deercountry | December Catch-All [Semi Open]

[Despite a new world and a presumably new life, some things don't really change. The same pointlessness of it all is a given. The eventual message calling for backup, though... Seems like there's just no getting out of work!

The circumstances are different, of course. With no sorcerers involved, a hunt can truly be for fun, and handled in his own way. As long as one condition's met, at least. So on reaching the chosen point to regroup at, and seeing Dito face to face once more, the friendliness he'd wrote back with is dropped in favour of a more honest show of his enthusiasm.]

If any of them are tough, this time, you should stand back. I don't really feel like sharing.

[Despite a cheery facade since the moment of his arrival, Mahito had still taken everything fellow Sleepers offered him with some amount of distrust-- both for information and tangible objects alike. The most suspicious, handed over with the claim to ward off corruption rather than encourage it, certainly hadn't been any exception.

But appearances still matter! That boy had asked to be contacted again, and having seen him make the mistake of showing fear, what kind of cursed spirit would pass up the opportunity to be a continual source of discomfort?

So after a while, he does let his omen relay a simple message as if to suggest that he'd played along. There's a gentle and likely convincing tone to it all, and yet...]

You know what? I still haven't become more corrupt. [By moral standards, anyway. There's surely an upper limit to such a concept. In regards to the widespread affliction, though... What a mystery.] Since that's all thanks to you, we should meet again before it's too late, right?

[... It might be more of a threat than a request.]

[ This message sounds really oily. ]

Eh? You already finished all the jam? [ It's airy and composed more than it's curious, and there's a rather suspicious look he trades with his omen over that. Allen doesn't even need the extra paranoia from this month to be a little guarded, thanks. Good thing he's just responding in voice. ]

Most people wouldn't ask for more unless they were desperate.

[ Blandly said, just polite enough to not be flippant. How can it being too late be a worry if you say you've been doing fine? Sus. Totally sus. This is why you got Shouto's jam and not Sansa's. Allen's compassionate but not a doe-eyed saint. ]

Blood types this month had given him yet another whiplash and into something he most certainly and normally isn't: relatively nice.

That's why even someone with a generally familiar face has Shigaraki veering off from his chosen path to stop. "You again." That's Hello. "I should have figured you'd still be around. C'mon, I'm shopping for something. Company is better for shopping." Shopping is not fun, and neither is company, but here he is.

[Finished? No, at this stage it still hasn't been opened. With the comment about being desperate on top of it all, it seems he'd made the right decision.]

You're wary! I get it. How much can someone who's only your test subject know? Maybe it does provide resistance like you said. Or maybe it was meant to poison me. Either way, you thought you were helping, right? Wanted to see if you could give this place one less monster to worry about?

[Like that would even work. He's learnt more about corruption by now-- about the beasts that those here can become, free to mindlessly enjoy their time tearing apart anyone they want. He's sure he'd never fight back against something so entertaining if it happened to himself. But as long as the play here is to pretend otherwise,]

So I'm helping, too. It'd be pretty lame to back out now, when you've still got another chance to stop me.

Everyone seems to shop around this time of year. Some sort of self made obligation born of things they call tradition and the like. Mahito had read about it at one point, and decided it didn't matter. But...

"Am I getting something, too?"

Whether it's his altered blood or his still being a child, the invitation makes it something he does want in on, and it shows in more than just his words as he happily closes the remaining distance to join this human.

Dragging self proclaimed demons around is probably a bad idea for most people. Probably for Shigaraki, too, but here he is, wandering around with someone he barely knows that he approached too.

"Why not? People have a hard time saying no to me." That could be because of his wild ability to threaten them off and on. "I'd ask if you were out shopping too, but it seems like a question I can answer myself." Having said that, he's still asking.

With an answer like that, maybe what they're going for will be more extortion than bartering. In which case, a simple "sounds like fun" is offered calmly enough to leave some ambiguity as to which part he's responding to. Well, not that it should make any difference anyway.

As far as the rest goes...

"I don't need as many things as most people, but I can't say I'm opposed to picking up whatever's interesting. So where are we starting?"

[A man after his own heart. Fighting and killing are pretty much two of the rare things that Dito can conjure up enough energy to indulge in without complaints. He shrugs at Mahito's warning, slipping his spear out from the sheath attached to his back and checking the blade for sharpness.]

I'm not in the habit of waitin' in the wings for this sort of thing, so you'd better give me a good show, all right? An' if I happen to steal any of your kills it's your fault for not being quick enough.

Edited 2023-01-04 20:45 (UTC)

[The weapon draws more interest than the returned banter. While there's no question that it's not a cursed tool, having any amount of confidence while still relying on it does suggest there's something special to it. Maybe not the best idea in a world where damage is reflected back, unless this preparation is a signal that the strange effect has ended. He could test it. He could attack this supposed teammate just to see what happens. As for whether he will or not...

The intent's only shown in an agreeable smile, as if to the words alone.]

There's no harm in some competition. I'll have to finish up before you can try.

[With that said, a glance around suggests he's ready to get started.]

So do we have a plan? Their numbers? Their hideout? [No, even if it's only smalltalk, those things have probably put aside that senseless limitation.] I won't judge if you were hoping we'd let loose and kill whatever we feel like, instead.

That's what bartering is... to him. Shigaraki couldn't care which part might be fun, but he's also feeling a lot more cheerful lately. Less like he's in some sort of death world surrounded by beasts waiting to murder him if he missteps. And then there's the creatures all around them.

"I'm looking for something specific. There's a person I know here from home that I want to find something fire-related for. If anything else comes along, then great, get all that out of the way at once. "

"So it's a fire theme?" Who knows what this person might have decided on, for another of presumably his own kind. But treating it as though it's open to suggestion... "It is pretty cold. If it were me, I'd bring them one of their enemies to set ablaze. Or if it's funnier, maybe one of their friends."

~~About that 'waiting to murder' thing...~~

Well, that's all assuming humans can withstand burning long enough to provide much heat in the first place. Those things tend to disintegrate pretty fast when Jougo targets them. Moreover, there's a different issue. Pausing a moment, the curse gives a troubled look.

"Can you even buy humans, here?"

Because clearly trying to work in the concept of 'shopping' is the questionable part of the equation.

For a moment, Shigaraki pauses in his steps to consider the possibility of which would be better and more funny. Bringing Dabi a person to torch or bringing a friend... which would mean he had to have friends and he can't think of anyone in that category so the concept may not be as fun. Or rile him up.

Well. That's a thought for another day.

"Not a bad idea, he does like setting things on fire." It's beautiful to watch, too. His footsteps begin again until the question and something that looks relatively to his whims regarding Dabi make him stop. "You can buy anything with the right price, why buy a human?" Do demons have the same concept as they do? Time to sleuth it out for a whole fourty seconds.

Why? Apart from their conversation... "There's no point, is there? You know, normally when they say 'every man has his price', they're talking about bribery, instead."

Most people tend to be fine with trading loyalty and companionship, after all. It's only once they're viewed as objects that they consider it to be breaking 'laws'. As if it matters whether some sack of meat is alive or dead.

Still, whether it could be done was an important consideration either way! They can't be out to buy something that isn't sold, making the target remain a mystery. In other words,

"But you might have a better idea."

Checking if that's true, Mahito's attention hones in on where it appears Shigaraki's has wound up. Nothing here seems all that special, at least to himself, so what do humans consider appropriate gifts, anyway?

Heh. Don't speed through it too quickly. True art takes time to create, after all.

[Dito's spear is sufficiently sharpened, though he always knew it would be. As long as the spear had fresh blood to feast on it would never grow dull. He chuckles at Mahito's questions, rolling his shoulders in a flippant shrug.]

Do I look like a man who plans things? Let's just open up a path of our own by opening up a few of these sad sacks, yeah?

Right, right. Can't complain if I get to do it my way.

[Maybe it's still habit, expecting those who want his help to have directions for him as well. But why? He's free here, the joy of it showing across his features as he starts off-- away from what people would call "safety" and through to a forest that holds that faint sort of light that others can't see. The kind that spreads out from souls, giving away the position of even those otherwise obscured. And the kind that makes hunting interesting.

Because they're human souls in there, aren't they? Humans that they're free to kill without the slightest consequence. ... Or at least toy with, as the curse holds back on his first strike as a test, only disfiguring his target before jumping back to watch how the damage spreads.

So it doesn't reflect on to him anymore.

Then with a quick look towards where Dito should have followed along, though not fully ignoring his prey,]

This one's still mine! But don't worry. It looks like it has some friends.

You don't have to spell it out for me, Bluey. I have eyes.

[There's an actual reason for Dito's bitchiness this time around. The reflective curse has been a particular thorn in his side ever since he'd discovered it a month ago. Nothing took the fun out of his favorite hobby more than realizing that whatever he did to his victims was delivered back upon him. He's cautious even now, running alongside Mahito with his spear at the ready and setting his sights upon a beast to the right of the other man's target.

His moves are as preternaturally quick as they've always been, though his opening attack is decidedly unimpressive-- a few searching blows with the flat of his spear against the creature's face and body before ducking out of the way of its claws. No pain; not even the feeling of kinetic force behind the blow.

Has the curse truly been lifted?

Dito hastens a glance over at Mahito, seeing the man busy with his own victim-- toying with it as a cat would a mouse or a wounded bird-- and calls to him.]

Hey! You Vileblood, by chance?

[That speed is impressive, enough for predatory instincts to have it capture Mahito's full attention. It looks like that guy could hit harder if he really meant to. It's a shame, almost, that he doesn't. But then, an explanation. Right, if they're the same, that would--

not exactly change the situation they've put themselves in, as the same beast he'd experimented on tries to retaliate. Catching the cursed spirit off guard does allow it to hit, only to be brushed aside as a second wave of his technique finishes the job.

Neither the injury-- already gone-- nor the creature more or less exploding behind him seem to lessen his interest in what he's learnt.]

Will you judge me if I am? We're the same, after all. So you'd better stop holding back, now, too.

What, I can't take the opportunity to get to know my hunting partner?

[The grin on Dito's face indicates that he's being facetious, and it doesn't waver when he returns his attention to his quarry. Dito almost lazily parries a particularly powerful swipe, using the creature's momentum to drive his spear into its chest.

For a split second he waits, searching for the inevitable pain of an injury directed back to him-- and his smile turns savage when he feels nothing. Nothing but the resistance of flesh struggling around the piercing blade of his weapon, grotesque and unpleasant and strangely erotic. Nothing but the cruel thrill of the hunt quickening his heart and causing excited chills to run up his thighs.]

Heh. HehehehehehehehehAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Cackling with cruel glee, Dito tears the spear out of the beast, moving his body in one fluid motion to duck out of the way of its counterattack. The bear-like creature is quick, but Dito is quicker, driving the point of the spear into its leg over and over and over again in a series of quick cruel jabs before it has a chance to recover itself.

The monster's stance falters; the pulverized muscles of its leg unable to hold its weight. With a low growl of rage and pain it sinks to one knee, its vocalization-- and its life-- quickly cut short by the spearhead punching cruelly through the bottom of its jaw.

Dito utters a breathy, shuddering moan of satisfaction before withdrawing his weapon.]

God it feels so good to be able to do this again!

December Catch-All [Semi Open]

Closed to Dito

Closed to Allen

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