logsinthenight | Snow Day(s)

characters: Bucky, Misty, Sora, explore buddies, open
location: The Village, and Downtown during this explore, and around Bonfire Square
date/time: January 14, January 15, January 18-19
content: A snowball fight, some CR building on the explore, and yarnbomb boggling
warnings: Frozen ammunition and the usual mild disassociation

I. Snowball fight! - Closed to Sora and Misty, January 14

The blizzard is over, the endless night calm, and there is now freedom to get out of the cabin without being buffeted around by the wind and flurries. It's still cold as hell, but that's bearable enough in the face of being able to be outside without having to force themselves through a patrol. Well, they're going to do that, too, but. Not yet.

First visiting. Checking on the other people in the village. Kicking the snow a little as they tromp on their way through it. Kind of pretty.

II. Going Shopping - Closed to Aziraphale, Angel, Crowley, Steve, and/or Lucius, January 15

The trek through the woods on the way to the new center of Beacon activity is longer than they want it to be. Not as long as traveling through unknown territory, but still a ways, through dark forest and lots of snow. The Soldier circles the group, gun in hand, lantern tied on their back, watching for threats and kicking snow out of their way when they're around the front.

The trek past the hotel and the storefronts is less long and dark, and more slightly creepy. Dead stores, empty streets, the snow... it doesn't make pleasant echoes in the head. The Soldier hovers closer to the other explorers, then. Particularly when people stop for breaks in the travel.

III. Rain of Yarn? - Open, January 18-19

Emerging for their normal patrol the "morning" of the 18th leaves the Soldier baffled. There's yarn. Knitting. Scarves and hats and mittens. Sweaters. Straight-up globs of purely decorative yarn products, even. Everywhere. So weird.

Would have been useful during the actual blizzard last week. But you know. Nice thought. The Soldier prowls around the village and the Invincible collecting it, trying to figure out what to do with it all. Find them scowling at a hat as if trying to convince themselves to put it on, or offering you a particularly nice colored set of mittens they got from some cabin's roof, or trying to decide what one does with a knitted... doily? Is that even what this weird round thing is? So weird.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ummm.... It's like a sort of magic shield? It can protect people against stuff. But I'm not too strong, so it's not incredible or anything.

[ Lucius focuses and makes the shield appear around both of them. The shield is transparent by itself, but its boundary is marked by runic circles. He then dismisses it a moment later. ]

[Not incredible, he says. Like having a translucent shield wouldn't be absolutely, amazingly useful in so many situations. The Soldier's tactical mind is already plotting out so many potential ways that could save lives.]

That's more than anyone else has. Haven't heard of anybody who could do that. That's valuable.

You think so?

[ It's probably obvious to the Soldier that Lucius doesn't quite have a high opinion of himself. ]

That's it, though. I can't fight, so I can only run away or shield myself.

[Yeah, they're picking that up. Even them, with their non-existent self-esteem and lack of personhood, has an accurate idea of their own skillset.

But they consider that, anyway. Thoughtfully. Their nature is not to offer reassurances, but truths, and assistance. How best to assist in this situation?

Well, that's easy.]

Do you want to learn how to fight?

[ Lucius hesitates. On one hand, it'll make him more useful. On the other hand.... ]

.... I do.

[ He's not sure how well he can be trained, knowing that he had spent most of his time holed up in a small room. ]

There are classes. Wednesday and Friday, in the village, at the gymnasium. I teach basics like breaking holds, falling without hurting yourself, getting away from attackers. And knife work. You can come to those. I can teach you.

[Please come to those, they love getting new students, especially newbies with no knowledge of fighting whatsoever: then they get the satisfaction of knowing people are less likely to die because of them. A novel feeling, before dying.]

[ He thinks about it for a second. It's probably safer for him to get injured instead, since a lost arm wouldn't kill him. ]

Oh... I'd be happy to.

[ Lucius brightens a little. Going with someone he already knows is more appealing to him. ]

Good. Good, I'll see you there, then.

[New students are the best. The Soldier starts immediately thinking of what to start Lucius with, given his size and build, his presumed utter lack of experience. Falling is the best to start with, usually. Useful for additional training and learning basic body control]

I can show you a few things now. While we're out. If you want.

[ Having someone he trusts teach him things seems like a safe course to him. He wouldn't be left alone figuring out things by himself. ]

I'd like that.

[ If there's more things he can copy and learn, the better. ]

[You agreed, Lucius. Hope you're prepared for teacher mode!]

First, how you walk. Weight mostly forward, on the balls of your feet. Makes you more ready to move if there is a surprise attack, or if you trip.

[They demonstrate more exaggeratedly than they usually walk-- this is, in fact, how they usually walk, just heavier since they're kinda weighed down by metal. It's not walking on one's toes or sneaking, but it reproportions the weighty part of the step from the heel to the ball.]

[ He watches the Soldier move for a few moments - it makes sense after some thought. Seems like there's a lot to sneaking and controlling a body than it should... he almost misses being able to travel through the signal lines. ]

That's smart...

[ Lucius tries to copy the other man's movements. He feels like it's easier for him than humans, since he's lighter than them. ]

[Certainly easier than for the Soldier. There was pretty intensive training to make them able to manage themselves and the unbalancing influence of the arm with speed and grace.

They watch Lucius out of the corner of their eye, letting him practice for a while, before offering,]

Next most important thing is how to fall. Without hurting yourself. Have you ever been pushed down, or tripped and hit the ground.

[ Lucius gets the basics easily, though it's only because his own body is lighter than most. He walks slower once he tries to intentionally be stealthy. ]

I have.

[ Mostly the tripping part. Nobody had assaulted him in his short time spent alive. ]

[Lucky kid. The Soldier is glad for that, if at the same time despairing of how naive that might make him.]

Probably hit your nose, scraped up your hands, banged up a knee. Yeah? There's ways to avoid that. By controlling how you land. Hitting the ground with the right parts of you. Turning the force of the fall into something else.

What parts...? The soft ones?

[ Here's where it gets a bit complicated for him since he doesn't really have flesh and blood the normal way. He's just fallen and gotten up while his tissues repaired themselves from absorbing the sun crystal's light. He still listens, regardless. He can't heal as quickly without the presence of that crystal. ]

Your shoulder. Whenever possible, rolling out of a fall is best. But if you can't, turning to hit your shoulder is safest.

[They shake their head a little.]

Can't demonstrate right now. But when you come to the class. It's the first thing I teach.

Alright. I'll remember that.

[ He's confident in his memory. Seeing it in action would help him complete the information storage, but maybe it'll come in handy on their excursion. ]

Do you get bruised easily if you do that?

Maybe. Depends on how easily you bruise. Better your shoulder than your face, anyway. And hands and knees don't absorb the impact very effectively. Shoulder hurts less.

I think I'm durable enough.

[ Breaking his face would take more time to repair, hmm. Lucius nods.

And then as they walk they had more discussions and later on Lucius manages to be more stealthy when they go on patrols together. ]

So am I, doesn't mean I want to break things if I don't have to.

[After all, injuries hurt, they distract and impair, and take energy to heal that could be better served used in other ways. There's not much else the Soldier can really teach him without demonstrating, but practice in walking is plenty for now. They'll learn more in class, when Lucius shows up.]

Snow Day(s)

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

no subject

we can handwave this if you dont mind?

works for me!