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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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.]

[When Izuku decides he wants to learn something, he's dedicated about it. Even so, he won't be a surgeon by twenty.

He'll do the best he can to learn everything Law can teach him though.]

So we're going into the cave?

[He'll start getting up, stretching out his legs and arms.]

Let's take a look deeper inside it. If we're going to sleep here, we need to be sure it's safe.

[before he gets up, though, he checks the bag again, fishes out the flint, and then hunts around the mouth of the cave for any sticks that might still be dry enough. His shirt has gotten tattered from their hard journey, so he can easily rip a strip off to bind around the end of a stick and make a real torch to carry. It's all they have for light.]

That should do. Stay alert.

Right.

[He can't use haki, but he can keep himself alert, listening for any other sounds that might be in the cave.

For now though, he'll stay at Law's side as they move forward.]

[while Law is relying on haki to alert him to any living things ahead, he's sure he can trust Deku to be ready to move if need be. Still, he keeps his younger charge close, not letting him fall behind.

He almost wants there to be something just to have a chance to hunt, but at the same time, he'd rather not deal with that kind of mess. As long as it's not the den for a pack of wolves or something. A few feet back from where they were sitting the ground changes from rock to dirt, that's...a small comfort. Maybe something once used it for a den but not at present? Hmm. The torchlight can't penetrate far into the darkness, it's too small, but at least they can keep from stumbling on anything.

But wait, what's this? Broken weapons...rusted-out armor...]

Strange. Maybe soldiers deserting the battlefield stayed here.

[or maybe something much, much worse]

I hope that's all it is.

[He will very gingerly pick up one of the broken spears, and look over the armor.

Over the border just means less of a chance of monsters- there's still the possibility of monsters around.]

It looks like the same kind of armor that the Wulgrimm soldiers are currently wearing. Not sure how long the soldiers have been wearing the armor, but there's a good chance this is more recent. I don't know how long this kind of armor would take to rust...

[don't worry, Deku, he's listening to your speculation as he picks carefully through the debris, looking for evidence. Law crouches down and uses his free hand to pick up a helm with a huge chunk taken out of the side - which could just as easily be from a monster's jaws as a heavy blow from a lance or a shot from a cannon]

If it was enemy soldiers, seeking shelter...either they were too injured to live and died here, or they were captured. I don't see any bones...

[Yet]

[He starts to look a little worried as he starts looking at another pile of armor and weapons.]

If they died here, shouldn't there be bones...? If they were captured... then the broken weapons make sense. But why would they be ordered to take their armor off here?

[He looks over the broken armor- in the low light it's hard to tell if there are teeth marks.]

[the torchlight isn't enough for them to be a couple of forensic geniuses, nope. Even knowing what he does of habits among the Wulgrimm infantry, Law can only make wild guesses.]

This kind of damage means they had to have been injured. It's possible they tried to treat themselves. Yet... [he looks back the way they came, by now they've turned enough corners that no light from outside can reach them] ...we're pretty deep into the cave. It's impossible to tell whether they left it or not.

[and by not, he means they died here somehow. Not on the spot, that's clear from the lack of bones. Law raises the torch a bit in the hopes it would cast enough light to reveal a hidden clue. He still doesn't sense anything living, but the cave seems to just go on and on - something could still be down in there, out of range.]

We... still need to figure out how safe this place is.

[He stands back up, taking another look around the broken weapons and scraped up armor. It's impossible for him to tell much from just this pile...]

Alright, let's keep going.

[he looks up, and then gets up as well, raising their light high]

You're right.

[he got distracted, good thing Deku is there to step up. Law falls in with him as they keep exploring, noticing that the cave floor is slanting slightly downward as they go. It's also far more damp, a clear sign that they're heading genuinely underground rather than into the side of the hill. The farther they go, the less he expects something like snakes or wolves. Anything down here is probably much more gross and not at all a pushover.]

[He notes it too, and as usual mumbles his thoughts to himself.]

A worm...? Some kind of underground monster...? Is this how the soldiers died?

[he doesn't mind Deku thinking aloud, it gives him something to bounce off of.]

Don't get too ahead of yourself, we don't know that a creature...

[and then he feels it, against his senses. Just enough of a ping to make him suck in a quick breath.]

I need to learn to stop saying these things.

[but what he can't tell from here is what it is. How large or small it is. If it's strong. If it's awake. If it knows they're there.]

[He sucks in a breath as Law does.]

So it's here?

Any other information?

No. [said so quietly, practically a whisper on a breath] We would have to get even closer. At least, I only sense one living thing.

[Law turns to him and gives him a serious look down]

So, Deku. Do we risk it? At this point I can no longer make my Room big enough to get us back to the mouth of the cave, if we get attacked. We don't know if it will attack, or not, but knowing now that something does live down here, it means we also risk it finding us in the middle of the night while we're asleep.

[he knows his own opinion, but getting out of this together means he wants Deku's, also]

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