[ That does get a brief look over his shoulder. Felt like more and more children these days were built of tougher, more intense stuff—but even Syaoran's moxie was different from this.
If anything, this was more familiar. Kurogane doesn't have that same, lock-jawed fervor to him (not these days) but he looks Eren down for a moment longer than before. As he surveys the cliff, feet skimming the edge to seek out a any sort of outcrop they can reach, he speaks back up. ]
Dragons where I'm from are good luck. Couple legends had 'em as evil, but they're usually just and strong.
[ So much so that his father's name was Ryuu-ou—dragon lord. And names were sacred enough that he's not about to drop his dad's on any old guy, but it could be just enough to soothe out any agitation in his voice. ]
Maybe they're like your world, or maybe they're like mine.
[ Maybe they've seen everything they need to, and traipsing into a new world meant they didn't have the full story. Not his business whether or not Eren considers that, but. Food for thought. ]
[He thinks about arguing. Even opens his mouth to do it. To ask if a creature like that really has the capacity for justice—he'd only seen the one corpse, after all—to ask about the long history of attacks the people here were defending themselves from. (Attacks? Or counterattacks? It's not like they've got the full story.)
Eren's nothing if not painfully aware of how narrow the scope of his experiences are. He'd felt it back home, where he was penned in within walls, kept ignorant of the world they lived in out of necessity for survival. Here, worlds away from everything he'd known, surrounded by people from a hundred other dimensions, he's realizing that the world is exponentially wider than he'd ever imagined.
He's not exactly convinced. But they've got time to try and figure this out, and he'll turn it over in his head while they do. Food for thought.
Something else catches at his immediate attention, anyway. As he holds the torch out over the abyss to search for handholds, there's a shuffle of sound and a spark of light at the bottom of the cavern. Too bright to be a reflection from his torch.]
[ All sentimentality and morals aside, they do have a job to do. And whether or not Eren is up to the task or wants to stomp on some wyrmlings' skulls is something he'll deal with when they get there.
(Not as though he wanted to argue, anyway. People will do as they do and believe as their lives have shaped them to—what's it matter to him if some kid takes the most destructive course possible? If he's ready to draw his blades against all their enemies?
...Nothing. Focus.)
Immediately, his eyes snap down towards the tiny, distant plumes of flame, small but too bright to miss amidst the darkness. Kurogane looks like he's ready to jump, legs bent at the knees, but he pauses. Right. Stick together. ]
[It's a little too far down and a little too dark for him to trust the jump or to try and climb down there with the torch in hand. (He's not quite as suicidal as people think—just because he'd heal the broken ankle faster than he should doesn't mean he's in the hurry to get one in the first place.) Instead, he reaches up with his free hand to pick up something from a holster, hands the torch over to Kurogane, if he'll take it.]
I got it.
[Once his hands are free, he steps backward over the side. Before he can drop, a pair of grappling hooks fires off from the mechanism at his hips to embed in the stone, and stops him. Feet braced against the stone wall so he can rappel down the side. He holds an expectant hand out to take the torch back.]
[ The odd spelunking gear has him inching up a brow. Not everyone could scale skyscrapers in a single bound or whatever, but he's never seen something to compensate quite like this. Not really the time or place to ask about it, but. Point is: people come up with the weirdest shit. ]
Yeah.
[ He doesn't make to move yet. Instead, he holds the torch out without handing it off, squatting by the cliffside and speaking low. Voices carry just like light does. ]
Whatever's down there is gonna see you if you hold onto this.
[ It leaves them with a couple options, all of which are a bit dangerous. Whether flying blind or catching unwanted attention is worse, he's not sure—until they really get their hands dirty, Eren knows his own capabilities better than he does. ]
[Don't ask him to defend the honor of the Survey Corps and their dumbshit equipment, Kurogane, because he will.
Anyway. If it hasn't been made readily apparent by now—Eren doesn't really do stealth. He can try, but as far as first approaches go, it's not exactly his go-to. He cants his head back at Kurogane, then down into the blackness at the bottom of the cavern.]
We can't see anything without it.
[But he gets what Kurogane's getting at—the light would make a real good target if whatever they find down there decides to attack them, first. Without the torch, their only source of light would be the sporadic sparks being cast out by whatever is down there.
So which is worse? Putting a target on your back? Or groping around in the dark and hoping things don't go south?]
You think it's any better to go in blind? At least we'd know what we're even dealing with.
[Even if it decides to attack them, after the fact. At least they'd know it was coming. He's not afraid of getting his hands dirty. Even if his primary weapon is stripped of most of its usefulness, down here. Even if his ace in the hole would just get them killed, this far underground. ]
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no subject
If anything, this was more familiar. Kurogane doesn't have that same, lock-jawed fervor to him (not these days) but he looks Eren down for a moment longer than before. As he surveys the cliff, feet skimming the edge to seek out a any sort of outcrop they can reach, he speaks back up. ]
Dragons where I'm from are good luck. Couple legends had 'em as evil, but they're usually just and strong.
[ So much so that his father's name was Ryuu-ou—dragon lord. And names were sacred enough that he's not about to drop his dad's on any old guy, but it could be just enough to soothe out any agitation in his voice. ]
Maybe they're like your world, or maybe they're like mine.
[ Maybe they've seen everything they need to, and traipsing into a new world meant they didn't have the full story. Not his business whether or not Eren considers that, but. Food for thought. ]
no subject
Eren's nothing if not painfully aware of how narrow the scope of his experiences are. He'd felt it back home, where he was penned in within walls, kept ignorant of the world they lived in out of necessity for survival. Here, worlds away from everything he'd known, surrounded by people from a hundred other dimensions, he's realizing that the world is exponentially wider than he'd ever imagined.
He's not exactly convinced. But they've got time to try and figure this out, and he'll turn it over in his head while they do. Food for thought.
Something else catches at his immediate attention, anyway. As he holds the torch out over the abyss to search for handholds, there's a shuffle of sound and a spark of light at the bottom of the cavern. Too bright to be a reflection from his torch.]
You see that?
no subject
(Not as though he wanted to argue, anyway. People will do as they do and believe as their lives have shaped them to—what's it matter to him if some kid takes the most destructive course possible? If he's ready to draw his blades against all their enemies?
...Nothing. Focus.)
Immediately, his eyes snap down towards the tiny, distant plumes of flame, small but too bright to miss amidst the darkness. Kurogane looks like he's ready to jump, legs bent at the knees, but he pauses. Right. Stick together. ]
Can you make it down on your own?
no subject
I got it.
[Once his hands are free, he steps backward over the side. Before he can drop, a pair of grappling hooks fires off from the mechanism at his hips to embed in the stone, and stops him. Feet braced against the stone wall so he can rappel down the side. He holds an expectant hand out to take the torch back.]
Can you?
i'm tired and dying don't judge me
Yeah.
[ He doesn't make to move yet. Instead, he holds the torch out without handing it off, squatting by the cliffside and speaking low. Voices carry just like light does. ]
Whatever's down there is gonna see you if you hold onto this.
[ It leaves them with a couple options, all of which are a bit dangerous. Whether flying blind or catching unwanted attention is worse, he's not sure—until they really get their hands dirty, Eren knows his own capabilities better than he does. ]
you better be sleeping rn
Anyway. If it hasn't been made readily apparent by now—Eren doesn't really do stealth. He can try, but as far as first approaches go, it's not exactly his go-to. He cants his head back at Kurogane, then down into the blackness at the bottom of the cavern.]
We can't see anything without it.
[But he gets what Kurogane's getting at—the light would make a real good target if whatever they find down there decides to attack them, first. Without the torch, their only source of light would be the sporadic sparks being cast out by whatever is down there.
So which is worse? Putting a target on your back? Or groping around in the dark and hoping things don't go south?]
You think it's any better to go in blind? At least we'd know what we're even dealing with.
[Even if it decides to attack them, after the fact. At least they'd know it was coming. He's not afraid of getting his hands dirty. Even if his primary weapon is stripped of most of its usefulness, down here. Even if his ace in the hole would just get them killed, this far underground. ]