Hunters Anonymous (OPEN)

[righteously]

WHO: Dean & Open - Mingle it up!
WHEN: late May
WHERE: the Horizon - Roadhouse Edition
WHAT: Starting a Hunters Anonymous Support Group
WARNINGS: drinking and murder, mostly.

( It starts out with just a couple of people. Dean, obviously, because it's his bar. Eventually Geralt, followed by one of Geralt's other hunting buddies — and then another, and then before you know it there's a handful of hunters all swapping stories about the crap they've seen out in the wilds.

It's about the time Dean makes to take out a notebook and honest to god start writing some of this crap down that two things hit him — First, this is actually really freakin' useful. Second, it feels right. The Roadhouse here may be fake, but this is what the real one would've been like. This is what it was meant for. This is the most real this place has been since he got here.

So he runs it by Geralt, and puts out an APB.

Harvelle's Roadhouse is officially open for business — and not just of the drinking variety.

Mind the jukebox. )

NOTES: This is an open mingle, so feel free to top-level below! The idea here is to open up the Roadhouse for hunter-types to use as a central meeting place or base of operations for anyone who desires to, so feel free to use it as a backdrop for any threads whenever. Obviously non-hunter people are welcome to see the message and wander in whenever they want, too! Info on the Roadhouse can be found here. Hit me up at paingravy for anything you need any time.

Comments

[gynvael]

[ The designation draws a huff out of him.

The pole makes its way around. Geralt takes his next shot. He's a quick mimic, after years of sword training, and it means that while he's not quite at the level of making the game his own, he can copy what Dean's demonstrating well. ]

You were taught to hunt monsters, [ the balls clatter, ] but not to hunt your own food?

[ The curiosity is genuine. No one's explained to him this aspect of the modern world. In Geralt's mind, if you can track and shoot a vampire, you can track and shoot a deer. Hunting is surviving. You can't have one without the other. Not where he's from. ]

[righteously]

Woah, woah, woah-

( Comes the immediate protest, because- hold on a second, there, sport. )

I can skin a deer, okay, I learned to hunt food. It's just different. Look- Where I'm from...

( How the hell does he even explain this?

He fumbles, and then digs around abruptly in his pocket to pull out his cellphone. That's right. A got damn cell phone.

He rounds the table Geralt's direction, bringing up Google Maps as he goes. How the hell does that work in the Horizon? Don't ask him, he just works here, man. On comes a street-view image of a house in Lawrence, Kansas. )

Check it out. This is your standard, basic house back on my planet, right?

( He zooms out. )

Street.

( Out. )

Neighborhood.

( Out. )

County.

( Out. )

City. You see a ton of forest in this forty-mile radius? Not exactly the kind of place where a kid can just pop out into the woods and hunt a squirrel. Just 'cause you can doesn't always mean you can.

( Pause. )

Did you stay with me on this or did I lose you the second I pulled out the phone?

[gynvael]

[ Geralt hands the pool stick to Ciri while Dean intently pulls out his phone.

He lifts an eyebrow. Waits patiently until Dean is finished. ]

I know what a phone is. [ Can't spend that much time with Julie without having been introduced one. (He actually doesn't much understand it, but he's aware it contains a variety of photos, little squares, and occasionally a tiny...moving picture. Now a map, apparently.) ] Hadn't thought you spent much time in the cities. Most monsters nest off the main roads where we're from.

[ It isn't as though folk in Oxenfurt are being chewed up left and right by woodland beasts.

It is also clear that Geralt sees nothing unusual about a child being raised almost exclusively in the wilds. Frankly, it never occurred to him Dean may have had any other existence as a hunter. That aspect is so ingrained as a part of the life, he's simply—assumed it held true across worlds. ]

[wiedzminka]

[ While the men are arguing about nonsense, Ciri is practicing her shot and aligning the white ball with others at various angles. It's trickier than she expected-- which means her stubborn streak is definitely about to make her a pain in the ass if she decides to set her mind to besting Dean at this game. Eventually. She'll just have to come here more often.

The 'phone' is a concept Julie has introduced Ciri to as well, though she understands it even less than the 'TV' so she spares Dean a glance and a raised eyebrow. Since they're not technically playing yet, she's not giving the stick back. ]

Forty-mile radius, no trees? Sounds about as barren a place as the desert.

[righteously]

( Wow, okay Geralt. I know what a phone is earns him a small double-take and a squint, but he rolls on along.

Half of his attention's devoted to Ciri and the shots she's lining up — which are getting progressively better at a surprising rate. He probably should've guessed that. )

There are trees. They're just- less.

( He considers for about two seconds explaining the concept of yuppie sidewalk trees and parks and all that crap, but ultimately writes it off. Who cares? Why complicate things?

Anyway, to answer that non-question- )

Monsters adapted. I mentioned before, most of 'em figured out how to look human to blend in. They slip into small towns, sometimes big cities. Easier access to the food source. Don't get me wrong, a few species keep to themselves in the middle of nowhere, but... those tend to leave a smaller body count. They don't get as much attention, so they're harder to catch.