isleofavalon | january catch-all

Entry tags:

january catch-all

🧙 WHO: Della Duck & You
⚔️️ WHAT: Quest Shenanigans
🕒 WHEN: All throughout January.
🗺️ WHERE: Land of Maidens, throughout Camelot, her house-hold.
⚠️ WARNINGS: N/A, will update if needed.

Ice Fishing

[ Della... does not like fish. At all. She never has - she finds them to be absolutely disgusting. But this is a difficult stance to have when you find out the adorable boy you've befriended and been kinda mothering is... part fish. So, Della has resolved to at least try and overcome her fish-phobia for his sake. It won't be easy, but she has to try.

But before she and whoever she's dragged with her start the mission proper, Della is taking a precaution or two - or delaying the inevitable - by building a small fire near the water. ]

There! We'll definitely be freezing by the time we're done here, so at least this will be here and ready when we pop out after touching all those... fish.

[ She is visibly trying not to shudder. And gag. ]

With their.. slimy scales and beady eyes... which I'm totally fine with! Yes. If I keep telling myself that over and over, it has to be true. Yup. I'm totally fine.

[ She's trying, Alberto, wherever you are. ]

Yelling Yetis

[ Now this is more her speed! Monster-fighting 101! She arrives on the scene with a big grin on her face, eyes glittering with glee! She then slaps whoever is next to her on the back... ]

I'll go distract them, and you sneak up from behind! You got this!

[ She doesn't wait for you to agree, disagree, or even ask who the hell she is, because she's already running into the line of sight for the Yetis, ready to be the Best Distraction Ever. ]

Hey, you overgrown teddy-bears! You think you even stood a chance at those games? We would've totally kicked your butts with our eyes closed and our hands tied behind our backs! Nyah nyah nyah!

[ Understandably, the Yetis don't take this well, and those are some VERY loud roars... ]

Beta Testing

[ As impulsive and curious as Della is, even she knows that if you're putting blood in a magical item, there's going to be a weird time. So as tempting as it is to chuck the stone at someone and go HERE LET'S SEE WHAT THIS DOES, she does have some brain cells and empathy.

So, taking a note from her Uncle Scrooge, she decides a little profit play is in order. Pay a little now, earn a lot more later. So outside of the Duck Household, she's set up a little table and chairs with sandwiches, cookies, tea, her moon rabbit chilling nearby, and a small sign propped up on said table.

WILL PAY FOR EXPERIMENT
2,000 G for trying
+8,000 G bad result
+10,000 G good result
free lunch :)

Her business-savvy is... not great. But, hey, free lunch? She's sitting down, feet on the table, chowing down, and offering a thumbs up for anyone who stops to see what this is. ]

'Sup? You interested?

Wildcard
[ You know the drill, drop anything here! Feel free to plot with me at plurk (melcat33) or discord (melcat33#1997) ]

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[Lancer sees Della fishing and wanders over. Fishing was a hobby of his, but half the time he at least wanted company. Especially out in the middle of the cold like this. And he catches the last part of her rant as he gets close enough.]

Do you... not like fish?

[ As Della finishes up the fire, she glances up the stranger. Hey buddy. She hesitates with her answer, before clearing her throat. ]

I'm... not their biggest fan... but that can change! Anyone can change, if they try hard enough!

[He looks down at her and shrugs]

That's true. Let's see if we can catch something and see if that helps.

Yeah! Let's do this thing!

[ She sounds heroic and full of gusto! ... For a good couple of seconds before gesturing ahead of herself. ]

... You go first.

[Elza had only come to watch the show after hearing about the trouble some overgrown bears were creating. She had been standing off from where the fighting took place - her white hooded cloak obscuring her face.

How disappointing. Either those fighting didn't have the skills capable of terminating their furry foes, or they were doing what they could not to kill them. She supposed it would be somewhat interesting to see how the outworlders dealt with the situation if that were the case. At the very least, it would be of more interest.

Sensing someone non-hostile moving on her position, the muscles along her arm and hand tensed in preparation. Elza turned the moment that slap went to hit against her back. Her hand went straight to the pistol holstered at her hip, but she didn't withdraw it as she caught sight of someone from the duck clan.

While it didn't show, there was a mere moment of confusion that flashed through her mind. She'd heard of them during her missions but she'd never seen them... but what she'd heard this hadn't been exactly what she'd envisioned.

Instead she watched as the female duck ran off towards the Yetis and began taunting them. Oh for sure she heard the apparent 'plan' but she hadn't agreed on such a thing or intended to involve herself. So as the yetis roared at their target, Elza stood where she was watching the scene with a renewed interest.

How would this duck clan member handle herself under stress?]

[ Della continues to antagonize and dodge, assuming the nice lady would land a sneak attack or a behind assault aaaany minute now. Because why wouldn't you?

To her credit, Della does seem to be an experienced fighter - she dodges nimbly, using her surroundings to bounce or leap off of, ducking and dodging easily since as a duck she's light, and using her kinetic magic to lift up any nearby heavy objects to use as a shield if neccessary.

... What's taking her new partner so long? Della glances over as she begins running out of shield-material... to see the woman doing jack shit.

She's not pleased. How very dare. ]

AW, C'MON! YOU SUCK!

[ a woman in her mid-thirties, ladies and gents. ]

[If nothing else yet, the duck had some moves. Strange, from her information there weren't many fighters in their clans. Although she supposed much could have changed in the last seven years or so... Unless this wasn't one from the duck clan?

When she saw the glance in her direction, Elza stayed relaxed where she was and offerent a patient smile in return.

The displeasure was palpable, but it did nothing to move the assassin.

Instead she carelessly shrugged her shoulders.]

Hardly my problem that you made assumptions.

What, are you just here to sight-see?! If you're here, then you saw the quest-board, and - WAK!

[ One of the Yetis has grabbed Della by the foot and is holding her upside-down! Della still isn't scared or even really worried - right now, she's just super annoyed. ]

Excuse you! We were in the middle of a conversation!

[ With that, she kicks the Yeti in the face with her good foot, and with a bit of wriggling... falls out of his grasp! ... While he holds onto her other foot?!

Turns out the foot he'd been holding onto was her metal one! She lands fine on the ground, albeit with one leg missing. ]

Honestly, some monsters are so rude!

[The duck's displeasure at her lack of involvement was obvious to anyone who was around the area. It didn't move Elza at all though. Oh she did happen to see the notice on the quest board, but she didn't come here to help... no she came here for the entertainment of watching others do the work.]

And what?

[The question came as her feathered companion was grabbed by the foot and held upside down. It was impressive to see no fear in the woman and she inwardly chuckled at the feeling of annoyance she sensed instead.

When the duck broke herself free, the gunner took note how not all of her feathered companion went with the move. At first she thought that the leg remaining in the Yeti's grip had been torn off, but the lack of blood in the area and smell of it on the wind threw that idea out the window. Instead she glanced at the balancing duck with renewed interest.]

[ All right, let's asses the situation. At least 2 angry Yetis, and Della is now minus one leg, and apparently fighting them on her own. ]

Okay... bad situation. Not the worst I've ever been in, but getting close to reaching the top ten.

[ Think, think, think... Why were the Yetis here in the first place? Because the snow games were cancelled.

Lightbulb!

Della leans back, arms at the ready - ]

19! 87! 22! Hut, hut, HIKE!

[ If they want games, she'll give them games! How about a game of touch football? Except her leg is the ball! She runs - well, hops, with a bit of Kinetic magic to keep her from falling over - toward the Yetis, who begin to toss the leg back and forth, starting to catch on! ]

[Elza's answer to this problem was simple... but it was no the answer anyone wanted. If it were up to her she'd just shoot the hairy beasts and be done with it. Why bother going to all this trouble?

At least the annoyance of this whole 'non-lethal' stance was the fact that she got to see how the otherworlders handled themselves. While she doubted it would ever come to a point where something might put a hit on this duck, it was still research for any potential future clients.

The duck was quick on her feet... well foot in this particular moment. The numbers called out meant nothing. She just assumed it was something to do with the world this kid came from.

The sight of them tossing the leg around to keep it away from her was... odd... to say the least. What was the point of all this nonsense? Never mind the fact that the duck seemed to be getting along quite well being devoid of one of her legs - a piece of useful information.

Did this girl figure out that these hairy beasts wanted to play some juvenile keep-away game?

Eyes sliding back to the feathered fighter, she regarded the girl in thought.]

[ But as amazing as Della is, she's only human - er, duck. She can't keep this up with only one leg. Already exhausted beyond measure just trying to stay upright for so long, Della rolls on the ground, acting as if she just trying to aim for the Yetis, but truthfully was trying to get near Eliza.

Desperate times, desperate measures, all that jazz - Della TRIES not to glare at Eliza, since what she's about to ask may not go over so well. ]

If I say please, would you help me out here? ... Or do I need to bribe you?

[The duck rolled to the ground. Watching the event unfold, she would have tipped her hat to the feathered female if she wore one as it took little time to realise what she was attempting to do.

Heh, she was an interesting one.

If she'd glared at her, Elza wouldn't have cared one way or another. In fact she'd probably be amused by the sight. As it were, the gunner's attention shifted from the duck over to the approaching yetis as the question was asked.]

I don't accept bribes. [Elza spoke calmly before glancing down to regard the desperate duck with a soft smile.] But I do accept monetary offers in return for my aid.

[The fact that there was any sense of urgency meant nothing while she calmly waited for her feathered companion's response.]

[ooc: apologies for the delay! Had my covid booster 2 weeks back which knocked me out for a week and then I was playing catchup until today. Happy to continue but if you want to drop happy with that too :)

If you do want to continue, Elza does have kinetic abilities and would most likely 'move' Della out of harms way before moving in to help. Let me know if that's okay, otherwise I'll have her focus on the Yeti.]

[For free lunch, yes. Yes, Minato was very interested. Of course, he didn't exactly have much of an idea what "this" was. Still, it (probably) didn't hurt to try.]

Sure, why not?

[The extra cash would be nice too, hopefully it was worth it.]

[ Atta boy. She smiles, and slides off the chair, grabbing the magical smartphone and the special stone... while chewing on a cookie. ]

All right! So here's a magic stone with some blood in it. Dunno what it'll do. You ready?

[ She knows for some people, blood is a big ICK factor. No shame if he wants to back down now! ]

[It wasn't like Minato knew what it would do either and that should have set off some red flags. Okay, it did actually set off red flags but honestly, it was just an experiment. What was the worst that could happen?

He held his hand out for the stone to take.]

Ready as I'll ever be, I guess.

[The blood didn't bother him in the slightest. If nothing else, it made him even more curious. Was it her blood on the stone? Or someone else's? Maybe he could use his blood magic to find out or did that only work on fresh blood? So many questions, but he would have to find that out later.]

Atta boy! Here we go, no regrets!

[ She walks right up to him, and places the stone in his hand. What a nice kid, if only everyone was so easily agreeable in strange circumstances! And speaking of strange...

3.
2.
1 - A bright light, and Della steps back, startled, rubbing her eyes - ]

Ah, geez! What was that all... about...?

[ Wait a minute. Why does her voice sound... different? ]

[Minato was in the process of rubbing his own eyes, stone still in hand, when he heard his own voice... not coming from him?

And that's when he realized that his hands felt different. Actually... was that a...]

!!!

I'm a duck?

[Why was he a... and then, the spots cleared and he found himself staring at himself. Then, he looked down at himself and then, lastly, at the stone. It dawned on him what just happened.]

Holy shit.

[They switched places?!]

This... is... AMAZING!

[ It's not like Della isn't horrified on some level, but she's also eager to learn and explore - so THIS is what it feels like to be a human! She begins running her hands over her face and hair, intrigued by the touch of skin! ]

Whoa... you humans really don't have much in the way of fur at all! But you aren't super cold! And how do you balance without any kind of tail?

[ With that, she reaches behind to - well, Minato, enjoy the image of seeing yourself grab your own butt. ]

Please don't touch my butt.

[Minato deadpanned as he shoved his now feathered(fur?) hands into his pockets. This was honestly super weird even if his face didn't show much of it.

Mostly because he was watching himself show way more emotion than he had in probably a decade. He didn't know his face could do that! The questions gave him pause. He tapped his beak in thought.]

We didn't exactly learn why we don't have tails, I don't know if we ever did even in ancient times. But clothes usually help with the cold, but it also depends on where you grow up.

Oh, sorry! My bad, just got too excited. But hey, that's what I get for taking mysteriously vague quests!

[ He probably hasn't laughed heartily in a good decade either, as that's what she's doing. She then plops herself back into her seat, gesturing him to sit opposite her. ]

So, guess this is the part where we have the world's weirdest introduction! What a way to make a first impression... I'm Della Duck! Or you are for now, anyway.

Not like I was any better.

[He shrugged and then pulled up the seat to sit down. He wobbled a little, not exactly used to having a tail. Or webbed feet. Watching himself was also a bit of a trip.

Still, he did a smile a little himself. She amused him, given this was definitely something most people would have a panic attack over and here they were just sitting and introducing themselves. He just hoped (and was like, 99.9% certain) that this was going to be temporary anyway.]

Mm, guess so. I'm Minato Arisato. Is lunch still on the menu? I was hungry before agreeing.

[Which she might feel at this point. He has a bit of an appetite.]

Of course! And so's the pay! ... If I can still you using my phone... or we can do it after we switch back. I'm a duck of my word.

[ With that, she grabs a sandwich, and begins eating while talking. Manners aren't her strong point. ]

So, is this a good result or a bad result for you? I don't paying you the big bucks either way! You earned it, my man!

[He patted the pockets of his clothes to see if he could locate Della's phone.]

We can do it now, my phone's in my back pocket. [he paused his search to think for a moment.] I can't say it's particularly good or bad.

[He hadn't been expecting to plan his day as a anthropomorphic duck, but he figured it could have been worse. He was then distracted by the cookies and took one to chew. At least eating with a beak didn't feel too different.]

It's interesting. What about you?

Edited 2022-01-26 01:14 (UTC)

Oh, this is definitely cool! Not something I'd wanna keep forever, no offense, but the best way to learn about others is experience! Once this is all over, I'm gunna document everything I felt!

[ She begins to fish out Minato's phone as well - Della's will be nestled in the pocket of her pilot's jacket. ]

Plus, it's kinda nice to have two flesh legs again.

[ Yeah, he might not have realized it until now, but as it turns out - one of Della's legs is a prosthetic... made out of rocket-ship parts. ]

None taken, not sure I want to be a duck forever either.

[He did happen to notice the prosthetic leg, but he wasn't to comment on such things off the cuff. Although it did feel weird because it wasn't like was used to having one. But, since she brought it up.]

Can I ask what happened to this one?

[He gestured to the prosthetic.]

The short, less tragic version? Crash-landed on the moon. Had to make a new leg out of rocketship-parts.

[ Half-shrug. As if that doesn't raise a million and a half questions! ]

[ And he is right here, right by her side! Naturally he hit her up for this quest, cuz, y'know, she's in the trusted circle now... as small a circle as that is. But to Alberto, this is a chance for easy easy money, provided, y'know, he doesn't die... But otherwise he feels confident.

He helped her build a fire as much as he was allowed to. He actually knows how to do that surprisingly well, in fact, but his time to shine will definitely be under the water. He's brought a strange shepherd's-like staff with him... I-Is he intending to herd the fish? Sure looks like it.

He's dressed warm enough to not torture himself, but not excessively so; still, he's not overly fond of the cold waters even if he can safely brave them. He's from the Mediterranean, this ain't his scene. But he'll make do with what he can because he needs the money; he always needs the money. He has a canvas bag hanging on his side, empty now in the hopes he can transport fish back up to the surface with it, but has a back-up plan if he can't, a few tricks up his sleeves. He brought a woven basket along with, too, keeping it up there by the fire for the collected fish; he's even brought a blanket to keep up there, as well, to dry off when he's done. They're both being smart and thinking ahead.

Once he's warmed up a bit by the cozy fire and is ready to get going, he takes off his coat, not because he's smart and thinking ahead how he can't just hang out in a half-frozen waterlogged coat all the way back to town after they're done — no, no, he's taking off his coat because he's afraid it will slow him down underwater... He wants to be as fast as he can to catch these expensive little fishies. He looks confident, pumped up, bravado in his voice as he prepares for the dive, stretching his arms and legs out like an athlete, a little theatrically. He's grinning in excitement at the mission, but also in amusement at Della's processing her fishphobia. He can tell it's for his sake. It's funny. But also pretty sweet. ...But mostly funny. ]

Heh, don't worry, Signora — I'll be the designated fish-toucher, eh? I've got this. This quest had my name aaaallllllll over it~ We're gonna be rich after this, hah!

[ Okay, so his perception of rich is really. really. really humble and quaint. Not at all even close to the definition of rich. But at least that means he's easy to please. A sense of success comes easily like this. He's entirely undaunted here; unbothered, happy, in his lane, focused, flourishing — about to be moisturized. ]

[ As the niece of the world's richest duck, his definition of "rich" is indeed super humble in her opinion. And it helps to try to connect this to her Uncle - he'd want her to conquer her fears/disgust too! Just imagine him watching over them both, that way, there's no pressure at all! NONE WHATSOEVER.

After a few deep breaths, she punches a fist onto an open palm. ]

All right! We CAN do this! And I'm totally fine! And if not, then I'll make myself be fine!

[ Boy, isn't that brimming with confidence. Anyway, she heads to the frozen waters, and uses her metal leg to start kicking hard cracks into it, trying to form a way for Alberto to get in. ]

If you can, try to push them towards the surface! That way, I can use my kinetic magic and just pull them up! Without ever touching them. Win-win.

[ CRACK-CRACK-CRACK GODS FISH ARE SO GROSS WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS. ]

... You just be careful down there, all right? There's no need for you to get hurt because of bravado or extra bucks.

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january catch-all

Fishing

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[Yelling Yetis]

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Sorry for Elza but omg thanks for the laugh at the end!

sorry for della's... everything, and if i don't make someone laugh with her i'm doing things wrong

No need to apoligise for anything! She's fun :D Elza's an ass lol

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Beta Testing

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della is too expressive for minato LOL

LOL she's too much to handle for mere icons!

so a bunch of my tags ended up in the spam folder I'm sorry >_<

no worries, life happens

ice fishing;

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