03 Amber | Downstream of the Boat

[hairsay]

[For once this lanky young woman does not look like she's trying to win a staring contest with a cockatrice when she activates her amber slice. She does look sweaty and tired, but maybe that's actually helping. Behind her the mist is close, a towering wall, but the chuckle of the stream gives away her location before she can even open her mouth.]

Hey, any of you happen to be strong and willing to lend a hand? Me and Evan, [And indeed, the gawky redhead struggling to roll and heft rocks behind her happens to be in the frame as she talks,] are putting together a fish trap. I don't know about any of you but the thought of real meat that we don't have to bargain for with stone doubloons is so tempting we've been building this thing for the last couple of weeks straight.

It could use refining.

[She swings the slice around to reveal a very crude weir along one side of the stream composed entirely of raised pebbles and smooth rocks; it doesn't block the stream because Jo has noted the boat at dock just upstream of her location, but she's making a fair play at funnelling any minnows into it.]

Once we're done we just need some bait and some lucky catches. I never learned spear fishing but I'll bet some of you super freaks has a leg up on that. Come on down, huh?

Comments

[kingpika]

I would kill for a video game about now, to be honest. They weren't really my thing, but there isn't much to do here most days, so...

[ Too bad his endless supply of cashmoney couldn't buy him a PC in this tree. ]

If you're going to fish for us, I guess I could do that! Anything to stop being vegetarian!

[ He's usually pretty stingy about his treasures, okay? ]

[hairsay]

Of course I'll fish for everyone, it's not like we're big enough that a minnow couldn't feed two or three people.

Of course, the blue cat gets first dibs. I think he'll go feral in the face of fish guts if he doesn't get his share first.

[That's a joke, though Jo is serious about the spear. She's too old for 'gimmee!' hands but the idea of snicking treasure from a child fills her with bullyish glee.]

You should come down and take a look. It's nicer out here than it is in that weird bath house in the tree trunk.

[kingpika]

Ah, I had a pet lion once, [ In the future? Technically the older Gilgamesh owned the lion. ] so I know how that feels. As long as I get my own share!

[ He ponders for a moment. ]

I'll fly down right now, if you're there!

[hairsay]

[Jo is giving him such a pursed-lip look that she looks like she's been sucking on a lemon.]

I don't know what to do with you fucking kids, [she eventually admitted. People dropped information on her that couldn't possibly make sense, but then everything else they were saying more or less seemed true. By the time that Gil made it out to the stream, she was already back to work, hauling rocks.]

Hey, spoiled brat, you never told me what your name was!

[kingpika]

Don't swear in front of young children, miss! [ Look at this adorable nine year old. You should really watch your language!

He shows up soon enough, flying down to the stream with a spear in his hand like some fairy warrior. ]

Me? You can call me Gil! [ And he doesn't ask for her name because he's Gil. ]

[hairsay]

Ah, fu--dge, [Jo finishes lamely. She's been doing it again, hasn't she? How long has she been cursing in front of a nine year old without realizing it?! She grumbles at him,] I'm Jolene, smart kid. Now where's my super-spear?

[kingpika]

[ Gil makes a note of the name, and never uses it ever. ]

Super-spears are all out of stock! Ask me again when we've left the mist!

[ So he can refuse her properly. Like hell he's going to trade away one of his real treasures for fish. ]

I'll lend you these instead!

[ He jams the spear he's holding into the ground, and three more pop out of thin air and follow suit.

As far as spears go, they're well made, but otherwise unremarkable. ]

[hairsay]

[She stares at him with her jaw literally agape. Kid... you can't... her brain...]

What else can you whip out of thin fucking air, wiseguy!?

[kingpika]

Uh...

[ Gil sticks his hand into the small tear in space and tosses out some random items. Gold, gems, a bunch of daggers, yes that is a slipper, and a berry. ]

Stuff. [ A simple enough conclusion, as he grabs the berry and bites into it. ]

[hairsay]

[Jo actually scrubs at her eyes and then has to turn away for a moment. Trust a nine-year-old to hoard like a magpie. It's the contents of his hoard that give away more than anything. This kid's really from an entirely different world, isn't he?]

Alright, well Gil, you're gonna be eating fish sooner than later. Maybe you can store a few of them for us while we catch a million or so!

[kingpika]

My vault isn't a storage service, but...

[ Look, kids don't want to share their toys. Not that the adult Gilgamesh enjoyed sharing much. ]

Since I'm already doing you a favour, we can go with this one time, I suppose.

[hairsay]

Well I'm not planning on going spear-crazy right now, [Jo exclaims. She casts a half-glance out to the weir, still unfinished, and then gives the child a face worthy of a peer rather than an adult.] What do you think I am, some kind of super-human or something? I'll take those spears and use them and then when we're good enough to actually catch the little bas--s, [she very neatly recovers from that near swear,] then I'll hit you up. Anyway, we're probably gonna cook the first dozen of them right off the bat, fry them up against bug-butts and cram them in our faces. I'm thinking long haul, here.

[kingpika]

You're not some kind of super-human? You're in strange company then, miss!

[ Look at all these overpowered kids. And the overpowered adults who act like kids. ]

But you can keep the spears as long as you need, I have more than enough of them!

[ For what? Why do small children need spears in the hundreds? Who knows? ]

[hairsay]

You know what... where I come from, [and she's only able to admit this after a couple of months away from it, and with the miraculous soothing of the golden lifestream] you didn't want to be a super freak. It meant bad stuff.

But thanks. One or two less things for you to put your red eyes out on.

...Where are you from, anyway, Gil? You look fucking funny. [Whoops, there goes the rough language again. Jo covers her mouth and stifles an embarrassed snort.]

[kingpika]

You can't be a hero without some adversity! [ He's the King of Heroes, he knows what he's talking about. Probably. ]

Me? I've been all over. I guess my first home is the city of Uruk. Have you heard of it? [ He's not particularly pleased about the swearing, but he'll let one go. Her reaction to her own swearing makes it worth it, after all. ]

[hairsay]

Europe's not a city, [she jabs, but not as fiercely as she could have. She's preoccupied with his comment about heroism, which as far as she is concerned is a load of bullshit. Not that she is going to tell a nine-year-old that the cruel grind of survival is about fighting for another day, or a few more hours, or a few more minutes against worsening odds...]

Anyways, I doubt I'd know it. Half the people here seem to be from entirely different planets if that makes any sense. You ever heard of Alberta? I doubt it.

[kingpika]

Uruk, not Europe. Uruk was in Asia! [ dramatic sigh ]

And Alberta's in Canada, why wouldn't I know about that? Don't be silly, miss.

[hairsay]

[Jo casts him a very dirty stare.]

Alright, where in Asia's your magic city, kid? I don't know anywhere in the world where people can do shit--stuff--like you do.

[kingpika]

Mesopotamia? Babylonia? Iraq? Do those names mean anything to you? Ah, but Iraq's not accurate either. That's just where the city used to be.

[ He takes a moment to consider how to properly explain himself. ]

In the calendar that you seem like you'd be familiar with, about 2700 BC!

[hairsay]

[Jo gives the child a dirty look and almost drops a question or two that might damn her, but she manages to bite her tongue.]

You know what? I'm just gonna go and believe myself that you're from some place that's real different from the one that I live in. I mean... my roomie comes from a few years my future, mostly the same part of the world even, and sh... stuff's as different as could be already.

I'll... I'll just take your word for it. alright?

[kingpika]

A few thousand years difference is plenty of difference no matter what, but don't worry, I'm perfectly fine in urban settings too!

[ Gil returns the dirty look with the sparkliest one he can manage. Look at this sweet charmer. ]

[hairsay]

[Jo scoffs, losing a lot of her edge.] Gil, does this look like an urban setting to you?

[kingpika]

No, but you look like an urban person.

[ nodnod. Don't ask him where he got that idea from. ]

[hairsay]

[Jo is caught scoffing again. The nerve of this kid...]

What makes you think that?! [The hick in her is deeply offended.]

[kingpika]

[ You just had to ask! ]

You smell of the concrete jungle. [ Not literally. ]