[se] cauldron of ghosts

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

The destructive amusement remained, quirking a little smile in the corner of his mouth, as another gourd rolled out of sight. Some token brethren, because they were all idiotic and seemed eager to line up for demolition, rolled his way and Deimos simply glanced downward, setting it aflame without a touch. It hissed and grumbled and then perished with burnt edges, and he shrugged his shoulders, figuring it would still have some use. “Or bread.” Hm. Maybe he’d bring some home.

Deimos could complain about the Voice all day long, but to hear of the Ancient’s gratitude made his jaw clench, eyes narrowing in on a few other vampire fiends who seemed slightly less keen to join the rest of the crowd. Watching as they meandered by kiosk stalls rather than the two on the main path, they seemed more eager to snap at passing ankles or hide behind wooden planks than anything else. “She had some merits,” which he could admit to, just barely – like the portals before the war, or bringing Kiada back. But there were multitudes of other things to make up for it. “She also released monsters here during LongNight.”

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

Dantalion

but you can't be free

"Or bread," Danta agrees with a curious tilt of his head, but he's only really half aware that he's spoken, more focused on the gourd that has just burst into flame. "Was that you?" he wants to know, and Deimos ought to be careful how he chooses to respond here, because it won't take much for the Ancient to develop a full blown crush, and he's already halfway there.

You might think that the sour look on the Sword's face at the Voice's name would dampen thing somewhat. You'd be wrong. "Monsters? Sounds delightful. Do they still show up?" he asks airily, continuing along their market tour now that the gourds seem to have gotten the message about not rolling underfoot to their deaths.

'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Snagging at what remained of one of the gourds, Deimos grabbed hold of the shell, and residual pulp within, and with his free hand created another container to place it in. Content with things he’d managed to snag for today, because he could certainly use this for an array of desserts, or trading when he returned to Halo, his brow quirked at Danta’s question. “Maybe,” came along in obvious juvenility and a pretense of innocence, for there didn’t seem to be anyone else around with the capability (not unless the Ancient believed some gourds could spontaneously burst into flame).

But his eyes narrowed again, and his features took on their residual stoic façade as monsters seemed to inspire compliments and curiosity. They’d lost many, some due to their own foolishness, at the hands of the demonic beings, and it remained an ever-present shadow in the back of the Sword’s mind. Sometimes for his own actions. Sometimes just for the depth of their torment. “The Ascended were supposed to have destroyed them.” Though there’d been rumors of others appearing in the following year, he hadn’t heard anything else thereafter.

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

Dantalion

but you can't be free

Maybe absolutely means yes in this instance, and Danta's fanged grin says he knows as much. Already he's busy being impressed by something else the Sword is doing, though, the Ancient tilting his head at the container Deimos produces out of thin-fucking-air. "Say, is there anything you can't do?" he wonders, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep them to himself. (Usually he might be a bit more bold, but he bets the Sword could turn him into a frog if he wants to).

"Supposed to?" he echoes of the Longnight monsters. "Sounds like they did half a job if it's not clear if they succeeded. Did none of the other gods want to get involved? I know Longnight is a sort of vacation for them, but still, a bit of help beforehand might have been nice."

'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Content with the amount of pumpkin, and impending desserts, the question caused him to arch his brow, and then snort. “Plenty. Like healing.” Considering how often his life had been entangled with the battlefield, perhaps it had been inevitable, right from birth, that his life wouldn’t be assorted with mending or assuaging. A trade off, for the damage he could do.

Walking further, his long strides extending out once more, his sharpened gaze landed upon more roaming gourds, but they persisted in remaining out of range. Besides, the other inquiry gave him pause. “We tried other things before,” like that godforsaken door that ended Rexanna’s life. “But the Old Gods had not been the ones to create them,” and so perhaps, they’d figured it wasn’t their problem. “Fire worked well, anyway.” In multiple ways; like taking down entire guilds or taverns. “And I have not heard of any monsters reappearing since the year after.” But the notions that some had always remained in the back of his mind.

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

Dantalion

but you can't be free

Unsure whether or not he likes knowing that Deimos is not, in fact, infallible, Danta decides not to comment on this lack of healing ability. Perhaps for his birthday the Sword might get a badly made first aid kit, who knows? (Danta. Danta knows, because he'll be making it). His gaze roams left and right as they continue their stroll through the marketplace, the Ancient lingering on knick-knacks, the odd hissing pumpkin, and the cleavage of a young merchant.

"Sounds about right," he admits with a mild smirk, regarding the Old Gods not wanting to fix a problem they hadn't created. "You talk as though you've met them. You some kind of prophet or something?" Actually, that wouldn't surprise Danta too much, given the power the other man wields. Aren't there supposed to be demigods in Caido? "I guess we'll have to wait until this Deepfrost to know for sure," he adds, monsters-wise.

'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Indifferent to his lack of healing measures – given Zuriel – his features remained in their stoic, reticent haze, casting glances at the wayward pumpkins, before tilting his head at the Ancient’s considerations – snorting at the semblances of being a prophet. “No, but I have met several,” including, but not limited to; Safrin, Ludo, and Nature Frey. He figured the Voice didn’t count, and she’d forced him to bow and glance away when Rexanna was being healed – and since she was gone, he tossed the notion out. “Safrin attuned me,” and he gave a quiet smile at the semblances; eternally grateful for the opportunity, and all the shifts rampaging underneath his skin.

As for the monsters, there were always plenty of other things to keep them entertained. “Even if those do not appear, the Grounds still has landsharks, banshees, and stone golems to keep you busy.” With potentially a number of other things, like Wicker Women and the bizarre, irritating Speaking Squirrels.

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

Dantalion

but you can't be free

Of course he's met several; he's probably even fucked a couple of them, the lucky bastard. Slipping his hands in his pockets, Danta absently fondles the jar of honey as Deimos continues, raising his eyebrows to hear Safrin's name in particular leave his lips. (That's not going to help his case when it comes to denying any intimacy with deities). "Oho?" He grins. "The lady of the stars, huh? What's she like?" Great tits, he bets.

Whether or not Deimos realises that mentioning any other number of dangerous fauna is actually a selling point for Danta when it comes to the Grounds, the Ancient takes it as such regardless. Eyes lighting up, he tilts his head and imagines what it might be like to chase banshees through the Inner Quarter. "I'll have to make a list," he decides; a list of creatures to encounter and play with.

'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

The question didn’t surprise him. It was the same inquiry that had come across dozens of times in other instances and circumstances. Years and years before he might have been much the same, or still rancorous, bitter, and dismissive of the divine in general, considering how Abandoned had been treated. But the world had changed, and he had alongside it, evolving and adapting with the times. Keeping his eyes on the horizon, and watching the market-goers as they either ignored the remaining gourds or punted them across the grounds, he kept his tone easygoing and grateful. “Beautiful. Powerful. Values loyalty.” Standard procedures for anyone who’d heard of her. “Treats her followers well – she healed us after the war.” And he wasn’t certain of other deities had done the same. “What about Dygra?” Any Ancients he’d spoken to hadn’t had much to say, or hadn’t visited the goddess.

The alteration in subjects though gave him somewhat of a pause, brow arching at the way Danta seemed far more emphatic about the legions of monsters lurking in the Grounds’ depths. Deimos was used to giving warnings that were subsequently ignored though, and snorted at the presumption. “Banshees are typically in the woods,” though apparently some had ventured into Halo, “Landsharks in the fields, and stone golems tuck themselves away in abandoned places.” Which could’ve been a majority of the Hollowed sanctions nowadays.

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

Dantalion

but you can't be free

None of what Deimos has to say is surprising, but Danta soaks it up all the same, even if his gaze is on a group of boys using an unruly gourd as a football between the market stalls. "Safrin is everything you'd expect a goddess to be, huh?" he says, rumbling out a laugh. Not expecting the question to be turned back to himself, but relishing the opportunity to praise his goddess nonetheless, he tilts his head up to look at Deimos.

"Beautiful. Powerful. Values independence," he purrs. "She treats her children as well as your lady of the stars treats her followers, I'd wager. She doesn't suffer fools, though, in my experience." Walking into danger and pissing everyone off and expecting a divine bail out isn't really Dygra's thing.

Relishing the information and tucking it away for later playtimes, he gives the Sword a grateful nod. Glancing back (the gourd is now pulp), he notices a strange stairway plunging into what looks like a secret street. "Unless you want to join me, this is where I leave you. Because I'm all about mysterious, dark lanes."

'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

“Essentially,” he gave way; though he was certain Safrin would like to be held in even higher esteem. To hear Dygra was of similar ilk and cloth meandered through the Sword’s mind – though the starry herald had told them several times to not consider her a threat, as they’d done with the Voice. “Not many of the heralds do,” came with a quirk of his smile – Frey perhaps the most even-keeled of the lot.

His eyes flickered towards a narrowed and furtive stairway, nose instinctively wrinkling, and not quite in the mood for meandering into darkened thresholds. Nodding, and taking the hint, he gave a wave. “Enjoy yourself,” something he probably didn’t have to add – Danta seemed the type to do so regardless. And with that, the Sword could be on his way back home, the angst and melancholy no longer so distinct.

{FIN}

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same