Counter Guardian Arturia @ Tower of Animus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
no_longer_a_king) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2013-09-25 04:38 pm
no_longer_a_king) wrote in towerofanimus2013-09-25 04:38 pm
Entry tags:
ITP: Fallout
Characters: Saber Lily and you!
Setting: Floors 101, the cafeteria, and various.
Format: Prose to start. Will match the replies.
Summary: Arturia practices on Floor 101, tries to get lunch while avoiding bumping into "Shirou", and checks in with people she promised to check in with once her memory returned.
Warnings: None
Notes: Backdated to the 17th-20th, as I'd originally planned on adding event prompts, but they're turning out to be unnecessary.
[A: Floor 101; Hanging Gardens; Just chilling]
Arturia never really spent much time here before, but she figured now was as good a time to look through it as any other. While it was very beautiful, it never held much interest to her before. It was actually quite beautiful and if she stayed away from the edge she could almost imagine this was a normal floor.
For whatever amounted to normal in the Tower of Animus, at least.
Caliburn in hand, she swung it in a wide arc, going through the motions of old drills as she had done for hundreds of years. Now that her memory of her life was much clearer, that she'd had a period of time where she hadn't been on the verge of breaking, she felt almost invigorated. Being forced to remember as she had, while painful, had given her a new perspective on things. It still hurt, it still stung, and she still felt uncertain about the future, but there was a peace there she hadn't had before. A certainty that all she could do was move forward.
There were too many people who would be angry with her if she didn't at least try to use this period of freedom to her advantage. Now was the time to do so.
[B: Floor 1; Cafeteria; Lost]
It's strange how lost one can feel without their normal routine. For months, Arturia had gone downstairs to meet Shirou for lunch, then practiced for hours on end with him to help him improve with a sword. For months, she had enjoyed his cooking, spending time with him, getting to know him.
And now? Well, she avoids the kitchen lest it turn out that Avenger wearing Shirou's guise is there. Avoids their usual spots. She might have accepted the fact Shirou was no longer here and had never been here, but that made it no less painful, made her miss it no less. She avoided the usual places she and Shirou practiced in, avoided anywhere she could bump into Avenger disguised as Shirou for now. Part of her wondered if she should tell 'Shirou' the reason why or if it even mattered because it was not truly Shirou. That was a philosophical question she couldn't quite wrap her head around.
But avoiding the kitchen did not mean Arturia didn't need to eat. Not during a month when Riki gave them good food to eat and fine wine. The restaurant was out of the question as she did not want to risk what could be asked of her there, but she could wait until people usually were not eating and take her meal.
On this day she hadn't expected someone else to be in the kitchen and, to her embarrassment, she wound up nearly walking straight into them as they were exiting it.
"Ah, excuse me. I didn't mean to get into your way."
[C: Various; Meetings]
And then there were the people she promised to explain things to. People she sought out now that she knew the truth of Shirou and Avenger in order to tell them.
In a few cases, she would have to ask them why they kept certain things from her.
Setting: Floors 101, the cafeteria, and various.
Format: Prose to start. Will match the replies.
Summary: Arturia practices on Floor 101, tries to get lunch while avoiding bumping into "Shirou", and checks in with people she promised to check in with once her memory returned.
Warnings: None
Notes: Backdated to the 17th-20th, as I'd originally planned on adding event prompts, but they're turning out to be unnecessary.
[A: Floor 101; Hanging Gardens; Just chilling]
Arturia never really spent much time here before, but she figured now was as good a time to look through it as any other. While it was very beautiful, it never held much interest to her before. It was actually quite beautiful and if she stayed away from the edge she could almost imagine this was a normal floor.
For whatever amounted to normal in the Tower of Animus, at least.
Caliburn in hand, she swung it in a wide arc, going through the motions of old drills as she had done for hundreds of years. Now that her memory of her life was much clearer, that she'd had a period of time where she hadn't been on the verge of breaking, she felt almost invigorated. Being forced to remember as she had, while painful, had given her a new perspective on things. It still hurt, it still stung, and she still felt uncertain about the future, but there was a peace there she hadn't had before. A certainty that all she could do was move forward.
There were too many people who would be angry with her if she didn't at least try to use this period of freedom to her advantage. Now was the time to do so.
[B: Floor 1; Cafeteria; Lost]
It's strange how lost one can feel without their normal routine. For months, Arturia had gone downstairs to meet Shirou for lunch, then practiced for hours on end with him to help him improve with a sword. For months, she had enjoyed his cooking, spending time with him, getting to know him.
And now? Well, she avoids the kitchen lest it turn out that Avenger wearing Shirou's guise is there. Avoids their usual spots. She might have accepted the fact Shirou was no longer here and had never been here, but that made it no less painful, made her miss it no less. She avoided the usual places she and Shirou practiced in, avoided anywhere she could bump into Avenger disguised as Shirou for now. Part of her wondered if she should tell 'Shirou' the reason why or if it even mattered because it was not truly Shirou. That was a philosophical question she couldn't quite wrap her head around.
But avoiding the kitchen did not mean Arturia didn't need to eat. Not during a month when Riki gave them good food to eat and fine wine. The restaurant was out of the question as she did not want to risk what could be asked of her there, but she could wait until people usually were not eating and take her meal.
On this day she hadn't expected someone else to be in the kitchen and, to her embarrassment, she wound up nearly walking straight into them as they were exiting it.
"Ah, excuse me. I didn't mean to get into your way."
[C: Various; Meetings]
And then there were the people she promised to explain things to. People she sought out now that she knew the truth of Shirou and Avenger in order to tell them.
In a few cases, she would have to ask them why they kept certain things from her.
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[Such news had made it much easier to focus on the bigger picture.]
That's all right, Saber. You've done nothing wrong.
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Did they told you about alternate worlds as well?
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It was certainly a bit shocking to hear at first, but the fact that Waver was much older then I remember him being and that that he claimed that Lancer, rather then Rider, was his servant swayed me towards believing him.
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[That was worrying to hear, terribly so. Enough to cause Irisviel to wonder what awful things such a notion could possibly yield.]
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Arturia looks back to Irisviel, resignation clear in her expression. It would be better for her to hear these things from a familiar face, would it not.]
Give me a moment to get something to drink. We can sit and talk and I can see what you have not yet learned about this place.
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[And she is. Long enough to get a milkshake. Arturia imagines she'll be rather sick of pumpkin by the end of the month, but she doubts she'll be sick of milkshakes.]
Come, let's find a place to sit.
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[Irisviel did her best to smile, but something in her mind seemed to echo that she would soon hear things she may have been happier not knowing.]
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She spotted a cleared table by the wall. There's a few people sitting near it, but for the most part their conversation would not be interrupted.
Arturia leads her over to it and pulls out a seat for Iri.]
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[Following Saber's kind gesture, Irisviel takes a seat and waits for Saber to do the same.]
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What do you know so far of this Tower?
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[Irisviel thinks intently for a moment, tapping one of her fingers against her chin as she does.]
I've been told of the destruction that has befallen our homes, a bit about the people who have brought us here, and the danger of staying in certain places around the tower for to long. Oh and a some about the workings of Second Magic and alternate worlds.
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[And she explains everything to Irisviel. Everything from the Glamour System in place to the state of their worlds to the Administrators. It takes upwards of an hour and Arturia manages to keep her composure during it. She even pulls her sketchbook out of her bag and shows Irisviel the maps she's made of the various floors of the Tower, explaining the dangers on each and every single one.]
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The rest, that which was far less distressing to here, she attempted to soak in every word for the sake of her own safety. She had promised that she would devote herself to fulfilling the dreams of others, a role she could not take up if wounded or worse.]
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But as awful as it is to tell her horrible things, this next bit might be the hardest of all:]
....do you know what the countdown on the Network terminals mean?
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Except what would she do if things come crashing down again? They live in illusions within illusions. Not telling Irisviel the truth would only have disastrous consequences down the line. No, even if she is responsible for this, Arturia has to tell Irisviel the truth.]
In May, a group of us made a concerted effort to change things. We were given microchips by one of the former Administrators named Dax. We placed these chips throughout the Tower and, when a security scan was done at the beginning of the month it.... broke things.
It broke things very badly.
That countdown is how long we have until the Tower loses power entirely. When that happens, if we have not found a way to fix it by then, we will.... [She falters, then forces herself to carry on.] Everyone in this Tower will die as we cannot be sustained as we are now. Everyone who Zo has lost back to their homeworld will then be in grave danger.
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She began crying. She was a strong and been through a hell worse then most humans would ever see in their lifetime. But this was simply to much.]
I just had a "MY HEART!" moment.
[This is too much. The tears, the breakdown. It is too much and she hates being the bearer of bad news. So she does what's she's learned is best for people in this place when things get to be too much.
She reaches out and hugs Irisviel close. It's still awkward for her to do, but Iri needs her now.]
I swear to you: We will find a way so that does not come to pass.
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Though still devastated by all she had seen, Saber's words offered her a small glimmer of hope to reach for in the gloomy abyss seemed to surround everything the tower touched. It would be a bit before she could truly regain her usual cheerful persona, but she did feel just a little better.]
I know you can do it.
Can I just say I think this thread is perfection so far? Your Iri is awesome!
But when Iri looks at her like that, after crying for so long and somehow managing to smile, she remembers the promise she made to Saber. No matter what she would bring the two of them together again: even if it meant the destruction of her own soul.]
I will do my best for you, Irisviel. I swear this to you. I will see you safely back to your world.
[Even if she thinks her word means nothing whatsoever anymore. If it's for Iri? For her other self? She will do it.]
Oh thank you!
Now calmed as much as someone who had been told such things could be and free of the torrent of tears that had tortured her not so long ago, Irisviel seemed to regain enough of her composure to act as she usually did, kind and ready to devote herself to her mission.]
Thank you, Saber. If there is anything I can ever do for you or anyone else in the tower, just say the word. It is the least I can do to return all the kindness you have show me.
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[Hopefully Iri doesn't think too hard about the food being fake, too.]
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[Upon Saber's request Iri slowly but surely finishes her meal.]