Not only does she heft it easily, she also slips it on to her hand with the sort of practiced grace of someone who's done a motion hundreds of times before.
Adjusting the buckles one-handed, she turns slightly when she hears Eskel's voice behind her. "What do you think?" she asks, turning the rest of her too and holding the shield up in front of her. "Not too bad, eh?"
"Is that what you're used to?" He asks. "Whatever you're comfortable with." He says. "You'll have to show me how you do it, though. Never seen anybody fight with a shield before." He takes out his coin purse. "How's it feel?" He's smiling at the way she picks up the shield with familiar ease. She'll be alright, he thinks, out here in this dangerous and unfamiliar place.
"Well, if you took a shot at me, I could probably tell you. That's how I tested the first one." Not that they seem to have guns here, but still. God, she misses Peggy sometimes. What a firecracker.
Slipping her arm out of the straps, she turns the shield over in her hands consideringly, looking across the slight curvature of the front, weighing it in her hands. She'd be able to tell if she actually wanted to keep it for real if she had the space to test it out; as it is, it feels pretty decent, a little heavier than she's used to, but serviceable. She'd probably get used to it quickly enough on the road, where she'd be able to practice with it a little.
Her head snaps up when she finally realizes that Eskel's tipping out some coins into his palm.
"What are you doing?" she asks, like she's not clutching the shield close to her body the way a child clings to a new toy it desperately wants.
"What, do you wanna pick out another one?" He asks, arching his eyebrow at her as the merchant sweeps the coins out of his hands. "Cause you seem pretty attached to that one." He's going to breeze past the thing she's probably fussing about.
"You don't need to buy me a shield, Eskel," she protests. "Surely something...else was more what you had in mind."
Even though she doesn't know how to use a sword, and while she can use a dagger in a fight, she's definitely not nearly as adept at knife-fighting as Bucky is. Bows and arrows were more Clint's thing than hers, even though she could probably do alright with them in a pinch. Out of everything on display in this little shop, the shield in her hands is definitely the instrument she's most comfortable with, but still.
"I need you to have something you're proficient in. Or as close as you can get here." He says. "If that's this then...easily settled." He crosses his arms. "If that's the one you want, then it's yours."
Honestly, what's throwing her the most is probably his easy acceptance that she wants a shield for her weapon instead of something more...weapony. Maybe a mace or something.
She's used to people accepting it as her kit where she's from, but the majority of people have had half a decade to get used to the idea of Cap with a shield on her arm. Here, where she's just some nobody, she'd expected more push-back on the idea.
Crossing her own arms would probably be more effective if it didn't just serve to brandish the shield in front of her, once again showcasing how easily she handles it.
"Your witcher has a fair point, my lady," she shopkeep says as he quickly disappears the coins he's been handed, startling her. She'd forgotten he was there. "It suits you well."
It's entirely pragmatic: if he doesn't have to teach her how to use a weapon she's not familiar with, it makes her a more effective traveling companion.
He gives the salesman a surprised but appreciative look.
"You heard the man, the shield's yours." He says, with his crooked smile.
Stephanie gets the distinct feeling she's being ganged up on.
Narrowing her eyes at them both, she resists the urge to huff, knowing that she's probably being unreasonable and they both have a point but also not wanting to accept that she's wrong.
"I'm not going to ask how much you paid for this," she says, fully aware that it signals her capitulation.
"I could tell you but you don't know the coinage and it would be meaningless." He says smugly. "Come on, darlin', I've got some more stops to make and then we can circle back to the room and consider our next move." He thumps out of the shop to heft his bags back up onto his shoulders.
"I'll figure it out eventually," she threatens as he turns and walks out of the shop, secure in his victory. She'd be more annoyed, but she is secretly tickled by the shield, even if it's not the one she's spent so many years handling.
After a brief thanks to the merchant, she follows Eskel back into the market proper, the shield strapped to her back, a comfortable weight that settles her even in this strange, unfamiliar place.
"No you won't, this is our last stop before home." He counters, grinning. She looks more comfortable, strangely. Even in foreign clothes, with an approximation of her weapon, she seems more on her feet. He likes it and he might be starting to believe she's as adaptable as she's insisted. Which is good, he needs that assurance now, he can already tell his mind is wandering up the trail ahead of them, to other worries.
It's easier, weirdly, to walk around with the hard pressure of the shield at her back. People have been moving out of their way all day, giving them a bit more of a berth than they would any old villager, but it seems to be less noticeable now, or at least she can appreciate it more now that she takes up more room.
Suddenly, she makes a noise in the back of her throat. "Do you— no, your hair's too short, isn't it." She looks around at the stalls around them. "I wouldn't mind something to bind up my hair with," she explains. "I had a tie when I got here, but it broke."
"I've probably got some leather lacing or twine or somethin' in my bags. Always got random useful bits laying around." He offers her a wry smile. "Unless you want a cute little ribbon or somethin'."
She wrinkles her nose at him, still so pleased by the shield that she finds it too difficult to remain cross for any longer than a second or two.
"Ribbons are useless for hair," she declares, like she really has any idea. "Twine might be alright." She'll have to make do with braids or a pony tails. She doesn't know how to make a piece of leather lacing work with a messy bun. If only her hair elastic hadn't broken.
"Easily done." He says, leading her along through the market. "Just one more stop, but let me know if you see anything you want for lunch." There's all kinds of skewered roasted meat (lamb or mutton by the smell), handpies shining crisp and golden, donuts bobbing in hot lard, ciders sharp and cold from deep cellars.
Far less burdened than Eskel, Stephanie follows him curiously through the market, still fascinated by the hustle and bustle around them as they go.
"I could always eat," she says off-hand, her eye caught by the food on display. She's always hungry, thanks to the serum, and the food that seems to be on offer is the kind of dense, high-calorie stuff that really whets her whistle.
He slips her a coin, another dull flat silver thing. "Make sure to ask for change, but that should get you a couple of things at least." And then, lest she think this is just for her benefit. "Get me one of those donuts, huh? They smell like they just went in."
All the coins she's seen him handle today look the same. At some point, she's going to have to steal Eskel's wallet so she can study them and try to figure out what's what.
Giving him an arch look for a moment, she does wander off to purchase a few things that look appealing, chatting with the sellers and trying to ignore the way they stare incredulously at her. Should she try to be colder, more aloof? From what she's heard Eskel say about sorceresses, she assumes they tend to hold themselves apart from others, and since everyone seems to assume that's what she is...
No, it's not in her nature. What is, apparently, is an almost rigid sense of fairness, which is why she returns with two of all the things she'd been eyeing, one for her and one for Eskel. Including the donuts.
"Mm, thanks." He says, balancing the bags over his shoulder as he takes the donut from her, hot and shining with oil. He grins with obvious, almost boyish pleasure before he snaps down the donut with his usual ravenous efficiency. He studies her haul. "Took yourself on a nice little tour, eh?" He teases, though he's glad she's enjoying herself. He tries not to think about how charmed he is by how polite she is in her crisp but easy way, how quickly she looks less and less out of place in his world.
She just smirks at him, arching her eyebrows coyly at him as she hands off his donut to him.
"Everyone was perfectly nice to me as soon as they say my money," she quips, waiting to see him finished before she hands him one of the small meat pies she bought too.
"That's how you do it." He says. "A little coin'll get you anywhere." He says. He's surprised when she hands him one of the meat pies but doesn't argue. "It's the only saving grace of a witcher: our coin spends as well as any man's. Speaking of, this guy I have to get stuff from is gonna haggle and get snippy. Ignore him." She's been sensitive enough to his accounts of how witchers are treated that he cannot help but imagine her making a bit of a scene over someone who wants to make him fight for his goods.
She's about to protest that statement of his — in her experience, witchers (admittedly, her sample size is small, but she still thinks her point stands) have many saving graces, and their money is only one of them — when he carries on, making her narrow her eyes at him.
"He's gonna try and dick me in the cost of blacksmithing supplies." Eskel sighs. "He knows he's the only game in town and I need his shit. Just as he knows that I've been out in the world and know what the costs are." He shakes his head. "He'll sell to me, he just wants me to work for it and he's gonna overcharge me anyway, I just get to haggle about how much." He points at her with half of his meat pie, his expression a fond kind of warning. "Behave." He says. "I'll handle it."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-08-22 03:39 am (UTC)Eskel doesn't stray far from his purchases, but he does poke his head into the shop to see what's keeping her.
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Date: 2021-08-22 03:44 am (UTC)Adjusting the buckles one-handed, she turns slightly when she hears Eskel's voice behind her. "What do you think?" she asks, turning the rest of her too and holding the shield up in front of her. "Not too bad, eh?"
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Date: 2021-08-22 04:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 04:27 am (UTC)Slipping her arm out of the straps, she turns the shield over in her hands consideringly, looking across the slight curvature of the front, weighing it in her hands. She'd be able to tell if she actually wanted to keep it for real if she had the space to test it out; as it is, it feels pretty decent, a little heavier than she's used to, but serviceable. She'd probably get used to it quickly enough on the road, where she'd be able to practice with it a little.
Her head snaps up when she finally realizes that Eskel's tipping out some coins into his palm.
"What are you doing?" she asks, like she's not clutching the shield close to her body the way a child clings to a new toy it desperately wants.
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Date: 2021-08-22 04:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 04:50 am (UTC)Even though she doesn't know how to use a sword, and while she can use a dagger in a fight, she's definitely not nearly as adept at knife-fighting as Bucky is. Bows and arrows were more Clint's thing than hers, even though she could probably do alright with them in a pinch. Out of everything on display in this little shop, the shield in her hands is definitely the instrument she's most comfortable with, but still.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 04:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 05:05 am (UTC)She's used to people accepting it as her kit where she's from, but the majority of people have had half a decade to get used to the idea of Cap with a shield on her arm. Here, where she's just some nobody, she'd expected more push-back on the idea.
Crossing her own arms would probably be more effective if it didn't just serve to brandish the shield in front of her, once again showcasing how easily she handles it.
"Your witcher has a fair point, my lady," she shopkeep says as he quickly disappears the coins he's been handed, startling her. She'd forgotten he was there. "It suits you well."
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Date: 2021-08-22 05:08 am (UTC)He gives the salesman a surprised but appreciative look.
"You heard the man, the shield's yours." He says, with his crooked smile.
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Date: 2021-08-22 05:15 am (UTC)Narrowing her eyes at them both, she resists the urge to huff, knowing that she's probably being unreasonable and they both have a point but also not wanting to accept that she's wrong.
"I'm not going to ask how much you paid for this," she says, fully aware that it signals her capitulation.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 05:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 05:21 am (UTC)After a brief thanks to the merchant, she follows Eskel back into the market proper, the shield strapped to her back, a comfortable weight that settles her even in this strange, unfamiliar place.
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Date: 2021-08-22 05:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 05:38 am (UTC)It's easier, weirdly, to walk around with the hard pressure of the shield at her back. People have been moving out of their way all day, giving them a bit more of a berth than they would any old villager, but it seems to be less noticeable now, or at least she can appreciate it more now that she takes up more room.
Suddenly, she makes a noise in the back of her throat. "Do you— no, your hair's too short, isn't it." She looks around at the stalls around them. "I wouldn't mind something to bind up my hair with," she explains. "I had a tie when I got here, but it broke."
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Date: 2021-08-22 05:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-22 11:08 pm (UTC)"Ribbons are useless for hair," she declares, like she really has any idea. "Twine might be alright." She'll have to make do with braids or a pony tails. She doesn't know how to make a piece of leather lacing work with a messy bun. If only her hair elastic hadn't broken.
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Date: 2021-08-22 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 12:34 am (UTC)"I could always eat," she says off-hand, her eye caught by the food on display. She's always hungry, thanks to the serum, and the food that seems to be on offer is the kind of dense, high-calorie stuff that really whets her whistle.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 12:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 12:44 am (UTC)Giving him an arch look for a moment, she does wander off to purchase a few things that look appealing, chatting with the sellers and trying to ignore the way they stare incredulously at her. Should she try to be colder, more aloof? From what she's heard Eskel say about sorceresses, she assumes they tend to hold themselves apart from others, and since everyone seems to assume that's what she is...
No, it's not in her nature. What is, apparently, is an almost rigid sense of fairness, which is why she returns with two of all the things she'd been eyeing, one for her and one for Eskel. Including the donuts.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 01:09 am (UTC)"Everyone was perfectly nice to me as soon as they say my money," she quips, waiting to see him finished before she hands him one of the small meat pies she bought too.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 01:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 01:33 am (UTC)"What, exactly, are you expecting?"
no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 01:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
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