[ The hollowness in Sylvain's laugh aches as much as something even more dreadful revealed than what words follow it, because in the absence of anything else being within it that means there's still plenty of pain layered beneath it. Farther than they'll be able to go in the here and now - not that Claude really expects Sylvain to let them in much past where he has today considering it began involuntarily thanks to those awful birds - but if they can relieve even some of it? He'll count that as a win.
He meets Hilda's gaze and the combination of all the ways he recognizes her determination beyond cutting straight to the point of rejecting what Sylvain offered before that does get a smile from him this time. It's too difficult to suppress now, and it goes beyond the humor of the absolute truth about how dire their situation would be without Sylvain here. But he'll stay within the outlines of humor for now. ]
Oh, just a few other things, Hilda.
[ That's a precursor to mischief he knows they'll both recognize, despite said mischief being in Sylvain's favor this time. Probably. Well - mostly, since it's for the good of his ego. He's going to continue forward right on no matter whether there's any kind of protest being said or forming, because there is a Plan here even if it's moved past what he and Hilda had originally brainstormed together to become this: something even more worthwhile. ]
Don't forget making sure we don't burn down the loft at any given time or all those teas you've painstakingly created from learning how to do it yourself. One might try to write that off as just being particular about tea, but I think it's a lot more than that. Something more like being admirably dedicated to whatever you do.
[ And because that humor makes it easier to write off what's being said, it won't stick around forever. ]
It goes beyond just paying attention alone though, and you can't convince us otherwise. Anyone can be observant, but not everyone can choose to put those things together to make them something meaningful like you do. Few people take it to a level of making sure whoever it's for knows how much care went into it and that it was done for them. But not you, Sylvain. What you've done here says a lot more about who you are than anything else does.
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He meets Hilda's gaze and the combination of all the ways he recognizes her determination beyond cutting straight to the point of rejecting what Sylvain offered before that does get a smile from him this time. It's too difficult to suppress now, and it goes beyond the humor of the absolute truth about how dire their situation would be without Sylvain here. But he'll stay within the outlines of humor for now. ]
Oh, just a few other things, Hilda.
[ That's a precursor to mischief he knows they'll both recognize, despite said mischief being in Sylvain's favor this time. Probably. Well - mostly, since it's for the good of his ego. He's going to continue forward right on no matter whether there's any kind of protest being said or forming, because there is a Plan here even if it's moved past what he and Hilda had originally brainstormed together to become this: something even more worthwhile. ]
Don't forget making sure we don't burn down the loft at any given time or all those teas you've painstakingly created from learning how to do it yourself. One might try to write that off as just being particular about tea, but I think it's a lot more than that. Something more like being admirably dedicated to whatever you do.
[ And because that humor makes it easier to write off what's being said, it won't stick around forever. ]
It goes beyond just paying attention alone though, and you can't convince us otherwise. Anyone can be observant, but not everyone can choose to put those things together to make them something meaningful like you do. Few people take it to a level of making sure whoever it's for knows how much care went into it and that it was done for them. But not you, Sylvain. What you've done here says a lot more about who you are than anything else does.