#ariaharte

Help had not really been what Claude was offering. A drink, now that is what the man had to give Annette. His wife had been at her desk for almost the entire day, putting the finishing touches on her plans. Plans for the new school she was about to open up.

“I can tell. You didn’t even give me a chance to say that I brought you a drink before accusing me of trying to help. Don’t you trust me to keep my promise?” His promise to not help her with the sorcery school beyond giving it his seal of approval to be opened. She had begged him to not do more than that. 

                                  𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒛𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 ; @ariaharte 

⁅ ⚜ ⁆ “I really don’t know what else to tell you,” the girl answered with a slight tilt of her head, arms folding across her chest ; One had already explained own means of how to relax, these usually involved a bowl of fruit sorbet, freshly made slice of cake, or some pieces of sweets. These tastes hardly ever experienced as a child one now could not get enough of, spoon after spoon of sugar poured into her tea whenever the sensation of bitterness was to arise in the back of her throat. WHENEVER ALONE or scared, she’d often also indulge in singing to kill the silence, but deemed this useless to bring up for she knew singing to oneself was a trait fellow mage shared, and neither of them were probably as discrete as they sometimes thought. 

“If you want a RELAXATION EXPERT, I suggest you talk to Linhardt,” the girl added, eyebrows knitting together ; One was forever BAFFLED ( and quite frankly, quite jealous ) by his ability to rest nearly anywhere and anytime ; Even missing CLASS because the desire to stay sleeping had been too strong. Why, the Ordelia could barely sleep in her own bed. 

@ariaharte | ANNETTE 

there’s a part of him that wonders why his typical facade weakens around her; he finds no real reason to prove himself… to act out. he feels something akin to familiarity being around her, despite them never having met in their youth. it was something about listening to her sing, almost like— 

  hush little one…

almost like he was unable to outgrow old habits, oh well. 

it helped that annette’s competency in her field meant that felix didn’t have to worry about her well being in battle. it would be a boldfaced lie to say that the prospect of training her would be unpleasant, an even greater one to say that it would be a waste of time. annette wasn’t spread thin in her interests and was more than capable to handle several different disciplines at the same time.

“Maybe.” 

just in case. there’s an authenticity to her request that actually manages to cause his cold front to break down with a small smile. he’s amused himself for a while having women from the kingdom sidling up to him with disguised offers of ‘training’ only to walk away dismayed when they find him more than willing to honor the request. he’s a good judge of skill, typically refusing a bout if it was apparent there was nothing to be gained on his part from the training session, time was the most valuable resource one could offer after all. 

and yet if meant spending more time with her-

“Nimble footwork is important, good for evading blows and closing the distance but let’s see if we can tighten up your stance. You need a solid foundation to actually swing your sword without falling over.” with ostensible indifference, felix would point with his head towards the general direction of the training grounds.

expression visibly brightening upon catching a glimpse of a familiar shade of red hair. when their classmates and he made a promise to return to the monastery in five years from that day on he didn’t truly believe it. perhaps it had just been wishful thinking that they all would return to the same place, even more so when the monastery got stormed by the imperial troops. even when he stood there in the tower waiting for his old teacher he felt like a fool, but he just had to keep on believing. 

“Oh! Well, I’m here either way at least!” And a little embarrassed…

pspspspspspsps

@ariaharte​ said: “Bah — Claude?! Oh, I’m so sorry!” She yelps, nearly stumbling with the pile of books in her hands that she nearly mowed him down with. She’s long forgotten the little tune she’d been humming to herself just moments before, now more immediately concerned that she’d nearly sent both of them crashing to the floor. “I wasn’t watching where was I going. Ah, not that I could, really, with all of this books, but... “ Frowning, she shakes her head. “Still, I’m suuuuuper sorry!”

Well, isn’t this a sight? Looks like Annette was a little too enthusiastic with her song ; she didn't even seem to notice him. (And don’t think he didn’t hear about blowing up the library.) Of course, it was partly his fault too - he just stood there in the hallway, only stepping back at the last second before disaster. Claude gives her an easy smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Annette, it’s not like you knocked me over.” He waves a hand. She was small enough not to do much damage on impact - if any at all - but those books... “Where are you headed with those, anyway? The library is that way.” He points behind the student. She had passed right by it, so maybe her destination was elsewhere. Still, she looked as if she was in her own little world then.

“ OH, Annette, I… uh, um –” the prince fumbled, trying to find a way to gracefully bow out of this, or at the very least, kindly decline. Dimitri wasn’t much of a singer. All the training he received from choir practice and participating in singing services for the Goddess. Even then, the prince of Faerghus wouldn’t raise his voice – unless, of course, someone like Sylvain or Felix refused to sing a verse or do their part. 

Yet who was he to say no to Annette ? And who was he to especially say no to the children and villagers by Garreg Mach ?