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.]

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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.]

...thank you.

I'm just...so tired of this. I cause trouble wherever I go merely by existing.

... I emphasize.

I just wish there was some way to stop this. But...I don't know if I can.

[Neah sits in silence. Promptly smiling and placing a hand on Lancer's shoulder.]

Never stop. Keep walking.

Even if it feels like both your legs have essentially been broken?

I believe that is what my words are implying.

I suppose I really don't have a choice. It's not in my nature to simply give in.

Correct.

Even the hardest obstacle eventually becomes easier.

I would consider death the 'hardest obstacle', and that only got more irritating the second time.

With Sola?

Sola...wasn't responsible for my death--not directly, at least. That particular incident was the fault of her fiance, Kayneth.

... What would you do if you saw that man again?

...

He was my Master--I swore an oath to him when I was summoned as Lancer. I would've done anything he asked of me, and yet...he didn't trust me. He didn't even respect my honor as a knight. And in the end he ordered me to die in the middle of a fight when it suited his interest.

I don't know what I would do, Neah, but I think it would not end well for him.

Ah. I understand, Lancer.

[He saw Lancer as a friend. And now that they had that bond, Neah would try his best to protect him, should that ever happen. Which is why...] Would you like me to hit him with my car?