Deer Country In-Box

[burnitblack]

un: dabi  *cla-chick* ... what?  *growl* [ that would be his omen ] [ contact through his omni stone can be text, audio, or video. contact through his omen can be visual, mental, or physical. ]

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[burnitblack]

[a brother who is also a villain and has tried to kill him in the past. that's actions along with his words. though touya remains rather non-aggressive in his life here in trench. several reasons, including not wanting to kill someone who would just come back as if nothing happened. that was a wasted effort when revenge is the driving factor. settling instead for simply live and let live, only keeping the occasional eye out on his youngest brother and not interfering much with his life. shouto hasn't been much on his proverbial radar beyond that. trench life is a strange life, but touya can't say it's been bad. he's kept a rather simple and relaxed existence here. it's nice not being hunted by cops and heroes. it's not nice having no ambition in life as the cost...]

All of a sudden?

[as shouto said, it's been a long time since they'd spoken. so long as he saw shouto's name still on the omni, he knew his brother was alive and present. that was good enough for touya. watching the hero's eyes as they flicker through growing emotional change is an interesting scene.

at least until the question comes out and touya's eyes narrow. last thing they ever did together was a drink at the bar. or the birthday thing. a repeat of that isn't happening out here on the beach.

before sighing and rubbing the back of his head.]

Dontcha have other friends -- your boyfriend -- to spend time with?

[swellter]

No, but Kizu told me I should do more of what I feel like doing.

[ Fancy that. She may or may not have encouraged this. Even though she still doesn't trust him. She trusts Wolf, who she distinctly remembers letting her play with him when she didn't know any better. She appreciates the leeway, more so his silence. Maybe his Sleeper can learn a thing or two about that. ]

I want to spend time with you too.

[burnitblack]

Wow. One day ya might be able to make a decision without your cat.

[touya continues to see the omens as little more than helpers and pets. he certainly won't take life advice from wolf, considering he feels the omen's personalities and thoughts are directly influenced, if not created from, their owner's own self. he'll make his own decisions, thanks. doesn't need a canine conscience.]

Ya picked a real busy spot to do that in.

[there's nothing here, unless shouto wants to chance his safety with a swim in the black ocean. touya moves forward, heading down the beach towards the sakura tree up on a cliff in the distance. he'll keep an eye out for anything interesting washed up on the shore along the way.]

[swellter]

She's a snow leopard.

[ Said bluntly, as if he doesn't think he knows that little inconvient fact. There's also no chance he wants to go swimming with him again after he tried to strangle him under the surf the last they tousled in the water near the cherry blossom tree. ]

I didn't know this was a social call at the time.

[ Again. He sounds rather blunt. Stating facts, as if he actually believes them - which he does. There's little room for nuisance in his world at least not when it comes to surface-level interactions. He can only pick up the subtleties of someone in deep conversation when his entire focus is on them. It's a type of rhythm he's getting better at finding with the help of Allen who is all nuisance not that Shouto has figured that out yet. Similar to how he's yet to understand his brother's brand of sarcasm that goes over his head.

He walks after Touya without question, thinking they're taking a walk as part of this social call. He doesn't really get it but he goes along with it. He's rather indulgent on this matter, better suited to following someone's lead until he knows what's going on. So, he'll walk beside him, Kizu following behind the siblings.

Here is where someone with more social skills than him would input a question or two. Bring up a conversation topic. Do anything that wasn't just walking beside him. Shouto does none of those things. The thought never once crosses his mind, pleased to share any kind of time together. He has low standards and this little jaunt down the black beach meets all of them. Congratulations Touya, you made your little brother rather content with this social call. Good job. ]

[burnitblack]

Leopards are cats.

[big cats. the correction bounces off his shoulders. at this point, touya sticks to "cat" just to be a jerk. good to know their chances of swimming together in the sea is now thrown off the table. that's trench for you, corrupting everything it touches one way or another. fine with him; touya's never been fond of swimming.]

Right. Just expected me to show up and stare at you.

[it's not surprising that shouto would call him, invite him to meet, and then hit him with a "what do you want to do" question. the guy's shit when it comes to making plans, especially social plans. blunt, naive, simple, a trio combination that doesn't scream anything creative or interesting. touya expects little from him in that regard. meeting out here on the beach eliminates almost all options for a social visit, since neither picnic was brought nor establishment is available. should've met elsewhere if they wanted to go to a restaurant. though considering their last meeting at the bar was not much to speak of, this might've been the better choice.

his boots smush in the black sand, leaving trails in his wake. hands in his pocket make any idea of reaching out and touching a moot offer. wolf picks up from its place at the shore and trots along after the three, its glowing flames making it stand out on the beach, were someone to take a look at the curious group.

touya's no stranger to silent walks. skulking through the night, stealing from shadow to shadow, hiding from attention, all those villainous activities require quiet and a distinct lack of communication, lest they be caught. besides, most people annoy him with idle prattle. small talk does little for his irritable mood. he's in no relationship with shouto enough to ask his little brother about his day at school or where he might've gone for training. shouto likewise wouldn't enjoy hearing about what his older brother stole or who he killed or what sort of plots are inevitably barred from table topics.

the trek to the tree offers little and it's only once they get there that touya sinks down and rests his back against the dark wood trunk, the ever-present drift of pale pink petals wandering through the air and landing on the grassy ground.]

[swellter]

[ Kizu growls at that answer and Shouto looks down at her, brows slightly raised. What's wrong? He asks, noting Wolf striding up behind them. Where were they going? He thinks, splitting his attention between wolf, leopard, and brother. Out of all three of them, he found Wolf easier to understand. He was following his Sleeper just like Kizu followed him. The location didn't matter to either of them, though it seemed to matter to both Touya and Kizu who suspected he might be leading them somewhere dangerous which, in her eyes, proves to be accurate when Touya takes them to the sight he tried to choke him in the water.

Another reason he's not so talkative. He often spoke with his omen who, after months of silence, finally started speaking to him again after her regression. Shouto looks around, noting the familiar cherry tree, while trying to convince his omen that this was still a good idea. With his attention split the way it is, he doesn't try to filter his initial thought, not that he would have had he been paying more attention. ]

Are you corrupted?

[burnitblack]

[prove him wrong. if wolf understood shouto's questions, it doesn't offer any sort of answer, seeming content to bring up the rear as they walk. the villain's omen stays near the water, though whether that's a reminder of what happened or some kind of buffer between the history and reality is a good question. touya doesn't seem to mind this site being the location of where he tried to murder his brother in the ocean sprawled out before them. it's simply one more event in his life and has little bearing on the moment, or the place. he finds comfort in the tree's presence and has spent a lot of his time here, letting his mind wander or going over things he collected from the beach. it keeps his corruption levels down.

touya draws a knee up and rests his wrist atop it, hand dangling towards his shin. the question doesn't seem to surprise him, eyes lingering on the ocean before him as a breeze carries some of the petals through the air.]

I'm always corrupted.

[the level of it simply ebbs and flows like a dancing flame. not just due to his actions here in trench, but due to the blood spilled when he tends to his body or makes bloodstones. he's murdered, stolen, lied, and other such villainous actions while in this place. but since he has no intention of turning into that monstrous figure of their father again, touya actually keeps his corruption level in mind and curbs tendencies if he's high.]

[swellter]

[ For someone who's only struggled once with the corruption of his world, the very idea he's-- ]

Always?

[ He stops mid-stride, struggling visibly with that answer. Even Kizu goes very still, her presence in his mind growing faint. ]

For how long?

[burnitblack]

[touya glances up from his place, more piqued shouto finds this weird than the fact he admits to constant corruption. doesn't this guy know how this world works? he's the one that taught him about it.]

Dunno. Since I got here, I guess.

[he shed blood (someone else's) the very first month he was in trench. most of the events he's dealt with also ended with some kind of corruption, though he's careful about his own levels. constant visits to this tree also assist to keep it in check.]

Ya ever met someone completely free of it?

[swellter]

[ He uses his right side to freeze any spilled blood, and his emotions are so buried in years of abuse there's little that can be exploited, and when it is, he's so very honest with how he's feeling it levels out before it can entrench itself in him.

His eyes widen at that admission. Yes, he was the one who told him about it, but he also expected him to follow what he told him to do. He never seemed... he was always looked... ]

I didn't know it was an issue for you.

[burnitblack]

[while touya does most, if not all, of his "medical work" in the same tub shouto first brought him to way back at the start of his stay here, it's not the only source of corruption. he burns what blood comes out of him, but actions are something else entirely.

as for his emotions, as callous and uncaring as he can be, the burning rage and hatred inside him fuel that violent streak and leave him fully capable of murder and theft without giving a shit. certainly not often, but enough that he tends to sit under the tree just in case.]

I don't ever wanna turn into that fuckin monster again.

[if shouto needs a reason, well there ya go.]

[swellter]

[ Understanding comes between the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and that vow made in contempt of a beast he once faced. Unable to stop him, he rampaged through a city block, burning everything in his wake. He remembers the heat from that day, hot enough to burn him, but most of all, he remembers the form he took.

Endeavor.

He steps forward. Takes another. A third, faster than the last. His arm's stride forward, rattled by that confession, yet determined not to let it happen again. The urge grows exponentially inside him until he's all but compelled to cut the distance between them. He drops to one knee, reaching out to him with his left hand, impossible to ignore with a few scant inches between them. He fluctuates between hot and cold, his emotions spiraling out of control, yet the look on his face is certain. Unyielding.

Can we be-- ]

I don't want that either.

[burnitblack]

[one time was enough for him. if the price of corruption is that monstrosity, to become that damn thing he hates with every fiber of his being, then touya has no interest in letting his corruption levels reach that point. he'll curb his actions, he'll deal with purifying himself alone, he'll do what he has to and ensure his body never endures that wretched feeling again.

touya's eyes move from the ocean to his little brother when shouto suddenly appears to stagger towards him. dramatic... but he narrows his gaze on him regardless as the hero goes down on one knee. what the hell is this kid-? his left hand. those flames that sleep within his left side. endeavor's flames. the very ones that cursed both of them with the life they had to endure. instinct and anger threaten to flare up in touya's body, on his skin, but the presence of the tree and his desire not to burn down what keeps him from turning into that corrupted form prevents him from lashing out.

for someone as hot as touya can be, his expression is cold as ice despite the burning in his ice blue eyes. if he recognizes shouto's emotions raging, he gives no indication of it.]

No shit.

[most people don't want others to turn into corrupted monsters.]

[swellter]

[ If he recognizes the burning rage behind that icy look, he makes no indication of it. Neither does he move his hand, palm up in offering.

Can we be brothers? ]

I don't want that for you.

[burnitblack]

[he glances at the hand, as if he's got no idea what it's being held out to him for. shouto's not offering him anything in it and touya's got nothing he's planning on putting in it.

gonna have to use words if you want that unspoken question to have a chance at landing.]

How nice of ya. I'd've been more surprised if you did.

[swellter]

I don't want to see you like that again.

[burnitblack]

Ya said that already.

[swellter]

What else should I say while I wait for you to take my hand?

[burnitblack]

Huh? I don't need to take your hand.

[swellter]

Is it because it's my left?

[ He lifts his other hand from where it rests on his right knee and offers it to him instead. Happy? ]

[burnitblack]

[touya abruptly ignites both hands, blue flames crackling in his palms like he's holding handfuls of fire.]

Ya wanna take 'em now?

[he still hasn't said why he should take his damn hand. what a weird thing to ask for.]

[swellter]

[ Without hesitation, he moves to take it, arms wrapped in ice to protect him against the blue flames. ]

[burnitblack]

[he actually gets to grab touya's hand for a second before the older todoroki puts his fires out. there's a slight twitch at the corner of his upper lip, eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he's not actually pulling his hand away.]

What the hell's goin on with you?

[swellter]

[ That hand? Yeah, he's not letting go. He does let it warm up, so he's not freezing him, but that's about all the leniency he gets. ]

I'm tired of waiting for you to make up your mind.

[burnitblack]

[this is more confusing and a little irritating than anything else. he looks at his hand, as if trying to decide whether to pull back or leave it there.]

Careful. Ya startin to come off like a proposal.