In turn, Tox clings harder to the netting as his leg is freed, with an unnatural grip strength for a 12-year-old. He's able to hold himself up as she- oh god- she tears through the final rope with her bare hands. And now he's supposed to jump down into her arms? Forgive him a little hesitation, here, giant surface girl...
He hangs there, looking down at her warily for a few long moments. He almost tells her to just stand aside-- he knows how to tuck and roll, and is agile enough not to break his legs from a fall like this. Then again, this is the forest, and he doesn't know what the terrain beneath him is like. To fall on his ankle wrong on the uneven forest floor could put him out of training for weeks, and he can't afford that.
He lets go, allowing her to catch him. He's not overly big for his age, but he is oddly muscular. Still, he should be no problem for her to catch.
"Well, come on, then. I ain't going to hurt you." She assured him, despite it being obvious that he would not believe that at all with the way he looked at her.
Once he jumped, she planted her feet and held her arms out to catch him in a bear hug around his middle, leaving the poor boy squeezed up against her muscular chest. She grinned.
Ain't? Well, she definitely sounds dumb. But she asserts that she won't hurt him, and truly, her tone seems to match that assertion. Non-threatening. It's weird.
His breath catches and holds, both from the pressure of being suddenly gripped around his abdomen, and the shock of now staring right into the enemy's face. Close enough to feel her warmth, to smell her, to see her face. He expects to be utterly repulsed- for her to smell bad and look disgusting. But neither of those are the case. She smells somewhat like the forest around them, with hints of sweat and other things he can't place, and her face is... Pretty. There's no other word for it, especially when she's smiling like that. His eyes catch on the little brown flecks that dot her cheeks. Maybe her own kind of war paint?
His daze lasts only a couple of moments before he remembers he's being grappled by an enemy, and squirms- but it's not a useless squirm. His movements actually expertly slip him out from her grasp, landing on his feet in a fighting stance. He steps back to put space between them, his hand moving for his dagger and brandishing it at her.
Juno found herself staring at his eyes — so unnaturally green, like some of those poisonous animals her mother told her to stay away from. The prettier they are, the more dangerous. Maybe she was right, given how the man with the toxic green eyes was now calling her vermin and brandishing a dagger.
"Little too late for that, friend." She said, clearly confused by the sudden turn of events. "You know, if I wanted to do anything to you, I would have just left you up there. Is this how you say thank you to someone who helped you?"
"Aren't you the one who set this trap?" How is it helping if she was the one who captured him in the first place?
"I'm not your friend." He looks behind him, toward where he thinks Damian might be. "I shouldn't even be talking to you." She's clearly clueless, and he's only blowing his cover more by hinting at the fact that he's from underground, but he's very flustered.
He had been. He definitely is only realizing just now that she set this trap to hunt animals to eat. Not to trap innocent people to bring back to her people and make meals of, or sacrifice ritually or whatever they do.
"Because, I..." He huffs, not knowing how to answer that. He looks behind him again. "I'm with someone. If he catches me talking to you, I'll be in huge trouble." Suddenly, punishment from his teachers and his father is much more of a threat in his mind than this clueless surface girl.
She followed his gaze this time and squinted, unable to see anything through the trees. "Why would you be in trouble? I'm not doing anything bad." A beat. "Are you?"
"No." He checks his navigator- there's no ping from Damian yet that he's coming back toward him, but he can probably tell Tox is staying in one spot for too long.
He looks at her again and sighs, like he can't believe she's still not getting it.
"I'm not from here. I'm not allowed to talk to surface dwellers." He doesn't call her dumb, but his tone is sure making it seem like he thinks she is.
"Says who?" She replied. "I didn't even know your kind came up to the surface." Were they even allowed up here? "What do you keep looking for? Your friend?"
"You're not supposed to know. That's the point." Really good spy work Tox, all but telling the first girl you see that you're a spy from underground. A+.
"He's not my friend, he's my military commander and he will kick my ass."
"Should probably get goin, then, huh?" She leaned down and grabbed her axe, hooking it into her belt before he thought she was going to attack him. "You're welcome for the save, by the way."
Boy, underground people sure were impolite! Juno watched him vanish into the trees, took another look around to assure no one else was planning on sneaking through, and then pulled her trap down fully. She would have to fix the netting anyway.
After she gathered up her things, she headed back to her father and informed him of the encounter. Solanus looked... surprised, if not a little incredulous at the suggestion that some boy from the underground had made his way up to the surface and actually spoke to her, but Juno couldn't tell a lie even if she wanted to.
"They're not meant to be up here, sprout. If you see him again, best be careful." Was his only warning, knowing full well his stubborn daughter would end up doing whatever the hell she wanted either way.
Enough time passed after that incident that Juno assumed it was a one-off interaction when she saw no sign of the boy. So she went about her usual business in the woods while her father worked - singing another song to herself, this time while skinning a rabbit she had managed to catch.
Tox's training continued, but they didn't come back to the surface for another two weeks, and then three after that. It was a hassle to get up there, what with hidden passages and doors requiring complex spells to open, leading to caves on the surface where they sat invisible so no one would find and meddle with them. Besides, it wasn't like taking a boy up was a top priority.
And the work remains boring. He hopes this isn't what all spywork is like. He thought it would be infiltration and stealth and thievery and poison and classified information. Instead they're just wandering around in the woods, marking stuff on a map. Is this actually important, or are they just telling him it is?
He also assumed the run-in was a fluke, so it's a surprise to hear her singing again. He freezes, considering his options. In truth, he had thought about their first encounter for days afterward, picking it apart in his mind. It was such a strange experience, and the way she didn't fit the stories he'd been told about surface dwellers made him curious about her. He wanted to know more, but figured he'd never see her again, so tried to put it out of his mind.
So when he hears the singing, there is the urge to give it a wide berth so he doesn't get in trouble, but what's stronger is the urge to walk toward it. The call of a siren.
He's stealthier in the woods now, and he creeps through the brush quietly to find a spot where he can see her, but she can't see him. This goes well, at first, and he watches her for a little while. She's skinning an animal, or something- so she's a hunter, then. Or maybe all her people hunt, but then why would he only be seeing her out here?
He's still astounded by how big she is, too. His people are small, thin, pale. Even Tox is a bit big compared to the other kids, and he's a foot shorter than her.
He wants to get a closer look, so he shifts, moving around the edge of the clearing to another bush. This is when he missteps and a stick cracks loudly beneath his foot.
She sang her song and cleaned her kill, the fur separated from the meat so it was not wasted. She was about to pick up a second rabbit when the sound echoed into the air, sending birds flying from the nearby trees. Juno was on her feet in an instant, skinning knife in hand, and turning toward the sound.
"Someone there? I ain't the one you wanna ambush out here..."
He narrows his eyes as she immediately brandishes her weapon. Quite different from when they first met, but this time he has the jump on her, so it makes sense. He draws his own dagger, but holds it at his side.
He waits for a few long moments, thinking. Does he really want to look behind this curtain?
... Yes.
He clears his throat, intentionally but subtly drawing her attention to him. He steps forward, enough to be visible, but still in the treeline.
"If you weren't always singing, it might be harder to ambush you."
"Sure can." But people rarely ambushed others here in the woods, so she hadn't been able to test the theory much.
She laughed. "Not exclusively, but I hunt. Most of us learn to, when we're young. And since my Pa is working, I should at least contribute somehow. You know how?"
Her Pa? Do surface-dwellers use baby talk to refer to the people who bred them?
"No..." He gets closer, looking at her kill. A rabbit. He's never seen one in real life. "There aren't many animals underground. Rats and frogs and salamanders, mostly. We eat a lot of mushrooms." He is so sick of mushrooms.
"What kinds of animals do you hunt? Are there bears here? Wolves?"
"Frog legs are good. Why not eat more of those?" She suggested, offering the rabbit for a closer look. "There are bears and wolves, but we usually stick to hunting things like rabbits and deer." She laughed. "Bears kinda tough to take down, even for us."
"We do. A lot of them." Some people even breed frogs... Underground farming is a whole thing and he doesn't pretend to understand it. He eats what he's given. "And rations." Nutrition bricks and paste and the like. Awful.
His eyes widen at the mention of bears and wolves. So they're real...
"Are they as huge as people say? The size of a house?" Clearly the information they get about the surface is... Limited. He pokes at the rabbit, examining it curiously. "Is this a rabbit? What does it taste like?"
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Date: 2025-10-20 08:33 pm (UTC)From:He hangs there, looking down at her warily for a few long moments. He almost tells her to just stand aside-- he knows how to tuck and roll, and is agile enough not to break his legs from a fall like this. Then again, this is the forest, and he doesn't know what the terrain beneath him is like. To fall on his ankle wrong on the uneven forest floor could put him out of training for weeks, and he can't afford that.
He lets go, allowing her to catch him. He's not overly big for his age, but he is oddly muscular. Still, he should be no problem for her to catch.
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Date: 2025-10-20 08:44 pm (UTC)From:Once he jumped, she planted her feet and held her arms out to catch him in a bear hug around his middle, leaving the poor boy squeezed up against her muscular chest. She grinned.
"Safe and sound!"
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Date: 2025-10-20 09:14 pm (UTC)From:His breath catches and holds, both from the pressure of being suddenly gripped around his abdomen, and the shock of now staring right into the enemy's face. Close enough to feel her warmth, to smell her, to see her face. He expects to be utterly repulsed- for her to smell bad and look disgusting. But neither of those are the case. She smells somewhat like the forest around them, with hints of sweat and other things he can't place, and her face is... Pretty. There's no other word for it, especially when she's smiling like that. His eyes catch on the little brown flecks that dot her cheeks. Maybe her own kind of war paint?
His daze lasts only a couple of moments before he remembers he's being grappled by an enemy, and squirms- but it's not a useless squirm. His movements actually expertly slip him out from her grasp, landing on his feet in a fighting stance. He steps back to put space between them, his hand moving for his dagger and brandishing it at her.
"Don't touch me, vermin," he hisses.
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Date: 2025-10-20 10:50 pm (UTC)From:"Little too late for that, friend." She said, clearly confused by the sudden turn of events. "You know, if I wanted to do anything to you, I would have just left you up there. Is this how you say thank you to someone who helped you?"
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Date: 2025-10-21 12:11 am (UTC)From:"I'm not your friend." He looks behind him, toward where he thinks Damian might be. "I shouldn't even be talking to you." She's clearly clueless, and he's only blowing his cover more by hinting at the fact that he's from underground, but he's very flustered.
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Date: 2025-10-21 12:17 am (UTC)From:She frowned. "Why not?"
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Date: 2025-10-21 12:22 am (UTC)From:"Because, I..." He huffs, not knowing how to answer that. He looks behind him again. "I'm with someone. If he catches me talking to you, I'll be in huge trouble." Suddenly, punishment from his teachers and his father is much more of a threat in his mind than this clueless surface girl.
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Date: 2025-10-21 12:44 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-10-21 01:50 am (UTC)From:He looks at her again and sighs, like he can't believe she's still not getting it.
"I'm not from here. I'm not allowed to talk to surface dwellers." He doesn't call her dumb, but his tone is sure making it seem like he thinks she is.
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Date: 2025-10-21 01:55 am (UTC)From:"Says who?" She replied. "I didn't even know your kind came up to the surface." Were they even allowed up here? "What do you keep looking for? Your friend?"
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Date: 2025-10-21 02:01 am (UTC)From:"He's not my friend, he's my military commander and he will kick my ass."
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Date: 2025-10-22 03:18 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-10-22 02:51 pm (UTC)From:"... Thanks, I guess," he says flatly. He takes one more perplexed look at her before turning to disappear into the trees.
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Date: 2025-10-22 03:34 pm (UTC)From:After she gathered up her things, she headed back to her father and informed him of the encounter. Solanus looked... surprised, if not a little incredulous at the suggestion that some boy from the underground had made his way up to the surface and actually spoke to her, but Juno couldn't tell a lie even if she wanted to.
"They're not meant to be up here, sprout. If you see him again, best be careful." Was his only warning, knowing full well his stubborn daughter would end up doing whatever the hell she wanted either way.
Enough time passed after that incident that Juno assumed it was a one-off interaction when she saw no sign of the boy. So she went about her usual business in the woods while her father worked - singing another song to herself, this time while skinning a rabbit she had managed to catch.
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Date: 2025-10-24 10:33 pm (UTC)From:And the work remains boring. He hopes this isn't what all spywork is like. He thought it would be infiltration and stealth and thievery and poison and classified information. Instead they're just wandering around in the woods, marking stuff on a map. Is this actually important, or are they just telling him it is?
He also assumed the run-in was a fluke, so it's a surprise to hear her singing again. He freezes, considering his options. In truth, he had thought about their first encounter for days afterward, picking it apart in his mind. It was such a strange experience, and the way she didn't fit the stories he'd been told about surface dwellers made him curious about her. He wanted to know more, but figured he'd never see her again, so tried to put it out of his mind.
So when he hears the singing, there is the urge to give it a wide berth so he doesn't get in trouble, but what's stronger is the urge to walk toward it. The call of a siren.
He's stealthier in the woods now, and he creeps through the brush quietly to find a spot where he can see her, but she can't see him. This goes well, at first, and he watches her for a little while. She's skinning an animal, or something- so she's a hunter, then. Or maybe all her people hunt, but then why would he only be seeing her out here?
He's still astounded by how big she is, too. His people are small, thin, pale. Even Tox is a bit big compared to the other kids, and he's a foot shorter than her.
He wants to get a closer look, so he shifts, moving around the edge of the clearing to another bush. This is when he missteps and a stick cracks loudly beneath his foot.
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Date: 2025-10-27 12:02 am (UTC)From:"Someone there? I ain't the one you wanna ambush out here..."
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Date: 2025-10-27 03:26 am (UTC)From:He waits for a few long moments, thinking. Does he really want to look behind this curtain?
... Yes.
He clears his throat, intentionally but subtly drawing her attention to him. He steps forward, enough to be visible, but still in the treeline.
"If you weren't always singing, it might be harder to ambush you."
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Date: 2025-10-31 02:33 pm (UTC)From:"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna stop on the chance someone's wandering through. What're you doing up here again?"
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Date: 2025-11-03 05:10 am (UTC)From:"Working, as before." A.K.A. none of your beeswax.
He sheathes his own dagger, confident he can draw it quickly in the case that the situation turns on him, and wanders closer.
"Are you a hunter?"
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Date: 2025-11-05 08:31 pm (UTC)From:She laughed. "Not exclusively, but I hunt. Most of us learn to, when we're young. And since my Pa is working, I should at least contribute somehow. You know how?"
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Date: 2025-11-06 04:30 pm (UTC)From:"No..." He gets closer, looking at her kill. A rabbit. He's never seen one in real life. "There aren't many animals underground. Rats and frogs and salamanders, mostly. We eat a lot of mushrooms." He is so sick of mushrooms.
"What kinds of animals do you hunt? Are there bears here? Wolves?"
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Date: 2025-11-12 10:42 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-11-20 12:57 am (UTC)From:His eyes widen at the mention of bears and wolves. So they're real...
"Are they as huge as people say? The size of a house?" Clearly the information they get about the surface is... Limited. He pokes at the rabbit, examining it curiously. "Is this a rabbit? What does it taste like?"
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Date: 2025-11-20 10:19 pm (UTC)From:She laughed. "The size of a house? Uh, no. I mean, don't get me wrong, they can get pretty big, but not that big."
"You ever have chicken? Like that, but earthier. You want to try some? I could roast it up for you."
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Date: 2025-11-20 10:38 pm (UTC)From:He hesitates, then checks his tracking device for Damien's location. He's still far away.
"Okay." He nods. He's hungry, and he really does want to know what it tastes like.
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