Author's Note:

Hello and welcome to another chapter, that I'll admit took me a long time to get out. This one details a little about the effect of the full moon on werewolves, as well as a bit from Dedue's perspective. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Full-Moon Gifts

His conversation with Seteth had left Raphael with a lot to consider.

In all honesty, discovering that he was a hostage wasn't pleasant, and he wondered how many were actually aware of this. Lorenz certainly, but it was likely Claude knew as well as Hilda (though she seemed uninterested politics to him). The nobles of other houses potentially also knew, since many people were aware of Petra being in the same situation (even if people like Ferdinand made it sound better with words like 'guest').

Thankfully, a letter from his fathers, handed to him by Claude during breakfast, gave him some much-needed solace.

It was less of a letter and more of a large package, and Raphael kind of felt sorry for the messenger that had to bring it.

Contained within were several gifts sent by his pack, mostly little trinkets like carved models and such for his room, but his Pa and Da had sent him something quite special. A pair of stuffed wolf toys that were actually infused with their own scents.

Due to his people's close bonds, particularly in families, werewolves rarely slept alone. Cubs slept with their fathers and siblings, and adults would sleep with their mates and cubs. This meant that Raphael was used to having his fathers' scents around him when he slept, and he'd admit he'd been having a hard time adjusting to the loneliness of his human bed. This trait however had led to werewolves learning how to infuse their scents to things like stuffed toys, for cubs who'd potentially have to do without their family for long periods of time.

The young cub smiled sadly and briefly cuddled the two toys, taking in his fathers' scents again. It wasn't the same as having them in the flesh, but it would ease him a little.

Alongside the gifts was an actual letter, written mostly by his Da.

Raphael

I'm guessing that by the time you get this, Seteth will have already explained things to you, and why you were sent to the Academy. Firstly, I'm so sorry that I couldn't explain things properly to you that night we sent you away, I know how scared you must have been and upset at what was going on, are you doing okay now, are you being treated well?

The whole pack are thinking of you, and your friends here keep begging me for news on how you're getting on, I think Geri is toying with plans of sneaking away to find you at Garreg Mach, hopefully Freki talks him out of it.

Raphael chuckled, easily picturing his two friends, Geri fired by some exciting idea and Freki tempering the idea into something more manageable. Both of them were a bit older than him, so he knew they'd be worried now he was away.

They made the ocarina for you from deer antler, their Da had some left from that big stag he hunted last autumn which he let them use. They did argue for a while over what they should make, Freki was thinking of a horn while Geri had a convoluted plan to make a full trombone, thankfully their Da convinced them to go with an ocarina instead, which was considerably smaller, easier and what you actually play.

He glanced fondly at the ocarina that had come with the other gifts. While werewolves loved howled song, they were just as fond of what humans considered music, using word and instrument, often combining the two when they could. He was a bit rusty but did have an ocarina of his own back home, which was likely why his friend's Da convinced them to send him one.

We're doing fine back here, thankfully, Gloucester has been appeased by you being at the Academy. I think he believes his son will somehow make you more like the Alliance nobles, so he's leaving the pack alone mostly, apart from having patrols around the forest edge to 'keep an eye on us'. The villages around the forest aren't too happy about it, they liked trading with our hunters and now Gloucester's knights are making it difficult to do so.

Please don't let anyone treat you badly there, tell Seteth if they are. He's been a huge help as the church representative in dealing with the Alliance and has promised to look out for you for us. He has a very good understanding of our pack.

Finally, please write back. Apparently, the heir of house Reigan, Claude, is the one who organised the messenger for us to write to you, I think the other lords wanted to stop us doing so but he got his grandfather to insist. Just speak with him to sort out a return message, or, once again, Seteth, I'm sure either of them can help you with that.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, happy birthday from the whole pack, I know it's not the celebration it should be, but I promise that we will make up for it when you finally can come home. Listen for us on the night of the 18th, we will howl our songs for you to the Mother Tree and believe that she will guide them to your ears. Though you won't be able to enter the Sacred Den on that day, you will do so the moment you are back home and able to.

May the Mother Tree's blossoms stay with you.

Pa and Da

Raphael re-read the letter several times, savouring the words written down by his fathers, not really noticing the couple of tears springing from his eyes.

"Is something wrong at home?"

He looked up from the letter, seeing Dedue looking at him in concern. He realised that tears were falling, and he quickly wiped them away.

"No, it's just good to hear from my Pa and Da." He smiled a little, "They and others in the pack sent some gifts for me. Mostly for my birthday."

Dedue nodded in understanding, but Dorothea had also been listening in, and she leaned across to join in, "Oh Raph, you never said your birthday was coming up, when is it?"

His smile came closer to his usual grin, "The eighteenth, and it's my eighteenth birthday, so it's kind of considered an important one for us, since it officially marks when we're considered to be starting adolescence." His face fell a little, "Normally, it would be the first time I would be allowed into the Sacred Den beneath the Mother Tree, but I won't be able to do so. Da said that I would when I return home, but…"

"It's not really the same." The songstress finished.

Raphael sensed someone sit beside him, and scent told him that Dedue was the one who'd done so. The older boy wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and the werewolf was momentarily surprised, before quickly leaning into the touch and smiling a little once more.

As a half-werewolf, Dedue was no doubt aware that physical contact was far more comforting to Raphael than words. For her part, Dorothea looked briefly surprised, but made no comment, even while other nearby students looked confused at the exchange. Dimitri however seemed pleased, as if glad at his retainer's actions, and Raphael was a little confused by that and wondered if the prince knew of Dedue's heritage.

Dedue gave a smile of his own, "Well, we can do something for you on that day. It won't be as good, but it'll be something."

The werewolf grinned a little more at that.

As the moon continued to roll on by, Raphael felt the familiar stirrings as the full moon approached.

Apparently, some of the humans believed that werewolves forcefully transformed under a full moon. Of course, this was complete nonsense (they could transform whenever they felt like), but the full moon did grant them more power. For most, this increased power didn't do much beyond giving them more energy than usual and greater strength, but for a couple, the effects of the moon were more pronounced, bearing a condition called 'Full-Moon Mania'.

His Pa was a prime example of this, under the full moon, his Pa became incredibly energised, seemingly so much so that he couldn't control it. This led to him literally charging around their forest home in wolf form to burn off the almost endless energy he received, leaping, running, climbing, basically going through a frantic rush of activity all night, and then sleeping right through the following day in exhaustion.

In addition, Raphael had inherited it from his Pa.

Both of them were the only ones in the pack which had it, and it was an easily dealt with form. In the past, there had apparently been times where someone with 'Full-Moon Mania' would be highly aggressive, as well as filled with energy. The sufferer would be so aggressive that they would attack anyone and anything and would have to be tied-up for the duration of the full moon to stop them hurting others.

However, no werewolf has shown such an extreme form of the condition for generations, and the healers believed that the old habit of trying to forcefully suppress it in cubs showing signs of having it, caused it to become far worse. Instead, letting those who have it simply burn the energy off while the condition was mild, kept it under control. In short, letting Raphael and his Pa charge around the forest all night under the full moon, meant they'd never develop the more dangerous version.

Now, in the run up to the full moon, Raphael could feel the energy in him building up, and it was making it that bit harder to actually focus on his studies.

"Raphael, would you please stop that fidgeting! It is making it very difficult for people to concentrate."

Lorenz's irritated voice annoyed him, but Raphael could see his point this time, he was basically bouncing in his seat after all.

As a werewolf cub, he already had a lot of energy to spare, and had found difficulty in staying seated and focusing on his studies as it was. Now though, with the full moon close, he really was struggling to keep still. He wanted to run about, playfight, do laps of the monastery, anything that didn't involve sitting down.

He tried to still himself and focus on Professor Manuela's lecture about battlefield medicine but was soon bouncing his leg up and down and getting distracted by some noises outside.

"Raphael, are you paying attention?"

Manuela's stern voice grabbed his attention, and he immediately felt guilty and returned his attention to her.

"Sorry Professor."

He wasn't trying to ignore her (knowing how to apply field dressings and correctly use vulneraries was very useful after all) but he just couldn't focus. She held her gaze on him a moment before returning to her lecture, and he tried valiantly to maintain his attention, just about managing to do so until the end of the lesson.

As everyone packed up to move onto the next class, Manuela called him to her desk, and he trudged to the front with Lorenz throwing him a pointed look of disappointment as he left. However, the Professor wasn't interested in telling him off.

"Raphael, I realise why you might be having difficulty in focusing today." She looked up at him enquiringly, "Is it because the full moon is approaching?"

He was momentarily surprised, then realised that she'd studied werewolf physiology before he arrived, so she likely already knew of the moon's effects. He briefly nodded.

"Yeah, it's usually worse for me than others."

She frowned at this, "What do you mean? I know your people are energised by a full moon, but I didn't know it caused high activity problems in the run up to it."

He shrugged back, "Well, I have 'Full-Moon Mania', so it has a bigger effect on me."

"What!" Her eyes widened dramatically at this, "Isn't that something that causes werewolves to become incredibly violent?"

He quickly shook his head, "No! Well, not always, and not for a long time." He explained further, "There used to be cases where someone with the condition would be really violent, but in me and my Pa's case, we just get unlimited energy we have to burn off. We basically just run around and play all night, before sleeping the whole next day at home, we don't attack anybody, and no one has had the violent form for generations."

She sighed with relief, "I see, so it's a mild form then?"

Raphael nodded, "Yeah, and our healers think that letting us burn the energy off during a full moon prevents the condition from getting bad."

She looked at him in interest, "I guess we need to speak to your healers at some point, it seems that our records on werewolf medicine are a bit out of date if no one has had the dangerous form for that long." She smiled, "I any case I shall speak to Seteth about finding you somewhere to rampage during the full moon. As funny as it would be to see people's reactions to you charging around the monastery like a madman all night, it probably wouldn't go down well."

He grimaced, imagining the looks of horror on many people's faces if they saw him sprinting all over the place, having somewhere away from the monastery during a full moon would be good.

The next day, Seteth approached him at dinner and handed him a note, leaving with a smile and a nod. Raphael wasted no time unfolding it and reading its contents.

Raphael

On the full moon, Captain Jeralt will meet you at the main gate just before sundown to take you to a section of the forest for you to spend the night. He'll be around the area all night just in case, but the area should be safe and secure enough for you to do what you need to without interruptions or danger, Professor Byleth already knows not to expect you in class the next day.

Seteth

P.S- I know that your pack have learned how to accept and deal with your condition, but I'm sure you realise that others may not be as understanding. Hence why I told you the arrangements this way.

He couldn't argue with the man's caution, he'd long since realised how many humans saw him, having Full-Moon Mania definitely wouldn't help change that view. He folded up and pocketed the note, deciding to do a rigorous training session before bed to make himself sleep soundly that night.

Full moon was tomorrow night after all.

"Where is Raphael?"

Dedue glanced up curiously at Lorenz's question, noting the young noble's frown of annoyance. Beside said noble, Claude waved a hand lazily.

"It's still early Lorenz, I know he's usually first here, but everyone sleeps in from time to time."

Lorenz seemed unimpressed, "I was meaning to speak to him about his lack of focus over the last couple of days. It will not do to have him missing out on education because he can't keep still."

The head of the Golden Deer sighed, "Look, werewolves are a pretty active people, is it that much of a surprise that Raphael, who is still a child by their standards, finds it hard to keep still for long periods of time?"

"It is not becoming." The noble insisted.

Byleth had been sitting finishing off her own meal nearby, and she spoke up, "Raphael will not be able to attend classes today. I've already taken him breakfast this morning and he'll likely be fine by tomorrow."

She gave a single nod and departed, her own breakfast now finished, likely to begin her preparations for that day's teaching. There was a brief silence after she left until Mercedes spoke worriedly.

"Oh dear, I hope he's not unwell."

Annette quickly assured her friend, "I'm sure he's fine Mercie, I think the professor would've said if it was something serious. Maybe he just picked up a cold or something."

The older woman seemed consoled, "I suppose, she did seem quite certain he would be okay tomorrow."

Leonie was less convinced, "But he was fine right up until yesterday, if just more energetic than usual, why would he suddenly be unable to come to class today?"

Hilda, who'd been seemingly ignoring the conversation up until now, suddenly spoke up, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Hang on, wasn't it a full moon last night? I thought werewolves became very aggressive and had a forced transformation under a full moon, maybe that's why he's not coming to class today."

"That's a myth." Dedue found himself correcting her before he could think, and nearby eyes fell on him.

"What do you mean, are you saying that doesn't happen?"

He shook his head at her question, "Indeed, werewolves do not go through a forced transformation under the full moon. That is myth that gets passed around humans, however, the full moon does give them more energy and strength, though they generally become much more tired the next day."

Dedue remembered his own father being the same, very energetic under the full moon, but really tired the following day. However, he'd always had enough energy to work and go about business as usual, he just was maybe slower and did a little less than he usually did, not take an entire day off. Regardless he continued speaking.

"Likely, Raphael is just exhausted after the boost the moon gave him and is resting."

"Wow, you seem to know a lot about them."

He hesitated at Hilda's statement, "Yes, my father told me a lot."

He hoped that was an ambiguous enough explanation to keep his heritage secret, and not let people know he knew as much as he did because he was half-werewolf himself.

Though he had a werewolf father, Dedue himself did not have the ability to transform, and his senses were certainly closer to human level than werewolf level. His notable height though was clearly inherited, and his parents suspected that he would have a longer lifespan than others as well. In all honesty, he wasn't the first half-werewolf to exist (and likely wouldn't be the last either) but between there being few werewolves and the fact they often kept to themselves meant that someone like him didn't turn up very often. It was likely that due to their own ignorance and suspicion of werewolves, there hadn't been a half-werewolf in Faerghus in years.

Dimitri of course, knew of his heritage but as far as he was aware, no one else did, not even the prince's childhood friends. He got enough hatred just for being from Duscur, no need to add being half-werewolf in on top of that. The Kingdom had very foolish views on werewolves, seeing them as primitive and violent, despite evidence to the contrary. However, werewolf culture was very different from Faerghus culture, and those from Fόdlan seemed to find it difficult to understand anything that didn't fit into their views.

His answer seemed to satisfy the students around him, though he was sure Claude gave him a look that suggested he wanted to know more, the house leader pressed a little.

"Did people in Duscur often have dealings with werewolves? I thought the pack generally kept to itself?"

Even at this early stage, Dedue was certain that Claude was pretty perceptive, a simple non-answer wouldn't cut it.

"Some werewolves leave the pack to travel." He responded, "My family would show them hospitality if they ever happened to come to our village."

It wasn't actually a lie, but it did omit the fact that travelling werewolves visited his former home village specifically to see his father, usually just for a visit.

This response seemed to satisfy Claude, though others looked shocked that his family would willingly let werewolves stay in their home, some were now probably more suspicious of him than ever now.

Actually, they probably would've been more suspicious regardless of the answer he gave.

PS- So Dedue may be half-werewolf, but he can't actually transform, and Raphael is basically like a kid on a major sugar high under the full moon. I'll hopefully update sooner than last time.