catchall ✧ this is our story.

[regression]

WHO: Yoo Joonghyuk and you! Friends. Not-friends.
WHAT: Catchall forever
WHERE: Netherworld general
WHEN: The present, the future
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.

Look at me. I am woven together by story, held firm by myth. Look at me. I will tell you of the men that ate me bloody. I will tell you of how ferociously I bit my way out of their stomachs.

— Venetta Octavia, The Alchemy of Smallness —

Comments

[midway]

[ Despite specifically asking for loincloth Joonghyuk, it's a lot for Claude to take in all at once. He'd been snooping his way through the Gallows, wearied by all the chaos, looking slightly deranged with his bloodied axe, and so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed the guard sneaking up on him until Joonghyuk rendered him unconscious.

So all he knows is that he'd been thinking one second, heard a yell and a loud thump the next, and then turned to see Joonghyuk naked in front of him.

What in gay hell is going on? ]

Uh. [ He spares a moment being furiously jealous over Joonghyuk's physique. ] Yeah, thanks to you.

[ Presumably, he can see if Joonghyuk is injured given that it's All Out There. But first, Claude crouches down and starts to undress the guard. ]

I'm glad to see that you got out.

[regression]

[ I gave this to you and you're doing this to me. Claude can continue to envy while Joonghyuk crosses his arms over his chest, hiding his boobs unknowingly.

In terms of injuries, he sports some new bruises and cuts, but they don't seem to bother him... ]

The commotion everyone caused made it easier. [ Thanks everyone. ] This guard in particular doesn't have anything useful.

[ And from a glance, he can tell that their clothes are too small for him so the loincloth stays. Without saying another word, he starts walking—the direction deeper into the gallows. ]

[midway]

[ I guess Claude will have to continue to wrestle with his inner gay demons, then.

He sighs and follows along when Joonghyuk is quick to move along, eyeing him carefully not for perverted reasons, but rather to see if he'd been the victim of the same brand he'd seen on other prisoners. That, at the very least, he hopes Joonghyuk wrapped up. ]

So your goal isn't to get out as fast as possible?

[ It's smart. If they're already here, why not snoop around? ]

Did you see much of the layout when you were brought in?

[regression]

[ The amount of detail to say Claude isn't a pervert is a lot, but Joonghyuk thinks he's aroace, so there are no issues here. The 'F' brand is burned under his clavicle, but the edges aren't rough. It's been cared for.

Straining his ears, he tries to catch anything as he starts sticking closer to the wall, slowing as they get to a corner. ]

They took my sword and clothes. [ Those are HIS. And he's naturally a curious person. ] And there might be useful items here.

[ mm. ]

Only this side of the gallows.

[midway]

[ Maybe it's kind of foolish to linger in this place any longer than they have to because of material items, but honestly, Claude gets it. He can be rather petty sometimes, and he would be annoyed if not only was he wrongly imprisoned, his things were taken too?

Besides, even clad in nothing but a loincloth, Joonghyuk is probably more effective in battle than most people, so they should be fine. ]

I suppose you have a point. [ Claude rests his axe on his shoulder, glancing around. ] We likely won't have another chance to look around.

[ He doesn't want to end up lost either, though. He's been trying to keep sense of the space around them, but the stone and brick are all the same, and there's little to differentiate one hall from another. But he supposes that if things get that dire, they can always threaten a guard. ]

[regression]

[ Loot is always important! And Joonghyuk also has a lot of confidence in his ability to subdue a regular guard... Maybe not ten beefy guards at once, but a handful is fine. ]

You can use your axe to make small etches where the wall meets the ground. It may help us find our way back, but my sense of direction is good, too.

[ Unlike someone he knows. They can be Hansel and Gretel now, two non-white kids who hear the sound of footfalls drawing near. ]

Would you prefer less violence?

[midway]

[ It's a clever suggestion, and so Claude follows through, scratching a mark into the wall as they march onward. He goes still when he hears footsteps though, glancing at Joonghyuk. ]

Wouldn't you? I'm not here to commit a massacre.

[ Violence begets violence. Claude's not above laying waste to whatever guards charge at them, but he'd rather run when he has the chance.

Like now, quickly ducking into the shadows of another pathway, not getting far before he nearly goes tumbling into a well. Why is there a well here? ]

We'll likely lose them if we duck in.

[regression]

Sometimes, it's harder to spare your enemies.

[ Either because it is actually more difficult than killing or because of the consequences that may come from their survival. In the end, he doesn't want to kill if he doesn't have (or want) to.

They press forward and he thinks he sees a door ahead they can slip in, but. Uh. He sees Claude tumble. ]

... In the well?

[ ??? The well gurgles some muffles noises. ]