[Claude's right in that any suggestions -- about anything, really -- would be swiped aside in his usual grumbly fashion. But now that they've made it over a short hill, and there's an impressive expanse of foothills, not very far from where they currently are. A cluster of young trees and trails lay on both sides and Felix, more or less, steers them both towards the thicker patch. No more jogging, though, so there's that.]
It's just a cave, Claude...
[And though he's more preoccupied with their semi-climbing and keeping balance, Felix realizes it's perhaps the first time he's ever said the other's name out loud and in his presence. It sounds weird in his own ears and tastes different on his tongue. Not necessarily bad -- just jarring enough to make him pause as he's stepping up onto a shelf of gravel and rock.]
...nothing there worth more than ten minutes' time, at best.
[ Huh. That sure is his name. It might be that it feels like the first time, that there is something of a first in it.
There's excuse enough for Claude's distraction, at least: unlike Felix, he does like to stop and enjoy the view. The span of foothills is outright picturesque, and though the air is thinner at this altitude, the smattering of green from the hills and trees lends an earthy freshness to the air.
So while Felix pauses, Claude takes that moment to appreciate what surrounds them, and for once in his life not overthink something. That something of a first.
Then glancing to their feet, confirming the soundest step amidst the slanting gravel.
A breezy observation: ]
If you haven't gone too far in... how do you know, Felix?
[ Not his first time speaking his name, of course. Nothing to it, right? ]
It could open onto winding passages into the mountains or have the remains of a hapless traveler from the past. Until we check it out, our little cave of mystery could have anything.
[ Our, though by all rights, it should have just been your. ]
Figured if it was too far or too dark in for me to see, then it wasn't meant for my eyes.
[Our earns Claude a narrow look, though Felix (wisely?) refrains from commenting on that particular word choice. If Claude wants to think of it as something of theirs, no matter how preposterous Felix wants to say it is, then who is he to stop him? Harmless naming shouldn't take up this much awareness.
(Even if he's thinking about it a lot more than he perhaps should.)]
But you'll see and then you'll be disappointed. Soon enough.
[What awaits them on the other side of this easternmost hill is a scree slope, down which leads into a thicket and a cluster of trees and, eventually, the cave in question. Not easy to see from where they currently are but Felix's memory hasn't failed him yet.
At the very least, they're no longer moving upwards so this portion of the trip shouldn't put too much strain on their bodies. And good -- Felix is getting a little tired and hangry.]
Then it wasn't meant for your eyes? I didn't take you for the type.
[ Go ahead, ask what type.
If he doesn't: it skirts the edge of the devout, doesn't it? Accepting limitation imposed by nature (or, to the typical Fodlan noble, the goddess). Believing that man's inability to act unassisted means he should not do. As though a sword was not itself a tool, as though they could not fly on the backs of wyverns.
Really, though, he's teasing. More likely, it's simply that Felix hasn't got a surplus of curiosity about the backs of mundane caves, and that isn't a bit surprising. ]
Well, thanks for considering my feelings and warning me.
[ Against disappointment. Humor rich in his voice, rippling at the notion that Felix would mind his feelings. ]
Until then, I've got curiosity enough for six cats.
[ Also not a bit surprising: Claude doesn't believe there's anything that wasn't meant for his eyes.
Despite the agility of his tongue, he isn't impervious. Given how much he'd weighed himself down with, he's feeling it, his steps more cautious down the loose slope. He might be long talented at not showing what he doesn't want to show, but he can't control his sweat glands, and even in the growing chill his forehead beads with it. Soon enough is more welcome than he'll admit. ]
[And even though Felix just means a lack of curiosity, he wisely (??) avoids inquiring further, if only to avoid having Claude turn this into a discussion equivalent to an opened can of worms. The guy is too clever and mischievous for his own good. Golden Deer? More like Golden Fox...
The trip down the slope should be easier compared to the rest of their hike, considering it's mostly gravity propelling them down. Once or twice Felix had to skid on the gravel to keep from breaking into a sprint but he's otherwise in good shape. At least enough to feel smug about it when he glances over to Claude and notes the state he's in.
[ Agreed with easy cheer. With that, Claude lets the subject drop, and his willingness to press less might have as much to do with his state, so to speak, as Felix's determined indifference.
If only said indifference extended to said state. The slope should be easier, and mostly it is. But gravity works as much against as with him, a relentless pull against the additional weight. He'd have fair skipped down less burdened, but now must pick his steps, and lags behind Felix toward the end.
But such a smirk and barb can hardly go unanswered. Claude grins back, tossing up a parchment-thin mask of surprised denial. ]
Tired? Me? Why--
[ Making no attempt to hide, as they reach the bottom, the hand wiping across his brow-- ]
Yeah, I'm feeling it.
[ Blunt admission and no shame in it. Hey, he's not a horse. ]
But it's a good tired, you know?
[ Nothing like working up a sweat in the great outdoors, like the invigorating effect of brisk movement through fresh air. ]
[Despite his earlier teasing, Felix nods in acknowledgement. He respects Claude's honesty more than the bit of satisfaction he got from observing his struggle with hiking.]
We're just about there, anyway.
[And he's not kidding. There, several dozen feet down and tucked at the bottom of aslope and surrounded by few patches of shrubbery is the crooked mouth to a cave. And if not for the small pool of crystalline water at its opening, it could easily avoid the untrained eye.
Like the finish line to a race, seeing the cave puts a spring into Felix's step and though he doesn't break out into a jog or anything, he's moving considerably faster. Claude'll catch up, he tells himself. It's fine.
He glances over a shoulder, the ghost of a grin lingering there for too long for it to be considered anything but, then fixes his gaze ahead.]
C'mon. Don't get left behind.
Edited (wanted to add more!) 2020-02-03 06:25 (UTC)
[ At that indication of proximity, Claude perks up, encroaching weariness forgotten. While he hasn't got an eye particularly trained for caves, or this cave, his eyes are good and there is that pool. ]
Ah, our disappointing just-a-cave. I can't wait.
[ Neither, it seems, can Felix, who just about takes off. If Claude didn't know better, he might misread that phantom expression for mischief or, dare he be so absurd, fun. And he might just choose not to know better. An expression like mischief and words as much invitation as challenge, together more than the sum of their parts. Together, it approximates a sense of camaraderie.
Just a sense, fleeting and foolish. Felix isn't the type, his childhood attachments singular exceptions, and Claude hasn't the experience to recognize the feeling.
But he smiles at Felix's back, eyes strange in it, before he shrugs more from habit than to communicate and follows.
Much as he'd have liked to take a moment to bask in the view, that picturesque opening and its glittering base, there's logic to Felix's rush. Rest too long here, so near to their destination, and they would lose momentum. Better to have a proper rest there.
Still, that speed's a real pain when Claude's overpacked to the extent he has. He is catching up, but at risk of being winded when they arrive. Not his best look, to be sure. It's beginning to creep into his voice, conversational though his tone. ]
You know, at this juncture, you can't really leave me behind.
[The cave's right there, true, and leaving his travel partner by himself would be the ultimate dick move -- one that even Felix would avoid -- but that doesn't mean he's above giving Claude a thin smirk that just borders on mischievous, suggesting that he might. One could argue it's challenging, maybe?]
Try me.
[It's too late for that, though, because they're down at the bottom of the hill, just at the mouth of the cave. There's a dirt and gravel path leading into the cave along the edge of the pond, which would help them avoid having to swim their way in. And it's just as Felix remembers, mossy and with a damp smell. Not the best setting but anything's better than getting stuck outdoors in the middle of a rainstorm.
There's some light pouring in sunlight in through the mouth and from cracks in the rock formations surrounding it, but not a lot. Certainly not enough for them to go exploring too far into the cave. Well, not enough for Felix. Claude, who can really say for sure.]
See? It's just a cave. Nothing worth getting so excited for.
[ Geeze, if Felix keeps looking at him with that genre of expression, Claude might get the wrong idea and resume with that wild notion that Felix likes (let's not get ahead of ourselves -- doesn't hate) being around him. Even if said expression is accompanied by a pointed threat to ditch him.
Claude laughs, brisk and breezy. ]
Maybe next time.
[ Because they have arrived, and his attention shifts to the water, the path that skirts it, the sheltered scent and fading light. Claude looks with interest, his gaze sweeping and thorough, stepping just to the last sliver of light before he begins to remove the bulk of that weight, setting down the bag with relief.
Unburdened, he begins to stretch, rolling back his head on his neck, arching his back, and reaching above his head before crossing his arms behind it. ]
Felix, [ with a sigh ] you lack a sense of adventure. And so Claude, intrepid amateur spelunker, must go alone. Be right back. Maybe?
[ Well, that's one way to try him. Claude winks, then walks into the shadows. At the very least, he'd like to get a sense of how far back the cave goes. ]
[The drawstring bag Felix brought with him is dropped to the ground next to Claude's things and though it's considerably less bulky, he still mirrors Claude, welcomes the relief of not having to haul it around for much longer now that they're finally here.
He leans his neck to one side until he's rewarded with a crack, then pushing at his own chin, he practically twists to the other direction where the crack's significantly louder. Ingrid once described this habit as disconcerting; Sylvain called it gross.]
Don't be stupid. You're not going in there by yourself.
[Not realizing he's being had, Felix starts for the inkier portions of the cave's interior, cracking his neck and knuckles and back all the while.]
If something happens to you, you'd haunt me.
[And goddess, wouldn't that be torture.]
our search engine, who art all-knowing, hallowed be thy name
[ Given the source of the sound, it likely doesn't really echo through the cave. But proximity and the cool, enclosed but potentially expansive face makes it seem louder than it may otherwise have. It's subjectively, mildly unpleasant, watching Felix twist himself until something gives, but Claude tends to regard the mildly unpleasant (the squeamish, maybe) as potentially interesting. Feelings worth dissecting so to prevent later distraction.
And so, Claude looks on with amused curiosity before turning, and would have commented, but that --
Huh. Felix is coming along. Sure, that had been a half-hoped intent, an indirect challenge in what preceded, but it came down to Felix's obstinacy (having expressed his thorough disinterest, to now remain adamantly unmoved) against his -- competitiveness? Or, what Claude can't imagine him ever admitting to, but suspects -- kind-heartedness? Deep, deep-seated.
Before he can accuse Felix of actually caring, a more self-interested motive comes.
Claude pretends to think about it, hand rubbing at his hair. ]
Hmmm, that's probably true.
[ Absolutely wicked, the grin that begins to break behind his wrist. ]
I'd need you to say hello to Lysithea for me.
[ Inside joke, sorry. ]
Plus, you seem like a good candidate for haunting.
[One could argue on behalf of deep, very deep-seated kindheartedness, sure; but Felix would insist they're wrong and that he's only doing so because he'd get charged with some ancient war crime -- no, he doesn't know which, look it up -- and no one, least of all Dimitri, would ever let him hear the end of it. More than enough incentive, he'd say.
Felix wrinkles his nose at the mention of Lysithea. The joke's completely lost on him. All he knows of her is her diminutive side, her penchant for Reasoning, and an even bigger penchant for baked goods. He makes an even weirder face at the remark that follows, and even scoffs, his expression thankfully unseen.
Thankful, because it's too close to an amused grin.]
A good candidate, huh. What's even the criteria for something like that? A lack of regard towards the supernatural? No patience?
[Up ahead, the cave stretches out even further, eventually forking into two 'roads' -- one dry path going into even darker mouth of the cave, and the other stretching the pond out into something better lit, albeit with hardly any walking room. Felix hadn't gone far enough to pick a path during his previous exploration of the cave. And from the looks of things, he's not keen on making that choice today.]
...please tell me your curiosity's already slaked.
[ And Claude wouldn't have faulted such a motive. Not a bit, given that he's himself not so much on the chivalry, in favor of saving his own hide. He not only understands a wariness of the possible repercussions, but could respect it.
Though, he would doubt one point: that anyone would care very much, for any length of time. A less charitable part of him might just be able to picture Lorenz throwing Felix a party for leading the Riegan heir into his early and likely self-steered demise and so assuring the security and illustrious future of the Alliance.
But privy to none of that, he returns his arms behind his head and considers the question. He considers simultaneously whether he's getting better at judging the subtle shifts in Felix's tone, if there is an actual touch of humor in his gruff tone. It isn't so ludicrous a thought given their surroundings and all that preceded this.
Claude would likely respond in much the same way regardless, but with the growing suspicion that Felix might just have an iota of patience for him, his comfort in teasing him sprouts new roots. ]
Exactly that. A guy like you wouldn't spook, and I get the feeling sticking by you, I'd always see something interesting.
[ Maybe, maybe not. In the moment, he entertains the notion, and the branching path gives credence to it. No mistaking the flicker flame of interest as he looks between the two. ]
Liiiike that. Do you often ask questions to which you know the answers? I'll compromise: we'll go down just one path today.
[ Sweeping his arms out from behind his head to gesture grandly, one arm pointed in each direction. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
It's just a cave, Claude...
[And though he's more preoccupied with their semi-climbing and keeping balance, Felix realizes it's perhaps the first time he's ever said the other's name out loud and in his presence. It sounds weird in his own ears and tastes different on his tongue. Not necessarily bad -- just jarring enough to make him pause as he's stepping up onto a shelf of gravel and rock.]
...nothing there worth more than ten minutes' time, at best.
no subject
There's excuse enough for Claude's distraction, at least: unlike Felix, he does like to stop and enjoy the view. The span of foothills is outright picturesque, and though the air is thinner at this altitude, the smattering of green from the hills and trees lends an earthy freshness to the air.
So while Felix pauses, Claude takes that moment to appreciate what surrounds them, and for once in his life not overthink something. That something of a first.
Then glancing to their feet, confirming the soundest step amidst the slanting gravel.
A breezy observation: ]
If you haven't gone too far in... how do you know, Felix?
[ Not his first time speaking his name, of course. Nothing to it, right? ]
It could open onto winding passages into the mountains or have the remains of a hapless traveler from the past. Until we check it out, our little cave of mystery could have anything.
[ Our, though by all rights, it should have just been your. ]
no subject
[Our earns Claude a narrow look, though Felix (wisely?) refrains from commenting on that particular word choice. If Claude wants to think of it as something of theirs, no matter how preposterous Felix wants to say it is, then who is he to stop him? Harmless naming shouldn't take up this much awareness.
(Even if he's thinking about it a lot more than he perhaps should.)]
But you'll see and then you'll be disappointed. Soon enough.
[What awaits them on the other side of this easternmost hill is a scree slope, down which leads into a thicket and a cluster of trees and, eventually, the cave in question. Not easy to see from where they currently are but Felix's memory hasn't failed him yet.
At the very least, they're no longer moving upwards so this portion of the trip shouldn't put too much strain on their bodies. And good -- Felix is getting a little tired and hangry.]
no subject
Then it wasn't meant for your eyes? I didn't take you for the type.
[ Go ahead, ask what type.
If he doesn't: it skirts the edge of the devout, doesn't it? Accepting limitation imposed by nature (or, to the typical Fodlan noble, the goddess). Believing that man's inability to act unassisted means he should not do. As though a sword was not itself a tool, as though they could not fly on the backs of wyverns.
Really, though, he's teasing. More likely, it's simply that Felix hasn't got a surplus of curiosity about the backs of mundane caves, and that isn't a bit surprising. ]
Well, thanks for considering my feelings and warning me.
[ Against disappointment. Humor rich in his voice, rippling at the notion that Felix would mind his feelings. ]
Until then, I've got curiosity enough for six cats.
[ Also not a bit surprising: Claude doesn't believe there's anything that wasn't meant for his eyes.
Despite the agility of his tongue, he isn't impervious. Given how much he'd weighed himself down with, he's feeling it, his steps more cautious down the loose slope. He might be long talented at not showing what he doesn't want to show, but he can't control his sweat glands, and even in the growing chill his forehead beads with it. Soon enough is more welcome than he'll admit. ]
no subject
...you know what I meant.
[And even though Felix just means a lack of curiosity, he wisely (??) avoids inquiring further, if only to avoid having Claude turn this into a discussion equivalent to an opened can of worms. The guy is too clever and mischievous for his own good. Golden Deer? More like Golden Fox...
The trip down the slope should be easier compared to the rest of their hike, considering it's mostly gravity propelling them down. Once or twice Felix had to skid on the gravel to keep from breaking into a sprint but he's otherwise in good shape. At least enough to feel smug about it when he glances over to Claude and notes the state he's in.
A smirk tugs at his mouth, then.]
Tired, are we?
no subject
[ Agreed with easy cheer. With that, Claude lets the subject drop, and his willingness to press less might have as much to do with his state, so to speak, as Felix's determined indifference.
If only said indifference extended to said state. The slope should be easier, and mostly it is. But gravity works as much against as with him, a relentless pull against the additional weight. He'd have fair skipped down less burdened, but now must pick his steps, and lags behind Felix toward the end.
But such a smirk and barb can hardly go unanswered. Claude grins back, tossing up a parchment-thin mask of surprised denial. ]
Tired? Me? Why--
[ Making no attempt to hide, as they reach the bottom, the hand wiping across his brow-- ]
Yeah, I'm feeling it.
[ Blunt admission and no shame in it. Hey, he's not a horse. ]
But it's a good tired, you know?
[ Nothing like working up a sweat in the great outdoors, like the invigorating effect of brisk movement through fresh air. ]
no subject
We're just about there, anyway.
[And he's not kidding. There, several dozen feet down and tucked at the bottom of aslope and surrounded by few patches of shrubbery is the crooked mouth to a cave. And if not for the small pool of crystalline water at its opening, it could easily avoid the untrained eye.
Like the finish line to a race, seeing the cave puts a spring into Felix's step and though he doesn't break out into a jog or anything, he's moving considerably faster. Claude'll catch up, he tells himself. It's fine.
He glances over a shoulder, the ghost of a grin lingering there for too long for it to be considered anything but, then fixes his gaze ahead.]
C'mon. Don't get left behind.
no subject
Ah, our disappointing just-a-cave. I can't wait.
[ Neither, it seems, can Felix, who just about takes off. If Claude didn't know better, he might misread that phantom expression for mischief or, dare he be so absurd, fun. And he might just choose not to know better. An expression like mischief and words as much invitation as challenge, together more than the sum of their parts. Together, it approximates a sense of camaraderie.
Just a sense, fleeting and foolish. Felix isn't the type, his childhood attachments singular exceptions, and Claude hasn't the experience to recognize the feeling.
But he smiles at Felix's back, eyes strange in it, before he shrugs more from habit than to communicate and follows.
Much as he'd have liked to take a moment to bask in the view, that picturesque opening and its glittering base, there's logic to Felix's rush. Rest too long here, so near to their destination, and they would lose momentum. Better to have a proper rest there.
Still, that speed's a real pain when Claude's overpacked to the extent he has. He is catching up, but at risk of being winded when they arrive. Not his best look, to be sure. It's beginning to creep into his voice, conversational though his tone. ]
You know, at this juncture, you can't really leave me behind.
[ After all, the cave's right there. ]
ah the link stopped working
Try me.
[It's too late for that, though, because they're down at the bottom of the hill, just at the mouth of the cave. There's a dirt and gravel path leading into the cave along the edge of the pond, which would help them avoid having to swim their way in. And it's just as Felix remembers, mossy and with a damp smell. Not the best setting but anything's better than getting stuck outdoors in the middle of a rainstorm.
There's some light pouring in sunlight in through the mouth and from cracks in the rock formations surrounding it, but not a lot. Certainly not enough for them to go exploring too far into the cave. Well, not enough for Felix. Claude, who can really say for sure.]
See? It's just a cave. Nothing worth getting so excited for.
i googled it and think i found it!
Claude laughs, brisk and breezy. ]
Maybe next time.
[ Because they have arrived, and his attention shifts to the water, the path that skirts it, the sheltered scent and fading light. Claude looks with interest, his gaze sweeping and thorough, stepping just to the last sliver of light before he begins to remove the bulk of that weight, setting down the bag with relief.
Unburdened, he begins to stretch, rolling back his head on his neck, arching his back, and reaching above his head before crossing his arms behind it. ]
Felix, [ with a sigh ] you lack a sense of adventure. And so Claude, intrepid amateur spelunker, must go alone. Be right back. Maybe?
[ Well, that's one way to try him. Claude winks, then walks into the shadows. At the very least, he'd like to get a sense of how far back the cave goes. ]
praise be to google-sama
He leans his neck to one side until he's rewarded with a crack, then pushing at his own chin, he practically twists to the other direction where the crack's significantly louder. Ingrid once described this habit as disconcerting; Sylvain called it gross.]
Don't be stupid. You're not going in there by yourself.
[Not realizing he's being had, Felix starts for the inkier portions of the cave's interior, cracking his neck and knuckles and back all the while.]
If something happens to you, you'd haunt me.
[And goddess, wouldn't that be torture.]
our search engine, who art all-knowing, hallowed be thy name
And so, Claude looks on with amused curiosity before turning, and would have commented, but that --
Huh. Felix is coming along. Sure, that had been a half-hoped intent, an indirect challenge in what preceded, but it came down to Felix's obstinacy (having expressed his thorough disinterest, to now remain adamantly unmoved) against his -- competitiveness? Or, what Claude can't imagine him ever admitting to, but suspects -- kind-heartedness? Deep, deep-seated.
Before he can accuse Felix of actually caring, a more self-interested motive comes.
Claude pretends to think about it, hand rubbing at his hair. ]
Hmmm, that's probably true.
[ Absolutely wicked, the grin that begins to break behind his wrist. ]
I'd need you to say hello to Lysithea for me.
[ Inside joke, sorry. ]
Plus, you seem like a good candidate for haunting.
no subject
Felix wrinkles his nose at the mention of Lysithea. The joke's completely lost on him. All he knows of her is her diminutive side, her penchant for Reasoning, and an even bigger penchant for baked goods. He makes an even weirder face at the remark that follows, and even scoffs, his expression thankfully unseen.
Thankful, because it's too close to an amused grin.]
A good candidate, huh. What's even the criteria for something like that? A lack of regard towards the supernatural? No patience?
[Up ahead, the cave stretches out even further, eventually forking into two 'roads' -- one dry path going into even darker mouth of the cave, and the other stretching the pond out into something better lit, albeit with hardly any walking room. Felix hadn't gone far enough to pick a path during his previous exploration of the cave. And from the looks of things, he's not keen on making that choice today.]
...please tell me your curiosity's already slaked.
no subject
Though, he would doubt one point: that anyone would care very much, for any length of time. A less charitable part of him might just be able to picture Lorenz throwing Felix a party for leading the Riegan heir into his early and likely self-steered demise and so assuring the security and illustrious future of the Alliance.
But privy to none of that, he returns his arms behind his head and considers the question. He considers simultaneously whether he's getting better at judging the subtle shifts in Felix's tone, if there is an actual touch of humor in his gruff tone. It isn't so ludicrous a thought given their surroundings and all that preceded this.
Claude would likely respond in much the same way regardless, but with the growing suspicion that Felix might just have an iota of patience for him, his comfort in teasing him sprouts new roots. ]
Exactly that. A guy like you wouldn't spook, and I get the feeling sticking by you, I'd always see something interesting.
[ Maybe, maybe not. In the moment, he entertains the notion, and the branching path gives credence to it. No mistaking the flicker flame of interest as he looks between the two. ]
Liiiike that. Do you often ask questions to which you know the answers? I'll compromise: we'll go down just one path today.
[ Sweeping his arms out from behind his head to gesture grandly, one arm pointed in each direction. ]
You can even pick!