deercountry | Luca catchall post - Fun vileblood issues!

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Luca catchall post - Fun vileblood issues!

Who: Luca Paguro and open!
What: Luca's memory flashback, as well as generally sneaking around the Disaster House/Town/getting caught in snares because he's a vileblood and there's two blood types hunting him this month
When: Throughout the month
Where: The Disaster House or anywhere in the Trench

Content Warnings: A thirteen year old boy getting hunted like an animal, both in his memory and in the 'present day' prompts

Luca's Memory – Trying to escape Ercole (OTA)

Whoever touches the Winter Mourning will find themselves witnessing a hunt. Maybe they'll see out of Luca's eyes, a passive observer forced to make the same choices he made, or maybe they'll take on the role of someone else in the setting. Alberto, perhaps, or one of the people trying to catch Luca. Maybe they'll even be able to do their own things, make their own choices.

Regardless, the memory starts with Luca and Alberto in sea monster form racing through the streets on a bike. They're terrified, desperate. Ercole has gotten in front of them, but the hill's too steep to try and turn back and go up. Besides, they need to get back to the water to be safe, and to do that, they need to pass Ercole. Luca stares in horror as he keeps pedaling forward, and Ercole lifts his spear, ready to throw.

"You should have left when I told you. Now...I'm going to kill some sea monsters!" Ercole says, and his cackles fill the alley as he balances on his bike, his spear raised in the air.

Then, just in time, Giulia, a red headed girl who had caught up on her own bike, rams her bike in to Ercole's own, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Luca and Alberto race past on their bike, but Luca glances back. Giulia bounces roughly on the cobblestones several time, rolling down the steep and rocky pathway.

"No!" Cries Luca.

"Giulia!" Alberto calls out to her.

Not willing to just leave her like that, not knowing if she's okay, Luca stops the bike and he and Alberto race over to her, helping her up. This was a mistake. They're surrounded now. Many of the townsfolk are just standing there, watching to see what happens next. Others seem more ready to participate in this hunt. Some have harpoons. Some have nets. They whisper.

"Look at that," says one villager.

"You're not going anywhere," says another.

Ercole, however, is quick to call dibs. "Guys! I saw them first! The reward is mine!"

Luca tries to be brave. "We're not afraid of you!"

"No," responds Ercole, "But we're afraid of you. Everyone is horrified and disgusted by you, because you are monsters."

The memory may end here. Or it may continue on for a few more seconds, so the viewer sees Giulia saying that they aren't monsters, and Massimo coming out of the crowd to tell them that the boys are Luca and Alberto. Either way, the memory wraps up soon unless the viewer is an active participant and was able to make a different choice in the course of events.

The Disaster House – Open to anyone who would be at/around the Disaster House

Luca's skittish. He's been hunted before, he knows the feeling. He knows the mortal terror, the constant hiding, the fear of discovery. The worst part is, this month even people he loved and trusted seem to be turning on him. Nowhere is safe. But this house...it's still home.

He sticks to the shadows, staying out of sight, easily startled if anyone spots him. Still, there are times he lets his guard down. Enamored with all the pretty antler decorations around the house, Luca decides to make his own. He takes a couple of antlers he's found tying them up with ribbons and decorating them with little twigs and springs from the greenhouse. At one point he even starts having enough fun with his crafting to relax enough to hum a little tune, enjoying himself as he pretties up the antlers, holding them up to see how they're coming.

Other times he can be found grabbing things from the greenhouse or the kitchen to eat. He doesn't know how to cook, though, and this month...this month he's too scared to find someone around the house to help him, so he might just start eating raw ingredients as is just to avoid coming out of hiding.

Out And About – OTA

But of course, living in a household with all bloodtypes can be quite stressful to a young boy during a season where he's doomed to be hunted by two of them, so he ends up spending quite a bit of time away from the house this month. Of course, he heeds the warnings he's been given about cold weather and bundles up. A dark grey wool coat, gloves, boots, a hat...dressed up as well as he can be as he heads out into the harsh winter.

Still, as unused as he is to this sort of winter weather, Luca does stop to marvel at the snow. It really is pretty, and he never imagined it looking quite like that. He stomps it down to crunch it, squeezes it in his hands, experimenting and examining it, fascinated...until he hears anyone else coming by.

Like a prey animal, he's likely to hurry off to cower in the nearest hiding spot, before staring in horror at the obvious tracks he's left in the snow.

Trapped – OTA

Luca is trying to be careful, staying out of sight, avoiding other people and obvious traps. Not all traps are obvious, though, and there are so many this month that he's bound to get caught at some point.

He panics when he feels the snare tighten around his leg, pulling him up. He struggles, and he wants to scream, but he doesn't dare to. He's helpless now in a place filled with people who want to hunt him. If he wrong person comes...he has no hope of survival. They'll just slaughter him right there. He has to get himself down.

He can't get himself down, he soon realizes. He can't get up to his leg. He can't do anything here. Tears well up in his eyes, and he wants to cry, but he's too terrified to be anything but silent. He'll die if anyone sees him...and he'll likely die here if they don't.

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Thanks.

[He's both relieved to be free and relieved Reaper didn't let him crash to the ground. He pulls himself the rest of the way onto the branch, looping one of his legs around the branch and holding on tight with one hand, while using the other hand to pull off the rope.]

Everyone's been acting so weird lately, so I figured it was probably better to get away from everyone. I guess I was wrong.

[He watched Luca for a long quiet moment, sensing a rising struggle within him as he looked at the boy. On one hand, it would be easy to put a bullet into the kid and satisfy an urge to finish a kill. On the other, he made a point to not kill children outright without justifiable reason.]

It seems an unnecessary risk to venture into the forest right now. Perhaps the outskirts of town would suit your purpose.

[He shifted his weight, easily maintaining his balance on the branch. The forest was quiet around them, too quiet.]

Did you come out here to hunt?

Maybe you're right.

[He hadn't been thinking of how potentially dangerous the forest could be, only that he wanted to get away from people. It seems that might not have been the best plan.]

The outskirts of town probably would be better.

[Did he come here to hunt?]

Hunt? Do you mean like...for food for the house? No, I didn't even think of that. I mean, I guess I could have, I've hunted fish for the house when the water was warm enough. It doesn't get as cold as this in the Ligurean sea, so I can't really right now...but I didn't really think of hunting land animals.

I usually am, unfortunately.

[And he knew for himself that if he hadn't known Luca and hadn't already positioned himself to protect the boy in the past, he wouldn't have hesitated in finishing the kill. It would be a life lesson.

He eased himself back to a crouch next to where Luca was straddling the branch, tapping his shotgun against his knee casually. For once, not a threat but giving himself something to do in order to distract from the push to hunt.]

Protein is protein, and the animals out here are just as likely to feed the household as the sea. You should be more cautious. We haven't started training yet.

[There's part of him that's nervous about Reaper being there with a gun, but Luca, certain that it's his blood reacting to Reaper's blood, pushes the thought out of his mind and ignores it.]

Is that what you're out here for? Hunting for something to eat? And I'm confused...are you saying I shouldn't be out here, or that I should be out here hunting for food?

[Because the 'protein is protein' sure sounds like he should be hunting for food. Which makes sense, even if he's more likely to think of fish as food than the various mammals and birds he's seen.]

Hunting, yes. I don't always eat like normal people do.

[As much as the idea of hunting was keen, his protective nature - particularly with the kids - overrode the other urges. If anything else happened to come his way, he could easily convince himself to protect Luca and have a kill too.]

Hunt if you're hungry, but my concern is that you'll become prey.

I don't always eat like normal people do, either.

[After all, humans didn't usually eat raw fish. And with his vileblood powers...well, sometimes he craves blood now.]

I guess I should go back and see what they have back at the house.

Oh don't worry. I've seen you eat and there is little normal about it.

[He couldn't and didn't expect Luca to eat like a normal child. The kid was a literal sea creature that could come to land, but that didn't mean that the normal human manners were something that were taught.]

I'll walk you back to town. It's not safe out here.

Oh...yeah, I guess I don't. You guys use forks and stuff.

[Luca really could learn to use a fork, if he tried. He'd managed to once in an eating contest after watching Giulia do it, but getting back to town probably is more important than figuring out forks.]

Thanks. That's probably a good idea. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't around to find me when I got caught in that trap.

Yes, basic kitchen utensils tend to keep things a touch less messy.

[His madre would have taken Luca in hand and taught him all table manners that there were to know. She was very big on children knowing their place at a table, patient as she was about it. He had no such inclinations, expecting if Luca wanted to learn that there was plenty of opportunity to.]

You'd either find a way to free yourself, or you'd probably die. Don't worry, it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

[He gestured for Luca to take the lead, to pick the path. Then he could keep his eye on the boy for... various impulses.]

I don't know, I'm pretty sure death is probably really bad. I'd definitely rather not die.

[And he's convinced that would have happened, since he hadn't seemed like he was going to free himself any time soon. Luca takes the lead, leading them both back toward the outskirts of town.]

For most, I suppose they may be right. I've done it so many times it's basically a hobby at this stage.

[There wasn't too much need to resist the urge to kill the boy, since his far more protective instincts overrode. He followed, keeping Luca in prime range of his weapons, but his head was turned to focus elsewhere as he listened and looked for the forest around them.]

Snare trap at your eleven o'clock and six feet ahead.

[Luca freezes. He knows Reaper is telling him where a trap is, but he's having trouble understanding what he means beyond that. Thankfully, he has learned what a clock is, even though he's having trouble relating that to a location. Unfortunately, he's completely unfamiliar with the imperial system of measurement.]

I don't know what that means. I've learned what a clock is here so I don't miss classes but...um...do you mean six of my feet, or six of your feet?

[Reaper came up behind Luca, looking down at the boy. Ah, he easily fell into step giving the usual instructions that he didn't consider that the fish boy might not actually understand the language.

He eased down to a crouch beside Luca. He used his arm to point at the eleven o'clock of their position.]

One foot is twelve inches. But for ease, my height but ahead. See it?

I don't know what an inch is, but I know how tall you are. I see it.

[And then he continues to walk, carefully avoiding the trap now that he knows where it is.]

I think we're getting pretty close.

[Well, once he had an opportunity, he was going to randomly find Luca and show him a ruler to give an accurate representation of what an inch was. Kids needed to learn something new all the time. And sometimes it was just changing the context to get the point.]

Good. It's partially covered, but still easy to avoid.

[He rose from his crouch to follow Luca, keeping a respectable distance. After all, he liked to think he knew what to look for in traps. It would be a shame for some other unwitting individual to trigger it on their way back to town, wouldn't it?

As they passed the trap, Reaper specifically moved to step onto the trigger. With a snap, the snare closed around his armoured leg and tried to jerk him up into the air. He simply dissolved his leg to smoke as the first tension began and the snarl flew to the air as his legs reformed with only a minor conscious thought.]

One less trap to worry about.

[When he hears the snap, Luca quickly turns his head, momentarily worried that Reaper might have gotten caught in a different trap he didn't spot. When he realizes that he'd done it intentionally to make sure no one else might get snagged by the trap later, Luca smiles.]

Yeah. That's a great idea, in case anyone else passes through not knowing this place is full of traps.

[He nodded his head. He also wanted to let the hunter who had placed the trap that they should do better in the future. He wasn't going to tell Luca that though, instead encouraging the boy to return to town where it would be safer. Reaper also wanted to see if the urge to hunt would ease once Luca was in town.]

That's why the forest is considered dangerous. There are plenty of types of traps. Perhaps I'll return and trigger whatever I find.

[Or just go check his own to see if he had been fortunate to capture prey better suited to killing.]

I'll have to keep that in mind.

[And he's beginning to realize he really shouldn't have come out here, and that he's incredibly lucky Reaper showed up when he did. He's glad to hear Reaper might continue helping other people even after Luca's safe, though.]

I think that sounds like a great idea.

[Peering ahead through the trees, he's fairly certain he sees an opening with what looks like the wall of a building somewhere past that opening.]

I think I can see the town from here.

[It was good that Luca had been taken back to town. He wanted to make certain that the boy was safe, as much as his blood fought with him to make a kill. He resisted it and now it seemed that he would have to sate his bloodlust out in the forest soon enough.

He gestured for Luca to continue going as he slowed his walk.]

Yes, I'll see you to the edge of the forest.

Great!

[He continues until they're finally out of the forest, and once they've made it to town, Luca turns.]

Well, I'm guessing you'll want to head back now that I'm safe.

[Reaper followed until he was assured that Luca would make the journey through town the rest of the way just fine. He stopped at the tree line and nodded his head. There was still hunting to do, even if it wasn't Luca.]

Yes. I have a job to do. Stay safe.

[He didn't wait for a good-bye before turning to head back into the woods. He would scout the exits to town to make certain that Luca wasn't about to sneak back out.]

I will, thanks!

[Luca waves and heads off into town. Fortunately, he doesn't try to sneak back. He figures he was lucky enough that Reaper was there the first time, and doesn't want to take any more chances.]

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Luca catchall post - Fun vileblood issues!

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