onepassingnight | (Two) Days in the Village

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(Two) Days in the Village

[ Dark, bleak, and damp - it's night in the small, desolate mountain village on which this dream centers, and by its sodden state of disarray, some kind of vicious storm must have just passed through. Everything about this place is nightmarishly exaggerated, drawn from the memory of a creature with only passing knowledge of human dwellings -- and no fondness at all for the proprietors of such strange establishments.

Eerily abandoned, no light shines in any window-- Except for one, whole and filled with the warm orange glow of one last burning lamp. And it's into the shallow reflection of this warm light that a lone, pale figure steps. A large, lanky silver wolf or a tall, thin man with only the attributes of the same animal, however he is perceived, his intent is the same. He's rarely been more determined in his life (or maybe that's more terrified, though he'd never admit to that), and it shows.

This is a dream he's had often, since then. And though he knows that it spells certain doom, he stops to look through the lit window, all the same.

No one's here.

Another empty room, filled with queerly-shaped furniture (another word he doesn't know). The light goes out immediately on the heels of this realization, and another one appears in a window on the other side of town. And when he slinks away from the safety of the first building's shadow, this is where he heads, to look again for something he's so stupidly managed to misplace. ]

[ooc: Anyone looking for an extremely surly rescuer is welcome to dream as another "animal" (or human) who's been captured and caged in the village. Otherwise, it's all good! Wacky timeline shenanigans with this month's theme included.]

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[A seven year old with very red hair is stumbling around the dark village, glancing around fearfully. He's rubbing his arms, probably to keep warm; he's got a good pair of boots on, but his clothing is just a dress shirt and pants, neither of which look very thick. Where is everyone? I-is he a-alone?]

[ The scrape of his claws against the wooden windowsill sounds louder than it is, in the empty dark, and Souichi flinches unconsciously before steeling himself, again. He won't do any good if he's caught before he finds what he's looking for. (Not that he really cares -- he tells himself. This is about his sense of honor, nothing else.)

He turns away from another empty window -- and that's when he sees it, something moving in the erstwhile deserted mountain town. Something small, and though very clearly human by scent, notably lacking in the pungent, sickening smell of (gunpowder) death that marks a hunter.

It's just a kid.

The lone voice of empathy in him is quickly (if not easily) quashed; he'd have more confidence if it hadn't been his own younger brother's guilt trip that had him out here, in the first place (and nothing else). No, the kid's definitely not alone, but the wolf watching him opts to do just that, for the moment. Maybe this lone human will lead him to the rest of them, after all. ]

[He looks around sharply--did he hear something? But he quickly becomes distracted by a light in a window on the other side of the window. He's not alone! He hurries across the dark village toward it, only to find that there's only a light, there's nobody there. Then, on top of that, the light goes out.

He starts to whimper, which then quickly turns to a wail.] Moooo-ooooooom! Where am I? Where did you goooo-ooooooo!

[ Oh for--

Damn it. He can't stand the sound of that wailing, hates the sound of crying altogether, and it sets his ears back flat against his skull. Souichi can only bear to wait idly by another moment; it doesn't look like anyone's coming, and though he's not surprised (callous and idiotic as they are, humans can't be any better than bears about their offspring), it still galls him.

With the utmost reluctance, he steps away from the squat, wooden structure he'd been lurking behind. ]

Hey! Don't do that.

[He goes silent immediately, staring at you in wide-eyed alarm.] Y-you're a t-talking wolf! Don't eat me!

[ That elicits a short huff of a growl from him. Really. What kind of disgusting things has this kid heard? ]

I'd sooner eat garbage. [ ...Which he means in the most reassuring way. ]

Unless you give me a reason, I'm not here to hurt you. Or any of your kind, for that matter.

[He looks convince not in the slightest.] Riiiiight. Because canines hate eating trash. I'm not stupid, you know. Everyone thinks I'm stupid, but I'm not. Someday I'll rule the world, and then you'll be sorry. You'll all be sorry!

[He might be running his mouth because he's scared. Or that might just be something he hasn't learned not to do yet. And then he realizes the rest of what you said.]

Then what do you want?

Don't confuse me with some mutt, you little--!

[ Wait. Wait wait. He's not getting into an argument with a) a child and b) a human. Especially not one with such a freaky god complex.

Whatever.

This isn't his problem -- he should have already learned his damn lesson about sticking his nose into other animals' business -- but he can't really seem to shut-up, either. ]

For you to stop making such a wretched sound. That's all. How do you expect to rule anything, crying like that? It's disgraceful.

I-I wasn't crying! [His lower lip trembles in what is surely an intimidating fashion.] I was just trying to find my mother--b-because she gets worried when she doesn't know where I am, that's all!

Where am I, anyway?

Then it must be someone else around here who reeks of fear. [ Not convinced in the least, he swaps out anger for his usual aloofness. ]

You're in the mountain village. I don't know what you humans call it. [ And his underlying tone suggests that he doesn't particularly care, either. ] But there isn't anyone else here.

Y-yeah, must be. [He juts out his chin stubbornly.]

[...And then he crumbles again.] What do you mean? Where did they go?

Does that mean the village is haunted?

How should I know? [ And for the moment, he totally doesn't mean that in any cruelty; there aren't any scents to follow, after such heavy rain, and that's left him at something of a loss, really. Especially in his own efforts to search out some signs of life in this town. ]

If there were anything here besides you and me, I'd know it. [ Reassurance he offers grudgingly. Because he definitely doesn't care whether this human is scared or not. No way. ]

[He doesn't look reassured in the slightest.] Then what's turning the lights on and off?

We see them turn off and on all the time, from the forest. You mean that's not how they're supposed to work? [ Not knowing thing one about electricity (or candles, for that matter), he has to wonder, now. ]

[He shakes his head vehemently.] No, people turn them on and off. There have to be people. I think. But there's nobody here... [He looks like he's thinking about crying again.]

[ Well, you learn something new every day.

...There's no time to think this over, though, because-- Oh, crap. Is he really going to start bawling again? Really, at this point, trying to distract this kid is purely for Souichi's own personal well-being. (Or so he tells himself.)

He can't stand that sound. ]

...So there're people here. They must've just masked their scent, somehow. Your species doesn't just abandon their young, right?

Mother would never abandon me! [But he doesn't sound very sure.] M-maybe somebody kidnapped her...

[He stomps his foot crossly.] This is why when I'm grown up I'm locking her in a tower, so nothing can happen to her!

[ ...Well, that's more than he wanted to know.

Humans are pretty messed up, all around, aren't they? ]

I don't have time for this. Where do you humans keep the animals you kidnap?

[This? This is a fear that Teddy's held ever since his first experience with... with experimentation. The memory of being mistreated, of being a test subject, still bothers him on some nights. And this night in particular, he remembers it. He can tell that this is a nightmare, but... that doesn't help him. He's trapped in a steel cage, shackled to the bars, and while normally he could just rip himself free, his strength is gone. He's unable to do what he normally could manage so easily.

And so he waits in the cold and the dark, trying to think of some way to escape. He can't even change his shape like he normally can, can't even shift his skin from green to a normal tan. So, in the end, he does what almost anyone else would- he starts slamming against the bars, venting his frustration in the vain hope that someone will hear him and let him out.] Hey! Is anyone there?

[He... doesn't like how much his voice echoes in the silent night, though...]

[ It isn't the voice he's been hoping to hear (more fervently than he would ever admit), but that plea is loud and clear in the otherwise silent dark. And his burdensome sense of honour won't let him walk away -- within moments, he's tracked that great ruckus to its source, peering cautiously in through the hut's broken door, which has been left hanging just slightly ajar.

Whatever kind of animal that is, he's never seen one like it, before, but that isn't enough to deter him, unsurprised as he is to find other casualties of human idiocy have been taken. The cage he's in is another matter, entirely, however. It is familiar because his conscious self knows it, still, but to the him trapped within this nightmare the simple metal construct is utterly alien once more.

The door creaks as he shoulders his way gracelessly in, golden brown eyes sharp and almost accusatory in the faint oblong of moonlight that follows him in. ]

If I help you out of there, you're not gonna try to eat me, are you?

[Teddy's eyes immediately focus on the newcomer, and for a moment, he's concerned. What if this is the person who's imprisoned him? Normally Teddy has no fears about the matter, but when he doesn't have any of his powers, well... but then there's that voice, and Teddy breathes a sigh of relief. He's almost tempted to laugh, but when it seems like those eyes are looking for any reason to not help, Teddy isn't going to risk it.] No, no, of course not! Why would I want to eat you?

How should I know? [ His ears twitch irritably, but he stalks a little closer to the cage, just the same, casting wary glances around the room on his approach. ] I've never seen one of you, before. Whatever you are.

[ And he's never seen locks like the ones on this cage, either, if his expression is anything to go by. Dim light glints off the round lenses of his glasses as he scrapes a claw across the metal experimentally. ] ...What is this stuff?

That's... kind of a complicated answer. [Sometimes... sometimes Teddy wishes he knew exactly what he was. Oh sure, he knows the biological make-up, as weird as it is, but... that doesn't really explain what he is. Or more appropriately, who he is. But he doesn't need to burden this newcomer with his existential angst. Still, when the other man scratches his claw across the metal, Teddy's heart sinks. That's... not a positive start.]

It's steel. MasterLock, I think. Normally I could break it myself, but... [He shrugs, frowning as he does so. It's galling to not be able to Hulkling Smash his way through this, but there's no point in worrying about that. That's also why he doesn't bring up the ears or anything else- he doesn't want to risk anything that might make this man walk right out that door.]

[ Good thing Souichi doesn't seem all that interested, then -- he doesn't ask any follow up questions on that point, now too busy puzzling out the lock to bother with details like that. Tail lashing at the backs of his muddied khaki pants, he starts working at the weird contraption in earnest, even going so far as to pull it through the bars and bite at it, dragging sharp eye teeth across the metal. Hard enough to scratch, thanks to the slightly skewed physics of his dream, but not enough to put much of a dent in the lock, sadly.

As he pries at the fastenings, though, there's something distracted in his expression. This isn't what he came here for, not exactly, and he can't help lending an ear to that nagging feeling still hanging in the forefront of his mind. ] If you know what it's called, do you know how to break it, too? I'm looking for someone else these humans have taken, too. A bear. If they're planning to kill him, I probably don't have much time left.

Break it? ...no, but there's probably a key around here somewhere. [He hopes so, anyway. He's pretty sure that this guy can't rip down the cage on his own strength, and he's a little surprised to see those teeth raking across the steel. If he does that, then he probably doesn't know how keys work, so Teddy speaks quickly.] It'll be a small steel thing. About this big, with sharp indentations all along one side. [He makes a small shape with his fingers, roughly guessing at the size. Hopefully that will help.

And at the statement... Teddy's throat goes dry, but then he grimly nods.] If you get me out, I'll help you find him. I can fly, I can find him more quickly than you can.

[ Just for good measure, he rattles the bars as hard as he can -- but wolves are more speed than strength (outside the jaws, anyway), and there isn't even the slightest bit of give. Frowning quite severely, Souichi listens almost reluctantly to the large, green creature's explanation.

...And his offer. Even if he doubts flight will be of much real use on a night as black and hopeless as this one, a second set of eyes doesn't sound too bad at all. ]

Fine. [ He nods, ever severe, and then turns his back on the cage to search the room for something small and metal that'll fit that lock. A few minutes of sniffing about -- and there's a very strangely-shaped key half hidden in the straw littering the dingy floor in a corner near the door. It's his uncertain imagining of a human thing, and a little hard to look at because of that, never quite the same shape between blinks. But it's better than nothing, surely. ]

This it? [ ...But he doesn't step forward to try it, just yet. That calculating, cold look has entered his eyes, again, as if he's reassessing the stranger's previous assertion of meaning him no harm.

It isn't that he doesn't want to help (won't be able to leave without doing so, thanks to his conscience's constant nagging), but just how to go about doing so, now, gives him pause. ]

[He shouldn't count Teddy out. Of course, not that the guy's gotten any really good reason for why he should trust Teddy, but... the young man's got some tricks up his sleeves. His shapeshifting is incredibly precise, after all. There's a lot he can do to work with it.

For now, at that cold and calculating look on his rescuer's face, Teddy frowns. Maybe he doesn't know how the lock works?] You can just give that to me. I can reach the lock from this side and let myself out.

[ His suspicion remains, but that's a perfectly good out, and he isn't one to neglect such a thing. With almost expertly hidden hesitance, he steps forward to poke the key through the bars, wary of the caged stranger's hands.

As soon as it's handed off, though, he's taking one liberal step back. Just in case. ]

...How'd you learn so much about this stuff, anyway?

It's... kind of common knowledge. At least where I come from. [He takes the key carefully, still a little surprised at how reluctant the other man is. Does he really think that Teddy's going to be doing anything to someone who's rescued him? That's a really depressing thought. Especially for a super-hero who's gotten very good at the whole 'rescuing' thing.

So after he unlocks the door, he steps out and stretches his aching shoulders and back, then offers a winning grin.] Thanks, I didn't think I'd ever get out. Now, who are you looking for, again? I said I'd help, and I will.

[ It's nothing personal; Souichi's always had trust issues, and what with all the attempts on his life that've been made, lately, he's not about to stupidly let down his guard, again. Not around anybody.

And that grin, unfortunately, falls incredibly flat against the stalwart brick wall that is his own perpetually unimpressed expression, because of this. ] A bear. A black bear the villagers here took from the forest, because they mistook him for one that's been causing trouble.

Since I know for a fact it's not him, that's why I'm here. He doesn't deserve to be killed for this. [ Other things, maybe, Souichi's defensive posture says - but not this. ]

[Well, Teddy can deal with dour. A black bear who was falsely accused of causing trouble... well, so far as the young man's concerned, his rescuer is exactly right. No one deserves to be killed for something they didn't do, and the other man doesn't need to say anything else. Teddy's body shifts, growing long leathery wings, and he grimly nods as he starts moving to the door.] We shouldn't waste any time, then.

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(Two) Days in the Village

Timeskip: young!Jack

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I know this is really late, I hope you don't mind?

Perfectly all right. \o/

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