[ Rocket provides an easy-going, never-you-mind little shrug at that. Hey, he'll do his best not to hurt it, but all bets are off if it tries to hurt them, you know? He's pretty sure he's well within his rights to defend himself (and Wanda) if it comes down to it; that's just survival rules. ]
Okay. So any ideal spots we oughta be leaving this stuff in?
[ See? He's not calling them junk, even if he might still think the random collection of offerings feels more junk than treasure.
He wanders forward a little, gesturing to what looks like a nice tree stump in a nice patch of grass just past the edge of trees. ]
I still say we just go looking for the guy himself, bring this stuff straight to the source in case something else tries to steal it.
( maybe she is meant to be here to make sure that rocket doesn't do anything untoward to the creatures and near-deities of this place. she hasn't really seen how he acts in front of any of them or at the sight of anything divine, so it would be interesting—how someone wired for the science makes this all fit into his beliefs.
wanda follows after him as he takes the lead, towards the nice tree stump in the nice patch of grass. )
You want to get close? We can try.
( she could use her magic to push the offering towards their target, worse comes to worst. )
I can work a compass spell. Guide our way to deliver the stuff.
[ See, the thing with Rocket and magic is that he's managed to put a pretty clear boundary between it and him. He knows it exists, he's seen it for himself, even let it overcome him in some ways when he'd let Wanda into his head enough to power up the speaker system that now plays tunes from his memory across the rooms in the Treehouse.
He knows that the Singularity exists and that it's a thing they're all connected to, it's what 'powers up' the way they talk to each other through notes, it's what lets them dive into their Horizon and makes the shit they see there feel as real as if they really did dream up some little piece of paradise for themselves.
But it's like Viktor had explained it to him once before: magic is a kind of energy source, and that helps to align it a little easier to what he's used to.
And he does want to get closer. Oh yeah. He wants to meet this guy. ]
You know what you're lookin' for with this spell? Not that I don't think you can do it, but we don't even know what this guy really looks like outside of hearsay.
( wanda is appreciative that they seem to come to a point of understanding, wherein rocket finds no need to question whether she can or can't do something. there is perhaps a sense that he trusts her implicitly, which makes these kinds of ventures with him easier to swallow—in the sense that she feels wanting to meet the lyhos kesc is making this more complicated than what it needs to be.
now in the clearing, wanda drops to her knees and starts pulling at blades of grass in a small, compact circle in front of her. )
Hearsay is enough. A presence like that is never quiet in a mostly quiet forest.
( magic unspools from her hand, falls like liquid onto the bald patch on the ground—a new quality she is still getting used to. her thoughts chase through the trees of the forest, wanda's low chanting in sokovian boosting her magic, eyes closing momentarily—
her magic firms up, solid, like a crystal, pink in its faces and darker at the rims: out of its circumference, an arrow forms, pointing diagonal to their left. it takes a few seconds before the solid shape of her magic dissolves again into something wetter, shooting off into the direction it had pointed towards, not stopping for them. wanda pushes up to her feet. )
[ Rocket stands somewhere behind Wanda, close enough to see what she's up to, but far enough to give her the distance she needs to do her magic stuff without any disturbance.
And maybe to give Rocket a little bit of space for himself too. He still ain't sure how to feel about magic, but it's not something he's especially comfy with, even now.
Stuff seems to happen all in sequence, from her using her magic to the chanting, to the way the magic stops looking like fog and starts becoming a shape that he can see clearly: it's a freakin' arrow. ]
Can't get any clearer than that.
[ He nods now, and slinging the bag-of-shit back over his shoulder, he drops down to all fours and starts for the trees, to chase after that arrow knowing Wanda won't be far behind. ]
( see? magic can be easy to understand if you give it a chance, rocket. it only makes sense that he's following the casted arrow first; wanda follows behind him, traipsing memories of her training with the avengers, of endless cycles of running laps until she couldn't breathe.
being in abraxas has, in many ways, made her more reliant of her magic, but running at a proper pace is like getting back on a bicycle, at least.
the arrow takes sharp turns and guides them deep and further into the forest—until it plunges down, 'stuck' against a tree, a trail of red magic dissipating behind it. wanda stops, breathing hard through her nose, a hand poised against the trunk of another tree; it was pietro who ran, not her. )
[ All right, all right, lets not go too far with that understanding-magic stuff just yet, Wanda. Baby steps.
Truthfully getting to run like this is kind of enjoyable in a way he can't quite explain. It feels freeing, and it feels good for his legs. Being upright, which has become his natural posture, is fine and all, but there's something about being closer to the ground and closer to the origin of his species that he can't quite shake. It doesn't even occur to him to be out of breath because it's in his DNA to run like this.
He straightens now, though, and readjusts the bag, ready to place it wherever it needs to be. He looks towards Wanda and pauses to let her catch her breath. ]
( wanda, in that same breath (and five others, as her lungs quickly fill up with air), turns to look at rocket. she frowns at his words, a little uncertain about how to actually go about tackling this situation.
but, she also kind of knows how rocket likes to think. )
Should we set a trap?
( not that she is particularly keen on that. )
If we set the offerings down somewhere, we could wait it out. It should be nearby.
[ Yes, Wanda, yes — this is the best idea you've had thus far, and Rocket is proud of her for thinking it. He properly sets the bag down and starts to loosen its fastenings. ]
We could leave a trail, entice this goat-guy to the big treasure.
[ He shakes at the bag, indicating said 'big treasure'. ]
And then we get him to talk — [ 'By whatever means necessary', he does specifically not add aloud. ] — and give back that mask the folks want so much. It's a freakin' perfect, fool-proof plan.
[ He roots around for an assortment of what might be the 'better' offerings. He pulls out a toy, one of the larger Eifstide dolls from the bunch, and shows it to Wanda for her approval as a start to said trail. ]
( she still thinks this is unnecessary, even if rocket believes her to have the most big-brained idea of the day. when rocket starts to work at the items in the bag, she moves to sit down on her knees beside him.
it's a little funny, how logical rocket needs this to be. )
What if this creature can't talk, though?
( what will they do, interrogating it, anyway? she grabs at the doll, hand open to allow him to give him whatever other items so she can start lining them up. )
One way or another, we'll be able to communicate exactly what we need from him.
[ Of that Rocket has no doubt.
Will it involve sitting around a table sipping hot tea and polite conversation? Probably not. But, they'll get the mask and the goat man will get his offerings, so as far as Rocket's concerned, it's still the best and most solid plan they could have. ]
These'll be good too.
[ Now he's passing her another set of toys, something that looks eerily goat-like, and then some bright coloured blocks, and another smaller doll. Along with this is a jar of pickled something-rather, and little salted fish. ]
Are we going to hide behind some bushes and wait, too?
( even if she was the one to suggest this 'plan', wanda is not particularly keen on it working at all. rocket seems committed, though, and perhaps this will in fact be a way of getting the mischievous creature to actually take their offerings sooner. besides, maybe it even will enjoy the trap aspect of it, considering it a game.
wanda grabs at the toys as he passes them, and the moment it becomes too much for her to carry, she'll just use her telekinesis to make it float.
with a sigh (she's tired, nothing to do with rocket, really), wanda pulls up from the ground and starts putting down the toys into a 'convincing' line from where the loot is to the edge of the area, right before the realm of shadows where some trees converge. )
[ Rocket gets to his feet too, inspecting the trail of loot and the grand treasure of the rest of it at the end.
He nods, paws at his hips, pleased with the way it all seems to be coming together. ]
Now you're not gonna like this last bit but it's between that or I set up a real snare. [ With sharp barbs. Possibly ones that could and would do some harm. Just a little though, as a treat!
(He's almost hoping he'll have an opportunity to craft up some actual real-life traps though.) ]
Can you use your magic to keep the guy from running off with the loot once he reaches it?
( wanda has to turn back to face him when he mentions setting up a snare. she frowns, fully aware that they shouldn't hurt the lyhos kesc. she walks back, figuring speaking too loudly about their 'plans' wouldn't work in their favor. )
I vote on hiding.
( traps he can make some other time.
her nose scrunches at the thought of using her magic to stop the lyhos kesc, though. )
I can try. ( well, nothing for it, really. ) What's a good hiding spot?
[ Since she's so eager to do it, he'll follow along. No immediate harmful traps will be created on a whim to catch a thieving goat-man.
It still doesn't guarantee that he sticks around if they do manage to lure him forward. It doesn't stop him from just making off with their precious gifts (aka junk) and keeping the mask they were sent here to get either.
But at least Wanda'll try with her magic. That's something. It's also 'safer' than the aforementioned alternative. (Though not as fun, in Rocket's humble opinion.) ]
That cluster of bushes. [ He gestures to the greenery just a few paces behind them. ] They look a little prickly, but they're in line with the bag of stuff, and gives us easy enough access to run out once he gets here. You use your magic, I'll do some nice 'n easy questioning, and we'll get the mask back in no time.
( wanda waits for rocket before following after him. for wanda, it is pretty obvious that providing an offering doesn't mean that they will immediately get a response—be it from creature or deity. she has been here longer, though, and rocket hasn't entirely participate in the ritualistic aspects of solvunn, to be fair, not to her extent, at least.
she decides to sit down once they're behind the bushes, leaning down so that she can hide the top of her head.
the offering is placed, and now all they have to do is... wait.
she opts to advise him: )
This might take a while, Rocket.
( even if they're closer to where they'll find the thief of masks. )
[ Rocket joins her, settling into a seated position as well, fully concealed by bramble and prickly foliage, and matching with their surroundings in their Solvunn garb anyway. This is what stakeout missions are like sometimes; they ain't always pretty, and sometimes you do have to wait.
But Rocket's prepared to wait. He peers through the spaces between branch and leaf, eying the bag of toys and knick-knacks, and the expertly lined up trail of other items just past it. He feels pretty good about their little trap.
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no subject
[ Rocket provides an easy-going, never-you-mind little shrug at that. Hey, he'll do his best not to hurt it, but all bets are off if it tries to hurt them, you know? He's pretty sure he's well within his rights to defend himself (and Wanda) if it comes down to it; that's just survival rules. ]
Okay. So any ideal spots we oughta be leaving this stuff in?
[ See? He's not calling them junk, even if he might still think the random collection of offerings feels more junk than treasure.
He wanders forward a little, gesturing to what looks like a nice tree stump in a nice patch of grass just past the edge of trees. ]
I still say we just go looking for the guy himself, bring this stuff straight to the source in case something else tries to steal it.
no subject
wanda follows after him as he takes the lead, towards the nice tree stump in the nice patch of grass. )
You want to get close? We can try.
( she could use her magic to push the offering towards their target, worse comes to worst. )
I can work a compass spell. Guide our way to deliver the stuff.
no subject
[ See, the thing with Rocket and magic is that he's managed to put a pretty clear boundary between it and him. He knows it exists, he's seen it for himself, even let it overcome him in some ways when he'd let Wanda into his head enough to power up the speaker system that now plays tunes from his memory across the rooms in the Treehouse.
He knows that the Singularity exists and that it's a thing they're all connected to, it's what 'powers up' the way they talk to each other through notes, it's what lets them dive into their Horizon and makes the shit they see there feel as real as if they really did dream up some little piece of paradise for themselves.
But it's like Viktor had explained it to him once before: magic is a kind of energy source, and that helps to align it a little easier to what he's used to.
And he does want to get closer. Oh yeah. He wants to meet this guy. ]
You know what you're lookin' for with this spell? Not that I don't think you can do it, but we don't even know what this guy really looks like outside of hearsay.
no subject
now in the clearing, wanda drops to her knees and starts pulling at blades of grass in a small, compact circle in front of her. )
Hearsay is enough. A presence like that is never quiet in a mostly quiet forest.
( magic unspools from her hand, falls like liquid onto the bald patch on the ground—a new quality she is still getting used to. her thoughts chase through the trees of the forest, wanda's low chanting in sokovian boosting her magic, eyes closing momentarily—
her magic firms up, solid, like a crystal, pink in its faces and darker at the rims: out of its circumference, an arrow forms, pointing diagonal to their left. it takes a few seconds before the solid shape of her magic dissolves again into something wetter, shooting off into the direction it had pointed towards, not stopping for them. wanda pushes up to her feet. )
Hurry— it'll just keep going on its own.
no subject
And maybe to give Rocket a little bit of space for himself too. He still ain't sure how to feel about magic, but it's not something he's especially comfy with, even now.
Stuff seems to happen all in sequence, from her using her magic to the chanting, to the way the magic stops looking like fog and starts becoming a shape that he can see clearly: it's a freakin' arrow. ]
Can't get any clearer than that.
[ He nods now, and slinging the bag-of-shit back over his shoulder, he drops down to all fours and starts for the trees, to chase after that arrow knowing Wanda won't be far behind. ]
no subject
being in abraxas has, in many ways, made her more reliant of her magic, but running at a proper pace is like getting back on a bicycle, at least.
the arrow takes sharp turns and guides them deep and further into the forest—until it plunges down, 'stuck' against a tree, a trail of red magic dissipating behind it. wanda stops, breathing hard through her nose, a hand poised against the trunk of another tree; it was pietro who ran, not her. )
It's — around here. ( —out of breath— ) Nearby.
no subject
Truthfully getting to run like this is kind of enjoyable in a way he can't quite explain. It feels freeing, and it feels good for his legs. Being upright, which has become his natural posture, is fine and all, but there's something about being closer to the ground and closer to the origin of his species that he can't quite shake. It doesn't even occur to him to be out of breath because it's in his DNA to run like this.
He straightens now, though, and readjusts the bag, ready to place it wherever it needs to be. He looks towards Wanda and pauses to let her catch her breath. ]
Okay. Do we call out to it? Can we?
no subject
but, she also kind of knows how rocket likes to think. )
Should we set a trap?
( not that she is particularly keen on that. )
If we set the offerings down somewhere, we could wait it out. It should be nearby.
no subject
[ Yes, Wanda, yes — this is the best idea you've had thus far, and Rocket is proud of her for thinking it. He properly sets the bag down and starts to loosen its fastenings. ]
We could leave a trail, entice this goat-guy to the big treasure.
[ He shakes at the bag, indicating said 'big treasure'. ]
And then we get him to talk — [ 'By whatever means necessary', he does specifically not add aloud. ] — and give back that mask the folks want so much. It's a freakin' perfect, fool-proof plan.
[ He roots around for an assortment of what might be the 'better' offerings. He pulls out a toy, one of the larger Eifstide dolls from the bunch, and shows it to Wanda for her approval as a start to said trail. ]
no subject
it's a little funny, how logical rocket needs this to be. )
What if this creature can't talk, though?
( what will they do, interrogating it, anyway? she grabs at the doll, hand open to allow him to give him whatever other items so she can start lining them up. )
no subject
[ Of that Rocket has no doubt.
Will it involve sitting around a table sipping hot tea and polite conversation? Probably not. But, they'll get the mask and the goat man will get his offerings, so as far as Rocket's concerned, it's still the best and most solid plan they could have. ]
These'll be good too.
[ Now he's passing her another set of toys, something that looks eerily goat-like, and then some bright coloured blocks, and another smaller doll. Along with this is a jar of pickled something-rather, and little salted fish. ]
no subject
( even if she was the one to suggest this 'plan', wanda is not particularly keen on it working at all. rocket seems committed, though, and perhaps this will in fact be a way of getting the mischievous creature to actually take their offerings sooner. besides, maybe it even will enjoy the trap aspect of it, considering it a game.
wanda grabs at the toys as he passes them, and the moment it becomes too much for her to carry, she'll just use her telekinesis to make it float.
with a sigh (she's tired, nothing to do with rocket, really), wanda pulls up from the ground and starts putting down the toys into a 'convincing' line from where the loot is to the edge of the area, right before the realm of shadows where some trees converge. )
no subject
[ Rocket gets to his feet too, inspecting the trail of loot and the grand treasure of the rest of it at the end.
He nods, paws at his hips, pleased with the way it all seems to be coming together. ]
Now you're not gonna like this last bit but it's between that or I set up a real snare. [ With sharp barbs. Possibly ones that could and would do some harm. Just a little though, as a treat!
(He's almost hoping he'll have an opportunity to craft up some actual real-life traps though.) ]
Can you use your magic to keep the guy from running off with the loot once he reaches it?
no subject
I vote on hiding.
( traps he can make some other time.
her nose scrunches at the thought of using her magic to stop the lyhos kesc, though. )
I can try. ( well, nothing for it, really. ) What's a good hiding spot?
no subject
[ Since she's so eager to do it, he'll follow along. No immediate harmful traps will be created on a whim to catch a thieving goat-man.
It still doesn't guarantee that he sticks around if they do manage to lure him forward. It doesn't stop him from just making off with their precious gifts (aka junk) and keeping the mask they were sent here to get either.
But at least Wanda'll try with her magic. That's something. It's also 'safer' than the aforementioned alternative. (Though not as fun, in Rocket's humble opinion.) ]
That cluster of bushes. [ He gestures to the greenery just a few paces behind them. ] They look a little prickly, but they're in line with the bag of stuff, and gives us easy enough access to run out once he gets here. You use your magic, I'll do some nice 'n easy questioning, and we'll get the mask back in no time.
no subject
she decides to sit down once they're behind the bushes, leaning down so that she can hide the top of her head.
the offering is placed, and now all they have to do is... wait.
she opts to advise him: )
This might take a while, Rocket.
( even if they're closer to where they'll find the thief of masks. )
no subject
[ Rocket joins her, settling into a seated position as well, fully concealed by bramble and prickly foliage, and matching with their surroundings in their Solvunn garb anyway. This is what stakeout missions are like sometimes; they ain't always pretty, and sometimes you do have to wait.
But Rocket's prepared to wait. He peers through the spaces between branch and leaf, eying the bag of toys and knick-knacks, and the expertly lined up trail of other items just past it. He feels pretty good about their little trap.
Muttering under his breath: ]
Oh, I'm gonna catch you, you sneaky goat bastard.