Hungry like the wolf~

[wolfwithagoat]

● WHO: Eskel wolfwithagoat + various
● WHAT: Eskel's catch-all log for the June event
● WHEN: June
● WHERE: His residence and various other parts of the island
● WARNINGS: Event-centric smut and violence against robots - will add anything particular as it comes up.

((Hit up my event planning thread and we can figure out a starter! For reference sake, Eskel's "house" is the remnants of a wee corner cafe with a covered patio. The latter has become a makeshift stable for Lil Bleater and Scorpion. Most of the patio fence is degraded; he's shored up its holes and weak points with large pieces of debris.))

Comments

[tombom]

[ Bellamy actually has a bit of a fright when Eskel opens the door because he doesn't expect the timing of it, not to mention those eyes in the dark. But he calms down when he realizes it's who he thought would be inside the building. ]

Thought it was you. Heard your goat. If you were in hiding right now, you'd be screwed.

[ But he steps inside with a grateful look. ] Thanks. Sorry to barge in. I got caught in the rain and my place is a while from here. Do you mind if I stick around for a bit? I'll go back out once it dies down a little. [ He wouldn't want to intrude... well, any more than he's already intruding. ]

[wolfwithagoat]

[Eskel closes the door behind Bellamy - a way of "yes, you can stay a while". He lets Bellamy finish speaking. Finally, that stoic expression cracks with a small grin.]

Not surprised she gave me away. Wouldn't have named her "Lil Bleater" if she were the quiet type. Don't have much here, but it's dry.

[Bellamy is soaked - Eskel figures he can make the place dry and a little bit warmer, too. He fetches the metal bucket and places it on the floor, beneath a ceiling vent. Off to the side are some broken down bits of chairs; he fetches some of those next, placing them in the bucket - ]

[ - then lighting them on fire with a wave of his hand. This is how he finds out if Bellamy's familiar with the sight of magic or not.]

[tombom]

[ He's glad Eskel cracks a smile eventually. That serious expression was starting to make him nervous. ]

At least she makes a good alarm for intruders. [ He watches Eskel gather scraps of wood into a bucket. He probably shouldn't just stand around and contribute in some way, as a thank you for letting him stay. ]

Do you want some he— [ He stops mid-sentence when the contents of the bucket erupts into flames with a gesture of his hand. His mouth hangs open in shock. ] Shit. How the hell did you do that?

[wolfwithagoat]

[And that's a "no". Eskel can't help himself from being a little amused at Bellamy's reaction.]

Magic. [No big deal.] Couple of details we didn't touch on before. You gonna stand there gaping, kid, or you gonna warm up?

[tombom]

[ Bellamy just blinks at him for a moment. Sorry, it's his first time witnessing magic - he's still processing it. He can't even work out how he'd be tricked into thinking it was magic when there's a more logical explanation for what he saw...

Nope, that really happened. ] I guess I'll warm up. [ He steps towards the fire, holding out his hands. ] I can't believe you can just... do that. [ He shakes his head in disbelief. ] You gonna tell me what else you can do or keep surprising me?

[wolfwithagoat]

[Eskel takes a seat next to the fire. The glow shifts and sways in his yellow eyes.] There's a lot of things, some big, some small. Not sure where to begin. I wasn't kidding back then when I said "make" monster hunters. I'm not quite human anymore. [He glances to Bellamy.] We call ourselves witchers.

[He didn't get to make that clarification in their meeting before they were each called away to their furniture orders. But now, time is on their side. Not that he plans to give away all the secrets of his kin - what few there are left, anyway. A few of the basics couldn't hurt. And Bellamy wasn't running away or calling him a freak yet, that's a good start.]

You got a particular question in mind?

[tombom]

[ Witchers. He's heard that word before, but only here. ] Some guy at the party called himself that, too. Grey hair, a scarred face too. [ He feels bad bringing attention to his face, but they do have that in common and it does seem like a weird coincidence, or maybe that comes with the job. You fight monsters, of course they're going to fight back. ]

You know him? [ That's his first question, deciding to sit. Might as well rest his legs while he enjoys the heat from the fire. ] Is he your competition?

[wolfwithagoat]

[Eskel perks up. His tone of voice turns a little more upbeat.] So you've met Geralt! [He holds his medallion out toward Bellamy.] School of the Wolf. He and I trained together.

[His medallion falls back into place, and his tone settles down - though there's still a small smile tugging at his lips and eyes.] Not sure I'd call him competition. The Continent is big and our numbers are small. We might bump into each other along the way, but it's more likely we only see each other when we return to the keep for winter.

[Truth be told, the scar comment was about as innocuous as any scar comment regarding a witcher was going to be. Besides, Eskel's lived with his scars long enough to know people are going to notice them at the very least. Bellamy gets an easy pass there.]

[tombom]

[ He checks out the medallion from a distance. That's one hell of a statement necklace. ]

Why the wolf? [ He asks with interest. He almost looks disappointed that there's no rivalry between them though. ] Not even a little competition? Come on, you must have wanted to be better than him while training together. It'd be interesting to know which one of you would win in a fight...

[ He wouldn't mind placing a bet on one of them, but he'd need more time to select his winner. ]

[wolfwithagoat]

Dunno. Wasn't my choice. [Both the wolf, and which school he got to go to in the first place.]

[He gets a mischievous light in his eyes as Bellamy continues.] If it's sibling rivalry you're talking about, then yeah. Finished lots of training sessions having exchanged blood and bruises. [Eskel crosses his arms.] Now that you mention it, we haven't tested each other in a while. Seems we're long over-due for a spar.

Curious, aren't you? Looking to see some magic in action?

[tombom]

Nothing wrong with a wolf. [ It's a beautiful animal, after all. Worse animals could have been chosen, though he has to wonder if the nature of a wolf is similar to how a witcher behaves.

He'd like to see a bit more than sparring, but he understands how as friends, they probably wouldn't want to beat each other up too much. ]

You've teased me with flames out of nowhere. Of course I want to see more.

[wolfwithagoat]

[He gives Bellamy a small, affirmative hum at that. They are beautiful animals, even if he has to kill them sometimes. And all things considered, the School of the Wolf was one of the better witcher schools he could've ended up at.]

It's a hell of a fight even without magic. Our reflexes are faster than a human's. Wouldn't be able to blink or you'd miss half of it.

[Eskel gets an idea then. He gets up to one knee, reading himself to stand.] Not much else I can do to show you magic right now - too little space, or no opponents to use them on. But I got something in mind.

[It'll get them a bit more kindling for the fire to boot. Yeah, that's a decent enough excuse. Not that he's bored from waiting out the rain and wants to show off a bit. How often does he have an "audience" who see him as impressive and not just a one-man freakshow?]

[tombom]

Before you showed me what you did with the fire, I probably would have said you were all talk. [ But he believes Eskel when he says it would probably be too fast for his average human mind to even register what's going on. Still, that doesn't make him want to see a fight between the two Witchers any less.

When it looks like Eskel is on the move, Bellamy wonders if he's expected to follow or sit tight. ]

I'd offer myself as an opponent but that sounds like famous last words. [ He'd more of a human target than an actual opponent, he imagines. ]

[wolfwithagoat]

[He grins, pulling the gap in his lip over his gums.] You wouldn't have thought that for long.

[Eskel rises to his feet and makes his way to a table that's been shoved aside as he speaks.] Depends. Not all the Signs - my spells - are immediately lethal. Or flashy. [He moves the table to the middle of an empty space on the floor.] I'm showing you the only one that is, besides Igni. [He points to the fire, indicating that's the name of the spell. From there, Eskel puts one of the few remaining chairs atop the table. One of its legs is broken, barely attached to the seat at all.]

[It gets to die as kindling.]

[The witcher takes a few steps back, then holds a hand forward, fingers spread except for the folded middle one. A blast of invisible force throws the chair from the table and against the wall and breaking it into several pieces. Without a word, he picks up the pieces, taking his time, and plops them into the bucket. The fire builds up again - the better to help Bellamy dry off further. He sits down again where he'd been before.]

That one's called Aard.