first flight ⤈ open log

[draganea]

Who: Aranea and anyone
Status: Open
Where: Wherever the quests are—
What: Featuring the following MANTA board quests: Wy's Have It, Cat Kneads, The Graven Trinkets, Pocket Picked By A Penny, various bounties
Warnings: None really


⤈ i. cat kneads

[She really wasn't going to stop by the bakery, but after seeing and hearing some of the effects of the bread, she takes a look and picks up one.]

...Huh, bread that can repel annoying people?

[She grins at whoever may be nearby.]

Might have to take a few of these, and some of the others.

[Invisibility? Jump boost? Floating? Armor? Sounds too good to be true, but hey if it actually works—]

⤈ ii. wy's have it

[a) Dealing with the wyverns. When Aranea arrives onto the island, she clicks her tongue as she sees a few wyverns already harassing a farmer's herd of cattle.]

Hoping for a cheap meal, huh? Guess the clock starts now!

[With her spear appearing in her hand, Aranea rushes in and jumps up high, soaring into the sky as if flying before she shouts on purpose, alerting the wyvern of her incoming attack to make it scatter without actually making a connection. Instead the wyvern will quickly divert as her spear impales the ground, leaving a small blast crater.

There's a reason for her not directly attacking the wyvern despite proceeding to engage in them—instead she's trying to drive them off, inflicting as minimal damage to them as possible. She knows something is up, and if she has to kill one she will. But in the meantime, she's going to focus on just making them fly off for now.

If anyone needs help reaching them, she some of the Yeast Boosts Buns, Loaf Lift Pumpernickle, and the Crust Shield Ciabatta from the cat bakery to help.


b) Investigating. Once things are settled around the farms, Aranea will head towards the mountains. Anyone is free to tag along, or she could meet up with someone who happens to be doing the same. At some point, however, she'll stop when she sees large claw marks on the ground, frowning as she kneels down to run her fingers over it.]

...This is definitely not from a wyvern, at least not the ones we've seen so far. Did something bigger move in?

[Could the culprit be a larger monster that invaded? A shortage of food? Someone controlling them!? POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS and open to other ideas, but at least one angle to be looked could be potential larger creature that has come in.]

⤈ iii. pocket picked by a penny

[Seems simple enough. Take this Rupoor coin and try to sneak it into someone's pocket to reap the rewards later. Of course the other catch is retrieving the coin... But that's what clear wires are for, right? She might also use the Clumb Cloak Croissant to help for a bit.

A few scenarios for this:
a) Casual Bump. A common tactic—bump into someone, slip the coin into the person's pocket or bag, and then leave in the next step. Quick, simple—but will it be successful, difficult, or a failure?
b) Witness. Sly as she might be, she's not perfect. Perhaps someone catches her in the act and wants to confront her about it?
c) Caught. Maybe her target is a better thief or just happened to notice what she did and catches her before she can slip away!
d) Belated realization. The pocket was successfully picked, and her target notices a little too late. But there's still a chance to try and catch her, especially since she might actually stay and wait to return the items. Maybe.
e) Need some help? Someone else may be trying to use the coin, and either is having difficulty or on the run. She could lend a hand... Or trip them up so they get caught, who knows—

Aranea may actually return the items depending on what she finds. But she may also be tempted to keep coins, so we'll have to see how things go for that, ho ho. If the item is something that needs to be returned, just make note of it and we'll make it work.]

⤈ iv. the graven trinkets

[Careful while going through the wreckage, upon finding one of the questionable amulets said to be capable of dark magic, Aranea frowns.]

...Doubt there's enough money to make something like this worth existing.

[She brings her spear down, ready to break it unless someone stops her.

Otherwise, she'll be around the ship either to help, hinder, or even steal from others if she sees the opportunity. Using the Crumb Cloak Croissant, she'll use those precious thirty seconds to sneak up and just swipe some of that treasure or coins right from under their nose!]

⤈ v. bounty: miss praying mantis

[She might not have fire magic, but she does her her spear that can pierce through tough armor. Now she would probably try to do this by herself, but Aranea might try to find male partners for...totally not suspicious reasons.]

Not scared of a large bug, are you?

[The reason is bait, she wants to use them as bait—

⤈ vi. wildcard

[Up for other quests, including the other bounties! I have a plotting comment here and can hit me up on either discord or laenavesse.]

Comments

ii. the wy's have it b.)

[haveaflare]

[He returns to Aranea's side with a frown. These wyverns are certainly not moving in patterns he's familiar with, and as a member of the Imperial army, he's had quite a bit of experience with them. He's glad to have his sparring partner at his side, for no other reason than she seems better at going it alone.

He's learning while they work.

He kneels beside her, gauntleted fingering just touching the edge of the deeply gouged impression.]

An elder dragon? The size coincides. Such a beast won't simply be driven away, not if it's decided these fields belong to it.

[Of course, he could also be wrong. While his scope of experience is detailed in Valisthea, upon this star it is often woefully lacking.]

[draganea]

[She frowns at that, standing up to try and see if she can what other damage the source of this print could have caused. And there are some damaged trees with broken branches near them, which makes her click her tongue.]

Would be our luck... But I can't think of what else could have caused something this big. The only thing is I've seen the dragons of this world and usually they're more...sentient.

[She glances at him. Was he around for that dragon festival?]

But who knows if there are more beastly kind—this world seems to have just about everything.

[haveaflare]

Then perhaps it is not a dragon, and is instead some other beast we've yet to encounter. The Leviathans are beyond the ken of my world. Are they yours?

[He's never known dragons to be sentient, and he was not around for the festival, which is a shame. He would have loved it.]

The rifts aid in the variety, I'm sure. [He stands, hands on his hips as he looks to the damaged trees.] Whatever it is, it is large. We must be prepared for anything.

v

[musicien]

[Verso had been minding his own business when he hears the question. A brow quirks upwards curiously.]

Depends. How large of a bug are we talking about?

[It's a valid question, especially when he's approached out of nowhere.]

[draganea]

[Very valid, and honestly the skepticism gives him some points. She doesn't want a complete naive fool for this.

With a grin, she looks at him and cants her hand before her eyes go higher.]

Not sure, could be twice your height. Maybe even larger.

cat kneads

[starshower]

[This isn't the first time that Tifa has been to this new bakery, but... certainly the first that she's seen or even heard of this "magical" bread. She's in the middle of looking at croissants with a pensive look on her face when the woman next to her speaks up. A glance over her shoulder and then back to make sure that she is the one being spoken to first—]

I'd be careful with these.

[She lowers her voice with a slightly conspiratorial smile.]

Haven't exactly had the best luck with magical food as of late.

[draganea]

Oh yeah?

[She looks at the bread curiously and then at the younger woman.]

What's been your experience?

the wy's have it, b

[sparkstrikes]

[Lightning had been perfectly fine to look into this alone. Not like she was planning on splitting her share of the pay for the job, so when she hears footsteps approaching, she just gives a forlorn, frustrated sigh as she stands from where she'd been kneeling in front of the marks.]

Something big enough to scare off those things?

[Her hands fall to her hips as she casts a quick glance at the woman beside her.]

Gonna have to ask for more money if that's the case.

Re: the wy's have it, b

[draganea]

[A wry grin as waves a hand.]

Right? Was thinking the same thing.

[She then looks at the marks again.]

But it would make the most sense.

iv

[menaceunleashed]

[hey how about someone grabbing that spear right as it comes down-]

Do you even know what it does?

[draganea]

[Oh that is the wrong move—

With a flash in her eyes, her grip tightens as she wrenches it back with surprising strength.]

Why, actually interested in dark magic like that?

iii casual bump 🪙

[activatingcombatmode]

[Zack is out on the boardwalk that early morning after enjoying some morning workouts. He plans to head out to the shops to pick up some decent steaks for dinner that night... It's funny how boring seafood can get after living in this world for some time.

He doesn't notice the casual little bump as the woman brushes by. He just smiles and waves his "Good morning!" before heading out to get just that. Steaks. But just as he's about to pay a local butcher for them... It seems like his money is missing. Zack's eyes go wide and he pats his pockets in sheer confusion.]

Hold on. I had the dubloons on me this morning. Damn it, did I drop them somewhere?

[Listen, Zack isn't an attentive guy to start with. If there's anyone who's going to get bamboozled by a corsair trick, it's the dumb paladin Zack Fair.]

[draganea]

[Trying this little coin has been interesting to say the least, and when she sees a young man with an all too happy and foolish look on his face? Yeah, perfect mark. It doesn't make much for her hand to slip the coin into his pocket and then pull on the string to fling it back out like a yo-yo a few seconds later. Just long enough to snatch a few things if not their entire stash depending. She's not looking for much especially since these are still test runs...

But even after she got the coin back, she watched the man continue on, and curious to see his reaction she silently tails him, keeping her distance and out sight until he reaches the butcher's...

...Ha.

Wow, he really didn't notice at all? Poor guy. And the butcher isn't looking too happy, either. Hmmm, should she step in? No she'll wait a little longer to see what he does.]

ii-a

[lucky_e]

[It's good to have someone who is more capable and adept at avoiding taking lives. All of Enty's abilities being geared more towards destruction made it difficult for her to avoid adding a wyvern or two.

But she's doing her best all the same! Launching her arrows made of light to feighten the creatures off in much the same way as Aranea.]

I dont think they'll find much of an easy meal here.

[draganea]

[While she feels she can handle this on her own, she won't refuse help. So long as it doesn't cut into her pay—]

Hopefully they'll start to learn that lesson soon.

[Another hard SMACK of her spear against the neck of a wyvern, sending it recoiling back up into the air with a screech.]

Graven trinkets

[moremystyle]

[The curséed treasure of a legendary pirate, well, obviously that's going to be one of the things Faris dives into after getting back here.

Faris is picking his way over the ruined deck, now having very second thoughts. He didn't like the ship's graveyard back home either, and he's on edge waiting for a dead sailor to jump out at him--but the movement he spots is of a decidedly living person, which is a relief.

A living person about to plant her spear through an amulet. Wait a second.]

Hold fast there! Are you not even going to look at the thing first?

[draganea]

[She will only stop at the voice and glance over.]

Not really.

[An idle shrug as the tip of her spear taps the amulet's chain to lift it up.]

Given what I've heard about these amulets, don't really need to look into it more.

iii. a

[hellofishies]

[ At first glance Arkady looks like the absolute ideal sucker. A perfect target to practice on. Look down at her feet, there's no shoes there! How could she possibly run after someone? The skirt she's wearing (which in a stroke of absolute luck has pockets) is flowing, probably also not fantastic for chasing after potential pickpockets. She's slight, clearly not someone that's ever worked out a day in her life, and she absolutely does not look like she's paying an ounce of attention to where she's going.

At the bump she stops in her tracks, sways a little, and then reaches to grab Aranea's wrist with the most unimpressive grip ever. Although...her eyes do flash white for just a moment. Maybe? It's quick. Easy to miss. ]

I'm not sure, but that doesn't seem very nice. [ At least it never is back home when people try this sorta trick. ]

[draganea]

[Seeing Arkady, she definitely is an easy mark... But she also feels a little sorry for the girl. Although this is yet another place where it's better for one to look out only for themselves, Aranea isn't so coldhearted. So this might be one of her targets where she intends to return whatever she manages to steal and perhaps try and teach a lesson. Without showing her intentions, anyway.

But she's surprised when she feels that grip, and as she whips her head around to stare at her, she misses most of that flash, but she can sense something...different. An instinct that any seasoned warrior who has to fight against daemons might pick up on to know that this girl isn't everything she seems.

...Hm...]

You mean the bump? Sorry, didn't hurt you did I?

[For now she feigns innocence, already performing some sleight of hand to try and hide the coin.]

v. bounty

[brokenlight]

...Why're you asking?

[Poor Ventus is just kind of roped into this.]

[draganea]

[ISN'T IT HER FAVORITE LITTLE GUY at least she's not carrying him off again?]

Just wanted to be sure. Can't have you running away too soon.

A Casual Bump

[velocityraptor]

[ It's not that hard to bump into Hawks exactly, but the moment her hand gets close to his pocket, unfortunately he feels that through his enhanced senses. He starts off with a chuckle. ] Sorry about that!

[ But when she goes for his pocket, he might make a move to attempt to try and catch her hand. Not that he even has anything in his pockets, not really. ]

[draganea]

[Shoot—the guy was quicker than she expected. Although she had tried to move her hand away, Hawks will be able to catch her wrist before she can, so she's forced to awkwardly stop and look at him.

And just flash him a pretty smile.]

Aren't you the one being a little forward now?

[Oh she knows she's caught, but that doesn't mean she can't try to distract and pretend she didn't.]

iv. the graven trinkets

[eternalhymn]

[Seeking out treasure has been one of the more enjoyable parts of being a member of the Corsairs, Harding has to admit, though the treasure they're out scavenging for among the wreckage sounds like the type that needs to be handled with care. The potential for dark magic... seems like they should bring anything suspect to a trusted expert before trying to fence it.]

It's amazing what some people will pay to—

[She'd started with her back turned, kneeling to rummage through some of the debris, but happens to glance over her shoulder just in time to see Aranea lift her spear.]

Whoa, hey, wait!

[She's on her feet immediately, urgency in her voice.]

[draganea]

[Hearing Harding's urgency, Aranea will stop her spear just short of trying to break the amulet and look over at her.]

What?