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

[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.