[closed]

[chibisu]

Who: Ebisu, Aomi, and various out-temple workers
What: Time for a relaxing trip to Kanagawa, before the next thing blows up.
Where: Kanagawa
When: Sometime after that compound mess

Kanagawa Prefecture has a lot of good points. There's an opening to the ocean, a lake for touring, beautiful views of Mt. Fuji wherever you look, and all sorts of interesting museums or temples. Aomi, the organizer of this little trip, agrees for everyone to meet at Iiyama Kannon an hour or two before noon. An easy famous place that people hopefully won't get lost going to, and all. Until then, well, people are free to go wherever they like. They don't even have to stay in Atsugi, where the meeting area is supposed to be. There are beaches not that far off, zoos to enjoy various animals, parks where carefully cultivated flowers are in gleeful bloom, a bustling Chinatown, and even the little island of Enoshima.

When the time comes to meet up, however, Aomi can be found alongside Ebisu with a bulging backpack and he does a quick headcount to make sure everyone is there before continuing on. The ultimate destination isn't any of the many tourist attractions in Kanagawa, but rather he leads away from the cities and towards the forests of the prefecture. Aomi would have made sure to remind everyone that morning over text to wear hiking boots.... so hopefully they all remember to do that, because the path chosen is one that has no actual path at all. Hopefully no one gets hurt, although it shouldn't be too hard.

What's the destination? That much becomes obvious once they hit some more even land, where a small stone monument has been placed at the base of a fully blossoming Japanese wisteria. Here, Aomi will let everyone know it's fine to take a break, and settle down. It's here that he'll help spread out some various picnic blankets and begin unpacking from his enormous backpack. He's been courteous enough to pack lunch for just about everyone, and a good variety in case any one dish doesn't suit someone. There's delectably spicy yokosuka curry, juicy shirokoro horumon, rare to get shonan pork sausages, and a variety of sushi that takes full advantage of being from a seaside prefecture. Everyone is free to relax beneath the wisteria blossoms and enjoy the view peeking out from the trees.

Comments

[swordofzero]

Percival it is then. [If they were to call a beetle anything he supposed Percival was a fine name for one.]

Chretien? [Weren't all of those names made up? From ancient stories. Suzaku looked at Saber, as if just realising what he was saying and not understanding it at all.

Luckily he knows he doesn't need to ask much for Saber to explain things. If there was one thing his god was very good at it was talking.]

[fauxcalibur]

Hm?

[He namedrops people so often, but most people are wise enough not to ask for clarification.]

Chretien de Troyes. He was quite an amazing poet who served at my half-sister's court. Were it not for his tales of King Arthur, I believe I would be quite a different person! As I said, I believe Percival may have been a character he created, but most of his stories were based on fact and I suppose he combined history with his own imagination well enough that I didn't particularly care which was which!

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku is not wise. But he does listen as he half contemplates how they are going to transport this beetle all the way back the the heavens as Saber seems set on keeping it.

But that made sense, the poet that wrote the stories to begin with. Suzaku often forgot that Saber had lived eight hundred years ago. Stranger too to think the same stories could exist on different worlds.]

I see, he must have been a very good poet, for his tales to last eight hundred years.

[fauxcalibur]

He was! I suppose credit is due to the other writers who took up the stories and created their own versions as time has gone on and also the historians who have attempted to keep the more fanciful notions in check.

[He taps the bottle a little, agitating poor Percival.]

Ah, how much we humans need to worry about. Certainly insects lead much simpler lives.

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku reached out to steady the bottle, the beetle did not look very happy about his captivity.]

They do indeed, though I think we may have complicated Percival's life a little bit. We should probably put some leaves in with him.

[fauxcalibur]

Hmmm...yes, a bottle doesn't really make the best of homes. I'll have to find him something nicer when I have the chance.

[It sounds like Percival is stuck with them for the long haul.]

They do sell cages for beetles in some stores. It seems like catching them is rather popular.

[For small children, but that part isn't important. What's important is the giant bug.]

[swordofzero]

They do? [Of course if there were such odd things as beetle cages then it would be something Saber would know about. It looks like Percival is a permanent member of the temple.]

A cage might work the best though I will try and keep Kotetsu away from him. [Kotetsu was quickly growing from a mischievous kitten to a mischievous cat and though he was gentle with everyone who wasn't Suzaku he would definitely be very curious about a beetle.]

[fauxcalibur]

Is Kotetsu in the the habit of eating bugs? I would think that it would be far too much work for far too little reward. Though I suppose he might try if the idea caught his fancy.

[Sometimes it seems like the reason why Saber and Kotetsu get along as well as they do is because they operate on the same wavelength.]

[swordofzero]

He is more likely to try and play with it and go overboard. [He hadn't thought before of how much his god and his kitten had in common, but now he does think... They are very similar in how they think.]

He's the type to try everything at least once though.

[fauxcalibur]

Well, I can't begrudge him that!

[It really is what he'd do if he was a cat, after all. Well, he really wouldn't even need to be a cat for it to happen, considering he's the one who caught the beetle in the first place.]

I shall have to make sure I keep them properly separated, though.

[swordofzero]

Of course, I will try and keep Kotetsu under control. [Honestly Kotetsu obeys everyone else in the temple better than he obeys Suzaku but he is Suzaku's responsibility.]

Will you be alright transporting him for the rest of the hike, sir?

[Half a bottle is not the best beetle transportation method.

[fauxcalibur]

I should be!

[He sounds quite confident about that.

If nothing else, it will keep him busy.]

We may find something better to keep him in. Or I may have to leave to take him home. Whatever works!

[swordofzero]

I suppose it is easy enough for you to teleport to the temple and back. [It makes the hiking part of this adventure even more of a novelty he supposes when half the people here could be in their destination in a blink of an eye.]

Or I can ask around if anyone has a tub of any kind.

[fauxcalibur]

Oh, that might be helpful! Or if anyone knows anything about raising beetles. I could always look it up on the internet, but I feel it's always much more effective to talk to someone about things.

[His phone is pretty much always close at hand. He's adjusted quite remarkably to modern technology, even beyond what would be normal for a Servant.]

[swordofzero]

I can go and ask around. [It's probably not the strangest question many of them have been asked. The heavens were full of a lot of interesting people.

Finding a tub will probably be easier than a beetle expert, but he will do his best.]