>>@ENTERTHEDRAGON | @ALL

[ryuji]

Anyone else getting a massive wave of culture shock? It's totally kicking my ass right now. I got a nice little gig set up here above a bar, but the catch is I gotta work. But yeah, people are coming and going like crazy around here. Weird outfits, weird hairstyles. Seeing everyone go crazy about freedom is pretty freakin' cool. Nobody needs some stuffy old dude sittin' in a golden high chair sucking his royal thumb and giving out orders all the time.

Not gonna lie, I've seen some pretty big palaces before, but I totally wanna raid the hell out of Versailles.

So anyway, is it like this all the time when you guys get a new mission? I've never been to Paris before, but I kinda know what it looks like from pictures back in my own time? Universe? Good luck getting your head around that shit, it's way too deep for me. I was all excited to see the Eiffel Tower, but apparently it's not gonna exist for like... a hundred years.

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[chariotry]

[ Well, leaving that aside.... Achilles lets out a deep sigh, reaching up to rub at the side of his neck as he looks over at Ryuji.

Guess the mood is gone. ]

Shall we continue...? [ He hasn't noticed his horse has taken off, yet. ]

[ryuji]

Are you forreal?

[The mood is absolutely gone. Ryuji looks down at the floor, at the sides of the hotel room smashed into the ground, the gaping hole in front of them where someone had just been flung into, and then the absence of Mordred, a whirlwind force to be reckoned with in and of herself. He wanted to press the question again- since it looked like they had some familiarity between them, but he's also notices that a certain steed is nowhere in sight.

Huh?

Must've ran off in the middle of the heat of things. This just gets it into Ryuji's head that whatever they had between them was probably... not fated to be. Or something like that.]

Hey, Keraunos is missing.

[chariotry]

[ His immediate refusal is met with Achilles' eyes shifting away sheepishly. He may be full of himself, but he's not so oblivious that he can't catch onto the lack of mood.

But that's easy to fix. Only... ]

Keraunos? [ He echoes him, eyes widening a fraction. Looking towards the window, he notices the missing horse and claps a hand against his neck. ]

Hahhh dammit... [ Looks like he'll have to cut this night short. ]

Then, another time.

[ryuji]

[He's caught between asking if Rider needs help finding his ride. This has been... one hell of a night, and as he looks over to the table with the bread and the cheese, he notices debris has seeped into the charcuterie and made it unfit for consumption. No food, confused as all hell with his own sexuality, and a gaping hole in the wall that he doesn't have the money to pay for when the hotel owner inevitably comes and asks for it in the morning. Maybe he should cut his losses short and just pack it in for the night.

But he's also not that type of person.]

C'mon. Let's go find your horse.

[chariotry]

You'd like to come with? [ He sounds doubtful, but there's an air of amusement in his voice, like he's partly impressed.

After all, the boy had been through a lot. He's determined to not be left sitting idle. He must be restless.

He recognizes it in him because he's aware of that quality within himself. ]

Alright.

[ryuji]

[Restless doesn't even begin to describe Ryuji at the best of times. It's not even the fear of being abducted again, because he's pretty sure he's gained enough confidence to walk back to the bar if he had to, alone. It's the issue of walking along with all those thoughts stirring up there and having to deal with the inner dialogue that followed.

Achilles though. He doesn't know what to think about him; he feels unreadable to someone like Ryuji. Which is unsettling, but, he doesn't dwell on it. And also a little ironic. They were both of the chariot arcana, they should be more alike than different, right?]

Yeah, sure. If... uh. If you'd have me, of course.

[chariotry]

[ He doesn't make a flirtatious comment even if the opportunity presents itself. The kid is being sincere, after all. ]

Just try to keep up. [ He doesn't have sufficient reserves of mana, so expending too much energy is out of the question, but he's still quick. He'll lead the way out of the hole, expertly weaving through the debris and gracefully landing on his feet on the outside road. He'll begin jogging as soon as he's outside, leaving Ryuji the responsibility of catching up. ]

[ryuji]

[Running.

This was something he could do. This was something that pulsated through his blood, got him going when he was down. He catches up to Achilles, the grace of the wind softly traveling its fingers through his hair. How many times had he done this when he was angry, over excited, needed something to focus on? How many times had he escaped from his shitty home life into pounding pavement as much as his body could handle? Achilles may be keeping a capacitator on his mana expenditure, but Ryuji? Man, he could run like this for a good long while before his leg eventually cramped, locked up and started to remind him that... sadly, he couldn't do what he loved to do as well anymore.

He's looking around for the signs of the horse, trying to be perceptive and spot any irregularities along the way, but honestly? He's mostly just blazing and keeping up with Achilles, paying attention to where his position was, angling to figure out how much it would take for him to succeed past him. It's not a race. But he hasn't felt this good doing it in quite a while. No thinking, just the air slapping softly against his cheeks.]

[chariotry]

[ Achilles won't pay Ryuji much attention as they begin to jog through the streets. He's focused on whistling, shoving his finger and thumb between his lips to let out a noise that he knows his horse will respond to.

So yeah, Ryuji will probably have a window of opportunity to pass him, if he decides to try for a sprint. ]

[ryuji]

[Zoom zoom.

Eat my dust, Rider.]

1/2

[chariotry]

[ H-HEY... ]

[chariotry]

[ Oh no you don't.

Achilles is competitive to a petty degree. He'll be dashing past Ryuji in a single bound, laughing heartily...

His pace isn't reaching inhuman levels yet, so if Ryuji pushes himself he might be able to keep up until he eventually loses his breath. ]

[ryuji]

[He hears that laugh as a challenge and matches it, thrusting himself forward to meet the intensity and effort that the competition is putting forth between them. Man- Achilles can run fast, but Ryuji's giving it his all as they both give chase. His chest is pounding, the air entering his lungs is depleting, and he's having to make jumps forward to dodge out of the way of shit in the streets.

He reaches his maximum point not too far after, and comes skidding to a halt in front of another street, already a good deal of distance away from where the hotel was. Leaning over, he catches his breath.]

Huh... huh.... huff... Oh, man. That was good.

[Ryuji grasps onto his chest, his heart pounding furiously. This felt so good. He leans up against something, regaining some composure, thinking he's on stable ground before the very thing that he had used for support starts moving, inching away at the touch to it.

Goddamnit, Keraunos, give him a second to not pass out.







Wait a second.]

[chariotry]

[ Achilles might have slowed down the moment he actually noticed the horse, giving the human boy the opportunity to catch some much needed oxygen. Maybe he wasn't being fair to the poor kid, but Achilles revels in victory and isn't the type to pull his punches in the first place.

He's standing in front of him as he leans down to brace himself against his thighs, arms crossed and grinning from ear to ear. ]

You found her. [ He laughs again. ]

[ryuji]

[He's clearly frustrated at Achilles for having bested him, but he also has no reason to believe, at this point, that the other is anything other than a COST soldier like he is. Ryuji can feel the teasing coming straight towards him and when he catches his breath, he's just going to....


Reach out....


And push him at his shoulder.]

No shit.

[chariotry]

[ Which... doesn't do anything. Achilles is a brick wall.

He laughs again, reaching out to take the horse by its reins. ]

You pushed yourself, didn't you? I told you I was a Heroic Spirit... There was no chance of you being able to keep up with me.

[ryuji]

[Finally, he starts to stretch back up to a standing position. He's not kicking himself over his capabilities or anything like that, but he also doesn't have enough exposure to what Heroic Spirits are capable of, so he thought that this would be a race he could actually win. His heart rate coming down, he feels his leg start to cramp a little. That's what he's more annoyed about, honestly. He told Akira once that he felt weak as shit and wanted to train to get back into the hang of this. Obviously, it wasn't enough.]

Shit, I really gave it my all. [Well, at least his horse is safe and sound and not absconded with by someone who could've stolen it or anything.]

And your horse looks okay. No signs of Grand Theft Equestrian.

[And just because it felt backhanded to insult him like the cocky asshole he was-]

Dude, you ain't got a damn ounce of shame in ya.

[chariotry]

Why should I feel any shame over being the greatest? [ LMAO. He smiles at him without any ounce of sympathy or pity.

Despite the fact that they're from entirely different eras, it seems achieving greatness is a universal motivation. He sees pride reflected in the boy's gaze, understanding where it comes from. He pushed himself to his limits and that in itself is a rush. ]

You should get home, little rabbit.

[ryuji]

[Achilles.







Achilles, please.]

Yeaaaaah. My point's pretty much proven.

[Using a local landmark as a compass, he can vaguely figure out what his next steps are. It's gotten well past the twilit hours where the seedy things are bound to happen, somewhere around the bend of morning that will mean Ryuji has to be up in a few hours to scrub floors, un-sticky-fy the tables, and start prepping the bar for his own kind master. It's going to be a rough morning ahead.

Even rougher as he starts to think about the things that happened between him and Achilles tonight. He's got a lot swimming up there in his head.

Doesn't help, too, that this nickname of his is just... the worst.]

Mmn. Yeah, shit. It's like... way past an acceptable bedtime. Well... uh... [Thanks for the makeout session?] Seeya round dude. Ja, Rider.

[He misses having pockets in his clothes. And now that Achilles has found his horse, he doesn't really have a reason to be around, so he wipes his forehead to get rid of some stray beads of sweat culminating at the crown of his forehead, and starts heading off back to the tavern.]