day 0: tea time with hilda

[riegan]

(Anyway lets say they've figured out how to get into their rooms by now. Claude also knows better than to expect Hilda to do any favors on her own so uh, he'll just carry the tray with the kettle and everything for the two of them.

While the tea is brewing, )

Alright.

(Let's get down to business! Still keeping the mood light because getting all dower isn't his style but,)

Let's compare notes.

Did you say the last thing you remember was the Imperial Army?

(Well, maybe she didn't say that exactly but he's sort of inferring here.)

Comments

[riegan]

(Wow, he can't even make friends without people thinking he's up to something.)

It's the logical first step in a new place. (Make friends, get to know people, figure out who's who... it's served him well since he came to House Riegan and the Academy.) It's how I met you, after all.

Don't worry, I don't think I could ever forget you even if I tried.

(Which clearly means I need to make him forget Hilda, huh.)

[axecessory]

[ It's not her fault you seem sus as fuck sometimes, dear Claude. ]

Good, because I wouldn't let you live it down if you did.

[ She's teasing, now. The tea is helpful for her nerves—she may be tough, but it's the sort of day where a break would be good for everyone, and not just to sate her laziness. She breathes out a long exhale, not quite a sigh. ]

I just hope we can get back home without too much trouble. [ laughtrack.mp3 ] Nevermind that my brother's probably having a hernia—can you imagine how badly our class is going to freak out when we've all gone missing? I'm worried about them.

[riegan]

(Is Claude an imposter?)

Haha, when you put it like that, maybe we lucked out. Could you imagine anyone better than Holst searching for us? Why, I'm positively brimming with hope now.

(It'll be okay. Everything will be okay.

Actually, he has to appreciate the twist here. Maybe if he was a few months younger... plucked from an earlier time than he is now, he might think differently. He hadn't really planned on sticking around forever in Fodlan. Returning home was always a part of the plan. He would leave and when he was ready, he would be the one to come back.

And now, he thinks, he wouldn't mind if he was found.

He sips at his tea, smiling behind the cup. )

You'll give yourself wrinkles worrying like that, Hilda. It's not a good look for you.

(A playful jab, a little teasing to lighten the mood. A subtle reminder to not lose hope. )