Costa Del Drunk

[Dust]

Dust watched as Shinmen spilled his backstory across the sands and arranged the characters in the light as a mysterious man did. He could almost see the ink stain his fingertips from his place on ground nearest Hoseki. He could also see a similar story to his own, branded on the Ronin's back. Men like them, all three of them, had many scars, and some were so deep they couldn't be seen by the naked eyes. Even as Takezo flipped the brush in his hand and tossed it to Gildarts to pain the next picture, Dust still stared at the ground where the truths of a man laid.

He was under no illusion that Takezo was a normal man, but he felt nothing less than friendship and respect for the man. Even admitting that he'd parasitized off a woman didn't change his image. In some strange way, the contractor felt he could relate. Not exactly, never exactly. The two Japanese men lived too different of lives and too far apart in time to ever compare. There were similarities, but nothing very solid. They shared a country, a language, and the love for a good fight. However, they would never be the same man. That was neither a good thing or a bad thing, just facts.

Dust had already become very aware that the scary story on the beach that Gildarts had told was his own. He didn't have time to bring it up before the Crash Mage was already humoring the ronin with some extra bits of information. The alcohol was working its magic on them all it would seem, but not enough for the strongest of the three to spill every thing. The other two may never know the truth about his daughter, after all that wasn't any of their business. Neither would live fuller lives because of it, presumably, and neither would be worse off for not knowing it. If it ever became relevant, maybe he'd confine in Hokori's willingness to listen. Surely the kid had left his mark on them both already in some manner.

He sure felt their marks deepening on him.

Always the one to twist reality his way, including conversations, Gildarts spoke of Omni ripping him from his home with some bitterness.  Nothing much has changed for the magic user, as it seemed nothing has changed for the wielder of the sword among them, but it has done nothing but changed for the youngest member. Dust looked into waves of his drink, getting lost in the truths that swirled in his cup. He gave the man close buy a half laugh, it almost sounded like the older man was challenging him now.  For the fun of it, he says. The contractor was almost willing to take him up on that offer instead of thinking about more serious topics. His large hand tilted from side to side as he stirred what was left of his drink the glass, the ice chunks clinking against the clear solid object. Maybe another drink?

He looked up at Takezo, wondering if he should bother the ronin for the sake...

When he looked up again, he noticed they both were looking at him, as if expecting the youngster to follow suit.

Wolf felt warm in the cheeks before looking down and to the side, avoiding eye contact for a moment. He sighed and then turned back to his drink where he swallowed the last bit. He sat the glass down in the sand instead of putting it back where he was sure it would be safe.

"I guess it's my turn, huh?" He asked with a smirk and a soft laugh before focusing on something that wasn't there. In the silence, he gathered the words to explain his origin. Takezo knew about his power and the cost, but nothing beyond that and a few questions before.

"There's not really much to tell." He started, stroking the glass that was covered in condensation. "I am only 27." He admitted but realized only then how old he was... Has it really been 10 years? Only 10? He looked over to see if anyone was just as surprised as him at his age. He couldn't tell in the dim light. He shifted uncomfortably.

"My real mother died when I was born, later I found out she was murdered. But not until her murderer found her way into mine and my father's life. We were a happy family until something happened. We took one last family trip to the mountains of Russ- Well, a very cold and mountainous place in the world." He explained, pausing to wonder if this was a bit dark, only to remember the only questionable innocent was a Doll. "She drugged us the first night and then tortured us for 3 days before revealing she was the one that killed my mother and then killed my father. I feinted weakness, and when she untied me to set me up for the same treatment, I revealed my hand."

He struggled not to look up at this point, he didn't want to see what they were thinking of him...

"My contract activated that night... So it's kind of a blur. I just remember hunting her down in the snow storm and waking up with her head in my lap." He could see it even now. Face frozen in fear, eyes rolled back, gelled slush like blood escaping the neck. He never found the body, but he could only imagine what he'd done based off what he was capable of. She was cunning and a bitch, but she was not anything special... Just a normal human girl with the drive to do crazy things but no fight in her when confronting anything stronger than her. Her neck had had a clean cut, so he assumed it had been a simple task even then.

"After that, I wondered into town, and a group of people showed up shortly later to claim me as a stray. I think I was spared because I was supposedly useful. In my world, I was a monster that was to be under lock and key and not let out unless I was helpful. I was caged physically on top of being caged mentally by my own contract." He rubbed the back of his neck, his hand running along the thick black numbers that have been branded into the left side of his neck. One could only guess what the numbers might have meant if the brand had been his choice... "They tagged me like some animal, then beat me until I learned how to act in the way they wanted. When they were done with me, they had a powerful weapon they could walk around with on a leash. Maybe it was a good thing I couldn't feel what it was like to have broken pride?"

It was hard to interrupt a story like that, but one of them braved it for a moment to ask: "What do you mean by that?"

Dust still couldn't' bear the thought of looking up. Funny how at the time he hadn't been able to feel shame, but now he feared they would think less of him now. "Before Omni saved me from my death... As a contractor, I couldn't feel emotions. I know what I should have been feeling at the time, anger, resentment, youthful defiance, pain, frustration... Sadness. But I couldn't. I felt nothing. I was incapable of feeling anything." A thick silence took over. It hung in the air and no one could speak for a few minutes before Ookami finally broke its spell. "Everything has a cost, everything." He let his eyes flick up to the Doll beside him, before looking away again. "As a contractor, we give up everything that makes us human to become a monster that runs on logic. You hope the power that you received is worth the payment you are forced to endure; sometimes that payment isn't just the ritual your contract demands of you; sometimes the ritual itself has a cost. Mine is manageable compared to some of the others. "

Gildarts' turn. "What is your ritual?"

The aged man watched the large youth shy away from his question, but after a moment he seemed to gather the necessary courage to tell another soul. "My ritual is a kiss. Between three and fifteen seconds." He braved a glance at Takezo, but no higher than his leg, then he looked away just as fast. Before Gildarts could inquire his power, Dust might as well share everything. "For it, I transform. I used to be able to turn into a creature of myth, but since coming to the Omniverse I've been reduced to only transforming my nails into claws and my teeth into sharper teeth." It was that moment that Lycan considered the possibility of there being a connection between his lack of power and his ability to feel anything. This disturbed him, but he let it go.

He looked back at the Doll, who now looked in his direction again. Should he come clean?

"In... Addition to contractors." He started, looking away from his personal mess. "My world had these things called Dolls. I don't know how they are made, but they start as human. Like me and you, but then they are stripped of all individual thought and emotions. Unlike contractors, they are powerless other than creating these spectors that they use to observe things with. Generally, we use them for spying or information gathering... But I've heard some humans talk about other uses. When I couldn't feel disgust.." He sighed and tried to not put the worse out there. "Hoseki here is, unfortunately, one of those Dolls. I didn't intend to summon him, but it happened. The good news is there have been rumors of Dolls evolving past this doll-like state, but I don't know how true that is."

He hated the idea of being looked upon with mistrust and hatred from the only two people he could call a friend.

But he hated the idea of lying and hiding things more...

Even now it was true, everything had a cost. If being alone was the price for being upfront with them, well it wouldn't be the first time a cost has cost more than just the contracted payment.