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Claudius was glad that she didn't notice the tautological structure of his suggestion, so he was more than happy to explain how springs worked. Even looking back, he winced at how awkward he'd sounded. The springs were nice and warm if she'd like to warm up? Indeed! Claudius blushed and glanced away, but then looked back at Terra. She hadn't noticed, so he didn't need to think about his silly blunder anymore. He was just being ridiculous now.
“With wa-a-ater,” he replied slowly. He tried to think about how to explain this. Once he had a plan of what he would say, words would flow more easily. He often found that if he paused to consider his words, he stuttered less, so he always tried to do all he could to be as succinct as possible. “They c-o-o-ome from… underground… the water, that i-is. I do-on’t know really… how… it works, bu-u-ut… it’s wa-a—aarm all year round. It’s dangerous… in the winter… because i-it gets very icy… and kind of… creepy… but now… it’s sa-a-a-fe… and very nice. It might help you-ou-our injury… too… and relax it.” It would take them some time to reach the springs, so Claudius hoped that Terra wouldn’t mind chatting with him for a while. Since they walked upon two legs instead of four, their mobility was greatly reduced. Of course, Claudius didn’t want to see Terra injure herself again, and it seemed as though she was favouring her left leg. He hadn’t realized it until now, so he was glad he’d offered her his arm. The walk westward would likely be quite straining if she had to do it alone. Even the walk from Cour des Miracles had likely been quite strenuous, so Claudius would be more than willing to stop whenever she needed.
Image credit: Artur; template from the mentors
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