"Any sign of him, Caspar?" Hilda calls from behind, helping Mercedes pick her way through the thick underbrush.
It was nice of Caspar to suddenly join them, even if it had scared the living daylights out of her and nearly resulted in the younger noble getting flash-fried by Lysithea in response. He might be a little gullible and definitely not the sharpest blade in the armory, but he's a total sweetie and full of all sorts of energy that Hilda is perfectly happy to make use of. Ignatz is helping him break a path through the woods and is also keeping a sharp eye out for any Imperial forces that might just get in their way. She's a good judge of character and she doesn't believe Caspar has it in him to be a total liar.
Five years does change an awful lot, and given how hard things must have been in the Empire, it wouldn't surprise her if he's learned how to fake it a little better than he used to back in the Academy.
She can just barely see the shake of his head before he vaults over a fallen log. "Just watching him makes me tired." She complains to Mercedes. "Oop, watch your head, you totally almost took that branch to the skull!"
Mercedes gives her another one of those sweet million-volt smiles as she ducks down and, once the danger has cleared, glances back with a hand lifted to her mouth in surprise. "Oh dear, that would have hurt. Thank you so much for looking out for me, Hilda."
"Aww, don't mention it, Mercie. I don't know what we would do without you here." Hilda replies easily enough. She hesitates a moment and then leans in so the boys can't hear her. It's okay for a little girl talk, right? She can sense Lysithea creeping closer to listen in without actually acting as though she's interested. The studious girl is super cute and it's so much fun to watch her pretend to be older than she is. If Hilda had ever gotten her wish to have a little sibling? Lysithea is totally who she imagines she would have wound up with.
"Hey, is it, you know, okay that you're here and all? Are you sure you don't want to be back there with them?"
"Where else was she going to get a chance like this? If all of us showed up on to the battlefield, it'd be super suspicious." Lysithea points out. "Besides, if anyone is going to have a chance at this particular plan, it's going to be us."
"Well, yeah, but you know… it's her friends and her king back there." Hilda points out in return.
Mercedes chuckles, it's not as light-hearted as before and there is definitely worry in her eyes as she looks back where they'd left Gronder Field. "I have faith in Felix and Ashe; I know they can handle this."
Lysithea and Hilda exchanged matching glances. Felix and Ashe; not even a mention of Dimitri. Lysithea frowns and shakes her head. "We should focus on the matter at hand. We're not going to spot him if we keep gossipping."
It takes them the better part of another hour before they nearly trip over Caspar and Ignatz. The latter catches Lysithea before she can fall and tucks her close against his side. Hilda gives her a big grin and a thumbs up. Mercedes has a hand over her mouth, again, and looks a little flustered- and amused, given the wicked glint in her eyes. Lysithea promises to do… something horrible to Hilda later. She can't threaten Mercedes because it's still a well-known fact that Mercedes makes the best sweets and she has to get those recipes out of her first.
Cake over grudges. Cake over everything, as far as she's concerned. This stupid war should be decided by which of the factions can make the best sweets. She'd happily judge that contest and could pick others to help her in this.
"He's there." Caspar quietly tells them. "I see 'im on that fu-"
"Caspar." Mercedes offers a warning rebuke.
He gives them all a guilty look and tries again. "I, uh, see 'im on the horse. Over there, see? But… man, what the hell's he doing all alone though?"
"A trap." Ignatz replies quietly. "This is an ideal place for the Alliance forces to retreat, he may very well be waiting on just that." His eyes flick from Death Knight to his mount and his fingers tighten against his bow. It's not a great shot, quite a low chance of his arrow actually connecting, but it's not zero and as long as their chances aren't zero? He is more than willing to give it a shot.
He stiffens a moment later and holds his hand up for them to stay silent. There's a rumble beneath his knee he doesn't care for. Staying still and quiet in place is the best option until he can find its source. Sweat trickles, cold and sticky, down the back of his neck as he strains his vision to find any source of movement that would cause that kind of impact. He finds it a minute or so later; one of the Demonic Beasts.
A Wolf type if the thick pelt and ruff are anything to go by. He sees a flash of red eyes as its head turns from side to side in search of prey.
Not good. Ignatz reaches out to tap Hilda and Caspar both on the shoulder to clue them in.
Casper looks dumbstruck and a little pissed that he hadn't caught sight of it first. Hilda just looks like she wants to abandon ship and go somewhere less full of bullshit. Ignatz can't help but sympathize with his former classmate, but he understands the frustration on Caspar's end as well. Mercedes peers at the wolf as well and offers a frown in response. This isn't what any of them necessarily need right now, not when they're supposed to be taking down the Death Knight- or capturing him. Either or.
Hopefully, for Mercedes' sake, capturing, as she believes it to be her brother.
"What's the plan? Caspar asks after observing the unmoving Death Knight and the pacing wolf for a few minutes. "I mean, who knows all what's out there besides these two?"
Lysithea pipes up after no one says anything. "It's obvious, isn't it? Mercedes and someone else- either you or Ignatz- goes for Death Knight and Hilda, me, and whoever else goes and cleans up the place."
"Umm, why not me and Mercedes?" Hilda interrupts.
Lysithea gives her a dry look. "Tell me, Hilda, do you really want to fight the Death Knight?"
"Ew, good point. No offense, Mercedes."
"None taken, Hilda."
"I thought so." She sounds particularly smug about it too. With Claude not around and Hilda being pretty uninterested in forming a proper strategy, Lysithea decides she's going to take over this mission as de-facto commander. She's certainly studied and observed the way Claude and Byleth both have led their respective discussions and meetings enough to be able to do a half-way decent job at it herself.
"So, here's how this is going to work…"
"So, uhh, got any plans, Merc?" Caspar shouts as he narrowly manages to parry the strike aimed directly at removing his head from his shoulders.
This Death Knight guy was a bastard and a half- and not just because he's been a slippery sonofabitch or because he abducted Flayn five years ago and hurt all those villagers and people. No, he's a bastard and a half because he's Mercedes' little brother, or so she says, and he's tried to kill her twice now. Sure, he could understand the following orders on the village, the kidnapping, and some of the rest. But killing someone as awesome and relatively harmless as Mercedes?
Nope. That's beyond the pale and Caspar's going to thump some sense straight through the demonic-looking helm and into a skull that's arguably thicker than his. Never thought he'd ever see the day where he'd lose to being stubborn, of all things, and be alright with it.
"Try not to get hurt!" She's more than a little distracted as she tries to anticipate her brother's next move. He seems to be deliberately excluding her for the time being and she would love nothing more than to find a way to turn that to their advantage. "Oh dear, Caspar, do look out- on your left!"
That sounds like one of his usual plans for, well, literally anything he throws himself at in life. Nice to know he and Mercedes have a little something in common. Caspar grins and manages to get out of the way before the scythe cuts through where he'd been standing just a second before. Close enough to shave a couple of hairs off his skull at that. Caspar jumps into action and swings high with a double wallop against Death Knight's side. He can feel the armor dent with the second blow and gives a whoop of delight.
That's a good sign; he's strong enough to create weaknesses in armor now. His training has really paid off and now he's probably strong enough to challenge Edelgard, Dimitri, and even the Professor to an actual fight and wi- Oh shit.
Caspar forgot about that bullshit counterattack and finds himself wheezing as his back slams into the ground and his limbs flop uselessly about. He can't exactly curse Mercedes' asshole brother while the air refuses to reenter his lung. Hopefully the glare he sends his way manages to get his point across in its place.
He shoulda knocked that stupid grinning helmet off the man's head instead of whacking him in the side.
Light enters his body and releases the stranglehold on his lungs. He hacks and spits off to one side with a swipe of his fist against his mouth. "You can't take me down that easily, Death Knight. I'm here and that means you're doing down. Better give up now before I really gotta hurt ya!"
The Death Knights attention switches from Caspar to Mercedes in clear, silent dismissal.
"Hey!"
Continuing to ignore the loudmouthed fighter, the light turns the red lenses in his helm to something straight out of a nightmare as he looks at the grim determination on Mercedes' face. "Flee and I will not chase you. Challenge me, and I will have no choice but to fight…"
Mercedes' face pales further and her grip on the staff in her hand tightens. It's a shaky breath she takes in and releases before she can find it in her to respond. "It really is you under there, isn't it? I've been looking for you for so long." Her brows knit together anxiously. She doesn't take a step forward, not yet, but it's clear she's holding herself back by mere threads.
"Emile…"
"Go." It's nothing short of an order and even Caspar is surprised at the force behind it. He looks from Mercedes to the Death Knight and back again.
This guy kills everything in sight and he's telling Mercedes to leave? What the hell's with that? It's not something he can exploit as a weakness. Not easily, anyway, he amends the thought after a few moments of consideration. Not in the way that'd make things easier for them and he doesn't really feel like leading the armored bastard on a merry goose chase throughout the forest in hopes he can get someone to kick his ass quick enough to knock him unconscious.
Or at least distract him enough that Caspar can rush in there and deal the final blow.
The battle against the Demonic Beast and Imperial Reinforcements has not been kind.
Hilda groans and rotates her shoulder to try and ease the sudden cramp. "These guys just don't know when to give up." She complains as she watches Ignatz dart around the battlefield and distract the Fortress Knights threatening him. Ugh. Fortress Knights. It's like dealing with my brother all over again.
Lysithea's eyes are on the knight closest to the lanky archer and the air around her chills as she pulls and weaves power around her. Ignatz is being far too careless in his attempts to keep the rest of them safe. He's not a knight, nowhere even close to being one, and he's too careless and soft-hearted and- ugh. Do I have to do this myself? Honestly, he's hopeless.
"I don't have time for this!" She hisses, pink eyes flashing angrily as Ignatz narrowly avoids getting an axe to the back. Dark fire manifests around her body and she hurls the spell forth at the bastard chasing him down. The spell hurtles forth from her palms and manifests as a brightly glowing orb that shines like moonlight before it crashes down directly on top of the armored man.
He's not going to get injured, not by some fool in an oversized tin can whose only redeeming feature is to hit things really, really hard. Hitting someone hard enough to break them in two only works, after all, if you can actually get your hands or weapon on them first.
"I owe you one." He calls back to her as the man drops to the ground and stops moving.
"You owe me more than that," she retorts. "So pay attention before you owe me everything!"
He looks a little taken aback but nods. "S-sure, sorry."
Ugh. She scowls and looks for her next target. "Hilda, are you done or do you need help?"
Hilda plants her foot against a fallen mage's back and jerks. Her axe removes itself with a disgusting thunk and slurping sound that makes Lysithea feel sick. "I think… yeah." She beams at the white haired mage. "I'm definitely stronger. This guy fell in one hit, how sad is that?"
That would be a 'no', Hilda doesn't need her help. She's a little bitter about that and reaches out all the same as the cheerful but so lazy fighter stops beside her. Light flares from her hands and heals some of the wounds and takes away some of the fatigue from the heavy hitter's body. Unasked, of course, but Lysithea is resourceful and she knows that something worse could come at literally any given moment. Being prepared ahead of time is the key to victory in battles like this.
Ignatz is at their side in an instant and Lysithea heals him too. Just because. And is pissed when she sees the number of hits the nimble fighter has taken without saying a single thing. He is going to get so many lectures when this stupid battle is done and over with and they're somewhere she can unleash on him at max volume. By the time she's done, he's going to wish it was Seteth scolding him and not her, of this she makes a solemn and vicious vow. Her eyes narrow and her lips press into a thin line in displeasure as she heals him, again, before stepping back and letting herself breathe for a moment.
Stupid Crests and giving her the impression she has a lot more stamina than she actually does.
"How many are left?" She changes the subject to something that isn't going to piss her clear off.
Ignatz and Hilda glance back. Hilda replies first with a one-shouldered shrug. "Looks like a couple of snipers and that's it. That Demonic Beast certainly helped out by attacking the mages and distracting those knights too."
If Lysithea thought Hilda were capable of such a shady trick, she'd suspect the woman had deliberately led the beast to do just that. She had no proof, however, and had to be content with her suspicions instead. "Alright, so we can take them out and go rejoin the others." With the three of them, it shouldn't take too terribly long. She's more worried about Caspar and Mercedes than she has any right to be. Especially Caspar; that idiot is supposedly on the Empire's side and yet had popped up, casual as can be, and eager to help them with their mission to take down the Death Knight.
If he wasn't such a simple-minded fool, Lysithea would have absolutely sworn up and down that he was an Imperial spy who was going to turn traitor on them the moment they found their target.