[ Sylvain just casts his prince a rueful smile as he playfully holds up his empty hands. ] I'd treat us both to drinks right now if I had a single coin to my name. Alas, even my good looks and charming personality can only get me so far tonight. The bartender didn't seem all that impressed with me. No taste, that one. Clearly.

[ The joking air, at least, doesn't come out stilted or uncertain. It's been so long since he's been able to tease Dimitri like this and he's more than a little rusty when it comes to interacting with his prince. Five years of grieving and being afraid to believe the rumors of Dimitri somehow surviving his execution sentence still weigh heavily on him. And even after their reunion...

Dimitri had been so far changed by those five years he barely recognized him.

To find him here, as he'd been in Sylvain's memory, was both surreal and nostalgic for a multitude of reasons. Even if the much larger age gap between them now felt strange and a little awkward. ]

It wouldn't be the first time we've been tossed into a conflict without knowing fully what's going on behind it. [ He grimaces a little at that, because that had been true even back when they were students together. ] Although I wish the Professor were here, all the same. But I'm glad to have at least found you here.