one. ♐ he doth his green way beguile to fair hostess merriment

[enshrouds]

[Backdated slightly to post-Zombiefield!]

[A. ↣ 1129 Taylor. (Morning } Midday)

The zombies have gone, and now it's time to clean up. Archer can be found outside of his house today working to remove the makeshift barriers he had hastily thrown up before he departure for first the park and then, eventually, the Church. He's not being especially careful about how he goes about this, unfortunately, so passerby might want to be wary of any 2x4s or half-busted chairs or whatnot being unceremoniously chucked their way.]

[B. ↣ John Doe Park. (Noon } Afternoon)

Those who visit the park today will likely find themselves in for a surprise, as Archer has laid down several traps carefully hidden in the foliage. The majority of them are snares set to yank the target up into the air, once they unwittingly step into the concealed noose and trigger the trap, and leave them dangling there to struggle. These traps have been made more with entertainment in mind than survival, as Archer's enlisted some very strong branches and thick cordage in their construction; being caught in one will be humiliating and somewhat painful, but not lethal.

The deadlier traps are of a smaller scale and concealed within the thickest part of the trees; these were created and placed with a more serious earnest, their targets not blundering humans but quick and wily squirrels. Archer checks on these routinely from his perch high up in the branches, albeit with less frequency than he does the bigger, sturdier snares.]

[C. ↣ Eeeeverywhere. (Evening } Night)

It seems that setting up snares isn't the only trick Archer feels up to practicing. Once the sun has gone down enough to obscure everything in the dusky shadows of approaching night, Archer will take to the rooftops. He moves stealthily, quickly, a nimble figure flitting from house to house. He relies solely on the agility and strength of his now-very-human body to do this; after all, there was little way of knowing that he'd be regaining his Servanthood first, when the time came, so slacking off was simply not an option in a dangerous town like this.

He will cover every block at least once, sometimes twice, seeking to familiarize himself with the town's layout until he knows it like the back of his hand. Often, Archer will pause in his scouting to peer down at any pedestrians below and watch them with keen, intelligent eyes from the gloom. He will also listen at windows on a whim, either from the roof or as he's climbing his way up there.]

Comments

C

[doesnotgetit]

[Hakuno is heading down Ricardo street. She doesn't really like staying there anymore; having to deal with the mindless drone of Saber, constantly doting on her like an overeager mother instead of the devoted Servant - and more - that she was, was incredibly unnerving. So she spent most of her time out and about in town! Though she had enough sense to return home at night, to prevent any suspicions rising from those who had power to drone the population.

And that's what she's doing now! Just walking, minding her own business. Despite the typical 50's wardrobe, her appearance is familiar enough so that Archer will probably at least glance twice at her.]

[enshrouds]

[ but hakuno, you look like every other female NPC

He of course notices her immediately, albeit at first just as another body to discreetly observe. But Archer's eyes are sharp and his memory is long, and....ho hum, so she was stuck here too? And with no yapping poodle of a Servant in sight. The thought makes the lazy, arrogant grin ever-present on his face deepen slightly, even as he acknowledges that Saber could possibly just be in spirit form right now; it wasn't as if Archer had the ability to sense such things anymore. Not that he intends to hurt her either way, of course. Last time had been a matter of business, regardless of how Dan Blackmore saw it, but that "business" - the Holy Grail War - now has little place in Mayfield. There was nothing to gain from attacking her again save a petty sort of satisfaction, even without a Command Spell to stay his hand.

...still, none of that meant he had to be nice. So Archer quietly follows Hakuno along the street for a short while, eventually clambering down off his perch to follow her on foot. He watches her even more closely during his descent, poised to drop to the ground in a silent roll should she pick the wrong moment to glance over her shoulder.]

[doesnotgetit]

[After surviving so long in the Holy Grail War, Hakuno's senses are at a level most people wouldn't think of from a girl who's as dense as she can be sometimes. So while she didn't notice hm merely wandering about on the roofs, it's hard to ignore that strange prickling at the back of her neck that usually meant someone was following her. And with the zombie invasion still fresh in everyone's mind, that was not a good sign at all.

Gritting her teeth, she whipped around eyes scanning the street.]

[enshrouds]

[Ah, so this was going to be interesting after all! Archer immediately lets go when he sees Hakuno begin to move, hitting the ground at a crouch and flinging himself into that silent roll until he's tucked against the next house, wreathed in shadow. He waits there, unmoving except to breathe, counting down steadily from a count of 15.]

[doesnotgetit]

[Nothing.

There's nothing there. Could she have just been overly paranoid? With everything that had happened, she did have a good right to be. But still...

She scanned the street a few more times before turning around and resuming her walk. She's noticeably walking at a brisker pace.]

[enshrouds]

[Once his mental counter hits zero, Archer peeks out at the street. Just as he had thought, Hakuno's turned away from him again and is continuing on her way. However, the increased speed of her walk doesn't escape him, which only makes sense; if she sensed that she was being watched, it stands to reason that she'd be much more nervous now.

Archer takes a moment to grin, obviously enjoying himself, before slipping after her. He closes the gap quickly, his stride long and yet practically silent, until he's whispering right behind her-]

Gotcha.

[doesnotgetit]

[Let it be known that someone who has been put through Archer's battle tactics - as well as those of an Assassin - does not like being snuck up on!

So after letting out a short shriek, Hakuno spins around, aiming a fist straight at the face of the figure behind her.]

1/2

[enshrouds]

[OW MY FACE, NOW HOW WILL I SEDUCE THE LASSES OF MAYFIELD]

[enshrouds]

[jk jk, he moves just enough to let her punch strike his shoulder instead. Which does hurt, more than he was honestly expecting it to, but he doesn't let it show.]

Haha, oh man, you oughta see the look on your face!

[doesnotgetit]

W-Why would you laugh at something like that?! You--

[Whoa whoa wait. HOLD UP. His clothes are different, but that voice, that hair...

she takes a step back, away from him. Gotta put some distance between them somehow...]

A-Archer?

[enshrouds]

[He lets her move away, the confident grin masking more serious thoughts. Just how defenseless is she, really? There had been no flash of gold and crimson to knock him out of the way, but maybe Saber was just off patrolling some distance away....unlikely, but not impossible.]

In the flesh, kid. Literally.

[He cocks his head to the side just so, studying her.]

Oh c'mon, don't tell me you're scared of little ol' me! Where's your Servant? Isn't she gonna come and put me in my place, all "villain, get thee hence" this and "for Praetor, I'll slay thee" that?

[doesnotgetit]

[Her hands curl into fists again, but she doesn't punch him this time. True to his class, his words hit her like an arrow to the heart; she was able to repress it most of the time, but she missed Saber terribly. It was horrible, living with someone who was and wasn't her at the same time, and it hurt whenever someone brought her up.]

No, she can't. She's not here.

[It would probably be a Bad Idea to tell him that, but he's going to find out eventually. And if she tried to bluff, he might just try to test it, so it was, in her opinion, better to just go this route.]

[enshrouds]

[....that does give him pause, although he doesn't let the smartass attitude drop. No, Archer just needles further - and yet....hm. There's certainly no concern in his voice, but some of the amusement seems to have drained away. Possibly. Maybe. A little.]

You mean not at all, or how a drone is?

[doesnotgetit]

The latter. [Her voice wavers just a little, but she's not going to give in to her nerves. Sure, she knows deep down that he's not that bad of a guy... but it would still be foolish to completely let her guard down so soon.]

Why do you want to know?

[enshrouds]

Seemed like a pretty big distinction.

[A shrug, as if to shake off the pang of - what? Of course it wasn't worry or anything of the sort for this dumb, vulnerable kid now stuck in the same hideous town with an empty shell of her Servant. Nope, not at all.

...he had been prepared to kill her once, had come damned close to doing so, and it's that thought he needs to keep in mind.]

Sounds rough, but them's the breaks around here. ....you run into any other familiar faces lately?

[He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Blackmore's grumpy self yet, but one never knew...]

[doesnotgetit]

Nope. We're the only ones from the Moon Cell here.

[It both is and isn't a lie. Rin is here, of course... but it's not the Rin they know - well. She knows at least. She's not sure how much snooping Rin or Archer may have done on people who weren't their opponents, but the Tohsaka name was certainly a popular one in the Moon Cell, so it's likely Archer's heard it at least in passing.

Still. Even if he didn't, there was no way she was going to risk the safety of her closest friend.]

[enshrouds]

[Knowing Archer, he had tried his very best to dig up as much dirt on the other Masters as possible. Not that Dan had likely approved, of course. But in any case, Archer doesn't seem to pick up on any hint of discrepancy in what Hakuno says; he doesn't even think to look for any.]

Huh, that so? I guess if Mr. Boss Man was here, he'd make it pretty damn obvious. That guy wouldn't know subtle if it turned his beard into pretty little braids. [A derisive snort, then Archer changes tack.] It's not like me to interrogate pretty girls so late at night, but there's something else I gotta know.

[He pauses, however, as if suddenly losing his nerve to ask that which he had been mulling over ever since he left the Church...but only for a moment.]

What's the last thing you remember? From where we came from, I mean.

[doesnotgetit]

[She actually pauses at that. Archer was definitely not the friendliest enemy, even though his Master was someone both Hakuno and Saber had greatly respected. But that didn't change the fact that Hakuno hated having to kill him, hated that painful yet oddly numb feeling inside of her as she left the arena...

But even so... she wasn't really a very good liar. She'd have to tell the truth.]

I defeated my last opponent. [More than that. There was a lot more, but the details wouldn't really matter much to him, so she could just leave that out.]

[enshrouds]

Hmmmmm.

[He doesn't take his eye off her as he thinks that over. How....vague.]

And who was that? Can't you give me even a breadcrumb like a name? [Archer tilts his head, the motion wreathing part of his face in shadow.] Or did my poison arrow scramble your memory along with everything else?

[doesnotgetit]

[Hakuno flinches at that. Digs at her lack of memory really hurt.]

My final opponent was on week seven. Sir Gawain, a Saber.

[enshrouds]

[ .....So.

So, he had lost. His struggles had ended on the second week of the war; Archer had gotten that far, a single win tucked under his belt, and no further. He shouldn't even be walking and talking right now, according to this girl, because he and Dan had been eliminated. Wiped by the system, the both of them - and the old man had gone to his grave with his wish unfulfilled. It's that thought that stings the most, that makes Archer glance away with a casual indifference he does not truly feel.

Archer doesn't even have it in him to drum up the denial needed to call Hakuno a liar. Why bother? It was far more likely that she was telling the truth, Archer thinks, the self-loathing that always lurks at the edge of his thoughts - souring them at the edges, covering them in a poison shroud - washing over him in a black wave. A skulking, cowardly bandit like him..... never had a chance against Saber in a fair fight. He had known it from the beginning, like an animal that could scent death on the wind, and for Hakuno that inevitable reality had already come to pass.]

....Saber versus Saber, huh? Must have been intense.

[His voice has lost some of its former edge, the arrogance and lofty insolence.]

[doesnotgetit]

[She can't even look him in the eye after that reveal. Crushing his hope again, hurting him in a way the girl never really wanted to hurt anyone... it was like the end of week two all over again.]

Yeah... it was. ['Intense' would be an understatement. She can still see the fiery explosion of Gawain's Noble Phantasm, lighting up every last arch and nook of the already glowing Domus Aurea, as clearly as if it had just happened yesterday. Intense wasn't even close to explaining that fight.]

Archer, I... I'm sorry.

[enshrouds]

[He runs a hand through that thick crop of red hair, doing his very best to look utterly unperturbed. Like none of this bothered him, like none of it mattered.]

Hey, what the hell are ya apologizing for? You won, so be proud of that. Maybe it wasn't much of a challenge, facing a charlatan like me, but... [He shrugs, looking up at the night sky instead of Hakuno. Gazing up at all those stars, burning brightly until their inevitable implosion, until they winked out of existence like so many human lives.] ...save those words for when you actually screw up, yeah?

Ehh....geez, what am I even saying? [He looks annoyed in a sheepish, embarrassed way for a moment, and Archer turns his back on Hakuno as if to hide the expression.] Mr. Boss Man must have rubbed off on me or something.

[doesnotgetit]

[His words don't really help. Hakuno carries a lot of guilt from the Holy Grail War; possibly the only time she didn't feel that horrible, gut-wrenching feeling was when she fought Lancer and Lil' Ronnie. There's nothing anyone can do or say to get rid of those feelings easily.

She does manage a sad smile, though, at Archer's mention of his Master.]

You say that like it's a bad thing. He was a good man.

oops sorry this one got lost in the abyss, also keywords relevant

[enshrouds]

[There's only a shrug to that; he's concealed his face, as he's concealed his name and pride - and for that, Archer's dimly grateful. Hakuno doesn't need to see the emotions breaking through his mask of casual disdain.]

Mmm, he's somethin' all right.

[The response is not really a "yes, he is", but neither is it a "no, he isn't". Archer might already know how he really felt about Dan, but that's an entirely separate thing from being able to admit it.]

...and because of that, he'll chew me out for not saying this in his stead, that grumpy old fart. [He coughs awkwardly into his fist.] There's no Grail War going on, so I'm not your enemy. Got it? I already took my potshot at you, and that's over now.