Who: wanda and others When: november-december Where: solvunn, nocwich, horizon What: catch-all for both months! closed and open prompts within. Warnings: none at the moment, will mark as needed.
[ The mention of making it herself only gets a grin from him once he's politely finished his bite first, of course. Even if sticking to etiquette isn't always his thing, there's some parts of manners he won't budge on. ]
That explains it. If we're ever able to come to Solvunn more permanently, now I know where to go for a meal after trying everything else they have to offer. Or maybe in between all of it since I'll be counting on you to guide me around to the best places there. [ A quick grin while he also pushes forward the box of pastries for her to try before pointing each one out in turn. ] These definitely will go well with what you've made. The first is braided twists filled with mushrooms, the second baked buns stuffed with cheese, and the third one is just plain with seeds on the outside.
[ After Wanda makes her selection Claude picks the cheese variety for himself and then takes another bite of what she's made to contemplate answering about Solvunn. ]
A glimpse is a good way of putting it. We were just on the border to pick up the supplies and it didn't seem like we were near any kind of city or town, so I'm afraid there's not much to report there. But... [ with a slight hesitation, ] have you heard of anything appearing in ravines near where you are? Or the ravines themselves appearing at random, since maybe I should start there.
[wanda thinks his impression of solvunn being in any way similar to cadens is, perhaps, far too mistaken, but she doesn't quite have the heart to correct him. it's a small settlement, all things considered, and not grand like other cities she is sure the two of them are more accustomed to.
she takes the plain pastry with seeds, thinking it'll be as good as brioche bread for dipping into the sauce.]
I'm afraid we don't travel towards the border too much ourselves. It's not too far from the settlement, but most everything is more inward.
[mysteries abound in solvunn, but his hesitation does earn her curiosity.]
—no, I haven't heard about that being an issue. [the randomly appearing ravines.] Sounds like something happened.
No? Travel even within Solvunn's borders themselves isn't that common, then?
[ Must not be, what with how Wanda's described it being inward. Must not be structured the same way as the Free Cities with actual cities to go back and forth between, even if it's by portal to and from Libertas currently and by horse everywhere else. Raises more questions about Solvunn in his mind when combined with everything else he's heard from those who reside there, but getting to the bottom of what the Summoned can and cannot do isn't really a pressing topic on his mind currently.
Not when Wanda confirms what he'd already suspected, that the ravine is (or was) an anomaly just as much as the military had acted like it had been. Or maybe it wasn't an act at all. Claude takes another bite of food both to savor it and buy himself a bit more time to consider what should be said. ]
On our way to pick up the supplies Solvunn offered the other month, there was a ravine rather suddenly in the middle of the road we were traveling on. But more than that, there was... something inside it. Something unlike anything I've ever seen before, and what looked to be the side of the ravine itself.
[it will have to be a conversation for another time, certainly. travel in itself is not too encouraged in solvunn, not outside the settlements, anyway; at one's own risk, after all.
they're taking turns here, as wanda chews thoughtfully on another spoonful of her serving, considering his words. a ravine suddenly appearing? maybe if there had been an earthquake, but those are — well, she can't remember any of those happening since she's been here.
wanda raises an eyebrow.]
It sounds like you're telling me a scary story. [not to discredit anything that he's saying, of course, but—] Can you try and describe it? This 'thing' you saw?
[ That gets a laugh from Claude, muffled as it is since he's in the middle of taking a bite of his pastry and an actual response has to wait until he's finished that mouthful. Manners first. ]
Trust me, if I hadn't been there to see it with my own eyes I would've dismissed it as one of the ghost stories we used to make up to scare one of my friends at home. Come to think of it, that was the reaction of my friends here when I told them while we were making the return trip.
[ Possibly because in true Claude fashion he skirted around anything that wasn't vague with the assurance they were fine, but: details. The strangeness of the entire situation means what happened hasn't been far from his mind as he absently stirs his bowl of food while figuring out the best way to paraphrase. ]
When we stopped it was to find a way around it to make it to Solvunn. Ciri looked into it first and... something looked back. When I stepped up next to her, there was just a glowing eye staring back at me and that was all that could be seen in the depths. [ There's a crease in his brow now since it's not until saying it aloud now he realizes how abstract it still sounds. ] We were attacked by some monsters on our way back and, ah, we guided them into the ravine to keep them from attacking the transport. Whatever was in there again surfaced and its mouth seemed to as wide as a good portion of where the road split. With a lot of teeth.
[ The teeth and oversized mouth part can't be stated enough, in his opinion. ]
[wanda hmms as he continues his recounting of what it is he (and others, turns out) saw. it is perhaps more frightening than ghost stories—perhaps more frightening still than the voices they had heard inside cabin in the snowy mountain of that strange horizonscape: simply because it was real, and wanda finds that monsters can be rather enthusiastic in their hunting.
she herself has seen her fair share of horrific creatures outside the settlement in solvunn.]
The wonders of nature, wouldn't you say?
[she cannot imagine that it's anything but a creature of abraxan knowledge, though the thought of it is terrifying in its own right.]
Those in the settlements always tell us to be wary of leaving it. Creatures roam the land and many are quite desperate for a meal. I wouldn't be surprised if you just happened into one of those creatures' home.
[ Wanda's comment about wonders gets a snort of a laugh from Claude, fortunately not timed with actually taking a drink though he was lifting his glass to do that just then. Though it does make him (briefly) ponder whether that means there's more of their ravine friend out there, and that's not a particularly comforting thought.
It doesn't stick in his mind for long, however, when Wanda continues her train of thought and he sets his glass down to study her to see if she's kidding. It doesn't seem like it, even despite his own sort of laughter seconds ago. ]
Wait a minute. They warn you not to leave the settlements because things like that are roaming around there? Or outside of it? That's not something they tell us over in the Free Cities.
[ Or, well: that's not entirely accurate now that he thinks about it though he spends a brief pause searching his memory for what he remembers about his arrival from months ago. ]
When they summoned us here, it was all done at a military outpost outside of the city. There's a wagon that goes back and forth between it and Cadens and the ride was around a couple hours or so. They mentioned the desert's dangerous if you don't have a weapon between some monsters and bandits roaming around so walking around was a bad idea, but I was always pretty sure that was because they wanted to keep us there and convince us to enlist over anything else. I haven't heard of anything quite this size around Cadens, but it almost sounds like they're... common in Solvunn.
Maybe not quite like that, but the main roads need monster clean ups once in a while.
[creatures abound, and wanda has put them down as akin to mountain lions, bears, and other predators at the top of the pyramid. they're unusual, the beasts, but they're not entirely too terrifying.]
Honestly, I don't think it's uncommon anywhere else.
[not that she has been anywhere else, but... maybe just a hunch.]
Perhaps it's wrong to think of them as monsters. Native fauna seems more the term I'd use. Your group just so happened to run into a big one.
[ Monster cleanups are something more familiar to Claude, both from Fodlan and from what he's overheard soldiers talking about as he passed them in Cadens. It makes more sense in the context of what Wanda's saying also, given that he's been taking out several of the much smaller (and less threatening) monsters on his own for some added money lately.
But - ]
Native fauna's not that much more reassuring, you know.
[ With a heavy dose of dry humor in there since there's elements to it that are - that it's something regular enough around here - except that whatever it was climbing out of the ravine? Not exactly something he wants to witness, if it's anything like something else he knows. The thought of bringing that up has him taking another bite to contemplate how to condense it into something smaller. Slightly smaller. ]
I'm not entirely unfamiliar with large beasts of that sort, though ours looked more like oversized versions of what I'd call our native fauna. [ Is he grinning here? He totally is. There's a point in there, though. ] They weren't exactly ones who just occurred in nature all on their own, unfortunately, so I think I'll stick with the monsters here.
[it would be a day if claude ever found out about the monsters that wanda controlled throughout the multiverse—with their horrific anatomy and destructive powers. part of her wonders, given how fuzzy her memory is regarding it, whether her first encounter with claude had been... a good one?
or if he's just playing pretend knowing full well that she's a fearsome witch.]
No matter the case, I'd prefer to stick with just the domesticated animals here.
[dogs, pigeons, cats, goats—
after a moment of short consideration while she chews on a spoonful of her meal, she adds:]
[ On both counts, what with sticking to animals known or just monsters less intimidating than others, and for making it back in one piece. The latter hadn't ever really been in question - at least not on Claude's questionable scale of when to worry versus when to not - but it'd been a good reminder how much unknown there is here even in the face of recent events.
Maybe it's that plus all those similarities to home which has him continuing to think about whatever the being in the ravine was despite his mildly flippant remark to close that part of the conversation. Whatever being it was could've just as easily been something else entirely too familiar to him as he mulls it over while taking a few more bites of his meal. ]
There was one other kind of large beast in Fodlan, but they weren't native. Nor were they anything created by nature. I hesitate to say they were made by man though I suppose that's close enough considering demonic beasts were... once people. Not all of them willingly became those beasts, however. What was in the ravine reminded me of them, just a bit. Hopefully you didn't have anything like that where you're from.
[what claude describes is a little fascinating, if not terrifying; fascinating because wanda has an interest in it, in the way her magic courses through the darker desires of humanity and the like. fascination because she herself tamed demons and beasts as he describes.]
No, not where I'm from.
[she grabs at her cup of drink, though, and thinks for a moment as she nurses it between her hands.]
But they exist in other realms, and they can move between them with strong enough magic.
[and up she brings the cup, drinking from it for a moment too long.]
—not that they were ever... people before. [she is trying not to sound too interested.] How does something like that come about?
[ There's a long moment where Claude simply studies Wanda and, for once, says nothing. It's not that he doesn't have anything to say; rather, it's that he's not entirely sure where to start. Opening the door to this topic is, after all, entirely his own doing. Probably would've been best to consider some kind of explanation first rather than letting them sit here in silence, but too late for that now.
Eventually, he sets his utensils down and sits back in his seat when he's found a way to condense it into something smaller though not necessarily simpler. It'll have to do considering there's others from Fodlan here now. If they weren't, Wanda might get a much different answer, but Claude's unsure of how much the others know about what he came to understand from Rhea's explanations. ]
In Fodlan, there's something called Crests. They're passed down through bloodlines and have been for generations, and were gifts from, ah, Fodlan's goddess. There's also weapons fitted with stones that resonate with those who have them. They're harmless if you have a Crest which matches it, and if you have a Crest but not the same one you can still use them with some discomfort.
But if you don't have a Crest at all, then. [ Claude pauses again, thinks of Sylvain's brother, of the chapel where Jeralt fell, of the Agarthans, then tries to not think of any of them at all as he drops his gaze to his bowl. ] If you don't have a Crest and you wield either the weapons or hold one of the Crest stones, you transform into a beast in a... deeply unpleasant way, and those who transform seem to be aware of it happening.
[crests, bloodlines, goddess, weapons, and stones.
he speaks of transforming into beasts, and her mind whirrs. it's almost like these people may have been cursed to become a monster because of trying to touch divinity. part of her wonders what branch of magic this falls under, for it sounds very much like it could be something akin to witchcraft.
but part of her realizes that not everything has to do with magic. perhaps this about the 'goddess' of fodlan holds more weight than the idea of a deities in her own world.
as far as she is concerned, anyway.]
Have you seen it happen? [as it stands, wanda is rife with questions—curiosity piqued.] Do you have one? A Crest.
[ Crests don't matter here - Claude has to remind himself of this yet again, strange as it seems for the importance of having one he'd had to get used to and that's not including the heavy weight carried by those who have lived with them far longer than he has. There they were an exalted point of pride in so many houses, to have that callback to one of the Elites in what no one knew was laced through deceit until he'd wrangled the truth from Rhea.
Then there's the particularly unnerving account of what could be done with a Crest both to those who have them and those who don't concerning someone he'd come to consider a younger sister. Something far more harrowing beyond the use of the Crest Stones. The demonic beasts, horrifying as it was to watch Miklan turn into one, weren't even the worst of what could be done to someone. ]
Crests are fading out from the noble families and becoming rarer and rarer, and much of the nobility can be exceptionally harsh about their importance and even harsher to their children without them. I can't pretend I haven't benefited off that since mine certainly proved I am who I said I was. What I set out to do would have been near impossible otherwise without that power behind me.
[he thinks of a name that seems familiar to her. miklan. did she hear that before, from someone, or did she pick it up off of someone else's thoughts—? wanda tries to follow that thread, a familiar face from here in abraxas comes to mind.
a — brother, wasn't it?
she stows that information away.]
They are inherited, then. [them 'fading out' seems like a biological happenstance.] Are Crests not common in Almyra, then?
[ There's the barest blink at the mention of Almyra, as though he somehow wasn't expecting that and caught himself mid-reaction, but what Wanda asks - she's not wrong. Claude doesn't answer right away, taking another pause to consider his words and to choose them with intention rather than his usual method of letting any old ramble out.
It could be easy to misconstrue it as distrust, but in reality Claude's thinking it through because he trusts Wanda. A great deal, and to where he's not tempted to lie without a second thought or change the subject. And in consideration of that and in hopes of not putting her into a potentially awkward situation. He's unsure if Wanda's met anyone else from Fodlan besides Sylvain, but considering the lack of knowledge is the same no matter which who from Fodlan it is, he finds an answer. ]
They're uncommon everywhere else as far as I know. But my mother is from Fodlan. [ Another minor hesitation, and then to make it clear why he's hesitating at all, even if it's still not the complete picture because there's much left out: ] And that would mean you're the only one who knows anything about who my parents are, here or anywhere else.
[wanda notes the hesitation not just the one time, but several times in this short period of time. she knows not to take offense to them because claude, no— khalil and herself have come to a mutual point of respect and understanding. at least that is what wanda hopes he feels towards her, too.
these moments of hesitation are accompanied by honesty, and that much she is grateful for.]
I have no interest in running a rumor mill, neither for my own amusement nor for any kind of gain.
[that is to say—the knowledge that his mother is from fodlan and his father isn't will remain with her and not be removed from her in any way. it is a secret close to claude's heart, and he gets to choose what to do with it.
taking a bit of a turn elsewhere...]
It sounds to me like you were meant to achieve what you set out to do. [no one else could have made that impossibility a possibility; no one but himself, under his very set of special circumstances. food aside, she reaches her hand forward, to lightly place over one of his wrists.] I can only imagine that it's been a lonely road.
I hope you know you can speak honestly with me without fearing that I may use any information against you. I consider you my friend, after all.
[ Waiting for Wanda's answer feels like an eternity though it must be seconds at most. It's trust he's extended and trust he means, but there's still the tiniest exhale of relief at the mention of no rumor mill. There's a joke on the tip of his tongue to move the conversation along to something else, something far lighter than seriousness he'd dropkicked into their meal.
Before Claude can do that, though, Wanda surprises him enough that he goes still even if he wasn't moving much. The mention of loneliness - tracks, yes, in more ways than he'd like to think about. But it's the way she reaches across the table which really startles him into silence, as in confirmation of what he already believed. Maybe what he should really be doing is apologizing for ever giving her the impression it was otherwise.
Maybe he can do that after swallowing hard like it'll get rid of the lump in his throat. ]
I know that. I- [ probably shouldn't be talking without thinking first, but for once - maybe the first time since being in Abraxas - Claude finds himself at a loss for words. Which is a poor reaction to what Wanda's extended to him in return, and in an attempt to not send any more mixed signals about the silence he lets his free hand rest on her wrist as well, lightly enough to not send a different signal nor keep her from pulling away. ]
There were a lot of years where who I am was used against me so I learned to hide it. Some old habits are hard to shake. [ A wan smile because that's an understatement. It's also not what's important here. ] I say that so you know it's not personal, just... difficult for me. But I hope you know I consider you a friend too, no matter what.
[that wins claude a soft smile, even if she was never under the impression that anything he's done or said to her was meant to be some kind of retaliation or mean-spirited thing. it surprises her to think that this is where they stand, for she has the impression that her first impression towards him was not the kindest nor the best, either.
and, well, she can certainly understand.]
Who we are and where we come from, it's a powerful weapon. [there is power in knowing names.] You and I are alike, thinking that if we dress like them, if we speak like them [—without her accent, in english—] that we can easily blend in and continue onward. Though your path is definitely more honorable than mine has been.
[she could do nothing for her people but accept defeat, wanting to focus instead of singular, individualistic goals. she gives claude's wrist a squeeze before she pulls away, appreciative that he reciprocated the action and didn't leave her feeling foolish for it.]
I don't fault you for hesitating. I know it's hard.
[to completely shake it off—]
To live in the skin of the you who has always been the subject of tragedy and pitiful, angry stares.
[granted, she doesn't know his whole story, but the 'you' is a projection. hers is on an extreme, though, preferring to live in delusion at times than to want to face the scars of her past head on, until it is all far too much to bear.]
[ The subject of tragedy and pitiful, angry stares - until then Claude was putting up a valiant effort to not outwardly react, but that: it feels like having a mirror reflected back at him. Not unpleasantly so; regardless, whatever mask he'd had on his face cracks as he sits back again. It's a reminder of what being here has offered him, this chance to find others who understand in ways those who had not gone through the same could not. That revelation, however, might have to wait until another time. ]
Turns out I had to win a war for that path, even if I wasn't part of starting it in the first place. [ Dryly and on that topic of honor while Claude considers his fallen defenses and what else to add with what Wanda's told him which he assumes come from the same place of understanding. ] But I came in search of power to make my dream happen and to end a different war and conflict I'd grown up with. Something that could've only been done with my Crest, and when I came to Fodlan I found something else to fight for alongside what else I wanted.
[ The explanation of which could take much longer than a weekend in Nocwich could provide far before getting into the intricacies of what Petra and Sylvain have told him. How things overlap and then divert in ways which can't be reconciled, how even more complicated they all become from there.
He's quiet another moment, this time more visibly thinking things over while taking a sip of his forgotten drink. This time he thinks of that glimpse of a nightmare and of Wanda's first visit, what it all might mean. ]
There's plenty of people who didn't and who never will think that what I did was honorable. Of course, I thought the same about who we were opposing since it wasn't until I knew her reasons that I understood why she had chosen her own path. I don't know if the same can be said for what yours is, but if Fodlan's war taught me anything it's that there can still be honor in the things someone else might disagree with.
[ All of that in getting to the actual point here, because - ]
But your secrets are also your own until you choose to share them, and what you've told me already? Won't be shared with anyone else either.
[truly, perhaps the conversation this could break out into would be far too heavy for just a moment in time in nocwich, over tea and delicious food. wanda understands, though, so intrinsically, what it's like— to be in search of something through less than honorable means, a desperation clinging to one's bones.
it's either do or die.
it had been that way, for the twins to fall into HYDRA's clutches.]
We can't look at the past with too much regret. Decisions we've made, they come with a price—and not all of them were easy to make. [the price, at times, too costly to pay. but she nods at his words, grateful to find confidence in him.] Well...
Perhaps we could start this trust exercise—
[funny, because they've very much already started it, weeks, (months?), ago.]
—by being honest about the real origin of baked goods. [wanda grins.] For next time, maybe?
if we want to wrap on this one or next that works for me!
[ There's plenty Claude could say about regrets and what they mean for what they were while standing in the midst of a battlefield to seeing those faces here again in what should be an impossibility. Or there's things he could ask Wanda about hers, or decisions, or how they've each paid a price. It's tempting. They've yet again found a common ground to layer in with all the others.
But - given the chance, there are times Claude's willing to sweep things under the metaphorical rug to let them be until another day rather than continue prying into what he wants to know. And so, he will absolutely feign offense to that last part as he sits back in his chair with a palm pressed to his chest and eyes wide like Wanda's said something horrifying rather than, say, the exact truth. ]
I haven't the slightest idea what you mean. I made all of these appear here with my very own hands and I'm absolutely hurt you think otherwise.
[ 'Appear' rather than 'made' is absolutely the loophole he's going with as if he doesn't know exactly what she's saying is the truth. It's terrible, and Claude knows it, but that won't stop him from continuing with his faux innocent act in hopes of entertaining her as he pushes the box of pastries towards her to encourage her to have another one. After all, they've still got the rest of the meal she's (actually) made for them to finish. ]
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no subject
That explains it. If we're ever able to come to Solvunn more permanently, now I know where to go for a meal after trying everything else they have to offer. Or maybe in between all of it since I'll be counting on you to guide me around to the best places there. [ A quick grin while he also pushes forward the box of pastries for her to try before pointing each one out in turn. ] These definitely will go well with what you've made. The first is braided twists filled with mushrooms, the second baked buns stuffed with cheese, and the third one is just plain with seeds on the outside.
[ After Wanda makes her selection Claude picks the cheese variety for himself and then takes another bite of what she's made to contemplate answering about Solvunn. ]
A glimpse is a good way of putting it. We were just on the border to pick up the supplies and it didn't seem like we were near any kind of city or town, so I'm afraid there's not much to report there. But... [ with a slight hesitation, ] have you heard of anything appearing in ravines near where you are? Or the ravines themselves appearing at random, since maybe I should start there.
no subject
she takes the plain pastry with seeds, thinking it'll be as good as brioche bread for dipping into the sauce.]
I'm afraid we don't travel towards the border too much ourselves. It's not too far from the settlement, but most everything is more inward.
[mysteries abound in solvunn, but his hesitation does earn her curiosity.]
—no, I haven't heard about that being an issue. [the randomly appearing ravines.] Sounds like something happened.
no subject
[ Must not be, what with how Wanda's described it being inward. Must not be structured the same way as the Free Cities with actual cities to go back and forth between, even if it's by portal to and from Libertas currently and by horse everywhere else. Raises more questions about Solvunn in his mind when combined with everything else he's heard from those who reside there, but getting to the bottom of what the Summoned can and cannot do isn't really a pressing topic on his mind currently.
Not when Wanda confirms what he'd already suspected, that the ravine is (or was) an anomaly just as much as the military had acted like it had been. Or maybe it wasn't an act at all. Claude takes another bite of food both to savor it and buy himself a bit more time to consider what should be said. ]
On our way to pick up the supplies Solvunn offered the other month, there was a ravine rather suddenly in the middle of the road we were traveling on. But more than that, there was... something inside it. Something unlike anything I've ever seen before, and what looked to be the side of the ravine itself.
no subject
they're taking turns here, as wanda chews thoughtfully on another spoonful of her serving, considering his words. a ravine suddenly appearing? maybe if there had been an earthquake, but those are — well, she can't remember any of those happening since she's been here.
wanda raises an eyebrow.]
It sounds like you're telling me a scary story. [not to discredit anything that he's saying, of course, but—] Can you try and describe it? This 'thing' you saw?
no subject
Trust me, if I hadn't been there to see it with my own eyes I would've dismissed it as one of the ghost stories we used to make up to scare one of my friends at home. Come to think of it, that was the reaction of my friends here when I told them while we were making the return trip.
[ Possibly because in true Claude fashion he skirted around anything that wasn't vague with the assurance they were fine, but: details. The strangeness of the entire situation means what happened hasn't been far from his mind as he absently stirs his bowl of food while figuring out the best way to paraphrase. ]
When we stopped it was to find a way around it to make it to Solvunn. Ciri looked into it first and... something looked back. When I stepped up next to her, there was just a glowing eye staring back at me and that was all that could be seen in the depths. [ There's a crease in his brow now since it's not until saying it aloud now he realizes how abstract it still sounds. ] We were attacked by some monsters on our way back and, ah, we guided them into the ravine to keep them from attacking the transport. Whatever was in there again surfaced and its mouth seemed to as wide as a good portion of where the road split. With a lot of teeth.
[ The teeth and oversized mouth part can't be stated enough, in his opinion. ]
no subject
she herself has seen her fair share of horrific creatures outside the settlement in solvunn.]
The wonders of nature, wouldn't you say?
[she cannot imagine that it's anything but a creature of abraxan knowledge, though the thought of it is terrifying in its own right.]
Those in the settlements always tell us to be wary of leaving it. Creatures roam the land and many are quite desperate for a meal. I wouldn't be surprised if you just happened into one of those creatures' home.
no subject
It doesn't stick in his mind for long, however, when Wanda continues her train of thought and he sets his glass down to study her to see if she's kidding. It doesn't seem like it, even despite his own sort of laughter seconds ago. ]
Wait a minute. They warn you not to leave the settlements because things like that are roaming around there? Or outside of it? That's not something they tell us over in the Free Cities.
[ Or, well: that's not entirely accurate now that he thinks about it though he spends a brief pause searching his memory for what he remembers about his arrival from months ago. ]
When they summoned us here, it was all done at a military outpost outside of the city. There's a wagon that goes back and forth between it and Cadens and the ride was around a couple hours or so. They mentioned the desert's dangerous if you don't have a weapon between some monsters and bandits roaming around so walking around was a bad idea, but I was always pretty sure that was because they wanted to keep us there and convince us to enlist over anything else. I haven't heard of anything quite this size around Cadens, but it almost sounds like they're... common in Solvunn.
no subject
[creatures abound, and wanda has put them down as akin to mountain lions, bears, and other predators at the top of the pyramid. they're unusual, the beasts, but they're not entirely too terrifying.]
Honestly, I don't think it's uncommon anywhere else.
[not that she has been anywhere else, but... maybe just a hunch.]
Perhaps it's wrong to think of them as monsters. Native fauna seems more the term I'd use. Your group just so happened to run into a big one.
no subject
But - ]
Native fauna's not that much more reassuring, you know.
[ With a heavy dose of dry humor in there since there's elements to it that are - that it's something regular enough around here - except that whatever it was climbing out of the ravine? Not exactly something he wants to witness, if it's anything like something else he knows. The thought of bringing that up has him taking another bite to contemplate how to condense it into something smaller. Slightly smaller. ]
I'm not entirely unfamiliar with large beasts of that sort, though ours looked more like oversized versions of what I'd call our native fauna. [ Is he grinning here? He totally is. There's a point in there, though. ] They weren't exactly ones who just occurred in nature all on their own, unfortunately, so I think I'll stick with the monsters here.
no subject
or if he's just playing pretend knowing full well that she's a fearsome witch.]
No matter the case, I'd prefer to stick with just the domesticated animals here.
[dogs, pigeons, cats, goats—
after a moment of short consideration while she chews on a spoonful of her meal, she adds:]
I'm glad you and the rest made it back alright.
no subject
[ On both counts, what with sticking to animals known or just monsters less intimidating than others, and for making it back in one piece. The latter hadn't ever really been in question - at least not on Claude's questionable scale of when to worry versus when to not - but it'd been a good reminder how much unknown there is here even in the face of recent events.
Maybe it's that plus all those similarities to home which has him continuing to think about whatever the being in the ravine was despite his mildly flippant remark to close that part of the conversation. Whatever being it was could've just as easily been something else entirely too familiar to him as he mulls it over while taking a few more bites of his meal. ]
There was one other kind of large beast in Fodlan, but they weren't native. Nor were they anything created by nature. I hesitate to say they were made by man though I suppose that's close enough considering demonic beasts were... once people. Not all of them willingly became those beasts, however. What was in the ravine reminded me of them, just a bit. Hopefully you didn't have anything like that where you're from.
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No, not where I'm from.
[she grabs at her cup of drink, though, and thinks for a moment as she nurses it between her hands.]
But they exist in other realms, and they can move between them with strong enough magic.
[and up she brings the cup, drinking from it for a moment too long.]
—not that they were ever... people before. [she is trying not to sound too interested.] How does something like that come about?
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Eventually, he sets his utensils down and sits back in his seat when he's found a way to condense it into something smaller though not necessarily simpler. It'll have to do considering there's others from Fodlan here now. If they weren't, Wanda might get a much different answer, but Claude's unsure of how much the others know about what he came to understand from Rhea's explanations. ]
In Fodlan, there's something called Crests. They're passed down through bloodlines and have been for generations, and were gifts from, ah, Fodlan's goddess. There's also weapons fitted with stones that resonate with those who have them. They're harmless if you have a Crest which matches it, and if you have a Crest but not the same one you can still use them with some discomfort.
But if you don't have a Crest at all, then. [ Claude pauses again, thinks of Sylvain's brother, of the chapel where Jeralt fell, of the Agarthans, then tries to not think of any of them at all as he drops his gaze to his bowl. ] If you don't have a Crest and you wield either the weapons or hold one of the Crest stones, you transform into a beast in a... deeply unpleasant way, and those who transform seem to be aware of it happening.
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he speaks of transforming into beasts, and her mind whirrs. it's almost like these people may have been cursed to become a monster because of trying to touch divinity. part of her wonders what branch of magic this falls under, for it sounds very much like it could be something akin to witchcraft.
but part of her realizes that not everything has to do with magic. perhaps this about the 'goddess' of fodlan holds more weight than the idea of a deities in her own world.
as far as she is concerned, anyway.]
Have you seen it happen? [as it stands, wanda is rife with questions—curiosity piqued.] Do you have one? A Crest.
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[ Crests don't matter here - Claude has to remind himself of this yet again, strange as it seems for the importance of having one he'd had to get used to and that's not including the heavy weight carried by those who have lived with them far longer than he has. There they were an exalted point of pride in so many houses, to have that callback to one of the Elites in what no one knew was laced through deceit until he'd wrangled the truth from Rhea.
Then there's the particularly unnerving account of what could be done with a Crest both to those who have them and those who don't concerning someone he'd come to consider a younger sister. Something far more harrowing beyond the use of the Crest Stones. The demonic beasts, horrifying as it was to watch Miklan turn into one, weren't even the worst of what could be done to someone. ]
Crests are fading out from the noble families and becoming rarer and rarer, and much of the nobility can be exceptionally harsh about their importance and even harsher to their children without them. I can't pretend I haven't benefited off that since mine certainly proved I am who I said I was. What I set out to do would have been near impossible otherwise without that power behind me.
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a — brother, wasn't it?
she stows that information away.]
They are inherited, then. [them 'fading out' seems like a biological happenstance.] Are Crests not common in Almyra, then?
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It could be easy to misconstrue it as distrust, but in reality Claude's thinking it through because he trusts Wanda. A great deal, and to where he's not tempted to lie without a second thought or change the subject. And in consideration of that and in hopes of not putting her into a potentially awkward situation. He's unsure if Wanda's met anyone else from Fodlan besides Sylvain, but considering the lack of knowledge is the same no matter which who from Fodlan it is, he finds an answer. ]
They're uncommon everywhere else as far as I know. But my mother is from Fodlan. [ Another minor hesitation, and then to make it clear why he's hesitating at all, even if it's still not the complete picture because there's much left out: ] And that would mean you're the only one who knows anything about who my parents are, here or anywhere else.
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these moments of hesitation are accompanied by honesty, and that much she is grateful for.]
I have no interest in running a rumor mill, neither for my own amusement nor for any kind of gain.
[that is to say—the knowledge that his mother is from fodlan and his father isn't will remain with her and not be removed from her in any way. it is a secret close to claude's heart, and he gets to choose what to do with it.
taking a bit of a turn elsewhere...]
It sounds to me like you were meant to achieve what you set out to do. [no one else could have made that impossibility a possibility; no one but himself, under his very set of special circumstances. food aside, she reaches her hand forward, to lightly place over one of his wrists.] I can only imagine that it's been a lonely road.
I hope you know you can speak honestly with me without fearing that I may use any information against you. I consider you my friend, after all.
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Before Claude can do that, though, Wanda surprises him enough that he goes still even if he wasn't moving much. The mention of loneliness - tracks, yes, in more ways than he'd like to think about. But it's the way she reaches across the table which really startles him into silence, as in confirmation of what he already believed. Maybe what he should really be doing is apologizing for ever giving her the impression it was otherwise.
Maybe he can do that after swallowing hard like it'll get rid of the lump in his throat. ]
I know that. I- [ probably shouldn't be talking without thinking first, but for once - maybe the first time since being in Abraxas - Claude finds himself at a loss for words. Which is a poor reaction to what Wanda's extended to him in return, and in an attempt to not send any more mixed signals about the silence he lets his free hand rest on her wrist as well, lightly enough to not send a different signal nor keep her from pulling away. ]
There were a lot of years where who I am was used against me so I learned to hide it. Some old habits are hard to shake. [ A wan smile because that's an understatement. It's also not what's important here. ] I say that so you know it's not personal, just... difficult for me. But I hope you know I consider you a friend too, no matter what.
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and, well, she can certainly understand.]
Who we are and where we come from, it's a powerful weapon. [there is power in knowing names.] You and I are alike, thinking that if we dress like them, if we speak like them [—without her accent, in english—] that we can easily blend in and continue onward. Though your path is definitely more honorable than mine has been.
[she could do nothing for her people but accept defeat, wanting to focus instead of singular, individualistic goals. she gives claude's wrist a squeeze before she pulls away, appreciative that he reciprocated the action and didn't leave her feeling foolish for it.]
I don't fault you for hesitating. I know it's hard.
[to completely shake it off—]
To live in the skin of the you who has always been the subject of tragedy and pitiful, angry stares.
[granted, she doesn't know his whole story, but the 'you' is a projection. hers is on an extreme, though, preferring to live in delusion at times than to want to face the scars of her past head on, until it is all far too much to bear.]
Your secrets are safe with me.
[because that's what friends do, right?]
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Turns out I had to win a war for that path, even if I wasn't part of starting it in the first place. [ Dryly and on that topic of honor while Claude considers his fallen defenses and what else to add with what Wanda's told him which he assumes come from the same place of understanding. ] But I came in search of power to make my dream happen and to end a different war and conflict I'd grown up with. Something that could've only been done with my Crest, and when I came to Fodlan I found something else to fight for alongside what else I wanted.
[ The explanation of which could take much longer than a weekend in Nocwich could provide far before getting into the intricacies of what Petra and Sylvain have told him. How things overlap and then divert in ways which can't be reconciled, how even more complicated they all become from there.
He's quiet another moment, this time more visibly thinking things over while taking a sip of his forgotten drink. This time he thinks of that glimpse of a nightmare and of Wanda's first visit, what it all might mean. ]
There's plenty of people who didn't and who never will think that what I did was honorable. Of course, I thought the same about who we were opposing since it wasn't until I knew her reasons that I understood why she had chosen her own path. I don't know if the same can be said for what yours is, but if Fodlan's war taught me anything it's that there can still be honor in the things someone else might disagree with.
[ All of that in getting to the actual point here, because - ]
But your secrets are also your own until you choose to share them, and what you've told me already? Won't be shared with anyone else either.
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it's either do or die.
it had been that way, for the twins to fall into HYDRA's clutches.]
We can't look at the past with too much regret. Decisions we've made, they come with a price—and not all of them were easy to make. [the price, at times, too costly to pay. but she nods at his words, grateful to find confidence in him.] Well...
Perhaps we could start this trust exercise—
[funny, because they've very much already started it, weeks, (months?), ago.]
—by being honest about the real origin of baked goods. [wanda grins.] For next time, maybe?
if we want to wrap on this one or next that works for me!
But - given the chance, there are times Claude's willing to sweep things under the metaphorical rug to let them be until another day rather than continue prying into what he wants to know. And so, he will absolutely feign offense to that last part as he sits back in his chair with a palm pressed to his chest and eyes wide like Wanda's said something horrifying rather than, say, the exact truth. ]
I haven't the slightest idea what you mean. I made all of these appear here with my very own hands and I'm absolutely hurt you think otherwise.
[ 'Appear' rather than 'made' is absolutely the loophole he's going with as if he doesn't know exactly what she's saying is the truth. It's terrible, and Claude knows it, but that won't stop him from continuing with his faux innocent act in hopes of entertaining her as he pushes the box of pastries towards her to encourage her to have another one. After all, they've still got the rest of the meal she's (actually) made for them to finish. ]