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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 13:48:35 GMT -6
> Xentus, accompanied by...
Haru
Ah, warm summer air wafting upon a gentle breeze.. How it reminded him of home. If only for the lack of desert sands did this place not meet all the old comforts he'd grown with. No matter how far he wandered away, something about this place would tickle the back of his mind about where his journey began. It was hard making any other place home without making comparisons. Despite his wanderlust driving him away from where he came, the memories and reminiscence always trailed along. Funny how such conflicting feelings loved playing in his thoughts. He'd let himself be consumed in his wayward mind, if not for the intermittent pulling on his ears and hair. Xentus brought himself back to reality after a particularly painful pinch, uttering a low 'atch'.
The perpetrator this evening was a foot tall fairy perched upon his shoulder who seemed to be looking for some attention. Or trying it to cause some mischief. Or something else along those lines. A scowl crossed the leopard's brow.
"This one thinks the little one wants to walk on his own two feet", Xentus threatened with a gentle growl. His eyes locked onto the mismatches ones of the harachiu and were met with a scowl in return. After a short staring contest, a small huff escaped the equally small being as he sat down, rattling his wings.
Quest #15 1
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 14:06:20 GMT -6
'Youths these days..', Xentus sarcastically thought to himself, shaking his head. He hadn't much experience with the small fairy being, but going bug hunting together seemed to make for a nice bonding experience. Or so that was the plan. He always had trouble with how to interact with the curiously sentient beings under his protection. The beastly ones were particularly hard to treat as non-beasts.. And this little fairy was hard to treat as a fellow person, especially given his tight-lipped nature. He knew very little about harachiu, making interaction even more difficult. But he decided it was finally time to take the plunge and discover more about his company here.
Today's adventure was hopefully a fun one, involving capturing 'glowmoths' that were swarming in the park at night. The leopard was equip with a bug net and small travel cage designed for pocketpets. Seemed like all he'd need to get the job done. For the sake of familiarity, he navigated to the secluded patch deep within the park that he used to train his beasts. There were a few other people out, some training, some also looking for bugs. It was probably best to keep to himself, he thought. Haru was skittish, barely willing to be out here in the first place.
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 14:20:16 GMT -6
Before long, Xentus and his shoulder-fairy were at the dirt plot he had more or less claimed for his use in training. The dusk light was dim. Nightfall was not too long to come from now. It was as good a time as any to get this bug hunt started. Now, he didn't really know what exactly he was looking for, knowing nothing aside from the lazy name of 'glowmoth' and a smudgy impression of what was supposed to be one. His best take? A winged insect that glowed. Thankfully, bugs usually didn't take to being literally flashy, so any glowing six legged winged critter he and Haru could find were going into the cage.
"Let us begin our hunt, yes?", the leopard gently announced to his company, "Let Xentus know if Haru sees any glow bugs. Tug of the hair, as it seems you are keen on it already."
His tease was met with a squeaky 'hmph'. Cooperation wasn't necessary, though he was hopeful it would occur nonetheless.
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 14:33:52 GMT -6
The small cage was set down on a gnarled root, conveniently opened at the top for the easy deposit of whatever insect met the net. Xentus then stalked into the tall grass near the path that led to his dirt plot, net at the ready. The dim dusk light was low enough to make any luminescent insect stand out, yet still plenty enough to see where he was stepping. Focused blue eyes scanned the foliage, darting around weeds, grass blades, and errant twigs. Without knowing what he was looking for exactly, his gaze lingered on each plant a little longer than he'd like, just to be sure he wasn't missing anything. The bug he was looking for was written to be rare, after all.
"Any luck, Haru?", he whispered to the harachiu. He wasn't sure why the whisper exactly, its not like loud noises scared insects.. Right? Actually, thinking about it, he wasn't quite sure. But it just felt right. Their prey would be oblivious to the sound of a whisper or the padding footfalls. And that's exactly when he'd strike! The leopard amused himself with his thoughts, but still looked at the fairy perched on his shoulder for any signal. Disappointingly, Haru remained aloof.
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 14:52:10 GMT -6
This was fine though. The leopard's lips curled into a soft smile as he let his gaze linger on the flower fairy. This was the start of a bond. There was no expectation for it to develop quickly or passionately. Patience was something he had plenty of. But somehow, there was this feeling of hope he got when looking at the small figure. The hope of making a new friend by bonding over an activity. It was one of the better ways to get to know someone, he thought. To see how Haru's personality would begin to show throw the detached mannerism he put up was something he was looking forward to. Until then, he was more than happy to lead on.
Xentus returned his focus to the underbrush, making his way towards one of the larger trees that would shade this section of the park during the day. His eyes flicked among the sprawling roots, hoping to catch a glance of something that might match his target. As it usually would, his mind wandered.
"This reminds Xentus of hunting for large desert beetles when he was younger", he began to speak gently to Haru instead of keeping the thoughts to himself, "They had wings as big as yours and would sound like hail rolling against metal when they flutter. Though, he supposes that is nothing impressive compared to beasts like golossle, eh?"
5
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 20:29:32 GMT -6
As to be expected, the harachiu remained silent. Not that it was any bother to the leopard. Sometimes the best company was those who were content with listening. Whether or not the little fairy was content listening or simply didn't care for the mammalian's words, he couldn't tell. But Haru didn't seem to be annoyed enough to try to cover his ears, so Xentus took that as progress, no matter how insignificant. The small being shuffled in place on his perch, one ear turned to the leopard's mouth. Not that Xentus seemed to notice.
The pair continued their directionless search through the tall grasses, with the larger of the duo quietly talking to fill the air. The serenade of crickets accompanied his words, along with the occasional night bird. Xentus possessed the remarkable ability to ramble on about nature; talk of animals leading into weather, then weather leading into the starry beyond, then back to the earth. After a few minutes of babbling on, his voice quieted as his eyes caught sight of a faint glow in the leaf litter.
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 20:45:56 GMT -6
By this time, nightfall had begun settling in, making the glow stand out even more. The light gently flicked on and off mesmerizingly. It was like some sort of signal, making it fairly easy for him to spot exactly where the little insect was hiding in the foliage. A confusing adaptation, really. Why would a little bug want to broadcast its location? The leopard pondered on the question, before realizing he'd been listening to hundreds of crickets doing the same thing. Of course, a glowing light was a lot more evident than a chorus of chirps. Which might explain why these things were rare. He chuckled at the conclusion he came up with, then announced to his company what he was standing around there for anyway.
"Xentus believes this glow might be what he seeks", he whispered to the fairy on his shoulder, peeking a small glance at the being. Haru pointed at the light, tugging on a tuft of cheek fur. With a hum of affirmation, the leopard nodded head head and went in with his net.
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 20:53:44 GMT -6
With a swift swoop, the net landed squarely over the spot where the light glittered. Through its thin veil, the leopard could see the light flicker more quickly, as if in alarm, accompanied by frantic buzzing wings.
"Gotcha"
Careful not to harm the insect, he scooped the bug and the surrounding leaf litter into the net altogether, rather than try to fish it out. From here, it was a short trek back to the gnarled root that held the travel cage. Admittedly, it was dark enough now that he did have some trouble navigating back to his spot. The path connecting to it did have the occasional lantern lit which helped guide his way.
"Good catch, this one thinks, wouldn't you say, Haru?", the leopard murmured gently as he examined the insect after dumping it into the cage, "perhaps another one or two and we may call it enough for this night's hunt"
Carefully, he held the cage up so Haru could get a closer look at the 'glowmoth'. Or well, what the leopard really hoped was a glowmoth.
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 21:01:12 GMT -6
Even if what he caught wasn't what that conservation group wanted, he still was happy enough to spend the time out here with Haru. He could only hope that the little fairy wasn't bored or hated this venture. It wasn't the most thrilling way to spend an evening, especially with someone who was essentially a stranger. But he supposed that if Haru didn't try to flutter away, the diminutive being was content enough. After allowing some time for the harachiu to examine the contents of the cage, Xentus placed it back down and wandered to an unexplored patch of weeds and grass.
At this point, he realized he'd only really was looking down at the earth, searching for things that were trying to hide. But the insect he hunted had wings and wanted to be seen. Perhaps looking a bit higher wouldn't hurt. It was as if a light bulb went off in his mind, broadening his horizons.
"This one admits, he has not been searching the air, Haru", he explained, "Perhaps you have?"
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Post by Xentus on Jun 30, 2020 21:15:17 GMT -6
Again, Xentus expected no form of answer or reply to his question. It was asked as a means of having Haru be included, open to interaction if he desired. The leopard's blue eyes peered briefly at the fairy. But, no gesture or reply came. Which was quite alright. Xentus simply smiled gently and resumed his search, looking low and now high for the glowing insect.
There were some shimmers on the ground that mislead his search, now that the night was dark enough to make them seen. A small puddle of leftover rain here. An abandoned can reflecting moonlight there. It was more disappointing than frustrating. Providing one bug for a breeding program was almost laughable. Sure, others most certainly were doing the same thing he was, but somehow, it just didn't feel right to have only one insect to show for the evening's hunt.
A yank on his fur brought the mammalian's pouting to an end, bringing his attention to a little finger that was pointing out to the left. Xentus's blue eyes trailed, his gaze falling upon something that he'd call a few bugs short of a true swarm. But, it was a twinkle of stars on earth nonetheless. The hunt was soon to end.
10
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Post by Jack on Jul 2, 2020 18:41:03 GMT -6
Without a little bit of glow to be seen in the distance, it was clear there could be no glow moths here, right?
[Nothing happens]
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