Cut Your Teeth
by SMYGO4EVA
If there was one thing about Rider that Saber was willing to admit, it was that she was beautiful.
Even as they fought, Saber never questioned that Rider was beautiful.
In Rider's former life, she was known as Medusa, one of the most powerful creatures that had ever existed. Though it wasn't by choice, Medusa used her beauty to her advantage, to gain the upper hand against those who stood against her. Her sight was the nail in the coffin to many who dared to approach her, but she didn't need it in the Holy Grail War.
Yes, Saber couldn't help but gaze upon Rider. She was also never willing to back down, never letting her haunches rest, not even for a second. She never considered herself beautiful; those weren't matters that were important to a king. She held herself to that notion, even when there were those who called her a sight to behold, or having an ethereal air to make her lovely. Rider held a confidence that Saber somewhat envied, as she saw that Rider knew how to use her looks to her advantage, twisting a curse into a blessing, in a way. She showed that her beauty was her own, and not for anyone's consumption or predatory gaze.
Beyond all of that, Saber knew that beauty wasn't what mattered. In battle, no one cared if one was beautiful when lives were on the line. Rider held an edge to her, as she was always deadly. She was never vulnerable in combat, as she was almost challenging an enemy to try their luck at striking her down, only so she could kill them then and there. Saber had fought valiantly against Rider; her Noble Phantasm clashed against Medusa's binding chains, her knife gleamed in the light against the tarnished steel. Saber never let her guard down, as much as the other woman wanted to. Though Rider looked upon her with such curiosity and intrigue, the scent of arousal tinging the air between them.
Saber had wondered how many opponents had seen her like this. Rider was a powerful creature blessed in both beauty and skill, and who gazed upon her opponents not with a cold indifference, but with a bloodlust tinged with the urge to kill and the yearning that could only be cured by becoming one. Saber didn't want to know, but she knew that Rider was a formidable adversary, one who wasn't privy to false moves or acquiescing to anyone. She had to cut her teeth somewhere, and Saber was nearly curious enough to find out for herself; that is, if she survived long enough.
