(Dorothea had stolen the competition, commanding everyone's attention, and capturing their hearts with her performance. Of course, he'd been disappointed along with Hilda when the Golden Deer didn't win but he couldnt say he was surprised. He'd congratulated her when he'd gone to offer his respects to Edelgard. Something cheeky along the lines of, "I'd congratulate you, Princess, but you just got lucky" before offering his more genuine praise to Dorothea.
"You really showed us, didn't you?" He'd laughed lightly, "I admit, I would have liked to have the title for the Golden Deer but, well... just wanting something isn't enough, is it?" There had been a twinkle in his eye, one that always made it look like he knew more than he was saying like he was enjoying some quiet secret all to himself. It's a light that drove his classmates and rivals absolutely mad, Edelgard included who makes some quip about how he could stand to learn a thing or two about hard work from this competition then. He'd only smiled, mentioned he would let Hilda know, and excused himself.
(... Even with the loss, the Golden Deer seemed in better spirits these days; much better than they were at the beginning of the month following their assignment at Remire Village.)
Fast forward to the date of the ball. Everyone is having fun but it's interesting, Claude thinks, to watch how the nobility can turn even this celebration into a miserable affair. There's a clear divide, he observes, between the nobles who keep to themselves, and the commoners who seem out of place even amongst their classmates. Edelgard and Dimitri are unsurprisingly popular, the young men and women practically lining up for a chance to dance and network with the future emperor and king. The others are just as popular. How many girls have dragged Sylvain into a dance? How many boys did Hilda have wrapped around her finger?
And yet, Claude lingers by a table, teasing Leonie who refuses to dance at all and Lysithea who seems more concerned with the desserts on the table. Raphael asks if Claude is going to dance at all and Ignatz frowns when Claude makes some careless joke about how everyone else seems to be busy with each other.
(He might be the Riegan heir, but the nobility here only tolerates him because they have no other choice. As much as people liked to gossip about him, he wasn't actually popular at Garreg Mach.)
At one point, he manages to catch his deer (heh) professor hovering awkwardly by the wall and he's able to lead them out onto the floor. Of course, it earns a few wary glances; the suspicious Riegan heir paired with the Ashen Demon. Has anyone ever seen a more ominous couple on the floor? But neither seem to mind. The song changes, they break away, Hilda grabs Byleth excitedly because it's her favorite and Claude mouths something to his professor.
(He'll catch them later.) (When they both get tired of the ball.) (They're like each other in that way, too.)
It's between songs that his eye catches someone though. He would have expected Dorothea to already have a partner lined up by now and yet, he's managed to catch her without one. He grabs a glass of champagne from nearby and approaches her,)
Dorothea. (He's polite and offering her a glass but there’s that sense of audaciousness to him still, like if someone gave him an inch, he’d surely run a mile and carry out some sort of scheme, even here.) Taking a break?
[ Dorothea had not anticipated, upon transferring to the Golden Deer house, to be thrown into the middle of so much chaos.
Jeralt was dead, and a Black Eagle was responsible. Well, that wasn't fair--Monica had never been a Black Eagle, only some pale ghast impersonating one. The real girl was gone forever. Two deaths at the same wicked hands.
Byleth had been understandably devastated. Seeing their Professor hunched over her father's cooling body, weeping in the rain, took Dorothea back to the streets of Enbarr, to a much smaller version of herself positioned similarly over her own mother's prone form. It was... difficult to watch, but she'd wrapped her arm around Byleth's shoulder as the Knights of Seiros lifted Jeralt up on a pall to bear him back to Garreg Mach one last time. It would be all right one day, she'd said. One day, it would hurt less.
In the days and weeks that followed, it felt like a shadow had fallen over the monastery. It hadn't lifted when Kronya and Solon were killed, either. Byleth's transformation raised more questions than it answered. Why was all of this happening now?
The day after their mission into the sealed forest, Dorothea can be found in one of the academy's spare music rooms, her fingers absently plucking at the strings of a lute. When the door creaks open, she tenses up but immediately relaxes when she sees Claude there. ]
Oh, Claude! What brings you here? Come and sit for a moment, won't you?
(This has to be a joke, right? He can't believe it when Edelgard declares war and yet... it's very much real.
Of course, everyone immediately kicks into action, himself included. While the church prepares for war and the faculty begins to sort out the students. This is what their lessons have been training them for-- to raise strong leaders to protect Fodlan's future.
As the house leader, he has his duties now and he more than rises to the call. The speech he gives the morning of is different from his past ones. There's no joy, no laughter, and instead, he delivers his words straight and true. Edelgard's army will march on Garreg Mach by evening. Everyone is expected to fight but those who aren't ready or willing to face the empire are free to join the evacuees and escort them to sanctuary. Those with ties to the Empire or Kingdom are also free to choose their sides. He can't emphasize enough that this is war and the battlefield is no place for regrets.
... Seteth doesn't look particularly pleased by that last comment but Claude challenges him to tell him he's wrong.
The decisions they make, the actions they take.... their futures will be determined today. And with that, everyone is dismissed, sent off to speak to their appropriate senior officer and prepare. Claude checks in on his classmates before the upcoming battle. He makes sure everything is ready and everyone is where they need to be and of course, he makes one stop to check on perhaps the most uncertain deer in the house.)
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"You really showed us, didn't you?" He'd laughed lightly, "I admit, I would have liked to have the title for the Golden Deer but, well... just wanting something isn't enough, is it?" There had been a twinkle in his eye, one that always made it look like he knew more than he was saying like he was enjoying some quiet secret all to himself. It's a light that drove his classmates and rivals absolutely mad, Edelgard included who makes some quip about how he could stand to learn a thing or two about hard work from this competition then. He'd only smiled, mentioned he would let Hilda know, and excused himself.
(... Even with the loss, the Golden Deer seemed in better spirits these days; much better than they were at the beginning of the month following their assignment at Remire Village.)
Fast forward to the date of the ball. Everyone is having fun but it's interesting, Claude thinks, to watch how the nobility can turn even this celebration into a miserable affair. There's a clear divide, he observes, between the nobles who keep to themselves, and the commoners who seem out of place even amongst their classmates. Edelgard and Dimitri are unsurprisingly popular, the young men and women practically lining up for a chance to dance and network with the future emperor and king. The others are just as popular. How many girls have dragged Sylvain into a dance? How many boys did Hilda have wrapped around her finger?
And yet, Claude lingers by a table, teasing Leonie who refuses to dance at all and Lysithea who seems more concerned with the desserts on the table. Raphael asks if Claude is going to dance at all and Ignatz frowns when Claude makes some careless joke about how everyone else seems to be busy with each other.
(He might be the Riegan heir, but the nobility here only tolerates him because they have no other choice. As much as people liked to gossip about him, he wasn't actually popular at Garreg Mach.)
At one point, he manages to catch his deer (heh) professor hovering awkwardly by the wall and he's able to lead them out onto the floor. Of course, it earns a few wary glances; the suspicious Riegan heir paired with the Ashen Demon. Has anyone ever seen a more ominous couple on the floor? But neither seem to mind. The song changes, they break away, Hilda grabs Byleth excitedly because it's her favorite and Claude mouths something to his professor.
(He'll catch them later.) (When they both get tired of the ball.) (They're like each other in that way, too.)
It's between songs that his eye catches someone though. He would have expected Dorothea to already have a partner lined up by now and yet, he's managed to catch her without one. He grabs a glass of champagne from nearby and approaches her,)
Dorothea. (He's polite and offering her a glass but there’s that sense of audaciousness to him still, like if someone gave him an inch, he’d surely run a mile and carry out some sort of scheme, even here.) Taking a break?
(A beat,)
... Or is the music not to your liking?
(It's okay. She can complain if she wants to.
Take the inch.)
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Jeralt was dead, and a Black Eagle was responsible. Well, that wasn't fair--Monica had never been a Black Eagle, only some pale ghast impersonating one. The real girl was gone forever. Two deaths at the same wicked hands.
Byleth had been understandably devastated. Seeing their Professor hunched over her father's cooling body, weeping in the rain, took Dorothea back to the streets of Enbarr, to a much smaller version of herself positioned similarly over her own mother's prone form. It was... difficult to watch, but she'd wrapped her arm around Byleth's shoulder as the Knights of Seiros lifted Jeralt up on a pall to bear him back to Garreg Mach one last time. It would be all right one day, she'd said. One day, it would hurt less.
In the days and weeks that followed, it felt like a shadow had fallen over the monastery. It hadn't lifted when Kronya and Solon were killed, either. Byleth's transformation raised more questions than it answered. Why was all of this happening now?
The day after their mission into the sealed forest, Dorothea can be found in one of the academy's spare music rooms, her fingers absently plucking at the strings of a lute. When the door creaks open, she tenses up but immediately relaxes when she sees Claude there. ]
Oh, Claude! What brings you here? Come and sit for a moment, won't you?
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Of course, everyone immediately kicks into action, himself included. While the church prepares for war and the faculty begins to sort out the students. This is what their lessons have been training them for-- to raise strong leaders to protect Fodlan's future.
As the house leader, he has his duties now and he more than rises to the call. The speech he gives the morning of is different from his past ones. There's no joy, no laughter, and instead, he delivers his words straight and true. Edelgard's army will march on Garreg Mach by evening. Everyone is expected to fight but those who aren't ready or willing to face the empire are free to join the evacuees and escort them to sanctuary. Those with ties to the Empire or Kingdom are also free to choose their sides. He can't emphasize enough that this is war and the battlefield is no place for regrets.
... Seteth doesn't look particularly pleased by that last comment but Claude challenges him to tell him he's wrong.
The decisions they make, the actions they take.... their futures will be determined today. And with that, everyone is dismissed, sent off to speak to their appropriate senior officer and prepare. Claude checks in on his classmates before the upcoming battle. He makes sure everything is ready and everyone is where they need to be and of course, he makes one stop to check on perhaps the most uncertain deer in the house.)
... Dorothea?
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