Quick to Descend

[toomuchbull]

from here

Rider's form comes back to Chiyo's side, but one he's there and material again he takes great care to stand and put distance between them. There is nothing in Rider's body but raw anger now, anger that makes him shake and choke on his own words, beyond letting out a thundering, "What was that for?!" If the rest of the Tohsaka house wakes, so be it. Let them see this.

Comments

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo doesn't let herself recoil from the volume of Rider's voice, and instead replies with an even. "That was to keep us in this war, and to prevent you from ruining everything we have set out to achieve." As expected, the dog bites at the leash.

[toomuchbull]

"You had me withdraw!" Damn waking the entire house, damn letting all and sundry know about this war, let them hear this. "And you had me do so against my will, while you sat in this house, skulking in the shadows."

[eien_no_chou]

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but you weren't making any progress. In fact, if I had left you, he would have bested you. I cannot allow that," she inclines her head. Likely his opponent can hear him from here. She should have known that Sanada Yukimura would be a tough one to beat, but this was...

She didn't know if perhaps Rider did it on purpose - he enjoyed fighting more than victory itself - or whether she wasn't supplying him with enough power in order for him to overpower his opponent. Perhaps she needed to be less conservative with her prana.

"Besides, I did give you the option of coming back on your own. You simply didn't take it, and forced my hand." Somewhat literally, she thinks, rubbing her thumb over the faded section of the command seals.

[toomuchbull]

"I needed healing, not to be recalled," Rider snaps, turning to show the shoulder wound that is still bleeding. "Had you been there physically, the thing could have been seen to and I could have kept going."

And that was really the problem - the armor that had become a part of Enkidu's legend was only leather and bronze that protected his legs, forearms, and a part of his back. His shoulders had been left bare and thus all too vulnerable, with no means of changing the equipment. It was to Rider's distaste that the need for Tohsaka to stand beside him in a fight revealed itself in this way, and he grimaces at that unwanted truth.

[eien_no_chou]

He's going to bleed everywhere again. Who knew having a Servant was so messy? "You assume your opponent wouldn't attack me to prevent such a thing." Though, with a legendary man like Yukimura, his honourable nature may well have enabled that action. Other servants and masters, however, may not be so gracious. However - looking at Rider, at his anger, at his particular quarrel with the issue, at his own legend where he had entered battle with a companion... she would have to consider it. "I would do so, were I certain you cared to protect me." Their mutual dislike was no secret. No doubt Rider would enjoy seeing her bleed.

[toomuchbull]

"What, are you not competent enough to defend yourself?!" Rider snaps. He doesn't actually care about the answer, nor is he comfortable with the idea of a woman who treats him as no more a useful pet but -- well, this walking away from a fight nonsense cannot come to pass either. "Hide in your shadows close then, build your wards, whatever you use!"

[eien_no_chou]

"I am plenty competent at self defense! But while you were out playing, things became a little more complicated here!" she snaps back at him. "A priest has come to the city, and he's looking to interfere in the war. I have convinced him I have no part in it, aside from a helpless bystander watching her city used as a battleground. He will be very useful in eliminating our enemies with minimal effort on our part. Therefore I now must participate in even higher secrecy than before."

Higher secrecy... the thought makes her pause for a moment. As much as she enjoys manipulating the actors from backstage, she also has her own role to play. If Rider is going to make such a huge fuss over her not going into battle with him, then maybe she should find some way of concealing herself in plain sight.

[toomuchbull]

"Screw the priest!" Okay, Rider's done that once before, and this priest likely isn't as attractive as Shamhat. "And forget secrecy, there's no need for it. If he's found you he'll find others and -- wait, why is religion even an issue here?"

[eien_no_chou]

"Because the Church sees the grail wars as an abomination, sacrilege. We are fighting for the holy grail, after all," she inclines her head. "And he may be a priest, but he is as dangerous and skilled as any mage. It's easy to tell from his manner. It took a fair amount of caution to conceal my command seals."

[toomuchbull]

"So let the war take him as a casualty and be done with it," Rider offers coldly. "This does not resolve the matter with Lancer. You realize he likely thinks less of me for being forced back here, correct?"

[eien_no_chou]

Oh honestly. It's all she can do not to roll her eyes. "I forced you back, if anything he may think less of me. With all the noise you've been making he can probably hear your displeasure."

[toomuchbull]

"It is worth airing to all and sundry."

[eien_no_chou]

That he thought so is obvious. Upstairs, she can hear shifting, like someone is sneaking down the hall. She's have been more shocked if everyone had slept through this. "Enough of this circular argument. I will heal you and we can speak more rationally on the matter tomorrow, when tempers have cooled and your wounded pride has recovered." Mind, healing would take a little longer, considering there are a fair few more wounds than last time, and considerably deeper.

[toomuchbull]

"Perhaps you should practice doing so at a distance," Rider offers coldly. It's something that probably is worth practicing and he's sure that Chiyo knows full well how much he desires her hands on him at the moment.

[eien_no_chou]

She could strangle him. It wouldn't do any good for anything but her own satisfaction, but she could strangle him for being constantly flippant. "Fine," she grits out between her teeth, snatching the butterfly pin out of her hair and clenching her fist around it as though she had full intent to stab his eyes out with it. He's made of her prana, and healing with hands on was accelerated anyway so perhaps...

[toomuchbull]

It isn't instant and the sensation of flesh being slowly knitted back together is not one that Rider enjoys, but for the shallow wounds it works. Rider straightens a little with the sensation of his back no longer aching from spear scratches, and while -- ah, that leg and shoulder need more more, still.

[eien_no_chou]

A sigh escapes Chiyo as she relents with her healing. Well it did something at least, but some of the more major wounds were still present, if slightly more shallow. She flexes her grip on the hairpin, and considers whether using any more of the prana stored within would be a good idea.

[toomuchbull]

"Keep trying," Rider mutters. "If this works then you have little need to trail after me in a fight."

[eien_no_chou]

Chiyo takes a marginal step forward, and renews her efforts. The wings of the butterfly on her pin come alive, fluttering, increasing in intensity in time with Chiyo's prana. Her jaw clenches in concentration. She won't be beaten by some silly scratches.

[toomuchbull]

The thigh wound heals with a few more passing moments, but Rider lets out a miserable sigh when it's clear his shoulder will not do the same. "That's progress, at least," he murmurs dryly, more than any other progress he's managed today.

[eien_no_chou]

This is enough - any more will drain reserves past the point of safety. Rider's shoulder wound is clearly as stubborn as he is, and she's getting tired. She tucks the pin back into her hair, the wings of the butterfly stilling once more. "It will have to do for now," she concedes. A curt nod of her head is all she affords him. "Good night, Rider."

[toomuchbull]

Rider's only reply is a annoyed mutter that might be good night or might be go throw yourself off a cliff. There's no point in lingering, and he sees himself out.

[eien_no_chou]

Rider's noise has indeed woken the house, though most resolve to go back to sleep. Most, but not all. He could be faulted for being too curious, and if his mother caught him she'd give him an awful scolding. Regardless, Satoshi Tohsaka used all the stealth his 11 year old body could muster to sneak down the hall, past his mother's room, and down the stairs to find the mysterious man she'd been associating with the past two weeks.

[toomuchbull]

Rider knows that taking spirit form is the smart thing to do right now - it's less of a prana demand and he might heal faster - but he is still angry and in physical form he can release it. The farm then. Horses. Wilderness. Familiarity. Small child.

--oh. He sighs, pausing to look down at Chiyo's youngest. "Yes?"

[eien_no_chou]

For a moment Satoshi recoils, shy under the sudden scrutiny of this man. Then he notices the cuts and scrapes, particularly the big one on his shoulder. Swallowing fear, he whispers, careful not to draw his mother's attention. "Are you okay?"

[toomuchbull]

"Yes."

Of the precious few things that Rider and Chiyo did agree on, beyond using the city as a battleground itself, was that the two remaining Tohsaka offspring that resided in the house were to remain wholly ignorant of the Grail War and to that effect, Rider had maintained care to not so much as manifest in front of either one of them. And now, well, one more cock up to the long list today.

[eien_no_chou]

In truth, Satoshi is more observant than anyone gives him credit for. He's seen this strange shirtless man before, from two rooms over, or out of a window, but has had neither the opportunity nor the courage to go up to him before. But here he is now, and all he can do is worry that maybe his mother did something to hurt him. He was yelling at her after all.

"Um, are you really sure?" he asks, tentatively, not really wanting to be a pest. "I'm sorry about okaa-san..."

[toomuchbull]

"I am," Rider says, restraining himself from offering his real opinion on Chiyo at the moment. He could elect to fade into spirit form now and be done with it - god knows what the armor he has on is implying to this child - but he doesn't know what the boy's assessment is and Rider will not confirm or deny his own supernatural nature right now.

[eien_no_chou]

The strange manner of dress and armor is certainly intriguing to Satoshi, and now his gaze has moved from the cuts to that instead, inspecting the nicks and scrapes that come from battle. His eleven year old brow creases in thought and he looks up to Rider's face again.

"Are you Yakuza?" he asks in a hushed whisper.

[toomuchbull]

Whatever that is, Rider is sure it's an amusing comparison. "Definitely not - whatever that is. You should head back to bed."

[eien_no_chou]

Satoshi's head dips down, embarrassed. "I know, sorry, I guess I'm bothering you. You probably want to go to bed too, right?" Swallowing, he balls up his last bit of courage. "I-it's been nice to meet you, though. I'm Satoshi."

[toomuchbull]

"I'm probably half the reason why you're up," Rider admits, not feeling particularly guilty about that fact. "So consider us even on the bothering thing."

[eien_no_chou]

"Okay," Satoshi smiles a little. This man can't be Yakuza after all. He doesn't even have a sword, and Asuka said Yakuza always carried swords. "So, um, what's your name, sir?"

[toomuchbull]

In theory, Enkidu could give his real name with no consequence, but there's no guaranteeing that the other contestants in the war will maintain the Tohsaka stance on not involving children in the matter. So he forces a small smile down at Satoshi. "Rider."

He takes a few steps down the hall as well, hoping that he might be able to prompt the boy back to bed while appearing to drive off himself.

[eien_no_chou]

Satoshi watches him go, turning over the strange name in his mind, but feeling a happy warmth in his chest all the same. He'd done it, he'd finally talked to him, he'd...

... stayed up way too late. A yawn cuts off the rest of his thoughts, and even though Rider is pretty much out of sight, he still says, as loud as he dareds, "Good night!" before escaping back up the stairs.

[toomuchbull]

Rider opens the creaking garage door in response, lingering there until the sound of tiny footsteps racing back up the steps fade. That's Rider's cue as well, and he makes sure to close the door before fading back into spirit form. It's been a long night, and servants don't sleep - they only rest, and for once, rest is something Rider truly needs.