![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
locked to ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
failnot
[The Officer's Academy is a very interesting place. In some ways, it's more or less what Hubert was expecting, given what his father's said of his experiences here, but it's the people that really make the Academy so fascinating.
There are other nobles present in the Golden Deer class, though their house also has several commoners. Both are treated the same by teachers and faculty alike, which is a bit surprising, given the rest of Fódlan. In some ways, it feels like the monastery is completely removed from the rest of the world, existing separate from the Alliance, the Kingdom, and the Empire entirely.
But it wouldn't do to forget their places in the world - most of the students here seem very aware of that. That does seem to be why Claude is here, after all - and where Claude goes, Hubert follows. That is the duty of the next head of House Vestra, and it is one he wears with pride.
Admittedly, there's quite a lot he doesn't know about Claude. They've known each other for a little while now, and reached the point where they get along well enough, but Hubert isn't stupid enough to believe Claude fully trusts him and he's certain Claude recognizes that he feels the same way. They remain cautious, but as long as Claude remains next in line as leader of the Alliance, Hubert remains his to command.
Not that that's his primary concern today; it's one of their free days, and Claude seems to have vanished. Even Hilda doesn't know where he's run off to, which leads Hubert in the direction of the library. It's certainly one place Hilda wouldn't bother to look for their house leader, anyway.
So he isn't surprised at all to find Claude here, and it looks like he's currently occupied.]
...You seem to be enjoying yourself.
[There isn't really a need for Hubert to announce his presence - it's not like he was trying to hide it, after all - but he does so anyway as he studies the books Claude's picked out.]
There are other nobles present in the Golden Deer class, though their house also has several commoners. Both are treated the same by teachers and faculty alike, which is a bit surprising, given the rest of Fódlan. In some ways, it feels like the monastery is completely removed from the rest of the world, existing separate from the Alliance, the Kingdom, and the Empire entirely.
But it wouldn't do to forget their places in the world - most of the students here seem very aware of that. That does seem to be why Claude is here, after all - and where Claude goes, Hubert follows. That is the duty of the next head of House Vestra, and it is one he wears with pride.
Admittedly, there's quite a lot he doesn't know about Claude. They've known each other for a little while now, and reached the point where they get along well enough, but Hubert isn't stupid enough to believe Claude fully trusts him and he's certain Claude recognizes that he feels the same way. They remain cautious, but as long as Claude remains next in line as leader of the Alliance, Hubert remains his to command.
Not that that's his primary concern today; it's one of their free days, and Claude seems to have vanished. Even Hilda doesn't know where he's run off to, which leads Hubert in the direction of the library. It's certainly one place Hilda wouldn't bother to look for their house leader, anyway.
So he isn't surprised at all to find Claude here, and it looks like he's currently occupied.]
...You seem to be enjoying yourself.
[There isn't really a need for Hubert to announce his presence - it's not like he was trying to hide it, after all - but he does so anyway as he studies the books Claude's picked out.]
no subject
claude's arrival in fodlan had been met with a flurry of activity, traditions, and expectations that he'd had a grand total of (several) months to learn, to read, hear, and experience to the best of his ability. no amount of quick learning and quicker wit could've prepared him for how vastly different fodlan stood to present itself, a system built on crests and lineage, all of which had appeared so foreign to one raised on the values of almyra. he claims his inheritance as nothing more than as a consequence of the so-called blessing that he carried in his blood, with nothing to his name but the label that fodlan puts on how his body had always gone hot when he had a bow in his hand, when he released an arrow to catch his foe from a seemingly impossible angle. there is an unspoken assumption that claude should know how to act and behave, to know which words to use and how to speak them. they're expectations that claude fails to meet with deliberate and clever self-sabotage, because if he'd been looking to change himself to fit in with people, he would've stayed in almyra where things had been safer for their familiarity.
and so, he drowns. drowns and treads water in equal turns, faking his ease and confidence until people begun to believe him, letting himself fall into their rules and customs with all of his edges rubbing wrongly up against the lines that fodlan had so painstakingly drawn. one such custom, as it turns out, isn't so much of a thing or a concept but a person, a man by the name of hubert von vestra, a man whose loyalty and service was promised to him by no other reason than that claude was now claude von riegan.
yeah. okay.
there's no advantage to antagonizing hubert when the man had given him little reason to do so, but nor had claude felt a need to keep him in his confidence. slipping away from the man's watchful eye is a little more difficult than slipping away from most, but what's not impossible is still doable. so claude manages. he attempts, tests, experiments, time and time again until he's able to give him the slip just long enough to plant himself into a cozy (shadowed, private) corner of the library. all this so that he could pick through the pages of a book that'd been so painfully out of place that it'd all been screaming for a little bit of snooping. that... hubert catches him doing anyway. ]
Jeez, that was fast. How long did it take you notice my absence this time?
[ he won't bother hiding the book, not when he was holding it at such an angle that it'd be a challenge for any to read it as it was. then again: hubert. it wouldn't be the first time that he'd surprise claude by being capable of doing something that most would find difficult. ]
no subject
Not nearly as long as you would have liked, apparently.
[He doesn't sound amused, but he doesn't sound annoyed either. This is more or less what he's come to expect from Claude - not that Claude makes it particularly easy to expect anything. He's far more difficult than someone like Lorenz would be.
Still, it's a challenge, and Hubert can't say he particularly minds that.]
It almost seems as though you didn't want to be found. [Tucked away back here in the corner.] Did you find something you shouldn't have?
[He's looking at the book, of course, trying to determine exactly what it is Claude's got his hands on. Sure, it's not exactly easy to read it from this angle, but that doesn't mean he's not going to try to get some information from it, since he doubts Claude will actually tell him anything.]
no subject
not that he'd say as much. ]
Caught your interest, huh? As a matter of fact -- no. I haven't. I found this book out in the open with the rest of them.
[ it's not proving to be nearly as risque as claude had hoped, though there were more mentions of creatures and beings and scratched-out words than the standard textbook. the history that this book paints of fodlan wasn't so different from the standard fare, but claude had read on anyway, intrigued by the little differences that he had found, had managed to press into the pages of his mind, tucked away to be considered at a later time.
for example: this word. likely a name, or a title, that goes persistently blacked out throughout the book, painstakingly removed from its pages with an obsessive (or more likely: paranoid) hand. didn't anyone teach them that such heavy-handed tactics in erasing things only piqued the curiosity of others? amateurs. ]
Just like how you found me, I might add.
[ aka, he hadn't been hiding. (he was.) he'd simply -- removed himself to where he couldn't get into trouble if he so happened upon it by accident, that's all. ]
no subject
If it isn't anything particularly scandalous, then there's no need to hide what you're reading, is there?
[Don't think he hasn't noticed how you've been trying to obscure that book, buddy!! Sure, it's not as obvious as literally trying to hide the book, but Claude's precise grip and placement of said book considering the lighting makes it difficult to read from here.]
What are you hoping to find here?
[It's almost an idle question as he turns his attention to the rest of the library. Claude's looking for something, he's certain of that much, but even he has no idea what it could possibly be. Whatever it is, there's a good chance Claude can at least find a lead in here, although Hubert has his doubts that the Archbishop and her lackeys would leave anything truly interesting out here in the open.]
no subject
it's as good of as reason to uncoil himself from where he'd been tucked away, snapping the book shut under the guise of wanting to better rest the book against a thigh while the rest of him sits up and flattens his feet against the ground. ]
What does anyone hope to find in here? Knowledge, of course.
[ worded deliberately, because claude has enough learned wariness to know how to keep an escape route open at all times. he still doesn't know how hubert thinks of rhea and her church, though what he has seen was -- well, promising. for one, had claude ever seen hubert in the cathedral, offering prayer? he doesn't think so. ]
As good as I am, I can't exactly lead the Alliance uneducated, can I? What better place to learn but the exalted Garreg Mach Monastery's library?
[ and there was no harm or crime in wanting that, was there? or so says his smile when he tilts his face up toward hubert, watching the other's expression. ]
no subject
He isn't as frustrated as he could be, however, and he decides the path of least resistance is to let Claude win this one. So he steps back as Claude moves, eyeing the book for only a moment before returning his gaze to Claude's face.]
Of course. There's plenty here that will undoubtedly help you; should there be anything you require assistance with, just say the word.
[He presses a hand to his chest and folds his other arm behind his back as he ducks into a bow. An apology, maybe, for overstepping his bounds. Again. It's going to keep happening though, so he can't really say he's truly sorry.]
no subject
but hubert? well, there's a curiosity and a half. claude watches the man fold himself into the expectation of manners, bowing his head without an uttered apology. a silver lining, that. words of apology had their time and place, and here, on hubert's tongue? that wasn't wasn't it. nor did it belong on claude's; if he apologized for every time that he made someone frustrated, he'd barely have time to breathe, much less anything else. heh. ]
I appreciate that. Though maybe leave the bowing out next time. I sure you've already noticed, but I'm really not one for much propriety.
[ now, what to do? he could dismiss this whole situation, bring back into the safer waters of learning about fodlan, about fodlan's history, its customs and religion, or, ]
Are the members of House Vestra all so -- [ what'd be the best word for this? maybe, ] dutiful?
no subject
[Though judging from the barest hint of a smirk, that might not be totally serious. Maybe. It's kind of hard to tell with Hubert.
The question gets him to fold one arm beneath his elbow and rest his hand against his chin, almost as if he needs to consider the question. He doesn't, certainly, but it gives him something to do with himself as he composes his answer.]
Yes. House Vestra has existed to serve the leader of the Alliance since the beginning. All those of House Vestra are trained to serve the next leader.
[He doesn't sound bothered by that idea at all; if anything, he sounds a bit confused about why Claude would ask, as though this sort of thing is completely and totally normal.]
no subject
especially when one read between the lines too, with how it promises an absolute certainty: if (or when) house riegan fell from its throne as the ruling house of the alliance, house vestra's loyalty would shift. house riegan would be left without the support of house vestra, whose service and competence was best described as underestimated. at least, in claude's opinion. from the little digging that he'd done of the house, and what he's seen of hubert's capabilities thus far. ]
Whoever that may be at the time, huh? [ runs the implication if one extrapolated hubert's words far enough. ] Well, guess that has its merits. For one, you never have to wonder about where your allegiance should lie.
[ now the kicker, ]
But say that your leader at the time does something that you might find challenging. [ to believe and stand behind as all new ideas tended to be. ] Would you still serve them then?
no subject
Of course. House Vestra exists to serve the leader of the Alliance, regardless of what decisions they may make.
[It isn't the nice sort of loyalty born of trust and dedication; it's the sort of thing most people find baffling. A loyalty born of duty rather than devotion isn't something that Hubert expects everyone to get, but that's perfectly fine by him. His stance on it isn't changing. This is what he was taught and who he is, and as such, his loyalty remains Claude's. That doesn't mean he'll turn a blind eye to just what Claude is up to - but it is his business to remain knowledgeable about what his charge is up to.
So it's complicated, but as far as he's concerned, it makes perfect sense.]
no subject
he finds none. naturally. which could be because: one, hubert wasn't lying (most likely), or two, hubert was so good at lying that not even a fellow liar like claude could pick up on it (likely, but not as much). it didn't particularly change claude's plan of addressing this little boon and hiccup, how and where he planned on setting hubert into his plans. ]
Not my usual style of loyalty, but hey, if it works for you and the Alliance, who am I to judge?
[ he tried not to judge, period. especially not at a juncture like this, where he hardly had all the pieces. but even if he might choose to curb his tongue in certain matters (certain questions), that didn't mean that claude couldn't pick hubert's brain in other ways. he was here to serve the eventual leader of the alliance, right? which also meant helping with his education, as this library was. so, ]
Still, it does make a guy curious. How did House Vestra end up swearing fealty to the leader of the Alliance? The Alliance hierarchy might be centralized now, but doesn't leadership still change hands once in a while?