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drabble; during practice
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“—so, Yang and I are going out now.”
Two tattooed hands caught at Long’s snout, Naoki shutting his eyes tight against a frigid blast that shot right against him. He felt ice creeping over his arms, something that shattered and fell off easily with just a flex of muscle, a slight surge of flame… and he dug his heels down into the ground, gripping at the upper and lower half of the dragon’s jaws before forcing them closed. Long muffled a roar, serpentine body writhing, but he couldn’t stop the sheer force as Naoki dragged him by the jaws, shoulders bunched, slamming him bodily down into the ground with a thud that made the ground tremble.
After a few moments of Naoki’s expectant staring (he knew he was heard, even in the middle of fighting), Long lifted his head slowly.
“Hoh,” the demon drawled, “is that so? So she bested thou in combat?”
“Huh?”
Even while he was blinking in confusion, Naoki still snapped a hand out to one side, catching Yurlungur as he shot toward him like a dart, arresting his motion effortlessly. A slam, and the second demon was wriggling angrily against the ground, trapped by Naoki’s fingers bearing him down with unyielding strength. The force was enough that there were holes punctured in the ground to either side of Yurlungur where Naoki pressed his fingers down.
“Did she not express her feelings through a fight, Demi-fiend?” Picking himself up, Long shook all over to shake out the smarting pain (sparring with Naoki was never easy), grouchily combing claws across crooked whiskers.
“…No, she did it the human way. The normal way. What kind of advice did you give her, exactly?” Naoki pressed down warningly as Yurlungur continued to writhe, sending out angry sparks that shot both from him and down from above… and eventually the snake stilled, grudgingly giving in.
Naoki popped his knuckles, cracking them with the opposite hand as he straightened his back, stepping back to look at the two demons properly.
“Hmmmf,” Long snorted, “only the proper advice for any demon seeking to court another.”
“She’s a human, remember? Even if she can probably beat you guys.” Naoki grinned goadingly, and Yurlungur’s two heads hissed in agitation, big eyes narrowing halfway. “—anyway, I wanted to tell the both of you about it. And do you remember what I told you about Yang before?”
Long sniffed, scratching his whiskery chin with his claws. “We remember.”
“You remind usss every other day,” Yurlungur complained, writhing about in midair. Naoki always said it in no uncertain terms: they were never allowed to take her magatsuhi, they’d protect her if ever something went wrong, if he lost control, they were to go to her and not listen to him until he was back to normal… Naoki made no secret of the fact that they needed to regard Yang as important, as much as the Demi-fiend himself. “Ssso now? What changesss?”
“I guess… not that much, really.” Naoki folded his arms over his chest, looking between them thoughtfully. “But I felt like letting you know.”
‘I don’t have many people to tell besides you two,’ he thought with an inward sigh. Honestly, he wanted to tell so many others. He wanted a lot of people to know about him and Yang. He felt proud and restless in a good way, wanted to shout it out, but he had to settle for just telling these two, and even that wasn’t really the same as telling a friend.
Stretching out his long neck, Long put his head on eye-level with Naoki’s. “Shall we treat her as a Fiend as well?” It took Naoki a minute to sink in, but he laughed and pushed his palm against Long’s snout, shoving him playfully away to the demon’s own chuckle.
“You could try, if you wanted. But I’d just treat her the same as usual. She likes you guys.”
Long and Yurlungur exchanged looks.
“But ssshe likes the Demi-fiend most,” Yurlungur cackled and Naoki stumbled, right in the middle of turning away. “We knew that firssst, before you did!”
Naoki exhaled a slow breath, turned away from them, they only able to see the still, tense lines of his shoulders and his slightly lowered head.
‘I knew they’d be smug about that,’ he thought, slowly cracking his knuckles again, glancing down at his palms. Yep. He still had some leftover energy after all, so twisted sharply on a heel to face the demons and smiled at them.
—even while an impressive pressure, the feeling any Fiend would give off but Naoki normally controlled, spread out from him, bearing down against his demons, threatening and terrifying. Long gave Yurlungur a long-suffering look, knowing full well what was coming next, and Yurlungur shook himself, casting a wash of healing over them.
They’d likely need it.
“Know what? I’m in the mood for one more round. I’m not going easy on you two this time.”
Two tattooed hands caught at Long’s snout, Naoki shutting his eyes tight against a frigid blast that shot right against him. He felt ice creeping over his arms, something that shattered and fell off easily with just a flex of muscle, a slight surge of flame… and he dug his heels down into the ground, gripping at the upper and lower half of the dragon’s jaws before forcing them closed. Long muffled a roar, serpentine body writhing, but he couldn’t stop the sheer force as Naoki dragged him by the jaws, shoulders bunched, slamming him bodily down into the ground with a thud that made the ground tremble.
After a few moments of Naoki’s expectant staring (he knew he was heard, even in the middle of fighting), Long lifted his head slowly.
“Hoh,” the demon drawled, “is that so? So she bested thou in combat?”
“Huh?”
Even while he was blinking in confusion, Naoki still snapped a hand out to one side, catching Yurlungur as he shot toward him like a dart, arresting his motion effortlessly. A slam, and the second demon was wriggling angrily against the ground, trapped by Naoki’s fingers bearing him down with unyielding strength. The force was enough that there were holes punctured in the ground to either side of Yurlungur where Naoki pressed his fingers down.
“Did she not express her feelings through a fight, Demi-fiend?” Picking himself up, Long shook all over to shake out the smarting pain (sparring with Naoki was never easy), grouchily combing claws across crooked whiskers.
“…No, she did it the human way. The normal way. What kind of advice did you give her, exactly?” Naoki pressed down warningly as Yurlungur continued to writhe, sending out angry sparks that shot both from him and down from above… and eventually the snake stilled, grudgingly giving in.
Naoki popped his knuckles, cracking them with the opposite hand as he straightened his back, stepping back to look at the two demons properly.
“Hmmmf,” Long snorted, “only the proper advice for any demon seeking to court another.”
“She’s a human, remember? Even if she can probably beat you guys.” Naoki grinned goadingly, and Yurlungur’s two heads hissed in agitation, big eyes narrowing halfway. “—anyway, I wanted to tell the both of you about it. And do you remember what I told you about Yang before?”
Long sniffed, scratching his whiskery chin with his claws. “We remember.”
“You remind usss every other day,” Yurlungur complained, writhing about in midair. Naoki always said it in no uncertain terms: they were never allowed to take her magatsuhi, they’d protect her if ever something went wrong, if he lost control, they were to go to her and not listen to him until he was back to normal… Naoki made no secret of the fact that they needed to regard Yang as important, as much as the Demi-fiend himself. “Ssso now? What changesss?”
“I guess… not that much, really.” Naoki folded his arms over his chest, looking between them thoughtfully. “But I felt like letting you know.”
‘I don’t have many people to tell besides you two,’ he thought with an inward sigh. Honestly, he wanted to tell so many others. He wanted a lot of people to know about him and Yang. He felt proud and restless in a good way, wanted to shout it out, but he had to settle for just telling these two, and even that wasn’t really the same as telling a friend.
Stretching out his long neck, Long put his head on eye-level with Naoki’s. “Shall we treat her as a Fiend as well?” It took Naoki a minute to sink in, but he laughed and pushed his palm against Long’s snout, shoving him playfully away to the demon’s own chuckle.
“You could try, if you wanted. But I’d just treat her the same as usual. She likes you guys.”
Long and Yurlungur exchanged looks.
“But ssshe likes the Demi-fiend most,” Yurlungur cackled and Naoki stumbled, right in the middle of turning away. “We knew that firssst, before you did!”
Naoki exhaled a slow breath, turned away from them, they only able to see the still, tense lines of his shoulders and his slightly lowered head.
‘I knew they’d be smug about that,’ he thought, slowly cracking his knuckles again, glancing down at his palms. Yep. He still had some leftover energy after all, so twisted sharply on a heel to face the demons and smiled at them.
—even while an impressive pressure, the feeling any Fiend would give off but Naoki normally controlled, spread out from him, bearing down against his demons, threatening and terrifying. Long gave Yurlungur a long-suffering look, knowing full well what was coming next, and Yurlungur shook himself, casting a wash of healing over them.
They’d likely need it.
“Know what? I’m in the mood for one more round. I’m not going easy on you two this time.”