awashlogs | [ open ] Quest Catch-all!

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[ open ] Quest Catch-all!

Who: Guren Ichinose & Various
Where: All around town
When: The month of September!
What: QUEST RELATED CATCH ALL. There's an open bee prompt since Guren is a red, so anyone is welcome even if you didn't plot with me! Newbies too, once they get in!
Warnings: None. Will add if necessary!

A. Bees to see - OPEN

[Guren feels as though he's been going a little easy on the quests lately. It's time to fix that. He's antsy, he's got an empty jar in one hand and his other on his sword, and he holds it up to anyone who might pass him by.]

[And with that simple line, they're off! Unless your character has any resistance, of course, but assuming they don't, Guren leads them right into the forest.]

B. Wildcard - OPEN

[If you want to hit Guren up for a different quest, even if he's a red, feel free! Try to ruin his day? Just see what he's up to? This is my generic space to say anyone can tag me even if I didn't plot things with them, so feel free, or hit me up at

zeloser to work something out, if you want!]

Closed prompts in the comments!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ah... he's worried? That might be fair. It did cross his mind that Dextera may be better off without him. But, that's far more than a single memory anyway, and he wouldn't dare do it when he's so selfish.

Not unless he had to, anyway.

The kiss is nice, and his fingertips brush past Dextera's cheek and into his hair so he can kiss him back.]

Both. That's what I said. [That's what it'll have to be. He wants it, more than anything else.] ...Do you have to leave?

[ dextera shakes his head.

he didn’t expect guren to ask, when they’ve never really just walked away from something like this. when they meet up, it’s usually for good, isn’t it? their plans are locked with each other.

it’s just, his scar… ]

I’ll stay.

Thanks.

[It was a request. It was the closest thing he could get to "please stay and sleep with me" or "I need you". He wants company. He wants this company. His hands move lower, resting at Dextera's hips and tugging him a little closer. Even if they're together so often, it never feels like enough.]

We could use the quiet.

[ guren’s hands are at his hips. the side that his scar is on is a strange temperature, though muted by the fabric of his clothes. it’s simultaneously cold and hot, too cold and hot.

dextera seems strangely tense because of the way guren is touching him now. he nods in agreement and tries to pretend it’s just fine. ]

…

[ he’s bad at lying? ]

[...He's bad at lying, and Guren is amazingly observant. It's a bad combination for Dextera. The tension is clear in everything, and it's the reason why Guren notes the change in temperature in the first place. He might have let it pass as something from how he was holding himself, or something natural like that, if it hadn't been pointed to so obviously.

Now, though, his fingers shift subtly over that spot.]

What's wrong? [He'll ask him first, calm, curious, like he's not completely onto something being odd with his body.]

[ dextera shakes his head.

nothing is wrong, except that his scar hurts, and it’s been at low, dull ache since he spoke to his brother, his conflict reflected in the baroque distorting his body.

they resolved things, so why? ]

…

["He's lying."

Guren can tell that much, but Mahiru still voices it, materializing for him just to the side of them. His eyes slide over just slightly, to see what she's up to, and she's bent over, peering straight at where Dextera's scar must be, beneath the clothes.

"It's unbelievably twisted. I've never seen anything like it."

His eyes are still partially focused on Dextera, to not make it too obvious that he's looking at someone else right now, too. The hand not over the scarred hip reaches to grab at his coat.

"Hehe. Lying to you already... Is this a bump in your little relationship? ♪"

He ignores her, of course. It's not the first time Dextera has lied. He's more concerned about why he's lying. It must mean it's exceptionally worrying.]

Can you take this off? [The coat.]

[ dextera knows he’s been caught. guren can probably feel the wrongness of the scar, and although he doesn’t know that mahiru is here, that she’s looking, he can see it in guren’s eyes that he’s balancing two conversations. ]

…

[ he takes off his coat, dutiful and nervous. he doesn’t want guren to see, he doesn’t want guren to see… but this is his punishment for lying.

with his coat out of the way, dextera’s hand naturally moves to pin his shirt down, but he winces, looking—guilty. he’s already caught, so why should he keep trying to hide it? ]

["Try not to be too slow this time, Guren. He looks terrified."

Guren shoots a sharp glare off to the side, too obviously, and then turns his attention to where the scar is hidden. His hand rests nearby, but he won't force it. He looks back to Dextera's face.]

Dex. It's just me. Can I see?

[ it’s just guren.

that’s what dextera tells himself, as his fingers twist into the fabric of his shirt. it’s a sign, at least to him, that guren isn’t making it worse—but he’s still scared. ]

It’ll go away.

[ he did see that look, and it must be mahiru. whatever she’s saying, he wants to assuage. then, he lifts his shirt.

his scar is much bigger than it was before—guren has seen it change shape, if only minutely, but it actually seems to be spreading, now. parts of the scar tissue crawl up and down the side of his body, and at the heart of it, where his actual hip bone rests underneath, there’s a smear of lightless black, as if someone just tried to erase him. ]

[He can't hide the concern on his face over this. It's worse than he could have imagined, and he drops to a knee, suddenly, in front of Dextera, so he can see it properly. His fingers gingerly touch near the edges of the scar, hoping it won't hurt Dextera too badly.

Mahiru, though she'd been glad to be noisy before, was now silent and watching from a short distance away.]

What is it? This isn't a normal scar. [A worried glance up, at his face.] Dex?

…

[ that look on guren’s face makes dextera regret letting him see this. avoiding meeting up for longer would have made him worry, too, as dextera has learned—so maybe there was never a way around this. ]

It’s my… Baroque.

[ they talked about it, once. guren’s curse marks, the threat of becoming a demon, it’s not so different from this. dextera’s is less violent, that’s all. ]

It's spreading.

[His Baroque. The thing he compared to demons. But it's spreading, it looks painful, it looks like Dextera is going to be swallowed whole. Dextera knows by now what else it looks like— in the moments after he'd kissed Mahiru in his memory, when she was vanishing into his sword, her skin had turned black, ominously, and it slowly consumed her.

Guren's staring at it hard, trying to understand.]

How? Why? What does it mean? [But with the onslaught of questions, something hits him, and he freezes, looking back up again.]

Is this because I asked you to speak to your brother?

Edited 2018-10-01 04:15 (UTC)

[ dextera shakes his head, quickly, at that.

it must be, because that’s when it started, but it’s not guren’s fault—they were discussing things that needed to be discussed, and it had nothing to do with the things he confessed on guren’s request.

they were private, personal things. things between brothers, that dextera couldn’t handle, and the fear of being left alone again in the end anyway.

he lets his shirt drop, and he crouches too, taking guren’s hands in his. imploring him, before anything else, to let go of that thought. ]

Baroque... An extreme desire. That's what you told me it was, right?

[His hands are held, but the scar is taken away too soon. He wasn't done looking. He wanted to memorize it. To be sure that if it ever changed even a little, he'd be on top of it. Doing what? He doesn't know. He can't stop this, can he? He can't purify anything.]

That it could swallow you whole. You want to be with your brother.

[That's what it was. That's what it has to be. He gets it now, and he can't let go of it.]

You said yours was different. How?

…

[ of course he wants to be with his brother. his scar, specifically, is changing in the reflection of that desire—but even if it’s extreme now, it’s changed for guren, too. his twisting isn’t as clear cut as he wishes it were.

he lets go of guren’s hands, so he can answer. ]

…I’m carrying many more than this.

[ that’s the difference, really. he breathes slowly. his sanity is just a tightrope. ]

But they’ll… correct themselves. I won’t lose. This will go away.

No...

[More than one? More? Dextera had been the first one to compare Baroques to demons, and Guren can't help but associate them now. Which means that his mind goes to Mahiru, taking on more than she could handle. He's holding in as much as he can, but he is starting to panic a little.]

No, no, this isn't something you can just ignore or hide. You don't know that for sure, do you? How long does it take for this to be corrected? If there's no solid date, then it's a risk.

I'm not... [God, he feels sick. His hands drop to his lap uselessly, where now he's just sitting on his knees on the floor.] ...trying to make you do anything you wouldn't want.

[ dextera knows what he’s thinking about. he remembers what he saw, he remembers mahiru out of her mind with all that she’d taken on, and guren trying desperately to save her long after her deadline had passed.

he’s worried the same thing will happen to dextera. of course he is. ]

…you’re not.

[ he didn’t want to upset guren. he didn’t think it would be this big of a deal. ]

I have to learn. So I can go with you.

[ dextera wants it more than anyone else—a desire so strong it could be a baroque in and of itself. he touches guren’s knee, just a moment of contact. ]

I have to. It hurts. But I’m… trying.

[He's so, so incredibly worried, and he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know a thing. He's behind, and it feels so familiar that it hurts.]

Please... be careful. Don't let yourself get swallowed by this. No matter what it means you might have to let go of... don't lose yourself to this. Can you promise me that?

[Desperately, he reaches to grab Dextera's hand.]

[ dextera nods. he can promise that. he’s not going to let this beat him, because he has to stay alive for his brother and guren both. if he’s swallowed by his baroque, then the people around him will suffer.

he takes guren’s hand and squeezes it, moving to kiss his fingers. ]

You too.

[ guren is struggling, too. they both are, and it’s miserable. but they have to survive together. ]

Promise me, too. A pact.

What?

[He's so caught off guard by having it flipped on him that the question just falls out. Him? But he doesn't have— ah, the demon. He can be an idiot sometimes. It's different, he thinks to himself, but he knows deep inside that it's not, really. Why would his actions be justified and not Dextera's? It's not fair, to think like that.

Still, he's hesitating, staring down at their joined hands.]

I'm not going to lose myself. [As empty as it is, this is what he tells himself all the time. He squeezes back.]

If a pact is what'll make sure you don't lose yourself, then I'll do it. No problem. I promise, so you promise, too.

[ it’s such an empty platitude. guren is saying that just to get dextera to promise him first, and dextera doesn’t know what to think about that. he’s not going to fall simply out of spite, but he realizes that guren is living in another world when it comes to things like this. ]

…I’m not her.

[ before he promises, that’s what he wants to say. he simply isn’t mahiru. ]

I won’t become her.

[Ah.

That kind of brings him out of his own head. His eyes meet Dextera's, and he feels ashamed. You're nothing like her is what comes to mind first, but when he opens his mouth, he stops himself. That doesn't sound right. It sounds wrong in every way.

And he can't deny that he's comparing them. His mouth closes again, pressing into a line for a few seconds before he tries again.]

I'm sorry. I shouldn't be comparing you. It's just—

[It's so similar. Everything is. It's scary, terrifying, and he can't lose anyone else. Especially not Dextera. Not again. He pulls Dextera's hand closer to himself, putting it over his heart.]

It's just that I don't know anything about it. I'm trying to understand the only way I know how, and even then, I'm behind. I'm worried that I won't be able to help you. I'm afraid that I'll lose you.

But those moments when I'm at my worst... I'm thinking of you. Of how I need to get back to you. I'm sorry... that I can't stop the way that I am. I'm too weak. But... I will do everything I can. I promise. I'll stay with you, I'll stay myself, no matter what it means that I have to do.

[ dextera is scared, too. guren scares him, with how reckless he is—and how reckless he isn’t even choosing to be, considering ryo withholding the formula he desperately needs.

ryo isn’t well. guren can do everything in his power to fight back his demon, but if it were possible on willpower alone, he would have conquered it by now. it means his fate really is, in some way, in ryo’s hands, and dextera doesn’t want it to come down to the possibility of killing ryo or purifying guren just to save him. ]

…

[ he lets his hand rest over guren’s heart, his brow furrowing. there’s so much he learned about himself, but none of it was useful for a moment like this. he can’t help guren the way he wants to. ]

I’m empty. That’s why… this is here. It’s nothing you did. But it’s something you can help me with. So I’ll be OK.

[ slow and measured, a mix of signing and mouthing. ]

I promise. I’m not going to lose myself. You won’t either.

[Those are confident words from someone like Dextera. It's a reassurance, in that way, and Guren nods, looking clearly more at ease. Blind optimism and reckless determination. It's gotten him this far, as messy as it was. He can keep going.]

That's right. We'll be here to remind each other, too.

[When it seems hopeless... they're always cheering each other up. He doesn't think he can convey his love properly in a hug, so he leans in, instead, switching out Dextera's hand for his chin so that he can kiss him deeply. Warmly.]

Thanks for trusting me with that ring, and showing me your scar. I know it wasn't easy.

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