"Trips to your parents are always so… normal, Lysithea." Claude says. The Master Tactician, Lord of Unification, Hero of the Alliance, etc, etc rides atop his white wyvern with his wife riding side saddle behind him. Her arm wraps around his waist, holding the fabric of his tunic tightly. Robin, the name Claude gave his wyvern companion, is used to carrying the two of them and has mastered a smooth, if leisurely, ride for them.

"Yes, visiting your father is… well, it's something that can't be called normal." Lysithea quips, though the fondness for the Almyran king is obvious in her tone. "Not many people consider turning a bridal shower into a combat tournament an appropriate gift." Claude laughs.

"You won didn't you?"
"That is entirely besides the point." Lysithea says, pressing her face to Claude's wide back. Robin flaps and she can feel Claude unconsciously moving with the wyvern's wings, the experienced rider letting himself be moved by his steed. "Will we reach the manor by sunset?"

"Aye, less we visit Raphael at his inn for the night." Lysithea ponders it for a moment before sighing into Claude.

"I don't think I could stomach the meal he would make. God forbid Leonie is in town as well." Lysithea says.

"You have a good point. Though in her last letter Leonie said she'd be operating in the Faerghus region with her company this month didn't she?" Claude says. He's taken a hand off the reins, resting It on Lysithea's. He traces the scar on the back of her hand idly.

"You keep better track of our friends than I ever did" Lysithea replies.

"It's the duty of the house leader after all."

"You realize it's been 8 years since we were last students of the Golden Deer house, don't you?"

"You mean I'm not a dashing seventeen year old anymore? You still find me handsome in my old age, don't you Lysithea?" Claude says, waiting for a quip in return. He doesn't get one. "Lysithea?"

"Below us. That's not a standard caravan." She says. Claude answers by taking Robin's reins, pulling the wyvern into a short spiral that brings them closer to the ground. The caravan in question indeed lacks the trappings of a typical merchant caravan, appearing conspicuously unadorned. It's far too large to be a pilgrimage as well.

"Claude. The rider in the back." Lysithea says, her tone all business. Claude follows her pointing finger to a rider that's dressed in the garb of a brigand. Claude's well trained vision from years sniping targets on the battlefield can spot the battle scars and stolen weaponry confirming the rider is indeed a thief and not a mercenary. "They aren't far from the nearby town."

"We should be able to head them off at the entrance." Claude says, spurring Robin forward. Lysithea grabs onto his waist with both hands as the wyvern picks up speed.

Claude and Lysithea beat the bandits by only a few minutes, but it's enough time for Claude to warn the town of the encroaching danger. A guardsman tells Lysithea, now on the ground, that the town militia will need more time to assemble and Lysithea promises them that time. Claude directs Robin to land beside Lysithea.

"You okay on the ground?" He asks. Lysithea looks at him, knowing he'll need to see her eyes to understand she'll be okay on her own. She needs to see his as well, to know he's not treating her with kid gloves but sincerely worried about her. Ever since his cure worked and Byleth was able to remove her crests, Claude had been extra cautious with placing her in combat scenarios. She understood, but at the same time she wouldn't be worthy of the Golden Deer if she backed down from fights now that she had a full life to live. Nor would she consider that a life worth living, when her husband was taking the battlefield. He understood that, most of the time. It's one of the reasons she loves Claude. Despite his worrying he believes in her; trusts her judgement.

"Toss me my sword, but I'll be fine." She replies. He searches her eyes for a moment before winking in that way he does, tossing her the silver sword from Robin's saddle. He unsnaps his bow from the mount on the saddle as well, placing the quiver over his shoulder. Robin flaps up to a hover in response, well trained for combat.

The caravan has expanded in the time it was out of Claude and Lysithea's sight. Bandits on foot now precede the wagons, the riders coming up behind the footmen. They slow seeing Claude upon his wyvern. One steps forward.

"… Lord Riegan." The spokesman says.

"Hello there. You seem armed for war. If you're looking for the Officer's Academy, it's at Garreg Mach to the west." Claude says. Lysithea can't help but smile seeing Claude's nonchalant person come over him. His comfort in confrontation is inspirational to his allies, but she knows underneath he's calculating as much as possible to find the optimal scenario.

"It… appears we were turned around." The bandit says. The man speaks hesitantly, like he's testing the waters of the conversation. Wise of him. "We thought we'd stay the night in town then head that way." Claude raises an eyebrow in Lysithea's direction, to which she replies with a shrug.

"Might… you be staying in town Lord Riegan? We certainly wouldn't want to take up space were you to need it…" the bandit continues. Claude smirks. Perhaps this will be an easy victory.

"I am indeed. My entourage is coming just up the road you stand on, in fact." Claude says, motioning apologetically.

"I see…" the bandit says. He then smiles, which isn't a good thing. "Funny how we didn't run into them on the way up. The path doesn't branch for miles." Claude's eyes narrow. So much for the easy victory. "Lord Riegan is bullshitting us boys. I think that's a blessing from the goddess. Let's see how much his house will pay in ransom!" The leader bellows and his entire force roars forward.

Claude flies upwards, dodging arrows fired at him and generally bringing the attention to himself. Lysithea meanwhile waits, the words of Hades coming to her mind on auto pilot. As the raiders approach, she outstretches her free hand and looses the spell. In the center of the enemy mob a black warp appears and out of it shoot tendrils of dark magic, lancing and bashing any foe in reach. Lysithea feels her body hitch slightly, but keeps the spell going as the entire center of the mob is taken out. A few brave souls continue the bum rush towards the town, now angling for her own position, but Lysithea has no reason to flinch. They don't close half the distance to her before they're put down with arrows to the knee and ankle, a second arrow to the head or heart finishing them off for good right after. Claude is still dodging and weaving and yet has her covered.

Claude dives the border of the Hades spell, his bow clicking to place in the saddle as he draws Begalta from it's scabbard. He slashes those watching their allies be consumed by the dark magic. Those that aren't killed by the Riegan blade are shoved into the radius of the spell by Robin's wing beats. An old line comes to Claude's mind as he flies into a panicking bandit, his mouth moving before he realized it.

"Sorry, but I must" he says, remembering the phrase he said before fighting friends who sided with the Empire in the war. While this is no war, this is also not a fair fight. He lets Robin veer up and away, sheathing his blade and reclaiming his bow to snipe a few more fools gunning for Lysithea. Lysithea releases the Hades spell, anyone in it's radius unconscious or dead. She leans forward, her hands on her knees and panting. Claude feels the corner of his mouth twist in worry, but sets the fear for his wife aside. Nothing short of Byleth's inner goddess could kill his wife after everything she had survived and no matter the urge he felt to protect her… He had to respect her strength. She knows he'd lay down arms and be crucified if it meant keeping from harm. But at the same time she'd never forgive herself for letting that fate befall him. Befall either of them, as she could no more live without him than he her.

Neither of them were fans of the concept of Fate. Nothing would decide what either of them would achieve, what either of them would do, or what could stop them. Not Rhea, not Edelgard, not Those who Sliver, not Nemesis and certainly not a rag tag bunch of bandits. Most of which had routed themselves, running for their wagons and detaching horses from them in an attempt to flee quicker.

He flies back to the town entrance, landing beside Lysithea. Most of the enemy force had felt, a few stragglers were taken out with quick spell work from Lysithea. Behind the two the town's militia comes marching up, weapons ready only to find what was left of the bandit troupe running for the hills. They slow, looking between the mage and lord before them. Claude hops down from Robin, stepping over to Lysithea. She gives him a look and he turns on his heel to face the last of the bandits. No kid gloves, he mutters to himself.
Lysithea steps up beside him, letting Faith magic resonate in her palms. Claude can see the exertion the Hades spell she cast put on her, far more than she every felt with the crests she once held. He grimaces, knowing he can't say anything to her now.

Thankfully, the combat ended there. The militia flooded the battlefield, capturing anyone still conscious and scaring off those who were not. Lysithea took Claude's arm, leaning more than she would ever admit on his muscled arm, but looking every part the dignified lady on his arm.

"Maybe we should visit Raphael tonight?" Claude says, not looking at Lysithea, knowing he would not be able to school the worry off his face.

"We… certainly can. He's only a short flight away after all" Lysithea says. Claude nods, and the two make their way to the town mayor to receive the stereotypical thanks and accolades.

Raphael was happy to see them, needless to say. He also knew Claude's expression well enough to let the two 'get settled in the room' before occupying them with the interesting tales he'd heard since they last visited. The two head upstairs and Lysithea sits on the bed.

"Well?" She says, not looking at Claude.

"Well what." Claude replies, placing his pauldron on the dresser in the room.

"You know you want to scold me for over doing it. It was all over your face."

"You couldn't see my face on the flight here." Claude quips. She doesn't quip back and he sighs. "I… don't want to treat you any less." Lysithea giggles.

"Claude, when I accepted your family's ring, I also accepted that you occasionally will worry over me." Claude turns around, leaning against the dresser to look at his wife. She's gazing at the Riegan seal on her ring. She frequently did that; inspect the ring. At first he thought it was cause she wasn't satisfied or something like that. Now he loves when she does it, because of the soft smile on her face. He knows she looks at that ring as a symbol of the life she gets to lead now. The life she would have given up, to protect him from her own premature death.

"Is that so?" Claude says.

"Quite. In all honesty…" Lysithea blushes slightly. "It is… flattering, when you do worry about me. I know you aren't doing it because you think I can't handle it, or I'm not ready." She looks at him. "It's because you love me." Claude winks, in the way he's done since he was teen. The reaction was automatic though, his body trying to cover the immense happiness he felt at her saying he loves her. He notices and lets the smile come to his face, Lysithea amusedly watching. She understood the pains of having to keep up appearances, despite emotions.

"I do. I know you'll come back into your strength Lysithea." Claude says. He pauses while he moves around to sit next to her on the bed. She immediately tilts over to rest her head on his shoulder. "What it looks like to me though, is you're already at full strength. Your magic is just as powerful as ever, but your body sans crests can't handle the strain of so much power." He feels her nod lightly. "That scares me. I know you'll regulate your magic usage, but there's so much left to chance… What if you hurt your body with a spell? What if I can't get to you, or we can't get you to a Faith mage?"

"You may as just well say Garreg Mach." She contributes idly. "Besides Marianne, you wouldn't trust anyone else with my health."

"Why take the chance some other mage is as skilled as Marianne or Rhea?" Lysithea doesn't reply. "Anyway. That's all it is Lysithea." She's quiet for a moment.

"I… have the same fear, actually. Each spell I cast feels like an explosion in a tunnel, being funneled out of a single point of entry. Even a simple Miasma. No one has ever had the crests in them removed like this before. There's no research I can do to comfort my fears or experiments I can run." Lysithea takes Claude's hand. On reflex he begins to trace the crest scar on the back of it. "But I don't think I could ever choose not to cast the spell that can save someone's life. If we didn't intervene that town could have been razed to the ground. I don't regret that choice, even if it could be bringing my body to ruin."

"I've… lived so long knowing I was going to die. Despite it I fought tooth and nail to get to the Officer's Academy, battling beside you and the Professor, finding out about Edelgard and finally slaying those who slivered in the dark… This, the mere risk of damage, rather than the inevitability of death? In the moment it just doesn't register as a problem."

"…" Claude doesn't comment. Lysithea turns into his body, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm sorry… That I have so little care for my being." She says into his clothing. He returns her embrace, brushing a hand down her long hair.

"Have no doubt Lysithea, your inability to look away from someone's pain is one of the things I love about you." He says. He feels her grip the back of his tunic tighter. "As loud as the voice is telling me to lock you up in a tower to protect you from the world" she snickers, "A louder voice tells me that the Lysithea I love would detest that. She'd never back down from a threat, external or internal. Supporting that Lysithea…" Claude pushes her up slightly, taking her left hand in his.

"Is what I promised to do when I gave you this ring. Forgive my worrying?" Claude says into her eyes. She nods immediately, but a glimmer of mischief shines in her eyes.

"You know, only a child would worry so much." She says. Claude smirks.

"Or a parent worrying over one." For that line, he got hit upside the head.

AN: I like Claude and Lysithea a lot. A lot. I also have a problem with not having a Lysithea character tag. Makes me want to just post on Ao3.