Where's the Elf Help Section?

[holtfinder]

WHO: Moonshine and you!
WHERE: The Bishop, Town Center, near the flood plain
WHAT: Getting her bearings, making friends and influencing people, getting into trouble
WHEN: After the superhero event, as she arrived in the aftermath
WARNINGS: None, will edit if that changes

[Closed to the Crew of the Bishop] Queen Takes Bishop
Upon being informed that she's been assigned to the Bishop, the ship becomes one of Moonshine's first places to explore. The larger rooms make her height look even more ridiculous against the proportions of the ship, but she still makes a point of poking her head into as many of the rooms as possible. At one point, she even picks one of the exposed cords in the wall, following its length to see where it leads. It's as useful as anything, as any signs indicating what's where on the ship are useless to her.

One particular place to find her poking around is the Galley, where the refrigerator and freezer seem to confuse her more than anything else she's seen. "What's the use of a big box of cold?"

[OTA] Nyoom!
It's a bright day in the city center, when suddenly a grey wolf with a small purple-clad woman riding on his back bolt across from somewhere near the livestock nursery, around the fountain toward the Whale Come Sent Her. Someone's excited to stretch his legs, it seems, though he alternates between zoomies and stopping to sniff around things. It is entirely possible that those who aren't paying attention to their surroundings may be half bowled-over by an overeager wolf and his apologetic rider.

[OTA] The Wild Hunt
Eventually, Steadypaw catches the scent of a nest of piglet-squirrels toward the south end of the Town Center, tracking their scent down toward the flood plain. Those within earshot may hear a loud "AYOOOOOOAH!" from Moonshade as the pair harry their prey. If anyone's interested in a delicious breakfast of fresh piglet-squirrel meat, feel free to join the pair as they hunt. After all, Moonshade's without the knife or bow and arrows she'd normally be packing for such a hunt. She has, however, fashioned herself a slingshot and gathered some rocks, but more firepower would obviously be appreciated.

[OTA] Wildcard
Feel free to reach out on Plurk (darkersolstice) or Discord (darkersolstice#9463), but honestly if you just want to throw something random at me, I will roll with the punches!

Comments

[tempredmental]

Kosmo was very perceptive, so, even if he didn't understand the words specifically, he could understand intent. His nose twitched, and picked up on the fact that she meant no harm to him, and that was good enough for him right now. There was a wag of his tail to acknowledge her words before he disappeared in a flash of light again.

It didn't take long before there was another flash, and he had returned with Keith, the human's hand on the wolf's back. Keith looked momentarily surprised, but then noticed the elf.

"Ah... hello."

[holtfinder]

She addresses Kosmo before Keith, amused. "Not what I was asking for, exactly, but possibly useful all the same."

And then her attention turns to Keith. "I was just asking him if he wanted to help us hunt some of the fluffy pink creatures. We're glad to share the meat, but we can hardly do that unless we catch the beasts first."

[tempredmental]

Kosmo turned back to Keith, giving a small wag of his tail again, and Keith gently rubbed the top of the wolf's head. He nodded at the elf.

"That's a good idea," he said. "I'm Keith. This is Kosmo." If anything, the cosmic wolf looked proud of himself for bringing them together. He'd found the source of the howling, and now they would have a new source of food. That was good. And having his person make more friends was always a good thing. Keith's partner was always saying Keith was too anti-social anyway.

[holtfinder]

"I'm Moonshade and he's Steadypaw. Do you have a knife or a bow? If so, we could flush the critters out toward you two to take down. It shouldn't be too hard." She's only just arrived, unarmed. Well, Steadypaw's armed with his teeth and claws, and to consider a Wolfrider without a weapon harmless would be strictly incorrect.

[tempredmental]

A bow? Nope... but Keith definitely had his bayard. He pulled forth a black and white object that looked like a curved letter "H" and, in a flash of light, it became a sword similar to a katar.

"I've got this," he said.

As for whether an unarmed person was dangerous or not, Keith wasn't going to pass judgement based on visible weapons, that was for sure. He knew better.

[holtfinder]

"Perfect. We'll flush them out toward you two, then." Moonshade and Steadypaw begin to move toward a cluster of bushes, stalking quietly, well-coordinated before they move into action, chasing four piglet-squirrels toward Keith and Kosmo.

[tempredmental]

With that, Keith and Kosmo also moved, but back and away slightly so they had room to react depending on which way the creatures came out of the bushes. Keith hadn't been much of a hunter growing up, but he'd learned out of necessity while stranded in the quantum abyss back home. Considering that was where he'd found and raised Kosmo from a pup, the two worked well together as a hunting pair, and all four of the small animals were quickly caught and dispatched to make a nice meal for later.

[holtfinder]

Moonshade is delighted that it's been so simple. As she comes closer to examine their kill, there's definitely a bounce in her step. "Do you think your weapon would work for skinning them? I'd love to tan the hides of these animals."

[tempredmental]

"It might?" It was kind of large for that kind of knife work, but he could potentially change the size. He didn't have his luxite blade here, which had a smaller base form, but... He took a breath and closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on the connection he had with the weapon. So far, he'd been able to do a good amount of things with it, but he hadn't changed its form, yet. He would eventually, but he's not at that point in his canon here. That didn't mean he couldn't, though. He knew it was possible. Others had done it, so, theoretically, he should be able to as well...

The sword began to glow and shift, gradually taking a different shape while still maintaining the original color scheme of black and white (and no emblem). It seemed to take some effort, but it happened.

Once done, Keith took another breath and blinked a few times as he opened his eyes, looking almost a little surprised, but pleased at the same time.

"That'll do it..."

[holtfinder]

Moonshade seems more delighted than surprised by the magic knife, grinning. "That's a very powerful weapon you have. Would you like the honor of skinning them, then?"

At least, she's assuming it's magic. Most things that change shape in her world are magic.

[tempredmental]

'Magic' was definitely one way to describe it. It was technology, but it involved special energy and mystical connections with the bearer, so there was some element of magic.

"I'm not sure what kind of shape this would take for you," he said, referring to the bayard. "So it might be best if I did, anyway." He glanced around for a moment to see if there was a place they could settle to clean and dress the piglet-squirrels. "Let's find a good spot." As they started off, he'd explain.

"This is called a bayard," he said. "It's Altean made. It uses something called quintessence to connect with the person using it, and then takes on the form of a weapon best suited for the person using it. Over time, you can learn to change that form to what you need in the moment."

[holtfinder]

"For me, it might well end up as a bow. Or a dagger, perhaps. Did you have your bayard, when you arrived here?" Moonshade's thoughtful, glancing sidelong at Keith as they walk. Or probably as he walks and she hustles, on shorter legs than him.

[tempredmental]

Considering he's around six feet tall, it's likely the latter.

"I didn't, no," he said. "There was a weird event that happened around Christmas, and we got presents. I think they were from the Agrii. I got it then... like gifts from home or something." Christmas was kind of blurry. He'd been changed into his younger self, after all, without his adult memories, and stuff got a little mixed up in his head. It was confusing.

They came to a large rock that had a decently flat top that would be good for what they needed. Keith placed the animals to one side and then picked one to start with. He'd only skinned what he hunted for food before, so he glanced at Moonshade.

"So, I've never done tanning before," he said. "Where's the best place to start for skinning?" He'd follow her guidance.

[holtfinder]

She shows him, slow and careful, walking him every small step with the first one, guiding him more gently with the second. The goal is for him to be able to do it just about independently by the time he reaches the fourth piglet-squirrel. She also guides him in field-dressing the animal, removing the inedible innards and cutting out the hearts as a treat for the wolves.

It's only when they're done that she asks the burning question. "What's Christmas?"

[tempredmental]

The skinning part he did carefully and slowly, but he was definitely a quick learner. As for the rest of the field dressing of the meat in preparation for making food, that he seemed to have some basic experience on and learned quicker. While he'd never learned a formal way of doing it, picking it up on the fly for survival through real life experience had been a pretty decent teacher in his past.

As for the items to discard, Kosmo had already begun digging a hole to dispose of everything discreetly.

"It's a holiday where I'm from," Keith said, as he set things up for them to be able to more easily carry the meat back to town. "We exchange gifts with people we care about... friends and family. We get together with them, have parties, big dinners... just enjoy each other's company."

[holtfinder]

"My tribe doesn't really have holidays like that. The Sun Folk did--to them, time was important to mark, with planting and harvesting times, and holidays between. But for the Wolfriders, time wasn't so...rigid? The seasons changed and we chased them, living in the now of wolf-thought."

She takes the pelts as they're skinned, checking them thoughtfully and then bundling them together.

"It sounds like a good time, though. A feast, presents, family...it's been a long time since my family has all been in one place."

[tempredmental]

"It is," Keith said. "It's not something I always had, but it's nice when I do." He dumped the entrails and waste into the hole and began to bury it. "It's been a while for me, too, having everyone together. I miss them sometimes, when holidays like that come up. But I do have some people here. So I celebrate what I can with the people I do have. It's important to have that time together."

Keith had spent a lot of his life alone, so having people who were important to him nearby where he could be with them was a big deal. He loved his friends like family, and having gotten a second chance with his mother after losing his dad at such a young ate meant the universe to him. He considered himself lucky for that, despite everything else he'd been through.

[holtfinder]

"You're very lucky, to have others from your world here. I've been able to make some friends here, but the only one who I truly know is Steadypaw." She looks thoughtful. "I don't know who I'd spend the time with, if there was a holiday, here."

[tempredmental]

"Yeah." Keith straightened up once they had finished, making sure they had everything set and ready to go for the trip back to town. "I understand. I've been alone before. It can be hard." He gave Kosmo a gentle pet on top of his head, the wolf giving a soft wag of his tail in response. "Perhaps you can share some of your holidays and traditions with some of the people here."