Upon hearing his mom's voice, Claude suddenly looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "O-oh!" Doing his best to give her the brightest smile he could muster, he nodded toward the empty space beside him. "Sure! Have a seat!"

They hadn't talked much since the day after his mother's foray into the coliseum. His heart still ached at the thought of her helplessly watching a friend die, but she seemed to be in better spirits today. Did that mean she'd been lucky enough to find that girl again?

"How're you doing?" he asked, his voice a little gentler now.