Jeralt didn't look particularly pleased when they arrived for the job. A few mercenaries in the company had opted to take some other work due to the nature of the job itself—the details were still vague—and the dozen mages that would be fighting alongside them didn't seem willing to make up for it.
Byleth waited for any signs that their targets would actually come; Jeralt wasn't too far, trying to get the same confirmation from the mages themselves. They'd been waiting for a good portion of the day, now—given another few hours, and they would walk away from here. That's been their policy thus far.
By the afternoon, Sothis spoke up.
"Will you not talk with someone here? I know you are just as bored as I am."
She cast a quick glance around her before quietly answering. "Someone has to keep an eye out."
"It wouldn't hurt to socialize a little more; anyone else can keep watch," the girl pointed out. She seemed to be ready to keep going, but paused. She continued a bit more hushed than usual, despite not needing to. "I believe I heard something."
Byleth fell silent to listen, and turned to her father when she saw some movement in the forest around them.
"Jeralt, I think they're here now."
"Took them long enough. Everyone, get ready."
The mercenaries gave their collective agreement and silently prepared for the fight—the mages, on the other hand, slipped further into the forest, hopefully to bring the targets to a more ideal place for a battle. Many of them followed behind since there wasn't any clear advantage.
Byleth was ready to fight as soon as she had a clear view of the targets. All but five or six wore some kind of uniform, with those who weren't looking to be at least a few years older. She took a step forward, but Jeralt stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder. He gestured towards the mercenaries to lower their weapons with his other hand, then looked at the mages.
"These are just kids," Jeralt called. Only one mage paused and turned. "And kids from the Officers Academy, at that. Are these really the people we're supposed to fight?"
"Do you see anyone else?" The mage asked impatiently. "Yes, we're to fight those students. Focus on any with fancier uniforms."
"I'm not going to interact with the church any more than I need to," Jeralt replied firmly. "If you want to kill a bunch of kids, fine—just don't drag me into whatever you have against them."
Jeralt turned, and the mage stepped back. As soon as he raised his hand—as soon as he moved, really—Byleth quickly went to silence him before he tried anything.
She almost found it surprising she hadn't attacked a supposed ally like that until now.
As soon as the mage fell, everyone in the area—mercenaries, mages, and the previous targets—took notice. Jeralt took her shoulder again, pulling her back a little.
"Come on, kid," he murmured. "We'll help if we need to, but I'm not staying here any longer than necessary. I don't know who's with them."
Byleth looked at him and nodded. For the most part, the other mercenaries dispersed—some helped the students, some retreated. Sothis quickly nagged her into doing something—"They seem inexperienced. If it would be unwise to fight them, it would be unwise to leave them alone."—so she stopped following after Jeralt with only a murmur of warning.
It was easy to tell which mages to attack—they were all masked, which allowed her to spot them easily among the sea of black-clothed students. More mages had come than what were originally there, making it a harder fight than she first thought; the students actually seemed to be outnumbered two to one.
After about an hour, most of the mages had been cleared out and she took a moment to look around a bit more; there were two people the mages seemed more interested in attacking—a girl with white hair and a blond boy, wearing red and blue respectively, who she only saw once or twice before they disappeared along with the other students—while the rest were engaged merely because they were approached first.
While she was standing, someone came up behind her—quicker than the mage that tried to attack Jeralt earlier. Byleth only moved fast enough so the magic didn't kill her, at least, but it still hit and hurt enough for her to wince.
"Perhaps you should have kept a better eye on your surroundings instead of watching the children," Sothis pointed out.
"Not now," Byleth murmured back.
It took her a moment to recover, then Byleth turned around to face whoever hit her. To her surprise, however, the mage was already dead—with the white-haired girl standing close to him with a bloodied axe.
"You're a mercenary, aren't you?" The girl asked. When Byleth nodded, she continued—either condescending or teasing. "You should have a better understanding of your surroundings, then."
Byleth gave a quick glance around them—the area was actually clear this time.
"I hadn't noticed the mage came behind me," Byleth admitted. "…Thank you."
She gave Byleth an odd look. Sothis pointed out the problem: "Your gratefulness could be better shown."
"That is genuine," Byleth said in an attempt to make herself a little more clear. It didn't help that most people she was close to could tell without needing the clarification. "…I'm told it's hard to tell."
The girl looked at her for a moment. After a second or two of a scrutinizing stare, another student—taller than Byleth, black hair—came up to them, preventing the girl from speaking when she looked ready.
"Lady Edelgard," he said, "The mages have been taken care off. Professor Manuela wants to make sure everyone is relatively unharmed."
"…Right," the girl replied, glancing at him for a second. "I'll be there shortly."
The other student frowned, cast a suspicious glare in Byleth's direction, then walked away. The girl looked back at Byleth.
"We have healers in our group," the girl said, gesturing to Byleth's wound. The girl herself had nothing more than a few scratches.
Now that she was reminded of it, the wound did sting a bit. But— "I need to meet up with my captain; it'll be fine until then."
The girl didn't exactly look convinced, but another student calling for her cut any kind of protest short. "Very well. Your…help is appreciated."
She immediately went to reconvene with the other students and their professors, and Byleth took it as her cue to leave before they got any ideas. Jeralt wasn't happy that she fought without him—even less pleased that she was injured in the process—and she couldn't fully explain nor deny her actions enough to give a meaningful protest.
Sothis spoke again when everything settled down, Byleth had her wound taken care of, and Jeralt's Mercenaries were walking to the closest town in the opposite direction of the students.
"I wonder," Sothis mused, "Why you would be hired to attack children."
"Personal grudges, probably," Byleth replied simply—albeit quietly so no one else noticed. "I couldn't explain why, but it's possible. Something about those two—the ones who had red and blue capes."
"Ah, yes. I assume those are the two the mages initially told you to focus on." She paused for a moment, then let out a little hum. "So many questions! However, I do believe you'll come across those children again. That girl in particular seemed…familiar. I feel that she possesses power not unlike your own."
"What do you mean by that?"
Sothis sighed, frustrated now. "I wish I knew. Our connection is still a mystery to both of us, yet… I do think the truth will come, sooner or later. Maybe that girl is involved somehow."
She murmured some acknowledgment of the idea. Byleth wanted to meet with the girl again, at least—if only to figure out why she looked like she had more she wanted to say.
