wildestlogs | And the Sky, It Opens Up Like Candy [Closed]

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And the Sky, It Opens Up Like Candy [Closed]

Who: Dan and Ace
What: Dan and Ace bring home the bacon.
Where: The woods in the perimeter of the camp.
When: The morning after the town hall.
Warnings/Notes: Potentially animal death, definitely swearing and alcohol use.

Dan does things. That's the universal constant; to Dan, activity, any kind of activity, is like walking into a smokey room and blowing it all out of the way, only the room is his cluttered, dark, damp mind. Right now, it's clogged with all sorts of things: embarrassment at what happened on the network, ugly old memories of incidents he'd rather forget, the arguments he wishes he'd made instead of the arguments he did make, and a deep, deep sadness.

None of these are things that are worth his time, so he's off to being useful - and while hunting pheasants he stumbled across some tracks. He followed them as far as he could, but the boar walked across a quarry and while Dan's tracking skills are keen, there are some places that a wild creature just won't leave any traces.

So he heads back to camp, and he approaches the first person he sees whom he knows has enhanced senses of smell and hearing.

"Hey, Ace. Want to help me put some pork on the menu?"

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Ace sees Dan approach. They haven't gotten to speak much since arriving at the camp but Dan had probably saved his life when he'd gotten cocky against the Sisters back at the faire. Plus he had taken care of Stacia when she was alone in a dangerous new world. That would be more than enough to win Ace's goodwill on its own.

"Dan, hey, great to see you! Pork? You see signs of boar in the woods? That would certainly go a long way to improving morale for us carnivores. Plus you don't need ammunition or arrows or snares to bring home the bacon."

Dan truly only knows Ace from his strength and courage on the battlefield and from Stacia's recommendation, but that's more than enough to get in Dan's good book, and Dan never had an acquaintance that he didn't want to get to know better.

"I did. I reckon it's a big one, by the size and spacing of the tracks, but I lost the trail over by this quarry." He pats the longbow hitched his back. "Don't need arrows, but I'd certainly prefer them to taking on a big piggy unarmed. 'Course, I'd prefer arming myself with a partner even more than that. Come on."

He gestures and starts to lead Ace to the woods.

"Fair enough. If you've got 'em shoot 'em. I meant more from a logistical perspective. Though I guess if you are a decent fletcher we've got what we need to not run out. Sticks, feathers and rocks we do not lack...

Still, I like your second idea. I should be able to smell the beasty if I shift, and taking on a big piggy unarmed sounds like a lovely morning workout to me. Well... I say unarmed..."

Ace shifts to his dire-wolf form and makes a low scraping sound as he drags his oversized claws along a rock.

"Fletching's one of the few skills I don't got in my back pocket, but nah, the bow and quiver are magic. They don't never run out. Guess the powers that be needed to make sure I had me a way to keep up with..."

Dan laughs and makes a you see gesture with his hand. He knew he came to a werewolf for a reason. He leads Ace to the place in the woods where he first saw the tracks, some fresh ones that clearly took an experienced eye to catch on the dry, rocky, uneven earth.

Ace doesn't spend the entire trek in hispo. It's not impossible to talk that way, just inconvenient, and there doesn't seem to be a huge rush. If Dan is important to Stacia he'd like to get to know him.

"Makes sense. It strikes me as odd that whatever brought us here would take enough care to make sure people had adequate weapons but not make any provisions for organization or survival once we arrived. I wonder if that is a matter of reach, an alien perspective, something else?

Either way we're stuck with it but it bears thinking about. From the sounds of it you and Stacia had quite the opposite problem the last place you landed?"

"Might could be they got more information than we do and know more about what we need. Aside from some emotional scarring, ain't none of us been seriously injured, and we're making do with the limited provisions we got, so..." Dan shrugs, pushing away some leaves to get a better look at the tracks. "Maybe they know we're capable of making do for ourselves on our own."

Ace brings up the Rig, and Dan doesn't shudder or feel a chill - he hated the Rig, but he's survived much, much worse. So, he knows, has Stacia. He just sighs.

"Yeah. Me and Stacia and Bunny and a bunch of others. It was structured down to the minute, and they zapped you with a little thing of electricity - or a big thing of electricity - if you stepped out of line."

"Sounds pretty awful. Some people would do better than others I imagine but most people would crack eventually. Either way this place sounds a lot nicer. Maybe you're right. Maybe more thought went into it than it looks like. Or maybe whatever we are here to help deal with controls the place too much to make us a nice little village to live in. Either way I'm not complaining. I do just fine in the woods. There's kids, though..."

Ace pauses at the place Dan indicates, shifts, sniffs the air, and shifts back.

"The trails not fresh but it's there. I don't think I'd have caught it without my nose, you've got a good eye. We may have a bit of a hike. Hope we don't get too far from the group and get our leash yanked on."

Ace points a direction and starts walking.

"Honestly man, thanks for asking. It's good to have something to do. All this is just... a lot, you know. This is my first tour of duty in the multiversal rescue squad or whatever but I didn't get pulled from home. I was... not dead, exactly, but in an afterlife of sorts. Whatever brought me here wiped out pretty much all the memories since I left home.

I don't know whether to be happy Stacia is here too, since it means she isn't home living her life but I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't."

"I wouldn't recommend the Rig for the best vacation spot I ever been, that's true." Dan keeps his eyes trained through the shrubbery to see if he can find more tracks. "I know. I like all the kids here, but I don't like having the kids here, you know what I mean."

Since Ace can tell that the boar isn't nearby, Dan puts his arrow back in the quiver, not afraid of a little hike. He drank more than he should have last night, and he hasn't slept, so either his hangover's going to make him absolutely miserable or the fresh air's going to take the edge off. Lord, does he hope it's the latter.

"I go out of my gourd without something to do and someone to do it with. You ain't got to thank me." Dan's mouth twitches into his cheek when Ace describes where he just came from. "This is my second time around the block for being a multiversal rescue squad member, if you ever want to ask a veteran any questions."

Ace nods companionably and makes sure to keep a pace where Dan won't miss any tusk-marks or hoofprints. Every so often he shifts to maintain the scent. He has an idea of the general direction but it certainly wouldn't hurt to find more actual signs.

"Yeah, actually. I was talking to someone last night who said she's been on this rollercoaster five worlds now. I'd already signed up to fight the good fight, so I'm just going to assume I got traded, but Stacia didn't and I know some of the others just want to go home. Forget the why for a minute. You got any clue as to the how of all this.

Most of us seem the type to want to help but like I said to her, it would be nice to be asked. With Stacia here I don't have much to go home to, but she wants to go back so that's the plan."

"Five times? Jesus." Dan minded the Rig a lot more than he minds this; the most annoying thing here is how hard it is to get cigarettes and the fact that he doesn't have his gun. If he had a little more control over what he had with him and what he were allowed to do with each stint, he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life on this multiversal tour of duty. "I ain't got no idea on the hows of this. You got to ask someone else about that."

Dan keeps up relatively nimbly; it's obvious that he's very familiar with hunting in the wilderness.

"What Stacia wants, Stacia should get. But if you don't got much to go home to, what do you want?"

Ace lets Dan lead, shifting and sniffing only if the trail gets too cold to read. He doesn't have to do it very often. Dan is clearly experienced.

Ace seems more focused on the conversation. Dan is offering a sympathetic ear and it has been a long time since he has been able to just talk to someone without having to keep a dozen different agendas in mind. He never thought he minded that. It's just how things were.

But now? Its not like things are perfect. There are still politics; still a fight to save the land from corruption. It is different, though, or maybe he is?

There is less of an edge to it somehow. Like he can suddenly relax when he hadn't realized he was tense, but also like something that has been holding him up isn't supporting him anymore. It feels good but also uncomfortable in a way that is almost completely foreign to Ace and he isn't sure what to do with that.

He realizes he has paused long enough before answering Dan's question that it will seem like he was thinking about the answer. Except he wasn't. Shit.

"Me? I honestly have no fucking clue. I know I want Stacia to be happy. She had a lot of stuff stacked against her back home but she took every fight that came her way and forced the world into the shape she wanted it.

I, on the other hand, lived a charmed life. I barely had to lift a finger and stuff just fell in my lap. Unfortunately I also knew that and I am cursed with a conscience. Things got rough a few times but I think I made a difference and when I left it was out of duty not because I was ready.

I should want to go back.

Now that I'm breathing again and can see all of it from the outside, though? I think maybe it was terrible. It was still valuable, noble, important, all that. But I think it was awful. That sometimes I was awful even though I did better than most would have in my situation, maybe even the best I could.

I'm worr... no, scared..."

Ace pauses for a moment as if surprised to realize this, then continues confidently.

"definitely scared that if I go back I won't be able to see it anymore. That I'll just slide back into being that person that mostly acts on instinct. I tried to be better. I was better, but... I don't know."

Ace says those last words not with anguish but like he is reaching a conclusion. They are the most accurate answer he has to Dan's question and for now he is okay with that.

Dan gives Ace all the space Ace needs to sort out feelings that Dan suspects Ace has not had space to sort out aloud. There are some things you only tell your most trusted loved ones, but there are also some things you would only ever tell a stranger. Shame, self-criticism, these feel like the sorts of things that are hard to divulge to the people you trust the most.

"When I think it over...we got no idea if we're ever going back," Dan says quietly. He would be fine staying here, when he considers it. "So I don't think you should might torture yourself over whether you want to or not. What we want ain't going to make much of a difference, odds are."

It's different, asking what you hope for and asking what you want to happen. The line's fine, but Dan knows it's there.

"But if there's ever something we do have control over that you want, an end result...I hope you'll feel comfortable telling us all." He twitches his lip to the side. "And I think it's hard to lose sight of what's right once you actualized it the first time."

Ace isn't entirely sure who Dan means when he says "us all."

Him and his husband? Them plus Stacia and the others that found each other on the Rig? The whole group? Ace isn't sure everyone here will care what he wants but it is more than enough for now that someone does.

Dan's words mean there is already at least the seeds of a community here and that his feelings may matter to them beyond his ability to fight or his social standing. He doesn't realize he needs that until he hears it.

He isn't used to needing that kind of support, which makes the last thing Dan says kind of sting even though he knows it was meant to reassure.

Its not that he buries his feelings. Its that doubt and insecurity just aren't for him. He's known for a while that it isn't natural. That some part of the curse that his people brought on themselves with arrogance blinds him to the worst parts of the world. It's why he hews to Stacia so closely. She keeps him honest and keeps a buffer between him and people that just can't deal with it.

But ever since his last big mission, ever since waking up here, it feels like that fuzziness in his head is gone. Not in a traumatic way. Not like before when the world came crashing in and he just couldn't take it. Like maybe he is finally ready.

He is still himself: confident, charming and annoying as hell. But it feels like he earned it this time and he doesn't want to give that up. If he goes back that buzzing certainty that everything is just fine even when it isn't might move back in and no matter what Dan says he could lose himself.

The other times that veil was torn away he would have given anything to wrap himself up in it again. Now the thought of it makes him angry

Ace pushes the thought way not because he wants to hide from it but because he can't let his rage bubble up. Not when he is alone in the woods with Dan.

He forces a smile and finally replies.

"I will. I have a few things to work out, apparently. It's nice to know that there are people here who care about the result.

And you are right, who knows if we'll even have the option. I'm not used to sitting around waiting for opportunities, though. If you or your husband, or Stacia, or Elle or enough of the others decide they want to find whoever is doing this to us and force a reckoning I'll help claw through however many layers of reality it takes to make that happen.

I'm no stranger to wildly stupid and theologically dubious plans. Get a drink or two in me and I'll tell you the stories sometime.

Enough about me, though...

I definitely don't mean to pry, but I don't think either of us have had a great couple of days. I could tell you were pretty tense last night. Anything you need to get off your chest? It would only be neighborly to return the favor."

"It's kind of what I do. Care about the result. Care about people. Folks." And now, that includes Ace. Dan doesn't scrutinize whatever Ace is thinking about; that's Ace's to share or to keep to himself. But he does accept it, give space to it, come to know that there's some change Ace is dealing with, some internal debate that he's not privy to. "I don't think there's any need to cause a reckoning. Not when things might could be more peaceful than that. We might could have been brought here out of desperation. We might could be dealing with some force vulnerable and scared as us."

He doesn't need to know what's going on in someone's head to enjoy their company.

Dan sighs heavily. "I probably should open up about it, but honestly, I came out here hunting bacon to leave it behind me. It ain't that I don't trust you. It's just that I been stressing enough and I...I need some nature and some activity."

Straightforward enough, and considerate. Ace doesn't feel any need to press. If Dan wants to talk about himself he will and right now he clearly doesn't.

"Fair, and thanks for being honest about it. If that changes and you need an ear, I'm around, and I mean that more than in the 'if I try not to be I get magically teleported' sense."

Ace punctuates that with a grin and a sniff of the air.

"If It is activity you want, activity you shall have... we're close."

Ace points then drops into wolf-form, figuring they both know how this next part works and that companionable silence is less likely to alert the big pig.

"I appreciate it." Dan's grin is warm and true, but he doesn't intend on taking Ace up. Dan's very selective with whom he shares his stresses with, mostly just with his husband, and even that transparency is a new development. He's spent much of his life not opening up to anyone.

It's not that Dan doesn't trust Ace. He's sure Ace means what he says. He's sure Ace is openhearted and discreet and reliable.

It's just that if Dan speaks aloud about what bothers him, it becomes real. He has to relive it. It doesn't matter if it's his family's deaths or just a negative conversation on the network: it always just feels like he's right back there.

Which is why he's so grateful that Ace catches the trail. He draws his bow loosely, moving quietly behind Ace.

Ace's people are technically able to speak in their wolf forms but he doubts Stacia has had time to to teach Dan to understand High Tongue and he has never really had the knack for shifting only parts of his body so he can't manage a human larynx and vocal cords. He settles for a quick yip here or there if he needs to get Dan's attention.

Luckily Dan is really good at this so he doesn't really even need that. They make their way through the woods pretty quietly given their mass and the unfamiliar terrain. Soon there are fresh tracks and tusk-marks to follow. Once Dan solidly has the trail Ace lets him lead. Aces method of hunting isn't something you can do on two legs and boars can be crafty and not alone. Better to let Dan take a shot without getting in close then finish it off if necessary with ranged backup if anything goes wrong.

Dan finds the trail, makes eye contact with Ace, and then starts to follow the boar, arrow prepped. He moves softly and unhurriedly; he's been doing this long enough to know that rushing a hunt is a surefire way to scare off the prey or give it the upper hand.

Due to the angle of the quarry, when Dan sees the boar, he realizes he isn't likely to be able to get close enough to fire off a kill shot; if he tries, he'll have to be moving over loose shale, which is bound to spook or agitate the creature. That means it'll be up to Ace to finish it off.

He aims, takes a deep breath, relaxes, repositions, adjusts his aim again - and fires.

Ace follows the flight of the arrow as it arcs through the chill air and finds it's mark in the boars flank. The beast squeals and bolts but it was a good hit. Ace could probably even just let it run itself out, but they had been gone a while already and people are hungry back at camp.

He bounds off after the boar. It is is exhilarating to be hunting again. He doesn't actually remember what it was like to be wholly spirit fighting celestial wars in some distant realm but it still feels like it has been forever since he felt the wind in his fur and tasted fresh blood.

The chase doesn't last long. The boar doesn't have time to notice him before Ace leaps and sinks his teeth into one of it's hind legs. It isn't a small creature. He loosens his jaw so that he tears muscle rather than getting whipped around when it attempts to turn and gore him with it's tusks.

With wounds on both it's rear flanks the boar is still dangerous but easy to outmaneuver. Ace takes his time, letting the beast tire and searching for an opening. They dance in circles for a few moments, Ace darting in and out, the boar thrashing, trying for one final act of revenge.

It isn't long before the boar's leg gives out. It is just for a second but it is enough to leave a gap between tusk and turf. Ace takes it, teeth closing around the boar's throat. Blood gushes around his teeth and stains his silver-white fur. He pulls, taking a chunk of the creature's neck with him and darts back again to let it die.

Dan races across the quarry after Ace, sending off a cascade of shale and only avoiding slipping because he spent his childhood running surefooted through the mountains. He stops outside the perimeter of the clash.

He's split between two impulses here, simultaneously enraptured by the lethal dance Ace has brought the boar into, and impatient to get the fight over with, worried about prolonging a dying creature's suffering. There's something mesmerizing about the combat, but Dan can never shake the thought that he's watching a living thing in agony, that every violent lurch towards Ace is a defensive and vain attempt to preserve a life that's ebbing away. He can't celebrate it, even if he can admire it.

As soon as Ace darts away, Dan draws his bow as tight as he can, aims for the boar's eye, and shoots it through to finish the job off quickly. He glances over at Ace with a smile.

"Nice work."

It takes a moment for Ace to transition. There is a trancelike quality to hunting and to combat. A hyperawareness that comes from adrenaline, dopamine, and muscle memory. A mind that is both aware and unaware of the complex calculations the brain is doing while it translates will into deadly action.

After he reacclimates to the rest of the world Ace shifts back to his human form and nods. "Thanks."

That is all he says for another moment, and he directs it both at Dan and at the spirit of the beast as it fades.

Then,

"We've got hungry campers. Want to dress it here or back at camp? The weight won't be a problem, I can carry it whole, but we should probably at least hang it for a bit. I don't want to leave a trail of fresh blood all the way back to where we sleep."

While Ace transitions, Dan does the little rite he does whenever he takes a life for sustenance; he thanks the boar for the sacrifice, apologizes for ripping away its life so crudely, and says a little prayer to some force he can't fathom. Not God, but not not God. Dan isn't religious, but he believes in sobriety when taking a life.

"I reckon we should dress it here. There are folks in the camp that get a little squeamish around the body parts, and-" Dan looks at some vultures in the trees- "seems there's already a line at the counter for the leftovers."

"Roger that."

Ace turns back toward the boar, then pats his pockets. Without turning back he pictures Dan and in the image there is a knife on the man's hip. Is his mind editing that in because Dan is just the kind of guy that always has a knife?

"Unfortunately, I'm a little light on gear. Didn't think I'd be doing much hunting on behalf of others when I set out from home and by myself I tend to take a more... basic approach.

You got a knife? I suppose rope would be greedy? Wait, I can solve that one if you can take care of the actual butchery."

Ace shifts to Crinos and crouches over the corpse. He takes the boars hind legs in one clawed hand then stands to his full height, about nine feet. He holds his arm straight out from his shoulder and does his best impression of meat-hook.

He makes a guttural grunt at Dan as if to say, 'there ya go.'

Edited 2022-01-28 01:52 (UTC)

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And the Sky, It Opens Up Like Candy [Closed]

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CW Gore, Hunting/Animal death

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