songerein | { a bit leafy }

A BIT LEAFY

More details on everything can be found here.

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

[Oh, he won't actually quit either. He's just griping about it because he's in a foul mood from all this repetetive work. He's too proud and too stubborn to actually give up before he's finished the job.]

The trick is to scare them badly enough that they don't return afterwards. The scarecrows would normaly work for they are a permanent fixture.

That makes it sound so easy...scaring a bunch of birds shouldn't be too hard.

[Back home, even little kids can drive off a bunch of pigeons just by running at them. She waves her arms at a few crows that have landed nearby, causing them to take flight only to land again, a short distance away.]

Do you think there's something about the scarecrows that they find like, particularly scary? Some kind of specific bird fear or something?

Crows and ravens are inteligent creatures, it makes it harder to chase them away indefinetly.

[Pigeons are not the brightest birds around, they'll let you chase them away without much trouble. Crows will test your vigilance and take advantage of your weaknessess if you let them. If they'd figured out she was not a real threat they wouldn't let her chase them off.]

It might be that they managed to give one of them a good scare once upon a time, creeping up on the unnoticed before jumping out at them. Crows talk to eachother about what is a danger or not, so if one of them have told another that the scarecrows should be avoided they'll listen to their friends wether they have had a scare themselves or not.

Huh. I never knew they were smart. Since they have like, teeny little bird brains, I always thought...well...

[She somehow feels sort of bad saying she thought they were stupid, especially since the ones here seem so unintimidated by her.]

And they even warn each other about stuff that's scary or dangerous, too...I guess it makes sense that all these different crows have figured out I'm not gonna hurt them. Kinda makes the whole job harder, though.

No, they're actually pretty clever.

[He nods his head with a pained smile.]

They're also pretty good at remembering faces.

So they can tell eachother that I'm not dangerous and they'll all remember it...

[She sighs and the air around her turns just a little colder. This is starting to get a little discouraging.]

I wonder if it's possible to change their minds. How can I make myself seem dangerous to a crow...?

That is so, they are very social birds.

[Maedhros gives her an apologetic shrug.]

It is, just as long as you are carefull about it for it is not fun to earn their ire either. If they dislike you enough they can start to fight back and teach others to follow their lead... and crows can hold a grudge for years. As to how you do it... taking them by surprise is best, you can't let them see you creeping up on them.

So I've gotta be sneaky...Who knew that scaring away birds needed so much strategy? I gotta scare them super bad but I have to do it in such a way that they don't get mad at me.

[She walks around a little, watching some of the crows as they go about their business as she tries to think of some way to proceed. She frowns, just a bit frustrated.]

I bet if I had a handle on Dreamotion, this would be a total breeze.

That and you need to be persistent. Scare them once and they'll come back when things seem to have calmed down again, you need to make them associate this place with danger. Make them see it as a place not worth coming back to.

[Which was what the scarecrows had been for before they decided to go on strike. A permanent reminder for the crows that this was a place to be avoided.]

Maybe. If my brother was here he might have been able to just bargain with them instead.

Bargain? Like, he can talk to birds or something?

[She can only imagine how much easier being able to talk with them would make this.]

Speaking of bargaining, I kinda wonder if bargaining with the scarecrows might be easier. There's so much more to this than I thought. Maybe it would be better to get the experts back on this...

He could talk to all sorts of animals.

[And most birds were particularly fond of elves, which made them easier to talk to in general.]

It might be, do you have any idea what they might want?

That's like, amazing. I bet that kind of thing must be all kinds of useful.

[She sighs, looking at a scarecrow in the distance that's wandered off to hassle some of the farm workers.]

Not a clue. Honestly, before now I never thought a scarecrow could want anything. I didn't think a scarecrow could want.

It was, at times. Less so when he was young and tended to bring all his new friends home with him...

[Like the bear cub he'd stashed in Maedhros's room in Valinor.]

I don't know either. A normal scarecrow likely want's nothing, but these seem to be somewhat sentient... so they might want what all sentient workers want, perhaps? Fair compensation and reasonable work hours?

I'm guessing it wasn't as fun as it sounds...

[Pauline laughs, just a little. She likes most animals well enough, but she can only imagine how chaotic a home suddenly full of wild animals might have been.]

I guess that makes sense. I mean, I've only been trying to keep the crows away for a couple hours and I'm already like, totally over it. I can't imagine doing it everyday for nothing...

[Well, she can, but that's more of a personal problem.]

I wonder if I should trying bringing it up to the farmers, then?

It was, at times... at others it could present certain problems.

[Not all animals were compatible with indoor living, no matter how much his little brother had wanted it to be so.]

Understandable. Work like this can be exhausting under the best of circumstances, which these admitedly are not.

We might try, if you wish. I do have some experience in these kinds of negotiations.

[Pauline's expression brightens up a little bit. How lucky to have run into someone with experience!]

That's perfect! ...Though, the scarecrows aren't exactly like, talkative? So I guess we might have to just sort of guess at any conditions they might want before we try to get into any talks about it.

{ a bit leafy }

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