faderift | [ Open ] Always Something New In Town

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[ Open ] Always Something New In Town

WHO: Jim Kirk & You
WHAT: Kirk's hanging out around Kirkwall. Join him?
WHEN: Through the month
WHERE: Various spots around Kirkwall
NOTES: Flirtatiousness, sauciness, possible cursing, shenanigans -
the usual Kirk stuff

Library
_{[ Teaching was a more laborious task than he had thought it might be, even to a minor wealthy home. He had been good enough at it at the Academy, for sure, but there had been structured there and quite a few more eyes on him - the gap of numbers. At least he had that when he taught the poorer children, which he rather liked more than his solitary gig.

No matter the case, it meant he was spending quite a bit of time in the library, pulling down children's books to copy their pages to help with reading, or even just looking up ways for him to explain scientific concepts he was trying to pass on.

The copying took up most of his time though, so it was most likely to find him hunched over a stack of children's books, laboriously copying down their contents to new sheets, fingers already stained with ink, with a stack of much thicker books set to the side. Quite an odd sight, no? ]}

Training Grounds
_{[ To say he had some built up tension and frustrations lately would have been an understatement. Emotionally, he was in turmoil, and he had always worked that sort of thing out one way - physical activity. It had been his safe haven since the incident nearly four years ago. Or was it five? God he was losing track of time.

He grunted sharply as he fought against the dummy, striking blows with arms and legs in his self-defense style. His staff lay to the side, ready for a different workout when this was done. Already he was stripped to the waist and sweating, his skin tingling as he felt the bruises forming on shins and elbows. He whirled, a sharp crack sounding as shin met wood. He dropped back, wincing and rubbing his legs, leaning over and panting hard. ]}

Damn it, don't tell me I'm losing my edge...

Tavern
_{[ Quite often Kirk could be found at one of the lower end taverns, sitting in the back with a mug of something at least left a warmth in his belly if not a good taste in his mouth. He watched the crowd, sometimes listening to the bards that came in. Now and then he might be drawn into a game of tales, his own usually winning because of their sheer outlandishness (even though they were entirely true, but who is actually going to believe that someone can truly sail among the stars?).

His main point of fun seems to be teaching the people in the bar the fine art of poker. He held court at a singular table, grinning at the men and women around him with cards in hand and a pile of coin on the table. ]}

All right boys, time to show your hands.

Sleepless Nights
_{[ Meditation. He needed meditation and to clear his mind. Spock would have told him so - hell, Spock wouldn't have let him get this bad, able to read his moods and it seemed even his thoughts better than Kirk himself. Which had always been infuriating, given Spock's nature, but he supposed someone so logical could more easily assess the illogical too.

His way to meditate, though, had never involved sitting down and crossing one's legs to achieve peace. He had always found it in physical activity - in this case, running. It soothed him, let his mind float. So in the wee hours he slipped out of his home and began to run along the outskirts of town.

Which was totally not suspicious at all, right? ]}

Wildcard
Make your own adventure!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Essentially. It also determines how strong my powers are."

Iskandar lifted the juice up to have a drink of it. Of course he made sure not to take too much, aware they were sharing this. Besides, he had fruit for more liquid as he ate. "I am not certain of the exact year but it was in the end of the twentieth century. I was summoned in order to fight for the Holy Grail."

That paused Kirk - apple slice halfway consumed as he leaned slightly back and looked at Iskandar with eyebrows so far up they nearly receded into his hair line (which had grown shaggy, he would need to get that fixed). Quickly he chomped away at the rest of his slice, glad he hadn't had anything more substantial in his mouth.

"I'm sorry - the Holy Grail? As in the mystical goblet from the King Arthur legends?"

"I'm not certain it is a goblet but I would believe it was pursued in that time. It grants the truest wish of the victor of the war." He finished off the last bite of his sandwich and settled for eating fruit after that. It wasn't like he was trying to hurry this along by eating fast, he just happened to be rather hungry so he just was popping food in his mouth without thinking about it.

"Would that include you or just the person who summoned you?" he asked.

He balked at the idea of the Holy Grail being a real and true thing anyone could fight over. He thought it might honestly be more of a metaphor for a different sort of object, but either way Iskandar was saying it had magical properties. And Iskandar had no reason to lie about that sort of thing. His legend was already grand enough that he hardly needed to embellish it with something so fanciful if it wasn't a truth for him - or so Kirk's logic told him.

"And what do you mean war?"

"I would be the victor as well obviously."

And he already knew what his wish would be. People were shocked when they heard his wish but it didn't change the fact that he knew he wanted it to be that. It was his truest and greatest desire.

"Hm? It's an armed conflict with the victor being the one who lives to the end."

"What would you wish for?"

The obvious next question. And he had to admit he was honestly curious. He could think of a few things Iskandar might ask for, but Iskandar so often came out of left field in his opinion he wouldn't have put any money on them either.

"I know what a war is, Iskandar - I meant, do you mean a war over the Holy Grail? As in others like you would be summoned to fight each other? How long has it been going on?"

Iskandar had mentioned meeting King Arthur - that the king had been a she in actuality. He hadn't though to much on it at the time - a passing comment lost in a larger conversation, but now that he thought about it...

"To be human again. No powers, no advantages I have now as a spirit. Just human. I wish to see conquest again but I have no desire to do so while I am like this. There would be no satisfaction in it for me. I desire to be the same as every other person out there with the same weaknesses to me."

He laughed a bit. Strange for one who was so aware of advantages on the battle field. Yet there he was wanting to limit himself so he would be on the same level as any other person out there.

"It is exactly as you said. Mages summon Heroic Spirits to fight for the Holy Grail. As for how long, I know it has been happening for many, many years."

Kirk laughed at that - not loudly, just a quiet sort of laugh from being surprised, the kind to tug one corner of his lips into a smile.

"It's the kind of wish that suits you," he nodded.

He could see it. After all, was there a challenge for Iskandar if he could so easily crush his opponents? He had always struck Kirk as a man to like having his limits tested and pushed. Easy victories probably did not taste as sweet (though he mentally glanced sideways at the conquest part of that wish).

His smile turned into a tiny frown at that, rubbing his knee with one hand while the other turned over a slice of fruit.

"Are you okay with that? I know you get granted a wish too, but it sounds a lot like someone forcing you to fight their battles for them," his frown deepened between his brows. "What happens if you lose?"

"No one forces Iskandar to fight for them. It is I who decides who I fight for. As for what happens if I lose, well, I die."

He'd accepted that he was going to die when he returned to his world long before he even came to this world. That last ride was a glorious one though and he couldn't have asked for a better defeat. Iskandar grinned even as he spoke of his own death though.

"We are Servants and they the Masters. But there is no guarantee they will live. It is a war in the end."

Kirk couldn't say he liked it. How could he? The last thing he would want for Iskandar or anyone he cared about was death. But if Iskandar felt he was dying for something he believed in, for someone he believed in, and made his peace - well, then it would be all right.

"So long as you are not going gently into that good night," he said with half a twist of a smile, obviously sad though he knew already that Iskandar would not have lived long in his home world. He dared a touch of Iskandar's knee, briefly, then resumed his toying with the bit of fruit.

"When we go home, I'll start pouring wine into the oceans I come across for you," he decided aloud before taking a fierce bite of his fruit. Or at least he would leave the bottle. Ecosystems and all that to consider, but the gesture would be there in his heart.

"Hm? Why would you do that? Would it not be better to drink it? Share it with your comrades? That is the way wine should be consumed. With companions."

Iskandar never drank alone. Even during the time when he'd held his own private memorial he'd done so with his animal companions with him. He hadn't been alone even then. Tilting his head, he watched Jim eat the bite of fruit then shook his head.

"Do not honor me by being alone. Honor me by telling my story. By sharing drinks with loved ones. By laughing with them. Honor me by living and celebrating life. For I am not a man who died but a man who lived grandly with every breath I took."

"Well, I wasn't planning on a whole bottle, more like... giving the ocean a drink," he decided, motioning out behind them to the waters beyond. "To me it will feel like sharing a bit of a drink with you, since you love the ocean so. And it brings up some of the customs of my world - pouring a little bit of drink on someone's grave, as if you might still share a drink with their memory."

He shook his head though, sipping from the flask and licking his lips.

"I have a feeling it's going to take a lot longer for me to get your whole story, if you plan for me to be telling it in your honor," he said a touch wryly. "Though I am going to be honest, I doubt I can convince anyone of the Holy Grail aspect of this. I can convince them I actually met you since we do know time travel is possible."

"The waters remind me of the dream I never saw fulfilled. I marched ever east to see Okeanos but never beheld the beauty of it." He smiled at the waters though. "I am a man who died before my dream could be seen to the end but I still carry Okeanos in my heart and being by waters like this reminds me of that."

Iskandar looked to Jim again. "Telling the story of another is not always about knowing every detail. I can tell you so much but it is our time together that you will have personal connection to. That is the story you can share unlike any other. Who does and does not believe you is not important. It is the words and memory that are."

"Well, if you'll let me, I'll carry your dream to waters you've never even dreamed of," he smiled, and then laughed. "Actually, a planet I was on not that long ago reminds me of you - from space, at least. Niboru. Beautiful oceans, and most of the land as red as your hair." No matter what his record might say, he counted that planet as a victory.

Oh, it might be important. He did not need to give certain peers any potential ammo for calling his competency into question. But Iskandar had a point - it would be sweeter to share the memories he knew of him. Though if he was honest he did want some first hand accounts of Alexander's military victories. Those would be amazing for intellectual debates, and he was sure he could adapt them to his own tactics.

Resting his chin on his hand, he smiled warmly. "Like how Alexander the Great helped me buy my first horse? And was crowned - what as it? The Fool King of Saturnalia?" he suggested.

Edited 2017-08-13 02:38 (UTC)

"Those are fine memories but you focus too much on the silly aspects of it. The ridiculous. It's every memory that matters. Sitting by the ocean drinking. Traveling together. Meeting for the first time. You wounding my heart. Every memory matters and it is important to treasure them all. For when I pass, I will no longer remember anything from the time that I was summoned so I may be ready for the next."

Iskandar took the juice to have a drink of it then reached down to pet the mabari at his feet. The dog lifted his head into the touch, loving the affection his master gave. Smiling down at him, he took a moment to just admire the beauty of him before continuing.

"It is why I treasure everything that happens to me. Good and bad. Everything makes me who I am and shapes me in that moment."

The next, he said. Which implied that whatever war he was fighting, he could come to fight it again. And another. An endless wheel. It made his heart ache in a way, but Iskandar didn't seem upset over it, so he supposed he shouldn't be either. If Iskandar really didn't want to fight, he supposed he would simply choose not to serve those who summoned him. He did say he chose, after all.

It wasn't as if he could change it though. His worrying wouldn't do anything but make his stomach feel sour.

"Of course I remember the good and the bad, Iskandar," he said, watching him pet the mabari. "Those just happened to be the first examples I threw out in this moment. Besides, some memories are just for me, you know? Or really you and me, while we have our time together, and then myself when we part. I'll carry them, and look back at them while I'm watching stars at night. You're a part of me now, Iskandar, until I become stardust too. If nothing else, I'll be grateful to the rifts for that."

"Ah. Sometimes I forget that some wish to keep some things to themselves. Memories just always seemed something to be spread in my experience. For when they are spread then they can never be forgotten or lost."

He wasn't faulting Jim for doing things differently. Rather he just wanted to explain why he'd been saying what he had. People were, of course, welcome to do as they pleased. He would not judge them for doing so and living their lives differently from his own.

"When your time will be lost to you, it becomes important that your story is told beyond your time."

"I can understand that point of view," he nodded. "But I'll be the first to admit that I am a somewhat selfish man, and there are some things between us that I... just want for me." It was all he could think to say on it, but then he had never been very good at explaining his feelings - a fact he was sure Iskandar was well aware of.

Kirk laughed a little at that. "You know, I never really even thought of that? I just always keep looking forward, to the things that are waiting to be discovered. I guess my crew and I get put in the history books for that, but I've never really been to concerned about it personally. But it would be nice, to end up in a history book alongside you." He laughed again and smiled dreamily at the idea, offering him the last of the juice and growing a bit quieter.

"At the end of it, I don't really care though - if it's my name that's remembered. I care about the things I left behind; the things I did and the memory of those. I care about those places I helped, and I hope that those beyond me will perhaps try and rectify the mistakes I made too. I care about the impact I made, not if they remember my name. I could be the stranger from the stars, for all I care. I just want to try and leave a better universe than the one I lived in."

Edited 2017-08-22 02:59 (UTC)

"No. That is not what I mean. I mean that I will lose these memories from the time that I was summoned. The moment I die, I will lose them all forever."

It was simply a part of being a Servant and one that all Servants had to accept. Many handled things in different ways but he chose to embrace it and live this second life to the fullest. To use a life given was far better than anything he could ever imagine. And so he used this gift he had without hesitation.

"Should I be summoned again all my time will be forgotten by me. So if it is remembered by others and shared by others then I truly will have lived and been there. That is why I want my stories told. For I know that I will one day not remember any of them."

Iskandar was certainly much stronger than Kirk in that regard, or so the captain thought. He wasn't sure how he would have handled living a life, forgetting it, knowing he had forgotten one, fighting someone else's war. He'd probably go a little crazy, honestly. But here was Iskandar, meeting it with his boundless cheer and charm.

It made his chest swell with pride at being able to be called this man's friend, his lover (though he was unsure of that title as of this moment). He could stand to take a page from Iskadnar's book on that front.

"Well, have no fear. I very much doubt I could ever forget you, even if I tried," he shook his head, seeing the food was gone and the flask depleted. He began to gather them up. "But I should let you get back to your work. Though if you want more of my impeccable cooking, you should come by the home. Sam and I have begun actually furnishing it, finally."

He chuckled and stood up to brush crumbs off of his lap. With a stretch, he looked back to his work. Much to be done but he should have it done by the end of the day. Smiling, he looked back to Jim.

"Simply let me know when you two are free and I shall stop by. I would be interested in seeing this place for myself!"

With that, he patted his leg so that his dog would come with him as he walked back to his duties. "I shall see you again, Jim! A wonderful lunch indeed!"

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[ Open ] Always Something New In Town

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