Fate oath/alternative (Festival of Epics Reboot)

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

Hikaru smiled, turning away from the Servant and gesturing for her to follow. Once she was settled in the sitting room, the older-looking girl vanished into the kitchen for a few minutes, coming back with some green tea she placed in front of both of them.

She slid into the seat opposite Faust's with a smile.

"Sure. Like I said, I'm Hikaru Rensaki. Is there something you want me to call you besides Caster? Not even your real name or anything...some people like nicknames, is all. And if there's anything else you want to know about me that's fine too."

A childlike Servant who hugged a doll...Hikaru would have to talk with her a bit longer before she could figure much out.

edited 18th Jun '12 6:01:40 PM by IchigoNeko

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

Faust eagerly followed her Master, before sitting down and watching as the tea was brought out. Clutching Gretchen to her chest with her right hand, she reached out with her left and picked up the teacup. Smiling cheerfully, she took a sip. It was... a little different then the tea she could recall drinking, but it wasn't bad tea at all. "Oh, um... you can call me... um... Amalie! Since that's part of my real name and all... Do you want to know who you've summoned? Or maybe not, because people might be listening... they probably aren't listening though, that would be silly. Do you have plans? Plans can be hard to plan. I'm pretty sure birds don't make plans because it's too hard! Or maybe that's because they're birds..."

Hikaru smiled slightly, sipping at her tea before replying.

"Whichever you prefer, Amalie. If we're going to be cooperating in this venture of ours, I'd rather not act against your will. I do have one question, though: what exactly are you hoping to accomplish in this War?"

Her speech had become slightly more sophisticated as she continued. If her Caster—if Amalie—understood, then it might be a hint about whether her Servant was acting childish or truly childish. Hikaru had to admit she found it a bit odd that a Heroic Spirit of legend would act like a little girl, but maybe she just didn't know enough about Heroic Spirits.

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

"Umm... um..." Faust panicked. She didn't want to disappoint her Master, but... even if Gretchen thought it wasn't true... Faust knew that Wishes wouldn't come true if you told them to people! Shutting her eyes tightly and squirming in place, she began to reply. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, Master! If you tell people your wish then it won't come true, that's how wishes work! You have to keep it a secret right up until you make the wish, because if you don't then it won't come true and things might go bad, and it wouldn't be good! I'm sooorrry..."

Faust hugged Gretchen even more tightly to her chest, placing her teacup down to wrap both arms around her once again.

"Hey, hey, it's fine," Hikaru said quickly, seeing how distressed the other girl was. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. You don't need to tell me if you don't think it's necessary."

She paused, processing. Her words didn't seem to be going over her Servant's head, which was nice. Hikaru nodded slightly as a thought occurred to her.

"Ah, sorry, Amalie, but you mentioned Gretchen?" She gestured to the plushie Faust held onto tightly. "Do you speak with her?"

Despite herself, she was curious.

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

"Gretchen?" Faust's demeanor quickly changed from the frantic and panicked one to an excessively cheerful one. She eagerly held up Gretchen in both hands, a wide grin coming to her face. "Yes! I talk to Gretchen lots! She's my best friend in the whole world ever for all eternity!"

To punctuate this, Faust held Gretchen close to her chest again and cuddled her, her grin becoming a smaller smile as she did. "Gretchen will also help me if I need her, isn't that right Gretchen? Exactly!"

Wes, Downgate Apartment Complex, Archwood City

So she wasn't mad. Far from it, it seemed. That was a relief. A smile returned to his face.

But what to do now? He looked at the clock. It was going on past midnight. If they kept up at this much longer, he'd probably never sleep (or come up with an utterly ridiculous plan involving the lighthouse and fifty pounds of cheese). No, it was probably a good idea to just give Tamamo the grand tour and then head to bed. He had a feeling that he'd be up late enough talking to her as it was.

"How about I show you around the apartment?" Wes offered.

edited 18th Jun '12 8:16:50 PM by KSPAM

Rensaki Residence

"Hmmm...." Hikaru nodded, playfully scrutinizing the plushie held up to her.

"Could I talk to her too, if I ask nicely?" she asked, smiling a bit. It faded slightly as a thought struck her.

Wait. Amalie...and Gretchen...The names seemed kind of familiar when placed together. Maybe she'd have a look around her history books later tonight.

edited 18th Jun '12 8:15:33 PM by IchigoNeko

Tammy and Wes

Tamamo grinned.

"Oh,wow, Goshujin-Sama! "Showing me the apartment"? Is that how you call it now? I didn't think you were so bold! Yes, I would like for you to...ahem...show me the apartment."

Naturally, she was already awaiting his reaction. This is going to be fuuuun~!

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

"Um... well... if you wanted to speak to her, um..." Faust looked to the side. Would it be okay to use that now? It was the only way other people could speak to Gretchen... But it was also, well... it was her Noble Phantasm. Even though she loved using it, she wasn't sure if she should use it so early on. But... having Gretchen... able to speak, and move again... it would be so nice!

"Well... if you ask nicely, yeah!" Faust finally finished. "Since Gretchen would like to talk and do stuff even though it's only a little while, so I think if you ask nicely it would definitely be a good thing."

Wes, Downgate Apartment Complex, Archwood City

That comment confused Wes. Had he sensed the intent behind that right? Was his Servant flirting with him? Well, in all likelihood, teasing was probably the better word... but still!

"... I don't think we're on the same page here. I meant I wanted to give you a tour. Y'know, show you around and stuff..." he said, fidgeting mildly in discomfort.

Rensaki Residence

"Hmmm."

Hikaru nodded, having picked up on the other girl's hesitance.

"Alright. Maybe later then, if that's okay with you? It might be a bit rude of me to suddenly invite another guest to our tea party, after all," she added with a smile.

"So, Amalie," she picked up again, after another sip of tea, "you mentioned plans earlier. What all are your abilities?"

Tammy

....Well, that was an underwhelming reaction. But,eh, she could still have fun with this.

"What kind of stuff? Nothing too naughty I hope~!"

Come on, give a better reaction!

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

Faust was almost disappointed to hear that her Master didn't want her to use her Noble Phantasm, having committed to doing so herself. Well... at least there was the promise of doing it later. Then she could really, truly talk to Gretchen beyond what she did now, and Gretchen would even be able to move... and it would make her so happy. So, so happy...

After a moment of distant thought, Faust snapped back to reality and refocused. Her smile returned, though it was somewhat less enthusiastic, as her Master asked her about her abilities. "I can summon my friends! And my friends are demons. I'm really good at summoning demons! I can summon lots, though they're a direct drain on my prana. But that's okay since they're good to talk to. Have you ever talked to a demon? They're such good listeners! And then they'll play with me, too! Gretchen didn't know about them for a while, but now she knows so that's okay. They look all different and stuff, there's so many kinds!"

A Very Confused Wes, Downgate Apartment Complex, Archwood City

Okay, hormones kicking in now. Wes blushed at his Servant ditching any continued attempts at subtlety, and quickly went on the defensive.

"No, that's not what I meant! Stop twisting my words into something perverted!" He hadn't meant to say it. It just slipped out. But now that he said it, there was no taking it back, and he had a feeling the freudian floodgates were about to be forced wide open.

edited 19th Jun '12 11:07:38 AM by KSPAM

Rensaki Residence

Hikaru blinked. The fact that the little girl before her could summon demons didn't quite fit with her image. She gave a mental shrug. Would it be any less odd for a little girl to summon lightning bolts or fire?

She placed a hand under her chin as she processed the information.

"Okay, that makes sense. So is it mostly the demons who do the fighting part?" the magus asked, more to confirm than anything else.

"Oh, and I should probably tell you: I'm best at stuff like water and ice," she added as an afterthought, pointing to a nearby water bottle on the table.

edited 18th Jun '12 8:59:44 PM by IchigoNeko

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

"I can't really do any fighting, I'm all small and stuff," replied Faust, rubbing the back of her head. She didn't have any knowledge of any other way to fight at all, really. Demon summoning was her specialty. "And small people aren't good at fighting unless they're really fast, and I'm a Caster so I can't do any fighting anyway, and fighting would be hard. Like making plans, because plans are like fighting because they're hard. And fish can't make plans, and fish can do lots of things, so that means plans are hard. But I can summon demons and send them away and I won't have to be near them or anything at all!"

Rensaki Residence—Living Room

"Right," Hikaru replied again, a smile tugging at her lips. Her Servant was too cute.

"Okay, so I think first we should go see the Overseer," she said, nodding. "We can make plans on the way—you can take spirit form, right?" the magus added, standing up decisively.

"Let's go then, Amalia." She smiled, reaching a hand over to the Caster.

Bed time for me. Plus we can give others a chance to catch up post-wise...

Rider proceeds to his master's question in a rather militaristic and forceful manner by striking the floorboards with the butt-end of his massive lance, moving his left hand to grip the weapon's shaft and then bringing his feet close together in a manner of a trained soldier.

"The lance that I bear makes me all but undefeatable in a "joust" or fighting enemy Riders as it can force off any servant, no matter how skilled or strong they may be from their mount with naught but a single touch of it's blade. It also gains in power when I duel against someone who is of royal blood."

Rider then stands at ease, but was still radiating an air of readiness and sharply honed discipline.

"As for my mount, the very symbol of my identity and pride as a Rider-class servant; It is a mighty steed of exceptional size, strength, endurance and durability. It will allow me to unleash my true potential and will help me to ride down and defeat any who stands in the way of it's furious charge."

Tammy

Finally a reaction!

"Oh, Goshujin-sama, when did I ever say something inappropriate? It's your cute little genius mind that came to those conclusions! Uwaa~! My Master is soooooo forward!"

She laughed some more.

"Well, enough of that! Let's get to that tour!"

Mike

"So, you're saying your spear immediately makes the other guy...fall before you. Man, that's blatant. And you have a bigger horse than anyone? Compensating, I say."

"Both good abilities, Superman. Now, our first step. Let's go check in with the top brass. Time to go to Church."

edited 18th Jun '12 9:31:39 PM by DeathChariot

Saber, Breten Residence

"Aha! Your words are few, but they are indeed beautiful. I am of the Saber Class, Praetor! Together, we shall take the Holy Grail!" she nodded to herself while pointing to the heavens. Ah, her Master was on the ground. The women clothed in red reached her hand down to assist her new Master to stand up.

Jessica, Harway Manor, Redrock Town

"Good, you've learned your lesson, Archer. Now, can you tell me your true name, or is this a matter that will have to wait?" Jessica said, smiling as she let go of the handshake. His palm was smooth and the grip strong. Truly a man she could trust with her very life. "Hmm.. never mind." she caught herself. Asking about the Servants identity when he was summoned? That was unkind and especially inconsiderate.

An Archer with swords...

"Those two weapons, they weren't your Noble Phantasms, were they? They broke with ease so I'm only wondering..."

Bridget, Brunhild residence, Archwood City

"Y-you'll protect me, Lancelot?" this thought only made the young blind girl smile. Her very own knight in shining armor? She's read books about this kind of thing. Now, she had her very own? This was joyous! Her mind went left and right about all of the different possibilities! It was like she was a princess...

"Oh, Lancelot! This'll be fun!" she smiled, pulling her head back to where she originally touched the figure. Her smile was genuine, but her eyes were hollow and without life.

Rensaki Residence, Living Room

"Of course, Master!" replied Faust, smiling for a moment... which soon turned into a frown. Spirit form? Well, she supposed that was good for keeping stealthy, but... on second thought... there would be lots of people on their way there. And the Overseer... they'd be human, too, wouldn't they? Of course they would... These thoughts gave Faust a little more incentive to switch to spirit form.

"I'll, um... I'll keep out of sight," she said, taking her Master's hand for the briefest moment... before dissolving away into gray-blue particles, vanishing from sight. Now in spirit form, she drifted behind her Master. This... would keep all those humans from seeing her. Then she wouldn't have to be shy.

Right.

Wes

Wes was dumbfounded. "I... uh..." He sighed. Should've seen that one coming. Note to self, he thought, a fox is a fox, pretty face or not.

And so the tour began. The apartment was ridiculously lavish, as to be expected of a mage family with money to burn, but surprisingly modern. They moved through the various guest rooms, living rooms, dining rooms and reading/breakfast nooks via the spiral staircase, Wes giving a brief introduction to each. Then the terraces, the kitchen, and then Wes' favorite stop, the library.

"This is my father's library. You wouldn't believe how much time I've spent in here." Wes said fondly. It was quite an impressive sight, housing over a thousand books, including a very specific one Wes had wanted to show Tamamo. A small volume, well worn even before it came into his father's possession, and the one book in this library that Wes treated with almost reverent care, due to its age and (admittedly personal) significance. But...

"... Someone moved it again." Wes said, an irritated look on his face. The book had indeed been moved, far out of his reach. By who, he didn't know, though if he had to guess...

He sighed. "I'm gonna go get the ladder."

Archer

Good. She dropped the question. The longer he could avoid that, the better. Now, for a question he could answer.

"Heh. So you noticed." With a small motion, Archer projected two new blades, exact replicas of the ones Jessica had smashed to pieces. "These aren't Noble Phantasms. Just very exceptional tools. A real Noble Phantasm would be far harder to break."

edited 18th Jun '12 10:00:05 PM by KSPAM

Tammy

Caster had actually been paying attention. She liked the apartment. Some fortification, and it was a magic fortress.

When they had gotten to the library, Tamamo couldn't help but smile at her Master.

....Then the book.

"Oh, no need for ladders, my dear little Master! I can effortlessly get that for you!"

And she did.

"You're so cute and tiny~!"

Wes

"Eh-" Wes uttered in surprise, but quickly turned to a look of silent irritation. Or was it perhaps embarrassment? Almost begrudgingly, he took the book from Tamamo. "I'm not tiny..." he mumbled.

Handling the book with the utmost care, he slowly opened the cover, revealing pages written almost entirely in kanji. It was a book of Japanese folktales, an old one by the looks of it. Wes leafed through the pages slowly, taking in the familiar smell of the ancient volume's pages. Finally, he came to rest at the particular tale he'd been looking for.

"This was one of the first books in my father's collection I read. It belonged to my mother. She was the one who taught me how to read it. Looking back, it was probably my visits with her that made me such a bookworm." He chuckled a bit at this.

He wondered if that was why. Looking at the page, most probably would have no clue what was written on it, but to Tamamo, the tale should be familiar. It was hers.

edited 18th Jun '12 10:30:00 PM by KSPAM