[se] cauldron of ghosts

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Here they were indeed – though Deimos had the excuse of angst and nosiness. He wasn’t sure about Danta’s. Though, it seemed his years away hadn’t affected much of anything with the townspeople, and despite never having the ability, he suddenly wished he could sink very low into the ground and disappear. Maybe with his earth magic. The question made his eyes narrow, glancing away from the crowd and market stalls. “Used to live here,” which didn’t encompass the wide and vast array of actions, from small rebellions and establishing safety nets. Or trying to save things and watching them fall apart anyway.

The next statement broke him out of threatening melancholy though – blinking rapidly, then tilting his head, as if he hadn’t heard the Ancient correctly. “Why?” The vampire gourd rolling nearby didn’t escape his notice or gaze, saved only due to its proximity. Besides, he was still striving to figure out the method of madness here – but maybe not everyone saw the Hollowed sanction the way they all had before, full of sorrows, regrets, and devastation.

Danta’s laugh almost made him want to plug his ears from the insinuations behind it, settling for an inward grimace instead, shifting from the pat and focusing his attention on another set of gourds in the distance.

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same