paixaorpg | Morning After (not THAT kind....) [Completed]

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: Haja o Que Houver [F4]

Entry tags:

Morning After (not THAT kind....) [Completed]

Character(s): Gaston and Jack Skellington--and Bakura and Blue!
Content: A good time has been had by all--and now, is being slept off.
Setting: Haja o Que Houver [F4]
Time: Morning
Warnings: >=O SHHH! Gaston has a hangover!

Jack had to admit, that had been an enjoyable way to spend his first evening at Paixao. He'd imagined it would be informative, if quiet, and reasonably pleasant, even if he only talked to Gaston and the barkeep for the entire evening. Instead? Gaston had evidently held true to his reputation in life, by pulling a sizable part of the tavern into a party only minutes after they'd arrived. Skeleton that he was, he didn't bother ordering any drinks. Why bother, since he couldn't get drunk?

Instead, he'd played the part of a social bony butterfly, and flitted through the place to chat people up, asking questions and swapping stories, and generally just turning on the charm the way he did so well. He'd even gone and claimed the little stage they had in the corner for a while, to show off his voice and dancing, and do a few tricks to amuse people. Like juggle ribs, for example. Wasn't it handy, being able to take those out and still remain intact? He'd earned quite the tidy little sum for his impromptu show, too--some of it for his skills, but perhaps a fair share because he'd taken off his skull and held it out for people to test their aim by tossing coins through the eye sockets. Ahhh, all in good fun.... it was nice to know he didn't have to maintain his dignity with these people. Pumpkin King or no, he was just Jack, and he could let that show.

Of course, there came a time when all good things came to an end, and so it was with the party, too; that was signaled quite clearly by the fact that Gaston had gotten himself smashed to an impressive degree. He was still conscious of course, even coherent--something which Jack would have tipped his hat to if he'd had one, considering how much Gaston had drank--and likely could have walked if he had to. Still, walking straight would have likely been a problem..... Jack had decided to bypass the effort the whole drunken stagger routine would create, by slinging the musclebound man over his shoulder and walking them both to the nearest hotel. It was a nice place, bustling with life and filled with friendly people. Jack had gotten them a single bed hotel room and tucked Gaston in, before getting a pitcher of water and some sugar and limes to bring up, to help cure the inevitable hangover. And himself? He quietly spent the rest of the night dozing in a comfortable armchair so Gaston could have the whole bed.

He was up bright and early the next morning, of course, having sat down to play with his journal a bit and give himself a polish; Gaston would likely find the man with his head off once he woke up. Why not, while he was waiting? The day felt like it would be a nice one, hopefully calm enough. The map had plenty of interesting places to look around, and the brochures he'd picked up had a few good choices his friend might want to look into for a more permanent place to stay.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Ugh..." Gaston had been in a dead sleep for a few hours now, but was finally exhibiting a few signs of life. He groaned and reached up to rub at his forehead with a grimace. He had proved once again that nobody partied like Gaston, and as usual, he was paying for his troubles. But also as usual, he wasn't about to just lay around and mope about it. That wasn't a very manly thing to do.

He pushed himself out of bed, only vaguely wondering how he'd gotten there. He recalled Jack helping him back... Actually, he also thought he remembered being carried. That was a little surprising. He hadn't thought Jack looked that strong. The hunter wondered if he should have asked Jack to let him walk, to avoid people thinking that he got himself completely incapacitated after a night of drinking like some common drunkard... Too late to fix that now, though, and it had at least been a great time.

As he stood, he put his hand on the top of the mattress to steady himself, muttering darkly to himself as he wobbled a bit. Getting out of bed was always the hardest part.

Jack turned his head in his hands to look as he heard his friend reviving, watching with considerable sympathy. Out of the oblivion, and into the hangover.... The lack of those, in his mind, probably more than made up for he himself being unable to get drunk. "Good morning, Gaston." The greeting was quiet, but pleasant enough, cloth peeking out from behind his eyes and mouth as he shone up the backside of his face. Not like anyone would be looking in there.... But still, he liked to be thorough about things. "Slept well, I hope?"

Noting Gaston's unsteadiness, he draped the cloth inside his skull, standing to go and offer a hand. It was always an interesting experience, walking when his head was being used to hold something; he was pretty good at doing things when his perspective was upside-down, if he did say so himself.

"I don't remember..." Gaston muttered as he rubbed his temple with the side of his hand. "Probably depends on whether or not it's noon yet..." The hunter figured that with however late he had stayed up, if it wasn't midday by the time he woke up from his alcohol-induced haze, he probably hadn't gotten enough sleep.

He looked up at Jack, staring at the skeleton for a long moment with a puzzled look on his face, "Where's your head?" he finally asked, as if just now realizing why his friend looked a little different at the moment. As he spoke, his eyes trailed down to the object in Jack's hands. "Oh..."

"Ah, let's see, here...." Jack fished his elaborate silver pocket watch out, dangling it in front of his skull to peer at the face. "Mmmm, you're ten minutes shy of twelve, noon." He reported, tucking the timepiece back where it belonged. "So hopefully you got enough to face the day...."

Jack stared back from where his skull rested, having shifted his grip a little to turn it up more. "Right here." Chuckling, Jack tossed his skull from hand to hand, which grinned at Gaston as it was all but juggled. He plopped it back onto his neck and pressed until it clicked into place, ignoring the inch or two of washcloth dangling from one socket; he still had to finish his skull, after all, as the last part of his polishing.

In the meantime though, he poured Gaston a glass of water, stirring in the lime and sugar before offering it to his friend. "The man at the bar suggested you try this to help you along. Very nice people here, much friendlier than I would have expected." Especially considering what he was.... He'd expected fear and unhelpfulness, not an open-armed welcome. It was.... heartwarming, if he had one to be warmed. Bonewarming, perhaps. It was a nice experience.

Gaston took the drink from Jack, giving it a curious stare before taking a sip. "For the most part, anyway," he replied. "I can't say that little brat we met the other day was very friendly." He winced at the memory. Just thinking about Zim made his headache worse. He was pretty sure he'd be a happy man if he never ran into the green child again.

The hunter sat back down on the bed, draining half his glass in one large gulp. He wasn't sure if it would actually help or not, but it didn't hurt to drink it before heading out to explore the city a little more. "So where's that journal?" he said, mostly to himself, as he patted his clothes, and then glanced over and saw the device on a small table next to the bed. He reached over and switched it on, squinting a little as he tried to focus on the little screen and bring up the map function. "I want to see where we should go today..."

Jack just shrugged; the bartender hadn't offered him any explanation as to why it would help, just that it probably would. At least it wasn't alcoholic.... "The little brat.... Oh! Zim, you mean?" Jack snapped his fingers as the name popped back up into his mind, and took his head back off to finish the polishing job. "I don't know.... He wasn't very nice, certainly, or very quiet. He was rather cute, though. He would fit right in back home with his looks...."

"On the table; it didn't look comfortable to sleep on." Jack gestured with his cloth, and would have nodded had he been capable of doing so as Gaston picked it up. "I could help you with that, if you'd like?" He turned his head in his lap to watch Gaston. "I was considering looking into Os Dias Sao a Noite, in the section labeled K4.... It would be nice to see what kind of history lays behind Paixao, or just where and what it actually is."

"The Ossie Des Wha?" Gaston inquired, scanning the map to find what Jack was talking about. After a moment of searching, he highlighted a jumble of words that seemed to be similar to what Jack had just said. He frowned as he read the description on the map. "A library? Don't tell me you're a bookworm too..." Gaston wasn't sure what he thought of that. But then, Jack did seem like a more refined sort of gentlemanly... skeleton man... So maybe he liked to page through the occasional book. The hunter wouldn't begrudge him that, so long as he didn't do it constantly, like Belle did. That was just irritating. Perhaps the best thing about the two of them not ending up together was the fact that he wouldn't have to waste his time convincing her to give up that particular bad habit and act more like a normal woman.

Still, he wasn't exactly looking forward to a day in the library. "Sounds kind of boring," Gaston said, then something else on the map caught his eye. "Hello, what's this? A weapons store? Now that would be a great place to visit..." Noting its position on the map, the hunter thought for a moment, then smiled, "And it's not even that far from your Oz Diem Snow White place. We could stop in on the way and replace some of my lost equipment."

"The library." Jack clarified; its proper name was a bit of a mouthful, wasn't it? It probably was best to just stick to a place's function, considering. After all, they could always look the names up on the map.... "A bookworm? No, I'm afraid not." Jack spread his hands almost apologetically at contradicting him, despite the fact that Gaston would probably be glad that his guess was wrong. "I do like to read, yes, and I have a fairly sizable library of my own.... but the time I spend with it hardly compares to how much I'm simply out and about doing what needs to be done. It just seemed like a good idea to do a little research on Paixao, to find out what we could about it."

"It very well could be." Jack admitted, shrugging; he didn't really blame his well-muscled friend for the lukewarm reception. He'd had a notion Gaston wouldn't be thrilled with the idea, but he had hoped Gaston might see the utility of finding out what others had already learned about Paixao....

Ah, a weapons store.... Jack had to smile at that announcement, unsurprised. The two were incongruously close together, but he hardly minded that. It would make Gaston happy, which was important, and.... well, it was a sorry thing to be a hunter without anything to hunt with. The visit would do him good, and if nothing else, Jack was sure he could find some way to amuse himself. "That sounds like a marvelous idea, whenever you're ready."

"Well, I'm always ready to browse through weaponry," Gaston said, getting back onto his feet with any residual effects of the hangover apparently ignored. He was feeling woefully underarmed at the moment, and even though he didn't really ~need~ weapons inside the city, he wanted to have something to hunt down those glowing creatures if he saw another one. That and it would give him something to do while they were at the library. He could stay outside and sharpen his blades or practice with a new bow or rifle. He was sure Jack wouldn't mind wandering those boring old aisles of books by himself.

He'd thought so.... Smiling--or at least, smiling more widely than his ever-present skeletal grin--, Jack followed his recovered friend out of the room, pausing long enough to give back the key and exchange a few parting words with the innkeeper. Terribly nice fellow, that one.... He'd be sure to come back this way if he really needed a decent place to stay. It was strange, how friendly they all were there, as if they had something to hide, but at least it was better than being shunned, right?

The trip to the weapon's shop was short enough, and fairly uneventful. Jack took a look around, impressed in spite of himself. "Well, it certainly looks as if you'll have your choice.... What do you normally use?" He certainly didn't need any weapons.... at least, not that he knew of. It wasn't as if he intended to do any hunting of his own....

((OOC: Sorry for the short crappiness, Zeth; been rather uninspired for Jack this week. XP If you wanted anything to happen between the hotel and the weapon shop, feel free to disregard the second paragraph.))

"Everything," Gaston said absentmindedly. He was only half paying attention to Jack at the moment, not because he was intentionally ignoring the skeleton, but because something was bothering him about the town. It was far too quiet at the moment, and what sounds he did hear were a bit disturbing. He'd heard some kind of shattering sound earlier, like glass being broken, but it had been far off, and he hadn't gone to check it out yet. It could just be someone over at a tavern or store throwing a bottle... But that didn't really explain the deserted streets. That, and he thought he had seen something lurking behind one of the buildings. It was like they were being followed... And if that was the case, then it was a good thing they had reached the weapons store. Gaston was itching to rearm himself.

He just wondered if Jack was aware of the situation. His friend was fairly observant, but he wasn't a hunter, and he probably hadn't ever played cat and mouse with a wild animal like Gaston had. Gaston decided that he should say something before they went inside. Who knew? Perhaps Jack would want to grab a weapon as well, just in case?

The hunter leaned close to Jack and spoke in a low voice. "Have you noticed that we're being watched? Something's definitely wrong in this town today..."

Hmm, that was interesting.... The man must have an extraordinary range of skills, to have no preference or difference in skill when picking up just about any weapon one could care to name. Or maybe it just meant he had mediocre talent in everything? ....No, that couldn't be--if anything, Gaston seemed like the sort who would hone his talents to the exclusion of lesser skills. What seemed more likely was that he simply didn't want to get into that particular discussion at the moment, for whatever reason. He wouldn't pry if the man didn't want him too; Gaston did seem a bit distracted....

He himself, meanwhile, had been more or less tuning things out. He had been picking up on a bit of ambient fear in the area, but had willfully ignored it, rather than giving in to the impulse to go check things out and make it worse. After all, he had wanted to have a nice day today, not to go harass people.... Was it such a crime to want a vacation? Even natural instincts needed to have a break taken from them, sometimes....

To be fair to both Gaston and himself though, he would have to make a few amendments to the man's judgments. First of all, he was just as much a hunter as Gaston was, though his prey and sport were considerably different; he was used to watching for different things, and for that matter, was acclimated to a certain degree of fearful tension. And secondly, he didn't need to play cat and mouse with any wild animals--people were animal enough, and could certainly be wild when the situation called for it. Playing cat and mouse with a wild animal was probably harder, though. Animals were more alert, and usually more cautious--but they were also more sensible. They didn't become so easily startled at the slightest natural noises, or let their imaginations run away with them.....

He turned his head to listen, frowning thoughtfully at the comment. "I haven't.... can you tell who or what they are? It is rather.... still out today." He waited for a dramatic, lonely wolf howl or an eerie moan and rush of a cold gust of wind to emphasize his point; neither came. Ah, that was right--Halloweentown was considerably more obliging than Paixao seemed to be when it came to the environment getting in on things. Regretfully, Jack made an effort to tune into his senses now, rather than ignore them as he had been doing. He really had hoped for a nice, peaceful day of shopping and research....

"I haven't gotten a good look at them," Gaston admitted, though he thought he'd seen movement a couple of times. "They seem to be lurking in the shadows. Probably waiting for an opportune time to strike. I don't believe they're human, though." He didn't really have a reason for that belief. It was just a feeling, but he was pretty sure he was right. There was just something... very odd about the situation. For a moment, he had the brief hope that it could be the Beast again, so that he could have another shot at killing the blasted thing... The hunter's hangover had convinced him that even if this was the afterlife, there was still pain and most likely death... Where you went after dying in the afterlife was a mystery to him, but he didn't much care about that.

He reached the door to the weapons shop and pushed it open, ducking inside with one last glance back at the empty streets. He was sure there would be a confrontation sometime soon... But when it happened, he was going to be prepared. "Better see if there's a weapon you can use here," he suggested to Jack. "You may not be a fighter, but you might still need it."

((ooc- sorry to keep you to waiting.))

When Blue had chosen a direction at random, he had just followed. She was nice and she had been doing a good job protecting him so far. Not that the monsters bothered them at all on the trip. Mostly just watching, it seemed. It made Bakura uncomfortable. He was used to monsters that acted.

He was doing an awful lot of walking these days. They walked past some moderately better architecture that got progressively better. He bit his lip. They were heading back toward the expensive area.

Bakura literally stopped moving when they neared a shop(apparently a weaponry shop by the sign), and he saw the well-dressed skeleton and couldn't take his eyes off the figure, momentarily lapsing into Japanese, "Ano..." He looked down at his feet, returning back to English. "Umm...Sorry for staring." He bowed his head politely, before introducing himself, "I'm Bakura."

Blue had been moving along in a cautious, but speedy pace. She had been so caught up in getting elsewhere that it had taken her a bit to realize that Bakura had stopped. She blinked and looked back over her shoulder, taking in notice just what had nabbed the boy's attention. She could see why. The skeletal-figure was not your every day figure...

As she walked back over to Bakura, she could only hope that he wasn't dangerous - at least to them. If he was dangerous to say... the creepy white and gray things... well, that'd be great! She looked between the two and then smiled and nodded her head in greeting. "And I'm Blue."

Jack nodded attentively, frowning a little as he thought. "Well, I trust your judgment.... do you think them inhuman by form alone, or intellect as well?" He knew plenty of inhuman folks who were perfectly decent, intelligent people--but if these things had animal intelligence, they might be a touch easier to deal with. "Goodness, I've never had occasion to use a weapon; do forgive me if I can't keep up with your skill." Gaston was an accomplished hunter and fighter, obviously. What a misfortune to be paired with someone so new to the art! Well, he'd try to hold his own, at least. Maybe he could ask Gaston for lessons after this....

Jack didn't have any hairs on the back of his neck to prickle at being watched, but now that he was paying attention, he could sense it. The soft murmur only confirmed it, though he didn't know what the word meant. Almost through the doorway, he turned to regard Bakura and Blue, regarding them for a moment before returning their smile and offering a courtly bow of his own. "Jack Skellington, at your service. Won't you please come in?" He beckoned with a skeletal hand, stepping back inside to let them follow, if they so pleased. It was dangerous outside, after all, if Gaston's instincts were right. And who wanted to be attacked while talking?

Gaston ignored the newcomers for the moment, taking the time to glance around at the assorted pieces of weaponry appreciatively. The store had an amazing selection, far better than anything his own little town could scrounge together. There were some bows, but he ignored those for the moment, inspecting the guns instead. If they had multiple pursuers, which Gaston thought likely, then it would help to have something a little more deadly than a bow and arrow. He finally selected a shotgun and a pistol, and grabbed an extra knife so that he'd have one for each hand if it came to a close-quarters fight.

Only then did he greet the people that had followed him and Jack to the store. If you could call it a greeting, anyway. "I don't suppose either of you know what's lurking out there?" he inquired.

Bakura stepped forward, "Thank you, Mr. Skellington." He turned to glance back to Blue, hoping she was coming. He walked into the store, looking around. ooh... There were plushies among the weaponry shelves. He poked around the weapons, actually stopping looking at several staffs on one corner--remembering his NPC always being a magic user of some kind. Eventually coming back to the plushies again--paying close attention to a white kitty with bluish ears that looked kinda like the short-hair kitty that had showed him where to sleep the other day.

To Gaston's question he said softly, "Um...some sort of grayish monsters. Some have pointy arms and teeth and some are fast. Blue and I are trying to find someone who can tell us what they are and how to completely get rid of them."

Safe was a good thing. She couldn't be sure if this particular building would be more safe than any of the others, but they were near others now that didn't seem in complete-and-utter-panic, so she figured this would be fine.

She followed after Bakura into the shop, glancing around and not looking interested in much. The shop actually felt a bit warm - comfortably from the outside though. Blue listened in on the conversation until she felt like adding in her two cents. "It seems most of what people have been trying to do to get rid of them, doesn't really banish them for good. They keep coming back. And... there seem to be a lot of them. I don't know. I haven't had many good shots at them. I was after one... and then it was like more just came out of no where and then slaughtered everyone they could."

It was... a disturbing memory. She didn't like hearing the screams of humans. She looked worried, even a bit upset.

Jack nodded genially enough to Bakura, accompanying the youth to the corner; the staves were interesting, but what caught his eye was a delightfully morbid looking scythe (http://fictionnet.ktarian.com/scythe.gif) a small distance off. It was quite a substantial size, nearly seven feet long, with a blade approaching half again that length; Jack didn't doubt that he would be able to get close to fifteen feet reach with it. "Goodness.... that doesn't sound like a very complete description, but I'm afraid I don't know any monsters like that." And he did know quite a few monsters, do his credit, so he felt himself qualified to take a stab at identifying them. "What have you seen most people doing to them? Many monsters can regenerate--quite a handy ability, I'd say." They sounded highly dangerous and bloodthirsty though, and evidently traveled in packs.... Werewolves, perhaps? Some of them were gray, and the pointy-arms thing might mean claws.... somehow, though, that didn't feel quite right. Maybe because he knew Larry, and the wolfman wasn't anything like that....

He picked the scythe up to inspect it, turning the weight and length easily over in his hands. Pretty thing, very pretty.... and the irony of the Grim Reaper look did not escape him, though he had no cloak. Maybe he'd get one to go with it.... "Have you tried anything traditional? Silver, or crosses perhaps, or even holy water. A fair few monsters tend to share weakn--!" He cut off with an inarticulate noise of surprise; the skeleton had, in the course of his inspection of the scythe, twisted one of the vertebrae that hadn't looked quite as stationary as the others. He had evidently discovered the blade-release mechanism, and more importantly been holding it the wrong way as he did so, for it popped up and out with impressive speed--and caught him straight under the chin as it did.

He barely had time to register the look of surprise before his head went flying from the blow, bouncing and rolling down the aisle behind him and doing a rather good job at making him dizzy. "Heavens...." came a dazed murmur from beneath a shelf. Jack set the scythe down to keep from hurting anyone while he was in the state, turning and walking a bit unsteadily in the direction he knew his head had gone in. His head, meanwhile, listened for the approaching footsteps from where it had come to rest, guiding his body as precisely as it could without actually being able to see it.

"Ah, good idea Jack," Gaston said, returning to the racks to rummage around. With the vast assortment of weapons to be found, he was completely unsurprised to find what he was looking for - a box of silver bullets. "I definitely like this place," Gaston said appreciatively, beginning to load his weapons with the special ammunition as he walked back to the counter and threw down a handful of gold coins.

He favored Blue with his most charming smile, "Don't worry, miss. Just stay behind me and I'll protect you from those creatures. But... don't get too close to Jack and his scythe there..."

Blue raised a brow at the man. He had a gun that wasn't anything like the Old Man had, but it still reminded her. And the Old Man always did protect her, though a bit less and less once he realized what she was. "I'm sure you will," she chuckled lightly. She could protect herself... just not so much against these things.

She watched Jack's head roll across the floor and blinked. "...and I think I will keep my distance some." But it only seemed fair for Jack to have his head in the right place! She wandered over to it and picked it up off the ground, looking at it with a rather odd expression, and then stepping over to Jack and giving him his head back.

Bakura stood on tiptoes to reach the kitty he was staring at. He turned to Jack holding the kitty to his chest, "Um...nothing really. The only people I've seen are the blonde and blue-eyed people and all they seem to do is scream and panic."

He tried not to giggle when Jack knocked his own head off. He knelt down to swipe the skeleton's head off the ground, however he ended up grabbing it at the same time as Blue did. “Um….You can take it, Blue.” He grinned widely, "You don't want to lose your head, Mr. Skellington!" He giggled at his own pathetic pun. He didn't joke a lot, but he really needed that. He had enough tension the past few weeks. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he had arrived anymore.

"How unfortunate.... I suppose I don't blame them, though; they are only human civilians, after all, and likely don't have much experience or defense against such things as these." Jack would have nodded at the comment, if he could, chuckling. "That's probably for the best. At least, until I figure out how to use that properly.... I don't suppose you're familiar enough with polearms and such to give me lessons, Gaston? I'm a quick study, when I set my mind to it."

The skull returned Blue's odd look with a smile, which broadened into a grin at Bakura's laugh and pun. "No, indeed! I prefer to keep my head on my shoulders, thank you. Still though, I'm the only person I know who can lose their head and remain completely calm.... Why, thank you, Blue." He accepted the head graciously, pushing it back down onto his neck with both hands until it snapped back into place with a firm pop. "Ah, and by all means, call me Jack, if you'd like; everyone does." He clapped Bakura's shoulder, gently but with fair cheer, shaking his head in amusement. "I'm too important back home to not be known by my given name, and not important enough in Paixao for the pretension of going by my last...."

Skeleton Jack it was to all hands, then.... He preferred it that way; it felt more intimate. What would be best of all was if it really were intimate, and not just the superficial familiarity of fame.... Not that he wasn't friends with his citizens. But somehow.... somehow, did any of them really know him? How many would he feel comfortable baring his heart to? It was a faintly unsettling thought, and he picked up the scythe, this time holding it well away from him--and the others, for that matter--as he twisted the vertebrae again. The blade snapped shut with the same speed it had sprang open, and he smiled, resting the pole over one shoulder and glancing at the price tag before fishing in his pocket to unearth the coins to pay.

That would be his weapon then, and he hoped he could soon learn how to properly use it. Hopefully, Gaston had some measure of experience.... otherwise, he was on his own then, wasn't he? Ah, well.... He'd been doing fine for himself for decades; he'd manage this too. What about Blue and Bakura, though? Would they be arming themselves as well?

Gaston shrugged at Jack's question to him, "I could probably teach you something about it, but I doubt we have the time here... And a scythe isn't exactly my weapon of choice. My advice is to hit the enemy with the pointy end as best you can, and don't hit yourself or any of us..." The advice wasn't very helpful, but Gaston really didn't know that much about using a scythe as a weapon. He was pretty sure he could figure it out pretty quickly if he really had to... but with so much weaponry available to him, the chances of him needing to master a scythe were pretty slim.

He glanced out the door, grinning as he sighted movement in a nearby alley. Saving his shotgun for closer combat, he took aim with the pistol and fired just as one of the gray creatures stepped out from cover. It went down immediately and vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Well... These silver bullets apparently work," the hunter announced. Perhaps the things really were some sort of undead?

((Sorry about the delay. I forgot to check the thread >>;))

"You're very welcome, Jack," Blue said with a smile. Her gaze was on the scythes. She hadn't been planning on buying any sort of weapon; she was much more of a hand-to-hand combatant than anything. Or at least... that's what came natural to her with the human body versus the lupine. Still, in her mind she could almost see the logic behind the scythe...

She picked one up, carefully weighing it between her hands and then made sure she was a safe distance from everyone and anything that she could possibly hit. Though it wasn't exactly easy in this sort of place. "I think..." she pondered aloud, while still studying the weapon with both her eyes and her hands. "Maybe something... a bit like..." she moved the weapon slowly while mapping out her thoughts, holding it out before her with a bit of a 'sweeping' motion towards an imaginary opponent, "that."

Blue wondered if anyone caught her logic. She moved to hold it vertically to her and hovered a finger near it's blade. "The blade is curved. So maybe you're supposed to attack with a curve yourself, so that the full blade will hit." She shrugged and placed it back on the rack she found it on. "Though yours looks kind of different, so I don't really know."

There was an odd smile as Bakura watched Blue make a guess as to how to use a scythe. He thought on it for a bit, trying to remember if there were any cards that used a curved weapon in his friends' decks. He couldn't remember and shrugged. "Your guess is as good as anyone else's, Blue."

When she finished, he went back to the shelf of staffs, contemplating it. He didn't necessarily NEED one, as long as he stayed with a group. However, the thought of having something just in case he got separated was also a good idea.

He poked through a couple, before finding a few that were below his height and eliminating a few of the impossibly priced ones. A simple asian tiger rattan 3-foot walking stick seemed satisfactory and cheap. He went down another aisle, practicing some small movement to see how well it moved through the air. It was fast, which was good and it wasn't that heavy. He grinned deciding it was better than any. He smiled, going to place some cards on the counter with Gaston's money. He pulled three out, guessing them to be about the worth of the weapon and the plushie.

((OOC: XP Sorry for not posting in so long; homework's been having its way with me, which isn't exactly conducive to being charming and polite. X_x;; Anyhow, what'll we do now that the Nobody plot is over?))

Jack laughed, nodding in understanding. "Sound advice if I've ever heard it...." He didn't mind the ribbing at his mishap; it was entirely his fault, after all. At least it hadn't ended badly for anyone, right? They were all safe and sound, and back in one piece in his case. Gaston did seem the type to be more proficient with ranged weapons, anyway; it would probably be best if he taught himself or found someone more skillful with polearms.

He turned his head as he noticed Blue experimenting with another scythe, nodding encouragingly. "No, no--I think you're right, actually. That does make sense." He imagined he would have figured it out himself at some point, but just hearing it from someone as inexperienced as he seemed to be was nice. He could do curves, easily. He seemed to be built for long, gliding motions like that, as a matter of fact. What a happy coincidence!

The skeleton glanced off to watch Bakura test out the staff he'd found as well, eye sockets skimming over one of the plushie shelves--and immediately doing an about face as he reached up to pull one down, expression incredulous. "Sally?" It was a cute little ragdoll he'd seen, body and garments alike made of distinctive patchwork, and crowned with a head of long, pretty red hair. It bore a striking resemblance to his friend--upon closer inspection, in fact, it looked just about identical, taking into consideration the fact that it was scaled down. He might have found it eerie, if it hadn't stirred up a small pang of homesickness and a genuine warmth at seeing his friend's encouraging smile, even if it wasn't really her. That alone was enough to prompt him to spend a little extra, to be able to tuck the doll ~~where his heart would have been~~into his ribcage for safekeeping.

Jack returned in time to see Gaston firing at some.... well, some thing. It didn't look like any monster or undead he'd ever seen, that was for sure.... It did seem that they were quite vulnerable to silver, though. Or at least, to projectiles heading at them at lethal speeds. Encouraged, the skeleton offered a brief round of applause. "Excellent shot! Let's hope your ammunition holds out, hmm?" He looked around at all and sundry consideringly, then back outside to where the creature had been struck down, putting a hand on the door to push it open. "Everyone ready?"

"I've got plenty of ammo," Gaston reassured his skeletal friend, looking around for another creature to blast. Unfortunately, no more of them made an appearance. The hunter frowned, wondering if he had scared the rest away with the first shot. He had been pretty sure there were more than just one of the things, but if so, they were hiding from him. He took a few more steps out, then sighed and lowered the gun. "It looks like I have a serious lack of targets, though. The creatures all ran away already!"

The hunter sounded disappointed and he definitely was. He'd been looking forward to some good hunting, and once again he'd been foiled. But at least this time he'd managed to take out one of the things... And he had his weapons for the next time he spotted one of those little glowing critters. The thought made him feel a little better... but he still wished he could have tried out the shotgun before the gray creatures decided to run away.

Blue was happy that her method seemed to work. She watched the others mull around and get done what they needed, finding the plushie Bakura bought to be really quite cute, even with its cat-like appearance. Some cats couldn't be all that bad though.

She turned towards the door and moved to step out, eyes searching around for where Gaston had gone and then found herself surprised at his comment. The creatures were gone? Blue walked further into the street, looking eveyrwhere for the flash of gray or white that she remembered running from, but she didn't see anything. "They're... gone..." She should be happy. "But why, and so sudden?"

It wasn't just this one area. She couldn't hear any screaming like before. She turned worried eyes back towards Bakura and Jack.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Morning After (not THAT kind....) [Completed]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject