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Post by Jack on Feb 28, 2021 19:39:39 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Aug 9, 2021 14:45:31 GMT -6
[136]
Jumanji
Lately, Nerius had noticed that some of his plants weren't getting watered. That was odd, as he had a sprinkler system set up to provide water to the entire garden. It was a new system too, he'd only recently set up a greenhouse and garden on his property to house his plant critters, so it wasn't like it was an outdated, run down thing. And yet, there were patches where the plants were looking sad and droopy in the summer heat.
So he was out to investigate, while it was still early enough that it hadn't gotten to hot. It was probably an issue with some of the lines, maybe it had gotten hot enough some of them had melted? That seemed unlikely, but he wouldn't know until he checked. He'd start at one of the dry patches, that was likely where the problem was, and Nerius could see a sad looking flowering shrub only a few yards away.
(Nerius: 1/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 9, 2021 14:56:34 GMT -6
[137]
As Nerius got closer, he could clearly see the plant wasn't getting enough water, drooping flowers, with crispy looking leaves. There was a sprinkler tube right near it though, and he knelt down to inspect the line. It.. looked fine. No cracks or holes in the tube, nothing heavy sitting on it and pinching it shut, and the nozzle was clear; nothing that should have been stopping the plant from getting water.
He wasn't so absorbed in his task that he didn't hear the rustling coming from the leafy areas off the path. It wasn't surprising, this fenced off garden area was home to his plant critters, and really the only one that was likely to make things difficult was the whiptail.
Brush noises aside, this clearly wasn't where the problem was, and Nerius decided to follow the tubing "upstream". Something had to be stopping the water from reaching the plants.
(Nerius: 2/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 17, 62/65 | Lyl: 12, 47/50)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 9, 2021 15:09:17 GMT -6
[138]
The other plants along the way seemed to be getting some water, he wouldn't really know unless he turned on the sprinklers. He could, and probably would need to, try that later, but he wanted to at least locate the source of the problem first.
It was possible there were smaller spots of damage or blockage along the lines, slowly reducing the water flow until certain spots didn't receive any at all. With this idea in mind, he knelt down every few yards to inspect the lines. It was tedious, but after a few stops, it revealed a clue. There was a series of little holes all along a section of tubing. Well, that had to be part of the problem, at least, and Nerius marked the spot with a bit of pink tape.
He looked up at the sound of more rustling, and caught a glimpse of something green as it scurried off. It was too big for a pachee, and Juniper didn't move like that.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 17, 63/65 | Lyl: 12, 48/50)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 9, 2021 15:18:15 GMT -6
[139]
Which meant it could really only be one critter, and the most troublesome of his lot. The whiptail was an ill-tempered thing, but at least she didn't seem too interested in what he was doing. So, still keeping one eye out for the whiptail, Nerius went back to following the sprinkler lines. Every so often there were more of those holes, usually in areas that were more open or exposed. He marked them off, but at this rate he'd need to get someone out to fix them professionally.
He hadn't been intending on following the whiptail, but there was an awful lot of rustling and scratching and growling coming from down and around the path. With how much trouble the whiptail could be, Nerius decided he'd better at least check and see what she was doing. As he rounded a shrub, he could see exactly what the whiptail was doing; chewing on a water line!
(Nerius: 4/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 17, 64/65 | Lyl: 12, 49/50)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 9, 2021 15:28:49 GMT -6
[140]
"HEY!" he yelled, causing Jumanji to pause for a moment, before redoubling her efforts on the water line. The tubing wasn't very strong, and before Nerius could get to her, the whiptail ripped a length of tubing free. Prize in her jaws, Jumanji turned and ran off into the greenery.
"Ugh, get back here with that!" Nerius yelled uselessly at the plant creature, before sprinting off after the whiptail. That particular bit of tubing was surely beyond saving, but who knew what other mischief she'd gotten up to.
The whiptail had a bit of an advantage here, sleeker and lower to the ground, she could scurry under plants that Nerius either had to go around or though. It was a tended garden, not an overgrown wilderness, so it didn't slow him too much, and he could see flashes of the whiptail as she ran ahead, still carrying the tubing in her jaws.
(Nerius: 5/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 18, 65/70 | Lyl: 13, 50/55)
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Post by Jack on Aug 9, 2021 17:24:44 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Aug 9, 2021 18:39:41 GMT -6
[141]
Or at least, he thought he'd be able to keep up with the whiptail, but after she slipped under some particularly prickly bushes, that Nerius had to wade through other plants to get around, he'd lost track of the creature. Nerius paused his mad dash, looking around for any sign of the troublesome creature. A slight movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned around to see...
That was not his whiptail.
Staring back at him was a mottled green and brown lotine; it wasn't one of his. He was a little surprised it hadn't bolted, given all the noise and activity, and wasn't sure why it was in his garden. It had been rather hot and dry the last week, and lotine were aquatic, maybe it was looking for water?
Whatever the case, he'd at least try to make friends with it. He didn't have any fish on him, he knew those were a lotine's favored snack, but he did have some good quality water that plant creatures usually liked. He knelt down, pouring some into a dish, which he set a few feet away from himself. "Hello," he greeted the lotine, voice carefully calmer than he'd used to yell at the whiptail, "Would you like some water?"
(Nerius: 6/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 18, 66/70 | Lyl: 13, 51/55)
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Post by Jack on Aug 9, 2021 19:02:17 GMT -6
The Lotine perked up when she saw the water being poured into a dish, and carefully snuck forward to drink deeply from the liquid. Her eyes closed for a moment and she gave a small sigh before her eyes opened again and she sniffed around the man a bit, looking for a bite to eat as well.
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Post by Nerius on Aug 20, 2021 16:30:26 GMT -6
[142]
Nerius kept still as the lotine approached, the species was notoriously skittish, and he didn't want to startle her. He could hear faint rustling in the distance, but his whiptail was getting farther away rather than closer. Nerius was grateful for that, as the ill tempered creature would almost certainly scare off the lotine. Sure she was probably off ripping away more tubing, but he'd deal with that later.
The lotine seemed to have enjoyed the water, which was a good sign, and even appeared to be a little more comfortable being near him. She was sniffing around now, and if Nerius had to guess he'd say she probably wanted food. He wasn't in the habit of carrying around dead fish in his back pocket, but he had grabbed some garden pellets before setting out, having intended on using them on the wilted patches.
Nerius slowly moved, and set out a handful of the pink pellets on a large, flat rock. "I don't have any fish, but I have some pellets if you like," again, he spoke softly, trying to avoid startling the lotine.
(Nerius: 7/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 18, 67/70 | Lyl: 13, 52/55)
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Post by Jack on Aug 20, 2021 16:34:40 GMT -6
The Lotine stared at the pellets for a moment before eyeing the man again. This was a trap, wasn't it...? Still, she was hungry, and she knew what she wanted, so she was going to go eat them for a moment and see what happened. Swimming up to them, she nibbled, keeping an eye on the man.
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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2021 13:09:51 GMT -6
[143]
In the distance, he could hear the whiptail rustling around again, followed by the quiet 'pop' of more rubber tubing being pulled apart. Nerius suppressed a sigh, not wanting to startle the lotine, sure he was going to have to get someone out to fix that now.
At first, Nerius wasn't sure the lotine was going to be interested in the pellets. She had been more eager about the special water, but only stared at both him and the pellets. Was she judging him for his snack choices?
Possibly, but lotine weren't empathic like the smaller lola, so there was no telling. It did seem she found the pellets acceptable though, and Nerius was relieved when the lotine cautiously approached and started to snack. Perhaps it was more skittishness than a lack of interest in the food, the lotine was watching him quite warily, he noticed. "I'm not going to take the pellets," he tired to sooth the lotine, before adding, unsure of exactly what her concern was, "Or hurt you."
(Nerius: 8/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 18, 68/70 | Lyl: 13, 53/55)
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Post by Jack on Aug 28, 2021 13:20:39 GMT -6
Maybe... maybe this one could be trusted. Settling down a little, the Lotine finished eating and then stretched out, lazing about the small pool with ease.
[Congratulations, you've tamed the creature!]
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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2021 13:51:44 GMT -6
[144]
It had taken a bit to get the lotine situated, the create was rather skittish, and probably wouldn't appreciate whiptail wrangling, and by the time Nerius returned, Jumanji was nowhere to be seen. At least he knew what he was looking for now, chewed up, missing bits of the sprinkler lines, and an ill tempered whiptail.
It didn't take him long to spot a chewed up strip, the rubber line had been thoroughly chewed, and there was a large chunk of it missing. Chewing on the lines was strange enough, but why was she taking them? There were no answers to be found here, and Nerius kept searching for more damaged tubing.
It wasn't hard to find either, the whiptail had done a number on his sprinkler system, and whole pieces were missing in many places. Ugh, not only was he going to have to get it replaced, it'd need to be put underground too.
(Nerius: 9/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 18, 69/70 | Lyl: 13, 54/55)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2021 14:01:30 GMT -6
[145]
The whiptail had to be somewhere around here, the tubing hadn't been all chewed up closer to the house, and Nerius continued searching. It took some time, but eventually Nerius heard a distant rustling and growling. That had to be her; any of his critters could rustle, but the whiptail was the only one that growled.
Nerius followed the noise, trying not to make too much sound himself. It could have gone better, he wasn't the best at moving silently through plantlife, but fortunately the whiptail's own noise muffled his approach.
Rounding a large shrub, he spotted the whiptail thrashing away at a length of tubing. "Hey! Stop that!" Nerius yelled to the whiptail. Instead of stopping, the whiptail only ripped into the tubing with more force, snarling and rolling in a way that snapped the tube right apart. Tubing in her jaws, she bolted again, and Nerius swore; not this again.
(Nerius: 10/20) (Jumanji: Lv: 19, 70/75 | Lyl: 14, 55/60)
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