I keep forgetting to take much out of these places, but I do still have the box I took from one of the other locations.
But yeah, I think one bottle is probably enough. I don't want to drink too much in this place--
[ oh. the bubble is fine. alex is absolutely not going to pop it when she lean back off the counter. enjoythememory (crude language warning) that (crude sexual language and violence warning) comeswithit. ]
(Ah, but this is a memory. He's seen enough by now to know what's happening.
Everything starts off normal enough and Claude is almost relieved. He has no idea why Alex is upset but at least this memory seems to be ordinary! Wow, nothing horrible here! But it quickly progresses and what's left is
He isn't sure what he's looking at at first but as it progresses, he feels himself becoming sick with anger. If he could, he'd jump in and fight those guys himself. He'd beat them all down, he thinks, and make sure never hurt anyone again. He's anxious when Alex strikes because he can see where things will go. She's not dressed for a fight. She can't take on all of those people on her own and as the memory fades just when a man appears to strike?
Claude is gripping the counter top, looking like he's about to leap into a fight himself. But there is no fight. They're still in the saloon and he relaxes some.
He still looks tense. He's still horribly troubled. And he looks at Alex and asks,)
[ she just looks... confused. like she’s seen something that doesn’t quite make sense in her mind. like she’s seeing something interrupted by static and blur. ]
... It was staticky. Like my brain couldn't see it? I don't know. I recongised Nicholas, but... I don't know what was happening so I don't know why he was there.
By the time Claude realizes what’s happening, it’s too late. He has no compassion for that woman who murdered Jeralt and made Byleth and so many others grieve but he isn’t a cruel person. He finds no satisfaction in watching as Solon turns on his own ally, plunging his hand into her chest as she struggles to get free and screams in pain. The ruins begin to glow, a dark flame rises and begins to consume them all. He rips out her heart and crushes, unleashing his spell that engulfs a dark haired woman standing center of it all.
No, Claude thinks desperately, breaking into a run towards the ruins, eyes completely fixed on the darkness ahead. The flame… smoke? It’s so thick, he can’t even see her anymore and he pays doesn’t even think about the strange soldiers trying to get in his way. He won’t let anyone stop him and he draws his sword, swinging at anyone who gets in his path and knocking them aside. Close by, others follow suit, all of them converging at the ruins together.
No. Claude comes to a stop, staring at the place he’d last seen her standing. She’s gone. She’s really gone. Where could she have gone?
Everything he had planned. All of his dreams. The promises they’d made together. Everything they were supposed to do. Just gone. Vanished into thin air. How could that be? Byleth… she was special. She couldn’t disappear like this. There’s no way something like this could beat her.
It’s Hilda’s voice that snaps him from his thoughts when she demands to know where their teacher has disappeared to.
“They were swallowed by the mystical darkness of the forbidden spell. An eternity wandering in a void of darkness, never to return to this world… To think we almost had the Sword of the Creator…” The man explains and two of Claude’s allies snap back, refusing to accept it.
No, they’re right. Claude thinks. “I refuse to believe that Teach would die in a place like this!” He argues. He knows this. There’s no way she would die.
The cursed sage taunts, “It is possible that death has yet to find your friend. But there are worse things than death. Drifting through the darkness with no chance to escape…Overwhelmed with hopelessness… It must be torturous.”
Surely, he must think he’s won and is now gloating over his victory. He looks down on Claude and his allies, and Claude recognizes that look. The look of someone that wants to watch others despair. Well, jokes on him, right?
Claude laughs, “Hey, all I hear is good news.” He holds his head up high, “Teach is still alive.”
The sage makes a face. Had he heard them right?
“—And if that's true, then there's only one thing to do. Defeat you while we wait for Teach's triumphant return!” Claude declares and the others nod in agreement, reaching for their weapons— their lances, their swords, their axes, their magic spells. Even if it seems impossible, they’re ready to fight.
“How trite. But if you wish for pain, I shall oblige.” The man drawls and he readies his spell, “ If you prefer it so, you shall also be added to the ranks of the dead!”
And as if on cue… something in the air seems to catch their attention. Claude looks up, just as a burning blade cuts through the world itself. What comes through is a brilliant light, something so beautiful it’s almost frightening and yet, Claude doesn’t feel any fear. He can’t take his eyes off of it, as the tear in the world grows larger and larger.
From nothingness, a familiar woman steps down. She’s… definitely familiar. Even if her hair is now a shade of light green instead of dark blue.
“So the Fell Star consumes even the darkness itself…”
Claude doesn’t understand what that means. All he knows is that his teacher is back. Byleth really did come back. He’s flooded with relief and his heart feels like it could burst in his chest.
Byleth Eisner. His professor. That woman who had always accepted and encouraged him. With no expectations. No judgement. No agenda. That person who always believed in him and had his back…
And yet,
He hadn’t exactly been fair to her, had he?
Where as she had pushed him to where he needed to be, all he’d ever done was push her to where he needed her to be. Always towards his own goals and ambitions. It had worked in the end. They had similar goals but… had he been fair? No, he wasn’t fair to her one bit. How could he have been so selfish to try and force her to bear the cost of his dream? All of this time, even if he’d been kind and friendly to her, hadn’t he just been using her this entire time? Regarding her as someone he could just toss away and move on from when he achieved what he wanted?
He’d taken her for granted. How could have have taken her for granted like this? Why did he almost have to lose her to realize this?
“Teach… You are Teach, right?” Claude asks, almost uncertainly, “I always believed in you… I new you could cut your way out of anything.”
Her face is just a picture of confusion. I wish there was more I could say, but other than some recognition when she sees Hilda in the midst of some of these memory flashes, there's just pure confusion on Alex's face when the memories stop and they return to the present.
(Someone important. He recalls most of the memory enough and he tries to go over it again in his own mind. There are parts... that don't make sense to him. Places that feel empty or fuzzy. The harder he tries to fill in the blanks, the more impossible it feels though...
... So he chooses not to linger on it.)
That's too bad. (He speaks lightly, casually. It's hard to feel loss when one doesn't know they lost something in the first place.
(He's never been close to anyone in his life) (His classmates are his only friends and he still keeps them at a distance)) I'm not really close to many people, to be honest.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cw: language referencing assault, violence
But yeah, I think one bottle is probably enough. I don't want to drink too much in this place--
[ oh. the bubble is fine. alex is absolutely not going to pop it when she lean back off the counter. enjoy the memory (crude language warning) that (crude sexual language and violence warning) comes with it. ]
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(Ah, but this is a memory. He's seen enough by now to know what's happening.
Everything starts off normal enough and Claude is almost relieved. He has no idea why Alex is upset but at least this memory seems to be ordinary! Wow, nothing horrible here! But it quickly progresses and what's left is
He isn't sure what he's looking at at first but as it progresses, he feels himself becoming sick with anger. If he could, he'd jump in and fight those guys himself. He'd beat them all down, he thinks, and make sure never hurt anyone again. He's anxious when Alex strikes because he can see where things will go. She's not dressed for a fight. She can't take on all of those people on her own and as the memory fades just when a man appears to strike?
Claude is gripping the counter top, looking like he's about to leap into a fight himself. But there is no fight. They're still in the saloon and he relaxes some.
He still looks tense. He's still horribly troubled. And he looks at Alex and asks,)
Were you alright?
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...
?
What do you mean?
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(But he knows there's no point in really talking about it. She doesn't remember it, does she?)
What did you see?
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(The guy at the end?)
So you knew who he was.
(It wasn't just some random stranger. Some passing good samaritan? )
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(He tilts his head curiously to the side,)
Huh. He seems like a dependable guy.
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1/2
(Someone who would just slam into a fight to defend a friend? Claude's kind of guy.
Ah, but before he can ask any other questions? When he starts to stretch his arms behind his neck, his finger taps a bubble. It's his turn now!!)
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By the time Claude realizes what’s happening, it’s too late. He has no compassion for that woman who murdered Jeralt and made Byleth and so many others grieve but he isn’t a cruel person. He finds no satisfaction in watching as Solon turns on his own ally, plunging his hand into her chest as she struggles to get free and screams in pain. The ruins begin to glow, a dark flame rises and begins to consume them all. He rips out her heart and crushes, unleashing his spell that engulfs a dark haired woman standing center of it all.
No, Claude thinks desperately, breaking into a run towards the ruins, eyes completely fixed on the darkness ahead. The flame… smoke? It’s so thick, he can’t even see her anymore and he pays doesn’t even think about the strange soldiers trying to get in his way. He won’t let anyone stop him and he draws his sword, swinging at anyone who gets in his path and knocking them aside. Close by, others follow suit, all of them converging at the ruins together.
The shadows clear and…
It’s too late.
The woman is gone. Vanished without a trace.
(24:29-25:49)
No. Claude comes to a stop, staring at the place he’d last seen her standing. She’s gone. She’s really gone. Where could she have gone?
Everything he had planned. All of his dreams. The promises they’d made together. Everything they were supposed to do. Just gone. Vanished into thin air. How could that be? Byleth… she was special. She couldn’t disappear like this. There’s no way something like this could beat her.
It’s Hilda’s voice that snaps him from his thoughts when she demands to know where their teacher has disappeared to.
“They were swallowed by the mystical darkness of the forbidden spell. An eternity wandering in a void of darkness, never to return to this world… To think we almost had the Sword of the Creator…” The man explains and two of Claude’s allies snap back, refusing to accept it.
No, they’re right. Claude thinks. “I refuse to believe that Teach would die in a place like this!” He argues. He knows this. There’s no way she would die.
The cursed sage taunts, “It is possible that death has yet to find your friend. But there are worse things than death. Drifting through the darkness with no chance to escape…Overwhelmed with hopelessness… It must be torturous.”
Surely, he must think he’s won and is now gloating over his victory. He looks down on Claude and his allies, and Claude recognizes that look. The look of someone that wants to watch others despair. Well, jokes on him, right?
Claude laughs, “Hey, all I hear is good news.” He holds his head up high, “Teach is still alive.”
The sage makes a face. Had he heard them right?
“—And if that's true, then there's only one thing to do. Defeat you while we wait for Teach's triumphant return!” Claude declares and the others nod in agreement, reaching for their weapons— their lances, their swords, their axes, their magic spells. Even if it seems impossible, they’re ready to fight.
“How trite. But if you wish for pain, I shall oblige.” The man drawls and he readies his spell, “ If you prefer it so, you shall also be added to the ranks of the dead!”
(3:13-END)
And as if on cue… something in the air seems to catch their attention. Claude looks up, just as a burning blade cuts through the world itself. What comes through is a brilliant light, something so beautiful it’s almost frightening and yet, Claude doesn’t feel any fear. He can’t take his eyes off of it, as the tear in the world grows larger and larger.
From nothingness, a familiar woman steps down. She’s… definitely familiar. Even if her hair is now a shade of light green instead of dark blue.
“So the Fell Star consumes even the darkness itself…”
Claude doesn’t understand what that means. All he knows is that his teacher is back. Byleth really did come back. He’s flooded with relief and his heart feels like it could burst in his chest.
Byleth Eisner. His professor. That woman who had always accepted and encouraged him. With no expectations. No judgement. No agenda. That person who always believed in him and had his back…
And yet,
He hadn’t exactly been fair to her, had he?
Where as she had pushed him to where he needed to be, all he’d ever done was push her to where he needed her to be. Always towards his own goals and ambitions. It had worked in the end. They had similar goals but… had he been fair? No, he wasn’t fair to her one bit. How could he have been so selfish to try and force her to bear the cost of his dream? All of this time, even if he’d been kind and friendly to her, hadn’t he just been using her this entire time? Regarding her as someone he could just toss away and move on from when he achieved what he wanted?
He’d taken her for granted. How could have have taken her for granted like this? Why did he almost have to lose her to realize this?
“Teach… You are Teach, right?” Claude asks, almost uncertainly, “I always believed in you… I new you could cut your way out of anything.”
He always believed In her.
And he always will.
Always. Always. Always.)
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Her face is just a picture of confusion. I wish there was more I could say, but other than some recognition when she sees Hilda in the midst of some of these memory flashes, there's just pure confusion on Alex's face when the memories stop and they return to the present.
Hello?? ]
... ??
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(He tilts his head curiously to one side and then...)
Yeah, so that was a bad guy.
(That's it.)
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He. [ Uh. ]
He didn't look especially friendly, no.
[ .... ] Who was the woman? With the dark green hair?
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Flayn...? Are you sure it was a woman?
(Because Flayn is definitely a girl!!)
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... Yeah, definitely a woman. [ was there someone else with green hair? maybe, but.... ]
She had darker green hair, but it changed...?
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(Guess who looks VERY confused, Alex.)
Sorry, I guess... I don't remember who you're talking about.
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Something you lost here then? She seemed pretty important.
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... So he chooses not to linger on it.)
That's too bad. (He speaks lightly, casually. It's hard to feel loss when one doesn't know they lost something in the first place.
(He's never been close to anyone in his life)
(His classmates are his only friends and he still keeps them at a distance)) I'm not really close to many people, to be honest.
(He's kind of a big faker.)
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...
If you say so?
[ everyone in that memory seemed... close enough, she supposes? but she doesn't know enough to say either way. ]
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Anyway he shrugs! He doesn't appear bothered but... he'll definitely think about this more later. He can never leave his thoughts alone.)
It looks like we both shared things we can't remember too well, huh?
(What are the chances ... when you're losing memories every week hah.)
What do you say? I remember for you and you remember for me? Until we can remember for ourselves.
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[ she smiles. ]
But that's fine with me. I'll keep your memory safe.