Chaldea

“Ruler...!”   The master’s voice is small and awkward in her approach. With the servant’s back turned and seemingly busy overseeing one of the casino tables, Ritsuka didn’t to bother... but the matter was pressing. She didn’t know her way around.  Her hands were cupped together.

Her chest ached.

It was a feeling not easily described, a feeling of a weight tugging one’s heart down into their stomach. But was it sadness? Regret? Contempt? She couldn’t find the words. 

Perhaps she had lost the words to describe it a long time ago.

The sound of the slightest whisper in the stagnant silence caught her attention. Cana slowly raised her head and stared forward. By the door stood a wavering figure, half within reality and half within a haze. As she tried to focus her vision and peered closer, she noticed something… odd.

The girl before her looked just her like. It was though someone had placed a mirror in front of her. But, upon closer inspection, that couldn’t have been the case. The reflection was standing, and was perhaps an inch taller than she was if she stood at full height. The eyes were also not the same. The same hue, yes, but not the same emotion. The identical’s eyes were not as solemn as her own had been lately.

Cana stood from her bed, hand reaching forward as if to see if the stranger were indeed real and not a figment of her imagination. “…Who are you?”

The master stepped in and stopped shortly before the bed.

It begins with a soft touch, then a weight. Ritsuka lifts her attention from her clipboard and from the side of her vision, the Archer’s hat obscures her view, unmistakable. What a busy day for them all, she wonders, for Nobbu to have been so quiet for so long, or perhaps bored, waiting for her to finish her notes from today’s mission.  Whatever the case, the master is reluctant to disturb her.

Forked tongue flickering, the albino serpent raised its head further towards the magus. The warmth of her skin was inviting, so that the reptile wrapped itself around her arm. Its hisses were softer than the rustle of the ferns, and even softer than the steps of the approaching Servant.

    “  You learn quicker than you collect. If we’d taken this long under Chiron, he would’ve made us run around Olympus. Herbalism also happens to be his specialty.  ”

He had thought it a good start for a beginner for its simplicity, but not counted in the master’s affinity for getting distracted. Yellow-tinted green eyes inspect her find closer, for the shape and texture of the leaves to the stem. A nod, then they moved back to meet with hers.

 “  So, do you remember what it was used for? ”

That was the question deciding pass or no pass.

Amber eyes rose to meet that piercing green and hesitation set in her visage. Mouth slacken open, and small ‘umm’s’ as she collected her thoughts from the surprise. The smooth coil of scales on her arm reassured her of her knowledge. She plucked the flowering herb with precision and once transferred to one hand, the new free on rested over the white snake.  Ritsuka stammered.

“Didn’t kings have carriages?”

It lands on his torso, initially flinching in reaction before glaring at the insect in disgust.

She was getting bent out of shape… because of a tiny, filthy bug?

“Calm down. It’s just a stupid insect.” And to prove just how insignificant it was, he flicked it away. Hopefully not in her direction.

Ew! It touched him! The roach,powerless to stop the King of Mongrels, lands on its back, but still in the way

STOP YELLING MONGREL.

The roach flies!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“  HELP.  HELP !  ANYONE~~!? ”

Inexplicable. Her chest hurt.  Through fate, the cosmos, or through the tangled connections hearts weaved together,  brought her back to a silent Chaldea. Perhaps, it was a dream, the converging of timelines, or a wish. To see a lonely girl, not unlike herself pass by into her room without a word did not stir any kind of confusion, nor strangeness. Instead, her heart reached out, but their meeting was like the pass of outstretched hands. Fingertips brush but fail to grasp.  Ritsuka let her feelings echo in the hall for some moments.  . Carefully, the master approached the door, still open. She peered in. The other girl ,bent head, hadn’t noticed her.    Something off, something missed, like she failed to save a friend. 

Dew glitters on sleeping flowers under the moon. Plants sway in the night. Hunkered down among the rustling leaves is Ritsuka. She sits on her ankles, arms over her knees. Carefully inspecting the herbs here with her gloves, she’s just about to pluck them before a familiar snake  interupts by lifting itself into her vision.  She knew who was soon to follow. “ Oh!”  

The food stock was properly inventoried and organized now! Well, mostly.   They had so much! and Ritsuka took it upon herself to move the many boxes around--something she wanted to do without Servant help. Her whole body ached but, it was a good ache. Wiping her forehead, the girl stood up to breathe a sigh.

A shuffling of footsteps beyond the doorframe pulled her attention around. There it was. another box.