Chapter Sixteen
1.
G,
You have the same eyes. And cheekbones.
I'll save one for next time you come around.
L
2.
They cut through the docks on their way to the greenhouse. Leonie waves and greets everyone who passes, getting some waves and smiles in return. She thinks she spots Claude watching from atop the wall by the dinning hall but doesn't turn to check. Lysithea and herself are guided to a place full of blooming flowers, spreading their blanket on the grass and relaxing with the only sounds coming from Leonie pulling out fruits and dried meats.
"How long have you been storing things?" Lysithea wonders, holding a pear up to the ceiling.
"A while," Leonie shrugs. "Keeps me busy." At the end, she pulls out a bag of boring looking rocks. A closer look would reveal all the rocks have a stain on them, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary.
Lysithea only speaks up after Leonie's placed all eight either on the ground or in the trees around them, "What do those do?"
"A one-way Silence and Alert chain," Leonie settles, easily grabbing a strip of meat as her stomach growls. We can hear what comes in, but what we talk about won't go out. If a living thing enters, I'll know." She winces and turns as a butterfly passes through. "Like that."
Lysithea fights with her next words before settling on, "Why not just keep intruders out?"
"I haven't figured out how to mark intruders or save something to tell me who tried to enter. It took awhile, but I'm now very good at throwing sharp things where intruders come in. So, uh, for this talk, you'll have to put up with me looking around a bit."
"Sure," Lysithea looks more put-out after the explanation. They eat until she steels her nerves enough to blurt, "Okay. I need you to keep an open mind for everything I'm about to say."
"Alright," Leonie replies easily. When Lysithea keeps staring, she sets the half-eaten apple in her lap and motions her to go on.
Lysithea starts and stops a few times, getting a bit angry and clenching her teeth. "I don't have dreams, I have nightmares. I didn't get to have a childhood and…" her fists clench tighter as the silence stretches, "why aren't you asking anything?!"
"…What do you want me to ask?" Leonie realizes she's gone too-still listening but, of all things Lysithea would admit, she wasn't expecting this. "Is there anybody you want me to kill as payback?"
Lysithea gives a little shriek, but she does smile in a hidden way, "I want to get my own revenge- that isn't the point! What I just admitted? Normal people would ask what happened or why."
Leonie doesn't even give a pretense of a smile, leaning back and keeping a straight face, "If you want to tell me what happened, then you will. It's not my place to pry for anything."
Pink eyes harden with resolve, face draining of colour yet Lysithea throws out a hand and points, "Where is your necklace, Leonie?"
And for a moment, Leonie. Can't. Breathe.
Then smiles, looking kind and confused as anger and fear bubble under her skin in an adrenaline concoction, "What are you talking about? I don't wear jewellery."
"The necklace Jeralt gave you," Lysithea presses, too on the money. Leonie faintly register's her own body's attempts at going into shock, getting a bit lightheaded as the teenager begins rambling, "The one you always wear and never take off, no matter how much Hilda pesters, you just don't take it off, you're never without it, and I didn't even realize something was off for weeks until the dreams practically spelled it out for me and I'm not crazy." Lysithea pants. "I'm not."
This, Leonie thinks through the white haze and buzzing noises, is very unexpected. She can't decide whether she's glad Lysithea insisted to do this in private, or to be disgusted the girl thought going to a place with no witnesses was a good idea. Probably the former, because something in the overlay must have made the girl trust Leonie not to kill her.
"Captain Jeralt never gave me a necklace," Leonie speaks calmly, firmly, and watches Lysithea try her hardest not to break. She had only ever vaguely considered meeting someone else who knew what was to happen, it hurt too much to think about. Denying herself this would hurt more, even if it would keep both of them firmly away from unwanted attentions. "He never gave me a special charm I could turn into a necklace. I look up to him, respect him, but those notes are all I have left of him."
There's a storm behind Lysithea's eyes as she picks apart the words, "Special charm. That's a really specific thing to mention."
"That's what the necklace was," Leonie picks up the apple for a bite, trying to hide how shaken she is.
Lysithea breaks into a smug smile. "I'm not crazy. But wait, you- why you?"
Any brownie points are lost. Leonie gives her a flat start, twirling the core on the tip of her finger. "Why me what?"
When Lysithea can't string a sentence together, Leonie sighs.
Looks her dead in the eye, "You said you don't have dreams, and then said the dreams helped you figure it out. When did they start?"
That, Lysithea can formulate, "I started getting glimpses, back when we were sharing a tent. I thought it was just my nerves. Then they started to get longer, more than just a smile from someone who looked like our classmates. There weren't many of us at first. I didn't see you until our first night at the Monastery. And then, one night they stopped completely. It took me ages to realize they stopped at the same time I stop being in pain while in our room with Hilda and Marianne."
"Wait," Leonie feels her hackles rise at the thought her roommate has been suffering, "you are in constant pain? Do the others know? Is that why you hate leaving the room?!"
Lysithea glares at the interruption, "They don't know and, interestingly, I'm not in as much pain when you carry me around. I thought it was odd, but it didn't really sink in how strange it is until I saw people looking away from Bernadetta when she's behind your back. It is you isn't it? And you did something with our new room. I went back to the old one, the pain doesn't lessen there anymore."
Leonie swears.
"You do know what's happening," Lysithea latches on like a shark smelling blood. "And you know what? I could have passed it all off. Maybe asked you about installing whatever it is when we get assigned rooms, but that was it. The charms, the sword, the pocket space. It's not my place, it's benefitted me, but then I saw your chest. I know what f**king skin wards are, Leonie!"
The diverter ward itches as Lysithea heaves her breathes.
Leonie takes a bite of a new apple, asking around it, "How much do you remember?"
Lysithea watches her with cold eyes, "Of the war?"
The young woman gives an inconsequential hum.
"Not a lot," Lysithea breathes, calmer. "Not from any of the snippets. I know there was a war because I saw a map with the soldiers. I remember the Monastery in ruins. Claude grew a beard."
Leonie chokes on her apple, smiling as she tries to dislodge it and keep from laughing.
Lysithea doesn't get any warmer when she asks, "What do you remember?"
"I asked you when you started remembering," Leonie begins slowly, careful of her healing throat, "because when I was an infant, I remembered everything."
"Wha-"
"And then," Leonie talks over her, "time passed, and I struggled to remember the important bits. And then I was struggling to remember everyone's names." Lysithea sneers, and Leonie admits the worst of it, "But what really sucks, is that something must have gone really off-course in order for me to remember at all and for you to remember even the little bits."
Caution enters the teen's stance, Lysithea resisting to curl her knees to her chest, "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Leonie grins, and it isn't nice, "that it sounds like you remember a future where the new professor ends up teaching the Golden Deer. When I remembered, I remembered when they taught the Golden Deer, when they chose to teach the Blue Lions, and when they chose the Black Eagles."
Lysithea shakes at the implication, summing it up nicely with a, "What the f**k?!"
Leonie hums and leans back, continuing to eat. While disappointed that Lysithea doesn't have past-life memories of the game, this is a good second. She didn't think she would ever get someone with knowledge of the future without them being evil or a Main Character. Like this, Lysithea is on her radar as helpful without knowing enough to screw things over. It took years for Leonie to convince herself not to interfere with the Librarian's torture and diseases, she doesn't have that time to convince anyone else.
"What are we going to do?" Lysithea wonders, panicked.
"We," Leonie motions between them, "are going to do nothing. You are going to study hard, stay healthy, and find a way to cure your two Crests. I am going make sure none of us die before the war. Hopefully during the war, too."
Lysithea doesn't appear to have heard that last part, still stuck on, "How do you know I have two Crests?"
"You told me."
"No, I-" Lysithea look conflicted. "I… I wouldn't. I didn't."
"Multiple futures inside my head. Why would you think you wouldn't tell me?"
"You don't have a Crest," Lysithea spits, but her unsure eyes are drawn to Leonie's chest. "Why do you have skin wards? How did you even manage to make them?"
"There's a reason why Captain Jeralt gave me a special charm," Leonie isn't sure if it's a lie or not, but it feels right after all this time. "Without it, I had to get creative. Took me ages to get it right, and then I had to practice. I promise it's not killing me or draining me more than a passive Repair does in battle."
"It is a layered ward, Leonie. Those are extremely volatile."
Not if you correctly connect and weave them like a 4D puzzle. "Don't I know. A lot of my warding attempts caught fire or looped if my intentions weren't clear. And hey, this one's just a simple 'x', no normal person would think it anything besides a battle scar."
One strike to block, one to divert, over a major heart artery to keep it active even when she is unconscious.
Lysithea looks down at the food, "I can help."
"If you want to help, focus on healing yourself," Leonie hesitates and tries to scramble for her memories, "I know you found a cure a few times."
There is hope all over her as the teen demands, "Really?"
"Yes," now if only I can remember who helped you.
–l=˃sword–l=˃
Back in their room, Leonie curses, rubbing a finger over the wood of the training sword, "I didn't even realize, sorry Lysithea."
"What does it do?" Bernadetta wonders, huddled under her blankets.
"I know it has something to do with magic," Lysithea says. "I've been careful not to cast around it."
"Story time," Leonie says, holding a finger to her lips towards Bernadetta. The purplette giggles with wide eyes as the sword disappears into Leonie's endless pocket, a new one coming out. This one really is just a normal, basic, mostly unaltered training sword. Bernadetta promised not to tell in exchange for using a lance. "I was told one of the first things we learn in magic theory is how to store magic. All of my attempts to do it ended in failure, and this is the best thing I came up with. It's still experimental, and what it's supposed to do is absorb magic to power attacks. Unfortunately, when I use it…"
As Leonie cringes, Lysithea prompts, "When you use it, what?"
"It… catches on fire."
They all look at the perfectly normal wooden training sword. Except it happens to have a durability ward carved on it under the handle where no one can tell. Like everything else Leonie works on. She hands it over, ignoring how her insides strain and twist at giving up a precious.
"I'm almost surprised that I'm not surprised," Lysithea bites out. Bernadetta giggles. "And this shouldn't explode if it's hit?"
"Oh, no, that one should be fine. Though, the other one should have been able to handle a magical hit or two. It's the constant flow of magic into it that causes… well, fire."
3.
"Monica has officially been declared missing," Hilda announces at dinner, looking more invested than Leonie's ever seen her. "I want you all to keep an eye and ear out. There's been no word if she's ran off or was kidnapped."
"And if she did run off," Claude brings up, "Seteth would like to see if she was the cause of the explosion."
"She wasn't," Hilda insists, "Monica hated the sauna, it ruined her hair."
"Sounds like motive to me."
Leonie glances away to hide her grin, catching the eye of Mercedes at the unofficial Blue Lions table. They wave at each other, causing probably-Annette and probably-Ashe to look over. We really do need to be introduced, Leonie things with an inner sigh. She's just glad they aren't eating the soup tonight. Leonie looks down at her own despondently while Danger Sense blares at the thought of taking a bit of it.
"Why aren't you eating?" Lysithea snarks across the table, stabbing at her salad. "You're always on me about eating properly. You haven't even taken a bite."
Leonie doesn't hold back her sigh this time, resting her head on a hand, "Remember what we talked about for lunch?"
Lysithea goes still, "Yes…?"
"It's nothing bad," Leonie musters a real smile, "it's just, when I was younger, after I fell into a bush of poison ivy, I worked on a spell that would tell me if anything meant me harm."
"Sounds useful."
"The parameters are really board. If I even attempt to bite an apple seed, it alerts me that I'm in danger. But I'm too paranoid to turn it off."
Lysithea looks to the soup, eyebrows rising. Marianne is looking at Leonie with wide eyes, having heard their conversation. The white-haired teen asks, "So, what's wrong with your dinner?"
"No idea. Just, better safe than sorry."
The girls look over to where Claude, Hilda, and Lorenz are also having soup. Raphael's meat and vegetable dish isn't giving off any vibes, and Ignatz has polished off a sandwich. Marianne gulps, safe with her salad, yet terrified, "Should we say something?"
"It's just my gut instinct," and magic, "besides, they look like they're enjoying it. It could be nothing. Like I said, I feel uneasy if a bite includes apple seeds." She stirs around the very tempting, very nice smelling food. "As long as it isn't a steak or fish scenario, we should be good."
Lysithea doesn't hesitate to ask, "What's a steak or fish scenario?"
Leonie waves if off, "Half the people in the room eat fish, half eat steak, and one type of dish wasn't cooked properly." And then people start dropping, not that it would be appropriate to say.
Besides, Danger Sense isn't telling her it's deadly, only something she'll regret for as long as it stays in her system. It will be interesting to see if anyone poisoned the students before the lance tournament on purpose, or if this was just a subpar meal.
4.
"Morning."
"Hey, you."
Leonie stops and jogs backwards, bouncing on her toes to keep warm, "How can I help you?"
"You're Leonie, aren't you?" asks the raven-haired woman.
Leonie stops, sensing it's going to be a conversation rather than a request. "That's me."
"Cyril told me you assisted him with cleaning a few times," the woman blinks, face still deadpan and tone very bland, "yet you are clearly a student. Why help him?"
The younger woman shrugs, "He's nice? It is also a good way to learn about the Monastery, where to go and such. And it helps keep my skills up."
A single raised eyebrow, "Skills?"
"Well, yah. Reaction time and balance when cleaning with water and things that drip in high places. How much pressure to use and strength training when cleaning windows and stains- why are you looking at me like that?"
The wolfish grin stretches wider, "Training grounds after the tournament today. I want see what you've got."
"Er, sure. I'll be at the tournament all day, so see you there?"
"The name's Shamir," said woman clasps Leonie's shoulder, glint in her eye growing, "but you can call me sir."
5.
Leonie doesn't make to the training hall in time for the start of the lance tournament. Instead, she gets waylaid by Seteth, who demands she follow him to his office. The young woman keeps her easy grin on, following a few steps behind his and not letting her eyes linger on his back too long. Not being strong enough doesn't stop her from imagining what it would be like to attack now. How much strength to get through the cape and thick chainmail under his admin shirt. She could blink and find his Crest Stone.
Leonie resists, as always. She's in a good enough mood it isn't hard.
The mood almost dies the moment she sees Claude already seated in Seteth's office. He's as surprised to see her, "Morning."
"Didn't see you at breakfast today," Leonie comments form the doorway.
"Close the door and sit down," Seteth doesn't snap, but it isn't said nicely. If she was in any less of a mood, Leonie would have eyed his window a bit longer before following the instructions. She's curious why he's got them here, which means waiting out the confrontation. It may be possible to survive jumping out the window from this height, if only because she has enough magic to try and pull a strong Lightweight without hurting anything. Seteth looks at them both very intently from behind his desk, "Do you know why you're both here?"
"No," Claude replies carefully, Leonie shaking her head and echoing. "Are there more reports I need to fill out?"
"No, Claude," Seteth clasps his hands, trying to look calm even though he's ready to snap. "You are both here because you are the only two students who ordered soup last night and are not currently holed up in the lavatories."
It takes a moment for that to sink in for Leonie, in which time Claude has already slid her a look and begun drawing Seteth's attention, "What happened then? Rotten meat?"
But Seteth is not to be deterred, gazing at them both evenly, "No, seeing as the students eating the same meat by itself are perfectly fine. If I were to guess, I would say someone placed a poison in the broth."
"And, what?" Claude smiles charmingly, "I don't see why we're here."
"Leonie," she quirks her eyebrows at Seteth's undivided attention, "why are you not sick?"
She sighs, because there is no way to make this sound good, "I had a gut feeling that I shouldn't eat it."
Indeed, Seteth looks very unimpressed, "A gut feeling?"
"I know it sounds bad," she's quick to look around his desk, spotting a fancy letter opener knife. This is a terrible idea, "but I have a kind of sixth sense about things that want to harm me. Started around the time I fell into a poison ivy bush. I can show you, if you'd like."
He takes the bait, leaning back with some surprise, "Alright."
So she stands and grabs the letter opener, holding the handle out, "When I turn my back, throw this at me."
Seteth slams his hands on the table, standing, face much paler, "Ms. Pinelli! This is not a joke!"
She frowns and holds it over to Claude, who's looking a bit ill, "Would you mind doing it?"
"He most certainly will not!" Seteth snatches it from her hands and puts it far out of reach. Then he slumps back behind his desk, hand going to cover his face while he waves the other in a shoo motion. "Return to your seat, Ms. Pinelli."
"You can call me Leonie," she grumbles, catching Claude's soft bubble of a laugh. Leonie looks over, and he's staring at her with something akin to incredulity and alarm.
Seteth takes a few, centering breaths, "Leonie, not only are you not ill, there are eyewitness accounts that you did not touch the soup. I trust you realize how suspicious this looks."
"Don't I know," she grumbles, crossing her legs and pulling on her fingerless gloves. Shifts the sleeve of her well-fit school jacket. "It all sounds circumstantial. Though, honestly, the only thing I can think to fully prove my innocence is you throwing something at me when my back is turned. Or put a couple cups in front of me and ask me which one's poisonous, but the Church isn't supposed to have any poisons on hand from what I remember of the verses."
There's a bit of silence, where Seteth does not look at Claude. Instead, as it stretches and Leonie tries to think of ways she could quickly prove Danger Sense, Seteth appears to carry more and more weight of the world. With a sigh, he unlaces his hands, pulling up a piece of paper, "Very well. Until your innocence can be proven, Leonie, you will be under a suspension-"
"That's very underhanded, Seteth," Claude speaks, and Leonie has to halt a startle as she turns to him. Even Seteth looks wary at the biting tone. "All of this because, what, you know of my poison tolerance?"
Claude's Crest is no match for a Crest Stone, but Leonie does feel a bit better as it sucks away the oppressing, earthly feel. There's an odd mix of cold and warm hitting the arm closest to him. It sharpens as Claude's mocking smile does, pulling away and aiming ineffectively at Seteth.
The pause is broken by Claude admitting, "I doused the broth with a laxative. They'll be fine by the end of lunch."
"Very well," Seteth repeats, and Leonie does not appreciate how there's a hint of smugness to him. He writes on a paper, "Your uncle, grandfather, and mother all wrote to me to expect this. Seeing as this is your second offence," second? "you will be assigned work at the docks every evening for the rest of the week."
"Claude," Leonie breaks in, unsure and edging on furious, "if you didn't do it, don't take the blame. I can handle suspension until I find out who really did it."
His smile warms a bit for as long as he stares at Leonie, "I did it. No need for you to get in trouble."
"That is all, Leonie," Seteth waves his free hand, head down.
"If it's all the same," her lips press together, "I'd rather stay."
"Then you can wait outside the door."
She turns to Claude, "You alright alone?"
"Yah," he says quietly back. "I'll be right out."
6.
"Are you mad?" Claude wonders, sounding uncaring as they leave the second floor.
"At you? No. A bit peeved at Seteth, quite angry at the whole system, but we're good."
"Really?" Claude isn't one iota convinced. "Normally people get mad when they're dragged into my schemes. Or, you know, mad I poisoned a bunch of people."
"I'm sure I'd be a bit upset if you poisoned a friend of mine, but hopefully this will make the Monastery step up their security. Could you imagine if someone had done this with a more deadly poison?!"
"Wow, you… really don't care, huh?"
"Like I said, I can take a suspension, though I would have liked some warning. Not a fun surprise. Three strikes and I'm out, you know? So, thanks for owning up. It really means a lot."
Enough to grow some begrudging respect. He's stood up to Seteth in front of her twice now. It feels odd having someone on her side who doesn't appear to want anything from her. Oh, sure, Claude likely has an ulterior motive, but after taking responsibility to make sure Seteth didn't roundabout punish him via a future associated student, after showing he really does have her back, Leonie's ready to admit she'll save Claude from a mortal blow.
"Next time, I'll make sure not to get caught," he grins a little too cheeky for the next leader of the roundtable, and she smiles.
"Come on," Leonie pinches his shirt sleeve and tugs slightly, "I'm late to the lance tournament, and if anyone's going to be there it's the Kingdom kids. Let's see about getting you and the blond prince acquainted."
7.
The thing about last night's soup, is that is was pricier than the other options because of how 'nutritious' it was. Something that normally only nobles will splurge on.
"Name's Leonie," she grins at Mercedes' friends, finally introduced to the last of the future main Blue Lions. "Nice to meet you."
Ashe is a bit shy with his words, Annette is a bundle of energy that immediately connects at the first mention of magic theory. When her and Mercedes giggle about memories of their old school, Leonie ropes Ashe into a conversation about archery.
Claude slings an arm around her should in the middle of them swapping stories, "A lot of Golden Deer our year are archers, if you want to come practice with us sometime."
Ashe lights up, "Truly? I would very much appreciate the chance."
"The Leicester Alliance produces some of the greatest of bow knights, do they not, Claude?" Dimitri wonders, following up to them with Dedue.
"I don't want to brag, but yes we do," he grins wider at Leonie eye roll. "I've got to move on out. I'm sure Hilda's ready to lecture me, and better not keep a lady waiting. Make sure to say hi to Lorenz over there, you know how he gets."
"I'll be fine," Leonie shoos him off. "Do you need some moral support?"
"Nah," there's something cold in his eyes even as he smiles, arms going behind his head, "I've got this. A pleasure meeting you, Your Highness, Dedue, Ashe Annette Mercedes."
Leonie can't help the chuckle, trying to hide a snort as a cough. Claude is good with remembering names, she's kind of jealous. There's a whole book of names and descriptions of people in the Monastery in her bag that she reads and remembers until it's automatic.
"Bye, Claude!" Annette cheers, waving until he's gone. "Why would Hilda need to lecture him?"
"I'm sure she'll yell loud enough the reason will get out," Leonie winces. "Hey, has everyone been to their club activities yet? I'm in band if anyone wants to join."
Mercedes giggles while the others can't decide to be amused or horrified at learning an instrument, "I am in etiquette class. I believe Lorenz is as well?"
"He is. He's promised to teach me a bit in exchange for practicing tea party etiquette."
"Oh, would you mind doing that with me as well? I do not have a kettle, but I would love someone to practice the nuances with."
Leonie answers, "Sure," at the same time Annette bounces, "I can do it too!"
Dimitri laughs, "I can offer my services as well, though I am afraid etiquette was not a class I excelled in."
"We all have things we're not great at," Leonie grins. "How about you guys? Where did you sign up?"
"Oh, I have signed up for the cooking club," Ashe blushes at the attention. "It was either that or gardening."
"I am in the gardening club," Dedue responds with a quick scan for their reactions.
"Nice!" Leonie grins wider. "We'll have to visit sometime. I just learned they allow picnics in the greenhouse."
"Really?" Ashe perks up. "And, uh, Dedue, if you ever need a hand, please let me know. I would love to learn more about the plants the club raises."
Dedue relaxes his shoulders however slightly, smiling, "Of course."
"Annette?" Leonie prompts, "How about you?"
"Crestology with Professor Hanneman." It's her turn to blush at all the looks. "I know! I know! But I really wanted to do history and magic and that's the closest they have for an offer."
"I think it sounds fun. Let me know if it's okay to visit sometime, it'd be nice to meet him beforehand if he becomes my class professor." Leonie looks to the prince, "And what about you, Dimitri?"
"I have elected to join Fight Club," he grins, unpretentious. "I am looking forward to it, though I do not believe it will have quite the variety as the other clubs."
"You'd be surprised. I sometimes stop by to join in, it can be really diverse with how many different fighting styles the students have learned."
He looks surprised, maybe even a bit grateful, and nods, "Well then, I will look forward to the first class."
Their conversation is halted with the end of the lower-ranked part of the tournament. Alois is yelling about using this time for lunch, Jeritza silently hovering behind him as he tries not to stare at their group for too long.
"I could go for some food," Leonie grins. "Anyone want to come?"
Everyone agrees, Annette looping arms with Leonie and Mercedes. The smaller teen skips between them, causing giggles as she gushes about magical theory.
8.
There are a lot of Eagles missing from the dinning hall. Leonie encourages the few Deer and the group of Lions to sit with the only two there, introducing Dorothea and Petra to them all.
"You should stop by the lance tournament sometime," Leonie twirls a cherry stem between her fingers, popping out the seed when no one looks. "Even if it's not something you'd like to learn, watching others can help you find areas to take advantage of when facing a lance user."
"Oh, yes!" Petra beams. "I enjoy the sword, but it has been told to me that it is weaker to lances. Is this really true?"
"It is in Fódlan. The verses say that the Goddess blessed her favoured weapons so none would be strongest. I don't know if the blessing exists past the borders, but the weapon triangle of swords-lances-axes is a magically bound mechanic."
"It's also why fists don't have weaknesses," Ashe breaks in, trying his hardest not to blush under Petra's earnest stare. "Only Her saints and the Ten Elites were ever blessed with physical power that was passed down in Crests. Fists are considered brutish and a last resort."
"That's why they teach gauntlets here," Leonie continues, popping out another pit. Danger Sense lessens with the small poison out of her mouth. "I think it's a shame they don't teach unarmed combat, but it is what it is."
"I can teach you some fists," Petra smiles, looking a bit confused. "Bare fist combat."
"Unarmed combat," Leonie repeats, demonstrating her hands. "Unarmed is another word for no weapons."
"But you still have fists and legs?"
Leonie breaks into a proud grin while Ashe looks confused. The young woman nod, "I agree, but the Church does not believe fists and legs to be true weapons. Only the things you can hold, like swords or gauntlets."
"Oh," Petra nods, "I believe I am understanding. But what if you cannot hold a weapon?"
Ashe looks uncomfortable, not that Leonie can blame him. The topic stirs a mixture of anger and horror in her every time. Ashe answers, "That's why we're here, right? To learn how to hold them correctly and fight."
Leonie subtly kicks Petra when it looks like she's going to ask about what she really means. The orange haired woman subtly shakes her head. "Hey, Ashe, besides the bow, what are you looking forward to learn about most?"
And with that, the topic is successfully brought onto something less rage-inducing to outsiders. Oh, sure, Leonie has no idea what other countries or states have in place for their disabled or handicapped, but there's a reason why everyone in Fódlan has two working hands and feet, two eyes, two ears, and a nose.
A very likely reason why a Dimitri with one eye never went back to the Kingdom.
Leonie feels her veins burn with hate just thinking about the topic.
9.
"Good, you're here," Shamir states, the little wolfish grin appearing.
"Hi Cyril," Leonie waves and pushes off a pillar. It's only them and a few lingering students and adults, straggler knights coming and going.
"Leonie," he greets stiffly. "How are you?"
"Well, thanks. So, sir, what did you need me for?"
Cyril takes a moment to realize sir is Shamir, who explains, "Repeat what you told me earlier, about the chores."
Confused, a bit interested, but mainly with nothing else to do, Leonie complies.
Cryil's face goes from thoughtful to enlightened, "I know about the scrubbing, but everything else makes more sense now."
"Leonie," Shamir demands in her bland tone, "go grab a sword. Today you're going to fight each other."
By looking at Shamir's face, she knows something that's making Leonie feel a bit weary. They go at it for hours, Leonie working hard not to overdo her meager talents against the young teen who leaves too many openings even with the proper forms, all the while keeping from using the magic around her as it practically begs to be used. It's odd just how much it's pressing against her.
Finally, Shamir calls it. She spares a smile for the young one, "Go get cleaned up. Dinner's on me tonight."
"Yes, Shamir!" Cyril struggles to keep his face blank at the praise, bolting off and letting it split the moment he can.
Then Shamir turns to Leonie, eyeing her thoughtfully, "Why didn't you go all-out on him?"
"He obviously needs the practice."
"He won't learn if you let it go on."
"He also won't learn if I just knock him down every couple of minutes. That's not teaching, that's flaunting."
Shamir's small grin is like that of a predator, she stalks forward like one too. Leonie doesn't flinch, even with their faces inches apart. "Why didn't you use any buffs?"
Leonie stiffens.
"It's not something everyone in Dagda can do," Shamir continues quietly, "but everyone can recognize the signs of overuse. You also don't feel like anything, don't have a mark, which leads me to believe you're stopping this all by yourself."
Leonie's grin doesn't drop, voice confused even though she's itching to run, "What are you talking about, sir?"
Shamir leans back and taps her collar, specifically the carved pendant, "You can sense it, can't you? Have a hard time feeling killing instinct, but the magic is practically suffocating. You don't have to say anything. There are a lot more sensors in Dagda than there ever were here. Never thought I'd meet another one."
Denial is too much effort, so Leonie sighs and puts her hands on her hips. Fingers itching towards her pocket, "Are you going to tell anyone?"
"You're the only one who knows about me, so no."
"Not even the-"
"No one knows," Shamir tells her, gaze darting around to the few instructors and students still left. Not a single one is even paying attention to them, "and I'd prefer to keep it that way. I assume you would as well."
Leonie gives a short nod, "So, why tell me at all?"
"Because you don't have a single tether," Shamir defaults back into her bland, emotionless mercenary look, "and I was there, once. As nice as it is to have someone to teach, I need to make sure you aren't going to snap."
"Whoa, wait, teach?"
The lip curl comes back, "Cyril is my apprentice, but that doesn't mean I can't teach others a thing or two. You're doing well for self-taught, but there are a few trade secrets you'll need in case you ever encounter another sensor again."
Leonie bites back the indignation and flecks of anger, don't say I think I'm doing great after struggling with this practically my whole new life, and nods. At the heart of it, she is a believer that there will always be someone better, and if Shamir's offering who's she to say no? "Alright."
"Friday evening, my room. I trust you'll be able to find it."
Right next door to Catherine's, "I'll find it. Is there a specific time or…?"
"Evening."
"Right…"
Leonie's not too sure if she likes the direction the week's been going anymore.
10.
Lorenz sits across from Leonie at dinner, an odd occurrence made even stranger as he says, "Thank you for introducing us to some many of our future schoolmates."
Leonie translates it as thank you for introducing me to the Crown Prince. She tries for a smirk, but winces when Hilda slams her tray down, "Are, uh, you two doing any better?"
Claude had slipped an antidote into their soups, but both had spent the early morning ill. Both nobles still look paler than a bleached vampire, but in much better moods. Claude has wisely chosen to sit on the other side of Raphael, hidden from most sights.
"I am getting better," Lorenz replies calmly, but throws a glare to where he knows the perpetrator is. "Though there is a very interesting piece of gossip floating around as to why I am unwell along with most of the room."
Leonie did pick up on all the dirty glares being thrown their way. She'd probably have felt the same way if it was her too. But it isn't, so she doesn't care more than making sure Bernadetta and Lysithea didn't have any. Even that's a stretch.
Though she is starting to wonder just how good Claude's poison resistance is, "Hilda, was there any luck with Monica today?"
"Nothing," Hilda appears to sink into a worse mood. Oops. "Though I'm sure more people would have searched if they hadn't been flocking to the toilets."
Claude coughs. Leonie catches a grin he's trying best to conceal. Lysithea sees it, in turn grumbling about an, "idiot."
"We can search tomorrow," Marianne nervously tells Hilda.
The pinkette brightens slightly, "You'll really help."
"Yes."
Leonie doesn't offer, even as Ignatz and Raphael do. She does have a tournament to watch, a routine to slowly get back into.
She's still deciding if the Phantom of the Monastery needs to make a comeback or not. Suspicious if it does, suspicious if it doesn't. At least the rumors about it have died down with the explosion.
"Leonie?"
"Sorry, Hilda, I've already promised my time to a few other people."
There, that was diplomatic. Hilda can glare all she wants, she's as much of a flight risk as the others. Worse, seeing as only a handful of times will Hilda stay with Claude as the implied right hand of the Golden Deer house.
Leonie still has to fight for her spot in the class.
Ugh.
Taking it easy isn't as easy as she thought it'd be.
A/N: Lysithea notices things, Shamir senses things, and Leonie is the only main-class canon character taking band as an elective.
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