[ boy was he. it was a surprise, but more a pleasant one, a little shimmer of light to greet him in the ugly mist surrounding him ever since paul’s fall. falco stays with peter, and luna until a wayward return— and wouldn’t have spoken to childe so soon if it hadn’t been for his message.
it reminds him of something he hasn’t had the mind to think about. in fact, he’s afraid to. but—
eventually, he returns the call. ]
Hi Mister Childe. I’m sorry I never got back to you sooner. I’m trying my best. I ate all the snacks you gave me and thought a lot about what we talked about. How have you been?
It feels like The Purple Thing can come through the longer I’m in. I want to make sure that’s not just an idea, or a coincidence. Can you help me with that?
If that's true, that's disturbing indeed. I'd be more than happy to help. When are you available? I'm ready anytime.
[And really, getting possessed by that substance again doesn't bode well for anyone. Of course, Childe is interested by the battle aspect of this, but he also doesn't want to see Falco go through that again.
Of course. I have a particular spot where I've already had many a battle already. Anything that was there that could possibly get in the way has been long since cleared.
Meet me at the Lamp in Cassandra. We'll head north a ways to get to our battleground. It's not too far from there.
[He waits patiently for Falco, tugging on his gloves a little before scanning through his Omni. Nothing new or interesting is there, giving up and sliding it into his pocket. Once Falco arrives, he'll get a warm greeting and a wave from Childe.]
Hey there. Come with me, it isn't far.
[He'll begin leading Falco out of town towards the forest, a twenty minute walk or so.]
Falco, answer a few more questions for me. How long were you in your titan form when you started to notice your little...problem rearing its ugly head again?
An hour...no small amount of time, and yet, sometimes goes by in the blink of an eye.
[And if Falco's concerns were valid, this could be a major problem down the road. Trees that have started to sprout leaves again hang over their heads as they walk, and he breathes in the fresh air happily as he thinks.]
I do wonder if fighting affects it as well. We'll test out whether or not an hour of constantly fighting brings out that creature that lives inside of you. Do you think you'll be able to handle that?
Pulling you out? No, but I can fathom a guess. I'll have to get at the nape of your neck, right?
[That's where they'd exited before, when he'd blown a hole through the flesh and muscle. Not a pretty sight, but he's seen more than one gruesome sight.]
[ the drawing he’s about to drag in the sand starts to look like a rendition of the back of someone’s head— he’s never see his titan’s reflection, but he knows it’s bird-like. he decides to add an open, jagged beak to the circle of said head, then marks a little stick figure right in the middle of the nape, circling it. ]
I’m right there, about one meter by ten centimeters in. There’s, um— [ he considers saying it, but opts in not going to strong, ] a margin of error, if you count the limbs. As long as the outer margin is followed, it should be fine.
[He stands, observing how Falco draws the nape and where to cut, nodding. That lines up with what he'd seen before, and now he understands how when he'd tried that the first time, he'd missed. He hadn't gone up far enough.]
I think I can handle that. It should be no problem to open a hole there with my strength. [They continue on, until finally reaching their destination.] Ah, here we are.
[The landscape before them is riddled with cracked trees that have long since fallen down from something huge hitting them- a large crater is situated a little further back, and holes scatter the area where boots have dug in, where powers have gone off to attack each other. Very little grass grows here now, and the ground looks worn with the battles that have taken place upon it. With arms akimbo, he looks upon it, noting at least there was no blood to be found. It melted away with the snow, last month.]
We'll have plenty of room here. Should we get right to it, or is there anything else I need to know?
[ falco examines their new surroundings with outreaching eyes; it was battle worn and had plenty of stories to tell. he wouldn’t have time to ask now— only to add to the history of who stepped where. the boy nods, already beginning to dislocate himself to a spot further out. ]
Yes— I’ll stay over here.
[ a thin bladed knife with a hilt made of flora goes from underneath his robes, at his hip to his hand. in preparation, he inhales holds his breath— and hugs the blade with his fingers and palm, making the motion to cut himself as swift as possible. he must bleed, and this may very well cause pollution . . . pollute wisely, trenchies say. ]
I’m ready, Childe.
do you wanna thread the fight out or just handwave it until something important needs to happen
[He nods back to Falco, noting that the boy had just brought a knife out, seemingly cutting himself...interesting, especially since he gets to see what's next.]
Alright. Don't hold anything back, now.
[What Childe does is very much the same as last time, skipping past fighting with his Vision or Delusion first and going right to his transformation. As he dons his dark armor once more, he stands before Falco ready to fight, the abyssal cape inscribed with the stars themselves billowing behind him.
He'd have to push Falco to his limit, to ensure being able to see if this problem truly existed- and for Childe's own entertainment, of course.]
we can start it up and fast forward in a bit, yes! 🙌
[ at the ready, falco sparks. dancing little cracks of energy dance like a charged rod just struck by lightning— until it feels like that’s precisely what happens. an ugly sound booms and with it came light: an entire body, flesh, bone and blood comes together seamlessly, envelops falco in a thick container. particles come together to form the titan in such a short amount of time it feels like art motioned far ahead of time.
falco’s vessel forms differently than the last childe has seen— without the need or intention to fly, the jaw titan has not its incredible wingspan or impressive tail feathers. this version is completely made for landfall, only spawning four armored limbs that crouch into a quick forming crawl, his saw lined beak mask expanding to open wide and make way for two open mouths to shriek and emulate an unfortunate encounter.
the jaw titan is quick on his limbs and has a nasty strike, but childe would be able to tell that when he decides to attack, he has no intention of harming him. he puts more focus into matching childe’s rhythm and how much input he could take before things got deadly.
his talons would swipe, but the curved, hazardous ends would always curl inward to dull his blows in time. ]
[The bolt of lightning the streaks down from the sky and initiates the transformation causes the Harbinger to cover his eyes, intrigued by the creature that forms before him. It certainly is different yes, and he wonders if Falco has made the conscious decision to take this form instead of the more birdlike one he'd had before. It's still impressive, the titan twice his size at the height he stands in his own transformation, so this will do just fine. That same shriek, he remembers it well, but at least for now he knows that the boy is in control of it.
His staff is broken apart into two blades in his hands, and they begin their match- Childe noticing that Falco is pulling his punches.
[Because Childe won't hold back as he fights. He knows this titan can take it, and as he fights he teleports around swipes, sending hydro and electro attacks Falco's way.]
Edited (and then i copied the wrong zalgo text! god) 2022-03-27 04:24 (UTC)
[ this is hard, and childe will see falco's true core: he is not a fighter. rather, he is a fighter in the sense that he is a survivor, but violence? violence is a difficult thing for him to pour his heart into. it does not come easy, or naturally. he has an aversion to it if he could help it, and the titan, in response, recoils with some hesitant steps back and whimpers. it is a fear, if the action is not exactly needed.
childe was right on one hand, though: then why was he here? to practice, surely, to figure out what was wrong and plan ahead—
falco tries again, better tactics: strike hard, but strike elsewhere. the blows come with more damage to their surroundings that way, but he's some ways far off his mark, giving childe plenty of room to move. sometimes, he not even need to move. a waste of time and energy, he finds, and switches the approach again: strike, but don't look, eyes kept shut— but then, how would he defend himself? change it, again. and again, and again. the truth was that falco would be a hard fruit to ripe if the circumstance wasn't emergency.
that is, something does change. the more the titan is attacked, the more he attacks back. eventually, childe will see a gradual result surfacing, but not one of a healthy source. of course, this might be difficult to realize when falco is giving him what he'd ask for: strike me like you're trying to kill.
if he's not careful, any swipe, or even the sudden, more bestial snap of the boney jaws that form his beak could be a deathly close call. something's already wrong, but who would see that? ]
[Such power and yet such reluctance to use it. He can see that in those steps backward, that frightened whimper. Perhaps he should of been a little more soft with his encouragement, but in the heat of battle, it's kill or be killed. But that softness can wait until the battle is over. For now, he continues to try to push Falco, but it was evident that he'd need a lot more help than just fighting in his titan form if he were to ever be a real warrior.
Things that can be addressed later, if the boy wanted it.
Childe tries to be encouraging to him, yelling phrases back like, strike harder next time! or come now, that's all you've got? you're still holding back! and the like. But the longer they fight, the more he sees the titan coming back at him like he really means it, the way he'd asked him to in the beginning.
Thankfully Childe's movements are quick, before the jaw titan can snap him up into its jaws, a near miss that makes the Harbinger's eyes go wide. The fight had been getting more and more exciting since it appeared that Falco was trying, and he grins wickedly from behind the mask. But, something didn't sit right with him either, and he can't quite put his finger on it. How long had they been fighting? He doesn't see any sign of that familiar sludge that came oozing out of the titan just a few months prior- but he wonders now if Falco's fears were becoming a reality.
He holds up a hand to stop, ceasing his fighting and floating in midair a few dozen feet in front of Falco. But he's on edge. Would he stop attacking? Or did they go too far?]
[ falco only slows to position himself— has he stopped? it could only be a brief possibility, but not one that’s long lasting.
the jaw titan springs from its crouched limbs and flings itself, jaws first, right toward childe. it’s wide, and prepares to snap over where falco thinks he has him.
it’s hard to see the veins in its eyes, obscured by the mask over it— but they're more purple in hue than green. the inside of his mouth too: had that been saliva? or goo? ]
That lunge comes fast, and the mouth of the monster fills his vision before he snaps out of existence from that spot and backward, away from it. Falco had called this the Jaw Titan, and now isn't a good time to find out if he had the strength to keep it from cutting him in half with one chomp.
This isn't good, he thinks, as he looks for signs of that goo again. He thought he'd seen purple in the mouth too, but he couldn't stick around to find out. There's no way he's going inside the mouth again, if he can help it. But the bad part is, if he's becoming possessed again, he knows that Childe will go for the nape...he's got to make a distraction before those claws can come up and protect it. He brings a hand down, a dark circle of energy appearing over the space between Falco's eyes as four swords made of pure electro energy come raining down on that area- and Childe disappears again.
About ten feet over the nape of the neck, ready to cut the boy out.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text; | Forward dated to March, on whatever day works best ic'ly for us lol
[He asks, not knowing that Falco had been more than busy prior to Childe sending this message.]
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it reminds him of something he hasn’t had the mind to think about. in fact, he’s afraid to. but—
eventually, he returns the call. ]
Hi
MisterChilde.I’m sorry I never got back to you sooner.
I’m trying my best. I ate all the snacks you gave me and thought a lot about what we talked about.
How have you been?
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It's quite alright. Thanks for asking, I've been very well.
I'm glad you got the chance to think on what I said before. So, don't keep me waiting- what do you think?
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I’d use the Jaw Titan. Something isn’t right and I wanted to understand more.
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[He'd be lying if that didn't make him concerned.]
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Can you help me with that?
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[And really, getting possessed by that substance again doesn't bode well for anyone. Of course, Childe is interested by the battle aspect of this, but he also doesn't want to see Falco go through that again.
That was...awful.]
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Before it gets dark seems like a good time. I’ll need an open space, do you know of any good ones?
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Meet me at the Lamp in Cassandra. We'll head north a ways to get to our battleground. It's not too far from there.
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Thank you, Childe.
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Hey there. Come with me, it isn't far.
[He'll begin leading Falco out of town towards the forest, a twenty minute walk or so.]
Falco, answer a few more questions for me. How long were you in your titan form when you started to notice your little...problem rearing its ugly head again?
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Maybe . . . Around an hour? If it was less— I didn’t notice.
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[And if Falco's concerns were valid, this could be a major problem down the road. Trees that have started to sprout leaves again hang over their heads as they walk, and he breathes in the fresh air happily as he thinks.]
I do wonder if fighting affects it as well. We'll test out whether or not an hour of constantly fighting brings out that creature that lives inside of you. Do you think you'll be able to handle that?
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[ he’s for sure up to the task, especially if childe is this ready to help him out. ]
If you notice I’m acting strange, I think . . . Pulling me out is better. Do you know how to do that?
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[That's where they'd exited before, when he'd blown a hole through the flesh and muscle. Not a pretty sight, but he's seen more than one gruesome sight.]
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I’m right there, about one meter by ten centimeters in. There’s, um— [ he considers saying it, but opts in not going to strong, ] a margin of error, if you count the limbs. As long as the outer margin is followed, it should be fine.
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I think I can handle that. It should be no problem to open a hole there with my strength. [They continue on, until finally reaching their destination.] Ah, here we are.
[The landscape before them is riddled with cracked trees that have long since fallen down from something huge hitting them- a large crater is situated a little further back, and holes scatter the area where boots have dug in, where powers have gone off to attack each other. Very little grass grows here now, and the ground looks worn with the battles that have taken place upon it. With arms akimbo, he looks upon it, noting at least there was no blood to be found. It melted away with the snow, last month.]
We'll have plenty of room here. Should we get right to it, or is there anything else I need to know?
cw self harm
Yes— I’ll stay over here.
[ a thin bladed knife with a hilt made of flora goes from underneath his robes, at his hip to his hand. in preparation, he inhales holds his breath— and hugs the blade with his fingers and palm, making the motion to cut himself as swift as possible. he must bleed, and this may very well cause pollution . . . pollute wisely, trenchies say. ]
I’m ready, Childe.
do you wanna thread the fight out or just handwave it until something important needs to happen
Alright. Don't hold anything back, now.
[What Childe does is very much the same as last time, skipping past fighting with his Vision or Delusion first and going right to his transformation. As he dons his dark armor once more, he stands before Falco ready to fight, the abyssal cape inscribed with the stars themselves billowing behind him.
He'd have to push Falco to his limit, to ensure being able to see if this problem truly existed- and for Childe's own entertainment, of course.]
we can start it up and fast forward in a bit, yes! 🙌
falco’s vessel forms differently than the last childe has seen— without the need or intention to fly, the jaw titan has not its incredible wingspan or impressive tail feathers. this version is completely made for landfall, only spawning four armored limbs that crouch into a quick forming crawl, his saw lined beak mask expanding to open wide and make way for two open mouths to shriek and emulate an unfortunate encounter.
the jaw titan is quick on his limbs and has a nasty strike, but childe would be able to tell that when he decides to attack, he has no intention of harming him. he puts more focus into matching childe’s rhythm and how much input he could take before things got deadly.
his talons would swipe, but the curved, hazardous ends would always curl inward to dull his blows in time. ]
sounds like a plan to me!
His staff is broken apart into two blades in his hands, and they begin their match- Childe noticing that Falco is pulling his punches.
That won't do.]
D̡̦͜o̡͙͓n͔̞͚'̠̻͙t̢͕͍ y̡͓̺o̝̺̪u̼̻͓ d̪̞͕a̠̘͜r͇͓e̺̫̞ h͍͍͍o͇̠l̫̞͙d̢͍̝ b̞͉̦a̺͇̫c̢̠̠k͎̫ o͕̙͓n͍͔͍ m̢͉͍e͇̪͜!̻̫̟ S̘̺̟t̢̺̺r̟̞̺i̢̙̦k̫͎̙e͕̼̟ a̢͔̝t̼̼͜ m͉͔̺e̡͍̪ l͓̙̞i͙͓͇k̢͓͎e͕̺͕ y͓͖͜o͇̝̠u͍͎͉'̢̠r̡̟̝e͉͚̪ t̫͖͜r̢̝͎y̞͖̝i̡̠͖n͔͍̼g̡̟̺ t͕̞o̼͚͙ k̦̺͉i̟̫̟l͕̝̘l̪̙̝,̡̺͔ o̪͇̼r͔̘̫ w̻̠h͎͍͖a̙͇̠ț̡͇ i̞̫͎s͉̪ t͎͕h͔̼̟i̡͇͓s͎̪͓ a̟̫̻l̡̻͚l̡͚ f̻͜o̪̠͕r̢͚̦?͖͓͕
[Because Childe won't hold back as he fights. He knows this titan can take it, and as he fights he teleports around swipes, sending hydro and electro attacks Falco's way.]
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childe was right on one hand, though: then why was he here? to practice, surely, to figure out what was wrong and plan ahead—
falco tries again, better tactics: strike hard, but strike elsewhere. the blows come with more damage to their surroundings that way, but he's some ways far off his mark, giving childe plenty of room to move. sometimes, he not even need to move. a waste of time and energy, he finds, and switches the approach again: strike, but don't look, eyes kept shut— but then, how would he defend himself? change it, again. and again, and again. the truth was that falco would be a hard fruit to ripe if the circumstance wasn't emergency.
that is, something does change. the more the titan is attacked, the more he attacks back. eventually, childe will see a gradual result surfacing, but not one of a healthy source. of course, this might be difficult to realize when falco is giving him what he'd ask for: strike me like you're trying to kill.
if he's not careful, any swipe, or even the sudden, more bestial snap of the boney jaws that form his beak could be a deathly close call. something's already wrong, but who would see that? ]
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Things that can be addressed later, if the boy wanted it.
Childe tries to be encouraging to him, yelling phrases back like, strike harder next time! or come now, that's all you've got? you're still holding back! and the like. But the longer they fight, the more he sees the titan coming back at him like he really means it, the way he'd asked him to in the beginning.
Thankfully Childe's movements are quick, before the jaw titan can snap him up into its jaws, a near miss that makes the Harbinger's eyes go wide. The fight had been getting more and more exciting since it appeared that Falco was trying, and he grins wickedly from behind the mask. But, something didn't sit right with him either, and he can't quite put his finger on it. How long had they been fighting? He doesn't see any sign of that familiar sludge that came oozing out of the titan just a few months prior- but he wonders now if Falco's fears were becoming a reality.
He holds up a hand to stop, ceasing his fighting and floating in midair a few dozen feet in front of Falco. But he's on edge. Would he stop attacking? Or did they go too far?]
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the jaw titan springs from its crouched limbs and flings itself, jaws first, right toward childe. it’s wide, and prepares to snap over where falco thinks he has him.
it’s hard to see the veins in its eyes, obscured by the mask over it— but they're more purple in hue than green. the inside of his mouth too: had that been saliva? or goo? ]
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That lunge comes fast, and the mouth of the monster fills his vision before he snaps out of existence from that spot and backward, away from it. Falco had called this the Jaw Titan, and now isn't a good time to find out if he had the strength to keep it from cutting him in half with one chomp.
This isn't good, he thinks, as he looks for signs of that goo again. He thought he'd seen purple in the mouth too, but he couldn't stick around to find out. There's no way he's going inside the mouth again, if he can help it. But the bad part is, if he's becoming possessed again, he knows that Childe will go for the nape...he's got to make a distraction before those claws can come up and protect it. He brings a hand down, a dark circle of energy appearing over the space between Falco's eyes as four swords made of pure electro energy come raining down on that area- and Childe disappears again.
About ten feet over the nape of the neck, ready to cut the boy out.]
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cw: amputation and growing limbs back like a lizard
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we can start wrapping up here maybe!
sounds good to me!