Fairy Hunt (OPEN)

[ParamountKeymaster]

Van nodded to Swift and Forsaken before turning to Erin with an awkward grimace and a sharp exhale. "It's certainly sound advice, I agree. But given our personal experiences with Rainflower, we've all learned the hard way that nothing is out of the realms of plausibility with them. I could reach several dozen absurd conclusions about this situation myself, yet I couldn't even begin to list them in order of least to most likely. You could tell me that Rainflower drank a potion that turned them omnipresent and I would believe you."

Oh God, I don't even wanna THINK about that possibility... Ray shuddered.

Facing Forsaken again, Van continued, "But I won't deny that every one of use could easily be onto something. A different approach could feasibly yield positive results. If you want to attempt diplomacy with the beast, I won't stop you. That said... I think now would be an ideal time to split up. Cover more ground. If trouble rears its head again, I'm confident in our abilities to escape it solo, especially now that we have a better understanding of what we're up against."

He looked over his shoulder, staring into the winding cavern with wariness and uncertainty. "I don't know where we'll go from here, but I trust you all to do what you believe is best. The only thing I know for certain is that Rainflower would never abandon their work without good cause. They can't be too far. I... I can feel it..."

Then Van nodded to his teammates. "Best of luck, ladies. If you find anything, you know how to get ahold of me."

And with that, the mage turned and started marching deeper into the cave, ready to resume his search for Rainflower, uncertain of where to begin but ready to try again regardless. Somewhere around the bend, echoing from somewhere further inside, he heard the faintest noise. Somehow, simultaneously, it was like the loudest scream and the tiniest whisper.

I'm not the only one thinking it, right? Ray eventually piped up.

Thinking what...? Patrick asked in turn. I'm still pretty sure we don't share thoughts.

Did that THING look vaguely familiar to anyone else?

"I know what you're referring to..." Van responded calmly but nervously. "I meant what I said. I can't discount any theories when it comes to Rainflower. Still... I can't help but hope that this beast isn't what we think it is."

E66.9... Patrick muttered to himself. Should've said E66.9. Or... well, R63.5 makes sense too...

Ray's internal scowl almost crossed Van's face. I'm not gonna act like I know what you're talking about...

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Whatever the case is," Swift groaned, holding her forehead in her hands. "I don't have it in me to be shocked by whatever wacky shenanigans Rainflower pulls out of their rectum anymore. Momentarily startled, maybe, but literally anything and everything is par for the course with that nutcase. I just wanna find them fast and save Evan from an inevitable episode of self-pity."

She lowered her hands and shot Van, Forsaken and Erin two thumbs up. "If you insist, I'll see if talking to the monster does anything. I mean, it's got Rainflower's scent on it, I can tell ya that much. That's gotta mean something. If not, though, my fight-or-flight instincts will be on high alert. I will try to find a way to get that abomination off our backs once and for all if it keeps being a nuisance. But finding that fairy is still top priority."

As Van departed, Swift pointed to his back, then to the adjacent walkway. "So if you're going that way, I'm going this way." Then she gave Forsaken and Erin quick pats on the arms. "Sorry to get you two mixed up in this insanity. Still, though, I really appreciate the help. Hope things go well on your end."

Once she was certain the witch and the thief were just as prepared to face the music again, Swift dashed into the cave to continue her hunt. Her ears were raised, her eyes were peeled, and her nose was to the wind, her keen senses searching for any sign of Rainflower. Anything that could lead her to the actual right track, if there even was a right track.

Maybe Rainflower was the monster. Maybe they weren't. Maybe they were still in the caverns. Maybe they weren't. By this point, Swift was expecting anything, everything, and nothing all at once, but she didn't care. She was going to find them at any cost. She didn't care how long it took her or what she would have to go through to do it. If Evan had to suffer because of that obnoxious fairy, Swift was prepared to put herself through just as much torment.

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"AHH SCOOTS...!!!"

Following the mighty crack of an explosive burst of yoki, Swift sprinted around a corner, nearly crashing into a wall from the lack of traction before scrambling down the open stretch of cavern. The monster only managed to stick its tentacle-maned lamprey head around the bend once Swift had already disappeared down a fork in the path, its beady blue-green eyes scanning, its antennae twitching, neither finding any trace of the hanyo.

All the while, Swift continued to dash down the rocky path, checking behind her to ensure that the beast was not following her, only stopping two minutes after the fact. Once she had given herself leeway to relax, she sat down against the wall and caught her breath. "Okay... Huff... Glad to know the fifth attempt at talking to that thing was just as successful as the first four...! Huff... At this point... I'm gonna go with no, that is not Rainflower. It better not be... Guh..."

This search was just getting more and more discouraging by the minute. That feeling of dismay only intensified when she checked her phone and, well heck, it was almost five o'clock. Once again, Swift had wasted several hours running in circles, and worse still, she had subjected her friends to this monotony. She wanted to be angry. Well, okay, she was angry, but she was too tired to rage. After sprinting back and forth all day with nary a minute of rest, she barely even had the energy to pick herself back up. All she could do was groan and hold herself back from chucking her phone at the wall.

After successfully restraining herself, Swift turned on the phone and opened her Pesterchum memo. Any kind of comfort was welcome right about that time.

---------------------------

PW: I hope you guys are having better luck than I am.
PW: I'm five seconds away from screaming at the multiverse itself.

[gantzgun74]

—————————————————————

“Rrrraaagh~!”

With Erin, she had continued down one of the immense and winding tunnels, until she came across a new location so deep under the island she could scarcely believe it actually existed; an immense rainforest, lit by a giant crystal above their heads that soaked in, she imagined, the suns rays in the day, and the glow of the moon at night, transferring it all here.

It was also here that she came across these odd beings, a race of adorable little yeti’s with glittery Icy white fur, capable of belching out sheer cold on command...

Very weird...

But not something she found weird enough to match Rainflower’s level of weird...

Letting out a sigh, she pulls up a holoscreen to respond to Swift’s message.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

GG: No such luck here either.
GG: I MEAN, I found this odd giant rainforest that must’ve been underneath our feet the whole time, but aside from that? No sign of Rainflower.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Nah, it's cool, really. Go home, get some rest. We'll... awwwn... We'll catch up tomorrow."

After waving goodbye to Forsaken, Patrick promptly sealed the portal through which he had offered her retreat, leaving himself alone in his little section of the crystalline cave. He couldn't blame the Witch of Blood for wanting a reprieve from the hunt. After running back and forth for hours on end, getting frustrated over Rainflower's trails constantly leading to dead ends, and nearly being eaten by the same monster after several failed communication attempts, morale was in short supply. Patrick was certainly starting to feel it too. Van's constant tracking spells were taking a heavy toll on their shared mana reserves.

He jumped slightly when he heard that familiar, haunting, chimeric call echoing through the caverns from nearby. Then he promptly scurried in the opposite direction, stopping after a half a minute of jogging and leaning against a wall to catch his breath.

This is getting ridiculous! Ray protested. More so than it already was! We've searched EVERY corner of these damn caves! Can we all just agree that the stupid fairy ISN'T HERE?!

This search does seem to have turned a little redundant... Van sighed in begrudging agreement. But there are still so many variables that have me scratching our head. There is evidence that supports that they are here.

Oh, is there?! Did YOU see that little maniac anywhere?! 'Cause I sure didn't!

Patrick had nothing to add to his other selves' squabble. His phone was going off, and given that they were preoccupied and he was controlling their body for now, the best thing he could do now was respond to Swift and Erin's newest posts on the memo. The fact that neither of them had gotten any closer to Rainflower either was disappointing, but not surprising.

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AG: 0 LUCK DOWN IN THESE PARTS
AG: JUST SENT FORSAKEN HOME GIRL WAS TIRED
AG: IM TIRED 2 GUYZ
AG: NEED A BREAK REAL BADLY!!!

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Swift snarled and ran a hand through her hair. She should've known no one else had made any progress either. It wasn't that she was mad at them. She was just mad at the situation. And, to perhaps a greater extent, herself.

Letting out a deep sigh, rubbing the sleepies from her eyes, Swift promptly typed out a response. At least there was one thing she could agree on.

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PW: Yeah... I'm tired too.
PW: I'm sorry to drag you guys into this mess.
PW: If we need to stop for the night, we can. It's clear we're not getting anywhere like this.
SH: yeah, no news to report on the surface either.
SH: sorry, swift.
PW: It's okay, Ace.
PW: I don't have it in me to rant right now. I kinda just wanna go home. I'm sick of these caverns.
PW: But I don't know how I'm gonna break this to Evan.

[gantzgun74]

GG: Don’t be so hard on yourself Swift. You did everything you could.
GG: We’ll return to the surface, take a break for the night, and come back to the tunnels to start searching for them again. Ready and energized!

——————————————————

“Hrrraaaggh~!”

Erin was once more dragged away from her phone to look at the little hair all trying to get her attention like the adorable little ice spitter it was. The femme!Thief of Void chuckles at the little guy and pats him on the head before sitting down. The little yeti’s squeak and promptly start climbing on the young woman. “Pfft-!! Hehehehahaaha-! You guys are cold AND you tickle~.”

——————————————————

GG: Sides at the very least I have a.... POSSIBLE place I can continue the search from.
GG: Before anyone asks though? I wouldn’t recommend coming here. I’m almost certain I saw a T-Rex wandering around the trees.
GG: Leave looking around this place to me. I AM the Thief of Void after all.

[ParamountKeymaster]

AG: DONT HAV 2 TELL ME TWICE ERIN
AG: GESS ITS TIME 2 CALL IT QUITS THEN
AG: WHERE U @ SWIFT
AG: I CAN SEND YA HOME BUT THEN I WANNA GO FIND ACE
AG: HANG OUT WITH HER 4 A WHILE B4 I HEAD HOME MYSELF

[Pink Moon Wolf]

As Patrick and Erin sent out their responses, Swift looked up, focusing her ears and nose. It was faint, but it seemed like one of her friends was just around the corner, prompting her to start walking again, typing all the while.

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PW: Sounds good to me, fam.
SH: i'm taking a break at the tiny dragon in bonsai if you wanna meet me there, pat.
SH: i don't mind flying you home if you get too tired to cast spells.
PW: Do what you guys wanna do, as long as I can get home quickly. I really should check up on Evan asap.
PW: I appreciate the help today, though. Seriously.
PW: We'll figure this out one way or another. Rainflower can't stay hidden forever. It's not in their nature.
PW: Just... go home, get some sleep, everybody. I'll check back in with y'all in the morning and see where we wanna go from there.
SH: sounds good. see you soon, swift.
PW: Later, Ace.
PW: Pat? I think we're not too far off from each other. Give me a moment.

---------------------------

"Ah, yep..."

Peeking around the bend, Swift quickly spotted a lonesome Patrick leaning against the cavern wall with his phone in hand. Once his eyes were on her, Swift offered him a weary smile. She came to a halt against the opposite wall, sitting down with a heavy slump. "Been one of those days, hasn't it, Pat?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

AG: SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN GALS
AG: SEE YALL L8ER

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"Hm?" Patrick looked up from his phone, spotting Swift as she approached from around the corner. "Oh, hey, Swift."

He smiled back at her as she sat down against the wall. It was impossible to miss her mussed hair, the bags under her eyes, and the general lack of energy emanating from the normally spunky hanyo, and Patrick couldn't help but respond to it with a sad, empathetic chuckle. "No offense, Swift, but you look like hell."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"I feel like hell," Swift grunted back in good nature, briefly removing her hat to vainly attempt straightening her hair. "What can I say? I've been at this for a while."

Donning her hat again, Swift sunk back into the stone, tilted her head back and let out a long, deep breath. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore, Pat. It's clear we haven't accomplished anything. Rainflower's always been so unpredictable that I'm really starting to question what we're gonna prove just running around in circles down here. We can search every stalactite we want with every good intention and they'll still only show up when it's most inconvenient."

She lowered her head, leaning against her knees, staring sadly at the floor. "But what else am I supposed to do? Just leave Evan the way he is with no way to turn him back to normal? I can't do that to him. Not when it's my fault he's like this..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Hey, c'mon now..." Patrick replied with a calm grin and a shrug. "Yeah, things are pretty yucky right now, but we both know Rainflower's not out of our lives forever. They'll turn up one way or another."

Patrick slid against the rock wall until he was sitting. "'Sides, we both know Evan. He's not gonna be mad at us for not finding them. Sure, he'll probably be grouchy for other obvious reasons, but I'm sure he'll understand our side of the story. We did what we could today, Swift. If he's not grateful for that, that's his problem." His smile brightened a few degrees. "And hey, you fixed his spider disease! Got that goin' for ya! He'll be okay. Somehow."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Yeah, I guess there is that..." Swift mumbled, scratching behind her ear. "I might've messed up along the way, but at least Evan's in a better spot than he was before, right?"

Her arms tightened around her legs. Her frown tightened with apprehension. Maybe it was the intense fatigue messing with her brain, but Swift couldn't help but assume the worst. "I just hope he's not too hard on himself. Especially since none of this is his fault."

With another deep breath, Swift clutched the wall and hoisted herself back onto her feet. "But I guess at this point, all I can do is be there to reassure him. And... maybe be reassured in turn? W-Whatever. Evan needs me in whatever way I can provide. So... what say you, Patrick? You have enough magic left in ya to send me home?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"That I certainly do, Swift," Patrick hummed, cracking his knuckles, warming his hands up for one last series of spells. "Don't let the big guy beat himself up too much, okay? Send my good vibes his way and I'll catch up with the two of you soon."

With a few simple hand motions, Patrick encompassed Swift in a bright purple light, ready to send her on her way. "And don't beat yourself up too much either. Give yourself a break. Get some sleep. Enjoy Evan's company. Who knows? Things might not be as bad as either of you think."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Swift returned the sentiment with an appreciative grin and a nod. "I'll see what I can do. Thanks, Pat."

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax, letting Patrick's magic do its work. After the grueling, overlong day she'd had, she was eager to sleep this whole ordeal off like a bad hangover. To stop thinking about Rainflower and giant monsters and her own mistakes for a while. While she was looking forward to that, though, she still had to wonder what would happen when she saw Evan again. It was a reunion she was far too nervous about. Words were bound to fail her, no two ways about it. It wasn't like she could claim to have a solid plan for the future. For the hunt. For him.

But... as long as she was there, maybe that was all either of them would need. At least for now.

"It's gonna be okay..." Swift whispered to herself as she waited for the stone-cold atmosphere of the caverns to vanish and the warmth of home to return. "Just a little bit longer..."

Just a little bit more...