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vocab_drabblesTitle: A Lesson Worth Remembering
Fandom: Fire Emblem Three Houses
Author:elidelio
Rating: G
Word Count: 789
Summary: Linhardt fell asleep in class again, but Professor Byleth seems unusually upset about it this time.
Linhardt strolled into class, dilatory as always, yawning and dragging his feet. He plopped down on his desk as soon as he reached it and pillowed his head in his arms, ready to continue the nap he’d surely just woken from before making his way here.
When Professor Byleth saw this, his brows twitched in annoyance almost imperceptibly before returning to his usual stoic appearance. He continued the lecture as always, fully aware that the chances of Linhardt waking up and paying attention to what he was teaching were infinitely close to zero. Caspar did half-heartedly try to shake his friend awake at some point, but it failed this time as it had done most times in the past.
When class was over, Linhardt finally came back from the land of dreams with the help of the sounds of scraping benches as the rest of the students left class. He yawned and stretched, then picked up the books he’d used to prop his head up more comfortably and got ready to leave as well.
“Linhardt.” Byleth called out his name in a stern tone.
Linhardt paused, waiting for a beat before turning his head and looking at the Professor, “…yes?”
Byleth simply raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, wordlessly demanding an explanation.
“Um,” Linhardt decided to play dumb, “Do you need anything, Professor? If not, I really need to go—”
“Linhardt,” He interrupted, “You slept through class again.” That last word was spoken with something that was the closest thing to exasperation Linhardt had ever heard Professor Byleth express.
“I didn’t mean to,” Linhardt tried to explain himself again in the same way he was used to, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your efforts of edification, Professor, but I just get so drowsy it’s hard for me to—”
“Linhardt.” Byleth interrupted him again.
Linhardt stopped talking, stunned, and realised something was actually wrong this time. Professor Byleth didn’t usually interrupt him like this, he would always listen to everything he had to say—perhaps even to the detriment of his original attempt at a lecture—and he was more patient with him than any teachers Linhardt had ever had. Had he finally reached his breaking point too?
Unsure of how to continue, Lindhardt simply stood there, shuffling listlessly.
Byleth broke the silence, “Do you remember what we talked about the other day?”
“We’ve talked about a great many things, Professor.” Linhardt’s mind raced as he answered, trying to pinpoint whatever it was he might have said to have angered his Professor.
Byleth gave him a moment to think, but seeing as he wasn’t coming up with anything, he simply answered for him, “I told you I wouldn’t let you die, but how am I to keep my promise if you insist on throwing yourself headlong into danger?”
Linhardt’s stomach sank, and in that moment he knew exactly what he’d done wrong.
He’d been careless in their last battle, he thought he would be able to sidestep the conflict by taking an alternate route but ended up cornered instead, very nearly losing his life as a result. Later, after everyone was done both scolding him and making sure he was alright, he learnt that he probably would have been able to avoid the enemy trap if he’d been paying attention to the tactics primer the Professor had given them a few days prior to the battle. Linhardt had slept through it instead, overconfident in both his abilities and the fact that he usually kept to the backlines of battle and would therefore most likely not have to face most of the enemy tactics head on.
He hung his head in shame, looking down at his feet, not daring to say anything.
“Linhardt,” Professor Byleth’s voice had softened considerably, but Linhardt would rather he was yelling at him instead, “You got lucky this time, there might not be a next.”
“I know,” He mumbled, then added, “I hate fighting.”
Professor Byleth placed a hand on Linhardt’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before saying, “Stay alive.”
With those words, Byleth walked away, needing to get to wherever he was going next.
Linhardt stood in place for a while still, lost in thought.
They’d had this conversation before, and though he’d been able to walk away mostly unscathed this time, in the end the Professor had been right: there were some battles one couldn’t just walk away from.
Linhardt didn’t know what his future would bring, and he recognised change wasn’t an overnight thing, but perhaps if he started trying a little harder, maybe he’d finally be able to achieve that peace he’d always dreamed of?
Dreaming about it was easy, but once he was awake, well…
It was worth a try.
Fandom: Fire Emblem Three Houses
Author:
elidelioRating: G
Word Count: 789
Summary: Linhardt fell asleep in class again, but Professor Byleth seems unusually upset about it this time.
Linhardt strolled into class, dilatory as always, yawning and dragging his feet. He plopped down on his desk as soon as he reached it and pillowed his head in his arms, ready to continue the nap he’d surely just woken from before making his way here.
When Professor Byleth saw this, his brows twitched in annoyance almost imperceptibly before returning to his usual stoic appearance. He continued the lecture as always, fully aware that the chances of Linhardt waking up and paying attention to what he was teaching were infinitely close to zero. Caspar did half-heartedly try to shake his friend awake at some point, but it failed this time as it had done most times in the past.
When class was over, Linhardt finally came back from the land of dreams with the help of the sounds of scraping benches as the rest of the students left class. He yawned and stretched, then picked up the books he’d used to prop his head up more comfortably and got ready to leave as well.
“Linhardt.” Byleth called out his name in a stern tone.
Linhardt paused, waiting for a beat before turning his head and looking at the Professor, “…yes?”
Byleth simply raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, wordlessly demanding an explanation.
“Um,” Linhardt decided to play dumb, “Do you need anything, Professor? If not, I really need to go—”
“Linhardt,” He interrupted, “You slept through class again.” That last word was spoken with something that was the closest thing to exasperation Linhardt had ever heard Professor Byleth express.
“I didn’t mean to,” Linhardt tried to explain himself again in the same way he was used to, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your efforts of edification, Professor, but I just get so drowsy it’s hard for me to—”
“Linhardt.” Byleth interrupted him again.
Linhardt stopped talking, stunned, and realised something was actually wrong this time. Professor Byleth didn’t usually interrupt him like this, he would always listen to everything he had to say—perhaps even to the detriment of his original attempt at a lecture—and he was more patient with him than any teachers Linhardt had ever had. Had he finally reached his breaking point too?
Unsure of how to continue, Lindhardt simply stood there, shuffling listlessly.
Byleth broke the silence, “Do you remember what we talked about the other day?”
“We’ve talked about a great many things, Professor.” Linhardt’s mind raced as he answered, trying to pinpoint whatever it was he might have said to have angered his Professor.
Byleth gave him a moment to think, but seeing as he wasn’t coming up with anything, he simply answered for him, “I told you I wouldn’t let you die, but how am I to keep my promise if you insist on throwing yourself headlong into danger?”
Linhardt’s stomach sank, and in that moment he knew exactly what he’d done wrong.
He’d been careless in their last battle, he thought he would be able to sidestep the conflict by taking an alternate route but ended up cornered instead, very nearly losing his life as a result. Later, after everyone was done both scolding him and making sure he was alright, he learnt that he probably would have been able to avoid the enemy trap if he’d been paying attention to the tactics primer the Professor had given them a few days prior to the battle. Linhardt had slept through it instead, overconfident in both his abilities and the fact that he usually kept to the backlines of battle and would therefore most likely not have to face most of the enemy tactics head on.
He hung his head in shame, looking down at his feet, not daring to say anything.
“Linhardt,” Professor Byleth’s voice had softened considerably, but Linhardt would rather he was yelling at him instead, “You got lucky this time, there might not be a next.”
“I know,” He mumbled, then added, “I hate fighting.”
Professor Byleth placed a hand on Linhardt’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before saying, “Stay alive.”
With those words, Byleth walked away, needing to get to wherever he was going next.
Linhardt stood in place for a while still, lost in thought.
They’d had this conversation before, and though he’d been able to walk away mostly unscathed this time, in the end the Professor had been right: there were some battles one couldn’t just walk away from.
Linhardt didn’t know what his future would bring, and he recognised change wasn’t an overnight thing, but perhaps if he started trying a little harder, maybe he’d finally be able to achieve that peace he’d always dreamed of?
Dreaming about it was easy, but once he was awake, well…
It was worth a try.
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Date: 2023-01-13 05:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-13 05:32 pm (UTC)