sweethymns | ғaтe/alт.dιѕтorтιon

[~~ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE~~ There's no way to miss that voice. To Ai Thao, it's hard to ignore the undertone of authority and complete confidence that colors it. The raw strength is palpable. One voice of reason in her mind says to turn back. She won't be finding what she needed.

But then she steps forward and towards the room in the far end. She stops just right outside the door, not looking in just yet.]

... You're not of the Church.

[Stating the obvious, but at least it was better than asking a question to get an obvious answer.]

Edited 2014-12-19 06:34 (UTC)

[ Obvious bores him: there are things he'll humor from a child, as impassioned and unabashed as children are about their simple pleasures, but this quaintly pedestrian question makes Gil laugh under his breath, the tone equal parts condescending and derisive. ]

Setting aside your ignorance, reconsider your impudence for associating me with such a tiresome institution. I've heard sermons less offensive than your inference.

[ ok gil mOVE ON ]

So? What is it you want?

Edited 2014-12-19 06:42 (UTC)

[Ai Thao finds it amazing, absolutely amazing, at the amount of distaste that bubbles up in her at this man's reply. For all intents and purposes, Ai was a person who did her best to treat others fairly and tried to display an honesty that would be clear across the board. Treat others fairly, get fairness back. She knows it doesn't always work that way, but it was a good principle to stick with. Right now though? It doesn't feel like it would matter.

She replies politely.]

I'm looking for the priest of this church.

[A young woman with long dark hair looks into the room, her eyes as blue as the light in the church. Her expression is impassive as is the look in her eyes.]

Is he or is he not available for a meeting tonight?

[ The man in the room is, predictably, as flashy as his confidence suggests: gold everything, red eyes the color of the wine in his wineglass, as sharp as a trained blade and as poised as a fortress. His charisma aside, there's an aura about him that defies dissent, though the effect he has on others varies with how much or how little they find his authority distasteful.

Either way, he's definitely a pain in the ass.

A slight raise of his chin, and he watches Ai through long, lowered bangs, his lips curved up in a discerning smile. ]

Kotomine's laid his lambs for slaughter. He won't be back for another few days.

[ He says so with a degree of satisfaction, whatever that may entail. ]

But don't be coy, girl. I know you've brought your mongrel with you, entertain me with whatever you were going to confess.

Edited 2014-12-19 06:58 (UTC)

[Ai Thao takes a good look at this golden man and is standing very, very still while doing so, the slightest movement, causing her hair to flutter up and down. This man was in such a relaxed position as if nothing could touch him. Even if she hated to admit it, there was something captivating about the red eyes and the glow of gold. However, her brain was silently screaming at her all the same.

Dangerous.

Her Mystic Eyes flare up. A thin ring of violet around her pupils appears.

Dangerous.

Ai Thao forces her eyelids closed. No. Not now. She doesn't know who he is, but she'd die right then and there. That she can be sure of. She told Diarmuid she would come back.

DANGEROUS.

She opens her eyes again. They were normal.]

A useless endeavor it seems. My apologies.

[She bows her head politely.]

Thank you for informing me of the priest's absence. I may return another day.

[She doesn't expect him to take the apology or the thanks. They weren't sincere anyways and she turns around, exiting the church faster than she had entered it.]

Edited 2014-12-19 07:13 (UTC)

[ OMG??? DID HE JUST GET IGNORED... and on a night where he can't be a mean girl with kirei??? what a disaster... ]

[ Meanwhile, Diarmuid (bless his pure soul) is still diligently stationed at the gates, honey-gold eyes fixed on the onimous structure of the Church, ever mindful of any sensory input that might clue him in to coming danger.

He blinks when he sees Ai coming from a distance— that was fast— and straightens up. ]

Master. Was the Church empty...?

[Ai Thao's strides out of the church were long and quick, to the point she almost walks past Diarmuid so she skids to a stop. She's panting lightly, with one hand over her chest. Her heart was thumping like crazy.]

I... I...

[ That reaction is cause for alarm, and his eyes narrow, flitting towards the entrance of the building that his Master's just left. ]

Were you attacked?

[She shakes her head.]

I was scared. It wasn't the priest. He wasn't available.

Then, a guard...?

[ That's strange, are the priests ever really allowed to leave their station...? Everything about this situation is unconventional, and his instinct tells him that he should move Ai away from the area.

A few steady strides away from the gate, and Diarmuid makes sure, again, that his Master is alright. ]

The place gets more and more suspicious, it seems.

[Her breathing becomes more steady, the further away they are from the church. Ai Thao sticks closely to her Servant as they make their way back to the road.]

... There was another man. He was most likely... No, he IS the source of all that energy you warned me about.

An enemy?

[ His frown deepens, and his senses try to pick up on the magnitude of this "man's" prana— it's immense, which is cause for concern. ]

It'd be bothersome if it was someone we'd have to contend with.

[Why is everything so wroooong.]

If that's a Servant like I think it is, what was he doing in the church?? He can't be without a Master. His words and actions were very much his own.

[ What a headache... ]

A Servant. [ A rulebreaker, then. But then again, there doesn't seem to be any semblance of a rule intact here, so there's that. ] If it's one capable of independent action, then it would most likely be Archer.

[Just when she thinks she's not as way in over her head as she fears, then it happens. Lien has told her sister to try and not to care too much and perhaps this is one of those times as to why that would apply. Bad news upon bad news is not good for anyone's nerves, much less hers.]

Well. Whoever and whatever he is, there is a priest and his name is Kotomine. He answered that much when I asked.

Kotomine.

[ Does that name sound familiar to him...? If so, it must be Grail knowledge regarding the church mediator, of course.

It's a relief to be walking towards home again, though it's more for Ai's sake than his own. ]

We'll have to determine if the Church is also our enemy, then.

[Oh lord, that would be the worst. The Church was supposed to be a neutral mediator in the affairs of the War. Or was it just this Kotomine...?]

I don't think they'd have a good reason to be. One way or another, I'll meet the priest face to face and he'll have to give Lien and I answers.

[Implying that she won't be going alone next time.]

... It was weird. [What's this now???] I didn't think I could dislike someone just from a first impression that quickly.

If they've answers to spare.

[ That sounds vaguely cynical, but, well. He reels it in. ]

Did the Servant threaten you?

He didn't, actually. But I felt like I was walking on thin wire. If I did anything that was displeasing, my life would have been of little consequence.

[She furrows her brow, looking irate.]

Although, I hate to admit it, his looks and presence were very regal. Like a king?? Nn.

There are all manners of Heroic Spirits. Some are kings, and some are as dangerous as they are prestigious.

[ He has a feeling that Ai may have run into a tyrant, and if so, that that encounter may have been unnerving. ]

Not all of us are inclined to serve.

[She falls silent. There's a heaviness weighing down her chest, as if she's disappointed by her own short sightedness.

And now, all they could do is go home, rest up, and...]

[Oh, GODDAMMIT. Sure they might have constructively used their time, sealing up rifts, and patrolling the city for possible dangers, but Ai's feeling annoyed because... WELL. Having to admit when Lien was right is kind of irritating...]

Diarmuid? It's too early to even think about confronting that Servant, not until we know where the priest stands and that one is doing in the church.

And I think I'm being too tense!

[ Well. He stops mid-track, and looks over his shoulder at his Master with a faint hint of surprise, before he...

...yeah, laughs. ]

It's the fault of the Servant, if their Master is tense. My duty is to put you at ease, knowing that your knight is capable of your trials.

[ but he knows that that's not the point, so he adds: ]

But your levity is well-earned. I'm not averse to "relaxing".

[She... blushes. Honestly, she can't help it. It's a combination of hearing him laugh, her own relief at it, and then some shame at how seriously she's been taking everything.

Sorry, just gonna cover her face with her hands now kthx]

I'm sorry... Lancer, you're amazing and capable and here I am just... I haven't been thinking clearly.

[Ai was so focused on things going RIGHT for once.]

I worry too much.

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