Late afternoon slides into evening, shadows eliding into gathering darkness like vowels strung together in Dielle's Southern speech. Gisa gathered up those folks that she could find at the Freehold's hollow, tugging them along after her into the Hedge. Well, more like she said 'I am going to get the fruits, we should gather them, please come with me so as to lessen the likelihood that you will find my corpse later or perhaps never find it as the Hedge is hungry.'
This may be Golem Humor (tm). It may be! You never know.
In any case, it's not quite daytime but not really the depths of night -- the lovely period called 'the gloaming,' the long hours in late spring and early summer of long shadows but still light. The Spring air carries pollem about -- some of it actually visible, floating like great distant balloons, far up in the air.
Alonso's horse looks like a proper andalusian, save that its sable coat is struck through with bright ribbons of red, particularly its mane and tail. Its eyes are pure red, and seem to glow when they catch the low light of the evening. The Spaniard and horse operate as one unit, it seems. The reins more of an afterthought in one of his gloved hands as his knees do most of the work. His ridiculously large hat, floppy brim, one side turned up for ranged work, still insists on shading the darkling's eyes. Even now, in the low light. All that can really be seen under there is the sparking energy of his eyes, a telltale sign of his multiple kiths and his Entitlement all in one go. His horse clops quietly along the path with the rider rolling his hips such that his head is mostly motionless. Like an owl at roost, or nearly so.
Dielle is also in the hedge. She's wearing hiking boots, jeans, and a shirt, along with her cowboy hat. There's also a gun, just in case, and a backpack. No horse. Although, she is eyeing Alonso's horse in a way that's not entirely comfortable. Like there's some kind of vestige of Beast left that's thinking Wrong Thoughts. But she makes a face at her own thought processes and waves at Alonso. She doesn't yell out. She apparently has /some/ horse sense.
Lulu was probably not so much volunteering as gleefully fluttering after Gisa, to her doom or adventure she's gleeful either way. Thankfully she'd been dressed for the weather and so was dressed for the trip. Pants with many pockets and a camoflauge rain-slicker over a Tshirt. It slims the normally floofy moth down into something far more practical and less noticable. Her movements are stll airy and she seems to be sticking fairly close to Gisa though the glowing equine does draw the moth's matte black eyes once or twice.
It is worth adding that there's a raptor perch on Alonso's saddle, one presently occupied by a rather large Iberian eagle, of all things. It has darker feathers than it might otherwise, and watches its surroundings intently. When not preening itself.
Cian followed, without a grumble or a quip. Just followed. The Wisp sort of floating after them, his footsteps leaving the telltale black fungus and mold behind. He's dressed in simple garb, plain boots, black-faded-to-charcoal jeans, a heavy pea-coat covers it all and keeps him mostly concealed. Hands stuffed into his pockets for the most part, and then out, and then in, and then out and back again. He can't decide where to put his hands it seems. Falling in with the moth and the horse he generally keeps his gaze away from the glowing.
Alonso rolls out of the saddle quite gracefully and drops to the ground with barely a sound. He gives his horse's neck a pat, then pulls free his bow from his saddle bag, bending it about his calf to aid in stringing it back up again. He tests the pull a few times, dips the brim of his hat to the others respectfully, and gives the old cloak a spin as he turns back about to begin stalking off in search of hedgefruits. Or trouble. Possibly both. As he reaches the edge of the shadows, a gust of wind lifts up from the ground, swirling about him and rustling at his clothes and cloak. It even buffets the brim of his hat which remains quite stubbornly in place.
Lulu continues to traipse along with the group, careful to stay on the path but otherwise she's probably best kept with the group as the little Beast seems fairly 'flighty'. At least she seems to be alert and agile. The petite moth's mantle swirls little shivers of iridescent moth dust to be caught up on a warm Autumn breeze, the occasional shadows of moths in moonlight casting across her hair like a halo.
The golem moves carefully through the Hedge, and she tips her head toward Dielle. "I do not know the best fruits to look for, for healing, in this climate. Or any special fruits. What should we look for?" Her gaze flickers to Lulu, to Alonso -- and then to Cian. For those who spend a fair amount of time around Gisa, that might be an unnerving thing. The flames in her eyes have never moved or seemed to focus before. "If we were in the desert, I could show you where to find Judas Yew Berries. Useful, but dangerous. But they do not grow here."
It is entirely possible that something is following the group -- there's a tang of ... something... in the air. Odd, almost like mint on top of must.
Dielle glances over at Gisa and smiles. "I have less than /no/ clue. Ain't studied hedgefruit at all. I don't know what we're looking for at all. I'm kinda here in case the plants try to eat anyone." She sniffs at the air. "What's that smell?"
Cian pushes past a few of them, mostly to get ahead of the bright horse and save his eyes that are far better suited to dimmer situations. He flashes Gisa a charming smile eventually, pushing that blonde wheat mane backwards, "Healing fruits are kind of the only ones I recognize, honestly." He shrugs at his admitance even as he goes to scrounge up a couple of those puppies himself, following the trails while sticking close to the group as he can. He's not dumb.
Alonso sifts through the tall grasses and mosses through which he's advancing, brushing them aside at each forward step with the outstep of his boots. He pauses after several paces off the trod and crouches down slowly. Carefully. When he rises again, he's carrying a stalk with a bulb hanging from the end, clotted with soil yet. He rubs it clean with a thumb and holds it to his nose for a deep whiff, then bobs his head in approval, tucking it back in his hip pouch. "Brumebulb, here." He notes to the others, turning his heel near the spot to mark it for their use. He's more concerned by that scent on the wind. He advances away from the group several paces, aiming himself in the direction of the breeze that carries the scent. "Could be trenchmint nearby." He doesn't sound very sure of that guess, however.
"Hmm. What does brumebulb do? That one I do not know." Gisa moves carefully and lightly through the Hedge, her feet soft on the dirt. She follows after Alonso, checking the top of the fruit that he heads for, and then she reaches for the same stalk, and pulls up another. "Hmm. Well. Here is another one, whatever it is that they do." She passes it to Alonso, since he's the guy with the horse, he can carry the fruit. Right?
She's here to adventure; but along with Lulu's presence come certain inevitable truths. First, Lulu is a fairly lucky thing. Fickle as luck may be. Second is that Lulu is a moth and moths have a dangerously enthusiastic approach for things they find exciting. "Oo, lookee..." Is about the warning that everyone gets before Lulu pauses to step to the far side of the path and reach with long fingered hands towards what she is pretty sure is a Bloodapple.
What is worse for a bug than a bigger, nastier bug?
Two, bigger, nastier bugs.
As Lulu reaches out for what she's pretty sure is a Bloodapple, she spots -- a little too late -- the fangs sunk deep into that delectable fruit, the legs wrapped around the stem.
There's a rustling to the left of Lulu, and another set of legs... and more legs... and even more legs... comes rustling out, attached to a long, sleek, centipede, its carapace the color of oil, stinking of half-rotten mint (it probably has been eating Trenchmint).
These paired centipedes, each about as big around as a corgi's chest, rear up, chittering, and dive at Lulu.
Alonso snaps about when the centipedes rear up out of the grasses. He might shout a warning to Lulu, but his immediate instinct is to snap fire two quick shots with his bow. He pulls the string back to his jaw, causing a bolt of electricity to begin arcing between string and bow where an arrow should be. He releases the first shot which splits the darkness, lighting the clearing up like noon day, if only briefly. It cracks into the carapace of the first creature with a concussion of sound and energy. It's followed by a second bolt, splitting the air on Lulu's opposite side, slamming into the other creature much the same. Both of the giant insects reel from the blasts, but they're still coming. This surprises the Spaniard, it seems, as he's caught flat footed for a split second before he takes off running towards the creatures directly. And boy howdy is that fella quick.
Cian is a lover not a fighter, or at least that's what he'd have you believe. Especially with the way that dagger comes out and skids across the outer shell of the big ugly bug. It's an unsatisfying moment, but the thief isn't letting it discourage him from squaring up with the thing. "C'mon big ugly," he taunts it, because why not?
Dielle draws her gun fast. Very, very fast. She's like...fast with that gun. And she immediately points it at one of the nasty bugs (as opposed to Rorschach or Grillo, who are Awesome Bugs) and shoots it! To her surprise, it gets shot, it doesn't plink off! It's not down yet. But it's not a happy bug.
Lulu's reaction to danger is to floof, her hair drifts suddenly as in a poof of air and breeze the wind kicks up around the little Lunar Moth tugging at her hair and clothing and sending wisps of the iridescent dust. She starts to withdraw but she's flustered right now so she hasn't really got much direction sense (or sense at all.)
She isn't as swift as some of the others, but Gisa, once she starts, is... something to behold. Her first instinct is to insert herself between the danger and Lulu, because, well, moths are squishable and floofy. She isn't as fast as the ugly-ass giant centipede, however, and as soon as those pincers sink into Lulu, she lets out a rumbling sound that's a little like someone rolling a very large rock down a really big tin roof. There's a sense of inevitability about her arrival between Lulu and the centipede: she just carries through the motion of arriving with her fist, and her fist arrives directly into the mandibles of the centipede with a slicing sound along with the crunch.
A second later, it arrives out the back of the centipede's head, and she shakes the big ugly bug off of her fist with a gesture of annoyance. Long, slender ceramic spines retract into her fist as she pulls it back, sliding imperceptibly into her smooth clay skin. "Who is hurt? How badly?"
Alonso's sprint breaks as he twirls his cape before himself. The cape just keeps twirling, however, as all that's left of the darkling is the swirl of air that surrounded him and billowed up with the spinning of his cloak. As the garment begins to flutter lazil away, the wind blows around Lulu's retreating form and swirls into concentration before the remaining creature's looming form. In the blink of an eye, Alonso is standing amid the swirling winds, bow no longer in hand, carrying a sabre the fireplace cinder red of a rising sun. He does little more than interpose himself between Lulu and the creature, presenting his blade and allowing the creature to spit itself on it, running it up to the hilt. The creature clicks and gurgles as the Spaniard heaves with his legs and torques the creature backwards over itself, tugging his weapon free. The cape ends its flutter by landing across his left arm, a fact which allows him to wipe his blade clean before returning it to his baldric. That concuded he asks back over his shoulder from under the brim of his hat, "You are well, miss?" A tick of the head turns the sparks under the hat towards Cian, "Sir?"
Dielle holsters her gun, slowly and carefully, and considers the bugs. She's listening to everyone, but she pulls some latex gloves and some ziploc bags out of her backpack, as well as a kitchen cleaver. She's going to take some bits. "Hey, anyone want anything? A trophy? Maybe somethin' to make a weapon? I'm carvin'."
Lulu's arm is held to her chest and she's covering both with her other hand. She's still looking more confused than battle ready -or- ready to recover from the appearance of the two centipedes. "Oh..hmm yes I'm fine." She says to Alonso while her other hand lifts up to her shoulder and starts to scratch lightly causing more dust to slip off her and get caught on the swirl of wind that twists and winds about her violently. "Thank you all."
Cian blinks when it's all over and quietly the knife disappears again and he straightens hismself. There's blood coming from under the coat to soak his arm and he favors that side some. But he doesn't seem to need any help as he waves Alonso off, "Fine," he whispers before going back to scowling at the bugs. Then the itching starts and the Wisp squirms a little reaching to kind of claw at his own jacketed arm. "Bastards," he mutters and looks to the Moth with a briefly concerned glance. "Grab one of those mandibles for me? I'm a lil..distracted," he mentions before turning away to find a hole in his buttons and scratch at the actual skin.
"If you are injured, we will find you healing fruits, there are many here, I am sure. Did you find some before?" Leave it to Gisa to be more concerned about Lulu than most everything else. Maybe she figures Cian can handle himself, who knows. "You are holding your arm to your chest." As if Lulu hadn't actually noticed that. It's only a few seconds later that she looks at Cian, turning her head. "You are also injured. We should collect quickly and go. Blood smells draw briarwolves."
Dielle is kneeling and extracting some of the...liquid into a bag. Pieces of shell go into another bag. Some legs go into a third. Mandibles go into several bags, one of which gets tossed to Cian. Dielle is aspiring to live up to Nana's example, even if the woman isn't here to be approving. That, and it means bringing home icky presents for Jon.
"If you would be more comfortable during the return trip, either or the both of you may ride my horse. Rojo is a stickler for manners, you see, and I am quite uninjured." Aloso crouches down and plucks his maine-gauche from his back sheathe. Normally that's hidden by his cloak, of course, but that's now wrapped about his left arm. It is, like his other equipment, quite bright once bared. Flashing this way and that. But it works in prying mandibles out of the faces of the creatures, which he then passes over to Dielle for her to store on behalf of the others. Once he's done seeing to Cian's request, he heads back towards where he'd found the brumebulb, plucking his bow literally out of the air along his way. As though he'd caught its form from the breeze and drawn it forth from nothing. "Brumebulb," he finally explains as he roots around for more, "is a disgusting onion like plant that will make you violently ill. That is the downside. The upside is that it will transform you into a wind that will blow its way to the nearest exit from the hedge and spit you out to safety. This is a great way to escape if you are ever lost in here. Find a brumebulb and eat."
Cian is a little woozy looking and he's somewhere in between squinting and glaring at them as they poke and prod with their questions. He's not under a spotlight but this is still uncomfortable enough for the Thief that he shirks away some, seeking the comfort of shadows. "I found some. Best to get out...nowish." He explains even as his hands clench and squeeze before being shoved back into his pockets. They come right back out to catch harvested mandibles. They'll go nicely into a toxic knife, at least he believes so. "Noted, good to note even," he sways a little and shakes his head, "Were we going? I think we were going.
Lulu looks at her arm then to Gisa and nods slowly. A quick glance to the others and she murmurs, "Okay. I feel a little woozy too. I thought I saw a blood apple but the thing was already eating it." She adds not so helpfully as she moves to fall into line following Gisa away from the hedge venture. "I could really take a nap though. That'd be real nice. Can I sleep on your horse?" Lulu will not turn down both a pony ride -and- the option to not be forced to find her own momentum.
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