isleofavalon | Mother and Daughter Beach Time Talk

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Mother and Daughter Beach Time Talk

🧙 WHO: Homura + Caster
⚔️️ WHAT: Talking about feelings
🕒 WHEN: sometime in July
🗺️ WHERE: The Beach
⚠️ WARNINGS: language, potential talk about murder and whatnot

Earlier, a private message had been sent to Caster's phone. After all the therapy, after all the distance, Homura couldn't take it anymore and sent the message.

'You doing okay? Up for meeting at the beach? No one has been hunting me, or you I figure, so maybe we can talk and chill for a change. Don't worry, I can keep us alone.

-- Homura

P.S. Also Tsumuji stole the Saber doll. She tried to give it back but I'm unsure if she actually did what I asked. If she's still missing, I'll grill her later about it.'

Homura didn't even wait for an answer before going to it herself, the magic still active and giving her a certain bikini. At the very least, she could lay down on the blanket and absorb some more sun. There were more reasons as to why she set it up here of all places, but for now, those would be kept to herself. All up to Caster for coming here or wanting to go elsewhere though...

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that would be nice
yes lets find a quiet part

medea

ps will see if sabers been returned when i get home

For the time being, Medea had been bouncing between the houses of her various allies- and accomplices, if you could call Yuber such a thing- Well. After the awkward that was Celliwig and everything that happened before that, she wanted to clear the air with Homura.

Besides...a trip to the beach actually sounded nice.

And so she wandered down to the beach, towel under one arm, wearing an attractive, purply-blue swimsuit and flowy, clear skirt. Medea was glad that the semi-transparent part over the area above her breasts at least partially concealed the jagged scar down her breastbone.

Ah- there was Homura- that bikini she wore really was adorable, she had good taste.

"...Homura?"

The name and feeling another approach stirred Homura from her rest. She rose up and nodded at Caster's presence. She tried to at least offer a friendly smile, even if one could tell it was tired and a tad forced.

"Glad you made it." She patted the large empty space on the blanket. "Nice choice in bikini by the way."

Least this world had good and familiar designs.

"Do you like it? I wanted to go for something that wasn't too revealing." Medea walked over to lay out her towel beside her. "Your bikini is cute~ I like it."

There was something a little forced in her voice, too, like everything took a little more energy than it should. Perhaps that was the grief talking.

Just the two of them now, both equal, both vulnerable. Nothing like the brief stay and awkward walk. Just had to talk. Had to not make this too awkward. She takes a long, deep breath.

"I...I did a lot of thinking." She pulls her legs up, hugging her knees together. "I heard about what you did back in your home. At first, I was kinda horrified you did something similar to Dogen. But...I'm not exactly a good person to judge. I'm a shinobi. My path will always be filled with blood. And...I think I would have tried to help you anyway in that dream world."

And given the small shake, that terrified her. Even so...even so...

"And...I think I realized that part doesn't matter. I hate being judged for my own past. I don't want to do the same to you. But I need to know you won't ever be like Dogen."

"I did a lot of awful things- during the Holy Grail War I called upon all sorts of dark magics that I never dared touch in my lifetime. And, well, you know of my legend," Medea watched her, seeing how Homura shuddered.

"I'm a wretched woman- an evil witch mired in her own darkness. That is the sort of person I am. I...want to do right by you, but I've never been a good person. Whether that makes me like Dogen or not, I can't say."

After all, she couldn't even be sure at this point which of her atrocities Homura was referring to.

"This isn't about who you were though. I'm talking about now!"

Her head rose up from her knees, fear disappearing, though she still felt like a child. It was hard not to when like this, when near her.

"There is no Grail War here. You're not constantly hated by everyone. Most of us fought so we wouldn't see you killed! Some of us would probably die for you!"

Like her. She put her entire body on the line, still was, all for the woman she viewed as a mother.

"Just...I want you to trust us more..." She looked down at her knees again. "I want you to trust me more."

Medea returned the outburst by staring at Homura, as if she was only just starting to hear the words she had been saying.

It was different, here. She wasn't hated. She hadn't been condemned as a Witch, the way she had in her lifetime.

And her expression started to waver-

"You- care for me-"

Perhaps she'd known that all along, and right now no words really seemed to fit quite right with how it was all starting to sink in.

"...I thought- I was so sure that if I survived the battle I'd end up wandering Avalon alone as a true witch. I didn't think anyone- I didn't think you'd still-"

Medea trailed off, gazing out at the ocean.

Edited 2021-07-09 17:19 (UTC)

That...might have opened the floodgate for more anger. Well, rage with love, but still...

"Of course I cared about you still! I tried to get Archer and Saber to spare you, and I was even ready to kick their asses if they didn't agree! Probably something worse! I spent every hour after I woke up trying to make sure you were safe while I was bleeding out, and good lord, you can't stay still for ten goddamn minutes!"

That part was admittedly more of a rant than her demonstration of caring; it was a rough night for all. She lost track of Caster on multiple occasions, missed encounters with many people. Still the roughest night she had, at least in this world. She even moved into Caster's view, grabbing her face and forcing them to lock eyes. Fear, rage, love, there was a whirlwind of emotions in Homura's rants.

"I even called you mom, something I didn't think I ever thought of doing until I thought you were gonna die! And thanks to that therapist, I had a crisis as I realized I turned into frigging Miyabi with all this drama! I'm a frigging mess thanks to that fucking stupid dream pool, but you know what? I'd do it all over again just so we still have this connection, as long as we can at least try, keyword try, to fix things!"

She takes a long, deep breath, her grip from Medea's head slowly loosening. By the time she spoke again, calmness had returned, more gentle than the angry yelling beforehand.

"Besides..." Eyes fall lower to the ground, spotting the slight scar on Medea's body. She didn't want to think of how many more were there. "I know what it's like to hit rock bottom. I know what it's like to lose people and have others discard you. But more than anything, I know I can rise back up, and so can you. If I truly lost all hope in you, I wouldn't have even bothered to make that message online and put the biggest bullseye on my back. If that helped you even a little, it would have been worth it."

The Sorceress faltered as Homura grabbed at her, but didn't flinch or pull away, just trying to reconsile the outburst of emotion she was getting. All the while trying to manage her own storm. That was an ask in itself- each time someone accepted her, showed they still cared for her after the fires of her grief had burned through, it left her blindsided.

She remembered. She remembered lashing out at Homura in her rage. And then her continuing to fight for her all the same.

Homura and Kadoc...they'd fought to keep her alive, ensure her future, whilst she'd lost all hope in such a thing.

As she felt Homura's grip loosening, Medea's hand moved up to grip hold of it, as if she were frightened what would happen if it fell. And then she gave it a light tug- hoping to pull her into a hug, if she'd let her. Nothing she could say right now felt quite right, and by the way her voice was catching in her throat, she wasn't sure she could find those words regardless.

The scar on Medea's chest was the worst- but in her swimsuit, a handful of smaller ones could be seen scattered across the rest of her.

"...I'm sorry. I'm sorry you got burned by my madness."

There would be no hesitation in accepting the hug. For all the frustration Homura got off her chest, she still loved Caster. Despite their recent meetings, she missed her mom, missed being this close without some dumb accident being involved, and yearned to be held like they had done before on that one night, when she had tried so hard to temper her rage and keep it a secret. She even made the hug tighter, showing just how much the contact felt. Caster might even feel some tears fall onto her skin, the shinobi unable to hold them back.

"And I'm sorry for not realizing so many things sooner. We...we both kinda need to recover and heal more, huh?"

Medea hugged Homura close, running a hand through her daughter's hair as she felt her own shoulders shake. "I...yes, I think we do."

"You heard from Archer or Morgan what happened, didn't you? Why- what led to all of that?"

At the very least, if she hadn't gotten answers already, she deserved to hear them now.

She nodded, not moving as she felt the hand going through her hair. Touch was something that made Homura nervous. Rarely was anyone allowed to be this close, less she freak out, even if her life was being saved. Medea was the one exception in this case.

"I kinda figured it out on my own. I mean, that war has a ton of people doing different stuff. I guess you needed the extra firepower or something?"

"...Well, given Souichirou-sama wasn't a Magus and thus couldn't provide me with mana, I needed to maintain my existence and magic another way. As it was I needed to tap into dark magic like that," she said quietly, focusing on the sound of the waves to let her keep her emotions in check.

"I'm...sure you have a lot of questions about all of this, so- I'll try to answer as best I can."

"I figured that was the case. I still remember stuff from that world, and when we were separated, I thought of strategies and your actions, like how you wanted to use me like a battery at first."

She didn't doubt Caster's need for magic. Against all sorts of powerful foes, certain unpleasant actions had to be taken. It still made the shinobi wince though, for while Hebijo went far, this was a bit of a tighter rope to walk across. Homura hated involving innocents into a battle. She took it personally if it was her fault, especially when shinobi were meant to fight in the shadows. Some things were different for other people.

"So I'll focus more on personal questions. Would you have killed the entire town to win?"

"...If I had no other options, then...if I had to, I would."

She owed it to Homura, at least, to answer her as honestly as she could. After all, if that were the only way to win? Medea was almost certain she'd take it. So she could have her happiness.

"But I didn't intend to kill those people. I never used that sort of dark magic in my lifetime, so I drained too much power to begin with. That was a mistake on my part, not that I expect anyone to believe that."

"I see. Maybe that's the wrong question."

Sacrificing people you don't know, in a world that hurt you, is much easier than the alternative. Dogen could do that with utter laughter; hell that's why he bragged to the ninja's face. In which case--

"Would you sacrifice me then? To win or if it would somehow bring him back?"

A chill and a fire ran through Medea's body all at once, and she pulled back to fold her hands in her lap, dark magic rippling through them as she squeezed them tight together.

"You know my legend. That is why you're asking me such a thing, isn't it?" After all, her name had been immortalised in myth as someone who even killed her own children for her vengeance. She had no intention of confirming or denying that claim, even to Homura, but it was as she'd said in the past: She desperately wanted to prove she wasn't as awful a Mother as legend claimed she was.

Her beloved fiancé, or someone she'd intended to take in as her own child...

The idea of losing either of them in the war- the idea of choosing which of the two to sacrifice, especially with all she knew now- that felt like a hot knife.

"Well, what do you think- I butchered my own brother so Jason could achieve his desires, what do you expect from someone like me?! Do you really think I wouldn't burn it all down so- so I could-"

...The rage didn't last. She was so, so tired, and that non-answer was all she could manage.

Her shoulders started to shake as she stared back out to the sea. It wasn't fair. Why should she have to make such a choice? As if her fate weren't cruel enough.

She probably should have been more careful with such a question. Yet Homura didn't flinch. If another fight needed to happen, so be it. Fortunately that didn't seem to he the case.

She cast her eyes down. "I should have been more specific, sorry. But it's not your past that has me concerned, at least before that war. If it was, I doubt we would have this conversation at all. Plus I already made up my mind, remember?"

She promised to stay, to listen and not judge her like so many did before, no matter how hard that could be. She still believed in Medea regardless.

"...You mean what I intend to do going forward. That's...something I haven't figured out, yet. I still find it difficult to see a future for myself. At least- to see one where I find happiness. Morgan said he'd help me but..."

Medea closed her eyes, mind drifting back to the battle as she prodded at that scar on her chest. Even so much as thinking about tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that... days upon days where it never felt like she could be truly happy again.

No, she was definitely getting distracted from the main point, and she shook her head to get herself back on track. If some great power offered to bring her beloved Souichirou-sama to Avalon. Or even, grant her and him the Holy Grail back home, in exchange for Homura's life-

Medea was quiet for a long time. The question of why it should ever be a choice she'd have to make. Why would fate force her into that position. But, in hindsight, she'd given her true answer at the end of the war, hadn't she?

"...I'd sooner my own life be forfit than either of yours."

Homura definitely got more out of this conversation than what she expected. Her next question had disappeared with Medea's statement and feelings. Right, how could she forget? Her mom told her about not seeing a future for herself, why she acted that way to begin with. There was a bit of shame, though at the same time, it made things easier. How could it not when they were both taken advantage of for their skills, and easily discarded when their jobs came to an end?

"Then I'll just keep doing what I promised: keep fighting for you to have some future," the shinobi spoke, though with more resolve and determination. "You may not have a goal, you may not even know what you want, and you may even screw up and become what people think you are. But I'm staying to make sure people actually see the real you, and will help you get out of that darkness bit by bit. Just like my friends did for me."

She paused a bit as she thought those words over. "Well okay, I'm a shinobi. Still kinda in those shadows and will kill assholes. But hey, that just means I don't expect you to wear a super hero outfit or something."

"You'll still..." a faint, tired smile came into Medea's face. Smiles were not something that came easily to her these days, but Homura's brightness was a little contagious. And...it felt, at least, like her daughter had understood what she was trying to say.

"...I don't intend to abandon you either, you know. If anyone harms you, I'll drive Rule Breaker into their backs."

Typical Medea, showing she cared about someone by threatening violence.

"Course you'll have to wait till after I'm done kicking their ass."

Despite the intense talk, things seemed to be good between them. After her own little speech, she did feel uplifted, aided only by the smile of her mother. Leaning forward, the ninja hugged Medea, finally moving forward with such affection.

"Even if we fight, I'll always be by your side. I want you to be happy, as both your friend and daughter."

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Mother and Daughter Beach Time Talk

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Tw fracticide / filicide mention

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