songerein | second shot ⊗ open november log

Entry tags:

second shot ⊗ open november log

Who: Anyone!
Which: Open November Log
Where: Various locations in and out of town
What: A general open log with prompts that all feature dogs because I somehow could: helping chase squirrels away from the treehouses; assisting the farmers in orchards and herding; special "save Eustace from corgis quest" featuring Alice
Warnings: None

⊗ a: chasing treehouse squirrels

[The squirrels are certainly a menace for everyone living in the treehouses, and Eustace is no exception. He's been tempted to actually shoot them at this point, they've been such a disruption to his otherwise peaceful, quiet home. But they're not the only problem.

Barks and the sound of thundering paws can be heard all through the community as the fairy dogs Eustace had brought in previous start chasing the squirrels. On the one hand, they do help in driving them out. On the other hand...they are puppies and thus chaos will assuredly ensue.]

Dahlia, watch it!

[Eustace can only try and warn the young pup before she rushes up the stairs of someone's home and tries to jump at a squirrel that was taunting her. Not only will she probably surprise anyone who might be around, but she bumps into one of the tender fruits hanging from it. While it won't explode, it does threaten to fall so some quick action may be needed to either stop it or catch it without making it burst.

The other pups aren't that much better, barking and running up and down the trees, sometimes entering in homes with open doors. Yep this will be...quite the scene unless the pups are caught. They're fast little buggers, too.

Side note, the fairy dogs have names that match the flowers blossoming on their back for easier identification (from oldest to youngest): Dahlia (female), Edelweiss (Del for short; male), Iris (female), Valerian (male). They all have other flowers blooming on their coats, but those particular flowers stand out the most. The mother is named Rose.

Anyway, have fun with chaotic pups and squirrels with a side of exploding fruit.]

⊗ b: farm help

[Out on the farms, Eustace can be found in several places doing a variety of chores.

1. Clearing out pests. Out in the orchards, Eustace takes the opportunity to try and develop his abilities while dealing some of the pests...in this current situation, a mix between horned rabbits and giant insects. Although he will kill if he must, he will try to drive them away first.

Focusing on his keeping a steady and calm mind, he feels the air around him, the wind a stalwart breeze. Tapping into it, he tries to put in a bit more control and...woosh! A strong gust forms and blows away some of the large flies that were hovering around a tree.]

...A bit weak, but better than expected.

[Continuing with the calm mindset, he then focuses on the ground. He's used to creating mental and emotional walls, what about physical ones? In an attempt to trap a rabbit, he tries to raise the ground...but only succeeds in creating a small bump and just scaring it away instead.]

Hm... Practice is needed, but it's getting somewhere.

[2. Herding Livestock. With some trained farm dogs, Eustace joins a group in attempting to herd some captured Cotton Candy Sheep and fairy cows back to their corral. Of course Eustace really had just wanted to watch the dogs in action from afar...but he needs to work and this would be a good opportunity to learn some tips to help train those pesky pups. So with an experienced hound in tow and the basics in mind, he heads out. Of course it won't be easy, and a young sheep or cow will manage to slip out of the herd and run right towards another person.]

Hey, stop it before it gets too far!

[Or, you know, run over the person instead.]

⊗ c: special edition - fairy corgis (rescue eustace)

[A while back, Eustace and Alice had discovered a tree out in the forest of the Wildlands that looked like it had an entrance. They recently returned and when inspecting the tree Eustace picks up some sounds inside. Dog sounds. So perhaps against better judgment he tells Alice he's going in and when he does, a large group of corgis runs up to the door barking at them, but not stepping out. As if following some kind of impulse, Eustace is suddenly drawn in and steps inside despite Alice's warning. The corgis immediately surround him and are clearly distressed. After that, Eustace refuses to leave. Of course this could be something due to his love for dogs, but his behavior is more like someone under a trance. And now after Alice calls for help, it's up to everyone else to try and convince him to leave.

1. Warning Shot. Upon entering the clearing surrounding the tree, a bolt of lightning will suddenly strike the ground just inches before them. Looking up, they will find Eustace glaring down at them before aiming his gun at them, electricity crackling around the barrel.]

Leave. That was your only warning.

[Anyone is free to try and fight back, but Eustace will remain up in the tree and will never set foot outside of it. It's actually bad if he does, but...well, better to try and see what happens.

2. Memory Loss. It will become immediately clear that Eustace has no memory of his own life or about Songerein. But a "little bird" will appear and give a helpful hint: Eustace needs to recover his memories and he will be able to leave. Talking to him and trying to remind him of either something from his personal life or just Songerein will help as he won't even remember the dream world they are currently in, believing they are somewhere else. Finding a certain flower and making Eustace drink the nectar will also help clear his mind.

3. Beware the Corgis. It should be noted that Alice is the "gateway" to let people inside as she's currently the only one Eustace and the corgis "trust." So it can be assumed those who enter the house got approved by Alice. A group of seven corgis from old to adolescent will immediately "greet" and be wary, grumbling at the "visitor." They look like Pembroke corgis, but are unique with their leafy neck floofs. The interior of the tree itself is larger on the inside than the outside with a large open floor concept like a rustic cottage. There are spiral stairs that lead up to the second floor where a small bedroom and further up leads the various perches Eustace positions himself. The corgis will guard the bottom of the stairs and they are fierce. They may be short and long flufflebutts but they are heavy and can body slam anyone to the ground and know how to bite. Nipping ankles will be common.

The corgis will be very protective of Eustace and will not let him leave. Should anyone try to shove him out, bad things will happen and the corgis will freak out. Finally, should anyone try to harm the corgis, not only will they feel the wrath of Eustace and get shot with lightning, they will also be forcibly flung out of the tree and land far away deep in the forest. The corgis cannot leave, and will resist any attempts. They will also be stopped as if there is an invisible barrier.

4. Endear to the Corgis. It is possible to gain their trust, though it will be difficult. The corgis are distressed and while there appears to be a good stock of fresh food and they are not malnourished, they look as if they haven't seen a brush in months, perhaps years. Who knows when they last had a bath. So much hair everywhere... Finding the treat box might get their attention and a good brushing session to rid them of dust, old leaves on their neck floods, and excess hair will do wonders to calm them. Tidying up the place in general will help improve the mood as well. This may also help loosen the enchantment on Eustace, who will be watching and assisting, moving about as if he's always lived there.

Alice also has a toplevel that features other relevant tasks for this endeavor that also provides clues as to what the heck is going on. There is a sad story behind all this.]

⊗ d: wildcard

[Always up for anything else! Feel free to hit me up on discord or on

laenavesse for any other plotting.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He just frowns at her.]

She's the only one outside of the dogs that I at least know the name of and I am assuming she's not part of... Whatever is going on.

[A small frustrated sigh.]

I still don't know if I can fully trust you, but I will concede that my memories have been tampered. How long have I been this way?

[At least he's finally accepted the possibility that things are not what he thought and listening.]

[She's heard those words before too—him questioning his trust in her. She should know better, but once again, there's that familiar pang of doubt twisting in her gut, wondering again if he really does fully trust her the way she trusts him.

If this were Avalon, she would have no second guesses now, but here, they're weaving a completely different story. One that does make Tifa wonder...

Still, she doesn't allow that to waver her on the outside, her stance and expression still as convicted and sure as ever. If she falters and he sees those reservations, then what good will any of her answers be to him?]

Not sure. Alice sent out the call for help not long before I got here. Couple hours, maybe?

A few hours... But it feels as if I've been here for longer even if I can't remember specifics.

[A small sigh as he looks at Tifa. The corgis have either been resting or shuffling around them, and they don't see Tifa as a threat. Even if now has to doubt his relationship with them, he knows he can trust them.]

Then how long have we known each other?

[With how determined and desperate she had seemed to be earlier he can only guess they must be fairly close?]

[She sighs, her brows furrowing together with worry. A tiny part of her now fears that this is how it's going to be—that his memories are gone, and that they will have to start over from square one all over again. Sure, there are some memories with him that she'd rather not remember, but they are still a part of both of them, whether they like it or not, and she... wants them back...

It really shouldn't bother her this much... He was just a good friend, if that, and that was all, but she's having a hard time not being upset by all this.]

A few months. For as long as we've both been here.

[She leaves it at that, choosing to exclude those extra months in Avalon before she came to Reverein.]

Only a few months? [A small arch of the brow.] We must have gotten along well for you to be desperate enough to fight me earlier.

[That had been something that's been bothering him—how much effort this woman took to try and literally knock sense to him. Not only in fighting him, but her expressions at the time, those tears... Why had she been so upset?

Did they have a close relationship?

Or was she just that sensitive about things?]

Something like that.

[Did they get along well? It's hard to tell, looking back. The last time they met left much to be desired, and she hadn't seen him since for a good reason, but even before that... It had mostly just been small encounters in the town or coming and going from their homes. She'd brought him food a few times as well, but she had made it a habit to do for a lot of the people she's met here, so she wouldn't think of it as being anything special.

...

....

Sure, they had gotten along, but were they close?

Perhaps for her, yes.]

I just want to help. You can't stay here forever.

...Hm.

[Just a small of acknowledgment as he looks at her for another moment before a low whine reaches him. Looking down at the corgi at his feet, his face crumples for a moment before he rubs his brow.

Stay here forever...

He feels a very strong pull towards that notion, that the idea wouldn't be the worst thing, really. That it might actually be needed. But he shakes that thought away, now realizing it's not wholly his own.]

...For now I need to take care of them. Maybe my head will clear if I fulfill my tasks and not have them hanging over my shoulder.

What tasks?

[Her question comes almost immediately, and much more eagerly than she'd meant it to.]

... Maybe I can help.

[If it means just taking care of the dogs, then how bad can it be? Besides, she had a part in making a complete mess of the house, so the least she can do is help him clean it up, but if there's more to be done, she can stick around... if it means that it will help him.]

[He first looks at her warily, but he forces himself to push away that initial wave of distrust. She's only trying to help, and if what she says is true, then he shouldn't be so cold towards her. He still comes off awkward, however, as he glances away and starts moving deeper into the room.]

Let's clean up here first... Then downstairs. I need to check their food and water, and then brush them out.

[He frowns as he runs a hand through their leafy floof, withered leaves and barbs pulling away along with loose hair.]

It really has been a while...

[They at least look healthy and not starving, but how long have they been like this?]

[She's still careful around him, her shoulders only just barely tensing on the outside when he moves through the room, her gaze falling to the gun in his holster, but not missing the way his own eyes remain wary on her. It's hard to let herself completely relax, even before when she would be around him in Reverein, with his memories... let alone without. At any moment, anything in this room could trigger something and turn it all upside-down again, so she'll keep herself at a respectable distance.

Tifa looks down at one of the dogs, wondering if they'll let her reach down to comb through the leaves.]

Have they told you how long?

[She realizes only after she says it that it had been a minor slip—that her mind had automatically assumed that he was the same as the Eustace in Camelot, who could speak to and understand animals, and she turns around, waving a dismissive hand.]

Uh, I mean, does anyone know how long it's been?

[A while is what she can assume, just by looking at the place.]

[Fortunately for her, Eustace just thinks she's assuming he can talk to them due to nature of this place and how close he seems to be with them. So there's somewhat of a forlorn smile as he ruffles the ears of the one that continues to follow closely next to him.]

Unfortunately no, thought it would be nice if I knew what they were saying.

[Maybe they could give him the answers they needed, to tell them what's really going on.

And why they were left alone.

At least that much he's sure of.]

But from the look of things, I'd say too long.

[There's that small glimpse of the Eustace she does know, in the way he looks at the dogs and ruffles their ears. He's still in there, somewhere.

Tifa picks up the chairs that they'd knocked to the ground, sliding them back into their rightful place along with the table before she's moving on to the wall, where a picture had fallen onto the cabinet beneath it.]

The place is filthy, too.

[Her nose wrinkles when a cloud of dust blows back in her face when she tries to wipe the frame clean.]

Could be that they just want you to clean up.

[She's kidding, mostly, but... it's not out of the realm of possibility either.]

[At the very least, his love for dogs has definitely not changed. But he has calmed a fair bit compared to how he was before, so that should help things.

And although she might have been joking, Eustace purses his lips as he considers it.]

...It's possible. If it's only been the dogs, then no one would have been able to take care of things here...

[His voice drifts when he looks back at her and then at the picture before he walks over.]

Wait, what's that photo of?

[Because of the dust it's a bit obscure, when it's cleaned it will reveal a man not much older than Eustace and some of the corgis gathered around him.]

[Tifa scrubs it clean with the back of her hand for them to get a better look at the photo before she offers it to him. A man, and what she can only assume are his dogs. The one who had been here before? An unsettling feeling turns the pit of her stomach when she remembers that pile of bones at the foot of the tree, and she swallows, hard, before peering up at Eustace with a hopeful glint in her otherwise firm expression.

Maybe this will trigger something in him...?

Gently, she prods a little more.]

Do you know him?

[He frowns before he feels something zap through his mind. Something tries to surface, but in the end he can only shake it off.]

Personally...no. But I believe he's the one who was here before.

[She tries not to let her disappointment show, and she only hums in response at first before she's hanging the picture back up on its hook and straightening it.]

Wonder what happened to him...

[Would someone just up and leave all their dogs willingly? Or maybe he had been enchanted the same way that Eustace had, and then tried... to leave... She has no idea, but she's almost too afraid to run away with that thought, so she finds something else to occupy herself with—a shelf with several of its dusty books knocked to the floor that she starts to reshelve and organize.

Time for some more questions.]

How'd you find this place anyway?

[He's straightening a few things on the dresser, hands slow as he looks over the items. He both recognizes them and doesn't at the same time, knowing what they are but feeling a strange distance towards them. As if he just knows of them but not whatever importance they should hold. There were also someone's personal belongings—watch, bookmark, what looks to be a talisman or crest of sorts. Picking it up makes his head ring again, but then he looks up at Tifa's question.]

...Found this place...

[Right, he doesn't actually belong here despite what he initially believed. He had to come from the outside. Then...how...

He winces as a memory surfaces, but he forces it out.]

...Alice. I was...with Alice and we had...come to this tree before.

[He tried to remember more but that much was already pushing against the spell still over him so he has to grip the table as he catches his breath.]

Hmm.

[There's... something.

When he collapses slightly over the table, his breath quickening, Tifa rushes over to him, finally putting a very tentative hand on his arm. She doesn't want him to suffer through this, but how else is she supposed to break this spell? Whatever else she'd been trying to do, and dancing around the subject wasn't working, but the more direct questions... seem to...

Her fingers grip a little tighter, if he'll let her.]

And Alice... [There's something heavier in her voice again when she says her name, but she shakes it off.] You two know each other, yeah? She's a friend? How do you know her?

...Hm...

[Although he stiffens at her touch and he looks sharply at her, he doesn't push her away. If anything, there's something strangely familiar with her touch, if also...strange. Perhaps it's because some part of him recognizes her as someone he's supposed to know.]

No...not exactly... We... [What were they doing? Something... Something...] Foxes?

[It's the first thing that comes to mind and he frowns as he feels another sting, but if he chases it he might get another answer—]

Foxes...we found foxes... And followed them... Something...a bag?

[Follow the foxes, Eustace. Follow the foxes.

When he shoots her that sharp glance, and she feels him tense, her hand lingers for a few moments before she slowly withdraws, pressing it to her chest instead. She looks at him hopefully, and then leans against the table, anchoring on her hands so that she can look across at him.]

There was a bag? Was there something in it?

Yes...

[His voice drifts as if lost in thought before he frowns and suddenly dashes down the stairs, taking them two at a time before jumping down the last few. The corgis bark and follow, their floofy butts bouncing as they bound down.

At the bottom of the tree, Eustace looks through the main room. Where did he... Ah.

He opens it and waits for Tifa to join him before he holds up a rag and bottled fluid.]

This—it's used to clean guns. This and some other things were in there.

[And now that he's holding the items, he feels something from them. A strong draw that makes him wince as he shoves it back in the bag.]

Don't touch it, I think it's related to whatever's going on.

Eustace...!?

[When he takes off, all Tifa can do for a moment is watch him disappear down the stairs, dumbfounded by the sudden change, and she chases after him, catching up easily as she follows suit, taking each one a couple at a time. She skids to a halt next to him, watching him while his gaze flits about the room.

And when he grabs the bag, she comes up in front of him to examine its contents. A rag and some fluid...? She lifts a hand, fingers almost touching the bottle before he's sliding them back into the bag with a warning. Those look like something he might carry on him for his own gun, so why...?]

Are those yours then?

[Or were they some kind of lure placed there for him? Are the dogs even that smart?]

Yes.... No.

[He shakes his head to clear his mind before he stares back down into the contents of the bag.]

It used to belong to someone else, most likely the person who used to be here before me. However we didn't know at the time... I had taken it as it would have been waste to leave it, but...

[Was it cursed?? If so it's not the worst one since he's surrounded by adorable, floofy corgis despite the memory loss, but... No, that's not right, either.]

...We had followed the foxes...to this tree and found—

[There's another hard, painful ring in his head as he presses his hand to his temple, wincing as the image of the remains outside suddenly come to mind.]

[She thinks she knows, but she wants him to figure it all out on his own.]

Found what? The dogs, or something else?

[Tifa wonders, briefly, if taking him to have a look at the outside of the tree would be a good idea. He doesn't seem to be doing too well handling the small pieces falling into place, and the remains outside feel like something much, much bigger. Not sure she wants to deal with the Vitty situation again. She's fresh out of lilies and nectar, and that stupid owl is nowhere to be found.]

...Something else...

[There's another flash of pain as he thinks of the photo they found upstairs before a skeleton's head overlaps with the face on the photo. For a brief moment the mouth moves, as if trying to say or warn something before he staggers, breathing deeply.

Slowly he raises his eyes towards the door. Fear suddenly grips him, but he doesn't know why. He's just...always avoided it. Even the dogs seem afraid of the door, but they were so desperate when he first saw them—

Eh? When he first saw them?

Without saying anything, Eustace slowly walks towards the door. However he's suddenly stopped when one of the corgis runs in front, barking at him while another tugs at his pants to try and pull him back.]

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