[The instant Felix feels the pressure against his blade give way, he's shifting his weight onto the leg he tried to sweep with and pushing forward. This practice sword doesn't have enough heft to it to do what Felix needs to do before Claude regains his footing, so he turns his lunge into a tackle, throwing his entire weight behind it to bear Claude down to the floor. As soon as they land, Felix whips his sword around to hold the blade to Claude's throat, as though it were steel.
It's Felix looking down this time, and his smirk turns self-satisfied.]
(He's only just touched the ground when Felix comes barreling towards him. Of course, he isn't enough to stop him and he finds himself tumbling, landing on his back. He manages to catch himself with one hand behind him and starts to get back on his feet, pushing himself up with sword in hand to keep going but
He freezes, practice sword at his throat.
His eyes flash, like he would absolutely keep fighting if he could he can recognize when he's caught.)
... I yield. (He settles back on the ground, holding up one hand to sign defeat,) You win, Felix.
(And like that, the fight is gone from his eyes and he lets out a loud, dramatic sigh,)
Ye-ouch! Did you have to hit me that hard?!
(He's rubbing his back. Did he land on a stone or something? And his arms feel like jelly after taking so many blows.)
[Felix rarely makes eye contact with anyone when he's talking to them, but here in the training grounds with a sword in hand, he doesn't hesitate to meet Claude's gaze. He sees the flash there, the unwillingness to lose - very familiar, and very much not what he expected from Claude.
...and then he's complaining, back to his usual ridiculous self, but Felix isn't quite as fooled anymore. There's more to Claude than meets the eye, he's sure of it.
He pulls his sword back and gets to his feet, instinct telling him not to turn his back on Claude despite the spar having ended. Never turn your back on an opponent. Especially not one as clever as this one. Instead, he just steps back and gives Claude an unimpressed look.]
Stop whining. I told you I wasn't going to go easy on you.
That doesn't mean you had to go all out in our first match.
(He helps himself up. He's never been one to really ask for help or rely on others. He can stand on his own. He doubts Felix would trust him if he asked, anyway.)
A Major Crest is no joke...
(So that's what it's like to have one used against you? He has to think of a way to counter that.
Byleth comes over to check on them to which Claude replies that he's fine. He's just all jelly after their match. She makes some critique on their footwork and form, following up with that she'd like them to practice together again and make it a regular thing if they'll allow it. The two of them could benefit from studying each other's styles.
Claude grimaces, rubbing his arm in response.)
Yeah, sure.
(He can't really say no to his dear professor, afterall. It's up to Felix to decide if he wants to do the same.)
What? That's exactly what it means. I always go all out. Neither of us learns anything otherwise. You'd better not have been holding back.
[He shrugs at this talk of his Crest. It does nothing if he isn't skilled enough to put it to good use. It's a secondary concern for him, although he does acknowledge that his foes have to contend with it. That's just another reason for Claude to train harder.
Felix listens carefully to Byleth's critiques, and perhaps surprisingly, doesn't protest or even look disgruntled when she assigns them to regular training together. He just nods.]
Agreed.
[He turns to Claude, then.]
You like to pretend you're a beginner, but you're not. And you like to complain about training, but I saw it in your eyes. You wanted to keep going. To win.
(He had to use his dominant hand, pull out some tricks... there really wasn't much chance to slack off and hide his ability. If he hadn't spent so much energy just trying to not get hit, he probably would have opted for a more direct and aggressive strategy against Felix instead. Actually, he should have done that from the beginning. He should have known better but he's been able to get by for so long with mostly speed and just enough skill, he'd fallen back on the usual strategy,)
... I guess I miscalculated.
(No further explanation there. Ah, but now Felix is coming at him verbally and while he isn't wrong, Claude isn't going to admit to any of that. At least buy a guy a drink first.)
More like I didn't want to get hit again. You almost got me in the face! (He brings a hand to his cheek, rubbing it as if just thinking about what could have been hurts him,) What would I have done then? It's my second best asset, right after my mind, you know!
Hmph. Maybe you should calculate less and train more, then.
[Felix doesn't know what he means by 'miscalculated,' but he doesn't particularly care, either. He's more interested in coaxing that other Claude back out again. Next time won't be experimental, on Felix's part - next time, he'll know what to expect, and put Claude down faster.
(Felix doesn't know yet that Claude is much too unpredictable for that kind of certainty.)
He gives Claude a flat look and then turns to put his practice sword away.]
Playing stupid doesn't suit you any more than it suits Sylvain. You have a hunger to fight, there's no point in denying it. I'll find out what it is.
(Always thinking ahead, thinking about his advantages and disadvantages, the different ways a situation can go, and picking the path that works best. They say the quickest path is a straight line but he knows sometimes it's better to take the winding one; the path that can be changed depending on the journey.
But that's not how Felix is. He prefers to walk a straight and direct path which is something Claude can respect. It's not a bad thing, he thinks, it's helped Felix read him fairly well, after all.)
Not at all. (Well, not quite. He wouldn't really describe his willingness to fight as hungry,) Why, I'm as gentle as a deer.
(Heh.)
Speaking of deer, you should read up on the Golden Deer sometime. You might learn something. If you don't like reading, I'm sure someone would be happy to explain.
(Like how despite being gentle creatures, the Golden Deer have protected Leicester since time immemorial, and one should always be careful because deer are fast, strong, and their antlers are sharp.
... But he wonders if Felix will even bother with that. Well, it's his loss.)
That's fine in practice. But in the middle of battle, you won't always have time to calculate everything. You need the ingrained muscle memory, too, or you'll be caught off-guard.
[Felix arches a brow at all this pointless dissembling, and then blinks.]
If you're telling me to learn more about our classmates, I assume the Professor will tell me anything I need to know about them. But if 'someone' would be happy to explain, then be that someone. If there's something you want me to know, just tell me. I'm not doing research for your amusement.
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no subject
It's Felix looking down this time, and his smirk turns self-satisfied.]
Do you yield?
no subject
He freezes, practice sword at his throat.
His eyes flash, like he would absolutely keep fighting if he could he can recognize when he's caught.)
... I yield. (He settles back on the ground, holding up one hand to sign defeat,) You win, Felix.
(And like that, the fight is gone from his eyes and he lets out a loud, dramatic sigh,)
Ye-ouch! Did you have to hit me that hard?!
(He's rubbing his back. Did he land on a stone or something? And his arms feel like jelly after taking so many blows.)
no subject
...and then he's complaining, back to his usual ridiculous self, but Felix isn't quite as fooled anymore. There's more to Claude than meets the eye, he's sure of it.
He pulls his sword back and gets to his feet, instinct telling him not to turn his back on Claude despite the spar having ended. Never turn your back on an opponent. Especially not one as clever as this one. Instead, he just steps back and gives Claude an unimpressed look.]
Stop whining. I told you I wasn't going to go easy on you.
no subject
(He helps himself up. He's never been one to really ask for help or rely on others. He can stand on his own. He doubts Felix would trust him if he asked, anyway.)
A Major Crest is no joke...
(So that's what it's like to have one used against you? He has to think of a way to counter that.
Byleth comes over to check on them to which Claude replies that he's fine. He's just all jelly after their match. She makes some critique on their footwork and form, following up with that she'd like them to practice together again and make it a regular thing if they'll allow it. The two of them could benefit from studying each other's styles.
Claude grimaces, rubbing his arm in response.)
Yeah, sure.
(He can't really say no to his dear professor, afterall. It's up to Felix to decide if he wants to do the same.)
no subject
[He shrugs at this talk of his Crest. It does nothing if he isn't skilled enough to put it to good use. It's a secondary concern for him, although he does acknowledge that his foes have to contend with it. That's just another reason for Claude to train harder.
Felix listens carefully to Byleth's critiques, and perhaps surprisingly, doesn't protest or even look disgruntled when she assigns them to regular training together. He just nods.]
Agreed.
[He turns to Claude, then.]
You like to pretend you're a beginner, but you're not. And you like to complain about training, but I saw it in your eyes. You wanted to keep going. To win.
no subject
(He had to use his dominant hand, pull out some tricks... there really wasn't much chance to slack off and hide his ability. If he hadn't spent so much energy just trying to not get hit, he probably would have opted for a more direct and aggressive strategy against Felix instead. Actually, he should have done that from the beginning. He should have known better but he's been able to get by for so long with mostly speed and just enough skill, he'd fallen back on the usual strategy,)
... I guess I miscalculated.
(No further explanation there. Ah, but now Felix is coming at him verbally and while he isn't wrong, Claude isn't going to admit to any of that. At least buy a guy a drink first.)
More like I didn't want to get hit again. You almost got me in the face! (He brings a hand to his cheek, rubbing it as if just thinking about what could have been hurts him,) What would I have done then? It's my second best asset, right after my mind, you know!
(Yeah, he's definitely going to play this off.)
no subject
[Felix doesn't know what he means by 'miscalculated,' but he doesn't particularly care, either. He's more interested in coaxing that other Claude back out again. Next time won't be experimental, on Felix's part - next time, he'll know what to expect, and put Claude down faster.
(Felix doesn't know yet that Claude is much too unpredictable for that kind of certainty.)
He gives Claude a flat look and then turns to put his practice sword away.]
Playing stupid doesn't suit you any more than it suits Sylvain. You have a hunger to fight, there's no point in denying it. I'll find out what it is.
no subject
(Always thinking ahead, thinking about his advantages and disadvantages, the different ways a situation can go, and picking the path that works best. They say the quickest path is a straight line but he knows sometimes it's better to take the winding one; the path that can be changed depending on the journey.
But that's not how Felix is. He prefers to walk a straight and direct path which is something Claude can respect. It's not a bad thing, he thinks, it's helped Felix read him fairly well, after all.)
Not at all. (Well, not quite. He wouldn't really describe his willingness to fight as hungry,) Why, I'm as gentle as a deer.
(Heh.)
Speaking of deer, you should read up on the Golden Deer sometime. You might learn something. If you don't like reading, I'm sure someone would be happy to explain.
(Like how despite being gentle creatures, the Golden Deer have protected Leicester since time immemorial, and one should always be careful because deer are fast, strong, and their antlers are sharp.
... But he wonders if Felix will even bother with that. Well, it's his loss.)
no subject
[Felix arches a brow at all this pointless dissembling, and then blinks.]
If you're telling me to learn more about our classmates, I assume the Professor will tell me anything I need to know about them. But if 'someone' would be happy to explain, then be that someone. If there's something you want me to know, just tell me. I'm not doing research for your amusement.
no subject
(Ask? Who's asking?)
I'd be happy to explain over lunch some time. In fact, I'm free right now.
(Is he... trying to get rid of Felix or actually teach him the history of Leicester? Who knows.)