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Caspar’s mind buzzed with battle formations, axe styles, maps of different terrains, group tactics; all of it mixing and muddling together into a useless lump that wouldn’t see him through the test tomorrow. The pile of books beside him teetered dangerously, and Caspar shot out an arm to keep them steady even as he imagined how nice it would feel for one to fall and knock him out of a few hours.
Wincing at the growing headache behind his eyes, Caspar gathered the books and took them to Tomas’ desk for resorting. He needed a break– which usually meant training.
But as Caspar approached the doors to the training grounds, he found himself dreading the prospect of picking up a weapon. All he could think about were the hand-to-hand combat techniques and armor types he had been forcing himself to read about for hours. With groan, Caspar turned away from the doors, running both hands down his face. He needed to empty his head. Well, no– if he emptied it, he’d have to start studying from the beginning. Maybe he could deflate it a bit?
Caspar let his feet make the decisions as he considered what to do. It felt like he had to pick past the foot placement charts and bits of history trivia to actually string together a coherent thought. How did Linhardt study so many things all the time?! If Caspar had to memorize one more thing he was sure his brain would burst out his ears.
A soft humming cut through the muck of his mind.
Looking around, Caspar realized he’d wandered to the courtyard. On a bench opposite the classrooms sat Dorothea, humming as she flipped through a slim book, so absorbed she hadn’t noticed Caspar yet.
Just seeing Dorothea was enough to make Caspar’s tense shoulders sag. His feet carried him over, and he sat on the bench right beside her. The humming cut off abruptly. “Caspar?” Without replying, Caspar leaned against her side, shutting his eyes with a sigh. This was much better already.
Dorothea shifted. “Are you alright?”
“Head’s full.”
“Your head is–” Dorothea cut herself off with a laugh. “Aw, were you studying for tomorrow’s test? Goodness, no wonder you look ready to pass out!” Caspar nodded, cheek scratching against the fabric of her uniform. He felt her pat the top of his head. “Well, you can stay as long as you need. I’m doing a bit of studying myself.”
“Thanks, Dorothea,” he mumbled.
He could feel himself drifting off even as she laughed in his ear again. “No worries. I feel like I can breathe better with you around anyway.” With a final pat, Dorothea began humming once again. Caspar pushed away the facts and maps and tactics and battles he had been memorizing all day, allowing himself to fall into that melody, and fall into sleep.