#that time rook underestimated emmrich

[merciawintersageposting]

my head canon for Emmrich is that Rook took the stance “touch the professor, get bodied” early on☠️

“Harding- I mean it,” you say, trying to catch her before she leaves the room. You’re still where she left you studying the map table. She stops and turns to you because for a moment there, your voice sounded flinchingly urgent.

“Freckles to Freckles, you can’t put him out there- he’s too squishy even from the high ground.” You say, the shared nickname for you and she like a watchword. Your usual nonchalance nowhere to be found as you glance furtively back at the open doorway. That’s when Harding looks up at you in earnest.

“Have you told him that?” she says, a small smile climbing the skipping-stone freckles up her cheek. She already knows the answer. But her smile widens with the silence from your end. You grimace, rolling your eyes from the ceiling to floorboards.

Some might see this as a tactical assessment. You do your best to ensure they see it that way. But Harding never bought it for a moment.

“The Professor can hold his own, you know. He might surprise you.” she says reassuringly but you interject:

“That’s not why I—”

“I know, Rook,” Harding smirks as she places a gentle hand on your arm and nods toward the doorway.

Even so, you tighten your grip around the hilt of your blade, white knuckled, ever-ready.