[SE] melancholy hill

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

It’s a small boon that he’ll always love Danta for. The fact he doesn’t have to explain, he doesn’t have to delve into it each time after it happens. Of course, the butcher does elaborate — but only because it might make more sense to the blonde. “It was before I was taken to the Climb.” He admits, in between his counting breaths, hot against his lovers skin where he exhales through his mouth.

Ticking in as much as he can and against the headboard, he leeches heat from Danta’s body and the blankets like it might warm his frozen appendages. The hand in his shortly after where he’s already trying to mentally prepare himself to offer retorts to the contrary about who’s fault it was, the butcher relaxes more to hear that he doesn’t have to speak again.

Though he doesn’t let Danta’s hand leave his own, lacing his fingers into the other Ancient’s as he sinks in to press his ear against the blonde’s skin to try and listen for his heartbeat, like if he did his own would match eventually. “It would be good for me to get up and move, I think.” He admits into his skin, like he needs the additional reminder he’s different now.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

you were automatic and as hollow as the 'O' in god

Wincing and nodding gently at the context Asta offers - that explains the sleep-talking, he thinks - Danta doesn't ask nor need him to elaborate further, merely turning to press a soft kiss to his forehead. He can't imagine it, the dread of reliving such a moment but knowing this time what will come after, the Maverick's brow furrowing as he forces those thoughts away. Letting his thumb brush against the back of Asta's hand as they sit together, when the butcher speaks next it almost comes as a shock, not that Danta can complain.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea," he agrees readily, even though no part of him wants to peel away from the other man. Nevertheless, Danta scoots to the edge of the bed, drawing the other man with him and rising to his feet, blankets and all. "We'll put on some tea," he says, feeling as if the butcher might prefer decisions over options right now.

"No midnight hide and seek, though. I know Ludo would probably approve, but I'm not so much in the mood for that."

Dantalion

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

It’s a softness that Astaroth isn’t sure he’d handle well without shying away from if he wasn’t so fried mentally. Danta’s thumb strokes across the back of his hand and Astaroth clings to that little touch of gentleness, as if his mind is still threatening the harsh punishment it had been ramping up to. When he’d been a cannibal who didn’t know better, who hadn’t learned, who only had his sharpened teeth and nothing more for himself other than apologies in an accent that people knew to be from Whitebrim.

Getting up and moving does sound good, though, but he already mourns the loss of his lover when Danta slips toward the edge of the bed and the butcher leans toward him as he’s drawn to the edge with him, grateful for the way Danta doesn’t let them part. Grateful that he doesn’t have to be alone. His tail winds around his leg as he stands, though he does seem to perk up at the mention of tea – the only thing he does respond to is the subject of games.

It seems almost childish to want to play a game so badly for the sheer fact of distraction, but he’s fairly confident that hide and seek would be perhaps the worst one to play. “What other kind of games do you think Ludo would approve of?” He asks, tucking the blanket around him tighter as he follows his sun like the inky, midnight shadow he is.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

you were automatic and as hollow as the 'O' in god

Getting his feet beneath him, Danta spends a moment or so pulling on a pair of dark sweatpants and a loose red sweater, before heading straight for the fireplace to put on some water for their tea. "I think probably something that won't wake us up too much?" he suggests with a weak smile, straightening back up and turning to the butcher to help draw the blankets around him more tightly. "What would you prefer?"

As for the alternatives to hide and seek, the Maverick scoffs under his breath and shrugs, absently rubbing at the other man's upper arms as if trying to help him warm up. "I imagine anything that causes chaos or has an element of danger would be Ludo approved," he says off-handedly, before realising Asta might be asking with the intention of using such a game as a distraction.

"I have a dartboard, if you want to play?" He smirks. "I've been using it mostly as target practice, but there are darts around." Opposed to knives or whatever else Danta has been throwing.

Dantalion

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

“Wise.” The butcher comments as he tugs that borrowed sweater from before over his head and a pair of warm, fuzzy pants (akin to joggers, I imagine). He pulls the blanket back up around his shoulders, though, right in time for Danta to tighten and tug it back up around his shoulders, too. There’s a faint smile that tugs at the corners of his lips at his lover’s fussing, before he’a glancing toward the tins of tea. “Vanilla and lavender, perhaps?” He suggests, scanning his face to see his opinion on the suggestion.

Warmth sparks where Danta’s hand rubs at his arm and he leans toward it, chasing it a touch stubbornly as the explanation is aired. He nods, understanding the theme, even if the Maverick hasn’t quite figured out why the butcher has asked. And ironically, Asta’s content to let that be the end all be all if Danta wasn’t up to playing a game. It would make a good distraction, of course, but… Given the course of the night, he doesn’t blame him if he doesn’t want to.

Ah, but then it clicks, and Asta perks up again — horned head lifting from where he’s been peering at the labels of the tins of tea. “I can’t remember the last time I played darts… or if I ever have.” His nose scrunches up, confusion causing his head to tilt before he reaches over to squeeze his lover’s hand. “I can make the tea if you want to grab it?” He is warming up, but his voice and posture is a strange mix of Astaroth and Ferrox; control and uncharacteristic submissiveness overcoming him hand in hand.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

you were automatic and as hollow as the 'O' in god

"That sounds good," Danta says with a nod, though in all honesty Asta could have suggested water and honey without adding the tea at all and he'd have agreed as long as the butcher was content. Having always been planning to let him handle the actual tea-making part of their night, he's nonetheless reluctant to part from the other man, even if it's in the name of distraction. "First time for everything, hm?" He winks. "I'll go and set it up. First, though..."

Squeezing Asta's hand back, Danta coaxes the other man towards him so he can lean up and kiss him, his free hand slipping around the butcher's waist over the blanket that drapes about him like a cloak. While his affections never stray beyond soft or gentle, it's true that no small part of the Maverick is keen to tease out the man he knows is lurking under the shadow of the nightmare. "I love you," he whispers against Asta's lips, leaving one last kiss as a parting gift before he steps away at last to set up their game.

The dartboard is easy to locate and hang on a hook, though it takes a little more digging around for Danta to locate the 'proper' tools. (He'd been using throwing knives, so sue him). Still, finding the darts at last, he straightens up and waggles them towards the butcher. "Ready when you are."

Dantalion

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

He aims to release Danta’s hand when the decision is made, only to be brought back in with the squeeze to his hand. Dark eyes flit to his lover's face, confusion flaring until the warm hand slips around his waist on the outside of the blanket. He leans down into the kiss in return, though, soft and tender and gentle like the Maverick is the most precious thing in the world to him.

Pulling away slightly, the butcher presses his forehead against Danta’s briefly, before the next kiss parts them and Asta releases his sun in order to start on the tea. “I love you too.” The butcher hums after they part, over his shoulder before he gets the kettle ready and the tea prepped.

He hyperfixates on the tea, using his fire magic to warm the kettle faster, until it sings and he can finish up getting the vanilla lavender tea to start to steep. The blanket is drawn up a little bit tighter, turning once he’s satisfied. “It should be ready soon.” Enough for a round, maybe. He steps over to Danta, eyeing the darts waggled his way, before he looks to the board in the distance. “You just throw the darts and hope that they land within the center circle, yes?” Clarifying solely for the fact it keeps his mind away from straying, the butcher plucks a green dart from the Maverick’s hand, settling to watch Danta go first for an explanation.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

you were automatic and as hollow as the 'O' in god

"Can you over-steep that sort of tea? It can only get more like vanilla and lavender, no?" Danta wonders, glancing to the butcher as he steps across to join him and surrendering the green dart willingly enough, selecting from the yellow set for his own. "Mmhm, that's pretty much the gist of it. The bullseye gets you the most points, but some of the sections around the circle are worth more than others, too."

Stepping up and taking brief aim, Danta lets his dart fly where it thumps into one of the inner sections of the board, and he shrugs his shoulders. "To be honest, for this round we can just practice. I don't think Ludo would disapprove of that, if it's even watching." Smirking, he throws his other two darts, explaining briefly to Asta how many points he'd have gotten as he goes to collect them, before stepping to the side to let the other man have a go.

Dantalion

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

The question has the butcher pausing, glancing back toward the tea before he shakes his head. “I think it will be more vanilla–y?” He suggests, confused for a moment as he turns toward the dart board. Selecting his color of darts, before he watches the Maverick finish explaining and physically shows him how it’s to be done. He finds it similar enough to throwing knives into a target, and when his lover steps back, the butcher steps forward with his dart in hand.

“Mm, practice it is.” He decides, shrugging the blanket lower to wind around his middle and not over his shoulders, ensuring he has an inhibited range of motion. The dart is different to hold than how the butcher would hold a throwing knife, and he tries to push aside his thoughts and the anxieties finally loosening in his gut to throw the green dart.

And he watches as it plunks into the wall beside the dartboard, not even close to one of the targets. It’s off enough that the butcher straightens, brows inching together as he hums. “That cannot be right.” Comes the complaint, more of himself returning in light of the failed throw.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

you were automatic and as hollow as the 'O' in god

"Well it's a good thing I like vanilla, then," Danta says with a grin, stepping a safe distance away for the butcher to make his first throws with his darts. Both watching and trying not to make it obvious, he honestly expects it to go well based on what he knows of the other man and his proficiency with weapons. So when the sound of a dart hitting something other than the board reaches his ears, of course he glances sharply back towards the wall.

Oh.

"I mean... you still hit something," he says slowly, trying (and failing) to stop his grin from running away with him and sidling up beside Asta to check where he'd been throwing from. "Here..." Reaching out to turn him ever so slightly in place, he nods. "Try again now. And, uh... don't let the other dart distract you?" You know, where it's still protruding from the wall.

Dantalion

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

The butcher also likes vanilla. A lot, as it turns out. But those thoughts vanish in place of his confusion, brows pinching together as he stares at the dart protruding out of the wall. It’s then that he realizes he’s probably shit at darts, if only because it wasn’t really a weapon he was proficient in. Knives? A different story. These tiny projectiles? Well…

Moving easily with a quiet and stubborn sigh, the butcher lets Danta readjust him, dark eyes scanning his face in the interim before he looks back to the dart board, confusion flaring further. The angle makes sense, he supposes, but it feels strange nevertheless. “Sure.” He hums, waiting until Danta has stepped back before he sends the next green dart out.

It lands on the outer ring — nowhere fancy, but at least he’d made it onto the board. His tail flicks contently with that, beneath the blanket, and he turns to flash his lover a small yet still sharp smile. “That is better.” He steps away to fuss over finishing their tea, before he collects his cup and sips from it, watching Danta take his turn.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

you were automatic and as hollow as the 'O' in god

Folding his arms loosely across his chest, Danta's eyes light up to see Asta's dart plunge itself into the board, and he offers the other man a proud smile for his trouble. "See? Practice makes perfect," he tells him. "Maybe I'll leave the board up and we can make a habit of playing. If you want extra motivation, we can pin pictures of things and people you don't like to it for you to aim at." He almost suggests a sketch of a gore crow, but y'know... too soon, right?

Nevertheless, Danta steps up to take his turn, firing a dart at the board and hitting the space just next to Asta's. Wrinkling his nose - it isn't his best shot, but the butcher likely isn't the only one who needs to practice - and stepping away, he goes to fetch his own tea, letting his tail brush affectionately against the other man's outer thigh as he goes. "Alright, now get a beginner's luck bullseye and I'll give you the win."

Dantalion

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

“Mm, I believe that is a good idea in theory… but.” He’d probably put up varying sketched out portraits of people that have harmlessly flirted with his lover; and that likely wasn’t going to be a fun time for anyone except for the butcher. At any rate, he draws silent as he sips from his tea, the warm vanilla and lavender soothing his bones and warming him from the cold pit of dread.

He watches as the yellow dart plunks right beside his own green dart. And as Danta drifts back, the tail that brushes by his thigh sparks more warmth to flush him, appearing briefly against his cheeks. “Ha, I doubt it.” A soft chuckle escapes him, more warmth into the shell of who he’s become. “But I shall try.” He steps up after setting the cup of tea down, mirroring how Danta had shown him, and launches the dart.

It isn’t a bullseye, but it does make it to the ring of the outer circle, the one that bisects the two outside circles.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

you were automatic and as hollow as the 'O' in god

"Okay, well perhaps you can keep your motivation stashed away somewhere and only use it when you decide to practice by yourself." Chuckling to himself and leaning against the wall to sip at his own tea and watch Asta take aim with his next dart, Danta raises his eyebrows to the other man over the rim of his cup. "Getting better," he compliments, despite it not quite hitting the bullseye mark.

"Alrighht, let's see what I can do." Grabbing his last dart and setting his tea down, Danta ambles up to the board, takes position, and lets it fly. And as before, his dart seems to follow the butcher's, but this time it hits a little further into the inner circle, as if taunting it to come and join him. "If we had enough darts and all the time in the world, I bet we'd make it to the bullseye before the end of the night." He grins.

Dantalion