tvk | ⚔ 006; [video/action]

[phone; morning; locked to Sola-Ui on Saber's phone]

Saber? [He wasn't worried, strictly speaking. Of course Saber could take care of herself, occasional mishap aside. But it was strange that she hadn't returned last night. And the fact that he hadn't heard from her...he almost might have called that 'suspicious'.]

I haven't spoken to you recently, are you alright?

[Surely she was just with Shirou. Right?]

[Intuition rarely failed a knight. And Lancer's was telling him something was not right at all.]

[action; early evening]

[Lancer didn't know what to do. He didn't know anything. The former Servant in glasses sat on a park bench staring blankly at exactly nothing.]

[It was all his fault. Saber had died--by a hand not his own--and it was all his fault.]

[He didn't know what hurt more. The fact that again one of that pair had ruined everything and stolen his chance for a fight with her, or the fact that this would not have happened if he'd kept his mouth shut and just gone along with Sola's obsession. She would have been unhurt, Saber would have been alive, and Lancer...]

[Lancer would have been as miserable now as he was in Fuyuki. A small price to pay.]

[Today he likely looked nothing like the amicable, smiling and cheerful indivudual he so often was--there was a touch of ice in gold eyes, a strange sense of detachment in the way he held himself and stared at nothing. He had to stay that way. Lancer...didn't want to be angry. He didn't want to fly into the screaming anger of that vengeful spirit that had died in the Fourth War.]

[More than anything he didn't want it to keep hurting.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Telling someone they don't need to worry when they don't isn't a lie.

[Again, Neah chuckles. Not exactly the right thing to do in a situation like this. However, he does take the time and plops right next to Lancer. Calm expression and all.]

Isolation from the world around you is lying to yourself.

...I think isolation would be preferable as things are now.

What things? [He'll pry. Not as a "friend", but as a curious being.]

...Someone very close to me was killed. And I believe the reason for it was because they were close to me.

... And the culprit?

...my former Master's fiancee. The woman I was trying to avoid.

[Neah is quiet for a few moments. Unsure what to say since he didn't think the woman would go... Well. That far.]

... Mad Puppet. [Neah language = CRAZY BITCH.]

... [Yeah, guess who assumed you were talking about him. THIS GUY FLIPS SHIT WHEN HE'S ANGRY, NEAH.]

I...completely lost my temper with her. Which is something I've been careful not to do for several months now.

After I pleaded with Saber not to confront her out of concern for Sola's own safety because it simply wasn't her fault, I don't...I don't know how this happened. But I could have stopped this, Neah. If I hadn't been so quick to push Sola away and so insistent on distancing myself, would she really have gone so far? When--if Saber returns, surely she can never forgive me for being the catalyst to something like this.

...Neah, I don't understand why everything I do ends in failure.

[Shaking his head out of disagreement.]

You are not to blame. And I am sure that your friend would not blame you for her own actions. [He understands... Protecting someone because they are important to you.]

I don't know what she'll say, if she even comes back. She was killed because of me, how could I ever look her in the eye again knowing that?

This world has many possibilities, it seems.

[Neah just has this strange hunch that Saber will be coming back.]

Your friend... She cares for you, does she not?

I...suppose so. We're close allies if nothing else.

Protecting someone that you care for... [He knows all too well.]

She can protect herself. Usually.

Is this woman that killed your friend dangerous?

In a way, yes. She has no powers here and I don't think she has a Persona yet.

But if she would kill Saber out of mere jealousy, I can't call her 'harmless'.

A mad doll seeking attention? [Woman are crazy, yo.]

She's...somewhat obsessed with me.

[Neah doesn't know what to say. He's never dealt with a crazy woman before. So, instead of words, Neah reaches up to Lancer's shoulder. Lightly grasping it.]