#dentenca

iron-taste on his tongue, bitterly familiar. a white noise rush of his own heart beat in his ears. the sands of time shift slowly, and all at once come to a stop. they have been backed into a corner, much to his chagrin. his teeth are bared, a rabid dog letting no one get close lest they face the sting of his bite. the threat had stayed level, infuriating yet tamable, until her sudden collapse beside him. blood-stained fingertips pulling away from her wound. superficial, he thought, but now -- his tongue sucks against his teeth, thinking fast. sorcerers fall, battle-wounded and bested, but not here. not her. ‟ stay down. ” it is as much a direction as a plea. stay out of the line of fire. if not for the cover of dim lighting, one might even see the look of concern. a fleeting glimpse in ocean eyes. she has strength beyond this moment. he musn't allow himself to get lost in the woes of battle. he wants to say something else, it is caught behind his teeth. but he's turning away. allowing himself back into the open air of the battle field. a taunting curve barely ghosting the corner of his lips as he faces back toward their enemy. behind him, shadows warp and twist into the familiar shape of nue, commanded to stay at evie's side. from another, a blade, his hand wrapped tightly around the hilt. ‟ let's finish this quickly. ”

disaster is an overstatement. it's obvious in the way megumi wanders up so flippantly, hands in pockets, that he was in no rush to meet up with her. he casts his attention down to the arm full of bags she's holding, a moment where his brow furrows, before he's meeting her gaze. they always whisper about not looking. megumi has never been one much to listens to rumours. ‟ how can one person shop so much? ” the question slips out of his mouth before he can remember who he is talking to. a sigh -- mild defeat and utter acceptance -- as he reaches out to aid her by removing the shopping from her hands. an act of kindness he would not deign for anyone else. ‟ we're going to be late now. ”

the curse itself resembled something vaguely human, but twisted limbs were made of rusted metal, facial features replaced by one large and distorted smile. when it had first looked at him, suguru couldn't help the disgust that pulled the corner of his mouth downward. it seemed to grow tired of his tactic to wear it out as though irritated, and without missing a beat it started honing its energy on reaching evie, large and corroded limbs ripping through concrete to close the distance between them. on instinct, suguru summoned his own higher - grade interference to knock the cursed spirit back and keep it there for just a moment. even in the breadth of the space between them, suguru could feel her gaze hot like wild - fire as she bit air with the words, hasn't it occurred to you that i can protect myself? and he smiled, arms raised and palms open - facing in a show of amused surrender. “ ah, my bad! ” words tinted with slight taunting, in an instant suguru's cursed spirit disappeared, and he tipped himself forward in a bow as though to pass the torch. “ if you want to take a shot, i'll just stand by and watch. you can holler if you need me. ”