[ maybe he has gone insane. david gives that thought some consideration as he watches evan at the forge, plants his hands on the table to pull himself up to sit on it with a quiet noise of complaint, but at least if he passes out up here he's less likely to fall and crack his head on a table and fucking die that way. which would be both embarrassing and a waste of everyone's time. ]
[ the thing of it is, just about anything to do with pine is pretty flammable. david expected it to hurt a lot, sure, but the combination of the red hot iron and the igniting pine tar is a profoundly intense shock to the system that takes a moment to even register as the explosive pain it is. david grabs at evan, not to make him stop but just for something to hold on to, grip tight and fingers digging in hard. his voice catches in his throat, the strain obvious in the popping veins, he sure wouldn't mind screaming right about now but it doesn't happen. ]
[ so basically just an extremely bad time, even if it's thankfully quite short. ]
[ the second that burst of agony is passed, david's whole body sags. heavy, shaking breaths, body trembling. still holding on to evan as he lets his head fall forward and waits for his vision to clear. ]
[ the thing of it is, just about anything to do with pine is pretty flammable. david expected it to hurt a lot, sure, but the combination of the red hot iron and the igniting pine tar is a profoundly intense shock to the system that takes a moment to even register as the explosive pain it is. david grabs at evan, not to make him stop but just for something to hold on to, grip tight and fingers digging in hard. his voice catches in his throat, the strain obvious in the popping veins, he sure wouldn't mind screaming right about now but it doesn't happen. ]
[ so basically just an extremely bad time, even if it's thankfully quite short. ]
[ the second that burst of agony is passed, david's whole body sags. heavy, shaking breaths, body trembling. still holding on to evan as he lets his head fall forward and waits for his vision to clear. ]
[ what comes out of him the second any noise can is a breathless laugh, bordering just on the edge of hysterical. his skin is throbbing-- pulsing almost, but pain he can handle. it's a significantly smaller problem than bleeding out of a gut wound. ]
[ he's still holding on to evan — one hand on a bicep, the other on a shoulder — but his grip loosens a little. not that it seems like evan cares that much about it. ]
Fuck-- fuckin' hell.
[ what a day!! ]
[ he's still holding on to evan — one hand on a bicep, the other on a shoulder — but his grip loosens a little. not that it seems like evan cares that much about it. ]
Fuck-- fuckin' hell.
[ what a day!! ]
[ david takes the bottle with a nod and immediately tips back a large mouthful, his other hand staying where it is on evan's arm. cauterizing a wound hurts, he knows that, but the shock of having something literally ignite in said wound is something he could do with never feeling again. ]
[ evan makes a good point though. the thought of ghost face struggling because nobody will support him makes a grim smirk tug at his lips along with a breath of a laugh. ]
Wonder if he even survived this long. [ another deep drink. probably ill-advised all things considered, but it sure is doing wonders for the pain. ] That was a lot of blood.
[ evan makes a good point though. the thought of ghost face struggling because nobody will support him makes a grim smirk tug at his lips along with a breath of a laugh. ]
Wonder if he even survived this long. [ another deep drink. probably ill-advised all things considered, but it sure is doing wonders for the pain. ] That was a lot of blood.
[ david snorts, unsurprised and unbothered. at least it'll take the heat off some of the others for a bit. ]
Gonna go badly for him. [ he shrugs, lets his hand slip from evan's arm to hook his fingers under the side of his waders to tug him a little closer. there's more interesting things here than ghost face, not that that's a high bar for david. ] In't much to hold over me and now I know for certain he's easier to beat than some people.
Gonna go badly for him. [ he shrugs, lets his hand slip from evan's arm to hook his fingers under the side of his waders to tug him a little closer. there's more interesting things here than ghost face, not that that's a high bar for david. ] In't much to hold over me and now I know for certain he's easier to beat than some people.
[ they both know david's not exactly the smartest or most sensible where his health is concerned — even though he knows better, he has a pretty fucking bad habit of thinking of himself as indestructible. like he can grin and bear anything if he just grits his teeth hard enough — so it probably shouldn't be a surprise that evan's comment falls on deaf ears. ]
Yeah. [ he shrugs a shoulder. ] And?
[ attractive, right. the pain in, well, just about everywhere has been turned down to a dull throb-- save the one obvious spot, a bright orange on a grey backdrop, but even that's better than what it was before. he's exhausted for several different reasons, noticeably slowing down, and yet david is completely convinced he'd be fine. ]
You don't want to?
[ he looks up at evan, squints at his mask in confusion. how could that possibly be a turn off? ]
Yeah. [ he shrugs a shoulder. ] And?
[ attractive, right. the pain in, well, just about everywhere has been turned down to a dull throb-- save the one obvious spot, a bright orange on a grey backdrop, but even that's better than what it was before. he's exhausted for several different reasons, noticeably slowing down, and yet david is completely convinced he'd be fine. ]
You don't want to?
[ he looks up at evan, squints at his mask in confusion. how could that possibly be a turn off? ]
[ david considers arguing because he'd be fine — he can handle it, he can handle anything — but that's a pretty definitive no, and evan's not exactly one to budge. moreover though david's just got too much pride to argue about whether or not he can handle getting fucked by someone he's not convinced even knows his name. even if arguing would be ego more than anything too, it'd come across desperate and david would honestly rather die. ]
There's a way I haven't died yet.
[ he's teasing, obvious in the small smirk and the pull of his brows, fingers still hooked in the side of evan's waders even if he's not pulling him closer anymore. maybe it's the everything of the situation but this is kind of nice; calming in a way that offsets the tremor in his hands and the throbbing in his gut. ]
There's a way I haven't died yet.
[ he's teasing, obvious in the small smirk and the pull of his brows, fingers still hooked in the side of evan's waders even if he's not pulling him closer anymore. maybe it's the everything of the situation but this is kind of nice; calming in a way that offsets the tremor in his hands and the throbbing in his gut. ]
[ david puts the bottle down, tilts his head, halfway to falling asleep. the tiredness is catching up with him fast now that he's not surging with adrenaline and nothing needs his immediate attention. his head snaps up when evan asks the question, wide-eyed for a split second while his brain catches up. ]
I, uh. I grabbed his wrist to try keepin' him close.
[ this soon after, it's still pretty fresh in his memory. he vividly remembers the way he was barely aware of the feeling of being stabbed, the sharp pang of pain after he grabbed ghost face's wrist and he tried to twist the knife in response. ]
Managed to get me to loosen up but not enough he could take it with him, I guess.
I, uh. I grabbed his wrist to try keepin' him close.
[ this soon after, it's still pretty fresh in his memory. he vividly remembers the way he was barely aware of the feeling of being stabbed, the sharp pang of pain after he grabbed ghost face's wrist and he tried to twist the knife in response. ]
Managed to get me to loosen up but not enough he could take it with him, I guess.
[ the knife looks so small in evan's hand, though david couldn't say if that's because of the size of his hands or just because he's used to seeing him carrying bigger weapons — a little of both, probably — and he watches evan handle it with tired eyes. ]
[ until the slip about his dad. david pauses, recognizing the significance, but he's quiet for a little too long to make it seem natural when he responds. brain a little too slow reasoning out how to reply. it's not that he has no interest in any of this, so much as david unfortunately has some measure of respect for evan and his intense refusal to acknowledge his dad beyond the fact that he definitely existed at some point. he's never pushed david on his own issues really, so. he'll leave it alone. ]
Guess we've got a matching pair of that bellend's knives then. [ he makes an amused noise at the realisation. ] He's havin' a rough go of it, eh?
[ until the slip about his dad. david pauses, recognizing the significance, but he's quiet for a little too long to make it seem natural when he responds. brain a little too slow reasoning out how to reply. it's not that he has no interest in any of this, so much as david unfortunately has some measure of respect for evan and his intense refusal to acknowledge his dad beyond the fact that he definitely existed at some point. he's never pushed david on his own issues really, so. he'll leave it alone. ]
Guess we've got a matching pair of that bellend's knives then. [ he makes an amused noise at the realisation. ] He's havin' a rough go of it, eh?
[ well as far as he's concerned, david doesn't owe him any more consideration than what he's just shown. he tilts his head, considering what to do now, ignoring the way evan still seems primed to snap at the slightest provocation. ]
Yeah-- yeah. Course.
[ he puts his hands down to slip off the table. not going to get any less woozy or injured sitting here. nor does it look like evan's gonna calm down any time soon. david doesn't really know what to do with that, or about it, and that bugs him a little. but he's too fucking tired and woozy to spend any real time thinking about it. ]
I'm, uh. [ hm. ] I should go.
Yeah-- yeah. Course.
[ he puts his hands down to slip off the table. not going to get any less woozy or injured sitting here. nor does it look like evan's gonna calm down any time soon. david doesn't really know what to do with that, or about it, and that bugs him a little. but he's too fucking tired and woozy to spend any real time thinking about it. ]
I'm, uh. [ hm. ] I should go.
[ david lands on unsteady feet with a shock of pain through his middle, grabs the table and takes a second to stabilise himself. it's gonna be rough getting back to camp, if he even manages it. just hopes he gets pulled to trial sooner rather than later. ]
[ he glances up at evan, watching him watch the furnace. it doesn't feel great, the idea of just leaving him here like this, but what's he gonna do? hover around until this gut wound finally kills him? ]
[ doesn't really help that evan's anger is alluring to him in a way he refuses to think about, but david's also never seen it like this before and that's fascinating to him in a whole other kind of way. ]
Hey. [ david leans up so he can plant a quick kiss on the cheek of evan's mask, something about the gesture seeming stupid and funny. maybe enough so to cut through the tension a little. ] Thanks.
[ he glances up at evan, watching him watch the furnace. it doesn't feel great, the idea of just leaving him here like this, but what's he gonna do? hover around until this gut wound finally kills him? ]
[ doesn't really help that evan's anger is alluring to him in a way he refuses to think about, but david's also never seen it like this before and that's fascinating to him in a whole other kind of way. ]
Hey. [ david leans up so he can plant a quick kiss on the cheek of evan's mask, something about the gesture seeming stupid and funny. maybe enough so to cut through the tension a little. ] Thanks.
[ what david does is make it maybe two feet out of the workshop before he realises he's got nothing left and sits against a wall to pass out. he figures evan will be to preoccupied to find him out here, either die or get called to trial before evan leaves the workshop for anything. ]
[ it means he hears the crashing, the weirdly sanitized tantrum. a confusing lullaby for him to fall asleep to out in the cool, damp mineshaft. part of him wishing he could do something about this, another part of him deeply annoyed both by the fact that it's happening and that there's nothing to be done. ]
[ it means he hears the crashing, the weirdly sanitized tantrum. a confusing lullaby for him to fall asleep to out in the cool, damp mineshaft. part of him wishing he could do something about this, another part of him deeply annoyed both by the fact that it's happening and that there's nothing to be done. ]
Quick question
What's Merchant like in a fight?
Feel like she fights dirty & doesn't know what to do without her stupid arm-knife.
What's Merchant like in a fight?
Feel like she fights dirty & doesn't know what to do without her stupid arm-knife.
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