Chapter Text
"Petra? Are you on sky watch again? wasn't it your turn last week?"
The woman glances over her shoulder as she's adjusting her wyvern's harnish. She half nods, half shrugs.
"It was. Hubert asked me to trade. He's doing the weeds now."
"Again?" Ferdinand crosses his arms, a slight frown appearing on his forehead.
"Isn't he the one who always talks about responsibility and reliability? And now he's been switching the duties around again!"
Another indicated shrug by Petra before he turns back to her dragon.
"I don't mind. I like sky watch best."
"That's not the point! As a noble, he shouldn't just cherry-pick!"
"Cherries? Do they count as weeds here- ah?"
As the student turns around again, Ferdinand has long dashed off.
Weeding. Weeding, of all things. Hubert must have run out of people he could ask to switch schedules with- he can't imagine weeding would have been his first choice.
That the dark mage would even prefer that over sky watch was only proof just for how bad his fear of heights truly was. The fear itself was no secret- anyone who had ever witnessed Hubert't attempt to keep his dignity while also clinging for dear life to a wyvern's neck after it barely got high enough to actually flap its wings could testify for that.
But this sounds like it has gotten worse instead of better- of course it has. If you avoid your weaknesses, how are you ever going to improve on them? It staggers him, that Hubert of all people would forget this simple rule.
Either way. This improper behaviour must be stopped! And if no one else would call Hubert out on it, then Ferdinand would make it his noble task to set him back on the right path!
Never mind that Hubert acts all scary when he is getting called out on anything he does. Ferdinand can't make any differences between his classmates- he can't chase Linhardt around in order to get him to train and then chicken out on bringing his concerns to Hubert.
Ah- thinking of Linhardt. He can spot a figure sprawled out on the ground...
"Hey."
Ferdinand crouches down.
Linhardt sleeps.
"Hey."
He prods his side.
Linhardt stops sleeping and starts acting like he's asleep.
"Have you seen Hubert around here?"
Linhardt stops acting like he's asleep and starts openly ignoring the intruder.
Ferdinand prods him again.
"I thought he'd be around here. He's supposed to be weeding."
"Hmm... we're on duty together."
"I don't see you being on duty much right now."
Slowly, Linhardt opens a quarter of one eye. He knows half an eye will suggest to Ferdinand that he's actually interested in what he has to say- he had learned this by trial and error.
"Are you here to scold me about my duties again?"
"No, I'm here to scold Hubert about his duties."
"Oh. In that case."
Not wanting to let go of the chance of getting rid of Ferdinand before he actually started to bother him, Linhardt becomes a lot more open to cooperation. He points to the corner of a wall.
"He should be somewhere over there. It was my idea to divide this section."
"I'm not surprised it was. I'm surprised he agreed though."
"Only because I promised taking his next sky watch duty."
Ferdinand raises his eyebrows. He knows Hubert had asked Petra and Caspar before. Dorothea too. And himself, of course, before Ferdinand had noticed this would become a recurring occurence.
But Linhardt too? How desperate is Hubert, actually?
"I thought you disliked sky watch too. Didn't you mention something about a wyvern's skin being too rough to get comfortable on?"
"Oh, I did. But being able to take a nap now was just too compelling. I'll think about what to do about the sky watch once I get there. Speaking of... this agreement won't make much sense if you get in the way of said nap. So if you excuse me..."
Linhardt shifts around, his back to Ferdinand now. Going backwards through the phases of ignoring him, acting asleep and actually being asleep in a matter of mere seconds.
A part of him wants to shake him awake right away again. Sleeping during a task. This is unseemly! And even more so if it was (indirectly) permitted by Hubert!
At this rate, his refusal to fly will drag the whole monastery into a state of laziness and indiscipline! (This is not an exaggerated thought at all. Ferdinand von Aegir never exaggerates.)
Getting up again, with more energy than before even, he makes for the wall and round the corner to face Edelgard's servant.
Among the colorful flowers, there's a gloomy dark presence standing out quite a lot. Hubert is kneeling on the ground, a weeder in his hand and the total silence is almost eerie. Everyone else hums while weeding. Except Felix perhaps, but he does weeding with a sword so that counts for its own form of entertainment.
Ferdinand clears his throat to ask for attention and doesn't get it.
So he steps around the other student, careful not to tread on any non-weed plants, and tries again.
"As you should be able to see, I have no time for your speeches at the moment."
"How did you know I was going to hold a speech?"
"By knowing you for longer than five minutes already."
The 'and regrettably so' is like a faint echo within those words, but remains unpronounced. Not too long ago, Hubert would not have hesitated to voice it out. Not too long ago, they were still on really bad terms- accusing each other of trying too hard, or not hard enough. Of the way they fit into their roles around Edelgard, and of each other's ideas of how to serve her and the Empire.
It would be too much to say that they buried these indifferences. But they surely attempted to throw a few handful of sands on them, and they're both trying to not have them resurface after every small breeze.
This can be harder than it should be, at times. And it causes a strange kind of silence between them more often than not, when they both know what the other one thinks but doesn't say.
Ferdinand's gaze travels across the area. It seems like Hubert has worked double hard on this, uprooting more weed than necessary, as if to make up for the swap in the first place. At least he knows that his behaviour is out of place- but Ferdinand never doubted that. Of course he would have the decency to know how indecent his actions are.
"I've just met Linhardt."
Hubert nods, throwing another bundle of unwelcomed plants into a bucket.
"And Petra too."
Another nod, but with more caution. It's the subtle things with Hubert. He rarely shows his thoughts in the open, and his emotions even less.
"She said you asked her to sw-"
"What is it that you want, Ferdinand?"
He sounds more tired of him than Linhardt did, already. Just in a very different way. Masking his discomfort with annoyance, perhaps?
"I want you to stop neglecting your duties and-"
"I do think I am the last person here who 'neglects' any duties."
"Yeah. Yeah, maybe. Neglecting would be not showing up and be done with it. You're not neglecting, you're avoiding, and I can't say that's much better."
"It's a relief then that I didn't ask you to say so. Or to say anything at all, for that matter."
"Hubert-"
Ferdinand takes a step back as Hubert gets up from the ground. A moment later, he wants to roll his eyes at himself for that. He's not scared of Hubert- they're classmates. But he can't help feeling nervous when Hubert looks at him like that. Like Ferdinand is the one who got caught while disbehaving.
It could also have something to do with the sheer fact that Hubert is way too tall.
But having to look up to the person you are having a word with is not a problem! Not even when they're staring down at you like they're considering the combat properties of a weeder.
"I think you're getting involved with things that are simply not your business. The sky watch has to take place. It takes place. It doesn't matter who exactly is sitting on those dragons as long as they keep their eyes open."
"I don't think I have to tell you of all people that it's not about the order being carried out, but about who does it."
"Delegation is a skill too."
"Only if you are asked to delegate."
Another short moment of silence. This time not because either of them has to hold back their words- but because neither of them has any words.
The thing is: Hubert knows Ferdinand is right.
And that alone sends them into a dead end. Because Hubert would not admit so, and Ferdinand would not expect him to.
Eventually, Ferdinand's shoulders drop. Only by a bit, but enough for Hubert to notice, and also relax a bit.
They're still facing each other, between flowers and grass, but neither actually wants this discussion. Which is, by itself, also quite rare.
However no one has anything to win here, and so Ferdinand exhales deeply and decides to go for a different approach.
"Has it gotten worse? Your fear for heights?"
He can see Hubert tightening his jaw. He doesn't enjoy being asked about his fears- or the implication that he has any, least by Ferdinand.
No answer is an answer too, he just doesn't know what kind of answer it is.
"You never liked doing the sky watch, I know. But you did do it. You didn't act like-- you didn't try to get around it. Did you fall off a dragon?"
The snort Hubert reacts with is almost an indignant laugh.
"Of course not."
"Then what is it?"
"You always need grand and impactful answers. You won't accept a simple 'I don't like it'."
"No."
"But that is the answer."
Ferdinand frowns, hard. But there's not more coming from the other.
"Did a dragon bite you?"
"No."
"Did a dragon smack their tail at you?"
"No."
"Did you encounter a dragon in heat and-"
"No."
"But something must have happened!"
"Why? Because Ferdinand von Aegir says so? Just leave it be."
Hubert crouches back on the ground, grapping another little bushy plant.
A clear sign that Ferdinand is dismissed.
Instead, he crouches down with him, collecting some of the plants that were uprooted but not thrown into the bucket yet.
Hubert glances at him, a rare expression of surprise on his face, which is quickly covered up again.
Sending him away now would just look stubborn, and he knows.
They keep working. One uprooting, the other collecting the plants. It goes faster than expected even, and they move in mutual understanding.
Hubert seems to appreciate the fact that Ferdinand works quietly more than he appreciates the help itself. It doesn't feel as long until it's almost time for dinner, and it's calm.
"She died."
"Hah?"
Ferdinand is so used to the silence by now, he flinches when he suddenly hears Hubert's voice. Not that it was loud. Almost a whisper, reluctant to even leave his lips.
Did he even hear him correctly?
"Who... who died?"
"Takra."
Takra? Ferdinand blinks, still feeling quite lost here. He feels like he's heard the name before, but...
Before he can ask about it, he remembers. Takra, of course. A really old wyvern lady she was. A few weeks ago, she had passed away due to her age. They had gotten a new wyvern soon after, to fill the ranks again.
And suddenly, it makes sense. So much that he feels like a jerk for not having noticed sooner. Now that he looks back at it, Hubert had always picked that dragon especially to ride on. Ferdinand had assumed it was just habit, since it was unlikely Hubert did so for emotional reasons. He doesn't look like the kind of person to connect to an animal, to feel any sort of bond.
He still doesn't think it's that. No, but because of her age, Takra was slow. She went up slowly and came down slowly, and she remained in the air a lot more steadily than the younger dragons, who get distracted by every dove, try to shift around to take any airstream they can get and generally are made of bones and muscles filled to the brim with energy.
An old wyvern might not be the most reliant partner in a battle, but it was surely the easiest to manage if you were scared of all the space beyond your feet.
And she had been the only dragon of that age in their stables.
Yeah. Looking at it now, it was barely a surprise Hubert would start to avoid the dragon stables after she had passed.
Ferdinand blinks when Hubert gets up again. He had been so taken by the realization of what all of this dancing around his duties was about that he hadn't noticed Hubert had started to pack up the gardening tools.
"Hubert. Wait."
"I'll see you at dinner."
"I said wait."
Only upon Hubert's surprised look does Ferdinand realize that he has gotten up as well, that he has snatched Hubert's sleeve to hinder him from leaving.
He lets go of him quickly. Feeling hot because of his own thoughtless behaviour.
"We can do something about that."
"Of course. Why don't we just ask around whether there are any dragon sanctuaries close by? Don't be ridiculous."
"That's not what I meant. And don't call me ridiculous when-"
When you are the one scared to sit on a dragon whose joints are not creaking yet.
Another of those unspoken thoughts.
He feels even hotter.
"When I'm just trying to help."
His voice sounds weak as he finishes his sentence. And he can tell by the look on Hubert's face that he knows how that sentence was actually going to end.
Disappointment. Regret, for having told him anything at all.
And something else.
It makes Ferdinand feel sick because it's not what he wants to see on Hubert's face. Not now.
He averts his eyes.
"I mean it. I have an idea."
"You. Have an idea."
The scorn in Hubert's voice is half-hearted. Which might be even worse than the expression he wears.
"You don't have to give me a chance to help you. But trust me, I-"
He stops. Not needing Hubert's raised eyebrows to notice himself how utterly corny that sounded.
"It's time, Ferdinand."
Hubert picks up the bucket and turns his back on him.
He leaves.
It takes Ferdinand a second to realize he is staring after him. And another second to realize Hubert didn't openly reject his offer to help.