[when asked to deliver supplies to thorne, wanda does little in the way of protesting or objecting; the news of their crops being razed have spread recently, and there are concerns over how they will manage over the winter. solvunn has more than enough to share, and as arrangements are being made for her to set off in her journey to the tertiary settlement—a two-weeks long trip—wanda makes sure to leave her business in order before she does so.
steve wanted to come along, something along the lines of adventure and why the hell not. wanda personally reached out to billy, her thoughts and emotions on the young man more tenuous than not, but finding a fractured loneliness in him—missing his husband and friends—makes her want to give him a space to feel welcome in. especially with how cruel she had been upon their first meeting, and, one could imagine, a mother will always be a mother, even if they are not directly related (family still is forever). the caravan loaded with the supplies is slow at first, as they shuffle down the path and away from the primary settlement, onto road that is less looked after, with grass and shrubbery growing over it, the open road ahead opening up to vast fields and a lot of nothing.
it doesn't take long to run into aloy, camping out further outside the settlement, and a look at their party has her taking pity on them. she'll join them—as it's not every day one gets to travel so far inland and toward the coast. needless to say, the first day of their journey is spent learning to properly ride a horse and getting used to it. they take turns, sitting inside the caravan, studying the map given to them to reach the nearest portal that should bring them closer to their destination; there are a few of them spread out in solvunn—it's just a matter of finding them.
they pause for meals, stop when the sun goes down to make camp (aloy a particularly welcome expert in that field). they go past shrines along the way, copses of trees, streams and rivers to freshen up in, for their horses to drink from. the more they travel the northern trail along the coast, the saltier the breeze smells, the cooler it is.
wanda looks at the map, then sets it down so she can see what stands before them: a patch of woodland, an outcropping of rock on its side and likely the coastline on the other. she's no expert—but if they decide to go around it, it might delay their arrival to the hydra gulf. the trail disappears inside its depths, the trees voluminous and thick; they might travel inside there for a day, at least. she walks back to the others, placing a hand over the nose of the horse entrusted to her—a dark bay male horse with a white star on his forehead and dark stockings. he flicks his ears at her touch, neighing as she draws her hand away.
they had taken a break to rest up while they decided what to do next. it was still early morning, the sun not too hot on their backs, yet.]
We'll go through. I doubt there's anything too dangerous in there.
[ Billy had immediately agreed when Wanda reached out to him, not only was he itching to do something useful but he also wanted to spend more time with her, get to know her better and hopefully move past the awkward feelings that were still lingering. He had also been grateful for the buffer that was Steve and Aloy.
While Wanda looked over the map, he took it upon himself to levitate up to see the lay of the land. The shortest way was indeed through, even if that seemed like it might be the most dangerous.
Billy looks over at her as he lands softly on the ground. ]
Famous last words. But you’re right, the shortest way is through. If we go around it will add on an extra day or two at the least.
[ He turned to their other two traveling companions. ]
[Where she'd been a bit suspicious of Wanda's ability to create matter out of thin air before, she's particularly thankful now that it means she has a proper bow and arrow for this excursion. She's seen enough supply runs gone south to know she wants to prevent disaster if at all possible, and though she's not entirely certain that's what will befall this group, she doesn't want to take the chance, if she can help it.
The good news is that it's mostly uneventful, to start. Aloy has never ridden a real horse--only mechanical approximations--so that takes some getting used to. She falls into the routine fairly quickly, however, thanks in part to her own experience with this very thing. More often than not she's taking point, or bringing up the rear, bow and arrow ready for a threat that, at this juncture, hasn't yet appeared.
She doesn't expect that they'll be lucky for long. "I doubt there's anything dangerous in there" are absolutely some famous last words, but she's confident enough in her own abilities.]
[ steve pretty much attaches himself onto wanda at the mention of a trip, at the concept of having something to do that he actually feels like he can help with. it's a supply run, they say - thorne, one of the other countries or whatever - needs food. steve's still working on understanding what it means to be in the center of all of this, the politics and history and opinions between these countries (or...were people calling them factions?) a little harder to wrap his head around.
but they're on a supply run. this, at least, he can handle - and wanda doesn't seem too intent on telling him no. billy he's met, too, though he picks up on a kind of tension between him and wanda that steve isn't entire sure of. the third teammate, a girl named aloy, joins them a little later and steve is thankful for it, if only because she seems to be the one who knows what she's doing, and steve makes a note to watch her, to pick up on what he can.
they've taken a small break, deciding their next direction, and steve is...he's doing his best. billy is definitely just. levitating in the air. but steve is getting a lot better at just keeping his eyes moving forward, and his attention turns to aloy, to wanda, to the mention of going through the woods. ]
What all should we be worried about in there, exactly?
[to be fair, wanda does not think there isn't anything potentially dangerous in there; she just thinks they are all fairly equipped to handle it. well— she glances at steve for a moment. he is definitely doing his best. she lets her gaze stray as she steps to the side to make sure their wagons of supplies are in order—just a cursory glance, nothing else.]
Wolves, most likely. Probably grossly large insects. [wanda shrugs, pulling herself up on her horse. after several days of horseback riding, they've all managed to become some amount of adept at it.] Probably something we've never seen before.
[holding up the reins, she tries keeping her hold steady, turning the horse around to move back toward the end of the caravan.]
We'll follow Aloy's lead. I'll stay at the back—so, Billy, you should stay at the front.
[because of their magic, it would be best to keep their defenses on both ends, right? no real other reason. she smiles lightly at steve, tilting her head to the side, as if to say that he's invited to join her at the back. as soon as everyone is in place, wanda draws out her magic to encourage the mules to start walking toward the forest, despite any trepidation they may have over its foreboding presence.
the sound of the hooves and steps on the ground as they trudge on the path become more muffled, as grass and moss seems to overtake the once obvious route through. it's a good thing aloy is with them. light filters in from the canopy, giving the place a dim orange hue, but they can still see well enough, despite the creeping shadows around them.
[ It makes sense to split them up, magic in the front and magic in the back, but it also feels like Wanda doesn’t want to be around him for longer than she has to. Which he understands, he does, so he just nods and takes his horse up next to Aloy’s so they can take the lead. Now is probably not the time to unpack this.
The forest just gets darker and creepier as they trudge on and he’s keeping his senses alert for anything that might want yo attack them. So far it’s been relatively peaceful, which in Billy’s experience means something is probably going to happen soon.
[Aloy is quick to interject--it's one thing to fill passing time with conversation, another to start talking about stories of things that may or may not live in the woods, getting distracted, and missing something important. She keeps her focus ahead of her, hyper-aware of any movement in her periphery.]
Sounds like superstition to me.
[She's been out in the forests this whole time, and hasn't seen a witch! Clearly that means it's not real.]
[ steve does notice the way wanda seems to glance back to him before she answers, and there is a kind of sinking feeling in his stomach at why. though he can’t exactly blame her - between billy and herself, and aloy, well. it’s not really a question as to who is the weakest link.
he swallows back the thought, his eyes moving through the group of them. knowing what to expect in the woods will help, even if he had always been a more thinking on his feet sort of person. wolves, large insects, something they’ve never seen…sure. why not. steve doesn’t feel all that worried.
when wanda directs billy up front with alloy, he nods and easily gets back up on his own mare, pulling her back alongside wanda at the back. as they head off in the direction of the woods behind billy and aloy, and wanda asks, steve feels himself frown. ]
[kids story, wanda can only keep herself from smiling at that idea. it's hardly a kid's story, where she's from—and perhaps this place entails a little more about superstition than what one should care to understand.]
The chicken leg house in Nero's brochure— [she starts, letting her voice be carried along towards those in the front] it is what is described to be as Baba Yaga's home. I find it strange that it exists here if Baba Yaga does not.
[but she shrugs; it's a piece of lore from home, perhaps of no significance here.]
This far away from the Primary Settlement, we don't know what other creatures we may find.
Are we sure she doesn't live in the chicken leg house? or maybe she did once? There are enough shrines in these woods that it wouldn't surprise me if she's somewhere else.
[Aloy is still, largely, trying to wrap her mind around the existence of other worlds--other versions of Earth, even, that weren't destroyed and simply continued along a separate timeline. Maybe this thing does exist, where Wanda and Billy are from, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can apply what they're familiar with to something similar on this continent. That seems, to her, like a recipe for disaster.]
Whatever she does--if she's even real--we can't assume she'll follow any rules you know from back home.
[Her tone of voice indicates that she'd rather be focusing on the task at hand, rather than discussing some kind of hypothetical creature that, for all she knows, only exists in Nero's brochure.]
[ steve listens to them all go back and forth talking about this baba yaga, and he can't quite shake the confused crease between his brows. and he gets the tone aloy has, that she wants to keep moving whether or not this information is real, so steve keeps his horse down the path. keeps close enough behind billy's and aloy's.
for a moment, he watches the trees of the forest they're heading into. and then, with another glance back to wanda- ]
Are there more than one? Like- should we be looking out for a bunch of other Yaga things around here too? [ like an army of baba yagas? steve really doesn't like the idea. ]
[wanda shrugs; it's mostly a child's tale, meant to keep children out of the forest and behaving well enough, at least in the continent she is from. a scary story to tell at night, the like.
steve's question is bemusing though, because an army of baba yagas—well, that would really be something else. besides, is he spinning the story in his head, making himself over something that, as aloy has stated, isn't really all that particularly significant here—?
she's about to reply, a smile on her lips, when her horse snorts, veers to the side, and stomps his hooves down on the ground, stopping short and ceasing going forward. their wagons stop, too, the mules nervous.
movement, from the woods, further ahead, closest to billy and aloy. just sounds, for now.]
[ Billy hears it just as his horse pulls up, refusing to move any further.
it's a rustling sound, and it's getting louder as whatever it is approaches. he shoots a look over at Aloy to see her reaction, before calling back to Wanda. ]
I hear it.
[ before he does anything else he throws a very subtle transparent blue tinted shield up around the four of them and their wagons. ]
[Aloy's reaction is as expected--all at once hyper-alert, her gaze trained on the source of the noise. She holds up a hand for the group to halt, because the last thing she needs is for one of the horses to spook, especially when most of them are inexperienced riders (riding a machine is familiar, but this is not a machine, so she counts herself among that number).
Not wanting to inadvertently escalate the situation (with the horses), Aloy swings a leg over the animal and drops to the ground, reaching for the bow strapped to her back in one fluid motion.]
Stay here.
[She's not going far, just dipping into the bushes in an apparent attempt to get a jump on the things that seem to be getting the jump on them.]
[ steve horse reacts first, shifting uncomfortably and side stepping away from wanda at almost the exact same time as the rest of the horses seems to notice. he’s not an experienced rider by any means, but he’s also not a complete novice, so it only takes him a moment to settle his own unsteady mare.
stay here aloy says, and steve’s got no plans to disobey, but his eyes go back to the mules, the cart, and with billy’s shield around them, steve keeps his eyes on the cart, on the general disposition of the others.
quietly, he pulls the short sword he has attached to his horse free, just in case. ]
Is it just one? [ his voice is low, probably only enough for wanda to hear, but he can’t quite pinpoint the noise himself. ]
[one thing wanda will have to commend the group for is the quick and rational way everyone reacts—not bumbling into danger, seeking to protect one another, and listening, actually, to directives from those more experienced.
steve's question makes her expression pinch in thought, allowing her magic, her powers, to gather whatever thoughts and emotions that can be picked out past their little group. it's not necessarily unusual, what she feels, but it's unexpected. it's—
well, it's gentle. friendly, almost.
she turns to steve, shaking her head.]
There's more than one. A group of... somethings. [she can't quite pinpoint what they are. she clicks the heels of her boots against her horse, a light encouragement to move further up the caravan.] I don't think we need the shields.
[that's at billy. she wants to get aloy's feedback, more so, whether she's spotted anything. and then, suddenly, as if waiting on their cue, a number of stone-like faces pop from around them—from the bushes, from under overgrown roots and behind trees.
they make a curious sound as they approach, looking a little too clumsy but certainly not all too dangerous.
wanda's stares at them, unsure of what to do about them.
hastily, before anyone (including herself) does anything abrupt:]
[it says a lot about the trust Billy has in Wanda that when she says shields aren't needed he immediately drops them. He does however stay at the ready, just in case he has to throw them back up in a hurry.
Which is about when they little army of stone creatures comes popping out of nowhere. Billy cocks his head to the side looking at them as they stare back. ]
Okay, they are kinda cute.
[ he already has a goat, he doesn't needs another pet.
[Aloy appears out of the bush, next to the group without any fanfare, almost as if she's never left. It appears she's come to the same conclusion--these creatures seem harmless, if the fact that she's lowered her bow is any indication, but she's still hesitant to get too close, putting herself between the group and the creatures that watch them.]
Yeah, cute until they decide we're a threat.
[Suffice to say, she's still ready to fight at a moment's notice, but for now it seems like both groups are simply watching each other.]
Is this just a hunch, or are you actually...sensing something?
[ a group of somethings. steve doesn't like the sound of that, the pack mentality of creatures reminding him a little too much of the demodogs. it has him on edge, prepared for just about anything, at least until he knows what they're dealing with.
wanda moves up in the caravan, and steve stays behind, not wanting to leave the back of the caravan exposed. he adjusts his grip on his sword, glancing up towards wanda and billy, then back again.
and then he sees the faces. his eyes widen, and then narrow again, like he's trying to get a better view as they slowly picking out the fact there are...definitely more of them. steve counts six, maybe seven, but then aloy is appearing out of the treeline ahead of them and steve realizes no one else is really stressed. ]
Have any of you seen them before? [ he's new here, so steve is just trying to play catch up. when he turns back, the creatures are slowly moving out from where they'd been hidden, seemingly just as curious and...hesitant? maybe? steve's eyes go from the creatures and then back to the rest of the group.
aloy says until they decide we're a threat and steve decides, then, to slide his sword back away again. he's not going to be the reason they get attacked, if he can help it. he pulls his horse to a stop, watching the approaching creatures, trying to decide what would even make sense to do here.
there are...quite a few of them, and steve's horse snorts, sidestepping a bit closer to the supplies. ] There's uh. A lot of them back here. Should we maybe keep going?
[to answer a couple of questions in one, wanda simple says,]
I can read minds.
[—it's not quite as cut and dry as that, but she can definitely distinguish thoughts and emotions, to the point where even with a superficial glance around she can tell if someone is lying or disguising themselves for an ulterior motive. as it were, from the group right now, outside of their new approaching friends, steve is the one most alarmed.
it definitely is prudent to not let one's guard down, though. steve is right to want them to keep going, but their path seems otherwise blocked; the creatures placing themselves between and in front of the wheels of the wagons, seeming ready to make some kind of demand. wanda feels the surge of something—
holding tight onto her horse's reins, wanda steps off and down to the ground. there is something particular about these creatures, and she is trying to assert what exactly it is that they want— and just as soon as the thought of FOOD! pops into her mind, the creatures start pointing at their caravan.
ah.]
They want food. [their supplies. hm.] They might not let us through otherwise.
[ Billy keeps eyeing the creatures apprehensively, especially one that just seems to be staring at him- it's a little creepy.
He can't get into their minds like Wanda can, at least not without more effort and concentration and he's otherwise distracted, but it doesn't surprise him when Wanda says food and they start pointing at their wagons. ]
Food? But, they look like they are made of rocks, what exactly do they eat? [ Not that Billy wants to give them their supplies, those are needed, but he might be able to conjure something if neccessary. ]
[Part of Aloy feels like they don't have time for this--sitting around and mind reading creatures that don't actually seem interested in attacking. She has half a mind to suggest that they simply find a way around the blockade, but if it's just a matter of finding them something to eat, a nonviolent approach (or an approach that otherwise does not aggravate their unwanted guests) is probably wise.
Billy voices something she's considering herself, and she takes a moment to think back to her brief excursion through the underbrush.]
There are berry bushes a little deeper in the forest. I saw some half-eaten apples, too.
[ as wanda slides off her horse, steve does the same, though he does still feel on guard, there’s less intense worry. instead, he steps a little closer to the ones nearest to the back of the cart and watches them - almost in sync with wanda’s words - point and gesture to the supplies.
food. okay, that’s not exactly dire. if the little things just hungry, that’s something they can work with, right?
steve, slowly and carefully so as not to startle the creatures, takes one and then another step towards them. ] They can’t want much, not with how small they are. [ steve asks, trying to remember what dustin had told him a couple years back about baiting. about the demodogs.
please don’t be like dart steve thinks to himself as he slowly squats down next to the closest one, taking his time to slip his hand into the pouch at his side and pull out half a piece of jerky of his own rations he hadn’t finished and holding it out to see if the creature thing is even interested, or if they’re dealing with more vegetarian type…rock things. ]
They for sure can’t understand us, right? [ steve asks, maybe a few seconds too late, as the closest one to him takes a couple of steps forward, sniffing at the offered dried meat. as if the survival instinct finally reaches him, steve sets the piece of jerky down and steps back away, just in case they have some kind of secret collection of super sharp teeth. ] Because we could just leave a little behind and and while they’re distracted book it out of here…
We could. We don't want us to bother later, though. These woods may go on for a bit longer.
[she finds interest in what aloy says about the berry bushes and the half-eaten apples. the important thing would be to keep them away from the wagons and from trying to get into the supplies meant for thorne—the last thing they want is for the equivalent of forest mice to arrive into thorne and for it to be considered an insult.
wanda walks up over to aloy.]
Let's get some of those fruit. [and then, turning to billy, she asks something she's been curious about.] Can you transmute things? We could make the half-eaten apples whole.
We get those, set them aside, and with any luck they won't bother us anymore.
[best to be respectful of what dwells in the forest than to try and trick it. she grabs a basket from one of the wagons, nods to aloy.]
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—QUEST [ aloy · billy · steve ]
steve wanted to come along, something along the lines of adventure and why the hell not. wanda personally reached out to billy, her thoughts and emotions on the young man more tenuous than not, but finding a fractured loneliness in him—missing his husband and friends—makes her want to give him a space to feel welcome in. especially with how cruel she had been upon their first meeting, and, one could imagine, a mother will always be a mother, even if they are not directly related (family still is forever). the caravan loaded with the supplies is slow at first, as they shuffle down the path and away from the primary settlement, onto road that is less looked after, with grass and shrubbery growing over it, the open road ahead opening up to vast fields and a lot of nothing.
it doesn't take long to run into aloy, camping out further outside the settlement, and a look at their party has her taking pity on them. she'll join them—as it's not every day one gets to travel so far inland and toward the coast. needless to say, the first day of their journey is spent learning to properly ride a horse and getting used to it. they take turns, sitting inside the caravan, studying the map given to them to reach the nearest portal that should bring them closer to their destination; there are a few of them spread out in solvunn—it's just a matter of finding them.
they pause for meals, stop when the sun goes down to make camp (aloy a particularly welcome expert in that field). they go past shrines along the way, copses of trees, streams and rivers to freshen up in, for their horses to drink from. the more they travel the northern trail along the coast, the saltier the breeze smells, the cooler it is.
wanda looks at the map, then sets it down so she can see what stands before them: a patch of woodland, an outcropping of rock on its side and likely the coastline on the other. she's no expert—but if they decide to go around it, it might delay their arrival to the hydra gulf. the trail disappears inside its depths, the trees voluminous and thick; they might travel inside there for a day, at least. she walks back to the others, placing a hand over the nose of the horse entrusted to her—a dark bay male horse with a white star on his forehead and dark stockings. he flicks his ears at her touch, neighing as she draws her hand away.
they had taken a break to rest up while they decided what to do next. it was still early morning, the sun not too hot on their backs, yet.]
We'll go through. I doubt there's anything too dangerous in there.
no subject
While Wanda looked over the map, he took it upon himself to levitate up to see the lay of the land. The shortest way was indeed through, even if that seemed like it might be the most dangerous.
Billy looks over at her as he lands softly on the ground. ]
Famous last words. But you’re right, the shortest way is through. If we go around it will add on an extra day or two at the least.
[ He turned to their other two traveling companions. ]
What do you guys think?
no subject
The good news is that it's mostly uneventful, to start. Aloy has never ridden a real horse--only mechanical approximations--so that takes some getting used to. She falls into the routine fairly quickly, however, thanks in part to her own experience with this very thing. More often than not she's taking point, or bringing up the rear, bow and arrow ready for a threat that, at this juncture, hasn't yet appeared.
She doesn't expect that they'll be lucky for long. "I doubt there's anything dangerous in there" are absolutely some famous last words, but she's confident enough in her own abilities.]
I can get us through. Just watch where you step.
no subject
but they're on a supply run. this, at least, he can handle - and wanda doesn't seem too intent on telling him no. billy he's met, too, though he picks up on a kind of tension between him and wanda that steve isn't entire sure of. the third teammate, a girl named aloy, joins them a little later and steve is thankful for it, if only because she seems to be the one who knows what she's doing, and steve makes a note to watch her, to pick up on what he can.
they've taken a small break, deciding their next direction, and steve is...he's doing his best. billy is definitely just. levitating in the air. but steve is getting a lot better at just keeping his eyes moving forward, and his attention turns to aloy, to wanda, to the mention of going through the woods. ]
What all should we be worried about in there, exactly?
no subject
Wolves, most likely. Probably grossly large insects. [wanda shrugs, pulling herself up on her horse. after several days of horseback riding, they've all managed to become some amount of adept at it.] Probably something we've never seen before.
[holding up the reins, she tries keeping her hold steady, turning the horse around to move back toward the end of the caravan.]
We'll follow Aloy's lead. I'll stay at the back—so, Billy, you should stay at the front.
[because of their magic, it would be best to keep their defenses on both ends, right? no real other reason. she smiles lightly at steve, tilting her head to the side, as if to say that he's invited to join her at the back. as soon as everyone is in place, wanda draws out her magic to encourage the mules to start walking toward the forest, despite any trepidation they may have over its foreboding presence.
the sound of the hooves and steps on the ground as they trudge on the path become more muffled, as grass and moss seems to overtake the once obvious route through. it's a good thing aloy is with them. light filters in from the canopy, giving the place a dim orange hue, but they can still see well enough, despite the creeping shadows around them.
abruptly—]
Anyone heard of Baba Yaga before?
[is it the time for scary stories]
no subject
The forest just gets darker and creepier as they trudge on and he’s keeping his senses alert for anything that might want yo attack them. So far it’s been relatively peaceful, which in Billy’s experience means something is probably going to happen soon.
Wanda’s question makes his laugh softly. ]
The witch in the woods?
no subject
[Aloy is quick to interject--it's one thing to fill passing time with conversation, another to start talking about stories of things that may or may not live in the woods, getting distracted, and missing something important. She keeps her focus ahead of her, hyper-aware of any movement in her periphery.]
Sounds like superstition to me.
[She's been out in the forests this whole time, and hasn't seen a witch! Clearly that means it's not real.]
no subject
he swallows back the thought, his eyes moving through the group of them. knowing what to expect in the woods will help, even if he had always been a more thinking on his feet sort of person. wolves, large insects, something they’ve never seen…sure. why not. steve doesn’t feel all that worried.
when wanda directs billy up front with alloy, he nods and easily gets back up on his own mare, pulling her back alongside wanda at the back. as they head off in the direction of the woods behind billy and aloy, and wanda asks, steve feels himself frown. ]
You mean like- the kids story? Why?
no subject
The chicken leg house in Nero's brochure— [she starts, letting her voice be carried along towards those in the front] it is what is described to be as Baba Yaga's home. I find it strange that it exists here if Baba Yaga does not.
[but she shrugs; it's a piece of lore from home, perhaps of no significance here.]
This far away from the Primary Settlement, we don't know what other creatures we may find.
[the woods, after all, always held secrets.]
no subject
Are we sure she doesn't live in the chicken leg house? or maybe she did once? There are enough shrines in these woods that it wouldn't surprise me if she's somewhere else.
[ she does exist in Billy's world after all. ]
Doesn't she grant favors?
no subject
Whatever she does--if she's even real--we can't assume she'll follow any rules you know from back home.
[Her tone of voice indicates that she'd rather be focusing on the task at hand, rather than discussing some kind of hypothetical creature that, for all she knows, only exists in Nero's brochure.]
We should keep moving.
no subject
for a moment, he watches the trees of the forest they're heading into. and then, with another glance back to wanda- ]
Are there more than one? Like- should we be looking out for a bunch of other Yaga things around here too? [ like an army of baba yagas? steve really doesn't like the idea. ]
no subject
steve's question is bemusing though, because an army of baba yagas—well, that would really be something else. besides, is he spinning the story in his head, making himself over something that, as aloy has stated, isn't really all that particularly significant here—?
she's about to reply, a smile on her lips, when her horse snorts, veers to the side, and stomps his hooves down on the ground, stopping short and ceasing going forward. their wagons stop, too, the mules nervous.
movement, from the woods, further ahead, closest to billy and aloy. just sounds, for now.]
Billy? Aloy?
[something's coming.]
no subject
it's a rustling sound, and it's getting louder as whatever it is approaches. he shoots a look over at Aloy to see her reaction, before calling back to Wanda. ]
I hear it.
[ before he does anything else he throws a very subtle transparent blue tinted shield up around the four of them and their wagons. ]
no subject
Not wanting to inadvertently escalate the situation (with the horses), Aloy swings a leg over the animal and drops to the ground, reaching for the bow strapped to her back in one fluid motion.]
Stay here.
[She's not going far, just dipping into the bushes in an apparent attempt to get a jump on the things that seem to be getting the jump on them.]
no subject
stay here aloy says, and steve’s got no plans to disobey, but his eyes go back to the mules, the cart, and with billy’s shield around them, steve keeps his eyes on the cart, on the general disposition of the others.
quietly, he pulls the short sword he has attached to his horse free, just in case. ]
Is it just one? [ his voice is low, probably only enough for wanda to hear, but he can’t quite pinpoint the noise himself. ]
no subject
steve's question makes her expression pinch in thought, allowing her magic, her powers, to gather whatever thoughts and emotions that can be picked out past their little group. it's not necessarily unusual, what she feels, but it's unexpected. it's—
well, it's gentle. friendly, almost.
she turns to steve, shaking her head.]
There's more than one. A group of... somethings. [she can't quite pinpoint what they are. she clicks the heels of her boots against her horse, a light encouragement to move further up the caravan.] I don't think we need the shields.
[that's at billy. she wants to get aloy's feedback, more so, whether she's spotted anything. and then, suddenly, as if waiting on their cue, a number of stone-like faces pop from around them—from the bushes, from under overgrown roots and behind trees.
they make a curious sound as they approach, looking a little too clumsy but certainly not all too dangerous.
wanda's stares at them, unsure of what to do about them.
hastily, before anyone (including herself) does anything abrupt:]
I don't sense a threat from them.
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Which is about when they little army of stone creatures comes popping out of nowhere. Billy cocks his head to the side looking at them as they stare back. ]
Okay, they are kinda cute.
[ he already has a goat, he doesn't needs another pet.
He looks over at Wanda. ]
Can you tell what they want?
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Yeah, cute until they decide we're a threat.
[Suffice to say, she's still ready to fight at a moment's notice, but for now it seems like both groups are simply watching each other.]
Is this just a hunch, or are you actually...sensing something?
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wanda moves up in the caravan, and steve stays behind, not wanting to leave the back of the caravan exposed. he adjusts his grip on his sword, glancing up towards wanda and billy, then back again.
and then he sees the faces. his eyes widen, and then narrow again, like he's trying to get a better view as they slowly picking out the fact there are...definitely more of them. steve counts six, maybe seven, but then aloy is appearing out of the treeline ahead of them and steve realizes no one else is really stressed. ]
Have any of you seen them before? [ he's new here, so steve is just trying to play catch up. when he turns back, the creatures are slowly moving out from where they'd been hidden, seemingly just as curious and...hesitant? maybe? steve's eyes go from the creatures and then back to the rest of the group.
aloy says until they decide we're a threat and steve decides, then, to slide his sword back away again. he's not going to be the reason they get attacked, if he can help it. he pulls his horse to a stop, watching the approaching creatures, trying to decide what would even make sense to do here.
there are...quite a few of them, and steve's horse snorts, sidestepping a bit closer to the supplies. ] There's uh. A lot of them back here. Should we maybe keep going?
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I can read minds.
[—it's not quite as cut and dry as that, but she can definitely distinguish thoughts and emotions, to the point where even with a superficial glance around she can tell if someone is lying or disguising themselves for an ulterior motive. as it were, from the group right now, outside of their new approaching friends, steve is the one most alarmed.
it definitely is prudent to not let one's guard down, though. steve is right to want them to keep going, but their path seems otherwise blocked; the creatures placing themselves between and in front of the wheels of the wagons, seeming ready to make some kind of demand. wanda feels the surge of something—
holding tight onto her horse's reins, wanda steps off and down to the ground. there is something particular about these creatures, and she is trying to assert what exactly it is that they want— and just as soon as the thought of FOOD! pops into her mind, the creatures start pointing at their caravan.
ah.]
They want food. [their supplies. hm.] They might not let us through otherwise.
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He can't get into their minds like Wanda can, at least not without more effort and concentration and he's otherwise distracted, but it doesn't surprise him when Wanda says food and they start pointing at their wagons. ]
Food? But, they look like they are made of rocks, what exactly do they eat?
[ Not that Billy wants to give them their supplies, those are needed, but he might be able to conjure something if neccessary. ]
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Billy voices something she's considering herself, and she takes a moment to think back to her brief excursion through the underbrush.]
There are berry bushes a little deeper in the forest. I saw some half-eaten apples, too.
[A shrug.]
Worth a shot.
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food. okay, that’s not exactly dire. if the little things just hungry, that’s something they can work with, right?
steve, slowly and carefully so as not to startle the creatures, takes one and then another step towards them. ] They can’t want much, not with how small they are. [ steve asks, trying to remember what dustin had told him a couple years back about baiting. about the demodogs.
please don’t be like dart steve thinks to himself as he slowly squats down next to the closest one, taking his time to slip his hand into the pouch at his side and pull out half a piece of jerky of his own rations he hadn’t finished and holding it out to see if the creature thing is even interested, or if they’re dealing with more vegetarian type…rock things. ]
They for sure can’t understand us, right? [ steve asks, maybe a few seconds too late, as the closest one to him takes a couple of steps forward, sniffing at the offered dried meat. as if the survival instinct finally reaches him, steve sets the piece of jerky down and steps back away, just in case they have some kind of secret collection of super sharp teeth. ] Because we could just leave a little behind and and while they’re distracted book it out of here…
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[she finds interest in what aloy says about the berry bushes and the half-eaten apples. the important thing would be to keep them away from the wagons and from trying to get into the supplies meant for thorne—the last thing they want is for the equivalent of forest mice to arrive into thorne and for it to be considered an insult.
wanda walks up over to aloy.]
Let's get some of those fruit. [and then, turning to billy, she asks something she's been curious about.] Can you transmute things? We could make the half-eaten apples whole.
We get those, set them aside, and with any luck they won't bother us anymore.
[best to be respectful of what dwells in the forest than to try and trick it. she grabs a basket from one of the wagons, nods to aloy.]
Let's be quick about it.
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lmao steve...when u r scared but want a cute pet
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