sranks | we're flying through the night

we're flying through the night

[There are a lot of things Hubert knows for certain.

He knows that Lady Edelgard will take the throne and usher in a new era for Fódlan. He knows that his duty is to serve Lady Edelgard, regardless of personal cost. He knows that he would do anything and everything for her. He knows that his entire being is devoted to her, completely. He knows that nothing can stand in the way of her conquest or of his devotion.

He also knows that he's been coughing up flower petals for exactly a week now.

Hanahaki Disease is certainly not uncommon in the monastery; most of them are a bunch of stupid teenagers, it certainly isn't surprising that several of them have managed to find themselves developing feelings for someone. Such a stupid, pointless thing should have been limited to the dumb teenagers who have nothing to worry about but grades and their stupid, pointless feelings for one another.

This shouldn't be happening to someone like him. Perhaps he would be taking the situation more seriously if his feelings were for Lady Edelgard - although a situation like that is a bit horrifying to imagine. He would never betray her trust in such a way. He loves her, certainly. But not like that. That would only cause problems.

No, these feelings have come from someone else; someone entirely unexpected.

Marianne.

It's been four months since they met. In truth, he doesn't recall much of their first interaction. Claude had called Lady Edelgard over (which meant he had come with her) to introduce the others in his house as they ate breakfast. All he can remember is assessing the individuals to see if any of them could potentially be useful to the future Empress or if they could pose a threat. Marianne hadn't stood out at the time.

She hadn't stood out much when they'd first ended up talking either. It had been during some downtime, when she was tending to the animals and he was doing his usual patrols around the grounds. He'd startled the horses she was tending to so badly it had taken her quite a long time to calm them down. He had lingered a bit - curiosity compelling him to stay and watch - but he doesn't recall much of their conversation that day. Marianne was just as quiet as he had figured.

They met a few times like that, where she took care of the horses and pegasi and he watched. Despite being the most intimidating student in the academy (because he was certainly more intimidating than Dedue), she had let him remain there without much in the way of commentary.

Eventually, she ended up joining their class. Professor Byleth is certainly a skilled instructor (despite their lack of experience in teaching), so it was no surprise that Marianne had eventually left the Golden Deer to join up with them. Not that he's really aware why Marianne had joined - he hasn't asked her. It's the most logical conclusion, though.

From there, they were set to stable duty together. He'd tried to get the professor to change their mind and stick him with Lady Edelgard, but they had refused to budge. Lady Edelgard also seems to be fine with her current job with Dorothea, so he supposes he can't complain too much... Even so, it's left him with a lot of time to get to know Marianne.

Oh, sure, they don't really talk that much. At first, it was difficult to work with her. She was so quiet and he was completely inexperienced at tending to animals, and the whole thing was a mess. But eventually she started explaining how and why she was doing things to help calm the animals, and while they certainly don't like him, they're beginning to warm up a bit.

He would have just left it at that, and maybe this whole Hanahaki disaster wouldn't have happened. But instead, he decided he needed to be three steps ahead - as always - and asked Marianne to teach him to ride. A horse, of course, he wouldn't dare get near a wyvern or a pegasus. Hopefully no one was aware of that little problem.

Marianne had agreed, and riding lessons have been going surprisingly smoothly. Hubert was taught to ride as a child, but his mastery of horses is... lacking. Desperately lacking. If he has to fight on horseback, he'll definitely die. So learning to train a horse and teach it to respond to his commands is important, and Marianne has been helping tremendously.

Well, she was helping. Before the whole Hanahaki disaster thing.

He hasn't seen her in three days. Not that he's avoiding her. Or keeping track of the days. No, that isn't it at all. It's just that he's been terribly busy with Lady Edelgard's plans - they still can't do anything just yet, but every step is another one closer to her victory. It's slow-going, but it's a necessity.

In truth, he's been distant from everyone, even her. He has work to do, certainly. But he also has to keep these stupid petals to himself so no one finds out. Admitting that he has a problem sounds like a horrible idea. It would just cause Lady Edelgard to worry and the other students of the Black Eagles house to tease him mercilessly. So no, he won't do that. Once he has the time, he'll simply track down Professor Manuela and make her remove this stupid thing. The memories he'll lose don't matter to him.

(Never mind that he could do this at any point and waiting only makes it worse.)

Today isn't really any better than any of the days before it. He can usually get through the days with only two coughing jags, and he's been lucky enough to hide it from everyone. Today continues that trend - but only barely.

It strikes him when he's in the library, searching through financial records for information that could assist Lady Edelgard. The near-choking feeling hits him suddenly, and he coughs up more than a handful of delicate, white petals. The fact that they're still white is good - it hasn't been long enough to risk staining them red. Perhaps that's the one good thing about this - at least he's coughing up light-colored petals.

Linhardt is in the library, but even the rough, nearly-pained sounds of coughing up flower petals isn't enough to wake him. Hubert can be thankful of that much, but he's certainly not wasting any more time in here. He puts the books away, grabs the petals, and leaves. Hubert heads back to his room in a hurry, those petals clutched tightly in hand so no one will see them. No one can know about this.

...He's missed a single petal, but surely that isn't important.]

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[Oh, that's...that's nice, that's very nice actually. Marianne feels that red on her cheeks deepen as a small smile comes onto her face.]

O-oh, you did? That's...really nice of you. I, um--

[...Let's just get in front of the mirror she has, she's fine.]

I'm...really happy you're so pleased to help. I-I haven't had someone else take care of my hair for a long time...

Of course I am.

[There's something relaxing about it, honestly...]

I'll be sure to be gentle.

[He follows her to the mirror, and once she's passed him the comb, he'll get started. True to his word, he is very gentle. He runs the comb through, detangling any knots he finds and otherwise working her hair back out into long waves down her back.]

Your hair is beautiful; I must admit, I was captivated seeing it down during the ball.

[Not that her usual hairstyle isn't pretty, because it certainly is, but seeing it down like that was certainly charming...]

Thank you. It's, um, a bit of a mess...

[Let her just get him the comb and just relax a little bit--there's quite a few tangles and knots throughout. Marianne usually has to keep on top of brushing it or else it'll just work itself into knots while she sleeps...

She does blush a little more when he brings up her style at the ball.]

Oh...well, um, that was thanks to Hilda and Dorothea...they thought I'd look really nice with my hair down, and I'm glad you thought so too...

[She's so embarrassed--]

I did. It's beautiful.

[His hands still for a moment as he looks at her reflection in the mirror.]

...Though I imagine you could wear your hair in any style and it would be breathtaking.

[He's sort of smirking once that's out there, and he moves to begin working Marianne's hair back into her usual style. He's only ever seen it and never tried to replicate it, but he'll probably be able to manage a decent attempt at it.]

[Marianne almost wants to hide her face when he says that much. Her eyes slide closed as he works, only opening again when he stills his hands and peers at him--

But that, of course, is a mistake as Marianne gets red to her ear tips oh dear goddess above--]

H-H--Hubert! I-I'm pretty sure that's not true at all...!

[Yep, there goes her hands, flying right to her face to hide it right then and there. She's gonna die.]

But...um...thank you. For doing my hair...

[It definitely feels like he's got the style down right, at any rate...but it's fine, she just lives here now?]

[It gets a soft laugh out of him, though the sound is still entirely too evil.]

I believe it's true. Doesn't that count for something?

[That is absolutely an unfair question and he knows it, given that he's smirking... But thankfully he won't tease Marianne for much longer. He finishes tying her usual style off, moving to rest his hands on her shoulders.

...Well, it's an attempt at her style, anyway. He knows how to braid and he knows how to get the basics of the style down, though it's a little simple compared to what she normally does. Her hair is all pulled back neatly, with only the strands at the front and her bangs remaining exactly as normal.]

There. How does it look?

I-I...well...um...it does. It does, but I...

[Seriously, you could cook an egg on her face from how warm it is. Between the evil laugh and the question itself that's absolutely unfair, Marianne is sincerely embarrassed as he finishes up, his hands resting on her shoulders, and she opens her fingers a bit to peer into the mirror...

...Well, she shuts them shortly after for a moment, but she does bring her hands down and rest them in front of her after, looking at what he's done with a smile. It's simpler than hers, but...]

It looks wonderful, Hubert. You did a really good job with it. Thank you... [She'll turn her head a bit to try and face him.] This would have taken much longer if I had done it myself.

It's a bit simplistic, but it does the job well enough.

[Still, he looks pleased, even though he's once again looking away... He realizes that and corrects it, returning his gaze to Marianne.]

Thank you for trusting me with it. It's... nice.

[...listen, he's bad at this...]

[Oh no cute...Marianne brings a hand in front of her face to hide her giggle.]

It's...it's no trouble. It was, um...really nice to have you do my hair like that. It felt good.

[She doesn't mind if it's simplistic, really. It's nice, and Hubert did it, so as far as she's concerned that's a plus!!]

Shall we be off, then...?

Yes, of course.

[He moves so she has enough room to stand, though he offers her a hand anyway. Holding hands where anyone can see them probably isn't a good idea... but given the time of day and how few people will be heading to their rooms, it should be fine. He wants the contact, at least for right now.

Once she's ready, he'll lead the way back to his room. His room is - as always - perfectly neat and tidy, with nothing out of place or much to imply he actually spends time here, really...]

Make yourself at home.

[Marianne is more than happy to take his hand and walk back; her mind isn't wandering to the fact that anyone could see. She's just happy that she doesn't have to give him up, that he's...honestly working to make the world better for everyone, including people like her.

It's sweet, really. Marianne may truly believe that he's better than he thinks he is, but he's proven time and time again that all of the terrible things he's done isn't all he is. And Marianne appreciates that, when she's in his room again and happy. It's so much less stressful than her own room...]

Oh, thank you. [...is there another place to take a seat here--you know what no, she can stand, it's fine if needed] Your room is always so...pristine and clean. I'm honestly a little jealous of it...

[There's the chair at the desk and the... bed... Yeah, that's pretty much it, he hasn't done anything to really personalize the room.]

I've never found it particularly hard to keep it clean, but I suppose that's because I don't have much that could clutter it in the first place.

[There are plenty of books around, and the drawers of his desk are full of papers, but everything is meticulously organized.]

Do you have difficulty keeping things tidy?

[...STANDING IT IS THEN she imagines he wants the desk, and the bed is a no. Absolute no.]

That makes sense. If you don't have a lot to clutter in the first place, then it's much easier to keep clean...

[Oh, uh--]

I-I do, yes. [Marianne's gaze goes down and she fidgets with her sleeves.] It just...seems like any time I try to clean up, everything goes wrong. I try to organize things and they fall over...I try to clean up messes and they only get messier. It's a little frustrating...

[...We're both just going to stand here awkwardly, aren't we...]

It sounds like it would be. I could attempt to assist you, but I'm not sure how much help I'll be.

[Organizing and cleaning are no problems, but teaching someone how to actually keep things clean seems a bit difficult...]

[we absolutely are, rip in fuck]

Oh, well...I wouldn't mind that. It would be really nice to be able to keep my room clean. It might help me get better at doing chores, too...I can't, um, tell you how many times I've had everything fall over...

[That's Marianne's hopes, at any rate. She's. She's really bad at this.]

[we're good at this...

also oh no...]

I'll do what I can to assist you, then. You may have to allow me back in your room to help, however.

[But that can wait for another time. As for now... um. Hmm.]

You're welcome to stay for as long as you'd like, though I'm afraid I'm not used to entertaining guests.

[...what... does he do here...]

That's...that's fine. I don't mind that at all.

[...Marianne's eyes do dart over to the books, though. Marianne doesn't really mind spending some quiet time with Hubert, but...]

I-It's okay. I'm not exactly a fussy guest. [Marianne looks to Hubert.] Um...if it's okay, do you mind if I read one of the books you have?

[She's not sure if they're off limits or anything. She imagines he doesn't have any sort of storybooks or the like, but Marianne doesn't mind reading too much, at any rate.]

Feel free to look through them, though I'm not sure how interesting they'll be.

[There are plenty of books here to look through, though Hubert's definitely right to put it like that. Many of them are on history - not just of the Empire, but of the Kingdom and the Alliance as well - and many of the others on his desk are on tactics and strategies. They're all the sorts of things one would expect from lessons in authority, but they go even beyond that and into historical battles and records. Basically, the overwhelming majority of the books on his desk are practical, given what he's said Lady Edelgard is planning on doing.

The books stacked up on the ledge near the window are also practical, though in a different direction. They're entirely on reason magic - dark magic in particular. Many of them look old and worn, but well taken care of. The overwhelming majority of them don't seem to be from the library at all, though that's probably obvious, given the library doesn't have this many books on dark magic anyway.

...In other words, every single book he has in his room is entirely practical and there is absolutely nothing here that would be for entertainment.]

I suppose I could step out and pick something up from the library, if you would prefer.

[He's fully aware his reading material is a bit Much, okay.]

[Marianne will gladly look through the books, then; she's careful to not take them out and mostly just read the covers and see if there's something she likes from that alone. Of course, she will pluck one or two out just for the sake of it--a couple books on the Alliance's history, but then she goes over to the books on the ledge near the window...

Huh. Marianne hasn't seen these around the library before. She's actually going to try to pick one or two of these up...]

No, this is fine. But...I don't believe I've ever seen any of these books before. Where did you get them?

[...She's actually perhaps a little more interested in the dark magic books, if anything.]

[He watches her, noting the ones she lingers on and which ones she takes. He's a bit surprised by her interest in the dark magic books, but then again, they are rare.]

They're my personal collection. House Vestra has plenty of books on the subject, so I brought a few with me here.

[And good thing too, since there aren't many books on dark magic here!!]

[Oh...]

If it's alright then, I...I'd like to read them. I don't have any experience with this type of magic, but...I'll take good care of them and make sure they're back in their proper place.

[Marianne's focus has always been on faith magic, and even her reason magic has been focused towards ice and lightning; this sort of magic isn't something that would be approved of, she's sure, but...

Well. She's feeling a little rebellious. Let her pluck out a few books from that pile too, handling them gently and getting them into a pile as she decides to just. Get back in her spot and sit on the floor like a heathen.]

Have you read through all of these, then? Or are you still studying them?

[Oh, that's...

Honestly, he wasn't expecting that. It's sort of nice that she wants to look into them, and he finds himself smiling without really meaning to.]

Feel free to look through them. I'm familiar with most of them, though there are a few here that I have not fully mastered.

[He selects the one next to his bed and moves to sit on the floor beside her. This is kind of weird, but sure, why not!!]

Dark magic has its roots in reason magic, so many of the basics are similar enough that it should be fairly straightforward. The more advanced you get, the more they differ, however.

[Marianne smiles a bit, and she keeps the books in a nice stack on her lap while she picks the first of the dark magic books she's plucked out to read. She's thankfully at least picked out a fairly basic one to start, so maybe she can get a grasp on it...

Of course, Marianne is so focused that she winds up startling a bit when Hubert comes to sit next to her. Only a bit, though; it's very sweet of him to come and read with her, and Marianne's expression soon settles into a smile.]

How do they differ? I've studied reason magic some, and it's, um...a little complex, until you get used to it. This seems like it is, too. But not in a bad way.

[Hm...Marianne will be reading some of the passages over and over again, mostly trying to understand how to call upon it...]

It seems like...you're supposed to call on something different. Than with reason or faith magic.

That's correct. Reason magic tends to be more common because it's easier to master, and the risks that come with it are a bit easier to control. Dark magic is a bit of an anomaly, from what I understand; it is calling on something more ancient and unpredictable than typical black magic. Some of the highest level dark magic spells can rip the caster apart if they aren't able to control it, while black magic tends to cast outward, creating explosions.

[He says all of this like this is a totally normal conversation and not at all horrifying. But really, are you surprised??]

Dark magic requires more focus than most reason magic. It needs to be drawn from within. Think of it as harnessing the darkest corners of your mind; it's the best description I have. The texts will explain it better than I can. I've always had more of an aptitude for dark magic than black magic, so it's a bit difficult to explain.

[He could cast Fire while he was a Mage?? But he's moved on to Dark Mage so he's back to his preferred dark magic attacks. It comes naturally now, and he scarcely remembers a time when it didn't.]

[...That is. Absolutely terrifying, good gods above.]

That sounds...a little scary. I knew about the risks of using reason magic, but...

[Marianne isn't reconsidering, though. Marianne has...plenty of dark thoughts in her mind, and the idea of harnessing them into an ancient, unpredictable magic and using them for something even mildly good is appealing enough.]

It'll just require a lot more concentration, then. I-I wouldn't want something bad to happen, after all...but I should at least try...

[Marianne breathes for a moment, attempting to do as the book says. Miasma shouldn't be too hard to cast, if the book is any indication, but to call upon such dark thoughts...well, Marianne isn't sure what sort of thoughts she should be thinking of, so she thinks of her despair. The thoughts she would seek the goddess's solace for, when they plagued her mind, and she'll try to harness them into something.

...She's not sure if it's working at all, but she's doing her best to concentrate. Maybe Hubert can feel something more than she can, at this rate, but she's got her eyes closed for the moment...]

Is it...is it working?

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