Consider it the experience of a Heroic Spirit -- so yes, I know a fair bit. Which is why it could be a number of things lurking about.
[A sigh]
How troubling... if I had access to my usual abilities, this wouldn't pose such a problem, but currently I will not be able to protect you should an incident happen.
Yeah, that would do it. [...but now he looks curious. At least he's not wandering off to keep getting drunk so that's nice, and the conversation seems to be helping bring him back to focus and not thinking about what just happened.] What are your usual abilities anyway? If everything's turned off, there must be a way to get them back later.
but for a moment, Tamamo's eyes shift to the side, looking through Junpei's cheek instead of his eyes
only to slide back in place with barely a pause]
That would be beneficial, wouldn't it? [She drums her fingers against the bedsheets] I'm proficient in various magics... I suppose you humans would consider it witchcraft of a sorts.
[Head tilting]
I could take your form under normal circumstances, though I do not prefer such methods. Or curse another and sap their energy.
[...what if he just kind of. Tips over onto his back so he's laying down? He still has a headache from the room, it's fine. But also, of course he faux-married a witch. Of course that happened to him.]
Witchcraft. [It's repeated in the low, interested tone. It's a little uncertain but mostly just repeating to memorize that.] They really had to go all out to take everything from us. Is it just because you're a servant? Or were you a witch before that?
In any case, where my powers begin and end is a hazy subject, even for me. All I'm certain of is that I can't access anything while I'm here. Even my natural strength has been neutered. I'm effectively as human as you are.
[...Tamamo?? That gets him to open an eye and turn his head to look at her. Leg. I guess. Since he's still laying down and she's sitting up. Whatever, it's fine.]
And these? [A gesture to the ears and tail.] Unaffected still?
[He's going to get pummeled by all three of her tails at once. They are indeed as soft as they look, even when aggressively smacking against this man's face]
It's not like tha--gah! [Glad we have two threads where she's suffocating him somehow. There's a soft sort of muffled protest when the tails fan over his face, but here we are. Junpei deserves every bit of this and while her tails are busy hitting him in the face his hand comes up to pet one of them anyway. Huh. Fluffy.]
I kinda meant the ears, but this works. [...it was 50/50 which one he meant, but hey.]
[Eventually she'll stop beating him up with her furry appendages, noting that he does get a chance to pet one. There, she's made good on her offer. Smoothing down the fur, the tails wrap back around her, almost prim and proper]
I'm not an easy woman, you know.
[She says after having made a contract with him from a 10 minute conversation, shut up, let her live her life]
You'll have to work hard and be a sufficient Master before that~ And perhaps not get stuck in another locked room without bringing me along.
Are you now? Well then, I look forward to how you intend to impress me.
[SORRY SIR, she's not expecting much in that department (whatever department that even is); these cute ears are off limits until then.]
Rest assured, I'll be equipped to handle whatever we may find. Though that reminds me...
You've implied that you've been in these types of games before, have you not? Hence whey you are accustomed to escape rooms. Are there any similarities between this "game" and your last?
[Quiet again. His expression shifts to something a little more frustrated and distressed, mostly because he's mad all over again. ]
...wake up in a locked location with no memory of how you got there and with an item attached to you that dictates how you get around the facility. Here, it's the clamshells. Back there, it's a bracelet. [You know. Like the black watch he's always wearing.] You're usually with a group of people that you don't know or that you just met and you're tasked with figuring out your own survival. There are always locked rooms with puzzles for information and traps set to kill you. And it's usually because whoever brought you here needs you to make sure things go exactly according to their plans.
[It's said with a layer of finality as she watches him from her vantage point]
I would like to think you were brought here for your experience, but it is possible that fate is simply cruel.
[She does not know it, but her words will echo the ugly sentiment in the next day's announcement:
Sometimes... Life is simply unfair.
Even still, there is a gentle sternness to her now, as she reaches out and rearranges his bangs out of his eyes.]
... Be that as it may, your soul is heavy. The journey will only grow more wearisome for you especially, so rest for now. I will remain here until you are asleep.
[She has no further questions for today. She simply bids him to sleep, if he can.]
[Is it unfortunate luck? He thinks to maybe ask her the question that always sort of settles in the back of his head. "Do you believe in fate?" It's hard to say what's fate and what's just history that was predetermined, but...maybe that's why fate exists.
Likewise, he doesn't know it but those words will repeat and remind him of a circumstance from not too long ago. It's something he thinks of now, too, as she speaks of fate.
"Life is simply unfair...don't you think?" "I require all of you to take part in a game. With the fate of you, me, and the human race in the balance."
Even further back, there's something else that makes him think about his fate here.
"I mean to have you participate in a game. Some of you, I know, are familiar with this game. It is a game...where you will put your life on the line."
Was this game just another chain of events he never asked for?
The anger in his expression seems to dissipate and give way to surprise when her hand moves and fixes his bangs. The words don't do much to change that either, and the look he gives her is unreadable at best.
"What...is she doing?" It's a question he won't ask even if he thinks it to himself. And yet, he knows she's right. The game's begun and even without the rules at-hand, he'll have to figure it out.
...god the whole thing is exhausting. So, yeah, he kind of just looks at her with that same unsure expression before he closes...uno eye. He also turns to show her his watch so she can see the time.]
...twenty minutes. Half an hour at the most. [So. Normally he'd bail, but he figures he should try to push his own limitations of trust to make this Master-Servant thing work.] Half an hour, and I'll have to go back out there. Okay?
[He already knows he won't sleep, but he should maybe get his head together before going to try and update other people.]
[Nothing more is said on her end. Junpei's allowed privacy in the form of Tamamo facing away, her gaze falling on something far away that he can't see, but she'll remain there until the thirty minutes are up]
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no subject
[A sigh]
How troubling... if I had access to my usual abilities, this wouldn't pose such a problem, but currently I will not be able to protect you should an incident happen.
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Yeah, that would do it. [...but now he looks curious. At least he's not wandering off to keep getting drunk so that's nice, and the conversation seems to be helping bring him back to focus and not thinking about what just happened.] What are your usual abilities anyway? If everything's turned off, there must be a way to get them back later.
no subject
but for a moment, Tamamo's eyes shift to the side, looking through Junpei's cheek instead of his eyes
only to slide back in place with barely a pause]
That would be beneficial, wouldn't it? [She drums her fingers against the bedsheets] I'm proficient in various magics... I suppose you humans would consider it witchcraft of a sorts.
[Head tilting]
I could take your form under normal circumstances, though I do not prefer such methods. Or curse another and sap their energy.
no subject
Witchcraft. [It's repeated in the low, interested tone. It's a little uncertain but mostly just repeating to memorize that.] They really had to go all out to take everything from us. Is it just because you're a servant? Or were you a witch before that?
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[Did she just ignore every question he gave her to demand on of her own?
Yea.
Yea she did]
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In all seriousness:]
I grew up there for a while. [So yes.]
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[Closing her eyes and just. moving on.]
In any case, where my powers begin and end is a hazy subject, even for me. All I'm certain of is that I can't access anything while I'm here. Even my natural strength has been neutered. I'm effectively as human as you are.
no subject
And these? [A gesture to the ears and tail.] Unaffected still?
no subject
launched out of her nonchalance, Tamamo's face flattens with an exaggerated sigh, and she mutters mostly to herself]
Ironic, isn't it? Stripped of everything I am but left with these trinkets. A cruel joke the gods play upon me!
[What. does that mean??? Who the fuck knows, she ain't explaining.]
You'll just have to consider these accessories meant to highlight my cuteness, Master.
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Can I touch them? [He kind of just wants to see if they're really real but he's enough of a gentleman not to just, like, pet her. It's fine.]
1/2
[Lords above he shocked her into silence
for approximately .0005 seconds]
Master!
[Craning her neck so she can stare down at him, a hand pressed to her chest]
I did not think you were some common louse, daring to ask a woman if you might touch her gloriously fluffy tails! Pervert! Ecchi!
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[He's going to get pummeled by all three of her tails at once. They are indeed as soft as they look, even when aggressively smacking against this man's face]
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I kinda meant the ears, but this works. [...it was 50/50 which one he meant, but hey.]
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[Eventually she'll stop beating him up with her furry appendages, noting that he does get a chance to pet one. There, she's made good on her offer. Smoothing down the fur, the tails wrap back around her, almost prim and proper]
I'm not an easy woman, you know.
[She says after having made a contract with him from a 10 minute conversation, shut up, let her live her life]
You'll have to work hard and be a sufficient Master before that~ And perhaps not get stuck in another locked room without bringing me along.
no subject
Never thought you were. [That is a lie but he likes keeping his eyes, thank you.] You don't think I'm up for the challenge?
[...but ah.] Whenever I find another door I can open, you'll come with me. I can't guarantee we'll like what we find, but it's important.
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[SORRY SIR, she's not expecting much in that department (whatever department that even is); these cute ears are off limits until then.]
Rest assured, I'll be equipped to handle whatever we may find. Though that reminds me...
You've implied that you've been in these types of games before, have you not? Hence whey you are accustomed to escape rooms. Are there any similarities between this "game" and your last?
no subject
...wake up in a locked location with no memory of how you got there and with an item attached to you that dictates how you get around the facility. Here, it's the clamshells. Back there, it's a bracelet. [You know. Like the black watch he's always wearing.] You're usually with a group of people that you don't know or that you just met and you're tasked with figuring out your own survival. There are always locked rooms with puzzles for information and traps set to kill you. And it's usually because whoever brought you here needs you to make sure things go exactly according to their plans.
So...yeah. I'd say there's a similarity or two.
no subject
Your luck is most unfortunate, Master.
[It's said with a layer of finality as she watches him from her vantage point]
I would like to think you were brought here for your experience, but it is possible that fate is simply cruel.
[She does not know it, but her words will echo the ugly sentiment in the next day's announcement:
Sometimes... Life is simply unfair.
Even still, there is a gentle sternness to her now, as she reaches out and rearranges his bangs out of his eyes.]
... Be that as it may, your soul is heavy. The journey will only grow more wearisome for you especially, so rest for now. I will remain here until you are asleep.
[She has no further questions for today. She simply bids him to sleep, if he can.]
no subject
Likewise, he doesn't know it but those words will repeat and remind him of a circumstance from not too long ago. It's something he thinks of now, too, as she speaks of fate.
"Life is simply unfair...don't you think?"
"I require all of you to take part in a game. With the fate of you, me, and the human race in the balance."
Even further back, there's something else that makes him think about his fate here.
"I mean to have you participate in a game. Some of you, I know, are familiar with this game. It is a game...where you will put your life on the line."
Was this game just another chain of events he never asked for?
The anger in his expression seems to dissipate and give way to surprise when her hand moves and fixes his bangs. The words don't do much to change that either, and the look he gives her is unreadable at best.
"What...is she doing?" It's a question he won't ask even if he thinks it to himself. And yet, he knows she's right. The game's begun and even without the rules at-hand, he'll have to figure it out.
...god the whole thing is exhausting. So, yeah, he kind of just looks at her with that same unsure expression before he closes...uno eye. He also turns to show her his watch so she can see the time.]
...twenty minutes. Half an hour at the most. [So. Normally he'd bail, but he figures he should try to push his own limitations of trust to make this Master-Servant thing work.] Half an hour, and I'll have to go back out there. Okay?
[He already knows he won't sleep, but he should maybe get his head together before going to try and update other people.]
no subject
As you wish, Master.
[Nothing more is said on her end. Junpei's allowed privacy in the form of Tamamo facing away, her gaze falling on something far away that he can't see, but she'll remain there until the thirty minutes are up]