[Open] Hunter becomes the prey

[tantailizing]

🧙 WHO: Zidane and you!
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-all for August
🕒 WHEN: August (until events and stuff)
🗺️ WHERE: Around Camelot
⚠️ WARNINGS: Culling and fighting, mainly vigilante stuff

I. Don't Treep, Man

Warm out today, but Zidane continued trudging about, working on this bit of fence or tilling this other section of land. For a few, he'd been left to water, but only up until more materials had been brought. Honestly, he was surprised just how much damage the zombies made, but their response to their numbers? Could've been better, but oh well.

"Ready to get back to the fence?" he asked the other worker nearby, not paying much heed to the fact they could currently either occupied by a task or looking for something more to do. If they hadn't been helping with the fence before, this might be slightly confusing.

II. Invasive Species

Ehehe, well, he'd say the season served the local wildlife well - and maybe too well like the task had said, but he wasn't going to be mature about it.

Anyway, cull some of the older animals, spare the ones that just had offspring or raised in a community (then it was open game), and also get the Carcinuses back. That second part might be the bigger challenge really, but maybe using one part to lead to the second, they could make good progress.

He'll think of a few more plans if that fell through.

"How you doing over there?"

His companion on this task could handle themselves, right? No issues with a few woodland critters?

III. Open House

He didn't know what to expect of Camelot's castle, but it was definitely dolled up for company. At least, he doesn't think the public bath normally has a water slide - not that he was really feeling a bath right now. Instead, he decided to stalk away and have a look around further; he could be found briefly having a taste of some new foods, seeing what books would be in this royal library, curiously watching the magician perform as he strolled by, and then heading out to the gardens.

Hm... roses had been one of her mother's favorites.

He could be found there soon too, lying around near the roses and pretty much chilling.

IV. Animal Mage Hunt - Reverse Card

Zidane had an animal tail, big whoop, wanted to fight about it?

Apparently, someone does - someone did, and it was the same someone that was going after others with Animal Magic once he got someone to squawk. Making them spill further details, the barely tech-savvy young man checked the Dark Web and found the posting, and was immediately both unimpressed and actually angered.

It was one thing to basically put a bounty on him, but any Animal Mage, huh? Worse, he'd heard about the murders happening and he didn't know if they were related. Even if they weren't, the knights were likely occupied by them instead.

So, he'll make himself look quite conspicuous donning his cloak and mask from home. Hood drawn, he thought he looked like a suspicious mage type; and with enough of his tail just appearing from beneath, that outta do it. He doesn't really mind how it might look to others - he had to figure out how to track down the guy behind the Dark Web post.

[OOC: Note that this is open for him to aid characters being attacked, for people looking to attack a supposed animal mage, or wondering what the hell he's doing at all. Maybe they'd like to come along, he's open to forming a party.]

[V. Wildcard]

[OOC: As always, want another prompt not present? Hit me up at demidemonLove and we can write something new out!]

Comments

[tantailizing]

Nah. Too high class for me.

[Besides, if he ends up on something like an actual bed? He's not getting back up that easily. He just wants a nap, not accidentally decide to conk out until tomorrow. Weird how a bed can just do that.]

[Going back to his relax pose, he blinks when she comes back with a rose in hand. He raises an eyebrow, but then dramatically gasps.]

Tifa, I didn't know you felt that way! I'm spoken for though.

[He's teasing... but that last part...]

[starshower]

[She's teasing too, and Tifa had almost wanted to tuck it behind his ear but remembered that they do indeed have thorns. Might not have been as comfortable...

Her interest is piqued at that last part though, and she perks up with intrigue. Spoken for, huh? He's never mentioned this before...!]

Ohhh? [She starts in a sing-song voice.] Who is it?

[tantailizing]

[Nope! And he'd probably roll onto his side and make it worse.]

[He resumes his casual position, tail twirling around.]

A sweet but feisty little canary that makes my heart soar. Beautiful, beloved, determined... I can't wait to see her again.

[starshower]

[Whoever this girl is, she sounds exactly like the kind of girl that would suit Zidane.]

Does this little canary have a name?

[You know, in the event she ever lands in Avalon? Just in case...]

[tantailizing]

[Waaay more to her than what Zidane’s only telling her. However there’s not enough words to do her justice.]

Garnet~

[starshower]

Garnet...

[It's a lovely name. She repeats it with a whimsical voice, and she bops him on the forehead with the flower, waiting for him to take the damn thing!]

Where's she now? Not here, I'm guessing, or else it wouldn't be me giving you this flower.

[tantailizing]

[He'll take the flower in a second after the insistent and roll it between his thumb and index, watching the petals spin.]

Yeah, probably not. I'd be giving her a few flowers instead... not sure if they'd be roses though.

[starshower]

[Flowers can say a lot about a person, she's learned—about the one giving them and the one receiving them. Not roses, huh...? She wonders if there's a reason for that choice.

She leans back on her hands to stare up at the blue sky above, the clouds light and fluffy as they pass over their heads.]

What kind do you think?

[tantailizing]

Hm... there's a lot to pick from.

[And there's a few reasons behind roses. Top being he's pretty sure it's not her favorite, but he takes a moment to think.]

I'm between... a peony and lily.

[starshower]

Lilies, huh?

[Lilies hold a particularly special meaning for Tifa, and she still sometimes wishes that the flower was still in that bottle on the table, waiting for her to return to the bar when they were finished their fight against Shinra and Sephiroth.

Alas...

But this isn't the time for that.

There's a moment where Tifa seems to shine a little brighter, her warmth almost palpable in the way she smiles down at Zidane.]

Back home, the lilies... They symbolize reunion. Might be more fitting than you think.

[tantailizing]

Yup.

[Kinda hard to decide between the two of them. Would peonies be too direct? Would lilies be not enough? Maybe he should talk to Aerith about it when the time came.]

[But then, he blinks and looks Tifa's way. And then, he smiles and looks back up at the sky.]

Lilies it is then!

[starshower]

[Tifa will vouch for Aerith until she's blue in the face, so at least their minds are already on the same wavelength.

She's feeling a little nostalgic, sitting in all these roses, and she recalls a time when they would bloom big and colourful in Nibelheim.]

Didn't see a lot of these flowers back home, you know. When I was growing up my mom would plant some—she was always good at it. We had a small planter right by our window. But in Midgar? It was hard to grow anything.

[tantailizing]

[Humming, it takes a moment to fully process what Tifa said this time. Flowers when she was little with her mom... to a familiar name that he's heard before.]

Midgar, huh? Do you know Aerith?

[Because he might've heard mention of this place that sucks at growing anything substantial and green.]

[starshower]

[There isn't even an ounce of surprise in her expression after learning that he and Aerith know each other. Of course they would, she laughs to herself, they're almost too similar to each other in some ways, but different enough that they would make pretty good friends, she thinks.]

I do!

[Her chest swells with pride at announcing that indeed, she and Aerith are friends. Anyone would be so lucky to be.]

Met her through Cloud. The two of them got me out of a bit of a rough spot back then. Don't know what I'd do without her...

You've met?

[tantailizing]

Oh Cloud too! Good!

[Sounded like Tifa had a good number of friends from home.]

A rough spot, huh?

Yeah, we did. Pretty much once I got here, I was training at the Training Grounds and almost ran into a support beam.

[starshower]

[Ah. Tifa's expression falters, only a bit, but hearing that everyone and their mothers have seen Cloud except her makes her heart sink a little...

Oh well. Best she focuses on something else entirely, so she leans her chin on her hands, propping her elbow on her knees.]

Lemme guess—Aerith got you out of a bind there, too?

[tantailizing]

[Honestly, it's been a while since he's seen Cloud. Might be good for the guy to pop up more often.]

[He shakes his head.]

Haha, nope! She called out to me and drew my attention away from the course. Wanted me to slow down... and I did.

[starshower]

Sounds just like her...

[It's said with a fond laugh, of course. Aerith is the kindest person she knows, but she does have a bit of a mischievous side, she learned. It was never meant in a hostile way, but always to draw a laugh out of the other person, which... she was unbelievably skilled at that Tifa admired it. Admires her in a lot of ways.

And she's thankful that she has her here.

Her head tilts at Zidane, the thought sparking something in her.]

You don't have anyone here with you, do you? From your world?

[tantailizing]

[Tell that to past super dizzy Zidane avoiding actually crashing into a support beam. It all worked out, but it could've been a knock out instead. Oh well, Aerith was great.]

[He shakes his head.]

Actually, there is someone here. If you see a small girl with dark hair and a yellow horn, that's Eiko. She can be bold, but she's a good kid.

[starshower]

[She sounds like she might be hard to miss if she ever comes across her, so Tifa commits the name to memory. Honestly, it would be nice to meet the people who could befriend Zidane before this world, and before a whole other universe tossed them all together and shook them around. 😉 The thought comes from the fondest place, of course.]

Bold, huh? She learned from the best, didn't she?

[The best being Zidane. He is rather bold.]

You're taking pretty good care of her, right?

[tantailizing]

Nah, it wasn't me. She was always like that since we met. I think it was the moogles.

[Because her grandfather sounded pretty normal to him.]

Oh yeah. She's been able to meet new people and see new places. Technology here throws her a little off too, but that's not a surprise.

[starshower]

How so? Not so techy where you're from?

[Gaia is and isn't in some ways. The smartphones are a completely new trend for her, what with there being only basic flip phones back home, but at least she was technologically familiar enough to figure out how to use them when she got here.]

[tantailizing]

Nope. We have radios... and one place has holograms.

[There's some technological disparities for reasons, but going into details? What's that?]

[starshower]

[That is... quite the jump, even for Tifa who had made a significant jump in tech from Midgar to here... Ah, Final Fantasy. Never change.]

Holograms sound pretty techy to me. Shinra liked to use them to show themselves off all the time.

[The same way someone small would try to show off their power to intimidate others... but in reality, it just made them look silly.]

Has she learned all about the video streaming stuff yet?

[tantailizing]

Shinra? What's that?

[Also, about that showing off... eh, maybe later.]

Not yet.