[h1][color=00aeef]Ernest LaCreux[/color][/h1]

[h2]Eastern Field[/h2]


Ernest's eye visibly twitched as Chi-You proudly declared her true name to all in attendance. For a moment, the reserved necromancer stared at her in utter bewilderment, the veins at his temples bulging. He looked to the ground for a moment, his fingers tapping mercilessly at the head of his cane. This was problematic, very problematic, a huge concern even. He cursed himself silently for not having considered this. Of course she would come barreling in like a freight train. She had proven she had a mind for tactics, but she was a warrior first and foremost, and a proud one at that. The magus let out a sigh and quietly poured a glass of wine from one of the bottles Ruler had provided. He had initially planned to refrain from partaking in the refreshments, especially the alcohol, but things had changed. He took a long sip from the glass. It was wonderful wine, and he needed it at the moment.

Letting out a sigh, Ernest looked toward Airi, struggling to understand her burger-impeded speech. Eventually, she managed to overcome flame-grilled difficulty. Ernest nodded to the girl taking in everything she had to say. [color=00aeef]“Oh, right, yes. The Thrall from the Church was one of mine.”[/color] It seemed the girl was not too fond of the undead. That was normal. It would probably be easier to count the number of people who [i]were[/i] fond of the undead than to count those who were distinctly uncomfortable in the presence of things that by all rights shouldn't exist. With that out of the way, the girl introduced herself.[color=00aeef] “Izumi Airi, a pleasure to meet you.”[/color] He pondered just how true those words were. Strange as she was, at least they were on the same page. [color=00aeef]“And Ernest is fine.”[/color]

The magus watched and listened as the meeting began to unfold. It seemed their hasty plans of dealing with the Black-Haired man were doubtful to work. That wasn't all that surprising. How were they supposed to defeat something they knew nothing about? Ernest took another sip of wine. A few others had shown up now, a blue-haired fellow and his Servant, and the Servantless Master from the Church earlier. The latter began speaking with Airi. It seemed the War had not been kind to the young man. Airi stressed the importance of working together, of cooperation. It seemed she wasn't a cutthroat.

Ernest leaned into the conversation. [color=00aeef]“She's not wrong.”[/color] He spoke to Nakae while motioning toward Airi. [color=00aeef]“We're better off cooperating than not, at least for the moment.”[/color] It wasn't as f he hadn't considered the possible benefits of a few Masters or Servants being defeated in their attempt to stop the Black-Haired Man, but cooperation still took precedent, mostly because the Magus wasn't sure any one team could defeat that enigma on their own. He glanced toward Airi. [color=00aeef]“I'd be careful with that line of thought though. Relaxing around these people might prove dangerous. There are plenty who wouldn't hesitate to betray a 'friend' if it means they get ahead in this War. Really, you both should be cautious.”[/color] Ernest honestly wasn't sure why he was giving them such advice. Any Master or Servant that died only served to forward his own goal, still, unnecessary bloodshed didn't particularly suit him, and these two were scarcely more than children.

The discussion of the Black-Haired man continued. Another plan had been put forward to catch him, but it seemed shaky as well, especially once the suggested location for it proved to be another dead end. The strange Archer suggested the key was discovering the interloper's motivation. Ernest pondered for a moment. [color=00aeef]“Is it not possible that his goal is summoning the Grail? Perhaps his motivations are not too far from our own. Killing Lancer would make sense in that case, and since he is not a participant in the Grail War himself, taking a Master might allow him a chance to use it, if he could find a way to control the kidnapped Master... or perhaps take his Command Seals, though I'm not sure such a thing is possible.”[/color] 'Possible', at this point, seemed to have a very uncertain meaning.

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