that roadtrip song from a goofy movie softly plays

[livesarock]

WHO: Geddoe and Zel (still cured btw)
WHERE: All over the friggin country...FOLLOWING A RAIL LINE MORE OR LESS
WHEN: 1/29 to....whenever they get back in one piece...AT LEAST A WEEK.
WARNINGS: elle doesn't capitalize in action brackets OH NO seriously idk what to warn about
SUMMARY: screw this snow noise we're going out west. totally not going to get lost along the way.
FORMAT: no

   So once upon a time, two men from high fantasy settings decided that record-breaking snowfall on the east coast was stupid and also being hassled by local authorities for magically blowing up things wasn't much fun either. The solution was clear: Get the hell out of Dodge the City.

   By train. Because lots of people took the train - it has to be totally fine, right?

   A series of train rides with hopes to getting to Arizona. Here's some threads of what happens along the way and after. ENJOY.

Comments

TRAIN TRAIN TRAINS

[livesarock]

[four days...

granted, when one spent their lifetime traveling by foot or horse or (occasionally) boat (anchor), four days across a continent was amazing. but still.

it was a small space with a lot of the same air and occasionally screaming children for various intervals, depending on the stops.

and it wasn't as pretty as the brochures advertised, either...]

[trueltning_fury]

[Geddoe at least is helping keep the bubble of solitude around them by wearing his armor - he had to, it wouldn't fit in any of his bags! Wild Geese is hidden, at least, wrapped in the bedroll attached to his hobo backpacker baggage. People tend to avoid him when he's all armored up, it's no different on a train than in the City.

...also, he's secretly glad that this isn't like air travel. Getting travel-sick sucked]

[livesarock]

[yeah that armor only caused weird delays because of security/metal detectors and trying to assure guards that no we are not here to rob the train.

things just weren't allowed to go smoothly! but that wasn't new, so zel isn't overly pissed about it at the moment. maybe if the train shakes and spills the water he asked for all over. maybe.

he's behaved so far, though! granted, it's only been a couple hours, but he's been quiet and satisfied enough to stare out the window and grimace at the snow.

but he's bored. like hella bored.

he's starting to make more frequent sideways glances at geddoe. because that's clearly effective.]

[trueltning_fury]

[at least walking across the countryside allows one to focus on the physical exertion, in between those long stretches of being alone with your thoughts. Sitting on a train is boring and Geddoe now remembers why he never opted to hitch rides on wagons or take carriages.

It's not a plane, though. Constantly thinking that it's not an airplane.

And now with the looks]

...what?

[livesarock]

[zel flinches a little, as if looking over wasn't ever going to warrant regard ever. he blinks, brain having to fish up something or wind up looking obnoxious.]

Did...[GO BRAIN GO.] You leave your communicator behind or-?

[trueltning_fury]

[thinking]

No, I'm pretty sure I threw it in my bag. Not that it matters. There's very little that could happen that would warrant me looking for a way back to the city early.

[livesarock]

[dubious:] Even after everything that happened the past week or so-?

[trueltning_fury]

[sigh] People can be highly reactionary around here. [as if talking water and colored bubbles were normal or something]

There hasn't been hardly a peep out of anyone since everything seemed to abruptly return to normal. Sometimes it seems like the only thing people in this world do is complain when something happens. [shifting his eye to Zel] What do they need that you or I could provide, anyway?

OH GOD FINALLY IT'S ARIZONA

[livesarock]

[props to slower-than-teleportation trainrides: more time to adjust from one extreme (hideous cold) to the other (holy shit heat).

but jeezdamn there are a hella lot of people around the station. deserts are supposed to be deserted.]

CAN WE FIGHT NOW???

[livesarock]

[yes. yes we can.








cue fight action log.
my intros are getting less substantial.]

[trueltning_fury]

[time for a sword fight first. Because even though they're out in the middle of nowhere to exercise their magic, they're also here to train Zel in the sword.

Look out here comes the captain! Rushing in fast with the sword held low]

[livesarock]

[feet spaced and planted as they ought to be, sword raised and angled fairly neutrally, so all that remains is to calculate the blow and block it accordingly...

oh, and not get knocked over with the effort. that, too. that's really the hardest part lately, speed aside. he's just not as heavy-footed as he used to be.]

Gnrgh! [CLANG. his hold wobbles with the force, having to take a quick step backward or fall completely. his arms bounced a little on impact, giving him little choice but to try and swing down to protect himself before even thinking of something to counter.]

[trueltning_fury]

[at least with this kind of training, there's time for running commentary between blows]

Easy. Don't swing so hard. Let the blade find its path. [as he lets the downward strike push his sword off to the side, all the better to reverse momentum and counter with a high, almost overhead swing]

[livesarock]

[zel's not a huge fan of critique even when it's good for him because he should be magically awesome at everything on the first try, so his reply's more of just a grunt to follow his motions. he tilts his blade and steer's it up, bending his knees to help absorb more of the strike, digging one heel in while the other steps forward to try and push back.]

[trueltning_fury]

[Geddoe isn't fighting to kill or to even win, so he lets himself be pushed back to gauge the strength of the move]

Better. Overcompensating for what you've lost is expected. You just have to work to get past the instinct.

[and the best way to do that, as he sees it, is to just keep whaling on Zel until he's too tired to hold up a sword anymore. He's not using a serious strategy, just striking at various points, moving smoothly with his own momentum to get Zel to block or parry over and over - at least until he finds an opening to counter]

[livesarock]

[weaker, maybe, but zel's speed's getting a bit better as far as keeping up with the pace in place. he looks a little annoyed; all the openings he could've taken before aren't something he can pull off anymore.] Tch--

[oh, but. that's right - he's not just working on sword skills anymore. danny and cass've taught him a few things to compensate, and hey - it's still fair if it's not magic, right?

the next time blades connect in easy cross-swings, zel pushes forward for a moment before rolling into a turn, sliding his heel forward in the dust to drop down and swing his other leg at geddoe's ankles.]

[trueltning_fury]

[the kick connects, though Geddoe has taken hits like that before and knows what to do. He goes down hard on one shoulder, but rolls swiftly out of it with Wild Geese raised between them as a deterrent, and comes up on his feet.

...and then huffs a little chuckle]

Nice.

CAMP!

[livesarock]

[zel was even a good enough sport to fly around looking for stupid wood (CAN YOU BELIEVE DESERTS HAVE A SHORTAGE OF FIREWOOD?? WHAT'S UP WITH THAT) and setting it on fire.

here is camp thread.]

[trueltning_fury]

[hey hey it totally gets cold in the desert at night, these campfires are important.

Although a tent would be nice too. Bedrolls under the stars only go so far. But Geddoe is finally back in his element, content to be camping out]

[livesarock]

[zel took his sweetass time returning(not really, because...WELL THERE ARE LIKE 2 TREES IN A ZILLION MILES FROM HERE), flying no less because after about fifteen minutes of treeish no-show, he was impatient. and hungry. so screw it, he's flying with his armful of kindling.

actually no, he's landing with his armful of kindling. hey old man. have a huff and a glance over your way on return.]

[trueltning_fury]

[meanwhile the camp has been set up and dinner freshly killed and cleaned. Mmm tasty. It'll be rabbits, it looks like, though don't ask how he caught them when he can't shoot a bow.]

There you are. Good work.

[livesarock]

[it no doubt involved a benny hill montage.

zel dumps his findings on the ground rather unceremoniously, grunting a reply. he takes a knee and gets to work making the pit.] We're going to have to move if we stay out here another night. This is all I could find close by.

[trueltning_fury]

Mm. [Geddoe comes closer as if to critique his fire-building skills, though really it's a one-man job right now and he's got blood on his hands] That might be wise. Move to higher ground, maybe find a place to camp that has a bit of shelter.

[he looks up at the sky, then, and the growing twilight]

...this will do for tonight, though.

[livesarock]

[there's really no sense in getting showy as far as firebuilding goes, but zel's not a flint-carrying kind of guy, so once all of the starting kindling's stacked in place, he mumbles under his breath to ignite the air in front of his finger, drawing it down to catch on the wood. ta da!

he leans back, shifting weight off his knee to his backside and scooting away, dragging a few unneeded pieces of wood along with him. forgetting just what he was about to do a second ago gives him pause to consider - huh - that he hadn't been camping outdoors in a long time. longer still with the body to actually feel and appreciate the heat.

weird.]

[trueltning_fury]

[magically-lit fires are the best. In no time Geddoe is crouched on the other side of the fire, coaxing it to build hotter before he starts roasting the meat]

That's more like it. Good one.