Take me down to the river bend [Open]

[tookthewheel]

Who| MCU!Bucky, Elsa and Anna, MCU!Bucky and the Signless, MCU!Bucky and OTA
What| Bucky getting his murder on and also roaming the mall, come say hi
Where| The Marvel store, Centurion Cineplex and other various locations
When| First half of week 3
Warnings/Notes| Violence, death, Bucky's issues

Prompt A: The Marvel Store

The Marvel store has become his home base. Bucky spends every night here, bar something unexpected forcing him to seek shelter elsewhere. He varies his time between resting, pondering over the curious merchandise or taking care of his numerous collection of weaponry, cleaning the knives and gun in a routine that has proven a reliable way to settle his mind, especially in the long inactive hours of the night when sleep often eludes him.

Mostly Bucky chooses to stay in the part of the store dedicated to Captain America though he can be found wandering through other sections. Sometimes, through morbid fascination, he moves to the merchandise dedicated to him, which represents both his past and his current reality. Blue jackets, an old fashioned snipe rifle, stretchy sleeves of ridged silver material emblazoned with a red star and replicas of the black muzzle and goggles he wore as the Winter Soldier can be found here amongst other objects.

Prompt B: Through the mall, specify your own location

Almost every day Bucky leaves the shelter of the Marvel store and ventures out in the mall, patrolling down the levels and then back upwards again. He never does the same route twice and varies the times he visits certain locations, including what part of the day he'll venture into the food court to stuff supplies in a bag to take back upstairs to his allies, in case someone is watching out for him.

He can be encountered anywhere from the locker room on the ground floor to tribute personalised stores on the third. The only place he may avoid is the bookstore, only passing by the outside because even though he and the other Bucky destroyed all their biographies (so he thinks), the place makes him too uncomfortable to venture back inside when he has the choice not to.

Comments

[privilegecheck]

Despite Bucky's expressionless manner, Kankri can tell from his reaction that he's said something wrong. He recognizes that uncomfortable glance away, the unwillingness to face a question difficult to have asked.

"Sorry," he says softly. "I- there aren't many like me either. Among my own kind, I mean, not just in Panem."

He considers a few moments, shifting slightly where he sits. He brushes against one of the capes, and then has an idea.

"I can make something to fit and cover it snugly, if you don't like it being looked at. I've been doing plenty of sewing of late, so it's nothing too difficult, and it wouldn't take long."

[tookthewheel]

"I saw one like you before." but that's all the information he offers. It had been dark in the theatre, unclear as he'd looped the fishing line around his neck--

-- he shakes his head, shakes the Soldier loose from trying to rise up instead of sitting underneath, ready and waiting.

Bucky looks up at the offer, his brow creases slightly. He is... surprised, to say the least. "You would do that for me?"

[privilegecheck]

"Oh. That would probably be the Signless." Kankri smiles. "He's...well, he and I are complicated, but we're still certainly quite rare among our kind. Perhaps the Capitol simply enjoys bringing the unusual to compete in their Games."

He reaches up, taking one of the capes off the rack and draping the fabric over his lap. "Of course. It'll give me something to do, and you've given me no reason to think you mean me harm. Would you mind coming closer so I can take measurements?"

[tookthewheel]

"No." he started, then paused. "Perhaps, we did not talk. I talked to one, he named himself Initiate." he thought they were the same species, probably. Bucky tilts his head in acknowledge of the Capitol's designs on their tributes, it makes more sense to him now the longer he's had to get used to the idea.

Bucky's eyes watch him avidly as he does so. "No." he decides, giving permission for Kankri to approach. Asking is an automatic way to gather good will from Bucky and he is also confident of his ability to stop this being should he attempt anything other than what he spoke of.

[privilegecheck]

"Oh, Fraysong! He's in my district. Er- I should explain, adult trolls are usually referred to by their titles. Though he's not quite an adult yet, particularly for his caste." He doesn't mention that he knows the Initiate's hatchname. It would be confusing now that his own Kurloz is here, and anyway hatchnames are far too intimate for strangers.

It's odd. Bucky is obviously far more capable than Kankri himself, particularly in the environment of casual violence they're in at the moment, and yet now that Kankri's had some time to observe he notices that Bucky seems to be far more nervous - almost scared - than Kankri himself is. So he moves slowly and with as little aggression as possible, like he's approaching an injured barkbeast, as he scoots himself forwards towards the human. He digs a measuring tape from his bag, very gently winding it around Bucky's metal bicep to start with.

"Have you been here for very long?" he asks quietly, looking up at Bucky.

[tookthewheel]

He keeps his arm very still as he listens, trying not to give away how nervous he is about the contract -- permitted contact, he reminds himself -- and failing more than he realises.

The species is called trolls. Prefer to be known by titles. It's examined and filed away.

"Three months. Approximately." A week over to be completely accurate with the measure. His eyes look at the tape as it is looped around his arm. "Two arenas."