Another complicated day in the world of Joe had led to a far less complicated day in Terra Sphere. Nagging parents were replaced with the sounds of wilderness, bothersome hunger pangs replaced with a subtle breeze. Here Joe could just focus on something that mattered, at least to her. And today that was the hunt for an interesting plant. She'd taken the applicable vocations almost entirely on a whim, as growing up one of her neighbors had sported a fine Birds-of-Paradise in his front yard. Of course Joe wasn't sure she would be able to find the same plant here in the game, but that wasn't really the point here. Well, not Joe; Adelaide. The striking blonde counterpart made her way between trees and bushes, and even over a creek at some point. She had nothing but a small cloth sack and the clothes on her back, as Adelaide still hadn't felt it necessary to get a weapon or any actual gear. She knew fully well how dangerous traveling so bare bones was, but the player didn't care. In-game, Adelaide's nervousness was far less distinct than her player's. The woman hadn't traveled too far from the fringes of society, but had made a point to take her sweet time as she swept the local landscape searching for something to catch her eye. It was only an hour after logging in that a patch of woods did just that. What had caught Adelaide's attention first and foremost was the distinct buzzing noise that only continued to grow in intensity, and after a few minutes of careful scrutiny she saw the culprits; numerous hives of some sort dotted this particular area of the woods. The flora had thinned out noticeably but had been replaced by a number of strange looking plants, who's petals stood out among the rest of the greenery. Orange-on-pink petals with an intense red stalk; if Adelaide had been more knowledgeable she might have likened it to a lily, but as it was she just noticed it as a really bright flower. So bright in fact that it could have been poisonous, but the hand-sized wasps that were buzzing so loudly seemed rather interested in them. "Oh, these are neat." The thing she didn't know she wanted but knew she needed had been found, and now she just needed to find a way to gather it. That itself seemed daunting, even without the huge bugs flying around.
Leopold had put days of thought into what kind of companion animal he wanted to travel with. There were so many to choose from. He had mulled over animals in terms of ease of training; the likes of horses and dogs topped that list. Too vanilla. He wasn't joining an entire fantastical world just to play with puppies and ponies. No, he wanted to push the boundaries of what he could do. When he thought longer on this, he fell upon the notion of a flea circus. Sure, they were goofy, and weren't actually 'trained' fleas. They were just bugs glued to props so that the prop moved when the bug moved. Simple enough. But what if it was pushed further? What if an insect could receive precise instruction through the means of a mastery? Using his Beast Tamer mastery, he would be able to influence a companion animal to follow his commands and be his comrade. This left the door open for an interesting adventure of the arthropodic variety. When he had come to this idea, he had an employee of his house deliver a few broad encyclopedias on insects to him. Despite playing this game on the net, he only trusted books for quality information. Very old fashioned in that regard. Mulling through books, he found something that resonated with him. Social insects. Insects that thrived in large colonies, directed by a single insect through the use of pheromones. This reminded Leopold of his days at the head of a business empire, commanding legions of employees from behind his desk. He wasn't aiming to repeat that lifestyle by any means, but the similarity between the two made him affectionate towards things like ants, bees, termites and wasps. Once again Leopold purchased more books; those specializing in beekeeping. They were fascinating, and full of science that Leopold didn't even realize existed. The fact that people had put so much effort into the study and understanding of such a fringely important topic touched him. He was here to experience something new, something off the beaten path, and he had found the efforts and materials of those who did the same. That settled it in his mind. He was going to try and raise bees in Terrasphere. The trick was bonding with the queen using his beast tamer abilities. If he controlled the queen, then he would 'control' the hive, so to speak. Now... just how would he find said bee's? He had wandered the forests Brisshal for hours, careful to duck into cover and avoid any wandering beasts. He still hadn't acquired gear of any sort, and had many close encounters of the lethal kind. Surely you'd think he would take it to heart and prepare before venturing out, but no, ever thrifty, he decided to wing it. At some point, he had come to a section of the woods positively thriving with insect activity. There were many noticeable hives throughout the area, and the bugs wisping through the air were focussing on these surreal looking plants. It was a majestic sight that Leopold felt he had to sit down and enjoy. He had rested in the nook of a tree, casually gazing upon the buzzing spectacle before him. It dawned on him that these were wasps and not bees, but honey wasn't really his goal. He was confident he could make use of similar tactics to subdue and locate a queen in these wasp hives. As he was pondering ideas and measures he could take, he noticed some twigs snapping as someone approached nearby. It was a female voice that commented on them. "Yes, they are, aren't they? I've been sitting here enjoying them for almost an hour now." Leopold spoke from his sitting position without considering the situation of a man surprising a woman out in the middle of the woods. He wasn't used to looking so young. If he were to comment with his physical body, he'd immediately be hand waved as some old harmless kook. Surely this wouldn't be too awkward though.
No, it was certainly awkward enough. Maybe too awkward for the surprised Adelaide, who in her focused reverie had been completely entranced by the buzzing wasps and captivating flowers. She registered the incoming voice but didn't immediately process it, having a sort of delayed reaction. That is, she jumped in place slightly and recoiled into herself, not really certain that she could move in any one direction without evoking the wrath of the bugs. "Oh!" That was it. Just a single utterance of surprise, accompanied by hands pushing out in front of her as if to ward away the attacking voice. Of course there was no real danger as of yet, but the socially undeveloped woman would have reacted the same to even her parents. She looked to the stranger in question, eyes darting around momentarily before settling upon the brightly colored youth in the tree. His hair was like that of the plumage of a bird, or some fantasy flower waiting to be discovered. It was interesting, but disconcerting as well. This was the sort of person you might imagine a sly villain to play, luring those into a false sense of security. Even his height and young demeanor seemed crafted for mischief. "Um, hi." Adelaide stared wide-eyed at the interloper, uncertain of where to go from here. The greeting was about all she could muster without her voice cracking, and that simply wouldn't do. She had already betrayed the cool and confident role play she had decided on when entering into this game. Granted, Joe had never expected to be able to fall into the role immediately, but to fail so completely so early on... She sighed, a forced and shaky sound intended to focus her rapid heartbeat and anxiety ridden mind. Then she drew in an even more deliberate breath, a sharp inhalation of fragrant forest air. Adelaide wasn't supposed to be so unsociable, that was for Joe. The woman would force herself into a friendly exchange, even if it killed her. (Which at this point seemed entirely likely.) "You um, like bugs?" Real smooth.
"At ta ta..." Leopold pressed his palms against the tree and lifted himself off his rear. It took him a moment to brush off his hands and straighten out his back. He had been sitting there just long enough to feel a bit stiff so he stretched his arms back, and rotated his shoulders. His in game body was probably completely fine to move right away, but it's difficult to drop habits from being an old man. "Like em? I guess I do? I wouldn't so much call it liking them, maybe respect them? I think they are interesting." Leopold leaned forward and cast his gaze over the plethora of hives dangling in the distance. He then picked one out at random and pointed it out, turning his gaze to the young lady before speaking again. "You see these things? Those are hives, or rather, wasp nests. Now, each of these, and this may sound crazy, is basically a giant city made by these little buggers! They may seem rough around the edges, but inside those is a super organized structure of different cells and sections where they store food, store eggs, store larvae, you name it! It's fascinating how complex these tiny insects are! Even us people aren't usually so organized!" Leopold was speaking stuff that was pretty much common knowledge in this day and age. In fact, even people his age know this stuff and he would've too if he hadn't hand waved everything that wasn't tied to his business. Anywho, droning like the old sack of skin that he was, his new found passion for the subject was apparent. "I can't wait to start a hive of my own! It's going to be so fun, I'll get to study them up close and understand them better, and I'll also be able to... hohoho that part's just a theory. I'll hold off for now." Leopold had an almost devious grin as he rubbed his palms together and mulled over his ideas. He then quite confusedly looked back at the girl who had come from nowhere. "Hello. Why are you here?" He had initially been distracted by her obviously shared interest in the insects present, but that little outburst had ended and now he was more cautious. It had taken him awhile to find a place like this where he could try to harvest a queen safely for his own hive, so he didn't want some stranger coming in and mucking it up. If she knew what she was doing though... then perhaps an ally would be quite useful.
Adeliade would listen intently to the man's monologue, nodding slightly though otherwise retaining her defensive posturing. Her hands lowered slightly over the course of the discourse, but her shoulders remained tense and her eyes wide and dilated. This guy was either a freak, a nerd, or just an intense role player. Whatever the case was the woman had engaged him in conversation, and now she would see it through. Finally he finished droning, leaving the wasps to their own and a question lingering in the air. "Why am I here?" Adelaide repeated the question to herself softly, the words catching in her throat which she cleared with a less-than-subtle cough. A hand nervously moved to her hair and pulled at it, removing a few strands which she wound around a finger. The game was so realistic that she could even feel perspiration forming at the edge of her hairline. She stood there for what must have been thirty full, silent, awful seconds, quietly pondering her response. The brightly adorned stranger had said so much, and it was a lot to respond to. No, rather, Adelaide just had to focus on the question. Why was she here? "Flowers." She swept the hand back through her hair, the 'do sticking lightly to her scalp with nervous sweat. The light breeze was kind to her here. "I just wanted to find something to plant, and I've got no money, so..." There, she thought; she had finally strung together a decent reply. See, all it would take is some practice, and soon she would be cool and collected like the best fantasy heroines. Or at least just learn to function like a well-adjusted person. "So now I'm here." Adelaide motioned to nowhere in particular, almost a shrug but not quite given that she still held herself as if she were ready to fight at a moment's notice. The woman visibly struggled, but managed to ease her posture ever so slightly into a more comfortable position. It wouldn't do to convey constant fear. She wasn't sure where to go from here.
Leopold stared harshly at the female player, his eyes narrowing and a sterner expression forming over time. There was a long pause as he waited for her response and it made him more and more cautious. Had he caught another player trying to ambush him? Was she thoroughly off guard by his accurate assessment? Or... was she just kind of weird, and took forever to response with a simple enough explanation. So simple that it honestly sounded genuine despite Leopold's methodical scrutiny. Yep. This was just a weird person, perfect! Some of the smartest people he had ever worked with were eccentric to say the least. He liked the type because as long as you knew what they were focused on, they were relatively easy to talk with. Granted, he had become quite eccentric himself upon joining this game. "Flowers, eh? I like it. Did you have somewhere in mind to plant them?" He was putting the cart before the horse with this line of questioning. He hadn't even confirmed that she was friendly beyond just answering his questions in a neutral manner. Asking about a base of operations and whatnot was probably a bit presumptuous of him, but he was enraptured by a new idea that just spawned in his head. If he was going to raise a hive, they would need ready access to plants and whatnot, so a well kempt garden was a rather ideal local for him to be near. He stared for the briefest of moments before he actually thought through the question and realized he didn't quite explain the basis for the question itself. He was quick to wave his hands in a harmless and disarming way. "Ah, not in a creepy way or anything. What I meant was, I want to start a colony of winged insects such as these wasps, and I would need a fertile area to keep them near. You know, bees and pollination and whatnot? Wasps aren't the same, at least, not real ones, but there are some similarities. Plus, they eat other pest insects which would be beneficial to plants and uhhh... I guess what I'm asking is if you wouldn't mind if I set up a hive near your garden? I will be as unimposing as I can muster, I just don't have many friends on here, and someone nature oriented like yourself... might understand me a bit?" He rambled on once more in his old man manner, but this time it was more personally angled. He wasn't just speaking near her, he was actually speaking to her. Hopefully how genuine he was being would carry over well enough. It'd be a shame if he came on too strong and scared her off when he was just trying to be friendly.
The old man rambled some more, and with each syllable Adelaide's heart fluttered. Not in some gassy cute way or preparation of excitement, but rather in a fear-induced adrenaline fest that constantly told her body to do one simple thing: run. But escape from this conversation wasn't an option today. Joe had resigned herself to participating in this talk, and then, only then, could she allow herself to flee, in a somewhat normal manner. Like power-walking away mid-goodbye, or faking a need to puke. Their in-game bodies could get sick, right? "No, I'm getting ahead of myself." Adelaide had to process another question, which was difficult given the automatic bodily response she'd experienced. He wanted to put his hives near her garden? It sounded so mundane, but it made the woman nervous. Wasp hives were scary enough without some puppeteer raising them to do his bidding. Would he use the bugs for good? Would he wait until he'd gotten what he wanted and then sic the creatures on her, devouring Adelaide alive? She had to do something; it wouldn't do to freeze up in mid-conversation all over again. She had to learn to flow, somehow. Five seconds of silence later. "Um, I guess I understand?" She really didn't; it was hard to understand someone on an intrinsic level when you hardly understood yourself. "And I was just going to plant them somewhere by town and put a little stick fence around it. Or something.." That was good, because it was both true and coherent. For all of Adelaide's social failings, she was lucky to have never suffered stuttering with any frequency, though in very dire experiences it had come on. Either way, here she was, talking back and forth with this bright fellow, all on her own. It would have been a neat event to journal if Joe had ever been into keeping such a thing. The huge wasp that landed on her head would have also been a great thing to journal. Adelaide stood as still as she possibly could, her erratic heart rate making it feel as though every inch of her was humming with nervous energy. Once again she sucked in quick breaths of air, though through pursed lips. It was all Adelaide could do to not turn and run as fast as possible; she figured she would just get stung anyway. It was best to wait for the thing to leave, but the pointed limbs and gripped her hair for balance made that seem so far away. She focused herself as best as possible, and Adelaide found herself staring right at the other adventurer, making terrified and uncomfortable eye contact. Her gaze roved over his hair as well, the bright color somehow distracting from the absurdity of a wasp as large as her hand hanging out on top of her skull. Finally it plucked a single strand of hair and promptly flew away. Adelaide didn't move an inch for nearly ten seconds before shuddering violently. "W-want help?" Damn, there was that elusive stutter.
"By town? Wait, you understand?!" Leopold had a spirited outburst because both responses excited him. Unfortunately, he found himself torn by which conversation topic to pursue. Eventually, he decided emotional lifestyle analytical bullshit wasn't worth following when he barely knew the person, plus, he was just too excited at the prospect of raising his wasps. "No no, by town?" He refocussed the topic of discussion. "I can see the merits for a local garden. Easy to procure supplies, easy to sell products, plus you can hire people nearby to help you if you can't get on. Smart, very smart." He attributed way more thought to her choice than she seemed to have made herself. This put a bit of a damper on his ambition of working near her. Could he just go and introduce large bugs near a town like that? The starter town that he kept forgetting the name of had lots of beehives around it. Wasps would... attack those bees without hesitation. He would have to be careful not to piss off the locals. If he provided enough food, it should be alright though. "A fence is a great idea. It's not overbearing and wouldn't get in the way of growth, and, it would keep pesky local animals from wandering in and tram-" Leopold's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head in an animated manner. "Y-you uhh... don't move." He definitely didn't need to say anything. The girl seemed painfully aware of the large and loud buzzing insect that was hovering near... nope, sitting on, her head. Well, now was the time to prove his skills. Why would she let an inept stranger anywhere near her private garden? If he was inexperienced, he'd just poke around accomplishing nothing, and that wasn't okay. He had to prove his merit, and this was the perfect opportunity. Leopold's eyes became calm, and focussed as he honed in on the bug. He didn't even hear the girl stuttering as he seemed to reach towards her head in slow motion. His hands were held wide and flat as he gently pinched the inside edges of his hands together under the wasps legs. The way the wasp was acting, it didn't even seem to register that he was a living object. It just adjusted its feet and shifted its weight onto his hands. Equally slowly, Leopold knelt down towards a flower nearby and slowly opened his hands just above the surface, allowing the insect to step off onto the plant. Leopold had to pause, sweat dripping down his cheeks. After a deep breath, he straightened out his legs and turned back to the girl, stress written all over his forehead. "Phew, easy as pie. Did you say something?" He wasn't trying to seem macho, just making a sarcastic quip at the scenario. Truth be told, he had never held a bug like that before, so it was equally parts exciting and scary. Luckily, it had all gone as planned and made him seem like some amazing expert. At least, that's how he imagined the situation.
"Oh shit-" She had managed to internalize her struggle rather than have an insane anxious outburst as Leopold had done some masterful bug handling. It seemed that in all her nervousness she had tunnel-visioned so hard that it had caused her to hallucinate, and the bug flying away was just the peaceful re positioning of it's landing spot. It had still plucked a single hair though, which was sort of weird. Maybe it'd just been gripping too hard? Very possible, given that bugs were relatively stupid and instinct driven. "...did I say something?" His almost-callous disregard for her stumbling comment was both insulting and kind in a sense, and also just a tad confusing. Adelaide had certainly wanted to forget all about the pathetic attempt at speech, but the dismissal at her words reminded her of high-school, when people would ignore Joe if she mumbled. There was one teacher in particular who went above and beyond, of course it was the gym teacher Miss Shlager, by mimicking Joe's nervous mumbling word for word after asking her questions that she knew the student wouldn't want or be able to answer. But this was neither here, nor there, nor anywhere in Terra Sphere. Joe- er, Adelaide, was here to leave all that nonsense behind, and so far she was doing so..relatively well? If Adelaide were to score her social ability thus far, it would likely need to be curved, but it would still measure out comparatively better than her real life interactions. For all her fumbles so far, just thinking about how this might have gone if she'd been forced to look this dude in the eyes and maybe check out some cereal at the grocery store from him would have probably sent her into a panic attack. Here though Adelaide had been able to hold a back and forth. Of course all this wasn't really important to Leopold, who just seemed intent and zeroed in on this garden of wasps idea. Adelaide could appreciate his focus on a goal. Between the goofy-haired guy's one-track mind and Adelaide's own (minor) successes so far, she was invigorated. Her hands relaxed slightly and she managed to bring herself out of a defensive posture, though she still wore her anxiety fairly clearly on her face. Adelaide tried to casually brush her hair back, but at this point it just stuck together from the copious amounts of perspiration. She probably looked like she had run through some sprinklers by now. "Ah, yeah. If we get um, maybe some wire for the fence? I remember my da- er, a neighbor said something about rabbits once." She motioned- more like an exaggerated shrug- to the forest around her. "I bet this place has rabbits. Probably." She looked to the flowers again, noting that the wasp from before was gone. "We could start with that one." Adelaide moved over to it while nervously looking around, and also trying to keep her attention on Leopold. She didn't trust him, but she wanted to pretend like she did, because that's what friendly people do. Then she stared at the thing. "I don't know if it's poisonous...do I just grab it?" Adelaide leaned over...and just grabbed the thing. Of course that pissed off a random wasp, because a big noisy bugger came flying at her. She shrieked.
"Ah, yes, wire would be dandy. Resilient, flexible, lasts through weather. A solid choice. I knew you had a good head on your shoulders!" Leopold was nodding to himself as if to confirm her selection. He had a wizened expression as he brought a hand up to his chin to mull it over. "And rabbits... I don't have much, if any, experience raising plants and the like, but I'm sure vermin like that eat the stuff. I seen enough easter specials in my day to know those rascals love carrots and beets. Probably eat whatever they can find, voracious little rodents." Leopold hadn't been aware of the common fact that rabbits were not rodents. Not that it mattered much, as it just served to emphasize his point. Rabbits were pests in the gardening scene, or so he assumed, so they were likened to their rodent friends. This got him thinking though. How does one prevent rabbits from getting into a garden? Wire was nice for big things, but rabbits were small. How do you stop them from going under/around/through gaps and stuff? This was an interesting enough thought experiment to subdue his wasp obsession for the moment. "Yes... wire. So if you made a wire mesh, it could be woven tight enough that rabbits couldn't get through. You could also do a layer of it buried vertically under the surface. This would prevent them from burrowing underneath a fence or barrier. Otherwise those buggers would just dig right in and feast on your crop. I think that would do quite nicely..." He was nodding more vigorously than before as he honed in on a single thing she said and extrapolated it way too much. "Just grab it.. huh?" His stream of thought ended just in time to pick up on her next line. His gaze popped up as she was grabbing the colored plant. Leopold knew nothing about these plants, and wasn't big on them in general, but some common sense things popped into his head. Plants had roots underground that they depended on for nutrients. Pulling from the top of the plant without excavating a bit of dirt would put a lot of stress on, and likely break, the roots. Before he could admonish the act and offer some tips, another thing had happened. The girl had unknowingly gotten too close to a hive. 'Too close' is a loose description as the hive was still several meters away, but social insects like this were territorial. She had snagged at a plant that they likely depended on for nutrients or that they used to attract other animals to feast upon, considering wasps were carnivores. Wait... these wasps were decently sized. They couldn't be seeing her as one such animal that was baited by the plant, could they? Leopold broke out into a cold sweat, especially when the girl noticed a pursuant insect flying right at her. Without thinking about it too much, Leopold dashed forward while spreading his palm. With a yhelp-esque battlecry, he swatted forward with his hand and slapped the shit out of that large wasp. When he looked down to the ground nearby, he didn't see anything that looked like a fallen insect, which confused him. Little did he know, the bug had latched its legs around the loose fabric covering his arm, and was now aggressively climbing towards his shoulder and head. "You okay?"
More and more on rabbits and wire that Adelaide hadn't really heard. Her scream seemed muted in the dense forest, but it rang out at least as far as the small clearing that the wasps existed in and around. The wasps for their part didn't seem to mind the yelling itself, but rather the one wasp that had gone in defense of the flower she had grabbed. The flurry of hives that began loudly buzzing was easier to see and hear; apparently it took a moment for the defense force to mobilize. Awe and fear were the two prevailing emotions in Adelaide's mind right now. In fact those feelings had become so intense that when the wasp had gone for Adelaide she had frozen in place like a deer in the headlights. So to speak. Thankfully Leopold for his part was a man of action, or perhaps just capable of insane feats of reactionary responsiveness. Adelaide saw his hand move like a blur tracing it's arc through nothingness, in and out of her vision in almost the same instant. The wasp as well had disappeared, nowhere in Adelaide's immediate terror-frozen view. She forced her gaze downward to check for the attacker, but it seemed to have gone silent. "...Nope." Not on the floor; the wasp attacker had apparently disintegrated upon impact with Leopold's battle slap. Adelaide breathed a slow and forced sigh, her own breathing having been on manual for some time. It occurred to the woman that she might in fact be safe at this point in time, though the cacophonous buzzing of the resident wasps hadn't quite settled yet. Adelaide relaxed her shoulders slightly and turned her head as though it were on a swivel. The movement she caught before she saw gave her pause, but she turned to face Leopold anyway. "Oh no-" She sucked in a breath and noticeably held it, because screaming like she wanted might have been disastrous. The wasp that Leopold had obliterated was still very much alive, and rather than getting banished to the shadow realm it had clung onto his clothing sleeve and was making it's way slowly to his face. At least it wasn't in full attack mode. Adelaide slowly moved a hand into position to point at it fearfully, because that was infinitely more help than potentially startling it. But the true king of the clearing had not yet shown itself, for it was about to make it's entrance. "Gasp-" It was involuntary, like when you see someone being murdered on youtube or something. That natural response that humans with any level of empathy have when you see something horrific or unbelievable. From the more thick part of the clearing where it turned into particularly dense forest, something zipped out from the shadows of the branches. It carried with it a similar sort of buzz as the other wasps, but was nearly three times the size of Leopold's new friend. Similar in overall shape but with a jet-black glint to it, the huge insect (if it was even that) swooped in and snatched the smaller wasp in it's mandibles, then flew away back to it's own nest. Adelaide's hand was still pointing, but now to the air rather than anything distinguishing. She didn't utter a word of response.
