|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 13:56:05 GMT -6
Another month, another quest. Aster was slowly growing used to the process of going into town to have a look at what was available for him on the board. It wasn't his favorite thing, to have to come into the city proper, but this wasn't something he could necessarily send Rabbit to do for him. Errands and the like were one thing because they were generally simple, and Rabbit could perform them easily without Aster having to worry about the possibility of something being too complex for her to handle, but the quests were pretty varied in how much they asked of someone, and more than once he'd encountered a quest that required a lot of improvisation. And it wasn't that he underestimated her capabilities, but Rabbit was just a robot, and there was a limit to what she could do without direction... wasn't there? Well, there was that crossbreed that she was taking care of. He supposed he had sort of left her to her own devices with that one, and thus far they seemed to be doing... okay. He didn't know the details though, since that thing hated him so much that it honestly wasn't worth trying to engage with either of them when the crossbreed was around. But if Rabbit was doing alright with him, maybe Aster ought to consider his initial assessment. But regardless, it wasn't Rabbit who was sent out this month either. It was Aster, and he had three Sarane hatchlings with him today. 1
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 14:03:02 GMT -6
They probably wouldn't be any help for the actual quest itself, since they were hatchlings, and barely had anything resembling manners at this point, but taking them to the quest board itself ought to be okay, Aster thought. He was trying to bring them with him when he went out just to get them used to all sorts of things, and also to give them some room to stretch their legs, so to speak. Young as they were, walking wasn't their forte yet, but for short outings, he could more or less get them to follow him. It was, he had to admit, kind of like herding cats, especially since it was always all three of them at once, but in some ways, this was more efficient than trying to exercise one of them at a time. It was more time efficient, anyway. He still felt like he got equally tired, but these days he was slowly becoming busier, and for the first time in some time, his time was at a bit of a premium. Work was, against all odds, picking up, so he had to get in his own private projects where he could. And that meant all three hatchlings, all at once, going out with him while he was essentially running an errand in the city. At least their presence had the helpful effect of discouraging anyone else from getting too close. They all marked him as clearly occupied, since he was kept so busy trying to keep them in line.
2
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 14:07:09 GMT -6
And if people saw someone struggling with three baby animals, they generally left him alone. Well, maybe if the animal in question were a smaller, softer, cuddlier species, he would still have strangers trying to approach him to pet them or start a conversation, but maybe not. The creatures in this area were strange, and you never knew what kind of strange powers they might be packing, so it paid to be careful around even a harmless looking creature.
And the Sarane hatchlings... Well, small as they were, they couldn't seriously hurt anyone right now even if they tried, but the species had a well established reputation for violence. It wasn't entirely earned, since once they were broken, they were no better and no worse than any other creature. In terms of a long term threat, he rather thought Seekers were worse than Sarane were, since they stayed vicious, for example, but... It was true that until you broke an adult drake, you couldn't really work with him. It was one of the things Aster liked about Sarane, but still.
The misconceptions tended to help rather than hinder Aster though, so he made no effort to correct them. Plenty of people moved out of his way as he approached the quest board, which was in and of itself a blessing. He hated having to deal with crowds, and having his own personal stay away aura as granted by his little hatchling entourage was almost worth the amount of hassle they caused him.
3
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 14:11:58 GMT -6
If it weren't for how difficult it was to keep them all in line and out of trouble, Aster would have tried doing this more often. As it was, however, going somewhere with Avander, who was much easier to deal with, would probably have gotten the same effect, so it wasn't practical to do this on the regular.
Still, he'd take his blessings where he could get them, and if there was some small advantage to be conferred by his current arrangement, he wouldn't turn his nose up at it either.
But now that they had gotten to the quest board, he was faced with the new challenge of trying to read anything while he was still wrangling his charges. "Stay put," he told them firmly--- not that he thought they'd really listen to him, since that wasn't exactly a command they knew. He had been spending time with them, but most of that time had been spent trying to do other things, like he was trying to do right now. He would have to dedicate some time specifically to teaching them things, but it was hard to say when he would next have any time for that.
But surely he could take his eyes off them for a moment... Just for a moment... Just long enough to read through one request that was on the board. There weren't that many options this month, so it wouldn't even take that long, though he suspected not being spoiled for choice would present him with different problems.
4
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 14:15:57 GMT -6
What if there wasn't a quest he could manage to do this month...? He supposed he would find that out once he had a good look at what was available. There hadn't been many requests he hadn't been able to complete after having picked them up, but some of them had been a good deal more difficult than he had bargained for. He remembered the monster in the tower, and even recently, dealing with the Nyssa that had plagued a woman's garden had been a tougher encounter than he had bargained for. Avander had been with him both times, the first time as a Sarane and the latter as a Wiurn.
Funny. Maybe Avander was the one who was cursed.
Hoping the hatchlings would bring him good luck, he grabbed the first note he could find and read it as quickly as he could. Something about research... glow worms? Something like that? He was skimming quickly, since he was worried about the hatchlings getting up to something while he had taken his eyes off them, so he didn't get the full breadth of details.
And even speed reading didn't save him, in the end. He heard a yelp a little off to the side which snapped him out of reading mode, and as soon as he looked up, he saw it: the hatchlings were headed off in the direction of a portly man, who looked as though he might faint if they got too close. Cursing under his breath, Aster headed off in their direction.
5
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 14:21:10 GMT -6
"Hey! No! Stop that and get back here," Aster said to the hatchlings. Fortunately they did know the meaning of the word 'no', and backed away from the man. They didn't look particularly as though they had been trying to menace the guy, but the two larger hatchlings still sulked somewhat. Only Roland, who didn't look as though he was enjoying himself in the first place, seemed ambivalent about having to abandon the game.
To the man, Aster said, "They're mine. I'll deal with them." He should probably have apologized, since it was his fault for taking his eyes off his charges, but... The words stuck in his throat. He wasn't good at dealing with people, and being in the city made him feel on edge by default, and he sort of didn't like the look that the man was giving him either. Now that the danger had passed, the man's fear was quick to turn to ire.
"If they're yours, keep them in line," the man said. "Yeesh. If you're going to keep something dangerous..." Aster thought the man might stay longer to give him a lecture, but in the end the man only mumbled some discontented words under his breath and walked off, his pace rather quick for someone so stout. It looked as though he was still a little spooked by what had happened.
"Scared of you lot, was he?" Aster said blandly, looking down at the trio of hatchlings, and trying to imagine what that must be like.
6
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 14:28:22 GMT -6
It had been a long time since he had felt real, genuine fear of a creature. When the drakes were trying to kill him at breaking time, sure, maybe... And there were individuals that unnerved him somewhat, like Nightshade, one of the Wiurn he had in his care. Which was funny, considering Nightshade didn't cause very much trouble, but maybe it was because his behavior was so outside of what Aster expected from his kind that made him strange. But as for Sarane, he felt that he knew them well enough that they no longer felt threatening, sometimes not even when he was breaking them. He could understand them, understand what they wanted, and they were, at the end of the day, just animals. It was nothing like dealing with a person, with all those ulterior motives that made his head hurt when he thought about them.
And as for hatchlings, who weren't even big or tough enough to constitute a threat... Well, that barely even bore thinking about. Sure, it hurt when they nipped, and once their claws hardened enough, being scrabbled at wasn't exactly painless either. But you would be hard pressed to be seriously injured by a hatchling, and privately Aster felt that if a Sarane this young could kill you, then you probably deserved it, unless there were other factors in play.
That wasn't to say a yearling couldn't pose a real threat, but these guys were still small, and not long out of the egg, all told.
7
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Jun 5, 2020 14:33:02 GMT -6
Being told 'no' did get them to stop, and for the moment it seemed as though they might stay put, so Aster took the opportunity to read the note over again. Now that he had a bit more attention to dedicate to it, he could see that they were talking about glow moths, not worms. He remembered one quest that had involved having to crush caterpillars, so his brain must have filled in the gaps with an incorrect word. Apparently all this person, or this organization, wanted was the live capture of some of these bugs. Hey, that sounded easy enough. Maybe he could go right now, and even take the hatchlings with him.
... The rub was that they wanted these things alive, and if he had to keep them alive, he had to have something to keep them in. Otherwise he was afraid they'd get squashed in transport. The hatchlings might also get the wrong idea and try to eat the bugs. He'd seen them go after grasshoppers before, even though he kept them pretty well fed. Practicing their hunting skills, he supposed.
"Alright, you lot... Let's take a detour home," Aster said. He was going to need more than his bare hands for this, and it wasn't like he carried bug appropriate transport jars or butterfly nets on his person or anything. He didn't think most people did.
So off they headed towards home. It hadn't been a very long trip, but he intended only to make a short stop there.
8
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 5, 2020 16:05:20 GMT -6
You have the right idea for catching the glowmoths! If only you had the correct equipment though...
[You have rolled a success! Your QP will be added to the bank and your reward sent shortly.]
|
|