Ashe and Dorothea?
Sure, let's go!
The clouds covered the night sky as Dorothea quickly packed her things. It'd been almost five years since the start of the war. And she had already growing weary of it before that night. Every day, things had just grown worse. People watched her, wondering, waiting for her to switch sides. Whispering how she was only here because she 'didn't want to risk being on the losing side'. Others that she was only there for the coin being offered by Count Rowe.
Whatever rumors said, it didn't matter in the end.
Rumors were spreading that the Professor had returned to the Empire.
And she wasn't going to wait any longer to leave.
Once she was sure she had everything, she quietly started to sneak off to the stables. The night watch was weak in this part of the Kingdom. It wouldn't be hard for her to sneak away.
"Dorothea?"
Or so she thought.
Dorothea took a deep breath, and smiled as sweetly as she could manage. "Good evening, Ashe. Everything alright?"
"I could ask you the same thing," he said, nodding to her bags. "Is everything okay?"
"Oh, you know," she said. "Just the mercenary life."
Ashe nodded slowly. "Mercenary life, huh?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I don't know. You just...never struck me as the merc type." He looked at the wyverns, eying the one she'd been planning on 'borrowing'. "I heard the opera troop will be near the border soon. Were you planning on returning to them?"
Dorothea almost felt her dinner returning. "Absolutely not."
"I see." He slowly walked over to her, arms crossed nervously. "Then what is your plan?"
"I...I don't know."
Wasn't a total lie. She didn't know if she'd be welcomed back. Instead of returning to the opera like she'd originally thought, she found herself wandering. She didn't want to go back to that life. Especially not in wartime. But she also wasn't completely certain she wanted to fight on the side of the Empire. She was lucky to get any work at all along the borders as a spellcaster for hire.
But she wanted to be done. She wanted it to be over.
"To be honest, Ashe...I'm going someplace else." She sighed, dropping her bags. "I can’t stay here forever, but I also can’t bear going back to my life, facing pity and stares. So...I'm just going to go. Find something. Anything. Okay?"
Ashe looked her over cautiously before sighing, turning to walk over to one of the stalls. Dorothea steeled her nerves, preparing to fight her way out if Ashe sounded the alarm.
Instead, he pulled out his bow, a quiver of arrows, and two bags of supplies from one of the empty stalls. Enough for two people for a ten day flight.
"Mind if I tag along?"
Dorothea's eyes went wide. "What?"
"It won't be permanent," he assured. "I...I want to go to the monastery. I'm hoping to find...something."
Her fear went flying out of her as she saw his weary green eyes. Dorothea smiled, holding out a hand to him.
"I'd be delighted. The monastery sounds like the perfect place to start."
