crickets and creatures will come in the night
keep my back from the reaper
who's hunting or running, you gotta decide

The forested area along the bay of Leo had become September's temporary home while living in Leo. Temporary meaning he had been here for a day and decided that his constant movement would stop for a little bit while he enjoyed himself in the hotter temperatures, abundant food, and nice views that the cave provided. He was planning on giving himself a day or two of rest before he went exploring again, but of course, something else had to stick its nose into his daily business. And that something was a note that just kind of fluttered down from the trees.

He paused and watched it fall before stepping up to it. Unintelligible scrawls made up part of the paper in lines, but beneath was...uh...

He squinted, trying to figure out what was being illustrated. Lots of arrows and...paws, maybe? And something yellowish. There were little things too, multicolored and black. Hadn't he seen the former, around here? The little bugs that floated around harmlessly, that he usually paid no mind to? He stared at the image of paw...things reaching into the yellow thing that the bugs were swarming around. An arrow to what was obviously treasure and another to...something lumpy and red. He could guess that it was supposed to be the paw things injured.

Instructions, then, with a promise for treasure? He didn't even think twice before raising his head, ears perking as he began his search for some bumblebugs. He could go for some treasure, and this sounded exactly like the kind of stupid mischief he could get into for the day.

It didn't take long to find some of the bees. Tracking them for a bit led him to a hole in a tree where he could see thousands of the little buzzing bees swarming around. Just inside, he could see something yellow. There it is.

Without hesitating for a second, September reared up on his hind legs to reach the hole and thrust his entire face right into the tree, quickly grasping around with his teeth to see if there was any of the promised treasure inside.

september

Rue was 'off-duty,' ambling about the cave with not much in mind. They snicker to themselves, green eyes patrolling the area. In time, they'd stumble upon the young September sticking his face in a beehive.

For a moment their laughter becomes louder, as they wait for the stings to happen. But they remember, the scrawled drawings - Nemean had taken the time to dump a stack's worth throughout Draco. Rue couldn't read themselves, but someone else had explained the gist. Stick your hand in a beehive for goodies, or stingies.

"Hey, lemme see! I wanna see too!" they call out, coming beside September underneath the tree. The hive is fairly big, with multiple entrances, so they rear up, putting their weight on one forelimb on the tree trunk and the other reaching into the hive.

Here goes nothing...

@September

The Bumblebugs buzzed, as they do. The breeze off the bay had them excited, energetic, but as the fawn began to poke around in the hive they became concerned. A few shining, rainbow-colored insects landed around September's face, studying what he was doing, but after a moment they seemed to decide he was not a threat.

Maybe he'd even get rid of all the weird stuff that fairy had jammed into their honeycomb.

And when Rue came, it was much of the same: a covering with bees, no actual stings--they seemed surprisingly tolerant. Just a flutter of little touches and rainbow flashes across their face.

Both prizes retrieved would be covered in sticky honey: delicious, maybe, but it'd sure need a good wash!

September's prize is a series of shining golden rings connected by slender chains. These are enchanted with Failed Timeline, so that damage he might incur is partially absorbed by the metal, which will gradually break down from this damage (it can be repaired by a skilled smith). These rings don't fit anywhere on the fawn's body, but when the Sambar is fully grown, might prove admirable decoration for his antler beams and tines!

Rue retrieves a large set of black, leather-looking armor with black, leathery studs (how on earth in the caves did that fit in a beehive?!). This armor covers their torso and back like a waist-length jacket with a high collar, and the sleeves will reach to their elbows. It is enchanted with Weave: damage to the jacket and wearer will find the leather-like material growing with organic black tendrils to help close any wounds around and beneath the armor.

_______

Post in Update Me if the items are accepted/claimed to have an icon added to the characters' Enchanted Items profile list!

If other characters are invited to join, they are free to backdate this for additional reward (or bee sting...) rolls.

@September @Rue

crickets and creatures will come in the night
keep my back from the reaper
who's hunting or running, you gotta decide

He didn't care about the laughter - maybe he looked ridiculous, but why should he care, especially if there was something cool to find? He glanced over momentarily and saw the strange long-legged wolf approaching and grunted, moving to the side, as it barged in to take its own place. This was his spot, but there were plenty of openings left. He wasn't so selfish that he'd hoard the entire hive.

For a moment he grew nervous as a number of the bugs landed on his face. It tickled uncomfortably and he wondered if they had a bite or sting that'd start hurting very soon. But no pinpricks of pain or increased buzzing clued him into being attacked by the bumblebugs, so he pushed further into the hive, searching around with his lips and blunt teeth, the sweet, sticky taste of honey filling his mouth, until he snagged on something very much not honey or beeswax. With a triumphant grunt, he pulled his head out, careful not to scrape the opal horn against the rim of the opening as a long series of chains and rings came free, their color currently swallowed by golden sticky goodness.

"What the heck," he mumbled as he started licking the honey off the rings. "What was this even doing in there?" What could bees do with rings, anyways? A single one was many times bigger then one of the tiny bees. Perhaps it was the writer of the instructions that had just gone and thrown them in hives for gembound to find. Weird.

september

@Rue

The bees buzzed, swarming over Rue's talons in a weird, noisy blanket. And all the honey... They'd be licking themselves clean for a while after this. At least it tastes good.

Their claws caught on straps, and they heaved their prize out of the hive. It was a sticky mess, but the thing was at least identifiable. Some sort of leather jacket or shirt. They'd try it on, if it wasn't so honeyed.

Rue glances over at September's prize, some sort of jewelry? Bling perhaps? "Someone put it there. They left notes everywhere. Seems like a waste of time... and good honey," they offer, tilting their head. Surely there's better uses for honey than slathering it over clothing, right?

@September

crickets and creatures will come in the night
keep my back from the reaper
who's hunting or running, you gotta decide

September's eyes bulged at the sight of what the other one was pulling out of the hive. That just seemed...excessive for honeycomb prizes. "Huh?! How did that even fit?" He glanced at the lower hole to check the damage, but the hive seemed...okay? He looked between the hive, the armor, and back again and then just shrugged. Okay. Enchanted items magically stuck into beehives for no apparent reason other then to make people stick their heads into beehives. Reasonable.

He pawed at his own prize, reaching down to lick at the honey stuck to the metal. "Probably someone's idea of a prank. Although these seem excessive prizes for a prank." The bees were still buzzing around them, reminding September that they could potentially still go for a nice, sharp sting if they wanted to. And he was still amazed that he'd gone through all of that without a single sting. It could have been real bad.

Eh, well. He shrugged, continuing to lick that delicious honey off of his prize. "Well, I'm not gonna complain. No stings, free honey, cool rings...I don't see any downsides here."

september

@Rue

Their ears flick, as they think. "I heard others say that this was the work of someone known for elaborate... jokes." The name Nemean wasn't remembered, but Rue had heard enough when the notes ended up in Draco. They weren't exactly the gossiper, but they often listened.

Still, armor and jewelry, even if it was light, was a lot to just give away. Even if it required diving into a beehive. "Count our blessings, maybe. The bees felt nice today. Prizes and a snack, lucky us!"

@September

crickets and creatures will come in the night
keep my back from the reaper
who's hunting or running, you gotta decide

September snorted. Figures. Not a great joke, though if they just get things from a hive for free. If the bees stung, then maybe it would be. But...yes, perhaps they'd just been lucky.

Speaking of luck, September really noticed the other for the first time, eyes flicking over their...fascinatingly patchwork body, the gemstone staples, the black ooze, the...everything. "Uh, yeah. Lucky us. You really look like you need it," they snickered, trying to look and sound as good-natured as possible. It hadn't intended to be a slight, but he was still young and didn't know how to smoothly slide between bullying and teasing jokes.

september

@Rue

They grin, no offense taken at September's comment - though that's really because they don't realize it could be taken as one, either. "I can definitely see this being very handy, yes. It will definitely help me in a fight." It seems they end up in battle at least once a cycle.

They look the other over again, a definitely far more 'normal' Gembound - but everything in this cave had their surprises. "Name's Rue," they offer, in an attempt to get him to tell them his as well.

@September

crickets and creatures will come in the night
keep my back from the reaper
who's hunting or running, you gotta decide

The fawn inclined his head slightly towards the other. "September," he responded, eyes still darting about the body of Rue, now that he was fully paying attention, and he had caught Rue's attention as well.

He thought about how to ask it, but then decided to just go full on, straight in. "Soooo...what the fuck happened to you? What's with all the..." He trailed off as he looked pointedly at a few points and jerked his nose forward a bit as emphasis. - the strange stitching, the black running from the eyes. They looked...pretty fucked up.

september

@Rue