[RQ] and the rest is rust and stardust

// we haven't won, and if we win, //

“You would have never let me live it down.” He offers in the face of the tutting he receives from the Maverick. Anything that could be signified as a weakness or a fault was dexterously hidden away, allowing Astaroth the illusion of being perfect and unbreakable. Something that obviously wasn’t true, and in these past few seasons with Danta and Asta learning more about one another, the Maverick gets to see it first hand – the cracks in the butcher’s façade.

Glancing around once Danta nods to the areas around, he hums a note of understanding. “Yes but you were children.” A soft chuckle leaves him. Children, it made sense. Astaroth was already an adult by the time he tried to learn, and getting his gangly arms to cooperate in water was as much of a challenge as anything else.

Standing still in the water as Danta hauls himself up, though not before sharing some of the blood against his cheek, Astaroth pulls himself up and out of it after him. Though he doesn’t go too far – craving the warmth of the other Ancient’s body as well – the butcher immediately aims to wrangle Danta into a hug. "If it makes you feel any better, I did not get to enjoy this space as much as the others did, either."

Astaroth

// and if the morning light sets in, we've cheated fate again //