[Seasonal Event] Blackberry Picking

[Pegasus]

Blackberry Picking

Sign up.

On the 38th Saun, all across Scalvoris, fairies suddenly appear in front of (apparently) random individuals. The fairy appears and asks the PC if they'll come with them to Sweetwine and help them. Should the PC ask any questions, the fairy will simply explain that it's time to pick the blackberry.

Please post below to sign up. However, we're going to do the sign ups slightly differently.

To sign up:

1. Please provide an image of the fairy who finds you.
2. Write a brief overview (either IC or a brief description) of how that first meeting goes - and what (presumably) persuades your PC to help!

I'll be posting the first post on Wednesday 15th June.

[Kisaik]

38th of Saun 722

Kisaik was busy training some of the newer knights and squires outside of the lodge. He was teaching them to joust. All with the most careful and deliberate safety concerns in place, indubitably! They were using little padded lances, and each had a tilt at the other. Their mounts, whether flying or land-based were all well armored and equipped with wooden helmets, padded on the inside for their protection. Kisaik wasn't yet letting the new guys take a tilt at each other, but taking each one aside to teach them one by one.

He narrowed his eyes playfully at the tunawa that sat on his mouse mount across from him. The mouse was a prime racing breed, and very obedient. But Kisaik wasn't sure if it was up to the task of being a war mount. Well, this would be as good a test as any!

He began by shouting, "Tilt!" And so began riding with speed toward the other rider, on the back of his harpy eagle Phee. The mouse was spooked terribly by the bird, and began circling and bobbing this way and that. Its poor rider fell off the mouse, and off went the mouse, in through a small crack beneath the door of the lodge. Kisaik alighted to the ground where his fellow tunawa knight had fallen, and booped him on the face with his padded lance. "There there, we'll work on its courage, everything in due time!"

Just then, a strange thing happened. A lilac colored light descended upon the two knights. Kisaik looked up, feeling a familiar but comforting presence of a fairy nearby. He smiled, as he watched the fairy, which was more of a silhouette of a female figure, outlined by lavender glow. She seemed to speak to Kisaik, asking for his help.

Kisaik jumped in his saddle, and saluted, "Of course! It is my duty to help! Show me where we can find this blackberry!"

[Winston]

38th of Saun 722

Winston was 'persuading' the door to one of the bee hives on old Patsy's farm to remain closed when he became aware that he was being watched. As he looked up, a tiny little creature fluttered through the air, followed by a soft tinkling sound. It was as if dozens of tiny invisible bells were jingling melodiously along with the dips and bobs of the tiny Fairy.

With all the colours of the falling leaves, she wore a tiny leaf upon her head and her glimmering gossamer wings sparkled in the light as she settled down, comfortably resting her chin on her hands to watch Winston going about his business. She smiled, with a glimmer of impish curiosity upon her face.

Winston paused for a moment before saying "Errrm. 'Ello deh littal lady. Tis a fiiine mornin' ta be out wid da bees and da trees, innit?"

This seemed to Winston to be somewhat of an opening, like a flood gate was unlocked, or permission to unload had been given and the tiny creature burst into a spectacular series of gestures and excited movements. "OH! How splendiferous it is to be out with the BEES the TREES on a trial such as this!" The tiny creature almost managed somehow to emphasise every other word in her little sentence. "It is such a fantastically fortuitous series of events that has lead to our meeting here totrial. On THIS trial here, in this place ..." Winton decided that if the tone of the poor excited little fairies voice did not come soon to a crescendo, she might just pop. "... Oh would you come with me and help us? Oh, would you please? It would leave us feeling so much joy and PLEASURE if you would say yes. And we could become friends. And you could be friends WITH our friends and pick the blackberry and live such a beautiful trial in gleeful company."

Winston was just beginning to wonder if she would ever stop and actually allow him to answer when she did just that. He smiled. She had him hooked at "us"... Us who? That was a curiosity enough to give Winston a reason to fix this bee hive later. "It wood be me great pleasha the 'elp ya." He said with complete sincerity, "Me names Winstaaaan." He added, with a smile and and bow.

"Oh YAY! I'm Kelpie... Come this way!"

[Zoro Astrian]

Zoro will be in his garden - which he is sure is a magical place anyway.

Whilst sitting in his garden, Zoro is intoxicated by the heady blooms which surround him. He enjoys this so much that he lays down to gaze at the sky and smell the wonders of Uncle Zeb's garden.

He gets interrupted by a fluttering in front of his face. The fairy, he is surprised to note, is a male fairy. A long and winding conversation ensues. Zoro blushes quite a lot, there are bubbles and he is reminded of his time in the Sweetvine Woods. The fairy recognises Zoro as Song Forged and so asks Zoro to help. Of course, Zoro says yes. He leaps up, puffs out his chest, grabs his gear and then I guess the thread starts.

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 722, Saun 38

Elisabeth was out working in her backyard garden when she first heard the noise. A delightful little melody, so light as though played upon the coastal breeze always present in Haven. It was Saun, and while the young woman did not enjoy being out in the heat of the cursed season, she didn't want her plants to suffer from neglect. If she had her way, Haven would eventually be filled with lush gardens, flowers, and beauty, and starting a flower garden in the back of Haven House was just the beginning.

Dismissing the music as something that must have traveled up the coast, she returned to work. However, soon, the melody came back, a little louder. This time, even Storm heard, perking his head up and looking at Elisabeth curiously.

"Elisssssssaaaaabbbbeeettttthhhhh…." a soft little voice said, sing-song in nature and hauntingly melodic.

Twisting around, the young leader came face to face with a …..fairy? She knew of them from Saoire's Feast, and the creature before her certainly looked fairy-esque. Long tresses of crimson faded into the most brilliant blond, and her dress fluttered in the wind as though part of it.

"Elisssssssaaaaabbbbeeettttthhhhh….you must come now. It's time to pick the blackberry."

Blackberry? Certainly, Elisabeth was aware of the fruit blackberry, but that didn't seem to be what the fairy was implying. "Blackberry? I don't understand."

The little fairy flew a bit closer, becoming slightly sterner. "You must come to the Sweetwine now, Elisabeth! It's time to pick the blackberry, and you must help! You are a helper!"

Holding up her hands in a placating gesture, she tried to get the little one to calm down. "Okay, okay. I'll come. Is there anything you can tell me about what 'blackberry' is?"

Now settled and playing music once again, the fairy had, apparently, done her job, securing Elisabeth's help, and was lost in her amusements.

[Areia]

38th Saun, 722.

Areia was watching and waiting. This was good, because watching and waiting was something Areia was good at. She watched the humming beast, and she waited for the beast to land. The humming beast was humming about, irritating the birds, the land bugs, the land plants~ whatever it interacted with, it irritated. This meant it irritated Areia.

Areia did not know what the humming beast was. But it was fluffy~ irritating; little and flying~ like a bird, but it was not a bird; mean~ irritating; and humming loud~ irritating. Areia, who sometimes devoured little things in one bite for being loud, and who definitely devoured little things in one bite for being irritating, watched and waited.

The humming beast would hum nearer, she knew. When it did, it would discover something new to irritate. It would discover Areia. When it did~

Areia would devour it.

Areia was hiding in the leaves of some kind of land plant, and ~luringly~ she rustled the plant's leaves a little. Over where the humming beast was irritating a bird, it sensed the leaves rustling and went to investigate. It, like Areia, did not think before investigating~ it just did as it liked.

In the leaves, Areia gritted her pointed teeth in a grin, and waited. The humming beast hummed nearer, nearer, and Areia was about to grab her pointed hands out of the leaves and grasp her pointed fingers down on the beast when~

Eee!

Something shouted. Areia grabbed immediately, knowing the shout would shoo the humming beast off, but her grab was late. The humming beast hummed off to irritate some other something, and Areia let out an irritated breath.

In the leaves, Areia looked about, and then grabbed a hand at the little bug-like thing that was hiding in the leaves with her.

The scalvuffy nearly got us! the little bug-like thing said, flying so that she was not able to grab it, and Areia noticed with bewilderment that the little bug-like thing was speaking to her, in her mind.

How do you do this? Areia questioned, and the little bug-like thing said, Oh, flying? I've got wings, look! It flew out of the leaves, did a little dance in the air, and then flew back in, landing lightly on Areia's leg. Areia was so bewildered she didn't immediately grab it.

No, Areia said, irritated. How do you speak like this, in the mind?

This? the little bug-like thing inquired. It seemed to think a moment. Why shouldn't I speak like this? It's not special, is it? The little bug-like thing got excited, and its little wings blurred with excitement. Is it special? Is it? the little bug-like thing questioned her, its little voice pipping.

Areia did not like to speak to this thing. But, she had never met something like this little bug-like thing. It was~ interesting. Yes, she said, and the little bug-like thing shouted once more in her mind, Eee!

If you shout in my mind, Areia spoke to it, I will devour you. The little bug-like thing looked like it did not think she would devour it. But, it did not know that she had been about to devour the humming beast, before it had interrupted. I will not shout~ the little bug-like thing said less excitedly. Or, well, I think I will~ shout. It buzzed its little wings.

But quick, quick~ we need to get to the Blackberry! it said. It looked about for a moment, looking at the leaves surrounding them, and then said, This is a good beginning. Leaves are good. Blackberry's have leaves don't they? Don't they? it questioned. Let's gooo! it shouted, and then it immediately pipped in a quiet voice, I mean, let's go.

I will not go. Areia gritted her pointed teeth toward it irritably. You go. She stood up in the land plant, fumbling to get her legs out.

No, I said~ let's go, the little bug-like thing said.

Go where? Areia questioned.

To get the Blackberry! We will get the Blackberry! the little bug-like thing said excitedly.

No.

No? the little bug-like thing said less excitedly. But you have to go Blackberry picking with me. If you don't go, I don't go and~

I will go, Areia said, and the little bug-like thing buzzed excitedly. Yesss! it shouted.

It buzzed off, and Areia walked after it irritably. If she did not go with it, she thought, it would not leave. That was what it had said. If you don't go, I don't go. So Areia walked with it to get this something named a Blackberry.

[Nir'wei]

The creature that appears before Nir'wei, at first glance, looks at least passingly human. Stare a little closer, however, and it becomes clear that the eyes are empty, the lips are cleverly-folded mandibles, and the body shape is deceptively angled to hide the bulbous abdominal section sticking out behind it. Really, it's more insect than anything else - a strange mix between a fruit fly and a dragonfly, with the squat body of the former and the four large wings of the latter. It hovers before him, producing a low drone that makes it almost difficult to hear it's - her - disturbingly 'normal' sounding voice as she beckons him away from his idle stroll with nothing but a cryptic response about a blackberry.

It's the first time he's seen a creature like this, and he hopes that it's the last. But if there's something happening in the Sweetwine Woods, and this strange thing wanted him to help it, then he wasn't about to say no. He knew better than to turn down the proposals of strange summonings, since every time it seemed there was some unknown reason behind them. Perhaps if he did what it said, he could learn more about just what the hell it was and where it had come from. Just a shame that it didn't let him go back to his office first and pick up the other members of the Natural Affairs Office, repeating itself in a strange monotone with increasing insistency every time he tried to walk away from the path it carved.

In the end, his curiosity was just too great, so he followed along.

[Balthazar Black]

38 Ymiden 722

"What do you think? Practice smithing, or find work for the company?" Balthazar asked his fire forged diri who sat atop his desk in the workshop looking at him. Fuego looked up at the mage with wide orange eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't make much of a difference to you does it?" He asked again. The diri shook his body to indicate he didn't have an opinion. "What about you?" Balthazar asked the crow perched in the corner of the workshop, his diri of death. The crow said nothing and Balthazar took it to mean the same thing as the diri shrugging. He let out a small sigh and turned his attention to the few maps of Faldrass that he had.

He could take another run at the Badlands with the company and no one would stop him. If there were any Badlands left. It was odd that it was ever named that when no one ever went inside to see what made it so bad. It could have been a good place. It could have been that secrets were being hidden there. It wouldn't be the first time that figures in Scalvoris turned a blind eye to something. They knew about the mysterious tower but rather than level it, they let it stand.

"You could help me?" A voice almost squeaked from an unseen corner of the workshop. Balthazar's brow furrowed and he looked around. He couldn't see who'd spoken to him but he was looking too large. The one who had addressed him was in fact, very small.

"With what?" He asked the air. A little woman with pointed ears, large eyes, and wings emerged from behind a test tube sitting on one of the tables. She waved her hand, a little shyly, to get the large mage's attention. "Well, hello there."

"Hello." The little fairy said, "It's time to pick the Blackberry." Balthazar crossed his arms over his chest and scratched his chin slightly. Pick the Blackberry? He didn't want to go gardening. He actually had little interest in it. Then again, she hadn't said blackberries- she has said 'the blackberry.' The word choice alone was enough to prompt curiosity from the mage with no job to bind him anywhere.

"Where to?" Balthazar asked the fairy who's toothy smile nearly took up her whole face.

"The Sweetwine! Come, come!"

[Yina Talliel]

♡

Yina and Alder sprawled out under a large tree, soaking up the sun and the easy breeze.
"What shall we do today, my fuzzy friend?" Yina queried, gently plucking a few stray leaves from her vines, and placing them in jars for later. Alder huffed as if to assure her that lazing here is perfectly acceptable, and started to roll himself over to further bury himself in the soft grass. He froze mid-wiggle, all four paws in the air with his head lolled to the side, face to face with a creature, almost akin to a hummingbird. Keeping his eyes locked on, Alder twisted around just enough to tap Yina with his tail. This amused the creature, for it emitted a soft twinkling sound, was it laughing? It flew swiftly over to the tunawa and, too quickly to deflect, swiped the jar of leaves from Yina's hands.
"Wha- Hey! No! Come back here with that, you miscreant!"
The pair of them scrambled to their feet and shot off after the theiving little huminoid.


The chase was on with no idea how or where it will end.

[Pegasus]

Blackberry Picking!