The most heroic bronie

[puppy_lancer]

Characters: Lancer and you!
Setting: Dormitories on January 1, and then throughout the Tower
Format: Open, anything goes!
Summary: Lancer enjoys his regain
Warnings: None right now.

A. Room 4-16, January 1

[The strange noises from floor 101 had drawn Lancer's attention, so he had gone to investigate. To his surprise, he had found a teleporter and a secret floor and Aria's strange machine. Knowing that it was a matter replicator, he had jokingly requested one of his horses.]

[Of course, it was only a joke to him. As he heads back to his room, he doesn't actually expect to hear horse whinnies actually echoing through the halls of the dormitories. As he rushes over to his room, he hears the whinnying increasing in volume, followed by dog barks and the sound of gnashing teeth. In addition, his nose picks up on the distinct scent of both Mac an Chuill and a horse.]

[He more or less kicks the door down the second he arrives at room 4-16. As soon as he pokes his head into the room, he can see Mac an Chuill and a big grey Irish draught horse trying their best to bite, stomp, or claw each other. It seems to be a stalemate, with neither of them successfully wounding the other yet.]

Hey!

[He calls to the horse, followed by a sharp whistle and a wave. Both of the animals pause at the familiar voice, and the horse, forgetting Mac an Chuill's presence completely, rushes over to his master.]

She did it! She really did it!

[Cu Chulainn's voice as he pets his horse is half part delight, and half part surprise. He hadn't expected that Aria would actually be able to give him his horse back, but there she is. Liath Macha, in the flesh.]

I missed you, big guy!

[Standing on his tiptoes, he gives the horse a big hug. He can feel that even with her master present, Liath Macha is still tense about the unfamiliar space and the unwelcome addition to her territory. In addition to her tensed muscles, she's stamping one of her front feet on the ground and letting out irritated snorts.]

...Let's get away from her for a bit, okay?

[Cu Chulainn knows his horse. He knows how wild and spirited and aggressive she is. And he knows the best thing to do is to take her out and work off her energy, then bring her back when she's tired and calm. He pats her on the head and, grabbing her mane, springs on her back in a move that both master and ride are familiar with.]

B. Throughout the Tower, any day

[The look on Cu Chulainn's face as he rides his horse down the stairs and onto floors is one of pure, childish excitement. The giant of a horse stampedes through floors, hopping over or kicking down obstacles. Every so often, it pauses to much on things that attract its interest or its ire. If its owner notices its behavior, then he doesn't care, since he never makes any effort to stop it.]

[Whenever they encounter anyone during their stops, Lancer always calls to them to join him.]

Hey, you wanna get on? It's fun!

Comments

[puppy_lancer]

I'll hold her still. I'm pretty sure she won't bite you so long as she knows that you're my brother and I don't want her to bite.

[He pulls at the horse's ear.]

Right, girl?

[With one hand on the horse's ear, he points at Diarmuid.]

See? That's my brother. The one we're both gonna be living with.

[oathshackledbird]

Not that I don't trust you, brother, but I know animals. They don't always listen when we want them to.

[Diarmuid looks toward Mac an Chuill for a moment accusingly, before very slowly holding a hand out toward the horse so she can smell him.

Hopefully, he isn't about to lose that hand...]

[puppy_lancer]

[He twists Liath Macha's ear again.]

Remember, girl. Don't bite him.

[Thankfully, Liath Macha is still half worn out from her ride through the Tower. She keeps her mouth closed as she sniffs Diarmuid's hand. Then, she gives a grunt of acceptance, if not approval.]

Good girl. Look, Diarmuid, I think she's okay with you!

[Okay with him when she's tired, that is.]

[oathshackledbird]

'Okay' might be pushing it, but at least I still have my hand.

[Indeed, Diarmuid is not foolish enough to think that such a temperamental animal's view of him will remain constant, which is why he pulls his hand back as soon as the horse seems like she is done smelling it.]

I have no intention of ruling any time soon, but it will be very hard to duel-wield with only one hand and that would be a shame since I finally have had Gae Buidhe returned to me.

[puppy_lancer]

[Liath Macha snaps her teeth at the space where Diarmuid's hand had been. Cu Chulainn gives her a light tap upside the head. He's just about to scold her when he realizes Diarmuid is talking about his regain.]

Really? You finally got that back? Congratulations!

[He lets go of Liath Macha and leans toward Diarmuid.]

Can I see?

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid gives the horse a look out of the corners of his eyes, before smiling and pulling his spear free from its place on his back. He then holds the weapon out for his brother to see.]

I did. Of course, this is not the Noble Phantasm version, but that doesn't surprise me. Not even the Tower can restore to me something I destroyed with my own hands, but it did its best. This is the version I had back when I first lived. It may not be a Noble Phantasm, but it is still a legendary weapon and I am extremely glad to have it again.

[puppy_lancer]

It's beautiful.

[He mutters, admiring the build of the spear.]

Does it have the same ability it had as a Noble Phantasm?

[oathshackledbird]

It is, isn't it?

[There is pride in Diarmuid's eyes.]

It does have the same ability as its Noble Phantasm self, but I cannot be so lazy about using it now. No summoning it back to myself or from thin air and no unsealing its ability just by thinking about it. I actually have to give a command.

[puppy_lancer]

[He nods.]

At least you can't accidentally cut anybody this way.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid echoes his brother's nod with one of his own.]

That is correct. The last thing I want to do is accidentally injury anyone with this. It might work in a slightly different manner than Gae Bolg, but it still creates wounds that will not heal.

[puppy_lancer]

[Liath Macha, seeing the shimmering spear, pokes her nose forward and moves her lips at the spear.]

No, girl, didn't you hear what he just said?

[He pushes the horse's face away.]

Even if it gives wounds that will not heal, I'd like to spar with you again now that you've got it back. I haven't seen you dual wield spears yet.

[oathshackledbird]

Don't worry. It is sealed and it will remain so unless the situation becomes very dire.

[Diarmuid pulls the weapon away from his brother's horse, settling it again across his back.]

I would be glad to spar with you. I am going to need the practice. The weight on this version is different from that of Gae Dearg. I suspect because one is linked to my soul and one not. I need to find the balance again.

[puppy_lancer]

So when's gonna be a good time for that? Maybe after getting a spar in, we can cool down with a ride on Liath Macha?

[oathshackledbird]

I would suggest now, but I was going to take Mac an Chuill out to hunt a bit. He's been locked up all day and needs to stretch his legs.

[Diarmuid's eyes drift to the horse.]

And she is tired, yes? You probably need to figure out where she will sleep and get her some food.

[puppy_lancer]

She can sleep in our room, I guess...But I don't know about food. You think she can do with what they're serving in the cafeteria?

[oathshackledbird]

It probably depends on what is being served. Animals can be picky eaters and I expect that holds very true for her.

[He can't imagine her being anything less than a picky eater.]

While we might know in the end it's all pretty much nutrition bars and water no matter what it looks or tastes like, try convincing the horse of that.

[puppy_lancer]

So I guess meat is out.

Wait! I know this one floor is a greenhouse! They've got all sorts of plants there! Or what about floor 101? There's lots of plants there too.

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid shakes his head thinking back to the guide he had put together.]

There are a lot of plants in the greenhouse that are actually poisonous. However, I believe the vegetation on floor 101 is safe. I would take her there first.

[puppy_lancer]

Got it. Didn't know the greenhouse was poisonous, though.

[Hadn't he tried to give a flower from that place to someone months ago?]

[oathshackledbird]

I didn't know either until someone told me when I was putting the guide together. Once again I am very grateful for all the help I got on that. It would have been terrible if you had accidentally poisoned her because we didn't know.

[puppy_lancer]

I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if I did that.

[He hugs Liath Macha around the neck, as a sort of apology for his dumb suggestion.]

Mind if I tie her up here and go along with you and Mac an Chuill? She's tired now and I guess she'll be hungry when she wakes up.

[oathshackledbird]

I don't see why not as long as she won't try to eat our blankets while we are away.

[Diarmuid laughs.]

We can gather some things for her while we are out if you would like.

[puppy_lancer]

[He nods and leads his horse inside.]

Relax. She can't eat them if they're on her back, can she?

[oathshackledbird]

[Diarmuid raises an eyebrow at his brother.]

It was a joke. I know she won't.

[Though, why can he see Edgeworth making that same comment...only seriously?]

[puppy_lancer]

[It takes him a while to tie up his horse, but when he does, he comes back out. He whispers to Diarmuid.]

Okay, I got her covered up and napping. Let's go, and try not to make too much noise.