[Claude has always loved the night sky. He can't count the many hours he's spent since he was a child, gazing up at the stars. They were company when he had none, a reminder he had just a little place in the universe and that his problems were therefore small in the grand scheme of things. That everyone, ultimately, looked up at the same sky, no matter how they in turn were looked on by others.

So he's amazed by this sight, of floating in the cosmos, of the many galaxies unfolding out over his head with a kind of detail he could never see from the ground.

Of course, then, it's only natural he walks towards the light. It compels him, tugs at his heart with the same kind of nostalgia as a blazing sun over desert sands, or the gentle moon reflected in the waters of the Aquatic City. But this -- somehow this light draws him in, and he instinctively feels he's wanted here, belongs here wholeheartedly.

It's then that his eyes find other faces, other people nearby, and greets them with an easy smile.]

Hey... Can you feel it, too?

[Claude wakes slowly at first from the comfort and warmth of sleep, but soon, as consciousness catches up to him, it turns into a panic. Snared in some kind of cocoon, he barely has the strength to move. Then to raise an arm. Then to try to push against the crystal encasing him. All the while he's stalling, straining his ears to figure out if he's alone, if escaping whatever this is is even safe. He remembers the strange dream, and right now his head is too foggy to tell apart imagination and reality. But it had felt so real... And the way it had ended, his home crumbling away...

That thought sends a panicked jolt through his heart. The claustrophobia kicks in enough and his strength builds that he pushes, and after what feels like like a long, extended stretch of effort, one last almighty shove has the crystal give way, sending him crashing to the ground with it.

He's still weak, and he feels like his legs are like jelly, but that crash surely would have alerted anyone nearby. He grabs a shard of crystal that looks particularly sharp, and drags himself to an alcove of the cavern to hide, pulling his knees up to his naked chest to make himself smaller. Then he waits. Even his breathing sounds too loud, and the chill setting in to damp skin is soon making him shiver, but he doesn't have much choice for now. While he recovers his strength, he just has to rest and try to defend himself if anyone comes.]

[Claude's a little less rattled by the time he has clothes on his back and arrives at the lodestone. The ruins immediately catch his attention, and after a hasty 'thanks' to whoever escorted him over, he's already roaming the area to explore, first going to take a closer look at the temple-like structure. It's not like anything he's ever seen before, so it's beginning to sink in that he really could be in another world.

...Or perhaps you can find him tossing a rock from hand to hand while he contemplates the watery ceiling above, a mischievous glint in his eye.]

Think if I threw this rock up really really hard, it'd hit the water and make a splash?

[For anything else! I'll be playing him from Chapter 12 of White Clouds (Golden Deer route). Hit me up via PM or over at moonsilver/moonsilver#4734 @ discord if you have any questions or want to plot!]