deercountry | i'm not a superhero [September Catch-All]

Dabi keeps to the shallows of the woods around Trench, not one for tangling with the beasts by himself outside of hunting missions and the occasional lack of choice. He isn't afraid of them, but does have a begrudging respect for their annoying presence and occasional power. The latter is more problematic the deeper in the woods one goes, so staying near the outskirts limits the risk.

However, due to a combination of disliking fish and having a contact in Feed, which produces fowls and turf meats, Dabi's been more willing to take trips to the area to get fresh food. Occasionally bringing things to trade with the people around there if he gets someone interested in something, or vice versa.

But this time... he's not even out of the city on his path to the lamp that'd take him to Feed before he sees Nara'a bolt past. Followed by-

This fucking thing again?!

Dabi scowls towards it in annoyance before holding his hand up and blasting the Bugge right in the side, from the side. A completely surprise (and cheap) move with no regard to holding back.

He turns and skids at the sight of the blast of fire, staring at Dabi. "Don't - I'm trying to get it to Sanctuary -"

Dabi probably doesn't care, does he? He huffs and goes over to try to get in the way. "Something like this has to be hurting - it can be healed!"

He has to try. He's been doing his best to bring beasts to Sanctuary. Even if there's nothing left of them by the end, they have to keep trying. Some people must be able to be saved.

One of the nearby roofs is left scorched from the high-aimed blast of fire. Fancy running into this guy again, huh. He lowers his hand as the creature got reeling backwards from the light and fire, not looking at it for a reason.

"It's hurtin now." Callous as ever, noting the way the creature's shaking and swinging one of its arms, now on fire as the blue flames curl and climb across its fur. Not enough to immolate the damn thing though...

"This thing ain't supposed to be healed, idiot." And jerks his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the destruction that's followed the giant creature in its wake after entering the city. "Or did ya miss all that behind ya?"

He sighs - he can't do anything about the roof right now other than hope. "Well yes, of course it's hurting - what do you mean that thing's not supposed to be healed?"

Better explain fast, Dabi - Nara'a goes to hit it with a low kick to try to stun it. "Hold on, you asshole!"

Dabi gives him a flat look. "Did ya happen to look over your shoulder while ya led this fucking thing through town?" Something this big's been crashing through the streets, hitting carts, knocking over plants, breaking cobblestone roads. It's not like Nara'a's been inviting a fucking puppy to follow him home.

He's not going to tell him the real reason just yet. That'll come later, when the guilt'll hit harder. (That's what you get for befriending an asshole.)

"I did, I just -" He jumps backwards at the swipe the thing gives him, growling a little bit. "I don't want it to hurt anyone..."

Even though he's already been wrecking things... things can be fixed. The dead can't return. "I just want to get it healed!" He doesn't want to hurt anyone, but it's not like he can really get this thing to come along quietly...

Dabi glances to the side as that swipe misses Nara'a but crashes into the window of a shop instead, throwing glass inside and sending people yelling into the back. "So ya led it into town. What happened, didja forget the forest ain't crawlin with people?"

Hearing Nara'a yelling about it getting healed earns a snarling scoff from the villain and he lifts both hands over his head. Flames erupt between his fingers, combining into a ball of blue fire. "Baka. You and those Sanctuary people are so obsessed with bein heroes, ya never stop to ask whether ya should!"

The word punctuates with an overhead shot, slamming a torrent of flames directly at the Bugge towering above them.

"I know that, but I don't have anything that can heal it - Sanctuary does -" He ducks out of the way of the flames, sighing. Is this how it's going to be? He's not sure if this is a good idea, but there's just going to be more destruction when it crashes through the streets.

He swallows hard and shifts to his paladin armor, raising his shield towards the Bugge. He pushes off and rams into it, stunning it for a moment. It's too big to simply knock over... he backs up while the thing shakes off the blow, angrier than before.

"... Huh. Sometimes that gets things to chill out. Not this one, apparently."

The thing's the size of a damn tree, towering over them and the houses nearby. Seeing Nara'a go physically charging it with that shield, Dabi wonders if he's both stubborn and stupid... though he's seen small people rush larger creatures in his world as well. Typical of a heroic mindset. Hit them harder, huh...

"What d'ya know about this thing? Some kinda monster?" A quick fling of his hands to both sides sends fire roaring around them and circling about the back of the Bugge's legs, trapping the three inside a ring of fire. Probably won't stop it from running through, but since its focus is on Nara'a, not much a problem...

A ring of fire... not the first time he's been in one of these, and it's always been dramatic when he has been. "Big, monstrous... not much, I didn't exactly stop to ask for a profile -" He jumps out of the way as one of the thing's massive paws slams down, dust flying up from where it hits. Nara'a sighs and lifts his sword upwards, a bolt of energy lashing out at the beast.

... He's ready to start a combo, but he has to jump again when the Bugge rushes forward, mouth open as it attempts to chomp him. He kicks off of it and propels himself to the side, causing it to turn away from Dabi. He fires a snowflake-shaped blast out from his sword, watching it impact against its snout. The Bugge, however, does not seem to be impressed. "There's got to be a way to stun it for longer than a moment..."

It's not big tax on him, and even better, it doesn't require more effort on his part after throwing it up. But it's not gonna move afterwards, so they're "here" until they have to move. Dabi jumps to the side as that arm crashes down onto the ground, skidding to the side when he lands in a lunging position. Tsk. This thing's coming for them regardless. At least Nara'a's gonna fight.

Lightning, and suddenly a snowflake. Just how many elements does this guy have in his arsenal? "Ya don't wanna stun it. And don't look directly at its face either." One hand below him, Dabi focuses for two seconds to charge up, then swipes his arm forward in a rising arch. Blue flames race across the ground before erupting in a blazing pillar beneath the creature. Hell yes he's trying to immolate it where it stands!

He's got no choice but to fight now thanks to Dabi, and part of him is relieved that the choice has been taken from him. He wasn't sure if he could get the thing to Sanctuary, and now that they're fighting he can just focus on that. He doesn't want to draw blood as much as possible, but... he's sturdiest when he's got a sword and a shield.

Nara'a is about to move forward when the flame erupts around the creature, and he waits for the fire to die down. The creature roars and tries stepping out of the flames, the fire licking at its fur, the scent of burnt hair and flesh sizzling in the air. Nara'a just fires another blast at it before abandoning his combo and just slamming a hand downward to send phantom blades piercing through the Bugge again and again. It's going to end up with a lot of blood, but that's somewhat unavoidable at the moment.

This isn't Dabi's first tangle with this creature and he'd rather not suffer some more injuries. He got banged up the first time... Nara'a's decision to attack with the phantom blades clashes with the cauterizing effects of Dabi's fire. Blood flows and splatters, some falling down and burning in the fire, other flying over the flames and slapping across walls or the ground. The Bugge's arching and flailing helps with that as well, though Dabi's guessing Nara'a isn't aware of the history behind this creature... Tsk, when's a decent time to tell now they're in full combat?

When the Bugge slams down on its knees and hands, bringing itself even further into the roasting ring of flames, Dabi moves closer to Nara'a while the creature roars in pain and fury. "Ya know how this place gets corrupted if Sleeper blood or beast blood gets on the ground?" Technically if it gets anywhere connected to the ground, like rocks and plants and even roads. "This thing's got an opposite effect."

'This thing's got an opposite effect -' Oh for hells' sake. He growls at Dabi, his hackles raised. "You could have told me that earlier!" He makes a note to somehow pay Dabi back, but right now he's got a giant monster to worry about. He can take his frustrations out later, presumably on some poor tree in the woods.

If spilling blood is what's going to help then he knows what to do. He lunges forward, slamming into the Bugge and slashing deep into its throat and upper chest before turning and backing off to make sure that he's clear of whatever it might throw at him. The wound looks nasty, as he's left some aether on the wound to keep it open for a time, refusing to let the cut close. "Where did this thing even come from?" Maybe Dabi knows? He knows a lot of random things.

"Ya already brought it into the city." Well before he met Dabi. Wasn't like his little confession would've done much beyond save (perhaps) and extra twenty feet of real estate. Unless their fight's led to some unseen death elsewhere. Dabi looks up at the creature, deliberately avoiding looking into its face. It's strange the guy who lives so close to Feed wouldn't have known the farmers' stories about the Bugge. "No farmer out there told ya when it started roamin around?"

This time, he focuses on using his flames to keep on the creature's legs, preventing it from stumbling around too far. Or simply opting to char its legs and bring the creature down with a roar. That's another option... Then Nara'a can hack and slash at it all he wants to bleed it into the ground for the benefit of the seasonal crops. "No fucking clue. It's a "Trench" thing that happens every year. Can't kill it forever either. It's born to die over and over."

Real shit lot in life.

"No, not really." To be fair he hasn't been the most chatty in the past few days, mostly sulking about the river that he was on with all of the corpses. "That's horrible, though..." He feels bad for it, but - well. Nara'a grew up in the wild. He knows what happens when people can't get food.

The thing collapses to its knees, legs burning too much to keep it upright. Nara'a dashes in and slices across its chest. Blood starts dripping onto the ground, and the miqo'te sticks his sword in the wound, ripping it open further. "I don't want this for him, but I'm not going to let people die."

"If ya don't kill it, it'll kill you after meeting it. Now how d'ya feel about it?" Dabi isn't one to feel pity for something that decides it wants to kill him. His life is his own and not some monster's to decide's for the taking. The flames around the creature flare up with another added burst and he lowers his hand, leaving the Bugge to Nara'a to finish off.

As the blood flows, Dabi watches the miqo'te work on opening the creature up more, letting the wounds feed the ground beneath. Of course the beast is trying to rake him with clawed hands or trying to look at him to enable the frozen gaze effect to lock on. Enough of that... Dabi balls up a flare in his hand and slams it forward, causing the fireball to blast right in the Bugge's face. A gory fire-version "Paff" of a snowball hitting someone between the eyes.

"This ain't our world, idiot. Can't go around tellin it to behave for your comfort."

"That's what I'm saying, idiot." It comes out sharper than he means to, but he's pretty frustrated right now. "I'm not going to let people die, if there's a chance to save them. But I'm not fool enough to try to think that this place is going to behave the way I want -" He jumps away from the Bugge as it takes a swing at him blindly, rearing back from the pain of the swords and the fireball.

"- And I understand the need for good harvests and things like that. I grew up in the wilds, not in some cushy palace or something." He understands kill or be killed. He understands what it's like to starve and go hungry. He's not a stupid lordling that doesn't understand the plight of the common people - he's keenly aware of it.

He kicks away the next swipe, shifting towards the Bugge's back and slicing into it. He wrinkles his nose at the smell of the blood. "Wish it didn't have to be this way, but there's nothing we can do about this now."

Ooo, he's so wounded. He's been called so much worse in his life. Dabi's amused at Nara'a's frustration, mostly because it's always amusing to see a hero-type get called out with proof on the stupidity of their heroics. Even if this guy had the excuse of simply not knowing the lore behind the monster he was trying to save. (Still... it's a fucking monster. You're not supposed to save a fucking monster.)

And now for the jugular. "Yeah, but by keepin this thing alive-" Dabi retreats away from the swords, lobbing another fireball towards the Bugge's back in revenge for swiping at him. "-and leadin it into the city, wonder how many people ya let die in the name of saving one thing ya shoulda already killed out in the woods."

His tone is musing, but it's obvious he's lancing the other man with the question on purpose. That's the biggest grudge Dabi has against the heroes pushing that mentality in Trench. The price of saving. Nara'a's backstory doesn't go ignored, just not commented on at the moment. "Slit its throat. You've dicked around it enough."

And if Dabi keeps burning it, there won't be any blood left to flow.

"I don't need lessons on heroics from you." Is he a little irritable? Maybe. "I'm aware of what I've done." He's right, and he knows he's right... for a moment as he glances at Dabi he sees red eyes, not blue. He feels the familiar pounding in his head as he hears a familiar voice -

"We are the stories we tell ourselves. The brave hero, the tortured soul, the altruist, the pragmatist.." He smirks and shakes off the feeling, knowing that Fray would be amused at his friendship with a villain. "What kind of hero are you?" he can hear the dark knight saying. But Fray isn't here - not without the soul crystal. Is he?

Now's not the time for quiet introspection - or even bloody introspection. He's done the latter more than once. But it's hard, hearing Dabi say words that he's used to only hearing from another, so distant and yet so familiar. He huffs and stabs into the beast's back, using the sword like a climbing piton and leaping up to the back of its neck. He slits the thing's throat with ease and jumps off, landing slightly awkwardly as he hears the pained groans of the monster and the sound of its body hitting the ground.

He doesn't look at Dabi. He just looks at the stones of the street in front of him, spacing out for a moment. "Serve... save... slave... slay..." He hears the words again and presses a hand to his head. What in the world is going on? He shakes his head a bit and lets out a long breath. He can't keep doing this...

"Ain't a lesson. It's only a suggestion, hero." He turns to look at the damage that's been left in the wake of the Bugge's rampaging hunt, angrily tearing after a single person with tunnel vision. Quite a bit of collateral damage, though he can't make out whether anyone's immediately dead in the vicinity.

Each pierce of the blade earns a weakening growl or groan from the creature as the miqo'te mounts atop it like a haggled champion over a toppled beast. Once more, it tries to turn its head, to lock eyes and freeze him in place, but all it really does is give the man an easier avenue to its throat. The twisted neck quickly rends open via the slash and blood spews out in an arching spray across the wall, drawing a gory arc in mockery of a rainbow drooling down the white surface. Gurgle gurgle. Aaaand down. Landing with a thud before going still.

Dabi moves forward, watching the Bugge bleeding out and the ground eagerly absorbing its blood. One second after another before he finishes up himself and heads away from it. Coat tails drift behind him in the breeze, sweeping the air that hangs heavily with smoke and blood. "Don't hurt yourself too bad. It'll get back up in half an hour to hunt someone else."

He rolls his eyes and follows Dabi's gaze, but keeps his grip on the Bugge. He looks down as he feels it still and jumps up. As much as he wants to stay and keep it from hurting someone else... his armor is spattered in blood, and he's aware that he can't keep pushing himself without a proper rest. He hops off the beast and flicks some gunk off of his glasses, heading after Dabi.

"Where are you going?" He's genuinely curious, and the fact is that he doesn't have anywhere else to go at the moment. His plans sort of went out the window the moment the Bugge ~~nation~~ attacked. He rolls his shoulders and follows the villain, armor clacking as he walks. He's not sure what the other is going to do.. and he's honestly curious what Dabi does outside of their encounters.

"To get a drink. Ya welcome to come." Behind them, but Bugge is starting to melt. Seeping slowly towards the ground and absorbing the entire mass into it. Gonna be a process, but that's the proceedings. It'll reform later elsewhere and go roaring around once more, but this time out in the woods and away from the city. Until some other hero decides to be an idiot and lead it back into the town to wrought more damage.

"Ever been to Muckhod?" It's one of the bars that Dabi frequents when he doesn't feel like dealing with the business of Goat's Turning. Quieter, out of the way, buried between two hills. Drinks aren't bad and the place doesn't have a ton of customers. Makes for a nice break from the bustle Trench can sometimes throw you into. It's also the bar Dabi conducts his trades at, so perhaps Nara'a might see something of that there.

He hesitates at the idea of getting a drink - he's had too many issues with poisoning. But he doesn't want to look like a coward in front of Dabi. Besides, there's no one here who would want him dead... he's pretty sure, at least. He sighs and keeps following the other man, changing outfits to his more comfortable red mage one. Lighter armor, less messy... more suitable for a bar visit.

"I haven't been, no. I haven't really been out drinking in Trench at all." Not that he's opposed, just... nerves. "Though I can't imagine there's a huge variety of alcohol here. Probably a lot of mushroom-based ones." Nothing like the sort he'd have in the Seventh Heaven - he can trust the bartenders there, at least. Though it's been a long time since he really had leave to relax there... ah, well.

No one's gonna say shit if he gets some water. Dabi's already heading off, not planning on staying around the place with so much damage and carnage around. The way Nara'a changes his clothes so easily irks him. Mostly cause he still wants that damn rock so he can do the same kind of changes. But alas, he's not been able to do so yet. Ah well. Even if someone recognizes him, there's a good chance they won't be alive long enough to say shit about it.

"I don't ask." Mushroom booze. Yum. (Yuck.) Dabi sticks with the beer. Occasionally with some other drinks, but most of them only take two before he stops tasting them. Then it gets more fuzzy and easier to keep enjoying. Hell, once he's smashed, they could probably give him water and it'd be fine. Actually, he'd probably need water when he's at that level of intoxication. It's rare he gets that drunk though. "Tastes well enough."

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