Recommended Song:

"A Different Way" by DJ Snake featuring Lauv.

C-Support:

Claude: ...steady...and...carefully...and...yes!

*Dimitri walks by*

Dimitri: Claude? ...I wonder…

*SCENE CHANGE*

Soldier: Urgh...my stomach! I give up!

Claude: You put up a good fight. Now if you don't mind, could you stop speaking bad about other countries? I won fair and square, and those were the terms.

Soldier: ...urgh...fine, I'll stop.

*Soldier leaves*

*Dimitri enters*

Dimitri: Fair and square? I'm not sure I'd call poisoning an opponent before a fight "fair."

Claude: Your Kingliness! Let's go somewhere a bit quieter.

*Scene change*

Dimitri: Here is far enough.

Claude: For the whole monastery to here?

Claude: *sighs*

Claude: Fine, let's hear what you have to say.

Dimitri: ...why did you challenge that soldier to a fight?

Claude: That's where you're starting? Color me surprised.

Dimitri: For all of your skulduggery, you don't seem like one to prompt fights without reason.

Claude: Maybe I wanted to change it up? Throw watching eyes off their game. But I'll humor you.

Claude: The soldier was going on about how other cultures and people like Almyra and Duscur are waste pits, and their people are too. I didn't appreciate it, so I challenged him to a duel.

Dimitri: ...I see. And which part of the duel involved cheating?

Claude: I said a duel, I didn't say when it would begin. It's his fault for assuming that fights begin at a certain time and place.

Dimitri: I do see your logic.

Claude: Really?

Dimitri: Battlefields are often chaotic and messy. There's no clean fight, and contrary to what the stories tell you, no honor to be found. You kill your enemies with what tools you have, be it the weapon in your hand or a closed fist.

Claude: Not to mention that battles are often planned and prepared for ahead of time. Only a fool thinks otherwise.

Dimitri: Heh, you're not wrong.

Claude: So, do you "deem my actions appropriate?"'

Dimitri: I am neither judge or jury, simply a man checking a peer.

Claude: If you say so. Now if you'll excuse me, I seem to be short a supply of nonlethal toxins.

Dimitri: Very well.

*Dimitri leaves*

Claude: He surprised me twice in that conversation. Dimitri...I'll have to keep a close eye on you.

B Support:

Dimitri: Ah, Claude, there you are.

Claude: Your Kingliness! To what do I owe the pleasure this time?

Dimitri: I wanted your opinion on something.

Claude: Ask away.

Dimitri: The Kingdom of Faerghus is having some trouble with our northern neighbors of Sreng.

Claude: Go on.

Dimitri: I was wondering...how would you deal with them? How do you make peace with someone who only wants to fight?

Claude: Why ask me?

Dimitri: My allies, great as they may be, can't provide the advice I need. Dedue would simply agree to any decision I made. Ashe and Ingrid would want to make the choice based on what they think is honorable, probably relating to those stories of knights they love so much. Felix would simply suggest beating them into submission, welcoming any challenge they present.

Claude: Wait, let me guess the rest - Sylvain would want to woo all of their women, and Annette and Mercedes would want to bake for everyone.

Dimitri: That's not how I would phrase it, but close enough.

Claude: And you haven't asked Her Highness?

Dimitri: Do you mean Edelgard? No...I haven't gotten around to it.

Claude: Yet you sought me out? I'm flattered.

Claude: What would I do...say Dimitri, why do the Sreng people fight?

Dimitri: They used to occupy the land of Faerghus before our ancestors...displaced them. From the accounts I've read, they actually didn't mind.

Claude: And I'm sure these accounts were all found in Fodlan, approved by the church?

Dimitri: ...yes.

Claude: So the only accounts you have are biased and censored by the church to make your ancestors look noble. Sorry, go on.

Dimitri: No, no...your point is a good one. Thank you Claude. You've given me much to think about.

B+ Support:

Claude: Dimitri! There you are!

Dimitri: Claude? To what do I owe the surprise?

Claude: What do the Sreng people believe?

Dimitri: Pardon?

Claude: The Sreng people? What do you know about their religion?

Dimitri: From what I've heard, they believe that souls are born in the heat of a mountain, released when volcanoes erupt. Fires are used to purify the soul, and tools of metal hold pieces of the soul of the one who built them.

Dimitri: Blacksmiths are supposedly treated with great respect, and weapons are passed down through families, not unlike our Relics.

Claude: Was it any mountain they believed held their souls, or was there a specific one?

Dimitri: I can't say I know. Why the questions?

Claude: I did some digging of my own. And I think I may have something to help your problem.

Claude: The Sreng people believe that all life originates from a volcanic mountain near the Sacred Gwenhwyvar. They used to travel there twice a year for a pilgrimage and to escape the harsh winter farther north.

Dimitri: Hmm…

Claude: My suggestion is that you allow free travel for the pilgrimage.

Dimitri: May I ask why?

Claude: Well, religion means a lot to people; allowing for the pilgrimage would give regular people a chance to not only see the world beyond their borders, but to participate in something that their culture and religion demands. Not to mention the increase in trade due to travelling expenses...I think it could work.

Dimitri: I see...how do you suggest I deal with the Church of Seiros?

Claude: Solid concern - they aren't too fond of those who don't share the same faith. I would ask the church to offer up their churches as rest spots along the way. That way they can still preach the blessings of their goddess to the Sreng people while still looking magnanimous, and the Sreng people can rest in a place without having to worry about money for lodging.

Dimitri: Thank you Claude. Do you mind if I ask one more question?

Claude: Go ahead.

Dimitri: Is this how you will deal with the Almyrans?

Claude: What? What do you mean?

Dimitri: Someday you will be the leader of the Alliance. And I know how the Alliance always must prepare for an Almyran attack...is this how you would prefer to engage with them?

Claude: ...something like that. I'll tell you someday.

Dimitri: I look forward to it.

A Support:

Claude: ...and done!

Dimitri: What do you think?

Claude: It looks good! I can't say this treaty is missing a single thing.

Dimitri: And yet your face is telling me something is off.

Claude: Dimitri, do you think treaties can change hearts?

Dimitri: ...I'm not sure. The problems held between the Sreng people and those of the Kingdom have a long history. This treaty can't heal the hurt or repair the families broken on both sides. But maybe, just maybe it can help open our eyes to the hurt of others.

Claude: To the hurt of others? I'm not sure that's something people want to see.

Dimitri: I agree. It's far easier to think of the other side as monsters, incapable of reasoning behind their actions...I know I am guilty of that...and I know others think the same of me. Rightfully so…

Claude: …

Dimitri: But this...with this, maybe we have a chance of reverting it. So to answer your question. I am not sure if treaties can change hearts, but I am willing to allow them the chance.

Claude: You seem really fired up about this.

Dimitri: Well, to tell you the truth...I don't want to stop with just Sreng.

Claude: Oh?

Dimitri: I want to change our relationships with Duscur, and Almyra, and all of Fodlan's neighbors! Fodlan has been closed off for so long...our hearts frozen in what we felt we needed to hear to survive. We were wrong, and I want to change that.

Claude: Dimitri…

Dimitri: Claude, can I count on you? Will you help me change Fodlan?

Claude: Well, after a speech like that, how can I refuse?

Dimitri: Good. I'll be counting on your experience as leader of the Alliance - for however long it was - to help us foster a new relationship with Almyra.

*Dimitri walks off*

Claude: "For however long it was." ...should I tell him...? Nah, it'll be more fun to surprise him at the treaty signings...

Paired Ending:

Claude's surprise at the peace treaty with the new King of Fodlan went as perfectly as he planned. Soon, the two were as close as brothers, and together they tore down the walls between their respective countries, creating a lasting and open peace between the two nations.

Author's Notes:

I had something else entirely for the original support - I believe Edelgard was mentioned more, and the differences in fighting (Claude's running away and avoiding a straight fight) were brought up more. I decided against that angle because it felt too much like "let me explain about my past and culture," and that's the sort of dialogue I'm working to avoid.

So here I brought in the rare, contemplative Dimitri and the more serious Claude.

Most of the stuff about Sreng was made up for the sake of the support. My goal this time around was to work in worldbuilding to the support, so I presented Dimitri with a problem and had Claude help solve it. In doing so, we get a glimpse into what Claude's plans for breaking the proverbial (and eventually, literal) wall between Fodlan and Almyra would have looked like (or at least how I imagine it) had the war not happened. Trade wasn't really mentioned because I just assume that trade between the countries is already present. This was me trying to get more common people to travel.

Again, given that this is Dimitri's route, I didn't want to explicitly talk about Claude's heritage, but I left enough clues in the supports so that first time players could figure it out.

There were a LOT of ideas that I couldn't fit into this support. I wanted to bring back the idea of Dimitri being "judge and executioner" later on. It would have been during the B support, and Dimitri would have shown some consternation over the fact that as a king, he effectively WOULD be those things. There was the discussion of peace through conquering, and it would have Dimitri wonder about these things in the B support, and then reflect and wonder if that's what Edelgard thought she was doing in their A support. (This was closer to the original idea I had.) I also tossed around the idea that someone like Felix would actually have Sreng blood in them, but that was thrown out pretty quickly. There was also going to be more talks about faith and blasphemy in terms of the church and Sreng. I kept certain aspects in, such as Claude's cynicism and Dimitri question on how to deal with the church later, but a good bit was cut.

Dimitri's open-mindedness at the end is more of Claude's thing, but I blame it on Claude rubbing off on him. Dimitri has been through so much, and has done so much, and I wanted to show a more idealistic version of that character trying to put all of that to good use.