Blaze Gamma
Knight 7Giosue, Faith & Bart
Location: Ville Au Camp: The Oak Tree->Serengeti, Africa 12,000 B.C.
Skills: The Watch: Act I (Time Portals), Spear
Skills: The Watch: Act I (Time Portals), Spear
Another morning, another mission for Faith and Bart to complete. This loop saw the Emendator known as Giosue waiting for his trainee(s) as usual, but today he had forgone his suit for something a little more natural. Atop his head was a wide-brimmed felt cap. Around his neck were a pair of binoculars. Over his torso was an olive button-up shirt, with plenty of spacious pockets adorning the front. And on his legs were matching shorts paired with durable brown walking shoes. On his back, he wore a backpack visually encumbered with unknown cargo. At his feet were two more identical backpacks planted firmly on the ground.
Faith woke up the same way, with maybe a bit more pep in her step. Having spent a good portion training with Nancy (which she enjoyed) as well as keeping her knife sharpened and maintained, she was beginning to get used to this life. Or as used to it as she could manage. She also noticed she started disliking people less. She actually nodded at people when they said hello to her. It was kind of moving. So again, she checked the note and got upset she was still not with Evelina or Belladonna. She was beginning to think they did this on purpose. She got dressed and left to meet Gio and, most likely, Bart again. She was not excited by the sight she saw. Not only did Gio look like someone's lame dad, he also looked like they would be going on a hike. "I'm not gonna like this, am I?"
Bart rose from his bed, saw the note, and nodded. It was that time again, this time with Gio, the Emendator he visited Cairo with. He figured they might be going somewhere deep in the past, or at least so he hoped, Given Gio's status as "The Watch". Seeing parts of history would always be something he'd find interesting. He stepped out of his room, and headed out to the Big Oak tree. As soon as he made it there, He saw Faith and Gio, with two bags at his feet. He might assume that whose would be for Faith and Bart to carry, but at the same time, he'd kind of learned that acting without instruction was typically a bad idea, so he just placed himself next to Faith, and gave a careful look at Gio's getup. "So what's the plan for today?" He asked, thinking that they might be doing some kind of hunting.
"Good morning Ms. Masters and Mr. Rosecliff," Gio greeted the two paradoxes. In response to the former's question he merely smiled before continuing his explanation. "Today we shall be going out on an adventure, a safari so to speak. In each of these packs I've included some useful objects for your mission, up to and including a suitable change of clothes. If you wish, you may briefly excuse yourselves to change before returning. Or if you're prefer to remain in your current dress you may. I won't stop you. The one on my right is for Ms. Masters, the other for young Bartholomew. I'll explain the rest once we've traveled to our destination."
Faith fought hard to not let out an audible groan. This meant walking. Probably a long trek. She was not dressed for the part so she walked forward and grabbed the pack Gio referred to as hers. She opened it and peered inside, seeing the change of clothes. "Yeah, I'm gonna go get changed back there." She didn't want to undress in front of Gio, and definitely not in front of Bart. So she walked back to the house and got changed into the clothes. She had a feeling it would be needed on this journey. After she changed, she walked back, pack slung behind her as she waited for them to get started.
"I'll go get changed then." He said, grabbing for his pack, slinging it onto his back, and following Faith's lead back to the house. While Gio had made the option to stay dress as they were available to them, that struck him as a profoundly foolish idea, so he settled on changing. He wasn't looking forward to spending an entire day outside, but things always found a way to be interesting with these people, so he figured he wouldn't hate it. Going to the first available rest room, he changed into his gear for the day, and hurried back to Gio.
"No need to dither. Let us proceed." Gio opened up a time portal unceremoniously and ushered the two paradoxes through. On the other side, they found themselves standing in a hot, arid grassland. The sky was bright but covered in a dense slate of light charcoal and the smell of ash assaulted the nose. Tough, thick yellow grass that rose up to the knee covered the ground for as far as the eye can see, occasionally broken up by the occasional animal silhouette, rock formation or tree cluster. In the horizon loomed a dark mountain with a frail of smoke rising into the sky above; the only significant marker breaking the relative uniformity of the rest of the location. Well aside from one item that immediately broke up the natural setting elsewhere: a jeep with an open top and four seats by the look of it, with signs of more cargo in the back.
"Welcome to the Serengeti, Faith and Bart. Today, you two are going hunting," he proclaimed, climbing in the back of the jeep. He quickly got himself comfortable and motioned for the others to get in the vehicle as well.
"Whichever one of you wishes to drive may do so. I believe you're both familiar enough with the skill. But you'll both need to work together. We want to secure an impressive prize to bring back to camp, and you don't have much time. As for the specific target, I'll let the two of you decide. Back here I have some goods that wouldn't fit in the pack." Gio dug up a few different items from behind him. A hunting rifle. Then a few throwing spears. A blow pipe.
"I think you get the idea. Don't worry about anything like depopulation through overhunting either. This is well before that could become an issue."
Despite her "devil may care" attitude on most subjects, Faith didn't enjoy hunting. She did it in her timeline, of course, because it meant survival. Hunting for sport was another matter. Humans were easier, in a fashion, to put down because they often did bad things, like try to take advantage of her, and it was survival then too. Animals did nothing wrong except what instinct told them to do. So the fact Gio wanted them to hunt, even if it was ok for the population, it still made her uneasy.
However, she didn't trust Bart to handle a hunting rifle or throwing spears well. "I'll take a crack at the guns first. Any target you want specifically?" she asked Bart.
Bart didn't care much about the moral implications of hunting, so long as over hunting didn't occur. Animals were on the planet, but they lacked the intelligence humans did. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it wasn't reprehensible. "I don't mind taking the wheel. If we want something impressive, maybe a lion?" He suggested. Then furrowed his brow. No, not a big cat, that didn't sit right with him after leaving lucky on his own in the advent of his death. "Scratch that, A Giraffe? That's look cool in the camp I guess." He offered, sliding into the front seat of the jeep, and rested his hands on the wheel.
"You don't need to worry about the target. As much as I'd like to, we don't have the time to plan all the specifics of this trip. We're going to have to improvise through this." Gio handed Faith the hunting rifle. Once in her hands, she'd see that it was bolt-action, which would require her to manually reload the bullet after every shot. He also handed her a small box that when opened would reveal the ammunition for the weapon.
"You only get three shots before you have to change to another weapon. Use them wisely." Bart on the other hand would be able to see that the keys to the jeep were already stuck in the ignition. All he'd have to do was turn it, and it'd roar to life. "You see off in the distance at 2 o' clock? Those barely moving silhouettes. That's your best bet for finding anything within the next half hour. Dallying around here would not be a wise decision."
Faith took the rifle in hand and stepped into the vehicle, waiting for Bart to get it started. She didn't care about the target, so long as they got something. Faith checked the aim on the rifle, preparing herself for using this type of gun. A bolt-action rifle was not ideal in this situation, but it was better than nothing. She was sure she'd have an easier time with it than the spears or the blowgun. The silhouettes were within her sights. "Let's get moving then."
Bart turned the keys, starting up the car. Taking a second to translate Gio's instruction into something he understood, Bartholomew started driving towards the figures in the distance. "I'll see if I can get up close to them quickly." He said, gently pressing his feet down on the accelerator, getting them up to around 50 miles an hour. He figured he could manage the speed for now, but might want to slow down as they got closer, for fear of scaring away whatever these creatures were. "Hey Gio," He said as he drove, "You told of where we are, but when are we?" Still an odd question for Bart to need to get used to asking, but he was genuinely curious about what time period they were in.
A sudden distant rumbling sounded in the distance, cutting off any answer Gio might have given. It very clearly came from the mountain behind them. And the smoke emanating from its peak appeared thicker and darker than it had when they had first arrived.
"Curious thing really. That question is more pertinent than some might think." Gio yelled over the sound of the engine and the wind. As they neared the silhouettes, were were specks became larger, more defined. And it was immediately obvious that there were several beasts that were not of "the usual fare." Faith, armed with the scope on the rifle would be able to pick out things like great pachyderms, larger than the largest elephant she'd ever seen with downward sloping tusks, or giant boars with long, forward jutting tusks of their own.
"We happen to be in, well you probably wouldn't be interested in the exact date. But we're in what you'd call 12,000 BC, well before the earliest known civilizations formed." It was only a few minutes later that they would pull in closer to the point where they'd be able to see any of the animals distinctly with their own eyes. In addition to the animals of old, there were also a smattering of gazelle, zebra, cape buffalo, wildebeest and rhinoceroses. Furthermore, they were all running in the same direction they were.
Faith waited until they were closer as Gio spoke. As it planned perfectly as soon as he told them when they were, the creatures formed. They were unlike any she had ever seen. Even in picture books. She put the rifle down as she gazed in awe. Given the time period, it made sense now. There were animals aplenty before humanity carved out its place on Earth. She was half tempted to put the gun down and just observe these creatures, but she had a task. She pulled the rifle up and aimed at the big beast. Even large animals could be taken down.
And then she heard it break. She put it down again and checked. The rifle had jammed. "Fuck!" She got to work as best she could at fixing it. Managing to get the bullet out and the rifle cleared, she tossed the bullet aside. Now she only had two left.
"12,000 BC?!" Bart asked over the hum of the engine. That was very far back in the past. He couldn't help but wonder about the butterfly effect. He figured Gio well knew what he was doing, so he didn't vocalize anything, but he considered the implications. Maybe they weren't really changing anything here, in a way, they always came to this point in history, so their actions wouldn't change anything. He would consider this more, but he was driving, and that, along with the rest of their current circumstances, merited his full attention. He heard Faith curse and said, "Missed I take it? Want me to take a shot?" He asked her as they sped along the Serengeti.
The jeep drew ever nearer to the herd of animals. On one hand, this meant whoever was shooting had a better shot, but also that the beasts began to take greater notice of them and react accordingly. They'd begin to divert course to flee away from them rather than simply keep going the way they'd been. If Gio had anything he wanted to insert to the situation, he didn't bother to say it, leaving Faith and Bart to sort things out on their own.
Faith shook her head as she brought the rifle back up and looked through the sights. "No, I got this." She would be damned if she let Bart show her up in any capacity. She set her sights on the big guy again, ignoring any feeling ot concern at shooting a creature she knows did not exist during her timeline. She shot and landed a hit. "That's how it's done!" At first, it seemed like the shot didn't do much and Faith feared her cheering would be her downfall, but soon, the large beast slowed down and stumbled. "So...do we finish it off now?"
Bart lowered his head at the crack of the gunshot," Nice shot." He said, and looked over to Gio, "I assume we still want to bring this back to camp?" He said, trying to focus on following after the wounded animal. He had no idea how they'd ever manage to lug something that big, so he figured The Watch wasn't being completely honest with his expectation of them bringing it back. He was more than fine with that, if that was the route they were going to go.
"It'd be quite the waste to just kill a creature and then leave it here, although it wouldn't exactly be in anything's way. Yes, we are going to transport it back to camp." Gio called over the increasingly loud tremors of the impending eruption. His posture remained relatively lax throughout, as if his only worry would be Bart's driving.
Faith put the rifle down. The car was shaking too much for her to be able to concentrate properly. Instead, she grabbed one of the spears offered and aimed. She wanted to fell the beast, but it was a touch mother, to be sure. Instead, she aimed for one of the calf things next to it. The spear left her grasp and charged forward, but it missed its mark. However, the calf got scared and ran in front of the giant and tripped it. It appeared to be slowing down more, but they would quickly pass it. "We need to slow down some. It's almost done."
As the creature tripped, Bart had a bit of a smile on his face. "Let me show you how it's done." He said, reaching out for a spear, and, with one hand on the wheel, lobbying the weapon at the creeature, striking it dead in the chest. With a grin on his face at his success, he said, "I'm gonna bring us up to it, and we'll figure oiut how to get it up to camp from there." He said, slowing the car down, and driving up to the apparently dead beast.
Faith was mildly pissed Bart managed to stop the thing while he was driving, but she was content in thinking she had a hand in weakening it, at least. As the car came to a stop, she jumped out and walked over to their target. It was bigger in person than she had anticipated. "So, now what? How are we taking this thing back with us?"
"That would be where I come in." Gio hopped out from out the back of the Jeep and rubbed his hands. "I hope neither of your got too attached to the jeep. It's probably not going to survive the day." Gio produced The Watch and created a time portal beneath the beast large enough to completely engulf it. The corpse fell through silently back to Camp.
"I'd not hesitate to jump in. The volcano's going to blow any second now. I'd hate to have to leave one of you back here to the ash." That said, Gio pinched his nose and hopped through the portal, the way one would into the side of a pool.
Faith followed shorty after Gio, not intending to stay here any longer than needed. As much as she would love to see an active volcano erupt, she at least knew that during this time would not be the best if she wished to remain alive. She thought about pushing Bart before she jumped as a "screw you" move, but opted against it. The little twerp stepped his game up and Faith had to give him props. Not to his face, of course, but the fact she didn't insult him was a step up.
Bartholomew was mildly surprised with Faith's lack of a comment on his kill, but he rolled with it. Maybe it was some kind of progress. Very much not wanting to be around lava, for obvious reasons, he quickly followed behind Faith, jumping into the portal., landing safely back in Ville Au Camp. He was happy with his prowess there, feeling a sense of personal growth and achievement in what he'd done.
The three of them landed on top of the slain beast in the middle of Camp, now around 10 am. Gio jumped off the fallen deinotherium with a giggle.
"Good job to the both of you. For a second there I was a bit concerned, but you pulled through." The Emendator took off his cap and turned to face Bart and Faith, a wide smile plastered on his face. "Now the question is what to do with this thing. I was thinking of cooking whatever you killed, but this is more than we'd be able to eat, even if we tried to feed it to tonight's partygoers. Suggestions?"
Faith was concerned with how jovial the man was after witnessing them kill this thing, but what could she do? She was tasked and she passed. 'Didn't Native Americans like...use every part of the animal they killed? We may be able to get some food, but perhaps there's other uses for its bones and skin and such?"
Bart shook his head at Faith, " I'd say this is neccesarily wasteful, given that Gil can pull anything out of his hat." With that said, he looked over the beast. " On the subject of the partygoers though, maybe we could stuff it and use it to scare them. Is anybody good at taxidermy?" He asked. That seemed to be the only real use they could get out of this, and it would be pretty scary for sure.
"The main issue is that there's so much to use, I don't think we'll be able to get through it all with the manpower we have." Gio scratched his chin, staring over the thing. "I'm sure we'll figure out something. At the very least we need to do something before it starts rotting away." Perhaps for once he hadn't thought things through as thoroughly as he tended to. But it was certain that the last thing anyone wanted was to smell that thing as it sat underneath the sun all day.
