epidemiology | [OPEN] empty bottles and broken glass

CHARACTERS: Fiona and YOU
DATE: Early to mid-October
SUMMARY: A sexy farmhand bounty, an open prompt post-canon update, and some closed threads.

early october. RHINESTONE COWBOYS.

[Having absolutely no idea how to budget and already spending all her money on frivolous things (though she would argue they are not at all frivolous -- one can never own enough hats, you know), Fiona is out of money. Already. Just completely broke. So, she's started looking over the bounty board for a quick way to get cash, and helping out this farmer with his love life seems to be the simplest and lowest impact option.

She did not, however, anticipate it being this boring.

She's out at the edge of the farmer's land, dressed in some ridiculous midriff-bearing outfit with Daisy Dukes and the worst hat she's ever worn ("it's part of the costume," the farmer told her when she protested, "you have to"), leaning seductively on fence posts and draping herself sexily over robot horses. She would be embarrassed if she weren't getting paid so well, playing sex kitten is not her usual forte, and she mutters to the metal horse she's currently arching her back against.] I promise I'm not usually like this. [The horse nickers, unconvinced.]

mid-october. CANON UPDATE.

[After getting smacked so hard that she flies into another dimension, Fiona has A Lot to deal with. It's very disorienting, going from trauma to trauma and having the memory of both things hitting her all at once. She's back in Perdition's Rest immediately, though it's not immediate for her; months have passed, she's been through some stuff, and she's also, like, frustrated? Kind of frustrated. Getting whisked away right after opening a Vault is frustrating.

She's at the saloon, hunched over a little at the bar as she nurses a whiskey, watching her hand as she curls and uncurls her fingers, trying to reconcile both sets of memories into some kind of coherent timeline.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Fiona's response is immediate; she's already on edge and the sudden voice behind her doesn't help. Whipping around, she shoots her arm out, the derringer tucked in her sleeve springing out into her hand. But it's not a bandit, it's another ALASTAIR recruit -- and one she had a pleasant conversation with, besides.

She squints for a moment, quiet, then withdraws the gun into her sleeve and turns back around, nodding to the bandits ahead.]

There are plenty of horses, [she mutters at a well-rehearsed "don't let them hear you" volume.] The tricky part is gonna be not getting shot full of holes.

[ She doesn't flinch, doesn't draw back at the sight of the gun — if anything, Nami seems impressed at the quick reaction, the level of alertness Fiona shows. With a nod, she agrees; plenty of horses, indeed. ]

... I think I can help with that. [ The slightest of smiles as she reaches for her Clima-tact. ] Did you see our performance in the saloon?

[ It's easier to explain if Fiona was there to see the disappearance trick... ]

[To Fiona, it's a weird fuckin' change of conversation topic, and she stares for a second. The expression on her face should make it super clear that she did not.]

What? No. What?

[ A quiet laugh; it sure is a strange change of topic if Fiona wasn't there to witness it. ]

I can make us disappear! Or seem like we do, anyway. I thought it would be easier, if you'd seen it during the performance... it's all just science, but I can make sure none of them will see us. Or if they do, they'll see multiples of us.

It turns us invisible or multiplies it? [Color her skeptic. She believes the science part of it anyway; "magic" isn't really in her vocabulary, as everything fantastical on Pandora is just science gone awry anyway.

It sounds a little crazy and she hesitates, but ultimately shrugs.] Alright, let's do it. Get us up to those horses. [If it doesn't work, then Nami will be in as much trouble as her.]

It can do both, depending on the consistency of the mist! Mirages need an extreme difference in temperatures... so we'll have to be quick, for this to work!

[ At least it sure sounds scientific??

It isn't really the done deal, to call out attacks quietly, but she'll do it whispering, just this once... ] Cool ball — cool charge! [ And yep, after what seems like a huge, intangible ball with a light blue tint that rises up in the air, a wave of her Clima-tact creates a mist around them... ]

... Mirage tempo! [ ... that, in the eyes of anyone watching, hides them completely. ] Come on, we can go now!

[Blah blah, science, like she cares! Nami could just say some nonsense and Fiona would believe her (which, as far as she knows, that's what she's doing right now) -- the only important thing is that it works, which it... seems to be? Something definitely happened, anyway, and unless this is just an elaborate magic trick --]

Alright. [Her voice is low, near whispering; Nami didn't say anything about this thing masking sound, so she'll still have to be quiet.] Alright. Let's do this.

[She gets up and starts to make her way toward the horses, waiting for Nami to follow. She assumes they need to stay close together for this to keep working, and she's not about to take any chances.]

[ Nami nods, the barest tip of her chin, and smiles — no verbal response, so quiet they have to be indeed. She follows after Fiona, a tight grip on her Clima-tact, and doesn't stop until they've made their way fairly close to the horses.

This close, they can hear the bandits complaining about the fog; Nami raises her eyebrows and points to the direction of the voices.

What should we do with them? ]

[Fiona takes a second, glancing between the horses and the direction the bandits' voices are filtering in from. And then she looks to Nami, a small smile spreading across her face.

She mimics punching herself in the head. Knock them out. And then she points toward her hip. Or, more specifically, her pockets. Steal their shit.

Easy enough.]

[ A firm nod; then the slightest shake of her Clima-tact, a wordless I'll keep us covered.

It's a plan, and a plan that between two thieves like the two of them will succeed with ease. ]

[OPEN] empty bottles and broken glass

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handwave the rest? c:

ya!!