awashlogs | [ OPEN/CATCH-ALL ] the crickets still sing in october.

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[ OPEN/CATCH-ALL ] the crickets still sing in october.

WHO: dextera! and others!
WHERE: all around town, in a variety of places!
WHEN: october!
WHAT: an open prompt for quest 29’s skeletons (eating them), and whatever else comes up!
WARNINGS: he’s eating bones.

i. NO BONES ABOUT IT (OPEN)

[ dextera used to have a pretty healthy habit for eating bones—it used to be his thing, in fact, but lately he hasn’t had as much of a reason to eat them with all the color popping back up around town. they still provide some nutritional value to him, though, considering the way his body works, and what better to start hoarding for winter than by disassembling skeletons and biting right through their brittle bodies?

throughout the month, catch him doing this exact thing. sometimes he defeats the skeletons before chomping them, and sometimes he just rips the arm off one with his teeth like a dog. the latter, however, he’s only doing if he thinks no one is watching. ]

ii, but new. SEXY NUN COSTUME (~10/17 - 10/19)

[ dextera got this costume from carving a pumpkin, and it’s probably going to stay on him for a solid three days. he can’t hide in his house for the whole time, especially once the harvest festival starts up, but he also doesn’t want to be seen in it—so of course, people have to see him in it, because that’s the way rp works.

whenever he does have to leave his house, he tries to wear a coat, but the unfortunate reality of this outfit is that still leaves his habit, the jewelry, the socks, and the heels to see from practically any angle. a more discerning eye will definitely see upon looking at him from the front that he’s wearing a dress that was definitely meant for someone with breasts. he’s wobbly walking around in the first place, and it’s only by the grace of god that the few times he trips, the back of his coat is long enough to keep from flashing his ass to the world.

let him die! ]

iii. WILDCARD

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pavaal ! )

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[ dextera returns in the evening, the weight of ryo’s secret heavy in his mouth. it’s a good thing he can’t speak, or he might blurt it out to guren in a moment of weakness.

he knows he should tell, but it’s hard to make himself want to betray ryo’s trust. he can’t seem to steal the formula, either, for the very same reason. ]

…

[ today, in any case, is not a day for worrying about that when he has so much more going on. he knocks. ]

[ Ryo hears the knocking, and heads over to open the door. ]

Good evening. [ He rakes his gaze across Dextera's face, scouring his face for signs of him having said anything to Guren. Then again, he probably wouldn't have dared come here if he had leaked his secret. ]

[ dextera did not leak his secret, but he does wilt somewhat under ryo’s scrutiny. anyone would, surely—he’s not brave enough to meet ryo head-on when everything is well and normal. ]

…he doesn’t know.

[ that’s what he chooses to say, leaning away from ryo and avoiding his gaze. ]

Good. Make sure it stays that way. [ Ryo didn't really he think he would say anything to Guren, at least not right away, but it's nice to confirm it. ]

Come inside.

[ dextera relaxes with the invitation, and follows ryo. although only a few hours have passed since everything, it feels something like an eternity. ]

Did you find anything else?

[ ryo closes the door behind them and heads into his room. the seedling from earlier is sitting on the desk; it's still alive and in good health, but it should probably go in the soil as soon as possible. ]

I found something I think you'll like. [ a pause. ] I don't know if asking for a treat is a requirement for the quest, but you should do it just in case.

[ oh… ryo is still willing to give him a treat, after all that? dextera doesn’t know what it could be that ryo thinks he’ll like, but he’s willing to try. they should both get a reward for this, after all.

so he nods. ]

Please… give me a treat.

[ Ryo nods and moves to retrieve something from the bottom desk drawer. It's wrapped in old newspaper, and he pushes it into Dextera's hand. ]

Here. [ Unwrapping it will reveal... a large bone from one of the skeletons. ]

[ it’s wrapped, but dextera knows what it is even before he peels back the newspaper. it’s a bone! ]

…

[ this is a treat on a few different levels, primarily that ryo actually did think about something dextera would like. it reminds him of old times, back when they first met. they’ve come a long way.

he has no idea ryo doesn’t remember that particular encounter. ]

Thank you.

You're welcome. [ Dextera's eating habits are... strange, but if it benefits him somehow? Then it's better to feed him bones than to let them go to waste. ]

Maybe I'll keep giving you bones from the skeletons I kill, if the reward is decent enough.

[ dextera nods, flattered despite the morbid topic. ryo offering to feed him the leftover bones of the skeleton army is weird, but… nice. it’s a gesture of friendship. ]

I’d… like that.

[ Ryo primarily sees it as a way of generating quest rewards since there's plenty of bones around and Dextera will gladly do it a hundred times for him, but maybe it's a small gesture of friendship too; Dextera has managed to worm himself through the cracks in his armor, after all.

Anyway... ]

I want you to carry the seedling for me. I don't want it to grow bigger while we look for a suitable place for it.

[ dextera nods again, moving over to take the seedling—but before he does, he turns to ryo to sign one thing he realized, when he’d gone home earlier. ]

I got one of these too.

[ a single walnut, unremarkable in his hands. it really was ryo’s power that made this one grow. ]

So we both received a walnut last month.

[ a pause. ]

...I was a little nuts that one time.

[ SAID IN THE FLATTEST TONE. Is the unhinged rant the reason they got walnuts??? ]

…

[ dextera clears his throat. was that intentional? was he supposed to laugh? he’s honestly not sure, so he lets it fly as if ryo had said something perfectly normal. he would never forgive himself if he laughed when it wasn’t supposed to be funny. ]

But you’re OK now.

[ Good choice, honestly; it was less of an attempt to be funny and more him realizing that maybe the town gave them that specific thing because it thought it would be funny. ]

...Yeah. [ He is, and he hopes that won't happen again; it felt nice, certainly, but it was so unlike him. Once that's out there, he turns to leave the room. ]

Come, let's go.

[ dextera gently takes the sprout in hand, cupping it as carefully as he might a baby animal. even if ryo can make something grow, there’s no guarantee he can bring it back from the brink of death. the bone has gone into his pocket, too, so there’s no room for a little walnut there, either. ]

…

[ he follows ryo, dutiful as ever. ]

[ What a dutiful little duckling. Ryo goes to retrieve a garden trowel from the storage cabinet where he keeps the various tools he's slowly amassed over the past couple of months. He grabs a lantern, too, since the sun will set completely soon. ]

We're going to Flavo; there's plenty of space there. I initially considered planting it in the plot I use for beekeeping, but I don't think that would be a good idea.

[ Let's not disturb the bees. ]

[ dextera nods. flavo has room, and also it’s where all the trees are anyway—a walnut tree sprouting up wouldn’t be too strange.

plus, the bees will be safe! ]

…are you going to try to grow it?

Yes. [ his response comes immediately. ] I want to learn how to control this power.

Edited 2018-10-08 17:53 (UTC)

[ dextera can understand that. anyone who has a power would—the need to know, if not what it is or where it comes from, then at least how to control it. maybe it’s something like dave’s power, where he can speed time up, rather than actually an ability to make plants grow.

who knows! that’s what experimenting is for. ]

It could be useful. [ a pause. ] It is useful.

Precisely. Something could happen that would necessitate its use.

[ Like a severe food shortage and Dave having returned home or being incapacitated in some way that prevents him from growing more food for the town, for example. It's not his main reasoning for wanting to control it though; he wants to learn more about himself and see what exactly he's capable of.

What's the extent of this power, does he have any other powers he isn't aware of...? If any of them are dangerous, maybe learning how to control one power will help him control the others, too. ]

[ dextera hopes nothing happens that ryo would need to harness such a power, but there’s no telling what will occur in this town. he got kidnapped by the sirens, after all—maybe there’s something lurking under his skin that could have prevented such an incident in the first place. ]

I’ll help you. However I can.

It's not necessary. [ Really, he doesn't need it. He can figure this out on his own with enough experimentation. He'll trial and error his way to wielding this power properly if that's what it takes. ]

But I wouldn't mind.

[ Even if said help won't amount to anything in the end, Dextera's presence would be appreciated while he navigates this uncharted territory. It's been a little over half a year and he's made a lot of progress on the obstacle course that leads to Ryo's friendship, even he's still reluctant to recognize it as such. The only friend he needs or wants in his life is Akira. But the progress is evident in the invitation to help him plant a tree, in accepting his help.

As the cobblestone street begins to give way to Flavo's dirt roads, the last dregs of daylight slip behind the trees. ]

[ “but i wouldn’t mind.”

that’s as good as a yes from ryo, in the case of something like this. of course it’s efficient, letting dextera tag along in case something goes wrong, but dextera wants to read something friendlier into it. eventually, he is going to trick himself into outright asking ryo about why he fucked guren over. ]

…

[ dextera lets himself smile, and he follows along quietly. the skeletons are, for now, cleared out, though he’s sure a few more are going to march into town overnight. once they reach a relatively empty plot of land, he taps ryo’s arm. ]

How about here?

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