...It's too late to run.

he nodded, almost hesitantly at first, but when linhardt said his name aloud the smile came unbidden. subject matter aside, it was.. what was the phrase? music to his ears. he had no worries surrounding how linhardt saw him– of all people, he trusted lin the most to treat him as a person. still, this confirmed it was the use of the title that had been tugging uncomfortably at his mind, as that discomfort disappeared like so much smoke in the wind.

not that it helped much as lin continued.

“maybe…” they had.. a fair enough point. maybe. but going from mercenary to battle instructor to war tactician hadn’t left byleth much time to consider peace an option, desired or not. much as he cherished this chance to simply rest, and fish, and nap… he was in no position to question the nature of people as a whole. “i can’t judge the intentions of others. mercenaries follow the violence, so it feels.. inevitable.”

“besides..” his hand moved to cover linhardt’s own in what was meant to be a soft assurance. “i made you a promise, remember?” unless the other byleth never had. “i said i wouldn’t let you die. i don’t mean to break it.” a pause, and he shook his head. “i’ll try to worry less.”

Watching Byleth carefully, they were glad to see him smile at the use of his name. It eased them to know they were right on his name being what was bothering him, and that it seemed to be such an easy fix. Unlike their attempt to help teach him about living in peace, which was clearly going to be a longer process.

“That’s true, you did live as a mercenary before coming to the Monastery. I won’t say you should unlearn the habits you did through that life as they’re useful, but being able to work around them to still relax is an essential skill.”

Feeling his hand on theirs, they looked down and stared at it for a moment. Blinking, they almost forgot to listen to what he was saying. When it sunk in however, they looked back at him with a smile, shifting their hand to hold his properly.

Well that was a bit of a relief that none of the bad memories came to mind, yet it felt kind of disappointing he didn’t remember the fun times they had. Something off putting about it, but what could Caspar do about it? It didn’t seem as if Linhardt was distress about not remembering that much. Maybe it was a good thing to just start over? Oh man, that’s going to be weird. It’s getting use to the habit of not saying something that the other would have known about in the past.

….

Mentally shaking off the idea in his head, Caspar understood that he couldn’t be bother with the past stuff. That was all in the past, and it’s time to look forward to a better future until he’s sent back home. The positive mindset was always best for the warrior then a worried one.

“I guess thinking about it too much will just give us a headache. I think I’ll not worry about it so much if you’re alright with it. And of course! We better have some kind of fun around this place. There’s so many places I think you’d like besides spending time in your room.” Caspar smiles lightly back at his friend. It’s not as if this would ruin the friendship they had, even before entering this place. “I’ll take this as ‘Super Strong Caspar’s Adventure, The Prologue’ or something like that as my next adventure in this place. Staring The Forgetful Linhardt: who is actually, still the same as they’ve always been.”

…Or something like that.

“I think it’s more accurate to say that thinking too much will give you a headache,” they teased, laughing gently. “I’m perfectly fine thinking as much as needed.”

Still, they were happy to see him happy. Worry didn’t fit the other well, and it also brought an anxiety about within themself. It was easier to stay calm and collected if Caspar was acting his normal self after all.

Raising a brow at the made up title he came up with, they thought for a moment to ask why they were being cast as a sidekick in this, but instead kept their mouth shut. The answer was probably not going to be one that made any sense but to Caspar anyway. And they didn’t necessarily take much issue with being a sidekick, anyway.

“Well I may be forgetful, but at the least I am noted to be the same as always,” they yawned out, still feeling the exhaustion from walking around earlier. “Speaking of, would I be allowed to take a nap now, or does your next adventure start right this second?”

@vasovagalsyncopsis​ // plotted event!

Edelgard holds up one of the kites and smiles at her friend. “I’m glad you decided to join me, Linhardt. I think it will be more fun for you than taking a nap.” It’s a little bit of teasing: she’s always looked at Linhardt sort of as one would look at a younger sibling, and she knows she shouldn’t be too hard on him. She has always appreciated what he’s done for her – for the Empire – and hopes he knows that, too. “Pick out your kite, please.”

“Well I highly doubt it’s more fun than a nap,” they sighed out, looking over the kites available to them. “Naps are quite hard to beat. But if it’s as relaxing as fishing, I suppose it’s not the worst idea.”

@vasovagalsyncopsis​ found their way.

❝Ah, um… Hello?❞ Cautiously, Aqua knelt down next to a flowering bush, where two legs were partially sticking out from the shadows. ❝Are you alright?❞

Though Aqua certainly had her own ideas of a relaxing day at the park, she could not help but be concerned for the safety of another person in such an unusual situation. For all she knew, they were not there by choice– After all, how else could one explain an unmoving pair of legs in a relatively empty area? Surely they had not meant to be found, though there were wildly different implications depending on the truth of the situation.

Perhaps the stranger had simply come here for peace of mind… Which had surely been interrupted, now that she was questioning them. Aqua tried to angle her neck to get a better look at the person, to little avail. A glimpse of deep green hair amongst the foliage was all she could manage– But to her relief, she could not see any blood, either.

❝You look okay…❞

While generally a rather sound sleeper, Linhardt was ever aware of when someone had come to interrupt their naps. Sure, the placement of where their current one was might be a bad choice, but they figured that it would leave them uninterrupted. How they were wrong about that.

“I am fine, thank you.”

As they spoke, they pushed themselves up to a seated position, yawning and rubbing at their eye a bit to wake up more properly. They were almost positive that there were leaves and such in their hair, but didn’t bother to deal with it, instead turning to meet the stranger’s gaze.

Despite Linhardt’s best attempts not to startle Felix, he still flinches a little as they sit across from him. It’s–he likes Linhardt, he does, but it’s still unexpected. Still, he turns his eyes upward from the meal he has in front of him and offers a friendly expression. It’s not really a smile, but it’s certainly far from a scowl.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” he says, perhaps a little curtly. The contrast there, between words and tone, will probably be lost on Linhardt, but Felix likes it.

“It’s horrible, not having a blade. I’m worried that if I swing the wooden one too hard it’ll just splinter, but if I don’t swing it hard enough, it won’t do any damage. I’m thinking of picking up brawling. Even my magic is failing me here,” he sighs. It’s a shame, really, but it’s not like there’s anything he can do about it. “Is… is your magic off as well? Weakened?”

The lack of outright hostility meant this was the same Felix they knew, and that was a comfort they would revel in. Sure he was just as prickly as ever, but that was to be expected---it was Felix after all.

“I don’t think there will be much need for you to be worried about swinging your sword here. It’s quite peaceful.” For the time being. But they wouldn’t like to think on what others said about it changing quickly. “But clearly if you want to pick up brawling I can’t stop you---I’m sure Caspar would be more than willing to help you out on that front. He’s always looking to train anyway.”

At the mention of their magic, they gave an affirming hum in response. “I’m only able to do a limited amount of healing... It’s not exactly an issue, but it is inconvenient. It seems everyone was limited in some manner.”

“I mean, give it a little time at least. Spring was like, four days ago, can’t expect the daffodils to generate overnight. They’re probably waiting for the time to be right.” 

As much as they had plans to approach the swordsman with casualties---and they still planned to, really---they had to give pause for a moment. It had been evident that with Byleth, everyone came from all over. Could this be the same Felix that fought beside them in the war, or one that wanted to and may have in fact, gutted them with a sword. The latter thought made them shiver a bit. It wasn’t something they would like to think on, really. Really something they would like to avoid.

So they decided to be more reserved about it, slipping into the chair across from him rather than possibly startling him from speaking from behind. Best leave space between them, after all. That was probably a good move when dealing with Felix at all.

"Felix, how nice to see you again.” It was sincere, regardless of where this one came from.

“oh.” the disappointment passed quickly. “can i still know what flowers you like?”

“…there are flower crowns involved? what flowers do you like?”

his gaze was dragged along with the hook as linhardt took it, and he watched their fingers wrap the bait in a long-practiced motion. and, not for the first time, he wondered if they couldn’t read minds– or at least, byleth’s mind. to most, byleth’s stretches of silence and way of speaking was unsettling at worst, and ‘mysterious’ at best, but linhardt always seemed to have some idea of what he was thinking.

where he worried about overstepping bounds, they brought reassurance, simple and unassuming. byleth cast his line again, a little further out now that the closest shore was disturbed, and settled back in for another wait.

perhaps he could be a little selfish, then.

“linhardt.. would it be alright.. if you used my name? we’ve been equals for some time now. in fact,” his hand tightened unconsciously around the fishing rod, as he remembered the soft beat beneath his palm, “you’ve taught me, too. and i suspect you’ll teach me much more, if we’re to spend more time at each other’s sides. in times of peace, my knowledge falls short.”

Watching Byleth recast his line, they turned back to their own. It hadn’t been able to get even the smallest nibble this whole time, and they started to wonder if it would be best to simply recast and try again. Pulling the line back in, they did just that, sighing as they began the wait once more for a bite.

Though when Byleth spoke again, their attention was drawn back to him instead of watching the line.

“Your name?” Was that what he had been thinking about? They hadn’t thought too much on referring to him by name, simply used to calling him ‘professor’. "If that’s what you would prefer, I’m more than happy to. It was simply out of habit I continued to refer to you as ‘professor’ after all.”

vasovagalsyncopsis replied to your post:

how we feelin about “bobert”

funny you should mentioning feeling because it makes him want to not feel anything actually