athousandcurses: (Aloof)
Grainne ([personal profile] athousandcurses) wrote in [community profile] towerofanimus2014-04-03 01:30 pm

(no subject)

Characters: Grainne and you!
Setting: Floor 3, Floor 55, Floor 86 and 1-17, April 3rd
Format: Either or!
Summary: After hiding during all the commotion, Grainne ventures out of her room for longer than a few hours and gets into trouble.
Warnings: Blood and slightly carnivorous plants, Irish cursing and some general NSFW in one thread (it's marked)

Floor Three

She had been in the Tower for weeks now, rarely venturing out of her room when everything shut down and she saw her true form for the first time. She had been warned, but it was still a shock to see the fluid inside her wire frame.

With her powers gone, she felt helpless and stayed out of the way, and it's a fair thing to say she had no idea what was going on. Hilda had disappeared before hearing any word from her, and it left Grainne with nothing but an empty spot in the pit of her stomach. She felt a sort of kinship to the Princess, having arrived at roughly the same time and knowing little to nothing about the place. She worried for her, but there again was nothing she could do without her Servant status. Grainne was no fighter and she could not even use the knife in her trunk properly to defend herself... her Noble Phantasm knife was inaccessible and did not require anything but getting shoved into a body to work.

If only she hadn't taken that advice to try to get her 'real' powers back. She would not be helpless now... and she did not think her powers are going to be returning any time soon, if ever.

Well, helpless in battle and certainly against the monsters that roam the place, but maybe not useless entirely. The few times she went out, she tried to make a stop each time to gather materials to hand stitch some clothes... even with so few months left, she should have a few pieces done in a day or two.

Today, she was out of her room for a reason other than food, grooming, or sewing. During her first life she had heard stories from bards and well traveled men of a place filled with all the knowledge of the world in it, and while she never got to visit that great place in life, the library held a certain allure to her. Exploring this floor a little, she stumbled on instruction manuals for something called "knitting" and "crochet"... the former of which looked an awful lot like nålebinding and something Grainne had excelled at in her first life.

Taking an entire stack of the books, she sat down at a table to read for a while. As she made progress through her stack, she tucked some into her bag for later.


Floor Fifty Five

After her stop in the library, Grainne got on with business. It hadn't just been a visit to the library she came out today. With how things have turned out, the reminders of the past in her trunk only get more painful each time she got inside it to choose a button, a thread color, or to retrieve a project. The smell of the pouch haunted her while she worked, clinging to the garments for hours on end. She could not bear it any longer, and had gathered the items given to her on her arrival into a bag she made for herself before she ventured out. It was time to move on, and she would; with a fierce determination.

She isn't sure how she found this floor, and in fact she couldn't really remember exploring here except for seeing the flames from the stair case on one of her initial walks about the Tower. She stood there in front of the incinerator, feeling the heat wash uncomfortably over her body, and for a moment she stared into the flames, reminded of other times in front of bonfires and celebrations during the holidays. Beltane would be soon... and she was sure nobody but her remembered. In a way, this could almost be considered a celebration. She has the fire and the smoke, and in a way what she had planned could be thought of as being purified of the past...

Shaking those thoughts off, she pulled out the pouch first, frowning at the decorated fabric. One of the first things she had made after she married, filled with flowers that grew around their home every year. It's only made of film, she told herself. Not even real. And neither were the memories it brought back. In it went, bursting into flames and disintegrating within moments. Next came the knife with the sheath, made and given to her by her sons as a present. This time a tug of sorrow pulled at her heart when it went inside, going almost as fast as the pouch did.

She hesitated at the carved comb though, holding it in her hand and running her fingers over the figures in the wood. Another memento of her first life, but one that came much later... the cranky old man had made it for her one winter, whiling away the time in front of the fire. She had been impressed by his skill, but age had dulled her eyes and she never realized how much work he had truly put into it. If this is anything like the original she once carried, that is...

She swallowed once, wrapping her fingers over it tightly. Perhaps it had been the only time of her life that had been true. Maybe not entirely happy or worry free, but comfortable, and filled with companionship and good people. Good years that someone could be proud of. Remembering them now, those years seem more precious...

Letting out a breath, she tucked the comb back into her bag and turned to leave.


Floor Eighty-Six


This floor looked like an innocent enough meadow to Grainne when she first stepped on to explore. If it was one less traveled than the one in the lower Tower, it would be a nice place to sit and relax for her, without getting interrupted every five minutes. Her first thought had been she could do some sewing or something with yarn here, and in fact she got so absorbed for a moment she hadn't seen the mushrooms half hidden by grass as they were.

It was a foolish mistake and she would have immediately left if she saw them, but as it was, it was too late as she had already intruded into a ring, and paid the price. For some reason, the Queen had seen fit to spare her life, and terrified as she was Grainne wasn't going to question it, but the Fair One might as well have killed her because this was much, much worse...

Not far from the staircase and covered in vines, Grainne laid pinned to the ground, too scared to call out and prevented from struggling by the thick thorns that coated every inch of the vines. She already had deep scratches all along the length of her body, and holes torn in her clothes and blood soiling the cloth. She knew she had to escape or she would die here, stripped of her powers as she was. Why did she even think that exploring is a good idea?


Room 1-17


Grainne sat on her bed, looking at her clothes in despair and tears stung her eyes. If her powers were working, she would have healed by now, but a thousand thorns had done their damage and she ached, and was sore. The brief shower she took to sooth them hadn't worked, but at least it washed off the blood. With her clothes damaged, she wore her white bodysuit and coat, as that seemed to have suffered the least.

Still, she had thread and there was no reason she couldn't get the blood out. Getting blood out of clothing seemed to be her lot in her first life, it shouldn't be a problem. Holding up her white summer dress, she made a note of how many places she would have to mend, and then let it drop to the floor, feeling exhausted.


Workshop April 12th


With her new roommates, Grainne has been seeking out alternative places to sit and work quietly. Today it's the workshop, mercifully empty for the moment, and a good opportunity to try and fix the comb that had broken over a week ago.

Looking at the comb hurt, reminding her of every terrible detail of that day. Not what it should remind her of. That by itself made her angry and resentful. That is why she was trying to glue the broken teeth back to the body, and not doing too good of a job with it. The comb was so delicately carved it made re-affixing the teeth difficult, and then the glue was slow drying, so whenever she thought it would work, they sagged and slowly fell off.
fionnuisce: (tame my flesh and fix my eyes)

floor 3

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[Recent days had left Waver both exhausted and slightly overwhelmed--there was a lot of information for him to process before he breathed so much as a word to anyone other than Diarmuid. It was practically a given this would lead to an infiltration, so he'd need to await Aria's report as well. This was not exactly the social revolution he had always hoped for back at the Clock Tower; no, this was much more pressuring. If this failed, Waver was aware they could just lose the only solid chance he knew of to restore their homeworlds.]

[For now, he just needed to step back and breathe. Concentrate on something else for a few hours before he drove himself out of his mind making sure every last detail was in place. There would be time enough for that, even if time was the most pressing of their limited resources.]


...Do you mind if I sit here?

[As far as distractions went, Waver was aware he could do worse than a hardcover book in his hand and a Servant he knew he'd need to speak to anyway.]
fionnuisce: (tethered mind freed from the lies)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 09:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[Waver was at the very least quiet, waiting a moment before speaking in what must have been as few words as possible.]

I got your message. I can assure you it'll be taken care of to the best of my ability.
fionnuisce: (i'll kneel down; know my ground)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[That was the real question on both sides; while Waver had recognized the two of them had a lot to discuss, he had failed to consider where to start or what to say.]

I think it likely we, er...started off on something of a sour note when last we met. Now that the initial shock and resulting mess has been largely put aside to my knowledge, perhaps we could attempt to find a more reasonable starting point?
fionnuisce: (wait for now)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
For god's sake, we can't just awkwardly avoid eye contact every time we're in the same general vicinity.

[Leaning back in his chair, Waver set aside the book he held and crossed his arms.]

Not to dance around the issue, but you and I share what I would call a common interest. Even with that aside, you've some measure of experience working with me in one world or another. I think an amicable relationship could stand to benefit us both, don't you agree?
oathshackledbird: Unsure (Unsure)

Floor Fifty Five

[personal profile] oathshackledbird 2014-04-03 10:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[Diarmuid spots Grainne as he is passing by the floor during one of his patrols. Immediately, he is both curious and concerned as to why she is lingering so near the incinerator. His first thought is to just straight out ask her what is going on, but his own doubts and worries silence his voice. Things have gone so badly each time they have met no matter how hard he has tried, and he doesn't have to have been married to her to know that she will be angry that he left her room like he did after promising to stay. Would explaining it was the illness influencing his thoughts help any? There really is no way to know and that dilemma is pushed from Diarmuid's mind for the moment when he realizes what she is doing.

Why is she burning all of her things? It is true they aren't real, but they should still give her some comfort, shouldn't they? Yes...it's her right in the end to do it, but Diarmuid can't help but almost reach out to stop her anyway when the pouch then the knife go into the fire. The comb...

...she saves and he doesn't recognize it. What does that mean and why is something suddenly squeezing so painfully in his chest?]


Something you got after my death I take it?

[The words come out just as she starts to turn around so it's debatable what will startle her more--the fact that he is standing there watching or the fact that he has spoken...]
fionnuisce: (so break my step)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't be stupid.

[Waver frowned, reconsidering his approach and shifting to a less cold tone of voice.]

Look. It's none of my concern why you're a Servant or how powerful you are as one. I'm not asking for a contract and I'm not trying to form some kind of army. All I want is allies I know I can trust in this place. And since my capacity to trust is at the bare minimum, I can settle for people I could call marginally reliable.
fionnuisce: (wait for now)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn, you really are stubborn. No wonder he can put up with me--I didn't realize he had experience.

[Sigh.]

If nothing else, I would like to hear more regarding your version of the war, if you're willing to tell me.
fionnuisce: (so break my step)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
...Something similar happened to us with Caster. [Waver pressed a hand to his face, trying to push back thoughts of bloodshed and murderous water monsters.]

If it's any consolation, Lancer and I didn't accomplish much in the end past a handful of skirmishes. But then...that means you must not have seen any sign of the Holy Grail, did you?
oathshackledbird: Profile (Profile)

[personal profile] oathshackledbird 2014-04-03 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[The knowledge that she values something she got after he died more than she values those things from him and the children causes a chill to settle into Diarmuid that even the heat of the incinerator can't erase. However, before he can think long on this, she starts to leave and that...that he can't let happen.

He starts to reach out to grab her arm, but something keeps him from making contact. She obviously wants nothing more to do with him. Does he really have any right to stop her?]


Aren't you tired of running Grainne? You know as well as I do that we need to talk. To really talk without illness, shock, and assumption clouding our minds...
fionnuisce: (tethered mind freed from the lies)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
No--it's more complicated than that. If your world is the same as mine, then it's better we didn't reach the end.

[Waver shook his head, sounding sincere.]

Powerful, maybe. Also completely fucking insane. His Master was...well, I don't think the poor bastard was well-equipped for what he summoned. When we stumbled on the lunatic's workshop, his Master may as well have been dead already for the condition he was in.
fionnuisce: (tethered mind freed from the lies)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-03 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
That's...kind of the thing. I've never been one hundred percent certain on what happened, or if any one person caused it. What I can tell you beyond any doubt is that the Grail is...not what anyone believed it was. At the minimum it sure as hell wasn't anything I expected.

What happened at the end is difficult to retell in great detail; it happened very quickly, and it was a long time ago. I know something began to manifest--I remember this horrible presence worse even than Caster's energy signature felt. It was far off, but I saw Archer's Noble Phantasm activated; the sword that split heaven and earth. Immediately after that, a fire started that spread over half the Shinto district.

Since then, I've guessed a few things and determined others with certainty. I hypothesized some years ago that the Grail must have been damaged or corrupted by some force, and Archer's Master must have commanded him to destroy it. After my arrival here, I met a Servant calling himself Avenger.

[Hesitating, Waver's hand gripped his right shoulder as if it hurt somehow.]

...I do not understand what he is specifically. But it would appear he is the force or individual that made the Grail into whatever Archer's Master saw ten years ago. That much is certain, and all it leaves is the staggering question of what Avenger is and how the Grail got to the state it's in.

And more importantly than those, how to destroy it.
Edited (enter key...) 2014-04-03 23:27 (UTC)
fionnuisce: (keep my heart slow)

[personal profile] fionnuisce 2014-04-04 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
To be blunt, yes. That's why I have to destroy it, permanently. No other magus would have the common sense to do as much, even if they knew the truth.

I don't want any other Servants or Masters to suffer for some godforsaken lie. It has to fucking stop, no matter what it costs.
oathshackledbird: Profile (Profile)

[personal profile] oathshackledbird 2014-04-04 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
Why?

[Diarmuid isn't sure what it is about her reaction that makes him so angry, but the sudden chill he was feeling is replaced by a wave of heat perhaps even stronger than what is coming from the floor. He turns, back to the incinerator, so he can look at her more directly. His hands curl into fists at his side and, though his voice is calm, the same heat he is feeling burn through him is burning in his eyes.]


Tell me why you lied to me about hating me and then I will let you go forever, because it looks like you do hate me despite what you said at our first meeting. The fact that you seem to value nothing from your time with me and the children and are so willing to throw it away is proof of that.

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