All This Time

Fire Burning

Dimitri charged into battle towards the Leicester Alliance, and Claude knew he needed to defend himself and his troops.

I have to fight...

Why are we even fighting...?

An enraged expression grew on Claude's normally calm features as he raised his arm above his head. Upon seeing soldiers run towards him, Claude lowered his arm, urging his own army forward. No words could express his despair at the situation, and as his soldiers pushed forward. He felt a laugh bubbling from his throat, but he forced it down. Claude joined the fray with his Teach by his side.

"And so we fight on..." Edelgard sighed, forcing her troops forward. She, unlike the other two, did not move from her formation. She was prepared to let everyone take the blow for her.

Coward.

Claude hated such a tactic. To start a war, and then let your troops die for you while you waited on the sidelines...It was stupid. His hate for her grew stronger, and a hysterical chuckle finally escaped from his lips.

Teach glanced at him, a concerned look on her face. He had been trying to hide his utter frustration and guilt that he'd been feeling from her, but he could tell she was demanding an explanation.

"Claude-"

"We need to fight," Claude responded, not looking at Byleth. He knew that if he did, he would lose his composure. "I'll head towards the Adrestian Empire. Attack the Kingdom only if they show aggression towards us. Lysithea, Hilda, Teach! Follow me."

"Understood!" Hilda nodded, a dedicated look on her face. She'd come a long way from her slacker tendencies. She held Freikugal in her hands skillfully. He knew he could trust her if he fell.

"Raphael and Ignatz, I need you to travel towards Dimitri. Marianne and Leonie will help the soldiers here. Try to reason with Dimitri. Subdue him if you have to, but don't kill him."

"I should go with them," His Teach interrupted. A flash of fear crept across his face; separate? He hadn't promised that they would remain together, and he knew it made the most sense for them to split, but he didn't want to let her go.

"No."

"...I'll be okay, Claude," She clasped his hand reassuringly. She quickly leaned in for a quick kiss before pulling away. "No one else is going to get though to Dimitri, and you know that. One of us has to go."

Claude hesitated, but she had a point. One of them did need to reason with Dimitri, and she was probably better suited for it than him. Plus, he wasn't sure if she could handle fighting Edelgard yet.

"Okay," Claude agreed reluctantly. "But be safe."

"I will be," His Teach nodded, and she quickly squeezed his hand before taking off in the opposite direction. He took a deep breath, and then continued his advance towards Edelgard.

Hilda rushed in front of him, swinging her axe wildly. She blade locked a soldier in red, kicking his legs out from underneath him, and then held her axe above him. The soldier cried out, trying to hold her off, and Hilda looked away as she dug her axe into his chest.

From behind her, Claude armed his bow skillfully and began to shoot into the midst. His precision was jaw-dropping; he didn't miss a single blow. Every single one of his deadly arrows hit their mark. However, he didn't aim to kill. He tried to aim for their legs, effectively taking them out of the fight, but not outright killing them.

When a soldier managed to close the distance between the two, Claude unsheathed his Sword of Begalta and swung, easily weaving through the Adrestian soldier's predictable movements. With a grimace on his face, Claude thrust his sword forward, piercing her through the stomach. The soldier cried out, feebly trying to pull it out, and Claude slowly obliged.