[open] delicate in every way but one

[controlledvariable]

Date & Time: Late December/Early January
Location: The woods around Exsilium
Characters: Stephanie Brown and you~
Summary: Hunting! Doing stuff! No it's mostly just hunting
Warnings: Some descriptions of killing stuff, will update if it gets worse
Notes: This is mostly for people I talked with on the CR meme but feel free to tag in if you'd like to do a thing! You can run into her in the woods or in her way back into town or whathaveyou!


[Back when Ellie taught her to hunt, Steph never thought she'd have all that much use for it; they had plenty of money in old Exsilium, enough that she never worried about running out of funds or food. It definitely wasn't necessary on the moon, but now that they're in this snowy landscape and there's rent and utilities and food costs, it helps to catch some of their own meat, either to eat themselves or trade for something else. The killing part she's got down pat, though more often than not she takes the animals to one of the butcher's in Exsilium, rather than trying her hand at gutting and skinning. Ellie did teach her those parts, and it's not that Steph's worried about how gruesome it can be, but she's not good enough, and she doesn't want to waste anything due to a lack of skill.

So she sticks to the hunting, which is where she spends a few afternoons a week. She wears her Batgirl suit, sans cape and cowl, under a pair of jeans, a shirt and light coat, because the suit itself is heated, keeping her warm without layers that weigh her down. She picked up a rifle (illegally) while staying in New York, and she handles it with ease despite that whole no guns rule; it's been a long time since she's worried about that.

Mostly, she sticks to hares or rabbits, with the occasional penguin (though she always trade those, not wanting to take a dead bird back to the apartment she shares with an actual duck). The deer are tempting, and more than once she lines up a shot only to let it go, because she knows she can't haul the whole thing to a butcher. The smaller animals are easier to string up and carry back to civilization, even if it means she has to be extra careful about each shot, aiming for the head and succeeding nine times out of ten.

While she doesn't take any pleasure in killing, there's something familiar and reassuring in having to move silently through the woods, in the way she has to stop and listen for sounds of movement, in those final moments before she takes a shot. It's almost like being back on patrol, stalking criminals across the rooftops, spending hours on a stakeout, even though the snow covered woods is nothing like the streets of Gotham. It still helps, and she usually leaves the woods feeling better than when she went in.]

Comments

[controlledvariable]

Don't tell Ahiru or Saul, they don't need to get any more ideas.

[There's been more than a few suggestions of potential pets, that Steph has had to shoot down. Mike is more than enough, especially when they don't know what might happen each time the world changes.]

I'm good, you don't mind if I grab that, do you?

[with a gesture towards the hare she shot.]

[lucency]

Ideas?

[ but it's noted to keep her penguin under wraps, and while she doesn't exactly know the impromptu note that ahiru left to saul, she knows that the whole excursion probably wasn't appreciated.

she takes a glance to the hare and nods, looking away - not out of fear or being unable to handle it, but more as an, oh, damn, i really did interrupt you. ]

Oh - of course not. Go ahead.

[controlledvariable]

About pets. I have to be the mean one.

[Saul gets to be the fun one, but Steph has to be sensible and keep the lot of them from doing anything ridiculous.]

Cool.

[She checks the rifle, before slinging the strap over her shoulder and jogging over to pick up the hare by it's ears, making sure the shot was clean before putting it in her game bag.]

[lucency]

[ the penguin moves about around belle's feet while she waits for steph to catch and bag her hare, tilting her head and crossing her arms. if anything, she looks amused. ]

You say that almost like a mother would.

[controlledvariable]

[Cue the most uneasy laughter.]

I have a gun, you know.

[Steph you can't threaten to shoot people.]

[lucency]

[ she laughs as well, though it's distinctly less uneasy, and more of a burst. ]

I didn't mean it as an insult!

Are you sure you aren't defensive about it for a reason?

[ ONCE BELLE HAS AN IDEA

SHE DOESN'T

LET IT GO ]

[controlledvariable]

Are you sure you're not trying to get shot?

[Stephanie.

But no she's joking.

Mostly.]

[lucency]

Steph.

[ her look can really be read as GURL PLEASE. ]

There's no harm in caring for them.

[controlledvariable]

I know that.

[That isn't really the issues, it's the other implication that goes along with it.]

[lucency]

And, there's no harm in admitting it, either.

[ granted, steph is pretty young. younger than belle, as far as she knows.

but steph just admit u r maternal rn. ]

[controlledvariable]

You're not gonna let it go unless I admit it, are you?

[lucency]

[ she grins, playfully, shrugging. ]

I wasn't planning on it, no.

[controlledvariable]

Well I've got a reputation for being stubborn, so I guess we're at an impasse.

[That's a fancy word, Steph.]

[lucency]

[ qurl u fancy. look at belle, looking impressed. ]

Am I - supposed to take that as a roundabout confession?

[controlledvariable]

[meanwhile, steph makes a face]

No, you're supposed to take that as you're never getting a confession so you should give up.

[duh]

[lucency]

I have been told I'm the stubborn type, as well.

[ people nowadays would likely use determined. her father and gaston made it seem like a fault. ]

Giving up isn't likely.

[controlledvariable]

Well, I guess I'll just have to make you give up.

[She grins, a little too pleasantly.

Steph stop threatening people, even jokingly.]

[lucency]

I already know you aren't going to shoot me.

[ they might not be exactly close, but belle has a feeling she knows steph better than to think she'd just shoot people to silence them.

she does, however, pluck the penguin up from the ground protectively. just in case. ]

[controlledvariable]

Of course not, that'd leave a mess.

[STEPHANIE BROWN STOP THAT RIGHT NOW]

[lucency]

Your friends would also be disappointed. [ SHE DIDN'T SAY FAMILY

BUT THAT'S TOTALLY WHAT SHE MEANS. ]

[controlledvariable]

You say that like I wouldn't get Saul to help me hide the body.

[wELL]

[lucency]

[ oh. ]

He has said that he thinks of me as a friend. I just mean it might not be as foolproof as you think.

[controlledvariable]

[She's way too amused by this than she should be.]

He loves me enough that he wouldn't ask questions.

[lucency]

And you clearly love him enough to have that confidence in him.

[ steph

steph just say u r happy

and that u have ur frans

steph. ]

[controlledvariable]

Or I just know I've got him wrapped around my little finger.

[s h r u g]