vatheon | It's a jungle out there

Entry tags:

It's a jungle out there

Who: The escaped animals, a frazzled quadrant leader, and YOU
Where: The Carnival/Amusement Park
When: Friday
Style: Will follow
Status: Open! Help, hinder, take animals home for yourself!

[The animals have escaped! And Hubert is attempting to round them up and get them back. Help him? Don't? Hang out with animals or take them home? It's up to you!]

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[True, true . . . well hopefully, the fact that the ducklings in his arms aren't struggling anymore will help. There are more who look concerned about their brothers and sisters, though, so after a bit of struggling, she picks them up, too.

Luckily Argilla is fairly fast.]

Exactly.

[Well, it's a good thing he realizes it.]

So let's find somewhere safe for them.

... yes. Of course. Thank you for your assistance...

[His pride has still taken a hit over this, so it's not surprising he still has a bit of a kicked puppy look even after the squirming ducklings are taken from him.]

[The "You're welcome" is silent, but implied nonetheless by her nod in between tending to the ducklings. They're far more important right now, anyway, so--]

Would it be unsafe to take them back?

[To the zoo?

She finds herself wondering if there's a reason the animals have broken out, but these little ones couldn't have done it themselves.]

[Right right the task at hand. Best to focus on that.]

Some of the pens have been broken completely, but they're being repaired. We may be able to house them temporarily in one of the ones that is still usable.

[Right, of course. She hasn't seen the state of the zoo herself yet but it makes sense, given the circumstances. Hmm, just how much is left, exactly . . .]

That would probably be best. We should keep an eye out for their mother as well.

[. . . The ducklings' mother, that is. Did they get separated?]

Oh. Yes, yes of course...

[He'd been so flustered he hadn't even thought about the mother.]

[Hubert does look pretty spacey. But since he seems to acknowledge what she just said, Argilla will nod and have one last look around before leading them away from the area. She guesses, of course, though it isn't until after they've been walking for a while that she thinks to make sure.]

This is the right way?

Yes, we're almost there.

[He manages to gesture ahead with a nod of his head. The gates to the carnival area aren't too far off.]

The rest of the animals must have fled further in to the city...

[That's going to be a pain to deal with.]

[When he gestures, she looks ahead to see the gates. The little ducklings hadn't made it too far, then; but she agrees with his assessment about the rest . . .]

It's good that you made an announcement so quickly.

[Not that people wouldn't have noticed, but still. This way, they'd surely be more inclined to help.

They'll need it . . .]

[There are a few still mingling around the gates - slower animals, ones less inclined to run and more likely to nervously mill around until something scares them off.]

I had no choice. I wouldn't have had any way to get them all back on my own.

. . . Was there any warning that anything like this would happen?

[As they approach the gates, she thinks back on his broadcast. It certainly didn't seem that he'd had any idea, but there's no harm in asking whether or not he'd noticed anything strange in hindsight.]

None at all. I was on a break when I saw the first goat wander by. By the time I reached the pens they had already broken out.

Hmm.

[It must have happened pretty quickly, then. Maybe looking around would give them some kind of idea of what happened, though honestly, Argilla only notices the wreckage, and at first glance, there aren't too many clues.]

Well, it's all right. Getting the situation under control will be our priority.

[If there's anything to be figured out, they can do it after that.]

[And nothing that Hubert can immediately see either.]

Yes, of course.

-- did you hear that?

[Somewhere near by, there is some very distressed quacking, and the ducklings seem to be having a reaction to it.]

[. . . More ducks?

Argilla's eyes widen as she scans the area. She definitely heard it, if her reaction is any indication, and even if she hadn't, the ducklings flapping a bit in her arms would certainly tip her off. She does her best to keep them calm as she strays towards the source of the noise.]

It's coming from this direction!

She sounds distressed...

[Which leads Hubert to wondering if she's trapped or injured in some manner. He has no skill with animals, none at all, and he wouldn't know the first thing about tending to a wounded one.

Still he presses onward, worried but alert while searching.]

[The ducklings get more restless as the distressed quacking becomes clearer. It takes another minute or two, maybe even more, since they've both got to fight with the little ones to make sure they don't wander anywhere far to look for their mother themselves--

But then, near the water of a nearby pond, Argilla spots it.

A large duck (at least by comparison), who either saw them coming or heard her children reacting to her.]

Her leg . . .

[She's hobbling over, trying to reach them. And at this point there is no controlling the ducklings anymore; they all jump out of their arms to run to her. But at least that makes the mother stop.]

Oh no...

[Hubert lets his own group go, approaching as slowly and cautiously as he can. Luckily the ducklings also keep the mother from running off in fear, but it's clear by her reactions that she doesn't want anyone near her little brood.]

I believe there is a veterinarian on staff at the park but I'm not entirely sure how we're going to get her there without injuring her further.

Edited 2012-12-17 05:45 (UTC)

[Veterinarian?

. . . Memories stir. Because this is something Argilla feels like she should know, but no concrete definitions form in her mind for the word. She's forced to let it go, even though it nags her; there's simply no time to ponder it, and by context, she knows it's someone who'd be able to help, anyway. That is enough.

Or at least it would be, if they were here . . .

She kneels to get a slightly better look at the ducks -- focusing primarily on the injured mother.]

I may be able to heal her, but I need to transform. It might scare them, but . . .

[She's got to try something--]

[Hubert frowns deeply, but his attention isn't on the mother duck anymore. He scans the area around them, looking for anything that could be of use in this situation.]

Ah-- I have an idea. If we can box them in temporarily, they can't run even if they are afraid.

Seeing as we have no other choice - a wound like that will make her a target for any predator that may have escaped as well.

[He motions to some long, wide seconds of plywood that had been stacked up against a building in need of repairs.]

[Yikes. Honestly, she hadn't even thought about the idea of other predators . . .

Her gaze follows his and when she spots the plywood, she stares for just a moment before nodding. They shouldn't really linger or be indecisive here.]

Let's try it. I'll be right back.

[And she's just going to step away to grab that plywood.]

[There weren't many in the zoo itself, but there was also the issue of the stray felines that seemed to wander the city.]

Alright.

[Hubert nods, but remains, attempting to keep the ducks in the same relative spot.]

[It doesn't take her long. Hubert is doing a good job of keeping the ducks in place, so Argilla starts boxing them in as planned, leaving the plywood within Hubert's reach as well, if he also feels the need to help with that.

. . . They already look scared, and they're probably wondering why they're being caged in once again in such a small space. But Argilla wastes no time--

At first opportunity, the tattoo on her chest glows, and soon, nothing is left of her pink-haired human form. A demon stands in her place.]

[Hubert has seen the demons before, but it doesn't make it any less jarring. He doesn't flinch or anything, but there's something in his gaze that indicates it's still something he needs to get used to.

After a beat he moves closer to the makeshift pen, reaching a hand in slowly to see if he can pet the frightened ducks and try to calm them.]

[Argilla isn't entirely thinking about Hubert and how he might react. She does notice how he flinches -- maybe he's scared -- but she doesn't allow herself to be distracted with the notion for long.

With a grunt, she casts a Diarama spell on the mother duck while Hubert tends to the little ones. It may look familiar to Cheria's healing spells, and with any luck, it'll work just as well --

Even if her magic does feel weaker here.]

It's a jungle out there

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