[It was difficult to tell if she was genuinely resting or not. Her eyes were still half-open, but her breathing had slowed dramatically and the way her head rested against the wall implied that she wasn't fully conscious. In truth she lingered in a half-aware state. If anyone were to suddenly approach her, she'd be able to snap awake in a split second - and Byleth would've done the same in her place. Even with Claude supposedly standing guard, to become vulnerable here was beyond stupid. Everyone here was an untrustworthy lunatic in some way.
Including Claude. He likely had ulterior motives and was just better at hiding it.
Sothis's mind gnawed over the motivations of this little human, and her semi-unfocused eyes shifted fractionally as she prodded Byleth's memory. Human brains were both highly organised and unorganised, storing information via associations. It was good for allowing quick, instinctive understanding and processing of the world around them, but made it a nightmare to interrogate for anything coherent. Short of retreating entirely into their mindscape and shaking her vessel down for information, she would have to make do with this painstaking process instead.
Querying 'Claude' got her a jumble of pointless information - for some reason Byleth associated him with lots of cake and a... Clauddles? What the hell is a Clauddles - but it was also enlightening in its own way. Complex emotions - happiness, sadness both. Trust, yet distrust. Byleth felt extreme positive emotions for Claude, but also a bit of wariness. Not because he thought Claude a threat, but because... ah. Projection. Understanding the nature of split timelines, Byleth correctly assumed that Claude's affection was misdirected towards him, that he would fail to match up to whatever expectations Claude may subconsciously have about him. Her vessel wasn't entirely clueless, then.
But, no matter how much she shifted through the data, Byleth's affection remained true. As much as he distrusted Claude's kindness, it was only ever from an assumption that Byleth didn't deserve it, that he had done nothing to garner it, as he wasn't Claude's Byleth. It was annoying and frustrating to admit it, but nothing Claude had done warranted suspicion or rejection. She had to grudgingly accept that.
But, the same could've been said for the Agarthans. She had been blind to their lust for power, and made excuses for the initial first few infractions, and so...]
...was your Hero's Relic brought with you to this land?
[The words came abruptly, and her eyes fully opened from their half-closed state, fixing onto Claude intently. Both her gaze and expression was unreadable, not betraying what leap of logic her mind had tumbled through to ask that question without lead up or context.]
no subject
Including Claude. He likely had ulterior motives and was just better at hiding it.
Sothis's mind gnawed over the motivations of this little human, and her semi-unfocused eyes shifted fractionally as she prodded Byleth's memory. Human brains were both highly organised and unorganised, storing information via associations. It was good for allowing quick, instinctive understanding and processing of the world around them, but made it a nightmare to interrogate for anything coherent. Short of retreating entirely into their mindscape and shaking her vessel down for information, she would have to make do with this painstaking process instead.
Querying 'Claude' got her a jumble of pointless information - for some reason Byleth associated him with lots of cake and a... Clauddles? What the hell is a Clauddles - but it was also enlightening in its own way. Complex emotions - happiness, sadness both. Trust, yet distrust. Byleth felt extreme positive emotions for Claude, but also a bit of wariness. Not because he thought Claude a threat, but because... ah. Projection. Understanding the nature of split timelines, Byleth correctly assumed that Claude's affection was misdirected towards him, that he would fail to match up to whatever expectations Claude may subconsciously have about him. Her vessel wasn't entirely clueless, then.
But, no matter how much she shifted through the data, Byleth's affection remained true. As much as he distrusted Claude's kindness, it was only ever from an assumption that Byleth didn't deserve it, that he had done nothing to garner it, as he wasn't Claude's Byleth. It was annoying and frustrating to admit it, but nothing Claude had done warranted suspicion or rejection. She had to grudgingly accept that.
But, the same could've been said for the Agarthans. She had been blind to their lust for power, and made excuses for the initial first few infractions, and so...]
...was your Hero's Relic brought with you to this land?
[The words came abruptly, and her eyes fully opened from their half-closed state, fixing onto Claude intently. Both her gaze and expression was unreadable, not betraying what leap of logic her mind had tumbled through to ask that question without lead up or context.]