Video: UN - JustD

[distant_one]

[The video isn't of D, but instead a carefully drawn map of Trench and its close surrounding areas with rough lines indicating the tunnels. The video zooms back to show a rough outline of a path leading from Trenchwood further inland, denoted as '30 miles' and then a point circled and labeled as 'outpost lantern'.]

Earthquakes and underground tunnels last month, and severe storms this month. If this city sinks into the ground or is washed away, there's nowhere to go.

[D puts another sheet of paper down in front of the video, this one showing a rough outline of ruined building and some sketched in structures and a perimeter wall.]

Last month, Manabu Yuuki led an expedition, this lantern point is as far as we went before we had to return. The wilds are full of aggressive plants and animals, high levels of corruption, and even the plants that don't attack will probably kill people.

But this is a chance to make an outpost. Every time I've gone out there I've come under attack almost immediately, but if we made it that far, we can make this work too.

I'm looking for anyone who can and will fight, anyone who can aid in building fortifications to make defenses easier, and anyone with the ability or knowledge to provide magical protection and reduce corruption, or who can provide supplies and support.

I'll provide food and shelter or items for trade to anyone who works on turning this outpost into a haven.

My name is D. I'm setting up a staging point for people and supplies in the house near the Watch Tower with the red door and cloth banners. Contact me here, or look for me there between mid afternoon and sundown.

[OOC: Plotting post for this open and approved player plot here and location post and information here. An open log post will be going up sometime in the next week.]

Comments

[distant_one]

Beings made for a purpose are usually happiest when carrying it out.

[Or reprogrammed to carry out a task, but D suspects this one came into existence with its purpose in mind.]

There are a couple ways you can use your abilities that will be more useful in the wide chaos of a larger fight as well.

[D has apparently decided that's all he needs of the strange creature, and he turns away from it to walk back towards the lamp point without any concern.]

Feet are very rarely a true vulnerability, but in a situation like this hampering the mobility of a larger number and avoiding doing so to allies will be helpful. It will also help buy you time for your guardian to handle enemies.

All this rain will make it safer to practice carpeting areas with fire. If you can bring fire up consistently in a spot behind you or in a ring around you, that will also be a technique to work on. Aside from the precision and speed work those two will be more useful in this kind of situation than anything else we're working on with your abilities.

[fogsong]

[ D turns away and Sharon follows suit. Red Pyramid will follow them for a distance until it decides Sharon isn't in danger from the creatures in the area and wander back to its resting location.

She listens and takes mental notes. ]

I'll up the time I practice then and see how consistent I can get. I've done rings of fire before, though they were easier when I was angry and had plenty of living kindling. [ Her main worry here is setting allies on fire but she's been getting better and better with her control, especially given how often she's been working on it. ]

[distant_one]

[If this was a situation where Sharon faced the true risk of death, D would have more to say, but Trench is kind in this one aspect only. Death is easy for sleepers to overcome.]

We'll put tracking and other lessons on hold unless you're injured and need something less demanding to work on.

[For now, D is eager to get back to a house and out of the rain. He might even make some tea of his own volition... except.]

Would you mind bringing a teapot and some tea to the staging point?

[D doesn't actually have anything required to make tea.]

[fogsong]

And here I thought you'd have thought of everything. [ There's a teasing lilt to her tone before she adds: ] Yeah, I can do that. Any preferences? If not, I'll just bring what I've got at home, which is mostly light teas.

[distant_one]

It's all the rain.

[Even just stepping out into the rain causes his body temperature to drop at least four degrees and his metabolism to drop by twenty percent as his body starts to shut down.]

Any tea is fine.

[D does have preferences on tea, but he isn't going to share them when he's already asking a favor.]

[fogsong]

The rain? Really? I wouldn't have thought a big bad dhampir would be bothered by a little rain. [ There's still some teasing in her tone but it's more curious now than anything else. ]

[distant_one]

If you're going to call me a 'big bad' anything it should be 'Vampire Hunter'. Vampires are weak to running water, and that includes rain.

[And D, being part vampire, shares that weakness.]

Most of them would go comatose if they fell in a river.

[fogsong]

I was just teasing you, D. [ She huffs beneath her breath. She wonders if he's sensitive over what he is. ]

I think it was part of vampire lore back home that they couldn't cross the ocean without... [ She hums in thought, brows creasing. ] I think they had to have dirt or something with them. I always thought it was kind of silly but now... [ Well, it seems there was some truth to it. Even if she still doesn't believe vampires exist in her own world (not that it matters anymore). ]

How badly does all the rain affect you?

[distant_one]

That's close. Vampires prefer to have dirt from their homeland with them in their coffin when they travel, but they can go on boats or submarines without it. It's being in water that's difficult.

[D holds up his gloved hand and shakes some water from the surface of the material.]

As soon as I step into rain my body temperature drops four degrees and my heartbeat and other metabolic processes drop. The longer I'm out in it the worse it feels, especially during the day.

[fogsong]

You should have let me know the rain would bother you. I'd have suggested we go at night. [ She picks up her pace. ]

[distant_one]

I can't just put off going outside because the weather is unpleasant.

[But D picks up his pace as well.]

If I stop altogether, it'll be harder to do when I truly need to.

[fogsong]

There’s nothing wrong with staying in if you’re under the weather, D. I understand not wanting to do it constantly but there’s no harm in it occasionally.

It’s not like we had to go out and see him this instant, you know? [ It might seem like she argues just to argue but the reality is that it’s a sign she gives a shit about him and his health. ]

[distant_one]

Think of it like running or pushups. If I don't keep up it'll get worse.

I'll be out in the rain more often when we start at the outpost and I won't be able to stop for tea. It doesn't harm me, it's just unpleasant.

[The distinction between something being painful and something being harmful was an important one in life and in Hunter training. Pain was useful and often unavoidable. Harm was a cost to be weighed before taking action.]

[fogsong]

If you say so. I just… I don’t know, worry? [ D, for all that he is, doesn’t leave her the impression he takes the best of care of himself. She knows he requires so much less of everything than her; that he’s built different and capable of more. But that doesn’t matter much to her. ]

I mean, one day of being a little lazy or indulgent won’t make you worse tomorrow. Hell, it might be good for your mental health and that’s just as important here.

[distant_one]

[D is usually very reasonable about taking care of himself because anything that takes away from his performance even the slightest amount could be fatal. But he's pushing himself more here in Trench.]

There's a lot to do right now. Once the outpost is established and easier to defend I can rest more often.

[Waiting is one thing, as is standing guard, and rest is necessary. But purposely choosing to do nothing isn't something D could stand.]

[fogsong]

I’m gonna hold you to that. [ she states with a light firmness. she’s not much of a mothering individual unless you’re Falco Grice but when she cares about someone, she’ll needle them with concern; a clear sign she cares.

she brushes her wet bangs out from in front of her eyes, blinking away the rain. ]

Is there anything I can do to make things easier on you?

[distant_one]

Just keep up with your practice, if something comes up you can help with I'll let you know.

[D has no problem handing off tasks to other people when necessary or useful, but for now there's too much that he needs to take care of personally and what tasks he can delegate are in the process of being handed off to others already.]

[fogsong]

I don’t plan on easing up even if there are days I kind of want to. [ she says with an easy shrug. she has no issue admitting that she doesn’t always want to practice. it’s not like it was a ballpark, after all, and often meant she was tapping into parts of herself she wasn’t always comfortable with, at least when practicing with her powers. ]

[distant_one]

[D didn't expect her to be the type to give up, or she would have long before he ever met her.]

That's the part that stops a lot of people. The mindset and background for being a Hunter isn't something that can be taught. You already have what you need there, and that's the hardest part.

The rest of it just takes practice and finding what works best for you.

[fogsong]

[ she takes his words to heart and as they reach the edge of the forest, she speaks up again. ]

I don’t remember if I asked you before but what makes someone Hunter material to you?

[distant_one]

Being a Hunter means we'll see and sometimes do terrible things. There are two kinds of people who become successful Vampire Hunters. People who aren't hurt by that, and people who have been through that kind of pain.

I won't teach the other kind. You've been through something that would leave other people broken, and have the strength not just to keep going through every day life but to reach past that. The strength to grow instead of just survive, and to face terrible things instead of turn away from them.

[D really is very impressed with Sharon for seeing someone burned alive and being able to stand creating fire.]

[fogsong]

[ Sharon falls quiet after the explanation and when she speaks next there’s a soft vulnerability to her tone. ]

Thanks. For… [ here, she hesitates as she fumbles for the right words. ] For seeing something more in me.

[ it means more than she can really put into words ]

[distant_one]

[D has seen many talented and skilled fighters broken in the face of fear and that kind of pain. Either shattering under it or falling into self-destructive obsession that consumes and eventually kills them.]

You and I are the same kind of Hunter, Sharon. If you don't see that now, you'll learn to see it sooner or later.

[fogsong]

[ Sharon certainly didn’t see that in herself but the fact that D did provided a certain confidence. If he saw it then it must be true.

For the rest of the way, Sharon silently mulls over those words. ]