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Be Sure of Foot, Stand Firm [Armor Hunt] [Alan/Archon]
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Post by Archon on Feb 26, 2019 1:55:08 GMT
It had been several weeks since Archon the BlackVeemon had arrived in Rosewood. It had been a funny thing. After living in the virtual hell of the digital world, then trudging through sea and swamp, he had seemed to find this veritable paradise in the forest. It had required some getting used to, Archon still had to keep his dark temper under control here, something he didn't like doing at times. Once, he threatened to beat up a furry Gumdramon that was getting a little too nosy, but then had a large Gaomon threaten to beat him up in response; he soon knew not to do that again. And other minor altercations happened from time to time, but Archon was eventually learning the way of things here. Just treat others fairly, and he'll be treated fairly in return. Injustice in Rosewood was rare.
Also helping the black and white dragon was the fact that he was taken in quite well with this blue Veemon named Levi. Yes, they didn't spend all their time together, they came and went, but whenever Levi and his human partner Alan were in Rosewood, Archon loved spending time with them.
He found Levi to be cute, charming, sweet and lovely. But above all, caring. Levi seemed to care all the time about making Archon happy, and the BlackVeemon appreciated that, returning these feelings as best he could. And his human partner was a delight too. Even if they could be kinda too goody-two-shoes for what he was used to, Archon liked them.
But above all, he was beginning to trust them.
When Archon had slogged through the Backup Bayou on his way here, he was almost about to resign from exhaustion, sick of the mud, sick of the filthy water, sick of the dreary humid settings, when he had felt something nearby. A source of power. Something that meant something to him. But at the same time, something he knew he couldn't find alone.
Therefore, after a week of knowing them, Archon would raise the question at breakfast one day.
"So, uh, hey..." he said. "I've known you guys for a bit now, and I really like and trust you two..." he hesitated, wondering how to ask for a favour. This wasn't the dark area. He was about to say he had nothing to pay them with, but realized that might not be needed. "So, on the way here, I passed by a sunken castle ruin" he said, getting to the point. "And I felt like there's somethin' important to me in there". He looked up at them, a little anxiety present in his expression. "So, I was wonderin'... would you two maybe like to go with me there so we can check it out?"
He hoped they'd say yes, the curiosity had been biting him for so long that it was almost unbearable.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Feb 26, 2019 2:31:19 GMT
The reactions of Levi and his partner would likely come as a slight surprise to the BlackVeemon. They both paused from their meal and turned their heads towards Archon when the question was raised.
"A sunken castle? That sounds awesome!" The Veemon leaned forward slightly in his chair. "Of course I'll go with you! Alan?"
"We've been wanting to do something like this ever since we got to the digital world!" Out of the corner of his eye, Alan saw the cloth-covered blade protruding from the brightly-colored bracelet on his wrist. His expression turned sour before quickly perking up again. "In the Bayou, right?"
"Oh, that's right, isn't it?" remarked Levi, after a moment's recollection. "Wizardmon said the Digimental of Integrity came from there. Assuming that's true, it seems incredibly likely that feeling of yours was correct, Archon! So we have all the more reason to check it out!"
"Agreed. And, Digimental or no, we still get to explore a sunken castle ruin!" Alan took another bite of his breakfast. "So, is there a time you had in mind, or any preparation we should do before we go there?"
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Post by Archon on Feb 26, 2019 5:34:06 GMT
Archon beamed at Levi's answer, then hesitantly waited for Alan's. They worked as a team of course, it had to be a mutual decision. And then Alan said he wanted to do something like this ever since entering the digital world.
"Yeah! That's right, the Bayou" Archon said, his anxiety melting away. "Thanks, guys, I knew I could depend on you". His face stalled a little as Levi mentioned something about Wizardmon and the Digimental of Integrity. But when he realized that was only supporting evidence of his hunch, his smile became natural again.
"Aw thanks, Levi, you're awesome" he said, giving Levi a hug from his delight. There was so much of it overflowing that he hugged Alan too.
When that was done and Alan asked when they'd go and what they'd bring, Archon pondered this. "Well, I reckon if we prepare this morning to leave by lunchtime, then make our way to the edge of the Bayou, we should be able to make camp at sunset" the BlackVeemon reasoned. "Then after a night's rest, we'd have all of tomorrow to explore the ruins. That is if you don't have anything planned, we could make it another day if ya've got somethin' to do today" he assured them. But really, his excitement was such that he did want to make this as soon as possible.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Feb 26, 2019 16:27:46 GMT
Levi smiled and returned Archon's hug, and the smile only widened when he watched Alan blush deeply from also being hugged by Archon. After a few seconds, Alan returned the hug, too.
The suggestion that the three of them camp together on the edge of the Bayou sparked a glimmer in Levi's eye. He turned his head to Alan to see if he was doing the same, but Alan seemed to still be silently reveling in the BlackVeemon's unsolicited hug, (which, as Alan wouldn't say out loud, was his favorite kind of hug in most cases.) Levi laughed quietly and let Alan bring himself back to the conversation when he was ready. "Camping with all three of us sounds like it'll be super fun!"
"Camping?" Alan jolted to attention. "In the human world, I hate camping. But here.... the idea excites me. The nature around here is pretty dang amazing. So when it comes to stuff we should bring... that's food for two, no, three days, just in case. Sleeping bags... ah, my head, I've never done this before. I'm sure we can get all the stuff we need in town."
"Don't worry about it," said Levi. "Archon, since you've been there, is there anything you think we'll need in particular? Anything you wish you had going in there the first time?"
"Oh, and we don't have anything planned, so we can go as soon as we're ready."
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Post by Archon on Feb 28, 2019 3:21:48 GMT
Realizing that he kinda lost his composure in hugging these two, Archon blushed a little himself as he broke off, making a face as though it was nothing, yet he felt pretty happy for doing so. There was just that feeling of magnetic warmth with Levi and Alan that made him feel that if he made them happy, then he was happy too.
It would seem that they would need to get provisions first. When Levi asked Archon if they should bring anything along, he blinked a little, given that he had trudged through it without anything whatsoever other than his strength and wits.
"Well..." Archon began, thinking. "Diving gear would probably be good, just in case we have to go through water. Food would probably be good. Somethin' to light fires too? The raw food sucks. Few bottles of clean water would help too. Oh, and it rains a lot there, so, I guess shelter if we can carry it?"
What else? "Oh! Rope! Can't forget that!" he added.
Glad to hear that they had nothing else planned, Archon would accompany them through the town to get the items they needed. "Another change of clothes might be needed too" he said to Alan, remembering that clothes were important to humans. "Best somethin' you don't mind getting dirty, mud washes off hide and skin pretty well, but it messes up fabric big time". Archon liked to think that by now he knew enough about humans to care for their wellbeing, especially a friend like Alan.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Mar 1, 2019 4:38:04 GMT
Levi made a list of each of the items as Archon named them, giving each one a quick mental check to see whether they already had them, and if not, what they would need to do to buy them.
"Diving gear - covered for Alan and me. We'll definitely have to purchase easily-packable food. I imagine that should be pretty easy around here. Somethin' to start fires with? Pssh."
Alan displayed the Digimental of Integrity once more. "Check."
"Water - we'll buy that along with the food. Shelter? We can definitely take a tent in the infinistore, too, assuming it's all in small enough parts. I can't imagine that anything meant to be brought along on a camping trip wouldn't be at least that portable, though."
Alan made a quick interjection. "We should also bring some good ol' fashioned umbrellas, too. Can't imagine we'd like to set up the tent every time. It'd fill with water, too."
"Good point," said Levi, adding another bullet to the list. "And the rope should also be easy. That should be everythi- oh! You're right! Clothes!"
"Oh, that's right. Completely forgot to worry about those." Alan placed his elbow on the table, and his chin in his hand. "Huh. Is that so? Then the easiest solution would beee…" The human male trailed back off into thought, his expression a bit more vacant this time, with his mouth hanging slightly open. Barely, one could make out that he lightly bit his lip at one point. Levi shook him awake. "Hello? Digital World to Alan! You in there?"
"Ah! Yeah!" Alan managed as the color returned to his face and then some, bringing it closer to #ff0000 then ever. "Swim shorts! Rash guard! Sandals! Got it! Oh, and I'll bring my usual clothes to change into afterwards if I need to!" Is that all?
If there were no more details to plan out, the human and the Veemon would make their preparations to leave on time just as they were told.
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Post by Archon on Mar 7, 2019 9:46:27 GMT
Archon was glad to hear that. "Alrighty, I'll get my diving gear before moving out as well" he'd assure them. The BlackVeemon smiled at just how prepared these guys were. He knew he had made a good move in asking them. What had seemed like an impossible mission for himself alone now was more resembling a simple camping trip with friends. He relaxed considerably the more they declared to be prepared for.
Still though, he had to ask. "Infini-store? What's that?" Archon tilted his head, wondering what such a thing could be.
He knew what umbrellas were though. "Ah, yep, good call" he nodded with approval. And then with a pause, the next thing seemed to be clothes. Alan seemed to pause for quite a long time on this. Archon blinked with confusion on this. Frankly he didn't understand the need of clothes with humans, but thankfully this pause was made short. Alan blurted out the garments he wished to bring along, and Archon supposed they'd be alright, not that he knew any better. He recognized the mention of sandals though. "Ah, right, you humans don't do well barefoot do ya?" he remarked, then grinned. "Of course, gotta bring those along".
Following that, Archon would briefly separate from the others in Rosewood as he purchased a mini-diving kit for himself while the others got their equipment. Once that was done, he'd re-join them at the edge of town.
"Okay, we all set?" the BlackVeemon asked eagerly, ready to head out on their adventure.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Mar 29, 2019 4:05:21 GMT
Alan felt a bit silly walking through Rosewood in swimwear, but it wasn't as if the outfit was any more revealing than any other casual summer attire, save for the substitution of beige-colored sandals for full shoes and socks. Beyond that, both the long-sleeved rash guard and his swim shorts were solid blue. He was still wearing his usual glasses, and everything else that the group needed packed was in the infinistore at the moment. Levi stole glances at his outfit as they walked - it was nice that they matched, if only somewhat. Alan self-consciously brushed a hand through his short, yet unkempt, hair a few times; he never made it a habit to comb it, since he usually wore a hat over it.
"We took stock time and time again," he said, turning the inconspicuous square that was the infinistore in his hands two or three times. "Everything we need is in here."
Levi stepped forward to get closer to Archon. "Everything's in order! Alright, babe, lead the way!" As exciting as treasure hunting was, Levi had to admit to himself that what he was looking forward to most of all was being together with Archon through all of it.
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Post by Archon on Mar 29, 2019 11:07:04 GMT
Archon didn't really note Alan's discomfort about his clothes at first. After all, from what he had seen so far of humans, they always wore clothing, and the fact he was showing off the skin of his legs wasn't of much note to the BlackVeemon, who had nothing but his black and white scales. But he did notice after a bit that he seemed to be nervous, preening the fur on his head somewhat self-consciously. It was that that made him recognize that he felt a bit vulnerable.
"Hey, no worries, Alan, you look just fine" Archon assured him, giving a thumbs up. While the BlackVeemon was a little clueless on most things human-wise, he at least knew enough body language to recognize when someone was nervous about their appearance rather than their surroundings. It helped that he was once friends with a prissy BlackGabumon who often behaved like Alan did when he thought his fur wasn't perfect.
Then Levi stepped forward and declared that they were ready. "Alrighty then! Let's head on" Archon declared, and put an arm around Levi, leading his boyfriend along the path south to the Bayou, back where he came. He felt much better walking this path than before, now that he had two trusted friends with him.
The journey onward would be relatively quiet, the forest around them transitioning from temperate to tropical, the ground sloping downward, the soil growing wetter. But so far, hopefully nothing of a threat would approach them.
If there were no obstacles, they would arrive at the border of the bayou a few hours before sunset. The border was clear - the forest quickly transitioned to a marshland, the ground sloping more firmly downward - the old growth trees changing to low brushes and mangroves, the smell of mud and swamp gases becoming potent. It was plain that if they wanted to gather enough dry firewood to get them through the night, they should go no further. And besides, there was a well used campsite by the side of the road to mark the spot they should rest clearly.
"Welp, here we are" Archon declared, slipping his backpack off to take a rest. "You two okay for now?" he asked, concerned for his friends.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Apr 17, 2019 22:23:44 GMT
As the group set off for the Bayou, Alan, having gained some of his confidence back, jokingly hummed to the tune of "We're Off to See the Wizard" for a short time, having noticed Archon and Levi's arms around each other's backs. Travelling closer and deeper into the Bayou area, the human began to breathe in through his nose, and cut the breath short, switching to a less comfortable method of breathing involving sucking in air through the mouth in quick breaths. Eventually, he decided the hassle was too great and went back to nasal breathing, forcing himself to become accustomed to the scent of the area. He would have to, anyway. The smells bothered Levi much more, though he did a far better job of hiding it.
Once they were finally able to reach a good camping spot, Alan took a few moments to stand hunched forward, with his hands on his knees to prop himself up. "Yeah, this place'll do," he said, standing after remembering that there was still more to do to get their camp set up. "No complaints here!" followed Levi. "What's our next task, guys?"
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Post by Archon on Apr 19, 2019 1:18:27 GMT
Archon had appreciated the little habits of his traveling companions on the way through the timberlands. Indeed, so much as he had learned from humans, he knew that they liked musical songs, and from what he had heard, he enjoyed them too.
Once they had arrived at the place they'd be sleeping tonight, Archon was glad that the others agreed it was an okay sleeping space. When Levi asked what their next move should be, Archon answered quickly from his experience.
"First thing, we should set up our shelter, so, best peg up our tent. Next, we should collect firewood to cook our dinner and keep away the cold, although since it's Spring, we probably don't need too much of that. Just... yeah, shelter and fire is all we need tonight, then we sleep, then we'll be in top notch condition for exploring the Bayou tomorrow."
To ensure he was pulling his weight here, Archon would then march into the forest, gather some mostly dry wooden branches for fuel, then lay them near the ring of stones that marked the fireplace in this campsite.
Since Archon didn't really know how to pitch a tent, that he left to Alan and Levi for the time being. Hopefully they had it under control. If they did, then they'd be able to light the fire and get ready to cook their dinner.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Apr 22, 2019 3:11:45 GMT
Alan would raise his hand and start to say something when Archon marched away, but meekly stop and lower the hand. Neither Levi nor Alan knew how to set up a tent, but they, too, in the interest of pulling their own weight, weren't immediately keen on saying so, and it was a bit too late now. Oh, well. They had plenty of time to figure it out.
"It doesn't seem like too complex of a process..." said Levi, spreading out everything they needed so that it was as clear as possible what they needed to do with it all. "...Wait, does this involve tying anything? I'm not good at that."
"And if I was good at that, I would have gladly taught you to do so." admitted Alan.
After struggling for longer than either of them would have liked to, they were happened across by a friendly Falcomon who showed them how to set up the tent... then charged for the information. Alan paid the fee without complaint, finding that the stranger had done a service that was worth payment to them, and that stranger was on his way. Unsure of what else to do, the two ducked inside the tent and waited for Archon's return, Levi pacing worriedly for his safety.
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Post by Archon on Apr 23, 2019 12:54:51 GMT
As Archon returned, he was glad to see the tent pitched. He was unaware of the effort the others had gone through, mainly because he didn't know how to pitch a tent either. He just assumed that humans naturally knew this sort of thing.
But when he saw the tent propped up, he felt secure that they had managed to get it right. And so, he deposited the dry firewood next to the rocks that formed the center of the campsite, arranging the heavy logs at the bottom, the sticks in the middle, and the kindling at the top, ready to start the fire.
"I'm back, guys!" he called to his companions in the tent. "Now then, guess the next step is to cook dinner, eat it, then rest for the night."
Archon hoped that his companions didn't have too much trouble here. If they did, he'd do his best to make it up for them.
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Post by Archon on Jun 12, 2019 9:31:36 GMT
(OOC: Just going forward a bit here so we can get to the more exciting part of the thread. Alan said I could post again.)
Well, after that, they managed to get the fire going, cooking some of their food and had a good meal to get them through the night. Archon enjoyed the small-talk and also told a story or two about things and tales he had heard from the Dark Area, although he didn't get very detailed about them.
Eventually, as the sun set, rain clouds began to roll overhead. It wasn't a storm so to say, but, rain showers fell on them for the time being, unfortunately dousing the fire. Still, the place was somewhat warm and humid and the cold didn't set in overnight. Archon meanwhile would retreat to the tent and was glad that it was waterproof. Eventually, tired after the long day, his belly full, he would drift off to sleep, snuggled up against Levi to the sound of rain drops pattering on the canvas above.
He woke up in the morning at dawn. The rain had faded, but the sky was scarlet from the color of the clouds on the eastern horizon. The rains had passed, but that left the grounds ahead damp and muddy. That might make their journey into the bayou difficult, but, that would be a challenge for later. First up, they needed breakfast.
"Well, doubt we'll be able to light another fire..." Archon remarked, but thankfully they had come prepared. They had cereal, and they also had a carton of milk to share, so that would sort that out. When finished, Archon would help pack up the campsite, then that would leave them prepared for the trek ahead.
"Ready when you guys are..." he said, and made the walk forward downward into the bayou proper. The road sloped downward, becoming more soft and damp every few steps, it seemed. At the very least, there was a visible path lined with markers so they wouldn't get lost. But that wasn't important here, what was important was Archon's sense of where that power was coming from.
"Hey, Alan..." he spoke to the young man eventually. "Does your digivice have any signals? I heard in Rosewood that you humans have those things and sometimes they can show the right way to important stuff, so, wanna have a look?"
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Post by Alan Pantell on Jun 12, 2019 12:34:36 GMT
Alan blinked and reached into his pocket with a moment's delay. "Hey, good on you, mon. I one-hundred percent forgot about that." His reflection's mouth moved on the screen, noticeable, as there wasn't anything else to see. "You see, the issue with these things is... any radar functions aren't exactly advertised features. It shows up exactly when it needs to. Kinda like wizards." There was a shared chuckle between partners which faded as they remembered how they got their first digimental. "...Exactly like wizards, ennit?"
"So, any ideas?" "Let's start with an easy one. Ahem. 'Light of Digivolution, I beseech thee; illuminate the path to the Origin of Integrity!'"
With a barely detectable vibration, Alan could have sworn the screen displayed the word "CUTE." before displaying a radar screen as it had before.
"Aw, come off it, will ya? I wasn't trying to rhyme! And if I was, I would have used a way better rhythm!" "Alan, is everything alright?" "Nah, it worked, see? Judging by its relative position, I'd say our target is... some ungodly distance from the path at roughly... 1 o'clock. Also I think the digivice just sassed me." "You deserved it." "Perhaps. Let's get going, huh?"
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