[PQ] [RQ] Sweet Violence

When Hadama asked him to lead a sugar cane collection in the Oerwoud, who was Edmund to say no? The King was family-adjacent, and the loss of Ray was still too raw for him to deny the mer anything. As such he'd traded for a map of the natural sugar cane deposits in the area and sent out notices for aid. Standing at the rendezvous point he did one last check of the tools present. Machetes and collection bags are the main ones present. But he's also elected to bring sugar cane seeds so that they can replenish the plots for future growth. Now all he can do is wait to see who comes. As people arrive, he calls out the first task, "Thank you all for coming! Our first task is to use the map and find the nearest plots." ~ RQ PQ for TL to harvest sugar cane. 1. Edmund 2. Melita 3. Jack Round 1 No post order. Have your character arrive and start following the map! Edmund Reborn In Fire

I've done nothing wrong
Except for all the atrocities

The Honeybee wasn’t certain why these notions needed to be some great rounded rendezvous, but where she was simply in it for the opportunities at snagging sugarcane, and not inherently motivated by mere rum when there were other threats on the line, she was there anyway. Her brow arched at Edmund leading it – before glancing back at Jack, presuming there'd be room for some snarl or rebuttal.

She’d wait for her opportunities.

Shrugging her shoulders, and settling her bag firmly on them, she glanced briefly at the map and then sidled behind, Fangorn and Sila doing the same, though the latter flickered and fluttered above.

the honeybee

Besides that
I'm innocent

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

"I thought you'd fucked off out of Torchline," Jack is saying to Edmund around the sprig of peppermint bark he's chewing on. Seven wends between his feet (asking for a kicking) as he plods after the Ancient and Melita, presumably on the thoroughly exciting route towards sugarcane. Jack's pretty sure he could have gotten a shipment of the stuff from somewhere, but no, here they are collecting it by hand like animals.

One might say the captain is being his usually shitty self (and one would be correct), but Jack is also hungover to fuck, so he's hoping this will be relatively non eventful. Squinting over the rim of his dark glasses, he resists the urge to flop onto Melita and demand to be carried, because he knows for a fact she'll let him fall on his face. Ingrate.

full speed ahead
'til i'm dead

Edmund gives Meltia a polite nod as she arrives, but Jack receives a scowl, "I had to take care of some things. I'm back now and Hadama asked me to handle this part of the quest." The young Ancient is eager to complete this task as much as the Captain is. His guild is still new and there is a mountain of paperwork on his desk that he needs to tend to. Yet he would never deny Hadama a favor when asked. The group begins to work and Melita all but takes over. She has no trouble at all reading the map and confidently leads them to the first plot of sugar cane. Jack somehow still ends up going he wrong way and Edmund just barely manages to stop the man from separating from the group. The plot of sugar cane in front of them is full at least. There should be plenty to harvest. Edmund hands out machetes, "Let's begin. Cut them to near ground level but not completely so that they can regrow. Once they're cut, we'll take care of the tops before bagging the parts that we need." ~ Round 2! No post order. Time to cut down some sugar cane! Edmund Reborn In Fire

I've done nothing wrong
Except for all the atrocities

Always ready for drama and chaos, her brows lifted at Jack’s insinuations, even as they traversed and traveled via her excellent map reading skills (and not the Captains – and yes, she’ll be remembering that). Muffling a vague snort, Melita half-wondered if Edmund had realized it’d be far more difficult to wrangle the smugglers than set about snagging at sugarcane, but she left that up to his eventual notice.

“Ooooh,” she murmured at being handed the machete, a very eager, juvenile, and Cheshire grin coming over her at the weapon. She’d absolutely be pocketing it later, and no, he couldn’t have it back. “Yeah yeah, sure,” she countered off-handedly, handwaving the Ancient away as she went to hacking and cutting.

Enthralled, really, enough to start being fucking obnoxious and hit some of the stalks close to Jack.

the honeybee

Besides that
I'm innocent

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

Listen, Jack has his own map, and it lives on the inside of his sunglasses where he's pretending he can walk around while simultaneously sleeping. Only the prickle of Edmund's concern and Melita's mirth stop him from wandering off into the presumable abyss, and it's with a grumbling complaint that he arrives at the plot and accepts the machete passed to him.

"Mmkay," he mutters to Edmund, shuffling his way into the plot while Seven finds a convenient branch to perch on and watch the shenanigans. And it's relatively normal, at least at first, until Jack notices Mel trying to sabotage him with her sugar cane assault. "Oi." He scowls at her, seizing one of the fallen canes and yeeting it right at her fiery head.

full speed ahead
'til i'm dead

Edmund feels a bit like he was herding cats. Isn't he the youngest here? Sighing he watches Melita's eagerness with slight trepidation but thankfully she's focused on the stalks. Until Jack throws one at the Honeybee that is. At least they manage to get a good harvest with Melita excelling once more but Jack not far behind her. It's Edmund who runs into a bit of trouble when he accidentally cuts his finger on a sharp edge. Running a tongue over his fangs, Edmund clears his throat to try and get everyone's attention before violence breaks out. As he speaks, he wipes the blood off his finger, grateful that it's shallow. "Alright. We need to process and bag them up now." Round 3! No post order. Edmund will take what's left. 1. Strip off the leaves 2. Cut the stalks down into smaller pieces. 3. Bag up the pieces to bring home. Edmund Reborn In Fire

I've done nothing wrong
Except for all the atrocities

Melita could not give one single fuck about behaving – she never had, no matter what age or circumstance. Spinning her machete around and chopping viciously, she was content with the vehement progress, even as Jack launched his own in return.

She would’ve rounded another impending volley back at the Captain, had Edmund not cleared his throat. Barely managing to not roll her eyes at the Ancient (but definitely doing so in Jack’s direction – he could debate the reason why), the smuggler started stripping off the leaves.

And tossing some at Edmund and Jack, for funsies.

The rest would go in a neat pile along her feet.

--

Melita strips off leaves obnoxiously.

the honeybee

Besides that
I'm innocent

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

It's true, both in that Jack also doesn't know or give a fuck about behaving, and also that trying to corral he and Melita is a lot like herding cats. Either way, however Edmund wants to go about it, the captain does end up complying with the next bout of their shennaigans. Grumbling at Mel, and kicking some of the discarded leaves her way for good measure, Jack decides to keep his machete and do some extra chopping.

Does he elbow the Honeybee unnecessarily as he works? Maybe. Does he care if it gets leaves shoved down the back of his shirt, or stuffed in his mouth? Not at all. He chops at the sugarcane with measured, dangerous strokes, reducing it to much more manageable pieces for them to haul home.

---

Jack chops sugarcane!

full speed ahead
'til i'm dead

Melita's enthusiasm serves her well and soon the stalks are leaf-free. Jack has great fortune with his machete and the sugar cane are chopped up fast enough that the Captain gets to take a break while the others finish. As Edmund bags up the chopped talks, he does not successfully dodge Melita's 'attack' and gets a clump of leaves to the face for his trouble. Face scrunching at the taste (who knew sugar cane leaves would taste bad?), he bags up the pieces. One of the bags tears and has to be redone but eventually the young Ancient succeeds. Tying up the last bag he stretches, his tail curling with satisfaction, "Perfect. Now we just need to take those seeds and plant them so that the plot can regrow." As he speaks, he flicks one last leaf off of his shoulder. ~ Last round! 1. Grab some seeds and plant/water them! Edmund Reborn In Fire

I've done nothing wrong
Except for all the atrocities

Shenanigans helped Melita cope with any boring and droll tasks, so between herself and Jack pushing, shoving, and acting like three year olds, the Honeybee was content and in her element. Shrugging her shoulders at any flying leaves landing where they might be irksome, her indifference to anyone else’s plight was noted by continuing to hack away with the machete – and then storing it without a trace of remorse.

For later.

She glanced at the seeds, huffing another breath, before grabbing a fistful and heading over to where they’d been snagging at the sugarcane. Placing them down into the remnants, and chucking a spare few at Jack for good measure, she applied herself somewhat to the task.

--

Melita plants!

the honeybee

Besides that
I'm innocent

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

Of course Jack gets to take a break, and the good captain looks very smug about it as Melita continues her drudgery and bitch work. He and his machete are having a great time, in fact, when the last leg of their little quest comes around. "How hard could it be?" he drawls, and luckily he's finished speaking just before a few seeds come to hit him in the face, Jack scrunching his nose at Mel.

Tossing some seeds back at the Honeybee, the good news is that regardless of whether they're orderly about it, the seeds will be planted one way or another. And Jack does get a few in a designated spot at the water's edge, before he's trudging back to Edmund and his bags of sugar cane. "There," he says. "Are we done here?"

---

Jack plants!

full speed ahead
'til i'm dead

Edmund wisely decides not to mention the stolen machete and instead works alongside the others to plant the seeds. Jack jinxes the entire group and things quickly go wrong. Somehow multiple bags tear and seeds spill everywhere except the plot. The trio is forced to pick up seeds from the pile on the ground and carry them over by the handfuls. It's not the most effective and it takes far longer than it would have otherwise, but they get the job done. Sighing heavily Edmund nods at Jack, "Yes. Finally." Rolling his shoulders, the young Ancient collects his things. "Let's return home. I'll buy you both a round." ~ All done! Thank you! -{FIN} Edmund Reborn In Fire