The first thing Saber saw as she came into the world was a Caster's medallion, used as a clasp to bind the green cloak shrouding the Servant's form. For a moment, the possibilities paralyzed her, and then she had moved and Excalibur's hidden edge was resting oh-so-gently against the curve of his throat. "Where is my Master?" she demanded with a quiet force that was more menacing than any shout.
He met her eyes for a moment, then took a slow and deliberately non-threatening step to his left, turning as he did so to wave her past where he had been standing. She checked out of the corner of her eye, without taking the main focus of her gaze away from the greater threat. There were three people there, two young women hovering over an injured man about the same age. One, abundantly built and with the most arresting violet hair, was leaning down to check the bandages wrapped around his splendidly defined-
She shook of the momentary distraction with a mental snarl and examined the last mortal. She was slimmer than her companion and standing straight, though not dressed any more modestly - evidently the trends she had noted in her last War had continued - and splitting her concerned and all-too-sharp gaze between the patient and the confrontation between the two Servants.
"The boy," the Caster told her softly, "is the one you want. My own Master is the one kneeling; Rin-sama's Rider is guarding the compound's perimeter." And, indeed, now that she checked, all three bore the red traceries of a Master's stigmata along the back of their right arm.
After a moment of thought, she let the sword fall away and set herself into a stance that, though still not open, was at least not hostile. "Who are they to each other?" she asked, voice equally quiet. It seemed a more pertinent question than how her Master had come to be injured and under the care of not one but two of his rivals, since the course of the next few minutes seemed unlikely to be immediately dependant on events already in the past.
"Sisters, and the object of their mutual regard. Since none of them have a... driving personal reason to seek the Grail, I think it likely that their current association shall continue for the entire course of the war. Likewise, while I cannot speak for Rider's position, what I want... isn't anything simple power can grant." He shifted slightly, to meet her eyes squarly, and it was only now that enough of her attention was free to notice how ludicrous their initial confrontation must have seemed - he couldn't have been less than eight sun taller. "On my honor, I sincerely believe that neither you, nor your Master have anything to fear from any of us."
She spent a long, long instant trying to look into his soul and read the man... then trusted her instincts. "Very well."
"Thank you." He bowed, just the right fraction for a respected equal, then turned and nodded slightly to the girl - he had said her name was Rin? - who was watching them. The entire atmosphere of the room seemed to relax as she nodded back.
The sun is, for those who didn't know or can't remember, a traditional Japanese unit of length, equal to almost exactly three centimeters, making her guess the difference between their heights as about twenty-four cm, or nine and a half inches... almost dead on, since the actual difference is twenty-six.
Nrg. There's more to that scene before Ilya shows up, but my brain is like, 'no, that's a good stopping point, no need to go farther'. Gah. Sorry.
Hm. On the one hand, Gillie certainly deserves to get 0wnz3d. On the other, he's genuinely badass in his own right, and even though I do agree that Team Medea could take him down, I think they'd have to work at it... I'm torn, I guess I'm trying to say.
Quote:Perfect. Hm. Even with Assassin reduced to a glorified spy, he's still anything but useless, and a massive blunt object like a Berserker would be an excellent complement for that.
Any ideas about what Gramps Matou is doing, given his Servant's ... err, little problem? Hmm ... it occurs to me that they'd be the likely source of the reiju stealing technique. Input?
So, at this point it's shaping up into three 'major' power blocks - Matou-teme's merry crew, Team Medea, and Maison Tohsaka - surrounded by a crowd of singleton freelancers - Bazette, Eddie, et al. - who might do any given thing at any given time, as well as being subject to manipulation... Cool.
And yes, Sasaki-dono has certainly paid his dues to earn a break. ^_^
Ja, -n
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"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"