Cross Effects 3.0 - October 21, 2015—June 23, 2016

[Panda]

Annabeth

The cowgirl couldn't help a laugh at Ron's antics, lightly petting him on the head with her free hand. Deciding to spare him some indignity, at least for the moment, the Hunter taking hold of one of Ron's arms and scrubbing that down instead. As she reached his hand, she couldn't help but take it in hers for all of a few seconds, somehow finding herself embarrassed in spite of what they'd done not too long ago. Releasing it with a hot blush on her face, the Hunter quickly went back to stroking him, teasingly this time.

"Man, you did get really dirty around here," the Hunter noted, her hand leaving his length for long enough to brush along his leg, "Then again, I suppose you could say the same for me."

[Umbra of Chaos]

Lumen

"I don't think what this place is really matters. All I really care about is that it is a strange place with a constant flow of weird things and structures coming in. Anyways, what counts as 'holy'? Is it someone or something with the favor or blessing any deity?" It was such a strange concept. If it was just anything divine then would she just destroy Forest by touching her? She wouldn't lie, the idea was rather interesting. Although, if it didn't work then what would count as holy? The question scratched at a corner of her mind that demanded an answer.


Erica

"I wish to ask you about your body, but that may wait until we are in suitable conditions." It was an acceptable request. While she may be immune to most weather it was difficult to remember that even altered humans were considerably more frail. So Erica wrapped one arm around the redhead and pulled the altered one closer to herself before walking towards a nearby cafe. Her flowing aura should keep the stranger comfortable while they made their way to warmth.

For a moment she doubted herself, her intentions. But as she touched the other girl she didn't feel the utter delight she had before. The spinning and humming of her core more terrifying than any heartbeat. There was no fear of failure or mistakes here. There was no love, no matter how fascinating the redhead was to look at. It was... confusing.


Urthemiel

As the two beings waited in silence the Old God considered the reactions of the drake in front of her. He acted in an incredibly strange manner as he moved in accordance to the heat she provided. Draconic beings could live in the coldest environments without the slightest bit of displeasure but this being seemed to be affected. With thought alone she subtly spun cold back into the area and smothered the warmth as she spokes. "I must apologize for my rudeness. In my rush I've failed to introduce myself. I am Bellitanus, Maiden of Beauty. May I know yours?"

[SINIB]

Jeanne

The blond servant's listened patiently as Sakura described how she would be useful in tandem with Rider.  Shirou then went to the bathroom and Rider went to take a drink. Jeanne's eyes widened when Sakura continued on to describe Shirou's abilities, the ability to copy noble phantasms sounded incredibly powerful. As Sakura stopped and asked if she had any questions the blond woman replied to her. "The ability to copy noble phantasms at will sounds like something that either has a limitation of some sorts or a drawback, such abilities usually do as far as I know. It sounds like he will be versatile and that's a good thing." She smiled back at Sakura, waiting for her response.

Sakura Matou

Sakura nodded excitedly. "There aren't really any restrictions, other than a slight reduction in the rank of the noble phantasm. Oh, and things that aren't weapons are more expensive, but I can provide him with all the prana he needs!" Sakura puffed her chest out in pride.

[Panda]

Emily

The Changeling raised an eyebrow at the reply, and that was all she had time to do before the odd stranger snatched her up, holding her close as she brought Emily into a nearby cafe. The look of minor confusion didn't fade, even as the Changeling processed what had just happened. She hadn't really seen the woman move, much less had time to react. She found herself somewhat thankful that at least they place they were in was crowded, though she wondered if it would actually mean anything if chances were decent that nobody would really be able to do much with how fast the stranger seemed capable of moving.

Oddly enough, being held like this was actually rather comfortable in ways that had nothing to do with the contact, at least not in the usual manner anyway. Trying not to think about how awkward it was to be pretty much carried into a cafe like this, the Changeling simply relaxed, resigning herself to whatever questions this strange being had for her.

[Lycodrake]

Lycodrake Aptera

An awkward silence fell between the two, but he could tell that he was under inspection - her eyes tracked the movement of his tail as it lazily swayed. The warmth fled the area in seconds and he was left shivering and suspicious. She was the origin of the heat that had covered the small area, so what led her to ceasing it? Though he considered asking, he digressed. Warmth in this cold was a comfort and not an absolute need, as in more extreme low temperatures.

"Well met, lady Bellitanus. My name is Lycodrake Aptera, courier for Athena Nike." He dipped his head in a relative approximation of a bow for a quadruped.

[Aiden]

Ron

The werewolf grumbled as he flapped his tongue in the air, seeking to alleviate the soapy stinging on it. He paused when he felt Annabeth holding his hand, his fingers reflexively squeezing around her until she pulled it away. He looked to her face, about to frown at her for that, but instead ended up with his eyes crossing for a moment when her other hand got moving again.

"H-How can you even tell?" Ron asked her, squirming a little in the bath water. "It's been underwater so long it's already clean."

Of course, then he just had to reach in and feel around between Annabeth's thighs too. He grinned. "You, on the other hand.. yep, you're right. You are positively filthy here. My fault, probably."

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

As she got up out of the chair, Rider saw Sakura turn to her with a smile and nodding her approval, before turning back to Jeanne and beginning to speak once more, telling the other servant what Rider had already deduced about their compatibility. Then, Shirou also excused himself, claiming he needed to go to the toilet.

Not wanting to make Sakura feel like anything was off, Rider walked over to get herself another drink, waiting for Shirou to come over and meet her.

[SINIB]

Shirou Emiya

Shirou left the table and quickly found Rider at the drink machine, dutifully refilling her drink like she'd said she was going to. He walked over to her quickly, not letting any time go to waste. He couldn't. Sakura would get suspicious if they were gone too long. "Rider, I need to talk to you about—" Shirou choked on his words. He felt completely overwhelmed by his emotions out of nowhere, from zero to sixty in a very short amount of time. This is too much. Why does this conversation have to happen. I can't stand it, I'd rather die than have her be like this. Why is it like this.

"I need—I need to talk to you about—" He took several deep breaths, trying to compose himself. "I need to talk to you about Sakura." He leaned heavily against the wall as he spoke and looked forlornly at the ground. "I need to talk to you about Sakura" He repeated. His voice cracked as he spoke, his face scrunched up with fear, anger, and worry. "What do we do, Rider?"

[Thedoctor]

Jin

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked her as she grasped his hand gently.

Jeanne

"I see, It's just that people that usually get such abilities at random. I'm just worried there might be a side effect you're not aware of yet." Jeanne told her with a serious voice. "It's a good ability though....do you have any more questions?" She asked after taking a slight pause.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Count Greyskull

Greyskull fidgeted a little before coughing nerously. Nexus...? He never heard of such a thing, interesting. He would ask on the details later.

"Ah! Well, um... I wouldn't know about other deities, but you're on to something. When I said divine, I referred  mostly to anything imbued with blessings from the Abrahamic God."

The skeleton then paused a little.

"Now then, I'm starving! Let's go eat something, okay? It's on me."

[SINIB]

Oka

Oka looked at him long and hard, her arousal painfully evident. She was ready. Her body was ready. Then why did she wait? Why did she hesitate?

She slowly began to nod before shooting up and hitting him with a surprise attack, kissing him on the mouth. “I think I do, Jin.”

[SINIB]

Sakura Matou

Sakura fidgeted silently in response to Jeanne’s question. She’d noticed earlier that Jeanne had distinctly left out any mention of her other noble phantasm. It looked powerful but she was aware of how Jeanne had died. If she didn’t want to talk about it, was it really right for her to probe her about something painful?

Sakura didn’t think so.

She shook her head. “No, I don’t have any questions about your other abilities for now. I think I know enough. But ummm...” She diverted her gaze from Jeanne’s eyes to her shoulders, a bit embarrased. “Go-God’s real, right? He talks to you and tells you what to do and stuff? Right?” Her eyes begged Jeanne for an affirmation of faith, of anything that would help explain things for her.

[Thedoctor]

Jeanne

Jeanne noticed but refrained from commenting when she saw that Sakura started fidgeting slightly, her master was probably worried for her fiancé. Sakura then shook her head and told her that she knew enough of her abilities for now, She then lowered her eyes, probably embarrassed before asking Jeanne if God was real and if he spoke to her. "Whenever he deems the time fit for doing so he does, I'm afraid those times are spontaneous as he works in mysterious ways that I cannot predict." Jeanne answered her with friendly tone, smiling at her as she did so. "Whether or not he would speak to you is something I can't answer, but praying is never hurtful as it helps center yourself."

Jeanne took a breathe before continuing. "If The Lord is real you say? The Lord is as real as your belief in him."

[Kat]

Shinobu

The blond vampire's kick hit home, sending Andrew crashing into a tree, he recovered as quickly as he could, but it wasn't fast enough. The vampire was already upon him again, dodging his feeble attempt at hitting her and tore a piece of his flesh off in return. The pain from the injury seemed to revitalize him momentarily, as he went on the offensive again. Unfortunately for him the bloodsucker was moving faster than ever before, flickering from place to place too fast for him to properly follow in his state. The short burst of energy he got finally died away and his movements grew more sluggish by the second.

Shinobu suddenly flashed infront of him and tore out another chunk of his flesh making the flow of blood from him a steady stream. She then reappeared next to Rikuyo, her hands stained red.

"Hurry? Me in a hurry? How can you hurry something like this? A battle needs to be...thoroughly enjoyed." Shinobu told her with an ecstatic voice.

Rikuyo

"You're not giving him a fighting chance anyway by running circles around him like that. But whatever, your choice." This time Rikuyo decided to take a backseat, so to speak. Attacking the guy right now would completely deprive him of any odds for victory. Not that she wanted him to win, but the prey had to have some chance for it to be genuine fun.

[Cherry Lover]

Rider

Rider walked over to the machine and began to fill her drink, hoping that Shirou would not take too long and make Sakura suspicious. Sure enough, he soon approached her.

"Rider, I need to talk to you about—", he began, the servant waiting patiently for him to explain his worries to her.

Unfortunately, though, he seemed unable to articulate the issues he had.

"I need—I need to talk to you about—", he continued, clearly uncertain and even panicked, taking deep breaths to compose himself. "I need to talk to you about Sakura."

Rider could tell from his body language and demenour that he was obviously very concerned. Not that she could blame him, she too was concerned about Sakura's current mental state. Unfortunately for Rider, though, Shirou seemed as uncertain about what to do as she was.

"I need to talk to you about Sakura", he repeated, his voice cracking and his face screwing up. "What do we do, Rider?"

Rider frowned. She had hoped Shirou might have some plan, or at least some particular issue to discuss. Instead, though, it seemed like he was simply desperate for any solution. Realising that she needed to calm him and to work something out, Rider pondered her response for a few moments, before replying.

"I... I'm not sure", she said, softly and sadly. "I think the most important thing is for us to be there for her. Now that the causes of her.. issues are mostly gone, she wll hopefully heal over time."