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[thantagonist]

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audio; un: romano

[badlydisarmed]

Tell me that your guns are haunted yourself, you coward.

Audio; un: Dankovsky

[thantagonist]

Fine. Very well, they’re horribly haunted. Absolutely packed with ghosts and such. I need them exorcised at once.

[badlydisarmed]

That's okay, I have an anti-haunting talisman.

[thantagonist]

No you don’t. No you don’t! Damn it, give me back my guns. I feel stupid with no form of protection.

[badlydisarmed]

I told the teenager you roped into this that there's superheroes around. If you end up facing a supervillain a gun won't protect you.

I can give you a tazer.

[thantagonist]

[Daniil doesn’t even bother asking what a taser is. He goes to Wikipedia. Oh, this is a bit better than a gun in some ways.] I would accept a taser. Not ideal for threatening multiple people at a time, but still.

Do you know who Sephiroth is? He’s the one I wanted to question, yet I am uncertain if that’s particularly safe.

[badlydisarmed]

I have no idea of who that is, but the name alone is a red flag. Polysyllabic names that end in ord, ort, oth, oath, are usually villain names.

I know this from science.

[ He does not know this from science. ]

I'm going to take a wild guess and say a taser would not protect you from Sephiroth.

[thantagonist]

Are there a lot of villains here with which to make this data set?

Maybe what I really need is a bodyguard.

un: tristan

[numinousname]

Hello Daniil,
I hope you are feeling well today.
I came across something that may be of interest to you. May I send you an image of it?

[thantagonist]

Of course, Tristan. What is it?

[numinousname]

[after a moment, a picture of a brooch in their gloved hand is sent.]

[numinousname]

Did it reach you?
That is only the second time I have tried doing that.

[thantagonist]

Oh! Yes it did. How lovely. Where did you find it?

[numinousname]

There is an indoor market place that spans...a very long distance. It is within here.
Shall I bring it to you when I see you next?

[thantagonist]

A gift, then?

[ No one has been so nice to him before. Does Tristan have feelings, or did they just happen to see it? Would it hurt them unduly to reject? It definitely will. It’s not like he wanted to turn it down either. And after Tristan had seen the worst that Daniil has to offer.]

Would you like to meet me in my room, or should we meet somewhere with a bit more ambiance?

[numinousname]

Please correct me if my instincts are wrong, but I think my presence in your room when you are not ill would trouble you.
In either case, I will need some time to get my way out of this structure. It is quite expansive.

[thantagonist]

[What’s that supposed to mean?]

What’s that supposed to mean?

What is it called? I’d like to look at it on the map.

text+action;

[pardamned]

i'm here.

[That is all he's given, and Arthur will not reply further. Instead, he'll be parked outside the hospital with two horses in tow: Nickel and a newly obtained horse with a rabicano coat. He's got both horses by their leads in one hand, patting them with the other as he's waiting there with eroding patience for Daniil. He only doesn't bring the horses inside out of common decency and respect for Aurora.

Maybe Robert too.

But the longer he's left to wait, the worse this interaction may go.]

[thantagonist]

[Daniil has only been up for a couple hours at this point. He genuinely was trying to ease up and sleep in. Daniil is very diligent about his messages, always anticipating a patient or some strange news.]

[The only thing he was doing was studying English, so he pops down in his usual clothes and gives Arthur a sly smile.]

Hello, cowboy. [In an incredibly thick accent.] How are you?

[He turns to the horse that he doesn’t recognize and his expression softens. Daniil has exhausted his English for the moment in relation to what he wants to say.]

He’s beautiful. Where did you find him? How does he handle?

[pardamned]

[There's a look of surprise that crests upon Arthur's features at Daniil's speaking English without the aid of the translator. The thickness of the accent marking the authenticity of it, and he can't help but wonder what made the doctor choose to learn English.

He's not complaining, far from.]

As well as a feller with TB can be. I see you been studying more than medicine in your free time.

[But then attention is brought to the reason he's here in the first place, and with a similar fondness he looks to the horse in question.]

But anyway, the horses are over in Purple Windy, it's to the west of here. He handles well—Tennessee Walking horses tend to be fairly docile, though he's still got a little bit of wildness in him. But that's just him getting used to us.

[Arthur gently strokes along the horse's broad neck, it's ear flicking for a moment as it looks at Daniil, assessing him.]

[thantagonist]

[He does look to Arthur as he mentions the TB. That and cholera and many others still struck the fear in the hearts of men. Dangerous diseases.] Well enough to break a horse.

I’ve encountered too many miscommunications lately. [His pun based joke flopped and he’s sick of people asking if he’s married.] It was frustrating me. Half the people here speak it, so I may as well, too. I have to be prepared to function if it breaks. It’s just technology, like anything else.

[He strokes the horse’s neck as he talks.]

How could I be so thoughtless, I should have brought a treat. One moment-

[He walks briskly back into the hospital and comes out with the entire tray of muffins.]

[pardamned]

[Arthur nods at the commentary. Sure, he's well enough to stand so he's well enough to break a horse. He figures he won't be fit to tame horses when he isn't fit to breathe no more, but that doesn't seem to be coming for him here.

Of course this is just the beginning, no horse is broken in just a couple of days, but it was best to get Daniil introduced to his new companion and work with them both to see how they get on. After all, if the horse dislikes him, well...]

Guess preparing for the worse ain't a bad call.

[But then Daniil is gone and back with muffins just as quickly, the horses both looking quite interested in the treats he's brought along.]

Now don't go spoiling him too much, you still gotta let him know who calls the shots here. You become too big of a pushover and he'll see how far you tip.

[Arthur says that, but then Nickel is lipping at those muffins and he's not stopping him. Yet, at least.]

[thantagonist]

I’m just making a good impression. Don’t you worry, my father raised me to be a general in the army, like himself. He didn’t give up that particular delusion until I left for my first day of medical school.

I won’t be pushed around by a horse, of all things, so easily.

Isn’t that right, Arion? We’ll see who’s boss when only one of us has our testes. [He croons at Arion, feeding him a muffin out of his flat hand.]

[pardamned]

You? [Arthru gives Daniil an incredulous but amused once over.] A general? Now that's funny. Your daddy's a funny feller.

[As Daniil croons about Arion's impending gelding status and feeds him a muffin, Arthur helps himself and likewise feeds Nickel one.]

You're a doctor, right? I'm sure you know all about removing balls. Or is that something you're wanting me to do for you too?

[thantagonist]

Only incidentally. General Dankovsky is an incredibly forthright man. He’s the only one who couldn’t tell what a joke he was setting up. Still, my upbringing stuck.

[Treats are certainly helping Arion warm up to this weird guy.]

I know the amount of time you’ve spent in hospitals has been nominal, but that is not an ordinary scheduled procedure. Can you imagine? “Yes, we’ve got three procedures today— Mr. Karamarov for his appendectomy, Mrs. Ivanova for an X-ray, and oh- poor old Rostova’s losing his balls. He’d like them pickled in a jar for posterity.”

[Danill scoffs a laugh at his own joke.]

But it sounds like something you know how to do?