neglected space
boundlesshart:
Was that Ignatz just now? Claude turns to his fellow student, grinning out of reflex. “Oh, hey!”
Ignatz’s innocent question helps Claude relax, and the soft, amused laugh that comes from it brings some much-needed genuineness to his smile. “Why do you ask? Do I seem suspicious?” he teases. There isn’t anything to lose by telling the truth: “I dropped something during sky patrol. My uncle’s pendant, so it’s, ah–actually a pretty important something.”
Claude glances back at the cathedral, thinking about how he should leave. He can’t help but wilt at the thought of all this rubble outside being inside as well. Gods, and this pendant is small enough to fit through any crack it comes across. A thought crosses his mind as he turns back to Ignatz. Maybe…
“Hey, you don’t seem busy,” Claude notes in a chipper tone. “You wouldn’t mind helping me, would you?” He pushes his eyebrows up, giving Ignatz a sheepishly apologetic look. From what Claude has seen, it only takes a… helpful little nudge to push Ignatz in the right direction. “There’s a lot of nooks and crannies that thing could have wedged itself into. I’d appreciate the extra set of hands…”
Ignatz approaches, offering a wave of his hand in greeting, his expression betraying a hint of curiosity and confusion alike, but a smile quick in reaction to Claude’s own. “N-No, of course! No more suspicious than I’d be, for sure”, he chuckles, though his face instantly turns serious once Claude explains his reason for being here.
“Really? That’s awful! You need to get it back for sure...”
And it looks like they both thought of the same thing simultaneously. He nods eagerly when his House leader voices his request.
“Oh-- sure! I’m not doing anything important at the moment, so I was actually just about to offer”, he laughs. Well, he was about to go paint, but that can wait... And though he is not overly enthusiastic at the thought of actually going inside that poor building... If he were to actually study it to try and paint it someday, he’d want to do it eventually anyway. May as well do it now while it’s still standing.
His eyes wander towards the building.
“... Do you remember more or less which part of the cathedral you were flying over when you lost that pendant? It would at least be helpful to narrow the area a little, scouring the entire structure could take a whole day if not more...”












