𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓

"Woo-hoo!"

In the center of a bustling mess hall, triumphant shouts erupt as Carina cheers, one fist pumping in the air as her other hand unclasps from the one she just slammed onto the table. "That's another win for me! You know what that meeeans..."

"Rigged! Rigged, I tell ya..." The man across from her grumbles, retracting his hand and rolling his shoulder. "Everyone knows you're one of the strongest in the army—I dunno why we even bother to arm wrestle you."

She grins. "Knights have to aim high, don't they? Maybe someday, you'll surpass me... but for now!" Carina leans forward, smacking her palm against the table, "I'm collecting my spoils! You're gonna get me some of those rare herbs, right?! From your family's farm? I've been itching to get my hands on them for a recipe I wanna try..."

The soldier scoffs, rolling his eyes; though the faint curve of his lips betrays his amusement. "You've got more important things to worry about, kid."

Carina's smile falls, brow arching curiously. "Huh? But, we literally JUST made a bet to—"

The air grows cold.

The knights crowded around them stop their raucous chatter, turning to stare at her blankly. And the man snarls, as if frustrated by her confusion. Carina's chest tightens at the sight. "Don't you get it? The Empire's coming. Must be nice, bein' the captain's brat. Coastin' along without a worry in the world."

"W-wait, huh? I didn't—"

The doors to the mess hall burst open then, and beyond them stands a man, bowled over and panting. It was only now Carina recognized his uniform. All the uniforms, of the knights crowding the room.

The fatigues of the Astian military.

"S-Shadow beasts!" The soldier forces out in-between breaths, "In the castle! Captain wants everyone to their stations...!"

The knights stream out of the room in a cacophony of pounding footsteps and clanging metal, nearly drowning a dumbstruck Carina in the sea of men. But the room empties, and the flood ebbs, the torches lighting the cafeteria dimming as one lone soldier remains standing at the edge of the room.

His helmet obscures his face, and he stands still. Unbothered.

"H-Hey! Why are you just standing there?!" She steps to him, "Didn't you hear? There are—shadow beasts are here!" Not again. Not again.

Wait. Again?

"Get out there and defend the castle...!"

but he's not the only one who's stayed behind. the pink girl has barely moved an inch, sitting starstruck at the table that'd been full of people just seconds ago, struck dumb by the reality of her situation.

didn't she see? that ast would fall and fall again, however many times it took?

when she finally locks eyes with him and asks him why he's there, he grins underneath the helmet, then reaches up to pull it off. stifling metal hood gives way to a mane of unkempt blue and satisfied eyes, a row of savage teeth. "shouldn't ya be saying the same thing to yourself?" he taunts, taking a step out of the shadows and into the false light where she could see him better. "didn't you hear 'em? the empire's coming. in fact, they're right outside your door. what are you still staying here for?"

outside, the echo of a scream ricochets off the castle walls——someone dead, mangled maybe, and it ain't the sound of a shadow beast, which means the slaughter's well begun. had it been less than a minute ago that the knight had burst in, warning them all to take their places? or had it been hours?

how long has carina really been standing here?

the castle is quiet now, she'd realize ; maybe it's long past night outside. the soldiers aren't at their posts anymore. most of them have died brutal deaths at the hands of shadow: ripped limb from limb, heads torn off, chests split open. mauled, more at the hands of beasts than the weapons of people.

and shouldn't that be how it is? after all, those beasts were people. not all of 'em had turned into monsters yet. they were just embracing what was inside them all along: the urge to take everything and revel in destruction.

ast is just about gone. there's only a few stragglers left, and the little cow's family is one of them. they've been here a long time, the two of them, wasting time when she could've been saving people.

people say all sorts of things about them, of course. she’s heard the stories. aren’t they all raised on them? but growing up with one for a best friend, one learns not to jump to conclusions. to estel, wolves hadn’t been fearsome and loathsome creatures. they were kind boys who tended to the fields and whose hand she could hold all the way home.

this one, though, still makes her steps come to a screeching halt.

blue hair and wolf ears... her hackles raise, alarmed. just because she doesn’t assume the worst of them at first sight doesn’t mean she refuses to heed the warnings. not everyone is as kind as her friend. indeed, very few people in this world are.

“you...?” but it’s not the wolf that had met her in the forest. at the same time... it couldn’t just be a coincidence, could it? she had only met the one, but when joachim spoke of them, he said retainers...

but her eyes fall onto the invitation in his hands and she has to blink and do a double take. and people looked at her like she was insane for wanting to prepare her bow and arrows for the festival? clearly estel wasn’t the one going mad around here!

there's gotta to be more to it. no one just invites anyone and everyone to their birthday, getting 'em to cross oceans and everything, bunch of strangers trampling around their doorstep they don't even know.

"what's the catch. . . ?" he mumbles, turning the paper upside down and rightside up like it'll tell him. does the girl have some kinda wish she's looking to grant? some desire this is supposed to fulfill? or maybe her dad——yeah, he remembers now ; they said her dad's a part of it too, owner of the island or something like that.

"guess i'll just go and find out."

"you. . . ?"

At the very least, he thinks that the whispers of someone having such a boost in their wind affinity that they managed actual flight must be blown out of proportion. Especially since those same rumors say the student died on the way down. Where was the funeral? The mourning? The lessons learned lecture that always pops up when one of the students or knights does something extremely questionable. Sylvain can see it written across the small blackboard clear as day-

Just because something exists, it doesn’t mean it should. 

Sylvain has a mental list that’s miles long. Most of them are small grievances, like how people routinely choose to bake in the sauna and claim it as a health benefit. Like how any empty closet inevitably becomes a disaster zone for things that didn’t belong there. Like crests- but he swats that topic away physically, pulling his palm over his face to wipe away any distaste that might have started to show at the corners of his mouth.

Right now, he needs to be interested in what’s in front of him, pausing to take note of the guard.

…were those real wolf ears?

It’s hard to say, forcing himself to peel his attention from the ears and tail. Almost impossibly, the man’s eyes are a similar shade. “You must be the new guy.” He smiles with the words, his hand curling as he raises it to wave. Sylvain knows already that there are several shamed students serving various punishments for even trying to glimpse the potions that must be hiding in the few chests behind the familiar desk. 

The Professor that used to have this office worked with cavalry classes. Sylvain hadn’t learned anything truly important from her, but he remembers fondly how pretty she was. It made her classes better. It’s with practiced ease that he saunters forward and takes a seat at the edge of the polished desk, facing the man. Animal man? “So did you volunteer for this or are you just that lucky? Oh, and you can call me Sylvain.” 

His angle is an obvious one, but he’s succeeded with less cards in his hand. Besides, if a guard is going to be posted at all times, then the friendly chatter is the only move in his arsenal. Before he can answer, Sylvain reaches in his pockets and offers a few pieces of carefully wrapped candies. “Share some with me? They’re caramels made this morning. The chefs like me a little.”

he's had a pretty good time adding to the rumors, though. not like there's anything else to do while everyone else's asleep. boring job otherwise. so at night, he makes sure to stay shifted and more human-looking by day, and he'll light up the room with a torch or two so his shadow'll cast out into the hallway, swoosh around a flame if they get close to scare 'em off. hearing them scream and run's pretty entertaining, but it's been a few days now and even that's starting to get old. guard duty? give him a break. just how long did it take to figure out what they were gonna do with these old bottles anyway? humans really did take forever to make decisions. . .

it's day four by the time this new guy comes around. he hasn't seen this one before ; smell's different from the others. and even though he can tell he's trying to keep his steps soft outside, these ears made for hunting can pick him up a mile away like he's flattening every tree in the forest. and that's not even countin' his nose. before he can tell him to stop insulting himself skulking around though, the guy blows his own cover. suit himself.

thing was, he didn't actually really care if they got 'em or not. if they wanted to mess themselves up enhancing their strength or speed or whatever, go right ahead. wanting to be the strongest and toughest was only natural. joke's on them, though ; there was a way to do all of that without even ruining your body——not immediately, anyway. just a little soul-selling and monstrosity down the line, but it's a better payoff than kicking an early grave now, he'd say.

anyway, they all got a different angle to try. and this guy's talking, it looks like. fair enough. better than the last guy who just stared at him big-eyed and nervous for an hour, almost peed his pants when he growled at him.

"no thanks. i only eat meat." he grins, showing a row of sharp teeth to prove it. "so if those candies are drugged to knock me out so you can get these potions. . . you'll have to do better than that."

sylvain, huh? he lounges deeper in the armchair he'd been given to sit in while he guarded every day. least he didn't have to stand.

didn't get why he had to be part of it though.

and since they're stuck holding hands, he can't even lie down in the straw and take a nap while this guy's working!

"ugh, i get why you have to suffer for being bad. but why do i have to wait around? i just got here. shouldn't they have me out hunting criminals or something?" whatever it is that knights did——protectin' royals, walking around in armor and making a bunch of noise? he wouldn't be caught dead doing that, but the searching and killing part wasn't too bad. the priests who'd stuck 'em together had said something about ' supervising the work ', to make sure this human didn't get up to any problems, he'd bet. he ain't an idiot ; he knew a plan to stick the upstanding with the corrupt to fix 'em when he smelled it. problem was, they had no idea who they were talking to. and he didn't really care whether the cows got milked or not and all that. actually, those hogs looked pretty tasty right about now. . .