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

[parodeity]

You didn't cut yourself open under anythin'.

[splinten]

You damn well know what I mean.

[parodeity]

Do I. [ he fucked up neosporin a lot, but bandages, at least, he doesn't even have to draw. he just unslings his backback and digs around for a second before tossing a roll at dirk. ] You unfucked your accent, I see.

[splinten]

[He catches it on reflex.]

We already covered how it gets stronger in your presence.

[He reaches into his power again. Snake bites he can do, in fact, and ease away the injuries. Then he offers the roll back.

He wants to fix Dave's bites, but he's less certain of it. The venom was an emergency. This isn't quite.]

[parodeity]

[ it goes back into his pack. he won't wrap his own shit until he's alone. ]

Can barely hear it at all. [ manners he was never taught clamor for attention and he knows he should say thank you, but he doesn't want to admit to anything that just occurred. ] John did agree to train with me, for the record.

[splinten]

[He goes still and quiet. Then he turns his head away.

It's stupid and unfair. Dave doesn't deserve this. Dave has every right want to avoid him and it's fair, it's all fair. But Dave said he'd try. He said he'd try this, he'd try to be friends and get to know him, and Dirk can't tell if Dave was lying then or if Dave has tried enough and found him not worth bothering for.]

You stay still to keep the blood from circulating more. You keep the injury below your heart by laying down, if necessary. Cleaning the wound, sucking the venom out, or slashing it open basically does jackshit.

[But the poison is dealt with. Dave can wrap himself up, if he wants.

Let me know if you ever decide you want to do something with me. There isn't much I wouldn't do if it meant time with you. I meant it when I said I wanted to try, and I haven't changed my mind since.

[parodeity]

Sure, [ and it's a fragment of a sentence. "sure you would" or "sure you do" or "sure that's a thing i'll do" when it isn't really. he'll lay claim to the time his friends will give him without a second thought, but dave has known them all for longer than he's known anyone else and they have only rarely rebuffed his efforts. he's never been skilled at reaching out for others quickly or often.

and his friends don't seem to care. rose was only vaguely interested in what dave was doing about dirk, and john didn't mind or press when dave confirmed they'd stopped training. he doesn't have to pretend as much as he'd thought.

dave abandons the sentence and says instead: ]

Why would suckin' venom out be a thing. It'd just get in your mouth were it even possible.

[splinten]

Because people in movies do it.

[parodeity]

[ well, yes. but for all he learned a bunch of shit from movies: ]

Movie first aid is generally egregiously wrong. I ignore all of it unless it's backed up by other shit.

[ fool me once. ]

[splinten]

A lot of people don't have your presence of mind about it, presumably because movie logic has the sort of don't-think-about-it-too-hard sort of logic of other kinds of folk wisdom. The poison gets into the blood, so getting rid of that blood will get rid of the poison—while blatantly ignoring how fast blood actually moves. Or like how most movies treat water as being soft.

[parodeity]

[ you don't remove shrapnel. you don't do tourniquets. not unless you really know what you're doing. these are mistakes you do not make twice, if you survive making them once.

dave shrugs. ]

For the most part I don't freeze up about it.

[splinten]

I assumed you didn't from the way you handled other things. [He gestures towards his leg.] My understanding was that American cities in the 21st century had fewer venomous animals to contend with, and that that was why you didn't know what to draw.

[parodeity]

[ you had to leave the house to get those. ]

Texas mostly had bugs.

[splinten]

I read about some of it. It's hard to be sure what was true, and what was lost or fabricated down the centuries. Even a perfect account would miss some of the essential knowledge that comes from actually experiencing it.

[parodeity]

Scorpions and spiders.

[ a shrug. dave closes his pack back up and readjusts it on his shoulders, then levers himself back to his feet. he tests his right foot by only putting a little bit of weight on it, as casually as he can, before glancing around again. ]

[splinten]

[Dirk stands up too. He's quiet, low-voiced. A frown.]

I can fix the bite too. I didn't—it seemed shitty to do that without permission. [He adds, apologetically,] I panicked on the venom.

[parodeity]

No. [ a little awkwardly said, but he doesn't want to acknowledge it, still. it's one thing to hurt yourself on purpose and get that fixed. it's another entirely to fuck up, and simply not be good enough. ] No, I'm fine. Thanks.

[ the thanks slips out despite himself and he doesn't look at dirk when he says it, frowning and trying to figure out what everyone else is up to. ]

I don't think anyone else thought otherwise.

[splinten]

[He looks down. He wonders if that means the problem isn't him, that what Dave didn't want was for anyone to see. But he was hurt. He was going to be badly hurt.]

I do not get it, man.

[parodeity]

Yeah. [ his gaze flicks towards john, who's more of an anchor than anyone else in the group even if he really likes a few of the others. ] ...I'll talk to you later.

[splinten]

When?

[parodeity]

The...time at which is not this second, when a conversation next occurs? I'm not runnin' timeloops, I don't got specifics.

[splinten]

I meant—[It's frustrating and he rubs at the back of his neck.] You don't like it when I talk to you and you don't like it when I don't. What am I supposed to do?

[parodeity]

I didn't give an opinion on either option.

[splinten]

Will you?

[parodeity]

I don't got an opinion. I talk to people whenever they strike up a conversation.