CLAUDE CATCHALL

[laid]

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W0 Friday evening

[laid]

[After the announcements, Raven isn't in his usual spot in the lobby. Instead, if Claude goes looking for him, he'll find him, weirdly, hanging out on the roof of the Planetarium, watching everyone else run about.]

[riegan]

(Interesting. It's a day of people not being where they would usually be...

Of course, Claude goes looking for Raven and it doesn't take him too long. From down below, he places a hand on his hip and looks up patiently. He knows he doesn't have to say anything. It's clear he wants to talk and he'll wait here all day if he has to.

Raven has to come down eventually.)

[laid]

[SIGHS. Well, he can't really begrudge anyone wanting to talk after an announcement like that, so he gives in fairly quickly, and drops down to the ground with a grace and ease that seems in directly conflict with his constant complaining about being old and decrepit.]

Hell of a day, huh?

[riegan]

(Yeah, he'd kind of suspected something was up the moment he saw him up there. Now he knows there's a little more here than he'd originally though. He cracks a half smile at Raven, raising a brow before quickly wiping that smile off his face to focus on more pressing matters,)

Got that right. It's not usually how I start off my mornings.

Did you know her?

(Hajime.)

W0 Monday Morning

[riegan]

(Monday morning, Claude comes looking for Raven! He has his bow slung over his shoulder and... a single, black feather from a crow or raven. Judging by the satchel at his side though, he has more.

He'll let Raven gather up whatever he needs and then head off towards the edge of the forest, towards an isolated area where they can talk. He holds out his hand to Raven waiting for him to give him the first arrow,)

Alright, hand it over.

(They have a deal. Raven makes the arrow and Claude fletches them for him.)

[laid]

[The arrow Raven hands Claude looks a fair bit better than the one he'd been working on when the arrangement had been made about a week ago. Clearly he's practiced a little. Only the best arrows for the heir to House Riegan, clearly.]

Y'know, I'm surprised that someone of yer social standing would have even learned how ta do something like this.
[Seems like the thing other people would have done for him.]

[riegan]

Status has nothing to do with it.

(He takes out a scalpel he'd snatched from the station earlier this morning. The perks of being an early riser! He begins to split the feather evenly down the middle. It's clear that he's done this before,)

My parents told me if I didn't learn how to take care of myself, I wouldn't get stronger. (Every now and then, he stops speaking to focus on a certain step that needs a little more attention,) So in the end, I did. I learned how to fight and to rely on myself just like they wanted me to.

I chased down the strongest general in the land and told him to not go easy on me. And wouldn't you know it? He was even harder on me than anyone else! I guess he had to be, though. I was difficult student.

week 1 after invest

[laid]

[Once the commotion of what is now a weekly routine dies down, Raven goes looking for one of the many teenagers giving him stress.

It takes him a hot minute to think to look in the Planetarium, but he makes it there eventually.]

You lookin' ta talk to one of the Leaders? Think they're probably too busy, by now.

[riegan]

(Who knows exactly why he's here!! Anyway he's looking up at the lights in the ceiling, his head held high and standing straight. Everything looks fine! Not like the previous night when he'd been distracted by something,)

It was worth a try. (He shrugs,) I'm an important person, after all.

(Well, back home at least. People would usually make time to speak to the Riegan heir if only to gain his favor for the future.)

What's up? (Turning to give Raven his attention,) Here to find some answers?

(In the stars? From a leader? From him?)

[laid]

[Claude "don't you know who I am" von Riegan strikes again.]
Lookin' for you, actually. Figured I oughta check on you after how you were actin' last night but it seems like yer back to normal now.

[Maybe he'd really just been tired???]

Week 1, post trial

[riegan]

(Guess who's all rested up and reeling from the results? Really, he feels like he should just go back to sleep but there are things he needs to do! People to take care of! And others to call out like right now when he tracks down Raven where ever and holds out his hand.

GIVE HIM YOUR HAND YOU OLD MAN)

I've got something for you.

Eski I'm crying I only just now noticed you set this up

[laid]

[Raven looks instantly suspicious!! Not because it's Claude (well, not mostly because it's Claude), but because he's holding out an empty hand and saying he has something for him? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? The vagueness does not help.

He doesn't take the hand just yet.]

What is it?

SURPRISE...

[riegan]

(Claude is a good, sweet, innocent deer who would never do anything suspect?)

I know saying, "You'll see" doesn't exactly inspire faith but "you'll see." Or you won't and you'll just never know.

(Cheeky.)

I won't lose any sleep over it.

Week 2, Tuesday-ish

[riegan]

(Tracking down Raven isn't easy. He acts like an unreliable and messy person but Claude knows that if he's sharper than he lets on and if he wants to be left alone, he'll make sure no one disturbs him.

But Claude is stubborn. Once his mind is set to something, he can be relentless and between everything else he's managing, it doesn't take him too long to finally catch a certain old man who probably reeks of alcohol given their new supply of booze,)

Raven. (Arms crossed, eyes determined, he isn't here to play his usual games.) I really thought it would be easier to find you this week.

(HE WAS A FOOL.

But also because emotions are a thing: Claude is determined, confident, and surprisingly very hopeful. Enjoy? A confidence boost maybe???)

[laid]

[Honestly, he figured throwing himself in the brig would make it easy to avoid people. Who would come down here with the state it's in!?

So of course it's Claude, stubborn and nosy and well meaning Claude. For him to track him down this diligently, he must want something, he can say that much even through the wine haze he's currently swimming in, flopped lazily in the corner of one of the cells, the door pulled closed but not actually locked.

The emotions on Raven's end feel as if they too have been blurred by the alcohol, anything meaningful smothered by the thick blanket of the addled contentment of drunkenness.

He raises his cup to cheers to Claude's arrival, and the pirate hat falls off his head.]

Maybe an old man wants ta drink in peace without a buncha kids judgin' him?
[He takes another sip.]

Ya seem like a man on a mission today. What d'ya need?

[riegan]

(Hmmm, he doesn't like this. He doesn't like it when things are foggy and heavy like this. It puts a bit of a damper on his own mood but not enough that he can't push back,)

Who's judging?

(He'll come over to push open the door and lean against the doorway, arms folded in front of him and absolutely smug,)

What would you say if I said I trusted you?

Week 2, Thursday

[riegan]

(He lets some time pass before he seeks out Raven, or rather, First Captain Schwann Oltorain. This is a complicated matter, something that he'd prefer to handle tactfully instead of emotionally.

(Emotions are pesky things)
(Able to slip through cracks)
(Reveal what's truly going on behind the mask)

It's best if he figures out his own thoughts and feelings before approaching. And when he's finally ready, he hails Schwann down. Claude's feelings are as sure and determined as ever! He refuses to be shaken about this. And he only has to redirect his drive, shifting from "the bigger picture" to the "piece in front of him."

It isn't perfect. Emotions are pesky.
(Especially when they're forced into the open like this)

And there's an underlying tension to it all. The air isn't as light as it should be. It's heavier because this is something serious.

It's fine. He knows he isn't the only one who has to put their feelings out into the open. He's counting on this week's strange effect to really pick at Schwann.)

I hope I'm not distracting you from anything, Captain. (His tone is airy,) I'll try to not keep you too long.

(He's willing to stick with this as long as he has to.)

[laid]

[Schwann seems less concerned about the weekly effect than Raven was. Perhaps it has something to do with how the overriding sentiment he gives off seems to be just... nothing. Ennui, indifference in a manor that’s less callous and more that of a man too tired to be properly sad all the time.

You’d have never thought Raven a dead man but Schwann? Well, it makes some sense.]

It’s quite alright. I am not busy. Was there something you needed?
[He forgoes the salute since Claude expressed not liking that.]

[riegan]

(Honestly, he was wondering if Schwann would be one of those guys who insists on formality over another's comfort so he's pleased when their greeting is, well, as normal as it can be.

He notes how flat the air feels around the other. It's so flat and heavy, he thinks. Yes, it does remind him of something dying hopelessly. )

Yes and no. (He came here with a plan,) First, I want to see how you're adjusting to your new character. Do you understand where you are? What tonight means?

(The air shifts. Concern. He's worried about him right now.)

week 7 friday

[laid]

[After the initial commotion has died down, Raven comes looking for Claude, away from the rest of the group. A private chat for feelings.]

If I apologize are you gonna tell me ta shut up?
[Because that's his impulse.]

[riegan]

(...

He gives Raven a look-- that playful sort of look that really needs to get knocked off his face. He's thinking of something and after awhile, what he says is,)

I'm listening.

(He'll let Raven talk.)

[laid]

[God that look is so annoying. He missed dreading it, so much.]

Well, I went and did the one thing I promised you I wouldn't do, didn't I?
[He did specifically say he wouldn't die.]

week 7 post trial it's fine

[laid]

[Raven actually ends up fucking napping on the couch for a bit!!! So much for his protests. But a but later, he's back up and reenergized!!]

Hey, Claude! How about that fresh air ya promised me?
[He didn't forget!!]

[riegan]

(Guess who's coming back with a bag of... something? Something's in the bag but he's glad to see that Raven is up and ready to go again.)

Already? (He's surprised! Has it been enough time.) ... Well, I'll just drag you back if you're lying.

[laid]

[Hm!! Suspicious bag!]

I told you! I just needed a little rest.
[Getting up onto his feet with nary a wobble!]

What've ya got in there, boss?