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Armor clattered to the ground unceremoniously, the careful handling of the already damaged covering pointless. Dark Choco sat on his bed, his legs open. His gaze was firmly fixed on his inner thigh, at the slice cutting through both his dough and the rune etched into it. The bleeding had stopped long ago; and now instead he was faced with a new dilemma.
His rune was broken because of the room abd deactivated, probably for the long term until he healed enough that the rune being scribed onto him didn't irritate it. The issue is that his rune dispensed his testosterone. The fix seemed simple; just get Licorice to etch a new rune on his opposite thigh. Licorice was already doing touch-ups to the rune almost regularly, he'd scribed his own far before.
However, Dark Choco didn't feel like tolerating the headache of Licorice's scolding. He could practically hear it now; Licorice grumbling as he wiped off the ruin he'd "perfected after oh so many years" and complaining the whole time.
For a moment Choco laid on his bed, contemplating. As much as he didn't want to deal with it, there was no other option. Pomegranate would never scroll his rune, assuming she even knew how to in the first place, and his options were only one or the other. Compared to her, Licorice's non-existent patience was saintly. As much as he didn't want to do it, his hand was forced. With a heavy sigh he stood up, feeling the still fresh wound tugging on the edges of his split flesh. It was uncomfortable, but he'd felt worse.
Much, much worse.
Choco begrudgingly brought himself to Licorice's room, knocking on the door he knew well belonged to the necromancer. He could hear shuffling behind the door, then something hitting the floor while he knocked. He heard a sigh, grumbling, and after more shuffling Licorice finally opened the door.
"What?" He snapped. Licorice was very obviously annoyed by the other's presence. Choco looked into the room, noticing a half finished rune etched onto the floor in chalk.
"Am I interrupting something?" Dark Choco asked curtly, raising a brow.
Licorice muttered some more to himself, his words nothing more then gibberish to the other before he finally landed on an answer. "Depends."
"I need your aid with my rune." Dark Choco explained.
"Wha- again?" Licorice asked, bristling. "I just repainted that- agh!" He groaned. He grabbed Dark Choco's arm, promptly dragging him into the room. "What did you do now?"
Dark Choco dropped onto Licorice's bed, per usual whenever he touched-up his rune. Licorice wasn't phased, his eyes darting down to look at Choco's thigh as he exposed his leg-
Licorice's face paled immediately. While yes, Dark Choco's wound was no longer bleeding and had been treated, it was still fully exposed. Choco had assumed it wouldn't be much of a shock. After all, Licorice had seen him injured several times before, he figured he'd be used to it by now. Instead of waving it off as he'd, to be honest, hoped; Licorice turned frantic.
"You- how did this happen?" Licorice asked, his fingers curling to display a mix of frustration and confusion.
"I was patrolling." Dark Choco explained curtly. He'd rather omit the finer details.
"Patrolling." Licorice grumbled as he went to one of his shelves. "Patrolling- you're the only one who gets injured on patrols, you know that?" He asked, digging through the clutter of spell materials and other knick-knacks. "I'm starting to think you do it on purpose." He accused.
Choco sighed heavily. "I'm as pleased about the situation as you are."
"Then why do you keep doing it?" Licorice asked, not bothering to hide his exasperation.
"It's not a purposeful situation." Dark Choco insisted, getting slightly frustrated with the other.
"Well what am I supposed to assume?? That you somehow manage to- what? Trip over the same suspiciously placed rock every time?" Licorice accused.
Dark Choco felt himself bristle further, his hands curling into partial fists. "If you're implying- that, that is an entirely inappropriate accusation."
"Well what else am I supposed to think?" Licorice asked. He finally turned away from his shelf, a jar of something and a roll of bandages in his arms. "Even if you're not the one doing the motion, you don't care! You keep getting yourself hurt and you don't even bat an eye!"
Dark Choco opened his mouth to argue, yet nothing came to mind for his defense. His.... non aversion to injury was admitable. Short of a retort he simply looked to the side, his brow creasing in annoyance. "See! You can't even argue!" Licorice shouted, puffing out his slim chest in the biggest ego boost of the week. He went over to Choco, tapping the taller's leg with his foot. "Now spread."
"Awfully bold all of a sudden." Dark Choco pointed out, but he still complied. This was the entire reason why he came here after all.
Licorice had to crouch down to get level with Dark Choco's wound, setting aside the bandages in favor of the jar with an odd concoction in it. Choco raised a brow as he watched him unscrew the lid, revealing the pale brown paste and it's... peculiar smell. Dark Choco's brows furrowed slightly.
"Oh, don't give me that look." Licorice said, waving his hand. "It's medicine."
"Medicine?" Dark Choco echoed, a hint of surprise creeping into his voice.
"Don't sound so shocked!" Licorice bristled.
"I was simply unaware you had any interest in medicine." Dark Choco explained. "That concoction-"
"That paste." Licorice interrupted, holding up a finger. He looked at Dark Choco, expecting him to also correct himself.
"That paste." He obliged. "It is, exactly?"
Licorice grinned, his pride swelling once more as he held up the jar to show Dark Choco. "This is a home brewed pain relief and disinfectant. I've made it myself."
"Ah." Dark Choco dipped his head in a slight nod. He vaguely remembered that discription for a paste from his home land; it made sense why Licorice would know hot to make it, they hailed from the same place. Though it smelled very different from what he remembered. "The ingredients?"
Licorice pauses. "There are a few substitutions," he digressed, "but it still works just fine!" He insisted.
"Ah." Dark Choco said, a hint of hesitance now tinging his voice. The substitutions made sense. It still gave him pause however.
" "ah"-" The sorcerer scoffed in mockery. "It's perfectly fine!" Licorice argued. Dark Choco's blank stare was enough to assert that, no, in this situation he didn't believe that. Licorice heaved out a groan in such a dramatic display you could almost call it over acting. "Poison Mushroom uses it too."
The new information did put Dark Choco at ease. The hesitance melted from his body, shoulders dropping slightly and head bobbing in a small nod. Despite having given Licorice what he wanted, he was still bristling. He bitterly grumbled as he scooped up his paste onto his fingers, mumbling barely coherently to himself. "Stupid fool- undermining my genius." He grumbled.
Dark Choco brushed off the comment; he didn't come here to fight. He didn't come here for this particular service either, but he wasn't complaining. Licorice was surprisingly skilled at applying the paste, doing so firmly but still cautious to not irritate the wound. If he was giving it to Poison Mushroom though the capability was expected; they were probably the only cookie Licorice cared about. Of course he'd do his dudiligence on his medicines for them.
Even after just a few light dabs Dark Choco's wound was less irritated, the uncomfortable tug on open flesh melting away like it wasn't there at all. Choco sighed softly, his eye drooping in comfort like he was about to fall asleep. Licorice paused, looking up at him with a grin. "It works, doesn't it?" He asked, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice.
Dark Choco nodded. "It does. Exceptionally so." With just those words the sourness melted from Licorice like it wasn't ever there. His face lit up, that little smile of his adding roundness to his cheeks and a sparkle in his eye. Choco was glad Licorice wasn't close to his chest so he couldn't hear the slight pick up in his heart rate.
Licorice very rarely got so genuinely excited, even more so was him expressing it so openly. Dark Choco could count on one hand, including this incident, where he'd seen the other so... happy. Even though Choco had ended up scolded and hassled, he found it all worth it for just that look.
Getting to relish it was short lived. Licorice switched his attention back to applying the disinfectant, falling into silence as he diligently applied the paste. Swiftly it was done, and even faster were the bandages wrapped around his thigh and almost down to his knee.
Licorice stood up, grinning in self satisfaction. "Done." He announced proudly.
Dark Choco flexed his leg, watching the bandages bend against his dough. While it was unavoidable that he'd feel them against his skin, they were snug without being suffocated. Perfect. He bobbed his head curtly. "Thank you. But this isn't the reason i came here."
Licorice's face fell, blinking in shock. "Huh?"
Dark Choco drew attention to his opposite thigh. "I came to get my rune re-etched, as I said earlier."
Licorice sputtered, turning around and rushing back towards his shelf. "I- I knew that! You can't put the ruin back on the right thigh if it gets infected!"
Dark Choco chuckled softly as he watched Licorice scramble to get his ink and tool. He didn't push it; he didn't need to.
Licorice was yet again grumbling to himself as he brought his tools back over, pushing Dark Choco's opposite thigh open to expose the flesh. In the process Licorice's other hand brushed against his bandages. He quickly pulled his hand away, but his gaze lingered. "So, how did that happen, anyways?" Licorice asked.
"As I told you, I was patrolling." Dark Choco reiterated.
Licorice gave Dark Choco a hard look. "I said how, not what."
Dark Choco sighed heavily. "... i walked into a thicket."
Licorice narrowed his eyes at him, gritting his teeth to show exactly how frustrated he was. "Do I look like a fool?"
"I'm serious." Dark Choco insisted, meeting Licorice's accusing gaze head on. He could see Licorice debating with himself internally, his eye looking off to the side as he thought. He even opened his mouth to ask something before he shut it again, shaking his head.
"A trained warrior can't even pay attention to his surroundings." Licorice mumbled, apparently deciding to take Choco at his word. Choco's brows furrowed in displeasure at the comment.
"That has nothing to do with it."
"It should." Licorice huffed. "Now stay still." He warned, before the tip of his tool pressed into the flesh of his thigh, leaving behind the first streak of his new rune. With a heavy sigh Dark Choco bit his tongue, finding it pointless to argue. It would yield nothing but bitterness between the two.
Licorice worked quickly, by now this kind of rune was second nature to him. He was laser focused; eyes glued to his skin and tongue pinched between his lips to help him focus. Watching Licorice's facial expressions were entertainment in itself, because as much as Licorice tried to be stoic, in the right environment that mask fell apart. Somehow, Dark Choco managed to be in those environments with him at just the right moment.
The process was quick. Licorice finished his rune before Dark Choco could even sense that time was passing. Just as proud as he was about the bandages, Licorice sat back on his heels and smirked. "There. Good as new."
Dark Choco looked at his new rune, admiring it for a moment. "Thank you." He nodded, before standing up.
"Ah! Be careful!" Licorice scolded, standing up as he watched Dark Choco go for the door. "If you smudge it as soon as you walk out that door, by the witches I'll-"
"Rest assured," Dark Choco interrupted, holding up his hand as he talked, "i won't come bother you until I'm fully healed." Licorice looked away, mumbling something under his breath as Dark Choco left the room. Choco didn't catch it, the chances of him doing so dying as he shut the door after his exit.
The fresh ink on his skin always felt strange; half dried and crinkling on the flesh awkwardly. No matter how many times he felt it, it never got less odd. When he returned to his room he'd probably lay down until he felt it dry. Faintly, he heard a light scuffle.
Dark Choco reached out a hand, the plush cap of a cookie pushing against his palm before a face could plant directly into his hip. The young cookie looked up, finally prying their eyes off the book in their hands. Dark Choco could see a plethora of mushroom illustrations just on the two pages it was open to.
"Oh.... hey, Choco." Poison Mushroom greeted, mushies voice it's usual distant tone.
"Poison Mushroom." He nodded solemnly.
"Do y'know where... Lico went?" They asked, slowly blinking up at him.
"He's in his room. Tampering with a new rune, I believe." Dark Choco said. "Do you need anything?"
Poison Mushroom reached under their hat, pushing back mush's hair to expose a nasty bump on mushies forehead- presumably gotten from a wall collision mush'd almost repeated. "Ah." He said. He removed his hand from mushies cap. "You're in luck. I believe Licorice just made a new batch of his paste." He informed before promptly resuming his walk.
Poison Mushroom blinked, tilting mushies head in confusion. "Paste..?"
Dark Choco halted, turning to look at Poison Mushroom with a slight furrow in his brow. "Yes. The paste he gives you for your injuries."
"Lico doesn't give me paste..." Mushroom blinked. Even with their sleepy expression Dark Choco got the impression they thought he was crazy. They shook their head, putting their nose back into their book and walking away.
Dark Choco was confused. They didn't know about the paste? Choco knew Poison Mushroom often forgot things, they were never the most attentive if it didn't involve their "shroomies", but surely they'd remember such a paste? That, or... Licorice was lying. It wouldn't be new of him, he often lied to try and be cunning, but that was always with a goal. He gained nothing by experimenting such a trivial product on Dark Choco.
.... Unless Licorice had made it for him.
The thought felt absurd. Dark Choco shook his head, continuing his way back to his room. Still though, he found himself wondering. Wondering why Licorice, if he did, would go out his way to make a paste just for him. Why he'd scold Dark Choco for his carelessness with himself instead of ruining Licorice's work. Wondering that, maybe, if that open display of emotions was more then a coincidence.
Dark Choco sighed, returning to his room and lying on his bed as planned. Initially Dark Choco assumed he'd take the time to recover, but now he found himself preoccupied with a new thought. A new wonder.