DAY OF THE MOCK BATTLE

The Golden Deer students waited and watched from the small forest. The mock battle was underway, and the Black Eagle class ran across the field and made battle with the Blue Lion house students. Claude planned to wait out the bulk of the fighting, and jump in once the other houses were winded.

Four students were chosen to represent the class, and Leonie wasn't one of them. She watched from the sidelines with the other three students who hadn't made the cut; Raphael, the muscled blonde boy, Lysithea, and another girl with soft blue hair and dark circles under her eyes. Marianne von Edmund. Leonie remembered the girl's name now. She seemed shy when they introduced themselves, and nothing had changed since.

"So, how do you think our team will do?" Leonie asked, trying to make conversation.

"Well, judging by Claude's cowardly plan, I cannot possibly see us winning," stated Lysithea, who munched discreetly on a cookie.

"The Professor for the Black Eagles sure looks strong! I bet she eats a hundred turkeys a week to maintain that strength. Hmmm, turkeys..." mused Raphael. His mind usually drifted to food, Leonie had noticed.

"And what about you, Marianne?" Leonie asked, causing Marianne to startle slightly.

"Oh, um, I'm not really sure." was her quiet reply. She looked away again and said nothing more.

Surveying the battlefield, Leonie caught sight of Lorenz breaking rank from the other Golden Deer and charging into the Black Eagle student's formations. She would've found it amusing, if not for the fact that the deliberate act of disobedience annoyed her greatly. Claude wasn't a leader like Jeralt, she thought. Captain Jeralt would've kept his soldiers under control and following the orders they were given. Leonie could see the frustration on Claude's face as he regrouped his remaining forces, who were currently under fire from Ashe and Mercedes of the Blue Lions house. Professor Hanneman stood behind, offering archery tips to the two students. Mercedes wasn't using the correct stance, Leonie observed. She wasn't suited for handling bows, and Leonie couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl, whose strengths weren't being utilized.

By now, Lorenz had suffered a humiliating defeat. A blast from a horn signalled as much. He had been taken down by the Black Eagles led by Professor Eisner. He limped off the field, his pride more injured than his body. Leonie chuckled to herself. It sure felt good to see someone with such a high opinion of themselves get taken down a notch. But with Lorenz down, Claude's chances of winning the mock battle dwindled, and so his next move would have to be extremely well-calculated if he wanted to come out of this fight the victor.

"Hilda! I need you to guard our barricade! I told you this already! You said you understood!" Claude shouted frantically, nocking another training arrow on his bow before returning fire on the advancing Blue Lions students, namely Ashe and Dedue.

"Ugh! And like I already told you, like, there's nobody over there. Plus, it's much cooler here in the shade. I'm not prepared to tan out there in the sun, dummy."

"You're kidding," Claude groaned, turning his attention to the fighting at the centre of the field. Dimitri and Edelgard each traded blows, neither side showing any sign of giving up. He turned to Ignatz, who yelped in surprise as an arrow fired from Ashe's bow barely missed him before he was able to hide behind a large tree. "Alright Ignatz, seeing as how I don't hear you complaining, I'm gonna need you to keep an eye out for the rest of the Black Eag-" just then a voice rang out from nearby, and Claude hushed himself in time to hear,

"No obstacle can stop Ferdinand von Aegir; stand aside, Professor, I'll clear a path!"

CRACCKKK

In the distance, several more horns blared. But they were less critical sounds to Claude and his allies than that of their precious defensive structure being destroyed. The wooden planks splintered into pieces, and in that moment, who came marching through was Ferdinand and Byleth, each firmly clutching training swords as they flanked Claude's position within seconds.

Claude stumbled back at first, but he quickly regained his bearings and let fly an arrow that narrowly missed Ferdinand's right leg.

"Teach, if you would've told me that you were coming over with company, we could've fixed up this place a little nicer for you," he smirked as he spoke, waving his hand around in an attempt at misdirection. "I would hate to be called a poor host, especially for such esteemed guests."

Ignatz, from his position near the edge of the treeline, was lining up a shot at the intruders. He looked on, uncertain of who he should prioritize taking down first.

Byleth's intuition from her time as a merc alerted her to the petty tactic Claude meant to employ. She turned to her ally.

"Ferdinand?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"Someone is hiding in the forest. Flush them out; I'll deal with these two."

Byleth's emotionless stare never left Claude as she stepped to the side and avoided a wooden axe swing from Hilda. The pink-haired girl grumbled out loud.

"Aw, c'mon! That's so annoying. I thought you were totally open there!"

A quick swing of Byleth's weapon struck solidly against Hilda's side, causing her to yelp in pain. Only two more hits and she would be declared defeated, Byleth mused. Not losing focus, she jumped back as Hilda swung her axe in an upwards arc, missing Byleth by a large margin.

Claude looked around the field as he nocked another arrow. Surely Professor Manuela would arrive to reinforce them any second now. Where was she?

The horn went off once more.

Claude's heart sank as he saw Dimitri and his compatriot, Dedue approaching from the north, with him caught in the middle. Manuela had opted to hold her northern position and let her students form their strategies, as had Professor Hanneman. At this moment, Claude wished that Byleth had chosen the same thing. It would've been so much easier to outsmart Dimitri and Edelgard and whatever students they brought along. Having an experienced combatant on the field was educational, but unfortunate for Claude's Golden Deer, which were now just him, Hilda and maybe Ignatz; if he could stay away from Ferdinand.

Hilda wound up another massive swing and brought her axe crashing down upon Byleth. The Professor blocked, but the force of the swing was too much for her unprepared defensive posture. She gritted her teeth and tried in vain to hold up her guard.

"This is it!" thought Claude. While Byleth's sore and shaken arms held up her weapon to keep Hilda at bay, Claude had a perfect opening. He drew back his bow and fired, landing a clean shot on the Professor. The blunt-tipped arrow didn't serve to hurt Byleth much, but that was one less hit Claude needed to take her out of the mock battle.

Byleth's strength finally gave out, and Hilda's axe crashed down onto her shoulder. She knew she only had one hit left before she would be considered defeated. But she was so close! She had been paying attention to how many blares of the horn had already gone off. She hadn't counted on Hubert and Edelgard being eliminated. But it had just turned out that way—seven blasts of the horn, seven eliminated combatants. Dorothea was hanging back, just as Byleth had instructed. Her part to play would soon arrive. But to succeed, she could not afford to let either Hilda or Claude land a single hit on her.

"Well, it sure isn't looking good for us, is it?" Leonie said aloud, frustrated with the silence of her fellow non-combatants, who once again ignored her. She kept trying to start up engaging conversations, but no one else around her seemed to be interested. At the very least, Lorenz hadn't said much since joining them on the sidelines. He muttered to himself repeatedly but refused to look at any of his fellow students in the eye. It was the muttering that got on Leonie's nerves finally, and she snapped.

"Alright, listen here. Nobody cares about or thinks lesser of you just because you acted like a dumbass out there. Put it behind you. And by the Goddess, will you please stop whimpering like an injured hound!" she said in a less-than-friendly tone.

"I will excuse your rudeness this once, commoner. But in the future take care how you address the great Lorenz Hellman Glo-"

"Oh, like hell I will!" Leonie interrupted, her outburst drawing stares from the other students. "You need to get off your high horse there, pal. We're all equals here. When you ever learn as much, maybe you'll be able to win a fight."

"...As if I could expect someone of your status to understand," growled Lorenz, his cheeks flushed with anger. "This battle, nay, this entire school is a waste of my time. I have serious responsibilities to look forward to, and swinging fake weapons at each other will hardly prepare me for them! I hope you all have a very nice day, like the ignorant lessers that you all are, but I will be retiring to my quarters." and with that, he marched away towards the monastery.

In the silence that followed, Leonie felt a tinge of guilt but justified herself internally. Maybe she had gotten carried away, but there's no doubt that she was far from the first person who thought Lorenz deserved a good outburst. He just couldn't take it because he was so pampered and obnoxious. Leonie looked around to see if any bystanders were giving her judgemental stares. She found only one person; Lysithea, who, completely stone-faced, gave her a discreet thumbs up in approval. Relieved, Leonie turned her attention back towards the field of battle.

At that same moment, the horns flared up again. And again, and again. A total of six times, they sounded. Within a few short minutes, a banner was raised.

The Black Eagle's.