The flame inside the breathing ashes

[lostinshadows]

Who: Lavi and Everyone
What: Aftermath of various things
Where: Far Shore
When: August 17-24
Warnings: None at the moment!


[A. August 17th - Afternoon]

[After his fight with Lux and talk with Allen, anyone who would have tried to reach Lavi will discover radio silence on his end. He left a note to Cardia explaining he’d be out all day. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now, not after the parting words Lux had left him with.

Avoiding everyone seemed to be the best option right now, even if he would argue instead that he was just grabbing some fresh air.

It’s why he’s chosen to walk his temple’s latest addition around the Far Shore instead.

”Someone like you should have never been given a name to begin with!”

His jaw clenches at the memory of it, but it was a mistake to take his eye off the dog since Sisi runs off and Lavi’s quick to run after it.]

Sisi, wait!

[B. I Lost You Again]

[Sometime, at some point during the month, people might find Lavi sitting at an area where Allen’s temple used to be. He has a knee drawn up to his chest, a hand covering his face as if he’s trying hard to ignore the sudden pang of loneliness that hits him. Fortunately, Sisi seems to be his company today, too, sitting beside Lavi and has his head rested on Lavi’s other leg.

The redhead gently gives him a scratch, though he looks distracted.]

Damn it, Allen.

[Sisi whimpers a bit as Lavi retracts his hand to mess with a pair of white gloves that he found - the same kind of gloves he’s seen Allen wear before.

He grits his teeth, the other hand moving away from his face and he slams a fist onto the ground.]

Damn it.

[C. He’s an Exorcist Once More]

[Somewhere in a clearing, there’s Lavi holding what appears to be a hammer that might look a little too heavy all things considering.

He has his eye closed, the head of the hammer pointed upwards as giant seals appear around him, glowing brightly. Gritting his teeth, his eye opens as one of the seals stops and glows a bright red.]

Hi Ban: Gouka Kaijin!

[Slamming the hammer down with the seal stamped onto it, a torrent of flames erupt, taking on the form of a snake that surrounds Lavi briefly before shooting upwards into the sky and disappearing in bits of ashes.]

Comments

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai can't help but laugh at that, genuinely, and he ducks his head to give Sisi a severe look.]

I see how it is. Any stranger willing to scratch your ears will do.

[He glances up at Lavi again, still smiling.]

-- Well, at least he's better-behaved than Chikusa's dog.

[lostinshadows]

Not familiar enough with Chikua's dog to agree with that claim.

[Sisi doesn't seem to mind, anyway.

He's getting ear scratches here!

Lavi huffs at the creature.]

Stop going to random people just for some affection.

[reformedsinner]

I'm hoping to convince him to stop tackling strangers as a greeting. He's also much larger than Sisi here....

[Tackling is cute from a corgi. From a hundred-and-fifty pound mastiff, it's slightly more of a problem.

Hakkai blames Hibari's influence.]

Now, now, don't scold him for being sociable.

[lostinshadows]

...He tackles people? Just what kind of dog is he?

[A mastiff is definitely bigger than a corgi.]

I don't mind him being sociable. It's a bit of a pain if he ends up running into someone threatening.

[reformedsinner]

It's a good thing he ran into me, then, I suppose.

[Because Hakkai is clearly unthreatening!

... or at least, Hakkai's unable to resist calling Lavi on that implication, if he meant otherwise. He smiles brightly.]

Bon's a Tibetan mastiff. I had to look up the breed: apparently they were originally bred to help shepherds keep tigers away from their flocks....

[lostinshadows]

[....Lavi just looks at Hakkai dubiously, a silent inquiry as if asking he really believed in his own words at that.]

Right...a really good thing.

[Would it be too much to call him out on that in return?]

...Sounds like a really big dog.

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai chuckles appreciatively. Well, so long as they're both clear on Lavi's opinion of him... and he isn't unthreatening, after all.

He just has no reason to be otherwise.]

Oh yes. He may be heavier than I am.

[lostinshadows]

[He scoffs.]

Somehow, I don't get the impression that you're really that heavy in the first place, Hakkai.

[If you think that even a giant dog is able to outweigh you.]

[reformedsinner]

Well, I do try to watch what I eat....

[He wouldn't want to resemble Zhu Bajie too much. Or, you know, at all.

Still amused, he adds:]

And it's possible his fur makes him look a bit larger than he is, but he's a very large dog.

[lostinshadows]

It'd be hypocritical of you if the doctor isn't taking good care of himself.

[He huffs a bit.]

A Tibetan mastiff are big dogs in general. The fur would definitely add in to how heavy he is.

[reformedsinner]

It would, wouldn't it? I have to represent my profession well.

[He takes terrible care of himself and everyone who spends any time around him notices it... but, look, as long as they're also too afraid to call him on it it's fine.]

Actually, I'm not sure that Chikusa's caring for him anymore. He might have given him to Sharak Sanzo.

[lostinshadows]

I get the feeling you don't take good care of yourself at all.

[He is no stranger to people who fails at taking care of themselves. He does it all the time.]

Never heard of that person before.

[reformedsinner]

I can't imagine where you'd get that feeling from.

[He sounds very realistically injured, for someone who has had to be carried back home after collapsing. More than once, even. More than once here.]

Ah, haven't you? She's a friend of mine. She has a large chicken flock, and they are herding dogs....

[lostinshadows]

I've been told my instincts are a pain in the ass for this sort of thing.

[And he's used to hypocrites.]

Nope, never met her at all. She's a god, right?

[reformedsinner]

How troublesome. -- Yes, she's a god. Aditi, from the Vedas, I believe. The Mother of All.

[Which is quite accurate to Sharak's particular stubborn, protective headwoman tendencies. She's a good caretaker, though, despite the challenges of this world, and Hakkai smiles a little at the thought.]

[lostinshadows]

Sounds like someone I don't want to be enemies with.

[But it's a bit weird to see Hakkai smiling like that.]

Are you close to her?

[reformedsinner]

Hmm? [Hakkai blinks: ah, he supposes he must have had an affectionate expression.]

Well, she's a violent, headstrong, and stubborn person. We get along very well.

[lostinshadows]

A friend then?

[Someone like Hakkai managed to get a friend? Especially someone who sounds somewhat terrifying.]

[reformedsinner]

[Don't sound so surprised, Lavi: he has lots of friends. Well -- some. More than one. The majority of them even still talk to him.]

Yes, a friend. Is that strange?

[lostinshadows]

[A quirked eyebrow.

You really going to do this?]

No, not at all. [Even the most manipulative of men can have friends, he supposes.] Just surprising.

[reformedsinner]

[Yes. Yes, he is. Hakkai raises his eyebrows right back.]

I seem to have given you a terrible impression of myself. I'm not certain how.

[lostinshadows]

[Smilesmile.]

Maybe you just struck me as the type of person who doesn't really have friends. That'd be my own fault for assuming.

[reformedsinner]

[That actually stings a little, Lavi. He and Gojyo may be on slightly better terms than they were before a few days prior, but he's still in no mood to hear about how he seems like the sort of person who can't sustain a friendship.]

That does seem like a leap. Are you that type of person yourself?

[He's noticed the similarities between their smiles, and he remembers Lavi being a coldly withdrawn, too-smart child. They are not that different.]

[lostinshadows]

[There are times when he can like you, Hakkai, and other times where he has to backtrack and eye you in a different light.

The smile shifts.]

I could be, but who knows, really. I don't even understand myself sometimes.

[Between being Lavi and being Bookman Jr., it really can be difficult to split the two of them apart.]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai sees the shift in that smile; the barb, returned, had drawn blood just as well.

That's enough to let his defensive hackles settle. Lavi's younger than he is, after all, if Hakkai's any judge; somewhere in his late teens, or a very baby-faced early twenties. And Hakkai has not grown into understanding himself all the time, not yet.

His voice is gentle, but there's a hint of irony in it, too.]

The trouble with friendship is that, first, it requires trust.