To Remain Behind

[kuroi_taiyo]

Who: Judar, Cu Chulainn, Chikusa, Ken, Chinatsu (maybe some more???)

When: March 15th

Where: The Central District

What: Everyone else in Xihe's temple disappeared, leaving just Judar and his things on an empty lot. Things result. Seems pretty extra? Think of the people who were in that temple. Seems about right with that, don't it?




Not long before the announcement went on the network, with Aymeric announcing the disappearance of Izumo, Judar woke up to a cold and rude awakening. Cold, for there was no longer the influence of the temple's nature, but he was also outside. Just as all his things were around him, on the ground. Clothes, papers, electronics and the 'caffeine' machine, as Judar had dubbed it.

No building, no people, no horses taking up space- leaving him alone.

For a good few minutes, there was the shock of everything being the way it was. The next few were filled with laughter at how ridiculous it all was, given the thoughts and kinds of conversations he's had. And instead of going through all the steps of grief and loss, Judar focused on one step as the splotches of darkness started covering his back and neck.

Anger.

Spirals of lightning to the sky, looking like violent purple dragons as tall walls of ice took over the empty and abandoned property to leave the teenager to further fits of fury hidden behind the magic-made barriers.

Comments

[futhark]

[ Caster got on his feet probably a bit faster than Judar. Though he still slept like a log for a day or two. Ablution surely is serious business, but now that he sees Judar is up, at least more regularly than "wake up, get hydrated, disappear in the room" he figures it's time to approach-

There are matters to discuss after all.

On the floor where the personal rooms are, near the stairs that open and lead down on the main hall, there is a small gallery. Usually empty, but right now few big pillows are thrown there on the floor. Caster is sitting on one of them, peeling an apple. When he hears the door open, he takes one of the fruits still in the basket and rolls them on the floor so they might hit a foot of someone walking this way.

If they're walking, of course ]

Yo, got a moment to sit here with me?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ After a big ol' dog tries to trip you up in going out of your room to piss, and probably more than once, one goes to moving around with some other methods after they have the energy to spare for such spells. Which is why he's floating out the door and towards the stairs, in case some dog's teeth decided to grab onto his pants again.

He was lowering back to the ground enough to still feel the brush of an apple rolling underneath. What is it with tripping hazards here???

With the end of his staff, Judar smacks the apple to roll back towards Caster. ]

... Is this where you tell me to work on finding a replacement or something?

[ He was ready to get tossed away, for some reason, but it's probably because Judar was still raw in a lot of ways. Something was different, and he didn't feel as solid or consistent as before. His energy felt different, to himself, and his head felt weird. ]

the temple of tripping hazard is the new official name

[futhark]

[ Caster lets the apple to stop at his foot. At which he's just tempted to let it roll back. But for now, he lets it stay where it is. ]

You don't have to sit if you don't want to. I won't be telling ya what to do. [ Ah, he's not surprised by this response. There's been A LOT that happened and each person is different in how much time exactly they need to spring back on their feet. Caster is already in his chill mode, but he's still recovering. And if he's got moments when he feels like shit, Judar most likely has it much worse.

This answer makes him wonder though. The visions he got, death memories, glimpses of more. Caster can't claim he's close to understanding Judar, but maybe he's closer than he was before. In the end, that would matter only if he decides to stay in the temple, and Caster fully intends to let him know it's a choice.. ]

I'm just wondering where on the scale of "I feel like shit" you are.

[ Translation note: kind of concerned "so how do you feel?" ]

how many official names is that now?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Look, he's trying to read the situation, and determine whether or not some dog is going to sit on him, before doing anything. He's still not sure what this is going to be about, and his defenses were still pretty high right now. ]

There's supposed to be a scale?

[ Ah... But he is still a little worn out. So Judar finally touches ground and falls onto one of the giant pillows. Quite literally, too, as it's just a drop down onto the cushion. ]

I was kinda torn apart during that whole thing. So I guess I'm still stitching myself together in some ways.

I've lost count

[futhark]

[ Caster is not trying to get around those walls, nor to force them down. He just is. Sometimes that's a correct thing to do. Other times might be taken as indifference. ]

That sounds somewhere around the middle of that scale to me. [ But hey that's progress, you were far, far outside that scale for a while ]

It takes time, but it gets better. [ And as he finished peeling the apple- ] Hungry?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Given that he might've been dead for a while and still wouldn't have known about it, it's definitely possible for him to be outside that scale. Alive and conscious counted for being on the scale, as bad as the measurement was.

He looks at the apple and there's just a churning in his stomach. It's probably been a long time since he's eaten, but even now things weren't cooperating. ]

... Nah.

[ He's just going to slide and lay back on the pillow. The exhaustion was still there in some way, with everything feeling so alien and weird. ]

You were doing something weird with the kissing, weren't you? Like this other magician with long hair, but you took it from me instead of my spells.

[futhark]

Huh- [ Another magician with long hair? Iskandar's shinki probably, he was the odd one. A Servant who is a modern man isn't that unheard of - caser in point, Archer - but Waver seems like an odd mix of human and Servant. Different than the girl with the shield, but alas, something close.

Figures he'd be a damn leech too. ]

In simplest of terms, magical energy sustains my existence. I no longer need it here, perks of godhood I suppose, but the ability to draw upon it remains.

[ More like stealing it, really. Contracts are impossible, but at least followers at this point give enough. He cuts off a small chunk off the peeled apple and throws it in his mouth ]

I ain't exactly "human" which you've probably noticed.

[kuroi_taiyo]

You're an energy leech.

[ If that's what you mean by 'drawing upon it.' Judar stretches a bit where he's laid, but it sort of... relaxes right at the point that one would think it'd feel the best. There wasn't any satisfaction in it, given that's probably not what he needed 'stretched.' ]

Is that supposed to be why you also go by 'Caster' instead of an actual name?

[futhark]

[ Caster puffs out a laugh. Yeah, the leech is a very apt description, he's using it to describe Servants quite often. Among other less savory descriptions, he has for his own kind. Anyway, this is not how he imagined this conversation to go, less about him, more about Judar was initially the plan. But he can see why magi would want some answers first, so he can route back to topic of his interest later ]

Right, it's more like a-- a title. [ Class ] Though I've been known to use my actual name, sometimes.

[ He mirrors Judar a bit, in the stretching bit, though he returns to his previous position. ]

If the leeching you're worried about, don't worry. I don't go around stealing "meals" of unsuspecting people.

[ The implication being that he will absolutely take what is offered freely though. The ablution was literally a special case, special circumstances. So he sees no contradiction here. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

Then I'd rather use that, instead of calling everyone by their title. There's no way I'm going by that dumb god name you were forced to deal with.

[ Insert laugh track here. There's no way he could know better, now is there? The bigger joke is that Caster wasn't the only one that went by his real name in this place. ]

I can't imagine you needing to leech anything for a while. Even with how long I've been resting, unless you were using a lot of high energy spells, you have more than enough.

[ But hey, it's not like he knows what you've been doing in the meantime. ]

[futhark]

[ Caster agrees to the "no need to leech" part with a nod- as he noms on another cut of an apple. He answers to the name part a moment later ]

Then I got bad news for ya- [ Caster does get a chuckle out of it. Does that work as a laughter track? ] My name is Cú Chulainn

[ At least some others, like Iskandar, never tried to confuse people by introducing himself as "Rider"

Caster does, doubly so now that Berserker is here and True Names and doubles can be-- kind of problematic. It was never something he hid from his shinki though. ]

So it's either one or the other. Take your pick. [ Just don't come up with some weird nickname ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

Fine, then your name is dumb.

[ Probably more dumb than his own. Really, Judar didn't even like his own name, so it's not like he's going to be defensive if this turns into a 'no u' moment.

He could call the guy Cuckoo, given how the name sounds... ]

Well, I'm not calling you Caster, when there's another annoying asshole that goes by that name. So I guess it'll just be Blue for now.

[ Because what he needed was to be a wolf's rain reference. Not that Judar knows that. ]

[futhark]

[ When your name is literally what your trollish grandpa decided to nickname you after stupid childhood stunt, yeah, it can be pretty dumb. Probably a lesson that if you fight against a nickname it is a surest way to get it immortalized for whole eternity. (Good thing he likes it, even if it is dumb) ]

Hey, I won't fight you on that one. It does sound kind of appropriate. So be it. [ Also given Judar's shinki name- they're onto another naming convention ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

If your hair color counts as appropriate, then I guess.

[ It's an observational nickname that's weird in nature. People usually give them as tokens of affection, but a face-value expression is also very distancing. All in all, it leads to the probably conclusion that....

Judar has a very feline personality. Then again, this is also someone who took an aggressive kiss as a distracting challenge, instead of paying attention to the fact that he was being drained. Which could be even more fitting for the temple. ]

So, you had me sit with you and asked how I was. What's going on?

[ May as well ask after having dicked around for a bit. ]

[futhark]

[ Cat meet dog, dog meet cat. Who knows what other challenges it might bring ]

I've just wanted to say- if you decide you want to stay, you're welcome here. But if you have another temple on mind, don't hesitate to say so. I've got a policy that if shinki wants out, I will take back the name. No questions asked.

[ No one is ever going to feel trapped and held against their will in his temple. And it seems doubly important to put it on the table, given the circumstances. The name was a tool to make his ablution possible, but it doesn't mean it has to stay, forced. ]

Didn't want to make it seem like you have no choice.

[kuroi_taiyo]

I'll keep it in mind...

[ Yet a small part of him wonders if that's a subtle sign to please get away. It'd normally be easy to feed into that and get angry, but right now he's also seeing it as... just what Blue was saying. Being so used to the constant and violent anger that kept twisting and feeding into itself, right now it was leaving him lost. Like there wasn't much of anything there. ]

I used to think that I'd go to Hakkai if something happened to Izumo, because he was already in the Central District and proved to be fucked up enough to handle someone like me. He's got too many shinki, though, and it'd just be a constant fight with Chikusa.

[ Judar didn't help the whole thing with constantly fighting, given how easy an outlet it was. He was entertained and had someone with enough capability to be entertaining and Chikusa... Just hated him, really. ]

So you're stuck with me for now.

[futhark]

[ Sometimes when the emotion run high- run the highest- everything after just feels like an empty shell. That should pass with time, but it is very often the next step ]

Hope you enjoy your stay~! [ Caster's tone is light, teasing even, especially when he continues. He's not subtle, if he didn't want Judar here he would simply take the name back after he recovered. But he also worries a bit- his track record with shinki is mixed at best. One disappeared, one left, one stayed. Now the temple gains another resident, but a question "for how long?" is wandering around the edges of his conscious thoughts. ]

Right, Chikusa's his shinki. [ It's interesting to hear that Hakkai is fucked up though. It's always with the most silent eh? ] You guys have this-- rivalry "no one is allowed to defeat you but me" thing going on?

[ I MEAN. Chikusa answered the call immediately and even gathered the right people. That could make some people scream "I ship it." Caster is quite glad that Chikusa respond even despite the animosity between him and Judar though. He knows only one other person who performed ablution and it... didn't end good for her. It wouldn't be fair to put her through potential trauma again.

If she even talked to him at all, but that's another thing. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

What?

[ Any humor that might've been in the question was dismissed by the very subject matter. Since when was there such a thing? See, statements like this, because they're just close enough, is what gets a lazy kick over to one of Caster's knees. ]

Don't be an idiot. There's no rivalry, and we don't even really think about each other. What I said during the ablution still stands; the only reason he showed up ready for the ritual is because he knew how much it'd hurt the target. That's the type of person he is.

[futhark]

[ WELL, now it is obvious that it is not something to joke about. Caster really thought there might be something more than just hostility--- like he himself has no problem with stabbing a man on one day, and banter with him in a friendly manner on another (Archer is a good example of that).

He kicks back though ]

I don't know the exact nature of your deals with others. But I am going to believe what you tell me.

[ That's a compromise, right? He might tease but he will take things at face value ]

How do you handle drinks? Because my throat sure is dry right now. [ Who cares what is legal drinking age in Japan?? ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ ... Huh. Okay then. He was ready for some skeptical sign of it not being pressed into, but also not being believed. Which has happened a few times with Izumo, or him just going 'hmm.'

This is definitely a good way to get Judar to relax. ]

I've always handled it pretty okay. I'm a little picky on the taste and stuff, but it's been fine otherwise.