deercountry | [Open] 🚬 June Flames

[Much as Jinx taunting him about "going soft" on the network had pricked Maul in just the right way to rile him up, so Dabi poking at him stirred up Maul's anger quite a bit. He growled for a moment, the sound like the warning of a pissed-off big cat that suddenly realized there was an intruder in its territory.]

Let's see how long you'd think it a front if I just reached over and bit your throat out!

[He snarled out as a threat, baring angry fangs at the human. He was good and heated up now. While it had put him in a better place not to have people coming after him when he did something to hurt them or always going after them for revenge when he felt they deserved it, he also knew part of the consequences meant it looked from the outside like he'd lost a little bit of his edge.]

[don't get mad about going soft when you've gone soft. especially when you blatantly admit it with those kinds of words. it's hard to take that sort of confession back. fierce and vicious in appearance, yet discussing forgiveness, fondness, maturity, and relinquishing through his mouth, maul is a walking contradiction to himself. nothing wrong with that, but it does prompt dabi to call him out on trying to put up his face afterward. not saying he can't or shouldn't, only that it's an amusing attempt.

the predatory growl earns a brow quirk. kinda cute. kinda hot too...

dabi tilts his head to the side, reaches up, and draws the wide collar of his shirt further away from his collar bone, offering the column of his scorched, scar-covered throat.]

Don't burn your mouth.

[no hesitation or even caution with the gesture. blue eyes remain locked onto maul's fiery orange, almost glowing from the raging blue flames coursing through dabi's body. he's serious. if maul wants to prove himself as not having lost that edge, he's free to try and prove it right here, right now. death isn't fun, but since it's not lasting in this place, dabi lost any real concern about experiencing it. he'll just come back. and he's plenty insane as it is.]

[Quick as a flash, Maul whipped out his lightsaber and ignited it, holding it right above Dabi's throat in a reverse grip, the hum of the blade vibrating through the air. This is what happened when people riled him up for too long. Maul wasn't all bark and no bite. No, when he said he was going to hurt someone, he meant it.]

I've got a cleaner way of dealing with scum who don't know when to shut their mouths.

[He locked eyes with Dabi, not even blinking once as he held the blade steady. Maul was serious. One more taunt from the firestarter and he was going to send his head rolling.]

[that's... not a mouth.

dabi's immediately reminded of his meeting with hawks, a dark alley, the flash of similar red as a long bladed feather was lifted against his throat. ain't the first time he's had something like this happen to him. and just like with hawks, any sense of fear or surprise is eerily vacant from the man's turquoise eyes. he feels the heat of the zabrak's blade so close to his skin, and yet, despite the obvious threat and danger, merely watches maul with the same blase expression.]

Good to know.

[oh there are a number of things this little action points out. none of them dabi didn't know before. as much as he taunted maul about his going soft, he didn't believe for a second the man wasn't dangerous. nor did he ignore the anger and hate he knew full well burned away inside maul's stoic visage.

just took some probing to finally get it to reveal itself.]

I like ya better this way.

[Maul kept the red blade steady at Dabi's throat. He (pardon the pun) was a cool one in how he responded. There was no fear or sign he was intimidated at all by Maul. That was an unusual response. His words came out in a soft, low growl.]

People always like to keep pushing and see what happens when they push me too far. Someday people here are going to learn the same thing happens every time.

[People wanted to fuck around and find out? Maul was more than happy to give them a most painful death as they realized to their fatal mistake that Maul dealt in extremes. Death or at the very least mutilation was all he knew how to respond to taunts and threats alike with.]

[hum hum hum. doesn't look like the glowing energy is going away any time soon. dabi's curious about what the item is. he's never seen anything like it despite having been involved with plenty of quirks over the years. easily tell it's dangerous and maul is very good with it. probably had it for a long time.

neutral blue shifts from the blade back to maul's rumbling mouth.]

Humans are curious to a fault. Some of 'em don't learn very well either.

[and up to the zabrak's eyes again, merely waiting to see what he was going to do next. if maul intended to get a cowed response out of him, that's going to be an unfortunate nil. whether dabi takes it as a challenge, reprimand, or threat seems to be locked away behind the same impassive gaze. as steady as a candle burning behind his eyes. unwavering, unbothered, unmoved.]

What is this thing?

Murder. Chaos. And pain. I cause all three when I get pushed too far.

[He said this all in a flat, harsh tone. Maul was still an expert hurting people even if he'd starting behaving himself as of late. All it would take was the right set of circumstances and he'd snap right back into the same old mindset.]

I have a particular tendency to go after those the people who have wronged me care about. Kill a person once and they'll get over it once they come back. Kill their loved ones? That's a wound that never heals.

[Something that Maul knew quite well from personal experience. The wound of his brother's death was finally starting to heal and scab over a little but it was never goin to fully be gone. He'd carry it around for the rest of his life.]

That'd be more fun to watch than other stuff ya said.

[behaving. caring for people. protecting. putting himself under some moral code rather than operating freely. things maul's mentioned doing ever since arriving in deer (well, the one prior to this one). so it was good to know the man still had his ferocious and violent edge to him.

even if that didn't get dabi a real answer to the blade held close to his skin.

the other part earns a brief cock upward of the burned man's eyebrow. before his half-charred lips curve up in a small grin and his heavily-lidded eyes sink to a flat, wry expression. one of those "seriously?" visages, but missing the chuff of amusement.]

the rest of the world gets to share your pain, huh.

[half mused to himself, half to maul. then lifts a hand. slowly. giving clear indication that he's moving. if permitted, dabi'll simply reach up and rest his hand over the back of maul's wrist, not trying to push the blade away or pull him. just a lazy touch.]

ya know, that kinda thing works best when ya don't got anyone left you care about.

Stick around long enough and you might see it happen.

[All it would take was the right set of circumstances to make Maul snap and go on another murderous rampage. If one of his loved ones got murdered by another Sleeper, perhaps, or if his husband got killed again.

The touch on his wrist snapped Maul out of the temporary rage he'd been in. With one swift movement, he removed the lightsaber from Dabi's throat and deactivated it. There was a humorless laugh from Maul.]

A lesson I unfortunately learned too late in my own galaxy. But I know it well enough now.

Ain't exactly my call.

[chalk that decision up to the bastards running this cage show. that said, dabi doesn't plan on going anywhere if it's in his power to do so? sure, if a way home showed up, he'd take it in a heartbeat, but for the time being, this is life.

which includes pushing the buttons of a horned alien guy with some kind of laser sword. dabi's already seen maul go on a murderous rampage, though that was one with a lot more teeth and scales...

once he gets that brief reprieve via the touch on the wrist, dabi lets go as maul takes his hand and blade away from his neck. nice to be able to breathe a bit easier again. the laugh he gets from the zabrak is telling enough without the following words.]

Sounds like it. So I'm curious. [he leans forward slightly, blue eyes lingering on the other man's orange-yellow.] What made ya think that kinda threat would work on me?

[such a statement given in this very circumstance certainly didn't came out as mindless prattle. and maul's too mentally put together to lean back and yap out evil monologues for the hell of it. nah, only way dabi's taking that comment was as a warning or a threat. to him.]

You're someone who has clung to life.

[The very look of him spoke to that given Dabi had survived such horrendous injuries that likely would have killed anyone else. Maul knew from firsthand experience what that was like given his status as only half organic any longer.]

People like that rarely want to die for trivial reasons and so they know when to stop pushing.

[Dabi didn't strike him as an idiot the way others here were, always pushing Maul until he finally snapped and gave them a taste of why he was still someone to be feared no matter which universe he was in.]

That obvious, huh.

[most people who saw him came to that conclusion. that he survived something horrific to come away with such scars all over his body. a lot more obvious than maul's metal lower half, though likely not as detrimental to some degree. maul seems to have a good long life ahead of him if he stays out of trouble. dabi...]

Think in this place most death is for trivial reasons. Ain't got much stayin power.

[which makes dying far less of a problem if you don't mind the troublesome returns. dabi stretches his arms over his head, pulling his shoulders a bit, before dropping them. one all the way, the other pausing to rub at the place on his neck maul had held his saber. yeah, nostalgic flashback there.]

Anyways, point taken. Wanna get outta here and get somethin to eat?

Maybe. Maybe not. It's not a wonderful experience ending up back in the ocean, I will tell you that much.

[Maul had experienced it firsthand once and no desire to ever do so again, given his guilt, sadness, and anguish over causing his brother's death at the same time had led him to end up coming out of the ocean in a heavily-corrupted form.

Maul considered the offer. It was a bit unusual to go off and grab a sandwich with someone he'd just threatened to decapitate but it wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever done with a Sleeper he had a complicated relationship with by far. Dabi was fair enough company, so Maul nodded and stood up in one swift motion.]

That would be agreeable.

Edited 2023-04-03 05:09 (UTC)

Been there, done that. The washin up part wasn't the best.

[he bluntly refuses to admit to anything between death and washing up on shore. squid life does not exist for dabi. nope. full blown denial over it. that said, since he has died and come back before (twice now) he finds the finality of death little to worry about in this world. either he comes back, or he goes home. kinda win win.

as for the weirdness, dabi's weird. he lingers by the side, watching maul rise to his feet in an easy flow. unsurprising. the guy reminds dabi of a feline. at least in his movements. prowling like a tiger, but as wily as an alley cat. once up, the villain turns to the side and heads away from the tree, stepping out onto the black sands of the beach.

he'll base his pace on maul's so they can walk together rather than staring at someone's back.]

Anythin ya prefer? Sides from my throat.

[Maul thought for a moment on what his preferences were regarding food. He didn't cook much himself but he was very fond of some of the restaurants that were there in Trench.]

Pizza. It is delicious.

[There was an absurdity to the words which wouldn't have otherwise been there, occurring simply from the way how seriously Maul said them. His guard was down just a little bit now that he and Dabi seemed to be in something of the truce that came from being two people that were on the side of darkness.]

[dabi's left hand hangs freely at his side, the other one nestled at home in the opposite pocket. a black brow arches at maul's answer. coming from a man who looks like he wouldn't have a clue what that food is, it's amusing.]

Ain't even from Earth and ya still figure out a way to find pizza.

[which makes him wonder if maul found a food like that on another world back in his world or if he encountered the dish here. likely the latter, due to the number of people from an "earth" world are in the place.]

Oy. About what I said earlier.

[dabi's eyes linger on the sand in front of them, stretching out towards the curving shores. keeping pace beside maul also gives him an easy time of merely draping an arm around the zabrak's shoulder and nape, not caring that he's suddenly invading the other man's space.

*FWOOM*

like the the sudden flare of a match struck, dabi combusts in a massive explosion of blue flames. the dark beach washes with lurid azure light, sand instantly melting around the villain's foot. its sheer heat is far greater than a normal yellow or orange flame. pointedly, dabi keeps the blaze only flaring off his body on the side opposite maul. but the hand flopped around the man's shoulder simultaneously pours out a stream of the same blue flames, crashing into the ground a few feet in front of the alien male. less than a second is all it takes for that fire to ring around them, trapping the pair in a raging circular inferno. molten beachglass pops nearby, boiling as the villain leans his half-burning face closer to maul's, his proximity already threatening to turn the metal of the zabrak's prosthetic legs and lightsaber hilt into scorching temperatures. fire licks at his fingertips, hovering an inch away from the man's black-clothed shoulder.]

Ya really are too soft.

[perhaps his words are ironic, since dabi himself isn't trying (hard) to turn maul to ash, despite the flames and heat drying out the eye fluid. but the hellish encapsulation carries a similar threat. it'd be nothing to ignite the yoke-of-an-arm around maul's neck, blow fire out the side closest to the sith, or even bring the ring of fire slamming shut into them. dabi's not a man who cares about setting himself on fire to make sure he kills someone. and he doesn't take too kindly to being threatened. sure, he puts up with it easily enough, but if maul thought he'd get away without dabi getting even, that's something he'll have to learn the almost-hard way.

dabi had almost given in to the temptation to merely blast maul right in the back without warning. and hell it'd been tempting. but it's too bad he actually kind of thinks their working relationship is worth the threat rather than a full-blown backstab.]

[Maul cursed himself for a fool when Dabi suddenly created what seemed like one of the pits of Hell around the pair. He knew it would take very little for the firestarter to reduce him painfully to ash. Perhaps his merciful side really was making him a bit soft or at least complacent. In a place like this, there was always going to be those who were as brutal and hard as he'd been when he'd first arrived in Deerington.

He waited to see if Dabi would follow through and burn him to death. But he didn't. Apparently, this was merely a warning.

There was no fear in Maul. If Dabi had been able to produce lightning, that would have been a different story, but as it was an elemental attack like fire wasn't going to produce that bone-deep terror within Maul that he'd never fully be rid of. So the only thing on his face was a look of anger, impotent rage that he couldn't retaliate against the man. Never mind that Maul had started this whole thing with his threats. He itched not to just lie down and take it.]

If you want to start something, go right ahead. Otherwise, I am hungry and want food.

[He waited. He was certain his brain would last the scant seconds it would take to snao Dabi's neck with the Force even if he was lit on fire. So he didn't move, every muscle tense, ready to act if Dabi did.]

[if hell was blue, though most people certainly wouldn't paint it that color. dabi respects, or at least acknowledges, maul's strength and resolve well enough to not expect any show of fear from the other man. (that would've earned maul some taunting.) at most he expects rage or a rueful calmness. despite knowing metal melts, dabi wouldn't be surprised to find himself with that laser sword through the stomach for this kind of "backstab" threat. which would've seen both of them dead, or one dead and one severely injured...

but instead, maul keeps his cool despite his anger. revenge could easily become a mobius strip, neverending paybacks until someone finally gave up. though dabi will hold maul started it with the threat. even if he'd been the one to tauntingly invite that bite out of his throat. which turned into a laser sword instead. (ya liar, maul.)

at the same time, perhaps this was a mutual show of respect. considering dabi didn't blast him in the back, he was instead revealing some of what he could do to someone who wasn't dying because of it. hardly the normal result of unleashing his quirk. fortunately, no lightning. his quirk's all about fire.

there's a brief twitch upward at the corner of his mouth, staples tugging at his flesh.]

Ya started it.

[a grown man and still tossing a childish petulance in response. but maul's lack of fear and his controlled retort work in his favor and the flames on dabi's body burn out in a flash. though instead of dismissing the fiery circle around them, he blasts another flamethrower in front of him, punching a hole through the ring and leaving a blackened, glassy path several feet down the beach.]

Ya never did tell me what that staff thing was.

[dabi slips his arm off of maul's shoulder and walks through the opening in the fire, emerging on the beach and stretching his arms over his head as a breeze flaps his coat tails around his legs. almost like he hadn't just threatened the man. if maul's picking up details, he'll probably notice that while dabi summoned the fire, he isn't... putting it out. by choice or not is up to maul's mind to question.]

[He waited but Dabi didn't follow through with turning Maul into charcoal. Apparently, this had been a tit-for-tat exchange, showing what each of them could do. Not so much Dabi wanting to start something as what one tough old alley cat did when meeting another: simply puffing himself up and baring his fangs to let the other know he was still dangerous.

He waited a moment or two, not following Dabi as he walked out of the circle. Instead, Maul as ever the drama queen, backed up a few scant steps and then made a Force-assisted leap that let him sail right over the ring of fire and land right next to Dabi. Yep, Maul was a showoff.]

It is called a lightsaber. The preferred weapon of Sith and Jedi alike.

[He watched as the fire continued to burn without any signs of dying down. Hmmm, interesting that Dabi wasn't trying to. Could he? Something as destructive as the element of fire wasn't easily put out once started. Something to give Maul food for thought.]

[that's a better way of looking at it. though maul might want to get out of there quickly; just because dabi's not putting out his flames doesn't mean the flames are going out on their own. and those things remain just as hot as when he's firing it. meaning that when maul doesn't follow him out of the ring of fire, dabi's glancing behind him with a slight narrowed eye.

what's he planning on doing? picking up the proverbial ball in the court to fire back? because if maul's ready to fight, dabi's easily ignited, despite his usual cool and aloof character... apparently not? he momentarily tenses, fingers on one hand clawing in preparation to heave another burst of flame when that dark figure bursts from the upper licks of the fire wall.

an assault from above?

... whump.

nope. just grandstanding. the scarred man lowers his hand and slips it into his pocket instead, both of them sheathed this time. maul even stuck the landing. someone likes the attention.]

Showoff.

[the word's almost a purr of amusement, floating out cool on his tongue amid a tiny smirk. he turns and moves down the beach again, keeping to the side of the glass trail his second burst of flame left behind. there's no further animosity towards maul, having made his point clear enough. dabi feels like he learned a good deal about the other man today.]

A lightsaber. What is it, concentrated heat or light?

[Maul grinned in a pleased manner when Dabi called him a showoff.]

Always and eternally.

[Maul knew himself well enough to know he was the biggest drama queen and always wanted all the attention focused on him at all times. Whether that attention was good or bad was something he frankly didn't care about. That was how he'd become one of the most notorious Sleepers in Trench.]

Neither. It's plasma produced through the concentrated focus of a kyber crystal.

Tch. It's amusin how ya can go from annoyin bastard to kinda cute.

[in all honesty, dabi simply wants to see what kind of reaction he gets from the zabrak by pushing some different buttons. still, maul's got a good attitude and his companionship's something the villain finds he wouldn't mind keeping around. rare, but it happens. doesn't mean he won't be a shit.

unless dabi was actively going for that spotlight, he had no problem with other people taking center stage and hogging the attention. that's called a distraction, and he can use it well.]

Oh.

[right. that was his second guess. he swears.]

Plasma like the sun or somethin else? Guessin the crystal comes from your world.

[Maul grinned at the statement that could have been taken as insult, compliment, or both.]

It’s a gift.

[Maul could engage what little charge he possessed with people on rare occasions. He wasn’t good at turning on charm the way his master did but that was mostly because he’d never been taught.]

Plasma like plasma. [He said it impatiently] I can’t explain how it works if you don’t have that substance in your own world.

[He’d never thought to question whether other worlds had plasma or not, though given no one else wielded lightsabers in Trench besides the Force users, perhaps that should have been obvious from the start.]

[maul's welcome to take it however he sees fit, though dabi predicted it'd either stroke the man's ego or needle him. apparently the former, given that grin.]

Lucky you.

[charm wasn't a good tool against the burned villain, since he usually never trusted it even if he reciprocated it with his own sarcastic callousness. he could be charming too, and given the monster he is, that makes him distrustful of other people doing the same. maul at least has a good charm that dabi finds himself kind of liking.

the zabrak's a decent person, all things considered.]

We got plasma in our world, but the only two kinds I know of are the shit the sun's made of and the stuff in your blood. The rest is science theory or fiction.

[the latter most of that list is what dabi's slotting maul's lightsaber under: plasma as a kind of energy.]

[Open] 🚬 June Flames

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Wrap?

almost

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we can wrap on their conversation whenver ya like~

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