RFA Leader

“Yes?  Can I help you?”

“I don’t hold it against him. He has a right to be suspicious,” Byleth said. “No one knows much about me. I don’t know much about myself. But Rhea made me a teacher anyway, with no experience but my mercenary work. I’d be suspicious of me, too.”

She finished her food, and stacked her plates on top of each other.

“Granted, I could do without his glares and thinly veiled threats. At least it isn’t personal.”

He shook his head.

“I’m not the first to be gravely injured,” he said.  “He used to be much more willing to let Flayn go into battle.  But then...”

Byleth wasn’t the least bit surprised, and it showed in her voice. “Understandable. He doesn’t like me. I’m an outsider and have been given privileges he doesn’t approve of.”

She went back to munching on her food. “Your younger sister seems to like me, though. We went fishing together.”

“He is... very protective of his family.  It’s why I’m here after my accident, I suppose.” He shook his head.

Byleth’s own eyes widened. Upon closer inspection, it did seem that his eyes weren’t focusing quite as well as others did. Overall, she felt she wasn’t the best judge of what ‘normal’ eyes looked like, given her own had been described as unsettling.

“I’m sorry. I can speak to Mercedes if you would like. She’s the most talented healer in my class, and very kind. She would be happy to help.”

Byleth stared at him impassively, trying to work out what he meant. She didn’t see any obvious wounds. Internal ones, maybe? Or perhaps emotional ones, like Ashe after Lord Lonato’s passing.

“You’re hurt? Or are you in grief?”

He paused at that, wondering if Seteth would be okay with him saying so.

Though it wasn’t like he could exactly hide it.

“Good,” Byleth replied, “We could always use more healers and those who know faith magic. It’s a very useful discipline. And the monastery physician is often preoccupied.”

By men, or by drinking because of men.

“You are welcome to attend my classes if you wish for a refresher, or want to improve your skills.”

He shifted in his seat.

707: Jumin takes everything seriously.

707: U can’t tell me otherwise.

V: I’d never even try to tell you otherwise

707: There’s no point in being grown up if u can’t be childish sometimes.

V: Never said that at all.  But it has nothing to do with our childhood

V: And for your information, Jumin and I both watched a lot of cartoons growing up

707: U had no childhood.

Seven, you have no room to talk.

707: Curses.  Foiled again!

707: I’ll get u next time, Dudley!

707: Who me?

707: I don’t know what ur talking about. 

707: I’m innocent.

V: Yes you

V has entered the chat

“Nice to meet you,” Byleth said, before looking back to her food. She didn’t say another word until she’d finished off two of the three plates. It occurred to her that Jihyun was probably expecting her to say something else.

Swallowing a bite of soup, she tried to decide on something.

“Do you fight at all?”

Well, he’d been okay with Byleth not talking more.  Seteth had also warned him that she was a bit quiet, and that was why he had decided to sit with her rather than brave a group of students that would have lots of questions for him.

Byleth looked at him for a moment, slowly blinking. “He was here twenty years ago, so that’s understandable.”

He barely looked older than her, after all. Though she’d been told it was hard to pin an age to her face.

“What’s your name?”

“Ah, I would have been about three at the time, then,” he said with a nod.

“I’m sure Flayn and Seteth are glad to have their brother back,” Byleth said, before nodding at the question. “Yes. I’m Jeralt’s kid, and the new professor of the Blue Lions.”

Those seemed to be the two things she was asked most often. Might as well answer them immediately.

“Ah, I’m afraid I don’t particularly know your father.  I wasn’t here at the monastery when he last was.” Jihyun shook his head before he started in on his food, a lot more delicately than the woman.

His brother. Byleth’s hollow-eyed gaze drifted from his face to his hair, then back down again. “Seteth?”

It could have been Lindhart, she supposed, but that sounded more like a Seteth move – and one that he could do, being so high up in the Church as he was.

“Huh. Welcome.”