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๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ต. ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ!
[ Even if she's oddly quiet about her own feelings. It really doesn't help things when the men in her life are the way they are. ]
๐๐ถ๐ต ๐'๐ฎ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐ฌ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ - ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด.
[ Speaking of other people's love... ]
[ Even if she's oddly quiet about her own feelings. It really doesn't help things when the men in her life are the way they are. ]
๐๐ถ๐ต ๐'๐ฎ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐ฌ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ - ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด.
[ Speaking of other people's love... ]
[ It was chaos. Sylvainโs pretty sure every single Summoned in all the Factions had to be reeling right now. He was no exception. He felt dazed. Almost like he was in shock. Could you even get shock from something like this?
For a while after theyโd returned - awoken? - heโd stared off into nothing, mind whirling with what he remembered. What heโd lived - or thought heโd lived - and what that meant. What had happened. And what hadnโt.
Never, in a million years, would he have been able to predict that future. Not even in his most optimistic dreams. His fate, his luck, it had never worked like that.
But after too long of his mind spinning itself in circles, he knew he was getting nowhere. But unsure where to start, he found himself drifting towards the one space that still feltโฆ safe.
Because he could still feel her. And even though she felt just as confused as he did, just that awareness of her at the edge of his senses was comforting in itself.
He found himself outside her door, hesitating, a little unsure of his welcome, torn between finding that foolish and a matter of course. But hiding in the hallway was going to answer nothing, so he knocked softly on her door and poked his head in. ]
Hildaโฆ?
For a while after theyโd returned - awoken? - heโd stared off into nothing, mind whirling with what he remembered. What heโd lived - or thought heโd lived - and what that meant. What had happened. And what hadnโt.
Never, in a million years, would he have been able to predict that future. Not even in his most optimistic dreams. His fate, his luck, it had never worked like that.
But after too long of his mind spinning itself in circles, he knew he was getting nowhere. But unsure where to start, he found himself drifting towards the one space that still feltโฆ safe.
Because he could still feel her. And even though she felt just as confused as he did, just that awareness of her at the edge of his senses was comforting in itself.
He found himself outside her door, hesitating, a little unsure of his welcome, torn between finding that foolish and a matter of course. But hiding in the hallway was going to answer nothing, so he knocked softly on her door and poked his head in. ]
Hildaโฆ?
[ Unless it was to nap Hilda's preferred form of distraction had rarely been to sequester herself to her room. Busying herself with shopping, checking on other friends or engaging in some medium of art felt like more productive ways to channel all the nervous energy that suddenly filled her, while simultaneously proving as a great way to distract herself. Or in this case, think. Or maybe it was both.
She thought that more time would allow her to gather her thoughts. And her busyness did help to a degree - it even led her to signing up for classes at the Academy on a whim. At the end of the day she often found herself collapsing into bed on her own, with one of the boys or in a heap between them until she woke up the next day to do it all over again.
Which is why today is a rare occasion that she finds herself in her room slumped over her vanity and staring glumly at a velvet box in front of her. So caught up in her thoughts she doesn't even hear him at first. It's only Sylvain's flash of red hair in the mirror that stirs her. Her hands move quick, taking the box and shoving it back into one of the drawers along with several other things scattered atop the surface.
She doesn't know why her first instinct is mild panic and worry for his health but it is as she hurries over to him, hands reaching up to cup his face. ]
Sylvain! Is something wrong?
She thought that more time would allow her to gather her thoughts. And her busyness did help to a degree - it even led her to signing up for classes at the Academy on a whim. At the end of the day she often found herself collapsing into bed on her own, with one of the boys or in a heap between them until she woke up the next day to do it all over again.
Which is why today is a rare occasion that she finds herself in her room slumped over her vanity and staring glumly at a velvet box in front of her. So caught up in her thoughts she doesn't even hear him at first. It's only Sylvain's flash of red hair in the mirror that stirs her. Her hands move quick, taking the box and shoving it back into one of the drawers along with several other things scattered atop the surface.
She doesn't know why her first instinct is mild panic and worry for his health but it is as she hurries over to him, hands reaching up to cup his face. ]
Sylvain! Is something wrong?
Edited 2024-06-10 07:51 (UTC)
[ His weak attempt at a joke is met with a faint smile. ]
I guess we'll never know.
[ But she can say now with certainty that she hopes that will never be the case.
An instinctive deflection is on the tip of her tongue when he asks her that. 'Nothing.' 'Everything is fine.' 'I'm not thinking about anything' - all of those phrases paired with a feigned yawn wouldย have been enough to put the matter to rest at least for one more day. But they die on her lips when she sees the way he looks at her with such tender concern.
ย
She should know by now that putting things off isn't the answer. There had been so many hard lessons learned that way. That doesn't stop the instinct to run in the other direction to rear its head. Her fingers curl against his warm skin, drawing faint meandering shapes as she allows silence to be the first thing to answer his question. It doesn't take long for her to steel her resolve. Even if it was second nature to dance around difficult conversations, she couldn't avoid everything they'd been through together real or imaginary anymore. Not when it wasย important and when it involved people that mattered more to her than her life. ]ย
Too many things - I don't even know where to start. I know I don't want to become a god, and I definitely don't want to live forever either. Sure, I'd have time to try a bunch of different hobbies and make things I'd never be able to do otherwise but I also didn't get to experience other parts of life that I think I want.
[ She quiets again. ]
But if it was a life where I could stay with you and Sylvain then maybe those other things wouldn't matter.
[ Because if they returned home to Fodlan, to their timelines, there was no guarantee of them. Nor was there a guarantee of anything really. But all her achievements and accomplishments that she had done on her own as a god paled in comparison to the companionship she had with them - at least she thought they did. She had only ever wanted love because what else would she be able to accomplish on her own otherwise? ]
I guess we'll never know.
[ But she can say now with certainty that she hopes that will never be the case.
An instinctive deflection is on the tip of her tongue when he asks her that. 'Nothing.' 'Everything is fine.' 'I'm not thinking about anything' - all of those phrases paired with a feigned yawn wouldย have been enough to put the matter to rest at least for one more day. But they die on her lips when she sees the way he looks at her with such tender concern.
ย
She should know by now that putting things off isn't the answer. There had been so many hard lessons learned that way. That doesn't stop the instinct to run in the other direction to rear its head. Her fingers curl against his warm skin, drawing faint meandering shapes as she allows silence to be the first thing to answer his question. It doesn't take long for her to steel her resolve. Even if it was second nature to dance around difficult conversations, she couldn't avoid everything they'd been through together real or imaginary anymore. Not when it wasย important and when it involved people that mattered more to her than her life. ]ย
Too many things - I don't even know where to start. I know I don't want to become a god, and I definitely don't want to live forever either. Sure, I'd have time to try a bunch of different hobbies and make things I'd never be able to do otherwise but I also didn't get to experience other parts of life that I think I want.
[ She quiets again. ]
But if it was a life where I could stay with you and Sylvain then maybe those other things wouldn't matter.
[ Because if they returned home to Fodlan, to their timelines, there was no guarantee of them. Nor was there a guarantee of anything really. But all her achievements and accomplishments that she had done on her own as a god paled in comparison to the companionship she had with them - at least she thought they did. She had only ever wanted love because what else would she be able to accomplish on her own otherwise? ]
Edited 2024-06-10 07:59 (UTC)
I hate being right when it comes to people being that stubborn about their emotions. It never ends well.
Thank you. I'll try doing it by myself first, and if it goes awry, I'll ask for help. Maybe I'll surprise myself.
A new medium? That's exciting, tell me about the art. Then maybe that's a way of introducing whatever you have in mind in very small increments.
Thank you. I'll try doing it by myself first, and if it goes awry, I'll ask for help. Maybe I'll surprise myself.
A new medium? That's exciting, tell me about the art. Then maybe that's a way of introducing whatever you have in mind in very small increments.
๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ต? ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ข๐บ, ๐๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ.
๐'๐ฎ ๐ต๐ณ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ด. ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐'๐ฅ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐บ. ๐๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.
๐'๐ฎ ๐ต๐ณ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ด. ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐'๐ฅ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐บ. ๐๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.
[ He'd spotted the dejected position she was in a moment before realization she was no longer alone washed over her and she jumped to action. He wasn't sure what she'd shoved out of sight, but he didn't pay it much mind as he watched her instead, eyes searching her face as she hurried his way.
It was more concern over her immediate panic taking up all his attention instead.
He reaches out to wind arms around her waist, drawing her close as he turns his head slightly to press a kiss to her palms. ]
Pretty sure that should be my question right now. Are you okay?
[ Were any of them okay? ]
It was more concern over her immediate panic taking up all his attention instead.
He reaches out to wind arms around her waist, drawing her close as he turns his head slightly to press a kiss to her palms. ]
Pretty sure that should be my question right now. Are you okay?
[ Were any of them okay? ]
I hope so.
Oh, I like that idea. Perhaps there's ways to have beads absorb certain things as well? Or to lighten a load.
Oh, I like that idea. Perhaps there's ways to have beads absorb certain things as well? Or to lighten a load.
Of course I'm okay.
[ The first thing to come to mind is past her lips, bright but false in the sense that it's as much of a lie to herself as it is an attempt to reassure him. Realizing that he still has the ability to skim the surface of their feelings she hesitates before correcting herself. ]
Well, as okay as I can be. I feel like I've been nursing a headache for several days.
[ It's only perpetuated by all of the information she'd been stuffing into her brain. If this was only two classes worth of work she didn't know how she was going to get through the rest. Thoughts of class are far from her mind at the moment. Her eyes stay trained in him still filled with concern even as he presses a kiss to her hands and she leans into his embrace. ]
I'm only asking because you haven't been yourself. For good reason, obviously. [ Her thumb brushes against his cheek. ] I didn't want to press anything because, well. You know.
[ The first thing to come to mind is past her lips, bright but false in the sense that it's as much of a lie to herself as it is an attempt to reassure him. Realizing that he still has the ability to skim the surface of their feelings she hesitates before correcting herself. ]
Well, as okay as I can be. I feel like I've been nursing a headache for several days.
[ It's only perpetuated by all of the information she'd been stuffing into her brain. If this was only two classes worth of work she didn't know how she was going to get through the rest. Thoughts of class are far from her mind at the moment. Her eyes stay trained in him still filled with concern even as he presses a kiss to her hands and she leans into his embrace. ]
I'm only asking because you haven't been yourself. For good reason, obviously. [ Her thumb brushes against his cheek. ] I didn't want to press anything because, well. You know.
๐๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฃ ๐ข ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ? ๐๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ?
Maybe help alleviate or lighten some of Viktor's ongoing pain issues?
๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐'๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต? ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐'๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต.
๐๐ต'๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ.
๐๐ต'๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ.
Definitely a compliment.
Really? Nothing? Don't tell me you really just dabble with jewelry in your free time, back in the present.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ? ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ-๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ?
๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐'๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ.
๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐'๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ.
It was just a thought, as I know you are good at building up skillsets and protective.
[That's the second time the god thing has come up. Alucard's not going to poke that bear today, but it is noted.]
That said, I'd like to see the bunny. If you'll allow it.
[That's the second time the god thing has come up. Alucard's not going to poke that bear today, but it is noted.]
That said, I'd like to see the bunny. If you'll allow it.
[ He gives her a light squeeze before tugging her towards the door instead. ]
Come on. Let's go out on the terrace for a bit. The fresh air will do us both some good, I think. And if you stretch out on the swing, I can give you a massage, if you like? It might help with that headache.
[ And give them a quiet place to talk. Because he thinks they need it. They always did their best talking on the roof. No matter which one it was. ]
Come on. Let's go out on the terrace for a bit. The fresh air will do us both some good, I think. And if you stretch out on the swing, I can give you a massage, if you like? It might help with that headache.
[ And give them a quiet place to talk. Because he thinks they need it. They always did their best talking on the roof. No matter which one it was. ]
๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ด๐ข๐บ ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ! ๐๐ต'๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐บ?
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐บ?
[ Sylvain's suggestion is met with a nod and no hesitation as she follows suit, grabbing a sun hat on the way out.
The garden, despite their absence, is alive and well thanks to the hydroponics system and attentive care from both Sylvain and Claude. It's almost as if they had never been gone and the time before they had been thrown into the crater had really been like a dream. But she knows better. As powerful as her denial can be, whatever it is that happened to them had left a lasting effect on all of them.
When they arrive at the shaded swing, instead of laying out on the seat herself, she urges him to lie down first. ]
You can give me a massage after. I hear I give pretty good massages - and you look like you need one more than me.
The garden, despite their absence, is alive and well thanks to the hydroponics system and attentive care from both Sylvain and Claude. It's almost as if they had never been gone and the time before they had been thrown into the crater had really been like a dream. But she knows better. As powerful as her denial can be, whatever it is that happened to them had left a lasting effect on all of them.
When they arrive at the shaded swing, instead of laying out on the seat herself, she urges him to lie down first. ]
You can give me a massage after. I hear I give pretty good massages - and you look like you need one more than me.
It probably is. No reason not to investigate.
You said your first rabbit came out like a blob. Did you want me to call it the blob? I feel as if you'd elbow me for doing so in person.
You said your first rabbit came out like a blob. Did you want me to call it the blob? I feel as if you'd elbow me for doing so in person.
[ 'Too many things' as for what they're thinking about at any moment separately or together really does sum it up. So does what follows of those parts they'd lived now disqualified as wants at any point when the experience of all of this was enough, and the same for Claude in that it satisfies any idle curiosity he might've once wondered about. Divinity could cause plenty of pain, as he'd always believed about any gods and the steadfast beliefs in them he'd always scoffed at.
But it would be unfair - so very unfair to write this off as merely an extension of that; though the less flattering parts of who he is coming to light in extreme magnification was part of that he could have easily lived without, there was also so much good in discovering that, despite his terrible joke and things which took their own time to be smoothed over, the three of them stayed together. Had built upon everything to turn it into something far beyond his dreams could've reached for in that it was even better, and that part he'll never regret.
Some part of Claude understands, then, when Hilda says but and names them as the reason. It's the very same thought which hasn't left his mind since the fight with the dragon: that here they're whole, and for that he would stay. Even still, it takes him a second before he nods slowly in acknowledgement after thinking through all she's said. ]
Something you want always matters, Hilda. Even if you think it's something that could be set aside, that doesn't change that it's important no matter what and you shouldn't set it aside forever, no matter what it is.
[ It's a truth he's lived by himself and something he means with all sincerity. Certainly, some of his goals have changed over time. As he'd written in that letter, there are many things he no longer wants to do alone as he'd always assumed he would before Fodlan, before Garreg Mach, before Hilda, before Sylvain - before those wants had shifted and adapted to encompass far more than alone. His gaze stays on her all the while as he keeps running his fingers slowly through her hair, then adds, ] And more than that, you also shouldn't hold back from it for anything or anyone.
But it would be unfair - so very unfair to write this off as merely an extension of that; though the less flattering parts of who he is coming to light in extreme magnification was part of that he could have easily lived without, there was also so much good in discovering that, despite his terrible joke and things which took their own time to be smoothed over, the three of them stayed together. Had built upon everything to turn it into something far beyond his dreams could've reached for in that it was even better, and that part he'll never regret.
Some part of Claude understands, then, when Hilda says but and names them as the reason. It's the very same thought which hasn't left his mind since the fight with the dragon: that here they're whole, and for that he would stay. Even still, it takes him a second before he nods slowly in acknowledgement after thinking through all she's said. ]
Something you want always matters, Hilda. Even if you think it's something that could be set aside, that doesn't change that it's important no matter what and you shouldn't set it aside forever, no matter what it is.
[ It's a truth he's lived by himself and something he means with all sincerity. Certainly, some of his goals have changed over time. As he'd written in that letter, there are many things he no longer wants to do alone as he'd always assumed he would before Fodlan, before Garreg Mach, before Hilda, before Sylvain - before those wants had shifted and adapted to encompass far more than alone. His gaze stays on her all the while as he keeps running his fingers slowly through her hair, then adds, ] And more than that, you also shouldn't hold back from it for anything or anyone.
You don't need god-like powers to achieve something. Just tone the idea down so it doesn't burn us alive. Unless you want to tell me you only have some fraction of intelligence as a god.
Just break it down into individual components first. You can't build without a foundation; the same is true with spellwork.
[ Claude's encouragement shouldn't be met with an odd pang of sadness mingled with nerves. The things she wanted hadn't happened during the course of their eight hundred years, nor could she recall having conversations about what those things were with either of her partners. Her divine self had simply gone and taken whatever it was she wanted anyways; it only occurs to her now that maybe that version of herself hadn't cared for what she wanted, at some point, some day.
But the things she wanted feels like inviting an imbalance in the strength and stability they had found. She knows enough about the both of them, knows enough about their circumstances, their wandering affections here and life in Fodlan, that to do so would be selfish. Selfishness is something she'd long since come to terms with about herself, but this feels like the one thing she can't bring herself to breach the topic of because it's asking for too much. And in some ways, she knows in her heart of hearts what their answers would be.
So she doesn't ask, too worried about causing a fuss after everything they'd gone through. For a moment the tracing of faint lines on his skin stops before she starts again. ]
I never understood why you encouraged me to be selfish. [ Her eyes close as she lets out an exasperated breath. ] It's not like it's attractive to anyone - and don't try to convince me otherwise.
[ Her eyes open again to regard him. ]
What else were you thinking about?
But the things she wanted feels like inviting an imbalance in the strength and stability they had found. She knows enough about the both of them, knows enough about their circumstances, their wandering affections here and life in Fodlan, that to do so would be selfish. Selfishness is something she'd long since come to terms with about herself, but this feels like the one thing she can't bring herself to breach the topic of because it's asking for too much. And in some ways, she knows in her heart of hearts what their answers would be.
So she doesn't ask, too worried about causing a fuss after everything they'd gone through. For a moment the tracing of faint lines on his skin stops before she starts again. ]
I never understood why you encouraged me to be selfish. [ Her eyes close as she lets out an exasperated breath. ] It's not like it's attractive to anyone - and don't try to convince me otherwise.
[ Her eyes open again to regard him. ]
What else were you thinking about?
๐๐ช๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ'๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ?
๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐'๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ. ๐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ.
๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐'๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ. ๐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ.
๐๐ฉ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต.
[ He's right because she would absolutely elbow him. Only she gets to call it a blob. ]
๐ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ. ๐๐ต'๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ต.
[ He's right because she would absolutely elbow him. Only she gets to call it a blob. ]
๐ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ. ๐๐ต'๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ต.
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