rosavelle | Artoria Caster Catch-All

[ It feels weird. Practicing something from scratch again. Bloomcraft is similar to Magecraft, at least for Artoria, but still different enough that it’s hard to get the hang of. It’s fortunate, at least, that a lot of the practices involved with Imprintwork are already things she’s good at.

The problem is… trying to embroid a feeling into a physical object? It’s harder than it looks. For a variety of reasons, but if she had to pick one… what kind of feeling exactly is she supposed to put into something? Something positive, presumably, but it feels embarrassing to think of something nice from her life and put that feeling into an object.

Then again, maybe that’s the problem. She’s trying to use her life as a basis, and her life… even at her happiest, it was always accompanied by something else. Something that poisons it. ]

Hah... this is harder than it looks...

[ Artoria had figured that she would've been able to handle the symptoms if she happened to catch the Toux Roux. She's a mage, after all. She's had to take care of herself before, she's proud to say her immune system is nothing to scoff at.

But clearly, she underestimated it. ]

ACHOO...!!

[ It's a good thing she started practicing Imprintwork, since she was able to create a face mask that's easier to breathe in, but she's seriously getting hit by this harder than she expected. Her magecraft doesn't seem to be as effective on it...

What was it they said would help? Emotional honesty? Seriously?

Nah, she's a mage! Finding other solutions to problems is, like, her whole deal! If her usual sickness-treating spells aren't working, then she'll just experiment and try a more brute force solution. First, she's gonna find a way to clean her sinuses. All she needs to do is come up with a way to shoot clean water through them and just... flush all the mucus and irritants out in one go, right? The theory is perfect!

At least, the theory is. In practice, well... ]

BANG!!

OWWWW...!!

[ It's evidently an eventful day at the Lily Barracks, since Artoria decided to test her newest magecraft creation just outside the building... which resulted in a loud noise similar to an explosion, followed by pained shriek by Artoria.

The result of trying to pack magically-cleaned water into a small pellet, sticking it up your nose, and using a minimal amount of explosive force to cleanse her sinuses with as much force as possible... didn't end well. Heck, for that matter... ]

It didn't even work...!

[ At least she isn't injured...? Soaked in water and soap suds and clutching her face, sure, but she's otherwise fine! ]

[ A week passed. As per her deal with Metal, she waited a week... and after that week, Metal would do whatever he could to keep Archer out of the way so that Artoria could see Ai alone. There's a part of her that feels a little bad, but the whole point of this would be moot if Archer were around to interject or anything, after all.

Plus, there's a nonzero chance that showing up with him around would escalate into a fight, so. Trusting that she won't have to worry about Archer... Artoria knocks on Ai's door. ]

Um... hello? It's me, Artoria!

[ ...Just in case, though. She's ready to be met with a rain of swords just in case. ]

[ The door clicks open and there stands Ai, looking surprised but certainly not displeased. ]

Oh...! I didn't know you were dropping by, Artoria-chan. Here, come get in out of the rain...

[ She steps aside and holds the door open for her to enter. ]

Sorry if you were looking for the other two... you just missed them.

Aha... thanks! Rain is easy for me to handle with magecraft, but it's not completely perfect...

[ She steps inside, though she holds the tip of her staff out for a moment like it's an umbrella... because it is. An invisible barrier centered around the top of the staff kept the rain off of Artoria, and a collection of water is released outside onto the ground as the magecraft ends. Then, Artoria steps inside properly. ]

That's fine. I came here looking for you, anyways. Still, I'm surprised... I didn't realize you kept such um...

[ What's a good word for it... ]

...entertaining company!

[ That's a nice way of putting it, right? ]

[ hayasaka had gotten off easily with this. she hadn't managed to get sick, and made sure to keep herself and the places she's been to sanitized before and after. maid habits dying a bit hard.

it's what allows her to jump into action when she hears the loud bang from outside of the barracks. she's immediately out there, and's a little more worried than she'd like to seem. oops. ]

Castoria-chan?! Hey, are you alright?!

[ that was loud as hell and-- something didn't work?! ]

Oh, you were? I guess I did move out of the barracks pretty suddenly...

[ ... Actually, come to think of it, she technically never moved out officially, she just kind of... stopped going back to sleep there... she should probably make a point of finally moving all of her things out of there, huh...

Well. She can worry about that later. She leads Artoria through to the kitchen and pulls out a chair for her. ]

Aha. It was kind of a surprise when I realized he was living here with Shirou-kun too, but... we're getting along okay. He'd get embarrassed if you said it to his face, but he's a good kid. - oh, um, do you want a drink? Or a snack?

[ The magecraft process is... trial and error. That's her excuse. She wasn't entirely reckless about it in any case. She's tougher than she looks, and she used a truly minimal amount of magical energy... but things still ended up like this. Maybe trying to do delicate magecraft while she's sick was a bad idea...? ]

Mm' fine...

[ In addition to being soaked, her nose is red... and not because of what she just tried. Plus, she looks exhausted. ]

Ugh, did I mess up the amount of magical energy...? Ugh, it went up my nose, but it didn't clear anything out at all...! I might be able to turn these into decent bath bombs, though...

[ Despite the state she's in, though, she doesn't look like she's considering stopping. ]

[ oh what the hell! she's out here soaked, sick, and sticking things up her nose?

hayasaka marches right over. ]

I don't know what the hell you're doing over here, but I'm putting a stop to it. Come on, you need to get some rest and stop messing around.

[ Shirou-kun!? Is that his first name!? Huh... wait, and she's just calling him that!? ]

Haha... I think he's alright, too! I mean, kind of. When we first met he was so rude I almost considered hitting him over the head with my staff.

[ It would've been deserved, trust. ]

Oh, you don't have to worry about me! I just wanted to talk, since, um... well...

[ Artoria's cheeks flush just a little. ]

So... you and Archer, huh! And you're even calling him Shirou-kun...

Huh...? Oh! Hayasaka!

[ She hadn't even registered who was the one asking if she was alright. She quickly stands upright, trying to straighten herself up and... huh? ]

N-no, it's fine, really! I was just trying something to try and clear my sinuses, it's totally sa—KOFF...!

[ ...Extremely rude of the Toux Roux to make her cough up a chunk of flower petals at that precise moment, she feels. ]

[ oh god thats gross

hayasaka's instincts take over for a moment and she kneels to get a better look at this dumb mage. ]

It's safe, but you can create an explosion that half of Rosavelle can hear directly from your nose?

[ that's probably not what happened, but she's thinking it. ]

Come on. I'll help you back to your room and we can find actual non-exploding medicine for you.

[ ... Sheeeeeee's just going to set some cookies down on the table. She has a feeling they're going to be necessary. ]

Yeah. [ said completely nonchalantly as she takes a seat as well. ] We're dating now. Since the festival.

[ Did Artoria really not know? It's not like they've made a big point of announcing it or anything but they've also not exactly been keeping it secret... ]

[ She chokes a little. ]

Since then?! How did I miss it for this long?!

[ It probably wasn’t helped by how she and Archer adamantly keep their distances from each other.

Still, to think it started then when her interaction with Archer then had gotten hostile for that exact topic… she’s not sure whether to feel stupid or upset.

…well, actually, this entire conversation will be determining that. ]

Uh, I mean… c-congrats! Aha, ahaha…

[ She’s… she’s gonna take one of those cookies, thanks. She’s right, she’s gonna need them. ]

Haah… am I just bad at picking up on that kind of thing…?

[ You’d think that with eyes like hers, that wouldn’t be the case… ]

[ Oh. Huh. It's Artoria, huh...

Eyes wide and startled, Yuno looks at her with a sandwich in her hands, seemingly having enjoyed a day of better weather among the rain and storms of May, having been scared frozen on the spot at the explosion. ]

Artoria-san... [ She begins, blinking confused. ] Are you... alright?

Maybe you're over thinkin' it?

[ Says Gold Ship, Peering over Artoria's shoulder at what she's working on. When did she get there? How did she sneak up on Artoria so thoroughly? Don't worry about it!

A snort and bellow comes from over Artoria's opposite shoulder, attracting Golshi's twitching ears. That sure is Gold Ship the horse looming every bit as loomingly as Golshi the uma. ]

The big guy asked if you've been takin' any breaks. Thinks you may have fried your brain, Tori.

[ Oh. And there's a nickname now. Sorry Artoria. ]

Aha... it wasn't that bad... louder than I expected, but...

[ Ugh, look at her, being all gross in front of Hayasaka... this is the worst...! ]

Ugh... I dunno... regular medicine stopped doing much, and then my magecraft stopped helping... b-besides, I don't wanna get you sick...

I'm not worried about it. If I get sick, I know how to handle it.

[ also, she really can't remember the last time she even got sick... she tilts her head a bit. ]

Have you tried anything else? Any remedies the doctors here recommend?

Uuuuugh...

[ If it had actually worked, then she could've said yes... but nope. Her flu-like symptoms are still as bad as ever.

Of course, she'll still say yes. It'll just... not be true. ]

Yeah, I'm fine...

[ She says, with a voice considerably more nasally than usual. Heck, for that matter, she doesn't really look great either... aside from being soaked, that is. ]

You don't look alright, though...

[ Doesn't take fae eyes to tell as much. ]

Do you want me to get you a towel? Something warm, maybe?

You look so snotty, right now... [ She offers her a napkin. ] Here.

The sickness seems to be wearing everyone down...

[ She laughs a little sheepishly. ]

Ah, well... we never announced it or anything. It just didn't seem necessary, you know? And having to do the whole parade thing at the festival was bad enough...

[ She'll just take a cookie for herself, since they're still chatting... ]

I guess it's a little hard to know for sure what's going on with everybody these days. When we first got here, we were all a little more tight knit but now there's more of us arriving and we're settling in... it's not like we're drifting apart exactly... we've all got our own stuff to worry about, is all.

[ She feels sheepish now. To have missed it for this long... it starts to make Artoria's worries seem ridiculous, now. But she still can't be sure, so... ]

Well... I guess I was just pretty surprised when I heard about it. It felt hard to imagine Archer, well...

[ For a variety of reasons, but... ]

...Is he, y'know, a good boyfriend?

Wah...!

[ Startled, both by Gold Ship herself and Golder Ship, Artoria very nearly drops what she's working on before fumbling and eventually catching it. ]

O-Oh! Gold Ship! Gold... Ships? Ahaha...

[ The fact that Artoria was so lost in thought almost definitely contributed to helping Gold Ship sneak up on her. Which kind of drives the point home that she's been at this for a while. ]

I mean... am I? You're supposed to imbue, like, feelings and stuff into these... so aren't I supposed to be doing a lot of thinking?

[ She sighs. ]

...Emotional honesty. They told me to be more emotionally honest.

[ The irony of that being told to her of all people is! Not lost on her! ]

How the heck am I supposed to do that!? Just... run around shouting secrets!? Ugh...

[ She wobbles a little bit on her feet. ]

Nice catch.

[ Golshi claps politely, Gold Ship gently raps his hoof against the ground in the best a not real horse can do to emulate clapping. But then they're both looking rather serious, thoughtful even. ]

Bloomcraft, huh...? Ya tryin' imprintwork? Not really my area but-

[ Is Artoria on seat built for more than one person, because if so Gold Ship is hopping over the back of it to sit next to her. ]

-thinkin' and feeling ain't exactly the same thing, ya know? Bloomcraft's pretty vibes based, ya need to think to direct it, but as far as like, powerin' it, I guess. Thinking too hard keeps the emotion from flowing into it. Like... I dunno, squeezing on a hose and backing up the water kinda?

Artoria Caster Catch-All | Ripening

Hearthsong Salon | Imprintwork Practice (Early-Mid May)

First Symptoms | Outside Lily Barracks (Late-May)

Closed to Hoshino Ai

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject