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[sealeted]

portal.


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"You've reached Hakuno Kishinami. I'm a bit new to using things like this, but I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"

Comments

[sealeted]

...!

[When she cracks open her eyes, her expression immediately melts into one of wonder. It's an almost childish fascination, and she can't fully reign it in when she tries to compose herself. Carefully, she reaches out and smooths her fingers over his snout, letting her palm settle lightly on the top of his head. The ears are similar enough to Caster's that she starts rubbing the more vulnerable spots without realizing it.]

...goodness. Just between you and me, I might like this one better than your natural form.

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh leaps the rest of the way onto the bed and makes himself comfortable beside Hakuno. He turns to her, and when he speaks, his mouth does not move; rather it is a deep, reverberating boom, almost like telepathy if not for the fact there is no mental prod at all. It simply echoes as such.]

Come here.

[He's emotionally dense, but he's not an idiot. Even the great King of Heroes can tell when a cute girl just needs to snuggle the living hell out of a cute animal.]

[sealeted]

[Hakuno scoots back, half turning so she's propped against his side.]

So, I guess I'm on page-turning duty tonight?

[babbylon]

[He grins a grin full of tiny little teeth.]

You could help.

[sealeted]

I could.

[And she does, carefully paging the tome open to the place they left off and gently placing it between his front paws. Each motion is slow and cautious, in respect for the ancient book's condition.]

[babbylon]

Let's see... ah, we paused right before Enkidu's arrival. Actually, many tellings of this encounter are not quite correct.

[Gilgamesh takes a moment to think back. It's both easier and all the more difficult now that Enkidu has returned; he is glad for his friend, of course, but speaking of him in historical context always leads to the same traumatic climax. The story can only ever end one way, even with an imagination as vast as his own.

Well, he can manage the beginning.]

Enkidu was made from mud by the gods, Anu and Aruru. He began his life as a simple beast who watched me from afar, as I entered this world myself as mere child. However, as you have likely been informed, I do not recall this era in any great detail. Only the distinct feeling of being observed until the time was right.

[sealeted]

Mm.

[She gently strokes his mane, just beside her cheek. She may not be entirely aware of it.]

...I dreamt of him, once. The way you're supposed to dream of Servants. Saw flashes of his life... and the end. And he—asked me questions. When I woke up, I asked Gilgamesh some of them. But I didn't tell him about the dream.

[babbylon]

He is here with us, I know.

[He looks to her, hopefully.]

Did you love him?

[sealeted]

Enkidu... my heart ached for him, but we only had a brief dream. I knew of him, in brief intimacy, but... I haven't gotten to know him yet. I think I will, eventually.

[Sooner, rather than later, knowing her.]

...sometimes I wonder if he might have been the Berserker who was at my side before I fell to the Far Side, but... I don't know. The Enkidu I met here seems very kind, and I like what I've seen so far. ...it's embarrassing, but I was happy enough to cry, when I first saw him.

[babbylon]

He rests within Atua and spends his time playing with all the animals. You are welcome to visit whenever you wish.

[A pause, and then:]

I cried, as well. Later, when he could not see me in my shame.

[sealeted]

[She presses her cheek to his fur, shaking her head so he can feel her denial.]

That's not shame. Even a heart crafted by Gods can be too small for all your feelings. Sometimes they just... spill out. It's not a bad thing.

[babbylon]

Part of me should like to cry all the time.

[His tail curls around her, a big bushy broom on her lap.]

I believe it is why my "other half" disparages me so. He sees it, he knows it. He despises it.

[sealeted]

He's a bit spoiled. Things have been straightforward for him; a drawn out battle against goddess-blended enemies, a partner snatched from the jaws of death, and then a new world to explore, all his sacrificed riches returned to him once more. At your highest, would you have looked upon a version of yourself not at your highest very well? ...also, you hurt me. If you had been anyone but Gilgamesh, he told me he would have killed you for it. Not the deciding factor, but maybe a symptom of his issues with having another self around.

[Idly, her other hand plays with the tip of that tail.]

I'm not saying it's right, but it doesn't surprise me very much, either.

[babbylon]

It will no longer be an issue.

[He says it with almost damning finality, with certainty so great it cannot be denied. There is no fear, no doubt, no hesitation. Too much has happened too quickly for him to ignore and it is the courage brought about from such actions, or rather all the fallout that resulted, which brings him to her doorstep in turn.

Gilgamesh returns his attention to the book and nudges for Hakuno to turn the page.]

When I was properly grown, Enkidu challenged me in the town square. We tussled for what felt like centuries; I had never faced anyone so unrelentingly powerful, stubborn enough to equal my strength and then some. By the end, we were both bloodied and covered in dirt, and I laughed for the first time in ages.

[sealeted]

...yes, well, whatever you do, keep the fallout away from the city.

[She obligingly turns the page.]

What ever happened to that priestess of his?

[babbylon]

[...uh-oh. Even like this, it's easy enough to tell he's getting one of those Looks.]

Indeed, I appear to have glazed so ignorantly over such a critical piece in the narrative. I did encounter her after that...

[sealeted]

Well, she taught him enough about humanity to become a man and fight you, right? That's a pretty important footnote.

[babbylon]

...I encountered her many, many times, and in a variety of places and positions...

[sealeted]

...oh. Oh. A holy harlot type of priestess, was it?

[babbylon]

[He's snickering. You kind of brought that one upon yourself, Hakuno.]

[sealeted]

...I'm guessing those lessons of hers were a bit different from what I imagined from the blurb in the Far Side's library, then.

[babbylon]

Her face was his face. It can hard to help oneself.

[sealeted]

A human woman, whose face he took as his own after being created, huh?

[Her voice is suddenly quiet. That... hits home, harder than she expected.]

[babbylon]

Yes.

[The laughter leaves him, replaced by a somber note.]

Because he loved her and thought her the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

[sealeted]

Yes. You wake up one day, freshly forged and fumbling, and there's a beautiful woman by your side, ready and waiting to help you.

[She sighs, and strokes his tail, but there's a fond smile on her face.]

It's terribly easy to fall in love, like that.