eachdraidh | 1 ❀ ( video / action ) open to both courts!

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1 ❀ ( video / action ) open to both courts!

[ well this is a fine few days yukari's been having. first she gets kidnapped and dumped in the middle of some strange forest that doesn't even remotely resemble any of the forests back home (something about it just screams 'supernatural' to her, and not in any way she's familiar with). then she meets up with some odd old woman in the forest who offered her a place to stay and something to eat; you know, the basics to make sure she didn't do something like get eaten by a grue while lost in the woods. at the time it had taken some plying to get yukari agree to staying in a creepy old place in the woods, but after her stomach growled — loudly, as she hadn't eaten anything since before her trip into tartarus — she knew it was useless to try and fight a kind offer.

now here she is making her way through la llorona again, having left the house about an hour ago after a nap that lasted ten days — not that yukari is at all aware of this right now. for all she knows, it's only december second, and where the small cottage used to be now lies broken and collapsed trees. though she felt her heart stop in her chest upon seeing the sudden absence of company in a spot she was so sure she had slept in not hours before, yukari hustles through the underbrush, knuckles white as she clutches her bow in one hand and fiddles with her locket in another. there has to be something about this thing since it was given to her moments after arriving. the imps were no help, laughing and playing keep-away with the object until yukari fell into a deep snow drift, and they vanished before explaining anything, nothing in evidence of their existance save the map that slowly tumbled down through the air to rest on the snow a few feet away.

she shivers in her coat at the memory of it, rolling her shoulders back to adjust the way the coat grips her, hoping to use friction to keep her skin from freezing. ]

Ugh...

[ the video feed opens up with the sound of a shivering, unhappy girl letting out a sigh as she continues to trek through crunching snow and snapping twigs. in the background there's the sound of a creek nearby, and if the continued noise is any indication, yukari happens to be following it, she hopes, out of the woods. ]

I think I can safely say I hate the woods. [ yukari, are you muttering to yourself? you're muttering to yourself. you should see to that. ] Hah, I'm sooo glad our leader never suggested camping as a way to build up team ... team... — [ she trails off with another huff ] Ugh! It's so cold I can barely think! Seriously, who's bright idea was it to drp me out here in my school uniform, huh!?

[ finally, the locket swings around to show yukari in all her pink cardigan'd glory, bright red bow peeking out from under the collar of her coat, brown eyes wide as she inspects the locket and crap, it's active, isn't it? if she's right in her assumption about this thing, then... ]

Oh geeze... How long has this—? [ she shakes her head, snowflakes puffing up from her hair and falling down to her shoulders. ] Hey, my name is Yukari Takeba and... I think I'm lost. [ beat ] No, scratch that. I'm very sure I'm lost. I got dumped out here yesterday [ actually it was ten days ago, but she remains unaware of this fact ] with a map but no GPS so, heh, looks like the map's no good to me if I don't know where I am. [ but she doubts anyone could help with that, so she lets that be ] But um... I do have some questions, so... if anyone could answer them, that'd be... great...

[ something catches her eye and the locket as well; high walls and tall trees and a great big imposing fence surrounding... something. jogging forward and to the side just a bit, yukari catches sight of château du rêveur, and she spends a long moment just staring at the building. ]

... 'Kay, first question: Who builds a mansion like this in the middle of the woods? This's like something out of a western fairy tale...

[ and with that, the feed cuts out! ]

( ooc; open to action to anyone around in la llorona or château du rêveur! )

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[He turns his attention to Steve and gestures at Yukari with a nod of his head.]

Lost in the woods. She's got questions. You can answer them better.

[He circles around to stand behind Steve's right shoulder. It gives him both a clearer sightline of Yukari but it... also feels right to stand there, as his backup. Not that he's expecting anything to happen. He's just ready.

He remembers, for a moment, standing at Steve's side like this. It's a moment, out of context, but he knows it happened many times.]

Lost in the woods, huh.

[Steve smiles a little, both to put her at ease and because Bucky did the right thing by bringing her in.]

I'm sure Ariadne wouldn't mind you taking shelter. Where're you headed?

[ unfortunately, the question he asks undoes all the good he meant with his smile. ]

That's just the thing — I don't know. Some creatures grabbed me and just dropped me in the middle of the forest. They didn't tell me anything about what's going on. [ but yukari's not the type of girl to just sit down and lament her predicament, so in order to streamline the information gathering process, she shares what she knows so far: ] I've been able to find out that there are two main castles, one for "Seelie" and one for "Unseelie", and a girl told me I've been chosen by the "Unseelie" ... whatever that means.

[So she just arrived. He looks between the girl and Steve, but since he's a recent arrival himself, he doesn't have anything to add. Not to mention he's not sure he'd know how to add it helpfully anyway. So he just watches, says nothing.

An orange tabby cat pads its way up to him and curls around his feet. He looks down at it and picks it up gently with his one arm and lifts it to his shoulders, where it settles happily.]

[Welp, what he tells her next probably won't make it any better. Steve takes a deep breath.]

It means pretty much the same thing no matter which side chose you. It means that you were brought here to fight in their war because of some shard that's supposed to be inside of us. If one side gets enough of those shards, all of their soldiers get to go home again.

[It sounds simple enough, right? But there's a catch, and Steve says it with a bitter little smile.]

But in order to collect those shards, you've gotta kill people.

[Kids. People who aren't soldiers. Bucky. Her.

You can see his dilemma here.]

[ her eyes widen as steve fills her in, eyebrows lifting in a mix of shock and apprehension. this man has no reason to lie to her, so she has no reason not to believe him — especially about something this big. and yet her naturally skeptic disposition continues to make her uneasy because really? really? don't people have anything better to do than draft people into w...a...rs........

.... hahaha. okay no, now that she thinks about it, it makes perfect sense. ]

[ still, as she lets that sink in, she can't help but blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. ]

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

[He snorts. He's inclined to agree, not just because the reason for fighting sounds incredibly stupid to him. But then, he's been pulled into plenty of wars. More than enough for one--admittedly extended--lifetime.

Not to mention he's been given worse reasons for fighting.]

I've heard worse.

[The cat meows and he lifts a hand to scratch it behind its ears.]

I'm with you.

[Steve looks to each of them in turn. He's starting to feel like war is going to be a constant in his life. But he also doesn't know what he has without it.]

There has to be a better way of saving this world and getting people home again.

[He just doesn't know what it is. He sighs, realizing that he didn't introduce them.]

I'm Steve. That's Bucky. And that's...Bucky's friend.

[His brows draw together, but he's smiling a little again. Bucky always did have a soft spot for strays.]

[ BUSTS IN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR LIKE HE OWNS THE PLACE.

it's a good thing he was heading here anyway, or this arrival would have taken a lot longer. both of you military fellows, please don't mind the fact that he's got a pistol in a holster and a katana in a sheath slung over his back like a jrpg protagonist.

he is ready to fight ghosts! ]

Finally.

Edited 2014-12-12 21:25 (UTC)

[ you know, despite the fact that junpei comes bursting in unannounced, yukari doesn't seem at all surprised to see him.

instead, she closes her eyes. she will not let him get under her skin in front of these two strangers. ]

[ she (pointedly) turns her attention back to steve and bucky without so much as a "hello" to junpei. ]

It's nice to meet you three. [ can't leave the cat out, after all! ] My name's Yukari, and this is Stupei. [ yeah, she's nodding her head back towards junpei when she says that. ] He's kind of an idiot, but please don't let that keep us from talking.

[Unfortunately for everyone involved, the soldier doesn't wait for Yukari's calm and gentle introduction to smooth things over. The moment someone bursts through the door, armed with not just a gun but a katana as well, his instincts kick in. The cat apparently senses how his muscles tense, because it leaps off of him just as he lunges for the intruder, with every intent to subdue him by any means necessary.

Steve, help.]

[ eep! ]

[Steve looks at the door a second or two before Junpei bursts through it. It's not a premonition, it's the rapidly approaching footsteps and the trouble that usually follows. His first instinct is to cover Yukari. But he's already spoken to Junpei once before, recognizes him on sight, and Yukari's calm reaction to his entrance-

Uh oh.

Steve changes directions, because he knows where Bucky is headed, who he's headed for and what he intends to do when he reaches him. Steve's dancing days will be over before they barely got started if someone's murdered in Ariadne's house under his watch.

He becomes a wall for Bucky to slam into, prepared to take him to the floor if he has to.]

[ WELP, all calm thoughts (and introductions) go right out the window when bucky reacts, and yukari's voice is cut off in the chaos as she darts out of the way, muscles tense, fingers gripping her bow as tightly as she can manage. she's no physical fighter, she doesn't know the proper way to toss or take a punch, so getting out of the way of trouble is always the best choice for her right now.

as steve restrains bucky, yukari quickly goes to junpei's side and, after seeing that junpei is pretty much fine, lets him have it. ]

What is your problem, you idiot!? Why would you go bursting into someone's house like that, are you stupid?

[ hahaha he WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT at all, especially not from a guy with his arm in a sling — oh, is that the baseball guy from the lockets? wow, he's pretty buff...

junpei scrambles back in accordance to bucky's lunge, not sure if he should actually try to fight back or just dodge, or take the hit or what, when it turns out it's all fine. i mean, he's getting yelled at, but that's... normalish? ]

Hey, a chick told me to go here! And you weren't outside! I didn't know you had a bunch of giant bodyguards!

[Well, he sure does run head-on into a solid wall of Steve. There's a moment where his focus shifts, and he's very close to just attacking Steve instead, even bringing his arm up, ready to strike, but he stops.

He stops, and his arm drops and his gaze shoots between Steve and the kids and... okay so the kids know each other, it's okay, Steve's stopping him, no one's in danger... except from him, probably.

His gaze darts back to Steve nervously and he ducks his head. He made a mistake, that was wrong, and a part of him is just... waiting for the punishment that comes with a mistake. Because he's not allowed to make mistakes.

He doesn't even apologize, even though his whole stance practically screams it, because he knows that apologies are inadequate.]

[Steve's heart is in his throat when Bucky draws his fist back, because he didn't want things to be that way, not here. But he makes a call that goes against all of his instincts, all of his conditioning, and that's Steve's best friend in there.

No punishment comes. Steve exhales, lifts his hand to give Bucky's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. A silent it's okay. He'll be more careful in the future. They all will.]

It's Junpei, right? [He looks from the younger man and back to Bucky.] Buck, Junpei here tells me that baseball's a big deal in Japan now. Isn't that something?

[ she's about to correct junpei, say they aren't her bodyguards (seriously, junpei, does she NEED them??), but she can read the airs in the room better than most, and she lets her words slowly sink down into her stomach. her gaze drifts to bucky and steve, and she can pick up on that apologetic look, the downturn of the man's eyes, and yukari feels herself relax. concern is still evident on her face but at least the threat has passed for now.

part of her wants to ask if he's okay, but now's not the time. instead, she steps a little bit in front of junpei, just enough to keep him under control.

as she's not at all into baseball she has nothing to contribute to this conversation, save to elbow junpei in the stomach. ]

[ OOF nothing says pay attention like one of yukari's bony elbows... junpei's gaze jumps from her to steve as he tries to make the mental jump necessary from HOLY SHIT AUGH to yay, baseball!

but he shifts easily, and the enthusiasm in his voice does a good job of setting the tone to something lighter. ]

Uuuuuhhh, yeah! We almost medaled at the last Olympics, but South Korea is pretty damn good and got like, six freakin' runs in the bottom of the eighth in the semifinals.

Edited 2014-12-13 00:24 (UTC)

[There's a hand on his shoulder and he almost wants to flinch away, but it's Steve, so he lets it happen and... yeah, it feels good there so he takes a deep breath. It's okay?

It's okay.

He looks at Steve and he's talking about...

...baseball?

He blinks.

Baseball. He remembers baseball. His gaze flicks back to Junpei when he starts to talk but then he's looking back at Steve and remembering... something... what is it...]

Yeah, that's something...

[But he's distracted by the memories that are just... barely out of reach...]

[The crises has been averted, and no one's happier about it than Steve. (Except possibly Junpei.) He gives Bucky one more quick, questioning smile, but saves the rest of it for later.]

So you two are friends? From before you came here?

[That's good. It's important in ways that you have to be here alone for awhile to understand.]

And we're not her bodyguards. We just happened to be staying at my friend's house when Buck spotted her outside.

[ for a moment, that concern of yukari's flickers to the surface as she looks over bucky once more. he seems... spacey, but not like anyone she's ever met before. it's likely none of her business, but that won't stop her from worrying.

she'll just have to be better at hiding it, so she offers steve a grin when the subject is shifted to something more general. ]

Uh huh. As I was trying to say before, he's kind of an idiot, but he's at least good for taking hits.

[ wow he can't believe you just called him a meat shield??? RUDE??? but it is tru, yes... he shoots yukari an incredulous look — ]

You hung up on me! Your meat shield privileges are being revoked, okay? The next bear fight, you're handling that on your own.

[ he wouldn't really abandon you, yukarin... but... COME ON... ]

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