towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Saber (Alter) and You!
Setting: Dorms (Room 1-09), Graveyard (floor 48) and Forest (Floor 32)
Format: Starting Action, but I'll match.
Summary: A 'gift' from home makes Saber think on the past maybe a bit too much.
Warnings: none expected, but remember no superpowers on 32nd floor

[Dorm]

[When Saber had seen the basket of food, she was quite happy. After having been ill and with the limited food, she'd barely eaten anything all month. Of course, being a Servant, she didn't require food, but she so did love to eat. And then she saw what kind of food it was in the basket - things she hadn't had since she walked the hills of her homeland.

It made her go to hide it in her trunk and that's when she saw it. Wrought of the finest gold, sparkling sapphires inlaid into the band... it was her crown. The royal crown of King Arthur. She picked it up and held it before her, pale eyes drinking in the treasure. She could tell it was hers and not a reproduction; a king knows his crown.

Walking away from the trunk, she hesitantly put it on her head. It fit as she remembered, the weight as it should be and it rest perfectly. And then her eyes widened and she snatched the crown off her head. No, no, no, she didn't want to be king anymore. She wanted to reset things, change her destiny... redo the selection. Save Britain from herself.

So it was laying on her back holding the crown above her, turning it slowly in her hands with a distant look in her eyes, Saber would be found in Room 1-09. The door was half-open, unnoticed by Saber, as she thought about the past.]

[Graveyard]

[Saber walked through the graveyard, past stones, until she came to one that was broken. In rubble at her feet - the letters S BE visible in a few pieces - she stared down at the stone. She now knew who this grave belonged to. It was her own, but not her own. And so, thinking she was alone, she spoke to it in a quiet voice.]

A battle has been fought and is now over. Place your sword upon the ground and rest in the temporal peace. After dozing in the warmth of a dream, a new day will begin. The days keep passing by...

And we still chase the same star we once saw.

[Saber folded her hands into her greatcloak and bowed her head.]

Forest Floor 32]

[To clear her mind, Saber chose the forest where she felt the most human. Here her prana was quiet and she had to rely on skills and knowledge learned from her childhood, her time as a squire, and not the might of a Heroic Spirit. It was calming.

Quietly, she moved through the forest, downwind, as she tried to sneak up on a grazing deer. She was close, waiting patiently behind cover, when something made the deer raise his head, antlers brushing the branches above. And then it took off, having noticed whoever came upon Saber in her game of skill.

Sighing, she stood up, revealing her concealed presence.]

...great.

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Well, I might've chased a star once.

[ His tone is light, but the way he looks at her is heavy. ]

If I did, I'm sure it turned out to be a foolish idea...

But how do you know anything about me? I don't recall telling you so much.

You did chase a star once and it was a foolish idea. Everything about that man was foolish.

[There was a bit of seething in Saber's voice for a second but then it's gone. She then finally turns her head enough to see him from the corner of her eye.]

Do not think me a fool now as I was before, Archer. I know who you are.

...!

[ He can't quite suppress the sudden sharp intake of breath as he realizes what Saber means.

She knows. She knows, but he can seek no absolution nor comfort from this shadowed knight.

It hurts to know, but he draws himself up straight and merely smirks at her. ]

You know, huh? I guess that's no surprise, since you always were perceptive. But that must mean you know what my goal is, too.

[ Opposing himself is simply a natural part of his being, after all. If she knows who he is, she knows what he seeks. She's even very nearly said as much already. ]

[If it wasn't for the arm and having time to think on her fight with Shirou, she may not have come to the conclusion, but she wasn't an idiot.]

The boy is no longer my master. I do not care what you do with him... just do not do it before me. He is still a boy and I am still a knight.

[Chivalry sucks, man.]

You don't care...?

[ For a moment, he's not sure what to make of that. Why does it almost hurt, somehow? ]

Well, it suits you more not to care about that kid...you always deserved a better Master.

[ Anyway, he gave up long ago on saving her, didn't he? Didn't he?

He lowers his head in resignation, a smirk still playing about his lips like a more personal kind of armor. ]

I was claimed by a better Master.

[Her eyes hardened.] But I mean what I say. Do not do it before me or I will stop you. If I am present, the boy will survive.

And you are an idiot for pursuing the goals you did and still do. Pathetic, unrealistic ideals that bring nothing but despair.

[And she knew despair.]

[ He looks into those eyes--

--and he knows she's right. He can't hope to beat her. So his next words are muttered. ]

Well, there's no point in killing him here, anyway.

[ Her next words draw a scowl from him, and he speaks these words more boldly. ]

Hah, you don't think I know that...? I don't follow any such ideals anymore, Saber. That's where you're wrong. I know better now.

Then why are you trying to save Rin?

[ He stiffens. ]

She is my Master. I would be a poor Servant if I didn't work to protect her.

Rin Matou was never your Master, nor were you bound to her. You have no need for a Master here with the Tower supplying us ample prana. If she is your Master now, you have placed the yoke about your own neck.

You do not do that without a reason. I do not believe you so pathetic that you cannot function without a Master to guide your hand.

[ Indignation flashes in his eyes. ]

And what if I believe her power lends me strength here? It's not an unreasonable decision, then.

The kind of strength you need is not something she can provide. At least not as a Master.

Heh.

[ His mouth curls into a bitter smirk. ]

How did this get to be about me? That's not what I'm here to discuss, Saber.

Edited 2012-12-30 01:08 (UTC)

Then state your business and be done with it.

[ There's no point in being anything but blunt. He straightens a little and just looks at her. ]

What is your goal in the tower?

That depends on whether the Holy Grail makes an appearance. Or my master does.

Say they don't. What then, Saber?

...I do not know.

How strange, to see you without a goal.

You have only seen me with one goal.

Well...it was a consuming one, though. I think you'd be better off without it anyway.

No.

Yet you don't seem to have a very high opinion of my goal.

Your goal is full of selfishness. No matter how similar ours seem on the surface, they are far different.

But I admit it.

[ His voice is flat. He's not so sure he does. ]

Saber, there are people who don't wish you to disappear from existence. Even as you are now.

Or so I hear. That's all I have to say. I see you're not as different as you might have seemed at first. I didn't need to know anything more than that.

[ He turns to go. ]

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scorchedchivalry - 2012-12-30 15:42 (UTC) - Expand

swordedpast - 2012-12-31 21:11 (UTC) - Expand