[color=6ecff6][center][h2]Cleo Forsberg[/h2][/center][/color]
[color=6ecff6][center][h3]Summoning her Servant; Preparing for war[/h3][/center][/color]

Cleo fought not to flinch as the hand lashed out at her, her entire body tensing up at the sudden action even as Shielder’s grin and laughter seemed to suggest he meant her no harm. She was nearly knocked off her feet by the heavy blow to her back, managing to limit herself to a small stumble as her Servant’s demeanour changed entirely in a moment.

It seemed her gamble had paid off; she suspected that Ajax was someone who would respect her attempt to push back against him, that he wanted a Master who could stand alongside him in this war as something like an equal. As much as that was possible with Servant and Master at least. Alternatively, he was testing her because he was hoping to find a Master who was meek and easily controlled. She attempted the former because she would not accept the latter, but if she had been wrong then her participation in this war would have ended before it had truly begun.

[color=6ecff6]“I am Cleo Forsberg.”[/color] Since she had answered his question, it was only fair that she answer his own. [color=6ecff6]“My family deals in fate, in directing the course of events to suit our purposes; as far as this war is concerned, I am a shaman and a diviner.”[/color] That should be enough to satisfy his curiosity for now. In time he would realise what it meant to have a Master who was adept at manipulating spiritual energy in a war fought between spirits.

Turning her head to the side Cleo also looked out the moderately sized (to her) window, making note of the fact that dusk seemed to have given way to the encroaching night while she had been summoning Shielder. [color=6ecff6]“This is our first night of the war Shielder. Do you wish to sit it out until I am better prepared, or do you want to see who your opponents are?”[/color]

[@Crusader Lord]

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[color=82ca9d][center][h2]Archer Actaeon[/h2][/center][/color]
[color=82ca9d][center][h3]First meetings are sometimes awkward[/h3][/center][/color]

Archer stepped aside when indicated to by his Master, walking outside the boundaries of his summoning circle as Mercedes began to clear away the chalk lines and mystical paraphernalia. With the mage distracted, Archer turned his back to her and moved towards the single window in the room, standing to the side of the window frame he looked down on the street below without exposing himself to anyone looking up at him in turn.

[color=82ca9d][i]I would tell you my name if I could Master, if it wouldn’t turn me into an animal to do so. I still remember what it felt like to be torn apart, body and soul, by the hounds I had so dutifully trained; it’s not something I’d like to experience again.[/i][/color] He didn’t turn away from the window to face Mercedes as she spoke, though he listened to every word carefully. The streets were emptier now than they would be during the day, but some people still braved the cold and it was these people that Archer kept his watchful eye on [color=82ca9d][i]I can’t even explain to you why I can’t speak, not yet at least.[/i][/color]

When the mage pulled her cloak about herself Archer pulled himself away from his vigil and followed her out of the room; he disappeared into his immaterial form before they reached the street, following behind his Master invisibly and still keeping a watchful eye on everyone around them. [color=82ca9d][i]You’re a hunter as well; maybe that’s why I was summoned to you in particular. I can send my hounds to search for our enemies while you show me our base but… I can’t even tell you this much.[/i][/color]

[@Yankee]