#occultacarne

[highprinceadolin]

Not every battlefield was the same. Circumstances changed. Terrain shifted. That didn’t mean the same principles stopped applying wherever Adolin found himself fighting. Victory wasn’t won through brute strength alone, but through the ability to read the field and act in concert with those around you. To stay organized. Unified. And that was definitely not what was happening here.

Adolin had already pushed through several rooms, helping protect anyone who looked like they needed it, Maya in hand. The moment they had entered this labyrinth, he had felt her presence again and had been able to summon her without difficulty. To anyone watching, Maya appeared to be a massive two-handed sword, her blade capable of cutting through far more than flesh.

But she was so, so much more than that.

Thank you for lending me your strength again.

At that particular moment, however, Maya wasn’t what he needed. Letting the shardblade vanish into mist, Adolin reached out and grabbed Vanth by the shoulders, stopping him from charging ahead. They had been together for a while now and, storms, it felt like the man wasn’t listening to a word he said. “You’re just going to get yourself killed again!” - Adolin tightened his grip slightly, trying to force some sense into him. “Vanth, you’re not helping yourself like this. And you’re not helping Sebastian either.”

Ah, yes. Sebastian.

Even speaking the name still made Adolin’s stomach twist, but he was doing his best to ignore that. Their last encounter hadn’t been particularly pleasant, though Adolin wasn’t about to tell Vanth that. Not here. Not now.

“Breathe” - he said instead. His gaze swept across the room. Just ahead, through the doorway leading into the next chamber, they could already see more of those storming robots waiting for them.

@blightsbite @occultacarne

[blightsbite]

When he wakes, the first thing he notices is the silence. It's dark outside the windows of Sablespire, and the room is lit low and comfortable. Vanth doesn't have to squint against anything as he opens his eyes, except the dull ache inside his head. It's a familiar pain to him, the aftermath of possession. Though strangely, pain is all it is. There's no voice there to accompany it, and Yophiel's presence is harder for Vanth to pinpoint—but it's there, he finds, only in the back of his mind. The castle and its surrounding woods are quieter without it. Were it not for the subtle ringing in Vanth's ears or the soft rustle of the blankets as he sits up, he might mistake his hearing as lost. Vanth looks down at himself as his senses return to him. He's in a clean change of clothes, freshly bandaged, and seeing them, he notices the rest of his body hurts, too. 'You're awake,' greets a familiar voice from the foot of the bed. Vanth's pulse leaps, though not because it startles him. No, it's that… Suddenly, he remembers where he last heard it. Sebastian was in danger. Without warning, Vanth pushes out of the covers and wraps his arms around his partner's shoulders, eyes wide with worry. His breaths shake as he gets a feel for him, how safe and well he is—which is safe, it seems, but not well. His hands withdraw as he prepares to pull back to look for the wounds he finds through touch, but a hand comes around the base of his head to still him, wordlessly asking him not to let go just yet.

❝ Sebastian... ❞ Vanth whispers, tucking himself into the crook of his neck until he knows for sure that he's here. ❝ You're safe... I was..! ❞ @occultacarne — i was so afraid you wouldn't be.

[hollowfaith]

@anttennatime @blightsbite @highprinceadolin @occultacarne whose fault is this anyways

[allswell]

@occultacarne

❛ Congratulations. ❜

Cecil appears without ceremony at the door of Sebastian's study one sunny autumn afternoon, arms crossed as he leans against the doorframe.

❛ You are settling down with another, no? If you had told me this when we first met, I would've laughed at you. ❜

❛ It is an incredible piece of news. ❜

To him, the demon has always been a symbol of hedonism and violence. Seeing him choose the domestic route to happiness feels uncharacteristically soft.

❛ I was married myself for a time. You can ask me for advice, ❜ he teases, ❛ but this is not your first time playing jeune marié, yes? ❜

Bridegroom.

[salvationseekcr]

@occultacarne

Kaine had told him about Sebastian. Their demon lord of a father, but he didn't exactly know what this demon lord was supposed to look like. So, when he was presented with this pale, long darked-haired stranger staring at him, he just shyly tried to hide behind the Offiuco doll he was holding.

That stare, it was like...something was trying to see into his mind. It was scary. So he held up the doll to hide his own eyes from that gaze and moved his head away. Yet, he couldn't ignore what he was sensing. He didn't know what it was, only that it felt familiar, but it was still scary!

"Am....am I in the way?" He spoke, still from behind his doll.

[noirdetectiveagency]

dog 2 dog communication @occultacarne

♠ “How can you be so fucking stubborn?”

This charade had been going on for hours at this point with Anubis blipping in and out of existence and Noir desperately trying to manifest him again. His last encounter with Sebastian had given him food for thought and he decided - despite his animosity towards him, which had not changed - to at least lend him an ear. Because he had been right in pointing out Anubis’ hypocrisy. His biggest crime to Noir wasn’t the fact that he was a spawn of Satan for all he cared, it was the fact that he was harming innocent people, that he was ready to go out of his way to harm those he deemed unworthy of protection. And despite everything, that was the biggest issue the detective took with the guy.

The fact that he was not human came secondary, even if it to some degree added a certain layer to the whole mess.

“You will accompany me when I go see him today.”

Silence. Even the smoke from his cigarette had died down despite the tobacco being lit, Noir taking a casual drag to force his friend. “You cannot hide forever. What if he betrays me? What if he attacks me and holds me captive? Takes my glasses away from me and locks me up in his torture basement? I thought it was your damn job to protect me.”

A deep huff echoed through the room in a clearly displeased tone accompanied by a small puff of flickering smoke. Then more silence before the jackal finally manifested, his eyes glowing dull with his ears folded backwards. “I do not trust this creature.”

“Believe me, neither do I. But I feel like sooner or later I might get in trouble when dealing with him, and I’d be pissed off if you didn’t come to rescue me. God of the Dead my ass, can’t even look after one lil’ sheep.”

That comment certainly triggered something within the god, puffing up his fur to appear taller since that ability had been taken away from him, eyes glowing with more intensity. Rude or not, his protégé was right, what kind of guide was he if he didn’t go out of his way to protect the one person he pled allegiance to?

It was the same thing every time.

“I despise vampires.”

“He is not so by choice.”

“A monster is a monster no matter what coat he donnes."

“Less theatrics, more movement.”

[kleinstar]

@occultacarne

It's silent in the bus, barely anyone there aside the loudly snoring obviously drunken old man drooling against the glass on the other side of the bus.

Eiden's at the back, by the window, leaning his elbow against the sill, hand on chin. The windows are all fogged up so he can't see anything but the city lights passing by as the bus drives down the street as well as his reflection.

It had been pretty quiet day - in fact everything had gone almost suspiciously well. It was a bit rare occasion, accident prone as the young entrepreneur was - lately even more so, so even now Eiden felt a little uneasy like something was about to happen...

He doesn't think much of it when someone sits next to him but rather for a while there he keeps just staring out ---

If only until someone leans to his ear...

[usurpation]

The Chillin' Villain was on the nose in its name and concept, but it stirred Insight's curiosity. Less than the pulsing music and sparse lighting she passed through, she was interested in the congregation. What sort of beings would gather in a place like this?

A woman seated at the bar with an empty seat beside her was an opportunity for an answer; a case of providence she intended to seize. Insight strode up and claimed that spot, sliding onto the stool from the side, her full attention on the one with the pale, flowing hair. Blood red eyes met hers, and Insight felt that curiosity tighten, a faint flutter in her chest.

"Is there anything worth drinking on the menu tonight?" she asked the stranger, piercing lavender gaze narrowed in unreserved interest. "And may I order you another one?"

THE CHILLIN' VILLAIN —✧ @occultacarne