o5 . bone house mingle!

[necrolord]

Who: necrolord and CR!
What: Several teens move into the horrible necromancy mansion, and sometimes they bring their friends.
When: Early March.
Where: Bone House in Gaze.

Content Warnings: Skeletons, discussions of death and grief, violence where marked, vomit where marked. Note all the usual warnings of this character.

Comments

[unsheathedfromreality]

She has dim and positive memories of this fledgling human from her time asleep. Her Sleeper had thought well of him while also registering an intellectual concern at how quick the boy was to self-sacrifice. In that light his new demeanor, the scars, and the tidbits she'd overheard about his disposition after the battle are all their own reasons to worry (to fuss, like a mother should)--buuuut that can all wait until after she's given her rightful due of whatever he's cooking. His appeals to the pitiful state of the household's cooking are not lost on her, but Deku, please think of what that means for her getting fed properly--

The offer of a bargain shuts her up. She closes her beak with a snp, cocking her head at him with antennae lifted in interest. okay. she expresses, somewhere below the verbal. She'll accept that deal.

(Even if it may not pan out. She misses her Sleeper like all her soul and did--is doing--her part to get him back. But there's a reason why she woke up, and a reason why she shared her hidden name; a shrike was permitted that, when dying, with no other way to send home word of her death.)

[wannasmash]

He doesn't have the details, but the gist is that the others are going on a quest to retrieve him. Midoriya would like to see him again and make sure he's doing all right, but he has to be prepared that life might throw a wrench (two, actually) in that plan. In light of new developments Midoriya is keeping quiet about, he's elected to stay in Trench. He has to make sure there is still a Trench for them all to return to, even if that only turns out to be nothing more than being a watchman.

Iskierka's down-to-earth priorities concerning food amuse him. He doesn't have a pet, and he would never assume Omens are pets, but they can be animal-like in this tendency. His own Omen--distant, unknowable, and nonverbal--isn't, but they do share something else in common: this form of communication, somewhat visual, somewhat psychic. Midoriya is familiar with the that by now.

"I'm not sure what you like...?" He experimentally slides over some celery, different kinds of mushrooms, chickpeas, and carrots. He's pretty sure birds(?) nibble celery, but he's not sure about the rest. He resists the habit to pinch his lip thoughtfully, since he's in the middle of preparing food. He purses his lips instead.

"It's something I should have thought about, given there isn't a Pro Hero network or police here," he starts hesitantly. "I don't want there to be any chance of my friends getting attacked because I've made an enemy. Not that I have, it's just in case." He's not good at lying, but it's not a lie. It isn't. Technically. He didn't make an enemy. He was put on a kill list that one time. Nothing to worry about. It's fine.

"What I mean is, everyone who knows me shouldn't tell people they know me."

[unsheathedfromreality]

The offerings have Iskierka's whole attention immediately. She picks up a chickpea in her beak, turning her head this way and that, before tossing it back with relish. A mushroom is next, though she only gets as far as examining it before setting it back with the others. The carrot medallions--

She can multitask, as she picks over the food, sending her pleasure with the legumes as well as cascading images of what she likes best: Mostly meat. Fatty strips of bacon, ground meat, insect grubs... Oh, plant food is fine, and all, but few things were tastier than animals. At least, for the creature she resembles.

She scoops up another chickpea as Deku qualifies the message before delivering it, and squishes the chickpea in her beak when he does deliver. One half ends up back on the counter; she swallows the other.

A dense and wordless query follows: How did that keep him safe/is he going to vanish from the public eye/why is he deciding on this now? It's a braid born of concern, but for him, not for this fearless Omen and her denervated Sleeper. What's getting attacked over who they befriend, anyway?

[wannasmash]

"You're like Paul-kun, asking lots of questions at the same time," he says, quirking a brief smile.

He looks away. He's not avoiding her beady gaze, not entirely. He's going to the fridge to retrieve his last ingredient, a container with a pig bone covered in bits of meat. (It's like Iskierka knew.) It will give the stew flavor, he remembers from watching his mom cook. Meat is more expensive in Trench, a city which tends towards fish and fungi, because it requires more resources from this unforgiving, blood-tainted land. He cuts off a piece of meat for Iskierka while he mulls over his answer.

"I already have ways to keep myself safe. So this is for the people around me. I'm not so sure I was in the public eye much to begin with. We don't even have TV, and I'm not internet famous. But yeah, I'll have to be careful. It's just something I've been thinking about."

He doesn't want to say why he's doing this now. Above all, he has to avoid escalation, and that includes not causing a stir. He continues chopping the rest of the ingredients.

[unsheathedfromreality]

Her feathers ruffle up at the mention of Paul; she gives a warbling, gurgling chortle. The boy is admirably curious and she appreciates the comparison. (Even if she'd reverse it.)

She also appreciates the gift of precious meat, and takes it with the gravitas due such an offering. Though the gobbet's small enough for her to choke down entire, she pins it beneath one forefoot and takes the tiniest first bite as Deku answers her questions. Some of her questions; she's not one for big thoughts or prolonged interrogations, but she does notice things, now that she's awake.

careful. comes the echo, followed by a musical approximation of a snort. She rips up another tiny sliver of meat and tosses it back. Careful is a thing flocks do together (imagine: a dozen copies of her), watching for threats and splitting the strain of vigilance (imagine: guards watch all eight directions with their crimson eyes, while others sleep or play). Decoying a danger no one else knew about would come back to hurt them, if the decoy died.

[wannasmash]

Midoriya asks questions, but unless he's in full fanboy mode (he hasn't done that in a long while), he politely keeps them one at a time. Midoriya doesn't know how much Iskierka's questions may prod and poke. Just to head her off so she won't press him, he supplies, "I have help. I can't say how."

He tries, and fails, to keep a small warm note from his voice. It shares the same pitch with which he refers to Paul or Kaworu, but those two are known to Iskierka. His help is from elsewhere. Those whose relationship to Midoriya is already known by the threat don't have to keep it subtle. It was something he couldn't help back home, being associated with UA High School when the Sports Festival aired on TV. Just by calling themselves Heroes, they made enemies without even knowing it.

Speaking of flocks: Because Kaworu cares about the Old Man so much, and because it was how Midoriya met Iskerka's person, Midoriya asks, "Is there anything you think Anon-san will need when he gets back?"

[unsheathedfromreality]

She's inherited enough of her Sleeper's appreciation for secrets to also know when she's being decoyed off them--and when they aren't really hers to ask, anyway. Much as the protective paternalmaternal streak in her wants to press, she will let it go; she'll trust this fledgling to know his own flock.

Though she might have a little grumbling editorializing about his request when--if--she passes it on to her Sleeper.

Thinking of flocks, and her Sleeper-- She rips up another bit of meat as Deku asks his own question, then sets it back down as if it has lost its savor. No wonder: Her response is flavored with a quiet lonely grief.

people. He is dead; he does not need food, or shelter, or any sort of things. He might refuse or donate them now if someone tried--just as he might refuse offers of help, she knows, for tangled awful reasons she can sense but not pass on. (The problem's half-articulation, and half secret-guarding.) He isn't well where he is, it's enough to say.

But give him those he cared for, and their problems to solve, and he might be drawn out. flock. Flickering image-impressions follow: Kaworu, Paul. Bigby. Nehan. Ives(, the image pale and faded--he is gone, he is gone). Fern. A dozen other Sleepers who've touched his existence, given him a name, been touched in turn.

(There's a notable exclusion. There's an image that flashes past only to be hashed out, erased, negated. Iskierka doesn't think the master of the house with his eclipse-ringed eyes should be there.)

[wannasmash]

He has committed to staying in Trench to protect it. It is, for better or worse, the home of Iskierka, her Sleeper, and their flock. (Midoriya identifies the first two image-impressions he's given easily. The last one misses him with its brevity, except in the realm of subconscious knowledge, but it's not the first time he's seen someone disapprove of another's friendship.)

But a sad missive like that is enough to tug Midoriya in his chest. Someone needs saving. Midoriya is full of his own protective instinct that extends to those beyond what he could call his flock. A Hero saves everyone. Perhaps, if things in Trench seem calm...

"Pretty sure half those people will already be there rescuing him, and the other half waiting for messages so they can talk to him. That's how it was with me when I was lost."

His voice trails off quietly. The rest of his chopping suddenly demands his full attention. Then he decides it's worth speaking again--as ever, not for himself, but for someone else.

"After the Leviathan--no--after I couldn't save Paul-kun, my Corruption got really bad. I ran away after the battle. I was afraid of turning into a Beast and hurting others. They had to find me and wear me down--Paul-kun, Nagisa-kun, and everyone. It doesn't matter if Anon-san refuses help. 'Giving help that's not asked for is part of what makes a true Hero.'"

He's quoting his mentor. It would sound cheesy, except for how gently he says it, without loftiness, as he begins scooping ingredients into a large simmering pot of broth and remembers his own tears.

"It's also part of what makes a friend."