Dreams of Blood

Originally this was for Empatheorem but it was one of my all around favourite info style posts so I thought I’d remake to have as a pinned post. So, without further ado

>Be Crow

Memo had her right where she wanted her, which was in front of her in this case. Memo continued to aim at Crow, and a conveniently timed tumbleweed blew past, just visible between her legs in the dusty street behind her.

“But I was told that the only way to solve the problem with the town size is to get rid of either me or you.” she said, briefly speaking in her normal voice before going right back to her Hoennic drawl.

“And I ain’t wantin’ to leave town myself. It’s a nice place. Bit sandy, though.”

It was times like this that being able to maintain painfully still and long eye contact was appropriate and not simply unsettling. 

“If the town is one over the limit and further town planning is out of the question,  then it would seem that we’re at an impasse.”

“...And I can’t leave either, they have the...” She paused, glancing back over the bar and simply staring at the nondescript, unmarked bottles. “The those I like.”

{;EVENT STARTER @haemoneiron​}

“This town ain’t big enough for the two of us…” she said, dressed in a period-accurate cowboy outfit fitting of the old western film she was placed in.

That was basically the only line she could think of to say, though. So after a moment of hesitation, she just blurted out, “Draw!” and unholstered her finger guns and aimed them directly at Crow, who Memo already knew would be waiting for her after she threw open the saloon doors.

She heard her before she saw her, though that wasn’t much to brag about when she had her back to the entrance. Wearing a large sombrero with a poncho draped over her  shoulders, instantly identifiable regardless by the hair falling down her back. 

“You might want to be careful saying something like that with a raised voice when you enter  a place like this.” 

Voice still as ever, but wearing a smile when she eventually turned. Then after a moments hesitation, she raised her hands

“Fashion, and nails.” The most important things, obviously. Whether the curiosity was genuine or not, she sounded proud of her answer.

“I see,” she said, not understanding at all. “What if it turned you into a t-shirt though? How would you turn yourself back, huh? Did you take the necessary precautions, update your emergency contacts and all that jazz?”

There was a moment of consideration when she said ‘nails’, but then her brain took the context of the rest of the sentence. She looked at her own nails briefly, then nodded thoughtfully. “I lack expertise in both of those fields.”

Then she thought some more.

[ @haemoneiron​ ]

“I don’t fancy myself a Halloween expert, but I don’t think a t-shirt that says ‘costume’ on it really counts for much…”

It did get an amused smile out of her though, so maybe that’s all this person was really going for in the end? Maybe it does count, then, if it made her smile?

“What’d you go as last year?”

“What do you fancy yourself an expert on?” She almost sounded curious. Almost.

“You just need taller popped collars or maybe a hood or both and then you’ll be a true reaper, able to marvel at yourself in the mirror like… all true reapers do?” She shrugged. “I’d be a reaper fanrachi.”

“I think I’ve got a small stack on my desk at home? I keep them after I use em for… well, just because, I guess. Why, do you not use gift cards?” There was a line… of course there was a line. So naturally, Memo began gravitating to the gachapon machines.

“Can I go first?”

“Taller popped collars, and a hood. I see, I see.” She said in the manner of someone taking notes, even nodding slightly. “We do have many mirrors. Is that a trait of theirs? Marvelling at oneself.”

Her brows arched slightly, but her smile was purely one of affectionate admiration. “Why else. It’s nice to collect things. Me? I suppose not. Personally  they’re not something I would number in my collections. And no, I don’t get given any.”

Crow glanced between Memo and the machines, then gave a certainly more extravagant than necessary bow (some might say any bow was superfluous extravagance) as she gestured for the Jirachi to take the lead. 

“I think you’re just being a dork about it all,” she said, correcting her course to drift away from the road again. She stopped pushing herself forward now too, letting herself naturally slow as they were basically there.

“I think you’d make an excellent reaper, but like, a vampire reaper. But you also strike me as a reaper fangirl too… cliche reapers just seem like your style. And I don’t mean your clothes.”

“Well, okay, I do also mean your clothes.” She skrrrt’d herself to a stop, deftly picking up her longboard and holding it at her side, then pulled something else out of her opposite pocket.

“I don’t remember if this gift card has anything on it still…”

“A dork? I don’t know if that sounds like me.” She said with the faintest smile as she curled the board to a halt, gently rotating on its heel for a moment. 

“A vampire reaper.” She repeated. “And you don’t think that’s too busy, thematically? Maybe I’ll have to work on the attire.” A pause “Though it sounds  like I wouldn’t have to work too hard.” A slightly longer pause. “I am in possession of a scythe. If I was a reaper, would that make you the reaper fangirl? ”

“Not an addiction! A hobby.” She was well in control of her spending habits, thank you very much! “Maybe you just needed a bigger salad.”

“Also, c’mon, don’t pretend like you’re not gonna try your luck at the gachapon machines too. They have little figures inside the bubbles! They might even have, like, uh…” She slowly started to drift towards the road as she tried to recall what was on tap last time, only correcting her course at near the last second.

“They might still have little grim reapers in one of the machines, you’d want one of those, right?”

“It’s good to have hobbies.” She hummed. “A bigger salad just  sounds like more of less, if you ask me. I’d rather have more of something... More. Which is most non salads I think.”

She had also been drifting closer, but only to stay within grabbing range. Just in case, and more subconsciously than not.

“Weeelllll… they might also have a few gachapon machines…” she said, already imagining the satisfying sound and feeling of popping open one of those plastic bubbles. “I want.. things.”

“And c’mon, you never go for the salads! How do you know you won’t like them more if you don’t ever try them?”

“Ah, the  gambling addiction, I see.” 

Memo was currently coasting along with a wavyness that Memo would say was absolutely demanded of her. Controlled wavyness, though, just swaying side to side along the sidewalk as they went.

“Both? New to me, but recommended by a friend! Great salads, apparently. Not the whole reason I wanted to go, though.”

“Whatcha gonna order!”

“How exciting.” She said, Crowly. Then she took a moment to ponder as she rolled along. “Was there more to the reason?”

Crow was currently coasting along with a stillness that belied the control and momentum she had. Casual vampire summer attire; big hat, sunglasses a biki top and sarong.

Memo did a little fist pump when the mace hit its mark, more than proud of Crow for actually sticking to their deal on inhibiting themselves! She also burst into giggles that got progressively gigglier as Crow talked.

“Oh no, you’re right… my only weapon! Gone. Ah…” She sighed, spread out her arms… and did a controlled fall onto her back on the sand.

“Parley? Parley with the poor unarmed girl?”

Even for her it was difficult not to smile when Memo smiled, and nigh impossible to resist the infectious giggles when they began. So with a smile on her face she stood over the Jirachi on the sand. Then promptly sat on her. 

She held up one of the foam daggers, then gave an extremely fangy smile.

Memo rolled her eyes at Crow taking her suggestion seriously. Good that she did about the powers, too, because now the odds were just about even! “You haven’t trained me with bats or rackets though…”

Maybe not so even, if she was unexperienced. She was quickly starting to doubt her weapon choice, so she did the only sensible thing. She threw it right at Crow’s forehead.

“I’m simply saying not to use it as a sword, for a sword it is not.” Truth be told, it wasn’t honestly a mace either, but here we are.  “Blunt weaponry isn’t really my fort-”

And there it was. She was without her otherworldly speed or reactions yes, but it wasn’t the most subtle of movements. Still, there was little she could do to avoid the foam thing tumbling towards her and glancing of the edge of head. Bonk. 

“Maybe you should branch out then… to a pair of tiny foam daggers? That would be fair, no?” She stuck out her tongue, doing her own little wrist twirly motion to try and give some sense of knowing what to do with this thing.

“Inhibited? Like, no powers? I think we should… might make it easier on you.” She glanced at the dart gun, then at her own mace again. “…I can use this like a sword, right?”

“That’s...” She spent a few moments glancing back over the armoury. “A good idea.” Then a moment later she was glancing at a pair of foam knives in her hands. 

“Hey, I said weapon, not weapons! Cheater!” After a quick moment to pout, Memo also chose her weapon, one (one) she had in mind from the very start. A foam mace, the handle a nice blue and the pointy bit a nice pink!

“On guard!” she said, incorrectly, and taking a fencing stance which is just about the last kind of stance a mace requires.

“But I always fought with a pair.” She said almost distantly, staring between them. For a moment she eyed a rather oversized example of what she assumed was a foam sword. “I could swap if you think it’s... Unfair.”

But she stood opposite her nonetheless, glancing at the dart gun as she rolled her wrist holding the sword. 

“If you make one I’ll love you forever. I already do, but like, more forever. Forever plus one.” Memo took a step back, intending to give Crow some room to swing her arm, but she didn’t expect that. By the time she realized what Crow was doing and reached to stop her, the ball already went sailing into one of the holes with a loud, hard thud.

“Um. Not quite! Not quite.” She looked around to make sure the arcade owner didn’t notice. “You’re suppose to—you ever been bowling?”

“New forever plus.” She gamed, she was a gamer. “I can make one of these.” She looked to Memo, but she wasn’t seeing the usual look of warm pride she might have been expecting. Hm.