Clemency is Optional

     …Crap.  She lowered my guard and lured me in.  I walked right into her trip without taking a single step.

     ”Coming Illya.”

     The living room sprawls out as a land of death as I find myself armed only with fresh food as a defense.  A wrong move here and this dinner date might become less than civil.

     Setting the plates down, I take my seat beside her and begin distributing the portions appropriately.  Illya should be fine with the steak and a single serving of the rest of the dishes.  There’s a bit too much food here for two people, so I’ll have to box most of this up, assuming I live long enough to.

     ”Does everything taste alright?”

     I can’t betray my growing anxiety here.  I’ll just have to treat this meal as though nothing is out the ordinary.  It’s the only chance I have to protect the house.

     A sound of joy leaves Illyasviel as the sibling of hers decided to finally join her at the table properly. Of course, the food was a plus, but the fact that Shirou had taken a seat next to her was probably the thing that made her happiest. 

     Moving to sit just a bit closer, Illyasviel does not bother with Japanese tradition of thanking before a meal and picked up her utensils to dig without hesitation. She gave the wide variety of food a chance, trying a bit of everything before taking the time to focus on eating her steak, every now and then taking a bite of the vegetables that had been cooked for her.

     While there were definitely food that she disliked, there was few unless she wanted to be troublesome. Fortunately, the display on the table had nothing that would fall into that category. 

     Shirou’s question came during the meal - thankfully after Illyasviel had given everything a try. Or she might have given him an odd look. ...Not that the anxiety behind the tone wasn’t something worthy of such a look.

     “Everything is fine, Shirou.” 

     Dinner was fine, the house was fine, and nobody was dead... yet. How much more ‘everything’ being fine would Shirou want? Probably more than Illyasviel can imagine. She tilts her head slightly, as she had sat closer to him in the beginning of the meal, enough so that her head lightly touches at the side of Shirou’s arm before she pulls herself upright again, continuing her dinner. 

     ...Their dinner, that is.

     “Only because your normal demeanor involves Berserker.  Now go hug our father.”

“...”

Something in her expression changes, a flicker from her usual cheekiness to something less proud, but it only lasts a moment. Just long enough for him to wonder if it was his imagination or not. Regardless, he decides to drop the subject for now- she’s a homunculus herself, prying about this stuff probably wasn’t in his best graces to begin with.

"I don’t recall ever implyin you weren’t a lady, lass, I only meant you didn’t seem like the type to be bogged down by negativity or bad memories. But I guess the past catches up with everyone eventually, even if only for a little while. I’ll quit my prying for the time." He ignores that doll comment, mostly out of fear that acknowledging it will only make the threat more real… that is not something he would like to live through, especially if it’s irreversible…

A juice boar? For a second he thinks it’s some type of drink, until he realizes he misheard her. “A juicy boar, huh? Sounds doable.” he smiles a little, a little disappointed by how menial the task is… until she mentions the time limit, and his smile stretches into a grin.

”Now you’re talking. Tell them to get the ovens going, I’ll be back with time to spare~”

Such a task could have been given to Berserker, who too could have it done all too quickly. But...he tends to smash up the boar a bit too much to be considered as good tenderizing. 

...Hopefully this boar wouldn't have a giant hole in the middle of it. 

Getting to her feet, Illya skipped down the stairs to announce what she'd be having for dinner. 

"Thanks man-"

"I expected as much from ya…" Actually, he’d expected a lot less, so this was more than enough to work off of for now. An inanimate object wasn’t gonna cut it, unless it could stand up to Grail Mud… "What’re you so glum for, lass? Don’t tell me it’s too touchy a subject for you to linger on. Course, if it is, I’ll lay off, but I didn’t expect you to be that type…"

"Ah yes, so troublesome, I’m sure… I guess it would be hard answering to people when you’re so used to ordering them around." He’s teasing, but only slightly. Probably shouldn’t push her too far this early. He knows she’s capable of a lot more than her exterior shows- after all, not just anyone would be able to hold power over two Servants, much less one of the Berserker class.

No, it's not a sensitive topic. I've only seen more than a hundred failed shells of the previous holy grail - or in other words, my mother, sprawled naked in a pile before my eyes. No biggie.

The sarcastic thought doesn't leave her lips, and the dry smile vanishes all too quickly along with it.

"That 'type'? I'm still a lady, not to mention everyone has their secrets. If you step on one accidentally with that kind of attitude, you may suddenly find yourself in my collection of dolls." The playful threat passes and Illyasviel could understand that Lancer should have gotten the fact that fake bodies and what not was the actual troublesome topic. She doesn't repeat herself, nor acknowledge the teasing. 

"Ask, huh..." The attitude was exactly what she expected of the Lancer, and yet she couldn't help but be slightly surprised. Illyasviel couldn't deny that she had been sticking around a different favourite of hers in Fuyuki, as the siblings rarely came over to her place. "I got it! I want a juicy boar for dinner tonight. Cooking can be left to Sella and Leysritt, however, you'll be in charge of procuring the main ingredient."