Carrots vs Sticks

[avanture_time]

WHO: Avan and ~*~You~*~
WHAT: FIREWOOD. Also stew.
WHERE: The woods outside of town mostly
WHEN: After Smalleroth's call for assistance

SUMMARY: Avan's showing Smalleroth a more effective way of getting people to help you with a task

text | un: littlelumberjack

Hello! My name is Avan de Zinuar III and I would like to make a request of you all. s0001 may have been a bit rude, but they were correct that we will want a healthy stockpile of firewood to remain comfortable through the winter! It'll be easiest if we all work together, so I suggest that those of us who are willing meet by the well tomorrow and knock out what we can in one go! Remember, even if you're not strong enough for felling trees, you can still help gather sticks for kindling! Everyone is welcome to come help!

I'll be there bright and early with a pot of stew to share, but you can come whenever you have time. You can bring food, too, if you like! A potluck sounds like a great way to celebrate a job well done~

---

As promised, Avan is at the well bright and early the next morning with a big pot of stew simmering away over a campfire. He'll add more stuff to it throughout the day, so no matter when someone wants stew, there will be stew to be had and it will be delicious. Avan is very good at what he does.

He's borrowed some saws and axes and even people from the locals and marked some trees that he's determined will make good firewood. And for anybody who needs more direction than that, he'll cheerfully explain as many steps involved in turning a standing tree into a pile of usable firewood as they need.

Is he going to do any actual wood chopping himself? ...Maybe if someone asks him to demonstrate technique on a small piece? He's clearly a weedy little nerd and definitely not someone theoretically capable of cutting a boulder in half with a sword, give him a break.

Comments

[avanture_time]

Avan pouts at the potato with the look of a guy who doesn't really want to chop wood all day. "I guess it's worth trying...."

[snapp_crackle]

It's rare that Popp's on this side of that very familiar look. Heh hee hee, maybe he could get used to this role reversal after all.

"That's the spirit! A hero never gives up or backs down!"

[avanture_time]

"That is true," Avan answers, laughing nervously. The other knights of Carl would be having a field day if they could see this. Somebody actually managing to pressure Avan into doing hard work???




Smash cut to Avan absolutely fumbling the shit out of an axe. Sorry, were you expecting a noble to have ever chopped his own firewood before???

(He has, but that's besides the point.)

[1/2]

[snapp_crackle]

Popp screeches and flails about in the background as if he's the one in danger of being hit with an axe.

Avan?? AVAN??

[2/2]

[snapp_crackle]

...Wait the future Avan taught him enough rudimentary melee combat that he does feel confident enough to zip in there and grab the handle. He's only done that with a stick, not a real weapon, but he can do it!

"You've been directing this whole time and you can't even chop a log yourself?! Even I can chop wood; my old man had me at it until I thought my arms'd drop off every winter!"

He hated every minute of it, obviously.

[avanture_time]

Without a shred of actual shame, Avan gives an embarrassed laugh, rubbing at the back of his head.

"I've only ever watched it done. I guess the actual chopping is easier in theory than it is in practice, hahaha!"

19 survival roll (5 insight roll)

[snapp_crackle]

"If you don't practice, of course it is! It's like this, all right? Hyah!"

Popp doesn't have much of what you could call brute strength, but his form is good, the axe is sharp, and cutting things in half is mostly about gravity and momentum, both of which he has a lot of experience with what with all the crashing into things he does.

"You got a good look, right? Think you can do it?"

[avanture_time]

Polite applause for Popp's excellent demonstration! It's tempting to keep goofing off, but he doesn't think Popp's patience or heart would stand up to much more of that. Time to start taking this... well, something adjacent to seriously, at least.

"Okay!"

Avan's form is not good, and he falls on his ass in the process, but he does successfully chop a piece of wood in half this time. Progress....

[snapp_crackle]

Oh no. Popp remembers with a dreadful creeping fondness that a crucial factor that inspired him to put more effort into training was doing it side by side with someone else. He's going to have to cut more wood! He's played himself! Damn it all!!

Needless to say, he's going to be genuinely exhausted and wobbly long before Avan has to tap into his reserves.

[avanture_time]

Avan grins when Popp joins him in chopping. Yay, bonding!!! At least Popp gets plenty of opportunities for breaks, as Avan scampers off to check on the stew or talk to someone. Meanwhile, Avan's form actually gets progressively sharper through the day, which is definitely just the benefits of practice and not him getting tired of messing up on purpose.

He stops when he notices Popp flagging and leans casually on his axe. "Oh, are you done already?" If one were to only look at Avan out of context, they'd think he just got done with a light workout. Disgusting, tbh.

[snapp_crackle]

"No! ...Yes..."

He wobbles a little more and kind of... gently... oozes... down onto the stump he's been chopping logs on. Trying to keep up with Avan is no joke.

"Forget the dragon bond, this must be what it feels like to be a slime."

[avanture_time]

"I don't know about that, slimes are still pretty energetic! You don't look like you'll be bouncing around anywhere anytime soon." Avan, on the other hand.... He might be part slime? Has anyone ever checked???

[snapp_crackle]

"Uuuuugh."

He's going to be so sore tomorrow. He's not even the one who needs to learn Earth Slash!

"If we're going by bounciness, that makes you King Slime."

[avanture_time]

Avan bounces on his heels and snickers. He certainly has the dopey grin for it!

"Go have some water and some stew, then you'll feel better."

[snapp_crackle]

Popp manages to ooze back upright with some levitation involved, because his magic levels aren't depleted at all.

"Yeah, yeah, all right."

Avan usually is right about this genre of thing, which is in some way comforting and in some way frustrating. At least Popp was right about what it takes to get him to really get into hero-adjacent tasks, and that's joining in right alongside him.

He wishes he were wrong about that, actually.

At least the stew's good.