soulreleaser | --- IC INBOX

[ he's noticed a trend in the sacred texts.

the older volumes--the ones that Rimuru had enjoyed in his boyhood--had a tendency to have its battles be sprawling, protracted things where the hero and the villain spend time battling through second winds and new techniques as if the fate of the world should be a spectacle.

newer volumes--the ones Veldora himself finds in this modern world--tend to make battles quick, gritty things; the violence is on a new scale and the consequences lean towards real and lasting. Veldora's battle tonight had felt like it'd lasted for hours, and yet it'd been one--and in that one hour, things had been so terribly violent and bloody and bruising. the party had been successful, but they'd dragged themselves from Ashiya Douman's tomb with an exhaustion settling in their bones, bearing the marks of the depth of their work.

Veldora's arm is wrapped and probably needs a sling--Yasuho's healing had kickstarted the mending in a splendid way, and Veldora's own healing factor was buzzing away, but he was still tired down to his bones, burns fading and cape in need of mending.

yet when he sees Rose, he still musters a smile--soft and kind, warmth in his eyes. ]

The heroes return triumphant, my Lady.

The Bellman rests in whatever hell will have him.

[Though Rose grew up reading stories, the ones she did very rarely had grand battles. They were stories of love and adventure, occasionally some fighting, but nothing like you’d see in what she needs now.]

[Not that she needs to read now to understand it. The last few years of her life have been marked by fighting.]

[Which is why it hurts when she sees people she cares about caught up in it. She’s grateful Veldora went to fight Douman. Rose wouldn’t admit it, not with how absolutely hinged both Takame and Veldora were when she went missing, but Douman is still haunting her nightmares. Every time she closes her eyes, she can hear those stupid bells.]

[She’s not actually sure this will stop the nightmares, but it should help. She just wishes that the price wasn’t a broken arm for Veldora.]

You did well. Thank you.

[That’s the right response, right? She’s not sure what to say when someone comes to report the results of a battle.]

[She does, however, ruffle his hair, and give him a smile.]

Truly, thank you.

[ oh, he bends down so eagerly to get his headpats, eyes closing as he basks in the praise and the little show of affection--as if this was just icing on the cake for everything else he'd undergone.

he straightens up to look so proud of himself for a moment, and if he could, little sparkles of pleasure would've been plinging around him to show how happy he was at having done the thing good--and then his expression shifts as he Remembers, digging in his secret Veldora holding space with his good hand to fish out Rose's phone.

he presents it to her proudly, like a dog bringing you exactly one of your slippers. ]

And look! Loot drop!

[That gets a genuine chuckle out of Rose. If Veldora’s making jokes like this, it must mean he isn’t hurt too bad. And it’s a nice bit of levity after everything the last month has been. She’ll give Veldora as many headpats as he requests, thank you.]

You found it!

[And without thinking, she powers it on——

And it dings.

And it dings again.

And it dings yet again.

And it keeps dinging. Long enough that it’s becoming awkward. When there’s finally silence, she lets out a relieved sigh.]

[Only for it to ding one last time.]

Oh!

[She shouldn’t need to look at the messages to figure out what’s going on, but she does anyway, and she feels bad suddenly. Did Fritter ever get his peanut butter cups?]

I really worried you all, didn’t I?

[ somewhere, Nicholas D. Wolfwood would argue that Fritter has a fatty fat fat ass and doesn't need anymore peanut butter cups, but yeah he's probably had at least a couple.

Veldora relishes in the praise and then the phone keeps beeping.

He frowns a little at the way Rose's mien changes, trying to perk himself up by the time she looks at him again. ]

Well, yes. You're very important to us.

And while I'm sure everyone wishes you'd made a different choice--no one's angry at you for what happened. And we're all so happy you're safe.

[It’s an incredibly earnest response, and it does bring a smile back to her face. Mentally, she makes a note to check in on those who tried to contact her. Most of them had ended up coming after anyway, but still!]

[It’s nice to be cared for.]

I’m glad I’m safe, too. Honestly, I can’t believe I fell for that stupid clown’s trap.

[It’s not one of her proudest moments, which is impressive, considering some of the shit she’s seen on Eorzea.]

You at least got a good hit on him for me, right?

[ good, he perks up when she perks up. together, they can be perky! ]

You believe in the best of people, and frankly, no one truly knew of who they were due to their tricks and enchantments. A vile person choosing to deceive you isn't a character failure on your part. Someone betraying your trust doesn't make you stupid, it makes the cruel.

[ and he'll stand by that, chin up.

he's gonna grin when she asks about his hit, though--he's proud of this one! ]

Indeed I did! I tore the flesh from his leg and broke this [ holding up his arm ] making the big bone in his other leg break sideways! And then--you should've seen her, Lady Lapis was there in some sort of cosmic glory absolutely raining hellfire down on him while her retainer, Sir Dad lashed and leashed the beast once he broke his chains--

[ time for Veldora to tell the story with his hand as best as he can--the great dragon and his wind spirit leading the charge, the nightmare goo man that Veldora only got a side glimpse of and then firmly stopped looking, the bouncy little pink-haired girl and her healing powers, the spectre of Death itself looming manifest over the field, sir Sunglasses Man's snow-haired husband and his great cannon--he's going through all of the best ofs he can remember, man.

and then it's back to Lapis! ]

And then the lady stepped out of her powerful form to simply put a scythe to his neck and shk--like a blade through paper, jingling all the way to the ground, disposed of by a mortal hand.

[Rose isn’t sure what to do when Veldora compliments her. She’d heard what he said in her dungeon, of course, but she didn’t have to respond then. So Rose swallows her pride and does the thing she never thought she’d do.]

Thank you.

[And she listens to Veldora’s story. Somehow, she’s able to follow everything. Perhaps all the manga has made him a great storyteller? Either way, she’ll sleep better knowing that Douman is no more.]

I’m proud of you.

[And then, after a beat:]

You didn’t get hurt, did you?

--- IC INBOX - KAISOU

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