Attikias stretched out his limbs. He'd been out in the forest for some time, clambering up trees and checking old traps, hanging his finds on his belt. Or-- one find, really, a single caroler that was at a rather mediocre weight. Still, he'd been hunting them more for their feathers than anything. It was a good meal, sure, but with a family of his size, he had a lot of people to feed.

And so, he continued on, the caroler's carcass hanging from his belt by the foot. His bow had been slung over his back as he wandered about the woods, resetting traps and finding new places farther out from his camp. Perhaps he was lucky that they even got use- he was worried that he'd hurt someone this way, eventually, or cause some troubles in the future for someone, but nothing bad had come out of this process.

Not yet, anyways.

His next trap was a bit high up, and the elf mentally cursed at himself for that. Of course, he'd been able to get up there before, but this one still hadn't caught anything. It was barely worth it, really, and it had clearly been triggered already. Shutting his eyes and suppressing a groan, Attikias removed the bow and its quiver from his back and set it on the base of the tree.

Right. How'd he get up last time? There was a branch that was just close enough to reach, and soon Attikias was pulling himself up by it, letting out a huff of breath as he exerted himself. 'I really need to just get rid of this trap,' came the thought in his subconscious, but he shook it away as he clambered up further. Yep, it had triggered alright- the loop of rawhide string had tightened into a knot and the rock dangling behind it had yet to fall to the ground. A soft sigh rose from the back of his throat as he carefully edged over to sit at the base of the branch, reaching forward to fix the rope from the hole it peeked out of.

It was rough work. The knot was too tight already, and Attikias grumbled as he picked at it with chewed down nails, unable to get a hold on it. 'Better to just throw it out and replace the whole thing...' His eyes glanced to the rock swaying gently as he moved on the tree, and he worked his jaw in thought, reaching down to grab the weight. It wasn't hard to free it of its rope- he could easily salvaged what existed there, and he did so by simply threading the rest of the rope via the hole, widened by him pressing down on the branch that the rope was supposed to be draped over.

What a waste of perfectly good rope. But, he had some more just for this purpose, and he unwound the spool from his belt and lengthened out over the limb to get a rough measurement. The rock precariously laid on his lap as he tied the knot of the noose and threaded the rest of the rope into the hole. It wasn't hard work, really, but it was still something to complain about as he had to keep his leg outstretched in an awkward position just to push the limb down. He could easily fall (and he has), but thankfully he wasn't going to today, as the rope poked out from the other side. Attikias let out a mental sigh of relief before he quickly affixed the rock to the end of it and let it hang, keeping the noose loose by preventing the rope's movement with the closing of the hole.

'Now, no more false triggering,' he reprimanded mentally, nodding. He just had to get down after that.

He let out an actual huff at that. It took some clambering, but by swinging his legs down and letting himself drop easily onto the lower limb, he was soon on the jungle floor and gathering his equipment for more patrolling.

Now, if only he could get more traps actually triggered.

(In short, Attikias has a bunch of Ojibwa bird pole inspired traps set up in branches and the like around his camp. They'll slip a noose around a bird's legs and pin them down due to a rock weight. Crescendo can land at any of 'em and Attikias'll investigate, or she could've been trapped before and he hadn't gotten around to checking that particular trap yet or anything!)

@Crescendo

This was completely infuriating, and there was exactly nothing Crescendo could do about it.

She should have known there was something up with this branch as soon as she'd seen the contraption on it. She'd been planning to investigate... but that had gotten her here. At least Crescendo knew what the contraption did now, even if she'd found out the hard way. And she had to admit, it was awfully clever. She herself could never have tied a knot like that.

Which, unfortunately, meant she couldn't untie it either.

Crescendo had long since given up yelling and flapping around. It didn't do anything, anyway, and she was getting really thirsty. She had to save her voice. Groaning mentally, she summoned a gust of wind that swung the rock weighing her down back and forth. It didn't free her, of course, but at least it didn't physically tire her out any more. With luck, she could maybe wear out the rope and free herself before she died of dehydration or something.

Yeah. Just keep telling yourself that.

@Attikias

He didn't hear the pigeon's protests, not while he was busying himself with the various wildlife traps he'd put together. He certainly didn't hear any when Crescendo stopped, either, and with that silence he was none-the-wiser to what creature he'd caught in one of his traps. It was the swinging that got his attention- while motion wasn't uncommon in the woods, he'd been looking for the trap specifically to check on it, and, well. Seems like it got something. It could be another caroller- a little dull, which was strange, but he'd often found aberrations in different lessers.

Not to mention the strange differences between greaters.

In any case, Attikias dropped down as soon as he saw the bird, crouching in place as his tail flick incessantly. 'Another'll be good,' his mind provided, as he slowly stalked forward with balanced steps. It isn't struggling, good, and it hasn't seemed to notice him. Not from this far, at least.

Squinting, Attikias slowly came forward as he took the bow from his shoulder, nocking an arrow in its place. Except- at this angle, the way he was crouched, the quiver hung just right to tip over and let its contents spill out. "ₛₕᵢₜ₋" He cussed out under his breath as the wood clinked together, arrows falling over each other into the dirt. The elf ducked down instantly, getting on his knees behind what little cover he could get from here, eyes snapping to Crescendo. He was far enough to stay hidden, right? The bird wasn't going anywhere-- but, now that it was probably alerted to his position (if it heard him), he didn't have much time to act.

Breathing out a shaky breath, Attikias fumbled on his hands and knees to scoop up his arrows, dropping his bow in the process.

@Crescendo

The first gust of wind died without accomplishing anything, as she had expected. But it was really the only thing Crescendo could do to help herself, apart from calling out for help. But Eridanus was a big cave. Not populated densely enough with Greater Gembound, and filled with dangerous animals bigger than her that would probably see her and go: hey, free snack!

She was about to attempt the spell a second time--it had to work eventually, right? The friction would wear through the rope sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. (Isn't this a wonderful lie to tell yourself to distract yourself from impending death by dehydration?) Whoa. Watch the cheerful thoughts, Crescendo.

But then there was a noise: a clatter of sticks somewhere in the undergrowth. Crescendo froze, eyes darting around, looking for a hidden threat. Whatever had made the noise, it had to be big. Big enough to be dangerous to someone like her. But she didn't see anything, and at least the sounds weren't coming toward her.

Maybe it hasn't noticed me, Crescendo prayed. Again, calling for help was not an option. Chances were, it wasn't sentient--she hadn't heard it speak, at least--and she didn't need to get herself noticed and eaten. I'd better add in some magic to make sure it keeps not noticing me. Concentrating, she coaxed a small breeze to blow from the direction she'd heard the noise. She herself didn't use scent much, but she knew some predators hunted using it. If she could get the wind to carry her scent in the other direction, that could help her stay hidden and safe.

Or. A thought struck her. What if whatever made the noise was the one who set the trap in the first place? Someone intelligent had to have done it. No Lesser Gembound she knew of had the cleverness or dexterity to set a trap. In that case, she should speak. A Greater Gembound would not hurt her... she hoped.

But there was no way of knowing. It would be a risk.

For now, the pigeon simply kept her eyes fixed in the direction the noise had come from. If it approached--if it strode to her branch confidently, made itself known because it knew she was trapped and couldn't fly away--then she could assume that it was the one who had set the trap, and speak. If it wandered away, without noticing her... then she would be on her own again.

@Attikias

Attikias's hands shook for a moment as he returned the arrows to their quiver, his tail thumping anxiously behind the low jungle foliage he'd stowed himself behind. He could kill it himself, go up to it, but last time he tried that the lesser bit him. No, it was best to at least try this, first, and he wasn't usually that bad at it.

As a breeze tussled over his skin, Attikias turned his head to look through the leaves at the bird. It was looking to him-- he didn't have much chance at this. Tensing, Attikias took the bow back in his hands and pulled out an arrow from the quiver, taking much care to be quieter this time.

'Stay still,' he mentally urged to the being, narrowing his eyes as he nocked the arrow once more and drew back the taut string. It was awkward work, getting the arrow to poke through the fern and aim directly at the bird, but soon it was leveled directly at the bird's breast and ready to be fired. As Attikias readjusted himself, he paused-- wind doesn't normally pass through this far beneath the treetops.

He shook his head. Maybe it did sometimes, and he was just now noticing it again, like he'd gotten so used to it and he was just now remembering it. No matter- he had another (supposed) caroler to add to tonight's dinner, and he let loose the arrow aimed straight at them.

@Crescendo

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

death

Beady dark eyes focused on the undergrowth, Crescendo held her breath and watched carefully. There was more rustling, but it didn't seem to be coming toward her… then again, hearing wasn't her strong suit. Crescendo narrowed her eyes. Was that something pointy sticking out of the foliage?

A projectile! she realized too late. By the time she opened her beak to cry out a "HEY—", it was already sailing through the air. A burst of desperate flapping only caused the arrow to strike in her throat instead of her chest, and her scream cut off with a choked sound as diamond erupted from her chest, enveloping her.

@Attikias exit lol

Attikias waited with baited breath as the arrow soared towards its mark.

Then he gasped. See, he wasn't expecting a sentient being to not say anything, to not be in his trap or free themself through magic or any other means. He thought of the general Greater populace to be at least semi-competent intelligence, and he thought that the traps were fine while he had them set up. Not once had he had issues- not until now.

He didn't account for the fact that he could trap, perhaps, weaker and younger beings, and accidentally kill them. He felt a wave of nausea rise as the arrow thunked into her throat, cutting off the word she threw to him, and cutting off air flow, and maybe killing her-

Panic flooded Attikias's mind. Dropping his stealth, Attikias rushed forward and shoved the bow back over his shoulder, frantically reaching for the knife at his hip. "Shitshitshit- Shit, I'm so sorry!" But she was already going, gem wrapping around her. 'At least they'll survive,' he assured himself to no effect, watching as the gem grew closer to the rope.

There was no time to free her leg, but at least he could catch her once she fell. This trap was low enough from here to cut away the braided vine that made up its bulk, and Attikias got ready to hold the chrysalis if it managed to break the vine before he did.

The knife was dull (as it had always been), but it did the job. Sawing through the vine got the chrysalis to cut looser and looser, before it dropped into his waiting arms by ripping off the last bit of vine left uncut. "I got'cha," the elf breathed out, putting the knife back in its sheathe and holding the chrysalis like one would a young child.

'I did this,' his mind reminded himself. He caused someone to chrysalize. What if he'd killed them? He didn't want to have to use the knife, not yet, and Attikias laid a hand over the diamond surface gingerly as he sighed out. 'I'm sorry. I'll take care of you.'

Without bothering with the rest of his traps, Attikias beelined back home, ready to place the chrysalis somewhere safe while the being inside recovered.

Hopefully, they could forgive him.

;exit