Sometimes I think I'll go mad despite the control. Then some people just project, which is bloody annoying. I know they can't help it, but warning about Rider. She broadcasts perv to no end. Which isn't her fault, Forest sent to Tom as he kept holding her hand.
I could perhaps help teach you how to block it out entirely, if you so wished. O-of course, if it's your choice, if you feel I'm belittling you by making such an offer, please tell me. He frowned a bit at the last statement. He took a quick peak into Rider's mind- and quickly retreated, instantly regretting it. He found himself shuddering.
He found himself faintly blushing the entire walk up the stairs. Never had he walked hand in hand with someone before. ....Well, there had been one time, as a child. One of the scientists had lead him off by holding his hand. His childhood had been lonely and isolated, but it hadn't been horrendous. Especially compared to his teenaged years. That's when the experiments had begun in earnest. When his life turned upside down and everything became a living nightmare...
He desperately fought back the memories before they could flood into his mind again and instead shifted his focus to the fingers intertwined with his. The texture told a story all it's own, the rough calluses confirming that Forest had indeed had a rough lot in life, filled with work and toil. But he found he liked how her fingers felt against his, the roughness against the relative smoothness of his own hands. It grounded him in reality, that yes, he was holding her hand, that it was all real and not just some beautiful dream.
Her fingers were still long and elegant, and intertwined so well with his own that it felt natural. Her well manicured fingernails shimmered like amethysts in the light of the hallway. A part of him wanted to take one of those lovely hands and press his lips to it, but as it was, he just gave the hand he was holding a gentle squeeze.
As they made their way up the stairs, he could hear two people speaking, a man and a girl.
Forest frowned at him in concern as the girl voiced her reservations about some sort of trunk, and she moved closer. Their hands still joined, he naturally followed.
"So, what do you need to tell me about?"
The question was aimed at the girl, who was visibly shaken and was holding on tightly to the man who'd been speaking earlier, who held her closely in turn, her hair gently being stroked. Her head was buried in his chest, but at the sound of Forest's voice, the girl turned to face her.
Tom found himself a bit... uneasy with the man, but that was swiftly forgotten as he took in the pair's appearances.
Those facial features... they must be Ryoko's parents.He found himself worrying for Ryoko a bit. Had she been hurt in the meantime, perhaps something to do with the way he'd looked at her? He quickly looked through their minds, and his fears were soon abated. She was fine, apparently- rattled, it'd seem, and rather drunk, but at the very least safely asleep.
He focused back on the couple. The man, Archer, was smirking at him. Frowning, Tom skimmed his mind.
I wonder how Lancer would feel about that.
So it would seem that Archer had an interest in Tom's relationship to Forest. If only because it would displease the Hound. And indeed, it would. Tom was about to engage him telepathically in conversation over it when the sound of Forest's voice shifted his focus.
The blond's nose twitched and she said, "Someone worked magic in my kitchen. Bloody hell."
That seemed to snap the girl, Rin, back into reality somewhat. There was visible displeasure on her face, though not aimed at Forest.
"Not just any magic. A miracle beyond the scope of most magi. The Second Magic. Something that's not to be used lightly."
Rin sighed, placing her cheek against Archer's chest. She looked like she had a bit of a headache just thinking about what she was going to say next. "Basically, an alternate version of myself created a portal to another universe to bring in beer crates and restock your shelves, all without asking first, not even stopping when Lancer asked her to stop."
She frowned, skin that had begun to regain color blanching once more. "...And a black trunk. A black trunk that has some sort of weapon inside. At first I thought it was just a frivolous misuse of a dangerous miracle, but I should have known better..."
The young boy Tom had seen in the kitchen earlier seemed to notice Rin's distress and hugged her legs.
"Aunty Rin, are you OK? You look really pale, and you're shaking", he said, worried.
Rather reluctantly, Rin turned away from Archer so the boy could hold her more properly. She smiled at him. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes, but not because of the boy. "I'm fine, Kiyoshi. I just need something to eat."
"That does not seem to be the actual issue," said Tom. "The source of discomfort is something else entirely, even the boy can see that."
Rin glared at the psychic, but said nothing.
The boy (Kiyoshi apparently), in the meantime, turned to Archer.
"I'm sure it's nothing bad, they're all Tohsakas and Emiyas, so they'd never hurt a good person. Well, except Connor anyway, and none of my family would ever be friends with a bad guy, so Connor must be nice too. Plus, he's acted nice so far", he said.
Rin just absently began to stroke Kiyoshi's hair. From a quick peak into her mind, she clearly didn't believe it, as apparently they didn't
act like any of the Emiyas and Tohsakas she herself knew, but she didn't want to crush the boy by saying the truth.
Then the woman from downstairs, Rider, began to speak.
"Rin, Kiyo is right. They might not be the same as you, but they're unlikely to be hostile. Satoshi might have made some odd decisions but his heart is in the right place. He'd never hurt someone who didn't deserve it, I'm sure, and if he won't even kill that asshole murderer Shirou I doubt he'll kill any of us", she said.
Tom was about to leave Rin's mind when he felt her anger. A certain phrase from what Rider had just said flashed across her consciousness.
He'd never hurt someone who didn't deserve it
He felt her trust for Rider diminish significantly, the rest of Rider's words completely unheard. Doing her best to try and control her anger, Rin spoke softly to Kiyoshi. She didn't entirely succeed, as what she said next still had a certain bit of sternness to it.
"Kiyoshi, sweetie, I need you to go in the other room."
Tom used his free hand to rub at his temples.
We don't have time for this... If there is some sort of weapon, we need to investigate now instead of focusing on all this drama.After digging through Rin's mind more than a fair bit and getting a clear picture of recent events through her perspective, he turned to Rider. "We don't have time to waste with this nonsense, so I'm going to cut this to the quick. You chose your words... poorly. In regards to Rin at least. You disregarded the fact that another Archer apparently was threatened by this Satoshi person, and apparently it didn't appear to be a bluff in Rin's eyes. To her, you basically just said that Archer was a person that deserved death by Satoshi's hands. The point about them being people with names she's familiar with is apparently null in her eyes because they act so much differently from those that she knows and loves. What's more, your almost blind trust of this Satoshi seems to make her less willing to trust your judgement in such matters."
He braced himself and searched through Rider's mind. He shuddered profusely as he left, but thankfully he found the answer that he was looking for quickly enough. ...Now if only what he saw would leave him. "Trust it would seem that is based almost entirely on the fact that you have had intercourse with him. ...At least, I
think that was intercourse, it looked more like torture to me. It is possible Rin has a point there."
My trust of Forest was based around our night of intercourse, yes, but she also opened her heart to me, offered me kindness and warmth no one else had ever offered me before, gave me clothing and a place to sleep, and vowed to protect me from capture. As far as I can see, all this Satoshi person did for Rider was have sex with her. I am not quite certain why she trusts him so. He looked at the assembled room before giving the assembled party a curt nod. "Forgive me for the breach of psychic etiquette, but if there is indeed a weapon up there, we cannot waste any time reaching it. Certainly not in favor of in-fighting and trying to protect the boy from something he'll likely find out eventually anyway."
Rin stood there, flabbergasted. She didn't know how to react. Anger, shock, surprise, embarrassment, fear, fascination... all these emotions and more swirled in a vortex within her, and it left her leaning against Archer, stunned and still a bit pale.
Tom turned to Forest, giving her a rather apologetic glance as he did. He didn't imagine she'd appreciate him digging around so much in people's minds, even if he had good intentions.
***
Lancer, Mille, and Ruby rushed down the hallway. Ruby had converted from her staff form to more portable form, some sort of radar device sticking out of her.
"My magic tracking device says that they went this way~ I'm pretty sure where they went based off of intuition alone, but it never hurts to be prepared~"
Mille raised an eyebrow. "That seems awfully convenient, doesn't it?"
Ruby wiggled her wings. "For such a smart girl you're awfully stupid~ I'm a magical artifact of immense power, of course I'd have a magical tracking device built into me~"
Mille glared at the mystic code. "It still seems awfully convenient to me..." she muttered.
They reached their destination in short order. Voices could be heard from inside the room, indicating there were at least two people inside.
"Here it is~" Ruby whispered. "Go get 'em~"
