[ At first, there's still nothing... but as if considering it, in response to her tentative step forward, the Mors in the doorway start to shuffle backwards... exactly one step before stopping, as if maintaining their distance from her.
They haven't stopped staring at her, though. Seriously, terrifying is right, it's no wonder these things are given such a high danger rating. They certainly look the part, that's for sure. They've been passive in her presence so far as per the King's will, but had she encountered a Mors under more normal circumstances, they'd have attacked her instantly.
And yet here she is... staring down a crowd of them as they move back in response to Ai coming closer. ]
[ This is really horrible... they're not even doing anything but just the staring is enough to make her skin crawl, especially now she's thinking about curses and all the rest of it. She's been quietly channelling her magic through her body ever since she was warned but if a horde of Mors all tried cursing her at once...
Ugh. She's almost tempted to try calling for him to come get them under control, but she's pretty sure he'd just delight in her discomfort. In fact, chances are good that if they are all here on his command, that's exactly what the intent was.
She purses her lips tight, feeling an uncharacteristically spike of irritation in her chest. Then, pulling in a sharp breath, she lifts her chin and starts striding purposefully - stubbornly - forwards, like she means to go about her business Mors or no Mors. ]
[ The Saintess chooses to stride stubbornly into the crowd of Mors... and fortunately for her, the Mors seem to part for her perfectly as she walks. It's almost satisfying, the way they all clear and make way for her as if there's an invisible barrier in a circle around her keeping them from coming close.
Whatever amount of Mors she thought were outside the door, though... the actual amount is so much more, and even though they cleanly part to make way for her stride... they also follow her when she walks away.
It's the strangest thing. They've never acted like this before, and it's not like the Mors King has ever assigned much in the way of physical security to her... at least not this much. ]
[ They're still following her...?! Just what is this all about, anyway? Sure, he's had Mors escort her to and fro often enough before that it barely merits comment anymore but what's with this huge security detail all of a sudden? He should know by now that she has no intention of trying to escape or any way of following through even if she wanted to try so...
She swallows hard, heart still battering the inside of her chest, and does her best to pretend she's not bothered at all, actually. She doesn't spare any of them a glance as she passes and forces herself to start singing to herself again - distractedly and entirely at ease, as if she can't even be bothered to be tense.
She just has to get this water outside to dump it off and then maybe they'll leave her alone...! ]
[ Soon after she starts to sing, something... changes. It's subtle, as objectively they're still just as expressionless and lifeless as before, but it's as if a wave washes over all of them, a low growl... or rather, more like a satisfied hum emanates from the many curse-filled forms and echoes through the halls.
They're still doing the same thing as before, though... simply following her while keeping their distance.
At some point, the Mors King has to notice the odd clumping of Mors in a single area, right? ]
She doesn't do anything as obviously as stop and stare at them but her feet do gradually slow to a stop as she realises the sound she's hearing is coming from the Mors. It's a little unsettling just by virtue of coming from them to begin with but it's not... threatening.
Never mind. She's absolutely stopping and staring. Her voice peters out just for a moment, just from uncertainty - there's no way, right? - but then after a few seconds, it picks back up with another song.
Maybe she's just imagining it... but the only way to know for sure is to try again and find out, right? ]
[ Nothing happens as she stops... but indeed, as she starts to sing once more, yet another hum echoes through the halls as they follow her. It's the most emotion she'll have ever seen out of the supposedly mindless servants... not that it's much, considering how they still stand as stiffly as ever, but there's something about her singing.
Something about her singing that's drawn them all to her... but not like a prey broadcasting their location to nearby predators.
She truly has just... drawn in a crowd. An audience. ]
[ This doesn't make any sense. The Mors are mindless monsters, aren't they? Beasts who do nothing but take orders from the king and kill without a thought. That's what they're supposed to be - if the teachings she's received in Fragaria are anything to go by, that's what they were made to be.
But even though nothing about them has really changed, all of a sudden they all seem so much more... gentle? And even if she knows for a fact that can't be true...
[ She keeps on singing, and so they keep on following her, an audience of Mors following her everywhere she goes as she goes about her duties. Unfortunately, she's still doing all of the cleaning on her own, but thanks to the Mors keeping their distance at all times, they avoid getting in her way as well.
It's almost cute how passive they are right now. If Ai moves forward quicker than usual, the Mors promptly start to scurry a little faster away from her. The same can be said for when she moves away from them as well, and they truly are just... vibing.
Listening to her song and following her around like devoted fans.
But of course, it was only a matter of time... ]
...what the hell?
[ ...before the Mors King finally realized the strange sudden lack of Mors in their proper positions and went to investigate, only to find them all crowded around his singing prisoner. ]
[ She stops abruptly mid-song, with a pile of bedding laundry in her arms and a sheepish smile on her face. She's doing exactly as she was told and yet she still somehow feels like she's been caught red-handed doing something she shouldn't.
She looks around at the Mors crowded around her, wonders for a moment how she's going to explain all this... then promptly decides not to bother. It's probably his fault in the first place! ]
Um... The cleaning's almost done...
[ Because apparently that was the part that needed to be addressed right now??? ]
Oh. Oh good, yes, that's exactly what I was worried about...
[ So he says with an extremely uncharacteristic smile before his frown abruptly returns and he slaps his tail on the ground. ]
Damn it... what the hell is wrong with you all!? Back to your stations!!
[ Fortunately for the Saintess, his ire seems to be aimed primarily at his servants, who promptly scatter and disperse the instant his tail hits the ground like a bunch of children that have been scolded. As for her specifically... he has a scaled hand pressed up against his forehead in exasperation. ]
Tension unfurls out from her shoulders and she can't stop herself from sagging with a little sigh of relief. It might've been obvious past a certain point that they weren't going to attack her but that didn't make being surrounded any less anxiety inducing. ]
I'm not sure. I just turned around while I was cleaning and suddenly they were all crowded around the doorway.
[ The idol life sure is stressful, huh? His eye twitches at her response, and he looks—or rather, glares—into her eyes to read if she's lying or not. ]
Hmm...
[ ...unfortunately, it doesn't seem like she's lying. That sigh of relief was a real one. This does mean that there's no reason to punish her, but... ]
Shit...
[ He knows how his own servants function. If nothing else was influencing them, then the only possible answer is... ]
Shit...! Listen up! You forget they did that! Got it!?
[ So he says before storming off, definitely not embarrassed, totally. ]
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no subject
They haven't stopped staring at her, though. Seriously, terrifying is right, it's no wonder these things are given such a high danger rating. They certainly look the part, that's for sure. They've been passive in her presence so far as per the King's will, but had she encountered a Mors under more normal circumstances, they'd have attacked her instantly.
And yet here she is... staring down a crowd of them as they move back in response to Ai coming closer. ]
no subject
Ugh. She's almost tempted to try calling for him to come get them under control, but she's pretty sure he'd just delight in her discomfort. In fact, chances are good that if they are all here on his command, that's exactly what the intent was.
She purses her lips tight, feeling an uncharacteristically spike of irritation in her chest. Then, pulling in a sharp breath, she lifts her chin and starts striding purposefully - stubbornly - forwards, like she means to go about her business Mors or no Mors. ]
no subject
Whatever amount of Mors she thought were outside the door, though... the actual amount is so much more, and even though they cleanly part to make way for her stride... they also follow her when she walks away.
It's the strangest thing. They've never acted like this before, and it's not like the Mors King has ever assigned much in the way of physical security to her... at least not this much. ]
no subject
She swallows hard, heart still battering the inside of her chest, and does her best to pretend she's not bothered at all, actually. She doesn't spare any of them a glance as she passes and forces herself to start singing to herself again - distractedly and entirely at ease, as if she can't even be bothered to be tense.
She just has to get this water outside to dump it off and then maybe they'll leave her alone...! ]
no subject
They're still doing the same thing as before, though... simply following her while keeping their distance.
At some point, the Mors King has to notice the odd clumping of Mors in a single area, right? ]
no subject
Huh.
She doesn't do anything as obviously as stop and stare at them but her feet do gradually slow to a stop as she realises the sound she's hearing is coming from the Mors. It's a little unsettling just by virtue of coming from them to begin with but it's not... threatening.
Never mind. She's absolutely stopping and staring. Her voice peters out just for a moment, just from uncertainty - there's no way, right? - but then after a few seconds, it picks back up with another song.
Maybe she's just imagining it... but the only way to know for sure is to try again and find out, right? ]
no subject
Something about her singing that's drawn them all to her... but not like a prey broadcasting their location to nearby predators.
She truly has just... drawn in a crowd. An audience. ]
no subject
But even though nothing about them has really changed, all of a sudden they all seem so much more... gentle? And even if she knows for a fact that can't be true...
What else can she do but keep singing? ]
no subject
It's almost cute how passive they are right now. If Ai moves forward quicker than usual, the Mors promptly start to scurry a little faster away from her. The same can be said for when she moves away from them as well, and they truly are just... vibing.
Listening to her song and following her around like devoted fans.
But of course, it was only a matter of time... ]
...what the hell?
[ ...before the Mors King finally realized the strange sudden lack of Mors in their proper positions and went to investigate, only to find them all crowded around his singing prisoner. ]
No, seriously, what the hell?
no subject
[ She stops abruptly mid-song, with a pile of bedding laundry in her arms and a sheepish smile on her face. She's doing exactly as she was told and yet she still somehow feels like she's been caught red-handed doing something she shouldn't.
She looks around at the Mors crowded around her, wonders for a moment how she's going to explain all this... then promptly decides not to bother. It's probably his fault in the first place! ]
Um... The cleaning's almost done...
[ Because apparently that was the part that needed to be addressed right now??? ]
no subject
[ So he says with an extremely uncharacteristic smile before his frown abruptly returns and he slaps his tail on the ground. ]
Damn it... what the hell is wrong with you all!? Back to your stations!!
[ Fortunately for the Saintess, his ire seems to be aimed primarily at his servants, who promptly scatter and disperse the instant his tail hits the ground
like a bunch of children that have been scolded. As for her specifically... he has a scaled hand pressed up against his forehead in exasperation. ]You... how long have they been doing that...?
no subject
Tension unfurls out from her shoulders and she can't stop herself from sagging with a little sigh of relief. It might've been obvious past a certain point that they weren't going to attack her but that didn't make being surrounded any less anxiety inducing. ]
I'm not sure. I just turned around while I was cleaning and suddenly they were all crowded around the doorway.
[ ... but then it strikes her: ]
Maybe back when I started singing...?
no subject
The idol life sure is stressful, huh?His eye twitches at her response, and he looks—or rather, glares—into her eyes to read if she's lying or not. ]Hmm...
[ ...unfortunately, it doesn't seem like she's lying. That sigh of relief was a real one. This does mean that there's no reason to punish her, but... ]
Shit...
[ He knows how his own servants function. If nothing else was influencing them, then the only possible answer is... ]
Shit...! Listen up! You forget they did that! Got it!?
[ So he says before storming off, definitely not embarrassed, totally. ]