Complete Private Eastern Brisshal [Reaping Season I] Six Shooter

[Luthien]

"Oh, we're rich!"
"Pffft...!"

The blonde couldn’t help the titter that escaped upon hearing Yugam’s sarcastic response, the hand holding the coins quickly closing as the elf raised the back of the fist to her lips. It seemed the bodies held no riches for them to discover today, and as her eyes glanced over to the three corpses the girl couldn’t help the low sigh that escaped her lips.

"Honestly what were they even thinking?" Bit pointless to ask that now considering they were dead, and thus unable to answer, but the blonde couldn’t help the way her brows furrowed in thought. "Would’ve fared better hunting beasts for meat and pelt, or even killing some goblins, if they were looking for quick coins."

When the hunter asked for the shovel Lúthien found the elf handed it over, a bit disappointed that there hadn’t been at least one other in the small camp to lend a hand. "I’ll go get stuff for the campfire then, only ashes left from the last time they used it." Might as well get a head start on that now while the sun was still up, especially since burying three bodies would take a while so they definitely weren’t going anywhere after that.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Probably weren't," Yu responded as he took the shovel from the Ranger. The man stabbed the shovel into the ground, pushing on it with his boot to drive it deeper as he started digging. "Or, they were thinking about risk. Unarmed villagers are easier to handle than goblins." It didn't matter now though. They made a mistake, and now they were dead. That's all there was to it.

The first clump of dirt was tossed to the side as Luthien suggested starting a fire, to which Yugam only nodded. "Sure."
"I'll go look for some wood and tinder," Unmei offered, before turning to head towards the forest in search of dry branches and twigs. "I won't be long."

The sound of earth scratching against metal played repetitively as Yu dug the first of the three graves. Eight feet by two and a half by three. They'd smell, probably, after some time, not deep enough to properly cover up the smell, but that was the best Yu could do for the three.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Mmm... that one called us ‘Travelers though," Her head tilted towards the middle aged and wrinkly faced man that had been wielding a blade besides Horis. Reeves had certainly seemed excited to land his eyes on the pair… or maybe the blonde was reading a bit too much into things? "Isn’t that what Landers usually use when referring to us players?"

Granted goblins could be crafty little shits, but surely these Landers understood that trying to mug two Starcalled was riskier than hunting a bear or a couple of wolves in the woods?

"I'll go look for some wood and tinder, I won't be long."
"A-Ah... sure. Be careful out there, okay?"

Unmei’s words had snapped the blonde out of her thoughts as the sword spirit took the task of looking for wood and tinder for the campfire—what the ranger had been thinking of doing herself when she’d mentioned the idea outloud—but the faint protest quickly died in Lúthien’s throat as she nodded instead. It’s not like Unmei can read minds anyways, I should’ve been clearer.. Quietly the girl turned to look back at the makeshift camp and tents, realizing that they’d need to find something to light the fire with—and the girl lacked any pyromancy or enough girl scout experience to rub sticks together and light them up.

"I’ll check the area around the campfire and the tents again, they didn’t seem like the patient type so there’s probably a piece of flint around here."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Mm, yeah. What of it?" Yu asked with a raised brow, unsure of what that might've meant. Aside from perhaps a dislike for Travelers. Maybe they thought they could get some good loot off of them if they had actually managed to kill the pair. Not that that half-baked plan had panned out for them.

"Okay, sounds good." Soon enough Yugam was left alone to finish digging the graves and roll the bandit's bodies into the hastily made holes in the ground, thudding once they hit the bottom. The man wiped his brow of sweat with the back of his hand as he looked down into the graves. The sound of rustling in the trees behind him drew the man's attention as Unmei returned with a bundle of sticks. "Almost done?"
"Yup."

The sword-spirit nodded and headed towards the firepit as Yu watched her pass by. Something was up with the girl. She'd been unusually quiet and hostile lately, but the man couldn't figure out why.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Well, they knew that we’re players, but they still chose to try and mug us…?" It wasn’t like the Landers of this world were unaware of the skill and ability that players possessed, with the tales of Red Fever and Camp Hope only being the most recent ones. ”Who willingly engages in a losing battle?"

A soft shrug rolled off the ranger’s shoulders as she was forced to pin the topic for later, the hunter being left to the task of digging the shallow graves for the bandits while Lúthien had rummaged through the tents and camp one more time. She’d finally found what the archer could only assume was flint, hidden among the ashes leftover in the campfire, before the girl had taken the time to clear out the space and rearrange some of the stones around its borders.

"Oh, you’re back!" The steps of the sword spirit had caught Lúthien’s attention, turning to see the woman nearing the firepit with the bundle of sticks that Unmei had gathered from the nearby forest. Taking a moment to dust away the excess ash from her own hands, the blonde reached over to help the spirit with her load before attempting to arrange the sticks into the fire pit to the best of her ability and knowledge—which, in all honesty, wasn’t that much. "... I hope this is right."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Who willingly engages in a losing battle?"
The answer to that was morbidly simple. "Someone with their back to the wall," Yugam said as he filled the graves with dirt. The shovel hissed and rattled as the man tossed spade after spade of earth into the holes, slowly covering up the death-greyed form of the bandits within. "Either they got nothing to lose or are just plain desperate." It wasn't a complicated concept. Thieves, gangs, murderers. They all had the same roots. "Doesn't matter anymore," the man said grimly.

"Oh, you're back!" the elf's chipper voice said to Unmei, who allowed the woman to take some of the dry branches from the pile in her arms. She knelt beside the firepit with Luthien and let the elf attempt to arrange the wood in a serviceable pile. "... I hope this is right." It was becoming fairly clear to Unmei that the pile was, in fact, not right. Not room for the fire to breathe. And no tinder. "Here, let me," the woman reached out and spread out the wood, before grabbing a large tuft of dried moss and placed it in the center before beginning to build a box around it, stacking the logs in smaller and smaller squares until she added more tinder and kindling at the top. "There."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Here, let me."
"Y-Yeah, go ahead."

The blonde spared an apologetic smile in Unmei’s direction as the sword spirit reached over to rectify whatever mess the ranger had made, her gaze instead focusing on the dark-haired woman as she carefully began to build a small box around a tuft of dried moss with the wood and tinder that Unmei had gathered. "Oh, I see…!" She did her best to not interrupt Unmei as the sword spirit worked, instead doing her best to take mental notes of the choices the woman had made in hopes of remembering it next time Lúthien tried to build a fire.

Once the task was properly completed the elf held out the piece of flint she’d found towards the woman, hoping Unmei would know how to properly use it to start the fire, before her attention turned to look up the road—wondering how Yugam’s task of burying the three corpses was currently going at the time.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Unmei looked at the flint that Luthien held out to her for a moment before her cold grey eyes flicked upwards to meet the elf's. "You do it," the girl said to Luthien. It wasn't obvious whether or not she was trying to be encouraging, or testing to see if Luthien was fit to be an Explorer at all, but the order was clear. Light the fire.

A few feet away, Yugam was nowhere near the end of his struggle with the three bandit corpses. With only the first fully buried, he still had two more holes to fill. "Hey, Unmei," the man called over to the spirit, waving for her to come towards him. "Stop harassing her and come here and gimme a break."
"What, too weak to finish it yourself?"
"Unmei."
Silently, the spirit submitted, placing the flint and steel in the elf's hands before taking the shovel from Yugam and beginning to pile the dirt into the second grave.

"Sorry about her," Yu said as he crouched down to the ground beside Luthien. "She's been really grouchy lately. Dunno what's gotten into her."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"You do it."
"Ah, r-right."

The coldness in those gray eyes caught the ranger by surprise, a nervous smile on her lips as her voice faltered slightly when responding. For some reason it felt like the sword spirit was pissed at her, or at the very least certainly didn’t seem to like Lúthien, though the blonde couldn’t really understand what she could’ve done to actually garner that sentiment. Yugam’s voice reached them then as he called out for Unmei who, after a retort towards the hunter, finally got to her feet to help—but not before placing the flint and steel back into Lúthien’s hands.

"Sorry about her."

She gave Yu a faint smile as the man crouched beside her, the ranger quietly fiddling with the stone in her hands. "It’s okay… just hope I didn’t do something to upset her?" Part of her was still amazed at the range of emotions that the sword spirit could display, it was quite easy to forget at times that she was Yugam’s blade… then again, perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising given the immense depth the Landers of this game also displayed?

"Not gonna lie though, usually just logged out whenever Beleg sent me to deliver shit into the middle of nowhere… so I’ve never actually used one of these or, well, made camp I guess."

The exception having been that one time Providence when she’d come across Cidney, having helped the magia with her own little setup, but even then the taller woman had taken the lead on most things and already had her little campfire ready by the time Lúthien had crossed paths with the magia.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"It's okay… just hope I didn't do something to upset her?" Luthien expressed her concern, fiddling with the stone and striker in her hand. Yu looked back over his shoulder at the dark-haired woman, shoveling dirt into the two remaining holes, entirely focused on her task. "Nah. She's probably just in a mood or something," the man said, turning back to Luthien.

"... I've never actually used one of these or, well, made camp I guess." Yugam couldn't help but chuckle. For some reason, this revelation didn't come as much of a surprise to the man. Val hadn't seemed much like the kind to go camping when they'd met for the first time in New York.

"Here, lemme show you," the man said with a faint smile, taking the steel and stone from the elf. "Gotta admit, I haven't used these old style ones before, but concept should still be the same." The man took the sharp edge of the stone and gently glided it along the edge of the steel, showing it Luthien. "Like you're shaving off strips of steel." He did the motion again before giving it a real go. He held the flint at an angle as the steel grazed it's sharp edge. The first couple attempts, nothing happened, but by the third, sparks began to fly. "There we go," the man said, doing the motion a couple more times successfully before handing the items to Luth again. "Your turn," he said, tilting his head towards the unlit campfire.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

There was a doubtful look in her eyes as the man shrugged off Unmei’s latest behavior to her just being in a mood, though the blonde was willing to drop the matter for the time being. After all, the most they’d be able to do was simply speculate, given that neither of them could read minds, and there was always the chance—low as it might be—that Yugam’s assessment wasn’t entirely incorrect.

"Here, lemme show you."

A sheepish smile crossed her lips as the elf handed the stone and steel over to the hunter, her attention focused on him as Yugam took the time to teach Lúthien something new. "Just a wild guess here, but you’ve probably gone camping a lot huh?" Her eyes had shifted away from his face to look at the steel and stone in his hands, the man first mimicking the proper motions for the ranger to study before finally allowing the flint to graze against the steel’s edge.

Nothing happened the first couple of times, and her brows furrowed in light concern as the blonde wondered if perhaps something was faulty with the flint she’d found—having been buried within the leftover ashes of the last fire that had been lit in this pit. "O-Oh, it’s sparked!" Surprise quickly colored her face as she watched the tiny light show that dissipated almost as quickly as it had emerged, before Yugam handed the stone and steel back to the elf as his head tilted towards the unlit campfire.

"R-Right, it doesn’t look too complicated..."

A nervous smile played on her lips as her hands took hold of the items. The piece of steel was held on her left hand and brought closer to the tuft of dried moss through a gap in the structure that the sword spirit had built. Ah, I guess that’s why Unmei arranged it like this. Her first strike was full of hesitation, and no sparks flew when the stone glided along the edge of the steel. She frowned, though the blonde refused to be discouraged—after all, if Yugam had managed to make it work then she could too.

The second attempt yields no result, but by the third a faint spark lights up before quickly disappearing. It’s enough encouragement for the elf however, her grip adjusting on the flint ever so slightly, before the fourth attempt yields enough sparks to ignite the piece of moss at the end.

"It worked!"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"You got it," Yugam encouraged the elf with a smile, gently nudging her shoulder with his as she looked at the tinder and kindling nervously.

"And no, never actually did that much camping," Yugam answered the elf's former question as she took back the flint and steel. The man sat back on his haunches, content with waiting a bit to see if Luth would be able to light the fire. "I went a few times as a kid, but that was kinda it," he explained as Luthien gave the striker it's first attempt. "Honestly, just like picking up weird or random skills here and there," the man shrugged. "Same reason I know how to sew, or do video and audio editing." Strangely enough, those latter two had become very helpful in college after the man had decided to switch his major.

By the time Yugam had finished his short story, Luthien had managed to ignite the tinder, the short cry of joy that issued from the woman prompting Yu lean down and gently blow on the smoldering moss, helping the embers spread until the soon began to catch the kindling and branches. "Nice job," the man said with a smile sitting back again as the fire slowly grew.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

His encouragement was welcomed, the nudge of his shoulder against her own helping calm her nerves as a smile tugged at her lips. She listened while attempting to light up the fire, a soft nod given just after her second failed attempt in response to Yu.

"Okay, that makes sense—wait," Out of the three listed skills only one had really surprised Lúthien, her eyes turning away from the flint and steel to look at the man with a raised eyebrow. "You know how to sew?"

Finally her gaze shifted back to the tools in her hands as two more attempts were made, and when she cried out gleefully about her success the hunter had leaned down to gently blow at the smoldering moss. It caused the starting embers to spread further, and a proper flame finally emerged and slowly began to spread.

"Nice job."
"Thanks, had a good teacher~"

A cheeky little grin was offered back to Yugam before the elf set the flint and steel down on the ground, not too far from the campfire in case the flames blew out and needed to be rekindled. The blonde soon joined him as the man sat back, her side pressing against his lightly.

"Alright so spill it, did you really learn to sew on a whim or got a story behind that?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Okay, that makes sense—wait...You know how to sew?" Luthien paused, turning towards Yugam with brows raised in skepticism.
"Not well," the man replied with a scoff and a chuckle. "But yeah, I know how to use a thread, needle, machine. I sure as hell can't make anything look pretty, but I can darn a hole an' stuff."

He most certainly was not the most impressive at any of those either. The man still preferred buying new clothes over patching up old ones, but who knew, maybe the skill might come in handy one day. Maybe it'd come in handy in Terrasphere, who knew?

The crackling of flames grew and grew until the flames engulfed the dry branches entirely, heat radiating outward from the small pyramid of wood. "Alright so spill it, did you really learn to sew on a whim or got a story behind that?" Luthien asked as Yugam settled himself beside her, their shoulders touching as always. "Eh, not a whim, but not much of a story either," the man replied with the slightest hint of embarrassment. "I just tried making a cosplay or two when I was younger. Sucked balls at it, but," the man shrugged. "I know how to sew now," he chuckled.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

A light breeze fluttered through camp, causing the flames to dance in response as the crackling of the fire intensified. Its warmth was welcomed, especially against the first few chills that the autumn winds carried, though Lúthien’s attention remained on Yugam as he shared more about what had got him interested in sewing in the first place.

"Oh c’mon, you can’t just tell me that you learned it by trying to make cosplay outfits and not share which ones!"

A light an airy chuckle had escaped her lips upon hearing that younger Ari had tried his hand at cosplay too, a teasing tone to her words even as the girl nudged the man’s shoulder with her own. "Spill it, which one was it?" It was rather amusing that in both of their cases cosplay had been the source that inspired them to seek out learning the skill, though in Val’s case she’d been lucky enough that her nonna had been a skilled seamstress—the girl doubted her cosplay skills would’ve reached her current level without her guidance and support when she had first started out trying to sew outfits together.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Yugam half laughed, half groaned as he quickly realized that he didn't Unmei around to embarrass him. He was doing a mighty fine job of that all on his own after all. "A generic Sith Acolyte from the old Star War MMO. Old Republic. Those guys just looked so cool to me," the man said as a small smile tugged at his lips. "It came out alright, if I'm being honest, but could never say I was happy with it. Can't even blame it on being a perfectionist, it just wasn't that good," the man chuckled again.

"What was your first cos anyways? You must've killed a ton of them by now," the man asked, recalling just what it was that the elf did for a living IRL. Sure, might have some more interesting costumes than originals nowadays, but the start of her hobby was probably a lot more wholesome.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Look at you, dabbling into the dark side of the Force~"

A soft chuckle escaped the girl, though her string of questions soon earned Lúth one back as Yugam asked about her first cosplay. A light blush colored her cheeks as the attention turned towards her, the elf playing with the tips of her ponytail as she spoke. "Okay fine, but promise you won’t laugh." A part of her still wasn’t sure if that first attempt actually counted, in a way it almost felt like she’d cheated, but it had been the first animated character that Valeria had wanted to portray.

"Miyazono Kaori from Your Lie in April," A sheepish smile was given to the man as she spoke. "I know, I know, not exactly a hard cosplay to pull off… but I was thirteen, and funded it myself."

Back then she had still been living with her mom in Puerto Rico, and while the island wasn’t exactly known for its weebness they did have a yearly Comic Con. With limited funds, and not needing to raise any suspicions from her mom, Kaori had been a simple choice that had needed minimal editing to pull off… and yet she’d certainly managed to prick her fingers quite a good amount of times while altering the pink top that would go over her simple white dress.

"Took me longer to learn the way she played Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata than to actually put the ensemble together… but I really enjoyed it."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Okay fine, but promise you won't laugh."
"Pinky promise," the man responded, holding up his little finger.
"Miyazono Kaori from Your Lie in April."
A grin teased at the man's lips as he recalled the show, a slice-of-life from ages past. A classic, really, centering around middle schoolers, music, love and loss.

"Wait, you learned how to play the song too?" the man asked in bewilderment. "Wow, that's some commitment," he chuckled. "That's really cool actually. Your Lie in April was actually one of, if not the, first anime I ever watched, believe it or not. I still love it to death, but its so fuckin' depressing." Though Yugam would never admit it, he actually had a really hard time watching it. The man had still yet to find another show as emotionally impactful to him as that one. Nostalgia took no part in it, it was simply a well-crafted show.

"Geez, that must've been...ten, eleven years ago that I first saw it?" the man said, suddenly feeling old as he thought back to the first time he'd viewed the anime. "Shit, that's such a long time ago."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The man held out his little finger to her, earning a soft laugh from Lúthien before the elf locked her pinky finger to his into an universally binding contract older than the ages. True to his promise the hunter did not laugh, even if a teasing grin pulled at the corners of his lips once the archer revealed her first cosplay.

"Mhmm, the way she played her violin was half the reason I fell in love with that story—I couldn’t possibly cosplay as Kaori and not learn her song."

She was surprised to hear that Your Lie in April had possibly been the first anime that Yugam had watched, the blonde nodding in soft agreement as the man shared his thoughts on the story. "It wasn’t my first anime—that was actually either the Sailor Moon or Dee Bee Zee reruns in Cartoon Network when I was growing up—but it was the first that I found while looking up shows on my own in the internet." Unsurprisingly she had been looking for something related to music, violin in specific, and as such Your Lie in April had been the first pick to show on her search.

"I must’ve been twelve or so when I found it, and I ended up binge watching it all that very same night." Her eyes had been puffy and red the next day, both from all the silent crying she’d been doing in her room while watching the episodes unfold and also the lack of proper sleep. "Gosh I was so cranky and irritated the next day at school—ended up smacking a boy in class with a wooden ruler when he decided to test my patience and wouldn’t stop pestering me."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Oh man, I used to watch Naruto and Inuyasha on Cartoon Network," the man recalled suddenly. "Shit, I almost forgot about that actually." Another unfortunate casualty of his lost memories. "I mean, I didn't pay too much attention, but I remember sitting there and watching that shit when I was little. Man, those were good too." Maybe that was one of the things that had influenced Yugam's love of martial arts as a child. Watching the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf fighting the Akatski was suddenly almost clear as day in the man's mind.

"I think I was about the same age when I first saw Your Lie in April too," the man said, trying to gauge just when it was he'd seen it. "I musta been in...sixth? Seventh? Maybe eighth grade? Something like that," the man finished with a shrug, though he laughed when Luthien mentioned having smacked some boy the next day at school. "Woe be the idiot who bugs you when you're tired and coming off the post-April depression," the man joked with a grin.

"Hey, are you gonna keep chatting over there or come help me finish this?" Unmei's voice suddenly called over to them. Yugam looked back over at the girl, who'd graciously left one of the graves for her wielder to finish. "Yeah, be there in a sec!" the man called back before turning back to Luthien.

"Here, really quick, I wanted to give you something," the Hunter said, reaching into his pocket. When he pulled his back out and opened it, he held the item out to Luthien. It was a compass, made of brass. The man pressed the crown and the compass' lid popped open. "I know you always get lost and stuff," the man said as he pressed it into the elf's palm. It wasn't a particularly impressive device. The once gleaming, polished metal had tarnished with time, and the casing bore a few scratches from use, but the inside was pristine. The glass looked like it had never known a spec of dust, and the carved indicators beneath the black painted hands held true. "I've hand this thing for a while, but I think you'll get more use out of it than I will at this point," he explained. The man gently tapped the inside of the lid, a small inscription carved in cursive script read 'Reperio Viam Tuam'. "It means 'Find your way'," he explained. "Whether that's your way home, or when you just...dunno what to do. I hope it helps," he said with a smile.

"Yugam, get over here before I hit you in the head with this shovel!"
"Alright, alright, calm your tits, I'm comin', Jesus," the man shouted back to Unmei before looking back at Luthien and giving her one last smile before standing and taking over the spirit's duties.

@Luthien