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[Why, thanks. He's spent time figuring out why human expressions are the way they are, for all that he can't truly understand their core.]

Fantastic. [Time to finally sit up! He dusts the back of his robe.] What a kind child you are.

I think I won't put you through sword exercises this afternoon once you're done with the dishes, but fear not. Your hands will be suitably tired.

You know I'm 17, right?

[He's totally grown up, not a child at all!!1

But he's going to get up off the ground now, and after a heavy sigh he'll offer his hand out to help Merlin stand up fully.]

You know it's impolite to compare your age to youthful old men, right?

[He could've gone for "ageless" at this point, but.

Anyway, he was about to stand up when that hand's held out to him. Merlin blinks, still not used to this with how often he keeps his distance, but not accepting would only highlight how unusual this all is, no? So he takes Watanuki's hand and compromises by putting most of his weight on his staff.]

Thanks. I'll make sure to rely on you if we ever find an actual road to cross.

I figured the rules were different when the 'youthful old man' never aged.

[Smart idea Merlin, Watanuki is still a noodle and may have struggled to help someone up.]

I don't think there's any roads around here, but who knows what the future will bring, right?

[That's not wrong, but no answers other than a grin will be given.]

Who knows, indeed? [Now doesn't this bring to mind certain preparations being made in an isolated continent on the texture of the world?] ...perhaps you'll have the opportunity to do so in less than half a decade.

Done with the dishes already?

[Merlin, turning the Garden of Avalon into a bustling city.

Also, something about that last answer startles him.]

I am, but- half a decade? Really?

[He thought this would be like high school and only take 3 years.]

"Less than." And that's only an estimate.

[Whenever that king's dreams turn into reality. Whenever that facility's preparations become useful. What use is learning all this unless his pupil gets the chance to grow and work out for himself how his talents can be used? And afterwards, Merlin will personally wipe Watanuki from their databases, for his student is one individual the Association should remain ignorant of.]

Mind, a little walk outside doesn't mean I'll be done with you yet. So do your best, o pupil mine, and mayhap I won't need to take up that much of your time.

[But seriously - this sort of thing usually takes at least a decade! And apprentices typically started at a younger age.

Surprise ♡]

Edited 2021-02-04 14:50 (UTC)

[Merlin showing his affection for Watanuki by keeping him off of the Association's radar. So nice, Merlin.

But Watanuki is starting to realize just how long he's going to be here, and he blanches a bit. He had no idea what would happen after, honestly. Now he's starting to ask questions.]

But- won't everyone notice I've been gone for years and years?

[That's not affection, but an anti-meddling measure.]

Let me put it this way: the Space-Time Witch's Shop is between worlds, and Avalon exists on a layer of reality separated from the one you came from. The time difference may not be strictly equivalent - indeed, when you step out of the Shop, the world you were in might not have moved on in any significant manner.

[The more important question, really, is how Watanuki will reconcile the person he'll become to the one he was. Returning to the place of one's origin isn't always coming home.]

[You keep telling yourself that, Merlin.]

Ah. I guess that helps with that. Though it might be strange for me to show back up a decade older.

[17 to 27 is an important time for growth! Watanuki will definitely look older than his classmates.]

Unless you're going to say I won't age here too.

[He's not even thinking of how much his personality will change in that time.]

[...ahh. About that.]

This is the eternal Utopia that neither the decay nor destruction of the planet's surface can reach. A paradise that humans can only hope to imagine.

[Don't make him spell it out.]

Edited 2021-02-05 14:26 (UTC)

An eternal Utopia, huh? That must be why Avalon was seen as an afterlife.

[He gets the idea.]

Something like that.

What do you plan on doing once you return, anyway?

Well, I'll have to finish school, I guess. And once I have my degree then I can start working? I don't know, I never really thought about it that much.

['It' being 'his future'. And actually now that Merlin has planted that thought in his mind, he's feeling a little unsettled. What is he going to do once he returns?]

[..........

Still stuck in thinking about a boring old routine, eh? Merlin supposes that it is only their second day. Of course, if that's the kind of ending Watanuki can honestly say he wants after everything's said and done, that's fine, too.

Emphasis on "honestly."]

How fortunate that you now have more than ample time to think about it.

Shall we see to your next lesson?

Right, right.

[And so time passes in Avalon, with two men working on magic and everyday living in the unchanging garden. A daily regiment of training, cleaning, and cooking keeps Watanuki occupied most of the time, though he does still have ample chances to be salty about Merlin's Everything. Interestingly, it changes from "harsh reactions" to "a tolerance of a known gremlin" as the months pass.

Watanuki's magic lessons are slow going too. He's trying, but there's some hefty mental blocks on Watanuki, and working around those takes time and effort. Watanuki is quickly becoming accustomed to waking up on the floor, and he's started to assume that he is just overworking himself. Merlin can know the truth though, that tripping one of those mental blocks means naptime for Watanuki. And given that he usually forgets what he was doing just before passing out, it's probably best to avoid setting them off.

Family. His past before he was 8. The fact that his name is strange and probably not his original name. The fact that he can't taste his own cooking. These are all touchy subjects when it comes to keeping Watanuki awake, and they are best avoided.

It is slow going, but it's not without some kind of progress. And if Merlin keeps peeking in on Watanuki's dreams, he will see the first sign of those latent powers waking up about six months after Watanuki's arrival. Because Watanuki isn't dreaming about cooking, or school, or being chased by ghosts. Tonight, he's dreaming about a future Merlin probably can already see coming. A time in an old city, run by a rough king, fighting a seemingly unwinnable battle against an actual goddess.

Watanuki isn't even tossing and turning in his sleep, as he often does with bad dreams. He's laying eerily still while he dreams of seeing a wave of sludge rush towards the temple steps he is standing on.]

[The zoning out is something he mentions a few times when sees Yuuko for their their food supply exchanged, casual but knowing. Merlin might not be able to pinpoint how this situation started since he can't See the past, but he won't be surprised if sending Watanuki to Avalon is, in part, a way to "make up for it" in the most indirect way possible.

At some point, a pair of glasses from a certain deceased person is passed on. Supposedly to help. If Merlin weaves in a few more layers of magecraft on it before it's given to the intended recipient, that's no one's business but his own.

As for that dream - it's something Merlin, actually, has no way of specifically anticipating until Goetia distributes the grails across time. After that, he'll be peeking into all seven to determine the details of what's going on and what might happen, and the idea of actually getting involved beyond supplying Chaldea with energy only comes to him much later. The thing is, it's long past the age where he gives prophecies, and he's not inclined to make any more.]

Oya. [He's so surprised that he actually materializes next to Watanuki, grasps his student's arm, and whisks them away in a shower of petals to a higher point of the temple.] So you're capable of something like this as well?

[He knows the taste of a prophetic dream, and the contents of this one are grim enough for him to not make a joke so soon.

It occurs to him that, for the first time, he might've been given a pupil he has to teach about this particular skill set.

...well. Isn't that a twist!]

Edited 2021-02-06 03:21 (UTC)

[Yuuko is painfully unhelpful there, just feeding Merlin lines about 'it was a price that was paid' and things like that. No hint as to the wishes Watanuki made, nor when they were made. You gotta figure it out on your own, magic man.

Watanuki does like his new glasses, if only because he can see slightly better wearing them. His old pair is tucked away for now, and he favors the newer pair, completely unaware of the extra magic instilled on them.

The sudden change to a higher level of the temple is a bit jarring, and he looks surprised to see Merlin there. There is an awareness in Watanuki's eyes that isn't usually there, a hint that this is more than his usual dreams. It's not just Watanuki's subconscious in here.]

Merlin?

[It's the first time he's called out to Merlin by name too. Quite a twist indeed.]

What do you mean 'something like this'?

[Luckily the mud doesn't reach where they are quite yet, so they have time to talk.]

[Figuring it out is indeed on the agenda, but that won't stop him from bringing it up as some sort of tease that turns into one of those inside jokes in the long run. Immortal magicians - including her - have to get fun from somewhere, no?

And ahh, to be recognized at last. This, too, is progress, never mind that it's from a happy... not really an accident. Newly revealed opportunity. There we go.]

Before I answer that, let me ask you: have you ever experienced saying something off-hand before, only for it to actually happen later on without your intervention?

[Merlin, the Bob Ross of prophetic dreams.

It's hard to stay focused on what Merlin is saying when there is so much going on, but Watanuki tries. Thankfully those weird monsters with too-large mouths don't seem to see either of them yet, even though they're out in a very obvious place.]

You mean like deja vu? Sure, that happens to everyone sometimes. But what does that have to do with all of this?

[He's trying to pretend that he doesn't hear those monster screams. It's not a very convincing act.]

[Casting an illusion within a dream is the easiest thing: a tap of his staff on the ground, the creation of a pseudo-barrier around them. There. Now they won't be seen.

That doesn't fix how gruesome and alien the sight before them is, of course, but this serves as a good way to get over the initial shock of meeting the creatures in the waking world. Whenever this occurs.]

You, my dear student, have the gift of Clairvoyance. And I can tell you with certainty that this dream isn't one of the past, no matter how absurd that might seem given the surrounding architecture, but a vision of a future you may find yourself in.

...eh?

[Watanuki is hearing Merlin just fine. It's just that he can't believe what he's actually hearing.]

Wait- clairvoyance? But isn't that really hard to do? Like, it's impossible if you aren't born with a talent for it?

[Someone has been paying attention during his magic lessons, at least.]

And this- what future IS this? We're about to get eaten by horrible monsters! I don't want a future like that!

It's entirely possible you've always had the aptitude. Indeed, having recurring instances to deja vu is one indicator. That said, not everyone's able to wake up that particular talent - practicing magic as you have over the past few months might've brought it out.

And as for this future... [Merlin's expression doesn't change, but his tone gains a somber inflection. By now, Watanuki might be able to tell he's thinking about Arturia and Camelot, again.] We don't always know how we'll arrive to this point, or how it will turn out after. Some particulars can change thanks to our choices, but others - ah, not so much.

I promise you they won't catch sight of the two of us. While we're here, however, we might as well maximize the opportunity. [He makes a sweeping gesture with his arm to indicate their surroundings.] What - or who - else do you see?

But- I started training to be LESS bothered by magic, not more! And now you're saying I'm going to get hit by visions of the future?

[Classic Watanuki, panicking over something not that serious.

The direction to see what else he can see helps though, it refocuses him and keeps him from falling out of his slumber and back to the waking world. Though his movements are a bit frantic now, since he worked himself up like that.]

Er...there's a big temple? We must be in an ancient city, right? Do places like this even exist anymore?

[His attention is drawn upwards though, to where Gilgamesh will end up being when this vision does come to pass.]

Something's up there too.

We're in a place before my time.

[Be as it may, this is a place he knows of, from the style of the ziggurat to the designs on its walls. There is one civilization that comes to mind, ruled by a tyrant that Merlin's studied out of professional interest as a kingmaker and a fellow Clairvoyant.

Solomon's shadow has not yet acted on his plan. But if this dream exists, there is a version of that Sumerian king already dreaming of the fallout a few steps ahead. If Watanuki's spotted him from afar, Merlin paying his respects is but a matter of course.]

Well, let's go greet him, shall we?

A word of caution, Watanuki: don't speak until he addresses you. Introducing yourself as my apprentice will make things easier, and bite your tongue if you think he's insulting you: the outlook of mighty kings such as him is vastly different from what you're used to in the modern age. Until such a time you're more than familiar with court etiquette - make no mistake, that's part of your lessons now! - you're in no position to discern the appropriate time to break it.

[He grasps Watanuki's arm. The sensation is much like it appears - a brief undoing of the physical form, followed by an incremental rematerialization from a thousand flower petals. Merlin takes a moment to breathe deeply, taking in the intermingling sensations of a dream dreamt by two people while the pinnacle of an ancient city burns in what might be either ruin or an honorary funeral pyre.

Several steps before them, the king continues to contemplate the city, his arms crosed. He hasn't turned to acknowledge the interlopers... yet.

Casting one last look at Watanuki as a reminder, Merlin steps forward with a hand on his chest and bows: a sign of respect, not low enough to be mistaken for fealty.]

Greetings, O Great King of Uruk, mankind's oldest hero. Even as we stand at the eve of humanity's greatest calamity, it will be my honor to serve you in stemming this tide when the time comes.

[Gilgamesh snorts.] Magus of Flowers. It's too soon for this meeting, but know that when you choose to meddle with my affairs, I'll work you to the bone.

Mongrel. [He hasn't looked back yet, although it's clear that he's speaking to Watanuki.] The appearance of that Cambion next to you is your doing.

Be grateful I'm allowing you the honor of speaking with me directly without striking you down for your imprudent intrusion. Now, introduce yourself and state your business.

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this is why Roman says Merlin's Clairvoyance sucks

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