[IC] Fate/Alter Divergence

[Raineh Daze]

The start of the Holy Grail War should have been far different--that was the opinion of Tohsaka Shion. The past few months should have been spent seeking out the most potent of catalysts for her heir, planning and preparing to take down the other six Masters before claiming the Grail and the ultimate prize. She had almost finished preparing an expedition to the Middle East before this betrayal. Instead... instead, one of the other family heads--and such a reliable one--had been taken out in the very ritual that he had assisted her in engineering, and the group of Masters assembled was sorely lacking in one thing...

Experience. Even the magus sent by Atlas was clueless, and she could only hope that the homunculus they were opposed to had every bit as little knowledge as the previous Einzbern Masters.

Thus, instead of beginning the war by scoping out the opposition through some means or another, her family's Servant's identity a closely guarded secret from all beyond it, the magus had granted their team a day to get to know their Servants... before convening for a meeting the following afternoon. It was her hope that they could function as a team, but in the worst case scenario, then at least everyone would be able to identify who was an ally in the fight ahead.

Now, the chances of everyone staying for long enough to formulate a plan would be helped by food and drink; even famous heroes could surely enjoy a bit of hospitality. With Shion's interests, this only meant one thing... an afternoon tea. Dainty cucumber sandwiches, a selection of fluffy sponge cakes, scones with all the attendant requirements... and of course, tea itself. Black tea, with milk, not anything more Japanese. Perhaps it was a bit juvenile to indulge her interests like this, but...

[KoL]

Othianne Phorensia Obberhausen

"It seems to be about time. We need to go to the meeting, Caster," Othis said to her Servant a few minutes before the appointed time for their strategic meeting.

Caster was a pretty idiosyncratic being for an infamous witch from the Greek Age of Gods—as far as Othis was concerned, at least— but even she was unlikely to refuse an invitation coming directly from their patron. After all, if it wasn't for the Tohsaka's interest in this ritual, Caster would never have the chance to be summoned in this world. Nevertheless, it wasn't in Othis' interest to strain her relationship with her Servant by forcing her to do anything she may not want, thus the youngish magus left the ultimate decision of whether to go or not on Caster's hands.

A few minutes later.

"Greetings, Lady Shion," Othis said as soon as she arrived at the tea party. She was exactly five minutes ahead of the appointed time, a measure carefully taken considering her host's fixation with British culture, most likely including their famed punctuality.

"My teacher spoke well of your family," she said as soon as she had been given permission to sit and wait for the others who had yet to come.

[RolePlayerRoxas]

Kishinami Hakuno

Ah, wearing a dress was a terrible idea, wasn't it?

In a far corner of the room, Kishinami Hakuno awkwardly lingered, trying her hardest to be invisible. To be fair, that was normally second-nature to her, but the setting was a little different. Without a more substantial crowd, it was much more difficult for the young magus to essentially disappear into the background. Her cheeks were still burning from the realisation she'd arrived far too early - almost a full hour ago, thanks to a silly mix-up.

Fidgeting with her glasses, the plain-faced girl was worrying over several things: Her extreme earliness, no doubt poorly reflecting on herself; the plain, simplistic dress that was completely at odds with the lavishness of the Tohsaka household... if it weren't for Archer, she'd probably have been turned away at the door for being an obvious intruder, wouldn't she? Hakuno felt extremely out of place, and no one had even shown up yet!

Well, someone else had finally come, conversing with the host. The mage glanced in their direction for a moment, before shamefully turning her head away and sighing. Meetings like this... she wasn't used to them at all. Maybe she'd be better off hiding away until it was time to go home...

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Caster - Circe

"Mmm... Hmm..."

With a half-pensive nod of her head, the Caster of the group slowly took in a sip of the tea presented to those attending this... "Gathering"  of sorts.

There was a great deal of thought going through Circe's head at that moment, and not just regarding the whole 'being summoned to fight in a team of Servants' debacle. Of course, that was chief among her worries: that she would ultimately end up being used and tossed aside once again.

But what struck her as odd was how her Master had treated her. As a magus of the Age of Gods, she knew all too well what dominion over another held in store; it was why she had become a hermit on her island. Granted, she had fallen victim to that same trap... But even so!

Her Master... Circe could only say that she was an oddity among oddities. For once in her life, without having to resort to coercion or begging for her life, someone had been... Considerate towards her. Of course, she knew the moment that the summoning ritual had finished that her current Master had intended for her to arrive in the first place. The catalyst present had made as much clear, after all.

That dried-out flower had far too much meaning for her; after all, it represented her defeat, and... A few other things she would be much happier not remembering.

In the end, though, Circe found it hard to turn down the invitation to mingle when the time came, though she had given her Master the caveat of not revealing her identity no matter what happened. She wanted to believe in the young woman she was contracted to, but in the end this was still a relationship between Master and Servant.

In other words, the sort that she knew all too well.

"If anything, though... This tea could do with some honey. I could probably brew something that would be far tastier than this, to be honest," she mumbled, slowly familiarizing herself with the taste of the drink in front of her.

After all, the fastest way to a person's heart was their stomach, and it would do her no good if she was only here to be used and tossed aside again. If anything, this might have had equal importance to Circe with the upcoming battles.

No, this took precedence over the War itself. Though she loathed to admit it, the fear of being alone again far outweighed her fear of a second death. But she wouldn't repeat her past mistakes.

Here, she would make her Master reciprocate those feelings. That man never did, after all, so it was only fair to correct that error this time.

"Actually, does my Master even prefer this sort of dish? I should ask her after this gathering meets its conclusion..."

[VitaVitaAR]

Things had not gone as she had expected. The catalyst she had obtained, one left to her by her family, one prepared for the day where she may enter a Holy Grail War, had been intended to summon the legendary Sakata Kintoki, a powerful Servant who qualified for the class of Berserker, among others. It was purportedly a fragment of something that had once belonged to him, a shard of metal that could call him to her side in order to fight for her. To be honest, Miyako hadn't been certain how to feel about this. Was it really her right to enforce service on a figure from legend? But she had brushed aside her concerns when she performed the ritual. This was her duty, to her allies in the Tohsaka family.

And yet...

The Servant she had summoned was most certainly not Sakata Kintoki. No, she had been taken aback by the appearance of... well, a beautiful young girl, not much different from herself in age, with the horns of a dragon. Needless to say, her initial reaction had been one of shock and confusion. Why was it that she had summoned someone completely different from her intent? It was only after she learned who her Servant was that she realized what the fragment of metal's true nature was.

A melted shard of a long-destroyed bell.

The one she had summoned was Kiyohime, the maiden whose lovesickness and sorrow had caused her to become a dragon, who slew the object of her affections by burning him alive inside a bell and then took her own life. For a moment, she had become afraid. A Servant with a nature like that... she sounded as if she would be nearly uncontrollable. However, over the course of the day leading up to the meeting with the Tohsaka head, she had discovered that Berserker seemed to do... relatively little that was threatening. She even volunteered to cook for Miyako, and as long as she was treated nicely...

Maybe this would work out just fine?

Regardless, she had a duty to fulfill, and so with her Servant in tow Miyako made her way to the Tohsaka estate. To be frank, she was curious about who else had been summoned...

When she arrived...

"Hello? ah, I am the representative of the Tachibana family, Tachibana Miyako," she began, bowing, "I have summoned Servant Berserker."

[KoL]

Archer - Sir Tristan

"Worry not, Master. Even though this war is such a sad event, your purity shines with the stark radiance of a wintery moon. There's no reason for you to be ashamed, even in the presence of your Lady," Tristan's said as he materialized, standing beside his Master. The Archer's voice didn't betray any ulterior motives for such praise; it was merely an act of him following his feelings after noticing the unrest taking a hold over the young maiden who summoned him into this world.

"I'm the Archer class Servant that shall be fighting by your side in this Holy Grail War. No matter what awaits us in the future, you can count on my unerring bow as long it's the will of my Master that I lend my help to your cause," Tristan said, greeting the other present at the table with a courteous bow.

All the while, the Archer remained armored, never taking the seat that was readied for him but rather remaining right by Hakuno's side, standing tall above all else. After all, how could he, a mere knight, take a seat at a table set up for his Master and her allies?

This wasn't the Round Table, regardless of the infatuation of the Tohsaka household's Lady with Britain and its culture, the fact that there was visible imbalance in the positions of power of those sitting by it was easily noticeable. No, even if it was the very same Round Table he once knew, Tristan had no place on it after he left Camelot. Thus he stood by his position, guarding his Master, as a knight should rightfully be.

[Crusader Lord]

Kikyo Tohsaka

The Holy Grail War. Kikyo knew innately how much her mother, her parents overall, had been working and planning for this moment. She'd heard about it all since she had been a small child, and though to her the matter had become desensitizing after a time....it was coming more into perspective now at least. Sent to learn at the Clocktower to help her bide her time within a place of learning (outside of the scandals or other such event that could happen there potentially) and gain skills in preparation for the upcoming conflict, even as through the grapevine she picked up on rumors of a Middle East expedition having been in the works back home, but in the end she had been pulled home to help finish a project before a certain family had backstabbed them and forced the Tohsaka Family's hard work to be expended in an attempt to counteract this betrayal.

Furthermore, the only help they could seem to get from allies and such was....other children, mere children...and the exasperated Matou girl she had some personal interest in, whose demeanor seemed to hint at a rather tough life. Albiet she'd only kept her own tongue in regards to that "worm man", as she had dubbed him as a small child in the far past, for the sake of her family and parents and their connections. Such was only to be expected of a mage, but personally she loathed the wretch and was glad he was gone. Not that it made them any better in regards to allies, much to her bitter mental note on the matter.

-------

But overall at this moment Kikyo Tohsaka, heir to her family and a prodigy who had helped complete the Jeweled Sword that had made this possible......was slightly in a wistful, bored mood as it were, having been mindlessly preparing foods for her mother's afternoon tea for their many guests. Fortunately she had been able to arrange to have the corresponding tea cakes she personally enjoyed so much, at least whenever her mother forced afternoon tea upon them as was her nature, though it was only a small victory in her mind over the dull tasks she had been put to work with. For the moment she was standing in the kitchen, brain and body running on naught but a nice cup of morning tea and a few goodies snatched subtly from a couple of the other plates she had brought out earlier. This all whilst a plate of more of those little fancy cucumber sandwiches she had just prepared for all those gathered here carefully in her hands to be brought out.

Walking out into the room in her usual garb, a kitchen apron still garbed upon her for lack of caring what others might think of her hobby, Kikyo moved to the table and put down the plate carefully as her eyes scanned the crowd with a sense of light interest at least. There was at least one servant here, from appearances alone reminding her of the British knights of old, who she felt might enjoy the tea more than others. At least, beyond that of her own servant.

Thoughts AboutHer Servant

Ah, that was right. Assassin....a unique one who was not among the Hassan-i-Sabbah she had virtually expected to get if she had summoned an Assassin...albeit this wouldn't have been the case if the last-minute catalyst she had procured to try to summon Caesar had worked as intended. But that was nothing she dwelt on now, truthfully.

Assassin was a man known for his treachery, and yet she personally had found him an interesting companion for conversation. One who had become dulled to the world in a sense but didn't hate humans at all, and another who loved the world and its people. The comparisons were interesting, and the occasional juxtaposition they had as well as similarities they also had were all fascinating, though she'd kept polite in things out of respect for the servant's character even as they had talked the night mostly away.

Still, she was not going to reveal her servant's true name to anyone here. Her servant seemed in the same mindset. Given the catalyst and how she hadn't managed to summon Caesar, she'd managed to pin down the identity of her servant dutifully through a simple process of elimination. At least, simple for her. Maybe not for others potentially. Regardless, she'd invited him to join her in the kitchen, or the others for tea so they could socialize, because she felt he'd be a breath of fresh air among the normal figures. And, perhaps, it might give him a chance to learn more about their compatriots in this war. @Grey

Deciding to try to start a conversation, however, she decided to approach one of the other masters, a brown-haired girl who seemed cute and had a pair of glasses on and seemed visibly nervous about things(@RolePlayerRoxas). It was the least she could do, and admittedly between the seeming separation from the others and the bit of attractiveness of this girl Kikyo felt drawn to her a bit. She gave a light nod to the girl as she approached, before trying to break the ice a bit, a small smile on her face:

"New to little things like this, eh? Haha. But to be honest, you are doing fine," the female Tohsaka heiress said, trying to eek out her own manner of social interaction and words to reassure and interact with the Kishinami girl, before extending a hand to her, "My name is Kikyo, by the way. You could come hang back in the kitchen with me a minute if you want, just to get away from the larger crowd for a bit, and maybe get some of the fresh food i'm preparing to settle the nerves."

It was worth a shot anywho. As bland as this girl seemed, it was unique to Kikyo and worth trying to aim for some conversation.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Kawajima Endou

It would be a lie to say that Endou had expected anything that had happened to him over the course of the last week. From being shipped off to another city out of nowhere into being made to summon a Servant, the young man's head may as well have been spinning from all the chaos that had thrown his life into disarray. It wasn't likely, after all, that he would inherit his family's Crest barring any unforeseen circumstances, after all, so he was more or less poised to just live his life... Semi-normally. Maybe travel the world or something.

But... summoning an irregular pair of Servants to participate in some odd Grail War? That was definitely not something he had expected in the least. But here he was now, in an odd Western-style gathering of sorts, surrounded by people and Servants that he didn't know in the least. Aimlessly wandering about, if anything, was probably a more productive use of his time. After all, it wasn't as if he stood out all that much among the crowd of... Admittedly young Masters in the group.

"Ah... It's a good thing I ate some snacks earlier..." he complained under his breath as he glanced around. "This sort of food isn't exactly stuff that sits well with me."

Of course, he wasn't rude enough to not eat anything that had been laid out in the area, but at the very least he would only eat as much as he had to without looking rude. In truth, he still wasn't sure what to think of his Riders—yes, the plural there still baffled him—but at the very least, they seemed affable enough to work with. What was more worrying, at least, were the other Masters; after all, most magi, regardless of age, tended to be somewhat uptight about their heritage... And, well, given his current position, it was really hard to strike up any real conversations. After all, it seemed as if every Master save him was a girl, which was... Odd.

In retrospect, he stood out far more right now than anyone else might have, given that at least half of the other Servants present seemed to also be girls...

[Grey]

Master of Saber, Matou Tsugumi

Matou Tsugumi crossed into the boundary of the Tohsaka workshop in the mid-afternoon, arriving neither a second sooner nor later than the appointed time. She remembered clearly the last time she and Zouken had visited the Tohsaka home for a social call. How could she not when she had been informed quite thoroughly of her impropriety regarding English table procedure? This time, of course, Tsugumi knew.

Tsugumi knew that she didn’t learn a single thing last time, and thus endeavoured not to arrive until absolutely necessary—which was now.

Of course, it came as no surprise that most of the other members of the alliance had already appeared by the time she showed up at the meeting space; what came as a surprise was the silence that she’d arrived to.

Tohsaka Shion had managed to fit approximately a dozen people in a single room for teatime, including a knight in full armor and a girl with a wingspan. But somehow, it seemed most everyone in the crowded space was in their own corner, busying themselves with terse introductions or by casting timid glances across at the other members of the alliance. It was like a bunch of singles in a classroom weeks before a festival. The other Masters were certainly the around right age for it, not that she was any different.

And that itself was worrisome. Even if it was on short notice, was this really the best all the Tohsaka’s contacts had to offer? Tsugumi had expected to be the youngest and weakest of the bunch, not among the oldest and most experienced. Perhaps she should have been more vocal in offering to help organize the anti-Einzbern faction.

Still, Tsugumi had to give them credit where it was due. With her Master’s clairvoyance she could assess the abilities of encountered Servants, including the ones gathered here now, and what she saw certainly wasn't displeasing. For their youth, the alliance had good taste in catalysts.

Hers was an artifact her grandfather had excavated from Britain seven years ago. He’d called it “the perfect catalyst” but she didn’t know what it was or who it summoned. It was only a day ago when Tsugumi finally opened that aged, velvet-lined box that she understood what he meant.

The strongest class, a powerful legend, and optimum compatibility. Rare was the catalyst that satisfied two of these properties; the Round Table splinter satisfied all three.

Though that begged a question: of all the Knights, why did she summon Sir Mordred Pendragon?

It was clear that their personalities were very different. Not quite opposed, but definitely opposite. Based on first impression, Saber certainly was louder and rowdier than Tsugumi was comfortable acting herself. Her vivacity was definitely a change of pace for Tsugumi’s monotonous lifestyle, but her Servant hadn’t done anything questionable yet, so she was content to keep the knight on a loose leash.

Tsugumi rapped her bony knuckles against the wooden doorframe, drawing attention to herself and her companion.

“‘Afternoon all,” the girl with scruffy twintails and a dowdy coat greeted. “I’m Matou Tsugumi. This is Saber. I guess we oughta...erm...let’s all, uh, work well together?”

[VitaVitaAR]

Saber, Mordred Pendragon

Saber, frankly, had been displaying a complete lack of patience leading up to the meeting. For most of the day, she'd been asking when they were going to get going already, and complaining about how long the wait felt. Sure, she had only been summoned for about a day, but that felt like it was taking way too long already!

At least in her mind, she couldn't be blamed for feeling that way. While her Master seemed pretty easygoing and let her more or less do whatever she wanted, thing were pretty slow. No fighting, nothing like that at all! Sure she was going to get to pick out her own clothing and buy snacks and all all, but Mordred was eager to get down to business first, then play around afterwards. Not to say that the red knight didn't want to get the chance to play around, but rather that she wanted to get started before doing so. To get her chance to take her rightful place as the true and proper heir to King Arthur.

It was what she desired above everything else, after all.

On top of that, she had to confess to feeling some level of curiosity about the other servants that had been summoned by 'her side'. Just who was going to be fighting alongside her? And, naturally, paling in comparison to her incredible capabilities and knightliness. There was no denying she was going to be the best Servant among the seven that would be fighting together, after all. She didn't even need to see who her allies were. After all, she was Mordred, the one and only!

The strongest knight, the one and only heir of Arthur Pendragon... All around someone who deserved to be thought of as the best, to put it simply. And she finally wasn't going to feel so bored, too.

When she arrived at the doorway, the knight's helmet was retracted, exposing her face and wild blonde hair. Any opportunity to go without it was one she would take.

"Yo," Mordred began, waving as she glanced around the room. "Saber here!"

She quickly took stock of the other Servants. Caster was a pink-haired girl with wings and Archer-...

Archer was someone she knew very well.

Archer was Sir Tristan.

"Tristan?!" she exclaimed, "Is that really you, you luckless bastard? Hahaha! To think we'd be summoned to fight on the same side, huh? Is this some kinda joke?"

Saber honestly couldn't believe her eyes. One of the other knights, Tristan of all people, had been summoned here? She couldn't decide how to feel. Pissed off, or laughing like crazy?

She decided for the middle ground of amused, but also kind of ticked.

"Y'know, being surrounded by all these ladies who aren't gonna give a rat's ass about you, that's a different kind shitty luck with women, right?" she asked, cocking her head to one side and gesturing to the female Servants and Masters, "Or can you even notice that when you never open your damn eyes?"

@Grey@KoL

[KoL]

Othianne Phorensia Obberhausen

"You said that out loud, Caster. If you really want to know, tea isn't my favorite drink. However, I'm not rude enough to not appreciate the quality of the one we have been served. We can continue this talk in our room," Othis said while observing as the other 'guests' filled the room. In fact, it seemed like someone had been there the whole time, a girl that escaped Othis' perception until her Servant spoke what seemed to be words of comfort before addressing everyone in what could only be described as a knightly way.

"The pleasure is ours, Archer and Archer's Master. I'm Othianne Phorensia Obberhausen, an alumna at the Atlas Institute, and this is one is the Servant I summoned, Caster," Othis replied in a polite, yet completely deadpan, voice as the last one of those she presumed to be a Master working under the Tohsaka household's banner finally arrived, bringing an excessively rowdy Servant with herself.

Tristan

"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Othianne, and Caste—" Tristan's reply was cut short when the last of the Masters walked finally arrived, bringing with herself a loud-mouthed Servant that no one who ever took a seat at the Round Table would ever be able to forget.

"No one who ever took a seat at the Round Table would forget this voice even after a thousand years," Tristan said in a collected voice before turning around to address the owner of said voice. However, what he saw before his eyes was enough of a surprise to make the Archer open his eyes and take a minute step back, momentarily breaking his stoic facade.

"So, the rumors about you being the son of King Arthur were true, Treacherous Knight, Mordred," he said after regaining his composure. "To think that we would be summoned to the same era and don't even have the luxury of being enemies of one another so that I could pay back my debt to the King by slaying the one who's responsible for Camelot's downfall. That's the saddest of all fates, indeed," Tristan added, choosing to ignore Mordred's remark about the Archer's (un)luck with women. After all, what rejected child like he knew about love?

[Raineh Daze]

The Tohsaka head, observing the brewing argument--and the presence of all Masters and Servants, though oddly the extra space that she'd had to provide had actually been needed--rose to her feet and clapped her hands, hoping to at least get the Servants attention long enough to prevent the two knights from starting a fight inside her house. Though surely the presence of those two was a good sign for the strength of their side, even if one of them was the traitor... certainly better than her daughter's attempts.

"I am glad that all of you could make it, and hope that you can spare a few moments to listen to me. As you all know, the purpose of this Grail War is to ensure that the Grail is contested, and not simply handed to the first to those first to summon..." Mostly true. Had it been simply restricted to the original three families, she would have had no objections, "In numbers, we have an advantage over the Einzbern. They have a single Master and a single fortified position in previous wars--if their Master is defeated, then it doesn't matter how many Servants remain."

"It is most likely that they use the same castle as before, but even as a mage rather than a soldier, I would not recommend a direct assault at this stage. Even without Servants, it is a difficult place to approach, and I fully expect that this has only become more difficult since."

Of course, their numbers had another disadvantage--it was far harder for all of their Masters to communicate and the Servants to effectively work together, even with personality clashes.

[KoL]

Othianne Phorensia Obberhausen

"If I may speak," Othis said, setting her cup aside as soon as their patron finished her explanation, probably more to the benefit of the Servants than the Masters, or so Othis thought, "In a setup such as this one, we are at a great disadvantage. We should focus our efforts on acquiring information about our foes. Caster and I will do everything within our reach, but Assassin will be even more vital, especially because we aren't aware of the identity of the Einzbern's counterpart."

The fact that none of them knew anything about each other's Servants, except for Saber and Archer, was a detrimental factor as well, but Othis decided not to address it after the unexpected True Name reveal. "I'm not sure if I should apologize or not for being here during this unwitting reveal. However, allow me to say that I'm looking forward to the opportunity of cooperating with two Top Servants who were part of King Arthur's legendary court," she said, trying to be polite after being part of this blunder. After all, if keeping their identities hidden was as important for the other Servants as it was for Caster, this couldn't be called anything else but a disaster.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Caster - Circe

Circe froze for a moment as her Master caught her unaware, only now realizing that her thoughts had not been contained as she had thought they were. It was, admittedly, a bit embarrassing, and the Caster blushed for a moment before shaking it off and laughing nervously.

"A-ah, yes, of course, I wouldn't mind that~!" she remarked, casually attempting to shrug off her previous misstep with a bit of cheer. Inwardly, of course, the fact that she had let that slip was gnawing at her from the back of her mind. It wasn't likely that any of her minor schemes were made obvious, but even so...

Luckily, any internal conflict that Caster had at that moment was promptly thrown right out the window as soon as her Master introduced herself to another Master-Servant pair. Circe, of course, bowed in turn, a smile on her face as she glanced the pair over.

"Hello, you two. I am the Caster-class Servant summoned here to aid my Master in obtaining what she desires," she added, pausing for a moment as the Archer and his Master seemed to be distracted by the group's Saber. Of course, the immediate reaction between the two Servants (coupled with their near-instantaneous reveal of the other's True Names) caused her to thank Hecate that none of the other Servants present seemed to know who she was. But even so, this seemed like a situation that would probably be better off being resolved now rather than later. At the same time, it wasn't as if she could simply get the pair to put aside what seemed to be a long-standing grudge for the sake of those present now...

Or could she?

"Oh, you two shouldn't be so worked up already; we haven't even seen our enemies, have we?" she asked, quickly pouring a cup of tea for both Mordred and Tristan. Discreetly slipping in some of her homemade medicines to make the pair relax (or put them to sleep; she forgot which she had brought along) into each cup, the Caster cheerfully offered the two the tea.

Well, regardless of what happened from this, the two Servants' reactions to her creations would probably be useful as a point of reference for the battles to come.

And by that, of course, she meant figuring out what would work when it came to calming this pair down in the future; it would be quite unfortunate if they killed each other before their common enemy did the job, after all.

[Grey]

Master of Saber, Matou Tsugumi

There were many things Tsugumi had thought would happen during this meeting. There were also many things that Tsugumi thought could happen during this meeting, but were far too unlikely to actually happen. Saber immediately identifying their side's Archer did not fall into either of those categories. It was so out of left-field that all Tsugumi did was stand there while it played out, wearing a reddened expression that fell somewhere between a smile and a grimace.

Tsugumi really wanted to intervene, but what could she say? "Stop that, Saber"? "Back off, Archer"? Too many things could go wrong, and she didn't have the force of personality to play off the consequences. All she could do now was endure the flustered shame settling in her stomach, and watch as Mrs. Tohsaka did her best to deescalate the situation by abruptly starting their strategy meeting.

With slow and heavy steps, Tsugumi made her way towards the rest of the Masters. She paused near Team Archer, poised to speak before ultimately deciding against it. Instead, she ended up taking the seat furthest from them. No doubt they--and probably everyone else here--thought she was a sham of a Master; she'd even said something like "let's all work well together" when her Servant was the one starting trouble!

'Mordred,' Tsugumi thought as she poured herself a tea. Her dainty spoon stirred idle circles as she cast her message across her mental link with Saber. 'Didn't look like a good first impression from where I was. Think everything's gonna work out with your... coworker, I guess?'

With the base of the cup in her palm and her fingers looped through the handle, Tsugumi quietly nursed her tea while listening intently. There was nothing said so far that she couldn't agree with, and when Caster's Master suggested they prioritize information gathering, she raised her hand.

"I've got worms to spare," Tsugumi offered. She didn't elaborate. Then again, she didn't need to; the Matou family predilection for familiars was no great secret. "Speaking of, there any clues to ID the Einzbern Servants? Paper trail from their excavations or weird news or...?"

[VitaVitaAR]

Mordred

"Yeah yeah, so sad, so sad," Mordred responded, waving her hand in a dismissive fashion. It was like a broken record with Sir Tristan. She did agree, however, that it was a shame that they weren't on different sides. After all, it was true. They didn't get to fight if they'd been summoned as allies. "I guess I agree with you, it's that the true heir to King Arthur can't kick your ass across this town."

It was true, in her heart, but that wasn't the only reason she had referred to herself like that. Mordred wanted to do her best to piss the other knight off as much as she possibly could. Giving him a rather sharp, vicious grin, she almost considered proposing that they spar at some point(so she could get the satisfaction of beating him into the ground, naturally), but she was interrupted when Caster suddenly offered her some tea, by complete surprise. It took the red knight off guard, and she awkwardly took the cup.

"Uh... yeah... sure...?"

For a few moments she stared at the, taken out of her irritation at seeing Tristan again. Then, she received mental communication fro. her Master, and she followed her to her seat.

'I'll just kick his ass if things go wrong! No problem!'

@KoL@Raineh Daze@Grey@PKMNB0Y

[KoL]

Tristan

"Worry not, Lady Obberhausen, amongst those who took a seat at the Round Table there may be many who had reason to hide their identities at some point in their lives. However, no knight worth their name would have reason to request such others to apologize for their own blunders," Tristan said, replying to Othis' apology.

Tristan chose to not continue to antagonize Mordred. Considering the other knight's dangerously short fuse, any more conversation could lead to disaster, potentially jeopardizing the life and reputation of Tristan's Master.

Instead of that, he took a step away from the table, a moment before Caster's offering of tea to calm their mood. "Apologies, but must refuse, Lady Caster. It's unbefitting of a knight to share the same table as their master without being told so," Tristan remarked, perhaps intent on poking Mordred's lack of decorum, while turning his gaze towards his absentminded Master.

[Raineh Daze]

Shion nodded towards Othianne. It was a more negative package than she had given--focusing on their deficiencies rather than their strengths, though it carried the same meaning: going for a full engagement right now would be disastrous. Particularly if the animosity between Saber and Archer were to threaten their chances at a critical time... who could have thought multiple Knights of the Round Table might be a bad thing?

"I'm afraid the only clues to their activity reveal little about Servant identities... their efforts before the war appeared to be directed towards Britain and Greece, but that unfortunately fails to much narrow their chances. Though... I heard that one of the items shipped to their castle from Britain was wooden in nature?

"I must ask if anyone here has a method for communicating with one another? Although I might be able to contact you all from here, that would be a poor way to co-ordinate assistance or important information."

[KoL]

Othianne Phorensia Obberhausen

"Britain and Greece... plus a wooden artifact of unknown nature," Othis said in a deadpan voice as she looked around the room, noticing the parallels that could be drawn with their own faction's Servants. "As far as Western Heroic Spirits are concerned, these are indeed the best locations to look for potential catalysts. Theorizing without evidence won't help. However, we can assume that the worst case scenario for us is if the Einzbern summoned one of the other Knights of the Round Table; personal grudges between Servants would pose a serious threat to our war efforts. If they somehow manage to call upon King Arthur's help, we could be facing a serious risk of a loyalty crisis."

Othis made a brief pause, taking the time to look at both Tristan and Mordred's Masters as well as their respective Servants. Her expression was completely neutral, hopefully making it evident that what she said wasn't meant as an offense or critique to the knights. That was just a blunt delivery of her—and probably others'— thoughts on their situation. Earning the ire of her own allies was the last thing she intended to do.

"Concerning communication means; with Caster's assistance, I may be able to provide us with portable Mystic Codes for that purpose. If that is acceptable to everyone, I mean," Othis said once Shion asked whether or not they had means to communicate with one another and keep a tight cooperation.

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

Caster - Circe

The hawk-winged Caster gave a slight, bittersweet smile as only one of the Knights in their group took her tea. She acknowledged the fact that her medicines might not have the intended effect on Mordred, all things considered, but even so, having the situation defused to this extent was still better than nothing.

"Good, good~! It's better to be relaxed before you go to the fray, no? It's a shame, Archer, but I guess it can't be helped," she remarked, giggling for a moment before her Master made a suggestion of her own to help the team out. It certainly wasn't something she was opposed to, after all—making Mystic Codes and all that. If anything, it meant more time alone with her Master, and there was no way she'd pass something like that up.

"Of course, I don't mind helping my Master here with a project like that. If everyone else here is fine with that, we can get to work... Tomorrow, maybe? If there's nothing else to worry about, of course~!"