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[godshattering]

ABRAXAS HORIZON INFO ART CREDIT CODING

action + prose (nsfw marked) / horizon / network

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[theidlemaiden]

[ Knowing that it's the truth is bittersweet. Unable to stop them from anymore, the tears begin to really fall in earnest down her cheeks. She had wanted him to be truthful with her from the start - it had been one of the biggest reasons for their fight and a realization she had only come to understand after the fact.

It wasn't because she was trying to be nosey or that this was some gossip she wanted him to fill her in on. Rather, it was just wanting to feel close to him again after feeling like there was some impossible rift that she couldn't cross between them which had been only made worse because of her actions. Knowing that this is where some of it had led to, even if it was on the path to some sort of forgiveness and healing, doesn't make it hurt any less.

She's almost glad that he doesn't reach for her when she begins to cry. To feel his arms around her in that moment would feel like pity that she doesn't deserve and would completely break the damn wide open. When she hears him get up she doesn't turn her head to look, still half expecting him to leave her here. It's a silly thought because of course he doesn't. They might have reached a truce but he isn't cruel. She is surprised when he extends a hand to her though and she gazes up at him with wide, bleary eyes. After a beat she shifts the wyvern in one arm to gently take a hold of his hand and stand up, successfully preventing Claude's fingers being bitten again. ]

That depends. What is Sylvain making for dinner?

[ It doesn't escape her that she probably looks and sounds ridiculous trying to ask that question when she's got tear stains down her cheeks and tears still slipping from her eyes. There's comfort however in knowing that it's just Claude and the wyvern here to witness the worst of it. The corners of her lifts lip weakly as she takes another wipe with her sleeve. She really doesn't want to walk through the streets of Cadens like this and wishes faintly that she had brought a big hat or something to cover up. ]

[godshattering]

[ The look she gives him with those tears still falling makes his heart clench even as it simultaneously doubles his resolve to stay uninvolved. As much as he can for being the cause of it, that is, and Claude waits for her answer. There's a moment or two where he wonders if he'd guessed wrong about asking until she shifts and takes his hand, and then he has to keep from holding onto it more. It's a simple touch but one he's missed so much with an ache it flares to life that lasts longer than the contact does when he lets go after Hilda stands up.

It's not a yes, but it's a precursor to one if he's reading it correctly. That's something he can work with. As it is, he settles for reaching out to hold the wyvern so she can get down the ladder first, and as the wyvern grumbles at him he absently runs his fingers over its scales again in the same motions that'd calmed it earlier. ]

Probably -

[ But Claude cuts himself off, realizing the too honest answer of Sylvain likely making whatever she wants simply for being there sounds a bit too much like a guilting response. Or another card or a ploy rather than teasing, he realizes with the slightest tinge of bitterness, and that's enough to change tactics mid-thought. ]

Well, probably whatever we can convince him to make. [ Now there's a squint up at the sky to calculate what the current time is, more or less, before he shifts the wyvern in his grasp and steps forward to the ladder himself. ] If we're lucky he's still out and we can head through the market to pick up some things to leave out as helpful suggestions. If we're extra lucky, we can find something better for this one to have for dinner than more jerky or whatever Sylvain has around the kitchen since I think he'd have some words about the latter. How's that sound?

[theidlemaiden]

[ When the comforting warmth of the wyvern leaves her arms she can't help but wish for it back. Instead she gives her face another wipe before quickly making her way down the ladder. It's easier to redirect the desire for something to hold to the small creature rather than Claude's warm hand in hers. It's good practice to start now because maybe, hopefully, that will make the yearning for him dissipate bit by bit. 

When her feet are back on solid ground she quickly moves aside to make room for him. Dusting herself off and pulling the small compact from her purse to check the havoc caused to her makeup serves as an honest, proper distraction as she begins the process of trying to be a better friend. To be happier, lighter, more full of grace for them. To ignore the impulse to read into the "we" like there's anything there at all except for the fact that they're moving in a direction towards repair and a dinner that a part of her is dreading.
 
Her makeup isn't as bad as she thought it would be and after a quick powder and one last brave sniffle, the red rims of her eyes is the only sign she had cried at all. The compact shuts with a definitive snap. ] 

I think it's a given that we have to find them something. We can't go back on our promise, can we? 

[ She would set things right again starting today; there's already a veneer of sweetness being layered over her weepiness. As Claude arrives beside her she reaches out to gently stroke the wyvern's head affectionately. ] 

And if they get hungry before dinner is ready Sylvain really can't stay mad at this face, can he? [ It's very obvious that she's talking about the wyvern but as she looks up at Claude, her hand moves without thinking to squeeze his cheeks. ] Or this one.

[ Realizing what she's doing only takes a moment and by the time it dawns on her, she's quick to remove her hand. It's back, securely on the strap of her bag like it hadn't been anywhere near his face at all mere moments ago. The best way to pretend it away is by acting like it isn't anything she suddenly feels self-conscious about. She turns, moving towards the market already beginning to put together a mental list of ingredients that would make a nice meal that hopefully everyone could enjoy and certainly not trying to steel herself from the desire to overstay her welcome at the loft after the meal was done. ]