Fate/Endeavour

[eclipse]

"Grab the ones that your hands are on," Lancer replied as softly as she could. "I'll choose a style first, then concern myself with things like color." From her observations, it seemed that this section of the store held more female shoppers than male, and almost none of them appeared to be Levi's age. This wouldn't be so awkward if I'd been summoned as a man.

[Refa]

There And Back Again

Returning to the study on the first floor, Cara noticed that the computer was...not on anymore. Looking at her servant (who in turn was looking at her expectantly), she sighed as she set down the tray with the tea (cups included). Waving her hand dismissively, she said, "Don't worry about it, you can turn it back on whenever. Anyways, can't waffle about drinking tea all day; I have a few important questions for you. Did you join this war willingly? How do you think we should deal with other servants and their masters? And...what is your wish for the Holy Grail? I mean, surely you have one, right?" She concluded, picking up her cup of tea in the interim.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Refa

[Nightmare]

Saber sits down, clearly not used to the decadent chairs before him. Apprehensive at first, he takes a cup of tea.

"This is the foreign tea I never had, hmm..." he mumbles as he takes a sip without adding any sugar or anything.

"But your questions...well, you have something of me with you. A catalyst. That is what drew me to this war. Otherwise I have no attachments one way or another...that was only a memento of my former life, the bond must exist without my conscience. As for how we should deal with the other masters and servants...first and foremost, surveillance is of utmost importance. Strictly speaking, I can outline for you which types of servants are the best and worst matches for me. For example, Caster and Archer may prove to be difficult to subdue because for the former, my magic resistance isn't as high as it should be for a servant of my class and for the latter, we may be ambushed from afar and I do not have the necessary abilities to counteract it. However, it ends up being about the individuals," he says as he takes another sip, adjusting to the bitter taste of the tea.

"Not to sound overconfident, but I am almost completely certain that none of the other servants would stand a chance against me in one-on-one combat, except maybe Berserker. Assassin could be a threat to you, but the bounded field should protect us. The rest lies in surveillance, as I said. Once we find out what kind of servants and masters we're facing, we can then decide on what kind of tactics to use...I needed to mark the map of the city with the choke points and such that I had found, but er..." he gestures awkwardly, "Well, never mind that now. My wish? I have no wish. I've already attained all that I would have liked to attain in my former life. I don't have what you call a desire. No longer, at least, and I have made it a point to not rely on such things as gods and demons. This seems similar."

He puts the tea cup down, now empty.

"But I noticed something...this house is near a graveyard? A peculiar location you have chosen," he strikes a glare at Cara.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Nightmare

[Refa]

Fate/Tactics

"No sugar, really? Well, whatever you fancy, tough guy," she replied wryly, mixing in liberal doses of sugar into her own tea. Listening patiently to Saber's replies, she nodded whenever he made a good point or brought up a topic she hadn't previously considered. When it was all over and done with and his final question had been asked, she said, "Hold that thought. As far as surveillance is concerned, summoning familiars is a doddle; I can even stick cameras on them if the need arises." Frowning a little when she realized that her servant wasn't familiar with the subject matter, she continued, "Erm, cameras are machines that are used to record events in real time. After they're recorded, you can playblack the events at your leisure. Most magic isn't suited to dealing with them, so they might be able to notice something that even my familiars cannot. Anyways," she paused, intaking a deep breath before pressing on, "Don't worry about your magic resistance. I have a little...something that can deal with that, should the need arise. Archer poses more of a challenge, which I suppose is why we're bothering with all of this surveillance duff to begin with."

"At any rate, it's relieving to know that you fare much against the other servants. Oh, and as for the map, give me a minute," she said as she turned her computer back on. She then elected to print out the map, as her servant would probably fare better with that medium. After the map had finished printing, she handed it to Saber alongside various writing utensils. "Whichever one works for you. Give me a bell when you're done, okay? A written map will only do so much, after all. We're going to need to check the city out, firsthand. Well, it'll be a first time experience for me, anyways. Oh, and as for your catalyst? Here you go," she said as she handed Saber the sword at her side. She had picked up the catalyst as they had left the basement, but there was never an appropriate time to give it until now. No wish, huh? You're an odd one, that's for sure, she thought to herself as she sat back down on her chair, sipping her cup of tea.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Refa

[Nightmare]

Saber takes the sword, a fairly standard bokuto.

"Ah yes...this sword, it brings back memories. I'll be sure to make good use of it."

He puts it aside and takes the map, studying it intently, then taking a brush and marking all the spots he thought needed any marking and annotation.

"It's reassuring to know you've thought ahead about this, as well," he says, while marking the map, "if everything goes so smoothly...but it's too soon for that sort of talk."

He blows on the map to make the ink dry, then hands it to Cara.

"What are your thoughts? The moon looks inviting tonight...shall we leave for a walk now then?"

Edited February 8, 2015 by Nightmare

[Ace Tactician]

Levi took the two tops he had his hands on off the rack, noting the amount of female shoppers present around him silently. Maybe his nerves wouldn't be so noisy in his head today if the volume of females shopping were less than what he was observing currently. Why was this bugging him? He had his cover story all thought up should anyone pry into why he was here. People ran errands for their friends all time, regardless of gender. There were plenty of other guys who had done what he was doing now, that's what he mentally told himself in an effort to silence his nerves.

Now he needed a pair of bottoms that went with the pair of blouses he held. But, what to choose? He supposed he'd keep browsing the racks until Lancer saw something she liked. His eyes drifted over towards a mannequin displaying the latest style of shorts. "Are shorts for women supposed to be...that short? I thought they would be longer in pant length than that..." Levi mumbled in a low voice. In his mind, the shorts worn by the mannequin were too short than what he thought they should be.

[eclipse]

Had Lancer been in non-spirit form, everyone who'd been looking their way (which was perhaps a passing glance or two) would've seen her face turn a very unflattering shade of red. "I'd sooner give away my true identity than wear that," she whispered. "Some of the women in this store are shopping for themselves," she continued, pointing towards one who held five shirts of surprisingly similar color and style. The "pants" she wore came down to about the midpoint of her calves, but instead of clinging to her leg, the entire pants leg was loose. "Those pants look a lot less revealing. Do they come in a style that reaches my ankles, and not in a shade of green that's reserved for rotten vegetables?"

[Ace Tactician]

"They do. Business people wear them as their choice of everyday pants," Levi replied back, keeping a low voice while casually taking two identical ankle length pairs off their rack. Black seemed like the logical color to choose to match the blouses without looking too outrageous in terms of matching sceme. Black was a universal color after all which meant black usually went with anything in terms of color and/or pattern. Though mixing patterns wasn't a good idea.

Which just left...that section which ironically held the closest fitting rooms. He could feel his face flushing red just glancing upwards at the sign designating it, at the mannequins standing in that section. It was for Lancer that he was here in the first place, but no amount of self motivation could stop the level of awkward he was currently feeling. "Heh. This is got to be the strangest thing I've ever done," Levi remarked to himself in a low voice considering the other shoppers in that section were ladies.

[Bluedoom]

"Well, Rider, I guess we'll just settle for a base at the riverside. But...do you see any vehicle we can steal comfortably? I guess that's our best bet for transportation. Maybe we should go to the Inner City and steal a motor bike. Ah, that gives me a great idea! Let's go to the Inner City and steal a motorbike, I have a plan to get it done without any commotion. And then... we can visit the Church. Meeting the Father comes first!"

[Snowy_One]

"My lady, you are aware that I am, in fact, of the Rider class, correct? You need not another means of transport while I am around for I am strong enough to carry you and my mount swift enough to take you to where you desire. Besides, I do not approve of petty thievery. We are masters and servants after all. Would you have us stoop to such a level?"

[eclipse]

"I'll take it from here," Lancer said. One of the store employees busied herself with clothes on a rack. Various shoppers walked by, intent on everything but the entrance to the dressing rooms. She watched as another woman called out to the employee, who hastily turned around. Lancer didn't care about what the two discussed, but saw her opportunity when the woman walked out of the dressing rooms, employee in tow. She reappeared long enough to take the clothes from Levi's hands. "You'll attract far too much attention in the dressing rooms. Pretend you're waiting for your mother or something." Before her master could reply, she scurried off.

The dressing rooms themselves consisted of a line of closed doors, none of which reached the floor. The first two doors had feet under them - they were occupied. The third and fourth ones appeared to be empty. Lancer pushed down on the knob, only to find that the door was locked. The longer I stand here, the more likely either of us will be discovered. She regarded both the space between the door and the floor, and her new form. With an exaggerated exhale, she shimmied under the space. Once inside, she reappeared, stripped down, and gazed into the mirror for a few moments.

Hazel eyes with full lids stared back at her, followed by cheekbones which were lower and softer than she remembered. Her nose was more pronounced, and her lips - ah, not like she'd focused on that in her previous life. Blue hair framed her face, and trailed down to her chest. Her arms were more slender, and softer than she cared for, and past her too-narrow shoulders - ugh. She'd grown accustomed to her hips as she walked around the store. She looked and her legs, and smiled. Both her thighs and calves were well-toned, and she'd felt no discomfort so far.

The first top didn't quite button up. The second one did, and Lancer took a deep breath. This one will do nicely. Though she hadn't said anything to Levi, she was fond of the floral pattern - it reminded her of a more familiar time, one where beautiful flowers were appreciated. She tried the pants on, and nodded in approval. The waistband was snug, but not tight, and they didn't restrict her movement. In a few moments, she put her old clothes on, went invisible--

--and stifled a yelp as the door opened. It was the woman from earlier, and she held several frilly articles. Lancer shrunk into a corner, and hoped that the new occupant wouldn't notice. This woman was past her prime. The cloying perfume that the woman wore made Lancer's head spin, and it took all the mental discipline she'd learned in her previous life to stay silent. More importantly, the spirit got a very. . .good view of the woman as she stripped to the waist, then put on one of the things she'd brought with her. Lancer's eyes widened as the woman jumped up and down in the odd garment - this was perfect! I could use one of those things, but must they be bright red and fancy? It looks so very itchy. The spirit blanched as the woman stripped completely, then put on another garment. This passes for underwear? Her rear end is exposed! Once again, Lancer summoned her mental fortitude, as knowledge of what that new article of clothing flooded her mind. Much to her relief, something more. . .practical and modest seemed to be available. I wonder how much Levi will enjoy underwear shopping.

Lancer stayed put a few moments after the woman vacated, then allowed herself a shaky sigh of relief. The previous occupant had left one of the tops bras, I believe they're called in the room. A terrible idea entered Lancer's mind, and before she could talk herself out of it, she'd stripped down and put the discarded garment on. The lower band felt loose, but the rest of her was neatly contained. They probably come in different sizes. With the black bra as a guide, Lancer shimmied out from under the door - had anyone been in the hallway, they would've noticed an otherwise locked door opening on its own.

"The shirt with the flowers fit, and both pants did, as well," Lancer said, reappearing just long enough to put everything in Levi's hands. "And, uh, this black thing was left in the dressing room. It's a little loose on the bottom, but it otherwise fits. Can we get more of those here?"

[Bluedoom]

"Rider, don't be so foolish! Mounting your steed and running about in Fuyuki City would be a dead giveaway of our identity! We need something else, and I do not mind stealing someone's vehicle if the situation requires it, which it does now. Besides, the owner won't even know that I stole their vehicle; all I ask is for you to agree with me on this matter!" Nathalie replied indignantly, crossing her arms. His chivalry was not required at this point in time.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Bluedoom

[Snowy_One]

"Though I could seek to shame you by asking why you have chosen to make your first act as master petty thievery, I am more curious as to how you so happen to know how this person you are proposing to steal from won't miss it. Even the most well-off of merchants, though they may not miss an apple, will notice a horse or cart gone after all. Regardless, though it upsets me to resort to such measures, I know full-well that opposing you will only result in the waste of a command seal or a waste of trust, both of which are far more valuable. Though, should you continue to resort to theft and its kin, I will have to discipline you like any father to an errant daughter should."

[Ace Tactician]

Levi couldn't agree more, he would stick out so badly just by being in there. He didn't get the chance to say anything as Lancer had relived him of the clothes he was holding and already went into the changing rooms. He let out a silent mental sigh of relief as he waited for Lancer to return.

He needed to take his mind off of...that section, a change in thoughts was needed. He shifted his gaze across the store towards the guys section. When was the last time he went shopping for himself? He could stand to pick out a few newer clothes for himself sometime, prehaps in darker colors given his blonde hair color. He gave one of the mannequins displaying an outfit ensemble for guys a look over. Dark wash jeans, sure, he'd wear them. The top made him frown upon seeing it was a tank top. He wasn't particularly fond of them. Now the mannequin standing across from the one he was currently looking at wore black jacket and a white shirt with a interesting logo along with the word "ZOMG" at the bottom. He cracked an amused grin reading the word.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by Lancer's return. He smiled upon hearing the beige top and both pants fit well, given he took a guess with sizing so it wasn't too much of a surprise that one article didn't fit. He was made aware of the hangers his fingers held once again along with an additional item. His gaze drifted to the new addition and it took all his willpower to not flush bright red this time upon looking at it's tag. Upon reading the size noted on the tag, his amused grin returned, "Heh, this is going to feel like shopping for Mother. I can find a few more like this one, I am in the correct section for them." He mused in a hushed voice. How many to get? It seemed like women would buy these in bulk. Were they that important to women? He assumed so as he thumbed through a nearby rack for a few more like the black one Lancer came back with. Of course, it seemed like most of the rack was overly frilly and fancy.

There. Behind the red one was a beige one, same size as the black one. He pulled that one off the rack, which was followed by a white one a few seconds later. Before he could look for another one, one of the cashiers crossed his line of sight as she attempted to return to her station and in her haste, tripping and falling foward towards the floor. Rather than let her face plant onto the floor, he moved to catch her while balancing the hangers he held. Though when he saw what was on the rack in front of him, he again mustered up his willpower to not flush bright red. (Heh, the 'other' essential for women.) Levi mused silently as the young female employee regained her bearings after being saved from an awkward fall. "Thank you. I stumbled and..."

"Um... Those for a girlfriend...?" She felt nervous asking him why he was carrying women's clothing. Levi figured this was going to happen sooner or later so he gave her a tranquil smile before saying, "No. I'm shopping for my Mother." The girl gave an awkward smile, feeling a little foolish inside for assuming he had a girlfriend. "If your ready to check out, I can ring you up on register 4," She said to him before hurrying off to said register. Levi supposed if there wasn't anything else Lancer saw of interest, he may as well head towards the registers to pay for his purchases.

[eclipse]

Girlfriend, huh. "Let's go before that girl gets any more weird ideas," Lancer whispered to Levi. "And that was a pretty good cover story. Last thing I need are a proper set of shoes." While Levi was busy being. . .chivalrous, Lancer took note of a passing woman's hair. It was neatly coiled up, and held in place by a long, thin hair pin. A pen should work, and Levi probably has some at home. To pass the time, Lancer twisted her hair to and fro, in an attempt to mimic the bun she saw earlier. If I can just get it to stay up!

[Ace Tactician]

"People are more inclined to believe what you tell him if you say it with a smile," Levi whispered back grinning. He then turned his attention to the shoe section, glad to finally be away from the section he was currently in. As he scanned through the shoe choices on display for women for a choice that preferably didn't look uncomfortable to stand in. Which brought his thoughts back to why most of the shoes on display had some kind of spike heel to them, high or low heeled. He gave a blue sandal a good look over since it was a platform heel style rather than an spike heel style. (Aren't there more choices without heels than this?) Levi thought noting the number of high heels on display.

[eclipse]

Oh my.

Unlike the other departments, the shoe section featured everything Lancer didn't want in a shoe, in some way, shape, or form. This one look like it would be too tight around my toes. This one has a stupidly high heel. And this one is a shade of orange that would make a ripe tangerine jealous. Society has terrible taste in footwear. She measured out the size of her foot using a strand of hair, then put it down next to the display models, noting that almost all of the shoes were too small, length-wise. Eventually, one of them looked to be almost long enough. Like every other piece of clothing in this world, there's probably some number or other that designates how big it is. The manufacturer was kind enough to place the size on the heel of the otherwise abominable piece of footwear. She wandered over to a corner of the shoe section, and arched an eyebrow at the shoe that faced her. One sturdy-looking beige strap wound around near the toe of the shoe, with another set in back, to keep the sandal from falling off. She kept a childish giggle to herself, as she noted the entire shoe was elevated less than an inch off of the ground. Oh, perhaps all hope for this society isn't lost. She quickly found Levi, and motioned him towards the sensible shoe. "I like this one, but the display model is far too small. Is there a size eight or so available?"

[Ace Tactician]

Levi took note of the beige sandal Lancer pointed out to him and scanned the stack of shoe boxes for a size eight shoe. "Smaller sizes are often used as the display model due those kind of sizes being uncommon among today's population," Levi mused in a hushed voice while box hunting. He found the necessary box second from the bottom which required him to take off the three boxes on top of it so he wouldn't cause the stack to fall over, and then putting the boxes back in their places after removing the size eight box.

Everything was in order which just left paying for his purchases. Carrying everything over to register four was quite the balancing act given he was holding onto six clothing hangers and a shoe box. While the cashier from earlier rang up his purchases, Levi thumbed through his wallet for the required amount of cash for the transaction. When the cashier informed him what his total was, Levi smirked in amusement. (Just barely have enough cash on hand for this. Anymore and I would have to pull out my debit card. Do women spend this much on clothing for themselves?) He mused silently as he paid the cashier for his purchases, which she bagged up for easier transport back to the house.

Which left the question of what he was going to do next now that the clothes shopping was taken care of. (I should head back to the house and plan my next move from there.) Levi thought before another thought crossed his mind. He was now legitimately curious to see how Lancer would look in the outfit he just purchased. He had to admit, he hadn't had that kind of thought cross his mind until now.

[eclipse]

Huh. Well, it looks like he had enough for the purchases. Lancer looked down at her current "clothes", and shook her head. She looked like an out-of-date relic, not someone whose name had been known far and wide through the land. "Hey, is there somewhere where I can change?" she whispered, once they were away from the worst of the crowds. "It'll be less stuff for you to carry," she added hastily.

[Ace Tactician]

He looked for a place that would be the safest bet for Lancer to change clothes. "That cafe down the way has restrooms you could borrow for a quick changing room. Especially since you can lock the door to prevent unwanted walk ins," Levi replied while pointing out said cafe from where they were standing now. He had been there before to grab hot tea so he was familiar with the interior of the cafe. He figured he could grab something while waiting for Lancer, or just browse like he was considering buying something.

[eclipse]

"Understood."

The restrooms were deserted, just like the dressing rooms were. She went inside, locked the door, and dressed herself, ripping off the price tags as she went. The plastic wasn't wont to give in the middle, but a quick tug proved that the joints of the plastic were weak. Once she'd put everything on, she reappeared. It wouldn't do to have someone walk in, and find a locked door with no feet underneath!

Like most bathrooms, this one featured a mirror above the sink. Lancer discarded her trash, and took a good look at her hair. She hadn't been able to keep her hair up while waiting for Levi to pay at the clothing store. She attempted her bun again, miffed that several strands of hair freed themselves as she twisted it. Once she had it up in some semblance of a bun, half of it fell out. Oh, what is this? Off to the side, someone had left a magazine on the counter. The fashion doesn't concern me, but what's this thing? Twitter? Hmm, perhaps this 'Twitter' will have more information about how to do my hair. She ran her fingers through her hair, before leaving the bathroom. Now, where'd Levi go?

[Ace Tactician]

Levi had been browsing the café's baked goods case before deciding to pull out his debit card to buy a hot tea to go just as Lancer reemerged in her new outfit. He smiled, "You look good in those clothes." He mentally noted that his mother had a stash of all sorts of things used to keep her long hair out of her face in daily life. (I should bring out Mother's small collection of hair implements once we're back home. Having long hair flying around loosely in a combat situation would be more than likely be rather troublesome.) Plus he could plan out his next move since it appeared that there weren't any other masters around the Shopping District. He finished his hot tea, tossing the empty cup in the nearby trash can, "Shall we be on our way?" He asked Lancer while fishing out his motorcycle keys.

[eclipse]

"Alright. I don't think one starts off this sort of endeavor with clothes shopping." Once out of the shop, she quickly glanced around before fading out of view. "Just in case someone else decided to go clothes shopping."

[Nanami Touko]

"Good," Kouichi said plainly, as the clothes were agreed upon, nodding towards Stan. "See that you do. Yulia, I will require you here tomorrow at seven in the morning. We'll have to make preparations for contacting the Masters to make ourselves known. I'll see you then." He nodded, and turned to return back to his office. He didn't have anything else to say, and he'd have to make his own preparations, as well as a way to contact them without having to reveal them to the others. Now, what way is best, for that... Hmm, I have one idea...

----------

Morning - 7:00 AM

[spoiler=Time Skips]Hey there, Trent here with a little explanation of how we'll be doing time, now that people are all nice and situated. Either Ether or myself will be skipping periods of the day, between Morning, Afternoon, Evening and probably Night, so that we have a sense of time going along with this. We'd ask that no one do any huge time skips because of this, so that everyone can stick to a similar time frame.

[spoiler=This TS]This TS, since it's the first one, shall just be going to the morning of the next day. Everyone can take the time in their next post to wrap up anything necessary from previous conversations and get started on their mornings. Kouichi will be doing something that will involve the other masters, so pay attention to his next few posts!

With the preparations in place, and the familiars set, Kouichi waited almost eagerly for Yulia to arrive. They had to decide on what sort of message to send out to the other masters, and unfortunately for the both of them, he might have to ask her about that... His vernacular wasn't especially suited to addressing groups formally, so perhaps she had an idea. Hmm. She's a bit late, though. Well, it's early, so I suppose it isn't that much of a problem. I hope all of this war's Masters have summoned their servants, already.

With the magical creatures set, he sat down in his chair, crossed his legs, and let himself get lost in his thoughts again. Part of him wondered if any of the Masters would come to meet with them of their own volition... Not that he expected any would. It was an amusing way to pass the time, at least.

[Phoenix]

The car came to a sudden stop as Yulia hit the brakes. It was her least graceful parking maneuver in the thing to date, but she was in quite a rush. She was alone this time, and stepped out of the car with a cup of coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. She quickly pocketed the device after sending off a text and set the coffee on the roof. After retrieving a duffel bag from the backseat, she locked up the car, grabbed her coffee, and made for the chapel at a brisk pace. She quietly opened the front door, though she suspected the shriek of the tires from a few moments ago had already alerted Kouichi.

"Morning," she said as she stepped inside and gently shut the door behind her. She was wearing the priest jacket along with its iconic white collar, but everything beneath was her usual attire, minus the cropped jacket she normally sported. She didn't think she could make the priest look work anyway, so she didn't even make an attempt. "It's just me for now," but I've got a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of my free time here until this war is over. I figured I'd bring some stuff to keep me busy.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Phoenix