missing pieces

[advanced]

who: Bucky Barnes (MCU), Ivar Ragnarsson, Dick Grayson, Stephen Strange, Ellie, Tony Stark, Suigetsu Houzuki, Clark Kent, Fatima Merali, Eichi Tenshouin, Shai Ebbisaryn, Steve Rogers (MCU), Líadan Ní Donnabháin, Bucky Barnes (616), and Jonathan Kent
what: Various prompts
when: April 1st/2nd
where: Abandoned city
warnings: Probable violence
note: Though this log has closed prompts, if you would like to do anything with Bucky please just send me a PM or hit me up at bibbety and I will be more than happy to add in a prompt for you!

[i: Sparring partners; CLOSED to Ivar Ragnarsson]

[Bucky spends a lot of his time out in the abandoned city, even sleeping there some nights when the feel of people all around him becomes a bit too much to handle. He's doing better than he was when he arrived here, he's even spoken to Steve fairly courteously once, but he's got a long way to go and he still prefers to do it alone.

Which is why he's out in the city training himself, running between buildings, jumping and vaulting various debris fields, and occasionally testing his acrobatic skills with flips and kicks off one surface to catch hold of another. What he's not expecting, after jumping one particularly large gap between rooftops, is to land by a man on the ground.

At first he thinks it's someone hurt, until he recognises the man that fought him when he was recently arrived and remembers how he couldn't use his legs. It's pretty impressive that he got up this far, let alone out here to the abandoned city in the first place.]

You okay?

[He was just going to go, but maybe Ivar really is hurt and can't get down.]

[ii: Meals on wheels; CLOSED to Dick Grayson]

[There have been a couple of times while Bucky has been skulking around the city that he's seen the man he doused in yoghurt, still patrolling in that costume. He knows his name now, made sure to look it up based on the usernames and the apartment - Dick Grayson. Not that he plans on using it, he just likes to have all the information, it can be the difference between life and death.

But what he doesn't realise is that he's the one that's been spotted tonight by Dick, as he slips out into the abandoned city and turns into one of the nearby ruins. A sleeping bag and rucksack are already stashed there, along with a surprising array of weapons. He slides into his sleeping bag, sat up against the wall, completely unaware that he's not alone... for now.]

[iii: Magic and Mayhem; CLOSED to Stephen Strange]

[Bucky has very few things that he would count as personal possessions. His weapons, clothes, and sleeping bag were all just tools that could pass in and out of his ownership without him caring that much. Though he would never like to be unarmed, he could always find more weapons if he lost these.

But he had a book that was precious to him. Just a tattered little notebook which was a quarter full of news clippings of all the various Avengers, some information both bought and stolen from the Smithsonian gift shop, and several choppy paragraphs in his own handwriting. Notes on information he's found out, memories that have resurfaced, that sort of thing.

He's sitting on the rooftop of one of the buildings in the main city, riffling through the book, when a sudden gust of wind catches it and sends it out of his hands and over the side to land at either at the feet of, or directly on the head of, the poor unsuspecting person walking by.

Sorry, Stephen.]

[iv: Dance lessons; CLOSED to Ellie]

[The flower festival isn't exactly Bucky's natural habitat, but he keeps finding himself drawn to the dance lessons and performances in the various open park areas. He doesn't really remember dancing himself, it's definitely not something the Soldier has ever done even though he has the dexterity for it, but it feels familiar.

So even though spending so much time in the crowds goes against a lot of his instincts, Bucky keeps finding himself back in the throng.

It's where he is that morning, sat with his back against a tree to make it slightly harder to sneak up on him from behind, intently watching a couple perform an exhibition piece in the style of swing dancing. These are the ones he likes the best, the ones that feel the most oddly familiar, and he has an almost peaceful expression as he watches.]

[v: Running into you; CLOSED to Tony Stark]

[Bucky spends a lot of his time either hiding, skulking in the shadows, or moving at a carefully steady pace through crowds so as not to attract attention. But sometimes he just needs to blow off steam, sometimes he just needs to burn through the excess energy that the bastardised serum gives him.

Which is why he's running.

He's at least chosen a time when he doesn't think anyone else will be near the outskirts of the city, and he's running down side streets and back alleys rather than the main streets, but he is pushing himself all out. Running faster than a normal human could, vaulting trash cans and practically skidding around corners.

It's probably lucky he hasn't crashed into anyone before now...]

[vi: Festival Fun; CLOSED to Suigetsu Houzuki]

[This festival, much like the last festival, is a good place to gather free food. The stall vendors are often so busy that they don't notice a little something here or there going missing, and lots of people end up buying food that they can't finish and just abandon. Which is why one suspicious hobo type is now casually wandering the picnic area, stooping as if to tie his shoe every so often when he's really stealing leftovers.

Don't mind him...]

[vii: A serious talk; CLOSED to Clark Kent]

[See the comments for starter.]

[viii: Kites and trees; SEMI-OPEN to anyone plotted with on the CR meme]

[Bucky has spent most of the flower festival skirting the main events, on the fringes of the crowds, or watching from a distance. But some things keep drawing him in deeper, like leftovers at the picnic area, or dance contests, or the smell of food.

To anyone wandering, he can be found in the following places:

i) staring into the window of a bakery as if the pies on display have the answer to life.
ii) up a tree in the park, watching a dance demonstration like a skulking creeper
iii) flying a kite that he got pressured into buying, sitting on the grass in a relatively secluded area. If this kite accidentally drops and wraps around your character, more's the pity.]

[ix: Football; CLOSED to Jonathan Kent]

[Bucky doesn't look like someone who's in the park to play a nice game of football... for one, he doesn't actually have a football. He's also skulking under the trees, wearing a long hoodie and gloves despite the warm weather, and is looking around at everyone entering the park as if they might be a threat to him.

But he said he wanted to do this, so he's here.

Even after he got the message from Clark that said he had somewhere else to be that morning, he was sorry, but hopefully Bucky could still have fun with Jonathan. Which was why Bucky was skulking out of place, waiting for a kid and hoping that said kid brought a football with him. Or they might be kind of scuppered.]

Comments

I

[ragnarsson]

[Despite how slow he was rendered by necessity, that hadn't stopped Ivar from exploring as he saw fit. He just went about it usually in a different way than most people. The abandoned city had proved to be a particular challenge. The terrain there was too rocky for his wheelchair to navigate successfully.

So he'd been forced to leave it behind, falling back to his old standby of crawling to get where he wanted to go. Ivar didn't mind. It was how he'd been getting around his whole life. Exploring the city was going to take more than a single day, but Ivar was nothing if not patient.

What he wasn't expecting was the half-feral man he'd gotten into a fight with to be there as well. Ivar looks up at Bucky with a grin. He'd rather liked the nameless assassin and the challenge he'd given the Viking warrior.]

Not that I see why you care, but I'm fine.

[His standard answer no matter how he was feeling, but this time, it's the truth.]

[advanced]

[Okay, well then, the grin and the response seem pretty genuine so he doesn't have to worry about just turning around and carrying on his way. Except that he knows there are a lot of monsters around here, and he won't forgive himself if someone he has seen out here dies because of a lack of support.

So he just stays stood where he is, posture tense, but not about to leave.]

What are you doing out here?

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar's not afraid of monsters. He's on the Perimeter Guard and he's spent the better part of the blackouts dealing with nasty little beasties trying to make their way through. If anything, the monsters should be afraid of him.]

Originally, exploring. Now I'm thinking it's a good place to train my horse. It can't burn down much around here.

[Yes, he has a fire horse now. Isn't that the dream of every sixteen year old?]

[advanced]

[There's so much about that sentence that makes no sense. How did he get a horse here? Does he mean a literal one? Where's he keeping it? Why would it burn anything down?]

Show me.

[Seems the safest way of finding out.]

[ragnarsson]

Alright. Just don't make any sudden movements. He's still a little scared.

[Ivar pulls out two things. First, the Pokeball attached to his belt. Secondly, a pair of magic fireproof gloves that Dr. Strange enchanted for him. Yes, this is what his life has become. He taps the center of the Pokeball and tosses it.]

Come out, Skinfaxi.

[There's a blinding flash of light that condenses into the shape of a foal. When the light dims, there's a long-legged Ponyta colt standing there with a flaming mane and tail. It takes one look at Bucky and immediately becomes agitated, whinnying and dancing back and forth. Ivar lays a hand on his muzzle, talking softly to it.]

Calm down. It's alright. See? He won't hurt you. Now be nice.

ii

[fingerstripes]

[ Tracking a man with no trail to follow is a tall order, and if he's honest with himself the fact that he's managed it at all this time probably comes down more to luck than anything else. But if he's learned anything at all from a ten minute standoff over a carton of yogurt in his living room, it's that he needs to press every advantage he can get here.

For now he's holding onto this one, perched over the rucksack, that impressive stash of weapons. The meager possessions of someone with probably nothing else to call his own. As much as turnabout might be fair play, there's something there, as he watches the man curl into his sleeping bag, that makes him want to avert his eyes. Something that makes his heart pull at the idea of taking even a little of that away. Violating whatever sense of safety, or privacy, he has in this place.

But he has a few options. A few minutes to decide how to play this. Move too fast and he'll probably drive him to make another run for it. Too slow and he'll be running the risk of escalating the situation past the point where he can control it. Either way, it's a good bet that he won't have long to make a case for investing in a longer chat than before.

There's nothing for it. He'll either accomplish something tonight, or he won't. He takes a breath, balances the wrapped bundle of food in one arm, and shifts his weight against the line holding him, just enough for the light to fall across his lenses. Unobtrusive, but anyone observant will see the glint. ]

Knock knock. [ And he knocks politely, rapping his free knuckles twice on a protruding edge of ruined wall. Then he waves from his upside down position. ]

[advanced]

[He's never wholly relaxed, there's always a part of him waiting for an ambush or for his enemies to find him. But he had thought he was alone here, and so even while he's reacting to the sudden intrusion on instinct, he's feeling a sink of disappointment that his safety has been shattered again.

He's got a gun in his left hand, glove and long sleeve concealing the metal still, aimed directly at that glint of the lenses, before Dick has even finished pretending to knock like an invited guest.]

Grayson.

[The recognition doesn't make him relax at all, nor lower his weapon.]

[advanced]

[Bucky has no idea what's going on when Ivar draws the colourful ball from his belt, and that confusion only melts into tension when a horse-- no, when a flaming horse appears out of nowhere. It's probably no wonder that the Ponyta is so scared, considering that Bucky likely looks like he's about to punch it.]

The hell is that?

[He stands his ground, trying to seem less threatening but not managing it very well.]

Where did it come from?

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar continues to stroke his Ponyta's muzzle and neck, the gloves preventing any discomfort as his hands move over the flaming mane.]

It's a creature called a Ponyta. I caught him in the forest. These creatures, Pokemon, came through the portal from one of the worlds. They're friendly enough if you can tame them. Now stop looking at him like that.

[Skinfaxi is picking up on that tension and doesn't like it.]

III

[suckstobestrange]

[This wouldn't be the first book that had landed on Stephen's head in his life, and likely wouldn't be the last.

The lack of it trying to bite him was a nice change though.

He'd been for once minding his own business. He'd finished up at the hospital for the day then spent some time in the markets hunting down some small items to use for casting. Nothing impressive, it was mostly items to be enchanted like bobby pins, a couple packs of gum, seeds, some nails, and a nice long coil of barbed wire. It wouldn't do long term but until he'd gotten more comfortable with spellwork in this realm, better to have some backup plans prepared.

It took a bit of juggling, but he managed to actually catch the book, rather than letting it hit the pavement. He caught sight of the pages, news articles and handwriting, but his attention went up instead, looking to see if he couldn't find out just where the mysterious book had come from.]

[fingerstripes]

Sorry to drop in late. [ Letting on that the name thing gets to him at all is as good as handing this man another loaded gun. Still, it's a sharp little twist of the knife. A reminder of what had been taken away from him that night. And there it sits under his skin like ice.

He flashes a disarming smile instead, dropping down to the ground with an elaborate little flip. And there he stays, hands up. Weaponless. He may be setting the opening terms, but he owes it to him to leave the boundaries in his court.

Well, a few of them anyway. ]

I would've called ahead, but it turns out "tall, dark, and armed" isn't exactly a winning search term these days.

[advanced]

[He's already seen a lot of weird things in his life, and especially weird things here, but for some reason a flaming horse just seems a step too far. He's never heard of Pokemon before, and he's definitely not convinced that it's tame, but he does try to make his expression more neutral.]

How did it fit inside that ball?

[Because it sure as hell wouldn't fit in there now.]

[ragnarsson]

I don't know. It just does.

[Being a superstitious sort and believing in stories of the Norse gods, Ivar had come to accept that there were magical items that had no good explanation. Having a large creature fit into a small ball wasn't much of a surprise.

Skinfaxi began to calm, picking up on Ivar's temperament. It turns towards Bucky, ears pricking forward in curiosity.]

[advanced]

[He's not so superstitious, but he does accept that there are a lot of things in the world that he doesn't understand. It's not something he's comfortable with and he'll have to do a lot more research on these weird creatures, but for now he'll just nod and let it go.

He extends his gloved left hand out towards the Ponyta.]

Can you ride it?

[advanced]

[The gun tracks down with Dick's movements, making sure not to give him any opening to attack. Not that he seems to be itching for a fight, but Bucky can't think of any other reason that a man he'd doused in yoghurt and then attacked would be seeking him out.]

Why are you here?

[His gaze glances quickly to the left, making sure the other exit is free in case he needs to make a quick getaway.]

[advanced]

[It's not hard to spot the person who's dropped the book, considering that Bucky is leaning over the side of the building at a precarious angle to try and see where it landed.

A stranger. That's not good, especially when they start flipping through it, but at least it's nobody he recognises. Not one of the Avengers (oh, how little he knows), and therefore it could be worse.

Weighing up his options, but unwilling to leave the book, he takes a chance and jumps the four storeys down to land hard in front of Stephen, gloved hand held out.]

That's mine.

iv;

[pundemic]

[Large gatherings of people kinda make her wary, you know? She doesn't like crowds, and even though she's been here long enough to figure out that things are different-- that everything is different, there are certain habits that she holds to.

She skirts around the outsides of any large gathering. She keeps her hand on her knife in her pocket. She wears clothing that's layered to make her look bigger than she is like some fucking cat puffed up for a fight, and everyone she sees gets visually shaken down for a weapon.

It's necessary, but exhausting. She's found herself some cotton candy to buy and has taken to wandering around the fringes of where people are gathered. Her guard doesn't exactly go down, but it becomes a less imminent and looming thing the longer she ambles about, and eventually she finds her way to her weird little friend.

She bites her lip, certain he's seen her before she saw him. It's not exactly out of hesitation, she's just trying to decide whether she should go get him some cotton candy too, or if he'd be gone by the time she got back. So she opts to just head towards him, plop down beside him on the ground and hold out the stick of wispy blue candy floss.]

Hey.

[advanced]

[There are a lot of people he would have run from if he saw them approaching, and some he might even have prepared to fight, but they have a sort of understanding. He's a little wary after how things ended last time, but she hadn't tried to push and he's calmed down since then.

Which is why he's still sitting there when she sinks down next to him, and why he reaches out with his ever-gloved hands to take the stick.]

Hey.

[He pulls off a piece and puts it in his mouth, nose immediately wrinkling.]

That's disgusting.

[pundemic]

Too sugary, right?

[She doesn't really like it either, and she mirrors his expression without really meaning to.]

For me too. That's why I'm enlisting your help. Wouldn't want it to go to waste, right?

[Sometimes, the amount of food she's seen other people throw away here pisses her off so badly she has to remind herself not to yell at them on the spot. They don't know what it means, after all, and who's she to get mad over it anyway? The only behaviour she can regulate is her own.]

[advanced]

[Maybe he used to like this sort of sweetness, but he has a feeling he never had anything quite like this. Treats were rare in the Depression, then the war hit and a soldier was lucky if he got chocolate every now and then on the front lines, and then HYDRA only fed their Soldier bland nutritional meals. Function over taste. He hasn't exactly had a lot of time to develop a palate for sweet foods.

He's not too bothered about wasting food, though he doesn't often get the chance to with how high his metabolism is and how little he gets to eat, but he can see that it does bother her and so he rips off a chunk before offering the stick back.]

You didn't have anyone else to torture with this?

[That's almost a joke. It's so unlike him, but something about watching the dancing has put him nearly in a good mood.]

[fingerstripes]

I'm not here to fight. [ Its occurring to him a little late that he hasn't really made that clear.

He sets the bundle down and kneels beside it, opening the knapsack to show off a small cooler, neatly packed with ice, and a few small containers of yogurt. ]

I know not everyone likes the fruity kind, so there's a selection.

And a few staples. Non-perishable. [ That's what the rest of the bag is for. ]

[pundemic]

[Almost a joke, but it's enough to make her grin a bit in answer. It's lopsided and not entirely built on good humour, but it's close. 'Good enough for government work' she heard Joel say once, of one of the many endless shitty roads they found themselves walking along.]

Maybe I just like your company.

[Oh, now she is definitely teasing him.]

[advanced]

[What...?

He stares down at the yogurt for a few moments in complete confusion, before he slowly slips the gun back into concealment. It's not a total welcome, but at least it's an offer of ceasefire for now.]

Why did you bring me these?

[He tracked Bucky all the way out here to give him some food?]

[advanced]

Then you need to make better friends.

[And that's still only half a joke, because if she's seeking him out then she really does need to find some better people to spend her time with. He's not anyone's first pick for company these days.

Well... maybe Steve, but Steve is compromised and clinging to the memory of a person that Bucky isn't any longer.]

[pundemic]

[She doesn't even have any friends Bucky are u for real with this. She's not even sure Joel counts as one. Their relationship is way too complicated to sum it up as friendship.

Clark, maybe. But otherwise... it's not like she can relate to people at the best of times. At least not the ones here. She just shrugs a little, and rolls a little piece of candy floss between her fingers until it's a compact blue ball.]

Or maybe I like the ones I have and they just gotta deal.

[Somewhere between arrows and knives and shared meals over a fire she's decided this weird dude is one of Her People. Congrats, 'Mark'.]

You smell better.

[tact thy name is...]