IC Inbox

[vrdantwind]

"Hey, this is Claude! Pretty sure I'm doing this correctly. You can leave me a message here, and I'll get to it as soon as I can. Talk to you soon~."

Comments

[vrdantwind]

You know, that's actually a great idea! I hadn't thought of something to hold his cloak, but he definitely would use something like that, wouldn't he?Sentimental and practical. Good thinking!

[bestswordmaster]

[The next message comes after even more time has passed.]

sylvain kissed me.

[That's...that's it. That's the whole message.]

[vrdantwind]

See? Did I know what I was talking about or what?

Congratulations. I hope the wait was well worth it.

[bestswordmaster]

goddess are you ever NOT smug?
it was
good.
we had a talk.
about the war and
oh.
I should probably tell you in case he mentions anything.
I told sylvain about the war.

[vrdantwind]

Wait, you mean about his future? What happens?

[bestswordmaster]

yes.

[vrdantwind]

So, now he's pretty much caught up to your version of current events, I guess?

Have you really not considered how much that could change things? What if, say, he decides to protect Rodrigue for your and Dimitri's sakes?

[bestswordmaster]

what difference does it make?
dimitri knows about it already too.
besides.
even if we didn't come to derdriu
you would figure out another way to save it.
but you're talking like everything else is the same in that situation.
even you can't predict every little thing that would change.
by the time we got to gronder maybe everything would be completely different.
weren't you the one who said you can't analyze things without information?

[vrdantwind]

I mean, I hedged my bets as much as I could at Derdriu already. Sent the civilians out on boats so that they wouldn't get caught up in the battle, had our forces split so the bulk of them could cut and run if the Kingdom's army didn't show to complete our pincer attack. But I didn't have any other cards in my hand, Felix. If the Kingdom didn't show up, Derdriu was going to fall. I bet everything on that, including my life and the lives of my soldiers in the city. So it would've meant the deaths of Judith from House Daphnel, Hilda, and whoever else would be crazy enough to throw themselves between the Imperial army and me.

I know I've never shied away from risky plays and big gambles, but do you really think I'd take the long shot of trusting you guys would take Fhirdiad, before you even reached the capital, and then trusting even further that the Kingdom would come bail me out - led by a Dimitri who'd been half-feral the last time I saw him, by the way - if I had any less risky plans? Plans that were more likely to be successful? I went with the best chance I had.

You're right in that I can't predict the ripple effects, of course. If things do change, maybe I'll have other options. But I didn't have any then. And that success was such a long shot to begin with that I don't like just casually banking on the hope that oh, it's fine, we'll figure out another way!...and I think I like it even less when other people are making my bets for me.

Still, what's done is done. Maybe it's already too late to cling to that path to the future, the way things are going.

[bestswordmaster]

making me keep secrets from my friends is no better.
you're not the only one affected if things change, you know.
but dimitri's already nowhere near the complete disaster he was at gronder.
by the time we get back he'll have improved more.
sylvain is so early in the war that with what he knows he can change the whole course of it.
telling them seems like it can only make things better.

[vrdantwind]

...you know, even as concerned as I am, I have to concede you could be right. The Dimitri I saw after his match today...I don't know if it was just a product of his being so sleepy his brain was shut off, but he's definitely completely different than at Gronder. So if those changes stick when we go back...he will be better off. And if they don't, well, we're no worse off than we were when things worked out the way they did the first time.

Maybe I'm so used to having fallback plans and hedging my bets and preparing for the worst that it's hard to believe there could be a scenario where things can only improve.

So what's your instinct, then? Just...share everything we know with each other, and let the cards fall where they may from there? Although by 'we', I guess I mean 'I', since I'm the only holdout at this point.

[bestswordmaster]

I don't know.
do whatever you want.
I told sylvain because
of personal reasons.
it wasn't strategic.
there were things he deserved to know.
if something is important for them to know then tell them.
if not then don't.

[vrdantwind]

This may shock you, Felix, considering I've only told you about five times now, but: I only keep secrets when there's a reason for it. So if it's something I haven't told you guys, you can probably gather it's important.

Tell you what, though - you've won me over this far. If you can get Dimitri into a genuinely good mental place - as in, well-rested, relatively happy, seems like he can handle surprising news okay - I think I can afford to tell you guys what's happened since the victory at Derdriu. It's not what I'd call bad news - just significant with a capital S. So it's important Dimitri can handle it. But as you said, things are getting better. So maybe there's no harm and some good that can come out of us all being on the same page.

I'm not making any promises about anything else. I was holding off on these secrets because of how it might affect our going back home, and Dimitri's mental state, and how it might affect the war. You've presented a decent argument that I don't have to worry about that stuff. My personal secrets, though...I've got different reservations about those.

[bestswordmaster]

[Felix rolls his eyes at the Gear.]

that's not what I meant.
I meant personally.
but that is a good plan.
though it may shock you claude
considering I've only told you about five times now
but I don't care about your personal secrets.

[vrdantwind]

You can't complain about not knowing me well enough and say you don't care about my personal secrets within the same 12 hours, I think the Hypocrite Squad will come collect you.

Mostly, though, I was explaining why I'm willing to tell you guys this much without actually telling you everything I've been holding back. Because I thought you'd grumble about it. If you don't care, then I guess I worried for nothing.

[bestswordmaster]

ha.
with how much you overthink everything I'm surprised you don't worry for nothing all the time.
speaking of getting to know you
you said you wanted to spend time with me.
when?
doing what?

[vrdantwind]

Aside from pokémon training? I guess it could be anything. Grabbing lunch, going on walks looking for new pokémon to catch, shopping...or just talking like this. Although talking in person's probably better when we can manage it.

[bestswordmaster]

no I mean
when more specifically?
oh but aren't we leaving for azalea today?
I guess we'll have to settle for walking and talking and catching pokemon until we get there.

[vrdantwind]

Yeah, once you guys are done shopping and Dimitri's done sleeping. I told his Pignite not to let Dimitri out of his room until at least 2 PM, so we'll have a late start, but...he needed the sleep.

I might just have him sleep on that sled of his, too. He tried to convince me to let him do that earlier, and I insisted on his having a bed for awhile, but I never said he couldn't sleep on the road as well. Maybe he and Sylvain could take turns.

[bestswordmaster]

that sled is so ridiculous.
so is his army of rats.
dimitri always needs more sleep.
sylvain's fine.
we took a nap earlier.
before the match.
maybe you should sleep on the sled.
sorry for keeping you up so late.

[vrdantwind]

I think his rats are pretty cute...the smaller ones, anyway. The big one's a little intimidating. The sled's...definitely unusual, but I won't argue with results. Or convenience.

Was it a decently long nap, or only a couple hours? Because Dimitri's going to get at least four or five under his belt, so unless you were able to sleep that long, Sylvain's probably gonna run out of juice later unless he can snooze a bit more.

And don't worry about me. I didn't sleep enough, maybe, and I've had a headache from the alcohol, but I'm still doing way better and got more sleep than Dimitri or Sylvain. I've survived much rougher days than this with no ill effects.

[bestswordmaster]

cute maybe if he had ONE rat.
not a steadily growing collection.
and one of them apparently plays games on his gear.
he tried to make me play one.
I almost smashed the damn thing.
the sled beats trying to carry him, I suppose.
does this world have horses?
the nap wasn't long.
maybe you're right.

[vrdantwind]

Hey, they're all cute, and they've each got plenty of personality. More to the point, I like that Dimitri's coming to appreciate the animals he's always either insulted himself by comparing himself to, or been compared to negatively. He won't be able to look down on himself for those associations anymore.

There are, actually! I've read about some of them. That said, most of them start out as foals that would have to be evolved before they could ever carry a person.

"Maybe you're right"...ah, those three little words that mean so much. But yeah, Sylvain should probably sleep more. See if you can bully him onto the sled while we're traveling, okay? Basque can knock him out with Sleep Powder if necessary.

[bestswordmaster]

oh.
that’s one of the things I need to apologize to him for.
I’m not fond of horses but dimitri is and sylvain usually fights as cavalry.
keep your sleep powder to yourself.
if he needs to sleep I’ll make him sleep.

[vrdantwind]

It can't hurt. I'm sure it'll mean a lot, too, coming from you.

I like riding a lot myself, although I admit I tend to lean more towards wyverns than horses...at least when it comes to fighting. Just for pleasure, though, I like them about the same. I wouldn't mind getting a horse of my own if we can find any. But since you mentioned it, I guess I've never seen you ride...

You can't just make someone sleep, Felix. I mean, you can make them try to sleep, but if the exhaustion hasn't caught up with Sylvain yet by the time we shove him onto the sled, I thought Sleep Powder could be useful in sending him drifting off at our convenience.