White Clouds

Grondor Fields (Campsite, Late Night)

Wyvern Moon
Year 1180

"You did good today, kid."

The compliment brought a little smile to Raine's face, though she had a difficult time believing it as she sat next to her father on the hill that was overlooking the field that had only just that afternoon been filled with the students of the three houses as they fought one another in the recreation of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. She could feel her father's pride in her, but it felt horribly misplaced as she thought of the students she had led into the battle. They had been the ones to do the majority of the fighting, and it had been their efforts, not her own, that had led them to their victory. Even now, tired and worn with injury, she could hear them revelling back in the camp behind them. They were planning for some sort of feast upon their return to the monastery, an attempt to bring all three houses of Garreg Mach together despite the victory and losses, and she was more than happy to watch their celebration from afar.

There was plenty of shouting and excitement, laughter and banter and breaking down of tactics from the earlier battle, and she was sure that she could look in every direction and find a group of students from every single house intermingling without concern or care for their usual "boundaries". The houses separated them rather effortlessly, keeping them from bridging the gap between noble, commoner, Imperial, Alliance, or Kingdom dweller, and she was glad to see the walls falling over even if it would only last for a small time. And she knew, despite it all, that it wouldn't last.

Still, those were thoughts she didn't want to dwell on as the sound of the revelry provided a pleasant backdrop to the cool air and the shining moon in the night sky overhead. She was proud of her students and their accomplishments, and happy to hear them as happy as they were about their victory. Even if it was momentary it did not matter, because the memory would be more than enough when the status quo eventually made its return. And that thought made her smile widen slightly even as she brought her knees to her chest and shook away her father's praise, "No, it wasn't me, Father. They did this all on their own. This is their victory, not mine."

"You say that, but you led them on that field. And don't say otherwise, because I was there watching." Jeralt waved off her excuse with a laugh, and he reached over to roughly ruffle his daughter's hair as he caught sight of the smile she was hiding under her knees. She lightly whacked his arm away, but he didn't mind as he watched her soft expression with a feeling of pride, and no small amount of wonder. She had grown so soft. So gentle. And all without him noticing. Those missions that had taken him away from the monastery every moon had left him gone as she let down her barriers, and seeing it in the open now, as subtle as it may have looked to anyone else, was something he could not stop marvelling over.

She had grown fond of her students, and she was allowing it to show. He had seen it all on the battlefield from his place as a judge, and it had impressed him to watch the way she commanded them, and how they obeyed her so readily. They moved like a machine, taking down enemy after enemy with ease due to all of their training and practise, and their trust in their commander could not have been more apparent. No other house had shown such confidence when their forces had been split into fighting on two fronts, and yet that had been the exact strategy Raine had opened with, and with absolutely no hesitation... and her students had performed spectacularly.

"No losses, and a sweeping victory. You took on both the Deer and the Eagles, on two separate fronts, and crashed over them with ease. How long had you been preparing them for that sort of strategy? It must have been for moons. They obeyed you without question, and with complete confidence. Like they knew they'd win, and there was no doubt whatsoever about it. Anybody else would have called it suicidal arrogance, but you did it, and you made it work. That's not just them, Raine. That was you." Jeralt watched as she shook her head again, denying his praise, but the way her eyes glinted through her bangs... He decided it didn't really matter if she never would accept it. Even if it meant downplaying her accomplishments and giving it all to her students, at least he would know better, and he was proud of her beyond measure. She had taken on the role of a professor with heart even if she hadn't wanted it, and she had blossomed until she embodied the word. It almost made him wonder if he had chosen the wrong path in taking her away from the monastery. Now, it seemed as if this was exactly where she belonged.

"So, tell me. What kind of training did you put the brats through? I noticed a lot of pair-work out there. Not a single one of your students was fighting a lone battle." Jeralt leaned back on his hands as he watched his daughter studying the battlefield, and he wondered if she was replaying it through her head again and trying to figure out how she could have led a better battle. It was a common tic of hers, replaying scenarios over and over and critiquing her strategy and decisions in an effort to better herself for the future. Still, this was one of the times where he didn't think it necessary, but he wasn't about to stop her entirely from indulging in it. So long as she continued to chat with him. It'd been too long since they had had a chance to just sit and speak, as a father and a daughter, and he wanted to milk it for every last moment he possibly could as he mused, "All of them had a partner, which I assume was a part of your strategy. And all of them worked pretty damned well with their partners, too. Must have been annoying finding out which brat worked well with whom."

"No, that was actually the easy part. Almost all of the Blue Lion students knew each other well at some point in their lives before they came to the monastery. It was easy to find the proper synergy and exploit that as a battle tactic." Raine replied with a shake of her head, and mused that factor had given her an edge over the other houses in a way. The Black Eagles were not nearly as cohesive as an operating unit, especially when Edelgard and Hubert held themselves so far and away from the rest of the classmates, both personally and professionally. There was a distinct lack of trust there, of belief, and it showed as the Black Eagles followed their orders like cattle, rather than individual soldiers capable of forming their own ideas and tactics when the situation demanded it. When separated from their leaders there was panic and uncertainty, and an enemy at a loss was an enemy easily taken care of. Raine's only regret was that poor Bernadetta had been the very first to suffer that fate, and she made a mental note to apologize to the young archer for that before the night was over with.

Then there was Claude, lacking the ability to lead despite his charisma, and his house was splintered by the fact that his schemes could not win his classmates over even if they could win him battles. Lorenz had been more than happy to charge ahead without listening to a word his house leader spoke to him, again, and it had cost him a hefty advantage to lose one of his stronger comrades so quickly to her waiting students. She had known his lack of control would cause his army to splinter early, and taking advantage of that had been one of her many facets of the strategy for that day's battle. He was not a leader born, and his house needed a leader more than they needed his schemes.

"But pairing them up was essential, I think. At the beginning, they were all friends, and had history... but they weren't really a working unit as a house, if that makes any sense. The camaraderie they had was for old friends, people they knew already, and nobody else. And even then, there was plenty of tension to be had amongst those that did and do have history. Old grudges, personality clashes, and such. Introducing some new blood, and forcing them to interact with "strangers" was something I tried to work on early." Raine explained as she, like her father, outstretched her legs and leaned back on her hands. That first true mission with Lonato, and the ensuing fallout with Ashe, had taught her much about the weakness that pervaded her house, and she hadn't wasted any time in trying to rectify it. They needed to be a unit at all times, personally and professionally, if they wished to survive properly on the battlefield. If one of them was suffering, then they all had to suffer in tandem. It was the only way to make them realize that teamwork went far beyond cooperating on the battlefield. "I honestly wasn't entirely sure it worked, though. Not until today. They've still had their moments, their squabbling and bickering, but... I suppose that's just how it is when you have so many people working together. Today, they proved they took the lessons to heart. They were a unit today. A real unit. And that's what made them unstoppable out there."

"I'll give you that. They worked together well, even without you there to micromanage them." Jeralt agreed with a nod, and he kept thinking of her opening movement, separating her forces into a pincer to engage both houses simultaneously and leaving half of her house without her to command them as she dove headlong into the fray alongside the royal prince for her partner. He would have thought a little differently of her strategy from the outset if she and the prince had been leading their halves separately, but instead she had been with him throughout the whole battle, and the other half of her house had not needed them to take territory and rout their opponents. They moved on the fly without explicit or timely orders, coordinating with one another and responding to the change of battle in stride, just as he would expect any of his men to do without him on the battlefield. "Learned that from me, did you?"

"They can't always be following my orders to the letter. What if I'm injured, or too far away to be heard? They have to be able to function without me. Isn't that what you always say? Besides, if I can't trust them to handle themselves without me at all, that just means I've failed as their teacher." Raine shook her head with some amusement at her father's easy claim of her thought process as a leader, but she wasn't about to dismiss it. He hadn't been grooming her to take over his band, that was her brother's role, but she had fought alongside him, and watched him for long enough to know how he led and know how well it worked. He trusted his men, and they trusted him in return. That trust was the foundation of a strong unit, and it was something she had learned, and tried to incorporate early when she had found herself abruptly holding the reigns. "Besides, it wasn't as if I didn't give them orders at the beginning... They were simply a bit more... vague. Open to interpretation."

Jeralt laughed outright at her words, both extremely amused and somehow still surprised at the lackadaisical attitude he had not expected from his daughter in a leadership role. Vague orders? Open to interpretation? That could easily earn deaths on a battlefield, and yet somehow, she had made it work. He had seen it himself. Yet, he still almost couldn't believe that's how she was choosing to put it when there was clearly quite a lot more than that going on behind the scenes. She was either lying, and quite poorly at that, or wasn't really sure what she had done herself. "That's how you're going to put it?"

"We had a rough idea of how the other houses were going to behave." Raine shrugged her shoulders a bit, but her lips were quirking almost as if she was about to laugh along with him. It was a strange sight to him, strange, but pleasant, and he watched her expectantly to explain as her shoulders shivered a bit with mirth and she bowed her head to hide it from him. Her smile was still gentle, still pleased, and her voice had that same soft quality to it as she explained, "Knowing that made it easier to predict the outcomes that were possible to occur with our movements. The very first thing to do was to catch them off guard with a bold, seemingly overconfident first strike, and their reactions to that would tell us exactly where to go from there. And, fortunately for us, both the Eagles and the Deer reacted exactly as we had predicted they would. That's the only reason why the battle went so smoothly."

"You predicted that the Eagles would take the bait, and that the Deer would fracture almost immediately?" Jeralt raised his eyebrows, both impressed and a bit curious at hearing such confidence from his daughter. She knew better than most that plans tended to fall apart on the battlefield once swords were drawn and blood was flowing, and yet her own had held together remarkably well. He was beginning to understand why there were rumours going about that his daughter was capable of seeing into the future with how well her tactics always played out on her missions or even in their practise battles. He could almost believe it himself after what he had seen today. "What did you base those predictions on?"

"Edelgard thought us to be overextending, and it's not in her nature to let any opportunity go to waste, even if it means making the same mistake she thinks her enemies are currently making. She chose to engage, and left her back open to the Deer... and Claude is much like Edelgard in not wanting to miss any chance to lean a fight into his favour." Raine explained with a flick of her wrist as the battle replayed itself in her mind's eye as clearly as it would in a child's picture book. Though they were not her students they were still the house leaders, and she had made sure to get to know them as best she could so to understand their tactics, as well as their basic thoughts on warfare as a whole. Their very first mock battle had taught her much, and she had expected that their behaviour would not change in an easy six moons, even if their skill level vastly would. She had been right. "The problem with Claude is that his men don't obey him, whether it be out of simple impertinence, or a lack of faith in him as a commander. His forces splintered immediately when he ordered an attack on the Eagles due to the threat of the Lions taking out his advance squad. With that, he almost immediately was headed for defeat already once his remaining forces were caught between the Lions and Eagles."

Jeralt let out a low whistle as he understood exactly why the battle had played out the way it had if that had been Raine's idea from the very beginning. He had seen the Deer splinter, but he hadn't known it hadn't been intentional. It made sense now why the Alliance leader had looked so frustrated after the battle before he had put on a smile to mask it, and he had to admit his daughter was somewhat terrifying for being able to pick apart her opponents before any weapons had even been drawn. "So you started the fight on two fronts to make sure the others were forced to do the same almost immediately... You never intended on letting either of them fight at full force."

"That was the initial idea, yes. Claude's forces were more easily managed because of the initial splinter, and taking out the ones who weren't being led was the easiest part of the entire fight... Edelgard was more conservative with her initial attack, but once the Deer engaged, there wasn't much left in a tactical sense to fall back on. It just became a wild melee." Raine nodded at her father's quick understanding, though she had not expected him to struggle with her logic. It was the same kind of thinking he would use if he was fighting a combined force far bigger than his own, even if they were not at all united against him. Chaos on the battlefield was something to take advantage of whenever it was possible, and that was much easier to do if one was starting the chaos rather than becoming embroiled in it. "With the Deer pinning the Eagles in on one side, and the Lions advancing from the other... Edelgard was forced into spreading her troops out thinly. That, honestly, was what I was hoping for the most. Had she consolidated rather than spread out, it would have led to a more difficult fight."

"That's likely true. She's got a whip over her forces, and one they fear." Jeralt agreed with a nod of his own, and despite himself, he felt a chill brush over his skin at the thought of the future Emperor. She had a cold, calculating gaze, always evaluating, always putting together puzzle pieces inside of her head, and her arrogance was not something she hid well, if she bothered to hide it at all. She believed she knew best, and her soldiers also had the exact same belief, which made them all the easier to pick off if her hold on them was severed in one way or another. By forcing her into a position where her men were beyond her reach, she lost control of the situation, and that had led to a quick and brutal downfall once she had been backed into a corner. "But remove the whip, and the men scatter... Still. She's an arrogant little thing, but she's also smart. How were you so sure she would spread her forces thin?"

"I wasn't. That was the gamble we took today." Raine admitted bluntly, and she rolled back her shoulders with a low sigh as she knew it had been risky of her, but there had been little choice left by the time the battle had gotten to such a stage. Claude was an easier man to predict due to his nature and past performances, but Jeralt was right about Edelgard's intelligence, and Raine hadn't been about to underestimate her even when she was on the cusp of a defeat. "She could have easily gone in either direction, spreading out to try and take out more men than she was losing, or consolidate her men and launch precision strikes to save her forces while keeping us on the defensive once the Alliance was swept away... but instead of a safer route, she took the more aggressive one. We were lucky that was her reaction, otherwise it could have gone poorly for us."

"She was already beaten by then, though. You had wracked up enough points over the course of the battle that even if she did manage to take out every last one of you, she wouldn't have had a clear victory." Jeralt pointed out with a long exhale, but he couldn't help but look at his daughter and the troubled expression she wore. It was clear she hadn't enjoyed taking a gamble when she had most of the battle under her control up until that point, but that was simply the way of command. Nothing ever went entirely as planned, no matter how well-laid those plans were. And considering things, she had done a damned fine job even if things hadn't gone the way she wanted them to. "She may have known that, which is why she chose to fight so aggressively at the end."

"I agree. She knew she was going to lose... and so she chose to go down fighting to the last, regardless of the cost." Raine agreed with a nod, and she had to admit that even knowing that did not make her happy. Rather, it made her shiver with foreboding. Edelgard was a shrewd commander, but when backed into a corner, she lashed out in every and all directions to ensure that if she was to go down, that she would bring every single person in her vicinity down with her if she could manage it. It was unsettling to have witnessed, to fight against, when there had been a much more conservative way to go about facing her defeat. But perhaps that was also just her nature. But was that a nature befitting a future ruler? Raine didn't believe it was. What kind of future would the Empire have, if they chose to lose a war by setting fire to themselves in the process? And especially considering that she believed that war with the Alliance and Kingdom was an eventuality?

Jeralt watched her frown and the concerned glint in her eyes, and he tilted his head as he wondered what it was that made her look like that in the midst of what was essentially a victory celebration. She was reflective, yes, but usually not to such a degree unless she had made some sort of crucial error. And he hadn't seen a single one, even if she had taken a gamble out there earlier today. He reached over to pat her shoulder reassuringly, keeping his voice light as he asked, "What's the matter, kid? You looked perturbed. Did her tactics bother you that much?"

"Yes." Raine answered him bluntly, and she felt the grip on her shoulder soften in a comforting fashion that she couldn't help but be grateful for. She wasn't sure why it bothered her to such an extent, but it did all the same, and she couldn't just leave it where it was even with a victory in hand. What Edelgard had done, even if it was only a mock battle to celebrate an age-old one that was now less history than it was legend, simply was not something that sat right with her. "She's to be the future of the Empire... yet this is her reaction to facing an undeniable defeat. I know it's simply a mock battle, and she likely won't apply these tactics to a real war, but..."

"What makes you think she intends to go to war?"

"She said this was preparation for it, during the battle. She said it in jest, but... I don't believe it was a jest, Father. I truly think she believes that one day, the Empire, Alliance, and Kingdom will go to war, and that it will happen in her lifetime." Raine felt it again, that deep, unsettling chill that made her wonder, and wonder about things she dearly wished she didn't have to. Battle on its own was a truly ugly affair. War was something else entirely. It was death on a level she didn't want to even begin to try and comprehend. How anyone could wish for it was beyond her understanding, though she was well aware that politics, ideology, and even more pettier things had led to it more times than she could count in the annals of history. And Warin had taught her well that history repeated itself, time and time again, and she had even used that to her benefit today. Who was to say that the path she currently was watching Edelgard take would not again repeat? "I don't know why she holds such a belief, but if she does... and this is how she acts in a battle that is to one day be a prelude to the war to come... Will she act then as she did now, if she's forced into the same position again? The consequences would be so much more dire than a simple mock battle. And that unsettles me. It unsettles me greatly."

"She's a long way from being crowned emperor yet, kid... but I get where you're coming from. It's not behaviour you'd want to see from a future ruler. This was a mock battle, and no lives were on the line... But if she did what she did today in a real war... It'd cost a lot of needless deaths. You're right to be unsettled by that." Jeralt agreed with a sombre nod as he took in the look on her face, and he had to admit he was somewhat surprised by how much this was affecting her. It wasn't for nothing that she had earned her name as the Ashen Demon, and death had never seemed to stir her emotions like this before. It made him wonder, too, and he hated himself for it, but there was no helping his curiosity. He had to indulge in it, at least while he had the time to, and there was precious little time that he ever had the chance to do so. And he softened his voice as he squeezed her shoulder again and continued, "But let me ask you something, Raine. Put yourself in her shoes, just for a second. Your back is up against the wall. Your soldiers are going to die if you keep fighting. There's not a chance in hell of you winning. None whatsoever. What would you do, if you were her?"

"I'd offer my life for my men." Raine's answer came swiftly, almost as soon as he had finished speaking, and Jeralt had to fight to hide his surprise. She meant it. She was a poor liar in general, but this was completely different. Her eyes had grown hard, fierce, almost like a lioness that was protecting her cubs, and there was not a trace of concern or hesitation in her expression. Had she been in Edelgard's shoes, and had found herself losing to either the Alliance or the Empire... She would have thrown down her sword without a second thought if it meant protecting her students. And Jeralt loosened his grip on her shoulder as he drew back to look at her with new, startled eyes.

His daughter had changed, and changed a great deal. The woman who previously only cared for him and her brother, who had never given a quarter nor expected a quarter to be given, was more than willing now to give her life for someone beyond family. Not even to his men had she ever extended such a courtesy. They were not her family, not her responsibility, and he had never once tried to encourage her to think differently. But her time here in the monastery, as a professor, had changed her. She would not only kill for her students, but she would die for them as well, and happily at that. He wasn't sure how he felt about such knowledge, and he could only admit that somewhere, deep down, it scared him to think that she had found something else beyond family, beyond him and his son, that she cared about so fiercely that her life no longer mattered to her if that thing was threatened.

"Pardon me, Professor."

Both he and his daughter turned at the polite voice that penetrated the sudden silence like a blade, and Jeralt blinked in surprise at the sight of the blond-haired prince who was standing respectfully a few feet away. His sea-blue eyes were focussed directly on his professor, almost as if he could see nothing but her, and Jeralt fought a smile at the behaviour that was not at all new to him. He had been the exact same way on the battlefield, even if the boy himself hadn't been conscious of it. Every move he had made had been to mirror Raine's, to cover her back or follow-up on her attacks, and he had done nothing else for the entirety of the battle. His eyes, and his lance, had been for her and her alone, regardless of the enemies that had been stacked against the two of them. And now, off the battlefield, he was showing the exact same focus, and Jeralt almost shook his head with the bittersweet realization. 'Of course it's like this... What else could I have missed in just half a year?'

"Dimitri. You should be with the rest of the class. What are you doing all the way over here?" Jeralt watched as Raine's posture changed in response to the appearance of her student and battle partner, and he wondered if she was conscious of her actions whatsoever. It wasn't only the prince who had changed his manner on the battlefield, and he had noticed that, too. Raine had only moved when she knew the Kingdom noble had her back, and had been just as wary, and just as alert, for any threats to his well-being as he had been to hers. Even now she was locked onto him, forgetting her father completely at the sight of her student, and Jeralt had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep any sort of emotions from making it to his face as he listened to them speak in what looked like polite silence rather than keen interest.

"I think the same could be said of you, Professor. I know that we all agreed that once we return to the monastery that there should be a celebratory feast with all of the houses, but that does not mean you should hide away from tonight's merriment as well." Dimitri's voice almost sounded scolding, but there was a smile to his face as he looked over his shoulder to the noise that was still kicking up in the campsite well behind them. It didn't seem as if it had any intentions of dying out anytime soon, even with the moon now high up in the sky, and the prince's smile broadened as he explained, "We all would dearly love to celebrate with you. After all, we only gained victory because of you."

"You need to give yourselves more credit, and you all don't need me for a celebration. It's best you all do it amongst yourselves, since you're the ones who earned it." Raine waved away the offer easily, just as Jeralt had known she would, but there was a softening to the corners of her mouth all the same, and her eyes were glittering with good humour even as she dismissed him politely. It was not her way, and she was most definitely not comfortable with the idea of joining the din and possibly being made the centre of attention, even if it was with her own students. And she admitted that with an almost sheepish shrug of her shoulders, "Besides, I'm not exactly the... type to celebrate like you all are doing right now. You're making quite a racket back there, you know."

"If you're not the type, then it only means you need to experience it more." Dimitri's response was quick and fluid, and it clearly caught Raine off guard. It looked as if she had expected him to take her excuse without an argument, and perhaps that was exactly what he had done before when confronted with her excuses or awkwardness. Now, however, he almost looked mischievous, and his smile had grown as he looked at his professor with an extended hand, "The others won't take no for an answer, Professor, and I'm afraid that I will not, either. You can either join me now willingly, or I believe the others will descend on you as a pack and drag you with them despite your protests. It's your choice to make, of course, but you cannot say you weren't warned."

Raine's mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish, and at a loss, she turned to her father for help as she realized she had been put in a position there clearly was no talking herself out of. Jeralt raised his hands almost immediately, dashing her hopes of a rescue, and he had to admit the look of betrayal in her navy eyes was one that he'd keep to himself for years to come for a good laugh when he needed it the most. He pushed himself easily to his feet, rubbing at her head as he went, and he chuckled as he called over his shoulder, "You go on and play nice with the brats, kid. You and I can talk later, at the monastery. Have a good night, kiddo."

"Father!" Raine called after him with both exasperation and annoyance as he left her where she was, laughing as he went. He knew full well what kind of predicament he was leaving her in, but he didn't seem to care a whit. It made her wish she had the better sense to run after him and beat him for daring to leave her hanging when she needed his assistance the most, but he knew her too well and had beat quite the hasty retreat. Already he was gone from her sight, having ducked into the knights' camp where considerably less noise was emanating from, and she rubbed at her temples as she muttered under her breath, "He's going to regret doing that to me the next time we spar..."

"I think that means you've no choice, Professor. Will you join me?"

Dimitri's cajoling voice made her sigh, but she was well aware when she had been beaten. There wasn't any excuse she could give that would hold water, and she truly wasn't liking the idea of being mobbed by her students as a whole and dragged into the camp against her will. Annette would surely be leading the pack, and with her in charge that only meant barrels or crates were involved, too, and someone was going to wind up picking themselves off the ground. No, it was far safer for her to go with Dimitri than wait for chaos to come and find her, and then take her to who-only-knows-where after.

He had moved closer, but his hand was still extended and waiting for her to take it in offer as he smiled down at her expectantly. He was being remarkably forward, but considering the mood, she couldn't quite fault him for it. She let out another sigh, more theatrical than anything, before reaching up to take his hand in a sign of defeat. He chuckled even as his fingers tightened carefully about her wrist and tugged to help her to her feet. His hold was gentle, always remarkably gentle, though he was quick to release her the moment she had her footing. It was almost as if touching her burnt him, and it made her wonder errantly why that possibly was. Still, there was no time to linger on the thoughts as she asked, "Is this going to be with just our house, or are you taking me right into the thick of things, Dimitri?"

"Only with the Blue Lions, Professor. You've my word." Dimitri answered her briskly, and she followed after him obediently as he led her back towards the camp where the students were rumbling the sky like a storm with their good mood. Somewhere in the din she could hear Sylvain's laughter, accompanied by Annette's sing-song voice as she chided Ingrid for something she couldn't quite make out. Dimitri turned slightly to offer her a softer smile, as if he understood her worry about having to endure being in the midst of too many excited and frankly, almost hyper, students. Even for a regular professor it could be overwhelming, and they both were quite aware that she was not quite regular, even if she was well-loved by her house. He explained as she kept easy pace with him as they grew closer to the din, "The feast is for all of the houses at the monastery, after all. You will likely be highly sought after by the other houses there when the time comes. Even if it's only to talk strategy with them, or be congratulated. We wish to keep you to ourselves for tonight, if you'd permit us to do so."

"I believe I didn't have a choice in all this, so asking for me to permit anything seems moot." Raine reminded him with a little chuckle, and Dimitri didn't seem the least bit ashamed at her pointed remark. She was glad for it, even if she did admit she felt uncomfortable to be wading into a situation where she would have no escape from being the centre of attention. At least he wouldn't make her feel as awkward as her other students were liable to do, and she nudged his shoulder with her own as she asked, "Will you at least protect me from any of their shenanigans if someone gets the bright idea to start something? I think I'll need the moral support. Especially if it starts getting out of hand, and from the way all of you sound, from all the way over where Father and I were sitting, it already may be."

Dimitri chuckled again, though he was aware that her concern was not really misplaced. They were all riding quite a high from their victory, and even the most taciturn of them weren't making much of an effort to separate from the group's festivities for once. It was a pleasant surprise, and the call for someone to find their professor and bring her into the celebration had been entirely unanimous. He had been quick to volunteer to do so, knowing full well if he allowed Annette or even Mercedes to do that disaster could very well follow, and when he saw her smiling as she spoke with her father, he was quite glad that he had. She truly was a mesmerizing sight when she smiled, and those smiles were coming with more and more frequency now that they had all grown so close. It was becoming difficult to keep his eyes from her sometimes, and the thought made him feel awkward despite his smile.

Still, that awkwardness was pleasant to him, and something he wished to cherish. Especially when he saw that gentle warmth in her eyes as they bantered of their house. No longer his or hers, but theirs as she embraced them all as a professor. He knew it improper, knew it was likely a secret he should take with him to the grave, but it wasn't a problem whatsoever for him. So long as she remained with them all... He was happy. He playfully bowed his head, pressing his fist to his heart as he promised with theatrical seriousness, yet felt the words resonating deep down into his very bones, "I promise to protect you with my life, Professor."

"That's a bit too much, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same." Raine chuckled at his jape, and she allowed him to lead her back to the Lions' section of the camp where most of the uproar was coming from. Her students saw them approaching before she could single any of them out, and she braced herself as they all swept towards her like the tide. Inescapable and horrifying to watch at the base level, but she heard herself laughing even as Annette grabbed her left arm while Mercedes took a hold of her right to lead her further into their camp. She allowed herself to be dragged away, shooting a look over her shoulder at Dimitri, and was completely unsurprised to see him beaming as she was led off without him. He'd watch her from a distance, ready to rescue her the moment she needed him, but for now... He was happy to sit back, and watch the show unfold... and she didn't mind letting him. Not in the least.

AN:

I always wanted to write some nice, in-depth chatting between Raine and Jeralt about her success and growth as a professor, especially after the events of Grondor Fields, and figured that this was probably the best time to do so, and I heartily enjoyed every moment of it. (Mind you, I am aware he was not there in canon, due to a mission, but... Well, it was more fun to imagine he was, so there! I write my own canon!) Especially adding the little hint of Dimitri/Byleth afterwards as an ending bite... Heheheh. I like the family fluff, and I want to write more of it, even though it's clearly only adding salt into a bucket for future endeavours. Still... I don't feel guilty. The whole premise of their relationship after all is their loyalty and devotion to one another, and especially Jeralt's pride in their growth. He didn't start questioning his choices to take Byleth away from the monastery for no reason, and I wanted to give him another opportunity to think of such things before everything essentially goes tits up later.

I do feel like I'm flying through on the seat on my pants, and should probably take awhile to slow down. I very well may, especially considering that I got my hands on Astral Chain, and am working my way through it. I'm thoroughly enjoying the game, but I don't want to risk losing my muse... Especially when she came back so violently. I haven't had a writing streak like this since my teens, and I want to milk it for everything it's worth, y'know? It's so fun to be back in the saddle and pumping out work after work... And work that I'm proud of, to boot! Haah, I need to relax!

And this is where things are going to start getting serious, and I'm unfortunately going to be turning things around now... and while I am looking forward to getting my hands on angst (I am a whore for angst), it's going to be a bit of a turn from everything I've started enjoying at current. Still, it is what it is. I shall persevere... and cry. Lots of crying. So much crying. I am a baby.

Mood: Impatient.

Listening To: "Live and Die" - XIA

~ Sky