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 Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 11:17 am
You've heard rumors of a local beast that has been causing trouble, always striking and darting away without a trace. Many have tried to capture it, but with no success. Now that fall is settling in, the community is distressed at the trouble being caused and has asked for your help in finding the beast and either relocating or finding away to get rid of it from the community.
[ A creature is terrorizing the community, but what is it and is it really such a problem? Use the fauna thread to pick out a local beast and tell us how your character found and if they remove or relocate it...or maybe even tame it as their own (not all fauna can be tamed). ]
Fitted with a simple net and a rope, Fiadah walked to the large old barn with an eager grin. "I'll catch it for sure!" she announced confidently with a glance over her shoulder to her sister. Something had been breaking into a neighbor's barn recently and stealing the animal feed. Most of the bags were torn open, but some were missing entirely. She'd heard her parents discussing concerns over their own barn and setting out to find the culprit.
Well, she was going to get it first! How proud would her papas be? "Tricor's barn has two levels. Do you think we should go top to bottom, or bottom to top?" Anyone else, she would have suggested separating. With Nimia though.. well, it would be best to remain together.
[quote="Painted Moose
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2022 11:31 am
"I'm sure you will." Nimia answered with far less enthusiasm. The older of the two had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a pair of leggings with her boots instead of the skirts she so often preferred. She had no problem in dealing with their own animals dressed as she wanted - mostly because those she chose to spend time with were calm enough to allow it - but this was...this was going to be rough.
"We should go up top. If it comes in from the bottom we could just set up a trap to alert us." Either a trip wire or an actual net - whichever they could pull off. If it came in through the hatches on the second level, though, they'd be able to handle it head on.
In all honesty she was hoping that wouldn't happen.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2022 10:35 am
Fiadah gave her sister a pleased grin. "That's a good idea! We can set up two of them. One by the main door in case it tries to sneak away, and one on the hatch in case it tries coming up after us." Nimia could be a little silly, but she did have good ideas! Definitely the brains while Fiadah had gotten the brawns. Of course, Fiadah only delighted in her sister's smarts.
Depending on the critter they were hunting, those smarts would be needed!
The large barn came into view and she felt a renewed surge of energy. The sneaky creature might not even be there at the moment.. but she hoped it was! "Why don't you set up the trap for the big door and I'll get the hatch? Then we'll start looking around up top."
She was practically vibrating with excitement. Though she dealt with animals on the daily at home, seeking out an unknown in the wild was a fresh thrill. So, she hurried to the large door and pulled it open with a hefty bit of effort. "Whew! It must be something smaller to fit through a window. Those doors are heavy!" That was slightly disappointing. She wanted a challenge!
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2022 9:20 am
Nimia pulled a book out of a holster that she kept on her hip and started flipping through pages as they walked. The waterling was so used to doing so that she didn't' even break stride; rather, she just followed along listening to her sister, as if Fiadah would clear the way for her.
She had a point though...Maybe they weren't looking for something big, but something small? Nimia lifted her head to look toward her sister as she pulled the doors open with a frown, but stopped right on the page she needed.
"They said it was tearing into the feed bags, but did they say how big it was? A color, whether it have fur or feathers...anything?" She gave Fiadah a little shoo with her hands to clear the entrance of the barn. Once she had her space Nimia crouched, produced a bit of chalk from the very same pouch and started to draw a magical circle on the well worn barn floor. "If it's big enough to come in the doors this will stop it. It's like mud; the wood will pull at it's legs and hold it until we can get to it. But...if it's too strong it'll pull through."
If it was that big they didn't need to get involved anyway.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 11:55 am
While Nimia worked on the trap, Fiadah focused on the shadows deeper within the expansive barn. "I don't think they've even seen it," she said as she crept toward the hatch leading to the top level. No sign of a strange creature yet, but it would be difficult to see considering that this was a busy farm. Unless something crazy happened, the signs would be trampled by the farmhands and farm animals. "It's a sneaky bugger." Maybe it would be small, but being sneaky would help give her the challenge she was looking for.
Seeing no sign of immediate danger, she turned back to peek at the drawing Nimia made and grinned. "That's so cool," she praised after the explanation. "I'm sure it'll work! Come on, let's get upstairs."
She spun and practically skipped over to the steps before she caught herself. Skipping was not something a mighty hunter did! Plus, it was downright silly to skip up such narrow steps; some sort of stairway that might as well have been a ladder, but wasn't quite there. It was clearly worn down with various marks of years of feet, but that's where she saw her first sign.
"Look!" she gasped out in a loud and excited whisper. "That claw marks aren't very old. It's gone up the steps at some point." Her eyes rose to look above. What part of the upper level that wasn't covered by the floor was only exposed by narrow, dusty streams of light that came through the old roof.
She flashed her sister a grin before eagerly but slowly climbing up the steps. More clues would be upstairs for sure!
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:04 am
Rune after rune, Nimia carefully worked her way through the circle. One day she might have the patterns memorized, but for now she would occasionally look at her book, take a few steps back to make sure it was right, and then continue. If either of their plans worked then whatever this was terrorizing the farm could be 'safely' relocated or so she hoped. Bigger critters might have given her the spooks, but that didn't mean she wished them any ill will.
"I could teach you how to do it." She snapped the book closed and smiled up at her younger sister. With everything finished on the ground level, she climbed up after Fiadah and took a deep breath. Whatever this thing was it definitely wouldn't like being caught and that gave her the jitters.
Those marks though..."Be careful, Fiadah, it might be up here." She muttered. What if it had laid a trap for them instead?
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 6:58 pm
Fiadah hummed softly to herself. "You can try.. but I doubt I'll be able to use them like you can. I'm more of a 'grab it' kind of catcher." She grinned playfully and flexed a bicep for display as she headed up the ladder. She moved slowly as she climbed and tossed a nod toward her sister. While she didn't think the creature was particularly big, that didn't mean it couldn't be dangerous. Many dangerous things came in small packages.
At the top, she slowly raised her head to peek over the edge. The shadows on this level were deep and broad, making her brow pinch with frustration. "Can't see anything," she murmured. "Are there any lights down there that you could hand me?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2022 11:01 am
A light? Easy enough. Nimia held up her hand and three little globules of light sprout up around her hand. She tamped down on the light so it wouldn't be immediately visible and lifted it above her into the loft to help Fiadah with a proud little grin.
Fiadah had her strength to help her out with a lot of things, but Nimia liked to think they had a nice balance. "They'll follow you," She murmured, "and I can take them away if you need me too." Without waiting further, Nimia dipped underneath the ladder and behind a few bales of hay. While not the best hiding spot, it would at least cover her if the beast decided to come in the front.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2022 7:40 pm
Fiadah grinned back with a nod and peered out where the lights brightened the dark corners. She crawled up onto the floor and crept along. In the grime and dust of this upper level, she could see more tracks and signs of life. This one set was rather fresh...
One of the shadows suddenly hissed and moved. Fiadah let out a squeak of surprise, and raised her arm automatically to cover her face. She felt something soft and quick rush by her. She had half the mind to swing her arm out and reach for it, but the creature was swift. It was in the light now though, and she could see.. "Nimia! Baby sermal!" she called out in warning, scrambling to get the net from her belt that she'd forgotten to prepare ahead of time.
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 9:16 am
Even though she couldn't see the culprit, Nimia's first instinct was to squeal seconds after her sister. "Fiadah!" Was she alright?! She jumped up to her feet, hands brushing along the top of the nearest barrel when something landed on the one infront of her. With an surprised scream, the waterling fell back onto her rump, raising her hands to cover her face, but a magical pull jolted through her.
The trap!
When she scrambled back up again, this time actively hiding behind a few stacks of hay, Nimia could see a small fuzzy creature struggling to escape her trap. It hissed and swatted at the sides of the magical field; even going so far as to outright run into it once before pulling back to sit.
She'd never seen a sermal that small in her life and it was so thin!
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 7:54 pm
Fiadah leapt and practically used the stairs like a bumpy slide as she pursued the creature. She landed solidly on her feet, the net held up at the ready. She threw the net automatically, only a moment later realizing the creature was already caught. "Good job, Nimia!"
The sermal growled and flailed against the double restraints.. but Fiadah thought it was more cute than threatening. Now that she could see better, she could tell the cub was looking a little rough around the edges. Not quite as fed as it should be and in sore need of a bath... Her brow knit and she looked around with concern. "I only see the small paws. Is.. she all alone?"
[
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 12:52 pm
"It won't hold for long," She murmured and took a couple steps closer to inspect the creature. For all it's snarling and bravado, all Nimia could see was a terrified kit. She'd been around Papa long enough to know what signs to look for in a motherless cub or even a sick one, and this...wasn't looking promising. "The spell will keep for an hour or I can recast again if we need it, but I think we should bring her with us."
If it had been bigger then they might have been able to release it after having Papa look at her, but Nimia knew if they just let this little one loose then she wouldn't last the season. "Got anything less...holey than the net to hold her in?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 5:06 pm
Fiadah frowned and squatted next to the trapped cub to coo softly. The cub hunkered as far away from her as it could, but snarled just a little less than before. "Nothing but my sweater. Maybe there'll be something here for us to use." She laid out the net and went to search around the barn. Sure enough, she found a stack of burlap sacks on the shelving near the door. She grabbed two and returned to their catch. "These will work. I'll wrap it nice and snug, and then we can take it for papa to look at."
Lips pressed into a playful smirk, she leaned toward the cub and whispered loudly, "Maybe I'll name you Nightclaw~" It wouldn't hurt to give the cub a name while it remained in their care, right?
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 11:17 am
While Fiadah searched for something to contain the cub, Nimia remained to monitor the spell. She hoped it wouldn't fail, but she'd messed up enough times in the past that a thread of anxiety buried itself deep inside her heart. "Just be careful. You can go inside, but it can't come out until I let it." Such was the nature of the spell; friends were welcome and others were either trapped within or outside.
There was no way she would be able to wrangle the little thing, no matter how small it appeared, but Fiadah would. Her younger sister was always so much better at this than she was. And- Oh no, was she giving it a name? Nightclaw...Baba was going to be very happy about this.
After giving a little sigh, Nimia made a mental note to research sermals when they got home.
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