hopeled

[hopeled]

" You know, somehow, owning and working at my own cafe on Valentine's isn't nearly as hectic as having to make over 200 chocolates for Servants."

and yet she still has flour and chocolate smeared on her cheeks. " At least I don't have to worry about finding somewhere to put a chocolate statue...."

[hopeled]

" It.....really has been years now, hasn't it?" words are mumbled softly as she grasps white gloves between her hands, eyebrows furrowed. " And you're all...."

[hopeled]

it's a rare but cute moment. she doesn't need to look to know Fou's tails are swishing eagerly, his small eyes following Tsubaki's movement as if she's about to offer him some bacon to snack on. and when Tsubaki finds the right pair, Ritsuka can only laugh as Fou jumps from her head to Tsubaki's shoulders, expertly moving to the side where she held the ear muffs to curiously give them a sniff. 'Kyuu!'

" Looks like he likes them." and just likes being spoiled in general if you ask her. " Mm yeah. I've known Fou for a long time. If he's not with me then he's hanging out with Mashu. He's been with us from the start."

        WELL,  now she's even more invested. With a nod she turns to reassess the display, glancing between it and Fou as if she were getting the composition right for her next painting. Running her fingers over a few, she settles on what seems like a better fit and holds them up for the creature's approval.

       ❝   Better ?  ❞ ⠀Tsubaki wonders, like any rational person would, how Ritsuka has any idea what he could possibly be saying, but somehow it also sounds accurate. 'How can you understand him' feels a little rude somehow, so instead she settles for a slightly more passive statement:       ❝   You're lucky you have such a strong connection with each other.   ❞ ⠀

[hopeled]

those have to be the cutest ear muffs she has seen for pets. not that Fou was a pet, technically speaking. Ritsuka's never too sure how to explain just what he is to anyone, so she usually opts to say he's like a fantasy creature. " I don't know if he gets cold. Usually he stays inside Mashu's shield in that special compartment." she should ask the Shielder about that, actually. " What do you think, Fou? Like them?"

on cue does the small former Beast emerge from inside the hood of her jacket, peeking over her head to observe the crafts. ' Fou.....foufou fou.'

" Maybe try a slightly bigger size? He likes to move his ears around a lot."

       ❝   That animal that's always with you... 'Fou' ? Do you think these would fit him ?  ❞ ⠀  TSUBAKI  holds up what has to be the tiniest ear muffs she's ever seen, likely intended for an infant — or maybe an actual pet. All she knows is that they're festive, with little mistletoe on the very top of the band; this Winter Fair really does have just about anything an eager customer could conjure up. As if thinking better of it, she offers an explanation with a sheepish smile.      ❝   It just seems as though his ears would get pretty cold, big as they are.   ❞ ⠀

@hopeled : an uplifting winter fair.

[hopeled]

how ironic. Ritsuka said those very words once, didn't she? her feelings toward this place have grown so complicated over the years, but that thought remains the same. answers as to why will never come so there was no point in arguing against it. still.......could this really be ignorance? she knows and he knows, to some degree. to top it off, it was as if everyone around her knew and she was the last in on the joke, one which has long since stopped being funny.

" We're both just waiting for a moment that may never be right."

it's contradictory and hypocritical. hadn't she lashed out years ago over this very thing? back then, it all had reached a boiling point. Ritsuka likes to believe she's handling it better now– a part of her may never be able to fully forgive Edmond for what he did, but it was necessary. as selfish as she was in those last moments, begging them not to go.....she had to let them go.

" It doesn't matter right now, though. " she dismisses what will trouble her in the future like clockwork, shaking her head with a sigh. far from a bleached surface she may be but habits are never far behind. " I shouldn't be dumping all of this on you. You only just got back here."

Artoria's first reaction is not refusal, and it is not disgust. it’s sadness that she struggles her lips to not fall down, leaving her with an expression that girl had been painfully used to, as if she tried to smile but the sorrow in her eyes was too genuine to muster anything but sympathy.

in a moment like this, she understood why Morgan had abandoned her mission, why Oberon had been repulsed from birth, why she had to be born to put an end to what had been left incomplete.

her role is to treat each history with the same equal indifference, but if she had burned herself into a sword, she knows her heart would have disappeared. Artoria had been right in that the planet lacked any inherent sense of warmth, if everything had gone according to plan what would have emerged would’ve been a weapon. and weapons have no need for emotions or mercy, they are meant to clean up the mess brought on their doorstep.

“The Stars’ rarely care about such things,” she repeats what Ritsuka told her years ago. it all been much simpler, when their positions were still fresh from the many truths that came soon after. “Ignorance is a bliss... for neither of you is blind.” who is it for this hiding? is it for anyone but their own heart?

[hopeled]

this guy......why I oughta– "Don't be surprised if all your lighters go missing later." she'll stash them at Mashu's house, certainly the shielder won't go letting him know that! " I know that and I am, don't worry! I haven't overdone anything in a good long while."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"I have no idea what you mean." Since the smell of alcohol was minimal-to-nonexistent, he presses on with Ritsuka caught up in her imagination. Another cigarette, already lit, meets his lips for momentary inhale. "At any rate, continue to pace yourself. You'll do just fine if you keep up moderation in all things."

[hopeled]

" I know that." she saw it every time he looked at her in those quiet, private moments or when sharing a fleeting glance during the busy hours of the cafe. before, it was welcomed. now, it burns. " I think he knows something is up. Maybe he has a suspicion that I finally found out what it was that he was hiding from me. " the reason why he kept avoiding her that day on the Storm Border, always fleeing before she could turn the corner. she just found out too late.

how ironic. in some ways, Saber was right with her suspicions but for all the wrong reasons.

" He just won't bring it up right now." wait and hope, he always says, but she can find nothing to hope for in this wait. and that's if he'll ever catch up to her. " It's been almost nine months since it happened. You know how it works here– what if he never gets those memories? I won't force what happened on him when he hasn't even done anything." yet, goes unsaid.

there is a sensation she has not felt in years, not this her. not the guardian of the holy sword, but the village girl had acutely refused to allow anyone see her disgust, her contempt towards what awaited her. when it comes to all the feelings that girl gave her, that brought her into existence, Artoria had focused on how much she loved her other self. hearing Ritsuka talk of what she’s intimately familiar gives her a bitter taste in her mouth.

how is anyone supposed to confront what is inevitable? she, no, that girl had attempted to stop another girl’s fate and failed, blaming her older sister for throwing away her duty. even now, Artoria has no idea if she should acknowledge those feelings when she doesn’t want to have grudges.

“He looks at you like you are his destiny,” she musters. that is why she is so angry on Ritsuka’s behalf, because the world asks so much from her without recompense. “Telling him would be the kinder choice… but it would be cruel.”

[hopeled]

" I can't." no time is taken to think or even consider what was said. " So much happened. It's so much more than just a sacrifice." and deep down, a part of her hated that it was even necessary. just another of the many sacrifices needed to ensure humanity could be saved. " He's.....the Avengers are gone, Artoria. All of them. They can't exist to help humanity anymore." if she listened close enough, that anger was peeking through.

" Edmond is here but he isn't here with me. Not like before." her soul lacked that smoldering flame that warmed even the darkest shadows. her dreams were peaceful, but empty. " How am I supposed to tell him that he's gone? That he left? "

does it matter what she thinks? her eyes meet Ritsuka’s with alarming precision, before looking away. the truth is always hard to swallow, and she hasn’t come that far from the one wish she had made after Britain had disappeared: her heart is still too immature to accept every lie. “Will you tell him?” that girl had suspected about her mentor’s identity near the end, but Artoria is who learned it. “Or, will you wait until he learns of his own volition?”

[hopeled]

shit. she had forgotten how perceptive caster could be. they were far too alike in a way that almost bordered on uncomfortable, as if staring in a mirror. " It's.....not what you think." a shake of her head followed by a sigh. " A lot happened and I just. Haven't told him yet. Can't tell him yet I should say."

she opens her mouth before closing it suddenly. the grimace doesn't come, but it is a close call and the next words are followed after a long pause. “Lately?” then, her voice falls into a genuine concerned tone. “Ritsuka?”

[hopeled]

yeah, there's practically a glowing neon sign right about the caster's head blinking with the name of a certain avenger. " There's been no conflict between me and the Count lately."

“Who? Me? I haven’t implied anything at all. Nothing to do with men that like to stay in their smoking corner. Nuh-uh!”

[hopeled]

" Experience.....? What are you talking about?" no, this isn't a clueless act, she genuinely doesn't know....at the moment!

“Speaking from experience?” she doesn't mention the Count because she had actually been raised with some manners. only some.

[hopeled]

" Things sure are getting rowdy before Valentine's huh? Best to get all the conflict out of the way too, you know."

[hopeled]

" With Valentine's coming up, maybe I should so some specials at the cafe....." a few scribbles on the pad before her. " Maybe a bring your lover-slash-date to the cafe and enjoy a free romantic meal with the pet friend of your choice!"

a pause.

" Maybe if you're married you get a free cake for date night...."

[hopeled]

" Well, that was certainly a piece of advice, wasn't it!"

[hopeled]

" Odd to think that longest I've gone fighting was against ORT.....those twenty-ish hours felt like a lifetime." she's not mentioning the fact she quite literally dropped dead afterwards but that's not the point.

[hopeled]

[hopeled]

" Weeeell as of right now there aren't really any normal kids back home, but there are child Servants and they like it, I think! No, more like every year someone new is picked to be Santa by the previous Santas to bring holiday cheer to everyone which usually involves travelling to a different place to help them out with this."

"Having ten Santas kinda makes it hard to explain to kids, doesn't it? Are they all, like, on a parade float or something?"