Log:Velvet Hunts for Velvet

Velvet Hunts for Velvet
Participants Velvet, Saulot	8 August, 2018 Velvet goes in search of pedicle velvet.
Location The Hedge
Things were a go for the Utridges after things had finally calmed down. Weaver had left her for her own part. While he trolled the market Velvet would search for the velvet. While the dragon had an easy enough place to search Velvet would have her work cut out for her. She starts her journey in the Hedge, and upon exiting the Vault is met with a downpour of sweet, stiky rain. As soon as Velvet steps out into the Hedge, she pauses, hovering by the entrance of the Hollow. She eyes the rain with a look of disdain for a moment, then down to the dainty slipped on her feet. With a little shrug, she shifts enough to make sure she's not really stepping onto the wet ground, but above it. Then it's time to dart off towards the shadows, moving to hide herself amongst them as she starts to make her way down the mountain path and towards the east. The bit of research that largely relied on her own investigative skills gave her a general idea for the location of the oddment. Unlike most of the other fruits that might grow on a tree, vine, or from the earth her quarry lied elsewhere. Pedicle velvet finds its home among the and on the truly dangerous beasts of the Hedge. Locally that meant cavestompers, thick-heads, and cascading feathers. All of her options require her to leave the safety of the trods, and further into the deep hedge. By cover of night and by way of the rain much of her movements are obscured along with what movements she follows to sneakily move along. She sees many of the usual strange, off-kilter sights as she travels along. When the trod is far enough away that it'd take two hours walk to return she can find the first of her targets, or at least its markings. Smooth markings left by a cavestomper lazily dragging its feet and knocking around trees without a care. As she moves she can see a kettle of hedge-vultures flying around despite the rain, and going somewhere southeast. Nothing in life comes easy. The good things in life, even less so. A child with Weaver would be the greatest of things, which means it's going to be a challenge. But Velvet tends to like tose. She doesn't tire easily, moving and tracking towards the area where the animals she's looking for are said to roam. The woman kneels by the smooth markings, studying the imprint and drag marks as her eyes lift in that direction. The vultures are noticed, eyes narrowing. If they're out during the rain it means there's a good chance that something good to eat is up again. Or they're fleeing from something. But without them seeming to panic, she finds that less likely. The vultures do lead her around, but not towards her initial quarry. They guide her for a quarter of an hour. She doesnt' find a cavestomper, and is instead led to a pack of briarwolfs currently chowing down. They're eating what looks like three Lost that were on their way from somewhere, an equine hedgebeast, and the remainder of what smells like goblin fruit-made alcohol. Shifting around the group, Velvet spots the alcohol, brows arching up. Not what she came here for, but it'll do! With a quiet steps she moves around the wolves, reaching out to snag the bottle and tuck it neatly into her bag. She's so terribly quiet, starting to move back towards where she saw the drag marks. Clearly that wasn't what she was looking for, so it's time to restart from the fresh print. She hurries back and starts to look around again. The bottle's contents are a pale yellow, and the glass itself is cold to the warm to the touch. Despite this feeling it and everything else from the convoy has been out here for at least a few hours. Many shards of ground dot the area along with a smell of burnt yew and rotten tomatoes. Back from whence she came Velvet finds the path easy enough to follow. The rain doesn't help matters. Further along she can find more and more of the same trails. Maybe it'd started going in circles before going forward, or was leading something else along. It's difficult to say as she comes upon a widening of the forest beyond what the cavestomper does. Following the path back, Velvet makes decent enough time. She's making sure that she's not leaving a trail to follow, though the fact that her feet barely seem to touch the ground certainly helps with that. No footsteps in the mud to lead the way to her. That would be bad. She eyes the path the cavestomper likely took and starts to meander in that direction. Velvet comes upon one, and almost steps in it. The remnants of a shell large enough that both of her feet can step in it, but small enough that the high grass covers it up. Egg-casings, and past that ar the splatterings of yolk that's currently being washed away by the late night rain. Eventually, the darkling comes upon two beasts about the size of an SUV. The creatures are covered in scales and from the torso down are nothing but body and tail. Further up they've a pair of miniature, for their size, limbs that end in hands which sport claws as big and sharp as any sword. Currently, they've shoved their claws into the tree, and are muching down on every bit of green they can get their mouths on. Their heads end in something akin to a bird if the beak were missing and had a mouth full of chisel-like teeth. Velvet pauses, lifting a foot so that she doesn't accidentally step on the shell. Everything is studied as she begins to move and follow the path towards the pair of massive creatures. Her eyes hone in on the prize, then narrow slightly. Frustration bubbles up inside of her when she realizes that the fruit isn't pluckable just yet. Then it clicks. These are young ones. Which means momma and daddy must be nearby. Her begins to sniff, ear twitching, searching for signs of where they might be. It takes a while to find mom and dad cavestomper. It takes following her nose since the storm makes it too difficult for her to hear between the pitter patter of rain and rumbling of thumber. She eventually does find them, although its difficult to tell which is which. The smallest of the pair easily dwarfs Velvet as it drinks heavily from a lake. It's as big as a tractor trailer, and about twice as wide. The other is as big as a small house, and currently sleeping. It's upon its massive head that she spots the mossy pedicle velvet. When she finds the pair, Velvet takes a moment to consider them, studying them. She isn't looking to cause them harm, just to take the fruit that they have growing. She's studying angles, trajectory, flipping a blade up and down in her palm. Even with the rain, if she throws it from this angle, she should be able to cut the fruit right off of the creatures head without causing it any kind of harm, or even waking it. She considers, moving around as she sets up her shot. The cavestomper is sound asleep, and with a bit of magic remains there. Closer inspection shows off the horns atop its head, and the look of the thing. Those scales look more like armored plates big enough to work like shields for larger changelings. Its forelimbs are large enough for Velvet to go up for a rest with more room there than she'd ever have sharing a bed. Its head is big enough for her multiples of her to stand atop it with room to spare. The horns aren't anything magnificent for its size, but they care bits of meat and blood on them along with the lichen she's searching for. A little more investigation and Velvet is quick to realize that there's no way she can cut it off, it has to be scraped. Well that puts a damper on things. But hey, one is sleeping, so that makes it easier. With a little bit of Darkness, she manages to keep the creature asleep no matter what. Then she begins to carefully move towards the creature, climbing and shifting into position to start gently scraping the fruit from the thing's head. She'd be a great trophy, for sure. All of those parts of her would be perfect for material. But Velvet is only here for the fruit. She's not splitting up a family when she's here to try to get what it takes to create one. That's bad karma. The hedge beast is sound asleep. Its snoring shakes the ground beneath gently, and occasionally it moves in its sleep. As it moves from one side to another its name because evident as it collapses several dozen trees in its wake. Velvet's scraping doesn't wake the beast nor arouse the attention of her mate she sowrks. She has to climb up the things face a bit to get at all of it, but after near half an hour her work would be done. Patient and careful the entire time, Velvet eventually comes away with the fruit in hand. She stares at it quietly, a brilliant and rare smile on her face. Slowly, she tucks the fruit into her bag and starts to shuffle down. She's careful not to alert the mate, starting to move away as quickly as she can. It takes Velvet a long time to find her way back. All in all even longer than it took for her to arrive to her destination. At least partially. She's found her way to a trod that's a bit lower on the mountain, but it's still an easy way to get home. While Velvet herself is hard to find, the smell of the velvet on her persons does draw a lot of unwanted attention. Most attention is unwanted for Velvet, but right now, even more so. She has to get the fruit back to Weaver, and she has to ddo it quickly. Which is at war with her usual careful and delicate pacing. She does the best she can to stick to the shadows, moving carefully, but with some speed. It doesn't see or take sight of Velvet, but something is nearby. Moving low amid the brush, its movements hushed by the constant downpour. Skulking around is a tawny colored thing that looks like some kind of wingless bird intent on following the smell of pedicle velvet wherever Velvet goes with it. Like hell Velvet is going to let anything try to steal her fruit. Her eyes search, eventually settling on the creature as she recalls information about it. Not a risk to her, but it will draw predators. That's not something that she can risk. Gun aimed, she takes the time to line up the perfect shot, eyes focused on the creature's skull. Thirty seconds pass, a slow breath taken as she lines up the shot. Then the trigger is pulled, exploding the creature's head into countless pieces. She doesn't hesistate, continuing on her path home. The todunchen was pecking about, nearing closer and closer to Velvet. At the last second it did look dead at Velvet, even if it couldn't actually see her. Before it could open its beak to squawk about its head goes into a million pieces. The body falls limp and to the side, leaving Velvet to the silence of the Hedge and the rain. Velvet would feel bad, but she doesn't. This is the future of her child's existance at stake and nothing will stop her. She doesn't even bother to look back, figuring that the body will serve to keep other predators occupied with a free meal so that she can make the rest of the trip up the mountain without too much interfearance.