Crossover Chronicles Classic - The Base (1)

"Yeah, there is a lot of crumbly stuff lying around," Cookie noted, glancing around and trying to spot any other chunks of debris in the darkness. "Sorry... Don't worry, I'll DEFINITELY see the next one coming. Promise," she assured, keeping her gaze firmly locked to the floor in front of her, with apparently no intention of looking up from it.

"Alright... Thank you," Byleth responded, gaining a small smile as she glanced down at Cookie. She couldn't help feeling another glimmer of concern, however, when she saw just how intently Cookie's eyes were now focused only on the floor. "Don't... entirely ignore everything beyond the floor, though," she added somewhat awkwardly, though her tone actually seemed to carry a hint of amusement this time, as well.

"Rightright," Cookie acknowledged quickly, peeling her gaze off of the floor so she could actually see where she was going. Hopefully. "Sorry... I'm kinda being a pain, huh?" she commented with an awkward, squeaky tone and a chuckle as her posture drooped somewhat.

"No worries," Byleth reassured, casting Cookie a warm glance when she noticed her awkwardness. "You're just a little distracted by excitement right now. Is that right?" she guessed, noting the enthusiasm Cookie expressed over their planned tea party.

"Oh... Now that you mention it, I think so, yeah," Cookie affirmed, straightening back up and becoming visibly less awkward. "The tea party thing is gonna be sooo cool! ... Aaand the journey there is kinda starting to feel like a mini-quest... isn't it?" she giggled. "I dunno. It's the atmosphere. We're gonna rescue the tea from the dungeon...!"

"Hmm... It does kind of feel that way, actually," Byleth remarked, gaining an amused little smirk; once again, Cookie's antics and sunny behavior had so naturally managed to draw out a smile.

All of a sudden, however, Byleth vaguely heard a strange-yet-familiar squeaking sound, which immediately drew her attention away from the conversation. Then, just as she was about to alert Cookie, a green Chuchu abruptly lunged out from the shadows, its bizarre squeaks growing more rapid. With no more than a low gasp, Byleth swung around and struck it with her blade, ending the monster's attack just a moment after it had appeared.

Cookie reflexively jumped aside in surprise, barely having any time to process what was happening before it was already over. "Wha... Was that one of those jelly things??" she asked in disbelief. Although she did have a hunch that there might be creatures still lurking in the castle, she for some reason didn't really expect to encounter this particular kind.

"Mhm, it certainly appeared to be..." Byleth replied with a small nod, appearing unruffled despite what had just occurred. Silently, her gaze swept around the area, checking to make sure the Chuchu didn't have backup. Thankfully, though, things once again seemed peaceful, at least for the moment.

"Welp... Great job taking care of it!" Cookie remarked, giving a thumbs-up. "You were so QUICK! I think you got it before I could even tell we were being attacked," she admitted with a bit of a laugh.

"I always try to stay alert when moving through unfamiliar territory," Byleth explained in response. "You never know where there might be an ambush waiting in a place like this."

"Ahhh gotcha, good point," Cookie responded with a little nod, having been listening quite carefully to what was being said. She couldn't help wondering how many times Byleth must have skillfully dealt with surprise attackers before. She tried to imagine what sort of life her friend was living before arriving in this realm. Things must be pretty dangerous where she's from...!

"Hey, remember that time we fought a whole huge army of those jelly things together?" she asked, hoping to reminisce about the chaotic fight if there was time. "That was so awesome...!"

"I sure do," Byleth answered, thinking back to the battle Cookie was referring to. "It was unlike anything I've seen before," she continued with a thoughtful look, then glanced towards her young friend. "You fought well despite the chaos of the situation, though. I could tell your morale was in good shape."

Cookie's face lit up brightly upon having her skill praised by someone whose own fighting skill and ferocious determination had her in awe. "You really think so?? Thanks so much!" she beamed. "And of COURSE my morale was good! There was absolutely no WAY we could lose with the way YOU were fighting!" she remarked, clenching her fists, grinning from ear-to-ear, and staring up at Byleth with enormous eyes. "You... You just... You didn't even NEED your SWORD!! You just started PUNCHING AND KICKING EVERYTHING!! IT WAS CRAZY!!" she cried with incredible enthusiasm, being extremely lively and animated as she spoke about the amazing scene.

At first, Byleth simply gazed down at Cookie during her burst of extreme enthusiasm, seeming almost a bit overwhelmed for a moment. However, her rather surprised expression soon returned to one of calm warmth, this time even accompanied by a soft chuckle. "I was simply using the techniques that I've honed throughout my life. Even so, I'm glad I was able to inspire such confidence out there."

Cookie sort of froze for a moment, seeming surprised by something that had caught her ear. Honestly, she was wondering if she had misheard. Did she really just hear the faintest trace of laughter coming from Byleth? She sure hoped it was, because the thought made her feel rather accomplished. She went right back to smiling from ear-to-ear, but a little calmer now that she had gotten some of the pent-up enthusing out of her system. "And that's not even all! You were like... coaching me, even! Right in the middle of the fight!" she pointed out. "It was SO cool... Thanks for that, by the way," she added with warm gratitude.

"No problem," Byleth responded with a serene, acknowledging nod. "It would seem I've grown rather accustomed to being a teacher, these days," she added, fondly thinking back on recent memories of her home realm. ... I hope everyone at the academy is doing well...
Realizing that she had just set foot in the kitchen, however, Byleth was suddenly brought away from her thoughts. "Ah, here we are."