Castle of Loch Ness

[Bloodedge]

"Makes sense," he said. Guinevere said there were three things, yet listed only two. That was fine. He didn't want anyone questioning him at present, so he wouldn't be questioning anyone else either. Upon claiming he was no one's king, it seemed Guinevere took his meaning just a bit wrong. It wasn't as if he'd abandoned his idea of being king; it was simply that he wasn't king of anything. No matter; it wasn't worth specifying. He rose with a sigh, accepting the fact that he would have to follow Guinevere before discovering where she intended to lead. Trailing behind just slightly, his eyes wandered the halls. Down as he may have been, nothing was going to stop him doing the job he'd taken on. They made their way outside eventually, and all seemed well. Guinevere took it upon herself to set up the picnic area, while Arthur mulled over the fact that he'd yet to see this section of Loch Ness at all.

Soon enough, the picnic area was set. Arthur seated himself without a word. It was quite strange that Guinevere chose to face away from him while eating, despite the fact that she clearly didn't intend to part ways just yet. Oh well; he could be more content if he could eat without being watched at present. Oh, and what was this? There was a note attached to his bento. A bento alone was already surprising, but he supposed he and Emilia had an exchange about both being Japanese on their first day in Loch Ness. She even wrote in their language, and signed the note in keeping with the joke he always told at her expense. It was such a ridiculously innocent gesture, even the most downtrodden of people had to laugh at it─ so of course, Arthur would as well. 'Really?' he thought. Whenever his mind finally settled, whenever the questions stopped repeating in his subconscious, he'd have to bring this up to the girl.

[Apollymi]

"Mm-hm" True enough the things that Guinevere wished to protect were sensible. Likely due to her own experiences she was without dreams for herself. She wished to protect those that belonged to others as well. The last thing she protected, strangely applied to Arthur, but she doubted he'd even remember her first real reference for him... as such she'd keep that to herself unless it came up again. Ah, a picnic sat up, the lad seemed to be observant enough to be looking around. A quick glance in his direction and she knew for a fact that he hadn't seen this particular part of Loch Ness. That wasn't surprising. It wasn't in the line of sight of his window it was easy to overlook from the castle. She sat and began eating looking over her own small box of food with a raised brow. Balls of rice? These native Japanese people ate some strange things... she supposed she had no problem eating such a thing... it was just strange to witness. Stranger still, but immediately more comforting was that laughter which belonged to Arthur. Ah, Emilia had mentioned that she put a note in his box. It was just for him and Guinevere wasn't supposed to peek. She'd respected the lass' wishes but now she wished to know what was so funny. Ah, she'd have to ask her later. Oh, and she wasn't going to pry, she'd eat her lunch in silence here like she did most days. Right here within this small space she felt at ease... she didn't know how magically inclined Arthur was, he didn't know much about magic. He probably wouldn't realize what this place actually was, but maybe it'd provide a bit of comfort to him. Beyond all this Guinevere was willing to eat in silence with the magic of a Sacred Grove dancing freely over her skin and calming her heart. Druids were interesting people. She'd never actually met one... history says they abandoned this continent long ago... she wondered how this place remained in tact.

[Bloodedge]

A Sacred Grove... Arthur hadn't the slightest clue about such a thing, but there was something more satisfying about this place than his room. This, he attributed to Emilia's letter; if only he knew the truth. Well, it could be said that both the letter and current scenery were to blame, but Arthur could acknowledge only one. Not planning on consuming much at all, he would still at least respect a dish prepared for him by another─ especially a decent taste of home after some months away. He reached into his box to claim a rice ball. With only a single bite, he was rather surprised. This one's filling was salted salmon, which happened to be a good childhood memory of once-frequent meals for Arthur. He couldn't remember if he'd spoken as much with Emilia while relaxing that first day. Had his random musings during merrymaking resulted in him spewing that information? He did recall sharing small stories from their homeland, considering Emilia was the only other person he knew to be Japanese.

The blonde sighed, half exasperated, half content. Emilia had proven herself to be an excellent chef in her own right, even while he wasn't there barking orders. The seasonings of just this singular rice ball were... interesting, to say the least. Ah, but at present, it was probably best if he at least tried to speak with Guinevere, wasn't it? There wouldn't be much point in coming along in accordance with her wishes, otherwise. What to talk about though? Well... "Sha-ke onigiri. I'm not sure if I even mentioned this to Emilia. Loch Ness has salmon?"

[Apollymi]

A Sacred Grove and home cooked meal. Such a interesting day the young Arthur was having. It seemed that within the space he was at least more at ease, regardless of why he thought this was, he was at least tasting is food. The first one that Guinevere picked up, contained eel. It was such a strange texture within the rice, but it didn't taste bad at all. And what was this.... Arthur was speaking? She didn't expect this... ah, he'd chosen a very neutral topic of conversation, the type of fish within Loch Ness. Well, she supposed as far as safe topics were concerned that one was exceedingly safe. "Yes. Loch Ness has salmon. And several other interesting varieties. Apparently they were willing to come back down stream while not being predated by the giant monster within the lake. But apparently it is being kept in hibernation and fed as if it is a house pet now. So, there are quite a few fish to choose from. Emilia was scarily excited by that idea... I am not entirely sure why..." a nice and easy conversation topic and it would be left at that. Ah, but there was an opening here, if he was willing to talk about mundane topics they could at least have an interesting conversation or two at lunch. "Early in history, before this continent had kingdoms... this area was settled by Druids. In keeping with the balance of nature... they set up a Sacred Falls at the source of Loch Ness where all the fish spawn., A stone circle at that place they call Stonehenge. Oh and here... they set up this... Sacred Grove." She worked in her current explanation of the place while they ate, she was content to have this soft non-specific conversation for a while yet. She was quite serious about not prying but she still wished to check on him.

[Bloodedge]

Salmon were in Loch Ness, and people were obviously fishing for Emilia to have acquired some for this meal. So much of that bison was probably going to waste, but he much preferred that to the idea of repeating a protein too many times consecutively. Ah, he was able to think about something else at last; this was good. For the moment, Arthur could at least keep distracted enough to avoid sulking about in public. Guinevere kept up the conversation as well, speaking of the sleeping Loch Ness, and how the Druid race once inhabited the area. "Druids, huh? I've only ever seen Druids in a show. It was..." He paused. The show he referenced was, as one could expect of Hoshimi Kei, one based on Arthurian legend. In that telling, the killer of King Arthur, Mordred, was just some Druid child. Halting the progression of food entering his mouth, he somewhat wished that version of legend could be the way things played out in this world. Maybe these thoughts would have left him alone if he weren't currently living out a source of his obsession.

What to do? He couldn't keep avoiding matters, as they would only continue finding their way to him. Guinevere knew quite a bit about lore herself, so perhaps she was the one worth talking to about it. He didn't want to. Of course, he also didn't want to be living this version of the story... so what would another thing hurt? "Mordred could have been a Druid. He isn't going to be one here."

[Apollymi]

Ah, he'd only ever seen Druids in a tv show, which meant it was probably lore related... his memory. "Druids in this world are kind of rare. Apparently none have existed here for 2000 years... which is sad, I wouldn't have minded meeting a mage of nature," she said in a nonchalant sort of way. Ah, but there was much more depth to this lad's thoughts by virtue of his pause. She was quite certain this silence was far too pregnant for one to just be considering something as simple as a potential lore drop. It seemed instead of a nice quiet meal, Arthur would be speaking of his own accord... about what was on his mind. Okay, it was indeed a lore based thing... she knew a bit about Arthurian Legend from the context of being a history student, it was riddled with various interpretations in several different languages all of which seemed to coalesce around a few staple ideas. In this very moment, it seemed that Arthur's words were content to divulge that this world's version of Mordred wouldn't be a Druid. Those words were said with permanence. Hm, well in lore sometimes, Lady Vivian and Morgan/Morgana/Morgose or whatever her name was going to be were the same person. If that was the case, then it meant that Arthur probably had a very strange interaction with his older sister some nights ago. Obviously, it wasn't pleasant for him, at the very least... he was exceedingly confused. This world spared no one... and such a revelation was quite intense to say the least. So intense in fact that Guinevere was sure there was a large chunk of rice and eel lodged within her throat. Still she tried to speak past it.

"Well, this world has a way of forcing strangeness, not in all cases but some. Mordred could be a girl here and still a Druid technically, it's also a religion in this case, they baptize those who accept the call of nature," she mentioned in a way most casual while rubbing her chest to rid herself of the bite of food now lodged in a strange way. Oh... that wasn't what that was, she truly felt bad for Arthur in the moment. "There are many potentials for such a story at this point, the rest of the situation not withstanding... one can't spend all their time thinking about the potential choices a child will make. If one is so caught up on what they know... they lose sight of what could be." Guinevere tried for optimism more often than not. Though she was brutal when it came to her brother and his safety, she tried to be fair to everyone in her general approaches. She was the same for Arthur. She didn't judge him for anything that might have happened in the last few weeks, she only wished he didn't get so caught up on what was going on in his head that he forgot how to properly live his own life. Didn't they already discuss not letting lore bog them down? Why wouldn't he think of potential goods instead of only considering the negatives? She couldn't imagine a situation where she violated her younger brother in anyway, but she also didn't imagine thinking so poorly of the situation where one's life and health were still their own. In her own eyes, Mordred was an unknown innocent, perhaps one of the stories of his tragic end accidentally would be the truth of that person, or maybe they would be misunderstood because of things. Or maybe they were simply a victim of fate from start to finish, but there was no reason to make it more difficult for everyone involved.

[Bloodedge]

2,000 years since the last Druid's appearance in this realm? Arthur wondered how long this world's history was, considering how freely large numbers were thrown about in reference to different creatures and species. If he'd taken the time off to do so, he would have learned the lore of Age of Eternity ages ago, but alas, it was not to be. The same could be said about so many other things he thought would be the case, sadly. Easily finding his boss, mostly having fun along the journey, having a wholesome reunion with his sister, all counted as things that could have been, but weren't.

Guinevere stated that Mordred could even be a girl in this world, and could be a Druid by technicality due to the strange ways things worked here at times. Strangeness aside, it wasn't at all the identity of King Arthur's killer, but the fact that said identity was officially that of King Arthur's child. Destiny would see to it that either he, or his sister, died by that child's hands. The fault would be Arthur's own in a way, and worse yet... in regards to the conception of Mordred, he was more disturbed by the approach than the event itself. That wasn't good, right? "What Mordred is, doesn't really matter. Well... I guess that's not true," he mused in a surprisingly casual manner. Bit by bit, he would come to terms with what happened. Whatever he became when that time came about, was almost entirely up for debate. Oh well; Arthur's concern was taking things moment by moment, no distractions, and no getting overly attached to the 'idea' of any specific person. Such things weren't much of a positive in his experience thus far─ some distance was becoming necessary in his mind. "Either way, what I know is... basically nothing. It's just a little unreal, you know? Probably because... I think it could have been fine─"

[Apollymi]

Having moved on from that tightness in her chest, Guinevere continued to eat soon after she stopped talking. She still hadn't really expected Arthur to speak much if at all to her, so his continued rather casual conversation was a bit surprising. Still, at least he was actively thinking things though for his own sake now, so she could be happy to just hear him out for a while. "Mmhm..." she muttered still continued to let him know she was listening. For a while yet she felt no need to really speak, but Arthur apparently had something more to say. He felt like the situation that had occurred might have been fine for him if it'd taken place under different circumstances. He also admitted to basically knowing nothing, she assumed that to be about this world... but she supposed given the present situation it could apply to many things including about his sister. The whole situation was unreal, likely because he didn't know those sorts of things anyways... Yes, that was pretty true.

Still, Guinevere found herself taking pause and looking up at the sky, "Things often seem unreal when considering them afterwards. There are a million different ways to consider any situation playing out after it has already happened." she said thoughtfully, not even fully considering just the situation Arthur was talking about... she also thought of her own. "There are always thoughts of how people could have been different in a moment. How it would have formulated your response differently. Thinking about how different such a thing would have made you feel afterwards if everything was just a bit different..." she mused. Yes, she'd lived that part too. Poor lad, she couldn't really help him with that part, but she could try and be there for him. Perhaps that was enough. "Whether or not, it's fine... has to do with how you deal with it afterwards," she gave the most honest assessment she could because that was simply how she was. 'Summer children in the cold of their first winters... need our protection the most. Until they learn how to keep themselves warm...' She heard those words in her mother's voice. And it gave her comfort. She saw Arthur and in him... she saw the summer child which was connected to that idea... someone who hadn't known the harshness of winter, who still had light and naivete in their souls. She wished to help him preserve even a small portion of that for himself... so he didn't lose that which made him unique to this world.

[Bloodedge]

Nothing would undo the amount of trauma Arthur experienced due to the recent exchange with his eldest sister, yet Guinevere assured that this was simply the way such things would be. Of course, it was all a matter of how things were considered. The problem, however, was exactly that... but it wasn't worth mulling over right now. Arthur was meant to be putting forth his best effort, wasn't he? This meeting was organized for his sake, as far as he knew. Even though he found himself questioning the motives of everyone in this world as of late, he could do nothing but harbor a certain amount of faith in those who shared this journey with him. At the very least, he'd seen what they had all been through as a first-hand experience─ they could only be so bad, if any of them even were at all. "Huh," he muttered with no inflection whatsoever. How would he deal with the event that transpired between Morgan and himself? Whenever he wasn't wondering why it had to happen that way, that was precisely the other question he sought an answer to. It seemed there were only two questions overall: why and how. Why did things occur the way they did? How would he move forward after that night? Ah, no... there was one more. Beyond all of that, he wondered what would happen the next time he encountered Morgan, or even Vivian. "That's what I was working towards. Thinking ahead to how I should deal with it, is one of the more troublesome parts about it all. I know sitting around and taking time to think isn't the best idea, but it's not like I could come up with anything else."

[Apollymi]

It seemed at least, the words she was saying weren't just going into the lad's ear and coming out on the other side of his head. She wasn't trying to be preachy or even trying to give advice, but she was trying to help the lad along in the best way she knew how. After having to work through her own trauma quietly and having her anger directed towards specific targets for so long, she'd forgotten all of the things which would have helped her in the moment. She simply didn't wish to let Arthur do that sort of thing to himself. It was obvious after meeting him, that he was a far kinder soul than this world deserved. As for how he should deal with the problem of meeting with his sister after this traumatizing incident Guinevere herself could only offer advice from her own perspective. "Well, how you deal with it is up to you," she said softly. "As a person who has dealt with feeling betrayed by someone... I'd say making sure you get answers to the questions that have you hung up is important," she answered with certainty. "Though only after you've made peace one way or the other. From my own experience, it can be hard to get past emotions to get the answers you seek. But if you manage that, it might clear some things up for you," she replied honestly. Her situation with Nerys was one where she didn't get to talk with her after seeing the way her family was treated. Still, she didn't know the woman's reasoning behind the betrayal, and beyond that... after seeing what had become of Zuria in the end, she felt she might have been in more danger without what happened. Even so, without knowing if that was intentional, she couldn't make peace with it. It was extra annoying when she considered that lass as an important figure in her life. "Taking time to think is fine, just don't let it trap you," she offered. "That point was the one I wanted to make. Though I didn't figure you'd just talk to me. Thank you." She concluded. He didn't have to trust her enough to even talk to her in vague terms. She understood he should be a bit mistrusting of any woman, but... she was happy he did actually speak to her.

[Bloodedge]

"Right," said Arthur. Only he could truly decide how to approach the situation, and eventually, he'd have some sort of answer. Hopefully, he could reach said eventuality before another big event in the version of King Arthur's life he would end up living. Betrayal seemed to be a solid running theme as of late, and the only answers he truly had, involved the true nature of Queen Kolin in Zuria. Well, that one was always going to become obvious eventually; maybe the same would happen here. Either way, there were many things worth concern, even if not at the moment. He heard confirmation of the name Lancelot upon meeting Vivian. What would happen when that one appeared? Would he throw himself into a relationship with Guinevere, and effectively walk into the most well-known betrayal of Arthurian legend when Sir Lancelot appeared? Would there be an Agravain to enable it all, if so? What of the day Mordred rose to power? Would he have Sir Gawain in his company to set him up, leaving Mordred with the rule of Camelot in his stead? Would all of this happen to Artoria rather than him?

Too many questions. The more he realized how many there truly were, the more he realized he would go crazy thinking about them before anything even happened. Maybe... it was worth seeking those events instead of worrying about whether they would occur or not. Guinevere was right; it wasn't worth becoming so engrossed in thought that nothing else could be accomplished. Strangely, he was thanked simply for talking, after being assured that the time he took to let his thoughts settle was fine in certain amounts. "Don't thank me for talking. If nothing else, that's the one thing I'm good at always doing. Save the thanks for when you're ready for me to shut up, and I actually do it," he insisted, taking just one more bite before realizing he'd gone through the first rice ball completely. Strange─ he hadn't eaten more than a couple of bites at a time in days. Maybe senseless chatter worked for the appetite.

[Apollymi]

A nice quiet lunch, discussing their way through this rather tumultuous world. Of course, she was happy to be along for this particular ride, even if he hadn't spoken at all this day. Granted that would have been rather awkward to sit in silence for the whole of lunch this was far closer to normal than anything else. According to Arthur she shouldn't thank him for talking, she should save that for when he shut up if she wanted him to, a chuckle ensued. "Well, you are pretty good at talking... so it was more than a bit surprising when you stopped doing it all together," she mentioned soon after. "Still, the thanks wasn't specifically for that, it was for making this little lunch forced upon you, not terribly awkward," she said with a slight redness to her cheeks. Of course, she realized she'd been a bit pushy, but that was her nature when she saw someone suffering. If she could offer a bit of reprieve she'd do so even at the cost of herself. "A nice venue, whatever rice balls are... though they are strangely tasty, idle chatter," she mused. "This is a pretty reasonable lunch for me." she said thoughtfully. Guinevere was having a reasonable lunch and much happier with Arthur not being so withdrawn, even though she'd forced it upon him just a little, that was all she knew to do. Her own younger brother had been her victim in such ploys before and she'd found it for the better, in the end. She couldn't focus on what happened previously, she instead had to focus on what she could do in the moment.

[Bloodedge]

There was hardly a more factual clause than one shared between the two. Arthur was exceptional when it came to talking, even when there wasn't a need to speak further. In fact, he was especially good when it came to saying things that hadn't properly processed in his mind yet, as Guinevere herself had experienced some weeks prior. For better or for worse, he was managing to avoid random blabber here and now. Ah, but there was at least something more lighthearted to talk about than his woes, which he was content to address as little as possible, despite how freely he'd brought them up in the beginning. Rice balls were apparently a new experience for Guinevere, who remarked that they were oddly delectable despite how odd they seemed to her. To that, Arthur chuckled. "You've never had onigiri? They're a staple in Japan, and one of the most versatile common foods you can find. Where could you possibly be from, Guinevere, that you'd consider these strange?" he wondered aloud, subconsciously reaching into his box for another.

[Apollymi]

It became apparent that Arthur found funny the fact that Guinevere was unfamiliar with this food choice by Emilia. If he was willing to maintain a bit of lighthearted conversation, she was more than willing to contribute to it. So rice balls were apparently a food choice in Japan one with varied and various applications. She could see that. After finishing the one which contained eel, she picked up another and it contained salted salmon. It was pretty tasty as well. With only a few of the fish which came from the lake, Emilia had given them a variety of flavors to snack on. "Hm, no... I've never had such a thing before. It's pretty good. What I remember the closest thing I would have known to it is like Pelmeni... though porridge is way more common than rice. So something like this would have ended up in porridge instead," she said thinking of her own homeland in those terms. Pelmeni being a small pastry which contained a variety of meat fillings. Though admittedly those were much smaller than these balls of rice. "Ah, well... I'm from Russia... or rather I was originally. I was studying in the UK when I ended up here, but that is about the whole of it," she explained of her own placement within their previous world. To be honest, Zuria as a kingdom wasn't very much different from what she learned of old world Russia, even the ending of it was surprisingly similar to that of the last Tsars... But that didn't matter. The Princess in this case wasn't lost completely, the Prince still lived, and Zuria could technically, eventually recover. All could be well again. It was strange the number of Japanese people she managed to run into in her time in this world, but since video games were often produced over there, it made sense that a lot of Japanese people might find themselves in this world. Stranger yet was the idea of a young Japanese man, being so very interested in Arthurian Legend.

[Bloodedge]

"Pelmeni?" Arthur questioned immediately, having some rough knowledge of the aforementioned food. He'd never bothered trying to make it himself, but it was somewhere in his memory. As such, he had an inkling of Guinevere's original heritage by the time she mentioned the country. Interestingly enough, this conversation was starting to give Arthur a few ideas. Yes, there was a chance their next excursion to the kitchen could involve a few fusion dishes being concocted for the masses of Loch Ness to enjoy. There was the slightest hint of a light in his eye as well; apparently distractions were a decent medicine no matter the case, at least in certain doses. "From Russia to the UK, just to study?" he wondered instead of bringing up the matter of cooking just yet. That was something best saved for later, maybe even sprung on Guinevere and Emilia in the heat of a moment. Yes, yes, that would do perfectly. The kitchen functioned best when everyone involved had something to look forward to, and surely they would all look forward to a dish that had only been decided upon a few moments before its creation... right? Ah, but that train of thought wasn't for now. Another bite would precede his ultimate question. "What were you studying, that you needed to go abroad?"