|
|
Post by Ashe on May 17, 2019 2:59:08 GMT -6
 Ashe looked at the scrap of paper in his hand, and then at the garden. This seemed to be the place. And, as if on cue, a caterpillar began to climb up the side of his boot. He shook the boot and dislodged the bug, then stepped on it. It made a slimey, yet satisfying, crunching sound as it was reduced to a puddle of goo. Ashe's observant gaze picked up several other caterpillars squirming around. Yuck. He could feed a few of his pets for days in here, it looked like. "Are you ready to play Exterminator?" Ashe asked the Imp on his shoulder. The blue creature gave an affirmative chirp and hopped down to the ground. She shuffled ahead, rooting out the caterpillars. Ashe focused on his current task at hand, stepping on as many as he could. Squish. Crunch. Splat. The ones in immediate view were quickly, well... exterminated. Funny how easy it was to value a life when it was a big creature, but a slimey bug? No thanks. Inyala had her own, slightly different, methods for containing and controlling the outbreak. Ashe: 0 1/20 Inyala: 0 1/5 |
|
|
|
Post by Ashe on May 17, 2019 3:05:07 GMT -6
Inyala climbed over rocks and fallen branches, chasing after the little worms. The first one she found, she picked up and held it delicately in her fingers. She watched it squirm, its little segments pulling first this way and then that, its fat and squishy body so helpless. She sniffed at it, recoiling when the tiny stubby appendages reached for her to try and gain purchase. It smelled earthy, and had a very distinct insect-y smell to it. But it also seemed kind of appetizing, and to be honest.. Inyala had never tried something like this. She was kinda hungry... She brought it to her mouth and snapped it in half with her beak-like mouth. The half in her hand oozed in protest, and she quickly chewed the part inside. Swallowed. Thought about it. Then she popped the second half in, deciding that it was passable as food. Maybe not the most delicious thing in the world - Ashe had let her eat chocolate before, after all - but definitely not the worst thing she'd eaten.
It helped that the hunting instinct was kicking in.
Meanwhile, Ashe was stomping on caterpillar number ten. He didn't have much else to do, so he started to keep track in his head. He regretted not telling Inyala to do the same.
Ashe: 0 2/20
Inyala: 0 2/5
|
|
|
|
Post by Ashe on May 17, 2019 3:11:28 GMT -6
Time progressed, and the bodies were starting to add up. One total sat in Inyala's belly, weighing her down. She was just a little thing, and could only eat so much, and she was approaching her limit. After the third one, she had developed a taste for these wormy things, despite the fact that some of them had firm spines that she had to pick off and flick away. Maybe they were gendered that way? Maybe multiple species? She didn't care, she just observed. She had one mission and that was to destroy every caterpillar she saw. Until Ashe said otherwise, at least.
She was on her fifteenth, maybe, when she began to feel as if she was going to burst. Time to find a different method. They were getting a little harder to find now, and she relaxed in the moments between sightings, but a new idea began to cook in her little head. The next one she found, she focused on it and raised her hand. Slowly, dramatically... Like master, like servant, she had a slight flair for the dramatic. Then - SNAP. She snapped her fingers and the caterpillar, seemingly out of nowhere, the caterpillar was incinerated. The spark of flame was small, but so was the bug.
Ashe: 0 3/20
Inyala: 0 3/5
|
|
|
|
Post by Ashe on May 17, 2019 3:16:14 GMT -6
Ashe smelled something burning. His nose crinkled at the stench of burning... What was it caterpillars were made of, exactly? Not flesh, not skin and bones... Whatever material they were forged from, whatever that gunk inside them could be categorized as, it was burning. He hoped that's all that was burning, anyway. He walked in the direction he'd last seen his familiar disappear into - not to mention the fact they were bonded, so he was pretty confident she was this way, even if he couldn't locate her specific coordinates - and looked for singed plants. He spotted a flash of blue and quickly called out her name. Inyala's head peeked up above some green leaves on whatever type of plant was growing.
"Be careful," he warned her, gesturing to the plant life around them. "I'm not sure what's being grown here, but they seem pretty proud of it. So don't go burning this place down. Stay away from roots!"
Inyala gave a quick nod of understanding and darted back into the shadows, hunting and burning. Ashe started looking among the plants, plucking them off when he saw a crawler, and squishing them in the open ground.
Ashe: 0 4/20 - continued into Quest #2
Inyala: 0 4/5
|
|
|
|
Post by Jack on May 17, 2019 7:06:12 GMT -6
Success! You have eradicated the infestation! Feel free to continue playing if you would like, but your prize will be sent to you shortly!
|
|
