There's no point in pretending like he's not going to immediately smirk at what Jesper says in regards to anything since, so that's just what Claude does as he lets that gaze wash over him. It'd be easy to follow that to where it leads into distraction - Claude knows he's himself guilty of it just as much when it comes to things he'd rather sidestep for a while. Or permanently if he can get away with it, but that won't help here.
Maybe it's also coming to recognize Sylvain's own methods of backing away from a talk which makes him extra attentive to looking for signs of Jesper doing the same. But rather than having to find a way to bring the conversation back to something Claude doesn't want to let go, the other man keeps talking. There's more clarity to the words, more explanation for the troubled expression etched into his features. He takes a second to consider that himself, then nods slowly as he straightens back up to walk around the couch.
"I think they forgave you because they love you, you know," is where Claude begins as he takes a seat on the remaining space on one of the cushions Jesper's sprawled across to sit next to him. "The gods' very helpful insistence then in making us worse the first time around played its part just as it is with everyone else they're affecting."
There's chaos out there as they both know well. Something they could easily give into, and something he thinks about as he studies the other man's face for another couple of moments. "This goes without saying or I should say hope it does, but I'm going to say it anyway because it bears repeating. Struggling with something you don't have an answer for doesn't make you any less wonderful, no matter what happens or happened. It's part of you but it's not all of you now or at any other time. More than that, you're here now. And you don't have to handle it alone."
so sorry for the wait!!
Maybe it's also coming to recognize Sylvain's own methods of backing away from a talk which makes him extra attentive to looking for signs of Jesper doing the same. But rather than having to find a way to bring the conversation back to something Claude doesn't want to let go, the other man keeps talking. There's more clarity to the words, more explanation for the troubled expression etched into his features. He takes a second to consider that himself, then nods slowly as he straightens back up to walk around the couch.
"I think they forgave you because they love you, you know," is where Claude begins as he takes a seat on the remaining space on one of the cushions Jesper's sprawled across to sit next to him. "The gods' very helpful insistence then in making us worse the first time around played its part just as it is with everyone else they're affecting."
There's chaos out there as they both know well. Something they could easily give into, and something he thinks about as he studies the other man's face for another couple of moments. "This goes without saying or I should say hope it does, but I'm going to say it anyway because it bears repeating. Struggling with something you don't have an answer for doesn't make you any less wonderful, no matter what happens or happened. It's part of you but it's not all of you now or at any other time. More than that, you're here now. And you don't have to handle it alone."