sweethymns | ғaтe/alт.dιѕтorтιon ii

Huh. That kind of kills the mood.

[ He'd try to prod the familiar with his spear, but... that seems ill-informed, so he refrains. Instead, he jerks his head up towards the balcony he jumped down from. ]

Want to move up?

There was a mood?

[LIEN!!

She nods though, brushing her hair behind one ear.]

Well, as long as there aren't any other people around.

[And then...]

"Will both of you be in need of a bedroom?"

[The familiar faces the duo, suddenly bringing up a harmless(?) question. And it takes Lien a second.]

Uh...

"Take your time. Please inform any of us if you need anything."

[It bows its head and then goes away in an opposite direction. Lien's covering her face in her hands... What is this evening turning out to be...]

[ At first, he doesn't really understand the offer— what, did it think they needed privacy?

But then it sinks in, implication and all, and like clockwork, Cu starts cracking up. Why wouldn't he, right? ]

You think it's too late to take her up on her offer?

[ Settle down, dog. ]

[She looks up at Cu through her fingers.]

I think she's just making fun of me now. Both of you are making fun of me aren't you?

[ A soft bark of a laugh at that, and he puts his hands on his hips. ]

What would you say if I said I wasn't kidding, huh?

[She sets her hands down, transitioning into a thinking pose instead.]

. . .

. . .

[oh my god she is thinking seriously.]

If that's the case... I'd say now's not the time to skip steps even if the offer sounds really good.

[ And similarly, Cu takes the same amount of time to think about her reply to the question. ]

...Good answer.

[ That's his assessment, and he offers Lien a hand after he delivers it with conviction. ]

Next best thing, then. Come on, take my hand.

[And despite herself, Lien smiles up at the Servant, and accepts his hand without any reluctance.]

Ah, so there it is. You're actually being a knight.

[ He'd roll his eyes if he weren't feeling so lively right now; in lieu of that, he hoists Lien up with one arm so that she's sitting on his forearm, tucked against his chest. ]

Wrong Lancer. The kid is the knight— I'm a warrior.

And a bothersome one at that.

[... It's amazing to her really. How much she lightens up around him and not in her usual way where Lien uses flippancy to deal with what's in front of her. Just a minute ago, she felt uptight about having to change her clothes and being so exposed to so may strangers' eyes and in the process became worried about how he saw her.

He always seemed to make her concerns and worries disappear. She presses her forehead against his with an amused look in her eyes before pulling away.]

Luckily for you, you're the one bothersome man I'll deal with.

[ Her easy banter is good on his ears, and he gives Lien a warning squeeze before hopping up on the railing surrounding the second floor of the cruise ship, then the third, then the fourth—

—all the way to the top, on the observatory tower that protrudes into the sky. It's a prohibited area, but he doubts Caster or anyone else cares, or is even keeping track.

He doesn't lower Lien onto the narrow standing space when he gets there, and keeps her securely in his arms instead. ]

'Bothersome', huh. Is that... what do you guys call it, in this time period? 'Tsundere'?

[ A laugh, and he nudges her with his forehead. ]

I keep things exciting.

[~~Lancer... what kind of things are you learning from this era...~~ Wow, they are really high up. One familiar does pass by, but it pays the two no heed, allowing them to have the tower to themselves. Lien hangs on to Lancer rolling her eyes at his remark.]

... Anyway. It is nice up here.

[Okay, so she feels a bit lame for saying something so dull, but she's gotta work with something.]

Thanks for making sure we're away from the other people. I guess I'll always be tired out by big crowds.

Edited 2015-10-15 03:46 (UTC)

Thought you might want to get away from the others. It's not much of a party up here, but the quiet isn't bad, either.

[ For someone who's as accustomed to partying as hard as he fights, the peace is a change of pace. Not a bad one, which he indicates with a grin and a light shrug. ]

So? What's on your mind, little lady?

Where to start?? Although, first off, I'm kind of glad we don't have to fight Caster for now.

[She nods affirmatively.]

She's scary.

What, are we getting straight to business? I thought you'd want to talk about your dress first.

[ A light chuckle, and Cu finally sets Lien down against the railings, brushes a hand down her dress to get any dust off of it. ]

Don't worry about Caster. Or, what— you think I can't handle her?

[She blinks up at him when he sets her down and fiddles with her fingers when he mentions her dress.]

Ah. Well... To be fair...

[Look... the longer she can avoid talking about her belly piercing, the better.]

Well, I think if one gave her enough reason, she'd release all the hell fury she has. Which I think is more than people would give her credit for, seeing as how much effort she puts into her poise.

Not going to refute you on that one. I've seen enough women who are scary when they're angry.

[ He trained under one, for example. The look on Lancer's face almost turns fond, nostalgic, even— Caster might be their ally for now, but at the core of it, he's still willing to fight the good fight against her if he has to. ]

Especially when they try to be calm most of the time.

Did she say anything else to you while we were changing? I can't imagine she'd let you guys hang around her in awkward silence.

Caster? ...Yeah.

[ He's reminded of what she said, about questioning his Master more— about the nature of Lien's powers, about the clarity of her own strength. He's not sure if it was meant to cast doubt upon Lien, or her capabilities, but...

...He shakes that thought aside, for now. ]

—Lien. How much mastery do you have over your Eyes?

... Well.

[That's a good question. And one Lien hasn't really brought up before since Cu was doing most of the heavy work in combat and she had given him a general idea of what she was able to do both in words and in practice.

Lien holds up one hand, turning it over to look at her own palm. She hadn't worn any gloves for several hours now and...]

Depends on what you mean. In my case, my "sight" works in conjunction with my "touch." But you already know that. I have enough mastery to be able to function day to day, but the gloves I wear help control the prana I can't reign in with just my willpower alone. [After all, there's no way to 100% avoid touching anything and anyone. There's a thoughtful pause from Lien as she stretches out her fingers before settling them down on her sides to grasp the railing she's on.]

I'll be honest though; I wouldn't call what I have, "mastery." Just functional.

Edited 2015-10-24 00:01 (UTC)

So there may be things that you're able to do that you don't know about. Am I right?

[ That's a bit of an obvious dig, and Lancer knows it. It's revealing a little without revealing too much about what Caster said, giving Lien food for thought without casting too much doubt on her... which is his intention, but it might be more roundabout than he'd like. He finds himself calling himself out on that, actually.

His expression twists for a brief second, as if he's done something unsavory. ]

Listen, I'm not thrilled about taking Caster's advice over yours, but she said something about you not having clarity about yourself.

... That's what she wanted to say then?

[Well, Caster wasn't wrong. And while Lancer didn't look pleased about what he had to say, Lien on the other hand, takes it in stride although she does seem to struggle to give a proper reply. She lets out a short sigh before clasping her hands together and putting them in her lap.

They've come this far. She didn't want to shut things out again.]

I have tested out my Eyes when I was younger; after we were taken in I mean. My own instructor had an interest in my Mystic Eyes after all. But like Ai Thao told you, I pass out from overuse. The conclusion's an easy one to make really; if I keep letting information flow freely into my sight, my brain would short out and I'd be as good as dead.

[She tries not to let the resigned self of hers creep into her body language and her words, but it's difficult when it comes to the topic of...]

... The magus that rearranged my Circuits probably had me use my Eyes a lot.

[In other words, she was barely kept alive.]

So the things I should be aware of, the things I should remember... [She feels her insides twist as if the uneasiness was manifesting itself physically and she grips the railing on either side of her with all of her strength in order to steady herself.]

... It's not within my reach.

[ He watches Lien's fists whiteknuckle against the railings, and it's a surefire sign that the admission was a hard one to make; Lien rarely talks about the nature of her past with respect to her powers, and he can appreciate that a lot of people are less forthcoming about the things that hurt them than he is.

It's not difficult to imagine, though. Being taken advantage of isn't easy to admit. ]

That's that, then.

[ So his reply is simple. Steady. Cu doesn't smile, but he turns to lean the small of his back against cold metal, swings his elbows back against the wind. ]

If you can't remember, if it's not within your reach, then that's that. If there comes a time when you have to buck up and see how you can push forward from that, then I'll make sure you do it. But otherwise?

[ He tips his head up, looks into the night sky. ]

You've got enough clarity to see you've got things missing. That's as good a place to start as any.

[His words allow her to relax again and she smiles, looking down at her lap.]

If you keep on being that lenient with me, I'll want to keep you around more you know.

[This wouldn't last forever. They're both used to the temporary and the fleeting, but while Cu Chulainn had lived despite that adversary, Lien had let the adversary define her life.

Now here they are. A temporary and fleeting War and a temporary and fleeting moment between them. But this time, underneath the night sky and knowing how she felt for him, it felt like it could be forever.

The rain falls down from the dark sky and she stands still as if wanting to drown. She walks blindly in no particular direction until she is pulled towards another presence, one whose shadow is not entirely unfamiliar. There is a voice—

"—There's something you want right?."

She keeps moving forward.

"—C'mon, give me something a bit MORE to work with."

She walks forward, aware of the magic that is awry, aware that there is someone else, and she stops, looks up, and sees him, a hero, someone who can help her fix this wrongness that had been caused somehow.

"—Ah, what the hell. You're gonna have to fill in the blanks from here though."

... She doesn't know what she had been doing in the rain, the first time they met. But at least, at the very least, there was some purpose behind it, for better or for worse and these moments were one of the most permanent things Lien's ever had in her life. The young magus leans sideways so that her head rests on Cu's shoulder.]

If anyone told me that I would feel differently about you from the first day we met, I would have decked them.

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