"Sensible." Felix chooses an ordinary wooden bow as well, testing a few until he finds one with a draw that's comfortable for him. Then he shoulders a quiver from the rack and turns back to Claude. "Ready?"

Usually, training with a bow is fine. It's an interesting challenge, one very different from Felix's usual, and he likes the gratification of being able to visibly see his improvements even without an opponent. But he finds ranged combat fairly boring, and he's not the biggest fan of shooting outdoors because it adds so many factors to take into account--whether the arrow will land somewhere irretrievable, random sounds breaking his concentration, and of course the wind. He suspects all the tedious on-the-fly calculation necessary to fire with accuracy when wind is involved is as thrilling to Claude as it is annoying to Felix.

Today, though, he's enjoying archery a lot more than usual. It's not just because watching Claude shoot is mesmerizing, although that's certainly part of it. Felix also finds a thrill in challenging himself to try to surpass his best with Claude watching him. It's not, he tells himself, a desire to impress Claude. It's a way of pushing himself in the presence of a master archer, just as Byleth and Geralt inspire him to push himself. (But secretly, it is also a desire to impress Claude.)

Once his lover takes to the sky, though, Felix puts down the bow in favor of his Gear so that he can take pictures and video of the spectacle that is Claude von Riegan. Now that he's not in the midst of battle or focusing on his own training, he can fully appreciate the immense skill it takes to do all this nonsense, even in ways Felix hadn't considered before. Like the fact that when Claude shoots mid-leap, there's a split second at the apex of it where he almost hangs in the air, and he fires in that split second--which means minimizing any movement that could affect his accuracy, both from falling and from the turbulence of his mount.

So it's not just showing off and mind games, after all, huh? Goddess, he's so fucking brilliant. Is there anything he couldn't excel at if he tried?

But there comes a moment, while he's in the middle of filming, when Claude does something Felix has never seen him do before, not even at Gronder. It's so ludicrous that at first Felix thinks something must be wrong with one of the Pokemon--why else would Claude be doing this? But no, he's just...ratcheting up the stakes because he feels like it. Anyone watching the video later will be able to clearly hear Felix say "what the fuck" in that moment.

When Claude finally comes down and they go to return their gear, Felix is scowling, but he doesn't say a word. Not here in a wide open place, where anyone could hear and watch them. No, he waits until they've left the community center behind before he stops walking and turns on Claude with a finger jabbing into his chest.

"You idiot. You incredible bastard. Challenging yourself is one thing, but you could have fallen to your death."

"That's exactly my point. Don't pretend you don't know how much more complicated bringing a ranged weapon into something like that makes it. The other nonsense you pull, you've done with a bow before. That was new. What was I supposed to do if you fell, you nitwit?"

Felix jabs him with his finger again to make sure his point is made.

Felix blinks at him, then blinks at him again.

"...Excuse me?"

"What the hell makes you think I would have heard that we can't die?" He narrows his eyes. "If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny."

"That...that makes no sense!" Even Felix himself isn't sure why he's fuming about this. Other than - "The dead can't be resurrected. People die and they don't come back."

A strange thought hits him, then, and his rant ends prematurely and abruptly as he glances away. "But you believe it, so I believe it. But...doesn't that strike you as the kind of thing that happens in dreams?"

A kneejerk reaction of disgust boils up from somewhere in Felix's chest, the familiar furious defiance that makes his hackles rise, makes him want to shove away what part of him perceives as pity in the sudden surge of emotions going through him like a storm. He shoves it back down, swallowing and training his eyes on some spot over Claude's shoulder. He rests his hands on the other man's waist in an attempt at showing somehow that he's not angry. Not with Claude, anyway.

"It's perverse either way. But..." He nods. "If we're all at less risk, then...yes. That's good." His gaze shifts back up to Claude's face and he frowns. "But that doesn't mean I want to watch you fall and break your neck, you reckless buffoon. So just..." He huffs a breath out through his nose. "Just warn me next time."

"Well, you're both reckless buffoons," Felix grumbles. His face scrunches up and he leans back a little at this cutesy...thing Claude is doing.

"Hmph. Yet. I'm sure you'll come up with some soon enough. But good." He pulls his hands back and turns to start walking again. "I recorded it. So we can show it to Dimitri and the others."