PRIVATE i want what they have, and i'm gonna take it

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

The question on where to drop the elemental was solved after a bit of a mess. The original idea was to toss him in a cell where the cannibals kept the fight pits’ death fodder, but that seemed like a hellish way to chance on Kole’s hard-won capture getting killed or eaten by a random hungry cannibal. Vale had joked about keeping the beastie in xyr inquisitor quarters, which Meteor had decided was stupidier than using the fight pits’ cells. Which, yeah, Vale considered that fair.

So Kane ended up in a lava tube off the Doctor’s Caves. Metal bars and all, just like the fight pits’ cells, but at least he wouldn’t be mistaken for expendable death fodder.

Vale supposed this meant Kane would have to deal with Xanti’s weed thoughts, but, eh, maybe the guy would benefit from being neighbors with a smart cannibal? Vale thought it odd that Kane still hadn’t figured out what he was negotiating with, either. Hadn’t he met anyone of their kind before? Antisocials were rare, Vale knew, but Vale’s mom (Ninazu) had been a psychopath, and xe’d ended up in the Descendants of the Departed because xe was looking for an antisocial romance option and figured cannibals would be a great place to hang around and wait for one to appear.

But all of that was Vale Weirdness. Even Vale could see that.

The raven flew through the cave system. Xyr feet clutched small bag of rattling trinkets.

Admittedly, Vale hadn’t immediately set down for the talk xe’d promised Kane. Xe’d sent an NPC to deliver a boiled coconut crab, sure, but xe had to figure out the right approach. Therefore, xe consulted Xanti, because, well, Meteor thought this was a waste of time. But, just maybe, Xanti had a point about quoting the Tao Te Ching: To give no trust is to get no trust. This was romancing a psychopath on expert mode! As if the trust handshake wasn’t already complicated enough! Vale cackled to xemself at the absurdity of this nonsense.

The raven landed on the bars on Kane’s cell. Xe wasn’t inside, but, well, maybe the beastie’d feel better if there were metal bars between him and the gore shapeshifter?

With xyr beak, Vale tapped on the metal bar. Then looked to Kane and cawed, “Nevermore!”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

Kanemaru had been right; the cell wasn't all that comfortable, but it was better than the net by a long-shot. At least here he could stretch his legs and his wings; and the bars didn't bother him all that much. An extra line of defence in case rabid cannibals tried to eat him. Because he'd quickly realised that he was, in fact, being held hostage by cannibals. Which was just great, really.~

The cheetah didn't bother Kanemaru. Kanemaru didn't bother the cheetah, either; they kind of co-existed. Kane had begrudgingly accepted that the cheetah was not an idiot, but he was lazy, which was equally as bad. He didn't dislike the cheetah, though; it was amusing enough, if not slightly disgusting listening to it prattle on about shit like cannabis.

He hadn't forgotten the crow-thing's declaration; that they'd talk. He hadn't expected it to be straight away, so the lack of xyr presence didn't bother Kane, though he didn't forget, either. He figured that was probably who had been sending random fodder to give him food. He'd reluctantly ate it. Crab was safe as long as it wasn't open, even if Kanemaru personally preferred lobster.

His four ears angled towards the sound of wings flapping, and then turned to look at xim as Vale landed. clink clink clink. That was annoying, Kanemaru thought. And then-

"Nevermore!"

Kane blinked. "You're quoting Edgar Allen Poe?" The unlucky bird was full of surprises, it seemed. Couldn't be all that stupid, if xe knew good literature.

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

Vale cackled. “Of course! I’m a shapeshifter, why else do I live as a corvid? Love that poem.” A click of xyr tongue. There was a bit more too it than that—what with the gore on every form that wasn’t a bird—but that wasn’t shit that even Xanti knew, so, fuck it. Keep it simple.

With a flutter of wings, Vale adjusted xyr grip. Xe was perched on the lowermost bar, so when xe dropped the bag of trinkets, it fell on the stone floor inside the cell. The drawstring bag half-opened, but the contents looked like random shiny shit. More like what a non-talking raven would hoard in a nest than Vale.

“So, here’s the deal.” Vale tilted xyr head to the right. “If you’re honest with me, I’ll be honest with you. We take turns asking one or two questions.” Vale’s three eyes narrowed skeptically; xe was tempted to add further rules like I’ll eat one of your ears if you lie to me, but that would assume a lack of trust, right? The whole point of this deal was to establish trust, because trust was necessary for the beastie to help fix the island’s ecosystem.

And, obviously, necessary if Vale had a hope of completing the real reason xe was trying so hard. Why would Kane be a cannibal boyfriend if he couldn’t trust Vale?

“If I ask a question you don’t want to answer, then you don’t have to answer. Promise. No punishment. Already said no torture, eh?”

“Reasonable, eh?” Vale cackled. “So, first question. How long have you been an elemental?”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

Kanemaru clicked his tongue. He had very little reason to be honest in the first place, and very little reason to expect honesty in return, either. Did he even trust that Vale would keep his word? No, not really. He had half a mind to just turn around, face the wall, and ignore the crow's presence altogether until xe decided xe wanted to be serious about this. Kane didn't like beating around the bush. But...

To be honest, Kane didn't have much else to do. Xanti was a lack of entertainment. And, really, what harm could it do? If he didn't want to answer, he didn't have to, and Vale had pointed out that xe wasn't going to make him. But did he trust that either? Yes, actually. The cannibals lost more than they gained by injuring him.

So, begrudgingly, Kanemaru decided to play along with xyr little game. "Since I was a kit," he muttered, straightening out as he gave the crow his undivided attention. "Science experiment gone horribly right. What's the story behind cannibal central?"

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

Vale nodded. Since birth, eh? That meant a high likelihood of mastery and years of practice. But, more importantly, Kanmaru was playing the game.

“Cannibal central is complicated.” Vale laughed. Shook xyr head. “Short version? A long time ago, apparently, some insane guy set up a cult to worship two dieties on this island: Requiem of Creation and Vayu of Destruction. Requiem controls the reincarnation cycle. Vayu destroys souls unworthy of rejoining the cycle. Cannibalism is a ritualistic way to ensure the dead pass on to a more favorable reincarnation.”

“I mentioned I’m the inquisitor. I speak for Requiem. Supposedly. I like the rituals and the creativity. If Requiem exists, the deity apparently approves of me, since I survived the volcanic eruption. Haha!”

Vale tapped a claw on the metal. Xyr three eyes narrowed slightly. “You talk like a psychopath. You have the adrenaline response of a psychopath. But you don’t recognize when others of your kind are in front of you.” Vale tilted xyr head to the right. “Am I the first psychopath—besides yourself—you’ve encountered?”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

That sounded like a bunch of bullshit to Kanemaru, to be perfectly honest. He didn't believe in Gods, and he had to wonder why anyone would willingly surround themselves with other creatures if they were mentally sound. Other animals were irritating, and Kanemaru much preferred solitude over being around others. Maybe there was some appeal in being worshipped like some kind of holy being, but Kane didn't see it; sounded like narcissism to him, actually. Which was gross.

Kane blinked at the mention of psychopaths. That was a line of conversation he hadn't expected to be brought up... Ever, really. It stunned him into silence for a moment; which was not something that usually happened.

"I tend to avoid others," Kanemaru answered, albeit evasively. "I find other creatures disturbing and boring, and being around them is a waste of my time. So yes, I suppose. Why aren't you torturing me?"

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

Vale waited for the silence to give way to an answer. But the silence was itself an answer. As for the answer itself? Indeed, others were boring as all hell. Especially the prosocials. That’s why Vale was in a cannibalism cult! The three eyed raven nodded.

When Kane asked his question, Vale answered immediately. “Torturing you wouldn’t accomplish any of my goals.”

Then Vale thought over the next question. “What is your goal in life?” Vale’s three eyes narrowed. “And, if you don’t mind, how did you arrive at your goal?”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

That was an answer that gave Kanemaru pause once again. It seemed like a risky answer, really. Admitting that Vale had secondary intentions seemed like a good way to get anyone else to mistrust xim, but then, Kanemaru wasn't anyone else. Surprisingly, he appreciated the upfront-ness about it.

And, of course, he knew what one of Vale's goals was; xe wanted to establish some kind of trust relationship so Kanemaru would willingly help fix the island with minimal chance of running off or taking flight one random Thursday, and all that jazz that Kane didn't particularly care about. But Vale had said goals, and Kane was observant enough to have noticed the plural.

His eyes narrowed in thought. "Creatures like them," a non-committal gesture in the vague direction of everywhere, insinuating those that weren't psychopaths, "are destroying nature, and I'm trying to fix it. They're not smart enough to know better, I suppose. And I... Want to make them smarter. Genetic enhancements, and all that." Though, admittedly that was proving harder than he'd thought. Kanemaru's research wasn't making the progress he'd anticipated.

"What are your goals here?"

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

“Huh.” Vale’s three eyes blinked thrice in rapid succession. Xe fluffed xyr feathers, and was glad xe’d thought to ask that question. Unexpected. But useful. The raven tapped xyr claws on the metal bar.

“Here’s free information then.” If Vale’s beak could grin, xe would be grinning, but the smirk nonetheless saturated xyr voice. “Meteor is a psychopath. Xanti is a psychopath. Your goal is not incompatible with any of ours.”

“My main goal is fucking around and finding out. Life’s boring if you’re not living, you know.” Vale cackled. “But my goals for you? Obviously, I benefit if the island’s ecosystem is repaired. And that goal assists in Meteor’s goals, so if I can collaborate with you on fixing the island? My allies prosper.”

“Second goal for you….” Then Vale bobbed xyr head side to side. Xe could decline to answer, but… where was the fun in that. “Meteor and Xanti are incompatible romantically with me. But you?” Vale lifted xyr beak and laughed. “We might be romantically compatible. And I am fucking tired of not dating a fellow psychopath! But I’d rather be single than date a non-psychopath, fuck those idiots.”

Then Vale shrugged and, with xyr beak, pulled out an amethyst geode and tossed it into the cell. Then xe cackled. “Free question. You like that rock, hahaha?”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

Kanemaru could attest to that. A life of experimentation had, in fact, clued him into the fact that life was incredibly boring when he wasn't doing shit. He couldn't just sit around and do nothing, because then he'd be bored, and boredom made his brain rot; and he was too smart for brain rot, frankly speaking.

So their goals aligned. Kane had figured that part out already. Certainly made things easier, to be honest. Despite what Kane had said, he had very little intention of putting up a fight about fixing the forest; might be tough to do on his own, but then, they'd probably send the freakishly strong coyote out to capture more earth elementals, or something along those lines.

The thought of being a romantic interest threw him for a loop, for the third time in their conversation. Kanemaru was starting to learn that he should always expect the unexpected from the strange gore crow-thing. Kane had never even been remotely interested in anyone else, ever. Romance was strange. Kanemaru had experimented once in his younger years, decided it was weird, and never did it again.

His wings; all four of them; fluffed up where they were splayed across the cell floor either side of him. It was possibly the weirdest thing he'd ever heard, and not the most moralising, either. He looked down at the rock at his paws. Patted it once, checking its texture, and nodded. "Nice rock. Hypothetically speaking, if I agree to play along with your weird little courting thing, can I get comfier bedding?"