Entry tags:

Alone

Who: Shouto and Allen + Dabi
What: June Event Prompt One. A few hours after THIS.
When: June 8th.
Where: The Farther Shores a mile away from the cherry blossom tree.

“Alone”

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

From childhood’s hour I have not been

As others were—I have not seen

As others saw—I could not bring

My passions from a common spring—

From the same source I have not taken

My sorrow—I could not awaken

My heart to joy at the same tone—

And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—

Then—in my childhood—in the dawn

Of a most stormy life—was drawn

From ev’ry depth of good and ill

The mystery which binds me still—

From the torrent, or the fountain—

From the red cliff of the mountain—

From the sun that ’round me roll’d

In its autumn tint of gold—

From the lightning in the sky

As it pass’d me flying by—

From the thunder, and the storm—

And the cloud that took the form

(When the rest of Heaven was blue)

Of a demon in my view—

The nightmares started in April with the death of a friend.

Lying in a pool of Paleblood, clinging to the dying, the first seeds of corruption sank their teeth into his heart spreading doubt and fear. His brother's warm presence that first night kept him from spiraling to that end that forms every Beast in Trench. The next day, it was Amaterasu's guardian sapling that kept his nightmares at bay. He slept under the tranquil aura of the cherry blossom while he waited for his friend's return. For a week, it's calming influence kept his corruption levels low. Afterwards, it was Allen's kind and radiant presence in his home that maintained the sapling's work. It was only after Allen moved into Sancturary and Shouto returned to active duty with the Hunters that his levels started to rise. His omen kept strict watch on his levels waging war every time corruption started to spread, sending him back to the guardian sapling when his levels rose.

It usually happened late at night when his dreams turned against him, and he woke up in a frozen room with his heart beating frantically in his chest. He clung to Kizu those nights, burying his face into the snow leopards winter coat, finding solace in the cold. Ice crept past his sheets those mornings, covering both Sleeper and omen in a layer of frost. Yet, he managed to keep himself together. Foregoing sleep for more shifts with the Hunters until exhaustion forced him into a dreamless sleep after a few days.

Keeping his corruption to manageble levels was easier in the presence of his friends. His deep connection with them, kept the dark thoughts from finding purchase in his mind. Maybe that's why he spent so much time with them that second month after Allen's death. Accepting their invitations more readily, joining them for dinner, walking them home, going to parties. Their presence gave him a safe heaven, a place where dark thoughts didn't press on his mind, a respite from the nightmares. So, he slept, taking naps at every turn. Somehow, he managed to keep his corruption levels from spiraling out of control up until June when the demon arrived.

Prime for a takevoer, the demon found him in the midst of another nightmare and latched onto him the first day with Kizu nonethe wiser. It fed on him, plagued his every dream until his body couldn't keep up anymore and he stopped patrolling altogether on day five too tired to complete his rounds. Scrapes and bruises started appearing on his skin on day seven, and on day eight it sent him into a nightmare so frantic he lost control of his quirk, burning his surroundings. Terror set in then, afraid of himself unaware of his rising corruption levels. With the demon clinging to his back, his thoughts turned dark too quickly. Afraid, Shouto sought out his friends and found Allen's network post from a few weeks ago and he replied in search of a familiar face.

A hero agency.

The concept reminded him so much of home it eased some of the terror from his heart. Already feeling a little better, Shouto couldn't help but respond to ask him about his plans, offer his help. It'd give him an excuse to see him in person instead of conversing through the omini as they usually did these days, but the conversation turned sour when the Hunters were mentioned.

Dark thoughts crept into his mind so quickly, spreading like a disease. The demon was fully grown and it's influence more acute. Well fed, it was bigger than him now. The demon dug its claws into him, influencing his thoughts, turning them against him when the omen interfered but it was too late. It had grown too strong, held far too much influence and plunges him into a nightmare long before he reaches the guardian sapling.

When Allen arrives at the cherry blossom tree on the Farther shores, he'll find it empty. If he looks around, he might find a strange sight about a mile away. Upon inspection, he'll come across a glacier jutting out of the black sands, three stories high, and at it's center - at the level of the sand - lies an unmoving figure distorted by ice.

Shouto lies sleeping on the black sands, covered in frost, within an open space at the center of the glacier, cut off from the world. The demon clings to him, feeding readily while the carbon dioxide levels slowly increase.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's... such a plain and simple sort of admission, like it's obvious. One that shouldn't even be surprising with everything they've been through or how far they've come. And yet it startles Allen so much, being pulled into such a tight embrace and having that quietly said into his ear. So much so that he goes so very still, pausing with a hesitant curve of his spine and blinking as he isn't quite sure what to do for a moment.

Just for a moment though, before it bleeds off him and he relaxes, eyes briefly closing as he touches the back of the other boy's head with his one good hand, letting his palm rest gently against his neck there. ]

Mm. [ It's quiet. ] I'm sorry. [ Sorry he scared you.

The rage of the monsters behind them draws his attention back too, but not as sharply as they do Shouto's, just sobering and focused. His left eye has calmed and become pale grey again now that they're back in the moonlight and far enough from the corruption of the forest, and he relies on it as his danger sense when it comes to creatures like this and knew they weren't getting close. They're fine where they are... for now. But they shouldn't linger.

The question draws a quick, almost guilty look from Allen though. Uncertainty. ]

I... saw where you went, I think. [ His gaze flickers a touch nervously across Shouto's face, still unsure entirely what he saw. Still too much to unpack. ]

I could see the forest. And the castle.

[ With the monsters retreating and the moonlight shining so brightly, he feels like he can breathe just a little easier. Allen's words still knock around in his head and he wants to tell him that he doesn't have to apologize but they don't have that kind of time. More than that, when he brings up his vision, all his misgivings fade away. He turns back around, stepping closer to him, a glint of hope in his eyes. ]

You saw a vision?

[ His eyes dart to the cuff on his ear. It... worked. It almost feels like a miracle, but the nervous look he gives him dims any satisfaction. He tries not to linger on his choice of words either, not we but you. ]

Where did I go?

Edited 2022-07-03 05:15 (UTC)

[ Where indeed. Allen brings his right hand up and rests it against the side of his head, as if that might help him remember better or see more clearly. He remembers feelings and senses, impressions more than clear visuals. It's helpful, but it also isn't.

But if he gets up high again, he can help pinpoint the way there better now. Even with a poor sense of direction, having an image of it in his head now helps negate that. ]

Into the castle. The beast was there too -- and Kizu. It had definitely been waiting, though. [ His gaze flicks back to Shouto, becoming focused once again as he lets his hand drop. Uneasy, like he isn't sure if he should admit it, but... ]

I think... it was when you were there before.

Into the castle... that means we reach it. Kizu too.

[ Which greatly sets him at ease, he sets a hand on his chest and nods firmly at the revelation of the demon's presence. ]

That confirms it's there.

[ They'd been sidetracked but they were going in the right direction. At least that's what he thinks up until the last comment. His brows crease, mouth pulling down. ]

Before? You had a vision of the past?

I don't know. [ He looks down at his own hands a bit guiltily, left and then right, as if maybe his powers are why it got messed up. ] I think so?

[ Why would he see a future he wasn't in, otherwise? ]

That was what it felt like. It wasn't "me" who was seeing anything. [ Not his body, or his feelings. ] More like... experiencing an echo of a memory.

[ He hesitates though, looking up with a small fidget. He'd been trying to help give him his paleblood ability of future sight, right? To trigger Allen's own? Which hasn't awoken at all still, except presumably in that one fluke occurrence when his cursed sight had seemed to extend all the way to within Dabi's own soul. And... what he'd been trying to do here, back in the real world.

Stepping inside someone else's mind and soul. ]

What... are they supposed to feel like? The visions.

How does it feel?

[ He blinks, flummoxed by the question. He knows what it felt like after it was over: overwhelmed, trapped, suffocating. But during? He's never put it into words. It was always so much. He never stopped to think about it. They had always felt like an intrusion into another world. ]

I only know what it felt like for me... like passing through a vortex, then submerged in water.

[ He looks over his shoulder, at the river cutting through the forest and gets this far away look, recalling the visions of the future he endured until he learned to ride the waves. ]

You get caught in the rapids. If you fight against them, you'll lose yourself over a waterfall. You have to surrender. Let it sweep you out to sea. It feels like a jet stream... the vision. If you lose sight of it, you'll end up lost. If you hold onto it too strongly, you'll end up lost.

[ How many times did he get lost out there? ]

But lately... it's felt different. I don't just pass through it, I adjust to the changing currents. Not a passenger but a participant... It feels like dancing on the tides.

Edited 2022-07-04 02:41 (UTC)

[ Dancing on the tides... He blinks, taking in that explanation. Not what he had expected at all, and also not something he thought was so in depth. That's what it was like, when he had had that brief vision in the catacombs? Suddenly it feels like maybe he really doesn't know anything about it, blood magic, the attributes of their blood, even when it felt like maybe he was starting to understand it a little better from what he and Atsushi had been looking into. And so, did that mean... it really wasn't the same thing at all?

It's not. He does know that on an instinctive level, but it still gives him uneasy pause. ]

It wasn't like that at all. Maybe it's different for each person, but... [ He shakes his head slightly, half in the negative, half like he's trying to clear it. ]

I don't know. [ He's going to have to think on it later, when he has time to reflect. For now he looks back to Shouto with an expression more like he's made up his mind, and reaches to touch the side of his hand. Light but earnest. ]

We should keep going. I was able to see what it looks like better from above, so I have a better idea where we are now. [ And he didn't notice when it happened, but, ] The moon looks brighter now, too. The fog doesn't seem so thick.

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

We're not the same person. It makes sense that we wouldn't experience the same thing. [ That's how he thinks about it. ] Power don't manifest the same way in everyone.

[ He'd say more on the subject, but Allen's right. They need to get going while the moon is high. ]

We should head straight for the castle. There shouldn't be any mist around there since the river doesn't go in that direction according to Kizu.

[ Now, to relay what he found out. ] We veered off course. We're near the caves Kizu warned us about. We should go try to get through as fast as we can without stopping.

[ Near the caves? No, wait... he knows that. Maybe? But his expression flickers for a moment at that, pupils dilating--

Hills that a bloody road cuts through, that are rife with cave entrances where patient monsters would wait and fish for the unsuspecting. Snapping them with long and sticky tongues and flinging them down into the pit within to be lost within the catacombs below. Into caves made not of stone but entirely of bone and cement-like ash. Always being stalked by something just out of the corner of your eye, that would disappear the moment you looked its way. Always being haunted by a bloodcurdling scream in the distance, ones that seemed only to coax you deeper. Deeper and deeper even every time you tried to go back up, getting hotter and hotter until it was like the inside of a crematorium. Until your tongue tasted like ash in your mouth and those screams just stopped—

And you woke.

Eyes snapping open again with a quick gasp, his attention jerks for a moment before focusing back on Shouto. In reality he only spaced out for a second, but... ]

M-mn... [ His eyes are a little wide still and there's a faint tremble in his hand, but he's pushing that down for now. Has to. Has to try to not think about what that was or what that meant, other than what he needs to take from it: watch out for the caves. Don't get pulled in. ]

I'll be more careful. [ Belatedly, still a little rattled, he remembers he should crouch to make that easier. His speed will still be an important factor. ] Let's go.

[ The moment of unawareness is too short for him to notice especially when Allen continues on without a hitch. Besides, he's a little busy communicating with Kizu to get more data on the caves. She relays her reply to both of them, describing a deep, narrow valley with steep sides. A river of blood runs through the center with caves on either side of the red river. Monsters lurk in the openings waiting for unsuspecting prey to snap up and drag into the catacombs below.

Again, she emphasizes not to get dragged down into them, an element of fear emanating in her tone. Oddly, she doesn't describe what lies beneath, skimming over the details, afraid to nudge free a set of memories from her Sleeper. A strong and focused mind would get them through; a tortured one would not. ]

I'll keep watch for any monsters.

[ He climbs on Allen's back without prompting, the ribbons of light enfolding themselves over arms, legs, and torso. They curl around and around in several loops while maintaining his freedom of movement, albeit a little slower than usual. ]

I'm ready.

[ They take off, leaving the mist behind. Oddly, the mist can't cross the river leaving the danger behind them. However, there are four great lakes fed from underground where the water is still. Mist rises from these pools of water, granting the nightmares free reign. The only area relatively clear of these hotspots is along a large canyon that's a straight shot to the castle's front gates. ]

Edited 2022-07-04 17:03 (UTC)

[ It helps that he experienced so much repeated deja vu for months when his own memories kept bleeding back in. It's more disorienting when it's not your own memories that keep snapping to the forefront, but if there's one thing Allen's life has prepared him for it's to not be easily rattled by strange and horrifying things he can't understand. ...It helps that for almost a year he was continually seeing things that weren't there, too. Although "help" is a strong word he'd absolutely not use.

But he breathes out and gives a nod, grounding himself and taking some solace in the solid weight on his back, and takes off.

Quick and taking care not to linger anywhere too long this time, they make good progress. He avoids the lakes, noting the mist, but also because he spots the canyon and recalls that from what he ѕαω before. Can't say it isn't foreboding, and he doesn't like that it's so steep that he has nowhere to really continue as he had been, but they also don't have a lot of choice in the matter. Guess it's going to force them to be on foot.

Dropping back to the ground as the forest fades away into the stone maw of the canyon, his senses are sharp as he looks around for anything out of place -- or more caves. Feels a little naked without Timcanpy as his other set of eyes, though... ]

It's close now.

[ Riding on a bed of constantly generating ice kept him from the forest below through most of his nightmares. Once he got closer to the castle the dark aura receded. The demon's influence corrupted the outermost edges of his world first, creeping towards the center as it entwined itself with its prey with every passing night. At the heart of the world, a white imposing castle stood on a pillar of stone rising from the forest below. It remained uncorrupted on the outside cut perfectly in half right through the front gates. Half covered in snow the other half in flames. For reasons deeply tied to his subconscious, Shouto always chose to enter through the right side, leaving snow tracks in his wake. The torture that befell him in those early days always took place inside those stone walls, away from the moonlight. ]

Half a mile from what Kizu tells me.

[ He walks beside Allen having extracted himself from the ribbons of light. They walk down a stone road set at the center of the canyon. It cuts through the river of blood only a scant ten feet wide before the stone starts to submerge into red. Shouto walks beside Allen just far enough not to bump shoulders with him as they draw closer to the castle looming atop a stone pedestal.

Above them, a sliver of moonlight touches down on the bottom of the canyon just wide enough to illuminate the road providing a safe haven, yet he can feel Kizu's worry grow stronger. What's wrong? He touches his chest. We need to hurry before we lose the moonlight. Shouto looks down at the road where the light has already traveled from the center plunging a foot of the stone road into darkness. ]

Allen. [ He points to the moving light. ] We need to hurry!

[ Seizes his hand. Drags him forward by force, letting go only when he gets into step beside him. They run down the marble road keeping to the light. ]

Edited 2022-07-04 20:00 (UTC)

[ When the castle comes into focus, like a reverse-mirage revealing itself, Allen's momentarily distracted from trying to glean why parts of it are familiar. (Besides the obvious. Shouto, and his dream world, are not particularly subtle when it comes to some things.) It's the architecture, that style of roof... It reminds him of the brief glimpse of Edo he had, what few buildings hadn't been obliterated when the city was reduced to black glass, but not just that. Something else more recent...

--Touya. The architecture reminds him of the house at the heart of Touya's world, where the part of him that was still a boy resided. The same kind of charcoal kawara tile and decorated gables. Just so very much more grandiose -- and split like Shouto is.

It strikes him finally as they draw closer, and he doesn't notice at first that Shouto has grown concerned or turned to look behind them... or that the faint glow of his own cloak looks a little dimmer. ]

Eh? [ He whips around as well, surprised as his eye hasn't reacted yet. No danger? But the moonlight--

Shadows begin to emerge from the distance, peeling off the canyon walls and slinking towards them like oil over the blood river. Moving like a trick of the eye, but fast. Very fast. Pushing closer as the light dims. Their shrieking cries echo off the shear rock, and Allen needs no second warning. Shouto pulls him forward and he's running too, immediately to pace with him as they race in formation down the rapidly narrowing path.

An adventurous shadow wraith, like wispier a version of the nightmare demon itself, makes a grab for Shouto's foot with its long claws. It shrieks as the moonlight burns it though, reducing its arm to ash before it can make contact. An edge of Allen's cloak whips out to where it had been with a hardened crack in the same moment. ]

Watch out! [ He keeps close, a pace behind but shoulder almost to shoulder, freeing up his cloak to both ward things away from the both of them. ] They mean to try and pull us in.

[ Are they going to make it? He can't tell but entertaining any option other than they have to isn't an option. ]

Edited 2022-07-04 20:52 (UTC)

[ In their headlong flight through the canyon, the nightmares hedge their bets clawing at the familiar one. Shrieking when the moon razes their limbs to dust. Allen's cloak snaps down beside him. Trusting in his companion, he continues on. Heart rate steady. Breathing even. He keeps his eyes trained ahead, shielded by a cloak of light that feels like moonlight.

The light tracks three feet into the river, and the darkness swallows up three feet of marble.

The castle looms in the sky above. At its base, the front gates lie open. Heated air mixes with cold, creating a shear wind load that sweeps straight down the marble road, hitting them head-on. His hair gets swept around, red forced to mix with white. Another foot of road gets devoured, and the monsters run side by side with them, feet away. No time to look, no time to think. He's running ahead of Allen now; not enough road for two. Just a quarter-mile to go. The wind keeps tunneling down. The pressure increases with every step. He positions himself in front of Allen, creating a barrier, allowing him to keep fighting without contending with the full force of the wind that's reduced their speed by half.

Seven feet of road lost to the dark, three left to them at the edge of a graveyard.

They run through blood and silt. ]

Edited 2022-07-04 22:24 (UTC)

[ The river that had seemed to be made of placid blood begins to twist under the corruptive darkness; burbling, shifting restlessly as the surface begins to roil. Bloodied hands starts to reach towards the running young men, splattering the road in red.

It's not with violent intent though. They grope blindly instead, pleading for another to take hold. Save us. It starts as a whispering in their heads, like Forgotten Blood. Faint at first, but getting louder as the light shrinks. Voices indistinct, and then slowly becoming more familiar to each.

Did you forget? Why would you forget us. Why aren't you trying to help us...

With their speed so hampered and the path so narrow, Allen's fully focused on beating back the shadow creatures. Torn between trying to use his sword, he decides against it as he's slower with it, twisting to drive them back from one side with his claw hand while his cloak cracks out behind him in the other. They howl but circle just outside his range, like rabid animals driven back by flame.

A hand grabs his foot, leaving a bloody print and, horrified, he's not sure what to do for a moment before kicking his foot free and feeling awful in the process. They can't keep like this. He can't see the gate when he's so focused on trying to drive back the shadows, and shouts to Shouto over his shoulder, even as the wind half-swallows it up. ]

How much further!? [ If they've gotten close enough-- ]

[ Blood up to their ankles with only a sliver of moonlight left on the road, the dead clutch at their feet, seeking salvation. Weak limbs, weak holds. They're easily dislodged and cry out in misery for hope torn from their grasp. Others cry in anguish, betrayed by the moon. Her gentle light scouring across the water, destroying all that breaks through the surface. Pushing forward, teeth-gritted against the pleading voices and entreating hands, Shouto looks back. Makes sure Allen is still with him, and looks ahead to measure the distance left. ]

Two hundred feet!

[ At the end of the road, bathed in moonlight, a pair of familiar sakura trees guard the entrance of the gates. Their flower petals glow with power and once Shouto sees them a bloom of them spill into the wind sending delicate shards of light straight through the stone road. Like a gentle caress they skim across his skin, healing everywhere they touch while the monsters bellow in anguish the petals burning straight through the road. Falling bodies all around them, howls of agony left behind. Shouto grabs Allen's hand and drags him back onto the darkened road, bereft of nightmares, cleared by petals drifting in the wind. ]

Keep running!

[ He doesn't let go of his hand, not when the nightmares start coming in droves, unperturbed by the massacre left in their wake. In seconds dead bodies line the once pristine road drenching it in blood. The river starts to rise, narrowing their line of flight. More bodies. More death. He's covered in hot blood, while his runs cold. Allen's hand in his keeps him going. He needs to get him to the end. Forced to step over dead bodies, his limbs start to tremble and in his haste, he loses his footing. Instinctively, lets go of Allen, and pitches back, falling into the river.

One hundred feet. ]

Edited 2022-07-05 00:50 (UTC)

[ The difference between them is heart wrenchingly ironic sometimes. The more stalwart and unshakeable-seeming Shouto whose blood runs cold when he's covered in it and stumbles, and the more emotional and delicate-seeming Allen, who wears blood like someone so very used to it and seems to only become sorrowfully serious the more he's painted in it.

It isn't that he's become numb to it, he hasn't, but there isn't a place for horror and revulsion here. So he lids it and keeps a tight hold on Shouto's hand, nimbly leaping over corpses and helping to pull him along if he needs to. Hands slick with blood though, it's hard, and when the other boy's footing slips... ]

Shouto! [ He jerks, feeling his hand slip from his. Filled for a moment with the most nauseating sense of deja vu, reaching for someone as they plummet forever from sight...

Twist, pivot.

The corpses of the river rise up to grab at Shouto, moaning in eagerness to have him join them at long last, their shed innocent and Forbidden blood whispering like an intoxicating buzz in his ears, and Allen leaps in. Without even a second thought. With an explosive burst of speed from his cloak, dipping down to scoop the other boy up into his arms like he weighs nothing. It's deep, much deeper than it looks or should realistically be by any measure of reality, and he's plunged up to his hips in blood and bodies before he's even realized his mistake, his cloak becoming dip-dyed in dark, glittering crimson. Doesn't care though, doesn't matter and he doesn't give a damn.

It's a hundred feet. Close enough.

His jaw tightens and Crown Clown... roils. Peeling away from Allen back like angry wings more than a cloak, distorting and twisting about like a living thing that sprays blood in the air. And Allen braces against the hands that are still pulling on them both, hard, as one of the tethers from Crown Clown snap out, now looking more like a mutated sort of feather more than a ribbon, and buries itself into the gate.

It rips them out of the river with another explosive burst and catapults them the remaining distance as Allen holds on tight. But with more brute force than precision, enough to send them end over end for a landing. ]

Edited 2022-07-05 01:37 (UTC)

[ Bodies lie still. Others spasm on the ground. Some dead. Others dying. Too many. He can't dodge them. Heart rate spikes. He vaults over them. Lands on a blood puddle. Hot liquid slides down his arm. Holds onto Allen like a lifeline. Sucks air into his lungs. Breathes again. Kizu is there. Tempers his racing heart. Focused on the front gates. He climbs over a body. Slips.

Red waits for him with open arms.

A single chorus of elation fills the canyon. The demon shows itself. A ghost in the shallows. Kizu yells in his head. Tries to get out. He traps her. She rages. He holds her. Closes his eyes. Holds his breath.

Snowfall and light.

He reels to a stop. Someone holds him beyond the demon's reach.

An electric scent in the air. His eyes snap open. And wings stained red fill his vision. Blood rains down from above. Broils from below. A bloodcurdling scream fills the air.

A fury unleashed.

An explosion of movement rattles his heart. A brutal madness left behind. Flying over the gates. They hit the ground. Breath knocked out of him. They roll through the snow. Stain it red. And come to a stop at the foot of the castle. Bathed in moonlight. ]

Edited 2022-07-05 03:21 (UTC)

[ He does his best to try and soften their fall, but Crown Clown isn't listening to him. He tries to tuck around Shouto on instinct, hits his shoulder hard with a pained cry, but holds on as they roll to a stop. The snow helps, offering some buffer that his cloak should have, but he's still momentarily dazed. Gasping for breath for a moment as even he tries to keep pace with what happened and where they are, he gradually becomes aware and lets go of Shouto. Rolls onto his back and tries to catch his breath, rough gasps as he stares up at the moonlight.

Something isn't right. He should feel relieved, so why isn't he...? His mouth tastes like thick copper and his very soul feels jittery, like cracks vibrating through glass. Head pounding with his heartbeat. Crown Clown twisting against the snow like some kind of grotesque snow angel painting the ground red while trying to peel away from him.

Why's he still anxious? Why does it feel like he's-- ]

Are-- are you... [ Breathless, he reaches over weakly with his human hand for Shouto. To confirm he's there and real; okay. Blood's stained the Innocence gloving his arm, leaving it the once pristine white smeared in red. ]

Are you... okay? [ He tries to reach for his hand. To squeeze it in reassurance, though for which of them it's hard to say. ] Shouto?

Edited 2022-07-05 03:48 (UTC)

[ Allen takes the brunt of the impact, and Shouto rolls with him through fresh snow. The powder eats up most of their momentum but drives a wedge between them, forcing them apart. A scant few feet separate them in the end and he drags himself to his side. ]

Here.

[ He sets his palm over the back of the hand searching through the snow. Gentle and cold, he laces his fingers from above, gripping his hand in a stronghold. ]

I'm here.

[ The gestures last no more than a few moments before he lets go to check him for any injuries. Cold fingers move over him, searching for Paleblood instead of the red that mars the once pristine snowbank. ]

Can you sit up?

[ I'm here. He takes an oddly shuddered breath in relief, trying to sit up as he's asked, but... ]

! Nn... [ He doubles over more than he sits up, coughing wetly even as the moonlight should have healed him, clutching his left arm to his chest in pain. It's still invoked, still a claw. But it begins to glow white like his cloak and... fragment. Glowing feathers peeling off it as well, that twist wildly and painfully-looking.

His breath comes in a puff, suddenly wide- and a little wild-eyed. Panicked, and he grips his left forearm tight with his right. ]

Get back--

[ Because where it had been dipped in the blood of the river, Crown Clown begins to harden and cracks back with razor sharpness, like some sort of blood angel. The bloodied feather edges of which... begin to crack and fall away, like shards of red glass.

And up Allen's neck, hexagonal patterns begin to appear like cracks in the skin. ]

Allen!

[ He yells, gripping his shoulders to keep him steady. Why isn't he healing?! He asks Kizu when the sickening sound of his wet coughing continues. He pulls back slightly when his hand starts to glow, watching the cracks form. Feathers peel away from his skin, distorting his view Is it the demon?! Frantic, he twists his head in search of a corruptive influence.

Get back--

His head whips back to him, hands instantly letting go at the demand. Wings crack and red hit the ground shattering into razor-sharp fragments. Hexagonal patterns crawl over his skin. Instincts keep him from reaching out. Still, he stays in place, resolutely not moving. ]

Allen. [ A quiet tone dampened by worry. ] What's happening?

Edited 2022-07-08 22:50 (UTC)

[ His legs that had been broiled by the blood river were healing, but the part of him that's Innocence, that's Crown Clown...

If the Akuma blood virus were something he could be effected by; if the dark matter a Noah could wield could become a corruptive virus like that to undo Innocence from the inside out... that's what it feels like. The thing that's the opposite of him fighting with Crown Clown and trying to break it down. And he grits his teeth at the question, jaw flexing, knowing the answer even as it sounds very distant to him.

I'm breaking. ]

Crown Clown... [ ground out, voice tight as he tries to control himself and it ] is mad... [ Shit.

Shouto let go just in time though, as a razor-sharp runaway feathers whips out from his cowl in a whorl and just miss his cheek. And Allen breathes hard, holding onto his left arm with a deathgrip that shakes him, and tries to will it to please, ] Please...

Calm down...

[ The two halves of the cape twist into a tempest, revolting against their bearer. One ribbon whips past him, barely missing his face. He jerks back, loses his balance, and lands on the snow with his hands buried in the cold.

Kizu, can you help?! Regret envelopes his mind. He's lost control. There's nothing I can do to help.

Shouto regains his composure, a skill built up over years, and stares back at Allen with precision. Analyzing the scenario set before him, he examines cause and effect. The effect lies before him. A white broken claw fragmenting into pieces. The fragments are only in some places. Wings hardening and shedding. Shedding what? Understanding comes with resolve.

I have to remove the blood! Ignoring the bone-chilling cold, he quickly looks at his surroundings, searching for a way to help without going near him or risk turning into a liability. He looks around. The partially melted snow gives him an idea. He looks up and quickly gets to his feet. ]

Hold on!

[ He yells, running toward the snow-packed tree they landed under, and with the grace of a snow leopard, he jumps, grabbing onto the lowest branch. The sudden onset of his weight drops the stack of snow over Allen but it's not enough to wash off all the blood, so he swings himself up and onto the next branch, higher up, until he's lost within the branches. He slams his foot down on the branch beneath him while shaking the rest to force an avalanche that swallows him whole. ]

Allen! Are you okay?!

[ He quickly swings down and makes a run for his location ready to shovel him out after burying him. ]

Edited 2022-07-09 01:42 (UTC)

[ He barely hears him when he yells, only half able to pay attention in the crackling of holy energy and his own fierce concentration, but when a sudden snowfall from above from the first he knocks loose comes down it's enough to cause Allen even in his state to blink and look up, startled. Even Crown Clown whips back and down for a moment, not so much like it's surprised but like an animal stopping to crouch and consider. The rustling quiets, the snow soaking up some of the blood and melting against it. ]

Shouto?! [ No, focus, it's calming down. Not just from that, but especially the longer he's under the moonlight and its healing influence. Forbidden blood... the one thing in existence, without others from his world, that can hurt Crown Clown as the closest thing to its antithesis. The spilled blood of innocents -- and Innocence. Breaking it down like a solvent, even if it's dream iterations of each. Such much be the nightmare demon's own spiritual power.

Something he unfortunately doesn't know, but the feeling is a mixed one similar enough to ones he's felt before to realize what's happening. But it's okay, this is-- ]

“Alone”

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2