bloodandbrass

you think i'm wrong?

Obviously.

then keep it to yourself.

[ stop arguing while he has traps to set, david, there's people trespassing already. he can tell. ]

[ whatEVER he's annoyed now. pauses again with a huff of "this fuckin'--" under his breath and everything. ]

So your ass practically interrogates me about random shit but I've got nothing to say that's worth hearing?

[ he's gonna punch a tree this man is so annoying ]

[ don't call out his hypocrisy and inconsistency!! he won't acknowledge it!! ]

most of the time, yeah.

[ there's noises out in the darkness. he turns, watches the shadows, and moves toward them. he doesn't need this on top of the conversation he's having. ]

You ever tried not being such a pain and a hypocrite?

i'm not a hypocrite.

[ this blatant lie aside, he doesn't contest being a pain. ]

[ evan if you hear a distant and frustrated "oh my god" just ignore it ]

Oh so all them times you wanna throw your weight around and make demands and ultimatums but get pissy when someone gives you half that attitude back, that's all made up then is it?

[ ignore signs of trespassing? how can he? he follows what he swears is a voice, somewhere in the darkness. ]

that's me being better than the rest of you. same thing that started this whole conversation.

That's you being completely up yourself, you mean.

some people are better. would've thought you'd have figured that out by now.

[ "you sound like my parents" is right there, he types it out without thinking, but thankfully he's an elder millennial and occasionally looks at his messages before he sends them. (but only occasionally.) ]

And you're one of them, yeah? Just because you say so?

because i know so.

[ he can see a silhouette in the trees. he pockets the phone and moves toward it, slowly, almost like he's actually hunting instead of just tracking. ]

Love to see the proof someday.

[ alexa play famous last words ]

[ he assumes the lack of a response is because evan had one of his famous rage fits, so after some silence david shoves his phone back in his pocket. pauses for a moment, looks around in confusion because he shouldn't be this close to the macmillan estate? did he get rerouted here literally just because he was talking to evan? god he hates the fog. ]

[ he ignores the message, thinking david's somewhere else, and as he gets close enough to see the silhouette look around he reaches out to clamp his hand over their shoulder and drag them around. not strike first. not kill immediately. for once. or maybe twice.

but it's david he pulls around, and the surprise is clear in how still he goes as soon as he realizes who's there.

some part of him thinks a particularly nasty thought at the entity, who must be watching. ]

[ the hand on his shoulder is a surprise, which of course means it's something david responds to violently. he moves with the pull, letting it give him the added momentum to wheel around, fist raised and ready to make whoever the fuck thought they were gonna sneak up on him regret it. ]

[ he registers the stillness before who it is, just barely managing to stop himself before the hit connects because why would someone go still there unless they knew him? when he processes the mask and his face goes on a journey: surprised, annoyed, confused, annoyed again, and then finally he puffs out a tired, unamused breath of a laugh. ]

Of fuckin' course.

[ the incoming blow is obvious, and something he should be ready for, but he's not. luckily for them both, david stops before it lands.

it must be a deliberate trespass, evan thinks, but the accusation doesn't rise as easily as it might have before. ]

Had to come ask me to my face, did you.

Wasn't planning to be out this way actually.

[ he drops his arm, still on alert but not about to start anything for the minute. settling back into annoyed, a brief, involuntary glance skyward along with a sigh to indicate who and what it is david's annoyed at right now. ]

Must've got turned around.

[ evan glances up as well, and then around. in his experience, getting lost isn't that easy. there's always something listening. sometimes, not to whoever thinks they're lost.

people end up where they should be, even if that's not what they want. ]

Sure you weren't. Just having a conversation and end up right where I am. Just bad luck.

That's exactly what happened.

[ he looks back at evan-- well, more of a glare, because of course it looks like he wanted to be here on some level and it's important that evan doesn't get that idea. ]

In't exactly looking to see your smug mug tonight but here I am.

[ evan glowers at him, then pulls the phone back out to see that last text, sent before he thought he was about to kill (or at least terrify) some unwary trespasser. it makes him scowl under the mask.

he drops the phone back into a pocket and fixes david in his sights again. he didn't bring his machete with hiim - doesn't always need it, especially on his own property - but now he's almost wishing he did. ]

You want proof I'm better? Look around.

[ as much as he throws out incendiary statements, david isn't bad at choosing his words. it's a learned skill, always dancing on the line of utter destruction, trying to decide when to placate somebody's ego versus when to provoke their temper. placation fell by the wayside over the years, but he can diffuse a situation. has done, or tried, with evan a few times now. ]

[ unfortunately he himself also grew into a temperamental bastard. it's not even really evan that's pissed him off, but he is and evan's right here in front of him being an asshole and biting his tongue is always so much harder in person. ]

[ look around, huh? david does, unimpressed. ]

Caretaker of a big, empty old estate that's constantly falling apart, congratulations.

[ actually , you know what? he's sick of this. sick of evan constantly acting like he's above everyone else because, what? he's got some land? didn't he try to destroy this fucking place? mockingly, he bows, though he never takes his attention off evan. he knows he's poking a bear here. ]

Miss fucking Havisham of the fog, what an honour.

[ it's not the insult to his property that gets him, for once. or the reference, which goes right over his head. it's the bow. david's tone of voice combined with the mocking little bow, simultaneously suggesting something like aristocracy (who never lifted a finger to earn what they had) and making fun of what was always beaten into his skull, sometimes literally, sometimes just with deed and word.

the rage surges up in a matter of seconds, and he lashes out. no cleaver means only his fists, but that's fine - that's what he was raised to use. there's no uncertainty or discomfort.

there's just david, who deserves to be beaten into a pulp. killing him isn't even really the idea. just shutting him up, shutting him down, making him regret, making him learn. ]

[ he's done his best to avoid starting fights with evan, (and sometimes he gets the feeling the reverse is also true,) and they've been successful for a while. it's not that he hasn't wanted to, but it's seemed counterproductive. on multiple fronts. ]

[ and as much as he's wanted to fight this man, david hasn't wanted to kill him, and there's a deep awareness that if he starts something he has to be willing to finish it. ]

[ that's far from his mind right now though. there's a brief tick of a smirk on his face as he ducks back from that initial swing, a spark of something happy in his expression for a split second. finally. ]

[ david launches himself forward, banking on the fact that he's faster on his feet than evan to help him get around those initial swings to try and get his own hits in first. ]

[ it's probably for the best that he misses that split second of joy, because it would drive him even further over the edge. being happy about pissing him off. he knows they all are, but having it right in his face is what gets people beaten to death in trials.

david ducks under the first hit and goes for his own, moving faster, getting around hits. evan knows that's how he has to fight against someone bigger than him. it's half of how he fought his battles until he got older, bigger, stronger. the punches land more than they don't. david's not the one blinded by anger, here.

but he has to keep getting lucky, while evan only has to get lucky once, and they're in his forest, where there's traps, and darkness, and places he knows. he tries to drive david back with hits of his own, even if they don't land. keep him backing up. keep him moving where he can't see. ]

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