CATHARSIS is a non-canon OC fate/series site, loosely based off of fate/apocrypha. Knowledge of the fate/series canon is helpful, but knowledge of fate/apocrypha isn't needed!
Post by Altai-Erdene Nergülgiin on Aug 4, 2014 16:31:39 GMT
"Hey," Altai said to the one person in this godforsaken place that was not obviously a master or a servant. He wasn't a servant anyway; Altai wasn't actually too sure on how well he could pick out masters.
They were in a room deep underground, somewhere below the lake where the Holy Grail was kept secret and safe. Less secret now than it had been, of course, before the Yggdmillenias announced they had it. Still safe though, and even Altai's poor skills could detect the presence of the magic that radiated through the area.
He felt more cooped up and trapped than he did safe. He felt like, for lack of a better word, a pet dog. Sit. Stay. Good boy.
He felt like leaving, and he was going to do just that. It wasn't like the door was locked from the inside.
It seemed like the participants of the Holy Grail War on the Yggdmillenia side were out for the night. They were probably participating in the Holy Grail War, like Altai was supposed to. Good for them. Good for him too; that meant there was no one to stop him from leaving.
"Want to go?" Altai asked, tilting his head towards the door. "Because I'm going, and I need someone to throw under the bus in case I get caught."
He hesitated a second. He added, "Or company. I could use company too."
Post by Lemuel Yggdmillenia on Aug 5, 2014 1:27:24 GMT
Sitting in front of the Grail seemed to be something he could do for hours without any response. It's not as though he required human necessities. Eating was optional. Sleeping was optional. If he so chose to sit and stare, he could do so until cobwebs chose to nip and bite at him.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), he was gifted with a mind of his own. The ability to choose what he wanted to do (which was anything but sitting around and counting the days until he was spent) was a gift he was given in that sack of magic circuits he was composed.
It wasn't like he was the only one left in this place, at least; a human master was here as well. (And so was a servant.) The boy didn't seem all too pleased about being her, understandably so, and his offer was actually appealing. (You know, ignoring the whole 'throw under the bus' quip.) He merely stared at Altai for a moment, mentally weighting all the pros and cons as he stood. Well, one way or another, he was going to kick the bucket, might as well go down with a bang if he had. Never mind that the Team is likely not to let him.
" ... Sure."
They wouldn't get caught, maybe not right away if they were careful. Even if they had, they'd be careful. There's plenty of them and plenty of distractions they could use if they were to get in any trouble.
Post by Altai-Erdene Nergülgiin on Aug 5, 2014 10:11:24 GMT
As soon as Lemuel agreed, Altai nodded and turned to the door. He opened it quietly, although there didn't seem like there was anyone about to overhear. He beckoned Lemuel through, and although he couldn't latch the door shut again from the outside
"Nowhere specific. Any place but here."
If anyone did notice them, they didn't stop them, because Altai made his way to the exit without any problems. He didn't talk much along the way, though he looked back often to make sure he hadn't lost Lemuel somewhere along the way. He was to preoccupied trying to remember the way out to make small talk, and he didn't feel like making small talk anyway.
They ended up using a side exit, spitting them out somewhere Altai didn't recognize. Altai couldn't actually find the main entrance and ended up wandering a wing before he found a door leading outside. Good enough, he figured.
"You don't die if you go outside right?" Altai asked, out of the blue. It was too late for such a question, of course. "You're not hiding under the lake because you're allergic to air or something?"
Post by General Meng Tian on Aug 5, 2014 17:18:07 GMT
When Meng Tian had first been summoned to the modern world less than a day ago, he had not expected his father to attempt to spend time with him (beating practice dummies with swords, no less). It was not exactly the way he had been intending to spend his time, but he had to humor the old man. At least for a time.
“As much as I enjoy this training, father, I do believe I hear his Imperial Majesty calling for me,” he lied with practiced grace; the emperor was (presumably) still resting comfortably, not to be disturbed. Before Wu could get a word in edgewise, Tian had already dissipated his sword back to dust and bowed out, slipping back through the Yggdmilennia headquarters as fast as his feet could carry him, a fox familiar trotting at his heels.
The halls became more familiar the more he walked them, but the headquarters tended to remain the same. It was boring. Even though Caster had not given him much to do, he was not to venture outside without Wu’s accompaniment. Still, when he noticed one of the side exits opening, it piqued his curiosity and he followed without giving a lot of thought to the consequences.
“It would be a poor design for a homunculus to be allergic to air, don’t you think?” Tian pushed through the door after his teammates, giving a casual wave and a friendly smile as a greeting. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he managed to recognize them as the Master of Rider and the homunculus that spent time near the Grail. Neither had been considered much of a threat during his initial survey of the Black Faction, so there didn’t seem any harm in talking to them. “Are you two going somewhere? I've really been meaning to check out the food in town, but I can never really get away.” He laughed lightly with a wink, motioning for his familiar to go back inside and give Zheng the message that he would be heading out, and to send a fox if he was needed.
“Onwards, then? We should get going before someone realizes that you two are gone.”
Post by Lemuel Yggdmillenia on Aug 12, 2014 13:35:43 GMT
It was a good thing that Altai made sure that Lemuel was behind, not because he was going to wander off but because he was dawdling. He was taking note of their surroundings, having been so long he'd left the grounds in the first place -- or any other grounds, actually. His attention only flickered back to Altai when they managed to get out and even then he simply stared at the other long enough for another to jump in.
Oh.
Meng Tian.
Thank Goodness. Who knows what would have happened if it were anyone else.
"It would be," he agreed, following it up with a nod. Survival was one of the only things the boy had in mind, up until the point he was needed, of course, even with the ounce of curiosity he had about the outside. So long as it were only the three of them (he doubted that Meng Tian would leave them be after catching them like this) traveling together, he was assured that they would be fine. Two powerful magus (well, technically) and a homunculus focused far too much on staring at the grail for days on end, just what on Earth could go wrong?
Once the sun met their skin, he had to shield his eyes. Natural light -- even at this time - could be quite harmful, blinding even ... which was what it was for him for a while. "We ..." He looked back to Rider's master before continuing, "wanted to get some air, but I haven't had anything to eat since I came here." Not that he required food in the first place. All he needed was prana to survive. Not even air (possibly, but he didn't want to try that out).
Post by Altai-Erdene Nergülgiin on Aug 16, 2014 8:35:39 GMT
"Who the fuck are you?" Altai said more than asked, a little grouchy but less seething than usual. He didn't know Lemuel's name either, and it didn't seem like Meng Tian's name mattered any more than Lemuel's did. Still, being this close to outside of the Yggdmillenia shrine put him in a good mood--as good as it got for Altai, anyway. "And what the fuck are you doing here?"
It was too late to not be seen, and convincing the stranger that he hadn't seem them seemed unlikely. Honestly, it was wisest for him to bring Meng Tian along with them. As long as he was with them, he wouldn't be able to let anyone else know that they'd left. Normally, that would be the case anyway. Altai still wasn't in the habit of remembering about such things as familiars delivering messages.
Whatever. The pretty man could come along. It was just another person to throw under the bus with Lemuel should the need arise. Besides, Lemuel could use the company.
"I was going out, going away from everyone else here. Including you." A pause and a glance towards Lemuel. "But not including him. Apparently."
He had heard of homunculi before, and he'd heard that he would meet one too. What a homunculi was--beyond being called homunculi--was mostly beyond him. Altai shrugged. "There must be something poorly designed about him, otherwise he wouldn't be holed up with me and the fancy cup."
The fresh air outside was a welcome presence, much moreso than either of his companions. He looked around and wondered if there was a good place to slip away from their third wheel.
Post by General Meng Wu on Aug 17, 2014 4:58:28 GMT
Fourth wheel.
"What is going on here?"
For a man his size, he had done an exceptionally well job hiding his presence to simply be able to walk up behind the trio of boys - two boys and one man behaving like a child. Wu personally believed it was not a testament to some sort of cowardly, utterly useless skill. Children of this era were lacking in discipline. Tian, who had ran off from their training with an excuse that insulted Wu's intelligence, was fitting perfectly right in.
But Wu did not appear to have followed Tian out for a sermon. He had barely glanced at Tian and was scrutinizing the homunculus boy with a gaze worth the volume of Ningwa Lake. He was informed that this child was special. Wasn't there an instruction to keep him inside and protected? Wu hummed in thought, though it had come more of a growl that wanted to bite Lemuel's head off his shoulders.
"You." Wu turned to Altai with the same intensity that looked down on him from a height of seven feet. He knew this boy too. "Where is your Servant?"
