Fungus Amongus (open~)

[Hal]

Sunlight sparkled through the foliage of the Twelveswood, illuminating a cloud of fungal spores.  The woman who had disturbed the spores sat back on her heels with an explosive sneeze.  The light dappled her exposed skin, revealing angry red blotches.  Hands, wrists, forearms, elbows, neck, face: she looked horrendous, and coupled with her grim expression she could be said to be a comical sight.  The blotches were swollen.  Her eyes were watering.

 

The job posting had seemed too good to be true.  Collect some fungus for a pretty decent amount of money.  No one had picked it up, for all the listing was posted in the Botanist's Guild. 

 

Now Hal knew why.

 

She wiped her runny nose with the back of her wrist, moaning in misery.  No wonder one of the other members had casually suggested she, as a new member, might benefit from picking up what seemed to be a pretty simple task.  It had to be some sort of hazing ritual for gullible new botanists like herself.

 

One of her eyes was swelling shut.

 

She carefully plucked the fungus, stuffing it into the bag she'd brought for the purpose.  If only she'd been smart enough to wear gloves and other protective gear.  If only she'd not played right into their hands...

 

Another spray of spores bloomed into the light, and Hal hastily backpedaled, heels digging in as she scooted backwards on her rear end.

 

She couldn't help but laugh at herself, snot and tears smeared over her face, puffed up like a frog.

 

Oh, she was going to get the bastards back tenfold.

[Melodia]

Melodia watched the woman picking....or attempting to pick up what appeared to be spores, and the woman looked a mess tenfold. She'd been dressed casually, light trousers and camise, enjoying the nice day ebfore she'd accidentally stumbled upon this poor woman.

 

At least she thought it was a woman. It was hard to tell with the swollen eye and the red marks from the poison.

 

Sighing she shoomk her head and called out.

 

"Stop touchin' th' damn things will ye? I'm no' strong enough t' carry ye t' a healer in time if ye get too much o' tha' on ye. 'Less yer intent on killin' yerself." She looked on with a smirk. "Tha'd be a shame, f'r I'm certain ye've a pret'y face under all o'...." She gestured with a waving hand in the woman's direction. "...tha'."

[Hal]

The daydream of making the wretches involved in her rather itchy predicament pay had precluded one of the number one rules in the forest: pay attention to your surroundings.  Oh well, no need to look startled or anything, despite the fact that she'd already jumped a few inches.  Play it cool, play it cool.

 

She casually got to her feet, all six fulms of it, and tossed her hair out of her face.  A slime trail of snot arced out after it, catching the light.  She wondered, briefly, how much worse it would make the situation if she wiped her nose on the back of her hand again.  She put her hand on her hip, cocking it out like she was bad, really bad.  And cool.

 

"I'm fine," she said, trying to sound bored.  Since her nose was fully blocked up with mucous, it came out sounding stuffy.  She had to breathe through her mouth.

 

A woman in her thirties really shouldn't have to try so hard to pretend to be with it.  Whatever 'it' was.

[Melodia]

Melodia had been through a life of hell aboard the pirate vessel as a child. Had been trained as a thief. Had seen death up close and had lived with pain. She'd been a Yellowjacket for the better part of a year and watched this woman, older than herself working so hard to play it cool.

 

And she was failing.

 

Melodia smirked and nodded. "Oh ye've got it all under control do ye?" She chuckled as she walked closer, pointing at the woman's nose and sort of awkwardly waving it as if showing off something. "Ye've...somethin'....there...aye, comin' out o' yer nose..."

[Nebbs]

Days, like today were just the sort of days to daydream on, and as anyone who has studied those who seem destined to practice this lost art would tell you, those days are most days.

 

Nebula Stardancer was one such practitioner, and todays daydream focused on a magical forest tea party where her friends the fairies the frogs and the trees would come. There would be sweet nectar tea, bright flowers and especially there would be cakes. Big cakes, small cakes, long cakes shortcake, .. and indeed Nebula could go on for Malm and Malm walking through the wood. However, as with most daydreams they are ended abruptly by reality.

 

The young Witch, for that is how she looked, came out of the bush backwards as if thanking the bush for letting her through. Her light blue bushy tale leading the way. She turned and the violet eyes on her pale face took in the scene.

 

"Oh for the love of frogs child what have you done!"

[Hal]

After surreptitiously wiping her hand on her pants leg, Hal nonchalantly tossed her head again.  She could feel the snot cresting her upper lip.  A tear leaked from her right eye, the one that was just about swollen closed, and oozed down her face.

 

About to reply, she opened her mouth when a spasm of itching overtook half her face, making her grunt something unintelligible.  She twitched, her iron self control keeping her hands from rising above hip height as she fought to maintain her mystique and composure.

 

"I know," she said, through a wince and a stiff grimace of effort.

 

She knew she wasn't fooling anyone.  She knew that.  But caught out in the middle of the forest like a flat-footed fool, she couldn't help but try to salvage what little remained of her pride.  She mentally upped the amount of vengeance she'd wreak upon those who'd put her in the situation in the first place.

 

The new voice intruded upon the fantasy.

 

"What?!" was her immediate response, not at all as if she was guilty of something heinous.

[Melodia]

Melodia looked at the sight of the woman who'd stumbled upon them and mouthed the words silently, "Th' frog?" Tilting her head she took in the miqo'te woman adorned in witches attire and murmured, "Bloody hells.." Taking a step between the two, somehow feeling like she should in case....who knew? Her law enforcement side had kicked in and she didn't want trouble.

 

"Hello there...me name's Melodia, stranger. She was no' meanin' any harm. If anythin' she got bested by th'..." She gestured behind her with a outstretched thumb. "...by th'...whatever th' hells she was doin'."

[Nebbs]

Nebula stood there, probably not even twenty summers she had seen, yet the frown she had was as old as a oak, so much so the tuting was implied.

 

In response to Melodia's welcome, Nebula blinked and the frown was gone, replaced by a smile as free as the birds. "Oh sorry, the bush was wanting me to stay for tea, I'm Nebula.. and your friend there has done a really silly thing, a few times in a row it looks like. We can alleviate some of her troubles with an antidote, if you can help?"

 

Nebula spares a glance around as if looking for something. "Yes there, some of those leaves of that weedy looking plant, into a tincture and then either tea or an apple for the consumption. I'll also need a fire for this"

 

From behind her robes a goblin's head peeks out and holds up a small cauldron that Nebula takes, "Thank you Mr Lugg"

[Hal]

There was something rather...off-putting about the way the miqo'te was frowning.  It had been a long time since Hal had sat at anyone's knee as errant pupil, but, er, yeah, that was the right sort of look.

 

She frowned back.  With some extra fierceness, not that it would do much good with snot hanging out of her nose and a face that looked like she'd stumbled into a hornet's nest, but there was something to be said for trying.  At least, that's what her brother had always told her.  Usually while laughing at her.

 

Besides, the miqo'te appeared to be stark-raving-nutters, and that meant Hal didn't have to take her sass.

 

"I'm fine," she repeated, furtively trying to snort back some of the snot that continued to leak out.  "No thank-you."

 

Her voice didn't even sound like her voice anymore, and she was having a difficult time seeing.  Her eye that remained open was all blurry.  She would have liked to make a composed and suave exit, but she was having a hard time determining the best way to leave without walking smack into a tree.