Have a Doggy Valentine

[puppy_lancer]

Characters: Lancer and everybody. Strings characters welcome!

Setting: February 12-14, various floors

Format: Up to you

Summary: Lancer is unaffected by the event, but he's still celebrating! Time for him to make Valentines for everyone he knows.

Warnings: Nothing so far

Floor 99

[Lancer is hacking off chunks of crystals with his spear. They give him a headache if he looks at them for too long, but they make great materials for presents. He weighs them in his hand, wondering if they'll be able to stand his methods of working them into charms or other things.]

Floor 76

[He stares at the arrangement of flowers and herbs and wonders which ones are purely medicinal. The large amount of pollen in the air makes his nose itch, and he disturbs the relative peace of the floor with several loud sneezes.]

Floor 62

[He's strolling along the beach, scooping up shells, sea stars, and pebbles washed smooth by the waves. The pockets of his suit have been stuffed full and are weighing down on his legs. His hands are being quickly filled as well. Perhaps he should have brought a bag.]

Floor 51

[He's finally sewing a bag to carry all his supplies in. Every so often, he has to stop and curse as he stings his finger with the needle. Sewing is supposed to be women's work, so he never learned it.]

Floor 15

[With his supplies gathered, Lancer is sitting in the workshop, trying to work the shells, crystals, and other things into gifts to give to the people he knows. He's rather caught up in his work, so it would be easy for someone to sneak up on him.]

Floor 60 (14th only)

[Given the recent influx of people and the fact that so many food gifts were being given, the kitchens were rather busy. This is why Lancer only comes into the kitchen relatively late into the day. Right now, he's scratching his head at some of the recipes, trying to pick out the ingredients he needs from the huge stockpile of food that Kasumi had brought up to this floor.]

Floor 58

[Lancer has quite a big sack thrown over his shoulder. He's currently stuffing presents into the mail boxes of everyone whose names he knows.]

Room 01-01

[Catarina was one of those who didn't have a mailbox, so Lancer just knocks on her door and places his (awkward shaped) chocolates by her door along with a note.]

Happy Valentine's Day. Got you chocolate. We need to talk, though.

Room 01-09

[Saber's chocolate too is left by her door alongside a note.]

Happy Valentine's Day. I hope these taste good.

Room 02-17

[Ayaka's gift is a bag of cookies (again misshapen because Lancer couldn't use a mold properly) and a crystal charm carved with runes that spelled out a blessing of good fortune. Again, he's written a note.]

Happy Valentine's Day. Sorry Saber couldn't get his ass over here. Ah well. Guess I'm giving you presents on his behalf too.

Comments

oh crap how did I miss this

[puppy_lancer]

Really? Never heard of that before. Sounds neat.

I thought you dropped this thread! lol I was wondering though... <3

[proteusmoon]

I suppose... Some were responsible for the well-being of entire kingdoms and villages.

[puppy_lancer]

Hm? How did that work?

[proteusmoon]

I don't exactly know how. My kingdom never had a crystal.

[ Unless you count the time she stole one that belonged to a little village of mages. Cecil won't talk about that right now. ]

They were sacred beings that blessed their homes and the people living there.

[ She turns her attention to the crystals surrounding them again. ]

This is why I wasn't certain if attacking these here was wise. Please excuse my presumptions.

[puppy_lancer]

[He nods. So crystals were some sort of protective deities back in her place.]

It's alright. Sorta hard for anyone to adjust to places really different from their homes. Though...I'll help you adjust if you ever need.

[Wink wink nudge nudge.]

[proteusmoon]

[ She takes his offer at face value and gives him a weak, small smile. ]

I would appreciate that. It would seem that none of my friends from home... survived its destruction.

[puppy_lancer]

...I'm sorry. But if you wait, I'm sure they'll make it here. Somehow.

[After all, Ayaka had made it here.]

[proteusmoon]

Do people arrive here at varying times like that?

[puppy_lancer]

Yeah, they do. I've seen it happen with some people close to me.

[proteusmoon]

[ Hope. It's small, but fierce. ]

I am glad to hear it. And happy for you. I hope they are well. Did they also not witness your world's destruction?

[puppy_lancer]

I don't know. I never saw the world go boom with my own eyes or anything.

[He had seen a wasteland through viewing scopes, but...]

And they don't sound like people who saw a world die.

[proteusmoon]

Nor did I.

[ View scopes? What view scopes? ]

Had your world been in danger prior to you waking here? Mine was, but I... I thought the catastrophe had been stopped before the destruction could be done.

[puppy_lancer]

Well, it was in a little bit of danger, but I don't know if it was on the scale of the destroying the entire world.

[He was fighting for his Master in the Holy Grail War. It made it a bit harder for him to care about the entire world at that point.]

[proteusmoon]

I don't suppose there is any way for us to learn for certain, is there? Otherwise, surely others would have already discovered the truth by now...

[ Cecil sighs deeply and hums thoughtfully, frowning deeply as she closes her eyes. All those people... everyone she had ever known... all possibly gone forever. ]

I apologize; I have not introduced myself properly. I am Cecil Harvey.

[puppy_lancer]

Call me Lancer. It's a pleasure to meet a beautiful woman like you, Cecil.

[proteusmoon]

[ Well, even she can't really miss that. At first, she just blinks at him in surprise, then once that wears off, she flushes. ]

Oh, I-I... Thank you, Lancer.

[ Cecil has never been good at accepting compliments. ]

[puppy_lancer]

Just telling the truth here.

[He leans in closer to her.]

You're even prettier with that blush. It's like foxgloves on snow.

[proteusmoon]

[ The color in her cheeks and neck just blooms more brightly. She's not sure what to say when he continues to compliment her. She tries to push the thought that he is flirting with her very purposely out of mind, but it's difficult. ]

I'm sorry, I am... not very accustomed to being told such things.

[puppy_lancer]

Oh? Why not? Don't tell me that all the men in your world somehow happened to miss this beauty.

[proteusmoon]

[ Is that supposed to be a real question? It's probably not, but Cecil actually tries to answer it anyway for lack of a better thing to say. ]

I... suppose it is not beneficiary to think of a fellow soldier as a woman— much less as a, ah, beautiful one.

[puppy_lancer]

You're a soldier?

[He gives a quick, barking laugh.]

You're the second beautiful soldier I've met here. Or maybe you're the first since the other one was a king.

But I can always think of you as a soldier and a woman.

[proteusmoon]

[ Cecil pointedly stares directly at the surrounding crystals and not Lancer. She's only slightly stung by the laugh, but she lets it roll off her back. ]

If it pleases you to do so, that is your prerogative. I was a soldier, a knight, and the captain of a fleet for many years. I was elected to my country's throne shortly before arriving here.

[ Just don't ask her what sort of knight she was and everything should be fine. ]

[puppy_lancer]

...So I'm speaking with another king.

[He hadn't noticed it. At a glance, Cecil was much less regal than Saber was.]

Or are you a princess since you're not a king yet?

[proteusmoon]

I have never been a noble or a royal bred for the monarchy. Becoming the ruler of Baron was not something I ever expected, let alone hoped and aspired to become. I am and have always been a soldier first. The last ruler had been murdered and replaced by an impostor. The citizens trusted me to lead them and who was I to betray their trust? They had been through so much already.

[puppy_lancer]

...Impressive.

[That's the only way for him to describe her. That's the only way he can describe any of the leaders here. Even more than a circumstance of birth, leadership was a choice. Lancer himself would never choose bear such a burden, but he greatly respected anyone who chose to accept the responsibility of leadership.]