Chapter 15: What The Future Holds
Hi all, finally back in business with this one! First author's note I've decided to slip into the version but I felt it was necessary.
This chapter would have come out sooner, but I wanted to wait until my second commission was completed to show it off alongside this writing.
While writing the last chapter, I realised the description I'd given to Outer God-corrupted Morgan didn't quite line up with the original commission I'd requested, so I decided to get it remade more closely matching the updated description, this time done by the very talented Pakdeus!
Pakdeus' Profile: /pak_deus
My commission: /pak_deus/status/1882473351253496186
With all of that said and done, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
As always, comments and reviews are welcome.
"Mmmmmgggghhh."
Blinking her eyes to clear her blurred vision, stretching and wincing as she popped some knots in her back, Morgan pushed herself up and looked around.
The rest of the team was still present and sleeping, barring the quartet on patrol.
I suppose it has been a VERY long day already.
And, now that she looked to her sides, Habetrot and Fujimaru.
Now where could they have gone?
Furrowing her brow, she pushed herself up, collected her staff and started walking down the halls of the shopping centre.
Soon enough, the smell of sweet cooking hit her nostrils. Another few sniffs and-
Was that pancakes?
Might this be…? Well, no harm in investigating.
Strolling slowly, idly looking this way and that to see just what interesting shops there might be to visit once all was said and done, Morgan's thoughts inevitably drifted to the prior crisis.
What has become of those two, I wonder?
Whatever the truth, I hope that they continue their feud far away from us. Preferably viciously enough that their attention never returns to Earth.
….no, with how frequently imperilled this planet is, we will not be that lucky.
But we will be READY.
If I must make sure of that personally, then so be it.
It is the least I can for-
A deep pit opened in her stomach, her shoulders felt weighted as she slumped.
For playing the part of the fool so well.
She shook herself off. Pressed on. Now was not the time to let the past drag her down.
The focus should be on the future. Would be on the future.
And in the spirit of that-
Where is this smell coming from?
Following it further, Morgan rounded a corner.
And once more collided with Habetrot as she was dashing in the opposite direction.
"Waaah! Oh, you're up!" The Rider said, rubbing her head a little.
"Indeed…and I do hope that meeting like this does not become a habit." Morgan chuckled, offering a hand to haul her friend to her feet, which she gladly accepted.
"All right then, let's go!"
Without waiting for the royal to reply, Habetrot turned and set off at forward march, pulling Morgan along with her. Though she didn't resist, the Berserker did raise her eyebrow.
"And where exactly are we going?"
Perhaps to see where our Master has gone?
"To get something to eat!" Habetrot declared, stabbing a finger into the air.
Bemused, she allowed herself to be led along, the sweet smell growing stronger and most definitely resolving into that of pancakes.
"I wasn't aware cooking was a particular habit of yours, Habetrot." Morgan smiled, before offering some light, joking chiding.
"But do be mindful of leaving your confections unattended for so long. I can't imagine our Master will want a burnt pancake now, will he?"
Habetrot just looked back and grinned knowingly in reply.
"Oh it's not my cooking, it's Master's!"
Hmmmm? Well now….
"Really?"
"Yep! Come on, he should be almost done!"
Leading her up the stairs to the shopping centre's upper level, Habetrot walked the Berserker over to the foot court. As they approached, she could see a figure bustling about behind one of the larger food stands, this one offering such treats as waffles, crepes and pancakes.
A man of more talent than I thought. She mused.
Getting closer, Fujimaru poked at the large pancake he was preparing a few more times, slid his spatula under it and flipped it high in the air. With a paper plate in hand, he thrust his arm forward just in time to catch the flying confectionery.
Morgan couldn't help but chuckle at his grin and self-congratulatory fist pump.
Every small victory…
Habetrot, on the other hand, clapped and cheered openly.
Noticing them, Fujimaru waved the spatula back and forth.
"Hey there! Feeling hungry?" He asked, offering the pancake in her direction.
"Unless you're still feeling tired. You didn't drag her up and out here, did you?"
Habetrot pouted and folded her arms at his stare.
"Nope, Habenyan bumped into her coming this way, actually! And I just wanted her to have some of Master's cooking!"
"All right then, any special reason why?"
"Oh-" Habetrot turned and winked at Morgan.
"-just a fancy that took me."
Morgan let out an exasperated sigh as her cheeks flushed light pink.
Habetrot!
Fujimaru just shrugged, then gestured to his pancake with his spatula.
"Want one?"
"After all that's happened today, I certainly won't turn it down."
"Great. Any preferences on toppings?"
"...I suppose fresh ingredients are out of the question?" Morgan raised a knowing eyebrow.
"There's one banana left, but that's it. How about trying with some of this chocolate spreading sauce?" Fujimaru suggested, picking up a jar that said 'nutella' in large red and brown letters on the paper wrapping and holding it up to her face.
"As good a choice as any." She replied, moving over to take a seat at the nearby table, while Habetrot scrambled up to sit next to her.
"Great. What would you like, Habetrot?"
"Sugar and lemon juice, please!" She chirped.
"Got it, one choco-banana and one sugar-lemon, coming right up."
He moved back behind the proper hotplates of the cart, seamlessly pouring another swirl of pancake batter that he then swirled into a new circle of slowly cooking pancake. As soon as that was done, he moved on to plucking the last banana from the fridge, chopping it up, spreading dollops of nutella onto the pancake he already had and peppering the banana pieces all over.
Rolling it up and making sure it was secure on the plate, he passed it over to the ex-queen with a smile, plus plucking a fresh knife from the drawer to hand over to her.
"Your order, ma'am. I'd recommend using your fingers though, I hear it's part of the charm." He winked.
"Why, I'll certainly consider that." Morgan nodded, sniffing the pancake and liking the scents she was getting.
Noticing her friend's positive reaction, Habetrot leant forward and put on her most charming, cheesy grin. Waiting until Morgan was about to put some pancake in her mouth, she spoke up.
"So Master, where'd you learn to cook like this? Hoping to impress your future bride, maybe? Cause I think it's wooo~oorking!"
Thankfully Fujimaru didn't notice Morgan lightly choking on her bite of pancake, then shooting a look at Habetrot and getting only a thumbs up in reply, humming to himself and shrugging.
"Not really. It was more just a necessary thing for me to learn in the early days. We had quite a lot of Servants with appetites, not to mention the staff, but not that many cooks, so I'd step in sometimes. EMIYA was a whiz in the kitchen, but even he needed a bit of help sometimes.
"At least when Boudica and Raikou showed up I didn't have to do it as much…but I still like to help out from time to time. It-"
His gaze unfocused, eyes lost their shine, mind wandering to something much less wholesome.
"-gives you something else to focus on, you know? When you don't really want your thoughts to go here, there and everywhere. Bit of structure and all that."
Habetrot nodded along obliviously, launching into an explanation about how she enjoyed playing with cats between inspiration for dresses. Fujimaru nodded and laughed along with practised ease…though Morgan could tell his focus was elsewhere.
When his gaze found its way over to her, just for a moment, she nodded to him in understanding.
Did you decide to come here to drive away the terrors?
…and where are your dreamkeepers in all of this? Is that fool not supposed to be helping with them?
You really have begun to slack, haven't you Merlin?
She wouldn't have gotten so skilled as she was with her magic, even with her counterpart's memories, had practising not been the best way she'd found to keep her sleep restful.
To keep the darker memories at bay.
…to stop her own heart strangling her current efforts.
No looking back. No regrets. No doubts. Not even for a moment.
Or else I would see you all. You who gave everything for the future I promised.
For the chains I swore would break.
…and how would I be able to go on then?
…
Do you risk looking back, Master?
Are there any faces you keep seeing?
Before Baobhan Sith had come along, of course.
All too soon, as Habetrot was in the middle of describing which of the many, MANY black cats she'd met in her life had been the most playful with her, Fujimaru glanced over, realised her pancake was ready and scooped it up onto a plate. Drizzling it with lemon juice and dusting it with sugar, he rolled it up and handed it to Habetrot.
"Here you go. One sugar-lemon pancake, on the house."
"Why thank you kindly, Mas~ter!" Habetrot tipped her hat…then had to catch it before it slipped off her head.
"You're gonna make some girl a very happy bride someday!"
"Especially with such dedication to cooking. You mixed that batter yourself, yes? By hand?" Morgan asked, indicating the jug of batter near the hotplates.
I can see as much. Both in the batter and you.
Fujimaru nodded.
"It may just be batter, but I understand most of the time it's mixed with some form of automatic whisk. To hand mix it is quite the task indeed, yet there are no lumps here. That must have taken quite some time, no?"
"Well, I do have a little secret to help things go faster."
"Oh?"
Fujimaru dropped his spatula, picked up a wooden spoon and cast a Reinforcement spell on it, waggling it around.
"Helps a lot with ironing out the flour blobs in the batter."
"Remarkable. I'm sure Barghest would like to hear of that."
"But Master, that can't be the only reason you're so good."
"Hmmmm?"
Cutting another bite from her pancake, Habetrot leant on the tabletop and put on her most inquisitive eyebrow.
"This right here? There's real passion in this! That's not something you get from something you need to do."
She capped off her point by popping the pancake in her mouth and humming happily, wiggling around in her seat with stars in her eyes.
Fujimaru nodded and shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess. Part of it was just that the kitchen team still needed a hand from time to time, and some of the Servants we brought on were…pretty picky eaters, so the dishes needed to be made to their exact specifications. Can't help but get good with what they wanted.
"And for those who weren't that picky, some of them…preferred quantity over quality."
"Well, perhaps if you were a little more selective with my sister's many, many…many variants, this might not be too much of a problem." Morgan muttered, stabbing her fork at her pancake.
"Probably…but we needed all the help we could get, and getting more foodstuffs is a lot easier than getting a new earth to save."
She nodded lightly, conceding the point.
"And what about the other part?" Habetrot asked, leaning forward further.
"You don't just get that good without some real investment, right? Like it's your calling! C'mon Master! Hoping to marry and be a househusband one day?"
She directed her cheesiest smile at Fujimaru, then her best wink at Morgan.
The ex-queen just let her head slump, shaking it tiredly.
Mostly to get her faint smile under control in private.
If nothing else, you are indeed persistent.
Fujimaru chuckled and rubbed his neck, moving to start preparing another pancake for himself this time.
"Just put some thought into what's next for me. You know, after…all this."
Pouring and spreading the batter once more, Fujimaru slid over to the ingredients and started pulling out various sauces and syrups.
Once he'd arranged them all, he slumped down into his elbows and sighed, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and poking at the cooking pancake with the spatula in his other.
"Figured that, once the adjustment period's over. Once I've settled back into…as close to normal as I can get, maybe me and the family could open a bakery somewhere. Da Vinci; Mash; Holmes; Dustin; Slyvie…they'd all be welcome there too. I think we could really make something of it.
"I know it might seem like a bit of a step down, but you don't need to constantly strive for big changes, do you? Why not just focus on making people happy on the day to day, with well-made, tasty food? Besides-"
Flipping the finished pancake and shuffling it onto a plate as he spoke, Fujimaru chose a combo of strawberry, caramel and chocolate syrups to dump onto it.
"-it's not like I can really list my world saving experiences on a C.V, can I? And the Clock Tower and Mage's Association…not for me."
Morgan couldn't help but grimace. She'd overheard plenty about just what those two organisations thought was appropriate behaviour for Mages of the modern era. And since Marisbury Animusphere had been one of the Clock Tower's Twelve Lords, while having all that nasty business with his Demi-Servants and Seraphix…
That the Chaldea team had already had to falsify and damn near erase his contributions to the Human Order Incineration was telling enough. Piling all these achievements on top of that too?
One whiff of him skirting anywhere near the Clock Tower or Mages Association and they'd dream up whatever justification they needed for a Sealing Designation.
Yes. Better that her Master stayed away from them. FAR away. But would the quiet life really suit him better?
With just those close friends, family and…whatever significant other took his fancy?
She shook her head to clear the building heat, but not quickly enough for Habetrot to give her that damned smirk and lidded stare again!
Morgan replied with a light poke to her friend's thigh with her staff and a firm stare.
Habetrot just stuck out her tongue and took another bite of pancake.
HOW old are you now? Far too old to be acting this childishly, at any rate!
"Well, it seems a rather humble goal for one such as you, but I suppose that is your choice." Morgan conceded.
It's not as if he'll have any problems choosing companions in this 'quiet life'. I'm certain there are plenty of Servants ready and willing to accompany him.
But REALLY now? Just a simple bakery?
Hardly a reward worthy of one as accomplished as you. One who has overcome the trials and challenges you have. A fairer world would owe you as much.
A small kingdom would suit you nicely. With your skill as a leader and, I suppose, a diplomat of sorts for Heroic Spirits, I'm sure you would do well in the art of ruling.
And of course, I would be happy to offer my expertise, should you ask.
Perhaps even…serve as a primary advisor, perhaps? Or-
A soft, whispered "aaaawww" pulled her out of her thoughts. Blinking, she found Habetrot making a gooey, kissy face expression, with a love heart symbol over her chest.
'Lost in thoughts of love?' She mouthed.
Morgan just huffed, glared and tucked into her pancake, jabbing Habetrot back again.
"Yeah, especially after…well, ALL of this." Fujimaru admitted, biting into his own pancake and grinning at the combined syrups.
"Once you get to your 12th or so world-ending catastrophe, you just want a bit of peace and quiet, you know? Especially with how full on, non stop Chaldean life can be."
…I cannot disagree with that.
"As long as there's plenty of friends, family and loved ones in your life, Master, then you can do whatever you like!" Habetrot grinned, polishing off the remnants of her pancake.
"Well, good to know I've got the Habetrot stamp of approval." Fujimaru smiled, reaching over to pat her head. She leant into it with a giggle.
And you will surely have a wonderful wedding with her at your back.
With…whomever you choose to spend your life with.
"Master, I must ask, is it really quite so bad?" Morgan asked.
"I've experienced just a bit of that 'life' already, but I am still a newcomer….exactly how "full on" can it get?"
She wished she'd not asked once she saw his face lose some colour.
"Er, well, let's see-"
He tented his fingers, leaning on the surface of the cart and taking a breath, his eyes darting all over the place.
My…apologies for asking?
"Well first we had Nero setting up her "Nero Fest" tournament that we had to participate in."
I suppose it's only natural for a monarch to hold a tournament.
"Moon Festival dumplings went missing, Artemis helped us track them down. That was a whole mess."
I see. Even something as simple as a Moon Festival can go wrong here…
"After that Elizabeth took over Halloween and we had to clean that up."
Oh yes, the cacophonous brat of a…Lancer? Caster? SABER? WHICH IS IT!?
"Met Nobu and Okita for the first time when she tried using a Holy Grail as a bomb. We had to go help 'em defeat a "Bad Nobu" and uprising of these little Chibi Nobu things. They were good sports about it, though, and I guess it was pretty fun all in all."
The 16th Century Japanese daimyō-turned-warlord? That shrill voiced small girl? THAT Nobunaga?
"Christmas rolled around and I had to help Artoria Alter deliver all the presents on the list. Who would've thought she'd get into the role of Santa so well? Even tried using Excalibur as a makeshift sleigh at one point…"
Of course. Of COURSE that tainted sister of 'mine' wants to take over Christmas as well!
"After that we had to deal with Mysterious Heroine X's anti-Saber crusade….well, until she decided to train Artoria Lily as an apprentice. To destroy other Sabers. At least she had a change of heart at the end, but we still had to fight her future self, Mysterious Heroine Z. Both from the Servant Universe, too. That's a whole other can of worms, believe me, even been there myself."
Well, I wouldn't mind an Anti-Artoria crusade, myself, but these Mysterious Heroines? Full-on time travel like that Demon God King? Fighting yourself from the future!? A UNIVERSE of Servants!?
Wait, that Mysterious Heroine X, I've seen arou- she's just another Artoria!
GAIA IS THERE A WHOLE WORLD FILLED WITH ARTORIAS!?
…all right, stay FAR away from this 'Servant Universe'.
"Valentine's after that, this time it was Alice overrunning the place with chocolate Servants because Jack skipped her tea parties one time too many…and Shakespeare was stirring things up as well, kept Alice angry longer because it was more entertaining that way."
Causing trouble and messing with people for entertainment? That author would get along well with Merlin.
…or perhaps the FAE. No. No. They'd kill and eat him for fun first.
"Had to escape a prison tower trap with Dantes' help, twisted all the Servants there…except Jeanne, she was fine. Told me about Dantes' story. Florence Nightinga- well, "Mercedes" is what she called herself, she was there too. Yeah, she was a lot more gentle back then. Shame only one person could get out of there in the end, but at least we could summon Dantes to help after."
Quite the determined one, that Cavern King. Though perhaps he should be a little more diligent with Master's mind these days.
He's got enough on his plate without haunted nightmares.
"What was after th- oh, right, meeting Jeanne Alter again! She'd created a whole bunch of Fake Servants to try and make a Harem for herself…or so EMIYA said. Starting to think he might've been onto something there. Anyway, we had to deal with all of that and help Da Vinci round up all these counterfeit heroes. At least Alter was willing to help after that, she's a pretty cute girl underneath that harsh exterior eh?"
As if we didn't have enough Servants running around with fakes.
At least none of them are Artorias.
And this 'Jeanne'...tainted Artoria does not get along with her, does she?
All right then Jeanne Alter, you can continue as you are.
"That's nowhere near all of what's happened, but it's a start at least." Fujimaru finished, slumping down, taking a breath, then fumbling in the nearby fridge for a drink to soothe his throat. He pulled out a can of fanta for himself and looked to the two.
"Anything you ladies want?"
"Nothing for me, thank you." Morgan demurred.
"I'm fine! Geez, sounds like you've had a really packed schedule, Master!" Habetrot huffed to herself.
"How are you supposed to find love if you're that busy?!"
"Well, it's not like it's hard to do anyway. Have you seen how many female Servants there are around Chaldea by now?"
"Ooooohhh! So-"
Habetrot not so subtly glanced at Morgan and winked, ignoring the return jab to the thigh.
"-anyone in particular you have your eye on? That way her dress can be prepared to perfection for when your lucky bride needs it!"
"I, er. Hmmm. I suppose-"
Despite herself, Morgan's body slowly leant itself against the counter.
"-no one really comes to the forefront right now. All in all it's been a bit too busy for romance." Fujimaru admitted.
"There's been some sparks here and there, if you could call them that, but nothing I'd feel overly comfortable really setting in stone that way, you know? It's something like "Let's get through saving the world first before settling down with someone" in my head, you see?"
"Okay." Habetrot nodded. "Guess it really is non-stop for ya around here!"
"Indeed. Why, it almost feels as if Chaldea has Calamities of their own to deal with." Morgan observed.
"Well, maybe it's not to the level of the world itself hating us….but it sure does feel like we don't get much of a break sometimes. Besides, we got to have some fun while we solved some of those mini crises, Britain's Calamities weren't at all fun to deal with."
"They were not. I would call it a near-constant scramble to put one down before more popped up as well, especially when and if a Great Calamity was looming on the horizon. Even my clones could only do much." The monarch conceded.
She popped the remainder of the pancake in her mouth and made sure to chew it thoroughly. The combination of fruit and chocolate was indeed quite enthralling.
"Good?" Fujimaru asked.
"Yes, it was. My thanks to the chef." She nodded her head.
"Perhaps, would it be too much to-"
"There you are, Master."
All of them, drawn to the new voice, turned to find a softly smiling Skadi approaching them slowly.
"Hey Skadi. Have a good rest?" Fujimaru waved to her.
"I did indeed, but I was awakened by the smell of cooking and decided to investigate…imagine my surprise to find my Master providing some food to Servants in need." She chuckled, reaching the stand.
"How very familiar. So, what is the food of choice?"
"Pancakes!" Habetrot cheered, holding up her plate.
"Want one?" Fujimaru offered.
"Well, if you're offering, then I'll gladly accept this tribute~" Skadi hummed, affecting a haughty demeanour for just a bit before letting it collapse into a smile as she sat down.
"Great, I'll get to it. You see what you want from the flavour choices and just tell me. Unfortunately we don't have any proper fruit." Fujimaru explained, moving over to turn up the simmering hotplates again.
Morgan noted Skadi's very, very small flinch at the fresh wave of heat that blasted forth from them.
"There's no need to force yourself to have a pancake. I'm sure we could find some ice cream for you instead." She offered, directing her staff at both the freezer at the back of the stand itself and the couple of ice cream shops present in the food court.
"No. It's all right." Her fellow queen assured her, waving a hand softly and casting her eyes up to the menu.
Though Morgan did not miss just how much her gaze lingered on Fujimaru as well.
"Even I can…this much is fine, isn't it? Pancakes are as sweet a treat as ice cream, I just need the right toppings. Now, which one should I choose~?"
Morgan nodded a little too stiffly, but she didn't much care by this point.
Instead, she gave her fellow Lostbelt Ruler another look…with her other eyes, this time.
"It's rare I get to experience Master's cooking. I need to take this chance!"
Quite the popular Master indeed.
Fujimaru, oblivious to the Berserker's observations, poured out a fresh ring of batter and started scraping it around the hotplate, humming merrily to himself as he made up the pancake.
"So, decided what you want yet?" He asked, as he reached for a fresh paper plate for Skadi.
"Mmmmm….are there still any caramel, chocolate and mint flavour sauces left?"
"Yep, we've got those. One chocomintamel pancake coming right up then." He winked at the Goddess, retrieving the sauces with one hand while pushing around the pancake with a spatula in the other.
"Thank you kindly Master. So, what brings you two here?" Skadi now turned to Morgan and Habetrot, leaning on the counter and looking at them curiously.
"I woke up and felt hungry, so I went to get something to eat. I found Master cooking some pancakes, so I thought I'd have one and wanted Morgan to have one too, so I went to go get her and here we are enjoying pancakes together!" Habetrot explained with a beaming smile.
"I see. Well, I've had just about all the rest I need, so I decided to give the others some privacy while I get to work."
"Work?"
"Yes, I-"
Before Skadi could finish explaining, a fresh plate was placed in front of her with a pancake on it, lavished with the trio of requested sauces.
"As ordered, bon appetit!" Fujimaru said, placing a wooden knife at her side with a flourish.
"My thanks, Master." Skadi's eyes were already gleaming at the sight of the sweet treat, and she happily started rolling it up.
"Now, as I was saying, I'm going to give our prize another look."
"How precise will this look of yours ultimately be?"
"I should be able to narrow down the building this Singularity's Grail has been stored in, given enough time. But please, feel free to trace the magic yourself if you want." Skadi offered.
Morgan waved a hand and shook her head lightly.
"That won't be necessary. I trust that your scanning spells will do more than fine enough work for our needs."
"But of course. Just who do you take me for?"
"A Goddess too taken with her sweet tooth, perhaps? Now that I think back, I've often seen you skipping straight to the cafe's sample of desserts. How many ice cream tubs have you gotten through this week?" Morgan asked, trying her hand again at teasing.
Skadi blushed pink, one of her hands going to her stomach almost unconsciously.
"...well, calories aren't an issue for Servants, you know. I'm still perfectly healthy."
"I'm quite sure. So, how many tubs?"
"...ur."
"Mmmmm?"
"F-Four." Skadi mumbled, shrinking in on herself.
"Well now, perhaps I should handle tracking the Grail after all." Morgan suggested, hoping the accompanying smile she was putting on wasn't too smug looking.
"There's no need for that. I-I can still do this much and far more easily!" The Divine Spirit insisted, puffing herself up and clenching her fists. Producing a runic portal under her free hand, she pulled Prelati's Spellbook from it. Setting it down in front of her, she started running more spells and runes over it before pushing it to the side.
She made to cut into it with her knife, before noticing Morgan, Habetrot and even Fujimaru all staring expectantly at her. Without the book to distract her, the prior conversation popped back into her memory and she slid the pancake slightly away from her.
"Oh no, please, don't stop on our account." Morgan said, smile cheekily wide.
"Yeah, don't listen to her Skadi, I'd…I'd really like to see what you think of my cooking." Fujimaru said, joining in by putting on a pleading note to his voice and widening his eyes, doing his damndest to look like a put out puppy.
"You don't want to disappoint Master now, do you?" Habetrot piled on, grinning smugly and knowingly.
"I wa- that wasn't my inten-" The Caster stammered, trying to calm her fluster. "N-No. No! Just hold on here! Wai- mmmmmuuuuu…"
Eventually she gave in, pulled the pancake back to cut a piece and popped it in her mouth. A few seconds after she started chewing the first bite, her face lit up and she made an adorable, high-pitched hum, wiggling in her seat.
"To your taste, then?" Fujimaru asked, smiling.
She didn't reply verbally, just gave him a thumbs up while continuing to take more bites.
"Can we have another, please?" Habetrot asked, holding out her plate eagerly.
"Yes please, another would be lovely." Morgan seconded, collecting Habetrot's plate and offering it to Fujimaru along with her own.
"No problem, plenty of batter left to go around." He smiled, indicating the jug that was still two thirds full, clapping his hands together, he turned to the menu.
"So, what can I get for you two this time?"
As Morgan and Habetrot both scrutinised the menu, the former slowly scratching her chin while the latter hummed, hawed and rubbed her cheeks with her hands. Before they could come to a decision, however, a new voice spoke up.
"There you are, Master."
Sigurd and Brynhild were approaching, relieved looks on their faces. The trio waved to them and they waved back.
"It's good to see you're all right. We were worried when we couldn't find you." Brynhild said.
"Sorry about that, when I got up the urge just took me and, well…" Fujimaru indicated the cart.
"How about a pancake as an apology?"
"That sounds quite grand. I can't remember the last time I saw you cooking something. What about you, my love?"
"Yes, that sounds lovely. Dear, why don't you go and tell the other knights so they won't worry where Master's gone, and keep watch over everyone who's still resting? I'll bring our pancakes to you once they're done." Brynhild suggested.
"A wonderful idea, my love. I hope you'll return soon…I never get tired of looking at your beautiful smile."
"Y-Yes, of course dear! I'll be back to you as soon as I can!" Brynhild promises, blushing scarlet and fidgeting.
The Norse couple shared silly, schoolkid-esque grins before parting. As did Habetrot, who was rocking back and forth gaping with stars in her eyes.
"WOAH! I get it now! Waaaahhh, they're so cute together! It really is proper love!"
Skadi just nodded and laughed along, while Morgan coughed politely and gave Fujimaru a pointed stare.
"Something up?"
"I wonder, perhaps, if that's wise given the…complications these two tend to have." She advised him, keeping her voice low.
"Why not have the knight stay here while the valkyrie informs the others? That way should have a, well, a flare up there'll be minimal risk to you."
"I don't think it'll be a problem." Fujimaru muttered back, smiling reassuringly.
"Bryn's been pretty good at holding it in, so to speak, while Sigurd's not here, and they won't be separated long. But if you really feel like something's going to go wrong, I won't turn down a pre-prepared spell or two. Nothing wrong with a bit of caution."
Morgan thought it over, looking from her Master to the Valkyrie a few times, before sighing and shaking her head. No use rocking the boat and being too paranoid here, especially not so soon after the far more catastrophic near-consequences of her own lack of caution.
"I will follow your lead here then, Master."
"Lovely. All right Bryn, what do you want?" Jonathan asked.
"Oh, might I try having some honey with it, my lov- I-I mean my Master?" Brynhild asked, coughing and catching herself before turning away, not wanting to look directly at him just in case.
"All right. How about Sigurd?"
"I think he'd…like some chocolate on his." She mumbled.
Morgan narrowed her eyes, humming softly to herself while debating internally. Finally, she gave in and summoned a small rune into her free hand, keeping it just out of sight.
On second thought, perhaps a little caution is warranted.
Just a little.
Skadi's runes blinked with extra light just as the Divine Spirit was about to take another bite of pancake. Setting the treat aside, she pulled Prelati's Spellbook back and inspected her trackers. A few looks over them later and she smiled.
"I have the Grail's location. We can leave for it at any time."
"Great." Fujimaru smiled, slowly pulling up the finished pancakes with his spatula and loading them onto plates. Drizzling the first with a generous amount of honey while sprinkling chocolate shavings and some nutella onto the second one, he popped knives on the plates and handed them over to Brynhild.
"Here we are. Enjoy."
"Oh, thank you Sig- Master. I'll get them to-"
"Master, we're here!"
"Bonjour, Master! There you are!"
"Tch, TOLD you he'd wandered off somewhere."
At the sounds of fresh voices, the five around the stand turned to see the rest of the Rayshift team approaching, Sigurd and Melusine in the lead while everyone else was bunched up in their own group.
Morgan's previously good mood went out the window as she spied the bug plodding along with them, instead of leaving back to Chaldea, riling up one of her knights enough to get beaten up or tripping and breaking his own neck like she'd been hoping he would.
"Everyone else was waking up once I went to watch over them." Sigurd said.
"Once I mentioned what you were doing, they all wanted a taste of your cooking as well, Master. I thought there'd be no harm in that."
"No trouble at all, don't worry about it. Though, we might be here a while if everyone wants a couple of servings each." Fujimaru said, before picking up and shaking the jug of batter, which was now a third full.
"Might need more of this, you know?"
"I'll pass." Oberon-Vortigern muttered. "Let's just get this over with already."
"I spied a perfectly well stocked dumping ground a few miles to the north, if scavenging and consuming rubbish would be more to your liking?" Morgan 'innocently' suggested.
"Go drink from a sewer hag."
"Drop dead first and I'll consider it, bug."
"I'd like some please, Master!" Melusine chirped up, jumping up and down while waving a hand in the air excitedly.
"If it's alright with you, Master, perhaps I could assist you?" Barghest suggested, stepping forward. Much as she tried to stay composed, Morgan spied a red dusting on her cheeks and her fingers tapping nervously against each other.
"Sure! Come right on in and get cosy. Two pairs of hands work better than one, right?" Fujimaru gestured to the empty space in the stand next to him.
Trying to hide how happy she was about that, Barghest hurried to join him. Habetrot watched her go with that pensive look in her eyes, which quickly shifted into realisation and glee.
"Yeah. Oh yeah. Gimme more of that girlish glee! Habenyan can definitely work wonders with you. Just the right course and I'll make a top class bride out of you! Eheheheheh."
She rubbed her hands together and giggled in a way she likely intended to be cute or, more likely, triumphant. Her choice of expression, a thin-lipped grin and narrowed eyes, turned it into something rather foreboding and sinister instead.
Morgan watched the Rider laugh like that for a good few seconds, steadily shimmying away in her seat all the while, an ancient memory swimming to the forefront.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? BY GAIA IT'S BLAND!"
"I-I-...p-please, Toto- I-I mean teacher-"
She saw that Filan had prostrated herself so thoroughly that she was essentially hugging the ground, hands out in front of her and clasped together in a desperate prayer for clemency and compassion, but none of that helped in avoiding her instructor's fury.
"HHMMMMMM!? YOU'RE ONLY SPEAKING UP NOW? WHY NOT BEFORE YOU STARTED THIS MESS!?"
By now, the Saviour had fought the worst Mors this damned island could spit out. The most violent and brutal Fae. The most deranged Nightcalls. The most desperate and broken human slaves. The strongest and nastiest Calamities short of the Greats themselves.
And yet here was Tonelico now, transfixed in shock and horror, watching helplessly as Totorot, sweet, cutesy, upbeat and ever-helpful Totorot, reduced an armoured, heavily armed Fae several magnitudes taller, larger and stronger than her, one who'd proven herself among the most fearless and stalwart warriors their army had picked up yet several times over, almost to tears.
As a matter of fact, most of their camp was now staring at what was rapidly shifting from a cooking lesson to a verbal flogging. Looking around, Tonelico saw that some were amused, some equally unnerved and others were just confused, to the point of rubbing their eyes to check if they were seeing this right.
Tonelico even more so, despite her own experience. She'd never seen Totorot this…this…rabidly aggressive before, not even when she'd first encountered the back-then more thuggish and crass Wing Clan Fae. She'd certainly had her moments of…well, battle hunger when there was a fight looming, but it wasn't anywhere near THIS bad!
Then again…
This is the first prospective bride she'd had, maybe ever! Of course she'd give it her all!
And she'd been so happy at Filan approaching her, too!
"I-I-...I just wanted to get all of the i-ingredients right, teach-" Filan stammered.
Tonelico winced as Totorot smacked the poor warrior upside the head before she could finish, glaring down at her.
"What use are ingredients if there's no seasoning in them, no proper preparation for them!? No passion!? No love!? How are your feelings supposed to truly reach your future husband if you don't pour your heart and soul into the food you make for him, huh!?"
Totorot upturned the pot of stew Filan had been working on for the past half hour, the Wind Fae jolting in place while the diminutive linen-spinner got right up in her face, glaring her down while huffing and puffing from her nostrils, acting far more like a Fang than a Wing by this point.
Separate nudges to her shoulders brought the Saviour back to action. Looking around, she found Wryneck's looming, white and grey figure bending down to whisper into her left ear, while Uther was trying to do the same with her right.
Man met Fae, gaze to gaze. As Wryneck's eyes narrowed, his claw stiffened on her shoulder and he started growling oh-so-softly, Tonelico just sighed and shook her head.
Not THIS again, please. PLEASE. Can't you get along with him for TEN minutes!?
Fortunately Uther relented, backing off and giving her a thumbs up for support, while Wryneck leant in further.
"I'm no stranger to discipline but I think this is a little too far, perhaps this calls for an intervention, Lady Tonelico?"
"Why, what a wonderful idea Wryneck!" She smiled up at the Head Fang, before pointing him towards Totorot.
"Then I leave this to the disciplinary expert!"
She'd never seen the mighty, noble wolf lose his nerve so fast. Shifting his maw into an approximation of an apologetic smile, Wryneck started backing away.
"My apologies, I recall I have Fang Clan business to tend to today than I thought. I must take my leave."
"Of course you do. All right…"
Summoning all her courage, gripping the Staff Of Selection tight, she took the deepest of breaths and put one foot in front of the other.
She was the Saviour. She was the Avalon Le Fae! She had journeyed through the worst this island could throw at her! She could do this! She would do this!
"Totorot, I really think that's en-"
Pink eyes whipped around to stare right into her soul, followed immediately by the rest of the linen spinner-turned-drill instructor, blazing with the roaring flames of purpose and conviction
"What was that, MISSY?"
And just like that, Tonelico found herself stepping back again, courage failing and terror rising in its place at the unbending steel in Totorot's voice. She looked over to Fairy Knight Galahad for support, pleading for her finest shield's help in this mini-crisis, but the pink-haired young woman just shook her head frantically.
Totorot didn't wait for them, turning back and yelling down at her student.
"START AGAIN! PROPERLY THIS TIME!"
"Y-Yes teacher!"
"Remember, HEART AND SOUL!"
"YES TEACHER!"
Shivering, her old friend's voice ringing in her ears, shaking her spine and freezing her stomach cold, Morgan shook her head to try and get some control back. What was she thinking?
Habetrot, despite all the similarities, was not the same Totorot that she knew. Hadn't seen the same hardships nor been denied her purpose for so long. There were surely plenty of brides in Proper Human History for her to spin threads and find happy endings for.
Yes, Barghest would have a kinder, more patient teacher to guide her in her journey to bridedom.
Well, perhaps just one look couldn't hu-
…all her prior hopes flickered and died once Morgan got a good look at Habetrot's eyes. Once she saw the fires burning in her irises as she kept taking glances at the Fairy Knight and rubbing her hands together.
It grew brighter still once she saw how the Fang Fae blushed at her hand brushing Fujimaru's while they both worked on separate pancakes, while the linen-spinner herself let out that chuckle again.
Oh Gaia. Oh no.
Perhaps some advance warning is in order.
And a note to self to never accept any offers of bridal training in the future.