[ Gray came here to help the new Shard-Bearers, knowing very well that they have cause to be upset and overwhelmed with their new circumstances, and thinking that in this small way she can still make herself useful. There was a time when she was terribly afraid of strangers and wouldn't dream of seeking them out on her own, but by now she's experienced enough unrest in her life that she feels at least a little qualified to lend a hand to others going through their own unrest. In fact, she's come to find that the people who get pulled from their worlds and arrive as "Shard-Bearers" are overwhelmingly kind, if sometimes rough around the edges, and it's usually rewarding to get to know them.
But maybe not this time.
There is something fundamentally harrowing about the man in front of her even if he hasn't yet done anything to earn her anxiety. It has less to do with his actions and everything to do with Gray's extreme spiritual sensitivity. His presence crushes her in a way that even Faker didn't; a Servant, a devil, a god, she can't say what he is, maybe all, but maybe none. His monstrous aura bleeds into her bones until they become saturated and then flooded, until they're tatters of tissue ripping apart under a hurricane.
But somehow her skeleton remains solid, and though she's frozen and trembling with fear, she remains standing. She yearns for someone to explain the existence of this man to her, but Lord El-Melloi II has been gone for a long time.
Distantly, she hears the man say something about burning. As menacing as that sounds, she realizes he's talking about the tree. He isn't her enemy... that she knows of, and it's that fragile thought that keeps her on the functional side of panic. ]
N-No.
[ She's amazed she's even able to say that much, though her soft voice is edged with tension. ]
The situation is this bad... because the tree was hurt before. It'll probably get worse if you try to kill it.
II-b... I hope this is okay!!
But maybe not this time.
There is something fundamentally harrowing about the man in front of her even if he hasn't yet done anything to earn her anxiety. It has less to do with his actions and everything to do with Gray's extreme spiritual sensitivity. His presence crushes her in a way that even Faker didn't; a Servant, a devil, a god, she can't say what he is, maybe all, but maybe none. His monstrous aura bleeds into her bones until they become saturated and then flooded, until they're tatters of tissue ripping apart under a hurricane.
But somehow her skeleton remains solid, and though she's frozen and trembling with fear, she remains standing. She yearns for someone to explain the existence of this man to her, but Lord El-Melloi II has been gone for a long time.
Distantly, she hears the man say something about burning. As menacing as that sounds, she realizes he's talking about the tree. He isn't her enemy... that she knows of, and it's that fragile thought that keeps her on the functional side of panic. ]
N-No.
[ She's amazed she's even able to say that much, though her soft voice is edged with tension. ]
The situation is this bad... because the tree was hurt before. It'll probably get worse if you try to kill it.