[OPEN] Summer 2023 Catch-all!

[woocas]

Who: Lucas Kovach (woocas) & YOU
What: Getting settled and doing some investigations!
When: Anytime during the Summer!
Where: All over the isle
Warning(s): Will be noted in comment headers

(ooc note: I'm down for writing custom starters if anyone needs or for rescuing anyone from brutoks! poke me on discord (daranon)!)

Comments

[echoablaze]

"Sounds like a plan." Andy looks around, taking in the scene. Back home, she was more familiar with the wide expanse of trails and trees that surrounded her town, always feeling confident about venturing into the wilderness. Here, however...well, not only were these woods completely new to her, but knowing literally anything could be out there made them feel just a little more threatening. With that, she starts moving towards a path in the trees before her nerves can catch up. "I guess this direction's as good as any."

She remains quiet at first, listening to the environment and scanning her surroundings for a brutok, hoping to avoid the accidental eye contact the newspaper warned against. "So, what's the move if we actually find one?"

[woocas]

Lucas falls easily in step with Andy, not quite as familiar in a forest as she might be, but he's definitely spent his fair share of hiking and the like. He keeps his gaze up off the ground for the most part, figuring the little buggers might be laying in wait there.

"That's...a really good question actually." He's so good at thinking ahead. "How good are you at kicking things? That seemed to work just fine the last time I was out here. Throw 'em hard enough and they splinter."

But if they run into a bunch of brutok then they might have a bad time.

[echoablaze]

Growing up in a small town surrounded by miles of state forests and idealistic hiking trails with a father enthusiastic about dispersed camping, Andy had a lot of experience to draw from when she began galivanting around the woods hoping for a glimpse of Bigfoot or a chance encounter with the elusive stairs in the forest. Even so, her camping trips were generally more relaxed--no hushed surveillance or risky confrontations, instead a six-pack in the cooler and a fishing rod bobbing in the high lake waters.

"Well, once I had a squirrel try to steal a full bag of dried apricots from my camp. But that time I just tossed a piece of crumpled tin foil at it and the crisis was averted. Should I be expecting a physical showdown?" Andy couldn't help but gaze into the woods as she spoke. "Oh shit, is that one? Or maybe it's just an odd-shaped branch."

[woocas]

Lucas can't help but to snicker at the mental image of Andy taking on a ferocious squirrel like that. "I hate to say it but maybe?"

Lucas turns to take a peek. At first he doesn't see anything but then - yeap, that's a weird shadow moving. And there's the weird chittering to go along with it. Sounds like that brutok isn't alone...

"Well, we got two options. Run back to town or scare 'em off! I'm down to punt some brutoks if you are," But honestly he couldn't blame her if she wanted to head back either.

[echoablaze]

"Okay. Okay." Andy's heart began to race, not out of fear but excitement. She wished more than anything that she could've arrived here with her camera. After hearing about these brutoks time and time again, there was finally one--or more than one, she couldn't tell--just in front of her. Whether or not that was a good thing...well, that was yet to be determined.

"We didn't come all the way out here for nothing, right?" Andy whispered, unsure if their voices would scare off the brutok or, more likely, draw them closer before they were ready to defend themselves. "Just...if at all possible, I'd like to not be turned into a tree."

[woocas]

"Don't worry, dude. I got your back." Lucas cracks his knuckles, keen for some pay back from the first go around with these little bastards. They made him look dumb in front of Erik, his honor will be avenged!

Their voices do draw in the brutoks and in the span of a few second a half dozen shuffle out of the foliage and into view. "Okay, um...something to hit them with might be better actually."

Without thinking to warn Andy first, Lucas flicks his hand out and a nearby branch launches itself into his grasp. He'll toss it normally in her direction before fetching one for himself. "Okay, let's play ball!"

[echoablaze]

Andy is momentarily stunned as a multitude of brutoks erupt from the trees. Obviously this is what she came out here expecting, but she's been following leads like this for years and to actually find something...

Her heart racing, she quickly turns towards Lucas, just in time to see him somehow tractor beam a branch into his hand. As he tosses it her way, she reflexively catches it, but now she's distracted. "Wait, how did you do that--"

"Oh, shit," now remembering the brutoks, she quickly spins in their direction, branch held out like a makeshift sword. She swipes firmly toward a brutok that's wandering closer, but it's still too far to hit. "I can't believe I'm about to play Whac-A-Mole with magic tree creatures!"

[woocas]

"I'll explain later, promise!" Lucas feels momentarily bad that he sprung that on her without warning but they're in the thick of it now.

"Whack-a-Mole sounds about right," Lucas agrees, brandishing his stick at a pair of hissing tree fiends. He puts both hands to the stick and twists at his hips. "But you know what I'm thinking? A little golf would be a fun!"

Channeling his inner Tiger Woods, Lucas unleashes a golf swing that would never strike a ball at the tee but does send one brutok off into the brush again. "Four!"

[echoablaze]

Andy fails to stifle a laugh as Lucas forcibly propels a brutok back into the trees. "Well then, here goes nothing," she says to herself as she steps forward, swinging her branch wildly in the direction of a group of the creatures. Her eyes reflexively snap shut as she swings, but they jerk open as Andy feels the branch make contact. One brutok flies backward, but several more advance forward in its place.

Andy points her stick at them defensively. "One down, a hell of a lot more to go!"

[woocas]

"She shoots, she scores, and the crowd goes wiiiiild!" Lucas whoops, adding in a fake crowd noise afterwards for the full effect. Too bad more of the brutok are here to ruin the party.

"You'll be alright," He flashes a reassuring smile and takes a few steps backwards so they're standing back to back. "Just keep swinging and don't stop!"

He'll take his own advice, too. As more brutoks join the fray Lucas swings again and sends two of them back into the woods, but he's mostly trying to keep an eye out for Andy...just in case.