tvklogs | our dried voices when we whisper together [OPEN]

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our dried voices when we whisper together [OPEN]

WHO: Ainosuke Tanaka (

hidari_me) and whoever shows up.
WHAT: Investigating the town and his surroundings.
WHEN: June 21st, late afternoon - evening
WHERE: Bayview Hotel, Lobby (likely to extend to other places around town)
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: None yet.

It had only taken a few minutes after Lancer had left his room the night before for Ainosuke to fall asleep. To Ainosuke's surprise, he had ended up sleeping for a great deal of the day. Until an hour or so before now, he had been staying in his room ever since his arrival. He wasn't sure why. Was he waiting for something to happen? Maybe... Maybe he was waiting, hoping his brother would show up and admit that he was the one behind everything. Then he could have an excuse as to why all of this was happening, but it wouldn't explain why everyone else was there.

But there had to be a reason.

That was why he was leaving the hotel now. He'd gained a few hints from his talks with other arrivals, though nothing seemed to come together yet. Ainosuke's first goal was to go out and buy a sketchbook. Putting all his thoughts down on paper instead of having them in his head would be the first step towards looking at the big picture.

Ainosuke stepped off the elevator and into the lobby, patting the pockets of his pants and his jacket to make sure he had everything with him. Cell phone, card key, cards for... wherever those restaurants were, so he could get something to eat. It looked like he was ready to go.

He stopped only for a few minutes, taking the time to look around the lobby and making sure there wasn't anything of interest he had overlooked the night before.

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They were like shadows, weren't they?

[Ainosuke unwrapped his food as he spoke, pausing momentarily to take a few bites. He settled back against the headboard, making a content noise at finally being able to eat something. The panic and discomfort over the previous day had left him in a strange state where he hadn't been aware of how hungry he was until he started eating. At this point, he didn't care how bad the food might taste, though it wasn't all that horrible.]

I didn't see them come out from anywhere, but they were solid, too.

[He tilted his head back, pouting as he thought.]

... I wonder if they only come out when it's dark.

If they are some kind of shadow, then one could make the logical conclusion that they would only come out in the darkness.

[Likewise, Lancer hadn't quite realized how hungry he actually was. It wasn't necessary for Servants to eat, and the concept had completely slipped Lancer's mind until that moment.]

If we have a light source, like... flashlights or candles, do you think that would scare them off? Everything stopped working when they were around... [He paused, eating while he thought over how to word the rest of what he wanted to say. Why did all of this still sound so crazy?]

They could be the ones extinguishing the lights, or maybe it's something bigger than that. Even the cell phones wouldn't work during that time, but it might be worth trying to carry a light source around and seeing if it makes a difference.

Truthfully, I don't yet know. I doubt it would be too effective, but perhaps the idea is worth attempting just to see if it would work.

I've heard stories about lighting candles to keep ghosts away, but those aren't really ghosts.

[Now that he wasn't starving, Ainosuke set the rest of his food aside and opened the sketchbook, taking out one of the pencils and sharpening it.]

I really don't know where to start with fighting those things.

They are solid enough to strike regardless of their origins. I feel it's safe to assume they are alive in some respect, and in my experience anything living can be defeated and die once it's been killed.

As for how one would go about it...I assume they can be fought the same as anything or anyone else could be.

That's what it seemed like. We were able to hit them and they backed off, though I'm not sure you can say they died.

[He was sketching out the shadow they'd seen (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/ArcanePhoenix/shadowmaya.png) first. It was clear that his art skills were quite a bit above average for someone his age. Ainosuke studied the drawing as he went, looking for any sign of something that would give them hints as to what it was or how to defeat it.]

We'll just have to try a few different things and see what works, if we run into them again. I wonder if they're just territorial or if they'll go out of their way to attack us.

Many would choose retreat over death when the situation becomes dire enough for them.

[He watched for a moment as Ainosuke worked, having committed the creature's appearance carefully to memory already.]

It's hard to say anything for certain as things are at the moment. Trial and error may indeed be the best course of action for now.

Mm. What else do you think we should focus on?

[When Ainosuke finished drawing the shadow, he flipped to the next page, starting to sketch out the coffins. Though he hadn't gotten a good look at them, he was trying to draw what he could remember. He at least wanted it down before he forgot.]

I believe that we should try to determine why such an extreme change to the city takes place at all. That is hardly an ordinary occurrence for most places as far as I know.

What are the possibilities? At least the ones we can try to come up with. Those shadows could be causing it, but I think it has to be something bigger.

[He paused to rub at the side of his head, scrunching up his face.]

But it's hard to even try coming up with ideas when I've never seen anything like this before.

...I have.

[Lancer wasn't sure why his mind kept going back to a Reality Marble when there was no possible way that was the case. Not even a skilled magi could sustain something of that magnitude for that amount of time. It would take dozens, maybe hundreds of them for something like this.]

It resembles a form of magecraft, but something beyond the capabilities of what should be humanly possible or even conceivable.

[And now he'd wait for the expected response along the lines of 'are you crazy, magic isn't real'.]

[Ainosuke set the sketchbook aside for now, his latest drawing (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/ArcanePhoenix/coffins.jpg) complete. He picked up his food once more, watching Lancer as he spoke. Of course these concepts were rather difficult to grasp. That magic could exist, that creatures like this could exist, that an entire world could shift, but... he'd seen so many different things that he was sure he had seen. Maybe there was a lot more to the world than he'd ever known.]

So even with what you've seen before, this is... stronger?

That's correct.

[...Considering the kind of insane things they'd already seen, Lancer shouldn't have been so surprised that he wasn't immediately met with disbelief.]

It takes a large amount of power to change the landscape in such a way. Even more than that to keep it like that for any extended period of time.

Can you think of anyone that would be capable of anything even close to this? ... Maybe a group of people?

[Ainosuke still didn't understand it, but maybe the more he would talk about it, the easier it would become to comprehend something like this.]

Or... why someone would want to grab all of us and bring us here.

I'm afraid I don't know of anyone who would do such a thing, let alone anyone capable of it.

[That didn't help them out any, but at least they could be sure it wasn't anyone tied to them. Ainosuke knew who would want to drag him halfway across the world for no reason in particular, but that didn't give a reason for Lancer.]

Do you think whoever's behind this even knows who we are? I don't think many of us have anything in common.

...

[His entire existence was devoted to being dragged across time and space. Lancer wasn't sure if this was a situation like the beginning of a seriously flawed Holy Grail War or if it was just remarkably similar.]

If I was to guess, I would say no. I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to it.

[It seemed he was the only heroic spirit out of those he'd spoken to so far; if the city was collecting Servants and masters then surely he would have seen at least one other like himself. As far as he could tell, that wasn't the case.]

I could always start asking. The girl I spoke with sounded like she was trying to do the same thing, but I haven't compared any notes. I'd rather find out for myself rather than trusting someone else to tell me anything. I just don't know what I could ask people. Especially if it's completely random.

[He froze, a thought having momentarily flickered through his mind.]

Maybe it's a game.

Likewise, I'm not entirely sure how to approach information gathering from others just yet. Not until I know who's aware of this occurrence and who isn't as well as who is or isn't trustworthy.

A game? ...you mean something equivalent to gathering people here solely to see who survives?

With the experience I've had, part of me still feels like I shouldn't be trusting you. ...but I want to.

[Yumehito had never put anyone particularly close to Ainosuke, as far as he knew. Kato and Sayama were both helpful and had their hearts set on doing the Right Thing, so he hoped that his instincts worked well.]

Mm. Something like that. Putting us here, all of us staying in the same place where they can keep an eye on us, providing everything for us, expecting us to be here... And... those things. Or an experiment.

[That last word visibly made him twitch, the realization of what he'd said building up a bit of anger though he tried his best to force it down.

It reminded him of the concert. The kidnappings, the murders, the songs written about everything. All of it, everything had been a setup and lead-up to testing the drug-laced wristbands. An experiment.]

... that's it. That has to be it.

Edited 2011-06-25 20:43 (UTC)

I could just as easily say the same to you or any other in this city, and yet here we both are.

[Lancer had every reason to distrust people after how his war had ended. Perhaps a more cynical man would, and Lancer may have been notably more bitter now than he had been when first summoned. But despite all that, he was willing to risk trusting others in this situation.]

An...experiment?

[He spoke as if he was unfamiliar with the word, though that wasn't entirely the case. Caster had experimented on his victims. Magi experimented with concepts and theories. Understanding something and comprehending it were not exactly the same, and it was the purpose behind the word that confused him.]

To what end? I'm not sure I understand what this situation could accomplish.

I don't know. I... Something similar happened just the other day, where I was from. The night that I came here. Something happened where it turned out to just be an experiment someone was running. If we don't have anything in common, then maybe it's less about who we are and more about what they want us to experience. We lost something, coming here. We're restricted. That might have to do with it.

I'm not sure how to equate it to everything that's happening right now. What happens at night or those creatures... Maybe....

[He trailed off again, silent with his thoughts.]

... maybe there's something or someone they're looking for. Something specific.

[Listening in silence, there was a faint flicker of something like concern on Lancer's face. That sounded quite likely, but who or what were they after?]

[He didn't like this in the least. It was too strange, and whoever behind this was obviously some kind of coward to hide behind distortions and shadows rather than make themselves known.]

That is a distinct possibility, yes.

Have you talked to many people? I wonder if anyone else who came here had anything they're missing. Maybe one of the things the person behind this could be looking for is someone who isn't affected by whatever's going on.

[Ainosuke rubbed at his face with his sleeve, taking a deep breath. This sounded crazy. He really couldn't believe he was saying things like this.]

... like this whole place puts a ... .. something like a block on our abilities, whether it's natural or not.

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