Out and About in Fayren

[xlvii]

Who: 47 and OPEN
What: Before, during, and after some independent training in Fayren
Where: Fayren
When: December 2, Afternoon
Warnings: Knocking out criminals with apples, cute animals in mortal danger, will add more if they come up

---

It's been a while since 47's practiced with certain more... traditional weapons, and he figures that Fayren is the best place to scrape the rust off in that particular area. While looking around to see what's available, he's lucky enough to find a place that rents bows, and elsewhere, a sling for pretty cheap as well. With its small size and light weight, he has his eye on it immediately (it might come in handy, and it'll be fun to learn a new weapon regardless), and is in the process of paying for it when a commotion breaks out behind him.

"Stop! Thief!" He turns around just in time to see a young native race past him, shoving and weaving her way through the crowded market. He watches her go, then looks around to find something to -- ah, an apple cart. Perfect. When he grabs an apple, the man supervising the cart opens his mouth to protest, but 47 cuts him off with, "I'll pay for it in a second."

He quickly finds her again, with the help of his Instinct to pick her apart from the crowd, and draws his arm back, hand full of apple. His focus on the girl is that of a predator waiting for the perfect moment to pounce; but she's dozens on dozens of yards away by now, with so many people between the two, surely he can't....

47 throws the fruit, sending it sailing over the heads of the crowd before it begins to arc downward again, directly at the fleeing girl's back. The apple practically smashes itself into applesauce against the back of her head, but enough force is transferred to knock her off-balance and, ultimately, to the ground; she doesn't get back up. Unconscious and nothing more, hopefully, unless her skull is made of paper.

True to his word, 47 hands the apple seller a sum at least twice the cost of the apple before making his own way through the crowd to see the result of his handiwork and perhaps return any stolen goods.

---

After that hullabaloo is over, 47 is finally able to focus on what he came out to Fayren for: Practice. He politely refuses the use of the bow rental's archery range, preferring to avoid attention. So he sets up a little ways out from the beaten paths of Fayren, with his back to the woods and firing at some makeshift targets in an open field, securing visibility behind them so he doesn't accidentally shoot someone he can't see if he misses (which he doesn't, but it's better to be safe). Even with the forest at his back, though, he's not so easy to sneak up on; he's got some keen hearing, and pauses his archery training to stop and look around at any suspicious noise.

---

On the way back to return the bow, a flash of movement out of the corner of 47's eye, as well as a gut feeling of danger, stop him. As he follows the direction the movement came from, the source becomes clear: A squirrel is desperately swimming near the middle of a nearby pond, struggling to keep its head above water. He watches for a moment, silently rooting for the squirrel's survival, but then its head dips below the surface -- and doesn't come back up.

That's all he needs to go in after the darn thing... soaking himself to the bone in mid-40-degree weather... ruining his nice clothes... and likely beginning to wash the makeup off his tattoo. Helping the animal will be worth it, though, as long as he doesn't get caught. Still, he's not trying to be particularly stealthy, so his noisy splashes can likely be heard from farther away than he saw the squirrel.

Comments

B!

[twin_tailed_wolf]

[What kind of suspicious noise? It sounds like someone playing a tin whistle very badly on purpose.

Just random notes in quick succession. Where's it coming from? The bushes, as usual. Bushes are always suspicious like that.

The mish-mash of stupid musical notes seem to be specifically for mister Archery Man (47). And it's only reinforced when a small girl with wolf ears pokes her head from the bushes to see what he's doing, then immediately ducks back in to hide.]

[xlvii]

He turns to face the dissonance immediately, lowering the bow, and sighs when he spots the girl.

"You can come out now." Grammatically, it's a request, but his tone is imperative. He has no time for these shenanigans.

[twin_tailed_wolf]

[Well, it's not like she was trying not to get caught this time. She hides a little bit longer before deciding she probably should lest he start shooting arrows at her.

So out she emerges from the bushes, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with a tin whistle in hand. Definitely looks like an ordinary human child, except for the wolf ears and fluffy tail. It's time for a opening ice breaker to make a great first impression.]

Hi~

[Close enough.]

[xlvii]

His greeting consists of narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms in annoyance and disapproval.

"What are you doing?"

[twin_tailed_wolf]

I was fooling around by playing a tin whistle badly to distract you.

[Good old harmless goofing off. Sensing bad news, she puts away the childish side.]

You're not thinking about hurting me, are you?

[xlvii]

"Odd way to fool around."

His face only grows grumpier at the suggestion that he might hurt her.

"No."

[twin_tailed_wolf]

[She is sorry.]

Phew. You had me quivering in my shoes there. I thought maybe you would be crossbow.

[She is not sorry.]

Whatcha doing all the way out here? Aren't you worried something scarier than me would show up?

[xlvii]

Please, no. He likes puns, but they're like cologne; they should be discovered, not announced. In the meantime, though....

"If you're going to stick around, stay where I can see you."

At her question, he huffs.

"There's nothing scary here."

He took on a werewolf twice his size with his bare hands during October and even that wasn't scary.

[ Action - 3rd prompt ]

[pianola]

Dorothy might have gone toward the river to help the squirrel herself - her eyes were particularly sharp - if she didn't see the tall, bald man go after the creature himself.

She watches, curious, leaving the beaten path she was taking to travel home - walking closer, now more notable to the stranger.

So far, she hasn't said a word - though she is starting to grow concern for the human, in the cold, with those wet clothes.

[xlvii]

It doesn't take 47 long to get to where the squirrel was, disappearing under the water for a moment as he goes to fetch it. Soon after, he bursts from the water and climbs onto the shore one-handed, as the limp squirrel is cradled in his other hand. He lays it down gently on the ground, and tugs off one of his gloves with his teeth, still on his hands and knees. With his now bare hand, he goes to check if the little thing is still alive.

He's caught up in his own problems at the moment, so he doesn't notice anyone approaching just yet.

[pianola]

Finally, she's at his side, and carefully crouches, ladylike, peering at the little animal.

"It seems she did not breathe in too much water," Dorothy observed.

She hadn't meant to startle the man, whom she recognized now from the videos on the CPU. After all, it wasn't as if she was being particularly stealthy, was she?

[xlvii]

47 glances up at the sound of her footsteps; he recognizes her right away, for the same reasons. He looks back down at the squirrel.

"Her heart is still beating, at least." He's having a little more trouble telling if she's breathing.

[pianola]

"She's breathing," Dorothy stated, her ears sensitive enough to hear. The breaths were shallow, however. "She may be going into shock."

Looking at him, her voice was calm, her eyes unblinking, but she spoke a little more quickly than usual. "Your hands should still be warm, despite the water. Cup her in them, see if the heat helps steady her."

While her hands weren't cold, they weren't as warm as human body temperature. David was the logical choice.

Finally a chance to use some of 47's more positive icons

[xlvii]

47 pulls himself up into a sitting position, not minding any mud or grass that might stain his clothes as a result; they're already ruined. He yanks off his other glove, and picking up the squirrel, does one better than just warming her in his hands; he cuddles her to his chest, sharing as much of his heat with her as he can.

One hand supports, while the other rubs her body, a bit too vigorously to be a simple petting. If she woke up right now, she could easily bite the hand that's rubbing her, but he wouldn't mind even if that happened.

"Do you have anything dry I can wrap her in?" He looks up at Dorothy again, still rubbing the squirrel's body. His clothes have enough wool that he could technically use them in a pinch, but something dry would be better. Besides, he'd very much rather not expose his guns. (Which he'll now have to clean and oil again as soon as he gets home.)

[pianola]

Not hesitating, Dorothy stands, slips off a shoe, and quickly - her movements almost mechanical - takes off one of her thigh-high socks. She manages to do so, somehow, while maintaining her modesty. Certainly, her movements are efficient and fast, and soon, she is folding a long black cotton-spandex-polyester blend strip of fabric, and hands it to David.

Her bare foot goes back into the shoe, and if she's embarrassed to be seen with only one stocking on, she doesn't seem to show it at all.

"This should be adequate," Dorothy said, perhaps unnecessarily. She doesn't wonder if his inner layers would be drier - the human likely needed any way to protect his own body heat as possible. Her eyes narrow, very slightly, considering that. "We should find somewhere to get both of you dry and warm."

[xlvii]

It's definitely an awkward moment, but 47 isn't the type to blush. When he takes the sock, he notices that it's not as warm as he would expect, as well as seeming to not have a drop of sweat or any scent on it. A bit odd.

He nods at her suggestion, wrapping the cloth around the squirrel as he stands. "Too many people around might scare her when she wakes up." So somewhere that's warm and dry and out of the wind, but not very populated. Any ideas?

[pianola]

Dorothy thinks for a moment, going still. Weighing the variables She doesn't breathe, ever, and that's even more apparent now, quiet like the grave. After a minute or two, she looks down at David.

"There's an abandoned cabin 50 yards to the northwest, up the river. I found when Fayren was acting strange. A door to the inn opened to the shack."

Genessia. There you go. "I think it is still unoccupied. There is a sizable infestation of mice. It seems a poor choice to remodel for its small size and location."

Option 3 with Squirrels

[blindpuppet]

When 47 returned to the shore he'll find a petite woman standing there watching him. Her eyes are a vivid blue while her dark hair falls in silky waves pass her shoulder. There was amusement dancing in her eyes as she watched him, though what she found amusing was anyone's guess.

"You're the first hunter I've seen go in after a drowning squirrel." Spoken like a true predator.

Enis was wearing a pair of black shorts and a navy blue top that looked more like a bra than it did a shirt. Her legs and arms were bare while a pair of high heels lifted her a few inches from the ground. She didn't look like someone who should be out in mid-40-degree weather though she didn't look like it was bothering her either. When she moved, she stepped with inhuman grace, offering the man her hand.

[ooc: Here is Enis's event information if you want to take a look.]

[xlvii]

47 ignores the hand as he clambers up, one-handed, squirrel clutched to his chest with his other hand.

"I'm not a hunter." Not of animals, anyway. He stands up, taking off his gloves so he can check the squirrel's vitals.

[blindpuppet]

Enis's hand dropped to her side as she watched him climb onto the shore. She had only meant to help him and she was stronger than she looked.

Oh well.

Her finger tapped lightly on her chin as her bright blue eyes looked down at the squirrel. "He'll be fine." She replied in an even tone. She could hear the squirrels heartbeat from where she was standing. "If you aren't a hunter, then what are you?"

[xlvii]

"She's a girl, actually." He moves one of the squirrel's legs so she can see. No boy parts.

The squirrel might be alive, but both he and the squirrel should get warm and dry soon.

"Why do you think I'm a hunter?" Answering a question with a question.

[blindpuppet]

Enis didn't really care that the squirrel was a girl. It was alive, that was the important bit of information to her.

"You're in the middle of the forest. Why else would you be out here?" He didn't look like he was camping.

[xlvii]

"The lack of people is a plus." With the squirrel still clutched against his chest in one hand, he leans down to pick up his bow with the other, and starts walking. He needs to find some place to warm up; if all else fails, he can start a fire.

[blindpuppet]

"Not the type to ask for or accept help are you?" It's the feeling she's getting from him.

It's fine. It's logical. What strange person wandered around the woods, besides the two of them. "I could make a fire."

[xlvii]

"Not really." That said, though....

"Sure. Thanks." For the squirrel's sake. He wonders where she's going to find dry wood, though, considering the recent weather.