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 Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 6:49 pm
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The raiding party was heading back towards the Stormborn, as the strangeness in the world seemed to subside the pace got quicker. Unfortunately for Snorre, he had yet to significantly contribute in a way that would land him a share of any of the valuables heading home with them.. in particular, he hadn't caught any thralls and his own damned son had set the bar on that. So while the party worked their way home, Snorre was still looking for opportunities to scavenge something impressive for his wife to hopefully save himself some trouble when he came home.
It wouldn't be enough that he was still alive, though he was sure Creid would appreciate that. He would have to bring back something useful.
Nanna was helpful but her attitude made it clear that she didn't take the venture very seriously. She was scouting ahead with an amused grin on her face, wondering if they could really find anything.
Ivar had noticed the older lion going off on his own more often as they got closer to home and had accidentally acquired an invite into the "mission" as a result of some snooping. He wasn't disinterested exactly, he wasn't coming home with anything but experience.. but he wasn't thrilled, either. So far, most of his suggestions had been to enslave dinner rather than eat it and Snorre never seemed to go for that. |
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 7:05 pm
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"Thank the Gods," Melkofur was so thankful that this stupid outing was almost done. They had seen some freaky s**t, and the passive nature of Snorre had been driving the proud lion insane. How the hell was he supposed to impress his wife with... nothing? Maybe one measly little scar? They hadn't seen much fighting in this outing, so any sort of scar would have to have happened with the brown-maned idiot tripping on himself and falling.
Granted, that same idiot had given Melkofur an idea. The blue male had managed to convince a snake to be his thrall. A debate that had made him feel foolish, but at least he had something. Little trinkets they had gathered up didn't interest him much, even if he needed to pick something from the pile to officially pledge for a paw in marriage.
"Hey. Hey Mel. Hellloooo?" Cad had been trying to get Melkofur's attention for a while now, but he was starting to feel irritated that he was being ignored. Blatant or not, the blonde male wasn't going to ask nicely forever. "HEY!"
Mel blinked twice, his gold eyes staring into Cad's fuchsia ones. "What do you want?" Once they were home, he hoped that he would never have to work with dumb and dumber again.
"Yo, we got a task to do! Get with the program. Stop daydreaming about ladies and let's get to huntin'!" Cad was ready to do whatever the task was, and he had a feeling that with such little time to go, and everyone needing something interesting to take home, they were going to go thrall hunting. And who wouldn't be excited?? "Let's go get us some thralls, dude!"
At least, he hoped lady thralls. Or...not something his mother might take a look at, anyway. |
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 7:19 pm
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Snorre looked back at Cad and Mel as the younger lion practically shouted to get his attention. He was genuinely surprised that Melkofur was interested in the last minute thrall hunting, especially since he already had something.. even if it wasn't necessarily something worthy of becoming a token for marriage. Maybe, to the right lady.. but he wasn't sure about that. Nanna was great but he didn't want to see what would happen if he tried to trade her away. She didn't look venomous but he didn't really know for sure.
"Quiet down, you two," he said, scolding both Mel and Cad on purpose, "You'll scare off the targets."
Ivar stopped to roll his eyes at Snorre joining in the shouting, mostly taking a quiet approach similar to Mel.. and feeling very awkward doing so, since identifying with the older grump was not something either of them seemed to want. He noticed the purposeful avoidance during the trip and he was more than happy to play along.
"We have no targets," Ivar said, "There's nothing out here."
Nanna ignored all the boys and kept checking things out ahead of them. They really were like a herd of elephants coming this way, there wasn't anything hanging out to meet them but that didn't mean they weren't there. She got a sense of something interesting nearby and changed course, finding a burrow in the ground and grinning.
This would be funny.
She slithered into a coil and raised her head up so she was poking out of the grass and she looked back to catch Snorre's eye, letting him know she had found something.
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 7:30 pm
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"I'm sure he's found some glowing bugs again." The blue lion had been convinced that those glowing balls were nothing but bugs. Cad and Snorre had had too much fun playing with them, and Melkofur had left them alone, wishing he had something to drink to blame it on being drunk. As long as those idiots didn't find any mint out here, they'd make it back to the holding in one piece.
Cad tapped his paws once Mel said that. "Oh? Oh those were so fun!" And then he covered his mouth, trying to somehow undo the little yelling he had just done. "Please tell me if you find more Mel, we were so close to getting them to collide!" His voice dropped to a very enthusiastic whispering, not much quieter than his normal speaking voice.
"Shut up," Mel grumbled, keeping his voice quiet as they all stared at the snake. He almost wished he had brought his new companion with him, but he had left it in charge of keeping an eye on what loot had been gathered up so far. Easy work, for a snake to just sleep on it all.
"Awww. Nanna is smart, I bet she could find us more of those things," Cad added on, having to get the last word in against Mel.
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 7:42 pm
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They had been close to getting those strange lights to collide, not that Mel (or the Captain) had been particularly pleased to hear about it. The lights had gone away and nothing terrible had happened (that they were aware of) so Snorre happily moved on. Ivar was quietly disappointed to have missed it.
"Let's go see," Snorre said, glancing at Cad as he walked past the others to meet up with Nanna. Ivar let the snake's master go first and followed quietly behind, shrugging at Mel as he passed. What could she have found that they couldn't see?
"Something is burrowed here," Nanna said in a hushed voice when Snorre arrived, swaying thoughtfully, "It's not like Haldor's dog, but it's something.." She wasn't sure the boys would go for something that burrowed, especially since Ivar's suggestion of making an ungulate a pet had been flatly rejected, but there was nothing else they could catch right here, right now.
Hiding in the hole in the ground, a pair of ratels were listening to the sounds of the approaching lions. They weren't quiet, but they were quieter than they had been before. And they were getting closer, so they must have noticed their little den.. Mbegu was at the back of the den, curled up and just watching the entrance. It was dark but he'd be able to see if a stupid lion put a paw in. Menya was less curious and more eager. She wouldn't pick a fight with a lion unless she had to, but if she had to, she would still enjoy it..
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 8:16 pm
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Cad snuck past Ivar to get close to Snorre, wanting to get the first look at whatever it was Nanna had found. He had grown rather comfortable with Snorre, and hoped that comfort had extended to his thrall-snake.
Mel kept himself towards the back. "Burrowed?" he whispered, his concern growing on his face. He thought it was rather interesting that Nanna had found something, but to attempt to get something un-burrowed seemed like more work than it would be worth. "Are you sure about this?" He didn't want to tell them to stop, but he wasn't about to throw himself in front of whatever it was that Nanna had found.
Cadwgan wanted to speak again, but the sound look that Mel had given him kept his mouth shut. Even if the stupid, boring, stoic male didn't want to see what it was, he did. Cad was going to get whatever this was, and help out Snorre. Why not? Isn't that want viking band-mates...were for?
He shifted to his side as quietly as he could, and tried to dangle the bare edge of his tail tuft towards the front of the hole. They were going to have to flush them out somehow, right... ?
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 8:44 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 9:18 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 9:26 pm
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When Cad didn't pull very hard, Menya released his tail just enough to allow herself to get a better grip and then she started pulling. On the other side, Ivar was shaking his head and Snorre was looking confused.
"Can't you hear it growling!" Ivar said, "It's not a hare, and now it's pissed off."
"Watch it!" Snorre cried when he realized whatever it was had Cad's tail and now pulling back. He instinctively reached a paw out to pin Cad's tail down to the ground and stop it from going anywhere, realizing only once he tried that that particular move was probably just going to make things worse.
"Stormlords, what did your snake find us?" Ivar said, backing away as the two stupidest lions in their group got tangled up in a fight with a hole in the ground. Nanna snickered from her spot off to the side, truly surprised by Cad's methods and wondering just how this would turn out. Inside the den, behind his feisty sister, Mbegu was just staring and trying to make sure of what Menya was trying to accomplish.
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Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 9:49 am
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Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 11:44 am
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Menya was very pleased with herself when she heard the change in tone of the lions, especially the one who appeared to be attached to the tail she had her teeth in. Cad's complaints made Snorre realize his first attempt to help was off and he moved into the only other obvious choice and dropped to the ground, reaching a paw into the hole and trying to get a hold of whatever was attacking. Mbegu was still watching but he was ready to strike, too, and he jumped at his chance to grab Snorre's paw with a snarl of his own.
"AH!" Snorre yelped, "There's another one!"
Ivar looked from the panicking Cad to the foolish Snorre to the laughing Melkofur and finally to the watching snake who had started this all. He grimaced, guessing correctly that she had known exactly what kind of den she led them to and wondering if he should just enjoy the show like her or be upset that a thrall had tricked them.
... well, she wasn't his thrall and unless whatever it was was rabid, so far this was just.. less organized than most raids. He decided to reserve judgement and see how this played out.
Nanna caught Ivar's glance at her and snickered again. She was almost impressed that Snorre cared enough about helping Cad, who inarguably got himself into the mess he was in by putting his tail into someone else's home, even if she wasn't sure about his decision to put his paw into it. And she was surprised when he managed to pull one of the ratels out of the hole.
"A-ha!" Snorre said, pulling his leg out from the ground and bringing with him a very angry purple badger, "Hey!" He realized all at once what they were dealing with and desperately shook his leg, trying to free it from Mbegu's grasp. Fortunately for Cad, when Mbegu was pulled out of the burrow, Menya released the tail she had a hold of and came barreling out to rescue her brother. And fortunately for Snorre, Menya coming out was enough to make him give up fighting with Snorre's paw..
But now the party was dealing with two angry ratels.
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Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 12:20 pm
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"My tail!"
Cad rescued his tail from the hole, pulling it up to see that he was only missing a bit of the fur tuft, and it would grow back anyway. His actual tail on the other hand was throbbing a bit from the tugging back and forth, and he quickly tucked his precious tail against him as he looked to the two ratels before them, clearly unhappy.
"So now what?" Mel asked, trying to mask the fact that he had just been laughing. This entire thing was hilarious, and it would be a jovial story to share over drinks with his future band of reavers. A true memory to relish; idiots using their tails and paws as bait against ratels.
"I don't know! Is this what we really want to take back?" he asked incredulously, staring at Snorre. What were they supposed to do with ratels? What sort of work could they be good at.... protecting dens?
"Bribe them," Mel said with a shrug. It worked with his snake; why not hungry ratels? "Or just knock them out so we can get moving."
"Right, like it is that easy to get around those teeth," Cad whined.
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Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 12:42 pm
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Bribe them. Or just knock them out.
Menya hissed as the lions boldly started discussing what to do with them. She didn't know what was going on exactly, lions didn't eat badgers and what they could possibly be bribed for was a mystery but just being talked around was enough to put her charging at Snorre and Cadwgan. Snorre wisely backed up as the small, angry beast came at him and she thankfully didn't really chase them. Mbegu was glaring and growling quietly but taking a much less active approach.
Nanna stopped laughing to herself and watched with an amused smile. The first half of the plan had gone smoothly, that was very entertaining.. now she would see if the boys could charm a couple of angry ratels into joining them. They had two lions who convinced snakes to play along, they were off to a rocky start with these two but it was still possible.
"Uh, um, ehh.."
Snorre had no idea if they really wanted ratels but now was their chance. He wasn't eager to get close to them but he wasn't eager to give up, either. This would be a way worse story if they were chased off by such small things, especially with Melkofur watching.. so he had no choice but to fight back.
"You- You're coming with us," he said, sounding more uncertain than commanding.
Ivar sighed deeply from his spot the audience. This.. was probably what he should have expected when he was dragged into this little thrall-hunting adventure by the laziest lion and the dumbest lion he knew. Of course after using Cad's tail for bait and dragging them out by their own teeth in your paw, talking to them was going to win them over.
Nanna slithered around so she could get a better look at Menya and Mbegu, catching their eyes and smirking at them.
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Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:24 pm
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Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 2:00 pm
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"Yeah, that's right!" Snorre exclaimed, suddenly sounding enthusiastic as he actually followed Cad's lead, "That was great- you guys- you're very- uh.. bitey.."
Nanna and Ivar both laughed aloud at Snorre's very bad attempt to follow-up Cad's weak but OK attempt at flattering their ratels into submission. Menya and Mbegu exchanged another look, both had noticed the snake's amused presence and now things were taking an even stranger turn.. Mbegu stopped growling and looked confused while Menya kept a low rumble and gave them all a skeptical look.
"We're recruiting!" Snorre said, as if he just remembered the word.
Ivar stopped laughing and started shaking his head, trying to think back to if there were any ratels back home and coming up with no examples. Somehow, despite being the most flower-blooded lion here, Snorre was the one who had a wife, had children and had a snake for a thrall.. and he wasn't the only one with a snake but maybe he and Cad were about to become the only ones with ratels. And as dumb as Snorre and Cadwgan had been in all of this, he could see the brightly colored little bastards intimidating even some of the hardest Stormborn.
"You'd make quite the impression back home," Ivar said, surprising himself with the decision to help out, "They're not too bright, sticking body parts into random holes in the ground like that, but they know how to take care of their pets."
Menya was hard to read until Ivar implied they would be pets, when she frowned.. but Nanna caught her gaze again and smiled. She looked back to her brother and raised an eyebrow. Being called a pet was one thing but being haggled with instead of physically coerced said a lot.. but what a ridiculous thing! Come barging into their home and then try to completely rearrange their lives!
With a huff, Menya didn't say anything but instead turned back to her burrow and went back underground. Mbegu was left standing there, staring up at them all, making a face.
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