audio;

[hotspurred]

Why make we friends, knowing each time it cannot last?

[Henry sighs heavily.]

Saber and Irisviel are gone.

I grew up on tales of King Arthur and his court. Never did I imagine that I would meet King Arthur, or see Excalibur with my own eyes. [He huffs a short laugh.] 'Twas a surprise to discover that she was a woman. It was an honour to fight beside her. It was a greater honour to know her beyond her legend. Saber was an estimable knight, and a steadfast friend.

Irisviel was the kindest woman I knew, lively and never meek. Despite the hardships she endured, she met everything with wonder and joy. [Briefly dry, he adds:] Even ghastly furniture. There was no trace of bitterness in her. Irisviel's spirit shone bright. Her company made it easier to endure this long imprisonment.

Being here was a blessing to them. Saber once spake this to me: their time together was once measured in days, not months. Though perhaps selfish when others suffered distress, she was thankful for this place.

May God rest —and unite again— their souls.

Comments

audio. private.

[dedikated]

( She never got to know Saber that well, knew Irisviel a little better but not by much. And now that same old song and dance, people disappearing and they're stuck here, still trying to have a life and protect Hadriel, trying to wait out the time until they can go home too.

And forever caught in that dilemma. Why make friends if it doesn't last? If they go home, they forget this. If they stay, everyone else leaves. Short moments of happiness that get wrenched away all too quickly.

You'd think it would get easier eventually. )

...Drinks?

( What else can they do but drink to another loss? )

private;

[hotspurred]

Certes.

[He answers emphatically. Though he doesn't drink all too often, it's definitely warranted on this occasion.]

God's blood, Kate. I am running out of people to lose.

private;

[dedikated]

( More than warranted. )

Noticed that.

( First Maketh and now Saber and Irisviel, and with Hadriel's random nature, Kate wouldn't be entirely surprised if she's missed someone. Multiple someones. )

Don't need me to be inspirational, do you? Not good at that.

audio;

[braveoff]

Because knowing you'll lose something eventually doesn't make it not worth having.

[ Which is obvious enough and he's aware that Henry's question was probably hypothetical, but it merits an answer. And that concept is sort of the basis of how Drake lives, here. ]

I didn't know them outside of the Guard, but I'm sorry they're gone. They obviously meant a lot to you. Do you need anything?

[hotspurred]

[He knows that, truly. But even if he's in no mood to be soothed, it never hurts to hear it said.]

A path home. A friend who is not vanished the moment all seems well. And yet.

[That's the frustration speaking.]

...But I thank you for asking, Drake.

[braveoff]

[ It was a long shot, that there'd be anything he could do to help. He's not close to Henry, despite the respect there. Maybe because of it. Drake's always kept a safe distance from his superiors. Maybe it's time to change that. ]

Yeah, I can't get you those things. But I can listen if you want company.

Or just play punching bag.

voice.

[puzzlingly]

「All hits too close to home. If only it was only about this place.」

It is all not lost when they leave, Henry. Bonds are not broken, memories remain.

You may meet them again.

「He has to believe that himself, otherwise...」

[hotspurred]

I know it, Atem. They are precious to me.

[And he does, but right now he wants to be frustrated. Or more accurately, he doesn't want to be placated.]

But I must refuse to entertain the latter. I mean no slight against you.

[puzzlingly]

「He takes absolutely no offense, their circumstances are different. He can understand the need to be angry about it, feeling something as opposed to be completely desensitized about it. But even so...」

May I ask why?

audio;

[hasitsthorns]

I used to think the same way. That it wasn't worth it, just knowing that they're going to leave eventually. Everyone does.

[ It's an inevitably of places like these. At least here, Rose hopes they go home instead of into some deep freeze. ]

Sorry you lost people. It's never fun. But, I'm sure you know that loss doesn't always make you give up. Sometimes, it just makes you fight that much harder to keep what you have.

[hotspurred]

[Henry reigns in the frustration in his tone. He knows that she has been here a long time too, and so must understand how it feels to go through it time and time again.]

I know it.

[Not that his restraint lasts long, and soon it's back in his tone. His patience with their whole situation wears perilously thin.]

'Tis no easy battle to endure.

[hasitsthorns]

[ She can't fault him for it, honestly. Rose remembers the pain she'd felt at being separated from her packmates. She recalls hard losing Faith was of everyone in this place. ]

No one said it was gonna' be easy, dude. I wish... I could say or do something to make it easier, but- I don't wanna' make promises I can't keep, you know?

[audio]

[synthedick]

[Nick is starting to regret going out of town -- not that his staying could've helped, but it sure feels like he came back to a lot of trouble. He's never been as close to Henry as he'd like; both of them were closer to Maketh than they were to each other.

Maybe Nick should work on changing that. It's just them leading the Guard now. In the meantime:]

I'm sorry, Henry. It's never easy to lose folks... especially when they were good people.

[The city needs as many of those as it can get.]

[hotspurred]

'Tis impossible to grow accustomed to this. Even a castle's walls feel the toll of continued wear.

[It's frustrating to lose so many of the people he was close to. He fears becoming wearied when there is no respite from the life they lead here, and losing control over his restlessness.

He sighs heavily.]

Saber is a great loss for the Guard as well.

[synthedick]

A loss we can hardly afford. We'll see if we can't pick up a new recruit or two this month.

[No recruits will be Saber, but something is better than nothing.]

Hopefully, we can find some when the Door opens again. Maybe ask around once all this business with these orbs is over and done with.

audio;

[pellameno]

I'm sorry, Henry.

[ He didn't know either of these women, but he certainly knows loss. And what it's like to be the one left behind. ]

I've been wondering lately, why we're the ones left here. It doesn't seem like there's any reasoning behind who the Door takes, or when it sends us back. People who want to stay are sent away. People who want to go home are trapped. At least they had some time together here. And you got to meet them.

If you want company, know you still have friends here. I've got time.

[hotspurred]

[The same thoughts have lingered in his mind too. There's a small pause before Henry says:]

...I would like that, Pell. You and Irisviel were alike in kindness.

audio

[toiletseat_girl]

[she didn't know either woman, but she knows plenty about losing people she cares for]

I'm sorry your friends left. They sound like really good people. I hope they get to be together. Y'know, like you said.

[hotspurred]

Thank you, George. They truly were.

[He'll feel their absence keenly, but he knows he must resign himself to that. He appreciates the thought.]

[toiletseat_girl]

You're welcome. [she hesitates a moment, not wanting to pry but wanting to try to offer some comfort] If--if it helps? I know there's something else out there.

[audio]

[onlyanautomaton]

[Kind, lively, never meek. No fitter words could be used to describe her. He is even gladder now for having bid her farewell before he took his temporary leave of the city.]

I don't believe Miss Irisviel would want anyone here to feel sorrow in her absence.

[He is not prepared to relinquish possession of her more unusual belongings just yet. He has grown so accustomed to their presence in that room that they have nearly become a permanent fixture in it. He does not feel eager to part with them; he thinks, at this stage, he would only willingly do so if someone were to express the same amount of passion and fondness for their striking eccentricity as she often did.]

[hotspurred]

...You are right. She would not.

[He says lowly.]

Be you a friend of hers?

[onlyanautomaton]

Yes. I was also her neighbor.

For months now, I have kept most of the aforementioned furniture that she wasn't able to find a place for within her own dwelling in one of my previously underutilized rooms...

audio;

[claritatis]

[Beyond observing, Ignis doesn't take to the network often. For this, though, he makes an exception.

He and Irisviel were not acquainted, and he knew Saber very little save for her fondness for his cooking, but he does not answer to dull his own sense of loss at their absence.]

Nothing lasts. We can only make the best use of the time that we have. [Ignis says, a soft murmur speaking of a keen awareness of the fact.]

I'm sorry for your loss, Henry. If you have need of anything - for yourself, or the Guard - please, don't hesitate.

i'm still going to backdate the drunk call once my inbox is lighter

[hotspurred]

...I appreciate it, Ignis.

[Henry does, even if he doesn't ask for anything. After a moment, he says:]

For what it is worth, Kate returned once to this place. Perhaps her hand in the creation of that demon-infested part of the city makes her path through the Door better paved.