She really shouldn't be so surprised to see Finn here. Leif is here, after all. And Nanna too. Perhaps it should be weirder that he had not been in Fódlan all along. But she still freezes when she sees the knight at the head of the Golden Deer classroom.
Her feelings swirl into complicated patterns whenever she finds herself near him. She knows how strong his loyalty runs toward her parents and her brother. It had been his recognition that brought her to learn where she came from and who brought her into this world.
And each time she sees him, fuzzy memories prick at the corners of her brain. Tugging on the hem of a blue woolen coat, a large hand wrapped around hers, laughter and warmth. It isn't much but she remembers him.
But her heart is as torn as her beloved Thracia. Two halves she doesn't know exactly how to fit together yet. Two families with nothing in common exact her.
And so she is awkward around him. She was awkward during the war, avoiding him when she could. And she is awkward now. A hand runs through her hair and she avoids contact with his eyes. "Finn. It's been awhile."
"It certainly has, my lady." Finn quickly turned all of his attention from the class supplies, ignoring her awkwardness. "When I saw your name upon the house roster I hardly dared believe it!"
Though unerring, and contrasted by his ever stiff posture, Finn's gaze was soft as he remembered a time where he searched a room in Leonster castle for a much younger Altena, pretending not to hear her stifled giggles behind a chair.
"I'm glad to find you here, even if once again by accident. I hope not to lose sight of you again."
As the daydream passed though, Finn remembered that the Altena in front of him was not the one who had gone to the Aed desert in her mother's arms. No, far from it. So instead of a game, he offered that which he knew how to give. "If you wish it to be so, of course. Though I'm a faculty here, I am still a knight of Leonster. My lance is yours."
