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[shirtlesspersona]

I'm dreamin'...

[ The view is a little hazy at first, like maybe someone's finger was on the camera lens. Actually, his finger is still over the lens, the device just doesn't pick it up. ]

Spiritcrest.. wouldn't fit... [ The bluring moves away and.. What he means by that is pretty clear. There's the bed, sitting out atop a really tall mountain by the clouds nearby. ]

Or'm actually dead...

[ He doesn't.. sound terribly put out by that thought. ]

Comments

[heritrix]

["That prize better be fantastic."

She's clearly trying not to chuckle here, but no, she doesn't say. Only traces lines in the mountain earth at his bedside with the tip of her shoe, and marvels at how real it feels.]

A few bad apples don't outweigh the majority, do they? To make it into history books at all speaks for how highly these Shepherds are viewed.

[And with names like shepherds and seraphim, they'd have to be. Rin imagines those ones who caused more hardships were absolutely scandalous.]

If that made you think of another matter, however, and find it quite laughable, could it be you're something of a black sheep, Zaveid?

[...Please don't tell Sans she's making puns.]

[shirtlesspersona]

... Given a Shepherd united the continent I was hanging around last, and brought on one of the better periods of peace? [ ... Yeah, usually they're pretty great. ]

It depends on the times. Shepherds save people. But people don't always like the people being saved. [ A shrug. Y'know how humans are, right, Rin?

Tell on someone making puns? Why would he ever do that? But there's a bit of a lightening up to him - he looks a little more lively, even if there's no magical upswing to go with it. ]

Well, maybe my Shepherd sheared a bunch of that away. [ And if he stretches his legs out - low riding black pants and all, it is totally unrelated. Right. ]

[heritrix]

[She thought she did. And then she met Shirou Emiya. There's someone who just doesn't get how people are, for better or worse. Either because thinking of him alone puts her mood in higher spirits, or because Zaveid's joke really is that charming — or perhaps any measure of the two — Rin laughs lightly at that into her hand. Then:]

You think highly of him, don't you?

[shirtlesspersona]

[ He's silent for a bit. ]

Yeah. Kid helped me keep a tricky promise. Didn't know anythin' about why I was doin' what I was until about five minutes prior, still backed me up without question. [ He laughs too, looking sort of distant. ]

Or maybe he's too sweet. Like a puppy or something.

[heritrix]

Oh, that type. [Still smiling, Rin raises a finger.] The kind that spin everything you know about people on its head, and you never know if they're the best or the worst for it.

[She knows someone like that. Or well, she'd refuse the idea anyone could be just like Shirou, reminded of him or not. That's no way to get a measure of a stranger. But it's enough, she thinks, to feel confident giving her next response.]

If he's like that, he'd want you to take care of yourself, you know.

[shirtlesspersona]

[ Zaveid flinches exaggeratedly. ]

Low blow from Lady Rin~

[ He laughs, looking away. ]

Not far off, though. He'd probably even be happy I knew how to break the pact, even if it means he's weaker for a bit.

[heritrix]

[What can she say? She only strikes where it counts.]

Time works differently here.

[Dropping her arms, she leans back on one, and glances shortly at the seals on the back of her right hand once more. It's become a habit, to confirm this theory of hers — make it more than a theory, but a guarantee in both fact and heart.]

I would bet you good money he wouldn't feel it at all, until either the moment you returned to your world, or if he were to come here instead. At which point, [she snaps her fingers] it would only be as long as it takes to renew your pact.

[shirtlesspersona]

I'd noticed. [ Don't think too hard on the grin and tone mismatch - for while all he looks like he's just 'yay, something new', his voice is kinda... low and serious.

Don't mind him, he's... memory, and all that. ]

Yeah, goin' home would make that pretty easily fixed. [ ... if-

But he's stubborn, and old, and gets pretty easily set in his ways. ]

... Kinda wanna try to kick it on m'own though. You've given me an idea.

[heritrix]

An idea?

[shirtlesspersona]

Yeah. Mana's making me feel a bit better, right?

[ Look, you asked, so- ]

I get mana from eatin'. Gunna go stuff my face.

[ ... no one said it was a brilliant idea. ]

[heritrix]

[...Zaveid, plz.]

Here I thought you were onto something profound.

[SO UNIMPRESSED, SIR. But not bothered, as she pushed off the bed and back to her feet.]

That will only get you so far, but it's better than nothing. Especially if you had Sanji cooking.

[shirtlesspersona]

.. Yeah, probably a better idea t'trade dishes for food off him. Making my own food would probably just sort'a even out, if I went for the fancy stuff.

[ Sanji's not the only one with somewhat magic food, Rin. ]

[heritrix]

[She's not left out of that loop either anymore! Though at this point in the timeline, she'd only learned so much from Sanji on his special recipes. She's a girl, so she'd probably be forgiven, but when a chef takes his food as seriously as she does her magecraft, she knows better than to try something she's not ready for.

Besides, something he said reminded her of another time.]

Like that ice cream?

[shirtlesspersona]

Sure, like the ice cream.

[ There's a tiny bit of magic in the ice cream, so yeah, it wouldn't be a good idea for him to make a bunch of that. ]

Or like strawberry shortcake, cause that's trickier to make and does more.

[heritrix]

I thought there was something different about it...

[She says with the air of the curious. That's neat to know, for the future. For now, Rin sets to pick up any dishes left here (if that comment was a literal one).]

None of that, for now. It's a waste when you can get a return on energy for no cost. On my way out, I'll tell Sanji to bring you something good. Try to be upright then, alright?

[shirtlesspersona]

Yeah, it's usually no trouble to put a little magic in them, but.. [ Given how he's a leaky bucket at the moment, when it comes to magic... ]

I was gunna grab an apple and maybe some jerky or something.

.... Thanks.