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 Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 3:46 pm
To an outside observer it may have seemed that the squire was checking himself out in the makeshift mirror of a darkened window.
In truth, however, he was attempting to catch a glimpse of the little floating light that he kept seeing in the corner of his eye and had not actually laid full eyes on. He couldn't feel it, was the alarming thing, even though he knew that it was hiding in his hood or his collar, the latter of which he was shaking out like a certain type of man popping his polo shirt outside the function, trying to lure the thing into the open.
He was aware, gradually, that he was not alone. But he ignored it - it was friendly, after all - until it was probably close enough for him to call out a greeting, which he did for the sake of politeness.
"Cold as s**t, isn't it?" he asked to the whoever-it-was, craning his neck to one side and pulling his hood aside.
Of course, the cold was less palpable in powered form, magically swaddled against the elements. But it was, in fact, still cold as s**t.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 4:07 pm
IT had taken Xibalba a few moments to decide if he wanted to intrude on whatever the earth knight had going on. He'd stood and watched for a few moments before deciding why not and moving in for easy conversing. And that the first words should be reflecting on the weather was terribly amusing to him. "Aye, 'tis. Though Ah think Ah might have more cause to complain on that score than ye." Really, the earth knight looked positively cozy when compared with Xibalba himself. Though, powering up did confer some protection from the elements. "Are y'in some sort of trouble?" he finally asked. "Somethin' stuck in your collar?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 4:15 pm
"I have no idea," he said distractedly. "It's some sort of - like a bug or something. But it lights up and I don't trust anything that lights up or glows or whatever in this city not to be carrying huge teeth or some sort of magical pox or something." He paused, then, to actually look at who he was speaking with. His initial plans for a glance were immediately redirected to a once-over, his expression going mild and languorous. "You could help look, if you wanted," he said, although he dropped his collar and turned away from the window, hands tucked into pockets - thank god for a uniform with pockets - lest the comment step over the line of casually flirtatious and into aggressive. Asking a stranger to fish for your cooties or magical cockroach infestation or whatever was probably never going to be a winning line, anyway. "Anyway, I guess we'll know if I break out into a cold sweat in the next couple of hours or start growing a nose like a carrot or peppermint horns or something."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 4:28 pm
A glowing bug? Well, that was a new one. Thinking over everything he'd ever heard about weird goings on, he could only come up with the glow worms that lived in the caves near the reservoir. And those only appeared in the middle of summer. "If ye've not heard rumors about whatever you've seen, it's likely not goin' t'be harmful. Trust me, word moves fast around this city when things get weird." Then, he looked amused and made a note to tell Bindi that a cute guy had flirted. She'd be pleased as punch on his behalf. "Temptin' as that offer may be," he said in a friendly tone, "Ah'm happily married and not lookin' to change that. Though, if ye grow peppermint horns, that would surely be a conversation starter, aye? Could make y'very popular." He went silent for a moment, looking at the other knight carefully and thinking. It would only be kind to tell him about some of the hazards if he was that worried about a mysterious glow. "Nay, laddie, the critters to watch for are the bunnies, if only because ye'll break your neck if y'trip in one of their burrows and the ******** wolves."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 4:35 pm
"I'm already popular," he said, in the same mild tone. "And I've had OK luck with the bunnies, although I hear they pack a nasty bite if you don't leave them the ******** alone. Less luck with the sheep. Less still with the ******** wolves," he agreed, his tone going grim and towards businesslike. There was shop to talk, apparently. The bite in his side had largely healed, but it still gave him a cold pang when he moved too suddenly. "Had my second run-in with them the other day but haven't seen any since. Maybe we're wiping them out," he added, with skeptical optimism.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 4:45 pm
Hrmm, fun and flirty to grim. Though he couldn't blame the other for the change in tone. Those wolves were a damned menace. Running a hand over his beard, Xibalba mentally tallied each encounter. And then glanced at his arm. He'd only stopped having the cold pangs a few days ago. "Ah've had... three or four? Ah think?" Xibalba's distaste of the creatures was plain. Though he didn't hate them nearly as much as the ******** chickens. "Ah've taken to stowin' weapons in subspace. An' going out wit' a walking staff when Ah can. Chains and shopping carts work a treat," he added with small smile at the memory of Alekto beating the piss out of one wolf with nothing more than guts and a shopping trolley. Actually... he focused for a moment before reaching into subspace and retrieving the chain he'd pilfered. Then, he tossed it to the other knight. "Ye can hold onto it," he offered. "Maybe we're wipin' them out an' maybe we're not. But a good weapon is always a welcome thing."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 4:55 pm
He had been on the brink of an excited question about how one exactly got weapons into subspace when the chain appeared and made it clear that he meant improvised ones. He caught it, however, with quick reflexes - better than nothing - and made a face. "Sometimes it feels like it's standing over your shoulder watching you put stuff in and reading your thoughts so it can spit things out and smack your wrist," he said. "I beat the s**t out of one with a tree stake the first time, but ever since I've just been hoping to get them in range of whatever I can carry that's heavy, or running into them somewhere with some rocks handy. I bet they'd get ******** up to a Molotov, but I don't know if the good businesspeople of Destiny City would appreciate the collateral damage. If you've got any insight on places to aim, though, let me know, because 'between the eyes' is only doing me so much good and I don't think I'll be lucky enough to keep avoiding them entirely til spring."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 5:06 pm
Haha! Now this was something he really could help with. Allowing a hint of bloodlust to creep into his smile, Xibalba nodded. "Aye, Ah have some ideas Ah'm willin' t'share. If it'll keep ye from flinging explosives, Ah'll tell you all Ah know." Glancing around, he spotted a bus stop bench that was reasonably covered and gestured towards it. This would take a few minutes and he wanted to be off his feet. Once seated, he rested his elbows on his knees and scanned the area around them. "First, only go for between th' eyes if ye can do so without feeding the damned thing your arm. Helps to have a partner around to run distraction. Take yon chain now. Ye can go for their throats or legs. If ye're feelin' feisty, y'can even aim for those big eyeballs o'theirs. Or their mouths. Break off enough teeth from a distance and then moving in close keeps y'slightly safer." What else, what else...? He didn't really want to regale the fellow with tales of how he just blindly started to punch a wolf in the face. It was unhelpful and only worked because of who and what he was. "Dependin' on the terrain, try lurin' one into a trap? Drive it off a ledge. The blasted things're tough but not invulnerable. Have y'noticed their blood is odd? Looking like thick flowing ice water, aye?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 5:13 pm
"Like if 7-Eleven offered a slushie flavor called Back Alley Runoff," he agreed. Given the nature of Destiny City's 7-Eleven, maybe they did. He had made himself very comfortable very quickly, and was now patting himself down - old habit - before, as he always did, remembering he was powered up and having to reach into subspace for cigarettes and a lighter. He did not ask permission to smoke - they were outside and he was cold, dammit - but he did turn away to exhale the first drag and held it away from the bench, politely if not ideally so. "If it helps, I don't plan on getting myself in biting range on purpose. I did it once, have no desire to do it again." A brief pause, meditative and made still more so by his air with his cigarette. "I always hear howling after so I was sure they run in some sort of pack, but I've never actually seen any others. Starting to wonder if the howling is a trick of some kind." He realized, abruptly, where he had seen this man before, albeit only slightly and without speaking to him. "Like that big mouthy dog thing at the tournament," he said. "The way it howls and sounds like it's got a bunch of buddies with it."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 5:23 pm
Rubbing at his arm as if he could still feel the chill, Xibalba snorted. "Ah wasn't exactly lookin' to get bit, m'self. But things happen and best to try and plan for contingencies." He did jump slightly at the mention of howling. Everyone time he and a partner had killed a wolf, he'd heard the pack the moment the wolf being fought died. He expected to hear them. But he wasn't so sure it was a trick. "Perhaps, but the way the bastards appeared out of the snow, Ah'm not so sure. T'be honest, Ah didn't stick around to see the beastie's family." The sudden mention of the tournament and the odd multi-mouthed dog brought a smile to his face. "Oh, aye! Now there's a thought. Ah'm going to have to consider that angle the next time I'm stuck fighting one o'the bastards." Still smiling and now chuckling, Xibalba got to his feet and stretched. There was little solid knowledge that he could offer and he'd done that. And as he didn't wish to go home smelling of smoke, this was as opportune a time to head off as any. "Y'be safe, now. Keep the chain, it's a good'un. I can always steal another from the trolley return, aye?" Giving the earth knight a casual salute, he headed off.
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