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[perfectteatime]

Greetings friends, my name is bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

there appears to be an issue with the key...

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[ The feed suddenly cuts on and you can see the sky, and a bit of minty green hair. Forgive him he's not fantastic with technology. ]

Hello- apologies. I am Byleth Eisner. I do hope this ah- this message finds you all well. I would like to possibly request a bit of help as I believe I may be slightly-

[ It shifts and you can finally see his face! Wait- no. That's an Espurr who's soul-piercing eyes strare into the camera. ]

Espurr!

Breakfast, please! I know you must be hungry, but once we find our way to civilization, I promise we can eat-

Wait- don't d- [ The last thing the video shows are some Espurr beans before the feed cuts. ]

Comments

[vrdantwind]

A picnic, huh? Those are harder to cater than simply going to a restaurant or ordering in...but it wouldn't be impossible. Especially with the right choice of food...

[Oh boy, he's already scheming.]

And hey, you know I would've loved to be in your class, Teach. But you couldn't exactly recruit everyone away from the Golden Deer, could you? At least the house leader had to stay put. [There's some mixed feelings there, that's for sure. The loneliness of his friends leaving his house while he had to stay behind, his genuine desire to join whatever class Teach was in and follow those friends that he hadn't been able to pursue, the quiet inferiority of not having been enough to hold onto the ones who left. Multipled, perhaps, by the knowledge Lysithea and the previous Teach had given him, that when Teach had been in his house he hadn't lost anyone at all - not even Lorenz to the Empire and Count Gloucester's demands during the war. He wonders what made Byleth choose the Golden Deer in that version of events. He wonders what he failed to do to make that happen.

He does his best to shake off those mixed feelings and the melancholy that comes with them, but he can't stop his gaze sliding away from Byleth to be Anywhere Else for a few moments. He also fails to respond to that dig at his cooking and/or his poisons(anyone who'd seen his performance at the cooking contest might declare them potentially indistinguishable), which for Claude is perhaps more telling than anything his eyes are doing.

It definitely puts him in an extra awkward spot when Byleth presses the question Claude had casually sidestepped.]

Me, Teach? I'm fine, obviously. Can't you tell? [He looks back at Byleth, flashing a smile.] You know me. Not a lot really gets me down.

[perfectteatime]

Half the fun is making the food though, isn't it?

Ahh... I know. To be honest I wish I had simply bent the rules but- well. You ended up coming through for us all the same, but I feel like I missed out on getting to spend time with you. [ It wasn't for lack of wanting, surely.

The shift catches his attention, and while he may not have been Claude's primary teacher, he probably knows him better than he might like when he's trying to hide something. There's that smile. The same easy smile that never quite reaches his eyes, the one he puts on like armor. While Dimitri is like water, a crashing, unstoppable force, Claude is very much like the wind. He lets himself flow around things. ]

Claude, you know I won't demand anything of you, but I know you're lying to me. I understand you find it hard to be vulnerable. Just know that I will be here when you are ready to speak earnestly with me. Just don't think you're fooling me with that, though.

[vrdantwind]

For picnics? I guess you've got a point. But at the same time, if you want to try the new dishes and cuisines this world has to offer, it'd be better to try them prepared by people who know what they're doing before we dive into trying to whip those up ourselves. Though we could always have a picnic with tried and true favorites from home, too.

Oh man...now I'm wondering if you'd like s'mores. Chip showed us how to make them. They're the kid of a guy we met here, Grant - both of them are great. You should ask them to show you how to make s'mores sometime.

[At the suggestion of Byleth bending the rules, Claude laughs.] Man, the rules being bent or broken for or by you back at Garreg Mach were kind of a regular thing, weren't they? But I think that one might've been above your head. I don't think Seteth or Rhea would've allowed it. Their whole house structure was a pretty big deal for the academy.

[Of course, then Byleth calls him out. More like draws and quarters him, really. Claude laughs, even if it's slightly uncomfortable.] Man, Teach, you still don't pull any punches, huh? But listen...the biggest thing eating at me right now isn't something I can really get into with you just yet, whether I want to be cagey or not. I haven't talked it over with the person it affects the most, so it'd feel wrong to gossip about it with somebody else before I can talk to them directly, y'know? Which I can't do just yet. There are factors at play forcing me to wait.

But even then, I'm honestly doing pretty okay. This is definitely nowhere near the worst off I've been here, or anywhere else. So you don't have to worry so much.

[perfectteatime]

Ahh that is true. Perhaps a mix of old and new?

[ That gets a head tilt. ]

S'mores? Well, if it's food, I'm willing to give it a try. What is it made of?

[ Rules schmules. Rules are lame especially when they mean he can't steal Claude. He huffs in visible protest, just a touch of stubbornness coming out. ] That's stupid. I wanted you. They should have simply let me. [ This said out of spite rather than you know. Logic. ]

Hmm. All right. I'll respect that, but just know that if something is truly troubling you, you can always feel comfortable sharing with me if you so desire. It will always stay between us unless you ask otherwise.

I'll worry, but I will not press you. Just please let me know if I can support you in any way.

[vrdantwind]

That could definitely work. And then everyone could pick a favorite food from home to make, and the people traveling with us who aren't from our world can try it. The rest can be catered.

[He grins.] Well, s'mores are made out of marshmallows and chocolate and crackers...but none of those things in this world are quite like they were in ours. This world is a lot more technologically advanced than ours, and as a result the processes for making a lot of things are very different than the ones we know because they're done by machines, in quantities that humans couldn't possibly keep up with. But they're really good. If you like sweets at all, I can't imagine you not liking these.

You wanted me, huh? [Claude laughs, giving Byleth a wink.] Well, you've got me now, for whatever that's worth. And most of the Lions, too. I just wish some of my Deer were here, too...

Anyway, as far as support goes, just having you around helps a lot, Teach. And once I get what's bugging me addressed...well, it can't really be kept a secret or anything after that, so you'll find out in due time anyway.

[perfectteatime]

That sounds delicious. How fascinating, technology never ceases to amaze me. I only hope Fodlan will eventually reach this level of peace and prosperity. I will be doing my best to ensure that happens though.

I do love sweets. Well, any food actually. I don't think there's anything I have disliked as of yet.

I wish you had more of your classmates here too, but I am glad you are here with us at least.

[ He nods firmly. ]

Understood. I won't pry further. Just know that you can be genuine with me, even if you can't tell me what has you down, I will always be supportive and do my best to help in the ways I can. You need not feel that you must hide your feelings.