etrayalogs | meet me in the woods [CLOSED]

Entry tags:

meet me in the woods [CLOSED]

WHO: Gladio Amicitia + Yang Cheng (E-Soul)
WHEN: Set after (this)
WHERE: Starts by the hospital, then out in the wilderness
WHAT: Learning some outdoorsy stuff
NOTES\WARNINGS: None at present, will update as needed!

[ True to his word, Gladio is waiting outside of the hospital, sat on a bench out front, hunched forward on an arm draped over his thigh, a paper map in his other hand. He's scribbling a few notes onto it in blue ink, drawing a few lines with green. He's been attempting to get a feel for the weather patterns in the various areas so he can get an idea of what to expect. There's a lot that goes into his meticulous planning, but at the sound of footsteps, he shelves it all. Something to mull over while they're walking.

Looking up, Gladio tucks the map into his back pocket and brushes off his clothes, a smile lighting up his face. ]

Hope you're ready for a hike. I prefer teaching as I go. Seeing what I'm talking about is easier than trying to get you to imagine it.

[ Gladio moves to start leading the way, but pauses. ] Gladio, [ he says, belatedly, and with a laugh. ] Don't know if I said that before, but I figure you'd want to know it.

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[E-Soul has packed light: a single backpack, mostly empty aside from a water bottle, an ordinary facemask and a notebook and pen within. He's dressed casually with a blue hoodie under his black jacket. He still wears his mask.

Nodding his agreement as he falls into step, E-Soul regards Gladio with curiosity from behind his visor. It's not all that often that other people tower over him, but Gladio's a robust man to say the least. And, apparently, effortlessly friendly. He's still shaking off the rust at being remotely sociable. It's tempting to let the extrovert do all the work. Yet he does want to be here and he's eager to learn, so he pushes himself to make the effort from the get go.]

I was going to use Galatine. [There's a trace of lightness in his otherwise serious voice.] Better to have your name. I'm E-Soul.

Works too, if you prefer it. [ Gladio shrugs a shoulder and chuckles. ] Couldn't think of anything else when they asked me to register a username and I thought of an old sword people wrote about where I'm from.

[ His love of history is one of his few guilty pleasures. ] Nice to meet you, E-Soul. [ Gladio suspects the name and the mask go hand in hand, but he doesn't ask about either. It's not something that seems like a first meeting kinda thing. ] So what do you know about the outdoors just so I can get a baseline of where to start.

Very little.

[E-Soul turns his gloved hands palm up and spreads them, summarising his knowledge with the gesture: nothing.]

I've spent my whole life in a big city. Mainly on the coast, but all that meant was I sometimes spent time on the beach. I know about tides and how to swim.

[The fact is that you have no real opportunities for leisure when you're a zero Trust orphan, but he has no intention of bringing that up. Better to embrace what opportunities he has now. He tilts his head towards Gladio.]

Is your interest in swords? Or legends?

Everyone's gotta start somewhere.

[ Gladio's not daunted by that admission, but it does inform him on where to start with things. ]

I grew up in a city too, but I did a lot of running when I was a kid. Back before I really accepted my role. [ There isn't resignation in his voice, but the opposite — relief, contentment, pride. ] Both of those are solid basics.

Both. [ Gladio chuckles. ] You never know what will come in handy.

[ Gladio pulls a map out of the Armiger, one that doesn't have notes and paths drawn into it and holds it out to E-Soul to take. ] So, first thing, what do you know about reading topographic maps?

[That's a curious thing to say about his role, especially in that tone. Not wanting to derail the lesson, however, E-Soul puts a mental pin in the topic for later as he takes the map. He looks down at it, frowning thoughtfully behind his mask.]

Nothing, really. The numbers are something to do with metres above sea level...?

[Yeah, that's about all.]

Something like that. A good map has one of these. [ Gladio folds it over itself so just the legend is showing. ] Something to look at is the scale and the contour interval. That tells you how detailed your map is and how steep the terrain is.

[ Gladio holds out the map to let him look at it. ] The bigger the number under the one-slash, the less detailed. So our one-slash-twenty two thousandths says ours covers less area, but what we've got is more detailed for the area we're looking at.

Make sense?

[E-Soul follows along attentively. Between his part-time job and his studies, his university years taught him the skill of retaining information. It proved handy when he switched to heroism full-time, and he has a feeling it will be very useful today.]

It does.

Good. [ Gladio flashes him a smile, folding the map to show E-Soul where they're planning to head to. ] First thing you wanna look for is water. On a map like this, it'll look like this.

[ He points out a few reservoirs and some tributaries. ]

If you can, avoid still water if you don't have anything with you to make sure it's safe. Still water attracts the kinds of things you don't want to mess with if you can help it.

Noted. I can handle trouble.

[He says that easily, then, making it clear that he's not actually dismissing what was just emphasised, adds:]

I won't seek it out unecessarily. How would you check it's safe?

So can I, but a little caution goes a long way out here. Especially out here. You never know when help will be able to get to you.

[ He's not phased by the bravado, he has that in spades too, but he gives the advice either way, because someone told him once and it's worth passing along. ]

Quickest way to tell is with your eyes and your nose. If it's cloudy, or it looks like it has anything floating in it, if it smells bad, that's another sign to avoid it. Too many bugs and not enough movement under the water are good signs that there's something wrong with it.

That said, it's always better to use flowing water for anything you need to consume, but it's always best to boil it, just in case. [ Gladio looks at him though when he says the next part. ] I wouldn't risk drinking still water, or really doing anything with it if you can help it.

Alright. [E-Soul dips his head.] You've laid out more than enough reason not to.

[He'll have to note it all down later, to ensure he doesn't forget any of the details. Gladio hadn't been joking about having some things to share.]

...What's the longest you've spent out in the wilderness?

Just safer that way. You never know what's in water like that.

[ Gladio's still a little haunted by the things he's read about it but he doesn't see the point in passing that along since it seems like E-Soul's picked up the warning. ]

On my own? About two weeks. I'd planned for that though. It was a hell of a challenge, but worth it. [ That had been years ago, but he still remembers how some of the days had kicked his ass but he was proud of himself. ] Before I ended up here, I was out with a group and we weren't strictly roughing it, so I don't think that counts.

[E-Soul nods, interested. Seeing the opening, he asks:]

As part of that role you mentioned?

A little.

[ Gladio's surprised, actually, that he picked up on that. It's something he says but most people don't really focus in on it. At least, not people who don't know what it means. ]

Part of it was being prepared for anything, and I took that as literally as you can imagine.

[Were he any other man, E-Soul might have smiled a little at that, beneath the mask. Gladio has an easy, natural charm.]

Someone should. It's an admirable trait.

[He lets himself think of his early days as a hero, and all the threads Shang Chao wove and managed for his success: finances, a base of operations, social media, opportunities, and even the bulk of engineering. It seemed a wonder, back then, to be the benefactor of a mind that simply worked that way.

And that is to say nothing of Uncle Rock's webs upon webs, of which he is only a part.

In contrast, he has always been painfully single-minded.]

You tell that to some of the people I know, and I'll owe you.

[ Gladio laughs. He's not unappreciated, but it doesn't hurt to hear, sometimes, that his efforts are worth it. He's just a man after all. ]

Anything you're particularly interested in learning? Because I can go on for hours about this stuff and I want to hit on anything that's on your mind first.

Hmm.

[E-Soul rubs the back of his neck as he considers that, then finally answers:]

My concern is the missions. The last thing I want is to be a hindrance if we find ourselves in the wilderness. [It's not that he would particularly blame anyone for being out of their element. It's simply that he holds himself to higher standards. And, if he's honest, so that he doesn't have to place blind trust in anyone.] I'm... You're proof that there will usually be people who know what they're doing, but I can't expect others to pull my weight.

So... say that you were in charge of an expedition. What would be the minimum base of knowledge you'd accept before you left someone to exert their own judgement? That's what I'm after. Even if it does take time.

[ Gladio nods, but doesn't interrupt as E-Soul answers. It's a reasonable assumption, considering what he's heard from others about these missions since he'd showed up here, and why Gladio's spent a lot of his time here getting an idea of this place and the people in it. ] Never hurts to be prepared. Just don't forget that sometimes, you have to depend on others. That's a lesson I had to learn the hard way.

[ Still struggles with it, too, but Gladio thinks that can go unsaid. That's just the way life is. ]

I'd be confident to leave someone on their own if I know they know enough about the most common hazards to keep themselves and anyone they come across safe. And a good sense of the basics, like reading a map, how to find water, that kind of thing.

[ Crossing his arms over his chest, he debates which topic to tackle next. ]

Knowing how to get a fire going is a good skill to master. Even in really hot places, the nights can get cold, and you'll need fires to purify water or cook food. You ever used a flint?

[For a moment, the grief he carries wells up, forming a lump in his throat. Behind his mask he closes his eyes and waits for it to pass. He concentrates on Gladio's voice until it recedes. He depended on Shang Chao and Xia Qing once, and after what happened to the three of them, he doesn't know that he can do it again. But that's getting distracted by a trail of thought he doesn't want to follow. He stirs.]

...A Flint? No. [E-Soul lifts a hand, presses his index and middle fingers to his thumb, then parts them. A small bolt of plasma arcs between them, before he presses them back together, snuffing it out.] I have my own means of creating a spark. But I've... seen on the forums that sometimes we're stripped of our superpowers.

[Honestly, it's a possibility he dreads.]

[ Gladio nods at the display of power, not so unused to magic or anything along that lines to react to it either way. He's seen Noctis pull energy right from the ground and bottle elements, never mind the power of gods. Still, the arc of what looks like lightning is fascinating. ]

Helpful. But yeah, heard that can happen. I've been poking through what people have been saying to get a better idea of what to expect. In the event you get stuck out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but what you're carrying, you'll want to know how to start a fire.

[ Gladio summons a flint from the Armiger and hands it out. ] You can keep that one. I have a couple others.

All you need is something to strike it. Steel's the best thing to strike it with because it's study. [ He pulls a knife out of his boot, but he also grabs a steel ring out of the Armiger too. ] Either one will work, but you might dull a blade if you use it like that.

...Thanks.

[E-Soul takes the flint. He idly traces its contours, turning it over in his hand as he watches and listens. Steel is an easy enough ask; the reasoning makes sense. Then, with the faintest trace of amusement:]

Do you always keep a blade in your boot?

Anything steel that's sturdy will work, all you'd need is the kindling to catch the spark.

[ Gladio laughs. ]

There and a few other places. Gotta be prepared.

And keep them guessing?

[The corners of E-Soul's mouth twitch behind his mask.]

...Alright. I'll pick up an appropriate steel item. So... the kindling. Do you normally carry some with you? Or do you gather it?

Now you've got it.

[ Gladio can't share all his secrets after all. ]

Let me know if you run into any problems with that. Doubt you will, but the offer's there. For that, or anything else while I'm putting it out there.

[ He nods. ]

If you have the space to carry scrap paper with you, sure. But knowing how to find it out in the wild is just as good. Anything dry will work. Grass, dead leaves, bark. Anything that looks flammable. After that, it's all about keeping the fire fed.

...That's generous of you.

[E-Soul pushes down his instinctive distrust at the offer. Gladio seems like a good man; it's doubtlessly earnest. That feeling is nothing more than a reflection of his own isolation.]

It sounds simple enough. Alright. What else?

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meet me in the woods [CLOSED]

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