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Shiloh, on the other hand, made plenty of friends.

They weren’t necessarily the deepest of relationships, and those he actually counted as close or intimate had unfortunately dwindled to zero with his arrival at Deus, but Shiloh was a friendly guy and he was working hard to rebuild the cozy support group of friends he’d left behind.

He picked up on things quickly, subtle nuances about people that made them easy to read and understand, and he genuinely enjoyed getting to know people, and learning their quirks. It was nice to make people happy, and to make them laugh. Those sorts of things were bright and wonderful, and they kept the darkness at bay. More than ever, Shiloh needed that here. The darkness at home at been scary, but here it was terrifying. Cowering under the bed sheets wasn’t going to cut it here.

So he needed friends, and he needed training. And when he stumbled onto the practice fields, and found the potential for both, the man was enthused.

Perfect.

Haruka had been summoned into his fingers, and he looped her chains through them as he approached Ian carefully, waiting for him to throw the dagger so as to not accidentally become the new target. It was strange to see the other hunter outside of his jacket; in fact it had been strange to meet all of the hunters in the casual wear that the heat brought out. Shiloh himself was looking particularly stunning (see: not at all stunning) in a t-shirt and shorts, and a pair of white runners with, incidentally, bright blue and duck patterned laces. He really, really wasn’t that into ducks, but the shoelaces had caught his eye back home, and they’d been far too hilarious to pass up.

“I’m not sure it’s supposed to do that,” Shiloh chuckled, eyeing the knife on the ground as he settled in next to Ian.

“Shyduck,” Shiloh repeated, shaking his head gently. “That’s really gonna stick, huh?”

But he was grinning back at Ian, and struck a little pose when the other hunter called him cute. He’d never said he had any knack for fashion; he just wore what he liked, and what was comfortable. At least he’d left the boots at home today, because shorts and boots were definitely an ensemble he had worn before and would wear again. He watched Ian retrieve his weapon, Haruka still coiled in his hands, her jaws swinging gently at his side. She was surprisingly silent at the moment but he could feel her waiting at the edge of his mind, as though she had something to say, and was just waiting to say it. As he surveyed the training field, he had an idea of what the competitive weapon would suggest.

When Ian sat down, Shiloh followed and then it came, a disappointed sigh in his head. There would be time for games later, he mentally assured her, before turning to Ian.

“This is definitely gonna sound crazy but… I came here to practice.” He smirked cheekily at the Mist hunter. “But it’s so hot…”

He let the chains roll from his hands and onto the grass as he flopped onto his backside. “So hooooot,” he whined.

“I guess it’s better than ‘hey you’,” Shiloh conceded, “And yeah, ‘s what it’s for, isn’t it? Practice? Though I gotta admit, now that I’m here, all that moving around doesn’t sound super exciting.”

He stifled a yawn, and propped himself up onto his elbows, glancing from Ian to his weapon lying in the grass beside him.

“That, is Haruka. As for what exactly Haruka is, well, she’s a bit complex.”

[ Shiloh! I am not, you are just too simple sometimes! Not my fault! ]

He laughed before continuing. “She says she isn’t. But I liken her to like, uh, a bear trap on a chain. See here? Her jaws are hinged and they snap closed when fully extended. I haven’t exactly mastered the technique yet.”

[ Shiloooh, you’ll get there! But we should actually practice, on things that aren’t the clothes you are too lazy to pick up! I wasn’t made for that! Shiloh, let’s play! ]

Running his hand over the smooth metal, he patted the top of the weapon’s ‘head’. In a bit, he thought, now was sitting time. Or lying time rather, as he lounged on his side and grinned up at Ian. He picked up Haruka’s head, and held it up to him, making snapping motions with her jaws like a puppet.

“See?”

“Something like that,” Shiloh grinned, setting the weapon down. “Though I wouldn’t say she’s insolent… It’s just not as easy as you’d think to throw a chain. It’s hard, sort of like a lasso but it’s not smooth at all. I’ll get it though.”

He watched as Ian lifted Naomi, examining the dagger suddenly in front of his face and reaching out tentatively to touch Naomi with his fingers. He looked past her to Ian, staring as the man brushed back his hair. Shiloh’s own hair was a messily pulled back into a ponytail, the lengths that escaped it sticking to his face in the heat. Following Ian’s lead, he blew at his bangs, hoping to dislodge them from his face.

“She’s not half-bad at all, man. I sure as hell wouldn’t want her stuck in me. Do you guys not get along?”

Ian’s tone had made him curious, he didn’t seem particularly proud of the weapon. Shiloh thought Naomi was pretty cool, though he didn’t envy the task of learning to throw a knife. Not that his was particularly easier, but at least should throwing fail, he could just bash a monster’s head in.

“I bet you could,” Shiloh said, though he instantly looked a bit crestfallen. It seemed Haruka drew the line at being shared, and while she assured him mentally that Ian seemed very nice, he wasn’t allowed to throw her. “Haruka says no, but I’d let you try.”

“But, I’m glad my fingers are safe! Haruka is very good, she only bites when told… Though sometimes she can get a little over-playful. I’ve gotten myself bitten once or twice already that way.”

[ You’re too clumsy. ]

“That too,” he answered aloud, before he remembered that he was with someone. Despite the fact that everyone had weapons, Shiloh was still too new to know what was commonplace or not on the island, talking to one’s weapon included. “I’m sure you guys will get there! It’s like you were doing, you just gotta practice until your brainwaves sync up or something. I figure the only reason why Haruka and I got on so well is that there isn’t a whole lot going on up here… Plenty of space for her!”

He knocked against his head with his hand gently, before laughing again. “That’s kind of you to say, but hah, me, interesting, you must have lead a pretty boring life up until now, huh?”

Shiloh teased him back, playing idly with the strands of hair that had fallen loose around his face. He blew out a sigh again, it was hot, and as much as he loved his hair, it only made things hotter.

“It’s just for fun,” he said, getting to his feet. “Though it’s not very fun right now, ugh, so hot.”

Then he pulled his shirt off, wiping his face with it before tossing it on the ground. He kicked his shoes off as well, before flopping back on the grass next to Ian.

“Much better.”

“Ow, I can't imagine that being very fun,” Shiloh agreed, thinking that dropping any sort of weapon on one’s foot would be painful, let alone a hefty dagger like Naomi.

“You know, really, you’re the one that’s too nice,” he said, smiling as Ian pulled playfully at his hair, and complimented him yet again. He brushed the man’s hand away with a laugh, and pushed the hair back from his face, tousling it haphazardly with his fingers.

“I like it well enough, even better now that the sun’s out, even if it is way too hot. It’s like beach weather, except with that thing in the water, I think swimming is out of the question.”

He made a sour face, as though he couldn’t believe he was on an island and he couldn’t swim, and shifted so he was lying on his stomach, fishing around for his shirt to use as a headrest. Finding it, he tucked it under his chin, and tilted his head to glance curiously at Ian.

“Although I guess being here isn’t exactly supposed to be a vacation. What about you? Do you like it here?”

“Nice enough.”

Shiloh wasn’t really picky about what people were, any sort of company was preferable to none and he’d fallen into nice and not-so-nice crowds before. But people were just people, and far be it from him to judge anyone negatively, if he wasn’t willing to consider himself with the same standards. He wondered vaguely what made Ian consider himself not nice, but he wasn’t about to press. It was probably something that only Ian could see, after all it didn’t seem like the guy was particularly confident. No, that wasn’t right, Shiloh thought. The guy was confident, he’d just been honest about his shortcomings thus far. Now he was a little curious, but the subject had changed and Shiloh let it go, laughing at Ian’s teasing tone.

“Naw, I’d rather not take my chances. I do quite enjoy living, you know. But somewhere else would be nice… You know there’s a pool in the cafeteria?”

He watched the man stretch out beside him, his own thoughts a bit oblivious to the circumstances, and their closeness. They were just two dudes enjoying a beautiful day, and he mimicked Ian’s pose, rolling back onto his back beside the other hunter.

“Home would have to be pretty bad for fighting monsters to be an improvement, but I hear you, it definitely has its improvements.” No one yelling at him was one of them, but it was still early yet. But Ian’s next admission caught him off-guard, and Shiloh sat up a bit, staring at him. “What do you mean, you seem to fit in just fine here, everyone liked you at the star party! But… I guess this is like the island of misfit toys, so it’s probably best to take that with a grain of salt.”

He grinned widely at him.