He has only a few brief moments to catch his breath. The strange, buzzing, mechanical flying creatures will only need a minute or two to find him again, and he can't afford to waste time. Whatever they are, they seem hellbent on catching him, and their pointy stingers at their tail ends have come too close on too many occasions. Suffice it to say, this has hardly been a pleasant welcome to this strange new world.
Thankfully, he's found temporary relief; an embankment under a dirt roadway he's managed to reach and duck under just as the creatures zoom past overhead, enough to grand him a small reprieve from what feels like hours of running. His mechanized heart is working overtime, running on adrenaline throughout the chase. He's breathing heavy, clutching his chest, a million thoughts running through his head: Where am I? How did I get here? What are these things? Why are they after me?
Thoughts are interrupted when a familiar, dreadful noise pierces from overhead. Oswin jumps at the sight of them, angry clockwork things, made of metal and whirring motors yet seemingly alive and worse, deadly. One charges at him, and Oswin is just barely fast enough to raise his arms to protect his face - the creature slams into him and a loud clang of metal on metal reverberates as the attacker stumbles awkwardly away. One down ... but several more still hover in the air above him, stingers aimed and at the ready.
"S-Someone ..." Oswin isn't sure if anyone can hear him, but he calls out anyway, keeping his face protected and trembling. Maybe this is all a dream, and he'll wake up in a cold sweat, swearing off 24-hour drive throughs and late night shots yet again. "Anyone-- help!"
"Oh ho; what have we here?" A voice calls out, breaking up the overwhelming sound of the insects' motors. "Why don't you come here if you want a challenge?" The newcomer clangs his sword against his shield and smirks before taking a defensive position, rotating his wrist to loosen it up.
The metal pests switch targets and fly towards this new threat, who bashes with his shield and dances around them until he's circled around with his back to the man on the ground.
"You should make for the city gate," he calls back to him. "It's not much, but it keeps these fiends out." Another bash of his shield followed up with a slash of his sword manages to take one down and it falls to the ground where he stomps on it with a leather boot for good measure.
"Such a rude introduction to this place, isn't it?"
If he's being honest, he wasn't expecting someone to answer his plea. He'd ran for so long, focused just on getting away from the infernal creatures, that paying closer attention to his surroundings to see if anybody else was around or possibly caught in a similar situation just wasn't on his mind. The cry for help had been a desperate last resort - one that he's relieved to see answered, if only a little more than confused at the swashbuckling sort that's come to his aid. Everything about this place seems so ... backwards.
"This is considered the welcome wagon, is it?" Oswin asks rather incredulously as he scrambles to his feet, moving to stand closer to a tree and avoid the line of sight now that his attackers have a new target. He makes a note of the suggested course of action, glancing around for the path to take towards the gates, before turning back to his apparent rescuer. "You can handle yourself, presumably?"
"Of course I can!" he calls back, sounding offended. In fact, it distracts him long enough for one of the remaining pests to fly over the edge of his shield and shove its stinger at him. Julian only just has time to duck and the sharp point misses by inches. All right, perhaps he should focus.
Another bash of his shield, swing of his sword, and that one lies dead. Only one remaining, and Julian performs the same bash again, only to see the creature fly back out of the way. He hates when these things start learning. So instead he feints lowering his shield, giving the mechanical bug the chance to fly forward. He swings up in an arc at the enemy, swatting it down to the ground where he stomps on it several times with his boot until it stops making that whirring sound.
"There!" he says, a bit out of breath. "Easy!" He turns to see if the newcomer is still about or if he's working his way towards the city.
Not the guy's first mechanical bug-stabbing rodeo, Oswin can see that. It would've been rude to just run off without inquiring, and as much as he wants to save his own skin, sparing a moment to make sure the stranger can handle his own was just good manners - granted, it's hardly as if Oswin would've been able to help much, as he's not built for fighting. But... manners.
"And humble, too." He's still a bit out of breath, but with most if not all of the buzzing monstrosities dealt with, perhaps he can let his guard down for a moment or two. And should anything happen ... well, one of them has a sword.
"You-- you mentioned a city?" Oswin continues, rubbing an ache in his shoulder as he approaches a few steps closer. Considering he was just rescued from his predicament, he doubts that the other man presents any danger to him. "Are you from there?"
"And handsome," he adds with a wink and a toss of his head to get his hair back out of his eyes. Look, the opportunity was right there waiting to be seized.
Julian nods at the question and points towards it with his sword.
"That way. Though its only populace are people like you and I. People who simply appeared one day." He gives the man a searching look. "Unless you're one of the natives of this world and have simply never seen these winged menaces before, which I find unlikely." He shrugs and sheathes his sword before meandering down the path in the city's direction.
"We still know very little about what happened here. The city's abandoned and most things are in ruins."
The explanation doesn't exactly make him feel any better about the whole thing. People just simply ... appeared? No explanation, nothing? Oswin can't wrap his head around it, feeling an impending headache just from trying to come up with a possible explanation. He just can't process it. It's ... a lot, all at once.
"It-- I, uh ... no, I'm not a native," he continues, a bit shaken up by the whole thing. Best to stick close to the armed man. Even if he's a bit-- ... humble. "What about you? I mean-- where did you come from? Or ... when?"
"Ah," he replies, a knowing smile curving across his lips. "People who ask me when I'm from don't use swords anymore, do they?" He shakes his head, once again trying to imagine these strange "guns" they have. Little tiny bows and arrows, he's been told.
"I come from the country of Castellari, on the continent of Belator. Neither of which probably sound familiar to you. And since you didn't ask, my name is Julian De Abbrixio." He paused to sweep a bow towards the man.
"It's--" It actually makes him stop and think, for a moment. Swords aren't necessarily out of style, but it's seen as more of a collector's item among particular connoisseurs rather than an actual weapon to be used on battlefields. Everything is so automated where he's from - human lives are only slightly less expendable than manufactured drones and machines, nations choosing to flex their technology skills than their strongest warriors. To prove his point, he raises a metal hand, waggling his sleek black metal fingers as he answers. "... a little outdated, I suppose."
Oswin tries to pinpoint a nationality for the names given, but his head's a mess still from the sudden arrival, sudden attack, sudden rescuer. Even the bow has him wondering if this is really happening, if he's not having one utterly ridiculous dreamland adventure. The outfit, the sword, the name, and now bowing in introduction? He's more used to handshakes, but it seems out of place here, somehow.
"Ah--" Idiot, the guy saves your ass and you don't even ask his name or say thanks. Berating himself, Oswin tries his ... best approximation of a formal half-bow in return, but it's awkward on shaky legs and fading adrenaline. "Sorry-- sorry. I'm, uh ... I'm Dr. Oswin Fields, from- from California, I guess. I'm ... doubting that's a familiar place to you, since I've never heard of Castellari, either." Are they even from the same planet? Interplanetary travel was starting to become more common back home, but ... but thinking about it too much is making his headache worse.
"It's ... it's nice to meet you, Julian. Circumstances notwithstanding."
[ ooc: hey!! just wanted to say sorry for the lateness, my brain's been all over the place past while but i'm going to do my best to keep up a better tagging schedule from now on! ]
"Mm, it's quite common for us to be from all over. Incredible too. I want to hear all about this 'Californa.'" Close, but not quite there. Yet the place must be amazing if it can give men metal hands like that. He knows of armor and heavy gauntlets, but this very much looks to be a part of the man.
"Yes, the circumstances are certainly one interesting way to meet people, isn't it? Worry not; those pests cannot fly into the city. Something at the gate stops them, though I have no idea what. No one here does. If the original inhabitants hadn't all disappeared, we could ask them."
It's strange being from one of the more populous and well known states in the country, and to hear someone else say it's unheard of to them. It's probably the same feeling for Julian, he imagines, and anyone else he may have come across on his journeys. Still ... culture shock, it must be. Too much to get accustomed to, too fast. He rubs his temples and takes a moment for himself, trying his best to stay calm, and remind himself to be polite.
"They've just ... vanished?" Oswald turns his gaze towards the direction of the city, eager to get there quickly to avoid more pests, and perhaps sit down for a minute at the first opportunity. "Without a trace? How-- how is that even possible ...?"
... he holds up a finger, already knowing the answer. "Right, right ... nobody knows, correct?"
"Ah, now you're catching on," he responds with a wink. He knows full well that this must be a harrowing experience for the newcomer, but Julian feels the best support he can provide is to be his charming self and perhaps distract the man a little from his troubles. Oswin probably yearns to return home and there's little Julian could say to help with the homesickness.
Of course, it's always possible that Oswin is as adventurous as he is and sees this as an opportunity for exploration and to try and unravel this mystery.
"I am keen to find out what happened. After all, how are we to ever find our way back to our homes if we sit about feeling sorry for ourselves?"
The positivity is ... refreshing, he thinks. Maybe a bit overbearing to some, but when he's so accustomed to being surrounded by grouches and arrogant suits, the change of pace is kind of a relief. Not counting the rather harrowing chase from oversized mechanical wasps (or something similar, hard to tell when in a blind panic you know,) of course. Between the two, he'd still prefer to be home. Home is at least familiar.
"You're not wrong," Oswin answers, brushing a few patches of dirt from his sleeves as best he can. It's only a moment later when the gravity of the stranger's words finally hits him and his eyes widened, feeling a heavy, icy pit in his stomach.
"... we can't-- we can't go home?" What about my papers, my deadlines? The meetings? My project, all my hard work? "We're just ... stuck here?"
[ ooc: sorry again for my absence, no hard feelings if you'd rather drop and move on, hope you're well! <3 ]
"Trapped for now," he confirms with a nod. By now they're passing through the abandoned city's gates and the tall buildings of glass and steel rise up around them on all sides.
"But I cannot bear to sit idly by and let this be all there is. I plan to go out into the world to explore and learn what happened here. If we do that, perhaps we will also discover what force brought us here."
[ ooc: no worries! i'm good to keep going with these goobers! ]
Now seems like a pretty inopportune moment to start having a crisis. As much as Oswin wants to sit down on the ground and have a complete breakdown, logically he knows that it's only going to delay progress and make himself nothing more than an embarrassment. Julian here is doing his best to ease him into things, the last thing he needs is to scare him off by being dramatic.
It sounds like the other guy has the right idea, at least. After consideration, Oswin nods his head, steeling himself. It's bound to be a challenge for certain, but he's not known for cowarding away - back home, anyway. They don't have oversized metal stinging insects back home.
"Right, then. I'll go with you." Julian might not exactly be asking for company, but since he's at least knowledgable about the land and in fighting the various monstrous beings throughout, as well as outright stating his exploration plan, the smart decision is to accompany him on his quest. There's likely little to be gained by hiding out in a walled city. "If you don't mind the company. And I-- I promise you won't always have to, uh ... do the whole, daring rescue thing, all the time."
No, Julian hadn't been asking for company — not yet, at least — but his face lights up at Oswin's quick response to the news that there'll be an exploration. Perhaps Oswin has as much of a thirst for adventure as Julian does. He's been this way all his life; wanting to explore, get up to no good, and just experience all life has to offer. After all, you never know when it could all end, or when you might... change, unable to be the person you once were.
"I would welcome it! And it's quite all right if I need to rescue you a time or two more. I'm becoming rather skilled at it!" He lets out a laugh as he stops before a nondescript building and opens the door.
"This is where I'm staying. Some like to spread out more, but there are a few others in this building. I've my own apartment, however. Would you care to come in for something to eat? I'm hardly a chef, but there are these interesting wrapped up meals the former inhabitants left behind."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorry this is late! life, etc
Thankfully, he's found temporary relief; an embankment under a dirt roadway he's managed to reach and duck under just as the creatures zoom past overhead, enough to grand him a small reprieve from what feels like hours of running. His mechanized heart is working overtime, running on adrenaline throughout the chase. He's breathing heavy, clutching his chest, a million thoughts running through his head: Where am I? How did I get here? What are these things? Why are they after me?
Thoughts are interrupted when a familiar, dreadful noise pierces from overhead. Oswin jumps at the sight of them, angry clockwork things, made of metal and whirring motors yet seemingly alive and worse, deadly. One charges at him, and Oswin is just barely fast enough to raise his arms to protect his face - the creature slams into him and a loud clang of metal on metal reverberates as the attacker stumbles awkwardly away. One down ... but several more still hover in the air above him, stingers aimed and at the ready.
"S-Someone ..." Oswin isn't sure if anyone can hear him, but he calls out anyway, keeping his face protected and trembling. Maybe this is all a dream, and he'll wake up in a cold sweat, swearing off 24-hour drive throughs and late night shots yet again. "Anyone-- help!"
no subject
The metal pests switch targets and fly towards this new threat, who bashes with his shield and dances around them until he's circled around with his back to the man on the ground.
"You should make for the city gate," he calls back to him. "It's not much, but it keeps these fiends out." Another bash of his shield followed up with a slash of his sword manages to take one down and it falls to the ground where he stomps on it with a leather boot for good measure.
"Such a rude introduction to this place, isn't it?"
no subject
If he's being honest, he wasn't expecting someone to answer his plea. He'd ran for so long, focused just on getting away from the infernal creatures, that paying closer attention to his surroundings to see if anybody else was around or possibly caught in a similar situation just wasn't on his mind. The cry for help had been a desperate last resort - one that he's relieved to see answered, if only a little more than confused at the swashbuckling sort that's come to his aid. Everything about this place seems so ... backwards.
"This is considered the welcome wagon, is it?" Oswin asks rather incredulously as he scrambles to his feet, moving to stand closer to a tree and avoid the line of sight now that his attackers have a new target. He makes a note of the suggested course of action, glancing around for the path to take towards the gates, before turning back to his apparent rescuer. "You can handle yourself, presumably?"
no subject
Another bash of his shield, swing of his sword, and that one lies dead. Only one remaining, and Julian performs the same bash again, only to see the creature fly back out of the way. He hates when these things start learning. So instead he feints lowering his shield, giving the mechanical bug the chance to fly forward. He swings up in an arc at the enemy, swatting it down to the ground where he stomps on it several times with his boot until it stops making that whirring sound.
"There!" he says, a bit out of breath. "Easy!" He turns to see if the newcomer is still about or if he's working his way towards the city.
no subject
"And humble, too." He's still a bit out of breath, but with most if not all of the buzzing monstrosities dealt with, perhaps he can let his guard down for a moment or two. And should anything happen ... well, one of them has a sword.
"You-- you mentioned a city?" Oswin continues, rubbing an ache in his shoulder as he approaches a few steps closer. Considering he was just rescued from his predicament, he doubts that the other man presents any danger to him. "Are you from there?"
no subject
Julian nods at the question and points towards it with his sword.
"That way. Though its only populace are people like you and I. People who simply appeared one day." He gives the man a searching look. "Unless you're one of the natives of this world and have simply never seen these winged menaces before, which I find unlikely." He shrugs and sheathes his sword before meandering down the path in the city's direction.
"We still know very little about what happened here. The city's abandoned and most things are in ruins."
no subject
The explanation doesn't exactly make him feel any better about the whole thing. People just simply ... appeared? No explanation, nothing? Oswin can't wrap his head around it, feeling an impending headache just from trying to come up with a possible explanation. He just can't process it. It's ... a lot, all at once.
"It-- I, uh ... no, I'm not a native," he continues, a bit shaken up by the whole thing. Best to stick close to the armed man. Even if he's a bit-- ... humble. "What about you? I mean-- where did you come from? Or ... when?"
no subject
"I come from the country of Castellari, on the continent of Belator. Neither of which probably sound familiar to you. And since you didn't ask, my name is Julian De Abbrixio." He paused to sweep a bow towards the man.
"Might I have your name?"
no subject
Oswin tries to pinpoint a nationality for the names given, but his head's a mess still from the sudden arrival, sudden attack, sudden rescuer. Even the bow has him wondering if this is really happening, if he's not having one utterly ridiculous dreamland adventure. The outfit, the sword, the name, and now bowing in introduction? He's more used to handshakes, but it seems out of place here, somehow.
"Ah--" Idiot, the guy saves your ass and you don't even ask his name or say thanks. Berating himself, Oswin tries his ... best approximation of a formal half-bow in return, but it's awkward on shaky legs and fading adrenaline. "Sorry-- sorry. I'm, uh ... I'm Dr. Oswin Fields, from- from California, I guess. I'm ... doubting that's a familiar place to you, since I've never heard of Castellari, either." Are they even from the same planet? Interplanetary travel was starting to become more common back home, but ... but thinking about it too much is making his headache worse.
"It's ... it's nice to meet you, Julian. Circumstances notwithstanding."
[ ooc: hey!! just wanted to say sorry for the lateness, my brain's been all over the place past while but i'm going to do my best to keep up a better tagging schedule from now on! ]
no subject
"Yes, the circumstances are certainly one interesting way to meet people, isn't it? Worry not; those pests cannot fly into the city. Something at the gate stops them, though I have no idea what. No one here does. If the original inhabitants hadn't all disappeared, we could ask them."
no subject
"They've just ... vanished?" Oswald turns his gaze towards the direction of the city, eager to get there quickly to avoid more pests, and perhaps sit down for a minute at the first opportunity. "Without a trace? How-- how is that even possible ...?"
... he holds up a finger, already knowing the answer. "Right, right ... nobody knows, correct?"
no subject
Of course, it's always possible that Oswin is as adventurous as he is and sees this as an opportunity for exploration and to try and unravel this mystery.
"I am keen to find out what happened. After all, how are we to ever find our way back to our homes if we sit about feeling sorry for ourselves?"
no subject
"You're not wrong," Oswin answers, brushing a few patches of dirt from his sleeves as best he can. It's only a moment later when the gravity of the stranger's words finally hits him and his eyes widened, feeling a heavy, icy pit in his stomach.
"... we can't-- we can't go home?" What about my papers, my deadlines? The meetings? My project, all my hard work? "We're just ... stuck here?"
[ ooc: sorry again for my absence, no hard feelings if you'd rather drop and move on, hope you're well! <3 ]
no subject
"But I cannot bear to sit idly by and let this be all there is. I plan to go out into the world to explore and learn what happened here. If we do that, perhaps we will also discover what force brought us here."
[ ooc: no worries! i'm good to keep going with these goobers! ]
no subject
It sounds like the other guy has the right idea, at least. After consideration, Oswin nods his head, steeling himself. It's bound to be a challenge for certain, but he's not known for cowarding away - back home, anyway. They don't have oversized metal stinging insects back home.
"Right, then. I'll go with you." Julian might not exactly be asking for company, but since he's at least knowledgable about the land and in fighting the various monstrous beings throughout, as well as outright stating his exploration plan, the smart decision is to accompany him on his quest. There's likely little to be gained by hiding out in a walled city. "If you don't mind the company. And I-- I promise you won't always have to, uh ... do the whole, daring rescue thing, all the time."
no subject
"I would welcome it! And it's quite all right if I need to rescue you a time or two more. I'm becoming rather skilled at it!" He lets out a laugh as he stops before a nondescript building and opens the door.
"This is where I'm staying. Some like to spread out more, but there are a few others in this building. I've my own apartment, however. Would you care to come in for something to eat? I'm hardly a chef, but there are these interesting wrapped up meals the former inhabitants left behind."