awashlogs | Event Six.

[ that’s plenty. the light refracts off cairngorm, onto the trees, and there’s a moment where it looks like the eyes of a wolf—but dextera only makes that mistake once, with a flinch, and he commits what that looks like to memory. ]

They’re hungry.

[ he’s not the werewolf slaying type. he’s apparently the werewolf feeding type, which combined with their last meeting, surely will give cairngorm the impression of dextera as a big stupid reckless idiot.

because he is. ]

[ They'd probably be a bit more concerned about how the light refractions might draw the attention of wolves if they 1) knew about wolves more and 2) weren't convinced that they'd probably be way more attracted to someone covered in blood holding dead animals than some shiny jewel light. So they don't care, tilting their head to the side at his words incredulously, the movement of which only makes them glimmer more. ]

...."they're hungry"?

[ It's such an obvious answer that they almost scoff, but they refrain, holding their temple instead. They're getting slightly annoyed because not only is Dextera aware that they're on the hunt, but also is willingly choosing to be out here during it... it's just too much. Stupid reckless idiot is right. ]

That's exactly why people like you should be inside. Or are you out here trying to get eaten.

[ cairngorm had sounded, at least to dextera’s ears, briefly relieved to see that it was him and not a wolf… but this is rapidly starting to feel like dextera is the worse option between the two. he’s not used to cairngorm’s curt tone, even now, even if he knows that they’re not a bad person. they’re just straightforward.

they are a rock. ]

…

[ dextera shakes his head. he doesn’t want to get eaten, no, and he’s doing his best to avoid that in whatever way he can. if he does encounter a wolf, he can fight them off, but it seems like using this meat or a bone in his pocket is the best way to peacefully toss a wolf off his trail. ]

If they eat, they won’t attack.

[ logic! unsound logic, but logic all the same. ]

[ Dextera and his bright hands are definitely better than seeing some wolf, but at least the wolves don't aggravate them with rash decision making skills. It's true that Cairngorm isn't mean spirited, but it's just in their nature to reprimand behavior they see as pointlessly stupid. And the shoe fits here. ]

And how long do you think that will work? You can't possibly stay out here feeding them all the time. [ Such a reckless plan, not to mention that he's out here alone. The least he could have done is take someone with him - it's a good thing they ran into him. ] This is-- This is insane. You're going to get yourself killed.

[ Their harshness comes from a place of semi-concern, see... ]

[ anything dextera does could get him killed, because he’s constantly doing things like this—guren has chided him for the same thing, and each time, dextera agrees not to do that particular thing again, but it seems he can never apply the lesson broadly. for as long as he’s alive to do it, he’s going to wander into danger just because he doesn’t know any better. ]

…what about you?

[ rocks… are probably not easy for the wolves to bite. even if cairngorm did get bit, their body doesn’t look like it can conduct an infection.

and yes, he is deflecting. ]

[ They can see that he's deflecting the issue, but explaining themself will only drive it further that what he's doing is completely unnecessary, so when they speak, it's blunt and short: ]

First of all, I'm immortal. [ So they didn't generally worry about the weird things that went on here unless something presented itself as being capable of snapping them in two, which was rare. ] Second, you know already that I'm made of crystal.

[ They hold up their left sleeve, which has obvious bite marks and tears in it. ]

Those teeth can't break me, so unlike you, I can fight them without getting hurt. Even if being awake at this time is bothersome...I'm better suited to do this than most.

[ they could have probably stopped at first of all and dextera would have agreed with whatever they decided to say based on tone alone, but the fact is that they do make some pretty good points anyway. an immortal crystal, who can’t be infected by the werewolf’s bite?

cairngorm is better-equipped than anyone. ]

I can fix it.

[ he doesn’t know if he can fix it in himself, though, but cairngorm doesn’t need to know that. dextera just feels like he should defend himself, after all this. ]

Fix what? The sleeve? It's probably going to get torn up more.

[ They don't know what he's referring to, so they just take the free time to glance around the clearing, making sure there's no glowing set of eyes waiting to pounce on them. Now that they've met up with him like this, they guess it's kind of their responsibility to protect him... as reckless and stupid as he is, they definitely don't want him to die. If that were to happen now, they'd take it as their own fault. ]

[ dextera shakes his head. ironically, he can very much not fix the sleeve, and that’s a job meant for someone who has actual skills with a needle and thread, but te more pressing matter here… he can take care of it, at least a little. ]

The wolves.

What do you mean by fix them?

[ What, like they can be turned back into something that's not a wolf...? His wording is definitely confusing, but they don't blame him, given the way he communicates. They'll give him a chance to explain whatever he means, but they'll have no sympathy if it's equally stupid as all his other ideas. There's a pause while they give another quick look around, moving closer to Dextera and his comfortably glowy hands. ]

Explain it to me while we move somewhere else. We shouldn't stay in one place for too long.

[ dextera is not the “ideas guy,” all right. he just does things, and sometimes they work. when they don’t work, he dies, so that’s the more unpleasant consequence in the meanwhile.

he nods, agreeing to that assessment, at least—and since he needs his hands free, he’ll leave the animal carcass there for someone else to find. at least now, of all times, is an appropriate time to just abandon raw meat in the woods. ]

This power— [ he pauses, to emphasize the glow of his hands. ] —fixes corruption.

[ They take the lead for making a path, keeping surprisingly protectively close to him. At the very least, they want to leave this clearing, but they'll do all the hard work of holding the foliage out of the way when they come across stuff in their path, glancing towards him every now and then to check on him. And so they can communicate, of course. ]

So that's what it's for. [ So much for thinking Dextera was just an extremely convenient portable lantern and or gem charger... ] And you think that power will fix the wolves so they won't harm people.

[ Or something? That's what they're getting out of it. Personally, they are of the opinion that eliminating them achieves the same result, but they do have to admit that killing things does leave a weird taste in their mouth. Maybe this is the alternative. ]

[ dextera is both of those things as well, or at least the first one, but it’s primarily here to fix all that goes wrong—if that sounds like a godly power, it’s because it is.

he nods. ]

Back home, I did this.

[ or something like it, anyway. it involved less blood but oddly more death, and yet, if this is a true corruption that hasn’t gone too far… then as long as the original form is in there somewhere, he can help. he can fix it. ]

[ They're silent after he explains, just accepting his explanation because...there's no way for them to really disprove it, nor really even understand it. None of the abilities from their home world come close to the one he describes; his ability actually seems more in line with the copious amounts of fairy tales they read everyday. But if what he says is true, then they're in no position to tell him it won't work, so they don't bother.

In fact, they barely even respond to what he says until a shadowy movement between the trees in front of the pair prompts them to abruptly put their arm in front of him, holding him back from advancing even a step further. There's a pregnant pause, a little snarl audible only because of their silence. ]

...And you're sure it'll work. [ Their voice is stern, but quiet as they keep their eyes forward, watching carefully for more movement. ] I don't want a repeat of the well.

[ If that last bit sounds a little like a threat, that's because it is. ]

Edited 2018-06-28 11:34 (UTC)

[ dextera doesn’t mistake it for anything else but a threat, because he’s prone to reading cairngorm’s flat tone as always being just a little caustic. he’d rather take it that way than assume the best of them and find out down the road that he’s actually hated. ]

…

[ dextera tenses, aware of why that threat has been made, and he nods. ]

Leave it to me.

[ No matter how confident he seems, they just physically cannot leave this task in his hands. Not only because it would be completely irresponsible, but also because they don't have complete faith that it'll work - they're a skeptic, they can't help it.

So when the wolf leaps out from it's hiding spot, clearly charging towards the blood-covered and very alive Dextera with a speed too quick for them to ask him what he needs to do, they don't hesitate to swing the blunt side of their blade right into it's mouth, matching it's strength with ease. ]

Ugh-- gross... [ They keep one hand on the handle and the other flat on the blade to hold back and immobilize it's jaws, making a face all the while. It's almost a comical display of nonchalance, given how the wolf is viciously snapping at the two of them. ] You better stay back there while you do whatever you need to do.

—!

[ dextera is grateful, if not shaken by how close the wolf came. usually, the monsters in the neuro tower don’t move with such speed or aggression, and it’s not every day that dextera goes and fights a werewolf. it’s big and too powerful, and in a one-on-one fight, the chances that he would turn or die are quite high.

with cairngorm holding it off, though, dextera nods, and bumbles around behind the wolf to place his hands on its… hips? its middle? he doesn’t know the anatomy of a werewolf very well, but either way, he did just tell cairngorm to let him take care of this. it would be embarrassing, if he couldn’t. so with a deep breath, his hands suddenly flare in that same white, nearly-too-bright light that flashed in the well before, and the werewolf’s growls turn to pained yelps that dextera would feel guilty for if it weren’t a wild animal intent on killing them. doing it to someone might be a different story, but this is just—an animal.

it writhes, scrabbling against cairngorm for purchase as its form twists unnaturally. ]

[ They definitely make a face while the wolf squirms and bats at them, shifting their grip on the flat slide of the blade to hold the fur on it's head in case it gets any funny ideas. The sound of things in pain is really foreign on their ears, and definitely not a pleasant sound, so they grimace, tilting their head far to the side so they can make eye contact with Dextera himself. ]

You are freaking me out. Does this mean it's working or not...

[ it’s funny, how much cairngorm reminds him of people from home. not human but close to it, underreacting to things that most people overreact to, but it’s the kind of funny that doesn’t make him laugh. ]

…

[ he just nods, which is not especially helpful, and then the wolf drops to the ground with a thump and a rustle of nature underneath it—it’s still a forest animal, but it’s clearly not a werewolf anymore.

it also isn’t dead, because another burst of light gets it to scramble to its feet and run away from the source of pain. no animal likes to hurt, after all. ]

[ They just... stare, completely bewildered by the events that just transpired. It's not really clear what just happened, but they guess whatever he did is good enough if it got it to back off. Maybe they underestimated his capabilities and reliability, too. ]

Huh. I've never seen anything like that before. Not to that extent.

[ It's a little similar to something they witnessed only once, more than a hundred years ago, but - clearly Dextera is not from the moon, so they convince themself it must be different. Now that their hands are free, they just rub the back of their neck while they set their blade in the earth, trying to shake off the awe. ]

That power doesn't make it die or anything?

[ or is he?

but really, no, he’s not from the moon. he’s from an apocalyptic wasteland where he was forced to inherit the power of god, and the light he just exerted over the werewolf was only a small taste of that ability. ]

Not these. [ a beat. ] It can.

[ it would, under any other circumstances. ]

Hmm.

[ Is all they can muster to that response at first. Gems didn't generally kill anything; if they saw jellyfish that had been washed up they moved them back to sea, they were gentle with insects they came across, and never hurt each other purposefully (with Cairn being the sole exception). So his ability is definitely the better alternative to what they were doing, which was either 1) punching out their teeth or 2) killing them if it got too hard to control - they relax a little, their sense of trust in the other growing a bit. ]

I think what you were just doing is more useful than just feeding them. [ They start taking steps in their intended path again, looking back at him curiously. ] That method will definitely go wrong sooner or later.

[ it’s… surprising, to hear cairngorm say that. it sounds like praise, even if their tone is as flat as ever. dextera doesn’t let himself get a big head about it, but he can feel something ease between them. an acceptance, perhaps, of dextera’s competence at this whole living thing, after the incident in the well. ]

It’s easier.

[ and, the gross part: ]

I must eat animals anyway. I should share.

[ Uh!??! Is he eating the animals raw... they don't hold back making a face at that, since they still find the whole eating thing humans do kind of gross, not to mention that it seems like most humans liked to heat up their food before eating it, for whatever strange reason. Whatever floats his boat, they guess. ]

I don't really care about all that eating stuff. [ They wave a hand dismissively, as if they don't want to be on the topic for any longer than they have to. ] Just as long as you avoid getting eaten yourself.

[ There's a tired sigh, while they stretch their free hand over their head to try and wake themselves back up now that they're back in the darkness. ]

When will you return back to town?

[ sorry, but Hell Yeah he’s eating the animals raw. he knows that part is gross, though, so he’s not at all offended by their disgusted expression. although it’s normal for his world, he’s had people slap his wrist enough times about doing that in public that he understands most people are not down to clown with offal.

especially not rocks, who “don’t care” about eating. ]

Soon. [ that much, he can promise. ] Are you all right?

Event Six.

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