Assassin knew what he was doing, at least. He? They? Dissociative identity disorder was rather difficult to classify when the second identity had a magical consciousness of its own.
Hyde's crudeness was mildly irritating, but nothing that Rumi viewed as getting worked up over. And it wasn't as if she detested his mannerisms so much as what they reminded her of. Unpleasant memories aside, Rumi simply nodded to herself and responded over the mental link.
"Fortunate for all of them that I still have my doubts as to the validity of this Grail War. Otherwise, so many in one place is simply asking for a massacre." That, and that Assassin wasn't exactly a Class suited towards surviving such a situation. It wasn't how a proper Association magus would conduct themselves, but the fact that Lord El-Melloi the First hadn't came back from the Fourth Grail War spoke volumes as to the efficacy of that particular approach.
Frankly, she wasn't intending on staying long. Or in the presence of other Masters.
<"We'll set up observation near the church. I want to at least see who else is present before we make our next move. That, and it would be exceedingly stupid to announce myself as Assassin's Master, of all Servants, in the presence of others. Do either of you boys have any objections?">The trek to the church had not proven terribly eventful, though Killian had been cautious in making sure the more identifying features of his methods of magecraft. That was one unavoidable downside to scarifying runes into his flesh, but most of it was hidden. His hands were a harder one to avoid while keeping them unimpeded, as one should in case of a sudden encounter with another Mage or, if especially unfortunate, Servant. Strolling along casually, he reached a point of relative safety that he could pause at, formally on the church grounds now. Given all parties involved were, at least thus far, playing by the rules of the War it meant he could safely wait here and summon Archer to his side, something he wasted no further time in doing so.
<"I have arrived at the Church Archer, once you arrive we will proceed. I have yet to spot anything of note during my approach."> <Of course. My apologies for the delay, but it turned out rather a fruitful diversion.> Came the Servant's response, after a moment's pause. <I'll update you when I arrive. I'm closing in on your position now, and the path forward seenms clear. Although->
There was a brief lull in his response, as if he was checking his workings.
<I can't say I'm detecting anything quite as distinct as our erstwhile guest, but seems as if we're not alone. Something just outside the Church, not quite material but not quite intangible.> Though the Servant wasn't quite able to see his fellows while they were dematerialized, it seemed his keen senses were able to perceive the way in which their sublimated presence yet distorted the air around them.
<And a woman, not too far behind you.> But it seemed there were more immediate concerns. <Be on guard. By the way she's carrying herself, she's not here on a whim.>
<"Massacre might be the most fun I have heard all day, and of course none of that is going to happen. Slap a church and these other jumped up fucks in the face, but no, we play nice since none of it may even matter."><"In this regard Master is correct, tipping our collective hand too early is only asking for an early, ignoble end to the both of us. No objections from me, it is wise to observe the quality of the character we are dealing with in the other pairings, and needlessly announcing ourselves early is unwise.">As always, Jekyll not only chastised Hyde, but kept him firmly in check right now, taking advantage of the calmness of the circumstances that kept Hyde too bored to make grabs for the control of their shared body. Still, him being this chatty was irritating, but little could be done about the matter. Hyde, for his credit, seemed begrudgingly willing to at least go along with the observation plan for right now, if for another set of reasons completely. Ones that utterly repulsed and disgusted Jekyll, the feelings of such being met with smug satisfaction from the lesser of the two, if Jekyll was to be believed, though he did nothing else to force a change of control at the current point in time.
<"Fuck, I have to agree with Doc for once? I can complain all day, but this will making hunting them later more fun, and make gutting them and stringing them up by their own gore that much more satisfying. Not like I care enough to make otherwise happen right now, all this boring walking around and pleasantries is Doc's thing. Never understood how he ever enjoyed it, especially since we are still one and the same. Even if he won't admit it. Though it looks like our spotted "><"I look forward to your briefings, then. As for the spotted individuals, the woman is the more overt concern, a sense of purpose betrays much. I will watch for her as you continue to monitor, and see what she gets up to while you position yourself as you see fit. Should she be another Master, her Servant should not be far away at this juncture."> Killian did not insult Archer's intelligence by adding needless instruction to his directions, such as statements such as 'be ready to act' and other such obviousness. The man knew he was looking for a woman of some purpose, one who had not been too far behind, and finding himself a spot to dilly dally at without standing out too much, he began observing and watching for the woman in question. Right now, he had to play things without planning too far ahead, given the number of unknowns, even with the observations being given by Archer currently. He was confident in a meeting of minds having the potential to serve them both well. His servant situation was not the most ideal, frankly, Archer was potent, no doubt, but in a contest where most Servants excelled in not only fighting in melee, but closing the gap, he would find it wise to find allies early, even if they would need dealt with later. Even if this was a faux Grail War, it would behoove him to take measures to ensure his survival, and knowledge went a long way to doing so.
<"If the situation calls for it, then by all means, feel free to indulge yourself. So long as it doesn't expose either of us."> Rumi responded to Hyde specifically, reaching the street the church was on. Not much in the way of height for vantage spots. Though if she had to choose...well, no one could fault someone for idling in a coffee shop. Shame that it had to be a Starbucks.
One order of a grande caramel macchiato later, Rumi sat down at a corner table through which she could see the church entrance out the glass storefront. She fished a paperback out of her purse, pretending to read all while keeping watch over the church out of the corner of her eye.
<"Assassin. Keep watch over the street. Given the presence of Masters within the church, there have to be Servants in the vicinity. And do let me know if you want a drink before we leave, yes?"><"I would suggest not encouraging him, when he gets out of hand things never end well for anyone involved."><"Ignore Doc, believe me, when the time comes I'll really put these fucking spirits to shame and see how much they can bleed.">Assassin, having his orders, found a bench to seat himself at, procuring a newspaper first and settling to seemingly relax and read the news. In practice, while his eyes overtly skimmed the mundane goings on worthy enough to reach the presses, every passing person was analyzed and observed carefully. Master seemed to choose a coffee shop, a Starbucks, as this day and age referred to them, which sounded like a form of needlessly gaudy advertising. A rare point both halves agreed on something, was how gaudy some advertising and modern capitalism seemed to go hand in hand. However, while on watch, the Servant spotted the scar handed individual, a likely Master, heading for the coffee shop as well. Too much innocent traffic for him to be making any sort of attack play, but still, Jekyll took the moment to warn Rumi well in advance.
<"A possible Master moving towards the coffee shop, I cannot say if he spotted you but he seems to be moving with a plan. He is the one with scarification on his hands, blue-ish hair, and an ornament hanging from his left ear, well dressed otherwise. I will be ready to respond at a moment's notice, but no sign of any other Servants yet."><"Large black coffee for us, Boss, let's see if these modern folks have figured out how to make coffee worth a damn or not."><"I spotted the woman in question, going to have a little chat with her and see what has to be said."> Killian had spotted the woman that Archer had warned him about, heading for a coffee shop. Coffee wasn't a favorite of his, but he wasn't opposed to it either. He wasn't fond of how the caffeine made him feel, but he could always get decaf while holding discussions with this woman. Entering the Starbucks, he would order a large Decaf and seat himself by the woman who had found herself quite the useful vantage to observe from. He deliberately made sure to not block her view of the church, leaning back in the chair adjacent to her table while speaking casually, taking up the age old past time of people watching, seeming to simply be passing time while his true intentions were subtly different.
"Fascinating how complete destruction doesn't even slow down the wheel of ambition, isn't it?" Ah. So this possible Master that Assassin had mentioned had her made already. Well, this wasn't entirely unexpected. Magi tended to be able to suss each other out among the mundanes. Still, at least he was being subtle about matters. How refreshing.
"Fascinating indeed." She replied in English, taking a sip of her drink. "I believe everyone involved with any semblance of a brain cell is trying to determine what to make of all this. It really was quite a mess back home when this all blew up, didn't it?"
Rumi studied the blue-haired man for a moment. No one she was particularly familiar with, even in passing at the Clock Tower. Unsurprising. The Association was large enough that past one's personal circle, it was rather difficult to pinpoint any one magus.
Someone willing to be reasonable was a breath of fresh air. One of the many reasons his family had, for the most part, operated on their own was the...peculiar nature of the various options available to an aspiring Magus in terms of allies, though such a term was deceptively ill applied. Even his dealings with the Thule Society, arguably the most prominent users of Runecraft, were by their very nature strangling it to death with their steadfast refusal to even consider cooperating with each other beyond the most formal and necessary of activities. It seemed his gamble to approach would not be wholly a waste, at least initially, given the fluent English and equal discretion shown thus far.
"A rather generous way to put things, by all accounts worth regarding it should have been a done deal. Yet here we are, like nothing had changed at all. Quite remarkable, even by the standards of what transpired." Killian had the chance to consider the woman after he spotted her and while approaching his current seating position, taking a sip from his drink while thinking. Not a member of the Thule Society, which was frankly a relief given how they behaved, which left pretty much the entirety of the Mage Association or, perhaps, one of the Far Eastern associations as possibilities, assuming she didn't simply pay lip service to an organization and operate on her own beyond that. Given her remarks, however, it was worth considering she might not regard this contest as being entirely valid, something very much worth considering by those with 'any semblance of a brain cell'.
"Determining whether or not it is worth risking being grinded to dust, to torture an already stretched metaphor of wheels, remains too early to tell. At least the choice of locale is pleasant enough, even if it runs the real risk of being little more than a sight seeing tour.""Oh?" Rumi's lips curled up ever so slightly. "Interested in the contest if it turns out to be real? While I can hardly blame you, the first was dismantled for a reason. A lesser imitation of an already-cursed original is bound to end in disaster."
Indeed, Tohsaka had
quite a bit to say about the entire situation whenever she was asked. It was why Rumi herself was so cautious about the Sako war, really. And speaking of Sako...
"Believe me, you could do far better in terms of sightseeing than here. Sako is something of a dead-end backwater, really. There are far better options in every regard, whether you enjoy the metropolis or the countryside. This may really just be the worst of both worlds. Even Fuyuki to the north had more going for it."
"A guarded interest in seeing how it plays out, if you will. Nothing worth gambling life and vital limb over, at least not with what has been revealed so far." Killian kept a pleasant tone the entire time, and by all accounts it was genuine at the moment. The contest had not yet started, so there was no sense in driving wedges quite yet. From the sounds of it she wasn't exactly keen on making any undue risks either, something he could work with for now. Her casually disparaging remarks on Sako being such a backwater and not worth the time got a quiet chuckle from the man.
"I shall take your word for it that there are significantly better places to tour, perhaps when this inevitably falls apart and comes to naught I can see some of the more interesting locations then, if this is truly such an irredeemable backwater. Alas, I am at least obligated to be here until the contest, or at least my role in it, has played out. I might stick to the more tourist friendly destinations, at least without native guides, as I understand it certain locations very much do not appreciate outsiders poking their nose in, looking to get it clipped off." He had no problem letting the woman ramble on as she saw fit, the more she talked the more information he could potentially gather. Even if it wasn't immediately relevant to the Grail War, true or not, it wouldn't hurt to know just in case.
Ah. So this was going nowhere quickly. Rumi took another long sip of her coffee, the entrance of the church still in the corner of her eye. That was the problem when two seemingly reasonable people were in one place, wasn't it? Both weren't stupid enough to reveal information they didn't have to.
"Oh, don't let me keep you. I doubt either of us has much of import to say to each other at this point. At least, not until we each have more information to share. Regardless, it seems we're working along similar lines. By all means, I won't interfere with you so long as you do the same for myself."
Shame, it seemed the woman was smart enough to not reveal her hand too early. She would be dangerous indeed should this contest be worth pursuing to the end, but that was to be determined. For now, he would be content to accept a mutual understanding to not obstruct the other, at least for the early motions of the impending War. Still, no sense overstaying his welcome and souring a potential avenue he could utilize in the coming days, rather, he inclined his head slightly before taking another long sip from his coffee.
"I won't keep your attention needlessly then, and a mutual agreement to not obstruct the other suits me for now as well. With that, do enjoy your novel, it is a lovely day for such a thing." He wasn't going to overtly call her out on watching the church, it was a good viewpoint for it, but he indeed made himself scarce, strolling back outside while mentally contacting Archer once again, unaware of the eyes on him as Assassin watched him while monitoring the street, Hyde impatiently waiting for his coffee.
<"The woman will prove to be one worth keeping an eye on as temporary alliances and rivalries form, we will enter the Church from another angle so she does not spot you. No need to tip our hand as to who you are quite yet, not until we know who she commands ideally."> 
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