Max kom Sankru

Don't look back, just carry on And the shadows will never find you Scavenger

[maxsankru-blog]

We All Fall Down

[warriorseko-blog]

            Eko wasn’t sure if he really cared for the fact she wanted to ask questions. Or doubt his abilitise. It wasn’t her place and she certainly wasn’t someone who was supposed to be babysitting or whatever.  She had no need to underestimate him. There was absolutely no need to do so, on the contrary, he was pretty sure she was just saying that to agitate  him. But she didn’t actually grab at hi which he appreciated. She just turned around and started walking. Eko took a deep breath, gathering himself and his thoughts before following behind the girl ( whom he’d now concluded was from Sangeda ). He kept one hand on his side to provide pressure as he started after her, tryig his best to keep himself calm and stable despite the fact his boy was really not enjoying the new found movement. 

“ It’s not going to get in the way and that’s all you need to know. ” he concluded instead, she wasn’t blind, but that was the end of the conversation as far as he ws concerned, there was no need for anything else. All there was a use for him to follow her around and make it to a place where he wont end up dead. That’s all he wanted ( or more accurately needed ) out of life. All he wanted was to make sure that he didn’t faint on her watch. Because he would much rather not end up dead ( or if she was excessively dedicated to her job - being dragged through the woods of Trikru was certainly something that would hurt like hell ). 

Still, once they began walking she started to make conversation and he wasn’t expecting that she’d want to talk to him once e’d spoken to her the way he had. To say it caught him off guard was an understatement. He grunted a little at the woman’s question. An ice monster. He wasn’t having this conversation with a complete stranger. It’d been ahrd enough to talk about it with Calri and he’d known the girl for a majority of his life. Instead he just shrugged it off and added a “ An ice monster of sorts. ” he offered, trying to step up the pace as he noticed she was getting further ahead of him than he’d originally anticipated. “ Tale’s not that great though, juts me being an idiot. What bout you though ? How’d you get stuck with this crappy job ? ”

[maxsankru-blog]

Max was already envisioning the ice monster long before Eko had even replied. What would such a beast look like? Would it have thick black fur? No. It would be made out of ice, considering its frozen home. Were there any dead ice monsters in Azgeda? Anything to study without the risk of getting your face ripped apart? The scavenger had fallen deep into her own rambling thoughts that when Eko spoke, Max had to pull herself away and focus on the present. 

She looked over her shoulder again at Eko, noticing the slower pace but holding her tongue still. He believed that his injury was nothing and that it wouldn’t get in his way. Max didn’t agree but she wasn’t about to waste time arguing with him when he desperately needed a healer. They were at least getting somewhere, if a bit slower than she originally intended. 

“I’ve been an idiot too,” Max gave a small shrug. “There are still tales behind them.” The scavenger had to hold herself back from questioning the warrior about the ice monster. It was clear he didn’t want to share, however her thoughts immediately shifted after Eko’s inquiry. “I’ve been wondering about that since I was given this job. I’m no healer, and the only time I’m around the wounded is to attach a new limb where an old one fell off.” She looked back over at Eko. “And you have all your limbs. So the only conclusion that I have come to is that I was the only person available.” 

Max came to a stop and turned to face Eko. “You’re moving too slowly. I understand that you believe your injury will not get in your way, but it is. If we keep going at this pace you will die. Perhaps there is a horse we can use.” Her gaze already moved away from Eko, searching for anyway to quicken their pace. Getting Eko to the healer was her only job and she had absolutely no intentions of failing. 

[tribeca-kom-sankru]

Tribeca nodded at the answer, not really expecting anything different but still thinking to ask. “Well i suppose it’s not exactly something we usually have to do is it.” She commented, the faintest of smiles pulling the corner up her lip up. “But they’re not us, and i think that makes all the difference.” She laughed softly at the older scavenger’s next words, nudging into Max before swaying back again. “Yeah well you’re not exactly bad company yourself…And precisely, so you better never leave me either.” 

It wasn’t as though Tribeca had anything against the other scavengers they tended to make the trip with. They were all great people, and played a vital role in making sure Sankru had enough to trade for necessities, but new routes always seemed too difficult with them. Things were too high, or cause to turn back or too dangerous if it wasn’t either ground level or something with stairs. Deep down she knew it was about safety and not wanting to take any risks, but It was a mentality that both herself and Max didn’t seem to share with the others, so she was incredibly thankful to have the older woman. “Oh a scavenger, definitely. I mean, don’t get me wrong whatever i get taught will be great, and i’ve got nothing but respect for our warriors after everything they do for us, but we get to spend our days exploring lost civilizations, Max…That’s got to be more fun than a battlefield, surely?”    

[maxsankru-blog]

Max laughed, shaking her head. “Me? Leave the ruins behind? Not happening. Ever.” She playfully nudged Tribeca back, an amused happy grin still present on Max’s face. “Don’t worry. I have no plans of leaving. We’re partners until one of us drops dead. Even then, who would take our place?” Another laughed slipped free, not at all ashamed of the swell of pride she felt at this moment. Neither of them were the best warriors of their people, but they were the best at what they do: scavenge. And right now, sitting on a log at night in a place far from home beside Tribeca, Max was content with that. 

Tribeca’s response coaxed another chuckle from the scavenger. “Of course it’s more fun. Unless we come across a battlefield that is a ruin. Then the battlefield option would hold more potential. All the enemies would need to be dead, too.” She smiled at the younger scavenger. “Yeah, our jobs are definitely better.” 

[mida-komsankru]

“I know what you mean.” She replied with a faint smile. “Forgive me i didn’t mean to tease, but there is so much going on which warrants such seriousness that something as normal as longing for home is a nice change.” The Baka didn’t miss how Max’s demeanor changed at the notion of Tribeca and the ruins for a second, it was a proven way to somehow make both of their best scavengers happier no matter what. 

“I’ll be sure to do that, though i don’t think it will be the case until Vada comes to properly.” She replied with a smile of her own as she poured some water onto a cloth so she could at least try to start cleaning the dried blood from her face and the slight gash in her hairline. 

“Here? No. The reapers may be animalistic monsters who care about nothing more than killing, but whatever’s controlling them – and there has to be something, is smarter than that. There are many warriors here, it would make too much of a dent in their numbers to rationalise a reaper attack… I’m more concerned about what might occur on our journey home. Once we reach the sand then surprise attacks will became near impossible, but until then – Well, we’ll all just need to keep our senses on high alert.” She paused a moment, before beginning to look the woman over for injuries. “Why? They didn’t hurt you did they?”

[maxsankru-blog]

A small bit of relief washed through the scavenger at Mida’s answer. The fear of another Reaper attack right after the last lessened. Mida was right. With both Sankru and Trikru together in one location, it would be unwise to attack so many warriors at once. That reassurance would help Max sleep for the next couple of nights, instead of staying up worrying if the Reapers would strike them all in the darkest hours of night when they were unaware. Too many warriors. For now, they were all safe. 

But...the journey home. The idea of returning home filled Max with utter excitement. Returning to the ruins. Digging through the sands like nothing had happened. The scavenger wanted nothing more. But not at the cost of her own people. They were already wounded. If they left too soon and the Reapers struck, Max wasn’t positive about their survival possibilities. 

Max looked over at Mida, watching for a moment as she washed the dirt and blood from her face. “No. I was not harmed. Not even a scratch on my other arm. See?” She gestured to her metal arm for a moment, holding it up for the Baka to see. “I was only wondering. I don’t know how well I would hold up against a Reaper. They are not like other warriors. They just...kill. I mean, warriors kill but it’s different. They are still human. The Reapers are different.” Scary. Terrifying. Gone for the moment.

[mutantundergroundrpg-deactivate]

“Not exactly, no.” It was almost strange to think that other people hadn’t seen frozen lakes or nearly as much snow as Carli had. Since she’d spent most of her life in Azgeda, the cold was so common place that it seemed everyone should have experienced it. “The ocean is too big. There’s ice and stuff sometimes, and it floats near the surface, but the currents from the south keep it from freezing over.” Admittedly, though, Carli liked the chance to talk about her home and work, and have someone actually interested in it. “That part’s actually pretty easy. When the ice is thick enough, you can walk on it, so you just carve out a hole and use lures with bait on them. Then you just reel them in. It’s a lot easier than it sounds.”

[maxsankru-blog]

A giant ocean with floating ice. The mere idea of a place so cold that ice could float over such a huge body of water stirred Max’s curiosity. Large chunks of constantly moving ice. It reminded the scavenger a bit of the sands back home. Always moving with the hot winds during the day, and freezing winds when the sun slept. Max listened as Carli explained how she hunted fish. “So the fish aren’t wary of these holes. That makes it easier for you, I bet. Is it strange? Being away from the snow and ice, I mean.”

[maxsankru-blog]

We All Fall Down

[warriorseko-blog]

            He didn’t need a babysitter. The entire thing was just ( stupid ). Sure he was grateful or whatever that they were making sure he didn’t end up ( d e a d ) but that didn’t mean he needed to be babysat the whole way. Hell he could find his way to the healer himself, it wasn’t like he didn’t know how to walk through woods by himself. Just because the action hurt didn’t mean he couldn’t do it. He knew the general direction the whole healer thing was going to be anyway, if he ran into anyone he could ask for more specific directions but having someone babysit him was just degrading on so many levels that Eko wasn’t sure if the people that had decided on it wanted him to survive or wanted him to run away out of embarrassment. 

But he wasn’t about to ( run away ) from the ordeal either. If getting babysat was the only way he was being allowed to make it to his ( not ) death then F I N E he’d rather grudgingly put up with it until it paid off ( maybe ). It really all depended on who his babysitter was. Per usual the warrior hung back anyways from the group, leaning back against a nearby tree and just thinking through his problems as best he could. One of which at the moment was whether or not it was even worth going to the healer at this point. He was basically a dead man walking right now anyways. The whole ‘ healers can save you ’ nonsense would have been useful at some point, but right now he doubted that anything short of a miracle could help him. He was to weak they should just let him perish, that was the Azkru way after-all. They weren’t as weak minded as the lucky bastards here. 

When the woman stepped in front of his line of sight Eko just stared at the stranger annoyed for a moment, ahh here she was.  After looking her over once though… “ You’re not Trikru. ” he concluded rather quickly. Pushing himself off the three and doing his best not to wince as he did so, he crossed his arms over his chest as the other extended her hand. Just staring at it. He probably would have let her drop it without touching it if it hadn’t been for the circumstances, but after a few seconds he let one of his hands slip away and shook her hands once before returning to having both arms crossed over his chest. “ Eko kom Azgeda. ” he added, though she probably knew that already. “ Just lead the way or whatever. ” he motioned for her to start. “ I can keep up, this is nothing. ”

[maxsankru-blog]

The Azkru warrior’s lack of response slaughtered the tiny bit of confidence that had lured Max into believing that she could perform this one task with relative ease. For awhile, she had even deluded herself into thinking that delivering an injured warrior would be the same as coming back with a giant haul of fragile goodies. She was wondering what to say next to the silent warrior when he finally reached forward and shook her hand. It barely lasted a moment before his hand retreated, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Max’s lips parted to speak, but Eko beat her to it and the small smile on the scavenger’s face fell. 

Foolish to compare ruins to people, she thought. The ruins don’t snap back at you.

Lowering her hand, Max’s eyes fell upon Eko’s injury again. The wound did not look like nothing. In fact, it looked like it would claim the warrior’s life if he was not careful. She was also not blind to the obvious pain Eko was in. He hid it very well, but Max had tasted pain before. She knew the look of it and the constant battle to keep it hidden under everything. Her gaze climbed back up to his face. “I would not agree that your injury is nothing, but if you insist.” She turned back towards the way she had come. “Or whatever.” Remembering that she was a visitor in Trigeda and was supposed to be on her best behavior, Max kept her other comments about the warrior’s joyful personality to herself. She just needed to get Eko to the healer before he died. 

“So,” Max began as she started to lead the way, “I’m sure you have quite the tale behind that wound.” She looked back over her shoulder at Eko. “Was it an ice monster?” 

[maxsankru-blog]

We All Fall Down

@warriorseko

She was a scavenger of things. Objects of the past. Not people. She collected ruins and used them to build and create. She did not collect people and deliver them to others. Or, at least, Max never thought that such a job would be handed down to her. Well, she had thought wrong because here she was, making her way to the arriving Azkru party with orders to take an injured Azkru warrior to Trikru’s healer. At first, Max wondered why she had been selected for this task. They did not mention that this warrior had any missing limbs. If that was the case, then it would be quite clear why she would be needed. Max eventually settled for the fact that perhaps everyone else was just too preoccupied with everything else and she was the only choice left.

It was not difficult to pick out the wounded warrior from the arriving Azkru group. She did not approach right away. Instead she hung back for a few moments, studying the warrior from afar. From the short distance away, Max noted that all limbs were accounted for. Yup. Everyone else must have been busy. She finally crossed the short distance, approaching the Azkru warrior. Her eyes immediately fell the warrior’s wound before settling on back on his face. The pressing need to get him to the Trikru healer was now quite apparent. Without a healer, the warrior would perish.

“Hello,” Max greeted the warrior. “I am Max kom Sankru, and I am here to take you to a healer.” She held her her good hand towards the warrior. “I can assist you to the healer’s tent.”

[tribeca-kom-sankru]

“Yeah.” She nodded, looking down and picking at her nails to keep her hands busy. “It’s been the other way around for so long I almost forgot what she’s actually does for me.” The girl admitted, feeling incredibly guilty for it now. “So I’d do it again in a heartbeat, but it being a reaper made it a lot easier after everything they’ve done to us all…. I think an actual person would be different.” The scavenger mused, not really thinking on what she was saying. “What about you? Have you ever – had to do anything like that?” The look on Max’s face when she seemed to think Tribeca was being serious was almost heartwarming. This woman was her counterpart, the one who always pushed her usual curiosity to even greater feats. She wouldn’t be nearly as good without Max and she couldn’t imagine doing anything else, with anyone else. “We are a team, and we always will be so don’t worry about it.” She replied, before nodding. “Okay, I’ll teach you whatever I learn then. And do you honestly think I could ever do that? I’d say our job’s a lot more fun than the others don’t you think?" 

[maxsankru-blog]

Max shook her head. “No. I’ve never done anything like that.” She had never killed anyone before, human or Reaper. Throughout her life she had always been drawn to the ruins. She doubted stomping on tiny scorpions was in the same category as fighting an equally armed opponent. “I guess the Reapers would be easier to kill. They are evil but...they still resemble us.” 

The surge of panic calmed. The fear of Tribeca leaving was selfish. Incredibly selfish. Max knew this, but she just couldn’t help it. “Good. Scavenging through the ruins would be very lonely without you. Plus the other scavengers aren’t nearly as good as us.” Max lowered her voice for that last part, a playful grin blossoming on her face. “Oh our job is way more fun. Rummaging through the past is far more satisfying than driving a sword through a man’s chest.” Max nodded. “Learning what you learn from the other warriors will be interesting. I guess you will find out who has more fun; the scavenger or the warrior.”

[nikekomtrikru]

At least the woman was honest, Nike could appreciate that. It was about the only thing she found she liked about the few Sankru she’d conversed with. “Someone from Trigeda? Tell me then, if you hate it here so much, why are you still here? You’re not hurt after all.“ Yes, she had to follow the terms of the truce, which meant keeping the peace and not physically harming any of their so called guests, but that didn’t keep her from saying what was on her mind too. 

Continuing forward, still looking out for any suspicious activity, Nike stopped just in front of the woman, finally getting her first look at her. She wasn’t what she was expecting at all, but then again Nike had never really met anyone from Sangeda. She hadn’t been involved in the war and had kept her distance during her time in Polis. 

[maxsankru-blog]

Max followed the Trikru woman with her eyes until she came to a stop in front of her. Her gaze ran up and down the woman for a moment. “You don’t look injured either. I did not choose to come and stay here. We were sent here because of the damn Reapers.” She had been lucky during the Reaper attacks. She had escaped without injury and lived to see the next sun. There were others who were not as lucky. Those who did not escape the attacks so easily. 

“I’m sure we’ll all be gone eventually,” the confidence in her voice slipped during those last few words. She honestly had no idea what the future held for her people. The Reaper threat seemed to be over, but would it return and how soon? 

[nolita-kom-sankru-blog]

“Yes,” Nolita answered simply. though she hadn’t the slightest clue how the rest of her people were doing. “Honey,” she said with furrowed eyebrows, giving Max a stern look. “If I had these herbs, I’d be high and loopy right now. Not that you’d really know the difference, but whatever.”

[maxsankru-blog]

Max shrugged. “Just thought I’d ask.” She then matched Nolita’s stern look with her own. “And I know you’re just keeping those herbs for yourself.” Her stern look only lasted a few moments before she broke into a grin. “Fine. Keep all the good stuff for yourself. I’ll just remember this the next time you need something from me. Like a new hand or a leg.” 

[mutantundergroundrpg-deactivate]

“Well, I don’t actually spend most of my time on the sea,” Carli explained, excited that she actually go to talk about her work for once. “Mostly frozen lakes. Every so often I take a few days and go to the ocean, but it’s so far north...” She was beginning to ramble, and she tried to stop herself. “So I don’t know… I’ve caught a swordfish a couple of times.”

[maxsankru-blog]

A frozen lake. Now there’s something Max wouldn’t mind seeing. Max listened intently, imagining a giant lake covered in thick ice. Hunting fish through ice must be difficult. “Is the ocean to the north covered in ice as well?” What would an ocean covered in ice look like? What did frozen lakes sound like? Numerous questions were bombarding Max’s mind all at once and she had to hold herself back from asking them all at once. Her suddenly grew. “So you have crushed warrior fish heads. How do you catch them through the ice?”

[kongeda-rp]

Here’s a fun test you can take for your character! Turns out Ro is “The Hunter,” which definitely makes the most sense of the result options, haha. Kira was split between Thinker/Helper!

[maxsankru-blog]

Top Scores:

Helper (15) || Thinker (12) || Hunter (10)

[mida-komsankru]

Mida listened carefully as the other spoke, trying to work out if there was any hidden meaning behind her words. When she found none, a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips. With everything going on, it was nice to talk about something normal. “You’re a brilliant mind, Max. Near all the warriors I’ve ever met who lost a limb in battle practically worship the ground you walk on. I’m sure you will have taken something from the trip to Polis, even if you are yet to realise it.” The Baka chuckled faintly, nodding her head in agreement. “That’s very true, i miss our flat open spaces too but i suppose it’s called Trigeda for a reason. As for the ruins, well I suppose none compare to ours; they’re the reason we have survived for so long. I’m sure if you happen upon Tribeca the two of you would find something, you always do.” The pair were well known within the clan for the uniqueness of their hauls, and it was usually down to the risks which they took in order to obtain them, but she decided not to think too much about that part. They fell into a comfortable silence again for a few moments before Max’s voice cut through it, and she shook her head faintly. “Thank you, but I meant what I said. I need to stay awake and the cold air will certainly do that.” The Baka replied with a smile. “I’ll be sure to push you aside should i go numb though." 

[maxsankru-blog]

Brilliant mind. Max was well aware of her achievements. She knew her discovery and creation of prosthetic limbs was a blessing. She could attach new limbs to wounded warriors so they could return to the sand and beyond to protect their people. However, there were times when Max had felt pathetic while standing next to warriors as she should them how to use their new limbs. She never mentioned this truth. Didn’t have time to bother with internal problems. Not when there was so much more to discover and learn lingering just out of reach.

Max let out a soft chuckle. “I knew that there would be trees, Mida. It is just...different.” A smile tugged at her lips at the thought of digging through ruins with Tribeca. They were partners that molded well with each other. Even on the worst of days, they were able to return home with at least a small haul. 

Another chuckle slipped free. “Very well. Feel free to shove me aside when you are done being alert for the night.” She wrapped her blanket tighter around herself. “Do you think the Reapers will attack again soon?” 

[shawkomtrikru]

“Alright, if you say so.” Shaw replied with a slight shrug. The young warrior took note of the metal arm as she took the older woman’s hand. “Shaw.” A small nod came with the introduction. “You probably have. Can’t say I’ve seen you around though. There’s a fair amount of your people here all of a sudden.”

[maxsankru-blog]

Max shook Shaw’s hand. “You probably haven’t. I’m usually off with other scavengers around the ruins in Sangeda.” Maybe she had confused Shaw’s face with someone else because while she looked familiar, Max couldn’t place where she’d seen her. Oh well. “Uh, yeah. We’re all...here. Which is great, by the way. For allowing my people to stay until it is safe to travel home.”

Her gaze shot down to her metal arm, remembering the momentary look Shaw had given it only a few minutes ago. Her eyes shot back to Shaw, an eager smile appearing on her face. “Would you like to see a smaller model?” She reached down for her pack. “It’s actually only a small hand. It was attached to an arm, but it wasn’t working properly. So I removed the hand and was in the middle of repairing it...” Max paused her shuffling around in her pack and looked at Shaw. “...trying to repair it would be a better term.”

A small realization suddenly settled upon the scavenger, her eager smile faltering a touch. “Unless you have other duties to attend to. I don’t mean to hold you up.” 

[mutantundergroundrpg-deactivate]

“Oh, I don’t believe that,”  Carli grinned, taking Max’s hand in greeting. “Pretty sure I’ve heard there are plenty of things in Sangeda that need their heads crushed once in awhile.” Like scorpions, or other terrifying desert animals. “Carli. Kom Azkru. It’s nice to meet you.”

[maxsankru-blog]

“Well...I might have crushed a scorpion or two. Only the small ones that get in the way.” She shook Carli’s hand with a smile. “Good to meet you as well. It sounds like you hunt fish from all the fish head crushing you do. You must have a tale or two to share. What’s the biggest sea creature you’ve caught in Azgeda?” 

[orionkomazkru-blog]

Orion was aware of someone’s presence next to him, but he didn’t give it much thought, allowing them the same peace that he was seeking. He was somewhat startled when he heard them speak, glancing over at them to ascertain that she was, in fact speaking to him. “Oh yeah, non-stop fun.” He smiled without humour, “And yourself?”

[maxsankru-blog]

The corner of her lip tugged upwards into a smirk before taking a larger sip of her drink. “It could be better. Could also be a lot worse.” Max fell quiet for a bit, drinking whatever had been put in front of her before speaking up again. “So what brings you to Housouda? Besides the obvious.” She gestured to her own drink. 

[tribeca-kom-sankru]

Max was always such an easy going soul, it was probably why she liked spending so much time with her. The woman beside her might have been her best pairing out of all of them, practically the only one willing to take the same risks if it meant finding something new, but she was also calming to be around more often than not. They just seemed to have the same views about most things, and it made talking incredibly easy without much thought on what was said. “I know.” She replied, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “I just wish I could answer it. All I saw was Nolita, the possibility of losing her to that wuskripa was the only thing I could think about and then it just…happened, i’m not even entirely sure how.” The scavenger answered, trying to shake herself out of the feeling.

Hearing what felt like teasing from the woman, she rolled her eyes slightly. “Oh I know, how will you ever survive in the ruins without me now I have all these warrior duties to attend to?” She chuckled, leaning into Max a little as she wrapped her side of the blanket tighter around herself. “Though in all seriousness Vada does want me to learn some basic skills with the dagger she gave me, so i could teach them to you too if you wanted?” 

[maxsankru-blog]

Max was quiet, content not to push the subject further, and just listened. She didn’t have the faintest clue what it felt like to be that barrier between death and that person you cared so deeply about. However, Max couldn’t help but wonder if she would be able to make that split second decision if that had been her sister. Of all the reckless, not completely thought out, choices she had made in the past, would she have been able to do what Tribeca had done?

“You protected your sister,” it was all Max could think to say. 

Max blinked as the idea of Tribeca unable to scavenge the ruins anymore settled. “Without you? But we are a team.” Digging through the ruins without Tribeca would be like digging through the ruins blind. And lonely. “I guess it would be wise to know how to defend myself. Alright. Why not? As long as you don’t leave me alone in the ruins.” 

[mutantundergroundrpg-deactivate]

“Oh yeah, I mean I’ve crushed the heads of fish plenty of times, can’t be too different, right?” Carli began to relax, smiling at the other woman. “That’s about as much action as I see. What about you?”

[maxsankru-blog]

“Sounds to me like the only difference is size,” Max smiled. “I don’t see much action besides digging through old ruins. Definitely haven’t witnessed any human or animal head crushing. I’m Max kom Sankru by the way.” She stuck her good hand out towards the Azkru woman.