Fate: Beyond the Gate

8

"There. All set."

With these three words, everything was set in stone to Reines's standard. A smug grin plastered itself over her face, and she couldn't help nodding several times in self praise. The way her baby blues danced with a sadistic sort of mirth wasn't lost on Waver's eyes, causing the stalwart yet grouchy looking man to gnash his teeth, the hairs of his brown dog ears raising.
Yes. Dog ears.
In contrast, Reines had cat ears; the result of which had the ends of her mouth stretching thin in soundless mirth.
This was the product of the transmogrification spell that Reines had just activated and Waver had set up. What was more ironic was that Reines hadn't had anything in mind when she activated the runes of the magic circle beneath her feet.

All Reines had cared about was blending in with the Demi-Humans in order to properly talk terms. Appearances didn't really matter, but she had to say, she was endlessly pleased with the result.
Waver grumbled darkly, but didn't dare raise his voice while Reines twirled around him in order to get a good view of the scowl on his face.
Truly an entertaining sight.
"What's wrong big brother? The ears suit you. I have to say, even the mysteries of our Association's crafts seem to understand your position perhaps even better than I? What say you stop being so stubborn and accept reality?"
'That I'm the dog in this relationship?'
Waver's brow twitched violently, choosing to forcibly change the subject. "Are we going or not? Look Emiya's already running off. Better go now before he takes all the credit and ruins your plans for a good first-impression."
On this note, Reines's expression suddenly fell. She'd been too self-satisfied at the irony of the transmogrify spell that she'd neglected to pay attention to when Shirou had left.

"Curses, why is this man so hard to handle? What part of the implied 'I'm the superior' does he not understand?" Reines muttered under her breath. "I call the shots here," she huffed indignantly.
"He's reached the soldiers," Waver kindly reminded Reines that she was again taking too long.
In the distance, Shirou was seconds away from joining the fray, and considering his combat-oriented Tracing, he called it? Whatever. He was good at combat so nothing beneficial to House Elmelloi would happen if she allowed him to take the spotlight and intervene now.
Reines clicked her tongue. "Trimmao, kill them hurry!" She ordered.
The silver liquid mercury doll known as Trimmao accepted her creator's orders. "By your will, Lady Reines."
Under the watchful eyes of the Demi-Human alliance, and to the horror of the battered Empire Legion, the colours of Trimmao's clothing began to fade until only a faceless silver figure could be seen. Thereafter, tiny spheres rippled on the figure's surface before thrown outward in clusters.

Shirou who had just reached the Demi-Human Alliance members could only watch stiffly as dozens of these small spheres abruptly exploded into sharp thread-like webs that skewered through all defence.
A macabre scene of corpses was the only result, many suspended by blood-soaked fibers which quickly retracted, pooled back into spheres, and then collected back onto Trimmao.
It was over in instant.
Like Reines had explained, she was only prolonging the fight in order to give a sense of crisis to increase her bargaining power. Ordinary humans, especially using outdated weaponry posed no threat to magecraft.
Like Reines's first encounter with an Empire Legion, Trimmao slaughtered them.
Shirou couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath while surveying the carnage. He didn't exactly join in on the cheering.
He'd been informed of what sort of people the citizens and armies of the Empire were like, but if it were possible to just knock them unconscious and keep them as prisoners of war, he'd rather do that then murder them all.
"I hope you remember Emiya, but do stop running off on your own," Reines called out.
She and Waver who trailed behind her lethargically quickly became the focus of attention when Trimmao appeared next to them and bowed her head lowly.
"I'll keep it in mind," Shirou said wearily. He wouldn't promise something that he may not be able to fulfill.
Reines narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything else for the time being as it seemed like he wasn't going to argue.
In any case, now that the immediate danger was neutralized, Shirou was more concerned about another matter.
The way Tuka and Caila were looking at his pointed elf ears felt oddly unnerving while they whispered to each other in hushed tones that ended with the two staring at him for even longer.
Yes, indeed.
Unlike Waver and Reines who got a variant of animal ears, the transmogrify spell had given him elf ears, and if he was hearing right, an 'elflike disposition' that had the two other elves stammering.
This change likely had something to do with the matter with the elder tree of the elven village, but he couldn't afford to dwell on it for long.
Not now. He decided.
He moved towards Reines to hear what she was discussing with the members of the Demi-Human Alliance who welcomed their fellow 'comrades' with open arms.
"We're magic users, Mages," Reines used the term most widely known in this new land to convey her point. "We are willing to help your alliance if you promise to aid us in the research of our crafts? I assure you that your aid may lead to further improvements in the field of research."
"In what ways?
"Little experiments here and there, and maybe some material collection from time to time," Reins said with a straight face.
There were many subtle meanings in the terms she was giving, but Shirou didn't intervene after Waver nodded at him.