fifth shot ⊗ open august log

[flamekthunder]

🧙 WHO: Eustace and anyone
⚔️️ WHAT: all three animal mage related quests
🕒 WHEN: throughout August
🗺️ WHERE: various
⚠️ WARNINGS: none except for animal deaths for the hunt task and any potential violence that might happen in the combat oriented prompts

⊗ a: task - don't treep, man

[Near the beginning of the month, Eustace helps with the farmers, taking it as more opportunities to work on his communication with other animals. But he'll also help out with some of the physical labor aspects as well.

1. Herding. Taking the form of a black sheep dog, Eustace will run out to help corral those wayward animals, even help by communicating with any other dogs that might be around to direct them. Of course, sometimes trying to get clues to where the other members of the herd can be difficult, and there are times a dog can be seen lowly growling at a cow or sheep as he tries to make sense of what they're saying. He'll even pair up with anyone else who is out there, animal mage or not, and will be useful to get in close to the animals to drive them back. Of course he has limits to his magic, so there when not using magic, he'll ride out on a horse instead. It never really occurred to him to use his magic on it, but he does find communicating with it a lot easier.

2. Helping hand. When not out running around trying to get the animals back, Eustace will be helping repairing buildings. Mending fences, bringing in wood, sorting the feed—he'll be displaying a surprising amount of knowledge and ease working in a place like this.

Also do not mind the gratuitous fanservice as without his cloak on, the Erune fashion preference of wearing backless, sideless tops will be on full display.]

⊗ b: task - invasive species

[Knowing full well the necessity of controlling animal populations, Eustace heads out to site to help deal with it. It would be nice if they could convince the animals to move, but that could cos other problems in other ecosystems, so culling may just be the best answer here. However he's bringing a cart with him as he's not going to let this go to waste.

1. On the Hunt. Although he prefers working by himself, if there is anyone who is not as experienced he'll offer some advice or walk with them to help with the hunt. Otherwise, anyone wandering might be surprised if an animal suddenly falls and Eustace drops down from his perch in the trees, the gunshot that took out the creature silent.

2. Loading the Cart. After each kill, Eustace will carry it back to the cart he brought with him, arranging them in a certain way. And towards the end he'll even make an offer.]

All of these can be taken back and used as food or materials for goods. If you want any for your own use or to sell, go ahead. I can also prepare it if you can't.

[3. Carcinuses. Since the Carcinuses are only out because of the excess food, Eustace is less inclined to try and actually kill them. He will if there's no other choice, so he's ready to shoot down the lightning, but he'll try to help drive them back. The methods employed are to either bait them back in the water by chucking his own kills into the lake or...try and actually communicate.

This is a little tougher, but he'll try. So some might see a...very small, strange looking silvery gray crab staring up at a giant Carcinus who is just staring right back at the puny thing with some curiosity.

...Yeah he has no idea if this will work, but an attempt is being made. Or he could be mistaken as a little crab being intimidated by a big giant scorpion tailed crab when it's really probably the opposite. The claws are up, could there be a show down!?? (No, no there isn't.)]

⊗ c: task - animal mage hunt

[Eustace is not only an animal magic user, but because of his ears he can be easily mistaken as a "victim" of this ritual. So he's getting a double whammy on this one. The two options are:

1. Getting an Earful. Eustace was already used to people staring at his ears or even outright asking about it, but the past few days have been aggravating. Too many people have come up to him and either expressed pity or asked personal, invasive questions that were borderline disturbing and some outright propositioning. Some even had the audacity to try and touch them or worse—look to see if he had a tail hidden. For the most part they have more harmless so he just ignored and walked away (or smack a hand that came too close), but there's a point where the limits of his own patience is reached and he'll snap. Some might see someone fleeing from him in fear...or perhaps you might be daring enough to inquire while he's in this foul mood?

2. Targeted. There will be a few key incidents, but over the next few days Eustace will first notice he's being followed before he finds himself having to defend against sudden attacks. He'll also be on the hunt for the assailants as they are clearly a threat. For the most part he can handle it, but there are still times he could slip. Anyone who sees Eustace fighting off his assailant is free to intervene and help, perhaps even stopping one before he even realizes one is tailing him. Alternatively, anyone who wants to target and fight him is free to do so as well! Just PM so can figure out how it turns out.]

⊗ d: wildcard

[Thanks to the Animal Mage Hunt, he's going to end up suffering a severe injury later on that will limit his activity for the second half of the month, so most of the activity would be better set earlier. But if anyone wants to do a thread to check on him while he's recuperating, that's doable! If interested in anything else not included here, just hit me up on laenavesse or discord and we can work something out!]

Comments

[starshower]

Fair enough.

[A world with space civilizations... She tucks that piece of information away with all of the other smaller tidbits she's learned about him—another piece of the puzzle. And she's about to ask for more when the lights dim until the room is black, and the giant screen in front of them flickers on.]

Oh, it's starting...!

[Following the trailers for upcoming smash box office hits, the real film starts and... well, needless to say, Tifa is a little (read: very) confused. She hadn't realized that Galaxy Wars: The Kingdom Strikes Back was a direct sequel to its predecessor, The Return of the Hope, when she offered it up as an option for them. To no one's fault of course, she hasn't been around long enough to know that it was a trilogy and this was the second of the three.

At any rate, it tells the story of Luke Hamill, Indiana Solo (why does he have a whip in a space movie?), and Princess Andrea fighting against the big bad, Marth Zader in space. Zader goes after the rebel base and destroys it, kidnaps the whip-wielding Indiana Solo and the Princess. Luke searches for the wise master of the Energy Arts to learn from him, and then goes after Zader to rescue his friends and in the process, loses his foot and learns that Marth Zader is actually his second uncle, twice removed. "NOOOOO!" In between all of that, there is plenty of opportunity for spaceship wars and explosions, and even a dash of romance—Indiana Solo continues to try and woo the Princess, and their feelings rise to the surface when he is turned to ice.

Yes, it's basically a Chinese bootleg version of The Empire Strikes Back.

And the movie ends on a cliffhanger that has the entire audience, except for Tifa, up in arms about how it ended.

...

...]

Well, that was... uhhh, interesting. Not sure I understood most of the story, though...

[flamekthunder]

[That's, uh... Yeah. The plot...he could sort of follow, but it seemed more like some kind of overblown soap opera. And what was with the characters? Grootdoot and Rocky a giant raccoon... A significant amount of budget was certainly used as the effects were well done. The 3D aspect was also interesting, and he was amazed at how added to the realism, affecting his senses so that he actually flinched a bit whenever there were a few surprise pop outs that he didn't anticipate.

But...yeah. Not exactly his type of movie, but he could give it credit for entertainment value.]

It reminded me more of a soap opera with the dramatic storylines and reveals. Given that it's a sequel I expect it would have made more sense if we had seen the first.

The production value was more than I expected.

[starshower]

[Okay, to be fair, Grootdoot was her favourite character, and she would absolutely watch a full-length feature film on him.

The audience is starting to rise through the credits, with music that's as big and dramatic as the rest of the film. Tifa waits a little longer, and chooses to kill some of that time munching on her popcorn while they wait for most of the crowd to clear.]

Guess we'll just have to find time to see the first one.

[It was dramatic, to be sure, but she still had a good time. The movie had its moments, and maybe it's silly, but the love story spoke to the hopeless romantic in her. She isn't going to admit that out loud to anyone, least of all to Eustace, though.

And she's about to open her mouth when— Huh? —there it is again. That shiver that comes screaming up the back of her neck. Could it be the draft? Even then, it isn't that cold, and it shouldn't leave that uneasy feeling in her stomach. Tifa turns in her seat, only just far enough that she can look behind her, and when she does...

There's a woman a few rows back, staring right back at her. What in Shiva's icy tits...?

She immediately jumps to her feet, almost dropping the half-empty bag of popcorn.]

Uh, we should go... Give them some room to clean, yeah?

[flamekthunder]

...We're watching another?

[Yes, he is asking and looking at her as if this has never occurred to him and as if she's dragging him into something troublesome. Which...it really isn't, but it's still a strange idea to him.

But then her expression...changes? His brows furrow slightly as he watches her look back, and he's about to do the same to see what caught her attention when she suddenly jumps up. He even hastily reaches out to grab the popcorn before it falls and just looks up at her bewildered.]

What?

[As he rises up, he looks back then, but the woman had already disappeared, leaving only a few other stragglers talking about the movie and waiting for the "hidden egg" or whatever.

Reminded of her peculiar behavior from before and sensing something amiss, he looks back at her.]

Tifa, what's wrong?

[At this point the woman that had been glaring at Tifa is on the far side on the stairs behind Eustace, and she's once again just staring at them before vanishing as another person passes her, as if disappearing into thin air.]

[starshower]

[Tifa spots the flicker of her before she vanishes behind the line of people leaving—it's so fast that she thinks she likely hallucinated it, but she's not going to waste any time in getting them outside into open air and a wider space, where she can easily see everything and everyone.

She ponders it for a moment before she loops an arm through Eustace's and presses herself close, and nudges him out of the theatre, still looking back at the stairs every now and then. Meanwhile, she's close enough that she's able to whisper to him without running the risk of someone else hearing her.]

Outside. Just... stay close, okay?

[Whoever this woman is, Tifa has a bad feeling about her, and her intuition is usually right. So once they're out in the open, through the front doors of the building, Tifa brings him to the wall and gazes around.]

There was someone in the theatre. Don't know what it was, but... I didn't like the way she was looking at us.

[flamekthunder]

[He is so confused and just stares at her startled when she loops her arm and pulls him to her. He opens his mouth to speak but stops at her words. Seeing her tense... He just frowns slightly before following her lead as they head outside. Once there, he positions himself so that he's slightly in front of her, arm leaning against the wall as if trying to shield her. His head is also lowered closer towards hers. Not too much into her personal space, but enough so that they can keep their voices low as they speak.

Of course it will look a lot different to others but he isn't thinking about that.

Instead he just listens to what she has to say and his eyes sharpen.]

What do you mean? What did she look like?

[starshower]

[Even Tifa is surprised by their proximity, but... well, if she hadn't just been stared to death with daggers for eyes, she might have said something. However, she's far too preoccupied with looking past him at the crowds, eyes darting left and right to try finding the woman.]

Uh... Brown hair, medium length? She's wearing a green shirt and—

[Her words suddenly catch in her throat when she makes eye contact with her at the other end of the theatre's wide entrance. There she is staring right back at her. If looks could kill...]

Twelve o'clock.

[flamekthunder]

[Hearing the description his brows furrow. It's kind of general, but he tries to flit through the people he had seen while waiting at the theater. However before he could complete the mental scan he sees her change of expression. Very subtle he ducks his head slightly closer towards her, but his face is turned away slightly as he glances back. Because she's right behind him he can't get a full look, but he can start making some of the features.

...What's more he can feel the burning stare at his back as well, but it's a lot more intense and...alarming. It's one he's felt off and on in the past but had disregarded as it had never made his hairs stand on end like this before... Was it from her?]

Act natural. Have you ever seen her before?

[His voice is just a low mutter, just loud enough for her to hear.]

[starshower]

[It's a little tough to act natural when he's looming over her like this and when they're both being glared at, and she even slides a step over, going with the excuse in her head that it's to find an easier way to get a better look at her through the corner of her eye than being bothered by something like her personal space being invaded at a time like this...

She's finding it difficult not to stare back, too... and when her eyes meet the woman's again, she forces her gaze to dart away and looks up at Eustace.]

Never. I don't know why she's looking at us like that...

[Who is she!? There's gotta be something if she's this eager to stare them down until she burns a hole right through them, and now it's taking every ounce of willpower she has to not return the favour.]

Eustace, do you know her?

[flamekthunder]

[You can do it, Tifa, he believes in you. And he is also clearly not caring at all about being so close to her, which may or may not reflect poorly depending on how someone interprets it. But it's just because he's entered alert mindset.

He continues to frown in thought before he recalls something he had buried deep, deep in the garbage of things he never wanted to think of again. It's enough to harden his expression and close his eyes in disgust.]

.........Yes and no.

[The words come out slowly and with an exhausted sigh. Nothing had happened since then so he really just put it out of his mind, but perhaps he had underestimated.]

If it's who I think it is, then we need to move.

[He straightens up a bit.]

Hold onto my arm like before and stay on the inside. I'll lead.

[starshower]

O-Okay...

[But she doesn't sound so sure about it. Especially when he offers no explanation as to who it might be... If he really knows this woman, then why not just approach her? Why is she staring at him like she's waiting for the right moment to run a knife across his back...? It's all very concerning, but she follows his lead anyway, looping her arm through his and allowing him to drag her along.

She does chance a glance back at the woman, to finally return the death stare, but Tifa doesn't see her with the crowd now growing bigger as more of the customers start to mill about outside.]

You going to tell me what this is about?

[flamekthunder]

When we're clear.

[That's all he answers in a curt voice, but with how close he holds her arm to him she might notice the tension around him. He walks quickly, his long strides only barely shortened to be mindful of her own pace as he weaves her through the crowds before pulling her with clear expertise as if used to having to losing someone's tail. Occasionally his ear flicks as he listens to the sounds of their pursuer, and eventually he suddenly pulls Tifa down a small street and, pulling her to him as he presses them against the wall hidden in the shadows of some large crates.

If Tifa tries to speak he just stares down at her with a hard glare, a silent command to stay quiet before he looks out.]

[starshower]

[She doesn't have much of a problem keeping up with him, jogging alongside as he skillfully weaves her through the crowd like a needle and thread. Her shoulders bump a few others, and she quietly apologizes, but then they're off, away from the theatre and down the street where it's much quieter. She can't tell if they've been followed or if he was able to lose her, or if she'd even seen them leave at all, but with the way that his ears flicked back and how he stares at her when she's tugged into the shadows tells her that it's not worth the risk finding out.

Her hand presses flat against his chest and she pushes just a touch when he presses them to the wall, with her chest rising and falling when the rush of anxiety makes her heart thunder inside her so much that it might just break through her ribs. All she can do now is wait, the only sound between them being her quick breaths, and her eyes dart to the street, then back up at Eustace expectantly, narrowing at him for an explanation...

Ahem. Pretty sure they're clear.]

[flamekthunder]

[He waits a few minutes before he releases a slow breath, maintaining his composure despite the tense situation. It's only when he finally looks back at her does he see her expectant expression as well as how close he was holding her. Quickly he removes his arm to allow her to pull away while muttering an apology as he...tries to figure out how to explain this.]

...A while ago I had received...... [He grimaces in disgust as he recalls the thing he had literally shot and incernated to pieces.] A disturbing..."love" letter. It was sent through another person, but I recognized her from the description given. 

I just ignored it and was never approached since so I had forgotten all about it. But that was the same woman. 

[starshower]

[She doesn't move very far, at least not immediately, listening instead to what he has to say before stepping back, her gaze never once leaving his face.

So, he has an admirer. It would be cute under normal circumstances, and she might have even teased him a little for it if they were, but... this is so far from being a normal, innocent crush and someone being too shy to face him themselves. She's had to deal with admirers plenty of times in her days, but nothing ever so... extreme.

The pit of her stomach sinks.]

You think maybe she's expecting an answer? [Not that Tifa thinks this woman deserves one. A shadow looms over her expression.] If she's following you around, that's serious, Eustace... You need to do something about it... Tell someone.

[flamekthunder]

This was several months ago and I had never been approached or sensed anyone following me until now—today, specifically. Either she hasn't bothered until now or...she's good enough to get past even me.

[Which...is disturbing in many ways.]

Given what happened, however, I agree. The problem is I don't know her name, only where she worked the last time I saw her. [And now he just clicks his tongue, his irritation clear.] It was only a few times to get breakfast, how the hell could anyone become infatuated with someone they barely even exchanged words with...

[Annoyance bubbling now that Tifa is somehow involved, he runs a hand through his hair.]

I'll just hunt her down and take her to the authorities if needed.

[His phrasing could be better but maybe it's also too extreme??]

[starshower]

You won't do that. At least not alone.

[Hunting her down is the last thing he should be doing, least of all by himself. If things go south, he should be able to take care of himself without a doubt, but this woman is clearly crazy enough to send him a letter, and then months later follow him to the movies... Who knows what else she's capable of? Best not to approach the crazies without any sort of backup.

Although yes, hunting her down sounds a bit extreme... Tifa has a couple of ideas in mind already, but... are any of them not so extreme? Maybe it's better that they are for someone like that. Who knows?]

At least try talking to her first. See what it is she wants. But don't try going at it on your own, alright?

[hint hint]

[flamekthunder]

[...He hears that hint and he only narrows his eyes.]

Compared to what I've had to deal with back home she won't be a problem. The only credit I'll give her is being able to sneak around like the stalker she is.

[Not mincing any words here, that woman has definitely crossed a few lines and who knows how many others he doesn't know about.]

I'll be fine, I don't need you getting anymore involved than you already have.

wrapping!

[starshower]

But...

[It's the tiniest protest, and Tifa lets it go immediately, knowing too well that arguing with him right now is just going to be a waste of breath. She's stubborn, but now is probably not the time—not when both of them are on high alert and standing in the shadows of an alleyway. It would probably be better if they just head home for now.

She sighs, perishing the thought of letting something so big slide. He's off the hook. For now!]

If you say so. We should get going. Shouldn't stay here, just in case.

[You know, in case she finds them again.]

with a nice bow

[flamekthunder]

[Seeing her let it go, he relents a little and nods. He really doesn't want to drag her in any further, and he is concerned that woman might trouble Tifa. One could argue she has every reason to be a part of it because of that, but this was his problem to begin with.]

Let's go.

[And so they'll head on out. Little do they know that the woman wasn't the only one eying Eustace, and that his plans would be completely derailed as he has to deal with more dangerous foes...]