#[ ic - aria millea ]

[iunctura-arch]

"Every time I die, people get weirded out that I act so nonchalant about being resummoned."

"I've already died once, what's several other times?"

[fallroute]

For a few moments, she'd thought he'd reject her offer. The fear of that sent her heart pounding in her chest as she put a hand to it, trying to stem the panic attack that was threatening to bubble to the surface. It would be okay, right? Everything was okay, right?

The tightness in her chest was starting to get to her right as he accepted her offer of a meal. It didn't leave, though, and Aria had to close her eyes and force herself to take a few deep breaths. Things were okay, he didn't reject her offer. In fact, he seemed excited about the prospect of a meal from her. That was... different, in her experience.

Opening her eyes, she relaxed a little, the panic subsiding finally. Things were okay, things were okay. She wasn't in danger, nor was she in trouble. Nor was he... rejecting her offer. Okay, that was okay. Even if he did reject it, it was okay. She had to remember that. Lancer was his own person, too. He had the right to say no.

"O-okay. I-Is there... anything in particular you'd... you'd like? I-I'm... I-I can cook a lot of things..." Thanks to having to be the only one cooking while living in that hellhole that masqueraded as a "vacation", she'd learned how to cook various things. "I-If we don't... h-have the ingredients, I-I can go shopping! ...B-but I-I'd need you to... um, come along too... B-because I'm... I'm still scared about..."

Aria swallowed a little, shaking her head. "A-about going... out alone.... S-sorry to impose, Lancer..."

@hxroic-wxlls // continued

[iunctura-arch]

She's just watching, completely enthralled by the fact he was meowing back at a cat like a cat would. Literally sitting there, ignoring her book just to watch him talk to a cat.

Grim found a friendly, chatty cat ten minutes ago. After several rounds of baby-talking, he's started meowing back at the delightful beast - somehow pitch and tone perfect.

[iunctura-arch]

"I miss him."

Aria watches the other Servants in Chaldea. Things were so much different here than they were back home, and she found herself missing that year. Missing the time she spent with her own Servant.

She doesn't have to look to know that the Command Seals on her back were still there- at least three of them were still available. The battle she'd been through had caused her to use a good chunk of them, and she wasn't sure she'd be of any use without the full seven of them.

"....I wonder if you're happy, Cu. I miss you a lot." It was barely a whisper, a murmur under her breath, as she took her eyes off the other Servants and looked out the window instead.

Her heart throbbed just slightly, making her wince a little. She took a moment to sit down, letting herself just... feel faint for now. Every time that happened, she felt faint and disconnected from the world.

I know you won't remember me but... if we meet again, I just hope you'll be happy.

[iunctura-arch]

"I may be cringe, but I am free."

[iunctura-arch]

"...Is the coffee really that bad?"

"No, I've just been taking my time enjoying it."

"....Uh-huh. If you need another refill, let me know."

"Our first customer of the day, and it's someone who's been here since opening drinking coffee. We opened two hours ago and he's still here..."

"He's a paying customer, he gets to stay as long as he wants. We may not be Starbucks, but our WiFi is better."

"I can hear you, you know. If you wanted to talk behind my back, there's better ways to do it."

"We just never have anyone stay two hours after their first order. Asking for more refills. I mean, you've been really polite, this is just weird for us."

"Yeah, at least it's not like Karen and her jackass husband who come in and expect us to know she wants a soy latte or whatever fad's the biggest right now. Like, who the hell died and left them in charge?"

"Erin!"

"It sounds like you get quite the amount of people in this establishment of yours."

"That's what advertisement does for a business. Paper flyers, billboards, television commercials, even radio ads!"

"Our boss put a lot of money in this place, so we got a lot of customers. Hell, think we're putting our local Starbucks out of business."

"....Huh, so that's how we got our business to boom."

"Darling, another refill, if you would!"

"Sure!"

"Well, at least he's nice."

[fallroute]

Aria nodded at that, hands clutching the handle of the shopping cart tightly. She knew she'd have to do this, but it still was anxiety-inducing to shop around. She still was scared about it, thinking someone would try to…

No, she had Lancer here with her. She was okay. She would be okay. Lancer was here with her, no one would hurt her. Taking deep breaths, she slowly made her way inside and had to figure out where each of the things they needed for the meal was. It'd been ages since she actually had been to the store, but asking someone else for help was… daunting.

"….U…Um, Lancer… D-do you… d-do you think you could… um, ask for help with… f-finding these items we need…? I-I haven't… e-ever been here…" Which was true, given her aversion of leaving the house unless it was absolutely necessary. Agoraphobia, one could call it. But Aria had to make sure that she could get the ingredients first.

Lancer was here, he was her safety. She could rely on him.

Aria was already shaking as she walked, trying to figure out where everything was. Where the ingredients were so she could get out of here and back home once everything was paid for. Swallowing, she had to stop near the deli to gather her courage to press onward.

"I-I'm sorry… I-I'll move in… in a minute… S-sorry…"

fallroute

“Y-yeah. I-it does… mean that.” She wasn’t too surprised he was prepared for them to go shopping, with a shopping bag in his hand already. He did seem to be pretty handy, but Aria didn’t really take advantage of that. She never would, really. It was one thing for him to do it on his own, but for her to continually ask him? That was… out of the question.

(At least for now)

She flinched slightly when he put his hand on her shoulder, but it was temporary. Still unused to being touched in a manner that didn’t come with being physically assaulted, Aria couldn’t help but feel absolutely guilty about flinching like she did. Clutching her purse tighter to herself, she forced herself to understand that it was Lancer and not Steven.

“O-Okay….” Heading over to the door, she would take the slow first steps outside. It would take about fifteen minutes to reach the nearby shopping center, thankful that the house wasn’t too far away from it. Slowly and carefully, she took the shopping cart, putting her purse in the seat part of the basket.

“….F-first, th-the um… Let’s see…” She took out the list from her purse, having stored it in there earlier, and looked over the ingredients. “P-parsley… Leek, l-lemons… um, butter… l-light cream, dill.. potatoes… a-and the s-salmon… salmon is… um, last so it can be…. f-fresh…”

Yeah, she was certain of this but… she still had a bit of trouble getting into the store at first. At least, once inside, she could navigate around a bit. Just had to deal with all the people…

“ Remember Master, if things start to feel like they’re getting too crowded, just make sure to stick next time and things’ll be fine, got it? “ With how crowded this shopping center could get at times, he had a feeling that leaving her to her lonesome would not be a good decision in any way.

 Not like he planned on that, anyways. As a servant, and friend, it’s his sworn duty to ensure that she remains safe and comfortable. It’s the least he could do, after all.

‘ From training and fighting for my life on a daily, to shopping around in a market... I wonder what sensei would think of me, now? ‘ He’d think to himself. Granted, he had no qualms with this change in lifestyle, that was for certain. Besides...Scathach, while an excellent teacher, was also a very scary one. 

He shudders at the idea of somehow finding her, again. Especially if she were to be introduced to his master. 

[fallroute]

❝ I'm not sure, exactly, what you're talking about. ❞ The girl fidgets a bit, staring at him but also not staring at him. It was like she was staring right through him instead.

❝ Could you explain it again, but slower, please? ❞

@fairlybeloved

[fallroute]

"I had... a dream last night where my half-sister didn't come to murder me... It was nice. I had three children, too."

[iunctura-arch]

"...As the Hound of Chulainn, I died laughing." She snuggled against him, thankful for the warmth. She did actually feel a little chilly today, and she enjoyed the physical closeness. "As myself, I... died protecting my servant but woke up in the hospital... I was more confused than anything, really. How was I there? How was I... alive? It didn't really make sense."

But she thought about it. "I guess I'd see it as a little odd myself, but I thought it'd be nice to like. Just talk about my day back home and not bring up any bad feelings."

Eh, she'll adjust how she does it from here on. Maybe wait for an hour to start talking about what she did that day at home.

"They really do think that way." She should know, Rebecca and Steven used to dictate her life for an entire year and even had her arrested for false reasons. "Mm, I'd punch 'em but they'd end up needing facial reconstruction. Not worth it at all. It's not their place to be upset about something you have..."

People really didn't get it.

"They think it's unusual that you're so nonchalant about it. Think back to before your first death," He gestured, but also raised an arm so Aria could cuddle in - she's perpetually cold, and this is a discussion that could be, in his words, 'off-putting'. "If you'd seen someone die, then come back hours later acting like nothing important had happened - even though it wasn't hurting anyone, it'd seem a bit spooky, wouldn't it?"

He gave a bitter snort to the last points. "People think they have any business dictating the business of others, regardless of it hurting people. There's idiots who're livid about my stone simply because of how it works."

[fallroute]

"Y-yeah. I-it does... mean that." She wasn't too surprised he was prepared for them to go shopping, with a shopping bag in his hand already. He did seem to be pretty handy, but Aria didn't really take advantage of that. She never would, really. It was one thing for him to do it on his own, but for her to continually ask him? That was... out of the question.

(At least for now)

She flinched slightly when he put his hand on her shoulder, but it was temporary. Still unused to being touched in a manner that didn't come with being physically assaulted, Aria couldn't help but feel absolutely guilty about flinching like she did. Clutching her purse tighter to herself, she forced herself to understand that it was Lancer and not Steven.

"O-Okay...." Heading over to the door, she would take the slow first steps outside. It would take about fifteen minutes to reach the nearby shopping center, thankful that the house wasn't too far away from it. Slowly and carefully, she took the shopping cart, putting her purse in the seat part of the basket.

"....F-first, th-the um... Let's see..." She took out the list from her purse, having stored it in there earlier, and looked over the ingredients. "P-parsley... Leek, l-lemons... um, butter... l-light cream, dill.. potatoes... a-and the s-salmon... salmon is... um, last so it can be.... f-fresh..."

Yeah, she was certain of this but... she still had a bit of trouble getting into the store at first. At least, once inside, she could navigate around a bit. Just had to deal with all the people...

fallroute

‘More than fine with comin’ along’, he told her. Aria knew this, and yet she felt like it was just imposing on his kindness so far. She should be able to go out and about without fear, but what had happened to her made her afraid of doing so. Like she couldn’t leave without someone with her, which made it difficult to do anything that required leaving the house.

She knew he was doing his best to help her through what had happened in his own way. Her twice-weekly therapy sessions helped a little, but it hurt to think back on the year she spent in that hellhole. She didn’t like thinking on it, nor talking about it. Rubbing her arm subconsciously, she listened to his choice of what he wanted. A salmon dish sounded good, really.

If she remembered right, there was a recipe her mom had that she made every now and again. Going over to the books, she grabbed the one she knew her mom used every time she made the dish and looked through it. Grabbing a pen and notepad from nearby, she wrote down what she needed before tearing the page out and putting the notepad back and the cookbook.

“I-I… um, I know Mom uses… a-a recipe sometimes f-for a good… s-salmon dish… I-It’s p-…passed down from my granmama…” The cookbook she had just put back was a hand-written one. “W-we don’t usually… k-keep the ingredients on ha-hand so…”

There’s a pause as she goes to grab her purse, clutching it tightly to herself like a lifeline. Walking up to Lancer, she gave a small nod.

“I-I’m ready to go… A-are you?”

“ So, to put it simply, that means we gotta head out, right? “ With a shopping bag already in hand, it seemed like the lancer had been prepared for such an answer. What a handy guy he is, isn’t he?

To be honest, he just wished he could do more for her. While the therapy stuff does seem to have an effect with the healing process, he feels like the sheer degree of trauma that she had gone through would warrant more than just that. However, for as much as he hates to admit, he’s a warrior, not a doctor.

Regardless, there’s nothing saying that he couldn’t try his best to help her feel better.

Giving Aria a nod of his own, he’d place a hand on her shoulder.

“ I’m always ready, Master. “

[fallroute]

'More than fine with comin' along', he told her. Aria knew this, and yet she felt like it was just imposing on his kindness so far. She should be able to go out and about without fear, but what had happened to her made her afraid of doing so. Like she couldn't leave without someone with her, which made it difficult to do anything that required leaving the house.

She knew he was doing his best to help her through what had happened in his own way. Her twice-weekly therapy sessions helped a little, but it hurt to think back on the year she spent in that hellhole. She didn't like thinking on it, nor talking about it. Rubbing her arm subconsciously, she listened to his choice of what he wanted. A salmon dish sounded good, really.

If she remembered right, there was a recipe her mom had that she made every now and again. Going over to the books, she grabbed the one she knew her mom used every time she made the dish and looked through it. Grabbing a pen and notepad from nearby, she wrote down what she needed before tearing the page out and putting the notepad back and the cookbook.

"I-I... um, I know Mom uses... a-a recipe sometimes f-for a good... s-salmon dish... I-It's p-...passed down from my granmama..." The cookbook she had just put back was a hand-written one. "W-we don't usually... k-keep the ingredients on ha-hand so..."

There's a pause as she goes to grab her purse, clutching it tightly to herself like a lifeline. Walking up to Lancer, she gave a small nod.

"I-I'm ready to go... A-are you?"

“ Hey, like I said, there’s nothin’ to be ashamed about, master. If ya have to go shopping, I’d be more than fine with comin’ along. “

No matter how one were to go about it, the circumstances of Aria’s life were not to be made light of. Having been forced to endure trial after trial, alongside many unfortunates events that she did not deserve to go through, it was very clear to the lancer that his master was a wounded soul who needed help.

And help was something he could provide plenty of. Of course, it’d be in his own way. Instead of trying to actively acknowledge the events of the past and possibly making things harder for her, he would instead do his best to help her focus on the here and now. Besides, even if he did have confidence in his and his master’s abilities, neither of them were time travelers. There’s no point in mulling over the what ifs when one could instead focus on the things that they could do to make them happy right now, after all.

It wouldn’t be a quick process, he knows that much. You can’t rush something like that, after all. Regardless, he’d promise himself to be by her side every step of the way.

“ Hm...well, if I had to pick somethin’, I’d say that  a salmon dish sounds pretty good, right about now. “ He’d reply, a grin adorning his face, as he folded his arms together. “ Sometimes, the simplest dishes are the tastiest ones. “