deercountry | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ was he a part of this—? falco didn’t know for sure, but his heart nearly acted before he assimilated. he can smell, hear, feel, it was difficult to truly not take part in this as if he only watched from afar. how could he simply watch anything anymore? he moves on his own accord, ]

Living things—! They’re living things like we are!

[ that’s his answer, and if they want to do something even in a memory, they’ll have to throw their weapons right at falco with they way he rushes to protect them. ]

Living things? [Ercole glares past Falco, staring straight at the boys.] When I'm done with them they won't be. Out of my way.

[Not willing to murder a human child in front of everyone, Ercole attempts to push past Falco to get to the two sea monsters.]

[ falco was never one to go violent. he’d always been one to shield people from violence, the amount he’s seen from so young causing a gap in his will to cause pain to anyone else. but if there was something that losing galliard had taught him, was that sometimes— there wasn’t much choice, no matter how many voices may say the contrary. if you didn’t fight, people could die, and that guilt would be on the head of those who could but never did.

falco doesn’t attack the older boy, per se, but being shoved rattles the presence of the silence in him like prodding a snake. it’s a mixture of knowing what he had to do and becoming increasingly less patient with the memory. he balls his fists tightly to his sides and drives his shoulder into ercole to push him right back and away from where he was set on going. ]

I won’t!

[ if he never put his foot down, people would keep walking right over him. falco didn’t bite, but he did bare his teeth. ]

[Ercole wasn't expecting push back, so he ends up finding himself shoved back a couple steps. He glares at Falco, tossing the harpoon aside for now and balling his hands into fists.]

Oh, you want to fight, then, do you?

[Luca, Giulia and Alberto turn and try to sneak off, but the other townspeople with nets are blocking their way.]

I’m just not listening to someone like you— Like any of you! So afraid of what you don’t understand that you forget about what being human means!

[ and he’s resolute about that. how many times has he been spat on in the streets, taken kicks, punches, a wine bottle to the head, a gun in his face, a bullet in his stomach? a knife twisted into his side? called monster monster monster just because he was eldian?

he no longer touches the older boy, but he does stand his ground with firm eyes and posture. he’s not afraid of some teenager’s fists, especially if it’s for luca and his friend to leave. he’s not afraid even of the adults with nets or bats or otherwise. he’s had it, and with his outburst, falco breathes in and calms his nerves to silence.

if this is like one of his own memories— he has to get through it, all the same, even if it isn’t “real”. it was real, and the moment plays with him in it. ]

Make way for us or beat me for it.

Oh, I'm fine with that arrangement, [Ercole says, preparing to swing. He was willing to fight a human kid, just not stab him with a harpoon.]

[However, not everyone there was okay with Ercole's antics. A massive, one armed man pushes through the crowd, snatching one of the harpoons from one of the people surrounding them.]

Enough! [Yells Massimo.] Leave them alone.

[Significantly more direct than Massimo's response in the original memory, but then, in the original memory Falco wasn't there, and things hadn't gone in quite this direction.]

[ falco had shut his eyes and turned his face in preparation; if one strikes you, turn the other cheek, they say. he just knew that he wasn't going to raise another finger for this boy. he'd stand for luca, though. what his hopefulness pleads for also comes— a man stops it all from happening. surprised and opening his eyes to see the halt, he takes the chance to come over to the sea monsters, and hold his hand out to luca.

to say the least, he's breathing out a sigh of relief. ]

Are you okay?

[Luca nods.]

Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for helping us out there, I had no idea how we were going to get out of that mess.

[Rather than taking Falco's hand, he glances over at Alberto, who adds,]

Yeah, I'm okay, too.

[ to avoid keeping his hand waiting for too long, he still switches it up to pat luca’s shoulder in camaraderie. ]

This was your home?

[Luca shakes his head and points out to sea.]

My home's out there, but I wanted to see the world and learn about the surface.

[Also, he very much didn't want to go to the Deep, but since that was only threatened because of his fascination with land, he felt like his desire to learn was more relevant here.]

[ that makes more sense. falco nods, but worries his lip. he just wanted . . . to be free to see more and got repulsed for being the way he was. ]

I hope it wasn’t the last thing you saw from the surface.

[Luca, still remembering the memory as the present since he's still in it, looks confused.]

I...don't know what you mean? It just happened, so of course it is?

Oh— [ he gets it now, and safely backpedals by waving it off. ] Right, yeah. Never mind.

[ on the other end of things. ]

So— this is what you really look like?

Yeah. I was able to pass as human for a while, but then it rained and...I change back when I get wet.

[ so the luca he’s been seeing is like— a disguise. ]

Did you figure that out by yourself, or . . . Did you always know?

Always know what? That being wet or dry would change me? I mean, I knew that's how it worked ever since I first learned about the change, yeah. I mean, it wasn't really relevant until I came to land the first time...which was pretty recent. I...actually only managed to pass for human here for like...three days.

[He hasn't been on land for long. He's been on land somewhere where there were humans for even less time.]

Luca catchall post - Fun vileblood issues!

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