driftfleet | (001)

Entry tags:

(001)

Who: katsa & you
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: marsiva hospitality deck
When: now

—think you can do this to me again after all this time, but you can take your blazing courts and shards and shove it up your—

[ There's an audible thud as Katsa kicks a cot in front of her, bumping the bed a few feet and skewing it sideways into one nearby. Her rather angry string of anger cuts through the faint tinkling of bland, simple music in the background.

She certainly doesn't look like someone who'd be suited for an adventure in space, dressed in ragtag leather and furs that look as though she's thrown them together herself from a variety of dead animals. She also doesn't seem to be aware that anyone might be watching her; or perhaps it's more than she doesn't particularly care, for she scrubs the back of her hand across her eyes and scowls through what is very obviously only a half-hearted attempt at holding back tears. ]

You don't need me here. You can dress this up all you like—I don't have to do this. Whatever's outside that window, I shouldn't be the only one who gets to see it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've seen plenty of magic. Too much magic. I've even used magic. [ Bizarre as that is. ] I'd still not choose "elegant."

Like I said, then you've seen and used the wrong magic. Mine is cute and elegant, thank you very much!

Sure. It's elegant. [ It's very clear Katsa's just saying this to placate her. ] Magic is magic. It all allows you to do something impossible. What makes it wrong?

By not being elegant, of course. There's as many methods of magecraft as stars in the sky, but some of them are much better than others!

It all amounts to the same thing in the end. Some might be better at doing certain things than others, perhaps, or prefer different kinds of magic. Some might use it for unpleasant things, or to exert their own power. What do you mean by methods?

Things like alchemy, or the notarikon, or numerology, or transmutation of materials, or projection, or recreation of miracles... The way to achieve magecraft, of course. It's not all so simple as waving a wand!

But, I suppose it's too much for someone who doesn't seem to care for magic very much.

[ This seems like an insult. Katsa ignores it. ]

I've never heard of any of that.

[ Of course her brief study in magic years ago was limited, but still. ]

Well, of course. Are you a magus?

[It's... probably not intentionally insulting, anyway. Probably.]

I've used magic, if that's what you mean.

[ A long time ago. Often still disgruntled about the thought of magic. And not in her own world. But nonetheless. ]

Edited 2016-08-29 13:13 (UTC)

Now that was an unexpected answer... What kind?

[She still just seems amused.]

[ Katsa squints. She still doesn't get this concept of kinds of magic. It's really all the same. ]

I could summon fire with my fingertips and make it do what I wished without getting burned. I could use the shard... [ She touches her chest and wonders, still frowning, whatever happened to that. ] A jewel that was somehow inside my chest, to enhance my natural capabilities. Perhaps at one point there was more, but that's the short of it.

Edited 2016-08-30 15:29 (UTC)

[Well, her surprise is audible at that.]

Shard? Ah, wait a moment. Are you from that 'Drabwurld' place too?

[ Surprise is met with surprise. ]

Yes. Well, not from there, but I spent years of my life there some time ago, if that's what you mean.

Well, that's close enough! That's the same as my Master.

[... which isn't a weird thing to say, not at all.]

Your—excuse me?

[ The phrase my Master sounds rather unfortunate to Katsa, and it catches her off guard—but there's something else about it that also, in the context of the Drabwurld, seems strangely familiar.

She's just a bit too caught up in her surprise at the word. ]

Ah... Would it be easier to understand if I said my husband?

[i'm so sorry, katsa.]

I'm only more concerned that you mean both to be the same person.

[ like, legitimately concerned. ]

If that's the problem, then just blame the quality of the translation.

[leave the fourth wall alone, caster.]

Besides, they're different titles for different things! Anyway, do you think you might know her?

Her? [ now this is just getting really confusing. halp ] What—or who—in the name of blazes are you talking about?

Hermione, of course!

Hermi—

[ She says the name with so much exaggerated surprise Katsa almost chokes on the name. ]

Hermione? She can't possibly be your husband. She's a woman—women aren't husbands. They're wives. As far as I know she's not married, anyway, unless she failed to mention such a thing to me. You called her your master, too, and I haven't known Hermione to keep servants to call her—

[ And then she stops there and freezes, because something abruptly clicks.

Not a servant. A Servant. ]

Great skies. [ Katsa frowns at the thought. She could be wrong. It's been years, after all, and it's only a guess. This woman isn't much like the few Servants she remembers, not the flash of red eyes as they reached for her neck and squeezed— ] No, that's ridiculous. I swear, I'm going to shake some answers out of her.

[It's so hard to not just start laughing right there.]

Hm? Is it that clear-cut? I don't think it is. If I'm a wife, then obviously whoever I'd be with would be a husband!

Did you realize something? Don't leave me in the dark.

Not obviously. [ This is getting confusing, and her temper is at the end of its rope. ] She'd be a wife, too, so by your reasoning—

[ There is absolutely no reason she should be on this subject. It's ridiculous. And unnecessary. And why should she care about the semantics? Katsa scowls. ]

Whatever. Never mind.

[ Had she realized something? That's what's uncertain. Katsa hesitates, then blurts the question. ]

Do you know of something—a throne of heroes?

[ The memory of meeting Diarmuid in the snow over the body of the Hart is fuzzy, but it's remained nonetheless. And it's far more pleasant to remember him than her other option. ]

Eh, giving up already? That's no fun.

[The amusement is clear in her voice.]

The Throne of Heroes? I do. Where the will of the planet removes souls of heroes, those above and beyond others of their times, to be called upon by Alaya in times of danger... The Moon Cell has a copy of the Throne as well, which is where Servants come from.

[ She doesn't understand half of that. ]

A cell seems more fitting a place to call it, if—whatever it is—is taking people without their permission to do someone's bidding. None of you seem the type of people to be subservient, though. Two kings, a knight, you and your magic...