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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure they would."

If they're anything like orcas, he's sure it would trigger his 'scary predator' instincts in his brain.

"Let's just worry about the ones here though, clearly they're scary enough!"

Really. They were. VERY scary.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right about that. There's definitely a lot of scary things here."

Omens, natural born creatures, monsters, beasts. Strange events that took them to strange and horrifying places.

"Right, and we haven't even met all of them. According to Fern, I totally got possessed by a ghost and I don't even remember it! That's how weird it all is."

For a start, anyway.

"I don't think I want to meet all the scary things here. Well, except for maybe things that seem scary, but aren't so bad once you get to know them."

Since sometimes scary things weren't actually all that bad. After all, people back home were afraid of Luca, and he's not bad.

"I don't either, and honestly, I don't think we've even scratched the surface of that one yet. Hopefully we don't for some time."

Luz did NOT need to know exactly how many monsters were underwater, for instance.

"Yeah, I agree with more of what you said. That doesn't sound too bad, and at least reminds me things aren't always as bad as they seem."

"Yeah, I don't want to, either."

Though he does have to keep his own advice in mind and remember not all scary things are bad.

"And at least no matter what happens, we have each other.

"If we have to encounter more scary things, let's make sure we know about it from each other. That way, we'll be able to tackle it on our own if it comes up again!"

Luz absolutely agreed with Luca there. The power they gave to each other on that end, the better.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea! Really, everyone in the house should share what we run into. Between all of us, we should know everything there is to run into! Without having to learn first hand."

Because he figures the less learning first hand about scary things, the better.

"Exactly! We have enough things that are trying to kill us, we might as well get the drop on some of it before it messes with all of us! Besides, I don't want it messing with you and Ahiru more than it should."

At least she, Fern and Varian were used to Deerington's shenanigans. The last thing she wanted were the two newcomers to the house having something horrible warp their whole perception of things.

"Yeah! And I don't want it messing with any of us more than it should."

Because everyone in the house mattered and shouldn't be messed with. Besides, he and Ahiru might be the youngest in the house, but they were all still kids and shouldn't have to deal with any more of this stuff than they had to.

"Yeah, that's, that's true! I didn't exactly love being picked as the toothpick last month."

Luz really wished she could think of herself the way Luca did, but she knew at least that she (and Varian and Fern) were familiar with what was thrown at them. Luz knew Luca only a year or so younger but she didn't want him going crazy by something crazy he might see.

"Toothpick? What happened?"

Because he's not aware of anything that could be described like that, but considering all the things he was dealing with last month, he certainly could have missed it.

"Oh, you know. The Farm, having my blood harvested. Being suspended for hours I couldn't count that seemed to go on like eons. That kind of thing."

Yeah, trauma. Lux was trying to be as flippant as she could about it because the alternative was terror and pain and she at least wanted to give off the impression she'd moved past all that.

"Oh. Right. I remember that. That imagery just...um...didn't seem very toothpicky."

He remembers both being there himself and hearing Luz's recounting of it. At least there wasn't an additional toothpick themed incident? But it's still horrifying thinking of how terrible it had been.

"I'm really trying not to be too graphic there."

Toothpicks honestly sounded better than GOUGING HOLES FOR BLOODLETTING. Even thinking about it, Luz instinctively brought her hands over to her back, feeling the part where she'd been drained, and looked a bit paler than usual.

"Actually, I think I try not to talk about it too much either. Corruption tends to flare up when I do."

"Oh. Right. It's probably better not to talk about it too much, then. I know that place...was really bad for corruption for a lot of people. It's probably better not to think about it."

Because now memories are flooding his mind, too, and he can see why it might bring someone closer to corruption.

"We should talk about other things. Like...that snow stuff is pretty neat. I mean, really cold and I don't like the cold weather much but...the snow's pretty."

Sure, he didn't like having the ocean frozen and knowing he can't go back into the water, but he'd had fun playing around in the snow for a little bit earlier, and it was really nice to look at.

"You saw. It was bad for both of us, and I was lucky enough that I didn't get worse since I'd already been there before. Once was enough, but twice was nightmare educing. I was luck enough that Rose was there."

Had she given Rose her address? She really should. She owed her so much after that last encounter.

"See, the good thing about the cold is that you can always layer up! We can get some really warm winter clothes and play in it all we want! You know what though? We should totally watch the snow fall from the tower! That way we can appreciate get all cozy with a book and a blanket! I can tell you that its honestly one of the best feelings in the world, being inside while it's really crazy outside!"

"Rose was there for you, too? She must have been there more than once, because she helped me, too. I was even half corrupted and changed and she still helped me."

Which he thinks is impressive, considering he looked more like a monster than ever, with his teeth and claws so sharp and blood splattered all over him.

"Yeah, and Fern gave me a necklace that keeps me warm, too! It's really helpful, because the Ligurian Sea doesn't get anywhere near this cold. We should definitely watch the snow, though!"

Luz couldn't help but smile a little. "Rose is...pretty great, honestly. She got me down from where I was strung up and having my blood taken. Honestly, I might be dead right now if it wasn't for her. That she helped YOU just proves how awesome she is."

Now she REALLY hoped that Rose would find her daughter, but if she didn't, Luz certainly didn't mind her acting mom over her. She certainly wasn't the first person to do that, and it at least helped Luz forget a little how badly she was missing her own mother.

"Aw, what a cool gift! But I'm glad you have it since you go in the water way more than I do. Besides, we can make a fire in the house, and it's still just as good, if not better. It's super peaceful though! Very romantic!"

"Yeah, and she saw me...well, pretty corrupted and scurrying off after...uh...drinking some of the blood that was all around, and even after seeing that she still wanted to help me."

Which he thinks is pretty impressive. Sure, a lot of people here accept him as a sea monster, but how many will accept him after watching him down a bunch of human blood, even if it was drained by someone else?

"I haven't really test driven it in the water here, but it's still useful since I'm not used to anywhere that can get cold enough to snow. A fire would be nice, though!"

"I haven't seen you in your corrupted form, but that is pretty impressive. It makes me wonder what kinda stuff Rose has seen in her world though. She must have been through some stuff, all for her daughter."

It wouldn't be until next month that Luz found out exactly how much she'd been through, and why it made sense she'd be so kind about Luca's appearance. Drinking blood from the FARM though? Most people probably would have run screaming.

"It is! Fire can be great, so long as its controlled and you're warming yourself by it on a cold day! Don't get near it when it's unrestricted though. It can be as bad as water when water isn't held back. Worse in a way, because it bring smoke, which can kill you if you inhale too much."

"Oh, yeah. I know about fire. Alberto actually made a fire that we sat by when we stayed up to see the stars together. He's had a lot of experience surviving on land, so he knows all about that kind of stuff."

Sure, he might not have actually known as much about humans as he pretended, but Alberto had survived on a small island for at least a year.

"Right, but I was talking about what happens when fires get BIG, out of control. Hopefully you never have to experience that."

Technically, Luz hadn't either, but she heard enough to know that it was not a good thing, and that it could be devastating.

"How much do YOU know about surviving on land? Like, if things got really bad?"

Luz didn't want things to ever get that way, of course, but after Deerington she knew it would stupid not to prepare for the "just-in-cases."

"Oh. Right. I never really thought about that, since the rock seemed to do a pretty good job of keeping it from spreading."

And living in the ocean, out of control fires really weren't something he had to deal with too often, seeing as fire was something he had to go somewhere to experience in the first place. How much did he know about surviving on land?

"Um...well...not a lot? I mean, I'm pretty good at surviving in water and knowing what's safe to forage and stuff, but...land's still pretty knew to me, even if I know a lot more than I did before."

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