[ The sad part is that Gray hasn't actually seen Mordred fail at anything other than social situations, so she's forced to accept that Mordred may in fact be awesome at most things. As for practicing her angry expression... staring into a mirror is off the table, but maybe she can work in a bit of self-suggestion to help her along.
Anyway time is a construct, so Gray sets down tea and a plate for Mordred: a trio of poached eggs on toasted, rustic-cut bread and seasoned cheese sauce. It's a version of Welsh rarebit, adjusted with liberty due to the slim grocery pickings nowadays. Gray thinks it's still decent, but her culinary standards have always been modest. ]
[ Watching Mordred eat is a like watching a train wreck in motion. She picks up the first piece of bread and starts tearing her way through it as if there's an invisible timer ticking down somewhere... and, of course, she talks with her mouth still half full. ]
Not bad, mouse. Not bad at all. I don't know why, but it tastes oddly cozy. [ She swallows and reaches for the tea; her eyebrows scrunched in thought as she sips. ]
Tch... if my father were here, he wouldn't care at all about the taste. He ate everything with the exact same look on his face, even though it was the dullest, most blandest shit imaginable! And we all lied like idiots and said it was good too, 'cause none of us wanted to disagree with the king! Damn! That place was really hell!
[ Having worked herself up, she slams the tea back down and rips into the next piece of toast, growling like an angry dog. ]
[ As with a proper trainwreck, Gray can't look away from the carnage. She's never watched herself eat, which is a normal thing even when you aren't averse to your own face, but she feels vaguely self-conscious now about how she must look if she has even a chance of appearing like Mordred. But she doesn't think it's a bad thing either for Mordred to have so little care for how she looks.
Gray blinks, jostled from her observation by the slam of the cup. Mordred is complaining about olden British food... It seems like a petty complaint, but then again Gray doesn't know anything about the medieval culinary condition. ]
So he wasn't the kind of king who demanded expensive ingredients...
[ A surprisingly likeable trait in a king. ]
The royal family of my Britain lived in luxury in every way, so it's strange to think of a king satisfied with poor cooking.
[ It's rare for her to be so relatively light-hearted when talking about her past — sure, she's complaining, but in an (almost) normal way. ]
I don't care about cost, but food should be more than just nutrients, dammit! I'll die if I ever have to eat one of Gawain's potato dishes again! Just thinking of his smug face makes me wanna kill him a second time!
[ Gray will casually ignore the part about the Sir Gawain violence, though she's fairly sure no one deserves to die for being too much of a potato fan. ]
Did he like potatoes that much? I never heard about that in any of his stories...
Who are you gonna believe? Some dusty old stories, or someone who was there?
He didn't stop at just potatoes, either. His whole idea of cooking was mashing everything together into one big mess no matter what the ingredients were; all while singing that damn song of his! Sure, it was funny watching the other knights' reactions, but I still had to eat it eventually! [ In her room. Alone. Like a loser. ]
And then there were the comments! "Be sure to take more vegetables with you, Sir Mordred!" "Are you eating enough, Sir Mordred? You don't seem to be growing at all..." Where the hell did he get off, actin' like he was everyone's big brother?
[ Before Gray can try to deny that she didn't believe Mordred, she's getting steamrolled by Mordred's rant. Which she doesn't mind, actually; any insight into how the Round Table actually was is interesting to her. As intimidated as she is by King Arthur, she feels she owes quite a bit to the other knights.
She finds Gawain's comments cute and wouldn't mind getting to know a doting, brotherly knight herself, but she's sure that sentiment wouldn't be welcome within Mordred's earshot. ]
[ Gray starts laughing before she can stop herself. She should be stopping herself because risking Mordred's ire in one's own house is probably a bad idea when she's shown herself more than willing to Clarent a building up, but it's just too funny. At least Gray's laugh is as polite as she is, never too loud and good-natured rather than mocking. ]
[ Immediately, she grumbles a complaint. ] You've got some real freakin' nerve, praising another Knight of the Round Table in front of me... argh, fine. Fine! I'll prove that I'm better than some idiot with muscles for brains! Get ready to be impressed!
[ She's quiet for a few moments, thinking. Then, much less confidently, her voice wobbling as she goes: ]
T... take some mashed veggies... ♪ Knead and turn, knead and turn ♪ Take some mashed veggies, mix 'em around and— SPLAT! [ Punching her open palm for emphasis. ]
[ This is the sound of Gray trying to calculate whether or not laughing would be too rude. In the end, she decides she can't laugh at Mordred's momentary bout of c*teness. ]
[ Gray blinks. She kind of knew already that Mordred didn't find her objectionable, but it's surprising to hear her outright admit a positive feeling. ]
[ Fortunately, it's hard for her to stay annoyed with Gray — so while others may have gotten further, angrier denials, Mordred lets it go with another tch. ]
Well... [ How does she say this without being discouraging. ] That whole meal... was probably enough energy to cover this conversation right now. In other words, I'd have to eat non-stop if I was relying on food alone to keep me going.
Yeah, but they'd have to use their own magical energy to do it. And since I'm so powerful, I'd drain a regular human dry before I even got around to using my Noble Phantasm. I doubt I'd be any better off than I am now, in that case.
I'd still eat just as much, though. Know why? It's all about the taste! Sandwiches! Muffins! Chocolate! Woohoo!
[ Gray smiles. Mordred can really be surprisingly cute. ]
Modern food must be very different to the food in your time. I know I was shocked when I left my village and ate at my first nice restaurant. I had no idea food could taste so complicated.
[ Or that desserts could be so delectable. ]
If you had to have a Master, what would you want them to be like?
Alright, it's decided! Once I'm king, my first order of business is gonna be getting some good food! I'll start by banning vegetables!
[ What are you, five... oh wait. At least Gray's question prompts a more serious answer, with Mordred pausing to give it some thought. ]
To begin with, they'd have to be super powerful. Prepared to do anything to win, but never stooping so low as to involve innocent people. A confident and bold exterior, balanced with a healthy pragmatism. Most importantly, they should understand their place.
In a Master-Servant relationship, I'm the one in charge... but I won't accept a simpering fool for a Master, either. They ought to be worthy of commanding me, even if it's my choice whether or not to accept those commands. You could call them a trusted advisor to the king.
[ A little more resigned: ] ... I'd also prefer someone I could get along with... but that's probably not possible for me. That's why I need to be careful about who I choose — it'd be annoying to have to kill them and start over again.
At least the other parts make sense. Someone powerful, driven, sensible, and just. (The last one surprises Gray a little, but in a good way.) All of that sounds a bit like King Arthur...
Except for the part about knowing their place. Gray never knew King Arthur, but she gets the feeling he wouldn't be content to bow to Mordred's commands for the sake of it. ]
Rin sounds like she could be a good choice. And she has experience as a Master.
[ She's not overly surprised to hear Gray suggest Rin — it's not as if she's never thought about it herself. That's why she just sighs in response. ]
Yeah, she does. And that's the problem. [ No, she won't elaborate. ] If you wanna know why, ask her about her Grail War sometime. It should be clear we aren't compatible.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Anyway time is a construct, so Gray sets down tea and a plate for Mordred: a trio of poached eggs on toasted, rustic-cut bread and seasoned cheese sauce. It's a version of Welsh rarebit, adjusted with liberty due to the slim grocery pickings nowadays. Gray thinks it's still decent, but her culinary standards have always been modest. ]
Please let me know what you think.
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Not bad, mouse. Not bad at all. I don't know why, but it tastes oddly cozy. [ She swallows and reaches for the tea; her eyebrows scrunched in thought as she sips. ]
Tch... if my father were here, he wouldn't care at all about the taste. He ate everything with the exact same look on his face, even though it was the dullest, most blandest shit imaginable! And we all lied like idiots and said it was good too, 'cause none of us wanted to disagree with the king! Damn! That place was really hell!
[ Having worked herself up, she slams the tea back down and rips into the next piece of toast, growling like an angry dog. ]
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Gray blinks, jostled from her observation by the slam of the cup. Mordred is complaining about olden British food... It seems like a petty complaint, but then again Gray doesn't know anything about the medieval culinary condition. ]
So he wasn't the kind of king who demanded expensive ingredients...
[ A surprisingly likeable trait in a king. ]
The royal family of my Britain lived in luxury in every way, so it's strange to think of a king satisfied with poor cooking.
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[ It's rare for her to be so relatively light-hearted when talking about her past — sure, she's complaining, but in an (almost) normal way. ]
I don't care about cost, but food should be more than just nutrients, dammit! I'll die if I ever have to eat one of Gawain's potato dishes again! Just thinking of his smug face makes me wanna kill him a second time!
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Did he like potatoes that much? I never heard about that in any of his stories...
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He didn't stop at just potatoes, either. His whole idea of cooking was mashing everything together into one big mess no matter what the ingredients were; all while singing that damn song of his! Sure, it was funny watching the other knights' reactions, but I still had to eat it eventually! [ In her room. Alone. Like a loser. ]
And then there were the comments! "Be sure to take more vegetables with you, Sir Mordred!" "Are you eating enough, Sir Mordred? You don't seem to be growing at all..." Where the hell did he get off, actin' like he was everyone's big brother?
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She finds Gawain's comments cute and wouldn't mind getting to know a doting, brotherly knight herself, but she's sure that sentiment wouldn't be welcome within Mordred's earshot. ]
A song... What kind of song was that?
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[ Gray didn't explicitly ask her to sing, but details. In a really bad, awful, no-good imitation of Gawain's voice: ]
Mash, mash, mash. ♪ Mash it all up, and there's nothing you can't eat! Mash, mash, mash. ♪ If you can crush it, you can eat it! Mash!
[ Despite the sing-song tone, her expression remains dour the entire time. ]
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[ But she looks at Gray's smile, and despite her Mordred-ness, she can't help breaking into one of her own. ]
... I guess it is pretty funny. Bet I could come up with a better one, though.
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[ Is she trying to goad Mordred into doubling down with another terrible song? Yes. ]
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[ She's quiet for a few moments, thinking. Then, much less confidently, her voice wobbling as she goes: ]
T... take some mashed veggies... ♪ Knead and turn, knead and turn ♪ Take some mashed veggies, mix 'em around and— SPLAT! [ Punching her open palm for emphasis. ]
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[ This is the sound of Gray trying to calculate whether or not laughing would be too rude. In the end, she decides she can't laugh at Mordred's momentary bout of c*teness. ]
Yours is more exciting.
[ It contains 100% more punching. ]
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[ No she didn't. ]
This is why I like you, mouse! You've got more sense than any of those Round Table blockheads!
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You like me?
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Hah? Don't be ridiculous! As if I'd ever like someone with my father's face! E-even if you do have a cool scar now...
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I like it too.
[ Not because it's cool, but because it's something of her face to call her own.
In any case, she decides to be kind by giving Mordred an out. ]
Do you want more food? I'm not familiar with how much Servants need to eat for energy.
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Well... [ How does she say this without being discouraging. ] That whole meal... was probably enough energy to cover this conversation right now. In other words, I'd have to eat non-stop if I was relying on food alone to keep me going.
[ Just like a certain blue Saber. ]
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[ It's a bit boggling to hear it put that way, but it does make sense given that the power and existence of a Servant is itself a minor miracle. ]
But if you had a Master, they would be able to replenish you?
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I'd still eat just as much, though. Know why? It's all about the taste! Sandwiches! Muffins! Chocolate! Woohoo!
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Modern food must be very different to the food in your time. I know I was shocked when I left my village and ate at my first nice restaurant. I had no idea food could taste so complicated.
[ Or that desserts could be so delectable. ]
If you had to have a Master, what would you want them to be like?
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Alright, it's decided! Once I'm king, my first order of business is gonna be getting some good food! I'll start by banning vegetables!
[ What are you, five... oh wait. At least Gray's question prompts a more serious answer, with Mordred pausing to give it some thought. ]
To begin with, they'd have to be super powerful. Prepared to do anything to win, but never stooping so low as to involve innocent people. A confident and bold exterior, balanced with a healthy pragmatism. Most importantly, they should understand their place.
In a Master-Servant relationship, I'm the one in charge... but I won't accept a simpering fool for a Master, either. They ought to be worthy of commanding me, even if it's my choice whether or not to accept those commands. You could call them a trusted advisor to the king.
[ A little more resigned: ] ... I'd also prefer someone I could get along with... but that's probably not possible for me. That's why I need to be careful about who I choose — it'd be annoying to have to kill them and start over again.
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At least the other parts make sense. Someone powerful, driven, sensible, and just. (The last one surprises Gray a little, but in a good way.) All of that sounds a bit like King Arthur...
Except for the part about knowing their place. Gray never knew King Arthur, but she gets the feeling he wouldn't be content to bow to Mordred's commands for the sake of it. ]
Rin sounds like she could be a good choice. And she has experience as a Master.
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Yeah, she does. And that's the problem. [ No, she won't elaborate. ] If you wanna know why, ask her about her Grail War sometime. It should be clear we aren't compatible.
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She told me a bit about it. That King Arthur participated, but was consumed by the Grail.
[ It makes her all the more grateful that her mentor ended up not joining. ]
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1/2
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preserves your typo in amber
DROPS IMMEDIATELY
:innocent:
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