Fate/Endeavour

[Refa]

A Hero Emerges

Cara sighed exasperatedly. She had been willing to enter the Grail War on her own terms, but all of this preparation for it? Not her cup of tea at all. Immediately after her arrival in Fuyuki City, she drove straight to the mansion which would function as her base of operations for the upcoming war. Said mansion was located in the bustling Shinto district, which seemed like a questionable location overall. It was positioned on top of one of the most prominent leylines of the region (and close to a graveyard, to boot), but she would have preferred one located near a forest or a volcano; much more exotic, not to mention having to deal with less people overall. Still, after all of the effort she put into setting up the defenses (primarily of which being a powerful bounded field) and procuring various supplies, it would suffice for now. The last task remaining was to summon her servant, which only served to increase her irritability. Her magic performance peaked around two specific times, and she'd have preferred not to be awake for the former. Unfortunately this was the soonest she was able to get around to summoning her servant, and delaying it any further would be problematic. As soon the clock on her laptop hit 6:40 AM, she closed it and descended into the room where the summoning would take place. The magic circle had already been drawn and the catalyst placed, so all she really had to do was not botch up the incantation.

Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the lord of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Ambrosius. Sword in hand, gem clasped to heart. Engrave vanishing memories to the sword and place finely honed skills to the stone. Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. I announce my oath. I am justice that will embody all of the virtues of the world, I am the one who will end all of the evils of the world. You, who has never known defeat in life or death, under me, my fate is in your sword. In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this prayer, this reason, then answer my call!

Nightmare may now post!

Edited January 28, 2015 by Refa

[Nightmare]

A small whirlwind of dust shot up. As it settled, the figure of a calmly seated man could slowly be made out.

"So I guess you're my master..."

The dust settled. The man, sitting in a lotus position, was wearing a dark, worn-out hakama, matching socks and straw sandals, his hair tied in a wild ponytail, with some slight stubble on his face. A scarred face...piercing, determined eyes...he looked more like beast than man, but the glitter of intelligence in his eyes showed there was much more to him than what his appearance may have one believe.

"Not much more to say here then, is there?"

He didn't get up, only staring at his master's face expectedly out of the corner of his eyes.

[Refa]

Talking Time

Cara grinned as she put her hand on her head in relief; the summoning ritual turned out to be a smashing success, not that she expected any differently, of course. Looking at her servant once more, clearly amused, she replied, "Looks like your legends weren't far off their mark, seeing as you don't seem to be one for protocol. Aren't you supposed to ask 'Are you my master?' or something to that effect? Well, whatever, makes no difference to me. Yes, I'm your master, although it's a pretty poor naming scheme considering we need to mutually help each other. Maybe partner just wasn't as catchy. Regardless, let's get all of the formalities out of the way. My name is Cara Ambrosius, and well...the rest doesn't seem particularly important. Any questions?" She said as she looked to her servant expectantly. Of course she had pressing questions of her own, but she figured they could wait for a few more minutes.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Refa

[Nightmare]

Saber puts a hand to his chin, closing his eyes and thinking.

"First things first," he opens his eyes and looks at Cara, "I'm not so good at it, but I detect it faintly; we're protected, aren't we? What kind of field do you have up? What sort of magic do you use anyway and how good are you at it? And also, a map of the city would be very useful. Last, but not least, do you have any tea? It's pretty cold."

He scratches his stubble lightly.

[Phoenix]

Firmia could imagine ... "My mother wanted my older sister to become a master in this war, but she didn't have a wish," she explained carefully. "I have a wish ... but I don't need to get to the grail to make it come true." Perhaps the grail picked up on that little detail. No, it most certainly did, she thought. "I want you to take me with you. If you're getting directly involved, then you might be my best chance at getting the information I need."

------------ ------------ ------------

"Honestly I'd prefer it if she focused on her hobbies or something like that," Stan began with a nervous smile, "but she wants to help--" "Take your place," Yulia corrected him mid sentence, "replace me," Stan finished abruptly. "This is our ... compromise."

"He used to be an executor, so he figures he can help you keep things under control this time around," Yulia explained, crossing her arms. Holy Grail Wars never ended well, but maybe this time it could reach a proper conclusion and be over and done with for good. If the mediator had some real help for a change, it was all the more likely, but Yulia didn't think her father should be the one to step into that kind of role, not anymore. Still, all she could reach with her father was a compromise.

"And Yulia here can handle herself just fine," Stan reluctantly admitted. What he hadn't clarified was that his daughter's abilities worked quite well in conjunction with his own, and the two made a powerful team, far more so than Stan and his old partner during his time as an executor.

[Ether]

"And what information would that be, that would bring you to seek me out like this, and try to get yourself involved in such a dangerous thing?" Basilia asked with a smirk... what a peculiar girl.

[Elyn]

Nanae gave a soft smile. "I'm glad you're able to enjoy something from this era, even if it's simple." She couldn't help but feel glad for him, little things like this in life always brought her some sort of satisfaction. The good feeling came to her often; 'so why not enjoy it while you could?' was what Nanae usually thought.

"About transportation, I have the finances to get us to Fuyuki. You just need to fit in as someone from this era with the right attire. It shouldn't be hard if we depart in about two days." She rubbed her head in thought. "I might as well spend some money from working as a traveling doctor. It was well earned while I was alive." She paused from her rambling. "I don't doubt your skill, Archer. But, I am prepared to... die at any moment once the clashing of factions has begun." Her voice was slightly shaky on the last word, as the whole sentence lacked confidence. Perhaps she really wasn't prepared to die. Her expectations of her own survival rate were quite low.
Nanae looked at Archer. He seemed like an able servant; she had a seventh of a chance.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Deadmeat Elyn

[AnonymousSpeed]

Archer merely nodded in indication of the smile, not wishing to speak with his mouth full. "Excellent!" he exclaimed once he swallowed. Finances weren't exactly what he thought they'd be talking about, but if the money they had was adequate then there wasn't much need to worry about. Good for him, given that he's never been much of a banker. "Fit in, hm? That shouldn't be to hard, provided I keep to myself," Archer noted, mostly to himself. "I'd say two days is plenty of time to prepare, wouldn't you agree?" he asked, putting the food aside for a moment. "You were a doctor? Ah, that's nice, helping the sick and all that," the man remarked, now starting to take an interest in the conversation. It was a little something he enjoyed, learning bits and pieces about people. Everyone had their own little story, not just Heroic Spirits, so he liked to hear them while he could.

"Why thank you ma'am," Archer began at Nanae's comment about his skills, taking a small bow. It would have been deeper, had he not been sitting. However, he did not quite expect that last part from her. Even if one did expect it, it was hardly something that you could just prepare for. For a moment, he remained silent, rasping his fingers on the table. "Alright, look here girl..." he took a moment to think. He could hardly go and say that he'd keep her safe, because if he failed to do that, the guilt might tear him apart, and he knew it would screw with him mind. He never had made promising like that for the same reason. So, he instead decided to try and be a bit more motivational. "You won't get very far with an attitude like that. You ought to keep your chin up. Be optimistic about it. The things I'm famous for? I didn't do them while thinking about dying. If you keep your mind clear and your eyes sharp...then you'll find you'll do much better, alright?"

[Phoenix]

It would be difficult to fully explain herself and her motives without being dangerously candid, Firmia knew, but she doubted the woman would let her keep the details to herself until they actually became relevant to the matter at hand. "I need information from the past, things only people living in those times would have. There's ... so much that's been lost to the modern world ..." She wasn't much of a humanitarian or a traditional magus, her mother had raised her in such a way that the girl really could only think about herself, her own goals, and those people closest to her. Human nature was as strong in Firmia at this point in her life as it was ever going to be. "Techniques, secrets, complete original works, magic, everything time and modernity are taking away. What's the point of my being a master when the grail's already brought seven heroic spirits into the world? That's exactly what I wanted."

And there lay the real issue, as well. "If I approached one of the teams in this war, would I really be able to walk away from them, or would something happen to me? It's a war, so there's no telling how they'd react to me or what I'm doing. Their servant might even just kill me without even hearing me out," she explained, looking extremely depressed all of a sudden. She wasn't as worried about the masters; as dangerous as magi who had prepared their whole lives for this war, Firmia had a couple of ways of defending herself that only certain individuals and high level entities like vampires or servants could readily counter. "If you're capable of what you said you were, then you're my best chance of reaching them and walking away alive. That's why I have to come with you."

[Ether]

"You want to speak with servants, huh? Well, sitting down and talking won't really be an option." Basilia replied, examining Firmia as she did so. What an... odd request. At it's core, it seemed almost normal, for a magus, but... the idea itself seemed so... out there, when it was told to you.

"I can't make any guarantees on their quality for your purposes, since I'm not in a position to be choosy. But if I can manage to get a servant under my belt, I wouldn't mind letting you speak to them, I suppose."

[eclipse]

"How. . .interesting", Lancer said dryly. She hadn't expected him to have much knowledge about the Holy Grail War, let alone have a family that knew about it. "But if this place was meant to be a base, I don't see why it should be moved." She took a deep breath, and regretted it. He said something about clothing in this day and age. I should definitely take him up on it. Crossing her hands under her bust, she stood up as tall as her back would let her. "Now, what was this about clothes shopping? If I am to stay in this form and city, I should dress like one of its female citizens. Perhaps I'll be able to do something about this ridiculous hair, too." Though her back pained her (albeit not enough to debilitate her), the locks of hair that periodically fell into her line of sight still annoyed her.

[Bluedoom]

Heeding to Rider's words, Nathalie hired a bus to a stop nearest to the harbor. The ride was a quiet one, not talking much with Rider in the bus either. She wanted to see what the coast would hold for her. If there was any shelter they could use as a base, they would have a strong terrain advantage to make use of. Her thoughts preoccupied with her plans for the next few days, her thinking came to a halt just as the conductor announced that they had reach the particular destination in hand.

"Rider, do you see anything we can make use of here as our base?" she asked calmly. It was much cooler at the coast, and it was refreshing after spending a lot of her time being cramped up in a vehicle. She quickly untied her hair bun, letting her hair fall down back to a little past the shoulder blades, her fingers slicking back some of the hair on her sides behind her ears, Fighting over here is a lot better than anywhere else in the city, I'll have to admit that. The Inner City is way more humid...and I don't think I'd appreciate fighting in such humidity!

"Oh, well we haven't reached the spot you were considering...which is that way." she added, pointing her hand in the direction of the coast away from the harbor. "Well, we might as well check that part of the coast."

Edited January 29, 2015 by Bluedoom

[Snowy_One]

Rider gave a nod as he looked out over the riverside and coastline as he pointed to three possible locations.

"Over there, down by the harbor out to the ocean, would be the best tactical place as, my lady, I can use those various crates to break a foes line of sight upon me and you can flee with ease. However, it is also the most unhealthy place for you to stay and it is far from impossible for you to succumb to illness before any master can reach you."

He then pointed to an area close to the shoreline along the beachside.

"That would be my second choice as I know how to fight on sand, something which my foes may not know, and I can move over to the solid land to call upon my steed should the battle turn dire, but it is open and you shall be exposed as well with little cover. It is of less concern to me as your servant but your survival is that which is most key."

He then pointed to an area closer to the riverside with some light housing alongside the river near where it met the coast.

"And that, my lady, would be the best place for your safety, especially should we find a house for you, and I may use the roads to my advantage, but with the many walls a foe may flee with relative ease and your survival, should you be targeted, will be harder to assure by boat. It would be helpful in choosing a place to know what powers you hold."

[Ace Tactician]

Levi grinned, "Excellent. Now that the matter of establishing a base has been settled, let's head out into town to get some suitable clothing for you to easily blend in with the citizenry here in Fuyuki. It would be best if you went into spirit form just until we are able accomplish that goal." He replied cheerfully.

Going out clothes shopping for Lancer also provided the perfect opportunity to do some scouting in the area for any signs of other masters. If he was to make a move to strike, he first needed to know if there were any other masters around the general area in Miyama Town. Though he'd prefer to get the clothes shopping done first before delving into any serious fighting. The command seals on his hand could easily be covered up with gloves or the sleeves of his jacket. He decided that he would wear gloves to hide his command seals from plain view of others. The prana leakage though... a trained magus would be able to detect that.

It hit him that this would be the first time he was going clothes shopping for someone of the opposite gender. And given the range of clothing options available, he reasoned it would be best if Lancer accompanied him into the Shopping District for this little trip. It would be best if Lancer went into spirit form to until they aquired a suitable outfit for her to blend in as an ordinary female citizen of Fuyuki City in addition to reducing prana drain on himself. He was reminded that he needed to keep himself maintained properly during the course of this war. Whatever small steps he needed to take to achieve victory, he'd gladly take them. It was what he had be trained to do for most of his life. Levi mused these thoughts in his mind while pulling on his gloves.

[Nanami Touko]

"Take your place, hmm?" Kouichi said, with a rather bored expression, looking between the two of them. He didn't know what this girl was capable of, but if she'd been trained by an Executor, she had to have some skill. Better to test that waters, though... "You realize that, in the off chance something goes wrong and we have to... 'Mediate', that your daughter will be fighting the front lines alone, yes?" He slowly retrieved his gun out of it's holster, holding it for them to see. "This is how I fight. And not up close. You're fine with that, Yuuta?" he asked, leveling his gaze on his cousin. "You say she can handle herself just fine, and against your average mage, I would definitely agree, but if a servant happens to lose control, or we, God forbid, end up dealing with a Dead Apostle..." he left the sentence hanging to imply his point, rather than state it so directly. He was entirely fine with help, despite his words. He just wanted to make sure they were steeled for such possibilities.

[Phoenix]

"I can help," Firmia suddenly said, hoping the news would at least improve their chances. Just talking to a servant, even if it was the ideal one, wouldn't be enough. She needed more time than that, and if the possibility was there at all, Firmia wanted to discuss a great deal of things with more than one. She wasn't exactly sure how she could help Basilia just yet, not without knowing what she was capable of, but if there was anything she could do to increase their chances ... "I'll do whatever I have to to make this work, just tell me what would make things easier for you, and I'll ... try to come up with a solution."

------------ ------------ ------------

"Nice gun, but I'm not a brawler, either. There's no reason to fight at close range most of the time," Yulia noted with a hint of irritation, though she'd have to forgive Kouichi in the end since they had only just met; her abilities weren't suited to close range combat, however she did have options if the issue was ever forced, thanks to her father. As for the supernatural ... "Rogue servants and bloodsucking freaks would be where you come in, though; I can gather information for you, erase the memories of witnesses, and help out if a fight breaks out, but as the mediator, you can direct the Holy Grail War's participating masters toward bigger problems if they're threatening the war itself, or just exposing magecraft in general, right?" To her, the authority to compel the masters to focus on matters besides killing each other was one of the most important and useful tools in the war, and so she leveled her gaze on him expectantly.

"Unless we have multiple incidents popping up at once, it should be fine if we stick together, shouldn't it?" Stan asked. "She'll worry about me and won't be able to focus, otherwise, heheheh." And I'd sure as hell worry about her, he thought to himself. The mention of Dead Apostles in particular forced the most vivid and painful memories of his last days as an executor into his mind. His prosthetic right hand balled gently into a fist. We probably won't have to deal with anything like that, but just in case we do, it's better if she's behind me providing support fire and not somewhere by herself.

[eclipse]

"Spirit form, eh? Very well." It would allow Lancer to walk around in the clothing she wore underneath her armor. It covered the necessary bits, but it looked absolutely nothing like what Levi wore, and would probably attract undue attention. "Hmmm, are gloves in fashion right now? It doesn't seem particularly cold." Only then did she remember that trivial things like temperature didn't affect her as much as her master. With a few shakes, she stripped off the rest of her armor. "If no one's going to see me, I might as well be comfortable. Lead the way."

[Nanami Touko]

"Really?" he asked, with the slightest hint of surprise. He figured she would be, fighting with black keys, but if she wasn't, he was more than fine with that. As for her abilities, now he was actually impressed, allowing the hint of a smile as they spoke, and nodding at her jab of a question. "Smart girl. Yes, I can. I suppose this is fine..." He slowly unraveled the sleeve on his right arm, letting them see for a moment, before sliding it back down. "Command seals for the taking of whoever fulfills the church's wishes. Simple enough." He nodded as Yuuta continued, not actually think of any other protests. If they knew this much, and were fine with all of this, then... "Very well. Aid as you see fit. I don't think you'll get in the way."

[Elyn]

Nanae nodded slowly. "Y-yes... I guess I do need a bit more confidence." She knew he was right, there was no way this man didn't win just by being inactive, he played a role in his life. Now it was time for her to play her role. Nanae stood up suddenly. "Tomorrow, I'll get to buying a ticket and some clothing." She looked over at him, and grinned slightly. It was the innocent grin of what should be a child's, not a full-fledged adult who was entering a life-death situation. Yet somehow it held warmth, though the woman herself could not see the subtle gratefulness in her expression. "I guess I'll put my 'doctor' skills to use on the battlefield, then. Likewise I'll entrust my safety to you." She clapped her hands together, she was trying her best to hold it together. It took whatever courage she could muster to stand as positive.
Nanae slowly paced up to the window. "My stories are far from interesting, save for a few... There is one that might be worthy of telling a heroic spirit..." She stopped short, was a sad sod tale of why she decided to take a chance in the War really worth it? The story crossed her mind when she decided to try summoning Archer, but was it worth telling to a Servant, a seasoned veteran of legends? Deep in Nanae's thick brain, she thought 'yes'.
"If I had to say it was similar to another hero's story, it would be a Greek one. You might've heard of him before." She walked slightly closer to Archer, to properly show respect in whatever way she was capable of. She forced herself to look at him, despite her a small bunch of uncertainty forming in her stomach. To her, it was definitely worth a shot to tell. "Does the tale of Orpheus cross your mind? I suppose you might've heard it over a fire in the mountains, perhaps? Of course, while it'd never amount to Orpheus's burden, it might prove interesting." Nanae widened her eyes and swallowed. "T-though it's not exactly a popular tale to say over such a thing, but back in your day, it might've of, uh- carried over!" She sighed at her own foolishness. Though it was from a different country, she thought surely there would've been a way for the tale to reach his land. Surely there was written text was available to Archer from his time? Then it crossed her mind, it was possible he hadn't heard such a tale due to many texts being lost to the wealthier population. Was Archer ever wealthy? She doubted it.

Nanae's gaze shifted to the window. "It'll have to be finished in the morning, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell it in one go." She awaited a possible chuckle at her mistake if she did manage to make another screw up, and the denial or approval of continuing a semi-bleak story.

[AnonymousSpeed]

"See, that's the spirit," Archer answered with own smile. His was more appreciative, that of one having a bit of pride in someone. It was quite a small smile of that type, but he hadn't known Nanae for long, so it wasn't bad given that. "Ah, alright, that should be good then," he began, a tinge of discomfort in his voice as the woman headed for the window. Now he just had to think of a way to keep her aware without destroying that confidence he was trying to muster in her. It shouldn't have been to hard though, she seemed to take to the confidence idea without much trouble, but she didn't seem like the type to thoughtlessly rush in either. At least, that was his initial impression, which he must have told himself not to trust at least twice so far.

"Well...I'm certain they'd be fine tales to hear, and I have time to hear them," the man remarked, reclining in his chair. He spoke slowly, without quite as much enthusiasm as he'd been displaying. It wasn't that he didn't wish to hear what Nanae had to say, in fact he quite liked to hear stories about people. However, the somberness with which she spoke seemed to permeate into the air and made it's way into his lungs. As the woman approached he straightened up again, locking his hands together and resting them on the table as he prepared to listen. "Hm, Orpheus...hm..." he looked to the ceiling and knocked his thumbs together as he thought. "I...might have, though I'm not quite sure. I must admit that it doesn't much sound like the kind of stories I would have heard."

This was true. Archer was never a wealthy or well educated man. Respected, yes, but hardly wealthy, and certainly not the type to keep enough books around to be familiar with Orpheus. Archer, as Nanae predicted, chuckled several times at her little mistakes, first at her gulping and second sigh. It was quite apparent that she needed some extra confidence when speaking, either because she was socially inexperienced, was still processing the fact that she now had a servant, or something else from a platter full of potential reasons. "Ah, well," he shook his head with a grin, "Start now, end tomorrow." He looked back up to the woman and thought to himself for a moment. This was his master, the one he was to fight for and protect. That wasn't an easy task, but she was just a young woman. It would have been dreadful if he failed her with so much ahead of her, and that put a little chink in his confidence, against his own advice. But that could not keep him from his duties, and so he pushed the thought from his mind. "I think that should tie up quite nicely. Please, take a seat," he gestured to the vacant seat Nanae had been sitting at before. "Regale me with this story and how it compares to this Orhpeus," he requested with a slight smile,

[Elyn]

Nanae nodded quickly, and scuttled over to the seat. She put her arms on top of the table, cupping her hands together. "Well, the tale of Orpheus goes that a lover-" Nanae pauses for a moment, with a slight fluster on her face, this time for different reasons. She clears hear throat, thinking of how to say it in terms that wouldn't seem arrogant."-essentially, someone important to him, dies, fading away into the realm of the underworld, Hades." She takes a breath, and looks at Archer. Her voice softens, if only by a mellower and less shaky tone. "Orpheus was a master bard, able to temper both the heart of the god Hades and tame his three-headed beast. He was given a chance to take back his most important person, breathe her into life, if only he didn't look back to see her follow him out."
She leans her head down on the table, with a small grin on her face. "Orpheus didn't follow through, he looked back right at the end, causing his lover to fade into the darkness. Orpheus's nostos, was not a happy one..." Through all of Nanae's muttering in her lifetime, no other statement meant as much to her as this one did. Nostos, homecoming... was it a journey she sacrificed in favor of her desires? Though she appeared to always look meek and sleepy in one way or another, one could tell this was actual exhaustion. Yet she spoke coherent; clear just like water.
"I was more ignorant then ever, not so long ago. Someone very important to me is gone,and I was not aware. I wish to reverse his death, like Orpheus tried." A small yawn came from her and she she shifted the side of her face towards Archer's direction, to steal one more glance at the servant whom she'd summoned.

Someone like her, who honed talent in only area to what was her limit of she felt she could do, has summoned a servant. "If only temporarily, just so I could be forgiven... Wouldn't I be a successful doctor if he was able to help him before he truly faded into death?" A doctor's job in the end, was to help people who were ill or otherwise impaired.. That's what Nanae thought for the longest time, but she knew in her somewhat simplistic-at-first mind, that a requirement for a doctor is to help out even those whose days were terminally numbered. "The Grail will give me that chance, probably." Her eyes fluttered open and close. "Looks like it wasn't that long, after all..... Blankets in other room... left side..." Her daze left only one last mutter. "You want something out of this struggle, too, Archer...?"
Any heavy response would be futile. While she would hear the small blurbs of noise for a bit of time, there was no response, as her lips were beyond a active part in any further conversation. The woman was in a half sleep state, which would eventually leave to reminisce over her last question.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Deadmeat Elyn

[Ace Tactician]

"Sometimes people choose to wear gloves because they compliment an outfit or to shield their hands from the cold elements. I myself wear gloves whenever I ride on my motorcycle because the wind sheer from moving at such a fast speed makes my hands chilly." Levi paused, thinking about how to best describe motorized vehicles like his motorcycle. Motorized vehicles were essentially like mechanical horses. Built to be methods of transportation for people to move about without taking up too much time in daily life activities. He hoped that Lancer wouldn't mind too terribly about his primary method of transversing about Fuyuki City.

Levi dug out the keys to the motorcycle from his jacket pocket and turned the motor on. But first, he put on his helmet before taking off. If he was going to potentially die in this war, he'd rather it not be from falling off a moving motorized bike. Some days he'd ride without it when he would go out for a leisurely ride around Fuyuki to enjoy the sights of the outdoors away from the bustling city and all of the buildings. Though there was something about gazing out at the city skyline at night that never failed to fascinate him.

[eclipse]

"What an odd contraption," Lancer remarked, as she gingerly sat behind Levi. Luckily, the magic that summoned her here also explained the oddities of the world as she passed by them (or in her case, touched them). "You have prudence, at least. It seems that some of your kind like to ride this noisy horse without any protection. Death by falling off of a horse wasn't unheard of in my time, and this thing definitely runs faster than that. I suppose stupidity never dies out." What is this odd phrase, 'Harley-Davidson'. . .why does it keep popping into my mind? "Let's see how things have changed since I left the mortal world."

[Ace Tactician]

A wry smile formed on Levi's lips, "Some people think they cannot die while riding a motorcycle or that they wouldn't get into any accidents so they choose not to wear a helmet." He replied as he gingerly pushed off the ground to get the motorcycle going down the road towards the Shopping District. "Those are usually the ones who die when they get into an accident against another vehicle." He added wistfully. It was a sad fact of life that some people weren't very smart about their own safety when it came to riding motorcycles, but he supposed it their own choice to gamble with their lives in that manner.

Levi kept the motorcycle at a reasonable speed since he was passing through residential area before coming up to the denser part of Miyama Town which meant he was closing in on his destination, and since he was now sharing the road with cars and trucks. He had to take extra care in changing lanes, minding the traffic surrounding him. It felt like there were a lot of people out and about today judging from the volume of vehicles he was able to see through his helmet visor.

After a couple of turns through the streets, Levi arrived at the heart of the Shopping District. He shut off the motorcycle and scanned the shops lining the avenue, looking for one that had the largest variety to choose from. Since Lancer had mentioned being comfortable, he would let that guide his choice. It hit him that he wasn't aware of current fashion trends among women. He took mental notes of the clothing worn by the majority of females he saw in the vincity, which ranged from conservative to choices that honestly baffled him as to why women would wear such a thing. "Lancer, is there a particular shop that interests you?" He asked, keeping his voice low enough for only Lancer to hear. The rest of the crowd didn't need to hear him.

[AnonymousSpeed]

"Lover?" Archer raised an eyebrow. That was certainly not what he'd expected to hear, and while he didn't intend to pry during the story, the thought was put into his mind, wrong as it might have been. Resting his elbows on the table, Archer focuses his attention on the young woman, concealing the bottom half of his face behind his hands. After his first remark, which more an outburst, he remained mostly still and mostly quiet, though his behavior was littered with slight nods and faint 'hm's. Hades, his beast, these were concepts Archer had been made familiar with, so he managed to understand the story without issue. Eventually Nanae came to a term he did not know, Nostos, but based on how she used it he assumed it meant something along the lines of ending.

"M-hm," he somberly mumbled with a nod, the yawn from his Master escaping his attention. So that was her attention. To make amends with someone, a sobering story to hear. "Well, see ma'am...there's no saving everyone. That is something you can trust is true," he shrugged and sighed a deep sigh, bringing his head down to his hands before flattening them on the table and looking straight to Nanae. "It would be be a very wise thing to dwell on that to much, but, well, I can't fault you for that wish."

"Probably," the man remarked, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. "Hm, I suppose it didn't. Thank you ma'am, I-" Archer began, lowering his gaze back to his master. Now that he wasn't actively focused on listening and speaking, it took but a glance to tell that Nanae was exhausted. "Think I'll get you a blanket," he concluded, getting up and going to the other room, fetching two blankets. The first he threw on the ground without a second thought, and the other he took the time to unfold and drape over the woman. He figured that it would have been best to let her sleep, as she was obviously exhausted and would need plenty of energy in the coming days. So, as quietly as he could, he took up what remained of the pie, lied himself down on the blanket, and helped himself to the rest of it. He didn't know about Nanae, but as for him these conditions were practically luxurious compared to places he'd slept in the past.