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I don't own Fire Emblem.
It was never a good sign when Byleth’s phone rang. Usually, that meant something had gone wrong and she was needed to solve. Why they couldn’t do that themselves was beyond her understanding.
“Coming!” Byleth screeched. Of course someone called when she was showering and nowhere near her phone. Of course, someone else had other plans in that regards. Thankfully, it’s not something nefarious. Well, if you count the ability to float as ‘cheating’ in races.
“It’s from Manuela.” Sothis announced, holding up the phone for the professor to see. In retrospect, labeling her contact as ‘Boobie Lady’ was probably not the most appropriate thing to put as the contact name. “Also, why is Dorothea labelled ‘Future Wife’?”
Byleth looked away, muttering something under breath. Out of all the conversations she was hoping to not discuss today, this was at the top of her list. Especially when coming out of the shower in preparation of some princess time.
“Well… we’re dating.” Byleth started, getting a look from the child. So she snatched the phone away. “Yes Manuela?”
A groan came through from the other end.
“I took Shamir and Catherine out for lunch…” the songstress explained, taking a deep breath. “But right now there sword fighting in the parking lot of Dinny’s.”
Byleth pulled the phone away from her ear and took a deep breath. Of course they were. They couldn’t just stick to cuddling and maybe a little hand holding.
“I’m on my way.” she answered and pulled the phone back. Judging by the grunt on the other end, Manuela had gotten the message and hung up. The phone is then set back down, attached back to it’s charger.
“You still shouldn’t be that direct though.” Sothis countered, watching Byleth make a beeline back to the shower. After washing out her hair and getting any remaining soap out, the professor got back into her armor and returned to her ‘lone child’. So much for getting a little princess time on the weekend.
“I know...” she started, taking the time to slip her phone in. A couple child leashes and collars were shoved into her purse, which was slung over her shoulder. “In between having to make sure Bernadetta doesn’t have a ‘housewife’ moment and keeping Linhardt in class, I tend to forgot that I’m their teacher at times.”
Sothis shot her a look.
“You need to do better then. Separate your personal life from your school life.”
To some extent, the supposed goddess had a point. Said point was not a pill that Byleth wanted to really swallow. There was no personal life before this point. Now she was needing to juggle two different yet equal responsibilities - that of a mercenary and that of a teacher. A juggling act of both emotions and feelings, both of which Byleth was a stranger too. She was getting better, sure. But that didn’t change the mistakes that were made on the way. Kind of a learning process to an extent.
The pair make their way towards the door. As tempting as it would be to just phase on through, Byleth just headed through like a normal person. She made sure to lock up. Don’t want any wannabe thieves to try and break in. But they would just use their magic touch abilities then. Kind of a moot point. Nonetheless, the pair made their way from the academy and towards the town below.
“So why do we need child leashes and collars for them then?”
Byleth sighed. How exactly does one explain the concept of fetish-based play to a possibly millennia old goddess who dressed like they were a wannabe exotic hooker.
“Shamir and Catherine have a special sort of game they sometimes play with Rhea. Part of which requires leashes and collars.”
Sothis shot her a look, confused by the professor’s explanation. That hadn’t been her intention, but that’s how things work out at times.
“What sort of game is that?”
.
“Hah!”
Metal met metal as the latest round of this competition ended in what seemed like the umpteenth stalemate for Shamir and Catherine. While sure, having a sword fight in the parking lot of your local Dinny’s was by no means the safest place to have one. Though, having a sword fight without any protection was up there on the list of bad, questionable decisions.
“I’ll get you this time!” Catherine screeched, pulling her steel blade back. Why Thunderbrand was a far better option, she didn’t want to electrocute her girlfriend. ”What would Rhea think if she found out that you were fighting me in a parking lot?”
The third word to slip out from the bodyguard’s mouth was the one to set off her companion. In a way, that was what this whole stupid fight was about.
“‘Hic’, it’s always her that’s on your mind.” Shamir muttered, pulling her sword back. While no bow, she was managing quite well. Even if there has been at least one attempt at firing an arrow off. “It’s never us, or perhaps even… me.”
Part of her wanted to jam this blade into her girlfriend’s skull and find the part of her brain that was so blindly loyal to Rhea. Remove that and then patch her up. Of course, she would never really go through with that. But if she didn’t somehow rein her partner in, there was no telling what lengths she would go in her loyal to that woman. Made her kind of jealous too. Feelings held within, trumped by duty. Or in other words, a pseudo love triangle of sorts. But something has to give eventually. While it could be her, she hoped for it to not be.
Of course, Manuela sat comfortably on the sidelines. She was drinking from her flask, possibly an attempt at ridding herself of bad memories of whatever man she tried to sleep with. They had both suggested she try a girl at this point. Manuela was insistent that she was one, straight and that two, had absolutely no interest in girls. Okay, if the right one was somehow found for her.
Back to the sword fight, both opponents appear to be getting ready for their next strike.
“Ha!”
Catherine was the first to strike. Shamir blocked as best as she could manage, even if it was becoming quite clear that she was outmatched at the moment. Stalling for time, the mercenary ducked. While the sword managed to pass by her without injury, her heart was racing.
“‘Hic’, here goes nothing.”
Now it was her turn. Pulling the sword back, Shamir put all of her strength into this one blow. The flat side of the blade slammed into Catherine’s body, knocking her to the ground on top of breaking said sword. In that moment, the hiccups vanished and the mercenary realized what she had just done.
“Catherine, are you alright?!” Shamir screamed, shaking her girlfriend back and forth. Judging by the slight pinch Shamir got, the bodyguard was alright. Thankfully.
Even better, Byleth and Sothis were now on the scene. Child leashes and collars in hand, they made quick work in getting the pair leashed up.
“Boo. you didn’t even bring our headbands.” Catherine muttered, getting a slight slap from Shamir. More playful than menacing this time around. Though, that was the least of the pair worries at the moment. No, they were more focused on Manuela at the moment. The songstress had found herself drinking a bit more from her flask, which was promptly taken away.
“Give that back.”
Byleth rolled her eyes. She had hoped to find the teacher in a slightly less inebriated state, but that was sadly not the case. If anything, Manuela needed better coping methods.
“Not until you find a better way to cope that isn’t drinking.” the professor muttered, catching a look from Sothis. “What?”
All Byleth got was a shrug. It worked for the moment. Especially since she needed to go check on Dorothea as well on the way back.
“Let’s go you two.” she continued, getting a nod from both women as they headed off.