it's like forgetting the words to your favorite song

[wipedclean]

Who: Bucky Barnes and Various
What: September Open Log
Where: Caves, Orchard, Bar, Various
When: Month of September
Warnings: None yet, but there's potentially some talk about Hydra etc., and possibly zombie fiteing threads going in here later.


[The longer he's here, the more anxious he feels. Memories are returning slowly, in fragmented pieces that make very little sense. It hurts, more often than not, because the memories usually are not at all nice. His kills are the most easily remembered. Every mission he's been on comes back more accurately than the shards of memories of before.

More often than not he's confused and upset. The only mission he knows he has is to protect Steve, keep him safe, keep him healthy, but apart from that, he doesn't know what he's meant to do. Most of his days are spent with what he's started to think of as busy work, things that don't need doing, but are better than just following Steve around like a sad puppy.]

Caves (or nearby)

[He hunts. He hunts often, whenever he feels Steve is safe enough to leave without a giant bodyguard hovering somewhere nearby. The variety of monsters in the caves means he can concentrate on a different kind each time he goes out, which keeps him on his toes. Keeps him sharp.

He's just pulling a carcass of a Bereskarn in from a recent kill, to a place where he can better take it apart into whatever meat or other supplies he can get from the corpse. It looks like this fight was a little more rough than he would have liked: there's a slash across the front of his chest, the leather split and jagged and the wounds beneath it bleeding slowly, though he seems to pay them no mind.]

Orchard

[The orchard is, in his opinion, one of the better gifts the so-called "gods" have offered them. Picking fruit and vegetables is menial work, but it's calming, and it's needed. He doesn't mind it. He's got a large basket of some fruit that's vaguely familiar to something found on earth and definitely edible. He's actually humming softly to himself as he does it, something that, if you listen closely, is almost (but not quite) In the Mood by Glen Miller.]

Bar

[He doesn't actually drink alcohol if he can help it. It doesn't affect him much anyway, but he wants to avoid any incapacitating effects anyway. However, he does enjoy the drinks that have distinct flavors: fruity, sweet, sour... anything that's different. He likes flavors.

He also finds it interesting to observe those who frequent the bar, what they drink, and what they do there, though he rarely engages with anyone on his own. He sits in the corner and watches with the keen, deadly gaze of an expert sniper.]

...or write your own starter!

Comments

River (Closed)

[wipedclean]

[After the incident in the closet, he's been wanting to find her.

It turns out she is both incredibly easy to track and very difficult to locate when she chooses to be. It speaks of training, and conscious choice, and that her mannerisms may even partially be misdirection on her part.

Regardless, he finds her in the orchard one day, sitting beneath a tree. He walks up to her and sits down in front of her, just looks at her for a moment, frowning.

They're alike, he knows. Alike in a strange way. He wants to know more.]

Tell me more.

[enchangement]

[ He tracks her and she notices (how can she not?). Sometimes it is like a game and she's back at the Academy, doing her best while they treat her the worst. Sometimes she remembers the rest of them, and how they didn't have anyone to save them. Sometimes she feels like she wasn't saved at all, because she's here.

(But Steve is here, and Wanda is here, and Simon is here, and this man who was once Bucky Barnes is here, and she's made friends...she's made friends, it can't be all bad.)

He tracks her and sometimes she loses him but today she doesn't. The orchard is full of life, full of growing; it feels like a safer space. If they don't like the conversation, one of them can go climb a tree.

Literally. ]

The Academy. Started by the Alliance. A political group with the same leanings as your Hydra, but where one begins and the other ends, or if they are even from the same plane of reality, she doesn't know. Sorry.

The Alliance won the war. Civilized the 'verse.

They made weapons out of children. Out of us.

What do you want to know?

[wipedclean]

[He watches her intently, listening closely.

He wants to ask what was done to her, but he knows better than to. He doesn't like talking about what they did to him, even though he can't even remember it all.

That does make him wonder, though.]

Do you remember?

orchard

[unitas]

[ The orchard is a bitter reminder of the current state of affairs within Hadriel; there are only three gods left, soon to be two, and they are no closer to returning home than they were when Rage first awoke. But, for all the shit she associates with it, it's just about the only place to get fresh food unless you luck upon something in the stores.

She gathers in silence, allowing a distance between herself and Bucky, the hood of her orange jacket up, but not so much as to obscure her vision. She doesn't believe he's a threat to her, not truly, but since her Silent Hill stint, she's been far more cautious. It's only when her favorite fruit (if it's a fruit, she can't be too certain) is out of reach that she finally approaches. ]

Uh, hey? You think you could give me a boost? [ She motions to the tree, all of its lower hanging fruits having been picked away, leaving only bright green jewels in the upper branches. ]

[wipedclean]

[The Silent Hill thing was... not good, but he doesn't really blame it on anyone. Mostly because he doesn't care about who's to blame. He's a pawn, he always has been. What happens to him is just about always bad, and it's just about always out of his control.

So when she asks him for a boost, he stares at her for a moment, then shrugs, puts his basket down, and walks over. He considers her a moment, then bends down and puts her on his shoulders, holding her legs and standing up again.]

Is this okay?

[unitas]

[ He lifts her up, and Sharon feels as if she'll fall. It takes her a breath to get her balance, uncomfortably aware of how her boots are digging into his shoulders. ]

Y-Yeah. [ It'll work, as long as he doesn't drop her, or she doesn't send them both toppling. She reaches, and manages to swipe one green fruit, followed quickly by another, and slips them into the sack at her side before she attempts to reach for another. She gets her fingers around it just right, twists to pull it off, wobbles, and drops it in an attempt to keep her balance.]

Fuck, shit, all right. Down, please. [ And the moment her feet are on solid ground, she reaches into her sack, and pulls out one of the green fruits, offering it to him. ] Have you had one of these yet?

Caves!

[infinite1up]

[As a relative newcomer who's also taken up a little hunting. perhaps it was inevitable that Sato would run into someone else that he didn't drag along as a co-op buddy. The sound of the fight had pulled him through the caves and now, quite lost, he paused just around the corner to sneak a peek at the final result. He could probably justify taking on Bucky now too, under the justification that he could just be another monster... but it was pretty clear that he was probably another prisoner of the city.

And therefore another potentially useful person to try to get a feel for.]

Hello over there!

[he calls out to Bucky, finally rounding the corner after a pause for that initial assessment.

As for himself, yet another one of Sato's shirts has died a horrible death, scratched up and bloody with one sleeve completely torn off; but there's no sign of injury on this old fellow, just a cheerful smile as he rests a bloody axe (liberated from Rage's armory) on one shoulder. No sign of any monster corpse with him either. The troll he'd been after earlier had put up one hell of a fight, much to Sato's utter delight. Unfortunately he hadn't quite figured out how to kill it, but in the state he'd left the pieces it looked like it was going to take it a lot longer for the troll to regenerate than it took for himself.

He really needed to find something more heavy-duty than medieval weaponry and one decent pistol. Where's loot drops when you need them?]

[wipedclean]

[Someone calls to him and he looks over, frowns, then goes back to hauling his kill. He doesn't care much for making friends. If this guy is going to talk to him, he's going to do it regardless of whether or not he responds. It's something the soldier has noticed, much to his own chagrin.]

[infinite1up]

[And that much Bucky has exactly right, because Sato is more than happy to wander up with no regard for personal safety -- or regard for Bucky's injuries, for that matter.]

Are you planning to make a trade with Rage, or is this one for the meat? Or does she mind if you take a little off around the edges before making an offering?

orchard!

[prespangled]

[This is his busy work, one of a handful of things that Steve tries to do every day to make himself useful. He doesn't manage them all every day. If he's honest, he doesn't manage them all on most days.

But at least this is something he can see. If he can bring home something for Bucky for a change, or for Wanda, then it feels something like an accomplishment. He's collecting the stuff that's fallen to the ground first - there's no point in letting it rot - when he catches a few notes of what he thinks is a familiar song.]

That always was one of your favorites.

[Steve's traced the sound to Bucky, and now stands nearby with his harvest collected in a makeshift bag made from his jacket.]

[wipedclean]

[He hasn't noticed he's been humming. He stops, stares at Steve a moment, then realizes what he's been doing and looks a little shocked.]

It was?

[He stares off into space for a long moment. He tries to remember what he was humming, but he can't. He didn't realize he was doing it.]

What was the song?

[prespangled]

Glenn Miller. [Steve steps over to him, placing his jacket down on the ground and opening it up. He starts picking things up from the ground again, the hand that he places against the small of his back evidence of the ache that he's starting to feel there.] He was a big bandleader. You've danced with a lot of girls to a lot of his songs.

[He stands straight and smiles at him. Steve didn't mind. Bucky deserved every bit of that happiness. He hopes that he can recapture some of it more than anything.]

I liked him too. It was good music.

caves; also, I apologize in advance

[hasitsthorns]

[ Hunting isn't something Rose necessarily enjoys doing, but she's good at it. Besides, she needs to try and find something to keep her mind occupied. It reminds her of the subway tunnels in Haven. If she can thin out some monsters and keep her senses sharp in the process, why not? She knows she can't be the only one but has been careful thus far not to interrupt anyone else... or be interrupted. A petite blond woman with only one hand taking down beasts sometimes twice her size might make people too suspicious right away. What she is isn't a secret anymore, but she has her reasons for being selective in who she tells.

It's not the sound of the scuffle but the scent of blood that draws her in. Not the monster's but his. She tries mentally to repeat a mantra of Don't do it, you're stronger than this but finds her body moving on its own towards the source of the familiar smell. It's been so long, she's so hungry -

When she does finally come upon Bucky, she looks akin to a deer in the headlights. She can't. She won't hurt another person, but it's too late to turn back now. ]

Sorry, uh. Do you. Do you need help with, uh, that? [ A vague gesture to his bleeding chest with her good hand. ]

[wipedclean]

[She's staring at him, so he stares back at her. She gestures to his chest and he glances down at it, stares for a moment as if he hadn't noticed it before, then shrugs and resumes working at the carcass.]

It's fine.

[It's not serious. It's not bleeding so much to be a worry. It'll probably heal in a day or so.]

[hasitsthorns]

Are you sure? [ She doesn't mean to be so persistent but Haven's horrors have left her cautious. Paranoid. ] It could get infected. And God knows what that might mean here.

Even if you can heal faster than most people, infections are still a bitch. Just, uh, from my experience.

caves

[fulminants]

[ Johnny's been exploring the area for the past many days, curiosity taking him to varied places -- some peaceful, most not, but to be honest he likes the latter kind anyway, it gets the blood pumping.

And so he's exploring one of the caves when he spots a relatively burly dude and a thing he's come to know as a Bereskarn. But what's most striking is this: ]

Dude. [ He blurts out when he lands a good few meters away from him, flaming off. ] You're bleeding.

[wipedclean]

[He stares. He doesn't even look down at himself, because he's vaguely aware that he's bleeding, but he knows it's not enough to be serious. At least not for him. This guy, on the other hand, was on fire. And isn't anymore.]

You were on fire.

[fulminants]

Well, yeah -- I do that sometimes. Cosmic accident, really cool story.

[ He grins; he does like the effect that has on people, the whole fire thing. But it bothers him that the guy is still bleeding and he doesn't seem entirely affected by that debacle. Is that a thing that happens to him all the time. ]

Uh, you're not gonna bandage that up, buddy?

@ orchard

[krasnayapautina]

[Natasha has been told that Bucky is here, though it hasn't been until now that she's actually come across him. The last time she'd seen him, it had been during that time she and Steve were fighting Hydra in Washington DC. And here, where she knows that people come from different points in the same universe's timeline, she cannot be sure from when Bucky is, or what his current mental state is -- is he free of the brainwashing here? Does he remember her?

Either way, she hops down from a higher branch of a nearby tree where she'd been picking fruit, and tries her best not to startle him.]

Hey. [It's spoken tentatively but non-threateningly, as she doesn't want to fight him again, if he sees her as still a threat. Her next words could be interpreted as more casual, if not for the fact that she keeps the same tome as she had in her initial greeting:] Been a while. [It hasn't for her, but she says that anyway.]

[wipedclean]

[He's not startled when she jumps down, but he is when he sees who she is.

It's been months, but the mission briefing runs through his head as perfectly clear as when it was first given to him. He stares, steps back once, then again.

He's supposed to kill her. His hands twitch at his sides, but he doesn't reach for any of the weapons on him. He just stares.

He was supposed to kill Steve, too. He got around that one by telling himself it wasn't the right Steve. He wasn't even Captain America yet, he wasn't the target.

But she... she's clearly one of the targets.

His hands twitch again. He swallows hard.]

Has it?

[If it's been a while... maybe he failed to kill her.

He doesn't know how he feels about that.]

[krasnayapautina]

[Almost feeling like she's been called out, she lets out a quiet snort.]

Honestly? No, not really. [They have much of the same skills (and experiences), so there's no point in trying to act like it's been months or years since their meeting in Washington. He'd probably figure it out sooner rather than later if she did.] I only arrived here almost a month ago, but I've met Steve here. Quite a different looking man than I remember. [But still the same Steve at his core.]

Orchard

[amos_moses]

[Picking fruit is very calming, yes.]

[Right up until certain yakuza-not-ninja idiots try to duck a jay and end up losing their balance and falling out of the tree right beside the one you're picking from.]

[Granted Amos had been reading not picking fruit, and while graceful he's not superhuman. He goes end-over-teakettle after a particularly enthusastic dodge to keep one of the jabberjays from pulling his hair. Fortunately he doesn't fall very far and knows how to fall, and ends up in a heap on the grass with an undignified yelp.]

[Stunned, he lies there for a moment before deciding:] Ow?

[wipedclean]

[He startles a little, turns to look at him with a frown.

Well that's disconcerting.

He just watches for a moment before he goes over and squats by him.]

Are you alright?

Caves

[turbulentwind]

[Rashid had a nagging feeling that he should leave the cave areas alone. He heard they were some nasty creatures lurking around, but he was too curious for his own good.

As he's carefully exploring (and looking over his shoulder every ten seconds), he manages to scour a small portion of the area. Yeah, there are a few ugly things skittering about, but nothing worth fighting. Then he sees an injured man with a slain monster behind him, and he looks pretty torn up.

Must have been one hell of a fight, judging by those wounds.

He runs down to the other man.]

Hey, you all right? Want me to call for help?

[wipedclean]

[He's currently trying to figure out if he wants to cut the beast up into parts before hauling it out of the caves or if he should just drag the whole thing as is. Which would be easier? He's not sure.

The stranger who runs up to him doesn't startle him so much as disrupts his train of thought, and he frowns.]

I'm fine.