"Good job everybody." Rean praised the four tired students at the end of the school day, "Have fun with your club activities and I'll see you all later. Altina?"
"Understood." The youngest of the group affirmed before standing, "Stand. Bow."
Fie found proper classroom decorum to be annoying, but any warrior worth their salt knew how to pick and choose their battles. Reluctantly she followed the lead of the others as they watched their homeroom teacher depart.
If the students of the Branch Campus thought there would be any reprieve after their adventures in Sutherland they were sadly mistaken. Classes had resumed the day after their return. Three days after that and Fie was certain that not only had they resumed, but that their teachers were feeding them crap that was even more useless then the month before.
Outside of that things had been the same. Wake up at a stupidly early hour. Sit through a bunch of classes that threatened to put her back to sleep. Go do club activities with the Cooking Club. Hang out with her classmates. Sleep.
There was one major difference in the classroom dynamic since returning, however. "I need to meet up with Jessica and Louise." Juna announced before standing and making her exit in a rush, looking everywhere except in the direction of the former jaeger.
"I get the feeling that she's wary of you..." Actually, there were two major differences as Kurt gazed between her and the door their classmate had exited thoughtfully.
"That's pretty funny coming from you." She couldn't deny his words, but the fact it was Kurt of all people saying them was pretty ironic.
Their final classmate tilted her head in thought, "I've noticed she's been acting strangely in the dorms, too. I first noticed it during our final day in Sutherland. I can only assume it is related to the revelations in Hamel."
"That Fie was once a jaeger?"
The girl in question let out a tired sigh, "It makes sense, I guess. I heard the Red Constellation made a mess out of Crossbell a couple years back. I'd be wary of me too." At least she was only wary and not outright hostile.
"I had been led to believe that all of the drama would have ended once you befriended Kurt." Although Altina's expression changed little the telltale sign of annoyance was present.
"Ahaha..." The swordsman wilted a little under her flat stare, "I'm sorry?" He continued to shrink until a barely mollified bunny finally turned her gaze away. Recovering, Kurt brought his gaze back to Fie, "Are you going to let this play out on it's own? I am sure that Juna will eventually-"
"Nah." Fie was quick to cut him off, "I learned my lesson dealing with you. I already have an idea in mind, actually. Gonna need you guys to help pull it off, though."
Both Kurt and Altina leaned in with interest as the silver-haired girl explained her plan.
Fie found herself tapping her foot nervously as she sat at one of the couches in the dorm lobby late that evening. The others would be arriving soon, but that only led to her feeling an anxiety she couldn't ever remember feeling before. This was her idea, and yet as the time drew near she couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach. Was she even ready for this?
Fortunately the room was deserted with most of the other students having gone to their rooms for the night. The upcoming conversation wasn't one she was willing to have with random people at the moment. Just her closest friends was already a daunting enough prospect as is.
Footsteps alerted Fie to the first arrivals. The mop of blonde informed the girl that her engineer friend was first, but right behind her was their other club member Sandy. As soon as they noticed her sitting there they approached, "What is it you wanted to talk about?" A concerned Tita asked as the two took their seats opposite her.
Silver hair flew about as she shook her head, "The others will be here soon. I'll tell you then." Tita and Sandy were confused, but mollified. The former jaeger was grateful for the ensuing silence as it gave her time to gather her thoughts for the upcoming conversation.
"What's going on? Where are we going?" A silence that ended soon enough as the sound of her Crossbellian classmate reached her ears.
"It will all be clear soon enough." The calmer voice of Kurt rang out in reply.
The first member of Class VII down the stairs was Altina, who gave a nod once she spotted her fellow quiet classmate, "Mission accomplished."
The mission being to convince Juna to follow them. Had Fie asked her pink-haired roommate herself she wasn't sure Juna would have complied, but having Altina and Kurt do so instead seemed to have worked like a charm. Of course not telling the girl their intent served to irritate her, but that was a price that Fie was more than willing to pay.
Just behind Altina came Juna and Kurt. While the latter approached wordlessly the former let out a sigh as realization dawned, but quickly followed suit, "I take it that whatever this is was your idea?"
"Mmm." Fie agreed with a nod, "You guys all probably have the gist of it already, but after everything that happened in Sutherland I thought I should talk to you all. Clear the air and all that."
The gunblade wielder frowned as she noticed her hands were shaking a little bit as she spoke. That she could feel so nervous about having this conversation to a bunch of people she only met a month ago was a testament to just how comfortable she had gotten here. These people had somehow become the closest things to friends the former jaeger possessed, and while she had little doubt they would be receptive to her words given how soft they were it was still a daunting prospect.
Still, there was no backing out now that she was this far in. Taking a second to compose herself Fie glanced around at the five individuals situated on the couches around her.
There was Sandy and Tita. Two students from a different class who had accepted her into their club and befriended her despite knowing absolutely nothing about her. The last few days they had been hard at work teaching the less experienced girl how to cook something beyond a simple field ration.
Across from Tita was Juna. The girl was loud, brash, reckless, and carrying a chip on her shoulder the size of Erebonia itself. Despite that she had a refreshingly bright no-nonsense attitude and had proven herself to be a reliable teammate capable of motivating her and the others into doing loud, brash, and reckless things.
Beside her was Kurt. It was odd to think that he had been hostile towards her for most of their stay at Thors, and yet despite that - or perhaps because of it? - Fie found herself appreciating the Vander quite a bit. Despite their vastly different upbringings they both had a fervent need to prove their strength, both to themselves and to others. Things she never would have imagined thinking a week ago.
Finally there was Altina. Despite being the one whom Fie had shared the least amount of words with she considered the intelligence agent to be a kindred spirit. She couldn't help but want to be close with her fellow quiet snarky girl. While Fie obviously knew of the circumstances that caused herself to become so quiet and guarded, the tiny girl was still a mystery to her. A mystery that she was quite interested in solving at some point.
Somehow these five individuals had managed to slip past the guard she had erected for herself. She wasn't sure if it was because they had been there during her lowest points or if it was a simple inevitably after living together for a month, but it had happened.
They had become her friends.
With five expectant pairs of eyes upon her Fie had to swallow nervously. This was a lot harder than she had expected. Still, just sitting here awkwardly under their gaze was just as painful to the girl who usually preferred being in the shadows.
She forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat before continuing, "...I want to tell you guys about me."
The reactions were varied but noticeable. Tita sat up straight before giving a nod of assent. Beside her Sandy merely smiled warmly. Altina – despite probably already knowing everything – tilted her head, interest plainly visible despite her stoic expression.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say that would be quite appreciated." Kurt spoke up before turning his attention to the girl seated beside him, "Isn't that right, Juna?"
"Uh, yeah." The pinkette had wide eyes as she stared at Fie. "I want to... No. I need to know more about you."
The former jaeger nodded her head, "Good, 'cause you're the main reason I'm doing this now." Juna flushed slightly at the tease.
Sadly that moment of levity ended all too quickly and Fie knew it was time to begin, "My earliest memories are of a battlefield. I dunno where. Dunno when it was or why I was there either. All I know is that I was there. Just a lost single girl trying to survive in one of the most hostile places in Zemuria."
Those early memories were so vague that Fie would have thought she had made it up, but there was one thing that stuck with her to this day that ensured her memories were true: The smell. Acrid smoke. The blood of the dead and dying. The stench of decay and death. Even if she could no longer remember her family or her home she would never forget the smell of the battlefield.
"Eventually I was found by a group of jaegers who had been fighting there. Surprisingly they decided to take me with them. They were Zephyr, one of the most elite jaeger corps on the continent That was when I met... him."
Despite herself she couldn't help but adopt a fond smile, "He was known as the Jaeger King. The leader of Zephyr and one of the most feared warriors around. But to me he was the closest thing I can remember to a father. Even my name came from him – Rutger Claussell."
"At first I helped out with some of the camp chores. I think I was something of a mascot to the others. But one can't remain a jaeger for long without knowing how to fight. Boss was reluctant, but the others started teaching me how to fight. He eventually allowed me to officially join the unit and even gave me my gunblades 'cause I was quick and stealthy."
Fie hummed to herself, "I think I was ten when I fought my first real battle?" She wasn't surprised to see a few of her listeners shift uncomfortably at that revelation. She merely shrugged in response. She might have been young, but fighting alongside her family made her happy. It definitely beat sitting around at camp waiting to see who would come back.
"For the next few years I fought as a member of Zephyr. It wasn't always easy and there were plenty of times when I was sure I would die, but somehow I always made it through. Pretty sure the Boss, Xeno, and Leo were keeping an eye on me during those days to make sure I didn't get in over my head. I even earned myself a nickname like a lot of jaegers do – Sylphid.
Those days weren't easy, but I was happy. Zephyr was the closest thing I had ever had to a family, so I didn't mind. Even with the possibility of death hanging over my head I was young and naive and always thought things would continue like that forever. That was until that day two years ago came..." She all but spat out those last words.
Fie needed a second to recompose herself as her thoughts drifted to those horrid final days, "There was one other jaeger corps powerful enough to rival Zephyr - The Red Constellation. Shirley's group. Their leader was Baldur Orlando, also known as the War God." She noticed a few eyes narrow at the name and decided to answer the unspoken question, "Yup. That was Randy's dad."
She felt a little bad giving away his family info like that, but the guy seemed to freely talk about his cousin so it was probably alright.
"He and the Boss were old rivals and so they decided to settle things with one final duel between legends. For three days and three nights the two fought with everything they had while the rest of us could only watch on." She let out a small laugh that in no way fit the situation, "I remember Shirley wandering into our camp while following a stray cat. We ended up spending a day together watching the fight while playing with the kitten."
Fie couldn't help but think back on that stray kitten. With everything that had happened after, the fate of the feline had slipped her mind completely. Did that little furball manage to get back to her old family. Or maybe she kept running and eventually found a new home in the end?
"When the battle was over both the Boss and the War God were dead-" Given recent events Fie paused to clarify, "They were definitely dead. We all confirmed it. Nobody can fake injuries like that."
And yet for some reason that same corpse had just been walking around in the Sutherland province chatting with her like absolutely nothing had happened. Even if she was starting to sort out her feelings on the matter the complete and utter impossibility of that event still defied belief.
"After that the Zephyr I knew and love suddenly disbanded. Everyone left and suddenly I was all alone again. At the time I had no idea why they did it." Thanks to their recent conversation she now did. She definitely didn't agree with his decision, but it was the kind of crazy idea Boss would come up with. He had never been fully onboard with her being a jaeger in the first place, after all.
"With nothing else to do I eventually started taking up mercenary work. It wasn't easy, but with war brewing and the Bracer Guild basically out of action people were willing to hire a lone fifteen year old girl to do their work. I would do anything, from monster exterminations to espionage. Once the war started I was even busier as there was always demand for someone willing to go against the Noble Alliance forces occupying the cities.
She let out a tired sigh, "But the war ended so suddenly, leaving me in the dust again." One day business had been booming as the alliance was on the verge of victory, only for much of eastern Erebonia to be liberated almost overnight. She remembered hearing rumors of an Ashen Knight driving back the nobles on all fronts.
...Wait. Did that mean she should be blaming Rean for the loss of business?
Shaking her head of those random thoughts the silver-haired girl continued to her captivated audience, "With the Imperial Army in resurgence work dried up quickly. Not even the wars in Crossbell or North Ambria made much of a difference as they happened so quickly." She and everyone else tactfully ignored Juna's frustrated growl, "Peace is good for most people, but for a lone mercenary with no other skills to speak of? It sucked."
"Outside of a few odd jobs for desperate nobles trying to hide the skeletons in their closets before the government cracked down on them I was out of work. I did whatever I could to survive. Occasionally I was even forced to resort to petty theft and banditry." She grimaced at that. While she might not have the morals of most people she still had her pride. A jaeger of Zephyr should never be forced to stoop to such desperate measures.
"It was one of those thefts that led to me arriving here. I had been hanging out in the Kreuzen Province when I heard about a shipment of surplus gear and supplies the provincial army was getting rid of thanks to the forced downsizing of the provincial armies. Stuff that I needed really bad." Fie let out a bitter laugh, "It sounded too good to be true, but I was desperate enough to bite.
Sure enough, it ended up being a trap. I dunno if they were targeting me specifically or not, but the lightly guarded convoy I was raiding turned out to be a trap. Next thing I knew I was under arrest and locked away inside Bareahard."
As her tale drew to a close the young girl slumped into her seat, "Thought I was gonna be locked away for a long time, but in came Sara Valestein – A bracer and the instructor of the original Class VII – who offered me a spot here instead. Given that I'm sitting here you can probably figure out how my story ended."
Reciting her story had been surprisingly exhausting, so Fie relished finally being finished. The girl glanced around looking for the reactions to her past... Hopefully they would come soon cause the silence was starting to get awkward.
"Pfft!" The one reaction she hadn't been expecting was light giggling, and especially not from Altina of all people. And yet that was what finally broke the silence, "Millium caught you."
"...Huh?" What the heck did Altina mean by that?
Thankfully the tiny girl decided to clarify after a moment spent reigning in her little outburst, "Millium often works with the acting Duke Albarea on provincial matters. A large and excessively wasteful operation like the one you described to flush out a single thief is just the sort of thing she would come up with."
"..." Fie was at a loss. Sure she had been a little desperate and was more prone to making rash decisions at the time, but there was absolutely no way the feared Sylphid could have been caught by an excitable gremlin like that.
...Right?
The storyteller let out an awkward cough, "...Let's just ignore that part for now."
Finally it was Kurt who took the lead, "Thank you for sharing your story with us. While I had already pieced together some of it I must admit I wasn't expecting something so... dramatic. How can a dead man now be...?" The young Vander trailed off into quiet contemplation.
"I agree with Kurt." Tita chimed in, "I actually know someone who also had an even more troubled past, but she was able to overcome it thanks to good friends. So you're gonna be stuck with us whether you like it or not!" The determined look on her face was offset by the wide smile she was sporting.
...And just what kind of troubled past could this friend of hers have had, anyways?
"Yeah! During the war a bunch of jaegers take over Alster and held us hostage. I remember being really scared at the time. But you're nothing like those guys! You're a really nice person! You're my club mate and my friend!" Fie shouldn't have been surprised at just how warm and friendly Sandy continued to be. She was starting to think that was the only setting the girl had.
Unlike the others who had been more vocal with their support, Altina kept her answer relatively muted, "I was already well aware of your prior history, but I still appreciate hearing it from you." The quiet girl paused before furrowing her brow in thought, "...The way you talk about the Zephyr jaeger corps... They were more than just an employer to you, weren't they?"
"Yup. You don't spend that much time around people without growing close to them. They were basically my family."
"Family..." Altina looked towards Juna and Kurt before furrowing her eyes in thought as she glanced back towards Fie, "...I think I am beginning to understand."
Seemingly realizing that she was the last one, Juna let out a deep sigh, "I'm really sorry. I thought I was getting better at not lumping everyone together cause of their background, but when I realized you were a jaeger I-"
"Naw. I get it. I heard what the Red Constellation did to Crossbell. That must have sucked for you."
"You don't know the half of it..." Juna grumbled sadly, "I remember being stuck at the academy when news came that the city was under attack. They wouldn't let us cadets leave during the battle so all I could do was sit there and pray my family was alright. It was awful."
"The Red Constellation is a special breed of messed up." Fie agreed before looking away awkwardly, "Still, while Zephyr never did anything like that when I was there I can't say we wouldn't have if the contract demanded it. Luckily with our reputation we had no shortage of work and Boss was always good at steering us away from the more distasteful jobs."
The former jaeger looked away from her pink-haired roommate to the others in the room, "Gotta say. While it sucked having you mistrust me like that I kinda feel like you're the only one with any sense in this room. The rest of you guys should have been a little more wary about me, you know?"
"Sorry, but it's hard to be afraid of someone as lazy and antisocial as you."
"I think I have spent far too much time being wary of you as is."
"Your irreverence towards Instructor Rean and the rest of the staff is funny."
"You were a big help in the kitchen! It's hard to believe you could have been a bad person."
"Like I said, I'm already friends with someone who has done a lot worse. Maybe it's just my fate to befriend people with troubled pasts?"
As Fie worked to parse the words each of her friends said only one conclusion came to mind, "Wow... You guys really suck." Her harsh words had little effect as one by one each of the others – save for Altina who contented herself with a tiny smirk - began laughing. Inevitably Fie found herself joining in.
This, she decided at last, was kinda nice.
After a minute everyone recomposed themselves, "Still..." Juna muttered in confusion, "That man was your dead dad, right?" Fie nodded in response, "I don't get it. I know the society can do some weird stuff, but didn't it sound like he was against them when he appeared?"
"That was my thought as well." Kurt agreed with eyes narrow in thought, "The only plausible answer is that there is another faction in play behind the scenes. One capable of somehow bringing back the dead."
"And procuring a Divine Knight for him." Altina added helpfully.
"Gah!" Juna's outburst drew all eyes to the loud girl, "This crap is too confusing! All I know is that you're my friend and that guy has a lot of nerve leaving you like that! If you need my help to get answers out of him then you've got it!"
Fie blinked in amusement, "You're saying you want to pick a fight with the strongest jaeger on the continent? One who now has a Divine Knight?"
"Ehehe..." The boisterous girl wilted a little at having her declaration scrutinized like that, "I mean it doesn't have to be a fight, right? Maybe if I taught you how to play Vantage Masters you could beat him in that instead, yeah?"
"I don't think you are going to get any information from a guy called the Jaeger King by challenging him to a card game..." Kurt commented dryly.
The others all nodded at that. Fie however wasn't quite so sure. Boss could be pretty whimsical when he wasn't on a mission. A card game didn't seem all that far-fetched...
Of course she didn't say that out loud. Watching Juna burn bright red from being called out by the others was more than worth her silence.
After a minute the silver-haired girl let out a yawn as it seemed all the accumulated stress and tension from worrying about this meeting had finally taken its toll on her, "Sure. I'll take you up on your offer, but not tonight. I think I'm gonna turn in early today."
Her declaration caused an end to the gathering and one by one her friends stood up and began to leave to wherever they were going. As she watched them go she couldn't quite keep the smile from her face. They truly were her friends.
With a light step the Class VII student made her way up the stairs towards one of the best nights sleep she could remember having in quite some time.
"Well I'll be damned." Randy muttered from his position as he watched the gaggle of students disperse and head their own separate ways, "Didn't think Selfie would open up like that, and I especially wasn't expecting Junie to accept her so quickly."
"Heehee.. They're good kids, aren't they?" He wasn't alone in his hiding spot as both his fellow coworkers were there with him. The only reason Sylphid didn't sense them must have been cause she was too focused on spilling her sordid tale to the others.
"That they are." A smiling Schwarzer agreed with Towee.
Still, as wholesome as the scene had been, Randy couldn't help but worry about the same events the kids had witnessed. Jaeger King was somehow back from the dead. He had seen some spooky stuff in the past but that really ranked up there.
...Although it might be because he was mentally freaking out over the possibility of his old man also coming back from the grave. That was a truly terrifying thought. He already had enough to deal with thanks to his uncle and cousin!
"Ah, well. Can't worry about that now." He didn't realize he had said his thoughts aloud until he noticed his two coworkers glancing at him curiously. Well this was awkward. Good thing he was all but immune to shame, "Just talking to myself. Don't worry 'bout it." That was enough to mollify the two.
With the others now looking away Randy took a moment to consider his two coworkers. Or more specifically, Schwarzer. To say the man was nothing like what he had expected would be a serious understatement.
In a way Randy wasn't all that different from Juna. He had allowed his opinion of his fellow teacher to be swayed by outside stories. The tales of Erebonia's 'hero' playing a significant role in the occupation of his Crossbell had certainly earned him no favors, but more importantly was the news that the Ashen Chevalier had tangled with his partner and Rixia in the Geofront a year back.
...It was probably a good thing Juna didn't know about that nugget of info.
Given everything he knew about the hero he supposed it was almost inevitable that he would allow a barrier – damn you Lloyd! - to form between them. Definitely not as extreme as Juna or some of the other non-Erebonian students, but one that was definitely there. And given that Schwarzer knew all about the SSS and their exploits he was sure it went both ways.
And yet for all that the guy had been doing a bang-up job so far with Juna and Sylphid. Despite how much Randy didn't want this job he couldn't help but worry about the two girls and so far it seemed those worries weren't needed. Sylphid was already starting to come out of her shell and he didn't think he had to worry about her becoming another Shirley anytime soon. Juna too was starting to get more comfortable with her Erebonian classmates even if it was clear she still held some beef against the Ashen Chevalier himself.
"I'm headed to Barney's for a drink and a snack. Wanna come with?" There was no better way to break the ice in Randy's book than to do it over drinks!
"Huh?" Schwarzer muttered in confusion, "I-I'm not sure that's a good idea. There are classes tomorrow..."
Haha. He totally was like Lloyd, wasn't he. Such a dutiful guy. Still, Randy wasn't one to be deterred, "It's fine. Just a drink or two won't hurt, right? Pretty sure you're old enough, yeah?"
"I... uh..."
"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Towa chimed brightly, "You two should go have some fun together. I know the Principal won't mind."
The former jaeger blinked in confusion, "You do know that you're invited too, right Towee?"
"M-Me? I-I don't know about... Towee!?"
He couldn't help but elbow Schwarzer lightly, "C'mon. You can't tell me that you don't want to see a drunk Towee too?"
"...I kinda do." It seemed that Schwarzer didn't notice he had gone from 'drink or two' to 'drunk Towee'. Perfect.
"H-Hey! I'm not so sure about this!"
"Overruled. Sorry." Technically Schwarzer hadn't agreed, but he was so caught in his thoughts of a drunk Towa that neither had he disagreed either. Randy saw that as a win in his books.
The tiny teacher tried to look stern. She just looked adorable, "A-Alright, fine. But if something bad happens I'm putting all the responsibility on you, Randolph!"
He winced. Not because of her threat, but because of the name used. They were co-workers now. That was practically like being friends. He would need to use tonight to get them to start calling him Randy. And in turn he probably needed to stop using Schwarzer.
Happily, he would end up being successful on both fronts. And he got to see a drunken Towee to boot! It was a good night for the Red Reaper.