Munetsuchi

The rightness of Jeanne in the future was something she didn't think about. Of course, she had no reason to concern herself with it, she knew other people were worried but she had only one thing to do before she righted herself. All would be okay eventually. In the meantime, Jeanne got a phantasmal grail full of something delicious and while she drank she could only be amused. What she was seeing behind Charles wasn't even completely out of the ordinary for normal girls who got along as such she wasn't bothered at all, though Charles had it pointed out that he was close to a problematic issue. A chortle came from Jeanne as he claimed this wasn't the conversation he thought he was walking into. "Easy, Chuck. Girl Time is sacred, enjoy your drink~" she claimed, choosing not to comment on what girl time entailed and choosing not to poke further fun at him for having a more natural reaction though she well could have.

In the meantime, she sipped casually from her cup and witnessed an evolution. The meeting of lips easily became a tongue wrestling match between the two opposing girl, with Sakura being the one to evolve it. Just the same both girls had oddly moving hands squeezing at their best assets. According to Angelica she'd changed her floor and Jeanne hadn't seen it either. Here and now the white space would be transformed. It didn't go past Jeanne's notice that the Nexus didn't call Anu, Angelica's father, which was pleasing regardless of his reason for doing so, she chuckled again. Angelica was finding Sakura's body to be quite soft and squishy. The other girl's mouth tasted of something powerful enough to burn but also with a mild sweetness behind it. She couldn't have described it if she tried, but she liked it. At the same time... Sakura was tasting something rather sweet in the mouth of Angelica. More like pure vanilla something sweet that could be added to anything. How nice. Both girls were soon red faced, but Angelica had multiple reasons to be, a gentle lip smacking would be heard as she parted and looked upon her work while taking in the view of her floor. "Really?!" she exclaimed seemingly excited about it. Sakura for a moment looked around as well, this was a great thing too. Another squeeze of Angelica's chest would occur but she'd also comment while still looking a bit more devilish than normal. "I really like this place too... Otou-chan would think it was nice as well. It's really pretty~" she claimed, though she sounded a little breathless? "Otou-chan?" Angelica questioned. Sakura now understood her references weren't easily understood. "I have five fathers, Otou-chan is an elf and a druid," she commented. "I met an elf the other day. That's so interesting..." she claimed seeming to wonder more about Sakura's parents. "I'll show you~" Sakura chimed and suddenly they were right back at it, while Sakura fed Angelica information and visuals on her parents.

"You redecorated," Jeanne said her eyes glancing over the place. Even this version of Jeanne had nothing negative to say. In fact she had the words everyone else was missing. "I know what to say, this place is bitchin'~" she claimed in pure happy fashion. "Way better than it was, a fucking masterpiece~" she added lifting her cup to the lass. Angelica still wasn't very used to Jeanne swearing, but given her current circumstances there was something really heartwarming about it. The mention of an Elf Druid as one of five fathers of Sakura was rather interesting to Jeanne. "That's a lot of dads~" she commented, but left it alone. "You guys got an elf? I mean you were always prone to making odd friends I suppose~" she said of Charles.

According to Jeanne, 'girl time' was sacred. He didn't know what that had to do with what was most recently said; he and the Nexus were discussing the dangers of an erection he almost thought his way into. Oh well. Whatever she was getting at, he probably didn't need to know anyway. Being suddenly placed within Angelica's garden was comfortable, and he did have something to drink while time passed. If there was something else odd meant to come from the Nexus's mouth, however, he'd hope for a better start than that last attempt.

More importantly, the sounds of Angelica's and Sakura's reactions were... strange. It all sounded like... no, there was no way. His perverted mind was obviously taking things way too far, filling in unknowns with his own sick desires. Even so, the sounds he imagined seemed very real. Maybe it was an effect of being in the Nexus? Whatever the case, multiple perspectives on Angelica's garden were given, with Jeanne ending it all by questioning Charlemagne. He didn't think he was very prone to making odd friends, though their personalities were admittedly all over the place. "Huh?" he said initially. It took a moment for him to fully register her words. Ah, but he was able to respond just after that utterance. "There is Fierabras, yeah. He was a Saracen knight while we were still out hunting relics, but he was brought over to our side in the middle of it all. Another one pushing me into a role I didn't want," he griped, sipping from the grail thereafter. "They're not odd though. I mean, they're not all human I guess, but I can't see the difference. Go figure, the one who helped set me up in the end was Ganelon."

Jeanne had mentioned the sacredness of girl time, and maybe it wasn't clear why she said it. She said it because Charles was still a man, and thus was easily distracted by his second brain, even if it was no fault of his own. Perving on 'girl time' could change the image of a nice guy pretty easily and Charles was a nice guy. But... maybe he'd figure that whole thing out on his own. Or... given the fact that the other two young women were making out without any shame whatsoever maybe it wouldn't be a big deal later. But Charles did come from the same world as Jeanne and she knew how those minds worked if nothing else.

Just the same the make-out session between Sakura and Angelica seemed to be progressing rather consistently. Angelica was receiving a great deal of information about Sakura and her immediate family and Sakura was behaving in a way more conducive to the way her powers and abilities wished to work. All the while they were making sounds which were likely contributing to Charles not being able to concentrate. Oh well... Jeanne seemed to be reasonable enough at getting this lad's attention and what did he have to say. "Saracen? I can't say I've seen one of those in ages... " she said seeming to find that interesting. Beyond that though there was the matter of the jobs Charles was forced into, "Volunteer as tribute you wouldn't have to worry about being made to do anything~" she said with a chuckle. According to Charles beyond these points it was Ganelon that was a problem for him in the more recent times, who'd backed Anu and tried forcing him out. "Ganelon? Old guy from the French Court? Well... that isn't really surprising. When most of our current problems are magical beings, gods and dragons... it's easy to forget that weak-hearted humans are the shittiest people," she said honestly. Humanity was its own biggest problem and in the world they'd originally come from, she knew for a fact that humans were the biggest problem.

But what wasn't a problem was the now breaking kisses between Sakura and Angelica. The pair seemed to have come to some sort of agreement and Angelica now completely understood the other girl and in typical fashion seemed to be quite fond of her already. They seemed to have approached their natural breaking point but were still rather happily holding hands. "It really is great," she said of the place they were currently in. "I don't know... your home seems like it would be pretty interesting too.... and your parents seem really nice," Angelica mentioned seeming to have no problem with the girl's rather diverse parentage.

While something Charlemagne would have died by witnessing occurred, he was discussing matters of the Saracens and the traitor among his group. "You probably won't see them again. Not with that name, anyway," he said in passing, regarding the Saracens. The king of that particular group was long gone. If there remained any stragglers, they couldn't come forth with the same identity. Regarding Ganelon, he couldn't be too surprised either, knowing now how Anais viewed the older male. "That one, yeah. He became Roland's stepfather, and he was a solid guiding figure for a long time. Seems like he's been on Father An's side for a while now, though ─ the more I think about it."

Angelica and Sakura continued exchanging information somehow. Charlemagne thought of this in the way he'd learned about in Munetsuchi, but that had to just be his mind doing its own thing again. The sounds persisted as well. The poor lad was eventually crossing his legs within the throne, sipping as nonchalantly as possible. In his mind, however, he had a front-row seat of those two, each with their tongue down the other's throat. Naturally, that visual in his head was the reason for the current posture. "So uh... how long are we gonna sit here? I thought there was something to discuss," he said to the Nexus, who had the gall to look dumbfounded. "How long? Until everything's done, obviously. Listen, kid, sometimes there are a lot of intangibles to deal with. You just need to sit down and let certain things play out, even when you don't know what's going on. Right, Jeanne?"

"Hoh?" that was an interesting sentence. Charles kept saying he wasn't interested in outings with Jeanne's sister, but she could see them getting along based solely upon how they chose to handle their problems. Oh well... people like them didn't listen to her until they were already in the middle of the experiences anyways. She'd point it out later over drinks and desserts or something like that. Moving on from that point there was the matter of Ganelon who apparently had been a guiding force for them but might have been on the side of the 'Holy Father' for quite a while. "Roland's stepfather?" she questioned. She remembered that man's mother and didn't figure she'd ever take another husband after her first... strange how the world worked. "Don't beat yourself up over it, an older voice of reason is usually a pretty good thing. I have one among the knights right now, her name is Terrawyn. It's more or less a toss up if older people are going to be problematic," she said knowing full well that the 'in my day' type of people who went looking for their former glory were more likely to be terrible than the more flexible of their ilk. "She'd be pretty helpful to you by the way... if you run into her at the HQ. She has a weird 'blind' nun thing going on but she's great!~" she mentioned ever helpful knowing he was likely walking into a clustered problem upstairs.

All the while Charles tired to keep himself together. Sakura and Angelica were having a whispered and giggled conversation. Of course, it would switch around a bit and there would be hushed conversations happening about Charles now and that was also to be expected. To answer Charles's question about how long they were going to sit here, there were apparently things to discuss. "Hai, sometimes what you don't know is happening is more important than the things you know about..." Jeanne said, she could at least say that with a good amount of understanding of the situation. Besides all that she was content to enjoy a few drinks and just catch up. The next thing heard said by Sakura was a question concerning Charles's friends. "Do you know the girl with the deer horns? Otou-chan is her mentor... I haven't gotten to speak with her much yet..." trailing off again. They were holding hands and still chatting from really close together. "Ah, you should talk to Jeanne she's great for that sort of thing..." Angelica mentioned seeming to grab the attention of the lass as she drained another cup of its contents and once again held it out. She didn't know when she'd get another and it was a life rule to have a good time.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how that even happened either," said Charlemagne regarding Ganelon's relationship with Roland's mother. Frankly, it was one of the weirdest things he'd ever seen. Maybe that could be understood eventually, whenever they encountered Roland's mother again. Maybe something else in that meeting could even explain how Roland became what he now was. . .

Reminiscing aside, Charlemagne was advised about the eventual appearance at her... or perhaps their headquarters. Terrawyn was the name of a blind nun who guided Jeanne. Something about that made Charlemagne recall something else. Rarely did he see a nun outside of churches, but he'd seen one in the past 24 hours or so. That had to be some strange coincidence. "Terrawyn? That's an unusual name, but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks," he said with another sip of... wine, if it could actually be called that. What was the grail's liquid? It was something sweet, but he wouldn't call it alcohol. He did know, however, that one could become drunk from it. How strange.

It seemed both Jeanne and the Nexus understood something Charlemagne didn't. That came as no surprise; that sort of thing kept happening lately. "Fine, fine. I'd rather not talk about much right now anyway," he said with surety. "That's the spirit! Have another," said the Nexus, who immediately refilled Jeanne's grail while adding more to Charlemagne's as well. "I'll uh... pass. I don't need to be drunk today," Charlemagne deflected.

Jeanne's mind had been a bit caught on the idea that Ganelon had somehow managed a relationship with the mother of Roland. Actually, it was a bit outlandish, that woman was a top tier French Lady... Ganelon didn't even hit the radar of most regular people. It was a suspicious. "Might be sorcery... at the risk of sounding like a Knight of the Round Table. Tell Roland to check on his mom, whenever you see him again..." she added still drinking. That little bit aside they were still talking about other things as well, including but not limited to the advisor that Jeanne used while her sister was away. "Yeah, it's a bit odd, but she's great. I also don't think she's actually blind or anything. She showed up after my sister first went missing and is usually around to do the extra kind of stuff she would do while she's gone," she said in a strangely upbeat manner. "Given my sister is with me, she might be showing up again and if she is... you should definitely use her expertise," she said with a firm bit of belief in that woman specifically.

Moving on apparently Charles would rather not talk very much right now regardless. Jeanne couldn't commiserate. So as her cup was refilled she began drinking again without missing a beat. Yes, she understood it was intoxicating and no she didn't much care about what was going on with her spirit or her body. She was safe where she was in both case, she'd relax. "If he won't take it I will~ Life's too short not to have a good time~" she listed the first rule in the life of the Hoshimi women, that she'd been spreading around her friend groups since her first life. Moving on, it seemed the little make-out and the subsequent whispers between Sakura and Angelica had come to an end and both would be appearing on either side of Charles's chair. They were still holding hands behind it and were more than ready to be part of the rest of the conversation. "See like that... it's one of the rules!~" Angelica mentioned, which seemed to make Sakura's eyes sparkle a bit. "Oh? You still remember that huh? Been putting it to good use I assume~" said Jeanne with a casual eye flicker over Charles.

Jeanne presumed sorcery could be behind the relationship they spoke of, and truly, Charlemagne agreed. It made no sense whatsoever. Having Roland check on his mother, however, was something he didn't intend to have necessary. "The way things look, Roland won't need telling. If Ganelon is still siding with Father An when we get back, Roland's mother will be a widow," Charlemagne stated. Such a claim was a bit dark for him, as a few other things had been recently. No matter; someone of Ganelon's ilk could not be allowed. Currently, he had faith only in those who confirmed their trustworthiness, and those they trusted as well. This Terrawyn Jeanne spoke of would be trusted if met, but anyone from Aincrad outside of a few people were on a list of the suspicious.

Charlemagne had no intention of drinking a third grail, so he leaned forward to pour what he had into Jeanne's grail. In doing so, he thought about what she had to say... and how much nerve she had to say it. "Didn't we grow up together, I dunno, over a thousand years ago?" he questioned. Life was no longer short for people like them. Regardless, he finished pouring and fell back against his throne. Something felt strange when Angelica and Sakura each took a side to him. What was it? He couldn't quite tell, but it could be attributed to Nexus weirdness. While Charlemagne brushed off what should have been obvious, the Nexus glanced at the trio in front of him. "That's a nice sight," he said casually, only for Charlemagne to have no clue what he meant.

According to Charles, Roland's mother would likely be a widow again so the point of warning the lad was moot. Still it was a rather dark thing for him to say, enough to bring a gentle pause to Jeanne as she looked at the lad. Perhaps he'd have fit in better than he understood. Still she had no comments to make about it. Angelica on the other hand seemed to think about it at least a little. "That's a bit dark for you..." she commented wondering if he was really okay after his more literal fall. Ah, but it was fine.

They'd moved on in conversation and with both of the girls standing around his chair, Charles leaned forward to pour his remaining grail liquid into Jeanne's cup which she gladly accepted. Still his words made her chuckle just a little, as he seemed to think her words a bit audacious. "Living a long time is more of a reason to make sure we have fun, not less Surely, you've figured that part out by now, Chuck." she countered. Yes, she thought like this even as her darkened self. "Besides, that one was mom's rule, I keep all of them pretty close, but that one feels the closest to normal for me," she admitted. Well, Jeanne d'Arc was a party girl in her previous life, good tempered and full of life, there was no reason her more death-bringing form would be very different. At the core she was still the same person after all. The Nexus commented on the sight and both girls smiled pretty widely. Jeanne saw this and looked to Charles. And here she thought the oddest thing she'd see in life was her sister with feelings for a man. This magical world was still kind of fun. To Jeanne's point of the rules, Angelica nodded. "Yeah, I've been using them... You haven't led me astray," she said confidently. "Sakura said her big sister isn't here yet and she wants one too, but I think the explanation is best from you," Angelica mentioned seeming to think that Jeanne wouldn't say no to such a thing. "I also want a hug," Sakura mentioned which made Jeanne laugh. "Yeah, yeah... I guess you can have one too. It'd be unfair otherwise," she mentioned for whatever reason.

After his words about Roland's mother, Angelica was the one to speak. She claimed that line was a bit dark for his norm, but how could it be? At this point, taking Ganelon down alongside An was only a sensible solution. "What do you expect, Angie? I watched him turn on me ─ on all of us! There I am with a knife in Father An that I didn't put there, and there he is ready to call me on attempted murder before it even happened! And I can't avoid realizing 'old helpful Ganel' wasn't on the list of people helping you. He's not one of us!" he declared. The way he saw things, An had to be taken down. Ganelon was no different, or perhaps even worse for taking the old god's side after everything he'd done.

Leaning further into the throne, Charlemagne heaved a sigh. A bit of residue remained in his grail, so he poured it into his mouth. Thinking too much about that fall was not good for his state of mind. Regardless, he calmed himself enough to accept Jeanne's reasoning for the earlier statement. She kept her mother close even in this darkened form; that was respectable. In fact, that sort of thing only added to the hope of her proper return. Ah, but Jeanne had more to say. The next words out of her mouth were an acceptance of Sakura's request... for a hug? It would be unfair to tell the girl no, she said. Of course. Everyone would be getting that sort of reception but him, who remained covered in burns that came with no apology. That was fair. In his mind, Charlemagne called this... a shitty reunion, in spite of the underlying hope for a better future. "And me too! We're basically done here, so that question's still in the air," said the Nexus.