deercountry | [Open] 🚬 June Flames

[scare him off? pft, hardly. annoy him off? very likely. dabi's not one to stick around someone he doesn't like. usually isn't above killing someone like that either. if they're useless to him that is.]

So it's just me, huh. [he sounds sarcastic, as if reconsidering the moment's benefit of the doubt. the question, however, earns a few moments of silence, considering what to say and whether he wants to. but finally the younger man sinks down against the wall to sit, too tired to stand for now.]

Mostly dreams. Usually don't. Now they're keepin me up all damn night.

[Well. 'Scare' as a general term. But yes, he'd rather not be a burnt crisp, thank you Dabi.]

... You too? I thought I was the only one. ... Are you waking up with wounds afterwards? Because I am, too.

[He hesitates if he wants to reveal this, but at this point he's just desperate for the other to believe him. Maybe he's trying too hard, but that's just sort of how he rolls...]

[He takes off his glove and shows Dabi his hand. It's cracked all over, like a hard-boiled egg ready to be peeled.]

[there's no promises an encounter won't end with charcoal when it comes to the villain, but for now, this guy's safe from it.

especially when he insinuates a similarity between them. dabi's eyes flick to the side, turquoise orbs regarding the silver-haired man with silent expectation.

better prove it with that claim. he doesn't offer an answer until after nara'a removes his glove and shows him his hand.]

That's gross.

[looks like you could start peeling it right away. but it does prove his point.]

Sometimes, yeah.

Yes, it is.

[He puts his glove back on because he doesn't want to look at it much more than Dabi does.]

I wonder if that thing's causing it...

... You don't see one on me, do you?

[He hadn't thought of that, but it's a distinct possibility. Maybe the other guy just hasn't mentioned it? Or maybe he hasn't really looked. The creature only showed up when he was staring for a while, after all.]

[dabi's seen worse than that. some quirks mutate people's appearance to a very disturbing amount. it doens't bother him. after all, he's the one who's sporting all those burn scars stapled shut across his body. unfortunately, those aren't the result of any dream.

(well, that's somewhat arguable...)

he frowns at the question before tilting his head and looking as best he can around the back of the other man. at first glance, he doesn't see anything, though his eyes narrow as he focuses on the space around nara'a's back.]

Nothin yet.

It took a bit for it to appear when I looked at you. I first started seeing it at the corner of my eye.

[He's curious as to what sort of cloaking method these things are using. There's several ways to hide from sight that he's aware of, but now's probably not the time to start asking questions of weird demon piggyback riders.]

I feel like this is going to be a very long week...

[Or month.]

[dabi takes the comment with little more than a grunt of acknowledgement before keeping his eyes trained on the man's back. slowly but surely, however, he does find the brief outline of something there. almost like looking at a creature made of glass, emerging from the invisible camouflage the longer he looks at it.]

Yeah, there's somethin there...

[disgusting. they both have these things latched onto them? and his fire didn't do shit to his own.]

This place makes me sick.

Damn.

[He was hoping there wasn't one, that this was an isolated case.]

I'm not sure what to do. I can't exactly set myself on fire and they seem rather persistent in any case.

[It's tempting to just wrestle the thing off of Dabi, but he might hurt the other in the process which is the last thing he wants to do.]

But we need to sleep... demons or no. What to do, what to do...

[dabi leans back against the wall. so now there are two of them. meaning this might be similar to the things that have happened the past few months. these events that seem to come and go...]

I can.

[he lifts up his hand and blue flames burst into a brief flare. and no, he doesn't seem at all wary about threatening the solution of burning the creature off the other man's back.]

We should go somewhere else. Just in case.

[possibly by water...]

I -

[Okay that's... valid. And he can heal himself to a small degree. And it's not like he hasn't endured worse than some flames.]

[He's faced down numerous creatures and monsters, so what's he even scared about? He pulls himself together and nods.]

Somewhere less... crowded and flammable.

[If something goes wrong, he doesn't want to get other people involved in this nonsense.]

[part of him wants the man to deny the suggestion so they can go their separate ways. nara'a going wherever the hell he doesn't care and dabi can stay right where he is and go back to sleep. except sleep won't come... not restful sleep anyways.

with the agreement, the man exhales in annoyance and resignation before pushing himself up. somewhere less crowded and flammable. tough luck there; with the sheer heat of his flames, almost everything's flammable to dabi. it'll be a long trip to the safest place: the beach.]

Got a place in mind?

[No luck, Dabi. He's a protagonist and that means that he's disgustingly persistent.]

Let's see... I think there's a few abandoned buildings around that are far apart enough from others so that they won't catch fire...

[Hopefully.]

Besides, I'm sure that you can control your own fire, right?

[Is he being a little annoying on purpose? Maybe.]

[why do protagonists seem to come into his orbit? can't be a villain without attracting attention.]

Hn, once it catches on somethin, it's outta my control.

[blast it and watch it burn. and no, dabi doesn't sound at all wary with that comment. more a tone of sarcastic, self-depreciating pride in his wildfires.]

So ya best not pick one sittin in the forest.

[that town square that was reduced to nothing but charred and melted buildings with the pavement all boiled into now-dried slag, back in april? yeah that was him.]

[Joy. He heads down the street - he noticed a stone house with no real neighbors a ways down before he even got to the marketplace.]

Noted. I can't really control elements like that. I can just cast spells.

['Channeling' and 'control' are two very different things. He's not sure he's ever heard of anyone with total control over an element - not anyone who was telling the truth, at least.]

I wouldn't want to put other people in danger.

[dabi walks beside him, but lets him lead, keeping tired eyes out for something useful. getting out of the light seems like a good idea, though he'd prefer not to be standing in front of the public if he happens to torch this guy...]

Spells. Like a wizard?

[there are different levels of control when it comes to elements. dabi's able to manipulate and emit his own flames, but once they're severed from that control, they're free to do what they want. he never learned fine control over them.]

They're already in danger just livin in this place.

I don't know what a 'wizard' is, but if it's some kind of spellcaster, then yes. It's... it can get very technical, and takes a long time to study to do properly.

[He's doing his best to hold back on the nerding. He's well aware that most people don't care, or would actively blow him off for it.]

... I guess they are. But that's all the more reason to not add to the danger, in my opinion - they have it bad enough.

[At least they have some degree of freedom, but that seems to be most of what they have.]

Somethin like that. Magic shit.

[dabi has neither the knowledge nor the interest to get involved in the technical details about it. needless to say, the other guy can "make shit happen" and that's probably what they'll be banking on for this weird exercise.

excusing people from danger since they're already in danger is one way. dabi's not one to subscribe to that thought processes, but right now he's not planning on actively going out of his way to burn up someone.]

Ya don't see them walkin around with monsters on their backs...

[he wonders what's the secret to their immunity.]

No, I don't. Are they Sleepers?

[Is that the difference? Is the local population immune to this sort of thing? He's not sure.]

[They reach the place he'd seen - an old stone house, with some amount of space on each side of it. Maybe not enough for a fire break, but it's hopefully enough. He nods to Dabi and goes over to it, pulling the rotted-looking door open.]

Doesn't look like anyone's claimed it, so it's probably fine if we use it. The roof might catch, but it looks like the walls are pretty solid stone.

No clue. Kinda get the feelin "Sleepers" are people who came here from other worlds. The rest of them're natives.

[the local trash. and if that's true, he wouldn't be surprised if the locals aren't affected by the things that plague the sleepers. even if that doesn't make dabi particularly fond of them...

dabi eyes the chosen venue. a stone house with some open room on all sides. not a bad pick. he doesn't plan on outright torching the place, so as long as their attempts to rid these creatures from their bodies doesn't end up requiring a lot of effort, they should be fine.

the door almost falls off its hinges. great...]

Think that category's what most of the buildings fall into.

That's the sense I've been getting, too.

[He shrugs and heads inside, boots trailing through dust and muck. There's clearly been some kind of animal in here, but it's not immediately apparent what it is - or was. There's a nest of some kind in the corner, but if it's a regular animal or a beast, Nara'a's not sure.]

Yeah, true. A lot of them look like they've been abandoned for a long time. ... Oh well. At least if it gets damaged that means no one will miss it.

[wonderful. they're the one who get dragged here and then are forced to deal with issues the locals don't have to. he figured that out before, but hearing it confirmed by someone else makes the villain recount the destruction of that town square with more sadistic pride than he already had.

dabi looks around the house as they move in, ignoring the possible shack up who'd taken residence here. it's no concern of his. if something comes in to bother them, it won't be leaving alive. the nest looks used, so it's doubtful the place hasn't seen any kind of visitor for a while. human visitors.]

That's the point.

[once they arrive at the largest room, he stops and narrows his eyes on the other man.]

Turn around.

[He shrugs, turning around. He's not sure if this will work, given that the other couldn't remove his own. Still, there's nothing to be lost by the attempt.]

[There's something nervous in his chest, but he pushes it aside for the moment. He has to trust the other. That's the only way he'll earn any sort of trust in return. Even though it feels vulnerable to turn around like this...]

[There's no other choice, is there?]

[dabi has to focus on the space again, moving nara'a into the light with a nudge of his elbow. it's bony; deal with it. but he eventually is able to get the creature to appear once more. gross...

once that's done, he simply reaches out, palm flat, and-

... okay so instead of blasting the fuck out of it, dabi shows a rare moment of "gives a shit" and instead spits a brief flash of fire from his finger, streaking over the creature's back with a stream of blue flame.

mostly wants to see what the reaction is.

sorry for that flash of at least 2,000°C (3,632°F) fire across your back, nara'a...]

[He moves as instructed, and doesn't move otherwise. There's a brief spike of panic, but he forces it down, his tail curling around his side in a self-soothing gesture. It's fine, he's fine. This is fine.]

[He hisses as the flame passes over him, a hand instinctively moving towards his weapon before it stills. It's not the other guy's fault, he's probably immune... It doesn't matter. It hurts and it's probably burnt off some hair, but it's fine. He's faced dragon fire and nightmarish misery in battle... this is fine.]

[The creature doesn't do anything except clutch Nara'a's back tighter, and he sways for a moment. He feels a little more tired all of a sudden... he's not sure why. He shakes it off, ears flicking in annoyance as he resumes a ready stance.]

Anything?

[tail? dabi only just now notices this guy has a tail. the feline ears he saw already but hadn't bothered to look down. guess it makes sense that he'd have a tail. "fine" is probably not a word anyone wants to use around dabi.

mind you, he tried to burn the creature across its back, not nara'a himself. though considering the creature mirrors the pain (damage?) it takes to the person it's latched onto... that's going to be a pretty singed feeling zapping through the other man. dabi easily ignores the results to nara'a and instead narrows his eyes at the creature itself.]

Tch-

[it's still moving, digging onto the man's back. the sudden sway earns a brief glance down at him, wondering if he's going to fall. but nara'a shakes it off and straightens.]

It didn't like that.

[ooc: what's your verdict? burn it off or resist until they do a dream walk? i think if they kill it quickly, it can be removed from the sleeper without death, but it's gonna hurt like a bitch.]

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cw: minor body horror

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