We Were Stupid, We Got Caught ( closed )

[bardbarous]

Who: Tuck bardbarous, Vyng spiritwalks, and Fat Billie wapples
What: The Spout Lore fam live together, love together, and then one of them gets kidnapped
When: during the month of November
Where: Sleeper Farms and other places

Content Warnings: child endangerment, torture, body mutilation

Comments

Sleeper Farm

[bardbarous]

[ No matter where Vyng finds himself at that very moment, Tuck's omen tracks him down from the second he materializes on familiar soil. It's with unerring attention that he follows his prey to the very ends of the earth, letting nothing keep it from its mission.

Just over the neighboring houses a barking dog is suddenly run off with a yelp when the large otter-like omen strikes out with a mute snarl. Nothing stands between it and its prey. And that includes this fucking fence! It tears through with sheer stubbornness and supernatural teeth until it squeezes through the hole it has made. No nevermind that it's incorporeal.

Once it lays eyes on Vyng, the large water hound follows in his steps with silent persistence until its presence is known. That's when it finally opens its mouth to speak in its Sleeper's voice. ]

"Hey, so, I think I've been kidnapped? I'm not sure where exactly. Hmm, maybe I can ask one of these guys—Hey! Yeah, you. The fucked up one in the robe! Ah, shit you're all fucked up. Uhh, the one without a trachea, hi. Listen, can you tell me where we are? Please? Don't—Hey, don't ignore me!

"What a little bitch. Anyway, I'm hanging from, like, a meat hook? I think they're gonna harvest my organs, sooo if you could come save me? I think someone peed in my loincloth."

[spiritwalks]

[Vyng looks up from his naturalist drawings scattered across the writing desk, startled by his best friend's voice — and how it's coming out of an otter-dog's face. (A bad omen, if he ever saw one.) He sets his quill down to listen with rapt attention.

...

...

...Well, shit.

Righteous anger flares in the pit of his stomach. (Meat hooks? Organ harvests? What the fuck!?) Vyng nearly snaps the pen in his grip. Whoever these robed wretches are, they're going to rue the day they messed with his family.

But this is the part where he's supposed to say something reassuring, isn't it. Of course, when put on the spot like this, the soothing-word well can start to run pretty dry.]

Hang tight, bud! But not too tight. We don't want you bleeding out everywhere. Just, just— Hold on, alright? We're gonna get you out of this mess.

[bardbarous]

[ The omen can say no more to Vyng, its one duty as a voice recorder complete. It stands up on its hind legs as if to sniff the air around them. Then in an instant the omen is gone, leaving behind a dark implosion of smoke to return faithfully to its owner. ]

[spiritwalks]

[It relayed the message, though, right?

...Vyng has no fucking clue.

Hm.]

[spiritwalks]

[Okay, no, time to focus. Vyng shoots to his feet and casts his eyes around the tent.]

Billie? You asleep somewhere, bud?

[wapples]

Huh? What? No, I'm awake!

[No, he wasn't, he just doesn't want to admit he was napping.

Billie comes out of the kitchen rubbing his eyes.]

What's going on?

Rescue

[spiritwalks]

[Through some combination of quick-thinking, a sprinkle of luck, and blundering their way through social encounters...Vyng and Billie have made it into, uh. Well. Whatever this place is.

Casting his eyes around, Vyng takes in their surroundings. It's like a factory from the pre-Exodus era. Steel pistons. Metal staircases winding in a dizzying number of directions. And rows of...stalls?

He glances down at Billie.]

Ever seen anything like this before, bud?

[wapples]

[Billie looks around. He can't recall much in the way of experiences with pre-Exodus era factories at home, but he's pretty sure they didn't look anything like this. It's like a maze. It's hot and oily, and he not at all a fan.

He looks up at Vyng and shakes his head.]

No. This is weird. And gross.

[spiritwalks]

Yeah. You can say that again...

[Vyng purses his lips. It's not gonna be pretty. But they've got to find Tuck. Straightening his shoulders, he draws in a slow breath and steels his resolve.]

C'mon. Let's go get our friend back.

[wapples]

This is weird. And gross.

[Well. Vyng asked for it.

It's tempting to call out for Tuck, but the chance of drawing unwanted attention stops him, and instead he just looks around.]

Where do you think he is?

slides in for the latest cameo ever rip.

[bolstafir]

[Whether it's fortunate or unfortunate that a certain bird just so happened to be caught up in all this is perhaps a matter of perspective. Either way, he is searching for his own way out when he just so happens to come across Vyng and Billie. His first reaction is to call out to them, perhaps team up together to find a way out, but then their conversation catches his ears, and at where do you think he is?, something happens, suddenly. As before, with Ozpin, he "sees" Tuck somewhere within the walls of this terrible Farm, and although he has no conscious knowledge of its layout, suddenly he knows exactly where the man is.

Unable to fly on ahead, he jogs up to his friend on foot to interrupt their conversation. Pleasantries are for a time when one is not trapped in a literal meat farm for Sleepers.]

Hey -- this'll sound weird, but I know how to find him.

Doggone it!

[spiritwalks]

I think it's cute.

[Vyng stands beside Tuck, watching Billie scamper around with his new canine companion. Every so often, the dog dutifully points with its paw toward the next cluster of edible mushrooms. Billie's basket is amassing a small collection at this point — he's actually collecting them faster than he can eat right now.]

See? He has a friend now.

[bardbarous]

I know, but already has two friends. [ Tuck is very much the displeased parent as the pair of them watch Billie scrubbling around in the dirt. ] We've got Francis and Shia's wolf for him to play with. And we've got you, me, him to feed. Plus another animal. Oh ggggod, how're we gonna get enough food every day?

[spiritwalks]

It'll be fiiine. First of all, people in town look after each other. Just offer to do some yard work for the grocer. Or show up with a bunch of pretty rocks you found at the beach. People love that stuff. Luca told me.

Second, Billie's resourceful. If he isn't satisfied with what we've got, you know he's gonna hit his own little food-run circuit. That's what he does.

And third, you don't need to worry about feeding me. I can just forage, you know?

[A beat.]

Maybe I'll get a goat.

[bardbarous]

Don't get a fucking goat! They eateverything! Literally everything! Back in Makaal, there were roving gangs of goats, and they would annihilate a whole dumpster of food in under twenty minutes! If you were on the wrong side of the sticks when lunch time was finished, there'd be nothing left!

And we already have a sentient goat—Billie! What if his usual food circuit is another Sleeper's stockpile, because we've got nothing left at home because all the fucking animals ate it all?

[spiritwalks]

[Traumatic as it may be, the story only bolsters Vyng's case.]

But we could feed our goat compost. You don't want Billie eating that, do you? The goat would be doing us a favor.

Tats for Tots

[spiritwalks]

Shenanigans at Shiro's

[spiritwalks]

Mayhem at Michael's

[spiritwalks]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael didn't really think twice about offering his front room for Vyng and Tuck to camp in. Possibly he should have asked Manabu, but...well, he's dead right now. It's only one room anyway, right? They've practically brought their own house with them!

(The place seems a lot bigger and quieter without Amara anyway.)

There's not all that much to it right now, since he spends the majority of his time out anyway. But he can still take the time for a quick tour.]

So, this is Hatrick.

[There is a hat on a stand near the doorway. It's emitting a low buzz.]

I think it's alive, but it doesn't really do much. Never ate any of the stuff I tried to give it. I wouldn't worry about it.

[spiritwalks]

Hey, Hatrick. I'm Vyng.

[He waves at the hat, taking Michael's claims and assurances at face value. As expected, he receives no reply.]

Hm. A real stoic. Maybe he'd wake up if we put a bunny inside of him?

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael shrugs.]

Only time I've ever seen it move is when that frog guy kept showing up here to kill me. I think it might consume my enemies.

[So, y’know, normal stuff.]

[spiritwalks]

[One evening, Manabu will return to his room — likely after an uncomfortable day of dealing with Trench's bullshit — and be treated to a delightful sight: A wooly pig snoozing in his room. Considering the creature is as big as a rhino, the fact he trundled up the stairs to even get here is a feat in and of itself.

Of course, he may have knocked over some furniture in his quest to find the perfect napping spot. But look! Isn't he cute?]

[siriusly]

...

[Manabu's tired, having worked hard enough all day to ensure he'll get to sleep right away.

this. this isn't...

he just...wanted to go to bed, but there's a...there's a thing in his bed, and while thank goodness it isn't Eleanor, it's...

what is this and why.

after the initial, animal-instinct dread that froze him to the spot, Manabu gulps, exhales, and clears his throat.]

Um...

Hello?

[is this a talking-animal thing? omen?]

[spiritwalks]

[The creature snorts in its sleep, rolls over a bit...and knocks over the bedside table with a sharp clang! Two seconds later, there's a soft pat pat pat of somebody approaching the door from the hallway.]

Oh! You found him. [Relief colors Vyng's words.] Thanks, buddy.