Ofishial Ausfishtice Business, & Otter Lobstervations (solo)

[Capsule]

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1136

♪ ♫♪:
Hate You

✏:
Trying something different.

@:
Capsule

Journal entry #1:


Bluh. They've got me using fish puns now - but that's not very important, I guess? I don't know. I reckon no one else will be reading this, unless I bother a scribe to duplicate this journal, anyway. Though I have no idea where Oxford ran off to, and Scoria… man, I don't know how Scoria would respond to all this nonsense. He would probably say something about my handwriting I'm guessing, though. It's not as neat as it should be for some reason. Maybe it's because I haven't had a need to really write anything lately? I mean, I do scribble notes for research and the like, but… Shit. I really lost my train of thought there. It's too easy to do with journal entries - ok, sorry Fiver.

My rabbit just head-butted me in the side. I've been teaching him how to read for a while now, but I did not think he would be able to pick up enough to know when - okay, he just did it again. I think he knows what I'm writing, or at least has an idea? I'm not sure, and he won't say. I guess I'll just write whatever it was I planned to. Hmmm… Well, actually. I guess I should start at the beginning?

My name is Capsule. I am an Enchanter, Pharmacist and Animal Trainer (originally Courier, but that got old fast). My daily adventures as an Enchanter are pretty dang mundane (hee, it rhymed), and my Pharmacist shenanigans are not too interesting for people of other crafting classes, and far too technical besides, so I will be keeping extensive records on my roleplaying subclass as I level it up.

I guess I could say that my first attempt to scout something was my owl, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, or Duke for short. I never got around to domesticating him, since he's just a regular run of the mill creature and would likely die if he got into a scuffle with a monster. My first domesticated monster was Fiver, my Frenmic rabbit, who happens to share a name variant with @dindeen's (Hrairoo). Caerbannog is a friend of mine, a Samurai and fellow trainer. She's pretty nice, as is her little rabbit. I don't think I've ever gotten around to asking if she was a fan of Watership Down, but - crap. Rambling.

I've scouted a young pittered boar in the past, too, but he was way too greedy to keep, ya know? I scouted Fiver soon afterwards, and although he can be just as greedy, he does not eat that much. I can shoo him outside and let him nibble on grass and stuff… sort of. My current residence is a little too high up to do that comfortably, but that should all be changing soon. I really want to live in a place that can accommodate my larger summons, like Dobby, the golem sentinel I recruited after… I think Caerbannog beat him up a bit? I can't remember exactly, but I know I did the work of domesticating him. He has an obsession with socks, like his namesake. Fitting, no?

Hmm… I reely haven't domesticated or scouted many monsters, have I? Heh, fish pun. Speaking of fish puns… I haven't exactly scouted her or anything (at least I think it’s a she), but the Young Sahaugin I pinned a while ago at the Thames Coastline (during official research business, of course) was fairly easy to deal with. I had some help with my Pacify and Tongue of Nature skills, though. This is the exciting part! While I had a bit of work to do, I had plenty of time afterwards to spend some time with the little crayture. She was actually kind of cute, in a monsterish way. Anywaaaaay…

The Sahaugin, who refers to herself as Aefin, finally stopped shaking the bars of her cage after the third time I fed her. This was later on in the day, and she had noticeably grown tired. She must not have thought I was able to understand her, but I proved her wrong when I tried to strike up a conversation between the two of us. It kind of went like this -

"Hello, little fishie. Have you finally calmed down?"

"...Little fishie? What the glub do you take me for?! I'm no guppy, doofish!"

"Doofish? And cool, you can understand me!"

"Doofish, doofus! It's a pun! And of course I can understand you. Which is reely weird, cuz I didn't know you Adventurers cod carp our language."

I thought her fish puns were rather endearing, so I tried to make a few of my own. "Whale, not all of us can, but those of us with a certain skill are certainly capable of carping with monsters of similar or lower levels."

"Are you making fin of me? "

"How are my fish funs?"

"Pretty crappie, if you ask me!"

"I'm new to this. I don't make a lot of puns, nor do I know many offhand."

"Then learn. But let me otter here, first."

"But there's a lot I reely want to know aboat you!"

"Hee hee that was pretty good. Wha' do ya wanna know?"

"Um… Your name, if you have one."

"If? 'Course I have a mother glubbing name! It is Aefin."

"Nice to meet you, Aefin. I am Capsule."

"Capsule? That's naut a name. It's an object."

"Whale, it's my in-game name, not my real name."

"...Adventures shore are weird. Why do you need two names?"

"Technically, most of us have more than two names, but these are our real names. Hm. How to explain. Consider the names we use here to be an alias. They don't need to be full names. As for our original names, they consist of a first and last name, the latter being our familial name. Many cultures have middle names that don't really serve much of a purpose. Porpoise?"

"So weird! And yes, porpoise! I shall school you yet, Adventurer Capsule. Or would that be Capsule Adventurer? Your naming customs don't make anemone sense to me!"

"Er, yeah. Sorry about that. Here, you would just call me Capsule. My real name is actually Meike Pfeiffer. Meike has a variety of meanings, such as bitter, sea of bitterness, rebellion, etc., and Pfeiffer means piper."

"Yaaaawn. I'm naut reely tired. Just board of you."

"Fin. What does Aefin mean, anyway?"

"None of your glubbing business!"

"Whale excuuuuuuuuse me!"

"Clam the glub up!"

Aefin didn't want to talk much after that, which was fine with me. I left her alone to finish her meal and sleep, and then turned in myself. It was a long day for the both of us. I thought she might be willing to open up more after a good night's sleep.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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528

♪ ♫♪:
Two Princes

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@:
Capsule

Journal entry #2:


Capelin Capsule sounding in! These last few days have been pretty taxing, and though I had planned on this journal being mostly for my trainer exploits… Well, something bigger has come along, and is just… wow. I guess I should start from the beginning, huh? ;p

I've been sitting on a tidy sum of gold for a while now, especially since I managed to track down Indy and Adler a few months ago (don't ask how). They offered up their gold to help fund a guild house, and I've allowed the money to collect interest with my own funds, which reely helped in the long run! The original plan was to just buy up to a second level housing, but with the way interest has worked thus far, I ended up with enough to purchase some special housing, and then some! It took most of my money of course, but I still had plenty left over when it was all said and done.

So, in the name of Avarice, I purchased the Tower of London. Isn't it ironic, a treasure seeking guild buying what used to be a prison and torture chamber? That was partly what drove me to buy it, but also the greater use it had, as opposed to the London Library and Oxford University. As much as I would love to live in a library or educational institute, it doesn't really say "Avarice," ya know? Besides, it's a castle! I find them to be rather fascinating, and who knows what we'll find?

We still have to clean the place up, though, and fix it up with some new walls, flooring and decorations, but the hard work will be well worth it. There's also a swimming pool behind the castle (just one of the things I requested for this building), which is where Aefin has been staying. She wasn't too enthusiastic at first, but I think she's finally coming around to the idea.

It might help if I got her some company, though. Fiver doesn't like her much, and Dobby has tried to flatten her several times now. I have him tidying up the first floor right now - there's a minor rat infestation that's too much for Fiver to deal with on his own, and I certainly can't let the little fish monster go out on her own. So as soon as a few things have settled down, I'll return to the coast and search around for Aefin's… mate? I guess that's what you could call him, but… Some monsters start early, I guess?

We also have an atrium for Duke and Fiver up on the third floor, where our sleeping quarters are set up. It’s simply glorious. I could spend all day up there! I have my room conveniently located right beside it, so that Fiver can spend the night there if he wishes. There are so many plants, and the glass ceiling! It could use some improvement as well, but wow! It’s almost a shame I’m not a gardener, heh.

But yeah, that’s it for now. The next time I write, it’ll hopefully be about Aefin and her little companion.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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1136

♪ ♫♪:
Don't Move

✏:
Same size as the first post. lul

@:
Capsule

Journal entry #3:

Bluh. Bluuuuh. Reader, I was certainly not expecting this to happen! And by "this" I mean the two Sahaugins fighting - if you could call it that, anyway. It was very much a one sided affair, with Aefin being the aggressor and winner, I guess-

Capsule stared at her pen and notebook for a good minute or two, before closing the latter and chucking both as far as she could into the ocean. neep this. Just… neep it. Keeping a journal was just so… it was so dumb. So, so so really damn dumb. She didn't have Aefin or her friend anymore, and writing about all of this when it was likely only she would read this crap was so freaking dumb. It was all just so… Aaaaaaaugh.

If this were a newspaper comic, a little ball of scribbled lines would be resting above Capsule's head. The redheaded woman just flopped onto her stomach, resting her head just a few inches from the gentle tide. She was wearing her wetsuit, as was advised when hanging near the beach and acting as an intermediate for a bunch of grumpy fish monsters. She had tried, anyway, and failed horribly when Aefin got her way and sent the other Sahaugin crying in pain and severely injured. These monsters sure had an odd way of showing comradery.

The woman sighed and buried her face into the sand, ignoring the grittiness and the occasional shell that rubbed against her cheek. She just wanted to lie here in silence and peace for a while. After the events of today, she was more than a little tuckered out, and somewhat battered, thanks to her attempting to break up the fight between the two creatures. She had failed horribly in the process, receiving several bites and scratches for her trouble. Freaking sea monsters.

After a good twenty minutes or so of this, Capsule drifted off to sleep, and stayed as such for another hour or so, before the tapping began. At first she just shrugged it off in her sleep, but as the steady pattern continued, the woman swatted out at whatever was poking her. It couldn't be her mother; those yearning dreams for home had ceased a good while ago, and now she was prone to expect Fiver or Duke as being the culprit. Fiver normally left her alone after the first few swats, but Duke was a stubborn little owl. Oh, there he goes again.

"You stop that," she muttered into the sand. She continued to swat blindly beside her, until her hand finally made contact with… that was definitely not a feathery or furry appendage prodding her. It felt too hard and smooth to be any of the monsters she had allied with. What on earth…? Capsule ran her hand up as high as she could, only finding more and more of this smooth object. It was almost like a shell -

"Ouch!" Something was pinching her wrist, and not gently at all. This was not a set of teeth or talons; it was something much harder and bigger. Capsule was afraid to tug her wrist free. She had a feeling that she would lose that hand forever if she even dared to try.

«Are you done flopping around there, dearest?» The tone of a caring grandmother was sounding somewhere above and behind her. She was so confused, but too afraid to move. «Come on now, sweet.»

"Buzz off, you stupid crab!" Chibi Maya-chan was awake and irritable. "Just who do you think you are?! This is my meat bag, you hear? So go find your own!"

«Oh hush on up, you little land bud. I only wish to help your friend here out. The brutes are running amok as usual, and they just love defenseless Adventurers.»

Capsule twisted her head around, opening one eye to peek at the old biddy. Her heart almost jumped at the sight of the monstrous hermit crab looming above her. She knew that some people kept these as pets, but hermit crabs were supposed to be small enough to rest in the palm of your hand! The claw latched around her wrist was bigger than Fiver, and the set of eyes that twitched to meet hers were as big as fists. Holy shit, this was terrifying.

«Oh, there you are! Come now, dearie. Up on your feet, with you. My, where in the deep blue sea is your shell?»

Capsule's mouth opened and closed like a fish as she stumbled onto her feet, with the assistance of the hermit crab. «I... I don't have one,» she finally stammered out.

«Such queer creatures you lot are. Why, how do you protect yourselves from adversaries or the weather?!»

«We have these things called houses - shelters blocked on all sides by wood or brick. Or armor helps protect us from attacks. Mine is made of cloth, though, so it's kind of weak…» This was really like talking to a grandmother or aging British nanny. «Um, can you let me go now?»

«Oh, of course, dearie! Forgive me; I'm so used to warding off those quarrelsome children... Here. I have just the thing to keep you safe from those ruffians.» The crab released Capsule and scuttled closer to the water. While she rummaged through the sand, the Enchanter gingerly massaged her aching wrist. There was a slowly darkening ring forming around it. Lovely. Just lovely. «Here you are, hon!»

The shell that the crab held in her claws was much smaller, worn, and had a long crack on one side. She threw up her arms in protest, but before she could argue her case, the shell was slipped over her head and shoulders. «It's a little big, I'm afraid. You're around the same size as my dear son when he was young.»

Capsule winced under the weight of the shell, wondering how someone could deal with carrying this around on their back. It seemed to be quite durable, at least. «Um… Excuse me, Mrs. Crab?»

«Yes, Ducky?»

«Why are you helping me?» She was an Adventurer, after all; her kind killed monsters like these all the time.

«Why, I have no reason to wish you harm, and I do so tire of seeing those thugs roughing up the unaware. The young ones are not much trouble, but the adults can be very dangerous!» The hermit crab was scuttling around shore, picking up tiny seashells and occasionally chucking a few. The ones she kept were stored somewhere within her shell. «Keep up, dear! The Sahaugin are quite active at this time of day. You'll be fine as long as you stick with me, though.» She clacked her maxillipeds together in what Capsule assumed was some bizarre laugh. «They are a Shield Mollusk's natural prey, after all.»

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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674

♪ ♫♪:
Don't Move

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__

@:
Capsule

Walking around with a heavy seashell on your back was really not how Capsule wanted to spend her day, but she could hardly say no to the giant hermit crab. She was friendly, grandmotherly and very talkative. After a bit of gentle prodding, Capsule discovered that the old bat was named Aranea. She had led the redhead a bit into the water, where they waded side by side and inspected small shells and even smaller fish and crabs. A few of them were loaded into Capsule's arms, and would serve as Aranea's dinner later. She was apparently tired of eating Sahaugin for a while.

Capsule, on the other hand, wanted to nibble on one of the crabs in her arms, but she lacked the cooking subclass, and had no idea how to prepare it, other than boiling it for a few hours. 'I wonder if I could cheat somehow. Cooking is almost similar to brewing potions. I just need something big enough to boil it in.' She would also need herbs to season it with, though. 'Hm. I could treat it like brewing a potion, I guess. That would be quite the weird brew, though.' A crab meal that healed health or mana would be cutting too close into Chef territory, no matter how you spin it. Eh, why the hell not? Worst case scenario, it would give her a minor heal.

Aranea eventually led Capsule to a small cave hidden under the waves. The Enchantress was obviously concerned about drowning, but the hermit crab reassured her that they would only be in the water for a few minutes at most. Even with the movement speed boost provided by her armor, swimming with a shell that weighed a metric shit ton was rather difficult. The only good thing about it was that she could use it to sink down to the ocean floor. The worst part was, of course, having to drag the damn thing along with her. Aranea seemed entirely oblivious of this, and did not deviate from her path as she led the struggling woman to what appeared to be an underwater cave.

The entrance of the cave was absolutely flooded with water, but it also sloped upwards once you advanced. That meant that the flow of water eventually ceased, save for the steady trickle that came whenever the surf rose. Capsule couldn't help but notice that this slope was made from carefully packed sand, and worn from years of use. She wondered if this slope could be torn up and shoved down to impede intruders. It would certainly prove useful in a pinch.

«Welcome, to my humble abode!» Aranea seemed so proud of her cave, which was actually pretty snazzy. There was an assortment of shells scattered around and on display, many of them much smaller. Chunks of coral decorated the walls, a large bed of seaweed took up the back of the cave, and one corner hosted a broken shell with some rubbish. «Come now, dearie. You look a bit peaked. Rest up now and dig in!»

Capsule failed to see a table or something for her to dump the crabs and fish, so she just upended her shell onto the middle of the floor. Aranea scuttled over, eagerly clacking her maxillipeds together. «I just love a good fish! I have some prawns, as well, if you would like a nip?»

«Yes, please. I'll just take a crab and a few prawns, if you don't mind.»

«Why, is that all you want, dear?! I have a few sea slugs, clams, mussels and a chunk of shark meat in my coffers. I may end up savaging again, regardless! Hoo hoo hoo! »

«All right, then. I'll take an extra crab, but that's really all I need. We Alvs don't have very big appetites,» she said with a soft chuckle. The hermit crab's cheery demeanor was really starting to rub off on her. Now she just had to figure out how to solve her slowly mounting hunger problem. 'Easier said than done.'

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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♪ ♫♪:
Don't Move

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@:
Capsule

The sound of cracking shells filled the air as Aranea devoured her little shelled cousins, and distributed their waste onto a small pile on the floor. She went through her food faster than Capsule could pull her crabs apart or peel her prawns. It was frankly starting to make Capsule hungry, and the water for this stuff still needed to be set up to boil. With a little sigh, the Enchanter took out a flower pot from her inventory, set it down, and took out a container of clear and fresh water.

She stuffed the crab legs into a beaker, and had to bring out another to contain the prawns, which of course meant that she had to use her spare flower pot, too. Capsule left the beakers to sit while she sifted about in her inventory for some tiny twigs to use as kindling, and scattered them around the bottoms of the flower pots. She lit the broken twigs with a match, and after making sure the flames were strong, settled the beakers over them. While the water within the beakers were waiting to boil, Capsule searched through her stock of herbs.

Most of it was fitting for seasoning a meal if need be, like turmeric, mint, ginger, rosemary, etc. They probably would not taste too good as seasoning for a seafood dinner, but it was better than no flavor at all. She plucked out a few herbs and one of her few remaining lemons, and along with a small board and her kukri, began chopping the ingredients into small bits. The lemon was neatly sliced and equally divided into the beakers, and the herbs were scooted into her mortar. Aranea paused in the middle of her meal to scuttle on over and watch as Capsule grinded the ingredients with her mortar and pestle.

«How strange! Whatever are you doing with your food, Ducky?»

«I… I don't really know. This is the method I use to brew potions and the lot, but I guess you could call it… "cooking?" Sort of, anyway. I have no idea how this will turn out, though.»

«Why not add some seaweed, dear? I do enjoy snacking on the stuff in between meals! It's also good for you, you know.» The hermit crab made a show of searching a shell that was full of water and small living sea critters, though apparently lacked what Arenea was looking for. «Oh dear… I may have eaten what I had stored a while ago. I will have to go out and scavenge for some, if you do not mind waiting, dear.»

Capsule peeked into the still water within the beakers. «Not at all, Mrs. Crab. I think I have all of the time in the world, as a matter of fact.» She could always add the seaweed later, anyway. Depending on how strong the weed was, it might not even make a lick of difference when she used her herb mix.

«Alight, Ducky! I'll get right on it.» The crab shoved a handful of what appeared to be small, fat slugs into her mouth, and hurried up and over the slope, leaving Capsule alone. Not having the hermit crab's cheerful presence around made her somewhat uneasy, but what sort of fool would wander into this creature's home? None, she hoped.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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902

♪ ♫♪:
Heads Will Roll

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@:
Capsule

Capsule used her fingers to pinch the herbs and sprinkle them evenly into the beakers, feeling only slightly silly. Had she had the right materials on hand, she would have tried making some recently approved sauce recipe available not only to Chefs, but other Adventurers who lacked the subclass. It was a simple blending of base materials, and did not require much cooking experience. She figured that the only way someone could mess this up was if they were just completely inept. 'I'll have to give it a go later, when I'm back at home.'

There was quite a bit she would need to catch up on once she was settled in at her new residence. The process of moving had already been done, soon after she had acquired the Tower of London. It was pretty easy to do when you had few belongings and an inventory. Capsule had, of course, commandeered the hospital room as her own personal office, and had a bedroom sandwiched between the atrium and library. It was just perfect. She would likely live up there for extended periods of time, except when she needed to shop or go out adventuring. Fiver was already living the good life, having been officially released from Capsule's service and placed in the atrium, as he had requested. He didn't quite fit in with the wild rabbits anymore, and had all the green he could eat. What else could a rabbit wish for?

The Enchanter sighed softly as she dreamt about her new home, and the guild members living within it. Vayne, oddly enough, had had his eye on the prison. She didn't know what he could possibly want from it, but she wasn't about to stop him, either. Indy would hopefully appreciate the vault room, assuming he ever took a break from his exploration, and she was going to work Nala to the bone in the kitchen. It was good to have a Chef around to prepare guild meals.

The thought of properly prepared food made Capsule's stomach rumble. There was no way that this slop would actually be an adequate meal, no matter how she tried to spin it. She would more than likely end up choking down half cooked food and crying herself to sleep. And while she did have a few food items in her inventory, those were all sweets. They would only make her hungrier, not satisfy the hunger building up within.

She was seriously thinking of ways to pop home and return without Aranea noticing, but the hermit crab could not possibly take too long to retrieve a bit of seaweed. As odd as it may seem to an outsider, Capsule was truly enjoying the crab's presence, and would not mind taking her back home to the castle. The river Thames was nearby, and they had a pool to top it off, so water should not be an issue for the crab. Besides - it was dreadfully lonely down here, and Capsule suspected that many of the shells in Aranea's cave had belonged to family members or children, who were no longer living with her. Surely she would appreciate the company of a diverse group of people?

A soft scuttling sound from the entrance of the cave caused Capsule to look it up. 'Speak of the devil.' She started to stand up and welcome Aranea home, when a fishlike head popped up over the slope. It was a Sahaugin, and a much bigger one than she was accustomed to dealing with. Capsule froze, alarmed at the sight of the foreign creature. «Hello,» she timidly ventured. She wasn't sure if the monster would pay her any heed or not; its level was almost as high as Aranea's.

Capsule toggled on her Animal Trainer skill, Pacify, before speaking again to the creature. If this Sahaugin was prone to predatory behavior like most of them, the skill should bump it down to "wary". «Are you a friend of Aranea's?»

«Aranea? Who the glub is that?»

The redhead gulped. This could either turn out for the better or the worse, and she could only see the cons of this engagement. Perhaps she could try to stall the monster while Aranea made her way home? She would really hate to inadvertently trash the place. «You might want to leave, then, before the owner comes back -»[/b

The Sahaugin had clambered over the slope and was now standing in front of it, and would have been Capsule's height, had it not been for the monster's stooped position.
«Naw, naw. I likes it here. I think I will stay.» The monster grinned. «You wanna fight aboat it, buoy?» Oh dear god, the fish puns were back in full force.

«I'd rather not, please.»

«Salmon. Got any grub in this plaice? I could eat a whale, iffin ya know what I mean.»

«Er… I have this?» Capsule gestured to the flower pots with their slowly boiling beakers.

«What. No man, no. You tryin' ta krill me?! I need meat, and this is barely a light snack. Mebbe I can eat you instead. You don't need those arms.» Capsule shuffled back a few steps, feeling naked in her wetsuit. The Sahaugin's grin grew wider as it summoned a trident, seemingly with the use of magic. It was made of water, but Capsule was willing to bet that it would still hurt if it hit her.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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♪ ♫♪:
Don't Move

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Capsule

«You stop that this instant, you wretched creature! Drop it, I said!» The unexpected sound of Aranea's voice startled both Capsule and the Sahaugin. Rather than obey, however, the Sahaugin raised its trident and turned around to strike the hermit crab. Aranea moved in with shocking speed, bumped hard against the fish monster, and knocked the trident from its thin, webbed fingers. «You stop that! There will be no fighting in my cave, you understand?!»

«Come on crab. Ya know me-»

«I do, and I know that you're the biggest troublemaker of them all, Meenah.»

«Look here, spider crab-»

«No! Not until you calm yourself.»

«Aight. Aight. Be coo', baby girl.-» The Sahaugin lowered its arms and took a step back. «See? I'm coo'. It's coo'.»

«Ugh! What are you even doing in here?! You can't just barge into someone's home without announcing it, first.»

«Sea, tho', I ain't know this was your crib, yo. 'Sides.» The Sahaugin flashed a grin at Capsule. «Red be my home gill. Buoy. Whatebber. We were jus' foolin' aboat.» Was it - she? - really doing this? Either way, Capsule just wanted to prevent a fight.

«Yeah we're… friends. You could even say I tamed her.» Capsule casually used her Pascify skill on the Sahaugin, bumping her aggression level down a notch.

«Don't push your luck, yo,» Meenah hissed into her ear as she wrapped one long and scaly arm around the Enchanter's shoulder. Had she made a mistake? Probably. There wasn't much Meenah could do against her, however; not with Aranea here, anyway.

Aranea scrutinized the alleged pair of chums for almost a full minute. That length of time made Capsule downright uncomfortable, and the Sahaugin only made it worse with her close proximity. The fish monster's skin and scales felt clammy and cool against Capsule, even through her armored wetsuit. This was by far the most awkward of one armed embraces, especially when the other party seemed prone to violent outbursts.
«I believe you, I guess,» the hermit crab finally said. A wave of relief flooded Capsule's body as the monstrous fish person released her.

«Sea? Whaddya I tell ya? Thick as thieves the two of us are! Capelin here is my gill.» Meenah showed off her rows of sharp white teeth once more, and gave Capsule a rough pat on the back. Capsule couldn't argue with that logic. «So! Where da eats be at? What do ya have there, spider crab?»

«My name is Aranea! And you can go hunt for yourself-.»

«But I'm company, tho'! I'm her company. Ain't you two dear fronds? Share the grub, good chums!»

Aranea seemed flustered, and after a few seconds of scuttling back and forth, dumped a small pile of crabs and clams at the Sahaugin's feet. «Now that's what I'm talkin' aboat!» Meenah scooped up handfuls of the stuff and indiscriminately crammed them into her mouth. «I hope ya have room for me on da seaweed pile. I’m gonna need a place to crash, ya dig?»

Capsule exchanged glances with Aranea, who did not look pleased at all with this development. She did not say anything to reject the Sahaugin’s demands, however, and just handed over a large wad of seaweed to the Enchanter. The hermit crab then went about tidying up her home, afterwards settling down to construct what appeared to be mats made of dried seaweed. She could tell it was going to be a long night.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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∝:
550

♪ ♫♪:
Don't Move

✏:
__

@:
Capsule

Sleeping beside two fish monsters was definitely not something Capsule was looking forward to, but what other choice did she really have? The redhead sighed as she fussed over her slowly brewing meal, which was now filling the air with the scent of cooking crustacean. She wondered if Aranea would take offense to this, but the old hermit crab seemed too busy with her task to notice. Meenah was still chowing down, but now roaming about and inspecting the many shells scattered around the cave, occasionally touching or digging through them.

Capsule tore up bits of seaweed and chucked them into the beakers, after which she stirred and left to sit for a while. Aranea did not seem to be in the mood to chat, and she had no interest in shooting the breeze with Meenah, so she scooted around a bit until her back was comfortably against a wall, but not out of reach of her flower pots. She pulled a book on rare bird species, and began to thumb through it.

The aviary in her guild's castle came equipped with a few rare species, but she had a feeling she would have to wrangle any extra up on her own. For now, though, she needed to study up on the breeds for proper care. For all she knew, the aviary was not self-sustaining, despite it appearing to be an exotic garden. She would need to keep the skylights clean and clear, too. There was surely a reason behind the glass ceiling.

The minutes ticked on as she read, and by the time the smell of brewing whatever the duck that slop was grew stronger, Capsule had read a good chunk of the book. She marked her place and placed the book back into her inventory. Her stomach was softly rumbling in hunger now, so much so that she just might gobble down her meal, even if it wasn't entirely done.

She poked at one of the beakers, trying to remember what cooked crab legs looked like. Red, white? Well, they were already red, but… Damn. She really had no idea. 'Eh. You only live once,' Capsule thought as she blew out the flames under the beakers and waited for the broth like substance to cool. It certainly smelled good, at any rate. Her stomach rumbled louder and louder as she waited for it to cool down.

Meenah and Aranea, on the other hand, were visibly repulsed by the beakers. Aranea only clucked and shook her head in disapproval, but Meenah sneered and hissed at the food. Her behavior vaguely reminded Cap of a cute, blue furred alien from some old cartoon. Whatever, Stich. She didn’t have to eat it, and had already declined the original offer.

The fish monster continued to make rude noises and faces as Capsule carefully plucked a prawn from a beaker and blew on it. It was nice and pink, so she assumed it was done. It certainly tasted like it was when she bit into it, though there was an odd aftertaste. It reminded her of a medicinal tablet, but somewhat lemony. Capsule shrugged and devoured another, and another, and nibbled on a crab leg. It was pretty damn bad, but it was something to choke down and fool her stomach into contentment.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

[newclass=.benetbar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 150px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","benetbar"]

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[attr="class","benetbar"]

∝:
667

♪ ♫♪:
I Don't Like Mondays

✏:
What could it beeee.

@:
Capsule

In hindsight, eating that stuff was a horrible idea. Capsule had felt fine and pretty full after her meal, and was still feeling all right when the group settled down to sleep. She had curled up on her little bed of seaweed, and wrapped her blanket around herself to fight the slight chill in the air. Within ten minutes of attempting to sleep, Capsule's stomach rumbled and her bowels threatened to loosen. She did not move at first. Was she literally about to shit her pants?

The next few hours were spent in fear and shameful squatting just outside of the cave entrance. The tide had pulled back enough to only lick the toes of Capsule's feet, which she was rather thankful for. She was not keen on the thought of constant assault from waves in her sickened state. That abomination of a meal (she couldn't even call it a potion, since it wouldn't make her sick) was one giant mistake. She returned to her pallet in timid optimism, and sprawled face down as she tried to drift off back to sleep.

The first five minutes without sleep seemed reasonable, but the twenty minute stretch was questionable, and the passing into an hour was downright scandalous. The Enchanter, disgruntled with how she was feeling and the swiftly ending night, got up and went back out again. It mattered little that it was nearing sunrise, as she more than likely would not be able to sleep at all tonight, and she was going to be tired when she went home, regardless.

The moon was a lot brighter than she recalled, though it was kind of hard to notice it when you were doubled over and praying that no one happened to swim or boat by. She waded out into the water, clad in only her wetsuit. A late night swim might help her feel better. Even if it failed to make her sufficiently tired enough for sleep, it could help to take her mind off of things. Perhaps that was all she needed to relax.

Once she had reached a point where she could walk no further, Capsule threw her arms above her head and threw herself head first into the water. Her Form Shift skill did not make as much of a significant difference as she would have liked, but Capsule did at least manage to make little webs in between her toes and fingers. They were nowhere near as impressive and tough like Meenah's or any other Sahaugin, but she did not possess their strength when it came to swimming. She was just a mere Half-Alv Enchanter.

She searched the dark bottom with blurry eyes for shells and other pretty things. Aranea, like other hermit crabs, had such a love for collecting the things that it seemed like a nice gesture. Capsule almost mugged a regular hermit crab of its shell, and received a light pinch on her finger. She set the crab down and swam along, trying her best to grab only vacant shells. By the time she needed to come up for a breath of air, she had liberated two empty conch shells from the sandy sea floor.

Capsule strayed further and further from the cave, until she found herself surrounded on all sides by miles of water. She chucked the shells into her inventory, and started to turn around to make her back to the cave. That was when she felt a heavy warmness wrapped around her left ankle. Capsule tugged, assuming that it was another clump of seaweed. When she failed to detach her foot and her ankle only got heavier, she grew nervous. This might not be seaweed after all. «Who is it,» she called out, instinctively toggling on Tongue of Nature. The odds of this being another Adventurer felt slim, so she could only assume that it was some ocean dwelling creature. She really hoped that it was not some salt water Black Lagoon - that would be downright terrifying!

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

[newclass=.benetbar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 150px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","benetbar"]

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[attr="class","benetbar"]

∝:
733

♪ ♫♪:
Don't Move

✏:
__

@:
Capsule

Her first instinct was to kick and struggle, but that likely would have been incredibly detrimental. What if, for example, this thing decided to tug more and more on her ankle, until she was submerged under water and held her down there until she was unable to breathe? Of course, if she failed to do anything at all, it may still insist on dragging her under and drowning her. Capsule had been fortunate enough to avoid death in this world so far, but she would not always be so lucky.

Capsule decided to remain calm - or at least attempt to, anyway - and tried speaking to the monster again. «Hello? What do you want?» If the monster heard her, it gave no sign whatsoever. «Please let me go!» She twitched her foot, only to have the pressure placed on it increase. If she didn't know any better, she would say the offending monster was an octopus or something.

She honestly had not spent much time goofing off in the sea when this was still just a game, though she had often made her avatar swim around in the river. If there was a fish like monster other than the Sahaugin living in these waters, she had no idea. It would just be so convenient if there was a giant squid or something down there - oh, who was she kidding?

«I'm warning you, now, before you do anything stupid. I am a very important person, and high leveled Adventurer, to boot AAAAAAAAAAH-» Capsule thrashed about as she was yanked back and down with the force of something unbelievably strong. Thrashing and kicking did her no good whatsoever, for the tentacle monster only prohibited her movement further, by seizing her other ankle and wrapping a tentacle around her waist.

An attempt to nab a glance of her assailant resulted in her vision being clouded over with an ink like substance. Capsule flailed at her face, hopelessly blind for who knows how long. Okay, this monster was so getting a stern talking to once she could see again. For now, she would just have to hold on and…

Capsule brought her hands up to cup her mouth, which was now steadily blowing small bubbles that would not stay small for long. Pressure came down on all sides, but especially her throat and ears. Just when she thought something would pop or her lungs would burst, Capsule found herself drifting onto something hard and rough. She still could not see, but her head was no longer forced underwater. She could breathe!

Her ankles and waist were also free of their bonds, and this was… she was back on the beach? Capsule patted the ground around her, just to be certain. It was all land, mostly moist sand, but land all the same. Why? Why had the tentacle monster blinded and restricted her, only to toss her back onto shore? She rubbed at her eyes until a faint light shone in her vision.

Her vision was blurry, so she could not properly identify the monsters frolicking in the sea further down, but if she had to, she would guess that they were Sahaugin Brutes. They were all about Meenah's size, though some were much bigger and muscular than the female. She definitely did not want to have to deal with them. Meenah was a handful, but she was also manageable. The other Sahaugins roughing up what appeared to be a smaller version of themselves did not seem like the kind you could reason with. Now that she thought about it…

'If I had continued going that way, those brutes would have spotted and killed me - or died trying.' The former was likelier. She could not fight very well in the water, and there were too many of them for her to dispatch of without risking grave injury. Capsule rolled over onto her stomach and flattened herself to the ground. So it was a benevolent tentacle monster, huh?

The Enchanter lied there for a good ten minutes or so, until her vision was clear. She then slowly picked herself up, after not hearing a peep of crude fish speech, and began to waddle back in the direction of Aranea's cave. It would be morning soon, and she did not want the crab to worry. She would like to thank the crab woman before heading home, though.

coded by benetnasch of ET