Day 69 | [video] | Dilandau Albatou

[burnburnburn]

[For the first time since he's been in Kore, Dilandau's not looking the least bit put out when making a public announcement. He's alert and in a good mood. Though he's draped on his sofa, it's a deceptive relaxation. He's got the stillness of a coiled spring,  ready to jump into action any moment. ]

 I hear there's more than beasts in the woods. Does anyone have information about the metal bears who guard the perimeter in the forest?

Comments

[burnburnburn]

[He makes a small face at that description]

I'll make sure I stand upwind to them if I encounter them.

I haven't spoken to you before. What's your name?

[undomesticated]

Riley Samson. And you are?

[She was slowly but surely starting to get to know the faces and names of the people around here. Very slowly.]

[burnburnburn]

Dilandau Albatou.

[Her taps his lips with his forefinger, thinking for a moment]

Would you be willing to track down those bears again?

[undomesticated]

[She made a noise that was like a huff of air mixed with a snort.]

Um, no. I got my ass handed to me last time. You want to run into them? Try to leave.

[burnburnburn]

I'd rather collect some intelligence first.

so they defeated you? How strong are you? [A pause, and then an addendum] Measured on a human scale.

[undomesticated]

I wasn't exactly human at the time. I was, um, kind of a big cat.

[burnburnburn]

[His brows raise in surprise at that]

You turn into a cat. A big one.

[He's starting to get the feeling he really should expect it when people come out with things like this. He takes a moment to rub his mouth and compose himself again before redirecting his questioning]

Are you a tree climbing cat? Do the bears follow you up?

[undomesticated]

I did turn into a cat. A jaguar. It was during that whole weird thing where people were other things.

[Because she totally wasn't admitting to that being a full time thing.]

[burnburnburn]

[He's not sure that's better, but he accepts her at her word]

I'm glad I missed being caught in that. What are you normally?

[undomesticated]

A people. I mean, a person. See?

[She smiles at him in the video feed, looking for all the world like your average teenage girl.]

[burnburnburn]

[He scrutinises her carefully, looking for horns or claws or signs she might not be human]

A lot of people here aren't what they appear to be.

[Looks human enough. He'll leave it for now and see if he can get any other uses out of her]

So what did you used to do before you came here?

[undomesticated]

[The way he's looking at her through the screen has her wondering what kind of suspicious guy he is. The comment doesn't help.]

Do? I guess I helped my dad out occasionally. I haven't actually gotten a job or anything yet. I was planning on working that out after my little trip.

[burnburnburn]

[The face he's making suggests that answer isn't very helpful to him at all]

What I want to know is what skills you have that are of use here.

[undomesticated]

Here? Survival skills.

[If she could survive on her own in the Amazon, she could (hopefully) do the same here. She knew how to hunt and forage in both forms, her senses helping her know what berries and plants to avoid. She could fish and was, in normal situations, capable of setting up a scent-marked perimeter that discouraged most predators from coming close to any campsite she might have.]

[burnburnburn]

[Survival skills? Maybe she could be useful. He sits forward, once again pleased by what he hears]

You don't have to challenge the bears, but could you build a trap that would hold one?

[undomesticated]

Not unless it was a pit trap. We don't exactly have mega resources for anything else. To be honest, I really don't think it would hold them for long if they even fell in it at all. You didn't see these things. They're huge and they're not 'dumb animals'.

[burnburnburn]

I'm not planning on holding them for long. [A smile. He's obviously got a lot of plans brewing behind his eyes if his body language is anything to go by]

You've been helpful. I might need you in the future if my other sources of information give me what I need.

[That's as close to a thank you as he gets]

[undomesticated]

Good luck holding them at all.

Wow. Lucky me. [That might be a little bit of sarcasm hidden in her tone.]