revivalproject | [open] You don't have to be mad to have a good time on thin ice...

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[open] You don't have to be mad to have a good time on thin ice...

WHO: Wilson & You~
WHERE: Sh'Ka
WHAT: He's totally doing science. On ice.
WHEN: Mid-December
WARNINGS: %

While Temba is covered in snow, Sh'Ka has become much more frozen over, leaving the paths and most of the ground covered in a thick layer of ice.

It's not that Wilson has much of a fondness for snow or ice, though, so it's for no apparent reason he's currently in Sh'Ka, a pair of shadow skates under his shoes and idly skating circles over what may have been some sort of plaza back when the city was still inhabited. Whatever it was doesn't matter. Right now it's a comparably big open space which the scientist makes use of while contemplating... Something.

But he isn't entirely alone. A couple of his shadow creatures are also gliding aimlessly across the ice, radiating a certain uncertainty as of why they are even present while receiving the occasional nudge from a randomly appearing shadow hand to keep them moving.

"No, you got this all wrong!" Wilson exclaims towards a smaller creature slowly spinning on the ice as he passes. "I don't want to fight a Treeguard, I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised to find one here!"

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Hunting was something that could (and would), happen at all times a year. Sure, it wasn't as easy to manage in the snow and cold when animals were rarer, but Gladio wasn't certain whether those bunny-boats migrated or not. Wouldn't hurt anyone for Gladio to be out here to evaluate, to determine whether there could even be another good hunt.

What he wasn't expecting in his prowling around was to find another person. One clearly being hunted by shadowy forms. Daemons? Or storm manifested creatures? Gladio didn't know but he did sneak closer, summoning his sword to hand. Better to be armed for his rush to save the fool.

While Wilson may be vaguely aware of someone else being nearby, he isn't overly bothered by the presence. People are around here everywhere, but that doesn't mean he has to engage with them when he doesn't feel like doing so. And when his mind is busy elsewhere, his need for social interaction is even lower than normally.

Its one of the Terrorbeaks that slides closer to the armed man by pure chance, giving a screech in his direction which catches Wilson's attention. "What is it now?"

The creature is close now, and so Gladio does what need to be done to protect the man. Which is lashing out with his sword at the creature.

The sword moves through the creature without making impact to an actual body and the shadow simply dissipates where it has been existing, not leaving behind any trace of its existence.

Wilson simply gives a small nod in response but doesn't necessarily stop his circling. "A~nd that was necessary?"

What? He's not used to Daemons disappearing quite that fast, though he is used to them not leaving much trace. Though the dude calling out is more confusing.

"You're welcome For taking out an attacker. Get over here and I'll defend you!"

"Defend me?" Wilson returns not without some wonder in his voice. Though he certainly lacks any worry or even fear regarding the shadowy beings around him.

The scientist shrugs and skates closer anyway before coming to a halt somewhat next to Gladio and gesturing towards the remaining shadow creatures. "Well, why not. Go on. Defend me, strong man!"

Of course defend him! Can’t this fool see the risk he’s presented with?

“Gladio,” he offers by way of his name, and then as the creatures are there, he approaches them, blade out. Any time one comes in easy but not dangerous range, he lashes out at them.

Wilson gives a simple thumbs up in response and lets the man go chase after the shadows. "Sure, I'm glad-o as well. Go and have fun!"

Gladio's opponents are hardly worth being referred to as such. They dissipate with a single hit from the man's sword and hardly move to attack him aside from some hissing and snarling. That doesn't however mean that he will have them cleared away in no time. The moment one shadow is taken care of, another forms nearby, sometimes even two at the same time, overall much rather leading to an increase of them than their disposal.

That was frustrating, of course. The fact that the mess didn’t seem to end, at all. There just kept being more, and they didn’t even seem ready to attack him.

“The fuck are these?” He snarls as he cuts through another. Not daemons. Probably not the storm shadows. What then?

"Nightmare fuel." Wilson provides helpfully, still skating lazy circles over the ice while watching Gladio surround himself with more and more shadow creatures. The man doesn't appear even close to insane, however, which means Gladio remains perfectly safe. At least for the time being.

Interesting. After a moment of thought, Gladio lowers his blade a bit and looks at Wilson.

“I see. Cute game. I’m done playing.”

"Great!" Wilson exclaims cheerfully and reaches a clawed hand out towards the lingering shadows. He closes his hand quickly into a light fist, which pulls the creatures back together into a single being that stands motionless for a moment before resuming its slow movement across the ice. "I can get back to work, then. Science is waiting!"

Seriously? Gladio sneers at that revelation.

"Just like Ardyn."

Finding anything in this place was not easy, and Tony's list of things to be found kept on growing. Some were more pressing than others. Near the top was a threat to kids' eyeballs, and it really felt like the timer was running out on that one. Finding Cap's shield would have to wait another day, and he might have to actually admit to needing help.

The Watchtower was right there, looming, waiting for him to acknowledge it. Felwinter was a finder of things, he'd proved that the last time he spent an afternoon humiliating Tony, all of the pieces were practically in place. Tony's arrival wasn't exactly subtle. "Come on, we're looking for a guy, if you're lucky maybe he'll ask you to beat him up," was Iron Man's pitch when he appeared in Felwinter's window in a roar of jets and flash of gold. Tony barely even felt the bruise to his pride.

What he was starting to feel was hungry and frustrated by the time they were sliding their way through Sh'Ka, navigating around spikes of rock that had been iced over, and wrinkling his nose at every burst of birdcall that seemed to echo endlessly in this wasteland.

As it would happen, Tony would find Felwinter seated on the high-backed chair he had so long ago somehow brought up to the top floor of the tower. He lifted his head as this shiny figure appeared and blocked his view. The brief shimmer of violet light around his hand faded quickly once he identified the intruder, and slowly the warlord got to his feet.

There was no reason he had to go, but nothing keeping him from going along either. It was something to be asked at all, and he supposed it didn't hurt to humor Tony, so a sudden trip to Sh'Ka, it was.

Traversing snowy and icy landscapes was nothing new for Felwinter. His steps crunched along the frozen ground, and unfortunately for Tony he wasn't much for small talk but that was nothing new. It seemed he took his job very seriously, and the job was to find someone. Depending on how much Tony filled him in on during the trip out, things could escalate quickly or he could simply be a point of intimidation while Tony handled the PR side of things once they managed to track their target down.

It would take effort to get Tony to not talk, though how informative he actually was was debatable. That depended on Felwinter's ability to interpret his sidelong delivery; a story about Tommy desperate for help and silently suffering, the most innocent child who ever lived and had the most beautiful eyes and also, maybe, didn't exist, and a winding interlude about camera stability and motion sensors. What he didn't really have much to say about was the subject of their search himself, which might have been lucky because it left enough of a gap for Tony to actually listen for once and wonder, "Do you hear that?" The birds, insistently, were not helping; whatever variety populated these trees during the winter sounded like furious toddlers in brief, frantic bursts, and Iron Man flapped his hands irritably like he could wave away the intruding soundwaves to clear for the unique one. That did at least work on his HUD, which confirmed a more adult-timbred voice among the noise. "Someone's talking," he said, like this was news.

With such a conversation Felwinter wasn't really sure whether it would benefit to ask questions. For the most part he remained silent, maybe offering a thoughtful nod but otherwise dismissing most of it as nonsense. It became quite clear that relevant information wasn't going to be forthcoming.

He did however take Tony's cues seriously when the man halted, listening. The warlord stood statue-still, helmet tilted just so as he listened, waited. After a moment, he nodded.

"I believe you're right," he said. "Felspring is picking up someone in that direction."

This was a big city that rarely had anyone in it in the first place, so this was a welcome development, even if it just led to stumbling on what anyone else might be doing over here. Maybe they had met Frank and were giving him an update on his friends over in Temba. The movement was difficult to parse through the dead branches as they approached the noise; there were multiple figures, but they all seemed so dark, and were moving quickly, leaving Tony squinting and pushing brittle plants aside irritably until they were standing at the edge of this icy plaza. It didn't make much more sense when they were there. There were black...things, whose shape was, as Tony would maybe label, arguable. One of the party was more defined, though, so Tony let him take the focus, at least until Iron Man was looking toward Felwinter for his assessment. "Do you skate?" was how he asked.

Felwinter didn't change his stance on the fact that only one person was out there, even once they came into view of multiples. What those were, he couldn't say, but there seemed to be something to them, a sense he could not pinpoint.

He turned his head towards Tony then, letting his silent stare answer that question.

If Wilson notices the unusual pair, it doesn't show since he keeps drawing lazy circles on the ice with the creatures around him following their own random paths. It's one of them that finds itself close to Tony and the Exo and it reacts with a gargling hiss that doesn't sound as if it were made by the throat of a living being.

They were still staring at each other, Tony sure he could win this time now that they were both in their helmets and there was a very distracting display going on in front of them, only to be the one startled into distraction by that weird noise that came from way too close. Those improperly formed, shadowy things were unpalatable enough, and even worse when it turned out they made a sound, and Iron Man was reacting with a raised hand and quick repulsor blast to shove it back across the ice before anyone else had the chance to make any more noises. This did also take himself by surprise, and he stared after the thing for a beat before looking to Felwinter again, not sure if he should apologize. "That was self-defence," he excused instead, before he gave any of the others the impression that he wouldn't be so trigger happy if they tried gargling at him.

Given that Felwinter had his shotgun out, he probably approved, not that he made it obvious as he looked back at Iron Man. If anything, he was taking that as a go-ahead to attack if it seemed necessary, which...probably wasn't any better depending on what Tony hoped to get out of this whole search. Self-defense was entirely reasonable. Who knew what would have followed that strange sound!

The creature is indeed being shoved backwards, then explodes soundlessly into slivers of dissipating shadow. But it's not that what catches Wilson's attention but rather the noise from the repulsor. And what is attached to said repulsor as well as the attachments company.

Wilson gives a small whistle as he skates closer, clawed hands spread out casually at his sides. "Have we gotten lost?"

So far, this guy was definitely...creepy. Tony could see why Tommy was not charmed by him, anyway, if they had found their man. At least he didn't seem too torn up about his thingy exploding, though Tony's focus was cautiously on those claws as he approached, then slid slowly toward Felwinter, his faceplate resolutely blank as his eyebrows crept upward. The question sounded enough like an accusation that Tony returned, "You're the one that's underdressed." Must have been embarrassing, leaving his metal suit at home at a time like this. Feeling like he was supposed to have a reason for being here now, he abruptly started to explain, "My--" and looked properly toward Felwinter, enough now to see the gun out and that Iron Man had to suddenly snatch him by the arm to tug it behind them and look less aggressive, "Husband," explained that move, keeping Felwinter's arm in his, "wanted to learn how to skate. Brilliant minds, yadda. Perfect place."

Felwinter was staring hard where the shadow had dispersed. What was it? His attention shifted towards the man on skates, clearly wary as his hand tightened on his shotgun. Distracted as he was, it gave Tony ample time to grab onto his arm.

The warlord looked at him sharply at this invasion of personal space, but only the almost baffled tone of his question suggested that the expression beneath the helmet had gone blank.

"What?"

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