deercountry | [Open] 🚬 July Flames

[prove him wrong, with your magic costume changing and conjuring rocks out of nowhere.]

Depends on how ya wanna define "true" flight.

[because jumping pretty high/far is one kind of "flight" if you're gonna accept propulsion-powered locomotion as "true" flight compared to a sheer lack of gravity and utterly free aerial movement.]

Those idiots in the Sanctuary are gonna wanna save those Beasts too.

[obviously doesn't see eye to eye with this new sect of hunters. no agreement with them.]

Speakin of ancient things, did ya find anything interestin down in the caves last month?

[He would but he left his dragoon job stone at home.]

I suppose that's true. I've already got a lot I can do. I don't really mind - at home I can fly with the aid of other devices or creatures, like a chocobo. Which is like... imagine a giant chicken and paint it yellow, and that's close enough.

[Much smarter than a chicken though. Thankfully.]

I know they are. And while I agree that they should be saved if possible, I don't think all of them can be. And if they've been beasts for a very long time... they may not know how to be otherwise.

[He shakes his head a bit.]

Not really. Though I haven't looked in all of them yet. Why, is there something in particular you want me to check out?

A giant yellow chicken...

[that's not all too hard to imagine, though he can't really see the whole riding aspect. ostrich... and even that's hard to picture in his head. do people really do that? yeah, gonna focus on something else now.]

Nah. It's too dangerous to try and save them. Too much effort and resources. Best to take 'em out before they do worse.

[regardless of the length of time. there's always going to be more beasts. this place is full of them. and the sleepers will just come back once they're dead. if the beasts could be stopped so easily, they wouldn't have the problem they do now.]

If ya find any lunar orbs or weird tools, I'd be interested in takin a look at those. But a lotta the caves have been scavenged already. Ya might be wastin ya time down there now.

Mm. We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. I don't think it's too dangerous to try to save people... but then again someone like me would say that.

[He's well aware of his reputation as a hero at home. He's also well aware of why that label gets thrown around when talking about him.]

Yeah? Still might be worth a look... do you have interesting stuff you can trade for that sort of thing?

Heh, if only disagreein was all that'd result in.

[but it won't. disagreement leads to disdain which leads to the eventual clash. they won't learn until it's made a glowing example that they can't look away from. but... that's for another time.]

Yeah. What kinda interestin stuff ya lookin for?

[there were some other things he found down there in those caves, but those are things he's keeping.

dabi glances to the side, a slight frown coming to his expression.]

Oy...

[somethin's out there.]

Mm.

[He hopes that's all that will result. He's not ready for a huge clash to break out in Trench. He's still getting a feel for the place, for the people who are around.]

Interesting books, mostly. I'm not really in need of much, so I'm only really looking for things to add to my research habit -

[He hesitates, having heard... something in the distance. And it's approaching. He's not sure what it is, but he readies himself for a fight.]

[nah, he thinks it'll be a while before anything comes to a head. it also depends on how far and hard the sanctuary starts to push for things to change. that's something he keeps an eye on quietly. while he doesn't exactly have a problem with what the sanctuary stands for, it's when people start to call other "wrong" or "bad" for doing it another way that begins to spawn problems. and dabi's waiting for the sanctuary to step over that line...]

Come back to that.

[can't say he has much of the greatest reading materials, but he's got a store of them. that said, dabi turns his attention to the side. black flames crawl up the outside of his leg before peeling off as a large black wolf emerges from his body, glowing blue eyes and blue flames dripping from its mouth making it meld in and stand out among the mostly-smothered flames around them.]

Ya wanna take this one?

[asking nara'a because if dabi fights, well...]

[He nods and draws his blade, waiting for whatever it is to come crashing out. His own omen appears, a lesser panda sniffing ahead and trying to determine what it is. He can't seem to figure it out, but Nara'a steps forward, nodding to Dabi. Yeah, he can take this one.]

[There's a crashing sound, and something that looks like a mutated panther leaps out of the trees towards the pair. Nara'a ducks and concentrates, a blast of razor-sharp air whirling towards the creature. He follows it up with lightning, scorching the beast's hide. He follows it by darting in to slash at it, his blade glowing with vermilion energy, backflipping to land where he started, ready for the thing to attack.]

Back up and get ready to dodge.

[His usual warm tone turns cold as he snaps out the order. Not that he expects Dabi to follow, but he has to make the attempt anyway.]

[a panda? dabi arches a brow at the appearance of the creature, though certainly not as much as he would've had it been its larger cousin. ~~that'd be a more tai lung response.~~ between the two of them, wolf could probably eat it without a problem, but since it's omen to omen, there's no point. besides, the lupine creature is more focused on what's ahead.

with the nod, however, dabi merely steps back, leaving nara'a to handle the incoming beast. oh? feline. smaller than he thought it'd be. not lax enough to leave his hands in his pockets, the villain braces himself, ready to move as his eyes follow the beast's battle with nara'a. from the razor blade of air to the sizzle of lightning (look, you're burning shit too; stop giving him grief cause he's better at it), and the finish of a glowing-bladed slash, it's an impressive combo.]

All right.

[hey, he's selfish enough to get his hide out of danger range if nara'a's gonna do something big. though he doesn't like the look of this creature in front of them. it's angry, but in the way that seems injured. and wolf is still on alert to more sounds further. this seems like something running from something else.]

Better finish this one off quickly. Think there's more comin...

Yeah.

[He nods and focuses again, a white energy exploding around the thing, and he follows it up with a rotation of his rapier. Red circles appear, and he dashes through them to become a red streak, slamming into the panther's side. It roars and tries to turn towards Dabi, but a quick uppercut to the jaw has the monster focusing on him again.]

[That one's not a technique, just dirty fighting.]

[He slashes again, trying to avoid spilling blood - some gets spilled anyway. He huffs and backflips, sending another round of air and lightning at the creature until it's howling in pain. He dashes in and kicks it in the face - there's the snapping of bone and then a stab through the head. It stops moving with a gargled growl, falling to the ground.]

Should probably move before something comes to eat it.

[dabi's silent as he watches nara'a deal with the creature in front of them. strange, mixed techniques, impressive in their own right, though he pays attention both out of self-preservation and to keep in mind anything that he'd need to remember in case he and nara'a came to blows. they almost had at the start of this, after all... from energy explosions to sword slashes.

and with that flurry, it's over. dabi rubs the side of his neck as the creature falls to the ground. he won't put it as "dead" immediately, but it seems handled well enough. without waiting, he extends his hand-]

Outta the way, Nara.

[-and blasts a stream of fire towards the fallen beast. blue flames immediately swallow it, taking only two seconds to reduce the entire thing into a pile of blackened ash. out of minor "give a shit" towards nara'a's original comment, he aims the flames towards the ground more than a horizontal burst, trying to hit the floor instead of send a stream further into the trees forest around them.

but that's just in the face of something else finally approaching them. trees push to the side, falling beneath the larger mass, blue fires mottled out beneath blackness. oozing fluid bubbles and runs downward as a slogging hand reaches through the trees, fingers pushing the boughs to the side. looming above them, the beast pours into view, a dark mass of molasses-thick mahogany liquid continually oozing off its body. shoulders and arms visible within a tar-like "cape" of dripping flesh that's somewhat indistinguishable from the folds and squishes of gunky "robes" covering its body, crowned with a skeletal face pushing out amid a dribbling hood of similar sticky substance. the plants fallen beneath it are quickly absorbed within the dark fluid, leaving a slime trail path behind it of gooey emptiness. it regards the two through hollow eyes sockets, faint light deep within.]

... gross.

[He moves out of the way and watches the other incinerate the panther-thing. At least he's aiming it down -]

[Shit. Something else is coming. He hears the heavy footfalls before he can see the creature, and once it starts to come into view he shifts back to his reaper outfit. He's not sure what spells are going to do against something like that, and if the creature has flesh... his scythe will find it. He takes a deep breath, readying himself to pull on the darker energies he has access to.]

Very.

[He dashes forward, scythe swinging into the goo to seek out any flesh underneath to cut. He might need to try to slash a few times to get at it, but he's less concerned about damage at the moment to himself rather than the creature.]

[surprise. dabi can be accommodating when he feels like it. though as the new threat drags itself forward out of the trees, he's somewhat irked that he'd avoided a full-bore blast. that would've given them something of a head start on this thing...

whether or not those dripping flows down its body are flesh or something else, he can't tell. it looks like the creature is a living blob, but somewhere within those rolling oozes is a framework of a body. dabi lifts one hand to the side, a ball of blue fire appearing and abruptly spiraling into a wilder, more intense flame as he charges it up.]

Not sure I'm gonna be able to avoid settin the forest on fire. If ya got some kinda handy teleportation spell, better use it now.

[and shoves upward with a brief spurt of flames from his feet. getting above the creature while nara'a goes at it with his scythe. it's almost like carving into sentient molasses, with the scythe carving into the folds and gunk and rending it open in a clean slash, but that cut's just as easily sealed up as more of its slime oozes down into the split.

it does, at least, recognize the attack, and turn its head towards nara'a before sprouting one of those large humanoid arms and reaching for him with a splay of dripping fingers. not fast, but still large and powerful. and probably sticky enough to capture a hand or foot or weapon if left longer than a second on its surface.]

[Normally he does. Here? Not so much. He kicks backwards, getting his distance and assessing his options. He's dealt with slimy creatures before, but they tend to have at least some kind of core. Maybe this one doesn't.]

[He hisses at the creature and ducks to avoid the slimy arm, getting in another slash and another. Right, then. Time to get serious.]

[The miqo'te concentrates and a figure manifests behind him, shooting a cloud of dark energy forward. He dodges and slices, all the while the dark entity swoops and almost 'breathes' out the clouds of dark energy. Finally he twirls his scythe and the being settles around him like a cloak, and Nara'a is changed.]

[He knows it won't last long, but he darts around the creature, sending bolts of dark energy at the thing. He has to destroy it before it hurts someone. He has to. With a final bit of strength, he tosses a ball of dark energy at the creature, sending red and black spikes up to impale it. The avatar leaves Nara'a's flesh and disappears, and he's back to how he looked before.]

[dabi remains where he is in the sky, watching the miqo'te assault the creature with enough flare he swears he's watching one of those weird video games that shigaraki likes to play. from scythe swinging to creating some kind of ethereal creature behind him that attacks with him in tandem, it's an impressive display that has the villain figuring he made a good call to pull back his initial antagonism towards nara'a when they met today.

that said, it also means he can't get in a good shot with this asshole flipping and dancing around the pile of goo. dabi's not known for precise sniper shots of flames...

while the scythe doesn't seem to do anything to the creature, asides from threaten to get itself stick the more and more its blade and shaft get splattered with the gunk, the dark energy pouring out onto the monstrous beast does have more effect. calcifying, crystalizing, freezing, burning, whatever he wants to call it, the energy hardens the outer exterior of the drip-covered skeleton. the beast's lumbering form swipes at nara'a multiple times, but like a giant swinging at a fly, it's not able to catch either attacker. however, it's big enough that unless the miqo'te has a way to extend his scythe's range, he's not able to cut deep enough into the beast's oozing cloak/flesh to reach anything solid or vital. if there is indeed anything under there...

with a final lob of a bomb, spikes erupt from the creature, causing it to recoil and roll back on itself, one arm up and a low groan of annoyance and pain emanating from within it.]

Move.

[that's all dabi's going to call in warning before sending down a flood of blue flames from above. directly above. almost as if the beast is taking a shower in burning fire. with the spikes keeping it--somehow--in place, and nara'a to the side, dabi's got a clear shot to outright drench the thing in an inferno. pouring his flames out to cook and incinerate. the massive size of this thing reminds him of that damn giant all for one left behind, but its slow flailing and groaning indicates it's not nearly as impervious as that bastard.

only after he notices a faint wisp of smoke rising from his own flesh does dabi cut off the attack and drop back down from the sky. he lands on the ground a bit of a distance from nara'a, though the scent of burning flesh is prevalent among the smoke. at least until the odor of the torched and impaled beast rushes past them. it's gonna be cooked into a solid mass.]

[He's frustrated, angry that the thing doesn't seem to be reacting. It's just making him more and more angry as he continues - but he hears that call and shifts to the side, leaving a glowing portal where he was.]

[The flames pour down and he winces, frustrated that Dabi got the kill. He knows he should just be glad the thing is dead, but his scythe can only reach so far... ugh. Whatever. At least the thing's done. The stench doesn't really bother him all that much - he's used to the stink of monster carcasses.]

[He huffs and squares his shoulders. At least it's done.]

Should have gone paladin... just haven't had much cause to use my voidsent much.

[truth is, dabi wouldn't have felt confident enough to pour down those flames without nara'a's involvement. the dark energy and the spikes certainly left the creature slowed down enough to give him the chance to charge up and strike it. without catching the miqo'te in the blast. consider that a brief extension of trust.

dabi looks at his hand, frowning slightly at the faint wisp of smoke drifting up from between two of the staples on his wrist. he's not at his "warning" threshold yet, in that what burns he's endured will heal fine without further scarring. but until he has a chance to cool down, it won't be advisable for him to pump out more flames.

that's what you get when your damn mother gives you an freeze-resistant body and your fucking father gives you a fire-manipulation quirk.]

What? Ya sayin that's enough to wear ya ou-

[*thwup*

dabi's voice cuts off as a dark tendril of slime abruptly slams him right in the chest and knocks him off his feet. the charred husk of the creature cracks and more of that slime spews from the burned carapace as the beast semi-literally sheds its outer "shell" and sloughs out onto the battle again.

who said this thing was dead?

waves of sludge-like flesh shlorp and splash onto the ground and the beast's skeletal face once more pushes through the "hood" of its vaguely body shape. it does look smaller than before, both men having burned and energized and skewered a chunk of its mass away with their first assault. but neither got close to hitting anything "core" on it. and now it's faster, retracting that tendril of slime before launching off four more towards nara'a, coming in like living snakes of viscous flesh.]

No, I -

[He senses it before he sees it, the beast's 'revival'. His Echo warns him of something coming, so he switches back to paladin and he jumps away, slashing at the tentacles as he does. He's annoyed more than anything, that this thing won't quite die.]

[He slashes, again and again until he finally slams down his blade, forming ethereal blades in front of him. Once, twice, three times they slam down and up through the creature, trying to hit something, anything that's a core.]

[It's his last gamble - if this doesn't work, red mage spells definitely won't do shit against it. If only he had a dragoon here, they'd probably have a weapon long enough to pierce this thing's 'flesh'. Whether they'd want to get such a thing on their weapons is another matter entirely.]

[the impact takes his breath out. feels like he just got jammed in the chest with a beam. there's a dull pain somewhere inside his torso and his vision rolls in his head from the impact on the ground. not even wolf had been fast enough to warn him of the attack.

fuck... gonna... take a few moments to catch his breath as he sits up, a few sucking pants trying to get his lungs unstuck. what'd he think, that this beast would go down in an instant? cursing himself at being an idiot, dabi glares to the side at nara'a and the beast.

the slashes slam into the creature and pass right through it, causing the low moaning to evolve into a louder moan of distressed surprise. the ethereal blades carve clean out the other side, sending one of its slimy arms falling to the ground and crashing into the brush like a rotten fruit bursting all over the area. for a moment, nara'a would be able to make out a black bone within the shoulder area, glowing red and orange in the center like an archaic cigarette lighter in a car (not that he'll get the reference, but meta). before the sludge covers the wound up again.

the other strikes through the side and the chest definitely sever it, but like passing a knife blade through gelatin, the creature easily settles itself once again as its body flows back together. another arm sprouts where the previous had been sliced off, shrinking the creature down once more thanks to shifting its mass to make up for the missing limb.

only to charge forward in a much faster rush. both arms spreading open and throwing an X-shaped stream of gunk towards the warrior.]

It's the shoulder!

[He knows a weak spot when he sees one. He attempts to get out of the way but can't quite manage it. He's slammed back against a tree as the gunk covers the front of his armor and shield. It's gross and smells terrible, and it gets everywhere.]

[He growls a little, kicking off from the tree and trying to slash into the shoulder. He lands a hit and misses the second swing, but he darts out of the way in case Dabi wants to try to take a shot. He's slower than he was before, still trying to get the goo off of him. He's pretty sure that's not good to have on him.]

[something about a shoulder... dabi isn't sure if nara'a's yelling about the creature or if he's bitching about his own injury. doesn't really matter. he's getting up anyways. pushing himself back to sitting position, just in time to see the other man get smacked right off his feet. familiar sight, huh. but with nara'a jumping back into the battle, he can't get a clear shot without tearing the guy open.

lucky for him, that problem's resolved soon enough and he immediately pours an explosive cone of flames outward, slamming into the creature with enough force to wash clean over it. probably far more width than he actually needs, considering the outer rims of the attack blaze through the forest again. but in this case, they're gonna get fucked over even worse if they worry about some goddamn plants.

if nara'a's armor is magical, then it likely won't have much trouble resisting the corrosive effects of the sludge. if not, however, it's going to start eating away at the metal. case in point, dabi's basically lost the front part of his shirt thanks to that slime. doesn't seem to affect skin though? weird... the villain's already burnt the rest off him. sticky shit is sticky.

the creature, once again caught in the flames, struggles through it, having to deal with another outer layer burning and hardening into a blackened, glowing shell.

hope that attention's sharp, because the sliced off arm? yeah, that thing's getting up on its fingers, devoid of slime now to reveal a skeletal set of black bones, and goes running towards the smoking husk. likely to try and crack it open.]

[It seems to be resisting the corrosion all right, though he still tries to wipe it off. It's gross as hells and he doesn't like it. Fortunately for him he seems to be all right. The flames reveal a skeletal core, and he focuses on that, darting in and slashing to try to break the arm before it can get back to the main body.]

[He circles around a little and tries to find a weak spot, any place where the slime seems thin or broken enough. He slashes where he can and dances out of range where he can't, doing his best to not get in the way of Dabi's flames. He's felt them, and he doesn't really want to deal with those again.]

[it's a bitch to simply "wipe off" with his hands. like trying to push syrup with more cling. the kind that can get sluiced with a finger, but then stays on the finger.

the beast twists and curls its arms around itself within the flames, slower and slower as more of its outer layer is rendered brittle and hardened into burnt flesh. on the one hand, it's slowly "frozen" in place beneath its own carapace. but on the other hand, it's protecting its innards via the same. letting its opponent cook itself a shield instead of scorching through.

nara'a's clash with the skeletal arm is far more physical and the black bones crash against his weapon in a deliberate show of strength. bone and blade screech against each before the beast throws backwards, sending scythe and arm rebounding, before the next strike actually sees the hand catch the scythe in a bony fist. starting an "arm wrestle" of sorts with the man and monster for control of the blade. apparently this arm neither wants nara'a to impede its return to its body, nor does it want the man to get close to the body either.

dabi has to cut his flames soon enough, dropping his arm to the side. shit... that burns. unless he wants to cook himself some more scars, he's gonna have to break off and cool down... so it's up to nara'a to keep that arm busy.]

[The sword slices and Nara'a seethes, kicking the arm with a metal-clad boot. Hopefully it's enough to knock the thing for a loop, because he's getting very tired of this stupid enemy. It's not responding well to any of his attacks, and even he has his limits of what he can tolerate.]

[He jumps up and lands on the arm, trying to break it into pieces. The hand especially he'd like to get to fuck off, because it's preventing him from going back to the main body.]

Hells take you, you blasted thing!

[Hopefully another few kicks can get this thing broken.]

[The arm does indeed go flying after the kick, crashing into the ground a few feet away and skidding as it digs its fingers into the ground. Just in time for the man to slam down atop it and crush it. Between the impact of his landing and the rain of blows, the skeletal structure is cracked and rent apart at the ligaments, spewing slime and glowing "blood" from each piece ripped off. It takes some work, but once he's shattered the thing to pieces, popped each of the connections, the scattered bones go limp, no longer fueled by whatever ichor had flowed within them.

Hells had certainly taken the blasted thing. But unfortunately... that was not the creature's weak point. It still remains within the dwindling plume of Dabi's flames, though neither it nor the villain are moving, both of them being stuck in a "cooldown" period. Dabi for his own physical safety, and the creature for a chance to regroup and regather inside its charred shell.]

better than trying to do playing cards on toilet paper squares...

honey no...

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