isleofavalon | merry rexmas.

hogtied

[ He's... trying. He's really trying to run and catch these hogs but Louis doesn't move quite as fast as he used to. Every moment that he dives after them, he's happier that he opted to wear appropriate clothes that he won't mind if they end up covered in mud, dirt, and god knows what else.

There's a particular hog that he's facing down, having scooped himself off of the ground as he looks at it head on. It tilts his head, watching him, and Louis lowers his voice. ]

Come on - be nice. We can work this out. You don't need to eat this -- why don't we take you somewhere with something you'll like more?

[ He's trying to negotiate with pigs. ]

snow villas

[ He's dressed warm. He's crouched down, gloved hands moving over the snow as he works to start building up the sculpture. He's...never built anything in snow before, so now is a perfect time for him to give it a try, right? It's slow going, though, because Louis is rather a bit of a perfectionist. He's eyeing every detail to make sure it's suitable for whomever will be spending a day or night there.

When he hears someone approach, his ears twist towards the sound and he tilts his head upwards towards the guest, although he doesn't stand up. ]

Does this look structurally sound so far?

found & foraged

[ He's not quite so sure about this one. Gathering supplies on a magical sled sounds like it could either be extremely straight forward and easy or go horribly wrong and end in disaster. It seems like there would be no middle ground for something like this.

But, it didn't matter much to him if it did end in disaster. What was the worst thing that could happen? The sled could crash and he could get injured? That's not the worst thing. He sees someone else waiting on a sled to get started and he makes an offer. ]

Two would be better than one, don't you think?

Edited 2020-12-06 03:03 (UTC)

[Fate is conspiring against him in the strangest way. The city isn't so small that he should be running into this particular talking deer as often as he does. Aren't there other weird animals he can deal with?

They've been working side by side for some time-each absorbed in their own snow sculpting task. Caesar, in particular, is taking care to make sure the home is acceptable. If he's going to have to do this, then he'll do it right.

But it's hard to build something this small and delicate when he's definitely not made for that kind of task. The home in front of him is sound-edges are being smoothed out and he's trying to create some kind of snowy thatched roof.

The deer's weirdly sincere question pulls him from that task and he, sans any attitude, glances over at the home.

It's not bad. Pretty good, actually.]

Add more snow to the back.

[ There's precisely two other odd animals here right now, Caesar, and he's not about to go bother either of them right now. It's not like he's extra delighted to see you, either. But, he makes himself comfortable here, patting at the snow to try and ensure the base of it is sturdier to build on top of. He's quiet up until he asks his question.

He's never made snow sculptures before. Play wasn't really a part of his growing up, and he didn't have really many friends as grew up. Too aloof, he supposed. It worked for him, though.

Delicate is easy for him, though. He's got a smaller body than this bulky, clumsy looking man beside him. Although he won't say it - Caesar's work is pretty good. Which is why he asked at all.

He stands, shifting to move to the back of it, where he bends down and awkwardly pats more snow into the back. ]

Do you make them often?

[ It's a passing question, one that implies he's okay with Caesar opting to ignore him for the future. He watches as he works on the roof. The next words come with the smallest hint of judgement. ]

What are you trying to even do there?

[Is that judgement he senses, deer boy?

He gestures to the home, palm open to showcase his great attempt at making a snow thatched design.]

It's a roof. One that looks nicer than the plain ones others have made.

[ He sees what is said, and despite the friendly tone he starts to carry - it isn't necessarily the friendliest words. He's not done, anyway, Caesar, so he takes the insult that was definitely tossed his way with a grain of salt. ]

It might be hard to do fine detail when you have big, clumsy hands.

[ He shifts to stand upright, and it's more obvious now than it had been when he was bent over - that he's not even wearing a shoe over his right foot's prosthetic. ]

Besides, I'm not done, clearly. I don't leave anything short of perfection.

[The audacity of this guy. Insults fall out of his mouth in such a calm, easy manner.

What a smug bastard.

His hands are fine, thanks. He's gotten this far with them.]

Then you'll be here for some time. You have a lot of work yet.

[Tit for tat, he continues on his slow roof designing effort. But it's not like Louis was wrong and-

The glint from the prosthetic leg catches his eye for a single moment-something he notes before returning to his task.]

If you manage to finish before sundown, I'll be shocked.

[ He raises a single brow and shakes his head. He starts to move his hand over the roof of his, as he starts to work on shaping it and designing it. Caesar saying that only motivates him to do more, be better. At the very least, he's sure his can be better than this guy's, right? ]

I'm not afraid of a lot of work being left. I'll be done in plenty of time.

[ Undeterred. ]

Besides, patience and a delicate touch goes far with snow. You can't be an oaf an expect good results.

[ LIKE SOMEONE HE IS STARING AT RIGHT NOW... ]

[Did this guy call him an oaf?

He's not going to provoked into this verbal battle by the local wildlife.

Not one bit. He's got self-control in spades and a single-minded focus on the house in front of him.

It's just such a shame that he happens to scoop some residual snow into his hands and it happens to be too cold for his oafish, big hands. What a tragedy that he can't help to toss the handful of it on top of Louis' own fairy roof.

Oh no.]

A delicate touch won't matter if it isn't sturdy enough to handle the climate.

[ You bet he did just call you an oaf, Caesar. And unfortunately, the local wildlife is always ready to battle you over stupid things, up to and including tiny snow houses. He looks insulted when Caesar drops some snow on his roof, and he moves his hands over it to smooth over what was damaged (it was, in no way, damaged). He takes a couple steps in towards Caesar, shifts his head upwards, glancing right up at the man.

He lifts his right, prosthetic, foot and moves to stomp it down into one of Caesar's feet. ]

It's plenty sturdy.

[That's it.

That's it.

On some base level, Caesar understands he may have been the one who started this. It began with a taunt-one that was instantly matched by this deer and now it's come to this again and again. This toe to toe is something he's inherently used to-something he almost misses, but he can't let him win.

The guy stomps on his foot with far more force than he expects. Maybe it's the hooves? Does he have hooves under the shoe? Does it matter when his weapon of choice is the prosthetic foot?

The point is it hurts-it coats his mind like a thin blanket of gasoline over flames.

He's not bulky enough to punch, which is his modus operandi for this situation. Caesar would probably break a rib-something this guy deserves, but he's not sure how forgiving Suzi would be if he dragged some skinny deer child back to her apartment with a reluctant plea to heal him.

Whatever. He's mature. He can handle a smug asshole like this. He can rise above it by-

Scooping a pile of snow in his hand and shoving it directly into his face.]

[ His -- face. Louis immediately still in frustration, annoyance, anger. Oh, he's mad. Louis' pleasant face, small body, and almost fragile looking form hide a deep seated frustration and anger - not always at the person before him, but at his own physical limits.

This -- this idiot! How dare he? Who does he think he is where he has the sort of ability to shove things like snow in Louis' face. He has no right to be upset with Louis taking action against him. He deserves it.

As the snow falls from his face, he shakes his head a little to rid his fur of the remaining chunks of snow. Which is too late, most of it has melted within only a few seconds of touching him. And he lets out an irritated huff.

This is a situation where if it were two years ago, he would have pulled a gun on the offender, and made them beg for forgiveness. He's grown a lot since then.

...Okay, so he's grown a little since then. ]

How dare you.

[ He squats down and scoops up what equates to an armful of snow, and shifts, turning to drop all of what he has on Caesar's nearly completed works of...well, art. ]

[Is this the pettiest fight he's ever been involved in? Arguably. Does that mean he's going to back down? Absolutely not.

As an all too smug laugh escapes his lips at the sight of this snow drenched deer getting exactly what he deserves-

There's a counterattack and suddenly his home-well, not his. Someone's home is buried in mini-avalanche of this wintery mix and he's not happy? Not one bit. Even trying to wave his hand over the 'roof' to dust off the spread does nothing.

And you know what?

He's not going to let sleeping deer lie. Screw this guy!

Caesar, abruptly and without warning, grabs his arm, if he doesn't move away, and try to jerk him forward into a nearby pile of snow. Get wrecked!!!]

If you're trying to convince them to come along peacefully, don't you think it would help if you could actually, you know, be understood? By the pigs?

[Jack has been watching people attempt to capture the pigs with something like amusement. It's not a quest he's super interested in, when it comes to making a name for himself, but given his personal magical talents, he's here anyway. Watching Louis make a fool of himself is kind of fun.

But he might as well help, anyway.]

[ Ah - this guy. Louis actually kind of likes this guy. He's fun to chat with, at the very least, and that's all one can really ask for when in a place like this. After a few moments, Louis attention shifts fully to Jack and he lets out a frustrated sigh. ]

Who would think a deer would need access to specific magic to talk to a pig. I went to high school with pigs!

[ He sounds pretty indignant about it, to be honest. ]

But, who's really to say if they understood me that they'd listen or just be stubborn about it. The vegetables out here do look good. At least it helps me think I'm doing something.

[Jack grins.]

You know what, I went to school with some pigs, too.

[He has absolutely no idea if the insult has the same connotation in Louis's world, so this is a risk, but he can't help taking it. At least it comes with an offer.]

But these ones are less pretentious than the ones I knew. I could try talking to them for you.

[ He is 100% certain it means something different to Jack, but it definitely does land differently with Louis because being a pig isn't necessarily a bad thing or an insult where he's from. ]

So...bad, then?

[ He asks it, though he can guess from what the other is saying it is. ]

You have animal magic?

[ Lucky! ]

[Lucky for this particular quest, sure. Not necessarily for everything else. (Though he's creative. He's working on ways to make it useful.)]

Guess pigs must be okay where you come from. It's kind of an insult on my world. Means dirty, greedy, and mean, usually.

[He pushes up from the tree he's leaning on, coming to crouch beside where Louis is crouched nearest the fae pigs, and puts a little magic into his voice. He's learning how to do it intentionally, now, so animals don't just understand everything he says.]

Good afternoon, friend.

It varies from person to person, just like humans. That's probably not too surprising, though.

[ There's a smallest hint of a smile when he speaks. That's how he sees it at least. Humans and animals are really pretty similar. Though Louis would rather jump straight to the insults of dirty or greedy. ]

Ah, well, I wouldn't say pigs are notoriously any of those things where I'm from.

[ He shifts his attention to Jack then to the pigs. He blinks, fascinated by the magic in action. ]

That's pretty handy. What I can do would likely only hurt them and I'm not sure I want to do that.

[ He extends a hand towards the pigs. ]

[The pig looks at them a moment haughtily, not interested in being petted. It squeals at them both, a warning.]

Yes, I know he was just chasing you around. We're trying to protect the farmers' crops. If you keep eating from them, there won't be enough to carry through to spring. Your children will go hungry.

[If pigs can look shocked, this pig looks shocked. It flaps its ears at them.]

If you come with us, you and your friends, we can make sure you and your spring children are fed. You just have to eat somewhere else. Let the farmers bring you the food that's good to eat.

[Squinting at them, the pig snorts.]

[ Alright. No pets. Louis doesn't know a lot, but he at least understands some of the same body language he would have seen in a pig classmate. The facial expression and shifts in their demeanor aren't that different. He withdraws his hand because he doesn't necessarily understand why he had the impulse to pet to start. ]

I'm not sure what that snort means. They're not words.

[ A glance towards Jack and a blink. ]

So...a yes or a no?

Edited 2020-12-26 21:45 (UTC)

They're not words to you, Louis. That was a yes. She wants to have little piglets in a safe place, so she'll come and bringing some friends.

[Jack pushes back to his feet, looking quite pleased with himself, and adds, to the pig,]

Shall we go collect the interested ones, friend?

[The pig-- sow, apparently-- snuffles and turns to trundle towards the rest of the herd.]

There's ones smaller than this.

[ Not a question, just a vague, confused statement where he's trying to figure certain things out. There's a small, deep sigh. He starts after the pig. ]

Yeah, that I can't understand. This is still weird. She's really making this easy on me.

[ Looks towards Jack. ]

And to think you insult people by calling them pigs - like these majestic creatures.

[ And the sarcasm. ]

merry rexmas.

December Quests ➥ OPEN

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Hogtied

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject