[It's definitely unusual for Anon to be indoors, but surprisingly perhaps, like any good boy he'll usually come in at some time of night to prepare for bed -- what's really unexpected is that someone is actually at his door.
His room is just as neat as it was for most of the room checks -- there's... a sprig of nightshade on the nightstand, so it's debatable whether he's heeded any warnings. It's at least wrapped, and looks quite nice there next to some rocks and shells that have accumulated slowly over time. Other than that, the place is fairly ordinary, minus the books and the giant sword he carries around sometimes.
Oh, and the big ol' pillow-sized plush version of his trial self sitting in a place of honor on the bed, sure, why not.
Anon himself is currently doing some of those handstand-pushups, one-handed. Apparently this is how he preps for bed...? He grins at Natsuno upside down, seemingly unfazed by his sudden appearance.]
I'm not surprised! Jinrou are a lot more unusual than humans, and besides, strong people always get a lot of people following them around!
[ Natsuno has no judgments about the nightshade (partially because he's never actually paid attention to the room checks due to guarding his own) you live your yolo life Anon. The plushie does however get a complete lookover. Everyone really did get weird things, huh? He kind of wants to poke it.
Suppressing that urge, he turns the desk chair around and sits in it, leaning over the back. A couple of more seconds of staring at the one handed handstands for good measure and he's settled in. ]
I don't like it. I don't advertise either of those things, and it's not like anyone here knows if I'm strong or not. [ As opposed to knowing that he's a jinrou, which a good chunk of people know at this point. ]
[Sometimes you just want to decorate your room with literally anything in the garden that won't outright melt your internal organs at a glance. Live fast! Live dangerously! The plushie, meanwhile, is looking quite fluffy indeed, like your whole hand could probably sink into the fur. The horns and skeleton limbs look hilariously noodly, too.
(Poke it, you know you want to.)
Anon continues his exercises, occasionally hopping as he switches hands. He gives a laugh at Natsuno's grumbling.]
There aren't enough people here, and lots of them are nosy. That's the way some people protect themselves -- with information, and other people.
Besides, I know you're strong, but you're also pretty good at looking the part!
[He's saying you're scary to normies, but it's probably a compliment.]
[ Urge to poke plush rising, but since he's already sitting maybe later. ]
That didn't work out for all the old hags in Sotoba. [ More grumbling that's interrupted by that...observation? compliment? random commentary? One of those. Natsuno doesn't know how to take it, so he just huffs instead. ]
Do you? [ Know how strong he is. It kinda almost sounds playful too. ]
[The plush will be here. Fluffing. Staring. It's waiting.]
Hahaha, you totally showed the old hags, didn't you? Though it'll probably be a little harder to get 'em off your back here.
[Does this count as dragging the dead now. He does a lot of that too anyway.
Anon finishes up his last round of push-ups and stretches like a satisfied cat before -- since Natsuno is taking up the chair and all --flopping onto the bed and handily squashing the plush. It's not staring anymore, but it is quite comfy.]
And I do, in theory. [cheekily] None of us are as strong as we should be, but once we get out of here you should show me.
[ Totally counts and Natsuno snorts amused. One day they'll talk about how he dug up a corpse and stalked an obaasan's funeral procession. ]
Mhmm, maybe. [ That might sound disappointly like a no except-]
But I'm stronger right now. [ It's habit at this point that colors his eye red when talking to Anon, but tonight his eyes are the brightest, vibrant crimson. ]
[Natsuno's life is so wild honestly, no wonder the not-quite-demon from hell is impressed with him. Whether this is a good thing is still up for debate. Anon just watches him expectantly -- the initial discouragement doesn't seem to actually discourage him.
He does lean over a little once Natsuno concludes, a spark in his eye as though simply staring harder will uncover any secrets. At this point he's getting used to staring into a red-eyed mirror. (Just wait until his eye color starts changing.)]
Right now... You mean at night? Or just that the Witches sealed something different?
[ Maybe at that point he'll just force his eyecolor back to violet just to go along. Natsuno doesn't mind the intense staring, he kind of expected it. In fact, he kind of...smiles? It's wry and subtle but it's there. ]
Neither. But I do see better in the night. [ Sitting up straighter there's a predatory look in his eye that's definitely new. ]
I decided to stop holding myself back. It's been a while since I had eaten so I took a bit too much but—who cares.
[That's as much in response to Natsuno being noncommittal as it is to the change, Anon's eyebrows going way up once he throws down his revelation before he gives a little laugh of delight. Instead of lounging like he's been doing he curls up a little, propping his chin on one hand and one corner of his mouth curling up to bare a flash of teeth in response.
It's the same old challenging smile and a shade of something darker and more pleased, all at once. There's more energy thrumming through the muscles that had been relaxing.]
Now that's what I'm talking about. I'd say most of us Pieces are pretty sturdy, so there's nothing wrong with having a good meal before the real fights start. [at least this way Natsuno might stop falling asleep in weird places that give him rashes, probably] Now I really do want to see the difference.
They're sturdy enough. And I'm not that greedy unless I want to be. [ One of the most frustrating things about dealing with Natsuno is his enigmatically. He's just as likely to meet a confrontation as he is to ignore it and take whatever comes his way as a consequence. For as terrible as his mercual nature is for socialization, it's one of the reasons Tatsumi read him so badly. A young boy who seemed indifferent—even meek—when being taught the way of the undead world via "friendly" choking? That boy had little in common with the jinrou who threw him down a ravine he had prepacked with dynamite. It's for this reason that Natsuno meets that toothy smile with a sharp one of his own. Not as wide, but certainly just as dark. ]
I wouldn't mind. I haven't really tested it here but... [ By this point he's gone back to leaning forward onto the chair back, to the point of balancing all of his weight on just the two front legs. There's a lot of energy in his muscles too, and neither jogging nor playing videogames helped much. ]
[Meanwhile Anon doesn't appear to be enigmatic at all -- in fact, he meets any mystery of the day with a grin and words more like hammers than anything else. All the same, maybe it's because there's something mercurial about the both of them that they somehow get along; he has a decent handle on it, but his inhumanity seeps out plenty in the presence of so many humans.
Natsuno just happens to see more of it than most, a little more deliberately than most.
It's deliberate when Anon moves smoothly out of his anticipatory posture on the bed, deliberate when he stretches the cricks out of his frame and deliberate when in the next movement he throws open the window.]
Well, Nirrti is going to kick up a fuss if we test it around here, and she's really good at kicking up a fuss. [he doesn't seem to have had any trouble with the Witch name roulette going around here; one eyebrow is up, waiting for Natsuno to get moving too] The beach?
[ By this point Natsuno expects Anon's candidness, but something about it is refreshing all the same. His smirk lingers to that effect as he stands, looking to Anon and the window. Somehow despite the ridiculousness of it all (and the bad memory that it threatens to dredge up) he can't say no. He doesn't want to say no. ]
See you there. [ And bounding out the windows he goes. His sudden change in speed is probably deceiving given that his normal movements are pretty slow and deliberate. But when he's invested in something he goes all out, and jinrou are fast. A bit slower than he would be normally for sure, but he could easily outpace any of the humans here.
Can't stop, won't stop, at least until he finishes his sprint with a flip onto the sand. His wardrobe isn't the only thing that can be flashy. ]
[Anon doesn't seem especially startled that Natsuno's stolen the lead with that burst of speed -- the window is small enough that only one of them can squeeze through at a time, and even then it's enough to abuse the frame at least a little because they're both teenage boys and these windows were distinctly not meant to be used as entrances or exits.
(Too bad, because Anon is Anon and abusing windows has become his new pasttime.]
He just gives a laugh that sounds like it's slipped out in the midst of everything and pelts after him, not even bothering to shut the window. Natsuno's fast enough that there isn't quite the time to do that, even, and it adds a little spring to Anon's steps as he gives chase.
In terms of speed, really, they're evenly matched. Anon arrives a half-step behind and lets out a brief whoop at the flip -- but there's a reason he's lagging, and that's made apparent when he lowers his posture right smack in the middle of his sprint and goes straight in for a bodyslam to greet Natsuno coming down from showing off. There ain't any starting signals in this particular game.]
[ Arguably it's less about showing off (though it definitely is that in part) and more about just feeling out what he can do here. It's been a while since he's had blood, and it's the first time he's fed on the island so he's not quite sure what his limits are. But he totally deserves to get completely body-slammed to the ground either way, which is exactly what happens.
Taking hits in a fight is something he's used to though, and even with the wind knocked out of him he has no intention of staying prone. The pain and the contact is strangely exhilarating, and with blood pumping through his veins he goes to roll out from being completely pinned. There's some force behind the movement too—he definitely has more strength than his spindly frame should. ]
Glad we skipped the whole rules thing. [ Not sarcastic in the slightest actually. This is nice, he's way too used to people trying to talk him out of fighting. ]
Haha! There aren't any rules in a real fight, or any fight at all!
[It's absolutely Anon's first time fighting a jinrou or even anything like one, sealed or whatever notwithstanding, and while it would definitely be more exciting with the both of them at the top of their game he's still perfectly happy to accept this version of it in the meantime. Exuberant, even, because he can both sense and feel his opponent's ability to take the hit.
It's going to be a good time even if Natsuno is scrambling and Anon allows himself to overshoot a little before turning with a spray of sand, watching his opponent's movements with bright eyes. They're subtly different but just enough so from the way Natsuno's been moving until now.
For his part, he hasn't had the real chance to put this body through all its paces either. Not like this. There's another brief period where he circles just a little, looking for an opening -- he'll pounce the second Natsuno's focus relaxes even a little, raining down a good amount of punches to see how good he is at blocking rather than escaping.]
Just win, right? [ That moment of opportunity presents itself sooner rather than later. Natsuno is 100% focused on this fight, but with his senses functioning at what is max capacity here there's almost too much to take in—the individual grains of sand, the pleasant blue hue glittering from his night vision, the salt from the sea in his nose and on his tongue. He does his best to parry, but he's never been trained as a proper fighter until recently, and it honestly isn't his style.
Resorting to instinct, he lets a couple of punches land so he can try to force a window of attack on his own. Shifting his center of gravity to his back leg, he takes a half step before channeling his energy into a kick aimed squarely at the infernal's middle. It's not the most graceful thing, but it is powerful. There's no holding back here it seems. ]
[His senses are absolutely duller here, though those have at least adjusted relatively quickly just through being here and all the time he's spent exploring the island at various times of day -- his night vision he can compensate for, his reflexes he can polish up again, and all of his strategies can be shifted ever so slightly down to account for what must be closer to human.
He could complain about it more than he does, but he doesn't. Because the only rule is to win; it doesn't have to be pretty, and he's always, always learning, no matter what.
So he gets at least one arm in between that kick and his solar plexus, staving off the force and most of the effect of being winded. It sends him skidding back and another spray of sand goes up, but he doesn't pause this time -- instead, he goes sideways, relying on Natsuno's own momentum to slow his reaction to the sudden turn.
There's what looks like another bodyslam coming in from the side now, shoulderfirst and alarmingly fast.]
[ Fun Jinrou fact #1, unlike Shiki they absolutely need to breathe. It's something Natsuno learned firsthand through Tatsumi's friendly chokehold, and it's something he's learning again and again right now when he gets the wind completely knocked out of him for the second time. While Natsuno's fast too, he doesn't have a good enough grasp of his own speed to properly utilize it against someone who's evenly matched with him. But if there's anything he does have a good handle on, it's tenacity and pure stubbornness. He's eating sand for the second time but he doesn't seem to care—fangy grin and all.
Rolling out of the pin in the same way as last time probably isn't going to work, but Natsuno has another idea in mind. If he uses what little leverage he has just right and all of his strength, he might be able to reverse it. Either way, he's clearly enjoying himself and not in any rush to stop. ]
Somewhere in all the skidding and the sand, anyway, with perhaps surprising ease -- Anon lets himself get stopped for just a second, smirk wide and gleaming to Natsuno's fangful one.]
Hahaha, you learn fast, don't you? That's good!
[With that, he's going to show why we don't pin on sand -- leverage changes at a moment's notice, and he shifts his weight a little to loosen Natsuno's grip and have it slip in the sand before just straight up curling up to launch him over his head. And probably into the surf, because there's nothing like eating ocean to cool your head and prepare you for the rest of the bout.]
I have to. [ His fighting style is far from graceful, skilled, or practiced, but there's no lack of willpower, determination and good ol'fashioned teen protagonist headstrongness to compensate. That does little to help him when he goes flying though, landing with a splash in the surf. It takes him a few seconds to surface, assess his bearings and trudge back onto the shore, all while trying to tame his now even messier rebellious hair. Sopping wet, white button up useless with it's transparency (good thing he's wearing dark pants at least) he still manages a crooked, fangy filled grin. ]
Did you know some vampires can't handle running water? Thanks for helping me sort that out. [ Cheeky, but still in good fun. He'll make to move again in a second, but proving that maybe jinrou isnt'a complete misnomer after all, he shakes out his wet hair like a dog or more aptly, a werewolf. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
His room is just as neat as it was for most of the room checks -- there's... a sprig of nightshade on the nightstand, so it's debatable whether he's heeded any warnings. It's at least wrapped, and looks quite nice there next to some rocks and shells that have accumulated slowly over time. Other than that, the place is fairly ordinary, minus the books and the giant sword he carries around sometimes.
Oh, and the big ol' pillow-sized plush version of his trial self sitting in a place of honor on the bed, sure, why not.
Anon himself is currently doing some of those handstand-pushups, one-handed. Apparently this is how he preps for bed...? He grins at Natsuno upside down, seemingly unfazed by his sudden appearance.]
I'm not surprised! Jinrou are a lot more unusual than humans, and besides, strong people always get a lot of people following them around!
no subject
He kind of wants to poke it.Suppressing that urge, he turns the desk chair around and sits in it, leaning over the back. A couple of more seconds of staring at the one handed handstands for good measure and he's settled in. ]
I don't like it. I don't advertise either of those things, and it's not like anyone here knows if I'm strong or not. [ As opposed to knowing that he's a jinrou, which a good chunk of people know at this point. ]
no subject
(Poke it, you know you want to.)
Anon continues his exercises, occasionally hopping as he switches hands. He gives a laugh at Natsuno's grumbling.]
There aren't enough people here, and lots of them are nosy. That's the way some people protect themselves -- with information, and other people.
Besides, I know you're strong, but you're also pretty good at looking the part!
[He's saying you're scary to normies, but it's probably a compliment.]
no subject
That didn't work out for all the old hags in Sotoba. [ More grumbling that's interrupted by that...observation? compliment? random commentary? One of those. Natsuno doesn't know how to take it, so he just huffs instead. ]
Do you? [ Know how strong he is. It kinda almost sounds playful too. ]
no subject
Hahaha, you totally showed the old hags, didn't you? Though it'll probably be a little harder to get 'em off your back here.
[Does this count as dragging the dead now. He does a lot of that too anyway.
Anon finishes up his last round of push-ups and stretches like a satisfied cat before -- since Natsuno is taking up the chair and all --flopping onto the bed and handily squashing the plush. It's not staring anymore, but it is quite comfy.]
And I do, in theory. [cheekily] None of us are as strong as we should be, but once we get out of here you should show me.
no subject
Mhmm, maybe. [ That might sound disappointly like a no except-]
But I'm stronger right now. [ It's habit at this point that colors his eye red when talking to Anon, but tonight his eyes are the brightest, vibrant crimson. ]
no subject
He does lean over a little once Natsuno concludes, a spark in his eye as though simply staring harder will uncover any secrets. At this point he's getting used to staring into a red-eyed mirror. (Just wait until his eye color starts changing.)]
Right now... You mean at night? Or just that the Witches sealed something different?
no subject
Neither. But I do see better in the night. [ Sitting up straighter there's a predatory look in his eye that's definitely new. ]
I decided to stop holding myself back. It's been a while since I had eaten so I took a bit too much but—who cares.
no subject
[That's as much in response to Natsuno being noncommittal as it is to the change, Anon's eyebrows going way up once he throws down his revelation before he gives a little laugh of delight. Instead of lounging like he's been doing he curls up a little, propping his chin on one hand and one corner of his mouth curling up to bare a flash of teeth in response.
It's the same old challenging smile and a shade of something darker and more pleased, all at once. There's more energy thrumming through the muscles that had been relaxing.]
Now that's what I'm talking about. I'd say most of us Pieces are pretty sturdy, so there's nothing wrong with having a good meal before the real fights start. [at least this way Natsuno might stop falling asleep in weird places that give him rashes, probably] Now I really do want to see the difference.
no subject
I wouldn't mind. I haven't really tested it here but... [ By this point he's gone back to leaning forward onto the chair back, to the point of balancing all of his weight on just the two front legs. There's a lot of energy in his muscles too, and neither jogging nor playing videogames helped much. ]
no subject
[Meanwhile Anon doesn't appear to be enigmatic at all -- in fact, he meets any mystery of the day with a grin and words more like hammers than anything else. All the same, maybe it's because there's something mercurial about the both of them that they somehow get along; he has a decent handle on it, but his inhumanity seeps out plenty in the presence of so many humans.
Natsuno just happens to see more of it than most, a little more deliberately than most.
It's deliberate when Anon moves smoothly out of his anticipatory posture on the bed, deliberate when he stretches the cricks out of his frame and deliberate when in the next movement he throws open the window.]
Well, Nirrti is going to kick up a fuss if we test it around here, and she's really good at kicking up a fuss. [he doesn't seem to have had any trouble with the Witch name roulette going around here; one eyebrow is up, waiting for Natsuno to get moving too] The beach?
no subject
See you there. [ And bounding out the windows he goes. His sudden change in speed is probably deceiving given that his normal movements are pretty slow and deliberate. But when he's invested in something he goes all out, and jinrou are fast. A bit slower than he would be normally for sure, but he could easily outpace any of the humans here.
Can't stop, won't stop, at least until he finishes his sprint with a flip onto the sand. His wardrobe isn't the only thing that can be flashy. ]
no subject
(Too bad, because Anon is Anon and abusing windows has become his new pasttime.]
He just gives a laugh that sounds like it's slipped out in the midst of everything and pelts after him, not even bothering to shut the window. Natsuno's fast enough that there isn't quite the time to do that, even, and it adds a little spring to Anon's steps as he gives chase.
In terms of speed, really, they're evenly matched. Anon arrives a half-step behind and lets out a brief whoop at the flip -- but there's a reason he's lagging, and that's made apparent when he lowers his posture right smack in the middle of his sprint and goes straight in for a bodyslam to greet Natsuno coming down from showing off. There ain't any starting signals in this particular game.]
no subject
Taking hits in a fight is something he's used to though, and even with the wind knocked out of him he has no intention of staying prone. The pain and the contact is strangely exhilarating, and with blood pumping through his veins he goes to roll out from being completely pinned. There's some force behind the movement too—he definitely has more strength than his spindly frame should. ]
Glad we skipped the whole rules thing. [ Not sarcastic in the slightest actually. This is nice, he's way too used to people trying to talk him out of fighting. ]
no subject
[It's absolutely Anon's first time fighting a jinrou or even anything like one, sealed or whatever notwithstanding, and while it would definitely be more exciting with the both of them at the top of their game he's still perfectly happy to accept this version of it in the meantime. Exuberant, even, because he can both sense and feel his opponent's ability to take the hit.
It's going to be a good time even if Natsuno is scrambling and Anon allows himself to overshoot a little before turning with a spray of sand, watching his opponent's movements with bright eyes. They're subtly different but just enough so from the way Natsuno's been moving until now.
For his part, he hasn't had the real chance to put this body through all its paces either. Not like this. There's another brief period where he circles just a little, looking for an opening -- he'll pounce the second Natsuno's focus relaxes even a little, raining down a good amount of punches to see how good he is at blocking rather than escaping.]
no subject
Resorting to instinct, he lets a couple of punches land so he can try to force a window of attack on his own. Shifting his center of gravity to his back leg, he takes a half step before channeling his energy into a kick aimed squarely at the infernal's middle. It's not the most graceful thing, but it is powerful. There's no holding back here it seems. ]
no subject
[His senses are absolutely duller here, though those have at least adjusted relatively quickly just through being here and all the time he's spent exploring the island at various times of day -- his night vision he can compensate for, his reflexes he can polish up again, and all of his strategies can be shifted ever so slightly down to account for what must be closer to human.
He could complain about it more than he does, but he doesn't. Because the only rule is to win; it doesn't have to be pretty, and he's always, always learning, no matter what.
So he gets at least one arm in between that kick and his solar plexus, staving off the force and most of the effect of being winded. It sends him skidding back and another spray of sand goes up, but he doesn't pause this time -- instead, he goes sideways, relying on Natsuno's own momentum to slow his reaction to the sudden turn.
There's what looks like another bodyslam coming in from the side now, shoulderfirst and alarmingly fast.]
no subject
Rolling out of the pin in the same way as last time probably isn't going to work, but Natsuno has another idea in mind. If he uses what little leverage he has just right and all of his strength, he might be able to reverse it. Either way, he's clearly enjoying himself and not in any rush to stop. ]
no subject
Somewhere in all the skidding and the sand, anyway, with perhaps surprising ease -- Anon lets himself get stopped for just a second, smirk wide and gleaming to Natsuno's fangful one.]
Hahaha, you learn fast, don't you? That's good!
[With that, he's going to show why we don't pin on sand -- leverage changes at a moment's notice, and he shifts his weight a little to loosen Natsuno's grip and have it slip in the sand before just straight up curling up to launch him over his head. And probably into the surf, because there's nothing like eating ocean to cool your head and prepare you for the rest of the bout.]
no subject
Did you know some vampires can't handle running water? Thanks for helping me sort that out. [ Cheeky, but still in good fun. He'll make to move again in a second, but proving that maybe jinrou isnt'a complete misnomer after all, he shakes out his wet hair like a dog or more aptly, a werewolf. ]