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Post by Malcolm on Feb 21, 2022 22:22:35 GMT -6
Surely, surely, his time was worth more than this, Malcolm thought. It would be a quick job, the posting had said. Just oust some bugs from a garden! And Malcolm had thought it would be too; Fretful had made such short work of those mice when they had taken up that job. But when he had asked her to do it again, she had fixed him with those awful pale eyes of hers, and said, -It won’t work. They’re too small. I can’t hear their whispers.- Whatever the hell that had meant. And so he was out here with Cashew instead, having originally hoped that the little creature would at least catch them out of curiosity, or because he thought they were edible, or something. Creatures of his size ate bugs, didn’t they? Malcolm thought they really ought to, since they were just big enough that it would make a meal for them. 1
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Post by Malcolm on Feb 21, 2022 22:22:48 GMT -6
Alas, that didn’t seem to be the case. Or at the very least, Cashew wasn’t proving to be an especially adept hunter. He ran all over the place chasing the damn things -- and Queen’s grace, but there were a lot of them, a revolting amount of the little writhing winged things. But Cashew didn’t manage to actually catch many, and the ones that he did, he spent a little too much time batting around to kill.
After a while of watching him at it, Malcolm had given up completely, and had taken to using pesticides instead. Unfortunately, Cashew was still here, and still inclined to romp around, and so now the job had rapidly become keeping Cashew out of harm’s way while Malcolm sprayed unpleasant chemicals at the plants. Now it would be to Cashew’s active detriment if he tried to eat any of the bugs around here.
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Post by Malcolm on Feb 21, 2022 22:25:25 GMT -6
And wouldn't you know it, of course that was when Cashew got it into his head that it might be fun to try snacking on some of these bugs he was seeing all over the place. It couldn't have happened any sooner, Malcolm supposed.
"Cash," he said sharply. Cashew had been trained a little, roughly, and knew that tone of voice well enough to stop what he was doing, momentarily admonished. But Malcolm knew that he would soon forget this latest correction and try some new mischief -- whether it be the same thing, or something else he had come up with. At least if he told Fret to stay put, she usually did; it was just that she preferred to keep up a litany of unpleasant conjecture in his head if he would let her, and got increasingly restless and upset if he did not.
Frankly, these days he was starting to feel thankful for Yoru.
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Post by Malcolm on Feb 21, 2022 22:28:37 GMT -6
Not that the little winged boy didn't get on Malcolm's nerves sometimes too, but for being dimmer than Fret, he certainly was better behaved. It was a shame he wasn't bigger, and more useful -- though he did bring home some interesting information from time to time.
As soon as Malcolm turned away to spray at another shrub, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Cashew had darted off somewhere out of his line of sight. Sighing, he aborted what he was doing and went around to have a look. "No," he said, and Cashew snapped to attention, dropping the berry he had filched from a bush.
"Okay, that's it, I've had enough of your nonsense," Malcolm said. He should have done this a while ago; it would have saved him some grief. He bent down and picked Cashew up -- or tried, anyway, as Cashew squirmed out of the way.
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Post by Malcolm on Feb 21, 2022 22:31:02 GMT -6
The little creature thought it was some sort of game, and darted in and out, trying to bait Malcolm. Fortunately Malcolm had enough experience with this by now that he managed to snag Cashew after only a few tries; it used to take him much longer, and a great deal more swearing besides, to catch the slippery little thing. And once Malcolm had Cashew well in hand, he made sure not to loosen his grip. It was with the scruff of Cashew's neck in one hand and the spray bottle with another that he made his way through the garden, spraying all the plants down as quickly as he could, before dropping the stuff back off and taking his leave of the place.
See if he ever took a gardening related request again. Or a pest control related one, come to that. He was really learning the kind of work he didn't want to do through this program.
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Post by NPC on Feb 23, 2022 21:35:48 GMT -6
Congratulations, you have successfully completed the quest! Your QP will be added to the bank and your prize will be sent out shortly.
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