Chapter Text
🔆🔅🔅☀🔅🔅🔆
🔆🔅🔅☀🔅🔅🔆
Seteth tries his best not to glare at Jeralt the Blade Breaker's older children as Rhea welcomes them in the monastery with open arms, the small mercenary party getting dragged by Alois after an encounter with bandits. He's heard of Jeralt's exploits back when he was still a knight of Seiros and deduces that, yes, Rhea might have a good reason to want him back-
But to have his twin children as Professors? He doesn't think so.
He's heard of them too, the Ashen Demons- fearsome and unflinching, trudging forward as blood and carnage spills around them. To think she'll find it perfectly alright to have such people around the students.
"Where else to learn best about fighting but from those who live everyday through it?" Rhea told him earlier beforehand and he finds there's nothing he can do now that she has decided. He lets out an exhale as he eyes the twins, faces cold and blank as the Archbishop offers them a job that they're probably not qualified to do.
Jeralt looks over the twins as the two turn to look at the other, having a full conversation in complete silence, blank eyes fixed on each other's sapphire ones. Seteth wonders if they have some sort of magical connection that allows this or if they simply can read each other that well.
"Oh, I have almost forgotten. May I ask what the boy's name is? I believe you've only told me of the girl's," Rhea says and Jeralt tilts his head at her. "Byleth," he replies.
Byleth. The name of the female twin-
-And also the name of the male twin, as they now just found out.
"I'm just not good at thinking of names," Jeralt reasons, which absolutely does not make for a good reason to name twins the exact same name. "How happy I am to not have Byleth as my name too," a voice says from behind the twins.
A third child appears, Jeralt's youngest, feisty and filled with arrogance despite her tiny size.
Seteth sees something pass over Rhea's features when she sets her sight on the child but it's gone in an instant. "Hello, little one. And you are?" The Archbishop asks and the little gremlin puffs her chest out. "Sothi- ...Sophie," she says, stumbling with her words despite the bravado. The female Byleth huffs out a breath from her nose, making the smallest one scrunch up her face and color.
That must be her equivalent of a laugh- the female Byleth shows a little bit more emotion than the male one, Seteth deduces. The male Byleth stares blankly ahead as the conversation continues forward, looking at somewhere far away and nothing in particular. From what has been reported to him, the female Byleth saved Edelgard von Hresvelg, the Black Eagle's house leader, from certain doom. What did her brother do then?
Flayn comes by and marvels at how the twins have the same name, asking them how they know which one of them their father is calling or ordering and other curious questions- the two never really answered, Sophie piping out to say something like "Because they're amazing just like that! You wouldn't know," or similar phrases.
By the end of the day, the female Byleth gets the nickname of 'Bea', courtesy of Flayn. Byleth, the male one, simply looks on ahead,
uncaring.
Something about it irks Seteth to no end.
☀
It didn't come as a surprise that Bea would choose the Black Eagles. Edelgard's smile has been shinier than diamond upon the discovery, relief making her glow bright. Hubert doesn't miss the small tilt on the edges of the new Professor's eyes- what the Vestra now labels as her own version of a smile.
Hubert doesn't trust the twins one bit.
To be honest, Hubert doesn't trust their whole family one bit.
They're too aloof, too mysterious. To think his hidden spies spread all over Fódlan could not find even a shred of personal information about the two other than their birthdays and them being the 'Ashen Demons'- not to mention that all three of the siblings have the same birth date- their situation is all too suspicious.
The reappointed Captain said that their mother died upon giving birth- what does that make of the youngest one then? Adopted? A daughter from a different woman? How come his eyes and ears in the shadows couldn't find any clue of this other woman's existence then? Like Hubert said, they are all too shady to be trusted.
The Vestra isn't blind though, he sees his lady's... slight infatuation towards the older twin, the one whom Flayn nicknamed Bea. He couldn't bring himself to stomp on her heart by chastising her or telling her about his distrust either- his resolve crumbling everytime he sees the sparkle in his liege's eyes, her usual calm demeanor breaking from just a mere mention of Professor Byleth.
So, instead, he helped Edelgard try to understand their professor better for some time. Not only will the lady get what she wants, Hubert will be able to know more information about her too. Win-win.
Memorizing the little quirks and tilts of her features is easier said than done, however. Most of the time, they are almost not even there. It makes the twins' entirely silent conversations feel all the more impressive rather than odd once you find out how they do it.
Learning this thing the twins have- no, their whole family has, since it appears their father and little sister can completely understand their silent communication despite not being able to do so themselves- feels like learning a whole new language on its own. Hubert finds himself slowly getting adept in its fluency but, proud as he is of this feat, he can't help but feel disappointed.
He thought that learning this little language the twins have will make him privy of vital information... but it seems that is not the case.
Edelgard tries her best to follow their voiceless conversations during mealtimes, Hubert informing her of the Professor's newly discovered tells that she might have missed sometimes. From there, their seemingly blank staring and blinking during breaks unravel themselves to be boring stories of what happened to the other that day mixed with the occasional sharing of errands.
It's harder to understand the younger brother's tells due to his little tilts and quirks being more subtle- almost nonexistent, really. If this were a spoken language, it would be as if he's whispering most of the time.
In the end, the twins are just... Mundane. Incredibly mundane. To a fault, even.
They're the perfect personifications of a bland scone that was accidentally dunk into a glass of water.
Hubert is starting to think that all the effort he put into this is for naught when Edelgard gets into a debate with- who else- Ferdinand.
It had simply started with a question about tactics and war: "If you're losing a battle, would it be more noble to retreat your forces or fight until the very end?"
Ferdinand, ever the fairytale noble with his head stuck in fables, chooses the latter and starts with a seemingly headache inducing argument with the Hresvelg- whose case is perfectly better and more logical, by the way. It makes Hubert push down the clawing desire to pulverize the Aegir right where he's standing.
Professor Bea walks by and stops right beside them then, blinking. They both turn to her and explain their cases. The professor tilts her head to Edelgard's direction.
"Exactly!" The silver-haired noble exclaims, making Ferdinand jump a little. Edelgard's incoming migraine disappears as she explains her reasoning to the Professor, replying to her questions and elaborating when she asks her to.
Satisfied, the Professor nods to herself before glancing at Ferdinand. "Yes, I believe so," Edelgard nods and gives Ferdinand a look. "I... I'm afraid I... What just happened?" Ferdinand looks to and from the ladies in-front of him in confusion.
The look on Lady Edelgard's face upon the realization that she had a full elaborate conversation with the professor without the other uttering a word makes Hubert feel... triumphant. His chest has never felt lighter, that is.
He doesn't know if he should strangle Ferdinand or thank him- which he will never do, by the way; he'd rather choke on his own poison- so he decides to do a mix of both, offering him a scone before 'accidentally' dropping it into the Aegir's tea.
🍵
Byleth- the younger brother, as Sophie keeps informing the whole monastery despite not being asked- didn't choose a house of his own. He'd only hold lessons about swordsmanship and numerous other weapons when asked. Felix, Caspar and a bunch of other students love it though so everybody thinks it's fine to keep him as a 'Professor' that way- even though a similar title is already occupied by Jeritza.
Having an extra helping hand for errands around the monastery isn't bad too, some staff supposes. You won't see anyone more diligent with completing errands than him. Other than fighting though, it seems that the younger Byleth learns more compared to the amount he teaches.
Annette sees it firsthand when she asks Professor Byleth if she wants to join her bake pastries with Mercedes. The professor nods in affirmation and shows up with her twin in tow, making the small student realize that she might have thought that 'Byleth' referred to the both of them. It made her wonder what their father was thinking giving them the same name and how they know which of them the Captain was calling over despite him saying just 'Byleth'. Is there magic involved in it? Is there something about the way he says it?? They might never know.
In other news, baking with the twins is a disaster.
There are a number of times where the two would freeze up and stare at the other before butchering a measurement. Sometimes they just butcher the dough themselves without looking at the other for some coaching. In the end, the pastries have turned themselves into paperweights and deadly concoctions once they're released from their hell of an oven prison.
Mercedes tells them afterwards that it's alright and that they'll get it right next time but it seems the younger twin doesn't mind the results at all, gazing at the culinary disaster they've produced in awe- a child-like curiosity twinkling in his eyes as opposed to the blank face his sister is wearing, only broken by a defeated huff from her nose. Annette thinks she might have hallucinated the expression on the male Byleth's face for when she wipes her eyes and looks back, it's gone.
Mercedes ends up apologizing to the Black Eagles later, along with Captain Jeralt, Sophie, Cyril and a few other professors- plus Lady Rhea herself- when she discovers that the hellborne pastries were distributed among them.
Lady Rhea finds it funny, with as much grace as she can laugh out loud, while Seteth doesn't- silently fuming beside her while chewing the same piece of bread for a little over three minutes now as he glares at the younger twin sipping his tea from across the table.
🍞❔
The early morning is nice and cool, the dawn welcoming everything in her open arms and blissfully waking the rest of the world as the sun rises with them.
"Sophie, won't you put some shoes on?!"
The morning silence is cut by Seteth's exasperated voice booming in the halls followed by the sound of Cyril's running. The boy has a pair of sandals in either hand as the Byleths' tiny little sister dashes across the monastery in inhumane speeds like the little goblin she is.
"You don't tell me what to do!" She shouts back, almost making Ignatz fall over as she and Cyril circles around him, the youngest Eisner pulling on the poor student's pants and using him as a makeshift shield.
The sound of their havoc attracts some knights' attention, one of those being an armoured lady with a proud stride. "Well, isn't this quite a commotion! And so early in the morning too," the blonde knight approaches and shakes her head. Cyril gasps, jolting up straight. "T-that's Thunder Catherine!"
"Thunder Catherine?"
Sophie whips her head around and narrows her eyes before she gives the taller woman a shit-eating grin. "Thunder, huh! Do they call you that because you're as fast as thunder? I bet you can't catch me!" She dramatically stands on a fence and puts her hands on her waist, laughing theatrically.
...Isn't it supposed to be 'as fast as lightning'? Catherine blinks. This is quite an odd reaction- she's used to children getting scared of the very name 'Thunder Catherine', not getting pumped up for a challenge. And to receive it from such a tiny girl too... She can't help but huff and shake her head in amusement, giving the small child a lop-sided grin.
"Bet I can," and with that, Sophie dashes off with a high-pitched laugh, the knight following after her with Cyril in tow.
It was all fun and games until it drags on for too long and Catherine finds herself slowly getting frustrated, sweat dripping under her armor and gravity slowing her legs and pulling her down. Sophie proves herself to be more agile than she looks, slipping under bushes and popping out of the other side in insane speeds and hopping over tables and chairs as if she weighs nothing- well, with the size of her body, she probably does.
Catherine feels her jaw almost drop when she corners the kid by the gates and she effortlessly wall runs above the gatekeeper's head, landing a couple of meters away from the stunned guard with a roll to break her fall before dashing off as if what she did was a normal hop. The two knights glance at each other in shock for half a second before Catherine sets off again, ordering Cyril to meet her from the other side when she notices which direction the little one plans to run off to.
Sophie enters the dining hall, just as Catherine predicted, and Flayn jolts upon seeing her.
"Sophie! You still don't have shoes on? Did my brother forget to give you a pair?" As if on cue, Cyril skids to a halt under the other entrance of the dining hall, sandals in hand and breathing heavily.
The sound of Catherine's heavy steps stop under the entrance Sophie came in from as she points at the child. "You. We've got you cornered. Surrender now," she says in between pants, not sounding entirely convincing.
The youngest Eisner looks around and grins, eyes meeting Ignatz' as he freezes midway from taking a bite of his breakfast egg.
"Never."
Ignatz yelps and scurries out of his seat as the students around him jolt. Lysithea abruptly stands up with a squeak when she feels Sophie's hair ghost against her leg from under the table, sending her chair falling backwards and blocking Cyril's way towards the tiny Eisner, the boy almost tripping over it if not for Claude yanking him back by the scruff of his shirt.
"Woah, woah, woah! Easy there, what's all this about?" Claude's voice goes unnoticed over the now chaotic commotion. Lorenz shrieks and falls sidewards off of his chair when Sophie unceremoniously crawls between his legs, hopping up and leaping to Ignatz whom she catches by the strap of his bag.
In an amazing feat of power, Sophie pulls and switches places with him to block Catherine, the knight immediately putting her hands up to avoid accidentally hitting the cowering boy. "Why is it always me?!" Ignatz complains to the girl as he's twirled around dizziyingly while the blonde knight tries to reach around him to get to her, sending them chasing each other around in circles with Ignatz squirming in the middle.
"Little Sophie, behave! Do you want me to tell this to Captain Jeralt?!" Leonie slams her hands on the table and Sophie ignores it as she drags Ignatz around.
At that moment, Jeralt steps into the dining hall.
Some eyes immediately dart to him, wanting resolution, but all he did is take a look at the mess, close his eyes with a heavy sigh and promptly turn around with a "That's not my problem,"- leaving a proudly cackling Sophie who taunts Catherine by pushing and pulling Ignatz like a ragdoll, similar to a toy getting swung at a cat's face.
"Hey! Don't be like that, what if he heaves out the food he just ate? That won't feel good, it would make him sick!" Raphael worriedly says as he gets a secure hold on Ignatz and lifts him up and away from Sophie's reach, leaving the little girl open.
Ashe, who was just watching the chase in the corner, coughs while drinking his tea and proceeds to pat Annette's arm to get her attention. "It's like that one scene from that lion novel you lent me!" He points and the smaller girl almost chokes on the food she was still chewing, slapping Ashe's shoulder as Mercedes pours some water into her cup.
Sophie gasps when Catherine almost grabs her, the knight narrowly missing her arm. The little goblin steps to the right only to pivot her foot around for a crossover, launching herself to a sprint to the left and making Catherine's legs stagger.
Her calves hit one another and she falls to the floor with a yelp, almost taking down Cyril with her when he finally passes the tangle of fallen chairs and pushed tables, courtesy of the people trying to move away from Thunder Catherine and the elusive demon she's chasing.
Cyril was losing Sophie when another knight, dark-haired and clad in green, abruptly stands up upon receiving a hot mug of coffee from one of the dining ladies.
The nearby students blanch as the knight takes her glass of cold water and proceeds to tilt her head up and drink from both cups at the same time, slamming her hands down after both are emptied, the plates of her half-eaten breakfast bouncing a centimeter off of the table.
"Shamir, what-" Catherine croaks but the knight turns to look at Sophie instead of the woman on the floor. Her glare sends a chill down Sophie's spine and, after two beats, the little Eisner proceeds to whip around and dash away.
She doesn't have to look back- the loud sound of heels clacking against asphalt a couple feet behind her already makes everybody scramble to make way.
Sophie runs for dear life- she doesn't think she's ever ran as fast before.
The weight of her mischief claws the air on her back, personified as a knight who just downed a watered-down glass of black coffee, resolute to teach her why it's not good to cause havoc so early in the morning when not-morning-people exist.
Shamir succeeds.
The evil has been defeated, finally, and Sophie gets a pair of sandals under her feet.
The fact that she can barely walk properly without its uneven clacks, making her unable to run around and cause more mischief, is simply an added bonus.