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Picnic Panic

Scene details

Setting: The party has narrowed down the location of the next piece of the Crux to somewhere west of Zerhem Kingdom, but how far west remains undetermined. Fortunately, the area immediately west of the city is a gorgeous location where the forested hills appeared to be in perpetual autumn and the valley between is in endless spring. Since this is due to aetherial flux caused by a subterranean concentration of earth-aspected crystals, our heroes have three good reasons to travel there:
  1) to test how far away the next Crux reading is,
  2) to see if any powerful earth crystals and be found, and
  3) to have a picnic.
  *Un*fortunately, the area is home to wildlife including an intelligent band of wild boars that have acquired the capacity to wield low-level earth magic due to the ambient aether. While they are not aggressive to the point of violence, they *are* hungry. Hijinks may ensue.

Log

The sun beams bright from above, seeming to clear the faint morning mist that wreathes the surrounding forested hills. Its heat is balanced by the refreshing cool of the breeze that rustles through the trees down into the valley road, sending a glorious swirl of autumnal leaves to fall with delightful incongruity among the wildflowers that spring from the dirt.

"The praise of this marvel hardly did it justice," Ivo remarks with unusual sincerity, cheerfully amazed at the exquisite harmony of the duelling seasons here. When it comes to Granse's tourist attractions, Lake Gerisia is ever the first recommended given its proximity to other settlements, but these western hills are something of a hidden gem. "Multitasking has never looked so good." A little of Ivo's typical tone of playful irony returns as he hefts the picnic basket in his left hand.

His right hand, of course, holds the same detection device he utilized on their previous adventure in the Misty Forest. It swirls and flashes small lights, as though trying to communicate some sort of information, but Ivo ignores it for the moment, simply enjoying the feast for the senses that this tranquil and miraculous place offers our heroes. Whatever he's up to with that device, this is still basically a day off.

The Star Chaser's strategist is not the only one who is with a picnic basket. Reize Seatlan, the young Vanguard, is lugging a larger picnic basket. To be fair, he could have put it within the ancient satchel of holding, a relic picked up during his travels within Cosmopolis' ancient ruins, he opted to hold it because he is eyeing the potential food.

"Mmmm, can't wait to eat."

Also like Ivo, Reize takes the time to admire the western hills. "Wooooow..." Taking in the vastness of the hills, his eyes practically light up. Setting the picnic basket down, he is already opening it up and has started scarfing down.

Om nom nom nom nom....

And yes, there is some crab inside... which was a good chunk of his money.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

"Ahhh... It's so pretty..."

Anna is, needless to say, enraptured by the colors of the falling leaves and blooming wildflowers that are everywhere. For once, the berserker princess seems to be in a state of peace rather than the comstant internal turmoil that plagues her thoughts and emotions at any given time. The splendor of nature apparently enough to, for now, cool her emotions and calm the raging spark hidden away in the secret place behind her heart.

She lets the boys carry the picnic baskets, in her hands she holds a large blanket, folded neatly for now until such a time as the party finds a good spot to set down and start relaxing.

Which seems to be now, so she gets to spreading that out on the grass and plops down as well.

Sure they're trying to locate the next piece, but also PICNIC, PICNIC, PICNIC! Ruidosa only knows the vaguest ideas of what a picnic is but definition-- you eat food, outside. You eat outside! She's eaten outside before, but not outside outside! It's different okay!?

Ruidosa is shoving a crab into her mouth already next to or across from Reize as she lets Ivo do his...scanny..wanny stuff. Happily eating crab means she isn't trying to curse him, besides.

"So what are we doing out in the open in a hilly region?" she asks.

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

"Eh. It's alright."

Priel unhelpfully adds, peering out across the hills with a hand above her eyes. And then she slumps back, arms crossed behind her head and staring up at the sky. Yep. This was just fine and dandy. No crises to deal with, no Corrine to make her work. A day off doing absolutely nothing was juuust perfect.

And so Priel lets her eyes drift shut, letting the gentle breeze pass over her.

Ivo grins as his fellow adventurers set to work on the Gerisian delicacy, only to blanch as Ruidosa appears to shove a crab inside her mouth. How does she do that? Is she like a snake, unhinging her jaw? He'd ask, but he doesn't want to be cursed. Not that Ivo is superstitious, mind you. Like a good scholar, he attempted to research the phenomenon of vampire curses. All that he knows is that they probably exist. He can't be sure that Ruidosa is capable of using them, of course.

But better safe than sorry.

"This'll take us one step closer to finding the next Crux piece." He actually responds helpfully. "By adapting some of the magitech amplifier's functionality into this magitech sensor in our new lab, we were able to magnify Kernunnos's ability to detect Crux pieces, but all we know is that the next one is west of Zerhem. Going a little bit west will help us narrow the location down without us having to plan out a major venture out of settled territory. And," he supplies, the exposition still not just finished, "if the phenomenon here really is caused by earth crystals in the soil, like folks say, we might be able to find some and refine our tools further." His grin returns before he winks at the vampire girl. "So that's why we're on a picnic."

He really does mean well.

"But it looks like there's so much here that determining the cluster closest to the surface will take a while..." Seating himself on a corner of the blanket next to where Priel reclines, Ivo places the sensor to the side to let it work its magic while he opens his own basket, withdrawing a bottle. "Look what I happened to procure from a forager visiting from the east: wild sweet potato and truffle liqueur. Care for a sip, Priel?" As is typical, Ivo has found something both assuredly fancy and probably weird.

So distracted is he by attempting to ply the napping beauty with gifts, he does not notice an adorable new arrival: a little boar piglet snuffling its way out from the trees, waddling over toward Anna and Ruidosa, following the delectable sense of crab and looking up at them with big dewy eyes.

"Mmph! Prrll---" He pauses, realizing that he's speaking with his mouth full. He finishes swallowing his food and he extends a hand out with one of the sandwiches at hand.

"Ooi! Priel! Don't you want to a sandwich to snack on?" He tilts his head curiously. His glance is over towards Ruidosa, who has been stuffing a crab in her mouth. He sighs, "... Well, I guess there is no helping it." He has given up on trying to get Ruidosa to eat crab the /normal/ way!

Thoughtfully, Reize adds towards Ivo, "We'll still need to question that guy. He was mentioning about 'voices' the past few days. He is currently detained at the local cell, but he has been uncooperative since we caught him." He closes his eyes, "We did get his name: Neis. He was notoriously known for ambushes in open trails until the past few months." Likely before their arrival to Granse.

He chews on the sandwich and then he takes the moment to pass Anna a sandwich, "Oooi, Anna!" And then a small boar piglet shows up. He watches the interaction with curiosity.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

Anna acquires a sandwich!

"Thank you~." the princess chirrups as she starts to dig in daintily.

... Enter the boar piglet.

"... Oh how cute."

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

Priel opens one eye and stares sideways at Reize vaguely. ".... I guess we are at a picnic." She says, letting out a breath as she sits herself back up and nabs a sandwich. It's not fine dining, but heck. Doesn't mean it's not good, right? She takes a bit and chews. While she does so, she eyes the boar piglet that wanders up to their company.

Her eyes narrow.

"Don't be fooled by those shimmering eyes." She says, taking another bite. "Give one of them an inch, and then they'll take a mile." She says, not buying the piglet's act. Her gaze shifts to Ivo next, and she smirks. "You know me so well." She says, taking the truffle liquer bottle, and tilting it to have a deep swig. After which, she passes it back to him and resumes eating her sandwich.

Ruidosa is enjoying crabs okay!? But still, she eyes Reize as she frowns. "No helping what?" she asks Reize....giving him the ''evil eye''. (She'll curse you!)

Still a tiny boar shows up and she 'eeeeeeees!' and falls down in front of it and wiggles a bit forward. "Oh my god so cute~!" she says with wide eyes. She pauses at Priel.

"Oh. So. Like. Bad salesmen...."

Ivo is still distracted, gazing intently at the bottle that Priel has handed back to him apparently without a second thought, seeming to be hesitating or considering something. After just a few seconds, though, he also drinks from the bottle, expression unchanging as he appraises it. "Strong yet clear. That smoky, umami flavor gives it precisely the 'wild' sense one would hope, and helps to cover any crude aftertaste. This could be a hit with better marketing and distribution." He rattles this off in his usual manner of a lively aesthete, but all the while, his cheeks are for some reason slightly flushed.

Whatever it is he's focused on, he's hardly acknowledged the boar piglet. Even as Priel speaks her warning, its eyes seem to only get bigger somehow, like anyone who looks at them begins to sink into their depths. It might be starving, you know. Maybe it'll die unless it has just a little taste of sandwich or crab. And then whose fault will that be? Yours, you monster.

The surrounding brush rustles a little as a second piglet tumbles out, following its sibling. But that brush doesn't stop rustling.

"Eeegh!" Reize instinctively flinches when Ruidosa fixes him with that evil eye. "... Nothing..." He hangs his head low, defeated. This is an unwinnable battle where the best option is to concede.

The young explorer glances over the sight of the boars. Oddly enough, those were very rare breeds within Verdios and made good meat if a hunter was successful enough to grab one. The young boy muses briefly, then he looks over towards the two piglets that arrive.

"...Hmm.. oh, why not?" He offers a sandwich over to one of the little boar piglets. There is a goal that the young explorer has in mind. While the young man is not an animal handler, he does understand the necessary of working with a beast.

He provides a cheerful smile, "I will need you two little guys to remember me when I need a hand." The hunter reaches down to give the two a pet.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 1. Total result is 1.

Reize Seatlan says, "........................................................................................................................................"

Ivo Galvan says, "..."

Priel says, "......"

Anna says, "... well."

Ruidosa ohs! "Another one!" she goes as another piglet comes. She then carefully tears the leg off a crab and feeds it to the boar anyways. What's the harm of feeding it just a little. That's not even an inch, that's like a centimeter! Surely miles can't come from that.

She then eyes Reize as Reize feeds the boar and gasps! "Don't give it that much they'll get fat! And delicious, probably, later in life." she says bluntly.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

Annnnd there's another little boar. The brush may still be rustling, but Anna...

Anna can't resist.

"A-awwww..."

Priel's warning goes unheard as the Suryle princess holds out her sandwich to the boarlings.

This can't possibly have bad repurcussions.

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

"Their problem now."

Priel pointedly gets up, sandwich in her mouth, as she casually moves away from the group and goes to find some high ground nearby. There, she sits herself back down and resumes eating.

If she had popcorn, she'd be munching on it right now.

Ivo's sensor flashes, distracting the flushing young man yet further, such that he has no comment to offer on the advisability of his companions' indulgence of the piglets. "Ah, Priel!" He takes the sensor in one hand and the bottle in the other. "As ever, your adventurer's instincts guide you well. I think the closest crystal cluster is in that direction--" As to if that's what the sensor actually says, only Ivo knows, but he stands to follow her regardless.

At which point, a large blur behind him blows past, whipping his cloak to the side as his eyes go saucer-wide.

"Eh?"

The happy little piglets are chowing down on Ruidosa and Anna's snacks, making endearing little oinks and snorts as they opportunistically gobble up anything and everything passed their way. So placated, they don't react as Reize reaches to pet them, their bodies soft and warm. They look up at him as they finish snacking, their eyes wide and questioning.

And then, without blinking, in unison, their mouths open wide and chomp down on each of his hands, biting hard.

It is that very moment that a great shadow looms behind Reize, eyes seeming to glow demonic red. The mother boar, head lowered, is charging toward him, planning on trampling the entire picnic and sending food flying everywhere. Everyone there will have to evade, but whatever Reize does, he will have to do with two piglets attached to his hands.

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 18. Total result is 18.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 6. Total result is 6.

OMG SO CUTE, Ruidosa is lost in the adorableness in the piglets for a moment, and kinda wants to pick one up and snuggle it and.. and take it home and name it some name like Penner or something. That's when she catches the sight of the mother piglet charging for Reize and Reize has piglets for hands?...or wait, no, they chomped down.

Still, Ruidosa flees the picnic blanket but not before grabbing her book and says to Reize.

"REIZE PUT THE PIGLETS DOWN, WHY ARE YOU HOLDING THEM, YOU'VE UPSET THE MOTHER!" she insists.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

"Awwwww!"

Yep. Anna is feeding them piglets.

Right up until Reize gets chomped.

... And the mama boar appears, looking less than stellarly pleased.

"A-ah... Um."

Thinking quickly, Anna just... Dark Souls tumblerolls out of the way of the incoming pain train.

As Ruidosa chastizes Reize about feeding the young boars, Reize gives a thoughtful look at Ruidosa. "The parents will likely not be too far away if there are piglets about. However, I think that we can still make a deal with these piglets." The young explorer looks quite serious.

"With any luck, they'll likely remember me enough for me to call in a favor if we run into them again." He grins as he pets the two little boars. "Let's just make sure we help each other---"

*CHOMP*

"--out?"

There is an uncomfortable pause as the two boars, in unison, take a nice hold of Reize's hand as they chomp hard.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Tears of pain, comically splattering from each side of the eye, emit from the boy as he runs around with the boar. It is so bad that Reize immediately stands up to his two feet and is running around in circles.

"GET'EM OFF GET'EM OFFGET'EM OFF GET'EM OFFGET'EM OFFGET'EM OFFGET'EM OFFGET'EM OFFaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"

Whether you can call it relief or more suffering comes in the form of the mother boar that makes quite the impact on Reize's life, literally.

It is a sight to behold, but it is akin to watching a large ball smack into a row of small conic instrumentations. That sound of a thunderous *POW*, bowling ball-to-pin-sound, as Reize is launched high into the air from the charge...

And drops quite hard.

"...K--kajira was always better at the 'animal bonding' thing than I was...." His whines with comical tears before he presses his face to the grass.

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

Priel pays absolutely zero mind to the shenanigans happening over down that way. That's all their problem.

Her attention turns to Ivo when he mentions something about a sensor, and she quirks a brow. "Hrm. Is that the thing you've been tinkering with all this time?" Elbow in her lap, and cheek against palm, she sounds curious.

"This is the real reason you organized this whole thing, huh?" Asking that, she took a cursory glance about the area. "So, what are we looking for here? Some sort of crystal?" Priel ventures further, while standing herself up and brushing off the grass.

Nevermind the chaos going on down there.

They'll be juuuuuust fine.

Maybe.

"What is 'real,' really?" Ivo replies to Priel, grinning as he spreads his hands wide in a shrug, albeit one burdened by sensor and bottle in hand. "Do we not all have many goals we seek to reconcile?" That plurality of motivation seems well represented by what he's carrying. Behind him, Reize goes flying. Ivo doesn't blink. "The sensor served us well in our first field test, so a crystal deposit should be close to the surface right... around..."

He trails off. A truly massive boar, exuding nobility and power, has stepped into view mere meters from where Priel and Ivo now stand. The father boar watches impassively as his mate and children rampage around the picnic blanket before slowly turning his aged gaze to the human and beastkin near him. Ivo's hackles rise at the intimidating stare only to find the boar is passing over him, settling-- on the remains of Priel's sandwich in her grasp.

"Uh, Priel--"

But the boar ignores her, instead beginning to dig in the dirt for something. After a moment, several glowing crystals streaked with verdant green and burnt umber.

"Wait!" Ivo exclaims. "Those are--"

And then the boar swallows one.

"--uhhhhhhh--"

And its eyes begin to glow those same colors.

"Priel!!!!"

Vines burst from the earth to try to snatch Priel's food from her hand. Meanwhile, with Ruidosa and Anna safely clear, the implacable mother boar continues bearing down on Reize even after smashing into him. Once Reize hit the ground, the piglets released him, the two of them safe and sound and beginning to scamper in unison with their mother. But the boar seems to be in Charge Mode. Rather than targeting Reize directly, it seems like it's just going to keep running until it can't anymore. And it doesn't care whether it tramples Reize or happens to scoop him up, all while the piglets run alongside.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 14. Total result is 14.

Noooo the piglets we're so cute, why did they have to ruin it. Now there are less than nice things happening and she sighs a little. She supposes she should help Reize. But... that's just.. a normal pig right? She can't just blast a pig..! So instead she tries to raise a shadow wall in front of the charging pig, giving something for it to hit and hopefully stop, which.... is about all she can do in this case besides try to kill it.

But she was doesn't wanna kill momma pig.

And she looks to Ivo and Priel. "I didn't curse you with pigs, for the record!" she insists frantically.

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 3. Total result is 3.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

Anna rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 17. Total result is 17.

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

"Uh huh. Sure." Priel says, rolling her eyes in response to Ivo's philosophical ponderings of realness. "Whatever you say, buddy." But then comes that rather stately looking boar from nearby, and she pauses, looking over at it. ".........." It walks past them and digs into the ground, pulling up a crystal. "Hey, isn't that-"

Gulp.

"Ah hell."

Its eyes glow, and Ivo shouts for her. She manages to jump away just as those vines burst up and try to grab for her. Or more precisely, her half eaten sandwich. "Do you *really* want to become bacon that badly?" She growls, and lets go of the sandwich, letting the vines grab it. Not like she has anything else on her to eat.

"Imagine using magic just for this." She rolls her eyes. Look, she's not here to have a fight today. It's a day off! If they want her half eaten leftovers, then by god, they can have it.

The young explorer can feel every part of his body hurting from the impact on the ground. Unfortunately, he won't have time to worry about those sore muscles as he can hear the thunderous sound of the earth. "...Buh..?" His bleary gaze allows him to see her charge straight ahead once more, ready to take him out.

Oh! There is a wall that Ruidosa managed to put up that will aid him-----oh no, the mother had likely torn through that like paper. Oh boy this is going to hurt.

His mind is acting on adrenaline and his body is glowing with a powerful aura. He stands brave as the mother prepares to charge at him. It is akin to a David vs Goliath situation where the giant is ready to charge against the shorter statured hero.

With that well of power, Reize meets with the mother at a head long charge and he springs off of his feet. With a defiant roar...

"SHIIIIIIINNNIIINNGG MOOOOONNNN!!!!"

The mother had taken a devastating blow to the chin, looking knocked out. The piglets, upon seeing their mother defeated, rush to the boy and start doing their equivalent of 'kowtowing' in the sense of 'WE'RE SORRY! WE WILL BE GOOD! WE WILL HELP YOU!'

"Yeah, and don't forget it...!"

However... that was all a brief dream...

----

"yeah... and don't forget it..."

This is a sleepy murmurs from Reize within in his daze of stupor. This soon ends as his eyes slowly open as he finds himself in a different, yet same scenario as the mother is tearing through Ruidosa's wall.

"GAH!" This snaps him awake as the fate does not look very promising for him. He mentally tries to figure out what he can do... and then an idea lands! He immediately reaches for his satchel to procure a rope and he springs up over the air to jump over the boar, but then he twists around to swing the rope out.. which ensnares over one of the boar's tusks.

"WOOOOO!"

Reize is right on the larger boar's back, straddling as he takes the mother for a ride. He's on a boar! ....Oh boy, he's on a boar.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

The mother boar is... Charging right at Reize! ... She's also ruining the picnic.

These are both very bad things. Especially when the big mama boar plows right through the shadow wall Rui set up. Anna winces... And then...

Reize... Reize... Is suddenly atop the boar.

"Uh."

This has gone from bad to worse as Anna picks herself up and considers her options. How best to help The Boy In The Yellow Scarf?

It comes to her. And before she even knows what she's doing, she's on the move, planting herself in front of the rushing swine.

MOOD MUSIC: https://youtu.be/yCmTJVew_tY

Planting her boots in the ground, the Suryle princess braces for impact, gritting her teeth as her eyes turn from green to a raging shade of bloodshot red. Her hands rise... And just as the mama boar is about to trample her...

She goes for the tusks.

Fingers curling to take the boar by the biggest jutting teeth. The impact makes her skid backwards, clenching her teeth as her boots dig furrows in the ground as she's slammed backwards... Before she attempts to just JUDO FLIP the big pig down to the ground and get Reize off its back, assuming this works at all!

Ivo can only stare as the vines retract with Priel's sandwich and pull it directly into the distinguished father boar's awaiting mouth. As chaos reigns in the background, it silently chews, seeming to appraise the meal much as Ivo had savored his drink moments before. Eventually it closes its eyes, lowering its betusked head, and the Cosmopolitan takes a tentative step back.

"*Bwuheee*!"

Whereupon the father boar lifts its head, eyes dewy like a piglet's, background shimmering joyfully as it exults at this culinary masterpiece. Snuffling happily, it turns to plod away, leaving the human and beastkin in peace and the heap of remaining crystals it dug up where they lie.

Wordlessly, Ivo hands Priel the bottle.

At this very moment, Reize's crystal has begun to flicker, a familiar voice echoing over the rushing wind and general tumult that comes with riding a charging boar.

"Only the bravest of my druids dared attempt the Ritual of Courage known as the Vaeltrandian Rodeo," Kernunnos observes. "Truly, I chose my champion well." Sometimes it really seems like he's making stuff about this legendary kingdom up as he goes. "But it behooves me to offer you some advice I recall from those days. First, if the boar bucks its hind legs to shake you, lean back. Second--"

The boar comes to a crashing halt.

"Know when to dismount."

The powerful princess is locked in a fearsome struggle with the mother boar, the beast straining against her, the piglets nearby skidding to a halt as well and backing away. Within moments, a cloud of dust will arise when the boar is flung on her side and to the ground, hopefully not squishing Reize. Several moments pass before the boar slowly rises, fixing Anna with a beady gaze. And then--

"Squee!"

--it sinks to one knee in a startlingly human recognition of her valor. The father boar ambles over, the two adults oinking and squealing at one another in an unintelligible exchange, before the father looks up to the trees above. The massive boar's eyes glow again with the earth aether it has absorbed and, miraculously, the autumnal trees begin to bear fruit, what appear to be figs budding and burgeoning on the branches before the party's very eyes. The piglets begin to oink and make little hops as though attempting to reach the fruit high above, despite the impossibility of doing so. It seems some recompense is being offered in exchange for this little misunderstanding.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 4. Total result is 4.

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20.

Roll(s): 2. Total result is 2.

Ruidosa eyes as the pig just blows through her wall and she just....

"......."

"Guess I'm useless." she say bluntly and deadpan, as she watches Reize flail on the boar she concentrates. Okay. She can do this... she can save Reize from more pain. She just has to think on that bond and a pull and----

Ruidosa makes a strange hand motion into the air like a yank and---

Nothing spectacular happens. There's a short spark like...something should have had happened, in front of her. and a short flash near Reize... but nothing.

"^&#@#%%!" comes from Ruidosa's mouth.

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

Priel just stares.

She watches as the boar seemingly rejoices at the taste of the sandwich, then seems satisfied to wander off, its desires answered.

".........."

Priel reaches aside and takes the offered bottle without looking. Then she takes a bit swig of the stuff. Nothing in the world will be able to answer how she feels about what's taking place here. After she's done, she holds the bottle back out to Ivo, and finally... finally looks towards the chaos down over yonder.

"......."

She watches Ruidosa fail and she can only stare with morbid interest. "So... is Reize's bad luck just rubbing off on everyone down there today or what?" She asides to Ivo.

She doesn't move to help. Oh no. Don't be silly.

There comes a voice that Reize has grown intimately familiar with. There is a mixture of curiosity as Reize listens on to Kernunnos' tale. "...Really? The Vaeltradian Rodeo? That sounds neat!" He brightens cheerfully, "Maybe I should take up the ritual one day!"

There is the first advice, which Reize is trying to watch out for.

The second advice, however...

"Huh?"

Suddenly, as abrupt as it is, the boar comes into collision with the princess as there is a locked conflict between the two. "Whooooa! Go, Anna!" Reize is so impressed with Anna's display of strength that, it does not register in the boy's mind that maybe it is the time that he should dismount from the creature!

This comes as a painful reminder as the boy feels a sudden shift in the weight. "...Buh....? GAAAAAHHHH!!!"

There is a brief spark of light that emits...

In slow motion, he can see Ruidosa, as if she's reaching out to him. In the instant of the slow motion, his hand slowly reaches for her, as if a yearning call is made. Their bond... that familiar feeling with her.

This.. is their bond as strong as---

--oh, that spark fizzles, and he can hear the swears come out.

Time resumes its normal speed as a loud thunderous crash roars across the earth. Reize is flat on his back and possibly with the boar atop him.

"...P..aaaaiiinn...." Reize whimpers in agony.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 9 months ago

Huffing and panting after summarily bodyslamming a boar, Anna's eyes return to their normal green, the red haze in her vision fading as her rage returns to the secret, hidden, place behind her heart and she's left breathless a bit.

"A-ah... You're not useless... She's just *really* strong." The Suryle princess asides to Rui as the mama boar gets up. And gives her a bow.

A very bewildered Anna dips into a formal little curtsey, just glad the chaos is over.

But she can't help but wince as Reize lands.

Ruidosa looks down and winces. "S..sorry." she says. "I guess you we're...moving too fast... and that's the...first time I tried that...and..." she mutters and looks away and rubs her arm and blinks at the strange fig-like fruits and the piglets making little jumps to them and she 'eeeeeessssssss!' and is back to fussing over piglets pretty fast...

Pause.

"A..are you gonna be okay?" she remembers to ask Reize. "Do I need to get the first aid package?"

"Do we have a first aid package?" she asks to Ivo. "Or is that just....Argent and were out of luck?"

"It's possible that the sheer intensity of concentrated earth aether here is disrupting other magical abilities," Ivo comments, nodding toward the pile of high-quality aether crystals near them, as he takes the bottle back from Priel and pauses to take a long sip, then exhale. "But it's probably Reize luck."

He then inclines his head toward Ruidosa and smiles.

"At last, proof positive," he quips. "Vampires *can* curse."

Don't push it, Galvan.

At last he strolls over to where his friend lies in a heap, drawing Hauteclare and sending the blade whirling up as he goes to cut some figs down and catch them as they fall, offering them to Ruidosa and the charmingly curtseying Anna to feed the eager piglets should they so desire.

"Behold, one of our newest inventions," he proclaims as he kneels by Reize's side, drawing a small package from his cloak. "The Argent Poultice, made in our new laboratory with all natural ingredients! Just don't ask what they are." He moves to slap it on the boy's minor injuries before he can escape. "All's well that ends well," he concludes, as though trying to convince himself.

"I'm okay.... I think..." Reize can feel everything hurt. At the very least, the chaos has ended, so all well has ended well, right? Other than the feeling of pain. However, that part is soon relieved as Ivo manages to slap some of the poultice down on the parts of the body where there is scrapes and aches. Those minor injuries start become mended, feeling a warmth covering him.

"Oh wow, that feels a lot better." He brightens cheerfully, then he starts to get back up. He does take the time to take in the sight of the autumnal trees that bear fruit. "Oh! Wow!"

Taking the time to obtain some of the fruit, waves a hand at the father. "Oooi, thanks!"

The piglets seem happy to hang out for a while, especially if they are being fed fruit, while the now calm mother and father watch from afar, occasionally oinking to one another contentedly. As Reize recovers and admires the view and waves to the father boar, it seems to nod in his direction -- or perhaps at the pendant upon the boy's chest.

"It seems a little more training is in order before you challenge the Vaeltrandian Rodeo," Kernunnos murmurs from his perch, the pendant's gem flickering in time with his words, "but I am confident you shall rise to meet that challenge." It is oddly easy to forget that he is always here, always observing, conserving his strength even as it builds with every fragment of the Crux acquired. But it seems that he has enjoyed his travels alongside Reize so far.

> Kernunnos's Affinity Rank increases to 3.

> Reize now has +3 to attempts to form animal bonds with boars.