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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 11:49:11 GMT -6
She'd be getting an earful for sure next tournament round. But nothing that the theron could do with the worst case of allergies she'd ever encountered in years. Hardly able to breathe for stepping outdoors, something in the summer heat here in the Pethian neighborhood had bloomed or died or something and she had become a literal mess of runny stuffy nose, watery eyes, a pulsing headache and a mean nasty temperment. Very little could be said of what it was that caused the reaction, but Ridelys, having never 'had' allergies, felt miserable. Living off tea and whatever she had left in her cabinets for food. She'd need more food. Because bird seeds wasn't exactly food. Nimbus hadn't liked her doing that. Autumn finally started to roll in, but the colors of the seasons had yet to change, nor the heat. But whatever had caused her misery finally wilted and died to go back to the earth where it belonged. 1
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 11:58:21 GMT -6
She'd go to the food kitchen today to get some meals for next time she remained holed up in the kennels long past any other time. Packing one pocket full of very thin sheets of paper designed to wipe and exhale your nose forcefully into (called a tissue), she opened Nimbus' cage. "Ci'ming?" she snuffled. The izer warbled a yes reply, fluttering out onto her arm. He grips the limb with a reassuring force; she'd been so sad and sick and he wasn't going to go away. She'd been there when he was a sick little chick in a box after all. "G-b'y" she mutters and turns to open the door. He ducks his head a bit, walking up her arm after they reach the outside, and she shuts the door. The weight of a warm feathered body next to her face felt rather comforting for Ridelys as she descended the stairs.... and discovered the grizzled old panite. 2
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:02:12 GMT -6
"YOU HOO, DEARIE. CAN YOU HELP AN OLD LADY IN A BIT OF A PICKLE? I'LL MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE." the panite warbled at her, clearly ancient. All white curls and floppy ears and essentially a goat on two legs... nearly 3. "DON'T BE SHY, I WONT' BITE YE." she beckons Ridelys closer. "'cn help u?" she asks, barely able to pronounce anything with this damn nose congestion. "HAD A GIANT NYSSA STEAL MY FAVORITE CRYSTAL CLUSTER. I GROW BONSAI AROUND THEM, AND A BIG OL BUGGER STOLE MY FAVORITE ONE. WENT OUT INTO THE ABANDONED GARDENS. I CAN'T HEAR IT NO MORE, SO THE BEAST MUST BE ASLEEP. YOU ARE A SEASONED QEUSTER, YES?" a sniff of acknowledgement.. of maybe. "CAN YOU GET IT BACK FOR ME?" When she didn't initially answer, the panite cackled. "I'LL BE WAITING RIGHT HERE FOR YOU THEN DEARIE. OF YOU GO." Was she going to reward in food. 3
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:05:33 GMT -6
Pushing her way out the door into the city, Ridelys could hear a few people gossiping as she left the building. "That panite lady's been asking literally anyone who glances at the board about getting that crystal back from the gardens." "Really, why so many?" "Don't think she sees well. But here's the kicker she don't tell you. The garden claims that are abandoned are just that, completely wild. SOmeone claimed it was like stepping out into the beyond down south of here. Boggy and buggy and gross. Don't know what's she offers thats so good to go find a stupid tree and a stupid crystal. I bet you could just take one of those gem beasts out of the mines, smash it, give her a crystal and be none the wiser. She's an old lady and can't see worth crap." Now there is no emotional connection between the izer and the theron, but he felt the heat rise in her face again, the heat of angry. 4
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:09:49 GMT -6
All at once, he screeches, taking off from her shoulder, and flying rihgt at the two gossipers. They start shrieking like school children, shielding their faces from four sets of sharp claws and beak, clawing adn biting at w hatever he could reach. "NIMB's" Ridelys turned around, and called loudly. Gesturing her head backwards at an angle, calling him back. Giving a last squawking hiss, the izer flapped his way back to his mistress, settling on her shoulder again, giving the two a dark stare. "What the hell lady?! Your bird just up and attacked us out of nowhere?! Keep that thing on a leash!" Nimbus shrieked in indignation, making them flinch. She stared them down without blinking. With the redness across her cheeks and nose, darker shades of skin under her eyes, the theron looked relatively intimidating herself. "G't ls't." she tells them simply. "N'w" Barking about calling the local watch about a wild bird, the two disappeared from her sight. 5 lv up nimbus
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:13:25 GMT -6
Inhaling came more of a sniffle then anything else. She glanced at Nimbus who shuffled, rearranging himself a bit to make more comfort for himself and not tear her shoulder apart. "D'nt do th't." she told him, glowering out of the corner her eye. "n't w'rth 't." He hangs his head a bit, a sad bird noise. He made her angry. Bad bird. They continue on into the city, not drawing any attention to themselves. After all, unlike sarane following behind you without a leash, people didn't make a stink about izer. Most of them assumed the bird was loyal enough, or stupid enough to keep near their humans. Sarane. She felt a sour gut about leaving Caiman at the pit without a word. Hell, she could barely think for the last three weeks without having a fog in her head as a result of the allergies. They had worked together long enough that she would be forgiven... right? 6
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:21:05 GMT -6
Now Ridelys was partially familiar with the garden claims herself; having owned... or still owning one. She'd never renewed a permit or such for them... and had no idea if she had to or not. The likelyhood anything was alive or would recognize her out there was a possibility but not a good one. But there were a few active gardens out here as she stepped onto the path. There was nobody manning the little hut that served as a 'ranger station' of sorts here in the city; better that they weren't, she wasn't in the mood to be talked to death. There were all sorts of sights, sounds and smells that Nimbus hadn't come across before; it interested and scared him at the same time. But she wasn't scared, so he wouldn't be scared either. Somewhere out in the garden claims was the grandparent of all nyssa, she said? Oooooh. 7
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:28:27 GMT -6
She'd not had much experience handling nyssa. Except that they were walking trees. That either liked you, or did not like you. For better or for worse, they were very independent creatures, could feed and water themselves via the roots or being pest control. Beside, there were many varieties of nyssa that she'd read about, but only owned a few. What species would this giant end up being, she almost wondered. Since Nimbus hadn't seen a nyssa before, she couldn't ask him to look for one. But.. "S' b'g tr'e? 'p" she held her arm aloft, and pointed up. That came across as nothing but congested nonsense, but the izer seemed to get the idea to take off at least. Up and off he went, brushing her with his primaries on takeoff. He was a good bird, he could do waht he was told, although what he was told to look for didn't exactly come across right. 8
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:31:14 GMT -6
With an eye in the sky, perhaps she could get some baring on where to go from here. The abandoned claims could be or could not be very dangerous, depending on what people had opted to leave behind. After all, there were hundreds of people here in Pethia, and she didn't see most of them in a day. People could be nomads, not staying in one place, or having to leave in a hurry with only what was on their backs. Refuggees, I think her master smith called them. Hm. Whatever. Not her big issue. Not like she could do much with the plants anyhow; could water and plant things and what not, but whether or not they remained alive was a question all on its own. Plants vs animals, she'd pick animals anytime. She could see the dark feathers of Nimbus as he found a thermal above her head, soaring easily yet lazily across the claims, looking for something. 9
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:34:31 GMT -6
Wait, was that what she was looking for? Situated in what seemed to be a half dead grove, was a giant tree. It didn't grow quite straight up, seemingly curled over on itself, boughs of green leaves hiding the trunk from view. Unsure what he was seeing, Nimbus tips himself slightly to arc backwards and fly back to Ridelys. He shrieks as he comes into her view point, arching back again to coax her into following him. She gets it thankfully, and follows him. Allergy ridden or not, she could at least climb fences and such to follow the bird as he flies overhead, calling her forth. Wow... that was a big tree. She walks carefully forth. Nimbus dives to come to a flapping land on a nearby perch, of something. beneath the boughs, she could see twisted limbs, resembling... oh it moved. Yep, definitely a nyssa, And holy crap it was big. No wonder. Now where was that crystal. 10 lv up nimbus
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Post by Renathan on Sept 3, 2019 12:36:17 GMT -6
Perhaps the Nyssa had it hidden within it's branches? Oh, oh no, hopefully it hadn't... Eaten it? The nyssa sways it's branches, each of them like a miniature grasping claw. For now, it doesn't seem to notice that you were there.
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:42:04 GMT -6
From what she could hear, the nyssa sounded to be in good health. Swaying sounds but not creaking. She wasn't quite sure on how to get up there and search without either waking the beast or getting herself smunched by a branch. and just to have it greater, she'd removed all of her telepathy ribbons while she was sick, because the cacophony of those who she could talk to were going beside themselves with worry. It aggravated her into stressing needlessly, so she removed the ribbons, put them on a hook and went straight back to bed. So if she got into a spat, she'd be on her own. No weaponry either, but Ridelys wasn't a stupid person. The theron knew a few things about climbing trees and such. Climbing around in a living tree though, not so easy perhaps. WIth the constant movements. Nimbus would be giving himself a neck crick, with all the twisting around and looking he was doing. 11
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:46:19 GMT -6
She shushed him silently, trying to get across to the bird that he needed to stay quiet. That if this was the nyssa they were looking for, it needed to stay asleep. Hopefully it wasn't... gulp... carnivorous. Or a crystal eater. If anything, she'd like to keep the search as passive as possible. Neither she nor Nimbus were strong enough to handle going up against a nyssa bare handedly. Taking as deep of a breath as she could manage in this state, Ridelys finally exhaled softly, relaxing. Nothing different about this, just a request to find a crystal. Wish she had asked for more then just 'a crystal cluster' to look for. If it was bigger then what she could carry, there could be a problem. She started looking for a way in. NImbus ruffled his feathers as he stood there, lifting his tail to relieve himself. Ah, much better. This was a big tree. 12
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:50:00 GMT -6
From her vantage point of being right there, she couldn't quite tell if the nyssa species breathed like other creatures did. But when she brushed her hand carefully across a knotted portion of wood, she wasn't quite sure 'what' she felt. A sprig of magic perhaps; maybe thats what let this nyssa grow so big. Perhaps it had swallowed some magical crystals in the past and grown too large to be handled, so it was abandoned. Possibly. Or even happened on something more, like the corpse of a mage. Stealing its magic to keep for itself because of shiny things and what not. Speculation aside, Ridelys considered her best route here. No supplies, and no weapons. She'd need her wits about her. Carefully she angled herself to put her foot on the knot, and heft herself upwards. Op, there she goes. Nimbus almost wanted to fly into the branches to cheer her on, but that wasn't quiet. 13
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Post by Skylos on Sept 3, 2019 12:59:37 GMT -6
Aside from shiny crystal cluster, this wasn't much to go on at all. Granted, with the age of this nyssa, almost every branch she touched seemed to be sturdy and strong. What a beautiful tree. Such bright and supple foliage too; it had a good long life too. She wonders briefly how old it actually is, taking another handhold to move from branch to branch. Please don't be ticklish, please don't be ticklish. Why on earth would a tree be ticklish. Granted, she didn't question that a tree could walk around like this either. After all, she'd been involved in somehow taking a nyssa and a pliathor, a freaking SEA SERPENT, and seeing what came from that. A floating island, a mangrove as that was what was coded to be. And she had no idea how to handle it. Perhaps it could be given to someone who was better with plants. the sun angled ath the point that Nimbus could see something glinting. Was that it? SQUAWK! 14
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