Herding a Bear
| Herding a Bear | |||||||||
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Neznayka Saint |
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Summary
Neznayka invites Saint to go hunting. Things, uh, escalate.
Background
Neznayka's home in Snohomish is out in the woods. A subsistence hunter with many animals to keep fed, she makes a habit of hunting in the area. In a bid to teach Saint some lessons, she's brought the budding samurai out to the woods for an expedition.
The First Encounter
The dogs pick up the trail of something as they explore the woods. Examining the tracks, Nez is able to determine that the likely culprit is an herbivorous hooved animal - elk, moose, maybe a boar though the latter seems unlikely. The dogs take the lead, seeking the animal at the end of the trail - and the pack is able to spot out the animal, standing at the opposite edge of a clearing.
Slowly, the hunters approach, and the crack of a rifle rings out: not theirs, but a third party. A pot-bellied hunter approaches - says a prayer over the body, then drags the animal away in a Thundercloud Morgan as Saint and Nez philosophize about the nature of letting things go.
The Bear
Several hours of fruitless searching later, Emelya picks up on a new scent. Tracing it along, Nez is eventually able to find a track belonging to a bear. Excited, she insists to Saint that they'll look at this one but not hunt it - out of respect for predators.
A brief debate between the pair of them, and then they set off to put eyes on the beast.
When they find it, though, Neznayka is able to identify it as a Piasma - an awakened bear, armored up as an orc and able to crush a car. Knowing the threat this represents to the people of Snohomish, and worried that it will be attacked by hunters, Neznayka decides that the pair are obligated to lure it out of the city. Their plan is straightforward: have Saint take a scent lure ahead of the bear, and draw it towards the border.
The Run
A call gets made to Jaelisha, who's able to arrange for a hole to be made in the border patrols for the bear to get out - courtesy a certain organization that has been known to smuggle animals, with a focus on their rights.
As they lead the bear away towards the border, Nez and Saint continuing talking. Slowly, they reveal pieces of themselves to each other - culminating in Neznayka admitting to having gotten civilians killed in a bomb blast she was responsible for. Stripping away her armored coat, she shoves a knife into Saint's hand, demanding to be held to the same standard as Red Ribbon. They argue with each other for minutes, before finally coming to something of an agreement.
Naturally, it's about then that the bear finds them. Nez scrambles for her crossbow, while Saint springs into action, charging forward to throw a punch that deliberately skims the bear's nose, to very little effect save to shake it up. The bear draws back at a swipe by its face - and then the bolt punches into its paw, delivering a shock that makes the beast rear up - then run. The pair of runners keep it moving, then herd it across the border, too close for comfort to the border patrol guards their friends in the shadows arranged to have look the other way. A few hundred nuyen fell out of the runners' pockets, and they fled the scene - poorer in body, but richer in soul.
Aftermath
Nez and Saint had their little hunting adventure come to a close, Snohomish was slightly safer, and TerraFirst! got themselves access to a brand new friend.
Rewards
Run Rewards for Herding a Bear (Milk Run escalated to High, 14 RVP)
9 Karma (9 RVP)
10 CDP (2 base, 4 RVP)
1 Street Cred (1 RVP)
+3 TerraFirst! Reputation
Optional:
For Saint: Animal Empathy (3 RVP)
For Saint: City Slicker (7 RVP)
For Both: Catlike (7 RVP)
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Neznayka: I ... I hope I could help. Saint, I mean, not the bear. Though I suppose I also hope the bear was helped. I would not have been able to survive alone, if I had lost everything. Without the scraps of the family that I built, I think I would have become the same. Feral and bitter and angry at everything. I would want to fight the world and lose, just to see it bleed. Oh Saint, лапочка Saint. There can be a tomorrow for you. You are still deserving of that much. Why won't you stay around to watch the sun rise?
Saint: You want me to let go of all I've ever had? How? You know that rage is all I have left of them, don't you? Without it, I can't do what I have to do... I should feel the same about you, too. If all of that is true, you should be dead like the rest of them.
So why, when I look at you, are you someone I want to see live?