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

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

Who: Claude and you!
When: all throughout August and September
Where: Cadens (pre-Nocwich), the Horizon (any time), and Libertas (post-Nocwich)
What: Catch all for both months
Warnings: For anything referencing Libertas: death, violence, and war

( Open and closed starters in the comments! Also good with prose or brackets and if you'd like to plot something more specific, you can find me at

indech, arboria#1862, or by PM at any time. )

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[Wilhelm thinks of his domain as his sanctuary, a rare thing that belongs only to him, that can't be touched by anyone else unless invited. Well, surprise visitors have wandered in a few times, but he'd made his little corner of the Horizon hard to find on purpose, tucked away among trees and bluffs. For this reason, projecting his desire for privacy onto everyone else, he hasn't explored much of the landscape shaped by the whims and wishes of the Summoned. The combination of curiosity and boredom, though, draws him out eventually.

It's the rowboat that catches his attention. Waiting untethered in the canal, it feels like an unspoken invitation. After a moment's debate, he climbs in — better to ask for forgiveness than permission. The heft of the oars is familiar in his hands, though the size and shape of the boat itself is different from what he's used to. It wouldn't win any races, that's for sure. He's also used to sharing the burden with three other rowers, but as he dips the oars into the water he discovers that the boat glides with unexpected ease.

The smooth sailing ends, both literally and figuratively, when he steps out into the courtyard and finds himself getting stink-eyed by...what looks like a baby dragon.]

Um...I come in peace?

[Even if he didn't have his hands raised to his chest in the universal placative sign of I'm not going to hurt you, Wilhelm wouldn't look like much of a threat.]

[ Though he's in and out most days, today Claude happens to be reading further inside. Or, well, reading in the technical sense; given that there's parchment papers scattered around the stacks of books next to him and a quill that remains inked (thanks, Horizon) in one hand it's more accurate to say he's reviewing some research left undone by coming here. When there's a sudden chirp he's learned means visitors imminent he closes the book with a handily conjured up bookmark to save his spot in it for later, stands up and dusts off his coat and trousers, and heads to see who it might be.

As Claude steps out from the inner courtyard there's only a slight flicker of surprise from him someone is already standing there, but there's absolutely no surprise about the glare from the wyvern perching on what seems to be her designated lookout spot as he glances to her. ]

You're a very poor welcoming committee, you know. One might even think you don't even like people based on your behavior.

[ This is said with great cheer towards the wyvern who looks deeply unaffected by this proclamation and simply ruffles her wings a bit in acknowledgement. With a roll of his eyes - given that her behavior here is so much like what deals with daily from her real-life much larger counterpart; thanks, memories - he turns to the young man she was lightly menacing and appraises him for a few seconds with a smile. ]

I don't believe we've met before, but it's nice to see new faces around here. I trust the boat is still working well, then? I'd made some changes to it recently and was hoping that'd be the case, but you're the first to test it out.

[It's not that he was forming an image in his mind of the person responsible for this wedge of the Horizon, but when Claude appears in the courtyard, he's pretty much what Wilhelm would expect the owner of a pet dragon to look like. He feels...if not underdressed, then at least conscious of how his hoodie and shorts are woefully out of place. Now that he's reasonably sure that the creature isn't going to fly down and snap at him, he lowers the shield of his hands. But every now and then his glance slides back to where it perches.]

Yeah, it was really easy to work. [He shoves his hand through his hair, crosses his arms over his chest.] I'm Wilhelm, by the way. Sorry for intruding.

[The man doesn't seem to mind his unannounced and uninvited visit, but he offers the apology for good measure.]

I, uh...haven't been out on the water since I got here, so I just got curious when I saw the boat.

[ At the apology, Claude merely waves a hand in both acceptance and to politely brush it off as not needed. Or at the very least, hopefully to put Wilhelm at ease since the way he folds in himself just a bit during that introduction reminds him just a bit of Marianne and her shyness. ]

It's hardly intruding if I leave the docks unlocked, right? I can't say I haven't stepped into a few domains here and there myself under those same rules. But it's nice to meet you, Wilhelm. I'm Claude. And for the record - just in case it wasn't already clear - you're welcome to stop by whenever you'd like.

[ It takes him a second to process the rest of what was said, mostly because he wouldn't have guessed the teen is a sailor. In the most literal, medieval sense of the word, of course. ]

Are you a sailor, then? The city where I used to live was a popular port so we often had ships going in and out but the boat you arrived here in was used more for getting around the canals running through said city.

It's been a bit since I've walked where the canal outside of here leads, but it does connect with the domains of two of my friends if you haven't met them yet already. If you'd like to take the boat along it further than that sometime you're certainly welcome to do that as well, so long as you return to tell me where it leads past there since I haven't figured that out for myself just yet.

[ As he talks, there's another distinct rustling of wyvern wings from the perch above and in what's clearly a long practiced routine thanks also to those memories Claude extends an arm for her to sidle down on as her new perch. She does not, fortunately, take this opportunity of being closer to menace Wilhelm further. (On the contrary, her pointed gaze is now hoping for snacks she's learned to plead for from visitors, but Claude isn't going to indulge her in this.) ]

[He opens his mouth to correct Claude's faulty assumption, but the guy keeps talking, and he doesn't want to interrupt. Nodding to show that he's still listening, he takes the opportunity to glance around the courtyard. The leathery shifting of wings pulls his attention back to the wyvern as it settles onto Claude's arm. After a short-lived staring contest with the creature, he clears his throat.]

Oh, I'm just on my school's rowing team. So...not actually a sailor.

[Based on the whole dragon-tamer, daring-adventures vibe the man exudes, Wilhelm assumes that the concept of organized sports is lost on him. So, with a little shrug, he clarifies further:]

It's just for fun.

[Half of the reason he joined, he can admit to himself, may have been to have an excuse to spend more time with a certain boy. He was further motivated by the fact that August would have somehow found a way to be twice as annoying if he didn't join, and the fact that his brother had rowed in his school days. But he did like it too, the dependable rhythm of the oars and the feeling of flying across the water.]

[ The assumption of organized sports being beyond Claude's current knowledge of the world - not just his, but what he's learned from others, too - is a valid one. Especially because when Wilhelm explains the sailing isn't for a profession, that it's meant for fun, that stops Claude in his rambling enough to blink a couple times. Purely out of curiosity, though he's quick to give his own clarification that it's nothing more than that. ]

Well. Maybe you're not the type of sailor I'm familiar with but I'd say you still count as one, wouldn't you?

[ That not quite a question, not quite a comment's offered with a smile since really, he does mean it. Partially because he's having trouble imagining someone rowing for fun given the ships - or even small boats that'd be more likely to require it - he's familiar with, but. It's far from the biggest difference he's heard between what he knows from home and what someone else's is like. ]

Oh, and we don't have to stay out here. C'mon in, there's more to this place than just this room alone. [ With one shrug of his arm the wyvern takes flight like she's going to lead the way or perhaps just go off for a flight around the Horizon as a whole in search of someone else she knows. Claude follows that up with an additional c'mon wave of his hand before turning to lead the way into the domain. ] And I'd like to hear more about where you're from. Assuming you don't mind sharing, that is, and if so you're welcome to tell me to mind my own business then or at any time, really.

[So, what he knows about Claude so far is that the man loves to talk. Which is fine, Wilhelm supposes, since one of them has to fill the quiet. He's better suited to nodding along and interjecting when prompted. Like now, when Claude lobs a question his way.]

I guess so.

[He's positive that an actual sailor would have to know a lot more than just how to time his strokes and maneuver the oars in such a way to maximize efficiency. But it's easier to just agree. Go with the flow. Sliding his hands into his pockets, Wilhelm follows Claude through the next doorway.]

It's honestly not that interesting, where I'm from.

[He never knows what to say when people ask about it. When you're thrown together with dozens of people from as many different worlds, it's natural to be curious about the multitude of paths that led everyone here. But his mind just goes blank, and somehow gets blanker the harder he tries to think of something worthwhile to say.

So instead, he diverts the conversation back to Claude and what is, in his mind, a much more interesting topic.]

Did you have a dragon back home?

[ Claude's starting to feel like his assessment of Wilhelm matching up to Marianne's past behaviors might've been more spot on than even his first assumption. Not much is volunteered past the basics needed to answer a question, and in a way he can't quite tell is because of shyness or because Wilhelm, understandably, perhaps doesn't want to answer four thousand questions from someone he doesn't know. Patience was the key then and very well could be now. Something to think about, anyway, as he offers the teen a smile while they walk to the inner courtyard.

Despite his own never ending curiosity, Claude will stick to his word in minding his business, mostly, as he holds the door open for Wilhelm to pass through to back 'outside' or as outside as one gets in the Horizon. The conversation pivots back to him in a way he expects, so he's quick to nod and move it away from making Wilhelm feel like he's required to share anything past his comfort level. ]

Yes, but a wyvern. They're a little bit different in that their front legs are their arms, whereas dragons - where I'm from - have four legs total plus the wings. Mine is - [ Claude casts a quick gaze up to the sky where a small white shape can be seen soaring high above them - ] full grown to where I can ride on her back like one would a pegasus, but she looked like this when she was growing. It's beyond me why I choose to make her this age here, but.

[ He doesn't actually have a way to finish that sentence. Fortunately, Claude's saved from having to find one (in his mind, at least), by holding a hand out to a cushioned chaise for Wilhelm to be seated there or somewhere on the rest of the couch it's attached to if he'd prefer. Claude takes a seat in a chair himself and leans back in it to contemplate the fragments he's learned so far. ] I'm guessing I wouldn't be too far off if I asked whether dragons and wyverns don't exist where you're from? One, or both, or either.

Edited 2022-08-29 18:33 (UTC)

[It's part shyness, part guarded secrecy that keeps his answers short and shallow. One is his nature, and the other he's learned from life in an unwanted spotlight. His time here has, in many ways, been a break from reality — and from himself. He's perfectly content with being nobody in particular.

When Claude dives into a dissertation on the difference between wyverns and dragons, Wilhelm starts wondering if there's going to be a test at the conclusion of his visit. He's mostly listening, though his attention floats upward to where the dragon — uh, wyvern — makes circles in the sky. At Claude's invitation, he takes a seat on the couch, posture perfectly upright, hands folding and fidgeting in his lap.]

No, only in books and movies and stuff like that. They're not real.

[ Not real is an assessment (fact) that seems rather unfortunate in Claude's book, though Wilhelm's far from the first Summoned to inform him any of those animals don't exist where they're from. In lieu of commenting further on that, though, he studies Wilhelm's posture.

First with a slight smile to acknowledge he heard what was said, and then far more subtly as he draws upon that oh-so-handy Horizon magic to summon forth a tea tray in front of them. It's complete with cups, a box of different loose teas, and a teapot of hot water, though as he pours some first into a cup for Wilhelm Claude's quick to add: ] Tea's a favorite where I'm from so it's what I tend to default to serving. If you don't enjoy it, feel free to have something else of your choice as my knowledge of what's served elsewhere is rather limited. No hurt feelings here, I promise.

[ He drops a sachet of pine needle tea into his own cup, a favorite of his from Fodlan and farther away, though the box contains other types more known: ginger, different berry blends, chamomile, and so forth. While it steeps Claude lets the cup and saucer rest in his lap, partially in hopes it might convince Wilhelm to also relax. Just a little. ]

You remind me a bit of someone I used to know. He was a prince of a kingdom that neighbored where I lived, and... very formal. Great posture, impeccable manners, all that. [ A slight smile that's rueful at the edges appears on Claude's face. ] Especially for the age we were, which was just teenagers ourselves.

[He accepts the cup automatically.]

Tea's fine, thanks.

[Studying the tea chest, Wilhelm settles on something that's just a small step away from basic black — it's supposed to taste like cinnamon. He's just plopped the bag into the steaming water when Claude compares him to an old friend, and the word prince causes him to wobble his saucer involuntarily. His attempt to steady the cup results in some of the soon-to-be-tea splashing out. Smooth.]

Oh, really? [What the hell is he supposed to say to that? He scratches at his temple, idly twisting a strand of hair.] My mom was always big on manners. I guess I just do it without really thinking about it sometimes.

[Anyway. Now that Claude's pointed it out, he does try to relax his posture a notch.]

So how did you meet? Your friend.

[ If Wilhelm was hoping Claude wouldn't note that rattle of the tea and saucer - well. That catches his attention though he's still projecting the illusion of being busy with his own tea, and it takes only a second to connect it to being timed with the mention of a prince. Interesting. ]

I've found nobility tends to pride itself on sticking to manners, etiquette, whatever you want to call it. Seems to be a cornerstone of high society, if you will.

[ Absolutely some subtext of his own, though Claude hides a smile in his cup as he takes a sip. Still more brewing time needed, so he sets it back in his lap while shrugging one shoulder. What he's alluded to won't remain a mystery for long since even if he's stepped back from asking direct questions, sharing his own experiences may accomplish the same thing. ]

I never was very good at sticking to all of those rules myself. Life's more interesting when you break away from them or what you know.

[ With that trail of clues (or truths) dispersed, all that's left to see is whether Wilhelm chooses to follow them. Or if he doesn't, which would also answer his question. The relaxing gets another half-smile from him before it's on to slightly more somber topics. ]

As for the prince, I met him when I attended an academy meant for what you could say was leadership training. There were plenty of nobles, myself included, but there were also just as many commoners attending. It was meant to encourage us all to work together and succeeded, for the most part.

[After all those hints Claude has tossed out like breadcrumbs, Wilhelm's not surprised by the confirmation of his noble status. Slowly, he's starting to see the outline of this man's life. Although he was born into the wealth and privilege granted by a title, he seems to shrug off the pomp and circumstance that marks his social stratum. As someone who has always thought there's too much fuss surrounding his general existence, Wilhelm respects that. So he makes sure to clarify:]

Trust me, my parents wish I was better at sticking to the rules.

[His laugh takes on the edge of a scoff, while his smile tilts a degree guilty. He eyes his tea, but it's still too hot to drink.]

I think that's a great idea for a school. It's nice, bringing people together regardless of their background.

[Hillerska is free for anyone to attend — in terms of tuition, anyway. Room and board is another story. The prohibitive cost creates a barrier between non-residential students and boarding students, who naturally end up spending longer hours together.]

Yours and mine both. [ That gets a slight huff of a laugh from Claude to match Wilhelm's scoff, because it's true and it's good to see the other relax even if it's ever so slightly. ] Which, well. I can't say either of them were good role models when it came to following expectations since my father also likes to break them and my mother's always set her own. Really, I don't know what they expected of me.

[ Neither here nor there when in the end he'd chosen his own path, and here they all are in Abraxas all the same. Easier to focus on Garreg Mach, perhaps, where there's marginally less weight attached. ]

It was nice. Attending there opened all of our minds in a lot of ways beyond just the working together aspect. Where I lived - Fodlan - was once separated into three nations. Had I stayed with my grandfather, I probably would've never met others from the Empire or the Kingdom until we were sitting in a meeting or council together. Or on opposite sides of a war, as it turned out.

[ Enough about him, though. Claude idly stirs his tea by swirling the cup lightly while thoroughly ignoring the small spoons meant for that on the tray as he looks back to Wilhelm. ]

Anything like that exist where you're from, then? Someone else told me about the internet, kind of, so if that's something you use then I'd imagine it accomplishes the same.

[ Don't mind him; he's just been thinking about the internet ever since being told it exists. ]

[It's not that he finds Claude uninteresting. The man has a wyvern, after all, and a liveliness to him as he single-handedly keeps the conversation marching forward. It's just that Wilhelm's capacity for this sort of introductory chatter is abysmally low. He's trying so hard to think of something worthwhile to say in response that he forgets to listen and nearly misses his cue. A beat late, he realizes mid-sip that he's been asked a question. With a gulp — and a little bit of a grimace for the still scalding hot tea — he scrambles to nod.]

Oh, uh, yeah— [Off to a good start.] We have the internet where I'm from.

[Then he feels obligated to correct Claude's somewhat naive misconception. (Not his fault, as he's experienced neither the wonders nor the horrors of the internet.)]

It does bring people together from all over the world, but it also creates a ton of drama. People can get pretty nasty when they have a screen to hide behind.

I could see that. It seems people everywhere have the capacity to be quite cruel when only given the chance to take advantage of doing so or when it's something they feel justified about to draw others into doing the same.

[ Claude says this casually despite it being a heavy topic, one admittedly so even without the full context of the internet enabling such behavior that he completely lacks. He thinks briefly of Julie telling him about face book, something he hadn't questioned then but sounded tangentially related, and could be to what Wilhelm says now. ]

Unfortunately, that's something I've dealt with even on just a local scale rather than the whole world being part of it though it felt like the entire world at the time. Rumors will always find a way to fly whether we like it or not.

[ 'We' being yet another partial test, to gauge whether his attempt to read between the lines of what's being said is just merely a warning even if the internet is highly unlikely to come to pass in Fodlan, or if it's from some other kind of personal experience Wilhelm's had. That's driven his decision to share his own experience, a true one though he'd rather it not be, and he follows that up with a sip of his tea. ]

[He's already decided that he likes Claude. The revelation that he's also been the subject of rumors just reinforces that opinion by striking a sympathetic chord in Wilhelm.]

Sorry you've had to go through that. [Sincerity presses into his words, but a sip of tea later, he reaches for some levity.] Just be grateful nobody could turn it into a meme.

[Not that...Claude has any context for what the hell that means. By way of explanation, he offers:]

It's a kind of...joke that gets passed around online.

[He does sense that the man is trying to sift more details out of him — and he has no reason to believe it's anything more than a friendly effort to get to know him. However well-intentioned the reason, though, Wilhelm would rather not — not even in the vaguest way, not even with the longest stick — touch on that mess. That mess being how he was outed via a video of a make out session that was maybe a little more than a make out session... Even months removed from the shitstorm that followed, just thinking about it makes his whole being clench up like a fist.]

[ At the apology - appreciated as it is given it's a rather kind gesture, considering it's not like one needs to be offered at all, really - Claude just shrugs. The specifics are something he's happy to let rest in the past or in reality, far out of reach where they're unlikely to matter here. Not with how many people they have from so many different worlds around Abraxas and more importantly, not now that there's others from Fodlan also here.

At a word he doesn't know, though, and can't begin to find a definition for even based on the context, Claude pauses with his tea partway to his mouth and looks at Wilhelm with a puzzled expression. The explanation soon follows and he blinks while processing that, then finally remembers to take a sip of his tea. ]

That's... a thing that happens?

[ Now he has to consider this for a moment, what with what Julie's told him about how the internet works and what Wilhelm's now explained is a potential of that worldwide connection. It's a successful distraction from his mission to find out more about the person sitting next to him. ]

Huh. That makes the pictures we used to draw on paper as jokes - ones that whoever it was about was in on, for the most part - and pass around the academy seem ridiculously tame in comparison. At least those didn't go outside school grounds and usually ended up in one of the classroom fireplaces before too long. We had some ongoing pranks too that I might've been mostly responsible for, but those were only witnessed by whoever was around.

[This is a position Wilhelm rarely ever gets to occupy — actually knowing more about something than someone else. After what feels like an age of stumbling around in ignorance, he finds that he enjoys the change in role. Claude's distraction from pursuing more personal questions is, of course, a bonus.]

Once something gets posted online, it never goes away. People repost it to other sites and save it on their phones. Basically, there are thousands of copies getting passed around. If not millions. So...

[The fireplaces of the world are no match. Metaphorically speaking? He takes a measured sip.]

And everything gets turned into a meme. Doesn't matter how serious it is, or how personal, or whatever. It's fair game.

Huh. [ A placeholder for a better reaction after he mulls this over and takes another sip of tea while doing it. ] That sounds-- well, I was going to say unpleasant, but I feel like that doesn't really cover it especially with nothing ever disappearing. As much as there's downsides to not having anything resembling the internet where I'm from, unless you want to count when someone's collection of scandalous letters gets published and high society gets all in a tizzy, not having to deal with something existing forever seems like an okay enough tradeoff.

[ Honestly - those rumors he'd mentioned? While them being repeated by mouth and getting more and more warped with each iteration isn't exactly great, there's a chance for them to be corrected and stopped there. Eventually they'll end; in Wilhelm's world, it seems like that isn't the case at all. ]

Just thinking of when I was a teenager, [ followed by a wry smile a second later because he knows How That Sounds, ] which wasn't that long ago for the record, and assuming that we're all the same around that age, I can see how things might escalate quickly. Seems like a good way to become infamous easily or labeled that way whether it's accurate or not.

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

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