"I can't believe they're still meeting."
Yuri glanced up from their ledger. Hilda leaned against the wall next to him within the city. Like at Varley, the army was busy repairing damage where it could. Claude and Lorenz had refused to leave the people in potential jeopardy should an attack come.
They couldn't do much with the time they had, but a little was better than none.
"Well, it's probably a lot to work through," Yuri said, closing their ledger. He'd get no work done with Hilda here.
"I guess," she shrugged. "Leaves me without a Claude to annoy though."
They both referred to the continued meetings about Claude's heritage. Seteth was the main person he was speaking to. Yuri didn't think Seteth would be against the revelation, but the man was cautious. There was no reality in which Yuri would fault that. Plus the arrival of Nader the Undefeated and an entire army had to have Seteth shaking.
Goddess bless that man for shouldering it himself. Yuri should be in that meeting, but…well, after speaking to Maya, he'd plenty on his mind.
"When did you all know about Claude's heritage?" Yuri asked, curious. "Seems like none of his inner circle is surprised. You all knew?"
"Yup," Hilda said. "He told us all years ago. His dream for Fódlan is why we're all here fighting. We believe in him and what he wants to accomplish."
"I'm impressed," Yuri admitted. "Impressed that you all were able to side with him on that. Almyrans aren't exactly well received in Leicester."
Hilda shifted, crossing her arms. "And is that a problem?"
Yuri quickly shook their head. "Of course not. Just an observation."
She huffed, not relaxing. "Better not be a problem. Claude's been through too much to have more people judging him for his heritage."
"We're all born ourselves," Yuri said, "the world should accept it. You'll hear no judgement from me. I know a thing or two about people not being wanted for circumstances they cannot control."
Hilda's face softened. "Right, sorry. I'm protective, you know me."
Yuri chuckled. "And I think it's one of your best qualities. No offense taken, don't worry. I know I haven't known him, or any of you, for very long. But it's a good dream, to unite people instead of divide. I'll help, and do my all to see this realized."
"You're a good person, Yuri," Hilda said. "Better than I probably would have thought. Though if Maya likes you, then there's really no doubt. Girl only takes well to good people."
"She's incredible," Yuri said. "I'm glad to have met her."
"Oh?" Hilda waggled her eyebrows. "Does Yuri-kins have a thing for our little Maya?"
"Hm? No, I'm afraid I've eyes for another," Yuri said, a roguish grin growing.
Hilda's eyes widened. "What, who? Tell me!"
"Hilda, and play my hand already? It's poor form to give away the ending." They chuckled.
Her eyes narrowed like a predator. "How dare you keep secrets from me. We just bonded over Claude's dream and you would hold this from me?"
"Yep," Yuri said without hesitation, kicking off the wall and back onto their feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've some work to get to."
"Yuri! Tell me!"
"So, you're the teacher."
Byleth froze, halfway bent down to pull a book from beneath her cot. Her hand was on the knife at her belt and it hissed from its sheath as she turned to see Claude's mother.
She blushed, stowing the blade. "Forgive me, Lady Tiana. You startled me."
"Good reaction time," the woman complimented, crossing her arms and nodding with approval. "Heard a lot from Khalid about you. You're the Blade Breaker's kid, aren't you?" She slung herself into the sole chair Byleth had in her tent. Though it was a relaxed pose, even that carried weight. The woman was a force of nature, barely constrained.
"Yes," she said stiffly, remaining standing.
If Tiana noticed, she didn't care. "Met your old man once. Dunno how many years ago it was, but bastard was good with a sword. And a lance. Probably an axe too. Finest soldier I ever met, until I met my husband." Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the Sword of the Creator strapped to Byleth's back. "You anything like him?"
Rigid, Byleth replied, "I am my father's daughter. Make of that what you will."
"See, I'm just a bit curious," Tiana said, voice dropping. "Cuz from what my son has told me in letters, you're a one-of-a-kind woman. A woman who taught him a thing or two. And I won't dispute that, he seems to have learned a bit." She glowered. "What I want to know is about the promise you made to protect him."
Byleth blanched. "He told you about that?"
"After some persuasion," Tiana said. "I get what I want, Eisner. So when I found out you made a vow like that, then vanished for years and left my son unprotected? Well, I guess you'd call me a rather displeased mother."
"Lorenz watched over him," Byleth said. "He's as faithful to Claude as I am."
"He's the next person I'm going to pay a visit to," Tiana said, not rising to the diversion of the conversation. "Eisner, I'm asking you a question. Why the hell do you deserve my son?"
"Deserve him?" Byleth asked, confused. Was she missing something?
Tiana's eyes flashed. "To protect him," she amended. "What gives you the right? Why should I trust my son with you?"
Byleth said nothing, unsure how to respond.
"Because," Tiana continued, "there's plenty of stories about you. Some people call you Ashen Demon, a cold, merciless killer who loves none and cares for less. But if you ask others, they call you Phoenix, a woman who cannot be burned and is the right hand to Duke Riegan. And if you ask your friends, you get a different answer from each." She folded her hands, still not breaking eye contact. "Now who is a mother to believe?"
"How do you know all this?" Byleth couldn't help but ask.
Her laugh was humorless. "Girl, I am a queen in Almyra, originally from Fódlan. Khalid has told you about what he has undergone from our relatives, no? Imagine what the outside queen got as a welcoming party. I learned a thing or two about being resourceful. My enemies weren't going to be easy on me, so I got better. And better has gotten me here. So, Eisner, answer the question. What kind of woman are you?" Her intensity was amplified by her scars, each a burning reminder of a time she scraped by with her life.
Byleth was silent for a moment, and Tiana waited patiently. Eventually, she said, "Each time I think I have an answer, I find I've changed again."
Tiana raised an eyebrow; her silent command to continue.
"I used to be the Ashen Demon," Byleth said. "I don't think I have been for a while. Maybe I am a Phoenix, or whatever they're calling me. I don't know who I am, though. I just know who I want to be."
"Oh?" Tiana cued. "And that is?"
"Better." She echoed Tiana's words. "I want to be the person my friends see me as. I want to deserve what they say about me."
She nodded, thinking. Tiana relaxed some, far less aggressive. "An honest answer, Byleth. A respectable one, too. Hasn't anyone told you that you don't need to work to be who your friends see you as?"
"Excuse me?"
Tiana chuckled sadly. "I had a friend, once. Judith. Goddess, what a beautiful person. She was a sister to me. Thought the world of me." Her fingers drummed on a book Byleth hadn't noticed on her lap. "Anyway, Judith thought she had to work to be who I saw her as. But she didn't, she already was. Never seemed to see it. My point is," she said, seeing Byleth's confusion, "that your friends won't say nice things about you if you haven't already earned them. Stop running away from praise."
"I do not run from praise," Byleth snapped. She then realized who she was speaking to and withdrew, embarrassed.
Tiana laughed. "There's a little of what people say about you, firebrand. That's more of the woman I read about in Khalid's letters." She grew grim again. "Regardless, you're not my daughter. You don't need to listen to my lessons. I just wanted to see what kind of person had charmed my son so."
Byleth said nothing.
The queen looked away, contemplative. "What do you think of my son, Byleth?"
"He's an admirable per—"
"Cut the bullshit. What do you, Byleth Eisner, think of Khalid? I don't want the diplomatic answer, I want the emotional one," she commanded, her expression daring Byleth to refuse.
"He's the best man I've ever known," Byleth admitted in a small voice. "What he's done, what he's accomplished, it's incredible. And we could not have gotten here without him. Not me, not the rest of the Deer, none of us."
"Do you love him?" Tiana asked.
Byleth froze. "I—I beg your pardon?"
"Do you love him?" she repeated.
"I haven't given it any thought," Byleth said. It was the truth.
"Liar," Tiana said with a wolfish grin. "I think you have. Can't hide something about him around me. Khalid was a born liar, who do you think taught him what he knew?"
"I—"
"Don't need to say anything," Tiana said, cutting her off. "I made my point. I'll get no satisfaction at watching a dying animal squirm. Best to just go for the kill." She stood, stepping next to Byleth.
Tiana rested a hand on her shoulder, gripping it firmly. Her eyes locked with the former professor. "So, Byleth Eisner, you take care of my son, you hear me?"
"I will," she whispered, unsure what else to say.
"Good," Tiana said, drawing back. She paused. "Actually, one more question. The red-haired girl, why does she call you Queen?"
"You talked to Hapi?" Byleth asked.
Tiana just stared at her, waiting for a response.
"It's a joke, of sorts. Short for Queen Bitch," Byleth admitted.
The laugh that followed ought to have belonged to a hyena, not a queen. "Goddess and gods, that's good. I like her."
"She's a good friend," Byleth said.
"If she's ribbing you like that, I'll bet," Tiana said, wistful. "Reminds me of Judith. Anyway, forgive me for interrupting your day. Thanks for the conversation, it was enlightening."
"You're welcome?" Byleth said, but the queen was already gone.
"Goddess, that woman is intimidating," Dorothea whispered.
That woman was, of course, Tiana von Riegan. She'd just stalked past, every soldier she passed getting out of her way. She wore no finery, was recognizable to no Leicester soldiers, but still they yielded to her. Hers was a presence that might have had Dorothea swooning, were she not attached to the finest woman already.
"Right?" Balthus said. "Crazy how much she's changed."
Dorothea shrieked, dropping the tome she held into the dirt. "Balthus," she managed to level her voice, "where the fuck did you come from?"
"Hmm?" Balthus chuckled. "Oh, around. Been trying to work up the courage to talk to her all day. Tiana," he clarified.
Her heart beat twice as fast as it should, still calming down from being startled so. "So why, pray tell, do you sneak up on me instead of continuing to stalk this woman across camp?"
"Dorothea, you're a worldly woman," Balthus said, ignoring half the question. "You know plenty about wooing an older woman—"
"Mercie is barely older than me."
"—so I thought I'd ask you for any advice you might have. See, I had something of a thing for Tiana, back in the day. Helluva looker, and still is. Been wondering what I should say to her."
"You Abyssians," Dorothea cursed under her breath, "are insane."
"What was that?" Balthus asked.
"Nothing," she dismissed. "Just talk to her. Does that look like a woman who doesn't appreciate directness?"
"True," Balthus said. "But I'm asking for the precious secrets of courting known only to women, Dorothea. I'm an oaf, so I need some edge if I'm to sweep her off her feet."
Dorothea was saved having to answer by a cold voice over her shoulder. "And why, dear Balthus, might you need to woo my mother?"
"Ah, Claude!" Balthus said, not looking surprised at all. He'd seen him coming, then. "Maybe you'd know best."
The weary man, fresh out of a meeting that ran all night, blinked at him. "Balthus, what the fuck are you doing?"
"Look, Claude, you weren't there in those days. Tiana von Riegan was quite the woman, I'll say. The years have treated her well."
"Spar," Claude spat. "Ten minutes. You meet me outside camp and I'll show you just how she wooed my father."
"Coming onto me, Claude?" Balthus teased. "I always knew I had a handsome face, but I never knew it was that alluring."
"I will make you beg the Goddess that you were never blessed with self-awareness," Claude seethed, stomping on, away from them.
Dorothea, who had been holding back laughter, finally let it out. "Goddess," she said between breaths, "Balthus, he won't be easy on you."
"I know," he said, cheerfully. "Truth is, I don't care. Just saw you looking down, so I thought maybe I could cheer you up."
"I beg your pardon?" Dorothea blinked.
"Even I'm not dumb enough to talk about Tiana within Claude's earshot," he said with a laugh. "Saw him coming, thought it'd be funny. Looks like I've gotten myself into quite the predicament though. Gonna pay for that, but it was worth it."
"To make me laugh?" Dorothea said, still confused.
"Heard about Hilda and what happened in the sewers," he murmured. "Guessed it was weighing on you. Mercedes is busy with healing, and I didn't know if you had anyone to talk to. I didn't want to intrude, but a laugh goes a long way."
"I think I misjudged you, Balthus," Dorothea said, reeling.
His serious disposition dispelled. "Nonsense! I'm sure every story you've heard about me is true." He smiled. "Everyone needs a laugh, every once in a while. I certainly have after Derdriu. Guess this helped both of us."
"Thank you, Balthus. I do feel a bit better," she admitted.
"Anyway, don't blame yourself for it. Everyone lived, right? Not even Hilda blames you," he said.
"I suppose."
"Sounds like you need another laugh. Come watch Claude kick my ass, I'm sure it'll be a show," he offered.
She thought about it. "Actually, I will. Someone will need to heal you, after all."
He chuckled at that, and she accompanied him.
"How are you feeling?" Marianne asked, stroking her wife's hair.
Hilda groaned. "Mari, I'm fine. It was just a bit of magic."
Her wife was not amused. "You're bedridden, dearest."
Which was true, Hilda had been far too sore after the battle to do much of anything. She took a leaf out of her younger self's book and now laid in bed all day. Goddess damn her for feeling icky about laying around so much, too.
"Okay, but it's fine!" Hilda insisted. "I'm absolutely fine. I could jump right out of bed and run into the sunset if I needed to."
"You will stay in bed," Marianne ordered.
"Oh, I love it when you're forceful," she teased.
Marianne didn't even blush, she just rolled her eyes. Hilda needed some new material. "Anyway," Marianne said, "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Alister?" she guessed.
Her wife nodded. "Do you think he is an Agarthan? Like Monica and Tomas were?"
Hilda thought about it. It certainly was possible, she supposed. Hilda didn't know the man well enough to pretend to know for sure. He was illusive, even by noble standards.
But he was vile. Of that there was no doubt. The man was cruel and ambitious, the deadliest combo. His quest to get a Crest was everything to him, Hilda would assume.
"No," Hilda finally said.
Marianne looked surprised, so Hilda continued. "He's after your Crest. The Agarthans are the ones who took Flayn's blood. They experimented on Edelgard to make her what she is. They have the resources to grant Crests. What Alister is doing seems different."
"Different?"
"Yeah," Hilda said, sitting up in their bed. "See, the Agarthans have perfected their process with Edelgard, right? So why is everything Alister doing so trial and error? He's figuring out a science by himself."
"Then the notes I found with his handwriting…" Marianne murmured.
"He had to have learned some of this from somewhere. If you ask me, he's worked with the Agarthans. But he's not one of them," Hilda guessed.
"That would make sense to me," Marianne said. She removed Blutgang from its sheath at her waist. "That would explain this sword, as well."
It was Hilda's turn to beckon her partner to continue. "People without Crests who use Relics turn into beasts, right? So I suspect he gave this to me in hopes I would use it, to cover his tracks. Were I a monster, there'd be no one to tell the story about him."
Hilda grabbed her hand and Marianne smiled. "Do not worry, Hilda, I won't be using it. I keep it with me so an unsuspecting fool does not stumble upon it. If someone who doesn't know the truth uses it, then we'll have a black beast in our camp."
Her wife's grip lessened. "That makes sense. Just promise me. Promise me you'll never use it."
"Of course not," Marianne vowed. "I have magic and no need for a sword. Plus, you married me, and I believe the words 'to the end of our days' were said."
Hilda smiled. "Good. Life without you would be so incredibly dull."
"Just dull?" Marianne giggled.
"Yep!" Hilda blatantly lied. She grew somber. "But we'll get through this, Mari. Alister will never hurt you. I won't let him."
"My steadfast protector," Marianne said fondly. "I believe I am the lucky half of this marital bond."
"Ha, no way. I'm the one with the loveliest wife around," Hilda said. "My adorable wife who saves me from everything."
Marianne's eyes flashed and a teasing grin danced across her lips. She pushed Hilda back down on the bed, "And your healer of a wife says to take it easy and stay in bed."
"Ugh, but it's so boring!" Hilda complained.
Her wife bent down and kissed her. Hilda stopped complaining.
Tiana von Riegan paid him a visit soon after Ferdinand had left his tent in the morning. The poor man had just been so exhausted, Lorenz had given him his bed and watched over him for the night. A more chaste person might have had a problem with it, but Lorenz saw it as his duty to his friend who was struggling.
Which meant when the Demon Queen herself stalked into his tent and eyed him like a vulture did carrion, Lorenz realized he regretted not having much sleep.
"Lady Riegan, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, standing and bowing.
Her attire was different from when he'd first met her yesterday. Now she wore black leather armor, studded with gold filigree. It was expensive, almost regal. But it showed off just how many scars Tiana actually had. Lorenz almost felt nauseated, imagine just how much blood had been shed from the dozens of once-wounds. On her back, a long double axe, two wickedly sharp heads on each side of the long handle.
She caught him staring at her scars. Instead of being offended, Tiana grinned like a wolf caught in sheep's clothing. "Got a question about them, Gloucester?"
Lorenz shifted uncomfortably. "You've been through quite a lot, Lady Riegan."
Tiana snorted. "Understatement, Gloucester. I've earned the name Demon Queen. Anyway, came here for a reason. Sit."
He did so, and she remained standing.
Tiana crossed her arms. "Now, I was under the impression I only had my son and my newborn daughter. But as I learn from speaking to people around here, we've got another Riegan about."
"Ah," was all Lorenz said.
"So, I guess that makes you my son in some fucked up way," Tiana said, waving a hand in exasperation. "Not gonna spend time figuring out what this means. I trust my son's taste in people, so you must mean a lot to him." Her face turned dark. "My real question is who the hell are you to deserve Judith von Daphnel sacrificing herself to save you?"
Lorenz froze and Tiana didn't let up. "That woman was the world to me. And I was the same to her, I've since found out. So I'm a bit at a loss why she'd throw her life away for a Gloucester."
"I am a Riegan," Lorenz said slowly.
Tiana snorted. "You can wear a different skin, but you can't change who you are. My husband's family has made that abundantly clear to me. I don't care what you call yourself. I don't care what is attached to the end of your name. I want to know why my best friend gave her life to save you."
"I wonder why she did, too," Lorenz admitted.
The queen frowned. "Shit, you really don't know why, do you? Goddessdamn woman is still impossible to understand in death."
"She cared for me," Lorenz said. "That much was clear. I have suspicions, but nothing more."
"Then I would hear them."
"I think we were a family to her," Lorenz said simply. "Something she hadn't had in a long time. Not since her father passed and you left."
Her hand was around his throat a moment later, lifting him in the air. "Are you," she spat, "blaming me for her death?"
Lorenz slammed a fist into her hand, breaking the hold. He stumbled back, heaving for breath, and she made no move to reengage. "I'm waiting," she threatened.
"Maybe I am," he said between coughs. "The woman was lonely. We were all she had by then. You read her journal, didn't you? She missed her closest friend, so much."
He braced himself for retribution, but it did not come. Lorenz glanced at the queen and saw her looking to the ground.
"I left her behind, didn't I?" Tiana muttered. "Didn't even say goodbye."
"She loved you," Lorenz said, finding his way back to the chair, though he did not relax. "That was her burden, you ought not blame yourself with it. But I can sympathize, she lost her closest friend."
"Shit friend I was," Tiana muttered. "Could have visited. Could have done something." She scowled, looking at him. "Good thing you're a Riegan now. I'd never stand for a Gloucester speaking to me like that."
"You tried to strangle me," Lorenz said, unamused.
"Did that to some people in Almyra. Now we're friends." Tiana looked away. "You've got backbone, kid. I see why my son adopted you. I approve."
"I am not seeking your approval," Lorenz said, scowling.
"Good," Tiana muttered. "Want to spar with me? Get some of that anger out?"
"You are a baffling woman," Lorenz grumbled, shaking his head.
She shrugged. "If people hate you for what you look like for long enough, you stop giving a shit how you appear. I am me. Thank you, though. For talking with me."
"Forgive me if I am not looking forward to the next time," he grunted.
Tiana chuckled. "If any of your other Gloucesters were like you, I might have had a favorable opinion of them. You think about that spar, offer is open." And she left.
Lorenz stood, making sure she wasn't about to come back. Then he left to seek out Marianne to look at his neck.
"Look, I'm fine, alright?" Catherine protested.
Ignatz, leaning against the parapet on Bergliez' high walls next to her, frowned. "Catherine, you look like death walking. Seriously, get some rest."
She shook her head. "This is rest enough right now."
"I meant sleep," Ignatz said. "Not sitting."
"We just fought a battle, everyone's tired," Catherine said. "Byleth needs me, I can't let her down."
Ignatz sighed. "I'm torn between continuing to nag you and praise you for seeing yourself as an able commander of the knights."
"Let's compromise and do neither," Catherine said with a weak grin.
He looked out over the wall to where their camp was. "You're a real piece of work, Catherine." He turned back to her and froze, words dying on his lips.
Catherine glanced at him and followed where his eyes led. Then she turned to stone as well.
"Catherine," Shamir said, standing not but fifteen feet away from them. "You're a hard woman to find."
"Shamir!" Ignatz said, briskly walking to her and giving her a hug. Surprisingly, she reciprocated. "Goddess, it's been ages. I had heard you were here from Leonie, but I didn't know where to find you."
"I'm sure we have a lot to talk about," Shamir said with a light smile. "But do you mind if I catch up to you later, Ig? I'd like to speak with Catherine, if that's okay."
Ignatz glanced back at Catherine, asking a silent question. She nodded, and he turned back to Shamir. "Sounds good. Find me once you're done, please."
Shamir put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, walking to Catherine. Ignatz took one last look at them before departing.
She sat down next to Catherine. "Long time no see."
"Hey, Shamir," Catherine said, stumbling over her words.
"Were you avoiding me?" Shamir asked softly.
"More like trying to work up the courage," she admitted. "I never expected you to seek me out."
Shamir smiled. "It has been five years. Guess I've changed a bit."
"Five years," muttered Catherine. "Hard to imagine it's been that long. Seems like just yesterday that we were partners."
"Those were good days," Shamir said, looking over at the city.
"Why did you leave?" Catherine asked.
She closed her eyes. "Yeah, you deserve to know. It was because of Rhea."
Catherine was silent, waiting for the answer she'd waited for years for.
"When I saved you at Garreg Mach, you called out for Rhea. Said you loved her," Shamir said. "I…didn't react well. So I ran away."
"I think I owe you an apology," Catherine mumbled.
Whatever Shamir had been expecting Catherine to say, that hadn't been it. "For what? I'm the one who left you. Whatever we were, I shouldn't have done that."
"I am as at fault as you are. For so long, I idolized her. Maybe it was love," Catherine admitted. Shamir hung onto every word, not interrupting. "But I've had a lot of time to think. Rhea took me in after I had to leave Faerghus. I lost my name, my family. I think that's what she was to me, a mother to replace the one I'd lost. I owed her, I wanted to repay her. But I should not have put you second to her. You were…are, I suppose, important to me."
Shamir shook her head. "Your devotion to her was understandable, given what you went through. I shouldn't have been so jealous and trusted you more. You were…no, are, important to me."
Catherine cracked a hesitant grin. "Looks like we've both changed a bit, huh?"
Shamir echoed her expression. "Maybe we have."
"I'm not looking for her, either," Catherine said. "I know some knights are and were, but I think…I think I've accepted that she's gone. Maybe I needed to be away from her to see what was most important. Ignatz, Petra, you…" She looked away, embarrassed. "You all are the important people to me now. The ones I really need to find."
The woman she loved smiled. "You've grown, Catherine."
"So have you," Catherine said.
"How has Ignatz been?" Shamir asked, tension vanishing from her.
"Good," she said. "We've spent the last five years together, more or less, sailing across the world. It was busy, but I think it was good."
Shamir nodded. "I was with Petra in the Empire."
"You were?" Catherine said, surprised.
"It's why I didn't come back sooner. She needed me. It's also why I never responded to your letters, though I wanted to. I was watched. But I read every single one of them."
"Ah," Catherine said. "I'm sorry for some of the things I said about you in them."
"We were both angry," Shamir said, shaking her head. "And we've both changed. Maybe…maybe time away from each other was good."
"You're smiling more," Catherine noticed.
Shamir chuckled. "Blame that on Ferdinand."
"How is Petra?" Catherine asked.
Shamir fell silent. Then, "I doubt well, not anymore. I want to find her as we push forward. It's why I came to the front instead of staying in Derdriu. Well, finding her and finding you."
"Here I am," Catherine chuckled.
They both smiled and fell silent, each more comfortable than they had been in years.
"Where does this leave us?" Catherine asked, finally.
"What do you want?" Shamir asked.
"I…I think I still have feelings for you," Catherine admitted.
Shamir nodded. "I feel the same."
Catherine gingerly reached down and took Shamir's hand. "Should we…start over?"
"I think I'd like that."
Author Notes: Tiana is fun to write.
I should touch on the trans community's social hierarchies for the benefit of my cis friends here, since that's very in mind with the Maya/Yuri dynamic. This is certainly not true across the board, but in many trans social bonds, age is irrelevant. Maturity/knowledge is generally more based on years being out. For example, I'm 23 and I came out two years ago. If I'm talking to a 16-year-old who came out six years ago, I'd probably look to them as my social senior. Again, this isn't true for everyone or every social community, but it's a common phenomenon and something I had in mind when writing the Maya/Yuri dynamic.
Editing Notes:
2/15/2022: Minor grammatical adjustments. Adjusted one of Byleth's lines to better convey her feelings about Claude.