[ Sam spends most of the day alternating between the ground, and flying high up into the sky to keep an eye further out than they could otherwise. He doesn't fly quite so high he vanishes from sight, though, always close enough that he can return to the ground fast in case anything changes.
It's not strictly necessary - they have good visiblity all around. But if one were to get the impression that Sam spends a lot of his time in the air as indication that he really, really enjoys flying... well. That assumption wouldn't be entirely wrong.
And no one could be blamed for getting the impression that when in his element, Sam can be a bit of a thrill chase. Case in point - does he just drift down to the ground gently whenever he returns to walk with the group for a stretch? No. He drops, catching himself on the wings before hitting ground. And then he brings his feet up under him, the mechanical wings smoothly folding back into the thruster pack on his back. tossing a grin at the nearest person. ]
Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you.
[ The wings aren't just for show, though, and the scorpiug attack that night shows that. The thing about flying is you can make yourself an utter menace to something tall, trying to distract it, and Sam weaves through the air, spinning, soaring and dropping in turns to maintain momentum while dodging mid-air swings from the creature, trying to leave it vulnerable for others to attack.
This doesn't always work, of course, he's not a foolproof distraction, and whenever the scorpiug's attention slips off him, he uses his drone Redwing to lay down some firepower into the creature.
And if the scorpiug takes a swing at one of his companions, Sam will drop down in front of them, catching the blow on his shield with a grunt - the vibranium doesn't scratch, but the impact shoots pain up his arms and into his shoulders. The thruster pack flares with the effort of holding against the push of the creatures weight. ]
Little help here...!
[ And if anyone's gotten hurt during the fight, Sam will make himself available to patch them up after - this is what he's trained for, patching people up in the field. ]
✪ Day 2: Open
[ When they encounter the animal carcasses, Sam wrinkles his nose. He's no expert on these things, and scans from his drone don't give him anything to work with. Other than that the animals are dead - thanks, Redwing, very helpful. If someone looks to be examining the bodies with a little more intent, Sam will approach them. ]
You got any idea what mighta done this?
[ In the cave, Sam uses Redwing to make a recording of the drawings on the walls, whistling low, clearly impresses by the scale of the dragons. Here's to hoping they're no longer moving - he's not much interested in tangling with something that size. Living under the shadow of one's corpse is creepy enough, thank you very much. He does take note of the other figures drawn on the walls, too, though. ]
Makes you wonder just how populated this place actually is... or used to be.
✪ Day 3: Closed to Natasha and Balthier
[ Sam has seen many a horror movie that starts like this, and throws Natasha an amused glance when he comments as such - Balthier and the Thessyx won't understand, he knows that, but she might get some amusement out of this. The excursion isn't a loss, in his books - they have the chance to help this one, back to their camp - and perhaps, travel distance permitting, to the ocean after all, but that will require investigating some logistics. For now... ]
And then there were four. I'll send Redwing up, keep an eye on the weather.
✪ Wildcard
[ If you'd like a different prompt, feel free to hit me up on inkcharm or via pm <3 ]
Sam Wilson (open)
✪ Day 1: Open
✪ Day 2: Open
✪ Day 3: Closed to Natasha and Balthier
✪ Wildcard