[ She hasn't communed privately with Gray before, but it's strange that it feels so hard to reach her, compared to her experiences speaking with Kaeya and Emet-Selchy. Maybe she's outside of Achamoth, or sleeping, or busy... none of which are Mordred's problem, so it doesn't stop her from pushing past the odd feeling of resistance; her thoughts lightly tinged with annoyance at the extra effort required. ]
I didn't see you at that creature's execution, mouse. Guess you missed the invite.
[ Secretly, though, she's glad Gray wasn't there. Mordred has little problem with brutality, even torture to an extent, but what happened to Estinien, and the pathetic state he was rendered in even before that... she can't imagine Gray would have handled it well. With most other Kenoma, she'd gladly have held their face to the metaphorical fire and forced them to watch, but Gray isn't most Kenoma. What exactly that makes her, Mordred wouldn't know, because she's been avoiding giving it much thought. ]
You haven't gone blind from those injuries, have you? ... Well, even if you have, I've got some stuff I wanna talk to you about. Just tell me where you are, and I'll head over.
[ Know what she hasn't given any thought to at all? The idea of Gray being a traitor. Thanks to the nature of communion, Gray can probably tell that Mordred's attempt to reach out to her is genuine, not driven by any doubt or suspicion of her status. ]
[ Gray emerges from a sea of thought, one of many she's found herself submerged in over the past few days. Mordred's communion lacks its usual overbearing clarity through no fault of her own. Gray struggles just as much to answer, but she does so earnestly and with no hesitation. ]
I'm not in Achamoth. I had to leave because of an emergency... Um, sorry for not telling you.
[ Mordred isn't her keeper, but she wouldn't be surprised either if Mordred chastised her for this... The knight seems like she'll take any excuse to yell a little. ]
[ Despite the difficulty she's having with the connection, Mordred's sudden pulse of anger is still overpowering; like she's grabbed Gray by the shoulders and shaken her. ]
Hah? You idiot, don't just run off without telling anyone! Doubly so if it's an emergency!
[ Without telling her, she means. When Gray asks what she wanted to talk about, she snorts humourlessly. ]
To hell with that. You're safe, right? Nobody's makin' you stay there?
[ And there's the chastisement... Having expected it, Gray is as a tree straight in the wind: rustled but not jimmied. ]
I'm safe... enough. It was my choice to be here.
[ In some ways it was difficult getting here, but to her it was her only option. After a moment of hesitation in which she wonders how she should explain her situation, she decides that Mordred might appreciate the most straightforward route? ]
[ There's a brief pause after Gray's blunt admission comes through, where Mordred considers the possibility of it being true — and then disregards said possibility. ]
This isn't the time for jokes. To hell with the Regent — you know what it means to make an enemy of me. Even you aren't that stupid, or that foolhardy.
There was a shard I couldn't let the Regent have. If you know what happened to Mr. Barnaby and Mr. Liem, I think you might understand. So... I had to take it away.
[ The sudden switch is jarring, and it brings a small hit of dread that had been put away since they shared their sandwich. But, she remembers, Mordred was like this when they first met. Gray was prepared to potentially fight her former allies, but no amount of mental preparedness could completely fend off the spike of hurt that pinches her now.
But again, she has no choice. Better that she's crushed in battle than that Eustace be subjected to the Regent's "re-education." She packs her small convictions into steel. ]
[ Good, she thinks — which is odd, because she's never gone into a fight with the will or expectation to lose. Even Camlann, where she knew she'd meet her end one way or another, was supposed to be her victory, when she forced the king to look at what his nation had become. ]
I guess we'll see. [ Her answer is suitably lukewarm, despite the arrogance in her tone. ] Make sure you stay alive until then. If you die to anyone else, I'll be really pissed off.
... And look after that shard, if it's so damn important to you. I won't tell the other fools you left, but they'll figure it out eventually.
[ Mordred's declaration to kill is gone in a flash, so quick that Gray might have to question whether or not it happened. But it isn't the kind of thing she can willfully ignore, so she takes it as just one of those quirks of warriors of olden times, and a Servant to boot. ]
[ She doesn't mind if Mordred is intent on fighting her (well, no, she minds a little for more practical reasons), but she'd be a little upset to lose her connection to the only other person who could understand her situation save perhaps King Arthur himself. ]
Then... what did you want to talk about originally?
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no subject
y. Maybe she's outside of Achamoth, or sleeping, or busy... none of which are Mordred's problem, so it doesn't stop her from pushing past the odd feeling of resistance; her thoughts lightly tinged with annoyance at the extra effort required. ]I didn't see you at that creature's execution, mouse. Guess you missed the invite.
[ Secretly, though, she's glad Gray wasn't there. Mordred has little problem with brutality, even torture to an extent, but what happened to Estinien, and the pathetic state he was rendered in even before that... she can't imagine Gray would have handled it well. With most other Kenoma, she'd gladly have held their face to the metaphorical fire and forced them to watch, but Gray isn't most Kenoma. What exactly that makes her, Mordred wouldn't know, because she's been avoiding giving it much thought. ]
You haven't gone blind from those injuries, have you? ... Well, even if you have, I've got some stuff I wanna talk to you about. Just tell me where you are, and I'll head over.
[ Know what she hasn't given any thought to at all? The idea of Gray being a traitor. Thanks to the nature of communion, Gray can probably tell that Mordred's attempt to reach out to her is genuine, not driven by any doubt or suspicion of her status. ]
no subject
I'm not in Achamoth. I had to leave because of an emergency... Um, sorry for not telling you.
[ Mordred isn't her keeper, but she wouldn't be surprised either if Mordred chastised her for this... The knight seems like she'll take any excuse to yell a little. ]
What did you want to talk about?
no subject
Hah? You idiot, don't just run off without telling anyone! Doubly so if it's an emergency!
[ Without telling her, she means. When Gray asks what she wanted to talk about, she snorts humourlessly. ]
To hell with that. You're safe, right? Nobody's makin' you stay there?
no subject
I'm safe... enough. It was my choice to be here.
[ In some ways it was difficult getting here, but to her it was her only option. After a moment of hesitation in which she wonders how she should explain her situation, she decides that Mordred might appreciate the most straightforward route? ]
I think I'm Pleroma now.
[ Whoops... ]
flexing your scar icons huh
This isn't the time for jokes. To hell with the Regent — you know what it means to make an enemy of me. Even you aren't that stupid, or that foolhardy.
Now, tell me what's really going on.
i paid a good ten minutes for these
There was a shard I couldn't let the Regent have. If you know what happened to Mr. Barnaby and Mr. Liem, I think you might understand. So... I had to take it away.
no subject
Alright.
[ A mental shrug; the acceptance that what Gray's telling her is, in fact, the truth. If that seems too easy, it's because she follows up with: ]
Then, next time we meet, I'll kill you. Simple as that.
no subject
But again, she has no choice. Better that she's crushed in battle than that Eustace be subjected to the Regent's "re-education." She packs her small convictions into steel. ]
You can try. I won't lose.
[ She can't. She won't. ]
no subject
I guess we'll see. [ Her answer is suitably lukewarm, despite the arrogance in her tone. ] Make sure you stay alive until then. If you die to anyone else, I'll be really pissed off.
... And look after that shard, if it's so damn important to you. I won't tell the other fools you left, but they'll figure it out eventually.
no subject
... I will. Thank you.
[ ... ]
Can I still talk to you like this until then?
where's the scar :/ lazy
You wanna keep tabs on me? Smart, but it won't help you win.
gimme the $$$ for space and i'll do more
Just to talk.
[ She already knows Mordred's Achilles' heel. No real need to probe further in that regard. ]
It can be about unimportant things.
no i need that for mordred icons
[ She echoes it back in disbelief, then starts to laugh. ]
You... hahaha! You're serious, aren't you? ... Okay, fine. As long as you're alive, we can talk. I promised you that much, after all.
[ It might be weird to hear someone known for her treachery bring up a promise, but she sounds sincere about fulfilling it. ]
no subject
Then... what did you want to talk about originally?