Sylvain Jose Gautier

"Well, well! It must be my lucky day today, being approached by such a beauty. I'm Sylvain Jose Gautier. Feel free to say hi whenever you like."

[concealed-lance]

roaming-instigator

Caspar tried to keep a calm composure, as he was completely miffed a little by the candor of Sylvain’s response. He was determined to get a straight answer out this man, so hopefully this no non-sense attitude continued,

“At least you’re able to read the room, so now I don’t have to bullshit you anymore. I was never good at the diplomatic ass kissing crap.” He crossed his arms and stood up a bit straighter, not that it made him look much bigger but it did show off his muscles and conveyed seriousness.

Caspar grimanced and continued, “You fought well on the battle field, even almost had me convinced you’re really are fighting for the Empire’s will. I’m not sure what game you are playing here, but I would watch your back if I were you. Hubert is not one to be crossed and betraying Edelgard or harming our soldiers will get you on his bad side; he even scares the hardest soldiers I know. I also love my friends and worry about them too, so the goddess will not help you if you are why they come into harms way. You might have fooled Edelgard, because she’s a softy for those harmed by the throne and Dimitri, but I don’t buy the whole renegade pretty boy act. If you aren’t a spy, then why would your loyalty not stay in Fargus when push comes to shove against a former ally. Also, being raised in luxury as a best friend of the king has it perks, why give that up? No noble with that kind of power would throw his whole life away to tear down the system that played so well to your favor. I might not know much about you outside of your friends and lecherous history, but it all just makes it hard for even me to trust you. Just know that I don’t wish any ill will on you and if you’re not serious about the empires will then you made a big mistake buddy! I would also look over your shoulder for Hubert when you can.”

Caspar so did not practice in his head all day till now, but it was done. If Sylvain got himself hurt because he crossed Hubert or double crossed his friends, then its his cross to bear. Caspar warned him and with that his conscience and intention’s couldn’t be any more clear.  With the last breath of his little tirade, Caspar waited for Sylvain’s response but was considering leaving since his peace was said.

One thing that Sylvain was easily able to pick up on was when people were faking around him. He was a master in hiding himself, keeping his true intentions hidden from even his closest friends, which was why it didn’t come as any surprise to him that Caspar wasn’t all smiles and laughs, regardless of how kind and friendly he tried to appear. He wasn’t one to underestimate appearances because if being a noble taught him anything, it was that everyone lied and no one acted like who they truly were. 

He was actually a little grateful when Caspar dropped his act, when he started telling him how he truly felt about him coming to the Black Eagles. He knew that leaving the Blue Lions had been hard not only on him but everyone else that he grew up with as well. He would be lying if he said that he had been able to completely cut dies with Ingrid, Dimitri, and Felix without any feelings at all. His thoughts wondered to them, worried about if they were doing okay, but he couldn’t continue to fight for a system that he didn’t believe in. He wanted nothing more than to dismantle the crest system, to see change happened, and he knew that wasn’t going to happen with Dimitri, who was the husk of the person he used to be. 

He let out a laugh, but there was no joy behind it. His laughter came across slightly bitter and a little dark as he looked over at Caspar as he listened to his onslaught of words. “Growing up the only Gautier with a crest meant I had to learn how to fake niceties. Real easy to figure out when people are doing the same, it was apparent from the moment I met you that you were never good at saving face. Wouldn’t expect you to get into diplomacy to begin with, don’t know why anyone would.”

Sylvain shrugged, leaning back against the wall as he let some of his normal mask slip, allowing his darker, more cynical side slip out. “What else would I be fighting for then if not for the Empire’s will? Doesn’t really matter to me what you think about me anyways. I have my reasons for fighting for Edelgard and I’m pretty sure my lance skills on the field should have been enough proof for you.” He felt his body tense and seize up the moment that Caspar mentioned growing up as a noble as well as Faerghus. “You don’t know anything!” His voice got slightly lower, with a hard edge to it as he glared at the other. “You have no idea what I had to go through growing up as the son of a noble. Real easy to assume I had everything handed to me just because my dad was rich.” There was far to much that he had to deal with growing up between his father only paying attention to him when he acted like a proper heir and having to deal with Miklan trying to kill him or beating him up but never allowing anyone to know what was happening. 

Those were all the burdens that he had to bare but were also the reasons that drove him to want to dismantle the crest system. He knew that he grew up with privilege and didn’t have to struggle for food like Ingrid had to, but he wished that the crest system had never been invented. It was only ever used to classify and divide people and while he didn’t agree with Edelgard’s methods of going about this, she was the only one who was trying to make systemic changes.

“My word doesn’t mean anything to you and I’m not dumb enough to think this conversation will change anything, but I have no intention of getting on Hubert’s bad side or going against Edelgard. Didn’t think having extra fire power on Edelgard’s team would get you this bent out of shape, gotta admit, it’s cute seeing you this worked up.” He mused with a wink, the dark look still swimming in his eyes, but his mask slowly starting to slip into place, making sure that Caspar wouldn’t get to close or learn too much. 

[concealed-lance]

roaming-instigator

At this point, the music in Caspar’s headphones were set low every morning. He at first argued that it was for safety, but eventually this habit of not blasting his ears with noise let him hear just how good of a job Caspar did annoying his neighbor. The amount of satisfaction and general glee he got from the occasional exchange with Sylvain, was enough to turn even the worst day around.

He knew that Sylvain was a firefighter and worked odd hours, but he never got to know the guy more than that. Caspar could even admit that Sylvain had a decent house on the outside, but it looked like a reason size for a firefighter to afford. However, it was not rare for Sylvain to pull double shifts or all nighters at work, so at least he was a good worker, he guessed…There were many days that Caspar’s morning run went without any snide comments but today was not one of those days.

Leaving the door to the house, Caspar was half-way down his drive way, when he heard a familiar annoyed voice ring in his ears.

With a wiry grin and a sickeningly sweet tone, Caspar retorted, “GOOOD MORNING, my dear Sylvain! I missed you too.”

He rolled his eye and continued in the same tone, while fast walking down the drive to try to quickly as possibly pass Sylvain’s house.

“Yes, It might actually kill me to be quiet, but I’d never ask the dogs to do that.  They’re only really just being themselves and I can’t tell an tiger to change it stripes. That would SO cruel!” Caspar grasped at his dogs leashes dramatically as he finished that sentence and then continued,

“However, I will try to keep it down in my next mile! The quieter pups are next, so you can rest your pretty head easy.”

Caspar jogged away as sylvain replied, he then turned the volume of his music up on his phone and finally started his run for the day. A good day it will be indeed.

The fact that this back and forth was almost a daily occurrence at this point only furthered Sylvain’s immense disdain for his neighbor. He wasn’t even sure what the man’s name was. He remembered that it started with the letter C but called him a different name each time that he saw him. He just continued to call him the loud neighbor with the even louder and more annoying dogs. He had nothing wrong with animals, had a deep love and respect for them, but being woken up by loud bellowing from his neighbor, followed by even louder barking got real old real quick.

He stopped keeping track of how many times he’s screamed at the other, asking him to keep his voice down. Sylvain was sure that he could have handled the situation far more tactfully, but he was exhausted each time the two of them had to interact with one another. They never had an interaction with one another when Sylvain had a day off or hadn’t been working a 24 hour shift. He felt always felt tense and agitated each and every time he had to get out of his bed to scream at his inconsiderate neighbor. He wasn’t sure if he worked, or if he just thought that being loud this early in the morning was something everyone just absolutely enjoyed.

He was hoping that he’d be able to say his peace and that the other would just continue on his way, but it wasn’t looking like that was going to happen. He felt his skin prickle when he saw the wiry grin along with his sickenly sweet tone, knowing he was using it as a jab towards him because they were not friendly with one another in anyway. He felt his muscles tense and had to hold back from just screaming out of frustration at the other. He would never be able to comprehend how inconsiderate his neighbor could be for other people that lived around him.

“It wouldn’t kill your dogs to have them be quite! You don’t have to rile them up every time you go for a walk! Maybe if you weren’t so loud and obnoxious, they wouldn’t be either!” He yelled out, feeling irritation roll off of him in waves as he watched the other start to run with his dogs, not even listening to what he had to say.

He felt a little bit like Felix since he normally kept his cool and didn’t outright yell at people when they irritated him, but his neighbor existed on a completely different level of irritation for him. He glared at him as the other continued to run, muttering under his breath as he walked back inside, slamming the door behind him as he went back to his bedroom, hoping to get in some amount of sleep before he had to go back on call.

[concealed-lance]

lonewolfswordsman

Felix was pretty sure if he rolled his eyes any harder, they’d roll clear out of his head. He scoffed audibly, muttering under his breath, “Irresistable, my ass.” Felix hated that he wasted so much time fooling around; there were a million better things he could do than chase skirts. Sylvain always pretended he was such an idiot, but he wasn’t, and he just threw it away for reasons Felix just really couldn’t comprehend. Because he just didn’t feel like it? Because he didn’t want people ot expect things from him?

“How about I hit you, instead?” he snipped back. Such a pain in the ass.

He kept the sword-tip pointed at Sylvain’s throat. It was just a training sword so the tip was blunt, but it was still clearly enough of a threat from Felix. It wasn’t like he’d hesitate to give him a whack with it hard enough to bruise. Probably not on the neck, though. He didn’t actually want to kill him, even if he threatened it on more than one occasion. “Most of the time,” was his response, though it held slightly less bite than usual.

Folding his arms over his chest, he stepped back to let him have room to work.

Thin brows quirked upward slightly as he watched, then pinched together again before Sylvain could turn to look at him. He was… surprised, at least. It wasn’t as if he were terrible or anything. After a moment, just a beat or two, he ventured over to him. Grabbing him by the back of the shirt, he pulled him back to the point he had started at. Manipulating him back into his starting pose, he began making adjustments. Wedging one foot against his, he nudged first one and then the other until his stance was a little wider, then pushed one elbow closer to his torso and pulled the other up slightly. “Try that.”

When Sylvain had come into the training area, he knew full well that Felix wasn’t going to be in the mood for his antics. However, he always found it a little funny how easy it was to ruffle the other’s feathers and to get him to be snippy with him. For as much as he made the other grumble and grouse at him, he knew that Felix would never actually do anything to hurt him. They had been friends since childhood and for as much as he got on Felix’s nerves, he always trusted him to have his back.

He knew that if push ever came to shove that he could rely on the swordsman to help it out, unless it happened to deal with Sylvain getting himself in trouble because of his shameless flirting. He was sure that if he gave as much effort into training as Felix did, that he would have full mastery of his lance already. It wasn’t that he wasn’t proficient at using his weapon, but he knew that he could be better. He just didn’t want to prove to everyone that he was actually able to train and be dedicated when he already had a reputation as being a lazy student who didn’t care.

He didn’t mind it being that way either. It was easier for him because after living his whole life with expectations put on him by his father, he was more than glad to have a place where he didn’t have to worry about having more expectations placed on him. He knew that it was probably childish and explaining it to anyone would probably make them roll their eyes at his reasoning, but he didn’t really care. He was happy to be carefree and study or train in secret, away from other people’s prying eyes and unrealistic expectations.

After he had finished showing Felix the move that he had been working on, he was expecting him to respond, to say something. What he wasn’t expecting was to have Felix grab him by the back of his shirt and start moving him around. He knew that the other was more of an “action” type of person, preferring to show or act instead of using words. Sylvain tripped slightly when Felix first pulled him before regaining his balance again.

“You could have just said that you wanted your hands on me, Felix~ you didn’t have to surprise me like that.” He teased, knowing the other was probably going to hate his response. Little to Felix’s knowledge however, there was a slight flush creeping up the back of his neck, which he was grateful that the other couldn’t see. He had been able to keep his crush on the other a secret and intended to keep it that way. He was sure that if he just randomly told him that it wouldn’t end well in the slightest and he didn’t want to do anything that would put their friendship in jeopardy.

He pulled away a slight bit after he readjusted his stance before nodding. “This time it’ll be perfect because I had the expert swordsman here to help me~” He replied with a wink before showing the same move that he had just previously done, but noticed that it felt much less awkward to execute in this stance.

[concealed-lance]

future-flame-emperor

Edelgard kept her stance strong as the non familiar red head asked her questions about the upcoming mission. She wondered why he hadn’t approached the professor about something like this and came to her instead. Perhaps the professor was busy with their own thing. Edelgard thought that Sylvain was asking too many questions for a simple mission but then the gears started to turn.

Sylvain had to know the person in question. She narrowed her eyes very slightly and thought back to someone telling her about the relics. Someone else who worked behind the scenes and told her the Lance of Ruin was a relic of House Gautier. So obviously the relic had some semblance to Sylvain being his house weapon. She decided to choose her words carefully as if to not give too much information away but she needed to not seem so cold to him either.

“They did give a name, but why would a mission of ours interest you that much? The Lance of Ruin is your houses so why wouldn’t you know what happened to it. Perhaps you can answer the question of why our house is helping with this.” Her hand found her chin and pondered on a thought then. What if Sylvain could help out with the mission. Perhaps then something could be worked out. Surely the professor would approve.

“I’ll ask something else. What if you helped us out with this mission? Then I could provide all the details I know.” Edelgard figured it was only fair that if he wanted the information he could help out with it.

When Sylvain was heading over to the Black Eagles classroom, he knew that Edelgard and anyone else that was around would probably have questions about why he was interested in their mission. The houses usually didn’t have much contact with one another, interactions outside of the Blue Lion’s was rare for Sylvain and mainly only from trying to flirt and pick people up. He was grateful that Edelgard hadn’t immediately dismissed him or felt like he was too suspicious with the questions that he had been asking her. He figured that she would be the easiest person to talk to about the details of the mission and she’d have the most knowledge out of anyone besides the professor.

It wasn’t any secret that the Lance of Ruin  was part of House Gautier, but he wasn’t given any information about what had happened to it. My father probably didn’t trust me enough to tell me what happened to it. He was sure that his father’s aim was to try and take care of this “incident” as quickly as possible and that the end result was going to be death for either them or the person who had taken the lance. He had a sinking suspicion that it was Miklan, that he would be the only person bold enough, or stupid enough, to steal a relic from his father.

The only problem was that he didn’t understand what Miklan’s end goal was by stealing it. He figured that he could probably sell it and make some decent money that way since after being disowned by his father he wasn’t entitled to any of the wealth that they had. He knew that Miklan would have the awareness to know that his father would launch a full-scale search for the Lance of Ruin and that he wouldn’t let whoever took it get away with their life. As much as Miklan had made his life hell, Sylvain couldn’t help but hope to the Goddess that he was wrong about who was behind the theft. That he wasn’t going to have to face his brother, years after he was forced out of their home, only to have to kill him.

“My father isn’t one to give out information, especially to his only heir who he doesn’t deem all that trustworthy. I don’t care what my father’s reasons were for not telling me the particulars, but I have a feelings I know who was behind all of this and I just want to be sure I’m right.” His voice was even, there wasn’t any hatred or ill emotion as he spoke, just stating the facts of why he was kept in the dark about this entire mission. “My guess is that since the Professor is teaching for your class, that you get to be assigned to the more interesting missions. The Blue Lion’s are assigned to help with something minor this month and as much as I’d love to help them, I’d much rather figure this out instead.”

He smirked a little when Edelgard asked if he wanted to help out with the mission. He figured that she wasn’t going to give him information for free, but being asked to help out with the mission was better than what he hoped was going to happen. At least if he was involved, if he was there with the Black Eagles when they hunted down whoever stole the Lance of Ruin, he’d be able to see his brother and hopefully figure out what his entire plan was.

[concealed-lance]

galateaswings

Whenever Ingrid found herself in danger or involuntarily placed in an uncomfortable situation, Sylvain always seemed to inexplicably arrive on the scene to support her. Knowing that she had a friend at her side, particularly in times where she felt she was being disrespected, eased the tension in her shoulders. Regardless of whether or not she had assistance, Ingrid was perfectly capable of handling herself, but knowing she wasn’t completely cornered was a comfort. Sylvain was an idiot. One of the biggest idiots she had ever met. But she trusted him more than anyone else. Ingrid didn’t have the words to describe her appreciation for him–not that it mattered. She’d never admit it to him, as it would only boost his already inflated ego.

Sylvain’s next comment, however, immediately caused her to snort. Sylvain? Pick up on a hint? Rightttttt. She mused to herself, reflecting upon the many times she had to go to a stranger’s house to apologize personally on his behalf to the girls he had offended for one reason or another. Not to mention that time in high school when he mistook a girl for playing “hard to get” when in reality she hadn’t wanted anything to do with him in the first place. It was so very tempting to comment on his lack of awareness, but Ingrid ultimately decided against it. She didn’t want to encourage the guys attempting to persuade her to keep going, especially when it seemed they were starting to reconsider their pestering.

Much to her relief, it seemed Sylvain’s veiled threat had been effective. The men had begun looking to each other, a few shrugging while others shook their heads. Finally, one spat a few dismissive comments about how “she wasn’t that pretty anyway,” before finally turning to leave. Ingrid smirked at their minor victory, only releasing an audible huff once they were out of sight. She raised her arms placing her hands on her hips before turning her head back toward Sylvain.

“I could have handled them by myself, you know,” She replied, shaking her head, “honestly, what brings you here anyway? It’s a Friday night. I’m shocked you aren’t trying to bed a girl right now.”

The bond that Sylvain shared with Ingrid was one of an older brother wanting nothing more than to protect his sister. He hadn’t exactly had the best role model for what siblings were supposed to be like, his older brother Miklan had gotten casted out of their family and didn’t have any tie to the family business or inheritance. He still didn’t completely understand what had happened growing up, all he knew was that Miklan blamed him for the way his life turned out and made sure to make his hell up until the time he left.

He vowed that he would always be someone who protected those that he cared about, never wanting to cause harm or hurt those he was close to. He knew that he could act aloof, purposely causing trouble for many of his childhood friends, Ingrid in particular, but it was self-protective for him that way. He was able to maintain his image as a flirty playboy who caused trouble with people he found attractive. He did feel bad that Ingrid was always the one to go and smooth things over, he hadn’t ever intended for that role to fall onto her, but regardless she was always there to help him out no matter what type of situation he had gotten himself into.

He knew that if he hadn’t walked over, that Ingrid could have taken care of these men herself, but he wanted to be of some use to her. He had witnessed her being harassed and he’d feel like a horrible friend if he didn’t do something to help her out, especially since she helped him out as much as she did. He smirked to himself and put a hand on his hip when he watched the men look at each other before finally deciding to walk away. He knew that they were just mad that they hadn’t been able to do what they wanted with Ingrid which is why they were upset.

“I know, I know.” He mused, moving his hands behind his head as his posture relaxed. “I wasn’t coming over here to be a white knight for you, I promise. I am well aware of how much your punches can hurt.” He teased, even though he often did get hit in the arm for his actions. “I just wanted to make sure that they didn’t do anything to you. There was still three of them and only one of you and I didn’t want them to get any ideas.”

He let out a low chuckle before looking over at the other, pretending to be hurt by her words. “I’m hurt! Getting into bed with beautiful people isn’t the only thing I do on a Friday night you know! What if I was on my way back to my place to work on some homework, how about that?” In reality, he had just been bored and looking to see if anyone was on campus and wanted to hang out for the evening. He hadn’t really wanted to spend his evening in his room with a stranger and was glad that he ran into Ingrid, even if it had been under less than ideal circumstances.

“Would you want to grab something to eat? My treat for having to deal with those jerks.”

[concealed-lance]

future-flame-emperor

Edelgard had received the plans from the Professor and took into consideration what the next battle would be about. Retrieving an ancient relic weapon from someone in the Kingdom’s territory. Perhaps he had stolen it when it didn’t belong to him and now he was fighting back authority to return it. Edelgard didn’t quite understand the full reason but she knew what had to happen. There were other problems that needed to be addressed but she could deal with it later.

Hubert had known that Edelgard needed to speak with Those Who Slither In the Dark soon which meant donning that armor which caused a personality shift in her. Edelgard sighed and walked into the Black Eagles classroom. There were no other students currently in it which meant she could sit at one of the desks and rest her head in her hand. She knew that the constant state of being watched was something but now on top of a surprise mission, she sighed softly.

Why couldn’t Dimitri and his class deal with this situation? This has nothing to deal with the Adrestian Empire. Edelgard pinched the bridge of her nose and then heard the door creak open. Her stance stiffened and she rose to her feet. Her eyes looked to the figure and saw a student from the Blue Lions enter. The familiar red hair, she knew who he was but why was he here? Did Sylvain only want to know about the upcoming mission?

“Certainly. Ask away of what you want to know. I can answer only what I know though. So keep that in mind.” Edelgard folded her arms slightly and kept her stance strong, she didn’t know what Sylvain could be after but he seemed sincere when he asked Edelgard. So he was here on a serious matter and not for any flirtatious reasons.

There was very limited amounts of interaction that Sylvain had with Edelgard. He didn’t really have an opinion on her, the only stories he ever heard were second hand and didn’t feel the need to concern himself with what was going on with the Black Eagles...that was until he heard that they possibly were going to have a mission involving his brother. He knew that the reason that his class hadn’t gotten assigned his mission was because Byleth wasn’t overseeing them, it seemed like their class always got handed the far more serious missions for some reason. He was just hoping that he’d be given permission to join them because he wasn’t sure what he would do if he had to miss the opportunity to finally see what happened to his brother after these many years. 

The other had seemed a little tense, but he figured that was something that everyone in a ruling position looked like most of the time. There was a lot that weighed on everyone’s shoulders, but he never would want to be in Dimitri, Edelgard’s, or Claude’s position. That was far too much responsibility and he was more than content to just continue to aid Dimitri however he could. 

Sylvain was grateful that Edelgard hadn’t given him the second degree, that she was allowing him to ask what he wanted. He wasn’t sure how comfortable she would have been with him coming to her and suddenly wanting to know about the mission she was going on with the rest of the Black Eagles. He hadn’t really had a conversation with her before and wasn’t really sure what her response was going to be to his sudden curiosity.

“I have only heard whispers and rumors about this mission myself, I just came to confirm some of them. The mission that you’re going on, is it to take back the Lance of Ruin from a thief?” He asked, hoping that she would at least be able to tell him that much since the only person he knew who’d be able to pull off a heist of their family relic like that would be his brother. “They didn’t happen to give you a name of the person that stole the relic, do you? Is that something that you were told when they gave you the details of the mission?”

[roaming-instigator-deactivated2]

Block Wars ~ Lovers Edition | Caspar x Sylvain

@concealed-lance

(Background)

Last year to the day, Caspar had finally settled down in the most unconventional way. Instead of a wife, 2.5 kids with a picket fence, and house, he took the house and ran with it. He’d gotten lucky, he saw a house for sale that he’d been eyeing on Zillow for what felt like an eon, when his job gave him a raise with better benefits. He went and saw the house that day and bought the fixer-upper for below the market value. It really paid well to be PT/OT at a hospital that finally paid off his school loans, right before his 5 year anniversary of getting the job. 

The bigger space would make a world of difference for his two furry babies and would save him money in the long run, not having to pay pet fees! He could also be his messy and manic self without fear of losing his security deposit, so It was great to have a house! The move with his originally 2 dogs, went smoothly till he learned that plumbing is hard to do and his heart bleeds for every stray he see’s. The Bergliez house ended up with another member of the household and a messed up bathroom for a few months, but all it took was time and some youtube to figure everything out. Life got even better when he nearly lost his job for threatening a coworker, when they asked him if he knew anyone that is looking to adopt two dogs. Pets go to forever homes, but this guy just bought puppies to impress his kids and found that full grown dogs were not his ‘jam’. 

Currently, Caspar has 5 dogs, all who need walked twice or three times a day and his house is immaculate after a few bumps and broken pipes being fixed. One thing that the Bergliez family refused to do is make a scene and stand out, his father hated it. All Caspar wanted was to know his neighbors and make new friends. Maybe even finally settle down with someone right for him in the dog filled house, but that is just TOO much to ask for right now. So he made a point to host something in his neighborhood every weekend and fill his social bar with activities like hosting block parties and decorating his house to the nines for every holiday. 

With getting to know your neighbors, Caspar found that he enjoyed most of everyone. They were a middle of the road group of working people, some with kids and some like him who were lucky single people. Overall, his neighborhood was comfortably nosy but nice. However, there was a certain red-headed man that lived directly next to him, who Caspar despised. This man, apparently is the arbiter of the block’s activities and fun. Every holiday is a competition for this guy to have the most extravagant house; but this competition is not fun in any way that builds comradery, but he is always spiteful and snobby. At least, that’ how he was with only and ONLY caspar. However, Caspar was not taught by his surrogate parents, aka a whole military base, to back down from a fight! So, every holiday is a war waged between two equally opposing forces. 

This year, Caspar has some more disposable income with his house being complete. He also heard that Sylvain, his nemesis neighbor, hates ugly and garnish things. Ugly and garish seems to be up Caspar’s alley, which can be done tastefully enough to just mess with Sylvain. He can SO make halloween lights work for Christmas lights or use larger and larger blow up light fixtures to obscure Sylvain’s house and still win the most beautiful house award on the same day! 

This feud continued outside of holiday and block party conflicts, these two really seems to absolutely hate each other. Caspar doesn’t even know why it started, his dogs don’t bark alot, he doesn’t try to be too loud, and keeps his lawn and garden looking great! So, why try to placate a dude that is unyeilding in his hate for Caspar. Why try to limit himself, stop his dogs from doing whatever they want aka be dogs, and try to satisfy a dude that won’t appreciate it. Caspar said that he won’t do any of that! Every morning he tells his dogs that they’re going for a walk and they all bark at 5 am, no one complains except for Sylvain so why stop. He talks at any volume at any time of night or day and keeps his morning runs with the dogs, evening walks, and music in his car at any time. 

It might be petty, but he’s just so sick and tired of trying to change himself when that person he’s trying to make happy will never accept him or be happy with his changes. He learned that from his dad at a young age, so at 28 years old, why start giving a single fuck now. If it was that big of an issue, then more people would be upset and he’d actually do something about it. 

~~~~~(start of the not background)~~~~

The alarm went off at 5 am and Caspar had been awake for 5 minutes, snuggling with his dog pile in his queen bed. He woke up, made some coffee, ate a small bit, and put his running gear on. As he changed, the dogs began to get excited, yipping and barking as they recognized his regular bright running uniform and cap.He stretched first in his living room on the floor, where he pet them all as they impatiently headbutted and trampled him. 

He popped up from the floor and exclaimed, “DO YOU WANT TO GO FOR A WALKIES MY BABIES!?” 

All of the dogs started to bark and dance excitedly as he went to grab and put on some of their harnesses. He took all 2 of the 5 dogs with him at a time down the street, because they were very well trained and needed the most energy expelled. Besides, they listened to most commands and came when they needed to, so if they bolted he’d be able to catch them! 

They set out for their morning run, of 1 mile. He’d do a circuitous loop and stop back at the house and get the other two dogs, do another mile loop, then grab the last guy for a cool down walk. It was his favorite hour he did in his day.

Caspar walked out the door and started on his first loop with Peaches and Rosy, while the other dogs moped and whined at him from the main house window.  

[concealed-lance]

 roaming-instigator

Having a millionaire for a father was great, only as so far in the fact that Sylvain never had to worry about basic essentials. However, a lot happened behind closed doors that no one was aware of and if he wasn’t the ideal perfect son, he knew that any inheritance that he was supposed to get would be ripped away from him, just like it had with his older brother Miklan. His father had always played favorite with him when they were growing up, even though before he was born, Miklan had been the perfect son. 

Growing up had been hard, but he never told anyone about his troubles because he knew that others had it far worse off than he did. His brother tormented him, but he understood why he did what he did. He was slowly being ostracized from their father for reasons that he still didn’t fully understand. His father said that he just had a better making as a leader for the company and that Miklan wouldn’t appeal to those who worked beneath him. He read between the lines and assumed that meant that Miklan just looked terrifying, especially with the giant scar that he had going across his face. 

He had no idea what became of his brother since after being disowned by their father, he left and there had been no word about him since. That meant that Sylvain was slated to take over as CEO of the corporation that his father had started and made millions from. He wished that wasn’t going to be his fate because he hated the business and didn’t believe in what his father was doing, but he knew that a lot of people would be out of a job if he didn’t eventually take over the position when his father stepped down. He knew that it was something many people thought would be trivial to have a problem with, which is why he never spoke about it. 

He had a 24 hour shift and finally had gotten home right before the sunrise. He couldn’t wait to shower, get the smell of fire and soot off of him, before diving into his bed and sleeping for as long as he possibly could before having to get up for his next shift. He knew that the easiest option in his life would have been to just get a degree in business since that’s all he really needed to get in order to take over his father’s company, but he had decided to double major while he was in college. 

He had always enjoyed being able to help people, liking the bravery and ego trip he got off of being the one to pull someone from a burning building. While he had decided to get a degree in Emergency Medical Sciences at first because he wanted to be able to impress people by telling them he was a firefighter, he truly had found his passion in that coursework. He wasn’t naive to how the world worked and knew that there were disparities, but he wanted to be able to help those who needed it the most in their biggest time of need, regardless of their background. 

He took a job at a prestigious fire station and had been working there as a paramedic and firefighter for the past three years. He loved his job and wouldn’t trade it for the world, the thrill of knowing that he saved someone was something that never tired for him. He loved the people at his fire house as well, they were all like one giant family that looked out for one another. At the lowest points in his life, he had been able to lean on his coworkers for help and support while he tried to figure things out. 

However, the one downside to his job was that his sleep schedule was hardly regular. He loved the area that he lived in because it used to be quite and Sylvain didn’t have to worry about paying for anything outside of utilities because his father had bought him the house outright. He lived alone but had two grey tabbies, Nick and Rachel, and the two of them were named after his favorite rom-com couple from his favorite movie Crazy Rich Asians. Even though there wasn’t anyone special in his life to share his home with, he hardly ever came home alone. Most of the people in the area knew about him because of who his father was. They only ever wanted to get close to him for his money and he never really cared what other people thought of him. 

Whenever he had a few days off in a row, he was usually around town hitting up bars and heading home with anyone who had caught his interest. They were nothing more than meaningless hookups, but he never went in expecting it was going to amount to anything more since he had yet to find someone who still wanted to be around him after they truly got to know him. He was more than fine with keeping his facade up until people finally showed their true colors. 

He had just finished showering and changed into sweats and an oversized tee shirt before he heard his neighbors horridly loud voice screaming about taking his dogs for a walk. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was around 5:30 in the morning and he had to get back to work again at 6pm that evening. He threw the covers back as Nick and Rachel looked up at him before laying back down, deeming whatever he was going to do as something that wasn’t that interesting. 

He opened the door and glared over at his neighbor, never understanding why he had to be that loud every.single.MORNING. All Sylvain wanted was one day where he wasn’t interrupted by this loud mouth and he could just fall into bed peacefully.

“Hey! Would it actually kill you to be quite for just one morning! I have to hear your ear gratingly loud voice every morning and your dogs also have an inability to stop barking! Some of us have to go to work and would like to get some amount of sleep before then!”

[concealed-lance]

@lonewolfswordsman

Another deep sigh escaped past Sylvain’s lips as he looked around the courtyard, noticing that none of his friends seemed to be around. Lately he had far more than enough time on his own without them and he was starting to feel a little lonely and bored. He knew that Dimitri had to deal with politics and was still the crown prince of Faerghus which meant that he had more responsibilities than the rest of them. He wasn’t sure what Ingrid was busy with but he knew that Felix was doing what he always was, training and learning new sword techniques that he would be able to use in battle. 

He knew that if he just showed up to the training grounds it would seem a little out of place, since the only time he was ever in there was to hit on someone or when there was hardly anyone in there. He had talked with some of the other members of the Blue Lions earlier that day, but there was still more than half of the day to get through and he had been practicing a new sword technique in secret to showoff to Felix. He figured that rather than spend the rest of the day being bored out of his mind, he could go bug his childhood best friend and show him that he was able to use more than just a lance. 

He put his hands behind his head as he walked over to the training grounds. As he expected, Felix was in there practicing against a training dummy that was in there. He laughed to himself, shaking his head before walking in and grabbing a training sword. “Hey Felix, long time no see. I figured that you’d probably be missing me so I decided to ease you of your suffering and come to see you.” He winked over at the other, his tone light and teasing as he walked over towards him. 

[concealed-lance]

lonewolfswordsman

“You only come here to harass people,” Felix snapped back, not at all falling for the feigned dramatics. He scowled at the dummy, refusing to so much as turn and look at Sylvain. Looking at him would mean that he was acknowledging his presence, and doing that meant he’d won. Granted, he was already being a massive pain in his ass by simply existing in the same space. “I don’t know how or why anyone falls for your shit anymore.” He slammed his sword down into the dummy hard enough for the crack to echo through the area, clearly startling a pair training on the other side.

Pulling the training weapon back, he straightened his shoulders but did not turn toward Sylvain just yet. Sylvain was training with a sword? Since when? Why? He barely trained with his damn lance and he wanted to pick up another weapon? Well, maybe it would be beneficial to him. What sort of technique could he have been talking about, though? Was it the one Felix had seen Bernadetta use? But how would Sylvain have figured that out if Felix couldn’t even figure it out?

In a smooth motion, he turned toward the other and brought his sword out, brandishing the tip toward him. If he had come close enough, he’d go so far as to swing it just under his chin, nearly touching his throat. Unless Sylvain were quick enough to block, of course. Either way, he’d drop his posture after a beat or two, eyeing him with his usual scowl–though not without the slightest bit of interest piquing his expression. “Fine. I guess I’ll humour you.” He paused. “But if you’re wasting my time, Sylvain…”

“You wound me, Felix. I don’t come here to harass people, I come here to train, and to make sure that I’m showing off my skills for any beautiful person who just happens to be in here with me.” Sylvain had his signature smirk playing on his lips as he continued to watch the other, knowing that he always took his training seriously. Felix had been right for the most part, Sylvain never really went into the training grounds, at least when he knew other Blue Lion’s would be there, to train because it was a great place to pick people up. However, he really had come there specifically looking for Felix mainly because he was bored and lonely, but also because he did want to spend some time with his childhood friend. 

“People just find me irresistible~ what can I say? I can’t help it that the goddess blessed me with this beauty.” Even as the words came from his lips, the voice inside his head had a rebuttal that was far less flirtatious and much more cynical. There was a slight drop in his smile, only for a moment as his inner voice whispered contrary thoughts in his head. You already know why people fall for my act. Not because they have any interest in me, but because they want my crest and everything that comes along with it. The second I show them my real side they suddenly aren’t interested anymore, which is fine with me. 

He shook his head when he heard Felix slam his sword down, a crack echoing around the two of them, laughing as he looked over at the other. “Still as brutal during your training as ever, I see. Do you ever think about how those dummies feel about you hitting them unnecessarily hard like that?” He was just messing around, finding it amusing sometimes how easy it was to get a rise out of Felix. He knew he was treading on thin ice with him though because if he messed around too much, he’d probably force him out of the training grounds and his main purpose for going there would have been for nothing. 

With the sword tip towards him, he just smirked at him before raising his hands up in a surrender motion. He was used to this from Felix and would have honestly been surprised if he hadn’t threatened him in some way. He was pretty sure that his threats were just how he showed his care and affection for other people at this point, but he knew better than to say that right now with the tip of his sword close to his throat. His smile grew when he watched the other relax his posture and just eyed him with his normal scowl. 

“I knew that you’d want to see what I’ve been up to~ I promise that I’m not wasting your time. Besides, when would being around me and spending time with me, ever be a waste of time?” He winked over at him as he set up another training dummy before taking a few steps back and drawing in a breath. He was still awkward and clunky with a sword, the handling far different than his lance but that didn’t deter him. He steadied himself before focusing on his target and lunging towards it, his form not perfect, but the move still hit his target the way he had intended.

[concealed-lance]

galateaswings

Righttttt.” Ingrid replied in an irritated tone, drawing out her voice to emphasize her complete lack of enthusiasm towards the group of guys that had approached her. Still, they attempted to persuade her, causing her to roll her eyes and shake her head in disapproval. After a long day working on her studies followed by practice, the last thing she wanted to do was go to a karaoke bar and entertain a bunch of empty-headed idiots. She released a heavy sigh as they continued talking, completely ignoring their words in favor of her own thoughts. Despite dedicating hardly any time to her appearance aside from basic grooming, she had somehow become a magnet for men. Worse yet, this attraction had only become even stronger as she entered university. Ingrid almost suspected her father played some sort of role in this, as he was always arranging random dates for her. Crossing her arms, she decided she had enough.

“Look. As much as I would ‘enjoy’ going out to the karaoke bar with you all, I’m busy and tired from baseball practice. I just want to head home, get a bite to eat, and go to bed,” She replied firmly, shifting her equipment bag to her other shoulder. Metal bats clinked together within as they shifted and reminded of their presence, Ingrid was tempted to pull out one of her bats. One whack would keep them away, at least, the threat of a swing.

Her violent thoughts faded the moment she felt an arm snake its way across her shoulders. Instead, she visibly flinched, her form tensing. As a first instinct, her first thought was to deck whoever had the audacity to touch her, only to realize it was none other than Sylvain. When did he get here to see this spectacle? Ingrid wondered, somewhat surprised he didn’t have one of his “companions” with him.

“Seriously Sylvain?” Ingrid sighed, “if you keep up with the jokes, I’ll ask you to get lost just like these guys. Which, by the way, I shouldn’t have to repeat myself. Get lost.” She said, glaring at the persistent bunch.

The flinch and tensing of Ingrid’s form didn’t unsettle Sylvain. He knew that he had come up behind her and she wasn’t exactly in a situation where his normal invasion of personal space wouldn’t be seen as a slight threat. He hadn’t really thought about it, since he was normally throwing his arm around his friends and coming up behind them, getting as close as he physically could, but he also wanted to let the guys know that he wasn’t going anywhere either. He could be menacing when he wanted to be, but he didn’t want Ingrid to feel like he was coming to rescue her like she was a princess in need of saving by a knight. 

He did feel protective over her though. They had grown up together and he considered them to be close friends. He had always been impressed by her value system and how, no matter what, she fought for what she believed, even if other people didn’t feel the same. He was the exact opposite of Ingrid, constantly “rebelling” in every single way that he could from his father’s wealth and status. 

He let out a light chuckle as he looked over at her. “Aw, you wouldn’t break my heart like that Ingrid. You know that you’d miss me if I left. Besides, I’m just here to make sure that these guys get lost. Nothing is more sad to watch then for men to not be able to take a hint from a woman.” He knew that he was known for being overly flirty with people, but he never continued after someone told him no or asked him to get lost. There was a line between trying to ask someone out and being a nuisance and these guys seemed to have already crossed over that line. 

“You heard here, didn’t you? You might want to leave now and do as she says before she takes one of her bats and uses them on you for practice. I gotta say that would be pretty amusing to watch.”

[concealed-lance]

On The Other Side | Sylvain & Edelgard

@future-flame-emperor

Miklan’s name bounced around inside Sylvain’s hair as he walked around the monastery with conviction. Something that often wasn’t associated with him in the slightest since he normally came off as lackadaisical about most things. However, this was different, this had to do with his brother, with the Lance of Ruin. Everything he had heard came second hand, but he needed to find Edelgard and figure out if these rumors he was hearing was true. That the Black Eagles were being sent out on a mission with the professor to get the Lance of Ruin from his brother. 

The last time he saw his brother was when his father disowned him, casting him away like he was garbage. He never understood how his father could be that thoughtless and care that little about someone he raised and was supposed to be his son. He knew the answer was because Miklan was worthless to him. He didn’t bare a crest and therefore had no worth to his father. The years before Sylvain was born when he threw himself into his studies and did everything he could to be the perfect noble were all forgotten the moment that it had been confirmed that Sylvain had a crest. 

His brother made his life hell growing up, Miklan tormenting him every possible way that he could. Truly trying to kill him at times and part of Sylvain hated him for that, but another part of him felt nothing but sorrow for him. His life had been doomed to misery when he had come along. He understood his anger, the hatred that Miklan had for him, but that wasn’t an excuse for his behavior. He wished that there had been some way for his older brother to be saved, but he knew that the outcome of this interaction was going to end with bloodshed. 

He felt his heart hammer in his chest as he finally made his way over to the Black Eagles classroom, standing beside the doors and looking inside. He saw Edelgard in there and was grateful that Hubert wasn’t around, this wasn’t exactly a conversation he wanted an audience for. It wasn’t like he was doing anything secretive, but this was one mission he had to be apart of, no matter what. He needed to see his brother. Needed to know what happened to him, what life he was living now, what being crestless really meant for a Gautier. 

He walked inside, trying to appear like nothing was wrong, even though there were a thousand different emotions swirling around inside of him at the moment. “Hey, Edelgard, do you have a minute to chat about something? I want to know if some of what I’ve heard about your upcoming mission is true.” There wasn’t any flirtation in his voice as he looked over at the other. He needed to know any information that he could about this mission and he wasn’t going to mess that up by flirting with the leader of the house, knowing full well that was probably going to hamper his chances of being able to go with them. 

[concealed-lance]

@lonewolfswordsman

Another deep sigh escaped past Sylvain’s lips as he looked around the courtyard, noticing that none of his friends seemed to be around. Lately he had far more than enough time on his own without them and he was starting to feel a little lonely and bored. He knew that Dimitri had to deal with politics and was still the crown prince of Faerghus which meant that he had more responsibilities than the rest of them. He wasn’t sure what Ingrid was busy with but he knew that Felix was doing what he always was, training and learning new sword techniques that he would be able to use in battle. 

He knew that if he just showed up to the training grounds it would seem a little out of place, since the only time he was ever in there was to hit on someone or when there was hardly anyone in there. He had talked with some of the other members of the Blue Lions earlier that day, but there was still more than half of the day to get through and he had been practicing a new sword technique in secret to showoff to Felix. He figured that rather than spend the rest of the day being bored out of his mind, he could go bug his childhood best friend and show him that he was able to use more than just a lance. 

He put his hands behind his head as he walked over to the training grounds. As he expected, Felix was in there practicing against a training dummy that was in there. He laughed to himself, shaking his head before walking in and grabbing a training sword. “Hey Felix, long time no see. I figured that you’d probably be missing me so I decided to ease you of your suffering and come to see you.” He winked over at the other, his tone light and teasing as he walked over towards him. 

[concealed-lance]

lonewolfswordsman

Felix’s eyes flickered to the entryway as movement caught his attention. But he didn’t stop his assault on the straw-stuffed dummy, even in his surprise at the one he saw waltzing through. Instead, he struck hard, burying his sword into the shoulder of the dummy, pointedly ignoring him and going back to what he was doing. It wasn’t like Sylvain never came here, he just usually only did it when he was looking to chase skirts. Annoying. He’d be pretty disappointed to see that it was really only Felix here today and just turn around and leave him be.

However, the swordsman was quite surprised to find that that wasn’t the case. Instead, Sylvain was making his way toward him, a training sword in one hand. Felix scowled, yanking the blunt, wooden blade back out of the dummy. “Whatever you have to tell yourself, Sylvain,” Felix snipped, taking a moment to step back. Planting the tip of the wooden blade against the ground, he leaned it against his thigh and reached up, pulling his hair from its loosened tie. After a while he’d always have to adjust it or it would start falling into his face.

Ignoring the unwanted intruder, Felix combed his fingers through his hair and pulled it back into its usual tail. “If you’re just looking for someone to talk to, go somewhere else.”

As a noble Sylvain knew that he should be acting like everyone else around him did. Represent his name proudly and make sure that his name stayed out of drama, but he did the exact opposite most of the time. He didn’t care for the nobility, hated the entire idea of the crest system, but he knew that other people had it much worse off. He only benefited from the crest system, while other people, like his brother, were completely crushed and disenfranchised by it. 

If he cared more, he would go to the training grounds more often than he did, but he put in the minimal amount of effort that he had to in order to keep himself share and make sure that he could protect those he cared for. He normally only sauntered into this area when he was looking for one of his childhood friends since he knew that one of them, mostly Felix, would be there, or to flirt with anyone who caught his eye.  

He expected that Felix was going to say something snappy to him, telling him to leave and something else along those lines. He placed a hand over his heart and faked being hurt by his words. “I’m wounded, Felix! I came all the way over here knowing that you would be here to spend time with you and all you want is for me to go, that hurts.” He lowered his voice, trying to sound as hurt as he was faking being. He knew that Felix probably wanted to train, that was the only thing he saw the other do ever since everything that happened when they were growing up. 

He felt like the only time he was ever able to find time to talk to the other was here. He even went out of his way to practice a new sword technique to try and show the other just to have more than a few seconds with him. “Why do you have to act prickly all the time? Come on, you can loosen up a little around me~” He winked a little at the other before swinging the wooden sword up and resting it up against his shoulder. 

“I actually came here because I’ve been working on a new sword technique, figured maybe it was time to change it up a little. I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on the lance and decided to branch out a little more, you know?”

[roaming-instigator-deactivated2]

Complicated Strangers| Casper & Sylvain

@concealed-lance​

Today was the day that Edelgard had made her first display of disobedience to the church. There was no going back for any of the Black Eagle Strike Force. The church was currently under siege from the empire’s troopes and affiliated students. There were so many people Caspar didn’t want to fight, but knew that this path he choose was more important than those who opposed the empire. It helped that he hadn’t formed many friendships outside of his house, where all Black Eagles house members supported Edelgard. This battle was grueling, frightening, and above all enlightening. The Church seemed massive and impregnable from below on the battle field, but as a previous student Caspar knew better than to overestimate their power. His first lesson in how powerful the church was, is when he witnessed Rhea turn into a large beast, a dragon. Caspar had once thought the old teachings of religion were bullshit, probably still thinks that way, but now he realizes that maybe those ‘gods’ were just as mortal and fallible as he was. He was just as determined as Edelgard to show the world that these terrors were less omnipotent than history paints them. There was so much he didn’t know and much more that he wanted to learn! But first they had to win this first battle in the long awaited war.

Caspar saw many faces while battling, for what seemed like days. Most of them were empire soldiers, some her recognized from his own territory and some were new. However, one new face kept crossing his mind as he avoided death for another day. Caspar noticed a student he remembered seeing, hanging around Dimitri and the Blue Lions. At first, he b-lined to the man to cut him down as he approached a empire soldier struggling to defend himself.  Then, in a flash, the Knight of Seiros was eliminated and the empire soldier was saved.

Caspar was stunned, mostly because he thought he could run faster, but also because he normally wouldn’t trust a rival student to defect to the Empire. However, he couldn’t ponder long on this development. Behind him, Caspar heard footsteps and he realized that he needed to defend himself for just a while longer. He had survived long enough to witness Rhea retreating and the first battle won against the Church of Seiros.

After the empire won against the Church of Seiros, the empire occupied its walls as a second act of defiance against Rhea. After a good days rest, Edelgard brought all of her most trusted colleagues in, for a briefing. With a sign of relief, Caspar saw that all of his classmates had survived the battle. He also noticed that a new classmate was also invited to this important meeting. Edelgard had explained that, Sylvain, the mystery man, had joined their cause. He was a previous Blue Lions classmate, who would be trusted by her and therefore welcomed with open arms.

Caspar knew those casual words were an order, but he couldn’t help his suspicious and curious thoughts about Sylvain, “Wasn’t he the playboy that is best friends with Dimitri, Felix, and Ingrid? Why would a pretty boy, perfect, first son with a crest, noble, want to join in a fight against the crest system? I bet he’s just a spy or had a lovers spat with his friends. I think the spat is the worst reason for joining, atleast as a spy he has an honest reason to be here. He probably won’t stay loyal for long, just like he wasn’t with the women he hurt. I outta give him a piece of my mind and set him straight before he becomes a liability to Edelgard. Just remember, she said to welcome him and welcome him I will!”

When the meeting ended, everyone dispersed for the night. Caspar followed Sylvain out of the room till he saw that no prying eye or ears would catch him confronting Sylvain.  After the coast was clear, he called out, “Hey! Sylvain! You gotta second?”

With his most sincere and kind voice, Capsar said, “If so, I wanna talk, get to know ya a bit…and maybe get a few things straight.”

[concealed-lance]

After Sylvain drew his lance against the Church of Seiros, he knew that there was no going back. The life that he once knew would be completely over and Faerghus was no longer his home. He’d be fighting against his friends and his family, though he wasn’t really all that upset over the latter. Some cynical part of him wished that he could watch his father’s face when the news was delivered to him that he had decided to go against House Gautier. His father wanted nothing more than for him to grow up and be the perfect heir and continue their crest line, but for him, the entire crest system had done nothing but subjugate people to horrible lives if they were born without one. 

The professor had chosen to side with Edelgard and Sylvain believed in them more than he did his own country. It made his stomach churn to even have to think about raising his lance against Dimitri, Ingrid, or Felix, but he hoped that they would stand down if they ever came to blows and no blood would have to be shed. There hadn’t been enough time for him to explain his decision to the Blue Lions, the chaos and confusion of the battle hadn’t given him the chance to explain to them why he was going against the Blue Lions and now fighting with the Black Eagles, or rather the Black Eagle Strike Force now. 

The battle had been tiring, everyone walking away with cuts and bruises, but thankfully breathing. He wasn’t close with anyone in the Black Eagles, not really anyways. He had been friendly with a few of them, but he wouldn’t consider anyone to be a friend, or even an ally. The only person he really trusted right now was the professor and he was going to follow their lead and fight for what he felt was right in his heart. He knew that it wasn’t the smartest decision, that he could die on the battlefield since this war was just beginning, but he agreed that there needed to be some sort of change in Fodlan. There were far to many people who were hurt by the crest system and few that ever truly gained advantages from it. He knew that he was among those who was privileged by the crest system, but it still came with it’s own costs, some that were paid in blood. 

Sylvain wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen after the battle, if they were going to talk about what to do next or leave that for the morning. He got his answer quickly enough and was shown to his room to rest for the night. He didn’t have an easy sleep, barely managing to get in a few hours of rest before getting up for the day. They were having a meeting to talk about what they were going to do next and go over details from last night. 

He paid little attention to what was said, only chiming in when Edelgard introduced him. He was ready to stretch his legs, never a fan of sitting idle for long periods of time. When the meeting was over he figured he could go and do what he did best, find out if there was anyone who would be interested in going out on a date with him. However, before he could get far, Caspar stopped him and he could hear the face nicety in his voice, knowing that he was being sincere with his words. 

When he looked around he realized that they were in a spot where no one would see them. He laughed a little before a smirk played at his lips, realizing that there were a lot more people that hid behind a fake persona outside of himself. “Hi, Caspar. I’m pretty sure that even if I told you I didn’t have a second that you wouldn’t just let me leave, would you? If you want to talk, just say what you want to say to me. You don’t have to use fake niceties with me. Sugary sweet words don’t really go well with your rough and tumble attitude, don’t you think?” 

[concealed-lance]

Protective | Sylvain & Ingrid (Modern AU)

@galateaswings

The cool autumn breeze gently ruffled Sylvain’s hair, pushing a few of the crimson strands that fell in front of his face to the side as he continued walking towards through their quad. He had just scored two more dates for that week, the guy from his science class finally got the courage to stop just stealing glances at him and he took him up on his offer to have some quality, one on one study time alone, emphasis on time alone and less on studying. The other was with a girl who he saw in the gym from time to time when he went, but she always tried to avoid him every single time that he was there. He’d give her his winning smile and watch as she’d walk away from him. He was surprised when he went that morning to find a note from her in his locker asking if he wanted to grab coffee with her and put her phone number at the bottom for him to respond with his answer. 

He wasn’t naive enough to think that either of them actually wanted to go out with him because of the charming person that he was. He was sure it was because his father was rich and they knew that he was to and spending any amount of time with him meant that they would get to elevate their status and brag to their friends that they got to be spoiled by the rich kids son. 

He sipped his coffee, letting the warmth from the freshly made beverage fight off the cold that was starting to settle in as the sun slowly starting making its way down past the horizon. He knew that he should be making his way back to his apartment, but it felt stuffy and impersonal there. It wasn’t a place that he called home because it was somewhere his dad told him he had to live. He knew better than to argue with his father about wanting to find his own place, he was going to inherit his father’s company and that meant all of the responsibility that came along with it. 

He let out a soft sigh when he thought about what his future held. He was majoring in business and economics, but he would have much rather had the freedom to chose something he actually enjoyed. I should just switch my major to theater, I’m pretty sure my father would blow if I did that...it’d be funny to see his reaction though. Sylvain wished that he could have done something with the arts, but his father didn’t find any worth in them and he couldn’t have a son running a company with an art degree, that wouldn’t do. 

He idly let his mind wander to what he was going to do for the rest of the evening. His schedule was surprisingly open that day and wondered if he would be able to get one of his friends to go out to dinner with him. He grabbed his phone, put his Air Pods in and put on his favorite playlist as he hummed along with the music. He was only able to enjoy the upbeat and energetic beats before he saw Ingrid surrounded by a couple of guys who looked like they were harassing her. 

He pulled his headphones out, put them in his pocket and started making his way over to them. He knew that Ingrid was strong enough to handle this on her own, that she didn’t need Sylvain to come in and intervene on her behalf, but the protectiveness he felt over his friends ran deep. He didn’t care if he got a scolding from her as long as he knew that she was safe. 

He walked up beside her, putting in arm around her shoulder, looking casual but his body language displaying the opposite. “Hey Ingrid. Beautiful out tonight, isn’t it? Almost as beautiful as you~” He teased with a wink before his voice got slightly more serious, “I was just passing by and thought I’d come say hello to you and these guys. Wanted to make sure that they weren’t going to try and pull something on you or anything like that.”

[concealed-lance]

Shameless | Maribelle & Sylvain

@rose-of-themis

Wind was blowing gently, ruffling up Sylvain’s hair as he made his way to the marketplace. He finished with his classes for the day and figured that he could see if there were any new beauties that he could chat up. His week was pretty filled with dates, a different guy or girl to have dinner with each night, but it was never to early to start on next week. He ran a hand through his hair, descending the stairs and smirking to himself when he saw a new face among the merchants. 

The marketplace was normally bustling with students or other professors, looking to buy foods that they couldn’t get from the kitchen or wares from other areas. However, from time to time, there were new faces that would come up, people who were traveling from other places stopped by to see what items were being sold. It seemed like it was his lucky day because there was a beautiful woman who he had not seen around before. He figured that she was stopping by, maybe just passing through on her journey or maybe she had business with the monastery, either way he didn’t really care. 

He made his way over to her, noticing her blonde hair that had spirals in the front. He made sure to give her the most charming smile that he could muster before leaning against the wood of the stall that the other was browsing at, his raised up over his head and his posture relaxed. "Hey there, I couldn't help but notice your radiant beauty and had to come over and say hello. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on." 

[concealed-lance]

A New Technique | Felix & Sylvain

@lonewolfswordsman

Another deep sigh escaped past Sylvain’s lips as he looked around the courtyard, noticing that none of his friends seemed to be around. Lately he had far more than enough time on his own without them and he was starting to feel a little lonely and bored. He knew that Dimitri had to deal with politics and was still the crown prince of Faerghus which meant that he had more responsibilities than the rest of them. He wasn’t sure what Ingrid was busy with but he knew that Felix was doing what he always was, training and learning new sword techniques that he would be able to use in battle. 

He knew that if he just showed up to the training grounds it would seem a little out of place, since the only time he was ever in there was to hit on someone or when there was hardly anyone in there. He had talked with some of the other members of the Blue Lions earlier that day, but there was still more than half of the day to get through and he had been practicing a new sword technique in secret to showoff to Felix. He figured that rather than spend the rest of the day being bored out of his mind, he could go bug his childhood best friend and show him that he was able to use more than just a lance. 

He put his hands behind his head as he walked over to the training grounds. As he expected, Felix was in there practicing against a training dummy that was in there. He laughed to himself, shaking his head before walking in and grabbing a training sword. “Hey Felix, long time no see. I figured that you’d probably be missing me so I decided to ease you of your suffering and come to see you.” He winked over at the other, his tone light and teasing as he walked over towards him. 

[concealed-lance]

One Short Day | Open

Looking around at the bustling grounds around the castle, Sylvain almost felt like he was in Fodlan. He had no idea how he even ended up in this world, one minute he was chatting up a beautiful woman near the greenhouse of the monastery, the next thing he knew there was a blinding light and he was suddenly in a completely new place. He had never heard of Askr before, didn’t come across it in any of the history books, but he was sure that there were more places than were just documented. 

He figured that while he was in this place, he may as well check it out and see what was around. He hoped that he didn’t have to stay long, as much as he enjoyed visiting new places, this had been pretty unexpected and he was eager to get back home. He ended up wandering towards where they stored the weapons, letting out a low whistle as he looked at the lances that they had. Most of the standard ones he was familiar with, but there were others that he never saw before and was half tempted to find an open field to try them out. 

After he finished looking at the lances, he figured he may as well go a little further into the armory and see all the different types of weapons they had. I bet Felix and Ingrid would absolutely love it in here. I gotta say, they have some pretty interesting weapons. He mused to himself, lost in his thoughts and completely missing the other person that was in there with him and accidentally knocking into them. 

“Oh my bad. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” He replied as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m Syvlain, who are you?”

[themadpiano]

I won’t ask if you like my swimsuit. I’ll just say… you’re welcome.