Wyvern Moon

From on high, flocks of wyverns roar in chorus and soar the pristine skies, heading south for the winter. Fodlan's children lend their hands to winter preparations by gathering firewood and catching fish from the river's cool waters. Yet all the while, their gazes are turned skyward, drawn to the magnificent sight above.

Byleth had awoken the next morning from a sharp knocking on her door. She rubbed her eyes and opened it, surprised to see Dimitri, his breath making white clouds in the cold morning air.

"Professor!" He seemed startled. "I'm sorry to wake you so early, but I was hoping you would go on a walk with me?" He blushed before adding: "To discuss the last battle, of course."

Byleth nodded. "Let me get my coat."

They walked in silence, at first, each one waiting for the other to speak.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't present for the last battle," Dimitri finally said. "The knights wouldn't believe me when I told them we had found a passageway in Jeritza's room. I had to find your father and Alois before anyone would trust me." He sighed, reliving the frustration.

"It's alright, we managed." Byleth looked at the ground, not wanting to tell him that she'd failed. I could have killed him, right then and there.

Dimtiri looked at her curiously. "What was in that tunnel? Where was Flayn being kept?"

Despite her plans not to tell him, she ended up relaying everything that had happened, from finding Flayn to the Death Knight, and the mysterious figure that had spared her life. Once she was done, Dimitri looked at her with wide eyes.

"You can't be serious. You fought the Death Knight by yourself, and lived to tell the tale?" His eyes held such awe that Byleth felt some of her guilt and sadness drift away.

"I wasn't able to defeat him, though. He was right there, and I messed up."

"Don't worry, I promise you, we'll defeat him. But for now, I'm just happy you made it out alive," he replied, turning his face away so that Byleth couldn't see his embarrassment.

Maybe it was his desperate attempts to make her feel better, or the way he blushed whenever speaking to her, or maybe even the fact that she had woken up far too early and couldn't think straight, but Byleth smiled.

Dimitri's eyes sparkled at the rare sight. "Professor…" He beamed. "I don't think I've ever seen your face like that. You should smile more often, Professor. If I'm being honest, I think you look downright mesmerizing." He stopped talking suddenly, and his face went a bright shade of red. "Oh dear, I've been spending too much time around Sylvain…" he muttered under his breath.

In response, she laughed softly. "Thank you, Dimitri." They continued down the cobblestone path in a comfortable silence, walking through the crisp morning air together. She couldn't stop smiling.

"I see you with that boy quite a bit, Byleth," Jeralt said over dinner. Byleth couldn't help the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks.

"He's the house leader. I need to make sure he's keeping morale up."

"He's very respectful and polite, I'll give him that. Dimitri, is it?" Jeralt grinned. "And he's the prince of Faerghus. That's a good way to get rich, if you ask me."

Byleth scowled. "Oh, do be quiet." Desperate to change the subject, she racked her brain for a different topic. "So, my mission this week, the battle of Eagle and Lion. Will you come?" I want him to see how much better I am, she thought. I want him to see how I've taught my students, just like he taught me.

Sadness flashed across his face. "I'm sorry Byleth, I'm going to have to miss it. Rhea has requested my services for a mission during that same week." Byleth didn't let her disappointment show. "On a more serious note, suspicious groups have been sighted around Garreg Mach ever since the Holy Mausoleum incident." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "The other day, a group of knights went out to investigate. None of them returned."

Fear coursed through her. "You mean they're dead? If these people are so dangerous, then why would Lady Rhea send you?"

"Byleth." He cleared his throat, his eyes full of sadness and something else. Fear. "If something like that ever happens to me, I need you to promise me something."

"Don't say things like that! Nothing will happen to you," she replied, her head pounding furiously.

Jeralt put a large hand on her shoulder. "I need you to promise me that you'll search the captain's quarters. Every corner, behind every shelf. I'll leave something for you."

"No, that won't happen, I won't let it-"

"Promise me."

Byleth tried to push away the sadness and fear that now crept into her heart, but failed. "I promise," she whispered.

He smiled. "Thank you. That puts my mind at ease. Now, what were we saying about your Dimitri fellow?"

"The battle of Eagle and Lion is upon us," Byleth said to her students the next day. They clustered together, shivering from the increasingly cold air. The classroom's stone walls and floor did nothing to help against the cold, and Byleth found herself shivering as well. "We must train hard if we want to defeat the other classes. That is why I'm assigning group tasks this month."

Sylvain groaned. "Oh Professor, please don't assign me with anyone bad, please, I'm begging you!" Felix sneered at him in response.

Byleth responded, and as she spoke, her voice rose with annoyance. "You will do them without complaining, or so help me I will-"

"No, Professor, not your wrath! Forgive me, I shall never speak out of turn again!" Sylvain shouted, interrupting her with a hand at his forehead, his eyes closed, feigning horror.

Byleth stared at him, willing her gaze to fill with disapproval before continuing. "As I was saying, there will be extra training to prepare. I expect good results from all of you." The students' eyes widened, but they all nodded. I will force these students to shape up, she thought. We will fight the other houses, and we will emerge victorious.

There was one persistent thought that Byleth just could not ignore. If… no, when the Death Knight and his strange ally appear again, I must be ready. And there was only one person who could help her do so.

"Felix," she hissed through the night air, knocking rapidly on his door, praying the other nobles would stay sleeping. There was a strange shuffling sound from inside the room, and the door opened, revealing a tired looking Felix.

His eyes flashed when he saw her. "Professor," he narrowed his eyes. "What do you want." He didn't phrase it as a question, but instead a statement.

"Spar with me." She watched his eyes change from tiredness to a strange alertness. Without a second thought, he pushed past her and stormed down the hall. Byleth sighed. So much for that, she thought grimly. She closed the door and began to walk to the stairs when someone stamped their foot on the floor. She turned to find Felix waiting for her, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Are you coming, or not?"

Felix was light on his feet, dancing with a sort of feline grace that Byleth could only hope to achieve. They spun together in the delicate dance of swordplay, each ducking inwards and making a slash at the other. However, a while after they had begun, Byleth lashed out and sent Felix flying across the floor. He stood up, slowly, pushing himself up with his hands.

"Alright, you win. But next time, I will beat you. I swear I will beat you soon." He brushed himself off and turned to face Byleth, his eyes narrowed. "Why did you ask to spar?"

She sighed. She had hoped not to share this answer with him, she had hoped that he would merely fight and be done with it like usual. But I guess this request at such an ungodly time of night roused some suspicion, she thought bitterly. "You remember the last mission, yes? I was faced with a challenge, one that I failed. If I am faced with that challenge again, I must succeed in order to protect my students and the monastery."

Felix shook his head. "I will never understand you," he muttered. "The Death Knight is a formidable opponent. One cannot hope to take him down by themselves. I wanted to kill him too, believe me. Sylvain had to hold me back from running through the fire." They stood in silence for a moment, staring at the moonlight filtering into the training ground.

"I knew you didn't hate him as much as you say you do," Byleth said with a sly smile.

Felix glared at her. "If you're done fighting, then I'm going back to sleep." He brushed past her. "And I hate everyone here." He must have thought he sounded sincere, but to Byleth, he only sounded like he was lying to himself.

Byleth was taking a walk around the monastery when she noticed a strangely large crowd of people by the fishing pond. What in all of Fodlan is going on? She thought, and approached the group gingerly.

They were clustered around Flayn, who stood on a wooden crate shouting something. As Byleth neared, she could begin to make out the words.

"For this year's fishing tournament, I would like a Teutates Herring! If you do manage to catch one, please bring it to me! I will announce the winner soon, so please, begin fishing!" She shouted through her hands that were now cupped around her mouth to make her voice seem louder. Byleth smiled. It had been a while since she engaged in something like this.

"Does the winner receive a prize?" someone in the crowd shouted.

Flayn giggled, her green hair bouncing. "Of course! A whole bunch of fishing floats! I may throw in some vulneraries, too, if you're quick about it."

"Byleth, you know we need more vulneraries," Sothis said. "And it's just about time that you did something interesting for once."

My job isn't to entertain you, Byleth thought, laughing. But we do need vulneraries. I suppose I should participate.

Sothis' loud cheering in response caused Byleth to wince. She grabbed a fishing rod and approached the pond, attempting to make her way through the thick crowd. Flayn beamed when she saw her.

"Professor! Will you be participating?"

"Yes," she responded. "Quite a large crowd you've got here, Flayn,"

Flayn laughed. "You'd better start fishing if you hope to catch the big one before the rest of them,"

Byleth sat next to Linhardt and Caspar, two students from the Black Eagle house. She had not talked to them before, but they seemed happy to finally meet her.

"Ah, professor," Linhardt said, stifling a yawn. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting. I am Linhardt, and this is Caspar."

Byleth smiled, and was about to respond, but a large tug on her fishing line distracted her. She shot to her feet, and so did Linhardt and Caspar.

"You've got it, Professor! We'll help!" Caspar shouted, his voice full of excitement. Byleth struggled to stay on land, frantically attempting to reel the fish in. The rod bent, threatening to snap in her hands. Caspar grabbed onto Byleth's shoulders and pulled her back, stopping her from falling into the water. When the both of them began to fall forward, Linhardt finally decided to help and formed a chain behind Caspar, and the three of them managed to pull the fish out of the water. It flopped frantically on the cobblestones, leaving a puddle of pond water. That's it, she thought, pride filling her. That, for certain, is a Teutates Herring. Byleth grabbed it, nodded her thanks to the Black Eagle students, and ran to Flayn.

The battle of the Eagle and Lion came and went, an easy victory for the Blue Lions. The professors had not been allowed to take part in the battle, but Byleth had cheered from the sidelines with Manuela and Hanneman. Not a single one of her students had been defeated. I am clearly the best professor here, she thought to Sothis, still filled with pride over her students' skills.

"Alright, alright, enough with the boasting. I'm getting awfully tired of it."

You're just jealous that you can't teach as well as I can.

Sothis muttered something angrily and stopped talking, leaving Byleth alone with the peace and quiet of the afternoon.

It had been a good month, filled with nothing but victories and progress. She only wished things would stay this way.

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't posted a new chapter in a super long time, I need to start writing more =) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and just a reminder to please review! Thank you so much for reading!

~Saffron :)