[Open/Mingle] Wanna Be A Cowboy

[ziedrich_bearer]

WHO: Gladiolus, Open
WHERE: Network, Starduck, Sh'Ka, Where You Want
WHAT: A hunt arranged and executed
WHEN: Sometime In March
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTES: This is a Mingle Log, that means you can put your own TL posts up here, in fact, even Gladio's getting one. Use this space to interact with anyone else going on the trip (because large numbers of players at once in one thread is hard)

[Enjoy a video shot of Gladio as he's entering one of the ships, in full uniform, and with a stuffed pack over his shoulder. That will be the visual as Gladio walks through the ship to the cockpit. It is interesting to look at, though, given the beautiful wood-like paneling of the Starkduck.]

Hey. Just got back, more or less, from a train trip to Sh'Ka. Saw the weirdest shit there. There were these huge creatures, look a bit like Garulas from back home. Reason I'm mentioning it is because I haven't seen anything like them in Sh'Ka before.

Anyway, they look smaller, easier to take down than the Bunnyboars. And we need to restock the meat supplies, get all curing and drying and all that. And steaks. So, I'm going to take and pick out some of the herd. Definitely going hunting, but if they seem placid enough, maybe I'm going to try and bring some back too.

Could use some help. Anyone up for some wrangling like some proper Chocobros, help me herd some onto the Starduck to bring them in for easier handling, let me know. I'm going to be setting up the hold here for my aims for a few hours, so if you make it to the Starduck in the next two hours and you're equipped for a hunt and herding, you're welcome to join.

See you then.

Comments

[newmemorywhodis]

Link watches Gladio as he moves, though the bow remains trained on the bantha. Then Gladio gets close - and Link fires.

One arrow strikes, into the beast's jaw. The beast roars, but Link is already drawing another arrow, and firing his second shot into its neck.

Not enough to take something like this down. But certainly enough to get started, and to give Gladio something to work with.

[ziedrich_bearer]

It's definitely something, and Gladio's used to working with people who hit from a range. Granted Prompto was more of a guns guy, but there had still been the autocrossbow, so he knew something about working around arrow wounds.

The man rushes in, his massive sword swinging out to cut at a large leg, hoping to hamstring the thing fast. Not that it works out well at first, with the beast bellowing and flinching back from the second arrow. Then it swings its shaggy head at Gladio.

It's a quickly coming blow, not one he expects to easily avoid with weapon in hand. So Gladio just flicks his wrist in a way that sends his sword away and instead summons a large shield to his hand. Gladio braces himself to take the blow and while he's pushed back a few feet, he doesn't seem much worse for the wear.

[newmemorywhodis]

That shield! Gladio just flicked his wrist, and there it was!

Link wants one.

But he can ask Gladio where he got it later. Right now Link is running forward at full pace, rapidly firing arrows as he goes. They strike the beast's back and side, giving it two points of distraction. For a moment the Bantha appears indecisive, unsure which one of them it wants to charge.

In the end, it turns back to Gladio - he's still closer, and to the Bantha's eyes is the more immediate threat. But the distraction may still be enough to give Gladio another opening.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Another opening indeed. Enough of one for Gladio to dismiss the shield, summon his sword, and make another whirling strike at the thing's legs. And lucky him, he manages to do enough to make the Bantha go down on its knees.

Down isn't out though, and he has to dodge aside as another bull from the herd starts to charge him from behind.

"Shit," he curses, because he wasn't prepared for that.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link runs, but he's still too far away to get close enough to help in time.

At least, not without drastic measures...and something a little out of the box.

He calls forth Revali's gale, a vortex of winds and the spirit of the Rito Champion surrounding Link has he is launched into the air. Then in mid-air he aims his bow - and the world around him slows. As he hands in mid-air he fires, multiple times, at the charging Bantha. Enough, he hopes, to stop it in its tracks.

Then time returns to normal - although from Gladio's perspective, only seconds have past. Revali's winds disappear, and without his paraglider Link plummets back to the ground. He manages to control the fall enough to land in a roll rather than just breaking his legs - although not enough to prevent all injury to his ankles.

There might be a bit of a limp now, as he keeps running towards Gladio.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Damn, that had been hella impressive. Like Noctis, but less being able to warp out of a mess. Gladio was thankful though, for the bull had been turned away in pain. Gladio summoned his shield again, turning to place himself between Link and the angry bull.

"Astrals, you've got balls of steel."

[newmemorywhodis]

As Link limps up towards Gladio, he tilts his head to the side. Huh. Link's heard himself described a few different ways - but that's a new one.

Now that he's close, though, the bow is returned to his back - and he draws the sword instead. The second beast might be turning away, but there was still the first one to contend with. Keeping an eye on the second one, Link circles the first - and when he sees an opening, strikes.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Hey, Gladio wasn't going to leave that guy to hunt alone. He rushes forward to join Link, heading straight for the nearest leg, shield replaced with sword once more.

Timing the strike is easy, and hitting at the same time as Link brings the thing all the way down to its belly.

"We should put the thing out of its misery."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link didn't expect Gladio to leave him alone. Although, to be fair, he also didn't necessarily expect Gladio to stick around.

Link was maybe a little bit too used to working alone.

Gladio gets a glance - before Link just swings his sword, and slices across the Bantha's neck.

Should probably do it.

[ziedrich_bearer]

And Gladio was very used to working with small and competent teams. Link is precisely what Gladio's used to, even if they don't have the non-verbal communication that comes with time and experience.

That said, he gives the young man an approving nod. No hesitation, no overwhelming cringing away from what needs done.

"You're good at this."

[newmemorywhodis]

"Yes." Link says, with absolutely no sense of shame or modesty. He is good at this. And he doesn't see a reason to pretend otherwise.

But at the dead Bantha, he...frowns. This is normally the point where he'd cut the beast up, and store away the pieces of meat in his korok-enchanted pack. But he doesn't have his pack. And now that they've made their kill...where are they going to put it?

[ziedrich_bearer]

Alright then. Gladio reaches out his shield dismissed and instead a large coil of rope appearing.

"Help me haul this somewhere out of the open paths? Need to start cutting it up, and it will be easier if I don't feel like I've got to watch for other predators."

[newmemorywhodis]

So Gladio at least seems to know what to do with it: that's good. Link can just help pull it where Gladio wants, then.

Link nods. Reaches down to grab the Bantha's hind legs. And pulls.

The beast starts to shift - slowly. It's evidence of Link's strength that he's able to move it at all. Though it's still large and heavy enough that he still can't pull it easily.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Well fuck, that's strong. Gladio's eyebrows raise because that was not what he'd been expecting. That said, it's inspiring, because between them he thinks they can manage. He grabs another hind leg and starts to haul.

"You grow up on a high gravity planet or something?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link small, and not stocky either - but he's still pretty strong. Or strong enough, at least.

As Link pulls, and between the two of them they slowly drag the beast, he frowns at Gladio. "High gravity planet?"

(He had a vague knowledge of what gravity was, he knew, although not where he learned about it. But he didn't know enough to understand what Gladio meant when applying that to a planet, or what it meant if you made it...higher?)

[ziedrich_bearer]

Strong for his body, strong for what Gladio would expect of someone Link's size. So in his book, that's pretty strong.

"You're strong, but you're also very small and lean. Could be explained by a high grav planet."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link would stop, and stare at Gladio for that statement. But they're still putting a large dead Bantha, so instead Link just side-eyes him a bit.

"What does that...mean?" What does a 'high grav' planet even look like? Or a 'low grav' one? How do you even know the difference?

[ziedrich_bearer]

"It would mean you're stronger for your size, because your body would need stronger muscles to compensate. Therefore in a situation where gravity is lower than you'd have known before, you would be stronger because of better muscles."

Something like that anyway. Gladio might like the stories, but that didn't mean he understood the physics of any of it.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link thinks on that explanation. He's not really sure he fully understands it, but he supposes it makes a sort of sense. Though - is that really the right explanation?

"Wouldn't that make everyone stronger?" And everyone in Hyrule was not as strong as Link. He was...a bit of an outlier, there.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Everyone from that world, yes," Gladio said. "Compared to people not from there at least."

So there you go, stronger.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hums softly. "Probably not high gravity."

And then he gives another big yank on the beast, with that strength that is most definitely not normal for Hylians.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Really? Hard to believe, but he accepts it, and yeah, he can tell that strength in the motion, and how much less work he had to do as they progressed toward the trees.

"Still strong for your size."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link shrugs. He had no explanation for his own strength. Was it something he was just born with? Something he developed from his training as a knight? Some other gift from Hylia herself, to help him fulfil his role as Hyrule's Champion?

He didn't remember, so he didn't know. He's not sure it matters, anyway.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Here should be good," Gladio says after a bit, respecting the guy's silence. "I can get started on this if you want to go off and do something else."

Not that he'd turn away company either.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link looks off, towards the Bantha herd. He'd like to run back out there. See if he can get up on one of their backs, see what it's like to ride one.

But he's still limping a little from that bad landing earlier. So instead Link takes this time to sit down, and properly bind his ankle.