The SOLDIER of Garreg Mach

White Clouds: Familiar Scenery

Jeralt: Yeah, that sounds about right... Sorry for throwing you into all this. By the way, I heard about those bandits. Your first assignment is to take them out, right? That's fairly routine for you by now, but don't forget it's the first real taste of battle for those brats. It'll be tougher to sleep at night if you let one of your little pupils die, so stay vigilant and lead them well. I wish I could offer you my support, but Lady Rhea won't allow it. For now, I'll try to figure out what she wants from the kid. I don't mind you settling into your life here, but don't let your guard down. Ever.

Cloud: Right... I'll try...

Reluctantly getting up from the couch, Cloud heads off to get back to his own office to get to work on preparing the students for their coming mission... Which once again led to him slamming his face on the desk in exhaustion after hearing from the halls yet another commotion caused by the students...

Timeskip

Next week flew by with little action, mostly just revolving around Cloud trying to get his life together and get the rest of the Golden Deer to cooperate with him. There was a nice little break for Byleth though, as during the middle of the week, she and the rest of the Blue Lions held a small celebration for Annette's birthday.

But regardless of all that, another day, another time to explore the monastery. Heading out of his quarters, Cloud ended up passing by Byleth's quarters, where she, Leonie, and Jeralt were all gathered around each other, talking about something that seemed to lead to a very heated argument.

Leonie: Ah, perfect! Professor Cloud! Hey, do you know how old Captain Jeralt is?

Jeralt: That's enough, Leonie. If I don't know and my child doesn't know, how would he know?

Leonie: It's not normal to forget your own age, you know. It's kind of worrisome, actually.

Cloud: Well... If I had to guess... Old.

Byleth: Now, now, shouldn't you actually try and figure it out? It could be rather fun to try and figure it out.

Jeralt: (Sighs) Really funny, Cloud. And no, it wouldn't be. By the time you're forgetting your own age, you're past the point of caring.

Leonie: I guess if you put it that way, you've got a point...

Cloud heads off to leave the three be, overhearing how Jeralt was going to tas Byleth with grabbing some book from his office, something about tactics since she was never properly educated on them as there was little need for it during their time as mercenaries.

But regardless, Cloud left Byleth and the others alone, which soon led to him bumping into Claude and Dimitri, who were both talking with each other about the mock battle and their upcoming assignments for this month.

Claude: Ah, hey, Chief. Those bandits really didn't think things through, did they? They had to have known the knights would be after them the moment they entered the monastery's turf. Fine by me, though. I'm raring for some real combat experience. Any chance to grow is a good thing. Is there anything else you want to ask me, Chief? About living at the monastery or combat, anything like that?

Cloud: Yeah, I've heard talk of faculty training. As well as potential recruitment chances from the other houses.

Claude: Right. Students aren't the only ones who have something to learn from their professors. Professors can also learn from each other. If you want to, you should try trading knowledge with Professor Hanneman or Professor Manuela. Heck, even take a thing or two from Teach. As for the recruitment... The house a student belongs to is determined by where they're from, but it is possible for someone to switch to a different one. Of course, that's only if the student very strongly wants to make the change and their professor is on board with it. If you do a lot of different activities around the monastery, you'll get closer to students and they may ask you about it.