Octo

Fate/Illuminate Histoire

Ludwig carefully filed Arthur's instructions in her head as the young la- lad. She'd get it. As her young Master taught her how to use the chopsticks. So... they were like food-tweezers. How novel! Truly, this was an interesting country. What adventures awaited them in this vast new land? Her face brightened at the mere thought of it.

"Ah... are kimonos not typical wear in this land?" she questioned, tilting her head demurely, "well then, I shall trust your judgement, Master!"

Ludwig food-tweezed the dishes in front of her, accidentally dropping a thing or two, but quickly adapted and began piloting the chopsticks like a pro. Or perhaps not a rank amateur, at least.

"I would like to buy some fantastically ostentatious new things, but for the time being, I believe I should be capable of wearing your own clothes. You are correct in the assumption that my bust is not very impressive," she said far too loud to be comfortable, "though I admire your valor in wanting to begin our quest this very night! Truly, Arthur is a fitting name for one so brave."

Ludwig stood up dramatically, and pointed her chopsticks at him almost as if appointing Arthur to a position of prestige.

"And I concur! First, to the boutiques... then, to the vile blackguards that hinder our path!"

---

Lucia simply stared at Nero for a few moments. She knew that the woman did not require food, but having it said aloud was yet another reminder that Nero did not belong here, and it bothered Lucia to think that way. Whether or not it was a requirement...

"You-"

Then, the sound of footsteps as Beatrice quickly approached the kitchens. Lucia turned to greet her, but the woman simply kept moving.

"The focaccia is almost do-"

And like that, the woman was out the door. Lucia puffed her cheeks out, tonguing a couple of piercings where some jewelry currently wasn't in annoyance. Didn't anyone want to eat the delicious food she was making? She turned her gaze back to Nero. Perhaps a softer touch.

"...I'd like to learn them. Your favorite dishes. Even if you don't need to eat them, I'd like you to enjoy them all the same," she said, a little quietly just in case Beatrice was still near.

Then Lucia paused, sighed, and continued.

"...I think we should try and gather information early on. Not show our hand too much. I have the utmost confidence in you, but these are heroes, as you said. They must have some pretty impressive abilities of their own."

The oven beeped, and Lucia removed the focaccia, placing the pan on the island to cool a little. The smell emanated out infectiously, a heavenly little slice of Italy.

"But... I will not command you. If you truly wish to engage with the others, I only ask that you do so in disguise. I don't know if I can do a lot to help you... in fact, I may only hinder your efforts. I am still inexperienced in these matters. That said... are you worried about something? Do you think that someone you know might be around? If you have any concerns, you can talk to me."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude didn't think anyone could approach the annoyance she felt towards Fionn, but here Renar was making the world's most shite-eating expression. Smug bastard. An annoyance, every last one.

Still, she took Fanilly's apology as a balm. Her grin widened as the woman offered contrition, though it was perhaps a little too sincere to fully enjoy. The Captain had bowed her head and everything. Though Fanilly justified herself, saying she didn't want Gertrude to be harmed, it wasn't something Gertrude could honestly pick at. It wasn't a trivial thing. She'd potentially put herself in harm's way in order to help.

Could she actually be nice?

Gertrude would have reached out to pat her bowed head, but she was certain that Fionn would ruin it as long as he was around. If the others had something, it was best just to sit and wait.

---

It certainly was something, traversing a fey realm. Gertrude had read about them, but she'd never been in one personally. Merely reading about it didn't do the bizarre thing justice. An entire little world constructed to the aesthetics of an individual... she'd like to be able to do something like that. Perhaps a room full of pillows and stuffed toys and books and endless sweets.

But now wasn't the time to think of such things. She had to be on guard. Literally anything could happen here, if the Moonlit Queen willed it. Even three meter tall crow men, one of which apparently served as her majordomo. Given all of the things she'd seen lately... he came as less of a surprise than he otherwise might have.

Then, she lay her eyes on the Moonlit Queen herself. Gertrude had to swallow down her need to immediately pat the girl on the head. She only felt like she could get away with Merilia because the woman was something like her aunt. This one... would probably seriously change her body somehow. Like she'd just done to the Captain's.

Her own situation here was less dire than the others. She wasn't particularly in love with her body as it was anyways, and if things went wrong, at the very least portions of her soul were elsewhere. She could even take Gretchen's body if she needed to. Still... didn't want to risk it.

...Did she actually just enjoy patting short women? When it came to Aleksiya-

Anyways.

Gertrude leaned towards Fionn and whispered into his ear. Aside from Fanilly, he was probably the most qualified to be speaking now, and the Captain was still sputtering. She also figured Fionn for a better gambler. Fanilly seemed too honest to be any good.

"Information is valuable. Think you and your blackguard friends could leverage what she wants to know in some sort of wager?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"Haaah?" Gertrude shot at Fionn as her scowl grew with the dumb bastard's smile. This guy just would not stop pissing her off, and when he mentioned hugging, her scowl grew into an expression of abject disgust.

"Has the mana melted your brain? Made you go completely daft? I'm not at all concerned with your wellbeing. I had seriously considered just glassing the whole place and being done with it."

Her gaze turned to Renar, who had rudely interjected like the smug bastard he was. Gertrude rolled her eyes, fuming further at the additional disrespect this scoundrel was showing her.

"Well, I do suppose I should thank you for doing your sodding job, m'lord. My praise knows no bounds, truly. But to the matter of finding other fey..."

She turned to Fanilly, with decidedly less venom.

"Yes, I should be able to assist with that. I'll need a few moments to attune here, and finding a different presence should be easier. That said, mistress, you know what they say about assuming. I was quite taken aback by your immodest grappling," Gertrude lied, her only real issue with Fanilly's action being her own insecurity regarding her weak body, "so of course, I think a proper apology is in order. Throw in a few compliments about my performance, and I think I shall forgive you!"

She hoped Fionn wouldn't ruin this for her, as he was wont to do.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude let out a loud sigh as their foe faded, remaining nominally on guard until its remains rearranged themselves and blossomed with small white flowers. She supposed it was pretty, in a way, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She scowled as she trounced up to Fionn and got in the lout's face.

"You daft shite," she practically spat, "you could have gotten yourself killed. If either Fiadh or I had been slightly off, there was a good chance you would have exploded or bled to death. Natural result of your glory-hounding like the prat you are, but less than ideal for the employer you claim to care for."

Gertrude looked towards Fanilly, and then back to Fionn.

"Well, she won't tell you, so I will. If circumstances take a turn for the nasty, cancel the damn spell and keep your distance. Do not walk slowly towards the raining green orbs of pure energy. I had the shot anyways, and I was in very little danger. I had the shot because you steel-swinging buffoons got it for me. There's a time and a place for your new magic sword bullshite, and you need to learn to pick them better."

Not, of course, that Gertrude even cared about anyone here. She probably just wanted to yell at Fionn some, because he got on her nerves.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude continued chanting. Fionn obviously had an idea, but she didn't have enough faith in the lout to leave the serpent to him. Renar and Fanilly worked their way down the beast, no doubt attempting to flush out the weak point. It was a good idea, and one she probably would have vocalized if she wasn't afraid that the serpent would be intelligent enough to understand her and act against it. The knights were at least smart enough to do this much, though she supposed she'd expected as much from the scoundrel. If nothing else, he seemed a wily sort.

The serpent split open like some foul flower and began spitting magic into the air like blood. One last attack. Or, if they were unlucky, a penultimate one. Gertrude clutched her broom tight, and it ripped her backward, out of the way of the descending green orbs. Her broom was faster than she was, and reached top speed quickly. It was one of many reasons she wasn't too worried about most combats that took place outside.

That attack would be the creature's downfall. Almost everyone had cleared the area, which meant a chanted Dragonstar was in little danger of hitting her allies. Tyaethe had staked the thing to the ground, and that combined with Renar and Fanilly's swift work meant the weak point had very few places it could be. Right as she was about to fire, she noticed Fionn stumbling towards the beast, protected by the Niyar.

Dumb shite. If Fiadh hadn't been there, the stupid lout might have died. Before he even unleashed his attack! It made Gertrude mad that someone as dumb as him was still alive. It would teach him a hell of a lesson if she were to unleash her Dragonstar at full force into the melee, blow both annoyances away at once.

But Fionn might still learn a lesson. If that thing made one last lunge as he attacked, he'd be completely open and absolutely exhausted. That would teach him...

"Scheiße," Gertrude hissed, quickly making a few modifications to the spell. By decreasing the area of effect, she wouldn't be hitting the weak point, but she wouldn't be hitting Fionn either. Not that she was aiming for the rear, where the core now resided. Instead, she aimed to blast away the midsection where it had already taken some damage. By destroying that area, she could cut off control of the many-petaled head at a single point and ensure the dumb bastard didn't get eight kinds of skewered.

"Dragonstar," Gertrude called out as Fionn called his own attack.

She hated that bastard.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude let out a weird gasp as Fanilly grabbed her and dragged her out of the way of the serpent's next attack. Of course, Gertrude could have defended against it herself. Did the captain not think her capable, or was she simply given to reflexive gallantry? Well, it was unwanted and unwarranted either way.

Though the thought did invade her head, for just a moment, that assisting her actively put the captain in more danger. So either Fanilly needed her, or at least cared about her enough to take that risk. Both thoughts weren't entirely repulsive. Maybe even a little warm.

This was superseded, however, by the small panic Gertrude felt knowing that the captain would know how weirdly light she was. Was it in Fanilly's purview to determine that she was enhancing her body with magic just to work as an average woman's would? Would the captain think she was a weakling? The thought that this waif could look down on her made Gertrude sick. She grit her teeth, and stumbled away as Fanilly moved forward to strike.

Apparently Tyaethe was savvy enough to determine that the weak point was moving. Well, that confirmed Gertrude's own thoughts. Additionally, Gertrude was able to sense that it was somewhere in the upper half. Had it been her, she'd probably have kept the weak point moving along the lower end. The upper half was the most threatening part, so obviously it would receive the most attacks. If looked at that way...

It was likely that the weak point was there by necessity. Since the upper half had many more points of locomotion, and the movements were more sophisticated, it stood to reason that the governing magic might be closer to provide more immediate feedback. If one considered it like that, it was likely close enough to the mouth to be a dangerous prospect to strike, but far enough away so that it wouldn't easily be hit by a stray attack from those defending against its fangs.

"It's in the upper half," she growled. She didn't want to point out the exact spot she thought it might be, because it was moving anyways. In this situation, it was probably more useful to let everyone skewer it where they thought was reasonable rather than everyone striking at the same point. She began chanting, just in case it managed to evade the incoming strikes. A large enough spell could cover a lot of area if she could finish it.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude wasn't exactly expecting bandits as far out as they were, but she wasn't expecting a giant tree-snake either. If you'd asked her which they'd be more likely to find this close to a faerie queen, however, she probably would have picked the snake. Gertrude stood, undeterred, as the barrier that Arken had put up started shattering against the serpent's mass.

Thrinax was far more intimidating than this thing, though the terrain wasn't as much to her favor.

She could fly away, but the canopy wouldn't offer a clear shot. In fact, she might hit one of the knights by accident. Bombardment was out.

Fire was out, unless she was OK with causing some serious environmental damage that might kill everyone.

Meteor Fall was right out. Kill everyone, glass the whole area, nasty business. Would not endear a faerie queen to their plight.

Well. Since the creature was made up of a lot of different plants, but moved as one, she considered it likely that somewhere within the mass was a force that governed its movement. A central connecting point that determined shape, behavior, and locomotion. If that could be disrupted, the creature could be defeated. Otherwise, the knights would mostly be swinging at individual roots and vines. Gertrude took a deep breath, and focused. If she could sense the governing point, the sword-morons could converge on it. It might take her a moment, but she assumed Arken was competent enough to protect her. While the knights spread out, she stuck behind the court mage.

Since when did she start relying on other people to get things done for her? Curious, that.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

As far as Gertrude was concerned, she'd done her part. She'd summoned the Niyar in and gathered some information, and was happy enough with this performance that she didn't see the need to put her own name forward in the coming matters of diplomacy. In fact, she was self-aware enough to know that her inability to say nice things and grovel as would probably be expected put her at a... disadvantage in such negotiations.

In short, she knew that she was rude and unsocialized and didn't really know how to fix it. Not, of course, that it needed to be fixed for the most part. As long as she was strong, people had to treat on her level and she didn't have to learn to talk pretty to them.

When dealing with Witches (and now Faerie nobility), however, her lack of decorum was like to get her into trouble. Annoyingly, people existed who were stronger than her. She would accompany the rest into the woods, but she made a mental note to hold her tongue in the presence of any Fae who was able to contort the world around her and the people inside it to her whims. Probably a good call.

As the woods grew darker and more twisted, Gertrude felt a chill run down her spine. They had crossed, at some point, from the area of the wood for youthful dalliances to the area where creatures from faerie stories might lurk. She didn't need to be told twice to put herself on guard, but when the captain had them form up, Gertrude also conspicuously took to the center with Fiadh and Arken. If she had meat-shields, of course she was going to use them.

Gertrude's uselessness in diplomacy annoyed her, but killing, at least, was something she could do. She readied her broom to blast the hell out of whatever wanted to try them.

"You sound almost like you're having fun, little mosquito," Gertrude quipped at Tyaethe, "you're a bit mad, aren't you?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"Getting scared, mistress?" Gertrude asked Fanilly, grinning, "I don't blame you. If we go in, we may leave babbling inanity like that dotard, or we may not leave at all. Not all of us have methods to defend ourselves. What we do from here is your call, but the wellbeing of both the Duke and our order depends on your command."

Gertrude frowned at Fionn as he opened his big, stupid mouth.

"The woman is daffy, won't stop talking about patting my head like a small child or confusing convenient contracts with marriage certificates. I'll let her leave if you promise she won't touch-"

But Tyaethe was already breaking the circle, and Gertrude clicked her tongue as the Niyar flopped out of the containment area and onto her husband.

"And what exactly do you know about magic, you wee mosquito?" she growled at Tyaethe, "aside from brute-forcing your whims onto reality? Might as well be a little fairy princess yourself, the way you treat the subject."

She looked back to Fionn, then back to Tyaethe, then shrugged and grabbed a couple of tiny fruit tarts. She popped one into her mouth, and offered another to the Niyar.

"I won't say it's a terrible idea, lout, but if this Moonlit Queen sees Fiadh as competition, it may not end well. If we bring something or other as tribute, however, we may find her amenable to a noble alliance. Faeries are fond of gifts, after all," she demonstrated, offering more sweets to Fiadh.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude frowned, but her cheeks pinkened a little. This Niyar certainly knew how to get under her skin, or at least had a natural propensity to do so.

"I don't want anything from you but information. It would be a contract of convenience and nothing more, and furthermore, what part of me seems nice to you? I'm not a nice girl at all, I'll have you know," Gertrude over-explained, getting perhaps a little weirdly defensive. She pouted and crossed her arms beneath her chest, but continued after gathering herself for a few moments.

"So... powerful faeries end up being pretty unoriginal? You'd think it would be the opposite, but at least it's keeping in theme by being utterly baffling to mortals. Anyway, all we really know about her is that she's met the duke before, she's recently met him again, and around this meeting, the codger lost his lot. My own thoughts are that he made some sort of bargain with her a long time ago and recently came to collect for some reason, but I'm open to other theories."

Gertrude glanced at the door, and then to Arken.

"The lout will probably be by soon, he's married to this one and will likely have felt a pull. Any questions of your own, Arken? You've been here longer than I have, and it seems we finally have a line."