As an active volcano, few creatures venture near Nori for fear of being too close during an eruption. On most days there is a continuous slow flow of molten rock seeping through the mouth of the volcano, so travelers are advised to dress appropriately. (+2 to Endurance)

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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:43 PM

“Do you want me to help?” Lanette asked when they came across the first patch of berries.

“If you want to, but you don’t have to,” Razza said. The bushes weren't very big, but Razza felt it was a good place to start.

“I’ll help where I can,” Lanette decided. She felt like she was nimble and gentle enough to harvest berries without squashing them. It became obvious once they started that Lanette wasn't quite as fast as Razza, but she did feel like she was helping. She made sure she kept an ear out for any sign of other wildlife, it would be bad if they got attacked because she wasn't doing her job.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:43 PM

They worked in silence. Razza’s initial excitement to be put on gathering duty with someone who seemed like they would be a good conversation partner had subsided. As they worked Razza realized that she had pretty much talked everyone’s ear off all week. She was sad to admit that it felt good to just work and listen to the sounds of nature. At least it seemed like Lanette wasn't put off by the silence.

The berries weren’t thick yet, but showed potential to really boom later in the season. They picked what they could before moving on. “Do you like coming along on expeditions like this?” Razza asked, finally breaking the silence.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:43 PM

“I actually would have begged to come along with anyone,” Lanette admitted with a laugh. “It isn’t quite hunting season so I’ve been tasked with teaching others how to make traps and explaining where to trap and what to trap, and trying to get the council to allow me to trap bigger prey,” she explained. “It’s been a frustrating experience,” she added. Lanette wasn’t a fan of the cramped mesa tunnels and meeting rooms. Plus her bosses were a pain in her ass. For some reason they didn’t understand why hunting wasn’t enough. It made her want to claw her eyes out at times.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:44 PM

Razza didn’t care to know any higher ups. She knew chefs and diggers, and magic users, but she never got acquainted with anyone who was above her. She felt far too intimidated by them. Plus she’d heard the gossip, the whispered complaints of her tribe-mates. The higher ups seemed uptight, and aggressive, and far too secretive. Razza had once made it her mission to travel all the tunnels of the mesa, to go into every cave and den. The council had nothing to hide, every room was open, every face a friendly one. Her questions were answered and she had even made some friends, but for whatever reason the higher ranked paragon seemed off putting.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:44 PM

If she had been told correctly there was a big patch of brush up ahead. based on a flyby it seemed to be pretty loaded with berries. Razza hoped that the berries had not over ripened or been picked already. “We should be careful, I think predators might be more drawn to this location,” she warned. Sometimes it felt odd to have to warn the paragon who were trained in locating predators, but she did it anyways.

“Got it,” Lanette nodded. She knew predators tended to hang around places where their prey grazed, but the predators near the volcanoes were odd. In her experience they never acted quite like one would expect.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:44 PM

The next patch was in fact large. it seemed that it would also creep into the forest and then burst into another open area. Hopefully they could fill their baskets here. Razza never felt comfortable too far away from home. With her small size it was easy for her to overburden herself, and she didn’t want to have to stop a million times on the way back. The berries before had been sparse so their baskets were only barely not empty.

“Be careful for snakes,” Lanette warned. Their scales would protect them from bites, but some snakes were lucky. The last thing she needed was a fatal snake bite. Although snake bites were almost unheard of from small little forest snakes. From the looks of things there weren't any big herbivores or omnivores around. It was a fairly hot day, and Lanette knew well enough that herbivores liked to bed down until dusk or dawn.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:45 PM

Lanette tasked herself with picking from the brush near the treeline. It gave her a pretty good view of the rest of the brush. Razza picked her way deeper into the sunny spot. Lanette was far more alert here than she had been before. She still picked, idly moving her claws along the branches, making sure she didn’t injure the plant. She moved around the perimeter, her basket filled slowly. It seemed this would be the place that they would fill their baskets. From what she could see Razza’s baskets were almost full. Lanette’s were only about halfway full, and she was almost all the way around the perimeter.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:45 PM

Razza picked the plants as fast as she could without harming the product. It was almost getting too hot in the open sun, but she swore she wouldn’t retreat until her first basket became full. Since she wasn’t talking she put that energy into picking. If she did well today, she hoped to be sent out in a bigger group tomorrow. She always felt more accomplished when she went out with a bigger group. The big groups were given more baskets and more time to gather. There wasn't a time limit for Razza today, but it was proper for Paragon to report to the mesa before nightfall. Big groups tended to leave earlier and arrive later.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:45 PM

“Do you know what you’re plans are for tomorrow?” Razza asked.

“I plan on setting up the first bout of traps,” Lanette said. Razza was not picking closer to Lanette. “One of my new plans it to set up traps to deter some known predator paths. Mainly the serraptor paths that cut through gathering spots. The hope is that once they see their own getting killed, they’ll either move on, or ambush their prey outside the area. Which sounds like it’ll cause more ambushes, but if paragon are careful and land within patches then attacks should be cut drastically,” she explained.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:45 PM

“That sounds like it’ll really help us out!” Razza exclaimed. One of her favorite things about the tribe was that everyone looked out for each other.

“If it works I think it’ll help open doorways to new types of trapping,” Lanette said.

“Hopefully it works as intended,” Razza said. Not having to worry so much about being attacked would really help the gatherers. Of course they put their trust in those protecting them, but there was always that little ‘what if’ that made more anxious paragon less focused.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:46 PM

“Would you mind coming over to this other branch?” Razza asked. She hadn't picked over the berries as well as she could have, but she needed a change of scenery. Not that the next open spot would look much different.

“Sure,” Lanette said, following the placid. She could still see some clumps of ripe berries, but figured Razza knew what she was doing.

“I’ll need to fill your baskets if you don’t mind,” she said once they had settled. “Mine are almost too heavy for me to fly with,” she admitted with a laugh.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:46 PM

“Of course,” Lanette said while surveying the new space. There was some rustling on the far side. She stopped Razza and motioned towards the spot. “Stay here, I’ll go check it out,” she whispered. The rustling didn’t seem big enough for a serraptor, besides they tended to hunt in packs. There were some small predators that could still be dangerous though. Lanette crept up on the brush careful to avoid breaking branches or stepping too loudly.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:47 PM

At the last moment she burst through to the other side of the brush. Her plan was to startle the predator in order to get an upper hand. Instead she just found a very offended Soveris. It’s beak was stained with berry juice and its cheeks puffed a bit due to its mouth being full. Lanette stared wide-eyed at it. She wasn’t really sure what to do. It puffed up, still offended at this creature bursting into its little food bubble.

“Sorry!” Lanette squeaked before backing away. The Soveris chirped angrily at her but didn’t move to bite her. Lanette pushed back into the brush towards Razza. She felt a bit embarrassed, but the look on the bird’s face was hilarious. It had been so long since she had seen one she forgot their behavior.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:47 PM

“What was it?” Razza asked when Lanette returned.

“Just a glutinous Soveris,” Lanette said trying to not laugh. Razza nodded and offered a smile.

“That’s the first big thing we’ve seen all day,” she said. The wildlife changed depending on the day, and it seemed today was a lazy day for everyone. It wasn’t quite the season for big game, the volcanoes were still too hot. In the fall and winter though many creatures began to flock into the forests. The berries were the most ripe then, and the temperature was livable. Not even the paragon tribe got fully used to the heat in the deep summer.
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Re: Gathering Fruit (Self)

Postby Sarah » 09/13/2015 4:47 PM

The remaining basket that had to be filled took no time at all. With the two working together to fill only one basket Razza realized it was what they should have been doing the whole time. The two of them couldn’t carry back enough berries to last a whole year, but Razza felt like they had done a good job. The baskets were just light enough that she didn’t feel like they’d be overburdened. Even if they had to land a few times, or go slowly, they should make it back to the mesa well before sundown.

While they harvested the Soveris stuck around. It peeked above the brush every now and again to give the stink eye to Lanette. Razza was pretty sure it was uncommon to see a Soveris alone. She’d heard they were highly intelligent birds that tended to live in groups. This one was skipping out on its work to gorge itself on berries.
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