tête-à-tête

"It's curious," Claris said, her face uncharacteristically solemn. "That girl, I mean."

The fact that Claris was standing before him, with all the casualness that he might expect from someone like Sodis was curious in itself. Claris seldom visited him, which was reasonable, considering that their paths hadn't intersected at all while they were alive.

Rather, Claris was rarely seen with anyone. She gave off the impression of a loner, and Zephyr wondered if it was because of her time-traveling abilities, or if it was naturally a facet of her personality. She spoke to most with a confidence, as if she knew them well, even if they were complete strangers.

So it was all the odder that she would walk into his domain. They didn't share much, aside from generally being magic users, and a slew of summoners who relied on their powers.

Gathering himself together, he conjured up a teapot and tableware and served his guest, who made herself comfortable at the wide sofa he favored for reading.

She accepted the steaming cup from his hands. "Thanks. I've done a lot of exploring, through different eras and locales," Claris said. "In a way, this power, while being troublesome at times, is a blessing. I've been able to live a very rich life."

Before the war happened and obliterated most life went unsaid. Zephyr nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said, smiling. "I do have a point to all this rambling. What I mean to say is, after all that traveling, I've never seen that girl in Grand Gaia before. And now she goes missing, with no clue to her whereabouts."

"It is rather worrisome," he said, speaking for the first time in their interaction. "Especially considering the circumstances under which we parted." After the first twelve hours of no communication, he'd tried a few simple location spells, but those all failed. And while he could have encroached upon their mental bond to find her... he chose to respect her request to him, instead. She had a habit of surviving when the odds dictated otherwise.

She stared at him for a second. "Y'know, that look of concern on your face is pretty attractive, Mister Second-in-Command," Claris quipped. "I'm a little jealous of our Summoner."

Zephyr made sure the look he gave her was as scathing as possible.

"Haha. So even you can lose your cool a little?" She set her empty cup down. "Still, I understand it. The way she is… she's kind of a mess, but it's easy to like her, and worry about her. We tease her about being impractically straightforward, but there's still a lot about her that's mysterious."

"It has… been a while since I was able to talk to a summoner so freely," he admitted. "The culture of her world is also fascinating." He thoroughly enjoyed the anecdotes she shared with him.

"I wonder what it's like, to be from a world with so little conflict. Well, I don't know that for sure, but judging from her behavior, it seems like war is a rare thing rather than an everyday occurrence."

He nodded.

"Which makes me wonder. For a girl shocked by the brutality of this world, and is unsuited for fighting, she doesn't seem particularly eager to return to her peaceful life. In the time we spent together, I don't think she mentioned her previous lifestyle at all. She'd talk about popular culture and customs, but nothing about herself in depth. I'm sure you've noticed."

He had.

"I'm not sure if Eze or Michele have, since they both take things at face value." Claris paused. "Well, maybe I'm underestimating Michele. I do believe that the gaudy assassin has, though I'm personally surprised that he hasn't confronted her about it."

Zephyr wanted to ask Claris about her blatant distaste for Kuda, but wasn't quite sure if he'd be overstepping his bounds in doing so.

"Another thing bothers me. We both know that she managed to win over Michele and Kuda, who aren't easy to work with by any means. So she's not afraid to speak out against people who could easily kill her. We know that Lucius asked her for consent to bring her over to Grand Gaia, and based on what I saw in her memories, she felt like she didn't have the option to refuse. But that seems inconsistent compared to what we know about her, am I right?"

"Perhaps she didn't grasp the gravity of the situations when Michele and Kuda were threatening her," he said. "Powerful as they may be, they don't quite stand up to the might of a god, especially in their lesser forms."

Claris hummed discontentedly. "That sounds plausible. But I can't help but think there's something else."

What exactly was she implying? That their current summoner had some kind of under-the-table deal with Lucius? If that was true, then that meant she knew how to alter her memories, which was also uncharacteristic of her.

…Unless someone else tampered with her memories.

"Endlessly ruminating is hardly productive," he said, frowning.

Claris laughed. "You're right about that! And despite all the questions plaguing me, I'll put my trust in her. It may be pretentious of me to say, but I think that means a lot."

"Doesn't that make you the same as Kuda, then?"

She smirked. "The same as you, too. You know, people are usually surprised to find out that I'm… the way that I am. I tend to know a lot more about people than they know about me, though I suppose that's to be expected when you travel through time."

"I'm glad that we're breaking that trend, then."

Her smile turned into something softer and more genuine. "Thank you. I… I wonder if this troublesome summoner of ours can-" She paused. Her appearance – that of a very young girl – made her seem all the more vulnerable in that instant. "I hope that she can use my true powers, one day."

He wondered what she meant by true powers. Beyond the veil of life and death, fighters weren't limited by the abilities of their summoners. Still, Claris chose the form of a civilian child. She carried herself with modesty, rather than partake in the showmanship that many powerful warriors reveled in. Even he wasn't completely immune to that siren's call.

…she was a curious one, too.

Before he thought to respond, Claris stood, and picked up her staff that she'd set at the foot of the couch during the beginning of her impromptu visit. "Well, I've barged in on your mental space for more than enough time! I'll see myself out."

As she approached the threshold of his territory, she paused. "Y'know, like she says, you're a pretty excellent listener! You know when to keep quiet and when to say something, and the things you say are always of substance. I haven't spoken that much in a really long time." She winked at him. "You're like the dark-horse kind of rival. Sooooo… I'll have to keep a closer eye on you, Zephyr."

Wait a second. "Y-you two talk about me?"

The sound of laughter and jingling bells was all he received in reply as her form melted into the endlessness of the abyss.

Maybe this is just me shouting into the void for a 6* Claris. cries. I may be completely off-base with her personality, but I can't imagine a time traveler not being a combination of wise beyond their years and super sarcastic (and lonely).

SO this will be the home of stuff that doesn't quite fit into the sequence of events of the main story, but I've written anyways. Like, character expansions and stuff, or maybe Q-related requests? If anyone cares to request anything, haha.

This takes place during those mysterious three days in which the Summoner goes missing, and everyone is worried.

Anyways, this is proof that I'm not dead! Please look forward to the next chapter of Quorum! Truthfully, I've lost a lot of motivation in light of recent plot events that have made me reaaaally want to rewrite the whole story from scratch. Eh, we'll see.

Thanks for reading!

-eris

…crap, I need to reply to reviews and messages. Sorry if I've not replied to yours yet!