Quest/General Catchall Jan-Mar

[phoenixblessed]

WHO: Diluc Ragnvindr, E'kayan Tia, Guizhong, Alhaitham, Edmond, Neuvillette, Baizhu, Thanatos, and maybe YOU!
WHAT: Jan-Mar questboard and any other threads.
WHEN: January - March
WHERE: Noted in TLs
WARNINGS: Will be noted where needed

🔥 Diluc Ragnvindr	🐈 E'kayan Tia	💮 Guizhong	🌱 Alhaitham
💎 Edmond	🌊 Neuvillette	🐍 Baizhu	💀 Thanatos

Comments

[inevitablerest]

[He hardly waits to ensure that the man is going to hang back as instructed. Thanatos moves forwards to face the now weakened creature, stunning it with a swift swing of his scythe. The magic he wields glows a sickly green, flashing along the ground and rising up from it in eerie tendrils reminiscent of hands, but more than that...

More than that, Thanatos is fast. He wields his scythe and sword with deadly efficiency, inflicting several gaping wounds on the dullahan before it can even react. It swipes for him but he smoothly moves himself out of the way of each incoming blow moments before it hits, disappearing in a puff of greenish smoke and reappearing moments later.

The ground beneath the dullahan turns grey, shifting strangely, and Thanatos lifts his scythe up before muttering a single word.]

Fall.

[And the creature, battered as it is by Hijikata's assault and Thanatos' blows, does just that.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata takes in every detail - the green glow (sharing a magic colour with Thanatos, however broadly, makes him happy!), those spectral forms seemingly grasping for the enemy, the sheer whirlwind of devastation, damage dealt much faster and harder than he could even with his various enhancements and extra powers. Despite everything, a mortal can't compete with a deity!

As the lord dullahan falls, he has to hold himself back from clapping, realising just in time that Thanatos probably wouldn't appreciate the disruptive noise. Even so, he can't help himself from fanboying exuding blatant admiration as he approaches him.]

That was so cool just now!!

[Out of all the familiar faces from Avalon, the one who first taught him to honour and respect the dead rather than running screaming from them is an especially fondly welcome sight... though the recognition doesn't seem to be mutual.]

[inevitablerest]

[There is something to be said for the power of a Chthonic god, even one whose powers have been severely restricted. The dullahan falls and Thanatos, only a couple of feet from the ground, remains floating where he is for a couple of moments before suddenly uttering a soft sound of pain and dropping down to land on his feet.

That in itself is... unusual, but the way he grips his arm - where an inky blackness is continuing to spread across his dark skin - speaks of a greater problem. And it is, unfortunately for Hijikata, the reason why his enthusiasm on approach is not much acknowledged.

Of course that thing would be more trouble than it was worth to kill.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[That is alarming. Did he get cursed or hexed or status-effected-- but then, Hijikata sees the wound and the darkness coalescing around it, almost obscuring the golden ichor, and immediately he recalls the old stories recorded in the magical library, as well as his own experience with that horrifying cocoon he encountered with Medusa.]

Oh, that's not good. Hold on, let me--

[He hastily rummages through his Hammerspace Purse, but most of his anti-fae materials have been used up in the preceding battle against the lord dullahan's summoners, or are more useful for concealing one's presence that combating the consequences of an encounter. One, however, may be of use, and he's quick to offer it.]

Here, drink this! It was made from a golden flower found in the fairy kingdom. It heals and purges fae corruption.

[Hopefully, that's what this is... if it's Darkness corruption, he doesn't have a cure for that! A look around shows no further imminent danger, so he offers a hand for Thanatos to take once he's drunk the potion (assuming he accepts it).]

We'd best get you back to the city. You may need to see a specialist.

[inevitablerest]

I did not request your assistance.

[And nor is he about to drink something some stranger just offered to him. He's had more than enough occasions of finding himself tricked by mortals to not simply trust anything they give to him blindly and his pale golden eyes are cold as he looks down at the man after straightening himself up unaided.]

You are bold to presume to offer it.

[If Hijikata had any doubts about whether or not Thanatos remembered him at all they would likely be entirely shattered by now. There's not a glimmer of recognition in the god's eyes, nor any of the patience he might have experienced when learning from him in Avalon.]

I don't need your help.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Being rebuffed like this certainly does underline the unfamiliarity on the deity's part - this isn't the same Thanatos he got to know on Avalon. It'll never not feel painful to not be recognised, but Hijikata knows that there's no sense in bemoaning the circumstances, all the less when Thanatos is in danger.]

You may not need my help, but you do need help! If you don't get this treated, The Darkness will corrupt you, and it'll be awful for you and everyone else. I'm a stranger, I get that, but why would I screw you over after you saved my ass?

[He exchanges the potion for his Travel Crystal, again extending a hand.]

If nothing else, let me teleport you to the Spring Guild. We've got the best chance of finding a healer there.

[Can the healers even counteract Darkness-incuded corruption, though? He honestly isn't sure, but he definitely can't - not to his knowledge, at least.]

[inevitablerest]

You know me by name, and yet insist upon trying to press aid upon me for things that I can do for myself.

[Given that Hijikata just witnessed him teleporting, he doesn't see any reason why he would think he needs help with that either. The hand he offers is not taken, or even looked at.

He does feel... wrong. His arm is aching, and while he is no stranger to pain it feels like nothing he can remember experiencing before. But Thanatos is also proud and stubborn, and he does not appreciate the level of familiarity being impressed on him right now.]

I did not do what I did to save you. I did it because that creature did not belong in this world. Know your place, mortal.

[And then the space around him folds, wisping into greenish smoke as he disappears again.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[He saw him teleport alright, but he's not sure if he can do that all the way across the map! (Then again, upon deeper reflection he'd figure that if, back home, he routinely teleports between realms, this probably won't be an obstacle at all.)

The rebuffal of his support is such a stark contrast to the patience (if, at times, tinged with exasperation) that Hijikata remembers from the Thanatos he met on Avalon that it takes him aback - and before he can try and argue further, the god disappears on him.

For a moment, he stands there with his offered hand still up. He's exhausted and mana-depleted, and with the threat gone thanks to Thanatos, he'll teleport home himself shortly, but he allows himself a moment of upset. It's nobody's fault - this version of Thanatos seems unused to mortals butting into his business on such a casual on-on-one basis -, but being castigated by a once-familiar face still stings.

He sighs, willing the feeling away. He can't wallow in disappointment over things that can't be helped. God or not, I hope you get that treated.]