#claude you made forrest's entire night thank you so much

[daintygentilhomme]

A note slides under Forrest's door during the night. It reads: "To Forrest. Now, I'm sure that the Battle of the Eagle and Lion isn't really your style, but have you heard about the annual ball they host alongside the White Heron Cup? It's coming up in two months, so you better get started so that everyone can check out how gorgeous the clothes you make are! If you have room in your schedule, I wouldn't mind donning a Forrest original when the ball rolls around. - Claude"

Indeed, though the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was certainly an important event coming up, Forrest wasn't sure how much of a help he'd be. He was relatively new to the academy, and as a result a bit inexperienced to the point where he might not help out too much besides support and maybe punching someone on occasion if the situation called for it. But all of that roughhousing... it was sure to make his clothes absolutely filthy.

Just as Forrest had been slipping into his pajamas, ready to call it a night, he heard a faint 'swish' noise near his door. He looked around, the little note catching his eye. A note? This was rather new, Forrest thought. And it was so late... he did hope whoever sent this note was planning on going to bed rather soon. Kneeling down to pick the note up, he gave it a read...

The more he read it, the more the little treadmill his heart was running on seemed to speed up on its own. He was so new, and yet... yet he was being offered such an honor? To sew clothes for an annual ball? He hadn't heard about the ball, and yet... Being able to do something like this for the whole school made his heart race. He thought it was so silly that he was getting worked up about a note from an admirer... and then he read the signature. Claude? His house leader? His house leader wanting him to sew outfits for the ball? For Claude?

He almost fell back onto his bed when the images started flowing through his mind. The talk of the ball quickly flaring up as everyone could easily distinguish Deer from Eagle and Lion. An almost magical appearance swept the ball with many of the Deer in such beautiful dresses and suits, all perfectly sewn to their liking and matching perfectly with their person physically and emotionally. There were so many Deer... but there were a couple of months to sew!

Oh, and the jealousy from Dimitri when he has such a plain suit on and sees Claude in an absolutely stunning suit compared to his, flashing with subtle colors that would reflect the lights off of it... and then he'd have to make Hilda wear something matching! The two of them were sure to dance together, so their outfits would have to share perfect harmony! It was so perfect, too; pink and yellow went so well together... it was just a matter of how the designs would fit together! A pattern of prancing deer on Claude's suit, a pattern of prancing doe on Hilda's dress... ah, but what if the two didn't dance together? What if Hilda didn't like dancing!? Augh, too many possibilities...!

"Claude, you cruel man...!" Forrest laughed a little bit in his slight anxiety as he sat down and got to designing little sketches. If he was to make the Golden Deer really shimmer, true to their name... he was going to need a lot of planning. He'll have to ask around, but he'll come up with base sketches... ooh, Lorenz would look dashing in gold too! Can't overuse the gold color and make all of the Deer look the same, but it'd really shine with his hair (as dreadful as that hairstyle was, but Forrest would never admit it to his face)... ah, darling Marianne could use some bright colors on her dress to make her really pop, maybe some teal here for her... Morgan and Cynthia needed something to match as well, perhaps some blues for them both, Cynthia needed something loose so she didn't feel restricted... and oh, how he looked forward to being able to try making a kimono perhaps for Sakura, now that she was in the academy...

Lysithea in a cotton candy-colored dress! His dear retainer's father Owain in dark, menacing (yet stylish!) dress robes! Selena in a lacy suit! Ignatz in the colors of the forest!

...He wasn't going to get any sleep tonight... well, at least tomorrow's a weekend.

#ic #claude you made forrest's entire night thank you so much #sorry eagles and lions you're gonna get styled on #boundlesshart