Day 215

[wayofvoice]

Who: Paarthurnax and you
Open: Open
When: Day 215, morning and afternoon
Where: Across the river from Dragonfield
What: Dragon lessons are best held in groups, don't you know? Plus, a survey.
Format: Any
Notes: The two separate situations, for sake of ease, will be in two different top threads. Consider the dovahzul group a sort of mingle! Get to know your fellow students better.


In the time between morning and noon, Paarthurnax settles down by the river of Dragonfield where the usual stone tablet depicting all the letters of dovahzul is. It's a recognizable landmark, after all... Although he won't turn away new faces.

During the afternoon, anyone venturing nearby will be called to by the old dragon. Investigate?

Comments

[metainstability]

[The head tilt is mirrored, because the concept of 'friendly giant creature' still hasn't quite clicked.]

[After a moment, a single hand raises, signaling 'okay', along with a less hostile hiss.]

[wayofvoice]

My thanks.

You are a warrior then. [It's easy to see, considering the armor.] What weapons are you skilled with?

[metainstability]

[An antiquated term, but it works. The Meta shrugs his brute shot from his shoulder, pointedly burying the tip of the blade in the ground before him.]

[With that out of the way, he curls his fingers into a fist, cracking his knuckles. Punching counts as a weapon, right?]

[wayofvoice]

[Paarthurnax is from a land where a warrior race takes a lot of pride in being able to beat one another. He accepts the gesture as it is, nodding. There's suddenly the sound of something digging deeply into stone- his talon carving out words.]

[Someone else- Zuko or Crona- can write it all down on paper at a later time. For now, he does it as his kind has always written down their words.]

My thanks. That is a type of gun, is it not?

[He's certainly seen them; some members of the Bastion have them such as Colin. However, they're still something of a foreign concept to him.]

[metainstability]

[The sound prompts an alarmed snarl, the Meta's visor whipping about to try to find the source. Truly, anything that can carve earth that easily isn't something to be taken lightly.]

[An affirmative noise is his answer, and a moment passes before he makes up his mind, hoisting the weapon and turning to the side, very clearly away from Paarthurnax. A click of the trigger and a grenade goes flying into the empty air before exploding in a hail of fire and smoke. Probably a waste of his limited ammo, but satisfying none the less]

[wayofvoice]

[The display is watched carefully, and a satisfied huff of air is expelled at the explosion.]

Marvelous. Colin crafts such devices. He would find yours very interesting, no doubt.

If I asked, would you use it on me? I have never dealt with such things before.

[metainstability]

[Oh now that's interesting, there's other tech here. He files the information away for future reference, and perhaps a future raid.]

[The proposition is more than enough to catch his interest though, and he cracks his neck, motioning with the brute shot. It's been a long time since he's had a good fight, and there's a toothy smirk behind his visor. Blowing things up is always a good time.]

[wayofvoice]

[Paarthurnax doesn't seem too concerned- he wouldn't have asked for that sort of thing if he thought it would be lethal. And even if he does get injured, well, better in a time of relative peace than anything else.]

[The earth shakes a little bit as he makes his way away from the stone slabs so that they don't get damaged by anything. When he's ready, he turns around and braces himself.]

Whenever you see fit to fire.

[metainstability]

[There's an affirmative grunt as he sets his sights, trying to calculate for distance and trajectory. Shooting a giant monster in unfamiliar territory is a lot different than putting an entire magazine into someone during a drop.]

[After deciding on a shot that probably shouldn't be fatal (he's not really big on planning ahead, and never has been), he braces himself, and then takes off at a full sprint, pulling the trigger when he's finally in range.]

[wayofvoice]

[Reptilian eyes watch him carefully. It's when there's movement that Paarthurnax adjusts himself as well. His wings curl in closer to his body, to minimize any damage that might be done to them- they're already ragged as it is. There's no need to make them any worse.

[That combined with at least some thought where the shot is aimed, and it lands against the large spines protruding from his back. The explosion which hits immediately afterwards makes him buckle a bit, a deep growl echoing from his throat. With the smoke still in the air, he seems to recover well enough, long neck twisting back to look at the damage. There are some cracks spread amongst the thick armored scales, shrapnel stuck inside one or two, but no blood or signs of pain. The scales seemed to have weathered through most of the damage.]

[Paarthurnax still seems pleased, making a rough snorting sound through his nose.]

It has been some time since I have felt such force from weaponry. My thanks for indulging my curiosity.

Colin should be able to replace what you have spent. He and I have become friends in this place. If you direct him to me, I can explain to what use they were put towards.

[metainstability]

[It takes nearly all his willpower to lower his weapon after the initial barrage; too many years on the battlefield, combined with too sedentary a lifestyle in the Bastion has put a fire under his skin for more and more action. It feels good to get out and finally exercise his prowess again, and there’s a moment where sparks flicker across his armor that heralds an uncertainty if he should press forward. It would be easy enough to cloak, so slip forward-]

[A violent shake of his head dispels the thoughts, and the brute shot is returned to its holster across his back. Re-learning restraint has been an ongoing process since he arrived, and he satisfies himself with the fact that future sparring could be in the cards, and the fact that it seems a close-quarters explosive round has done little, if anything. That in itself is admirable.]

[Instead, he merely cocks his head and hisses low in his throat at the request. He doesn’t know any ‘Colin’, barely knows the names of anyone he’s come across, and so while the chance to finally replenish his dwindling ammunition supply is incredibly exciting, there’s an obvious barrier to overcome first.]

[wayofvoice]

His quarters are not far. [A nod of Paarthurnax's head shows the right direction, the building of the workshop somewhat noticeable in contrast to the buildings of Caelondian design.]

I can introduce you, if you wish. It would not take long.

[metainstability]

[What a strange concept, to be civilly introduced to anyone; most of his interactions are usually based in 'intimidate and/or shoot at until desired effect is achieved'.]

[He gives a slow nod, there's a first time for everything after all.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin's still in his workshop while these two have been discussing things. The first explosion had been ignored, Colin reasoning that someone was trying something foolish as they had tended to do around here. The second one caught his attention, and caused him to grab a pistol and a couple of grenades, but since nobody was panicking or running around like headless chickens, he's simply settled back in at his workbench with his weapons in arm's reach. Come bother the tech nerd?]

[wayofvoice]

[Don't mind if they do.]

[Paarthurnax simply starts to make his way across the Bastion with that agreement, steps getting closer and closer to the workshop until he can peer inside it.]

Drem yol lok, Colin. I have someone who wishes to meet you.

[metainstability]

[It's easy enough to follow along, behind; the Meta may not move quickly enough to keep pace, but it's a bit hard to lose sight of a giant dragon.]

[He's still not certain what to expect, however, and so his posture is somewhat tensed, ready to spring to action if need be. The promise of ammunition, however, is more than enough to keep him civil for the moment.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin looks up as he hears Paar, and he smiles.]

Related to the explosions, I assume?

Still, it's been a while since anyone's actually wanted to be in my company.

[Colin sets down his tools and holsters his pistol before heading to the doors of the workshop.]

So who have we got here?

[He gives Meta a curious once-over.]

[wayofvoice]

I was merely testing my own defenses. I thought it would be wise to do so after so long being here.

[Explosives are just how one does that. He gives a nod to his new companion.]

A warrior of some sort. I have not been able to learn a name as of yet.

[metainstability]

[Meeting new people is still not his strong suit, judging by the low rattle in the back of his throat.]

[At the mention of names and pleasantries, the noise shifts to something slightly annoyed, though none the less bestial and incomprehensible. Communication has been the crux of many of his problems since reaching the Bastion, and he's grown a bit testy about it.]

[Instead of an answer, he merely motions with a hand, a sort of 'continue' gesture.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin gives Meta a more critical gaze as he detects the vocalization in his throat.]

Can't talk, huh? That's a problem that can be worked around. Nice armor, looks like it's got plenty of spots where a communication suite could be installed, if you're interested. If not, we can still work around this.

[His eye has also long since alerted him about the explosives present in the Brute Shot, and he gives the weapon a glance.]

Paar, you tested that on yourself? Don't do that again. It's a potent weapon, and with the right ammunition, it could likely dig right through your scales like they were butter.

[wayofvoice]

Should I ever wish to test such things on myself again, I shall be certain to consult with you first, Wahliikjun.

[There's so many different kinds of weapons he hasn't tried on himself yet, after all. It'll likely come up again.]

Yet it is the subject of ammunition which we wished to discuss with you. From what I understand, he only has so much.

[metainstability]

[The sheer casualness given to his non-response is more than enough to completely stymy the Meta, and if it weren’t for the visor obscuring his face, it would be more than apparent that he’s quite taken aback. No one has ever been so blunt about his condition, nor have they ever expressed such nonchalance about finding a way to compensate for it.

The last time it had been addressed, someone had put a highly unstable artificial intelligence program directly into his neural system, and that had worked out just swimmingly]

[His gaze flickers from Paarthurnax to Colin, and back again. Ammunition, yes, that was what he was here for, and that was the problem at hand. He gives a small grunt of agreement, because there’s only so much four rounds can do, and he’s eager to solve that particular problem.]

[freedom_engineer]

Mind if I take a look at the belt?

[Colin gives a nod to the ammo belt.]

I can scan it from here, but I'll be able to work better if I can have a round to work off of. From the looks of it... High explosive, major concussion, moderate fragmentation? It's definitely more than a standard grenade launcher, quite an impressive little beast.

Given the lack of panic, I'm guessing you were out by the dragonfield, near the river. Sound travels well out here, I've got a decent idea of what you've got there. Just gotta get down into the dirty details.

[The Meta has only just begun to discover the bizarre nature of Colin. He's not the least bit put off by conditions like this, nor does he feel any need to linger on it. If people want to bring it up, that's up to them.]

Once I get an idea of the exact nature of the weapon, I can probably give you some variety to your ammo if you want it. Incendiary is easy, as are chem rounds. I can probably even do MIRV if you've got the hang of indirect fire, but those will take longer and they're NOT easy to aim. And I can't make everything in bulk, but I can definitely give you probably ten rounds a week. More if I can automate the process and get the raw materials.

[He glances at Paar, and he grins.]

I'll gladly tell you more about various ammo loadouts in the future, if you're curious. Needless to say, big explosions are just one thing a beauty like this can do.

[wayofvoice]

[Judging by the patient way Paarthurnax listens to all of this, it's obviously he's sat through this kind of ramble before. He gives a nod when he's finally addressed.]

I would find it enlightening as always.

[metainstability]

[Though there’s a moment of suspicion, he eventually nods, reaching back to shrug the weapon off his back. It doesn’t take long to remove the belt, and he holds it out; worst case scenario, the blade of the brute shot should be able to suffice in the absence of the ammunition’s return. There’s only four rounds left, and even those are of subpar quality, having been scavenged from the remains of raided military complexes long before the Calamity brought him here.]

[Still, the compliment to the weapon brings a grin to his lips, and a low noise of amusement rumbles up from his chest. Were it possible, he would make a comment about the effect of four rounds versus a human body because that is something impressive, but he settles for an appreciative nod instead.]

[At the mention of other options for ammo, however, the pleased noise increases in volume, a low, raspy rattle that signals his approval. There had been no chances for anything flashy back in the day, but the idea of anything that increases his ability to completely annihilate whatever he wishes is more than enough to gain his approval. Learning how to use them would give him something to do as well, because the Bastion has been a bit slow for someone used to running around in live fire fights for a living.]

[Cocking his head back to Paarthurnax, he flashes another ‘okay’ sign before mimicking firing another shot. Talking about the effects of the ammo is all well and good, but the Meta still feels like practical application and hands on experience is more useful. Or maybe he’s just having fun shooting things. That could be it too.]