July Quests and Catch-All [OPEN]

[curruid_coinchenn]

Who: Berserker (Cú Chulainn Alter) and you!
When: Throughout July
Where: Through the city
What: Quests and other things!
Warnings: Some threads are NSFW!


[ 1. Sew and Tell ]

[ While Berserker can't help with the magical parts of upgrading the shop, he is strong. He's doing any grunt labor asked of him, lifting things, moving heavy objects, and holding people up to reach things. You need something carried? He's your dragon man.

He finishes a task to take a small break to stretch. He looks over to a coworker (or customer, he doesn't care to know the difference) and tilts his head slightly. ]

Is there something you need me for?

[ 2. Out of the City ]

[ There's a lull in the activity of the day and Berserker takes a moment to rest. He slumps down against a tree, his spear Gae Bolg resting against his shoulder. He's only doing this because he knows he's good at it -- fighting and killing is boring and routine. A sound catches his attention and he grabs his spear without getting up. ]

Do I need to stand up or did you just trip?

[ He's a jerk, sorry. ]

[ 3. Wildcard ]

[ Got an idea? Did we plot something already? Drop me a starter or PM me here or on discord at glitzkrieg#0673! ]

Comments

[curruid_coinchenn]

Berserker flinches at the touch -- it's not painful things that make him react like that, but soft ones. Any hand laid upon him should be causing pain, nothing else. A gentle touch is so alien to him that he shies away from it. It's a deeply ingrained reaction that he sees no need to fight against.

He's a little surprised Waver humored his question. The answer gives him pause. He can't understand why he agreed to bond with someone who used to be on the other side. It's so opposed to him own line of thinking: allies and allies and enemies are enemies, no in between and little can change that. Was there something deeper there...?

"Why ally yourself with someone who used to be an enemy?" He sounds truly confused by this admission.

[tryhard]

Considering their proximity, Waver notices the way he reacts, and immediately looks down to make sure he hasn't accidentally brushed one of Berserker's injuries. He assumes it has to do with something along those lines and makes sure to be careful, but he doesn't ask. Berserker probably would ignore it anyway, since he'd been so cagey about even taking medicine.

Instead, he hums softly in consideration of the question, looking off at the dancing flames in the hearth.

"Enemy isn't really the right word. He was an opponent in a War that is over and completely irrelevant here. He was only summoned to serve his Master and win the Grail, just like every other Servant on the battlefield. I have no grudges against Lancer-- Diarmuid, that is. But as for why I chose to ally myself with him specifically..."

Waver exhales slowly, closing his eyes for a moment longer than a blink. His fingers tighten around the book he still hasn't opened.

"I know he's strong. Even if he doesn't have the whole of his power as a Heroic Spirit in this realm, I know that he's a capable and honorable fighter. I knew that if we forged an alliance, I could rely on him to keep it. And most importantly, I--"

Berserker had gotten angry, scoffed at him for perceived weakness, and maybe Waver's just inviting him to do it again. But there's no point in pretending or lying. He's decided to answer Berserker's question honestly in this case. Nobody knows how weak he is better than Waver himself.

"I'm not strong enough to do this alone. I made a promise to survive. I have every intention of doing so, and if that means admitting my own weakness-- Fine. It's no secret. Laugh at me if you want to. I know my limitations."

[curruid_coinchenn]

This time, he doesn't respond cruelly. It's an honest answer with an honest assessment of his own abilities. He still can't get over the fact he allied with someone who was an enemy, even if circumstances have changed. His Madness Enhancement makes relating to certain concepts impossible.

"Why would I laugh at you? That's smart."

He shifts a little so he can look up at Waver. If anyone understands doing what you can in the name of survival, it's Berserker. He gave up so much in the name of strength just to survive.

"Doing what you must to survive...That I understand. Even if it's because you're weak, it makes sense."

There's a moment of hesitation. How much does he want to reveal to the turnskin? The answer is not much -- he's already so vulnerable, but he owes him some honesty at least.

"I took on a Bond with him for my own survival. Not because of weakness, but to keep control of my mind."

And, just to take some attention from this situation, he adds one last thought.

"Are you actually going to read that book or just hold onto it like a security blanket?"

Because he can't just let things be, he has to be a pain in the ass.

[tryhard]

That wasn't the answer he'd expected. Waver had been trying to brace himself for the inevitable scoffing, or even agreement on Berserker's part that he's just a powerless freeloader trying to get by using Lancer's strength-- but instead he gets a surprising amount of apparently sincere understanding.

Waver blinks, looking down at the dragon in his lap in poorly-hidden astonishment. His cheeks, already starting to color, flush brighter at the tease.

"I was going to!" he huffs, tugging the book closer stubbornly. "You're the one who insisted on having a conversation instead. I can stop talking to you right now, you know!" But he doesn't exactly say he wants to.

[curruid_coinchenn]

While he doesn't get joy out of needling Waver, there is some kind of satisfaction in it. He's so easy to get a rise out of that Berserker barely has to try. What a petty game to play.

"Do you want to stop talking to me, though?"

Hm...Perhaps a concession.

"You can ask me anything you want. I might not answer it, but you can ask."

It's generous and he's in a good enough mood he's likely to answer anything. He feels like he owes Waver something for letting him lay on him like this.

[tryhard]

Waver just sort of huffs in response, nudging one knee up to jostle Berserker's head. It's petty, but at least it's not hard or anything. Mostly just petty.

The answer is apparently, and obviously, no though. When Berserker offers to answer questions in return, as Waver had sort of hoped he would, he already has one ready.

"All right, then. How do you know Diarmuid?"

Turnabout is fair play, right? Waver had been wanting to ask about Berserker himself, where he came from and what his story is since he's not familiar, but since Berserker had asked him about his relationship with their Bonded and Waver has a sneaking suspicion they actually have more personal history than meeting here, he decides to ask it this way instead. It's possible he's completely off base, but either way it is a question he's interested in hearing the answer to.

[curruid_coinchenn]

Berserker has to stop himself from biting Waver's leg in response to being jostled like that -- he has a feeling that wouldn't go over well. The question, though...It is only fair, isn't it? How much did he want to reveal? His existence is confusing and strange, as it is.

"He served as one of my knights in a war that never should have happened...The first time I was summoned was in that war."

Medb's war in America in the 1800s. He didn't remember it, but the records existed in Chaldea. Of course he read them once he was summoned there again.

"He disappointed me, made three mistakes, and died. A shame...I don't remember that war. Aside from that, he was also in Chaldea with me. While I know this Heroic Spirit, I don't know him from when he's summoned from in this place."

He knows this short explanation creates almost as many questions as it answers.

[tryhard]

That cryptic sort of answer is really no answer at all... or, rather, it just opens up more questions. Waver just stares down at him, eyebrows inching slowly higher.

"You don't remember the war you were summoned to now? But Diarmuid remembers the Fourth--"

Though that's not the only thing Berserker's said that doesn't make sense to Waver.

"What's Chaldea?"

[curruid_coinchenn]

"It wasn't a Grail War," he says, all the clarification he's going to offer right now.

As for Chaldea, that's a bit easier of a question to answer. Sort of. He knows it will open up many more questions that he doesn't have answers to, but so be it.

"Chaldea is an organization tasked with preventing the extinction of humanity. They correct Singularities, no matter the size. There's only one Master and they command many Servants...I was involved in one of the Singularities. That should've been the end of my existence, but the Master summoned me to Chaldea after everything was resolved."

There's almost a sort of bitterness in his words about his continued existence. Odd.

[tryhard]

Now this is something Waver's never heard of. Of course, considering where they are right now and taking into account various dimensionality theories, he can assess well enough that Berserker must mean he's not only from a different war (and not a Holy Grail War, at that?) but from a different place entirely. Or time. Or any combination thereof.

Logically being able to parse this information and start to fill in the blanks doesn't actually mean any of it is any less mind-boggling to Waver.

"Is humanity going extinct? What do you mean by Singularity?"

A beat. The rest of it hits him.

"Huh? What's the point of only one Master with... wait. How many Servants?"

[curruid_coinchenn]

There they are. All the questions he knew were coming. Well, let's start answering these -- be glad he's feeling generous, Waver.

"Humanity was incinerated. The Master in Chaldea was sent to Singularities to correct this. Singularities are...errors in human history. Something's been changed or went wrong to the point the foundation of humanity is in danger. Like a Celtic war in America in the 1800s."

That's probably the easiest way he can answer it and the most he knows -- that kind of stuff is the Master's problem, not his. He just does as he's ordered.

"Many. Over a hundred easily."

Chaldea is an irregularity, to say the least.