(open) i made a sucker's prayer

[scholiast]

who: lucretia & you
what: tdm prompt + catch-all
when: late march/early april
where: oot n aboot
warnings: warnings for violence re: monster fights

01 everybody was monster fightin' (ota)

(Lucretia has always fought better in pairs than alone.

Its to do with her defensive capabilities; she's extraordinarily good at buff magic, at covering those with more destructive power, keeping them safe as they dive in head first. She can at least hold her own when she needs to but it's trickier. It isn't as fun, either! She likes being in a team.

Regardless, she's grouping creatures together with lightning spells and the odd fireball, trying to keep an eye out for other fighters or innocents about to be caught in the line of fire, anybody who needs a hand or a quick shield. Her elemental magic isn't at the same level as her abjuration work; eventually she falls back, starts to conserve her higher level spell slots.

Anybody who has just found themselves in a sticky situation or just looks like they need an extra hand will suddenly find a neat shield of faith being cast about them.)

Comments

[trashvalkyrie]

I think that's important.

[Val glances back at the slain creature, whose body has started...smoking, slightly?...at the neck. Gross.]

Even if you never have to use it...there'll always be the one time you need to protect yourself.

[scholiast]

(Lucretia notices too, and makes a neat step backwards to keep from accidentally inhaling anything.)

Yes. (The one time indeed. She looks sober for a moment, staring at the ugly slash in the creature's throat. Then, she clears hers, glancing away.)

We should keep moving.

[trashvalkyrie]

[Val nods, straightens her shoulders, keeping alert as she proceeds deeper into the ruined city they're exploring; her strides are purposeful but light; the less noise she makes with her footsteps, the better.]

I'm hoping to come across some quality scrap out here...A ton of it's been scooped up already, but it'd be nice to find some, like, unraided fusillage.

[scholiast]

Oh, you should talk to Cisco if you're after scrap. He comes out here a lot to scavenge.

(Lucretia in turn has a shield readied pretty much always just in case; she appreciates the way Val bounds ahead of the two of them, her gait light, almost noiseless.)

What did you need it for?

[trashvalkyrie]

Yeah? Will do.

[Her sword is in hand, again, unsheathed effortlessly despite the fact that it's a very heavy weapon; she smiles at Lucretia over her shoulder.]

I want to build myself a new ship.

[scholiast]

(Yeah, Lucretia is... aware of that. Just, like, tangentially. Val's protective gear doesn't have sleeves, and she has very impressive muscles. These are all observations.)

A space ship? (She says stupidly; she can't imagine Val needing a sail boat for anything.) Cisco might be the wrong person to ask then. He's mostly out looking for circuitry.

[trashvalkyrie]

[It's okay, Lucretia. Everyone's a little gay for Val's arms. It's just a fact of life.

She nods.]

Nothing huge. Just a cruiser. I miss having my own rig. And anyway, plenty of circuitry in a ship.

[scholiast]

(Phew.)

I know what you mean. I lived on a ship for a long time and even though it's nice to be off of it, I miss it deeply every so often.

[trashvalkyrie]

I never lived on mine, but...I miss being able to just get away, every now and then. Lift off and cruise, just me and the open air—

[Val pauses, cocking her head to one side, at some noise coming from a ways away.]

Did you hear that?

[scholiast]

(Lucretia opens her mouth to reply, but stills immediately as Val turns her head to listen.

... No? She shakes her head doubtfully, glancing all about them. If something large is about to ambush them, she's going to be ready. She casts a protective shield about them that will move as they do; it'll field off any first hit a monster might try to get in unawares.)

[trashvalkyrie]

[Val squints, and then turns toward the sound of the noise. Keeping her sword raised and her center of gravity low, she creeps toward the edge of the underbrush, peering into the half-light...

...and a deer wanders out, picking her way through the thorns and brambles. Val straightens up, chuckles, breathes a sigh of relief.]

Thought it was going to be some kind of ferocious beast for sure.

[scholiast]

Same. (Geez. Lucretia had gone tense all over with apprehension, and she laughs nervously as Val straightens, and the deer trots on unaware.)

You're very professional. (She'd been watching Val slink through the brush with interest.) Are you a rogue?

[trashvalkyrie]

[The potential for danger may have passed, but Val keeps her sword at the ready. Nothing would be more embarrassing than to let her guard down just because of a deer.]

Me? [Val laughs.] No, not really. More like...I got used to having to be stealthy if I wanted to beat out all the other scavengers looking for goods to haul in. And when stealth didn't work...

[Her grin is very sharp.] Guns usually did the trick.

[scholiast]

(Well, there's always that.)

Was that your job? Being a scavenger? (It seems... stressful, maybe? Especially combined with having to beat other people at that job in order to complete it.)

What did you scavenge?

[trashvalkyrie]

Yeah, basically.

[Val shrugs, moving forward, slashing through the brush with her sword like it's a cheap machete instead of Asgardian steel.]

Parts, stuff that floated in from other planes through the wormholes. Mostly, though, uh.

[She keeps her gaze steadily ahead, not wanting to see Lucretia's reaction. She doesn't want her to think any less of her, but at the same time...she doesn't want to keep this from her. Lucretia is a friend. She values that.]

People. Fighters. Warriors. Sakaar's main attraction was...blood sport.

[scholiast]

(Val is so easy going and confident that Lucretia finds it's quite easy to tell when her demeanor changes. She watches Val slash them a path through the grass and scrub and thinks about this for a long moment before she answers.)

... Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do in order to survive, (she says, carefully.

Lucretia understands this sentiment intimately; that, and Val has never struck her to be a bad person.)

[trashvalkyrie]

[The wait for Lucretia's reply is agonizing, but when she does answer, her voice careful, Val's shoulders relax visibly from the way they'd tensed. She turns her head to the side, just enough to catch a glimpse of Lucretia's face, and a ghost of a smile finds its way to her mouth.]

Yeah. It's...not something I was ever proud of. I already had enough guilt when I showed up in that place, but...

[Well. There's a reason she's such a heavy drinker.]

[scholiast]

Yes. (Lucretia nods, made slightly somber by her own thoughts.) It's difficult, to reconcile that.

(One thing does need to be made clear, though. She smiles wryly.) I won't judge you for that, Val. I'm not really in any position to.

[trashvalkyrie]

[Val lets herself be comforted by Lucretia's smile. She's not going to lose her friendship over this. That's good to know. Her own smile widens, becomes a little more solid.]

...Thanks. It's good to know.

I'm glad we came out here today.

[scholiast]

(In turn, Lucretia is relieved by Val's answering smile. Always good when you manage to say the right thing.)

Me too. Large reptile surprise attacks aside, of course.

[trashvalkyrie]

Yeah?

[Val pauses enough to fall in stride with Lucretia, and bumps her shoulder against the other woman's.]

I was hoping for another one, personally.

[scholiast]

(She chuckles, and nudges her back.)

Why, so you can show off a little more?

[trashvalkyrie]

[Val just grins, and raises one bare arm to flex her bicep.]

Can you blame me?

[scholiast]

(stop)

No, I– if I had big muscles I'd probably hit things more often, too.

[trashvalkyrie]

[She'll literally never stop, she's a gay embarrassment.]

Hard to imagine you getting all jacked, though.