[PQ] [SE] Skittish Invaders

Sah

LongNight has passed and as usual, there was work to be done. Halo might not party in the same manner as Torchline, but there were still fallouts to be dealt with. This year was certainly interesting. The Wild Thunder stood on his front porch, hot chocolate in hand, and stared at the herd of luxere that had seemingly invaded Snowcloak. It was probably due to the white dragon's presence that he and Tal had heard during LongNight. Yet it was still a shock.

This would need to be dealt with carefully. The majestic creatures didn't appreciate dark magic and the Abandoned had plenty of it running through his veins. Glancing at Lilly he gave a nod and the wolf snuck off to get help.

~
Due to the presence of a dragon during Longnight here, a herd of luxere has fled into Snowcloak. Here's a LongNight cleanup SE PQ to handle it. Post your characters arrival and we'll get started.

1. Sah
2. Talyson
3. Alys

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

Lilly found Boreal at her new home above the post office, where she was 'helping' Tal pack for the impending trip east to find the mysterious fallen lights. The courier might have misunderstood and tried to send her back to Sah with some scratches and a piece of bacon for her visit, but Boreal understood the gist of her friend's message.

Trouble and hunt and help.

So the dragon closed her jaws around Tal's hand as he finished folding a clean pair of underwear into his bag and tugged him, gently but firmly, downstairs. After a brief but inevitably lost argument he finally threw up his hands and tucked into his coat and gloves, grabbing his Bag of Holding with its plethora of useful tricks and items and his Dagger and heading out to see what Sah needed before they left.

At least the question was answered as he got into the streets near the hunter's place and ran into the herd. Taking the long way around, he eventually made his way to his frenemy's porch with a long-suffering sigh. "Right. Well. This's new. What's the plan, Jester?"

Boreal gave a helpfully bacony burp to indicate her willingness to pitch in, too!

Alys, unlike Tal, was not fetched by a helpful companion, but wandered upon the luxere herd by accident. She'd been out with Sascha when the cub sprinted off in the snow, intent on some quarry beyond Alys's line of sight. Fortunately, the ursur was not yet particularly fast, and Alys was able to catch up just in time to see the herd of luxere. With a squeak of surprise, the seer scooped up her cub and wrapped the ursur in the shawl she wore as a sling against her chest. The last thing they needed was for Sascha to set off a stampede and get herself - and everyone else - trampled in the process!

Seeing Tal and Sah nearby, Alys walked as nonchalantly as she could over to the pair, hoping not to startle any of the luxere into flight. "Good morning," she greeted the pair, her dark eyes flickering out over the herd. "This is, um, interesting. Need any help?"

alys glasse

waiting for the right mind to drive insane

Sah

Sah let out a heavy sigh and gave Talyson and Alys a tired grin, "This is a first for me as well." Ruffling Lilly's ears as the wolf returned to his side, he sent gratitude through their bond. It was no surprise that the silver she-wolf had fetched Boreal. And Tal. Sascha got a curious sniff from Lilly as well.

Scanning the street Sah tried to come up with a plan. "There's wood back behind the house. We can start by barricading three sides to try and stop them from moving further into town." If they left the north side that led to the tundra open, maybe the herd would be inclined to leave on their own.

~
Round 1! No post order. Sah will take what's left.

Grab some wood and start barricading around the herd.
1. One the west side of the street.
2. On the east side of the street.
3. On the south side of the street.

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

It just so happened that he'd soon both of these magical people during LongNight, but the crooked grin he flashed Alys was decidedly warmer than the sigh that Sah had gotten. That was the difference between a friend and a frenemy, after all; whether or not he had to hide his pleasure at seeing them behind theatrical displays of teasing or exasperation.

"Better hope they don't try t'jump the barricades," Tal offered with his usual optimism - or lack thereof - as he headed to the west. Some people could make wood appear out of thin air and others could make the illusion of it just as easily, but the courier was only human, and he had a dragon, a hammer, and some nails.

Boreal headed off to scavenge some boards and drag them over to her companion while he got to work putting together a rough and simple barricade that was meant to look stouter than it actually was. They'd have to tear it down again afterwards, after all, and he didn't want to make the clean-up any harder than it needed to be.

With any luck, the sound of hammering would keep the luxere away from his section anyways.

---

Tal takes the west side and starts making a proper wooden barricade!
At least the sound of hammering

As Alys came to a stop beside Tal, she nudged him gently with her shoulder in greeting and flashed Sah a smile. Sascha struggled in her grip, wanting down, and Alys sent calming thoughts through the bond. The last thing they needed was a baby ursur to start a stampede, and to get trampled for her trouble. Instead, she was about to suggest an illusion to lure the luxere from town when Sah sent them off to make barricades. "As long as we don't startle them, I can't imagine they'll try," she said hopefully in response to Tal's pessimism.

Alys sat Sascha on the ground with a stern look that told her not to move an inch, or else and gathered up the supplies she'd need to make her own barricade. With the ursur cub stuck to her heels, she headed east and began to erect a barricade as best she could.

------

Alys heads east and starts trying to make a barricade!

alys glasse

waiting for the right mind to drive insane

Sah

Just as Sah expected, he needs help. Talyson and Alys have little trouble building their barriers. The luxere even seem at ease to have the two nearby and calmly shuffle where they're directed. But for the Wild Thunder who wielded dark magic, they avoided him like the plague. He purposefully used manual labor instead of magic to craft the southern barrier, but it was for naught. The second he was behind the herd, they bolted north. Granted, it was the desired direction, but Sah still felt bad for scaring them.

"Gods, they do not like me." Glancing around he took stock of their progress. The barriers were up, and the herd had moved closer to the edge of town. Yet now the herd was spooked. "Ok, I'm going to stay south of the herd, so they don't run back this way. Can you two try to calm them down a bit?"

~
Round 2! No post order!
1. Sah needs to stay between the herd and the heart of town to stop any stragglers from running back.
2. Alys and Tal need to try and settle the herd down from their panic.

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

To say Tal was pleased at how well his barricade had come together would be like saying the sun rose in the east. He worked with a methodical confidence and quiet competence that likely did much to reassure the skittish luxere. True, he was a dog person at heart, but some of that must have extended to animals outside the canine family because for once the antlered beasties didn't pick his street to charge.

Instead it was Sah who seemed to be the problem this morning, and Tal grinned over at his frenemy. "Guess y'didn't brush your teeth this mornin', huh?" he teased, before kneeling before Boreal and giving her a clear picture in his mind of what he wanted.

He wanted her to trot around behind Sah and go play with Sascha behind Alys's barricade and out of sight while the humans did their best to reassure the deer that they weren't going to eat them. Not today, at least.

Then he moved slowly parallel to the herd, ambling and pausing as he went and humming soft and low. "They like music," he called quietly to Alys. "An' songs." He kept at it, a gentle Halovian lullaby emerging from the courier as he tried to convince them that he meant them no harm.

---

Tal sends Boreal to distract Sascha and then hums a lullaby to the luxere, mellow and in perfect pitch.

Her barricade came together rather well for a person with little to no talent for manual labor, and Alys sat back with a grin. Unfortunately, it seemed that Sah's efforts were not as successful, and the herd was stirred into a panic, charging north. At least it was the right direction.

Boreal appeared just as Alys was placing her hands on her hips, staring resignedly at the panicked herd. The dragon quietly took charge of Sascha, who perked up immensely at the appearance of her winged bestie and toddled off around the corner to play. Alys shot Talyson a grateful look and, keeping tabs on the cub in the back of her mind, focused most of her energy on how to best help the herd. Alys recognized the song Tal was humming and, rather than joining in with her own voice, elected to utilize her magic. Focusing on the melody wafting across the snow, the seer sent the soft, gentle sound of a piano out into the herd.

------

Sascha is successfully distracted by Boreal, and Alys uses her illusion magic to play a piano version of Tal's melody.

alys glasse

waiting for the right mind to drive insane

Sah

Things go wrong almost immediately. Boreal and Sascha occupy each other but the duo wandered too close to the herd. Sah tried to gently nudge them away but it only refocused the herd's attention on the dark magic user. Between the presence of dark magic and two predators, the herd's panic worsens. Talyson and Alys are unable to calm the creatures and one young doe breaks through the western barrier and flees deeper into town.

"Shit. Ok. One of us needs to go catch her while someone else repairs the barrier. Whoever is left, try and calm them down." Sah spoke just loudly enough to be heard by the others so as not to worsen the herd's fear.

~
Round 3! Terrible rolls all around. Darn dice. Sah will take what's left. No post order.
1. Go catch the runaway and bring her back.
2. Repair the western barricade.
3. Calm the herd!

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

Tal didn't realize why the herd was only acting more skittish until it was too late. For once Boreal looked actually a bit sheepish as she subtly nudged Sascha behind Sah as if to say 'it was his fault,' even as she hunkered down and tried to make herself small.

"Oh for hail's sake..." Tal stopped singing to groan. He reached up to rub his face, then pulled himself together and met eyes with Alys. "Right. We gotta keep him--" he gestured to Sah, "--away from them. I'll try t'lure th'runner back if you can handle things here?" He flashed her a grin, trusting in her abilities, and then shared a wry glance and a one-shouldered shrug with Sah over how things were going.

Leaving Sah and Sascha to repair the barricade, Tal whistled Boreal up into the air to scout out the doe's path and he began to jog after her. He knew Snowcloak backwards, forwards, and sideways. All the blind alleys, dead ends, and short cuts were ones he had run around his whole life, and he used that knowledge and Boreal's shadow to herd the luxere into a blind alley. Boreal backed off at that point, gliding away while Tal stepped into the alley's entrance and began to sing again, soft and as gentle as he could manage while offering a granola bar from his bag as a peace offering to the frightened doe. Hopefully the combination of music, food, and good intentions would be enough to calm her so he could lead her back to the herd.

---

Tal goes after the runaway and tries to calm her down and lure her back.

Sascha had the decency to look ashamed as she peered around Sah and Boreal to make eye contact with her bonded human. Alys sent a pulse of affection through the bond, reassuring the little cub that the events that had transpired were not her fault - at least, they weren't entirely her fault. The seer raised a brow at Boreal and Sah, both of whom were more threatening than a single ursur cub, surely.

The herd, though, didn't seem to care about which predator was most threatening as they miulled about, frightened and ready to flee at the slightest provocation. Alys continued her illusion, singing along to the music that her magic played in the air as she attempted to simultaneously shield Sah and Sascha from view, obscuring their image to make it look like they had left the herd alone.

alys glasse

waiting for the right mind to drive insane

Sah

Talyson's plan mostly worked. Boreal was able to find the luxere but her attempt to herd the doe failed. The skittish girl twisted at the last second and disappeared into another alley. Thankfully the distance from the dragon backing off helped calm her down enough to listen to Talyson. It takes a few long moments but the luxere eventually inched forward with nervous ears to take the snack from the courier and follow him back to the herd.

Alys received a sheepish shrug from Sah, the Wild Thunder well aware of his blame for the situation. Though he couldn't help the fact that luxere were so strongly repulsed by dark magic. The seer's illusion worked, however, and the herd calmed as the supposed threat vanished.

With the illusion hiding him, Sah was able to repair the barricade without scaring the herd further. Letting out a quiet sigh, Sah reevaluated the situation. Unsure if speaking would alert the luxere regardless of the illusion, he silently used his creation magic to make a sign for the others to read. 'Now you two can lead them out of the Citadel. I'll follow and scare any stragglers back to the herd.'

~
Last round!
1. Talyson and Alys need to lead the now calm herd out of the Citadel.
2. Sah needs to follow and stop any stragglers from leaving the herd.

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

The main lesson learned from the day was that Boreal was not a  herding dragon. Her instincts were completely different, and her mannerisms were... well, those of a large predator who wasn't too picky about her meals. What they probably needed was a small, nippy dragon in the vein of Pip or Sugar. Instead they had her, and the luxere were having none of it.

Music and food undid the worst of her influence, at least, and Tal coaxed the luxere back to the herd, sweating the whole way as he waited for her to spook at something else. He didn't relax until she trotted back to join her family, and when he glanced around for Sah to see how the hunter was getting along he saw his sign and heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Right. Sure. Like it's gonna be that easy," he opined morosely to Alys. "Hail. Well, if y'can keep 'em calm, I'll clear a path, I guess."

Boreal was decidedly not invited along on this portion of the journey as Tal trotted off down the shortest route to the main gate, urging people out of the way to clear the road for the herd that was hopefully following behind with Alys. When they saw what was coming behind him they cleared out a lot faster, and soon there was a straight, open avenue leading out of the Citadel.

---

Tal clears a path to the gate!