esta vida es mía

[theluckygirl]

WHO: Claire Temple; Open
WHEN: May 26th to June 1st
WHAT: A little of this and a little of that
WHERE: Around town
WARNINGS: Will update


Claire has been taking things day by day and doing a pretty good job at it. She knows it's from being at the settlement for a year, but there's a part of her that decided after arriving in Gazin that she wasn't in any hurry to leave. No one from her world (directly) was there and she was fine with that. And yet, it seems with every new face that comes in, the nurse is constantly looking for one that she knows.

Each new week that starts, Claire is either treating someone medically or learning of which herb replaces the more standard pain killers that she knows of and uses. When she isn't doing that, she's helping civilian mothers bring their babies into the world. Keeping busy wasn't a problem.

More often than not, the gal from Hell's Kitchen can be found grabbing a bite at the inn, shopping at the market or wandering the paths outside the town limits if she feels safe enough to do so.

But, on one evening, in particular, while on her way back to the inn, Claire found herself in the middle of a situation that saw her severely outnumbered by a group of travelling bandits who eyed her like a piece of food. She was in trouble.

In a very scary way.

Comments

[theluckygirl]

The fact it all happens so fast disorients Claire so when Bucky asks she just looks dazed at the man who was on his side a few feet away, dead and still staring at her. But she nods vaguely because her brain is still registering questions.

Four other men all look at each other, impressed at the fierceness of the man but not intelligent enough to back off and get out while they had the chance.

Saying nothing, they rushed Bucky, hoping to not only exact revenge for ruining their good time with Claire but killing one of their own.

[ostavil]

Fine. The hard way.

Bucky's used to having weapons other than just knives but at least he's got the one. It's easier to sweep the first two with his leg and hit them hard enough with his boot to concuss them; they won't get up for a minute. The other two think they can take him and he lets them believe it for a moment, one getting close enough for Bucky to slash his knife from shoulder to hip, deep enough to bleed and bring the man to his knees.

The last one, the stupidest in Bucky's opinion, makes toward Claire again and he rushes him, straddling him across the chest before driving the heel of his left hand hard into his nose. If he'd done the right, he would have lived. As it is, target eliminated.

The other two are moving and he kicks at them. "Go before you get the same. Now."

He doesn't look to see if they do. Instead, he just sheathes his knife and moves back toward Claire, concerned. "Did I hurt you? I couldn't get him without taking you down too."

[theluckygirl]

The last two do as they're told and as Claire watches them dash away, she looks up at Bucky, eyes locking onto his and shakes her head.

"I'm okay," she replies, though her voice might suggest otherwise. It's all too eerily similar to watching Matt take out dozens of Russians and while she had suffered more injury back then it still felt like déjà vu.

Reaching out to silently request help to get to her feet. "We should get out of here."

Asking questions right there wasn't a good idea.

[ostavil]

Bucky stretches out his arms to her to help her to her feet and once she is, he keeps her close. Claire seems to be the only person from his version of the world that's here and he feels protective of her, in a way. She's no one that he knows or recognizes but he feels like he might start remembering things and he can go to her to verify them as long as they're big events.

"You need to have someone with you when you go out, I guess," Bucky says. "Or else I need to teach you how to throw a punch. Maybe a little of both."

[theluckygirl]

She takes his hand, moving to get to her feet with a little bit of a teeter. She's not sure why, but the fighting Colleen taught her seemed to be forgotten and that upset the nurse.

"Ironically, I was learning martial arts before coming here. Rather it had been a few months. Life was messy." she replies, pressing the back of her hand against her lip before pulling it away to see how bad it was bleeding.

She looks at him again. "But I won't say no to instruction from someone who is clearly well trained. What was that? Marine stuff?"

Tough conversations usually start with someone putting their foot in their mouth.

[ostavil]

"Better than the Marines," Bucky says softly. He knows just about every major combat style and some fusions that most people wouldn't put together. He can kill men efficiently and quietly but he'd made tonight messy because he wanted to. It could have been clean and easy.

"I can teach you how to defend yourself. I could probably teach you how to be lethal, depending on how much you want to know. I've taught plenty of people." They'd become assassins, yeah, but she doesn't have to know that.

"We can work on it."

[theluckygirl]

What Claire had seen was enough to tell her that he was competent. More than. But it doesn't enter her mind that he was an assassin or even had the history he did. Not that she would be surprised at all if and once she came to know about what all Bucky has been through.

He has a story, she knows that much when looking into his eyes.

"Let's do that," Claire replies, giving him a small smile of appreciation for helping her. "And thank you. Now let's get out of here. I think we could use a drink."

[ostavil]

"I can't get drunk but at least I can enjoy the taste of it," Bucky says, nodding in agreement. He's more than happy to go and get a beer with her and try to work off some of the adrenaline from just now. He hasn't killed anyone since he's gotten here and now he's got to get back into the mindset of being a regular man and not a killer again. He doesn't want to be a killer and never has wanted to but it always ends in a fight. It ends in a fight every damn time. At least this time, he was on the right side of the problem and helped someone who needed help instead of hurting someone.

"You okay? Shaken up any? I know it's probably...terrifying to just see something like that go down."

[theluckygirl]

Claire's brows dipped in confusion and she looks up as they walk towards the tavern across the square. She's never heard of anyone say they couldn't get drunk and really, the idea of not being able to make her sad to hear because as far as she's concerned, people need a few nights here and there of blinding drunkenness if only to put life on pause for a while. At least until the next morning.

"Oh, I'll be fine. I've been beaten up before and while I never thought I'd get hit by a man again, here we are," she says, trying to make it seem less than it really was.

She turns and looks at him. "What do you mean you can't get drunk?"

He said he enjoyed the taste of it, which means he's probably not in a recovery program. Claire's eyes drop to his metal arm.

"Does it have something to do with your arm?"

[ostavil]

"Supersoldier," Bucky says. He figures if they're from the same world, she's bound to have seen people like him before. She probably knows about Steve, come to think of it, and he rolls his shoulder a bit to keep the joint from aching and tips his head, tries to decide if he should bring Steve up to her. Well, she doesn't have to know that he knows Steve.

"Sort of like Captain America's thing, if you know about him," Bucky says, trying to get a bead on her response.

"That's what I've got in me. It's why I can support this arm but it also means I can't get drunk."

[theluckygirl]

The term does click and Claire looks back up at him, nodding slowly in understanding. Not quite in the way someone would nod if they understood what they were being told, but as if she was entertained by something.

"I know who Captain America is," she smiles at him. "So, he gets a shield and you get an arm. It makes sense."

Claire looks down as she starts walking again.

"Are you as old as him, too?"

[ostavil]

"He was my best friend," Bucky says. There's a touch of wistfulness to it, as he's not the same man as he was when he was Steve's best friend. He's not that guy from the 40s anymore and he's not the Soldier. He's trying to find out what's in between the two and he's not sure how capable he is of doing that.

"Knew each other since we were kids in Brooklyn," he says, flashing a smile. "He's always been a pain in the ass and won't ever leave a fight."