Sybil needed some exercise if she was going to tolerate Lady Till. Ever since Sybil had gotten back from Carapace, she was frustrated in learning that she was no longer supposed to participate in Moontear activities. Not that she was fond of hunting, but she enjoyed being outside of the barracks.
Now her time was split between sword lessons with Stonetoe, etiquette lessons with Till, and more combat training with Dalkirk. Her lessons with Till weren't so bad since Alton often attended them with her but it still felt like a waste of time. She didn't want to fit in with high nobility. These lessons were useless.
It was made worse by the fact Till would need to focus on the upcoming exams soon enough. Sybil was going to have some tutoring sessions with Rosethorn returned from Fogbloom, at least until the exams were over. Afterward, she’d have the blessing of going out on missions. Missions meant no prince. No prince meant happy Sybil.
“Mind if I join you?” Zaniyah walked backward as she talked with the pair. “Grimhawk is training Gildenboot Squad today and Meany Flay hates me so I got banned from bothering them. Margie is still helping Nita with the applications for next year and both Beat and Stonetoe sleep in so I ain’t got them either.”
Sybil blinked. “When I suggested you should try to find another mentor, I didn't mean you should apprentice yourself to everyone you could... And don't let Lady Marjoram hear you call her Margie. She's going to make you do a hundred pages of calligraphy again.” She then looked over her shoulder and back at Chickadee. “Did you want to do some dueling?” He shrugged.
Alton opened the dorm door and was surprised to see Gypsum waiting outside for them. He looked rather goofy due to holding a blanket in his mouth. At the sight of Zaniyah, the horse started to jump from side to side. He trotted up and started to swing the blanket towards her.
Zaniyah took the blanket, folded it up, and tossed it over Gypsum’s back. She then grabbed the horse by the cheeks and shook his head back and forth. “How are you even here? Stop breaking out of the stables! That's the second time this week!”
“I told you that he does that when he's bored,” Alton smirked at Zaniyah's frustration.
“But I locked it with a padlock and tied extra ropes around it this time!” Zaniyah let out a groan. “Did you let out Oyster again too?!”
Gypsum had become friends with Sybil's horse. They were both stallions around the same age and had spent part of the winter together in the same stables. Zaniyah's horse had gotten into the habit of letting out Oyster whenever he escaped so that the two could cause trouble together.
Sybil noticed that the main doors hadn’t been opened yet, and immediately sighed with relief. “The kitchen staff is probably making him fat off of carrots again.” She saw that Chickadee was already walking away. “Chi!” He turned around and tilted his head. “Apparently the horses want to go on a run. You want to come with us?”
Chickadee quickly waved his hands back and forth. Working with dead animal parts was fine. Live ones made him nervous. “Work needs finishing.”
Peter, who had been eavesdropping from the dorm’s entrance, sought to interrupt. “We have a two man saddle in storage. Emery can take one of our squad's horses and use it to teach Chi how to ride.”
“Already know how to ride,” argued Chickadee.
Alton put on a coy grin. “That’s a great idea! You haven’t had a chance to ride since last summer. Getting Penvil to help you might make you learn something I forgot to teach you.”
Once more did Chickadee protest. “This is a distraction. Dew wants to get closer to Millie.”
“No?” Peter was suddenly troubled by the thought. “... Basil was the one who suggested it. Right, Basil?” He looked around. Emery was the only one standing with him. “... B-Basil..?” His eyes widened with realization. “That bastard!” He spotted the strategist bashfully talking to Ivy and charged towards him.
Emery frowned. He then quickly spoke up when he noticed that Chickadee was going after his squadmates. “It sounds like a bother.” Chickadee paused and stared at him silently. “... Teaching. It sounds like a bother.”
Sybil didn’t have time to wait. She began to head off so she could start to look for Oyster. Alton grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her closer. He tilted his head towards Emery and Chickadee, then nodded a few times. She stared at him like he was crazy. He tilted his head, then winked. Alton tossed his arms in the air and gave her a look as though he were asking what was so hard to understand about that.
“Oh!” She poked a set of fingers together and Alton nodded his head quickly. “We absolutely should bring Emery along!” Sybil exclaimed loudly. Chickadee blinked at her loud response. “My schedule doesn't let me see either my good friends Emery or Chi that often. It would be nice to have a relaxing hour or so with my two good friends who I never get to see together!”
Zaniyah frowned as Gypsum rested his chin on her shoulder. “Yeah, but Emery just said it was a bother.” Both Alton and Sybil gave her a stern look. “Oh gosh! … Oh my gosh!” Her eyes widened. “But we totally need Chi to be good at horse riding! Because of missions and stuff!”
Sybil bobbled her head. “Exactly! All of us have horses now so he’s going to have to ride with us whenever we go somewhere. I know you said it was troublesome, Emery, but would you mind? Alton says that my riding form still needs work. He won’t be able to teach Chickadee and me at the same time.”
“And Gypsum likes to run really fast. I can't have Chi riding with me. It'll be super dangerous! Oh so very, very dangerous,” said Zaniyah in a fake-sounding worried tone.
The way they were going about this made their intentions obvious to Chickadee. They trying to set him up on a date. He glanced over to Emery, who was looking back at him. When their eyes met for a brief moment, Emery quickly looked away and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.
Chickadee remembered that Alton had told him that someone at the barracks had a crush on him… Apparently that was Emery. As he looked him up and down, Chickadee considered the possibilities. Horse riding as a group meant that neither would feel uncomfortable about being together. Almost like a group date, but he had the feeling that the rest of the group would spend their own time staring at him.
He also didn't think Emery was his type. Emery and Sybil got along, and that was the extent of what Chickadee knew about it. The type of man he wanted to be with was someone like... Looking over to Alton and Sybil, the two seemed so content together. They were eagerly smiling and doing their best to make sure he found happiness too.
Chickadee tugged on Emery's sleeve to get his attention. “What do you do for fun?”
“Ah...” Emery felt embarrassed. “I-I like to draw.”
“What do you like to draw?” Chickadee frowned as Emery proceeded to look in any direction that wasn’t directly at him.
“... People.”
“I want to watch you draw people.”
Zaniyah put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my gosh, it's happening.”
Alton scrunched up his nose. “... I guess that's one way to look at it?”
“Shh.” Sybil looped both of her arms in theirs and started to pull them away. “Sorry that you didn’t feel like riding today. We'll see you at lunch, Chickadee! It's okay if you don't show up because you're busy with work... Or anything else! Especially if it's anything else!”
Emery's ears had gone completely red by the time they had started to walk away. “I need to fetch my charcoal and notebook.”
“I will follow,” said Chickadee bluntly.
“... It's in my room,” he said nervously. Chickadee nodded as if already he knew that. “... Alright.”
Following him back into the dorms, Chickadee entered the Moontear squad room and looked around. Their beds were hung up on the walls vertically, so that they could be pulled down each night. The undersides of them had drawings pinned up and the walls were decorated with an assortment of trinkets.
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Despite there being five beds, the room had been divided up into four spaces. One was a group area with a table and the other three had their own personalities. Antlers, teeth, animal track castings, along with doodles of the women of the barracks were in one corner. Another had maps hung up and shelves full of books, mostly on the kind of subjects that Baron Squad studied.
The last corner was decorated with art. Drawings of the different squires, mostly during class. Some of them were done during free time, while others were while they were at church. Emery went to a dresser of that corner and started to go through his journals and art supplies while Chickadee continued to look around.
“What does your family do?” Chickadee decided that it was best to say something otherwise risk being stuck in silence.
“They run a tailor shop,” replied Emery. “I'm part of the shop’s eighth-generation and the fifth of seven children. There wasn't much room in the shop. I decided to branch out and see what else I could do with what I know.”
Chickadee could understand. “I'm the second of four children. My sister, Caitlin, is inheriting mother's shop. No need for two of us. I left. Millie likes bounty hunting. Fairy does glasswork.”
“Carapace seems interesting. There’s more to do there than in Timber Vale. We visited on our way to the exams and were quickly overwhelmed.”
Emery turned around with his supplies under his arm. His face went pale as he saw Chickadee staring at a particular drawing. It was of himself, during one of the many times he had passed out in the forge. He wasn't wearing his scarves, which meant that it had been drawn last summer.
With a sigh, Chickadee removed the scarves from around the top of his head and face. He ran a hand through his hair to smooth it out before he frowned at Emery. “I'm a man.”
“... I know that.”
Dropping most of the scarves to the ground, Chickadee crossed over to where Emery was standing. He looped the one scarf he was carrying around the back of Emery’s neck and pulled him close for a kiss. When he didn't find any resistance to his actions, he moved his arms about Emery’s shoulders and held him close as he continued to mesh their lips together.
It wasn’t nearly as forceful as either Gower or Ruven, yet this... It wasn't bad. It wasn't entirely great either. When Chickadee started to pull away, Emery grasped the back of his head, and his fingers tangled themselves almost painfully within his hair as he forced the mage back into it. Suddenly, this was going rather well.
Pressing his forehead against Emery's, Chickadee nudged him away so he could have a moment to breathe. “This isn't a distraction so your squad can go after Millie?” He had thought this was a part of Basil’s plan to get a chance to talk with Millie.
“I like you.” Emery took a step back. He then bowed politely. “Please allow me the honor of courting you.”
A puff of steam came out of the top of Chickadee's head as his cheeks deepened in color. “Yeah, okay.” The two stared at each other awkwardly. “... Should we go outside?”
“We could stay here a little longer... Do you want to?” Emery nervously shuffled his art supplies and blushed all the harder when Chickadee nodded. “Would it be alright if I drew you or did you want to do something else?”
“... Would it be alright if I took off my clothes?”
They both nervously stared at each other. Chickadee’s forwardness made Emery’s mouth open and close in shock, like he was a fish gulping for air. “... T-taking off your clothes because you want me to draw you or because you want to do something else?”
“Yes.”
Emery leaned down and hesitantly kissed him again. It didn’t matter what happened next, he was going to do his best to not make a fool of himself.
---
Zaniyah's maniacal laughter could be heard far and wide. Gypsum galloped across the hills with Oyster trotting a short distance behind. Sybil wasn't riding him though. She was watching her horse run off without her... Again... At least the damn thing stuck around Zaniyah's horse, which was a plus.
“I know. We raised him since he was just a little sickly newborn, didn't we?” Alton stroked Bibi's mane while the horse nuzzled him. “But now he's forgotten all about us since Zan came and stole him away... It's just a rebellious phase, dear. He loves us and he'll come back to us someday.”
Sybil slowly turned her head towards him. She then shook her head and went back to watching Zaniyah. Zaniyah had a decent amount of practice with Gypsum by this point and the two had bonded well. However, Oyster still hated her. Maybe that was just a life-long problem that she would have to deal with.
She glanced over to Alton again. “Will you be around to help me with my homework later?”
Rosethorn had given her a list of texts he wanted her to read and write a report on by the time he had gotten back from Fogbloom. Most of it was difficult for her to understand. Alton had been helping her with what he could.
“... Does that mean that you’re not mad at me?” Having everyone gang up on him during the class meeting had bruised his ego. He deserved it, but it still stung.
Sybil shrugged. “I’ll be okay for now as long as you help me with my studies.”
“The failures in leadership that led to the rise and fall of the Southern War, right?” Alton frowned at the thought. “It's weird to read up on history and think, 'that's my uncle,' or 'hey, there's dad.'”
“Do you know how many chapters I’ve read about my mother? The way people describe her… It's so different than the person I knew.”
The Southern War started when Prince Cornelius, who was seventeen at the time, was on his way to visit the Coral Region. Prince Wulfric had sent his younger brother out to represent him for a meeting with the Duke. What they didn’t know at the time was that both the Clay and Coral Regions were planning their independence.
A ship from the Clay Region had scuttled Cornelius’s ship, murdering most of his entourage in the process. The prince died shortly afterward. There were few survivors of the incident, and they had been kept as prisoners during the war. It wasn’t until the Clay Region’s defeat did the horrors of their actions come to light.
The Clay Region then burned down the temples dedicated to Iath. Paladins and their bloodlines were executed. They claimed that the gods and King Howell had abandoned them. Armies were sent to recapture the region and thus began a bloody three-year civil war that only ended due to the efforts of a small squad led by Lydia Larkin.
They infiltrated the south, gathered evidence of the Clay Region’s atrocities, and handed their findings to the Coral Region. Within a year of them starting their operation, the Clay Duke was executed. The war was declared over.
People praised Lady Larkin for her efforts. She became a national hero. But rather than accept the reward of joining the King’s Court, she sought to return to Carapace and live a quiet life. She had a small voice in politics, but Duke Rubire always treated her with disrespect. At least, until she died. Then Duke Rubire considered her to be quite important, as her death gave him leverage against the core.
“That war may have ended when you were still small children, but the traces of it are all over Braytons,” whispered Lydia. She was floating upside down again. Alton always had trouble taking her seriously whenever she did that. “As you know, Stonetoe had only started to establish himself within the army when the war started.
Several of the instructors here had fought in that war. I asked Dalkirk to join my squad, and he acted as my guide in the Clay Region.” Alton gave her a surprised look. He almost said something, but he remembered that Sybil was standing there. “The man had... Some personal troubles because he had been born there. History will always remember his name as a hero but he kept using his code name after the war because he doesn’t believe he has the right to use his old name.”
Alton furrowed his brows. Lydia had never wanted to talk about the war before. He was wondering why had she randomly changed her mind.
“Did you know that one of the knights here was on Lydia's squad?” Sybil flashed him a smile.
“Oh really?” Alton flashed a silly grin in order to fake some ignorance. “Tell me. I'm curious.”
Sybil leaned in close as though it were a bit of hidden gossip. “Sir Dalkirk’s real name is Paladin Banner Birch.” She grinned. “Irving found out his real name during the winter.”
Alton frowned. “You don’t think he’ll get mad about Irving digging into his past?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so but…” She looked down at the ground. “Do you think if I ask him about the war, he’ll be able to tell me about my mother? What she was really like back then?”
Alton put a hand on her shoulder. “I don't think that's a good idea. There was a lot of hate and violence that happened. Especially for a paladin who chose to change his name afterward. Plus, there isn’t anyone closer to your mother than Lady Till. Stonetoe already told you it was a good idea to make friends with her... Wouldn't she be the best one to ask?”
The thought of asking Till made her uncomfortable. “Sometimes, after she's done with a lesson with me, I can tell she wants to talk about something else. She stands there for a moment before shaking her head and walking away... I think that it's because I'm not all that similar to Lydia and maybe all she can see of me is my dad.”
“While I was setting up the core shops in Carapace, I exchanged at least a dozen letters with your father on a number of subjects,” replied Alton. “Yes. You do take after your father. He's blunt and tends to forget about the world when he’s focused on a project, just like you.
But when you open up to people, you have the same smile Lydia has. The way she could light up a room with her smile alone was amazing. Everyone at Starsons said so. You may not see it but you’re the same way. You make the people around you want to do good for others.”
Sybil’s cheeks flushed from embarrassment. She put her arms around his waist and pecked at the side of his neck. “Thanks... Maybe I'll try to talk to Lady Till about mother later.” Leaning in closer, she whispered in his ear. “Do you want to be my date to Mart’s Feast Day festival in Tilrey?”
He grinned. “I’ll be your date to anywhere you ask.”
Tilrey was hosting a flower festival that day. Since he wasn't known as a musician in these parts, Alton was free to wander about with anonymity. It sounded like a good chance to sneak away to an inn with Sybil... But it would be better if he tried to have some fun rather than hide. After all, he wanted to one day look back at his time at Braytons and know he did more than just make out with Sybil.
Sybil gave him a hug. “Let me try to get Oyster back so we can do some actual riding today. Should we do some foraging while we're out? The wild greens are in season and we could cut them up for a nut and fruit salad.”
“That sounds wonderful, love. I'll help lead him to you.”
Alton mounted his horse and Bibi struggled to catch up with the two younger stallions. Eventually, she managed to round them together. The three went off to search the groves for herbs and wild garlic to eat. When they returned, they met up with Veximarl and Chickadee for lunch. Their days flowed easily after that, with them eager for them to pass quickly until summer. Whatever their next mission would be, they were ready for it.