AD 2206, 7/7, Unknown Area

Carl stares curiously out the window as the humble village of Birgitta finally comes into view. So, this is where Noel chose to make her home? The sprawling hills and fields seem to fit. However, he still has no idea whether or not he can even earn her forgiveness. His eye looks down sadly.

Kagura places a hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey."

Carl glances up.

Kagura smirks. "You're gonna do great today, my man. Noel loves visitors."

Carl sighs, "You can't know that for certain, Kagura."

Kagura's smirk widens into a grin. "Yeah? Why's that?"

Carl huffs, "I was attacking her the last time we saw one another, remember?"

Kagura hums, "True. But since when have you known Noel to hold a grudge?"

Carl pauses, considering. If Noel had forgiven him, someone would have made mention of it by now. He shakes his head. "Regardless, I should prepare for the worst."

With that, Carl shifts out of Kagura's grasp and strides toward the departure bay as they come into port.

Left alone with his own reflection, Kagura sighs, "Carl, you don't have to be so pessimistic. Trust me, things will go a lot smoother than you think."

Carl slowly trudges his way up the large hill, at the top of which he can see a humble, but still robust white church. Noel's home, he thinks idly, is rather fitting for such a kind soul.

He sighs to himself, "This is it…" He will reach the summit all too soon. The butterflies in his ribcage are fluttering like made, his heart is racing so fast…

He narrows his eye in determination. This isn't something he can hesitate with, or run away from. If he truly wishes to move forward, to live a peaceful life with his sister at last, he must make peace with himself.

He comes to the door of the church, breathes in deep, and knocks.

Noel giggles to herself as she finishes writing her newest passage. Then, she sighs, face sobering. She's done such a good job with this soliloquy, but she has no one to share it with.

Ever since Lambda's gone to stay with Makoto for a while, Noel's had no one to confide in, or share time with regularly.

Sure, Rachel and Valkenhayn make for good company occasionally, but they have their own duties to attend to. Ragna and Juusan are always off on some errand, and the village people only come to her if they need to confess some sins.

Nowadays, life is so… lonely.

A knocking at the door startles her out of her dreary reverie. With a jolt, she instinctively snaps her book shut and stuffs it under her pillow.

Curious, she murmurs to herself, "Now who could that be?"

Rising to her feet, she dusts off her habit before striding out of her room and through the halls, towards the door.

When she reaches it, she opens it without hesitation, expecting to see some villager in need.

Carl Clover greets her instead, with a shy smile. "Hello, Miss Noel."

Noel stares for a few moments, stunned.

He shifts, small smile faltering momentarily under her gaze.

She shakes her head and beams. "Carl, is it really you?"

He hesitantly nods. "I… Yes. Miss Noel, I—!"

She doesn't hesitate to pull him into a hug. "I knew you'd come back to us!"

He stiffens. "M-Miss Noel?"

She flushes, pulling back to smile apologetically. "S-Sorry about that. But Carl, it's been years! Where were you? We heard all sorts of terrible rumors…"

He stares at her strangely. "Miss Noel, aren't you… angry with me?"

She blinks. "What? Carl, I forgave you ages ago. Why would you think I was angry with you?"

He furrows his brows. "But… Everyone said…" He stares at her helplessly. "You already forgave me? After everything I did to you?"

She narrows her eyes, unconsciously pouting. "They didn't tell you, did they?"

He shakes his head. "I suppose not. …I can't say I blame t—!"

She pulls him into another, tighter hug. "That's not something you should say, Carl!" She squeezes his shoulders. "You're our friend, and they should have told you."

He sighs, melting into her touch. He murmurs, "I think they were just worried about you."

She huffs, "Well, that doesn't make it okay for them to let you go on thinking that I hated you or something!" She pulls back to look him in the eye. "Carl, you're still my friend, no matter what." She tugs on his arm. "Now come inside, and tell me everything."

"…and that's what happened, I guess…" Carl trails off nervously as he finishes his explanation of the last two months to Noel. He fidgets as she leans back in her chair with a thoughtful hum. Has he done something wrong in her eyes?

She sighs, "I guess I can understand what everyone was thinking…" She opens her eyes sadly. "But that still doesn't make it right to not tell you that I'd already forgiven you."

He hums, "Well, like I said, I can't blame them for being cautious. I really hurt you last time, Miss Noel."

She huffs, "Carl, that's in the past." She ruefully shakes her head. "I'm still going to have to talk to everyone." She stares into his eye. "But more importantly, what are you going to do now?"

He blinks, then shrugs. "I suppose I'll go back to Yabiko and wait for Ada to be ready to see me again. According to Kagura, she's been up for a while, but needs time to adjust to her new body." He glances down at his folded hands somberly. "I just hope that she's going to be alright."

She reaches out to squeeze his hands, smiling gently. "Carl, from what you've told us, your sister is an amazing person. I'm sure that she'll be fine and can't wait to see you again." She bites her lip for a moment, then brightens. "Carl, do you have a place to stay after Ada comes back?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. I used to think about going home, but… there's too many memories there." He meets her eyes sadly. "I think Ada and I will travel a bit, get a fresh start."

She grins. "Why not stay here?"

He pauses. "W-What?"

She continues, "Well, there's plenty of room now that Juusan is always off with Ragna, and we had some more guest rooms built on with the help of the local carpenter, so…"

He cuts her off. "Miss Noel, that's really generous, but we couldn't possibly—!"

She fires up. "Of course, you can!" She pulls him closer by the hands, looking earnestly into his eye. "Carl, I want you to be safe, and I can't think of a better place to start over than here. Please, at least consider it."

He frowns somberly, but nods slowly. "Alright, Miss Noel. Once Ada is back, I'll talk to her and we'll… think about it."

She grins again. "Thank you, Carl. It gets lonely out here sometimes, so I'd appreciate the company." She sighs wistfully, "Ada sounds so wonderful, I can't wait to meet her in person!"

He smiles softly. "Miss Noel…" He shakes his head and squeezes her hands back. "Thank you… for everything."

She giggles, "It's really nothing, Carl. After all, what are friends for?"