Byleth stands in thought for a few moments after Bernie's suggestion, and after a bit, the shrunken student becomes concerned. He was calm and collected, and had treated her well enough until now, but had she said something wrong? "Oh no, Bernie," she mumbles. "You've made the one person who liked you mad, and now he's going to squish you like a bug!" She cowered, covering her head with her arms as she curled in on herself.
"Calm down, Bernie, that's not it," Byleth says, reaching his hand slowly towards her to rub her back, hoping to comfort her. "It's just that -"
There was a subtle change in the air, but Byleth ignored it.
"- we do need to figure out how to get you back to normal."
You're lucky I stopped time when I did, the dragon girl inside his head says. Is that really what you should be saying to her right now?
"But it's not right to keep her this small," Byleth says. "She deserves a normal life."
Think about the life she's lived until now, Sothis reminds him. Is there really any way for her to live a "normal" life? Is that even what she wants?
"But -"
She is comfortable around you - or as comfortable as she can be with anyone. You want to keep her safe, right? What better way to keep her safe than in your pocket?
"I do want her safe," Byleth says, nodding. "But, at this size, she can't do her hobbies." He looks around the room. "She can't knit, or draw, or write her stories."
I don't know about the knitting, but I imagine we could get Marianne to ask a hummingbird for a really small feather she could use for the latter two, Sothis says.
"But being in a pocket would be dark," Byleth says, realizing that they were getting into a tangential argument. "And she can't have a tiny candle, that would run the risk of burning the fabric."
Sothis chuckles. Since she was in his head, she had caught on to his realization. My point is, she doesn't want a normal life. She...she likes you, and you have a fighting style most nobles won't expect. She wants you to be her bodyguard, but still wants to hide from people.
Byleth nods. He wasn't sure bodyguard was what she wanted, but Sothis's sentiment was understood. "But what if she changes her mind? I should still investigate how to get her back to normal, so if she changes her mind she's not left this small for months or years as I search."
Sothis tilts her head, thinking about what he said. That's....it might not be a good idea to search for it immediately. Let the two of you get used to this for like a month, but then yes, your idea has merit. Find a cure so she can use it as soon as she wants, even if I doubt she ever will want it.
Byleth nods. What Sothis had said made sense.
I'm going to rewind time a few seconds so you never frightened her, Sothis says. You may want to think about what you want to say to her before I unfreeze time.
Byleth smiles, having already thought of what he wanted to say to her.
The air returned to normal.
"P-professor!" Bernie exclaims, letting Byleth understand where in time Sothis had dropped him. "Your pocket! Put me in your pocket!"
"But -" he begins.
Careful, Sothis chided him, even though she knew what he was about to say.
"- I don't have a pocket I feel safe putting you in," Byleth finishes, adjusting his armor to show her that he had no pockets above his waist.
"Oh," Bernie says sadly. She isn't thinking for long, though, before she thinks of something else. "My quiver! Grab my quiver!"
Byleth looks around the room, then grabs the quiver. It was so long and deep, that he wasn't sure it was a good place to hold her.
Bernie giggles. "No, look at the sash part."
Byleth does as instructed, and is surprised to find a decently-sized pocket sewn into the fabric, likely by Bernie herself. He looks at it, puzzled. There was no way she would have predicted her size change, so what was this for?
"It's where I put my knitting projects," she says, knowing the likely reason for his confusion. "I can't really draw or write when we head to battle. But now it could make for a good new home!"
The professor nods, opening the pocket and placing his hand in it to check that it was empty. When he confirmed it was, he lowered the pocket towards her.
Bernie giggles again. "I'm not gonna be able to climb in and position myself very well unless it's already on your back. And even then, it would probably be easier for you to just pick me up and help me in."
Byleth nodded once again. He did try to let her keep her independence, but she had a point. He checks the quiver to see if he could detach it - the sash was the important part, after all - but he wasn't able to, so he just put the quiver on, adjusted it a bit (it was fitted for Bernie's smaller frame, after all), and then reached down, placing his hand palm up on the table. Smiling nervously up at him, Bernie climbed on.
Her touch causes his hand to twitch, and he tries to hold it in place, knowing that everything that he felt was likely amplified for her. When she was situated on his palm, he curled his fingers to hold her in place, then lifted his hand to the pocket on the quiver sash, adjusting his hand to keep her falling away from him, but allowed her to grab the edge of the pocket. She tries to lift herself up, but not having much muscle, she has trouble doing so. Sighing, she looks up towards him.
He lifts his hand a bit, tilting it farther so that gravity lets her slide in. He allows her to get comfy, then stands all the way up and begins heading...
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