awashlogs | into the woods

Entry tags:

dave strider,
keith

into the woods

WHO: Dave Strider & Keith. Keith like Madonna, there's just the one name that matters.
WHERE: the well --> the forest, because dumb teens
WHEN: Noon on the 18th onwards
WHAT: "yes we are going to have a nice chat and perhaps tea" several hours later "OH GOD WE WERE ATTACKED BY SHADOW MONSTERS AND WILL NEVER FEEL HUMAN WARMTH AGAIN" that seems to sum it up, so you know what.
WARNINGS: the aforementioned idiocy, dave is liable to swear, they don't even bother to have their gray food snacks probably

[ noon at the well, because it's the creepy easiest location to find and meet by (they need better landmarks) and then "away from the well, because yeah". this is the entirety of the plan they'd made the other day, although dave had mentioned tea they definitely don't have and meant water they do. spending time conversing with someone not yourself is probably better than wandering around an empty house ignoring the impulse to check your eyes, ignoring the knotted scars under your shirt. at least, dave figures that's probably the case? and keith is weird and kind of reminds him a little of a less talkative karkat, and has a cat mecha in another world, apparently. he might also be dead, too.

so keith's a good option for "let's be losers in the same vicinity and thereby be not so loser-y" and dave shows up with the painstaking punctuality of a time player at the well.

there's a certain deliberate carelessness involved in perching on the side of said well, but it's not like he has to worry about falling in. flight helps, there.

whenever keith shows up, dave lifts his left hand in an absent wave. ]

Yo. So, I didn't actually gather up any gray food or water for this, but we can go find some if you want?? Or we can like...attempt to be semi-useful and do some more explorations. There's that huge-ass forest, maybe there's a bush with berries on it somewhere. Not that I know the difference between poisonous berries and not poisonous ones, but I'm pretty sure someone here should know...or we could test it on an animal we plan to eat. Wait, shit, that sounds mean actually? Not that it'd matter in the long run if you were gonna eat the animal. Except if it died of poison I think then you wouldn't eat it and it'd be for like, no cause? I'm rambling, sorry, hey, how're you today.

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[Oh talking to some other awkward weirdo instead of himself -- instead of staying in his room and going through training and sword forms, or wandering around the town and looking places he's already looked more than once for some clue or another -- sounds like a much, much better idea. So what if their plans were thin at best.

Not exactly like there was anything here they had to keep a schedule for.

Keith shows up on time, fully decked out in his Blade uniform, though he's finally chilled out enough to leave the hood down and the mask off. That's called progress is what that is. His sword is even in its dagger form, and safely sheathed behind him.]

I'm not really hungry anyway. I'd rather feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. So yeah. Let's explore. I haven't been far into the forest yet. Maybe we can find something useful.

[To eat. Or some answers. Or anything really. Keith is just way too restless to sit still, so rambling or not, Dave has a great point.]

And not poison any animals. If we can avoid it. For now.

[ fashion is probably for people who have more than one outfit available. so, like. no one in this entire town? dave's still in his ridiculous magic pajamas, although since they are comfortable and self-cleaning he will stan for these things until the end of time. he's not obviously armed, but then his sylladex kind of means he's never obviously armed. his shit is stowed in hammerspace, where it belongs.

he hops off the well and nods, hands going into his pockets. ]

Useful, yeah. Like a secret underground bunker stocking paint, maybe? Or answers. Which would probably be more useful, but way less fun. Man, you can't even graffiti it up to make it more interestin' around here...no color. I mean, if you wanted to go troll-creepy you could paint in blood, but uh. No? No.

[ he starts heading out towards the woods area. so, going up through the districts...it's a walk, but not one that's going to be that hard. ]

Found out anything new since yesterday? [ he fully expects not, because yeah. ]

[No matter how many outfits may or may not be at his disposal, fashion is never for Keith. Let's just be super clear on this. He falls into step beside Dave, nodding.]

Paint and answers. Great. So we've got goals.

[And uh just for the record,]

No blood painting. I think that needs to be a ground rule.

[Rule 1: no color is still preferable to serial killer chic. Keith's nose wrinkles at the question.] The whole place is full of dead people and alive people and everything in between. No one has any clue what the quiznak is going on. And there are some real assholes here.

[There you go. That's the results of all Keith's research.] But most people seem okay.

[ we weep for you, keith. ]

I am okay with the no blood painting rule? [ BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY: ] Is quiznak like a fox kids version of sayin' fuck. Are you being censored.

[ .....................this isn't more important. when they finally hit the woods after a while, dave doesn't pause as they enter, although he won't stop chatting, either. even if there's a feeling of being watched. ]

What? No.

[Yes. yes he is. Censored and he doesn't even know it.] It's some Altean curse. ...to be honest I'm not sure if it means fuck or shit or darn. I never asked for a translation. [What happened was a bunch of teenagers learned a naughty word in another language and ran with it hard.]

Considering Coran uses it... probably darn.

[Disappointing. Oh well. As for the woods.]

Well. This place is creepy as hell. Like it's really trying to be creepy, too.

Well, it does sound kinda cool bein' foreign and all. I just like the classics? And admittedly some original twists on normal language where you go "this couldn't possibly be curse" and then some guy just makes it into one somehow and you have to laugh about it.

[ live your best life and swear as much as you want, keith ]

...Yeah. I went a little ways in with Minato the other day until it felt like this [ someone watching ] but we ended up turnin' back.

Foreign. I guess that sums it up for sure.

[Keith laughs. Sorry. It is foreign. Galaxies away foreign. Guess that makes him and the others some weird ass foreign exchange students. Okay. Amusement aside, he nods. Right. Focused. On the creepy forest.]

That's probably what it's meant to do, get people to feel uncomfortable and turn back. ...which means there's definitely something out here worth seeing.

[Are any warning bells going off yet, Dave? About the fact that Keith sees potential danger as something positive to run towards? Because if they aren't, please be his best-worst friend.]

[ like. there are maybe some bells, but maybe dave's a little self-destructive sometimes, too. it's always better to do the dangerous thing than to allow someone else to do the dangerous thing. and it's so, so much better than thinking about home. ]

Like some kinda safety that you just have to force your way through?

[ granted, there's nothing more than the feeling of being watched until they go a long, long ways in and things get dark...

so they can chat as they proceed. ]

[Fully agreed all around. Keith is running from thinking about things harder than usual right now, for various reasons, most of which involve the fact that he's probably never going to see home or the people he cares about again. It's easier to focus on figuring this place out, on how ticked off being played with by some jerks who aren't even brave enough to show their faces makes him.

Like an electric fence. It's probably not meant to really hurt you or kill you, just deter. A little zap. But people only build fences for two reasons, to keep something out or to keep something in.

[Or you know. Both. And the forest is only getting eerier as they go, which is super super charming. Darker and thicker and the canopy overhead looks damn near impenetrable. Keith's hand drops to his dagger. Not drawing it just assuring it's there.]

[ it's getting darker, but dave doesn't make a single move to remove his shades. he doesn't draw his sword, either, although his left hand flexes as he thinks of it. belatedly it occurs to him he should have checked in with someone before leaving - john or terezi or whoever, but asking for forgiveness later is easier than asking for permission now. and they're both exactly the sort of person who'd want to go instead, into something probably dangerous.

so.

rose would have known to watch dave like a hawk - no, rose would have been into the woods on the first day, before dave decided it was a good idea, and he'd have trailed along after her as soon as he caught on, and they'd both probably have done something phenomenally stupid.

rose isn't here, though, so it took dave a few days to answer the sort of call she runs towards. ]

There's also the third option of "both", but that implies some kinda care to the people who built the metaphorical fence. Well. Maybe?

[ he glances back, notes he can't see where they'd come from, and doesn't say a word about it.

that's probably part of the "fence", too. ]

Or that, yeah. Either way, no way to find out but to keep going.

[Keith doesn't see any reason to turn back, but the glance he casts over his shoulder assures that going back isn't going to be easy either. Interesting. He's not exactly thrilled at the idea of going in blind right now, not knowing what they might be up against, but the only way to get any information around here seems to be to barrel into it. No other choice for reconnaissance. No intel network or communications to intercept.

Not for the first time, and not for the last, he misses Shiro. Even if he's been off with the Blade and away from the other paladins for a stretch now, Keith is sure that the black lion's paladin would already have a plan laid out for all this. But then, as he's proven quite plainly, Keith is sure he's a poor substitute for Shiro.]

...got anyone here who'll notice if you go missing?

[Not an ominous question at all. Very cheerful.]

My best friend. [ john, easy. john who's probably the only one who didn't die, because his eyes are still blue and he didn't show up with a wound that had to be stitched shut, or scars where mortal wounds had once been. ] And another friend - [ ex-girlfriend? that part matters less than the part where dave still likes terezi, still considers her a friend and trusts her implicitly even if they live on banter and jokes and avoiding the serious. ] and there's a third person from back home, but I don't know if she'd really care. We're not close.

[ a shrug. ]

You said you didn't recognize anyone, right? [ there's something at the edge of hearing, but he dismisses it initially; it's the same way he'd refused to look at the horrorterrors headon for the longest time, until rose lalonde told him to do so. ]

Good. So they'll know if you don't come back.

[Since Keith sure didn't leave a note. Did Dave leave a note? Given that they kind of decided on this little adventure last minute, Keith is going to guess no.]

Hey. Does one of your friends type like they're allergic to the letter keys on the keyboard?

[Because he definitely talked to someone who typed like a number-for-letters-seizure who mentioned him. And time travel. And well.

A momentary pause as he answers the other question.]

Yeah, no one I know from my world is here. Only person who might notice if I go missing is this kid I wound up living with. [A good kid who Keith would rather not try to come look into the woods after him anyway. So that's fine.]

Lots of numbers? Yeah, that's Terezi.

[ vriska uses 8s but dave wouldn't characterize her as allergic to letter keys. ]

You get used to it; all of the trolls have little typing quirks, some more ridiculous than others. I don't actually have to think about readin' her shit, but I also grew up in the era of l33tspeak.

[ good old early 2000s... ]

She uh.

[...so he grins and tries to stifle the expression. She may have talked him into seeing how far they could jump a houseboat. But since that log hasn't logged yet, Keith will not mention it.]

Mentioned you. In regards to some time thing and my situation back home. I don't know. Honestly I was just really confused at every point.

[That's true. However.] ...leet...speak?

[That is like ancient history where Keith is from Dave how does it feel to be an old old man of the internet.]

Oh, did she? I mean, I do time travel, that is my thing.

[ LOOK...

he doesn't mind technically but he feels SO OUT OF DATE...again...his references are so dated...

a pause. ]

Do you hear that? [ whispers. something familiar, but just out of reach... ]

[Keith will shut up now and listen, brow furrowing.]

What is it...?

[A low whisper, and reflexively his hand drops to his dagger. Not drawing it even now. But wow is he ready.

Keith's fight or flight instinct is broken and stuck permanently in fight.

Except for getting emotionally close to people. Then it's broken in the other way entirely. Gotta run like hell from that.]

[ funny, dave's tends to lean towards flight sometimes.

but he's closing in to keith's side so he'll be better able to defend him if a fight occurs, eyes scanning the woods. ]

...It's almost like the voices of the horrorterrors, but it's not quite...

[ it's murmured under his breath. across the way, a deer freezes in its tracks - but it doesn't quite look like a deer. it has eight legs, and strange growths on the antlers... ]

[Keith is about to ask of the what but he isn't given the chance. He's too busy staring at the.

What. What is he looking at.]

What the hell is that?

[He'll turn just slightly so he can properly flank Dave, in case that creepy deer-thing isn't alone. His dagger is in his hand and a moment later said dagger is flaring to life and turning into a sword.]

[ like, the deer is still mostly a deer. keith's sword lights up and shit and the deer bolts into the woods, as deer do. dave breathes out, slow, and looks around again. ]

I think, [ he says softly ] the wildlife is maybe a little...wilder than we're used to.

[ more mutant, he means. ]

Uh... yeah.

[And okay so like. Keith is used to alien wildlife, so that shouldn't have been so weird, but that was so weird. Because it was familiar enough that the wrongness just really shone through.

He may just keep his sword drawn now. Just in case.]

So I guess... there's hunting if people want... spider venison.

[Is that a bright side? He's trying.]

And if they know how to prep it. Which we should...learn?

[ the path is getting darker and darker as they go.

almost like they're being led somewhere.

it's not a thought dave likes, and he's getting tenser, even if his poker face remains firmly slotted in place. ]

You know I have a friend who'd be all over spider venison recipes...

[And Hunk would manage to make it appetizing even. A sudden little pang of homesickness for his friends but he shrugs it off.

Keith isn't fond of the thought that they're definitely being directed by the forest itself either. It's unsettling and he mutters,]

This feels like a bad horror movie. [A pause.] Hey. What's that?

[A weird little hill? Doesn't look right, entirely.]

It looks like, you know, where an entrance to fairyland would be. Or a hobbit house.

[ why would keith know either reference...but dave redirects towards the mound, because they're out here to explore and going Away from the interesting thing would be stupid as hell, maybe. ]

Wonder if it's just as abandoned as every other house we've found?

[Hey. He's from Earth. He's read a book! But yeah exploring. And when he sees the weird door straight into the mound. Well. Yup. Not eerie at all. This is definitely where a fairy tale witch would live. At least he's probably too old to be appealing for baking into a pie. Right?

Right...?] We can find out.

[Breaking and entering. Except this is when Keith glances back and sees something genuinely unsettling. Sword up and he's reaching his free hand out to grab at Dave's arm.]

What the hell... [Shadows on your six, Dave. ...and your seven. And four. And okay. This is... not great.]

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