[Remember your training! Ritsuka thinks to herself as her body tenses, back pressed against the tree trunk. there she stays, even when Morgan stands up straight to face their enemies. cowering like this isn't really her style, even when she hasn't the foggiest idea what she's doing, but. . . she's well aware that she needs to keep herself as safe as possible. for Morgan's sake]
[a deep breath, and Ritsuka steels herself, shoving away the instinct to panic and drawing in on that inner strength she found amidst the flame-filled buildings of Fuyuki]
R-right.
[she can do this!!]
. . . do a magic thing!
[or. . . not. LOOK. SHE CAN GIVE BETTER ORDERS THE BETTER SHE KNOWS THE SERVANT. . . she and Morgan are still getting to know each other, which means she's only just now learning what it is Morgan is capable of in a fight]
[the one thing Ritsuka would never get over was the small spike of panic she felt every time one of her servants brushed close to danger. sure, she trusted in then and their abilities— she believed in their skills and their instincts— but her instincts always told her to leap out in front of them to protect them from danger first. fighting those instincts and focusing on keeping herself safe, knowing that her servants would not be able to continue the battle if she was injured or killed, still took practice]
Ugh, I hate those sharp things! Can't you— [a yelp and Ritsuka ducks again, an arrow thunking into the tree near her head a second time] — disarm them? Archers first!
[AUGH. . . maybe her commands are too simplistic. she winces a little at the criticism, though she isn't offended by it. this is why they're training, isn't it? so she can get better at leading her servants?]
[Ritsuka pokes her head out from behind the tree, brows furrowed]
S-sorry. Please, do your best-- and let me help!
[because while she's mostly relegated to watching from the sidelines and shouting out orders, she has one last support ability up her sleeve. . . or, well. tattooed on her hand]
[with a breath, she extends her hand, the bright red mark on the back glowing as she taps into the power of her mystic code. Ritsuka has never been a particularly skilled mage, but she has the power to do this-- to cast an attack buff on Morgan to make her battles just a tad bit easier]
[Oho... That power boost is nice, and Morgan takes full advantage of it; she ducks an arrow, flinging herself forward to slide straight through the first bow's string. It snaps, leaving the bow useless, and she turns, immediately flinging a lightning spell at the other archer.
Morgan spins with a grin, triumphant and bright.]
Hey, thanks, that was pretty good! You dooo have some tricks up your sleeve after all! I was starting to wonder.
[Don't be so brutal, Morgan.]
Anyway, hey--duck!
[Oh.
Well.
Hopefully Ritsuka is good at following directions, because Morgan's flinging another spell right at her face--to try to get the axe wielder behind her.]
[but she also obliges, hitting the ground hard, nearly faceplanting as she does so. but hey, at least that means the lightning spell is hitting its intended target, frying the creatures fur and leaving the faintest scent of ozone in the air]
[Morgan rocks back and forth on her heels, clearly pleased by the praise. She's so easy...]
Thanks! It was a good battle, but we really need to make sure to end up with the tactical advantage next time! It's only you and me right now, so it could be really bad if we let ourselves get surrounded again.
[Idly, she flicks through her tome, head tilted back as she soaks up the sunshine, for all the world looking like a girl without a care in the world.]
Next time, let's find higher ground and a good vantage point first, and go from there.
[a bit flustered, Ritsuka lifts a hand to pinch a lock of her hair between her fingers, twirling it together as she does so. there isn't much else they can do until Dr. Roman shuts down the simulation from the outside, which he'll likely be doing any minute now. but. . . these few moments between the end of the battle and when the sun disappears. . . she can at least pretend the world around them isn't fake, right?]
[Ritsuka looks up as well, expression softening]
You're a really experienced tactician, aren't you, Morgan?
[Morgan beams at that, brightening further--Ritsuka's being sincere, but even if she wasn't, this would be a perfect way to butter Morgan up.
Still, what she says is--]
Nope, I'm still in training. My father's the one who's reaaaally an amazing tactician. But someday... I'm going to surpass him, and make him really, really proud of me! Just you wait!
So... I'm really excited for this opportunity! It's just you and me--and Mash--against the whole wide world right now. That's so many battles, so many conflicts... and I get to help with all of them! I'll have to be an expert after all of this.
Okay! Sounds good to meee. It's kind of boring to wander Chaldea by myself, so I'd much rather eat together.
[Morgan doesn't cope well with boredom, that might be...already terribly obvious.
It'd be bad to leave her to her own devices.]
Hey, what do you think Dr. Roman will say? Do you think he'll be all-- [She straightens, putting on her best impression of him, which is not very good.] "You two should be more careful!! You're going to take years off of my life if you keep going like that!"
[that much Ritsuka has already figured out, and his mouth quirks into a tiny smirk as she makes her way towards the exit]
Oh, absolutely.
[SHE LOVES U DR. ROMAN. . . BUT ALSO. . .]
But I also think he'll be all-- [straightens as well, lifting a hand to the back of her head much like how Roman does on a frequent basis] "I thought I'd be able to use this chance to take a nap! Man, you're really working me to the bone, aren't you?"
Excuse me if I say I won't feel sorry for him in advance.
[girls. . . . . . he can probably hear you. scratch that: he can definitely hear you!! and he is definitely appearing behind Ritsuka, clearing his throat just loud enough for the young master to hear. . . and then immediately whirl around to face him]
[also beaming, poking at her cheeks with her index fingers]
[Roman sighs and rolls his eyes. I'll reward you with the afternoon off. How's that? and then, a small grumble, Kids don't know how good they have it these days when they can get the whole afternoon off while I have to calibrate the simulation room. . .]
[but Ritsuka isn't listening. she brushes past Dr. Roman and pats his shoulder affectionately as he goes]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[shit]
[Remember your training! Ritsuka thinks to herself as her body tenses, back pressed against the tree trunk. there she stays, even when Morgan stands up straight to face their enemies. cowering like this isn't really her style, even when she hasn't the foggiest idea what she's doing, but. . . she's well aware that she needs to keep herself as safe as possible. for Morgan's sake]
[a deep breath, and Ritsuka steels herself, shoving away the instinct to panic and drawing in on that inner strength she found amidst the flame-filled buildings of Fuyuki]
R-right.
[she can do this!!]
. . . do a magic thing!
[or. . . not. LOOK. SHE CAN GIVE BETTER ORDERS THE BETTER SHE KNOWS THE SERVANT. . . she and Morgan are still getting to know each other, which means she's only just now learning what it is Morgan is capable of in a fight]
no subject
Oh my god.
Morgan's so ready--she beams when Ritsuka draws on some inner strength, when she drags in a deep breath, when she calls out--
..... And then she laughs, a peal of laughter that doesn't really stop her from ducking an arrow at the same time.
At least there's that.]
All riiiight, Master, whatever you say! Magic thing, go!
[She says that...but then she lifts a hand, tome's pages fluttering in the breeze she calls up, and far more officially:]
O wind born amidst clouds of shifting sand, mow down those who would do evil! Elwind!
[SHE DID THE MAGIC THING... and a nasty burst of razor sharp wind does a pretty good job of mowing down most of the axe fighters bearing down on them.
Keyword: most.]
Whoops! [Morgan stumbles backwards, barely avoiding an axe.] Hey, wait your turn--!
no subject
[the one thing Ritsuka would never get over was the small spike of panic she felt every time one of her servants brushed close to danger. sure, she trusted in then and their abilities— she believed in their skills and their instincts— but her instincts always told her to leap out in front of them to protect them from danger first. fighting those instincts and focusing on keeping herself safe, knowing that her servants would not be able to continue the battle if she was injured or killed, still took practice]
Ugh, I hate those sharp things! Can't you— [a yelp and Ritsuka ducks again, an arrow thunking into the tree near her head a second time] — disarm them? Archers first!
no subject
You make it sound super easy like that, y'knowwww.
[Still, even so...she reaches under her coat, sweeping out a sword.]
But I'll do my best!
[Time to go DISARM SOME ARCHERS.]
no subject
[Ritsuka pokes her head out from behind the tree, brows furrowed]
S-sorry. Please, do your best-- and let me help!
[because while she's mostly relegated to watching from the sidelines and shouting out orders, she has one last support ability up her sleeve. . . or, well. tattooed on her hand]
[with a breath, she extends her hand, the bright red mark on the back glowing as she taps into the power of her mystic code. Ritsuka has never been a particularly skilled mage, but she has the power to do this-- to cast an attack buff on Morgan to make her battles just a tad bit easier]
no subject
Morgan spins with a grin, triumphant and bright.]
Hey, thanks, that was pretty good! You dooo have some tricks up your sleeve after all! I was starting to wonder.
[Don't be so brutal, Morgan.]
Anyway, hey--duck!
[Oh.
Well.
Hopefully Ritsuka is good at following directions, because Morgan's flinging another spell right at her face--to try to get the axe wielder behind her.]
no subject
MORGAN!
[but she also obliges, hitting the ground hard, nearly faceplanting as she does so. but hey, at least that means the lightning spell is hitting its intended target, frying the creatures fur and leaving the faintest scent of ozone in the air]
Ohmygod I almost had a heart attack. . .!
[Ritsuka's words are muffled against the ground]
no subject
[That's not helpful.
Morgan skips closer, her tome wrapped in her arms, beaming brightly as she peers down at Ritsuka.]
Also, I think we killed them all. Good work, Master!
no subject
Whew. . .
[WHEW]
I'm glad that's over. You did a good job though, Morgan.
[Ritsuka, on the other hand. . . could use some work. and she feels like she can already hear the lectures Dr. Roman is cooking in his doctory brain]
no subject
[Morgan rocks back and forth on her heels, clearly pleased by the praise. She's so easy...]
Thanks! It was a good battle, but we really need to make sure to end up with the tactical advantage next time! It's only you and me right now, so it could be really bad if we let ourselves get surrounded again.
[Idly, she flicks through her tome, head tilted back as she soaks up the sunshine, for all the world looking like a girl without a care in the world.]
Next time, let's find higher ground and a good vantage point first, and go from there.
no subject
[a bit flustered, Ritsuka lifts a hand to pinch a lock of her hair between her fingers, twirling it together as she does so. there isn't much else they can do until Dr. Roman shuts down the simulation from the outside, which he'll likely be doing any minute now. but. . . these few moments between the end of the battle and when the sun disappears. . . she can at least pretend the world around them isn't fake, right?]
[Ritsuka looks up as well, expression softening]
You're a really experienced tactician, aren't you, Morgan?
no subject
Still, what she says is--]
Nope, I'm still in training. My father's the one who's reaaaally an amazing tactician. But someday... I'm going to surpass him, and make him really, really proud of me! Just you wait!
So... I'm really excited for this opportunity! It's just you and me--and Mash--against the whole wide world right now. That's so many battles, so many conflicts... and I get to help with all of them! I'll have to be an expert after all of this.
no subject
Yeah. That's right. Then. . .! In that case, we'll get better together, won't we?
[their surroundings are beginning to face, to be replaced by the sterile and cold surroundings of the simulation room]
no subject
[This is too much positivity for just having barely scraped through a training scenario, but you know, it's fine.
Morgan taps the toe of her boot against the steel floor, for a moment looking briefly disappointed, before she shakes it off.]
Let's do this again sometime, okay? It was fun! [Almost dying is tons of fun!]
no subject
We're going to have to, if we want to get any better at this.
[ssssigh]
. . . let's debrief with Dr. Roman, and then get something to eat. Mash probably has a post-training meal already prepared for us.
[and maybe she can use the mealtime to get to know Morgan better? she is a little curious about her servant's past, after all]
no subject
[Morgan doesn't cope well with boredom, that might be...already terribly obvious.
It'd be bad to leave her to her own devices.]
Hey, what do you think Dr. Roman will say? Do you think he'll be all-- [She straightens, putting on her best impression of him, which is not very good.] "You two should be more careful!! You're going to take years off of my life if you keep going like that!"
no subject
Oh, absolutely.
[SHE LOVES U DR. ROMAN. . . BUT ALSO. . .]
But I also think he'll be all-- [straightens as well, lifting a hand to the back of her head much like how Roman does on a frequent basis] "I thought I'd be able to use this chance to take a nap! Man, you're really working me to the bone, aren't you?"
no subject
You're right, you're right! He's deeefinitely going to complain about that.
[This is a good time for him to appear behind them, not that Morgan cares.]
no subject
[girls. . . . . . he can probably hear you. scratch that: he can definitely hear you!! and he is definitely appearing behind Ritsuka, clearing his throat just loud enough for the young master to hear. . . and then immediately whirl around to face him]
. . . hi, Doctor!
[NO SHAME]
no subject
[EVEN LESS SHAME... these two are menaces.
Why are they like this.]
no subject
It sounds like you should work on being less predictable.
[comes Ritsuka's cheeky reply]
[Roman deserves this]
no subject
Morgan beams, giggling in response.]
It's fine, it's fiiine. We're just being... efficient! Yeah! You should praise us!
no subject
[also beaming, poking at her cheeks with her index fingers]
[Roman sighs and rolls his eyes. I'll reward you with the afternoon off. How's that? and then, a small grumble, Kids don't know how good they have it these days when they can get the whole afternoon off while I have to calibrate the simulation room. . .]
[but Ritsuka isn't listening. she brushes past Dr. Roman and pats his shoulder affectionately as he goes]
Thanks, doctor! Good luck with your work!
no subject
Wow, Master, you really worked your wiles there! [She taps her chin thoughtfully.]
Would those be what's called womanly wiles...?
[No Morgan.]
no subject
[MORGAN PLEASE]
What about that was womanly? Or wily?
[she is not exactly the most femme fetal-looking of people, Morgan!! she isn't sure she can pull off these. . . womanly wiles. . .]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)