songerein | { a bit leafy }

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{ a bit leafy }

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Heizou lets out something of an exasperated sigh. What good is knowing a potential solution to a problem when you don't have the means to try it out?]

Unfortunately, I've yet to get accustomed to using the dreamotion magic here, so this... This is a bit far beyond me. [A lot beyond him.] I have some influence over the wind and air, but that won't be helpful to us here--

[And when Yato curses out like that... Heizou finds that he's lost one of his gloves at the same time.]

...Man alive, this really is quite impressive. Maybe they'll show themselves once we've lost everything we can lose. Or maybe- [There's suddenly a spark of mischief in his eyes.] -we have to make a bigger mess of their hoard~

Guess that means magic is right out. Should've figured that'd be too easy for them to let us have it.

[He sighs as well, chucking a few articles of clothing over his shoulder.]

Impressively annoying, that's for sure! Well, I don't want to wait around to see if they'll crawl out of the woodwork once we're completely defenseless. I say we trash the place! [He goes to roll up his sleeves only to remember that they have his precious jersey and so grumbles.] With extreme prejudice. You on board?

[Glancing at Heizou, he grins, then promptly uses his foot to kick a pile of laundry over, scattering it all over the floor of the cave.]

[Heizou smirks a little, making his way over to another tower of clothes while Yato knocks that one down. He lets out an overly dramatic, put upon sigh, looking for all the world like he's pouting about being told what to do. Even though he's still pretty quick to clench his fist and rear it back, already starting to concentrate a glowing flurry of wind and energy around it.]

I don't usually like having to resort to getting physical, but... In this case I guess I just have to make an exception~

[When he throws that punch the whole stack of clothes seems to explode under the force of it, the burst of air sending everything scattering around the cavern. Nothing's damaged at least, but it does look a bit like a tornado struck where all those clothes used to be.]

[Watching as the other pile gets blown away by the force of Heizou's impressive abilities, he lets out a whoop and upends another stack himself, letting it cascade down like a landslide. It feels damn good to let his frustration out in a productive manner. ...well, he'll pretend it's productive.]

Woohoo! That's the way! Betcha this will get our thieving twerps to come out!

[It does seem to be having some effect, as there comes a scuffling sound from nearby although Yato doesn't see anything just yet. He goes still, waving a hand at Heizou.]

Psst. Hey! Did you hear something?

[Heizou manages to get a few more piles knocked down before Yato calls for him to stop. And for all his fake pouting, he is actually having a lot of fun doing it. There really is nothing quite like having a moment to just cut loose and go a little wild. It's not like this is hurting anyone, after all.

Except maybe for the feelings of their thieves.

He does stop to listen at Yato's behest, head tilting while he tries to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. Wherever it's coming from, it's definitely getting closer and closer.]

...It sounds like our idea worked. I hope you're ready for this~

[It's almost a little disappointing that their chance at wrecking havoc is over so soon, but in the end their goal is more important than having fun. He wants his clothes back, dammit!

Having stopped to listen, Yato summons a pair of dreamotion blades that glow faintly as he turns his head this way and that, searching out the source of the noise. It seems to be coming from slightly deeper in, if his guess is right. Either they're approaching the nest or the creatures are coming to them.

He nods to Heizou to confirm that he is indeed ready to tackle whatever comes their way before starting to move forward to the next area.]

Ready whenever you are. Let's do this thing!

Meeting them in the middle, are we?

[He huffs out a little laugh before following Yato. He's still not a fan of having to resort to brute force, but in the company of a god who's probably more than capable of dealing with a sticky-fingered creature like the one they're probably up against... Well, he probably won't have to do much. That suits Heizou just fine.

He'll lend a hand if he needs to, though. He wouldn't leave his companion hanging.]

I'm right behind you~

Better we go to them rather than let them come to us. Gives us more room to maneuver.

[aka plenty of space to retreat should they end up being up against something they can't handle. 'Always leave yourself an out' is his motto. Not that he thinks they'll need to flee; whatever they're up against seems more interested in hoarding clothing than doing anybody any real harm. He's counting on that to carry over during their fight.]

Right then, here goes--!

[As they enter the next cavern, it widens out into a much more spacious room with high ceilings and even higher piles of clothes, easily towering over them like fabric stalagmites. Yato has to let out a low whistle at the sheer volume of laundry, mouth slightly agape. And their stuff is somewhere in here? Yikes.

Somewhere from between the piles comes that scurrying sound, only louder now. His head whips around to face it, ready to tackle whatever beast or person or in between comes their way-- when a cute little... cat..fish? waddles out. His shoulders relax just a fraction as he peers at the creature.]

The hell? [That's what's been stealing their clothes?? He was expecting gremlins or goblins or something similar.]

[Heizou trails after Yato as promised, and when they enter that cavernous space he also lets out an impressed whistle of his own. He's going to dread digging through these piles to find their clothes. Maybe his earlier plan of just letting everyone know where to find their missing items really would be for the best.

He also turns when he hears the sound of someone approaching and--

Oh. Oh it's cute.

Heizou's entire guard drops. His eyes are practically sparkling with delight as he approaches it, getting down onto his knees to greet it.]

Ah~! Hello there, little friend! Aren't you a sweet looking fellow~?

[For his part, Yato stays on guard, bristling as Heizou goes right up to the creature like it's a cat or something. .....okay, so it sort of is a cat, but that's not the point! For one, it could be dangerous, for another, it's likely the damn thing that's been stealing their clothes right off their backs! Even if they could get buddy-buddy with it, Yato's got a bone or two to pick with it.

Although maybe this is for the best. With Heizou distracting the creature, he slips around to one side, dreamotion blade appearing in one hand. If he can just... sneak up a little closer.....

Drawing his tongue over his lips like a predator, he suddenly leaps for his target, sword pointed down and wielded with both hands as he thrusts at the beast. Unfortunately it seems to sense him and dives into a nearby pile of clothes, burrowing into its depths.]

Dammit--! Thought I had the little shit.

[Distracting it. Yes, that's exactly what Heizou is doing. He's definitely not just having a great time scritching it behind the ears and cooing about what a cute half-cat half-fish seal-like creature it is. It reminds him of the blubberbeasts from the Fontaine region back home, and... Well. He's never seen one in person, but in the pictures they look a lot like this creature. A little less furry, maybe.

And then Heizou very abruptly remembers that Yato's out for blood. Right about when his blade cuts into a now-empty space just in front of him. To his credit Heizou just blinks in surprise before looking up at Yato, looking disappointed to no longer have a cute little critter to pet.]

I'm really not sure killing it is necessary, if that's what you're out to do.

[After his prey escapes, Yato yanks his sword out with a frustrated growl, careful to not slice Heizou. He may be a rampaging god but he's not so far gone as to catch his partner in the warpath. That doesn't mean he can't fume at the guy, though. He thought they were working together here!]

It's a filthy little thief! What do you wanna do, slap it in irons and haul it back for interrogation?!

[He huffs through his nose like a raging bull, glancing at the spot where the catfish disappeared into. It's one hell of a large pile. One that'd probably take both of them to knock over if they want to get at the creature. Whirling on Heizou, he jabs a finger at the clothing tunnel.]

If you want it alive, you catch it. Otherwise I'm going in for the kill! We need to stop this thing somehow before the entire town is running around naked!

[He straightens back up with a huff, putting his hands on his hips and surveying the towers of clothing that the creature has burrowed into, searching for where it's gone.]

Killing it won't solve the issue of getting everyone all of their missing clothing back! Unless you plan on manually hauling everything in here back to town.

[Fighting his targets is one thing. Executing them is quite a whole other thing, and one that Heizou isn't willing to advocate without good reason.]

We're better off catching it first. Besides, we also have no idea if it's alone or if's there's a whole pack at work here. Or are you willing to wipe out an entire species over this, dream world or not?

Yeah, yeah. I hear you! Doesn't mean I have to like it.

[Allowing his dreamotion swords to vanish, he resorts to grumbling under his breath. Guy's got a point, loathe as he is to admit it. He sure as hell doesn't feel up to dragging every piece of clothing back through this tunnel by hand.]

Of course not. I just thought that if we could interrogate the bugger we might be able to figure out a way of magicking everything back where it belongs.

[Although in hindsight it probably would've been a better idea to try talking to the creature first. Oh well. What's done is done. He's probably gone and scared the daylights out of the damn thing, so that option is likely right out.]

[Heizou raises an eyebrow at him before he goes back to looking over the piles. He can only see so far into the space that's been burrowed into, and he fully expects it has some magical ability to teleport from pile to pile.]

And I'm sure you would've done a marvelous job interrogating a corpse. I prefer to do my interrogations with the living.

[He's not mad, Yato. He's just disappointed.

...He also wants to pet the cute cat-creature some more. Not that that has anything to do with why he's shocked Yato went right in for a killshot.]

I guess we'll have to knock more of these over if we want to lure it out again...

[Leaning up against one of said piles, he sighs heavily and kicks at a random sock lying about. It always sucks to get scolded, especially when he knows he was in the wrong.]

I wasn't aiming for its head, I was aiming for its tail. Bit of a difference there.

[With a nod he pushes off of the clothing mound and turns to face it, giving it a test shove. This one's going to take a bit more effort than the previous one. Maybe if they're lucky they'll catch the catfish in the avalanche.]

Works for me. I need to work out some stress.

[That said, he puts his back into it and shoves hard, making the stack wobble unsteadily. A few more tries has it toppling over with a satisfied grunt. Haha! That's more like it! Take that, you stupid thieving fish!]

[~~NOT THE CUTE FLUFFY TAIL--~~

He lets out another little sigh while he lets Yato have at the clothing towers. As polite and friendly as Heizou can be, he does take his line of work seriously and that tends to rub people the wrong way. It's been a while now since someone's reacted like that to something he's said to them and... Well, it doesn't surprise him, but apparently he has to get used to it all over again.]

Wreak havoc to your heart's content, then.

[And while he does that, Heizou's going to be looking for any other movement among the piles of clothes. He thinks maybe he sees something under the one that Yato's just knocked down and he quickly moves closer to make sure.]

[~~MAYBE IT'S GOOD LUCK! no wait, that's rabbits~~

As he's busy grunting and huffing over shoving yet another pile down to its base, the catfish slips out from beneath the one he'd just knocked over and comes up behind him, seemingly watching with wide, cute eyes. Down goes the towering stack with a cheer from Yato, whooping and cursing the creature.]

Take that, you little twerp! That's what you get for messing with Yatogami!

[As if in response to his posturing, the catfish leaps up, doing a flip to smack him with its tail and send him flying into the expanse of clothing strewn about in front of him with a yelp. It then flops off to hide behind more clothes with a chirrup.]

The hell?!

[~~YATO PLEASE--~~

Heizou on the other hand, perhaps as a treat for not being the one attempting to slice into the catfish's tail, turns just in time to watch the whole thing play out. And really he should say something to Yato, but something tells him that he isn't in any actual danger... So he lets what happens happen. He even watches the catfish scurry off behind another tower with a laugh.]

I think... it might be playing with you, Yato~

[With that he follows after it, keeping his steps light and quick while he attempts to sneak up on it. At least Heizou seems to be having some fun with the situation... Something he's not sure he can say about his divine companion.]

[~~HE'S GONNA TURN IT INTO ONE AT THIS RATE~~

Pushing himself up with a sock hanging from his mouth, Yato spits and sputters as he takes in what just happened. He's being bested by a catfish for fuck's sake! This shouldn't be happening! He's a god, dammit! This thing needs to learn a little respect before the day is through.]

Oh yeah? Well two can play at that game.

[He hauls himself upright with his face a mask of ire, icy blue eyes darting about in search of his opponent. While Heizou is sneaking up on it from behind, he focuses on keeping it occupied by facing the thing head-on. Fingers wriggling with an itch to catch it, they have a showdown, staring one another down. You can practically hear the whistling through the cave.]

Alright, you... You're going down. [Gradually, inch by inch, he starts scooting towards the catfish who merely peers back at him, head slightly tilted to one side with a chirrup noise.]

[~~DON'T DO IT YATO THINK OF THE CHILDREN~~

Heizou is very slow and careful in his approach, also taking things inch by excruciating inch, hands out and ready to catch the little creature the moment it tries to move. He'll let Yato be the one to try to drive it in any given direction, keeping himself primed to sprint into action at an instant's notice.

He also can't help but think about how absolutely adorable and fluffy that big tail is. Honestly he's kind of looking forward to tackling it down just so he can try to cuddle it.]

[~~OKAY, HE'LL THINK OF THE POOR CHILDREN FOR ONCE~~

A wise move on Heizou's part. For Yato can't resist trying to lunge at the creature eventually, diving head-first at it with outstretched arms. The catfish seems to have anticipated his moves, though, and springs lightly up into the air to allow Yato to sail underneath it and into the ground with a crash before it lands softly on his ass sticking up.

This is just getting embarrassing, to say nothing of downright infuriating! Catch the thing, Heizou, please! Avenge him and his honor!!]

[~~GOLD STAR FOR YOU YATO +1 BELIEVER~~

He'd expected Yato to miss, to be perfectly honest. But he hadn't expected Yato to miss like that, and it almost stuns Heizou in place. Almost.

The catfish looks so pleased with itself where it sits that it ends up not actually taking a lot of effort on Heizou's part. It helps that he's practically got the wind on his feet, helping him swoop in quickly and scoop the cute little thing up into his arms. It probably also helps that he's entirely non-threatening in his approach, cheerfully petting it and rubbing under its chin to help keep it more or less calm.]

Gotcha~!

[He keeps a firm grip on the catfish, just in case it does try to squirm out of his hold. As pleased as Heizou is to not have to hurt it, this is still a capture of their culprit so he's not about to let it get away. But he can still glance down at Yato with an amused, teasing look on his face.]

Well done, my dear Yato~! Are you all right?

[~~HURRAY! ANOTHER FOLLOWER!!~~

For his part, Yato is also stunned by the sheer stupidity of his mistake and the ensuing triumphant catfish just parking it on his rear that he lays there for several moments while Heizou snags their prize in his hands. Then Yato's leaping up with a indignant roar, clothes flying everywhere as he does so.

Thankfully it's not enough to scare the catfish, who's taken up snuggling against his supposed captor like they're best buddies and have been for a long while. It's enough to make the god huff in indignant rage that soon mellows out into a disparaging pout. ...okay, the thing is kind of cute, he has to admit. Doesn't make it any less frustrating to deal with, though. Cheeky little twerp.]

Just dandy. Good job catching it, though. Now what do you think we should do with it? This one thing can't be solely responsible for a clothing heist of this proportion. It must've had help.

[Planting a hand on his hip, he eyes the catfish dubiously. If there's more of them, then what? They can't possibly catch them all. Maybe there's one in particular that's the leader of the bunch? Can they even be reasoned with? Ugh! So many questions.]

Should we keep looking around? You could bring that thing with us while we do.

[~~NOW GO GET THAT SHRINE UP AND RUNNING~~

Heizou's grinning a little as the catfish snuggles into him, just barely resisting the urge to bury his face in its fur. He is absolutely going to take this furry fish baby home and let it burrow in his laundry and just laze about his place all day making those cute chirrup sounds--

Wait. Focus.]

Well, ordinarily animals of this size function in large packs... But in a magical dream world, I'd guess that anything is possible. It'd probably be for the best that we keep looking around, just in case. If there are any more of them, maybe our little captive can help us find them.

[He turns to the catfish with a smile, cooing at it affectionately.] Right, little guy~? Have you been up to no good with some buddies all this time~? Shame on you~!

[He's kind of talking to it as if it can understand anything he's saying. Can it be trained, at least? Heizou's kind of willing to see if that's at all possible.]

{ a bit leafy }

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