PSL: fullcowl

[hot_mes]

Original starter

(continuing from this)

[Even though he still has a long way to go to restore his strength, Law manages to last out the rest of the night without dropping off again. It helps that once or twice something a little too large passed a little too close to their hollowed-out tree, but whatever it was either didn't like fire or wasn't into humans and kept going on past. His haki alerted him in time, but he sat tense until it passed rather than wake Deku. Kid needs his rest, after all.

The gap in the tree must face east, because Law eventually can see a gray line in the distance as light starts to come up behind the hills, and then the approaching dawn getting brighter and brighter. The fire fizzles out about then, and he stretches out a heel to scratch some dirt over it lest the smoke attract attention. With dawn coming, he won't be able to sleep anyway, so he just lets Izuku sleep for as long as he needs. Besides, he's nice and warm.]

Comments

[hot_mes]

Not at all. You should be fine, though.

[and then, for a moment he turns wistful] There is a freedom to being on the sea. It's dangerous, but at the same time, there's nothing holding you back. You can go anywhere, do anything you wish. Your ship is home, and home can be anywhere...

[fullcowl]

[He's quiet as he lets Law talk about the sea.

He's never really done something like that himself before. He lived in an apartment with his mother- and then he moved into a dorm with the rest of his class.

But he's worlds away from that now, and Law is the closest thing he has to a friend in this place. So... boarding a ship and being out at sea-]

It... It sounds nice.

[hot_mes]

[he gives Izuku a little faint smile. Not a smirk, a smile.]

You're not just saying that to humor me.

[what, he still has insecurities. The perils of not letting anyone close to him for so long.]

[fullcowl]

No.

The way you talk about it, it really does sound nice.

[hot_mes]

You're free to change your mind once it happens, if the sea doesn't agree with you. [fair's fair!] But it isn't just for personal reasons. I really do think taking to the sea is our greatest chance to raid the fortress and make a difference.

[fullcowl]

We'll see what happens. But I'd like to help you with the assaults on Wulgrimm.

[hot_mes]

You're free to stay with me as long as you like.

[as soon as he says so, Law takes a quick breath. He doesn't just let people hang with him if they're not crew, what is this? But the offer is sincere. He doesn't take it back.]

[fullcowl]

[His eyes widen- he didn't seem like the type that would be okay with something like that but-]

Thank you, Law.

[Now you're stuck with him.]

[hot_mes]

[Dammit, Cora-san must be subconsciously rubbing off on him again. Giving him his heart back.]

At least, if you get too carried away with your training, you'll have a doctor at hand to patch you up.

[yes because that's totally the only reason they need to stick together. Totally.]

[fullcowl]

[That's definitely a good reason though.]

I'd appreciate that. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you.

[hot_mes]

You've done a lot already. I've come to rely on you. [more quietly] I do owe you my life.

[but that just brings up one more unpleasant debt. Law glances aside at Izuku as they walk]

...that time. What you did for me. It won't happen again, but I don't want you to have to remember it. Can we put it in the past and leave it there?

[fullcowl]

[Izuku nods, but then realizes that Law probably isn't looking at him so he has to speak up.]

... Yeah. I think I'd prefer that, honestly.

[hot_mes]

[it is hard to look straight at him, but Law does steal a glance now and then.]

I'm sorry. Then, that will be all we need to say.

[he lifts a hand as if to pull his hat brim down, forgetting that he's not wearing one. Oh well, his eyes are exposed, that means his emotion is there to be seen. The regret fading, and relief replacing it.]

[fullcowl]

Right.

[Izuku is perfectly content to never speak of what happened in the prison every again. He's glad Law's in the same boat.]

... what else is there to say...

The... the weather is nice...?

[hot_mes]

[that gets the softest laugh out of him]

Yeah. It is, isn't it? Should be a fine day for walking.

[he just jinxed it, didn't he?]

[fullcowl]

[Yeah. Yeah he sure did.

It starts raining about an hour after he says it'll be nice.]

... Maybe we shouldn't comment on the weather...

[hot_mes]

[man he really was hoping - watching those clouds come in - that it wasn't going to be like that. No such luck.

The first few drops aren't bad but then it looks to really unleash, so Law growls up at the sky for being so inconvenient]

Look for some kind of shelter, I don't feel like being soaked through to the bone.

[do you have any idea how uncomfortable soaking-wet jeans are? Really.]

[fullcowl]

[Growling at the sky doesn't do much unless he's got some kind of weather control quirk- and even then Izuku's hesitant to say it'll work.

Still, he looks around in an attempt to find something to shield them.]

Ah- I think there's a cave over there!

[Who knows if anything's in it though.]

[hot_mes]

Let's go!

[he really should sense first, duck in second, but the skies suddenly open up on them so if anything happens, it's Law's fault.

They only need to sit in the mouth of the cave as it is, putting a roof over their head for the time being.]

Bah. We'll wait it out if we can, hopefully it's not an all-day thing.

[weather forecaster he most certainly is not]

[fullcowl]

[He takes a seat and watches the rain pouring down.]

Hopefully. Walking through that probably means getting a cold- and I'm not sure how far away the capital is.

[hot_mes]

That's a myth. [he murmurs it as he stretches out his long legs, making sure he's still well inside the cave and not about to get wet.] Viruses cause illness. Though getting wet and chilled will lead to hypothermia which can leave you vulnerable.

[sorry, doctor, can't turn it off]

I'm more concerned that a lasting rain means no fire for us tonight.

[fullcowl]

[He's quiet as he mentally notes it down and silently wishes he had a notebook to record that in. It's fairly likely he'll remember it anyway.]

Right. With the rain like this, it'll be hard to find anything dry.

[He'll turn to look inside the cave. There's probably not much sign of anything to burn for tinder, but it doesn't hurt to look at least.]

[hot_mes]

[yep, that's exactly where his mind went. He follows Izuku's gaze, and only then stretches out a short distance with haki. If there's anything sharing the cave, it's not immediately close by, but he also has no way to tell how deep the cave runs without getting up to look.]

We're dry, at least. If it gets cold at night we'll have to rely on body heat.

[for all his caution about it in other situations, if it means survival, damn right there'll be cuddling]

[fullcowl]

[It does seem to go for a while.

He's not sure how far he wants to go without some sort of light.]

At least we've got each other, right?

[Law's really not that bad once he's gotten to know him. A pirate-doctor is a pretty good ally in the wilderness.]

[hot_mes]

[light would be good, yes. Another reason to hope there's some dry sticks somewhere.]

Yeah. There's that.

[he doesn't mean to be dismissive but really, the longer they spend time together the more he feels like he's becoming Corazon - older, wiser, protective, and just maybe growing to call this kid a friend. So even if his words are short, his tone is just warm enough.

He pulls over the bag that he agreed to take from their host that morning and opens it to see what kind of supplies they still have, like the flint and their water containers, and comes out with something he didn't remember packing. There's a checked cloth wrapped around something. Huh. Law unwraps it to find...]

...she packed us with bread.

[yay? But also fuck his life, seriously. Of all the things.]