[Open] 🚬 June Flames

[burnitblack]

Who: Dabi & others
What: June Catch-All
When: Various
Where: June

Content Warnings: Potential mentions of domestic/child abuse, potential mentions of murder, violence, adult language or subjects

Notes: General and specific starters will be below. More to come, including event prompts. Contact under cut.

If you want to hit me up for ideas on prompts or plots, feel free to comment on Dabi's CR plotting post or his Event plotting post (tbd), hit me up on my contacts – Plurk (StarSeed69) / Discord (StarSeed#3572) – shoot me a PM, or drop an ooc comment down below, and we’ll hash it out. I'm down to write a unique starter for our threads if you prefer.

NOTE: I'll be with limited computer access the first week of June, and will get event prompts up when I return.

Comments

Fire in the spelunking hole~

[burnitblack]

Prompt 2 ... PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

[it's the first rumble that catches his attention. for a second, he wonders if it's an explosion nearby. or in trench, some giant monster or beast rampaging. but then the next one happens and dabi immediately recognizes what it is. an earthquake. of course they'd have earthquakes here, why the hell not?! but there's some prompts for living in japan where earthquakes aren't uncommon. walls shaking, glass rattling, things on shelves starting to fall. hell if he's staying in this place! dabi got out of there quick, shouldering open a door and stumbling outside before shoving off the ground in a burst of blue fire. probably won't be hard to spot him up in the air, an azure flaming comet traveling skyward. above the tree line and building roofs, before finally coming to a stop high above the ground.

no, he didn't take anyone with him. what's he look like, a hero?]

➊ [from his vantage point, dabi narrows his eyes at the sight below him. the shaking is clearly visible, but despite all of that, there's no damage to the buildings. they vibrate, their roofs, chimneys, steeples, whatever, all trembling from the quaking ground, yet not a single damn one of them cracks apart and breaks a window. either these things are built way behind a modern earthquake code, or there's something else going on with this world... (it's impressive, if at the same time enviously disgusting.) birds take off from the nearby forests and dabi looks towards the oceans. not able to see them from this point, but their general direction works. he's concerned about potential tsunami...

but the first crash jerks his attention back down and he's left watching the ground open up in a hole. plunging down into darkness before crashing all over the floor. one sinkhole here. another one over there. again, conspicuously avoiding swallowing existing buildings or structures, but never the less pocketing the area in spaced out holes. damn. as if he needed one more reason to think this place fucked up...]

➋ [once the rumbling finally stops, he takes the opportunity to fly away from the town square and alights in a rush of blue flame next to a hole along the outskirts of the forest. dabi doesn't want to get swallowed up by throngs of curious people, but also doesn't want to leave himself singled out and alone around the holes. he's close enough to town to get back without a problem, but far enough away there won't be a crowd around him. hands in his pockets, he walks to the hole and starts inspecting the exterior of it, trodding grass beneath his boots and minding not to slip over the edges. it's dark inside, obviously, so after a few laps around the perimeter, dabi curls his hand, ignites a ball of blue flame, and side arms it into the hole to get himself a look. may or may not attract anyone else in the general area...]

➌ [deeming it "safe" enough to proceed, what with no underground monsters charging out, dabi heads inside. it's not a smart move to go wandering in all by himself, but he doesn't intend to go too far into the caves. a quick whistle and black fire curls off his body, splashing onto the floor before curling up in wisps and forming a black wolf with a few white steaks and patches through its fur, bearing the same turquoise eyes as its master which glow like firelight in the darkness. dabi waits for his omen to move to his side, leaving small patches of black flames behind every fourth step.

better than nothing, since he doesn't have any string to trail behind himself. with that, he sets off into the caverns, drawing out a pad of paper and a pen to begin a crude map/marker of the directions he's going. mostly charting a straight path unless it forks, at which point he draws the forks and then indicates which one he took. it's not perfect, but if he's going to enable himself to get out of here via a few tricks, fucking go for it.

the blue glow of his omen's eyes and a hovering mote of blue fire above dabi's shoulder provide enough light, though they'll both likely alert anyone, or anything, of their presence a bit before the pair actually come into sight.]

3

[swellter]

[ Ahoy! Touya isn't the only Todoroki who's exploring the cave system. Shouto got himself stuck in a sinkhole in the initial earthquake. An avalanche sealed the entrance, and he and his friends had to find another exit. They found a few interesting items along the way. At one point, they had to dive through the water to get to the next opening in the cave and Shouto got himself stuck real good. Found out he's bigger than his friends since they fit just fine while he got pinched, damn shoulders! A few close calls there, but they made it out alive.

A few days later, Shouto is back in the cave ready to explore with better equipment this time. For one he's got a backpack on with proper climbing gear and as well as a few tanks of oxygen, the handheld type. Using his fire as a light source Touya can probably see him coming especially when he's busy talking to his omen who is nowhere in sight. ]

I'll ask Viktor if he knows how to take care of a flower.

[ Silence, followed by a response. ]

I've got 5 vials. Do you think that's enough for a pot?

[ More silence. ] You're right. I'll make more when we get back.

[ This... is Endeavor's masterpiece... ]

[burnitblack]

[this is his third time in the caves. the first two ended up being met with two individuals inside the tunnels, leading to adventures in their own rights. traps, animals, weird conversations, but luckily no battles or enemies resulting from either encounter. though they did end up finding some treasures of their own, which touya carted back to his place. well, his share at least. while he's drawn a crude map of the cave system he's traveled, both are only good from the entrance he originally came through each time, so this time, he's starting a third map to at least trace his way back.

and string. he did go into the marketplace to procure some string.

not that touya's much prepared for cave diving. he doesn't plan on going too deep, so a single bag of some tools to make sure he can find his way back is the only thing he's brought with him. well... that's the only visible thing. he's got bags with him. stuffed in his pockets for carrying any interesting thing he finds down here.

a voice? touya glances up, brows arching in curiosity about who he's going to meet this time (he won't go deep by himself; he's not an idiot). only to flatten a second later when he recognizes that voice.

seriously? of all the people, he's gotta run into shouto again. the hell's he saying? flowers? vials? enough for a pot? more? least he can put a few things together.

what an idiot.

touya flares a blue fireball in his hand and lobs it shouto's way. far more a welcome than jumping out of the dark at him. he's standing on a ledge nearby, one foot propped on a stone and his arms crossed over his bent knee. watching the other boy below.]

1/2

[swellter]

[ The moment the attack is launched a sea of red flares to life without hesitation engulfing the bearer in a cloak of red. A snow leopard jumps in front of the figure set ablaze, staying close to her Sleeper while the Hunter catches sight of those cobalt flames and hesistates. Blue clashes against red spilling onto nearby rocks turning them molten. Kizu's head snaps up finding a scent in the air. She sends the image to her Sleeper and Shouto follows her lead meeting his brother's eyes. ]

2/2

[swellter]

[ He wavers. Blaze losing its intensity, no longer fueled by self-preservation, it starts to recede. Even Kizu stands down, tail flicking behind her, while her Sleeper stares up, caught in the memories of their last encounter: a blue so hot it could cremate a body, yet tender enough to keep him warm through the night. He hesitates, conflicted, his flames sputter out but for a few embers licking through his hair. ]

... Touya?

[burnitblack]

[does he expect the attack to hit him? nah. he tossed it too slow and to small for it to really be a threat to the young hero. unless he was completely distracted and out of practice. and even if he was... yeah, there's the other half of him, showing up before the red flames in a guarded position. not that it matters, what with shouto activating his fire almost on instinct. interesting... dabi thought it was his ice he had such a habit of using on reflex.

as their flames splash against each other and douse the rocks nearby, there's no further continuation from the blue fire. he'd only bothered to toss the opening without intention of going beyond that. a fatal "greeting" if shouto needs a reason. after all, his brother is still pretty twisted regardless of the relative "calm" right now.

dabi remains where he is, leaning forward a bit more on his leg to peer down at his younger sibling. of course he was gonna meet with him in here. life's a shithole like that. he'd prefer not to think of their last meeting. the fact his stupid little brother slept flush against his body gives him feelings (almost all of then negative) he'd rather not entertain.

touya's left in the darkness above, though soon enough, a pair of turquoise eyes appears beside him, black flames licking around wolf's shoulders and back as it peers over the ledge towards the two beneath it.]

What're you doin down here, Shouto?

[swellter]

[ He relies too much on his ice, a fact Tetsutestu made clear to him almost a year ago when he faced him during the class trials. Back then, he didn't have control of his fire anywhere near what he can do now. It still can't match up to his ice, but he's learned to rely on it, no longer afraid of that part of himself.

The cloak dies the moment he sees his brother perched on the ledge above with two turquoise eyes set behind him. Is that... The snow leopard stares up at the dark flames cloaking its form. The quiet one. Kizu mentioned his brother's omen making an appearance during their week-long stay under the cheery blossom tree. It was one of the few times Shouto ever perked up, looking interested in anything but the sea beyond. He'd asked for a description and much like her Sleeper, the omen's description had been accurate but woefully understated. ]

Looking for a flower.

[ He answers bluntly, eyes still on the shadowy omen lying still and quiet behind him. ]

Is that your omen?

[burnitblack]

[still interesting to note. neither his ice nor his fire are anything dabi views as a threat to him, so it's more a matter of being curious about how shouto wants to use them. he knows he's been working on trying to improve his fire, but since the time shouto's been away from their world is a little fuzzy, touya doesn't have the best idea of where his power stands.

hence, he remains cautious. enough to pitch a fireball at him instead of calling his name. how's that for cautious?

wolf remains beside its master's leg, watching the scene below it with unblinking eyes. there's something rather revenant about the creature. it's fully formed, no longer lacking its back as it did on its initial appearance, but even still, it's kept the black flames licking along itself at different points, giving it a hint of incorporeal along its form. sure, if dabi or wolf itself wants to, those flames can vanish and leave it as natural looking as a large black wolf can look, but... usually not what touya's going for when his omen's out. for now, wolf keeps the both of them, sleeper and omen, in sight.]

Flowers don't grow underground.

[mold and fungus, on the other hand, those do. dabi glances to his side, then back to shouto.]

Uh-huh.

[swellter]

[ He's grown since they last encountered each other, not just physically. His powers still aren't strong enough to go up against his brother and win, but he's stronger than he was before in every way that matters. His last year with the Hunters served him well, ironically, learning independence. Alone for most of his stay, he learned independence. However, the price may have been too high. No longer tied to his classmates as he once was, Shouto has grown self-reliant, no longer looking to Midoriya for guidance but navigating the world of Trench on his own. Their friendship is still strong, same with Bakugou and Uraraka, only now his world has expanded beyond Class 1-A. ]

The one I'm looking for does.

[ He counters without malice; unrelenting. There's a reason he's down here on his own, searching through the underground with specially selected diving equipment. He's on a mission to find a treasure of unparallel worth. ]

What's their name?

[burnitblack]

[yeah yeah, go flex your muscles and tout your height to someone who gives a shit. he'll still turn you into a lump of charcoal and ash. damn perfect puppet. though dabi won't give shouto any crap for disengaging himself from the shackles of his classmates. it's better to know how to live on your own; you're not tied down to others and you can survive to outlast anyone who still clings to that weakness. he's gathered some assumptions to that, considering shouto was living in his own house. though since he arrived along with that bomb bastard and floating bitch, touya's more willing to chalk the "solo shouto" mode up to him simply not having his friends around to rely on for a while. thus he had to learn to be on his own.

poor thing.]

Ya already know what grows down here?

[so shouto must've been on a few cave explorations already. it's not dabi's first rodeo either. shouto's too far away to make out everything he's carrying and touya's not making attempts to get closer. still deciding on whether he'll stick around or ditch him.]

Wolf.

[he's so original.]

3

[retsuden]

[ It probably would have been a more intelligent idea to go and grab Sakura to explore the cave ins with. Not only would he have had another person with him, but he would have had a highly skilled medic in case he did something idiotic (likely) and got himself severely injured (highly likely). That's a thought he's chosen to override, apparently, given that he's been exploring the underground tunnels for some time completely on his own.

At least he'd been smart enough to grab a lantern. It took up the use of his only hand, though, which meant that he wasn't able to actually map his way around the tunnels the way he wanted to. Every once in a while he'd tried marking the walls, hoping they would stay and nothing (and no one) would somehow cover them when he decided to turn around, but he knew it was a possibly foolish hope. He'd been especially sure to leave a deep scratch in the stone beside any entrance that to a cavern room that had ended in him getting close to one of those injuries Sakura would lecture him for later, if only to burn into his mind which ones to not go back into.

He'd gone to dim his lantern when he saw the light from another, keeping himself somewhat on alert, though he was hardly hiding himself from detection here as they got closer. There's a pause as he registers it as another Sleeper and not an immediate threat, before he gestures back towards the tunnel he'd just come down. ]

Ignore the door down there. The room's got some kind of acid inside.

[ Might as well spare him if he can. ]

[burnitblack]

[coming into the caves with another person would be a better idea, but the past two times he'd gone wandering beneath the surface, he'd encountered someone. banking on it again is a gamble, but it seems there are plenty in trench who are exploring the tunnels below the ground. not entirely surprising; people are a curious bunch and the questions they have above might be answered below. dabi's found one or two interesting things down here already.

didn't mean he had come out of either of those two sojourns with no problems. there were traps down here (why the hell someone would be down here to trap it in the first place is anyone's guess) and predators (which at least made some sense) trying to pick explorers off. the former confused him, because that implied someone was here before and sought to protect or hunt people who came after. the latter annoyed him, because there's enough goddamn monsters on the surface, they don't need more crawling around under their feet all the time. no place is safe in trench. should just burn the whole damn thing and be done with it...

footsteps and light bring his attention out of his head and back into the cave. dabi looks up at the glow and dismisses his omen for the time being before going around the corner to confront the newcomer. well, another gamble pays off. a sleeper. his eyes narrow on the other man, giving a quick once over as the small blue flame on his shoulder goes out. this one's got a light. no point in wasting his own.]

Ya don't wanna go this way either. [dabi tugs a thumb over his shoulder, expression matching his dry tone.] Ends in spikes.

[retsuden]

[ Spikes. Sasuke frowns slightly at the thought as he looks passed the other, back to where he pointed, and he lets out a sigh. ]

Of course it does.

[ Someone's gone through a great deal of trouble to hide something in this place. There's no reason for all this otherwise and he wonders just how useful whatever is buried in this maze is. It's the only reason he hasn't thrown in the towel and gone back to the surface.

His gaze flickers to the pad of paper Dabi has, before he looks back to his face. ]

... A map?

[ He doesn't clarify whether he's asking if he's making one or has one, but he figures it's probably easy to assume he means the former, given that no Sleepers (and hell, probably no natives) have ever gotten to be down here before. But if it is what he's doing with that paper, having someone who can actually jot down the paths taken would be so... handy... Pun horribly intended. ]

[burnitblack]

[was he expecting a garden? dabi's learned to take the cavern paths slowly, gauging his steps as he goes. so far it's not been a trigger panel or a trip wire, but more the hope someone without a light will fall into the traps below. or run into the wall of spikes, as had been the case behind him.

likewise, he also has the idea that something this full of traps would be guarding something that's worth taking a look at. not sure he wants to risk his life for it, but dodging a few traps shouldn't be that difficult. a brow arches when sasuke indicates the paper in his hand with a drop of the eyes.]

Yeah.

[he'd already marked the paper's route an X, indicating a dead end, and heads towards the fork they're both approaching. then stands with his face towards said fork and unfolds the paper. certainly isn't a cartographer's best work, but it's what sasuke thinks it is: paths taken.

you know, if he can see through the back of the paper that is.]

[retsuden]

[ You never know!!! Maybe someone thought roses were really menacing. It'd be a nice change, at least.

Even with his Rinnegan, he sadly can't see through paper, so instead he... shifts so he can try and see what he's scribbled down. It's not subtle and he's not even expecting it to make sense since he doesn't know the paths that he's been on, but it's more than he's able to manage.

There's a pause as he looks at the fork ahead of them, and then back at the paper in Dabi's hands. That simplistic map is gonna make it a lot easier to get out of here than his attempt to make some kind of markings on the wall. ]

... Mind some company?

[burnitblack]

[they certainly are in many other series worlds. Plus they got thorns regardless. Least they burn a lot easier than spikes.

dabi notes the attempt to see... and ends up lowering the paper so sasuke can take a look at it. all he's really done is drawn a circle at the bottom of the paper and then a short line going up. when he reached a fork, he drew two lines branching from it (or however many branches there were in front of him) and then marked which one he took. another straight line from the end of that branch, until he came to another fork. rinse and repeat. so as long as he faces the same direction and goes backwards, then technically they should be able to get back to the front of the cave.

oh, and look for the scorch marks he left on the wall with his quirk. something he at least has the decency to explain to sasuke while the man looks over the map.]

Nah. Kinda foolish to walk around in here alone.

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke goes to hang the lantern he'd been carrying off of his stump so he can flick it back on, pulling it into his hand and holding it up so he can look slightly ahead of the path. Even if it alerts some kind of monster, at least he'll be able to see what's charging at them a few seconds earlier this way. ]

Hopefully whatever they're trying so hard to hide is still down here.

[ Otherwise this is all one hell of a waste of time. ]

[burnitblack]

[dabi notices the man's missing arm when he takes the lantern off, but says nothing about it. hardly a thing to comment on after coming from the world he has. the lantern's light shining further down the tunnel helps, though there's no sign of any movement or disturbance yet.]

Heard from some others they found bloodstone tools. Helps ya craft that shit better.

[that's one thing at least.]

2

[syncopathic]

[Dito's doing his own reconnaissance in the forest. After the worst of the earthquakes had subsided, several Hunters took it upon themselves to investigate. Normally that sort of scouting detail would have been repugnant to Dito, but his curiosity had always been annoyingly difficult to tame.

So here he was, out at the edge of the forest with his hyena omen by his side and a lit lantern in his hand, scouring the grass for anything out of the ordinary. He almost misses the blue flame when it temporarily lights up the sky, and with a glance and a nod to his omen, Dito moves to investigate. A will o' the wisp, perhaps? Or something more sinister?

He finds his answer soon enough. It's hard to see in the darkness, but from the glow of his lantern he can just make out a tall and lanky figure standing at the edge of a particularly large cavern. Dito slides his spear out of its sheath, just in case the person turns out to be not too friendly.]

I'm gonna take the chance that you're not one of those beasty types that get their kicks chewing people's faces off. Though I wouldn't mind if you did that to somebody else-- be pretty cool to watch.

[burnitblack]

[sinkholes aren't exactly rare in japan. but watching a number of them fall open in quick succession? that's not something he's seen outside of certain quirks being used. unable to guess where the next one will show, he remains in the air until the rumbling and collapsing have stopped. then alights on the edge of one of them, leaving the grass to burn all around from the blast of fire used to catch his fall. hmph... might have to rest a bit. he got dangerously close to his threshold limit.

the hole itself is large, certainly would've toppled a house if it opened under the corner of it. looks like it's opened up into an underground cavern too... guess it shouldn't surprise him trench has an cave system beneath it, though that makes him wonder how much of the place is ready to collapse into itself at any time. the curious side of him dabbles with heading down into the cave to explore. the logical, planning side of him says that's foolish to go alone into an unexplored cave.

a voice cuts into his thoughts and dabi looks over his shoulder, most of his body hidden behind his long coat and the shadows swallowing him. someone's over there; the lantern isn't hard to miss at all. a passerby, here to inspect the hole most likely. he notes movement near the person, assumes it's an omen, but can't be sure of the size or shape.]

Ya ever seen a beast that looks like a person?

[syncopathic]

[That voice. Something about it sends a chill down his spine. It's mild-mannered enough, probably wouldn't even faze a casual listener, but Dito can sense something darker lurking underneath a surface. A hint of malice and violence, like lava simmering beneath a dormant volcano-- eternally stoked and ready to erupt at a moment's notice.

A smirk lifts the ends of Dito's mouth; he taps the haft of his spear casually against his shoulder. If it turns out this guy's itching for a fight, the Disciple's more than happy to provide it. He is, after all, eternally DTF.]

Quite a few, actually. Used to travel with one before I came here. Bloodthirsty. Bad-tempered. Great in the sack.

[At his side, the hyena makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a scoff of derision. A deep and almost matronly female voice mutters just loud enough to be audible:]

Oh, spare me. Please.

[burnitblack]

[he wouldn't be wrong with the assumption. dabi's normally casual and laid back, sometimes rude without thinking, but when he does get angry, that heat comes out with all the darkness and fire one would expect from a mass murdering arsonist villain. but don't think him too unhinged; he's got quite the composure and control of his emotions. they erupt when he wants.

he notes the spear tap, but seems more inclined to believe it's little more than a casual action, perhaps unconscious, perhaps deliberately cocky. mah ei, if this stranger's looking to cause trouble for him, shouldn't last longer than a few seconds.]

"Here" meanin this shit hole- [and gestures all around in a circle of his hand to indicate trench in general.] -or this hole? [and ends the circle motion with a thumb jerked over his shoulder towards the sinkhole in the ground.

good to know, cause if the "beast" this guy's talking about isn't a trench-version of "beast" then it's a moot point.

... oh great. another omen that can talk out of turn. are those popular around here? dabi ignores the voice, though assumes it's indeed the creature at the stranger's side.]

[syncopathic]

[A few seconds? That doesn't exactly speak highly of your performance, pal. Dito rolls one shoulder in a shrug, taking the opportunity to saunter closer. It's still hard to see much of the man's features in the dark, but Dito can see the gleam of teeth when he talks. Another gleam, too-- multiple ones that seem to, curiously, be climbing up where his cheeks would be. Interesting.]

Eh, you got me. I was talking about here in Trench. Though I ain't about to rule it out. For all I know, you could be one of 'em. Might already be running through a list of all the awful things you're gonna do to me before you kill me.

[Was that a veiled threat or an awkward attempt at flirtation? Dito will never tell. He stops striding forward when he's about a few feet away from the man, leaning against his spear like an oversized walking stick. This close, he can smell the scent of burning grass. His hyena omen growls a quiet warning.]

Careful, whelp...

[Dito rolls his eyes and ignores her, flashing a grin at Dabi as if she hadn't spoken.]

So are we going in or do you wanna tease the entrance a little more? Too much foreplay can get tiresome, you know.

[burnitblack]

[wrong performance, horndog. he's not attempting to give any further light to his face, though the occasional gleam reflecting off his teeth or staples isn't really noticed. he's not exactly trying to hide, but not actively coming into the light either. as the other man gets closer, dabi regards both his stance and the placement of that spear. nothing threatening yet.]

I might be. [whether he might be a beast (laughable since he's already been one), or might be thinking of horrible things to do to this guy (okay so that one slightly tracks), is up to the stranger's thoughts.] Mosta the beasts here don't bother to stop an' chat though.

[at least dropping that obvious point at the guy's feet. once he stops, however, and ends up offering something that deliberately a euphemism, dabi snorts at the insinuation, waving a hand to the side before sliding it into his pocket and turning towards the mouth of the sinkhole.]

Ya want that kinda fun, we can do it after. I ain't here for that right now. [he'll do night walker shit later. specifically once they get out of the cave and are alive to engage in it.]

[syncopathic]

[At that, Dito's lascivious smirk grows even wider, and he rolls his shoulder in another shrug as he sidles over to Dabi's side. He barely comes up to Dabi's own shoulder, a detail he tries his hardest to ignore.]

Hey, I'm in no hurry. Hunger makes the best gravy, and all that. Though I am hoping to see at least some kinda action in there.

[Raising the lantern does little good-- the sinkhole appears to be bottomless, though Dito can just make out a faint shimmer down below that could possibly be the reflection of water. The sound of crumbling pervades the air, though it's hard to tell if it's left over from the cave-in or from creatures moving about. Dito shivers.]

Oof. This's got "bad idea" written all over it, don't you think? [The gleeful anticipation in his voice gives the lie to his apparent caution.] You going in first or am I being the canary in the coalmine here?