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Priscilla     For this mildly rash and barely considered outing, essentially in the vein of desperately needing something else to do and pouncing on the brief window of free time, Priscilla has successfully reserved quite the space.

    A private beach on a small island that would no doubt be extremely prime real estate or constant holidare fare were anyone allowed to have something Priscilla wants, even if just for the time being, is the assigned destination. It isn't tremendously far from the shore of some mainland or another, decently visible on the horizon, and accessible in fifteen minutes by speedboat or so. It's perfect weather --the kind that's so perfect that she might have searched for a place *with* perfect weather first before having Concord travel agents book the entire thing. The waves on the inland beach side of the island barely exist, breaking on the sheer and rocky seaside direction, and it's exactly as perfectly sunny as anyone could ask for. No bugs either, somehow.

    The beach is pretty broad too, a long and gentle slope with sand that's so soft and fine that it's halfway to white rather than a strong yellow. Upland from there, it's just as perfectly green, covered in sub-tropical vegetation that hasn't been cut or landscaped in a very long time, save for a single, narrow path to a little white bungalow of indeterminately southeastern style, with an attached storage almost as big as it is, with pretty much all the amenities a tour group, or personal hobbyist who decided to live out here, could want for killing time and having parties outdoors. The edge of where the trees start is also nice and shady, where they lean out far and hang towards the sun in the east.

    There is also a small dock, that does indeed have at least one boat tethered, though it's a sleek, top of the line, black and gold Concord private issue from one of their big contractors. Basic things like tables, benches, minifridges, beach shovels, and various seaside odds and ends have been laid out already (albeit, they're all fancy glass tops or baroque silver dealies instead of cheap cloth and plastic), though there's been very little effort to fill any of the fridges since Gilgamesh is obviously coming anyways, and it'd be essentially pointless to pack anything store bought for that reason. Someone's even gone out of the way to sweep shells and rocks from most of the sunny, east side, though it gets a little rougher and wilder if one takes a walk all around the perimeter, taking probably about an hour at a leisurely pace.
Gilgamesh      The King of Heroes *is* coming, and the King of Heroes *does* bear gifts.

     He arrives, mercifully enough, in a swimsuit. Someone, probably not Enkidu, must've persuaded him to do at least that much. It's not much of a swimsuit - it's most definitely a banana hammock, or a speedo, or whatever term one might choose to call something extraordinarily revealing on a man - but he is not, in fact, naked. This compromise presumably still leaves enough of his Literally Perfect Body flaunted that he doesn't mind a scrap of unnecessary modesty. It is possible he did this for Priscilla and Rhongomyniad more than anybody else or any argument, and whoever *made* the argument for his swimsuit probably suggested that both of them had some sense of modesty and thus he might not want to offend it.

     He also arrives on a flying fucking airship, because of course he does.

     The Vimana parks above the beach. He hops down, and it vanishes back into the Gate of Babylon, where it will be forgotten about until someone reminds him of its existence. Immediately, he takes in the surroundings.

     "Acceptable!"

     "Indeed, even good!"

     That's pretty high praise from the King. He walks over to investigate the basic things that have been laid out. On the one hand, this is all basic garbage, and he is almost compelled to replace it. On the other hand, Priscilla went to all this effort, and he's nothing if not weak to the two part-dragon goddesses that are the entire reason he's here.

     So instead of doing that, he does exactly what is expected of him, and produces a lavish, ridiculous meal more or less out of a tablecloth that he snaps and lays out over the table. It is a meal of supernatural origin, with hydra, leviathan, ziz, roc, all manner of mythological monster carved to bits and served up for the palettes of those who have not gotten to experience eating with the majestic King of Heroes before.

     Now, at last, the King crosses his arms, and waits.
Bedivere     Knights are famed across the world for their chivalry, their poise and grace, their exquisite armor- except they were also fucking slobs who just ate hunks of meat with their hands a lot of the time, if we're being honest. The sandwich hadn't even been invented. Imagine.

    Bedivere stands before the slowly simmering and frankly unnecessarily gigantic grill, lit with Gawain's aid, turning meat. He has a baby blue hawaiian shirt on with white flowers - lilies in fact but don't tell the hawaiians - and a slick pair of riding shades on. In one hand, he holds a spatula, the other is Airgetlam, each of them alternately turning steaks, hamburgers, even ribs and kebabs with an eye for perfectly done. He wears an unusually dazzling smile for the otherwise fairly soft man. He is not wearing an apron, evidently unbothered by the heat and grease.

    His eyes do however turn to the unnecessary Flying Golden Douchebag Chair arrival and a small frown creases his lips a moment. Ostentatiousness is always cause for worry, but for now, he has his meats and nobody has gotten into a fistfight just *yet*.
Priscilla     Priscilla is obvious here, although emerging from the shadey trail when people arrive. Contrary to some expectations, she is not wearing an ultramodest one piece, or anything with frills, because a) she really is far too grown up for that, and b) Anor Londo has "sunny fashion" and not "seaside fashion". A first time actually picking out a swimsuit (rather, having a bunch picked out for her and vetoing 99 of them and giving a raise to whoever got the one she liked the most) did not equate to an embarrassingly conservative one. A notch down from the kind of thing her mom rocks in summer, but culturally, they ain't no stranger to two pieces.

    It's white (like actual white, not her never-seen-a-tan-in-her-life white skin) with understated gold trimming that might actually be gold, comprised primarily of a criss cross top and sarong bottom, obviously with a dive for tail. She even got a beach flower hair ornament, except instead of a proper tropical flower pin, it's an obscure item she's had forever, with petals apparently made of solidified moonlight. She doesn't even look uncomfortable wearing it. Just hot. There's at least one umbrella stuck in the sand, though they're more of a brooding oujo #mood given it has to be Concord fancy and all.
Gawain Gawain is here, because...he's not sure, he heard 'Rhongomyniad and Bedivere and Lancelot going to a beach party' and decided he wanted to come, completely unaware that Gilgamesh was trying to have a private retreat and was only letting other people come due to magnanimity. The Knight of the Sun is shirtless with a white beach towel around his shoulders, blue trunks with golden lines to keep him modest, and a pair of floral flipflops. He's helped Bedivere light the grill, greeted everyone warmly, and now he is disappearing towards the sand to start a great project.

A sand castle. Grabbing a shovel and a bucket, Gawain starts making tiny sandcastle towers, trying to build a replica of what he remembers Camelot looking like. It's probably going to take a while.
Lancelot du Lac      The beach. A place where one can relax and unwind, though honestly, Lancelot prefers the lakeside a bit more. He's not really one to complain though, since locations like these are always a good place to meet beautiful women, and since his king is here, he has all the more reason to take this vacation.

     Except apparently, this Priscilla woman had rented out the entire beach, so his exposure to the fairer sex is apparently going to be drastically lower than he had hoped. A shame, really, but he's not one to let his disappointment show.

     Arriving right on time, the Round Table's most Perfect Knight looks a tad different than usual. His skin is a couple shades darker than it probably should be given his French heritage, revealing that the Heroic Spirit of the Lake had set aside time from his busy schedule to get a tan at a salon. Aside from that bit though, he arrived in exactly what he promised he would wear. Casgil branded clothing. Specifically a unbuttoned Casgil shirt and a pair of Casgil trunks. He's pulls the look off rather well, and is probably quite stunning, though he doesn't really hold a candle to the King of Hero's godlike charisma.

     Bringing nothing but a pair of sunglasses and some sunscreen with him, Lancelot decides to spend his time with his fellow knight. Specifically Bedivere in this case, given that being around equally attractive people tends to draw attention. He really is kind of the worst.

     "Busy as always Sir Bedivere, even when you should be relaxing... I merely jest though, it is good to see you."
Zenos yae Galvus A Garlean made speed boat makes its way towards the doc, the sort of thing that a member of the royal family might drive.  While it is crafted of the Dark Garlean steel, it is also infused with various 'lights' that seem to move in rhythmic patterns.  The lines are white in color, and as it pulls into the dock, continue to glow even after the machine appears to be off.  

Behind the wheel of the rowboat is Zenos yae Galvus, Legatus of the Twelfth Legion, General of the Garlemald Army, and Imperial Viceroy of Ala Mhigo and Doma.  Moving from out of the boat, what is even odder is that he is not wearing his normal armor.  Infact...he is in a simple shirt with the front of it unbuttoned, and a pair of shades.  

The shirt is left in the boat as he makes his way towards the grouping, and Zenos is built like a shit brickhouse made out of other shit brickhouses.  This does not diminish from his actual beauty, the man has long flowing blond hair, a fair face, and a strange 'pearl' gem in the center of his forehead.  His body is well chiseled and a little pale, as he mostly wears armor on a day to day basis, however, he has come prepared against burns.

He is also in a speedo after all the point here was to swim.
Asterios There's... something strange off the coast. A snorkel is one thing but there's also a couple of great big horns sort of bobbing up and down through the waves. What's stranger still is that they're getting closer. And closer. And closer. Until something /else/ breaks the water behind it-- a huge, white bodied thing with a finned head and...

Oh!

It's... It's a giant squid.

And the one pulling it, emerging from the water, is the fluffiest minotaur this side of Crete.

"Pris...cilla," Asterios calls, hefting his GREAT CATCH over his shoulder and up onto shore. "I brought... Fresh food!"

/...More/ fresh food, apparently, considering Gilgamesh's offerings.
Rhongomyniad     Is that a horse?

    A pure white horse clad in chivalric barding descends from the sky, trailing motes of magic from its hooves. Out over the water where it descends, the animal emits a burst of magic, bouncing from it like a mountain goat bounces between precarious rocks. This also serves to slow the animal, such that it merely lands upon the dock proper with some but not a terrible amount of noise. Astride the warhorse is the King of Knights, the Lion King herself clad in full plate with that distinctive helmet. The Divine Lance is also out, held with its point aimed skyward while she commands Dun Stallion to canter down the rock to the sandy beach proper.

    This is exactly how not to be dressed on a tropical island, but it's Rhongomyniad. Ever on the mission of unintentionally burdoning her noble Knights with her sometimes-strange decisions.

    Upon the sand, Rhongomyniad halts Dun Stallion, that helmet turning slightly as she beholds the beach and its occupants. After a moment, the Divine Lance disappears, and she dismounts her warhorse. Reaching up, the woman lifts and removes her helmet, "My apologies for tardiness. It appears that the festivities have already begun, by the state of my Knights and fellow Kings."
Tomoyo Daidouji     Tomoyo is not part of the Concord, or 'outrageously' rich. But she is wealthy, and comes from wealthy stock, so she decides to make her presence know. It's networking, rubbing elbows, arranging deals. But honestly, it's nice to have a day out. And knowing her, that was the bigger motivator.

    She arrived via hired boat. Obviously, she can't pilot it, so even the captain is hired. With her four bodyguards, who are remarkably composed despite being on this sunny beach in their full suits, she steps out onto the dock. She has a big straw sunhat on to help protect her skin, as well as some purple-tinted sunglasses. She is also wearing a swimsuit, but the nature of it is hidden by the slightly-too-big white shirt she's wearing.

    She first steps up to Priscilla, as the one hosting the event, and offers her a bow. "Thank you for having me, Queen Priscilla," she says politely. "And may I just say that you look lovely in that swimsuit. It seems incredibly well-made." Ever the tailor, it seems.

    Next, she and her guards approach Bedivere as the one manning the grill. Her guards are all carrying chilly bins, two of which are presented to the knight. They contain skewered vegetables, already seasoned and ready for grilling. The other two contain chilled drinks, which are broadly offered to everyone.
Abigail Barton Luckily for Asterios and the rest of the fancy rich people (and friends), there's a cooking station nearby! It's being manned by someone in an apron and sun visor, likely one of the many contractors hired to make sure things are kept tidy and comfortable for the Elites scattered around the beach.

Luckily for Abigail, she does a good job at looking the part of a regular shmuck. Her hair's tied up in a long braid behind her, there's makeup in just the right places to look closer to 40 than 20, and her gaze is even focused on maintaining the heat on the grill rather than the hotness of the Elites gathered around..

There's drinks on the counter nearby, too, but she'll leave the actual mixing to someone that actually knows about all that stuff. She can't afford to get caught trying to poison them accidentally, after all.
Lancelot du Lac      "You are fine, my king...But..."

     Should Lancelot point to the horse? He should probably point to the horse. But he doesn't. He can tell his king about how sand gets stuck between horse shoes later. Instead there's a more addressing matter to attend to.

     "You did remember your swimsuit, right my king? You cannot fully enjoy beach activities without it, after all."

     There's also the fact that he promised the King of Heroes that he'd get Rhongomyniad to wear what he requested on his honor as a Knight of the Round, but there's no need to bring that up.
Gilgamesh      Priscilla's arrival is one of the things Gilgamesh was most waiting for.

     He hadn't expected *ultra*conservative. But he also hasn't met her mother (yet; that's a conversation for a later time for sure). So he certainly wasn't expecting...that.

     He might actually be blushing. It's *really* hard to tell. For a moment, once again, that reminder that the god-king of Uruk, the King of Heroes, the First of Heroes, the King of All The World, is still just barely breaking into his 20s and can still easily be put off by a woman he's got genuine feelings for as easily as he can by people who challenge him. He scratches his cheek slightly before saying, "You look magnificent." There's none of his usual game, none of his flirtatiousness. Just an earnest compliment.

     Rhongomyniad arrives, and the King suppresses his disappointment at first appearance in favor of a wry smile. "That isn't especially appropriate attire, King of Knights, and yet you look marvelous nonetheless. King Rhongomyniad, may I introduce Priscilla, First of the Concord. Lady Priscilla, this is the King of Knights, Goddess Rhongomyniad. The two of you are...alike in a surprising number of ways. I have quite honestly been excited to introduce you both for some time, but circumstances have kept getting in the way."

     Two of the three people he genuinely cherishes. If Enkidu was here AND LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE WAS GONE this would be a perfect day.

     Bedivere, Gawain, and Lancelot arrive. The King nods at Lancelot, approving of both his clothing choice and Other Secret Things. Bedivere gets nothing but a distant gaze on the way to Gawain. He barely knows Bedivere outside the stories. Gawain...

     ...is building a sand castle and thus is no problem at all.

     Zenos arrives. Gilgamesh nods to him, shortly before Asterios just starts lumbering onto shore behind him. He gives Asterios a long sort of stare, not because he's surprised, but because he's appraising the cow's food.

     Ehn, fresh fish is a fine appetizer with leviathan. Good enough. Same with Tomoyo's food - it's good enough. He'll just...eat around it. "She does look magnificent, doesn't she," he agrees, surprisingly quietly, with Tomoyo.

     Abigail gets exactly the number of looks Abigail deserves in her disguise: none at all. The King doesn't waste time on Hired Help. Next you know he'd have to pay attention to upstart teenagers, and that's just not ever happening.

     Somewhere, undoubtedly, an archer just felt a pang of irony.
Bedivere     Bedivere, King of Meat on a Stick, is apparently also mister popular in his own way. Everyone wants his meat on their buns. "Haha, I know it looks it, but this is my own version of relaxation," Bedivere says idly to Lancelot. "Tending the flames, feeding friends and guests, it is a form of meditation for me." Indeed, between his smile and his cool voice he seems infinitely more relaxed than the wound-tight Bedivere normally is. Eyeing the shoreline, he adds, "and it looks like Mister Minotaur has brought you an opportunity to join my meditations, if you can handle the knifework for me." He than calls out more loudly. "You, good sir! Can you bring that squid up here? We can have it prepped and grilled before sundown!"

    There's the additional matter of Tomoyo's guard, who are graciously greeted by Bedivere, whose hands are a touch busy (and one of them is currently around two hundred degrees to the touch) but nevertheless he gently points out where to place the bins so that they can go on the next skewers he puts out. "Thank you for the gift, milady, can I assume you'd like kebabs made with them pointed out for you when they're done?" He asks, ever charming.

    As for his King, he can't help sharing Lancelot's sympathy for Dun Stallion's hard work, but Dun Stallion has fared much worse and will be fine with a bit of discomfort fixed soon enough. No indeed, he's more concerned about just what Lancelot is proposing. Why, exactly, is Lancelot bringing that up? Because Lancelot is Lancelot, and Lancelot is *Lancelot*, so he can't help raising an eyebrow.
Rean Schwarzer Rean...just gets here via warpgate. No boat, no airship, no magical horse, just walking out of a warpgate, like the sort-of-kind-of-not-really average teenager he is. He's wearing a pair of plain black swimtrunks and a red hoodie-vest thing, carrying a canvas bagover his shoulder.

There's way more people here than he was expecting, and he definitely wasn't expecting there to be a full on party. "Uh...I thought we were just giving Lady Priscilla swimming lessons." He asks, rubbing the back of his head.

Still, a party's a party, and to be honest, it's not like he's ever actually been to the beach before. He then spots Gawain making a sand castle not too far away, and freaking ran over to join him. As previously stated, He'd never actually been to the beach before, and building sand castles was totally a thing you did on the beach. "Mind if I join in?" He asks, sitting down next to Gawain.
Rhongomyniad     That even, unreadable expression beholds the glorious King of Heroes. She nods lightly to his greeting, "Good day to you, King of Heroes." Her gaze shifts slightly, "And Lady Priscilla. Your voice betrays you before your introduction. I am pleased to place a face to the name." A second nod. She turns slightly, placing a hand on Dun Stallion's neck. The barding glows and then disappears into the Lance, and she gives him a pat before he trots up the beach to the grassier places more suited for horses too badass for sand.

    "My attire? Yes, of course," Rhongomyniad's eyes close, the armor adopting the same glow. It disappears, leaving her in a modest one-piece, black on the flanks and white down the front, separated by golden trim. And accented with a white sarong tied at the hip. She still has that distinctive golden crown of hers, and favors a pair of sandals she must have chosen herself afterwards.

    "This shall suffice, shall it? Lacking experience in such matters, I deferred to Lancelot's expertise for its selection."

    Her posture shifts, one hand resting upon the other arm near the elbow, crossing her body, "It is not what I am accustomed to, but it is nothing that cannot be endured." Her eyes wander once more, "Sir Lancelot, Sir Bedivere, Sir Gawain. Welcome and good afternoon to you all."

    Asterios pulling out a giant squid gets one of those impassive stares she's so known for, before her gaze returns to her fellow demigods.
Gilgamesh      Gilgamesh just gives a subtle thumbs-up to Lancelot as Rhongomyniad changes. A bit of gold falls into Lancelot's hand from out of nowhere. Don't worry about it.
Gawain Gawain has built an entire tower in his sandcastle! He's watching others chat, cook, do things, waiting to see when he'll take a break, when Rean comes over and asks to assist him. "Oh, of course! Sandcastles are much more merry with additional people." The man smiles genuinely, as he hands Rean a spare shovel, and then looks over him. "I do not believe we have met. Sir Gawain, Knight of the Sun, Warden of the Paladins. It's a pleasure to meet you! What brings you to this fine party? I am here because my king, Rhongomyniad, and my fellow knights, Bedivere and Lancelot, have come as well."

As Rhongoymniad greets them, Gawain waves from his sandcastle, nodding to the king.
Abigail Barton Thanks to happenstance/another one of the hired help coming to take over at her section of the stand, Abigail finds herself working closer to Bedivere! That arm draws a curious look from the middle-aged-looking woman, but she shifts back to a more neutral expression once the initial surprise wears off.

The hired help has probably seen all sorts of weird stuff before. An ancient magical robot arm can't be too surprising.

"Holler if you need a hand, sir." Abigail certainly sounds like the normie that's seen it all, a mix of casual indifference and trained politeness. She even flips over one of the burgers to ensure OPTIMAL CHAR with minimal emotional investment to show off just how professionally blase she is!
Tomoyo Daidouji     No matter how quiet Gilgamesh whispers, Tomoyo's head seems to pivot to look right at him. "Yes, she does," she replies, a serene smile on her face. No doubt she heard him because 'the heart speaks as loudly as it can.' Or something. She doesn't grill him about it though, that would be mean.

    As Rhongomyniad arrives without a swimsuit, concern is raised. "If you like, I can put one together. I brought some of my work with me." But thankfully, the King did remember, and it's an excellent look for her. "Oh, you look wonderful. Sir Lancelot has fine taste!" she says, heaping some praise on the man.

    What Rean said draws her ear though. "Oh, does Queen Priscilla have trouble swimming?" Coming from a lot of people, that might sound slightly insulting. But Tomoyo's genuine-ness shines through, and she smiles at the half-breed. "Honestly, so do I. We can learn together!" It wasn't that long ago that Tomoyo could only go 10 metres in one go, honestly.

    Over at the grill, one of the bodyguards nods to Bedivere and speaks in a clipped tone. "Yes please. Reserve some red meat alongside them for her if you could." Watching her nutrition perhaps?
Asterios Gilgamesh stares at Asterios.

Asterios stares at Gilgamesh.

He cants his head curiously, a spark of... something, flashing in his eyes. Recognition? Respect? Or maybe something else--?

"King," Asterios says, inclining his head as much as the enormous load he's carrying will let him. Maybe recognition is instinctual? Or maybe he's just seen the commercials.

Regardless! Asterios proceeds as he's called! "Aa! Yes. Squid is... hard to clean. Do you need-- a hand?"

He's only got two, but they are /very very big/ indeed.
Lancelot du Lac      "Yes. Very good, your majesty. You'll do just fine."

     Just gives Gilgamesh a subtle thumbs back, the look on his face only being able to be described as someone who had just accomplished their god damn mission and is feeling mighty proud. Being handed a small sum of GOLD, Lancelot simply pockets it as quietly as he can. He really wasn't in this for monetary gain, so he supposes he can just donate this to Camelot's coffers later.


"Ah...Ah! Yes, I am quite talented with all sorts of cutting implements, it's true!"

     Deciding it best to not ruin Gilgamesh's fun, Lancelot turns his attention back to the grill before anybody starts getting any funny ideas.

     "Of course, I am not much of a chef. Sir Gawain and I suppose yourself are the only knights here with any culinary expertise."

     He's clearly god damn lying about Gawain. Or at the very least, his Gawain. But even if that man could not cook, at least he tried, so it would be rude to not acknowledge that at least.
Zenos yae Galvus Zenos returns the King's nod with a greeting of his own.  A subtle gesture, but a polite one nonetheless, a small bow, but not very deep.  He was also, royalty, so one has to be careful how much deference you show to other kings.  Polite, but not overindulgent, it seems for all of his taste for blood, he knows how to play court.  

His gaze turns towards Asterios and his catch, he can't help but nod at the beast...a useful creature.  The fact that it has managed to grab something useful AND is obedient causes some approval from the Garlean, as he turns to greet Priscilla.  

"Thank you for your hospitality, I am Zenos yae Galvus.  Praetor of the Twelveth Legion, General of Garlemald, Heir of the Emperor, and Imperial Viceroy of Ala Mhigo and Doma," polite, but standing tall as he belongs here.

The arrival of Rhongomyniad and the transformation into beach ware gain the eye and notice of the Garlean, with a nod of approval.  "It seems your man loyal and tasteful.  Good evening, Goddess Rhongomyniad," Some hesitation on the word 'goddess' but Garleans are known for being aggressively atheist.  Adjusting to the multiverse does not immediately erase all issues.  
Gilgamesh      A bunch of people start commenting on teaching Rhongomyniad and Priscilla to swim.

     Gilgamesh begins wishing immensely that he could find the Holy Grail in his treasury so he could wish all of them dead.

     This does not play out on his face. On his face, he instead throws back his head, his hand on his face. If this was a game, his Boss Theme would be playing. "Fuhuhahahahahahahaha!"

     "Fine, then! I'll teach you all the skill we of Uruk mastered third!" First is agriculture and second is brewing. Writing is a distant fourth.

     "First!" The King holds up a hand, "The water will be made a flawless temperature!"

     The Gate of Babylon opens. A series of colorful red gemstones fall into his hand, glittering as if on fire. Casually, the King tosses them into the ocean, and the water begins to bubble like a hot springs.

     "Second!"

     "Enter it, and immerse yourself! Once the body is wet, your temperature will equalize!"

     He steps into the bubbling water. It is perhaps a little hotter than he wanted, but he's going to pretend like he didn't make a mistake anyway.

     "Third!"

     "The simplest means of swimming is thus! Your arms over your head, as though they were plows digging the great earth! Your feet kicking lightly, to propel you forwards!"

     "Each time your arm rises, you take a breath! You move your head with your arms to gulp down air!"

     "This is the simple art that we of Uruk devised to cross Tigris and Euphrates! This is the simple art that we of Uruk invented to celebrate the new year floods!"

     The King flips back on his back and starts backstroking. "Reverse it, and gaze at the sky, and enjoy its warmth!"

     "Even an ordinary human can do it! So the two goddesses should be more than capable!"

     Unspoken: and the rest of you idiots, I guess.
Bedivere     Bedivere's heart skips a beat as Rhongomyniad reclads. A burger almost comes out imperfect but is saved by Abigail's timely intervention. But between the shades and years of practice at discretion it's only a brief moment that anything seems amiss with him. He'd loved his King in a sincere and knightly fashion when alive, and now he has to deal with his King's perfect body in a way he never did when alive. It's hard, okay? Not that kind of hard! He raises an arm to give his King a thumbs up, the kind that reads 'you're doing great don't worry' whether or not she is human enough to grasp the subtlety. . . and yeah okay this is less of a Mr. President situation than Lancelot choosing a swimsuit should have called for.

    He remembers to thank Abigail after a moment before adding, "Actually, if you can assemble skewers and other meats, we can get quite the train going, and we may need the efficiency if that squid does indeed come our way."

    Bedivere is a consummate professional in his own way, nodding assuredly to Tomoyo's bodyguard with the camaraderie of men who serve greater people. "Say no more, they'll be ten minutes or so."

    Asterios' arrival is greeted with another hearty smile from Bedivere. "Very true. I think between the four of us we can have it in short order, however." Bedivere says thoughtully, turning over a steak in short order. "Okay, excellent, if we're all aboard let's do it thusly: My Good Sir, and we'll get acquainted shortly, if you'd be so kind as to dismember it, then my colleague," he gestures to Lancelot, "can do the cleaning in a flash. If you young miss," he says, now toward Abigail, "can take cleaned strips and prepare them with the breading or the rub over there, we can get grilled and grill-fried squid going onto the grill in handfuls as it gets prepped." He says, like a natural lead chef. And now ready for introductions, Bedivere introduces himself to the two new temporary chefs, letting Lancelot handle his own introductions, "It is my good pleasure to meet, and for however long, work with you. I am Sir Bedivere, of a most egregious set of titles and nicknames I'm too embarassed to repeat."

    Luckily for Gilgamesh, his Chance comes right in the middle of Busy Squid Times and he is in no position to notice anything afoot. Yet.
Priscilla     "Ah, mine thanks, Lady Daidouji. Unfortunately, the venture was of too short notice to reasonably commission thee, but I am gladdened to hath found something that meets thine standards." Priscilla replies to Tomoyo, shuffling just a little bit at the attention, but it's when she sees Gilgamesh's reaction that she actually blushes herself. Just a little. It'd be too undignified otherwise.

    "A-ah . . . I had hoped it wouldst be appropriate, so . . . I am gladdened to hear thine approval. Especially as one with such a discerning eye." Kind of an unreasonably modest reaction for someone who is half-bombshell goddess, but that's what you get from a 99.9% mountain recluse.

    For the first time though, she is finally introduced to the other technically-dragon-goddess-sorta. She glances to the plate armour with some small degree of confusion, knowing fully how hot and exhausting that kind of thing gets under sun or with vigorous activity, but takes it in stride for the moment. Woe be it for Priscilla to criticize someone for being out of touch at social gatherings.

    "Well met, Lady Rhongomyniad." she starts, getting the name admirably correct. "I hath heard much about thee from Gilgamesh." she then says. Just Gilgamesh. Not 'King of Uruk'. Being sized up by Priscilla's stare is a bit of an experience. She has those bright, amber gold eyes with distinct slit pupils, making her look feel just a bit like that of an exotic predator. Also, tiny ivory horns, and ring of scales around her neck and collarbone, like one of those big ancient Egyptian jewel chokers with the colour and texture of unpolished white deiamonds, one with a miniscule sunburst somehow etched into it.

    "Well met, though I admit thou art not quite as 'dragon' as I had imagined." says Priscilla. She also says it while slowly swishing a tail that menaces with impossibly luxurious fluff+15, of the same colour as her perpetually 'movie windswept'-looking hair, and not reptilian in the slightest. It's also like five degrees cooler around her. Granted, that only takes it down to a solid 30, but it's very noticeable.

    Oh there's the swimsuit. Priscilla looks over at the grillmasters, evidently figuring out which one is Lancelot. "Perfectly acceptable. More than such." she replies, perhaps in some tiny part because she got away with showing off more. The thing about not being able to swim isn't awkward in the least though. She pretty flatly states "I hath lived atop a mountain or another almost mine entire life. There were not particularly rivers or lakes, or indeed the ocean, within any distance." Except Ash Lake, if you count the bottom of the world as a reasonable distance, but fuck that place.

    "Ah, Sir Asterios." Priscilla's attention is then caught by a minotaur hauling out a giant squid. "Very well done. See to it that it is handed to the cooks in short order, and that thou art ready to eat." she says, then pausing. "We certainly hath a great many cooks, do we not . . ." She squints a little.

    Yet another SWOLE MAN in a lil' speedo shows up, and Priscilla briefly, silently, mentally, stops to consider the sheer amount of beach bod all around her. "Well met. It does one no harm to knoweth those of importance, in at least a casual fashion." Hooray, Tomoyo is implicitly important!

    Then Gil starts doing *swimming instruction*. Priscilla turns to the water and begins watching attentively --raptly, even. Her arms are folded under her chest and her tail twitches like a cat watching a bird hopping obliviously around the front yard. "I see." she concludes, taking a few steps into the surf, a little hesitant about the feeling of even the slight waves pulling against her when going back out.

    She gets only so far before the water starts freezing around her knees, creating thick little drifting ice floes that start to break up in the heated saltwater. Priscilla sighs.
Lancelot du Lac      "Hmm."

     Lancelot stares at the squid he's handed. He's never really dealt with one of these creatures before, so he's not quite sure how to prep it. Well, finding and eliminating the bad bits is probably fairly easy, but he's on part two of his mission now, even if it wasn't originally part of his promise.

     "I uh... Is anyone here talented in cleaning animals for meals? I acquire assistance in determining which parts are not good for consumption!"

     Deciding to swallow his pride as a strong independent man for a bit, Lancelot calls for help for prep work with the squid. Perhaps some people will be drawn away from the King of Heroes long enough for him and his king to enjoy themselves, though he doesn't have high hopes. Worse case scenario it just draws the attention of Sir Gawain.
Rean Schwarzer Rean takes the shovel from Gawain and starts piling up sand next to the already built tower. "Rean Schwarzer, also of the Paladins." he says, returning Gawain's smile. "I came because I thought we were going to help teach swimming...but it looks like Gilgamesh has that handled." He says, turning to look at the King of Heroes agressively shouting instructions. Then Pricillia started to freeze the ocean around her. "...Or not."
Gawain "Ah! I remember hearing you on the radio. It's nice to meet you, Chevalier Rean." Gawain moves to start another tower, when Lancelot shouts out looking for assistance. Sadly, it does indeed attract the Gawain. "I'll be right back, unless you'd like to assist me with the cooking." Gawain slowly rises, making sure not to disturb the sand castle, and then heads over to the grill.

"Sir Lancelot! I heard you need help from those who know how to clean animals. It just so happens, I've spent the past few years refining my cooking, so I believe I should be good enough at this. Where should I start?" There's good news - Gawain has refined his cooking, so he probably won't poison everyone.

The bad news is he's still a terrible cook and is probably going to ruin the dish otherwise if he gets his hands on it. Someone needs to save Lancelot, because this is all his fault.
Rhongomyniad     "Mm," Rhongomyniad lets out that thoughtful sound when appraised by a far more dragon-like half-dragon than herself. A hand lifts to her chin, further accentuating her thinking process, for those empty jewel-like green eyes are also appraising the First of the Concord. Were she a more petty person-- or even capable of such things-- there are a few victories to be claimed here.

    But she is not. Even in her previous human life, such things would never cross her mind. And so the only response that Goddess Rhongomyniad offers is a slow nod of her own, "And moderately more dragon than I expected. However, I find nothing objectionable. You lack the vile aura of my uncle." No there's something else going on here but she has no idea what it is. And so she shall defer to Gilgamesh's judgement on the matter.

    "Zenos yae Galvus," Rhongomyniad turns her head towards the Garlean prince, "It is pleasing to meet you in person." She doesn't sound pleased, it's that same near-monotone she always speaks in, "I appreciate the opportunity to place a face to the voice." Her eyes wander to those gathered around Bedivere at the grill, before Gilgamesh draws her attention out to the sea. She makes another of those appraising noises, but doesn't move from her spot even when Priscilla enters the water to try.
Asterios Bedivere seems to have a plan well in hand! Asterios simply flashes a great big THUMBS UP, "Asterios is glad to help! But. You may want to... stand back?" Especially since this particular squid hasn't yet been bled. Still, Asterios turns towards the enormous, squidderly thing and summons forth something that is less an axe and more a polearm. He manages to heft it with one hand, securing the big, rubbery tentacle beast under the other. With a great yell, he brings the blade down like a guillotine forged in the age of the gods themselves...!

Can it be considered sacrilege to use a weapon like this to... carve up a big squid to eat?

Well, it /is/ just a Labrys. It's not like the thing is Excalibur or Clarent or anything like that.

Regardless, what follows after the first stroke is... Kind of gross! Really gross. SQUID GUTS ARE GROSS, take it from the guy who has actually seen this thing in real life! So rather than dwell on it, we'll just.. put this mosaic filter all over everything Asterios is going to be doing for the next few minutes.

It's... for the best.
Abigail Barton Quite a lot of mental note taking going on here. Judging from the varying reactions to Rhongomyniad's magical god transformation into swimwear, the offers to teach her and Priscilla how to swim, and even the talk of preparing food?

It doesn't take a genius to figure out there's HORMONES about. Abigail nudges her glasses up as the long and short of her own reaction to it all, simply nodding towards Bedivere and Tomoyo's bodyguards while hiding her own ogling. Just because she's here to work and gather intel doesn't mean she can't enjoy the eye candy a bit! before she gets to work. She's almost a little too good at stabbing things evenly with the skewers, lining up row after row of sticks with immaculately spaced peppers, meats, onions, meats, peppers, and meats together.

Transitioning to breading and rubbing the meat will takes a bit longer in comparison. Lancelot's calling for help, and the hired helper gets her hands cleaned up before moving to assist! "Like this. Watch your fingers." Pulling a full blown dagger out of somewhere that definitely hasn't been in a corpse at one point, Abigail takes a moment to wash and clean the thing before starting... THE CLEANING PROCESS.

She's good at teaching Lancelot the cutting parts of it, at least. Actually identifying what needs to be removed and THE CLEANING part, not so much.

SOMEONE HELP.
Lancelot du Lac      "Your cooking skills are just as exceptional as the Gawain I know."

     Lancelot struggles to make this sound like a compliment, but he succeeds for the most part given his lack in ability to generally sound anything more than polite. Still, it's something.

     He's a lot more appreciative of Abigail's efforts, a hearty smile spreading across his face.

     "I see, your bladework is just as beautiful as you are, miss."

Lancelot compliments the girl, because Lancelot is Lancelot and if he didn't there would probably be something wrong with him. Were he not accustomed to how things work here now, he'd place a hand on their shoulder to show his appreciation further. But apparently personal space is a thing that people care about these days, and he's not one to go against that sort of thing.

     Instead he just sort of hover hands her which is honestly probably worse in retrospect.
Zenos yae Galvus Zenos nods to Priscilla, the greeting polite.  "It is not often I get to meet other leaders and powerful people in such casual fashion.  More often then not it is dealing with small time nation leaders thinking to demand more than what the empire has given.  Or simply attempts to placate us.."

Towards Rhon he also nods, "Likewise, though we have talked much over the radio, I find it surprising this is the first time we have met face to face.  I hope this changes more in the future..." But then Zenos hears those faithful words of needing help cleaning something.

"Excuse me, your lesson awaits...as done the duty of someone who has studied the blade," he says as he walks towards Lancelot.  

As he does so, his hand moves up, and as expected, something from the boat he came here on ejects something into the air at the perfect angle to be caught by Zenos quickly.  He walks towards the offending animal, bringing the sword out in a single motion...

And with a flash of the blade carves it into sections.  The stomach, also opened as he looks towards Lancelot.  "You will need to remove the insides by hand."
Gilgamesh      It's weird, to see the King of Heroes so...normal. There's only a little of his god-surpassing ego. There's an earnest smile on his face as he watches Priscilla climb in, as he laughs - good-naturedly, not the mocking FUHUHAHAHA he usually does - at the water freezing around her. A few more blazing crystals drop into the water around her from ripples in the air. The King of Heroes moves over to her, walking into the freezing water to take her arm and help her into the water at large, to help guide her hands. The other people who need help are barely a thought as he tries to make her more comfortable in the sort of little, gentle ways one would never expect from the King of Heroes. Ways *he* wouldn't expect. Even with Enkidu. Even with Rhongomyniad. Even seeing the King of Heroes be *gentle* is probably absolutely impossible to process for the Servants who know him through the Grail or the Grail Wars, and for those who've only heard of him by reputation. He's dumping more than a hundred kings' ransoms' worth of magic gems from all number of civilizations too old to be remembered into the water just to ensure she gets to enjoy it. Just to counteract her aura long enough for her to have some fun. Just to make her smile. He's the most unguarded anyone's probably ever seen as he tries to help her. He gestures for Rhongomyniad to come in as well, urging her to join them. He wants to show her how this works, not just for his own enjoyment, but for her sake.

     The King's desires, for other people. It's an alien state. It's something unthinkable for most of those Heroes who know him only through the Grail. And yet...this is the influence Enkidu, and Priscilla, have had on him.

     That terrible King of Heroes, able to think of something other than himself.

     The water is perhaps a *little* over-warm, but Priscilla's freezing aura is probably...beating that.

     Despite the onslaught of gems, the King's efforts are in vain. Priscilla's Lifehunt is stronger than even that. And yet there's something in his eyes that isn't normally there, beyond even the relaxed, casual, earnest, vulnerable state.

     Determination.

     The Gate opens.

     The sword is an unremarkable thing, silver and gold, a slight bit of blue on the hilt. And yet it exudes a remarkable evil, a power that neither Rhongomyniad, nor likely Bedivere, is able to ignore. Rhongomyniad probably recognizes it instantly. Bedivere's arm certainly does. Gawain might, too.

     The sword Gilgamesh has taken into his hands is the Strongest Demonic Sword of the Planet, Excalibur's nightmarish equal, the accursed dragon-slaying Sword of the Sun: Gram.

     And, with all the fanfare such a weapon deserves...

     ...no, the opposite. The King of Heroes simply drives the Sword of the Sun's prototype, a blade that he once used against Tony Stark to demonstrate the power of the Gate, into the water.

     Such a ridiculous use of so much power, even for the King. And yet...

     ...and yet he really wants to see them smile.

     And, for the moment, that's worth all these treasures.
Tomoyo Daidouji     Tomoyo watches Priscilla brave the heated seawater. But even as she wades out, it just starts freezing around her. That's... concerning. She takes off her sunhat, and in a swift motion, pulls off her covering top to reveal her relatively plain lavender two-piece swimsuit. Throwing the shirt aside (only for it to be caught by one of her guards and neatly folded) she starts to set off to join Priscilla before Gilgamesh steps in.

    She watches in awe as the demonic sword is drawn, and the water is heated to combat Priscilla's natural chill. Standing beside the King, she whispers, low enough that only he might hear her. "Do you prefer one of them?" she asks. The meaning is obvious.
Bedivere     Bedivere can't abandon the grill, but neither can he abide squid guts all up in his grill either, so he instead directs Asterios toward a clearing a small distance away for the bulk of the dismemberment. Unfortunately, he might actualyl be the only one here who properly knows how to remove problem bits and clean the things, and he's got a whole grill to tend. This calls for some inventiveness. Compounding the matter and threatening to turn this into a disaster none of them will walk away from is Gawain's arrival on the scene. Bedivere's life has gone full sitcom in a matter of moments from a perfectly organized plan.

    "Ah, Gawain, good timing. Between you and I we can certainly identify all the trouble bits," he says, "and in so doing teach Lancelot what he's after," he says, "Abigail, thank you for showing how to cut these things, that saves me some time. I saw you save a burger earlier, so can I trust you to keep it going while I tend to this?" He says, as he sets Tomoyo's order on to cook.

    Lancelot is untrained, not hopeless like Gawain. That is key to Bedivere's plan to re-ravel this and get it back on track. Well, even if Lancelot may not have much hope he can be trusted for his precision bladework and keen eye, and that's all this calls for. "Okay, let's see this, good sir," he says to Asterios, as he gestures to get the last of it split open so he can do this fast. Fortunately, a newcomer (Zenos) instead finishes the job and provides a broad summary. "Ah, thank you, kind sir, I'll be sure to give you a fine taste when it's all said and done," he says clearly relieved that part of the trouble is resolved.

    Speaking of holy relics being put to probably sacrilegious purposes, Bedivere is soon knee deep in the guts, letting Gawain speak to what he knows while he adds how to scrape off the guts, using his own arm glowing gently with divine power to slice cleanly through, letting more slough off. "Like this, see, Lancelot? From there it's just chopping the meat into strips about like," slice, slice, "this." And to finish the plan to let Gawain feel helpful, the one part he can be trusted with (and overseen clearly) "Gawain, I'll need you to rinse these strips using the faucet over there thoroughly but gently, and bring them to the young miss for final prep." That way Abigail can be sure they are not currently going to give anyone food poisoning. Okay that does-

    Bedivere pauses, an arm that doesn't feel suddenly aching as he can't help but glance back toward the beach, toward a breach in the air from Gilgamesh' noble phantasm. It's enough to set his teeth on edge, but even though hackles are up and holy light flares in challenge - it's instead used to warm the water that a freezing lady might swim, not for any apparently awful purpose. He breathes a sigh of relief, gently rubbing at Airgetlam with his human arm, as though it could help soothe it. "Right, let's get this moving people," he says to his assembled helper.s They have everything they need to make Fried Giant Squid and by the gods is he going to see this through.
Gawain It's a good thing Gawain is inherently trusting, because he has no idea that the others don't want him actually cooking, despite having experience with getting banned from kitchens. After explaining what little he knows, he cleans the strips diligently, which is something he can actually do without ruining them, and then immediately butts over towards Lancelot and Abigail, ruining Lancelot's chances of flirting to talk to her. "Hello! You must be a contractor or employee of the island, yes? It's a pleasure to meet you! Thank you very much for all your assistance with the food, I really appreciate it." He's just being nice. And saving Abigail from flirting, possibly purposely. Two birds, one stone.

Back to the cooking, after that!
Rhongomyniad     "Mmm..." Rhongomyniad nods once when Zenos excuses himself, returning her attention to the King of Heroes and the First of the Concord. She observes the interaction between them. Her eyes narrow slightly. This stirrs something, and she internally opens the memories of King Arthur to investigate it. For a moment, the antics of the Knights, the Prince, the Hitman, and the Minotaur.

    The Lion King is stunned out of her introspection by the arrival of an unexpected guest. The unmistakable appearance of the Demonic Sword widens those glowing green eyes of hers. That unreadable, impassive face transformed to one of subtle but recognizable surprise.

    The Divine Lance appears in her hand, unbidden, out of instinct. Still as a statue, she only moves when she realizes that the Lance is out, jumping with a start. The weapon is dismissed, and she wastes no time venturing out into the water with Gilgamesh, Priscilla, and now Tomoyo.

    "That weapon is evil," she states simply as she approaches.
Priscilla     The dead squid Asterious hauled out of the water is now being thoroughly butchered. A ghostly white mist sort of exudes from its body, pooling into a misty white ball of something that zips through the air to Priscilla. vvvwweeeesh. +150 souls.

    The sheer number of gems being showered all around her gives Priscilla reason for pause, watching them all blow up into nice little bath heaters (when the immensity of the ocean is concerned), largely oblivious to their value, but looking back and forth as if she feels it might be a little bit exorbitant (and is nervous about being hit by one). When the Demonic Sword Gram comes out though, this part she doesn't seem even slightly concerned about. What reason has she to feel concern when the King of Heroes is wielding such a weapon? (the irony is level 710).

    Even then though, when Gilgamesh actually uses it for what he does, the absurdity of it strikes Priscilla all the same. She raises her hand to her lips, trying and failing to hide a stifled laugh at it. As much as from the sword itself, the ice dissolves away as her shoulders twitch with the motions of genuine mirth. She brings her hand away, with the spectre of a smile lingering behind. "It is true then, that thou art ever prepared, with every treasure in the world. Even for something so simple as this." she remarks, wading in up to the waist without further issue. She cannot be defeated by Tomoyo at this!

    From there she takes several aborted attempts to actually go prone in the water, not really trusting it to stop her from just sinking face down. After a minute, she makes a contemplative 'hm' sound, and then her expression stiffens and blanks out with the realization that it . . . doesn't really matter. It's not like she could actually get swept out to sea and drown or something. Sploosh. She goes in. Then mostly just accomplishes floating. It's a start. She, momentarily, looks inordinately proud of herself.
Abigail Barton "It comes with the job, sir." Partially true! Her job does involve a lot of cutting and stabbing, after all. If only she was good at the cleaning part of all that.

One thing at a time.

Abigail doesn't notice the hoverhanding at first as she's so focused on trying to look natural at not knowing what the hell she's doing with actually cleaning this pile of animal meat. The not-knowing-what-do is natural enough, but she still needs an out! Like...

Like noticing that the purple-haired man is hoverhanding her. She glances at his hand, looks over for a moment, then away at just the right time to make it look like a coy glance! "I don't like admitting it, but I work better with someone that can... Clean the meat before I handle the rest."

Another pause, a brief grin and a glance sideways, and then she turns away while nudging her glasses up. She doesn't say anything further, instead watching Zenos when gets right to business carving that giant up. There's a certain quality to his manner of speaking and his demeanor that starts getting her hackles raised, but a lucky distraction comes when Gawain is assigned to cleaning duty!

Better than her handling it, at least. His enthusiasm creates a brief crack in her facade as she stares at him cluelessly for a moment, then clears her throat and nods with her eyes going back to that dull stare. "Happy to help, sir. It looks like we've got a good team in place for this, then."

Working with what she's relatively good at certainly makes it easier for her, at least. Sparing one more quick batting of her eyes at Lancelot and a curious glance towards Gawain, she moves right on over to the cooking station to get this food grilled and definitely not poisoned!

She's actually going to try doing it properly, too. These are Elites. What's she going to do, give them the runs?
Gilgamesh      Priscilla laughs. Gilgamesh smiles. He just sort of looks off at the horizon, a surprisingly sheepish smile on his face, like he's almost ashamed of his use of the Strongest Demonic Blade as a bath-heater. "The origin of all mankind's wisdom lies within my Gate. What good is that wisdom if I, the King of All The World, do not put it to the best of use?"

     Priscilla floats. The King smiles. He doesn't pity clap her or go 'yay you're doing really good.' Just a quiet, dignified smile. Tomoyo asks a most undignified question, and Gilgamesh responds. He's not, after all, a shonen harem protagonist, or a stumbling virginal anime boy. Open the Epic of Gilgamesh and you'll see the whole first chapter talking about him sleeping with everything that moves. He's not embarassed by this kind of question.

     "I have known Priscilla for longer, even longer than I have known Enkidu. I have been inside her mind. I have seen her true face and found it something I desired. The Goddess Rhongomyniad is from my own world, and was crafted to replace me by happenstance and magic lance. In her I see myself, and there is nothing the King of Heroes loves like himself." His voice isn't even *quiet*. Priscilla already knows how he feels about her. And Rhongomyniad may not even understand (though probably everybody else on the beach will).

     "If Priscilla asked, I would shackle my desire to her alone. If Rhongomyniad asked, I could not give so simple an answer, since I don't know her nearly as well. But if you are asking which I prefer..."

     "Neither," he says finally, "They are both beautiful in ways that far surpass physicality."

     He pauses.

     "They are also both beautiful in very physical ways, but that's hardly relevant. The King has always been surrounded by beauty. Have you *seen* Enkidu?" He produces the phone Edison made for him out of the Gate, flicks over to some pictures of Enkidu, and just hands it over to Tomoyo. "The third of the three things in all the world I can say I truly care about."

     "If it was here and all of the rest of you were not today would indeed be a perfect day."
Zenos yae Galvus The blade in his hands is not one of the actual important blades, but a rather plain looking Garlemald short sword.  He stabs it into the ground to allow Lancelot to work, as he turns towards Bedivere and simply gives the man a nod.  

"It is no problem, I am here I should at least pitch in if not at least a little.  The swimming is handled, apparently, so I can simply help in doing what comes naturally to me..." he gazes towards Abigail, sensing something off but does not press the issue.  She is just help, that doesn't really get his notice.  

However, the EVIL SWORD catches Zenos' eye and laughs as it is used so casually.  He approaches the water, as he hears the call that the blade itself is evil.  "Evil?  And what, pray tell, makes the blade evil?  A blade is a weapon, not an entity.  It is made to kill, to slay, and to make war.  It was a magnificent blade," He laughs...

"Used so casually, but a blade is also a tool if it works then it is fulfilling its function."
Yuuki Kuran "You arrange a beach trip, Priscilla, and nothing about this is halfway, except halfway beyond reasonable."

A light, drowsy twinkle of soft laughter rings out across the beach scene. The sun perhaps has dipped, or at least moved farther along the horizon, because a pale girl with absurd, brushing-the-sand at its longest brown hair is laughing into her cupped hand. Her hair is bound once halfway down her back with a simple hairband, and an enormous purple sun-hat spreads out from her head, tilting up at the corners with a large red ribbon around as a hatband that tumbles down in two tails. Below that is a white button-down shirt, rolled up to her elbows and tied around the belly in a small knot to leave some midriff showing. And, then, a pair of comfortable (if heavily distressed) black jeans and tan flip-flops.

Gilgamesh's grand gesture of throwing Gram into the water is of much import, though his words after serve more to confirm things...

And ellicit a 'really? this?' expression upon Yuuki Kuran's, Director of the Concord, face.

"When you said you were musing about him, I didn't think you meant..."

Yuuki taps her chin, considering, as her eyes drifts among...

Pretty Boy, Pretty Man, Pretty MAN, Endowed Goddess...
... and The Help...

"Well, I suppose you have your pick! And you don't need my help or council on it, do you? Though, I will say, it seems his dedication is a little lacking..." She doesn't sneer at Gilgamesh, but she is certainly talking about him. "That other one, shirtless, by the grill, he's nice! Are you certain you didn't mean him?"
Tomoyo Daidouji     Gilgamesh gives a straight, frank answer. He's not even embarrassed. How honestly refreshing. It's a good answer too. One he is sure about, the other less so. But he wants Priscilla to make the first move? Tomoyo peruses the pictures of Enkidu. "They're beautiful," she agrees, offering the pictures back. "But don't forget, Queen Priscilla will likely have other suitors. Don't wait too long for her to ask you."

    And with that, she moves to intercept Rhongo. "King Rhongomyniad, with all due respect," she says, bowing due to her lack of dress to curtsy with. "You know King Gilgamesh. He is..." There's a lot of words to describe Gilgamesh. "A forthright person. You see him now helping a friend learn how to swim. Perhaps that sword is filled with dark intent, I would not know. But the one wielding it has only the best intentions. Surely the attitude of the wielder matters more than the weapon?"

    Time to play wingman once more and prevent a misunderstanding that may result in a fight.
Lancelot du Lac      Gives an appreciative nod to Zenos' explanation as he turns his attention back to Abigail and the squid to both help and observe. But mostly observe, he ain't no cook and he's not about to ruin this like good ol' Gawain.

     Lancelot is taken slightly aback when Abigail flirts back at him. He's used to the shy or silent type. So this is the power of modern woman! How utterly terrifying. Apparently, this Knight of the Round has much to learn. Or maybe he's thinking way to hard about simple flirting. But damnit, flirting is something he's good at, he has the right to think hard about it.

     Giving the Totally Not An Assassin another charming smile, Lancelot decides to be one hundred percent productive now and begins the process of helping to rinse off the chopped up squid. Better to be productive than to spill spaghetti and lose face, this much Lancelot knows for sure.
Gilgamesh      "I've already asked her," Gilgamesh says to Tomoyo matter-of-factly, "I have told her exactly how I feel. The ball, as you say, is in her court, not mine."
Priscilla     "Some blades possesseth a spirit of their own." Priscilla almost lazily remarks, clearly very relaxed floating in heated water. "A quality of character that may be deemed either way." she follows up, not sounding very concerned. "I hath little reason to care, however. I hath long been no stranger to darker powers, and its wielder is just." Of course it's no problem. Gilgamesh is good. Chaotic(Lawful) Good even.

    Gilgamesh answers that question without even being slightly subtle. Priscilla responds by turning over so people can't see her face and actually doing that trying to swim part. Yep. No time like the present. Swimming in the direction opposite of the shore. She's not clumsy about it. She doesn't learn instantly, but she does, in fact, have a kind of ridiculous amount of grace. S rank DEX scaling and all. It mostly results in just moving slowly at first, with inefficient strokes that don't get all the thrust they should, but she starts figuring it out.

    She then quite forcefully splashes as she turns over and briefly dunks into the water when Yuuki shows up and says those slanderous things. "I had meant quite clearly what I had said, and nothing different!" Priscilla says back. A very thin sheen of frosty water appears for a moment. "Thou art doing such on purpose." she says, ever so slightly sulky. She disappears under the water for a second, and then reappears just . . . walking up the beach from the bottom, breaching the water head first like a different scaled and tailed -illa making landfall. God dammit she set this up to relax, not get roasted by anything but the sun.

"As a matter of fact, perhaps I shouldst be asking thee such a question." she huffs, on the payback path. "Thou art of the age, after all. I hath not been given to see thee and Sir Kiryu in that way. At least not previously." She looks about a hair from grabbing Yuuki by the collar and comically dragging her off into the trees. Instead, she takes it out on the grill team. "Art thou truly not done with this yet?" she asks semi-rhetorically. "If thou shalt not disposeth of the beasts remains, I shalt."

    Then she goes over to the table and pops the lid on a powered cooler, taking out one of the only drinks she actually brought. The bottle is more the size of a middling large perfume bottle, with a narrow neck and stopper, with some clear contents in a container of crystal and delicately wrought gold.
Asterios How rude, stealing all those delicious souls from the guy who's actually responsible for axing the squid!!

(Asterios doesn't even notice. Even if he did, Priscilla is nice and gives good hugs, and also gave him an awesome present, so a few souls are a pittance in comparison!)

In short order, the squid is carved up, cleaned up, and piled high on the grill-slash-fryer-slash-shisquidbob. Asterios huffs proudly and sets his hands on his hips to admire a job well-done.

The squid has been conquered. And soon it will be something more.

Soon... It will be /delicious./

Well, as long as Gawain doesn't get his hands on it, but then, Asterios doesn't know anything about that! For all Asterios knows, Gawain is just a great big ball of sunlight and culinary arts.

...

Asterios really needs to get out and meet more people.

That's actually one of the reasons he got sent out here to begin with! That, and a distinct sense of homesickness. Crete was always near the sea and Paris, as much as he loves being there, is... not. The scent of salt on the wind, the reeking, ruined carcass of a slain leviathan (lower-case!), the roar of the waves. Asterios turns his head, angling it just so to appreciate the gentle caress of the boundless sea.

And then Priscilla gets... angry!? Oh no! Asterios turns beet red and starts fussing with his hands like he's just spilled ALL the spaghetti. "Y-yes, sorry! Forgot. Fish guts, not pleasant--"

And then Asterios just kind of... grabs the viscera... and...

Uh.

He has the forethought to dive behind the bushes before /terrible sounds/ start coming from within.

They sound like... High Speed Divine Eating (B+).

When Asterios emerges, he looks... Still sheepish, but a little more satisfied (dietarily) than he was before.

...

Squid guts are still probably... better tasting than most of what he ate in the Labyrinth, huh?

(Also, probably similar in texture to escargot, so whatever)
Zero Kiryu Trailing more closely at Yuuki Kuran's side than he usually troubles with is Zero Kiryu, bearing a grand parasol. It has a lavendar butterfly motif upon a black sky, and it more than provides the coverage necessary to provide comfortable shade for two or even three people. One wonders if he didn't just take one from a patio table somewhere, if not for the fact that it very much is made in the style of a personal parasol.

He's wearing his usual button-down with a pair of tan shorts, and a very minimalistic pair of brown sandals.

There is a dull, flat expression on his face. He stares off into oblivion, barely cognizant of what's physically in front of him. In fact, he is simply navigating by the blip of Yuuki on his radar. If she isn't close enough, he shifts in accordance with the movement of that blip.

That is, until the talking starts. Awareness creeps back into purple eyes, which cut towards Yuuki just as soon as she starts criticizing people. An /incredibly/ distasteful expression asserts itself on his features as he sweeps the surrounding beach with the passing scrutiny of a hunter -- one who takes in much more than they should at a glance.

The flat, dull look returns to his eyes.

Zero inhales deeply and appears to be about to launch into his own set of advice. With lips still parted, he pauses.

A deep sigh follows instead of the diatribe that might otherwise have come.

"Priscilla." He calls, to the First.

"I'm not fit to give advice on any matter of personal relations, but..."

"If you have troubles that necessitate my specialties, don't hesitate to call."

There is a long pause, following Priscilla's retort to Yuuki.

Again, the dullness drains from Zero's eyes. He looks at Priscilla, not aggressively-- it's hard to read his expression. He shakes his head, and replies, "I did not think you as socially blind as you are talented at being unseen."

The hunter shifts the parasol from one hand to the other and lapses back into dull, lifeless staring, because he is a lower caste of vampire in the middle of a beach.
Rhongomyniad     What is knee-deep for some is thigh-deep for the goddess Rhongomyniad, and this is where she stops. Not due to the depth, but due to the words expressed by the King of Heroes. She considers the use of the demonic sword once more, and Tomoyo's encouragement. Her head dips in thought once more, that characteristic 'mm' escaping once more.

    "I do not wish it to affect him," she states finally, "Although I realize now that does him disservice. Gilgamesh would not succumb, even to a thing as evil as the Demonic Sword Gram."

    Her gaze lowers further, staring at her own shadow in the water-- at the reflection she casts, in the brief moments when the sea is calm enough to project it. After a moment, those eyes lift to the blue sky, closing, and she casts her thoughts back through her memories. Not the memories held of her life as King Arthur, but something more recent.

    A selfless act. An exhausted figure covered in blood, wrapped in a cloak of white fur. What was that sensation? There was anger, of course. This she recognized. Something she did not recognize at the time.

    No memory of her own or of her previous existence could define it. Fondness? No. Similar. But...

    Rhongomyniad lowers her eyes from the sky, opened once more, resting on Gilgamesh as he assists Priscilla. Hip-deep in the sea, she lifts her hand to her chin once more. It is not envy either; her divinity would reject it as the World rejects the phantasmal. Such things are unchivalrous and lead only to darkness.

    To be admired in such a way, though. It is not like the Knights admire their King. Or how the subjects admire a hero. Her gaze lowers again, pensive. Adoration? Perhaps this is what eludes her...

    "...If he wishes to use it in such a way, I...shall not obstruct him."
Bedivere     Bedivere returns to manning the grill with aplomb, and soon between his helpers he has actual squid strips, both breaded and rubbed joining his grill. They're finnicky bastards to cook, liking to curl and twist, but he manages it well enough. He waves down the bodyguard of Tomoyo's, informing them graciously that the meal is done, and pre-emptorily plated with both chili kebab and a modest portion of red steak.

    In short order the squid chain is at full speed, with skillful cuts and preparation, and it becomes obvious that the logjam will ultimately be the grillspace. Bedivere gently adds that at least one of the knights handling the washing may tend to whatever else they feel needs tending, and soon the lot of them but Bedivere and Abigail will be able to relax, barring any unforeseen circumstances on his part-

    You know what? You know what. Bedivere came here to have a good time, making food happen for people. He is just going to take a deep, long breath, and pretend he did not see or hear any of what just transpired between Asterios and the squid guts. If that works for the big man, that's great. It is not Bedivere's Problem, TM, C, R.

    He answers with a slightly strained smile to Priscilla's icy anger, "It is well in hand, milady," and keeps right on cooking. Fried squid is, in fact, available *now* to anyone who wishes to partake from the assembled collection of finished grillmeats, if they're not drawn away by Gilgamesh' banquet anyway.

    "Thank you again for your help, young miss, but I can't help but be embarassed that I have missed your name, if indeed you've shared it at all. May I know it?" Bedivere manages to be gracefully archaic, mixing his old-fashioned manners with modern speech and an easy charming air. It is very approximate to a good flirting, whether or not he realizes it.

    Something is troubling his king, which activates Bedivere Senses to tingling, but it doesn't behoove him to interfere (well it might if not for the Meat Management) unless things start going worse, but everyone is managing to be adults so far.
Gawain As Gawain finishes helping cooking, he overhears Yuuki basically compliment him and suggest him as...apparently a candidate for Priscilla? Something? Gawain just steps closer, and shakes his head.

"Ah, ah...no, no thank you. Unlike /some people/, I don't go after the interests of other men." It's said completely neutrally with a slight smile.

Gawain knows /absolutely/ what he just said.
Lancelot du Lac      It takes Lancelot a moment to process Gawain's insult. He's used to thinking of King Arthur as a woman now, not that it's really his fault. JUST LOOK AT HER! Still, once he finally gets it, he just kind of silently deflates.
Abigail Barton There's some heavy stuff going on out there. Abigail isn't quite sure why or who some of these peple are, but it's easy enough to see that getting in-between any of that is a likely recipe for instant suicide-by-goddamn-everything.

Besides, she's a little preoccupied making sure all this meat and squid and ???? gets cooked up just right alongside Bedivere. Identifying most of it is an ordeal in itself, but at least it's a singular task to zero in on.

Not even Asterios devouring all sorts of weird organs can take her off her game. Mostly.

She can taste a little bit of puke trying to escape.

"Hm? Oh. It's Abigail. A pleasure, good sir." She replies formally and with practiced pleasantness almost on instinct, a distinct departure from that bored tired-of-this-shit-but-still-professional pleasantness that she had displayed earlier.

Crap. Improvise! Clearing her throat, Abigail breaks into an awkward chuckle and a quick bat of her eyes before turning to Bedivere. "Sorry. Hospitality mode was still on. It's hard to turn off sometimes. You work well under pressure, too, Sir...?"
Zenos yae Galvus Zenos decides to take to the water finally, it has been the reason he came here, and the reason he has decided to dress the way he has.  While Yuuki makes her presence known, and her burns more intense than the sun beaming down on them, he decides today to study the waves.  The waves are much like the blade.

He starts swimming out, before he hears the insult from the sea and looks toward sit, floating in the water.  Of course, he was not sure who it was intended towards until someone deflates.  Huh...so even among exalted knights, there are disputes like this.  Truly, Humanity is such beasts...but still, the First of the Concord's ire is noted.

And then the pet bull apparently acting like a whipped down when she was angered.  He swims near Rhon, "Is everything alright?" he asks, though he was obviously NOT asking about her, she seemed just fine, his eyes looking towards the shore.
Tomoyo Daidouji     Rhongo looks like she's going through a bit of a mental journey as she processes What Tomoyo said. The girl just politely waits for her to finish answering, all the while trying to figure out what said journey is. This King is much less of an open book than the other King, and Tomoyo is no mind reader. But the hesitation in her final thoughts gives it away a little. She seems unused in having faith in others.

    Her food is ready. As Tomoyo wades out from the water, she reaches up to pat Rhongomyniad on the shoulder (she has to get on her toes a bit to reach). "You can trust the people around you," she says softly, gesturing at everyone at the beach party. "They certainly trust you. You can afford to return it." And with that, she heads over to the grill to accept her veges and beef with a grateful smile before retreating under an umbrella to eat.
Yuuki Kuran Dragging Zero out to the beach was probably the most thoughtless thing Yuuki had done recently, but at the same time...

"The beach is quite wonderful. I don't remember ever being to a real beach. Swimming in the pool, yes, during gym, but..."

Yuuki drags Zero towards the grill (and Asterios eating all the squid guts like escargot) and is intercepted halfway by Priscilla's retort.

With a kind, patient smile, Yuuki nods. "Of course I'm doing so on purpose. I don't want what I have for you: I wish better! And as Zero offers, if you need anything arranged - anything at all..."

She winks. "Just let me know."

Gilgamesh's taking of the DOUBLE SHOUJO PROTAGONIST EMOTIONAL TAG-TEAM ELBOW DROP in largely stride is nodded to. "Well, she did ask my council in passing, though we had not sat down about it. Priscilla, you didn't really invite all of the strongest and good-looking Heroic Spirits among the Multiverse's civilized factions, as well as Lord Galvus of Garlemald, just to learn how to swim, did you? Really."

Yuuki finishes her transition to the grill area. "Have you ever had grilled squid, Lord Galvus? I've only had a little bit in a resturant once. And I've heard fresh is better. I'm quite excited to try it! And, perhaps, as the sun sets, Zero will finish waking up."

Yuuki laughs. "And perhaps there'll be some fireworks."
Asterios A shadow suddenly looms over the two quarreling knights.

A terrible, bloody-eyed shadow, reddish stains tainting the pure white hair framing its face. For a moment, a sensation of deep and primal terror might just shoot down the spine. It's the fear of a prey animal suddenly realizing it has fallen into the clutches of a hungry predator--

And then they both get giant hands patting their heads.

"Friends," Asterios says, surprisingly clean except for a few bloodstains, "Should not... make each other feel bad. Aa?"
Rean Schwarzer Rean nods, and moves over a bit to start his own castle rather than mess with Gawain's. He's facing the ocean completely now, and watches Gilgamesh and Pricilla interact. It was honestly kind of heartwarming to watch. Then some other girl showed up and said something that angered Pricilla, and she stormed out of the water to the cooking area. He sighs and looks down at his sandcastle, which is more like a sand *mountain* than a *castle.*

Luckily, though it smells like the food is done. He walks over to the grill and grabs *two* plates of grilled squid. He then wades out to where Rhon is and hholds out the plate to her. "Want some?"
Bedivere     Bedivere is unflapped by far bigger things than this, and whether he notices the distinct gearshift from Abigail is a touch of a mystery. He answers easily enough as if he hadn't. It's a very genuine, forthright response from him: "It is my very good pleasure to meet you, Miss Abigail. I can emphatically say that I do not work well under pressure, but my life has given me far too many occasions where lives were at stake and the die was cast, leaving me no choice but to adapt," he finishes with a smile, a touch more wan and world-weary than the one he's been sporting for most of this event. "Whatever it is you normally do, my strongest advice to you is to find a foundation however real or metaphorical you can trust in and use it as a bedrock. Being adrift and being without thinking will wear you down."

    For a moment he seems satisfied as he turns the meat and observes the partygoers. There's been a bit of a breakdown of sorts, between Priscilla's storm and Gawain needling Lancelot, and these surprise shoujo protagonists delivering emotional elbow drops. His will is honestly to head out there and mother everyone into shape again, a will he very carefully surpresses. "Mmm, sorry, that was probably too aggressive an advisement of me. I may not look it but I'm amongst the eldest here, and elderly habits like advising the young die hard. Rest assured, you're a charming lady." He says, briefly patting the back of his head with the arm that is not grill-hot in an apologetic fashion.
Abigail Barton "Adapting, hm? I can understand that." Abigail chuckles lightly and wipes some sweat off her brow, the visor doing little after holding up so well under the grill for so long. She gets a wistful look on her face, probably thinking of something FAR OFF and doing some sort of dramatically narrated flashback sequence in her head even while listening to the cyborg knight.

"I've got all the foundation I need right here." She doesn't point at anything. Or gesture. Or leave any other clues. On closer inspection, though, some of that makeup is melting a bit.

Too much sweating out here. She's starting to look younger than before! She still chuckles softly and shakes her head though, giving Bedivere a reassuring smile. "It's no problem. Even someone like myself needs it every now and then. Doing this kind of work can really drag you down after a while if you can't relax."

That settles it. No killing today. Or poisoning. It's not like she's got a contract right now, anyway.
Priscilla     Priscilla realizes she has made a terrible error by taking a cheap shot at the peak shoujo herself. She doesn't know nearly enough about Yuuki's personal life, and having the side piece on hand is just too much trashy manga power to handle. Even she realizes there's no use in digging herself deeper.

    "No, I had scheduled such for the benefit of Gilgamesh, the Lady Rhongomyniad, and mineself, but all of her knights wishes to join her, as their king. Then it became something of an event." she admits truthfully, if still a little huffily. She pops the stopper on her little bottle, and starts sipping from it very delicately. Then, reaching for the cooler again, she takes out about a dozen more of them, setting them in the middle of the table. "Thou art welcome to one, if especially if thou feel any fatigue or discomfort of the sun." she says.

    For those who take a sip, it turns out to be water. Water that is somehow surrealy sweet --not saccharine, but enough that it makes it hard to chug. Where it goes down into a healthy body, it has the effect of so thoroughly eliminating even the very most minute of aches and pains, even the normal and unavoidably stresses and pressures of the hominid frame that everyone lives with without noticing, that it feels like the most impossibly perfect spa day spreading throughout the whole body --a state of Perfect health that would ordinarily be unachievable. It even deals with things like tummy rumbling waiting for food, or feeling kind of hot and sweaty. Normally this stuff is for things like "chugging in an emergency after all your guts fell out", so it's kind of absurd to be recreational like this, but damn if it isn't almost its own unique kind of drug.

    Priscilla gets her dang food. She'd only complained about it for lack of being able to get really snappy at Yuuki. She pulls her chair out to face the ocean, eating slowly and contemplatively, with moderately pointed corner teeth.
Gilgamesh      The King of Heroes is visibly irritated. The kind, gentle, vulnerable King disappears. That was a mistake. It was always a mistake. Whenever he let himself pretend to be one of the Humans it came back to bite him. They got too comfortable with him. Thought they were on his level. Thought they could match him. Thought they could talk so casually to him.

     Still, he's markedly more reserved than he might otherwise have been. A year ago he probably would've lost his temper and just smashed through the island or something obnoxious like that. Since Priscilla and Enkidu, though, he's become...more tempered. Less a wild raging storm, and more the image of the man at the end of the Epic, the man who Saw The Deep and Knew All Things, the wise man he would become.

     The wise man he would become when he lost Enkidu. When he lost himself. When he fell into despair.

     And he still had to fall into despair. He needed to. The cycle had to be complete. The world he came from required it. His duty was undone. This was a fleeting dream, a moment of pleasure. Enkidu would die. Ishtar would demand its death. He would seek immortality, and then fail. He would fail on purpose, and the only reward he would have would be a moment of laughter, a moment of true humanity, and the wisdom to guide them further.

     And then he would die, too. And the world would become...

     ...and the world would...

     The King just stands there in the water, distant. His thoughts are far from here, prompted by that selfish thought, 'i, also, deserve some happiness in the world. i, also, deserve to enjoy myself. i am the king who shoulders all their faults - experiencing all their pleasures is my just and noble due.'

     In the end, he had a doom upon him, a doom that he had to fill, else none of this could come to pass. Rhongomyniad and Gawain and Lancelot and Bedivere could not exist. The obnoxious red Archer could not be born. The world would fall into divinity if the moment came and he rejected it for something as soft and gentle as his own happiness.

     He was the King. He could not really ever be happy. He could indulge himself in all the pleasures of the world, be they food, drink, men, women, or anything else. He could hoard all the treasures of the planet. But he could not be happy. He was not permitted that right. That alone was the right of humans that he envied. That alone was the right of humans, and not those who were of the gods.

     That was the foolish ideology of a red-haired man surrounded by comrades, who fell into despair when all his friends could not reach the ocean.

     He was a sacrifice. He had known that from the moment of his birth. And this kindness, this vulnerability, this affection, would only hurt him in the end. He yearned for it with these who were like him, separate from the world. It was the closest he could ever know to it.

     And it might make it impossible for him to leave.

     He turns back to Rhongomyniad. "I..." He hesitates, uncharacteristically, for a brief moment. "...humans are fragile. If you are going to learn to swim, you must be willing to place your head beneath the water, and have that moment. That moment where the sea might swallow you up. You must hold your breath in your chest and let yourself understand the sea from which we all came, the embrace of the Mother we rejected, and the depths of the abyss."

     "And then when you emerge, and breathe in the middle of your stroke, you will understand humanity just a bit better."

     He wanted to lash out. He wanted to snap at Rean, or at Yuuki, or at the countless other people in the way of his Perfect Day, in the way of a brief moment on the way to his doom. But he couldn't. He was the King. He had to be above that.

     So he simply instructs Rhongomyniad quietly, letting Priscilla have her space, letting the antics on the beach play out.

     He does, however, very briefly correct Yuuki as Rean offers Rhongomyniad food. "I am still not dead. I am very much alive."
Zenos yae Galvus Coming out of the water from his swim, and noticing a distinct shift in the air, he looks towards Yuuki for a moment, and decides to simply engage in small talk with her.  He was to relax, after all, and sharpen the blade.  A dull sword shatters and does not cut cleanly.  

"Actually, I have...it is a delicacy in Kugane and in Doma, as I frequent the former often on dreay business, and rule later.  I am often want to eat the local cuisine, and I must say it is often surprising," he comments, unlike many others...he is not racist, just hates people who aren't strong, hates the world he can't flex his true strength in, and bored of people not pushing their limits.

He picks up a stick of squid and eats it, a cloud passing over his face for a moment.  "Not too chewy, good job," he says towards the cook.  In a way that might be 'congratulations you did your job'.  Towards Yuuki he turns again, "Director Kuran, am I right?"
Zero Kiryu Zero resurfaces relatively easily. Although he has been taking care of himself a lot better, he still prefers to operate in daylight over night time. He glances between Yuuki and Priscilla. While it is no trick of power or pheromones that does it, the First is the First for a reason.

"Most likely... her magnetism combined with opportunity produced an impromptu party, regardless of her immediate wishes. There are other individuals here who would most likely produce a similar result. You should know all about that, shouldn't you?"

But it's still better than those awful soiree, he leaves unsaid. Zero trails after Yuuki thoughtlessly, not /really/ needing to be dragged.

He does, however, depart her company momentarily when Priscilla produces something that will make him feel a little less like garbage. Zero takes one of the flasks and sets the stopper aside for the time being. By the time he returns to Yuuki's side, he's already swallowed down more than somebody really /should/ in one go, because he's a freak who overdoes it with his drugs.

He seems less sluggish after that.

"Thanks." He says, to Priscilla.

His attention lingers on Gilgamesh for a relatively long time. It coincides, very neatly, with the moments in which Gilgamesh is reconsidering his demeanor. He notices the subtle change in tension, the shifting of musculature. It's only after that passes that Zero stops his observation, sliding partially back out of focus.

"I'm... fine." Zero asides to Yuuki, offering her his already half-drained flask wordlessly.

Their conditions are leagues apart in severity, but still...
Yuuki Kuran "Ahhhh. I see. Arranged for Rhongomyniad, Gilgamesh, and yourself. Mmm, perhaps some advice in retrospect, then."

Yuuki moves to the table, guiding Zero lightly in his mildly disabled state to some places at the table, not directly besides nor across from Priscilla. In fact, if Gilgamesh is too lost in thought to resist - or simply chooses not to - Yuuki arranges the seating via cues, shoves, perhaps an elbow or two, so that facing the sea is Rhongo, Gil, and Priscilla, with Gilgamesh between the two Large Goddesses.

The knights can fight over Rhongo's other side, though if he acts quickly, Bedivere can easily steal the slot, while Lanncelot and Gawain may have to settle for across.

As she goes about her Black Sorcery, there's a gentle brush of the shoulder to the King of Heroes.

"You know, they say heavy sits the crown."
She leans in, her breath barely a whisper, as she finishes her thought.

Then she settles in as Lord Galvus addresses her, smiling pleasantly. "Of course, Lord Galvus. I love trying new foods, and if you wish to find the best - fresh and local, yes? Of course, skill comes into play too, so one must be discerning, but... Of course, you understand!"

She offers up more light laughs. "Director Yuuki Kuran, yes. I'm glad to make your acquaintance. A man as travelled as you must have stories. I must admit, I never really had the chance to travel my own world. I travelled by train once, but mostly I lived in the mountains."
Rhongomyniad     Rhongomyniad starts slightly, then glances towards Tomoyo, "Trust them?" Turning, she looks back to the shore, "But they are my trusted Knights. Of course I trust them. As for the King of Heroes..." Her head turns back towards the radiant King of Uruk, "...I do trust him. I merely do not know his limits." If there are any limits.

    "I believe so," Rhongomyniad states when Zenos inquires. Rean approaches her with food, and the Lion King regards the youth before her. With the way her face settles into its natural expression, it almost looks like she's evaluating the best way to end his life. But when she at last speaks, it's that same even monotone she typically uses, "As appealing as this is, I must decline. I have learned that it is unwise to eat before swimming." Gilgamesh addresses her, and she turns to face him directly with that level stare of hers.

    "I trust you. As you have trusted me." She feels she has to state this, given Tomoyo's comment. Pausing for thought, she recalls his earlier words as well as what he's said just now. Her hands are raised over her head-- and then the noble King of Knights just kind of...flops forward into the waves in what might be generously considered a standing dive. She doesn't actually fully immerse, even, simply floating facedown to experience the water as she had been instructed.

    It's only when she finds herself needing breath that she starts moving, twisting into an awkward stroke that's going to take some obvious practice. But at least she's bouyant.
Bedivere     Bedivere has disarmed multiple metaphorical bombs today. Good job, Bedivere. You helped, or at the very least prevented Gilgamesh' day from getting any worse by specifically your presence as opposed to generally everyone's presence. Unfortunately for Gilgamesh, Knights of the Round are a peculiar species that form colorful masculine flocks around a singular woman-king who shares her braincells with the men born without. Which is to say, Rhongomyniad and the Knights of the Round Table are a complete package, and thanks to grail fragments and mechanics they're more or less as immortal as she is, so there isn't even any guarantee waiting for them to die off will work. Not that it seems Gilgamesh has limitless time.

    Rhongomyniad's first dive is witness with a touch of awe (and amusement), but Bedivere returns to the matters at hand for him easily enough. "Looks like you could use a refreshment," he says easily, "I think Priscilla has provided some, and if you need a break simply say so. I'm blessed with unreasonable endurance, you shouldn't feel a need to keep up with me." He's being easy, chivalrous, kind, and moreover continuing the thread of their shared thoughts by offering Abigail the opportunity to relax, or at least refresh.
Priscilla     "The difference scarcely matters." Priscilla suddenly says, in response to Gilgamesh, still looking to the ocean. "Thou art not permitted to stay dead, if thou were to die. I am given to decide these things." she says. At first, it has a little note of humour to it, but then the smile slowly slips, and she begins absently fingering the little sunburst etch in a scale at her collar, staring off at the waves more pensively. "Whence the power to bring death to the world lies in ones right hand, and the power to deny it in the left, whether literally one's own hands or in those that act as hands for thee, such distinctions hath little meaning."

    She seems to have calmed down by now. "Thou art more than welcome, Sir Kiryu. I wouldst be disappointed were I made to pack them all away again." She makes just a little bit of a face at Yuuki. "It was perhaps a mistake to leaveth such decisions up to those art obliged to be more magnanimous than I."
Zenos yae Galvus Zenos, if he was offered takes take of the refreshments too, finishing the fried squid, before putting the stick down.  Zenos turns towards Priscilla, as she mentions the issues with the invitation towards Yuuki.  He makes an 'Mm.' sound at that, "Mine mistake, I did not mean to impose on your hospitality.  I would wish to rectify this mistake in the future." He says to the first.

Towards Yuuki he considers again, "Hm, I suppose I have 'stories', but there are very little I would consider exceptional.  Then again, if what you say is true then you have seen very little.  I could not imagine a graver fate, then not being allowed to test the world with your strength."

"Obligations aside, but I turn those into opportunities.  Though I could perhaps tell stories of the war of Garlemald Ascension when I helped my father gain his throne or the resulting rebellions in Doma I was sent to quell."

Aha fond memory, "I do remember coming across the Doman blade for the first time.  I must say, I was rather impressed," A pause, "I suppose there are the feats of the three blades I hold now and the stories behind claiming them as my own.  Though each one is an epic in their own right.  Still, it is rude of me to simply speak on myself, what of your world?"
Priscilla     Priscilla waves her hand (the one not finger tracing weird little occult marks) vaguely in Zenos' direction. "Think little of it. Had I been so offended, it is well within mine power to prevent the lot of thee from ever stepping foot upon this island." The statement hangs. "Well, at the easiest, by simply not telling thee where it is."
Zero Kiryu Zero allows himself to be shuffled about for the sake of SEAT WITCHCRAFT. But he ends up remaining standing to one side of wherever Yuuki decides to situate herself anyway. On first glance this could be mistaken for simply being a good servant with an umbrella. In reality he's actually just not completely confident enough that this can't escalate into some sort of violence -- or at least shoving that he doesn't appreciate -- that he's willing to limit his movements by seating himself just yet.

He'll see how the witchcraft turns out first.

Meanwhile he drains what remains of the flask, setting it aside at his place. It is, Zero reflects, rather like chugging cough syrup. Probably a bit thicker, all told. But he's gotten good at eyeballing medicine and by good we mean his body is too robust for him to overdose particularly easily and he often doesn't have the presence of mind to properly dose himself.

Whatever concerns he had with Gilgamesh banished, he starts paying close attention to Zenos.

But Priscilla draws his attention away for a moment.

    "'Zero' is fine, if you like." He says to her.

It's fine if she doesn't, his tone suggests.
Gilgamesh      "I know," is all he says to Rhongomyniad. Because he does. He watches with a slight smile before he gets out of the water, on hand to help her if she needs it, but content that she does not.

     Priscilla tells him that he can't stay dead as he sits down at the table.

     Yuuki whispers in his ear and sets the table in a Particular Manner. She plants thoughts in the back of his mind, and he does not reject them. In part, it's because they're what he wants to hear. Even he isn't immune to that. Even his ego isn't so strong as to be able to claim that he cannot Truly Want something and allow himself to Want it. Her words aren't wrong. They aren't incorrect. Truth, in a shoujo tone, winds into his ear like a particularly nasty insect.

     But he is also the King. That is what he Is. And it's...

     well.

     "That is..."

     He closes his eyes and smiles. "Actually quite comforting, to know that you think so highly of me that you would not allow me to go to my fate."

     "In fact...I think that may be the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me."

     At Yuuki, he just sort of nods.

     And then Gilgamesh presses his fingers against his forehead. "This is...simply unacceptable."

     THERE'S the King.

     The Gate of Babylon opens. Golden jugs fall onto the table with a little *thump*. They smell of countless smells, not merely wine and beer but pickled fruits and alcohols made from arcane things no longer found in the world. Amidst the well-prepared foods of the Knights and the ridiculous mythological spread fall drinks of a quality that has never really existed in the world of men.

     "So how would you do it!" The King declares, a wide smile on his face as he sits back, "How would you keep me from death? Would you summon me as your Servant? Bind me with magic? Or simply hold my soul in thrall?"

     His ability to rebound is *incredible*. "Do tell me! I am curious!"

     The drinks are out and the King is making merry again. Thanks, Yuuki.

     Also he gets to sit where he wanted.
Abigail Barton "I'll be alright. Thank you, Sir Bedivere." Abigail laughs lightly and tilts her head back, cracking her neck lightly while contemplating just how parched she is.

Pretty parched. With all the strange drinks being passed out or straight up appearing, she glances at the knights all around, their benefactors, their lieges, and their... Pets?

She's not sure what some of these relationships or who some of these people are. "... You know what? I could use a break."
Priscilla     Priscilla ceases blinking for a good few seconds, tilting her head to look at the King at an angle, drying hair sliding on her shoulders. "I had known there art many who art pointlessy hostile about thine presence, but that is something of an unexpected thing to hear." she says, sipping. "I am gladdened to hath improved thine mood, though I wouldst encourage thee to think little of it."

    Then all the real drinks show up. *This* is what she was expecting when she hadn't bothered to fill the boxes with any real liquor. She is *very* careful with it, because Priscilla is an absolutely *terrible* drunk and also a serious lightweight for being bighuge. She still goes through a fair bit, cleaning her plate in the process, when Gilgamesh starts asking those questions both unironically and bombastically.

    "I supposeth if I were forced to think of it, a Servant is possible, but perhaps to plain. Too common, and fraught with its own issues of pale imitation. A soul itself is far more valuable, and I believeth there art those amongst the Concord with the talent to do such with it, were I to only give the word. I am not much of a sorcerer mineself, in the arts of magic." she ponders aloud, a little flatly and gamely. "Of course, there is also the option of slaying whatever it is that thou fear may, or must, cause thine death." she adds. "Many art given to the thought that one life is an adequate price to pay for many, many more, but such is always said in absence of weighing their value. The idea that the number of lives themselves is all that matters. Given what I expect of thee, perhaps a world itself wouldst not be too steep a price." says Priscilla, in the same lackadaisical, contemplative tone as describing a theoretical dream house.

    It briefly darkens.

    "It is not as if I hath not done so before."
Rhongomyniad     Rhongomyniad is not in the water for long once Gilgamesh leaves it.

    Well okay she's in the water for an embarassingly long time considering her goal shifted to 'return to shore' twenty minutes ago. But after so much flailing about, the Lion King's feet touch bottom with enough traction to carry her ashore more traditionally, quite damp but still rather dispassionate in the face as usual.

    She does turn, once she's mostly left the surf, to look out over the sea once more. A soft 'hmm' escapes her, before she returns to the meal and her fellow Knights and Kings gathered around it.

    She makes a pointed effort to sit opposite of Priscilla, of equal distance to Gilgamesh.

    "It will require additional practice. But I believe I have connected to my humanity a little more."
Gilgamesh      He smiles.

     The darkness doesn't even phase him. No kidding, the King who's multiple times gone on about how modernity should probably be smashed and how there's too many worthless humans in the world isn't especially shocked by one of the people he loves as an equal saying that they'd spend a world for him?

     "I am the King who stands apart from all. Most of the people of my era said kind things about me as a child, I vaguely recall, and then feared me as a tyrant as an adult. They would comment on my beauty in order to avoid my wrath. Even nowadays, I am separate from the world, but for a few. You, Enkidu, Rhongomyniad."

     "So perhaps it is not that I hear no kind things," the King observes as he picks up a golden goblet and swirls it, "But that the kind things I hear from the people I value mean infinitely more to me than the platitudes of mongrels."

     His good mood continues as Rhongomyniad says his work was successful. "Good! Excellent. And now, we drink, we eat, we enjoy ourselves. The night is young, and..."

     And literally none of them are, since he's technically over seven thousand years (even if he's only twenty), Priscilla is Gods-Only-Know, Rhongomyniad is simultaneously a thirty-ish woman and also A Facet Of The World Only Slightly Younger Than Gilgamesh Born During The World's Separation, Yuuki and Zero are Vampires Of Indeterminate Age...

     ...it sort of doesn't play.

     "...there is plenty of time to make merry."
Yuuki Kuran "Ah... I would not say it was grave at all. Something to savor now, of course, and I cannot say I lack for things to do! I think it's..."

Yuuki looks distant, as the wages of her BLACK SEAT SORCERY take hold. Gilgamesh is Buoyed, and Priscilla lightly pushed. Her grand work done, she takes one of Gilgamesh' dark red wines and pours herself a full glass, sampling the octopus and other delicasies with the finesse of someone that had been at One Too Many fancy parties.

"You are very dedicated, aren't you, Lord Galvus? A conquering hero, and a man who both knows of and strives for power. I have to admit, I was born into my power. It was just..."

"Complicated."

"I've only known one person as interested in the art of bladework and bloody perfectionism as you - my adoptive father, Kaien Cross. He was the most red-handed of all the leaders of a certain Association, but now spends his time managing a very special school..."

"Or, he did, before there was a revolution. Now he mostly helps Zero here manage that certain association. You know, there's a lot to find in a single town. Have you walked every street of this 'Doma'? Perhaps you'd find something to impress even you!"
Yuuki Kuran As gilgamesh toasts to 'plenty of time to make merry', Yuuki bursts out laughing. "No, no. Say what you mean! What's in your heart. It's only what's appropriate, given the company. Legendary heroes! Goddesses! A Lord ascendant through his blade and empire. A humble me, and a grouchy Zero."

Yuuki raises her wineglass. "The vitality of life is living for those moments, isn't it? If we put it off, expecting countless tomorrows, we will never live."

"So shouldn't we drink and eat and party as if we would cease on the morning? There are many commendable things that mere 'normal' people get very, very right, and fools with too long a lifespan get terribly, terribly wrong."
Gilgamesh      "Fuhuhahahahahaha!"

     Yep, there it is, there's the King of Heroes.

     "You're right, you're right!"

     The Gate opens again. Even more food falls out of it. Sweets from across the ancient world. Vegetables long-since made extinct. Platters of meats to compliment both the squid and the other food prepared by their attendees and Knights, and enhance. Entrees. Ensembles. Soups - real soups, not appetizers, soups with some *heft*. The table goes from 'stuffed' to 'ridiculous' as the King of Heroes' good mood rises even further.

     He doesn't *really* need an excuse to party. He just needs the moment to pull himself out of his introspection and remember that he's sitting between two people he dearly cares about, and that all the others aren't really people who need to be swept away. Not right now, anyway. Right now...

     You know. The more the merrier. Or something lik ethat.
Rhongomyniad     Rhongomyniad nods once to Gilgamesh, "Yes. Now we feast, we Knights and Kings and creatures of the night." A celebration, THAT is something she finds in the memory of King Arthur. She reaches out when the Gate opens, collecting a goblet and then the fine Uruk wine that falls into it. This is lifted and sniffed, and then raised in toast as well.

    "To the King of Heroes, who has arranged this lavish feast. To our friends. To those we cherish. Let us make merry until the cockeral calls to the sun in celebration of one another."
Zenos yae Galvus Zenos hearing that Priscilla would kill a world for something she desired is enough to bring a smile to his face.  As long as it wasn't /his/ world, anyway.  Still, the strength of will to do something like that is something that should be appreciated.  

He pours himself some wine, taking a swig and raising a brow.  Hmmm...it wasn't Dalmascan Red, but it was very very impressive.  In fact, he could not say how they compared.  However, after some time, he regards Yuuki.  

"Yes, I do.  The blade is important to me, I study it and become stronger, and strength leads me to what I desire," He says, a wistful glance on his face.  "Was he now?  Has he gone into retirement from hunting?  A shame, I would have liked to face him in his prime then.  What of Zero now, is he the man's equal?" he asks, now curious.  

"As for Doma...no Doma is a country.  Full of large rivers, large mountains, and broken people.  The Empire did all that it could to snuff any hope of future rebellions, but those who did not die, or convert directly into vassals of the Empire escaped.  I can not blame the logic of my father for his actions in Doma, I still believe we would have been better served by not placing the Sub-Viceroy in her place.  Even if she has her uses..."

"I digress," he says, looking at the Ziz, "Hm.  This is far different than the Ziz of our world.  Though the Hydra...were they not as poisonous on your world as they are mine?" he asks, before actually smiling at Yuuki's suggestion.  "Ah yes, the victors and powerful must indulge, savoring their hard-fought victories."
Zero Kiryu Finally, some unseen criteria is met. Zero seats himself next to Yuuki, folding his oversized parasol and laying it down alongside his seat. He doesn't drink anything other than the flask that he was given by Priscilla. Ironically, although it now has fallen dark, he reclines in his chair and shuts his eyes.

It probably says a lot that he's willing to relax /that/ much.

He glosses over mention of himself and Kaien Cross, expecting that no one wants to hear about the now-pacifistic President of the Association, or of the school that overtook his duties afterwards. It's not until Yuuki encourages Gilgamesh to be more sincere -- and speak of the follies of immortals -- that he stirs again.

Evidently finding some merit in this, Zero actually joins the toast. But it is not his toast, and he offers no words to it directly.

"No..." He says to Zenos, at last, "it isn't about 'indulging', exactly."

"It's about living, not just 'existing'."
Priscilla     "It is indeed true that those who obsess with their works living the longest art those who most oft find them taken away so suddenly, by those who hath drive left in them." Priscilla agrees with Yuuki, now indulging in the extra ridiculous amount of food. "A day spent accomplishing nothing and enjoying nothing is a day closer to death in many more ways than one. So, let us do the latter."

    Not that that stops her from listening in on Yuuki talking at Kaien Cross, with that subject obviously having been 'of interest' as of late. To Zero though, she doesn't really insist. "Very well then." is what she arrives on, in a moderate, 'happy to oblige' way. Priscilla also knows toasting. That's a thing. She gets a proper (probably extremely gold and shiny) goblet and follows suit. "To company worthy of keeping, and deeds done and yet to be."

    Her lips upturn at the corner by a hair. "In a sense, Sir Galvus. If one doth not enjoy the rewards, then what wouldst be the point of winning? Merely avoiding the costs of loss is hardly a reason to go on fighting." Gulp. "And many fights thou shalt hath, I presumeth. All of us, most likely. For thee specifically, if rebellion is what thou desireth, but cannot easily conjure up, brandish thine blade and wade out into the Multiverse to find one of thine own."
Zenos yae Galvus "Hm..." Zenos says, with a tone of thought, "A very good question.  Victory hath become like a bitter taste in my mouth.  It was always expected, it was always a fact of life," But his eyes flash, "But not here...in this vast world I Have found equals, I have found those I can fight and push me to become stronger."

There is a manic twinkle in his eye, "I do not avoid the costs of losing...I embrace it as much as I do the fight itself," He says with a chuckle, "It was not that I necessarily desire a rebellion, that too would grow boring with time as the population dwindled, but I hoped not to break the spirits of the people so badly that they shirk at the very sign of our boots touching the ground."

"They are simply living like beasts, afraid of their master's whip...it's depressing, really."