logs | ( catchall ) my moment has arrived

[ oh shit, he didn't actually mean for that to happen. his relief at finally having claude extricated by gravity is quickly cut short by fresh alarm when the young man hits the ground face-first. against better knowledge and self-preservation instinct, sylvain stoops right back into precarious cuddling range to see if he's all right.

—or at least he would, but claude's recovery is so quick he doesn't quite manage to. ]

Damn, sorry about—

[ he blinks dumbly at the accusation. ]

Uh. No...?

[ unless there's another weird harvest game going on that he doesn't know about...? he regards claude with mild dismay. ]

But if that's your concern, you may wanna lay off the food and drink a bit. Is your head okay...?

[ Sylvain doesn't immediately lunge for his throat, though that doesn't entire put him at ease. He knows that most of the Faerghus knights are horny for chivalry and honour, but he would expect Sylvain to play the long time; make himself look harmless and trustworthy before extricating his revenge.

He's just really disoriented. ]

What are you talking about? One second I was eating some candy, and the next thing I know I'm eating dirt with you hovering overhead.

[ Though, as his thoughts start to regroup from his sleep-induced stupor, hadn't he seen others soundly asleep despite the noise and chatter around them? ]

. . . I did that to myself, didn't I?

[ sylvain doesn't appreciate the accusation, but... he can't exactly blame him for coming to that conclusion, either. if their positions were reversed, he'd likely have his fair share of suspicion.

he's just glad he doesn't have to spell out what happened, which is no small relief. he knows from personal experience just how deeply mistrust runs in people, how impossible it is to budge preconceptions once they've taken root. (however, he really has no idea just how far claude's wariness might go, or the reason behind it.) ]

You sort of did. Though, to be fair, I sort of dropped you...

[ he at least has the wherewithal to look sheepish about it. ]

You've been out for some time now. Just thought I'd move you somewhere quieter, since we're old acquaintances and all. ...What sort of candy did you eat, anyway?

[ good grief. but also, sylvain thinks he'll pocket some for future use. ]

[ There's a dull ache in Claude's face from when he wiped, though it pales in comparison to the aches and pains felt after a day of training or battle. Still, he massages his fingers over his nose and forehead, closing his eyes as he deals with the embarrassment of having to be carried around by Sylvain Jose Gautier.

He supposes that he should be glad that Sylvain isn't lording it over him. Though he would be well within his right. It occurs to him that... Sylvain shouldn't be so friendly with him. That he should've taken the opportunity while Claude was defenceless to slit his throat, or at least leave him where he'd fallen to deal with the consequences of his blunder.

But Sylvain is... sheepish. Almost concerned.

Claude tries to hide his confusion, glancing off to the side. ]

I could point it out you at the buffet. [ ... ] Thanks for not leaving me to get trampled. I have to admit I wasn't expecting an assist.

[ He doesn't say any more than that. Even though he wants to add, "from you of all people". If Sylvain is being civil for the moment, then Claude's not going to give him any reason to act differently. ]

[ if sylvain had any reason to get rid of claude, it's true he would've taken his chance and found it all too easy. his hypothetical victim wouldn't even notice the harm done until he's already bled out somewhere in the woods. and with a busy celebration like this, who would even notice?

it's a similar vein of logic that has sylvain stepping in unprompted—because he doesn't expect anyone else to. and while he and claude may not be close, they once shared the same home, and in several ways the same fight against the empire. that counts for a lot in a place where they know so little. ]

No sweat.

[ if claude's behavior seems a bit stilted, sylvain doesn't make anything of it outside their present circumstances. which are admittedly pretty weird to begin with. he tries to make light of it with a joke. ]

Not even after Derdriu? Maybe we're gonna have to start a running tab at this rate.

[ Claude tilts his head in response to Sylvain's words, expression neutral to keep the confusion off his face. There's a lot that doesn't make sense with his current circumstances, and his head is unfortunately still a little muddled from sleep as he tries to make clear the situation that he's currently in.

To name a few of the points of contention:

He has no idea why Sylvain is talking about Derdriu.
Sylvain helped him instead of taking the opportunity to slit his throat.
It could be a ploy, but why? It's not like they both don't know that Sylvain's father died at the hands of his army.
Even if Sylvain was happy to see his old man gone, Claude had still invaded his country.

He hadn't really hit his head that hard, but trying to puzzle all of this out while facing Sylvain and trying not to look suspicious is making his head hurt.

He also has to consider: he could play along with Sylvain, but for how long? Claude's a master of deceit, but with no resources to speak of, he's a little in over his head. ]

Derdriu? Did you rescue me from the jaws of death then too?

[ Might as well opt for honesty. Shez and Judith seem to think it's a good strategy. ]

[ ...well.

that suddenly explains a lot. the allegations of kidnapping, the avoidant looks, the general air of 'what exactly's going on here' ]

...You don't remember.

[ the realization hits him about as hard as the ground did claude's face. sylvain's dumbfounded for a couple blinks, but... this isn't the first time he's been surprised like this, either. he doesn't quite have the emotional attachment needed to feel disappointed, but it does feel a bit jarring all the same. ]

Nevermind about that tab then, but yeah. Something like that.

[ it feels kind of lame explaining it if claude has no recollection in the first place... ]

...Guess I should be asking what's the last thing you remember. Other than eating strange candy.

[ :') ]

[ He snorts, ] What, you don't want to hear the details of me falling unconscious in front of a crowd? I'm lucky no one stepped on me.

[ Or maybe they did... He'll have to check the back of his coat for footprints later.

But Sylvain's made it pretty clear that's not what he's getting at, and Claude's been honest enough that he can't exactly backtrack and suddenly act all mysterious. He mulls it over a moment, trying to determine how much ire Claude's assault on the Central Church might evoke, and how well Sylvain might be able to connect the dots between Claude making an enemy of the Church, to him making an enemy of Faerghus.

Then again, Claude could also lie. How would Sylvain be able to tell the difference? As far as he could tell, Dimitri was looking for an excuse to cut ties with Rhea anyway, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch. ]

But my last memories... I'm pretty sure it involved Rhea turning into a dragon and crushing me to death.

[ Oh well. ]

What happened in Derdriu?

[ forget about church and kingdom politics. sylvain hasn't even made it past the turning into a dragon bit. ]

You're pulling my leg.

[ he does mean the archbishop, doesn't he...? ]

Lady Rhea? A dragon? That's— [ ...not impossible, actually. his mind conjures images of the invasion of garreg mach ago, the winged creature that had flown over the sacred grounds. an old memory, but still stark in his mind, as fresh as a new bruise. his expression goes slack with surprise, then pinched again with confusion. there's an awkward pause as he internally course-corrects. (he isn't focused yet on why claude's death happened, but when.) ]

...But she was captured by the Empire ages ago.

[ and they never did manage to rescue her... so by that logic, claude would have perished during adrestia's attack on the monastery more than a half-decade ago, where rhea supposedly revealed herself. obviously, there's no way that's possible—not when claude's been sighted in person at gronder and at derdriu. the alliance would've fallen apart long ago in his absence, and what little hope faerghus had of surviving with it. ]

This... isn't adding up at all.

[ he runs a hand through his hair, expression perplexed though his mind is already furiously piecing together the fragments. they're not from the same timeline...? are they even from the same fódlan? ]

[ Sylvain's surprise is genuine enough that he doesn't doubt the authenticity of what he's saying. That, and the fact that Felix has no business being twenty-four, and even Sylvain can lie with ease, Felix certainly can't.

In any case, that idea is interesting, and Claude rubs his chin as he considers it. ]

Maybe if Edelgard had captured Rhea at the start of the war she wouldn't have dragged the rest of us into her campaign against the Central Church.

[ He doubts it. He never believed that Edelgard would settle just for deposing Rhea. She wouldn't settle for anything less than conquering all of Fódlan. ]

Let me ask you something. What year was it before you came here?

[ the suggestion is both humorous and nonsensical to him, and he shakes his head with an incredulous huff. claude... doesn't seem to be faking any of this himself, and sylvain doesn't think either of them have any screws that loose, but now he can't help but wonder a little. ]

What's this the about the Central Church? Last I checked, Edelgard declared war on the western half of the continent. Alliance included.

[ which brings them back to claude's earlier question. he offers a shrug and a hapless smile. ] Oh yeah, Derdriu—you requested the Kingdom's aid, and we rode to your capital to deliver.

[ ... ]

1186. Let me guess—you're younger than you look.

[ now that he can scrutinize him properly... claude does seem slightly younger than sylvain (vaguely) recalls... (or is it just the lack of a beard...) ]

[ That gets his eyebrows to rise. He requested aid from the Kingdom? It's not that impossible to imagine, and it's not like Claude hadn't considered an alliance with Faerghus when Edelgard had declared war. There are plenty of scenarios that he could imagine where Leicester couldn't withstand Edelgard's onslaught, and an alliance with Dimitri would be his only chance for survival.

It's certainly an interesting difference. In his version of events, Sylvain had ridden with his allies to Leicester's rescue, and in Claude's, his army had invaded Faerghus and taken out the Margrave Gautier along the way. ]

It was 1183 where I come from. [ A whole three years between them. ] Edelgard declared war against Rhea and the Central Church in 1182.

Not that it stopped her from invading Leicester, even though we had nothing to do with the Church. She never captured Rhea either—as far as I know, she's safe somewhere in the Kingdom.

Sounds like Edelgard, all right. [ someone who might tear down anything she deems to be in her path with her own, bloodied hands. in some ways her resolve is admirable, her unbending determination to forge her way forward with blood and blaze, even if it meant further breaking an already-fractured world—but it's an unimaginable stretch to say sylvain holds her in warm regard. ]

...Sorry to hear it. It would've been nice if at least one of our worlds hadn't gotten swept up in fighting. But I suppose that's naïve thinking.

[ he doesn't agree with the war, but he understands history; stagnation is the inevitable kindling for change, when the tether of tradition is stretched thin to snapping. (a spark of anger stews in him at the memory of everything this change has cost, though he keeps his cold temper mostly in check. his expression dips into a slight frown, like he's tasted something bitter.) ]

She must've gotten what she wanted, if we all ended up here.

[ or maybe there's a chance the rest of the kingdom's army had survive enbarr in his timeline, but sylvain is not feeling particularly optimistic. he shakes his head. ]

Nevermind Edelgard. What made Rhea turn on you...?

Edelgard was still trying to topple Dimitri last I remember, though I don't think they were involved in a direct conflict. I assume if he's here—and if he's the same Dimitri I remember—then yeah: Edelgard won the war.

[ There's three from Faerghus and himself. So far he hasn't seen anyone from Adrestria. Does that mean Edelgard is destined to win, in each timeline and in each world? Was the future she raged for, for the future for which Fódlan was fated?

He'd be lying if he said the thought didn't make him bitter. All that he strove for these past years, and all the lives that had died at his command... was it really fruitless after all?

So not only had he died in the conflict, but he had to live in this hellscape with the knowledge of his failure. He supposes it's the least that he deserves.

But he doesn't wallow too long in self-pity, calm as he meets Sylvain's gaze. ]

I told Dimitri to abandon the Church. Do that, and it would discredit the manpower and money that Edelgard was pouring into her war against Faerghus. Not to mention the Kingdom would be free of Rhea's puppeteering.

[ None of this is entirely untrue. Claude had never had any quarrel with the Kingdom, save that they were forced to shelter Rhea so that the monarchy could cling to its authority. ]

You can imagine that Rhea wasn't too pleased with my attempts to steal away her only ally.

[ he takes a moment to absorb all that claude's told him—the three years' difference between them, the entire trajectory of edelgard's conquest altered even before the interim. would it have been better to lay down arms from the very start? it's an unpleasant question to chew on, and sylvain has enough pity to spare for claude as well. for any of them who had to fight a war they never wanted in the first place. ]

...Puppeteering, huh.

[ it's true the kingdom and central church had ties that ran a little too deep, that the church threw its weight around as soon as it caught whiff of any threat to its authority. sylvain isn't so surprised by this news, and claude's words have the tones of a dire warning. ]

So your death was another execution by the Church, you mean. [ and he imagines it must've been something of a spectacle, if a dragon had been involved. of course, he's not going to say that in front of the victim.

...christoph, lonato, and now claude. sylvain is loyal to his country, but he isn't blind to its flaws. he knows it's the church that legitimizes crests in the first place. but breaking long-term relations is not such a simple thing—faerghus had been crippled after fending off invasion for 5 years, and without the knights of seiros, sylvain doubts they would've made it as far as they ever did.

it's always been a complicated matter. ]

For what it's worth, I've never been much of a devout man myself. You don't have to worry about me exacting revenge on behalf of Rhea of all people.

[ seeing as claude had been rather jumpy before. ]

[ Sylvain takes the news rather calmly, though it's always been hard to tell what's going on behind that mask of his. Claude's a little too tired to try and guess; still too exhausted from a lifetime of playing the game of politics. He was really hoping that if he did die, he'd at least get a break.

He smiles thinly at Sylvain's reassurance, in any case, knowing that he'll have to watch his words around him and the other Faerghans. If this truly were the end, he'd be more open with the truth and all that he's done, but he's not interested in becoming one of the corpses littering the woods, his soul gone Seiros knows where.

It might be better to just avoid them entirely. ]

Well, that is a relief. I can safely say this place is harrowing enough without having to look over my shoulder for your lance.

[ sylvain's attitude towards claude is more than likely to change if he ever finds out the truth, but at present he isn't interested in agonizing over a war he's already fought and died for. (a part of him is still homesick, however, and he has to wonder if they're still expected to pay off any lingering debts with blood. if this afterlife is penance for all the harm they've caused, willingly or no.) ]

...It's pretty ghastly, I'll admit. [ the lance of ruin would not be out of place here... ]

Can't say I miss having it around, despite its uses. —Actually, that's why I wanted to ask about the candy you had earlier.

[ total segue, but whatever. better than toeing around the sore topic of war and politics. ]

I was hoping to test them on some monsters around here. Don't ask me how exactly, but I figured it's worth a shot if it can drop a grown man like a stone. [ or half-grown man? claude is baby ]

[ Hello? He is not a baby?

Sylvain completely turns the topic around, though Claude doesn't mind. He's sure they could both use a break for the neverending drama of Fodlan politics. ]

It's certainly more potent than any poison I've encountered, so you're right to want to investigate. Did you want me to point it out to you?

[ i suppose he's not 19 like SOME lords ]

If you don't mind. Better than accidentally stumbling across it firsthand. What else have you tried?

[ they can trade... food & drink notes... ]

The cake, which seems to be without any odd effect. The nuts—but that was just before I had the candy, so if it had an effect, then I was too unconscious to know what it was.

[ He'd be rather impressed at how abundant these cursed items are if he weren't still sore from being knocked out cold.

He rubs his face. ]

You haven't encountered anything odd?

[ sylvain offers a lopsided smile—after the whirlwind of political revelations, he'd almost forgotten how claude had behaved just moments ago, whilest dead to the world. ]

All the snuggling from you was a bit odd. Don't think I've met anyone so clingy in their sleep before.

[ sylvain... would know :') ]

You get cold easily?

[ he's kidding. he figures it's something claude ate—so, the nuts then...?

anyway, ] ...You'll wanna watch out for the whiskey. It'll have you seeing more than just double.

The... snuggling?

[ Despite himself, Claude feels a bit of colour rise up to his face in response to Sylvain's little revelation.

It wasn't bad enough that he'd passed out, but... wait. ]

You must be joking. [ There's no way that he was clingy. It is a joke! ... And he moves on. ] But isn't that usually what alcohol does?

Next you're gonna tell you don't snore in your sleep, either.

[ fine, fine, he'll stop poking fun at him... ]

...It's probably what you ate earlier. Now that I think about it, I've seen some people get weirdly cuddly around the table.

[ or maybe everyone's into festival pda in the netherworld?

... ] I mean, seeing things that aren't actually there. Hearing them, too.

[ Slowly enough that he hopes that Sylvain doesn't notice, Claude gently covers his face.

And stays like that.

Just give him a second. ]

[ claude

claude of course he notices ur literally right there

sylvain allows him to facepalm in silence for all of five (5) awkward seconds before offering, ]

Uh, I didn't take it personally or anything.

[ he never had claude pegged as the shy type... is he feeling self-conscious...? ]

( catchall ) my moment has arrived

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