Planting for the Future (Molpadia,Shik, Griselda)

[JetAlmeara]

QUESTLINE: Planting the trees

As you walk around the reservation, you notice a few former War clan members squabbling amongst themselves. They seem to have dug several rather large, impressive holes.

"Did you bring any seeds?" The female clansmember seems extremely agitated, literally harping on the male. He in return, says nothing. "We need seeds of strong saplings, nothing else will support our huts."

She suddenly spots you. "'You there! Come here." She points the ground, where a few small seeds are buried." I need you to go to the Weeping Forest and find tree seeds exactly like these ones. We need to grow the strongest trees."

Before you can argue she points you in the direction of the Weeping Forest. Oh well, better get started

OOC

- Roll a 100-sided dice and match your dice roll to the results below. Keep on rolling until you obtain at least 2 perfect seeds. You have completed the RP once you have fulfilled this requirement.

- 1-20: The tree you manage to find and scale is weak and sickly. It does not seem like it will be suitable
- 21 - 40: You find a particularly large tree, and rather nasty too, as it swings its branches, nearly disemboweling you on the spot. You manage to snag one seed from its branches before you have to flee away from it. +1 seed
- 41 - 60: The tree seems to be very promising, but it seems to only be budding at the very very top. The branches are too dense to fly, so you take the dangerous trek of climbing up, but can only reach one seed before you fall back down. +1 seed
-61 - 80: You look around, trying to find your way... you could have sworn you took this path before. You feel a little lost....
- 81 - 100: You see a suitable tree, but before you can grab at it, a minipet runs away with your find. Maybe you should find that minipet and skin it...

 

[JetAlmeara]

Molpadia had - as usual- been heading towards the training grounds to get in a bit of practice while she had a little bit of down time when she'd run across the squabbling clansmen. It had only taken a slight momentary pause in her stride for the two to notice her and while hunting for seed's wasn't exactly on the top of her 'things to do when you have nothing to do' list...it was an important task, especially for War Clan survivors like herself. Even if she had been given the chance to argue it's unlikely she would have really and merely giving a shrug she had started off into the forest.

At first the task had seemed fairly easy - she was to go into a forest and find tree seeds...how hard could it be? Unfortunately it seemed like she might have miscalculated the difficulty a little bit because look as she might Molpadia had yet to find any specimens of the proper type of tree. In fact she was getting quite annoyed as she wandered through the woods until she spotted what looked to be right kind. Pleased she'd marched up to it..grabbed a branch to start climbing and pick some seeds...and promptly fell on her butt with a yelp and thump when the apparently rotten branch broke off in her hand. Disgusted she threw the branch away. "Rotten! Go figure!" Clearly this tree wasn't going to be any good.  

[medigel]

His War-sister had him at "tree" before he agreed. The faster they found seeds, the faster he could resurrect a shell of his home. The faster he could get off the ground and lay in a leafy hammock high above. The faster they could attain a semblance of normalcy.

Now if only Shikoba could retain a sense of direction. After several minutes of walking he found that he swore that arrangement of stones and moss looked like the one he'd passed by not too long ago . . . The only difference this time was that he heard a familiar voice as he rounded the marker. "Hmmm." Following the direction where he heard the voice, Shik eventually found another of his kinsmen on the hunt. "Having trouble?"  

[JetAlmeara]

Molpadia picked herself up off the ground and frowned at the tree before turning to glance at Shik. Great...just who she wanted to see her fall on her a**, a fellow War clan member..why couldn't it be someone she didn't particularly care about..like one of those students that were always underfoot, the thought was a bit of exaggeration since she hadn't actually seen any students since the ceremony...but she was in an ill mood and someone needed to bear the brunt of it. Might as well be non-present students.

"Did they send you out to look for seed's too?" She asked "If they did I can tell you right now this is a terrible forest...half the tree's are rotten and the rest are riddled with these annoying little creatures...like that one there,," She pointed at one of the furry vermin who was eating..."It's eating a seed!" She suddenly realized, voicing the thought even as she lunged at the beast in hopes of retrieving the seed before it was too late but the wretched creature disappeared into a hole in the ground. Making a frustrated sound she wheeled back to her fellow "You see...a terrible forest, I have half a mind to smoke that beast out and roast it on a spit" She declared.  

[fenshae]

Two things dueled for space in Griselda's thoughts.

First: Why weren't they making Famine do this? Plants and seeds and harvesting and growing things...those were all Famine activities. Warriors were support to...well...make war. Not play at gardening. Wasn't that the point of all this "integration", anyway? To have all of the clans combine their strengths toward the good of everyone?

Second: If she ever wanted to see anything resembling a normal life again, she'd best do what she was told, plants or not. She longed for her old home with a fierceness and intensity that caused a literal ache inside of her, and since going home was impossible, she had to do whatever it took to make this pale echo of the island feel like home.

In the end, her sense of duty won out, but it put her in a foul mood. Then again, more often than not these long, hard weeks, she was usually in a foul mood.

"Shikoba, Molpadia," she said, formally, granting a nod toward each as she approached. She regretted the formality immediately. Now they would probably respond in turn, and being called Griselda would be one more thing to add to her unpleasant day. Still, the sense of formality seemed necessary, and she had a hard time resisting it. Though they may not technically be her superiors, they were older than her, and more experienced, and she felt it necessary to defer to them.

It was also necessary to prove herself to them. Without a further word, she settled onto the task at hand.

She took a deep, steadying breath as she approached the tree. It looked innocuous enough, but she knew better than to trust anything by appearance alone.

And, as it turns out, she was right. No sooner had she come within an arm's reach than the tree lashed out, its branch arcing through the air like a whip, tearing at her skin. It came suddenly, but not wholly unexpectedly, and she jerked back with the well-honed reflexes of a warrior. A second branch whistled just inches over her head. She was not so lucky the third time; the initial branch snapped back in place, catching her arm, and she grimaced, wrapping her hand about the seed even as the sharp wood tore at her.

One lip curled, the warrior stumbled free of the plant's reach, the single seed held clenched in her fist. She bled, but only slightly, and ignored the sting of the fresh wound.

This was not improving her mood -- but at least she hadn't come away empty handed. She glanced back at the others, curious at their progress.

((+1))  

[medigel]

"I'm well aware the forest isn't as we'd like, but there are some comforts to it." Two fights with tree-like mini pets who nearly gored him and his companion to death? It was almost like home. "And what little those are, we may add to them yet."

And as he turned to try a different tree, lo and behold he saw a patch of gray heading their way. In spite of Zelda's visibly foul mood, Shik couldn't help but smile a bit; familiarity had its comforts in this strange world, and to know more of his friends had made it gave him a bit of hope. "Ho, and the gray one has found us," he announced to Molpadia as he reached the tree. The plant that attacked Zelda reminded him of the tall sentient grass he had found before; this forest, for all its occupying dead trees, was very much alive. "I see we've all been sent out for seeds then," he observed, spotting one for the taking - and then watched it get snatched away by a minipet.  

[JetAlmeara]

As Shikoba announced that someone else had joined them Molpadia turned away from fussing at the minipet - who was likely long gone in any case to greet whomever it was. Ah..Griselda..or Zelda as she preferred to be called - and she looked to be in about the same mood as she herself was in. Well misery loves company or so they say and Molpadia offered the other clansmen a nod of greeting and then watched as she was attacked by the tree they were attempting to get seeds from.

She rather hoped they didn't do such things once they had been grown on the reserve or it was going to make getting around very annoying. "Lovely place isn't it?" She remarked dryly before turning to Shikoba "If by comforts you mean trees in general sure". She concluded with a furrowed brow as she watched yet another seed be stolen away from them by the little creatures that inhabited the woods. Determined not to let another seed be stolen away she bounded towards the tree and made a quick snatch at one of it's seed's. Having learned of the possible repercussion of this from watching Zelda only a moment before she was ready to duck and roll as soon as her hand plucked it.

The whistling of a branch above her let her know it had been a wise idea and she stood to move further away only to have to ward off another blow with her forearm in doing so. Bleeding herself now she glared at the tree. "Perhaps we should find another to take seeds from..this one is obviously ill tempered"  

[fenshae]

She smirked at Shik's comment, then shook her head at Molpadia. "It's very...resilient," she admitted. The thought had struck her as well -- that she really hoped this plant wasn't as ill-tempered once they got it planted.

"What are those things, anyway?" She asked, glancing between Shik and the seed-stealing minipet. "Do you think it would be inappropriate to skewer it?"  

[medigel]

The giant chuckled - and then proceeded to swiftly stick his dagger deep in the thing's leg. It squealed with pain and wriggled out with a long tear when he eventually lessened the pressure, but it was pointless to try and get the seed now that it was eaten. Ah well, blood was blood. Perhaps he would track it down and see if it was worth cooking in a stew.

"It's lovely enough if you know where to look." Not that Shik knew: the more he looked at their crossroads, the less certain he was as to which path he had or had not taken yet. "But I do agree, a new grove should give us better chances at less hostile hosts, if not seeds." He gestured with his weapon for one of them to take the lead - the last thing he wanted was to be nagged for leading them in circles.  

[JetAlmeara]

"I don't know what they are..but they are obviously infesting the area and over populated" She remarked in response to Zelda's comment as she watched another of the little creatures make off with a seed. Frowning slightly eyed the area and then spotting a likely looking path - or at least a path that didn't seem to familiar - she started off down it to try and find a new grove of the trees where they might have some better luck. Assuming the others would follow she didn't bother to turn around and check but merely called over her shoulder.

"Have you found any place on the reserve worth attempting to purchase Shik? Perhaps you are right - once we get to know the area we might like it better" Although by her tone it was clear that she thought this was a long shot. She did long for a place to really call her own again however - even if that place was going to be on a reserve. A reserve...how galling, like they were some sort of endangered animal instead of you know...members of society.  

[fenshae]

The knowledge that she would need to purchase her own land, carve out her own place on the reserve, filled her with both excitement and fear -- mostly fear. She wouldn't admit this, of course, but she didn't feel ready to be so alone and independent.

Though she rarely indulged herself in self-pity, she did feel a twinge now and then, and this was certainly one of those times. She kept silent and focused on the task at hand.

Forcefully shoving her thoughts away before she wandered into bad memories, Griselda trailed after Molpadia and kept a sharp eye out for potential trees along their path. Finding one that looked promising, she broke away from the others and scaled partway up, though gave up quickly. The tree sagged under her weight and looked as though it might splinter and fall over at any minute. No use bothering.  

[medigel]

"None yet." Shik observed the movements of the pack of mini pets hoarding the seeds up, leaping away one by one like wingless birds in formation. Without warning the dagger was thrown, nailing one of the creatures to the tree; it shuddered and died. Yet again no seed, but at least Shik could make it worth his while and practice dagger throwing. He approached the tree and pulled his weapon out, catching the small corpse by its tail. "Yourselves?" he asked, examining his kill.

(( Really, Shik? 8| ))  

[JetAlmeara]

Molpadia watched with a long suffering look on her face as Griselda's tree looked about to rot away beneath her and the pack of scavenging minipet's picked clean the other prospect in the area. "Stupid mongrel" She snarled, aiming a quick kick at the rump of the nearest creature who skittered well out of the way through the underbrush. "Maybe you can make a hat out of it" She told Shik "Or a belt.. that's about all your going to get from that pelt I think, it's a rather small beast"

"Maybe we should try a different path, though I'm starting to think this entire forest is a completely lost cause." She stated, glancing around them "How about that there?" She continued point through the brush in a direction with no discernible path at all "I think I spot the right type of leaves..maybe"Perhaps part of the problem was staying on the pathways - perhaps they had been picked over by other members of the tribe. A bit of trailblazing was perhaps in order.  

[fenshae]

"No..." she said, in response to Shik's question. She started to say more, but allowed the thought to die before it hit her voice. She didn't want to expose her loneliness.

Trailblazing seemed like a good plan to Zelda. It couldn't go much worse, anyway, and besides it felt like they were getting something good done. Or trying, anyway.

The small-statured warrior slid into the trees, keeping a sharp eye out for potential seeds. Grey eyes flicked from one tree to the next, trying to decide which was appropriate. "This one looks promising," she said, nodding toward a tree that rose before her in an impressive spread of tangled branches. "....Guys?"

Oh, great. Where was everybody?  

[medigel]

Shik was starting to agree with Molpadia because again when he saw a seed worth plucking, one of those damn minipets stole it away. With a growl he threw his dagger at it, this time missing as the thing scurried away. "I've never been in a forest more bothersome," he muttered darkly as he yanked his weapon out of the wood. But when he turned to see where Molpadia had pointed, Griselda was gone.

Oh for the love of the Queen.

"I think this forest could do with less nuisances. Shall we go on a small genocide?" Shikoba asked casually, though his anger was belied by the way he gripped his weapon. "Griselda! Find anything?" He hoped she hadn't wandered off far enough that she couldn't hear them.

(( DAMN MINIPETS ))