Allow me to demonstrate

“Indeed. That it is, and that they should.” The girl nods in agreement as she glides around their side to poke at their handiwork. There is a cluttering of imperfections here and there, and she can see such is the case for most others… but again, hers are much the same, and so she cannot judge. Truly, their luck knows no end for today. 

If nothing else, at least their creations match in that way. Aesthetics are irrelevant to education anyway.

“I see no point in waiting. Whether or not we are here to see it, the glue shall dry all the same — all that would come of our witness would be little more than boredom and wasted time.“ Not that she necessarily has anything better to be doing at the moment, but that is beside the point. Point being she does not want to. Being forced to watch them fish was bad enough, and there was a spectacle that came with the end of that — she is not about to let them rope her into watching glue dry. “But, if you are so concerned…”

Sothis raises her hand with a long-suffering sigh, manifesting a familiar golden clock surrounding her hand. What she is capable of now is far more limited than what it once was even inside their head, but while it may no longer be enough to change the fates of lives, it should be more than fine enough for glue. She doesn’t need to change the fabric of reality itself anyway, just… give times hands a little nudge.

It doesn’t look like much on the surface beyond the spinning golden light before her hand (how could it? Again, it is glue) — but the suffocating exhaustion that crashes over is plenty enough proof it at least did something. The level to which that something was effective hardly matters.

Looking over the end result, Byleth felt sort of proud. They looked good (provided one didn't look too closely) and ready to be taught in. "I'm good with leaving it" they agree "I have enough other working to be getting on with with"

But before they finish, Sothis takes matters into her own hands, literally, and hey presto the glue is dry. "I trust the craftmanship. Thank you so much for your help"

Byleth follows the goddess out of the door, letting a nearby clergyman know the classroom was repaired. Another job well done.

He paused a moment, allowed his gaze to drift back downward to the panting beast at their feet, mind churning with the thought that it could simply be putting on a show for them, evoking what it knew it could wring from their emotions to slink through the jaws of death and to strike back again when their backs were turned.

Then, he lifted his eyes to the dense jungle, the heavy hanging vines and ferns that closed in around them, air dense with heat and humidity. Thoughtful, he crossed his arms over his chest, tapped a finger against his arm.

“There’s no guarantee they’ll allow us to leave the jungle alive,” he pointed out, voice soft. “It wouldn’t behoove us to underestimate their intelligence, or their desire to see us gone.”

A sigh.

"I know but perhaps it's that test of trust which might be what we should do." Byleth suggested "If we kill another, the clan might choose to take revenge. But if we don't then it might end the cycle and we can leave each other in peace"

It was a long shot but they wished that to be the case. The creatures were intelligent, strategic and loyal to one another. They were a dangerous enemy to make.

"We tell the truth. Just not all of it." they said "We tell the client we found the beasts, there was conflict and they wont be a problem anymore"

The last point could be a bare face lie but the two of them would be gone before finding out. It would stop the client hiring more to hunt down the beasts.

“This definitely seems to be the place.” It’s a lot rougher than he expected. It’s nothing at all like the restaurants or taverns he’s seen before, not even during the nighttime hours when more alcohol was served. Perhaps this is just the fate of a tavern frequented by pirates?

It doesn’t take long for their presence to be noticed either. Perhaps it’s their clothes that make them stand out, or maybe it’s the fact they’re not regulars. Either way, people start to stare. Nervously Ashe takes a step closer to the professor.

"Agreed" Byleth murmured to Ashe before they were noticed by the place's patrons. "Yes hello" they said louder, addressing the woman behind the counter. "We're new to the area and looking for a drink. Don't worry about him" they indicated Ashe's form half-behind them. "He's old enough, just it's his first time out in a place like this. I'm showing him the ropes"

Byleth doesn't mention what sort of work the two of them did. Sometimes it was best to be vague and let people draw their own conclusions.

"I usually just wind a strip of cloth around the area to staunch the blood flow" Byleth explains. Their hands mimic the movements Mitama is making, trying to commit them to memory. So focused, the professor almost missed the question.

"It wasn't so much a decision as an order" Byleth admits. "The church wanted all hands available to help tend the wounded. Also, this mission is more an investigation than a battle and I've been told my 'human interaction' skills need some work"

If they needed some intimidation then the 'Ashen demon' was the person to go to. Getting townsfolk to open up about shady going ons, not so much.

If Byleth was going to take care of those in the trees, then he would pick off the stragglers, those that thought they could escape by virtue of feeling the swifter of the mounts through the dense folaige of the forest until they reached the openness of the road.

They would be wrong. Like a wyvern, he was a persistence predator.

“Let’s not let them down,” he said to Beathe with a pat to her neck, drawing his own sword and easily cleaning up the rabble that remained. Beathe, still voracious with energy and battle-hunger, screeched, spread her wings wide and brought them up into the air and down to dive bomb, again, then again, then-

“All right, all right.” It was hard not to acknowledge her excitement with his own, a fond sound leaving his throat, not quite a laugh.

"The knights should be able to collect this lot easily enough. They’re not going anywhere anytime soon,” he said when he met back up with Byleth. The sun had begun to rise in earnest, her face shimmering over the tops of the trees and bathing what had once been the inky dark of night in a gentle pink glow, a stark line between treetops and open sky.

Raven patted the ladders they’d collected, and glanced down at the foes defeated and being absconded by the knights on the ground, and he nodded.

Perhaps realising that further resistance was futile, a few figures shimmied down from the trees and began running away. Banking sideways, the professor looped through the air swinging their sword with one hand to persuade those below to cooperate. Soon they were corralled into a huddle. It was just like herding sheep.

"Everyone down on the ground!" They shouted waiting for the few to gather in a small huddle. Satisfied that the miscreants were suitably subdued, Byleth landed midnight on the edge of the forest and stood watch over them until one of the knights arrived having climbed down the returned ladders.

"I believe these are some of the ones responsible for your earlier predicament" They told the knight who nodded in thanks before looking grimly at the bandits. "I'll let you take it from here"

Mounting Midnight, Byleth reconvened with Raven. "Thank you for your help" they said upon landing. "I think we earnt a good breakfast!" An indignant whiney behind them interrupted this statement. "You two too of course. Let go eat"

The people are different, too. Sanaki brushes past glum-faced classmates and strangers alike. Gone are the finely pressed suits and satin ballgowns, for who would risk a garment so delicate for such an unglamorous task as this? Their eyes, their hunched shoulders, echo the same exhaustion Sanaki knows is clear on her own face.

Still, today's agenda waits for no one. She makes her way over to the deserted refreshments table, in search of anything to tide her over. It's there, surrounded by cups of tea long gone cold, that she sees a figure she had not expected to see.

"Professor Byleth?" Sanaki greets, surprised. "What are you doing here, cleaning? I thought only the students who got in trouble are required to help."

A curious tilt of her head. Not that Sanaki can remember spotting the professor at the ball at all, actually...

Blearily, they had stumbled from their room and made their way towards the hall to see the damage. The hallways were fairly empty (unsurprisingly) and those there were all in a similar state of dishevelment. Entering through the great doors, they surveyed the room. Table were strewn with leftover food and glasses, decorations were falling from their placement and there was a large amount of petals everywhere. It was as though a floristry had exploded in the room.

As they turned to leave, a figure blocked the path. Church robes freshly pressed, the official looked the professor up and down before haughtily saying "You look like you had quite the night. Seeing as you're here I think taking some responsibility and clearing up your own mess is in order"

Byleth opened their mouth to protest but was met with a hand "No I don't want to hear it. The cleaning supplies are over there. Hurry up, get to it!"

Trudging over to where the official indicated, Byleth picked up an empty bag and went over to the table to start clearing the debris. They paused and turned around when a surprised voice interrupted their misery.

Like hell she would allow that, and beat furiously against the waves, focusing her eyes on the blurry shape of land in the distance. It was absurd, nearly, that this was her only recourse, until the saw the flutter of ebon wings in the sky and spluttered to glance upward, sighting Byleth’s pegasus circling overhead.

It did not necessarily mean that the professor was nearby, but it was a surer bet than not.

If she strained her ears, she though, if only for a moment, that she could hear the sound of another voice being drowned out.

As they neared, Byleth heard splashing and as they crested the next wave Lachesis appeared.

"Lachesis. I'm glad you're ok" they said greeting her. "You say there's a shore nearby?"

Looking up at the sky, they saw Midnight overhead. "Do you see land girl?" they called up. There was a soft whinny in response before she took off towards what Byleth assumed was land.

"Let's follow" they said and begun to swim in the same direction. As Lachesis had said, it wasn't long before a landmass appeared above the waves and the water became shallower. As soon as they were able, the professor stood and waded the last couple of meters to the shore.

Lying on the sand, Byleth slowed their breathing to recover from the unplanned swim. Sitting up they saw Midnight come to land on the beach, folding her wings and trotting over to nuzzle the professor's teal locks.

Not that he’d ever made it, though the concept wasn’t alien to him. Time did most of the work during baking, but here it was nothing but pure human effort.

“It’s rice,” he explained as Byleth swung down, reaching in to adjust the lump of clay-like paste before the mallet came down again. “Or, I suppose, it was. And this is just another middle stage before the final product. I don’t know what that’s meant to look like, but…”

Another swing, another swipe. He couldn’t help but huff a little chuckle - Byleth hadn’t been kidding when they said they were strong; the indentations in the paste didn’t regain their shape until he pushed it.

"Rice!" Byleth says in surprise. "But that doesn't look like grains. And even if cooked wouldn't crushing it just turn the rice to a wet mush?"

Grabbing the hammer, they ashen demon raises it above their head before bringing it down with a satisfying THUD. It reminded them of the work they'd undertaken at the blacksmith, learning to repair weapons.

"It's a bit like hammering on the anvil right?" That too was to soften and shape the metal. They wondered if the paste would likewise be heated between beatings. Then Raven mentioned something about fillings, coatings and presentations.

"A whole day out of doing this!" Byleth says in surprise. "Will it take that long, how will we know when it's done?"

The downside is that none of that seems to be a concern to the mercenary professor, who simply goes ahead with it before Mitama can react. Soon enough, she has not only a broken arm to deal with, but a whole unconscious patient as well. Mitama sighs heavily and takes a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Ugh. And what's worse is her role here is as a teacher. That means this is her behavior to correct. "Ideally we do not want our patients passing out." More problems than necessary, but what is done is done. No sense crying over a fallen patient. She sighs again as her hands move for her staff and she steps up. Now that everything is ready it is no trouble at all to cast the actual healing spell. It comes as natural to her as breathing, a soft glow concentrated by the staff that briefly covers the patient's arm before fading.

Keeping their hands on the arm to hold it steady, they shifted their weight to use their knee to prop the man up against the chair back. Mitama's sigh clued the professor into the healer's disappointment. "Sorry" they muttered "I should have waited for your instruction"

In future they would have to remember that most mortals didn't possess their uncanny ability to block out pain.

The momentum of the spin nearly did it in, but it was hardier than he might have expected, and hacked and spluttered even as it continued to bear down on him. Another stoke of his blade, less precise but with no less power to it, cleaved a chunk of its skull away and left it tumbling backward to stumble into the brush. Raven suspected it was going to find a quiet place to die, but couldn't afford it the privacy it longed for - they were hired for a job, and they needed to complete it. 

At the very least, he could give it the dignity of ending its pain before death. 

His footsteps cleared through the brush, no longer as concerned with being quiet as they were before, since they had their quarry in sight, and he simply followed the trail of blood on the dense jungle green to where it lay panting and whimpering. 

"Sorry about this." It was flat, but soft, and the strike was sure and true. 

Out of the corner of their eye they saw Raven putting up a strong fight. Indeed he dealt a damaging blow and the creature ran off into the brush. Spurred on this, Byleth tightened the grip on the hilt of their sword and faced down their own beast.

"You wont get the better of me. And I'm sorry for what's about to occur"

Leaping forward they took the initiative and attacked first. Stabbing at the creature's hind as they turned to attack Byleth again, the blade cut open the flesh, blood beginning to soak into the fur. A howl of pain sounded before dying down to a whimper. The violence previously shown was gone in an instant and it lowered it's head looking up at the professor.

"I'm fine" they called out in response to hearing Raven's voice. "What about the one you were fighting? This one is hurt but could recover"

Taking in the expression and limp, Byleth felt a wave of sympathy. Was it really right to end it's life when they had come in a disturbed it's home.

Almost. Mitama frowns at the call of her name and glances back over her shoulder. The new one, with someone clearly suffering from a break. She lets out a sigh before quickly tying off the bandage she had been wrapping and ordering the patient not to move too much before heading over.

She should not be surprised that they find themselves out of their depth when presented with something like this, but being called away mid-task is still an unpleasant experience. When she arrives, she takes a quiet moment to examine what she has to deal with before sighing again.

"I think he's going into shock" they said by way of greeting to the more experienced healer. There was a bit of guilt at calling her away from her other patient but it was clear this guy needed treatment urgently. Keeping quiet while Mitama examined the injury, Byleth looked around for a blanket or something. They recalled from the basic first aid classes they took at the monastery that for some reason a blanket was good for shock.

They listened carefully to the explanation of what was needed, remembering watching a field medic do that before. It was a painful thing to do and required a strong grip to manoeuvre the bone back into place. Quickly they grabbed a blanket off a nearby chair and draped it over the man's shoulders. He barely registered it but his hand came up to loosely grip its edge.

“I would say it will be appreciated, but I have seen those children’s posture. It’ll be a miracle if their spines ever come near the backing, much less into contact.” Honestly it’s a problem, really, but that is neither here nor there. Poor postures aside, she cannot say it’s a bad idea — far from it! Sothis, for one, does love herself a good chair back to lean upon as she sleeps… though that is perhaps rather counterproductive to the purpose of chairs in a classroom.

Yet still! To be a chair comfortable enough for which students to nap despite their scholarly lives hanging in the balance would be the highest honor one could bestow upon a craftsman, and so she will achieve as such! Even as one chair turns to two, then those two to another ten, her determination never wavers! Even if some of the latter chairs… may or may not have ended up with less legs than the first few iterations once she noticed how deep a dent her attempt of adding armrests had made in her far-more-limited-than-she-realized supply. Nor do they all have exactly consistent backing placement for similar reasons…

…It is fine! It shall simply encourage the students to come to class sooner so that they may get the best seats! As was her plan from the start, of course. 

“And… there! I must say, this ‘glue’ is an invention most useful! Why ever do people not simply use this for everything?” With the final pieces in place, Sothis steps back with a hum to give the final creation space to dry, gazing creations in well-deserved pride. Which is admittedly very boring, so naturally, she has to take to bothering supervising Byleth’s progress by poking her head over their shoulder.

As Sothis set about creating chairs, the professor went over to the pile of lumber to find suitable pieces to make more desks. Now they'd created one, making more was a doddle. Soon they had made enough to match the chairs crafted by the goddess. Some of them had mismatched legs but the professor had tried to ensure that the two diagonals were the same length. Beside, a wobble here or there didn't prevent people writing and arguably more similar to field conditions than a safe, warm classroom.

Finishing the final item, Byleth turned to see Sothis watching them. "I'm almost done, no need to start tapping your feet" they joked, referencing things they'd seen others do to make the point that someone is being slow. Casting their eye over the array of chairs, they noticed a few... variations on what a chair was but they all stood up.

She had plans to give Some To Someone! Yes, Thats how she started this plan. But as she grew closer to the stall she seemed hesitant, pacing around for a while trying to grab any courage she could.

In the end she finally made her way over there, forged courage pushed through the line.

"Yes, there so many things I'd never done before coming to the monastery" Byleth admitted "But there have been plenty of opportunities to learn"

Despite their years of experience with combat and mercenary jobs, the professor had received a plethora of instruction in some of the gentler arts. The kind one would learn from their mother...

"I was thinking of making some for my father. I've always bought them in the past, usually a last minute rush to the nearest town store. But as we have a permanent residence at the moment, I'd like to put a bit more effort in"

As they'd been talking, Byleth had headed towards the door of the shop advertising the workshop. A smiling woman came out to greet them wearing a white apron.

It did not keep her from keeping a tight hold around the professor's waist with every dip and turn, though, fingers digging into her own forearm as though that might give her the reassurance that nothing could go wrong. 

Until, of course, things went wrong. 

She had seen the terrible composure of Erinys, of the other Heavenly Knights of Silesse as they had been shot at by enemy arrows, and Lachesis attempted to emulate that calm even as the surface of the open ocean came up to greet them. 

The waters had been still that day, so there was no strong current or storm to toss them about in the waves, nothing to keep them underwater for too long except for the shock. Lachesis swirled around beneath the water before she kicked, furiously, against the water and found that the impact had given her a deeply rooted and terribly ache at all corners, biting the edge of her anger off wholecloth. 

"Byleth!!" she called, whipping her head around, forcing the weight of her hair from her face as she sought out her companion, but more importantly, shore, a ship, that beautiful mount they had been on. 

'just lean back and relax'

Physics kicked in and soon the professor was the correct way up and felt their head reappear above the surf. Looking round to see where they were, nothing stood out against the swell. Immediate crisis over, Byleth recalled that they hadn't been alone on Midnight. Where was Lachesis?!?

'Lachesis" they called out, praying to Sothis that the fair lady would hear them. Looking up, they could see Midnight circling ahead, a soft neigh drifting down. "Can you see Lachesis girl" Byleth shouted at their pegasus. "We need to find her quickly"

There was no need to fear for looking back, Byleth saw Raven and his mount loop through the air and dive bomb the thief. It was graceful to watch and it took a moment and snort from their own companion to shake the professor into action. "Ok Midnight. Let's go"

Midnight folded her wings in, taking the pair into a tight corkscrew. In a whirlwind of feathers they approached the ladder's location. Byleth reached out an arm and easily grabbed the steps. Not stopping even with the new awkward load, Midnight pulled out of the dive and began beating her wings to return them to a safe height.

Mission accomplished, Byleth was soon joined by Raven. His mount snorted in greeting. "Oh" they said surprised then looked downwards. "Well done girl, that was very impressive flying. We couldn't have done this without you" Praise given, they looked back to Raven, the unspoken question of whether that was sufficient hanging in the air.

He wasn't sure how many more needed to be taken care of, after the gang that he had just taken out, and the thief he had recovered his ladder from, but if there was a persistent problem then he agreed that it would need to be taken care of. Reaching over, he took the second ladder from Byleth's grip, and hooked it to his saddle alongside the other one, nodding at them. 

"We can take the extra weight," he explained, then rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. "If you want to flush out whoever's hiding, whatever's left - " a disdainful snort; "We'll follow your lead." 

The night had stretched on long enough, and the gentle pinks and yellows were starting to appear on the horizon heralding the dawn. Raven knew if they stopped moving forward, the time would start to take its toll – but then, it would affect those thieves, as well. 

Whatever was left of them. 

The intention was for them to take out the ladder thieves from the air rather than landing and hunting them down. It was one thing to dodge projectiles and another to get in close enough to return fire.

"I don't doubt your flying skills" Byleth assured him "I just wished to confirm that you'd be comfortable with the idea of flying and fighting at the same time"

The proposed plan worked for them so they nodded in agreement and spurred Midnight into a sharp dive towards the tree line. The reasoning being that it was a good hiding place while giving a good view of the people trapped on the walls. It's where the professor would hide out if they were in charge of the thieve's plan.

No sooner they'd pierced the trees were the first of the arrows shot towards them. It was child's play for the pair to outmanoeuvre the volley. Narrowing their eyes, Byleth spotted where the shots had come from and aimed towards the foliage sword flashing. Panicked figures burst out and begun making their way towards the open field where Raven was waiting.

They might’ve committed a crime. But going out of your way to not hurt anyone suggested that they weren’t cruel brigands. At that point they deserved to be heard out at the very least. Plus there was also the matter of the reports they received seeming incredibly biased. That was always suspicious.

They hear the tavern before they see it, loud singing drifting up the street from the open windows. "I think we may have found the place" the professor comments wryly. They push open the door to witness the chaos inside. Most tables were already taken despite the early hour. An upright piano stood in a corner, the keys being hammered by the pianist accompanied by a crowd of drinkers.

It was the perfect place to hide in plain sight.

Who knows. Certainly not Mitama, because their newest recruit walks away before she has the chance to even respond to their introduction. She watches them walk away and begin to tend to another nearby patient without any instruction.

Learning on the job is said to be the best education.

But Byleth would definably be filing a report to the church on the need for a healer recruitment drive. Mitama was handling herself well, dishing out clear instructions to both clerics and patients alike. Byleth paused to watch her to gain some tips.

"You there, stop prodding at your injury. It'll just bleed more" they call out sharply seeing a sailor poking a weeping cut on their arm. Marking the sailor as lower priority, they spin around at a loud moan from behind. It was someone with a clearly broken arm. The lower limb hung limp with the bone practically poking out the upper bicep.