CHPT 193: Step into his mind.

As The Lioness of New Gloria's figure vanished, the group audibly heard themselves sigh collectively in relief. Not out of pure fear, but just from being in the presence of power and not having that power directed at them with malicious intent— it felt like they were holding their breath in a way.

She was like night and day when compared to Ronin. Maybe that's what it meant to be part of The Nine, sacrificing sanity for power. Then again maybe Ronin was the only one like that.

"Alright. Let's go do some….homework." Isaac said while looking back at them.

They all nodded before following him up the left set of stairs, leading them down a long hallway that looked over the giant dinning room and matching hallway above on the other side where Isaac's mother went.

After passing a handful of rooms and open areas themed for a number of things Claude couldn't even begin to discern, they reached Isaac's room at the end of the red carpeted hall. They all waited silently behind the Knight, still looking around at the rest of the Estate and dinning room below as the door clicked open.

"...Erhm…Welcome to my room." Isaac said, sounding slightly uncomfortable as they all filtered in.

Immediately, Claude's nose filled with the scents of pencils, ink and paper as he stepped into the large room.

At the far end of the room, a king sized bed was pressed into a corner of the wall, covered in comfy looking red and gold sheets and backed by a dark wooden head board designed with a Lion insignia. Very much expected.

"I don't even think my whole family could take up this bed." Warren muttered while he reached out to touch the mattress as if it was a sleeping wild animal.

On the opposite wall across the polished wooden floor, a desk occupied the space with a window placed ahead providing a perfect view of the wild greenery outside beyond the gates. On top of the desk, pencils and ink littered the surface of papers covered in drawings of all things Claude was very familiar with. Fond of, even.

He found himself stepping further into the room while everyone around him did the same. Faces once again in awe, only now for a very different reason.

Art. It was everywhere.

All over the desk near the window and stuck to the walls near the door out of the room. Aside from the skill and time he knew it took to create such detailed images, the imagines themselves were what caught his eye.

Heroes. Amidst the sea of books on his desk and the floor nearby, he drew the Heroes that were described in detail on the old browning pages in his own distinct style.

"What the hell is this?" Warren whispered before approaching the wall of art work behind Claude.

He quickly turned away from the desk to see what Warren was looking at, followed by his eyebrows climbing further up his head in surprise at the layers of Isaac's personality he was uncovering.

"Prehistoric Animals…." Claude spoke in a hushed whisper before stepping closer to the graphically beautiful art.

His artwork suddenly surged in skill when it came to these creatures, now accurately drawing scaled giants with teeth like great-swords or feline monsters with sabered teeth roaring atop icy mountains like kings of the wild establishing their dominance. Claude could practically see the passion oozing from each inky black stroke that contributed to the full art piece on each tattered piece of paper.

"I thought you'd like this." Isaac suddenly said from beside him.

"I think I would've liked to see more Wolves…but yes. This is…amazing." Claude replied while his eyes stayed on the art— tracing every line and detail of each ferociously powerful creature.

Isaac shrugged, "Yea well…my family's kinda got the whole cat thing on lock so I thought I'd keep up the tradition." He joked.

Claude was silent for a long moment with Isaac while Warren and Ursula explained to Maris who the Heroes were that Isaac drew on the opposite side of the room.

"…..This is your favorite thing to draw, isn't it?" He asked.

Isaac sighed while nodding faintly— watching his own work with a smile as if he was remembering the tranquility he felt when drawing it for the first time. "Definitely."

"Why?" Claude asked, baffled by a Knight taking interest in a group of animals known for their ferocity and association within Orc's, Elves and all things Tangent based.

Isaac looked at Claude, surprised for a moment by the question before shrugging and looking back at the wall. "At first, I saw one as a boy from my fathers paperwork and that was it…..they just looked so insane. They looked so unnatural— not in the way monsters do, because you could still tell they've been here before. Just from a different time, a time before us. They were the first to rule earth."

"Old Kings and Queens of earth— of the wild. Sounds badass."

"….Exactly." Isaac replied before adding after a long stretch of silence. "So, what's your favorite?"

A month ago, Claude may have had a very different answer but as he thought on it more, he had an answer he himself didn't even expect.

"Glorian Lions."

"Look at you two, bonding over...whatever this is." Warren interrupted from behind them while he looked at the artwork.

"Which one of these…Old Kings catches your eye, Warren?" Isaac asked, referring to the Prehistoric Animals the way Claude had.

The Archer's head swiveled back and forth while he looked between the two with a confused expression, "Are y'all insane? None of them. They all make my hands sweat— just like that Witch monster we killed. Speaking of that, when are we gonna talk about it?" Warren asked, slowly going from talking calmly to completely flooding them with questions and reeking of fear.

"Woah woah….after dinner we can check the Estate Library." Isaac suggested.

With that, the group spent the next half an hour relaxing in the Knights room, talking amongst each other while the scent of cooked food strengthened by the minute.

By the time Wilfred came knocking and announced the start of dinner, everyone was more than ready. But the— arguably, hungriest was last to leave, deciding to stay for a moment in the Knights room.

Claude hadn't been in a bedroom in a long time. He forgot how personal it could be, it was like stepping into someone's mind if they were expressive enough. And Isaac was very expressive— unapologetically so. Brandishing his unique cutlass everyday and allowing his artwork to be seen by them all.

It reminded Claude about the slight epiphany he had about them all. About how important they'd become to him. One of the things he always thought was that he wanted to know more about the stylish and explosive Knight he fought alongside often. It seemed like being in his room— his home, was doing just that.

The Knight's appreciation of Heroes and Animals was very similar to Claude's. Both expressed through different ways, with Isaac drawing down the fantastical tales and habitats of varying creatures or high powered Heroes— while Claude followed in his fathers footsteps. Reading, studying, imagining until he had a mental catalogue of facts and details on both subjects burned into his brain for eternity.

A lowly Beast Tamer and a noble Knight. Two individuals with vastly different upbringings and overlapping passions. Executing said passions differently to get the same result.

Claude left Isaac's suddenly gigantic feeling room with one thing in mind.

"We're more similar than I thought."