[ That his name is said with recognition gets Claude to pause, one eyebrow raised slightly as he's wondering how she's heard of him, but the answer certainly becomes clear enough at the mention of Hilda. It's not but a second later that his face breaks into a smile. ]
You were, were you? I suppose I have Hilda to thank for that.
[ Said with nothing but considerable fondness behind it - well, that and some appreciation for someone he hadn't known up until right now also being worried on his behalf. That's enough to turn away from the buildings for good for now since Claire's answer is intriguing. ]
Outdated in that it's older even where you're from? [ That's possibly the most confusing way to ask that even with how he's learned over time of the different placed fellow Summoned are from, so Claude shakes his head. ] I should add the reason I'm asking is because I've learned where I'm from seems like it's... some time behind others' worlds.
[ To say the least. That's something that can be addressed in a moment as tea's infinitely more important, and he offers forth what he'd conjured. ]
There's two kinds here. One's a pine needle blend I'll be the first is a bit of an acquired taste though it's one of my favorites, and the second is bergamot. It's a little more of a standard option.
Hilda has been one of my favorite people to get to know here. She's lovely.
[ There's such a fondness for her already; a sort of reverse imprinting, perhaps.
When Claude asks about her statement, considering she's dealt with the fuckery of time, Claire really could have phrased her own statement better. It also involves some explanation. ]
Where I'm from—when I'm from—this home is a relic, over two hundred years old. Houses aren't made like this anymore.
[ Claire looks up at Lallybroch fondly and lightly presses her hand to the stone wall. ]
My husband's father built it, as a wedding gift when he first married.
[ No less confusing, but she decides to let Claude ask any questions he might have, rather than dump her entire life on him. At the tea consideration, she decides to go with something she's less familiar with. ]
Pine needle. I have an idea of what I'm getting into, but I'd like to try. I have more than one option, but my favorite right now is an Earl Grey with holy basil, rose petals, poppy, citrus peel, and lemon balm. I have a black tea, and a rooibos as well.
[ Said with considerable fondness as it always is when it comes to Hilda, something he's never managed to be able to conceal as easily as everything else he keeps hidden away.
There's certainly some other questions which come to mind as Claire reaches out to the building, both in the age and how she's phrased explaining it, but that can wait for a moment. That she chooses the pine needle tea of the options has Claude's expression brightening as he sets the pouch holding it down for Claire to investigate before taking a seat. ]
I should warn you it's rather earthy, kind of like... well, what you'd expect pine needles to taste like if they were tea. [ Definitely nailing this description. Some things might be better experienced since it really is one of his favorites, but Claude will be the first to admit it's a very different flavor from most teas. ] I'd like to try your favorite in return since we're sharing them. That seems fair, right? Then there'll be others to share later.
[ Something clicks in his thoughts then and there's one more curious glance at the home. ]
You've said your husband's father built this when he first married... over two hundred years ago?
[ Long lifespans certainly aren't unheard of to him - and he's met a handful of other Summoned with them on top of those he knows from home - but maybe that's the simplest question to start with. ]
It will be better than boiled clover. I've suffered through worse for something warm.
[ Claire smiles just a little; war and starving with an army aren't necessarily anything she'd like to go into just now, if for no other reason than this is a nice visit and there's no need to bring down the mood. ]
That's a suggestion I can get behind. And I know we can have anything instantly here, but if you don't mind indulging me, I'd like to brew mine, for you, the old-fashioned way.
[ By which she means taking water from the kettle being kept on the outdoor hearth and setting the loose leaf to steep. As she does that, she answers his question. ]
I did a bit of time traveling in my youth. Not on purpose, not the first time. I should have Hilda over to tell it, she'd probably say it all in a more exciting way.
I'll take the old fashioned way any day, even if it's really more like the present fashioned way to me since there's no instant for it where I'm from. Well, maybe if you use fire magic rather than heating the water over a fire, but that's still mostly the same concept. I usually do the same whenever someone visits. Something's calming about the ritual in a way that doesn't happen with it just appearing.
[ A slight grin as he watches the brewing process, something he's very familiar with from home and here. Of course, Fodlan's teatimes had always been a bit proper even with Teach and his strange lack of etiquette despite growing up in Fodlan, unlike himself. It's easy to pretend, sometimes, that tea in the Horizon is much like those times again.
Reminiscing will have to be saved for later because what Claire says next has Claude's attention riveted back on her in an instant. ]
You've time traveled? Within your own time?
[ That's what he's hearing, at least, and it's startling. The idea of being from different times within the same world was one he hadn't encountered before arriving in Abraxas, and he's not sure how to begin explaining that. There's an automatic genial smile at Hilda being able to spin this into an exciting tale, but behind it Claude's already calculating what to ask next. ]
I like using my hands, keeping them busy. And you're right, there's something about it that's calming before you even get to the enjoyment of the tea.
[ Rituals are sacred for a reason, after all. ]
Ah, yes, the time travel. To be honest, I don't know how I did it, and I've no clue how it works. I touched a rock in the middle of a circle of standing stones and then I was two-hundred years in the past. Literally in the same place, in the same circle of stones. But I couldn't find a road, which I found out was because it didn't exist yet.
[ Claire takes a sip of her tea and gives a gentle one shouldered shrug. ]
Not everyone can, either. It's apparently quite rare, and I was one of the lucky ones.
[ The explanation is fascinating, and he listens carefully to it. It's not quite the same as what he knows - or rather, now knows thanks to being in Abraxas - and two hundred years gets an immediately raised eyebrow from him. Suddenly those time differences here don't seem quite so daunting. ]
From what it sounds like, there was some kind of portal, almost, that happened to be activated through the rock. Except that instead of taking you somewhere else like the portals here do, it took you straight to the past.
[ Curious. That's not like the Warp spell Lysithea knows either which would've been his next guess as a similarity, but time isn't involved there at all. That's simply being moved physically from one spot to the next. It doesn't match the abilities he knows some Summoned have; even those are far closer to being Warped.
Well. Maybe best to explain what'd compelled him to ask since it's not simply curiosity alone. ]
There are... some time discrepancies between myself and those I know from home who've also been brought here. Nothing quite so drastic as centuries, but enough that it still matters. Hilda and I have about a year between us before accounting for time that's passed while I was here before she arrived. A year may not seem like all that long, but with the war going on there was- a lot that happened.
Where you're from, would it have made more sense to only travel to another location? Or perhaps a different location and time, but not simply straight back?
[ This is not something Claire ever thought she'd be so interested in, but here she is. To be fair, until now she hadn't had anyone truly speak about it with. Jamie still quietly suspects she's a witch, even after watching her go through the stones, so after Jamaica, they haven't really spoken of time travel. ]
I've found out a great deal about my future due to a friend's arrival, so now I find myself on the other side of it. Still, it's only by a decade.
[ Claire wants to ask about that last statement, but she's already asked him two questions, no need to bombarded him. But she'll circle back to it as soon as she can. ]
The Warps I know of are something more like if a mage picked me up from here, [ first with a point to where he is, and then next to somewhere in the distance, ] and sent me to over there. Usually with far longer distances since it's helpful on a battlefield, but when it's been used on me I emerged in the same time. I don't think I've heard of someone changing locations and time before, but... I suppose it wouldn't be impossible to discover there's a method for that, too.
[ Abraxas is an example of that, certainly, even if the application is rather different than what she's asked. Especially considering the Summoned are all here from different worlds and ages rather than just the differences with the Fodlan Summoned. But amount of time Claire names as her own difference is enough for him to be stopped in his metaphorical tracks. ]
A decade.
[ He also can't quite keep incredulousness out of his tone, though it's absolutely not from disbelieving Claire. It's more that until now, somehow, he'd never considered such a possibility - that someone from Fodlan could also show up here from so far into the future. Claude's also making an attempt to not somehow compare that between her situation and his own with Hilda, but it's not working out so well. ]
Here I've been stuck on just a year and you've been dealing with several more than that. Were you close in your own time as well?
[ Claire has never had anyone to talk to in-depth about this sort of thing before, who had anything even remotely like what she experienced in their world. And so she hangs onto every word Claude is saying. ]
Is it science? Or is it magic?
[ Both? At his question, her face flickers through a range of emotions. Her face is like glass, it always has been. There's confusion and apprehension, mixed with a wariness that briefly crosses her features before settling on confusion. ]
That's the thing. I've only just met John from my perspective. Just once; he helped my husband escape a likely execution. But after that, we were sailing someplace thousands of miles away from him, so I'm not unsure how we cross paths again.
[ No need to mention that John is in love with her husband and that he's also raising Jamie's son with another woman. Claire doesn't even want to think about it. ]
He had an injury when he arrived [ Caused by Jamie's fist ] that I tended to briefly while I was helping in Nocwich, at the makeshift medical area in the square. We spoke at length, but I've asked him not to tell me anything crucial about myself. Not yet, in any case.
It's magic from what I know. But I have seen others in my world use a more advanced form of teleporting which would take them for far greater distances, as in to somewhere else entirely, and as for how that works I'm not sure. It either requires vastly different magic or some other method.
[ And some other method isn't out of the realm of possibility; given that the Agarthans had so much technology he hadn't seen before, it makes complete sense to him that this was how they had moved in and out of Fodlan as needed.
Claire's expression isn't something he recognizes other than the quick shifts of emotions, and it soon becomes clear why when she reveals more complications than simply a matter of years alone. He listens attentively with brow furrowed slightly. It's only fair to have his question mostly turned back around on him, though he offers Claire a rueful smile. ]
Ah, I have the perspective of being the one from further on in time rather than farther back in it. But if it were me, I wouldn't want to know my future that far out either since there's too much that could happen.
[ He's silent for a moment as he turns his gaze back to Lallybroch to look at it again briefly, thinking of first the decade and then two hundred years, and how time seems to have played some terrible tricks on them both. Maybe Claire's situation is different in that it seems someday she might be willing to hear something of the future. Had he been right in withholding what he knew? ]
Speaking of that perspective. I haven't told Hilda about what happens for much the same reason. It seemed... worse to tell her about it, and to know that if we ever leave here that's what's waiting for her.
[ Claire goes quiet at that last thought, glancing down at her teacup and contemplating her words carefully. It feels like a hole in her gut to hear about, even if she heard it first from Hilda herself. Already, Claire feels so protective of her and perhaps she has no right to it, but the young woman is dear to her and made an impression on her heart.
Letting out a soft breath, her eyes finally meet Claude's once more. ]
She has an idea, though? She told me she thinks she's...gone. I don't think she knows any details at all, but she suspects something.
[ This topic feels so close to home that she has to put down her teacup. ]
I thought my husband was dead for twenty years. I was so sure that war claimed him because I knew the history. His entire clan was wiped out, as if they never existed, and I couldn't find his name in records or documents.
[ Even knowing that he was obviously alive, it was such an emotional upheaval in her life, a wound that wouldn't heal, that it reflects in her voice. Clearing her throat, she takes a sip of the tea which she's enjoying. ]
Twenty years, only to find out later that he'd changed his name and gone into hiding. It's as you say—too much could happen. I think it's for the best Hilda doesn't know any specifics.
[ If someone asked Claude, he'd answer in a heartbeat that he'd made the right decision, he decides now in yet another round of this same debate with himself. It has to be; sparing her from knowing what all happened at Gronder still seems like a kindness. That doesn't change that it's waiting there for her, of course, when they return from Abraxas or however that process works.
He's just turned his gaze back to Claire again when she tells him Hilda has an idea of what's coming. There's just enough time for him to arch an eyebrow curiously and begin to wonder how that's possible when she finishes that thought with something he doesn't expect at all. It's only from years of practice of controlling his expressions to let nothing slip by that saves him from outwardly reacting now when it feels like the ground tilts beneath him from sheer shock.
There's more Claire tells him - important details that he's trying to force himself to absorb as his mind spins. The pain in her voice, however: that seeps through every word into his consciousness. Such a thing needs no explanation when it can be felt that viscerally. ]
Gone? I don't-- [ Wherever that thought was going seems to have no destination when he doesn't have a way to finish it, not even when the obvious conclusion is to say Hilda is alive in his time. He might have if it wasn't for the rest of what Claire's said hits him while he's still mentally floundering. ] Was being apart from him for so long also part of your time traveling?
[ That's something else he can't wrap his mind around - that sense of loss which must have affected her deeply even if he doesn't mean to pry into something so clearly hurtful past the basic understanding. Somehow that's easier to focus on than there being some time where he'd have to exist without Hilda. ]
[ It's when he asks gone? that Claire realizes she might have made a mistake; did Claude not know? Christ, she assumed Hilda found out from him, and now she doesn't know what to say to try and make it better. When he asks a question, she's still trying to figure out how to make it better, though she suspects she can't. ]
It was, I—there was a war in his time and I knew, being from the future, that the final battle would be brutal, and bloody, and over in less than half an hour. I knew that everyone in his clan would be killed and we tried to stop it, but history wouldn't allow it. Jamie couldn't travel to my time. He tried, but it didn't work for him.
[ Even after all this time, even after being reunited with him, it still feels like shredding her soul to think about being ripped away from Jamie. ]
I was pregnant; we'd already lost one child, so...
[ Claire trails off; she hasn't even told Hilda that part, and she surprises herself by saying it now. ]
I'm sorry, Claude. I didn't mean to veer this conversation into something upsetting.
[ She's apologizing for her own sad story but also for potentially devastating him. ]
[ It helps to have her voice to focus on, even if what she tells him is something he wishes she didn't have to live through. The uncertainty that went with that must have been unbearable. To be able to change times to prevent something for yourself but not for everyone, and not for someone so deeply cared for: even though others have described it to him from their own times, the cruelties with how time can move so swiftly seem so deeply unfair.
All the more reason to give a shake of his head once he's clawed his mind back from reeling and tucked the distress away to examine later, because the last thing he wants is for Claire to feel any guilt about any of this. ]
Please, don't apologize. If there's anything I've learned from being here, it's that many of the Summoned have lived through awful things none of us should have ever had to deal with so for whatever it may be worth, there are others besides us who understand. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to have to go so long without knowing what happened as you did.
[ Not meant to minimize, but to share even if their varieties of grief from their own lives likely all differ in meaningful ways. Claude's quiet for another small stretch of time, again to weigh his words carefully. Not because there's a chance of any of this getting back to Hilda nor because he minds if it does, but because - what's the best way to sum up what he's learned in both what happened in his time and didn't? ]
The war in Fodlan I mentioned. It ended decisively in the Alliance's favor - where Hilda and I are from - as much as war ends in anyone's favor, but since coming here I've learned that isn't always the case. Two others we know, or three if you count someone who was here and then departed, have lived something else with enough similarities that it could overlap but doesn't due to some very distinct differences.
[ There's the simplest way he can put it even if it's no less confusing, but it does bring him closer to the point he's actually trying to make as he offers Claire a subdued smile. ]
The losses were great in what I lived through, and there was always the chance of someone falling on our side just as much as the others. I know of my fate in my timeline and another, but not in the third one. There's just as much chance I'm no longer alive there, either.
[ Claude's thoughtfulness in the conversation is noted, and her thumb moves around the rim of her teacup as she thinks and listens to him. She understands as much as she's able to, but the heart of it all, that she gets. ]
Then being here must be a two-sided coin. It isn't home, but it is time.
[ Time for things that may not be possible outside of Abraxas, time not to take for granted. ]
I spent so much of mine with Jamie trying to stop what was going to happen, and I wish we hadn't, that we'd tried to have at least a year of quiet.
[ There was no avoiding Culloden, and they could have gotten through Jamie's torture and the loss of Faith with more of their souls intact, maybe. ]
You three have something here that seems special and somewhat rare. I hope you never lose sight of it.
[ Claire offers a soft smile, unable to help giving a piece of motherly advice. Trying to break the melancholy, she scoffs. ]
I sounded very much like an old lady then, didn't I?
[ A two-sided coin is a very good way of putting it. Claude's had the same thought himself, that having those here who aren't alive at home is a blessing as much as it can be a curse; who's to say whether Abraxas will allow them to really have this time at all? Even without the recent events erupting into something horrifying, there's been an undercurrent of foreboding lurking beneath it all since his arrival.
Recognition in Claire's words rings true to him of something he's been doing - perhaps in the wrong way of going about it - in trying to prevent something inevitable. It feels a bit like looking into a mirror for a second in that Claude's abruptly aware this had been his goal in not sharing what he knows from his time. As if by not doing so he might prevent - something, but something that'd allow them to have something beyond what history will soon demand.
Her scoff and comment, though: those get a twitch of a smile from him. ]
Well, I don't know about old since I hesitate to call anyone that, but we could go with... knowledgeable. But now that I think about it, I used to call my combat instructor that or some variation when I was a kid and he was lecturing me, so that might be almost the same thing. [ With a grin for good measure since a bit of humor feels warranted here - for both of their sakes. ] I'll have to think of something better and more befitting.
In the meantime, you're correct that what we have here is something rare. All of us have it, that is, [ as though he admittedly doesn't grasp the intricacies of Claire's own time differences, Claude still feels this applies here as well, ] and I hope that no matter what you decide to learn about from your friend that's now here, it also becomes something that's a gift over anything else.
[ Claire laughs softly, and there's some sparkle of good humor there. She likes Claude as much as she likes Hilda, and tries to come up with a title. ]
I suppose you could call me a wise woman. Which still implies old but it sounds better.
[ Her features soften though, wondering how it is someone so young can be so wise. In her experience, it comes from aging too quickly, but she would never assume. ]
Thank you, Claude. I need the reminder just as much as anyone else. Admittedly, I don't know what to think, or if I truly want to know much, but you're right in that it's still a gift to be known.
[ She has the strong urge to hug him, but instead finishes her tea. ]
Did you say the others don't like your favorite tea? Because I find myself enjoying it. There's something about it that's comforting, I can't quite put my finger on it.
[ With a laugh, since, well: he'd discarded saying it for the exact reasons she'd just said. Also because it might have been one of the other descriptions he'd given said combat instructor in an attempt to rile the man up some more which is far from his goal here.
Time at least is a topic they can tackle another time, whether it's what Claude knows of his own or what Claire has yet to discover for herself and if she even wants to. As she said - Abraxas has given them a gift, in some ways, even if it's also fraught with all kinds of things he'd rather not think about on his end. But there's time to navigate those as well, or so he thinks.
Tea is a much safer topic all around, and a slight smile comes to her face as she inquires about it. ]
I don't know if they don't like it so much as it's not necessarily among their favorites. Mostly floral or fruit teas seem to win most favor there whereas I just find them alright at best, so it's a tradeoff. [ He'd been absently drinking his tea through their conversation without noticing, Claude realizes when he looks down to see his own cup mostly empty. ] I grew up where pine forests are prevalent, so for that reason this tea always reminds me of home. Most of the other ones I grew up drinking weren't quite as elaborate as, say, lavender blends or ones with all kinds of spices.
[ It's easier, at least right now, to think of all the good things time can give them, instead of the actions of worse people on Abraxas. Claire isn't so naive as to think with Jocelyn out of the picture things will never be dire again, but for now, she'll enjoy the time with new friends. ]
I was never a fan of overt florals, but subtly is key when working with them. Fruit as well, although fruit tea is better served over ice, if you've never had it that way. And with no sugar added, there's no reason for that.
[ She'll have to make some, real southern style tea that's been steeped in the sun for hours. ]
Tea is a funny sort of issue in my time. Well, it will be. There's a whole skirmish where one country dumps all its tea in a harbor in protest to the country importing it. But that's a history lesson from a country on a planet you're not even from.
[ Claire laughs and gets back on topic. ]
The one I've made you is less fanciful, but I admit I've gotten a bit blend-happy being in a place where I can.
Really? They dumped all of it just to send a message?
[ He'd meant to comment on tea varieties first, but hearing this gets a laugh from him as he tries to picture this happening in Derdriu and the seas abruptly turning into tea or something equally fanciful that brief description brings to mind. ]
I'm happy to report my feelings on any particular tea nor any other country are quite so strong as to demand that, interesting as it sounds. My tastes have always leaned a little more towards the herbal side, I suppose, considering my other favorite tea is chamomile. If she's not already told you, Hilda likes both floral and fruit teas, though.
[ Hopefully a helpful tip for the next time the two women get together, anyway. Claude looks back at his own tea cup then curiously as he remembers the ingredients. ]
This one you've made, however, is quite nice. Should you ever make it in person, I'd love to pick up some you've made on one of the weekends Nocwich is open to us all, and I'm happy to pay for it too since
some of my tags apparently wound up in an au inbox somewhere i'm sorry!
[ Claire laughs, not at him but because yes, it's absolutely ridiculous. Nodding, she finishes her tea and sits back comfortably still smiling. ]
There's quite a lot more that went into it, one country trying to move out from under the thumb of another. And eventually, another war I'll see.
[ She still smiles, but it's a sort of resigned one, tired around the edges and laced with frustration. Now that John's arrived she knows: another war Jamie will have to fight, for nearly identical reasons he fought against the Redcoats before. Except this time he'll have to fight with them, if they want to keep their land. What a fucking mess; it's easier to talk about tea in the harbor. ]
I believe herbal teas are certainly the most calming and what I drink the most. They're easy to administer medicine through, especially with enough honey if someone needs it. Plus, the honey is helpful in bringing down inflammation, so it doubles as a good thing.
[ His compliment is more appreciated than he thinks; she doesn't always need to make rounds for medical things, and it's how she's used to helping. If she can create something else that others enjoy then it might feel even more like home, here. She doesn't pause to think about whether or not she should be inviting that feeling. Claire does wave him off about paying, though. ]
You'll keep your money and anything worth trading, and I'll be sure to have something for you when Nocwich opens. We can meet and perhaps try someone else's tea-making abilities at one of the cafes.
no worries at all!! also i'm so sorry about the unfinished sentence IDK I EVEN DID THERE
[ The mention of another war sobers him a little, if only because it brings to mind what Louis said about multiple wars consuming his world and echoes Fodlan within it, too. Hopefully what she's bound to experience - since he'd caught that implication - is nothing quite like either.
Tea's distracting enough and likely a better conversation topic to focus on all around, even if Claire says not to pay for it. That gets a light smile from him, even as he's considering what to bring from Cadens to share regardless as he's done with Wanda on each of those visits. ]
You're in luck when it comes to the cafes in Nocwich's square. There's several good blends I haven't seen around Cadens and the cafes are rather nice themselves. I'm sure that'll be the case even more so now that the place won't be set up as an infirmary for all of us.
[ That's said as lightly as ever to gloss right on over recent events much like he's been doing consistently here and there, what with a mention and not much else to follow. No need to stress others out over something they'd all rather not think about, or so it goes in his logic even if it might be on the faulty side. The mention of medicine gets another grin from him before he finishes the remaining tea in his cup. ]
I wouldn't mind learning more about what all can be done with the teas here on the medicine side of things if that would be a better trade to make. Botany's become a recent interest of mine when it comes to the healing part of it, and I could bring some of my notes on what's available where I am if you'd like them for your use, too.
I didn't get much of an opportunity to see what's available, and unfortunately, my first time in Nocwich when I arrived, I was still in shock and I'm not sure I processed much. It will be nice to see it as it should be, and without being worried about anything else.
[ Claire's very good with glossing over, and so she does and keeps moving along with him. Especially when he says he'd like to learn. ]
Oh, I would very much enjoy teaching you, if you really would like to learn.
[ Grinning like a nerd, because yes to plants, she can't help but nod at wanting to see his notes. ]
In the time I was living, this was the only way healers could reliably keep track of what worked and what didn't: sharing notes with one another. I learn new things every day from the most unlikely places or people. You never know what might come in useful. Did you know you can use spider webs to pack wounds because they're naturally antiseptic and antifungal, for instance? Because I certainly hadn't until I read through someone else's notes.
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no subject
[ His name is immediately familiar (never mind that there could be more than one) and Claire finds herself smiling brighter. ]
I'm Hilda's friend. I was quite worried about you. Come in further, please.
[ As he looks, she finally goes back to the tea. ]
I would love an exchange, I create my own blends here.
[ Claire begins going through her teas to try and guess what the young man might like. She does pause and glances up at his question. ]
No, I'm sorry. I'm from a planet called Earth. Though this sort of style is a bit outdated, mostly.
no subject
You were, were you? I suppose I have Hilda to thank for that.
[ Said with nothing but considerable fondness behind it - well, that and some appreciation for someone he hadn't known up until right now also being worried on his behalf. That's enough to turn away from the buildings for good for now since Claire's answer is intriguing. ]
Outdated in that it's older even where you're from? [ That's possibly the most confusing way to ask that even with how he's learned over time of the different placed fellow Summoned are from, so Claude shakes his head. ] I should add the reason I'm asking is because I've learned where I'm from seems like it's... some time behind others' worlds.
[ To say the least. That's something that can be addressed in a moment as tea's infinitely more important, and he offers forth what he'd conjured. ]
There's two kinds here. One's a pine needle blend I'll be the first is a bit of an acquired taste though it's one of my favorites, and the second is bergamot. It's a little more of a standard option.
no subject
[ There's such a fondness for her already; a sort of reverse imprinting, perhaps.
When Claude asks about her statement, considering she's dealt with the fuckery of time, Claire really could have phrased her own statement better. It also involves some explanation. ]
Where I'm from—when I'm from—this home is a relic, over two hundred years old. Houses aren't made like this anymore.
[ Claire looks up at Lallybroch fondly and lightly presses her hand to the stone wall. ]
My husband's father built it, as a wedding gift when he first married.
[ No less confusing, but she decides to let Claude ask any questions he might have, rather than dump her entire life on him. At the tea consideration, she decides to go with something she's less familiar with. ]
Pine needle. I have an idea of what I'm getting into, but I'd like to try. I have more than one option, but my favorite right now is an Earl Grey with holy basil, rose petals, poppy, citrus peel, and lemon balm. I have a black tea, and a rooibos as well.
no subject
[ Said with considerable fondness as it always is when it comes to Hilda, something he's never managed to be able to conceal as easily as everything else he keeps hidden away.
There's certainly some other questions which come to mind as Claire reaches out to the building, both in the age and how she's phrased explaining it, but that can wait for a moment. That she chooses the pine needle tea of the options has Claude's expression brightening as he sets the pouch holding it down for Claire to investigate before taking a seat. ]
I should warn you it's rather earthy, kind of like... well, what you'd expect pine needles to taste like if they were tea. [ Definitely nailing this description. Some things might be better experienced since it really is one of his favorites, but Claude will be the first to admit it's a very different flavor from most teas. ] I'd like to try your favorite in return since we're sharing them. That seems fair, right? Then there'll be others to share later.
[ Something clicks in his thoughts then and there's one more curious glance at the home. ]
You've said your husband's father built this when he first married... over two hundred years ago?
[ Long lifespans certainly aren't unheard of to him - and he's met a handful of other Summoned with them on top of those he knows from home - but maybe that's the simplest question to start with. ]
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[ Claire smiles just a little; war and starving with an army aren't necessarily anything she'd like to go into just now, if for no other reason than this is a nice visit and there's no need to bring down the mood. ]
That's a suggestion I can get behind. And I know we can have anything instantly here, but if you don't mind indulging me, I'd like to brew mine, for you, the old-fashioned way.
[ By which she means taking water from the kettle being kept on the outdoor hearth and setting the loose leaf to steep. As she does that, she answers his question. ]
I did a bit of time traveling in my youth. Not on purpose, not the first time. I should have Hilda over to tell it, she'd probably say it all in a more exciting way.
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[ A slight grin as he watches the brewing process, something he's very familiar with from home and here. Of course, Fodlan's teatimes had always been a bit proper even with Teach and his strange lack of etiquette despite growing up in Fodlan, unlike himself. It's easy to pretend, sometimes, that tea in the Horizon is much like those times again.
Reminiscing will have to be saved for later because what Claire says next has Claude's attention riveted back on her in an instant. ]
You've time traveled? Within your own time?
[ That's what he's hearing, at least, and it's startling. The idea of being from different times within the same world was one he hadn't encountered before arriving in Abraxas, and he's not sure how to begin explaining that. There's an automatic genial smile at Hilda being able to spin this into an exciting tale, but behind it Claude's already calculating what to ask next. ]
How did that work, if you don't mind me asking?
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[ Rituals are sacred for a reason, after all. ]
Ah, yes, the time travel. To be honest, I don't know how I did it, and I've no clue how it works. I touched a rock in the middle of a circle of standing stones and then I was two-hundred years in the past. Literally in the same place, in the same circle of stones. But I couldn't find a road, which I found out was because it didn't exist yet.
[ Claire takes a sip of her tea and gives a gentle one shouldered shrug. ]
Not everyone can, either. It's apparently quite rare, and I was one of the lucky ones.
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From what it sounds like, there was some kind of portal, almost, that happened to be activated through the rock. Except that instead of taking you somewhere else like the portals here do, it took you straight to the past.
[ Curious. That's not like the Warp spell Lysithea knows either which would've been his next guess as a similarity, but time isn't involved there at all. That's simply being moved physically from one spot to the next. It doesn't match the abilities he knows some Summoned have; even those are far closer to being Warped.
Well. Maybe best to explain what'd compelled him to ask since it's not simply curiosity alone. ]
There are... some time discrepancies between myself and those I know from home who've also been brought here. Nothing quite so drastic as centuries, but enough that it still matters. Hilda and I have about a year between us before accounting for time that's passed while I was here before she arrived. A year may not seem like all that long, but with the war going on there was- a lot that happened.
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[ This is not something Claire ever thought she'd be so interested in, but here she is. To be fair, until now she hadn't had anyone truly speak about it with. Jamie still quietly suspects she's a witch, even after watching her go through the stones, so after Jamaica, they haven't really spoken of time travel. ]
I've found out a great deal about my future due to a friend's arrival, so now I find myself on the other side of it. Still, it's only by a decade.
[ Claire wants to ask about that last statement, but she's already asked him two questions, no need to bombarded him. But she'll circle back to it as soon as she can. ]
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[ Abraxas is an example of that, certainly, even if the application is rather different than what she's asked. Especially considering the Summoned are all here from different worlds and ages rather than just the differences with the Fodlan Summoned. But amount of time Claire names as her own difference is enough for him to be stopped in his metaphorical tracks. ]
A decade.
[ He also can't quite keep incredulousness out of his tone, though it's absolutely not from disbelieving Claire. It's more that until now, somehow, he'd never considered such a possibility - that someone from Fodlan could also show up here from so far into the future. Claude's also making an attempt to not somehow compare that between her situation and his own with Hilda, but it's not working out so well. ]
Here I've been stuck on just a year and you've been dealing with several more than that. Were you close in your own time as well?
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Is it science? Or is it magic?
[ Both? At his question, her face flickers through a range of emotions. Her face is like glass, it always has been. There's confusion and apprehension, mixed with a wariness that briefly crosses her features before settling on confusion. ]
That's the thing. I've only just met John from my perspective. Just once; he helped my husband escape a likely execution. But after that, we were sailing someplace thousands of miles away from him, so I'm not unsure how we cross paths again.
[ No need to mention that John is in love with her husband and that he's also raising Jamie's son with another woman. Claire doesn't even want to think about it. ]
He had an injury when he arrived [ Caused by Jamie's fist ] that I tended to briefly while I was helping in Nocwich, at the makeshift medical area in the square. We spoke at length, but I've asked him not to tell me anything crucial about myself. Not yet, in any case.
[ Claire pauses to look at Claude. ]
What would you do?
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[ And some other method isn't out of the realm of possibility; given that the Agarthans had so much technology he hadn't seen before, it makes complete sense to him that this was how they had moved in and out of Fodlan as needed.
Claire's expression isn't something he recognizes other than the quick shifts of emotions, and it soon becomes clear why when she reveals more complications than simply a matter of years alone. He listens attentively with brow furrowed slightly. It's only fair to have his question mostly turned back around on him, though he offers Claire a rueful smile. ]
Ah, I have the perspective of being the one from further on in time rather than farther back in it. But if it were me, I wouldn't want to know my future that far out either since there's too much that could happen.
[ He's silent for a moment as he turns his gaze back to Lallybroch to look at it again briefly, thinking of first the decade and then two hundred years, and how time seems to have played some terrible tricks on them both. Maybe Claire's situation is different in that it seems someday she might be willing to hear something of the future. Had he been right in withholding what he knew? ]
Speaking of that perspective. I haven't told Hilda about what happens for much the same reason. It seemed... worse to tell her about it, and to know that if we ever leave here that's what's waiting for her.
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Letting out a soft breath, her eyes finally meet Claude's once more. ]
She has an idea, though? She told me she thinks she's...gone. I don't think she knows any details at all, but she suspects something.
[ This topic feels so close to home that she has to put down her teacup. ]
I thought my husband was dead for twenty years. I was so sure that war claimed him because I knew the history. His entire clan was wiped out, as if they never existed, and I couldn't find his name in records or documents.
[ Even knowing that he was obviously alive, it was such an emotional upheaval in her life, a wound that wouldn't heal, that it reflects in her voice. Clearing her throat, she takes a sip of the tea which she's enjoying. ]
Twenty years, only to find out later that he'd changed his name and gone into hiding. It's as you say—too much could happen. I think it's for the best Hilda doesn't know any specifics.
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He's just turned his gaze back to Claire again when she tells him Hilda has an idea of what's coming. There's just enough time for him to arch an eyebrow curiously and begin to wonder how that's possible when she finishes that thought with something he doesn't expect at all. It's only from years of practice of controlling his expressions to let nothing slip by that saves him from outwardly reacting now when it feels like the ground tilts beneath him from sheer shock.
There's more Claire tells him - important details that he's trying to force himself to absorb as his mind spins. The pain in her voice, however: that seeps through every word into his consciousness. Such a thing needs no explanation when it can be felt that viscerally. ]
Gone? I don't-- [ Wherever that thought was going seems to have no destination when he doesn't have a way to finish it, not even when the obvious conclusion is to say Hilda is alive in his time. He might have if it wasn't for the rest of what Claire's said hits him while he's still mentally floundering. ] Was being apart from him for so long also part of your time traveling?
[ That's something else he can't wrap his mind around - that sense of loss which must have affected her deeply even if he doesn't mean to pry into something so clearly hurtful past the basic understanding. Somehow that's easier to focus on than there being some time where he'd have to exist without Hilda. ]
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It was, I—there was a war in his time and I knew, being from the future, that the final battle would be brutal, and bloody, and over in less than half an hour. I knew that everyone in his clan would be killed and we tried to stop it, but history wouldn't allow it. Jamie couldn't travel to my time. He tried, but it didn't work for him.
[ Even after all this time, even after being reunited with him, it still feels like shredding her soul to think about being ripped away from Jamie. ]
I was pregnant; we'd already lost one child, so...
[ Claire trails off; she hasn't even told Hilda that part, and she surprises herself by saying it now. ]
I'm sorry, Claude. I didn't mean to veer this conversation into something upsetting.
[ She's apologizing for her own sad story but also for potentially devastating him. ]
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All the more reason to give a shake of his head once he's clawed his mind back from reeling and tucked the distress away to examine later, because the last thing he wants is for Claire to feel any guilt about any of this. ]
Please, don't apologize. If there's anything I've learned from being here, it's that many of the Summoned have lived through awful things none of us should have ever had to deal with so for whatever it may be worth, there are others besides us who understand. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to have to go so long without knowing what happened as you did.
[ Not meant to minimize, but to share even if their varieties of grief from their own lives likely all differ in meaningful ways. Claude's quiet for another small stretch of time, again to weigh his words carefully. Not because there's a chance of any of this getting back to Hilda nor because he minds if it does, but because - what's the best way to sum up what he's learned in both what happened in his time and didn't? ]
The war in Fodlan I mentioned. It ended decisively in the Alliance's favor - where Hilda and I are from - as much as war ends in anyone's favor, but since coming here I've learned that isn't always the case. Two others we know, or three if you count someone who was here and then departed, have lived something else with enough similarities that it could overlap but doesn't due to some very distinct differences.
[ There's the simplest way he can put it even if it's no less confusing, but it does bring him closer to the point he's actually trying to make as he offers Claire a subdued smile. ]
The losses were great in what I lived through, and there was always the chance of someone falling on our side just as much as the others. I know of my fate in my timeline and another, but not in the third one. There's just as much chance I'm no longer alive there, either.
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Then being here must be a two-sided coin. It isn't home, but it is time.
[ Time for things that may not be possible outside of Abraxas, time not to take for granted. ]
I spent so much of mine with Jamie trying to stop what was going to happen, and I wish we hadn't, that we'd tried to have at least a year of quiet.
[ There was no avoiding Culloden, and they could have gotten through Jamie's torture and the loss of Faith with more of their souls intact, maybe. ]
You three have something here that seems special and somewhat rare. I hope you never lose sight of it.
[ Claire offers a soft smile, unable to help giving a piece of motherly advice. Trying to break the melancholy, she scoffs. ]
I sounded very much like an old lady then, didn't I?
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Recognition in Claire's words rings true to him of something he's been doing - perhaps in the wrong way of going about it - in trying to prevent something inevitable. It feels a bit like looking into a mirror for a second in that Claude's abruptly aware this had been his goal in not sharing what he knows from his time. As if by not doing so he might prevent - something, but something that'd allow them to have something beyond what history will soon demand.
Her scoff and comment, though: those get a twitch of a smile from him. ]
Well, I don't know about old since I hesitate to call anyone that, but we could go with... knowledgeable. But now that I think about it, I used to call my combat instructor that or some variation when I was a kid and he was lecturing me, so that might be almost the same thing. [ With a grin for good measure since a bit of humor feels warranted here - for both of their sakes. ] I'll have to think of something better and more befitting.
In the meantime, you're correct that what we have here is something rare. All of us have it, that is, [ as though he admittedly doesn't grasp the intricacies of Claire's own time differences, Claude still feels this applies here as well, ] and I hope that no matter what you decide to learn about from your friend that's now here, it also becomes something that's a gift over anything else.
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I suppose you could call me a wise woman. Which still implies old but it sounds better.
[ Her features soften though, wondering how it is someone so young can be so wise. In her experience, it comes from aging too quickly, but she would never assume. ]
Thank you, Claude. I need the reminder just as much as anyone else. Admittedly, I don't know what to think, or if I truly want to know much, but you're right in that it's still a gift to be known.
[ She has the strong urge to hug him, but instead finishes her tea. ]
Did you say the others don't like your favorite tea? Because I find myself enjoying it. There's something about it that's comforting, I can't quite put my finger on it.
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[ With a laugh, since, well: he'd discarded saying it for the exact reasons she'd just said. Also because it might have been one of the other descriptions he'd given said combat instructor in an attempt to rile the man up some more which is far from his goal here.
Time at least is a topic they can tackle another time, whether it's what Claude knows of his own or what Claire has yet to discover for herself and if she even wants to. As she said - Abraxas has given them a gift, in some ways, even if it's also fraught with all kinds of things he'd rather not think about on his end. But there's time to navigate those as well, or so he thinks.
Tea is a much safer topic all around, and a slight smile comes to her face as she inquires about it. ]
I don't know if they don't like it so much as it's not necessarily among their favorites. Mostly floral or fruit teas seem to win most favor there whereas I just find them alright at best, so it's a tradeoff. [ He'd been absently drinking his tea through their conversation without noticing, Claude realizes when he looks down to see his own cup mostly empty. ] I grew up where pine forests are prevalent, so for that reason this tea always reminds me of home. Most of the other ones I grew up drinking weren't quite as elaborate as, say, lavender blends or ones with all kinds of spices.
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I was never a fan of overt florals, but subtly is key when working with them. Fruit as well, although fruit tea is better served over ice, if you've never had it that way. And with no sugar added, there's no reason for that.
[ She'll have to make some, real southern style tea that's been steeped in the sun for hours. ]
Tea is a funny sort of issue in my time. Well, it will be. There's a whole skirmish where one country dumps all its tea in a harbor in protest to the country importing it. But that's a history lesson from a country on a planet you're not even from.
[ Claire laughs and gets back on topic. ]
The one I've made you is less fanciful, but I admit I've gotten a bit blend-happy being in a place where I can.
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[ He'd meant to comment on tea varieties first, but hearing this gets a laugh from him as he tries to picture this happening in Derdriu and the seas abruptly turning into tea or something equally fanciful that brief description brings to mind. ]
I'm happy to report my feelings on any particular tea nor any other country are quite so strong as to demand that, interesting as it sounds. My tastes have always leaned a little more towards the herbal side, I suppose, considering my other favorite tea is chamomile. If she's not already told you, Hilda likes both floral and fruit teas, though.
[ Hopefully a helpful tip for the next time the two women get together, anyway. Claude looks back at his own tea cup then curiously as he remembers the ingredients. ]
This one you've made, however, is quite nice. Should you ever make it in person, I'd love to pick up some you've made on one of the weekends Nocwich is open to us all, and I'm happy to pay for it too since
some of my tags apparently wound up in an au inbox somewhere i'm sorry!
There's quite a lot more that went into it, one country trying to move out from under the thumb of another. And eventually, another war I'll see.
[ She still smiles, but it's a sort of resigned one, tired around the edges and laced with frustration. Now that John's arrived she knows: another war Jamie will have to fight, for nearly identical reasons he fought against the Redcoats before. Except this time he'll have to fight with them, if they want to keep their land. What a fucking mess; it's easier to talk about tea in the harbor. ]
I believe herbal teas are certainly the most calming and what I drink the most. They're easy to administer medicine through, especially with enough honey if someone needs it. Plus, the honey is helpful in bringing down inflammation, so it doubles as a good thing.
[ His compliment is more appreciated than he thinks; she doesn't always need to make rounds for medical things, and it's how she's used to helping. If she can create something else that others enjoy then it might feel even more like home, here. She doesn't pause to think about whether or not she should be inviting that feeling. Claire does wave him off about paying, though. ]
You'll keep your money and anything worth trading, and I'll be sure to have something for you when Nocwich opens. We can meet and perhaps try someone else's tea-making abilities at one of the cafes.
no worries at all!! also i'm so sorry about the unfinished sentence IDK I EVEN DID THERE
Tea's distracting enough and likely a better conversation topic to focus on all around, even if Claire says not to pay for it. That gets a light smile from him, even as he's considering what to bring from Cadens to share regardless as he's done with Wanda on each of those visits. ]
You're in luck when it comes to the cafes in Nocwich's square. There's several good blends I haven't seen around Cadens and the cafes are rather nice themselves. I'm sure that'll be the case even more so now that the place won't be set up as an infirmary for all of us.
[ That's said as lightly as ever to gloss right on over recent events much like he's been doing consistently here and there, what with a mention and not much else to follow. No need to stress others out over something they'd all rather not think about, or so it goes in his logic even if it might be on the faulty side. The mention of medicine gets another grin from him before he finishes the remaining tea in his cup. ]
I wouldn't mind learning more about what all can be done with the teas here on the medicine side of things if that would be a better trade to make. Botany's become a recent interest of mine when it comes to the healing part of it, and I could bring some of my notes on what's available where I am if you'd like them for your use, too.
fkaljfdlf IT HAPPENS!
[ Claire's very good with glossing over, and so she does and keeps moving along with him. Especially when he says he'd like to learn. ]
Oh, I would very much enjoy teaching you, if you really would like to learn.
[ Grinning like a nerd, because yes to plants, she can't help but nod at wanting to see his notes. ]
In the time I was living, this was the only way healers could reliably keep track of what worked and what didn't: sharing notes with one another. I learn new things every day from the most unlikely places or people. You never know what might come in useful. Did you know you can use spider webs to pack wounds because they're naturally antiseptic and antifungal, for instance? Because I certainly hadn't until I read through someone else's notes.
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a wrap up soon, perhaps?
absolutely, it's a wrap!