towerofanimus | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Characters: Reno, and you
Setting: See prompts!
Format: Either/or
Summary: Going hunting, going tanning, infirmary hopping, letter writin', memory viewing
Warnings: Talk about tanning animal hides, sort of gross and if you're squeamish probably should skip the tanning prompt.

Early December, any day in the late afternoon, Tanning Leather, Workshop

Hunting was a laborious process even in the Tower, especially considering what was being hunted. Reno had a short list of the kind of monsters that were easily killed and harmless for tanning purposes. Most of the time, he's on Floor 32 however, being easier to hunt in with the cover it provided, and if he managed to run across an animal, that was just extra food for the family.

The chill was sharp now, every day he went out he was thankful for the leather cloak Xion had made as a prototype. He didn't have a thermometer or anything to measure the temperature except experience, but he could tell each day got a little colder, and if this was how things were going to keep going, they would see bad weather pretty shortly. That's just how Decembers went.

Still, the cold was enough to have him bringing someone along on these hunting trips now, for the extra help he needed getting the tanning afterward done or the bagged meat to the industrial kitchen. And he was enjoying the company after so many weeks of doing missions alone.

Early December, any day in the late afternoon, Tanning Leather, Industrial Kitchen

Tanning leather was gross. Really gross. Despite talking with Xion about it before, he decided to do it himself before handing the leather over to her because he found the quicker the hides got processed, the better they turned out. That meant hours instead of days, but at least the process wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be. A book on the subject taken from the library had taught him animals could be used to tan their own hides... if you didn't mind using the brains. The problem was instead of being able to use the Workshop, the industrial kitchen was way better suited to store the parts and other things necessary for the process. The brains had to be stored until he cooked them down to a soup for rubbing into the hide, and then the hide itself had to be stored for a few days, then smoked.

Hauling brains and hides around the Tower wasn't easy when you were trying to keep the gross off of your clothes, though.

Still, Reno was used to gore and even had a system to tan the damn things even after a really successful hunting trip that netted him three or four at a time. Making tanning racks hadn't been all that hard, and a flat bladed knife made a passable scraper. He had a section in the refrigerator set aside for the materials and even used the kitchen's smoker to full advantage. Any meat he managed to get went right into the Turk's stores in the freezer.

December 6th, Late Afternoon, 1-04, Roommate/Vistor Shenans?

Today, he really just needed a break. A rest from all the hunting and tanning and everything else. He'd never liked the cold. It seemed to sap his energy and drive from him, even way back when things had been normal and Midgar still existed and the Turks were in the good graces of Shinra. His bed had entirely new sheets and blankets on it, a welcome change to the bloody ones Gilles had created with his bullfairy surprise recipe. It was nice just laying in bed, thinking for once.

Vacations were rare and hard to come by, and it was sort of odd but he found himself wanting more to just sit and sleep than do something fun like go to the sauna or to the media room. Maybe it was just a reflection of getting older. He sure as hell wasn't twenty-three anymore, but being in your prime didn't mean recovering wasn't getting harder. Still, time was precious before the big End, and Reno used it to pen a couple of letters to his family on a piece of board sitting on his lap.

December 8th, Morning, Floor 100

On his way down to the kitchen for breakfast, Reno paused on this floor. He wasn't sure why, and even less sure why he stepped out on to this floor completely. The last time he had been here, it had shown him a world he didn't really want to see anymore. Something to taunt and mock him.

This time, it was different. The holograms had changed from Midgar to another city, one just as familiar, but held a note of nostalgia inside the walls and golden gleam. Junon stood proudly facing the ocean, taunting those who would try to destroy her with the immense cannon jutting out from her center. It wasn't the Junon of modern day, where the cannon had been removed and set up in Midgar, or even the Junon of recent day, when it had been complete.

Junon, as Reno remembered her when he lived there so long ago, the walls still incomplete and the cannon still only a shell of a dream. The red streamers hanging from every building bore the name of the company, a salute to Rufus's father. The ocean glittered with the sun overhead, and the breeze made the streamers flap and shimmer.

Awkward, Reno stood in the middle of the street, one hand on his hip and the other tugging at his mouth, wanting to leave, yet strangely compelled to stay. Was this... that day?

December 9th, Morning, Upper Levels, Mapping

The winter season meant there was less time for normal missions, but this was an important thing and Reno wasn't happy to find he actually had to go out of his way to find a day to go map the upper levels. This time, he wasn't alone, which he was just as glad for, because these floors he wasn't quite as familiar with, and if anything, the fox tales that still waved behind him reminded just how unfamiliar he was...

Standing on the staircase, Reno looked over some of the maps he had done already, trying to decide which one to do next. "So, whatcha think? Got any ideas what floor we should try next?"

December 10th, Early morning, Infirmary

It was his own damn fault he hadn't looked where he stepped, and he was pretty lucky it was just a flesh wound, but it was still enough to get him to hobble to the infirmary for a dressing. The little shadow blob seemed to laugh in his attempts to remove the blasted thing from the living, if it even was living, which made him more annoyed than anything. His foot was going to be sore for a few days.

That didn't really explain why he was covered in blood head to toe, however. The stains were going to be a pain in the ass to get out of his clothes...

Grumping to himself, he marched around the infirmary, ignoring whatever worker units that were there, grabbing up some supplies. Anti-biotics, bandages, and some tape. Plopping down in a chair, he examined the damage and made a face when he realized it wasn't so much his foot as it was his ankle. His shoe suffered some damage but nothing that couldn't be fixed or glued together. Annoying, definitely, and something of a setback while he waited for it to heal...

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"No." Roxas shook his head. "I never had to. The Organization fed me and then I..." He blinked a few times. "On vacation we had a lot of ice cream. I'm not sure I even ate anything else then. Huh. I must have forgotten."

He peered around Reno again, looking at the bow. "Can you show me?"

Glancing at the bow, he blinked. Teaching about how to shoot a bow, huh? That was one thing he hadn't done yet, but why not? "Ya want to learn archery? Sure, but I'm not real good at it."

Unslinging it, he held the bow out to Roxas to take. "See if you can pull it back first, don't want you hurting yourself."

Well it didn't matter so much if it was archery, but Roxas needed to learn how to hunt if he was going to help. He took the bow gingerly, holding it carefully. Roxas didn't want to break it, after all. He held the bow in one hand and pulled back on the string. It was a little tough, but Roxas was relatively strong. He usually dual-wiedled keyblades.

"Like this?"

Roxas' stance was all wrong, but he could pull the string back from the bow. However, he was being very careful with it.

"Yeah. Not too hard, is it? Try standin' like this, though." Reno reached for Roxas's shoulders, his intention to pull them to proper alignment and hoping his feet would follow. "Ya get your body just right, then you look right down the arrow and that's how ya aim. Practice it a moment."

It wasn't to hard to steer Roxas into a better position, he usually did as instructed. "It's not hard." He agreed.

He held out the bow, gripping it a bit tighter and pulled back the string as though he were going to shoot an arrow. Roxas frowned in concentration and he repeated the motion a couple of times.

"This is really different from my keyblade."

"Yeah. Be careful 'bout havin' your arm too close to the string, ya can wind up cutting yourself when you let loose." The kid isn't bad, really, just a little of practice to work. "Release the tension slowly, and pull back a couple more times. You'll get used to the motion, get the feel down and it'll be easier to judge how far the arrow will fly. When ya get an arrow on there, pull the end up as if you're going to kiss it. That'll help stabilize you and let ya aim better. Try it with your thumb, see how it changes the view."

Roxas did his best to follow instructions. When he caught the string on his arm on the fourth try, he winced. Thankfully he was releasing it slowly and it just stung a bit. "Ouch. I understand what you mean."

He rubbed his arm for a moment before putting the bow back up. Roxas pulled it back again. "How do you aim it? I'm not sure I get it."

Ah, that wasn't going to work. Taking a strip of leather out of his bag of arrows, he held it against Roxas's arm while the boy held the string back, and bound his wrist up, just in case it happened again. "Here, let me show ya." Drawing one of his arrows, Reno held out a hand for the bow.

He held it out to Reno, looking at the strap curiously. It was smart, actually, that way he wouldn't hurt himself again. Reno seemed to know what he was doing. He turned his attention to him again.

"Do you hunt a lot? Is it hard?"

"I do now." Taking the bow, Reno took sight of a tree trunk he would aim at, relaxed and set his feet and body into position. Knocking the arrow, he drew back until the end of the arrow touched the corner of his mouth. "Not real hard if ya know what you're doing. Watch the arrow, kiddo. See how I'm holdin' it."

Roxas took a step closer to get a good look at Reno's position. He hummed a bit and nodded after a moment.

"Isn't that going to hurt your cheek?"

"Nah, it only looks like it's touching. When you let go," releasing the string, the arrow flew through the air and thunked into the tree trunk, "the arrow just goes forward, see? It's called kissin' the arrow, it's just to stabilize the bow and help ya aim. You get that trick down, you'll be able to bag a couple deer yourself."

"Is this easier than hitting them with a keyblade?" Roxas asked, holding out his hands for the bow again.

"Can I try it with an arrow?"

Giving the bow back, he drew another arrow and held it out as well, keeping an eye on him in case something went wrong. "Wouldn't know, I don't have a keyblade, but y'know, you wouldn't rely too much on a keyblade around here. The illusions go off and ya can't always summon it."

"You can't? Why not?" Roxas' eyes went wide. He always had a keyblade available to him, at least one, so why would that change? What if he needed it?

He blinked a few times and got back to task, taking the arrow from Reno. He tried to line it up like Reno did, but it kept slipping out of place.

Sighing, Reno took Roxas' fingers and arranged them on the arrow, guiding him to knock the arrow again. It stayed in this time, allowing the kid to pull back if he wanted to. "Like that, just hold it tight until you're ready to let go." But he didn't comment yet on the keyblade question. They could deal with the keyblade thing when the attention wasn't split. Arrows weren't something you want stuck in you, as Reno found out a couple times...

"Hold it tight..." Roxas murmured to himself. He pulled the arrow back like he'd seen Reno to, bringing the end of the arrow to the side of his mouth.

Although it was just for practice's sake, he let it go accidentally. He missed the tree, the arrow landing in the ground not far behind it.

"I don't think I did that right."

"Least you got it flying, Rox. Not a bad try." Reno wandered over and retrieved the arrows, bringing them back after shaking the debris from their targets off the ends. "The keyblades don't always work. Have ya tried summoning it on this floor yet?"

The compliment earned Reno a grin and Roxas looked at least pleased with his progress. At the question he looked a bit more thoughtful.

"No, I haven't."

Roxas put his hands out and focused on pulling out his keyblades.

Waiting a moment or two before responding, Reno folded his arms and grinned. "Can't do it, can ya? Like I said, it's easier relying on yourself around here. I've been teaching Xion to fight without her keyblade. I could teach ya the same."

"I really can't!" Roxas was a little thrown by that, he looked at his hands curiously. "It always worked before..."

He turned his eyes to Reno, giving it some thought. "I've fought without it before, sort of. I just had one of those foam bats we used in Struggle. It's the same kind of idea, I guess. I could use some other kind of swords."

"Yeah. Swords, batons, staves. Whatever ya feel comfortable with. Actually," getting a contemplative set to his mouth, Reno hesitated, dropping his arms to his side and hooking thumbs in the pockets of his cloak, "Xion's far enough she could probably teach ya. She knows how it's like learnin' to use something else first hand. Might be better for ya."

"Yeah?" Roxas seemed to be contemplating this. It wouldn't hurt to ask Xion about it, he concluded. He'd assumed he was walking around armed but if he wasn't it would better to be, just in case.

"I think I have to find something first. I can't really train without it, right?" In his experience, being unarmed, heartless always found him regardless of where he was.

"Right. We got some weapons you can try out. Swords, things like that. You stick around long enough, we'll probably teach ya a bunch of different weapon techniques." Now he was thinking, considering all of the things Roxas could try and learn. If his style was anything like Xion's, it shouldn't be too hard to get a training program up and running for the kids. "Ya want to continue with the bow here?"

Roxas nodded a bit. "Swords might be close to keyblades, I think. I have two of them. Oblivion and Oathkeeper."

He brightened and nodded. "Yeah, I want to try again! Maybe I can good at hunting too."

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Roxas, that's a stick

A stick with foam on it!

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