All thoughts about the love of her life dissipated as the terrain morphed around it. It was not so much that the ground became rougher or the mountains grew taller. Rather, it was as if life itself had been tainted by something here and struggled to survive. The trees bore no leaves, the ground crunched underneath her feet, dry and lifeless despite being right next to a stream. When she dared to peer into the depths of the water, she found that there was little life that lingered here either. It was deeply unsettling, and her instincts told her to turn tail and run. But, love was a powerful motivator.
Lady could not imagine turning to Kale Greenleaf with nothing to show for her journey. He'd surely be disappointed in her, and she could not live her life knowing that she failed to meet his expectations. She had fallen hard for him, he was her first love and she swore that he would be her only. Lady could not fail this task. So, she swallowed her discomfort and pressed forward, a lone wolf in a forest of decay and death.
"What the..." her voice was small, as if she struggled to find enough air to fill her lungs. The dying forest cleared enough for her to notice a cave entrance. The faint ethereal glow emitted from the cave caught her eye, and she froze in place, her gaze fixed warily upon the cave. Now that was something remarkable, and though every bone in her body screamed at her to turn away... she could not. This place seemed different, and in being so it was also her best chance at finding a fairy fish for Kale. Lady gritted her teeth and pressed onward, abandoning the flow of the stream to instead be lured into the depths of the cave.
Quote:
Your character rolls a 9-14: You notice movement back towards the cave entrance and decide to investigate. RNG a number between 1 and 3.
Krysin generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
From behind, she heard the soft scrape of paws against solid stone. Time seemed to slow to a stop as Lady subtly turned her head to glance behind her. Haloed by the light at the cave's entrance was a small, but familiar figure. In the raccoon's grubby paws, however, was something completely otherworldly. The light reflected spectacularly off the scales of the freshly caught fish. No, not any ordinary fish. This was surely the fairy fish she had so desperately been searching for.
Time snapped back into motion. With a low growl Lady turned on her heels and raced towards the entrance of the cave. The raccoon screamed and shoved the flopping fish in its mouth to make a desperate run on all four's away from Lady. It hurried out of the cave with Lady hot on its heels, and then made a beeline for the nearest tree. All it had to do was climb up it safely and it would not have to worry about sharing its meal or becoming a meal.
The raccoon never made it to the tree.
Lady sped up, reaching out with a paw to brutishly stomp on the raccoon's tail. The creature hollered pitifully, paws clawing at the dirt. "Give. Me. The. Fish." Lady demanded with a throaty growl. Her eyes were sharp upon the raccoon, and her fur stood on its ends to make herself seem more massive and menacing than she actually were.
"B-but it is my prize! My feast," the raccoon complained.
"You'll be my feast if you don't fork the fish over," Lady snapped. In truth, she hated the taste of raccoon and could never bring herself to take a bite out of one. But, she knew when to be threatening to get what she wanted. She had the raccoon pinned, there was nothing left for it to do but give her the fairy fish. Well, if it valued its life, anyways. "Give me the fish and I'll let you go. Don't give it to me, and I'll kill you and take it anyways."
After a few tense seconds, the raccoon tearfully handed over the fairy fish. "Jerk!" it screamed at her after she let it go.
"a*****e!" she made sure to yell back.
Only then did it settle in that she had found her prize, an actual fairy fish! There was no doubt in her mind that this was the beautiful monster she had been searching for. She could return to Kale Greenleaf with her head held high, and maybe this time Arcstrider would stick around long enough to be shown off to the Monster Hunter.
A girlish giggle escaped her before she could compose herself, and then, just as she was about to head back to Kale a thought struck her.
What if she didn't just bring back one fairy fish, but two?
Quote:
3. That raccoon has an extremely shiny fish! You may use 1 Action Point to steal the Fairy Fish.
Lady re-entered the cave with her prize carried securely between her jaws. She was mindful of the shining scales, her jaw held just loose enough so that they would not be scraped by her sharp teeth. The she-wolf was quite proud of herself for the capture, and just because she stole the fish it did not mean that she did not earn it. She had chased down that raccoon and threatened the life out of it, that took just as much work as looking for the fairy fish the good ol' fashioned way. Though, she was going to do that too.
In the end, the fairy fish was still a fish, and so she knew that the next best place to look would be within the water. There had to be more fish where this one came from, especially if a raccoon was able to scoop it out of the water with no issue. Lady ignored the beautiful crystals and the way they lit up the walls in favor for looking towards a pool of water. Underneath the surface she swore she saw something moving, and though it could be anything... it could also be another fairy fish.
Kale would have to take her as his mate if she gifted him with an entire pond-full of fairy fish.
Quote:
Your character rolls a 15-19: You've caught sight of something moving in the water and go to investigate! Roll one (1) D6.
Lady brought herself to the edge of the water and peered into its depth. She was mindful not to drop her freshly dead fairy fish back into the water, though she was sure that it was dead enough that it wouldn't start squirming once back in its habitat. In silence she watched the water for any signs of rippling or shadows moving underneath. She stared until her eyesight began to blur, and only then did she see a shadow worth pursuing.
Her paw dove into the water and scooped out a hard object. The swiftness of her action meant she still had some hope to find the item she had been looking for, but as the geode cluttered loudly over the ground she sighed.
She also nearly dropped her fish, but was mindful enough to catch it before it touched the water's surface. Inspecting her new prize, she wasn't exactly displeased. It was quite pretty... for a rock.
Lady spent another few minutes watching the water, waiting for any sign of more fairy fish. She almost doubted that the raccoon had found it here, but there was no way that it could have found it anywhere further off than here. The fairy fish was still alive in its paws when Lady managed to steal it away. It's home had to be in the crystal caverns, and Lady was perfectly capable of finding another one.
She huffed a small sound of frustration that nearly covered up the sound of something rustling at the entrance of the cavern. "Oh, not you again!" she growled ferociously, assuming that it was that blasted raccoon. Either it had come back to try and fish out another prize, or it intended to steal her's. Neither idea sat with Lady well. She quickly scooped up her prizes and stomped her way back towards the cave's entrance. "I swear if you're back here again I really will eat you. I haven't had a decent meal all day, so TRY me, I dare ya!"
Quote:
Your character rolls a 9-14: You notice movement back towards the cave entrance and decide to investigate. RNG a number between 1 and 3.
Krysin generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
The pair stared each other down, vibrant orange hues against meek greens. For a few precious seconds silence reigned as mortal enemies decided how to approach this new development. In the raccoon's paws was another fairy fish, freshly gaping and flopping helplessly in its captor's grasp. On one hand, Lady couldn't believe that another one had been caught at all. On the other hand, she couldn't believe the raccoon was stupid enough to fish in the same exact area that Lady was still in.
"Oh you've got to be ******** kidding me," the raccoon spoke flatly, his voice still rough from the shouting match the two had earlier.
"You know what to do, you insufferable oversize creepy-fingered squirrel-tailed rodent," Lady commanded with a snarl.
"Come on! You've already got one!"
"And now I want two. Congratulations. Hand it over."
The raccoon seemed to consider its options, and running certainly was one of them. But, Lady had already proved once that she was more swift and more determined than her adversary. "Fine! But you have to leave!"
"I don't have to do s**t. I'll build a temple here if I want to!" Lady countered fiercely. She refused to bargain with a raccoon of all creatures.
"I hate you," were the raccoon's final words as he dropped his prize on the ground and walked backwards with his paws up in the air. Once he was a far enough distance away, he disappeared up a tree to never be seen from again.
"I. Don't. Care." Lady tutted smugly to herself as she trotted over to her second fairy fish. This was clearly more than enough to impress Kale Greenleaf, and rather than risking having to deal with her arch nemesis again, Lady opted for returning to her love and sharing her prizes with him.
3. That raccoon has an extremely shiny fish! You may use 1 Action Point to steal the Fairy Fish.
Meadowsweet was so full of emotion. She was so ready to get that fish, to get the honor she deserved, to finally do what she knew she was meant to be! Fluffing out her fur, she felt bits of bone and skeleton fall out of her fur onto the ground. She growled at the raccoon.
"Drop that fish and get out of here!" She snarled and took a step towards the raccoon, bearing down on it. "Or I'll pry it out of your paws with my teeth!"
Maybe it was that she had bones tumbling out of her fur, maybe it was because she was a sizable, angry wolf, but the raccoon seemed to have enough sense in its head to drop the fish and high tail it past Meadowsweet. She let it run out of the cavern, before making her way over to the fish. Sniffing it, she found that it didn't smell magical, but she picked it up anyway. She didn't have any reason to be in this cavern any longer. Beautiful yes, but her head pounded. It was all she could do to gather up the bones in her fur again. Bones, feather, fish. All the marks of a destiny quest were there and Meadowsweet turned away. It was time to report back to Kale and then go home a hero! (WC: 224 I used an action point to steal the Fairy Fish.)
Death and decay -- it filtered into his view slowly at first. His spine twitched, mouth drying and skin crawling as he approached. Death -- it was the antagonist to what he sought to further. Briefly, Howl paused to mutter a prayer under his breath for the deceased before pressing further. He felt sick, the miasma of despair twisting in his stomach. Still, he had promised, in a way, that he'd continue onward for Kale. What good would his word be if he turned back now?
He wasn't perfect, though, and the thought of turning back had become more and more enticing. No -- this was a new experience; a new lesson. He needed to continue. So he did.
He reached the cave, pausing to take a shaky breath before noting movement within the cave. Should he go in? He hadn't checked if it was safe, but the movement grew increasingly more of interest to him. Could it be what Kale sought? Could it be someone in trouble? He needed to know -- needed to answer the question.
words: 174
NymiiNym
Shy Wife
Offline
NymiiNym generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
NymiiNym
Shy Wife
Offline
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 7:07 pm
Characters Title: Beginner Actions Points: 2 AP
Current RP points: 5 RP points used: 0
Items: Painted Feather Items used: None Total Item points: 1
He pressed further, ignoring any sense of reason he usually so carefully obeyed. It was all so ridiculous in the first place, anyway. Who did he think he was? A Monster Hunter? Him? And would he ever be able to earn that title if he simply pulled away from everything that made his skin crawl? That, and honestly the thought someone might need help was overriding any reason.
Except -- when he reached the spot he thought he saw movement it was nothing. Had the decrepit land deceived him? His own anxieties must have played tricks on him, for the truth was right before him. He had simply seen something. Howl exhaled lowly, turning back to the beginning of the cave. He needed to take a break -- get his nerves settled. He felt so out of his element, of course he was paranoid. Howl took the moment to steady his breath, glancing at the decayed land in hopes to truly confront what had rattled him.
He returned his gaze back to the cave and squinted. He saw it again, movement. He debated trusting his instincts, they had proven wrong prior. The land was getting to him, wasn't it? He sat patiently, considering his options before, with a low huff and tortured sigh, he relented. He'd never be able to sleep if he didn't see what was bothering him. He only prayed this time he was right -- that he wasn't just tricking his brain with his own paranoid assumptions.
Besides, it was a cave. He had entered plenty of those. He'd seen death and decay before, too. Why was he so rattled? Did it remind him of that, maybe? Of the time he was small and helpless in a field of blood and gore? He swallowed thickly, pushing that memory back under.
Not now. Get a grip! He was overthinking things, again.
words: 151
NymiiNym
Shy Wife
Offline
NymiiNym
Shy Wife
Offline
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 7:17 pm
Characters Title: Beginner Actions Points: 1 AP
Current RP points: 6 RP points used: 0
Items: Painted Feather Items used: None Total Item points: 1
A raccoon. With a .... wait, was that what Kale was seeking? Howl stood still, debating his options. He could steal the fish, but -- he grimaced, shaking his head as the raccoon made eye contact. No. He couldn't do it. Sure, it'd make Kale happy, but stealing from the raccoon to benefit another felt wrong. Surely there would be more chances than this one. It seemed small, and probably laughable, but Howl would not hurt another for the pleasure of someone else.
Still, temptation couldn't always be forgotten. He felt it, deep in his chest. He was strong enough to resist it. The raccoon began to scurry away and Howl stepped back, removing himself from the situation as best he could. He'd try again, then. The raccoon had found one, so surely there was more. Perhaps he might be able to bring more than one. Even if he failed the quest he wouldn't regret his decision.
He returned back to where he had come from, taking a moment to swat at the water to cool his face. He could sense his journey was coming close to an end, but he had enjoyed it. He had never been in these parts, although he was sure he'd return once more. Maybe he'd visit Nowhere and Anywhere sometime and ask if they knew other interesting locations, although he would probably rely more on Anywhere...
Wait.
Was that movement? His ears perked as he neared the sight -- was this his chance? Was he even good at fishing? When was the last time he did so? He had been spending much of his time in the higher mountains hunting lately, he couldn't remember the last time he took a second to grab his dinner from the watery depths. He peered closer at the water, dipping his head close only to find....
words: 150
NymiiNym rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 7:38 pm
Characters Title: Beginner Actions Points: 0 AP
Current RP points: 9 RP points used: 0
Items: Painted Feather, Fish Items used: None Total Item points: 2
Was that a -- a fish! The fish? Howl wasn't sure, he had only caught a glimpse of the creature for a split second before lashing his paw out in response, hooking nails onto scales and tossing the creature out of the water. He closed his eyes, muttering a prayer before returning his gaze to the creature.
A normal fish.
Still, it was something, and he was never one to scoff at what mother nature provided him. He was thankful for the prize, really. Either it would have been use to Kale or to him. Still, he had enough energy to continue on and attempt to bring back the prize he had intended to find for Kale, even if it meant the trek back would be during the darkest of nights. He leaned down, wrapping the now dead fish within nearby grass and leaves, clamping his mouth firmly around it. He'd bring it along.
He found himself back at the cave, where his eye caught plenty of sights. Lots of movement, as always. Was this an active location? He sighed between his teeth, setting the fish down gently. Really, if he saw the raccoon again, his decision would remain the same; leave them be. But he had energy for one more attempt before he'd turn back.
Truthfully, he suspected the fish he had seen the raccoon have was the creature he sought. At least he could provide information instead of the item itself; it wasn't nothing. Regardless, he was glad he had taken the journey. Perhaps he'd continue on with his journey and begin to explore the possible world of monsters and cryptids.
No, he was sure he would. He couldn't imagine going back to before, now that he had taken the plunge. Hopefully next time he'd actually obtain what was requested, or meet something of more substance.
