What Trancends Death... [Closed]

[favoritefearlesshero]

Who: Puss in Boots, Branch, some NPCs
What: A simple rescue mission turns into a survival situation
Where: Mountain mine turned villain hideout
When: Late February, after Valentine's Day
Warnings/Notes: Death, survival, possible violence, Branch and Puss's past trauma

If there's one thing Puss has learned in his 9 lives as a hero, it's that evil strikes quickly and without warning. Except now Puss knows about these things as quickly as they happen, thanks to all of the North Pole's innovations, and that's just as good as a warning to Puss.

It happened all at once: A small child, a boy of no more than 8 years old, was apparently drawn into the thick forest by one of Kuk's many minions and vanished into the night. For Puss, this is a simple rescue, almost routine. His dark vision and sense of smell should be more than enough to guide him into the depths of the abandoned mine and free the boy with no trouble.

...But he probably has a lot more than that considering he's on this mission with the most dedicated over-planner he knows.

"What do you think? In and out before breakfast is served?"

It might not come through what Puss's sure-footed cockiness, but he has to admit Branch is a good partner to have on this mission. After all, he's been a prey species all his life, something that's only happened to Puss once...ever. Branch knows what signs indicate a large predator has been through the area and that's basically what they're tracking. No reason to think this isn't going to go smoothly.

Comments

[favoritefearlesshero]

Pressure plates and tripwires are a concern, but there's also the potential for magical traps which may not be so obvious. His whiskers twitch in the hopes that he'll pick up some...vibrations, maybe, though it's hard to know what he'll be able to catch.

...But that's not entirely where his brain is. Puss noticed that "generally." Oh, he absolutely did. And he wanted to pull on it like an enticing string. No need to defer the pleasure of getting under Branch's skin.

"Oh? Generally, huh? Well, dogs are dogs everywhere you go but I presume cats in your universe aren't as...debonair as I?"

[branchifer]

At Puss talking up how debonair he is, Branch rolls his eyes, though rather than super scornful, the eyeroll is verging on something that kind of maybe almost maybe could be considered affectionate. Though he'd certainly deny it if pressed.

"Cats in my universe don't talk. Which kind of puts a damper on negotiating for your life."

Very blunt. Also very dark, whoops. But that's just how it is back home.

Branch pauses, pressing a hand against a groove in a wall. But it looks like it's just a groove, not a slot that's hiding something. He moves on.

Reluctantly, he adds, "You backing off was kind of novel."

And so far, at least after their first meeting, Puss hasn't given him any reason to be afraid while Branch is at his smaller size.

Coming around a corner, Puss might get the tiniest wafting smell of something magical up ahead.

[favoritefearlesshero]

"I suppose I would have thought that cats would be different in your world somehow. Like, I don't know...talking or leaving glitter trails when they rub up against you or whiskers with sparklers at the ends."

Hey, it could happen. What little Puss knows about Branch's world seems to suggest that everything is extra all the time.

"Every cat I've met since coming here has been wildly different, after all. But then, not every cat where I'm from can talk. And fewer still know what it's like to be hunted."

It's Puss's turn to be a little enigmatic. He's been on the prey end of it, and even an obligate carnivore can appreciate the merits of sticking to Fancy Feast.

"And I believe I told you before I don't eat things that talk. There's three blind mice of my acquaintance that can attest to my self-control...wait."

Puss holds his paw out to stop Branch from moving forward.

"I smell magic and...soap?"

[branchifer]

"Look, there's a reason I said 'generally,' okay?"

There's a slight eyeroll but he does actually mean the 'generally.'

Like he said...novel.

There's been a lot of how he's been treated, even before he could turn big, that's novel. Branch is starting to let his guard down at the Pole and not in a bad way. More in a way that's far more similar to how he eventually relaxed around the village.

Branch doesn't smell the soap but bubbles do start to float from nowhere into view, making him stop and arch an eyebrow.

The image of a man appears in the bubbles.

"I see you have found yourselves in my labyrinth. The child - the child is here. You have thirteen hours to -"

Branch reaches out and pops the bubbles with a finger.

"Waste of time. Let's just ignore the guy. We're not here to play games."

[favoritefearlesshero]

Puss watches the bubbles float through the air with mild but piqued interest, in the same way he'd watch fireflies or moths. He was about to do the same thing he'd do to those: swipe them out of there.

So he's amused when Branch beats him to it.

"Ha ha, agreed! I bet a mug of heavy cream he's using them to watch us. The nerve."

More bubbles floated through the mine as they delved deeper, sporting the visage of the kidnapper.

"Perhaps you should consider-"

Puss kicked a rock onto the toe of his boot, balancing it for a moment before popping it up and kicking it clean through the bubble, chuckling smugly at his own aim. He glances to Branch for his reaction. That might also have been a bit of a challenge, if he's troll enough to take it.

...OK, more of an invitation to play, not that Puss would say that out loud. Keeping things light means keeping things calm for whatever the confrontation will look like.

[branchifer]

The only reaction he gets is another eyeroll buuut after they go down the tunnel a little bit more and more bubbles float up again, with the man in them looking more annoyed, starting to say, "You really should -"

Branch whips up a stone with his hair and not only does it go through the bubble, it hits a tripwire that causes a pendulum with a blade to swing across the wall, lodging itself into the opposite wall.

Now he turns to look at Puss with an extremely sly look, arching an eyebrow at him in a nonverbal, 'Top that.'

Might as well make this competitive, it'll make them progress faster and the less the weird bubble guy knows about them, the better. They knew from Katherine 1) that the guy behind this was more of a kidnapper than a murderer, and 2) that the point of kidnapping the kid was to lure some Guardians in. It'd probably be best for the kid if bubble guy doesn't know when they're getting close. Easier to get the jump on him if he's totally in the dark.

[favoritefearlesshero]

Oh, challenge accepted.

Puss whips out his rapier, giving it a few warm up twists with his wrist as he examines the ground. It only takes a moment or two until he finds a rock flat enough for his purposes, and shoves the tip underneath, popping it into the air. He catches it on the very tip of the sword and spins it like a plate-

Then he takes a moment to smugly waggle his eyebrows at Branch.

-before snatching it off the sword and tossing it like a skipping stone. It bounces off one tripwire, then two, then three, setting off a flurry of poison darts, an avalanche of stones, and an array of flamethrowers.

Then he smugly licks his fingers and pinches the tip of his sword, making a "ssst" sound with his mouth.

[branchifer]

Branch stares. Then he gives him a sardonic look.

"Uh, there is such thing as a show-off."

That doesn't stop him from trying to top it as they move along. Their little game clears the traps faster. Until finally, they reach a wider part of the mine, lit up by hanging lanterns.

An annoyed looking dandy with tight pants is pacing around the room.

"I give my best efforts and this is the response I get? To be dismissed?" he says to a little boy in a cage.

The boy doesn't answer, his head buried in his knees. He's sniffling.

Branch, dives behind some rocks, grabbing Puss by the arm to make sure he follows suit. He slowly extends his hair up just a tiny bit over the rocks, when the man isn't looking, creating a sort of curved blind with a long slit for them to peek through.

On the side facing the man, it's camouflaged. The color and texture matching the rocks, making the pile look only slightly taller. Easy to miss in the half-dark, if it happened when your back was turned.

"Jerk," he whispers of the man. That poor kid. "...also I know this is coming from me -" and that his hair situation is pretty unique compared to the people in this world, teammates included "- but what is up with that hair?"

By troll standards it is a sad mix of wild and half-flaccid, a very weird and ugly hairdo.

[favoritefearlesshero]

Puss, like most cats, takes too much pride in his fur to let it go unremarked upon.

"It's feathered and bleached and- ugh, I can't look directly at it." This man is clearly a fiend. Puss's gaze goes to the lanterns and a devious smile spreads across his face.

"...I wonder how much product he uses. Could be flammable."

OK, that's going a little bit far, at least with a child in the room. But it's all part of the plan brainstorming process.

[branchifer]

Branch nods his head appraisingly, eyes squinty and evil-looking, as he tries to figure out how to fling something flammable over there, and what to fling, but then he shakes his head.

"Nah. We could probably figure out how to do it somehow but that'd traumatize the kid."

He sure was genuinely considering it, though.

"We should just orb him. If you distract him, I can sneak up and globe him somewhere miserable." He adds, "I've been on the wikipedia, learning stuff about Earth and places in it. You know, they have swamps with giant carnivorous reptile death monsters. A desert that's 3.6 million square miles... stuff like that."