hot_mes | PSL: fullcowl

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PSL: fullcowl

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(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.]

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[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]

[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.]

[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.]

[He peaks over Law's shoulder, most of that is the stuff they took from the village on Wulgrimm's side-]

That was nice of her.

[But wait, he said he didn't want any bread when she offered it last night.]

... Do you not like bread?

No. [quickly and bluntly with a side of I know it's weird shut up] But. If the choice is this or starving...

[deep sigh, sucking it up]

If the rain doesn't stop and this is all we're left with to eat, then so be it.

[It is a weird dislike, but he's not here to judge. Just to worry.]

It's better than nothing, at least.

[He'll look out at the sky.]

I'm no weather forecaster, but it looks pretty heavy.

[Law heaves a big sigh. He's no forecaster either, but he's willing to admit Deku may be right]

I suppose since we've already found this cave, we might as well make it our home for the night. I would have liked to go further today...

[it seems safe enough, at least for the time being, but even he knows that it would be pointless to get up and keep walking if the rain stops shortly before sunset, leaving them out in the open with fewer shelter options. Oh well. Now they have all afternoon to sit and talk.]

It's unfortunate, but at least we're already over the border.

[He'll turn back at Law.]

Did you always want to be a doctor?

[What else is there to talk about in a cave?]

Yeah.

[his tone drops to that sort of wistful tone he's used before, talking about such things. Law draws his legs up and wraps his arms around his knees]

Both of my parents were doctors. I wanted to follow in their footsteps, and they helped me study. I was a bright student, they said.

I haven't run into a lot of surgeons, but you seem skilled... I trust you as a doctor and an ally.

My mom um... She never thought I could be a hero, since I didn't get my quirk when I was young.

It isn't something you tend to notice unless you need surgery. [which brings something to mind, as trust is mentioned] Should you need any treatment for anything, illness or injury, let me know immediately.

Is it the kind of training you must start young? Age isn't always a factor in how someone turns out, in my experiences.

Of course I will.

[It will be very, very obvious if he overuses his quirk.]

It was more like... Since I didn't have a quirk, I didn't really have anything to use to protect myself or fight if I enrolled for the hero departments in high school. And getting a quirk that late is almost unheard of. There aren't any quirkless heroes so... she was understandably worried.

Ah, I see. Whereas, there are plenty of pirates without powers, many of whom are stronger than those with. [still, it sounds a little weird.] What, nobody with martial arts skills or marksmanship is a hero, just for being skilled?

Usually they have a quirk that enhances those skills. Ojiro has a tail that can function like a third arm, kind of? But he specializes in martial arts. And the hero Snipe has the quirk Homing, which allows him to adjust the trajectory of his bullets.

Mm. Useful, I suppose. [given what Deku told him before about the commonality of quirks in the genetic population, maybe there just isn't call for someone with natural strength and skill to make it in that business] What would you have done, had you not discovered a quirk?

I don't know... I was always so focused on becoming a hero, I never thought about anything else. I thought... maybe I'd be the first quirkless hero.

[He leans back on his arms, and looks at the cave ceiling for a moment.]

Maybe I'd go into medicine? Heroes get hurt all the time, and somebody has to be there to put them back together. [He brings his right hand in front of him, proof of just how hurt he gets.]

It would definitely have something to do with heroes.

Medicine...

[WELL THEN]

Do you still want to learn? You won't be a surgeon by age twenty like me, but...

Really? You'd be willing?

I'd love to!

[Because having more information can only help. Especially since most of the people he fights do tend to be humanoid, and because he gets injured way more than any teenager should be used to.]

Why not? Having that kind of knowledge can't hurt.

Perhaps first-aid and triage, to start. It's the most practical in any situation. I don't know if any texts can be found in the city, but if so, anatomy would be next.

[just remember you asked for this, Deku, if he ever takes his own beating heart out of his chest and lets you examine it for anatomy practice]

[He sure did, though he'll probably be too fascinated to scream. He's so used to so many weird quirks that he'll study it either way.]

Right. I know a little bit about first-aid, but more information is always good.

I noticed. You were quick to figure out what I needed, when I was injured and couldn't heal myself. But in a place like this, you may deal with much more than just lacerations and broken bones.

[they've got a long, rainy afternoon, he might as well start with a quick lesson, asking questions to get a feel for exactly how much Deku already knows and then lecturing on ways to treat injuries when bandages and antiseptic are nowhere to be found]

[He has a pretty good feel for first-aid, just due to the fact he's had to get so many of his injuries fixed in one way or another. But there's also a good amount of things he doesn't know yet.

At times like these, he really wishes he has something to write on.

But since they don't have anything like that, he'll repeat back the things he doesn't know yet, asking questions when he's not quite clear on the information, and trying his best to remember all the things that Law's teaching him.]

That's a lot to remember... It's probably going to take a few days to set in.

That's why I'm starting you off easy. Studying this much information is difficult without books. We'll work on it, little by little.

[and that's one more thing to add to the shopping list for when they reach the capital and get money: books. Law is the last person who would deny him that.]

It's one thing to be confident in your knowledge when someone asks, but the true test comes when you've got someone bleeding out right in front of you and you're the only one who can save them.

[He nods, Law is right about that of course. He'd rather not be in that situation, but if worse came to worse, he has to be ready.]

That's why I have to study until it's second nature. I have to know this as well as I know all the pro heroes' quirks.

[Law nods crisply; he couldn't ask for a better student. Committed and focused with a good memory.]

That's enough for one day. Since it looks like the rain isn't letting up at all, we might as well get some exercise looking for...anything, really.

[anything dry and flammable, anything edible, anything to mitigate the cold, hard rock on which they'll have to sleep tonight.]

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