abraxaslogs | [ OPEN ] hide your love, don't be shy

[Petra stops short as they reach the courtyard, idly dropping to one knee to pet the cat that winds around her ankles before moving onto Claude’s, her gaze remaining fixed on the courtyard itself.

It’s just as she remembers it from their school days, long before it had been reduced to rubble and was in need of repair, and it makes something in her chest ache, bittersweet.]

Even though it is mostly empty, it is being the same…

[And truly, she’s missed it. She’s sure they all have.]

Animals and guards… I did not realize that people could be in domains, as well.

[Maybe the guard can get away with it because he never has anything to report.]

[ After the cat visits Petra it comes to see him next, and - everything about this is uncanny. But he doesn't feel unsettled like he could, and whether that's due to having witnessed the other capabilities of the Horizon or not he doesn't particularly care to sort through those details. Much easier to first pet the cat himself before bending down to pick it up to bring with as their furry tour guide. Or just another member of their tour; the cat keeps purring happily. ]

Well, Sylvain. I don't think either of us can ever doubt your imagination ever again after this.

[ Not that there was a reason to, but as they keep walking - Claude now with the cat putting its front feet on his shoulder to have a full view of everything as it cranes its head this way and that - he can't help but stop in front of the Golden Deer classroom first though he pauses before actually looking into it. How much of a time capsule is he about to witness, exactly? ]

I'm halfway expecting to look in here and see Lysithea writing out formulas on our old chalkboard while we annoy her by asking whether they're right or not. And by we I mean me, [ a clarification not likely needed, but anyway, ] as if I knew the first thing about magic back then or now.

[ Sylvain rubs a hand against the back of his neck as he wanders with them, looking about as surprised as they do with how realistic this all turned out. ]

Apparently, I have a better memory for details than I thought.

[ He'd known he had a good one, to an extent. He'd needed to, to keep so much straight for so many years and besides, no one paid much attention to that skill of his, so he hadn't really thought about what that meant.

It was different when it stared you in the face.

He lifted a hand to wave back at the gate guard before they turned down the courtyard that connected the classrooms. He chuckles as he pauses with Claude, peeking into the Golden Deer classroom. He doesn't actually know if he got this room right or not - the Black Eagles room either. Those two he had barely spent much time in, but maybe his memory had just replicated the missing details from how well he knew the Blue Lions classroom. ]

Maybe we shoulda just shut her and Annette up in a room together. [ He pauses and casts a wink at Petra. ] Lindhardt could nap in the background.

I am being very impressed by how much you have remembered— it is very like the real thing.

[She almost says 'home,' but all things considered, Garreg Mach hasn't felt like that for some time— and she would rather not touch on their divergent memories at the moment. Here, they are quite literally a world away from all of that. They should have the chance to enjoy being so awhile longer before they must touch on reality again.

Petra bites back another smile, shaking her head.]

Linhardt would be waking up if he thought he could be telling either of them how to do something more efficiently. He is not even a physical fighter, and he would be critiquing my form every chance he got.

[On its surface, it's a complaint, but there's warmth to it, as well. Those were simpler times for them all.]

The Officer's Academy is being as I remembered.

Linhardt would critique all of us over anything if only given the chance. It's a good thing he's not here, or else he'd be telling Sylvain how he didn't get the heights of the outer walls right among whatever else comes to mind.

[ He's kidding, kind of, since after bringing up Lysithea: she would do the same thing. Or really, most of the Deer would given how bluntly honest they are. Yet another thing Claude misses, but at least Sylvain and Petra can be counted on for that in their own ways.

Don't think he's forgotten his half-hearted attempt to get some Derdriu sympathy being shut down. (Claude will, however, conveniently forget that was his own doing.) ]

Though... I wonder what would happen if someone else from Fodlan showed up here. [ This is probably not a door he should open, but too late for that now. ] Elsewhere, specifically, so then they show up in the Horizon and surprise, here's Garreg Mach. Kind of like how we showed up here, but maybe even more confusing.

[ The cat starts to squirm so Claude leans to set it down gently onto the ground, and it runs off with a trill. ]

In search of something from the dining hall, maybe?

[ Sylvain shudders in horror at the very idea. Yeah, he's been on the end of Lindhardt's critiques before. He'll pass, thanks. ] No offense, Petra, but I'm really grateful we got you here instead of Lindhardt.

[ Claude's ponder gets a quiet hum from him, however, as he lets his gaze drift over the familiar structure. Stretching his arms behind his head, he makes a face. ]

Well. Maybe that will be a good thing. We'll be easy to find, even if they get pulled somewhere else. Hopefully it's someone we want to be found by.

[ There are Options there that maybe they'd rather not be. However, it's probably wiser to stick together, even if it does complicate things. Although that does have another issue popping up in his mind as he glances between the two of them. ]

What do we do if someone does end up in one of the other cities instead?

I will be taking that as a compliment.

[She beams for just a moment as they continue on together; fond as she is of Lindhardt, she thinks she is probably the better choice when it comes to easy company. Their resident crest scholar is quite shrewd, and though he can be very pleasant sometimes, it can take a bit of patience that not everyone has.]

If we do end up finding more friends, and they end up in other cities... this would be good neutral territory to meet in, yes?

[Getting them there would be tricky, though.]

They might not find it without being shown, though... if someone were to be arriving in another city, we might not even be knowing about it for ages. It was luck that you were finding us when you did, Claude.

Maybe.

[ That's a placeholder of a reaction because Claude needs to buy himself a little bit more time to formulate an answer. It's not an easy one to find as he glances at the classrooms once more. Or rather, the one he wants to say perhaps isn't the realistic one in the end.

Still, there's only so long he can stay silent before they'll both give him strange looks for that being out of character, so with a sigh only to himself Claude shrugs and smiles. ]

It was a long few months of looking around here in hopes I'd find anyone I knew, even if I didn't want to find anyone. Not that I don't like you guys, but - you know what I mean. If whoever it is doesn't also end up in the Free Cities, I don't envy them that same searching experience.

[ There are, in fact, several people he would not like to find in Abraxas. He's not about to say that since that'd be tipping his hand far too much, wouldn't it? The smile stays in place. ]

I suppose we'll find out if luck is on our side soon enough. Rumors about more arrivals made their way into Cadens which is how I knew to look for you. I'd assume we'll hear the same again when the time comes, so that's one way we can check.

[ Sylvain glances over at Claude when that silence drags out from the other man, sensing he was holding something back without being able to put his finger on what. Which was odd. Claude didn't usually give things like that away, huh. Or maybe he was just getting more perceptive about picking up on it? He'd have to think about it later.

For the moment, he gets distracted by the answer that does come. It's a grim thought, one of their companions trapped in one of the other cities, separate from them. Potentially on the other side of the war, especially if they ended up in THorne. not something Sylvain ever wants to deal with again, that's for sure.

But for now, he sidesteps and slings an arm around Claude's shoulders in friendly camaraderie, a playful smirk teasing about the corners of his lips. ]

Don't worry, we're here now, you don't have to worry about being lonely anymore. And we'll help you keep an eye out for anyone else, too.

[Claude's silence speaks volumes, as it often does— he has always been the type to play things close to his chest, to take great care in what he says, but what he does say aloud, Petra understands well and finds herself agreeing with. She nods and lays a hand against his back as they walk, an offering of solidarity.]

We will be keeping our eyes and ears open.

[She nods to Sylvain, as well, confirming they are on the same page. She hates the thought of anyone being stranded in another city all on their own. Claude, however, for better or for worse, isn't going to have to deal with being all on his own for quite some time, if they have anything to say about it.]

For now, you do not have to be looking so hard. You are being stuck with us!

[ At the arm around his shoulders, Claude immediately turns a long-suffering gaze towards Petra. ]

It's not too late to send him back for Linhardt instead, is it?

[ Three guesses as to who he'd like to return to sender. Jokingly! Humor's needed after unintentionally dampening the mood between the talk of who could arrive, where they might end up, and everything he knows quite well they aren't saying from whatever it is each of them know about what they lived.

He could keep up the prickly act, but that's never been something easy for him to do. Especially not when it's far easier to sling an arm around each of their shoulders, something also easier than openly admitting being touched over the idea of them all sticking together throughout whatever Abraxas might bring. Not alone, not divided. It's almost a wonder. ]

Hm, I think it's more accurate to say that both of you are stuck with me. Before you can develop any regrets about your near future based on that - Sylvain, you happen to put the dining hall in here while you were at it? Just curious.

[ Sylvain makes a mock offended noise as he clutches his chest in a dramatic fashion. Those words hurt, Claude! At least trade him in for someone pretty.

But he doesn't shrug off that arm, chuckling as he shifts slightly, because Claude is just enough shorter than him that this might make it a little awkward to move, but he can adjust. But he rolls his eyes at that question because what does he look like? ]

Please. As if I'd ever forget a detail about that. Pretty sure I spent more time there than anywhere else combined. Huh, think my memory recreated any of the dishes? We should go see.

[ OPEN ] hide your love, don't be shy

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