[ ic; contact ]

[pratentious]

[This time, the recording starts with a long, drawn out sigh. Then, surprisingly, it's still Merlin's voice that rattles off the voicemail in tones of long-suffering.]

Hello, you've reached King Arthur Pr--Pendragon. He isn't here to answer your call because he's incredibly important and busy. If you leave a message here with me, I'll make sure he gets it because I am a good servant--and friend-- [he adds the last bit in a rush, accompanied with a thwap!, an 'ow!' and an 'I heard that,' then forces the rest of the words out through gritted teeth] and will do anything my master asks of me.

[A couple seconds pass, then Merlin speaks again, this time sounding a bit further away, like he isn't speaking into the bracelet anymore.] There, happy now? If you ask me, the other one is still better-- Shut up, Merlin. It's time to do yours next. Wait, what --

[ click! ]

Comments

video.

[veneficus]

[ this opens with a smile. A rather sly, very sweet smile; which is maybe the first indication that she wants something. ]

Brother dear, I have taken it upon myself to schedule a commitment for you.

[ degree of shame: 0% ]

I need you to accompany me on a rather important errand in the Freya district.

[ and the shamelessness continues. ]

And you must be dressed formally.

not here. 1/4

[pratentious]

[ 'Brother dear?' Oh god. Immediate instinct: despair.

But he may as well hear her out. Maybe it's something important. ]

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

[Bemused look.]

Apparently we've been volunteered to attend a show with Morgana.

[A beat.]

And have you seen Archimedes anywhere?

[Video]

[pratentious]

The only place I ever see him is rifling through my belongings to build a nest. With any luck, he's found himself in tonight's main course.

[ okay, mean, but it's more to do with the first bit in Merlin's message than the fact Archimedes has ruined yet another set of parchment. his life is suffering. ]

video; [day 142] I AM SORRY

[gwenhwyfar]

[She isn't doing this to troll; this is actually serious There's blood coming from her mouth. From this view, it's hard to tell. Nonetheless, the video is shaking. Regina is absolutely trembling.]


I need your help.

[It's a demand, not a question. Please don't ask. Oh, please just take her seriously.]

video; DON'T BE I LOVE YOUR FACE

[pratentious]

[ He's taken completely off guard, naturally, but - he cannot deny her tone, the urgency of it. Questions can come later. ]

Of course, of - Regina, where are you?

gift + note. { day 150 }

[veneficus]

[ So she sneaks into his room. Not the first time, certainly but this time she has a kind purpose, at least! She had finished her work on his cape and since handing it to him is not as exciting as sneaking about she leaves it folded on the end of his bed with a note. ]



Brother,

Wear it to our Samhain dinner, if it pleases you. The journey to Utgard and back had allowed me to finish this and give this back to you upon our return.

It grieves me to know I was, once again, not present to assist you and Merlin in such times. And I

I am worri

Do try not to rip or dirty it, Arthur. You are awful at handling your clothes. I remember you used to rip a cape once a week when we were young.

Dutifully yours,

Morgana.

(video)

[counterbalanced]

Prince Arthur.

[The tone that Edmund takes for this message is clipped and formal, unlike the reluctant dry wit that Arthur would have gotten from him before.]

My royal siblings, High King Peter and Queen Susan, have left Asgard for our home world. If there are duties to the Citadel I may carry out in their stead, I will gladly commit to them.

(video)

[pratentious]

[ oh, no. Arthur takes a second to sigh and scrub at his brow a moment before clicking on the response feed, and his tone is equally as somber and formal. ]

I am sorry to hear that, your highness. Your family are of a strong and noble bearing, and their presence shall surely be missed.

[ especially with everything going on now; they could use all the allies they have. damn. ]

Of course, if you would like to assume their duties, I will be glad to arrange it so, though you needn't feel any obligation to them. I can see them distributed elsewhere, and - you will always find both yourself and the Lady Lucy welcome in our house, Edmund. If there is any way I can be of assistance -

[ it's an open offer. he will gladly see it done. ]

[Video Message]

[dragonspeak]

[For a second, there's nothing but silence, and a dazed, disbelieving look from Merlin.]

I heard that correctly, didn't I? I wasn't just imagining it?

[ → action ]

[pratentious]

[ To be perfectly honest? Arthur wasn't quite so sure this wasn't all a hallucination or something, perhaps a very lucid dream. It's so far detached from his reality that he was left speechless at his desk with a hand over his mouth, not really shaking but only just so. He doesn't know how to respond to Merlin's message, even though he knows full well what he's speaking of; he just doesn't know how to process it all.

Until he sees Merlin's response to Uther's post, and then, well. It all just sort of falls into place.

Arthur doesn't go shouting about the entire hospital this time, just walks briskly through the halls until he can find Merlin, and when he does, he pops his head in the room and whistles, then nods his head out into the hall, gone the next second. His blood feels far too alive, thrumming under his skin with adrenaline and anticipation and confusion and bewilderment and awe and just.

He doesn't know. He really doesn't; he just knew he needed to see Merlin. ]

voice;

[gwenhwyfar]

[Not long after running into the druid boy, Regina is having another hard day to keep control of herself. Arthur is getting no thanks, just Regina shaking and on the brink of tears and anger. So much anger.]

I demand an answer! I found a child... a boy dressed in green, an ovate's robes. He spoke how battle was unleashed against druids!

Why?!

[ video ]

[pratentious]

[ A child in robes; common garb of the Druids. Arthur has no way of knowing if he's from their version of Camelot, but - 'a battle against druids.' Gods, but there are many, and how they do linger in his thoughts.

Arthur uses video. He won't hide his face from her. ]

Regina. I will tell you all I can, but I must know more of what you speak. The boy, did he tell you anything else?

[Video] 1/IDEK

[dragonspeak]

You left. [Yep, that's an accusing tone.]

a minute later

[dragonspeak]

[He knows why, but that doesn't stop his shoulders from slumping. His expression pulls into something that is most certainly not a pout.]

That's not fair.

Video Message - Day 159

[counterbalanced]

[Not much improvement from the last time, but at least Edmund looks more relaxed this time around.]

Prince Arthur? Loki - the traveler - and I will be out of the city for several days, at the very least. We'll be attempting to negotiate a peace treaty with the Frost Queen, and it may be a while before we return.

If I might ask a favour of you...

Video

[pratentious]

[ Wow, hold up, you're doing what. Excuse him while he blanches completely, because what.

But alas - propriety dictates a level head, and Arthur only responds once he's sure he can refrain from prying until after Edmund's request. ]

Of course, Edmund. How might I be of use?

1/?? voice;

[gwenhwyfar]

[You've been... pretty quiet. Is this concern here?]

[gwenhwyfar]

[She's a little angry at you, but there's something else here and she's not sure which.]

[Day 168 | Early ]

[holmes_fanatic]

Arthur-san? Conan.

We've a telescope on top of the hospital. The approaching army is moving at a rate of [ distance ] per [ unit of time ]. They'll probably reach the city in [ amount of time ] although -- they've got 5 dragons with them, so they could employ those at any time.

[pratentious]

Five dragons? Where the Hell did they get the other four?

[ Excuse him, Conan, he will just be scrambling to gather his armour now. ]

You're certain, though? Can you give a rough estimate of their numbers?

[Video] Day 173, downtime

[dragonspeak]

[He's just finished checking over the healers and the patients at the shelter, you better be resting!

Merlin's eyes are squeezed shut. It'd started looking bad on the field, but seeing just how many Travelers and Natives are wounded...it's just made it even more obvious to Merlin.]

We're losing, aren't we?

[ video ]

[pratentious]

[ If by 'resting,' you mean sitting upright against a far off wall to leave more bedspace for those that are more severely injured and refusing treatment because if he's going to be utterly useless, then he's going to be utterly useless - then yes. They need to focus their efforts where they can.

Which, really, is nowhere. It's not enough. Nothing they've done has been enough, and they're running dry on people, energy and time. They're losing.

He eyes Merlin in his tired state, has seen it reflected in all the others. What a picture they must make. His arm is limp and useless at his side, shoulder wrapped in bedsheets rather than bandages and still slowly bleeding beneath his left hand. Dirty, exhausted. Not defeated, but near to. He lets his head fall back against the wall and stares upwards, unfocused and lost. ]

... I don't know. Perhaps.

[ Yes, he thinks, perhaps we were lost from the start. Honoured guests and chosen saviours; was any of it ever going to be enough? ]

[Video] Right after Arthur hung up

[dragonspeak]

[Seriously. What is wrong with you people?]

If you thought that was helpful, it wasn't.

video;

[permutation]

You and I need to talk.

[ What even are formalities really? ]

video;

[pratentious]

A good day to as well, Mystique.

[ Perfectly cordial, and not in the least bit sarcastic, either (though tired, always always tired). ]

What can I do for you?

[Day 187 | Audio]

[superissues]

Word on the street is that your Citadel is the place to go to learn how to fight and between you and me, your royal prince-ness, I'm going to need a few pointers to really kick butt around here. Not saying I'm totally helpless, of course, but most of my training to date's been power-based and when you're suddenly power-less ... well, it does not do great thing's for a guy's ego.

So yeah. The name's Superboy, I'm new, kind of itching to get the whole training thing started. Let me know if you can help me out? Thanks.

oh my god I lost the notif for this I'm so sorry orz

[pratentious]

[ ... Are you shitting him rn. This message is ridiculous. ]

I'm certain we can find a place for you, erm ... Superboy. [ God help him. ] Is there any arte in particular that you've an interest in?

voicemail;

[gymnast]

Hey, Arthur, it's Allison. [ It's taken her a little while to make this call because she wanted to make sure all of her memories were back fully. ] I just wanted to apologize for disappearing like I did and see if you were still wanting me to do archery lessons or not. If not, I definitely understand. [ She pauses for a moment, like she's going to add more, but decides to just end it with, ] Let me know.

video;

[pratentious]

Allison. There's no need to apologise, I'm only glad to see you've returned in good form. The position is still yours if you'll have it, though if you need some time to readjust, you are more than welcome to it.

Note - Day 195

[dragonspeak]

[On Arthur's desk, there's a small bundle of cookies--round medallions with red glaze in the shape of fire on one side. Folded neatly next to the cookies is a thick, red scarf in the softest material Merlin could find. The note reads: ]

To keep you warm in the Yule season.

Merlin

voice;

[gwenhwyfar]

I cannot find Bran; have you seen him?

voice;

[pratentious]

[ It's a moment before he responds - checking the registry. ]

I have not. His name ... It doesn't appear to be listed amongst the Travellers.

voice;

[gwenhwyfar]

Arthur, come here.

voice;

[pratentious]

Regina? What is it? Has something happened?

[ She may hear the sounds of him hurrying to his feet anyhow. ]

d202 Text - I apologize for nothing!

[alternia_strength]

[Equius had taken a while to get around to this. It wasn't that he wasn't insanely curious about the pecking order of these red-blooded little humans and their mutant ways, or how this translated in Asgard. It wasn't even that it had been hard to actually find out who ran the militia or where to speak to him.

Oh no, none of these things.

He'd just had repeated difficulties typing a message before he couldn't help but towel off and delete the message before ever sending them. Arthur, there'd been about fifty of these that never quite reached your desk. However, it was inevitable. Equius was going to call.]

D --> I require the name of your archery brigades and their commanding officer
D --> Conscription details will be required as well

[Good. Formalities were best, yes. Much better.]

lmfksladfm yes good no regrets

[pratentious]

[ ... Well. Arthur's received stranger messages.

Actually, no, he probably hasn't. ]

At the present time, we haven't got a brigade specialised solely to archery. We felt it more prudent to evenly divide our arms across the board.

[ Though, this long after the battle with no word of its return, Arthur isn't even 100% certain where the Guard stands at present. One thing at a time, though - ]

As far as conscription, we need only a minimal amount of information. Name, House, power, strengths; the likes.

[ Hopefully this will help identify whomever sent such odd texts out of the blue . . . ]

day 202 lots of video obviously

[verybigpheasants]

[ Gwaine literally cannot think of a more enjoyable way to get into contact with Arthur than this. SORRY but this message only improves that opinion tenfold.

Do it loudly, do it proudly, that's his motto for like the next five seconds whatever. Just be glad this is after Merlin showed him where the shirts were. ]

Please pardon the intrusion, my much beloved and appropriately regal King, but I would like to take up a complaint about you and your manservant getting to Asgard too quickly for me to catch you up properly. Just look at the pickle we're in now, huh?

give him a minute

[verybigpheasants]

So I'm afraid I'm gonna have to remove myself from the graces of your service. It's all very unfortunate, Sire. Truly.

If it helps at all, I've got a parting gift that I've held near and dear to my heart for some time now.

[text] Day 197 Because I can

[dragonspeak]

Arthur look what I learned today

(＾▽＾) smiling face

(꒪Д꒪ ) scared face

(ノ；Д；)ノ crying face

[Merlin has now introduced you to the world of Asian emoticons. You're welcome.]

[ action because you've wrought something terrible ]

[pratentious]

Merlin!

[ Arthur is padding down the stairs into the kitchen, frowning down at the display of his bracelet and poking at it, confused. He'll stop just close enough that Merlin will still have to walk over to him. ]

I don't understand. Explain this to me.

[text] Day 207

[dragonspeak]

[He'll be using the written function so Gwen doesn't clue in on what's going on just yet.]

Gwen's here. Thought you might want to know. I'm showing her around the city right now.

I need to talk to you.

[text]

[pratentious]

[ 'Might like to know,' for God's sake. Arthur could shake you. ]

You don't typically warn me before talking at me.

[video]

[sleeveless]

[ Somebody is finally showing his face. ]

Sire.

[video]

[pratentious]

[ And someone (no naming names or anything) is really, very excited to see this face. ]

Percival!

[ No, seriously. Arthur looks like a little boy on Christmas morn. Forget the rest of what's going on right now, his Knights are arriving and he is thrilled. ]

By the gods, it's about damned time you lot started showing your faces. I take it Merlin or one of the others has shown you about, then?

[audio]

[the_good_doctor]

[Just what in blazes is that message ... ?]

[audio]

[the_good_doctor]

[-- oh, recording, yes. Ahem.]

Dr Watson, at your service, your Highness.

In the light of -- recent departures, Castiel's in particular, I am volunteering to take over his role of acting liason between our medical efforts on the field and those of your forces. If you'd rather have one of your people fill the role, I should like to brief them on our practices, and if possible introduce them to our current clinic roster.

In addition, I'm making preparations against my own possible departure. In the light that something does happen to me, I will be leaving the clinic in the capable hands of Dr Simon Tam and Nurse Rory Williams. Either will serve you well, I believe.