[ Gamora takes the hit, almost out of curiosity than because she can’t get out of the way; it’s a tactic to gauge how Dutch fights, where she puts her weight when she swings, and how best Gamora can use that.
She darts out of range quickly, nimble, ready to stay on the move, to make Dutch come to her. ]
Is this something you do often? Challenge strangers to fights?
[ Gamora is a little surprised by the thanks, but she nods in acknowledgement. ]
It’ll be easier with two people.
[ And, because Gamora is eager to get things settled for the night, she doesn’t waste her time helping Mantis gather the rest of the dried wood, putting it in one place so they can make a fire. ]
[ Look, ghosts totally aren’t real, okay. That’s the part where Gamora is getting hung up, but, you know what, if it means she can stop arguing with this thing, Gamora will move it outside.
She sighs, but replaces her blade at her hip, going to scoop the orb into her hands. ]
Why would you need to be a refugee if you are already dead?
[ Like, she doesn’t get why this haunted-orb-thing was rescued in the first place.
We’re going to have to if we do not want to swim to shore.
[ It’s a sort of dry statement, but it’s also Gamora’s way of saying, yes, she can take turns. (Unlike some of her friends, she’s occasionally able to play nice with the other children.
… Ish.) ]
Ready?
[ And Gamora isn’t going to give Isabella long before she heaves the explosive towards the shadow of the serpent in the water. Fortunately for them, it’s not overly powerful, and when it detonates, it doesn’t capsize the boat with the shockwaves.
It does, however, have the delightful effect of sending the serpent screeching from the waves, its head automatically coming above water right next to the side of their craft. ]
And that’s as far as humans progressed on your Earth?
[ She’s learning that there are multiple Earths, so she figures that’s a safe distinction.
Chitchat is great and all, but the meteors aren't going to hold off for smalltalk. Just as the screen starts to blink with an alert, Gamora has to quickly yank on the controls to veer out of the path of another hunk of rock. ]
[ Because Gamora has had little interaction with Mantis, and though she realizes the girl is as much a victim as the others Ego extorted and controlled, Gamora is still somewhat cautious with her. ]
[ Does she have kids? Family? Only a few months ago, she would have scoffed at those questions. Her family had been taken from her, snuffed out as a demonstration of power and conquest, to terrorize her and force her into submission. But now… though her family isn’t whole, they’re here – and that’s what the Guardians are to her. A strange, mismatched little family that she would defend with her life.
… And their weird tree child, too. He counts as a kid.
She doesn’t scoff at Richie or roll her eyes, if only because— part of her gets it. Whatever sentimentality she’s come to learn again tugs at her, a flicker of empathy trying to get her to realize that this response isn’t a discomfort with death, it’s… different.
But— ]
These bones are old. The tools here are the same, and nothing here is fresh. This space has been neglected, and whoever is responsible for it in the first place is very unlikely to be alive.
[ She sighs, glancing at the bones again. ]
Will it satisfy you if I move them more carefully?
[Well, that's a question. Rocket kicks at the dirt, dislodging what... might be a piece of bone or something that was buried in the pool, winces, and nudges it under the pile of sticks so he doesn't have to think about the creepy sacrifice hole he's using as a firepit.]
Uh... I dunno. She's okay, I guess. Nice... Simple. Kinda like Groot used to be.
[Before he regenerated into an impressionable baby who has taken on way too many characteristics of his parents.
Either way, that seems nice enough without making it all... emotional.]
[ "Nice" is acceptable, at least. "Nice" isn't "dangerous," but given the information they have now about Ego, Gamora doesn't truly think Mantis is a threat.
As long as she keeps her hands to herself. ]
Then if she's willing, it might be best to stay together.
[Its a compromise. She's far too logical about it all; far too accurate, too. Richie's no forensics expert but now that she's pointing it out, the bones do have a bit of weathering on them. They're all boasting that roughed up leather finish, fraying like they've been sandpapered.
Still didn't mean it wasn't sacred to somebody. It might feel like the Catacombs but even with the space of centuries, didn't old bones command some respect? They all belonged to thinking-feeling things. Loving things. Richie fixes her with an uncertain stare.]
Fair enough. [He'll put his pack roll down, but rubs at his eyes. The whole shebang is wearing him down to nubs on all fronts. Part of him wonders if he's overreacting, but another, softer slice of him roars at the thought. It's hard not to wonder how they might have died, these folks. Carelessly strewn about just like the bodies of all them kids. Decapitated, decapitated, legs gone, arm gone. Found by the river, found on the road. Snuffed out. Their grim death superseding their short lives.
That was the real kicker, wasn't it? The wilder the way you went, the less anyone remembered about your life.
As part of their peace treaty, he'll start compiling those scattered limbs. Putting them neatly together against some brush, a haphazard burial mound for gaggles of people. Bone soup, it looked like, but it's better than tossing them like gravel.] You were saying...you can tell they weren't put here for burial. How can you tell?
[It's not a challenge. It's sincere, if sombre, curiousity.] What'd you do before you got here, that you know so much about bones?
[ She's much more careful about the bones as she gathers them up now, not simply kicking them aside or clearing them mindlessly away. She stacks them in her arms, carrying them off to put them along the walls.
Glancing over as he speaks, she pauses to drop her armful of bones, and then picks up one in particular.
It looks like a pelvis, turned backwards in a distinctly birdlike fashion. ]
If it was a burial ground, it's not likely they would throw the bodies in with dead animals. And these bodies aren't whole; they've been broken apart and discarded.
[ This bone she's less gentle with, and she tosses it back with a few others. ]
I was an assassin, until a few months ago.
[ And then she was a Guardian of the Galaxy – something she's far more proud of, but she's learned that some people don't even know what galaxies are here, so that may be less of a helpful designation. ]
[Mantis doesn't say much as they work. She's used to simply putting her head down and getting the job done. She's not sure if Gamora is the same way, or if she's just reacting to Mantis' demeanor.
It's odd, in a way, she thinks even as she stacks the wood near their campsite. She has connected with Gamora, once having instilled fear into the woman, but she doesn't know her at all. She's made the effort to get to know Rocket and Peter without touch and it has been difficult, but she has never found them hard to simply speak to.
She finds Gamora intimidating, in part because of what she did to her. (And not simply because Gamora, by rights, probably should break her jaw for that.) In giving Gamora that fear, Mantis had felt how staunch and fearless the woman is.
In fact, Mantis had let that staunch determination flow through her, remembered the feeling, and used it against Ego that day. Gamora feels like courage and Mantis is not a courageous woman.]
The nights have been getting longer here. [They're not really cold yet and they may not get that cold.
But it's something to say? That's a start, right?]
[ Finding a place to start is probably what's most important for them. Gamora is wary of Mantis, but that's obviously different from being afraid of her; she just doesn't know what to make of her.
Depositing her own stack of wood, she casts a look towards Mantis, giving a short hum. ]
Then I hope the place Rocket secured in Wyver will be warm, if the weather starts to turn.
[ Longer days usually means colder seasons, but Gamora also doesn't mind the cold. ]
[ Gamora takes the kick with her forearm, before finally lashing out with a sidekick of her own – fast and sharp, but with carefully controlled force. ]
At least this is more engaging than sparring with a dummy.
[Mantis nods. She's not living with Rocket right now, but she knows where he stays, of course.] Wyver is a good place. We will not want for necessities there.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
GUERILLA FORCES ( 11 / 28 )
Date: 2017-12-18 11:04 pm (UTC)justice.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:05 pm (UTC)I wouldn’t call it “normal.”
[ So, yes, she’s going to go with “strange.” ]
Is that supposed to be something you have experience with?
dutch.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:06 pm (UTC)[ Gamora takes the hit, almost out of curiosity than because she can’t get out of the way; it’s a tactic to gauge how Dutch fights, where she puts her weight when she swings, and how best Gamora can use that.
She darts out of range quickly, nimble, ready to stay on the move, to make Dutch come to her. ]
Is this something you do often? Challenge strangers to fights?
mantis.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:07 pm (UTC)[ Gamora is a little surprised by the thanks, but she nods in acknowledgement. ]
It’ll be easier with two people.
[ And, because Gamora is eager to get things settled for the night, she doesn’t waste her time helping Mantis gather the rest of the dried wood, putting it in one place so they can make a fire. ]
sandra.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:15 pm (UTC)[ Look, ghosts totally aren’t real, okay. That’s the part where Gamora is getting hung up, but, you know what, if it means she can stop arguing with this thing, Gamora will move it outside.
She sighs, but replaces her blade at her hip, going to scoop the orb into her hands. ]
Why would you need to be a refugee if you are already dead?
[ Like, she doesn’t get why this haunted-orb-thing was rescued in the first place.
… Sorry, Sandra. ]
isabella.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:16 pm (UTC)We’re going to have to if we do not want to swim to shore.
[ It’s a sort of dry statement, but it’s also Gamora’s way of saying, yes, she can take turns. (Unlike some of her friends, she’s occasionally able to play nice with the other children.
… Ish.) ]
Ready?
[ And Gamora isn’t going to give Isabella long before she heaves the explosive towards the shadow of the serpent in the water. Fortunately for them, it’s not overly powerful, and when it detonates, it doesn’t capsize the boat with the shockwaves.
It does, however, have the delightful effect of sending the serpent screeching from the waves, its head automatically coming above water right next to the side of their craft. ]
garrus.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:17 pm (UTC)[ She turns back to look at him with a cock of her hip, another skeptical lift of her brow. ]
How long were you flying this shuttle?
[ A shuttle? That doesn’t sound very impressive. Come on, man. Do those things even have guns? ]
toby.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:20 pm (UTC)[ … That sure does sound lame. ]
And that’s as far as humans progressed on your Earth?
[ She’s learning that there are multiple Earths, so she figures that’s a safe distinction.
Chitchat is great and all, but the meteors aren't going to hold off for smalltalk. Just as the screen starts to blink with an alert, Gamora has to quickly yank on the controls to veer out of the path of another hunk of rock. ]
rocket.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:20 pm (UTC)[ Well, his manners are getting somewhat better.
Somewhat. ]
She’ll have time to adapt.
[ But that begs an even better question: ]
What do you make of her?
[ Because Gamora has had little interaction with Mantis, and though she realizes the girl is as much a victim as the others Ego extorted and controlled, Gamora is still somewhat cautious with her. ]
richie.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:37 pm (UTC)[ Does she have kids? Family? Only a few months ago, she would have scoffed at those questions. Her family had been taken from her, snuffed out as a demonstration of power and conquest, to terrorize her and force her into submission. But now… though her family isn’t whole, they’re here – and that’s what the Guardians are to her. A strange, mismatched little family that she would defend with her life.
… And their weird tree child, too. He counts as a kid.
She doesn’t scoff at Richie or roll her eyes, if only because— part of her gets it. Whatever sentimentality she’s come to learn again tugs at her, a flicker of empathy trying to get her to realize that this response isn’t a discomfort with death, it’s… different.
But— ]
These bones are old. The tools here are the same, and nothing here is fresh. This space has been neglected, and whoever is responsible for it in the first place is very unlikely to be alive.
[ She sighs, glancing at the bones again. ]
Will it satisfy you if I move them more carefully?
prompto.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:40 pm (UTC)[ Well, the questions are harmless enough. ]
I am formerly an assassin.
[ Formerly, because she’s no longer Thanos’s weapon or Ronan’s lackey. ]
murdock.
Date: 2017-12-18 11:44 pm (UTC)I have a sword.
[ So, yes, she has the actual equipment, and she knows how to use said equipment.
She’d just rather the boat not capsize so she doesn’t have to get a blind guy to the shore.
She continues watching the creature under the surface, her eyes narrowing. ]
I think it’s some kind of serpent.
bellamy.
Date: 2017-12-19 06:19 am (UTC)[ Gamora glances over towards the walls, looking almost bored by the designs. ]
I’ve seen better.
[ And worse. And more horrifying. This is no big deal. ]
Do you?
[ Is that why he wanted to sleep outside? ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-19 10:53 pm (UTC)Uh... I dunno. She's okay, I guess. Nice... Simple. Kinda like Groot used to be.
[Before he regenerated into an impressionable baby who has taken on way too many characteristics of his parents.
Either way, that seems nice enough without making it all... emotional.]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-19 10:58 pm (UTC)As long as she keeps her hands to herself. ]
Then if she's willing, it might be best to stay together.
[ Especially with Ego still in those pods. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-20 01:48 am (UTC)Still didn't mean it wasn't sacred to somebody. It might feel like the Catacombs but even with the space of centuries, didn't old bones command some respect? They all belonged to thinking-feeling things. Loving things. Richie fixes her with an uncertain stare.]
Fair enough. [He'll put his pack roll down, but rubs at his eyes. The whole shebang is wearing him down to nubs on all fronts. Part of him wonders if he's overreacting, but another, softer slice of him roars at the thought. It's hard not to wonder how they might have died, these folks. Carelessly strewn about just like the bodies of all them kids. Decapitated, decapitated, legs gone, arm gone. Found by the river, found on the road. Snuffed out. Their grim death superseding their short lives.
That was the real kicker, wasn't it? The wilder the way you went, the less anyone remembered about your life.
As part of their peace treaty, he'll start compiling those scattered limbs. Putting them neatly together against some brush, a haphazard burial mound for gaggles of people. Bone soup, it looked like, but it's better than tossing them like gravel.] You were saying...you can tell they weren't put here for burial. How can you tell?
[It's not a challenge. It's sincere, if sombre, curiousity.] What'd you do before you got here, that you know so much about bones?
no subject
Date: 2017-12-20 04:42 am (UTC)Glancing over as he speaks, she pauses to drop her armful of bones, and then picks up one in particular.
It looks like a pelvis, turned backwards in a distinctly birdlike fashion. ]
If it was a burial ground, it's not likely they would throw the bodies in with dead animals. And these bodies aren't whole; they've been broken apart and discarded.
[ This bone she's less gentle with, and she tosses it back with a few others. ]
I was an assassin, until a few months ago.
[ And then she was a Guardian of the Galaxy – something she's far more proud of, but she's learned that some people don't even know what galaxies are here, so that may be less of a helpful designation. ]
Re: mantis.
Date: 2017-12-20 04:47 am (UTC)It's odd, in a way, she thinks even as she stacks the wood near their campsite. She has connected with Gamora, once having instilled fear into the woman, but she doesn't know her at all. She's made the effort to get to know Rocket and Peter without touch and it has been difficult, but she has never found them hard to simply speak to.
She finds Gamora intimidating, in part because of what she did to her. (And not simply because Gamora, by rights, probably should break her jaw for that.) In giving Gamora that fear, Mantis had felt how staunch and fearless the woman is.
In fact, Mantis had let that staunch determination flow through her, remembered the feeling, and used it against Ego that day. Gamora feels like courage and Mantis is not a courageous woman.]
The nights have been getting longer here. [They're not really cold yet and they may not get that cold.
But it's something to say? That's a start, right?]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-20 05:20 am (UTC)Depositing her own stack of wood, she casts a look towards Mantis, giving a short hum. ]
Then I hope the place Rocket secured in Wyver will be warm, if the weather starts to turn.
[ Longer days usually means colder seasons, but Gamora also doesn't mind the cold. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-21 07:25 am (UTC)[Toby yanks on the controls herself, trying to relax herself into being a good partner. It's sort of effective.]
They've made it to space! Just not... recreationally. It's just scientists and robots.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-21 10:41 am (UTC)Only when I'm bored.
[ a punch gamora dodges, a kick aimed at her middle, and - ] And if they look interesting to fight.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-21 10:18 pm (UTC)Gamora forces a slower, controlled breath out, barely sparing a glance in Toby's direction. ]
Then the rest isn't far behind.
[ Well, at least that Earth was developing.
... Was. ]
... Wasn't far behind.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-21 10:49 pm (UTC)At least this is more engaging than sparring with a dummy.
[ Is that praise? Maybe. Who knows with Gamora. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-12-22 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-12-22 02:32 am (UTC)