Have everything reasonably ready to go, but not specialized items. If anything comes to mind for you that shouldn't be missed and isn't a basic, may be worth bringing.
{ he'll use the time to get his own stuff together, at least now he has clothes that won't have issues when he uses his powers from home. but whatever annie answers to that he'll travel light. just enough to live off while going there and back.
he'll keep his coat from home on for the time being though, so he looks like a priest at the moment. he also has a backpack with a few supplies which doesn't match well. }
( Does he know what that is? Hell if she did before coming here, and it's still just a word rather than anything sensible. Companion creatures that want to live in balls. She supposed she could have tossed the egg to one of the neighbors, or asked for Reiner (or maybe even Bertholdt) to watch it, but it's somehow her responsibility for the moment, and thus an egg is... carried around in a satchel. If these things are meant to be combat assisting anyway, this is probably fine.
Annie looks like she decided to show up in black pants, a white hoodie, and a very weird version of bondage gear worn over both. If Ezra'd ever seen one of the Scouts wearing their ODM gear the straps will be familiar; if not, she makes incredibly questionable fashion decisions.
She also has a rectangular wooden box with a handle in one hand and a rucksack over her shoulder holding a jar, extra socks (never... forget... socks, when you're military) and other practicalities. What may seem less practical is the satchel worn sideways across her front. It's the pokemon egg. Being egglike. How this is logical presently evades her.
His outfit... ... is an outfit. To Annie, whose brushing up against forms of organized religion was vastly different from anything Judo-Christian, it's just a different style of coat. Overall, they're both sufficiently mismatched for this place. )
The egg. ( She says, pointing to the satchel on her front. ) It's shell is ridiculously strong.
( ... Right. )
And hello. Is there anything else we need before we head out?
{ THANKFULLY he does know what the pokemon are. he doesn't have one himself, but he watched as jean essentially adopted a skiddle that was enamoured with him. he isn't aware of any of the others wearing the gear for quests yet, annie is his first experience with it, but honestly he just takes it as a weird fashion choice for now.
it's fine, he frequents gay bars a lot. people wear that all the time there. at least his own is mostly black, with the church of providence's emblems on the sleeves. nothing too fancy. }
Y'know, I knew the existed but I haven't seen one. You have to carry it around with you? It doesn't need to like... incubate or anything?
{ not that it matters, he'll wave his hands in front of himself. }
But yo. Nice to meet you. I don't think so. I'm not exactly used to a life of luxury though, so if you aren't used to camping it may be a shock?
( all of AOT is in its gay bar phase and we're proud of them for it.
Annie rests her palm on the top of the satchel, looking a little bemused. puzzled is a good state to be in when it comes to pokemon eggs. )
That's what I would assume, but apparently I'm the donkey. It wants to get walked?
( sure did nothing sitting at home, and it just feels weird leaving it around. weirder than carrying it? apparently not. she shrugs at the question about camping. )
I'm former military. I'm used to roughing it.
( or is she still military? ...
this is it. Annie's claiming her retirement. she hitches her bag a touch higher on her shoulders. )
Any idea how far the airship's drop-off is from our end point?
{ i'd say they are living their best lives but no... no they are not kdsjng
but still, it does look pretty funny. }
How does an egg even know it's being walked?
{ he'll indicate for her to follow though, as he starts walking to board the airship and all. he's done a few trips on this by now so if it's her first time he can give a bit of a tour as well. just a bit. }
Ah, then yeah. Maybe this will be luxury in comparison to that? We'll find out soon enough. This is supposed to be at a campsite though, right? So it may be a bit of a walk to get there.
The airship is designed differently than the ones she has ridden, both on her home world and those smaller ones used for central city transit. She looks around, taking it all in. )
Still feels strange to hear people do this for fun. I suppose that happened back in my world too... just wasn't anything we did.
( Not outside of missions. Eldians weren't allowed to wander around most of the world freely, once they were known as part-Eldian. )
But if it's anything like the military camping I've done, you hike out, set up, and then plan out your rotation. Which for the people here is probably planning out what you're going to do for fun. So probably not the hardest hike.
Camping you mean? Yeah. Most of the time it's about being out with friends. Usually it just involves drinking, maybe playing some games or something--or telling spooky stories! Those come up pretty often too I think.
You've never gone to a campsite just for fun before though? Maybe some other time you'll get to try the fun part on the way there. It doesn't have to be serious the entire time.
{ since the distance is longer though, the airship is bigger to allow for that. they can settle for the time it goes over, and ezra will try and point out a landmark or two. }
( Everything he says makes her wonder how more civilians don't just die when camping. Especially out in the Segments? Why? Is it the thrill? )
No, I've been military all my life.
( Leaving it at that for her whole... explanation. Still, it's easy enough to settle in for the ride... and take in the unfamiliar landscape like she's walked the desert and been dehydrated the whole time. She's flown in a variety of ways now, either in the blimp-airships of home or on Falco's back, but this is an almost peaceful venture, even with the stormclouds she sees on the horizon within Autumn Segment. The more Ezra points out or comments on, the more Annie's likely to ask, part genuine curiosity, part compulsive information gathering.
Journeys have their waystations, and the airship's eventually arrives whenever that timeline is, perhaps even centuries later. Then it's a matter of negotiations for next-stage transit, given the distance between the dock and the Maple forest. )
{ to be fair, it's how a lot of horror movies start-
but it's honestly a good question. }
Ah... Well, now we're here, maybe we'll find a spot that isn't dangerous and let you try the casual version of it. It can be pretty fun!
{ it isn't too long to arrive at least, while travelling on foot may take days, it's hours max in the airship. at least after that trip over she'll have a better idea of how things look from above. now they're on the ground and getting close to the destination though, he'll pull off his jacket, the maple trees not too far in the distance now. }
We should probably take a quick break and head over when we're all set up. The camp site should be nearby, but since that's supposedly the danger zone now... we should probably prep before we get there.
{ which means he'll finally ditch his coat, rolling it up to shove it into his backpack and probably finally explaining why he had 0 judgement for what annie is wearing--his own shirt is backless--ensuring that the wing tattoo there is fully on show. }
( if for a moment she sounds more unsure than she does reluctant, it's because she is. what's... fun? the drinking? the just being around a campsite and not having to prepare for training and drills? the companionship of... friends? annie does a brief mental inventory of those who'd say they're her friend, and comes up with about four names, and two of them are from home.
what's weird is there's more than the two, but people are willing to be friendly even to gloomy persons such as herself.
they arrive sooner than she expected. these flying ships make good time. )
Has the camp site even been previously secured? Against whatever the Maple Forest has living in it?
( the fact this is an issue at all inclines her to believe not, but what does she know? poor administration isn't unique to any one world. she's setting her egg to the side and then pulling the ODM gear out of the travel case to start attaching to her harness, glancing briefly at ezra when his coat goes off and is shoved into his backpack. huh. tattoos. magic? reiner made sure she knew about those.
she pulls the egg's satchel back on, securing the top so that even if she has to suddenly deploy her cables, it'll remain in place. it also makes it look like she's cradling her egg as an infant more or less bound to her chest, but that's fine. this pokemon better appreciate her efforts. )
Are your wings from home or from here?
( reiner's magic tattoo is from this world, and annie is likely to end up getting one herself at some point, but in the interim... )
{ too bad for her he's already decided they are now friends. he'll tone it down if she shows proper discomfort though, as much of an idiot he may be with some things--people are thankfully something he's good at. }
I doubt it, if this had to be put up as a quest. That or it had but one of the wards broke or something--if they even have those here.
{ still, he'll also look at the extras she's put on herself now too and suddenly it makes a hell of a lot more sense. thankfully he doesn't look for long, instead rolling his shoulder for a moment as he tries to warm up a little first. }
Huh? Oh. No. All of mine are from home. I did hear there's something similar here but... these are blessings from angels from back home. I take it your... uh gear is from home as well?
( ezra ensuring her friend count is now up to three, three whole different people from different worlds. she's more uncertain what to do with people's genuine efforts than uncomfortable. it's just not her normal. she's not exactly the cheerful, charismatic sort. )
Am I right in assuming wards are meant to act like barriers themselves? Keeping things out or in... if they exist here.
( a twitch of her lips, acknowledging that all of them are crossing over their home knowledge with the learning curve of what's applicable to this world. )
Mm, Reiner talked about his with me... sounds like a few of the people from my world went in for them. None of them are as intricate as yours as far as I know.
( Levi's might be closest, but she has no idea about that. She'll revisit the idea of magic tattoos again in the coming weeks, but at the present moment, she has nothing equivalent. )
Angels as in heavenly beings, right? ( Keeping other mythologies sorted in her head. Angelic gets used as a term back home too, but it doesn't really carry specific connotations she can point to offhand. Probably does in religions she knows little to nothing about. ) Yeah, via bear delivery.
( such a dry statement. the side effect of that delivery had been a long day of cold showers and general irritability. annie had not asked to be unreasonably horny out of nowhere. )
It'll be more useful in the forest than on the way there. Relying on having things to anchor on makes flat, open spaces more challenging.
( she pats the egg in its satchel, more absently checking its position than trying to be affectionate. )
{ she doesn't have to be the cheerful, charismatic sort--she should meet samson. honestly they're fairly similar in that way. there's some differences, of course, but it is a bit like getting part of his best friend with him. in this way, she's going to get stuck with this now. }
Yeah, exactly like that. Someone I know back home was blessed by an angel that gave him the ability to do that. It'd kind of hide the presence of people as well. But yeah, I read about it at some point. I should look into it, I imagine it doesn't hurt as much as these do anyway. But huh? Oh, yeah. Heavenly beings.
{ ah, another victim of the wish boner... maybe don't trust the shady store in future, annie- }
But that makes sense. It looks kind of complicated but I'll try and keep up as best I can.
{ it makes no sense looking at him now, most likely, but he won't get his wing out until they need it. no point of draining manna for the hell of it. }
( She evaluates him for a moment after the comment about tattoos here not hurting as much as the blessed ones do. Sounds typical. Granted, his actually also sound blessed, what with the angels and demons thing, but she could also turn into a giant skinless woman because she inflicted limited self harm, so really. Titan Shifters have nothing to offer in commentary. )
I'll stay grounded until we're dealing with the mantises anyway. I have backup for the fuel, but I'd rather not use it unless I need to.
( That said, she inclines her head to him when he asks if she's ready. )
As I can be. I still can't believe the locals vacation out here...
( And as they head out: )
As far as you know, does this Maple forest or whatever it's called have any unique, weird magical issues of its own?
( Magic. Treat it like a natural disaster. Surely this will make it make sense. )
{ to be fair the 'ink' is also from a crying statue and is essentially liquid manna. it's pretty different to regular ink. but really he hasn't exactly had regular tattoos to compare. every inch of skin is kind of kept on the off chance he gets more blessings in the future. }
Same, same. Really I'd get it closer to the city but this far out seems insane. It's my first time coming to this area as well though, in the past I mostly went to the summer one. We'll have to keep an eye out just in case.
{ at least the walk to the edge of the maple forest isn't far, once they're at the edge and heading inside to find the clearing though he'll give annie a nod. }
The camp site shouldn't be too far in I don't think...
( A statue wept and y'all tattoo'd yourself with it. Annie would not actually be able to say that's too wild considering her home if she knew, but everywhere be wilding. )
It's still far enough from the Darkness people must mistake themselves as safe.
( She hums acknowledgement, rolling her shoulders back a touch. She studies the the woods they're passing through, then abruptly goes still. In the middle distance part of a cabin roof is visible, but that's not why she's paused. The mantises aren't as large as many of the Titans she's dealt with, but they're much more a natural part of their environment.
And she's just spotted two moving slowly and carefully through the trees they seem to tend, turning their attention toward the campgrounds. Where's the third? She gestures for Ezra to lean closer, mostly because he's taller than she is (why is everyone tall) and she's speaking in a murmur that should carry to him but not across the entirety of the distance to the visible mantises. )
Two southwest of our position. Can you see a third?
{ can he at least say that originally his first set of that was from gabriel directly forcing it on him, not a needle? because... yeah if that hadn't happened maybe he'd be living blissfully unaware and not inking himself up with this still- }
Likely, but anywhere out here should be dangerous compared to the city.
{ he'll at least peer over at her when she indicates, leaning down as requested before he finally spots what she sees (unfortunately while he can react well, he is not the most observant...) }
Shit. Okay let's--
{ it's not seeing it this time that gets his attention, considering it comes from behind them this time but there's a rustle of the trees leaves before he's grabbing annie by the shoulders to spin her out of the way and getting cut on the shoulder himself. }
( Any movement she would have taken is interrupted when she's grabbed and spun around, leaving the strike from the third mantis to come down with a glancing hit to Ezra's shoulder. Annie curses, wrapping an arm around Ezra's waist and shoving him backward before she manages to shoot the grappling cable out of her other hand's grip, dragging him along with her as the recoiling pulls them both suddenly and sharply out of the mantis's path.
All three are clearly already agitated and ready to thrown down at anyone moving in the area, the one that'd lashed out lifting both scythe-like forearms in a clear threat. Only a strange, breathy call from the other two turns it away, and it scuttles on creepily silent feet toward the rest of its group, moving on the cabin and the wood kept by the fire surely near there. )
Well isn't that great. How's your shoulder?
( Letting go and abruptly starting to jog after the mantises, listening for an answer even if she doesn't appear to be waiting for one. If she needs the speed her gear can give her, so be it. The mantises aren't yet moving as lightly as Titans of the same size, but they were more solid too, and she doesn't know what their armor will be like under her blades.
Also, there's no sound of civilians screaming, so it's likely this particular cabin and site isn't one of the ones more dangerous for these creatures to be around. They have time, if that's all true. )
{ it isn't too deep, at least, and while it stings he can live with it. annie's shorter than he is, that could have very well have been her head instead. he yelps as she grabs him in return, her gear pulling them out of harms way. }
It's not that bad, really! { even though he's wincing, he can live with it. } Promise next time I'll be ready enough to use a shield.
{ while he runs he's already summoning camael's chain from his arm, his arm glowing gold as the handle seems to materialise from the skin itself. }
If we get on top of the cabin it'll make them easier to fight. Probably.
( ... Right, her own shield. Annie leaves off activating the Safety Pin for now, since she's not fully sure how well it works covering herself and someone else. As it is, there's not a lot of time to think and plan, just to move. )
I'll meet you up there.
( She says, and then she's deploying her cables into the trees and is up off the ground in a whirring rush of sound and motion. Jamming the hilts down onto the blades at her thighs, Annie descends on one of the mantises and aims for the joint at the back of the head, slamming down with both blades and gouging through. Then angle seems right, but she can feel the resistance even at the joint, and knows she'd need more momentum and force for severing.
Manipulation of cables leads to her touching down on the cabin's rooftop, slowing her run to its peak and whipping around to face the direction the uninjured mantises are coming from. Sure, she didn't manage to kill the first one yet, but it is significantly injured enough not to be doing more than flailing around where it'd been hit.
Also, she just punctured multiple trees doing this. Annie has become Maple Mantis Most Wanted all in about a minute. One charges the cabin roof, and she's already off again, baiting both into trailing after her and scything their front arms at the sky. GET DOWN HERE AND DIE FOR HARMING THEIR WOOD, WOODPECKER THING! )
{ his own is a different one to the safety pin--but barachiel can still offer something when he needs it. }
Sure. { he may not know how her gear fully works, but there's some understanding of it from how she pulled them back before. his own movements take less effort as he runs towards the mantises. when he's paces behind though it slows to a walk, the wing at his back expanding out and letting his feet lift off the ground gracefully. it's a lot less of a destructive start than annie begins, but it's probably a strange sight to see when he finally rises up to tower above them all. his right hand reaches for his left arm, pulling the chain whip he summons from inside. }
Hey, ugly. Up here too, don't forget about me.
{ it's the only warning before that chain whips through the air though, swinging around the one's neck that annie injured to use as an achor until he can pull himself in. it helps him pick up speed, essentially soaring through the air until he flies past it, that wing at his back cutting through the same spot annie hit before. at first it isn't enough, but as he keeps flying forward while gripping onto the chain the final tug as he flies too far to make it reach its tether is enough to snap it off. }
( This is why a safety-pin will be in his future. Just, well, weeks away and for other, related reasons.
Annie hits a tree with the bottoms of her boots and adjusts her trajectory out, catching some of how Ezra moved and making a mental note about the wing being multi-functional. Possibly some property of what it was, tattoo-and-blessing wise.
What's more relevant is the decapitation of one Mantis, right as she launches one of her grappling hooks right into another Mantis, puncturing through its exoskeleton. It allows her to arc over the range of its long, scythe-like arms and come down with force on the juncture of its head and neck, this time cutting through completely while her one cable retracts and she jumps back off the twitching creature, starting to collapse onto the ground.
The problem isn't with the two now dead Mantises. It's not even with the third that Annie is blocking a strike from even as she's changing direction and pulling herself back out of reach. No. The problem is the third Mantis slams a leg down into the banked fire where wood had been burning and sends sparks flying into the air, which are then caught and pulled further along by the breezes winding their way through the forest.
This will not be a noticeable problem for a good five minutes yet. But it will end up being a reason for a larger number of Mantises to show up in defense of their forest trees if those sparks, now settling partly onto the dried grasses around the cabin, don't end up snuffed out.
The third Mantis lashes out with one arm in the direction Annie swings past in, hitting the ground with both feet and running immediately to keep momentum, balance, and her knees happy; lashes out with the other arm in Ezra's direction, objecting to both of these horrible things and all the dangers its wood faces. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text | un: leonhart | the day after the june cinder conversation
Annie
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Wanna meet at the air station?
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I'll be bringing an egg and what gear was dropped off for me via bear this morning.
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Why an egg?
{ he'll use the time to get his own stuff together, at least now he has clothes that won't have issues when he uses his powers from home. but whatever annie answers to that he'll travel light. just enough to live off while going there and back.
he'll keep his coat from home on for the time being though, so he looks like a priest at the moment. he also has a backpack with a few supplies which doesn't match well. }
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( Does he know what that is? Hell if she did before coming here, and it's still just a word rather than anything sensible. Companion creatures that want to live in balls. She supposed she could have tossed the egg to one of the neighbors, or asked for Reiner (or maybe even Bertholdt) to watch it, but it's somehow her responsibility for the moment, and thus an egg is... carried around in a satchel. If these things are meant to be combat assisting anyway, this is probably fine.
Annie looks like she decided to show up in black pants, a white hoodie, and a very weird version of bondage gear worn over both. If Ezra'd ever seen one of the Scouts wearing their ODM gear the straps will be familiar; if not, she makes incredibly questionable fashion decisions.
She also has a rectangular wooden box with a handle in one hand and a rucksack over her shoulder holding a jar, extra socks (never... forget... socks, when you're military) and other practicalities. What may seem less practical is the satchel worn sideways across her front. It's the pokemon egg. Being egglike. How this is logical presently evades her.
His outfit... ... is an outfit. To Annie, whose brushing up against forms of organized religion was vastly different from anything Judo-Christian, it's just a different style of coat. Overall, they're both sufficiently mismatched for this place. )
The egg. ( She says, pointing to the satchel on her front. ) It's shell is ridiculously strong.
( ... Right. )
And hello. Is there anything else we need before we head out?
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it's fine, he frequents gay bars a lot. people wear that all the time there. at least his own is mostly black, with the church of providence's emblems on the sleeves. nothing too fancy. }
Y'know, I knew the existed but I haven't seen one. You have to carry it around with you? It doesn't need to like... incubate or anything?
{ not that it matters, he'll wave his hands in front of himself. }
But yo. Nice to meet you. I don't think so. I'm not exactly used to a life of luxury though, so if you aren't used to camping it may be a shock?
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Annie rests her palm on the top of the satchel, looking a little bemused. puzzled is a good state to be in when it comes to pokemon eggs. )
That's what I would assume, but apparently I'm the donkey. It wants to get walked?
( sure did nothing sitting at home, and it just feels weird leaving it around. weirder than carrying it? apparently not. she shrugs at the question about camping. )
I'm former military. I'm used to roughing it.
( or is she still military? ...
this is it. Annie's claiming her retirement. she hitches her bag a touch higher on her shoulders. )
Any idea how far the airship's drop-off is from our end point?
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but still, it does look pretty funny. }
How does an egg even know it's being walked?
{ he'll indicate for her to follow though, as he starts walking to board the airship and all. he's done a few trips on this by now so if it's her first time he can give a bit of a tour as well. just a bit. }
Ah, then yeah. Maybe this will be luxury in comparison to that? We'll find out soon enough. This is supposed to be at a campsite though, right? So it may be a bit of a walk to get there.
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( She says dryly and without pausing a beat.
The airship is designed differently than the ones she has ridden, both on her home world and those smaller ones used for central city transit. She looks around, taking it all in. )
Still feels strange to hear people do this for fun. I suppose that happened back in my world too... just wasn't anything we did.
( Not outside of missions. Eldians weren't allowed to wander around most of the world freely, once they were known as part-Eldian. )
But if it's anything like the military camping I've done, you hike out, set up, and then plan out your rotation. Which for the people here is probably planning out what you're going to do for fun. So probably not the hardest hike.
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You've never gone to a campsite just for fun before though? Maybe some other time you'll get to try the fun part on the way there. It doesn't have to be serious the entire time.
{ since the distance is longer though, the airship is bigger to allow for that. they can settle for the time it goes over, and ezra will try and point out a landmark or two. }
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No, I've been military all my life.
( Leaving it at that for her whole... explanation. Still, it's easy enough to settle in for the ride... and take in the unfamiliar landscape like she's walked the desert and been dehydrated the whole time. She's flown in a variety of ways now, either in the blimp-airships of home or on Falco's back, but this is an almost peaceful venture, even with the stormclouds she sees on the horizon within Autumn Segment. The more Ezra points out or comments on, the more Annie's likely to ask, part genuine curiosity, part compulsive information gathering.
Journeys have their waystations, and the airship's eventually arrives
whenever that timeline is, perhaps even centuries later. Then it's a matter of negotiations for next-stage transit, given the distance between the dock and the Maple forest. )no subject
but it's honestly a good question. }
Ah... Well, now we're here, maybe we'll find a spot that isn't dangerous and let you try the casual version of it. It can be pretty fun!
{ it isn't too long to arrive at least, while travelling on foot may take days, it's hours max in the airship. at least after that trip over she'll have a better idea of how things look from above. now they're on the ground and getting close to the destination though, he'll pull off his jacket, the maple trees not too far in the distance now. }
We should probably take a quick break and head over when we're all set up. The camp site should be nearby, but since that's supposedly the danger zone now... we should probably prep before we get there.
{ which means he'll finally ditch his coat, rolling it up to shove it into his backpack and probably finally explaining why he had 0 judgement for what annie is wearing--his own shirt is backless--ensuring that the wing tattoo there is fully on show. }
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( if for a moment she sounds more unsure than she does reluctant, it's because she is. what's... fun? the drinking? the just being around a campsite and not having to prepare for training and drills? the companionship of... friends? annie does a brief mental inventory of those who'd say they're her friend, and comes up with about four names, and two of them are from home.
what's weird is there's more than the two, but people are willing to be friendly even to gloomy persons such as herself.
they arrive sooner than she expected. these flying ships make good time. )
Has the camp site even been previously secured? Against whatever the Maple Forest has living in it?
( the fact this is an issue at all inclines her to believe not, but what does she know? poor administration isn't unique to any one world. she's setting her egg to the side and then pulling the ODM gear out of the travel case to start attaching to her harness, glancing briefly at ezra when his coat goes off and is shoved into his backpack. huh. tattoos. magic? reiner made sure she knew about those.
she pulls the egg's satchel back on, securing the top so that even if she has to suddenly deploy her cables, it'll remain in place. it also makes it look like she's cradling her egg as an infant more or less bound to her chest, but that's fine. this pokemon better appreciate her efforts. )
Are your wings from home or from here?
( reiner's magic tattoo is from this world, and annie is likely to end up getting one herself at some point, but in the interim... )
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I doubt it, if this had to be put up as a quest. That or it had but one of the wards broke or something--if they even have those here.
{ still, he'll also look at the extras she's put on herself now too and suddenly it makes a hell of a lot more sense. thankfully he doesn't look for long, instead rolling his shoulder for a moment as he tries to warm up a little first. }
Huh? Oh. No. All of mine are from home. I did hear there's something similar here but... these are blessings from angels from back home. I take it your... uh gear is from home as well?
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Am I right in assuming wards are meant to act like barriers themselves? Keeping things out or in... if they exist here.
( a twitch of her lips, acknowledging that all of them are crossing over their home knowledge with the learning curve of what's applicable to this world. )
Mm, Reiner talked about his with me... sounds like a few of the people from my world went in for them. None of them are as intricate as yours as far as I know.
( Levi's might be closest, but she has no idea about that. She'll revisit the idea of magic tattoos again in the coming weeks, but at the present moment, she has nothing equivalent. )
Angels as in heavenly beings, right? ( Keeping other mythologies sorted in her head. Angelic gets used as a term back home too, but it doesn't really carry specific connotations she can point to offhand. Probably does in religions she knows little to nothing about. ) Yeah, via bear delivery.
( such a dry statement. the side effect of that delivery had been a long day of cold showers and general irritability. annie had not asked to be unreasonably horny out of nowhere. )
It'll be more useful in the forest than on the way there. Relying on having things to anchor on makes flat, open spaces more challenging.
( she pats the egg in its satchel, more absently checking its position than trying to be affectionate. )
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Yeah, exactly like that. Someone I know back home was blessed by an angel that gave him the ability to do that. It'd kind of hide the presence of people as well. But yeah, I read about it at some point. I should look into it, I imagine it doesn't hurt as much as these do anyway. But huh? Oh, yeah. Heavenly beings.
{ ah, another victim of the wish boner... maybe don't trust the shady store in future, annie- }
But that makes sense. It looks kind of complicated but I'll try and keep up as best I can.
{ it makes no sense looking at him now, most likely, but he won't get his wing out until they need it. no point of draining manna for the hell of it. }
Ready?
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I'll stay grounded until we're dealing with the mantises anyway. I have backup for the fuel, but I'd rather not use it unless I need to.
( That said, she inclines her head to him when he asks if she's ready. )
As I can be. I still can't believe the locals vacation out here...
( And as they head out: )
As far as you know, does this Maple forest or whatever it's called have any unique, weird magical issues of its own?
( Magic. Treat it like a natural disaster. Surely this will make it make sense. )
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Same, same. Really I'd get it closer to the city but this far out seems insane. It's my first time coming to this area as well though, in the past I mostly went to the summer one. We'll have to keep an eye out just in case.
{ at least the walk to the edge of the maple forest isn't far, once they're at the edge and heading inside to find the clearing though he'll give annie a nod. }
The camp site shouldn't be too far in I don't think...
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It's still far enough from the Darkness people must mistake themselves as safe.
( She hums acknowledgement, rolling her shoulders back a touch. She studies the the woods they're passing through, then abruptly goes still. In the middle distance part of a cabin roof is visible, but that's not why she's paused. The mantises aren't as large as many of the Titans she's dealt with, but they're much more a natural part of their environment.
And she's just spotted two moving slowly and carefully through the trees they seem to tend, turning their attention toward the campgrounds. Where's the third? She gestures for Ezra to lean closer, mostly because he's taller than she is (why is everyone tall) and she's speaking in a murmur that should carry to him but not across the entirety of the distance to the visible mantises. )
Two southwest of our position. Can you see a third?
yolo
Likely, but anywhere out here should be dangerous compared to the city.
{ he'll at least peer over at her when she indicates, leaning down as requested before he finally spots what she sees (unfortunately while he can react well, he is not the most observant...) }
Shit. Okay let's--
{ it's not seeing it this time that gets his attention, considering it comes from behind them this time but there's a rustle of the trees leaves before he's grabbing annie by the shoulders to spin her out of the way and getting cut on the shoulder himself. }
...Guess we found the third.
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All three are clearly already agitated and ready to thrown down at anyone moving in the area, the one that'd lashed out lifting both scythe-like forearms in a clear threat. Only a strange, breathy call from the other two turns it away, and it scuttles on creepily silent feet toward the rest of its group, moving on the cabin and the wood kept by the fire surely near there. )
Well isn't that great. How's your shoulder?
( Letting go and abruptly starting to jog after the mantises, listening for an answer even if she doesn't appear to be waiting for one. If she needs the speed her gear can give her, so be it. The mantises aren't yet moving as lightly as Titans of the same size, but they were more solid too, and she doesn't know what their armor will be like under her blades.
Also, there's no sound of civilians screaming, so it's likely this particular cabin and site isn't one of the ones more dangerous for these creatures to be around. They have time, if that's all true. )
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It's not that bad, really! { even though he's wincing, he can live with it. } Promise next time I'll be ready enough to use a shield.
{ while he runs he's already summoning camael's chain from his arm, his arm glowing gold as the handle seems to materialise from the skin itself. }
If we get on top of the cabin it'll make them easier to fight. Probably.
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I'll meet you up there.
( She says, and then she's deploying her cables into the trees and is up off the ground in a whirring rush of sound and motion. Jamming the hilts down onto the blades at her thighs, Annie descends on one of the mantises and aims for the joint at the back of the head, slamming down with both blades and gouging through. Then angle seems right, but she can feel the resistance even at the joint, and knows she'd need more momentum and force for severing.
Manipulation of cables leads to her touching down on the cabin's rooftop, slowing her run to its peak and whipping around to face the direction the uninjured mantises are coming from. Sure, she didn't manage to kill the first one yet, but it is significantly injured enough not to be doing more than flailing around where it'd been hit.
Also, she just punctured multiple trees doing this. Annie has become Maple Mantis Most Wanted all in about a minute. One charges the cabin roof, and she's already off again, baiting both into trailing after her and scything their front arms at the sky. GET DOWN HERE AND DIE FOR HARMING THEIR WOOD, WOODPECKER THING! )
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Sure. { he may not know how her gear fully works, but there's some understanding of it from how she pulled them back before. his own movements take less effort as he runs towards the mantises. when he's paces behind though it slows to a walk, the wing at his back expanding out and letting his feet lift off the ground gracefully. it's a lot less of a destructive start than annie begins, but it's probably a strange sight to see when he finally rises up to tower above them all. his right hand reaches for his left arm, pulling the chain whip he summons from inside. }
Hey, ugly. Up here too, don't forget about me.
{ it's the only warning before that chain whips through the air though, swinging around the one's neck that annie injured to use as an achor until he can pull himself in. it helps him pick up speed, essentially soaring through the air until he flies past it, that wing at his back cutting through the same spot annie hit before. at first it isn't enough, but as he keeps flying forward while gripping onto the chain the final tug as he flies too far to make it reach its tether is enough to snap it off. }
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Annie hits a tree with the bottoms of her boots and adjusts her trajectory out, catching some of how Ezra moved and making a mental note about the wing being multi-functional. Possibly some property of what it was, tattoo-and-blessing wise.
What's more relevant is the decapitation of one Mantis, right as she launches one of her grappling hooks right into another Mantis, puncturing through its exoskeleton. It allows her to arc over the range of its long, scythe-like arms and come down with force on the juncture of its head and neck, this time cutting through completely while her one cable retracts and she jumps back off the twitching creature, starting to collapse onto the ground.
The problem isn't with the two now dead Mantises. It's not even with the third that Annie is blocking a strike from even as she's changing direction and pulling herself back out of reach. No. The problem is the third Mantis slams a leg down into the banked fire where wood had been burning and sends sparks flying into the air, which are then caught and pulled further along by the breezes winding their way through the forest.
This will not be a noticeable problem for a good five minutes yet. But it will end up being a reason for a larger number of Mantises to show up in defense of their forest trees if those sparks, now settling partly onto the dried grasses around the cabin, don't end up snuffed out.
The third Mantis lashes out with one arm in the direction Annie swings past in, hitting the ground with both feet and running immediately to keep momentum, balance, and her knees happy; lashes out with the other arm in Ezra's direction, objecting to both of these horrible things and all the dangers its wood faces. )
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what did i do to my html...
ate it
oh my gosh you're right i did and it was SALTY very rude
at least it wasn't sour :(
idk i like sour things too i'm one of those cretins