[OPEN] I fight the fever alone

[bemist]

WHO: Gebura and you!
WHAT: June catch-all! Maybe longer! It's a mystery!
WHERE: All around
WHEN: June 2024
WARNINGS: Graphic descriptions of violence, dismemberment, murder, gore and death. Also spoilers for Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina!



[ If you'd like a starter, just let me know! ]

Comments

[bemist]

Might as well. There's no real point in waiting for them to come to us.

[ Otherwise, it gives them more of a chance to increase their numbers. So she'll start briskly walking, northward. The less they talk about her outfit (of not-choice), the better, and it's easier to focus on fighting right now. ]

[yuwon]

[ he follows gebura, step for step. even moving at a quick enough pace to lead in front of her. he presumes it'd add a bit less tension to think he wasn't just following behind her in her present state of dress. (is this less awkward, who knows...)

it isn't long before they can hear the sounds of worm-controlled people in the distance. ] ... Makes you wonder how many offsprings this thing can produce. [ was it typical worm stuff? he has no idea, but he's already getting a better grip on his sword. ]

I'll use my fire to slow them down.

[bemist]

[ Gebura nods, firmly. Her grip tightens on Mimicry. ]

More than it should; if you slow them down, I'll cut them down.

[ She is apparently just not going to assume they'll Get Over It. ]

[yuwon]

Got it. [ he doesn't need a lot to begin. with that, purple-colored flames begin enveloping the general area. unlike most fire, it doesn't seem to burn anything, but its actual targets however. he isn't sure if the worms themselves dislike the heat, or if its the bodies simply reacting to it, but it does do the task of slowing their pace.

reacting to their apprehension, the flames begin to grow and become much bigger. thankfully this also helps in gathering them into a neat group; all the easier to expose of, or so he thinks. while he doubts she'd need his help, he does keep his eyes peeled for any unusual movement from the worm-controlled individuals. ]

[bemist]

[ It's nice to have someone she doesn't immediately have to glance over her shoulder for to protect; Yuwon's quiet confidence seems founded. And that's fine with her; the flames begin to rise higher and the group huddles together, and as soon as they are grouped together like that, she lunges forward.

The heels don't appear to be hindering her speed, at least, and Mimicry is wielded as easily as over, being brought down to slam into two of the group--and then the rest as she spins.

It's. It's very bloody, so hopefully he's keeping a safe distance. ]

[yuwon]

[ he is a decent distance away, but when there's blood being flung about, it's not like he's interested in avoiding every drip and drop. instead, he continues his word of using his flames, fanning them further out in order to gradually lure them here. almost as if he were setting up his own mini maze of ... worm-controlled zombies.

which is a weird thought in hindsight. when it looks like she's cleared this area, he moves forward to help her clean up the remaining ones. his own sword now cutting through them. though, not without his own commentary after a while. ] Woah, you're as strong as I thought. [ it's a compliment...

but why does it feel so embarrassing to type.

though, he does look a bit amused. but he did notice something else from before: ] Your weapon, I haven't seen something like that before.

help I missed this

[bemist]

You wouldn't have--or if you did, I'd be surprised.

[ At least, to learn that he's not from the City. But she'd known that much already, so Gebura almost (almost) looks amused herself. ]

It's a weapon extracted from an Abnormality--a monster, more or less. It also has a personality of its own, so you have to ignore a lot of what it says to try to get into your head.

the whiplash of our two threads rn

[yuwon]

I see. I've heard of them before. [ from others in passing, and he has seen them fight firsthand. but, each one seemed so different from one another, and they're a lot more flexible than he expected, if just because it seemed to exist as a response for so many different questions he had in regards to the city.

a weapon with a personality of its own. he supposed it was much like a cursed blade. even he avoided using the kusanagi sword precisely due to that reason. ] You must have a pretty good mental constitution. [ ... ] Does it say anything in particular?

this is why I want to apologize!!

[bemist]

Not so much these days, but back in my first life, when I started wielding it... it would ask for a shell. And it would ask me if I didn't desire a human shell, as well.

... Having it talk to me without trying to convince me or sway me still tampered with my thoughts, made me call my own thinking into question. But eventually, I figured out what I actually wanted to do and that's when I became stronger.

[ She glances down at the blade. ]

Now it's just... quiet noises.

never apologize :pleading:

[yuwon]

[ a human shell? he wonders if that was a metaphor, or if it was as gruesome as it sounded on paper. but, he supposes it didn’t matter either way, it’s clear they weren’t words in goodwill. ]

What you actually wanted to do…? [ yuwon may look a bit surprised, if just because he didn’t necessarily expect such a conclusion from the story of her sword. ] I see. Are you still doing what you wanted?

[ this might have been a difficult question considering where they’re presently at, but he wants to ask, anyway. perhaps, it’s curiosity that could stem from having seen into a part of her past. ]

[bemist]

[ Well. About that... ]

Not exactly. [ And because he'd seen it-- ]

There was someone I needed to protect. But in the end, I couldn't protect her from her own sense of guilt.

[yuwon]

Protect her from her own sense of guilt?

[ there's a brief hum of consideration. he supposes guilt is as much a natural inclination of people as any other emotion or sentiment. perhaps, stronger if just because he hasn't known anyone to easily find reprieve from it, no matter how resilient they were on paper. yet, he does still continue to ask: ]

Is it too late? [ technically, couldn't people spend their entire lives working up to the day where they could forgive themselves?

not that he thinks it's this easy, but he did have a natural habit of trivializing things. ]

[bemist]

[ Gebura exhales, a little heavily, though her expression doesn't flicker all that much. It's been a long time since then, after all. ]

Yes. It's far too late.

[ One can't undo death, after all. Not always. Not the way Ayin had for the ones he'd needed for his plan. ]

[yuwon]

[ he looks down momentarily, as if taking in the gravity of her words, before his gaze turns back towards her. ]

Is there nothing else you want? [ currently, or after all of that? ]

[bemist]

Not anything I'd be up to discussing right now.

[ So, like. Sorry we can't bond over our wishes and desires, Yuwon. ]

[yuwon]

Can't argue with that. [ yuwon isn't offended in the least.

he isn't about to pry if she doesn't want to talk. after all, they probably still have more work to do here. though, they've been making relatively quick work so far. perhaps, rendezvousing at the worm isn't impossible. ] Should we move onto the next of them?

[ they can bond over cleaning up these affected worm-people instead. ]