[ Even if he wasn't already watching her from the corner of his eye while looking at the forest before them (allegedly), Claude thinks he would've still felt the weight of that look sent his direction. He doesn't react beyond continuing to fidget with the fruit and moves his gaze properly to the forest, noting the details of one tree after another while he thinks about the truth of what she's said. It applies, even if he'd been preparing to leave for good before the Free Cities decided he needed to be here instead. Fodlan hadn't given him many - if any - reasons to stay by the end of those years when some of his dreams were finally achieved, and he wonders if they have that in common even if her words equally suggest something close to it or the opposite.
Well. No way to ask that without revealing too much at once. It turns out he doesn't have much time to reflect on it in the moment because what Petra says next has him fully abandoning the illusion of surveying her domain to turn to look at her with surprise that isn't all that concealed. That is something he hadn't expected to hear, and Claude sits with the tiniest crease in his brow while he thinks that over. ]
Homes can be complicated, [ is what he finally settles on, letting both hands still in his lap rather than continuing to do anything but eat the fruit in his possession, ] whether that's small or large complications involved, and the same goes for reasons for leaving it behind for somewhere else. But despite whatever those reasons were, you're allowed to miss what you've left and especially when you haven't seen home for years.
[ A few seconds go by where Claude contemplates his own words and mentally runs a fingertip along the edge of that hidden blade called homesickness, and then: ] Are you going to return to Brigid someday soon?
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Well. No way to ask that without revealing too much at once. It turns out he doesn't have much time to reflect on it in the moment because what Petra says next has him fully abandoning the illusion of surveying her domain to turn to look at her with surprise that isn't all that concealed. That is something he hadn't expected to hear, and Claude sits with the tiniest crease in his brow while he thinks that over. ]
Homes can be complicated, [ is what he finally settles on, letting both hands still in his lap rather than continuing to do anything but eat the fruit in his possession, ] whether that's small or large complications involved, and the same goes for reasons for leaving it behind for somewhere else. But despite whatever those reasons were, you're allowed to miss what you've left and especially when you haven't seen home for years.
[ A few seconds go by where Claude contemplates his own words and mentally runs a fingertip along the edge of that hidden blade called homesickness, and then: ] Are you going to return to Brigid someday soon?