Complete - Ant-eloper

"Um..."

The old woman was sobbing, almost hysterical. Manya could do nothing, except get onto a nearby chair and then awkwardly pat her shoulder. "There, there...", he said soothingly, but he too felt sad.

Honeyhome: At Granny Fairweather's, morning

"Your pet ran away?"

The old woman choked back a sob as she nodded. "Yes. She was s-such a good girl, but then, she goes into heat about this time every month. I know it's hard to keep her locked up here but I took such g-good care of her! But she broke out of the barn and ran away!"

Amidst the woman's wailing, he looked to the side. The barn's door was ripped through as if someone had charged through it with a lance or two.

"Oh, cor." Manya turned to face the old lady once more, who had calmed down a shade more to answer.

"P-please take care of her! The forest is full of dire wolves and such, and I d-don't want her to get hurt! Could you find her and bring her back? I can give you gold-"

At that, Manya raised his hands, shaking his head. "Please, no! I don't want to take your money, ma'am!"

"But I insist! This old hag doesn't need gold, but her dear Lusitania back. Please, go out and find her with all haste..."

"I found her missing just this morning. Surely she can't have gotten far! If you'd follow the tracks..."

Manya nodded and walked over to the barn. "I promise, I'll bring Lusitania back before sundown!" After all, wolves would stalk out to hunt prey actively by night, but before that, they'd only defend their territory. If he could find the anteloper quickly, they could all be done with things a lot easier, and Granny Fairweather would be at ease once more! He studied the tracks once more, before looking at where they lead.

The Maithe Woodlands.

With a determined expression, Manya marched on. It didn't matter if he had to turn over every rock and look through every molehill, he will find Lusitania and bring her back, safe and sound! He followed the tracks that were impressed so clearly on the loamy farming soil, and for a moment, it was easy enough. 'Hunting and tracking aren't that hard, huh!'

Oh, boy was he wrong.

The Maithe Woodlands Heart of the Woods, two hours later...

"Aaaaaaah!"

Manya Boole was lost.

His book, a fledgling grimoire, was floating perhaps a foot over his 3'9'' tall frame, lighting his path. The glare was harming more than helping him, since it obscured his sigh of tracks and the forest floor, as well as messing with his natural vision in the dark. But he was too afraid of the darkness to not light his path up. His blue cloak had grass-stains and dirt all over the lower edge, and his boots were muddy. He himself was slightly worse for wear but in the 'tired' sense. He readjusted the pointy and oversized wizard's hat on his childlike head, leaning against a tree to take a break.

Despite it being noon, the forest was pleasant and cool. He had followed the tracks well enough until others started mixing into it. One track led to another, he was going around in circles, the sun was obscured by the canopy of the leafy trees, and soon enough, Manya was lost. It was noon, and the sun was high in the sky.

He couldn't even tell the direction!

This was bad. If he couldn't get his bearings soon, then he'd be lost in here, and the Anteloper would be the least of his concerns. He had already tried his Palm Menu, but the map mysteriously showed up blank - it seems that one had to explore a place before mapping it out in detail. At least it helpfully pointed that he was still in Brisshal, although that wasn't much of a relief.

Sighing, he got to his feet and stomped on. The fact that he lacked any sense of subtlety and grace in moving about the forest was perhaps one reason that he hadn't encountered anything so far. If he were larger, one of the more territorial creatures might have already tried attacking him, but he has somehow eluded their notice.

Walking, walking, and more walking...

He was still determined, but his hope was dwindling...

He needed an expert. He needed help.

@Milah

 

Seriously, why do you insist on following me?

There was a long and drawn out sigh not far from where Manya was at the time, the voice drifting through the air and apparently not far away--although certainly not aware of the company in the area. She had tried, to no avail, to return the vine and moss covered pup back to the forest--both the original one where she found it as well as others--on plenty of occasions but to no avail. Milah was sure she’d read about something like this before, when an animal imprints on another being, but the Felis had been sure that was usually on the moments after birth… although given the pup’s odd composition perhaps it worked differently for its kind?

The creature, a corrupted piece of grove mixed with wolf, was not far from Milah as they ventured through the forest--having finally given up on nipping her heels in favor of exploring the different and new scents all around the place. A few NPCs had shared that some rare herbs seemed to grow in this area and, still interested in expanding her cooking repertoire (both IRL as well as in TS) Milah had decided to stroll through it. Her search had been successful too, the nice and stuffed satchel of herbs now placed away in her inventory for future use.

Come on you insufferable sentient moss, time to get back hom--HEY?!

Before her sentence was finished Milah watched as the pup perked up his ears, a few loud barks given before it rushed off through the undergrowth in search of something that had caught its attention. With a groan the Felis gave chase after the creature--much as Milah complained about her newest responsibility the teen wasn’t about to just leave the pup abandoned and to its fate in a random forest.

Slow down! Just where are you going off to now?!

Even with her agility and keen eye Milah was barely able to keep track of the small pup as it weaved through the forest undergrowth, the vines and moss that covered its own hide making for almost perfect camouflage in this terrain, and after close to five minutes of chasing the pup finally came to a stop as it entered the clearing where @Manya Boole was--yipping excitedly as it tried to lounge for the Faerin’s heels in a poor attempt to “herd” its newfound prey. Shortly after the Felis arrived, taking a moment to catch her breath before rolling her eyes at the sight.

Sorry about that, it seems to really like nipping heels… come on you, stop bothering the Faerin and get over here.

 

Manya was trudging on, and he felt awfully Byronic all of a sudden. A solemn hero on a solemn quest. Struggling against nature and himself, as he tried to-

...was that barking?

And on that note, did he hear someone speaking as well? He might have been hearing them for a few minutes now, but he had dismissed it as perhaps the wind, or maybe his own hyperactive imagination adding a commentary to his grand daydreams. Neither was the case, there was someone nearby...

And then an unholy beast, a canine predator had darted out from the undergrowth!

Manya would have almost shrieked the leaves off of the trees, but instead, he jumped half a foot into the air, trying to clamber up a tree and not succeeding much. He did manage to get up the gnarled roots, twitching in fear of the...

Wait a minute...

Now that his overactive imagination was asked to sit down for a minute, the erstwhile fearsome hound was just...a very adorable forest wolf? As in a literal wolf, made of forests. It still tried to bite his ankles, but now Manya didn't feel as threatened, chuckling at it.

"Um...would you like a biscuit?"

And then a Felis came out from the dark of the forest as well. He nearly freaked again - how did she move so silently through the place? But it seems that the pup belonged to that Felis girl. He gave a nervous laugh, looking at the dog once again.

Surely, he meant no harm?

Quietly, he stepped down from the roots, and the dog still ran about him, trying to harry him like a foxhound. He couldn't help it, but he laughed. It was such a sweet and adorable sight!

It reminded him of Granny Fairweather, who was probably waiting for her Lusitania. Manya looked subdued for a minute, but he still smiled at the Felis girl who approached him.

"Hello!", he said, waving his hand. Even if he was lost and in desperate need of help a moment ago, his natural affable nature and manners superseded anything and everything.

@Milah

 

At the mention of something remotely edible the barking seemed to intensify, earning an eye roll from the Felis as she watched the corrupted sentient plant pup circle around the Faerin’s feet faster now.

You’re such a gluttonous creature...

Milah shook her head, before her attention turned back to the other player as he finally took notice of her now. A wave was given back as Milah closed the remaining distance, picking up the pup by the scruff of his neck to finally pull it away from the Faerin. It didn’t seem to mind or be startled by the act, probably used by now to be picked up in such a way, though its zap crusted yellow eyes remained ever so intently on Manya as if expecting the treat it had been promised.

Sorry again, promise it’s a lot more inoffensive than it looks. It’ll leave you alone once it finds something new to occupy its mind.

Carefully she placed the pup back down, releasing its scruff only once Milah was sure it wasn’t gonna start harassing the tinier player next to her again. There was a faint harrumph noise, almost like a protest, but after a few moments the pup finally trotted off to smell new things around the place instead. Now that Milah wasn’t busy with the tiny beast she took a better look of the Faerin… catching the telltale signs and clues of someone that had been out here perhaps a bit too long without knowing where to go.

I’m Milah… sorry for asking but, are you alright out here?

 

Manya watched the dog with a grin. He sure was energetic, and it reminded him of himself so much that he really couldn't hold anything against him. It took him a moment to look away from the pup and to his master instead once again as she spoke to him. He nodded at her words. "He's such an adorable creature...where did you find him?", he began, but he was cut off by her slightly more concerned question. He glanced at her and gave a laugh!

"Me? Lost? Hah, not on your life!"

But no one even mentioned being lost-

Not that he could reliably keep up that lie. Two seconds of looking at the Felis, and he sighed. "Okay. Yes, I'm a bit lost...the sun was up and I was trying to follow around an anterloper, and then the tracks got mixed up and...and...!"

And a lot of things happened. He sighed again and mentally resolved not to so much as shoot a sideways glance at a forest again. But wait, did the other person introduce herself?! How rude of him to ignore that!

"Ah! But that's something else. I am Manya Boole, White Magician!" With that, he gave a flourish of his cloak as the book that was glowing above his head dropped onto his left arm. He stepped over and extended his right towards Milah, smiling.

"It's nice to meet you, Milah!"

It was the inkling of an idea, but the fact hadn't fully occurred to him that Milah's presence here meant that he was no longer lost, and might be able to find his way out of here!

Or even better, that she might help him and they could find the anteloper together! He was just too excited to meet a new person that he wasn't thinking too much about what he was supposed to be doing...

@Milah

 

Milah wasn’t sure if adorable would be a word she would use fo the pup, though she guessed it could be considered as such sometimes... if one ignored the corrupted nature that covered its frame and the scent of swamp and moss that constantly clung to the little beast. Then again, compared to the beasts she and the other adventurers had fought that day, the Felis guessed this pup was probably better looking overall.

Deep in a forest north of Fineweald. Tried taking it back, but it just insists on tagging along wherever I go.

The teen allowed the Faerin to ramble a bit afterwards, a knowing smirk carefully tugging at the corner of her lips as he single handedly confirmed how very lost he was in this place. Milah couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, shaking hands with the smaller Faerin as he finally introduced himself.

Nice to meet you too, Manya. Don’t feel too bad though, Antelopers are quite good at hiding their tracks after all--last time my sister and I tried to track a foal it took us quite a few hours and a little bit of luck.

There was a pause, a moment, as the gears seemed to slowly fall into place… before an idea struck the Felis. She needed to get out of here anyways at some point, but leaving the Faerin on his own would probably be a bad idea…

I can help you get out of this forest… if you want me to, that is. What got you chasing antelopers all the way into these parts of the woods though?

 

He nodded at her explanation and then gave a wry grin on hearing her own predicament with an anteloper. But her last statement caught him off-guard.

"Help me?"

But of course, that was an amazing idea! While he was terrible at finding tracks and tracking the creature, maybe Milah could do it. She looked far more experienced and skilled at this kind of stuff. Or at least, more than him anyway.

"Ah yes. I was in Honeyhome where an old woman had lost her pet anteloper - she calls her Lusitania. She was really heartbroken that she escaped, and asked me to try and find her, and bring her back safely." Of course, he accepted that he felt that it was such a natural reaction to such a plea that he didn't even specifically note it.

"But...yeah. They're fast. And sneaky. And I'm dumb. And a very poor woodsman. So if you'd help I'll be very, very, very, very, VERY thankful! You can take the reward the old woman is offering - she's not going to give much," Or so he hoped. "...but whatever she offers, you can take!"

Now that he had cleared up her questions and asked her for her help, he glanced up into the sky through the speckled holes of the canopy. They were on a time limit, but he really didn't want to rush his newly-made friend into doing anything. Looking back from the sun, he could tell that noon had passed, and it was slowly edging over to evening - perhaps six hours more?

He looked at Milah expectantly, waiting to see if she'd accept.

@Milah

 

Awww, sounds really similar to the foal we had to track a while back. A father and son were working on raising them for a lord, they seem to be really popular as pets and mounts apparently.

Milah could understand why, the beasts were usually very calm and mellow, so even an older lady would probably enjoy the company of one plus the anteloper could help carry heavy loads no doubt.
The moment Manya mentioned the reward though the Felis was quick to shake her head and hands to turn it down.

Oh that’s alright, no need for that. Besides it wouldn’t feel fair charging an old woman to help her find a beloved pet.

She took a moment to collect the knowledge she knew so far; they were looking for what sounded to be a female anteloper, no doubt a young specimen too if it had managed to escape an enclosure or wherever the older woman kept her. Milah’s attention turned to the ground around them afterwards, looking for any hints or tell tale signs of any animal passing by or traces from antelopers--thanks to Lycia and her helping out that father-son duo before the Felis was already quite familiar with the species.

Ah, there we go… these tracks still look a bit fresh. I think you might have missed her by very little actually, and she should be close by still...

It took a few more moments of studying the ground and a few nearby bushes, before Milah nodded in affirmation and pointed westward. She was sure the doe had moved in that direction as she graced, and a quick check let the Felis know they were approaching from downwind too. With some luck they’d be able to sneak up and surprise this Lusitania once they found her… if the wolf pup following along didn’t give them away.

After a moment of consideration the teen nodded, grabbing the scruff of the pup again and lifting it to her arms. It was probably a better idea than having it trampling through the undergrowth all excited and stuff.

 

Manya watched Milah as she explained previous experiences, and as she got down to work. He tried to study what she was doing, perhaps figure out how it was, but it was almost like a preternatural skill than a mundane one - what she pointed out as fresh tracked just looked like a simple unevenness in the earth to him, and with a bit more of examination, she could even figure out the direction and distance. If Manya's jaw wasn't hinged to his mouth it'd be on the ground right now.

"So cool...", he muttered reverently, before grinning. He wasn't sneaky, but he could always try to be so! "Please, lead the way!" He was better off in the back line, anyways.

He did remember a bit of extra information, things that he might be able to help with. Or, just two things. Lusitania loved bright lights and bright places, something that was unique to her, and that once she was approached, one could very gently undo her passive Aeromancy with a suitable magic to make her docile enough to be led back home. For those two things at least, he could manage. It was in finding and then approaching the anteloper that would be tough.

"Say, you have a sister? Where are you from?"

It had not occurred to him that this was not, in fact, just another character but a player. Of course, a simple enough mistake to make, considering that he was a newbie, but she carried herself with a bit more confidence.

He faced westward and nodded. The fact that he wasn't too far off was...comforting. In a way. He'd be best off chalking it up to dumb luck, or perhaps he was lost and Lusitania was going around searching for him instead. Knowing him, that was entirely possible.

@Milah

 

Yeah, we’re twins actually, and I’m from the UK. What about you?

Amelia had never been one to share personal information, at least not enough to be pinned to some place specifically--and even less to people she barely knew, no matter how inoffensive and unassuming they might look. No real offense to Manya, of course, he seemed nice enough after all--but it was more of a self preservation type of thing. After all the internet and VR games let you look and act however you wanted to, who was to say he really wasn’t some 40 year old creep trying to kidnap children from information obtained ingame while playing with them?

Better safe than sorry.

What about you?

Their progress was slow as they moved through the undergrowth since they were trying to make sure any unnecessary noise wouldn't startled the doe they were looking for, Milah stopping now and then to make sure they still had the right anteloper's trail as they progressed.

 

Manya blinked at that. What a coincidence!

"I'm from the UK too! Well, London to be specific. Or Bristol. Bristol, London, I keep moving about, hmmm."

He laughed a bit, shaking his head. "I didn't realize that you were a player until now. But truth be told, it's not that easy to tell apart one from another."

He kept his voice as low as he could, but his excitement meant that sometimes he'd be a bit louder than he intended.

"Heh...a twin sister, or a sibling. That'd be cool. All I have are just...four elder brothers, and a baby sister who I've not seen too much of."

While Manya liked being Manya, he was coaxed into talking about himself as Harry, and he couldn't help but do it. Besides, he was not afraid of consequences much, maybe since he was unintentionally a bit proud that he's safe and secure due to his family. Oh, and that he lived like a shut-in most of the time.

He perked his ears up, the elfin ears twitching, but he didn't hear anything specific. He decided to be a bit quieter, though - something seemed to tell his instinct that he was getting close to animals. So far, he hadn't seen a single one on account of his very obvious and loud movements, but after emulating Milah, he found that he could make less of a distraction.

@Milah

 

You don’t say? That really is a coincidence...

From the UK too, and London of all things? Sure, it could have just been one huge coincidence… but Amelia was a cautious one by nature so she quietly dropped the subject as she pretended to relocate the anteloper’s tracks once again. After all, it’s not like the Faerin looked knowledgeable in tracking and how it worked--Milah doubted he’d catch up and notice she was just using it as a diversion this time.

Better safe than sorry.

That’s a lot of siblings, wow. I’m not sure I’d be able to handle that many honestly.

Four elder siblings and a baby sister to boot? Yeah no, Milah adored her twin… but Lycia was more than enough as far as the teen was concerned. Before the conversation could continue though something caught the Felis’ attention, stopping in her tracks abruptly as she held a hand just in front of Manya’s face to stop him from moving or talking too. On first glance nothing seemed out of the ordinary or different really, birds were still chirping and the forest sounded the same as it had all this while.

But there, just a few more feet up ahead, something moved...

 

Manya nodded, staying quieter this time. "Yeah, well, it's Mum and Dad who can't handle them. I just coast along on the side, hehe-" But then, Milah held her palm up and he immediately stiffened, neither speaking nor moving. Quietly, he followed her gaze, looking over as a figure seemed to walk out of the foliage...

Or rather, more than one figures. A pair of them. There was a clearing in front of them, and they were at the edge. The canopy was lighter above, letting the afternoon sunlight shine over. And in this light, there was no mistaking those figures. They were antelopers!

Two of them, in fact. One had a dusky brown coat, with polished horns and a tag on her ear - that was Lusitania, without a doubt. But the other one was a wild buck - a black coat and large, gnarled horns that had seen plenty of fighting. Both of them strode out from the greenery as boldly as you please, and into the clearing.

Manya was amazed at the sight - he'd heard a description, but that was different from actually seeing an anteloper up close. And two of them, too!

He looked at Milah and raised his eyebrows. She was the expert here, not he. Should they approach, or stay back, or leave?

Now that it has come to this, Manya had to think about whether it was right to try and force Lusitania to return, regardless of how gently they might coax her. He could not read an animal's expressions, but he could tell that the doe was happy. Call it an intuition of his.

@Milah

 

While Milah wouldn’t consider herself an expert on Anteloper matters and behavior, it was a fact that out of the two players present she was currently the one with the most hands on experience… even if said experience had been looking for a lost foal. Still the teen remembered some reading she’d done regarding the species back then, so long as they didn’t pose a threat or attempted to directly touch them they should be fine…?

That definitely meant keeping the wolf pup in her arms of course, there was no way it wouldn’t bound straight up to the pair otherwise… and speaking of the devil the creature was already getting excited and wriggling.

Stop that, you, we don’t want to scare them off or worse...

A quick flick to the ear, followed by a whine of annoyance and begrudging acceptance, was enough to cal the pup for the time being--though those yellow eyes remained trained on the doe and buck--both of which were now starring in their direction. With a sigh the Felis motioned to the Faerin besides her, carefully and softly walking out of the underbrush and into the clearing were the pair was.

The buck snorted, his front hoove thumping the ground before him thrice as it seemed to take a protective stance in front of Lusitania. Ears were perked up and eyes trained on the two players as it seemed to assess if they posed any danger.

Easy boy, eeeaaasyyy… we’re not gonna hurt you, see?

 

Manya followed the girl as well, looking down at the floor so as to avoid staring at the buck head-on, in case he offended it. Once he got into the clearing a little bit to the right and behind Milah, he looked up just a bit.

How would they approach this? Antelopers were twice-tricky, capable of both running and fighting at times, neither of which would be good for them. He saw that the buck had moved to protect Lusitania, clearly seeing them as a threat to the doe, so Manya pulled his hands back to his body and tried to make himself as small as he can (which wasn't too hard) to not appear threatening.

Lusitania was a tiny bit more comfortable and trusting around the sapient races, but she too eyed the two's approach warily. She had moved behind the buck's protective stance, giving a sound in between a snort and a whinny. She did not seem hostile, but instead seemed more skittish and afraid...even if the two antelopers were quite strong creatures, they were still in a forest they're not particularly native to, and dire beasts roamed these places quite freely, which makes it understandable why she was on edge.

Manya studied the animals, and then looked at @Milah before tilting his head.

"Should we get...y'know, closer?", he asked her quietly, alternating between looking at her and looking at the antelopers in turn. Right now, the situation felt...tense, as if a single snapping branch would make everyone break and act wildly. But everything was still instead, and that was good. Even the birds were quieter and more muted here, contributing to a pleasant atmosphere. The trees swayed in the breeze, the sun shone brightly.

Nature truly was beautiful, wasn't it?