The Black Eagles reached the strip of woodland a short while later. Tall yet scraggly trees, bushy overgrowths, mounds and grassy stumps surrounded them. The land continued to incline, blocking their view of the grasslands separating them from the other Houses. Insects buzzed and clicked, and birds chirped. A fresh waft of pine hung in the air. Byleth took it all in, but not for enjoyment's sake.
'We need to move to the north side of the woodland,' Edelgard said. 'That will allow us to take up a defensive position with a clear view of'-
'Stop,' Byleth said. Edelgard and the others froze. To the untrained ear, there was nothing, and to the other Black Eagles, that made sense because they were alone in this strip of woodland, had to be.
Unless….
Byleth had studied the map carefully in the classroom. Their opponents could in theory have reached this strip of woodland by now-
But they would of have to of moved at lung-bursting speed to get here so quickly. They wouldn't have done that, surely?
As he asked himself this, the chirping in the trees stopped. He darted his eyes around. 'We're not alone.'
'Already?' Petra said, frowning.
'I can't hear anything,' Ferdinand whispered. 'Are you su'-
Byleth flashed his head left. 'Enemy left get to co'-
An arrow screamed past his ear. There was a loud bang and a burst of purple mist exploded into the air, suddenly engulfing them. Bernadetta let out a high-pitched yelp.
'Get to cover!' Edelgard said.
Another arrow whizzed by and Bernadetta cried out again. The others scrambled. There was another bang and more purple mist spilled out. Byleth felt for a tree, the mist rapidly shrouding him. He thought about the positioning of the different Houses on the map again and knew who was attacking.
The Golden Deer. They've entered from the west side.
There was a third crackling bang and Dorothea screamed. 'No!'
'Dorothea!' Petra said.
Byleth spun in the direction of Dorothea and where the cracking bang had come from. At a nearby tree, the girl stood, trembling.
'It… it hit me directly,' she said, her voice wavering.
A normal magic attack could have seriously injured her, but she fine because all the magic spells allowed in the mock battle were non-lethal ones. She had no obvious cuts or bruises yet in that moment it felt like she'd died… and in a way, that's exactly what'd happened.
Because her red sash was gone.