middleofsomewhere | The Will to Fight: Ongoing: Red and Purple

The Will to Fight: Ongoing: Red and Purple

Dawn Attack

It's been a busy few days of fighting demons, attacking keystones and fighting both on the demon and human planes. On the morning of day nine of the month of Kazoo a gate opens close to the base camp that the two teams have made.

It seems the demons have decided to focus on this unexpected threat, because it is a sizable force, with a number of the large demons. They march towards the camp with single-minded focus, the opportunity to stop these unwanted defenders taking precedence over their desire to destroy the city.

The advantage to the landscape being as ruined as it is, is that there isn't much to stop the lookouts from seeing this force headed towards them. A gate opening is not subtle. There should be enough time to make sure the defenders are ready.

Scouting Ahead

Once that skirmish is won those on the Red team will find their SCA's beeping, with an exclamation point far out to the east.

A group of demons is congregating at the location indicated. Investigate why, defeat the demons and close any gates nearby.

It will take a while to get there and there is plenty to do on the way for those that follow the exclamation point. Roaming packs of demons, gates to be closed. Exhausting work, especially for those going in and out of the demon gates.

Protecting the City

Once it is clear that these defenders are not going to be easy to wipe out, the attacks on the city itself get more frequent. The demons have changed tactics: rather than sending in large groups they open many small portals, sending small strike teams to harry and target individuals.

Some of the attacks are clearly meant as traps: they open the gates in or very close to the city, to lure the Voidtreckers in to where they will be affected by the spell. Ranged attacks may be useful here.

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"Down the hatch," Devero agrees-- but the tension doesn't leave the line of his shoulders until Koumyou's actually knocked the potion back.

He's relieved that there seem to be no hard feelings, at least, and even cracks a int of a smile at the suggestion (and the fact that Koumyou remembered that). "Might be worth a try," he says, finally sitting heavily on the bench. "I don't know if you'll be able to save your robes after all of this."

Down the hatch it goes! Koumyou takes it like a shot, all at once, and replaces the stopper on the bottle before offering it back to Devero, empty. He's the one with the priest's ARMs band right now, after all.

"Oh, I can save it just fine, I've had far worse! I just don't want to have to do all that itty bitty little stitching if I can avoid it, for any cuts and tears," Koumyou wiggles his fingers at Devero, "I'm very lazy, as you know."

He's really not? But also is? At the same time? Somehow?

The Sanzo sits down beside Devero and finally slumps into him a bit, shoulder to shoulder. He's so fucking tired.

"Maaaaah... I can feel it sealing up, it's so weird. It kind of tickles? Under the skin? I've never had a healing potion before."

Edited 2021-03-21 05:45 (UTC)

"Of course you are," Devero says with a soft snort. He's not and Devero knows it, but he also knows that Koumyou much prefers to spend his leisure time-- when he has it-- in pursuit of hedonism rather than tedium. And who could blame him?

Careful not to jostle Koumyou, Devero passes him a bowl of stew with his free hand. The priest's description of what's happening kind of makes the skin between Devero's shoulder blades crawl. "That sounds. Very strange," he says diplomatically. He can't help but wonder: would he have been able to feel his wounds all mending as well, if he'd been awake during the healing that night before the mission?

He kind of doesn't want to think about it.

"At least it doesn't hurt?" he says instead. "Better tickling then pain, huh?"

"Mmm, yeah it's just weird, not painful," Koumyou confirms with some thought, taking the bowl and absently, slowly, starting to eat. It's not like he's hard to make eat, these days, he just forgets. Honestly, truly forgets, all hunger pangs and weakness in his limbs regulated to sheer background noise. That's all it could be for so much of his early life, after all.

Pushing food into his hands is honestly the best tactic, as Devero knows.

"I can tell I'm going to be napping around the train a lot after this one. But anytime I slow down I feel like I'm wasting potential... this mission couldn't have been more suited to the Seiten sutra if I'd somehow arranged it myself."

Which is both good, because he can make such a huge difference in a highly specific way, but it's also bad, because it's pressure.

At least on Nion he'd just been another damage-dealer out roaming the jungle.

Here, he's so uniquely qualified for the task...

But he's still human, bound to a sutra or not. He's still mortal. And mortal, human flesh can only go so long without proper rest.

"I know," Devero says quietly. "When there's so much to do and you're so perfectly suited to doing it, how can you stop, right? But we have to remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. If we don't pace ourselves now, we will have anything in reserve if something big comes out later?"

It's advice he's had lobbied his way more than once at base camp; it's only fair he get to pass it on here.

He puts his arm around Koumyou's waist, careful not to touch the healing wound, and pulls the priest more firmly into his side. "You can spare a few hours take a break," he says. "You're going to take a break, because I'm not letting you up again until you do."

"Maaah, so bossy," Koumyou says with a tired laugh, and briefly rests the side of his head on Devero's shoulder. Brief, only because he's also still eating, and now that his body is getting food? It's disinclined to stop. But that won't stop him from teasing, "I kind of like it."

But, hey.

"If you're physically making me take a break, then that means you have to take a break too, so that's fine by me!"

Fair's fair!

"Oh no," Devero says with a crooked smile, "you've discovered my secret plan to take breaks without looking like I need them." In fact, he reaches over and picks up the second bowl of stew to start in on his own meal.

He nudges Koumyou with an elbow. "Anyway, I only boss because I care."

"I know," Koumyou beams tiredly over at him, and leans over to plant a little smooch on his cheek. "That's why I don't mind. Kouryuu's the same way with his bossiness!"

Boss away, big guy.

"Once I go down, I'm probably not getting up for a while." That's a warning, right there. He needs sleep. The physical energy he's expended, the chi, and the sheer mental tax of controlling the sutra for so many fights...

He's running on fumes right now and he knows it.

Devero smiles gently back at him. "I hope I get to meet him somehow. Just think of it: two people who care about you to boss you around at the same time."

He bumps Koumyou with his shoulder. "I'll stay here while you sleep," he says. "As long as you need. Camp's pretty well organized at this point-- it can run for a night without me there."

Base camp has needed him for the last several days, but right now Koumyou needs him more.

Koumyou chuckles at that, too tired for his usual bubbly laugh, "I'd be doomed!"

He really doesn't mind, though.

And it's not like the bossiness is only one-way: "You're going to get some sleep too, Dev-chan. You're just as human as I am!"

"Am not," Devero retorts with a sniff. "I'm a cyborg, remember?"

Edited 2021-03-22 00:18 (UTC)

"Your little... myoreactors and transponders," that's right, he remembers the names, "don't do anything for your mortal flesh's very human stamina, even I know that!"

Koumyou's not buying that excuse, mister!

"If anything, I bet all those little sensors agree with me!"

He remembers the names! Devero looks sharply over at him, startled, and then laughs. It's not as big and loud as his usual delighted laugh-- he is tired himself, after all-- but the spirit of it is there nonetheless.

"I had to turn off the biometric monitoring app built into my Interface on day one," Devero admits. "It kept yelling in my ear that I was over-exerting myself and needed to reduce my vigorous physical activity immediately."

Edited 2021-03-22 00:42 (UTC)

"There, see? I win. Besides, don't you want to sleep with me, Dev-chan?"

Exhausted lump as he is, he's still got jokes. Or word-play, at least.

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse?" He lets a bit of a growl come into his voice and nudges Koumyou again with his elbow-- but it's just play-acting, and he drops it immediately.

He takes Koumyou's empty bowl and replaces it with his own, only half-empty. "Here, you can have this too," he tells him as he stands. "I'll get the bedrolls set up."

With the amount of energy Koumyou's been expending to fight for days on end, he doesn't even argue at the bowl swap. By the time Devero's got them a little sleeping area set up, the priest has polished that off, too. And when he comes over to Devero, he's left the empty bowl behind and has brought the blanket they'd been sitting on, instead.

Extra blankets, extra warmth, he's got priorities! He adds it to the pile of bedding, and goes to drag his rucksack and katana over to be closer to where they're going to crash, just in case.

Devero's been busy while Koumyou eats. Apparently, when he says 'get the bedrolls set up' what he really means is 'stake down a canvas groundcloth first, set up a simple lean-to type tent with a kit from the train, and then lay out their bedrolls on top, arranged with the open sides together in a middle and a blanket laid out to pad the 'seam' of zipper down the middle of their makeshift bed'.

He's possibly been planning this in his head the past couple of nights.

He takes the rucksack from Koumyou and tucks it up under the overhanging tarp, then makes a detour back to the bench to collect that bowl back into the ARMS band to deal with later. Only when that's done does he rejoin Koumyou, groaning wearily as he gets down on one knee to crawl under the lean-to.

"Maaah, you work fast, don't you?" Koumyou laughs tiredly, and moves to crawl in, too. It takes every bit of his remaining will power to not just face plant on top of 'his' side and pass out, kicking off his boots and wiggling into the thing properly.

And once they're both in the bedrolls, he wastes no time in getting all up close and personal against Devero, wrapping his thin arms around the big guy. You're trapped now!

If setting it up this fast hadn't taken the last of his energy, Devero might have had a quip to return; as it is, all he manages to do is smile and hold up the blanket Koumyou had tossed on the pile until the priest is settled in.

Really settled in-- he's trapped indeed. Whatever, oh whatever shall he do?

Other than kiss Koumyou's forehead, just above the chakra, and pull him close, anyway. A very palpable tension releases out of him as he does. "Been missing this," he admits, voice loud enough only for the space between them.

"Me too," Koumyou murmurs in return, cuddling in good and close. "Been missing you."

But they've both had obligations to see to, where their particular skills -- or even nature -- have been needed. Had the enemies here not been so vulnerable to everything that Koumyou is, he'd have probably been at base camp more. To defend it, to check on Devero, wandering out to go on the offensive only as part of an orbit before coming right back again.

Koumyou says something else quiet but this time it's too quiet, and muddled, and... now he's asleep.

"Same," Devero says. He has just enough energy left to nuzzle the precious man in his arms and mumble, "Love you," before he follows Koumyou down into slumber.

And everything's nice and quiet in their little lean-to tent for a while, save for any snoring from Devero. Several hours go by, longer than they normally get to rest together like this before the train pulls them apart, forcibly keeps them asleep, and leaves them to wake in their own bunks.

So it's not really surprising that Devero doesn't know Koumyou talks in his sleep, sometimes. It hadn't happened on the last mission, but that had really just been luck. It's not like it's every time he's asleep, after all.

But this time, with his mind so exhausted, it wanders fitfully in his sleep and words slip, oh so quietly, from his lips.

"...no..."

That's all there is, for a while. Long enough that perhaps it had been imagined? But then, "...don't..."

A beat, Koumyou's brow furrows a little in his sleep, and his fingers twitch, but there's no other sign of distress.

"...you can't..."

The first few quiet phrases aren't enough to wake Devero, though his sleeping mind does take notice of them. He sure is sleeping lightly these long mission nights, though, no matter how tired he is when he goes down for a nap. As Koumyou continues to breathe out soft, intelligible words instead of normal nighttime noises, Devero's hindbrain starts the process of dragging his forebrain up and out of sleep...

"...he's drowning..."

That's not alarming at all, is it? Especially with the way Koumyou's voice almost raises to a normal volume on that word.

His twitching fingers curl into fists.

"...won't... let you..."

--Okay, 'drowning' wakes him right the fuck up, Devero's eyes flying open in the darkness of the little tent. Of course, his brain's not obliging enough to tell him why it's jerked him out of a sound sleep like this. He lays still and quiet on their makeshift bed, listening intently--

He hears Koumyou's next words as clear as day.

He rolls towards his boyfriend, brow furrowing. "Koumyou...?" he asks, his voice very soft under the low-slung canvas.

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