destinystrings | 01 - Hold And Squeeze

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01 - Hold And Squeeze

Who: Sophie Hayes and YOU
Where: Capricorn Ward - Forest Area
Summary: Rifle practice with a gun slinging deer girl!
Warnings: firearms and mentions of hunting and gutting

The forest wasn't much like hers back home. The trees weren't tall enough, and there was a sort of newness about it. She could see that quite a few of the trees were young, like the forest had gone through a considerable amount of replanting a few decades ago. Her forest had been downright ancient, so the comparison between them were... interesting to say the least.

She slowly breathed out, flexing her fingers around her rifle as one, brown ear twitched. She heard a songbird land on a branch seven feet above her, followed by a burst of chirping. Her ears swivelled back, and she took in one deep breath.

Held it. One, two, three...

Sophie squeezed the trigger, and with a loud crack she hit the homemade target in the bullseye. She heard the bird take flight in a panic, and she flicked her ears forwards and back to clear the slight ringing from the sheer noise. She was used to it at this point, but damn did it sting.

She rose up from where she had been lying on her belly, leaping out of the bush she had been hiding in and giving herself a shake. Sophie rested the rifle against her shoulder, smiling a little in satisfaction. Her skills were still sharp, but she needed to challenge herself a little. Maybe she should try hunting some of the game here. She hadn't been certain if hunting had been allowed here, and didn't want to step on toes, but surely a rabbit or a pheasant or two wouldn't go amiss...

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Gunshots in the middle of the park are rarely a good thing. While Natsuki was still unsure about this place, it was a good enough reason to get off her bike and go investigate. She made her way through the forest slowly. Somewhat unsure if she had actually heard anything at all, since there didn't seem to be much outside of decidedly unarmed songbirds and squirrels. Her worry growing, she summoned her two guns from their ethereal resting place, only to let dis distract her enough to not realize that the branch she was stepping on had a bit too much room below it.

*SNAP*

Sophie instantly reacted. Having lived in a forest that had a few bold wolves and bears during the harsh winters, her trigger finger was more than a little reflexive. In one fluid movement her rifle was up and aimed, ears pricked forwards and pupils dilated as she scanned the area before her.

"Who's there?!"

Since Sophie was asking that question and, Natsuki assumed that the woman hadn't seen her before she was able to duck behind a tree. Since she didn't sound too menacing, and wasn't really firing the gun wildy in the first place, it seemed safe enough to return her question with a question,

"What are you doing out here?"

Natsuki was not too at ease with this woman, and squeezed on the handles of her guns just to be ready.

"W-What? You ask me that when you're the one sneaking up on me?!"

Sophie sounded nervous, and she was! Once the adrenaline buzz wore off, and she realised she was facing against a human (or maybe another of those tentacled eldritch abominations she kept tripping over), her knees felt wobbly from her usual brand of anxiety. People. Socialising. Pointing guns at people - oh shit!

She lowered her rifle immediately, turning the safety back on hurriedly as she let out a small, sheepish laugh. "Oh, uh, crap sorry! I'm not trying to shoot you or anything just, um, I was target practising. You know, keeping my aim sharp and, and stuff..."

Cautiously, Natsuki stepped out while dismissing her weapons. When her eyes land on Sophie, she seems to become momentarily surprised at the girl's looks.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you, but usually people who fire guns in a park aren't always the friendliest."

"Mmngh..."

Sophie's ears were tilted back, and she slung her rifle over her shoulder to rest it diagonally over her back. Well this was awkward. Uh, think Sophie...

"Well, sorry I don't - um, know the etiquette for parks, so, sorry if I gave off the impression of being a, a homicidal weirdo or something," she mumbled, lifting a hand up to fiddle one of the beads on her antlers. She felt self-conscious now, especially when she caught the glimpse of surprise on the person's face before seeing her.

Nnngh, why was she born with antler's? If it was just the ears she could hide them under a hat or something...

"It's ok if you didn't know. There is probably a shooting range somewhere in town that you can practice at. It would be a bit safer there. I'm guessing you were brought here too?"

"Shooting ran- oh! Yes, I was," Sophie laughed a bit nervously. "So- you were zapped here too? Not, zapped I mean but, just, plucked up and, dumped into this place with... lots of... scary stuff..." She trailed off, heaving a sudden sigh. She suddenly jolted though, straightening up with a someone what panicked look.

"Oh shit- shoot, I mean, shoot. Um, wait, aren't we to introduce ourselves first?? Um, sorry, I'm not very good with people. Meeting, them I mean. I'm, okay, I'm Sophie! Sophie Hayes!"

'My name's Natsuki. I was brought here during a difficult time on my world. I don't know if that's related to why I'm here, but this doesn't seem to be the afterlife, though that video...'

Natsuki trails off into a vein of deep thought, putting her hand to her mouth as she concentrates.

"Vid...um, vidya? Video... ahah, sorry..."

Sophie bowed her head slightly, the beads clicking together from the movement. "Is that the, this, thing? The what people call 'network'? I'm, this place is far more technologically advanced from where I am."

The woods didn't exactly support satellite connection. She didn't even have television!

Natsuki looks at Sophie for a few moments, wondering why the girl is so nervous.

"It is. You're probably better off not being to familiar with it, if things like that are going to be displayed on it regularly."

She begins to walk back in the direction she came.

"Will you be able to find your way back from here?"

"Hey!"

A Mysterious Voice That Speaks the Reverberating Wisdom of the Infinite Stars and also sounds like an eight year old girl sounds out of nowhere. It seems to be disgruntled.

"I hope you're planning on sticking to the cardboard there, buddy. Don't think I don't know what that glint in your eyes means! 'No one will miss a squirrel' yeah that's right you should look guilty!"

Sophie practically leapt out of her skin, even letting out a bit of a girlish yelp, before her her rifle was up and wildly aiming around her immediate area. No one was there- what-?!

"W-Who's there?!"

"I speak for the trees!"

...

"That one says ow because your bullet went straight through the target and tore off some of its bark! ...And the others are totally judging you right now; they want you to know that they've seen better shots from pixies."

Sophie lowered her rifle a fraction, her ear twitching anxiously as she frowned up at the canopy above. Speak for the trees...? Oh, don't tell her it was another 'weird' person! She had quite enough of those...

"Are you a wood nymph?" she asked, sounding more than a little worried. "I'm not planning on cutting any trees down or, anything down, or - stuff!"

"What? No. Don't be silly. That's a wood nymph."

Melia appears in a flash of life and smiles shyly at the deer woman for a few moments before disappearing again.

"I'm a goddess of nature. The goddess of nature. It's totally different."

"Goddess of nature..."

Sophie suddenly felt very Awkward. Despite being a delicate little deer girl, she was hardly very naturey. She was a gruff, hermit-like hunter, who favoured the meaty side of her diet than the vegetables, and did thoroughly enjoy hunting other animals for fun (although she always used everything of the animal!).

"Uh, oh... um, well, I, uh, try to be very, um, eco-friendly?"

"...Eco-friendly, huh? We'll see about that."

Viridi sniffs snootily.

"OK, Question 1! How many types do you separate your recycling into?! Round to the nearest hundred!"

"Uh??"

W-What was this sudden quiz?!

"I'm, sorry, but uh, w-what's, recycling? Like, reusing my stuff?"

She lives in the woods by herself! She reuses everything she has, does that count?!

A gasp of horror.

"Does... not... understand... concept of... 'recycling'.......... Negative fifteen million points OK QUESTION TWO how large is your compost pile and how many acres of organic all-natural GMO-free FDA-approved recycled vegan crops do you grow with it?"

"Geemo fee - Ef- huh?!"

Sophie's just...confused?!

"I-I'm sorry but, I don't understand? I have a vegetable garden, if that's what you mean, and there're fruit trees near my home..."

Sophie's ears pricked up, and she nodded, letting out a slow breath. "Um, yes. I'm good at finding places, like, getting out of places. The woods," good lord, speaking to people was impossibly hard. "Sorry for, uh, startling you. Before."

"A vegetable garden? Hm. ....OK. We'll give a conditional pass on that one."

This would be the royal we, apparently.

"Question three! When you go purchase things from the store, do you bring your own eco-friendly, woven bag or do you desecrate the very land you live upon by using plastic bags that automatically attach to the face of the closest baby seal the moment you throw them in the trash?"

Well, that doesn't sound like the most confident declaration of someone's sense of direction in a while. It's probably be better if she at least made sure this girl got to the road.

"No, it's ok. People have been talking about a criminal organization active in town, so I wanted to check it out. Why don't we go back to my bike?"

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01 - Hold And Squeeze

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D: Oh no now I feel bad

heh what for?

My muse is being very insensitive!

it happens~

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