deercountry | [Open] 🚬 June Flames

[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.

[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.]

[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.

[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.]

[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?

[when the other man comes to his side, dabi eyes him, but doesn't seem to care too much, only keeping a slight distance between them cause he's not about rubbing shoulders with a stranger right off the bat. (and lets just say dabi also knows a thing or two about people being taller than him, so... hmph.)

he could take the "no hurry" comment to mean this guy wasn't in a hurry to explore and would rather dick, or that he wasn't planning on pushing said dick and exploring was fine. dabi goes with the second one, cause it's the most peaceful option right now. for him.]

Won't see any action out here.

[dito can take that as he wants. the lantern's light barely makes it down the hole. he kicks a few pieces of dirt and a rock over the edge after dislodging it with his boot. after several seconds, a faint 'ploosh' echoes from below. definitely water down there. but there's no skittering or scrambling of living creatures. not really surprising, since the entire place just caved in. anything living would've run or hid by now... and if there were monsters down there, they'd've been crawling up the sides to come after the surface for prety. yeah, he knows a little bit of how monster movies work.]

Probably. [before lifting his shoulders in a lazy shrug. and promptly pushes the guy over the edge via a hand on his back.] After you, canary.

[While Dito is usually very perceptive of both his surroundings and the people within them, there are times when his arrogance gets in the way of his spatial awareness. He doesn't realize the precarious position he's put himself in until he feels the other man's hand on his back, and he only has time to twist his body around before he's sent careening off the edge with a cry that is both panicked and enraged.]

YOU SHITHEAAAAAAD...!!

[His voice fades as he's swallowed by the darkness below. His hyena omen sighs, giving Dabi an irritated look out of the corner of her eye.]

Was that REALLY necessary?

[it's partially the recognition of that lack of awareness that prompts dabi to offer the random guy a hard lesson in keeping your attention up no matter who you're around. does he think this'll kill him? nah. would he care if it did? nope. is he waiting for the splash below? yeah. leaning over the edge himself, dabi watches the darkness swallow dito quickly enough. the yell of dual emotions echoes up after him, almost cartoonish in its descent.]

Lemme know if ya live.

[the added fact the guy's omen is neither attacking him nor going after the plummeting figure is another indication there's little danger to be feared in this turn of events. and to said omen, there comes a dry response-]

It's a free life lesson.

[The omen scoffs in response, shaking herself as if she'd been drenched in water. Dabi's assessment of there being no risk of harm to Dito appears to be right on the money. Either that, or his omen doesn't particularly care about his state of being. Either is equally plausible.]

He gets enough life lessons without any outside help. I'll see you down there when you've finished being smug. He probably won't try to kill you. Probably.

[With that sterling vote of confidence, the omen vanishes into a wisp of shadowy fog, which darts past Dabi's face into the sinkhole and is quickly lost in the darkness.]

[probably. dabi isn't flippant enough to take that without some level of caution. he pushes off the ledge, arms up and drops feet first into the cavern below. the darkness and the lack of light dito's putting up doesn't offer any kind of knowledge about what's approaching. asides from the fact there's water down there. he won't trust depth too much and after a few seconds of falling...

the entire hole is abruptly illuminated with a flare of bright blue flames bursting out from dabi's legs and feet. slowing his fall almost instantly in brief, blinding bursts as he lowers like some reverse rocket launch. immediately catching the surface of the water below, he tilts himself to the side, jetting away from the underground river and finally alighting on the rocky bank nearby.

it's slick, dark, and his boots sink a bit into the damp clay-like surface. that'll be fun to pick out later...]

Wolf.

[a bloom of black fire sprouts from the villain's leg, peeling off to the side in shadows as a large black wolf walks out of dabi's flank. glowing blue eyes illuminate its dark face, a few patches of white fur thrown haphazardly around its body, kinda like if the dye job missed a few scant spots.

a few small flares of blue flame ignite along its spine, casting some illumination around the villain on the shore to at least provide a beacon for the other man in the water.]

Oy. Dead yet?

[There's no reply from deep within the sinkhole, but Dabi still gets his answer soon enough. The air seems to churn before a large and wicked-looking spear propels out of the darkness and sinks deep into the earthen wall an inch from Dabi's face. Dito's chuckle echoes throughout the cavern as he steps into view, the dim light shrouding his own face in eerie shadows.]

Not hardly. You're lucky I'm in a good mood today or you'd be sporting a nice new fleshy glory-hole right about now.

[Seriously, Dito's survived an exploding dirigible from thirty thousand feet in the air-- a slip and fall like this is small potatoes. As easy as you please, the smaller man saunters close to Dabi and retrieves his weapon. It's still irritatingly hard to see the other man's face.]

Well! [His voice is mockingly cheerful.] We managed to make it down here in one piece, despite your efforts. Any more bright ideas, cocksponge?

[that... almost took a chunk of his bangs off. his eyes linger on the blade in front of his face, momentary surprise passing as his blue orbs go from wide to narrowed. so the guy's not as much an idiot as he thought. there's a thought to torch the spear to ashes as paybacks for the almost miss... but one, he figures the guy missed him on purpose, and two, he did just push him over the edge of a sinkhole. besides, knowing his luck, the spear's probably 'magical' and wouldn't burn anyways.

tch- he's come across too many instances of that shit in this place already.]

Yeah, yeah. So grateful or somethin.

[dabi doesn't sound impressed or grateful, more of the same bored calm as usual. the weapon tugs free of the stone wall and the villain steps forward, using the light of his omen to move towards the river (lake?) bank. close enough to look out into the water.]

Makin sure we're not gonna get attacked in this room and then goin forward to see what's further in.

[with that, dabi holds his hand out and blasts a stream of blue fire straight into the air over the water, illuminating the entire cavern with the blinding azure flames. not to mention it's hot. very hot. enough to raise the temperature in the whole cave by a noticeable degree.]

[Looks like it'll take more than that to truly impress the guy, but that wasn't Dito's aim-- he was merely trying to make a point, so to speak, and it's apparently worked. He watches the man move, eyebrows raising as a tongue of blue-hot fire erupts from Dabi's hand to brighten the cave considerably. Apart from the two of them and their Omens, there doesn't appear to be any sign of life down here-- at least not in this particular cavern.

Eventually the fire dies down, and Dito attempts to blink away the spots that have taken over his vision.]

Pretty impressive trick you've got there. You wouldn't happen to be part-dragon or something, would you?

[he's not one to easily impress, certainly not with "almost killed you" taunts. the rare times he is impressed, he won't actually say it, so moot point regardless. with this guy behind him, it's easier to light up the place, eyes scanning around the now-lit cavern for any signs of movement. noises might be harder to notice, since his flames are certainly not the silent kind, rushing out with a roar of hot wind and burning crackles.

once dabi kills the flames a short moment later, the roof of the cavern is left blackened, with a few pieces of the stone already starting to glow on their way to molten. no sign of life. good. they can head towards the hole in the wall then.]

No. Ya part somethin? [he ducks his head down to peer into the cave hall and then nods, sending wolf forward to go ahead of him and light the way inside.]

Me? Nah. Just your garden-variety human. Unless you count the enhanced speed, strength, durability and the ability to summon giant celestial beings. Not to mention whatever the hell else this weird-ass hovel decided to give me when I showed up here.

[He rattles off his list of skills with no apparent pride, as if he considered these enhancements as normal as being born with ten fingers and ten toes. Dito takes a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow-- the other man's trick definitely turned this cramped cavern into a temporary sauna.]

Sooo... am I gonna learn the name of my fellow spelunker or am I supposed to just come up with somethin' to call you on my own? Little piece of advice-- you don't want me to be the one to saddle you with a nickname. Trust me.

Ya just made yourself out to be not average human at all.

[dabi's tone is extremely dry, but he already expected this guy to not be a normal human. some kind of enhanced one with strange abilities. you don't throw spears at people with that kind of accuracy if you're a normal bastard.

but he'll agree on the strange powers this place gives them. mostly he's ignored his, since he'd rather not go wandering in people's heads and certainly isn't fond of dreams being interrupted or weird. ticks him off that others have far better powers. plus he had to share his blood with... anyways. they're heading out of the sauna into the cooler part of the caves.]

Dabi.

[no, he's aware of some people and their idiotic method of nicknaming other people. he's actually one of them, already dubbed this guy "wild boy" cause of his looks, but will probably stick with "idiot" for short.]

Hm. Says the man who can create fire from his skin like an ifrit in some long-forgotten folklore. How am I supposed to know what counts for average in this place?

[They're a good ways away from the heat before the other man speaks again, and for a few seconds Dito doesn't realize that he's actually given him his name. Dito inclines his head towards him, struggling to make out his features in the dim light so he can put a face to the name. But the man is infuriatingly determined to keep himself shrouded, and after a while Dito gives up.]

Dabi. [He speaks the name slowly, as if it has a flavor he's sampling.] Concise. Not too many syllables. I like it. I was never one for those family names-- always seemed kind of redundant.

[Not even mentioning the fact that he never really had a family, of course-- or at least, he doesn't remember if he had.]

You can call me Dito, by the way. It's the only name I got. The stick-in-the-mud at my side's called Bakari.

[The hyena utters a soft rumble of warning.]

Watch it, runt.

Edited 2022-08-09 00:48 (UTC)

Never said I was average, did I. [dabi arches and ducks like a cat to avoid getting a stalactite across his face or down his back.] Pretty sure there's nothin average about this place.

[well he's also a bit a head of dito and the cave isn't lit up, so it won't be easy to make him out in the tunnel right now. dabi's following his omen through the otherwise gloom, listening for sounds that herald an attack or something living escaping away from their approach.]

Wasn't askin for a review.

[interesting to note this guy immediately picked up on the family name thing. maybe he was also from some variant of earth's japan? that seems to be a somewhat recurrence among the sleepers... or he could be referring to a lack of family to have a family name. lame thought.]

Ya give it that name or was it already attached?

[dabi steps out of the tunnel and into another chamber. his omen moves to his side, the glowing blue flames down its back lighting up the area around him.] Text

Oh, I could already tell you weren't anything even approaching average. Even before you started throwing fireballs around.

[This guy likes to keep his cards close to the vest, it seems. It's easy to assume just from the fact that he keeps choosing to hide his facial expressions, but the curt way he speaks only reinforces that idea.

Zero was like that too, and Dito isn't sure whether it's that or the mysterious nature of the man that has him so intrigued. Probably a bit of both-- like a book Dito hasn't had the pleasure of opening yet.]

As for my furry compatriot here--

[Bakari suddenly cuts in with an affronted sniff.]

"It" has a gender, you know. I'd been calling out my name for some time, hoping this useless male would finally listen and summon his Omen as any self-respecting Sleeper would have done ages ago.

It's not my fault he keeps his meager brain attic stuffed to the rafters with thoughts of sex and murder.

[Dito throws up his arms in a helpless shrug.] This is what she does for fun, she kinkshames. Be lucky that yours isn't nearly so opinionated.

Flattery ain't gonna get ya places, kid. Build me up too much and I might disappoint ya.

[there's something sarcastic about his words, self-depreciating in a way that's as dismissive as it is wry. with himself out of the cave hallway, that gives dito enough room to pull himself out and get into the larger chamber beyond it.

he glances to the other pair starts speaking, first the guy, then the hyena huffing and growling.]

My bad. [see: "don't care". a brow arches at the mentions of stuffed attics and sex + murder combo. someone just outed its master.] Not all Sleepers can get it right immediately. [a bored dismissive defense of dito's stupidity and/or lack of skills. the male's personal defense doesn't help either.]

Rethinkin that extra part if murder's the end of a fuck with you...

[not that he wouldn't incinerate this asshole if he tried.]

Wolf's free to make its own opinions.

[even said, the lupine omen doesn't care to interject. likely because dabi mostly still sees his omen as a weapon or a tool rather than engaging it like a pet or a friend as most sleepers do.]

Well, seein' as it's been several minutes and you haven't blown any smoke up my ass once, you've already got a leg up on my former mistress. Take it easy on the "kid" stuff, though. I'm 22.

[This correction's becoming rote at this point, honestly. Dito squeezes out of the cramped cavern and takes a moment to look around. There's a light but pungent damp smell in the room, as if it had taken on water damage over the years. The sound of crumbling rocks fills the air, but fortunately the foundations look relatively sturdy for now. Moldering books sit inside bookshelves that seem to have been untouched for centuries.

In a corner of the room, overturned and broken pottery litters the floor, their contents long since crumbled to dust-- or maybe they held the ashes of some forgotten people. Approaching one of the broken vases, Dito bends down and sifts some of the dust between his fingers.]

Seems like it's just a bunch of old junk in here. Think we're gonna find anything of value?

Ya look like ya 16.

[depends on the kind of smoke. but then again, dabi hasn't exactly lied to him, cause nothing dito's asked has been anything nearly sensitive enough for it. the idea of this guy having a mistress is rather amusing, especially since he's so casual about. just how carnal was this guy's previous life?

or maybe he's a whore.

dabi's mildly distracted by the things in the room, moving forward after nonchalantly making sure dito made it out of the tunnel. wolf stays by his side, lighting up the area around him with that same haunting blue glow. crumbling rocks is not a good sound when underground and he waits for that to die away before continuing his look about the room. books... heh, those are gonna fall apart if you touch them, if not just melt all over your fingers. might be time to get some gloves out.

pulling said gloves on, he gives his fingers a few flexes before quietly moving books to the side, unable to read what's on the rotten spines. not putting much faith in them, he focuses on inspecting the bookcase and anything that might be sitting around on it of interest. like... this thing. probably a book end, but the spiky ball of metal and rock is at least an eye-catching trinket. might actually be gold outlines once the grime's cleaned away...]

Depends on ya sense of value. Some people would be very interested in the books. I think they'll fall apart if ya try to open them. [not even sure what's left inside is legible.] Probably not in this room, but deeper in, maybe.

Wolf. [the canine beside him glances up with its burning blue eyes. yeah, dabi's real original with names.] See if there's any other exits. [at which point his omen dips its head and moves off to start inspecting the perimeter of the room. one small drop of flame slips off its tail, leaving a floating ball of blue fire beside dabi for light.]

[Dito rolls his eyes at that, shaking his thick hair out of his face. He really ought to see a barber one of these days-- this mane's getting rather uncontrollable.]

Yeah, yeah. I've heard that before. My mistress liked me that way. Young. Cute. Virginal. Especially virginal.

[His face twists; his voice speaks the words as if they leave a disgusting taste in his mouth, and perhaps they do. Other than that his tone is casual, almost bored, and he idly peruses the bookshelves as he talks.]

I wasn't, obviously-- haven't been for a long time-- but when someone as powerful as her wants you to be a certain way, you don't really get a say in the matter, y'know? I wouldn't be surprised if she worked some magic to deliberately make me look like this. Wouldn't put it past her, honestly.

[don't look at him. dabi cuts his own hair and this spiky mop is the result. technically that's just how it grew, but it's got some more ragged ends than other spike-headed people around. liable to end up straight whacking dito's bangs right off.]

Ya only got that trait once. Then ya all used up.

[another glowing example of not giving a crap about other people. he listens to the insinuating telltale and pockets the metal spike burst he found a few seconds ago. recognizing the emotion in dito's voice, he doesn't have to see it on his face. not sure why people like to talk about things they don't like to talk about. especially to strangers.]

Yeah. I know.

[dabi abandons the bookshelf and goes off to kick around a few of the pots dito had looked through, scanning the dust and slime inside. nothing of interest here.]

Didja kill her?

[Dabi might have meant that as an insult, or even just a dismissive offhanded comment, but he's gotten closer to Dito's own frame of mind than he probably realizes. Purity and virginity weren't things that appealed to Dito-- in fact, he hated it in others as much as he hated putting on his own pretense. Anyone who claimed to be virtuous or righteous were only fooling themselves. Everyone was damaged goods, in one way or another. People like Dito were the only ones brave enough to admit it.

At Dabi's query a sudden change comes over the smaller man. His posture grows more loose and fluid-- the meager amount of light in the room shows a flush suffusing his face.]

Yes. [The word is a dreamy sigh, as if he were just now thinking of a romantic, passionate encounter and not a violent and fatal one.] Yes, I killed her. I killed the hell out of her. No asking for details now, or I'm sure to embarrass myself.

[He flashes a cheeky grin, the impish and coy sort of grin of someone who's never been embarrassed about anything in his entire life.]

Let's save the dirty talk for someplace a little more comfortable, yeah?

[Open] 🚬 June Flames

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sorry, he's a dick

don't be sorry, this is wonderful

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(cw: past sexual abuse)

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