Campfire songs? (OPEN)

[Detlev Ignatz]

Spending the night in a cave wasn't on his bucket list, but Detlev found it to be the safest bet for the night - if anywhere in this world was safe.  It didn't seem like anything was in it - he even made a few noises to try and draw anyone out, but there was no response.  At the very least, it would be a safe place to sleep, especially if it started to rain. 

The child was at the mouth of the cave, sitting by a campfire he had made.  It was surrounded by rocks of various sizes, a precaution he placed to help contain the flames from reaching any of the grass.  Finding tinder and firewood was easy
- he was in the middle of a forest after all.  The flame from his lighter caught on quickly, and now he had a comfortable fire to sleep by.

But that was the easy part.  A digimon that looked like a flying ball of fire had seen him light the fire.  It asked him a whole bunch of questions, like how he did it and if he really was a human.  He answered honestly, but at some point during the questioning, thought it was a good idea to show the digimon a lighter trick.  That little creature looked like it had just seen god before its very eyes, and it insisted that the boy wait here so it could bring someone else he could show the trick to.

And so, Detlev sat there, waiting for what must have been at least 15 minutes for that digimon to come back with its friend, but there was no sign of the little guy.  He sighed as he kept watch for any movement from the direction it had went.  Out of boredom, he had taken one more look over his digivice.  He wanted to see if he could get it to do something else other than just tell him what time it was, but he couldn't get it to do anything other than tell him it was 9:00 PM.  He would've been getting ready to go to sleep by now if he hadn't been waiting for that digimon to get back here.

With it still in his hand, he took notice to a light coming from the direction that it had gone off to.  Relief turned to disappointment as he realized it looked different from the light the little guy had produced.  But now he had a whole different thing to think about: what was making that light, and why did it just stop get closer?  "[Hey!  Who's there?]" he asked towards the light.

[Red Mantle]

THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE, YOU'D THINK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

They often say that traveling the Digital World at night, especially in heavily wooded areas such as the Nanosphere Forests, exposes you to dangers that many would be quick to dismiss as mere fantasy, horrors that alter one's very perspective of the way this dimension functions –– for better or worse. It changes people, whittles their very essence like a sculptor takes a chisel to a block of marble, shaping them into a true work of art.

Sometimes, the marble cracks and gives way to the chisel's brute force approach, leaving deformities or blemishes that may seem to tarnish these great works, but it is not a lesson for the piece itself to learn as much as it is the sculptor; one must allow the chisel to do its job as it should, rather than force it to behave for your benefit. Thus, a mutual accord must be made between artist and tool for a great masterpiece to come into being.

In a way, the same could be said for survival in that those who wish to master the elements of nature must learn to accept that Gaea herself is, for all intents and purposes, indifferent towards the suffering of mankind; just as she easily bears fruit and grain for our nourishment, her storms and stresses have laid devastation to many a settlement, tearing away everything precious to us in equal measure. Only by understanding our place in the great spectrum of all things do we learn to harness the potential within ourselves and, subsequently, master its exertion.

These were the mental observations of a nameless warrior with tanned skin and bone white hair dressed in a visually striking set of combat fatigues, accompanied by a small, blue dragon Digimon that wore a shabby brown cloak over his shoulders. The two had meandered through the Nanosphere Forests in search of shelter from the elements, as it was remarkably muggy this evening, which indicated the possibility that rainfall may occur soon.

The silence between them, interjected only by the deliberately soft crunching of fallen leaves and twigs at their feet, soon broke when the Veemon caught glimpse of a small, orange light in the distance. "Boss, ahead!" he whispered as low as he could, pointing in its direction.

The man in crimson signaled to his partner to crouch behind a nearby log, to which Blue complied instantly, while he swiveled on his heels behind an adjacent birch tree, cautiously peeking out his head to take a more precise, albeit brief look.

The smell of burning wood drifted on the wind, a sign that the source of light was actually a fire that had been made, which led the Tamer to silently deduce that, naturally, someone was close by. Another brief glance toward its source suggested they were near a large rock formation, which presented the idea that a cave or some kind of hollowing was close.

In order to verify his suspicions, the white-haired man reached toward his waistline and retrieved the Digivice clipped to his belt, pressing several buttons to activate its installed Scanner function. Curiously enough, it also moonlighted as a GPS device that served wonders as an alternative radar feature, a benefit that served its purpose magnificently as it revealed the unmistakable presence of a Digivice's IP signature –– fittingly enough –– several meters forward.

Putting trust in his instincts, the warrior moved from out of the concealment of the birch tree and stepped forward to investigate the scene personally, gesturing to Blue to keep watch and remain behind him while he took point, an order he acknowledged with a firm and silent nod.

As the human moved closer towards the fire, a shape began to emerge from within the shadows of the hollow interior within the cliff face. Moving even closer revealed it to be a human one: a young boy, at that, who wore an odd-looking cap over his messy blond hair. And his clothes seemed to indicate he was from the other side, a place he, too, came from. Perhaps the presence of another human would put him at ease? More importantly, where was his partner? Or, maybe, he was a host to an Ancient Spirit?

"Stand on guard, Blue. He's alone," the man called back toward a nearby shrub, noticing that the Veemon himself was nowhere to be seen. He'd eventually be reminded where he was as soon as a big, blue hand popped out of the bush it lived within, fingers curled into his palm to provide his Tamer with a single thumb, turned upward, in approval of his command. The human sighed, then shrugged. What a goofball.

Turning back to the child, he scanned him up and down with a vigilant grey gaze, then glanced at his environment. The evening sunlight was slowly dipping below the horizon, and night would soon fall over the Digital World. He glanced at the boy again. "Are you lost?"

Detlev Ignatz

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Detlev Ignatz]

A beeping noise came from Detlev's digivice, ripping his attention away from the light source.  It was the first time it ever made that noise, and it was the first time it did anything other than relay the time.  On it, he saw two dots - one was right in the center of the screen, while the other was further away from the center.  Both dots would fade in and out, though with each moment, the un-centered dot approached the one in the middle.

This device was an enigma. If it had come with some kind of instruction manual, then he could find out what these dots meant, or why it was showing him this in the first place.  Heck, any information about this device would've helped.  It was just another mystery he'd need to contend with in this world.

Had he been thinking clearly, he would have realized that the un-centered dot had been pointing outside of the cave, or that this was actually a radar indicating something was approaching him.  The discovery of this feature had taken his attention, even if he didn't know what it meant or how he got it to work.  Were he paying more attention, he would have noticed the man approach his campfire or maybe even the blue hand momentarily come out of the bush.

When the man finally entered Detlev's peripheral vision, it startled the boy, with him reflexively gasping - even jumping up a little - as he quickly met eyes with the stranger.  It wasn't until the man looked away that Detlev looked the guy over.  He certainly looked like a human, but what person in this day and age wore a breastplate?  And he didn't know any human that ever had grey eyes and snow-white hair.

That was when Detlev began to suspect that this guy wasn't actually a human.  It wouldn't be the first human-like digimon he'd met.

Then the man(?) spoke.  Detlev was quick to realize the guy was speaking in English.  He was actually starting to expect this to happen whenever he met someone.  Why did everyone assume that's what he spoke?  Even digimon that he found out knew how to speak German would start off speaking English to him - and the few that didn't start with English started with some other language he couldn't recognize at all.

Detlev briefly looked towards the campfire and sighed.  Oh well.  If this guy was actually a digimon, then this wouldn't be an issue much longer.  

He looked back up at the man(?); "{I don't speak any English,}" he stated, "{Do you speak German too?  It's the only language I know.}"  It was always easier to just outright ask about this kind of stuff.

Red Mantle

[Red Mantle]

THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE, YOU'D THINK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

German flew from the boy's mouth instead of English, momentarily reminding the much taller and older Tamer that not everyone spoke his home language. A necessary experience, otherwise he would not be living out this moment right now. Fortuitously enough, spending a little over thirty years in commitment to preserving the safety of the Digital World gave him enough exposure to numerous languages, and that this dimension operated under different temporal mechanics meant multilingualism, if enough persistence and practice was put into it, was a reality anyone could embrace. Here, at least.

The Red Mantle coughed sheepishly behind a curled fist, straightening himself out again. "[Apologies for earlier assumption,]" he spoke after a brief pause, trying to remember the right fricatives to employ as German itself was very harsh on the throat of a novice speaker. He shrugged afterward, wholly aware that the speech leaving his own lips was broken. "[I not good German speaking, either.]" Damn, that sounded a lot worse than he wanted it to. But, it is what it is. It couldn't be helped presently.

"Da hell're ya doin', boss?" called out Blue in his distinctly thick accent, popping his head out from another bush he had migrated to as soon as he heard his Tamer talking in another language while casting wary glances here and there, determined not to let a single, suspicious character out of reach. "Sounds like a Gekomon got lodged in yer throat. Shorty's, too."

"No, Blue, it's German," Red corrected, folding his arms into his chest as he glanced at the Digimon, raising a crooked eyebrow to his silly antics. "This boy doesn't speak our language." He sighed, lowering his voice as he reflected on the situation at hand. "Not the first time I've ran into this issue, either..." Apart from the fact that he was strikingly much younger than the individuals that both the Red Mantle and Blue were used to encountering, the European child was not the only one who approached them speaking in a different tongue. He tried again, lifting up his own Digivice for the child to view at his leisure, but also as a subtle way to inform the foreigner that this was how he was discovered, "[Are you lost?]"

What a mess. Here he was, attempting to be helpful to someone that might have been stranded, and instead he was tripping over his own voice like an opera singer who couldn't hold a high note to save her own life. But the human was not a self-conscious person, especially when it came to matters as these. Right now, getting information was the number one goal here, and if it meant looking like a moron for the sake of completing the objective at hand, so be it.

He embraced his flaws with humility and sincerity, as all humans ought to do.

---

(Thought I'd put brackets around his broken German for ease of differentiation, if that's cool.)

Detlev Ignatz

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Detlev Ignatz]

Detlev was relieved that the guy could speak German, but it elicited a giggle from the boy, even turning his cautious frown into a smile.  It was like listening to a foreigner: the accent was strange and his grammar was pretty bad.  It would be a little rough, but he could work with that.  He just needed to make a mental note to not use complicated vocabulary.  "{That's ok,}" he smirked, holding down a laugh in an attempt to be polite, "{I understand what you meant.  Your German is pretty good!}"

Another voice came up, taking Detlev's attention away from this mysterious man.  It was difficult to see in the darkness, but he could notice a blue head sticking out of one of the bushes.  Definitely not a human - a digimon?  He couldn't tell what the digimon was saying.  It spoke in English, and the white-haired guy responded in kind.  Even if the boy didn't know what the two were saying, with how casually the two seemed to be talking, he guessed that they knew each other.  But why hide all the way over there?

The thought floated from Detlev's mind when he was asked if he was lost.  "{Not really,}" was his immediate response, but then he began to think on that question.  Regarding the forest, he was fine: he had been careful to leave markings around so he would know if he was walking around in circles, and had been using the sun to keep himself oriented as to which direction he was walking.  He knew how to get out of the forest if he needed to.

But then the realization hit: where would he go?  He didn't have any plans for where exactly he was going in the first place.  All he had was the hope that if he kept going in one direction, he'd find something or someone that could give him some answers.  He had to admit that in regards to this world, he was lost.  Sheepishly, he added, "{I mean, I can find my way out of the forest if I need to.  I just came to this world, so I don't really know where everything is.  But I'm sure I can find my way around, so I'm not really lost!}"

Detlev took notice to the device the guy presented - one that he didn't recognize.  He briefly looked back towards his own digivice, just now noticing that it had stopped beeping.  It still had the dots on it, but now they were both very close to each other.  If realizations were visible, then a lightbulb would have turned on over his head - he realized that this was a radar.  That center dot was him, and the other one was this guy.  So did that mean the thing he was being shown was also a digivice?

More importantly, did that mean this guy was really a human?  Those devices were supposed to be for humans, so why else would he have one?

Detlev brought up his digivice so the other guy could get a better look at it.  If the guy would show his digivice, why not reciprocate?

Red Mantle

OOC:  That's fine.  Just letting you know I'm switching over the curly braces (the { and } ) since brackets seem to mess with coding.

[Red Mantle]

THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE, YOU'D THINK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

A bemused half-smirk formed on his face as a feeling of gratitude washed over the tanned warrior's tall and proud form. It seemed his choppy German linguistics had put the child in a better mood, even eliciting a minor compliment for his honest attempt at communication. At least he didn't have to think about being berated over it; children weren't necessarily known for their self-restraint, after all.

That the boy claimed he wasn't lost served as a warning flag. No child his age was ever caught wandering the Digital World without the assistance of a Digimon or some other kind of guardian figure, parent or otherwise. That he blatantly admitted he was a fresh arrival to this dimension, coupled with the presentation of his own model of Digivice, would serve as the second, third, and final, nails in the proverbial coffin.

Worse yet, nightfall approached quickly, as was heralded by a loud and ominous howl the moment the last few drops of sunlight dipped beneath the horizon. "Tch!" Two brief flickers of white light and the Red Mantle's signature weapons, the black and white swords collectively referred to as the "Empty Perfection", materialized into view, his body weight swiveling effortlessly on the heels of his feet so that he now faced the Nanosphere Forest, a concerned glance shooting its way in Blue's direction as he aimed to use his own form with the intent to defend the child sitting at the cave's entrance. "Stand by, Blue! This situation just got more complicated," he called out.

The Veemon's head shot out of a third patch of greenery, this time caked with small hints of mud for greater ease of optical concealment. "Why, wuzzup, boss? Did ya get somethin' outta all dat gobbledeegook?" Evidently, he had been overhearing the two converse with one another between his sporadic changes of cover, but, as he was only able to understand English, much of the youngster's and his own Tamer's discussion came off as hoarse-sounding nonsense to him.

"He says he's only recently arrived in this world," explained the warrior as his eyes darted every which way, scanning the immediate surroundings for even the subtlest form of possible hostile movement. "It doesn't look like he's linked to a Digimon, either."

"Oh, shit, really!?" Within seconds, a small, blue-skinned dragon about a foot smaller than the young child came barreling out of his verdant sanctuary, his head lurching forward as an oppressive tugging sensation began literally choking the air out of him. As he flailed for freedom, a horrendous tearing noise rang out, followed by the Rookie suddenly toppling over, face-first, into a pile of leaves.

The Tamer sighed, finally up to his spiky hair with his companion's antics. "Stop messing around and get over here, Blue!" he barked in a soft yet firm tone, careful not to attract any more attention than Blue was probably doing on his own.

With a reluctant groan, the victory dragon lifted himself to his knees, then examined the only possible source of that godawful sound, scoffing in plain disgust. His favorite cloak had been torn! "Aw, fuck me!" Blue cursed, fully ready to pulverize the shrubbery responsible, but unwilling to upset his Tamer any further. With a single punch to the ground, he picked himself up and moved closer to the cave's mouth to join the man dressed in red, spacing himself apart to better cover the defenseless boy. Worst fuckin' night ever... he thought bitterly, rubbing the base of his crooked tail in lamentation that it was now the victim of a rather sudden draft.

The white-haired man glanced over his shoulder. "[Make no sound. We handle danger.]"

---

Detlev Ignatz

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Detlev Ignatz]

Detlev...wasn't being as careful as he should have been.  He'd yet to learn just how hostile this world could have been, nor that it was best that he shouldn't be wandering alone.  It was why he found no issue with just waiting here for that fireball-like digimon to bring its friend over, or why he was so friendly and honest with this man after the initial surprise.  Even if he had seen a fight or two before, the aggressive digimon weren't subversive about their intentions.  And they never made any attempt to hurt him, so why assume that they would?

The child didn't consider anything was wrong until a howl resonated through the forest and he saw the man's expression change.  "{Is something wrong?}" he asked as he watched two swords appear in the man's hands - once again weakening his belief that this guy was human.  How did he make those swords appear?  More importantly, why did he take them out?  And what was he shouting in English?  He didn't know what was being said, but the tone rang of anger and haste.  Was something about to happen?

Detlev stood up, hastily scanning the area for anything that might have been the cause.  His heart raced as he looked in every direction, finding nothing that would indicate why this guy put up his guard.  The blue digimon's comical struggle to escape its hiding place did little to alleviate his anxiety.  He would have once again asked what was happening, but the white-haired guy warned him to stay silent, mentioning danger, eliciting a frightened gasp from the child as he took a step back into the cave.  So something was coming for them?  Was it close?

Once again, he looked around for anything that could tell him just what was happening.  There was nothing in the nearby bushes or openings that looked threatening - just rocks and bushes.  It wasn't until he looked above into one of the trees that he noticed a light steadily grow larger and larger.  He quickly recalled the fireball-like digimon he had met shortly before, and how it promised to come back.  Should he mention it?  He didn't know if the other two had seen it yet, but he was told not to say anything.

The source of light soon revealed itself: a small, floating fireball with blue eyes and a stitched mouth emerged from behind the tree.  The digimon stopped the moment it spotted the white-haired human and the Veemon.  Behind it was what appeared to be a giant smokescreen.  On closer observation, at certain parts of the smoke, there were small flames - and beneath each flame was a pair of slightly-obscured yellow eyes.

Upon closer observation, one could count fourteen tiny flames in the smokescreen, and subsequently, fourteen pairs of eyes.  This wasn't truly a smokescreen - it was fourteen Mokumon bunched up together, following the DemiMeramon in front.

The DemiMeramon looked over the white-haired human and the Veemon, then looked over at Detlev.  "{Hey Detlev!}" it shouted, staying in place while it glanced back over at the human and digimon it didn't recognize, "{Who're these two guys?}"

The child sighed in relief at the appearance of a familiar face.  Was this the threat he was warned about?  He knew this digimon!  "{I know this digimon!}" he whispered (or rather, pleaded) to the white-haired man, "{I showed him a trick, so he said he'd bring a friend.  I didn't think he'd bring so many...}"  He hesitated, before realizing that this might have just made the white-haired guy more suspicious.  He hastily added, "{He's not dangerous, I promise!}"

He looked back towards the DemiMeramon and its friends.  "{They're a couple of guys I just met!}" he shouted, "{They aren't bad guys!}"

He once again turned towards the white-haired man, the anxiety in his face gone, leaving a small smile in its place.  "{You don't mind if they come over here, right?  I made a promise to show them that trick.}"

Red Mantle

[Red Mantle]

THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE, YOU'D THINK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

"Boss, on yer two!" Blue spoke up, tugging at his human ally's pant leg to grab his attention in full as he pointed toward an approaching sphere of orange-hued light, which appeared to be pursued doggedly by a rather large, opaque cloud of fog gray smoke. Prepared to receive further instruction, the victory dragon curled his meaty blue fingers into tightly-packed fists, ready and eager to lash out at whatever was headed their way.

With a fierce gaze, the white-haired swordsman watched the encroaching wisps move their way closer to the cave's entrance, tensing the muscles in his fingers in preparation to throw one of his weapons in its direction in the event it turned out to be a hostile threat. He never had to worry about retrieval, either, as their unique shape and the great deals of training required to wield them properly ensured they would always curve through the air and return to his hand like boomerangs.

Fortunately, such a situation did not arise –– rather, an eager voice called out to the party in German, specifically aimed at the younger human boy, whose name was revealed to be Detlev. Using the flat end of the white sword in his right hand, the warrior with no name kept Blue from lunging into battle too hastily, eliciting a confused expression from him in the process.

Eventually, the source of this voice, as well as that of the orange-colored light, revealed itself as a DemiMeramon, and the smokescreen trailing behind it was, in actuality, a collective of fourteen Mokumon babies. Apparently, according to Detlev, he had shown it a trick of some kind and promised to wait while the In-Training brought a friend, but it seemed as though the boy did not anticipate the sudden arrival of this much company. He had a mind to scold the child for his thoughtless behavior, especially in the present moment where danger lurked around the corner, but he quickly realized that now was not the best time to start chiding people.

Another piercing howl, one that was deeper in tone and much closer to their current location, not only validated his earlier thoughts, but also gave the warrior enough of a reason to humor Detlev's suggestion to invite the group of baby Digimon into the cave –– if only to keep them all out of harm's way. "[All of you, get inside, now!]" he ordered in German with a single wave of his arm, surprising most of them with the forcefulness of his commanding voice but nonetheless inclined to acquiesce his demands, hovering their way near Detlev for safety.

He then turned to Blue, nodding expectantly with the aims of silently telling him to keep watch over the small opening in the cliff's face while he went out to fend off, or possibly dispatch, whatever was within close proximity. As soon as the blue-skinned dragon nodded back in affirmation, the human took off into the shadowy woods with the Empty Perfection in tow, their mirror polished blades flickering sporadically until they were no longer in sight.

"Ay, hot sauce! I'm guessin' youse can talk English, right?" Blue softly called out to the DemiMeramon of the group in his thickly-accented English, mentally pleading with himself that he was at least able to speak in multiple dialects like his Tamer was able to. "Try ta keep yer voices down, ya hear? Somethin' in my gut tells me dair's a big Digimon on da loose..." Another series of howls echoed into the night sky, which sent a chill down the Veemon's spine. At least he could defend himself, if necessary. But if he had to Digivolve to do it, he'd have to wait until Red got back. After all, it was his Digivice that allowed it to happen in the first place.

---

[I'll bring in a baddie next post!]

Detlev Ignatz

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Detlev Ignatz]

From afar, the little Mokumons looked kind of cute.  The small flames on their heads were like tufts of hair sticking up, and as they closed the distance by the white-haired man's order, bright pink blush spots on what would have been their cheeks gradually became easier to see.  They even had small arms and hands protruding from the lower part of their bodies.  They were like little smoky babies!

Detlev was more than willing to let the adorable little guys surround him.  He would have expected their bodies to pass around them, like the smoke clouds they looked like, but was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a solid, squishy mass to them.  One of the digimon grabbed him by one of the fingers on his free hand, a sensation he could only describe as that of a sentient stuffed doll squeezing it.  He gave into the temptation of wrapping his hand around the digimon's arm.  It responded with a small squeal of pleasure, and a smile formed around its mouth.

Detlev expected the mouth to be a small opening in the smoke with cute little, but his eyes widened in concern when he realized its mouth was more realistic, with four normal-looking teeth.  His eyes shifted to another Mokumon floating in his face, who had a matching smile.  Up close, he could even see a tongue inside its mouth.  And was it drooling?

And then it spoke, with the sound of a whisper used to put out an open candle.  "The eyes of brown."

One that he could feel pushing on his hat spoke with the same voice.  "The hat of quirk."

Another spoke up behind him, which he could feel tugging on his jacket.  "The clothes of green."

All fourteen chanted in unison: "The Child of Flamesssssss!", with the emphasis on the last word akin to the sizzle of meat being cooked over an open flame.  Their disturbing harmony was only worsened by two of them speaking into the boy's ears, deeply unsettling the boy as he desperately looked towards the DemiMeramon for any clarification regarding their mantra or why it so abruptly began, yet made no effort to stop them.

"{Don't worry!}" the DemiMeramon chuckled, waving down to tell the child he was under no threat.  "{You'll be fine.  They're just saying that they like you!}"  He paused for a moment, realizing that Detlev was looking pretty uncomfortable there.  "{Hey guys!  He only understands German.  He won't know how much you like him if you're speaking in English.}"

The Mokumons ceased their chanting, all looking towards their superior.  There was a brief pause as they all looked at each other until the one in front of Detlev's face spoke up, asking "«This is German?»"

"{No, that was Persian. This is German.}"

The one holding onto the boy's finger spoke next.  "「Like this?」"

"{That's Japanese!  Guys, I'm speaking it to you right now!}"

The Mokumon sitting on the child's head was next.  "Am I speaking right?"

The DemiMeramon glanced back at Detlev, a defeated look on his face, as if to say "I'm sorry these guys are too young to know how to speak right", which only intensified the boy's discomfort as it was interpreted as "there's nothing I can do about them".  Before they could start their chanting again, the Veemon made a thickly-accented request.  "If you really need to know," the DemiMeramon scoffed, refusing to turn around or even glance at the rookie, "yesssss, I speak English fine."  He looked towards the fresh digimon surrounding the boy and ordered, "Alright guysssss, we're gonna have a scuffle coming up real soon.  Everyone get behind the human and keep it down, or else you'll be someone's desssssert!"

The babies immediately retreated behind Detlev, though they peeked around him, forming a smoky outline around the boy.  The DemiMeramon followed suit, parking himself right on top of the kid's head.

Detlev took one more look at his digivice.  It still had the radar on display, and he could see the other dot get further and further from him.  It sounded like something bad was coming their way.  Was it really a good idea for the white-haired guy to go out alone, even if he was a digimon?

Between the campfire's flames, the smoky Mokumons' flaming heads, and the DemiMeramon parked on his hat, it was starting to get hot in here.  But that wasn't the only reason Detlev was starting to sweat.

Red Mantle

OOC:  Alright, fun-times with the smoke-ball cult is over.  Bring on the baddies~

[Red Mantle]

THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE, YOU'D THINK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

The combined cacophony of the Red Mantle's hurried footsteps and his hastened breathing filled his ears as he dashed and darted his way across the expansive forest floor, his fingers curled around both of his swords with the intent to employ them at the slightest drop of a dime. His eyes darted in every visible direction he could possibly conceive of, looking for any signs of danger, using his sense of hearing –– enhanced by decades of survival in the Digital World –– to follow the source of the howling noises that echoed into the night.

Numerous calls were being made, which indicated that there were multiple predators abound, possibly lupine in biology, and that they were scattered not only suggested that they were hunting in a pack, but that they were likely doing this to keep his attentions away from the cave he had formerly occupied, where Blue, Detlev, and a whole host of fire-type baby Digimon lay hunkered down. It was a diversion, nothing more, and nothing less.

The Red Mantle scowled, using his feet as brakes to skid his way to a full stop, leaving a loose trail of dust in his wake. Quickly, he scanned his surroundings to gather a bead on where he was: it appeared to be a large clearing of sorts, absent of any trees or dense brush that would help to conceal the rays of the moon that shone from on high. A breeze picked up, his signature red cloak billowing softly in its direction. Howling reverberated from every direction, and the longer he stood still, the closer each source came.

His features soured upon reanalysis of the facts at hand, wondering why they weren't growing distant as he had expected them to. It then hit him like a brick to the face. They weren't after Blue and the children — they were after the Mantle himself. Though it was true that these predators were drawing him away from the cave, it was not in an attempt to lower the difficulty rating of earning what would ultimately be an easy meal for them all, but to directly challenge the strongest individual of the party himself. It made too much sense for him to ignore the possibility: only someone with pride in their abilities would coordinate an ambush like this.

A low, hoarse chuckle emanated from behind the Red Mantle, whom stood perfectly still in the presence of this newcomer. "To think that you would fall for something as predictable as that... I'm disappointed in you, human." Heavy footsteps rang out from behind the Tamer as he, very slowly, turned to face the creature that dared to challenge him.

Standing before him was a rather large and equally muscular wolf Digimon with jet black fur, dressed in pants that featured a green camouflage pattern. Leather armor in various spots. Knuckle dusters that could easily penetrate steel. Blood red eyes that shined with a sinister hunger behind them, and a set of razor sharp fangs to further demonstrate this monster's intentions.

There was no mistaking it –– the Red Mantle had been set up by a ShadowWereGarurumon. And following his lead from every side were five BlackGarurumon subordinates, all of them just as eager to tear into the human's soft, delicate flesh like roasted chicken.

But rather than react the way this fellow desired him to, the human let off a wayward scoff, allowing his lips to form a half-smirk. "Okay. I'll admit it," he replied with a casual shrug, "You had me fooled." The hero then lifted a curved saber so that its point now faced the burly man-beast, which provoked a few angry growls from the ravenous pack of wolves that surrounded him, wagging it as though it were his finger as a gesture of scorn. "But now I have the advantage."

"You'll have to clarify," demanded ShadowWereGarurumon as he cracked his knuckles in a threatening manner. "I'm afraid your feeble humor is lost on us." A few of his wolf flunkies chortled as he spoke, finding it just as funny that this one, singular human being would have the audacity to believe that he was the one who held the high ground.

"Easy enough," the Tamer concluded. Without warning, he crouched as low as he could, then used every last ounce of strength in his well-developed legs to lift off of the ground, just high enough so that he could cross his arms for a split second and then release the weapons in his grasp as a pair of spinning, bladed projectiles, each sword traveling in a perfect, downward diagonal arc.

Before any of the wolf Digimon had time to react, the leader of the pack could only watch in utter surprise as the black and white sabers literally curved and spun their way through the air, effortlessly slicing into the necks of all five BlackGarurumons as though they were made of softened butter. The Champions howled in discordant agony before the rest of their bodies gave out, dissolving into a veritable shower of glittering ones and zeroes beneath the Digital Moon as the Red Mantle descended back to earth, landing on his feet in a crouched position once more, both of his swords planting themselves into the ground a short distance away from his location.

"I hope you were paying attention," the defiant warrior chided, glaring at the stunned Ultimate level with an arrogant sneer. "Because they weren't."

————————

Meanwhile, back at the cave, Blue sat cross-legged at the lip of the entrance, having practically been cast aside by the crowd of baby Digimon like a used paper towel in favor of Detlev, who could supposedly summon fire without effort. Big deal, he thought to himself, folding his arms into his chest with a silent pout. If he were at Champion level, he could do the same thing!

Whatever. Right now, keeping them out of danger was more important than trying to fit in with the crowd. Besides, babies are annoying. In vigilant silence, the cloak-wearing Veemon kept guard over the party inside, casting a few glances into the wilderness upon taking notice that the majority of the howling had stopped. Rather abruptly, too. He smiled in assurance. They're no match for the boss.

But they weren't out of danger just yet.

---

[pre-fight asskicking for the win!]

Detlev Ignatz

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Detlev Ignatz]

"{So, where's your partner, Detlev?}"

Detlev's was so focused on his digivice that it took him a brief moment to process the question - and once it went through his head, it caught him off guard.  It was a question that he was honestly starting to ask himself at this point - there were no clues as to who, what, or where his partner was.  "{I don't know,}" he muttered, wiping away some of the sweat building up on his forehead, prompting the DemiMeramon to descend from above and take up a spot on the child's shoulder.  "{I haven't found him yet.}"  He let out a sigh.  "{You have any idea how I'm supposed to find my partner?}"

The DemiMeramon shrugged.  "{I ain't got a clue.  A digivice like that means there's a digimon out there that's supposed to be your partner, but I don't really know how you find them.}"

"{But how am I supposed to know who my partner is?}" the boy quietly asked.

"{I heard that we can just tell.  It's supposed to be like some kind of instinct telling us that there's a human out there that we gotta stick with and travel around with, so even if we aren't born right in front of them, we'd know who we're supposed to protect.}"  The floating fireball paused for a moment, looking Detlev over before adding "{You seem like the kind of kid that would have a good fire digimon, like a Candlemon.  Or an Agumon.  Maybe if you wait long enough, they'll find you?}"

The boy stood in silence for a few moments, contemplating the digimon's words.  He looked around him, towards the DemiMeramon, towards the grinning Meramons behind him.  A fairly reasonable idea popped in his head, and he felt compelled to speak it.  "{Does that mean one of you guys could be my partner?}" he inquired.

It was an innocent question, truly, and he had no idea that it would incite the Mokumons hiding behind him.  They began to whisper to each other, but it quickly escalated to normal speaking.  And then arguing.

"I saw him first!"

"I touched him first!  That means we're bonded!"

"He held my arm!  He's my partner!"

One look behind him, and it looked like the baby digimon were about to come to blows with each other.  Once again, Detlev was thrown into confusion, looking towards the DemiMeramon for some kind of explanation for what they were talking about now.  "{Hey guys, cool it down!}" he barked, "{If he was your tamer, you would've known before you saw him!  Here, let me get an actual partner digimon to tell you!}"

He turned towards the cloaked digimon and shouted, "Hey, Veemon!  You're that white-haired human'sssss partner, right?  Issss there something inside you that just tellssss you that you're hissssss partner, or did you just suddenly become his friend?"

Detlev stood there and maintained his silence, unsure of what to say.  Though he didn't understand that the Veemon requested their silence, he had assumed it was best not to attract any attention.  The howling had gotten closer, and its abrupt end only made the child more anxious.  Did they stop because they were fighting the white-haired guy?  Hopefully, he was safe.

Red Mantle

[Red Mantle]

THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE, YOU'D THINK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

As if robbed of the ability to speak for himself, the ShadowWereGarurumon could only gawk in a mixture of rage and horror as the white-haired human –– a lowly human –– rose back to a standing position and stoically brushed his shoulders off like he had actually broken a sweat in dispatching all five Champion level Digimon with that single, decisive toss of his swords. Impossible, the man-beast chanted mentally, trying desperately to comprehend this turn of events, but to little avail. There was no denying the fat at hand: this pitiful sack of meat had just executed his entire pack.

But the sensation of dread that took hold in his blackened heart soon replaced itself with primal fury; he gnashed together his drooling fangs and growled viciously at the Red Mantle, glaring daggers at him as he continued to gather his belongings at a disturbingly casual pace, picking up the Empty Perfection blade by blade until the both of them were back in his possession proper.

"What's the matter?" the human called out with a glance,  flourishing his weapons with surgical precision. He gently lifted a blade to point it at ShadowWereGarurumon, beckoning him with it to come closer. "Does the puppy need to be walked?"

The beast snapped. "Don't mock me, you filthy wretch!!" he howled as he lunged forward, fists cocked back in preparation to pulverize the defiant Tamer where he stood, eyes practically gleaming with berserk fury. Though he a viral variation of the WereGarurumon species, his lightning-fast, close-range style of combat was not to be trifled with, as he was still an Ultimate level in terms of both speed and power. Any attack that the Red Mantle took from him, no matter how much he personally believed he could withstand, would still leave its mark on him.

The warrior brought his arm back, then grunted as he released the black sword from his left hand, putting extra spin on the weapon to further increase its cutting potential as it flew through the air like a makeshift buzzsaw.

The frontal assault was intentionally done to test the waters, as it were, an act that came full circle as ShadowWereGarurumon entered a sprint on all fours, causing the blade to curve gently upwards and back toward its wielder's location, a result of their unique curvatures as swords and the years of training the Mantle had underwent to achieve such an effect.

At the very moment ShadowWereGarurumon bounded forward with a mighty roar, fists now blazing with darkness energy, the Red Mantle strafed his way rightward, just barely avoiding the man-beast's attack as it connected with the ground, blasting the spot where he once stood to complete smithereens as though he were a living stick of dynamite. "Shadow Claw!" he screamed shortly afterward, dragging his energy-infused nails back around in a circular motion, one that required the heroic Tamer to roll out of the way, this time to the left, as he felt the sheer pressure of his maneuver beating against his skin.

The distinctive snicker-snack of the Red Mantle's weapon whizzing through the oxygen drew closer, and without hesitation, the human performed a clean slice with the white blade in his right hand, an attack which his furry opponent easily anticipated and avoided, spinning as he did so before entering a dramatic sprint to escape ShadowWereGarurumon's striking distance, leaping forward with his other hand outstretched so that the hilt of his weapon could safely return to his grasp as he rolled his way into a crouched position, priming his tools for another engagement.

"You will not live long enough to tell stories of this encounter, human. Mark my words..." growled ShadowWereGarurumon before he drew in as much air as his lungs could take in, turning his body so that he could face his would-be victim. He arched his back and unleashed the loudest, angriest howl he could muster from within himself, feeling the light of the Digital Moon wash over him as pure, feral rage consumed his every waking thought. He wanted to kill this human. He needed to kill this human. And, sooner or later, he would get his revenge.

The Red Mantle looked on silently, feeling the adrenaline surge through his own body as he prepared another couple of strategies to dispatch the Digimon, feeling the tension in the air buckle and quiver under the pressure of the beast's growing power.

————————

Amidst all the fighting and squabbling that took place between the Mokumon children, Blue perked up as soon as that ghastly, savage howling shattered the relative silence of the Nanosphere Forests, filling the air with a sense of dread he had never encounter before. Quickly, he returned to a standing position, clenching a fist out of concern for Red's safety, despite knowing well enough that he could handle himself in just about any situation but nonetheless annoyed that he was stuck doing babysitter work instead of being there on the front lines to provide him backup.

"Honestly, buddy, I dunno how ta ansah dat..." Blue admitted upon thinking of the DemiMeramon's question in greater detail, unsure of what to say to the children. According to the legends, most Digimon who are destined to become the partners of a human being are usually put through a series of circumstances that lead to their inevitable meeting, and the same could certainly be said of humans as well –– after all, they were constantly falling into the Digital World, a feat that was spectacular and extraordinary in and of itself.

But did it truly encompass more than just an instinctive feeling in the gut? As much as he would have liked to call Red his friend, to do that so openly –– especially considering their personal set of circumstances –– would be to open up a can of worms that no one should have to deal with.

It was a question the Veemon himself had no, concrete answers to.

---

[bleh, shit post is shit]

Detlev Ignatz

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Detlev Ignatz]

...that was it?  That was all the Veemon could say?  "Of courssssse a flameless fool would give a uselessssss answer," the DemiMeramon muttered to itself, rolling its eyes as it turned back towards the Mokumon babies, who took the inconclusive response as an excuse to continue their squabbling over who should be the child's partner.  "{He said he didn't know squat,}" he added, so the boy would at the very least understand that he had no answer.

Detlev sighed, disappointed that he was no step closer to learning how to find his partner.  He turned to the group, just now realizing that it looked like the baby digimon were about to come to blows with each other about whatever they were arguing about.  He could only guess it was something related to partner digimon - were they arguing about who would get a human as a partner?  It would have helped if any of them spoke German - something that made little sense considering their actions implied they understood what he was saying.  "{Don't worry guys,}" he assured the fresh digimon, "{I'm sure all of you guys might get partners!  You don't all need to share me!}"

The babies all turned as if to look at him, and it took Detlev several seconds to realize that they weren't looking at him.  Even the DemiMeramon had its attention drawn to something behind him.  He twisted around, wondering if the Veemon had done something the catch their attention.  But much to his dismay, it was much worse than that.

A figure emerged from the bushes.  The blood-red eyes and claws were impossible to miss.  It had streaks of white matching the many teeth it freely displayed, yet the majority of its body was darker than the shadows of the night.  The lupine digimon was larger than him, the Veemon, or the DemiMeramon and its friends combined, which became increasingly explicit as it slowly approached.  Saliva was dribbling from its mouth, followed by a low growling noise as it eyed the group - a rookie, a human, and countless baby digimon meant there would be quite the feast tonight!

Was this one of the digimon whose howling was echoing through the night?  A chill ran down the child's spine as he realized just how the digimon had found them - all the noise from the babies talking to each other doubtlessly attracted the wolf to their location.  It must have been one of the digimon that the white-haired guy went out to deal with, one source of the howls the group heard through the night.  Had it been crafty enough to avoid the white-haired guy's blades and gaze, or had it just been meandering about until it heard the commotion?

The Veemon was between the wolf and the rest of the group, so he didn't feel as though they were in too much danger.  He assured himself that the cloaked blue dragon digimon would be enough to stop anything from happening to them.  That's why he left his partner here - because he was strong enough to fight and win against a digimon of this size and (apparent) ferocity.

Right?

Detlev backed further into the cave, gently pushing the Mokumons back with him, with the DemiMeramon following suit.  If the fight he observed earlier this day was of any indication, the upcoming conflict would be very risky to be near.

Red Mantle

[Red Mantle]

THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE, YOU'D THINK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.

The sound of steel scraping against steel continued to pierce the Nanosphere Forests for about a rough dozen minutes as both human and Digimon exchanged blow after blow, swords versus claws, without a moment of pause in between, each fighter evading and countering the other with an expert's timing. Even though the tanned warrior himself never thought too much about the skill level of his enemy, the ShadowWereGarurumon's rising anger at the fact that a mere human could stand on equal footing with him proved to further increase his natural ferocity against him.

Eventually, that rage hit critical mass, and a darkness infused foot came flying at the Red Mantle. "Full Moon Kick!" As it emerged from a blind spot on his left, the Tamer had barely positioned his body just enough to avoid having his arms broken by the full impact of the man-beast's savage attack, but could not bring himself to fully withstand the sheer force behind it as it connected without delay.

"Kuh!" Pain of unimaginable proportions seared through his torso like fire, and against his will, the Red Mantle's body was thrown off of its feet and sent rocketing backwards like he had been shot out of a cannon. But this was nothing –– he had suffered far more grievous injuries than this, and an energy-powered roundhouse kick was not enough to cease his assault. Steeling his thoughts and allowing the adrenaline to course through his veins, the veteran Tamer twisted his form into a roll in mid-flight, and in a single graceful movement, landed back on his feet with a lengthy skid. He lifted his eyes, ready to throw his swords again ––

–– only to find that ShadowWereGarurumon had vanished into thin air. What?! With ragged breaths, the Mantle glanced every which way, wondering how the large and lumbering beast-man had disappeared so thoroughly. It would have earned the Ultimate Digimon a compliment, that is, until the human's ears, having been conditioned over many years of adventuring to pick up even the slightest noises on the wind, caught the faint rustling of leaves that continued to go further and further away. Damn it! Blue won't stand a chance against him –– not without Digivolving first!

He took off into a desperate sprint after the beast and, after leaping into the treetops with a single bound, used the branches themselves as platforms to dash and dart his way through the woods, giving relentless chase to ShadowWereGarurumon.

————————

What was this asshole's problem, Blue thought to himself as he overheard the DemiMeramon talk lowly of him for his lack of an appropriate response to his earlier inquiry. What did he want to hear? That the kid wanted to put up with all of their squabbling and bickering every day by choice? Or that they didn't have any say in the matter whatsoever? He was forced into a box and was now being punished for it with insults and derisive comments, something he considered deeply unfair based on the circumstances at hand.

But making matters worse was the emergence of a tall and heavily muscular creature from the base of the forest floor, who glared at the crowd of Digimon and the lone human with pure hunger glistening in his bloody red eyes as strings of drool fell from bared fangs that looked as though they could rip through Digizoid itself. The grim possibility that the Red Mantle had failed to keep all of them at bay ran through the blue-skinned Rookie's mind, but the fact that it was here now, where he was at his weakest, was what threw him over the edge.

The victory dragon instantly leaped to his feet and assumed a combat stance, fists primed and ready to put himself between the children and their new "play-mate", realizing that he was at a severe disadvantage without the Red's presence. Though he was fully capable of attaining new heights in power, Blue had no access to any of it without his Tamer's Digivice –– it was both a blessing and a curse, something Pepper Breath and the Charcoal Brigade over there failed to understand at all.

Just then, a lightbulb clicked on inside his mind. Suddenly, the Veemon dropped his posture, despite being face to face with a Digimon far larger and more powerful than his own current level, and shrugged as if though he had no idea what was going on. "Ya know, big fella, deez shrimps in here ain't woit' gobblin' up. Specially sririacha breat' ovah dair," Blue piped up with a disturbingly chipper tone of voice, pointing to DemiMeramon. "Dat guy'll give ya gas somethin' fierce." He thought for a second –– so would the Mokumon babies, now that they came to mind.

Then, he stepped forward, rather casually, to greet the Ultimate level beast-man with a confident smirk on his face as Blue cracked both sets of knuckles in preparation for the beatdown that was about to transpire. "Why not take a shot at me instead? Little do deez clowns know..." He paused, building suspense with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I can reach da Ultra level. So why waste yer time on dem, when ya gotta shot at me?"

His audacious declaration was true –– but only to a certain point. Again, he lacked the Red Mantle's presence to be able to achieve such a magnanimous level of power on his own, and given the programming restrictions his Digivice possessed, there was only a certain way he could go about reaching that stage, whispered to be so rare that the existence of such Digimon were largely passed off as myth and legend.

He waited for the moment to strike. Even if he was a Rookie, he still had brains at his disposal. Brains, and well over three decades of combat experience behind his belt.

Whatever happened, something wasn't going to make it out of this one alive.

---

Detlev Ignatz

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE