A DEBT.

*          Hearing Dimitri explain   his own discoveries served to back Claude’s own. He nods along, patient, but can’t help the soft sigh that escapes his lips. As nice as it was to have complimentary information, it didn’t help that the conclusion they’d both come to was “it’s hard to come to a conclusion”.

But, that in itself was a lead.

     “What I’ve found? Honestly? No, not really.” He leaves enough of a pause after what he’s said to be pertinent. Then, a crafty grin crawls across his face, making verdant eyes dance with light. “But what you just told completely backed something I’d been thinking. It’s not what either of us have found, it’s what we didn’t find.

     “Concrete information. Indisputable Facts. A foothold for an outsider to stand on, which is what ‘The Bureau’ offered to us. Even when you factor in the both of us having a newcomer disadvantage, there’s gaps in the information given, the information we’re allowed to see.” He shifts his weight, looks up at the ocean. “And why’s that? I’m banking on them not wanting us to know it. They’d prefer we stay confused, jump to conclusions, get frustrated until we eat what they want to feed us. But, in their obfuscation, I think they’ve tipped us off to their real goal.” In a single motion, Failnaught is swung into his arms and an arrow is grasped in his fingers.

     “So basically, we’re either about to fight tooth and nail for the truth, we’re coming out even worse than we went in, or this is an elaborate death trap and we’re both screwed.” He winks. “But, we won’t know unless we find out. You ready, your majesty?”

Relief and a new wave of confusion greeted him all at once. Withholding information seemed so difficult to believe with all he saw in the archive, but....he trusted Claude’s judgement. And, it seemed, Claude was finally trusting his in this endeavor, as well.

He was more ecstatic than person should be in these situations, really. A chance to fight truly side by side with his old classmate...the circumstance couldn’t dampen his spirit that much.

And so Dimitri nodded, flashing Claude a grin and bringing Areadbhar to a ready position, its jewel flickering red.

The trek down here hadn’t been as bad as Sylvain had been expecting it to be - the stairway leading to (basically) the bottom of the ocean had seemed more foreboding than it actually was, huh? In reality, it was just fascinating. And really pretty, actually.

But the real treat? This library was top of the list, for the moment. There’s not a lot of places that Sylvain would be able to say he favors, not honestly or directly to anyone for the most part, and libraries are definitely the top of that unspoken list. Sylvain’s hardly even realized that he’s said maybe a half dozen to words to Dimitri since they’ve started compiling books and reading.

The question is what earns Sylvain’s attention again and he blinks out of his focus, looking up from the book he’s leaned over, taking notes on. “Well, some. Nothing worth sharing, yet. It’s sort of like a puzzle, and all the pieces are down here - it’s just a matter of finding them!” It’s interestingly wise, coming out of Sylvain’s mouth, but he doesn’t linger on it much longer.

“Think of it a different way, though. You don’t have to know what anything means, Your Majesty. If it’s interesting, it’s worth noting. You’ll miss less information. And you’ll learn more,” Sylvain taps his temple with the blunt end of the pen in his hand, offering a wink, “Besides, I wouldn’t say you’re uncultured. Maybe, just.. a little sheltered?”

He placed a hand to his mouth, musing on Sylvain’s thoughts. He had a point, he presumed; to be frank he hadn’t been in a library with text this uniform, ever. There was no way humanly possible it was all one person, or even a very synchronized monastery. Dimitri had no other frame of reference for such a thing though. Books were created painstakingly by hand and by quill on parchment that took hours to pull, to sort.

“A good point....I’ve never even seen books made like this,” he hoisted the one up in his hand, admiring the craftsmanship. “We’ve been around in Fodlan for thousands of years and yet nothing of this sort was created.”

But it was still a lot to parse in a world that he was completely unfamiliar with. If only he had more time and more eyes...

Before sitting down he went to the window by the canal; peering out. How familiar this skyline was and yet .... so blatantly alien. Water, grass, trees, similar enough. Buildings that didn’t make much sense to him, but were still functionally human, still inhabited with familiar vessels. Even with those he knew it wasn’t Quite Fodlan.

His gaze was skyward for a good few minutes, but he could hear some sort of noise that sounded close enough to wyvern calls that he thought it a trick of his mind. It was just a bitter memory trying to steep in. He was fine. Though, the noise persisted, as tricks of the mind would do, but it was coming from below, enough for him to glance downward in curiosity.

Hastily he opened the window and poked his head out. “Claude? Care to explain what’s there with you? ....And why you’re here at this hour, for that matter?”

He could see light; feel a breeze that most certainly touched sunlight. There was no calm, though, no relief; beneath his feet was an endless chasm of water and the beasts that wished to keep him there.

The trek out was hasty; he wasn’t able to get another bottle of air and his supply was limited. Dimitri had to save himself here, sadly to be selfless here wasn’t to be. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t at least get one person out with him; he’d come down here with Sylvain, and by goddess he’d come back out of here with him. 

Bolting past the golems and leviathans was rife with challenge, the preparedness for war exchanged for the lack of traction on glass.

At one point, he slashed a leviathan’s neck open, a thorny burst of light above him as he dug Areadbhar in and covered glass in cumbersome red liquid. Blood trailed after him, dripping from the spear, dragged by his feet. Too familiar of after-images in an unfamiliar land.

He was glad it was beasts, though, and not humans. 

The groans of glass became louder as heat of the sun grew closer; though the glass was still mostly intact beneath them Dimitri found his footing to be less than ideal as water was covering the floor even more. And then he heard rumbling, hissing. Another great serpent.

“You’ll meet the same fate as your peers if you don’t stand down! I won’t hesitate to use you for oil, leather, whatever you’re worth. Stand in my way and I’ll tear you to shreds!” There was a fever in his voice, a too familiar twitch of a snarl.

*          Restraining the urge   to say the first things that came to mind, Claude’s lips thin as he listens. His arms cross as he rolls everything over, but there’s one thing said that he can’t help but cling to.

     Dimitri has a sense of self preservation again.           That’s good. More than good.

And so, despite himself, he cracks a grin. It’s small, but it’s filled with honest relief.

     “You know I do. It’s the same for you, too, right?” He gives a nod, as if confirming it to himself. When he next responds, he’s looking into the foreign building they’re about to enter. “I tried to do as much info gathering as I could before coming here, but what I was able to find out was that the technology’s way more than anything you’d find in Fodlan, which isn’t too surprising given this place as a whole is really advanced. The more concerning though is that I wasn’t able to find a complete map of it.” His assent to adventuring with Dimitri is given by sharing his findings. He looks back at him.

     “How about you? Have you found out anything else about this place?”

Dimitri tapped a finger against his arm, the metal of the gauntlets resonating. Shoulders remained firm, though his expression seemed to lighten, just a bit. 

This wasn’t an ideal situation, by any means. The technology being more advanced should’ve meant the cartography was more thorough--his finger moved to his chin now to worry at the skin there. “As for what I know...I took to the archives earlier but the amount of knowledge of this place was tricky to find. There’s a lot of information, it’s just difficult to tell what exactly is pertinent as an outsider. And a lot of information was about geographies that matched up with nothing I’ve seen either here, or in Fodlan.”

*          The crease in his brow   didn’t lessen. If anything, it got worse. He didn’t want to think about guilt nor did he want to agree that Dimitri made some good points. But, he had to, and for a moment, he scowls more before his expression melts into something almost forlorn. Dimitri hadn’t listened to him back then. Ironically, it made sense he wouldn’t listen to him now.

For Claude, the “future” presented to him by the other stung, but he was careful not to let that show. Who knew, at this point, what awaited for them back in their world.

     “Yeah? Well, how do you think I’d feel if I let you come with me and something happened to you?” He owes him the truth on that matter. Sighing, he continues. “Alright, let me ask you this: If we both end up getting in trouble, do you think you can prioritize saving yourself?”

He crossed his arms, sighing. “If anything happened to--I’m plenty capable!” He almost pouted. “I...if push comes to shove, I can. But mark my words I refuse to let you meet your end in there if I can help it.”

Dimitri sighed. “But I do realize the importance of my own life, and I cannot go dying here in this land. But neither can you, I’m sure.”

⚔          How could you believe his words after all that you lived through? All that you had sacrificed? He claimed he was no longer that monster that you knew him to be, the monster you knew he became. If the two of you were different, what would that make you? Were you alone in this regard? Lost to the carnage you committed for the Empire? 

Yet, you couldn’t detect deceit in his tone. You watched him, carefully, and saw no signs of the boar you once knew. If anything, you are reminded of a Dimitri from long ago- one you shadowed after and clung to.

Confusion seeped in your veins and you wanted proof that he was still the same beast you betrayed. Maybe you did want to cut him down. Maybe you wanted to let this sleeping dog lie. 

“Ha…! You…you expect me to believe that? After all I had gone through to make my own path, you think I can just go along with what you’re saying?!” You bite back, fists clenched as you felt yourself ready to boil over. You feel heat rising in your chest, steeling your gaze to keep the other at a distance. You can’t risk him stepping forward- you can’t guarantee his safety, even if he were to overpower you. 

“If you’re really no threat, then stay far away from me. I want nothing to do with you. The next time we meet, I will be sure you stay in your grave.” 

He wished desperately to step forward, to close the space--he had no idea what this Felix had seen but he was still Felix all the same. And yet he wished him to stay away, as he did all those years before. But he saw something in his eyes, a torment that he never saw before. Something too much like himself.

Dimitri couldn’t let it go. Couldn’t let anyone else suffer the way he did, even if it was his own doing.

But...even if he wanted to close the space, he couldn’t just disrespect Felix’s space like that. 

“If...if that’s what you want,” Dimitri sighed, nodded. “Then so be it. I’ll go. But...could you just answer me this? I don’t understand what’s going on. Why do you look like I did when Byleth found me in the monastery? Why do I haunt you so?”

He had a feeling he knew the answer.

“That’s true, I believe our tiny emperor kept you more than occupied on that front.” They gave a shrug at this before drinking from their glass and watching him from over the rim.

When he moved away the eyepatch, they stared at the scarring beneath for a moment before moving a bit closer. Setting the glass down on the counter, they used that hand to reach up and touch at the scarring around the eye—not bothering to ask or even give any warning, giving a soft ‘hmm’ as they touched it.

“While you may never had seen me, I most definitely saw you,” as they spoke they took their hand away, but remained close, eyes now studying the rest of Dimitri’s features. “And I can definitively say the scarred eye is something new. I don’t recall you donning it before.”

Pausing for a moment, their eyes moved down from his face, and instead to his body. They simply stared for a moment before finally speaking up, grabbing an end of the blanket as they did. “I’m sorry, but… Are you truly only wearing this around the house. Nothing under here.”

Edelgard...he didn’t want to think about her here, a scowl raising on his face at the sheer mention. As far as he knew she was dead..........terrible things to remember this comparatively sanitary living space.

Not that he’d have long to dwell on it. A snarl escaped his lips almost instinctively at the touch to his face, taking a backwards scamper when they reached for the cloth, almost hunched over.

*          One thing that was becoming clear to Claude   when it came to dealing with the king of Faerghus was that being vague often wasn’t an option. If he needed Dimitri to understand something immediately, he had to say it outright. Still, old habits died hard. When they’d run into each other outside of the Astra Research Center, Claude initially had tried to shake him off subtly. When that had failed, he tried making his intent to brave the building alone known. That had also failed, and now they stood at the entrance, stubborn and at a stalemate.

What was he supposed to do if being direct didn’t work?

     “Dimitri, I’m telling you,” Claude continued, unable to keep exasperation from coloring his tone, “with how deep I plan on going in there, I can’t guarantee it won’t be dangerous. Yes, I know very well how capable you are, but it’s easier for me to look out for myself alone than two people, understand?”           ✧ @expieer​ (sc.)

Unfortunately for Claude, Dimitri didn’t flinch any. 

True, they were both way out of their elements here. He had no idea what was even in this place, if it was just information or anything....else. Dimitri wasn’t going to suddenly balk at a hardship now.

“I would feel horrible if something happened to you in there if I turned back. Besides, it’s not as if I’m a stranger--we may not be the most intimate of comrades but rulers need to be aware of each other’s strengths.”  It was simple politics, really. Aside from their own countrymen perhaps they were the best bets to work alongside one another. 

At some level it should’ve occurred to him that yes, this would require sifting through a library’s archives. His one good eye ached.

His first thought was to get to the nonfiction. This was easier said than done--unfortunately he was not native to here nor here for very long; any historical documents he was at the mercy of Saturninity’s classification system, to which he wasn’t wholly familiar.

A yawn escaped him, wringing his face out in his hand. “I worry I’m simply uncultured enough to know what any of this means, have you made any progress?” 

At least Sylvain was here, at the table alongside him, working through the mess of books before both of them. He cast a worried glance his way, though; was he making any better sense of this than he was?

⚔           You found no comfort in his presence or in his taunting words. How long had it been since you stared down the face of a monster? You don’t even seem to care that he bears an eyepatch now as your heart paces with adrenaline. If only you had something, anything, to use so that you could end this all quickly. You knew that if he were to talk more, it only serve to aggravate you further, to fill you with rage you would kill him again. 

You were angry. You were furious. 

You are afraid. 

The depth of Dimitri’s voice reached your ears and you realized he wasn’t a figment if your imagination, just as he had been many times after you struck him down. He was seemingly testing you and his stare bore into the sins you had committed. Who was he to judge? You were no different, a fact you hated to admit but could not deny. Even so, you were frozen in place. If he were to approach you now, would you let him take you? Even after getting so far to serve the Empress’ goals? 

“I haven’t a want for a long time, boar,” You muttered, hoping the venom in your voice would cut deep in lieu of a real sword. “I cut you down once before and I will do it again.” 

With eyes narrowed, you knew if you spoke any more, something inside you would betray you. It was not easy to see Dimitri here. Just when you thought you could put the past behind you, it comes rushing back with violent force. 

He did it once before, he’d do it again...

Dimitri’s legs gave a little. He tried his best not to wince. Felix...felix and him had both survived, defeated Edelgard together. It wasn’t pleasant but they were alive, breathing.

The reaction made no sense. Tthis was some sort of twisted phantom come to taunt him, wasn’t it? Whatever slack was in his posture was rectified. Allowing this phantom weakness would do him no good, even if it was only a figment of his imagination. And yet...and yet he understood.

If he was not saved by Byleth and Dedue, then he would’ve been no better than a rabid animal.

A disaster to be prevented.