deercountry | june/july catch-all!

[It's taking all of Ochako's will to not laugh, because Shoyo is so endearing. She beams at his enthusiasm and clicks her heels together, letting the boosters in her boot's heels sputter to life. They're not crazy strong, just enough for some baseline propulsion and direction during flight, but it's enough to get them going.]

Ehehe...thanks, i-it's really nothing, just my quirk. [Seriously. This is exactly what her quirk does at the most basic of levels. When she uses it to fight, that's when it's pretty cool, but hopefully...there won't be need for that (foreshadowing).] Okay, I'm gonna bring us down, so hang on tight, okay? Don't let go of my hand!!

[They'll still float, but, uh...she'll have to go fetch them if they do just waft about aimlessly, and that's no fun if they panic, especially Egg. But! Ochako tightens her grip and starts to move them down slowly into the dark ravine. Deeper and deeper...]

Gotcha'!

[ egg deep tweets in turn, and they both hold on tight! so cool! once it starts getting a little ah, dark, shoyo makes sure to switch on his headlight to lead them down. so far, just rock, and dirt, and walls— wait, walls? ]

Look! [ walls and carved floors, manmade structures and places to stick up torches along the way. a few might still have some that they could ignite to light up their path once they touch ground down below. ] A secret passage—!

[Good thing Shoyo was able to do that, because Ochako's hands are a bit full... She has a lantern in her pack, sure, but will need to be on solid ground to get it situated. Ochako's keeping her eyes mostly forward, to direct them by the light cast, but when Shoyo turns his head and indicates the passage, she moves them over toward that direction, the boosters in her boots revving up a bit.]

Oooh, good eye, Shoyo-san! This should be a good place to start looking around...

[And once they're close to the ground, Ochako will tell the duo to "watch your step", then touch her fingertips together and mutter the release word - which is literally just release. Her quirk deactivates on everyone and they fall the perhaps foot or so to the ground, Ochako catching herself easily and helping the other two if they weren't prepared for the landing...d-despite her warning.]

[ so sad that the ride has to be over so soon, but it was doubly worth it! closer to the ground meant shōyō watched his feet, and while he’s made an excellent landing, isn’t above still holding on. plus, he can do this once ochako was ready: hold her arm up in mock victory. coolest girl in history right now! egg also seems to be fine, and barks up a chirp in thanks. immediately inspecting the tunnel-like walls and hanging torches, egg begins to light them up on sight with ember. ]

Wooahhh . . . ! [ a slight echo goes through the tunnel. so mysterious! ] Which way do we go, do you think?

[ there was going ahead, and there was going “backwards”. ]

[And to that, Ochako just beams brightly after her second's worth of initial surprise, her laughter echoing loudly through the caverns as she swings their hands a little bit. Gosh, but Shoyo's just...such a sweetheart. Ochako's immediately fond of him after they fought, and wonders if, maybe, the same sort of feeling happened with Bakugou. She most certainly saw her blond friend in a much clearer picture, anyway.]

Hm...I'm not sure. [Said absently, as she is (once again) giving Egg some pets and scritchies for being such a useful and good birdy. Lord does she miss Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, and may be projecting a little, but...sue her. Both are friend shaped, and deserve many pets. ♥] We can pick a direction and see how far it goes, then double back. I brought some things for that exact purpose.

[Ochako takes out of her pack a pad of paper and her pencil - for notes - and a medium sized box of colored chalk.]

Oh—!

[ that is a fantastic idea, the chalk! the notes! they were more detail-oriented tools that shoyo hadn't thought of, focused more on action-based practicalities. ]

That's great! We won't get lost that way! [ he seems genuine both impressed and surprised, and proceeds to roll his hands around to randomize a path to take. ] What about— this way? And you can write on my back!

[ he points to his back with his thumbs! ]

[In all honesty, the moment she heard about there being caverns under the cities...Ochako just assumed this would be harder than it seems. A compass wouldn't work underground if there was too high a concentration of magnetized rock, so charting a map, and scribbling a path on the walls would be their best chance of making it back out without too much trouble. Hopefully.]

Mm!! I thought the same thing when I heard there might be caves and stuff underground. [A-Again...] And that works perfect, thanks, Shoyo-san! Just be very careful and watch your step, ne? I can't imagine this place is going to be easy to get through.

[Traps, monsters, puzzles... Ochako's seen movies, read books, and played video games. This sort of shit is never just a leisurely stroll.]

But we'll get through it.

[ in that very hard work and friendship conquers all sort of spirit, shoyo gives a thumbs up before leading the way forward. egg is behind ochako and making sure to keep their flank alert to any subtle changes. the first wide-open room, with stone encasements and dusty cornerstones they come across, seems to be mostly empty. save for the dark reflections shimmering above their heads here and there. ]

Huh, the ceiling's moving—

[ shoyo points his headlight up, ]

[ —and that's not the ceiling. rather, they're stirring scarabs the size of tangerines, and shoyo just about shrives two sizes at the realization, and hushes, with an audible crack in his voice: ]

. . . I think we need to go back.

[Ochako makes an affirming noise, because she genuinely believes that. Having support is an immeasurable boon, and friendship is something people often take for granted, but it's powerful. Ochako's certain that, had she not had the friends she has now to walk alongside her, to build her up and make her feel strong when she was at her lowest...she wouldn't have gotten as far as she did. So many things would have been lost without everyone working together in the end.]

Eh? Wha--

[OH DEAR SWEET, GOD. Ochako was actually kind of hoping for bats? Bats would have been easier to deal with than bugs. She smacks her hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming (or just flat out throwing up), and her stomach does a nasty somersault that makes her feel ill. That goodness for her mastery of her gag reflex, otherwise she very well may have lost her lunch all over the place, because this...this brings back some horrific memories.

There were...bugs. Insects. Beetles? Or were they bees?? Some sort of parasitic insect that built their nests, or hives, or...o-or whatever inside peoples' skin. So bad that those heavily invested lost their minds and...a-and--

Sensei...

Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Ochako forces them back and squeezes her eyes shut. No. No...don't think of that. Don't remember that. Not now. Not when she has someone to look after now.]

Slowly. [Ochako hisses in a whisper.] Mo-Move back out the room...v-very slowly...

[ that's exactly what shoyo does. he keeps his headlight lowered, his arms out to gently bump against ochako, behind him, and begins taking his steps to get back through the stone frame of the doorway. luckily, with egg behind the girl, the fowl creature doesn't know what's going on beyond "something bad", curious to nudge his head and beak over ochako's shoulder. what could it be—?

a chittering squeak comes from the room's ceiling and ends with a crisp thock of sound against the chamber floors. thock, again. thock, thock, thock. it may seem like only that, for a couple of seconds, but the worst happens. shoyo steps in something awful enough to echo out a loud crack.

he's just stepped into a hollow exoskeleton, and his whole frame freezes from toes to the last hair on his head. ]

—Crap-!

[Ochako, for her part, is also moving slowly - doing much the same as Shoyo and trying to ease Egg backward as well, gently. She doesn't want to startle the poor bird, because if it really is just a big ol' rooster thing...a startled squawk will only get them in far more trouble. Though it seems that they're slowly getting out, even as what Ochako assumes are those horrible insects begin to fall from the ceiling. It's not bad, just a few, they can just as easily turn around and continue the other--

Crack!

Sucking in a breath through her teeth, Ochako feels a full body shiver come over her as the room suddenly gets ominously quiet...and like a wave, the ceiling starts to descend on them as those hundreds of thousands of insects just dash towards the sound, and the potential threat and/or food source they've found.]

Shi--...hang on tight!!

[One swift smack to Shoyo's back, and another to Egg's arm, and a final one to her cheek, Ochako literally hauls man and beast under each arm as she removes their gravity and turns tail to springboard off the ground. A great leap, considering the springs and pads of her boots - usually meant to cushion the impact of her falls, but also great to catapult her up in a long or high jump.

And finally, a click of her heels and the rocket boosters in her metal heels burst to life to propel them all forward. She has the thrusters on full blast, so they can put some distance between themselves and those bugs ASAP.

Because they are following...and they're just as fast for how small they are.]

[ oh, god this is gross and terrifying, let alone what the scarabs would do to them if they came in contact with warm, easily burrowed flesh. just the sound of them skittering gives shōyō more than enough information to feed his imagination: horror flesh bugs is top tier nightmare fuel. just having them near you and coming for you for who the hell knew what?

he never wants to see a beetle again. with his arms following suit to make sure he’s holding ochako in turn as they propelled, he turns to egg: ]

Egg! Can you hold ‘em off—?!

[ the fowl pokémon crows sharply, turns his neck and pulls in a breath— and when he exhales, he spews a stream of heat and flame to scorch the insect’s paths. it lights up the room behind them for sure, and chars the scarabs in the way to a thick crisp. ]

[Thing is, Ochako has witnessed bugs like this burrowing into peoples' bodies and just nesting there, while they were still very much alive. It caused someone she cares about very much some great pain and suffering and....a-and--

Ochako swallows the thick lump in her throat at the memory, using it to fuel her farther, faster away from the danger following after them at a shockingly rapid pace. She doesn't dare loosen her grip on either Shoyo or Egg, for fear of what might occur to them if the worst happens. But Egg is apparently a...phoenix?? A chicken phoenix??? Ochako only catches a bit of that flamethrower in her peripheral, but she can most certainly feel the heat of it along her back and legs. Thank goodness she's also used to this sort of thing from Todoroki, so it's not too damaging, either.]

GOOD THINKING!! If we can halt their path, they can't follow us!

[Because the more they move, twisting and turning through the maze helter-skelter like they are, the more lost they're going to get. Ochako is trying to memorize the path she's going, but she's no Yaoyorozu - not the brightest bulb in the box.]

[ they're just going to have to wing the amount of times they'll have to twist and turn around in this panic. ochako is trying her greatest to lengthen the distance, and for sure shoyo wouldn't interject— he hardly even feels the need to, holding tight onto her arm and instructing egg. ]

We've got your back, Ochako! Just focus up ahead, Egg's got this! [ he knew the combusken could breathe embers, but not that big and not that hot. it was like being, literally, behind the blast of a flamethrower. it's done heavy damage to the number pursuing them, there were still stragglers; he gasps with an ah! once he sees a handful of glints speeding after them. ] Do that one more time, the biggest breath you've got! Just wait for them to get close!

[ when the time is right— boom. ]

[Funnily enough? Egg is helping in a way they don't even really realize. The blast of his flamethrower not only helps incinerate the oncoming beetles, but it's also acting like a turbo booster, pushing them farther and faster with that one little spurt. Just a few extra meters, but that can make all the difference right now. Because most of the insect in the front line are totally decimated, and the middle-most of them start to cannibalize their now fully cooked brethren, but the farthest back are still incoming, scurrying around the feasting beetles to try and get to the fresh meat.]

Keep it up, Egg!! We need to find somewhere that they can't follow! Shoyo, if you see a body of water, or a ravine, let me know!! We can lose them that way!

Waterwaterwaterwater—

[ shōyō has a sharp eye for quick fleeting detail; while egg is busy keeping the incoming scarabs at bay and allowing short boosts, shōyō shines his light wherever he can for ochako. front, sideways—

a chamber with sparkling floors catches his attention with a sharp gasp. he isn’t completely sure, but he still points at the dipping turn they’d have to take to get there. ]

Ochako!

[Snapping her attention to where the light is shining, Ochako grits her teeth. She's too slow to do an arc at the speed they're going without risking a crash, or slowing down and letting those horrible insects get within jumping distance of them. It's not going to be fun, what she has to do, but it's the best and fasted way to pivot in the air right now. The whiplash will be worth it, surely, because they'll still be alive.]

I see it!! Both of you, hang onto me now, and do not let me go!

[Because after jerking her arm out, one of the wired grappling hooks shoots from Ochako's wrist guard and strikes the inner wall of the opening. Sticking in hard, the wire goes taut as it swiftly yanks the three in that direction suddenly, Ochako killing the boosters for just that second of inertia so they could change direction in a fraction of an instant. She kicks them in again when they're throttling toward the new space, so they can make up that same speed.

Many of the scarabs pass them by, thankfully, but still more arc after them, still in hot pursuit, their hideous clicking mandibles and skittering legs making horrible noises in the echoey halls.]

[ oh, this is not like his high speed bike rides. this is possibly a fraction of what it’s like to be on a fighter jet— the speed, the whiplash, the weight bearing heavy on shōyō’s body and not exactly treating it softly flaps wind into his mouth and blows out his lips. he’s tucked in and holding on for dear life, but he’s . . .

he’s not exactly screaming, but there’s a sound coming from him. his fingers nearly slip out of grasping onto ochako, but luckily— who catches him, more durable in the face of g-force, is egg. floor it, ochako! ]

[And floor it she does!! But only when she's sure that Shoyo is secured by Egg, who she also increases her grip on. It's not recipro burst, but she does put some power into her boosters to get them as far out into the cavern as possible. Behind her, she can hear the slush sounds the scarabs each plinking into the murk and screeching loudly...until they stop. Not all of them fall in, but those that do don't resurface, and the ones that don't...back off. It seems they've finally met their end, unable to go forward for their next meal.

Eventually, the skittering seems to go back from whence it came, as the bugs decide it's just not worth it to even wait. The shiny surface of whatever liquid surface that is isn't one they have any desire to navigate, so they slowly retreat, and the cave grows quiet other than the sound of Ochako's boosters now softly thrumming as the three float in the air.]

We...w-we lost them... Good job, both of you!! A-Are you all okay?

[ egg gives a valiant grah! with a victorious wave of a wing once shoyo is properly placed back onto ochako's hold. silent, isn't he! only breathing through his nose at the moment, trying to catch his breath. the light of his headlight shines under them as he looks down, tightens the hold of his sweating hands to say, with a squeak: ]

I think . . . I'm car sick. [ but, besides that! ] That was awesome.

[ the chamber now surrounding them has a little pool surrounding what seems like . . . items. a mound of shelves stacked with dusty goods that are possibly important, to be protected by a body of water—! ]

Edited 2022-07-04 17:49 (UTC)

[Oh, poor Shoyo... Ochako actually pulls him a bit closer to gently rub his back a bit. If there's one person who knows what it's like to feel nauseous, it's Uraraka Ochako. She's sympathetic, and looks a little worried as well.]

I'm sorry...it was the best I could think or to get us in here without stopping, or slowing down. Um, i-if you need to be sick, you can!! I won't mind, and it'll be in the water anyway, so...

[I mean, they are still floating above the pool, after all. Until Ochako moves or releases them, they'll be like this for...as long as she can hold them up (which is a long time).]

It look like there's things on that island though... We ought to check it out a little bit - there could be some useful things...like another canteen, a lantern Egg-kun can light, or some rope... Mmh, a knife wouldn't be bad, either.

[Spoken like a true explorer!]

[ oh, no you don’t— apologizing for such an awesome ride that saved their asses?! no way is he upset! he shakes his head as she apologizes and explains, but he will accept the soothing. there’s a knot in his throat, and his stomach. surely it’ll be gone. ]

You really know your stuff . . . [ it’s a compliment, and he gives a thumbs up to accompany, despite the slightly weaker smile! ] And don’t worry, I’m just . . . real easy to queasy, y’know?

[ and not that he’s actually going to throw up and this point, but while they make their way to the goods . . . a thought arises. ]

If I need to throw up, is it just gonna, like . . . Float around?

[ the question for the masses. ]

Ehehe...I'm probably the one who'd know the best, actually. Overuse of my quirk causes intense nausea.

[Which is why she's keeping up with rubbing his back, and might even gently move her thumb down his wrist and apply pressure to a point there, where she knows one to be. He wrist guards actually do the same thing - acupressure to alleviate nausea. Many of Ochako's support items do the same thing, just in different ways.

Though her hand, and wholeass body, stops very suddenly when posed that hideous question. Oh god, Shoyo...why. Why would you even ask that?]

Geh--...um! N-No... My quirk just applies Zero Gravity to the individual or object I touch, not anything surrounding it. Um...i-if you did throw up, it'd still fall. Gross...

[ bless ochako, those are going to help. he is not going to throw up! alas! he had to ask! he's a curious dude. ]

Good, 'cause. I wouldn't want it to . . . [ he gestures around them with a roll of his wrist, ] y'know. On, you, 'cause I've already, [ MAYBE he should stop talking! egg's got you, and the fowl pokemon gently paps a clawed wing over shoyo's mouth. ]

i love him....

and he loves you

gasp... (っ˘ω˘ς )

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(1/2)

(2/2) cw: buggy bugs that like skin

cw: bugs/insects, parasitic mentions

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cw i forgot we're talking about vomit