towerofanimus | ITP: Candy hunting

Entry tags:

ITP: Candy hunting

Characters: Saber Lily; Open
Setting: Various
Format: Prose starting, but will match replies.
Summary: Candy hunting adventures involving giving away candy, being hunted down all night by the Hound of Tindalos, and Zelda convincing Arturia not to give away all her candy.
Warnings: Death thanks to the Hound of Tandalos
Notes: More prompts will be added later on to avoid spamming the comm.

[A: Various; Mailroom; Candy giveaway]]
The dread that had settled into her stomach was secondary to the thought of "what if no else found anything?" She knew the candy would prove important, which was why she knew others might need help.

After all, she did not yet know others were having just as much, if not better luck, finding candy as she. That was why she was in the mailroom, randomly picking people to give her haul from the day to.

[B: 10/22; Various; Hound of Tindalos]
If Arturia needed any proof her luck had changed drastically since coming to the Tower, this was it. All she had done was look to see if there was an oasis in the desert. Instead, she found this.... thing.

The thing looked nothing like a dog, but when she managed to catch glimpses of it the first thing that came to mind was 'dog.' That, and it was after her. The thing kept lashing out at her in random intervals and, instead of looking for candy, she had to flee instead. True, death was nothing in the Tower, but there were only so many times she could die before her mind started being affected by it.

....and the last thing she wanted was to see that shadow child she was so certain was Shirou looming over her again.

So Arturia ran from the being, her attempts to fight it off slowly but surely proving futile. Just how long would she have to keep running until it finally caught her?

[C: 10/23; Seventy-Fourth Floor; Crystal Cavern; Closed to sageprincess]
She searched the cavern mechanically that day, her stomach clenched tight as she tried desperately not to think of that thing that had been jammed into her throat by the beast and what she had seen upon reviving. It didn't matter. At least, that's what she told herself. All that mattered was finding candy to give to others. She could not think of what had happened that morning.

She noticed a flash of blonde and pink around another corner and followed it. To her surprise it was one of the people in the Tower she found herself getting close to.

"Hello, Zelda. Are you searching as well?"

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Arturia definitely isn't the only one using the candy hunt as a distraction from other things, though Zelda's reasons differ quite a bit.

Hearing a familiar voice, she turns, holding up the magic light that that seems to be a requisite now whenever she ventures into even a slightly dim place. The last thing she needs is to find herself face to face with a monster in these caverns and lose all she's worked for thus far.

"Arturia," she responds in greeting, then lifts her makeshift sack/pillowcase slightly. "I am; I would not venture to this part of the Tower otherwise."

These floors are rather far away from the essentials like the cafeteria and dorms, and and often just as dangerous as they are fantastical.

"If you are also searching, would you like to accompany me for a while? Four eyes are better than two."

"I shall." Because she does not like the idea of Zelda searching the more fantastic floors by herself. True, the woman is capable and can call Ruler to her side at a moment's notice while the Glamour is active, but it does not stop Arturia from worrying.

Especially after she herself fell to one of those dangers yesterday.

Best not to think about it.

"Have you and Ruler been well?"

"If Ruler has any complaints outside of the ordinary, she has kept them hidden from me. She has not been selected for this 'game,' though, which is fortunate."

If something should happen to her, she at least still has someone she can entrust Tetra's safety to.

"As for myself..." Here, she hesitates, because even after nearly a month, she cannot honestly say she is well. Link's disappearance still weighs heavily on her heart, and though she knows the nagging urge to collect candy is all Ruana's doing, it's almost a blessing to have something else to focus on. "I am-- trying."

"Indeed. At least we can promise one of the three of us will be safe this month."

Her eyes sweep the cavern as she carries her pillow case at her side. Ruler is among the saner of the three of them. One day she will have to ask the girl how she manages to keep herself together or if she is simply good at pretending she's well.

"Do not hesitate to ask for her help. She may not have been selected, but that does not mean she cannot aid you in remaining safe on some of these floors."

"Of course. I still have all three of these seals should worst come to worst," she says with a wave of her right hand. The seals themselves are covered by a glove, but Arturia should be able to put two and two together. "But I have been doing well enough thus far. I do not want to inconvenience her for something as absurd as one of Ruana's games."

Or perhaps 'drag her into something as dangerous' is more appropriate.

Of course she would put two and two together: she had been the one to suggest Ruler and Zelda become a Master and Servant.

"True. It's almost too easy this time around. I wonder what is to come when 'they' arrive?"

Nothing good, if Ruana's previous 'games' were any clue. Arturia stepped down a few rocks then reached up a hand to help Zelda down.

"Injury and death by way of monsters desiring this candy, I would wager," she offers with a tone that's far too flat for such a gruesome image. Alas, she's been in the Tower for just two months shy of two years; the shock of how horrible Ruana can be has well worn off.

Momentarily letting the magic light in her hand fade, she take's Arturia's own as she follows her deeper into the cavern.

"The initial note did seem to imply collecting enough would allow one to escape such a fate, however."

"I know. That's why I have been collecting it and ensuring others I have seen searching would have some as well."

She let go of Zelda's hand once she got her balance and then picked up her own bag again.

"Though I have not had much luck in finding too much myself." Considering the entire previous day's candy disappeared after she had been revived. Arturia assumed others had taken it from where it'd fallen after the retrieval units had taken her.

Yet Zelda does not move from her spot once she's on solid ground. Because, oh, she has known of Arturia's self-sacrificial streak for quite some time now, and she's heard enough to know where this is going.

"Arturia."

A single, simple word, said with all the authority of a parent using the Full Name Ultimatum. Should Arturia turn around, she'll find Zelda's expression equally stern.

"How much candy have you been keeping for yourself?"

Arturia remembers how Ector or his wife used to speak to her and Kay in that tone even after she became King. As she turns to look at Zelda, she already feels the shudder up her back that usually came whenever her adoptive parents were going to give her a lecture. Somehow, she manages not to sound a thing like a guilty child as she speaks.

"Just the roses I've found in the graveyard and the less appetizing-looking ones I've found."

Which is a lot from Arturia's perspective, but likely nowhere near the amount Zelda and others have found.

"'Just'?" she repeats with incredulity, and if only that alone was enough to get across how absurd that plan of action is. It's only because she's had plenty of practice with a certain rambunctious pirate princess that she doesn't sound completely exasperated when she continues.

"Arturia, you are a smart woman. You know how Ruana's games work. Surely you must understand doing such a thing is suicide, right?"

"I do, Zelda."

Yesterday will likely be nothing compared to what is likely to come.

"I can handle what she throws at me. I do not know if the others can."

Hell, if she'd known Zelda was part of this before, she likely would have given her candy at some point. There was a reason she had been sneaking pieces into people's mailboxes, after all!

"And the people who care about you, what shall they do?"

Arturia's calm demeanor about all this only incenses Zelda further, and her tone gains a desperate edge to it underneath the frustration and displeasure.

"Shall we simply watch as you suffer and die, helpless to stop it? I have lost far too many this month alone to accept that."

Link, Yu, John, Feferi... this month has been hard enough already.

"No one will...."

No one will care is what she wants to say, but she cannot even finish that sentence in the face of Zelda's desperation. She stares at Zelda as if struck dumb by this revelation. Here before her is someone who would care if she suffered, who would be in pain if she herself were so.

It's striking because she knows this isn't because Zelda is simply being a caring or noble person: she is saying this because she honestly cares about Arturia, for whatever that is worth.

And her death would be the ninth one? The tenth? How many more until she starts to lose bits of herself as Shion said she would? It'd been disturbing enough to walk around knowing her mind was in shambles once. Would it be all right to allow it to happen again?

Could she even protect anyone like that?

The hardest thing to admit to herself, ever since coming to the Tower, is how her behavior may have been hurting others.

When did she begin to act like Shirou again? She may have loved the boy, but he had had several characteristics that left a bad taste in her mouth.

"....I have been very foolish, haven't I?"

It's a good thing that initial statement dies on her tongue, because to say Zelda would have been quite put out is an incredible understatement. Her stare remains firm, steady as Arturia processes her epiphany, only relaxing when the other finally relents.

"You will forgive me if I say yes," she says with a sigh of relief, her tone lightening in severity. "But that is what we are here for."

She helped pull her back on that fateful day in the Processing Room, and she'll do it again and again, as many times as necessary until it sticks. That's simply what friends do.

"I know, it's just...."

Arturia stops speaking, wondering if she is okay with telling Zelda more about herself. Yet, they have come this far and she trusts Zelda and Ruler with her life. She needs to start trusting them both with her heart.

Hell, she could tell Veigar, even if she had been completely drained emotionally and physically when she did. Why shouldn't she tell Zelda?

"Before coming to this Tower, I.... I had very little contact with people. At least, in the aspect where they could speak to me. Most people I came across were afraid of me and for good reason. So it's.... it's been a long time since I have dealt with people who honestly do care what happens to me, people whose feelings I need to consider as well."

She blinks, brows lowering and eyes narrowing in a sort of concerned confusion as Arturia explains.

"... I see. Though I cannot say I understand why, exactly--" A... Servant thing, perhaps? Beings as strong as Arturia and Ruler would surely be frightening in any other situation or world. "--I do know a bit of what it is like to be isolated from society. It... took me quite a while to understand I did not need to stand alone all the time."

One of the few positive lessons the Tower has taught her, though it is a bittersweet one given her destiny should they succeed in restoring the worlds.

"So I shall reaffirm that fact, so long as it is necessary."

"It's not that.... I.... it's...."

Arturia lowers her eyes, unable to look Zelda in the face as she explains exactly what she is:

A Counter Guardian. A type of Heroic Spirit meant to protect humanity from extinction, leaping through time and space to points when humanity's existence is in danger. The problem was the spirit of the World itself had been Arturia's mistress and the World did not discern between good and evil, did not care for reasoning with people. Arturia had been forced against her will to slaughter whole populations until nothing but a wasteland remained. In the vast majority of cases, no one had any clue what was going on, not even the perpetrators themselves. that is, if Arturia could even figure out herself just why she had been sent to that site in the first place before she was snatched away to another battlefield without rest or pause.

When she finally finishes, she looks up at Zelda, and for the first time Arturia realizes she's afraid. Would Zelda hate her now? Would Zelda fear her? What of after she tells her the rest of it? Of Camelot's fate and killing her Master? What would she say then?

"Being in this tower, it's.... even if we are captive.... it's the first time in a long time I have even been able to speak, to move on my own, to.... to be me. If that would make any sense?"

She manages to not look too ashamed as she admits:

"I'm almost grateful for being here, even with all the suffering we're put through."

Edited 2013-11-15 01:50 (UTC)

There is certainly something akin to horror in Zelda's expression when Arturia finally lifts her head. But she is absolutely mistaken in thinking it is in any way directed at her. Arturia is just another victim of the World's indiscretion in her eyes.

Zelda's sack makes a small splashing sound as it falls to the damp cavern floor, and the click of her heels echoes against the walls as she strides forward, breaking all pretenses of protocol and enveloping her friend in a fierce hug.

"Din, Nayru, and Farore, how you have suffered... No, that makes perfect sense," she reassures. She can understand the loss of self, though the extent keeps her from saying as much. Who is she to liken the years she spent as someone else to having one's free will taken away in its entirety? "Jason and Ruana have taken my mind from me more than enough times to understand free will is not something to be taken for granted."

"It wasn't--it--"

The hug has left her at a loss, her body going completely stiff. The last thing she'd expected as a response, after all, was a hug. Questions, yes. The look of horror, yes. Comfort? That had been the very last thing Arturia expected.

In the back of her mind, she wonders if this is how her other self would feel whenever Arturia hugged her: awkward, stiff, and yet somehow unable to push the other woman away.

"It wasn't that my mind was taken from me. It's--I was perfectly aware during it. It was.... it was as if I were trapped in my own body and--"

She doesn't know what to say at this point, stunned as she is by the show of comfort. How long had it been since someone honestly tried to comfort her? Hell, how long had it been since she ever let herself be this vulnerable. With shaking hands, she returned the princess's embrace because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Admittedly, she does fear being pushed away as she feels Arturia stiffen under her touch. The former King is not the most physically affectionate of people, she knows, and she might be overstepping her bounds here. But she stays put, her side of the embrace becoming a little softer, a little less fierce as the other rambles on without really thinking.

"Shh, it is all right. I understand. You do not need to explain further if it distresses you."

In contrast, Zelda's voice remains smooth, calm, steady. Comforting and soothing are things she has become quite proficient in, despite how often she has been the one in need of them. Comes with being the guardian of a child in such a nightmare-fueling place.

"No, I...."

How could Zelda be so calm? How could she be so willing to do this?

Well. Because she's a friend. That's why. A friend who genuinely cares and isn't doing this just because she has a good character. Arturia takes a deep breath and tries to will her hands to stop shaking.

"If I do not explain now, I fear I might not have the courage to tell you later."

Arturia knew her mind was going in odd places because she realized for the first time that Zelda was taller than she. Huh.

All the better for giving big, encompassing hugs to former kings that desperately need them. She does lean back a bit then, just enough to look Arturia in the eye and nod.

"Take your time, then."

"All right."

Deep breath. She takes a deep breath. She has to get this out: has to. Zelda needs to know. Someone needs to know. Arturia isn't sure why it's suddenly so important, but it feels like it is. Like there's a great weight bearing down on her and the only way to make it stop is to say something before the pressure of it all makes her burst.

"It was.... when I was a guardian. I.... I was perfectly aware of what was going on around me. Like how we are talking now. The issue was.... was my body. I couldn't control my body, no matter how much I tried to stop myself from doing those things. All I desperately wanted was for it all to stop."

And then, very quietly.

"And when it finally did stop, I was here. I do not know how it is possible since I should have died with my world, but I got my wish. Entire worlds had to die for me to do so, but I got it and I still do not know if I should be glad of it or not."

And Zelda listens. Her brows furrow with concern and sympathy as Arturia continues, knowing these thoughts must be personal indeed to draw such hesitation and nervousness from a person such as her. Her heart aches with the need to draw some of that weight off of her friend's shoulders, to shield her from the pain she's feeling...

... and so he draws the only conclusion she can, so maybe Arturia won't need to say it herself.

"You do not want to go back," she says softly, without a bit of judgement in her voice. Zelda wouldn't either, and to think Arturia has been fighting so hard to restore a world that would only be another prison to her...

Arturia nods against Zelda's shoulder. She'd never really acknowledged it before, but if she's honest with herself: that is her deepest desire. She wants to be free. Even if it's imprisoned in this Tower, at least she can take a breath on her own, at least she fights because she chooses to. Not because some nebulous "will" she does not understand forces her to.

It's scary how much she can understand Archer's reasoning the longer she has her freedom. If things had been reversed and she had the chance, would she have tried killing her younger self to end her service to the World? Arturia does not know and that is the part that scares her the most.

"If.... if the Administrators weren't torturing people so, I would probably not be fighting as much as I am."

But they are. Between Ruana's games and Jason's experiments they are being tortured and, selfish desire to stay here or not, Arturia cannot abide by it. Even if it sickens her, the idea of letting her world stay dead for the sake of her own freedom, she would have simply tried to go about life and enjoy the freedom she's been given by being here.

"You would not be the only one, I imagine."

It's said almost idly, as Zelda contemplates Arturia's dilemma, but it's undeniably true. Even besides the others that have less than pleasant homs waiting for them, hate is a powerful motivator, and there is no doubt that there are those in the Tower driven to rebellion if only to see those in charge suffer.

... But that doesn't really help her, does it. She falls silent, stroking Arturia's back (hopefully) soothingly as she tries to think of a solution. Arturia cannot go back to her world. Getting the power cores repaired so the Tower can sustain itself again... perhaps could be possible, but they are running low on time as is.

Hm.

Her voice is a bit quieter, a bit more uncertain as she makes her proposal.

"... If Zo could make it possible, you would have a bed and a roof in Hyrule, if you should want them."

It's no guarantee, of course. The mechanics of getting Arturia's soul and body to Hyrule are beyond her if they're even possible. But... maybe knowing that option is there might help lift her spirits at least.

"I would like that." She has no idea how it would be possible, given how she negated her own existence with the Grail, but then again this Tower has been nothing but full of impossible things.

"I would like that very much." The only reason she says it again is to make herself believe it. It's frightening for her, much more frightening than any of the torture this Tower has put them through, to admit this. She'd be abandoning her duty, giving up her word, and yet she so desperately wishes for a chance to walk her own path in life. Not to be a King, nor a Knight, but simply Arturia.

She smiles then, because even though her main concern at the moment is keeping Arturia from having to return to that awful fate, there is still some selfish part of her deep down that is absolutely overjoyed at the prospect of no longer having to be alone. That, ironically enough, had become her worst fear after being confronted by all the others during her time in the Tower.

Leaning back to look Arturia in the eye, she places her hands firmly on the other's shoulders and nods.

"Then we will find a way to make it happen."

"Thank you."

It's all she can say at this point, really. For the first time since she had taken Shirou's head, she felt.... hope. Hope for herself and her own fate. Even if it turned out not to come to pass, just the fact Zelda made the offer touches her to her core.

"All I ask is for a way to earn my keep. It would not sit well with me if I were to stay in your lands and not do something to aid you."

To be fair, they'd both probably spend the first week doing nothing but sleep. No one could blame them for that.

At that, some of the confidence in her smile fades, replaced by a certain weary sadness Arturia should be rather familiar with.

"Hyrule... had seen better days even before the destruction hit and I was brought here. I am certain there would be plenty who would appreciate your aid in the reconstruction efforts."

Arturia deserves better, she thinks. A flourishing country, able to provide her with the comforts her previous lives have kept her from. But this is what she has to offer, so offer it she shall.

Distantly, she notes she hasn't spoken of Hyrule's restoration as a definite thing in a very long time.

"I would enjoy being able to rebuild instead of destroy for once," Arturia says, letting a smile grow as weariness comes across Zelda's. She remembers how the woman mentioned she was all alone, no one to aid her or help her rule that she already had a bond with. Zelda has the advantage of being older than Arturia had been when she took her own throne, of having a better idea of what she was getting into, of how lonely and painful it will be.

Zelda deserves better. If Arturia could go to Hyrule and help her, guide her, be a companion she desperately needs? Then maybe, just maybe, she would have done something right for once. It's almost selfish to think of it that way, but it really has been a long time since she put thought into her own future before.

Arturia raises a hand to her shoulder to cover Zelda's.

"My sword will be your sword. I may no longer be a king, but I wish to be a knight again. I will be your knight."

It's not the first time someone has sworn fealty of sorts to her. Asch did so in the midst of the chaos of the glamour failure, recounting the significance of the tradition in his family. Ruler did so even before then, creating a metaphysical bond between them as they made their vows to protect one another.

But this is different somehow. She knows she should be wary of such promises, the ache of Link's disappearance still fresh in her heart, but... the idea of not being alone, of having help in Hyrule's restoration - it's all she could ever ask for.

Blinking rapidly, she nods once more.

"If that is what you wish. Who am I to refuse?"

"Thank you."

Arturia will find a way to kill Ruana if she gets sent back to her world. She has something worth living for now, something to look forward to. Someone to help.

The Counter Guardian draws back from Zelda and holds up her sack.

"Come, let us find some candy and win this game."

Veronica had naturally gone down to the mailroom to check her mailbox. Never knew if there was candy in there, and very well could be.

She stopped though at the sight of the woman going around, giving people candy. The girl watched in shock for a few moments.

"Uh... hello?"

"Oh, hello!" Arturia quickly removed her hand from the mailbox and shut it as if she were not doing anything strange.

"Are you all right, Miss?"

Given it was the Tower, Arturia did not question the stitches on this girl's face. No, her main concern was for how young she looked and nothing more.

The stitches got everyone's attention. Veroncia was used to that. And she was used to people asking if she was okay as well.

"I'm... I'm fine, I suppose." She probably could be better, what with this insane urge to look for candy she suddenly had. "A-are y-you okay? You seem sort of... on e-edge."

"Most people here are on edge, I'm afraid," she said, turning toward her.

"But I am well. I apologize if my presence startled you."

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ITP: Candy hunting

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Aaaaand end it here

Mailroom--21

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