities. I can see you are working hard to achieve his level of skill and refinement. I would have to say that I wasn't expecting someone like you to be in Blue Lions, but here I can see I was mistaken. Truly as noble a house as some rumors would suggest."

"Shut up."

Ferdinand blinked hard. "Excuse me?"

"I said stop squawking like a damn bird." Felix spat out, annoyed. He narrowed his brow. "I don't need to hear your platitudes. I know I'm good. And don't you dare go saying I'm following in my old man's footsteps, understand?"

"I am sorry. I was only trying to compliment you on your skills." Ferdinand narrowed his brow some. "No need to get hostile towards me."

"You're the one butting in here," Felix pointed out to him. "So I ask again. What do you want? If it was just to say what you said, you've done it. Now go."

Ferdinand stood there for a moment, then muttered, "Ah, so this is what Caspar meant by having someone like Hubert in the Blue Lion's house."

Felix stared at him. "What did you just say?"

"I simply stated that you, Felix, are not as noble as I would have believed. Such disregard for the kind words of a fellow noble…." Ferdinand started and Felix turned to leave. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I have no time for magpies that can't stop squawking. So be a good bird and fly off and sing to someone else." He waved his hand as he went over to practice with a dummy. As he attacked it, he could hear the sounds of Ferdinand's boots come closer. Now what?

"Felix, we are not finished with our discussion." The orange-haired boy stated and Felix glanced over his shoulder before going back to slicing the dummy.

"Yes, we are."

"You think your skills to be so good, then you should show them in the tournament." Ferdinand commented. "I'm sure that you will see there are others that can best you."

"Hmph," was all that the boy responded to the other's comment.

Ferdinand blinked and then shook his head. "Really? That is all you can say? Such an unrefined comment coming from a noble."

"I don't care what you think of me, Bird." Felix told him and continued his defensive footwork. Ferdinand, though, didn't move, and it was irritating the Blue Lion. "Are you going to stand there all day?"

Ferdinand shook his head slowly.

"Then why are you standing there?"

"Because I think you are right. Clearly, the only way to talk to you is with the blade." Ferdinand commented, "But seeing as I am better with the lance, this would not work out."

Felix rolled his eyes and was about to speak when another young man came over towards them. His dark purple hair was bobbed and was neatly quaffed, and he walked smoothly over, like someone who had practice till they got the motion down pat. The boy smiled in a shrewd way as he joined them.

"My, if it isn't Ferdinand and Felix. Funny to find you two here, or should I say, not so funny for Felix."

Felix blinked and stopped. This one he knew, "What do you want, Lorenz? Shouldn't you be off trying to not have your fragile ego hurt?"

Lorenz scowled slightly. "I'll have you know it was not my fault that my blade broke. It was a faulty sword, and you took advantage of that."

Ferdinand looked at Lorenz. "You seem to know my name, but I do not know yours."

Lorenz took a bow and introduced himself, and Ferdinand grinned as they spoke with each other over the role of introductions, and how perfect they had been to one another.

"Pray tell, what occurred in your duel with Felix?"

Lorenz smirked lightly, "While we were training, our friend here assured me that the blade was in fine condition when he handed it over…."

"It was. When I checked it, it was fine." Felix reiterated, but Lorenz went on.

"Furthermore, upon our sparing he purposely attacked hard…"

"You should try to actually learn the blade. No one is going to hesitate on the battlefield."

Lorenz ignored him, "And then, when he struck at me, and I was defending the blade cracked and went flying into a wall," the dark-haired boy pointed out, "Had anyone been in the way, surely they would have been felled."

"No one was going to… You know what, never mind."

Felix watched them talk for a while, grunted and walked away, trying to avoid the whole thing, when Lorenz called to him.

"Hold Felix, we are not done speaking here." Lorenz made his way over to him with Ferdinand just at his heels. What did they want with him now?

"I assumed you were talking to your new friend over there, so I left the conversation."

Ferdinand appeared slightly sad at this comment as he spoke. "If you felt we were ignoring your presence, Felix, I humbly apologize. Such actions are not befitting a noble of my pedigree, and allow me to make it up to you. I can make you a spot of tea."

"No." Felix told him.

"No?" Ferdinand was taken aback and Felix nodded.

"Rather rude of you, Felix." Lorenz commented. "To think we have the same title…"

"I don't care." He told Lorenz and looked at Ferdinand.

"Surely there is some way for me to make up for…"

"I don't want tea, and I certainly don't need you to make up for ignoring me. I pulled myself out of the conversation because I don't care about any of your thoughts on nobility. The only thing I care about is getting stronger." He glanced at Lorenz. "And it doesn't matter what title you have. A title means little if there is nothing there to protect. But I guess someone like you wouldn't understand that."

Lorenz frowned some. "Are you challenging me?"

"No, I just want both of you to leave me alone." Felix told them and he heard Ferdinand sigh. "Now what?"

"Clearly, Felix, you are not one who understands nobility, and I would be glad to teach you. But you are so stubborn that you probably would not listen to words." Ferdinand grinned. "Then you will listen to the clash of steel."

"Are you challenging me to a duel?" Felix chuckle. "You probably aren't good with a blade."

"Not as well as you are…" Ferdinand was saying when Lorenz cut in.

"Perhaps not a traditional duel, but one a bit more interesting. I have a proposition. Since the two of us are lance wielders, let us have a three-way challenge between our houses." He smiled at Felix. "You may choose three to represent you. I shall do the same and Ferdinand will as well."

"Oh, that is a splendid idea. And if I win, then I shall give Felix here lessons in being a proper noble." The orange-haired boy nodded, and he smiled. "And if he wins, he may give me lessons in the blade."

"And if I win, then both of you will have to have a tea with me." Lorenz told them.

"Seems fair," Ferdinand commented. "We shall have this event on the twenty-eighth of this moon in the afternoon. Say around three bells?"

Felix snorted. "You honestly want to do this? Fine, I accept, but I don't think either of your houses has a shot."

"How do you mean?" Lorenz asked and Felix put his blade away and headed for the door.

"Don't you realize," he smirked some. "We have the Professor and a Boar on our side."

He left them standing there confused and felt confident as he went back to the dormitory.