Dimitri and Mercedes Support C
It was a pleasantly sunny day at Garreg Mach monastery, although Vivian was too preoccupied with her thoughts to really take notice.
Earlier in class, the professor and Dimitri had announced that the Blue Lions house would be assisting the Knights of Seiros in quelling a rebellion that was being led by a minor Faerghus noble, Lord Lonato. This news had caused quite a stir amongst the students, especially in that kid Ashe who, if Vivian recalled correctly, was the adopted son of Lonato.
Vivian hummed to herself as she continued her walk, musing about the upcoming mission. Unlike many of her fellow students, she didn't care about the surrounding politics of this rebellion, nor did she waste energy griping about how a Faerghus noble was openly threatening the church. If anything, Vivian saw this as an excellent opportunity to demonstrate her loyalty and skill to the prince of Faerghus and establish favorable relations between House Dominic and House Blaiddyd, not to mention impress the professor.
*CRASH*
"What the…?!" Vivian was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of a muffled crash, causing the girl to swivel her head in order to find the source of the noise. In doing so, she discovered that she had wandered next to the training grounds. A moment later, a second muffled crash rang out from within the training grounds. "What on earth is going on in there?" Vivian wondered aloud, giving into her curiosity as she made her way towards the training grounds.
Once inside, Vivian's eyes widened upon witnessing the carnage that lay before her. Weapons and training dummies alike were strewn all across the floor like fallen soldiers on a battlefield. Standing in the midst of it all was a panting Prince Dimitri, facing a soon to be pulverized training dummy, iron lance in hand.
"Hyah! Rah!"
With the ease of a knife slicing through butter, the prince effortlessly speared the dummy straight through the chest before cleanly bisecting it in a single stroke. Once the dummy's top half hit the floor, Dimitri straightened up and relaxed his posture, running a free hand along his forehead.
"My, quite the mess you've made, Your Highness."
"Huh? Oh, Vivian, hello." Turning to face his fellow classmate, Dimitri offered a sheepish smile. "I suppose I did go a little overboard with my training. Apologies for the mess."
Vivina giggled with a shake of her head. "Oh, not at all! If anything, it was amazing to see the future King of Faerghus in action. I must say, I'm impressed, Your Highness."
Now it was Dimitri's turn to shake his head. "It's nothing so extravagant, I assure you. This is merely my usual training routine. Also, please, call me Dimitri. I'd like to believe we are equals here within the walls of the Officer's Academy."
Vivian placed a hand to her chest in mock surprise, a coy smile on her lips. "Oh my! Do I truly have the honor of addressing my future lord by his first name? What a wonderful day this is turning out to be!"
"Come now," Dimitri remarked with a slight frown. "Is such a reaction really necessary?" His reply earned another giggle from rusty-haired girl, which in turn eventually earned a small smile from the blonde prince. "In any case, what brings you here? Are you planning to do some training yourself?"
"No, that's not it." Vivian replied. "I was just enjoying a leisurely walk when I heard a commotion in here. It was a surprise to be sure, but not as surprising as finding the prince of Faerghus singlehandedly wrecking the Academy's stock of training equipment!" Another round of giggles escaped Vivian's lips as a sheepish expression once again formed on Dimitri's face.
"Well, you certainly have my apologies for the disruption." Dimitri apologized earnestly, to which Vivian merely waved a dismissive hand.
"There's no need to apologize. In any case, might I offer my assistance in cleaning this mess up?"
"Oh, no! I couldn't possibly ask you to help me clean up my own mess." Dimitri protested.
Vivian merely smirked in response. "Then I suppose it's a good thing I'm offering instead of waiting for you to ask! I've always been a proactive girl, anyhow." As she began picking up fragments of fallen dummies and weapons, Dimitri sighed in defeat and joined Vivian.
Eventually, the pair managed to restore the training grounds to its previously pristine condition, albeit with significantly less intact training equipment.
"Ah, that should do it, and in record time no less. You have my thanks for your assistance, Vivian." Chuckling, Dimitri smiled as he appraised his fellow classmate. "It seems your reputation precedes you."
"Oh?" Vivian said, her interest piqued despite her weariness. "I haven't realized I had a reputation." Inwardly, excitement bloomed in Vivian's chest. Could her studiousness and dedication already have paid off?
Dimitri nodded. "Indeed. Annette has spoken at great length about you, especially concerning your exceptional work ethic."
Immediately, the excitement within Vivian withered away into a familiar feeling of bitterness. "I-is that so?" She replied, doing her best to maintain her composure while tempering her voice so as not to reveal any evidence of her inner turmoil.
Oblivious to the effect his words had on the girl, Dimitri continued on with a humored smile. "Yes, she was quite excited to discover you are to be joining her here at the Officer's Academy. Why, when I indulged in her excitement, she shared so many tales and facts about you that its as if I've known you all my life!"
Gazing at the sky, Dimitri's eyes suddenly widened with a flash of urgency. "Dear me, I hadn't realized how much time has passed! My apologies, Vivian, but I'm afraid I must be going. I had agreed to meet our professor for tea, and I'd like to wash up before our meeting." Making his way to the training ground's exit, Dimitri gave the still silent Vivian a parting smile. "I thank you again for your assistance earlier, Vivian. Perhaps I could treat you to some tea at a later date?"
Deciding she had calmed down enough to speak, Vivian offered a weak smile as she replied, "That…would be lovely, Your High- er, Dimitri. I'll be looking forward to it." Satisfied with her acceptance, Dimitri nodded as he made his exit.
Once the doors closed, Vivian allowed herself to release her hold over her bottled up emotions, a quiet growl emanating from her lips. "That girl…" Vivian muttered with blatant frustration. "Must she steal every opportunity away from me?" Taking a deep breath, the girl shook her head. No, she reasoned, this would be fine. At least the prince looked favorably upon her, and now she even had a private meeting scheduled with him. All she had to do now was focus on personally demonstrating her own merits and usefulness to the prince and outshine whatever silly stories her cousin had fed him.
"Yes, I'll certainly be looking forward to it, Your Highness." Vivian affirmed aloud, content with her rationalization yet still nursing a bit of her earlier bitterness. "And when that time comes, you'll see just how great I am for yourself. I'll be the one to demonstrate the loyalty of House Dominic!"
Following her meeting with Dimitri, Vivian decided to head back to her quarters, intending to focus on studying for tomorrow's class until dinnertime. She had just reached her door and was prepared to open it when a voice called out behind her.
"Oh! Hello, Vivian!"
Pausing in her actions, Vivian turned to see a smiling Mercedes walking toward her. "Good afternoon, Mercedes," Vivian replied politely, a guarded smile gracing her own features as her classmate approached her.
"Please, there's no need to be so formal. You can even call me Mercie if you'd like!" Mercedes responded pleasantly.
"Er, I'll keep that in mind." Vivian replied in a noncommittal tone. Honestly, the rusty-haired girl held…conflicting feelings toward Mercedes. On the one hand, she was a genuinely sweet girl, almost motherly in her conduct and mannerisms in a way that put Vivian at ease. On the other hand, however, she was best friends with a certain someone…
"Anyways, was there something that you needed?" Vivian asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from getting too casual.
Mercedes nodded. "Oh, no, I don't need anything. I just saw you passing by, and I thought to invite you to tea in my room. But if you are busy at the moment, I understand."
Vivian considered Mercedes' invitation carefully. Deciding there was no harm in accepting and that she could afford a little extra break before studying, Vivian hesitantly nodded. "No, I'm…not busy at the moment. I would like that."
"Wonderful!" Mercedes exclaimed cheerfully. She then beckoned for the Dominic girl to follow after her to her room.
Once the two had gotten settled in Mercedes' room, Mercedes immediately began attending to her guest. "I'm so glad to have you here, Vivian! It's a shame that Annie couldn't be here to join us."
"Yeah, a shame…" Vivian murmured as she accepted a cup of tea. Taking a sip, the rusty-haired girl was impressed by her host's brewing skills, already feeling slightly more relaxed.
While Vivian enjoyed her tea, Mercedes finished pouring her own tea into her cup before setting the pot down. After doing so, she walked over to a cloth-covered basket next to her desk and brought it over to the table where Vivian was sitting. Once she sat down, she pulled off the cloth to reveal several fresh baked cookies.
"Here, Vivian! Please, try one!" Mercedes insisted. Intrigued, Vivian reached out and selected a cookie before bringing it to her lips. The girl's eyes widened slightly as she stared in astonishment at the treat in her hand.
"Wow, this is…amazing." She breathed in awe.
Mercedes giggled at the compliment as Vivian continued eating. "I'm so glad you enjoy them. After all, I made them especially for you!"
"Huh?" Vivian paused just as she was about to take another bite of her cookie. "You made all of these…for me?"
Mercedes nodded. "That's right. Ever since we were first introduced as classmates, I hoped that we would become friends. So, I wanted to put my best foot forward!"
"Friends…" Vivian repeated, before her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Wait, was this Annette's idea? Did she suggest all of this?"
"Hm? Well, she did suggest we all have tea together," Mercedes admitted. "But the cookies were my idea. Like I said, I really hope you and I can become friends." Mercedes smiled sweetly as she picked up her cup. "It's my earnest wish that all of us in the Blue Lions house can become the best of friends!"
Vivian was stunned into momentary silence by the sincerity in Mercedes' voice. "I…see." That was all she could manage before taking a sip from her own cup, if only to buy some time to get her thoughts together.
"Oh, may I refill your cup?" Mercedes asked. "Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to know more about you, Vivian. You could ask me questions about myself too if you'd like."
Vivian slowly nodded. "Um, sure. I don't mind." She replied as she handed her cup to Mercedes. Turning her head towards the basket of cookies, Vivian spoke again in a meek tone, "May I…have another cookie please?"
Mercedes giggled as she responded, "Of course! You don't even need to ask."
"Thank you, Mercedes." Vivian replied as she both accepted her refilled teacup and grabbed another cookie, a genuinely relaxed smile now stretching her lips.
The two's casual conversation stretched on until the teapot was emptied and all the cookies were gone. Throughout that time, Vivian found that she enjoyed her time with Mercedes more than she had initially expected to.
Perhaps, Vivian mused, Mercedes wasn't all that bad after all.
Author's Note: Here we are again, everyone! I'll admit, it's quite a challenge coming up with these unique scenarios for Support Conversations, but a pleasant challenge. As you may have noticed, I include bits of the plot events within the narration of the conversations, but this is mainly to establish timeline context. I will do my best to make the conversations themselves as plot-neutral as possible. I hope you all enjoy!
Also, here's some extra info about Vivian:
Personal Ability - Contention: When in combat against a Crest-bearing opponent, unit deals 5 extra damage and receives 3 less damage.
Strengths: Sword, Lance, Bow, Reason, Authority, Horseback, Flying (Hidden Affinity in Lances)
Weaknesses: Axe, Brawling, Faith, Heavy Armor
xenocanaan - Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.
Akasha Bloodriver - You're not too far off. As for the two cousin's relationship, you'll just have to wait and see~ The same goes for whether there will an S-Support event with Byleth and what Vivian's ending class will be.