But When We Start Making Fires (open)

[demonrebel]

Who ⬤ Dante & You, of course!
What ⬤ General Catch-all
When ⬤ April
Where ⬤ Throughout Jigoku-cho
Content Warnings ⬤ Swearing, mentions of violence, possible nudity for future prompts

[ I'll be adding more prompts throughout the week featuring the event stuff in question. If you would like to plot with me, feel free to drop me a DM or tag me in the plotting post. I'm always more than happy to make a starter or two. So don't be shy. Also, you're welcome to make your own starters as well. ]


PLOTTING 🌹 EVENT 🌹 NSFW 🌹 WILDCARD

Comments

the aftermath

[strikingchords]

Shell?

[when Dante looks up to see who spoke, he's being watched by a tall man in white a few feet away -- not a familiar sight, but still very recognizable to him. Lan Wangji's robes are still strangely pristine, though not spotless. there are scorch marks along the hem and one sleeve, blood from a not-too-serious wound on his arm that he's wrapped and seems to be mostly ignoring, and more blood that marks his chest and his other sleeve, as if someone bled on him while he was carrying them. there's a dirt smudge on one of his cheeks. still, he's somehow managed to remain distinctive enough that he nearly glows in the faint light.

he's still holding a piece of rubble that was blocking the intersection he just emerged from, and now he leans it against the wall where it won't get in the way and and straightens back up, still watching Dante in a measuring way.]

[demonrebel]

[The scorch marks along with the blood certainly begs the question whether nor not Captain Buzzkill is okay but Dante doesn't bother to ask. It's not that he doesn't care or anything, it's just because he's too focused on the task at hand. Besides, Dante is certain that this tall lanky bastard would see help if his wounds were that egregious.]

Bullet shells or casings. [He answers tersely while still trying to find something noteworthy among all of the confetti.] Those assassins weren't firing blanks, you know.

[Does this guy even know about firearms? Probably not given that Lan Wangji looks like he just walked out of a historical fantasy novel. Even so, he suspects that the Second Lan will ask the necessary questions if he's confused about anything.]

They were wielding something similar to a 9mm Luger judging from the size and firing speed but I could barely get a good look.

[strikingchords]

[if Lan Wangji heard Dante's internal monologue, he'd applaud it -- the professional assumption that he knows his own limits well enough to judge is one he'd agree with, and he'd try to extend the same courtesy to others where it felt appropriate. without any prior knowledge that he and Dante work in different corners of the same demon-slaying industry, he himself recognizes that Dante's preoccupation and focus mark him as someone who's investigating from a place of expertise. his commentary only confirms the suspicion, since Lan Wangji doesn't have the first idea what a Luger or even a shell is. he'll assume it's a ranged weapon from context, and go from there.

it's obvious that shells were something that Dante expected to find, which means that it's probably worth sharing something that did remain on the scene. something that proves that the weapons weren't purely using spiritual energy, which would have been Lan Wangji's first guess.]

The bolts fired were physical. Marks left behind.

[demonrebel]

Yeah, and those marks were the size of a bullet.

[Dante mentions as he rises up to his feet. He didn't get a good look at Daitengu's corpse, he has noticed a few bullet wounds on those who attempted to fight off the assailants. That's why he's here looking for bullet casings but so far no luck.]

Whoever these guys were, they've been planning this for a while. [He mutters while scoping out the area for more clues.] That means this conflict been brewing longer than we've been here.

[By "we", he means the "Lost Souls".]

I'm not sure what will happen next but this sure feels like a setup to me.

[strikingchords]

Not those marks alone.

[Lan Wangji considers his options, then moves to stand next to Dante. he doesn't comment immediately on Dante's accusation that this was a setup -- he doesn't feel he himself has enough information to say more about it. but lack of commentary is its own statement, in a man so used to communicating via silence, because he certainly isn't discounting the suspicion. this was clearly planned, and the real questions are about the sources of the plan, and how far down beneath the streets of the city they go.

he doesn't have any particular reason to trust Dante, but the dichotomy between the capering, drunken clown he met in the leadup to the festival and Dante's current bitter professionalism tells its own story. he trusts his own snap judgments in situations like this.]

One moment.

Let me see your phone.

[the way he says "phone" just barely escapes having air quotes around it. he speaks like it's an unfamiliar word in his mouth, but he's pressing ahead anyway. they're all going to need to get a crash course in a lot of different things if they're going to make this new city work for them.

in the meantime, he's expectantly holding out his hand.]

[demonrebel]

[The cold stoicism that Lan Wangji is witnessing is just years of experience personified. This is not Dante's first rodeo, after all. He seen this kind of crap before back when he was a mercenary for hire. While he did his best not to get entangled with the criminal underground, he has seen plenty of guys get wacked throughout his long illustrious career.]

What do you mean by "not just those marks"?

[He can't help but arch his brow again as he glances at Lan Wangji again. He doesn't know much about this wannabe warrior monk but he suspects Lan Wangji is sharp like an blade. Whatever clues Dante missed here at the crime scene, he's certain the Second Lan will notice. That's why he looks rather eager to hear his point of view.]

My phone? [He hesitates for a moment before slipping the little black phone out from his coat pocket.] No snooping around in my messages, capisce?

[With just a few swipes here and there on the lock screen, he offers his phone without much ado.]

[strikingchords]

[as serious as the current situation is, and as steady and stoic as both their death-inured professional personas may be, Lan Wangji's brow still knits for a moment as Dante passes his phone over. even if he was good enough with phones to make such spying viable at his current skill level, he's a hunter and an investigator, not a snoop. how dare, etc. etc.

very drily:]

No interest in your messages.

[he does capture Dante's contact information efficiently enough, though -- he's looking towards the future. he's giving Dante one tip now, and while he's not the type to think of such exchanges in quite a tit-for-tat, information-broker sort of way, he does very much hope that Dante will follow up with him if he hears anything else about the leads he's given.

a moment later, he confirms that the picture he just texted to Dante went through, and hands the phone back without further sexting-related commentary.]

...

Transcribed the reverse, as well. Was left from the impact.

[demonrebel]

[Still a bit leery bout giving this fella his phone, Dante changes his tune completely once he sees the picture there. He pauses for a moment, clearly studying the symbol on there before peeking over at Lan Wangji with an expectant glance. While he's already mentally putting two and two together, he just wants some clarification.]

Where did this symbol come from? [Dante questions before glancing down at the picture again.] The bullet itself?

[A thoughtful hum escapes Dante but he doesn't voice his thoughts just yet beyond that hum. Something is fishy here and it's not the sushi. He was hoping to find a few bullet casings around in hopes of using the serial numbers to track down the guns but this is different. If the bullets fired by the assailants' left this kind of impression upon whoever they hit, then is it safe to assume the bullets used weren't from your standard clip? That certainly seems to be the case since that odd symbol looks like some fancy Chinese, no sorry, Japanese-like character.]

Do you think these bullets carried some sort of magical property by any chance?

[He asks after a brief moment of silence.]

I ascertain that some youkai are harder to kill than others.