|
Post by Touj on Jul 8, 2021 0:24:08 GMT -6
As he tiptoed around yet another pile of animal droppings, Touj remembered why he'd avoided farms since he had made it to the Labs. Sure, some nice hay and a mostly in-tact roof over your head sounds nice when you're on the run. But these days, he'd gotten used to living comfortably again and wasn't very keen on returning to the squalor. He tapped his boot against the dirt road leading to the barn ahead, already dreading the work of laundry to come. Touj knew he was acting spoiled, but he couldn't help it: they were in the nice part of town and he expected some bougie digs and dressed accordingly. He got it wrong and was paying the price. Oblivious to her companion's discomfort, Fewa pranced and leapt through the tall grass covering the yard they walked through. Her tails flicked in excitement and Touj felt a pang of guilt: he knew he should take her out more. At least she was getting some outside time now, he reasoned. Arms crossed, he watched the creature frolic with a small smile before a voice caught his attention. [1]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 8, 2021 0:43:24 GMT -6
"Are you here for the mousing job?"
Touj turned, finding a person dressed in overalls standing near a home on the north end of the property. The farmer waved to him, beckoning him to come over. Sparing a glance to Fewa to make sure she could keep herself occupied for a few minutes, he approached their assumed employer. He was greeted with a firm handshake.
"I am," Touj said with a smile. "I'm wondering if we could use some of your supplies around here, to make sure we get them all out for good?"
The farmer nodded and guided him to a nearby tool shed, which they unlocked. Inside were a variety of basic agriculture, livestock and gardening equipment - everything from a lawn mower to a hook knife. Touj surveyed the collection with a nod. Sure, he wasn't an expert mouse-hunter by any means, but he was sure they could make do with what was available.
"Let me know if you need anything else, okay?" Touj heard from behind his back, followed by a hearty thump on the back. "I'll be back at the house, waiting. Let me know when you're finished."
[2]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 8, 2021 0:57:12 GMT -6
Before getting started, Touj wanted to assess what they were working with. He walked back to the main path and quickly found Fewa batting at passing bugs buzzing around her. He didn't want to spoil her fun, but they had work to do: "Come on, Fewa," he said with a snap. Nonplussed, Fewa rolled from her back and stood up, leaping to walk beside with her human counterpart.
Absent-mindedly, Touj stroked the Malii's fur. Malii were some kind of feline, right? He reasoned that Fewa might be the best fit for this job if she was okay eating mice, which he wasn't entirely sure was in the cards. Sure, she ate regular pet food along with the rest of his companions at the kennel, but some variety might be nice. When Fewa purred and wrapped her tails around his leg fondly, he couldn't help but pull her in for a side-hug. Even if he made the wrong deduction, he was glad to have the playful animal along as company.
The barn door was rusty, but the latch came undone easily. Touj pushed it open, the hinges screeching.
[3]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 10, 2021 19:33:27 GMT -6
Mice scattered as light and sound poured into the indoor space. Touj sighed: they had their work cut out for them. The farmer evidently wasn't lying about the infestation problem, and it meant they would need a multi-part solution. Touj had some basic know-how of getting rid of pests, as most people living in a kennel with animals did, so he was sure they could clear out the bunch living here now. But it was another matter making sure they didn't return. He scratched his ear, thinking back to what was in the shed that they could use to clear out the rodents.
Fewa jumped, literally, right into action. She easily picked off one of the mice that had scurried away when they entered the barn. With a batting paw, she chased a group of more, flurrying under a feeding trough as the small creatures chittered. The Malii pulled herself up and ran along the narrow space between the fixture and wall, trying desperately to keep up the chase.
[4]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 11, 2021 23:46:57 GMT -6
Fewa scrambled to keep up with the mice. She was too big to fit everywhere they scattered to, making their way underneath floorboards and recesses in the wooden walls. But as some scattered, many more converged in the chase, coming out from their hiding places throughout the barn to join the running hoard. Fewa picked up her pace, managing to pounce and claw down a few of the stragglers which had trouble keeping up. But she didn't let herself stop and savor her winnings yet: there were even more of these damned critters ahead, and they were evidently headed somewhere she didn't know about. She flicked aside one last mouse, hearing it thud and squeal on collision with a dusty plank of wood. Now where were those other mice going...?
Touj left Fewa to her devices to go explore the shed. It was filled to the brim. Farm equipment, building supplies, knick-knacks and gadgets, most old and rusty, protruded from every surface. He sighed as he took in his fate. The only way to see if there's anything worth searching for is to search, isn't it?
[5]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 15, 2021 21:34:04 GMT -6
Touj does his best to sort the clutter into two piles: useful and not. There are a handful of snap traps in the mix, but certainly not enough to eliminate the problem he just saw with Fewa. If anything, they'll have to save those to set up at the end. But in larger quantities were slow-drying paste and pallet boards: with a bit of work, he was sure he could assemble them into glue traps.
There were also some pesticides he was sure he could use to poison them - but it looked like the farmer was keeping animals, so that might not be the best idea. Alongside the different objects found for catching and killing mice, Touj found tools, nails and pliable sheet metal alongside some burlap sacks which he set aside. If they didn't have anything to eat, they wouldn't be in the barn, would they? Maybe there was a simply solution after all. Taking inventory of everything he had, he loaded up a wheelbarrow and made his way back to the barn, wondering how Fewa's hunt was faring.
[6]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 15, 2021 21:42:12 GMT -6
It turned out: Fewa's hunt was faring well. As he wheeled the creaky contraption into the barn, he could hear chittering and the Malii's yowls and movement around the hay. Behind the feed, she had found a nest and was going to work pouncing on and batting at all of the rodents in her vicinity. While the Malii was looking forward to feasting on some of the small creatures as an afternoon snack, there were far too many for her to eat alone - but the thrill of the hunt kept her moving even when a hungry stomach did not.
Satisfied that his companion was doing good work, Touj started assembling the glue traps. He mixed the paste with a dash of water, using it as a slow-acting soluble he hoped would last long enough to catch some of their pests. Scooping from the nearby feeder, he laid in some grains and searched for animal treats to add into the mix, coming up with only some peanut butter which he dabbed into the mixture.
"It'll have to do," Touj said with a sigh, scooting it back under the feeder toward where he heard Fewa.
[7]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 15, 2021 21:53:05 GMT -6
He made a few more traps and placed them around the barn, near what he thought would be good hiding spots for tiny animals. Only time would tell if they worked out, but he was hoping they could at least show some results to the farmer by the end of the day. With bait set, Touj moved on to the second step of his barn overhaul: fortification.
The grain bin supplying the feeder was obviously decades old, and was understandably riddled with rust and patches which spilled contents onto the ground. He knew that farmer was getting up in their years, so Touj was sympathetic to the state of the barn: even if this didn't help keep the mice at bay entirely, he reasoned, the repairs were easier done by him than someone with an ailing back. Taking the sheet metal and steel snips, he worked the metal to match the curve of the silos side, putting down a lining then a securing sheet, nailed in place.
Fewa was proud of herself. She'd killed several dozen mice and eaten her fair share; it was a good day's work in the Malii's mind. She could hear that Touj had joined her back in the barn, making some awful clanging noise and ventured out to join him. But as she rounded the feeder to come back to the barn's open center, she paused, unsure of what just happened - and suddenly recoiled with a yowl.
[8]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 15, 2021 21:58:03 GMT -6
"Fewa? Fewa!"
The screech instantly took Touj away from his work, and he dropped the hammer to the ground, leaving the metal hanging off the silo at an odd angle as he searched for the Malii. What on earth could she have hurt herself on in a barn? Guilty that he had left her to her own devices for so long, he flew around the space in a flurry, trying to uncover where the feline could have went.
When he found her, he let out a sharp bark of laugher. Fewa didn't seem to like that he found her predicament amusing, but Touj couldn't help it as the relief flooded through him: she had just stepped in one of his traps on her way back out. To his surprise, there were already a handful of mice squirming in the glue mixture as well - a good sign for their strategy he said. Another yelp from Fewa brought him back to the situation at hand.
"Right, let's get you out of there, sweetheart," Touj said, still chuckling. She flicked her tails in annoyance, but let him peel her paw out of the sticky concoction.
[9]
|
|
|
Post by Touj on Jul 15, 2021 22:09:28 GMT -6
With some water and a rag, Touj cleared off all the gunk from Fewa's paw - though she wasn't happy about sitting still through the process. When he finally let her go, she flitted away, getting some distance and still favoring her recently-trapped paw. He watched her, shaking his head but holding a soft smile.
"What a drama queen," he said to himself fondly, before getting back to work. Over the course of the next two hours, he had patched up the grain bin, feeder and used the burlap sacks to patch up and re-enforce some of the feed bags around the barn. Fewa watched him labor, sometimes lounging on the bales of hay and occasionally going to find other enclaves of mice to harass.
Finally, everything was looking good. Touj had went back to the shed and found a large broom, and swept most of the dirt floor off from the grains and seeds tempting the mice into the barn. With that, he took out one of the glue traps and was pleased to find it was nearly filled with mice already. He created another glue trap and set it in the former's place, taking the filled one with him to the farmer's door.
"We should be good to go," Touj told him with a grin as the older resident opened their door.
They did not seem as pleased to see a tray of writhing, dying mice as he had been, even if it was what they asked for. Touj left him instructions on how to make more of the traps and thanked them for the opportunity, before dumping the tray in the land's dumpster on the way back to civilization. He gave Fewa a pet, and reminded himself to give her some treats once she had digested all of the afternoon's mice. "Good job today, huh?"
[10 - DONE]
|
|
|
Post by NPC on Aug 1, 2021 18:59:17 GMT -6
Congratulations, you've successfully completed the quest! Your QP will be added to your bank shortly.
|
|