The Citadel of Sorcery

[YOLF]

Edelgard

She leaned towards the mage.

"Can I come?" Edelgard asked, her expression back to a monotonous lull. "Safer."

The Forsaken had no interest in learning, so the justification was a genuine one. She had a talent for magic, she'd been told, but it had never been a path that spoke to her. What Edelgard knew, she had learned like weapons, meant to aid her in battle, and she forgotten basics that had been impressed upon her once.

But then, one of those had been useless against Sakura, hadn't it? She hadn't probed the girl about it, but if like their worlds, her magic was different too, then her arsenal had a hole in it. This could be the occasion to fill it. Later.

[Aiden]

The Scribe

After a moment of renewed scribbling with that fancy fountain pen of his, the scribe pulled out a sack from one of the drawers in his desk. Then he grabbed a handful of a fine green powder, and threw it into something behind his desk. A big green flame exploded out from it, and the smoke from it whisked its way out of the room by passing between Sakura and Edelgard.

"I have sent the message... for them to prepare for your arrival." The scribe pointed to the door they entered by with his pen. "You may await their delegate in the bazaar within House Antioch's territory, just beyond the gatehouse. They will know... how to find you."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Neptune

10:00

"Snoooore....... Snooooore....."

The fanciful room presented when the door opened itself before him would have looked so much better, it would have looked so much better if it wasn't covered in various lying around everywhere. How could anyone work in an environment? It was complete chaos.

"Snoore....."

No it wasn't empty. The strange was coming from human. More precisely someone was lying on her stomach on top of a pile of books. The girl would have been real beauty for sure if she was ust dressed differently.... but how could she even sleep on the books? They didn't look comfortable at all.

Lawrence

When the ashen man stepped in, he hummed a pleasant tune. It was....difficult to navigate this labyrinth, he had to admit. Where paper did not block his path, he tried exercising as much carefulness as he could to not step on anything undesirable. "Where could she be...ah." He smiled, turning his eyes until he finally caught the sleeping beauty on her bed of paper.

"You looks well."

But his companion had caught something else in the corner of its eyes, and cackled in glee at the sight of it all. Gold, jewels, swords, a whoopin' treasure den all for him. Seeing all this plunder ripe for the taking, it glowed and flapped his wings, ready to dive and take it all for himself. Not like Lamespeare'd care about the good stuff, what a lame-o.

"Yes! Kyahaaa! It's free real esta-aghrhraghrhrgggrrhhh.." Before it could dive down to get its fiery claws all over that sweet treasure, a claw of its own clutched straight into his throat. Lawrence spun his cane and reeled the bird back in, plunging him down the ground to pin him with a light thud. The bird struggled, scandalously indignant. How dare he! Being manhandled by a mere human. But despite their difference in power, something imperceptible kept him from resisting the hold.

Lawrence put a finger to his lips and smiled, before releasing the creature. "Shh. The lady is sleeping."

The bird grit his teeth, and shook the dust off his fiery plumage. Oddly enough, he showed enough restraint not to burn all the paper around him, somehow.

"Oi oi, Hello? Anyone? This is what we've been looking for numbskull. With all due respect, are you just going to stand there? She's right there. "

But Lawrence didn't seem preoccupied. Smiling, he painstakingly walked up to one of the toppled chairs and pulled it back in place with a struggle. He sat, and simply opened his book.

"I can wait." It was all he needed to say. And with that, he turned to a new page.

[Bern]

Neptune

12:00

"Hnngauuurghhhhhhh!..."

She rolled around and almost fell off the desk. It was really hard to sleep on but It did help her coming up with more creative ideas like nothing else. She took her time and stretched her legs and then her arms, yes her whole body in fact. Being relaxed was key for having a productive day after all! She thought about checking the clock, maybe she'd actually woken up in the morning this time.

So she turned her head slightly to the right and opened her eyes for the first time that day, revealing her purple orbs.

"...... H-hello?"

There was a man sitting on a chair next to her, what were the odds of that even? She probably forgot to lock the door again, although leaving it open like that was quite exciting and it looked like she'd gotten an interesting type here.

" hehee.... Did I keep you waiting for long?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence

12:00 AM

The reading kept him occupied, and for a while his familiar behaved. For a moment, one could wonder if he seriously planned to stay here all day. That is, until the girl's voice caught his attention. But he didn't turn to look at her, instead he kept reading with a satisfied smile.

"Mountains toppling evermore, into seas without a shore. Seas that restlessly aspire, surging unto skies of fire." And with that, the book was closed, the thud a period to the sentence.

"Merely two hours. Your rest seemed to be pleasant, to disturb it would haunt me for years."

[Bern]

Neptune

She looked at him inquisitevly, he hadn't even looked back at her, was he here on official business? It was entirely possible and would explain why he was acting that way. "Are you from the order? You can tell them to go fuck themselves before I'll ever join them! I'm a free girl!" She nodded along with her statement.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence

"If I find someone from this so called order, I'll be sure to pass the word along." He spoke softly, like silken smoke over saltwater. "But alas I am not. Forgive the disappointment, I am but a man of no consequence." His lips curled into a wry smile, and he turned to look directly at her. And perhaps, it would have been better if he did not.

His eyes were pale, of a sickly lifeless grey, yet they were as sharp as they could get. And they narrowed as if to pounce and swallow her whole, as if there was something he was trying to see past her.

"They call you the forger of the stars, and I couldn't deny that the title piqued my interest. Someone who can create anything from nothing. Anything? I asked, and they answered: Everything."

Basically he was really just asking one thing.

"Are the tales of your skill true?"

[Bern]

Neptune

Even if he was sickly pale and gave off a completely unpleasant aura, she wasn't phased much at all. She'd dealt with scarier customers in the past and this guy didn't seem so ad even if his presence was what it was. But she understood that had more to do with his eing than his actual demeaner.

As he questioned her about her skills, her eyes roamed over his body once more before she confidently met his gaze and cut him off by answering his question with one of her own. "Let me guess, you want to make your body more stable?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence

Lawrence shook his head.

"You are a perceptive one. But... no. If it were so simple, I wouldn't have needed to come all this way. I believe the expression would be.... barking at the wrong tree?" For a moment, he grimaced. This wasn't the most pleasant of topics, but for her to notice already...

"My body is fine for what it is. You work with many different materials, yes? In this case, think of my existence as more like the iron meant to be smelted. If left outside carelessly for too long, the rains and winds will scatter down on me and shatter me into dust. That is the will of this world."

But despite the grimness of this topic, for a moment he smiled at her sincerely. Meanwhile, the fiery creature just watched in silence.

                                             _{to be human}
"That is what it means to accept mortality, no?"

[Bern]

Neptune

"No."

She leapt of the table and landed on her feet, only to tower over his sitting form. "You're clearly not okay if you're discussing philosophy this early besides... Mortality is way overrated. You sound like a total pessimist, but rest assured, I'll fix you up in no time. I swear that on my name as the Forger of the Stars."

"So why did you really come here?...."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence

Lawrence blinked, his face dumbstruck. For a moment, he just stared wide eyed at her scene, unsure of what to say. And there was nothing wrong with discussing philosophy in the first place. Morning had scattered away a while ago either way, so he felt justified in his cultured mannerisms. Perhaps she needed some tea to calm down.

"Ah? Well, um-"

"Pffffffffffffffft!! Kahahahaha! Damn right sister! Finally someone is talking some sense in this city! At this rate, I was going to jump off the roof or somethin'!"

The bird just guffawed before he could even muster a proper response, and flew around the two with a smug grin, cackling at the situation. "Here's one for you Shakespeare: quit trying to slack, cause dyin' is whack!"
Lawrence looked down and sighed at it all. But he assumed he had a point. If he were his original self, he'd probably had gone straight to the point and charged down. But alas...

"A powerful demon is being resurrected, and I need your help Neptune."

[Bern]

Neptune

"Oh a demon you say...." She said with a sly chuckle to go with it. That bird was rather funny.

"What kind of demon are we talking aboout? The murderous kind, the scheming plotter felllow, or the pervert who prays on young girls with icky tentacles?"

She took a step closer to him, almost invading his prvacy now as she leaned forward slightly, her new pose was far more challenging than before. "But don't think you can worm your way out of that, I told you I'd help so I will. If you still don't believe me, then why don't you try to beat me at wrestling? If you win I'll let you have what you want for free, no fees attached..."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence

Wrestling? How interesting... The resemblance didn't stop at her face. But still, this was a bit more forward than he planned. Was she really someone he could fight?

"Hee hee! Look at the boy, he's all skin and sticks! You'd crush him!" Phenex seemed to find the prospect hilarious, and flapped his wings behind him with a big avian grin. Seeing Lawrence getting manhandled by the bosslady would make getting dragged all the way here almost worth it.

It didn't take a genius to figure it out, he stood no chance against her in a physical contest.

"Very well. I accept." Lawrence stood up from his seat with a calm expression. Just as she loomed over him with a challenging gaze, he too now leaned against her in kind, staring straight into her with a challenging gaze of his own. No, something about it was different. Resolute.

"Kahahaha- eh?" The bird gasped in shock. Wait wait wait, this couldn't be right. He wasn't seriously going to do this was he? He literally didn't have the strength to spare! Hello? Anyone in that thick skull? Lifting a chair was hard as it was, and now he was trying to be the next Triple H? No no no, nope, not happening.

"Hey hey hey, with all due respect, you're not exactly in top shape right now. You're not seriously into mopping the floor with your face at 12:00? I know she's cute and all, but you literally can't fight her."

"He who desires but acts not breeds pestilence; So it is written." He smiled curtly at the girl. Perhaps he had a point, but if there was one thing he had in common with his old self, it was the simple fact that he loathed losing.

"Shall we dance here, Neptune? Now?"

[Bern]

Nrptune

"Damn straight I'm cute, see even your birdie is better at complimenting ladies than you are, you're just way to stiff so I'll unstiffen you and don't worry...." She crouched down on all making it obvious she was gonna leap on him. "I'll make sure he enjoys every second of it...... And don't you dare call me that! Call me neppers, even sweetie or darling would be better since you're kinda pretty in that mopey guy way.... Hey Birdie what's his type? I bet it's something really boring. "

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence

But the bird was hardly paying attention, for he was very busy cooking up a sweet, sweet pan of delicious buttery popcorn for the bash. It cracked and popped and snapped and about where he found it.... don't ask.

"Ah! Uh, definitely fierce ladies who can kick his butt! So don't you dare go easy on him! I wanna see blood and sweat, kahahaha!"

Meanwhile, he took a bit of distance and circled her, before settling on just the right spot. He picked his cane and tapped it on his palm, smiling.

"Very well... Neppers. Don't worry, I'll be gentle."