[At first: relief. Familiar green eyes are staring up at him, and that means Claude is alive.
Then: confusion. Claude is too small. His body, his voice, everything. What in the world happened?!
Finally: Sylvain slips into a zone. He can worry about how weird this is later, what's more important is getting both of them out from this circle of enemies. He crouches down and holds his hands out, showing empty palms.]
I'm Sylvain. I'm your friend. I want to get you out of here. It's not safe.
[He sees something in his periphery and looks up in time to see the rushing soldier, axe raised. In one fluid motion Sylvain stands, braces his legs, grabs a javelin, and throws it. It skewers the attacker right in the neck, and he crumples to the ground.]
My... friend? [Claude repeats, the language of Fódlan still a bit strange on his tongue. It's a good thing he always practices it with his mother.
The man-- Sylvain-- fends off one of the men that had been trying to attack the wyvern, and that has Claude jumping out of the bush he'd been hiding in to huddle against the man's leg. He knows not to cling, not while he's fighting-- Nader taught him that-- but he stays close.]
[Sylvain had been hoping that taking out one of the threats would gain him some trust from this tiny Claude who clearly doesn't know him. He hadn't been expecting to suddenly have the kid pressed against his leg. Some relief floods through him at it, though. Good, he's close, that means he's safe. He spares a hand to touch the top of Claude's head- acknowledging, reassuring, comforting.]
Come on then.
[He scoops the kid up under the arms and hoists him up onto the horse, Sylvain hopping up behind him, a hand pressed gently around the front of him, in case he can't balance on a horse well by himself, and the other hand holds the reins.]
[Claude cranes his neck to look back at the wyvern; it's a good thing Sylvain has a hand pressed to him, or he'd already be at risk for falling. She'd protected him...]
Her rider has to come get her! [That might be a bit of a problem, for obvious reasons...
Fortunately for the little boy's worries, as they ride away, the men who had been trying to get at him seemed to change their minds about fighting an enraged wyvern that was no longer protecting their real target.]
[Goddess, kid, do you want to fall off the warhorse? Sylvain tightens his grip a little, and looks up at the wyvern himself.]
She'll reunite with her rider after the battle.
[He's... not gonna explain that now, nope.]
Come on, big girl, I got him.
[Please don't change your mind about trusting him. He chooses to trust her, turning his back on the wyvern to steer back toward Byleth and the others. From the sounds of things, Lysithea and Hilda have the rest of the battle well under control. He can see Leonie in the distance, too, taking care of a few flying units.
Any other threats that get close are getting another javelin for their efforts. Sylvain doesn't want to risk getting close enough to hit even with a proper lance.
They get close to Ignatz first.]
Don't ask questions, just point me toward the professor.
[Claude stays quiet, doing his best to stay out of Sylvain's way and not move too much, an absolutely monumental task for a very energetic and curious six year old.
Ignatz had in fact opened his mouth to ask who that child was and where was Claude, but Sylvain cut him off before he could. Well, alright then. He points towards Byleth, as requested, and then has to turn his attention to a Pegasus Knight that's just out of Leonie's range.
Claude takes it all in with wide eyes, more fascinated by all the green than afraid of the battle going on now that he's in relative safety. He's never seen so many plants in one place.]
[Sylvain would pin the kiddo to his chest if he has to, to protect him, but mini-Claude does a good job of holding himself still for now.
Sylvain is grateful that it's Ignatz and not someone nosier, and he makes a note to apologize to the gentle archer later.]
Doin ok?
[He checks in as they take off at a careful canter toward Byleth. He can't see Claude's face, but he can tell he's looking around. This is honestly just so strange. The weirdness of it is starting to sink in, now that they're not in immediate danger.]
[Claude nods, then realizes Sylvain can't look down to see him and speaks up instead.]
Yeah. But I don't know how I got here, or where here is. [And now that they're far enough from the heat of the battle to talk, oh boy does he have questions.] And how are you my friend if I've never met you? Are we in Fódlan? I heard Fódlan is green all over, and there's plants everywhere.
[Ah. Right. Sylvain had almost forgotten what children are like, having not been around one for quite some time. He breathes out a slow breath, but smiles lightly just after, not that Claude can see.]
Well it's... complicated. [He does not even know what happened, there's no way he can explain it to a kid. He needs to lie.] You don't know me, but I know of you. I'm gonna help protect you while you're stuck... here. We'll find a way to set things right. This battlefield is no place for a kiddo.
[The last questions make him chuckle.] Yeah. We're in Fodlan. Near the borders of the Empire and the Alliance.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Then: confusion. Claude is too small. His body, his voice, everything. What in the world happened?!
Finally: Sylvain slips into a zone. He can worry about how weird this is later, what's more important is getting both of them out from this circle of enemies. He crouches down and holds his hands out, showing empty palms.]
I'm Sylvain. I'm your friend. I want to get you out of here. It's not safe.
[He sees something in his periphery and looks up in time to see the rushing soldier, axe raised. In one fluid motion Sylvain stands, braces his legs, grabs a javelin, and throws it. It skewers the attacker right in the neck, and he crumples to the ground.]
no subject
The man-- Sylvain-- fends off one of the men that had been trying to attack the wyvern, and that has Claude jumping out of the bush he'd been hiding in to huddle against the man's leg. He knows not to cling, not while he's fighting-- Nader taught him that-- but he stays close.]
no subject
Come on then.
[He scoops the kid up under the arms and hoists him up onto the horse, Sylvain hopping up behind him, a hand pressed gently around the front of him, in case he can't balance on a horse well by himself, and the other hand holds the reins.]
no subject
[Claude cranes his neck to look back at the wyvern; it's a good thing Sylvain has a hand pressed to him, or he'd already be at risk for falling. She'd protected him...]
Her rider has to come get her! [That might be a bit of a problem, for obvious reasons...
Fortunately for the little boy's worries, as they ride away, the men who had been trying to get at him seemed to change their minds about fighting an enraged wyvern that was no longer protecting their real target.]
no subject
[Goddess, kid, do you want to fall off the warhorse? Sylvain tightens his grip a little, and looks up at the wyvern himself.]
She'll reunite with her rider after the battle.
[He's... not gonna explain that now, nope.]
Come on, big girl, I got him.
[Please don't change your mind about trusting him. He chooses to trust her, turning his back on the wyvern to steer back toward Byleth and the others. From the sounds of things, Lysithea and Hilda have the rest of the battle well under control. He can see Leonie in the distance, too, taking care of a few flying units.
Any other threats that get close are getting another javelin for their efforts. Sylvain doesn't want to risk getting close enough to hit even with a proper lance.
They get close to Ignatz first.]
Don't ask questions, just point me toward the professor.
no subject
Ignatz had in fact opened his mouth to ask who that child was and where was Claude, but Sylvain cut him off before he could. Well, alright then. He points towards Byleth, as requested, and then has to turn his attention to a Pegasus Knight that's just out of Leonie's range.
Claude takes it all in with wide eyes, more fascinated by all the green than afraid of the battle going on now that he's in relative safety. He's never seen so many plants in one place.]
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Sylvain is grateful that it's Ignatz and not someone nosier, and he makes a note to apologize to the gentle archer later.]
Doin ok?
[He checks in as they take off at a careful canter toward Byleth. He can't see Claude's face, but he can tell he's looking around. This is honestly just so strange. The weirdness of it is starting to sink in, now that they're not in immediate danger.]
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Yeah. But I don't know how I got here, or where here is. [And now that they're far enough from the heat of the battle to talk, oh boy does he have questions.] And how are you my friend if I've never met you? Are we in Fódlan? I heard Fódlan is green all over, and there's plants everywhere.
no subject
Well it's... complicated. [He does not even know what happened, there's no way he can explain it to a kid. He needs to lie.] You don't know me, but I know of you. I'm gonna help protect you while you're stuck... here. We'll find a way to set things right. This battlefield is no place for a kiddo.
[The last questions make him chuckle.] Yeah. We're in Fodlan. Near the borders of the Empire and the Alliance.