[ closed ]

[witchual]

WHO: Magilou and Artoria
WHERE: Deep within the forest
WHEN: Mid-June, pre-event
WHAT: Magilou and Artoria go in the forest for hunting. They get more than they bargained for.
WARNINGS: Monsters and the usual spooky forest shenanigans

[ When Magilou suggested that she and Saber take a trip through the forest for hunting, it's not as though she was expecting a welcome party. This is the barrier that keeps them enclosed in their fairytale prison; to call it foreboding would be an understatement. An endless expanse of colorless trees leading only to darkness, the mysterious quests for slaying monsters deep within - it's almost sinister in its simplicity, but this isn't the first abyss that Magilou has stared down.

After they've walked past the edges and into the deep thickets of gray beyond, Magilou looks behind her, only to see an unfamiliar maze of trees. It's impossible to see if the thought affects her at all, with her usual carefree mask plastered on. If it weren't for her efforts to keep her footfalls light and her voice low - and the fact that she'd triple-checked her Guardians and strung the journal she arrived with around her waist - she'd seem almost completely unprepared for what they might face. ]

I was hoping there'd be something exciting for the main course... but it's been so silent so far. If this is meant to be a trap, they could have made it more subtle.

[ It's silent. Silent, when there were animals to hunt at the fringes before, as if it was meant to drag them deeper in. It's... strange, unnatural, and even though that means everything bad and nothing good, Magilou doesn't stop walking. They've already come this far. ]

Comments

[witchual]

[ An offering of flowers is so quaint, and yet somehow so quintessentially Saber. She's surprisingly sentimental, but it's charming. Magilou unlatches another book, the one that hangs off the side of her waist, and passes it over to Saber. Like the rest of her waist decorations, the book is empty, though its pages are well-maintained. The flowers are... well, it's a better memory this time. A reminder of what they've gained in this forest. The Command Spells on the back of her hand are one memento, but this is one they can share. ]

Wouldn't even dream of leaving you out of it.

[ For as carefree as her normal attitude is, Magilou is surprisingly firm on this point, her voice low and even. She's not intending on making this an unequal partnership, regardless of the titles of Master and Servant. She doesn't like debts, and she's fickle on the best of days, but she walked into this prepared. She doesn't make her decisions lightly, and she's not going to use Saber like a tool. If she did... she's no better than the Abbey.

And as soon as it appeared, the seriousness is gone. ]

You know, it's a shame this clearing is stuck in the middle of a forest that tried to murder us. I could get used to this place. If you've ever got too much of my energy to expend, and we're in need of some tree sap, at least we have something interesting to find, I guess.

[ And hopefully without... trees that are happy to gobble Saber up. Though, perhaps, with Saber's enhanced strength, maybe that wouldn't be a problem any longer... ]

[artorian]

[ Saber looks at Magilou curiously at the shift in her tone. But whatever the reason, if Magilou is taking her request seriously, that's a good thing...

She allows her sword to dissipate before taking Magilou's book and opening to the middle. It surprises her, yet doesn't surprise her, to see that the pages are blank. She thought they might have been spellbooks or reference materials, but evidently not. It makes sense, as much as an empty book can get; Magilou doesn't seem like the type to refer back to the conventions of other people.

Saber carefully places each flower in different sections of the book, fussing with the petals so that they'll be pressed evenly. ]

It truly is a shame. This would be a wonderful place to have a picnic...

[ Any food they tried to bring might get smashed by all the fighting along the way. Alas. But Saber wouldn't be opposed to a little field trip to reach this place again someday in the future. ]

Magilou, now that you are my Master, there is one other topic I feel I should bring up. I do not think it will overly concern you, but I do not want you to be taken unawares. Are you familiar with an individual here named Mordred?

[witchual]

[ A picnic... She'll keep that in mind. It's nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the town sometimes (read: basically none of it, but at least there's no weird princess spells or companion animals following them here). Saber's provided her with food on no less than two occasions, so there's no reason to not keep that streak going.

But then Saber says something that sounds suspiciously like the opening to a warning. Somehow - perhaps luckily - Magilou has not heard hide or hair of this mysterious Mordred. From the way that Saber brings up the name, she has a feeling that might be a good thing. "I do not want you to be taken unawares," she says, as if Magilou could be surprised by many things any longer. She shakes her head and shrugs. ]

Nnnnope. I'm guessing they're of some concern to you, though?

[ Especially if it's relevant because she's a Master now. Has she walked into something she hasn't? It won't make her take the vow back or anything, but if someone's going to want to know about this arrangement, she needs to know who's going to be throwing her a parade for helping Saber.

Or who's going to clobber her. Either way. ]

[artorian]

"Concern" might be a strong word...

[ There's an awkward pause here in which Saber struggles to condense the landfill that is Mordred into a brief verbal package. The fact that she has to caution Magilou at all is frankly embarrassing, but it must be done. ]

Mordred can be... shall we say... somewhat nosy when it comes to my personal affairs. She is also loud, rude, childish, and belligerent. When she hears of our contract, I will not be surprised if she sets out to confront you about it. However, she is not malicious at heart, so I request that you reserve some patience for her should you ever meet.

[ It doesn't have to be all the patience... just some of the patience. Lord knows Saber only has some of the patience herself. ]

[witchual]

[ Nosy, loud, rude, childish, and belligerent... Magilou would say that she's the closest one to that description among the people that she knows, but most would probably call out her whimsical nature. Or her buried apathy. Not so much the belligerence. ]

Geez, from the way you're saying that, it's like I've made a contract with more than one person.

[ Has she basically signed a death warrant by doing this?? Oh well. It's done and over with and she doesn't regret it. She's just teasing. ]

But I'll keep an eye and ear out and hold back the incineration if I hear anyone breaking into my house. It's good to know the name of someone who's planning on busting down my doors for once!

[artorian]

[ Oh, Magilou understood that Mordred is a thug with no boundaries immediately. This probably shouldn't please Saber as much as it does. ]

Thank you. Because she is born of me, she sometimes feels entitled to more than her due. But if there is anyone who could handle her with aplomb, I imagine it would be you.

[ She firmly closes the book before offering it back to Magilou. ]

Was the book you exchanged for me truly your journal?

[witchual]

[ "Born of me", what the heck. Saber is a parent, too?? Sometimes the mysteries of Saber are too deep to unravel... Maybe it's a spirit thing. M-Maybe...

She doesn't have time to ask for clarification, though, once Saber mentions the journal. Magilou takes her sweet time taking the book, the empty one now filled with pressed flowers, and clasping it back around her waist. With a final, shuddering click of the buckle, Magilou straightens up, brushes at the remaining books as if there'd been dirt caught on them, and... finally, belying the dramatics generated by her pause, just shrugs. ]

It was something that came here with me. Set soaked and wet, right on my chest, when I woke up in that well. There wasn't much in there, and anything that was, well... They're more like stories I've heard long ago than memories, now. Nothing so grand as a journal.

[ Maybe it's a way of letting go - of accepting this place as where she'll remain for the time being. It was what she could think of at the time. And for any new entries, observations that she might want to make here, now there's a newly in-use book she's just clasped back around her waist. A journal that isn't bogged down by its chains to her own world. ]

[artorian]

I see...

[ Despite how long Magilou kept that book on her, it seems like she's trying to dissociate from it as much as possible. If she didn't know better, Saber would think some kind of curse kept it tethered to her. In any case, it could not have been an unimportant book if it came with Magilou in such an unusual manner. It seems like a complicated issue, so Saber decides not to pry any further, but her gaze lowers briefly in thought...

After a beat, she blinks and returns her attention to the present. ]

In that case, your exchange was all the more cunning. Thank you, Magilou.

[ She looks past the ashes of the Magilou's handiwork, toward the thick, impenetrable wall of ordinary trees that bar their way. The sentient tree did seem like a main event of sorts, so perhaps this was all they were meant to find. ]

Would you like to take a break here before heading back? I did bring a handful of sna... ahem, provisions with me.

[ they're snacks ]

[witchual]

[ It's almost a shame that it seems that no grand prize awaits at the end of all of this walking. After being eaten by a tree and sending the bark up in flames, it'd be nice if this place would be kind enough to give them something neat to take back with them. The real prize was the friends (or, well, pact) they made along the way.

In lieu of complaining about it - wow, a first for her - Magilou sinks to the ground, her books spreading around her like satellites. She kicks her legs out in front of her and crosses them, patting the ground near her to invite Saber over. ]

Call 'em provisions all you want, but I'm going to call it food from the gods! I've worked up quite an appetite here, so give it to me like a smorgasbord and let's have ourselves a feast!

[ It's pretty serene compared to most of the horrors of this forest. Mundane, maybe, but if they had to end up at a dead end somewhere, it's the nicest place they'll find to relax and have a picnic like old friends. ]

[artorian]

[ Saber lowers herself beside Magilou, sitting comfortably on her heels. Her own outfit is a cloud of interference around her, but she sits as close as she can reasonably get, the plates of her skirt armor bumping gently against one of Magilou's books. why are their outfits dumb

She sets the half-full waterskin on the ground before offering a small pouch of food to Magilou. Inside is a sturdy apple, a few strips of jerky, a handful of nuts, and an assortment of preserved fruit nestled safely in the middle of it all. ]

Please enjoy as much as you like. This has been an abundantly eventful outing, and you performed admirably. It seems your endurance training is paying off.

[ Maybe............... but Saber likes to think so, and she puffs proudly as she makes the claim. ]