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

"Yeah, sure," Taran said. "How will I know when the food is ready, though?" She smiled slightly, in a self-deprecating way. "I'm kinda deaf when I'm working, and I want to finish my useless lump of metal before we leave."

"You can always tell when lunch is because all the camp dogs start going crazy. Danthony feeds them at noon and us humans eat at the same time." Shiv smiled back shyly. "Good luck with your arm."

"Thanks. Good luck with cleaning." Taran waved, and stood, opening the door and leaving the hut. She chewed her lip. How should she design her arm? She should have a gun, like Ango suggested. What else? A tiny blade, maybe a few tools…

The camp was quiet at this time of day. Most of the bandits were either lounging about in groups, doing simple chores, or trying to catch up on sleep after the night's raid. Boar-back himself was sitting outside his small cabin in a patch of sunlight, calmly reading a book and occasionally glancing up so sweep his eyes over his camp. He caught Taran's eye as she walked past and nodded in her direction, then returned to his reading.

Taran sent him a mock two-fingered salute. A big part of her was tempted to go over to him and ask about his relationship with the doctor. Just from his actions, Taran was pretty sure there was some sort of love… or something… she shook her head. She probably shouldn't…

"How'd your chat with the doctor go?" Boar-back was watching Taran from the corner of his eye, poker-faced. "I assume he bit your head off like he's already done to everyone else? Sorry about him."

"Actually, he was nice to me." Taran shrugged, looking bored, although inside she was giggling. So she was right. "It's probably because I'm not one of those 'good-for-nothing' bandits who don't know how to do anything." She shrugged, acting casual. "Although, he didn't say that you were part of that group."

Boar-back's mouth twitched ever-so-slightly in amusement. "Oh, he probably just forgot to mention me. In his eyes, I'm pretty incorrigible. I'm glad to hear he was polite to you, though–I always trust his judgement when it comes to new recruits. Seems like letting you join was a good idea."

"Actually, he said he didn't want to bother you with petty matters," Taran said smoothly. She was having a hard time keeping a straight face, and keeping the twinkle out of her eye was almost impossible.

"How uncharacteristically thoughtful of him," Boar-back remarked, his face still innocently blank. "But I'd be a terrible leader if I didn't give my followers the attention they deserve. Next time you see him, tell him he can bother me whenever he wants, yeah?"

"Of course. I'd be delighted." Taran nodded. "Well, I should leave you be. I'll be sure to tell him that. But you shoud be prepared to have him bother you quite often, although you don't strike me as the kind of person who would mind."

Boar-back snorted. "Maybe, maybe not. Careful with your words, Kali. I've heard it said that people should respect their elders, especially when their elders are bandits. My opinion on the good doctor is really none of your business, clear?" He didn't sound mad, though, just far less flustered than Brandon had been.

"I respect my elders if they deserve respect," Taran said, sending him an innocent smile. "And I am being very respectful. I don't care about your opinion of the doctor. It really isn't any of my business. I was merely pointing out that you don't seem like the kind of person to mind."

"Well, you are right about that." The chief sat back and turned to the next page of his book. "Did Muddybones help you find what you needed for a new arm, by the way?"

"Yup, he did." Taran hid an amused smile at the change of subject. "It should be done by tomorrow at the most."

"Good. I'll start planning our next visit to the outside world so you can test it out in battle, hm? Let me know when you're ready for a fight."

"I'm always ready for a fight." Taran started to walk back to her tent, waving to him as she did. "With who, for who, it doesn't matter, as long as there's a fight."

"In that case, you'll fit right in around here," Boar-back called. "I'll see you later, then."

"Later." She hurried away. It was strange, being around all these nice people. She had heard stories of evil bandits, who would raid and kill. These guys seemed more like puppies than anything else - not that she would ever tell them that. Some people would take kinder to being called puppies than others.

For the next hour or so, no one bothered her. It seemed that the bandits who were naturally curious, like Ango and Shiv, were all busy with other tasks now, and the more sociable ones like Muddybones and Florida had other people to chat with. At one point, there was a brief ruckus as some bandits got too close to a crow's nest just outside camp, but other than that the only sound was the crackling of the fires as lunch was slowly prepared.

Taran slouched over her table, trying to screw in a small screw to the metal of her arm. It was slowly taking shape, but it was taking a painfully long time. At this rate, it would be done tomorrow at the earliest. She scowled, sitting back and glaring at the lump of metal on her desk. Her stomach grumbled, and she pinched her lips. When was lunch?

As if on cue, the camp suddenly erupted with barks and howls, as if someone had set off a grenade made of insane dogs. Rising over the tumult was a youthful but authoritative voice, ordering the dogs to shut up and sit down. As the dogs' cries turned to eager whines, the camp started to stir, and the bandits left their shelters to grab something to eat.

"It's as if I'm magical." Taran gave a wry smile and hurried out of her tent, clipping on her old arm as she did so. It was awkward, sometimes, to only be using one arm to do things.

One of the closest fires was occupied by Muddybones, Shiv, Ango, and a few other Scavengers. As soon as Muddybones saw Taran, he waved to her. "Hey, you hungry? Come sit over here, we've got soup."

"Just soup?" Taran gave a dramatic sigh and sat down. "Fine. I guess I'll sit here with you losers." She sent them all a grin. "So, what have you boring people been up to since I last saw you?"