[Amber: 003]

[hakanai]

[Someone has enough energy to address the amber today! Yoshitsugu has recovered from his illness for the most part, just needing a little more rest to get his energy levels back up; right now he is in fact still in bed, lacking his usual hat but with facecloth still firmly in place. He wants to offer some advice to the tree, though considering it's him giving it? It's not necessarily offered in a straightforward way.]

The magic of this world is interesting, isn't it? And dangerous. Something to remember if you wish to take part in any future quests which lead you outside of the mist; you never know when the flow will deliver you to a malevolent being who might decide to reach deep into your heart and soul, tear at old wounds and drag your weaknesses to the surface so it might attack them in a cruel yet extremely precise way, leaving you awash in nightmares and haunted by the most painful and unsettling of memories.

[It's certainly said calmly; Yoshitsugu's expression doesn't betray much either, remaining serene except, for those really, really looking closing, when he says 'painful.' The flinch is slight, but real.]

Or you might simply have a quiet and pleasant journey.

[Moving on to better things and a more pleasant memory, Yoshitsugu relaxed against the back of his bed a little more; his smile isn't visible, of course, but the pleasure he feels when recalling this memory shows in his eyes.]

The most interesting magic was that which brought chocolate cake to us. Those of you who come from a time and place where you can eat it whenever you like are very fortunate.

Comments

[anelegantmyth]

The magic here put me in a coma for two weeks.

[Speaking of interesting magic...]

[hakanai]

That is a strange kind of magic; unless it helped the health of the body there can be little to gain from it.

[Yoshitsugu taps his cloth once, twice.]

Perhaps trickster spirits inhabit this place, using their power for nothing more than their own entertainment.

[...it's unclear how serious he is being with that comment.]

[anelegantmyth]

Maybe...I can't really think of any other reason why the tree would try to put me down.

[Actually the tree, in general, was crazy. So she could probably think of a million reasons.
]
My body didn't deteriorate while I was under. So there's that. No atrophy, no severe dehydration or starvation. But I wasn't even sick to begin with. I just fell asleep and didn't wake up.

[hakanai]

Curious.

[Not surprising, though. He was revived when he was brought to this tree, and if someone can be resurrected then maintance of one body was not much of a stretch.]

Did you dream?

[blood_and_thunder]

[always a ray of sunshine, aren't you.]

It's a double edged sword, at the very least.

[hakanai]

[Nobody shines brighter!]

Magic usually is. Still, it's different knowing the edges exist and experiencing that sharpness, don't you think? Not everyone is capable of handling it, Noire.

[blood_and_thunder]

Believe me, I know. Magic can be used for good or evil, depending on who is using it and for what purpose. It's a tool just as a sword or my arrows are.

... The real question for me is... If this is sentient magic, or being used by some higher power.

[hakanai]

There was intelligence behind the trials my group went through. That at least is clear.

[He shrugs, though it's not the most appropriate gesture. Yoshitsugu's had been one of the few things in life that ever managed to unsettle him.]

A mix of sources is likely.

[kingpika]

Your quest certainly sounds like it was much more interesting than mine! We just ended up fighting a bunch of sea creatures, and we didn't even get a good fight!

[ Gil is the type of person to consider bathing in all the evils of the world to be a rather interesting experience, so don't mind him. ]

[hakanai]

If you thirst for a good fight then you would not have got it during the trials.

[Bluntly said, but true. Gil would more than likely have found himself deprived of a fight completely, if what Yoshitsugu believes about the entity that tested him is true (and he's quite confident that he's right about this).]

Though 'interesting' things would have happened to you, at the very least.

[kingpika]

Ah, well. Good fights are something everyone needs more of, if you ask me.

[ He's young and adventurous, and nothing is more exciting than a rousing battle! As long as everyone on all sides can agree that that's what it is. ]

But it doesn't have to be a fight! I'm generally in search of interesting things, onii-san!

amber!

[hairsay]

Where I come from, they call shit like this a kind of torture, only I forget the name. It's the one with the carrot and the stick, or I guess the good cop or the bad cop, or maybe the husband who shits in your cornflakes one way or another and then apologizes and says he'll never do it again and buys you flowers before he does it the next day.

Can I ask you a question? [She goes on without pausing, of course] Are you wearing that face mask because something shitty happened while you were outside the mist?

amber!

[hakanai]

[Much of the terminology there is unfamiliar to Yoshitsugu, but he gets what she's implying.]

When you are one of those drawn into this world by the tree, or whatever force occupies it, I think it is merely called 'your life.' Or afterlife, for some of us.

[He closes his eyes; somewhere beneath that 'mask,' Yoshitsugu is smiling to himself. It's rare for anyone to ask him anything related to his face-cloth.]

As for your question; no. It has been a part of me for a very long time.

[hairsay]

Uh huh. [She looks highly unimpressed, at least at his first statement. She isn't sure what to make of his wording for the second, 'a part of me'? Glancing at him askew, she carries on, baldly stepping around that comment until she knows better.] Well, I'm getting mixed signals here. Some people think we got stuck here because this tree for whatever reason desperately needs our help.

Other people, like you, think it's yanking us around because something or someone here's got a hard on for making our lives harder...

But I guess it doesn't matter when you can't do shit about it.

[knight_king]

[She listens to the spell, one he has possibly endured in his quest. She knows that Nagi lost the memory of his wife, have other ones suffered terribly during these quests. She will ask him later.

Not through this. It's a hardly private and personable means of communication.]

The cake is certainly a welcome reward. This would be more bearable if this tree offer us a weekly offering of cake of different flavors.

[Let her dream.]

[hakanai]

[This is the kind of conversation Yoshitsugu can approve of. The memory of that cake will not be going anywhere anytime soon, both because of the wonderful taste and the experience that came with it; discussing it is definitely not the worst way to engage him, that's for sure.]

Ah, so it's true; there are many types of cake.

[Sounds like a good dream to him. His smile reaches his eyes.]

Please tell me about these different flavours.

[knight_king]

[She wishes they could have ingredients to make more. She is certain Shirou's baking skills are far superior to anything the tree has to offer.]

There are. I did not sample all of them, though there was a list with a wide variety when I guarded Shirou and Rin in their date.

[She nods to confirm him this information.]

During that occasion, I asked for "orange cake". If you are familiar with the citric, there were slices of orange as topping, the sponge was flavored as the fruit, and it had 'whipped cream' as filling. It was less sweeter than the chocolate cake, though I assure you it was still delicious. There were other ones like strawberry, lemon, coffee, among others that I could not taste.

[donotmail]

It seems as if most of the people in the tree, now he's had time to get acquainted, are some variety of bizarre, unkiarrlike species. Arj still has trouble reading them, especially the way this one covers his face, but the intent of his message is unmistakable.

"I... was afraid it would be something like that," he says. His ears are held back, in distaste, and in anticipation of what may come.

[hakanai]

It's certainly been long enough now that Yoshitsugu doesn't seem surprised at all at this unusual being now speaking to him; his eyes express nothing but calm through the amber.

"Oh, but there's still that chance at a peaceful journey," he says. "Best just to go with the flow and see what happens... while displaying some level of caution, of course. Some dark places will be troubling even for those with no fear of the dark."

[2wei]

Sometimes I still wonder where that cake came from. [ There's definitely some curiosity in Illya's tone as she says that. ]

[hakanai]

If finding out leads to more cake, I'd like to know myself.

[His first taste of chocolate, cake and that kind of dessert as a whole was a very, very pleasant experience.]

[2wei]

A-Ahaha. Just as long as we don't end up eating too much cake.

action;

[handtowels]

[While Yoshitsugu uses his amber slice, Takatora makes himself comfortable nearby, two cups in his hands. He looks pleased with himself.]

When you're done, I have another gift from a banquet you missed. Apparently no one wants to throw a celebration while you're well enough to attend.

action;

[hakanai]

That's not exactly unusual for me.

[Yoshitsugu sets his amber slice aside and eyes Takatora for a moment, before his gaze drops to the cups. He's missed plenty of celebrations in his lifetime due to sickness... or, in some cases, feigned sickness (there's always that one banquet that nobody really wants to attend and Yoshitsugu is never above using his weakness to get out of it).]

Alcohol, is it?

[Banquet plus cups plus a pleased looking Takatora can surely lead to nothing else.]

[handtowels]

Yeah.

[It had been months since they'd had a drop -- it wasn't sake, of course, but some kind of wine, even if it didn't smell of plums.]

If you weren't confined to your bed we could have used the mushroom for a proper view. This will have to do.

[Careful not spill any, he climbs onto Yoshitsugu's bed, squeezing beside his lover.]

Move over a little.