Why Lancer, What Large Teeth You Have (closed)

[puppy_lancer]

Characters: Lancer and Ayaka Sajyou
Time: October 20-22
Setting: Room 2-17
Format: Anything is okay
Summary: Lancer goes through his daily routine, but unfortunately, coming back wrong from a costume-related death is thrown in the mix
Warnings: None for now

[Since candy was getting harder and harder to find, Lancer had prioritized getting Ayaka candy over filling his own bucket. Finally, come the 20th, not even his Battle Continuation could hold his body together when his costume finally crushed him. The only comfort was the fact that Ayaka didn't see.]

[When he next woke up, he had made two new discoveries. First, he really fucking hated being crushed by dog pajamas. And second, sleep paralysis sucked. As soon as he could move again, he's rushing toward Ayaka's room. He's not sure how long he missed, and he wants to see if she's still alright.]

[Even as he arrives at her door, it still doesn't occur to him to check what changes might have been inflicted on his form.]

Comments

[puppy_lancer]

Yo, Ayaka.

[He greets her as he usually would, even giving her a big smile, unaware of the way his face was warped.]

I'm alright. Guess what they say is true and you really do get out of death free here.

[Sure, his face hurt a bit, but nothing felt too off.]

[prototyper]

[ She just stared in silence, eyes widening slightly before looking down at her feet before looking back up at him. ]

.... No, something happened.

[ My, what large teeth you have indeed. Ayaka was just shaking a bit now, clutching the red cape she was wearing. ]

This... This is all my fault.

[puppy_lancer]

[His expression falls.]

Kid, this isn't your fault. I was the one who forgot to count my candy.

[She doesn't look any different, so she should be alright...]

And on the bright side, we only need candy for one person now.

[prototyper]

You don't understand! It's my fault for just accepting it when I knew I could take care of myself! It's my fault you died! It's my fault that you... That you...

[ She couldn't even say it; say what happened to him. She was so disgusted with herself. ]

I don't care about the candy anymore! [ Ayaka didn't want to die, but if it was to pay for her actions, so be it. ]

[puppy_lancer]

[What did it say about Lancer that he more or less felt the opposite way? That dying while saving his Master felt like a sort of vindication?]

You're my Master, Ayaka. It's my job to protect and you and keep you alive here. If I have to die a couple of times because of that, so be it.

[He doesn't want a repeat of what happened to Misaya.]

Stop being so stubborn. Like hell I'm gonna let what happened to me happen to you too.

[prototyper]

I'm not going to see my servant die a thousand times just so I can be safe. You're not just a familiar to me! I... I care about you.

[ She told this to Misaya as well, that Saber wasn't just some familiar. She cared about Lancer as well, even if he tried to kill her in the past. ]

I'm not being stubborn! I'm looking out for you too. Don't you care about how I feel about this?!

[puppy_lancer]

[He stiffens.]

Thank you for the concern. Really.

[It was something that Misaya was in the habit of providing too little of.]

But I'm not going to die anymore, not now that I don't have to worry about this stupid costume.

And besides, how many times do you think I want to watch my Master die when I could have done better to save her?

[prototyper]

....

[ She looks away. ]

I'll be fine, I've survived this far, haven't I? I'm more worried about you than myself. It's... It's my fault. I should have done better, I could have protected you.

I failed, as a master and a friend. That's why I'm going to look out for you.

[puppy_lancer]

[He holds out his hand, letting Gae Bolg manifest.]

I've still got this. I can kick the asses of anybody who wants to make a joke about how I look or thinks I'm easy prey.

[Even though he himself doesn't know how he looks now.]

But if it makes you happier, you can try to help look out for me. Just look out for yourself too, alright?

[Or else he was just going to lock her in a room and spend his day filling her candy quota.]

[prototyper]

[ And she bites at the inside of her cheek. She doesn't want to tell him how he looks, but she doesn't want to keep it a secret. She's a bit scared of what might happen. ]

I can look out for myself, Lancer. Like I said, I'm more worried about you.

[ He and Saber weren't just familiars to her. She doesn't want him to die or disappear. She's so afraid of being alone now, especially in a place like this. ]

And you should look out for yourself as well. Don't worry about me too much, ok? I'm... [ Not worth it. ] I can handle myself. I've managed to make it this far, haven't I?

[puppy_lancer]

You have.

[He grins again.]

To be honest, I'd expect as much from a girl I find cute!

[prototyper]

... Th-This isn't the time for that!

[ She tugs on her hood, trying to cover her face with it, and failing miserably at it. ]

I'm not cute.

[puppy_lancer]

Oh yes you are, especially with that costume. If you'll let me say it...I could just eat you up!

[He means it as a joke, but it does start an uncomfortable feeling of hunger in his stomach.]

[prototyper]

[ She stops for a moment. ]

Th-That is a joke, right?

[puppy_lancer]

Of course. Not like I'd actually eat you.

[Hell, even if something drove him to eat other Tower inhabitants, he'd still refuse to injure Ayaka in any way.]

[prototyper]

Even if you were ordered to?

[ She should be more worried about whatever was making him hungry now than if he was ordered to eat her. ]

[puppy_lancer]

Who would order me to? Misaya ain't here. And she's got unique tastes, but making me physically eat another person isn't one of them. No matter what, it would take nothing short of a Command Spell. So don't worry about it, kid.

[prototyper]

Well...[ With Misaya, who knows really. ] OK, I trust you. [ Just a tiny smile, since that's all Ayaka knows how to do really. ]

[puppy_lancer]

Great.

[Even if this costume warped his mind, he would kill everyone else before he would even touch Ayaka.]

Now, wanna go to the cafeteria and get something to eat?

[prototyper]

[ That's sweet, in its own twisted way anyway. She nods and reaches for his hand. ]

Yeah... I'm a bit hungry.

[puppy_lancer]

[He takes hold of her hand.]

Come on, let's go. I'm sorta hungry today too.

[prototyper]

[ And she leads the way. For the most part, the trip to the cafeteria is quiet, with Ayaka caught up in her own thoughts. She still feels guilty about letting Lancer die like that, and she's trying to think of some way to make it up to him.

Before she knew it, after some traveling, they were at the cafeteria. ]

Ah, here we are...

[puppy_lancer]

[He releases her hand, and then picks up a menu and flips through it. It's once again a selection of pumpkin flavored foodstuffs.]

So...you wanna cook something by yourself? Or should I cook something for you? Or should I just go and kill something so we can roast it?

[Option 3 actually sounded the most appealing to him.]

[prototyper]

.... I guess option 3 doesn't sound so bad.

[ Mainly because a) she doesn't know how to cook and b) who knows how good Lancer's cooking abilities are. For all she knew, they were E-Rank too. ]

Plus, I'm not too much of a pumpkin fan.

[puppy_lancer]

Oh? I didn't know my Master was a carnivore. Does that mean I've been getting everything wrong and you like to the dominant one. In that case, should I stand back and let you tease me?

[prototyper]

Wh-What?! You've got it all wrong, I'm not... I'm not a carnivore! I just don't like pumpkin...! And what do you mean by dominant?!

[ narrows glance. Suspicious glare, too. ]

[puppy_lancer]

Oh, you know...romantically?

[By the smile on his face, it should be obvious that he's fallen back into his old pattern of teasing.]

[prototyper]

No! You have it all wrong!

[ what are relationships anyway. We just don't know. Ayaka's never thought herself as a dominant person. ]

I thought we were talking about food....

[puppy_lancer]

Don't you know? People say girls who like meat are more likely to be dominant!

[prototyper]

.... That's a lie. I don't think I'm dominant, anyway.

[ huffs. ]

So I guess dominance is your type, then? That's not surprising at all.

[puppy_lancer]

You could say that. Though, sometimes I like shy or submissive girls too. Depends on the girl, really.

[prototyper]

I see...

[ Pause. ]

... Wh-Why are we even talking about this?! I am not interested in what type of girls you like!

[puppy_lancer]

Then how about changing the subject? Let's talk about what types of guys you like.

[Honestly, though, he's feeling too hungry to converse for much longer. He wants to go find and eat something.]

[prototyper]

I have a better idea. Let's not do that.

[ and as if on cue, her stomach growls! ]

B-Besides, you can't speak about such subjects on an empty stomach. That's what people say, anyway.

[puppy_lancer]

[He laughs.]

True. Hold on a minute. I'll be back.

[With that, he runs off to hunt.]

[prototyper]

[ She nods and sits at one of the tables with a sigh, waiting for him to return. ]

[puppy_lancer]

[When he returned, he had a deer slung over his shoulder. There was nothing surprising about this. The deer had been killed by a stab to the chest. Again, there was nothing too surprising about this. What would be surprising, though, is the fact that it is missing a front leg. Instead, it has a gaping wound there, as if the leg had been torn off.]

[Said leg is in Lancer's hand, and he's eating the meat off of it raw, skin and fur and all. His mouth is smeared with blood, and it's dribbling down his chin. However, he doesn't even stop to wipe it off.]

[prototyper]

...

[ She feels really sick now. It's not like she doesn't eat meat, but she's never witnessed a guy eating one of its legs in front of her. She feels sorry for the deer. ]

I'm... Actually, I'm not really hungry anymore.

[puppy_lancer]

[It's only Ayaka's voice that jogs him back into reality. He looks down at the bloody meal in his hand, and tries to hide it behind himself, more like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar than anything else.]

[prototyper]

... Are you... Sure you're ok, Lancer?

[ She reaches out to touch his arm gently, but pulls back slightly. There's a concern look on her face, as she is worried for her servant. ]

[puppy_lancer]

[He gives a quick nod.]

Yeah, just fine. Dunno what I was doing back there--must have gotten really fucking hungry just now.

[prototyper]

.... Alright.

[ Not entirely convinced, though. Pauses, grabs a few napkins and starts to clean him up. ]

You need better table manners.

[puppy_lancer]

Really?

[A pause.]

You're the third person who ever said something like that. That I can bother to remember, anyway.

[He lays the pieces of deer carcass down on an empty table and picks up a couple of napkins to clean off his costume. At least the blood wipes away easier from the skin-like material than it would cloth.]