bang bang bang

am i the wolf or the savior?
is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?

“It was insinuated.” The butcher retorts, smirking lightly before it softens into a smile that is soft and gently there against his face as he feeds the Maverick another bite. As for his tension – precisely when not caused by the blonde – he tilts his head a little and nods. “Alright, I will give you that one.” He concedes, more proof to the fact that he is tired and isn’t willing to debate it fervently like he otherwise often would.

Sitting back on his heels, the butcher reaches up with his bloodied hand to brush some bloodslick hair away from his forehead, feeling as bits and pieces have already begun to dry, clinging to him in ways that are both uncomfortable and comfortable. “I am tired.” He admits softly, before he’s pushing himself up slowly from the space beside Danta, careful to not get any blood on him as he steps away toward the stag’s head. “That is what the Glade is for, is it not?” He muses, even as he doesn’t look to the Maverick as he continues his little ritual.

It's with more precision that the butcher deftly removes the antlers from the felled beast, between the slicing and cracking of them and the clacking of the two separate antlers as he goes to carry them in one hand. “Are you ready, darling?” He asks, glancing between the remnants of the stag he fully intends to leave for the rest of the wildlife now that he’s claimed his prize, even after he’s taken the bits and pieces from it to continue to feed Danta should he still want to snack.

Astaroth

come a little closer

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Mmhm," Danta says with an exaggerated raise of his eyebrows, both at the insinuation and Asta's concession of his second point. Watching as the other man rolls to his feet, the Maverick is happy to watch him for now, tilting his head towards the Oasis a short distance away.

"I'm not denying that's what it's for, but at this time of year I daresay you're starting to risk turning to stone bathing in it," he points out with a scoff; between them, though, he's sure they can raise the temperature of the water enough to be bearable, even if it will never be as comfortable as Frey's Breath.

The cracking of bone draws Danta's attention right back around, the Maverick instantly captivated by the butcher's easy and brutal removal of the stag's antlers. Feeling his mouth start to water and forcing the feeling away, instead he rises to his feet as well, brushing the grass from his slacks. "I am, yes. Let's go," he says cheerfully, stepping away and resting his hands back in his pockets as he picks his way along the deer trail towards the deep, still waters beyond.

"I'll start a fire to help dry off your clothes," he suggests, assuming Asta will be washing them in the water.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

am i the wolf or the savior?
is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?

“I suppose it is a good thing we have fire magic now, mm?” He drawls, despite knowing Danta’s comment is a very real worry. He pays it little more thought than just sparking a flame between his fingers and wreathing himself in it once they get there. For now, though, he rips the antlers off of the stag’s skull, collecting them in one hand as he twists back toward Danta with a tired lilt to his smile.

Despite wanting to wind his arm around the blonde, he avoids it given how messy he still is — walking companionably beside him as they drift down the deer path toward the Oasis. The closer they get, he hears the offer from Danta right in time for him to spark that flame — avoiding his clothes as he lets it flicker against his face, ridding it of the majority of the blood, flaking to ash until it vanishes. “You are so kind to me.” He purrs softly, setting the antlers to the side of the water’s edge before he turns toward the blonde, unbuttoning his shirt as he leans in for a chaste kiss, ensuring he doesn’t get Danta too dirty.

He withdraws too quickly, shedding out of his clothes before he turns to step in, blood smattering along his chest and along his sides, over the tops of his shoulders, dried and stained against his bronzed skin. Cool water reaches his legs first, before fire falls from his hands in a blanket of sorts, draping against the water to heat it.

Astaroth

come a little closer

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Mm, a very good thing," Danta agrees, happy to walk beside Asta even if he'd much prefer to be pressed up against his side. Were they opting to walk all the way home already he might have given up and done so, but luckily enough, the Oasis is soon in sight. Adding his own licks of fire to tease through Asta's hair (and to help heat him up before he sinks into the cold, deep waters), the Maverick helps to take the satchel of bloody metal pieces as well, setting them to one side with the antlers.

He's somewhat caught by surprise as he straightens up and into the butcher's kiss, Danta humming a note of warm affection and nearly toppling after the other man as he departs, leaving him very much wanting. He doesn't even try to hide the way his eyes rove over Asta's body as he steps into the Oasis, a tendril of fire twisting around his chest and his waist courtesy of the Maverick, while he otherwise focuses on building a fire at the shoreline.

"Hey, have you come across any of those weird gourd things this year?" he asks conversationally.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

am i the wolf or the savior?
is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?

With everything discarded and Asta in nothing more than blankets made of fire, the butcher is very content to feel the heat of the flame as it winds around his chest and waist (knowing it isn’t from him). He instead focuses on helping heat the brunt of the water until he’s fully up to his neck in it, smoothing away the blood and sparking more bubbling flame to warm the surface so he at least has something to return to if the chill becomes too much.

He’s currently swiping at his neck and beard before fire curls against his skin as he twists toward Danta curiously, horned head above the water wrapped in flickering orange and yellows. “I have not, yet, no.” He muses thoughtfully — though he hadn’t really been looking for them, all things considered. “Have you?” Hands lift to scrub at his beard, ridding it of any ash and blood remnants.

Astaroth

come a little closer

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

Content to let the fire do its own thing once he's built it up with dead leaves and dry twigs and kindling, Danta adds some real fuel to it from a fallen tree nearby before refocusing his magic on the Ancient in the water, helping the surface of the Oasis to simmer and bubble around him. "I did, actually. I saw them last year in the Levinsward. Funny, dumb little things, like angry, bitey pumpkins." Grinning at the memory, he grabs up Asta's clothes and approaches the shore to crouch down and soak them, getting rid of the majority of the blood.

"This year they seem to be everywhere. Spotted one out in Hak Etme while I was doing a fly over the Greatwood." And yes, he'd gotten distracted and ended up as far as the desert. Have you met Danta? "And the one I saw was floating. And weird. Like it was possessed." He wishes he could have seen it more, honestly, but it had disappeared when Flora popped up.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

am i the wolf or the savior?
is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?

He scrubs his face and when it feels like he’s mostly clean he starts to drift back toward Danta, snagging a portion of his clothes to help rinse it. It’ll be stained but at least it will be dry and not sticky, and given how exhausted the butcher is he finds he doesn’t care that much about his appearance as he usually does, soaking up the warmth of the bubbling water at the surface.

“They sound… intriguing?” The butcher muses with a snort, looking up toward Danta’s face with eyes made light from the fire he keeps around his head for warmth. “How curious.” He adds about the possessed one, letting a soft laugh bubble from his chest. “And was it not void related?” Or maybe it was and he wasn’t imagining it correctly? At any rate, the butcher wrings out the water from the cloth he’s helped to clean, before he starts to step out of the Oasis, rejoining Danta now that he’s clean, his tail flicking a fair amount of water from it back into the water.

Astaroth

come a little closer

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Mm, they only seem to pop up around Leafchange. Keep an eye out for them, you'll probably see them bumbling around." Smirking at the memory, he passes Asta an item of clothing for him to help wash up, before rising to his feet and rinsing the rest of the garments. "They didn't seem voidy. Spooky, sure, but not the same vibe as some of the other stuff we've kicked around." Like that weird Tangleweed they'd seen at the top of the Rise.

Stepping back to hang Asta's clothes on the low bough of a tree to help them dry over the fire, he glances back to see the butcher emerging from the Oasis, Danta's fire immediately roaring up to envelop him and help to dry him off and keep his skin flush with warmth. The afternoon is waning on, and as the sun begins to set it will only get chillier; he's starting to think they might have been wise to bring coats.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

am i the wolf or the savior?
is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?

“I think I may just do that.” He drawls, accented voice pouring over the words, washing out the cloth before he deems it satisfactory for the moment until he can get it bleached. “Ah, so, perhaps the reason for the candles and salt on our windowsills?” He drawls with a soft huff of a laugh as he hands Danta the shirt once it’s wrung out.

Murmuring a hum of thanks for taking the clothing as he rises from the water, fire engulfs him comfortably and he stretches out a little as steam rises from where the water vaporizes. “Thank you, darling.” He hums softly, toying with the flame to dry his hair and the antlers that sprout from his skull, even as his shoulders start to slump with exhaustion. “I feel as if I could sleep for days,” it’s nearly a dramatic whine, but the sharp shark toothed grin is flashed at Danta in spite of the flame that reflects against his skin. He reaches out with a hand made warm from fire, but taking care to not burn his clothes, he brushes his hot fingertips along the back of the Maverick’s hand.

Astaroth

come a little closer

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"You know, I never made that connection. But you're probably right," Danta says with a chuckle, ruffling a hand back through his fair hair and feeling somewhat foolish not to have joined the dots. "Honestly, I just figured that the people of the Hollowed Grounds were a suspicious bunch. You know, what with the history of the place, those LongNight monsters that apparently used to show up and all that." Waving a casual hand, he can't complain either way. He likes seeing all the candles in the windowsills.

"Any time," he purrs in response to Asta's thanks, the Maverick straightening the clothes where they hang and building up the heat in the fire for a moment, before warm fingertips are brushing against the back of his hand and bringing his attention around. "Mm, I always get that when it's been a long while since I hunted," he agrees, slowly bringing the flames down from around the butcher once he's convinced he's dry.

It finally allows him to step into the other man's space, his arms slipping around his waist to draw him closer. "You think you can make it until your clothes are dry and we find a cart to take us home? I don't think there are many places to stay this far out in the Glade."

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

am i the wolf or the savior?
is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?

Humming a note that seems to suggest the butcher had forgotten that particular part of the Grounds history, his lips quirk into a smirk of amusement. “It could very well be.” He agrees, taking a moment to think about how last Deepfrost they had been assaulted in a snowball fight by the youth of the Grounds. How the butcher had remembered enough about the story to threaten he would become one of those monsters in the night.

Ahem, anyway.

The flames start to lower from his scarred chest, his skin dry to the touch and warm like a heat rock, drawn closer with the way Danta tugs him in. His arms slip up and around the Maverick’s shoulders, sharing some of the heat. “I do.” He murmurs softly, leaning in to press his forehead to the blonde’s. “If nothing else I am sure I can remain warm with your help until we are ready to leave.” He says a touch sleepily, before withdrawing enough to let his dark gaze take in Danta’s soft face.

Astaroth

come a little closer

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Mm, I think I can probably help with that," Danta agrees, smiling into the warmth of Asta's chest and leaving a few kisses there for his trouble, lips brushing across the scars that strike through the olive of his skin. "If it were Longheat I'd suggest making a camp and spending the night out here. I bet it's a lot different to anywhere else." The Greatwood aside, he supposes, but that has only been recently freed from the void.

Tilting his head up and smiling at the affectionate touch, he lets careful flickers of fire continue to spiral and climb the length of the butcher's spine, careful not to singe his sleeves in the process. "See something you like?" he asks with a smirk and a coy raise of his eyebrows, clearly having noticed Asta's dark gaze lingering on his face. "C'mon, let's go sit by the fire until your clothes are dry."

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

am i the wolf or the savior?
is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?

“Good.” Comes the quick response, even if his tone is still tired and exhausted. It’s a weary, bone deep, fatigue that remains embedded amongst his accent and in the weight of his shoulders, seemingly melting beneath the gentle press of Danta’s lips to his skin. “Perhaps we should make time for that in the next year?” He asks as he withdraws just enough to peer back at Danta, letting his dark gaze scan his face.

Warmth spreads against his spine, little swipes of flame that continue to keep him warm despite the chill in the air of Leafchange. At the coy look and smile, the butcher snorts softly before he nods, slipping a hand up between them to gently cup the side of his face. “I see someone I like.” He corrects with a shark toothed grin, only pausing to hear the way Danta wishes to ferry him off toward the flame. “Fine, fine.” He hums with that bone deep dramatic rumble of his voice, withdrawing from the blonde enough that he slips away to snag his hand, letting his tail brush against Danta’s leg, all while letting the ribbons of fire filter through his long, dark hair and around his neck like a little collar. “I do not imagine it’ll take too long.” To dry his clothes, at least.

Astaroth

come a little closer

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Mm, I'd like that. I remember in the Climb I'd sleep outside when I got the chance." Granted, Danta's chances came few and far between, but when he'd been able to snatch the opportunity he'd enjoyed sprawling on the hot stone with the stars twinkling overhead and the ghoulish light of the lava flows to keep him company. "Oh, I see," he purrs, leaning into the touch of the butcher's hand before they are making their way over to the fire crackling merrily nearby.

Sinking down to lean his back against a fallen log, the Maverick ushers Asta to sit with him, halo of fire and all - he's clearly not worried about singeing his clothes if it means not having to keep him at arm's length. Still, he'd promised to be the one to keep the butcher warm, and he intends to make good on it, all but fitting himself into Asta's lap to share the heat rippling from his body, tail sweeping contently across the grass.

"I imagine not," he agrees, slipping an arm around the other man's shoulders and leaning in to kiss his dark hair. "Until then, think warm thoughts, I suppose." Despite Asta's remarks, he honestly fully expects the butcher to nod off within a few moments of them resting by the fire, but Danta isn't going to admit that.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door