[Open] At the top of your game, keep on rolling

[astudyinviolet]

Who: Sherlock Holmes and others
Status: Open
Where: Eltrut, MANTRA Board locations
What: Catch all for Sherlock this month: forcing Sherlock to deal with his inability to sleep, coping with a sudden gay awakening (see: Alhaitham's survey chaos); MANTA Board quests: A Wishing Tree, The Haunting of Forgotten Cay, Bashful Bunnies, Crab Curry
Warnings: potential talking about Cthulhu-esque night terrors and drowning, Sherlock's horrible sleeping habits, second-hand embarrassment over this boy

What I would give for a dreamless night

[ Sherlock has not been sleeping. He's exhausted, and yet he pushes himself. Every attempt to sleep soon turns to tossing and turning, muttering and whimpering. He can't stop having nightmares related to his last case which startle him awake, terrified. So... his solution has been to avoid sleeping as much as possible. Consuming untold amounts of coffee can only do so much. His body has needed rest since before arriving in this world. The redness around his eyes can't get anymore pronounced. He's past the limit a baby burgeoning consulting detective can have. In the following days, Sherlock can be found completely passed out in various locations such as:

• hunched over a cafe table with a cup of coffee beside him
• on the ground beside a set of strange footprints with magnifying glass in hand
• walking down the street and then collapsing mid-stride without warning

Despite the location, it soon becomes clear that his sleep is anything but peaceful and restorative. Sherlock needs outside intervention because he cannot carry on like this without serious consequence. ]

Knowledge of Love and Romance - Nil

[ Never did Sherlock think that answering a survey would cause him to question a part of himself he never thought to or had to question. He is a man of science, of logic and reason. He's been raised to suppress his emotions. Women never held any attraction to him, so he was supposed to be free of this perceived folly and danger. (Love can truly drive someone to madness. He's seen it.)

It's almost comical how thrown off he is over the idea that he can harbor those softer emotions towards another. Sherlock's friendship with John Watson is unprecedented for him already. To discover that he doesn't reject the possibility of attraction to the man and the strange feeling in his chest leaves him feeling lost without a guide or anyone to turn to. As such, Sherlock turns to the only resource he can think of: books.

He's incredibly flustered and embarrassed to be caught with romantic materials when he has been so critical about them and romance in the past. These aren't even risque stories, poetry, or plays. Regardless, Sherlock pulls his deerstalker cap low in a failed attempt to hide flushed cheeks and perhaps hide in general without sacrificing one of his disguises over this. He purchases a number of books at once and hopes that the more romantic titles are hidden among the more scientific ones. Catch him fidgeting at the shelves, maybe bump into him on his way to his residence and send books sprawling across the ground, or just wonder what is up with this 23-year-old acting like a teenager. ]

MANTA Board

General: A Wishing Tree

[ Sherlock isn't interested in the reward or even the legend of unbreakable vows. He has no friend or lover with him. (He still can't believe he's not wholly unaffected by those emotions.) Instead, he's studying the blossoms of this tree, sketching the flowers in various stages of opening, and sampling a petal or a bit of pollen to study under better light later. Maybe tell him to leave and let the couples share their promises. Or join in for science? ]

General: The Haunting of Forgotten Cay

[ Who gets lost reading all the waterlogged pages scattered about? This guy. Sherlock carefully navigates his way over the treacherous landscape, giving wide berths to any open water. The air is heavy, and he's fighting the feeling of déjà vu he gets from the scenery. Had there been a lighthouse, Sherlock would have considered staying on the ship. But this is just a haunted island, supposedly. ]

Have you found anything yet?

Bounties: Bashful Bunnies

[ Upon realizing just what the bounty was for, Sherlock's motivation has changed. He's fond of bees. These are bee and bunny hybrids. They need to be saved, not treated as pests. Since then, he's been locating the nests but not following through with dispelling them. ]

There must be an alternative to banishing these creatures. They are merely trying to find a home.

[ He sits on the ground in front of a nest, quietly with his casebook open. Is he trying to sketch one? He may be. ]

Special: Crab Curry

[ Sherlock is helping to rescue the baby crabs by climbing up Norhpip's shell, but everything from his expression to his posture hints at how upset he is at the reasons for being back on Norhpip. Nothing like having one's efforts go to waste because certain people failed to stop and think about what they were doing before speaking. He's completely civil towards the crabs, but he's not suffering any fools. He spots one crab over a ledge above where they currently are. ]

I'll go for that one. Stay here and watch over the rest.

Wildcard

[ Want to do something else? Write a prompt or drop me a line at Sherry's journal, aviekokyre, Discord @ aviekokyre, or his plotting comment, and we can plot something out. ]

Comments

[astudyinviolet]

[ The existence of bee-rabbit honey is unknown to Sherlock as well, but he does like honey.

He puts his fingers to his chin as he thinks. ]

Could the nests be the actual problem here? The creatures themselves are very difficult to notice without special equipment.

[activatingcombatmode]

[Zack nods...]

Must be. Maybe they're nesting in places that are annoying the locals. So, maybe if we move those first?

[But who knows how truly wild animal spirit bunny things will react if they move their homes? Zack's no animal expert.]

[astudyinviolet]

[ The more he think about it, the more it seems the nests could be the problem. ]

Moving their homes completely will likely frighten them if they are inside. Moving the nests with them elsewhere will leave them homeless and likely to distrust our intentions.

[ This is tricky. It would be easier to earn their trust, but they are so skittish. Sherlock doesn't know what they like to eat either, so this is unlike how he won over Toby's trust. Well, dogs don't normally eat sandwiches regardless. ]

Could we lead them towards more suitable locations, so they willingly moving on their own?

[activatingcombatmode]

If I were to put myself into their paws I wouldn't like someone taking my home and moving it either. You're right, we've probably got to be careful with them. Leading them away to a better location might be our best bet.

But how do you lead away bunny bees? Or get them to trust us enough? Feed them something?

[astudyinviolet]

Food would be a good starting point. Since we do not know if their diet aligns more with their bee side or rabbit side, I suggest we bring both flowers heavy with pollen and vegetables. We will move on from there.

[ Sherlock slowly stands and steps away from the nest, careful not to startle the bee rabbits. Time to make a taste test spread for the tiny creatures. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[Zack nods. He's no green thumb either so he'll trust the guy and help him gather up any nearby flowers and herbs that might work on the little make-shift charcuterie board they're making. He'll then hold the blacklight lantern up just a little higher so they can get a better light shone down on the area. Any spirit bee bunnies should be able to be seen with the light shining down.]

So, you've got a pretty good feeling about this? Are you usually a bunny wrangler?

[He grins a bit.]

[astudyinviolet]

Far from it. I had befriended a stray dog in my youth with a sandwich. I hope something similar will work here.

[ Sherlock also starts to pick sample vegetation. Some may overlap with what Zack gets, but it'll still provide them with data. He makes sure to get a wide array of different color flowers too. Who knows how their vision works or if they use smell to locate a meal.

Some of the bee bunnies poke their heads out, watching intently on their actions. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

Hey, that kind of counts. People say if a dog trusts someone they're good with all animals. They can sense that kind of stuff.

[Or the saying goes something like that?

Meanwhile, the little pile of bunny snacks is starting to look pretty decent. Zack manages a handful of uncrumpled clover to add to the pile too. And when the little bee bunnies pop into view Zack grins.]

So far so good! [He whispers! He's not sure if he's supposed to whisper but he's whispering!]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Loud noises can startle, so whispering couldn't hurt at the very least. Similarly, Sherlock replies sotto voce. ]

Let's add the rest and then step away to watch.

[ Sherlock does that and then moves to a distance where the bee bunnies are closer to the offering than they are to it. He sits down. While he doesn't know if doing so will reassure the bee bunnies (making himself smaller, needing more time to move again), Sherlock takes advantage of his sitting position and settles his casebook on his knee for note taking. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[Zack will follow suit, putting the last of his handful of clover and flowers out before he takes a few big safety steps away. He doesn't sit but he does stand near the other man with his arms crossed to watch the scene unfold.

It seems like it does do a decent starting job. There's three little bee bunnies that eventually stick their heads out of nowhere and sniff the air... And start to hop closer.]

Heyy. It's working. [He quietly nudges Sherlock. Good job, man!]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock doesn't tear his gaze away from the bee rabbits, but he's able to scribble down a few notes. Three. That will help to see if the tastes apply to more than an individual and could possible be applied to the whole. There is a definite pattern forming. The bee rabbits are going for the flowers, especially a sweet flower pollen. Yes, they may nibble at the other items, but the flowers are gone.

Zack is greeted with a smile. ]

Let's go collect more flowers. We can use this.

[activatingcombatmode]

Right! Oh yeah!

[Zack is pretty hyped about the fact that this is actually working. If they can get these little guys to trust them they should be able to move them somewhere safe! And that's better than dispelling them or whatever the bounty wanted them to do. He's fine with losing out on the reward.

He'll turn to help gather up another few handfuls of flowers and then he crouches down to offer a handful on his palms to the little bee bunnies.]

There we go, come on little guys.

[And they start to sniff the air and take careful small steps towards Zack and Sherlock.]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Could they leave a trail of these flowers through a quiet area to lead them to safer location? Those were Sherlock's thoughts when the bee rabbits start to move towards them.

Sherlock freezes. He doesn't even drop the flowers he holds in case the movement startles the tiny creatures. Could they build enough trust so quickly in these skittish bee rabbits? It's one thing with a stray dog. Dogs are domesticated creatures. These are fully wild.

He doesn't need any reward. He'll treasure the trust put in him and see to it that they find a better, safer place to live. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[They could very well lure these little guys all the way out of town to a quieter and safe place. No one would question two fully grown men luring a bunch of cute bee bunnies through town, right?

It's hard to tell what the bunnies are going to do now, though. Zack also freezes up and glances at the other man with an unsure look.

The little bunnies are sniffing at them...]

What do we do, man? ... I don't think we can grab them out of nowhere? Just keep moving?

[astudyinviolet]

[ If people do question them, they can glare daggers at them until they leave them to their work escorting bee bunnies. Although, maybe it would be easier if that had a box of some kind filled with the flowers to gently lift and carry once the creatures are inside.

Sherlock slowly switches his grip on the flowers, so that they are in one hand. He slowly moves his arm, hoping the closest bee rabbit will follow...

Or one bee rabbit can decide that Sherlock's lap is a good stepstool for reaching the yummy looking flowers. Sherlock looks at Fair, silently asking "Help" or maybe "Now what?" He has a lap full of bunny. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[Help?? Help how??]

I dunno- You're the chosen one.

[He thinks... How about if he dumps another handful of flowers and clover on Sherlock? That should work. If they like him...

And soon enough they start scooting closer, two more jumping into Sherlock's lap!!! Bro!!]

[astudyinviolet]

[ He doesn't know!

Sherlock closes his eyes as the flowers and clover fall over him. The bee rabbits hop onto him. Chosen one? Is this like when a hive trusts a beekeeper? Surely, it could not have happened so fast. Then again, Toby was won over rather quickly. He looks at one of the bee rabbits and speaks softly. ]

Would you permit me to offer a pet?

[ He moves slowly and gently places a hand on one of the rabbit's soft fur. Bits of pollen stick to the fur, no surprise as it is a favorite food of these creatures. ]

Fair, perhaps we can help move them faster. Is there a crate or box we might use? More flowers and a heavy blanket.

[activatingcombatmode]

[This is going pretty well. Zack is a little surprised that it's going better than anticipated. Maybe these little guys aren't a nuisance after all and it doesn't warrant a real bounty.]

Yeah, let's see what I can find. Make sure you don't move for a second, man.

[Just a minute while he checks for something they can use and all he manages to come back with on the fly is a old wicker basket of some sort.]

Here, ease them into this. Then we should be able to move them out of the area?

[He doesn't really know, he's just winging this!]

[astudyinviolet]

[ They're both winging it, but they've made progress. They can't be too far off.

Sherlock scoops the bee bunny he petted into his arms. It shuffles a bit to nibble a flower which had gotten lodged in his waistcoat. He moves slowly to the basket Fair brought. Gently, gently... the first bee bunny is inside. He shakes off some flowers into the basket. Then he tries to scoop another into his arms. In the process, a third hops in voluntarily.

With three inside, Sherlock removes his waistcoat to drape over the top. A curious nose bumps the fabric from below, but they seem to calm in the dark. Sherlock lifts the basket. ]

I think you have the more difficult part: guiding me and keeping anyone else nearby quiet or away as we move them.

[activatingcombatmode]

[A very lucky first try. He's glad Sherlock is a bunny-attracting man.]

It's alright. I got you. I'm a professional bodyguard so that works for me. Let's make tracks.

[He grins and gives a nod. He'll wave for the man to follow him and he'll take the lead towards the edge of town. There will be a few people who are hustling and bustling along the way so Zack will hush people or guide Sherlock through the quieter parts of the streets. Easy as they go!]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock is better with animals and insects than people, and these bee rabbits are both. He walks slowly at first, feeling the bee rabbits shuffle inside. ]

We're going to have to do this with each nest we find, but if this works, we can prepare something a little easier for the others.

[ By this time, there has been a conversation over the conservatory and bringing the bee rabbits to there (because they need a destination). Thankfully, Fair's bodyguard experience gives them little trouble. ]

We may need to recruit some help. Do you know anyone?

[activatingcombatmode]

More nests, huh? I guess it'll be a busy day for us.

[Zack thinks for a second...]

Yeah, I think I can get Red to help out. He's an animal whisperer.

[And an animal- But also the Conservatory CEO so that's a double plus!]

[astudyinviolet]

[ The more they save, the better the odds of the bee rabbits' survival. It'll be a busy but rewarding day saving cute little bee rabbits from an unfair bounty. ]

That would be much appreciated.

[ The basket wiggles in Sherlock's arms, not enough to cause an issue but enough that it was very noticeable. Sherlock stops for a moment until the basket settles again. ]

I choose to believe they are offering their thanks as well.

[activatingcombatmode]

[Zack laughs warmly. He crosses his arms and regards the guy with a nod.]

I think so, I think we did the right thing. No one likes to have their homes destroyed. Getting relocated to a safer spot is the next best thing.

[astudyinviolet]

[ They make it to the reserved location for the bee rabbits in the conservatory. With utmost gentleness, Sherlock eases the basket down and lifts his waistcoat off. One of the bee rabbits jump out as Sherlock brushes off pollen and fur from his waistcoat. The other two jump out of the basket after and begin to sniff the air. ]

I suppose now we wait for them to settle down and try to find more.