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(no subject)

Characters: Nimue and Gawain
Date/Time: After the ballroom meeting
Location: Nimue's room
Rating: TBD
Warnings: Probably none
Summary: A Meeting of the Arthurian Minds

Gawain wished to speak with her privately. She understood since she had wanted the same. She left with him from the ballroom after snitching a bottle of wine, she didn't care what type, and led them to her room as possibly being closest.

She didn't say anything until she was certain they were alone in the hallway. "What did you think?" She glanced up at him, green eyes sharp.

[*lyrics: Corvus Corax - Mille Anni Passe Sunt]

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That was so him it coaxed a more relaxed smile to her face. "Gawain, of any of Arthur's court who could have been here, now, you would be the last one I would expect to forget his honor amongst all of this. Trust in yourself." Her fingers tightened reassuringly on his wrist.

The smile didn't remain and she sighed, her brows lowering. "If I understand things correctly, fighting will not always be the way to achieve our goals. Certainly not how we will get out of this place."

"Thank you for the reassurance ... and for being such a good friend," he said, tightening his hand over hers.

"As for getting out of here, Nigel mentioned the four elements. I know you have experience working with the elements in your rituals, but you shouldn't have to do it all by yourself. Are there any others here you think we could trust to help us?"

She sighed and lowered her eyes but didn't take her hand back. She looked both troubled and scared. "I can't work anything right now. I don't seem to have access to my magics here. Nigel would know that, I think."

Her brows went down but that confusion and fear were still evident in her face. "And there aren't any other workers here. I think what we need are representatives of the elements, not people who can work with them."

"Of course there is a famous representative of water here in the hotel: Poseidon. I think, however, both you and I would agree he would just as soon smash us with a boulder as look at us. Can you think of any other likely representatives amongst the godlings, or should we consider scouring this hotel's halls for elementals?"

She could think of someone for each of the elements actually, once she thought about who was here. She wasn't sure how well he would react to it, however.

She bit her lip and looked solidly at his face through her bangs. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but you. Your connection with the Grail qualifies you for an attachment to Water."

He had not expected that answer, but in truth it did not surprise him. After the recent events, few things surprised this knight anymore.

With a solemn expression on his face, he said, "Perhaps all those years of searching will prove fruitful after all. The Grail is what I alluded to out in the hallway. I know how to find it now."

She had been about to reassure him that it didn't mean anything more than what she had said, but then the comforting touch of her hand to his wrist became a surprised squeeze.

She stared at him for a moment, her lips parted before she could say anything. "....how?"

Her reaction was certainly understandable. Who wouldn't react that way to news that one of the most celebrated, most sought relics in history was quite possibly attainable?

After allowing her a moment to digest the revelation, he cleared his throat. "I should rephrase that. I know of a manuscript that will help us find the Grail. But first we must find the manuscript ... and I'm not sure how to do that."

"Oh." She blinked a couple of times then drummed up a smile. "Once we get out of here there might be something I can do to help."

Then she about jumped out of her skin as the phone to her room rang. Loudly.

He, too, was startled by the phone's loud ring. Time seemed to have come to a standstill while they were talking.

She let out with a heavy sigh, pushing her hand over her forehead then gave Gawain a rueful smile. "Excuse me."

She took her hand back and went to answer the blasted phone then let out another, quiet sigh visibly relaxing. Whoever was on the other end she didn't mind talking to.

After a brief conversation she put her hand over the receiver to look back to Gawain. "It's Asclepius. He'd like us to meet with him and someone else."

Gawain was relieved. If Nimue trusted Asclepius, then he felt he could as well. The more trustworthy reinforcements they had on their side, the better ... regardless of one's mythological affiliations.

"Please tell him I will be happy to meet with him and anyone else," he said, taking another sip of wine.

She gave him a nod and a smile then returned to speaking quietly in the phone. The conversation was brief again before she hung the receiver back on the cradle, then she sighed, returning to the table as she pushed her fingers through her hair.

"Well. So much for the phenomenal drunk I had planned."

He laughed. "My dear, you are phenomenal when you are sober. Besides, you wouldn't want to be too wasted when the good Dr. Oram pays a house-call, now would you?" he added with a wink.

She chuckled quietly and actually blushed. What the blush was for precisely might be in question. It could have been either for the compliment of the thought of being drunk when Asclepius showed up.

"Probably a bad idea."

He finished his glass of wine and set it down on the table. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, "Well, to paraphrase the, um, brave Sir Robin, 'That's enough drinking for now, lads. Looks like there's dirty work afoot.'"

His expression turned serious again. "Have you got any thoughts or concerns, before we start conferring with other godlings?"

She chuckled for the Monty Python reference. Of all of the King Arthur movies out there that was one of her favorites if only because the parody was so blatant.

Her amusement dwindled away then and she nodded a little before she looked up to him. "I'm not certain we can enter Avalon without Arthur."

He closed his eyes and thought about what she had just said. She had an excellent point. The entire quest to reclaim Avalon seemed almost futile without his regal uncle.

He opened his eyes and looked at her hopefully. "Suppose the legend is true? What if he and the others are indeed in an enchanted slumber somewhere, waiting to be awakened during a time of need?"

She sighed again, shrugging her shoulders. "I was the one who locked Merlin away. It might be that I have to release him..." she bit her lip and looked guilty, "...only I can't remember where that was."

He nodded, cognizant of the conflicting emotions within his friend. "I don't like the idea of forcing you into that situation."

Fingers steepled, he leaned back in the chair. "Perhaps if we can't find any other Arthurians, we could still rely on select members of the other pantheons."

She frowned a little, not comfortable with that idea. She couldn't be sure why, especially not here without anything of her power.

"Switch allegiances because we are hopelessly outnumbered?" She smiled a little with a chuckle, eyeing him a bit. "What would Lancelot think."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't exactly call it switching allegiances. I would call it ... uniting for a common cause. Even if there were more Arthurians here in the hotel, I would still be inclined to invite like-minded individuals from other pantheons to join us."

The twinkle in his eye began to brighten again. "Last time I checked, Asclepius wasn't Arthurian ... and he seems a noble chap."

She smiled and ducked her head a little. covering any sort of betraying expression with a swipe of her hand over her face and through her hair.

"I get the impression that he might be a rare breed amongst them."

"And it's those 'rare breeds' amongst all the pantheons that we need to convince to join us."

He smiled at her. "As far as I am concerned, Nina, our cause is about far more than entering Avalon. It is about making it so the pantheons can coexist peacefully and productively."

That was pretty much as big of a chastisement as Gawain was wont to give. Nimue got a wry, somewhat guilty smile on her face as she chuckled softly.

"And this is why I need a knight by my side. To remind me that existence is about more than just hoarding and gathering power." She had been Merlin's pupil after all.

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