{ a bit leafy }

[dreamposts]

A BIT LEAFY

More details on everything can be found here.

I. LEAF STORM

II. INFESTATIONS

COMMENTS

I. LEAF STORM

During the first week of November, a storm of leaves will pass through town. It starts innocuous enough, with just a bluster of leaves carried in the wind that looks normal for the changing of the season. But as the days progress, there are large bursts even downpours of leaves that just fall all over town. And with this storm come strange things…

A. Leaf Monsters. As the leaves pile up and people attempt to rake and blow them away, there will be some strange movement...until it's revealed that oddly shifting pile of leaves suddenly rises up to try and attack, blasting sharp leaves and even trying to "engulf" the unexpecting, trapping them in piles of leaves. Time to deal with this sudden leaf invasion! (Note: the leaf monsters will be most active during the first week of the month and then taper off by the end of the second week. By mid-month, only a few will pop up here and there.)

🔥 Burn Burn Burn! Using any kind of wind will only disperse the leaf monster and make them split into more. They need to be destroyed completely, and the best way is through fire. Dreamotion fire especially.
🪤 Trapped. But be careful with that fire! There may be those trapped within the leaf monster itself, and burning it may hurt those inside. This is the one time using wind to disperse the leaves may be warranted, but maybe a "controlled blast" will help to keep the monster from spreading.
🐌 Animal Aid. While fire is the most effective, there are other methods—mainly through certain critters. The chickens around that statue from the Dream Board could probably help scratch and break them apart. Finding some special rainbow snails from the lake just south of town will also help as their glittery slime will not only trap the leaves, but also break them down quickly.

B. Leafever. The strange leaf storm and the leaf monsters are also bringing a strange cold-like disease, likely spread through the pollen or spores attached to the leaves. Those who get caught by the leaf monsters are most likely to catch it. Fortunately the effects are mild and only last a few days, week at most, but can be caught multiple times. There is also a cure, but it requires the same leaves that brought it.

🤧 Achoo! While having the leafever overall feels no different than a bad cold, some of the symptoms and side effects are a lot more…unusual with little consistency between individuals. Some may find themselves sneezing bubbles, others secreting slime as they sweat, and all dreamotion effects going haywire.
♨ Incense Burner. One way to help ease and lessen the effects of the leafever is to burn the leaves in a special incense burner infused with special dreamotion focused on healing and soothing emotions. A special stone must also be used, and it can only be found in the hot spring caves in Dragefjell, Dragon Island.
🍂 Leaf Sap. For the actual remedy, sap must be collected from the leaf monsters. How? Well—that's for everyone else to figure out, good luck. Maybe try squeezing the leaves? Or cook them?

C. Dryad. The most severe side effect of the leafever is the individual slowly turning more tree-like, some becoming similar to dryads. There are no serious side effects and will only last for about a day or two. In fact, those who "turn dryad" will feel healthier and livelier than usual. But it may be an interesting experience regardless.

🌲 A bit stiff. As the skin turns more bark-like and limbs become a bit more "wooden," those affected may find their movements a bit more limited at first. A bit of exercise and a gallon of water dumped on them will help loosen them up.
🌷 In tune to nature. While in this state, there will be an increased sense of awareness regarding all things plant. This includes the leaf monsters, allowing them to sense and pinpoint any that may be hiding or lurking around. There will also be a brief time where they can even control and call upon plants to do their bidding.
🍃 Big shed. When the symptom finally ends, all the leaves, branches, and bark will just fall completely off the individual and they will return completely normal without a single blemish. …And clothes. Hope this isn't happening out in public, ahem.

II. INFESTATIONS

With the changing of the seasons, all kinds of critters are either passing through on their migratory route…or burrowing in to start hibernation. Usually it's not a problem, but perhaps due to all the strange dreamotion energy flux over the past year, the creatures are behaving a little differently and getting in the way more than usual. The storm of leaves isn't helping matters, aiding in some of them to travel through. While some will appear during it, the majority will cause problems from around the second week onward.

A. Bugged Trees. Those living in treehouses are going to have a bit of a time as a number of insects will be looking to find a new place to chill during winter. Specifically, their home. Those who are under the dryad effect may want to be careful of any bugs that may be attracted to them.

🪲 Giant Beetles. Some may remember these fellows from previous years. The beetles are quite friendly, but they are quite large, large enough to ride on. They can also cause some rough damage on gardens and yards, their massive size creating large holes as they burrow into the ground. However, some are really useful with their pincers, capable of pruning unwanted branches. If not chasing them away, perhaps one could use them instead? (Especially against leaf monsters.)
🐞 Ladybugs. These ladybugs are average sized (thank goodness), but they have quite the attitude. Preferring colorful and well tended flowers, they will speak their mind should they find any that are wilting. They will also drop critiques on anyone with poor etiquette and living poorly. Those who have well kept homes will have an easier time with them…and also suffer large groups coming in hosting parties in the branches.
🦗 Crickets. The crickets are of the musical sort, ready to put on a performance to try and endear themselves to receive temporary lodging. Just for a few days! Their range of music is wide, from classical to punk rock to country to jazz to even rap. And while they try to be polite, well… Sometimes music jams happen whether they should or not. Like late at night. Crickets are nocturnal after all.

B. Migration Migraines. As if dealing with bugs wasn't enough, other critters are either migrating or looking to hibernate around town. One would think the Wildlands would have plenty to offer, but some may find the easy access to food in town a bit more enjoyable.

🦡 Honeycomb Badgers. These interesting looking badgers have a honeycomb for a back. While they will dig up gardens in search of tasty flowers, they need to "shed" their honeycomb and are deliberately going to people to offer it. They are not harmed and will just reveal normal fur beneath before a new honeycomb forms.
🦒 Flying Giraffes. A flock of large winged giraffes will be flying in and roosting on various tall buildings. They act a lot like Canadian geese, so…beware.
🐻 Cotton Bears. These cute little bears look like they could be living teddy bears with how small and plush they appear. And for winter, they are looking to sleep somewhere nice, soft, and warm. Like a bed. Now they don't really care if they are occupied or not, so maybe it would be better if some dens and beds could be made for them instead.

C. Field Foes. The farms situated around the outskirts of town are preparing to harvest their fields, but there's trouble. Unless it gets sorted quick, food might be harder to come by for the winter!

🌾 Scarecrow Rebellion. Something is wrong with the scarecrows, but no one is sure what. They're either sitting in the fields not trying to shoo away the numerous wildlife that have decided to come through, or actively waving their pitchforks at the very gardeners and farmers they're supposed to help. Perhaps they feel a bit underappreciated so some word of thanks could help them get back to work. In the meantime, some help clearing out the fields of unwanted visitors, especially the crows, will be needed.
🍄 Hopped Up Hares. Among the unwanted "vermin" are some hares that have somehow gotten into some…strange green mushrooms that have made them behave a bit erratic. They're digging up tunnels, wearing carrots on their heads, and stare blankly out into the distance. Catch them and drive them away! And maybe feed them some special pellets that will help cure them of their, uh, "ailment." It's not recommended to eat the mushrooms should they be found, but if one does…well, enjoy the same dizzying, heightened experience the hares did.
🍆 Oversized Veggies. Some young "genius" thought creating a special formula mixed with dreamotion would help the crops grow larger and faster. However, it only caused the vegetables to overgrow to as large as an adult person and are now rolling dangerously through the fields. Some even get into town! Pumpkins, carrots, lettuce, corn, potatoes, cabbages—all manner of vegetables are rolling around, so stop them before they cause too much destruction.

I. LEAF STORM

II. INFESTATIONS

COMMENTS

Comments

Martel Yggdrasill | Tales of Symphonia

[untwisted]

I. Leaf Monsters (+ optional Trapped)

[That awkward moment when your specialty is earth/plant-based magic and that's exactly what the problem is. If anything though, that's made Martel more determined to help out. She particularly hopes the inordinate amount of leaves will assist her even though she actually doesn't need any nearby to use her magic.

A squirming mound of leaves is near the clinic, which is very unhelpful in the current situation. She's decided to try to deal with it herself. Martel unleashes one of her basic magic attacks: a...windy, spinning orb of leaves. The other leaves are kicked up into the bunch, which of course just spreads them out and makes even more of them move.]

O-oh. Hmm...

[The monsters try shooting leaves back at her, possibly just to mock her. She manages to use a guarding move to block them. Then Martel pulls her staff toward her chest, taking several seconds to cast her more complex spell. Finally, she thrusts her arms forward.]

Leaf Wind!

[Leaves circle around her. In any other situation, this would be a pretty good attack, but all it manages to do here is get herself completely encircled by all of the leaves. The monsters among them increase in number, and she now finds herself surrounded.]

Whoops. Why isn't this making them leave?

[I did not even intend that pun but just realized it so it's staying.]

II. Leafever / Dryad treatment

[Martel is no stranger to disease outbreaks, so she's been putting in a lot of time at the clinic this month. Maybe a bit too much. Eventually she'll come down with some sniffles herself, but her symptoms stay relatively mild. Maybe being fused to a tree for 4000 years gives you some natural immunity?

She'll try to help anyone who needs it whatever that means. Her healing artes probably will only go so far, so she's absolutely willing to hunt for the things that will alleviate or remedy the illness. Martel has experience in making medicines using plants too, though they haven't been monsters in most cases.

The dryads in particular may get to her if only because of the aforementioned millennia as a tree, albeit this is an entirely different situation. But hey, she's still here to help! Even if she's getting tired and rundown.]

III. Cotton Bears

[Martel is trying to drag a large blanket out of her house (ground level, she's lived in a tree long enough thank you), but something on the other end and lower to the ground appears to be pulling against her.]

You need to let go. It's all right.

[Her imploring doesn't seem to have any effect. The blanket itself is very fluffy and is very bunched together despite the slight tug-of-war going on. This might be going faster if Martel wasn't being so careful and gentle about her own effort. Once she manages to inch enough of it out, one might notice the little bear is curled up in there, asleep. But the other side is still being tugged on.]

Please, Yuan. I know this is your favorite, and I will bring it back. But we need to find a home for this little guy first.

[There seems to be no response. She sighs. The real Yuan would have gone along with her by now...]

Cotton Bears

[grandduchess_anya]

(All the blanket tugging does manage to get Anya’s attention that she decides to see what is happening and try to see if Martel could use some help in taking the bear to another home. Pooka and Mashka scamper behind as she gets inside to see Yuan tugging on the blanket hard.

Where are this bear’s parents and how did it get here in the first place? Anya hopes that the bear can find a good home soon as she greets Martel upon entering inside.)

Oh hey there. I just thought that I might drop by here and see if you need some help with the little bear here. I didn’t expect these bears to be trying to find homes this early until I saw some trying to get inside the treehouse next to mine earlier.

[untwisted]

[Martel stops tugging, but keeps her grip so the blanket doesn't go sliding back into the house.]

Hello, Anya! Yes, I've never heard of any bears getting into a home to hibernate in it. But...

[She gives her end another light tug into the doorway. Yuan's still not having it.]

...this little one picked our tapir's favorite blanket. I think he's worried I'm going to give it away.

[grandduchess_anya]

Ah okay. It looks like this little bear wants something to cuddle up with for the winter. Maybe they want to find something that could give a similar feeling to cuddling up to its mother during the winter months.

Bark?

Hmmm… That gives me a possible idea. What if we can find a suitable blanket for the bear so the tapir wouldn’t have to worry about having his blanket being taken by someone else? I could even make one on the fly if it is even possible.

[untwisted]

That could be what he wants. I wonder where his mother is...?

[Martel is honestly surprised by that proposal.]

Oh my, that's an excellent plan! I was worried about disturbing him, but if we got something that feels enough like this one maybe he won't even notice! That's probably easier than getting a baby tapir to understand what we're doing, too.

[She giggles.]

[grandduchess_anya]

Same: I was thinking about where could his mother must have went to. I think that she might be looking for him right now and probably worrying for him too.

Oh gee thanks Martel. I should get to work on it swiftly as I can so we can let him have the new blanket and enjoy it so much. Thankfully I was able to bring along my sewing kit right now, all I need right are some fabric to make a blanket with.

[untwisted]

[She gives a troubled frown.]

Yes, and we don't want her to think we're threatening him.

You're very prepared! How impressive!

[Martel glances from side to side.]

Hmm, I'm not sure if there's any spare fabric in the house... Is there a nearby shop, maybe?

Leafever

[chocobosnap]

[ It's been forever since Prompto got sick. He's dragging himself around, face red and his eyes running. He's sniffling.

He clearly could use a hand or some advice, except that Prompto is not the type to ask for that. He's just planning on ignoring it, that's the best tactic right?

Or it would be if he doesn't collapse under a tree rather suddenly. ]

[untwisted]

[Martel's usually the one doing stuff like that, and with her angelic eyesight the scene is very obvious to her even at a bit of a distance. She goes running toward him immediately.

She starts talking before she's even next to him, getting down on her knees as she finishes.]

A-Are you all right?! Do you need any help?

[chocobosnap]

Man...I... [ Prompto sneezes, despite himself. ]

I totally got dizzy there. Sorry. I'm fine. 'S just a cold.

[ Is it though? He's completely flushed. ]

[untwisted]

Even if it's a cold, it's obviously very serious.

[She's going to ignore that he's doing exactly what she would do in this situation.]

There's another illness going around right now, though. I think you may be suffering from that. Maybe we should get you to the clinic. Can you stand?

[chocobosnap]

Uh. [ Prompto sniffles a bit. ] Uh yeah. I think...

[ He looks really flushed, but he really doesn't think it's that bad. ]

What kind of illness is it? I figured it was just a cold or something and it would pass. [ Oh right, he's supposed to be getting up. Prompto gives that a shot, getting to his feet, but swaying a little bit. Oof. Lightheaded. ]

[untwisted]

Ah, be careful!

[Martel grabs his shoulders to try to steady him.]

I'm not familiar with it, and it may be a new disease in this world entirely. It's very similar to a cold, but the regular treatments aren't completely effective. There have also been some... erm, unique side-effects.

Leaf Monsters

[heartatsunder]

[Against better judgment, Helga winds up... staring in awe at this green-haired lady controlling the air. Does everyone have some kind of magic around here?

Then she's surrounded and the girl realises she's in trouble... so against even better judgment, Helga runs toward the circle waving her arms in the hopes that'll push the leaves away.]

Criminy, your technique is as bad as your jokes! You need fire to finish the yard work, not wind.

[She doesn't say, "Duh," but it's implied in the tone, as if she knew this all along herself.]

[untwisted]

[Martel is surprised to see someone nearby. She's not sure what the comment about her jokes means, as she doesn't recall telling one. But there are more important things going on right now.]

Oh, I hadn't thought of that.

[She glances at the leaves scattered around her.]

That might be too dangerous in these circumstances, though.

[heartatsunder]

Yeah, because there's more of them. Why do you think they're all over the place now?

[Ignoring the fact that wind blows leaves all over the place anyway, but...]

We've got to get them in a big pile, then set them off. Or, at least threaten to, if we don't have fire.

[Note to self: Acquire a blowtorch.]

[untwisted]

Huh. Isolating monsters is usually the better strategy.

[Martel isn't arguing, her tone definitely says she's just thinking over how strange this is. Not that offense has ever been her specialty but she's still had a lot of experience. A few thousand years ago. Maybe she's rusty?]

I do know one fire spell. So you're right; it probably would be better to get them back into a group before they realize I'm capable of it.

[She looks down at all the monsters moving around her. It's pretty clear she has no idea where to start.]

[heartatsunder]

[Helga rolls her eyes. This woman is such a- well, not a football head, but just as indecisive. So she takes the initiative by spreading her arms and urging the leaves into one space, talking to them like she's coaching a soccer team.]

All right, you deadweights, huddle up!

[untwisted]

[She can't help but stare at Helga for a second. Her terminology was a bit strange to her ear, but Martel appreciates her spirit. With a small smile, she takes a look at where the monsters are moving. An opening appears as some head toward Helga and others try to keep moving their own way, and Martel uses this to get out of the middle of all of it.

She then tries to nudge them along with the rest using the base of her staff, but it's a bit small to be of much help.]

Come on, shoo!

Leafever

[multidisciplinary]

[ It's been only a few days since Zelda returned to Songerein after her recent attempt to permanently return home. The dreamworld seems inclined to punish Zelda for her attempted escape because she has come down with a severe case of leafever.

At first, she tried sleeping it off, but the symptoms never seemed to lessen. In fact, it seems like they just keep worsening. Her body seems to become stiffer and heavier as the days pass, her skin turning dry and rough. When she drags herself out of bed this morning and sees that patches of her hair have turned to what looks an awful lot like big yellow leaves, Zelda decides it's high time she went to the doctor.

In the early afternoon, Zelda manages to make her way to the clinic. ]

Excuse me, is there a doctor available?

[untwisted]

Of course!

[Despite being in the middle of something and not even looking at the speaker, Martel responds. She involuntarily freezes upon seeing Zelda. It's not that the symptoms are unknown to her at this point, but with her own experience being part of a tree she can't help but feel a lot of pain for the sick, particularly when they're recognizable to her.]

P...Princess? Oh no, let's get back right away!

[multidisciplinary]

[ With the haze of the fever (and how much time has passed since they last met), it takes Zelda a minute of puzzledly staring at Martel before recognition sparks in her face. ]

Oh, Martel. It is good to see you again.

[ Zelda manages a smile as she approaches, a bit unsteady on your feet. ]

You are... the doctor here? [ Her words are a bit labored, a bit breathless. ]

[untwisted]

[Martel grabs Zelda's shoulders in an attempt to steady her. She starts trying to gently guide her in the direction of a bed, but she won't her to walk if she's not ready.]

I'm one of the people who work here, yes. I'm not exactly a doctor, but I do have a lot of experience treating and healing people. Even in these...um...unusual cases. Can you tell me what exactly your symptoms have been?

[multidisciplinary]

[ Good catch, Martel, because Zelda accidentally stumbles over her own feet and it's only Martel's steady hand that keeps the princess from ending up on the floor. ]

Well, at first it felt like a common cold; I have been coughing and sneezing incessantly for days now. [ At the mention, she quickly covers her mouth with a handkerchief and coughs into it. ] But this fever is miserable and my body aches so much...

[ Zelda allows Martel to guide her. The princess is all bundled up in a coat, sweater, and shawl on top of it all, and yet her skin isn't cold and clammy like you would normally see in someone with a high fever. In fact, her skin looks as dry and rough as tree bark. ]

[untwisted]

[As someone who's fallen over more than her fair share of times, she can see the signs.]

Yes, that sounds like the illness that's being spread around here lately. You seem to be showing some of the other symptoms as well.

[Martel doesn't want to completely freak Zelda out while she's already feeling so poorly.]

The good news is everyone seems to recover from it successfully sooner or later. We're trying to find a way for that to come more quickly and with fewer ill effects, though. It's a bit difficult to create new medicines with so many people to take care of.