17. A Dark Heart, Beating
It remained in stasis for the majority of its time in these last few years she'd known him. Oh, it surely still functioned since he continued to rise day after day to herald his personal crusade against a global enemy, but it was undoubtedly at the most minimal level. None could deny that. She had thought that maybe, just maybe, it'd been given a kick-start when little Claus Valca arrived in that tattered vanship. She'd not seen him that talkative or truly amused on any level than then. Seeing Claus and Lavi in that vanship - looking as beaten and rugged that something flying out of his past should – had elicited a pulse within him.
He must have seen Yuris and himself. She had seen the warmth that deepened his eyes at that moment as he revisited the memories ever present at the forefront of his mind. He lived in them all the time and they were the only thing to visit him in his quarters. But the presence of Claus and Lavi quickly lost its novelty and the fact that they'd brought Alvis secured their continued presence on board. She knew the children's usefulness had contributed mostly to that, them staying that is. And they had proved themselves, surprisingly. Although she suspected their nostalgia had combined with Key Alvis to lean heavily in their favor for the chance he'd awarded him.
But things had quickly gone back to 'normal', new tactical advances being implemented even as they were being formed, years of planning enacted. Nowadays, everyone heard the thump that resonated from within his chest at the name of the queen. It was the only time such a foreign noise filled the bridge.