night of the hunter

[chosenfake]

Who: Luke and anyone else in the vicinity!
What: It's deer season.
Where: Silverglen Retreat and the forest surrounding it.
When: April 18th, daytime.
Warnings:

[ A. Silverglen Retreat (Red, Bronze, and Green flights only.)]

[After proving he could do the freaky fire thing with his hands, Luke has been admitted to the village. He's getting a lot of looks, though. He's human, and pretty short, and his fiery red hair is uncommon enough to be remarked upon. Most night elves have shades of white, black, or blue hair. It's like walking into the dark side of anime.

He keeps to himself as he checks out the little market and the way the people live, only asking small questions with a lot of apologies and grateful smiles. Sooner or later, he'll endear himself to them. Maybe. In the meantime, he's learned what a barter system is. Without any real marketable skills besides his sword, that means he has to go hunting.

Oh boy.

If one doesn't find him wandering the stalls in the morning, by afternoon he's bringing in a couple of freshly-killed deer in exchange for spices and clothing.]

[ B. The outlying forest. ]

[Luke is a mighty hunter. The mightiest of all hunters. He actually doesn't know the first thing about hunting a wild animal, so he's spent the past couple hours in a tree hoping this crazy idea works.

One may aid him in stalking and killing the stags. Or, they can simply watch him drop out of the sky on one's back. He's able to kill one after wrestling it for a minute. In the end, hitting the deer very hard in the head finally earns him the quest completion.

Time for a break. He plops down on the grass, panting, covered in fur and leaves.]

Comments

B!

[amygdalae]

[Bruce is... not a hunter. That much, most people can probably figure out real quick just by looking at him. Well, its not like he doesn't know (as there's only so long you can survive on while on the run) but he's not the biggest fan for it. Also since meat requires cooking, which also requires fire and eventually... a higher chance of him being spotted by the military back home.

So, yes. Bruce Banner is most certainly not a hunter.

In fact, he's at the forest to actually find what kind of vegetation he can actually eat since its not like he knows anything about Azeroth. So far he's had some success, though its mostly from him having followed some deer and watching whatever they eat. Even in the foreign world, the concept was still the same - if animals could eat it, chances are, so could he.

For the most part he's pretty content with staying at the side and studying the herd of deer he's following, but then all of a sudden a large figure drops down from above and its enough to startle Bruce for a moment as he stumbles back and tumbles to the ground. The herd quickly scatter, and Bruce has to take a moment to collect himself, pushing back the sudden 'fight' response that had nearly come to the forefront of his mind. Foreign world or not, Bruce still had no wish to let out the Hulk - not unless it was necessary.]

eeeeee

[chosenfake]

[Luke realizes halfway through wrestling this deer that there's someone else here. That moment of hesitation is all the stag needs to buck Luke clean off and then disappear into the bushes, leaving him upended on the forest floor.]

O... ow. That could've gone better.

[After he's sure he didn't break anything, he gets back up and sheathes his sword.]

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'm... uh... hunting. Or trying.

\o/

[amygdalae]

[It takes a moment, but eventually Bruce realizes that what had caught him off guard was a stag with a human on top of it, looking less of trying to ride it and more of attempting to hold onto dear life. Not that he really succeeds, since said stag kicks him off half a second later and scampers off with the rest of the fleeing herd.

Now that he's sort of managed to put two and two together, Bruce slowly picks himself up, managing to push away the adrenaline that almost took over. He sucks in a breath and looks over to the teenager, smiling at the apology and shakes his head.]

It's fine. What's important is that there was no harm done. [Or a giant green ragemonster popping out.] To me or you. [Since it didn't look like his landing was particularly comfortable.]

[chosenfake]

Yeah. Dinner got away, though.

[Luke rubs at his back, but he seems okay. He doesn't seem to realize that Bruce has the capability to become lean, green, and mean. Luke's kind of self-absorbed in a harmless way, as opposed to... how he used to be.]

I never learned how to use a bow, and the elves in the village won't take my money. This situation kinda sucks, honestly.

[amygdalae]

[To be fair nobody here really knows about Bruce's abilities - well, maybe aside the dragons, but they haven't talked to him about it yet so. Bruce assumes he's managed to keep his secrets, for now.

But anyway.

He smiles wryly at the teenager's words, unable to fully hide the mirth in his expression or voice.] I can't use a bow either, so you're not alone in that area. [...he doesn't know about the rest, though, since he hasn't really ventured that far yet.]

[chosenfake]

[He seems like such a nice guy. Luke is drawn to those types, sometimes for better or worse.] I feel bad asking the dragons for help, but I'm also sick of eating bear. I'll figure something out, I guess.

[Anyway, enough complaining. After realizing he hasn't introduced himself to any Dragonsworn in a while, he straightens up a bit.]

I'm Luke, by the way.

[amygdalae]

[Well, at least this time this nice guy is actually a proper nice guy and won't try to hurt anyone at all... as long as they don't hurt him first, of course. But that shouldn't happen between them.

Bruce cracks another wry smile, completely understanding his point. Bruce himself isn't a picky eater himself, but some variety would be nice, indeed.]

I'm sure you will. [It's clear that he is trying, at least, and trying is always the best thing to do in this situations.

But yes, introductions. Bruce inclines his head when Luke gives his name, something of a more genuine smile crossing his face this time.] It's a pleasure to meet you, Luke. My name's Bruce.

[chosenfake]

[Luke is harmless, honestly.]

Bruce. [Definitely not a name he's heard before.] The pleasure's mine. I've never seen you around before, but I guess that's not too weird, since we're all separated. You been here a while?

[amygdalae]

[Harmless is good. It means less chance of getting smashed.

At the question Bruce lets out a quiet laugh and shakes his head in his response.]

Not that long. I only arrived earlier... this month? [God, how does time work here anyway, Bruce has no idea at all.]

[chosenfake]

Ah, yeah, I've been here for longer than that. Three weeks, I think.

[He crosses his arms.]

So they keep bringing in more people... I can't say we don't need the help, but I'm kind of worried. That means even more worlds are being put in danger.

[amygdalae]

[Bruce doesn't cross his arms, but his expression turns somewhat serious anyway. Like Luke, he sort of knows the gist, but still... hearing it out is pretty worrying.

How were the others back on Earth? How was Stark?]

As inconvenient as our arrival here is, the danger is still real. [And its up to them to help stop it... honestly, it feels like a pretty impossible task. Bruce doesn't know if he can be fully up for it, in the end.]

[chosenfake]

[Luke has already 'saved' one planet once, but that doesn't make up for the one they inadvertently destroyed and never recovered. He's done the meddling in time thing before. This situation is familiar in ways, but that doesn't mean he's going to take it easy.]

Yeah. I think being separated into smaller groups isn't helping. We're going to have to join forces, even if the dragons don't want to.

[amygdalae]

[Bruce nods, agreeing with Luke on that point. He certainly can't see any benefit to having all of them separated like this.]

Perhaps we should try and convince our hosts of that fact.

A

[wilder]

[At least Luke wasn't the only redhead to come to this village. Zelos can also be found among the marketplace, with the same goal in mind of gaining more items for the flight]

[Except while Luke is making his presence small and non-threatening, Zelos seems to have a different method. He seems to be leaning against a stall, chatting up the Night Elf woman behind the counter who is paying apt attention to him- while occasionally giggling and checking him out. There are a few other Night Elf women surrounding them as well. Some are paying attention to every word that this good looking stranger has to say, while a couple others are more daring and seem to be playing with his long, red hair that he's let down out of it's usual braid.]

...it's full of flowers, just about everywhere you look there's another field of them. And there's trees too- it's not as dense as the forests of this village, but they're really tall and the leaves are stunningly red-

[One of the ones playing with his hair pipes up with a giggle along with her friends] Like your hair?

[He gives a little charming laugh] Yeah, like that- except even more stunning. But seriously, it's a really beautiful. Almost as beautiful as all of you. ♥

[And another round of giggles happens, along with some of them lightly chiding him as well as blushing. Uh, yeah, this might be why Zelos has been bringing good hauls back to the Sanctums the past couple weeks.]

[chosenfake]

[Luke has never seen a player in action before. Sure, he's seen Guy flirt with the maids, but this is different and way more intentional. Zelos has them in the palms of his hands, maybe literally a little later. It's an incredible sight with Zelos all shameless and manipulative, and it kind of annoys Luke. A lot. He can't say exactly why, but it's kinda disgusting.

Luke stares from nearby, glaring over his stack of clothes. If he could, he'd be boring a hole through Zelos' skull. But instead, he might end up getting confused for a distant relative-- there are some curious glances from one of the girls closest to him.]

[wilder]

[Even if Luke can't bore a hole into his skull literally, it's not too long until he gets the sense someone is watching him. He glances over his shoulder a bit apathetically, expecting it to be some guy from the village that's jealous of the attention. But the streak of red at the corner of his vision is enough to tell him nope, it might actually be trouble]

[And so he'll give the girls an apologetic look and tell them he has to get going. There's a few whines of protest, and pleas that he should come back soon. But all in all, the break away is simple enough. Though a few of the girls are definitely watching them, and trying to get a good look at Luke- trying to figure out who this other redhead is.]

[Zelos meanwhile, seems to be acting completely nonchalant, even if he can see Luke's glare from very far away.]

Hey Luke, something up?

[chosenfake]

[Luke wasn't really expecting Zelos to come all the way over here. He sighs, adjusting his load.]

I've been working my butt off all day to get some deer to trade, and you're getting even more stuff just by flirting with girls?

I don't get it.

[wilder]

Hey, it's not like I've been lazy.

[He offers a shrug]

But I dunno what to tell you. I guess girls just like it when a charming guy with a pretty face pays them attention.

[chosenfake]

[Absolutely fucking shameless.]

All you're doing is just talking to them. I mean, you weren't even touching them.

-- Don't tell me you have some weird... mind thing that makes girls like you.

[wilder]

[A slight eye roll and in a deadpan tone:]

Oh yeah, you caught me, Luke. I have this special power, it's very effective.

I call it knowing how to talk to girls.

[chosenfake]

[Luke knows when he's being made fun of. He glowers a bit, then grabs one of the shirts he traded for and THROWS IT AT ZELOS' FACE.]

S-shut up! That's beyond talking to girls. That's a whole new level of-- of something.

[wilder]

[Whoa he's throwing things. Zelos looks mildly surprised as the shirt hits his face, and he'll pull it off him]

Hey, I told you before- all my powers are gone. So there's no way I could have some weird mind power.

Why are you so worked about this?

[chosenfake]

[Because someone has to have the moral high ground here and apparently it ISN'T FUCKING ZELOS.

Luke has to stop and think about that for a moment.]

I'm not worked up! I just can't--

-- I can't talk to girls the way you do.

[Well, yes that's obvious.]

... I can't really talk to girls at all, if we're being honest. I don't know the first thing about it.

[wilder]

[Hunny if you were expecting Zelos to be the moral high ground, you were fucked from the start]

Ha...really, huh.

[Seriously Luke you pretty much scream clueless. But he'll grin and shrug dramatically]

But oh! I see now! The young Luke has finally noticed girls and his inability to communicate with them! Good for you!

[chosenfake]

[Luke turns the color of his hair.]

Do you have to say it so loudly!? I was going to ask you for help but-- [He bristles and turns.] Ugh, just forget it.