[ whatever irritation he'd had with byleth at the time of the journey, and whatever assessments he might have made, he's calm and businesslike now. similarly: byleth is a fellow bearer and ally, in this moment, against the strangeness of these empty cities and burning sun. his habitual layers and overcoat, hood pulled over his head, help against the heat, though exposed areas of skin around his wrists and throat show the beginnings of burning. ]

Cutlery, [ he says, wry, ] and mostly rusted, at that. The only good thing is that this place is so empty, there's no one to defend against.

[ well, as of yet. there's a shard of glass he'd pried off a broken window hidden in one of his pockets, because it'd been sharper than most alternatives. he isn't letting his guard down. ]