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i'm a jester and i'm yours - Dantalion - 01-18-2026
Takes place directly after [Training] Jigsaw, I got 'em puzzled, got 'em a bit lost
The Dusklight doors are propped open to let in some air for those who don't wallow in the heat like so many Ancients, which is annoying for Danta only in that he can't shove them open in a temper. So he stalks inside in relative silence, jaw set and blue eyes simmering; if that's not enough to scream don't talk to me, I bite, then the blood still dripping down his arm and from his fingertips ought to do it. The initial cut from Kai's chakram against his bare bicep had been shallow, the follow up along his shoulder blade less so, but the blood has mostly soaked into the dark fabric of his shirt back there and he has no idea what it looks like.
Stalking behind the bar and taking a shot of liquor that leaves both bottle and glass smeared crimson, he grunts something to the bartender (some Dantafied version of spending the afternoon in his office) before he heads out into the Backrooms. Still a little wary of Asta's office door more by habit than fear these days, he skirts into his own room and heads immediately for a shelf that holds the poor excuse of his first aid kit. Asta is much better at stocking up their medical supplies, but Danta had insisted on doing this one himself, so he really shouldn't be surprised when he opens it to find some disinfectant (it's just high proof vodka) and rags, a roll of bandages, and a pack of sour candies.
Grumbling and hopping up to sit on the edge of his desk, the Maverick naturally does what's most important first, opening the candies and shoving a couple in his mouth before starting to open the vodka.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Astaroth - 01-18-2026
He is not down in the belly of the Dusklight when Danta comes charging back in – working on a little project in his downtime that’s kept him away from the majority of the crowds but still easy to reach. As such, while Danta descends into the Backrooms, the blood doesn’t become a secret, nor does the mood. Notified shortly after, the butcher sets his tools down immediately, snuffs out the pipe that’s enclosed him in a scent of spiced tobacco, and stalks through the halls with enough wariness that it keeps everyone at bay too.
The closer to Danta’s office, the brighter the scent of blood becomes. It stresses him out immensely, though he swallows it down and snuffs all portions of his haunt so the smiling shadow vanishes easily as he doesn’t even knock on the Maverick’s door. He opens it, ducks inside, spies the vodka but his main focus is on the wet fabric of his lover’s shoulder. “[say]Danta, darling? What happened?[/say]” He asks, slipping inside and closing the door with a quiet click, looking back to his lover to hear the answer and get a better inspection of what’s occurred.
It’s with a surprisingly even facial expression that he takes him in, but internally the new dragon shift in his chest stirs with possessiveness. Paired with the dark heart of the butcher, the determination becomes gods help the offender if Danta’d been attacked. They’ll need it when the butcher’s done.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Dantalion - 01-18-2026
Danta's jaw feathers as the door clicks open, lips threatening to pull back in a snarl of warning, but the expression settles into something closer to guilt as he realises it's the butcher. Of course Asta had come - he'd been foolish to think that he could step through the Dusklight bloodied and irritable without it getting back to the other man. [say]"Kaisel asked if I wanted to fight,"[/say] he mutters, pressing a soaked rag to the cut on his bicep with a soft hiss. [say]"I said yes."[/say]
It isn't close to the whole story, but it is technically what had happened. Peeking under the rag to check that the cut is clean and not in need of anything more than a bandage, Danta is satisfied enough to take up the bandages next. He pauses, though, with the roll in his hand, the back of his shoulder still bleeding freely. [say]"Do you believe that I love you?"[/say] He asks suddenly, voice low, gaze pinned on the floor.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Astaroth - 01-18-2026
The snarl that shifts toward guilt is silently noted, not commented on, not while he tries to determine what exactly has happened. The answer isn’t particularly what he expected to hear – let alone the fact that Kaisel had just left him bleeding and angry. So he knows there has to be more to this story than what’s currently being taken in by the butcher. “[say]I see.[/say]” He hums, about to say something else, lips parting when the question leaves his lover and takes him entirely by surprise.
His brows shoot up, a little scoff of a laugh leaving him as if he can’t imagine the life he’d had previously when Danta very much didn’t love him. He drifts closer, reaching out to take the bandages from Danta if he lets him, to patch him up as he gives his answer. “[say]Of course I believe you love me, Danta.[/say]” It’s said with all of the low rumbling confidence the butcher has in the dark pit of his heart. “[say]Has that boy made you think otherwise?[/say]” He can put two and two together. And if Kaisel was the last person Danta had seen, then it stands to reason that the soldier might have said something that got Danta thinking.
And got him to think some pretty dreadful things, too, it seems.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Dantalion - 01-18-2026
Danta surrenders the bandages without a fuss, though he doesn't yet pull his shirt over his head, hands fussing instead at the rings on his fingers. His tail flits fretfully at the tip, one heel kicking back against the desk, and the sigh he releases is all unfettered relief as the butcher speaks. [say]"He just... ugh, I dunno,"[/say] he grumbles, raking bloody hands back through his hair and streaking it red.
[say]"He wanted me to put a good memory into this glass ball thing for Flora's birthday, and he didn't like the memory I chose I guess."[/say] The Maverick likely doesn't need to clarify the nature of said memory with Asta considering all they know about one another. [say]"He just got real prickly about the idea of fucking other people when you're in love with someone. Said that if I loved you then you should be enough, and I just..."[/say]
Swearing under his breath and looking up at the butcher at last, Danta's gaze is dark, troubled. [say]"Do you want me to stop? It doesn't mean anything to me. It's not the same as how things are with us, but..."[/say] But if it means you feel like you aren't enough, I'll do it.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Astaroth - 01-18-2026
The bandages are handed over and the butcher takes them easily, not moving just yet until Danta’s decided he’ll allow him to fully take in the damage that seeps from his wounds. Without the shirt removed yet, Asta watches as the streaks of red settle into his golden hair, as the explanation comes out and his brows pinch, deepening the wrinkles that sit there – smoothed out much of the time.
He doesn’t interrupt, either, even if a part of him wants to. His tail flits back and forth as he wars with the internal monologue he has, the fact he’d love nothing more than to use his haunt on Kaisel again until he realized maybe he should stick his nose out of other people’s business. For now, though, he has Danta to tend to, and between the two of them Danta will always have his priority.
As his lover’s vibrant blues lift to his face, Asta peers back at him with soft honey brown, reaching up to cup his cheek despite the streaks of blood. “[say]I am not enough, darling. But I am secure in our relationship enough to know that if you sleep with someone else, you will still come back to me.[/say]” He rolls a shoulder surprisingly casually, his grin sharpening as he lets a little bit of his ego flare. “[say]It sounds as though he has not gone through the understanding that we had early on.[/say]” The one where the butcher did spiral about it, before assurances and understanding clicked.
“[say]Besides, you are the proprietor of a brothel. And for as much as I know you, my Wasp, you would consistently suffer if you had to wait for me to be on board.[/say]” So much to say no, I don’t want you to change a single thing about how we’ve been living our lives. “[say]It seems more like a worry of himself or Flora that he has unfairly projected onto you.[/say]” That's his best guess, at least.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Dantalion - 01-18-2026
Danta's lips are already parting to interrupt as Asta begins - but you are enough, I could change to make it that way - only for the words to die on his tongue completely. Willingness aside, that way lays ruin for the both of them, and so instead the Maverick bites gently at the inside of his cheek and makes himself listen, really listen, to what the butcher has to say. [say]"Of course I'd always come back to you,"[/say] he says, the words surprisingly soft even to his own ears. Sex is sex regardless of the participants (or the number of them), but how he feels about Asta can never be replicated.
Huffing out a laugh that's all nervous tension, Danta leans into the cradle of his lover's hand, a leg hooking out and around the back of his thigh as if to corral him closer. [say]"Yeah?"[/say] It's half whispered, the Maverick for once happy to be buoyed along by Asta's quiet and easy certainty. [say]"I've never heard anyone sound so sure about the way shit should be, y'know?"[/say] And when it comes to matters of the heart, it isn't like he's got a ton of experience.
Tipping forward enough to rest his head against Asta's chest, Danta's eyes suddenly feel very heavy. [say]"Sorry,"[/say] he mutters. [say]"I think he just got in my head about it."[/say]
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Astaroth - 01-18-2026
“[say]I know you will.[/say]” Because for all the possessiveness the butcher harbors, he harbors a whole hell of a lot more confidence and ego. He is one of a kind – especially when it comes to the Maverick. And while there are those out there that may try to replicate his easy charm and dark murderous thoughts, none would ever compare to the real thing. They could never compare to the monster Danta has wrapped around his finger.
Contently corralled closer, the butcher presses in until his chest brushes against Danta’s own, his fingers slipping through from his cheek to the iron streaked blond strands. The hand with the bandages shifts to press gently against his lover’s arm, beneath where the not so bad wound sits, but he can smell and see the one in his back that’s far worse and still leaking. “[say]I know some things about being an overtly confident twenty-something.[/say]” He hums, huffing a soft laugh. “[say]He has not had someone take him down a peg, and is content to think that the way he thinks the world works should be how it is. He is learning that it is not.[/say]” Asta had learned the extremely hard way, and while he doesn’t condone the idea for Kaisel to be set on a pyre, he does think it would be worth it for him to get a reality check.
For now, though, the butcher has everything he could want or need as Danta sinks in and presses his head against his chest. “[say]Do not be sorry, darling. It is not your fault that he doesn’t understand our lifestyle, nor what we have been through.[/say]” They weren’t children, after all. They were full fledged adults who had lifetimes before this point in their life. It wasn’t going to be a fairytale romance that it seemed like Kaisel thought everything should be.
And honestly? The butcher prefers it this way.
He withdraws slightly to drop a kiss onto his lover’s brow, shifting the bandages in his hand slightly. “[say]May I take care of you, now?[/say]” He asks, the hand with the bandages lowering to his pocket to fish for some cigarettes he’s sure Danta might appreciate right about now – and ones he particularly is keen to have as well, having left his pipe back in his workroom.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Dantalion - 01-18-2026
Scoffing at that, Danta's smile is hidden by the way he's nosed against Asta's shirt. [say]"Now you mention it, I can recall being taken down several pegs at that age."[/say] It's not entirely the same given that his ego was all but starved out of him from much younger than as a twenty-something upstart, but he can appreciate the way one's worldview can be shaken to its foundations by something as mild as a differing opinion.
Asta continues, though, and the Maverick's smile melts from amused into something warm and quietly content, and he lets an arm slip around the other man too for good measure. [say]"He certainly does not,"[/say] he mumbles in agreement. [say]"I don't care what he does or doesn't understand though, to be frank. As long as you're happy, the rest can burn."[/say]
Inhaling a long breath and sighing it out, he sits back a fraction when the butcher does, eyes closing to feel the kiss pressed to his brow. [say]"Hm? I suppose I had better let you, hadn't I?"[/say] Smirking, Danta carefully reaches back to peel away his sleeveless shirt, revealing the blood coating his left shoulderblade and the deep gash there from the chakram.
[say]"He used some weird sharp frisbee thing,"[/say] he explains, rubbing his fingers together to produce a flame, holding it up to light the cigarettes. [say]"Oh, and,"[/say] he adds, [say]"and he told me to get a fucking manicure."[/say]
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Astaroth - 01-18-2026
“[say]Mhm.[/say]” The butcher agrees with a soft little laugh and nods. Their pasts had been one wrought in many lessons. He doesn’t think that Kaisel’s had such events. So, it makes sense that he’d weigh things far differently than Asta and Danta. However, he is content to let those thoughts drift away – not at all in the mindset of letting Kaisel ruin the day. Besides, all it would take is a sneak peek of his haunt to get Kaisel cowering again.
Settling in for the kiss, gently, the butcher hums a breath. “[say]I am the happiest man, do not fret.[/say]” He confirms with the easy purr of his warm voice, the hug they indulge in briefly as he slips the cigarettes out while Danta peels the sleeveless shirt away and reveals the bulk of the damage. His arm isn’t as bad as his back and the butcher winces a touch at the sight of it – thankful for the positioning so Danta can’t see his face as it crunches up a little.
He starts with his arm, though, the cigarette hanging from his lips as smoke puffs up, bandaging the already clean portion of his arm. “[say]What?[/say]” The butcher says with a smoky laugh. “[say]What is wrong with your nails?[/say]” He asks, clearly not understanding what that kind of comment is aside from kicking a man when he was down.
He withdraws slightly to get a better view of his lover’s back. Conjuring some flame to burn away the blood that seeps from his shoulder, the butcher cleans it up with the vodka rag and gets to work placing the bandages into place there too once he’s sure the blood has slowed. “[say]Perhaps I should spar him with my cane and see how he likes sharp bladed things, what do you think, darling?[/say]” He drawls, withdrawing to look at Danta with a wink and a smug, dark smirk.
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Dantalion - 01-18-2026
[say]"I will remind myself not to,"[/say] Danta mumbles around his own smoke, untangling himself from Asta and sitting pretty to let the butcher make his inspection, his bloody shirt balled up in his lap. [say]"Yeah, I don't know,"[/say] he drawls back on the subject of his nails, taking his cigarette from his lips and holding his hand out as if to try and find the problem. Sure his fingers and rings are caked in drying blood right now, but underneath he finds his hands perfectly serviceable.
Giving up on trying to understand much else of what had happened between himself and Kaisel, Danta puts the smoke back between his lips and inhales deeply, his other arm still to let Asta finish bandaging it. He's mostly oblivious to the butcher's reaction to his back, though as he starts to disinfect the deeper wound it's with an instinctive flinch and a soft curse that he recoils away from the rag, only to force himself to still. [say]"Will I live, doctor?"[/say] he asks once the stinging has subsided, smirking over his shoulder.
As for the offer to spar Kaisel with something sharp of his own, the Maverick scoffs and rolls a shoulder. [say]"I fear we'd end up in hot water with Flora if you did that,"[/say] he says. [say]"Besides, in my experience your words and shadows are sharper than any blade."[/say]
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Astaroth - 01-19-2026
He does sit pretty, as far as Asta’s concerned. And he spends his time looking over all the wounds and burning away what he can before cleaning him up and applying the bandages. “[say]He is an odd one.[/say]” He mutters as he works, applying the bandages and settling back to puff off of his cigarette by the time Danta’s question has reached him witht eh handsome smirk over his shoulder. “[say]Yes, I would say so.[/say]” He hums confidently, his tail flicking playfully as he straightens and lets a bit of fire continue to slip from his fingers, caressing Danta’s cheek and jaw in a fiery sticky-hand of flame.
Hearing that Flora would probably not appreciate the very vital (in his opinion) lesson that the butcher would love nothing more than to offer Kaisel, he puffs out a smoky sigh of dramatics until Danta’s stoking his ego a touch more. “[say]Mm, I suppose.[/say]” He sighs, the exhale a slow one. “[say]It would be fun, however.[/say]” He muses with a smirk, invading Danta's space again. "[say]How is your arm and shoulder feeling now?[/say]"
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Dantalion - 01-19-2026
[say]"Mm, you've got that right,"[/say] Danta agrees, drawing deeply off his cigarette and continuing to let his heel kick gently back against the desk while Asta works. [say]"He was wearing a t-shirt with three versions of Remi Taliesin's face on it."[/say] The remark comes out as an addition he's clearly only just remembered, one that he feels continues to prove Asta's point, Danta's brows drawing together as he tries (and fails) to find meaning in it.
Exhaling a smoky breath and turning his head to nibble affectionately at the butcher's fire wreathed hand, he welcomes him all too willingly back into his space, flicking the ash from his cigarette and absently running his hand down Asta's chest over his shirt. [say]"It would be fun,"[/say] he agrees, cocking a dark little smile up at him.
[say]"They feel good as new,"[/say] he announces of his arm and his shoulder, despite the reality being that they felt sore if not much less bleeding everywhere. [say]"Hopefully they'll be healed up a bit by the time we go on vacation. Luckily even if they aren't, there's fountain water in Torchline."[/say]
RE: i'm a jester and i'm yours - Astaroth - 01-19-2026
Unable to stop himself from making a face at hearing that Kaisel was wearing a shirt with three different versions of Remi Taliesin’s face on it, its with a nose wrinkling at the idea of graphic tees like that in general that the butcher isn’t a fan of. As for the rest of it, though, he shakes his head slightly. “[say]You are just giving me more reasons, darling.[/say]” The butcher hums as a playful little taunt.
Just tack on Kaisel’s weird fashion sense to the rest of the things Asta’s compiling that he dislikes of the other man. All of that fades, however, when Danta’s hands are dragging along his chest, as he invades his space again quite happily and withdraws the cigarette from his lips if only to press a kiss to his forehead that’s hazy with the smoke exhale.
He doesn’t entirely believe Danta when he says that they feel as good as new, but it’s a knowing look that lingers in the dark of his eyes that has him laughing a touch softer. “[say]We will get you right as rain.[/say]” He assures him, shifting forward to be careful of his bandages and wounds to wrap an arm comfortably around him. “[say]And before long, we will have our own fountain to heal from. And, admittedly, it will taste far better.[/say]” He winks, keeping his sharp grin on display.