The South Quarter

Thomas had paused in reaching his fork for food as Ira spoke, his utensil making a slow but sure descent to his plate as the Servant went on. His gaze went flatter and flatter yet, and by the time that Ira finished, the magus was frighteningly still.

A Foster. A mage hunter had joined a mage war, and while he couldn't be sure, nothing good could come of one of that deluded family achieving the Grail. Worse, he'd known enough about the participants that he had been able to use his name, something that implied he'd gained access to privileged information that would have doubtless been denied that wretched line of magus.

"Doubtless Ruler mentioned it, Lancer, but if you get the opportunity, kill that pretender. Even if his Servant is slain, kill that boy." The man's voice lacked inflection, even as his eyes rose to meet Ira's. "I'd come here without personal animosity, but now I have reason."
 
"There are things on my home world which would make you cower in fear" said the angel quietly. "Things whose only weapon was their mere existence, the way they look enough to bring insanity upon any human who dared look at them. I didn't do too well either - sometimes, I feel like I'm not entirely myself, or at least, I'm shown a new way of thinking, one which seems far more appealing than anything else"

Berserker looked saddened, her mind dredging up unpleasant memories. As if one cue, her hair took on a pink colour, like flayed flesh, and on of the feathers on her wings drifted towards the ground, glowing slightly. Whether she noticed the caged or not, she didn't say, but she cast the thoughts away, appearance returning to some semblance of normality, mood changing just as quick, the divine creature not mentioning her less-than angelic change.

"As for what to do- I honestly don't care" she said, shrugging her shoulders. "If we go looking, we will find people and we can challenge them, but if we wait, then people will fight each other. We can fight the weakened victors, if you're inclined towards such a vulturous action."
 
Assassin nodded affably to his Master's preferences, having no real quarrel with them. Perhaps she was right in a way, they ought to keep cautious like before, perhaps even more so than he had been before, if his tactics had landed him masterless before he knew it, though maybe it was just something to do with Daichi's personal matters. After all, a man without a name was a man hiding from something, or at least, hiding something. Servants were a prime example of that, one could perhaps say.

As they walked together, beginning to make their way from the school to the beaches down south, the spirit tilted his head slightly as Chloe expressed her desire to formulate a plan. Pocketing his gloved hands as he walked with the girl, Assassin let out a breath. "Haaah? An idea, eh? I don't exactly have much to provide for you in terms of where to go from here aside from some aliases, but if that is so, Master, then I'm all ears," he spoke.

@Knosis
 
Ira quirked an eyebrow at Thomas' reaction. He'd expected him to be pissed that someone was going around using his name, but this seemed like a little... much. "Am I missing some context here?" he asked after a moment, frowning faintly at the instruction. "Sure, he used your name, but I'm guessing you don't go around demanding death for identity fraud all the time. You have history with this guy or something?"

He leaned back against the counter, biting his lip. "Not sure how kosher I find the idea of straight-up murdering a guy even once he's out of the game. Sure, he knows what he signed up for and all, but what threat is he without a servant? According to ruler, he's just a kid. Late teens, thereabouts. Seems a little harsh, if you ask me."
 
The young woman nodded softly. "Still, even if it is just a small step of a plan, its better than wandering aimlessly in the hopes we'd actually achieve our goals." She stated, seemingly a bit breathless despite it only being a short distance from the school. She shifted her books a bit and pulled her headphones up over one ear, the other placed behind. "Once we get to my house, go unseen until we're in my room at least. My parents aren't there, but the servants should be there as well as my on-site nurse. They'll most likely be a bit frantic that I'm out this late." She gave him a wry smile.

They'd have only a bit longer to go. The house in question was one of the larger places with beach front property, and gated for privacy. She gave assassin a look that told him now was a good time to disappear before going into the gate herself. As predicted, as soon as she walked into the front door, she was bombarded by people who fretted over her. She gave a picturesque smile, reassurances she was fine that she merely fell asleep while doing homework, and that they were right she should go straight to bed without any arguments. The nurse was the most persistent, wanting to take her blood pressure and temperature, as well as insure she got her shots and her medication before she went to sleep. The woman followed her up to her room, gave her a hand full of pills before sticking two injections, one in her stomach and the other in her leg before seeing herself out.

Chloe sighed and flopped on the bed as soon as the door closed. She silently counted to ten before she felt it was safe to talk again. "Its okay, you can come out now." She muttered. "Sorry about that. Took longer than expected."

The girl's room was rather neat. A couple of chest of drawers with neatly folded clothes inside, a desk sitting in the corner, and a very pretty violin sitting by a bay window with a very lovely view of the ocean. There were loads of bookshelves lined with differing books.

"So.. Do you know of any of the servants and any of the masters? Tell me what you know so far, doesn't matter if its only a little bit."

@Ver
 
As Assassin walked with Chloe on the beach, the man cocked an eyebrow and resisted the urge to smirk in mild amusement at the girl's words. Servants? He thought to himself, crossing his arms behind his back, musing on how financially well-off her family must be to have servants, and so casually she dropped that bomb on him too! Not that servants, indentured or not, were uncommon in his own time, but not only did they generally only belong to the higher-classes, but... Well, not even the higher classes today still seemed to have many servants, though... Perhaps it depended on the country. Assassin could think of the War, in that regard, as adapting to a new culture, perhaps.

As they reached Chloe's home, the Heroic Spirit did as requested and dissipated into spirit form, quietly following Chloe around and keeping silent even as she was bombarded with so many people, letting Chloe deal with them as she pleased, before they were finally allowed to be alone finally in the girl's room.

Rematerializing his form on Chloe's cue, the blonde man adjusted his glasses slightly. With an amused breath, he began looking around the room curiously, his arms still folded formally behind his back. "It is quite alright. Must be difficult to be so popular," Assassin said with a wry smile, eyeing the violin briefly. He leaned against the wall, staring out at the night's view of the ocean, and almost let himself become lost in the sight if not for their more pressing matters.

"I don't know any of the Masters, no," the Servant said, shaking his head slightly, "All I know for sure are some of their aliases, and some ideas on what their classes might be," he spoke. And from there, he relayed to Chloe all he learned from eavesdropping; the mannerisms and appearance of Lady, Ira, and Mag, as well as the enigmatic Ruler-class named Broch Asvaldr, and the rogue Master known as Max Foster, who had the equivalent of a bounty on his head, with a reward to boot. After all that, still standing with his side against the wall, Assassin took a moment to catch his breath once again, before continuing.

"And that's all I know, Master. So? Have any ideas to make from all that?"

@Knosis
 
"Let's try the beach or something. It'd give you a chance to, er, clear your head then," Allie refrained from looking back, partially to try not to offend Berserker but also because her own servant was generally kind of creepy. Once on the shore, the mage tried to stay a few yards from the water as she meandered with little real purpose or direction. Her magical nature made the waves behave strangely if she was too close, and that kind of giveaway for potential attackers could potentially be deadly. Wearing clothing that didn't belong anywhere near a beach still made her look a bit out of place, but not too much so. Maybe she was just visiting somebody that was sunbathing, right?

Green rolled her fingers over one of the steel spheres in her coat pocket, eyes scanning over each and every person trying to find the one that stood out, if any.
 
The young girl sat on her bed, half listening to her music and half listening to Assassin's explanation. Once he'd finished, she'd still lay there silent for a long while, mulling over the information. It wasn't a lot to go on, to be honest. But it was some. "Interesting. Didn't think the Fosters still had anyone left with the balls to try something so rash." She admitted. "With that being said, I do agree we must put an end to that party if we run across them. Even if they would be a good ally to have to ride on the coat tail of, or even just hang back and let the fighting go on with him without us.. We would not be able to take on the 8th servant alone. Especially if Ruler is concerned of his strength. I don't doubt your ability as an Assassin Servant, so please don't take offense, but it sounds that Ruler has suspicions that even he would have difficulties taking on Foster and his servant alone."

She sat up and tilted her head at Assassin. "As far as the other servants, I think potentially reaching out the olive branch to one of the servants you've seen would prove beneficial for us. You two were going after Saber before, yes? I'm not opposed. We'll continue to track her down tomorrow. We also might want to start setting our sights on another location to hole up in. Once my parents return, I highly doubt they'll let me continue with this war. They'll detect if I'm setting up wards in the house to try to protect myself.." She frowned.

Slowly she stood and moved over to the bay window, sitting on the cushions there to gaze out of it.

"You have any ideas or desires you wish to share with me?"

@Ver
 
Assassin cocked a brow when Chloe seemed to express a degree of familiarity with the Fosters, but thought little more of it. If they were supposed to be some sort of big deal, then so be it. It mattered little to him anyway; after all, his line of work ensured that no target was too illustrious for his eyes. If anything, it made him all the more interested. As a hunter, if there was one thing that made a prey worth hunting, it was the knowing that other people sought them out as well.

As his Master spoke, the Servant let out a soft chuckle and shrugged his arms. "No offense taken, missy. Certainly, more often than not, the Assassin-class is by all accounts the weakest of the seven orthodox classes, no? That's why spirits like us have to make do with our wits, something that other, more brutish enemies oft come unarmed with," he said, before letting her continue. Assassin nodded, finding himself agreeing with his young Master.

"Indeed. We would do well to ally ourselves with the Saber-class; just as mine class is often the weakest, that is the strongest class most of the time. Besides... Perhaps I could use even more good company," he said with a coy smile, keeping his arms crossed as he talked, "As for another location, perhaps the easiest way to approach that would be to use my old Master's hideout, where he'd summoned me. There's not much in the way of comfort, but we'll be allowed our privacy, unless you might believe it to be compromised, all things considered."

When Chloe finally posed the question to him, Assassin suddenly paused, his expression becoming blank for a good second as it looked as though it took him a while to even process the question. His thoughts were a mystery to her, but after a small freeze, he spoke again, looking out the window with her, as though looking for something out in the dark.

A return to nothingness, just as humanity wishes for, deep down.

"Nothing in particular, no. But perhaps this War will prove to be an enriching experience, enough so that we can all realize something from it."

@Knosis
 
Chloe smirked at the man. "I highly doubt you consider me good company, but the flattery is appreciated none the less."

"I fear it may be compromised.." She said to Assassin with a sigh. "But I also do not see another option at the moment. We have less than a week to discover a new location, and if we do not discover one that will suffice.. Then I suppose we'll have to risk the compromised hideout. And perhaps even then, it will be enough time between your old master's departure and our arrival that the culprit will believe they have nothing left to gain from the premises. Foolish hope, but that's all I have to go on these days."

She pulled herself away from the window and went to her closet to change into her night clothes, opting in what decency she had left to go for a tshirt and long pajama bottoms. "Do servants need sleep?" She asked, honestly curious. "If you do, I can sleep on the bay cushion and you can take the bed if you'd like."
 
"Sometimes, dear Master, hope is all we have in this hopeless world, even if it is a foolish one," Assassin said, holding his arms up in an exaggerated shrug for a moment, "Even that kind of stupid, naive hope can be quite beautiful, don't you think?"

As she went on, moving on to a question about something else, Assassin moved his hands down to his hips, before his lips curled into a knowing smile. "Just as with humans, it is possible for a Servant to restore their energy via sleep. However, that's only if the Master in question doesn't happen to be a mage well-versed enough to be able to passively transfer mana to their Servant," he explained, pausing briefly and walking over to the edge of the bed, sitting down on it before proceeding to lay down on his side, still in his usual clothes as he looked at Chloe, keeping his smile, "Of course, for a more effective way to ensure that a surplus of energy, there are more... intimate means for a Master to take care of that," Assassin continued, struggling to hold back a grin as though he were teasing Chloe.

Regardless of what her reaction would be, the Servant would then take a breath, patting the bed softly. "Far be it from me to rob you of your own bed though. Are you absolutely certain, Master? It would be of no consequence for me to occupy the cushion instead," he said, clearing his throat as he did so.
 
"Yes, quite beautiful." She said, sliding herself up into the window once again after grabbing one of the quilts from the foot of her bed. She wrapped it about her shoulders, forming a sort of cocoon about herself as she looked out at the moon over the waters. At the mention of providing additional energy to a servant, her cheeks grew hot and she shot a glance back at his direction to see if he was serious or not. She noticed the struggle to keep back the grin and she smirked. "Well, whatever it takes to win, right? If it comes down to it, perhaps I could be persuaded." She teased back, though she was not successful in hiding her own grin.

She turned back towards the moon filled waters. "I'm sure. I get a view from where I sit, and well.." She hesitated. "I cannot say how many more times I will be able to look at the ocean, or the moon. So although you get the luxury of comfort, I get the view." She smiled slightly, settling against the wall. She was silent for a long moment, her eyes drooping as sleep threatened to overtake her. But her mind was still working, and there was one other question she thought she might ask him.

Still, it wasn't an easy question.

".. Assassin..?" She asked quietly. She waited a moment, still hesitating to ask. Her face formed an uncharacteristic frown.

"... Never mind." She finally said with a sigh, not having the courage to ask in the end. "Sleep well, my friend. Please try to wake me up before the house staff does.." She turned her attention back to the ocean, letting her own thoughts simmer.

@Ver
 
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"My name in conjunction with this war wasn't common knowledge. While I am a part of the Association, I prefer my privacy, so I made arrangements to be left mostly alone with my research." Thomas was visibly struggling against a rather uncharacteristic emotion. Regret. "Likewise, only those of the Association involved in the Grail War's organization were to know of my alignment, outside of a few close friends. The others were still respected colleagues."

"For him to know my name for the purpose of fooling Ruler, he would have had to access information someone operating outside of the Association couldn't. That likely very well means someone I knew enough to trust with my wishes was found and interrogated, and I have no means to determine whether they still live or not."

Thomas raised an eyebrow as he reined himself in, taking a deep breath. "No. It's not harsh in my eyes. Someone is probably dead for him to be using my name, so I feel no reason his life should not be forfeit in return."
 
Ira listened to Thomas' explanation with a level expression, seemingly having dropped the lackadaisical demeanour for the time being. Once he had finished explaining, Ira nodded. "Alright, then. If you're right, and he's the kind of person to torture and kill people in cold blood, I don't have any qualms with dealing with him. But let's not kill first and ask questions later. We'll find out what he did and didn't do, and then decide if it's worth straight up murdering a guy over."

Finishing the last bite of his food, lancer hopped down and wove around the counter to deposit his plate in the sink as he continued. "I've no issues killing someone in a life-or-death fight. But I'll need a very good reason to go after someone who's already out of the game and no longer a threat. That cool with you?"
 
Assassin's features softened slightly as Chloe mused on the time she had left, and her desires to at least spend some of it gazing out upon the oceans and the moon. With a breath, he rested his head on the bed fully, staring up at the ceiling with a nod. "Very well, if that is what you truly wish, Master," he said, and with that, began to prepare for sleep, only to be swiftly interrupted when Chloe made a peep, calling for him in the night gently like a dove.

He cocked a brow, but said nothing, as Chloe seemed to take back whatever it was she wanted to say. Well, it was of little consequence then; if whatever she wanted to say likely wasn't that important, then there was no need to lose sleep over it.

"Hmph, will do. Good night to you as well, Master," the blonde man responded, and with that, closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep. Or at least, the closest to it that a Servant like him could sink into.

@Knosis
 
Thomas stared stonily at Ira for a while, musing within his own mind. "Acceptable, for the time being. If we encounter Foster and his Servant, we'll see what happens."

He began to eat calmly, pausing only to add one last remark.

"After all, many things can happen in a fight between magus."
 
"Yeesh," Ira gave a dramatic sigh and flopped down into an armchair near the window. "Sinister, much? But sure. All's fair in love and war, and all that. Just don't be a psycho. Not saying you are one, but don't be one. I've got surprisingly high standards of being-a-good-person for a demon, so keep that in mind!"

He kicked his feet up onto a coffee table and propped his hands behind his head, settling in to lounge. "Moving on from all that, though. Ruler and the other two servants I met, that was at a bar - me being touristy actually paid off! I'd say it was all planned, but I'd be lying. One of the other two was a knight-looking chick. She was blonde, had braids, and a suit of armour. Briefly. So I reckon she's gotta be either Saber or Rider, unless she's tricksy and just faked the armour for show. Or she's an armoured Archer? I guess those exist. She went by the name 'Lady'. The other was a big guy, not as big as ruler, but fairly buff. He went by Mag, and given the buffness, I'd assume he's whichever of the two options Lady isn't. Neither of 'em struck me as a berserker, given their use of words."

Shrugging, he grinned. "They both seem like good people, anyways. The type we can rely on to go toe-to-toe in a fair fight, unless their masters tell them to do otherwise. More's the pity for them, since the only way anyone's getting one-up on me is by playing dirty."
 
Thomas nodded contemplatively. "Sounds like those we can be relatively secure in assuming as lesser threats. Potential allies, if momentary truces are required for something unexpected."

"What would be your plans for the day? I'd had some ideas, but I'd like your input."
 
Ira looked thoughtful for a moment, drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair. "Tactically speaking, we probably want to avoid a full-on fight until we have a better idea of who or what we're up against. I dunno if assumed names are going to give us anything to go by in researching the two servants we know about, but I suppose we could give the library a shot. If nothing else, we might run into people there."

There was a pause, and he grinned. "Speaking with an eye to fun, though? I feel like stretching my legs and seeing what some of these people can do. If we find somewhere isolated and out of the public eye and set ourselves up there, I bet you we'll get pique the curiosity of at least one of the other teams enough to draw their attention. And then we kick their ass. Buuuut... much as I'm sure I could handle it, that's hardly the best tactical choice, so I'll defer to you on the 'what next' front for the time being. I imagine you've been planning this for a lot longer than I have, eh?"
 
The man smiled at Ira, nodding his head. "Actually, I had thought of that idea. Letting them come to us, on grounds of our choosing."

"It's primary tactical issue is that of retreat if needed, but I've got the confidence that with your abilities, and some basic application of magecraft, the risk is minimized. With the opportunity for maximum gains much greater." Finishing his plate, he took his and Ira's and placed them into the sink. "I feel the need to stretch my legs. Shall we go exploring, Ira?"

Thomas moved over to a closet, taking from within his staff and a backpack. Under even close observation, the staff appeared to merely be a sturdy walking stick. It would take handling and fine inspection to realize it was made from titanium, and a magus alone could tell the amount of energy put into its construction. From the bag he drew on a pair of fingerless gloves, custom fitted and finely made. The magus focused on them a moment, nodding as he felt the answering pulse of his magic in them.
 
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