showsnopiety: (I'll take you there)
Caren Ortensia (Hortensia) ([personal profile] showsnopiety) wrote in [community profile] pawnstorm2016-04-19 08:15 pm

All this bad blood here: Open job post!

Who: Caren and you!
When: After the War, 4/20-4/30
Where: Graupera, Gresser, Palamede
What: Job stuff, including getting yelled at, meeting Servants, all that jazz.
Rating: Pretty sure we got into Rated R for fetish talk and violent thoughts in the Gilgamesh thread there

I: Vessel of hope

[It was an unusual request, but she didn't think it would be one that she could by pass. While there were some parts of the order and the church that she held in contempt, she was a priestess, through and through. Her offering was a simple one, a plain boat with a puffin candle, white and sheltered by slender glass.

A touch of mana lights it with a murmured word. And when the sun goes down, she's there with the rest of the crowd. Her boat is set down, and she starts to sing.

It's a surprisingly lovely, sweet voice-and her singing is in Latin. They are hymns, songs of mourning and blessing, things that one might hear at a funeral.

Her eyes flick to anyone who approaches. She may cease, continue until she is finished, or start singing instead 'Amazing Grace' as an invitation for anyone to join her, if they so wish.]


II: A six pack is worth a thousand pictures

A

Ah. That would be perfect.

[She nods to herself, as she focuses with her camera. This is an odd thing to take a photo off...perhaps it is of a hay bale, a plate of food, or a child crying after falling on their knees and skinning it. Really weird pictures like that. But it's not the only things she's taking a picture of. See that fountain? She's pointing you, hero, to stand underneath it.]

If you don't mind? I'd like a picture of you under the spray. I think it would be very appealing.

B

[She's hungry, but she as to pay for her meal before she has to actually gets anything. She's frowning at the riddle she was offered. It's rather...well, it's not a bad one, but she doesn't want to give up either. It's down on a piece of paper, and she's staring at it, as if it will give it answers.]

I know the answer. Just...need a moment.

[She scowls down at the paper. The locals, at least, seem amused by her. She's intelligent enough, but mostly she's stuck. She needs some orange juice or something to get her brain working but noooo, stupid town rule won't let her have it.]

III: Rebuild Palamede!

A

[She had been moping, as the usual. She was not a strong woman as things went, but she could clean. She was used to it, as things went, but the fact that the local that was showing her around didn't want to come in here...she respected that, and didn't press, for once. Caren could be surprisingly compassionate to those in need.

Which did not mean she would be so nice to those passing by. If anyone tried to walk through her recently washed floor for example...all it would take was a twist of her wrist, and she'd fling mop water at their head. With the mop.

This is slightly better than having her try and recruit someone to help her clean.]


B

[Caren hadn't asked for this. Her face was impassive as the man in front of her-heavier by over a hundred pounds, taller than a foot, maybe more. His mouth was hitched in a permanent smirk on one side, due to scarring. And, he seemed, he didn't have anything to laugh about. People had been hurt. And these heroes, these people God selected were supposed to keep them safe! They were supposed to do better then this!

There was a crowd forming because of this. And while Caren had been singing hymns and other things earlier, she had been heading in for a break. But now...

She watched him, and slowly brought a hand up to wipe at the spittle on her face. She was smiling, a little. Maybe someone wants to watch or...try to step in before something terrible happens.]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-21 10:30 am (UTC)(link)
[Does sorrow engulf her? Does something so minor cause her pain, fill her with grief? Gilgamesh has no bond to ascertain for sure, but he's a predatory creature. He knows by instinct when he's hit upon a weak point, and he appears to have done so now. There's many, many ways he could take advantage of the situation, by tightening his hold, increasing it, letting his hands wander elsewhere over her body—she doesn't seem like she'd even refuse in the state she's in.

The cruelest thing he could do, in fact, would be to let go. And that's exactly what he does. Gives her a taste, and no more than that, before drawing back to his own spot and minding his own share of the window. Yet even in this cruelty his expression doesn't suggest it. He's not grinning or laughing at her expense. He's just blank. Just the King of Heroes, as he's always been, and will always be. If she wants to be his Master, so be it.

But his actions just now make it very clear: he expects courtship. Nothing may be taken for granted. For both parties, this is a prize to be earned.]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-21 10:53 am (UTC)(link)
I do think of it, on occasion. What has been left behind.

[Gilgamesh refers to many things. To her father. To their war. To his promised fight with Saber. To the Grail, and what laid beyond it. To his future, the future where both women were from, the future he knows nothing of. Perhaps he won and rose to great heights; perhaps he lost and fell to despair, even if he'd never acknowledge such an outcome. He doesn't know. She does.

And that's why it cements their relationship, here and now. He will keep coming back, until he finds those answers, until he understands what drives her, what would fill her with confidence enough to claim ownership of the King of Heroes. He will keep coming back and so in the end, she wins. She'll get what she wants.

Because, undoubtedly, it will not be the last time he reaches for that soft hand of hers. And he will want more, as she does. It is inevitable.]


I think of it. It feels faraway. It feels...

[He doesn't know how it feels, so he just trails off instead. But the King never speaks without reason, so there's meaning in this much.]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-21 11:11 am (UTC)(link)
[It's a decision that's ultimately made in his best interests. Gilgamesh would never be able to absorb the idea of defeat straight away, let alone a defeat twice over. He'd never believe in the horrors wrought by Unlimited Blade Works upon him, nor would he believe he lost to some mongrel of a boy who won through sheer luck and because of his sheer arrogance. He may thirst for it, but in this case, it's to her benefit she denies him the whole truth, if only to extend her own longevity.]

I was poised against Saber, on the battlefield of the Grail. Kirei... your father... he must've been facing that man, Emiya.

[He stops as well. Looks at her too. Tries not to sound desperate, as it was a mood ill-suited to him.]

That Servant has also been summoned here. It may be to your benefit to arrange a truce with her before she misunderstands.

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-21 11:35 am (UTC)(link)
[Gilgamesh scoffs, a mean sound, but none of it's directed at her.]

I certainly can. This world is a farce. It takes everything from us and gives nothing in return.

[Though that's not entirely the truth. He's met people here, worthy people, that he could trust to fight alongside him. He's had many adventures, some he'd even call fun. And this official Hero business certainly beat lounging on a couch all day vowing revenge against a humanity that had corrupted itself several times over.

Actually, the truth of it was that Gilgamesh was beginning to enjoy himself. Beginning to forget his proper station, and if anything frightens him, it's the possibility of becoming too relaxed. Of distancing himself too much from the garden that was his to protect. But it's happening, and he can't stop it.

The truth of it was that it was nice to have someone at your back, a feat Gilgamesh had encountered only once before. The King was warming to others, and he hated it.]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-21 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
You are trying to appease me.

[But he doesn't sound too upset by it. If anything, he's amused. He also can tell she's just seeking justification to linger by this point; they didn't need two people for this job when Gilgamesh could reach twice as high and work for twice as long as she did. It's almost cute, in a way. That's why Gilgamesh allows for it rather than brushing her off outright. That's why she can stay, because the King permits it. The tables of ownership may have turned here.

There might've been something to this bond, though. But only time will tell, if those claims of hers have any merit at all.]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-22 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
Is that how you choose to live...?

[Then she really would be just like her father. A man who knew only selfishness. Who could not even look after his wife, who left his own child behind. A man modeled much in his own image, and that may have been why they got along so well—because they understood their lives to be nothing but a means towards a greedy end.

He looks into her reflection, clearing up the more she cleans, and can't possibly imagine serving beneath it. It's just too far-fetched an idea.]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-22 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
[It's a respectable philosophy. Gilgamesh certainly wouldn't pledge himself to some simpering little girl, and even if she had the appearance of angel, that heart of hers housed much darker intentions. Already he's realizing it's becoming difficult not to draw parallels between father and daughter, and that in itself proves problematic.

Problematic because part of Gilgamesh did miss Kirei, their time spent scheming together, the lost soul he'd forged into something truly terrifying. The man who would one day overtake his plans and launch his own, in pursuit of the truth behind the Grail. Yet another future he'd never face.

Nonetheless, he smiles to himself, watching her stand up as tall as she possibly can. No one could say she didn't try.]


Mm. Even I cannot punish that point of view. I suppose it's acceptable.

[Tsun, tsun tsun...]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-23 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Gilgamesh, of course, is all too quick to remind her of their positions. He may have letting some of her attitude slide, but she should know her Servant, and thus know he wasn't the sort to allow anyone to simply lord over him. Not easily, anyway.

If she wanted that boot, she'd have to work for it. If she wanted him tied up... she just might die for it.]


You talk bold for a woman. And for a Pawn.

[His half of the window's clean, so he slacks off and leans back for a break, haughtily.]

Surely the rules were explained to you, that you are subservient to higher ranks. Or is it the will of a Kotomine to ignore them?

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-23 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Unlikely to do it? Oh, definitely. Good call there, Caren. But since she apparently felt like being sassy, and Gilgamesh was only ever sassy even on his best days, he concedes. In his own way, which isn't really conceding at all but more a creative rearrangement of the original phrasing.

Gilgamesh steps over and... holds out his hand, off to the side.]


The King has acknowledged and graciously fulfilled your request.

[Hey, it's something to step on. If she's flexible enough, which also meant Gilgamesh got one hell of a show watching her make the attempt. What's not to enjoy?]

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-23 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
[And Gilgamesh, being a born gentleman, holds her perfectly in place as she completes her task. If she happens to look down, she'll catch the hint of a smile on his face, as apparently going along with his silly whims was exactly what she was supposed to do. He looks pleased that she's played along with minimal complaint.

And it's going to be a long, long journey down the road of accepting her as a Master, if it ever comes, but she's taken a solid first step today. He'll remember this.]