Chapter 17: The Kitten Rescue Brigade
Author's notes: Thank you everyone for continuing to support this story while I was on hiatus! My certification exam has been rescheduled due to the coronavirus, so during my study breaks I wrote this up. Please enjoy this little chapter of cute kitty fluff as an appetizer while I get back into the fandom and on track with the main story!
Accompanied by Mercedes, Byleth returned to the infirmary to pick up her dinged up armor. She was about to leave, when her feet paused at the doorway. Turning back around, the young woman went to pluck the large crimson rose from the vase.
"You're taking the rose?" The young healer questioned with a slight tilt of her cream-haired head.
"It was a gift from Edelgard," Byleth remarked, her voice softened by the memory as she twirled the stem between her fingers, taking care to evade the thorns.
"Oh," Mercedes remarked in surprise. "From Edelgard?" The healer repeated. She shouldn't be surprised that her professor was popular with even students of the other houses. But the very idea that the princess had displayed even an interest in Byleth was a revelation as they continued down the hallway.
Upon seeing the professor's questioning gaze, Mercedes quickly clarified. "Well, I just would not have expected such a kind and thoughtful expression from the Black Eagles leader, especially towards someone of another house. Princess Edelgard barely acknowledges other students outside of her own class. I guess you must mean something special to her."
"Hmmm," Byleth murmured as the pair walked out into the courtyard. The night sky now covered the monastery with a curtain of shimmering stars.
"Rest well, Professor," Mercedes gently bade Byleth farewell, before continuing on to her own dorm.
While the young woman's shoulder was healing very well, a growing heaviness of fatigue was starting to creep over her. Once inside her modest room, the professor shed her torn top. She murmured appreciatively while applying the salve, noting its soothing prickling coolness.
"Well," Sothis sighed deeply into the young woman's tired mind. "This has been quite the day."
Byleth nodded in agreement, though she remained silent as she slipped into her sleepwear. Something nagged in the back of her mind, and it wasn't Sothis this time. It warned the young woman that the red canyons had been but a taste of what was to come.
However Byleth's foreboding thoughts were interrupted as Sothis added, in a more subdued voice, "I...I should have done a better job looking out for you."
Byleth blinked, there had been a note of regret in Sothis's voice. "Then...we are both learning," Byleth gently remarked into the silence.
There was a pause, and the young woman could feel Sothis churning the remark over. "Hmmm, yes...we are...together," Sothis replied back in a warmer tone.
The corners of Byleth's mouth curled just a little more this time.
Warmth of the sunlight filtering into the prince's room was not what woke Dimitri up. Instead, it was the sharp cacophony of loud meowing that had the young man scrambling out of his bed in a slight stupor.
At first Dimitri thought it was coming from somewhere in his bedroom, but nothing turned up as he peered under the bed, behind the desk, and into the stuffed armoire. The prince found nothing outside his door, nor up and down the vast hallway. Upon closing his door, Dimitri's bright blue eyes were drawn to the large window.
There, outside and perched upon a gnarled oak tree branch was a small black kitten with bright orange eyes. It appeared stuck up the tree as it hesistentalty surveyed the steep fall below.
Dimitri instantly felt for the poor creature as it let loose any loud trill of urgent meows. Heart panging for the little kitten, the prince rushed to get dressed, nearly stumbling over the pant legs of his uniform in his haste. Then he ran from dorm room to dorm room, thumping loudly on each of his classmate's doors.
"Blue Lions assemble!" Dimitri summoned and soon the entire class filed into his room, curious as to what was the emergency. Dimitri stepped aside from his window, guiding their attention to the little kitten meowing loudly upon the high branch.
"Hey, just leave the cat alone. Remember what happened last time?" Felix scowled.
"Yeah, we all got stuck up that tree and it took forever to find a ladder in this huge monastery. I mean, how does this place not have a dozen ladders at the ready!" Sylvain stated, still traumatized from that escapade.
The kitten began its tirade of meowing and it now reached shrieking crescendos. Surely the window would crack in no time.
"I can't just leave it, he sounds like he's suffering and he's making those around him suffer," Dimitri pleaded his case to the rest of the Blue Lions.
"We just need to figure out how to get the poor little thing down," Mercedes nodded in agreement.
"And at least we know what not to do," Ashe added to Sylvain's grimace.
Dimitri unlatched and swung open the window. Peering about, he began to lean forward in deep concentration. "Maybe if I just reach out…" But then his body tipped over causing a collectively gasp behind him.
"Highness!" Dedue exclaimed as he lunged for Dimitri's legs, stopping the prince from falling right out of the window.
"Maybe we should come up with a better, less suicidal plan?" Felix huffed as Dimitri was pulled back into his room.
A few minutes later…
"This was…" Felix groaned between heavily drawn out breaths, "not...what I had...in mind!" His arms were starting to tremble from the strain as he was one of the base supports for the human pyramid, along with Dedue and Dimitri.
"Oh, quite complaining Felix," sung Sylvain's melodious voice. "We need to do our best to support the ladies on top," he slyly grinned, though his muscles too were starting to burn. His grin then faltered as he noticed Ingrid, who was next to him, glared silently back at him.
"Um, I'm on top too…" Ashe added quietly. His cheeks were already blushing from having to perch upon Ingrid's back. He had not realized how strong she was! Though shouldn't it be the other way around? Ashe gulped, internally hoping that this rescue would quickly end.
Mercedes, who was besides Ashe, gave the young man a sweet apologetic smile.
Annette, the tip of the human pyramid tried to block the bouts of complaints below as she beckoned towards the kitten. But as Annette drew closer, the osedian kitten narrowed its large orange eyes and climbed further up the tree.
Meanwhile, carrying a thick pile of graded papers, Byleth rounded the corner, only to pause at the scene before. There in the courtyard were her students piled precariously on top of another, with Annette waving her arms up at a kitten, who showed absolutely no interest in getting down from the tree. Byleth wasn't sure Manuela had enough medical beds for all of them.
"Professor please come quick!" Dimitri gasped from his aching chest.
"We tried everything, but nothing will tempt the kitty," Ingrid added, her serpentine eyes imploring Byleth.
The kitten began to mewl louder than ever. In fact it was shrieking now as the kitten was frightened by the odd formation of humans wavering below it.
Byleth silently assessed the situation...and walked away without a single word.
"Did she just…" Annette began.
"...leave us?" Ashe finished with equal surprise.
"She's going to disown us, isn't she?" Sylvain grumbled under his breath.
Ingrid held back the urge to smack the back of Sylvain's head, she couldn't risk destabilizing their pyramid.
"Guys, I don't know how long I can continue…" Dimitri quickly gasped as a stitch grew on either side of his diaphragm, painfully stabbing him..
"Highness...your complexion is paling," Dedue noted calmly as he observed the prince. He himself had not even broken a sweat.
"Hey, don't faint on us down there!" Sylvain quipped.
"Oh goddess, we're going to…" But Mercedes's warning was cut short as their pyramid collapsed, dissolving into flapping arms, legs, and cries as they all crashed onto the grassy ground.
Their groans, wheezes, and moans continued as they disentangled themselves, only to find that their professor had returned, with something wriggling in her hands.
Byleth silently approached her students, as she carried a large freshly caught fish. The young woman threw the wriggling fish down at the base of the tree. Causing Annette and Ashes to schooch quickly away as it flopped about.
"But, we already offered fish." Mercedes commented as she brushed of grass from her uniform.
"Has to be alive," Byleth simply answered as her eyes looked up to appraise the now interested kitten.
It watched the tantalizing prey flip and flop about, ensnaring its innate predatory instincts.
There was a collective gasp as the black shadow effortlessly and gracefully jumped from one branch to another with delicately placed paws until it glided down to the ground, pausing just before the gaping fish. Quickly it dug tiny pearly fangs into its meal, letting loose appreciative and ravenous mewls in between.
"Awwww," Annette and Mercedes cooed.
"What should we call him?" Sylvain asked as he rose to his feet, brushing off the dirt that clung to his pant legs.
"How do you know it's him?" Ingrid asked with an arched brow.
Dimitri approached the animal carefully, "Hello there little kitty," he greeted with an extended hand.
The black ball of fur hissed at the prince, causing Dimitri to quickly retract his hand.
"Oh...that's sooo Felix!" Sylvain gasped as he pointed down at the kitten.
"You can't give the cat my name!" Felix rebuked as he rolled his strained shoulders.
"Felix Jr?" Ingrid added with a smile.
"No!" Felix snapped angrily at his childhood friend.
"Sir Felix?" Dimitri tried helpfully.
"How does this cat suddenly outrank me?" Felix disputed as he frowned in utter indignation.
The kitten paused, squeezed his bright orange eyes and purred loudly in content. The anger that had built up in the young swordsman practically melted away at the kitten's relaxing purrs.
The young man shook his head and returned to frowning at the kitten. "Listen cat, there is only one Felix and I am me - Felix Hugo Fraldarius. There is no one else," he added as he pointed down his finger at the ball of fluff.
"How about, Loog," Byleth remarked and the rest of the students exchanged approving smiles and knowing glances, especially between Ashe and Ingrid. It was a unanimous agreement.
Byleth recaptured her students' attention with a loud clap of her hands. "Activity time," Byleth prompted her students. Pleased with themselves at the successful cat rescue, the students encircled their professor, eager to hear what today's activities would be. "Today you will have a different partner and will be tasked with helping with upkeep duties."
The professor began to list off the respective pairs: Sylvain and Ashe, you are in charge of the stables. Annette and Felix, both of you will tend to the greenhouse. Dedue and Dimitri, please take care of weeding at the northern courtyard. And finally, Ingrid and Mercedes, you'll be on pegasus patrol."
The Blue Lions paired off and wandered away, leaving Byleth alone with the purring kitten. Loog, now well satiated, was washing up, when a soft melodious voice called out.
"Ah, Professor," Dorothea remarked, looking a little shy as she rubbed her hangs together. "I would like to speak with you about a request."
Byleth turned around to give her full attention to the Black Eagles student. With a gentle and acknowledging nod, she prompted the young woman to continue
Dorothea cleared her throat and fixed the professor with vibrant green eyes as she summoned her courage to state, "I wish to transfer to your class."
More rambling notes from the Author:
A special thank you to NyanCat, KittyKat-Belle, Rahzel, and Ryu for the cat rescue prompt, in addition to tumblr artist Endspire for inspiration of 'Felix the cat' from her comic.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it's nice to be back! I've had questions sent to me while I was gone so I touch up on them here too: (1) No, I haven't played the Ashen Wolves DLC yet, but I plan to shortly! *please no spoiler yet in the comments* (2) Yes! I plan to include the Ashen Wolves if I can pull it off! (3) Updates will still be sporadic as I've still got the huge exam to contend with next month.
Stay healthy, wash your hands, limit exposures, and enjoy Fire Emblem!
(DISCLAIMER) I do not own nor claim to own any of the Fire Emblem Franchise, Intelligent Systems Co., and Ninetendo's exceptional work. It is from the team's own brilliance…my additions are from my own madness.