amber ☆ 01

[soldieronwards]

[ The man looking down into the amber appears confident, at a glance. Certainly, he's friendly, and he offers a grin. ]

So here's what I'm thinkin'.

We got threats here, don't we? Giant spiders, that sort of thing. Or average-sized spiders, but they're giant to us, that's for sure. There's probably more crap where that came from.

But now we're trying to get weapons for everybody. Ways for us all to defend ourselves.

[ He gestures at the golden image before him. ]

I got an offer for all of you. If you need help defending yourselves, I'll--I'll try and teach you.

But I might need a little help setting up a gym for it. Anyone got any ideas how we can go about that?

[ A beat. He hesitates, then says: ]

I'm Bucky, by the way. Nice to meet you all, even if it's not under the greatest of circumstances.

Comments

[soldieronwards]

The houses are a little small for that sort of thing, I think. If we could set up some mats outside the tree...that'd be good.

[redactions]

And some kinda bowl for the gems? I dunno about you, but I wouldn't want wings gettin' in the way.

[ Or getting torn off, for that matter. ]

[soldieronwards]

[ He grimaces a bit. ]

Yeah, yeah...I'm thinkin' of putting mine on a cord, but it's best to take stuff like that off before training anyway.

[redactions]

All right.

When's good?

[soldieronwards]

Any time, really. Ain't like we got a lot else to do here, other than try to figure out riddles. And that's not my strong point.

[redactions]

Ain't mine either. See you in an hour?

[soldieronwards]

Sure thing.

[redactions]

[ And it's an hour later that he does show up, shirt loosely buttoned, with a small bowl to hold the gems. So this having another him thing should've taken some getting used to, but it's just one more weird thing on a very long list, and there's more pressing matters to worry about. ]

[ He waves, ensuring his footsteps aren't quiet. He probably couldn't sneak up on this man, but that's not the point. It feels wrong to. ]

Hey, how's it going.

[soldieronwards]

[ This Bucky's wearing his combat-gear-like getup as usual, so there's no question of how his shirt is buttoned, at least. He turns as the other man approaches, watching him thoughtfully for a moment. ]

Not bad. I mean, nothing's attacked, at least.

[redactions]

[ He shrugs his shirt off so it's only the undershirt and pants he's wearing, and stretches. ]

Yet, you mean, [ he corrects, wryly, then makes an amused noise. ] Even now, just waitin' for the mortars t'start falling, huh?

[soldieronwards]

[ He smirks a little. ]

I'm a superhero now--or I was, I mean. We don't exactly get much in the way of breaks.

[redactions]

[ He gets an exaggerated once-over. ]

Awh, no outfit? You know we could work one o'those - what did they have, in nylon?

[soldieronwards]

[ Brief laughter-- ]

I'm not the flashy kind of superhero anymore, not since I gave up the--last outfit I had.

[ Oh, that was a close one. He almost said "the shield." ]

[redactions]

[ He raises an eyebrow. ]

Anymore? [ rhetorical, it's just nice to know that after all the crap of the Winter Soldier this Bucky still picked himself up and kept going. ] Sounds like a story anyway, and a good one. You don't leave out the juicy details when you tell me.

[soldieronwards]

[ Starting to stretch himself, now--mostly to focus his mind so he doesn't slip up again. ]

I gotta leave out some details, pal. The future's a weird thing. There's no telling what'll be the same for you--and what won't.

[redactions]

[ He snorts. ]

Who'm I gonna tell?

[soldieronwards]

[ Deadpan: ]

Natasha. And then she'll kick my ass.

[redactions]

[ The smile fades, and he rolls a shoulder, taking up a southpaw boxing stance. He's right-handed, but on Brooklyn's streets this has served better; confuse 'em when you don't move the way they expect. ]

Hey, that's on me. You were keepin' something - so was she, mind - I saw an opening, and I took the shot.

[soldieronwards]

I'm still keepin' things.

[ He shifts into a combat stance himself, although it's nothing so specific, and he raises a brow. ]

You box?

[redactions]

I don't need your secrets.

[ Whatever they are, man's got a reason for keeping them, but this Bucky would still have pushed to know about the Winter Soldier. That was too deep a wound to pass unnoticed. ]

Yeah. You don't?

[soldieronwards]

[ He shakes his head. ]

I grew up on a military base...I picked a lot of fights and won most of 'em, but I didn't get any real training until I was sixteen, and then it was--well, military.

[redactions]

[ He can't imagine being a military brat, but that's hardly relevant. He jabs a little, mostly looking for the equilibrium between them, that can settle into blows and counter-blows steadily. ]

It was a tossup my end. Steve had a habit of takin' on anybody, either I was too late and scrapin' him off the floor, or right there gettin' my ass handed t'me. [ a wry smile ] Boy was I glad I was tall by the time I was sixteen, fewer people messed with us.

[soldieronwards]

You--

[ He almost lets his guard down at that. Almost. But he blocks like it's second nature for him, which it probably is. ]

You grew up with Steve?

[redactions]

[ He doesn't let up, but the blows are an iota gentler, just getting his other self back into the flow of a fight. ]

Yeah. Thought I mentioned it, sorry.

[soldieronwards]

[ Shaking his head a bit, though not enough to distract himself from the fight. ]

If you did, it slipped my mind--don't just focus on your fists, pal.

[ And he's aiming a short kick at the other man's ankle to unbalance him, then a jab at his shoulder while he's occupied with that. ]