#the pop one with the twintails is also their manager

[kubota-crackhead]

a unit of scuffed vocal dolls me and some good pals made in all idol perfect stage i hope draw more of them at some point

[mahou-furbies]

Magical Girl Raising Project Limited - character design ranking

Captain Grace

An alright pirate design with enough little details that keep it from being forgettable (I especially like the anchor buckle on her belt, and the earrings and hooks on her hair). The spikes on the coat are what stands out most to me; makes me think of a Mario enemy or something. However I’m not sure how much of a Magical Girl design it is. Like pirates and frills already go together, so the well tested formula (put a miniskirt and frills on it and it’s a magical girl look!) doesn’t really do much. Maybe it’d be better if she had some cutesy detail in there somewhere? Also is that an tail again or what, or some kind of blunt hook? What is it with these unnecessary tails in Magipro designs. 6/10. 

Funny Trick

I’ve always liked Funny Trick’s look, and it’s probably because of the pleasant colour palette, unique eyes and two-tone hair (I’m easy to please with two-tone hair). The nail polish and colourful glitter on her fur are also good little details. But apart from that I guess this is only barely strange enough to be any kind of “magical” look rather than just an anime stage magician, but at least that’s pretty close to magical girls already. Also is that a frigging tail again?? At least it goes well with the hair I guess... 8/10.

Kuru-Kuru Hime

It’s a cute design, but when I think of a ribbon magical girl I somehow expected more ribbons? Like this feels like an the higher end of an average magical girl amount of ribbons? Or maybe it’s totally over the top and my perspective is just skewed since I love ribbons and want them everywhere. Either way I like her outfit from neck down, but I’m not that into the headgear, the combo of the bonnet thingy and the weird crown just sitting on top if it looks strange to me. Nice hair tho even if it could use more ribbons. 6/10.

Weddin

I absolutely love Weddin’s design. The muted and light colour palette is very appealing to me, and the dark chains break up the mostly monochrome design so it doesn’t look dull and faded and also give the otherwise super frilly appearance quite a lot of edge. There’s repeating elements (braids in her hair and veil, the same kind of flowers everywhere, flower yellow also appearing in her eye makeup) so it doesn’t get too complicated, and all of them go well with the wedding theme too. The flame... is a bit of an odd touch and I’d rather associate it with a birthday party or Christmas than a Wedding but I guess you can have candles at weddings too, and I don’t find it too distracting.

I’m not a huge fan of the lingerie like look though, but at least visible garters go with the wedding theme and she’s so covered in veils and frills that it doesn’t look so bad. Also the back train looks kind of lazy. But overall still one of my favourite Magipro designs. 10/10.

Rain Pow

A tail again! However this time I actually like it, since she has that rainbow hoop behind her it looks good to stick something through it, and at least it somewhat resembles her twintails. 

As for the rest of the design, it has zero frills and ribbons and looks more like some kind of scifi spacesuit than a typical magical girl design, but somehow I still really like it. I think the weird heart hair is just enough to pull it into magical girl territory for me so my impressions are more on the “an unique take on an mg look” rather than “not mg enough” side. Then all the rings keep the look consistent (I absolutely love the rainbow halo) and the suit itself looks alright enough. I also find it interesting how muted the suit colours are for a rainbow magical girl and even the rainbow is pretty pastel, but I figure this is a better choice than all the expected seven colours in all their eye-strainy glory. 9/10.

Postarie

Please put on some pants, that is a shirt and not a dress.

Not too interested in this one, but I find it a commendable effort on making a design on the idea of “postal delivery girl”. Still lots of repeating elements so that’s a plus, especially the back epaulette is such an absurd idea but somehow it works and its wings and the wing hairstyle add the required fantasy touch. Bonus points for the cute birds. 7/10.

Tepsekemei

An inoffensive genie design but I struggle to really have emotions towards it. Butt flower is silly and I have no idea what the things hanging from it are, but at least they’re consistent with her head decoration. Don’t care for the shoulder spikes in an otherwise soft looking design. Huge earrings and multicoloured nails are a nice touch. 6/10.

7753

Also one of my favourite Magipro looks. It feels like the design philosophy here was “gakuran jacket and some frills, and then some hearts. And more hearts! More! Even more!” and I think it’s a great way to go with when designing a magical girl. Using just hearts everywhere makes the outfit cohesive, but since they’re all implemented in different ways it doesn’t get boring. I especially like the little hearts on her hands and under the eye, and the one in her pocket.

Two-tone hair in twintails is also one of the best design elements out there and the hairstyle is quite memorable (and also manages to incorporate the heart motif) and I’m always a fan of caps too. The green eyes and the little bit of green nail polish which you unfortunately can’t see here go well with the otherwise reddish look. Maybe the hair looks a bit too clunky (I only just realised it appears to be tied in a hoop behind her) but I won’t let it bother me. 10/10.

Mana

A solid witch design, I especially love the dimensional cape and hat. I also like the huge collar with the lace detail, but I’m not sure if it works with the hat brim. Not a big fan of the hair, I think it clutters the design. The snake leg accessory feels weird and a bit out of place but I do appreciate the asymmetry and also having something dark to break up the otherwise plain bottom part of the design.. 7/10.

Gekokujou Hana

I tend not to be a huge fan of kimono-based clothes, but this one is an exception I guess. The great colours must play a part in it, and the bottom part is fun. Then the dangly decorations add the correct amount of strangeness so it’s not just a bunny girl in a mini kimono Also, another tail, but this time it’s almost a requirement and I love how ridiculously huge it is (and also repeats elsewhere in her outfit). But really I can’t think of anything to dislike about this, must be the colours and the tail. 10/10.

Archfiend Pam

I believe this is the record on how little clothing you can wear in this franchise... At least she has the personality to pull that off. But that is not a top! At least it’s something new...? The wings fit the description in the story, but I don’t think these blank rectangles look very aesthetically pleasing. I like the tail best, the fur edge makes it a lot more interesting than just the usual demon tail. I don’t know, if the theme is a sexy demon girl this design definitely accomplishes it in a unique way, but also I don’t care for this fanservicey designs. Also not a fan of the hair. 4/10.

Pythie Frederica

Before drawing her for the chibi series I thought she had some kind of a helmet but upon closer inspection of course it’s a veil. But what are the horns? 

Upon closer inspection this one is also very fanservicey, in that her “dress” is actually see-through and the only thing covering the critical areas look like thin belt-thingies. At least she doesn’t look like she’s ten... But a major issue I have is the bottom part of her outfit, like how is it supposed to work? Is it one big piece of cloth, or multiple thin ones? What is the “fire” behind her? Is the dark part her hair, or the clothing, and is it supposed to be black or just shading? I do like the stars; otherwise the design gives a more mature “sexy” air, but the little stars everywhere adds a cute element. The colour palette is pleasing, but as much as I like multicoloured hair it doesn’t grant points this time, because the wiggly stray strands look very out of place here and the colour change makes them even more noticeable. 2/10.

Tot Pop

This one really isn’t my aesthetic, I very much prefer the cutesy style and there isn’t really anything ‘magical girl’ about this design. And it doesn’t really evoke the supposed image of ‘pop star’ to me either, like if you remove the guitar I’d think her theme was a prisoner or halloween. Though I don’t really know what a ‘pop star’ should look like anyway, like can’t they wear anything they want, I know Lady Gaga had a meat dress or something. But as of this design, I don’t think there’s anything specifically wrong with it, the colours are pleasing, the details are consistent and it’s not bland or boring either, but it just doesn’t do much for me because of the theme. I like the blood-stained hair and the spiky hair accessory, the long hanging part makes for a nice silhouette. Meanwhile the skulls on her shoulders feel somewhat tacked on, and in general I don’t care for piercings in anywhere else than ears. 5/10.

Pukin

And it’s a tail again. What is it with the stupid tacked on tails on every other design in this franchise? Sometimes it’s not so badly out of place, like if you have an youthful cutesy design, a fluffy animal tail can still add to the cute effect even if it’s otherwise out of place. But Pukin is supposed to be this dangerous and majestic authority figure and a cutesy tail very much doesn’t fit that image. And while we’re on the topic of animal features, the story describes that she has a feather decoration in her hair, but the way it’s drawn as a tiny feather jutting directly up in the middle of her head gives me more the impression of a character whose theme is a baby bird rather than a fantasy prince.

Now that we’ve dealt with the tail let’s get the biggest issue out of the way: I’m aware that there was a time in history when people used to wear these kind of giant ruffled collars but I really don’t care if there’s some kind of history based reasoning. It looks like your head is on a plate and it’s something I can’t ignore. I don’t feel even clowns can pull that off. There is no way getting around this.

When I first read Limited I thought Pukin’s appearance was an absolute mess and an instant 1/10, but upon closer inspection there is stuff I like about it too. She has a good colour palette, great shoes and gloves, and as a friend of multicoloured hair I welcome the yellow hair tips. The big heavy cape balances the small top and pants, and I really like the fur. Earrings go well with the pants too. The theme is a bit confused, or at least I don’t know of any fairy tales about pumpkin prince, but it’s not like I would complain about pineapple or cauliflower princess so that’s not really a problem. 3/10.

Sonia Bean

And we end Limited with yet another excellent design. I like how this manages to look kind of tattered and messy without actually being gross and dirty with the patchwork dress, dustball-like thingies, newspaper clippings and asymmetry. Even her hair looks disheveled. The headgear gives the design an old-fashioned vibe which suits her well since she’s so old. The light palette, soft design elements and ribbons give the look a cute feel, but at the same time she feels suspiciously pale, and the manic expression screams danger, like you can’t reason with this girl. She’s like a ghost of a Victorian era child who wants to play with you but you know you definitely should not follow her.

The design only works if I don’t think too much about it though, like dust is gross and newspaper paper is crinkly and not soft at all, but since we’re magical girls here I can ignore that and enjoy the image the clothing evokes. 10/10.

------------------

Limited average: 6,9.

[clauderiegan]

Change the Future [Byleth x Claude, pre-relationship]

A/N: This falls half under ‘general Golden Deer fic’ and half under ‘ship’ since there’s no romance yet, idk  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ No romance ‘til time skip.  also I recruited Annette into Golden Deers because I love her

Teachers weren't supposed to have favourites, but then again Byleth had never even planned on being one. She'd been content with cutting down rogues and feral wild animals with her father, living day by day in whatever part of the world they'd settled down in for the time being. She was still adjusting to her new position of authority and truth be told...

She was adjusting to being around one Claude von Riegan.

The majority of men who spent time around her and her father were older, grizzly warriors; the type to give her a friendly roughhousing and an offer of ale when they'd succeeded in pulling off a well-paying job. She was hardly accustomed to charming smiles from someone her age, hand kissing and whispered secrets in her ears. It was all a bit much - Claude was as bright as his house colour in both intellect and charm. She could easily see why so many had gathered to his side - even Lorenz with his snide comments couldn't resist the leader's sway for too long. 

Still she tried to maintain a healthy distance as nothing good would come of a mercenary's daughter turned teacher becoming too close with the literal golden boy of the Leicester Alliance. She gave all of her students equal attention, enjoying the vast personalities and heritages of her charges. Some of them were already more skilled then her in certain areas; in particular she feared the strength of Hilda's axe swinging, a happy smile on the twintailed girl's face as she aced her axe exam with a flourish of the massive weapon. 

And if her cheeks blushed ever so slightly when a certain lord joined her for tea one sunny weekend, it was her problem alone. One she could lock away and happily ignore, continuing to work at improving her newfound profession. It would cause nothing but trouble; she would be better devoting herself to the path of the sword.

            ----------------------------------------------------------------------

She was glad she had done all of that training.

A fairly routine battle had gone south so far Byleth wasn't even certain how it happened - one minute they were cleaning up the last of a pathetic lot of bandits, the next dealing with some mass abomination of which she'd never seen the likes of. No one in the Golden Deers was sure of its origin, but whatever had brought the creature to them was now their problem. It was a beast of some kind, but far beyond the usual fare of bears or wolves; its silver scales were impossible to penetrate with regular weapons. It was definitely not a simple creature of the woods; Byleth feared something darker at stake when looking at its bizarre anatomy. Lorenz had found out the hard way when he charged forward to strike, only his lance had pathetically bounced off the beast's hide.

He also found out how sharp the beast's claws were when they grazed his chest... not that he remembered presently. Byleth had instantly fired off a Divine Pulse, heart pounding as the familiar sensation of light had wrapped around her body and Lorenz, wiping his bloody gash clean before her eyes. Her reaction had been so fast that he had no idea that anything had even happened - she simply instructed him not to attack and he had complied, obliviously evading a potentially serious injury.

If only it was that simple to snap her fingers and erase her mistakes as easily.

The truth was that every Divine Pulse drained her and she had already used three of them - one to save Lorenz, one to direct Annette away from a falling branch that would land on her (it would break one of her legs and they needed her mobile) and one to direct her students away from an area of the forest that would go up in flames from the breath attacks of the creature. The Deers were used to her powers now and were unfazed by her sudden instructions to avoid seemingly safe parts of the field. Sothis had advised her many times that pushing past three would be unwise and she felt the truth of it in her aching body as she and the others continued to circle and slowly chip away at the beast's scales. Byleth had managed to keep up a steady balance of keeping her distance and striking the beast with the long range of her sword, but she could feel the intensity of her strikes fading with each hit. She was trying her best not to let it show, but she could do little to hide her strained, heavy breathing at this point. It was up to her to keep a calm face, to be the moral center of the group and prevent them from becoming too scared to continue onwards.

Still, she was considering the option of instructing them all to flee; it would be cowardly and if the beast waylaid the nearby town behind them, the blame would fall onto the Golden Deers (onto Claude, her mind unhelpfully supplied). Still, she'd much rather her students face consequences from the Church than be killed in some nameless forest, their bodies staining the grass red.

"Thinking of running?"

Byleth turned, marveling slightly at his reliable ability to read her thoughts all too easily. Claude smiled next to her, tired but still putting on a show of strength despite his singed armor and sweaty face. Even the almost ever-present volley of arrows he had been firing off were weakening as the battle had raged on. He too was faced with the burden of reassuring the others; if the Deers saw Claude still confident, they believed that any fight, no matter how grueling, could be turned into a victory. Still, it was not victory she had in mind currently and Claude's judgement was something she had need of right now.

"Yes. We're outmatched and I'd rather us face whatever consequences befall us than to lose any Deers here. Your thoughts?"

"We're on the same wavelength, as usual" he replied, somehow having the energy to wink at her.

"Truly?"

"We're only delaying this creature momentarily - it may be weakened as of now but we don't have the resources to put it down. And I don't particularly plan on such a pathetic end for the Golden Deers!" he assured her, tone steady and full of conviction.

Though they seemed to have momentarily tired the beast out as it had stopped approaching, it was eyeing them with malice from the spot it was resting. She nodded at his reasoning, relieved. The two of them could face whatever problems that arose with not immediately defeating the beast once they returned to the Monastery. Still, there was one remaining issue; the area they had been currently circling the beast around was far too wide and flat for an easy escape - it was a fair distance to the nearest copse of trees that was too thickly forested for the beast to easily follow.

"It's far too accurate with that breath attack. If our students ran off one-by-one or in a group, they'll be an easy target for its flames before they could escape through the trees. It hardly seems content to just let us leave... how can we get them out safely?" she asked, trying to keep the underlying fear out of her voice.

He hummed in thought, sharp green eyes scanning their position and the bedraggled appearances of their Golden Deers. She followed his gaze, wincing at the exhaustion and anxiety on her student's faces. Annette shot her a pained glance, her expression looking for reassurance from Byleth. She felt slightly hopeless; if only a more seasoned and older professor had been with them! She gripped her sword tighter, resolving to get them out safely no matter the cost to her own being.

"How do you feel about taking a risk with me?"

Byleth blinked, looking at the lord who had seemingly done scanning the field.

"Our current problem is that our big scaly friend here is going to flame whoever flees first if we leave it where it is. This thing's got a clear shot if it stays in that position-"

"So we go closer and distract the creature while the others run away?" she finished, eyes wide with understanding.

"Yep" he replied casually, lip popping the 'p' as if he'd suggested something completely casual.

"But when they do, they'll only be two of us left... and Claude, you shouldn't be putting yourself in danger like that!" she replied, tone beseeching as she kept an eye on the now increasingly restless beast.

"I made the plan, I'll take the risks. You feel the same anyway, right?" he shot back, tone still infuriatingly nonchalant as he readjusted out of his bow stance.

She sighed, knowing she had no better plan and that Claude's schemes usually were more successful than hers.

"Very well, we'll attempt to distract it until the others have left and then escape together. But if things get too dangerous, I want you to run while I hold it back. Promise me."

He paused, emerald eyes staring at her with a thoughtful expression while taking an arrow out of his quiver.

"That's a pretty selfish promise you know. Leave you to handle some crazy beast alone while I run?"

"Precisely, because you are a lord who is heir to an empire and I am in charge of your welfare" she stated, tone unflinching and stance rigid.

They had a brief staredown, eyes locked in a silent argument before Claude relented.

"Fine. But I'm planning on staying as long as possible, so don't expect me to turn tail at the first sight of trouble!"

She nodded, shoulders slumping as she readjusted the grip on her sword. Her arm was aching, but she still had some strength left in her for the last part of their plan.

"Golden Deers, to me!" Claude commanded, voice cutting loud and clear through the wide space.

The students ran over, relieved; they were counting on the two to deliver them out of the predicament safely. They'd managed to wound the beast at best and quickly realized they didn't have a chance of soundly defeating the creature. Byleth spied a large burn on Raphael's shoulder and winced. The sooner they got back to the monastery, the better. Claude explained the plan quickly, keeping one eye on the beast as it continued to slowly rouse itself. Most of the Deers initially rejected the idea, as they hated the idea of leaving their two most trusted members behind. However as the sounds of the beast rising from its brief respite grew louder, they slowly agreed to the objective and prepared themselves to run.

Nodding to each other, Claude sent out a particularly large and vicious volley of arrows; the beast immediately roared as they peppered its scaly head with small cuts.

"Let's advance" he gestured to Byleth, her nodding as she slowly moved towards the giant creature with her sword firmly in her hands.

Hearing her students slowly back away behind her, she sent out a lash upon its chin, leaving a slight red welt where it hit the beast. It was growing furious; steam was billowing out of its mouth and its eyes were red with rage. Fortunately, it was so angered with Claude and Byleth that it had not a glance to spare towards the other Deers; Byleth felt cool relief run through her system as the sound of increasingly distant footsteps running away from her position behind her. She sent out another lash but jumped back at the last second, only barely avoiding a small but potent fireball that singed the grass she had been standing on. Claude fired off more arrows; snarling the beast finally regained its footing on all fours and started towards him with heavy loud stomps. She whipped her sword out again, but the beast did not turn towards her like she had hoped, continuing to stomp towards the archer. Grimacing, she struck again and again, until the beast reared its head around; sensing an opportunity she aimed for one large eye and slammed her sword forward. As the beast recoiled, Claude caught onto her line of thought once more and aimed an arrow into the same eye, a perfect shot piercing the iris.

The beast shrieked in pain, throwing its large head back. She could see Claude use the brief distraction to back up, moving closer towards her while keeping his bow squarely trained on the beast's head. It was still making noise, eye dripping blood onto its' nostrils and chin. She felt a brief stab of relief; relief that was quickly short lived when the creature whipped its head around to stare down the two, one working red eyeball alight in anger.

She had forgotten something important; cornered animals were the most dangerous and a beast was no different.

It roared and with outstanding speed, trampled towards them with single-minded determination. They both barely managed to leap out of the way, cratered dirt where they had been standing. It roared again and turned, heading towards Claude's surprised form, fueled by nothing but bloodlust. Her heart pumping with fear, she desperately lashed out with her sword but the beast barely felt it. The creature had only missed Claude by an inch, but he been knocked off his legs and fallen-!

The beast turned once more. A claw the size of a horse, raised in the air above him.

"NO!"

A sickening crunch, a sharp yell of pain that trailed into a high gurgling whimper and then silence.

Byleth stared, uncomprehending. She saw the blood stained yellow of his uniform, slowly turning burgundy. She heard his cry of agony. And yet it felt like nothing was real; an abstract nightmare that kept her up on nights when she had consumed too much tea before bed. The scream from her own mouth felt like a line in a play.

The beast lowered his head and oh Gods, it was eating him, it was ripping apart Claude-

The sight of its red jaws made her feel like her blood had frozen in her veins. She was growing lightheaded at the grisly scene before her, but as she stared down unblinkingly at the clawed up body formerly known as Claude in front of her, one realization became increasingly clear.

Gods damn her, she was going to use one more Divine Pulse. She wasn't leaving without all her Deers and the most important one was not coming back to the monastery in a coffin. She couldn't leave him here.

She let the familiar feeling of the magic settle around her, even with her body and mind screaming in protest as the air around her seemed to be suffocating her from the outside. The lightheaded feeling turned quickly into nausea and increasingly severe pain, a stabbing headache seizing her as she closed her eyes. She felt awful, like her body was being torn away little pieces at a time, but the feeling in her heart of seeing Claude fall was even worse and spurred her onward. The pain was overwhelming but she could feel the magic slowly turn back the time; she closed her eyes in agony, gritting her teeth as she resolved to make it through long enough to save him as the world around her seemed to rewind.

She was adrift in a sea of pain and silence, until-

"RRRAGHH!"

The roar of the beast, screaming as Claude's arrow pierced its eye once again. Sweet relief shot through the pain; she had made it back! And she could still.... could still...

She couldn't move.

Her body collapsed under her, little stars shooting above her eyes. She screamed internally, willing herself to open her mouth and yell at him to run, move! But nothing came out, the Divine Pulse rendering her body useless and her mind aching in agony as she lay in the grass unable to move a muscle. She felt something run down her chin and realized with a groggy start that her nose was bleeding. She could barely think at all anymore, the view of the night sky on her back becoming hazy... she had to tell him... to run...

"Teach? Teacher, get up! BYLETH!"

'Get out of there, you fool...' is the last thing she thought, his worried face as he crouched above her fallen body fading in front of her heavy eyes.

               ----------------------------------------------------------

"....-coming to! Thank the Gods, I thought she might never wake..."

"Give her some space, she doesn't look well..."

Byleth groaned weakly, familiar voices that she couldn't currently place far too loud in her ears. She cracked one sore eye open, wincing as voices around her bed cheered in relief. She blearily looked around, her whole body aching - she could see the blurry faces of students peering with concern at her, surrounding her on a sturdy medical cot.

"Professor! We t-thought the worst..." Marianne whispered weakly on her right, voice breaking in relief as she clutched her hands together.

"I told you! You can't keep our awesome teacher down!" Raphael said heartily, smiling down at her from where he was standing by the window.

She blinked a few times, taking the faces of her Deers in with increasing relief. They were spouting bandages of their own in various places, but thankfully none with any lasting damage.

"Everyone... I'm alright. Sore, but alright. What happened with the beast?" she rasped, voice cracking with disuse.

"Well we were running for it and made it back to the road to the monastery. Then Claude comes blitzing in behind us with you on your back! Said you collapsed or something, he was super out of breath. I took over from there and carried you back... hopefully you didn't get any extra bumps or bruises from me, Professor" Raphael explained, looking a bit sheepish.

"Thank you Raphael, you were very brave. You all did very well considering what happened" Byleth smiled weakly, slumping back in relief at the news that Claude had escaped without injury.

"The beast disappeared, though agents of the Church of Seiros are trying to track it down as we speak. Claude was at your bedside for quite some time, but had to leave to explain the situation to Archbishop Rhea. It sounds like neither of you will face harsh consequences as the situation was unprecedented" Lorenz stated, his clipped tones at odds with the relief on his face at seeing his professor awake.

Byleth wanted to ask more but words were starting to fail her; Annette seemed to notice and offered to grab her designated healer. Byleth nodded and the ginger-haired girl returned with a motherly looking mage in white robes, who peered down at Byleth in concern over her spectacles.

"I'm not sure how you managed to exhaust your magic so severely when you aren't a mage, but I am aware you have particular talents requiring spiritual energy. Nonetheless, I would recommend never doing such a thing again."

Byleth nodded to appease the older woman, though hearing that Claude had returned alive had convinced her she had made the right decision. A decision that made her whole body ache, but the right one in truth. She could never regret saving Lorenz from a bad injury despite his sharp tongue and poor Annette didn't deserve a broken leg. And Claude... even only half-awake and dazed, she could still hear the exact scream Claude made when he'd been crushed playing in her head like some horrible echo.

Still, she'd be saving a fourth Divine Pulse for emergencies only; she felt like the beast itself had trampled her into a flat pancake. The healer offered a spell to send her into a painless sleep for the afternoon, which would boost her recovery. Currently content that Claude and her Deers were alive at the very least, she agreed to the treatment. Her students gave their goodbyes and well-wishes (Marianne said nothing but gently squeezed her hand) and soon the older healer had sent her into a comfortable, dreamless doze. She smiled as she felt drowsy but relieved once again, bright green eyes on her mind as she slowly drifted off.

                      -----------------------------------------------------

Byleth yawned, slowly waking up from the sleep she had been placed in the day earlier as birds chirped alongside the rising sun through the window. Already she felt a little stronger, though she likely had to face bed rest for the next few days judging by her aching muscles. Gods knows how Sothis would react to her recklessness next time they talked...

She yawned again, blearily rubbing at her eyes.

"Hey, teach."

She started, eyes slowly tracking towards the familiar voice. Claude stood in the doorway, a sad smile on his face as he looked over her tired frame in the bed.

"Claude...!" she said weakly, her heart lightening upon seeing him alive and well.

She'd been told this by the Golden Deers of course, but it was hard to fully believe with the awful memory of his death echoing through her brain on repeat. Now as he made his way towards her bed, sunlight running across his spotless uniform, the full weight of the grisly scene was finally unburdened. His slightly ruffled bed head, his searching green eyes, everything was so alive and warm.

"You look surprised to see me alive and kicking. It's a little offensive!" he teased gently, coming to lean up against her bed with his arms crossed facing her.

"I'm more surprised I made it out. Raphael said you managed to carry me?" she inquired, confused.

"You scared me, seriously. I was so worried and full of adrenaline, I'd gotten halfway through the trees with you on my back before I realized I had done it" he said, smiling softly.

"Interesting Plan B, that one" she joked quietly, glad to see him teasing her like nothing had happened in the first place.

"Well, my plan B didn't include you collapsing..." he trailed off, eyebrows raised in clear expectation of an answer.

She paused, good mood rapidly disappearing. It was little use hiding things from Claude; he'd already proven to be a master at reading her face. She was not in the least surprised when he continued.

"You used that ability of yours, didn't you? But you shouldn't have" he questioned softly, smile gone from his face.

She slowly shook her head.

"No. I knew I was overusing it at the time, but... I..."

"Did I get injured?" he pressed, leaning slightly forward.

She pursed her lips, keeping deathly silent. He chewed his lip, looking pensive.

"Then... I died. Didn't I?"

Byleth swallowed. She tried to keep a straight fact but it was already too late; Claude leaned back, looking thoughtful once again.

"It's pretty pathetic that I died in the first place. Sorry you had to endanger yourself for my carelessness" he said calmly, casual tone suddenly infuriating her.

"Don't say that. You were brave and I didn't do enough, I had to watch as-"

She shut her mouth, embarrassed by her outburst and the sudden onset of tears pricking her eyes. Claude immediately looked guilty, hands twisting together.

"I-I didn't mean to joke! I'm sorry, truly. Please don't get upset over my idiocy" he soothed, leaning forward to wipe a tear away.

She nodded, supremely embarrassed at her emotional state. It wasn't like her to get overly weepy around others, although the stress of the past days was slowly catching up to her. Claude noticed this and stepped away from her bedside, looking regretful.

"I'm sorry for making light of the situation and riling you up when you're tired, Professor. I-"

He stopped for a moment to think, then continued on.

"I'm casual around a lot of people because I... I don't truly trust that many people in my life. Friends I have many of, but few true confidants. But please believe me as sincere when I say I trust you. And I owe you for this."

Byleth smiled, touched at the admission.

"Thank you for trusting me Claude. And you can pay me back by getting the highest mark on the next Fodlan history exam" she replied with a smile, giggling softly at his laugh.

"Then I better get started on my readings of Fodlan History Volume IV, huh? Thank you again, teach. Make sure you get some well-deserved rest. You're an irreplaceable part of the Deers, so get better soon!" he replied, gently patting her shoulder before leaving the medical room with a smile.

She sighed happily, feeling bone tired but satisfied that the ordeal of the last few days was finally beginning to close. Even as she fell back into a half-conscious state against her pillow, lesson plans and tactics drills were floating in the back of her mind.

No more sacrifices; they were going to lead the Golden Deers to success together.