the glutton

Mayhap it was a mistake to go venturing out in the middle of the night, but personally, Mukuro thought it was a better bet than during the daytime. One learned the real character of a city once the sun set. Most importantly, now: The stars were invisible. It was a highly industrial place, then, and for a ways in any direction. Faintly he could hear the sounds of trains, a confusing medley that sometimes came from different places. This place was as disorienting as it was unfamiliar.

A sizzling sound garnered his attention, nearly startling him. To this, he’d respond with eyes squinted in a semi-quizzical stare. The wound from such a fierce bite was closing up hastily, furthering curiosity. To this alone he would continue his observation, fascinated in what he hadn’t taken the time to realize sooner. It wasn’t until he felt a tap on his hand that he looked to Giovanni once more. It was probable that he began squeezing too tight the second he stopped looking, but there was no telling. Either way, his prey still had scraps of energy-- enough to speak to Azrael. They were words worth listening to, as well. Interest already piqued, the hand around his neck loosened generously this time. Azrael had already guessed that there were stronger residents, but to receive a confirmation from someone who has seemingly been here longer than himself was note-worthy in its own right. On the chance that Giovanni had knowledge on those he spoke of, he couldn’t rightfully be killed. A very good point driven home allowed for his life to be spared. “...Sufficient.” 

Hands framed the sides of Azrael’s face as the other continued speaking. Unflinching would the dog glare. Then, in one forceful motion, Giovanni was pried away from himself. 

In silence and through a hardened stare Azrael listened carefully to her words. As her situation was explained to him, a slow smirk crept along his lips. He was already curious at the mention of thugs. The rest of it was irrelevant, including the money. Yet...

Without too much trouble, Giovanni found his way to his feet, more concerned about the state of his glasses than his own health. Azrael grew even more aggravated with this, and impulsively a hand grabbed at the neck of his prey, reeling him in once more. He gave a once-over to the wounds as the quickly-cooling crimson liquid cascaded along his knuckles. 

“I couldn’t be assed to take responsibility for the belongings of a disappointment.” He’d growl. The closeness was enough for their temperatures to rise together. Face scrunching in a effort to reflect his shifting mood, digits squeezed and constricted Giovanni’s oxygen flow. “I beat you, so I claim my prize, right? Ain’t that how it goes?” He kept the hand maintaining his prey’s elevated position firm around his neck, dipping his head in to lap at the drying blood that stained fingers. Then, with an arm securing the other’s lower half for support, he was drawn in so Azrael could reach him better. His lips brushed over exposed flesh while holding his vice just enough so that Giovanni would not black out. Fangs bared, he bit directly into Giovanni. He was hasty to lap at the blood that pooled from the puncturing--even a drop going to waste was impermissible. The metallic tang spreading across his palate was delightful in an odd fashion. Not as delectable as the norm, however. It was plain enough to make Azrael squint. 

          pulling his hands from his pockets he shrugs much to his disdain. ” Do what you like, then. I don’t regret what I say. Whoever bits first wins, satisfied? ” a quirky smile rises from thin lips, a very faint battle stance — standing normally with the slight fact that his fingers are twitching with anticipation for a first move — but it comes to quickly. with a well-timed backstep, he manages to dodge the vicegrip to his neck; it’s only then that he realizes his mistake, this man isn’t going for his neck, he goes for his wrist instead. something that manages to tug him closer to this feral beast.

           a small noise catches between his teeth, tongue clicking lightly in his miscalculation. being pulled into a grip on his wrist only serves to irritate him as this man continues to drag him closer with little fight from giovanni. he’s just waiting for something to happen so he can recover from this little misstep. lips lock into a neutral frown, jaw tightening over the hot breath on his neck while he seemingly stares forward with disinterest. massive bellow in tow, giovanni takes the hit from the brick wall. it doesn’t break all the way, only cracks under the pressure of the brute force and his small back. caught in the wall, he manages to pull himself out enough to use the wall as a leverage to hop out of the crevice and towards azrael.

          it’s then that he pulls a hand back to go for his eyes. if he’s a brawler, he’ll need those to see, bloodlust or not, if one relies too much on their sight, it’s bound to impact the fight entirely. there’s a blur of hands clawing for his face; it’s almost an intimate motion as he coddles his cheeks in his palms, thumbs readying to gouge out his oculars in bare seconds. this reminds him of the memories of lily, doing the same to him. it’s odd, of all the things to start with, it’s one of the actions he almost instantly regrets trying to go through with. instead, he opts for something of an alternative. 

Keeping a satisfied bellow of a laugh contained was the least of the tyrant's concerns as his opponent charged in. Azrael did well to brace himself for what would ensue, keeping a firm footing and not even blinking to miss a second's glimpse of the other's position. Impulse screamed at him to knock the shit out of Giovanni, but even with all the muscle he had Azrael was efficient about his movements. It was all too obvious that he would miss, leaving him exposed to further assault. Tufts of blue fell into a milky ocean blur as he chose to fall on the defensive, doing well to keep up with the speed of the attacks oddly aimed for his eyes. A slightly shocked and lowered grunt rumbled. "Keh! You fight dirty?! GOOD! All the more--" 

Azrael's voice cutting off abruptly was a seldom occurrence. In the distraction of his words, a thumb managed make contact with his right eye as quickly as a snake going in for venomous bite. "GRAAAH! Shit!" 

There was a flash of white on that side, followed by an intense stinging pain. His eye clenched in response, not daring to open any sooner than the pain lessened. The other's hands then framed his face in that moment-- a gentle touch that would've been mistaken for a different type of contact if they weren't already locked in battle. The pressure from both ends picked up in an instant, to which Azrael would attempt to respond by driving his knee into the other's abdomen with full force. But Giovanni was quicker on the draw, rocking the head of the beast with enough momentum that he could almost taste the blood. No way would he allow it to end like this. Reeling back in a limited, narrowed arc of motion, Azrael mashed a fist into his face, sending shards and fragments of the man's shades scattering. With this, he was granted a bit of freedom for movement. 

          giovanni holds back a sigh, leaning on a wall while thunderous footsteps make their way towards his vicinity. there’s a towering shadow that casts over him, a man that’s heads taller than he is with a grin like a feral beast.. a voice rolls with the body, a hardened rasp that’s loud enough to hear but not enough to over power — at least not as he stands now. there’s talk of teeth and blood. the faint adrenaline rushes, though he doesn’t flinch. simply, he pushes himself off of the wall he’s leaning against with all casual references and pulls his hands out of his pockets. there have been bigger enemies, though this man isn’t someone he deems stupid enough to charge straight on with a single-minded objective. still, giovanni’s straight face doesn’t falter as he speaks.

     " .. you want to … bite me? I dare you to even try, all that muscle mass must slow you down. "

          there isn’t even a fight to leave, just him standing in front of the man as he had intended to do so to him the moment he realized he was no coward. sluggish as his body might feel right now, maybe this will get his blood going and his heart pumping quickly enough to render a genuine flush of excitement he’s been looking for. killing isn’t as fun if the person in question doesn’t fight back, and this man is looking for prey to feed on. a man that believes he’s worthy of some sort of meal. teeth now baring in a small smile, the dog has come to the realization that there really isn’t any way out aside from easing this man into a humiliating defeat. there’s no escape.

"It's a dare I hope you won't end up regretting. As large as I appear, I don't think keeping up with you will be troublesome for me." The voice was a gruff one, coming off notably less smoother than normal in his uncontrollable desire to grab at the other. His tongue would glide across his teeth as if testing the sharpness of the tips. He then continued through a expectant smile. "But if you didn't surprise me, this wouldn't even be worth my time in the end. I'm hoping your flesh will curb my appetite for awhile!" He relinquished his grip on any tranquility he could have ever had, as even his hushed voice had become a lion's roar. There was a feeling akin to a click in the back of his mind, which was an odd sort of notification that his opponent's will for battle was present. With this, Azrael gave no time for further questioning as a large hand shot in, clasping around the other's wrist. A low chuckling rumbled from within the beast as he elevated Giovanni from his standing on the ground. He brought the male closer to his face, puffing hot breaths on his neck-- bringing fangs close...