| DC/Marvel: Age of Infinite Heroes | ||||||||||
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It's been a couple of days since the village. They had fought the savage men several more times in the days that followed the escape. They were deeper into the savage land now. Though they had seen little to no sign of the S.H.I.E.L.D. station nor Cap's allies Ka-Kar and Shanna the She-Devil. The current camp was a small box canyon between to large boulders. A cold water spring forming filling a pool then rushing down into a bubbling brook. Cap had found it purely by accident. It wasn't defensible from above, but the trees inside gave cover from the pterodactyls. The entrance and exit small enough only one man could get in and out at a time.
Right now, Steve is barefoot and found his pants shredded to the point they're little more than this belt and a loin cloth. Not thrilled from the lack of clothing but knowing the lack of foot wear is what the different between life and death. Steve's trying to figure out how to get some foot wear.
C.A.T. still wears her fur bikini and the black panther mask provided to her. She seems to have taken a liking to the shape of it. She is exhausted however, though thankful for the spear that Rogers had managed to keep and provided her to defend with, while he fought with his shield. She is also concerned about the lack of clothing for both of them, and the fact the panther cub accidentally got wounded in the last melee. C.A.T. has been tending the panther carefully, delicately, and has been already cut herself by the panther's claws when she pressed too hard to clean the wound once. Only a sharp no and swat to the panther's nose is as far as the punishment goes, as C.A.T. tends her own wounds, then back to the panther. She never seems to keep the wound clean enough, being so young.
"Steve, why don't we cut down my boots to see if it is enough to make something for you? I just need something to cover up to my ankles and secure, I don't require the leather coverings over my calves." It may not be enough, or if so last very long, but it also may be worth a try.
Captain America nods, "I guess, It wouldn't be much but it would offer some protection. I could try making sandals." He grins, "Not practical but I do like the new outfit. Though not quite sure about that mask he teases her." He stands up and moves carefully to her side, "How's the cub?"
A soft mmmm, "I like the mask." And C.A.T. sets on her now furred butt to remove her boots. "Better, she's moving about on her own now." Least the gender of the cub is figured out finally. "But she keeps getting the wound dirty though she licks it. I just hope neither hers or mine gets infected," and she sighs.
The cub lays on her side lazily by the water, staring into it, a paw tip just barely touching the surface.
Captain America reaches into a pouch, "I told you I had this. Just be careful we may not get more antibiotic for a while." He hands her his small first aid kit. Though through the miracle of pym particles it was a big first aid kit. "I think I know where we are at. I'm going to say we're a good three days hike to the station. If it's where I think it is. I'm reasonably certain." He moves to sit next to her and watch the cub.
"Oh...I didn't realize you still had it after our kidnapping!" C.A.T. gladly takes the first aid kit, and stares at it, "It's tiny." But there is a button, and there is a bit of a hiss before it starts to expand. Her eyes widen behind her mask, "Oooooooh." But she then starts getting things out to handle her wound first and get it bandaged up to keep it clean. She then caresses her fingertips down the cub's back to keep her calm before she puts some antibiotic on her wound.
The cub growls unhappily, it almost coming out as a whining noise of displeasure. But C.A.T. is done quickly and soon puts everything away. When the lid clicks back into place, it shrinks down again, and she holds it back out to Cap, before tossing him her shoes. "Need my spear head to help cut it?"
Captain America shakes his head, "I got my pocket knife." He places the first aid kit back in it's pouch, "I don't got much more than these pouches on my belt. I need to talk to Giant Man about making us costumes to carry with us. Spares." He frowns as he produces his knife he carefully starts try cut Kat's boots to bootlets. He chuckles at the cub, "Don't worry, it's good for you. If Catty could see you know she'd be grumpy with you." He teases her.
A smile at that, "She must be raising all sorts of hell right now, the poor baby, so lonely. She doesn't even have you for company this time." C.A.T. sighs at that, "I miss her, and I think she's the jealous type too..." C.A.T. doesn't try and pet the cub right now, knowing her to be unhappy. She just stays close as a comfort thing as the cub has attached herself to her, but no more than that.
Captain America shakes his head as he continues to work on sandals, "I think you got your words confused... You don't mean poor baby, you mean devil cat." He chuckles. "And I figured, S.H.I.E.L.D. will feed her. They have before. It's part of their policy. I just wonder whose going to get that detail?"
A soft mmm at that, "Who knows. Catty doesn't really like other people, other than me...well, she kinda likes you now actually when you aren't spraying her with a spray bottle. I can't believe you do that!" C.A.T. has never thought about it before. Discipline her cat?! Seriously?! People can do that?! Ya, ya, you know who is the real boss in that household between the two of them.
Captain America shrugs, "It works for Dogs. We thought about using it on Hawkeye. But well I got sick of getting attacked. I didn't want to hurt her. So I figured it was a tactical decision. Maybe not my best, but I stand by it." He continues to work on the sandals.
C.A.T. nods at that, stretching out to lay down and try to get some rest, sighing softly. "Do we have any idea where we are going or even where we are?" She watches the black panther cub, her expression worrisome. She wants proper medical care for everyone, and a good meal.
Captain America nods, "I believe we have with these shoes. A two day hike to the west." He says as he finishes and goes to slip them on. He tests them out, "Their thin and offer little protection. But better than nothing." He sighs, "I'm ready to get home too."
A soft mmm, almost purring sound comes from C.A.T. She stretches across the ground, back aching when she does so as she yawns, flashing teeth to the sky then. "Beyond ready. But what to do with the little Kitten? We can't just leave her behind. Abusive bastards, they likely would have just skinned her in the future."
Captain America shrugs, "There's the Central park zoo." He looks to the cub, "I don't know. They may have. How did you end up with her?" He moves to sit down next to her. His shield was never far away now. He looked more like a barbarian than the Sentinel of Liberty. He watches the cub chase a poor butterfly for a moment.
"They gave me some sort of drug, and had these screwed up visions. Woke up nude as the day I was born, except for the fact I was wearing panther cub for a bra." Her eyes roll at that memory. "About scared the daylights out of me, it's not like her paws are exactly small, even if she is."
Captain America shrugs, "It's not like the zoos were when I was a kid. The animals always looked so sick and tired in the cages. Now they call 'em habitats and enclosures." He frowns, "Or maybe some program to raise her and release her into the wild?" He shrugs, "She can't survive on her own." He frowns, "Well that's what you were doing for that day." He shakes his head, "I think you got off better than I did."
"Ya...the nightmares were fun," C.A.T. says dryly, and shivers. "Some sort of feral panther Goddess, and not the nice, warm, and fuzzy kind Cap. I never thought I could think those thoughts up on my own." She moves to stand then, flipping up to her feet, and then moving to put the bootlets on, securing them with the leather thongs. She steals a look toward the panther cub, and lets out a high pitched whistler when she is about to wander too far. The panther cub comes bounding back to her 'mother cat', rubbing up against her leg with her good side, purring roughly.
C.A.T. reaches down to scratch behind one ear, << Good girl. Stay close, >> the words are Russian this time.
Captain America eyes C.A.T. "I got to kill various animals that were trying to kill me with no sleep." He watches her for a moment, "You know your real cat won't approve of it."
A soft mmmm, "I know." But C.A.T. looks happy with the cub's loving attentions, even though she was just scratched earlier, the blood having dried up some time ago to clot on her arm. "Anyway, better you then me without my powers working correctly. You lived." She sighs softly, "So, two day hike to the west, and what's there?"
Captain America shrugs, "Best I can remember. A S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost. It's been mothballed. But it should have supplies and communication equipment in it. It should give us a chance to contact shield for a pick up and hide out till they show."
"If it's S.H.I.E.L.D., it should be defensible too." C.A.T. yawns again, and stretches her arms out, rolling her shoulders. "Well, let's get started. Ugh...we need to find a good camping spot before night, and make sure we keep the tail lost. Luckily, we haven't run into many dinosaurs, hope it stays that way."
Captain America stands up. "I figured we'd wait and get a good start in the morning." He mumbles, "or Mutates." Then he rises, "But we can travel for a while." He takes up his shield and tosses her spear. "Lets go."
"I like the pool of water, but it seems so...open out there. Is there an alcove around here somewhere we can stash ourselves in for some extra cover?" C.A.T. seems to want to travel some at least, eager to move on as if nervous there for some reason.
Captain America shakes his head, "Not that I know. I picked here as anything coming through would have to come in one at a time. If it was man sized." He squeezes through, "But lets go. Like I said we can go a couple of hours."
A nod at that. "Right, I'm thinking spear throws." C.A.T. troops onward though! Her panther romps beside her, struggling at times to keep up, until finally C.A.T. picks her up to carry her. C.A.T. would normally be complaining of tired arms, but it's as if she knows better...as if she doesn't want to leave the cub behind. The two have gotten very closely attached to one another rather quickly.
Captain America shrugs, "I'll find some where high up and with plenty of cover. I'm not as worried about the cave men as I am other dangers. I think we're out of that tribes's territory." He shrugs. He stops to adjust his scandals. They would find a safe place to camp not long before dinner.
Food is the other issue, and exhaustion is a big deal. But there are some fruits about that C.A.T. has learned to spot, but that doesn't help their cub friend who whines with hunger. And so it will be a trial to gather dry firewood, and to create a little hole in the earth for the fire to heat about since they don't have anything to cook the meat in, and the offer of the spear if Rogers one for hunting. "You have better luck than me, and I'll try not to serve it raw. Rocks for birds would work too, or just about anything we can eat." Cub could try it raw, but honestly...she needs it mushy still. "I'll work on finding water and something to carry it in," and she will need luck for that...hoping to find a bowl-like rock or some sort of curved bark or something. "Ya...experimentation at its finest." She read some books on wilderness survival, but she mostly needs to depend on Roger's knowledge and experimentation. Experimentation isn't always a good thing.
When Rogers brings back a couple of birds, C.A.T. has found a curved stone with a dip in it from the water to bring some back, though it isn't much. She crosses her arms over her chest, "Just to reinstate, this sucks." She hates the wild now, with a burning passion. Yep, it's going to be long hours on getting dinner to come out half way so they can eat it and giving some of the more tender pieces to the cub to be able to swallow.