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[ There's another smile sent her way at the confirmation the trees are, in fact, under their dominion. Forthright and not tacit, as if there's something waiting for claim to be laid to it here, and now they've done just that.

And he should, maybe, break into the fruit Petra's handed him or recommend one of the Derdriu ones for her to try. Instead Claude does neither and simply rolls the one in his possession between his fingertips under the guise of contemplating it when really: his mind's drifting over the wisps of Almyra he's put into his own domain though they blend in with everything else. Homesickness is something they have in common, perhaps, though Petra's would be of a very different variety to his own.

Claude could make a joke then to change the subject, move onto anything else. He could tease, make some wisecrack and brush it all off, but. That'd be a disservice to them both, wouldn't it? ]

There's fields outside where I grew up, ones that stretch on as far as you can see whether you're on the ground or flying. [ The fruit's forgotten temporarily as he looks off into the distance before them, out at the forest Petra holds dear. ] They aren't much to look at when everything's dry. Just a bunch of what looks like grasses and nothing else. But there's rains that come through and bring it to life, and when that happens there's all kinds of wildflowers to be seen that were hiding in the grasses before. Now that I think about it, I guess that must have been what I was thinking about in adding all those flowers to what I created the first time here, just like you were with the forest.

[Her smile softens as she looks out over the forest that seems to stretch forever, the way they're facing— this tree's placement had been strategically chosen, in that regard, for they both know full well that it's not far at all to either his domain or Sylvain's, where they are all able to come together in a place that means something to all of them. On occasion, she has wondered if perhaps she's being selfish, with her own domain focused on something only she knows so intimately... but the opportunity to share a little bit of Brigid with those she cares about truly means the world to her.]

It sounds beautiful. People are often mistaking simplicity for being dull, but they are wrong.

[Even before the rains come, she's certain that those fields of Claude's are stunning, a landlocked sea for the wind to rustle as it blows through.]

I have found there is much in Fodlan that I have come to hold dear, both among its people and the land itself, despite the circumstances of my being there. It... is being very complicated, sometimes.

[She gives him a sidelong glance before she looks towards the thick canopy of the trees above them, gesturing ahead.]

I am missing Brigid with all of my heart, every day, but sometimes I am not sure I am deserving to say so.

[ 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?

Edited 2023-02-04 16:36 (UTC)

[It makes sense to her that he would be surprised. She has always been so outspoken about her love for her homeland, about Brigid pride, and though she has managed to find a place for herself in Fodlan, the way she had come to be there in the first place...

It had never been ideal.

His question is far more complex than most might think it to be. Where to start? She looks thoughtful a moment, pressing her lips together tightly before letting out a soft exhale of breath and giving a careful nod.]

Yes— I will need to do so. I am next in line for the throne, and I will be having many duties to fulfil. My grandfather will not live forever. Edelgard—

[She cuts herself off to search his face a moment, uncertain, because she knows Edelgard is a sensitive subject among her friends. She understands why, of course, but to her...

Edelgard is a friend. Edelgard is one of the people who made her feel like a person rather than a prisoner, long before coming to Garreg Mach.]

... after the war, Brigid will be having its autonomy restored. The restructuring of the Empire's power means we will no longer be trapped as a vassal state.

[ Petra thinks and he watches, wondering just how loaded of a question he asked. Or is it loaded at all? He can't pretend to understand her relationship with Edelgard, won't even begin to try. Maybe in another life - or maybe there's another time as they've all learned - where rather than facing off against Edelgard in the Imperial palace or Derdriu's streets, there's somewhere they work together and avoid all of this or some of it.

That's a hope which feels pointless since it's not the reality for either of them. Not from what he's lived, and not from what Petra's said she has. When she looks his way he doesn't bother pretending like he wasn't looking. ]

That's good. [ Claude nods slowly after speaking as though to confirm that or give it an additional underline. For all his tangled feelings on Edelgard - if he had to guess, he might be closer to understanding her motivations from an unfair amount of information in comparison. But if Edelgard's not told Petra about that, that isn't his to share. ] And as it should be, really.

[ He's quiet while he thinks about this and while sifting through different things to say next. What he decides on is an explanation of sorts, and one Petra deserves. ]

I never did hate Edelgard, for the record. Change was - is so desperately needed in Fodlan. She chose a different path towards it than I would have, and I would've rather all of us walked that path together. But we all made our choices in the end, and neither of us was willing to yield. Not even if all those ways she wanted Fodlan to improve weren't so far off from ones I wanted myself.

[ And with a wan smile, devoid of any cheer he might normally force into it, ] I told her I would finish the job for her and I meant it.

I am sure she appreciated hearing that— would be glad to know you are intending to see it through. She is very passionate about her cause.

[Petra's response is truly genuine, though her brow remains furrowed.]

And— I am glad to be hearing you do not hate her. Many do, and have the right to. I am understanding that. I used to think that I should be hating her, as well, because of her position... but she is not the one who killed my father, or took Brigid under the Empire's power.

[She is a person, more than the Empire she represents.]

I do not always agree with her methods, either, but... I believe she does not have as much choice as we might think. The Adrestian Empire is as divided within as Fodlan itself is.

[ It's hard to think about this and even more difficult to think of Edelgard without remembering the palace. Who was in it beyond their troops - Dorothea, Petra - and how it all ended in the throne room. The cost of everything in all their choices, with his included as he's no exception.

But what Petra says isn't what he expects; something he should know better about than by now with all the mismatched information they all know and even from what they've compared, let alone what they're each keeping back since Claude doesn't doubt he's the only one who hasn't shared everything. He takes another moment to consider what Petra's said, and there is one more commonality there. ]

Sounds a little bit like the Alliance is. Or... was. I guess it's past tense now. There was always all kinds of infighting but even that was at no level comparable to what the Empire had in it with centuries more of history there.

[ There's no temptation to make that a joke for once since levity doesn't have a place here with what they're discussing. Claude looks back to the fruit in his hands, slowly spinning it again. ]

All of it had to factor into what she wanted to accomplish in bringing about change for what she wanted to happen, including what that would mean for anywhere outside of Fodlan based on giving Brigid its autonomy back. Edelgard also told me I didn't fully understand Fodlan's suffering and she's likely right about that. Much of it includes things you'd have to grow up with to grasp, I suppose.

I am thinking each nation in Fodlan is being divided in its own right. It is something they all have in common, and has made this business of turning blades on one another even more complicated than it was already being otherwise.

[The divided houses of the Alliance, the western lords in Faerghus. These were conflicts she mostly knew of in passing, had not had the opportunity to witness in person, but dealing with scout reports and various rumors often fell to her as a member of the Black Eagle Strike Force. Much of what was brought to her was... informative, but difficult to read.

War was painful for all involved, regardless of which side you fought for.

The tail end of what he says catches her after a moment, and she looks back to him, tentative, curious.]

Are you finally going to share where you were growing up? You are heir to the Alliance, but you are not from Fodlan.

[Edelgard may or may not have known that for certain; Petra cannot say, either way, but she'd developed her own suspicions about Claude shortly after they'd met.]

[ Complicated is a good word for it. He survived the war and accomplished those goals he'd kept his eyes trained on towards the future, brought Fodlan along with him for it, but never planned to see Fodlan's fate through. That's best left for someone else who also watched Dimitri and Edelgard fall to their ideals.

Edelgard - there's something else still occupying his mind like it has been since they spoke of her and before then too. Something he's working on finding a way to tell her, though Claude's in the middle of wondering if it wouldn't just be best to rip the bandage off and get it over with already when Petra asks something he's waiting for this time.

He stills and looks up at her again as she very carefully phrases a fact they both know. Now here it is, something he's chosen to bring up himself even if it's indirectly, and he considers it. Hilda might not know now but she will soon enough when his history aligns with her future. Sylvain probably will eventually, if what Felix told him about the fate of the Alliance is anything to go by and how he's chosen to fill in the blanks of that knowledge for himself.

And as they've talked about before, Petra knows he's left for somewhere else even if the where must be unknown as Claude thinks she would have said it aloud otherwise. Does he trust her with this? Yes, of course he does. That answer is ready in the same second he finishes that thought with no hesitation at all. ]

No, I'm not. My grandfather was my grandfather, and my mother is his daughter. But my father is Almyran, and I grew up there until I left to come to Fodlan. [ That's not everything, but one step at a time. He offers her a slight smile afterwards. ] Which wasn't that long before we enrolled at the academy so I did have some catching up to do, but I'd lived through enough to understand more than Edelgard gave me credit for.

[She nods steadily as he answers, catching that slight smile of his. No doubt he's always known he couldn't keep it a secret from everyone forever, and perhaps he hadn't intended to, but given his land of origin, she understands why he would have wanted to take care. Almyra could be a subject of much debate, especially among the lords of the Alliance.]

If I'd had to guess, I might have been guessing Almyra.

[She sounds at least somewhat pleased with herself.]

You do not carry yourself as a man of Duscur would, and I am thinking that it would have been more difficult to hide— nor do you have the countenance of those from Dagda. It would have had to be Almyra, or somewhere being much further away.

[She shakes her head slightly.]

I do not think it matters where you are from. Even with having to catch up, we have been seeing enough both within and beyond Fodlan's borders to be understanding. I have lived in Fodlan for many years now... some things are being very different from home, but others are universal.

You never know, I might've secretly been from Morfis this whole time.

[ With a grin since he can't resist interjecting just that once, though Claude stays quiet afterwards. What Petra says is true, both in how she'd narrowed down the few handful of countries other than Fodlan it could be, and that it should not matter where he is from. Or where she is, for that matter, but he doesn't think he needs this to be said aloud for it to be true given what she's described of the Empire's actions. Reassuring, in some ways, that maybe despite everything some part of his dream might still become reality yet in what Petra's lived.

Claude just offers a hum in response since there's much he could say there, especially in terms of similarities and differences, but that would be taking the conversation too far away from other topics they've yet to touch upon. Granted, Claude's the only one who knows they're there, but.

One of them is also particularly relevant here. ]

There is one other thing we have in common I should probably mention as part of all of that, what with the talk of some things being universal. [ Claude is, of course, going to finally tackle the fruit he's been holding onto like it'll add any level of casualness to what he's about to reveal and despite his usually cavalier tone. Choosing to go about it this way might be a little too entertaining to him. ] My father's Almyran, it's true. But there's a little more to it than that, considering he's also the king of Almyra.

[She laughs at his initial jest, but as he goes on to explain further, her expression shifts, and it would seem that he has genuinely surprised her at last— not an easy thing for anyone to do, given how well she takes most things in stride, but at this, her brows arch upwards, eyes widening slightly.

That is news, isn't it?]

Making you heir to two significant territories.

[As if being the future head of the Alliance weren't pressure enough.

She exhales, a low chuckle escaping her as she closes her eyes, a smile pulling at one side of her mouth before she shakes her head a second time and proceeds to pull another bit of fruit free from the piece he'd offered her.]

All this time, I had only thought you a noble of Fodlan, but we are having even more in common than I first thought. Does Brigid have a future ally in Almyra, then?

[A teasing question, naturally; her smile turns impish as she steals a sidelong glance at him.]

[ There it is - the surprise he'd been waiting for, when he finally looks up entirely too casually it's difficult to not feel a bit of pride. Somewhat misplaced pride given this was hardly an active scheme and merely a fact belatedly coming to light, but if every reaction could be like this one: well. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to wait. ]

Well, succession's not quite that simple in Almyra. I have siblings, and my father could choose any of us he finds worthy or none of us if he feels like it. I was on my way to find out what his thoughts on that might've been before ending up here.

[ Something he can't do much about now, needless to say, though it registers with Claude almost as soon as the words are out of his mouth that this is yet another thing they share. Where it differs, though: that Petra will find him in Almyra as his best guess for his destination after departing, but his own reaching out to Brigid might not be so simple. But. Claude's spent enough time dwelling on that lately to where he doesn't want it to take up more space now, so what better way to draw out his supposed contemplation of Petra's question than by taking some time to chew it and (more literally) his own piece of fruit over? ]

I'll consider it just as long as you don't require any tree climbing contests as part of any treaties since I really did mean it about not growing up with tall trees.

[ The smile fades from his face since despite his teasing it still brushes up against another topic he's been dragging his feet on bringing up. To the point where, if Claude allows it, he's aware he'll keep up the avoidance. So much for not letting other things crowd in. ]

Pretend I have a much better segue here, but I learned something recently I need to tell you. The last weekend I was in Nocwich I met someone in Thorne who knew Edelgard and Teach when they were here and also in Thorne. [ This time Claude doesn't let himself fidget, instead studying Petra carefully. ] I haven't told the others yet because I wanted you to know first.

[His remark regarding succession brings to mind a whole new host of questions— Petra herself is unquestionably the heir to Brigid's throne, and has never known any differently. She's been preparing to follow in her grandfather and father's footsteps her entire life, always knowing that she would someday be queen, but it is not so straightforward for Claude. There was a chance he might not inherit his father's throne, and she cannot help but wonder what he might think about that. Was it something he wanted, to guide Almyra in his father's stead, or would he prefer a different path?

Questions for later, perhaps— when the reveal was not so fresh. The fact that he had said it so very casually, made a point of his confession being so lighthearted meant that this might not be the moment for such existential questions.

She laughs softly in response to his insistence about the trees, and allows him to segue without interruption. As he speaks, her expression shifts; while not upset, there's a sense of urgency in her gaze that had not been there before.

Edelgard.]

Edelgard and the Professor were here?

[Without them. Had they been returned to Fodlan? Was there any way of knowing?]

I...

[She pauses, furrowing her brow.]

I am almost thinking it is a cruel twist of fate, that they were not here when we were all arriving. I know that there is much about Edelgard's methods that you and the others may disagree with, but here, away from Fodlan... I am thinking it could have been a chance to talk. To solve problems. With events unfolding differently for all of us, I do not know that it would make any difference... but it is strange, to know she was here and yet we did not see her.

[ A cruel twist of fate: that's a sentiment Claude can relate to in more ways than what Petra likely intends it to mean. It's a thought that's crossed his mind - something he's kept entirely to himself - over the last few months, given there's so much here they can't take home. That he can't take back with him if there ever comes a point where he leaves, and it chafes all over again when it surfaces in his thoughts once more.

That's not the topic now, though. There's a pause while Claude considers what she says, fills a bit of the silence with eating some more of his fruit like it'll help him find something better to say than a truth which is difficult for him to ignore. What he settles on is offering Petra a sorrowful smile. ]

I don't know that it would change much for what I lived, unfortunately, given that the war is over in my time. There's always the chance it might for others where the war hasn't ended yet for them.

[ Like for Petra, but Claude doesn't think he has to say that aloud. The same is true for Sylvain but with Felix being from the future and telling him about it - Claude has his doubts that much turned out differently there. And Hilda - well. His past is destined to be her future. No changes can be made there.

Maybe that's thinking with far too much pessimism much as he wants to call it realism. Maybe it's both. What if they were somehow brought here from much earlier in the war instead? Or from the academy? Could history as they know it be altered so drastically by no longer leaving things unsaid?

With a sigh he looks to the sky above them for a second, thinking. ]

If Edelgard and Teach were here when I arrived, I didn't recognize anything they built in the Horizon. It sounds like they were... here for a decent amount of time. [ A beat, and then he looks back to Petra. ] I don't- there have been others who were summoned here, left, and then came back from what I've heard. It could still happen that they return.

[She's silent for a few moments as she considers his explanation, taking another bite of fruit and chewing it thoughtfully. There is a chance, he says, that they still might return— that anyone who had left this place could.]

Here long enough that they left their mark on people, if not the Horizon. Enough that someone thought to ask after them.

[That in itself is interesting, though she has to wonder what either of them might have chosen to build in the Horizon in the first place. There was also the question of timelines, which they have all come to learn can vary in any number of ways.]

I wonder... which version of Edelgard did these Summoned meet? The friend I remember, or the conqueror that others have spoken of? It is... difficult, for me to imagine her as the latter, but I think... I could understand how she could become that person, without her friends.

Yes, there must have been some kind of impact. All I'd mentioned was Fodlan in passing and he placed it enough in his memory to mention both of them by name which means they must have... shared something about where we're from. That knowledge must not have left Thorne since no one I mentioned Fodlan to in the Free Cities after I arrived seemed familiar with it at all.

[ Not that he hadn't tried; there'd been a few too many instances of where he'd said the continent's name with a bit too much hope before letting that go. Until Petra and Sylvain had arrived too, that is, and then Felix and Hilda. For all his love of information, Claude isn't looking forward to telling the others about this though he knows that he has to.

Especially with that chance they could still return, and even as he watches Petra turn this over and over. The mention of a version startles him though it's an apt term; can Claude himself guarantee he's the same person in each timeline? It seems unlikely if what he knows as history did not happen for whatever those other versions of himself went through, and he can admit this as a truth.

He's silent for a long pause as he thinks. ]

The only thing I've ever been able to narrow down between what we all know is Teach. And that doesn't narrow down much at all given that you and Sylvain remember Teach differently than Hilda and I do, and I haven't asked Felix yet. There has to be a tie there somehow given that for you and Felix I give up the Alliance, but that didn't happen when... Teach was on my side, more or less.

[She nods slowly, considering. It's hard to think that any of them might change dramatically in any of these events; they are who they are, no matter what happens, or so she wants to believe, but what she hears of Edelgard from others, even in passing... it is not so much like the Edelgard she remembers. There are similarities, but perhaps it was the Professor's presence that managed to bring out the best in her? Perhaps that had allowed Edelgard to follow her path as closely as she could, without falling to desperation or having to make concessions in order to benefit from the aid of others.

It is impossible to know for sure without speaking to Edelgard herself. Even then, with events differing as they have, with their memories and experiences all being so varied... how can any of them ever know anything for certain?

She frowns again, taking another sizable bite of her fruit and chewing thoughtfully as she chooses her words, searches her feelings on the situation.]

I am thinking... there is much we cannot know for sure, but that whatever happens, or may have happened, we are all still ourselves. I am thinking that must be true for Edelgard, as well. All that is changing are the circumstances, but our hearts— those are not so easily changed.

[That much, she believes with certainty, and she looks at him squarely.]

Even though I remained with the Empire, I am still being the same Petra you remember from the academy, yes?

[ If it is true, that explains a lot in Claude's mind, in something he keeps to himself. It's also comforting in a double-edged sword kind of way to know that Edelgard's motivations were the same no matter the cause - that they would have still agreed on the things they shared that he'd only learned about through the course of the war. Of course, that also means his disagreement with her on what he couldn't overlook would have also stayed the same. Even that helps as much as it aches.

Claude fills the silence in with eating his own fruit while his mind is still turning everything over. Until Petra turns to face him, that is, and then he stops to study her as she asks a very important question. ]

I don't think you could ever be someone different to me, Petra.

[ That particular answer doesn't take long to find at all, with no need to mask it as anything other than what it is. It's possibly a little too honest if Claude stops to think about it, for what it might reveal which he doesn't intend to do in anything besides his usual deliberate ways. He doesn't feel like retroactively twisting it into anything else, though.

Or not entirely. ]

And by that I mean you could probably still outclimb me when it comes to any tree and same goes for archery, though we'll have to test out the latter sometime in person since the Horizon's taken care of proving the first one.

[ He's not forgotten his earlier slip in the branches on their way up to here even if his pride is no longer smarting from them. That's still winding his way around a point instead of outright saying what it is and Claude knows it, so he offers her a smile. ]

You're still the same person to me.

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an eternity later I am here

<3

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