( open ) give me land, lots of land under starry skies above

[alfa]

who: Owen Grady & YOU!
what: a general catch-all for the month of August, including a zoo prompt and fun times beyond the walls, among other things
when: August
where: various places, in the Quarantine + beyond the walls
warnings: nudity and sexual content in one thread


I ▹ THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT

[ Having vast experience with dealing with some of the deadliest (if supposedly extinct) animals who walked the Earth has proven to be pretty helpful at his new job. Most of the animals at the zoo are pretty tame by comparison, but still Owen's not so stupid that he'll underestimate any of them— even the supposedly friendlier and more harmless ones.

He gets to work with various animals here, so it'll be easy to run into him doing a myriad of tasks, whether it's mucking up enclosures or feeding animals. He has a little more in-depth interaction with some of the animals, such as the ostrich-looking birds, tall and bulky, with long strong legs that could probably kill a guy with a well-aimed kick. Or at least break a lot of bones.

They don't seem intent on attacking Owen, but seem to be very interested in the bag of treats he's carrying, following him around the enclosure and trying to poke their big beaks into the bag. Owen doesn't seem particularly scared, swatting a hand at their heads as he pulls the bag away. ] Hey! Don't be an asshole. There's plenty for everyone.

[ Or, for a more exciting experience, come by the reptile area and see him attempting to help the alligators as they suffer through the intense heat during hotter days. He's pretty sweaty himself, shirt sticking to his back and all, but he doesn't seem to be too worried about that. The alligators barely seem interested in moving, but Owen tries to goad them into eating some meat, throwing large pieces at them, hosing them down with cool water even as they lay down in the shade. Big jaws there, and big teeth too, but Owen isn't overly concerned even when they open their mouths in his general direction. It's too hot, and he'd put up too much of a fight. Not worth the trouble. ]

II ▹ MAN IN THE WILDERNESS

[ Other than the zoo, it's beyond the walls that Owen spends most of his time. He likes it out here a lot, despite the various warnings of the dangers. He's taken Loki's offer a number of times and has been spending some nights at his cavern near a creek, which is where he goes to bathe. He might be in the wild but that's no excuse to stink up the place.

But other than that, he spends a lot of time exploring the forest, walking along the river, climbing up trees here and there to get a better view. He's excited to meet any wild creature out here, whether or not they're supposedly dangerous, and he also trudges through the forest collecting various small lizards, all perched up on his shoulders or tucked into his pockets. He's making friends, okay. ]

III ▹ WILDCARD

[ Despite enjoying the wilderness most of all, he doesn't turn into a complete hermit either. He can be found around the Quarantine often, whether he's looking for supplies for camping or for the animals at the zoo, or a place to have a nice cold drink. He also needs some new clothes so he'll be looking into that— light and comfortable pieces he can wear while out in the wild, preferably.

He also still has his room in communal housing, and he stays there sometimes too, so he's not exactly a complete stranger to the other residents there, nor is he the unsociable and unfriendly type. He likes having his own space, but he also enjoys good company at times. ]

Comments

[alfa]

Never thought of that one for a wolverine.

[ Man. What a name. ] Was he the one who did those... [ Gesturing to his own face, meaning her scars. A little tactless and to the point, he's aware. But anyway. ]

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby blinks before she realizes what he means. ]

No, these are . . . identification marks. They did it so they could tell us apart.

[alfa]

Tell you apart? [ He frowns, puzzled more so than anything. ] Tell you apart from who?

cw: scarring

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby's never explained these before, but her tone doesn't shift or falter. after all, she needs to feel pain in order to express it. and gabby's never felt it. ]

From my sisters. We were all clones so we all looked alike. They took a knife early on and carved these into us.

[alfa]

[ Despite what her tone might be as she shares that bit of information, Owen can't help feeling a little bad that he asked. ]

Sorry. [ Not that it bothers him, but it might be an upsetting topic for her. Which is why he's silent afterwards, even though he kind of wants to ask more about it. ]

[honeybadgerer]

[ she's still pretty cheery. ]

It's cool, my scars are part of my tragic backstory now.

And anyway, it didn't hurt.

[alfa]

Didn't know 'tragic backstory' was such a thing, these days.

[ He cracks a faint smile, since she doesn't seem particularly bothered. ]

Why did they make so many clones that look the same?

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby contemplates that. ]

The closer in appearance, the more "accurate" the cloning process is. You want to make a perfect match before you can introduce new stuff.

[alfa]

[ He really can't say that makes much sense to him, but then he's not exactly a scientist. What does he know. ]

Why clone you? I mean, no offense or anything, but... [ There must be something different about her. Even if she is just a kid. He's gotta wonder if she even has any idea, though. ] Sorry about the questions. You don't have to answer.

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby shrugs. she's not bothered by it, to be honest. very little does. ]

It's because my original is one of the best fighters around. They kinda wanted to "recapture" the magic.

[alfa]

They used you for combat. [ That's some shit reason. Not that Owen's a stranger to it— he was never so naïve as to not realize that there were people who wanted to do the same with the raptors. Turn them into weapons of war— put them down if they don't obey. Foolproof plan, really. ]

How many are there of you?

[honeybadgerer]

There were ten. Now it's just me.

[alfa]

Sorry to hear that.

[ Even if he's not entirely sure it bothers her, or if she ever even knew her sisters. It's still pretty crappy, and he genuinely feels sorry that she had to go through that. ]

There they are. [ Reaching the wolverine enclosure provides him with a good change of subject. It's a fairly large area, mainly made of rock and some tree trunks and branches, and an artificial stream. The two animals are currently rolling around in the water. There's glass separating the visitors from the enclosure, and more glass and metal fences put up around the area to prevent the animals from getting out, or anything else from coming in. One never knows, around here. ]

There are a few in the wild on the moon, but they're a rare sight. These two were born in the zoo, from what I was told.

[honeybadgerer]

[ aw, boo on the glass and metal. gabby would have liked to come closer. but for now, she climbs partway, so she can lean and look closer at the wolverines. she turns to owen briefly. ]

Is that good for them?

[alfa]

Neither good nor bad, I guess. [ He shrugs. ] Each animal ends up here for different reasons, and usually they stay because they're too young, or they just can't adapt to life in the wild. These two are too young, but who's to say how they'd do in a wild environment.

We might end up letting them go, once they're adults. It's what we're working towards, at least. But it takes some work, time and patience.

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby nods, absorbing that. ]

And they'll be happier out there, right?

[alfa]

Possibly— it depends. It's not that easy with an animal born in captivity.

[ He sighs, watching the wolverine play in the water. ] They've never faced predators, or been in a fight in the wild. They've never had to hunt for their own food, or seek shelter when it's cold or raining. There's an adaptation process, of course, and we try to help them get used to life in the wild little by little before releasing them completely, but being in here, and being out there... it's never going to be the same thing.

They might end up being happier, sure. They might adapt perfectly and never face any difficulty. But it also might not be that smooth of a transition. Some animals even end up never being released because of this.

[honeybadgerer]

I guess there's no way to know.

[ even gabby doesn't know. transitioning from the wild to the tame. like laura had. some days, it's easy because gabby never killed, never had to the way laura and the others did.

but she wasn't exempt. ]

[alfa]

No, not really. There's always some risk involved.

[ He studies the look on Gabby's face, shrugging. ] But it's a risk worth taking. And once an animal is released into the wild, it's monitored and its evolution followed for a good while, until we're sure they've successfully integrated into their new environment. Then... we just gotta let them go.

[honeybadgerer]

Yeah. Hope for the best. And I'm sure they'll pull through.

[ when something better comes along, you do your best to keep it. ]

[alfa]

Life finds a way. [ #TBT eyyyy. ]

So— why wolverines? Don't take it the wrong way or anything. It's just not one of the favorites among kids.

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby shrugs. ]

I like wolverines. I have one and honestly, it's kind of the theme. My sister's superhero name is the Wolverine.

[alfa]

Superhero name? [ His eyebrows go up. ] You mean— you have superheroes in your world. Real superheroes.

[honeybadgerer]

Yeah. Tons of them. The X-Men, Avengers . . . probably some others I don't know the names of but I'm sure they exist.

[alfa]

Wow. Never even heard of those. [ He doesn't think??? Maybe there are comic books, maybe there aren't. Let's just leave that wall intact the way it is. ] We don't have any— superheroes. We have dinosaurs and that's about it.

[ Somehow that doesn't sound as cool, right now. ]