☿ // point zero

[fionnuisce]

Characters: Waver and open!
Format: I'll try to match.
Summary: Professor Charisma does some exploring. And science. Magic science. i have no self control so wow this got up quick
Warnings: None yet.

[dorm room 3-10]

[Sleep paralysis on its own was enough to put him on edge. Was this some kind of ill-conceived attack with magecraft? No, that wasn't likely--if it was and his would-be opponent had an ounce of sense in their heads, he'd be dead already. In the moments it took him to properly regain his senses, Waver ran through a list of hypothetical causes for this problem...each as unlikely as the last.]

[Finally, he was able to sit up and brush long, disheveled black hair from his face. Now that it occurred to him, Waver couldn't even remember having fallen asleep to begin with. Hadn't he only just been leaving a lecture hall in the Clock Tower? If he'd fainted, this didn't seem like any infirmary they had to his knowledge. As he considered the matter, Waver idly trailed a hand to the back of his own neck and froze. Though the collar's presence disturbed him, he could figure that out later. What caused him to halt in place wasn't the presence of something foreign, but the absence of something familiar.]

That's not possible. It's gone, how the hell can it possibly-- [He muttered under his breath for a second, double checking to be sure whatever it was (likely a necklace of some kind, from how he was acting) had actually gone missing.]

[One might find him shortly after that, rummaging through his trunk with some very determined sense of urgency.]

[floor eighty-one]

[Standing before the windows and looking skyward was one unfazed lecturer in a dark green suit, black hair tied in a long ponytail and sunglasses resting on top of his head. In his hands are a pen and small notebook, and every few minutes he pauses to take something down in chickenscratch handwriting.]

[floor twenty-five]

[Here, said ponytailed and sunglasses-wearing individual seems to be doing something a little strange. Namely, something with a case full of glass vials and liquids that might scream 'mad scientist'.]

[Or 'alchemist', if one knew better.]

[Whatever method he was using, Waver seemed to be analyzing a few specific flowers in the meadow, presumably to determine whether they were magical or supernatural in origin.]

[Judging by the frustrated look on his face? They're probably not.]

[floor three]

[A library; the natural habitat of clever people, especially this one in particular. He examined the shelves with a critical look, a small pile of books on the table nearby. Whatever he's actually looking for, it doesn't seem he's able to find it. He adjusted the sunglasses on his head as though doing so was some odd habit, scowling in faint aggravation.]

[anywhere else]

[Of course, anyone doing this much exploring is bound to run into monsters. Maybe he's on his own, or maybe he stopped to defend someone else. Whatever the case, he shifted into a fighting stance as though it were second nature and immediately moved to take down the enemy before him with swift, precise strikes.]

[When the monster had been taken down and the danger was momentarily avoided, Waver straightened up and did little more than dust off his dark green suit with a completely unfazed look.]

[Yeah. Totally a thing that happens every day, right?]

Comments

[fionnuisce]

I'm...fine. Really.

[For all that he said--and really did believe--about emotions and the like, Waver was accustomed to being in a position where he simply couldn't wear his proverbial heart on his sleeve. No one would respect a lord that fell apart at the drop of a hat; he was already pushing it by lacking natural magic talent.]

[oathshackledbird]

Yes, just as I am fine.

[There is no mocking or any such similar negative tone in Diarmuid's voice. He is merely stating a fact and a sad one at that.]

What you do is your choice. I will not force anything on you. I just think it would be wiser to let out those emotions now when you are safe and with a friend then to be forced to face them by the tower in a lot less safe environment.

[fionnuisce]

...maybe later.

[He sighed--it was hard not to be anything but honest with Lancer.]

It's a difficult habit to break.

[oathshackledbird]

I understand. I really do.

[Diarmuid smiles, the look on his face backing up his words.]

Take your time. I'm not going anywhere. Just, when you are ready, please be sure to come to me.

[fionnuisce]

Only if you promise to do the same with me. Fair?

[oathshackledbird]

I promise.

[He laughs and there is actually joy in his laughter.]

And I apologize in advance for crying all over you. You may wish to see if you can't find a way to waterproof your clothing.

[fionnuisce]

Don't worry about it. I seriously doubt it'll damage anything.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid's smile widens.]

I know. I was joking as scary and unbelievable a concept as that may be.

[fionnuisce]

Your sense of humor's as bad as mine. We'll have to work on those.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid laughs.]

You do like setting impossible tasks for yourself, don't you? Well, I guess practice does make perfect as they say.

[fionnuisce]

Like it? I guess I just might.

[oathshackledbird]

Well, I certainly don't mind challenges, and you don't seem to either. I mean, you did set out to try and win a war with just me, and I'm not just being humble here. Compared to someone like Archer or Saber, I'm not exactly the strongest servant.

[fionnuisce]

I'm a terrible magus, and look how far that's gotten me.

[oathshackledbird]

Pretty far it seems, and I don't just mean vertically from the floor...

[fionnuisce]

Hey, hey, enough with the height jokes for one day, alright?

My point is, it doesn't matter worth a damn how strong you are. Just that you know how to use whatever you have.

[oathshackledbird]

Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I'm done now with the height jokes.

[Diarmuid grins a little sheepishly before turning more serious.]

Strategy is something I've always been good at. It's just frustratingly hard to use here because of all the unknowns and lack of control. I mean, just when you think you have some things figured out one administrator eats another one. That kind of...yeah...

[fionnuisce]

...That does tend to throw a wrench in the usual works, doesn't it?

[oathshackledbird]

Yeah, just a little.

[Diarmuid rubs at his eyes as if he's trying to scrub the images from his brain. He'd seen a lot of stuff in his day, but that....]

Especially when the person who was killed was the only administrator who seemed to care about us as people instead of just things to be played with. Rumor was he was actively trying to find a way to get us home and restore our worlds back to how they were.

[He is sorely tempted to tell Waver about the letter Tohko had gotten about the information Dax had left for them, but he doesn't for now. Planning is at such an early stage it would probably be best to wait until he actually has something concrete he can tell the other man.]

[fionnuisce]

That figures... Wait, is that even supposedly possible? I mean, if we're to assume our worlds really are destroyed, you can't just flip a switch and reverse that, right?

[oathshackledbird]

I wouldn't think so, but I guess a lot of it might depend on how exactly they were destroyed. I mean, from what I've heard, Dax had a really odd ability. It was like he could rearrange things on a very basic level. I don't know that I understood what I was seeing then and I still don't now, but the video is on the network if you want to see it. Just be aware, it's not very....pretty.

In any event, I wonder if he might have been using his power to try and 'fix' things somehow. Not that it matters since he's gone and it seems like Ruana absorbed his power when she...ate him. Whatever he was doing is completely out of our hands now.

[Unless there is something in the information he left....]

[fionnuisce]

Guess it really can't be helped now. And from what I've heard, there's really no convincing her to play nicely.

[oathshackledbird]

Not likely. A lot of people thought they could trust her, but after that...

[Diarmuid shakes his head.]

The only way she would probably play 'nice' would be if she felt like it and it would only work as long as she wanted to. As soon as she changes her mind or gets bored...

[fionnuisce]

Great. Nobody can make it easy for us, can they?

[oathshackledbird]

Of course not. With all the different kinds of people here, if they did that, it would be too easy for someone to start figuring things out.

[A bitter look crosses his face.]

And they can't have us figuring out their little plans now, can they?

[fionnuisce]

Well, now's really no time to lose heart, my knight. [A sly smirk came across his face, interrupting the deadpan sarcasm.]

Against the best of the Fianna and one of the Clock Tower's best lecturers? I doubt their secrecy can stand forever.