deercountry | [Open] 🚬 June Flames

Ya didn't start with the basics?

[not that dabi's one to talk, but usually when starting a new skill, you start with first steps, not jumping to... whatever fusions are. but here he is, giving shouto a flat look and wondering why he didn't make simple raspberry jam.

as far as quirks go... touya was only taught to stomp on the proverbial gas. concentrate, build, release, yes, but none of that was based on any kind of control or precision. endeavor wanted hotter, stronger, faster, racing to overwhelm all might. that's all touya ever knew. certainly nothing about cooling down or stopping was put into his impressionable head.

endeavor once told him he would be the brightest star. and now he is. burning himself out forever.]

So ya made medicine but called it jam...

[but raspberry is the one he wants to try first.]

I... wanted to give people something better than basic.

[ Better than the jam they could buy at the food market. That's why he stubbornly stuck to his even-dozen even if he wasn't sure if lemon jam would actually taste all that good.

The thing is, Shouto refused to use his fire after a time and there was nothing Endeavor could do to force him to comply. With no spare to replace him, he switched tactics, letting him hit continue with his rebellion knowing he'd hit that proverbial wall of what he could accomplish with only half of his quirk. When Shouto finally came around, he didn't need to teach him how to cool down or stop, he learned to do that on his own thanks to his mother's quirk, it was getting him to become hotter that was the problem. ]

It's both. [ He says stubbornly. ] It's jam, but it's also good for you.

[ If you can keep it down and dear god, there are 12 different flavors! Try ANY OTHER ONE! ]

But ya never made the basic kind before.

[why is he giving cooking advice to his little brother? dabi doesn't really know any cooking advice in the first place, but even he knows you should make the original recipe once before starting to screw round with it. (lemon marmalade is awesome, so long as shouto's not making it...)

you'd think endeavor would've reconsidered encouraging his son to become hotter when his first one burned himself to cinders doing the very same thing. but no, touya was nothing in endeavor's eyes. only an experiment that failed, something he could easily crush the remaining dust of his charred corpse underfoot and brush it away to forget it ever existed. in the end, touya's death amounted to nothing in his family's life. a realization that killed him a second time in front of his own shrine, when he left touya in the grave and dabi was born anew as he walked out of his old life forever.]

Uh-huh. [the idea of a bunch of hunters carrying emergency vials of shouto's jam into battle is... ridiculous. but if it works as he says, hey, he's seen worse tools used.] Guess I got somethin to look forward to.

[nah. raspberry looks good. he'll try some tonight.]

[ ~~Must you be logical?!~~ His head tilts slightly. He's not wrong, but he still doesn't see the issue. Wasn't it better to give away an elevated dish than a basic one? ]

No. I didn't have time to make both, so I chose the better one.

[ He will gladly take cooking advice from him just don't blame him when they end up burning down the kitchen.

As it stands Shouto doesn't know yet that Endeavor trained Touya. By the time he came around, Endeavor had already stopped training him and by the time Shouto was started on his training, Touya was already gone.

It wouldn't be a bunch of Hunters, since they don't exactly get along. Shouto works with a handful of them, but mostly, he's assigned to solo patrol that way there's no clashes among them.

He looks across the cavern to an opening in the rock that seemed to lead to the rest of the cave system, and smiles quietly to himself, pleased by his suggestion. He didn't throw it away. Somehow, he didn't expect that. He'd worried that someone else would find it or that he'd see his signature and burn it, so to hear that he kept it and planned to try it... it validates every hour he spent making each jam. ]

... If you like one [ he scratches at his cheek, looking almost timid ] I have more.

[ Don't even dare choose the raspberry one!!! ]

[~~yes.~~ touya sighs, though the exhale barely shows leaving his mouth. this isn't something he should be wasting his time on. explaining this concept. didn't the little puppet have friends to talk to him about it?]

Guess you'll find out soon enough.

[if word gets around of some kind of infamous jam poisoning. makes him speculate of the ones he's got in his own place. maybe he'll scan the network and wait a few days to listen. see if anyone's saying something.

like burning down the kitchen's gonna be a problem for him...

depends on if the jam actually works or not. taste aside, if it proves to be a strong anti-corruption tool, he might get some orders for more. and who knows where they'll go once they've been sold...

dabi's only just started working as a hunter, though he's kept some attention on the whole sanctuary thing and the growing rift in the two hunting philosophies. what a surprise. save versus kill. kinda got shades of the war back home, huh.

noting shouto looking towards the cavern wall, the opening nearby, touya moves forward, tired of standing around and being pleasant with his little brother. he's got something he wants to do in here and a conversation while still is not one of them.]

I'll keep that in mind.

[once again, wolf reappears, melting out of the shadows beside touya's leg. its glowing eyes cast a faint turquoise light in the dark. almost akin to two candles. mostly so touya doesn't have to keep his own fires activated.

choose the raspberry? well if you insist.]

[ Shouto will gladly make him all the jam he wants, working overtime to meet the demand. Of course, he'll have no idea he's actually going to sell it or what kinds of disasters await anyone who buys the cursed, anti-corruption jam, that tastes like it's gone bad. It hasn't. The anti-corruption properties will still work months later when those labels have fallen off and he can't tell apart the apricot jam from the raspberry.

When Touya looks to the opening, Shouto follows his gaze and remembers what he's doing down here in the first place. Kizu jumps back into his chest, curling around his heart as Shouto secures his equipment and walks behind his brother. His gait is faster, legs just a little longer, so he soon catches up with him, looking like he's following him like a not so subtle stalker. For once his eyes aren't on Touya but on his omen, black against black. It melds into the background making it difficult to see if it wasn't for the glowing eyes that reveal some of its features.

Shouto keeps quiet, following five steps behind the duo, perfectly content to follow him wherever he leads when the ground starts rumbling beneath them. Cracks form all around them and he activates his fire to take him airborne when the earth collapses beneath its own weight revealing another tunnel below. Dust rises obscuring what lies below but soon enough, it settles revealing a blue, luminous glow in the dark. Switching sides, he forms a ledge of ice that leads down into the newly revealed tunnel whose walls are filled with blue algae that glow quietly in the dark. A small shallower river flows through the center, no more than three feet deep. Shouto lands on the ledge of the bank of the river that's a good four feet wide giving him ample room to walk. He looks behind him and sees the tunnel turn a corner and disappear leaving only darkness. Shifts his shoulders forward and watches the river run a few hundred feet before it too turns a corner and disappears from view. ]

[he'll keep it in mind. knowing he could use shouto to his advantage only goes so far. though he dislikes him, he's not about to believe his little brother an idiot. touya won't tie him up making a bunch of jam unless he becomes really desperate for something to trade. and that's... not likely going to ever happen. but once he learns more about the effects of the cursed jelly, then he might get some more ideas about using it. chuck a jam bomb into some beast's mouth, just to see what happens.

ducking into the opening, he lets his omen walk between his legs and push into the darkened tunnel. the blue glow kicks up a notch when the lupine spirit ignites two glowing balls of flame around itself, like twin hitodama drifting about ghostly in the darkness. this reveals a lot more of its features, though if shouto's seen a picture of a wolf, then it's really not much different. however, through the black fur, a few patches of white stand out, something dabi was mildly annoyed about when wolf manifested completely the first time. almost a throw back to the reality of his hair's dyed nature. whatever. those silver streaks, along with it's glowing blue eyes, are likely wolf's most defining features. (when it's not looking like a salivating hell hound.)

touya tenses up, hand pressing against the wall when the ground quakes. shit, this is the only part he hates about being in the caves. but when the ground starts to break, he instantly ignites his flames and hovers, wolf vanishing immediately to avoid getting bothered by the collapsing floor. he jerks his arm up, shoving his face into his sleeve above the cuff to block out the dust and avoid coughing or choking on the cloud. shuts his eyes for the same reason, weathering the rising implosion. once it's died down, he lowers his arms and narrows in on the new path poured open beneath them. well shit...

dropping down, dabi gets a secure footing on the floor and then pulls out a note book. flips a few pages to count before making some lines and a circle on the pad. before turning to look behind him and then back to the blue-glazed cavern in front of them. ominous in a weird way... while shouto scouts out the river, touya takes the time to lift a hand and pour out flames against the wall above where the floor had collapsed. ultimately creates an <-- arrow to indicate they came (and faced) this way. that should help retracing their route back.]

We followin that?

[ Meanwhile, Shouto opens up a neon yellow glow stick, dips his finger in its contents, and paints an 'x' to mark where he's been. He makes sure to use all the liquid on his finger before closing the glow stick back up and setting it back in its metal container where he has three more tucked away as part of his cave exploring kit after Megumi used a similar idea to track their whereabouts in the caverns below. When he's done, his left hand ignites into a glowing red flame before crouching down at the edge of the river to check it for anything suspicious. ]

There's no fish in the river.

[ He calls out before using his ice to reach the glowing ceiling and get a better look at the-- ]

Oh. They're worms.

[ Bioluminescent glow worms. He reaches out to touch one of the long threads hanging down, not realizing that they're made of urine the glow-worm vomited out. ]

The threads are sticky but they don't seem dangerous. Some bugs are stuck in some of them. Probably the food source for the worms.

[ He lowers himself down on the ice, touching down and setting a left hand to melt it. In the process, he removes any of the sticky material still on his hand. When he's done, the ice reduced to nothing, he turns back to Touya. ]

Are you coming too?

[ Meaning, he's most definitely coming down this way. Touya can join him if he wants. ]

[touya notices they glow stick, wondering if that's something from their homeworld (or someone's) or if it's something that was crafted from trench resources. either way, it's not blood, so shouldn't be problematic to stick it on walls. while his way won't be glowing for as long as shouto's, it'll be a lot easier to notice with light and has far less chance of getting somehow wiped off. who knows what's down here and licks along the walls? with his own mark done, touya descends into the lower tunnel, leaving his omen to rest since the light down here is enough without it.]

None you can see. [don't make generic statements, shouto. especially when looking at one patch of a river they don't even see the ends of. dabi tilts his head back to watch his brother escalate himself to the ceiling. worms?]

... gross.

[here he thought it was moss along needle-like stalactites. (and no, he doesn't know what shouto's poking either.) now he's less inclined to stand under them when he notices the drippy threads move with the poke. at least it doesn't seem to be melting the younger man's flesh off his finger.]

I'm right here.

[indicating his own presence. the question is, which direction to go? the river goes and comes different routes. the continuation of the river is far more well lit than the potential origination point...]

[ He looks down the river in one direction and then the other. One has more light than the other meaning he won't have to use his quirk and possibly disturb whatever ecosystem is down here. ]

I'm going to follow the river his way. [ He points out. ] It's better lit and there's enough room to walk alongside the current.

[ With that, he secures the backpack with the breathing gear once more, before heading down the trail of blue lights that remind of the Milkyway at night. ]

[dabi's curious about the source of the water, but considering the lack of light and going upstream has more difficulty than following the flow, not to mention the potential of finding where the water empties... he agrees with shouto.]

If it empties into an underground lake, we're fucked.

[trapped to some degree. as well as suggesting a very dangerous foundation for whatever land might be above that lake. then again, it could merely wind itself out to the ocean and spill out there.

he follows after his brother, dismissing wolf for the time being.]

I have rebreathers for that scenario. [ Looks back at his brother. ] Enough for both of us.

[ Since he brought extras because he's a good little hero who always tries to be prepared. And down the river they go! Shouto's pace is slower than normal probably because he keeps looking up, fascinated by the glowing worms that manage to carve out an epic scene that rivals the cathedrals of Rome. Every once in a while, he'll take out his glow stick and mark the wall of the cave with an 'x'. He'll mostly stay quiet, not one to start up conversations, only speaking up when there's a new feature to point out. ]

Oh. The river is wider here.

The ceiling is getting higher.

I think I see an open space up ahead.

[ His steps never hurry. He walks with a purpose following the diminishing bank of the river, only three feet wide now, until it opens up into a large open cavern. The entrance they take is one of many. From their vantage point, more openings can be seen leading to this cavern leading one to believe it might be significant, at least enough to explore a little, so Shouto crosses through the shallow river that's only a few feet deep, and starts exploring. ]

I'm going to check the top of the hill.

[ ooc; making things up as i go along, feel free to add anything you'd like too! ]

Edited 2022-06-26 15:17 (UTC)

Think I'll stay dry.

[spelunking is one thing. swimming around in an underwater lake? that's going a bit too far for his exploratory wants. self-preservation is a thing and dabi doesn't like to take too many risks unless he's assured success. in most cases...

once he realizes the worms aren't going to be dripping on them like some kind of disgusting slime rain, he's more at ease walking down the tunnel the river's carved away over who knows how long a time. when shouto stops to mark the walls, touya likewise draws further on the little notebook, a rudimentary mapping system that consists little more than circles and lines to indicate branches and routes taken. plus burning marks on the wall opposite shouto's glowsticks.

he keeps his silence, noting the decreasing size of the river. somewhere in his mind, he wrangles up lessons from his childhood about nature and stuff. smaller rivers mean less time it's been here. probably carving its way through the rocks. but that stops when the large cavern shows up and he frowns at the severe number of paths.

shit.]

Ya see anything move, send up a flare.

[touya heads to the opposite side of the room, opting to walk past all the different entrances that lead out of the chamber. looking for any signs people have been here. he knows they're not the only ones exploring these caves, especially since there are things in here to find and keep.

case in point, a pile of rocks beside one mouth that obviously was not naturally made (though certainly more respectful to nature than you two idiots painting and burning the walls...)]

Someone's been down this one. They left a marker.

[ooc: got it! i shall unleash some plans~]

You do the same.

[ Up the hill, he goes, staying in view of Touya. The light from the glow worms is enough to light his way so he doesn't feel the need to use his own quirk. From this vantage point, he can see several openings but none make a particular impression on him, at least not from what he can see. Looking around he spots something odd in the river proper. ]

There's something near the river. I'm going to check it out.

[ He tells his brother before going down the hill and disappearing from view. He heads down to the river where it's gotten a lot bigger, no longer shallow. The closer he gets the better the can make out what he saw from the top. ]

Touya! There's a boat here.

[yeah, yeah. if by "flare" shouto means simply torch the damn thing.

after combing the perimeter of the chamber, it comes to light there are only three tunnels that have been marked by any signs of recent intelligence going through. one with the rock pile and the other with something that's akin to chalk marks. but before he has time to go down one of those tunnels, shouto calls him and touya's attention swings back.

"something" near the river could be anything, but he shoves his hands into his pocket and heads up the hill, then down to follow after him. the river's gotten bigger, deeper... does that mean there were two and they merged? the hell's up with this underground system? but it's the second call that has him coming up behind his little brother.]

Either some Sleepers dragged that all the way here or we're not alone in this place...

[it had to have just recently been set up. there's no way it's been down here since forever. unless this isn't the first time trench has dropped holes all over the ground.]

[ He stands at the front of the boat, taking note of its size and shape. ]

It looks like a leisure boat. It's well kept too. If someone brought it down here, it wasn't that long ago. There's no growth at the bottom. It hasn't been in the water for long. [ He crouches in front of the boat, scraping at the bottom that was ashore. ] A few days most likely. [ He rubs his fingers together feeling the algae almost nonexistent. ] Less than a week, no doubt.

[ He turns up to look at Touya. ]

We should figure out if we're alone first. Did you find anything in the tunnels?

[he'd prefer the first option, as the other one (that of it being here) is a little more unnerving and brings the quality and safety of the boat into question. he steps over to look into it, then arches a brow when shouto starts to make dating proclamations after rubbing the boat in places.]

Ya know that from touchin it?

[color him surprised. it's definitely bigger than a canoe, and shouldn't have trouble fitting the two of them together, but there's no chain or rope suggesting that it's been tied here to wait for someone. more like it's drifted his way...]

Two of 'em have indications people've gone down them. [thumb over his shoulder.] One had a pile or rocks, the other had markings.

Algae grows fast in still water. The water here isn't flowing that much. It's mostly still. If the boat was in the water for a few days, the bottom would be covered in a layer of algea which is sticky and slimy. [ Hence, touching it. ] There's not much of a layer on the boat which means it hasn't been in the water for very long.

[ He rolls back onto his heels and stands. ] It doesn't mean someone's here, only that the boat hasn't been here long.

[ He was taught detective work at UA, so he takes what he says and adds it to the image he's forming in his head of their current situation. ]

Hikers use piles of rocks to indicate where they've been. Maybe they're exploring like us.

[ Did they... get lost? He almost frets at the thought and looks over Touya's shoulder. ]

We can check out one of the tunnels. Maybe there's something of interest there that made them take it.

Edited 2022-07-03 22:12 (UTC)

Kinda like the slime in the sewers. [about what he's going to compare it to, since marinas are not places he's been to in his life. none he recalls at least. shouto's explanation works well enough, though he's not about to go touching the damn thing.

touya reaches out with a leg and props the sole of his foot on the rim of the boat's side, then gives it a slight push to rock it atop the shore and the water, sending a few ripples out into the water.]

If the boat's not been here long, then it means someone was here recently. [unless it's been drifting for a while, and just now got stuck in this part of the river. so far nothing's jumped out of the water or made any other movement, so he's deeming the river relatively safe... for now. not going in it though.] They are. Met two other people explorin earlier. One yesterday and one the day before.

[they made sure to leave marks or signs that they went one way or the other.]

If someone's already been down a tunnel, then they either already found what might've been in there, or died in the process.

[so an argument for going down a previously-explored tunnel, with the pros being traps already sprung, but the cons being, provided the explorers survived the dangers, anything of worth already being gone.

oh and finding dead people.]

[ He's not wrong with that analogy. Not that he has enough time to examine why he'd think about the sewers first when he abruptly walks up to the boat and shoves it straight into the water. He's going to assume you want to go that route. ]

You've been here before?

[ Somehow, he didn't peg you as the underground explorer type and adds that little nugget of information to his image of him. Also... why do you have to bring up dead people?! Can't they just have a nice outing without someone dying?! ]

You want to explore the down the river?

[ He's just going to casually invite himself on his little trip down the river and climb aboard, creating a long pole made of ice to guide them through. ]

[oy! he didn't shove it into the fucking water! he just rocked it! not his fault the boat was only "gently" run aground and thus a simple rock or two was enough to dislodge it back into the water. well... at least this would tell them whether the river's current really is strong enough to carry a boat or if they'll have to go punting along the shore... which'll mean needing sticks or something to push with.

as for the sewers... take a wild guess.]

I've been down in the cave twice before since they appeared.

[he's not the underground explorer type, but he's curious and this was the "thing" that was happening right now. plus there are some items down here that he's heard are interesting if you can recover them, so that's an allure.

don't blame him! blame the people who were too weak/stupid to stay alive. sheesh. always gotta blame the villain... how heroic.]

It'd be the easier route.

[touya gets in the boat. almost immediately regrets it when the damn thing wobble. oh fuck... carsick is one thing. but this shit? he immediately sits down he braces himself, trying to stop the boat from moving much. keep steady, steady...]

[ Twice now. Was he looking for something? There were treasures down here, maybe he was searching for that.

If he were more self-aware he'd notice the way he wobbles onto the boat, bracing himself, trying to keep steady. Almost as if he didn't like the water. Shouto on the other hand doesn't get sea sick. He stays upright, ice pole in hand. He's used to surfing through the streets with his ice or flying through the air with his fire. The boat's unsteady motion doesn't phase him.

Once he's in, he pushes off the bottom of the river with the pole, propelling them forward like some kind of gondolier. ]

What are you looking for down here?

[ He asks as he maneuvers them into the tunnel where the glow worms provide a glowing blue light to their travels. ]

[searching. exploring. wasting time. whatever you want to call it, he was doing it. though he didn't spend a long time down here and certainly wasn't engaging in it often. not worth his hide to risk himself frequently.

well how fucking lucky for the perfect golden child. didn't have to deal with queasy stomachs like the rest of his mere mortal siblings. touya lets shouto handle the punting, leaning back in the boat instead and resting his arms on either side. ostensibly to allow himself a way to keep the thing as balanced as possible. so long as it's not wobbling back and forth with any frequency, he'll be fine. there's a big difference between flying under his own power and being stuck at the mercy of a car or boat.

start singling like some gondolier and he's gonna throw you overboard...]

Not sure... heard a few things from people. Lunar orbs, tools for makin bloodstones, books, even items from other worlds.

[huh, that's kinda pretty actually. the worms and what they do to the black water and cave walls.]

[ He's used to adjusting his weight with changing surfaces when he rides his ice, this isn't any different. It's all in the details, small changes to keep your balance, all of it instinct by now giving him the freedom to focus on driving them forward with his gondola-like ice pole.

Singing costs extra and Touya's already getting a free ride mainly because Shouto invited himself in as he usually does with his brother. ]

I found an item from another world the last time I was down here. It cursed me with corruption. I was with two people who can nullify it. [ So, he lived. ] Not all the items are safe, you should be careful what you pick up.

[ Be careful what you wish for~ ]

Edited 2022-07-04 03:58 (UTC)

[don't rock the boat and he won't snarl. simple agreement that was never made, right? touya's a little more at ease with the ride, looking up at the glowing worms at the top of the cave. his eyes wander along the sides every now and then, half for exploration, half to make sure there's no markings something or someone has been coming this way. the river's gotten larger as well... so that's worth noting.

though he really has no evidence to the contrary, the idea of taking the river boat versus going down one of the unknown tunnels was more appealing to him. don't sing...]

I got gloves. I'll be fine. [they're in his pocket, like they usually are nowadays.] Found a lunar orb on my second time down here. [the ninja he met along the way was actually an interesting travel companion. touya wouldn't mind meeting him again further down the line.] Wouldn't mind findin those tools. I'd rather be able to make bloodstones myself.

[Open] 🚬 June Flames

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