abraxaslogs | [ OPEN ] the river's overrun

[ If anyone were to ask Hilda how she had put together a city-wide scavenger hunt for Claude amongst all the other activities that seemed to fill her days, she'd either lament about how it had been so difficult or shrug it off saying that it wasn't really that much work. The jury is still out on what answer she'd give Claude. After delivering the initial letter informing Claude of his birthday gift, the task master had been "absent" as he had gone about his day.

If he got the feeling that someone had been following him or watching him, surely it was just a figment of his imagination. Why would she need to follow him when she knows him like the back of her hand and that a silent challenge issued to him chalk full of puzzles, riddles and treasures to find is sure to keep him on task and not stray (too) much?

By the time she catches up with him late that afternoon at the library she can't help but look at the table littered with the trinkets that she'd prepared for him along the way with satisfaction. A whole new set of vials and tinctures for whatever it is he wanted to use them for, a set of leather pouches with his initial monogramed on them to carry the various books, scrolls and papers that he was wont to do on any given day, a bottle of cologne mixed specially for him with notes of pine, sweet dried fruits, and incense, a new set of arrow heads, and a set of notebooks, and a first edition copy of a book of Abraxian herbs and plants along with their properties.

The selection is something to be proud of on their own but the mischievous glint in her eyes has nothing to do with that and everything to do this very last task she's set before him. As he'd gone through the library, she had trailed after him, watching him decode the clues she'd given him and add books to the ever growing pile. Now all there was left to do was identify the individual letters she'd tasked him to find in order to spell out the message she'd left him. ]

Edited 2024-07-25 05:08 (UTC)

[ Hilda is right: a puzzle is exactly the sort of thing to forever pique his interest no matter what it is, but when she's gone to the effort of making this a particularly long and detailed one, well. He wouldn't dream of saying no in the first place but this all but captures his attention. Including the midnight delivery from Khurshid who'd looked all too thrilled to be part of it and the suspense of waiting until morning which is exactly what he did - probably better to listen and not make Hilda traipse around Cadens in the middle of the night.

Or farther still, relatively speaking, as he discovers when the clue in envelope number one is just the first of many waiting for him scattered across many places. It's difficult to not grin to himself each and every time he finds the next one both for the thrill of it all, of course, but also because of the effort Hilda's put into arranging all of this and tailoring it so specifically. Effort he's certainly not going to forget when it comes to the next birthday celebrated; what better way to put their competitiveness to use than in spoiling each other and Sylvain? Claude certainly can't think of anything that might top it.

Not even as he's hauling yet another book to the table in the library and peering down at the list to check it's the right title - and the right edition as he'd discovered might affect things which had him casting an amused glance in Hilda's direction where she's shadowed him around the shelves and corridors. Now seated back at the table with one of his new notebooks before him ready as he opens the first book to the right page and trails a finger down the page. Or starts to and then pauses as he considers something, and sets his pen down to open a couple more books since might as well get as many letters at once to put together into what he has a feeling might be a scrambled message. Just for the added puzzle elements, naturally. ]

I don't suppose you're feeling generous enough to give me any hints, hm?

[ To Hilda as he reaches for another book to set it open while flashing her a grin to where she's seated to watch over the final step of the festivities, even if he knows the answer to that will be a resounding no. It doesn't hurt to ask anyway, or something like that, even as he looks to the books to now jot down a handful of letters before reaching for the second half to get the rest of what needs to be put in order. ]

Why would I when you've been doing so well?

[ She reaches across the table to give his cheek an affectionate pinch before returning to her seat and resting her chin in her hands. For someone who hasn't been trailing him all day from a distance, watching him work through the puzzles she's laid out for him has been a lot more fun than she'd expected. Or rather, it's just what she had hoped for. The idea of sending him on an adventure - a harmless adventure without danger or assassinations or caustic gas - had seemed like a ridiculous notion at the time.

But then she had tested the waters, reaching out to a couple of the merchants he usually worked with to see if they'd be willing to help her out in her endeavour and one thing had led to another. At one point she may have gotten carried away (hence the twenty-seven clues), but by the time she'd caught herself it was already too late.

All that was left to do was send him on his way and watch it unfold. And maybe hope, nervously, that she hadn't missed anything and that he would enjoy it. ]

Besides, I'd rather see you put everything together yourself. I know how satisfied you feel when you solve something on your own. Why would I take that away from you?

[ He knew she wasn't going to answer - there'd never been any other possibility otherwise, but that won't stop Claude from feigning disappointment. Something which might've been better if he wasn't in the process of still scribbling letters to be arranged in between using his non-writing hand to playfully swat the air around where she'd pinched him, intentionally a second or two too late. ]

Uh huh. And that's why you decided to torment me on my birthday of all such things with something I couldn't even start when you told me about it?

[ As if this is anything close to torment when he's enjoying every second. Before picking up the very last book Claude leans over to press a kiss to her cheek in a genuine gesture of delight. This is close to the end now as the last letter's added to his bank of them, and he spends a couple moments studying them. Combinations are already whirling away as he tries one and crosses it out. The next one is closer though it's also still intentionally jumbled for Hilda's entertainment if she's still watching. Maybe if he just shuffles a couple letters around.

And - ah. There's the hidden message in all of its glory. As he scans it and that short phrase sinks in, Claude blinks.

Then blinks again when it still says Hi Claude and no mistake was made. There it is in his own handwriting right there. A noise that's not quite laughter and not quite a Lorenz level scoff which never makes it past the back of his throat as he catches it just in time for a reaction well familiar to Hilda. ]

Really.

[ An attempt to sound affronted is made, but not even Claude with all his many masks and skill in keeping an emotion to himself can prevent laughter from threatening to overtake that Very Serious one word alleged scolding as it blurs it far too much to be anything to be taken seriously. ]

You call it torment but I call it drawing out the anticipation. And besides, I didn't tell you to start it then and there, did I? [ The thoughtful finger tapping against her chin is nothing but theatrics as she recites word for word what she wrote. ] 'Unless you're reading this at midnight in which case you definitely can't start this until at least sunrise.'

[ It's punctuated with a very self-satisfied smile and a flutter of eyelashes that is hopefully more endearing than irritating. Although, if she's confident in her ability to read Claude, it's probably the former. At least for the next ten seconds. That could change even if her delight would only continue to grow. What is a sweet smile immediately turns impish as she watches him pwrite out the so-called hidden message that she'd gone through all the trouble setting up for him.

His familiar sound of amusement and then subsequent descent into laughter only prompts her to start laughing too. Far louder than the recommended level of laughter that one would usually dare to do in a library. Thankfully she had chosen a table in the far flung corners of it so that the chances of them disturbing others - or being scolded by librarians who seemed to be her natural enemy - was less likely.

It's a good thing too. She can't bring herself to say anything, his expression is priceless and really the real gift and goal behind this entire scheme. ]

I fail to see what's so funny here!

[ An attempt is made to channel Lorenz again and specifically when the nobleman was on the verge of any of his many lectures on being proper to the two of them - more Claude, in particular. Some habits were eternal ones and not at all absolutely prodded into continuing on by him winding up Lorenz at nearly every chance he could for the sake of listening to the noble sputter while chuckling away.

Claude's sputtering himself now, but not at all for the same reasons. Amusement chokes every last one of those words even if he's settled his laughter (somewhat) by the time he gets up from his chair to dart over to where Hilda is. With any pretending of being upset or anything adjacent now an impossibility, Claude settles for something else: 'annoying' her with a little smothering in affection.

Only in the most positive of ways since when he leans down to where she's seated, it's to press obnoxious kiss after kiss along her face with one hand gently cradling whichever cheek he's not currently pressing his lips to. With words to go in between each, naturally. ]

Setting all this up? Making me run around for hours for a hidden message? [ He could go on with this feigned outrage, but instead Claude tips her chin up to kiss her gently on the mouth to break away with a grin considering prank or otherwise, this is still perfect to him. ] You might be onto something there. Don't think I won't remember this in a few months.

[ Claude's Lorenz impression has never failed to make her double over with laughter and now is no exception. Feigned outrage and huffiness starts a fresh wave of laughter and joy. Even when faced with the her cheeks being practically smashed together it doesn't stop her sides from aching or the absolute glee that radiates from her as she allows herself for a brief moment to be smothered by his affection. This is such a stark contrast from the year before. It and everything else they had been going through at the time feels much longer than that – and she hopes that it stays that way.

Their fight is something she dearly hopes that they never go through again and she'd do everything in her power to ensure that it never reached those proportions again. But if there was one food thing that has come from it, it was where they are now. When he's done (for now) with his assault of kisses she reaches up to bring him close again for a kiss of her own. It's one where he can likely feel - and hear - the smile in her voice. ]

I don't think you'll be able to do something half as ridiculous as this. I did set the bar pretty high.

[ If she really wanted to avoid going through this herself she really shouldn’t be throwing down the gauntlet. But she’s riding the high of a successful present. Who can blame her? ]

[ There's a hum from Claude as her lips on his cut off whatever silliness was about to leave his mouth - of which it could've been any number of things, really - when there's no contest to giving in to affection. A thing he'll never tire of, he's found, as if they're still trying to catch up on lost time here or from anywhere else.

Or perhaps even more simply, a chance to enjoy this here in the present without anything else lingering except closeness. Maybe a little more good natured joking, too. ]

That sounds like a challenge to me if I've ever heard one, Hilda. What if your birthday's on a Nocwich weekend? Then I'll have even more places to send you hunting for what comes next.

[ Not an idle threat in the name of competition, either; he's making a note to check the calendar the next chance he gets to find out if that's the case. Visiting Luna and now Ikorr might just be in order. Continuing to tease until they dare each other into something bigger and far beyond whatever the starting point was and wherever it was forgotten in recent memory - something equally familiar and treasured.

Claude's about to lean in for another kiss when there's a not at all inconspicuous clearing of someone's throat nearby. Though he doesn't straighten up he does turn his head to see one of the librarians he's come to know well from many hours spent researching looking at them both with a stern (if not also slightly fond) expression. ]

Oh, sorry. This is all Hilda's fault.

[ Breezily as ever, since surely he can't be blamed for this on his birthday. Surely! ]

[ This moment, this place, surrounded by the smell of books and the hush of people existing between the shelves with Claude's lips on hers could almost feel like they're in Fódlan. Immediately she's transported back to their Academy days where they'd do everything in their power to try and make one another laugh or do something that would cause the ire of the librarian on staff. And then later, those laughs would be muffled with kisses that were sweet like ripe summer fruits and just as fleeting because that's the only way she believed they could have existed in the past.

More kisses are pressed to his lips as she laughs at the loosely veiled threat, still too high on her victory to consider that he's incredibly capable of delivering on it. ]

As if you would do that to me. You know how much I hate running and puzzles.

[ Her hands begin to roam, slipping under the linen shirt he's donned for the summer heat. Hilda does pull back some as Claude turns to address the librarian. For a brief moment it feels like they're in their teens again and it's hard to wipe the goofy grin from her lips until it's absolutely necessary. There's an appalled gasp from her as she pokes her head out from behind him with a look of hurt; but not once has her hands stopped creeping between the fabric of his shirt, fingernails digging lightly into his warm skin in protest. Apparently a birthday isn't a complete get out of jail free card. ]

What! You don't really think this is my fault, do you Leisel? I've even returned all my books on time this week!

Edited 2024-08-16 07:54 (UTC)

[ If they weren't otherwise occupied, there'd be a quip to that. Maybe a handful of them all related around to this part of the day's chase or the future plans for Hilda's birthday where he's already thinking of exactly how many silly things he can loop together to make it happen. Which might be slightly besides the point given that Hilda's version of this is very thoughtful, but. No reason to not escalate it into their usual sort of competition.

Fortunately for Hilda and any patrons that might be within range of overhearing until the librarian catches them, kisses take priority over anything else. As does her hands winding their way beneath his shirt since even those nails are just another good layer of teasing, light as they are.

He's also absolutely not going to take them as any kind of potential warning to behave. ]

Don't listen to her, Liesel. She used to use that as an excuse all the time when we were in school.

[ Said in a stage whisper as if Hilda's not sitting right here and won't offer her own retaliation for that. It's what comes to mind when those days in the library both at the academy and then in the late nights in the years after with the setting much the same. Claude's reason ("reason") is about as well received by Liesel as any of the librarians at Garreg Mach. Which is to say, not at all, considering she looks very unimpressed.

Before Claude can open his mouth to offer something else charming, like maybe an actual sort of apology, Liesel adds a gentle reminder that they are in public and that if they're looking to get back into good graces - putting those books away he has scattered all across the table would be a good start. ]

Noted! We'll leave this even better than it was when we got here.

[ It should come as no surprise to him that his blatant disregard for her initial warning is met with another one - but this time, it's definitely meant to be more distracting. This time her fingers sweep to the waistband of his pants. ]

Liesel, who are you going to listen to? The man who leaves a mess in your library or someone who always puts her books away right where she found them?

[ Apparently part of her gift to him didn't include being subject to Lisel's disapproval. ...Even though they were very much deserving of it giggling and laughing like they were school children. That was really besides the point though. A librarian's approval was at stake!

It seems that trying to woo her is quickly stopped by a suggestion that is both very practical and probably something they would have done right after they were done anyway. Thankfully having been on the receiving end of disapproval plenty of times in her life, she knows a very thin line when she sees it. She offers Leisel her most sincere set of doe eyes and nods. ]

We're sorry. It's his birthday and I know how much he loves this place. We'll get these cleaned up right away.

[ And just like that, some of the disapproval slips away from the librarian's expression. With an exasperated sigh she motions for them to go before turning on her heel. It's only once she's gone does Hilda loop her fingers through the belt loops of his pants, tugging him close to plant another series of kisses on him that might feel more like reprimanding ones than rewards. Hard to say though with the way she grins against his lips even with a hushed voice. ]

I can't believe you were going to try and throw me in front of the wagon! I'm going to remember that.

[ Though his gaze remains on Liesel with his now contrite expression - even if it's almost entirely an act - his attention focuses completely on Hilda's hands as he knows is exactly what she intended. Points to Hilda since he hadn't made that move (yet) and now can't without blowing his cover of apology.

Fortunately she smooths things over before Claude even has to worry about diverting his attention and the librarian leaves. They probably should too instead of pressing it, but he's never been one to give up so soon when Hilda is right here in front of him and calls his full focus back to her. ]

Think it was a little more like I did throw you in front of the wagon, really. [ Is he grinning just as much? Absolutely. There's no repentance anywhere in that sentence. ] Remember it all you like because I also remember being the one in front of the metaphorical wagon plenty of times.

[ Or something like that. It's partially nonsense meant to still keep the silliness going without any bite or hint of suggestion behind it; those are cherished memories to him even including all the times it ended with stable duty courtesy of Seteth when they'd pushed the boundaries a bit too far.

Like now, potentially, since even if they were caught and given the gentlest of reprimands Claude leans forward to place his hands on either side of the seat of her chair to keep her fenced in after she tugs him forward. There's no danger of either of them going anywhere what with kisses to still be had and the delight of everything about this day so far, and the smirk on his face says he knows it quite well. ]

Should I plan on this factoring into next year if I don't steal the title of best ever scavenger hunt first?

Edited (typos) 2024-08-21 23:48 (UTC)

By who? Not by me, surely.

[ He's not wrong though. She's lost count of the number of times she had unabashedly tossed him right in the path of a wagon (figuratively speaking of course). But that also comes with sometimes jumping right after him or pulling him right back out before any real damage was done. Such was the nature of their relationship. Sometimes the consequences were easier coped with when they were done together. ]

Being tossed in front of a wagon, you mean?

[ She lets out a contemplative hum as tangles their legs together as she begins to trail slow kisses along the line of his jaw. At the rate things are going she might very well end up in his lap which would be the opposite of what they'd told their dear, local librarian. But she's not here at the moment and they didn't say when "right away" was. It could be now, it could be fifteen minutes from now or it could be in an hour. What they could guarantee is that it would get completed before closing hours because Hilda still had at least one more surprise up her sleeve for him. ]

It might be hard for you to earn the title if you throw me in front of a wagon. Who else is going to be there to be the judge of that?

Not by you? Huh. It must've been someone else named Hilda then.

[ That might've worked if there was anyone else named Hilda who'd gotten into just as many pranks with him - or that either one of them had been as quick to blame the other for something sheerly for making it that much funnier (to each other) when caught in whatever it was.

But he's forgetting to possibly keep watch for anyone passing by at this point, thoroughly distracted as he always is by her legs at any time of day. Even more so when her lips trail over his skin and it's tempting to - for once - let go of anything else on his mind and lean into just that and nothing else... if it wasn't for wanting to continue their bantering back and forth. Instead Claude compromises for slowly lifting his hands from her chair with deliberate movements he makes sure Hilda can feel before setting his hands on the outside of her thighs near her knees as he runs a thumb lightly along the back of one in a minuscule teasing motion. ]

We could always just say I win by default. Add it on as another birthday present for today, right?

[ A clear verbal substitute for what his hands are now doing: inching up slowly with no rush. They have time. ]

[ There's an appalled gasp followed by a sharp nip of her teeth that could have been entirely believable were it not for the fact that he can still likely feel the smile pressed into his skin. ]

You know another Hilda?

[ She doesn't even bother to wait for an answer, refusing to pause in her her quest of nuzzling into the crook of his neck and leaving a mark behind that would barely be covered by his shirt. It seems only fair considering where his hands are roaming. Claude knew all too well that it was only a matter of time before her impatience began to build to a point where she would demand more.

This wasn't her birthday though and she had to remind herself of that. She lets out a warm breath, tilting her head up to look at him as her hands. She rises slightly from her seat, switching positions so that now she was the one with her hands framing him on either side of his chair. ]

You can't earn the title if you haven't hosted the scavenger hunt. The most you can do is be the scavenger hunt winner. Which I guess is just as good in this context.

[ Hilda hovers closer to him, eyes flitting from his lips and lingering there before looking back up at him. ]

Although I did have another birthday present in mind. My gifts aren't quite over yet.

What if I even know several Hildas? I just might.

[ Is he looking to earn more teeth? Possibly, as much as 'possibly' is a thin veneer for definitely when it's something she knows as much as he does by playing pretend in the first place. The same for that mark she deftly applies that he'll have to get a better look at later but for now it earns her a noise of interest in the back of his throat which slips out too quickly for him to temper it into sounding like something else.

Effective, as she knows, just as much as she knows by leaning over him so casually in a reversal of earlier. Claude takes a moment to trail his gaze along her body before looking back up at her with his head tilted back slightly and gaze partially lidded. ]

Another present, huh.

[ He's not letting that scavenger hunt squabble go but rather putting it aside for later; how could he not when she's looking at him like this? A good thing he remembers his hands still on her thighs because he's going to use that grasp to pull her into his lap rather shamelessly, library surroundings be damned. ]

Tell me, are we close to one of them?

If you do, I better be your favourite one.

[ Despite how they're clearly joking, there's an echo of a threat there that she probably wouldn't ever make good on. It may even sound oddly reminiscent of her god-self who was far more prone to fits of jealousy and more likely to act on them should she disapprove of any new lover Claude's god-self had interest in. And while Hilda might have slowly begun her journey of simply accepting the fact that she was a jealous little thing, it didn't mean that she was ready to revisit what still sometimes felt like very real incidents again any time soon.

There were more important things she could spend her time and energy on. Namely being pulled into Claude's lap, the ensuing giggle that is barely stifled in time as her fingers find purchase in his hair, and the suggestion of a spontaneous gift that she hadn't quite planned for but wasn't opposed to if it was the birthday boy asking.

Her lips brush against the tip of his nose with hum as she pulls herself the rest of the way onto his lap so she can properly straddle him. ]

We might be. It depends how well you know the library's private areas.

As if you'd ever be anything but.

[ Kidding aside, even if there was some way that he truly did know multiple people named Hilda and here in Abraxas as a further refinement to this very subject - there's no doubt in his mind that she'll forever be his number one. An immutable position from which there is no changing, not even in last summer's strife where they'd had to learn to live at each other's periphery for a while.

This year is so much better in so many ways.

As she climbs properly into his lap and settles herself in the same way they've found themselves in so many times before, Claude wills himself to keep his hands where they are on her hips. For all of a few seconds, anyway. The temptation to let them resume roaming once she's securely in place is too much to resist, and especially so when playing up their closeness as he tilts his head back enough to catch her lips after that kiss for a proper one. ]

I think I could make an exception to show you all my favorite hiding places. One in particular that I think you'll like.

[ He's saving any (awful) jokes about unwrapping presents for there in actual privacy, even as he moves his hands next to toy lightly with the hem of what she's wearing. ]

[ This year is miles and above better than anything they had gone through last year. Even without the added eight hundred years of fake memories, it feels like it was so long ago. She still recalls spending her time preparing a present ready for him that she had no plans on delivering to him personally. This was a far cry from that. Where they were now was a far cry from it. ]

Really? Bold of you to assume that you'd know what I'd like in a library of all places.

[ Libraries really aren't all that bad. Even back at the Academy she had come to enjoy it when she didn't have overdue library books. But so much of her fondness probably had more to do with the man she was straddling more than the knowledge and stories that lay on those shelves. She was starting to appreciate them more now of course - but she would be lying if she said that this wasn't some of her favourite ways of existing in this place.

She grins into the next kiss she steals from him, not bothering to stop his wandering hands from pushing her dress hem that much higher. ]

We'll probably have to get up first to see because I'm assuming it's not this lovely table.

Does this not count as something you like?

[ He'll never miss a moment to take a truth they know to twist it into something else, something to tease in all that playfulness as his fingers dip beneath the hem. Another tiny flirting with a line as they so often do since he's not lost sight of needing to move. Not as a probably but as a definitely, but no need to rush. Right?

It's as good as an answer said aloud when she steals a kiss that might be more teeth than anything between both of them having the same expression. Even if Claude's considering getting up and weighing the risks of each place, it's enough to be here in a moment like this which makes his heart feel like it might overflow with fondness. ]

And hey, don't slander this table. It might be just as lovely as you've said.

[ His hands inch higher still. If there's footsteps approaching, not even Claude hears them. ]

It could be. I haven't really experienced this enough to say.

[ That's a lie if either of them have ever heard one. Days (and nights) at the Academy library had a mixture of dodging assignments tasked to them, dragging Claude out of there so he didn't end up spending the night, and finding corners to do exactly this.

The exposed skin pebbles as he lifts the hem of her dress higher and higher sending a shiver of delight up her spine. One good deed can't go unrewarded, right? Her hips begin to grind slowly as she's there perched in his lap. Multitasking had always come easy to her - mostly because she didn't want to be doing any task in the first place.

But keeping an ear out for the telltale signs of heeled boots approaching their secluded corner? At least that much she can do. She's leaning in for a kiss when the footsteps stop and turn down their aisle causing Hilda to all but leap backwards off of Claude, pressing a hand to his face while the other is quickly straightening out her dress.

It isn't Liesel (thankfully) but another library attendant who had come in search of a book. She tuts him, turning around to hurriedly collect the books scattered across the table and tucking the piece of paper he had been using to work out the clues she'd left for him into her skirt pockets. ]

Come on, Claude we promised Liesel that we'd put all the books back. We can't just leave it to the poor librarians here.

[ The shift of her hips causes his breath to catch in the back of his throat momentarily. A familiar motion - one which usually does accompany roaming hands from one or both of them, but often his in particular when they're seated just like this today or on any other night - and Claude quickly decides there's no reason to pretend it's not enjoyed.

Hilda knows it'll be successful, after all. That's the whole reason for it and he decides to double down (further) on the teasing. ]

No? I seem to remember a couple of particular tables that--

[ Whoever of the general public is within hearing range is spared from Claude finishing that thought because while he's still leaning up to collect the kiss she's been moving towards - suddenly there's nothing in front of him but air. Nothing to feel except a hand on his face keeping where he is, and he blinks in confusion at Hilda. This isn't usually a step in their game, he's pretty sure.

But: the reason becomes apparent enough when she addresses someone and he immediately stands himself to reach for a book while looking entirely unfazed. They'd run into this in the library plenty of times, after all. ]

Right, right. We'll have this picked up in a minute, won't we?

[ The attendant gives them a decidedly suspicious look at what isn't nearly as seamless of an act as their usual one. The suspicion grows as Claude flashes a smile their way, but after some browsing they find the book and leave with one last side eye. It's only then that Claude drops the innocent charade and grins as he leans over to Hilda to press a kiss to her neck. ]

You're a bad influence.

[ Like he hadn't started it in the first place. ]

[ There's no time to relish in the reactions that she can pull from Claude. She still can't help but marvel knowing that once upon a time she had wondered at all the ways to pull other emotions and reactions from him. Claude's laughter, his smile, had been what she had purposefully sought after and chased. She had spent her days turning over ever page and line of him to learn him in a way she hadn't cared to learn anyone else before that. All of her daydreams could never have imagined this.

And yet somehow, through all the twists and turns, she had been lucky enough in her life to have somehow ended up here in a library in some other world, with him.

It's that thought more than this ridiculous detour that has her biting back a grin as she gathers up the books in her arms. Thank Goddess their backs are turned to the library aid otherwise she might have very well given away what they had been doing if they hadn't already. When she hears the sound of footsteps fading away and Claude's warmth at her back she arches her back, pressing her ass into him. ]

I was only following your lead.

[ Hilda turns, books in her arms which she's quick to stack atop the one he had already picked up. ]

So about this favourite hiding place of yours.

[ If he blinked right now, Claude thinks, the library around them might meld into the monastery's. At least on the surface when this feels so much like any of the days (nights) in that particular library where he'd beeen researching this or that and where their encounters had been behind this bookshelf or that storage before growing a little bolder. A little more out in the open - like this one, for instance, since he's not entirely sure the aide's truly gone as he leaves another kiss against Hilda's neck and then one along the top of her shoulder after he's rewarded with her pressing back into him.

That is all the more familiar from many other times besides this one alone, too, and Claude's intent on following wherever this version of that path leads even as she turns to face him and he offers a scoff at the idea of leading anything. (He is.) ]

I thought you were ready to put all these books away.

[ He's certainly made no moves to do so aside from the small act put on when they were interrupted since the book that was in his hands went right back onto the table. And as for his hands? They do the same as he places one on either side of her right next to her hips with palms pressed to the tabletop. It's hardly a trap; they both know that Hilda could shove him out of the way using one finger if she really felt like it.

Then again, when hasn't he enjoyed flirting with danger? Now's no exception as a familiar smirk appears as he leans his weight onto his hands next. ]

Are we leaving them for after?

[ A small noise of appreciation at the kisses her presses to her skin sounds from the back of her throat - which is really just a stand in for the answer to his question. ]

Who says we can't do both? I'm not one for multi-tasking but it's never too late to start, right?

[ And by that, she fully means putting on airs that they had plans of returning these to their rightful places. Hilda had mostly grown past the days of carelessly leaving this type of thing to librarians or other people who were more inclined to see things put away in their place. Mostly.

Admittedly it's difficult when Claude is dangling a very tempting offer in front of her. Or is it the other way around? The answer is it's both.

She grins back at him with as much mirth and mischief. ]

But I guess you are the birthday boy. So you should get to choose.

— birthday things

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