My Art Is An Explosion!!

Aevum Isles affiliated Deidara of the Akatsuki from Naruto Shippuden, 18+ Rules

[chaoticclaybomber]

Deidara of the Akatsuki from Naruto

Aevun Isles affiliated but indie friendly Deidara RP/ask blog (18+)

✷Youngest member of an infamous terrorist group ✷Teen bomber and arsonist obsessed with the Art of Explosion ✷Will be annoying about bombs ✷And fireworks ✷And sparklers ✷Basically anything with any amount of 'boom' and 'flash' ✷Can be surprisingly serious and professional when he wants to ✷Had both arms ripped off multiple times and hardly flinched ✷Professional Little Shit who will cause problems on purpose ✷He is not still pissed off about losing Sasori, don't look at him ✷Uchiha hayter 4 lyfe

Application ✷ Stats ✷ Rules

Charm Collection under the cut!

[cloudspierced]

"Force myself to remember..." Just the thought was enough to give Dan Heng a headache. Though perhaps, in the end, it would be better to recover those lost memories. It wasn't as though he was doing all that well without them. And if it was true that he was cursed...

He sighed, shaking his head. "Alright. You may have a point."

He'd been here for a little while now, wandering up and down the ever-tangling twilit streets. Though he was beginning to learn his way around, it would still be nice to have someone who knew them better than he did to show the way.

As for the thing that drew him to the expo...

"It was..." he began, before the dull pain behind his eyes turned to a spear that lodged itself firmly between his temples. "Agh... I can't... think of it clearly."

It felt a bit like looking into a strange sort of mirror, a reflection that wasn't quite right. That thought, though, gave him pause. When the worst of the headache had passed, he lifted his head once again.

"How did it feel, to remember?" he asked. "Was it as though you suddenly knew who 'yourself' was? Did you feel any regret?"

[chaoticclaybomber]

Lips quirk upward in a slight smirk, more for being told he's right than for any real humor in the situation. It's all a mess as far as he's concerned.

More of a mess than he wants to deal with, but less of a mess than he's managed before. Really, when he compares things like this to his life and death before, it's not so terrible. Just very irritating, with the ability to get vastly worse if he doesn't watch himself closely.

A sigh that's more of a soft hiss slides out of his throat, and he reaches to steady the other man in case the agony of trying to remember knocks him on his ass. It would have been much easier if he could just tell Deidara what he needed and the ninja could retrieve it. Damn, no dice there.

"You mean beyond the agony part, where your head feels like it's splitting open, un? Like breaking through water when you didn't know you were under, un. Shattering a genjutsu- oh wait you don't know what that is, un. Uh, like being able to see clearly and breathe for the first time, yeah. Regrets though? I don't have regrets for leaving behind something fake for something real, un. Illusions and I don't have a great history, yeah."

[cagedfreedom]

Uriah shrugs, in the process, he's peeling off his jacket to be more comfortable in Deidara's shop. Yeah, starting from the beginning might work better and easier, too.

"Yeah," he nods. "It...I learned I was lied to. By my own father. I've always known that he wasn't a good man, but...Lilith learned that I was that friend from the past, and I witnessed it all." To have his memories joggled with like Tetris, he wonders what else Wilder did to him.

"Apparently, Lilith and I met at a banquet when we were kids. There was someone else, too."

[chaoticclaybomber]

Deidara tries not to follow the movement of Uriah's shoulders with his eyes, he really does, but he can't be blamed for Uriah being attractive and for wanting to look.

Still, maybe better to give them both something to distract from just staring at each other and having a serious talk.

"Come on, you talk and I'll show you how to sculpt, yeah?" He slides off the counter and heads for the back of the store, where there's a few wheels for throwing clay and all the tools of the trade within easy reach. Deidara fetches the few tools he needs, water, and a nice lump of clay before sitting down at one of the older, manual wheels and getting his clay centered.

"I don't like having serious talks without something for my hands to do, un. You can try it too, if you want, yeah."

[windfavord]

Maybe it wasn't right to put off the real problem he was in, but the truth was... his real body was asleep right now, in stasis like he had been before awakening in Shakkei Pavilion. Besides, was it really so selfish to put off saving your own self, when if things went back to the way they were, he certainly wouldn't be able to live normally again?

Harukaze didn't celebrate festivals. He didn't play with the children, he shunned humanity despite still wishing he could be one of them, deep down. Kabukimono didn't have those inhibitions-- once this was resolved, who knows if he'd ever be able to play like this again?

It could be good for "him" as a whole.

"No-- it won't cause a problem," he insisted. Well... "I'm pretty sure it won't."

There were other fragments that were a bit more difficult than he was. But... from what he could tell, they hadn't done anything yet.

Unfortunately, he couldn't leap up to the bird himself without being able to harness the power of the wind, so instead, he simply scrambled up on top of an awning, then to a balcony, then leapt across. This body of his was still very light-- even lighter than his true body-- so it wasn't too difficult.

"Hmm... I'm not sure. Do you know any good games?" he asked. "I don't really know too many. I know sword dances, though. The explosions really are harmless, right?" Now, he hesitated a little bit. "If it's like the ones from before even a little, I might end up getting broken. It doesn't hurt, but I still don't like it much."

[chaoticclaybomber]

'Pretty sure' was not often anywhere close to sure, as far as Deidara was concerned but... Well, he was tired of worrying about everything. No one from Akatsuki had showed up to make themself a problem (or a solution), the only trouble was from the Isle itself and he could handle it. So there was no point in fussing during one of the lovely festivals when he could relax and have some harmless fun without judgement.

Giving a small, amused snort, Deidara reaches out to catch Not-Quite-Maof's arm and steady him when he makes the circuitous jump onto the bird. He does not allow himself to pay attention to the wood grain he can see, or the strange weight of him, or the lack of give under his hand. They are irrelevant and distracting.

"I know ninja tag, but that's a lot more violent than we're aiming for, yeah. We could just play tag and try to hit each other with these, un. See who has better aim, un." He brings out a handful of the little clay balls and rolls one through his fingers.

"Nah, I've been selling them to the kids and their parents for weeks, un. I'm not gonna sell things to civilians that will blow them up, yeah. Not when I'm not being paid to hurt people, un. They've got a tiny bit of my chakra in them, but that's just so they burst right when they hit something and fall apart with no shrapnel, yeah. It's actually pretty hard to hurt someone by throwing these; I made it so they burst on impact so you'd have to throw really hard and fast to do any damage before they pop, yeah."

He demonstrates this by taking aim at one of the older kids, hardly a teen, and hitting him in the leg with a clay ball full of pink powder. The child yelps in surprise, but then immediately whirls to try to hit Deidara, no hint of damage to be seen. The ninja promptly intercepts the missile with another of his own, making them both burst into colorful powder in midair, the other children cheering loudly.

"See? Harmless fun, yeah."

[windfavord]

Apart from his face, there was very little of Kabukimono that resembled the form that Deidara had known before-- and even then, his expression now was far more youthful, with none of the bitterness that clung to Harukaze's countenance. Though the visible joints in his body were for the most part covered by clothing, his once porcelain-fair skin now carried a faintly violet hue, a slight flickering of wood-grain when the sun reflected off of him in the right way.

But Kabukimono didn't seem to mind any of this-- not really. He looked down at himself, brushing off some of the colored powder in vain.

"Oh-- I'm sure it will wash out," he said, though he actually wasn't sure. Some of it might, but others... it would definitely stain. Not that it really mattered, since this body and the clothes it wore weren't real anyway.

Dei was perceptive, though, and caught on quickly-- so, Kabukimono being far more frank than his other segments, just nodded his head.

"Yes-- but don't worry. I'm still myself. Just... part of myself. It's a long story."

He shivered slightly at the thought of what had happened before his consciousness shattered, those memories a little hazy but present nonetheless.

"I'm not a trick, as far as I know," he added. Of course, there was always a possibility, he supposed. "I'll tell you later-- but... can we play with some of your fireworks first?"

[chaoticclaybomber]

Well, that might not have sounded so ominous if not for the obvious disquiet it apparently caused the living puppet. Given how vicious and accomplished he'd been when they'd been causing massive damage to the gangs, anything that unnerved Maof was enough to put Deidara on edge. And yet, whatever had unnerved him seemed to pass quickly.

The ninja pressed his lips together, eyeing the puppet for a moment.

"You'll explain later, yeah? Then sure, un. As long as it's not something that's gonna pop up and cause a problem before you get to the explaining part, cause I don't really feel like being ambushed by whatever new shit's happening while I'm trying to relax with harmless explosions, yeah." One chakra assisted bound carries him right up to his bird, where he'd strapped his bag of powder-filled poppers.

"What's the game gonna be, un? Somehow, I think you and I are gonna outpace all these kids running around, yeah." His grin is bright and full of teeth, more challenge than anything.

[crows-primadonna]

A thought trickles into her mind when she heard of his shop. Ceramics and fireworks, huh? While she'd like to just look at them, a part of her ponders dangerously.

Fireworks.. It could be a good distraction, or even a cause for damage. Accidents can happen. And it would be good to use if she needed a group of people to.. scatter out of a building. Then, a good opportunity. Talons bared and.. that'll be that. Take the heart, then feed her father.

She shakes her head a bit. Best to lock it up for now. What if he can figure out her thoughts just by her eyes? He did seem slightly tense, after all. "I-I see.." She replies as she tunes back in. Cloak with red clouds?? The crude language suggests that they're trouble. "I'll keep an eye out.."

Then, he demonstrated his power. She can't help but stare wide-eyed at the clay bird, amazed. It moves just like one!! What kind of power did he have?! Is this normal back where he's from?

"Does it hurt??" She asks, now curious. Surely, there must be a catch with this power. Is it limited? Does it drain your life?? To have that without strings sounds too good to be true.

[chaoticclaybomber]

There's something hungry and calculating in her gaze, something that tells him clear as day that this girl is capable of quite a lot of destruction and violence if given the means. To what end, that's the question. She doesn't seem the kind to be violent for violence sake, but then he's not one of those shinobi who can read someone else with only one glance. She might be hiding more than he can see.

Not that it bothers him. He was a young child when he took his first life and younger still when he first began training for it. As long as her violence didn't come back to him and cause trouble for those he liked, it didn't matter to him.

As for her questions, those are easy. The bird flaps it's wings and takes off to fly around her in a circle.

"It hurt to get the mouths on my hands, un. It's a forbidden technique I stole from my village, yeah. But now it doesn't hurt any more than the mouth on my face does, un. I had to spend a long time perfecting the exact amount of chakra to put into the clay to make it do what I wanted without going overboard though, un. There were a lot of singed eyebrows when I was working on it, yeah."

[cloudspierced]

He was missing memories, missing his past, missing something, and suffering from some sort of inexplicable curse... it certainly sounded like all these things were connected. Before, he'd brushed it aside, not wishing for the unknown to interfere in the present, but now...

Well, his present wasn't doing that well anyway. If the only way to clear his name and his mind was to stop running, then...

"I'm well aware of that," he muttered quietly, raising a hand to his aching forehead. Reflexes, instincts, the nightmares that woke him in a cold sweat all over but left only faint wisps of recollection in their wake... until now he'd just elected not to think of it. Still, he sighed. "I can't return to Arcanus for now, though. Do you remember that book at the Expo? They're hunting me down now, accusing me of stealing it... even though I never even got close enough to get a real look."

By now, he was fully convinced that this was part of all of everything else. That didn't mean he could just waltz back in, find whatever piece of his past was in there and recover his memories...

And why did that idea seem so very familiar itself?

"The guilds... Omerta Nostra, right? I think I've heard of them..." Dan Heng frowned, resting his chin in his hand. It was like Sonare Isle itself, and the station. A vague recollection, that he couldn't quite place. "But if you're trying to lay low, then why did you come here? Unless you're deliberately trying to hide in the middle of the beast's den..."

[chaoticclaybomber]

"Maybe you don't have to go back to remember, un. If you can force yourself to remember, maybe it will work fine that way, yeah. Or breaking that curse of yours, un." Of course, it might not work that way either. Truthfully, Deidara doesn't know. All he knows is stealing back his clay bird had returned his memories and power.

Of course, there's always another option...

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm pretty good at that, yeah. I'm not a ninja for nothing, even if I prefer explosions to stealth, un. And frankly, this place is one I understand better than that fake life they gave us, un." The blonde taps his fingers against his thigh in a rapid pattern, scanning the area around them suspiciously even as he looks thoughtful.

"Did you have enough time to see what drew you to the Expo, un? If I steal it back and give it to you, maybe that will trigger your memories, un. Could be worth a shot, and I'd rather have backup that's an Echo like me than none at all, yeah."

[cagedfreedom]

It used to be almost everyday, where Uriah and Deidara hung out. From just hanging out and sparring, led to other things. There wasn't much attached though. No strings attached as it was a means to just clear the mind. At least for Uriah. Who's to say the same for Deidara? To hear that Deidara has missed having him around comes off as a surprise though.

Hm. Ever since, Uriah has felt a drift. He doesn't know if it's because he's the one drifting away or if it's something else.

He can't pretend he doesn't see it. It's awkward at best. Too quiet. Like two strangers, but they're not even strangers. Deidara knows every single scar on Uriah's body.

"Don't know where I should even begin," he finally says as he glances up at Deidara. "A lot happened and...I'm not sure how to condense it."

[chaoticclaybomber]

For a man who's been fighting all his life not to be caged in and tied down, Deidara certainly finds himself attached to people more often than he'd like to admit.

What he can admit is just... he wants somewhere he chooses to belong, and someone he chooses to belong to. Bits and pieces aren't enough anymore.

Uriah would have been nice. They understand each other -- or they did. Now he's not so sure.

"The beginning is usually a good place, un," Deidara says with a little smirk tugging at his lips. "Did you figure out what was going on with you and Lilith, un? You were still conflicted last we talked, yeah."

[windfavord]

At first, Kabukimono meant to look for help-- after all, there were people in this world who were trustworthy, at least as far as he was concerned. Who would have guessed that when he got back to the city, he'd find the air filled with colorful powder, the street painted with rainbow hues--

Of course, he might have guessed it, apart from the fact that he didn't have a phone and wasn't exactly aware of what day it was.

It was absolutely delightful, and he quickly found himself distracted. Within minutes, his white clothes were stained a rainbow of colors as he ended up roped into a game with a group of children.

When a shadow passed overhead, though, he stopped and looked up-- a familiar blonde-haired figure, flying by atop a clay bird... was that one of his friends? Kabukimono wasn't sure, since "he" was complicated when it came to friends, but it was a start if nothing else.

He waved his arms above his head, trying to catch the shinobi's attention. "Deidara! Look down here!"

It had been a long time since "he" went missing. Surely, the people who knew him might be wondering where he'd gone.

——— ◈ @chaoticclaybomber ( amity celebration - starter call )

[chaoticclaybomber]

Deidara was rather enjoying this part of the spring festival; especially now that he owned his shop and could make a killing off of selling special little 'fireworks' that were nothing more than fragile clay shells filled with the colored powder. The kids loved them, the adults he bought the powder from liked the extra income, the city was painted in remnants of "explosions", it was a win all around.

Maybe next year he'd get a better formula for colored smoke bombs down. Honestly, he'd kind of forgotten about the festival with everything that had come before it. Catching up had occupied all his time and mental energy until the festival had actually started.

But now, he can enjoy it a bit himself. Mostly he just flies through the streets, low enough he can drop powder bombs here and there to surprise people and get attacked in turn. His bird is spattered in an impressive array of colors after he'd let several kids land hits, but he himself is pristine.

A shout of his name catches his attention and he looks down to see.... Maof? He's pretty sure that's not his actual name, but Steven's nickname seems to work well enough. Deidara huffs a laugh at the state of his clothes and drops down to land.

"I didn't figure you one for playing games like this, un. And you got caught too, tsk, what a mess, un. You're gonna be dyed forever, yeah." He looks good though, a hell of a lot happier than before. Like a different person entirely, actually, which is weird.

"... Something's off, yeah." His eye narrows, and playfulness shifts to wariness in a moment. There's been far, far too many deceptions and illusions here for his comfort already.

[cagedfreedom]

"It's starting to look real nice," he muses as he walks through, and eyeing the different pieces of Deidara's shop. Uriah is silent, fingers gently and carefully brushing a long.

He stops to look at Deidara. Still himself, but Deidara was always someone that hid behind mild pretenses when things bothered him. It's a toss up. You'll either know that something was bothering him or not.

Either way, deidara was observant. He probably knows something.

"Yeah." He exhales a soft sigh. He steps back, arms fold over his chest.

"Just not sure how to go about it. It's for if I were to ever return home."

[chaoticclaybomber]

"Thanks." They're not really having a conversation with words, more trying to read each other in the silences between. Deidara's one blue eye tracks the other man as he trails fingers over handmade fireworks and ceramic pieces both. His own, stained with the same clay that makes up both kinds of pieces, tap on the counter.

The regard each other, at once close and miles apart. Deidara hates it.

"Tell me." It's softer than normal for him, a request for all its phrased as a demand. Maybe talking is better than not in this instance. He's managed a bit with Susanoo, after all. What more can it hurt him?

"Missed having you around, yeah. You've gone off after Lilith, and I'm still here by myself, yeah. Even Ito's gone, it's weird being basically by myself again, yeah." Close, it's as close as he's going to get to outright saying he's lonely and he hates it, that he wants Uriah back and knows he won't get him.

He plucks out a bit of clay to knead and fiddle with as he hops up on the counter of the store.

"Its a slow day, so tell me, un."

[cloudspierced]

If you can remember...

Something inside of Dan Heng's mind recoiled violently against the thought. Memories, everything caught in the fog that perpetually haunted his mind... it was a fog he'd long grown used to, and the thought of piercing through it seemed far more painful than remaining within the haze.

He reached up, clutching at his forehead and grimacing. "Agh..."

It hurt to think about, and yet hadn't he already understood it, just before the moment the alarms rang out over the Expo and sent him into his present flight? Hadn't he suspected for even longer that he was missing something?

"It's not that I don't believe you," his voice was a little strained as he looked up once again. "It's just... I'm not even sure what it is I've lost. Memories... they aren't always good, are they? What if... your past is something you'd rather leave behind?"

If that were true... he wouldn't even know it, would he? Despite it all, the fog clinging in the back of his mind was familiar, comfortable in a way. But he couldn't say he particularly liked the idea that someone was tampering with his mind either. He bit down on his lower lip, shut his eyes, and took a long, steady breath.

"Do you know who it was?" he asked, "Or... why they would do this?"

[chaoticclaybomber]

He's nudging something along, at least. It's not a pleasant sensation, especially not coupled with his hand-mouths and chest ripping back open again. The burn of chakra in his paths sure didn't help either. Maybe overall, it will be easier on Dan Heng.

He chuckles a little bit, dry and not really amused at all.

"Course. Everyone has things they'd rather not remember and not have happened to them, un. But you're still going to flinch if someone grabs you, even if you don't know why, yeah. You'll know how to throw a punch and run from authorities even if you don't remember where you learned how to run fast and silently, un. You can erase memory, but the instincts and muscle memory don't go away, yeah." There were flickers and glimpses the whole time he didn't remember anything, and he can't believe the same thing isn't happening here too.

"You can either run and hide from your past, or you can use it to kick your present's ass, yeah."

At least, that's how he felt. Deidara was anything but a coward when it came to what he'd done and what he'd gone through in the past. It all made him stronger now.

"If I had to guess who did it... there's criminal guilds here that seem to fuck with us sometimes, un. Apparently, the guy in charge is called the Conductor, but I haven't heard much about him, un. Last time I was here, i caused a bit of a mess for them, yeah. I'm trying to lie a little low this time, un."

[crows-primadonna]

Oh dear. What kind of place did he come from? How is it still intact if war is so often? To the point that people are used as living weapons? She tries to imagine it, but all she could think about is that land being nothing but pain and suffering.

"I see.." She said, her voice holding caution. Though, he doesn't work for those villages anymore. Despite the abduction, this place seems relatively peaceful in comparison. "But, since you're here, what do you do now? There's no wars here, at least I don't think so? And how did you make.. That dragon thing?" Kraehe questioned, tilting her head slightly.

Surely, he would need a job. At least, if he has a key like she did. But, if someone only knew about war.. How would they go about the more peaceful life? Or, is she able fool to continue interacting with this person?

[chaoticclaybomber]

"Now? Not much call for arsonists and bombers, un. Now I own Nendo-te Hanabi, a fireworks and ceramics shop, yeah. It's kinda nice, having something that's actually mine for once, un. That's probably what I'll do until other ninja show up, un. Since I'm an S rank missing-nin, I don't expect they'll let me and my store alone if anyone else does show, yeah." He shrugs, but there's a little tension there around his shoulders.

Frankly, he doesn't know how it would go if other ninja were to show up. He's been around long enough that he might have the home field advantage, but there were a lot of very powerful people that would have reason to want him dead. And not as many allies as he'd had here before. Then again, the couple he does have are also pretty powerful. Still, he doesn't care for thinking about it.

"If you see someone else in a black cloak with red clouds on it, let me know, yeah? They're mostly a bunch of dicks, un." His own cloak was staying in his closet and not emerging, thanks.

"As for the dragon, I make them out of clay, un! Clay and my chakra, so I can animate them and make them explode, yeah. Here-" He stuffs a hand into one of the ever present clay bags at his side, letting his hand-mouth take a bite. By the time he holds his hand out toward her, the mouth on his palm is spitting out a little bird, similar in shape to the songbirds common around the Isle, though simplified. It stretches its wings and tilts it's head at her.

"Ta da. It's the same concept, just a lot more clay and chakra involved, un."

[manuellarts]

🕷️🕸️💙

late night doodling again 🫶

[cloudspierced]

"It's... always a possibility." The explanation seemed flimsy, but plausible enough. Certainly more logical than some kind of curse.

Of course, that didn't explain much about Dan Heng's own troubles. Either way, though, it would be much better if he didn't drag the people around him into whatever mess he found himself in-- least of all someone already struggling to make sense of his life.

He sighed softly and shook his head. "You go get some rest. Maybe you just need time."

He should be getting home himself. Though he'd managed to slip away this time, the longer he was out, the more likely he was to run into some new trouble-- and he'd rather avoid having more than one run-in with the law in one day. He'd managed to avoid having to explain himself at the police station already. He couldn't count on that kind of luck sticking around.

"I hope you can find what you're looking for."

[chaoticclaybomber]

Deidara can hear the doubt echoing in Dan Heng's voice, and it twinges at the unsettled feeling in his own chest. But there's no point in pursuing a solution that might be for a completely different problem, right? At least eliminate the possibility of him just being sick first, then look into other solutions.

Right. Rest first. Maybe his palms will stop itching.

"Yeah, I think I will. Thanks. Maybe I'll see you around and I'll let you know if I try your idea, huh?" He mustered up a grin before hiking his bags on his shoulders again and turning to head off.

Sleep first, then... then he'd think about it. Maybe there was something there, maybe not. Something had to give, though, right? Right.

[crows-primadonna]

Ah.

He's unhinged.

She can still hear the screams from the distance.  Kraehe looked behind him to look at whatever chaos he caused, before looking back to him with slight skepticism. "Okay.." She says, her voice trailing off a bit. "I accept your apology. You behave better than other people I know." Slightly. "Pardon me for asking, but.. What's a shinobi? I don't think I ever heard of that, before.."

Is it some kind of category relating to ninjas? He looks a bit like one and seems pretty acrobatic. Though, she only heard a bit about them. Gold Crown Town didn't have many books or ballets relating to them.

[chaoticclaybomber]

She might be a little bit correct. Deidara isn't exactly the most stable of individuals, but there's certainly worse out there!

"Most people around here haven't heard of them, un. It's pretty weird since where I'm from, we're everywhere, yeah. Shinobi are ninjas, we work for ninja villages as soldiers and living weapons and such, yeah. There's a lot of wars where I'm from, un." He shrugs, apparently not bothered by that fact.

Its kinda hard to be, when he'd been trained from a young age to be a soldier. War is what he was raised for.

"Granted, I don't work for a shinobi village myself, I left mine, un. But generally, that's what happens, yeah."

[cloudspierced]

There was something different now, though Dan Heng couldn't place it right away... though the bloodied knuckles, the clay bird held tight as though it were the most precious thing in the universe, that was certainly a little different from the aimless artist he'd met by chance before.

"The rain... yes, I know to stay out of it," he nodded. "I ended up... entangled in some things again, a little bigger than last time. At least here, the police department doesn't have much of a presence."

If they had one at all-- he'd not seen a single droid or uniformed officer yet. Which was just as well. He flinched slightly as Dei pulled him aside, but followed, a prickle rising along his spine as he heard the other's words.

"... Remember?" he asked.

Remember... remember what? Dan Heng felt uneasy, recalling the night of the expo, the exhibit he'd caught a glimpse of just before everything fell to pieces, the sound of waves crashing about his ears, a train's whistle echoing through the cosmos...

He winced, the ringing in his ears rising to a fever pitch as he pressed a hand against his brow.

"I just... I needed to get away. I don't know what you mean about remembering." His heart pounded in his chest, the anxiety he felt telling him something entirely different.

[chaoticclaybomber]

Well. That's something. Not a lot to work with, but Deidara's done more with less in his life. Just because he can't think of a time when he's been closer to scraping the bottom of the barrel doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

Maybe this will be a new record for lows. Seems he's good at making those lately.

"Breathe," he says, low and sharp. "It hurts like hell, but you have to breathe through it, yeah. If you can remember, things make sense again, un. You were telling me about performance art, remember, yeah? Temporary art that's meant to be destroyed, un. That's mine, that's my art, but I couldn't remember until I saw this at the Expo, un. Something took it from me, and I had to take it back, un." He holds up the clay bird, the last bit of clay he has on him right now. It stretches it's wings and eyes Dan Heng, like it knows what's going on. In a manner of speaking, it kind of does.

"They took our memories and cursed us, yeah. Then they locked up our things in that Expo and made a display of them, un. I think it has something to do with that damn book they found, yeah."

[cagedfreedom]

@chaoticclaybomber

"Dei."

How long had it been since he last saw Deidara? Uriah thinks of the latest time, and, huh, it HAS to have been during that latest festival, just before his and Lilith's memories called to them. Just before Gaia had shown herself.

A lot happened.

"You didn't miss me too much, did you?"

[chaoticclaybomber]

"Hey. Been a bit Uriah, un."

Something's changed, or a lot of somethings. Deidara can tell; the way Uriah holds himself is different, the way the other man says his name. He frowns, lips a little tight, then twists it into a grin.

The other man was never really his, so really what's it matter that Deidara has the distinct feeling that he's lost him? He's used to not keeping what he wants, and so he can brush off the sting of it easily enough.

"Nah, why would I miss your pretty face, un?" He winks, maintaining the grin. "I've been pretty busy setting up shop, what have you been up to lately, yeah? Figure out what you wanted yet, un?"