PSL (closed)

[1stknight]

[Honestly, being summoned was quite the surprise to Bedivere. Being a saber, he knew he was at a disadvantage. After all, there were so many more sabers even just from the Round Table who were much more famous, so surely they would have been summoned over him. In fact, he was sure it had happened countless times before. That one master he had met, the one from Chaldea, they had spoken of singularities and grail wars to span several worlds and timelines. And with so many fine Sabers to choose from, he was sure that he hadn't ever been summoned before. The short time between the 'creation of his legend' and 'now' notwithstanding.

It made him feel a touch inadequate, if he was being truthful. After all, he was a simple knight. The master who had summoned him, he deserved better than someone like him. But if he was the one who was summoned, then he would fulfill his duty to this new master. Nothing would be done in half-steps, never again.

So as his form solidified in the summoning circle, Bedivere offered his new master a warm smile. Once again, his life was sworn to someone else's. Whatever his master wished for, Bedivere would help him achieve it.]

Saber, Bedivere. I am honored to be summoned by you. From now on, I shall be your Servant.

['I am honored to be summoned at all' was the truth, but he didn't speak that.

Then he paused, and he took a survey of the situation. The summoning circle was expertly made, but this man in front of him...well. He didn't look like a mage. He looked like a normal person. Perhaps it was a disguise? Or maybe there was more to this situation than he could see immediately. He would have to wait for his new master to respond in order to find out more.]

Comments

[1stknight]

[He might have been, up until he remembered things like 'sunrise' and 'operating hours.'

Bedivere didn't fall asleep, not even to the 'light half-sleep' that Servants did. He just laid there for a while, listening to the sounds of Dazai's breaths and unpacking the memories he had seen.

Having Dazai's arm around his waist certainly made it easier to stay in bed, too.

When they awoke, Bedivere had an idea to do his hair up in such a way that it could be tucked up into a hat. His long hair was becoming distinctive, and disguising it while dressed as a civilian was probably the best idea.

Also, he looked cute in the straw hat he had gotten somehow.]

I think I should be ready to go now.

[neverwashere]

[The way Dazai's mug missed his mouth and headed for his cheek, resulting in a yelp and a change of shirt, more or less summarized what he thought when he saw Bedivere in the straw hat.]

You'd make a killing if you ended up with a modeling gig.

[Because yeah while that took care of the long hair, that didn't change how attractive Bedivere was - talk about eye catching!

Not that Dazai would dissuade him, and he'd also taken the effort to wear something different today: a loose linen shirt over dark slacks that would've shown off his clavicle were it not for the bandages.]

Shall we?

[1stknight]

Ehh? But isn't modeling for women? I may have had to wear a dress before, but I don't think I look particularly good in one.

[Bedivere, casually admitting to having cross-dressed in the past. Though he didn't count it as cross-dressing, for Reasons. Reasons he would explain if Dazai asked about it.

Bedivere still had on a button-up shirt and pants, but he had traded them out for something lighter in color, to match the straw hat. Now he looked like someone ready to hit the beach but not go swimming.

At that last question, he nodded to Dazai. Time to go!]

[neverwashere]

I beg to differ. Besides, modelling is for both men and women - look no further than the large signs they like putting over buildings these days.

[Dazai had eyes and a healthy appreciation for beauty. The fact that he could easily imagine Bedivere in a dress spoke for itself, and once he deposited his now empty coffee mug in the kitchen sink, he poked his head out of the door to check if the coast was clear. If it was, time to head out!

Also, you bet he was going to ask.]

So why were you in a dress, again?

[1stknight]

[The coast was mostly clear. Atsushi was lingering around, as it wasn't a work day and he didn't have plans. But when he saw Dazai and Bedivere, he blushed furiously and stammered out some apology about having to leave before ducking into his apartment.

The scene left Bedivere a bit befuddled.]

He is a nervous one, isn't he?

[Bedivere did not realize how thin the walls were and how Atsushi had heard a good portion of last night. Also, Atsushi still remembered what that night was like, even if it was years ago from his perspective. He might have been missing the intimacy, just a little bit.]

[neverwashere]

[Dazai had a very good guess as to why Atsushi reacted that way, and he coughed uncomfortably as he tugged Bedivere's elbow. Time to make a hasty exit!]

His ability... ah. [He kept his gaze on the path ahead.] He has sharp hearing because of it.

[So moving on!] What animals are you looking forward to seeing?

[1stknight]

...oh.

[Oh no, what a terrible thing to find out. Bedivere would have problems facing Atsushi in the future. He didn't do well with embarrassment.

But he tried to push those thoughts out of his head, and he turned his attention to the zoo. It would be a short ride by train, but nothing they haven't done before. And with new disguises, it would hide the location of their base.]

I haven't seen many exotic animals before, but I did like all the birds at the last place I saw.

[neverwashere]

[Welp. And Dazai would default to his usual by playing the shameless bastard. Maybe once all was said and done though, all this would be different in hindsight.]

Were they swallows?

[1stknight]

No, they were quite tall, even taller than a human. They couldn't fly, but they could run fast.

[Ostriches. He meant ostriches.]

There were monkeys there too, but they didn't seem very nice. The birds, at least, didn't try to cause trouble.

[neverwashere]

[Ah. The 'running' gave it away. Where on earth Bedivere encountered one, he had to wonder.]

Oh, I don't know. I think your tall birds could match a monkey's meanness if sufficiently provoke. They have quite the kick, supposedly.

Speaking of birds - have you encountered penguins before?

[1stknight]

Penguins?

[No, he hadn't. The antarctic was one place he never went in his journeys.]

What are those?

[neverwashere]

[He brightened - this one would be fun to explain.]

Flightless birds that don't look like birds and more like, oh, beaked tuxedo-patterned creatures with long flappy arms.

They swim, too! In very cold waters way down south.

[1stknight]

[There was a long, long pause, while Bedivere's mind processed that information.

Then, Bedivere grabbed onto Dazai's arm.]

We must go see them. Immediately.

[neverwashere]

[He couldn't help but laugh as he let himself be dragged along - that earnestness was cute! Watching Bedivere react to the animals was going to be great, and he made a mental note to introduce the knight to cat videos later.

(RIP his phone battery)]

As you wish.

[And thus he also planned to bring Bedivere to the aquarium next week, if, well. The both of them were still around. Because Bedivere would absolutely love walking through a tunnel and seeing all sorts of sealife above and around him.

Depressing thoughts aside, it was easy to get in the zoo that morning, and there were a lot of kids around as expected.]

Penguins first? [He glanced at the pamphlet he got from the entrance.] Oh, and they have cranes and flamingos.

[1stknight]

I have seen cranes before, they're very beautiful. And I am guessing flamingos are another bird?

[Though Bedivere has only seen some species of cranes, and the ones from the savanna that hung out with the flamingos would be a sight to see. In fact, as soon as they started walking by the exhibit (which was on the way to the penguin exhibit), Bedivere caught sight of them and let out a small gasp.]

What are those? They're pink!

[neverwashere]

Those are flamingoes.

[He twisted his wrist so he was now holding Bedivere's instead, and he walked them over.]

Great, aren't they? In comparison, though, cranes are majestic.

[Why yes, he was biased.]

[1stknight]

[Time to let Dazai hold his wrist while they walked over! He was too caught up in the awe of seeing those birds to really care about the change though. He was practically leaning over the fence to get a better look at those birds once they were close enough.]

Agreed. Flamingos are interesting-looking, but cranes are more beautiful.

[neverwashere]

[While Bedivere was bird watching, Dazai set about to Bedivere watching. That straw hat was great on him, and the brim's shade didn't obscure how Bedivere's eyes seemed to sparkle.]

Regal, even.

We have a story about them, too, where a farmer saves a crane from hunters. The crane then disguises herself as a beautiful woman who, claiming to be the farmer's wife, weaves him a luxurious robe to sell at the market, thus improving the farmer's fortunes.

[1stknight]

Ah? But how could the farmer sell such a wonderful gift? Surely the farmer would treasure something his wife makes for him, yes?

[Bedivere may have been missing the point of the story, but he was being honest there at least. He couldn't imagine giving away something personally made like that.]

[neverwashere]

I'm sure he would have, had his wife not asked him to sell the clothes.

[It said something about Bedivere, though, that this was his first thought.

As it was, Dazai was content to leave Bedivere with the illusion that this was all there was to the story: the wife had disappeared at the end, after the farmer broke his promise to not look into her room for a period of time and discovered that she was the crane, and Dazai wasn't in the mood to mention farewells.


Instead, he guided Bedivere further down the path - they'd get to pass by cranes on the way to the penguins.]

[1stknight]

[It might be best not to spoil his mental image of how the story ends, yeah. Bedivere preferred stories with a happy ending.

The cranes were as majestic as he had imagined they would be, though he did insist on staying for a minute to watch them. But there were a few buildings up ahead: the penguin house, the apiary, and the reptile house.]

Oh? Why are those all enclosed?

[neverwashere]

It depends on the animal in question.

The obvious one is to keep predators from indulging in their natural instinct to hunt. Some of the other creatures, like penguins, are more suited for a particular habitat, and their enclosure is modeled after that. Then others are classified as endangered species - for one reason or the other, their numbers have dwindled to the point that they're almost extinct.

Being bred in captivity, as you can imagine, may have an effect on those animals' capacity to survive elsewhere. Nevertheless, it's one way for humans to try and make up for the consequences of the wanton pillaging of natural resources.

[1stknight]

[What Dazai said, it made sense. And it was nice that humans thought of those things and treated the animals well. But at the same time, it reminded Bedivere that these animals were affected by humans, and that they wouldn't have to live in these zoos if not for what humans had done to the environment. It caused conflicting thoughts in him, which he disliked.

But Bedivere's hopeful side won out, and he chose to believe that the humans in charge of the zoo, at least, really were doing this to help the animals.]

I suppose it is kind of them, then, to help even animals in need.

[Time to go see PENGUINS! And since they're indoors, that means one wall of the enclosure is glass so everyone can see the penguins swimming underwater. That was the part Bedivere was most fascinated with, and he had his face pressed up against the glass as he watched the penguins swim by.]

[neverwashere]

[Dazai simply nodded - it was interesting to see Bedivere focus on that aspect, precisely because he wasn't wilfully naive. If there was a champion for humanity or some such title that was selected based on merit and character, he was pretty sure Bedivere would qualify - and the certainty he felt with that thought was surprising in and of itself.]

They eat fish. [He still felt off-kilter as he watched Bedivere watch the penguins with the kind of bright fascination that did funny things to Dazai's heart.] You would've needed a ship to go south... ah, before, and the journey has its fair share of perils. Think of their birthplace as a land of perpetual winter, isolated from the rest of humanity.

[1stknight]

That's amazing! Of all the places I have traveled to, I have never seen a land of perpetual winter. Such a thought would have been fantastical, until recently.

[He became aware of how much space he was taking up, though, when he saw a bunch of kids trying to crowd around the glass too. Looking a bit embarrassed, Bedivere stepped back over by Dazai to give the kids room to see.]

Let's go see the other building, then.

[Mostly because he wanted to escape the parents staring at him.

They were in for a treat at the reptile house, though. One of the zookeepers had a chameleon out of the exhibit and was demonstrating how they could change their color and pattern. That was another moment where Bedivere forgot himself and went right up to see the strange-looking creature, and he audibly gasped as he watched it change from green to orange, to match a posterboard set up right by it.]