forum Bandits Don't Cry (gritty dystopian fantasy rp with a dash of comedy-O/O-Closed, stalkers welcome)

Started March 22, 2020 by @Young-Dusty-the-Monarch-of-Dusteria group

tune

"Sure, why not," Taran said, standing with him. "I've only heard the dogs, not actually seen them yet." She shot the others a grin. "See you all later, then."

"Bye," the others chorused as Ango led her away. It was a short walk to Danthony's home, which was a collection of wooden boards and sheet metal propped in a circle around a thin tree at the edge of camp. Next to it was a rickety corral of sorts littered with ancient doghouses, sticks, and bones. Inside were seven dogs: A mother with four pups, a very old dog, and a tiny terrier locked in a crate. All the other dogs were outside the corral, tied to trees or pegs in the ground. They'd been busy napping or gnawing on scraps, but when they saw Ango and Taran approaching, they looked up excitedly. Most were big dogs, all thin and dirty and less-than-safe-looking, and several of them started to growl and bark at the sight of the newcomers.
"It's okay, dogs, Kali's a friend," Ango said happily, trying to pet a sheepdog as it snapped at his fingers. "Danthony? Are you there?"
After a minute, a teenage voice drifted from inside the lean-to. "Who wants to know? Can't a guy ever get some sleep around here? State your business or I'll set the puppies on you."

"The puppies look very terrifying," Taran called out, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I wish I could look as scary as that. And sleep is illegal. You're not allowed to sleep. Stop it right now, or you'll be killed."

Laughter. "Who the heck is that? Nobody around here is funny." A moment later a mop of wavy orange hair popped out of the lean-to, quickly followed by the face of a green-eyed fifteen-year-old boy. He took in Kali with a shrewd stare. "Oh hey, you're the new Fighter. Kali, right? Come say hi to the pack, they won't bite as long as I'm here."

"They could try to bite me," Taran said, flashing the boy a grin. "I bite back, though." She moved to the dogs, grinning at them with all the delight of a child. She loved animals with a passion, although she had never had a permanent enough home to own any.

The dogs flocked around her and Ango, whining and snuffling as dogs do. Ango unwisely crouched down and was quickly swamped by the more friendly ones. Danthony stepped out into the open and leaned against the fence. He was a short, skinny kid for his age, but seemed fairly healthy. His only noticeable injury was his left hand—or rather, the sharpened garden fork that was firmly lashed to his wrist where his hand used to be. He gestured with it, pointing out various dogs as the milled in front of him.
"That one's Ragsy, that's Pip, we call this girl Squeaky, there's She-Hulk….these are all my favorites. My dog is Fleet, this bloodhound-ish one. And that's Thing. He's basically the alpha at the moment." Thing seemed to be some kind of brindled mastiff mix, and most of the other dogs gave him a wide berth. "He's pretty annoying, to be honest. He only listens to me and the chief. Ango, which one was your favorite again?"
"Noodles," Ango replied happily, pointing at the ancient dog inside the pen. "He's sweet. Wanna say hi to him, Kali?"

"Sure." She stifled a laugh. "Who names these dogs, anyway? Noodles? Thing? Ragsy?" She shook her head.
She noticed Danthony's hand, and tilted her head. "What happened there?" She asked, pointing to the stump.

"Oh, this?" Danthony glanced down at his slapdash prosthetic as if he'd forgotten about it. "Ah, I got bitten by a poisonous snake when I was a kid. The only way to save me was to chop my hand off before the venom spread." He shrugged and nodded at Taran's arm. "Is that what happened to you too? Pretty fancy replacement you got there, heh, unlike mine."

"Nah," Taran said offhandedly. "I got my arm mostly ripped off by a fighter in the Fighter's Tournament. They didn't like my winning streak, so they crippled me." She grinned. "You should have seen all the blood. And my arm was a sight." She shook her head.
"Anyway, I made this myself," she said, motioning to her metal arm. "I could try and make you one later, if you want. It'd be more helpful than that."

Danthony's eyebrows rose higher with every word she said. When she offered to craft him a new hand, he paused, the idea taking him off-guard. "You, uh…..you really think you could make one?" He did his best to sound casual about it. "Are you sure you've got the materials or whatever?"

"Nah, I don't have the materials, but Muddybones probably does." Taran studied his hand for a moment, then nodded. "I could do it. I'd need to take measurements, though. And it might take me a while, but I could do it."

"Well. Huh." Danthony scratched behind a dog's ears when it came over to say hi, studying the ground thoughtfully. "In that case, go for it I guess. Heck, if you can actually give me a brand-new hand, I'll……hmm…." He looked around for something he could offer her as payment. "Want one of the mama dog's puppies when they're weaned? You seem like you could be a good pet owner."

"Really?" Taran's face broke out into a grin. "Are you sure? It's just a hand, you know." She absently pulled a strand of her hair that had escaped her ponytail, eyes shining.

"Hey, it wouldn't be "just a hand" to me," Danthony reminded her, waving his garden fork around. "This thing's more a hazard than a helpful tool. I'd give you a puppy for every day of the year if I got a full set of metal fingers in return." He nodded at the mother dog and her pups sitting inside the pen. "Go pick one out if you want. They should be old enough to leave their mom in another week or two."
"And come say hi to Noodles," Ango piped up, already inside the fence and gently stroking the old dog.

"Thank you," Taran said softly. She moved over to Ango first, smiling slightly at the old dog, who looked like a relative of her uncles's.
"Why is Noodles your favorite?" She asked him, stroking the creature slightly.

"He always used to wag his tail at me, before his tail stopped working," Ango said fondly, pulling burrs and twigs out of Noodles's long scraggly fur. "And he never bites or growls. He's a real good boy."
"Yeah, he's pretty sweet." Danthony made sure the gate to the pen was firmly closed, then came over to coax the fat puppies away from their wary mother. "Don't sweat it, mama dog, you know I'm a good babysitter. Here Kali, make a reservation on your favorite. They don't have names yet, so that'll be up to you."

"She doesn't trust you yet?" Taran asked Danthony.
She sent Noodles a small smile and walked over to the puppies, grinning at the tiny, wild balls of energy. "They're so cute! What breeds are they?" She asked, kneeling down next to the gate.

"Mama usually trusts me, she's just a bit possessive of her kids right now. As for the breed, Thing is their dad, so I'm guessing they're Mastiff-Collie-Labrador-Doberman mixes, with just a sprinkle of who-knows-what."
The puppies bumbled over to Taran and excitedly climbed over each other to get to her, squeaking and wagging their tails furiously. There was a grey one, a red one, a red-and-white mottled one, and one that seemed to be a muddy mix of all three colors.

Taran giggled, holding her flesh arm out to touch them and rub their heads. "I'll take that one," she said, after a moment of consideration, pointing to the gray one. "That one seems the most energetic." She grinned, watching the puppies with a delighted look in her eyes. They were so cute, it just tugged at her heart.

"The gray one? Okay. I'll take extra good care of it until it's ready to leave its mama, and then it's all yours. Got any idea what you're gonna name it? I'm pretty sure it's a boy, but I could be wrong."

"Not really," Taran said with a shrug, petting the creature one more time before standing again. "It's better to think of a name after you know what it's like." She grinned.
"What kind of upgrades do you want me to give your hand? A storage compartment to hold treats, maybe a little dagger or something?"

"Oh pff, don't go overboard," Danthony replied with a self-conscious chuckle. Then after a pause: "How about retractable claws, like a cat? Is that something you can do?"

"Of course," Taran said, nodding. "How long do you want the claws?" She grinned at him. "And it's not going overboard. You're giving me a puppy, so I want to make it as cool as I can."

"Fair enough. Uh, not too long, maybe like half an inch? Just as long as they're real sharp." Danthony returned the grin. "I guess we got ourselves a deal then. Let me know when you've got 'er done, yeah? How long do you think it'll take?"

"Um… a couple of days, probably. At most a week. It depends on when we leave, and how long we'll be moving around for." She shrugged. "I'll finish my arm, and then I can make yours easier. Make sure there are fewer flaws, you know." She rolled her eyes in annoyance at her current arm.