nysalogs | (no subject)

[ Merlin had insisted their first night there she eat some of his food, but reasonably she had pressed that no she should not. The lack of rations tonight was proof enough, though she says nothing when they're passed out this evening (he might have caught a look all the same). Whatever was presented to her this evening was most certainly passed on to somewhere else and when the others had fallen asleep she moved once more to meet with the man again--

--Of course she was hesitant about this given the fact Merlin had already once deemed it appropriate to run off on his own. In the middle of the night. In a Forest.

Really it seemed as if forests were Problematic around here.

Given some of the other's experiences within the woods this evening and some whom she had to save, she hopes that they'll stay in bed away from here for now. Part of the reason they were out here now was to scout out the area, though she knew Archer would never admit to the fact that he wanted to look out for the dozens of people who accompanied them. She doesn't poke at that, though, even as they go deeper into the woods looking for-- as he's complained-- any stragglers.

So far she hasn't deemed his complaints anything she should respond to and only moves with cautious wariness, always prepared to pull out Excalibur.]

[ the festivities in the city were hardly archer's scene, so he'd basically done whatever he could to come up with an excuse to venture back out into the wilderness. if there was anything he appreciated, it was solitude. granted, that solitude hadn't lasted long when he'd come across saber, who apparently had similar machinations.

regardless, if there was anyone he knew he could trust his back to in this place, it was her. beyond their past connection, he was pretty sure she was physically incapable of betraying anyone in the first place. ]

It seems we're clear for now. [ he stops abruptly as they reach the border of the woods, seemingly satisfied that no one is still here. all throughout the day people had been tripping over themselves to get killed by monstrous spiders, so it stands to reason that some might still be doing the same even now.

for once, the refugee group has actually managed to pleasantly surprise him. ]

I'm pleasantly surprised no one was foolish enough to come out here at night. [ other than them... apparently... ]

[ They've made it to the Outpost and the roadwary travelers have made themselves at home. Saber understands it won't be long be long before they head back out, but she does not have the heart to remind those poor civilians not used to this rough travel. Instead, she lingers on the outskirts of the festivities.

She nurses a drink that was given to her, but so far has taken far too little sips of it. It's more show than any desire to drink it. That and, of course, manners dictate you should not deny drink given by strangers in a time like this.

For the most part, she's attempted to leave Merlin to his devices. While it is true she's kept a sense on her Master, he cares little for her presence in the sense of a Servant. Even if there were more important things at stake--

The woman is not quite sure what to do with him or the familiarity that itches raw, but makes little sense as to why. It's an issue that she wants to figure out but has no easy way of doing so-- Instead she keeps nearby at almost all times, only leaving when Merlin shoots her looks.

Tonight he seems interested in the food they were provided and so she approaches, not for the first time that day, cup in hand. ]

Enjoying yourself? [It's a simple introductory question, at least.]

[ Saber stays at the festivities for some time, but has no intentions of staying longer than keeping her Master company for a little while. The night was wearing on and the people were getting louder than they had previously. Merlin may have still been out there, but she'd dismissed herself from his presence to move to the outer parts of the Outpost.

Even here she can still hear the rambunctious sounds of the people within; Was some person screaming about how terrible this place was? She heaved a breath at the thought, peering up at the moon from which they had fallen such a short time ago.

This place was odd. It was a feeling she had yet to shake--

There's a presence behind her, not unfamiliar in its nature. ] ...Rin.

[She states the girl's name when she turns and takes note of her. Although she does not smile, Saber visibly softens as the girl's appearance. Shirou may not be awake, but Rin's appearance is something of a blessing.] I thought you would be enjoying the evening with everyone else yet.

[Saber makes a sound that's an answer at first. Clear not being the word she would look for, not when her own Master seemed to have a habit of running off. But although he said he took it seriously he did not seem to care much for most of the matters-- perhaps because it was her he took seriously and not the actual business he put himself into. A conundrum she still wasn't entirely clear on.

She keeps her base, emerald eyes peering around the landscape with lips pressed tightly together.] I would not deny the comforts a warm bed and full stomach would bring someone.

[It's a simple answer brought from a girl who was used to seeing men go into battle. Driven from place to place and battlefield to battlefield with only the comforts of a warm fire, game, and wherever they could sleep to pass the time. Laughter stifling the darkness of the battles to come.] They have earned their peace for tonight, tomorrow will bring forth another journey for them...

[ Another break. Already Saber feels they will never make it to where they need to go if they stopped this much. Between this and people getting lured off the path it was a miracle their numbers haven't dropped further than they have. Even so, she understands most of these people are civilians and so they must accommodate--

But she cannot help but feel that matters here will get worse before they get better. Now, many of their companions seem fine with taking the moment to bathe and clean themselves in the lake, even playing around. It was a strange feeling and for her part, short of needing to help organize rations and keep watch when knight falls she keeps separated. What Archer said before rings with her: It was possible, she could lead these people if she wanted.

Saber felt responsible, but she does not feel it her place to attempt to rule these people. To guide, to protect-- Perhaps, but she cannot lead people to fail them once again. It's for this reason she keeps her distance, waiting for when they arrive in their next location and these folks could hopefully find what new lives lie for them--

At the moment, however, she stands guard on top of a large stone on the shores of the lake. Excalibur not currently summoned, but emerald eyes darting carefully among the treeline. She does not look towards to the lake to preserve those within it's modesty, but she does not seem interested in leaving until all are done and safely accounted for. ]

[Merlin isn't drinking—not yet. He'll be peer pressued by some locals to have at least one drink in due time, but right now his number one focus is trying every food they have available at this feast. It's keeping his mind off things; there's the usual stress of what's happening to Arthur when he isn't there, even if Arthur is just sitting in a tube somewhere, and a few other things... He has personal projects already lining up, and they aren't precisely the most... safe.

So naturally he hasn't mentioned anything like that to Saber. She watches him like a hawk even when she pretends she isn't, trying to be at his side like a capital-S Servant, however much that entails. He doesn't want her to, it's true - his magic might be sustaining her, but it's still a small price to pay just to help her stay alive. He hasn't noticed a single drawback, magically speaking!

But he's fairly determined to make it work out, all the same. If not master and servant in the strictest sense, they can at least be friends. The fact that this is the second King Arthur he's had to gently nudge into being less uptight about rules and roles is not an irony lost on him. Pendragons. Honestly.

He's looking at the spread of food he's taken for himself when Saber arrives; everything from bright-colored vegetables in some kind of sauce to a steak from some creature he's never heard of, and a generous helping of sweets in all shapes and sizes—just look at it all!]

It's incredible, isn't it? And they're giving it away for free. I'm going to eat myself sick, since this will surely never happen again. [But where... does he start??? Ah, and-] There's no reason for you to refuse the food this time. Trust me, their cook is better than I could ever be. Don't spend all night wandering around looking serious— come and eat!

Will it? [ she isn't wrong, but the answer is hardly that simple. ] At this point, all we have our Dharma's words to go by. East to the outpost, then east again. But at some point, we need to stop blindly following and figure out a course for ourselves.

[ he's not too fond of just how little they know... it's only been two days, but for now they're simply 180 people running around at the behest of a ghostly voice he isn't sure they can really trust. at the same time, he knows that complaining to saber won't get him anywhere... it's just venting his frustrations. ]

We should start heading back. [ if they haven't found anyone out here so far, it doesn't seem likely they will. ]

[LINK]

[Good at her job? Yes, Tina would say she was good at being an Auror and worked hard at it, but this was different-- Arresting people created a different circumstance than stopping shuttles. No matter what she was prepared for it wasn't that--

Worse, she was far from prepared for the compliments Newt gives and feels her cheeks redden further as she ducks her head, giving a short shake of it.] That's different. And I barely held my own. [She insists quietly, before adding in just as firmly--] I'm not the one credited for capturing him, either, that was all you, Newt.

[So maybe she is good at her job, but she's not going to get a larger ego just for something that she believes is circumstantial-- Certainly, she went off facing who she did not believe was Percival Graves but she had no idea it was Grindelwald.

Huffing out a breath she turned her eyes upwards once more before adding in:] Is there anything more you need to do?

[CONTINUED

[She doesn't think of it as calling base to her own power, it's the mere truth-- Offensive spells aren't meant for this kind of thing. If asked plainly she would deny her abilities in comparison to others, but for now she merely lets out a breath and continues on:]

It's just not really the best time to talk magical capabilities-- [She answers with a nod, glancing upwards to the sky.]

Edited 2017-07-21 23:56 (UTC)

[ CONTINUED ]

[Sirius. It's not a name she knows. To her it sounds like the stifling kind of name a Pureblood might have, but that's not always the way it is-- Her name is stifling in its own right. She's not even certain it's a name, so his is not much to go off.

The way he reacts, however, is more than enough-- His clothing seems even more of use than her own, as if were for too long with no care brought to it, he looks her over as if ready for a fight-- or is it to escape? She doesn't know but it sets off every sense she has and it's with a sharp motion, trained for a duel, that she uses the non-verbal command for Expelliarmus to disarm the man and her eyes narrow with scrutiny.]

Depends-- MACUSA and the Ministry of Magic have no place here. Technically, I'm out of work-- [Her lips thin in disapproval, even if her tone refuses to waver.] But I'm not of the mind to let someone loose if they're gonna turn on a No-Maj or something later.

[He did help, though, just now-- But there's reasons for that, too. Maybe he thought showing some kind of new leaf would get her to lower her guard. If there was any chance of that, it's gone now.]

Edited 2017-07-21 04:04 (UTC)

[CONTINUED.]

[She grimaces in response; It hadn't been her intent to tell him he looked incapable. Certainly, he looked a weebit weather-worn-- who didn't?-- but it was an instinctive answer. Tina was an Auror it had always been her duty to take care of their population, it came too naturally.

But here she wasn't an Auror. She didn't know what she was and it's something she refuses to think about, but she's further from the position she wanted than she had some weeks prior when she was still demoted. Her teeth tug on her lip as she shakes her head, firmly telling herself to not think about that-- or anything other than their present-- as she sighs and moves to the outskirts she had been at.
True, some charms won't work but most would if they didn't use ones that also repelled No-Majs.

To his question, she tilts her head briefly before answering in her hurried way:] New York city. I work at MACUSA. [This time she does not add in that she's an Auror, there's no need to right now--] What about you?

Edited 2017-07-21 00:59 (UTC)

[Continued.]

[This is all too foreign to her. Easily keeping their heath up is important, but she keeps to herself on the best of days. Herself and Queenie, though she tries now-- Even if she instinctively recoils at the word doctor.

It's nothing to do with John himself, but like many wizards there's a stigma on the idea of NoMaj doctors and their methods of caring for patients. She'd trust herself with a healing spell more quickly than she would NoMaj doctor, but it's not something she can say-- Especially when there are more people here used to that type of healing in mind.

Even with today's earlier work she has no intentions of being more flashy than need be.] I'll keep it in mind if I see someone in need of your services.

[She smothers her own discomfort enough to answer finally and tries to keep the tentative smile apparent.] Thankfully, it doesn't seem anyone's received more than a few broken bones.

[No one is dead, at least. A real miracle that one.]

Edited 2017-07-22 00:09 (UTC)

[ He wants to say he had a tip-off, given how much Grindelwald let slip during the interrogation, how he'd spoken of the Obscurus like it was tool instead of a parasite and how Europe was all too familiar with his beliefs. Perhaps he should mention that Dumbledore ensured he was prepared, not necessarily for the false Graves but for the darkness flooding their world. However, it all makes him think of the way Grindelwald looked too pleased, mouthing an invitation — to join in something unsettling, no doubt. It left him curious.

And ill.

Instead, he cants his head, caught somewhere between surprised and delighted by her question. ]

Yes, I actually was busy looking for someone. [ quickly. ] A woman. An American. Short hair. [ he tentatively juts a hand forward, holding it at the top of her head. ] Tall-ish.

[ her. He means to say, no, he has nothing to do and no one to see and nowhere to go but right here. ]

[If she had any worry about his curiosity, it's lost with how easily he moves on. Her mouth already beginning to form words when he stops. Looking for someone--? If there's a heat rising in her that can only be identified as jealousy, she stifles it back.

It's not as if they weren't only friends, even if some part of her heart parted with him that day on the docks.

Even if he volunteered to come across an ocean to see her again-- Even if-- Oh. Rampant thoughts stop short when his hand lifts and she's reminded of a scene that she's repeated too often in her head to care to admit, but he doesn't go to tuck her hair behind an ear and in some ways he doesn't need to because the delighted smile floods her features anyway.]

Oh? [The question is amused and hopeful and for a moment she can forget the trials of the day in the comforts of Newt being... Newt. Tina boldly presses on:] Do I know this American, then?

[ The idea of anyone, least of all Tina, being jealous of someone for seeing him is so foreign that doesn't consider it. He can only return her brilliant smile with a temporarily emboldened one of his own. All this reminds him of the brief moment of reprieve with her, Queenie, and Jacob that crystallized in his case.

He still hasn't written his book or thought of what to say to her when he delivers it (or, perhaps, what to write in the jacket), so he says anything and everything that pops into his head, even his more nonsensical tangents. ]

No, you wouldn't. [ at this, he falters, head dropping as his hands move to stifle another laugh. ] I'm the famous one, it seems. [ trying not to sound pleased with himself — ] Seeing as she didn't, ah, get any of the credit for stopping Grindelwald.

[ you walked into that one, Porpentina Goldstein!! ]

[No, you wouldn't. He's only lucky that his laugh keeps the smile from falling, even if her head ducks slightly-- Fingers going to twist hair behind her ear as she listens to what he has to say.

Her brows furrow momentarily and then arch at his comment, a snort of laughter escaping through her nostrils as she hastens to stifle it with her own hand. This is silly, but maybe that's the best medicine after the day they've had:] No, but I do believe she got something more from it. [There's some bravery in the way she says it; Is she talking about her job as an Auror or whatever this is with Newt?

--Well she certainly doesn't say as she looks up at him .] But it was only a matter of time before you became famous, certainly much to your own disapproval.

[ It's been a very long and very trying couple of days, an adventure from start to finish — most of which is a thrill that none of them probably asked for, especially not the civilians. He's met a couple of them, pure and innocent in some respects — untouched by the flaws of the supernatural and divine. They used to believe that the world is normal, that nothing special happens beyond the twists of everyday life. How very wrong they've been, and it's still a shock to their very core even now.

Edmund wishes to go and swim in the lake himself. Along with other people, he'd taken on the mantle of leadership — more guidance and mentorship for his part than protection, as he's well aware that he is hardly the strongest fighter in their group of less than two hundred. By the start of another break, he's a little bit exhausted. After all, he's only human.

He walks by the large stone, where someone is already sitting, glances up. ]

You're perfectly content as you are, watching the swimmers instead of joining them?

[ Newt can only assume Tina means her job, but perhaps he's being purposefully obtuse. At least until he sorts himself out — and, of course, there's Leta. Well, there isn't Leta, given they haven't spoken in some time.

But there's an echo of her. ]

Quite. [ clearing his throat, his grin dips into something smaller and more private. ] Famous among Care of Magical Creatures professors and the occasional pupil who reads the byline instead of doodling over it. Or with haggard Ministry and MACUSA employees tracking something tricksy. Very glamorous.

[ it won't be, and he's glad for it. the spike in his fame post-grindelwald is already troublesome. ]

You say that now. [Her answer is quiet and she lets it hang there for a moment. She doubts it will be glamorous, for all of their differences she and Newt are alike in many ways. She just wants to do her own investigations without any trouble, Newt's the same.

The boost in courage wavers by now and she presses her hands deeper into the pockets of her trench coat in thought before carrying on:] Well, then. Perhaps we should--? [Her gaze peers back over the wreckage she was dealing with earlier, shoulders rising and falling.]

[For all his tense and coiled readiness, she's the one who acts first. Sirius is too slow to read the intent in her arm and whatever might have showed in her face when her decision clicked in her head. He's a good duelist, but wildly out of practice, working with a stolen wand. For all he's done with it, the wand has proved stubborn enough to resist him, to cause even simple spells to fail when it has a mind to.

The smooth upwards jab of his wand that should counter the charm is cut off; even if it wasn't, it might never have worked. The wand slips from Sirius' grasp and goes sailing across the short space between them. He doesn't even hear whatever she says next. He's already turned toward her, with a snarl--]

Drop it.

[His anger snaps up like a blind, intensity compounded by desperation. He needs the wand, he needs it badly. As good as he is with non-verbal magic, he needs a wand, this wand; if he can't have his then he's got to have this one.]

[She's dueled Gellert Grindelwald and managed to keep up, she's not easy to scare. The wild look in the man's eye is more of a tell and she prepares to use protego if she needs to. Her dark eyes level with his own, refusing to tear away with the sternness she prepares only for moments like this.]

No. [Tina doesn't waver to his demands, grip tightening on his wand although she does not yet put it away.] You're not exactly making a good case for yourself here.

This and that. [ He pauses. It isn't a long pause, only a moment's hesitation, to give him time to feel bad about representing himself as a professor when he only did it for a year and then resigned in disgrace—so he feels bad for that moment, and then he does it anyway, keeping pace with her on the way to the edge of the camp, because it won't help anyone at all if she thinks he's dodgy. ] Before all of this I was teaching at Hogwarts. It was my first year, though.

[ And, with a combination of regret and admiration: ]

I was never good enough at Potions to be an Auror.

[ Also not good enough at not turning into a bloodthirsty monster once a month. Damn technicalities. ]

What case? You disarmed me, took my wand, unprovoked. [Never mind that he was a hairsbreadth away from a jinx himself.] You took it, I want it back.

[His hands are curled tightly into fists. He stares right back at that stern stare, without flinching or turning away.]

You think I'm out to get muggles? After I helped you move that thing? Did my good deed? Come off it, auror. Give me back my wand and I'll keep out of your way.

[Do not do anything rash collides firmly with Sirius' inherit rashness, with how unspeakably angry being disarmed has made him. Twelve years ago, they snapped his wand. He hasn't forgotten it. He's had time to do nothing but think.]

[ Yes, the wreckage. They should get back to being helpful soon. He takes a few steps forward and suddenly stops. ]

Yes, but first — [ he fiddles with his shirt sleeves. How to say this? ] — I met someone. Earlier. [ HE LEAVES THAT HANGING SORRY TINA. As is often the case, he's struggling for the right words. Finally, by way of explanation — ] Someone who read my book. Who liked my book, I think.

[ gotta talk about time-travelling wizards and also book reviews, after all. ]

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The Great Sharbhundum - Log 2 (Archer)

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Eat Dammit! Take/Log 2 (Merlin)

Masters Everywhere - Log 2 (Rin)

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Sensibilities - Log 2 (Edmund)

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Continuation - Log 1 (Newt)

Continuation - Log 1 (Venom)

Continuation - Log 1 (Sirius Black)

Continuation - Log 1 (Remus Lupin)

Continuation - Log 1 (John Watson)

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