foundfate | private psl

[Yeah, he was about to find out about that, if Merlin was using a computer or something. Because while Watanuki would normally try to respect Merlin's privacy, even he couldn't resist the urge to snoop if something was right there for him to see.

Then again, if Merlin was using his future sight to peek, Watanuki would assume Merlin was just sleeping and frown while waving a hand in front of his face. Then he will complain to himself.]

He tells me to cook, and then he goes to sleep?

[No computers - yet. In a few weeks' time, Merlin would have this idea that might necessitate the creation of a bastardized one. He didn't actually need the tech, especially later down the line when he'd take it upon himself to become a certain facility's power supply, but funneling everything through "wires" made it easier to disguise his presence, you know?

So yeah - Merlin was using his clairvoyance at the moment. While he couldn't use it to see the future or the past, with the Singularities themselves being eventual exceptions given that history itself was unstable, it was very useful in getting real time updates.

Like now.

It was impossible to miss Watanuki's close proximity to his body in his dreamlike state. As if Watanuki's magic wasn't enough of a flag, the state of his existence added to that beacon, and Merlin withdrew from his trance to crack open an eye.

Returning to his body wasn't so different from waking up, and he shifted rather sluggishly.]

Hmm?

[The fact that it looked like Merlin was waking up made Watanuki assume that was all it was, and he sighed.]

How did you fall asleep so fast? It didn't take me THAT long to cook.

[Present: bowl of udon!]

It's a talent.

[So he said with a hand-covered yawn and a scratch to the back of his head. Merlin was about to mention something else, too, about the surprising similarities between getting bored during a horseback ride and staying up here in the tower for far too long, when the smell of food reached him.

His eyes widened.

As a cambion who'd taken on more incubus traits compared to the human side of his heritage, food wasn't necessary. When he partook, it was literally for the flavor and fun, and the taste wasn't as potent as eating an emotion or a dream.

But this dish? Merlin could sense the magic wafting off the bowl, and he absentmindedly reached out to his staff, conjuring a table and a second stool, before taking the bowl.]

Thank you.

Do you cook this for yourself often?

[Watanuki accidentally imbuing his food with magic, to the point where it had purification properties, was like some cosmic joke. A useful cosmic joke, mind, but someone was still laughing about it somewhere.

After taking a second to calm down from being spooked by suddenly appearing table and stool, Watanuki finally handed over Merlin's bowl before taking his own seat.]

I have a few I cook frequently, and this is one of them.

Do you make a habit of just summoning whatever it is you need at any given time?

Only here in Avalon, where there's more than enough magic to go around. Elsewhere, it'll be too troublesome.

[In more ways than one.

He was still examining the bowl, by the way, sniffing at it curiously before setting it down on the table.]

Then, did you use any special techniques?

[By the way, if Watanuki brought chopsticks, Merlin would take a pair and... hmm. This was one of those things he hadn't bothered paying close attention to before. Closed index and middle fingers, press the sticks there with his thumb - he's seen that much, but what happened next? He would've conjured a fork, of course, except he was a court mage, and knew that sort of thing was a faux pas, the casual setting aside.

Help?]

I used the spices I usually use, which are a bit different from a standard recipe. It makes the broth more flavorful.

[Watanuki had indeed brought chopsticks, though as soon as he saw Merlin puzzling over them he realized his mistake. He set his bowl down, laying his chopsticks over the top of it.]

Ah, hold on, I'll get you a fork.

[Watanuki, immediately forgetting the conversation about summoning objects at a whim. But at least it showed his polite side?]

[In other words, Watanuki was completely unaware that his magic was leaking.]

Thanks, but I have it.

[He held out his hand, and a fork formed from a few petals that materialized.]

You'll have to show me how to use those one of these days.

[Merlin twisted a few noodle strands on his fork. He only had the vaguest notion of what they tasted like, mostly culled from dreams, and he examined the food wrapped around his fork curiously before placing it in his mouth.

Watanuki might be able to tell the moment the flavors hit him - Merlin sat up straighter, eyes widening as he forgot himself.]

Oh. That's why spirits like you!

[The widest grin shone on his face as he chewed and swallowed. Heck, he even seemed to glow, iridescent hair and all.]

[Yeah, Watanuki had no idea that his magic was leaking, or even how to tell that it was leaking out. What he felt every day just felt 'normal' to him. He would need to learn how to feel out magic before he realized what a problem it was.

Merlin would definitely be learning how to use chopsticks eventually, too. Not everything Watanuki cooked paired well with a fork.

Seeing that reaction, though, it sparked a bit of curiosity in Watanuki. He had just assumed that Merlin was an insufferable know-it-all, so seeing such a genuine reaction was both unexpected and welcome. And that grin, it sparked something in Watanuki. Something that would pop up again in the future, but that just remained a moment of 'huh. that sure is something' for the time being. Watanuki was never the best at recognizing attachment, after all.

But Merlin's words did help Watanuki realize something, and Merlin would be able to see the proverbial lightbulb go off in Watanuki's mind before he let out an irritated complaint.]

You mean those offerings I made for some of them are why spirits keep showing up?!

[Yeah, uh. He would have been doomed anyway, he was leaking too much magic. But making offerings for some of the spirits to help them pass on certainly didn't help.]

That, too.

[So this is the experience of eating a hearty meal.

He used to observe Artoria demolishing several plates over the duration of a meal. At first, he believed it was simply a function to replenish her sizeable physical and magical energy requirements. Later on, as her conduct became more restrained when she assumed the trappings of her office, he couldn't help but notice how dinner was one of the few times in the day that she seemed closer to her old self, albeit with more polished table manners.

...ah. Watanuki, do you even realize what you're doing?]

This [a faint tap of his fork on the side of the bowl] is a more condensed version of the mana you already exude. I can taste how much care and enjoyment you put into preparing this, and that's saying a lot!

[Has Watanuki already recalled the other parts of his legend? Merlin was somewhat reluctant to state his origins aloud - in his defense, it's all there on numerous articles and chapters about him!]

You're such a good child. To any phantasmal or spirit that subsists on energy, that kind of purity is a rare treat.

[Watanuki would definitely be reading up on Merlin the first chance he got. As soon as he learned the magic to spirit items away from the world and bring them to Avalon, he would be bringing over several books to read.

For now, at least, Merlin had given him something to be proud of. Even if it came with regrets, like the knowledge that his own cooking had (somewhat) doomed him to being haunted. RIP.]

I guess that's something I'll get better at as I learn more magic, huh? So that I only put mana in my food when I mean to.

[Maybe cooking utensils really were his preferred medium. Watanuki wasn't sure what to think about that.]

That may be for the best, although I won't say no to anything of this caliber that you bring me.

[Keep feeding him mana-infused food, in other words. This is something Merlin hadn't noticed earlier thanks to the magical density in the air, but for Watanuki's energy to be this distinct in literal paradise - that's saying something!

When he drinks a spoonful of soup from his bowl, Merlin can't help but sigh in content.]

To think that after fifteen hundred years, something new that pops out from the woodwork still surprises me. That's humanity for you.

[Well, Watanuki. When will you eat the dinner you prepared?]

[It took him a moment to remember that yes, he needed to eat too. It was far too easy to get wrapped up in talking with Merlin. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't had someone to talk to in so long and he actually enjoyed the company, even if Merlin could be a bit grating? Though as soon as Watanuki thought of it like that he chased away the thought, it just made him sound pathetic.

He could keep feeding Merlin mana-food, though. Given everything Merlin was doing for him, it seemed like the least he could do.]

Have you really been locked away here for that long?

['A bit grating' is a generous assessment, if one were to ask Merlin's previous company.]

Give or take. The Julian calendar was only used after Camelot fell, and I didn't exactly keep track of the years early on.

But even as a rough estimate it's close? Magic really let you live that long?

[There was a particular reason he was curious about that, though he would keep that reason to himself for now. His interest was not a secret, though, as he had stopped eating at was leaning in a bit to listen to Merlin.]

[Got the connection already, did you?

Merlin smiled as if all is well in the world.]

For some magi, yes.

In my particular case, it's from having a mixed heritage.

So you'll live until the end of the world, then? Never aging, all because of who your parents were?

[He's assuming it's unaging mortality or something like that. Die to stabs, not to time.]

I'm fated to stay here and watch until the end of the world.

[He speaks simply. He's had a long time to get used to this.]

It's not as bad as it sounds, you know? For as long as humanity exists and flourishes, I'll have something beautiful to watch.

[Merlin can say it's not as bad as it sounds, but.]

Do people know you're watching them?

Not usually, and I don't bother with lucid dreamers.

[Eating continues.]

[Wow what a garbage man.]

Stay out of my dreams, got it?

[Not that anything unusual happens in his dreams, but it's the principle of the thing!]

Are you sure?

[Not that the reaction comes as a surprise, and that's one of the reasons why he so rarely mentions what he actually subsists on even if having mixed blood should make it obvious.]

Half my work's done through a dream state. Besides, I make sure to leave happier dreams in exchange for my passing through.

Even if they're happier, they're not my dreams.

[Watanuki, the stubborn one who would insist on doing his own work. Or dreaming, in this case.]

Oh, fine. Someone else's.

[Funny how this works out. Given how talismans aren't Merlin's forte, he had been contemplating on visiting the dream of someone with that specialty, with Watanuki in tow.]

Although I'll say this: I expect you to tell me if you're experiencing nightmares. Exhaustion will only affect your training.

[Interestingly, when they did go looking for a dreamer who could make talismans, Watanuki would be able to move from dream to dream easily. Far too easily to be normal.

But for now, Watanuki huffed as he returned to his noodles.]

I'm not bothered by nightmares usually, but sure. I'll let you know.

[When that night arrived, though, Watanuki's dreams would be stronger than usual. Being in a land of such dense magic made it easier for the dreams to come to him, and it made his pull on other people stronger. Be careful, Merlin! It's easy to get sucked in unintentionally.]

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skipping ahead slightly