[it's funny because she's leaving cats: the class, and running into the cat: the guy. holding her backpack in one hand instead of actually wearing it, she gives a little wave as greeting, meeting him halfway as he makes his way over to her.]
Caleb.
How are you? [she's also. looking around him. for cat.]
[she gives Frumpkin's paw another little shake. no one had cats on their shoulders at Garreg Mach. they should have, but they didn't. she briefly humors a mental image.]
[byleth gets in the paint and retrieves 22 slices of cici's pizzaa personal pizza pie, then selects seating a little distance away from whoever else may be here right now.
when caleb returns with his own meal, she also has a piece of fish on a small plate, already sitting on the table. she's scrolling through her phone.]
[He smiles a little, grateful, when she passes Frumpkin a fish treat; he'll nibble at it a little while they eat. He laughs a little, tired, at the question.]
Oh, boy.
A few of them. Um, let me think. [In some ways, the easiest one to talk about is also the one with the most risks to discussing here. And he doesn't know Byleth all that well. But. . . ]
May I tell you something, and ask you to keep it between you and I?
[Sometimes there's just - a lot you can't talk about, and it's beginning to wear on you, and a nice protagonist asks you a question about it.]
. . . I have two friends of mine here with me. Very dear friends. But I'm from a future a little farther ahead of them, and things have gone a little bit badly for one of them. And for me.
I've been, uhm, struggling with knowing how much to tell them, what will even do them good to know about. Nothing, right? If it can't be changed, then nothing.
Oh, that's right. You had time travel on your profile, didn't you? I noticed that. I noticed that. [He scratches at his arms a little, finding this funny for reasons he doesn't seem like he's going to explain.]
Other than reversing the flow of time, I don't think it can be changed. So let's put that option aside for the moment.
[It's alright. She doesn't seem to want to answer, so he'll drop it. It's dangerous, after all.]
Probably. One thing in particular is more likely to come to light, and is a little more out of my control. The rest, the things only I know . . . I can probably keep a lid on it. I'm good at keeping secrets.
If Beauregard sees, she will put it all together. She is a sharp cookie. But, uhm, maybe it doesn't make me sound good to say, but I don't think she'll be surprised to learn I was keeping things from her.
I'm a shady person. No big surprises there. [Scratching at his forearms a little, absently.] Maybe they'll figure it out, but until then. . . I don't know. Maybe I just wanted to get it off my chest somehow, as bad an idea as that is. [There's a slight belated chuckle, like he just thought of a joke he hadn't intended.] You could immediately go and tell her I am a liar, if you wanted to, but all it will do is force her to worry about all of the things I'm worrying about now.
[she shakes her head silently—no plans to run off and narc to beauregard—and she doesn't even know the other person. besides, she was good at keeping secrets, too.
but she does give him a careful, appraising look.]
[He leans back in his chain, his hand in his chin. Uncertain, but evidently fascinated. It's probably not hard to tell, after two instances of it, that anything related to the concept of time very obviously piques his interest, even if he tries to play it a little cool.]
. . . I'll admit, I don't know very much about that sort of thing. His memories are of something different than what you remember?
It doesn't take a particularly observant person to see that he's struggling. But it caught my attention a little. There are certain things I think I will always recognize.
[The arm scratching and long awkward pauses continues.]
What it looks like when something has happened to someone. . . when they're carrying more pain than they know how to carry? Scheisse. I must sound crazy right now. He is fighting with geese, it is no great insight.
Ah. . . I'm not so good at that, at friendly normal conversation. [They've been carrying on a whole conversation and he's been a little awkward but mostly fine. But people who don't want to talk to him, that isn't so easy.] But you're probably right that it helps. It helps to have people care.
[about the same as going from mercenary to teacher, which... yeah, seems like this one should've been easier? but they didn't have classes like this at the academy.
and she's reviewing all her teacher choices, now. maybe she shouldn't have given homework.]
Between your friends and my friends, we have all four covered and two overlapping. But you and I are alone.
[. . .]
However she talks about herself, Beauregard is a pretty dependable person. Mollymauk - a good person, a little less dependable perhaps. Though she did smash her phone in a rage and become impossible to contact, so I may be misrepresenting both.
Yes. Though not immediately helpful to our predicament, nor to my research interests. But I can't complain about the chance to learn a little about the knowledge of this world.
[sure enough, she's set up at the cafe not long after, scribbling something in her notebook. when caleb arrives, she waves him to the table—she got them both hot chocolates—and closes the notebook, which has several purikura, both solo and with others, decorating the cover.]
[He's coming over to her with a small wave, carrying a couple books under his arm. But once he approaches the table, he's just going to lean in and bite her on the neck.
Ahhhhhhhh.]
I still have no idea why this is happening, I'm sorry!
[she makes a small, quiet sound of surprise. she seems to wobble for a moment in her seat, until she gets her act together just enough to grab him by the arm--]
[Yike! Anyway, not to be dramatic on main, but when she grabs his arm to bite his wrist, it sort of pushes back his sleeve, so she can make out the first few letters of a tattoo on his forearm (as well as a bunch of strange faded scars in a pattern) U-N-F-O-R-
But yeah, he's red at this.]
Well, this was the curse. Apparently it exists outside the library.
[He got her several books! About electricity! One is a fairly basic science book about how it works! One is a slightly more complex science book! One is just about the history of it!]
I presumed your meaning was, uhm, electricity as a source of fuel, but let me know if my assumption was incorrect. We don't have these devices where I'm from, I thought it might be similar for you.
Anyway, the expression on his face is a bit hard to parse; he glances at his forearm, and then sort of puts his hand in his pocket.]
A very unpleasant effect. It would be nice to be the sort who could wear it openly. [. . .] I used to closely hide the scars there, as well, with bandages, and then one day I stopped bothering. It's strange to be back to hiding it, and perhaps I ought to be braver about that, too.
[He kind of blue screens when she starts pulling down her top? Just sort of staring at her blinking like 'what is happening' until he understands where this is going.
After which - ]
. . . Ah. Never easy, no.
[He frowns and seems uncertain for a moment, before rolling his sleeve up the rest of the way. UNFORGIVABLE.]
No. [He - will roll up the other sleeve and show them there. They're just like weird cuts in kind of a pattern all over.] They bother me a little sometimes, like an itch, but not really. From a long time ago.
[a nod, and she's opening the books, flipping through them.
...
well, now that all that weirdness is out of the way, this is nice, actually. she settles into a rather congenial silence across from caleb, leafing through a diagram of electricity generation.]
My conversation with Kaoruko led me to think there was at least some say in it; she said whether we'd have more killings would depend on the people here. But it also didn't leave me thinking she was some cold blooded murderer. There's more to it.
And people will die while we figure it out. Sometimes, it will be innocent people. But what happened tonight was a little disgusting to me.
In general, I couldn't say, but - I came after her rather harshly in that trial. I didn't expect her to want to say much, but once I let her know I wasn't there to treat her as some vile murderer, she wound up trying to give advice and words of caution. So I wouldn't think so.
[. . .]
I am the last person who can judge anyone. I don't judge the killers here, either. But I think we need to find them anyway, or else we are sitting ducks.
To try to. . . play along more with the school, to get along with the Dorm Heads and the Principal. And to be careful, that odd things were happening here.
Ah. Beauregard, at first. And then, when I tried to just ignore her because she was an illusion . . . my old teacher. [Grimacing a little at that.] A very disgusting person. It had me deciding fake Beauregard was better.
At the end, too, that pink-haired person . . . he changed to look like my mother.
I feel that a bit, too. I spent a lot of my life weak and hiding. Only recently have I become powerful enough to feel I can change things. . . only to lose it again.
[things can often just be broken down into one step in front of the next. one thing after another. one mercenary contract finished, one battle fought, another class over, and the next begun. but always forward, with certainty. there was no need to think too deeply about it—just go.]
[it's midway through the decorating, and byleth is leaning over caleb's shoulder as he does his part, when the memory hits like a bag of bricks.
she sways slightly, the information all coming at once, and reaches out, laying a hand on caleb's shoulder to steady herself, just for a memory of her own to swap in place.]
[The memory he showed her is a little distressing, and he’s trying to form the words to try to explain himself, but then he sees her memory. He sees something that happens in her memory.]
You did you do that. [His voice is hoarse.] You went. . . you went back. You can do this?
[He’s watching her, a little obviously on edge. There’s something in his behavior, in his posture, like an addict trying to pretend it doesn’t matter to him one way or another if you want to give him a hit.]
How far can you go back? Does it. . . it can change things?
[true or not, she says it anyway. it's in his eyes. the hunger, the desire—it's exactly what kept her mum in the first place. either no one would believe her—or worse, they would.]
[He can sense her withdrawing and he feels a little sick, ashamed. But he also thinks of the way she was when she saw her father as a hostage, and maybe she. . . ]
[The memory she saw, of him in a hotel room spilling his story to Nott and Beauregard, was only a little less than a year ago, but it feels so much longer. He was still dirty, dressed like a homeless person, but more obvious is how manic he was, how paranoid and untrusting, the obvious evidence of insanity. . . he doesn’t recognize that anymore.
He thinks of the ending, telling Nott excitedly he had a few ideas to “make up for it,” and feels a little ill.]
Time travel in my world. . . It is theoretically possible. A few wizards have attempted it, but always. . . ended in disaster. Too high a cost, too complicated, any change to the timeline even worse.
But I always had this idea that maybe I could. . . I had this plan, where I could pull it off. Go back and save my mother and father.
Crazy, completely crazy. A madman’s tinkering. But. . . I don’t know. If you could do it without changing anything, then couldn’t it. . .?
her face loses some of the tension, softening into something more sympathetic—more sorrowful. her voice is gentle, but still quiet, when it comes out.]
You saw what happened.
I couldn't change... fate.
[she spits the last word out, and even within her quiet tone, there's a twisting knife of despair.]
[He trails off a little. Because he doesn’t know if he agrees that it isn’t possible, but at this point, at the least.]
Well, I’d thought. . . if I could make it appear nothing had changed, use illusions and spirit them away to another continent, maybe it wouldn’t. . .
[He swallows, shakes his head.] But. Understand, I know this is crazy. Even if it’s possible the risk is too great, I won’t - I wouldn’t risk everything my friends and I have done. It’s only a sort of. . . daydream I can’t shake.
[she nods once, because... of course it is. she still thinks about it herself. unwinding things to that moment again and again. she knows how she could do it, now. how things could be better, how she could be better. quicker. faster. smarter. it isn't like the temptation isn't present, but...]
I understand.
[...]
But... if you could do it, right now.
Would you undo every good thing between now and then?
[He folds his arms across his chest, leans forward with a deep sigh.]
If I did it right. If I did everything exactly right. . . it might not undo anything. But even the smallest mistake or miscalculation, and. . . together, my friends and I have done some incredible things. We have helped one another, we have brought families back together. We have even ended a war. And. . . I value my friends very much. Even if the risk that I would hurt them or jeopardize what we've achieved is small, I. . . I don't think I can take it.
But if I'm not undoing it then. . . that means I have to live with what I've done forever. Live with their blood on me for the rest of my life. And I don't know if I. . . can stomach that idea.
I have a little magic that lets me. . . rewind the clock a bit. Mainly useful in a fight. Only seconds, and only once.
[So he gets that. But the bigger implications. . . there's a reason he became a little obsessive about theoretical physics when exposed to it.]
But it's good you can use this gift of yours in such a responsible way, even knowing. . . [Her father. She tried once, but. If you went back a little further. . . could fate really stand in your way?]
[byleth is liminal—she's wherever other people aren't. so when she is in the cafeteria, it's some odd time between meals when nobody else is even around.
she looks up from her plate, mostly finished, and nods to Caleb silently.]
Or perhaps. . . here is the agreement I can make with you. There was another set of footprints there, with Crow. If you tell me all you can about the arrangement between yourself and Rupert, who is gone, I will not ask you anything about who those belong to.
[He's frowning, clearly a little frustrated, but he doesn't seem angry or upset, just trying to figure out the piece that he's missing.]
If you are protecting someone, I suppose it must be Taichi, Luxanna, or Yamato. And I hardly want to see any harm come to one of those three, either. My guess would be Luxanna. She felt off to me this weekend. But it doesn't matter so much.
. . . If you're helping one of those three, then. No one deserves to have to become accustomed to spilling blood at that age. It twists your heart, it ruins you. It ruined me. So . . . I am glad that you are protecting them.
Sure. When personal feelings are involved, it is hard to see it that way.
[. . .]
I've been thinking a little about. . . a friend of mine said to me once, be gentle in your motives. Don't, uhm, think about who you want to punish. Think instead about who you want to save.
I want to save, uhm, Mollymauk. But I also want to save Rupert, and whichever of the three children from fall is caught up in this, and I suppose I want to save you, too.
for a long moment, she looks utterly at a loss for words. it's a considerable pause before she finds any again, and even then, she struggles a little, lost in the consideration given. rather, she just ends up saying:]
[Hmm let's say on Tuesday he is checking out the lazy river? Like, what is this. What is it for. But he glances up when he sees Byleth. He's in the sad zone all this week but he doesn't seem bothered to see her.]
. . . Hello. At least the weather is a bit better?
[He shrugs a little, looks out at the river, contemplative.]
I actually like the winter, I grew up in a cold climate. Ice skating, hot drinks. . . that sort of nostalgia. Mollymauk was the one who was, uhm, eager for it to be over with.
A fair exchange. And then after, do you mind if I make a somewhat silly request of you?
[. . . But first, a memory.]
So, here is the story of how we became the Mighty Nein. It's not only one memory, since the actual tale of us meeting was simple, sort of uneventful. I want to tell the whole thing.
I was travelling with my little friend Veth. The, uhm, goblin girl you saw. [His hostage.] Veth and I had only been together for some months at this point. We met in a jail cell in a small town. I had been caught trying to steal spell components, and she pickpocketing. I had been alone at that point for about five years, living on the streets and traveling to pick up new knowledge where I could, but Veth convinced me we should help one another break out of the jail. It is, uhm, very dangerous to be a goblin in the Empire, she would likely have been killed regardless of her crime, so I felt for her, and I didn't want to be punished, either. So she picked the lock, I started a fire as a distraction, and we escaped. We meant to go our separate ways, but we worked well as a team, and she didn't ask me too many questions about myself, and she encouraged my pursuits, she understand that I needed books and components and access to arcane learning to become strong and she wanted this for me. She, uhm, encouraged me very much, she was kind, she let me feel protective over her like a little sister, hiding a bit from me how sharp and capable she was because she wanted me to grow confidence. She showed me friendship and, um, love, like a family, and I grew very attached to her. Very, very attached, despite my desire to remain solitary.
[As he speaks, he radiates a lot of affection and love. Gratitude, too.]
But it was always dangerous for us. I was not very strong then, and she had to hide wherever we went, and the roads can be deadly for travelers. In Trostenwald, we stopped at a tavern, and thought maybe we would find a group to journey with for protection. We met a group there that seemed promising. There was a half-orc man who seemed quite intelligent and confident and was a practitioner of the arcane. A very angry human woman who clearly had the strength to survive a fight. And a blue tiefling girl who, uh, immediately fell for the scam Veth tried to run on her, but seemed friendly and not to care that Veth was a goblin, and seemed to have some healing magic. They were heading up the road to Zadash, so we considered maybe going with them.
But as we were speaking, a purple tiefling in a very gaudy coat and a tall, intimidating woman with a big sword came into the tavern. They worked for the circus that was in town, and wanted to invite us all to go. Our new friends seemed interested, so Veth and I went as well. It was a pretty good show, but midway through it all fell apart; some magic went wrong, some people in the audience turned into monsters and began to attack the crowd. We had to fight for our lives. And then later when the guard investigated the incident, they blamed the circus and they also blamed us travelers who were strangers to their town and who had been seen speaking with the circus folk.
So. We determined we would have to clear our names and the names of the circus, and began working together. Some of our party were under house arrest at the tavern, so we would have to sneak out at night to look around. Eventually, we tracked the source of the disturbance to a creature at the carnival who was a fiend in disguise, a devil toad. We slew the creature, and brought its head back to the town's Lawmaster, and were able to clear our names. But the head of the circus was held responsible for bringing the fiend into town, so he was sentenced to work off a fine. This meant the circus was disbanded.
As a result, the seven of us - the three from the tavern, Fjord, Jester and Beauregard, my friend Veth and myself, and the two from the circus, Yasha and Mollymauk - decided to travel together north to Zadash. On the way there, we came to a town called Alfield, which was being attacked by Knolls, and had many townsfolk slained or carted away to be devoured. We accepted a contract from the townsguard to go deal with the knolls. When we were victorious, the townsguard asked for the name of our group. They had all had a joke on my accent, whenever I said the number 'nine.' They would say it in a Zemnian accent, like the word that means no in Zemnian, N-E-I-N, nein. So when they asked for a name, we told them that we were called the Mighty Nein, and asked to be paid for nine warriors instead of seven.
[she's been sitting, listening in rapt attention, so when he reaches the climax of the story, so to speak, her mouth opens a little into a teeny-tiny 'o'.
it's rare that she just expresses her surprise outright, but it's all just clicking into place in such a very satisfying, full-circle way, that it just bubbles out.
the connection with veth, the name, the coming together of the unusual group... her emotions warm as the story progress, and she nods, matching his fondness with her own.]
That's what Mollymauk meant when he said it was just a joke.
She's... [how to explain Rhea in a nutshell? something emotional tangles in her chest at the concept, and she purses her lips at her own inability to hide her complicated feelings on the matter.
. . . For good measure, once he comes out of his meditation and sees she's asleep, he'll do a couple other of the awkward stretches, kind of relieved she isn't awake to see it. Surely this will count, right?]
. . . Well, I can create illusions. So it should be possible to create an enchantment that generates them. It would require a lot of tweaking, but I think I could enchant on object to reproduce images the way this one does. Making it possible to customize them with little stickers will be trickier.
[Immediately just bluescreening. Sputtering thoughts. Mentally projecting kissing Dimitri in a wedding gown and then trying to think of Frumpkin and then mentally projecting kissing Molly.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
week 0; monday
Miss Eisner.
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Caleb.
How are you? [she's also. looking around him. for cat.]
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Classes are interesting here. Ah, say hallo.
[Frumpkin extends his little paw, since she seemed to like that before.]
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Anything catching your attention?
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Maybe that's the "theoretical" part.
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It all is.
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[they haven't let them do anything else.
...]
Would you like to eat lunch with me?
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[Normally he might have some hesitation, but there's something very calming about how little she says.]
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[the alliteration is entirely on purpose. she changes direction, inclining her head at caleb and companion as she starts heading cafeteria-ward.]
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Have you done any of the tasks yet?
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Shall we do another?
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[But first, going to the cafeteria, grabbing some lunch for himself.]
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22 slices of cici's pizzaa personal pizza pie, then selects seating a little distance away from whoever else may be here right now.when caleb returns with his own meal, she also has a piece of fish on a small plate, already sitting on the table. she's scrolling through her phone.]
How about... "compassion"?
[she looks up.]
Are you dealing with any conflicts?
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Oh, boy.
A few of them. Um, let me think. [In some ways, the easiest one to talk about is also the one with the most risks to discussing here. And he doesn't know Byleth all that well. But. . . ]
May I tell you something, and ask you to keep it between you and I?
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It won't leave this table.
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[Sometimes there's just - a lot you can't talk about, and it's beginning to wear on you, and a nice protagonist asks you a question about it.]
. . . I have two friends of mine here with me. Very dear friends. But I'm from a future a little farther ahead of them, and things have gone a little bit badly for one of them. And for me.
I've been, uhm, struggling with knowing how much to tell them, what will even do them good to know about. Nothing, right? If it can't be changed, then nothing.
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oh boy]
You know it can't be changed?
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Oh, that's right. You had time travel on your profile, didn't you? I noticed that. I noticed that. [He scratches at his arms a little, finding this funny for reasons he doesn't seem like he's going to explain.]
Other than reversing the flow of time, I don't think it can be changed. So let's put that option aside for the moment.
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Is there any chance you might reveal what you know to them? In behavior or otherwise?
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Probably. One thing in particular is more likely to come to light, and is a little more out of my control. The rest, the things only I know . . . I can probably keep a lid on it. I'm good at keeping secrets.
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Is it something physical you can't hide?
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In for a copper. I can hide it so long as I keep wearing this coat everywhere.
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If they see it, will your friends become stressed, and worry about what else you're hiding from them?
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If Beauregard sees, she will put it all together. She is a sharp cookie. But, uhm, maybe it doesn't make me sound good to say, but I don't think she'll be surprised to learn I was keeping things from her.
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[she takes another bite of pizza.]
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but she does give him a careful, appraising look.]
Is the physical difference on your chest?
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Something like that.
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Thank you for sharing with me, Caleb.
It won't leave the three of us.
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[He sighs a little, still unsure, but - ]
Then can I ask you, if it isn't intrusive. . . the people who matter most to you?
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Some of them are here with me.
[two friends and two friends. peas in a pod.]
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One I'm not worried for. One I am.
[...]
I'll trade you a secret.
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[In fact, he's a little relieved to get a secret back from his secret.]
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I have a somewhat similar situation with one of my two—his name is Claude.
I'm a little ahead of him. Except...
[...]
Things are... different.
[she's genuinely not sure how else to put it in context at the moment]
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He may be from an "alternative timeline".
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[He leans back in his chain, his hand in his chin. Uncertain, but evidently fascinated. It's probably not hard to tell, after two instances of it, that anything related to the concept of time very obviously piques his interest, even if he tries to play it a little cool.]
. . . I'll admit, I don't know very much about that sort of thing. His memories are of something different than what you remember?
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[and even if she's somehow misread the situation, she's concerned.]
But there's still the issue of being behind me in time.
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[Things don't have to go quite as badly.]
Your friends here are Claude and. . . ?
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Dimitri.
Who was your friend besides Beauregard?
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[If he's the one she's worried about when she's friends with Dimitri???]
Mollymauk Tealeaf. Purple fellow with horns.
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It's Dimitri I'm worried for.
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[He's quiet for a moment, scratching his arms.]
It doesn't take a particularly observant person to see that he's struggling. But it caught my attention a little. There are certain things I think I will always recognize.
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Like what?
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[The arm scratching and long awkward pauses continues.]
What it looks like when something has happened to someone. . . when they're carrying more pain than they know how to carry? Scheisse. I must sound crazy right now. He is fighting with geese, it is no great insight.
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He's carrying a lot on his shoulders.
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[Well, he doesn't really know anything about Dimitri. But. He's obviously carrying something.]
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I think he'd just enjoy normal, friendly conversation, even if he rebukes it.
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[she finds you normal and friendly. who isn't a little cringe?]
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You are easy to talk to, I think.
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I'm glad.
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[Based on her profile.]
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And you are a mage.
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[. . .]
What do you teach?
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Everything pertaining to combat and leadership.
[she's been refining this definition.]
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That is quite a course of study.
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It's the turning point for many young people who attend—they graduate, and go on to greater things thanks to the skills gained there.
[allegedly]
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I was a mercenary before I was asked to teach there.
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[about the same as going from mercenary to teacher, which... yeah, seems like this one should've been easier? but they didn't have classes like this at the academy.
and she's reviewing all her teacher choices, now. maybe she shouldn't have given homework.]
w0, Post-Death Announcement
Were you able to reach Beauregard?
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. . . Ja. She's okay. You were trying to reach someone, too.
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Dimitri. I've been looking everywhere.
[and she's still checking her phone. she does fire off a message, though.]
And he's not answering.
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[He snaps his fingers and brings his cat running towards him, and then begins speaking to him in kind of a musical, strange language.]
I told him to go walk around and look for Dimitri, and if he finds anything, to come back here.
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[...]
I've asked Claude to look around the buildings...
[but no reply on that end, yet.]
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she nods, minutely cheered.]
You're right.
It wasn't his name in that message.
[arrgh]
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she shakes her head, a touch ruefully.]
We're all in different dormitories, too.
[she supposes it suits them, but.............]
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[. . .]
However she talks about herself, Beauregard is a pretty dependable person. Mollymauk - a good person, a little less dependable perhaps. Though she did smash her phone in a rage and become impossible to contact, so I may be misrepresenting both.
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Both Claude and Dimitri have good hearts, and in their own way, I find them both very dependable.
[...]
Even if one is living rough and the other is taste-testing poisons.
[same, same.]
W1, TUESDAY NIGHT
How are you and Frumpkin?
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How are you?
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Have you found much in the library?
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I wouldn't mind reading a guide to electricity...
Can I join you?
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You're more than welcome. But I should warn you, things have been a little strange in the library recently.
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How so?
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Is that the connection?
she thinks.]
We could meet just outside?
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Electricity and tea, perhaps.
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[sure enough, she's set up at the cafe not long after, scribbling something in her notebook. when caleb arrives, she waves him to the table—she got them both hot chocolates—and closes the notebook, which has several purikura, both solo and with others, decorating the cover.]
Strange happenings in the library?
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Ahhhhhhhh.]
I still have no idea why this is happening, I'm sorry!
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Um.
[--and bite him on the wrist.]
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But yeah, he's red at this.]
Well, this was the curse. Apparently it exists outside the library.
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she blushes.]
I'm sorry for biting you, even if it is a curse...
[she pushes the cup forward.]
Hot chocolate?
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No apologies necessary for me. But I apologize as well?
[Taking the cocoa.]
Danke schön. They do not have tea here after all, I realize. . . a very strange cafe. But this is good?
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[still, she's drinking it.
...
hmm]
The books...
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[He got her several books! About electricity! One is a fairly basic science book about how it works! One is a slightly more complex science book! One is just about the history of it!]
I presumed your meaning was, uhm, electricity as a source of fuel, but let me know if my assumption was incorrect. We don't have these devices where I'm from, I thought it might be similar for you.
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[she nods. well, getting bit by caleb is pretty fine, actually. caleb is very smart and knowledgeable and has a cute cat.
she shuffles the books over to her side of the table, skimming through them a little—when she looks up, an inscrutable look on her face.]
...I saw part of your mark, by the way. [best to just be honest about it.] On your arm.
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Anyway, the expression on his face is a bit hard to parse; he glances at his forearm, and then sort of puts his hand in his pocket.]
A very unpleasant effect. It would be nice to be the sort who could wear it openly. [. . .] I used to closely hide the scars there, as well, with bandages, and then one day I stopped bothering. It's strange to be back to hiding it, and perhaps I ought to be braver about that, too.
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for a moment, it looks like she's about to do something risqué, as she fumbles with her top...
but she just pulls it down just a little. there, on the left side of her chest, just below the pink lining, is just one word: LOSS]
...It's only fair.
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After which - ]
. . . Ah. Never easy, no.
[He frowns and seems uncertain for a moment, before rolling his sleeve up the rest of the way. UNFORGIVABLE.]
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You don't have to explain.
[just in case he felt he had to.]
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[Rolling his sleeve back down with a little bit of a grimace.]
An ugly story, anyway. And neither do you, though you may if you wish to.
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It's not really a story...
[...]
Do they still hurt?
[the scars.]
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I was told the itching is healing.
[all scars, continuing to constantly heal over time...]
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[Rolling it right back down and going for the hot chocolate.]
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...
well, now that all that weirdness is out of the way, this is nice, actually. she settles into a rather congenial silence across from caleb, leafing through a diagram of electricity generation.]
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Oh, did you get a tea book...?
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A tea book?
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Electricity and tea.
[apparently she didn't mean having the drink, but a book on it, too...]
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. . . I misunderstood, I thought you wanted to get tea. [God.] Though I have not even provided this?
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Now that we know the library isn't cursed, we can just go and get one if needed.
[...]
Would you like to have tea with me?
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. . . Maybe sometime. I like hot cocoa, but tea is nice, too. However, I would also be glad to bring you a book on it?
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[she drinks the hot chocolate.]
I will take your book recommendation, though.
W1 SATURDAY, POST-TRIAL
[she calls out as he's passing.
...]
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[He's a little cold and walking purposefully somewhere else, but he'll stop when he sees her. Frowns a little.]
What do you think? Ugly, very ugly.
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she's a little short on words, at the moment.]
We struggled.
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[He asks that just like it's a casual question, though he looks a little bit conflicted about asking.]
Don't - take that as a sign that I have a low opinion of you, please. It's just a question.
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I wasn't.
Were you?
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Do you think whoever is murdering... is doing it of their own free will?
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[...]
This is designed to sow suspicion.
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And people will die while we figure it out. Sometimes, it will be innocent people. But what happened tonight was a little disgusting to me.
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[...]
From speaking with Kaoruko, did you feel she held it against us?
I didn't.
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[. . .]
I am the last person who can judge anyone. I don't judge the killers here, either. But I think we need to find them anyway, or else we are sitting ducks.
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...]
what advice?
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Nothing is clear-cut, but we play along regardless.
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And to win is... to escape.
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I don't know.
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We can choose some things, even if we're led to them forcefully.
There's meaning in that.
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We're forced to attend these trials, but how we act is our own hands.
We were not forced to attend that execution.
week 2; saturday
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[And he will be waiting for her there.]
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[it takes just a little time, but she makes her way over, and slips into a seat at his table.]
Caleb.
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[He leans against the table, looks up at her with a frown.]
. . . How are you?
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[she's covered in bandages, and her face is taut.]
How are you?
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[Byleth, come on.]
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there's a subtle adjustment to her expression, and she looks down at the table.]
I'm in a lot of pain.
But I think everyone is.
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I think so, too. He is a good kid. We saw that for ourselves.
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[softly.]
He saved my life.
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Just more questions.
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[the fingers on her hand not in a sling twitch slightly on the edge of the table, then tense.]
I would trade with him.
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[He. . . reaches out, a little hesitantly, and touches her hand on the table.]
I. . . maybe it is silly to say so now. But I. . . I lost my parents, too.
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she curls her fingers around his, silently, line of sight very much elsewhere, voice dropping low.]
I'm sorry I acted how I did.
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[His voice is soft, understanding. He won't say there's nothing to be sorry for, but. . . ]
I get it. I do.
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Do you remember what happened? Before we all fought.
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[Scratching at his arm a little.]
You saw me - they drove me a little crazy with all of that.
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[...]
But I don't remember anything happening before that.
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Who did you fight.
Rupert said he faced someone he knew.
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At the end, too, that pink-haired person . . . he changed to look like my mother.
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I'm sorry.
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I regret that I couldn't save his life.
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Everyone.
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[But he says that gently, too.]
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[...
a little part of her expression crumbles, heartbreak peeking through.]
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It isn't all on your shoulders, either.
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[she looks like she's about to say something—then stops, and shakes her head, eyes flicking downward.
instead, she simply squeezes his hand back, mutely wrapping her fingers around a little tighter.]
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[He'll sit here with her, though and just let her do that.]
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No. You're right.
I don't have any power here.
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It feels like I have my hands tied.
[...]
At least one, literally.
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[things can often just be broken down into one step in front of the next. one thing after another. one mercenary contract finished, one battle fought, another class over, and the next begun. but always forward, with certainty. there was no need to think too deeply about it—just go.]
Here, I feel as if I'm getting turned around.
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[Moving forward, that is. He never has gotten the hang of that.]
Maybe staying still isn't always so bad. [. . . ] When you say you wanted to save Rupert, what did you mean?
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she give him a somewhat doubtful look. staying still?? but.]
To find a way to stop this system.
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I agree, that's what we must do. But it will take time, yes? And unfortunately, time means that we will take losses, too.
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W3 MONDAY
Caleb.
Will you take a sticker picture with me?
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[He took one with Maya, so he knows what they are, but he flusters just a little, not expecting to be asked to take one with Byleth.]
Gladly.
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as she leads him over:]
How are you feeling, this week?
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[It's memshare but I really want them to take these pictures first so damn it, they will.]
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[she's still a myriad of bandages, and an arm in a sling, but.
she rounds on the purikura machine.]
Have you taken one before?
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I've been collecting them.
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she sways slightly, the information all coming at once, and reaches out, laying a hand on caleb's shoulder to steady herself, just for a memory of her own to swap in place.]
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You did you do that. [His voice is hoarse.] You went. . . you went back. You can do this?
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...Yes.
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[He’s watching her, a little obviously on edge. There’s something in his behavior, in his posture, like an addict trying to pretend it doesn’t matter to him one way or another if you want to give him a hit.]
How far can you go back? Does it. . . it can change things?
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It has limits.
[true or not, she says it anyway. it's in his eyes. the hunger, the desire—it's exactly what kept her mum in the first place. either no one would believe her—or worse, they would.]
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[He can sense her withdrawing and he feels a little sick, ashamed. But he also thinks of the way she was when she saw her father as a hostage, and maybe she. . . ]
Can I tell you something?
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He thinks of the ending, telling Nott excitedly he had a few ideas to “make up for it,” and feels a little ill.]
Time travel in my world. . . It is theoretically possible. A few wizards have attempted it, but always. . . ended in disaster. Too high a cost, too complicated, any change to the timeline even worse.
But I always had this idea that maybe I could. . . I had this plan, where I could pull it off. Go back and save my mother and father.
Crazy, completely crazy. A madman’s tinkering. But. . . I don’t know. If you could do it without changing anything, then couldn’t it. . .?
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her face loses some of the tension, softening into something more sympathetic—more sorrowful. her voice is gentle, but still quiet, when it comes out.]
You saw what happened.
I couldn't change... fate.
[she spits the last word out, and even within her quiet tone, there's a twisting knife of despair.]
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[He trails off a little. Because he doesn’t know if he agrees that it isn’t possible, but at this point, at the least.]
Well, I’d thought. . . if I could make it appear nothing had changed, use illusions and spirit them away to another continent, maybe it wouldn’t. . .
[He swallows, shakes his head.] But. Understand, I know this is crazy. Even if it’s possible the risk is too great, I won’t - I wouldn’t risk everything my friends and I have done. It’s only a sort of. . . daydream I can’t shake.
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I understand.
[...]
But... if you could do it, right now.
Would you undo every good thing between now and then?
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[He folds his arms across his chest, leans forward with a deep sigh.]
If I did it right. If I did everything exactly right. . . it might not undo anything. But even the smallest mistake or miscalculation, and. . . together, my friends and I have done some incredible things. We have helped one another, we have brought families back together. We have even ended a war. And. . . I value my friends very much. Even if the risk that I would hurt them or jeopardize what we've achieved is small, I. . . I don't think I can take it.
But if I'm not undoing it then. . . that means I have to live with what I've done forever. Live with their blood on me for the rest of my life. And I don't know if I. . . can stomach that idea.
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That's how I feel.
I mostly use my ability on the field of battle. Thinking about it elsewhere...
[shaking her head. too much can change. too much probability, in the words of the theoretical physics class.]
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[So he gets that. But the bigger implications. . . there's a reason he became a little obsessive about theoretical physics when exposed to it.]
But it's good you can use this gift of yours in such a responsible way, even knowing. . . [Her father. She tried once, but. If you went back a little further. . . could fate really stand in your way?]
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I still think about it.
But I think... she'd be mad.
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[...]
She was... boisterous. And had strong opinions.
So I think about her when I use it. What she would say.
week 3; sunday
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she looks up from her plate, mostly finished, and nods to Caleb silently.]
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[He approaches her table at the cafeteria slowly, then.]
I think we've both had a terrible weekend, ja? Do you mind if we talk?
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[and she is—as much as she expresses anything. some of the tension is leaving her shoulders just from the way he approached the conversation.]
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[He will sit down, then.]
. . . Probably obvious I want to try my hand at asking you questions about the deaths.
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[He frowns, massages his jaw a little.]
Or perhaps. . . here is the agreement I can make with you. There was another set of footprints there, with Crow. If you tell me all you can about the arrangement between yourself and Rupert, who is gone, I will not ask you anything about who those belong to.
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Rupert and I... simply had the same intentions at the same time.
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Then what should we focus on?
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[she shakes her head.]
There's some things I just... can't help with.
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Are you protecting the others? Is that what this is?
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[He's frowning, clearly a little frustrated, but he doesn't seem angry or upset, just trying to figure out the piece that he's missing.]
If you are protecting someone, I suppose it must be Taichi, Luxanna, or Yamato. And I hardly want to see any harm come to one of those three, either. My guess would be Luxanna. She felt off to me this weekend. But it doesn't matter so much.
Will you help kill someone else this weekend?
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[He puts his hands in his pockets and sighs.]
. . . If you're helping one of those three, then. No one deserves to have to become accustomed to spilling blood at that age. It twists your heart, it ruins you. It ruined me. So . . . I am glad that you are protecting them.
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I'm sorry I can't help you more.
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[If she isn't going to say more, she isn't going to say more. It's fine.]
You may be right, and knowing more won't help us.
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You caught both murderers.
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I couldn't coexist with Mollymauk's killer, I admit that much, but overall. . . preventing death is worth much more than finding killers.
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I agree.
Although if someone felt otherwise, I would feel they were within their right to do so.
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[. . .]
I've been thinking a little about. . . a friend of mine said to me once, be gentle in your motives. Don't, uhm, think about who you want to punish. Think instead about who you want to save.
I want to save, uhm, Mollymauk. But I also want to save Rupert, and whichever of the three children from fall is caught up in this, and I suppose I want to save you, too.
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for a long moment, she looks utterly at a loss for words. it's a considerable pause before she finds any again, and even then, she struggles a little, lost in the consideration given. rather, she just ends up saying:]
Thank you.
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. . . Well, it's nothing to thank me for. I just wanted to say so.
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Your friend was very wise.
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Irritatingly so, at times. Always right when you don't want him to be.
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[she nods.]
But I appreciate it, right now.
week 4; tuesday
. . . Hello. At least the weather is a bit better?
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she doesn't look it, but the emotionshare says she feels a little guilty to be here at the same time as him.
but she nods.]
No more snow.
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[He will smile just a little, once he gets the guilt, trying to reassure a bit.]
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she feels... confused. but...
happy. even if it doesn't show on her face in any way......]
Not good with the cold?
[she scoots over beside him, gazing at whatever this river thing is, for real.]
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[He shrugs a little, looks out at the river, contemplative.]
I actually like the winter, I grew up in a cold climate. Ice skating, hot drinks. . . that sort of nostalgia. Mollymauk was the one who was, uhm, eager for it to be over with.
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she nods, but. well, no end of guilt for that one, really. even if she wasn't the one who killed mollymauk.
still, she manages to tamp down on it, if simply because there's no point in having it accost caleb at all. in any case, she switches topics.]
What do you think this is?
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It's... warmer than the air.
[...]
I suppose it could be for... fun?
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. . . I think you are right. You could ride around in it, on the current. That could be fun.
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when she spots them under a nearby awning. she patters over, waving caleb to follow.]
Look.
[inner tubes............]
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Now we need to solve something else...
[...]
Have you completed your tasks?
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Have you?
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I could tell you... my wish?
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A fair exchange. And then after, do you mind if I make a somewhat silly request of you?
[. . . But first, a memory.]
So, here is the story of how we became the Mighty Nein. It's not only one memory, since the actual tale of us meeting was simple, sort of uneventful. I want to tell the whole thing.
I was travelling with my little friend Veth. The, uhm, goblin girl you saw. [His hostage.] Veth and I had only been together for some months at this point. We met in a jail cell in a small town. I had been caught trying to steal spell components, and she pickpocketing. I had been alone at that point for about five years, living on the streets and traveling to pick up new knowledge where I could, but Veth convinced me we should help one another break out of the jail. It is, uhm, very dangerous to be a goblin in the Empire, she would likely have been killed regardless of her crime, so I felt for her, and I didn't want to be punished, either. So she picked the lock, I started a fire as a distraction, and we escaped. We meant to go our separate ways, but we worked well as a team, and she didn't ask me too many questions about myself, and she encouraged my pursuits, she understand that I needed books and components and access to arcane learning to become strong and she wanted this for me. She, uhm, encouraged me very much, she was kind, she let me feel protective over her like a little sister, hiding a bit from me how sharp and capable she was because she wanted me to grow confidence. She showed me friendship and, um, love, like a family, and I grew very attached to her. Very, very attached, despite my desire to remain solitary.
[As he speaks, he radiates a lot of affection and love. Gratitude, too.]
But it was always dangerous for us. I was not very strong then, and she had to hide wherever we went, and the roads can be deadly for travelers. In Trostenwald, we stopped at a tavern, and thought maybe we would find a group to journey with for protection. We met a group there that seemed promising. There was a half-orc man who seemed quite intelligent and confident and was a practitioner of the arcane. A very angry human woman who clearly had the strength to survive a fight. And a blue tiefling girl who, uh, immediately fell for the scam Veth tried to run on her, but seemed friendly and not to care that Veth was a goblin, and seemed to have some healing magic. They were heading up the road to Zadash, so we considered maybe going with them.
But as we were speaking, a purple tiefling in a very gaudy coat and a tall, intimidating woman with a big sword came into the tavern. They worked for the circus that was in town, and wanted to invite us all to go. Our new friends seemed interested, so Veth and I went as well. It was a pretty good show, but midway through it all fell apart; some magic went wrong, some people in the audience turned into monsters and began to attack the crowd. We had to fight for our lives. And then later when the guard investigated the incident, they blamed the circus and they also blamed us travelers who were strangers to their town and who had been seen speaking with the circus folk.
So. We determined we would have to clear our names and the names of the circus, and began working together. Some of our party were under house arrest at the tavern, so we would have to sneak out at night to look around. Eventually, we tracked the source of the disturbance to a creature at the carnival who was a fiend in disguise, a devil toad. We slew the creature, and brought its head back to the town's Lawmaster, and were able to clear our names. But the head of the circus was held responsible for bringing the fiend into town, so he was sentenced to work off a fine. This meant the circus was disbanded.
As a result, the seven of us - the three from the tavern, Fjord, Jester and Beauregard, my friend Veth and myself, and the two from the circus, Yasha and Mollymauk - decided to travel together north to Zadash. On the way there, we came to a town called Alfield, which was being attacked by Knolls, and had many townsfolk slained or carted away to be devoured. We accepted a contract from the townsguard to go deal with the knolls. When we were victorious, the townsguard asked for the name of our group. They had all had a joke on my accent, whenever I said the number 'nine.' They would say it in a Zemnian accent, like the word that means no in Zemnian, N-E-I-N, nein. So when they asked for a name, we told them that we were called the Mighty Nein, and asked to be paid for nine warriors instead of seven.
The scam didn't work, but the name stuck.
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it's rare that she just expresses her surprise outright, but it's all just clicking into place in such a very satisfying, full-circle way, that it just bubbles out.
the connection with veth, the name, the coming together of the unusual group... her emotions warm as the story progress, and she nods, matching his fondness with her own.]
That's what Mollymauk meant when he said it was just a joke.
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[His feelings are warm, too. It was a nice story, it felt nice to tell it.]
. . . Your wish?
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To save Rhea.
And to see Dimitri victorious.
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well, base facts first.]
She's the archbishop of the Church of Seiros.
She was... taken prisoner.
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[That seems fairly straightforward to him. Little does he know.]
. . . I hope you get there, then.
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Me, too.
[...]
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. . . Would you indulge me in something a bit silly? I thought, um. Maybe we could meditate together.
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[...
she nods. because honestly, that sounds great—especially considering how she's feeling at the moment.]
By the artificial river?
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There are other techniques I'm aware of, but this one is called yoga. And I need a partner for it.
[Listen.]
Would you join me?
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To do it with you?
Do we sit side by side?
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[He. . . read a little bit about this in the library, so he knows how it works.]
But to start, I think we can just lie down and meditate.
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On our backs?
[huh.]
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That is how it is done in this practice. Though I suppose you could sit with your legs crossed as well?
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she lies down adjacent to him, with the tops of their heads nearly touching.]
Close my eyes and think of nothing, right?
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[His voice goes a little soft as he starts to try to do that for himself, the churn of his emotions starting to go a little more calm.]
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...
...
zzz]
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. . . For good measure, once he comes out of his meditation and sees she's asleep, he'll do a couple other of the awkward stretches, kind of relieved she isn't awake to see it. Surely this will count, right?]
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the motion of shadows will catch her, and she blinks awake again. oh.]
...I fell asleep.
week 4; thursday
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Let's get a sticker picture together.
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:)
[and sure enough, she is at the purikura shortly after, looking......... the same as ever, really.
except it's emotionshare week,, and she's CLEARLY exuding excitement.]
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Hello. You are fond of the photos, I see.
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[she has her notebook out. the back is covered with them.]
Photos are amazing.
[instant portraitures!! how will artists survive?]
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Is it possible?
[she's walking into the booth proper, now. wow imagine making everyone she recruited do a purikura, please]
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. . . Well, I can create illusions. So it should be possible to create an enchantment that generates them. It would require a lot of tweaking, but I think I could enchant on object to reproduce images the way this one does. Making it possible to customize them with little stickers will be trickier.
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I suppose we could just decorate them with a... quill. [thinking about going back to a quill... exhausting.
she seems pretty used to the machine, keying in the photos to start taking, and stepping back, gesturing caleb to join her.]
Let's enjoy it in the meantime.
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[He will sit there. . . awkwardly, while she takes the photos? Not exactly sure what to do or how to pose.]
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this is the real reason she fixed her arm, not for the murder stuff.]
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she gives caleb a warm look.]
You don't have to smile, if it's uncomfortable.
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. . . I don't mind it?
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I'm in practice.
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You choose the next pose.
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[He will adopt a cool mage pose, like he's about to cast a spell. Grrr.]
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then remembers they're supposed to be fighting, and tries to frown. grrr.]
week 6; saturday
. . . Hello.
*sunday
How have you been, Caleb?
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Although I've enjoyed watching your exploits.
[A lot of kissing...]
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. . . I see.
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Are they good kissers?
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[He is so embarrassed. Given the circumstances, I really could not say for Dimitri, but - ]
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But?
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[so she's taking her pound of flesh now, apparently.]
We did have our own, though.
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None that I saw.
But we ate some mysterious sweets, and it made us all act ridiculously.
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[If she will not admit to kisses. . . ]
Is that why Iris was barking?
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[but she nods!]
It was a dare during the funny sweets.
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[He says that without thinking a little, but means it.]
. . . I see. So you all spent some time with them.
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[she looks a little flummoxed by the idea. but she nods at the second part.]
We were all in a big group.
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I don't know how much I can contribute, but I'd be happy to.