There is nothing that competes with habit, and I know it's neither deep nor tragic.

[nothingsodivine]

There's a saying where Des comes from, "If the world's falling to hell around you and, suddenly, everything goes quiet and not because someone went out and trounced the Big Bad, then things are about to get worse."

It's been really, really quiet here lately. This is making him more than a little twitchy and while he's learned his lesson about

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[duology]

Ace is bored, bored practically out of her mind. The city has been dead silent. No CLF, no street scuffles, no interesting news, no deaths. She knows it's the calm before the storm, because that's what it always is, but the calm is also always the most boring part of any war. Or whatever the hell this is.

She wants shit to go down. She's never exactly been a fan of chaos, not in the way that Dev is, but if chaos is inevitable you might as well at least be part of it. Or get yourself a front row seat. Never mind that it will give her and Dev an excuse to kill people.

But in any case, it's quiet for now, and Ace is attempting to alleviate the boredom by carousing the streets, going from park to park as that's always the best way to find yourself some monsters. She's heading for one of the smaller ones she frequents when she spots a familiar face, albeit sans golf club this time.

She's heading toward him, so once she's close enough she raises a gloved hand in greeting, smirking a little. "If it isn't the Huntsman. Not got your axe

[nothingsodivine]

Des turns to look at her. Well, hello familiar face! "You know, in my world, I know there's this guy who'd be really pissed off to hear you callin' me that. One in every generation- Huntsmen, that is. Go around, slaying monsters, freakin' the Fae out. Say they're blessed by dragons too." He chuckles and cracks his knuckles over his head. "'Course you can actually say all that about me too, so they can suck it."

And that was the world's most convoluted hello in the history of ever.

He smiles. "The little lady told me that I couldn't go huntin' with a golf club anymore. Guns are better anyway. Not that I'm huntin' today, actually."

Not really, anyway. If trouble comes... Well, trouble comes.

[duology]

And that makes Ace smile, a rare, genuine one. She actually comes dangerously close to laughing, but that would cause the Apocalypse, so it's probably good that she doesn't.

"Dragons, huh? And here I thought I'd heard everything. No elves and hobbits, I hope."

She tilts her head and shrugs, then reaches into a pocket and pulls out a DumDum lollipop. Mystery Flavor, score! She unwraps it and pops it in her mouth.

"Too bad. Here I was hoping for a hunting partner. Little lady is right, though."

[nothingsodivine]

"Dragon now," Des corrects with a slight twist at the edge of his grin that threatens to turn the expression into a grimace. He shakes it off. "And no, just Fair Folk, which are worse than elves. At least elves don't run around cursin' the fuck out of people."

He glances around, notes that there aren't people in the area, and steps a bit closer. "And the game you're huntin' isn't the big, face-eatey kind, is it, I wager?"

[duology]

She watches him carefully for a moment. Dragon, singular, and he seemed a bit upset about the idea.

"Sorry, I guess," she says with a shrug. She doesn't particularly care about what's upsetting him, but it's always important to feign sympathy. "On the upside, no furry-footed midgets."

Ace smirks at the glancing around. This CLF business is making everyone paranoid, like they're caught up in a spy movie. "That all depends what I come across, really."

[nothingsodivine]

Des shrugs. "Past is in the past." And he has a great deal of past and the less he thinks of Caroline and the dragons, the less he wants to take a sledgehammer to the nearest wall in a fit of rage. He does chuckle a bit at the 'furry-footed midgets' though, so that gets him back in a proper mood. "None that I've seen. Here, however... Well, I'd keep my eyes peeled. This place has got a inkling for the strange."

Stone angels that send you back in time, anyone?

"You lookin' for trouble or just lookin'?" He winks. If she were any other girl, he'd be worried, but she looks like the sort of woman he'd actually be afraid of being chivalrous towards. Like Israfel, without the holy Angel of the Hypothetical Lord shit.

[duology]

"That it is," Ace says with a nod. She and Dev have always the type to not necessarily embrace horror and hardship, but to accept it. Own it; own your past and don't bother running from it. There's no point since it catches up eventually. Even so, sometimes it's easier to just not think about their parents or about Absinthe. Every once in awhile the memory of Absinthe drives Ace out onto the streets, looking, looking, until they meet a mugger or potential rapist, and can force a legitimate reason to kill.

Ace shifts the DumDum to the other side of her mouth and stretches an arm above her head, cracking her neck. "'S the funny thing, usually I don't have to go looking. Usually finds me just fine without any prompting on my part."

[nothingsodivine]

"Hasn't yet, huh? I think they're pickin' off the weak ones first." The words come out as a low growl. Normally, he can find trouble with one hand tied behind his back, but no one's so much as touched him. Either he hasn't tipped off their radar or they're only hunting down the ones they don't think can defend themselves.

"Fuckin' cowards. If they're huntin' wanderers, they ought to go whole hog." Des doesn't hurt people without a reason, but he's never claimed he was a good person. It's hard to see half the time, but lurking under that charming, snarky, almost imbelic veneer is a man who would have shot right through a child to kill a vicious demon. These people are hurting and killing innocents for no reason and he will not fucking stand for it.

It takes him a moment to realize that he's clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles are turning white and he relaxes a little, although he's still a ball of violent tension.

[duology]

Ace shrugs. "Just how it works. Go for the easy targets until you have enough power to go for the bigger ones. Tells us at least that they don't have much power for now--and also that they might get it, sometime soon. If they sway the city, nothing can stop 'em."

And wouldn't that be a thing to see. Chicago in flames and warfare in the streets. It would be like the the Burning of 2001. Things had been different, then. Dev and Ace hadn't had much stock in the rioting then--it was all political and cultural tangles of things that had simply blown up one day and set New Babylon ablaze for a week straight.

This time it's a little more personal. Who knows. If this becomes like the Burning, Ace might get out there in the streets herself, instead of making popcorn and watching from her window.

[nothingsodivine]

Des snorts grimly, not quite looking at her. "You're a ball of optimism, aren't'cha?"

Of course, it's true and he knows it. It won't be long until it's more than just a bunch of punks with nailbats. There's that Flagg guy, of course, who looks like he might make things a bit better, but Des doesn't trust other people to fight his battles and he has a different approach to things than most. It's why he didn't throw his lot in with Hunt... Well, that and Des doesn't take orders from anyone. It's not in his nature.

"The problem is that they're humans and humans are stupid creatures with a hive mentality. And I don't get my rocks off by runnin' around and burnin' them right back, but sittin' around and waitin' for them to attack ain't workin' either. I got a dilemma."

And somehow he's so caught up in that, he doesn't even realize that he's just referred to humanity like he's not a part of it. He hasn't done that in awhile.

[duology]

"Mm. Always."

She sucks loudly on the lollipop, pulling it out of her mouth and inspecting it. Just what the hell is "Mystery Flavor," anyway?

Ace tilts her head, popping the lollipop back in her mouth. "Funny how you talk about 'em like you're not one of 'em. Not like I'd be surprised if you weren't. Anyway. That's where you and I differ, I guess. I got no dilemma."

She leaves it at that, letting him fill in the blanks with whatever he wants.

[nothingsodivine]

Des grunts a bit. "No, I'm human." Plain vanilla human with sprinkles. "Just kinda spent a long time on the outside of humanity, lookin' in." He winces a little and runs a hand through his hair. "It's complicated."

Four thousand years and a lot of friends who aren't human tends to make you feel like an outsider amongst your own people. Des never really had a problem with it- this closed-minded attitude that the CLF are perpetuating is exactly why he never really got along with the mundanes back in his world.

He eyes her cautiously, as if seeing her in a new light. He won't judge though. All he says is, "There's always a line."

[duology]

A smile ghosts across her face. "I get that." And how. There's only a few thousand Duos left in the entire world now, and no matter where they are, they are hated and feared, looked upon with revulsion. It's hard to think of yourself as part of a species when that entire species rejects you.

She tilts her head, watching how he watches her. "I know," she says quietly. "I see it."

Rule number four: know where the line is. Dev and Ace are evil--they'd be the first to admit it--but there are things even they wouldn't do. The trouble is that the line is always shifting, changing its position. All they have to go by is their own faulty moral compass, and Absinthe's just slightly biased teachings.

[nothingsodivine]

Des reaches behind him for his gun, more just to feel it there under his fingertips than anything else. There's always a line, but what does that matter when you're the one who draws it? Did he cross that line when he killed Lucy Saxon? Caroline Brighton?

No. They deserved to die.

And what about these CLF assholes? Are they just misguided or do they really deserve a bullet in their brain? He doesn't know and that's the trouble. He just knows that all he can do is defend himself and people he thinks deserve to be protected.

He drops his hand back to the side. "So what exactly are you plannin' on doin' if you find these people?" It's a stupid question that he knows the answer to. Same thing he'll probably do, depending on in what state he finds them in.

[duology]

Ace inclines her head at the movement. It looks for all the world like he's reaching for a gun, which would be stupid and really random, and so far he hasn't struck her as the type to randomly shoot someone in broad daylight. You know, without reason, at least. Still, she takes note of the movement, and of the comforting weight of her own gun. She's ready to go for it if she needs to, though the only evidence of this is the incline of her head and the sudden calm on her features.

A moment goes by and no gun. Ace stays ready, just in case.

"Oh, not gonna kill 'em if that's what you're worrying about." Not at first anyway... "I want info. Never make a move without good info."

Rule number five.

[nothingsodivine]

"Good philosophy," Des grins a little. "Kinda the same way, myself." Of course, Des also tends to beat the hell out of people to get info, but that's just how his tactics work.

He looks around, sighs to himself, and rocks back on his heels. "You workin' solo or do you want a partner? Figure if trouble comes in twos, we might have better luck runnin' together as opposed to on our own."

Possibly Des just needs someone to have his back and pull him back if he gets ornery. Then again, he doubts Ace is really that sort of person. He'll take the risk.