[ Claude narrowly resists the urge to have one corner of his mouth turn down, since - of course they both know, as if there was any way they wouldn't still be marking time by all of this. Maybe in another year it'll feel more distant though that feels like an ill-fated hope he dismisses in the same instant it appears.

What he focuses on instead is Sylvain's arm around his shoulders and wills himself to not connect it back to leaning on each other in the pit when they're here and far from whatever was razed once they'd left it behind for good. It's selfish, perhaps, but Claude's never been one to focus on anything other than surviving. This is just another version of it. ]

I thought going back... I thought it might offer closure, since we're on the topic of it. That if I could see it again then maybe it wouldn't seem to loom so largely whenever I think about it, but I'm not so sure it helped with any of that at all.

[ He'd be tempted to sigh again if he hadn't just moments ago, so in replacement of that Claude leans a little more into Sylvain's side as they walk in a tacit acknowledgment of - everything about going and now coming back, though it's with those thoughts now shuffling around in his mind he peers up at the other man. ]

Why'd you choose to go back?