mapping party mapping party

[rebells]

Who: a bunch of less-than-upstanding nerd boys
Where: along this route
When: Day 8, or thereabouts
Open/Closed: closed to mapping party; pm rebells if your character would have icly asked to come!

[So you may have gotten a telepathic message a few days ago about an expedition to map the coastline . . . or maybe you were invited along by a friend. Whatever the reason, it's bright and early this morning, and it's time to set out!

Characters would have gotten a further telepathic message from Jay with a date and time to meet outside the shacks. They'll be heading east along the "shore," tracking the coast, and then heading directly back towards base camp . . . who knows what they'll find along the way?]

Comments

[p_mortem]

Since April. A little more than half a year. But I can use other things too... bows, lances, axes.

[ It's not very impressive when he doesn't have the technique and accuracy to back these things up; he doesn't need to be when he's fighting monsters that are a large enough target without. ]

[rebells]

[That's either really impressive, or--]

And by 'use' you mean you indiscriminately swing them around, I presume.

[But he says it lightly, more teasing than disdainful.]

[p_mortem]

Yes, that's it. I only miss sometimes.

[ As long as it works, it's fine. ]

...Your weapon of choice is a dagger?

[rebells]

[He shakes his head slowly from side to side, but doesn't otherwise comment on that part.]

Yes, I specialize in hand-to-hand and dagger fighting.

[p_mortem]

Short ranged, but quick and accurate. They're good if you can sneak up on an enemy.

[ Which is harder as a group, so Minato doesn't often rely on such weapons, preferring instead his sword to give him more reach. ]

[rebells]

They are. Or if you have superior speed.

[Which he does, generally.]

[p_mortem]

A good advantage.

[ On a more serious note, though- ]

Are you used to fighting to protect, or to hunt?

[ A warrior or a hunter or both? ]

[rebells]

[Haha. Well. He's trained as an assassin, but you won't catch him mentioning that to Minato.]

Mostly the former. The area where I live has a lot of monsters, so I need to fight to defend myself. What about you?

[p_mortem]

Both, I guess. Depends how strong they are. Sometimes I just run.

[ If they're too strong, he runs. If they're too weak, he runs. Most of the time he's running, unless he's out collecting bounties or if he gets caught in a battle. ]

[rebells]

That's not a bad strategy sometimes. Although there's a lot I wouldn't have been able to see, if I'd just run from every battle.

[He looks Minato up and down, though; he definitely doesn't look much like the fighting type, much less a hunter.]

What did you hunt, exactly?

[p_mortem]

[ It's not a bad assessment of Minato, with 99% of his fights being him standing in place and summoning— his hunts definitely aren't the bear and deer sort. ]

Monsters. Sometimes to scavenge material. Sometimes for money. Mostly because we thought they were a danger to society.

[rebells]

A "danger to society" . . . [Interesting phrasing, for a monster threat.] How come?

[p_mortem]

Because they prey on people's... [ He pauses here, unable to explain it very well, even after seeing it happen again and again and again. ] ...something like their will to live.

[rebells]

. . . That actually sounds familiar.

[The black mist. The way it had affected Norma, and then Chloe.]

[p_mortem]

You have something like that too? Black, like shadow.

[rebells]

[!]

Yes. A kind of black mist that can form small monsters, or make larger ones more powerful.

[p_mortem]

[ Ugh... Minato's expression darkens just the slightest. Having this sort of thing in multiple worlds isn't a comfort; even if they are different, the fact that they prey on people similarly is disconcerting. ]

...I hope there isn't anything like that here. I'll rely on your daggers if that happens.

[rebells]

[He's not sure how he feels about being addressed so easily as a comrade, when they barely know each other, and when he's trying so hard not to think about the last people he had that kind of relationship with.

But he pushes that aside, for the moment.]

. . . yes. All right. [ . . . ] If you'd like to learn how to use that sword more effectively--I can teach you that as well.

[p_mortem]

[ Jay's the one who put this whole group together, so strangers as they are, Minato defers to him as a leader of sorts. Weapons training isn't something he had, so... whatever help he can get. ]

Sure. I learn best in practice, so... I guess when we run across something. A boar, maybe, when we head out.

[rebells]

All right.

[A boar should be easy enough to dispatch by himself anyway, if the worst happens.]

Have you met everyone else here?

[p_mortem]

I've met everybody in our group at least once, yeah.

[rebells]

That's good. I've only barely met some of them myself, but I suppose we're all new to one another here.

[p_mortem]

It hasn't been very long, so... [ a shrug ] I like meeting new people. And talking.

[ Doesn't he sound so talkative?? yeah ]