Confused Soldier Seeking Work (OTA Catch-all)

[worthallthis]

Who: Bucky Barnes AKA the Winter Soldier, and OPEN
Where: New Bark Town, Route 29, and Cherry Grove
When: May 31 through June 5 or so, first leg of the journey
Summary: A new breeder gets his bearings and is very confused by... everything
Rating: PG-13 at least, he kinda swears a lot


I. "Mom"? - Closed to Entrapta

It takes everything in him not to punch the woman who shoves things at him and pushes him out the door. While the whole "mom" thing and the house were all unfamiliar (Some kind of new handler? Some twisted way to try and win me back? Did they catch me again?), being outfitted and sent out on a mission isn't. And he doesn't want it.

The only things that keep him from doing it is the fact that there are no guns for this mission, and the white furry thing pressed to his leg. She's... comforting. He has no idea what she is, but he's pretty sure she's not going to hurt him, or let him be hurt. There aren't cute, white, furry animals in HYDRA.

So he's shooed out the front door, which closes and locks soundly behind him, and he has no idea what his mission is supposed to be, and-- there's a woman on the lawn in front of him tugging on her own long hair. He stares in consternation for a long moment, the plates of the arm shifting and buzzing.


II. The Tiniest Town

"Ma'am. You. I. Can't take that."

"Don't be silly, someone needs to take care of him, and you look perfect for the job."

"But I--"

"No buts! He's my last one, and I can't be toting him around all summer. Here, his name is Fuzzlebutt."

So the Winter Soldier can be seen prowling around New Bark Town with an Absol padding at his side, and a very tiny Skitty clinging to his shoulder with all four sets of claws and chewing on the collar of his tac vest. He's looking vaguely bewildered and a little nervous-- the Soldier, not the Skitty. The Skitty looks bitey.

He spends the whole day systematically mapping out the town, and then at a campfire just outside once the sun sets, reading through the shit in the two books he's been sent off with. The Skitty (Fuzzlebutt, Christ, what kind of a name even is that? ... Probably not much worse than Winter Soldier. Or. Fucking Bucky.) is curled up on his (black) backpack, and the Absol is sprawled against his leg while he tries to figure out how in the hell this place works.

And try to wrap his brain around the idea of no handlers.


III. On the Road

There's no work in New Bark Town. And there's a crazy lady claiming to be his mother. Got to get well away from that. (Even if the meal she made was pretty good.) The Soldier has no real idea what kind of work he could even do when he's not allowed any guns or knives or anything (Don't want to do that again. I'm done. I'm done. But. What else do I even know how to do?) but he knows there's none of it in that town. So, on the road it is. The map claims there's a bigger town to the west, and he knows how to make camp and scrounge for food, so off he goes.

With two animals who say a single word each-- pokemon, according to the device and the books, and everyone back in New Bark; weird name, but he's uses to just accepting things even if they're weird-- alternately bounding around him investigating things or begging for rides. He'll sigh and carry the pokemon in question whenever they do, though, so anyone passing by or lying in wait for new trainers and breeders will have a nice view of a big guy in tactical gear, carrying a furry pokemon in the crook of one arm.


IV. Capturing is Not Like Cryo

Running into wild pokemon is... an experience. He's read about catching them. That you're supposed to use the little red balls. That you're supposed to have plenty of them for battles (Hell no am I making these cute things fight if I don't have to. Even if Fuzzlebutt seems to want to.) and for breeding (Which is supposedly the mission, now.), so he's supposed to catch them.

He's not entirely sure what's supposed to happen, but the first time the Absol swats down a Starly that had been dive-bombing his head and he actually throws the little ball at it and it disappears inside-- well. Anybody with him, or just nearby, gets to enjoy watching him have a small panic attack while he tries to get the creature back out again.

"No no I'm sorry I'll get you out I'm sorry it's okay--"

He is never doing that again.


V. Too Cutesy to be Real

Cherry Grove is... pretty. Cute, even. Calm and quiet. And hopefully nobody deciding they need to fight his small furry friends, Jesus Christ. There's no way he's wasting money on the inn, either, so he'll just camp out on the beach. Eat at the cheapest restaurant he can find. Quietly and only somewhat guiltily "borrow" a steak knife that immediately makes him feel more at ease, hidden safely in a pocket where no one can see it, wrapped in a scrap of leather like a makeshift sheath. (Not gonna use it. It's just... just in case.)

Thus secretly armed and feeling a little less like every pair of eyes on him is a threat, it's time to explore the town and watch the people, see if there's work for an (ex-)assassin and a couple of furballs, and maybe move on if there isn't.

He even feels just barely safe enough to come up to someone and ask, haltingly and without any eye contact, "Excuse me. Is there. Work here?"

Comments

[worthallthis]

Electricity. For a beat, he freezes, terrified, thinking cattle prods and stun batons and the fucking Chair.

But he told himself he'd protect Entrapta, so he charges over the last dozen or so steps, raising the metal arm and with the Absol hot on his heels, only for her to start... laughing?

[firstonesexpert]

When he approaches, Entrapta is lying on her back, and tilts her head back so she can look up at him with a big grin. "Oh! Hi Winter!" She lies still for a moment, then with another small 'oh' scrambles to sit upright again, hunkering down cross-legged as Leslie moves to stand beside the Soldier. "Look, I made another friend!"

She turns her head and looks back at the... small blue cat, with a black hind half, in a pose like it's going to pounce. Static electricity crackles across its fur as it growls, rather adorably. "This is Nancy!"

[worthallthis]

Winter. That's not. Well. Okay, he'll take it.

He's giving the Shinx a wary look as he comes to crouch on Entrapta's other side. "Nancy. Are you sure it's a friend." Because friends generally do not growl. Or zap you with fucking electricity.

Clearly, Fuzzlebutt is also not a friend, though he is now no longer chewing on metal fingers or kevlar collars, but rather staring at Nancy with an air of definite interest.

[firstonesexpert]

"Oh, that?" A spark of static jumps from her ponytail to Soldier as she shakes her head. "That was nothing, I've been electrified way worse than that from working in my lab. That's super friendly!"

She pushes herself back to her feet and steps forward so she can crouch down in front of Nancy. The Shinx takes an uncertain step back, but Entrapta crouches, and stretches one hand out to offer to the kitten. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise! I wanted to ask if you'd like to come exploring with us." And she smiles broadly at it.

[worthallthis]

Yeah, so has he, and he doesn't like it. The static spark actually makes him jerk back and wind up on his rump in the grass to get away from it. He is pretty sure that he much prefers to be chewed in than to be zapped, "friendly" or not.

"You named it without even finding out if it. Liked you," he says.

Then again, she dragged him along without even finding out if he liked her. It's probably lucky for her that he does.

[firstonesexpert]

Hindsight is 20/20. Foresight, distinctly less so.

"Naming things makes it easier to form emotional attachments to them," she reasons calmly, scooting forward on her toes to close the gap between her and Nancy. There's bits of grass and sticks getting caught in the tips of her ponytails already. "And she does like me, she just got startled when I jerked back from the electricity."

She twitches her fingers, and Nancy does indeed draw closer, sniffing her glove curiously. "It's actually quite fascinating, it appears that this Pokemon is capable of generating electrical energy within itself and storing it to no ill effect!" She opens her hand and Nancy flinches, but quickly acquiesces to the ear scratches Entrapta gives it.

[worthallthis]

The Soldier isn't sure whether he's skeptical of that or just... sad. He stays on the ground, though, letting her make friends. Probably to better effect than he has, anyway, given the growling and chewing from Fuzzlebutt. (God, it's such a dumb name. Even Nancy is better.)

Also, apparently she's done some reading, herself.

"How long have you been trying to win it over?" he asks, a little surprised, honestly, at how well it's going for her.

[firstonesexpert]

"About ten minutes after you left!" She's quite cheerful about that. "We found her fighting a bird Pokemon, but the bird ran away and then she tried fighting Leslie but then she saw me and now we're making friends!"

Nancy does look like it's enjoying those pats. Even if its eyes are open and still staring at Fuzzlebutt for staring at it.

[worthallthis]

Clearly this means Fuzzlebutt needs to intervene somehow. The Skitty jumps down from the Soldier's shoulder, and stalks right over to Nancy, tail high and clearly planning to pounce and probably chew. Nancy is, in fact, bigger. By a lot.

Seeing where this is going, the Soldier scoops him back up again. "No," he says, while Fuzzlebutt wriggles around against metal fingers. "We're not fighting. Nancy will eat you. In one bite." Well, that's an exaggeration, but not much of one. Fuzzlebutt is very small.

[firstonesexpert]

Nancy is large and in charge, and when Fuzzlebutt gets close it's a very good thing Soldier snatches him up quickly before Nancy pounces on the spot where he was - which prompts Entrapta to pick him up and cuddle him to her chest. "Come on, Nancy, play nice!"

She looks up at the Skitty like she's seeing it for the first time. Which, really, she probably is. "I didn't realise you made a friend while you were gone, too! What's its name?"

[worthallthis]

Given the volume of that hair, it is probable she couldn't see him before. Doesn't look like she gets a lo of peripheral vision around those things.

The Soldier opens his mouth, hesitates, then admits, "Fuzzlebutt. The old lady who shoved him at me named him." And he's chewing on the Soldier's metal fingers again. "He likes biting. I think. Or else just doesn't like me any."

[firstonesexpert]

"He probably just likes biting. Why wouldn't he like you?" It's a very sincere, albeit probably slightly misguided question - but to her, the Soldier hasn't done anything wrong at all. There's no reason for anyone to hate him.

Nancy wriggles against Entrapta's grip, but it's rather half-hearted, and she puts a hand under his butt to hold him with a bit more support.

[worthallthis]

There are so many reasons. So many reasons. But in the face of Entrapta's innocent expression and interest and friendliness, the idea of bringing up "assassin" and "tried to kill my friend" and "worked for a secret evil organization" makes him want to hit something. And his shoulder and back still hurt, so hitting things would be a bad idea.

Rather than address it, after a pause that might be awkward if either of them were anything other than awkward, he instead says, "I got plenty of food. I think. We should be okay for the trip to Cherry Grove."

[firstonesexpert]

It's a shame, really: she's familiar with a lot of that on a very personal level. Her boyfriend was an evil dictator.

"Ohh, excellent!" She'd be clapping her hair, since her hands are full. Instead, Leslie starts climbing one of her ponytails again. "How tiny is it?"

[worthallthis]

Someday their complicated-morality backstories will come out and they can commiserate and/or understand each other better. That day is not today, however.

" ... it's not tiny at all," he says, mildly confused by the question. He shows her the bag with the bread, cheese, and fruit cups in it. The bigger, heavier things ones are in his backpack. "Should it be?"

[firstonesexpert]

"I only eat tiny food," she says brightly. "But that's okay! We'll make it work!"

She stands up again, and shifts her grip on Nancy so she can offer a hand to Soldier on the floor. "Let's get going!"

[worthallthis]

There is no way she's going to actually pull him and all his metal to his feet. And he's not entirely sure he wants to touch her for that long-- especially holding a bundle of electrical energy, basically. The whole idea makes his skin crawl, and the plates in the metal arm shift.

But she's trying to be helpful. And kind.

So he hesitates a beat, then gets his feet mostly under him before taking her hand, mostly for show, for the last push up. "I guess we can cut it up. Make. Littler bits." He's actually not entirely sure how one makes a meal out of what he bought; he might remember sandwiches at some point, but right now, it's all gross nutrient shakes and IVs.