melodiesofeternity | Player Plot: Bizarre Bird Behavior!

Player Plot: Bizarre Bird Behavior!

Should you happen to have missed it, the plotting and information post for this event can be found here.

A. Choco-Chaos!

Perhaps the first thing anyone notices is the noise, the incessant squawking and warking of so many startled and disgruntled chocobos. Then comes the smell. Ew! In the early morning hours dozens, maybe even hundreds of chocobos invaded many of the cities of Vaikuntha, and while for the first few minutes some may have been elated to see them, attitudes quickly change. The chocobos are panicked, running around without much rhyme or reason, trampling on flower beds, knocking over merchant stands, and making such a ruckus even the dead couldn’t sleep through it. Any food they find is destroyed within minutes, and anything they’re curious about meets the sharp end of their strong beaks. While they’re generally harmless birds, they have the capacity for devastation.

And none of that mentions the, uh, other mess live animals tend to make.

Despite being within the city limits, they are far from tame. Any attempts to approach the birds will be met with either an angry warning wark, a display of puffed feathers, or the chocobo just straight up bolting away. This seems great, as maybe they can be corralled, but… Nope. While this works to an extent, as soon as the birds get too close to the city borders they turn tail and jump straight over the heads of the people attempting to be rid of them, running back into the city to make even more of a mess in their renewed panic. What is there to be done about them?

B. Lurking Lunchers

Should anyone be so inclined as to find out why the chocobos feathers are so ruffled, they need only walk to the edge of the city. Stalking around just beyond civilization are fearsome beasts known only as chocobo eaters. Based on the feathers stuck between their huge teeth this is probably an apt name. The monsters have little interest in humans, but become very interested when a chocobo wanders too close to the outskirts of town. The chocobo eaters are quite aggressive and will gladly take on anyone bold enough to make a challenge. Adventurers may attempt to fight them, but it seems like just when you send one packing, another bigger monster shows up. Was that a baby chocobo eater you were just fighting? You could have sworn it was an adult, with how big it is!

C. Fight or Flight

At last the time has come. A gold chocobo trotted in from off the horizon and rounded up what she believes to be able fighters, herded them into groups, and partnered them with a chocobo that will fight by their side. Ironically it seems to be the feathered member of the party that actually knows what to do, and the teams are led by their respective birds out into the battlefield to take on one of the ferocious beasts waiting out there for lunch. Fight as hard as you can and don’t let the birds down. Defeat might not mean death for you, but it certainly would for the chocobos!

Once the battles are won and the flocks free to return to their natural habitat, some of the brave battlers will find themselves with new feathered friends. Others will not, but everyone will have a handful of greens. If you missed this opportunity to get a chocobo, or you have a taste and want even more, head on over and check out the chocobo capture/breeding system that will be available from now until Eternity.

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The calm young chocobo waits by the city gates for the adventurers to prepare themselves, preening and looking around curiously now and then. When the team indicates their readiness she will lead them out into the desert beyond, passing by a few other eager chocobo eaters before coming to stop before the one she seems to know they can take on. Perhaps the gold chocobo assigned you to this one just as your feathered teammate was assigned to you? Whatever the case, the big monster beats its fists together in anticipation of a good fight.

Edited 2018-05-02 16:37 (UTC)

Okuyasu responds with beating his fists together. Two can play at this game, especially when one of them has a Job all about punching. His gi has loosened up after running through the streets, creating greater freedom of movement, and he has kept great care in keeping his cheap shiny medallion away from curious beaks.

"Come at me!" Okuyasu shouts with a scowl, a poor decision when one is facing a monster.

...Oh dear, that thing looks a lot bigger and nastier up close. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Well, too late to back out now. Uendo has two people relying on him, both of them young enough to belong in school. He could never live with himself if he ran away and left them high and dry. And he can't just leave it to Patches or Kisegawa this time, either...

With a deep breath, Uendo readies his staff, jaw set with confidence he's not truly feeling. You must never let the audience see your fear, after all.

"Everybody ready?"

Lean is ready to mentally punch Okuyasu, that’s for sure. Poor doesn’t cover what he thinks about that outburst, but all the other adjectives might not necessarily fit the spirit of their fantasy adventure.

... Alas, this is all he can do at the moment, having nothing but supportive skills in his repetitoire. Though he clutches a gun in his hand, he’s aware it will do little do nothing against the creature’s thick skin.

“Too late to back out now.” He glares at the Eater. It’s time to put aside their differences and give the monster the hell it deserves. “But we’re not going to be successful facing it up front.”

Okuyasu ceases his posturing. Lean brings up a good point - even if Okuyasu has had practice he must step back, calm down, and approach this situation with a strategy.

Easy. "We hit it from behind!" Okuyasu hasn't practiced his teleportation skills much, but he thinks it won't be too hard considering all the experience he had with The Hand.

"Buff me up, and I'll hit 'im where it hurts!"

The Chocobo Eater looks toward the humans, then the chocobo, and locks on in the chocobo as the tastiest and quietest snack. It roars, then lashes out with a Physical Attack, hitting the brown bird and knocking it back.

The chocobo whines out a long "kweeeeeh", but bounces back to her feet and Pecks the Chocobo Eater's legs.

"Oh no!" Seeing the poor chocobo get smacked around gets Uendo moving. "Hang in there, girl!"

This is it -- his first real attempt at summoning an Eidolon. He flourishes his staff and focuses.

"Amp him up, Ramuh! Thunderstorm!"

A portal appears and the old man's partial form comes through, calling forth a lightning strike on the Chocobo Eater. With any luck, the electricity might paralyze the monster for at least a little while.

“No!”

Lean’s heart sinks at the sight of the wounded Chocobo, and so he throws a bottle of Potion in the poor bird’s direction without a second thought. Stay strong, feathery friend!

As he tries to regain his composure, his gaze flickers between his teammates and eventually lands on Okuyasu.

“I’ll have your back, so go!”

Okuyasu has been in enough fights to steel his nerves during the initial strike. The monster had aimed for the bird, not himself, so he would be safe. Uendo and Lean could take care of themselves.

"Here we go." Time to make use of this Illusionist skill he wanted so badly. Okuyasu rushes at the Chocobo Eater and disappears with Teleport. The boy reappears, now facing the monster from a different direction.

And five feet away.

He grunts in disappointment, but quickly closes the gap with a Tackle attack, aimed behind the knee.

The Chocobo Eater roars and convulses as it is struck with Ramuh's lightning. The brown chocobo, reinvigorated by Lean's potion, joins the fray and delivers a kick in time with Okuyasu's tackle.

The Chocobo Eater loses balance from the triple attack and Falls on his Back! ~~Watch out Okuyasu.~~ Its legs flail in the air as it struggles to stand, and it reflexively casts a Blizzard spell at Uendo, whose spell hurt it the most this round.

"YEEEP!" Uendo lets out a rather undignified squeal. "C-cold! That's cold!"

And it hurt, too. He's not sure what he expected getting hit with magic to feel like, but ugh, that was awful. It takes him a minute to get off a Ruin spell through chattering teeth.

And in that time, he missed the opportunity to make a pun about revenge being best served cold. The moment has passed. Dammit.

"Catch." Another Potion flies Uendo's way, this time strengthened through the power of Mix.

Lean would probably have more appreciation for this sort of fortitude if his attention wasn't focused on the gnarly creature in front of them. Okuyasu, too, has briefly disappeared from his line of sight, and he could only hope that his teammate had enough reflexes to avoid getting hit by the beast....

"Try to get in as many hits as you can!" He's not entirely sure who he's directing his orders at, but being able to only do so much in terms of fighting doesn't leave him with many options.

Okuyasu freezes for the split second it takes to notice the Chocobo Eater toppling over like a felled tree. He twists away and swipes his right arm in the direction he wishes to teleport - muscle memory from using The Hand - and disappears.

When he reappears, he is a few inches off the ground. He has a hand support himself as he lands, and thankfully he remembers how to stand on his feet quickly after teleportation. Lean's order needs no repetition. Okuyasu's got this.

Edited 2018-05-22 02:07 (UTC)

Alas, the pun could have done massive damage while the Chocobo Eater lies on its back, defenseless. ~~This battle is snow laughing matter.~~ The spell hits hard, though, as does the Peck the chocobo aims at the downed monster.

The Chocobo Eater growls angrily and forces itself back to its feet. It turns to Lean and makes a guttural cry that conveys the message "You're Next!". Better brace for impact next turn!

[ ooc: apologies for changing the order, but I wouldn't want anybody to waste their precious attacks! ]

As crazy as it might sound, Lean couldn't be any happier about having the creature's attention focused entirely on himself. Hopefully the others will make good use of that, too, and strike the ugly beast where it hurts.

"I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

From the look on his face it's clear that he's got some sort of plan - one that might or might not involve being a living bait. The downside is, he hasn't really had any opportunity to test it out in similar circumstances, so his hands shake a tiny bit as he reaches for that one vial of potion and consumes its contents....

If all goes well, Safeguard should be in full effect, nullifying any action the Eater might take against him in the next turn.

"But..." Uendo hesitates, having half a mind to try dragging Lean away from danger. But the kid is a native, and familiar with monsters -- Uendo's the one who should be taking cues from him, not the other way around. "Okay, if you're sure!"

He hurriedly finishes downing the Potion from their previous turn (which at least tastes a little more tolerable than Lean's last concoction, although that's not saying much) and fires off another Ruin. Damn it, Toneido, stop getting so flustered and get to summoning!

There's still one fighter behind the Chocobo Eater. Okuyasu rushes the monster with another Tackle. Beating it up hurts it anyway, and even if it doesn't, he's distracting it from the actual damage-dealers of the fight.

Said distraction involves an attempt to climb up its back and screaming like a madman.

The Chocobo Eater aims Fists of Fury at Lean, which bounce off of him without making an impact. It grunts in confusion.

The chocobo follows up Uendo's ruin spell with a kick at the Chocobo Eater's stomach. The Chocobo Eater, with an angry teenager hanging from his back, sways with the force of the damage, but luckily for Okuyasu does not fall over again.

Okay, Lean does actually close his eyes for the briefest of moments as the creature raises its fist, involuntarily trying to shield himself from the impact that never comes. Opening them again, he can let out a triumphant sound at his success, quite enjoying the view of the confused Eater.

However, as the potion's effects aren't exactly known for their longevity, he's quick on his feet again, trying to get out of the beast's line of sight before it considers repeating its last move. For that reason, he passes on taking any action this turn -~~having a lame job that doesn't allow him to do much~~ - with Uendo assaulting the Eater from the front and Okuyasu on its back, he's going to approach it from the side.

Preferably close enough to the Chocobo. Just in case.

Whoa, not even a scratch! Taste aside, Lean's potion-making is something else.

"Hey, nice one, kid!" Uendo calls out with a grin. Then he shifts his focus back on the Chocobo Eater. "Heads up, Okuyasu! I'm gonna give it another shock!"

The time it takes Uendo to prepare another Partial Summoning should be enough for Okuyasu to avoid getting hit, right? It had better, because here comes Ramuh again with a Thunderstorm!

Okuyasu wails on the Chocobo Eater's head with his fists. That'll teach it! His focus is entirely on it even as it attempts to buck him off. Fat chance, this is Okuyasu he's dealing with!

Uendo's familiar voice does nab his attention. "Huh?" Something about an attack? Uendo stands up straight and a familiar portal opens up--bad news. Okuyasu releases his grip on the Chocobo Eater, falling onto the sand below. As the air crackles with hints of thunder, he twists onto his stomach, pushes himself up, and makes a mad dash out of the range of the attack.

Edited 2018-06-04 01:37 (UTC)

The party's chocobo ally waits for the jolt of thunder to fade before darting in for another Peck attack.

The punches, the peck, and the spell ~~and Lean's moral support~~ take their toll on the Chocobo Eater, which stumbles and falls again. This time, the monster does not rise again.

The brown chocobo begins to squawk out a victory song and spins with joy.

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Player Plot: Bizarre Bird Behavior!

Uendo, Okuyasu, & Lean - Modded Battle

Re: Uendo, Okuyasu, & Lean - Modded Battle

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Sorry for the delay!

Same, forgot I couldn't track threads;;

no worries, I still love this thread

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