school: byleth

[shaft]

how many of byleth's pcs use this image

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[divineimpulse]

[ah.

trust claude to be the one in here when she thought no one else was.

she shuts the book she was perusing (theoretical physics), and folds her hands overtop of it, expression as passive as ever.]

Hello, Claude.

[shaft]

Hello.

[ The air is different from all the times before this, nothing friendly in his demeanour, not even as an act. He looks at her as though he's trying to take her apart. ]

You must be tired.

[divineimpulse]

[her eyes flit from his—to his posture, body language, taking in every word.

she nods, once.]

I am.

[shaft]

Are you going to hide? From everyone who wants answers out of you.

[divineimpulse]

No.

I won't run from anyone.

But it's not hiding to stay out of the way.

[shaft]

How admirable.

[ He reigns it in- it's not his intention to be antagonizing. That's a fruitless endeavour. ]

Do you believe you're a victim?

[divineimpulse]

No.

[shaft]

Why not?

[divineimpulse]

Because I killed two people.

[shaft]

Only two? [ ... ] You had nothing to do with Sieghart?

[divineimpulse]

No.

I assisted Rupert with Bradley, and killed Crow myself.

Caiman thought I'd killed Sieghart, too. But it wasn't him, and it wasn't me.

[shaft]

So it's just a coincidence that someone decided to frame Denji after you decided that you would use your ability to save him from a false conviction?

[divineimpulse]

I'm not sure. It seems that way.

But I never held the ability to save someone in the first place. For safety, Sakyou asked me to pretend as if I did in exchange for being able to tell the two of you.

[shaft]

[ stares at the ceiling ]

What are you saying? That Sakyou fabricated this power?

[divineimpulse]

No.

The power is real.

I just don't possess it.

[shaft]

[ i hate it here ]

... Does Dimitri know?

[divineimpulse]

I told him.

[shaft]

Okay.

[ this is veering so far off the track he was expecting that he can't even remember what he had planned to ask about ]

[divineimpulse]

Claude.

[she calls out, voice soft, quiet.]

Did you want to ask me something?

[shaft]

[ There is. A lot. Probably something to clear up all of the questions they have about murders and Thursday nights, but. ]

Did you kill Hilda and the others at Gronder?

[divineimpulse]

Hilda retreated with you when you were injured.

[shaft]

[ ? ]

You didn't kill me?

[divineimpulse]

No.

Dimitri injured you, but you were alive.

We didn't pursue.

[shaft]

Why?

[divineimpulse]

Why should we have?

By the end, your troops were shattered, and ours were thin.

Destroying the Alliance was never our goal.