abraxaslogs | [ open ]

[Hell yeah, more for him. Nero tears into the next one, turning his back to the pole to watch the edge of the forest. Three guys (nongendered) guarding a fuckin' pole against goats after the shit they went through? Oh, yeah, they're thriving. Absolutely not a thing wrong here.

Nero gives Steve a look.] I can tell you haven't tussled with a goat before.

[Speaking from experiencing after living with Eli, which is a demon in the body of a goat. Barring that some demons did look like goats -- probably on purpose, 'cause they're fucking evil.

But since they're moving past the goats --] Yeah, Steve, what's the worst?

No, I haven't. Got any pointers?

[ yeah, he's still talking through a mouth of food at this point - but that also has a lot to do with the fact that it's only been recently that steve's even gotten an appetite back. he's got months of not actually eating to make up for, so.

and with aloy and nero both doing their whole...thing. of actually keeping an eye out and doing their job, steve takes a sort of half step so that he's facing the maypole more directly, since both nero and aloy seem to be more focused on the everywhere else. ]

I mean- are we talking paid or unpaid? [ he thinks for a second, like actually thinks about it, as he finishes the bite. ] Cause if we're going unpaid, I'd say being bait for a weird monster dog creature thing cause a kid wanted me to kill his demon monster...dog thing. It worked out, but still. Kinda sucked. [ that is a gross over-simplification of him and dustin working on tracking down dart, but ya know. he can spare nero and aloy the details. ] Paid? [ he thinks for another minute, like there are a few he really has to pick between. ] Have either of y'all seen the ice cream store in my Horizon thing? Cause that one really sucked. Like a lot.

[ could he explain that one more too? probably. does he, instead of explaining, take another bite of kebab? yes. ]

They're heavier than you think.

[That's all the goat-related advice she has, apparently, and she certainly does not plan on elaborating any further. Why would she, when Steve is about to recount his work history? Aloy can multi-task, her gaze somewhere past the festival grounds, even as she carries on the conversation.

The sheer contrast, however, gets her momentary attention. She quirks an eyebrow in Steve's direction.]

Worse than the monster dog?

[Honestly, she's not wrong.]

Protect your junk. They aim for it.

[Don't ask how he knows. Nero cracks his knuckles, dragging a heel through the grass. At this point, he's hoping some horde of goats shows up anyway just for something to do. The only thing he's getting out of this now is bug bites.

And Steve's weird-ass résumé. Killing monster dogs is nothing out of the ordinary for him -- except they're usually giant fuckin' bugs, not dogs, but. Same thing. Demonic animals. Why do they always look like animals, anyway?]

I don't go there much. It's still weird. [Does he really need to elaborate on the alternative plane of existence?] You worked in an ice cream store? And you based your mind palace on it, despite hating it?

[He really doesn't get it.] Have you considered making something you, I don't know, like?

Edited 2023-06-12 06:00 (UTC)

[ somehow the combination between aloy and nero's advice is really. all steve needs to know. he nods, actually very seriously committing both of those things to memory. ]

Yes- definitely worse than the monster dog. [ thankfully, he doesn't take aloy or nero for the type to pry, which means he doesn't have to talk about the whole russian base torture scene. he doesn't really want to talk about it, anyway, so instead he jumps on the thread of literally anything else. ]

It's not the only thing I have there. It just is also part of it. And it was the job I hated, not the actual store. I don't blame the ice cream for how much I hated the job. [ plus...it does hold a lot of sentimental value. to a degree steve's probably not even aware of, and definitely isn't going to mention. instead, he just nods - more to himself than anything. because yes, he doesn't blame the shop. the ice cream did nothing wrong.

he's about to ask them if either of them have even ever had ice cream when something stops him. it's extremely subtle, barely a shift in the air, but he smells something he doesn't know if he has before. he's still getting used to this, to the fact that as soon as his senses were clear of the rot and decay of the pit, he's suddenly been able to smell...honestly, way too well. is he able to actually pick out what it is he's smelling? no way. but he does notice when something changes, like it does now, and it has steve's eyes suddenly darting to the treeline. ]

Uh. Do either of you guys... [ don't say it, don't say it, it's too weird. ] Hear. That? [ super smooth, harrington. ]

[Aloy has only read about jobs in the pre-apocalypse, but she imagines that mundane jobs like what Steve's describing are probably a constant of every universe, even if she's never had ice cream. Maybe she's about to comment on that when Steve stops short--which is odd, because of the three of them, she'd figure that either her or Nero would detect a disturbance first.

But it's only a moment later that she, too, hears it, and then she's all business.]

Something from the woods.

[Her hand hovers over the quiver at her hip, ready to nock an arrow as soon as the threat appears. For now, she holds still, as if expecting an ambush.]

Not a goat.

[Nero might be gettin' the distinct feeling that Steve is weird. Sure, Nero might've made his van, but it wasn't on purpose and that thing was as much as a mobile home as it was a mobile office.

Not that you could say Devil May Cry was a job equivalent to... an ice cream shop.]

Uh... huh.

[In Nero's case, he doesn't have an apparent super-nose. He just hits shit and it dies. And, as he turns to the treelines, scanning them, he's gotta remind himself -- hit it until it's knocked out, not dead. Don't wanna piss off the townies.

Nero sniffs.] You'd smell the goat. [Probably. At least he always does, but he also sort of lives with a goat, so --

The tree line doesn't so much as part as cracks open, and a stubby brown snout and a very huge ass following it pad out of the trees. Two rounded ears swivel, and the bear's eyes zero in not so much in the three idiots standing in its way... but the pole.

Then another break in the treeline. Nero cracks his knuckle, not so subtly moving in front of Steve.] If there's a baby, we got the whole damn family.

[Is that a third bear emerging, somehow perfectly Steve-sized? Or is Aloy baby bear in this equation? (Nah, it's totally Steve.)] So, uh. Anyone fought bears before?

[ aloy would be the first to notice steve's new abilities, but also, hey. he's learning! or at least trying to learn. how many ass-kickings will he have to go through before he actually starts picking up some new skills?

thankfully the actual thing takes precedence and pulls both aloy and nero's attention, even if the mention of smelling goats has steve's face scrunching up. he really doesn't want to think about that right now, because yes, goats? are really far up there in terms of terrible things he's being forced to live with.

but yes, okay, task at hand. there is something in the treeline and steve's hand goes to hover at his hip (possibly copying aloy a little, but with his sword instead of her quiver). which...is a good thing, as that is right when the treeline opens up and a bear steps through. steve blinks, shocked, if only because he's a lot more used to assuming something is a bear and finding out it isn't than seeing an actual bear. ]

Shit. Bears travel in packs? [ nero steps in front of him, and steve is pretty okay with that, stepping in behind and keeping his eyes split between the bears and the pole.

he's starting to wonder if this is really worth it, but alas. here they are. three bears, and three of them. isn't this some kind of nursery rhyme? ]

Do we have to fight them? Isn't there a way we can just, I don't know- scare them off? [ he has a feeling the answer is going to be a resounding no, which is also why his short sword is now unsheathed. both aloy and nero should be very proud, considering steve's stance and hold is much better. he's been practicing. ]

Well, not...bears.

[She doesn't have bears where she's from, though there are bear-like machines. Huge and aggressive and spitting frost and flame. This seems fairly mundane, in comparison. Aloy might be a hunter, but she doesn't like killing for no reason. The bears aren't interested in them, only the maypole.

Which they are supposed to be protecting. She might not want to kill it, but they're going to have to do something before the whole family starts using them as a scratching post.]

Yeah, make some noise. Make yourself big. [She spreads her arms.] Intimidating. They probably don't want a fight any more than we do.

[She hopes, anyway!]

[That sounds so fuckin' ominous. Nero gives her a look, but shakes himself as he takes a few steps closer to the bear specifically in front of Steve. He's not really into killing them, either; these aren't demons or monsters. They're just bears. Bears that have the totally wrong idea, but.

And they're kind of cute. He's never really been face-to-face with one before. The thing with demons? They're all like looking into a backed-up toilet. No room to appreciate anything about them.]

Okay. Steve, you do that. Maybe near the pole. [Nero punches a fist into his open hand as he strolls closer.] I've got an idea to intimidate them.

[The biggest bear is Nero's target, mostly 'cause it's the most likely to disembowel one of them. Now, Nero's pretty sure he can survive another disembowelment, but can't say as much for his fine companions.

So, last measures first it is.] All right, Pooh. Hope you brought your training wings.

[It's possibly the last thing the bear expects. One second Nero's still walking towards it, and the next he's at the bear's rump, grabbing it by its ass, lifting it into the air. With a disgruntled snarl, Nero spins once and launches the bear back into the forest that it came from. Several trees crack under the falling mass of confused predator, and there's a loud fwump when it hits the forest floor again, somewhere in the distance.

Nero dusts his hands off.] There. That'll teach 'em --

[The second bear immediately launches at him and slams him into the ground with a roar, grabbing onto his arm with giant, stinky teeth.] Son of a bitch --

[Note to self: bears crave vengeance when fellow bears have been disrespectfully launched into the air.]

[ honestly, steve's not really phased at aloy's comment, if only because that's about what he expects. not bears, no, because why would anyone in solvunn ever come from a place that deals with just normal bears? nero's got his demon creature things, so why would aloy have anything that was just a woodland creature?

but, actually, what aloy says makes sense. steve's pretty sure he heard about that back home, about making yourself big. about making it seem like you're too much effort to attack. steve's already doing as much when nero tells him to protect the pole, arms up and curled outwards. he looks properly ridiculous but you know what, if it works, it-

that's when nero picks up the largest of the bears and frisbees it back into the forest and steve just sort of. freezes in place. as if his brain needs a few more moments to process the fact that actually just happened.

except he doesn't actually have a few moments, because the second bear launches itself at nero and takes him down with an echoing roar, and steve is moving before he realizes it. ] Shit, shit, shit, Nero! [ aloy's got the third bear, right? she totally does. because steve is lunging forward, hands wrapped around his sword as he goes to swipe at the hind quarters of said bear - trying to draw its attention away from nero and off his arm and instead towards him. he feels the familiar warmth of magic filling his chest when he starts yelling. ]

Hey- hey! Over here, asshole! [ turns out bears aren't immune to singularity gifts, and steve's gotten pretty good at his 'compel duel'-esque ability over the last few months. he starts moving backwards, sword still out and prepared a the bear turns its attention towards him and starts stalking him back towards the treeline.

does he know what he's going to do from here? not yet. but its jaw is no longer trying to tear nero's arm off, so. ]

Wait, that's not--

[The situation spirals out of control before she can stop it. First, Nero launches the bear, and if there was any chance of all hell not breaking loose, it goes down the drain when Steve decides to engage one himself. They've been through a lot together by now, sure, but Aloy is not necessarily confident in the latter's ability to wrestle a bear.

She doesn't even want to wrestle a bear, but it's looking like that might become inevitable, as the third animal doesn't seem to like what's going on, either.

Aloy still doesn't want to kill it. She grabs the closest large-size branch and swipes it in a wide arc, hoping to get it to back off.]

You know, none of this needed to happen!

Edited 2023-06-25 19:02 (UTC)

[All right, well. Two things: first, he figured throwing a bear would give the bears the chance to think they'd picked the wrong fight. Second... okay, it hurt like hell, but being gnawed on like a chicken bone still doesn't really beat getting impaled.

They're just different pains.

Before Nero's got a chance to sock it in the face, Steve's just yelling at it and swinging his sword around in a way that might've worked if he was, uh, bigger, maybe. Actually, whatever Steve's doing seems to really have pissed the fucker off, as it roars with Nero's blood still dripping from its teeth.

Nero curses as he pushes up to his feet, shaking his arm as the skin begins knitting back together.]

I figured they weren't this fuckin' dumb! [Nero picks up a rock and chucks it at the bear going for Steve (after making sure Aloy's not about to bite it, either). The thing bounces right off its shoulder, cutting through the fur, but it doesn't once take its eyes off Steve.] What the hell did you do, Steve? You turned it into the Terminator!

[He's gonna have to throw a second bear, isn't he?]

[ part of steve might have been slightly hurt at aloy's lack of confidence in him, but he's also. you know. not entirely looking to wrestle the creature bear handed (ha ha ha ha ha). he is armed for a reason, though even with the sword and his training, the odds aren't entirely in his favor. ]

I'm open for suggestions! [ steve continues to back away towards the trees, away from the maypole. the bear looks...well, honestly, the bear looks freaking furious and steve definitely realizes he may have made a poor decision here, but it's not over yet. he has had some sword training where it concerns animals or beasts, though the idea of killing it still isn't top of his list.

he notices the rock out of the corner of his eye as it hits the bear's shoulder and falls, the bear not even flinching at the impact. ] It's fine! It'll be fine. It's just going to be distracted with me for a- shit! [ because of course that's when the bear roars again and lunges for steve, forcing him to dive and roll off to the side. reflexes and practice and adrenaline make for a fantastic combo as steve is back up on his feet in no time, which is almost too slow as the bear slides along the ground and turns to where steve had rolled off to.

there is brief eye contact between the two of them where steve does consider turning and running, but he knows he's nowhere near fast enough, so instead he just. goes back to facing the bear and walking steadily backwards away from it. ] Nero?! [ he calls after another moment, eyes not moving from the bear. ] Your arm better yet?

[Luckily, Aloy's un-enchanted, un-flung bear seems to be behaving more like a normal animal. She keeps swinging the branch at it, eventually casting it aside in favor of jabbing at it with her spear, and though it is clearly unhappy with the situation, it eventually starts to back off, perhaps not wanting to meet the same fate as its family.

Whatever's going on with Steve's bear is a bigger problem. Once it seems apparent that her opponent plans to slink off back into the woods, Aloy is turning on her heel and sprinting towards where Steve is cornered, the motion ending in a flying leap towards the animal.

She may not have Nero's supernatural ability, but she is strong, and the bear is distracted. Aloy more-or-less lands on it, immediately trying to wrap her arms around its thick neck with the clear goal of choking it out.]

Nero!

[They could. They could probably use the help.]

[This is absolutely not how he saw this thing going. Now he's halfway convinced Solvunn's bear population's been inflicted with rabies or something. A rabies that Steve just made magically worse. Nero spares a glance at Aloy, but -- unsurprisingly -- she's taken care of herself fine.

Which means Steve.

And Nero is not letting anything happen to Steve. What the hell kind of teacher would he be if he did?

But he's still -- fuck, that thing already chewed his arm down to bone, and though he can heal from anything (probably), it's not as instant as it was back home -- or the shit from the pit's still infecting him. Skin is knitting, but he's still got muscle and bone exposed, and he's pinned his arm against his stomach to not make it worse.]

Shit.

[This is absolutely not how he wanted to do this. He didn't want to -- expose this, at all, in front of people who might not understand. With people who might question it. The pit was different; they didn't have anyone else who could do what he could do. Who could help them get off the goddamn island.

And Aloy's good, but he doesn't want her getting ripped open, either.]

Hold on! [Luckily everyone who was enjoying their particular pole has run off after seeing Nero get attacked. The last thing he needs is more Solvunnites treating him like a goddamn god. Nero kicks off the ground hard enough to leave indentations of his boots, running across the space the bear and Steve have tracked between them.] Aloy, get off!

[He's got enough time. His tail slams into the ground when he slides in front of the bear, anchoring him down, and then both wings flare up from his back. With Aloy off, both demonic hands grab the bear, claws gripping hard as it roars and flails, and the wings roll back like arms and throw the bear even farther than the first one, knocking trees down from the speed of which it lands in the woods.

Nero sucks in a breath, then releases it. The wings dissipate.] That's not how I saw today going. You guys okay?

Edited 2023-07-03 00:39 (UTC)

[ here's the thing: steve hasn't really had a ton of opportunities to use this ability, or whatever it is, in real time. his combat situations, despite his and nero's near-constant training, have been limited and generally around others. the moment never really called for it, and while this isn't the first time steve's used this, it's the first time the stakes were...actually there.

the bear swipes at him, and steve actually does block it - though whether or not that deters the bear or angers it more is hard to tell. thankfully, since steve is still face to face with the bear as he continues to walk backwards, he has a pretty great view of watching aloy just. launch herself through the air and land on the back of the creature.

which is really freaking cool. how is she always so cool?

she gets her arms around its thick neck, and the bear rears back, roaring out with anger and confusion and...well. a lot of anger. steve resets his feet to get ready to dive back in if things get bad, but he can't get too close - not with how those claws are being thrown around. but he's ready, and his decision is already made, if aloy needs help...

which is, as if on cue, when nero slides into the picture. it also means that he has a front row view of the wings as they flare out from nero's back, and all steve can really do is watch as the wings do their thing. it's wild, probably one of the most insane things steve has ever seen, and he's pretty sure he's not even breathing as the bear goes hurtling through the trees.

and just as soon as they flared, they're gone, and nero is checking in on both of them. steve's eyes are still wide, his face brightening. ]

Dude! What the hell was that? Those wings are sick- [ and then, because nero did ask a legitimate question, he sheaths his sword. ] I'm okay, Aloy? Are you? Is your arm getting better? Holy shit- Aloy, you were riding that thing for a sec there!

[ open ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject