eachdraidh | [video] open to both courts

I'm looking for someone. [ no doubt, a tried and true phrase the lockets have played before. Connor tacks a piece of paper to the locket so that everyone can see his drawing of a demon. it's sketchy and messy, but a pretty good likeness considering he was being beaten up during his confrontation with it. guess he inherited one more thing from his father's side. ]

He's over seven feet tall and made completely out of stone. And he's mine. [ and by the look on his face and the tone of his voice, that clearly means MINE TO KILL >:[ !!!! but the sassmasters of eachdraidh are welcome to poke fun at him anyway. he lowers the paper, revealing the rest of him and the lovely decoration scheme caer scima's rocking. ] He'll try and kill you, but I don't have to really warn you guys about that, huh? From what I've heard of this place, that's what we're supposed to be doing.

[ killing each other!!! guess who hasn't been given the 'make love, not war' lecture of his life. there's no clear sign on his face that explains what he thinks of that exactly. He moves to turn off the locket and hesitates. ]

I want to know. [ how do I get out, who can I beat up right now, where can I find Angel -- ] Who's winning the war?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ so rin's a summoner of something that's not a demon but can kill things and cook... that actually sounds like a better deal than anyone else has back home, damn. ]

So he's not a demon. Just some guy who cooks and cleans and kills for you. [ IS THIS MORE ACCURATE ]

[ He's a real snarky asshole though so maybe not so great a deal. Want to trade? ]

Huh, I guess that would make him more of a pet than a demon.

[ Or a butler??? Body guard??? Parental figure??? ]

[ where's archer to defend his honor ]

That's what it sounds like. [ connor knows all about parental figures tho ] How did you get a familiar anyway? Magic?

[ He'd have to have honor in the first place in order to defend it. ]

If I said I inherited such a thing, it'd be hard to believe I could sustain it on my own without the aid of magic, huh? [ She has a stupid dog brained oaf to thank for spilling the beans on her magical ability so what's the point of containing it? ]

Something like that. Magic.

[ GOOD POINT. the look he gives her is a less judgmental, less skeptical one now that she's moved on from 'demon-summoner??' to 'magic-user who more or less looks like she's got control' ]

Magic. [ still, he makes a face at the word. he's not magic's biggest fan, but it still counts as a weapon. ] I guess they really do try and kidnap useful people here.

That's the wrong assumption to make.

[ Waving a hand idly as she speaks. ] They've abducted plenty of useless people.

[ It isn't said with an air of arrogance or anything of the sort, she just happens to think some of the magic bearing individuals they've brought here are useless. ]

Pacifists, knights, those type of people. The kind who would never hurt another being, living or not. Seems odd they would recruit those personality types for their army.

[ he makes a face at that too because.... ??? why ]

Maybe they're here to do the talking. I've met someone who's into politics here.

[ Because Rin mostly. ]

Ah yes, they're here to convince people into dying and giving up their shards so they could never return home? I don't think that's favorable either.

[ he shrugs ]

I don't know what the politics thing is supposed to be about. But apparently the monarchs send people to do that kind of stuff.

[ so it has to be some kind of use??? connor prefers getting to hit things ]

[ Hitting things is the only way to get them to listen to you, she's discovered. ]

Maybe they think of it as a gift. Have a free shard, courtesy of whatever message we have to send.

Something along those lines. Very morbid.

Is that what you think? That we're here just for them to take our shards?

[ he doesn't sound skeptical or judging, more curious. he's only been here for a few days. it's not long enough to judge the overall impression everyone has of the monarchs ]

No, it's clear that they need warriors judging by how long this battle has been going on.

If it was just the shards they were after, they would abduct us and harvest them from our mangled bodies before we could figure out entirely what was going on.

If that's what they want, then what I don't get is why they stop there. Why haven't they magicked us into total obedience? Or done something to take away our free will? If they can take us from different dimensions, then they should have the power to do something like that too.

Who is to say they haven't tried before? This event has been going on for several years long before we arrived from what I've gathered. There was probably a time they made an attempt to control the Shardholders and suffered gravely for it.

At least that's what I'm willing to bet on. As impossible as it is to eliminate free will from a being, I won't rule out the possibility that they could have.

[ silent for a moment, then ]

Did you just get here?

I did.

[ Weakly smiling. ] Did I give the impression otherwise? It can't be helped--I talk like this no matter the situation.

[ he shakes his head ]

You made a lot of good points. [ better than most, broader than his own fixation on a demon from his dimension ] I don't know anything about this place. Not as much as I'd like, anyway.

[ he looks at Rin, seriously. normally the words 'alliance' aren't in connor's vocabulary, but there are bigger things than his own discomfort about getting to know people at all, and the pragmatic part of him (something else quortoth left inside) understands the situation he's in. still, he bites his lip, hesitant before finally speaking up. ]

I want to get answers, not wait around for these monarchs to show up. Figure I'll run into something in a place as big as this. [ but i'm only one person and i don't even have holtz ~~or angel~~ ] I can share whatever I find with you, if you do the same.

[ Ohh, is this an alliance? Rin's not entirely sure if she should commit to one only because what she may find out might be information she's not allowed to share. Thinking it over though, it's not as if she has to share everything she comes across. ]

Why that's awfully wise of you. Waiting around for monarchs will only result in them pointing fingers and giving orders to kill without any explanation other than they told you do so.

So sure. Why not? We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain by exchanging information.

[ thank u rin for being less of a troll than effy. Connor looks relieved. ]

Yeah. Not sure how soon I'll find something, but I'll try.

[ pauses ] I'm Connor, by the way.

[ Don't worry, she only becomes a troll once people actually get to know her... Rejoice. ]

Oh right, introductions. I keep forgetting my manners, Connor. When it comes to magical artifacts, it's almost as if we're speaking on the phone and since when do people introduce themselves so casually over the wire?

[ She's so old that phones are still plugged into the wall in her canon. ] Let's see, I'm Tohsaka Rin--from Japan? So I'd prefer it if you could just call me Tohsaka for now.

[ he didn't sign up for this!!!! ]

Alright. [ watch, he's going to butcher it in the future but ] ...For now? Is that like a code name?

[ no connor ]

[ Yes, yes he did. He's the one who suggested an alliance of sorts in the first place. ]

No, that's just how we'll do things.

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