professional harlot. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flitswitch) wrote2021-08-17 03:09 pm
flitswitch) wrote2021-08-17 03:09 pm
[top row center] fate/extra au - in the jaws of the serpent
SNAKES EYES, or - when a gift is a curse.
The permanent sunset paints the council room in the same warm tones as it did when they left, the soft color matching Leo's ever placid smile but standing in contrast to the furrow of his brow when Jouhei and Junri report their mixed recruitment results. A scenic backdrop and company that wouldn't be present otherwise is not enough to alleviate the tension of the situation before them all.
Even with that, it's strange, standing in this room and knowing he and his sister are the only ones aware of what's happened thus far. Looking over the faces of their fellow Masters and seeing those who had already fallen there, talking between one another as they wait for the last Master to arrive. Jouhei's emotions war between themselves, pleasure tempered by unease and the grim truth, the only relief to be found is when he looks to Junri and sees the faintest traces of his own turmoil in her. A part of him almost wonders if it was selfish to tell her, instead of letting her share the ignorance of the rest.
He's broken out of his thoughts by Leo's soft but commanding tone, his eyes on someone else as he says, "Akane, perhaps we should send someone to check on your brother?"
Akane Tsukigata, the only unfamiliar face in the room, doesn't rise to her absent brother's defense. She twirls an unruly curl around a finger as she grimaces. "Maybe... I'd like to say it must just be a side effect of everything that happened... but truthfully, Dahn's always been terrible about sleeping in the second he has a chance."
She manages levity in her voice and a crooked smile to match it, but Jouhei can see the lines of worry around her eyes. Her gaze travels restlessly around the room, and when she lands on him, he offers her a small smile of his own to bolster her spirits.
Leo's chuckle is drowned out by Gatou's booming laugh. Jouhei experiences something close to mortification at realizing how familiar he already is with the sound when it has Junri tensing in surprise beside him. Ignorant of Julius's scathing glare and Sakura's wince, Gatou continues at roughly the same volume, "All men need their rest, but your brother is bordering on sin!"
Gatou continues on his ramble, but Jouhei's attention is pulled from it when Archer sighs. He looks up to find the aggrieved expression on Archer's face. "As much as I know how slim our pickings were... did we really have to bring him along? It's way too soon to be dealing with him again."
Jouhei reaches up to shift the cap on his head, hiding his smile. Content to let the conversation wash over him until he picks up on an outside presence, the magic of an unfamiliar Servant brushing against him.
"Oh... I think that's Akane's brother."
Archer's quiet 'about time' brushes past Jouhei. His curiosity has his eyes glued to the door, waiting for it to slide open and reveal their last team member.
Except the sensation of magic grows, and the door still doesn't open. Jouhei's brows furrow as the seconds stretch out and the Servant's presence continues to press in with no sign of anyone emerging from the hall.
Wait. Maybe...
(Are they further than I thought?)
The pressure bears down on him. From a distance, a space outside himself, Jouhei realizes he's starting to tremble, a faint quake in his fingers that travels up his arm when he clenches his hands into fists.
He hasn't felt like this since...
(she hangs in the trees above their heads, chitinous limbs latched onto branches and trunk. he knows she's a ghost; she burns like pale fire in the moonlight, form wispy and see-through, but his brain screams in fear anyway, body locked tight by the invisible threads of her power. she grins, fangs flashing in the dark, sharp enough to tear him into little hunks of meat and sinew.
"what's your name, boy?")
He snaps back to reality and tries desperately to shove the memory away, but his treacherous mind has already hooked deep into it. Once again his body is locked in fear, but there are no silken threads this time. Not from this being.
It crashes over Jouhei like a wave. A solid wall of power, forcing him down beneath the surface, threatening to drown him completely. He thinks of Jorougumo because it's the closest reference he has, but Jouhei shakes in animal fear because the horrid truth is that the spider could never hold a candle to whatever is about to enter the room.
The door slides open. Someone steps through but Jouhei barely registers them, they slide out of his focus the second they enter it, his brain scrambling to see the threat before it finds him.
it's here it's here it's here it's here iT'S HERE IT'S HERE ITSHEREITSHEREITSHEREHEREHERE
Gold armor. Blond hair, slicked back from his forehead and face. And blood red eyes, scanning about the room in boredom, pupils contracted to thin lines.
The eyes of a serpent.
This is no Raja Naga, no Lamia, no serpent Jouhei has ever encountered before. They were old and powerful but this one is ancient, his age making his power and magic almost incomprehensible to Jouhei's senses. He can't do anything but shake under the awful weight, every hair standing on end, skin prickled by a thousand needles and no way to escape the onslaught.
This isn't a Servant. 'Creature' is too low a term for what Jouhei is reeling from. Whatever he is, the - the being in this room, he can't be just a Servant. He's too much. He's too much.
Then Jouhei feels it, before the being's eyes even begin to turn toward him. Feels the weight of his attention bearing down. His fear, his sensitivity acting yet again as a beacon for all to see. There's no hunger (not yet) only the faintest curl of interest but it's already too much, and there's no way out as the being's head begins to turn -
All Jouhei sees is red.
It takes a second of an eternity for his brain to process it's not the red he feared. Not the red of the being's eyes. It's the red of leather, of Archer's new jacket. The situation resolves itself in pieces, as Jouhei's brain fires in fits and starts through the pressure still threatening to overwhelm him: Archer has stepped between him and the newcomer, posing himself as a shield, hiding Jouhei's body with his own.
Just as he always does in the arena. Just as Junri did in that dark forest so long ago.
Jouhei is always being protected.
The shame washing over him is, absurdly, welcome. It dilutes the fear enough for Jouhei to start breathing properly again. His thoughts are still an animal panic, and his concentration for this meeting is absolutely shot, but he's gaining some semblance of himself back. He breathes deep and squeezes his eyes shut tight, trying to master himself.
(in; one, two, three - out; one, two, three... there, just like that.)
He doesn't know whose voice is guiding him through the exercise but it brings a gentle warmth with it, suffusing through him, slowly melting the ice that had locked his limbs in place.
But in this moment, hidden behind Archer, hidden from prying eyes, he breathes.
The permanent sunset paints the council room in the same warm tones as it did when they left, the soft color matching Leo's ever placid smile but standing in contrast to the furrow of his brow when Jouhei and Junri report their mixed recruitment results. A scenic backdrop and company that wouldn't be present otherwise is not enough to alleviate the tension of the situation before them all.
Even with that, it's strange, standing in this room and knowing he and his sister are the only ones aware of what's happened thus far. Looking over the faces of their fellow Masters and seeing those who had already fallen there, talking between one another as they wait for the last Master to arrive. Jouhei's emotions war between themselves, pleasure tempered by unease and the grim truth, the only relief to be found is when he looks to Junri and sees the faintest traces of his own turmoil in her. A part of him almost wonders if it was selfish to tell her, instead of letting her share the ignorance of the rest.
He's broken out of his thoughts by Leo's soft but commanding tone, his eyes on someone else as he says, "Akane, perhaps we should send someone to check on your brother?"
Akane Tsukigata, the only unfamiliar face in the room, doesn't rise to her absent brother's defense. She twirls an unruly curl around a finger as she grimaces. "Maybe... I'd like to say it must just be a side effect of everything that happened... but truthfully, Dahn's always been terrible about sleeping in the second he has a chance."
She manages levity in her voice and a crooked smile to match it, but Jouhei can see the lines of worry around her eyes. Her gaze travels restlessly around the room, and when she lands on him, he offers her a small smile of his own to bolster her spirits.
Leo's chuckle is drowned out by Gatou's booming laugh. Jouhei experiences something close to mortification at realizing how familiar he already is with the sound when it has Junri tensing in surprise beside him. Ignorant of Julius's scathing glare and Sakura's wince, Gatou continues at roughly the same volume, "All men need their rest, but your brother is bordering on sin!"
Gatou continues on his ramble, but Jouhei's attention is pulled from it when Archer sighs. He looks up to find the aggrieved expression on Archer's face. "As much as I know how slim our pickings were... did we really have to bring him along? It's way too soon to be dealing with him again."
Jouhei reaches up to shift the cap on his head, hiding his smile. Content to let the conversation wash over him until he picks up on an outside presence, the magic of an unfamiliar Servant brushing against him.
"Oh... I think that's Akane's brother."
Archer's quiet 'about time' brushes past Jouhei. His curiosity has his eyes glued to the door, waiting for it to slide open and reveal their last team member.
Except the sensation of magic grows, and the door still doesn't open. Jouhei's brows furrow as the seconds stretch out and the Servant's presence continues to press in with no sign of anyone emerging from the hall.
Wait. Maybe...
(Are they further than I thought?)
The pressure bears down on him. From a distance, a space outside himself, Jouhei realizes he's starting to tremble, a faint quake in his fingers that travels up his arm when he clenches his hands into fists.
He hasn't felt like this since...
(she hangs in the trees above their heads, chitinous limbs latched onto branches and trunk. he knows she's a ghost; she burns like pale fire in the moonlight, form wispy and see-through, but his brain screams in fear anyway, body locked tight by the invisible threads of her power. she grins, fangs flashing in the dark, sharp enough to tear him into little hunks of meat and sinew.
"what's your name, boy?")
He snaps back to reality and tries desperately to shove the memory away, but his treacherous mind has already hooked deep into it. Once again his body is locked in fear, but there are no silken threads this time. Not from this being.
It crashes over Jouhei like a wave. A solid wall of power, forcing him down beneath the surface, threatening to drown him completely. He thinks of Jorougumo because it's the closest reference he has, but Jouhei shakes in animal fear because the horrid truth is that the spider could never hold a candle to whatever is about to enter the room.
The door slides open. Someone steps through but Jouhei barely registers them, they slide out of his focus the second they enter it, his brain scrambling to see the threat before it finds him.
it's here it's here it's here it's here iT'S HERE IT'S HERE ITSHEREITSHEREITSHEREHEREHERE
Gold armor. Blond hair, slicked back from his forehead and face. And blood red eyes, scanning about the room in boredom, pupils contracted to thin lines.
The eyes of a serpent.
This is no Raja Naga, no Lamia, no serpent Jouhei has ever encountered before. They were old and powerful but this one is ancient, his age making his power and magic almost incomprehensible to Jouhei's senses. He can't do anything but shake under the awful weight, every hair standing on end, skin prickled by a thousand needles and no way to escape the onslaught.
This isn't a Servant. 'Creature' is too low a term for what Jouhei is reeling from. Whatever he is, the - the being in this room, he can't be just a Servant. He's too much. He's too much.
Then Jouhei feels it, before the being's eyes even begin to turn toward him. Feels the weight of his attention bearing down. His fear, his sensitivity acting yet again as a beacon for all to see. There's no hunger (not yet) only the faintest curl of interest but it's already too much, and there's no way out as the being's head begins to turn -
All Jouhei sees is red.
It takes a second of an eternity for his brain to process it's not the red he feared. Not the red of the being's eyes. It's the red of leather, of Archer's new jacket. The situation resolves itself in pieces, as Jouhei's brain fires in fits and starts through the pressure still threatening to overwhelm him: Archer has stepped between him and the newcomer, posing himself as a shield, hiding Jouhei's body with his own.
Just as he always does in the arena. Just as Junri did in that dark forest so long ago.
Jouhei is always being protected.
The shame washing over him is, absurdly, welcome. It dilutes the fear enough for Jouhei to start breathing properly again. His thoughts are still an animal panic, and his concentration for this meeting is absolutely shot, but he's gaining some semblance of himself back. He breathes deep and squeezes his eyes shut tight, trying to master himself.
(in; one, two, three - out; one, two, three... there, just like that.)
He doesn't know whose voice is guiding him through the exercise but it brings a gentle warmth with it, suffusing through him, slowly melting the ice that had locked his limbs in place.
But in this moment, hidden behind Archer, hidden from prying eyes, he breathes.