Finis Chaldea

[Bloodedge]

Apparently, today was a day of surprises. Artoria Pendragon had always been one to deflect, to uphold her stoic and upright demeanor at all times. She couldn't even squeal over large felines, likely her most favored thing to be in the midst of, without immediately catching herself in mere seconds. Now was not such a time. Instead, the woman remained upside-down and laughing, even stating that things were exactly as they seemed. Oh? That was rather strange, yet equally satisfying. There was never really purpose in her deflection anyway, as far as Gilgamesh himself was concerned. "Is it? Because it looks like the mighty Queen of Knights has finally learned the value of common amusement. It is quite the sight," he admitted.

As always, Gilgamesh hadn't a negative thing to say about Artoria's enjoyment. The simple fact that she'd found the comfort to delve deeper into his treasury was infinitely satisfying. Had she not caught him watching, he could have eventually fallen asleep while still in observation. In fact, he wouldn't have minded that outcome regardless. "Have your fun," he spoke casually, stepping deeper into the room and discarding his kingly garb. He'd sport only a waistcloth by the time he reached the bed, where he'd lie on his back in wait for whatever Artoria decided to do next. Truly, it seemed as if he was willing to simply watch. "I will do nothing to stop you."

[Apollymi]

After conceding that she was doing exactly what it appeared she was doing, it seemed Gilgamesh decided to tease, as he always would. This time though, it was less intense than it had been in times previous. He claimed it looked as though she'd finally learned of common amusement, that wasn't entirely true. Something like this was the sort of thing that Artoria or rather Hoshimi Eri had always had a mild interest in, though not one of her own choosing. Truth be told, Hoshimi Emi had hobby of visiting amusement parks, which her elder sister was often a part of. This little hover pod, reminded her of bumper cars, which she often engaged in and as such made her laugh and enjoy herself. it was also very fun to go at fast speeds, like go-carts. "I have always known how to amuse myself, Gil..." she said seeming to have become quite sheepish. Though still she watched as he walked in and settled himself in to bed, casting away his clothes leaving only a loincloth only to lay atop the covers and relax.

It seemed Gilgamesh as content enough to watch Artoria have her fun in this way. She wasn't quite done yet with her little hover pod exploration. "Fine, I will... but not because you said so," she chided in a manner that was almost childish. Still, it was a bit odd, the idea of carrying on as she had been with someone present. The person you are when you're alone is quite different from the one you are when you are observed. Even her siblings didn't often see her action so childishly, at random. "Also for the record, it is incredibly odd for you to just watch someone else have fun... or so I have been told," she stated cheekily. Still, that little craft began moving around the room again. The speed of the whole thing was extra amusing, she'd been driving around her little obstacle course, taking turns and flipping the chair way too fast. She'd realized while doing this, that her younger sister would have loved it, and made a note to herself to invite her to enjoy such a thing with her at a later point in time. While she drove around, she remembered that Gilgamesh had actually returned and ended up over head of him while he was in bed, once again giggling she was upside-down but trying to remember to be kind. "Okaeri, Gil..." she mentioned. That tone and those exact words were ones spoken by Hoshimi Eri while on stream normally with her little sister's name attached for those rare occasions where she was the one to leave and come back during their streaming hours. It was also something said to random viewers who popped up multiple times. How strange she often felt the need to randomly speak to Gilgamesh in the same way she addressed those so close to her.

[Bloodedge]

Obviously amusement was not something totally foreign to this woman; she'd previously been seen being entertained by the child-friendly equivalent of target practice. This, however, was a different matter entirely. It remained a very childlike expression of enjoyment, but Gilgamesh didn't seem to mind what she found amusing. "Yes, clearly you can. The oddity here is that you are often so reserved about it," he stated. Whatever she found worthwhile was fine, but that side of the woman went unseen by most, if not all.

Regardless, Artoria would be continuing... though not because he said so? Her childishness knew now bounds, apparently. She continued zipping about the room, even if she admittedly found it strange for him to be watching. Fully relaxed with both hands supporting the weight of his head, Gilgamesh scoffed at the thought. "The notion of mongrels who experience discomfort within themselves is no concern of mine. If one finds something thrilling, it should mean nothing to be observed when having the joy of a moment." Throughout his speech, Gilgamesh's eyes drew to a close. By the time they opened again, it was because Artoria's... no, Hoshimi Eri's voice sounded out from so near a place. There was something strange about that word she used. Deep, deep within the Hero-King's soul, there was almost a compulsion to respond a specific way. Would he, though? No... that was foolish. "The common tongue contains traces of every language ever spoken in this world. Why is it you still speak a foreign tongue?" he wondered, staring up into the woman's face with a genuinely quizzical expression.

[Apollymi]

As Artoria zipped around still giggling as she drove around the room with reckless abandon, Gilgamesh spoke of what was different about watching her amused herself today and the previous day. Apparently the lack of restraint in her enjoyment was something noteworthy. She gave that statement a bit of thought and knew that she did not often publicly show great amounts of amusement or freedom with herself. But those were habits she'd developed for various reasons. "My public personas and enjoyment are very different than my normal self, but I have also been raised twice to be very different from one phase of life to another. This should not be so unusual," she explained of herself. What more could she say? The amount of fun she could be seen having while alone or specifically in the company of her family and siblings was very different than how she would appear in front of anyone else, it just so happened that Gilgamesh was seeping into her subconscious as a person who could see her.

Beyond this point apparently Gilgamesh had nothing to say about her advice on watching people amuse themselves. He'd taken the stance that if you enjoy something, someone watching you do it shouldn't change that bit. "For those with nerves of steel those words are truth, but not everyone will take kindly to their joys being put on full display," she said and this was true of herself. In the case of Gilgamesh he simply fell outside of her normal expectations and given that information it was easy to simply ignore him for the most part. Well, ignore wasn't the right word, she enjoyed herself while taking casual glances up until the moment she remembered to greet him. Ah, but he seemed curious about the greeting she gave in the tongue that was most comfortable for her general speech. That quizzical look was rather cute on the face she looked down at, but his words deserved fair consideration... "All languages are mixed into common, but it does not give the comfort of my mother tongue. Sometimes, it simply slips out as a consequence of being too close to my other self... and other times it only feels natural. Those words you call foreign carry a different weight when I speak them, so I could never abandon them completely. Even if they are in general tucked away with the rest of my, reservations as you call them." she explained of herself in such a moment. "I am sure even you have a couple floating around in there~" she said reaching out to poke his forehead in a manner most teasing. Strange though it was, Artoria, or rather Eri, preferred to speak with those close to her in the manner that was most natural to her, and as she considered that she was always herself, she'd always use the words, names and phrases which gave her the warm feelings she tended to ignore within her chest.

[Bloodedge]

The Knight-Queen's ideal of what one should consider normal seemed skewed to Gilgamesh. He saw no reason for one to conceal their personal delights for anyone. In cases like this especially, the lesser individuals crawling through the proverbial mud had little right to make assumptions about birds soaring through the skies. Simply put, the former could never comprehend the latter, and should thus be silent in their ineptitude. "And what keeps one such as yourself from letting your joy be seen? Judgment? Show me the man who thinks himself capable of passing said judgment, and you will have shown me a fool who knows not how to find his own happiness. Meanwhile, I will introduce you to a man who will grasp the very joy you radiate and let it be displayed as a marker for all who wish to find the meaning of bliss for themselves."

Gilgamesh sure loved to ramble. He was firm in his beliefs though, particularly when they involved the woman hovering over his head. Others were allowed to form personal opinions about her about as easily as they could do so against him... and any who knew even the first thing about Gilgamesh would know, that meant... they couldn't do so at all. Regardless of all that, there was the matter of her strange speech pattern. She apparently slipped into that language simply because it was comfortable, or even because it felt natural at times. He couldn't make heads or tails of anything like that; it sounded like utter nonsense... except... it really didn't. What a difficult thing to fully grasp this was. Regardless, he soon had something else to think about as Artoria's finger pressed into his forehead. Did he have some reservations floating around in his head? There could hardly ever be such a thing, and the thought alone led to a snicker. "Reservations, me? The only restraint I have ever shown, has been either an act of pity or an effort to conserve whatever is receiving my efforts. You should know this, being an example of the latter. I may forever be wondering which of you I am speaking with, and if I must break the mind of one to converse with the other~"

[Apollymi]

Gilgamesh was always full of things to say. In this moment his issue was with the idea that Artoria was hiding her joy for the sake of upholding her public persona. Meanwhile he claimed that any who would judge her shouldn't be capable of it, given her higher status, in his own eyes, and moreover that he would be the type to embrace such things and use them as an example to those who did not know what kind of joy to seek. That was a strangely heartwarming thing to say, alas, her two lifetimes had taught her something very different as part of her acclimation to life. "Those words are quite warm from one like you... too bad the rest of the world in two of my lives very markedly disagree with that by virtue of experience. Judgement is not something I deem many capable of in my case, but to be taken in earnest, the way I exist... requires severity. I cannot be joyous or happy it would make me normal. Those who see me as such can only be close enough to me not to be problematic, lest it become necessary for me to use even more force than I already do to assert myself. My life is violence, and I enjoy that, but I should not have to create hell to be taken seriously," she stated. In truth, Hoshimi Eri and Artoria Pendragon both had to uphold a certain standard of existence, to be frightening and abnormal enough to carry out their tasks. Such things were hard to actualize when you were slight or appeared to have weaknesses of any sort. To be taken seriously as an assassin, she had to hide a certain amount of humanity, mainly joy. And the same was required on her journey to being King. She hardly saw it as a loss, to have a public persona for dealing with the masses and a private one for dealing with those close to her, such was pretty standard.

Moving on from that point, that tap to the forehead of Gilgamesh and their shift in conversation seemed to bring about some interesting words as well. Another lap was taken as she heard his words. There was the claim that any reservations he held were for pity or preservation of whatever had his attention. He considered her to be the second of those things. He also claimed a great confusion not knowing which version of the lass he would be speaking to, given what had to be done to bring one or the other to the surface at any given point. And in a moment like this, those green eyes of hers narrowed and sharpened. "I am always myself, regardless of the face I wear, tasks I complete and the mechanics of this world..." she clarified. Face was an interesting term here, because she used it in the way she did with her family, to denote the many personas she took to complete her jobs, as she saw them. Artoria Pendragon was such a face, but at her core she was just herself. There were differences between her in use personality and her base but she felt the truth of those words at the core of her being, well past even the Assassin known as Hoshimi Eri. "Also I did not only mean restraints I also meant the words. A couple of your known phrases have appeared from time to time... perhaps yours are simply locked away too~" she teased, sticking her tongue out soon after only to zip off again. A long squeal to accompany the sudden and speedy movement which would right her again. How would she finish her little ride? Well, she'd speed towards the bed only to launch herself towards it, while sending back the hover pod, leaving herself flying into the comfort of the mattress and Gilgamesh giggling maniacally whether he managed to catch her or not.

[Bloodedge]

Even as they came to terms with this, that and the other, it appeared this particular king and queen would always have their disagreements. They didn't have to bark down one another's throat each time, but differing opinions showed themselves repeatedly either way. In this case, Artoria, Hoshimi Eri, or whatever she wished to be called in a moment, claimed her shifting personalities were necessity as dictated by her lives. She had to be this way to be taken seriously? What utter nonsense. "Your words belie your own ignorance. I once referred to you as an unreachable star; do you remember? My words are never to be taken lightly, Artoria Pendragon. I look at you and see your very soul, and it shines more brightly than even the sun that humans fear to gaze upon directly. If you were to put your very being on display, you would be no different to this world than my glorious self," he explained. From the likes of Gilgamesh, there was likely no higher compliment in all the world.

Alas, there was another disagreement fated to occur within this very conversation. Artoria Pendragon and Hoshimi Eri were one and the same, regardless of how she presented herself. That was true, but that was also the limit of truth as Gilgamesh saw it. "Hear me, my impossible queen. Your words are both truths and lies, as I declare, you have never been yourself," he argued. Still, there was more. "But fear not. Whatever the method, I will one day pull the truth of your soul to the surface. You may then look upon yourself and be blinded by your own radiance."

Restraint was not so much the only relevant thing addressed by Artoria's earlier clause. What she meant was something well beyond that, apparently including some 'known' phrases he could only assume were attributed to his former, forgotten life. Gilgamesh had no room to care for any of that nonsense. If there were any similarities between himself and one Ishigami Daisuke, it only meant that man could be considered... almost Gilgamesh. Even uncaring, he did have a fun little theory about that connection. He wouldn't even shy away from sharing said theory, albeit only after Artoria flung herself from the hover pod toward the bed and, by association, Gilgamesh himself. Of course his arms were going to extend and ensnare that cackling projectile of a woman and grip her to his fore. Only then would he be sharing the information in his head. "If I were to believe some similarities to a previous life were present, I would lay blame upon the only memories worth keeping from that world. Those seem to appear only as you do, so what of it?"

[Apollymi]

They never really got along. Hoshimi Eri was more than well aware that there was something about Ishigami Daisuke that clawed at her soul and drove her to violence. Of course, that kind of aggression had been recently repurposed but that did not change the fact that most conversations between the pair of them probably sounded a lot like arguments between two people. Even in casual speech as they were having now. And what was he saying? He didn't agree with her about the necessity of her various splits in personality. He'd called her an unreachable star once, and his words were to be taken literally. He'd say such a random thing to her over a thousand years prior to this very moment and those words still made her shift slightly uncomfortably. What was more, the rest of his words hit her ears like compliments, once again while she looked at him she was forced to realize how much he believed in the words he spoke. Given how assured he was of himself, any comparison made to himself about another was without question a compliment, and she didn't even need the power of her eyes to know that information. "I have not forgotten the ridiculous things you say to me. And obviously I will add this to the list of compliments that fall from your mouth like the petals of plucked flowers..." she mentioned. Oh her face was red again. This man had a very bad habit of doing such a thing to her, and it always made her immediately forget whatever it was she was arguing about in the first place.

It seemed that beyond this point he took more issue with how she viewed herself. The claim of Gilgamesh was something ridiculous like her words were both lies and the truth. That he declared she'd never been herself... that wasn't untrue, but he also claimed that he would eventually pull forth her true self so she could know what she was like, all the while using that term she'd come to like just a bit, impossible queen. How ridiculous... "I will concede to not knowing that person that I am, but I maintain I do not understand this radiance you speak of. I find myself wanting to discourage this, though I know you are not the type to be talked out of your decided quest," she calmly stated. All of this before she sent herself across the room at him and after having mentioned the slips in his own speech.

In a moment like this she wasn't entirely sure of his reaction, but she took a strange bit of comfort when her speeding form was captured and held to his fore. That giggling came to an end as she allowed her eyes to do a quick scan of his face, lingering eye contact followed by looking towards his mouth as she always seemed to do. She did quite like being against that perfectly muscled body of his. And though she would have rather not thought about it, she did quite miss him today while he was gone. Still, it wasn't exactly in her nature to be that forth coming and what was he saying now? Any thing he brought forth from his old life, was connected to her? "Your audacity is truly boundless if you would lay blame for your memories at my feet. We were not even formally acquainted and though you maintained a certain lingering gaze... it is utterly ridiculous to say such a thing!" she exclaimed as she averted her gaze. Oh no, what was she to do, all tucked into him like this she had no choice but to hide her face against his chest. Actually, she quite liked that. Her inability to properly respond to such provocation was likely due to the semiconstant state of fluster she had when dealing with her feelings surrounding Gilgamesh on the whole. He said such ridiculously honest things to her, she was completely disarmed whenever he spoke so highly of her. He should be quite careful, eventually she might actually start to believe him. Her beating heart sped up at the thought of eventually enjoying such random words from him, of thinking she might actually be that important. That wasn't a conscious thought though was it? It had to be something else...

[Bloodedge]

Artoria remembered the way he addressed her over a thousand years ago. In acknowledging this, she spoke of the compliments he offered, comparing them to petals from plucked flowers. Gilgamesh scoffed at that notion. Why she always spoke of flowers in relation to the things he said about her, he didn't know. As he was concerned, there were no proverbial flowers involved; he spoke only the purest truth. "Still you speak of that. I assure you, the only flower I'm plucking, is yours," he said smugly.

Of course she didn't understand the radiance he spoke of. When Gilgamesh gave consideration to that fact, he chuckled once more. "Perhaps then, you were blinded by yourself the moment that light first began shining," he mused. As for the idea of him being discouraged, she was very correct in presuming it impossible. After all, what would be the point in turning back when he'd finally made such progress on this, the most epic of journeys? That would be stupid. "If ever there was a chance to shift my approach, it was lost to you when you first offered your lips. Then, in opening your legs, you erased all other possibilities past, present and future. There is no escape for the likes of you."

After quite some time spent rocketing herself around the room, the queen had finally found herself in bed again. Well... in bed was a bit subjective, as it seemed the whole of her was exclusively atop Gilgamesh. In this moment of comfort, the male slung one arm around her middle back, and rested one hand atop her head. Of course he would place the blame on her for those memories; what other cause could there be? "Your appearance in those 'memories' are as frequent as my own. Where then, should I place the blame? It is no list of random occurrences across multiple visions, but instead a single visage appearing again and again. Acquainted or not, your existence in this world is the only evidence to those visions being more than silly dreams. That day you looked upon me with such disdain, they all came rushing back not as fantasies, but as dreams to strive for anew."

[Apollymi]

Why did she always speak of flowers? Well, there was a very simple explanation for that, but not one worth being shared in the moment. Perhaps one day, the explanation of her fixation on comparing words and compliments to flowers would make sense to him. But for now, what was making sense to her, as she lay clutched to Gilgamesh's chest was the words he spoke. Of plucking only her flower as he would put it and oh was he smug about it. "Why do you mean that as I took it. You mean to embarrass me to death!" she proclaimed. Her whole face was bright red and warm, she couldn't help herself.

Of course, she was still being showered with compliments and the like. Here and now he claimed that she likely couldn't see her own radiance because she'd already been blinded by it at its start. "That is hardly within the realm of possibility," she stated. Of course she would say that, it was completely and utterly ridiculous that he would even say such a thing. What was more he claimed there was no way for her to escape him or change his methodology. It'd worked the moment she'd kissed him and been sealed in place the moment she'd given him residence between her thighs... "Ridiculous. It is utterly ridiculous for you to say such a thing. I would not try and escape... it is against my nature to run," Ah, once again, Artoria did not argue against anything, she simply couldn't help being contrary. Gilgamesh's attitude always left her wanting to argue or something else, perhaps?

Beyond this point, as he held her he spoke of his former 'memories' and how they resurfaced. The tale he told was of their first meeting, where she looked upon him with disdain and it triggered his realization and he decided to pursue her because of this? That whole thing was touching once again wasn't it? Heartwarming in the strangest possible way, the idea that seeing her and confirming in a moment that what he remembered was true. "It goes against logic to make your goal a person who looks upon you with disdain, Gil." Artoria stated with a certain level of surety. Still she couldn't help but look up at his face in a moment like this, it was annoying how sweet she found it that he was interested in her based on her obvious dislike of him alone. That contrary personality of hers, did a bit of miraculous work for making sure she softened up when he spoke.