Muldoon has to stop and think for a long moment. Eventually he looks at Arcade again with a simple, "Alright."
Standing, he refills his drink before offering Arcade a top-up. Only once they're both sorted does he sit back down again to tell the story.
"If we're talking about scars, the one I usually get asked about is the story of how I got the scars on my shoulder." He taps his right shoulder for reference. "They're more distinct than some of the others I have. You can't mistake them for anything other than a set of canines."
"They're from a long time ago. From before I was working at any animal parks. A friend and I were called out to a village to help with two lions. They were brothers, and known man-eaters. Cattle, goats, and people were all fair game to them." When he takes a sip of his drink it's partly to remind himself to stop before he shares too many unpleasant details in that regard, and to focus on giving a good story.
"The request was urgent, so we left right away and arrived late at night. We talked to the people there, the head of the village, the hunters, the people who had been attacked or seen an attack. Then we started to get our bearings. We'd only been apart a few minutes when I saw one of the lions stalking the perimeter. I didn't hesitate, I took aim to shoot, and that's when his brother pounced me. Sank his teeth right into my shoulder. If I'd been alone I wouldn't have survived it. Luckily, my friend was as good a shot as me. He saved my life that night and many others, and I returned the favour. We managed to get both the lions, so the village was safe. I was much more careful after that."
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2023-08-10 10:05 pm (UTC)Standing, he refills his drink before offering Arcade a top-up. Only once they're both sorted does he sit back down again to tell the story.
"If we're talking about scars, the one I usually get asked about is the story of how I got the scars on my shoulder." He taps his right shoulder for reference. "They're more distinct than some of the others I have. You can't mistake them for anything other than a set of canines."
"They're from a long time ago. From before I was working at any animal parks. A friend and I were called out to a village to help with two lions. They were brothers, and known man-eaters. Cattle, goats, and people were all fair game to them." When he takes a sip of his drink it's partly to remind himself to stop before he shares too many unpleasant details in that regard, and to focus on giving a good story.
"The request was urgent, so we left right away and arrived late at night. We talked to the people there, the head of the village, the hunters, the people who had been attacked or seen an attack. Then we started to get our bearings. We'd only been apart a few minutes when I saw one of the lions stalking the perimeter. I didn't hesitate, I took aim to shoot, and that's when his brother pounced me. Sank his teeth right into my shoulder. If I'd been alone I wouldn't have survived it. Luckily, my friend was as good a shot as me. He saved my life that night and many others, and I returned the favour. We managed to get both the lions, so the village was safe. I was much more careful after that."