forum Bandits Don't Cry (gritty dystopian fantasy rp with a dash of comedy-O/O-Closed, stalkers welcome)

Started March 22, 2020 by @Young-Dusty-the-Monarch-of-Dusteria group

tune

"And how come you all stick together? Why not join other groups?" Taran abandoned the spoon and held the bowl up to her lips, tipping it up and drinking straight from the edge.

Muddybones flopped back onto the grass and put his hands behind his head. "By 'groups', do you mean other friend groups, or other bandit tribes?"

"Friend groups. I mean, I saw Shiv and Florida and you yesterday. Why don't you hang out with her? Or are you guys just the weird ones, and hang out with everyone?"

"Well," Muddybones said off-handedly, "I'm a bit of a big name here in camp, so I usually mingle with whoever I want. And Shiv and Ango just enjoy making friends."
"I don't really mind Florida," Shiv added hesitantly, trying to ignore Muddybones's glare. "She's funny. And really brave. Anyone can hang out with anyone, as long as we all do our jobs right at the end of the day. That's why nobody thinks it's weird if a fighter like you has lunch with a bunch of Scavengers. Blue Tommy does it all the time."
"Hey," Ango said, perking up. "There's Blue now. Blue, come sit with us!"
The lanky man eyed them from across the clearing, then sighed and walked over to join them, crouching warily at the edge of the group. Shiv passed him a bowl of soup and he drank it without looking away from them. His arms and shoulders were covered in small scars as if he'd been through quite a few fights in his day.

"Why Blue?" Taran asked, studying the new arrival with a sharp gaze. "Any reason for the nickname?" She put the bowl down and wiped her mouth.

Blue Tommy wordlessly pointed at his eyes, which were the color of the sky. He seemed to be the type of personality who didn't back down from a staring contest, and gave Kali an equally sharp look, not even blinking.
"Never seen eyes that blue anywhere else," Muddybones remarked. "Now Tommy here was one of the first bandits to swear loyalty to the chief when he took over. I think they actually came to the tribe together. Rumor has it they're related, but–" Blue Tommy hissed through his teeth and shook his head. "–yeah, I don't think it's true. They don't even look alike. My guess is he just owes the chief a favor for something that happened way back. We may never know."

"Don't feel like telling?" Taran asked, winking at Tommy and then looking to Muddybones. "I understand that. Telling people things that are actually of use is hard, I agree."

"Got that right," Muddybones yawned. "Even I hide great mysteries from you people. Anyway, I guess the chief ain't gonna make any big announcements today, so I'm off to get some sleep. Wake me if anything interesting happens."
"Bye," Ango called, then glanced at Taran. "What about you, Kali? Do you have any secrets?"

"I dunno." Taran stretched her flesh arm over her head, popping her joints. "Depends on what you call secrets. Not really, though, in the textbook sense. I'm just a brute Fighter, nothing special."

Shiv looked a bit sceptical, but Ango nodded. "Well, I think good fighters are special, even if they don't have secrets." He stood up and brushed himself off, kicking dirt over the fire to make it less lively. "Hey by the way, d'you wanna go meet Danthony? I was going to help him brush some of the dogs next."

"Sure, why not," Taran said, standing with him. "I've only heard the dogs, not actually seen them yet." She shot the others a grin. "See you all later, then."

"Bye," the others chorused as Ango led her away. It was a short walk to Danthony's home, which was a collection of wooden boards and sheet metal propped in a circle around a thin tree at the edge of camp. Next to it was a rickety corral of sorts littered with ancient doghouses, sticks, and bones. Inside were seven dogs: A mother with four pups, a very old dog, and a tiny terrier locked in a crate. All the other dogs were outside the corral, tied to trees or pegs in the ground. They'd been busy napping or gnawing on scraps, but when they saw Ango and Taran approaching, they looked up excitedly. Most were big dogs, all thin and dirty and less-than-safe-looking, and several of them started to growl and bark at the sight of the newcomers.
"It's okay, dogs, Kali's a friend," Ango said happily, trying to pet a sheepdog as it snapped at his fingers. "Danthony? Are you there?"
After a minute, a teenage voice drifted from inside the lean-to. "Who wants to know? Can't a guy ever get some sleep around here? State your business or I'll set the puppies on you."

"The puppies look very terrifying," Taran called out, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I wish I could look as scary as that. And sleep is illegal. You're not allowed to sleep. Stop it right now, or you'll be killed."

Laughter. "Who the heck is that? Nobody around here is funny." A moment later a mop of wavy orange hair popped out of the lean-to, quickly followed by the face of a green-eyed fifteen-year-old boy. He took in Kali with a shrewd stare. "Oh hey, you're the new Fighter. Kali, right? Come say hi to the pack, they won't bite as long as I'm here."

"They could try to bite me," Taran said, flashing the boy a grin. "I bite back, though." She moved to the dogs, grinning at them with all the delight of a child. She loved animals with a passion, although she had never had a permanent enough home to own any.

The dogs flocked around her and Ango, whining and snuffling as dogs do. Ango unwisely crouched down and was quickly swamped by the more friendly ones. Danthony stepped out into the open and leaned against the fence. He was a short, skinny kid for his age, but seemed fairly healthy. His only noticeable injury was his left hand—or rather, the sharpened garden fork that was firmly lashed to his wrist where his hand used to be. He gestured with it, pointing out various dogs as the milled in front of him.
"That one's Ragsy, that's Pip, we call this girl Squeaky, there's She-Hulk….these are all my favorites. My dog is Fleet, this bloodhound-ish one. And that's Thing. He's basically the alpha at the moment." Thing seemed to be some kind of brindled mastiff mix, and most of the other dogs gave him a wide berth. "He's pretty annoying, to be honest. He only listens to me and the chief. Ango, which one was your favorite again?"
"Noodles," Ango replied happily, pointing at the ancient dog inside the pen. "He's sweet. Wanna say hi to him, Kali?"

"Sure." She stifled a laugh. "Who names these dogs, anyway? Noodles? Thing? Ragsy?" She shook her head.
She noticed Danthony's hand, and tilted her head. "What happened there?" She asked, pointing to the stump.

"Oh, this?" Danthony glanced down at his slapdash prosthetic as if he'd forgotten about it. "Ah, I got bitten by a poisonous snake when I was a kid. The only way to save me was to chop my hand off before the venom spread." He shrugged and nodded at Taran's arm. "Is that what happened to you too? Pretty fancy replacement you got there, heh, unlike mine."

"Nah," Taran said offhandedly. "I got my arm mostly ripped off by a fighter in the Fighter's Tournament. They didn't like my winning streak, so they crippled me." She grinned. "You should have seen all the blood. And my arm was a sight." She shook her head.
"Anyway, I made this myself," she said, motioning to her metal arm. "I could try and make you one later, if you want. It'd be more helpful than that."

Danthony's eyebrows rose higher with every word she said. When she offered to craft him a new hand, he paused, the idea taking him off-guard. "You, uh…..you really think you could make one?" He did his best to sound casual about it. "Are you sure you've got the materials or whatever?"

"Nah, I don't have the materials, but Muddybones probably does." Taran studied his hand for a moment, then nodded. "I could do it. I'd need to take measurements, though. And it might take me a while, but I could do it."

"Well. Huh." Danthony scratched behind a dog's ears when it came over to say hi, studying the ground thoughtfully. "In that case, go for it I guess. Heck, if you can actually give me a brand-new hand, I'll……hmm…." He looked around for something he could offer her as payment. "Want one of the mama dog's puppies when they're weaned? You seem like you could be a good pet owner."

"Really?" Taran's face broke out into a grin. "Are you sure? It's just a hand, you know." She absently pulled a strand of her hair that had escaped her ponytail, eyes shining.

"Hey, it wouldn't be "just a hand" to me," Danthony reminded her, waving his garden fork around. "This thing's more a hazard than a helpful tool. I'd give you a puppy for every day of the year if I got a full set of metal fingers in return." He nodded at the mother dog and her pups sitting inside the pen. "Go pick one out if you want. They should be old enough to leave their mom in another week or two."
"And come say hi to Noodles," Ango piped up, already inside the fence and gently stroking the old dog.

"Thank you," Taran said softly. She moved over to Ango first, smiling slightly at the old dog, who looked like a relative of her uncles's.
"Why is Noodles your favorite?" She asked him, stroking the creature slightly.

"He always used to wag his tail at me, before his tail stopped working," Ango said fondly, pulling burrs and twigs out of Noodles's long scraggly fur. "And he never bites or growls. He's a real good boy."
"Yeah, he's pretty sweet." Danthony made sure the gate to the pen was firmly closed, then came over to coax the fat puppies away from their wary mother. "Don't sweat it, mama dog, you know I'm a good babysitter. Here Kali, make a reservation on your favorite. They don't have names yet, so that'll be up to you."

"She doesn't trust you yet?" Taran asked Danthony.
She sent Noodles a small smile and walked over to the puppies, grinning at the tiny, wild balls of energy. "They're so cute! What breeds are they?" She asked, kneeling down next to the gate.

"Mama usually trusts me, she's just a bit possessive of her kids right now. As for the breed, Thing is their dad, so I'm guessing they're Mastiff-Collie-Labrador-Doberman mixes, with just a sprinkle of who-knows-what."
The puppies bumbled over to Taran and excitedly climbed over each other to get to her, squeaking and wagging their tails furiously. There was a grey one, a red one, a red-and-white mottled one, and one that seemed to be a muddy mix of all three colors.

Taran giggled, holding her flesh arm out to touch them and rub their heads. "I'll take that one," she said, after a moment of consideration, pointing to the gray one. "That one seems the most energetic." She grinned, watching the puppies with a delighted look in her eyes. They were so cute, it just tugged at her heart.

"The gray one? Okay. I'll take extra good care of it until it's ready to leave its mama, and then it's all yours. Got any idea what you're gonna name it? I'm pretty sure it's a boy, but I could be wrong."