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[avalon] IC Inbox
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...
[For a moment he considers lying, but something tells him that if Emet-Selch found out he'd be twice as disappointed, so he simply does his best to sound nonchalant as he responds after a very long moment of silence.]
A few months. But it's been no trouble, really, since I've been on the night patrol anyway!
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[ Emet-Selch snaps an incredulous and furious look towards Hijikata. ]
By the star, why would you suffer such an affliction for so long, to the point where you have an outfit to mitigate the effects, without consulting someone?!
[ He resumes taking things out but he rattles the drawers and cupboard doors with a little more force than necessary. All while scowling. ]
Foolish... Idiotic... Imbecile...
[ Eventually he sets some bottles down on the workbench behind the counter with a sharp clack and jabs his finger at a nearby chair, kept for customers who need to wait. ]
Sit down.
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It really aligned with my schedule just fine!
[He still felt godawful for most of the first weeks, schedule or no schedule. He even had to be hospitalised on the day of the poisoning, and they kept him there for several days and administered plenty of treatments before he was deemed fit for release (under obligation of looking after himself well - did he do that?).]
Besides I wanted to prove to the criminal rabble that a simple potion isn't enough to faze Camelot's knights! We can improvise, adapt, overcome!
[Now he really just sounds like an absolute meathead...]
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The 'criminal rabble' would have taken one look at your sorry state and thought to themselves, "Ah, now there's a gullible fellow," and immediately taken advantage of you. No-one willingly endures such a dire handicap when the solution is so blatant. If it were me, I would have an ambush waiting for you when you visited the nearest healer. But I suppose in your foolishness, you evaded such trouble.
[ He mixes something together in a cup, keeping an eye on its colour as he stirs. ]
Here - I'll have you drink this first whilst I prepare more for you to take at home.
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At the hospital they said it'd take at least a month of really intense healing sessions, and at the time that seemed like more than I could afford.
[Schedule-wise moreso than financially. Still, he knows that this is a weak argument - even more sporadic healing sessions would have been better than nothing! He gratefully takes the cup from Emet-Selch and drinks.]
Thank you.
[Both for making the brew for him, and for worrying about him. In hindsight he increasingly realises how selfish he was in his stubbornness - if he had been ambushed and burned to a crisp by the daylight he'd have left the Yuureisengumi abandoned, and Emet-Selch and a number of other people would have lost a mentor, comrade or friend.]
I don't plan to let anything like that happen again - I got myself a potion-nullifier -, but on the off chance that it does I'll contact you first thing.
[The "potion-nullifier" is a magical bracelet, a present from an old lady as a thank-you gift for saving her in a quest - and it only nullifies one potion, then it becomes non-magical. So Hijikata is far from damage-proofed for the long-term future.]
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[ He scowls at Hijikata. Honestly! He's grudgingly grown to like the man, but sometimes he feels like he needs to hold their hand. Mortals really are just children playing at being adults. ]
Where did you get such a thing in the first place? Most enchanted items can only warn you of poisons; they do not render them harmless.
1/3
2/2
3/3
I...
I forgot.
[This can't be happening. It's like a nightmare where he's disappointing his senpai worse and worse with every passing moment!! Given the deep shade in the shop that allowed him to partly lift up his face shield and drink he also pulls back his double-layered sleeves to take off the clearly handmade bracelet he was wearing on his wrist.]
This is it-- this was it. A local woman gave it to me - local to Camelot or Elphame or neither, I don't know. I met her in the mountains.
...
Sorry.
[For his moronic behaviour - now and over the last months -, and for wasting the healing potion. Talk about eating humble pie!!]
I want you to know I laughed way too hard, rest in pieces Hijikata
He closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose, and takes a deep breath before he can say something he'll regret. Then turns around and starts making a second dose. ]
Are you absolutely sure it does not discriminate between restoratives and poisons? ...Well, granted, testing it on a common poison now would still be a waste...
[ He sighs heavily, glancing back at Hijikata. ]
Don't look so glum. What's done is done.
I hadn't planned this, but when Emet pointed that out I went "Oh crud"... 😂
I'll tell my squire to keep this in mind when I give him the other one.
[If he can at least forewarn Shoto now it won't be a total loss! He makes a mental note to get Emet-Selch something nice too the next time he visits the traders from Elphame.]
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Emet-Selch nods, satisfied that the man has learnt his lesson for the time being. He swiftly prepares a second dose and hands it to Hijikata. ]
You have a squire, you say. You are making quite the effort to fit in.
[ It isn't a criticism. Merely an observation. ]
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It's not about fitting it. I didn't look for a squire on purpose. That boy, he...
[He pauses, trying to find the right words.]
He dedicated himself to me.
[Shoto's admiration for him is baffling to him even now. He can fully count on him to hold his own and have his back on any kind of quest, and on top of that he also is kind and good-natured! Hijikata really doesn't know how he lucked out like that.]
It's been... rewarding. Hey, maybe you should consider taking a squire too.
[Emet-Selch's proficiency and sharp mind would make him a valuable teacher - for a competent student only, though, because one who's disagreeable or slow on the uptake would certainly exasperate the man.]
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I don't believe that would be a good idea.
[ In better times, in...idyllic times, perhaps he would have handed the figurative reins to another and returned to the star with his friends. But then the world had changed, and man with it. Since then, he has set far from a good example for others to follow. ]
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Well, you've got your hands full enough with the shop, I reckon. Each of us can only do so much!
[He waits for the bill for his assorted potions, then pays. With the helmet's face shield now fully closed again his voice sound a little muffled, but his bow, potion bag neatly held in both hands, expresses his gratitude.]
Thank you for your help, really. The next time you'll see me it won't be in this get-up.
[If only so he doesn't get scolded again!]
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I hope not. Unless you enjoy looking like a literal knight out of a faerie tale. Bring your squire by sometime; I would like to meet them.
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[Or maybe he'll send Shoto over to deliver materials the next time
due to logistics. He's confident that Emet-Selch will be pleased to meet him, given what a faultless boy he is!]