[SE] to a-void the inevitable

DEIMOS

Deimos rarely went somewhere without a dual purpose lately – and mostly driven by the ongoing Starfall saga. There were hordes of people saying to do things and take time for himself, but the opportunities were rare, and even then, he’d feel guilty that he wasn’t doing something to advance their forefront on the constant debacles infesting their lives.

So off he went to King’s End, to snag at what he could.

Though he wasn’t alone, and his company was entertaining enough. Peering amidst the several trees on the old pathways and routes, he snorted, waiting for the inevitable feeling of dread to come warring through – and not just his own, residual apprehensions – to let them know they were closing in on some of the avaricious beasts. “I need some alive,” he mentioned to Dantalion, in case the Ancient thought to slaughter all of them. Ordinarily, the Sword wouldn’t take issue with any of that, but the dreaded isle loomed. “For wyrm bait."

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

Danta's reasons for lurking in King's End are personal - a small and private little detour before going to Torchline, you understand - but having run into best-friend-Deimos, of course he'd taken full advantage of the opportunity to a) spend some time with the Sword and b) fuck up some void creatures.

"I'll leave some alive," he drawls as they swan through the Boondocks, the Ancient fairly chipper all things considered, though it seems more like a mask he's chosen to wear today than any genuine amusement at the prospect. Still, he kicks a few pebbles and peers behind a boulder with his usual energy, tail lashing at his heels, and he turns to look over his shoulder to peer at Deimos over his sunglasses as if just realising what he's actually said.

"Wyrm bait," he repeats. "What kind of wyrms eat snakes?"

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

DEIMOS

“Gigantic, burrowing ones in Starfall,” he gestured vaguely with his jaw, in regards to the island far, far off in the distance somewhere, as if it was normal happenstance. “With no eyes.” If Danta wanted, Deimos could continue adding to the description, or present an image through water droplets. “I do not recommend coming across it,” to which he smirked, knowing the Ancient took care of himself, and likely had no inclinations towards actually advancing upon the dreaded isle itself.

While they searched, his eyes narrowed, focused on the branches and trying to discern shades of purple haze beneath boughs without giving themselves away. “How are things in the Grounds?” Last they’d spoken about it, the Maverick had been bothered (understandably so) by the dropped bodies.

Then he caught the telltale tail movement of one resting in the crook of a nearby tree’s limb; unassuming, likely waiting to drop on someone below. Rather than exclaiming anything, he pointed, giving and granting Dantalion the go ahead for his opportune massacre.

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"Ah, I see. Of course. Standard," Danta replies with a sage nod and a raised eyebrow, following Deimos's gesture out towards the purple hue on the horizon. He has the good sense to wrinkle his nose about it too, deciding not to press the matter any further - apart from perhaps one other point. "And are these little void noodles going to be enough to get their attention? On account of them being gigantic?" he wonders, hopping over a bit of debris as they walk.

As for the Grounds, Danta's brow furrows, and when he replies it's with a nearly uncharacteristic seriousness. "Things are good. I'm on a quest from Dygra for something that will help to repel the void. She calls it a Chaos Cluster - it can't cleanse the infection like those flowers you all find, but it can keep the creatures out." And that's good enough for him when it comes to the region.

The conversation fades at the sight of their potential prey, and Danta flashes the other man a brief, fanged grin before he takes off. Shifting before he's taken so much as two steps, man becomes gore crow in an instant, tearing through the trees on the wing and snatching at the violet coils of a serpent. Clutching the void viper in his talons, he drops it unceremoniously onto the path before Deimos, where he can land back on two feet to stomp it under his heel, using fire to scorch it from Caido forever.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

DEIMOS

Danta took the notions with his usual dry semblance of humor, and Deimos snickered, which was better off than stoically repressing the multitudes as he had been. “That is our hope. Just need to lure it enough to finish it off.” Especially since this would be third time they’d be running into the damned thing. And whatever else lurked down there.

He listened to aspects about the Grounds though, the new information about the chaos clusters causing his brow to arch. “Handy. Will the Grounds be completely protected from the void creatures then?” Thereafter, there’d really only be issues with the Family themselves – but from what he’d gathered, despite the dead body dropped around LongNight, no one in the Hollowed portions seemed to have made themselves known targets. A decent feat these days.

Then the Sword was watching the other man shift, hands in his pockets, amused as the gore crow began tearing into the violet beast. He didn’t even see the thing have time to fight back – savaged and set ablaze near his feet. Amused, he laughed, adding his own fire to the mix so it was quickly into nothing but ash, permitting a round of laughter that he really hadn’t felt in months. “Nicely done.” Then, of course, he began walking on to find more, already gathering a collapsible cage assortment out of his bag.

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"Not completely," Danta rumbles, his back still to Deimos as he finishes off the void viper, raising an eyebrow at the additional fire that he recognises as not being his own, but welcoming it nonetheless. "There will still be one part left unprotected, so that will also need a chaos cluster. But it's a start." With a grim smile, he turns back to the Sword to fall into step once more, offering a roguish little bow both at the bout of laughter and the compliment.

"Alright - how many of these things do you think you'll need?" he asks, watching the collapsible cage emerge from the other man's bag with vague confusion, until some part of him recalls the properties of the Bag of Holding. "I ought to get one of those," he says, scoffing and peering up along the treeline.

Before long, there are further tell-tale signs of void vipers; flickers of purple in the branches, hanging innocuously (and therefore all the more ominously) in almost plain sight. Beneath, a few sorry skeletons of sparrows and mice.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

DEIMOS

One part left unprotected, but with a plan in place, was better than nothing at all, and he nodded at the information – assured Kiada would still find a way to survive, regardless of any other problematic trials and tribulations. As for the answer to Danta’s question, he didn’t have a distinct one, nose wrinkling vaguely as he postured the parameters. “Four, to be safe.”

He tilted his head at the scoffing towards his bag, to which Deimos snorted in retaliation, a light smirk, but also an offer to follow. “Remind me next season. I used my slots for upgrading gas masks.” Ordinarily it wouldn’t be an issue, and the Sword could’ve passed him one right then and there, but such was timing nowadays.

His eyes narrowed at the other void vipers seemingly hanging out – unbothered in the shade. “I am going to try and lift them with my air magic without killing them,” he figured with a shrug – he’d be indifferent to their maiming, save for the fact that they’d have to keep repeating the same thing over and over. On that note, he unfurled light touches of the incantations, intending to snag at one and draw it away from the bough.

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

Nodding - four is as reasonable a number as any, and Danta would have no objection even if the Sword had wanted a baker's dozen - and slowing his steps as they approach the little void viper hangout spot, he glances back to the other man with a raised brow. "Upgrading... gas masks...?" he echoes, before promptly shaking his head. "No, don't tell me. It's probably to do with that big purple zit over there, and it's probably horrible."

He pauses to hear Deimos's plan, tilting his head before nodding. "Better than my plan. I was going to try and find something for them to bite onto." Like, he doesn't know, a possum or something. But as one of the serpents (flailing and angry and ever so befuddled) is blown from its perch like a feather on the breeze in a blockbuster movie, Danta can't deny that he's impressed. "You want me to hold the cage up so you don't have to let it drop so far?"

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

DEIMOS

Deimos opened his mouth to explain, then promptly shut it once Dantalion continued. “Just some poisonous air,” he added after a few breaths, as if this was merely normal. For the Sword’s part, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d wandered into a confine with similar vapor, and the learned experience made it somewhat easier and justifiable to prepare for the occurrence. Didn’t make him any less apprehensive, but plans and machinations were something he held onto, when everything else seemed far worse for wear.

And the Ancients might’ve worked as well, for these motions, so he smirked. “Can always try that another time.” The serpent seemed very unimpressed with the proceedings, but Deimos rolled his eyes, having encountered multitudes of its ilk and while the dread and apprehension were nothing new from outside or inward sources, he did his best to smother it downwards into his ribs. “Sure.” Passing off the cage to the Maverick, he smoothly and deftly lowered the snake within utilizing the air, before releasing it – hearing it hid with an enraged hiss at the bottom. "Though let it me know if the proximity is too much."

Rinse and repeat, he started for another.

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"Oh, just?" Danta scoffs, grinning across at Deimos and, at his approval, holding up the collapsible cage to catch any squirming void snakes that might happen to fall inside. "Another time, then," he says, nodding absently and turning the cage this way and that to make sure the viper's teeth can't get anywhere near him. "It's a date."

Lowering the cage once he hears the thump of the serpent inside it, he peeks briefly within before nodding his satisfaction and gesturing to the branch, where several more vipers are inquisitively and angrily hissing around to search for their lost brethren. "Well, that's one," he says. "And it looks like two, three and four might have just shown their faces. Shall we?"

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

DEIMOS

Rolling his eyes at Danta’s response, he otherwise maintained focus on the void vipers themselves, wholly unbothered by the rampant hissing and threatening glances. Swiping at two more in one fell swoop, they dangled precariously, and he took some measure and delight in twisting and turning them around midair, merely because he could. They spread their fangs and he snorted, depositing them swiftly into the Ancient’s outreached cage.

Realizing he’d gone silent, he shook his head, peering beneath the tree for the impending fourth. “Did you enjoy Kiada’s wedding?” The Sword hadn’t really spoken to many – he’d been far too nervous and contorted towards his own role, and ensuring everything went well with escorting Kiada down the aisle. But it’d been a nice turnout – and the Harpy was content.

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"You know," Danta remarks at what some would believe is quite casual cruelty on Deimos's part, "I reckon you'd make a half-decent Ancient. Granted, I don't think you could do that any more if you became one, but it comes with its own perks." Grinning up at the twisting void vipers, he holds the cage aloft to catch them, ensuring both are ensnared within the confines.

With only the fourth serpent remaining - and Danta gestures towards the skinny trunk of a tree, where it looks as though one is coiled quite tightly - he turns his attention back to the conversation, and his smile loses a fraction of its wickedness. "I did," he admits, "much to my own surprise, I should say. Don't get me wrong, the wedding was as beautiful as any I imagine have taken place in Caido. I just didn't expect to have the patience for it. I was glad to be wrong. Did you?"

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

DEIMOS

Cruelty or not, Deimos could not give a damn about any of the void creatures’ feelings. Peering amidst the trees, where the last one seemed to be pressed against the timber, hoping not to be seen at all, his head tilted at the statement, glancing back at Danta with an arched brow of surprise. “First time I have heard that,” he snorted, before advancing upon the newfound viper, working on prying it from the wood.

Though he did love the fire and flames, he also savored so much more – Halo itself, where winter called and crawled and curled into his bones, the incantations that made up his entire being, the shifts coiled in his blood. He’d never ceased and desisted in growing in all those angles, had never thought of cutting away all the ties. “I am content with what I have,” he mentioned in return; with no sense of complacency, not with all the newfound layers building and brewing. “And if I changed, you would have to get your bag of holding elsewhere.” By way of humor, as the air plucked at the snake, listening to it hiss as its tail fought to wrap around bark harder.

Danta not having the patience for a wedding made him laugh, which gave the serpent half a moment to cling one additional second as he regained his focus. “I did. It is nice to see her in a good place and happy.”

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"Oh?" Danta grins. "Clearly you've not been hanging around the right sort of people." Adjusting the cage in his arms so he doesn't have to hold it so highly aloft while Deimos is working on procuring its last inhabitant, the Maverick is careful to keep his face back from the unhappy serpents within, wrinkling his nose at any hint of writhing purple.

"Aw, well. That's a shame, but Dygra will always welcome you with open arms should you ever change your mind." Danta laughs under his breath, tilting his head to see the snake forcibly uncoiled from the tree and blown towards them; he raises the cage again expectantly. "And that is a very good point. Wouldn't want you not to be able to magic up an infinite grocery bag." Winking, Danta hovers with the cage until the snake is safely sequestered within, when he lowers it for a final time in relief.

He nods his agreement about Kiada; Danta evidently has a lot of time for his registrar, and he also wishes her nothing but the best. "I have banned her from work for the rest of the season," he says. "So if I have to respond to any letters, I apologise in advance."

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //