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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've got a backup plan, myself. So I think we'll be just fine.

[A smile. Well, in her group, that was usually the cycle of things: Group gets into a jam, Madhuri wiggles her fingers and things turn back in their favor. At least, she hoped she could manage it with a class change.

But as they agreed on their plan, a ball of yellow fluff appeared, streaking out of a nearby alleyway and hurrying along. A chocobo... but why was it running in the opposite direction of the fleeing birds?

It looked back, wings fluttering and feet stomping.]

...Can chickens be lion-hearted, I wonder...?

PERHAPS THE CHICKEN HAS THE HEART OF A PHOENIX!!! A COURAGEOUS BLAZE COULD BURN WITHIN ITS HEART, EAGER TO STAND UP FOR JUSTICE!

[Papyrus clenches his fists, then turns to the approaching bird and shouts.]

COME, MY FEATHERED FRIEND! WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! FELLOW RIGHTEOUS SPIRITS UNITING FOR A GREAT CAUSE!!!

[This may be a terrible idea, but Papyrus is ever the optimist. Besides, the more the merrier, right?]

Chocobos can be fierce fighters when they want to be, kupo! Never underestimate how strong they can kick. And I hear some of them can even use magic, kupo!

[Bonnie doesn't question this at all. If the chocobo wants them to follow then she's going to count it as an ally. The moogle bobs in midair and then flutters after it fast as she can.]

[She set off after the bird. It was quick to lead the way, especially with such a charismatic party make-up right behind it. Stalwart, brave, perhaps descended from Phoenix at some time or another.

But that ended when, after entering a square within the great city, the smell of the bird attracted the attention of an Eater that was finished with a recent meal. As it roared, scattering feathers, it bared rather gory teeth. The chocobo shrieked in response, ready to fight.]

Wait! WAIT! Theee...

[Fight anger with sadness. Vulnicura was strummed, filling the air with song as she stepped back, readying up a Boss Theme.]

The sigh of the shifting sea,
the kiss of the salt-sweet breeze...

[She nodded to Papyrus and offered a wink. That's your cue!]

The white of her silken dress, stained in red...

[Right. It was go time. Eye sockets narrowed, he clutched his weapon just in case, but first...

Well, he shouted out to the monster.]

EXCUSE ME, FELLOW MONSTER! I'D LIKE TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU ABOUT YOUR CARNIVOROUS HABITS.

[Unfortunately, the Chocobo Eater being an ordinary monster... didn't respond verbally. And the gory teeth didn't bode well either. Logic dicated that he should start attacking, but he had to try again.]

I HIGHLY SUGGEST RECONSIDERING YOUR DIET, FOR WE CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO HARM THESE POOR BIRDS!!!

[This was all...a bit overwhelming to be honest. Bonnie had helped out in crisis situations before but this was her first proper outing thinking of herself as a a proper Hero. She shivered a bit as she clutched her knife while the chocobo ran off into battle, followed by the skeleton.

But it was the music that Madhuri began to sing that helped her find equilibrium. She tugs on her hood and flutters off and around, trying to flank the great beast without attracting its attention by her movements. She uses the different stands, and the rubble thereof, as cover as she flits around, seeking the best position.

She waits for the right moment to strike. She won't let this thing harm anyone if she can help it. Including the weird skeleton guy!]

[Bones weren't food. Papyrus had that going for him. But this thing was making noises at it, and it was in the way of another tasty morsel that fluttered and cried out nearby, another swift bite of giant poultry. In response, it bellowed and raised a fist, preparing to clobber the scientist for his efforts.

It didn't seem to notice the little moogle making her way around...]

A memory fading fast
Her mother sits, eyes downcast,
A torn uniform in hand, farewells unsaid...

[The air had turned odd, and inner strength seemed at hand for the bard's compatriots. The time to strike, perhaps, was now and before poor Papyrus got a knuckle sandwich.]

HEY! DON'T BE THAT WAY! SURELY THERE ARE OTHER MEALS FOR YOU TO PURSUE. MEALS SUCH AS SPAGHETTI!!!

[But. Just to be safe, he fires a small shot. Just a warning. A test, albeit with some hesitance.]

[Bonnie's wings wiggled and her pom tingled as she waited for the beast to turn and fully face Papyrus. With a creature her size it was all less likely it would spot her but all the more worse if it did. But she can feel the tension rising as the music swells.

The skeleton's shot spurs her to action. The moogle leaps from her cover, brandishing her knife and flutters as fast as she's able to try to stab it into the fleshiest bit of the monster she can find!]

[The Eater bared its teeth as the shot connected and singed the flesh. In retaliation that massive fist came crashing down upon the chatty one. Madhuri could only cringe, and knew that it was time for the change.]

Hold on, Papyrus!

[Her eyes sharpened and she shouldered her guitar. In the other hand, she snapped her fingers. High above, a little moogle lowered and quickly tapped away at the iMog slate. Job change.

All the while, Bonnie found a sweet spot, jamming the knife into surprisingly soft, pebbled flesh. The Eater shrieked, and began the struggle of trying to find the little stabber with the oddly stumpy legs it possessed.]

Edited 2018-06-28 03:05 (UTC)

[OOF! This is bad. Very bad. And he's not exactly equipped with a job that favors defense.

Fortuantely, he has more offensive peers to make up the difference. But he mustn't give up! Grimacing, he leaps back, gulping down a potion and taking a more defensive stance.]

DRAT. THIS WAS SO MUCH EASIER BACK IN THE UNDERGROUND...

[Bonnie holds on for dear life as the Chocobo Eater begins to flail. Her knife is a knife, so it can't go in that deeply, but it's in far enough that she can use it to keep steady. As an added bonus, her small size makes her that much harder for the monster to grab her off of its own back.]

Kupo~ It's not like we picked out a beginner target, kupo~

[The moogle keeps focused on not being flung off until it stops or slows its flailing long enough to pull her knife free so she can stab it once more!]

[Finished. Her clothing had swapped to a white ensemble, a snappy hair of spectacles, and an ornate staff to blend nurse, professor and goodness knows what else.

With a swish of the staff there was a rain of light upon Papyrus, offering up a Regen. Enjoy a constant recovery!]

There! Off you go, love.

[The Eater had some lovely timing itself. Incensed by the stabbing pains in the back, the monster had had enough and pointed at Madhuri, a wordless warning... was it choosing its next target?]

[Ooh! Healing magic. That should certainly help. He grins, about to offer a thank you, but.]

WAIT. ARE YOU FLIRTING WITH M-

[But before he can finish, that monster seems to be moving. And that's not okay. He's still anxious about hurting this thing too much, but he fires off another shot.]

[As far as Bonnie knew, Chocobo Eaters weren't a sort of monster who could talk, but pointing spoke pretty loud and clear.]

Madhuri! Watch out, kupo!

[She does her best to scramble up the creature's back, this time up to the head where she tries to stab her knife into its eye. Of course this also puts her that much closer to its mouth and the reach of its hands.]

Gosh, I don't know, Papyrus... am I~?

[The smile was one of mischief as she glanced over the rim of her glasses at him, a hand on her cheek in mock shyness. But with a grasp of the staff in the other palm, the crystal embedded at the end giving off a faint light, she seemed the accomplished multi-tasker. How often did she flirt mid-battle...?

Her attention caught when the beast began pointing at her. That was an unusually humanoid gesture, and creepier from a creature that looked like that. Bonnie's warning was coupled with a wind up, and a fist twice the size of her hurtling in her direction. The tiefling brought up her staff to catch it, but a strength-on-strength game was foolish, and she felt herself skidding backward a few yards, arms pinwheeling to maintain her balance on her heels. Her vision spun but she shook her head, grit her teeth and endured. She wasn't going to take another hit like that.

But both hands grasped the staff. She could heal herself, certainly, but not without first paying this thing back for its rudeness.]

Looks like diplomacy is beyond over. My turn.

[Eyes steely, she raised the staff, and her skirts and jacket billowed as a wind began to build and swirl around her. The decorative trees through the streets began to sway, and table settings began to rattle and creak as the gale began to build, pushing them gently out of alignment. Her power hadn't maxed quite yet- she needed more time out in the field- but she could only imagine what she could do in just a few months' time.

Madhuri whirled on a heel, and brandished the staff like a rifle. From the end all the wind gathered had collected, forming a tempestuous orb that fired off with a thunderous roar. The wind magic hurtled into the face and belly of the beast, sending it flying three paces before landing on its back.

With a sigh of satisfaction she twirled the staff and tapped the base firm against the cobble.]

Note to self: Come up with a snappy name for the attack. How unprofessional!

Edited 2018-07-05 17:16 (UTC)

WELL, THAT SEEMS VERY FLIRT-LIKE! AND IF IT'S FLIRT-LIKE, THAT MEANS I'M OBLIGATED TO DATE, AND-

[Right. Focus. This is dangerous. And also, she's taking the whole situation rather well, all things considered. He winces as she skids back, but she recovers quickly enough.

The burst of wind makes his eye sockets go googly and he nearly drops his gun in the process.]

THAT. WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE! BUT AS FOR A SNAPPY NAME... PERHAPS THE GUST OF GREATNESS? FLURRY OF FEAR? WRATHFUL WIND? BOMBASTIC BREEZE?!

[What was she doing? That was definitely magic she was using, but she was holding the staff like how Mary would hold one of her rifles....

oh kupo]

KUPOOOOOO~

[As the wind hits the beast and sends it flying, Bonnie is fortunately hurled from atop its head, tumbling end over end through the air. The little fluff is spinning so fast she can't even keep her eyes open.

But her ninja parkour training kicks in at the last second and she rolls out as she hits the ground, finishing in a nice dramatic looking crouch. Her eyes go from a hard clench to a confused blink as she checks herself over. It would be hard to be shocked by her safe landing more than she is.]

O-oh, dear... I'm so sorry! Are you alright?

[Whoops, maybe settle down on the theatrics when someone was atop the target. Madhuri needed some time to weave a quick curing spell, but the Eater was thrashing and growling on the floor.]

It's vulnerable... we need to give it everything we've got.

[In just a moment or two, she'll toss Bonnie a heal.]

I WISH THERE WAS MORE I COULD DO. CURSE THESE JOBS AND THEIR SLOW STARTS...

[Sighing, he takes another small shot at the monster. This still feels wrong. And he's definitely not aiming to kill. Just to distract.]

HEY! AREN'T YOU FORGETTING ABOUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS?!

[Hopefully this'll buy Madhuri and Bonnie time to heal and prepare their next move, at least. If he has to, he'll just slurp a potion. Or throw a potion to his party members if the need arises.]

[Bonnie pats herself down but nods. She's still in one piece but her pom is still there.]

Just a little rattled, but I'm fine, kupo.

[The cure is appreciated as she switches to Dragoon, swapping her knife for her shortspear as she readies for the next rally. She'll Spirit Surge if she has time but she's getting ready to jump when they make their move (unless Madhuri has a better plan).]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Player Plot: Bizarre Bird Behavior!

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Sorry, was keeping an eye on this one and then my inbox buried it. I got this!

No worries!

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