4th illusion: The games we play [Accidental Video/Action for Zeref]

[fairysoul]

{ The feed is skewed, as if the amulet had been removed and unceremoniously set down, possibly on a writing surface of a desk or a bookshelf. It shows Zeref and Mavis seated in a room of an inn together, each holding a hand of cards. Aside from a half-empty cup of black coffee at Zeref's side, now cold from how long their game had been going on, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about the room; sunlight from a nearby window indicated the time of day, but that's about it. }

Does your guild know we’re back from the Dream Docks? { Zeref’s eyes scan the cards on the table, and then raise to Mavis' face, as if trying to read her expression. }
They do. {Mavis looks back at him calmly, her expression unreadable. She knows better than to betray how good her hand is by showing it on her face. }

Do you have any idea who nominated you for the Guardianship of Fayren?
I do.
{Zeref smiles, both at her answer and at seeing his successive attempts to deconcentrate the young looking guild master fail. } Of course, you do.

{ He lays down a card and takes a sip of his coffee as he waits for Mavis to make her move. His expression becomes absent, almost dreamy for a moment before his attention returns to his game partner. }
Mavis, be honest with me. Considering what we saw, there… Would it surprise you if I said that if I had to nominate someone today, I would make the exact same choice?

{Mavis looks up at him, but the feed ends before her answer can be heard. }


[[OOC: Zeref’s lines are in red and Mavis are in green. Tags to this post may be answered by both characters.]]

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action

[deathsought]

... That means a lot to me, Mavis.

{ Zeref sighs, turning back to his cards. Mavis was by far the most difficult Lejenca opponent he's ever faced, a title held only by Imber previously, with August at a close second. She was so difficult that he likely would never find playing against either of them fun again. She'd always been the only person he'd ever considered his equal. This was just one of the many instances that demonstrated why.

He played one card face down, and then turned back to her. }

I've been thinking, lately. My Etherious have appeared here before. Sayla is still here, and thankfully, she's one of the few whom I know is capable of behaving herself. I need to consider the possibility of any of the Twelve appearing here, as well. { A brief sigh. } There are only two, possibly three of them that I would actually be worried about, however.

Action - Spoiler Warning : spoilers on the last chapters - Read at your own risk

[fairysoul]

[The unheard answer Mavis made was the following:] No, it wouldn't. I believe you would.

[She pauses. Some of what they'd seen going to the Dream Docks had been hard. She'd come to see that he still cared for her. He'd turned back to look at her one more time, even as he was leaving her in that room with Eileen. And she wanted to talk to him but Invel had made that impossible to her. She hugs her small frame, still holding her cards in one hand.

But her melancholy doesn't last. She never allowed herself to give in to fear or despair, not even then when someone was trying to rip fairy heart out of her. She takes a deep breath and looks back at Zeref placing a card face down in front of his.]

It's an understandable concern. But the situation is different: Acnologia is not here for now. And even if ever was to come, this is not our world. If they're brought here, we will have to make them understand and accept that.

[Yes, she did say 'we'.]

[deathsought]

{ He had so many mixed feelings about what was happening in their world. He was only mildly aware that his Curse was causing his thoughts and actions to contradict themselves, only he wasn't aware when it actually happened. He didn't want to see her suffer, he didn't want to hurt her. And yet, he knew he'd never convince the people he made to swear an oath to protect his life even at risk to their own lives to stand down, especially if there was a very real chance Mavis would have considered crossing the Rubicon and using Fairy Heart against him.

Something he wasn't even sure he'd be opposed to, come to think of it.

But at the same time... if there's one thing he truly he didn't want to outlive him, it was Acnologia. He wanted him dead so badly that he had chosen to trust Igneel with the most important thing in the world to him, the thing that earned him his Curse in the first place: His brother. Igneel failed. Now, it is up to him. And deep down, he knows Mavis agrees with him that Acnologia had to die, even if they disagree on how, exactly, that can happen.

He pushes those thoughts away at her words. She's right: Acnologia isn't here. This world isn't their own. Ankhseram's influence appeared to be limited, somehow, to the point where their Curses at least seemed on the surface to be easier to control (though he was reluctant to test those limits).

And her use of the word 'we' wasn't lost on him, either. That brings just the faintest smile to his face. }

Most of them will have no trouble understanding that. They're soldiers fighting for the country they call home, Mavis. Not a Dark Guild. { A beat. } Of course, some are cause for concern. For example, before his death, Bradman was an Etherious, one that has had to swallow his pride and learn to work with humans if he wished to stay in Alvarez, but by no means does that mean that he enjoyed it. And his body was made of magic barrier particles.

Wahl, on the other hand, was a Machias. { He doesn't explain what that is; he's sure she already knows, from her books. } Machias generally coexist with humans, but Wahl was built for war, and he was very well aware of that. His temperament was not unlike Jackal, another Etherious I created.

And that, of course, brings me to Eileen. { A sigh. He knew this was going to be a sensitive subject. } Frankly, I don't know what to expect from her, and perhaps I never did. She has always taken a very... flexible view of what it means to follow orders, and if her use of Universe One hadn't actually worked...

{ He trails off, reaching for his card, waiting until she was ready to turn hers over. }

The rest, whatever their faults, can at least be trusted to follow orders. { Except, maybe, for Brandish, but he doesn't know that. } This is not Ishgar, Acnologia is not here, and... well. I'm sure they'd be very interested to meet the one they've heard so much about, on different terms.