knowsvinewhip | + IC CONTACT +

A typhoon does not take perverse pleasure in tearing your organs from your body.

[It's harsh, maybe. Blunt. But it seems like he really needs to drive the point home more than he has. Explain more. Hammer it in that confronting him in any way is a bad idea as he is now.]

It's admirable of you. But this is not the same thing as a storm.

[ Daniel would make a smartass remark that it wouldn't really matter to him whether or not the thing killing him would take pleasure in doing so, since the outcome is the same-- but he at least does realise this isn't exactly the ideal moment for it. ]

My Omen, remember? Can't hurt him. [ Even if Daniel would still be relatively nearby if Hakkai won't give him a direct location to send the Omen to, since he'd have to go out looking himself..

But that sure wouldn't be on Daniel at that point! ]

Why are you being so stubborn about this? Just let me help you. Stop thinking the only way of dealing with all this crap is to do so all by yourself.

[ Yes, he's still saying crap, okay!!

Sue him!! ]

there is no other way!

[Oh, well. That's an exclamation mark there. Emotions! An emotional response! Probably not the best kind, but it's got to be better than stonewalling, right?]

[And then a long stretch of no response.]

fine. the omen But do not. Come to find me. I am pleading with you. You do not seem to want to understand what it is that I am. I cannot I don't want to hurt anyone here.

Thank you.

Send me your location. I promise I will just send my Omen. I won't come myself. He can see how you are doing and if he can do anything to help you.

[ It's a promise he intends to keep himself to. It's not like he really wants to risk his life when he can use his Omen as an intermediary, after all - he couldn't do that to his students, and especially not Robby or Chozen. ]

It will be a spot nearby. I will be there.

[But he won't send the actual location. Just in case. Not that he thinks Daniel would break the promise intentionally... but the man is so soft-hearted, he may be tempted to send something more fragile than an omen.]

[ Thankfully it does seem like Daniel keeps his word.

Because after Hakkai sends the location, there's a little while of nothing - considering Daniel's Omen first has to get out there in the first place. But after a while, the creature does appear at the exact spot it has been pointed to.

Not in its usual form, not the tiny puppy. It's hard to tell whether it's Daniel being careful or the Omen itself - considering they are connected and in a way the same person - but the Omen decided to show up in its larger form, half-lion and half-dog.

If Hakkai isn't there yet, it just stands there, waiting. If the other is there, then the Omen will approach slowly, but keep a careful distance.

(Maybe the latter is for Hakkai's sake, too.)

The moment Hakkai appears, whether he's already there or shows up after he's made sure the Omen is there by itself, the creature stares at the man, before slowly speaking up. ]

Daniel is not here.

[ He's not lying. It's just reassurance. ]

[Well, someone's there.]

[Someone who's fashioned a blanket into a hood and a cloak, to better hide himself. It's Hakkai, though, because his own Omen hasn't gone anywhere. Jeep is perched on one shoulder, tail coiled around and under the hood of the makeshift cloak. Of course, the big dog gets a chirp of greeting.]

[Hey, just because his person is being Weird doesn't mean Jeep can't be polite.]

So I see.

[That's Hakkai's voice, too. Subdued, uncomfortable with this entire meeting, but it's still Hakkai.]

I didn't think he would lie about keeping his word.

[ The Omen sure makes Hakkai a lot more recognizable, despite.. everything else the man has going on here. Not that the shisa wouldn't be able to recognize the other man without Jeep, but-- you know, it sure helps.

And he's even polite enough to duck his head into a slight bow in return to Jeep's little greeting. See, humans are clearly so often being way too busy being weird about things.. Why can't they just be simple like Omens?

Though the Omen is quick to address Hakkai only a moment after his greeting to Jeep. ]

Thank you for trusting him. I know Daniel appreciates it.

[ The shisa can feel as much, after all. Daniel's worry about Hakkai. He's glad, knowing that he could at least send his Omen over to fuss over the other. ]

How have you been holding up out here?

[Humans are so weird, man. Even not-really-humans like his. But that's okay, he stayed with this guy for a reason.]

[Hakkai doesn't answer for a while. Maybe too long. He wants to say how much he does not deserve this. Wants to reiterate it. Just in case there's any lingering confusion. He does not understand this. The man has seen his past. How on earth can he still think...]

[His thoughts finally come back, with help from Jeep's sharp little teeth. Not a bite, just a little nip, dragging him out of his own head.] Ah - thank you.

[Then back to the bigger Omen, still subdued as before.]

It's fine. It isn't the first time I've been camping.

But I assume it is not usually under these circumstances.

[ Sorry, Hakkai. The upside may be that you can't hurt an Omen, but the downside is that this one over here is way more direct than Daniel himself is.

Apparently not afraid of calling someone out. Even if it's said very calmly, much like how the Omen always speaks. ]

Have you been finding food for yourself out here? What about shelter? [ .. a similar fussiness though, no matter how calmly it's being put out here. ]

[Well. He can't argue that. It's usually with three other people. Usually they're sleeping in a car, if nothing else. He's silent, tellingly so, and reaches up to idly run his fingers along Jeep's scales. His hands... both of them are wrapped up. Hiding any exposed skin.]

[Any revealing marks of the tell-tale vines.]

I've taken care of it. You can report that much.

[Jeep cranes his neck around, to give a little trill of agreement. It's not great, but his person isn't lying, either.]

[ Ah, yes, talk about a true Hakkai answer.. Like meeting a brick wall every single time, the Omen thinks. Not that it repels the creature in the slightest. It doesn't even look fazed, just staying stoic. ]

Do you know of any way in which what is going on with you right now can be decreased in intensity?

[ Sure, Hakkai may.. apparently always be like this.

But usually he doesn't feel like he has to stay away from people, so it must be worse than the usual. And there has to be a way to bring it back down. ]

No.

[It can't be helped. It can't be changed. He can't be changed. He made his choice, made the decision to do what he did. To stain his hands. Take those lives. It made him what he was.]

It can't be changed. It was... likely to happen at some point.

[He was bound to lose himself eventually. He just... he had hoped to hold out longer.]

[ ... ]

So you will just stay like this?

[ The Omen has to ask. Especially when he isn't entirely sure if this is Hakkai being honest or Hakkai just.. well, being his dramatic self.

Maybe it's both, at all once. ]

Forever?

This...

This was always here. Under the surface.

[Which is Hakkai-Speak for "yes". There's no other choice. Is there? If his limiters have finally failed, then... then this is what he is now. This horrible, disgusting creature.]

[The murderer.]

[What he truly was, beneath the surface. What he'd warned Daniel he was. I am not a good man.]

But you were among humans before. [ Sorry, Hakkai. The Omen is still not budging, still seeming to remain relatively stoic in the face of all of this.

Even more so since the man hasn't attacked him. Not that it makes the shisa doubt Hakkai could be dangerous like this, but-- at least it means he's still got quite some sense in him, at least. ]

It did not seem to be a problem back then.

It wasn't.

[When this is over, when he's ... fixed, for lack of a better word, he'll apologize to Daniel. And his omen. His tone and behavior here absolutely necessitates an apology. The man hasn't done anything wrong, but worry over someone that doesn't deserve such concern.]

[But right now, it doesn't seem like there will be an "over".]

I have ways of ... dealing with the problem. This place has seen fit to circumvent them.

[ At least Hakkai's answer - no matter how it's being conveyed here - does seem to make sense. It explains why Hakkai feels the need to hide away like this now, whereas he didn't really do that before.

The creature doesn't reply right away. It just watches Hakkai, still calm, not even its tail swishing back and forth the way it usually does. Instead it seems to be deep in thought. ]

There could be alternatives. Even if your problem might be unique to your world, people who come from other worlds could have solutions you never thought of before.

No problem is ever truly unsolvable, Hakkai. Not when you handle it together with others.

[ That does sound like something Daniel would say, huh. Maybe it's a sign of the fact that the Omen still is a part of Daniel, despite sounding completely different, and being way better at actually remaining calm, even in the face of this. The Omen definitely knows Daniel is somewhere off fussing big time about all of this, even as the Omen itself is so calm. ]

[With others. That's not - it's just not possible. Why is that so hard to accept? Even if he didn't have the risk of eviscerating anyone attempting to help, in what universe would someone like him, a murderer, a criminal, someone with this much blood on their hands, be worthy of aid? Be deserving of anything but what he'd left himself with, in the end?]

[He doesn't. Pure and simple.]

With others is purely the problem. I cannot... be near them. People.

[Not like this.]

[That is far easier to explain than the pile of guilt and self-loathing. Try to make Daniel, and his omen, see how bad of an idea it is for anyone to come within range of him right now.]

People do not have to come face to face with you to help you, if you do not wish them to.

[ Sure, it's easier. In some cases even necessary. But the Omen knows how stubborn Hakkai can be too, and considering the other's state.. he wants to accomodate Hakkai just a little bit here.

It can't be easy for Hakkai either, the creature thinks. ]

Perhaps some people have objects that could help. Or perhaps they could do something from a distance. [ The shisa's tail twitches. ] Would you allow me to look for help for you, as long as it does not threaten anyone?

[This is definitely Daniel's Omen. It's just as stubborn as its human. Just as unwilling to listen to a perfectly illogical argument as to why he should be left along out here.]

[So he shakes his head. Sharply.]

I'm not taking objects from others. I won't deprive someone else of what they might need.

[Because clearly, others would need it more. It might actually be able to cure someone else. For him, there is no cure. There is no changing back. No one should waste their time on him like that. He can't allow it.]

So please. Leave this be.

.. Hakkai.

[ Uh oh.

Saying his name like that does not bode well, does it. Though it might not follow with what Hakkai might have expected the Omen to say.. even if what the creature says in the end isn't that much better. ]

Are you trying to keep Daniel away for his sake, or for your own?

[ The troubles of a very direct Omen... ]

I do not mean just right now, due to this situation. I mean to ask this in general.

You know what he knows, don't you?

[A simple question. But the weight of it is important. The asking is important. Because if the Omen doesn't, then, well. He's going to have to elaborate, isn't he?]

It should be obvious, if so.

[The answer is for Daniel's sake. Completely. Daniel who is somehow convinced Hakkai is anything other than a monster himself. Who somehow believes he is a "good man", despite all evidence to the contrary.]

[Of course it's for his benefit!]

[ There's a slight pause. Not because the Omen doesn't know how to answer - the answer to that question is clear. Yes, he knows what Daniel knows. It's why he's saying half of the things he's saying here in the first place.

But maybe the shisa is instead thinking about how to word something else. ]

Daniel has terrible judgement in people.

[ Sorry, Daniel, calling you out.. ]

He is too desperate to trust. To want to see the good. Even when he is scared. [ Because the man does have trust issues that are a mile long, and the Omen obviously knows that.. ] He has trusted people before he should not have trusted. People who wanted to hurt him.

But you do not want to hurt him.

Yes, that he does.

[Case in point, Hakkai himself.]

Of course I have no desire to hurt him. But that doesn't mean that I won't. Even if I don't want to.

[There's only one person he could never bring himself to hurt. Even in the depths of his demon-induced insanity. And it isn't Daniel. Unfortunately for the man's sake.]

It's safest this way. I am not a safe person to know.

+ IC CONTACT +

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