remarks | (no subject)

[Five minutes after a focused mind and wary eyes try to find more signs in the darkness (perfectly still, perfectly silent), Bass decides to let go of the thought and turns back to the fire.

Bonnie isn't with him tonight. She's some place she called safe with people she claimed they could trust trying to recover from the aftereffects of a bad habit, so Bass waits somewhere in the surrounding woods for the Sun to come so he can go back and take her away.]

[ One is better than none. Emeris wants them both, dead if they won't work for him, but Bonnie might be easier to catch if he can take down Bass first. Likewise, Bass might be easier to catch if he goes after Bonnie, but Bass is the one who's alone right now, not her.

His brother is paranoid, peering through the darkness, and it makes Loch grin from where he's hidden, indistinguishable from the night. Darkness makes it easier, even to fool monsters and their bastard children. Bass's eyes go back to the fire and he slips closer, nothing more than the wind through the trees. ]

[Bass is restless, more so than usual, edging between the decision to stay still and be patient or find something less challenging to help him pass the time. Flickers of ash drop on the soil as both shadow and light dance on every surface surrounding the flames, accompanied by the sound of the wood snapping from the inside. The fire makes Bass's face and legs feel hot until the welcomed warmth turns into discomfort, which in turn prompts him to stand up and find another spot farther away after dusting the dirt off his back, hunting knife in his other hand. There is no immediate intention for it, but Bass is very much aware that it's there.

Just in case.]

[ Loch likes knives; they're up-close and personal, easy to keep hidden, still within the scope of his influence the way a bullet isn't if it gets far enough away. What he doesn't like his knives being used on him. Truthfully, he's monstrous enough that he prefers using his hands and teeth, but part of that is simply the desire not to leave any evidence behind.

Still. Bass's knife doesn't scare him as much as it maybe should, and he creeps closer until he's across from his half-brother on the other side of the fire. Then he clears his throat, there the way he wasn't before. ] Comfortable?

[First thought: reach for that voice's throat. Second thought: use the knife. Third thought: Calm the fuck down.

There's a swift turn with a tighter grip on the handle, watchful eyes piercing through the fire. He can't quite make out those features with the stark contrast between the flames and the night playing with them, but as he stands there, Loch paints the perfect picture of a devil's hybrid with a knack for symbolism.

Bass doesn't answer, listening instead. He was listening before, too, yet nothing warned him about the other presence.]

[ His brother doesn't say anything, but given what he knows of his ability, that's not surprising. Bass can listen as much as he likes, really. Loch will even give him something to listen to through the static.

Hello.

The rest of it is jumbled, static then quiet then static with bits of syllables and tiny scraps dispersed throughout. Interference from Loch himself, though he'd prefer it if there wasn't anything at all to be picked up. He's working on it. ]

[He readjusts the grip on the knife, brows twitching briefly. The static is alarming, to say the least. Even monsters have voices in their head, be it their own or the remainder of their vessel's soul screaming in endless agony.]

Who are you.

[He knows that face. Or he should know it, but something just won't connect.]

[ The corner of his mouth twitches up into a smirk. Having trouble, Bass? ]

Don't recognize me? [ They really are quite similar looking, although Bass has shorter hair and stubble. ] I guess that's not surprising.

[ Loch, his mind supplies between the static. ]

I've met you before. [No shit, Sherlock, etc, etc. He's still trying to make sense of this and not really succeeding, okay. Eyes narrowed, Bass starts to walk around the fire.] Loch?

Loch. [ He doesn't move, watching as he moves around the fire -- most of his focus on that knife. ] Need a closer look, or are you going to try and stab me?

No. [He doesn't try.] At least not until you tell me what you're doing here.

I can't come see my half-brother? [ There's a grin in the dark, firelight reflecting on unnatural white teeth, monster-sharp. ]

[It isn't a surprise as much as it's a confirmation of a guess, of a memory tucked away somewhere.]

... Emeris.

[Bass stops, eyes narrowed, lips curled.]

He's got a lot of kids.

[ Loch's loyalty is hardly one of blood. Emeris is a monster, could help him develop his ability, and in return, Loch uses it to hunt for him. ]

He didn't erase your memories of me, though. In case you wanted to know.

I didn't.

[If Bass wasn't making the knife obvious before, he certainly is now.

(He wants to ask about Bonnie - but that would most likely be jeopardizing her.)]

Did he forget what I told him?

[ Loch's still keeping an eye on it, shifting slightly. His tongue slides out to wet his lips, avoiding his teeth. ]

Don't know. What'd you tell him?

Everything he needed to know.

[He turns his wrist, the side of the blade now facing the flames. Bass is about a beat away from letting the blackness slip into his eyes and showing his teeth.]

What did I tell you?

We didn't talk much.

[ Loch rarely speaks to his prey. It's easier to slip in and out, unnoticed; to watch, to listen and observe, and then to strike. ]

We didn't do much, either, if you're still here.

Not that you remember, anyway.

[After a pause he continues, tone flat, distant.]

How does that work?

I'm just very easy to forget.

[ This would probably mean more if he weren't grinning while he says it. ]

[Still no reaction, for now.]

And the noise in your head?

Maybe you need your hearing checked.

Could need your memory checked, too. [ And your vision. Not that it'd help. ]

[WELL GEE, I WONDER IF THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE

Insert another pause.]

I'm gonna give you the chance to leave, Loch.

[ SURPRISE DOCTOR VISIT. ]

And if I don't take it?

You don't get to deliver a message to Emeris.

Who says he wants a message?

You might've noticed I don't really give a shit about what he wants.

Yeah, well. I'm not a mailman.

[ Maybe a delivery boy, if he has to be. But messages? No thanks. He has to be perceptible to give those, and he'd rather not. ]

Works for me.

[Eyes are already black when he strikes Loch, blade aimed at his stomach, trying to slam his forearm against the other hybrid's collarbone to shove his back against the nearest surface.]

[ The fire's right there and Loch jumps over it, the blade just barely his flesh and slicing through fabric instead. He has a hybrid's strength but it's his speed that's his real gift when coupled with his ability. Already his profile seems to blur around the edges, blending with the shadows. There aren't any whites of his eyes to give him away anymore, but he's hardly invisible. Just hard to see. ]