[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]

Near some diabolical destination alright... and he turns a corner to a less populated area to begin jogging. Apparently, most people don't just run in crowds and he'll be doing that soon unless whoever's following him wants to try something different. But they would just have to see!

[flapsin]

Darkwing keeps up jos pursuit as the stranger enters a less populous area of the town. This must be a perfect area for unscrupulous activities! Not only that, but he's continuing to move faster... Darkwing gives up the pretense of hiding in alleys and starts to silently run after him!

[tantailizing]

Oh ho, they are determined! Great, that's fun... and they're almost in the right place. The dead end he knows is coming - it's time to put on a show as he comes to a halt, looking up at the wall. He then fiddles around his pocket - if he had a scrap of paper instead of his phone, it would sell the bit a little better.

[flapsin]

Ah, a dead end uphead! The classic ending point to any chase sequence. Now he has his quarry cornered, without a doubt! He should prepare to issue his introduction soon, but first he just raises his cape dramatically as he looks towards the suspicious figure.

"Hold it right there!"

[tantailizing]

He's kinda already holding it right there, but Zidane tilts his head up and semi-glances over his shoulder back towards the other cloaked figure. Oh, it's someone doing the same thing he's doing... that's kinda funny.

Mask is kinda plain though.

[flapsin]

He has his target's attention. The time is right! He deploys a smoke bomb and poses dramatically as he introduces himself.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night!
I am the leaky faucet that disrupts villainy's slumber.
I am Darkwing Duck!"

He surfaces from the smoke, continuing to pose and looking poised for battle.

[tantailizing]

Raising a hand, he waves at the smoke as he turns, raising an eyebrow. Once it's clear enough, he raises his hand to his chin, nodding.

"Huh, hadn't considered a smoke bomb... Maybe I will."

He doesn't look ready to throw down, but he might have other ideas.

[flapsin]

He responds with a casual light-heartedness. "Oh you should! It really adds to the dramatic tension, the mystique!"

After a beat, he clears his throat and continues more seriously. "Ee, I mean - the only thing you should consider... or maybe reconsider, is your life of crime, you masked menace!"

[tantailizing]

"Right? The element of surprise!" He totally gets it.

But back to the matter at hand, Zidane scoffs a little. "I dunno... I'm not the masked one calling myself the 'terror that flaps in the night'. Also, maybe not a leaky faucet... You ever hear something scratching the walls once the last light goes out? That's the worst."

[flapsin]

"No, I can't say I have, but that does sound like good stuff... Mind if I use it?"

Once again he's casual again, before switching back to being serious. "I'm just striking fear into the criminal element! But you are also a mysterious masked fellow! Now why don't you save us both some trouble and confess everything?"

[tantailizing]

"Hey, go for it, man."

If he even went as far as making scratches in his approach somehow. But back to serious. "Sure, no problem. I was walking around, tracking down some bounty hunters, but then I was being followed. So I came here."

[flapsin]

"Why thank you!"

He raises a confused eyebrow. "Wait, bounty hunters? You mean you are a bounty hunter, right? Or some kind of... evil hunter. So you thought you could shake off the pursuit of justice, huh?"

[tantailizing]

"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure I'm one of those 'accused mages' they're looking for."

Raising his cloak on one side, he shows this Darkwing Duck guy the tail waving behind him. "Then again, they kinda don't care if you're not. Have animal traits, you're automatically an animal mage."

[flapsin]

"Wait, what?" he blinks as he looks the fellow over again, and he notices the tail.

"Okay, okay, you're making a lot of sense here. A... suspicuous amount of sense! Are you... sure you're telling the truth?" He sounds very unsure, grasping the last straws of the ground he's been standing on.

[tantailizing]

Lowering his cloak, he grins.

"Well, if you wanna see, let's go!" And from his feet, he floats up to land on the rooftop behind him. "We still gotta lead on them!"

[flapsin]

"Wait, we have a lead??" He frantically moves to follow him, using a grappling hook to help him scale a building.

[tantailizing]

Waiting for Darkwing to join him, Zidane nods.

"Yup. Even if you don't drink, consider dipping into the bar sometimes. People pass information all the time there."

[flapsin]

It takes a moment, but Darkwing soon joins him and strikes a pose.

"Ah of course, the bar! I... know all about exploring the seedy underbelly for intel! Just, uh, didn't get that particular info...!" He's also incapable of blending in with criminals.

[tantailizing]

"They're starting to get together and plot more often. I've had to change up my appearance a few times." But he also had the advantage of just hiding his tail. Couldn't say there were a lot of ducks at the bar otherwise.

[flapsin]

"What are you, some kind of master of disguise?" After a beat, he corrects himself. "A fellow master of disguise? Who exactly are you anyway?"

Darkwing's one skills of disguise might actually be a bit... lacking. But at least he's an actor!

[tantailizing]

"Nah, just someone that was part of a theater troupe back home." He caught that small correction, but he won't comment on it. "And for now? Just call me Marcus."

His actual name while he's under the cloak? No way.

[flapsin]

"I see. Well a little acting experience can go a long way when it comes to espionage!" He can say that from experience! Somewhat. The name ends up getting a raised eyebrow from him, because it's not a name he'd expect from that mysterious cloaked figure. "Marcus? That's it? Sorry, that - it doesn't sound like a name that strikes fear into the hearts of evil."

[tantailizing]

"Right?" It worked pretty great when the pirates had their party. Still works great when he sneaks into places he isn't supposed to be, but there hasn't been many recent incidents.

"It's not meant to. It keeps them off-guard and if they try to find me later, it's not my name."

[flapsin]

"I... see. Well you know, it's possible to do that and still have the name be cool and fearsome, you know!" He shakes his head. "B-but, y'know, I suppose you are new to this sort of thing..." he says in an attempt at sounding like the authority, when his own vigilante experience is more limited than he lets on...

"Anyway, how about we follow those leads of yours?"

[tantailizing]

"Honestly? Not that new, but hey, don't worry about it. We both have our ways of doing things and it just leaves the bad guys not knowing what to expect." The best way to keep them from catching on.

Nodding, he turns. "Let's go. They're supposed to be stalking out someone's home residence and that's no good."