Amusement laces her non-committal hum, bright hues flickering to the streaks of indigo settling in peach skies. Well, that much was true. The day had quietly drifted away with only the night to remain. If only she could spend the rest of it in good company; a man, a suspicious carbon copy of legend (though he denies any ties) who plates himself an expert drunk. She stares as he takes note of her poor-man’s map, squinting at his features – such bizarre resemblance to the tales. But there was no way, demons were incapable of anything beyond sheer violence. And drinking oneself to death was hardly a crime against humanity. Maybe himself. Ah, but her thoughts are cut short by his unfortunate answer; it might have been a stretch to assume, she swore he was familiar with the area. But, it was a simple oversight. She flashes a toothy beam, glancing down at the map, “ Well, I will be very glad to have any expertise. My navigational skills leave a little to be desired, but – mm! ” She nods following the drink back with her gaze, “ Assignment makes it sound cooler, but it’s really just patrol. I guess that’s why they’re only sending me. ” Wispy brows twist at the thought, maybe the night wouldn’t be as exciting as she’d imagined if they predicted little danger. Or they deemed her competent enough to handle the threat.
“ And how do you know that? ” She laughs, an addled smile tugging at her lips; how could he be so certain there would be nothing of interest there if he didn’t know much – in his own words. “ I mean, I’d like it to be nothing. ” Ryu takes a brief cursory glance around, quieting her voice for just the two to hear, “ But I’m stationed to the mountain because .. there may or may not be demons on it’s path. ” The bridge of nose crinkles as she racks her head to question the blatant denial. “ If there’s nothing of interest than hopefully the night goes smoothly! ” A pause as she leans forward, “ Are you worried I’ll find your long lost twin up there, Douji? ” Her tease is lighthearted, one hand smoothing over the curled ends of the map, attention dropping to its center. “ It’s also why I won’t be here to keep you company for very long. Honestly, I probably should have left earlier, but .. I wanted to see you, so I did. ” She shrugs, tracing the jagged lines with her pointer and resting at its base, in search of where she was to begin her journey.
“ I swore you were from around here though. Okay, what can you tell me about then? I’ll be there all night, maybe you know something useful and you don’t even know it! ”
OF COURSE HE’S FAMILIAR, the locals may not have been — ask anyone else in that bar and they would not have been quite so open to the thought of someone walking those dreaded paths; there was a reason that they were all overgrown & ill - kept. they would have thought her an idiot, perhaps someone looking to die. he couldn’t say that it would have been her fate if he had anything to do with it … but if the poorly hidden secret was to slip, he doubted that she would have been so fond to have his help. eyes flick up to her as she stares, it’s not hard to guess what she is thinking. the suspicion, blatant mistrust, had been plaguing their situational friendship since the beginning — and yet, he cannot bring himself to deny it so whole - heartedly. as he is lying to her, and she is painfully aware of it. when he would have to tell her that she wasn’t wrong the entire time with her obvious lack of ability to be so easily fooled, neither one of them would have been surprised. the only detail that she had yet to catch him on is the blood thirst. he’s fully capable of being horrible if he so wishes, but she won’t catch him. shuten douji hadn’t allowed himself to mistreat humans in a long time, and he had no intention to. breaking hundreds of years of trust was hardly worth the taste of blood; he’d once been obsessed with it, but not anymore. the thought of it could make any human shiver, but he wouldn’t speak so openly on a past that not even he could remember with clarity. ❝ a patrol? ❞ his brows raise some, unsure of what to expect from that; to only send her … it seemed as if they were underestimating a lot of things, that, or they didn’t expect her to do much. it was difficult to tell which was the truth. maybe there was only minor demons lurking there, but it could easily become overwhelming someone who was just a mortal.
his certainty wasn’t meant to be incriminating, truthfully, he was just saying what he thought that anyone else would have — most didn’t think that there was anything of value on the mountain. locals tended to have a very strict relationship with themselves and the ‘ deity ‘ that lived on the mountain — considering that he was very much a DEMON and not a god by any means, most felt no need to try and get close with him. ❝ because no one goes up there. that’s how things work around here. “ he said neutrally, downing the rest of his glass & reaching out to top it off once again. ❝ people talk a lot, you shouldn’t take all rumors for the truth. if the people say that a demon protects them, then what’s the worry? ❞ he asks, a strange look in his eyes this time. there she goes, once again — his twin. hardly a twin, considering that the real thing is sitting right in front of her, discussing a mp of his territory; it’s only natural that he would try to talk her out of it. to that accusation, he can only offer her a choked laugh, no sense of denial. ❝ you’re really going to go alone? in the middle of the night? maybe you won’t find the big, scary demon that you want — but there’s a lot out there. ❞ he warns her; the lesser demons, and not to mention the wildlife. ❝ ask anyone from around here, no one will want to tell you about there. like i said, people stay away from oeyama. that’s the most useful advice i have for you. you’re better off just staying here and having a drink. ❞ he adds, trying to lighten his tone.