middaeg | [closed] Freeze the arrow in the air

Entry tags:

[closed] Freeze the arrow in the air

Who: Archer and Caster
When: Aguril 2
Where: Lunasa festivities
What: Bonding, Fate style
Warnings: n/a for now

Lùnasa is in full swing, with crowds that make the proposed challenge much tougher. Archer doesn't mind as he keeps looking for Caster. Keping his blue hair uncovered would make the hunt too easy, so it's most likely hidden. Instead he focuses on the familiar gait and all the details he tends to notice. The promise of a hunt makes his heart beat faster and his pace to fasten. It adds a thrill, one he's too aware of. Yet another change.

So far Archer has managed to avoid the tailors, but he pauses when a flash of dark red catches his eyes. Perhaps it's better if he changes too - he's pretty sure that Caster did. It doesn't take long to obtain simple yet tasteful outfit in blood red and black. Oh well, time to continue the chase.

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[Archer gives him a very pointed look.]

You did jump off the building on me.

[Yes, he can be just as petty as his partner in the wrong moment.

A Bond is very much like an oath, a serious commitment that he doesn't think himself worthy of. To know Caster does makes him feel touched, and at the same time makes him wonder what may go wrong.]

[ Ah, busted. ]

That I did!

[ And now he is paying the price. Being paraded in these wild clothing, in arms of a man turning into a dragon? That's so ridiculous he can't help but laugh. They both look good, what is there to hide? ]

Didn't expect you to jump right after me—

[ Caster stifles his laugh here. His expression softening. ]

Guess it proves I made a good choice. [ It never was meant as a test or any of that sort, he just wanted to change the subject. Just this, only that much. But he'd be a fool if he didn't notice that moment and what it meant. ]

[Archer just shakes his head in exasperation. Honestly he's surprised he's willing to put up with Caster's stunts. At the same time he's fond of mage more than he should.

For now he settles on wandering aimlessly through the crowd, on the pretense to look for someone to officially Bond them.]

How much do you know about Guardians?

[ Caster looks up to him curiously. It's obvious Archer doesn't talk about the most obvious meaning of the word. There are several options, one more obvious than others ]

Those drafted by the Counter Force? [ Does that concept even apply here? ]

[It feels odd to talk about his own foolish decision, but it's something Archer doesn't want to hide. If Caster decides to not want to Bond with him afterwards it's understandable.]

Yes, the Counter Guardians. [his lips press into thin line, and he refuses to look at his companion. Talking isn't easy as he struggles to find the right words, bitterness audible in his voice.] They're not Heroic Spirits, neither have the freedom of refusing the summon.

[ There it goes, Archer's staring into the distance, and he finds himself staring up at him, which is... odd as it is, but not in bad way. He's so serious, so focused on this—

Caster can't help but poke him in the cheek ]

Those who were not observed and remembered for their deeds— [ Or stories of them didn't make it into legends - the eternal question who really existed and who didn't and does it really matter? No, no it doesn't] —but instead made a pact with the World.

[ To create a miracle, wasn't it? And aren't they more of a sub-type of Heroic Spirit? Archer hasn't finished so he can leave the questions for later ]

[It's odd but Caster's presence and lack of sense of personal space helps to keep him grounded and focused on here and now instead of getting lost in memories. Archer frowns, his expression closed but bitterness still seeping into his voice.]

Such a glorified name for the ones who are mere cleaners of the messes that humanity makes. [lips curling into a bitter, sarcastic smirk.] Only the World is able to bypass all the limits of a summon, therefore whenever it calls the Counter Force it summons their Spirit Origins.

[Archer has no idea if such knowledge is shared through the Throne of Heroes, or is it simply pieced together from bits of information. It's no surprise that Alaya prefers it this way, allowing only vague knowledge to exist. After all, guardians and heroes do not coegsist in the same place. He may be the only guardian ever summoned to Grail War because of his personal history.]

[ You will never have personal space again if that Bonding goes through, that's a sad (?) reality. ]

So you wanna come clean— since it's clear you already know about me a lot— Put us on even ground? [ That's surprisingly fair on Archer's side, but also reinforcing Caster's view that he didn't made a wrong choice. The very obvious bitterness on Archer's side is not as easily understood. ] What pushed you to take this path?

[ A chance to understand each other better. ]

[That's something Archer isn't going to regret, even if he may grumble a bit.]

It's what I am. [he sighs, his rigid posture relaxing the tiniest bit.] I wanted to save people. To make sure no one will have to survive through a similar loss as I did. Saving others like my old man saved me.

[In truth the man who became Archer has never lived for himself, instead carrying the weight of all the lives lost in a fateful fire. Taking upon himself the ideal passed by the man who saved him and following it to the bitter end.]

It turned out that to save humanity I have to destroy the timelines that went wrong by eliminating everyone in the place I'm sent to.

To save someone it means forfeiting another. Makes sense it escalates with scope. [ From a simple "it's impossible to console two people in two different places simultaneously" to "saving humanity, means destroying all those that threaten it" ]

That explains why no one seems to know much about you. [ Counter Guardians lack the legendary aspect of the other Heroic Spirits. ] Did you do all of this to make your old man proud?

[ But here is the puzzle. ]

I decided to follow his ideals and become someone who saves people. Should have known better. I was a kid then, but it's no excuse.

[a beat.]

He died next day.

[If his old man lived a bit longer, if he wasn't such a fool, if— so many choices gone wrong and he's left with eternity of bloodshed and breaking his ideal until nothing was left. No sane man could endure it without breaking.]

I followed his ideal. Sold my soul to save lives, hoping for a miracle. It was a foolish hope. To save one life you have to sacrifice another, but I realized it all to late.

[ That explains the bitterness and lack of pride. Something they had clashed on already. In the end, they both are crazy, they chose to walk down a similar path, but for so completely different reasons—

But choosing to talk about it now, that's smart. Gives them chance to either deal with those part that is the most incompatible, before that becomes a problem ]

First— Put me down, bowman. [ This isn't a conversation to have while being held like something precious. For Caster has no intention of honeying his words and he'd rather talk with Archer on the same level as him ] Or are you telling me all this whilst you hold onto me because you fear I will just walk away?

[He's not wrong. Archer stiffens a bit, then finally relents and puts him back on his feet. He still seems hesitant to release him, but he concedes to the request. Archer keeps silent, awaiting Caster's words.

He doesn't really believe into getting out of it unharmed.]

What a tale... [ It's impressive, really. To go as far, to do the impossible, just and only by hard work and defying everything? No prophecy of greatness, no lineage putting you in place for great deeds, no heroes to meet and guide you—

Caster ponders on it a bit, enjoying the feeling of the ground underneath his feet again, maybe straightening his clothes where they need ]

Wouldn't think someone could get as far on borrowed ideals. Geez, you're really hopeless. [ Like everyone in esteemed E luck club, really. He puffs out a laugh, the usual playful drone to his voice still there ] Should figure out what your next step gonna be. That might take off that load of resentment you bear, soften your worrylines and all that

[ He is the type to just blurt whatever he thinks. ]

[There were heroes to guide him, both of the previous and his own Grail War - Kiritsugu that saved and took him in, Saber whom he remembers most fondly, and Lancer that chose to save him (and oppose his Master) to uphold his own ideals. Each of them has influenced his borrowed ideals, made him stubbornly follow the choosen path.]

I still have to return to my duties. [Archer replies quietly, slight frown darkening his face. Well, Cú isn't wrong about his hopeless situation.]

That's admirable. That's worth every praise— [ Duty and honor, fame and glory, all goes hand in hand, don't they? ]

But with the way that works, neither of us really left. [ Throne of Heroes exists outside the flow of time. Counter Force affects timelines and who knows what. They both might be here but it's not like either of them had left Chaldea. Servant Archer and Servant Caster are still there.

And they both know a surest way of getting unsummoned ] You're dancing around something, what is it?

[Archer scoffs at the praise. Duty never equals honor, fame or glory, not in his experience. Caster's next words catch his attention, and his frown changes into puzzlement.]

What do you mean that we never left? I had no mana—

[—wait a minute, a few others recognized him as Chaldea cafeteria man. Caster knows things he shouldn't know, unless they've had same Master.]

Counter Guardians rarely get summoned.

[ Given on how often they have ran into each other, Caster calls on bullshit on that "rarely". But as Archer realization dawns on him it's time to strike ]

You're getting it, don't you. The Master I made contract with had summoned you as well. It's been a year at this point. But you don't remember any of that because this Guardian Archer- [ He pokes Archer right in the middle of his chest ] -was reflected into this world from earlier point than this Servant Caster.

[ He points at yours truly- aka himself ] My past is still your future. So as you can see you are attending your duties just fine.

[ They're Servants, they're separated shards anyway. And that means here, in this strange placezthey are truly living. ]

[Being summoned once has been understandable, given his personal ties to the mage. Being summoned again, or more than once, should be impossible. Yet Archer remembers Caster's initial reaction to him, all the details that hint at him meeting Cu Chulainn at least twice in this class. Everything hints at him being summoned sometime in his future instead of serving only as Counter Guardian.

Archer isn't sure how to deal with hope. For a moment he's unable to find his voice, throat constricting in multitude of feelings that threaten to overwhelm him.]

It should be impossible to summon a Counter Guardian. [even to him his own voice sounds a bit shaky.]

[ Having existential in the middle of the festival grounds— that's the most perfect place to have it, truly. People are busy dancing and singing the night away, no one shall notice, no one shall hear it. Where else to have that crisis if not here and now?

Caster moves closer his hand working up to rest on Archer's cheek. A touch gentle and unfitting much blunter words that follow. ]

I'm not going to pretend I'm all-knowing— you might not be what you deem a "proper" Heroic Spirit, but you still work as one. We wouldn't run into each other so often otherwise. [ If fairy tales can function as one, why not a nameless avatar of justice? ] So stop overthinking.

[ They are stranded here anyway, no longer Spirits ]

[Just when Archer thinks he's found a fitting answer, Caster renders him speechless again. It's more than proof his future is not as hopeless as he believes it to be. Somehow it gives him hope, the one feeling that he shouldn't have.]

I'll try.

[Caster's hand is surprisingly warm, making Archer realize how chilled he feels.]

Edited 2019-09-03 20:48 (UTC)

[ That's the side effect of his magic settling in, the warmth. Caster will feel to others as if he's running a fever, but it's entirely fine. It's just the fire. Fitting, given he's a candle burning on both ends. That doesn't change even in this second chance at life ]

How obedient... [ That went all too easy, but Caster suspects there is more to it. ] Looks like we both have something similar. Doing the thing we have to, even if it weighs on us.

[ Calling back to the moment when Archer mentioned his worry about Scáthach, and Caster's willingness to kill the people he holds dear. The heaviest price of loyalty and fullfilling oaths. He turns around arms stretched wide ]

But today is Lughnasadh, nights of fairs and celebration! What's your answer?

[Surprisingly Archer shares this trait, as his body is slightly warmer than a human. He did notice that witches often give a feel of the kind of magic they use most often, and knowing of Caster's tendency to use fire it's clear that he's coming into his traits.]

It's a good day to Bond.

[For Archer it's not that easy to shake off the doubts plaguing him. He's going to try it for Cú Chulainn.]

I want us to Bond using our True Names.

I would have it no other way. [ Caster playfully punches Archer in the shoulder. The trait to shrug off heavy things is one he shares with festival loving populace of Aefenglom.

In a sense it's... an escape. Temporary one. Something to forget the threat of reality.

Or seriousness what they are truly attempting to do. ] You didn't get to carry me all the way, in the end.

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