#ehwred2026

[dcggersedge]

“Hey, Yunaka,” Hortensia said, finally happening upon the woman shortly after their second week in Jugdral. She was usually a difficult person to find but right now, well, the princess could tell she had seen better days. Maybe she’d known Hortensia had been looking for her?

“I waaas gonna ask how your battles were going but now I just want to tell you to sit down. Here, have some apple cider while I work on those wounds! Local delicacy, you know.”

Hortensia sat across from her, Recover staff on her lap as she first looked over some of the flesh wounds, and decided, may as well rebandage the few her magic couldn’t get! She really appreciated how many scrolls and bags this Lythos monk costume could pack, especially now that was in need of extra supplies.

“Looking better now, oh sorry I think I might have smudged your makeup, but look I have something for that too!” Saying so she produced a mirror and pencil, handing them over to Yunaka after once again making sure her healing had taken effect. “Geez, you really did get roughed up. You do know I’m always here to help when that happens, yeah?”

"Heya, Hortensia!" Aw geez, does she really look so bad that she's making the littlest princess worry? Yunaka quickly plasters a big bright smile on as she waves at her approach. "Aw, what'd you mean? I'm totes zappy to go, you don't gotta-"

Oh! The cider is warm in her hands. She blinks in surprise at it before slowly, quietly, deflating a little and sinking into the seat that Hortensia ushers her towards. Okay, yeah. After getting turned into a pincushion, she probably looks that bad.

"No worries, I'm pretty sure the healers already smudged it all up when they dragged me in from the battlefield." She hasn't had a chance to look in a mirror yet, so she's incredibly grateful for the one that Hortensia offers her. She winces a little at the sight of her reflection before wiping the star off with the back of her hand and getting to work on a new one.

"Yeah, it was just a a chaos of the battle thing. Don't worry about it." She tilts the mirror just enough to see that the bruises on her neck have begun to fade. That's good. She gets back to work on her face. "I appreciate you checking in though. If you ever need a hand, I better hear you call out for the same, you got that?"

[dcggersedge]

"You too?" Henry laughed, shifting his mat closer to Yunaka. For a mock infirmary, they did have pretty comfortable floors! "Aw, they really got us good, didn't they?"

He laid down on the ground, propping his head up atop the thin pillow. Humming, he crossed his legs and wiggled the foot that rested on top — it was super quiet here (and they wouldn't let them leave until they were more healed anyway), so... seemed like a perfect time for a show and tell!

"I wanted to show you this! Here..."

A murmur, a couple of whispers, a point at the ceiling — and then ribbons of scrawled parchment folded outwards from his hand, unfurling one after the other. Dust emerged from his chest and swirled around his arm into a concrete form: first scales, and then a thin tongue, and then bright red eyes that stared curiously at them both.

"The shopkeep from the other village said this spell was for folks like me. Must have known I like snakes, huh? Sssssssssss—!" Henry was fairly certain that the shopkeep just couldn't tell the difference between big scary snake spell and actual dark magic, but he wasn't not here to say no to snakes! Oh, but that wasn't the point—

Quieter, Henry added: "I couldn't help you this time around, but the next time someone tries to hunt you down," the parchment crumbled into dirt, and the snake followed, retreating back into the shadow of rue that created them; he tilted his head at Yunaka and managed to hold his smile, "juuuuust let me at 'em! I'll ka-BLAM them out of existence, and you won't need to be here anymore — promise!"

"Me too." Yunaka chimes back with a sigh. Waking up in the infirmary after all the fighting had ended was...humiliating? Embarrassing? Something totally unthinkable compared to all the times the old man promised to leave her for dead? Some kind of blend of something, anyway. But, admitting that out loud to Henry at least didn't feel so bad.

She turns to watch when prompted. The only indication of her surprise is a slight widening of her eyes as a snake forms around Henry's arm, staring right back with an equal sense of curiosity. "Woah..." she mumbles, absently reaching a hand towards it without actually touching the snake.

There's a brief moment of loneliness in her chest, like something is missing, and then it passes as the snake fades away again.

Yunaka laughs softly. "That's supposed to be my line." She was the professor here after all, even if she didn't feel like she was proving it in any way. Still, she needs to cling onto something, or else what's the point of her being all the way in a different continent at all?

She turns to face Henry and smiles too. It's easier than last time, when she'd felt like she was holding herself together in the snow. She's still not satisfied with herself and how things have been going for her here in Jugdral, but it's harder to sit and wallow it in with such determined, cheerful company. "We'll keep an eye out for each other." She promises. She hopes that their trip won't have a next time, but...well, neither of them seem particularly lucky, do they? "Be nice to visit at least one place without seeing its infirmary first."

[corvusi]

"you." they hadn't spoken since the incident with the village in that last kingdom nearly a week ago, though not out of any deliberate intent to avoid him——at least on his part. but being in the vicinity of nearby exchanges, idle banter to the rest of their party at large on the road: he hadn't gotten much relief from henry's distinctively grating voice either, or that cackling laughter that always cut right through anything else going on to assault his ears.

"you're still here, so i suppose that means you survived after all." that ambush had severed whatever organization or formation they might've had ; even though there hadn't seemed to be many enemies, he'd somehow found himself unable to see almost anyone else nearby in seconds. he'd thought they'd all scattered to the wind at first, only in the aftermath to realize that several had been badly hurt, though by some miracle they'd all come out alive. "those people we escorted claim that it's thanks to divine intervention from the forest. but i don't believe that." anymore than he believed in any of the other nonsense they'd been spouting about true love's confession being blessed by the woods.

anyway, he doesn't know why he'd bothered saying that. narrowed eyes fix back on henry, dark amber somehow disapproving, as if suddenly realizing again who he's talking to.

"i heard you were reckless in that battle, and nearly got yourself killed. what do you think you were doing out there if you can't even handle yourself."

Him! Henry's head snaps toward the familiarity, brilliance radiating in his widening grin. It's Mister Cannon! Guess he didn't burn that bridge after all — not that he minded lingering in the snow on his own. Really. Really! The little conversations with Sea-gal and company, his laughter when a sigh of relief emerged from the party once snow transitioned into grass... if that was all he had now, that was okay!

But this is nice! Nice enough that Mister Cannon's disapproval is glossed over with an eager nod and chuckle, because Henry did almost get himself killed! Nobody bats an eye as long as they're not the ones dying, and still, Mister Cannon bats an eye in his own, uh, unique manner. Is this too much to look into? Henry shouldn't get too ahead of himself, so he throws his mind back into the tangible past instead.

Thoughts linger on the stained arrow in his tight hold and the warmth that spilled out from his open wound with each thump of his heart — slow and steady, already accepting of a fate that he had preconditioned himself for. He looks at the seemingly eternal discontent in Mister Cannon's expression (which has to just be his resting face, that's okay!), unblinking as he gestures toward the weeping bandages under his shirt. Thumb and pinky spread out to rest atop healing wounds; the rest of his fingers curl inwards and rest atop the shallow rise and fall of his breathing.

"I thought I was going to die! Distracted myself," scarlet-stained hands; widened eyes, mirrors to his own mortality, "and paid the price of it, nya ha! But if I had died, that would have been perfectly a-okaaay as well."

Because again, nobody should bat an eye as long as they're not the ones dying; because if Henry is and will always be looking for excuses to kill — as so kindly phrased — he should accept that he is destined only to die to the hands of another. Thus: "If I can't handle myself," he adds, "then I do deserve my death! War is all just kill or be killed. The strong prevail — so I just need to be stronger for next time. Like you, Mister Cannon!"

Henry needs to move on. Keep going down this path of war and death and blood, and he'll find himself alone in the grass again. Which is okay! Really. He promises, pinky promises to himself. But he was able to keep Mister Cannon around when they were talking about one thing though, so...

He drops his hand back to his side with a long bout of laughter. "Did you name your cannon 'Divine Intervention'? I was hearing it go off in the forest — like BOOOOOM," his entire body jerks with the sound effect, "—over and over again. You must have killed all of 'em yourself, lobbing enemies left and right: nothing else needed!"

[wolfhednn]

“Hey.” For how chaotic the fighting had been, the people they’d traveled with and the villagers who greeted them seemed to be in better spirits than Yunaka would’ve expected. It was almost obnoxious, and had been incredibly jarring to come back to consciousness do when the last thing she remembered was trying to find unseen foes in the dark. As far as she could tell though, the attack was over and everyone was accounted for. Sometimes, that was all you could hope for.

Some of the servants from the group they’d traveled with had been happy to tell Yunaka the details of what had happened, especially when it came to the bravery of the student who had taken command and dragged her to safety. She mostly just felt like a huge failure for needing to be dragged out at all, but there was some pride underneath that to know that the students were learning something about survival, at least. Enough so that Felix had come out of the fight looking completely unharmed at all.

“They told me you defended me during the fight after I went down, and that you personally dragged me out in the retreat.” She bounces her foot awkwardly as she talks, looking over his shoulder instead of at him. “…Thanks. And sorry that you were put in that position.”

FUNNY, HOW BEING AWAY FROM THE ACADEMY⠀🗲⠀made their titles unimportant. student, professor, knight. . . according to any of the codes of conduct on a real battleifled, they should've been following the latter's commands. professors were teaching at garreg mach because they were qualified through experience, weren't they?

he regards the red-haired woman as she lays out what'd happened back there in the so-called spirit forest and offers him her thanks——even if she was the authority, he'd never gotten the impression that she was that much older than him. just how much could she have gone through to earn the position? maybe anyone could teach these days.

"that skirmish was a mess. we were completely caught off guard. i hate to say it, but those riders we were escorting could've handled themselves." his brow pinches at the burn of embarrassment. the professor had been knocked out cold, that blonde girl had been getting overwhelmed, and he hadn't been able to see any of their other allies. and if that wasn't enough, he couldn't track a single target with his cannon in such dense terrain ; the armor might've kept him from getting put full of holes, but that was it. their enemy had run circles around them all.

"just who were the men that attacked us?" he directs his frustration into a question, sharp eyes examining yunaka's as uninterested in her sheepishness as they were zealous in search of answers, as though she might know something he didn't. "they couldn't have been ordinary brigands ; they'd hardly be that organized." unless run-of-the-mill highwaymen were of a different caliber here on this foreign land.

"the more time we spend standing around and gawking wherever we go, the less prepared we'll be." back then on the ship, the professor had said that she hoped nothing bad happened while they were here, and twice now they'd been pulled into conflict that didn't involve them. "next time, the enemies might not grow tired of us and retreat."

[asperants]

Woah, hang on a second! Yunaka could recognize those pompoms anywhere! "Hortensia?" When had the youngest princess of Elusia gotten to Fodlan? Better yet, when had the youngest princess of Elusia gotten to and left Fodlan? Did Ivy know her sister was on this ship? Were any of her retainers here? Oh Twelve, did that make Yunaka the responsible adult around here? "Wowzers, I wasn't expecting to see you here of all places." No, definitely not. Hortensia was plenty capable on her own, Yunaka would just make sure to keep an eye out and get her back to her sister safe and sound, that was all. "It's good to see you again though." Actually, her being on this trip wasn't totally surprising either. Yunaka grins wide. "Hey, did you hear? Apparently where we're going is the home of Emblem Sigurd and Emblem Leif? Isn't that wild!" Meeting the real versions of the Emblems themselves had already been so surprising, and now they were going to their homeland too?

@dcggersedge

You know, as picturesque as she was sure she looked right now Hortnesia was getting tired of boats. She did not regret leaving Sleippi, behind - after all, he needed the rest and she could never have led him out on such a dangerous mission but oh, the skies were calling to her - or more like, she just felt super water logged.

Yeah. Oceans like this weren't her thing.

That was why she could hardly hide a true (if tired) smile upon hearing such a familiar voice. She didn't even mind not having her title, after all she wasn't Yunaka's princess, anyway.

And she was her favorite Brodian. Not that she would tell.

"Ah, hey Yunaka! Gotta say I didn't expect to see you either. I know Ivy is enrolled alongside the two royal brothers but other than that I lost track of the rest of our group. You'll have to catch me up!"

She knew it could only last so long, but... after everything they had gone through it was nice to think of them as a group. Even if that were only the case in Fodlan.

"Yeah, listen to this! The ports were closed when I first came here and all the ships were backed up so I flew to Garreg Mach on my own. Sleippi was so tired and my hair... oh, I don't want to talk about it. It was the worst!"

Despite her protests she actually had wanted to talk about it, as evidenced by her growing grin. Yunaka would understand her suffering she was sure! But the other's words quickly drew her away from her slef-indulgent griping.

"F-for real? Both the Sage Lord and the Holy Knight, huh... I don't think I knew that." She laughs it off but inside Hortensia is fuming for not doing better research. Agh, how was she supposed to be helpful if she didn't know those basics?!

"Thank you... for the heads up, Yunaka; and for coming to see me. You're doing well then? Not that I had any doubts, I could tell you were always pretty savvy and I rarely make judgement mistakes~"

[ashenprofessor]

"Oh, Byleth! You're here too!" Yunaka waves excitedly at the not-Emblem before weaving her way too her through the crowds on the ship. "Isn't this fun? I've never gotten to sail on a ship for a big trip like this before!"

Maybe she should be a little more concerned, what with the whole pirate fiasco that happened before they left port, but...well, they'd dealt with that, right? There was definitely no way that anything bad would happen to them before this trip's end, right?

"Hey, have you gone sailing before? You used to do all kinds of stuff as a mercenary before you became a professor, right?"

Byleth boarded the ship heading off in the big mission alongside the other professors and students. As they hopped aboard they heard someone shout their name.

The familiar red starry hair of Yunaka was hailing them from the deck. The professor weaved their way over to stand next to her.

“It is now those pirates have been dealt with” Byleth answered referencing the recent scuffle in the port town. “I’ve heard many tales of pirates attacking ships from Valencians. However I’m sure we’re more than well equipped to deal with any mishaps”

Personally the former mercenary thought any bandit mad enough to attack a ship full of armed and capable combatants deserved what they got.

Thinking about their previous trip on a boat and the shenanigans they got up to with their best friend in the water…

“It wasn’t until I joined the academy I travelled on sea by boat. I didn’t leave the continent as a mercenary but I did do smaller river crossings. It’s fine as long as you don’t get seasick;

You don’t get sea sick do you?”

[gemianthium]

"Any sign of anything yet?" The question is a little silly. They'd only just set sail after all, it's ridiculous to think that they might catch sight of something on the high seas so soon. Out in front of them is a great expanse of blue, sparkling with the sunlight that bounces off the waves. The ocean really can be pretty.

"The sight's amazing, don't you think?" Up in the mountains, you'd never get to see a view of the ocean like this. "Have you been at sea before? I've sailed once, aside from reaching Fodlan but...well it wasn't exactly the best trip to take."

“Nothing so far…” Hadn’t the harbour just left their view? Admittedly, she had no clue how long the journey would take, but surely not this quickly? Through with how the boat was rocking, she’d rather it be over quicker than not. It was all a bit too disorienting…

The sea stretched on with no trace of land in sight, the sun on the surface shimmering as the boat cut through. “It is beautiful,” Lianna whispered, catching onto what the red-haired lady was saying. “Only once, coming here from home. I didn’t pay much attention, I was too nervous to. Otherwise, this is my first time.”

Her eyes flutter up from the sea to the lady. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I do hope this journey will be better for you.”