Chapter Twenty-Nine
1.
Danger Sense continues to be silent even as she's knocked back from Claude's sudden move, the floor quickly approaching. It's only from years of practice – and actual – falling that Leonie manages to get her hands behind her head in time to soften the blow. She still groans, Faith shield taking both fall damage and Claude's weight. "What was that for?"
He gets up faster, hand out to help her while his green eyes blaze, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Seemed like a good idea at the time, does not inspire correct answer logic at this moment. Does Leonie regret keeping quiet about how she was his pen pal all along? If she did, she wouldn't have stuck it out this far. However, a feeling of weight gets lifted now that their previous correspondence is out in the open… so maybe Leonie was at least a little bothered. She'll have to think about how it was weighing her down, because the feeling wasn't familiar in the way it presented; a bitter warmth like an itchy, suffocating sweater.
Focus on it later. Now is for figuring out why Claude had the sudden urge to confront her.
"I thought Godfrey might have told you?" It isn't a lie, but it also isn't the only reason she kept quiet. That you didn't care doesn't come out, because the hug made it obvious that he cares for something about the whole setup. Leonie will take some blame for assuming he'd put more effort into finding his pen pal if he cared about keeping the correspondence. The guy does have a House and territory to run, after all.
"He didn't," Claude shuts the door, never turning away from her. He leans against it, hands straining atop the wood as if trying to both push and keep himself in position. "No matter how often I asked. He couldn't even remember your name before we first met. I didn't even know L was in the Monastery until he forwarded me your last letter."
"O-oh," ouch, but Leonie can unfortunately relate to forgetting names. It's why she writes them down; the names of her last life's parents and the people she can remember tucked in a book she opens once a year. "Sorry. I figured out you were C once I realized you" – are Claude Riegan – "spelt your name with, erm, the letter C."
He manages a step off the wall, a hand coming up before pulling back to his chest as a fist, "Why didn't you say anything?"
Leonie shrugs and moves to his side. She disguises activating her privacy wards as putting up an arm on the wall to rest her head, "I thought if you knew, then you didn't care. And if you didn't know, well, it would have been awkward, wouldn't it? We didn't chat much when we had been travelling together, and by the time we were acquaintances I didn't think there was a need to mention it. Sorry if I was wrong. Feel free to like, yell at me or something."
"Why would I-" Claude groans, fingers further messing up his hair. "I am not going to yell at you, Leonie. I am a bit angry, sure. Definitely frustrated. This- this changes nothing and so much. Please, I need you to promise me this won't happen again. Promise to talk to me, about anything, no matter if you think it small or awkward to bring up."
"I promise," Leonie says, lie as easy as breathing because – hahaha, no – no way is she mentioning her goal of saving Jeralt. She is going to take her plans of breaking a fixed point to the grave if she can.
"This is a huge thing for you not to come to me about," Claude says, hands going to her shoulders, forcing her to stand up straight. "Don't go quiet again, alright? I don't ever want to lose a friend like this."
Oh.
Leonie layers her hands on his, expression reassuring even as her world crumbles at the ends. She has told people she wants to be friends with them, is their friend, or acts the way she remembers to be perceived as friendly. None of it has ever felt like friendship used to be, back before she was Leonie. In this life, Leonie wakes up, goes through the day, and falls asleep with a secure knowledge that she would not miss a single person if she were to cut and run. It isn't normal. Humans are made to form attachments, and the only thing Leonie would agonize over would be any weapons left behind.
While knowing that Claude is C, she forgot what he might experience if he never heard from the unknown L again. A part of her honestly thought Godfrey would have said something by now. Like Schrodinger's cat, never bringing up their correspondence meant their hypothetical pre-Monastery familiarity was both dead and alive. It meant never knowing if Claude knew and kept quiet or if he did not figure it out because L was a low priority. Leonie forgot the third option. For all Claude knew, L could have never made it to the Monastery or disappeared without a trace. L could have been Monica.
When was the last time someone said they were afraid to lose me?
"I'll keep you informed," about what I can, Leonie silently adds. She'll try to be better about not keeping secrets, but it is a hard habit to break and there are many things he would never believe. "You aren't going to lose me, and I'm going to do my best to make sure you make it through this year."
He laughs, the noise stiff as he squeezes her shoulders, "Is that a promise?"
"You bet it is."
Claude does something worse than screaming at her. Leonie could take screaming with a smirk or letting the words wash off her. She expects screaming and resentment when any of her secrets come to life. Not talking about the pen pal exchange for so long, Leonie thought there would be anger or awkward conversations.
Oh no.
Her House Leader's chuckle breaks into sobs and he pulls her into a hug. Claude cries, and Leonie's thoughts stutter as she is not able to comprehend this. Anyone else would probably feel incredibly guilty or try to start reassuring him. Maybe even ask what's wrong. Not her.
The woman activates some magic on herself, squirming just enough that, when Claude lets go, he gets picked up bridal style. After setting down the stunned, still-crying teen on her bed, Leonie sits. Puts his legs over hers. Finally returns the hug, all of her emotions pushed away to stop the mental gymnastics caused by his tears.
The Crest of Riegan is everywhere as Claude hugs back too tight and sobs like it has been a hard year. Her shoulder is completely damp as his head switches between tucking and resting against her. When he finally tires out, there is silence as the teen stares unseeing and resting on beside her neck.
Only when the Crest begins to recede, turning the warded room back into a void in the blanket, does Leonie say, "I'm not going to ask, because if I am going to tell you things then you also have to be honest. When you're ready, though."
Claude's breath is shaky, one arm unwinding from her to play with her hair, "How am I supposed to peacefully open Fódlan to the outside world when I cannot even have my orders followed for a useless mock battle?"
Well, that's certainly a lofty goal. "Get some likeminded people to help you, for starters. Trying to do something like that on your own isn't going to succeed in your lifetime unless you come across a miracle." He sits up to watch her, focused and serious. Leonie sighs and turns to face him, "You taking over the Roundtable will certainly help. If you can get the majority of nobles on your side, then you need to make sure you have an agreement or contract with the Empire, Kingdom, or Church. All three would be nice, but the day the Church doesn't suggest mass takeover of other countries will be the day I retire to a fishing village. If you can get either Edelgard or Dimitri on your side, then you'll have half of the continent for your plan once they take over their territory. Two-vs-two is much better than trying to face all three by yourself.
"Don't worry about the mock battle results. It's like you said, it was a useless thing for us. This was to test Professor Byleth, and maybe kickstart some of the House rivalry between the main classes. We all tried our best to win, and just because we lost this time doesn't mean we'll be the losers for everything. We learn from it and move on, no casualties to worry about. You'll get experience with Authority when Manuela teaches us about battalions. Shamir is going to teach us Close Counter. Maybe you'll pick up some magic. Then, when the year ends and everyone is safely back home, you can decide what kind of leader you want to be. You'll look at what you would gain and lose, and come to terms with how much of yourself you are willing to devote to leadership. Because being a leader means you'll lose something to keep others safe, and if your dream is to stop Fódlan's isolation and invasion of other countries then you risk a lot. If you succeed, though? There's a lot of gain and growth that would come to Fódlan."
Claude's eyes glow a lighter green as she talks, the inner ring barely moving. After the pause, he wonders, "How did you get so openminded?"
"Huh? I don't think it's being openminded. That's just logic, isn't it? Getting allies-"
"You aren't opposed to opening Fódlan's borders," he sounds tired. "Didn't even berate me for suggesting we do things peacefully. That is more then I have received from trying to mention it in Riegan Manor. Why are you okay with all of this when anyone else would berate me for my dream?"
She dares not voice the memories of a past life. Does not give hope of a place where there will no longer be walls between countries. Cannot bring forth any pity to tell him to run; there are no open borders when Byleth chooses the Eagles. Brigid's independence and success depends solely on Petra; Dagda is being changed from the inside out by the Church. Claude's idea of altering the Roundtable politics so Almyrans do not get attacked on sight at the border is a nice dream. However, with Byleth choosing Edelgard or Rhea, it leaves Claude better off to try with an Almyran army once the embers of war settle in Fódlan.
Not a word of this gets out of Leonie. Instead, she smiles her best and points to herself, "A mercenary shouldn't care about borders, only the paycheck."
He sighs, dropping back to lay on her bed. Claude stares at the ceiling, hand out until she grabs it. His hold is firm, radiating focus, "Do you really want to fight?"
"Sometimes-" she answers honestly, "-it feels like that was what I was born to do."
"Do you like it?"
The adrenaline, the thrill, a way she can smile, "…Yes. Does that bother you?"
"Not at all," he squeezes her hand. Locks onto her gaze, Crest strand carefully tapping against the shield on the hand he holds. "You mentioned learning Close Counter. Why do you want that?"
Her grin turns more real, a not-quite-greedy pulse flickering up her chest, "What's not to love about it? If I have it my way, our entire House will know Close Counter by the end of the next moon."
For as stressed and tired as he is, Claude's laugh sounds full of hope.
2.
Lorenz: Would someone please copy the diagram on the board? I will copy the notes our Professor has written.
Ignatz: I can do it!
Lorenz: Thank you, Ignatz.
Hilda: Does anyone know the word she just used?
Lysithea: Paucity. It means the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities.
Hilda: Excuse me? Is Manuela all but saying we should never use Reason magic.
Leonie: Yes.
Lorenz: Too much exposure to Reason magic is known to cause detriments to the body.
Claude: And delving into Faith magic has caused people to go insane.
Marianne: Those cases are rare.
Leonie: It still happens. And being near pointy objects means we're constantly at risk of being stabbed. We are here to learn how to not go crazy, cripple ourselves, or get stabbed by our own weapons. At least, we're supposed to learn this. I can't wait for Shamir and Catherine to come back.
Raphael: Would anyone mind if we started a study group? Most of this is going over my head.
Leonie: That's a great idea! I'm all for it. I'm always free an hour before dinner bell if we want to make it a come-when-you-can thing?
Raphael: I'd go to that!
Claude: Library is open that late. Is the time ever a problem for everyone?
Hilda: I guess not for me. Would we have to show up all of the time?
Claude: No, I can handle it.
Leonie: Thanks Claude! Everyone in?
Lysithea: Fine.
Lorenz: I will come.
Marianne: Okay.
Ignatz: I'll make it!
Claude: Great! We can have our first one tomorrow. Make sure to bring questions and topics you want to cover.
3.
For the second time that day, Claude knocks on her door.
"Seteth approved your request for a lost-and-found," he waves a thick stack of papers with a smug grin. "You just have to do the paperwork. I'm here to teach you how to do it."
Leonie groans, she knew Seteth would find a way to make things difficult. It might have even gone better if the had Church decided against it; she certainly has enough roughly outlined backup plans in case of a denial. Jokes on Seteth, though. The woman may not remember where she got the skills, but she is a master at paperwork, "I'm pretty good at filling things out. You probably don't have to stick around."
Claude follows her in anyways, unaware as the silencing wards activate around them as she pretends to be grabbing a jacket. He carefully pushes bits of metal to the side of her desk, laying out the papers in the space, "It's written in a completely different language. I have to teach it to you."
A sigh wracks her because obviously it couldn't be as easy as filling out a few plans, "Of course it is. Well, alright. And I guess I'm not allowed to keep a copy of the alphabet?"
He laughs, "That is correct." When she's in the chair, metal pen in hand, he points to the sheet with the new letters. "Do you think you can copy this exactly?"
"Absolutely," she makes sure to memorize each curve and flourish before testing it out. Claude starts vibrating in place once he realizes she has written out an exact replica of his sheet. "Let's see if I can't get the hang of this in a couple of hours."
Giddy, he tugs at her hair, "What can't you do?"
"Make a good meal," she traces out the letters a few more times. "I can hunt and cook things thoroughly, but if you want anything fancy then you're out of luck?"
"Can you sing?"
"Yes. You?"
"Of course," he bends over to see her work. "Didn't you know? All of the nobles who have children that can hold a tune like to show off anything new their spawns produce. It is unfortunate for them that poetry is not in my repertoire of skills. Yet."
She snorts, "I'm sure Manuela would love to assist you with that. Feel free to drag me along if you go to her. There's a reason I chose band as a club, but I'll suffer through a few hymns if your poetry is going to save the world. Now, Professor Claude, how does this language translate?"
4.
"As some of you may know," Flayn begins, handing out papers, "we will be the ones playing during the end of year dance. You will be separated into two groups; one will play the first half of the night and the other will play the second. If you are not comfortable, this is your last chance to drop out of the club. Participation for this is mandatory."
No one leaves, but students are beginning to look nervous.
"These are the songs that have been approved for the year end dance. We have not been recruited for any of the celebrations this year, so in between practicing for the dance we will be preparing a song for the school that we have chosen."
Everyone starts looking more interested, meanwhile Leonie watches the proceedings with faint amusement. Flayn is doing her best to get some control over her class beyond what the Church allows. The band instructor notes down every suggested song, always so happy when she hears a new name. Once the options have been exhausted, Flayn mentions they could possibly do more then one if the practice for the end of year dance goes well.
Leonie ends up in the lesser number of people for her thinly disguised group project. She'll be performing at the dance with two Black Eagles, Avinna and Kaveran. Kaveran at least waves at the end of practice when he's pulled out of the room by Avinna. Vernan grumbles as his classmates run away.
"Are you glad to get the group of four?" Leonie asks him, waving goodbye to Flayn as they go for lunch.
"Yes," he grunts, expression showcasing all of his displeasure for who he must play with. He doesn't comment on being the only Eagle in a group of Lions. "Let me know if Avinna and Kaveran do not practice with you."
"I will, but I'll also hunt them down next month if they never approach me. How's Aurora? I haven't spoken to her recently."
His expression sours further, "She has been doing well in her clubs. Our House Professor…"
Oh? "What's up with Byleth?"
Vernan makes sure no one is around before muttering, "He does not spend much time assisting the secondary and extra classes."
Interesting, "Hopefully he's just getting a feel for things. If it continues, know the Golden Deer House is always open. No matter how much Manuela bothers me, she does split her time evenly between her House levels."
He grunts, "Aurora will speak with you if the issue persists."
5.
Finally, Leonie isn't forced to carry the conversation as Dorothea puts her tea down and faces Mercedes, "I do not appreciate you withholding information when you don't need to. We are supposed to be a team, the three of us. I would not have told anyone that you were going to be in the mock battle, and I doubt Leonie would have either. Why did you not say anything?"
"It was a competition between Houses," Mercedes wrings her hands, voice losing some of the airy tone. "Our goal is to keep our classes from turning on each other. I did not think this was something I needed to share with you."
Dorothea isn't happy, aggravated sigh escaping, "The damage control- but no, I guess you didn't think of that. Mercedes, I need to trust that you will tell me things that may affect the relationship between our Houses. I didn't expect a list of people going into the mock battle, but knowing you were entering would have helped me prepare for how we could all react depending on who won or lost. There has been a lot of disparage towards the commoner students because the Black Eagles – the only House without a commoner student in the mock battle – won. You cannot tell me you haven't noticed."
Mercedes ducks her head, "I thought it was because I lost."
Leonie winces, she hadn't predicted the backlash either and deals with the consequences whenever she leaves her room. With how busy she's been, it didn't feel different from the usual disdain or mockery she gets when there's no other main class student around. Then Hilda scripted a message, and a plan. Leonie pipes up, "No, it's all of us. I've been trying to take the most heat for the Golden Deer – been making myself seen the most – but a lot of vocal students have been thinking about going to Seteth to demand the commoners be switched out of the main classes. Hilda's gotten involved because a few creeps thought Marianne was a commoner and were insulting her where the other nobles could hear."
"Thank the Goddess," Dorothea mutters, relaxing. "She'll stomp that out fast, then. You vice leader's network is magical to watch."
"I am sorry," Mercedes wipes away a few tears. She takes the handkerchief Dorothea produces. "I did not realize what would come about from withholding the information."
"We cannot predict the future," Leonie shrugs.
"If you will not trust us," Dorothea is stern towards the Lion, "then we end this now. No hard feelings. It was a good run and we move on to focus on our Houses by ourselves. If you want to continue working together, then you have to trust us with things that could directly affect relationships between our Houses, Mercedes."
"I want to keep working on this," the young woman nods, voice tight, soft, and focused. "I do not want to lose your friendships, nor see any of us fall out of our classes. I will not hide information like that again. I promise."
Dorothea nods, lips pressed together like she isn't sure whether to accept or not. Leonie takes the time to grin and nod back at their Lion, "Sounds good to me. Guess this is when I tell you that the Golden Deer are putting together a study group. Took a while to sort out, but Claude and Hilda or Lysithea and I will be found in the library an hour before the dinner bell's first ring. We're going through review and studying the materials our Professor won't cover. All of Golden Deer are welcome, and we're only allowing people from main class Eagles or Lions to join. If your other Housemates want a study group, get your own."
Leonie isn't going to say anything about Scribing. She can live with it if that's the secret that tears this alliance apart. Her main class is going out of their way to make sure their books stay a secret, and she won't throw away all their work.
Dorothea chuckles, "Why not allow any of the other secondary or extra classes?"
"Too many people, and the majority have ruined it for the whole with their dislike of the Golden Deer."
"Disappointing, but I can understand the reasoning. I may recommend a few of my classmates join you, is that alright?"
"We aren't advertising it, so make sure they talk to me first if they wish to join sometime in the next week."
6.
"Leonie, get down from the rafters."
"You're back!" the young woman cheers, flipping in the air to land with cat-like grace on all fours. Jeritza never says anything about her hanging around the beams of the training grounds, so she thought it had been alright if no Knights or instructors were around. She quickly straightens and waves, "Hi Shamir!"
Their archery professor stalks into the sunlight, Cyril trailing behind her. Intense purple eyes watch as the Golden Deer main class line up, "So, you're the best of the bunch. Tell me, before the bow tournament, who here had never held a bow before?"
Lysithea and Marianne raise their hands.
"At least you're honest. Hands down. Now, who here actually wants to make the bow one of their main weapons?"
Claude, Ignatz, and Leonie.
"More then the usual. Alright, here's the thing. Like any weapon, some people are naturals with the bow. Unlike other weapons, not just anyone can pick up a bow and shoot. By the end of the year, I expect all of you to be able to hit a stationary target. I will fail anyone who cannot. Go grab a bow and line up single file beside the third sparring arena."
Other Houses can brag about their focuses all they want, only the Golden Deer can consistently back up what they're known for. Even Raphael, the worst of the Deer with a bow, has amazing form and knows how to properly shoot because of his best friend. Lysithea doesn't have the strength but can aim. Marianne, Hilda, and Lorenz have enough of the basics that Shamir declares a change in her unfair pass-fail marking scheme.
"Jeritza and I will throw targets into the air," their professor explains. "If you can hit the majority of them, then I'll let you pass this class since you all can achieve what most of your fellow students cannot. If you can hit them all upside-down, then I will automatically update your bow record to A+."
Claude releases his arrow, and a second later it buries into the straw dummy's head. He asks a challenging, "Can you shoot upside-down, professor?"
"Yes. I will only teach those who want to learn and do well with flying mounts."
"No," Leonie groans. "You mean we can't fire from the rafters?"
"Mounted or not at all, Leonie."
7.
Tomas is a good sport – or is lulling them into a false sense of security in order to kidnap them later – about all fourteen Golden Deer students practically taking over the library an hour before dinner. He only asks once if they need anything, and then watches the chaos from afar.
"We found the books!" Leonie and Raphael set down the stacks Hilda had them fetch.
"Great," the noble lady shuffles them into different piles. "Here, Lorenz, this is the one you suggested. Make notes of the pages that have to do with these topics."
"It will be done."
"Claude, Lysithea, Penelope, how's it coming?"
"So far so good," their House Leader holds up the planner the three have been making notes on. "We should have a better schedule tomorrow."
"You better. Tristen, Gregory, anything important from the history sections?"
"Nothing yet, Hilda."
"Keep searching. Leonie, Raphael, take a few minutes break."
Leonie swings around a chair, sitting backwards at an empty table and waving Raphael over, "Is there anything from class that you wanted to go over now?"
The teen laughs, hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "Maybe the Macuil Faith Diagram? Professor Manuela only showed us for a few seconds and I wanted to know more about it. It seemed really important!"
"Gotcha!" she pulls over a free sheet of paper and begins drawing the diagram. "I only know this one because Lysithea has drilled it into my head. The Macuil Faith Diagram is the base magical array for imbuing Faith magics into weapons. It can be rather tricky because it will work differently depending on if you apply the standard formation or mirror formation. Not that I've been able to see it in action for either; only the really high-ranked Faith users can make this stick onto weapons. I can't get anything when I try it.
"Anyways, standard formation means that the person you hit with your weapon will get healed. This was why legendary healers are said to be wielding staves. The array would easily stick to the wood, and the healers would run around clubbing their allies to heal them."
Raphael laughs, "But wait, does that mean no one has been strong enough to make a healing staff since a bunch of legends were made?"
"I'm sure we've had some, but I don't know any. I think it fell out of style when books were made? No idea, maybe we can find it in the history books. Oh, and mirror formation is super rare because the caster needs to be S+ rank to apply it and have it work. It's used to pierce Faith shields for either an attack or Rescue."
"Rescue, as in the Faith spell?"
"Yep! I think it's a book now because, from what I read, it seems like Rescue had to hit the target back when it was attached to a weapon. Archers and javelin throwers were the only ones who could use it, but if they missed their target then they ran the risk of summoning enemies to them."
"That makes sense, I guess… But how come we don't use something like this instead of the Reason magic teleporters?"
"Unless it's in a book, the mirror formation of the Macuil Faith Diagram is one-time use. With the books you channel the spell through yourself. On weapons, it ends up self-destructing in order to activate. The Reason-based teleporters can be moved and reused easily, they don't reply on casters to channel it, so it's more cost effective."
"Wow, why didn't Manuela cover any of this?"
Leonie shrugs, she likely didn't think we could ever use it. "No idea."
"Hey, you two!" Hilda appears at their table. "Break time's over, I have another list."
"On it, Vice Leader!"
8.
"You have a great view of the Knights dormitories," Leonie laments before chugging her water. Jeralt is currently refusing to make or take any tea, throwing back a swig of his beer at too-early-for-this o'clock. He's the one to invite her via shouting from the window of his swanky office. And here Leonie thought she'd actually have a productive free day. Oh well, at least she can rule out his tower as a place to save him. All that can be seen from it are the front parts of the Monastery, not the hidden areas. "Any promising recruits?"
Knight Captain Jeralt scowls, "The only recruits are the kids from last year's batch of the Officer's Academy, and they were the worst of the bunch. Lazy, unmotivated, and some have a love of violence that never got tempered. It is going to be a mess trying to make all of them into something more than glorified thugs."
She snickers into her glass, "Glad I don't have your job."
"I'm sure Alois would hand it to you after I retire again," it's his turn to chuckle at her. "Then these brats and the Church snobs would be your problem."
"No thanks," Leonie makes a horrified face. "Stop threatening to hand me your job. I might just take your Company and leave you here to rot with the nobles."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me, Captain."
A knock on the door breaks them from their sneering contest. Both sit back quickly, expressions smoothing into something less hostile. Leonie waves at the newcomer, smiling like she hadn't been daydreaming about sparring with Jeralt, "Hi Professor Byleth!"
"Hey kid," Jeralt waves at his son. "I thought you had a meeting with Seteth this morning."
"Not for another hour," the young man blinks, looking between them. Leonie tugs at her fingerless gloves, trying not to stare at the hair that's clearly grown longer than what's acceptable for a mullet. "Am I interrupting?"
"Not at all," Leonie waves again and bares a few teeth towards the Captain. "This guy was just teaching me a trick with alcohol and Faith magic."
"Come on in," Jeralt sighs and pours some of his beer into a magically-there shot glass. Leonie is impressed, she didn't even see him move to get it. "You remember the sobering trick I taught you, right? Leonie's too much of a coward to try alcohol, and no way am I getting Seteth on my case for teaching her with poison. Care to demonstrate?"
"Okay," Byleth takes a seat. Meets Leonie's gaze with a near dead-eye stare. There's something a little too focused on his expression that throws the emotionless mask off, as if she is a bug he is not sure belongs in the room. "Watch my mouth."
She does, even as bright red and green colours hover just behind him for the moment the drink tilts back. The trick is slight, Byleth letting out a small breath to dissipate the toxins that hovered on his Faith shield.
"How did you filter it and not choke?" she wonders, staunchly ignoring what may or may not have been a hallucination. After all, only Byleth can see Sothis. All that colourful blur was, was a trick of the light.
"Faith shield rebound," he mutters, expertly twirling the empty shot glass in his palm. "It cannot work for anything more solid than a liquid, and you must be careful to make it heat up enough to turn into air lest someone catch you doing it."
"That sounds awesome," Leonie grins and keeps watching his blue eyes. Not a single thing is given away from this blank canvas of a person. "I will definitely keep working on it. Thanks Professor!"
"Not with poisons," Jeralt reminds her.
"Of course, Captain!"
9.
"Hey you! You with the orange hair! Yes, you! Get up here!"
Honestly, Leonie thought she'd manage to get something planned done on her free day. Anything at all. Guess not.
At the top of the stairs, standing in front of the fake doors of what used to be the sauna, a group of three men of varying ages watch her. The oldest is the head janitor of the Monastery, a mess of scars littering his visible skin and permanent scowl that twists into a softer grimace when he catches sight of Leonie. They know each other decently because of how often she helps Cyril, otherwise she cleans up too well after herself to ever get summoned for a lecture.
The youngest is still older than Leonie, the sixth son of a noble who's Crest is just strong enough to bump him up to priest training without years of doing busywork for the Church. He's timid, enough that only through a miracle would he ever get bumped up to anything besides the paper fetching of clerical work.
The man who called for her, dressed in loose robs and no shoes, is someone she has never seen before. He smiles, bright and eager as he looks her up and down, "How good is your control with fire magic?"
She'll forever wonder if it's the orange hair that gives away her magical inclination. Not quite sure how good a first year Officer's Academy student should be for their main magic's manipulation level, Leonie does not demonstrate her favourite trick to show kids. There's a shrug combined with, "I'm decent. Why?"
He whips out two pieces of metal from nowhere, "Can you melt these together?"
She blinks, first at him and then at the decent size bits, "If you hold still…"
To big to wrap her fists around, Leonie nudges the guy's hands until the pieces touch. She then holds up a finger, careful to light the flame above her Faith shield. It starts red, a barely there flickering as the woman desperately holds back her output. She hasn't had enough exercise to shed some energy today, meaning that she could blind them all with a white flame if her concentration slips. It takes a few seconds of adjusting before she produces a blue flame. Her hand mimics a blowtorch, flame on her finger slowly melting the metal together.
For show, Leonie blows out the flame. The strange man twists the object back and forth, eyes gleaming in what appears to be boundless excitement. "Your technique could use some work. This is… wow, though. I haven't seen a person produce something like this with such a small flame since my sister. Not even our brother could do this, and he was a master of crafts."
"Leonie," grunts the head janitor, "meet Indy. He's here to fix the sauna. Indy, this is Leonie, one of the Golden Deer students."
"Nice to meet you," she chirps.
"Likewise," he makes an aborted move towards her. When the metal disappears from his hands, there's a ripple in the Crest blanket. The smell of the ocean and a malleable feeling – as if drifting on a still lake – come and go. His eyes dart to and from her, nearly all his earlier eagerness turning to nerves. It's as if he has only just remembered there are others here. "Erm, right. Fixing the sauna. We need someone who can weld the new pipes together. Can you do that?"
There goes my day, "Sure thing!"
Indy lights up again, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards the fake doors like it's only the two of them.
10.
Tired from a full day of learning about magical plumbing and working with the elusive sauna designer that she will likely never see again, Leonie groans and drops face-first into her bed. Indy worked them all hard with heavy lifting and lectures about how everything works. Now, Leonie can confidently say that she can recreate the magical plumbing if there were ever a need and a backhoe around. Digging and laying everything by hand would not be worth it unless she decides to stick to one place for the rest of her life. Sure, everyone else could benefit from her knowledge, but Leonie isn't going to just create something and leave it to rot. She'd have to pass on the knowledge to others, and there is no way she would have the patience to teach like Indy did.
Maybe she could do an enhanced filtration system for her project for Manuela? That would require explaining where she got the knowledge from, and Leonie's already halfway through the design of her current idea. Best not to mess around with Church patented works or try to find the elusive Indy for a reference. The guy was clingier than Bernadetta.
A magical alert pings at Leonie's senses at the same time someone knocks on her door. The woman groans again and turns off her silencing wards to answer. Outside, Hilda and Marianne jump when Leonie tries to muster a smile. She drops the pretense, crossing her arms and resting against the doorframe, "What's up?"
Hilda smiles like the angel she pretends to be, "Can we come in?"
Leonie steps back and motions them onwards. Hilda takes the chair while Marianne awkwardly hovers behind the pinkette's shoulder. Leonie activates the wards again, leaning against the wall to watch and see if they give anything away. Hilda, at least, does not look like anything is out of the ordinary. "Again, what's up?"
"We need ideas for Manuela's project," the pinkette gets straight to the point. "We both agreed that we want to do something to benefit the children in Fódlan and, somehow, you are the only person here we know who has plenty of experience entertaining kids."
No way, Leonie thinks before a quick follow up of, she has to be joking, and, they're not joking.
"I'm…" the eldest in the room looks between the nobles, "sure we can come up with something. I'm working on a more technical project, so it's not stepping on my toes. There are… a lot… of… games… that I used to play with the kids back home. If you don't recognize one, then I guess you could use it?"
Oh no. What's a game that no one plays in Fódlan? What's something stupidly easy that the Church wouldn't look twice at?
"That sounds alright," Hilda nods, completely oblivious to Leonie's faint panicking. "What is something easy to make or play? We can start there."
"Um," orange eyes dart their gaze around the room, ending on the desk. "Marbles!" Reaches into her side pouch and pulls out the first bag she touches without ever looking. A quick feel confirms all the objects inside are round. Marianne swiftly comes over to grab the offered bag.
"Oh," Hilda drawls, watching Marianne open it. "What is marbles?"
"Ah, well, a marble is what we'd call the little balls that we played with. We called the game marbles because it was easy to remember that way. The balls are usually smooth and rounded bits of metal or glass-"
Where Marianne once stood is now a blue-with-black-stripes tiger.
Hilda, appropriately, screams.
The tiger screams as well, backing itself into a corner and staring at its paws like they have never been seen before.
Leonie blinks dumbly, and then picks up one of the marbles that had rolled out of the dropped bag, "Oh s**t."
The unknown, inactive Crest stares back.
"What is that?!" Hilda is screaming, ducking and pushing Leonie forwards. "What is that?!"
"I," and she cannot believe she's saying this, "think that's Marianne."
"WHAT?!"
"I think she turned into a tiger."
"A WHAT?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!"
"Good question," Leonie mutters. Steels her resolve – break it and buy it – and gets down on one knee. Drops the mistaken-identity-marble Crest Stone and holds out a hand. "Okay. Okay. Marianne. I need you to stop and listen to me. Can you do that?"
The tiger – Marianne – whimpers. She slowly uncoils from a pounce-ready cowering position.
"Okay. Good. Alright. I think- I think the marble you held was actually a Crest of an animal. I don't know how that was in there, but we'll figure it all out once you change back. Do you still have the marble in your, er, paw?"
Marianne shakes her head.
"Okay, That's okay. We're going to try an old mythos way then. It's nothing bad! Just a little… vague. Have you ever heard of beaststones? No? Well, once there was a race of people who could turn into animals as long as they had a beaststone. They would wear this stone in order to not lose it during their transformation. Before it became tradition to wear it, they would absorb the stone until their energy ran out or they stopped the effects of the stone themselves. Now, Marianne, I need you to close your eyes and do you best to clear your mind.
"Listen to only my voice. Breathe in. Breathe out. Imagine your hands are in front of you. Imagine they are both clasped tightly, and in one hand is the stone you grabbed. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slowly unclench the empty hand. Breathe in. Breathe out. Unclench your other hand. Tilt it down and watch the stone roll off."
There's a tink as a stone hits the floor. On all fours, Marianne is human.
"Okay, open your eyes."
Marianne does, and proceeds to cry when she spots her own fingers. Hilda rushes over to hug the teen, breaking into tears with her.
Leonie goes around, picking up the Crest Stones, very conflicted about exploring this further or making a pact that they all forget this ever happened.
"Where did you get those stones?" Hilda sniffles.
So much for brushing this off, "I found them a long time ago. That has never happened before. Are you… okay, Marianne?"
"I will be," she sobs into a handkerchief. "It didn't hurt. That was so shocking. What… what was I?"
"You said it was a tiger," Hilda narrows her eyes, "I've never heard of that creature before."
Leonie has no idea if this world ever had tigers. There's a tiny struggle coming up with a response, but Leonie's lied about bigger things before, "We had a researcher come through my village once and show off a bunch of art of mythical and rare creatures. A tiger was one of them. I didn't think I'd ever see one. It's… uh… would you… like to keep the stone?"
Everyone goes quiet at the question. Hilda looks like she wants to say no for her friend, but this is Marianne's show now. After a moment, the bluette makes quick eye contact with Leonie, "Can you give me the bag?"
Leonie does, and with a deep breath Marianne starts pulling out and looking at the stones.
"I can feel the transformation waiting when I hold them," the teen breathes, unshed tears drying as the awe sets in. "This… I think this has something to do with my Crest."
Leonie makes a noise, eyes darting to the wall, "Should we… call Lysithea in?"
Hilda shakes her head, "Absolutely not!"
"Lysithea does know the most about Crests in our House. Unless you want to take this to Hanneman."
"No," Marianne is the one to whisper that out. The bag gets clutched to her chest. Any fear of the stones has gone, as if it is meant to be with her. "No, no one else. I… maybe Lysithea, but no one else. People already dislike me. If this were to get out to the Church…"
"It will not get out," Hilda is firm, Leonie dares not argue. "You will be safe, Marianne. I swear to you, I will not tell anyone about this."
The pinkette glares at Leonie. The woman sighs, "Claude should probably know, if only so we have our House Leader's support in this. He can keep a secret."
"We are not telling Claude."
"Fine," Leonie will nudge Claude in this direction instead. That way she's not exactly keeping something from him. Just… trying to get him to figure it out. The woman stands, dusting off her clothes, and gives up a secret in return for the accidental trauma they all got, "I'll go get Lysithea. Do you want me to keep the privacy wards on or shut them off while I'm out?"
"The what?"
"Privacy wards. You looked like you wanted to talk about something serious, so I turned them on. What? Why else would no one have come when you started screaming?"
A/N: The Golden Deer are very stressed, Leonie is unaware of anyone's true ulterior motives, and we find out the power of inert Crests Stones.
Thank you so much for reading! A really big thank you to xenocanaan, SchattenSoldat08, joshiro99, NihthKuro, Cobra-100, IReadNoNonsense, EmptySpot, guisniperman, Monkey D. Umi, OnHoldIndefinitely, Hong-Meirin, Xekinor, Guest, Faranon423, DestructionDragon360, AryaZEvans, EmpirePlayer, and Guest for reviewing! The support truly means a lot!
For those curious, there is no current plan to do anything big like Claude's interlude (Chapter 19). If another one like that does happen, it will be for Byleth, Hilda, or Lysithea. There are plans for Point of View (POV) switches like in Chapter 10, but later in the story. It is subject to change depending on another outline revision, but there will be at least one more somewhere.
I hope everyone is well and has a great day! Please take care