Of course she couldn't be right all the time, nobody was perfect, Caius knew that. But he did want to believe that even with her flaws, someone would find her appealing. Something he appeared to have figured out through experience.

"Maybe not" Caius responded with a soft, bittersweet smile when Celes said that's not how it worked. Caius wasn't exactly an expert on how relationships worked. Even he knew that. "It may be naïve of me, but that's just how I feel. So I'm going to keep believing you'll find the right person for you. At the least, you have someone on your team in all this. Even if I'm probably no Yuna. Or Jessie" he admitted with a small chuckle. Those ladies clearly had themselves pretty together. Caius did not. But he'd at least try for her, however he could.

This wasn't exactly something he wanted to talk about. But friends were there for each other. The least he could do was try and give her a little hope while she pursued... Better help than him.

He was quite happy to get up and keep walking. Walking was a good distraction. He nodded his head as he got to his feet, motioning for her to lead the way. She then inquired about telling something about himself. Ooh, that was tough. Something not heavy? Even tougher. "Hmm... Well, you already know I'm a weaponsmith, but I guess that might count as work anyway. I dropped that I grew up on a chocobo farm earlier, so that's out too" he mused aloud, almost amused at how this wasn't an easy thing to think of ideas for. "Truth be told, I don't just build weapons for the practicality of it. I'm actually quite interested in weaponry as a whole, even outside the realm of work. Someone called me a weapon nerd, which I guess is pretty accurate" he admitted with a small laugh. "I like to take guesses at the make of each weapon, their origins and what they were used for. Jessie took me to the museum in Torensten recently, which I guess was... Enjoyable. I was able to tell that even the symbolic-looking weapons likely had a physical purpose beyond intimidation and a show of power, if wielded a certain way. They kept the weapons in great condition which did a number on hiding the nicks, but I was able to find them. It was kind of fun trying to find little details like that. And it told me a lot about how seriously Torenstenians of the past took their weaponry."

That was a lot. He didn't expect to find that much information, but there it was. Even he seemed a little taken aback by it, but he soon just shrugged it off. Maybe the alcohol made it easier once he got going? Who knows? "What about you?" he inquired. She'd hopefully have an easier time finding something than him.

Well, that was quite the question that Celes had just asked, wasn't it? "Are you sure?" he asked with a light tilt of his head. "You're going to get me going on a tangent asking those kinds of questions, Cel" Caius remarked with an amused smirk in turn. "Again."

He laughed at that. Even he was aware he'd been doing it lately. "It's always you who gets me on these, I swear" he admitted between a chuckling fit. He'd... Try to keep it short and sweet. Try. “Well, you’ve been warned. Favorite weapons… Well obviously I’m a little biased towards my own gunblade. Versatile, operates like a single-handed blade with a guard I can switch on and off depending on if I’m using melee for guarding, or if I need to aim the gun portion with better vision and less weight on the sides to hinder my balance.”

He remembers then that he can summon said sword. So he does. He gives it a once over.

“I’ve taken this thing apart a hundred times now. But while I’ve re-painted them, I’ve never replaced parts of the hilt and pommel that I could afford to keep when modifying it. My father gave me this sword to train with when I was about nine. So it holds some sentimental value to me. As for other weapons..." he trailed off as his sword disappeared again. "Two come to mind. One belonged to a fellow in Sonora with a bulky sword bigger and longer than my arm. Clearly takes a lot of strength, but with whatever its made of, I watched the man chop through durasteel with ease. Made the "weapon nerd" in me swoon a little bit, made me a little envious too" he admitted with a laugh. His voice had raised in pitch a little bit as he spoke about the weapon, and his expression, down to his eyes had completely lit up in excitement. His mannerisms had become more pronounced and exaggerated as he went through it. "If I can get a better look at it, figure out what it's made of and how it's weighted to where he can hold it like a sword instead of like a big hammer, I'd kind of love to replicate one of my own. I don't have any heavy weapons in my arsenal, and my powers can hold one more weapon in its space if I so choose."

He didn't have to think too much about the other one that came to mind. He could still imagine it clear as day. "Then there's this katana I saw wielded by a swordsman in Provo. Made of a synthesized metal that I've never seen or even heard of before, yet somehow it's lightweight enough to let the man easily hold up a sword that is so long, it's probably longer than both our heights combined."

He took a minute to think on her sword. He'd only ever seen it when they were on assignment, so it took a minute. But once he did, he figured he could let himself rattle off a little bit. This was -her- sword after all. "Hmm... Medium-length, narrow blade, if I recall correctly. Good choice for your build and fighting style. The guard is interesting, I've seen curved swords but never a straight blade with a lopsided guard before. You're probably used to wielding it by now, but I assume it takes a bit to then adjust to training swords during your lessons with the recruits. On the flip side, the average swordsman won't see your guard at first glance, which gives you a temporary advantage in melee combat as they don't know right away how to deal with your defenses. Which actually, is quite perfect for you. It buys you time if the enemy gets too close, to defend yourself long enough to make distance so you can cast. The blade itself is also perplexing to me, I've never seen that kind of metal. That, or the steel is enchanted to look the way it does and to harness that magic-draining ability you use. Overall it's definitely one of the more interesting swords I've seen. Where did you get it, if I might ask?"

Oh they were going to bat questions back and forth, were they? Well, at least it kept things lively. The chainsaw thing got a laugh out of him too. But his attention was caught when Celes found her thing to tell. He quirked a brow as Celes spoke something that made her cheeks go red. It did make him laugh in surprise, which she probably didn't want. The "Don't make fun of me" caused a slight sputter too.

"I apologize for laughing, I was just surprised. Or well, sort of anyway" he admitted sheepishly. "Hmm, how do I put this... With how you carry yourself, it seems surprising on the surface. But part of me deep down... Kind of figured, too. Maybe not those exact specifics, but I had a feeling. I learned a long time ago to look past the surface with you."

He smiled softly. "I think it's nice. Both in that you can find things you enjoy outside of work, and that you can find something that just makes you melt, no matter how much fighting you do" Caius admitted as he scratched his head. He did that a lot when he was anxious, it seemed. It was always either varying parts on the left temple, the ear, or the back of the neck too. "Besides, it's not like I have room to talk. I have a soft spot for the small and squishy, especially animals. You saw my eyes light up when Vordun hatched. Even back when I tried to hide, I wasn't exactly subtle."

Caius was sheepishly self-aware about how much he could talk when he got going. Which was still weird to him, considering he had previously been used to talking as little as possible. But there was something about certain topics, and certain people, that got him going and even he didn't think he could stop himself. Slow it down, tone it back perhaps. But he didn't see himself going back to the way he was before. Was this a good thing or bad? He wasn't sure. Though it only seemed to happen when he lowered his guard.

Still, he wouldn't lie that it wasn't fun to talk about this stuff. Caius really was a weapons nerd. This sort of thing was always exciting for him.

He listened attentively as Celes detailed similar circumstances to Sephiroth's sword, for her own. So she didn't know its origin. Fair enough. She confirmed though, that her Runic ability was tied to her sword. That was definitely interesting. How did one go around getting enchanted swords like that? Though he supposed he had managed to add his own little "enchantment" to his swords, so to speak. Not magical in nature, but they suited their purpose. But it was still interesting to hear about the background behind hers. He figured she was important to the Empire if they made her a General, but to have a weapon specially commissioned for her was another thing entirely. It must have been quite the blow to them when she defected.

Caius laughed even harder when Celes protested and pouted over said laughter. He wasn't making fun of her, of course, and he'd made sure she knew that. But it was kind of adorable in of itself seeing her get worked up over something like that. And not in the way that had stressed the both of them out in previous instances. This was different. This was lighthearted, laid-back and playful. This was an experience, wasn't it? It was hard to describe, but the whole thing made him feel as light as air.

Yeah, he figured he hadn't been subtle about Vordun. He spoiled and fawned over the dragon like his own child. Celes pointed out that Vordun must see him as its father, and Caius nodded his head. "It's likely. I consider Vordun sort of akin to my own child at this point" he admitted softly. He hadn't put too much thought into it. It just was. "It's always weird taking him out onto the field with me. I worry about him. But I also know it's where he wants to be. He gets grumpy when I go out without him" he added, smirking lightly at the thought of Vordun's smoke-blowing snort pouting when Caius wasn't taking him along. Even when he'd been injured in Sonora and exhausted against the Kraken, and Caius had given him proper breaks full times, Vordun still made sure he knew that the dragon wasn't happy with not being taken along.

”It’s like we didn’t really know each other. Before this, I mean. I guess there’s only so much you can learn when all you do is work.”

"I guess so" he agreed as they stopped. He peered down at their reflections in the pond as they began to slow their strides going forward. "This might sound a bit sappy, and perhaps a little bizarre given the circumstances, but... I'm kind of glad we have an opportunity like this" Caius admitted sheepishly. He had thought he'd known her well all this time, but perhaps they hadn't really known each other that well at all. At least not until now. It turned out that he just hadn't been looking deep enough into that pond. Then again, it was safe to say he didn't know how. But things were changing, weren't they? He was vaguely aware of this fact, but... He didn't quite know how to process it. Not yet, anyway.

This certainly wasn't how he imagined learning something like that. Or about her, as well. This whole scenario had been nothing short of an incredibly bizarre adventure. But he wasn't complaining.

Caius' attention was entrapped by the sights around them. ”It’s beautiful,” Celes spoke up, and Caius silently, slowly nodded his head in agreement. His mouth part-open, his eyes beheld a slight glow as they reflected back the lights. He couldn't speak, not at first. His only noise was the slow rise and fall of his breath as his gaze moved from one point to another, as if wanting to take in everything possible within the time they had. His eyes met the frog's for a moment, and Caius could almost swear that it looked a bit like the King.

”Have you ever seen anything like it?”

"No" he spoke softly, finally managing to find some semblance of speech within him. "This world and its wonders never cease to amaze me. This though... This is something else" Caius admitted as a large, creased hand traced the stone surface of the bridge as they reached it. There was a magic to this place. He felt as if he could stay here forever, and never tire of it.

A still quiet was all to behold, giving Caius time to think. Spending this time getting to know Celes as who she really was had honestly begun to give Caius perspective. What really defined how he felt? What he thought to be love was for someone that he ended up knowing very little about. That didn’t sound like love in the way Yuna put it. And maybe it wasn’t. Or perhaps it was and he had allowed his trust in her to become more without considering the ramifications. He didn’t know for sure. But what he had begun to realize was that while Yuna had done her best to help, she could only give her own perspective from her own experiences. She could only tell things based on how Yuna saw what he had said, and how he had answered her questions. But Yuna was not Caius. Yuna did not have the upbringing that Caius did. Caius’ mind was a mess, he understood this. He lacked the same social conditioning and experiences that most had, and even just having someone as close and trusted as Celes to begin with was still a new thing for him.

At the end of the day, Caius knew he had to figure out what those types of feelings were for him. Not what they were considered to be normally. Finding out who Celes was outside of the battlefield had not changed the fact she was a close and trusted friend. But as far as more goes… He had to figure out his own definition of that for himself.

He supposed it made him feel a little bit better about how this had all turned out. If he did come to a conclusion later that led to her viewpoint being a source of strife for him, he’d deal with it when it came and move forward. He had moved forward from worse, he told himself. Either way, it was no big deal, right? There didn’t need to be romantic feelings involved for him to enjoy her company as he was now. She was still his best friend, or at least he liked to think so. He had no clue if that was a mutual thing. There was so much he was just learning now, after all.

His thoughts filled the silence as he stared out at the waters. Then Celes spoke up. And they were back to heavy. Caius wasn't sure how to respond at first, so he just listened. He took a deep breath as he leaned forward on the bridge, his chin resting on his arms as they lay spread across the wood. As her voice faded, there was silence for a few moments longer. Time to process. Caius brought his head upright a moment.

"I think I understand the general consensus, at the very least" he answered softly. He held out a hand, summoning one of the twin daggers, twirling it between his fingers. "I wish I had some answer that could make it alright, some magic cure all tied to some evil monster we could kill and all of a sudden, the world is right as rain again. I would be by your side for that fight in a heartbeat" he added, with a small, sheepish smile. If only it were that easy. That was something the both of them could do, easy enough. It was simple, in their wheelhouse. This? This was in neither of their wheelhouses. It wasn't even in their houses. Still, he felt helpless. He wanted to help. But...

"Unfortunately that only works when the world's in danger" he admitted remorsefully as the dagger disappeared. "But... I think it's a good first step, admitting to it. Because there's something I've learned in my time here. From you, especially. And that's the fact you don't have to do this alone" the mercenary decided on as an answer. He looked to her, and actually managed a more sincere, almost amused smile as a thought came to him. "Something else I've learned is that Celes Chere doesn't give up easy. She sees a goal and she shoots for the stars. Even when it gets tough."

A silence. A moment of respite, to think. To consider. He took a breath as his gaze softened once more. "I don't know what path you have to walk to find your missing pieces. But if you'll have me, I'll walk it with you."