awashlogs | [ CLOSED/QUEST LOG ] kill em all 1989

[ Hunt the harpies.

Looks like their mysterious #FFFFFF has more errands for them to do, and this one is a little more dangerous than cleaning up the town. Perhaps it would be safer to stay out of this one since his gun collection was left at home and close-range combat isn't in his skillset, but you don't get far in life if you're not willing to take risks, and when has Ryo ever been afraid of a little danger? Besides, he's interested in seeing those harpies and doing this may turn out to be worthwhile - after all, color began to return to the world after they spent the week scrubbing floors and generally making the town look less disgusting.

And he won't be going alone; he isn't stupid enough to think it's a good idea to grab a knife and head toward what's likely a nest full of harpies by himself. He'll leave the actual hunting in more capable hands. He isn't sure how good Dextera will be at this, but if nothing else he can be used as harpy bait if something goes wrong - you don't need to outrun the bear, you just have to run faster than the guy next to you.

Armed with the set of sharpened knives he keeps hidden under the coat, Ryo approaches, leveling Dextera a lukewarm glance before inclining his head in greeting. ]

Hey, Dextera.

[ Guren is only a minute or two late, thankfully. He passes a casual greeting to his friend first, nodding his head before his attention moves over to the other man here. This is more like a business meeting, almost— like work. His work, specifically, which almost always has killing creatures in the line up. So, he faces Ryo and takes the glove off his right hand so he can extend it to him for a shake. He’s spoken to him, he remembers that hex code with the convenient 666 placement, but he never actually met him in person. ]

I don’t think I ever got your name. It’s Guren Ichinose. [ Which he already said on his post, of course, but again— new face. Guren is only a little surprise that Ryo looks like a rich foreigner. He doesn’t judge by appearance, but there’s a lot to take in from them, at least. ]

Ryo Asuka - apologies for not mentioning it before, Ichinose-san. [ He takes the offered hand, giving it a firm shake. ] It must have slipped my mind.

[ He was more interested in their conversation about demons than names, and at the time he hadn't decided if he wanted to give out his name on the forum so he refrained from introducing himself. ]

[ dextera is completely unaware that he’s being considered potential food for the harpies, and so there’s much the same reaction now as when he and ryo first crossed paths. he swallows, offering ryo a quick nod in greeting as his hands tighten around the strap across his chest. he’s more grateful when guren arrives, and he watches their business-like exchange with careful eyes.

unsure of where to look, he settles for glancing between both of them with equal uncertainty. ]

...

[ he’s brought his angelic rifle out of habit alone, and his sword is attached to it, leaving his cargo looking like a cross he’s carrying on his back. the rifle is useless without bullets, but it makes a nice blunt weapon anyway. ]

[Half Japanese, then? Must be. Guren is still firing off guesses to himself as they talk, but his expression doesn't change. He's not the type to smile over the top or be super kind or polite in a greeting, either. A handshake is enough, and more than what most people get, and he's slipping his glove back on just as quickly.

In full uniform, he feels like he looks the most suited for a mission like this, but Dextera gets close with that giant ass gun on his back. Didn't he say it had no bullets...? Meanwhile, blondie over here... looks like he's wearing prada? He doesn't judge, but he's definitely noting it.]

Asuka. Don't worry about it; the forums aren't really a place for exchanging names, anyway. [He adds this in the middle of his thoughts, glancing towards the forest. His hand rests back at his hip, right by his sword.]

So, harpies? There wasn't any real clue as to where they are, but I doubt it'll be across the water. We'll just have to head through the forest.

[ Guren definitely looks the most suited for this mission; just from a first glance, he's given Ryo the impression that he's someone more useful than Dextera. He definitely hopes that he gets to see that demon weapon in action, and the thought makes him feel a rare tingle of excitement in his fingertips.

That said, a handshake is more than enough for Ryo as well, and he'd rather get their little quest started than let introductions devolve into meaningless chatter while nothing gets done. They have plenty of time to talk (except for Dextera, for obvious reasons) while they search for the harpies.

~~If Guren's not going to judge the Prada coat, then he should judge the fucking drop crotch pants. Seriously, who let this man dress himself?~~ ]

Harpies are part bird, so we'll likely find them near rocky cliffs or crags suitable for nests. [ He says with that usual air of cold indifference, sliding his hands into his pockets and turns his gaze toward the forest. ]

[ guren probably is more useful than dextera.

even so, dextera isn't completely helpless—when ryo speaks, dextera is all ears, his attention immediately martial even though only guren is the lieutenant colonel here. (and yet, there's something a little sad in his expression, too.) his eyes flick from guren to ryo to the forest, and he gives a vague follow me gesture to take the lead on this one.

forests are unfamiliar to him, and he's a little nervous about it, but he's sinking quickly into the mindset of a mission. he'd do this by himself, if he could.

cliffs... if they walk straight for long enough, they'll eventually reach the edge. probably. ]

[Alright, he'll judge him for those pants. Those are pretty bad. Another thing he's watching are Dextera's sad eyes, though, with a subtle look to the side. He won't say anything, but he's picking up on the difference in atmosphere pretty quickly here. He's sure he'll only learn more as they go.

He doesn't mind following him into the forest, so he does just that, silent to Dextera for now.]

Are there harpies where you're from, too? [But Guren can't help but ask Ryo about that. Demon interest was one thing, but casually talking about harpies like these are facts instead of weird myths draws his attention, okay.]

[ Ryo follows, walking alongside Guren. He didn't pay enough attention to Dextera to pick up on that hint of sadness, but even if he had he wouldn't have spared a thought to it. It's of no concern to him. ]

Harpy-like demons exist. [ The demon that nearly succeeded in killing Akira comes to mind. Silene. He never saw what she looked like prior to fusing with the other demon, but it's not hard to imagine her soaring through the sky like an eagle. ]

That's probably how the Greek myth came to be in the first place.

[ dextera, too, glances back at ryo's confidence in the historical basis of harpies. he's no stranger to odd, twisted creatures, but there's a difference between theorizing and knowing by the rules of his own world that such creatures to be likened to "demons" are god's more modern mistakes.

but ryo explains himself with such conviction, it's hard not to believe that it's true in some sense. dextera slows down, just a little, so that he can keep pace with the two of them to listen. ]

...?

[ his attention is caught, anyway. ]

[ Guren looks to Dextera at that clear curiosity, then back to Ryo. ]

I guess that could make sense, if demons can take on that appearance where you’re from. For me, almost every demon looks like their past self when they were a vampire, since that’s how most of them have started. My first demon told me that if you become a demon, your appearance will be at the age where you were the most pure and believed anything could happen.

[ But Byakkomaru is a tiger, so Shinya has a furry demon? Guren has no idea. ] I don’t know how true that is.

[ Ryo nods, tossing Dextera a brief glance (are you interested in demons too, mute guy?) and taking in Guren's words with attention, his expression impassive but there's a clear glimmer of interest in his eyes. ]

Interesting. The demons in my world have the ability to merge with living tissue of other creatures to inherit their abilities and physical characteristics, so they're able to mutate into a lot of different shapes. They can't exist unless they merge with something else.

[ believe it or not... mute guy is interested in demons, in a sense. it would be a stretch to say that the meta-beings are demons when they're more like former humans, but this concept of mutation is familiar to him. there's a lot he wants to say about it, actually, the words welling up inside of him...

but what happens is that he asks for guren's hand, since it's significantly easier to communicate his words to guren and hope that he can translate for ryo.

D-E-M-O-N-S
O-R-I-G-I-N?

he glances to guren's face, checking comprehension, and then looks to ryo without actually trying to meet his eyes. just a vague glance, enough to direct the question. ]

[ He offers his hand forward without hesitation. At first meeting Ryo, he’d originally intended to keep it on the low that he’s close with Dextera at all, but by now, it seems he’s determined it doesn’t matter. Guren watches, waiting patiently and meeting his gaze when he finishes. As usual, he doesn’t have any trouble picking up the words, and his eyes follow Dextera’s direction to Ryo again. ]

He wants to know the origin of demons where you’re from. [ Honestly, that’s a good question. He remembers discussing what they feed on, in a sense, and the differences in their contact with people, but not the beginning, necessarily. ] Where did they come from, if that’s how they exist?

I'm not sure, actually. Their origins are difficult to trace. [ Ryo shrugs his shoulders and directs his gaze back to Dextera because he's not going to be that asshole who talks to the person relaying the question like Dextera isn't there. ]

What I do know is that they lived on Earth millions of years ago, long before humans existed. Then some sort of mass extinction event occurred; possibly the same one that wiped out the dinosaurs. But the demons didn't die, they somehow lived on without their physical bodies.

[ Or maybe they survived by merging with bacteria and other microorganisms and hibernated until humans began to spread across the planet the demons once ruled...? That's a theory that has crossed his mind. ]

[ that’s all... a lot, isn’t it?

dextera isn’t sure what to make of that history, though he doesn’t doubt that ryo’s guesses are accurate for his world. he seems intelligent. he must be intelligent, actually. ]

...

[ it seems, then, that there’s no preserver god to speak of in ryo’s world. demons are independent entities?

it’s almost... sad. dextera nods, leaving guren’s hand to think as they continue to trek through the forest. ]

Sounds like a pretty shitty excuse for a life.

[Demons are Not Great but he still can feel sympathetic for them. Even if demons aren't supposed to have emotions. They're emotionless beings that feed off desire and passion of humans, and that's it. The human's desires become their own. Hmm. His hand drops back to his side now that Dextera is done with it, and he glances through the trees.]

But I guess anything will survive in any way that it can. [He's lost in thought about Plenty, but he's not sure he should say any of it aloud, so he falls back into silence as they walk. This forest is a little eerie when it's quiet.]

[ Ryo doesn't do sympathy, but what he feels is almost like admiration - demons are exceptional at surviving. They aren't dependent on technology or weapons like humans are. Humans may have mastered everything from spears to the atom to rocket propelled grenades, but they're still losing the war against the demons because they're ruled by fear and paranoia. It's pathetic.

He settles into silence as well, quietly observing his surroundings as they walk. The lack of color kind of reminds him of his apartment.

After a long moment, he looks to Dextera. ]

Have you considered learning a sign language? It would make communication easier.

[ dextera flinches slightly, to be addressed when he was thinking about other things—it's not that he was completely zoned out, but there's a particular combination of being spoken to and ryo's voice that set him suddenly on edge.

slowly, he shakes his head. he's hunched slightly, not quite meeting ryo's eyes but looking at his face all the same.

a sign language—there's no need for it, even without his voice, in the world he comes from. half the people he knows read his mind without asking him, and it's not like he speaks to anyone anyway. he's expected not to communicate, in fact. but here... ryo might have a point. he can't rely on guren and charades for everything. ]

[Guren watches Dextera this whole time from behind. He really doesn't like to see that tension. It's the tension of someone who bends to authority because he's learned to do so, right? That lack of eye contact... it's too fearful for someone kind like Dextera.

It's why he's placing a hand on Dextera's head, suddenly, both affectionate and a signal that he's stepping in the middle of this interaction.]

Learning a sign language would be tricky here, where none of the books can be read. Besides that, there are way too many people who wouldn't know what he's trying to do. [He tilts his own head slightly.] If you don't know one now, it means this is either recent or it wasn't such an inconvenience back home, right?

[It's not Ryo or Dextera's fault, but there's no need for correction, he thinks. He doesn't mind translating at all. He messes up Dextera's hair a little before he pulls his hand back again and looks to Ryo.]

By the way, what's your combat experience? Anything?

[ Ryo notices the lack of eye contact and vaguely wonders why Dextera doesn't want to meet his eyes. He doesn't particularly care, but he doesn't recall doing anything to warrant such apprenhensive body language - maybe it's his personality? ]

...I have experience killing demons, but I rely on long-range weapons and I don't have any firearms.

[ Having access to his massive gun collection would be fantastic right now; he's really itching to spill blood and he'd love to perforate a harpy with a barrage of bullets. ]

[ it's not like ryo is going to get an answer, either. even guren isn't completely aware of dextera's complicated relationship with authority—and complicated indeed it is, since although he won't meet ryo's eyes, he doesn't seem to stop watching ryo for long, either.

guren provides a helpful distraction, but there's just something about ryo that dextera can't draw away from. ~~it's the pants!~~ ]

...

[ he lets himself fall out of the conversation, fixing his hair, but now he's trying to imagine ryo fighting. it doesn't seem like it should be possible...? but they are on a hunt, after all. ryo wouldn't have come if he didn't feel like he could do it.

dextera unhitches his sword from the rifle at his back anyway, remembering to be prepared the further they go into the forest. their surroundings are changing as they walk, just enough to feel like they're making progress toward something. ]

I don't have any you could use, either.

[Dang. Well... Guren considers it for a moment, and then glances to Dextera, as well.] We have no idea how strong or weak these things could be, so let's try to stick to a formation when we find them, just to be cautious. I'll take the front, and Dex, you stick with me as much as you can. It'll be us at the front, and Asuka at the back. Kind of like a triangle.

[He looks back to Ryo, now.] Even if you don't have a long range weapon, it would be an even worse idea to throw you in the front lines if you're not used to it. You can observe the whole picture a lot better from the back, so help either of us out if we need it, and try to spot if there are any patterns with their attacks.

[Well, it's extreme... He's honestly not sure that these will be anything more than fodder for him, but he's always cautious and ready!!] Sound good?

[ ~~Those pants are cursed...~~ The prolonged staring makes something twist inside Ryo; it's that cold sensation that crept down his spine when they first met, a feeling of something alien, yet oddly familiar. It's a little annoying, really, and it makes his eyebrows furrow for a brief heartbeat of time before smoothing back out.

Then he shifts his attention to Guren, listening to what he has to say and nods. A solid and sound plan of action, as expected from someone in the military. He approves. ]

Yes, that sounds good; I'm more of a strategist than a fighter, so keeping away from the front lines and observing the enemy plays to my strengths.

[ dextera agrees, inasmuch as he has a real opinion on anything, and ryo will luckily be briefly relieved of the staring when dextera breaks his gaze away to look at guren. he nods.

he may not have a demon sword, and his own “blade” isn’t a blade at all so much as it is a junky-looking piece of shit that isn’t even sharp, but he wouldn’t have come out here with it if he didn’t have some confidence in his ability to use it. he can protect ryo for as long as ryo needs to figure out how to join the fray.

the forest is opening up somewhat, as they walk, but it doesn’t feel like they’re reaching the edge of anything—rather, it’s more like the forest has just kindly herded them toward their destination, and if they tried to escape this way they would just find strife.

but there’s a sound, in the distance. the squawking cry of a harpy, perhaps? dextera gestures that way with his sword, glancing between guren and ryo to make sure they heard, too. ]

[Honestly, that sword is a piece of shit, but he trusts Dextera. He had said his ability was okay, so that's all he needs to know. His friend Goshi has a demon weapon in the form of a Japanese pipe, so honestly, it could be weirder.

At the sound of a bird, or something similar, Guren moves one of his hands to signal them to stop for a moment.]

I heard it. [He unsheathes his sword slowly, and just doing that is enough to boost his power significantly. Without the intention to leak any of his demonic energy everywhere, there's none of that intimidation like he'd shown to Dextera before. His aura just gets quietly stronger.]

Let me lead in. [He says that to Dextera, mostly, since Ryo is already comfortable with being in the back.] Once we're sure and things start happening, you can come up to formation.

[ Ryo halts mid-step at the squawking noise, turning his head in the direction it came from. It could just be an ordinary bird, but his heart still picks up a beat or two when he hears it.

He'd noticed Dextera's blade and wondered how useful such a piece of junk could possibly be unless Dextera tends to use it as a blunt weapon and smack a harpy over the head with it, but who cares about that thing when Guren's sword is far more interesting? The second Guren moves to unsheath his weapon, Ryo's attention snaps to it, interest sparkling across his eyes. Yes, good, let him see that blade in action.

He doesn't say anything, just quietly watching the other two for now. ]

[ dextera glances sideways at guren, more suspicious of than impressed by his demon sword—and he remembers the horrible aura that guren let creep out the last time. it doesn’t seem like it’s the same, this time around, but dextera isn’t sure how much he actually likes the concept.

but he’s good at listening. he’s good at following orders, whether from guren or ryo or anyone who deigns to tell him what to do, and so he falls back as instructed when guren asks for the lead. in the distance, he can see the sky starting to filter through the trees, and the sharp grey shapes that must be where the thickness of the trees give way to cliffs and sparseness.

he nods, his attention thoroughly distracted from ryo now that guren has taken control. ]

[With both of them willing to listen and fall behind just like any of his subordinates, Guren doesn't hesitate in moving forward like he'd said. He stays in the front, now, so that when the trees thin enough to be able to make out the side of the cliff, it's only his form that's showing. Walking out in the open like this would be suicide if it were a bunch of vampires— it might still be suicide now, depending on how strong a harpy is. However, standing back and planning for something they know nothing about power-wise would be a waste of time.

The creatures are monstrous, demonic things, so Guren wouldn't be surprised if they really did come from demons at some point. There are an insane number of them, coloring the sky around the cliffside and the cliffs themselves, but Guren singles out one, first. A lone harpy too far from the group, too close to the trees.

With his sword drawn as it is, his movement speed is definitely above average, but it's not his focus. He sneaks up on the harpy, angles his blade and stabs it through its throat— but even with a move that should be silencing, it lets out one last ear-piercing shriek, leaving Guren to tear his blade out and look to the others. They've already focused in on him, but fighting a large group of beasts like this doesn't make retreating and regrouping a fair strategy. Besides, he's gotten his answer: he can kill them easily.]

Now! [A call back to the others, and he's already jumping to attack more that are flying his way. It's here that his demon blade is shown more clearly. That glowing red streak in the middle is a lot more obvious when the sword is drenched in blood— red blood, despite these colorless things— and the effortless way Guren rips through them shows raw strength. He's getting surrounded quickly, so even with power like this, he'll end up scratched— especially if Dextera isn't fast enough— but he doesn't look all too worried about it with that wide smirk on his face.]

Rip them apart, Mahiru-no-yo. [More power courses through him, and the squawking screams of too many harpies is almost deafening, even with as many as Guren sends into the dirt.]

[ These creatures are definitely not like Silene, but perhaps this is what she would have ended up looking like in the ancient world where the demons constantly merged with each other to grow stronger, becoming more misshapen and monstrous each time. And there's quite a lot of them, too - Ryo assumed there would be a group, but this is a far larger encounter than he anticipated. #FFFFFF certainly has high expectations of them.

But that's fine, watching how this will play out should be interesting and a large number of enemies means the battle is less likely to end before Guren can show off how powerful that blade is. A hint of a grin tugs at Ryo's lips when he watches Guren sneak up on the target and he inhales sharply, feeling a certain thrill rush down his spine when crimson liquid sprays from the harpy's throat.

The thrill of battle and surviving in a world where weakness means death. Only the strong live, that is the oldest rule in the world and Ryo has known it since before he washed up on that dock years ago, before he was even born. He can feel it in the very core of his being. ]

Alright- [ Ryo remains in the back where can get a good view of what's going on, close enough to be able to help out but with enough distance between him and the flock of harpies to avoid becoming an immediate target. He takes in the scene before him, observing how the harpies move and react to the flow of events as he searches for weaknesses to take advantage of.

There's a lot to pay attention to, but after a moment he sees something: ]

Dextera! One of the harpies to your left has an injured wing; she can't manuever as well as the others.

[ despite his often dazed, dreamy manner, dextera is as good in battle as he promised to be. the harpies are faster than he is, but he has tricks on his side—no training, nothing formal, but the power of god is formidable indeed.

ryo’s instruction guides him where he needs to go, and he wheels back from the harpy he was working on to swing at the injured, screaming thing. his sword doesn’t glow so much as it effuses a pure, white light, bursting against the harpy’s body and leaving the blunt line of a burn until he runs her through. knowing that color has returned to blood, for one reason or another, dextera knows as well he can take advantage of this.

with a dark efficiency, he pins the dying harpy under his foot and digs his fingers into her breast, drawing out the heart. morbid as it is, when he scrapes his teeth across the organ like biting an apple, it helps.

then he’s back into the fight, a little better than before. ]

[That's disgusting, Dextera.

But Guren's not going to comment on it right now. He's more focused on that bright light, anyway, when he spares a glance over to him to make sure he's doing okay. It's a stark contrast to the thick, black energy that seems to leak from Guren's swords with certain strikes, wrapping around his wrist and even erupting into dark flames that surround Guren and the blade when he calls out:]

Swallow their attacks, Mahiru! [He has to tell his sword what to do... but this means that the ten or so harpies flying at him at once are wiped out in one blow as dark flames surround the blade.

He's borrowing more and more power to keep up with the number of enemies there are. Just the three of them and this entire army of bird creatures— as fast as his strikes are, and even if he's faster than them and can wipe them out in multiples, the sheer number is overwhelming. It doesn't matter that he's trained well with the sword, or that his leaps make his powerful strikes rip up even the ground around them. One still gets him from behind, digging sharp claws deep into his back, and as he spins his sword to angle back and take care of that one, another is screeching and clawing at the arm he raises to try and block it coming at him from the front. He's getting pretty bloody like this, but he's more worried about the fair number that aren't getting distracted by him and are moving past.

Dextera can take care of his own fair number, but when he's busied, too—]

Don't let any get past! [To Ryo, of course, who isn't combat ready with what he's used to. But he's not really sure they can keep them all from finding their way over to him. He's interrupted, anyway, by claws to the neck that earn a "Shit" as he kicks the existing one off his blade and turns to deal with the rest.

This better make the forest a little safer, if nothing else.]

[ Dextera, why are you like this. The bright light catches Ryo's attention and he flicks a curious gaze to it; oh, so that sword is more useful than it looks, maybe he shouldn't have dismissed it as junk. He won't comment on what Dextera is doing to that heart, though — a slight arch of his eyebrow is all he gets from Ryo before he slips right back into observing and following the movement of battle.

If it wasn't a terribly stupid thing to do when you're somewhere full of harpies that would love to tear your innards from your body, Ryo would have focused all his attention on Guren, wreathed in dark flames that are practically radiating with demonic energy. It's a fascinating sight to behold, and he quickly finds himself wishing he had this video camera with him so he could record this and watch it in slow motion later because things are happening very quickly and the human brain can only process so much information at any given time.

—Well, looks like the harpies have decided it's time to do something about the third person that came to ruin their day with wanton murder. A pair of harpies are heading in his direction and Ryo immediately reaches inside his coat, pulling out a large knife that glints with sharpness. The grin on his lips broadens into something almost predatory as the harpies attack with claws as sharp as his knife and he only barely manages to avoid them in time when they dive at the ground.

When one of the harpies flaps to get away and presumably gain altitude for another attack, Ryo seizes his chance to jump at her from behind before she can take off, using his weight to pin her down and draws the blade of his knife across her throat, slicing through the carotid artery. ]

[ the spray of blood doesn’t seem to bother dextera, when he’s still got some dripping down his chin, staining the front of his shirt. the red blood soaks into the light fabric, and dextera thinks to wipe his mouth off before he jumps back into the swarm.

he’ll probably pick hearts and bones and flesh from the harpies when all is said and done—but it seems like they might not get any downtime with the way they seem to keep coming. even guren is getting overwhelmed, and dextera is torn between helping him, helping ryo, and helping himself.

ryo, at least for the moment, seems to have command of himself with his knife. so he leaps over to guren’s side, burning a more direct line of purification energy into the harpies he can reach, and he manages to clear some of them out before he’s pressed upon by the—hopefully last—group of them, wailing and screeching. if he didn’t think they needed to defeat all of them, he would be out of here already.

enough corpses litter the ground now that it seems they’ve made progress, anyway, but dextera can’t call for any orders. one latches onto his arm, claws sinking into his flesh, but he’s quick to break her wing before she can cart him off. ]

[Dextera's presence helps. The body count is incredible between the two of them, and he's going to give him a talking to about that assessment of being "okay" at fighting. Regardless of technique, ability makes up for the difference! Still...

It's too many of them— and this wave seems like the last one, at first, but a glance towards the cliffs tells him that there are far more than they can imagine. If they keep up like this, they're going to become overwhelmed. No matter how strong they are, individually or as a team, this is too many. Even if each one of these creatures is more like a low level vampire, quantity helps. It reminds him a little of the missions Kureto would send him on.

Well, there's one way to wrap things up. He grabs at the harpy with the broken wings Dextera just disabled, stabbing through the side of the chest as he rips her off and throws her to the ground.]

Fall back. We've killed enough. I'll set up a retreat.

[And his blade swings back to cut off another one from latching on. If they haven't killed enough by now, then the quest isn't important enough. He won't stand by long enough to see Dex seriously injured, or to let Ryo get hurt when he's not completely ready for combat other than one or two at a time. Just his cursed gear's power had been enough until now, but if he wants to create enough of a break—]

Possess me, Mahiru. [It's quiet, but Dextera might be able to hear it through the screeching. His aura changes completely. It's as if he's a completely different person now, and as he rips the wings off harpies and skewers them with his sword, it's clear that this is more of his true power, with the demon.

Well, it's becoming a bloody mess very quickly, but fewer of them are able to connect with their claws. A swipe of his sword creates energy that's like a burst, and for the ones he doesn't kill, he knocks them back. There's bodies and blood everywhere. He'll fall back as soon as Ryo and Dextera seem like they've made enough distance.]

[ The harpy makes a strangled noise before the life bleeds out of her and she goes still. One monster bird down, one left. Ryo stands up, attention on the other harpy above him. She screeches angrily and swoops down for another strike, this time successfully crashing into Ryo and pinning him to the ground.

Shit. Ryo winces, heart pounding like a jackhammer in his chest and the rush of adrenaline pumping through his body like an overloaded furnace as he stares up into her angry eyes. Then he swiftly brings his knees up, kicking the harpy hard enough to get her off of him. He scrambles to his feet and swiftly drives the knife right into the harpy's throat before she can get the chance to strike him again, a spray of red splattering across the front of Ryo's coat when he violently rips the blade back out. The coat will be a pain in the ass to clean, but he'll deal with that later.

Right now, it's time to get the hell out of there. Guren made the right call; ordering them to retreat is the only sensible thing to do in the face of a seemingly endless stream of murderous birds. ] Dextera, let's go.

[ He tosses Guren one last glance over his shoulder before he starts running, moving as fast as his legs can carry him. ]

[ dextera doesn't want to leave guren, even though he's beyond confident that guren can handle it—he's resilient and powerful, and dextera doesn't need to have ever seen his strength in battle before to know this is a fact. it's how he got that power that worries dextera.

possess me, mahiru.

it doesn't sit well with him. not when he has a pact with guren. all he can do is hope that he doesn't have to follow up on it, and that when guren retreats, he'll be just the same as he's always been—after all, being told by the two people he's with means dextera doesn't have the independent willpower to stay behind and try to help.

he stays on ryo's tail instead, ready to defend him from any harpies that might chase them, but disappearing into the woods means that the creatures don't try to pursue them with the tight trees cutting into their flight room. ]

Hah—

[ he can't catch his breath, his body's weakness showing now that he's not grabbing at flesh to support him. still, he manages to turn his attention on ryo, watching for any sign of faltering. ]

[Good. They both listen, and that makes it easier for Guren to use his power. Curse marks begin to show on the side of his face as he makes use of wide, powerful swings and an inhuman speed that lets him slice them down one after another. The few that latch onto him and dig into his skin aren't an issue, and Ryo and Dextera might be able to catch his laughter before they're completely out of earshot.

He's just having a good time.

He waits until they're completely gone in the trees to retreat himself. The trees are thick, and he doubts they'd fly after them, but he'd rather not test that. So, once they're gone, he swings out with one more powerful attack, "swallowing" the impact of anything that comes for him, and jumps back and out of the way. He'll catch up with the other two in a short while, but for now, the harpies are taken care of!]

[ ...Guren, are you okay. Most other people might've been concerned if they heard the laughter, but Ryo isn't. If anything, he considers it a sign that things are going well over there since he isn't screaming in pain or anything like that.

Ryo's chest heaves as he runs, the adrenaline in his system pushing him forward, and he occasionally tosses glances over his shoulder to see if any harpies are daring enough to pursue them deeper into the woods. He doesn't stop until he feels safe enough to do so, leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees as he breathes heavily. That sure was a thing that happened and his legs are aching. ]

[ dextera is a little worried about the laughter...

but he can’t do anything about it, like this. he’s hurt, just enough to be thrown until he can manage to sit down and heal up, and there are more pressing matters to address in the meantime.

when they can finally stop, dextera is dizzy with the force of exertion, but he forces himself to stay on his feet. ryo... is ryo okay? he allows himself to crouch, at least, when ryo leans forward, following ryo’s face so he can check to make sure he’s mostly unharmed.

it’s more useful than stressing about guren, at least. ]

[ Ryo looks pretty okay for a guy who fought two murder birds with a knife, thankfully - his ribs are kind of sore and bruised from when the harpy decided to crash into him like an avian wrecking ball, but he somehow managed to avoid having his flesh torn by those claws.

He straightens once he's managed to steady his breathing and looks to Dextera with an almost unsettling, too-calm grin on his face and harpy blood dripping from his chin. ]

...I'm fine.

Edited 2018-04-10 02:06 (UTC)

[ he does look fine.

dextera would say that he looks better than he himself, which maybe isn’t crazy considering that ryo was separated from most of the fray, but he still seems strangely calm for the battle they just fought. and yet... ]

...

[ ...he reaches out, wiping the blood from ryo’s chin in a gesture that’s almost reverent, but he manages to avoid doing anything else weird with the harpy blood on his fingers. ]

There you are.

[It's Guren, pushing himself off a tree as he walks forward, his other hand around his stomach. He's bleeding in numerous places, but those will be taken care of in no time. Deeper cuts like that take a little longer when he's not perfectly synced with his demon— he didn't think it was necessary to use any drugs for this. The curse marks from earlier are gone.]

They couldn't follow, even if a number of them tried. Are you both okay? [Ryo seems to look fairly well, though, so his eyes linger more on Dextera as he gets close enough.]

[ ...Dextera that's gay. Ryo doesn't jerk away, but something sharp and cold flashes across his blue eyes when he feels those fingers touch his chin. He'll let it slide and not comment on it though, looking over to Guren with that grin of his still firmly in place. ]

I'm okay, Ichinose-san. [ He looks back to Dextera, eyeing the arm the harpy latched onto earlier. Does he need to bandage that... ]

[ dextera only takes his hand back when guren approaches, almost a little guilty—like he was caught doing something he shouldn't. and that's probably true. he shouldn't just wipe the blood off relative strangers' faces like it's the most important thing he's ever done. ]

...

[ with both of them looking at him now, like this, dextera glances at the arm that's still bleeding... and covers it with his other hand, as if he can hide that he's wounded? he nods. ]

[He should be ashamed, caught with another man.......

Guren gives Ryo an approving look at how well he handled everything, and honestly, Dextera did a great job, too— but the way he covers that wound up gets a scowl. Guren doesn't waste time moving over to him, moving his hand away from his own wound to literally slap Dextera's hand away.]

Give me that. [He's going to FIX IT... He brought whatever scavenged bandages and supplies he could think were necessary, so. He's very much just going straight to trying to help him with this. At the same time, he does change the subject to take away from his clear and uncool worrying.]

That wasn't every harpy, but there were too many of them. Countless. It's unlikely that we could kill them all. "Hunt harpies"... It didn't specify how many we needed, so we'll have to assume that's enough and see what happens.

[ Ryo was going to bandage Dextera's arm since he brought some bandages just in case they would need it and he's used to patching up Akira after their demon hunts, but since Guren's already slapping Dextera's hand away he'll leave the job to him instead - and honestly, he isn't too keen on the idea of having to touch Dextera. He isn't sure why he feels this way, but he can't help it and feelings are stupid and sometimes work in nonsensical ways. ]

#FFFFFF should try being less vague next time. [ That would make these quests a lot easier... ]

[ dextera was just going to grab a heart or something and see if that helped, but guren is too quick on his wound for him to fight it. so he allows his arm to be bandaged, and he tries to avoid guren's gaze because he's embarrassed to be attended to so forcefully.

he looks instead to ryo, and nods. the vagueness could have gotten them killed, in this case—maybe they didn't even need to kill any of them. hunt itself could just as easily be find, depending on how free the writer is feeling with meanings.

regardless, they've done what they could. with his free hand, dextera wipes the rest of the harpy blood off his face. ]

[If he had known, he would have ordered Ryo to do it to seem less caring... As if the cat's not out of the bag. Well, he's quick, at least, and once he's done, he pulls back to lean against a tree with a sigh.]

Vague seems to be their MO. [He isn't even cleaning the blood off himself. It's splattered on his face, but he'll deal with it later.]

The others were similar, if not more vague. I wonder if interpretation is part of the deal. [He doesn't know. But... they sure murdered a ton. It has to work.] Let's head back, as soon as you're both ready.

[ CLOSED/QUEST LOG ] kill em all 1989

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject