deercountry | november catch-all

[ there was a distant clamoring pounding in falco’s head, distant until it became sharp and overwhelming, until sense of smell picks up something thick of soot, blood and oil. until, oh his head, his head starts to spin before he even opens his eyes, causing him to squeeze them tight and hold back the nausea. a crack more, and he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. he hadn’t even the socks he kept on before he went to sleep— just a red jumpsuit, barefoot and laying in the dirt.

there was no way he wasn’t frightened when the adrenaline began to pour and he shot himself upright. he had nothing on him that he should, when he pulled at his arm to pry himself onto his feet, the dangle of chains chimed and the deadweight he was connected to yanked him down. he wasn’t in a cage, as he had once woken up in santa rosita underneath the middle school. he had not been mutilated or drugged yet, as his senses proclaimed and his hands over his face quickly conforming, but his wrists were cuffed and led to someone else.

the lump was just about his size, and trying his best not to panic, falco bends his knees and props them into the dirt to put his hands on the other boy. would his voice be heard over this ugly metal chugging? ]

Wake up—! H-Hey!

[Luca stirs when he feels someone else's hands on him and hears them yelling over the...clang of metal? What is that sound? Is Varian messing with the bathroom again?

No, that's not right. He's not in his bed. He's on the ground, and there are chains around his wrists and ankles. He opens his eyes. Then he sits up suddenly with a horrified cry.]

What is this place? Where am I? What am I doing here?

[ oh god, here we go— but falco can't blame the boy at all for panicking. but they did have to keep their minds. falco's hands are held up, close to the boy in an attempt to calm him, at least enough to trust him and be heard. ]

T—try and stay calm! We'll figure it out! [ all of those questions. but first— ] I'm Falco, I'm, [ breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, swallow tight— ] what's your name?

[He tries to calm down. He tries to breathe. And...he makes some progress. He's still breathing rapidly in a panic, but he's not asking frantic questions now, at least, and when asked his name, he answers.]

Luca. I'm Luca. How are we supposed to figure it out if we're all chained up like this?

[Okay, maybe some more questions.]

Luca, [ he nods, and carefully extends his hand to shake the other’s. they’re friends now. the rules have been decided. ] let’s look around. Anything sharp, or heavy we can use?

[ he pauses and takes a closer look at their chains. the ones that attach them to each other might not be a priority, but the one that hinders their movement the most would. that being: luca’s feet, and he hopes that’s not attached to a wall of the floor or something as he follows where it goes. ]

If we can get those off you, we can look for a way out together. Okay?

[ then it’ll be easy to find someone to break the chains linking their wrists. that might mean he’ll have to sacrifice his abilities (or just. remove his hand), but he’d rather wait than do something drastic. ]

[Luca looks around and spots a hammer in the distance, and nods.]

Yeah, I see one of those tool things over there. We'll have to scoot to it...

[Wait, can they? Luca looks at their chains, but they mostly seem to be chained together. He doesn't see anything connecting to anything else. Good.]

But if we get over there, maybe we can break the chains.

[ tool things, tool things— ah! ]

A hammer— [ that’s great luck, even if they might have to clank around for it. falco nods and begins to stand, offering them for luca to take so he could get up with more ease. ] It might not work for our arms, [ they’re kids; at the very least, they need both their hands to swing, ] but I can hit the ones on your legs.

That sounds like a good plan.

[Luca manages to get to his feet.]

Now, I guess we just shuffle over there at about the same speed so we don't trip each other? Or...wait, what's your Omen? Is it big enough to carry a hammer? Are you able to summon yours?

[In an effort to determine whether they could even summon omens in this place, Luca summoned his own. A tiny little hermit crab.]

Mine's still around.

[ from one good plan to the next— falco’s eyes go wide as he remembers that having an omen is even a thing. ]

You’re right— [ all he must do is ask in his thoughts, and the drizzle of mist should pour from his shoulders. from his attempt also comes quite the small thing: a pygmy falcon, but she’s got the guts to flutter right for the hammer hooked onto the wall. ] Perle might be small too, but I think she can do it.

[ with effort, of course. starting from clipping it off the wall after some five pecking attempts to nab the handle with her beak, the hammer falls quickly to the ground with a thud. perle dives after it and pulls with its little feet, which are going to need more than one shot at dragging it over successfully. while that happens and falco too watches, intently with encouraging fingers— ]

Where’s yours?

[ it was so small that . . . ]

Oh! She's doing a great job!

[Then, after commenting on the bird's hammer fetching prowess, Luca points to his own omen. She's fine, she's just sitting on the ground, waiting for them to free themselves.]

I should probably call her back so I don't lose track of her.

[And so she turns back to smoke, returning to Luca and entering through his chest.]

[ perle tries her best! though she has to stop in between to give a huff and indignant ruffle of her feathers; a hammer wasn't a sparrow, lizard or insect— it's much bigger than what her frame is used to, but it didn't mean that with the right amount of effort, she couldn't.

and she try and peck and drag this thing with her little feet as hard as she could! there are ups and downs, but falco is always silently rooting for her.

luca's omen, on the other hand— is the cutest thing. it's a hermit crab— those things that kids definitely get the urge to collect on the beach, no matter the age. falco never had that childhood but seeing it did make him want to pick it up and cup it in his hands. ]

Yours looks nice. [ genuinely said; like the "cute and friendly" type of nice. ] Have you been here long with her, Luca?

[ something to talk about— perle's halfway to her destination! ]

Thanks. She just appeared when I got here back in September. I didn't have her before I got here, if that's what you're wondering. Although my family did raise crabs.

[Chatting helps keep his mind off the sheer terror of being trapped in a strange place. It also helps pass the time while waiting for the bird to get the hammer to them. Of course, it's still faster than they'd likely have been, trying to walk over to the hammer with their legs chained like this.]

[ september— one or so months, maybe two? was that the same for everyone? it's all falco really needed to know to gather some sort of pattern he'll probably spend ages figuring out.

perle's almost there. falco opens the door to their stable and reaches his arm out to its limit— can't go too far without yanking the other end, with the connection between his other arm and luca, so he's quite gentle about going to his limit at most. stretch. ]

So you lived— By the ocean? Did you raise crabs, too?

@luca

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@ahiru

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