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[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;

[permutation]

You have no problem with him needlessly putting his life on the line for everyone?

Doesn't pledging his life to you mean him being there when you need him? How can he do that if he's throwing himself in front of every speeding train just because it looks like someone might eventually some day years down the road, walk in front of one?

video;

[pratentious]

[ There's a brief pause of incredulousness before Arthur exhales a laugh and shakes his head a little, then nods his head to the side once. ]

Lancelot is likely the most ardent of my men, but -

[ Another shake of his head, and the smile stays on but softens around the edges, solemn (and if he'd allow for it, sombre, but Arthur is terribly good at keeping his sadness hidden). He speaks with certainty and firmness, pride in his kingdom but largely pride in this one man above all else. ]

- knighthood is not ... solely about serving one's sovereign. It's also an ideology, a way of living, by upholding the moralistic code all of Camelot's Knights are trained to abide. Our first and foremost duty is to serve the people, and for a man like Lancelot, such is simply in his nature.

[ Here, though, is where the softness wins out and his eyes don't quite meet her through the feed. No longer the King praising his men, but the man idolising another. Arthur lost more than just a Knight in Lancelot's death. ]

We speak of courtesy and kindness; for him, it is as easy as breathing. We speak of honour and duty, and he - he'd more of both in spades as a commoner above the nobility I've to box about the ears before they'll swallow their pride.

[ A pause, and he focuses back on her with a small smile, tense if only for the tightness in his chest. ]

If I should hope for chivalry in my men, Lancelot is the mould. There are none more brave or noble than he, in our time or yours. I would breathe my last breath before telling him otherwise, and still he would not cease to be the man that he is, Mystique. The goodness in his heart moves for none.

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[permutation]

[ raven listens as he speaks, mouth opening and closing a few times as she considers interrupting him to give her input, then thinking better of it and deciding it better that she wait for him to finish.

as she listens, though, the anger or whatever it is that she was feeling ( sadness? absolute despair at the thought of losing a man like lancelot? ) starts to melt away, draining from her until it's all but gone.

now she just feels- well, she's not even sure what she feels, honestly ]

Anyone can see that Lancelot is all of the things that you say he is but doesn't it concern you? Doesn't it concern you that some day, Lancelot is going to do something stupid because he thought that it might have been right even if it ended up being completely unnecessary?

By the way you talk about him, you obviously care about him. If you didn't, you easily could have turned everything you just said into faults instead. If you care about him so much then why don't you at least try to talk to him? He doesn't have to risk his life for absolutely everyone. Fighting for them is one thing but dying for them is something else entirely.

video;

[pratentious]

[ Arthur shakes his head minutely, a small smile playing on his lips. How many times have they been described as stupidly noble? It seems accurate, now, with the way she speaks of him, but who is Arthur to draw the line between well enough and too much? ]

Mystique.

[ Or - because he's heard it said before, by Lancelot and on the device when she calls upon him - softer, now: ]

Raven. We are all going to die. We, as Knights, have made it our life's mission to make that death worth something, and there is nothing moreso than the life of another.

[ Another shake of his head and he inhales deeply, exhales. Tries not to let his voice shake, and hopes for the day the words will come easier. ]

When the day comes, Lancelot's death will strike me as one of the most crippling losses I will suffer in all my years, for I will lose more than just a Knight and a very dear friend. I will lose that light which he sees in all, that which is good and pure and right in this world. From this, I will never recover.

[ This, he knows now, with certainty, as he can feel the aching in his bones. It doesn't leave. It will never leave. Arthur gives pause, to swallow back everything that threatens to overflow, to keep his eyes dry and his tone steady. He is King. He moves forward. He must. ]

But it is for this very same reason that I do not worry for him. I trust his judgment, more than I trust even my own, because I do not see the same light in his eyes. He is a better man than I. I am sorry, Mystique, I cannot help you in this.

[ Because he's already failed. He's already gone. And there is nothing Arthur can do to fix that. ]