"Okay, how did the professor say I needed to do this...?"

Normally, Bernadetta von Varley wouldn't step out of her room if she didn't need to. She could probably get away with this in her room too, but the Professor was so stern in her warning, she figured that she was probably right. She sat at the corner between the stairs and the wall up to the next set of dorms as she prepared to carry out her professor's instructions. The herbs she had been given were crushed and ground before being put into a glass apparatus that resembled a pipe, though very short. With a disproportionate amount of effort, she struck a match on the wall next to her and held it to the end of the pipe, inhaling the smoke that came out the other end as her hands trembled.

It was her ensuing coughing fit that gave away her location.

"Bernadetta...?"

Bernie squealed as she threw her hands up; miraculously, her pipe landed in her lap and the match was put out. Things could have gone very differently.

"M-Marianne, right?" Bernadetta asked.

"...Yes. I heard you coughing, and I was worried, but if you're just using the herbs the Professor handed out, that's natural..." Marianne explained, her eyes drifting away from Bernadetta.

"O-Oh, you've used yours already?"

"Only once..."

"Could you, uh, maybe...s-stay and help me?" Bernie miraculously asked. If any of the other Eagles had heard her, it'd have taken magic to silence their disbelief.

"O-Oh, I shouldn't...if I stay, you might choke, or break your pipe..." Marianne responded.

"I'm already scared I'll do that! But...the Professor and Dorothea both said I should let more people in, so I want you to help me!"

"I...I guess I can stay...I'm not particularly busy..."

----

"Bernadetta...You have a crest, right?" Marianne asked. Rather than worrying about Bernie's apparent tremors, she had simplified the matter by using fire magic.

"Yeah...a Minor Crest of Indech." Bernadetta responded. By now, she'd gotten used to the dry, burning feeling. Her coughing was less frequent, and much less severe when it did come up.

"Do you ever wish you could live without it?"

"I've never given it a lot of thought..." Bernie said. "I don't think my father would, like, treat me any different if I didn't have one..."

"Your father?"

"My father would, like...tie me down to chairs. He'd say he was training me to be a...like, passive wife." As she spoke, Bernadetta pulled her knees closer to her body.

"That's...so terrible. Bernie, I'm so sorry." Marianne weakly reached her arm over to Bernadetta's shoulder.

"It feels weird to be able to talk about this...when I told the professor, I felt so overwhelmed with emotions. I was...panicking, almost crying." Bernadetta explained. "Thanks for helping me use these herbs. For now, at least, I don't feel so scared."

"...You could have gotten this help from anyone. I'm not so special."

---

"Okay, Bernie, come on," she said to herself. "Just knock. Just say hello. It's not a problem."

She raised her hand, balled into a fist...

"Daaah, I can't do it!" She immediately turned around and crouched into a frightened position.

"Uhm...Bernadetta...?" Marianne asked, from the other side of her door.

"Eyaah! Sorry!" Bernadetta responded, shooting straight up."

"No, no, it's okay..." Marianne said, opening her door.

"Oh, look what you've done, Bernie! She's mad at you now! Stupid! Stupid!" she ranted to herself.

"Bernadetta...I'm not mad..."

"Just run away, Bernie, just turn around and run away--"

She was interrupted by Marianne wrapping her arms around her.
"Shh shh shh...It's okay...It's okay..."

Bernadetta's breathing, at first panicked and staggered, slowly calmed down with Marianne's words. Eventually, she breathed deep and slow, as normal.

"Are you okay now?" Marianne asked.

"Y-Yeah...Thank you..." Bernie responded, gently.

"What did you want to ask me about?" Marianne asked.

"I wanted to, uh...I wanted to...hang out with you...I guess..."

"...Why me, though?"

"You...you listened to me. You didn't make fun of me, or get mad at me...you just helped me out. You just did it again!" Bernie explained.

"But...I'm not...someone you should be spending time with..." Marianne responded, turning away.

"N-nonsense!" Bernadetta said. "I /want/ to spend time with you...as a friend."

"...If you insist..." Marianne said, letting Bernadetta into her room."