deercountry | i've looked at clouds from both sides now (𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥)

[Dito can't imagine what it must feel like to share a body with another person. It was bad enough feeling Five's influence through his every facial expression; every forced pitch and cadence of his voice. If he had been made to actually feel her presence in his mind, he didn't know what he would have done. Gone insane, most likely. Or vomited copiously until his stomach ruptured. Anything would have been better than having her live inside him like a cancer.

He shakes himself out of his thoughts when he feels his face twisting in disgust, and once again thanks his lucky stars that he now has the freedom to make such expressions ("such unsightly faces", Five would have said, with that pout of disapproval that always made him want to drive his spear through her own face). Dito crosses his arms over his chest and tosses his head.]

Tch. Seems like a lot of work just to deal with a squatter. I would've just killed him first chance I got. Why bother trying to "shape" him? What does that get you?

( There's a small flicker of something like mirth to the demon's dark eyes. Oh yes, that is a very good question. He responds without hesitation, sorry not sorry, Peter. )

I intended and sought to be rid of him. I was nearly successful.

However..... when we arrived in the Dream, we found a powerful witch. She grew to feel love for him. And so she and I came to a deal. She became my witch, to work and grow with. In return, I would allow her to keep him. I would not swallow him whole. ( He glances back to Dito with a hum of thought. )

He is not as burdensome as he once was. There is much work to be done of him, but someday he will learn from me and assist me, as my human container. In this place... I will be more powerful if we function together. I must simply be patient...

( It has taken time, will take more time. The demon king is not one to rush, but his eyes flick back to Dito. He's willing to bet the mysterious child with the sharp teeth and claws would much rather take immediate action, and he almost smiles as he flicks his hand to summon that gold coin he promised all those months ago, holding it up to him. )

...for rewards will come once they have been promised, to those whom have waited.

( It's all so exuberant... but Paimon took that network post very seriously, and he's looking at Dito with what is meant to be Kingly Adoration. Unfortunately, given the alien intensity of that gaze and the offbeat curve of his mouth, it probably just looks like he's something particularly delicious that the demon wants to eat.... )

[There's something preternaturally savage in that expression, something that seems both strangely fitting and startlingly out of place upon that pretty, boyish young face. The discussion of love never failed to dry up any of Dito's libidinous thirst, but that look of hunger on the demon's face as he speaks of patience; of rewards long overdue...

Dito's tongue darts out to lick at suddenly dry lips. He suddenly realizes that he's unconsciously taken a step forward, close enough to feel the intoxicating heat radiating off of the demon's body. He wonders if it's the hellish power within the demon or merely the temperature of the body it currently resides in, and decides that it doesn't really matter. He reaches up to take the coin, feeling a delicious shiver pass through him as his fingers accidentally brush against Paimon's.

The disciple's voice is low and throaty when he finally replies, the offer leaving his lips before his brain can properly catch up.]

...Do you wanna get out of here? Out of this cold, I mean. My place is in Crenshaw, not far from the lamp. Or we could head back to your place, if you prefer.

( Paimon, ever-attentive to the subtle shifts and nuances to the other, sees it, perhaps also feels it — an intensity reflected right back. This entire interaction has been a perpetual force of intensity, of observing and learning one another, and there is much more to learn. But the important thing is that connection has been established, and it pleases the demon king so very much. It's important, even essential to how he functions.

When Dito steps closer to accept that coin, Paimon hums contentedly, eyes sparking again; oh, he can grant so much more than simple gold, but in this place, it's a start. It should be sufficient for Dito to barter with, or perhaps simply to keep as a trinket if he prefers. But there is more, so much more, to be given to those he becomes close with. And perhaps he is on that journey with this mysterious young man whom he has shared his spirit with.

The way the boy looks up to him, the brush of fingers, even the drop in his tone — Paimon perceives them all as Dito being affected by his presence, by what has transpired between them. Feeling the importance of everything just as much as Paimon is. A thrill shudders through him, one that feels like static electricity. He is being invited to spend time at one's abode, an important and respectable thing....! )

I should like to see your home. ( He practically purrs, making the fire he'd conjured vanish away into a little curl of black smoke, so that he can move with Dito. ) Do you live alone?

[Wait, that actually worked? This interaction's going better than he'd hoped. It's a testament to Dito's character and how his mind works that he immediately starts wondering about the logistics of copulating with a creature who's currently inhabiting someone else's body. He's read a bit about demonology and possession-- even fought with soldiers who were controlled by vengeful ghosts-- but to actually interact with such a phenomenon is a whole other beast entirely.

Was it possible for demons to exist outside a host's body, even for a short time? Or was it like a parasitic scenario where the demon would be sent back to wherever they'd come from? He supposes he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. The idea of forming a dalliance with such a creature is exciting, but not when it comes with a hanger-on like this pathetic looking kid.

He answers Paimon's question as they begin to walk in the direction of the lantern.]

Yeah, I live alone. No roommates to bother us or anything like that. I guess you'd know all about how irritating that is, yeah?

( Paimon's all too happy to fall into step, sweeping quietly alongside his new companion. There's another head-tilt at that, the demon taking a few long moments to consider the words. Irritating roommates....? Oh— )

—You mean my Vessel. ( He Gets It, after a few moments of thinking about it, and gives a soft sound that's almost a sigh. ) It is... difficult, to share space with him. We are very different. He does not take care with things.

However.... my Witch also lives with us, and she has helped me to establish my own space, to keep my things. It is... up high. I can show you some day.

( But back to roommates... if Peter is a problem, then Luna is the complete opposite, and he's glowing as he speaks more about her. )

My Witch is not at all irritating. I enjoy living with her. We spend... much time together. Reading. Making things. Do you like making things?

[Dito can't imagine sharing a body with someone else; being locked in the recesses of their mind until you could occasionally take control. Nor does he really want to-- having every bit of his personal space occupied by Five at any given moment was torture enough. If she'd had access to his thoughts, it would have been a fate worse than death.

Dito shivers again and draws his coat tighter around himself.]

Depends on what you mean by "making things." I know how to make an edible meal, and I'm pretty good at mending clothes and things like that. I'm more of a destroyer than I am a creator, though. Unless you count creating chaos. Which I do.

[He flashes a smirk in the demon's direction-- from what little he knows about the concept of hell, chaos is exactly what Paimon's type is acclimated towards.]

( A destroyer rather than a creator.... chaos. Paimon catches that glint to the boy's mouth. Oh, he certainly knows of chaos. But for him it is a cycle, requires a certain stability. His spirit is formed from the essence of chaos itself — discordant and loud, brass and percussion and wailing. His true voice is a roar that must be softened for his summoners, or else it may destroy them.

But he is also a being of creation, inclined towards and supportive of those in the Arts as much as the Sciences. People have come to him over time for assistance, for strength: for music, painting, singing like a bird. All things in creativity. His spirit shines for them. )

Creating chaos is an art form in itself. ( He sounds amused as he says it, almost jovial. ) However... there are things like the painting, and the instruments. Taking things apart and... reshaping them. ( He makes dolls out of anything he can find, has a magpie's collection of little bits and baubles to be used.

But he'd caught that shudder, and while he'd conjure another flame, it may be dangerous to carry it along with them, even if hovering in the air. )

You are cold, again. You may have my Vessel's clothing, if you wish.

( Just offering Peter's coat like this, sorry not sorry Peter...... but Paimon's seen him do it for Luna when she gets cold... )

[The sudden weight of the coat around Dito's shoulders startles him out of his reverie of chaos and destruction. Dito jerks slightly in surprise, his feet stuttering in their stride. The unexpected warmth enveloping him, caused by the demon's-- the vessel's-- residual body heat, causes another shudder to run through him. Whatever he had planned on contributing to the conversation flees back to the recesses of his mind.]

Hey. I ain't a charity case, all right? If I wanted some willowy milksop's clothing I'd just ask-- [It suddenly occurs to him that he doesn't know enough people around here for that descriptor to apply, and he finishes lamely:] I'd just ask, got it? I'm made of sterner stuff than most people give me credit for. I'm not weak.

[Despite his rough words he doesn't turn his head to look at Paimon, and appears to have no intention of shrugging the coat off or giving it back. Damn his weakness for creature comforts.]

( Paimon isn't familiar with the term "willowy milksop", but he gets the point well enough. Dito is, once again, irritated by the idea of being seen as less than — as weak. It's understandable, but the demon never assumed as much, and responds with his usual even-toned honesty. )

I do not think you are weak.

( —And tacks on that perhaps eerie, alien tendency to notice everything. )

I observed you flinch from the cold. Before, and then now. It is not weakness. You feel sensations in your body because you are one with it.

( A pause. )

It is something I believe I envy.

[Mollified by the demon's words and chagrined at his knee-jerk reaction, Dito doesn't answer right away, walking along in pensive and sullen silence as they make their way down the frost-rimed streets. They're almost to the light that will take them to Dito's house in Crenshaw before Dito speaks again.]

You say you envy me. What, you can't feel any sensations in that body?

( The demon falls easily into that silence, letting the other guide the conversation when and how he likes. He's learning, absorbing more about his intriguing new companion, and the demon is very comfortable to stay quiet. It's only when Dito speaks again that Paimon will also, although it comes after a lengthy pause of thought. )

I can... feel most things. But it is not... natural. For me to exist in corporeal flesh, for this long.

Some things are... dulled. Other things, I can not understand.

Does that sound strange?

[Dito finds himself shaking his head before he realizes that he meant to. A plume of white fog exits from his mouth as he huffs out a sardonic chuckle.]

My good sir... I've witnessed a woman give bloody birth to herself through a giant flower comin' out of her eyesocket. I have very high standards for weird shit.

[He pauses.]

Can't you just... you know-- leave that body? Even if it's just for a little while? I mean, is it like a parasite thing where you can't exist outside of him or... [He trails off.]

( There isn't much that can catch the demon king off-guard, and although he's.... a little surprised to hear that, he's simply looking over at Dito with a fresh spark of curiosity (curiosity, not disgust). Seems like he has pretty high standards for weird shit, too! But it's... interesting, nightmarish. Like something dug up from the depths of a person, an illusion, something he might cast.

—Which, speaking of.

The question has him tilting his head for a moment, and then he gives his hand a little wave again. Suddenly, there's another Paimon on the other side of Dito. It looks like Peter, but with fully golden eyes, glowing — another little trick. It smiles at Dito as the original Paimon speaks. )

Only in illusion. I am bound to the flesh of my vessel. ( He pauses, and the other-Paimon speaks now. )

However, I can make myself appear wherever I desire. Outside of him. Many places. It is not real. But it is.... fun.

[As much as Dito enjoys this creature's company, as willing as he would probably be to let this demon do whatever he wanted to him, having someone suddenly appear behind him like that elicits a rather strong startle response. Dito jumps, his hand gripping the haft of the spear at his side before his brain registers the familiarity of the voice. There's a sudden dull ache in his left shoulder-- did he strain it just now somehow?-- but it quickly fades, leaving him feeling rather embarrassed at his overreaction.

In an effort to compensate, Dito turns with exaggerated bravado toward the golden-eyed illusion, looking it up and down as if assessing a particularly esoteric piece of artwork.]

That's a pretty neat trick. Do your other senses carry over when you do that? Like... if I touched you, could you feel it?

[His hand is already reaching out towards the fake Paimon-Peter's face.]

( The demon pauses his stride for a brief moment when Dito jumps like that, eyes giving a purposeful stare. The boy really does have a kneejerk tendency to startle, rather like Peter, albeit with more of a volatile edge.... Paimon didn't miss the way that Dito's hand almost instinctively went to his spear.

Again, all of this is information that the demon king is absorbing about his intriguing new companion, learning about him. Like Peter, Dito has a... suspicious edge, nerves worn raw, perhaps. Unlike Peter, it makes him seem to want to strike out instead of hide. Paimon makes note of it all. )

I can perceive it, but... it is not feeling. Not like a human's feeling. ( It's difficult to explain, and he tilts his head as Dito touches the double, which does indeed feel solid and real to the touch. After a moment, Paimon makes the double flicker again, changing shape — lights coalescing and then scattering, and the illusion turns into a double of Dito. )

Humans may wish to see the visage of their loved ones like this. They may ask me to conjure it for them. But it feels no physical sensation in return. To me, it only feels like...... energy.

Edited 2023-04-22 20:18 (UTC)

[If it was startling to see a copy of the young man's visage suddenly sprout up behind him, then seeing a perfect facsimile of his own self was even worse. Dito jerks his hand away from his doppelganger's face as if he'd been physically burned, his eyes widening in surprise. It was almost as if he were gazing at a living reflection. His rounded, golden eyes. His youthful face. His wild untamed hair that Five had always rhapsodized was as soft and as irresistibly touchable as lamb's wool.

Everything, even the boyish contralto of his voice, was perfectly replicated. Everything about himself that he absolutely despised.

Dito feels his face twist in a sneer of disgust and fights to suppress it; fights to mold it into a less revealing expression of disdain or even annoyance. No sense in letting this demon know he'd just caught him off guard, right? He barks out a laugh, sharp in the deafening silence.]

Hah! Fat chance of anyone ever calling up that mug. I don't have any loved ones.

[There's absolutely no ruefulness in that statement. Dito forces himself to look at his twin for a few seconds more before turning on his heel and stalking off in the direction of the lamp post and home.]

C'mon. We're wasting time and it's colder'n an ice serpent's snatch out here.

( No loved ones.....? The demon stares quietly, eyes wide and searching, always — hungry to learn and understand. Dito doesn't seem... thrilled at the sight of his double, and suddenly he's turning away, moving off after that sharp laugh that cuts through the sterile chill of the air. The demon follows the boy in his quiet, sweeping movement, one that draws him along startling fast all of a sudden. With a soft wave of his hand, the illusion vanishes, dissolving into nothingness again.

Ice serpent? Is that a creature from Dito's home world? What is a snatch? These are questions to be asked perhaps later, although for now he's thinking on things. He draws closer to Dito again, but stays behind just a bit, so that he's following his lead over to the lamp post. Of course, it's as he's drawing to a halt behind the boy that he speaks up again, knowing none of a human's cautious awkwardness, the question coming out very soberly, and curious. This boy is not easy to read. He wants to. )

Have I displeased you?

[Dito pauses at the demon's query, his hand arrested in the air inches from the icy metal of the lamp post. Another harsh gust of wind slices through his clothing, making him stifle a moan of discomfort and draw his coat tighter around himself.]

What's displeasing me... [His voice is bitter from the cold and his own embarrassing weakness.] ...is that we're standing around here with our thumbs up our asses when we could be sitting by a warm fire with our bellies full of food.

Do you want that or not? Because if that's the case let's table the conversation until one of us isn't freezing his balls off. Sound good?

[Bravo on not making it sound like you've got something to hide, Dito.]

( It certainly isn't the first time Paimon's seen the sharpness around the boy's tongue — an acerbic, bitter thing. Another might earn a bit of wrath from the demon if they were to speak to him like that, but he has his own investments, here. There's no reason to flash his own fangs in response, and so he simply stands there slightly behind the boy, calm. )

I want whatever you want in this moment.

( That's... not a creepy answer in the least, Paimon! But he means it; he doesn't care about the cold, or about eating, only about continuing to speak to this intriguing new companion he's made for himself. Making Dito comfortable is the priority here.

With that, the demon moves closer, placing his hand at the back of Dito's where it hovers over the lamp — but not pushing down. It's his gesture to make, after all; the demon is just supporting him through it. )

[I want whatever you want. It's an ultimately supplicating turn of phrase, the kind Dito found himself using in the past to quell his mistress's many sullen moods. Something curls within his stomach, causing gooseflesh to prickle his skin, and he can't tell if his response is pleasant or unpleasant-- or even if it's due to the demon's words or the fact that he's positioned his host's hand so close to his own. Dito jerks his shoulder in a shrug, tossing his head.]

Tch. Whatever. Let's just get out of this squall.

[It's a short walk to Dito's house from the lamp-post, and Dito doesn't waste time with empty conversation. Without turning to see if Paimon will follow he climbs the steps to the front door, inserting the key into the lock and turning it with a flick of his wrist.]

Just to warn you, my Omen is out and about and she's a pretty judgmental bitch. Just don't pay any attention to whatever she says-- it's all just smoke, anyway.

( The transportation comes easily, and Paimon is perfectly calm through it (unlike Peter, who gets nauseated.....) The demon looks around with curiosity as he follows after Dito up to his doorfront, once again standing behind the boy like a towering bat..... curiously looking over his shoulder as the door is opened and a new threshold will be revealed to him.

But one word snags his focus and the demon king's neck tilts down, eyes wide. 'Bitch'.... it's a word he's familiar with (and one he has vastly misinterpreted as being an intentionally disrespectful way to refer to a witch....)

Confusion gives a rare little humanisation to the way he wears Peter's features, the slightest lift of brows upon a typically unmoving face. He's very curious to see what form Dito's Omen will take, in this case..... )

Are Omens not a representation of what is within their Sleepers' hearts? Perhaps yours speaks Truths you are not yet aware of.

[Dito pauses with his hand on the doorknob, turning to look at Paimon with one raised eyebrow.]

You sayin' I've got mommy issues, sir? That'd be a first. Near as I can remember, I've never had a mother. Never needed one, either, so if that's the presence she's trying to pull off then she's about twenty-two years too late.

[He twists open the door with flourish, inviting the demon in with a sweeping bow. It would look downright supplicating if it weren't for the mocking smile on his face.]

After you, my lord.

[Dito's abode is sparsely furnished. It's apparent from the bare walls and the lack of personal touches that he isn't all that interested in internal decoration, and it wouldn't be wrong to assume that what meager decor there is came with the house when he acquired it. The house leaves no Dito imprint, and perhaps he likes it that way.

A spotted hyena is lying in the foyer, head raised and ears erect when it hears the door open. Silently it gets to its feet and pads over to the two of them, stopping a few feet in front of them when it catches sight of Peter's thin frame.]

What is this you've brought home, whelp? Another rutting partner? [The voice is female, matriarchal and decidedly sardonic in tone. Taking a few cautious sniffs in Paimon's direction, the hyena suddenly rears back, her throat pulsing with a rumble of consternation.]

You are not human, outsider. Your shell might've fooled my idiotic host, but I can smell it on you. You reek of dark magic.

[Dito rolls his eyes.] See what I mean? Just ignore her. Calm your tits, Mom. He's just a Prince of Hell. Relax!

Edited 2023-07-07 02:04 (UTC)

i've looked at clouds from both sides now (𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥)

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(cw: vague mention of eye injuries)

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