Day 22 of The Ethereal Moon, Year 1168
The smell of rancid smoke filled his nose, choking him. He was just a child. Scared. Lonely.
He wanted his mom, his dad, someone to hold on to. Yet he had to flee.
"Don't let anyone near you. No matter what Santi, not a soul. I love you, now go!"
He escaped anyone who tried to catch him, flying away to another part of the island. Until one day two young boys approached him. He was calm. He crept forward, eyes slit with fear and he reached out, a gentle hand clasping his.
The young man smiling with his eyes because his face was obstructed, it was Arti. The man on the right held worry on his face and brushed his hair back, dressing a split on his forehead, Hephaestus.
He calmed down and nuzzled into their bodies, his fangs retracting and his tail returning to his small, raggedly clothed body. His wings folded in and his hands returned to the soft ones of a child. He shook as they carried him away.
Carried him to his new life.
————
Day 7 of the Wyvern Moon
He leaned on the wooden desk as he sat in class, listening intently with renewed bright eyes. He called out flaws in plans and took his issues in stride, working with Claude, Byleth, Lysithea, Yuri, and Lorenz to concoct a plan for the battle of Eagle and Lion.
"I think if we take position in the forest it would be too difficult to effectively use armored and cavalry units like Lorenz, Leonie, Raphael, Hilda, Caspar and myself. It'd benefit mages like Lysithea and Hephaestus though." Claude nodded and added on with, "And if we take the side with more open land, it'd leave Lysithea, Flayn, Mercedes, and Hephaestus open."
Lorenz piped up next, "Maybe we should take this little sector right here. It's compact yes, but it's the shortest way to the ballista on the hill." Yuri nodded, "We could send Raphael, myself, Xavien, and Ignatz to take it."
Lysithea cut in, "Maybe we could split our remaining six commanders and send me and Claude to intercept Dimitri while Santaniel and Byleth take on Edelgard and Hubert."
Byleth pointed out some routes they could take, "We'll send Yuri to the south of the hill while Xavien takes the West and Raphael goes to the East. Me, Santaniel, Flayn, Felix, and Leonie can ambush Hubert and Dorothea, while Lorenz on foot, Lysithea, Marianne, Claude, Petra, and Hephaestus intercept Blue Lions main force and barrage them with magic and arrows. Ignatz will suppress anyone approaching the back lines with his ballista."
Byleth took a breath to speak again, "The main units to obviously avoid for each unit will be depicted, like Lysithea avoiding Dedue or Dimitri, or Hilda wants to avoid Hubert. This'll be fairly obvious though so just stick to your strengths and basics. Don't get too fancy." He glared directly at Lorenz, "And don't be reckless." He said it changing his glare to Santaniel who raised his hands in surrender, "I know."
————
Day 10 of the Wyvern Moon
Byleth's sword extended and whipped past his head, narrowly grazing his jade armor. He threw a Fire at his feet, closing the distance just a bit before forced back by a sweeping slash. "You're really irritating to fight."
Santaniel exclaimed this as he spun to the right as Byleth cast Aura at him, a pillar of white light crashing into the ground, a small crater ensuing it's aftermath.
Santaniel growled as he forced the Crest of Macuil to summon, casting Bolganone under Byleth's feet. He started approaching again as the Professor avoided the explosion.
Santaniel unhooked the Twins and brought them down on an empty spot, Byleth at his back with the point of his blade on his neck and he groaned. "You win. Again." Santaniel pulled his helmet off and scratched the back of his head, "How did you even get behind me?"
Byleth shrugged and kept a small smug grin on his face, "Learn for yourself." Santaniel dropped him a stare with a mental dagger,
"You hang out around Claude too much." He sighed and raised his hands to the air, though I guess that's not an entirely bad thing. You two would make a cute couple were you not student and teacher."
Byleth glowered at him and Santaniel laughed, "Just a jest." He ruffled Byleth's hair and happily grinned at him. They started the next spar and went for the rest of the day.
Santaniel didn't win a damn match.
————
Day 14 of the Wyvern Moon
Santaniel stood in the lake on the island, breathing in and out slowly. He had told Byleth he was going to bring forth his dragon form and to have him nearby and to be ready just in case he went berserk.
He requested Marianne and someone of his choosing, Lysithea and Claude, be nearby as well. He breathed in deep and his Crests shown forth, followed by a bright flash.
He felt his wings flex out, his canines extending into fangs and his jacket form into his tail. His hands grew into talons and his eyes shone a bright violet and dark jade, he steadily grew taller.
He opened his eyes and felt the water around his feet, 'This is an extension of myself. Not a separate entity. I can control it.' He thought to himself. He turned around to the group and smiled, flexing his talons.
Ina gravely, somewhat distorted version of his own normal voice he spoke, "I'm in control for now. I'm going to take a flight around the area really quick. Claude, have your telescope?" Claude brought out the vision enhancing tool and he grinned, "Looking good big fella."
Santaniel rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well this is only temporary. Can't have it up for too long otherwise it'll overwhelm my actual body. Now, I'm going to see what it's like in the sky for a bit..." With a lurch, he sent himself skyrocketing his eyes much sharper than before.
Letting his instincts take over, he flapped his wings subconsciously, as easily as one would breathe. He looked down and waved his talons at Claude, he took a bit of a steep incline and dove over their heads, swooping through the trees which elicited a yelp from Lysithea and Marianne.
He took a deep breath and shot a blistering stream of fire to the sky, a violent red with bone white streaks coursing through it.
He returned to the group and settled back into the water, the same flash signaling times up. "Well, that was fun..." he looked at them all and tilted his head, "What?" They were staring at something outside of his view and he looked around, confused. "Are you guys playing an elaborate joke on me or?"
Claude cackled once he realized what happened, he pointed up around his head and his wings didn't go back.
Santaniel sighed and focused a bit, 'Sheathe the wings back into the jacket.' he told himself, and they listened, flashing white and returning. Claude put himself back together after cracking up as Santaniel approached them, "Thanks for helping me out guys. If I can control this, I might actually be able to use it during battles. As a last resort of course."
He sighed and stretched his back, eyes to the sky, already missing it. "I'm honestly only upright right now due to you guys amping my energy with your healing spells and the Crest of the Beast allowing me to fully control it."
Byleth nodded and he had no doubt that he was memorizing the info as they spoke, soon speaking. "Obviously we shouldn't use it while you're still a student here. Maybe we should do it in an actual battle, not the mock one." Everyone agreed on it and they parted for the afternoon, Santaniel retiring early after exhausting himself.
—————
Day 17 of The Wyvern Moon
Santaniel carefully combed through the books of the library, reading the spines for the titles. He landed on one that read, 'Meditation Techniques and Discipline Exercises'
He flipped the book open and read the first couple of pages. He clicked his tongue while he processed the information, absorbed until he heard a man clear his throat from behind him, scaring him a bit and he dropped the book. He groaned mentally and knelt to pick up the book, "May I help you?" he asked, turning around to face Seteth.
"Yes. You can actually." Seteth responded, Santaniel suppressed the urge to flirt with the man and make hi flustered. "With?" He asked, tapping his foot lightly. He wanted to head home and get started.
He was impatient to become patient.
Seteth brought forth a note and Santaniel read over it, 'I feel awkward around one of my classmates. His presence is very intimidating and something is unsettling to me.' Tilting his head slightly, he asked a fairly obvious question, "What does this have to do with me?"
"It is anonymous but it is a message from Flayn. Her hand writing is quite easy for me to recognize and she has no problems with the Kirsten boy. You're the only one with a somewhat threatening aura about you when Flayn is in class."
Santaniel blinked twice and processed what he said. "Why would there be a reason for her to feel uncomfortable about me? We only just recently became classmates and even before that I've reigned in my 'Flirting-as-a-joke' habit."
Seteth raised an eyebrow and stifled the question brewing in his throat, "While that may all be true. I've just wanted to inform you that I'll be keeping a closer eye on you." Santaniel rolled his eyes and patted him on the shoulder, "You do you brother." Seteth seemed to prickle at his touch, something registering within him as Santaniel left. 'That means they're like me.'
—————
Day 19 of The Wyvern Moon
Santaniel hummed as he sat next to the grave of Arti and his parents. He stared at their names engraved in the stone, 'Horus Kahale and Lisa Amaryllis, wrapped in the love of themselves and forged by the ways of the Earth.'
He hummed his old lullaby and imagined his life if none of this ever happened, sipping on a brew.
—————
Day 20 of the Wyvern Moon
Santaniel was assigned to cooking duty. Easy enough for him, right? Well. With whom he got paired with it went about as poorly as expected.
He put on his apron and hummed as he prepped the tools, knives and a cleaver, bowls, measuring cups, and ingredients all laid out. As he started, his partner for the day walked through, apologizing for being late, he didn't really mind and responded, "Don't worry about it. Just slip into an apron and get ready to mince some vegetables."
He hummed as he lit the kindle with his breath and tossed it into the oven, heating up the grill on top, he returned to his station and started to cut the slabs of steak. "You get started yet?" He asked, trimming down the fat to the point where it would cook off but give the meat it's flavor.
The voice back admitted to him, "Uh. No actually. I... don't know how to mince anything or cut vegetables for that matter..."
He sighed and turned, seeing Edelgard and he snickered a bit, much to her chagrin, "What's so funny?" She demanded to know. He grabbed a chef's knife and sharpened it slightly, "Nothing. Just surprised so few royals know how to work their way around a kitchen."
His comment seemed to surprise her, "Well. I have cooks that tend to that." He retorted with, "You don't how hard they work until you do it yourself and if you don't know how to cut vegetables, you might as well not have them."
He beckoned her over to the cutting board, showing her how, a nice rocking motion back and forth across the green onions. She nodded and attempted it, making brash cuts across the stocks that left them uneven in size, "It'd be easier if I could just use a sword or an axe..."
He tapped his finger to his cheek and hummed thoughtfully, "I have an idea." He brought out some bell peppers and prepped them for her, allowing her back in front of the cutting board.
Before she started, he grabbed her wrist and positioned himself behind her, "Just follow the rhythm I set, alright?" She nodded resolutely and he moved her wrist up and down, in a way guiding her like a metronome.
When she got half way he let go and backed off, returning to the meat, slapping it on the grill. When she was done, he closed the top and helped her again, setting the tempo quietly, letting her take control afterwards. He flipped the steaks and when he turned his attention back to her, she was pretty effortlessly doing it.
He hummed as he continued with the steaks, dressing them in garlic butter with some potatoes that had already been made. He slid the plates to Edelgard and she put the mixed vegetables next to the potatoes, meant to be eaten together.
They continued to work effortlessly until he heard the clattering of the knife on the floor and the grunt of Edelgard as she picked it back up, tossing it into the sink.
"Where are the knives?" Edelgard asked, Santaniel pointed to the top of the cabinet, turning back to the steaks, flipping them over again, and then putting the potatoes in boiling oil.
He turned and saw Edelgard struggle to grab a new knife and he had to catch her after she attempted to jump and grab one. "You could've just asked for help." He stated, stepping on the stool, grabbing another chef's knife, "And I never really noticed how short you are ." She huffed in indignity, "Well. Maybe you're just tall."
He stared at her blankly, blatantly challenging her statement. "I'm only taller than Claude and Professor. Lorenz, Raphael, Dimitri, and Dedue are still much taller." He ruffled her hair and smiled, "Maybe you're just another short-stack."
—————
Day 24 of the Wyvern Moon
"Hey Xavien, do you have any daggers that need sharpening?" Santaniel tossed his whetstone between his hands, having just sharpened the Holy Twins and his silver axe.
Xavien tossed him a couple of pairs, pulling them from his coat, some having dried blood from old missions after needing to silence someone, just not with magic.
Xavien returned to reading his contracts, "Thanks for taking care of it for me. I need to head out for a day to take out a target that's been causing trouble in the Kingdom. I'll need a vial of your blood to make the full trip."
Santaniel rolled his eyes and pulled a vial from a locked cabinet, tossing it to Xavien who caught it and charaded the act of tipping his hat. "Just be careful."
"Awfully hypocritical to comment on one's safety eh?" Xavien retorted, "Well, it's kind of hard to protect you idiots without putting my life on the line ain't it?" Xavien nodded and conceded, "Touché."
—————
Day 26 of the Wyvern Moon
"Santaniel." Felix stated, Santaniel turned and acknowledged him, "Felix." He returned to oiling his shield, making it shine like a bonfire. "Need something?" Santaniel was sitting on the edge of the equipment wagon, awaiting their departure. "Why do you travel with us if you have the ability to not only fly, but travel through mirrors?"
"Why do you choose to ride a horse or travel on foot opposed to riding a wyvern or a pegasus like Ingrid or Petra?" Santaniel questioned back.
Felix shook his head, "That's not the point and you know it." The half breed rolled his eyes, "I choose to travel this way because I care about you idiots. It's also just nice to not be ready to pass out from blood loss or over exertion. I might have powerful abilities at my disposal, but that doesn't mean I'm invincible. I just tend to end the fight quicker than they can last." He closed off any other conversation with the Fraldarius heir.
Eventually he joined him in tending to their weapons, silently working on swords, axes, lances, shields, and pieces of armor. After a bit, Santaniel pulled out some smoked jerky from the dining hall and offered some to Felix who took a chunk.
They silently ate until Linhardt walked up, sleepily asking a question, "Have either of you seen the Professor? I need to talk to him about my transfer." Santaniel reported Byleth's location via scry spell and nearly made Linhardt jump out of his skin.
"H-how did you-?" he stammered. "I have my secret skills." He responded plainly. Linhardt nodded and went to where Santaniel told him to. Felix didn't ask because he knew exactly what he was talking about, he'd have the same reaction a couple days back when he first heard the voice.
He taught them how to guard their mind with wards against enemy scries and how to differ between allies and enemies, everyone having a quite different aura or color. Byleth had a mint green, Lysithea had a dark purple, Lorenz had a crimson one, and Claude had a golden one, go figure eh? He listened to Santaniel just hum his little lullaby, both comfortably sitting in silence.
————
Day 27 of the Wyvern Moon
Loud horns blared as the House Leaders made their announcements on the start of the battle, Byleth readied the Sword of the Creator. The students who had relics were in full clearance to use them, and he had his Holy Twins.
The half breed rushed to the right, intercepting a fleet of Pegasus Knights, which were taken down by Leonie's shots to their heads with the blunted arrows.
They moved forward, across a small bridge and were intercepted by Ferdinand and Dorothea, Santaniel dodged a Thoron, Felix sending one back into Dorothea which knocked her onto her back and the wind out of her. Leonie was locked in a one on one with Ferdinand until Byleth ripped him off his horse with the whip-like relic.
On the other side of the battle field, Lysithea and Claude had taken care of Ingrid's troops easily while Sylvain was toppled by Raphael and ballista fire from Ignatz.
Bernadetta had become petrified and surrendered. Dedue clashed with units, who he had no knowledge of their names, and Yuri's of course, but they were putting up a fight. Xavien had almost no struggle at all, Hubert having not noticed him nor engaging with him at all. Maybe he just didn't care?
Petra and Felix fended off the flanks and Leonie offered bow support while Santaniel, Hilda, and Byleth pushed the line, eventually engaging with Hubert. As they did, it started raining heavily, lightning cracking in the sky while thunder rumbled ominously.
Santaniel dodged a Mire and struck Hubert viscously with a back hand slap, knocking him to the increasingly muddy ground and eliminating him from the contest.
"Don't be upset vampire king, you'll be back unless I gave ya some garlic!" Santaniel cheered, sarcastic as ever. Hubert looked like he was about to kill him until he was picked up by Shamir on Pegasus.
Santaniel laughed at his expense, pushing forward once more, "Hey Professor, you take care of the mage behind Edelgard. I'll take the princess herself. If I fail you have an easy target." Byleth nodded and made his way towards the healer, leaving him in charge of the rest.
"Felix cover my back with Lightning and Petra, keep people off Leonie and Flayn, got it?" They broke out into squadrons as planned, Santaniel taking the brunt of the attack from the last remaining troops. He got rejuvenated by Flayn and he sprung from the second wind, a small boost from Shatter helped too! He blasted a hole through their defenses and cleared the rest with Bolganone.
"Hey Princess. Watch out! This'll pack a punch!" Santaniel rushed up the steps, narrowly avoiding an exploding barrel, and he clashed his axe with Edelgard, "You must watch yourself too. Wouldn't want you getting hurt now."
Santaniel towered over Edelgard, but the little lady packed a powerful swing just like anyone else with a Crest. He ducked such a swing and drew his Twins, the lightning cracking as bright as the sparks that burnt off the clashing metal.
Santaniel pushed hard, getting ready to end the fight. He jumped and his wings spread, he was ready to pin her until he was struck by a fierce lick of lightning. The bolt conducted through him like a lightning rod and he screamed, his eyes bulging as he fell to his knees.
Byleth approached from behind and tapped Edelgard on the shoulder with his blade and she conceded. Felix hustled up the steps, "That wasn't a normal spell. Nor was it the result of the storm. Something casted that on him."
_
Santaniel had passed out on his knees, eyes wide open.
He was lucky it didn't kill him.
On the other side of the field, Claude had bested Dimitri and Anette, Dedue falling to Yuri and sheer numbers on the Black Eagles side. The rest of the troops were dealt with by the pincer attack of the Golden Deer, sans Santaniel and Lysithea, who had been hit with a similar bolt.
_
When Santaniel came to he was in the infirmary tent with her, she had already woken up. 'She has a lower tolerance to magic than I do, how's she up first?'
He reasoned it may have been worse for him. He tried to speak but his entire body felt off kilter, then he realized that his magic wasn't entirely working. He shook his metal arm and Lysithea noticed him finally, "Someone casted an area wide Silence spell during the battle. It really effected it."
She reported to him. He nodded and leaned back groaning, "Ugh. Who the hell even did that? Normally I can take a hit like that but all mighty was that powerful."
She shook her head, "No one knows. Marianne and one of the Blue Lions students back at the academy are the only ones who can even cast Silence. So it's up to anyone's guess who could've casted both."
He hummed thoughtfully, "I suppose. How did the battle go?" He questioned. "We won pretty handily thanks to Professor and Claude pincering the last of the troops. Apparently we were the only two to be taken down and we fell to an outside source."
He nodded and grumbled, "At least I gave that vampire looking guy a nice back hand back to hell." He smiled and snickered. "We should go and see what everyone is up to, we might miss a celebration... Also, mind helping me keep balanced? This arm is very heavy."
Lysithea grunted under the weight he put on her and lessened it, walking out of the tent and towards the rest of the Deer.
_
Byleth noticed as he waved with his free hand and Yuri came over to help, freeing Lysithea from the burden.
"Thanks Yuri. Hey Claude! Professor! We have any special plans coming up?" Claude smiled and announced, "Why yes! We do! When we get back to the Monastery, we'll be celebrating our win with a 'grand' feast in the dining hall! And by grand feast, I mean a fairly regular feast in the dining hall."
Byleth rolled his eyes while Sothis observed all the students curiously.
"That Santaniel child and Lysithea child seem to be very special. The same as the Yuri and Claude children. Keep them safe." Sothis commanded, Byleth agreed he would try.
"Hey Flayn?" Santaniel asked. "Yes Santaniel?" She asked, her ears slightly perking beneath her hair. "Can you use Restore yet?"
Flayn was silent for a moment until she answered somewhat flustered, "Uh. Yes actually," she summoned the glyphs in front of her, "I apologize for not doing so earlier."
Santaniel moved his arm around and wiggled the fingers, "All good. Just feels better than lugging the thing around." He jested, ruffling Flayn's hair, her body visibly prickling at his touch.
"Well? Let's get this show on the road! I'm famished and I'm not leaving you guys anything if we don't get started!" Santaniel exclaimed, getting everyone moving to their horses and he clambered into the equipment wagon for the Golden Deer.
Byleth watched as he giggled as they watched Raphael and Caspar trip over themselves, trying to beat him there.
——————
Day 28 of the Wyvern Moon
They had arrived back at Gareg Mach, Santaniel stretching and yawning loudly as he exited the wagon. It was about noon and he was really hungry. He walked up the stairs into the entrance hall and skipped up the steps to the dining room and as he was about to request some fried chicken a female voice spoke to him.
"Hello my child." And he immediately lost his appetite and wanted to flee, 'This isn't like Seteth or Flayn. This is... unnatural.' He thought, he slapped on a nervous smile and turned around, "Archbishop." He stated, offering a bow of his head in recognition.
"Did you need me?" She nodded and walked away, expecting him to follow, he looked around and saw Byleth, he shot him a pleading look before he forced himself to follow.
He held his breath a bit, nervous to really even breathe. 'She knows. That much is obvious... Just how much does she know though?' he wondered. "So. What did you need me for?" he asked, not really expecting that much of a clear answer and that's exactly what he got.
"I wanted to talk to you about your faith in the Goddess." He hesitantly bit his tongue about his beliefs and silently nodded. "I understand that you've attended hymns at the request of our dearest Professor, and that you are particularly fond of Macuil's song." He listened, searching for an opportunity to leave, "It's just the one that's stuck with me the most I suppose."
He tried to keep to Xavien's teachings, 'Be as vague as they are, and never show your hand too early.' He coughed slightly and she asked him, "Are you coming down with an illness?"
She asked concerned. "Oh no. I just have some bad pollen allergies that get worse around this time of year." That part was true. "As I was talking about earlier. Your faith in the Goddess. I understand you're not particularly devout and I would like to ask why."
Santaniel mulled his options over and decided white lies would be best, "I do believe there is something out there. However I'm not sure they're all knowing. Nothing can be." He stated. Rhea nodded and he realized they were on their way to the Cathedral and he prayed to whatever he thought was out there that Marianne or Mercedes would be here and save him from this.
If he gave in to his instincts and ran right now, he would no doubt look suspicious in her eyes and she might confirm whatever suspicion she might have. He knew that. They walked in silence until they reached the altar of the Goddess and she knelt in prayer, motioning for him to join her.
He followed along and did as she asked him to. She started reciting a prayer that he mouthed back unknowingly, silently moving his lips to match her speech. As she finished they both stood in sync and he knew he wasn't in control right now, something in her was controlling him. Not his mind, no, his body.
He thanked her for allowing him to speak and walk with her privately, afterwards walking out of the cathedral. When he left he broke into a cold sweat and booked it to the dining hall.
'I'm going to need a lot of ale after this.' He entered the room and ordered a large mug of it and sat heavily next to Xavien and Hephaestus who were on their third already. He cheered half heartedly with them and knocked their cups together, downing his mug.
He felt his recent awkwardness drift away and to somewhere else. 'We just won the biggest damn event at the academy. This is my time to celebrate with people!' He exclaimed in his own head.
He hopped off the bench and patted Xavien on the shoulder, smiling broadly as he left to find his classmates. He spied Marianne and Hilda happily eating together, Claude and Lorenz were drinking together again, the two happily laughing together.
Santaniel grabbed another mug and clanked his with there's as he approached, drinking it steadily. He looked around and saw almost all the other students minus the other three House Leaders, their retainers, Lysithea, Bernadetta, go figure, Flayn, and surprisingly Byleth happily eating or drinking around the tables.
He reached the bottom of his ale and set it on a nearby table, heading on the hunt for the people avoiding the celebration. 'I'm far from drunk anyways. If anything just a bit buzzed.'
He knew his limits and his body weight allowed him to drink more than most. Jeralt and Hephaestus could out drink him though.
He ran his tongue over his teeth and clicked it when he was done, he heard whispering nearby. He stopped in his tracks and listened closely, "-was a success. It easily hit them both."
He didn't recognize that voice. He blinked and hid next to a group of bushes, getting pulled in by Yuri, motioning for him to stay quiet. He listened and heard the distorted voice of the Flame Emperor and he inhaled sharply, the voice speaking from before resonating in his ears, "What was that noise?"
They could hear a dagger cut through the air and hit the bridge, and then the signature sound of Warp sounding off. He looked at Yuri, his eyes slits and calmed himself down. His eyes returning to usual as he had a silent conversation via scry.
"That was another one of them, wasn't it?"
"It was."
"They're gone. Do you think it was someone else they heard?"
"Certainly. The dagger would've passed through the bush otherwise."
"True."
They climbed out of the bush and they saw the Professor and Dimitri picking up a dagger and studying it, Dimitri looking shocked and started sheathing it as they left when Dedue arrived.
"Hey Yuri, head back to the celebrations. I'm gonna go look for Lys and Flayn." The lavender headed man nodded and strutted off.
'If I were those two little ones, where would I go... Lysithea might be at the library actually. Flayn might be at the fishing pond, though she probably retired for the night. I'll go check the pond first.' He concluded, aware of the man watching him in the shadows. As he walked off, he turned a corner and listened for footsteps and was met with the smell of metal and disappointment. 'Damn.' he thought.
Santaniel sighed and walked towards the fishing pond, some of the students having spilled out there, Ashe and Ingrid having a lively conversation about Loog and Pan.
Sylvain was red in the face and trying to flirt with Felix. Keyword is trying. He scoured the area but found neither of the skippers, obviously Bernie was in her room.
He guessed he'd check the library next. He went through the cantina and saw everyone was a bit drunker, impeding on chaos breaking out. Before Seteth could reel everyone back in, he grabbed two more mugs of ale and snuck off for the library.
————
Lysithea climbed up a ladder and dug around up top for books about Crests. She grunted as she hefted a heavy book up and dropped it down to the floor, dust flying up and making her sneeze.
Sliding down the ladder, she landed on the wooden floor with a clump. She struggled and picked the book up again, slamming it on a barren table, flipping the giant cover open. She read through passage after passage, the sun sinking significantly, until she noticed steps echoing up the stairs and familiar humming.
'Just Santaniel.' She dismissed. He walked through the open entrance and peeked around the corner to make sure Tomas wasn't there and he came around, spying Lysithea pretty plainly.
"Hey Lys." She immediately noticed he was bit red in the face, not blushing, but he definitely had a buzz. He sat two mugs of ale down on the table and joined her over by the book, skimming the page she was on, "You're studying the crests, but why Macuil in pXaviencular?"
He was curious, but she didn't really have a good answer, "Just seemed interesting. The legends say he was a great blacksmith, unparalleled tactician, a pioneer of the magical arts, and commonly used them in harmony during battle." Santaniel nodded and proceeded to ask another question, "What do the others say?"
She continued with her reading, "Cethleann was an amazing healer while Cihol was the best flyer the world had seen. Indech was reportedly an indomitable soldier, slaying many a people on the battlefield, but tried his best to assist people." He did his usual click that signified him processing the info.
"Well. While I'd love to say I show all signs of being similar to Macuil, my magical ability is raw at best. I have no use as a blacksmith as far as I know, and my tactics are regularly flawed and you, Byleth, or Claude have to correct them for any to work."
He looked glum, tapping his foot, disappointed. "Say anything about what happened to the arse after the war?" She skimmed the page, "It says he died in the fight, but conflicting reports state he had left the region and took up residence in Sreng."
Santaniel shook his head, "My father and mother have never been there. Never showed in their records. Maybe after the school year is over I'll go and do some investigation, maybe he'll help us be rid of this curse if he's still miraculously alive."
Lysithea nodded and flipped the page as he took a sip from his ale, passing her a half glass that she took but didn't drink from.
"This page says that the Crest of Seiros was given to the Emperor of Adrestia by Seiros themself." Santaniel cocked his head and read farther down the page, "It also says that it has the effect of increasing their strength exponentially, like Blaidydd, and could somewhat increase the length of one's life."
He took another sip and the memory of last month flowed into her mind, 'He was just drunk... there's no merit to it.' She reached for the mug and watched the amber liquid dance in the cup, seemingly glowing from the candle light.
"It's sweet. Don't worry." Santaniel turned the book towards himself and read further down. She hesitantly lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip, gulping down the lukewarm liquid, burning the back of her throat as it went down.
Her face scrunched a bit. Santaniel laughed at her reaction to the drink and she pouted, huffing indignantly. "Don't worry Short Stack, I was the same. Just make sure to drink it slowly so you don't get drunk off your ass, alright?"
She nodded and took another sip as he read out the next passage, "The next Crest is the one Byleth has, the Crest of Flames. It was seen for the first and last time, possessed by Nemesis, the King of Liberation."
He took a sip to wet his throat and continued, "The Crest allows for the holder to wield the Sword of the Creator, given to him by the Goddess but was corrupted by the sheer power."
Lysithea nodded along and took a swig, the same burning feeling lessened and it went down easier. "Remember. Take it slow." She nodded, listening as he continued.
"The man was said to be abnormal in height and had yellow eyes, extremely muscular and high in stamina. Well, Byleth has the latter of those, being stronger than most and a good amount of stamina. The Crest of Flames is also the symbol of the Goddess Sothis."
He tapped his cheek and clicked his tongue, "Sounds like the Professor isn't a descendant of the guy then, maybe he got the Crest from a blood experiment or transfusion like we did?"
She was down to half her original mug now, "Hey Santaniel? Why do you click your tongue when you think?" He smiled a bit, "It's just my way of stimulating myself when I process the information. Like tapping your foot, drumming your fingers, biting your nails, it's like a nervous habit basically."
He drank some of his ale and sighed, "You know how Claude twirls an arrow or Ignatz fiddles with his glasses? It's that basically." She downed the rest of her ale and Santaniel peaked an eyebrow at her, "You might wanna be careful Short Stack. That's strong for your age and weight." She nodded, feeling fine, 'Maybe he's wrong about it.'
Then it hit.
"Oh! There's a passage of how Seiros gave her Crest in here!" He called out. "It says something about blood surgery, they also had a way to apparently remove Crests, but there's nothing in here. If the Saints were still alive, maybe we'd have a chance to learn something about it..."
He leaned back in his chair and groaned. "At this rate, I'll have to get as much attention as possible to just fix this..." He dropped his train of thought as Lysithea got up and got a bit closer. "Uh. Lys?" He asked, he reached over and picked up his mug, taking the last drink there was.
_
He was a bit woozy, but then again, anyone would be on their third. He leaned forward again and was about to speak until Lysithea draped herself over him, giggling, 'He's warm.' she thought to herself.
_
"And it begins." He knew what was happening and normally first timers get emotional, he rubbed his face and prepared to stand, getting pressed down a bit into his chair by her hands. "Lys. What are you doing?"
He asked, his face was straight but in his head he was legitimately clueless. He rubbed his eye and when he brought it down, Lysithea was staring at him a bit teary eyed, "Lysithea. Get a hold of yourself. You're just a bit drunk, alright." He patted her on the head, closing the book and picked her up, "C'mon. You're going to bed."
She grumbled something inaudible and he asked, "Can you repeat that?" She reared her head back and she was heavily red in the face, 'Blush or drunk?' He thought.
His question was answered because a drunken, sloppy kiss found its way to his lips and now his was definitely a blush.
"Yeah. You're never getting drunk like this again." She grumbled and pouted, trying to go for his neck next and he pushed her head towards his shoulder and he grabbed the mugs. Lysithea protesting, slurring words together. "You didn't eat today. Did you?" A sound like 'No' came from behind him and he sighed, "Should've guessed."
He carried her through the courtyard and up the dormitory stairs and creaked open the door, her cat Orderlian sprinting out. He walked in and set her on the bed, covering her up with a blanket and leaving a small note telling her what happened and apologizing for not taking her eating into concern.
He closed the door softly as she drifted off in to sleep and he stretched, throwing a bit of blood into a nearby mirror, stepping through and back to his house. 'Time for sleep...' he thought, crashing into his bed, for once, no nightmares ensued
Four Hundred and Twenty Seven Weeks remain.
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