[PRP] Butterfly Bait (Autumn & Caiden)

[Micillia]

Where: Between the base of Busthind and the Swamp
When: During the night of course!  

[Micillia]

After Caiden had met Autumn at the 12th Perigee's Eve Party the brownblood was adamant to re-meet the beautiful butterfly. So he went home and looked at his book. He wasn't really sure if Autumn was a moth or a butterfly, but she was amazing anyway. So, where does one find moths and butterflies?

Quote:

Moths live in a wide variety of different habitats. They are highly adaptable to their surroundings and can be found in habitats all over the world, except in polar regions.

Caiden looked at the passage for a while. It was rather vague, so the brownblood turned to his guardian CamoDad. "Dad! Dad, Dad! Where would i find a moth or a butterfly?" CamoDad gave Caiden an one-eyed look, the other eye keeping a look-out for would-be intruders. In his reptilian way the lusus responded.
"The tastiest of those, i find, live near the forest or the swamp, near plants. Near flowers. Are you going to bring some back for dinner?"
Caiden thought this over. He was not necessarily interested in tasty butterflies or moths, but tasty and pretty meant almost the same thing. CamoDad's advice had to be right. The brownblood had already explored the forest a bit, and had seen no beautiful butterfly girls, so it had to be the swamp then. Okay, next was what to use as a gift. Caiden decided to consult CamoDad first this time. His book was a little disappointing where exact information was concerned. "How do i get one to like me? Like, what should i bring them?" CamoDad thought this over a little more, now walking on the ceiling of the hive. "Bait huh? Well, moths like bright lights, and butterflies like flowers i guess." Caiden nodded in determination. So that was it then. Near the swamp, bright lights, and some pretty flowers. The brownblood ran off to get all set up.

Caiden stood on a stump in the swamp. He was wrapped in red and green 12th Perigee's Eve lights. Apparently some purplebloods just threw away these strings of lights after the holidays. Well it was lucky for Caiden that he happened upon them. The red and green flashed on and off, powered from a battery pack hiding in his pocket. In his hands Caiden held a rather large bunch of flowers he had picked from the mountain. There were all sorts. Mostly yellow, as he knew Autumn was a yellowblood, but there were some red, blue, and green flowers mixed in. Once the brownblood had himself all set up, flowers and lights arranged, he opened his mouth and started to sing. It was not exactly good quality singing, but the sound would travel.

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

Over a misty swamp glade high in the trees Autumn lay on her belly, arms wrapped around the branch she perched on. Still as death, she hardly dared to breathe for fear of rustling the leaves. Her pump biscuit pounded like a drum in her chest. All around her, she could hear the distant sounds of cicadas chirping and frogs croaking. Below, the swamp water gurgled quietly. A fickle breeze made the canopy leaves rattle.

And below it all she heard the soft buzz of wingbeats.

Autumn tensed on her perch. Every inch of her froze, except for her eyes. While she waited with bated breath, her eyes turned this way and that. The buzzing grew louder, drew nearer. Suddenly through the leaves she spotted a flicker of white. Her blood pusher quickened. She strained her lookstubs, trying to catch another glimpse. As she did, the buzzing only increased in volume until it was nearly on top of her. Her fingers clenched the bark. The sound of her racing pump biscuit would surely give her away. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her imagination already played out the rest of the scenario. She would soon been discovered, and then...

The buzzing retreated and faded away. Startled, she opened her eyes. The signature white of her hunter was nowhere to be found. The breeze let out another sigh, and the leaves whispered amongst themselves. Autumn released a breath. The tension uncoiled from her limbs.

Then the branch dipped.

It had only been a slight tilt, moving no more than an inch, but she felt it distinctly. Craning her neck, she looked back over her shoulder. White. Abruptly she sat up, and the branch bobbed beneath her. Sharing her perch was Caterpal.

“Cat!” Autumn shrieked, staring at the acid eating through the tree branch between. Her face flushed. “That’s against the rules. I told yo—ouu?” As she rushed to tackle the lusus, the branch cracked beneath her and suddenly empty space opened up beneath her. With a look of horror, she fell.

Not far of course.

Wings beating furiously (but nowhere near as furiously as her temper), she swept up towards the lusus and snatched him off the branch. “You promised!” she said, indignant. Her fingers clenched around the fat grub in a vice grip and he let out a dismal squeak. Instantly, she turned apologetic. “Oops, sorry!” She loosened her grip. “Are you all right?”

Tail flashing, he blinked out a message.

“Well, I could have been hurt too, you know,” she said, and released the grub. He blinked out another message. “No, I know you didn't.” Turning, she fluttered up to one of the higher branches. As she landed, the bough bent slightly under her weight. Seating herself, she pointedly turned her back to Caterpal. Quizzical, he followed. Autumn looked away. He swung around to hover in front of her. She turned up her nose and closed her eyes.

“An apology would be nice,” she said after Caterpal let out an irate squeak. Silence. She cracked open one eye. Her lusus zipped back and forth, turning away and then turning back again as though to speak. Watching, Autumn forced down a smile. She closed her eye. It would be a couple minutes for the grub made up his mind.

Suddenly, in the silence Autumn heard a peculiar sound. Her brow furrowed. It sounded almost like... She strained her sponge clots, listening. Yes. Definitely. Someone was singing. Yet the voice came from the opposite direction of Salamire.

Opening her eyes, Autumn rose to her feet. Startled, Caterpal let out a squeak. He collected himself after a moment, and began to blink out a message. Autumn ignored him however, and (without bothering to explain) hopped off her perch. A buzz of wings a second later confirmed Caterpal to be following.

Gliding down from the treetops, Autumn passed out of the glade, through the woods, and into the marshy grassland beyond. There, in the distance, she spotted a colourful silhouette standing above the swamp. She slowed to hover in place, thoughtful. Caterpal stopped beside her. His tail flashed in complaint, but again Autumn ignored him. With a quick pulse of her wings she was off again.

Drawing closer, she realised the figure was one she recognised: the young orangeblood from the white tuskbeast. He had wrapped himself in a colourful assortment of lights and held a large bouquet. Hovering in front of him, Autumn clapped her hands in delight. “Caiden!” she exclaimed with a note of laughter. “What are you doing out here?”

Micillia

 

[Micillia]

"Autumn!" Caiden sang out. The lights, the flowers, it had all worked. CamoDad was so smart. Caiden was only further assured of his father upon seeing Autumn. The orangeblood held out the bouquet of flowers. "I brought you flowers! And lights! Wait! Do you like the flowers? Or the lights?" Maybe with an answer Caiden would find out if Autumn was butterfly or a moth. Not that it really mattered, he was already her friend, and already found the yellowblood simply amazing. Butterflies and moths aside Caiden was having trouble keeping up atop the stump in his excitement at seeing him friend.

"You came! You really found me out here! Wow you must have like, magic finder abilities too, huh? that is sooo cool! I think i once found a beetle someone had dropped in the mountains, but finding someone that was actually looking for you?!? Did you know and that's why you came out here? Or was there some special sign or clue?" Caiden was barely staying put on the stump, his feet could just not stay still. "But hi! Here i am! And there you are!"

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

“I love both,” the yellowblood exclaimed, and then taking the bouquet, gave the other troll a quick peck on the cheek. Behind her, Caterpal let out a huffed and curled his antennae with disgust.

Autumn pulled away to admire her companion. He looked ridiculous, but to think he had done it for her... Well, it was charming. She smiled at the thought. Caiden in the meantime, could not be stopped. He rambled on and on, and Autumn had to laugh at his enthusiasm.

“Yes, here we are!” she said, when he paused to take a breath. Hand under her chin, she coyly played with a curl of hair from her pigtail. “I heard your singing. Cat and I were playing nearby and so we came to investigate. I have to say I'm surprised though.” Her gaze wandered down to the flowers. “How did you know where to look for me?”

Micillia

 

[Micillia]

Caiden turned silent for a significant amount of time after receiving the kiss. Well a significant amount of time for the brownblood, his cheeks getting a tint of blush. It gave Autumn time to actually speak. Caiden recovered from his blush, his eyes never leaving his yellowblooded friend. "Oh! My dad! He knows lots of things! He said this might be a good place to look."

Caiden took his eyes off Autumn long enough to see her lusus, but his seeing globes did not leave the winged troll long. "Who is Cat? Is that Cat? Hi Cat!" Caiden waved at the flying lusus. "Is he your dad?"

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

Autumn laughed a tinkling laugh. “Not at all!” she said. “He may be my lusus, but he's more like my friend! Here, I'll introduce you.” Turning, she reached out for the grub.“Come on down Caterpal, and say hello.”

Caterpal was having none of it though. He fluttered out of reach, and flashed his furiously. Autumn's face paled. She involuntarily clapped a hand over her mouth. “Cat!” Hands on her hips, she planted her feet and took in a sharp breath. “That is not nice. If you don't behave I'm never going to speak to you ever again!”

Micillia

Figured I'd give Caiden the chance to extend an olive branch!

 

[Micillia]

Caiden's stomach did flips at the musical sound of Autumn's laugh, and then dropped as her lusus decided it didn't like the brownblood. "What?! Catterpall why?!" The boy went from joyful and elated to almost in tears in a manner of seconds. "But.. But!! I like YOU Catterpall!" The boy fidgeted from foot to foot. Being unliked was a weird feeling. He wanted everyone to like him, especially Autumn's lusus. The boy started to spiral in his mind. If Caterpall decided he didn't like Caiden, maybe Autumn would too. Then he would never see his best friend again. Caiden tried to fight down the tears.

“If you don't behave I'm never going to speak to you ever again!” When Autumn said that Caiden just could not hold it back any longer and big drops of water fell from his eyes.

"NOOOOO!!!" The boy yelled, "You CANT do that Autumn! Hes you LUSUS! If you never see your lusus again, it.. it'll... it'll be TERRIBLE!!" The boy wiped at his wet face with his hands. "Its okay! If Catterpall doesn't like me, thats fine, but.. but you CANT not be with your lusu!!" The boy tried calming down, but just the idea of living life without his CamoDad brought a fresh wave of tears to the boys eyes.

Green Minuet

Did someone say over-reaction?

 

[Green Minuet]

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

Had Autumn had any less self-control she might have jumped at Caiden's outburst. Instead she barely even glanced at the troll, just enough to see the big brown tears bubbling up from his eyes. She look back to Caterpal with a sharp turn of the head, eyes bright and angry. “Now, look what you've done,” she said, crossing her arms.* Her tone was positively scathing. “You made him cry. I hope you're happy with yourself, Cat. I really do.” With that, she gave a disdainful sniff, lifted her chin, and turned her back on the grub.

Hardly a second had passed before Caterpal fluttered into view again. Autumn raised her eyebrows, saying nothing, but did not look away again. The grub flashed out a quick message. Autumn shook her head. “No.” Caterpal tried again. “No,” Autumn repeated with emphasis. As the grub wilted, her expression softened. “Why don't you tell him?” she suggested, nodding in Caiden's direction.

Heaving a sigh, the grub drifted around to face Caiden. He hovered for a moment in front of the troll's face, as though considering. Then his tail light pulsed several times in rapid succession. Autumn watched the exchange in silence, her face stony. When Caterpal finished, she spoke up at last. “Well,” she said, looking at Caiden. “Do you accept?”

*All the while, taking care not to crush the bouquet.

Micillia

Beep, beep!

 

[Micillia]

"Yeah OF COURSE i do!" Caiden wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his rainbow hoodie, and sniffled one last time. "Oh Caterpal! Im SO GLAD i get to have you as a friend, too! You wouldn't regret this buddy, IN FACT!!!" Caiden slapped his cheekes in excitement at the idea that just popped into his head. "HOW ABOUT I GIVE YOU GUYS A TOUR OF BUSTHIND MOUNTAIN!!!"

Caiden started jumping around on the stump in excitement. "I know ALL THE BEST PLACES!! Like, there is this one tree that looks like a lion beast if you squint your eyes just right. AND OHH! On the way back to my hive i have this GREAT ROCK!! Its got like, COLORS ON IT AND STUFF!!" Then it dawned on Caiden that if he gave Autumn and Caterpal a tour, they would pass by quite a few of his favorite art projects. "AND AND AND OH ILL GET TO SHOW YOU--- WAIT!!! I KNOW!!! ILL MAKE IT A SURPRISE!!!" The boy's smile was almost too big for his face, surprises were so exciting, he usually forgot and gave them away, but not this time. This time he would make sure and keep the surprise for Autumn an actual surprise.

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

If Caterpal could have rolled his eyes at Caiden's tearful response, he would have. But his simple eyes were incapable of motion and besides, he had already promised Autumn that he would try to get along.

Autumn in the meantime clutched her flowers to her chest. “That sounds lovely!” she exclaimed. “As long as we're back before it gets too late...” The prospect of staying some place new was exciting, but she could not afford to be out the whole day. While the rebels left the children to their own devices for the most part, she could not help but feel it would be better to keep them from worrying.

“I'm excited to see what you have in store~!” All cheer and smiles, Autumn offered a wink. “But maybe we should entangle you from those lights first, hm...?”

Micillia

If you want to do a time skip to Caiden's hive, or another location, I'm fine with that!

 

[Micillia]

Caiden had entirely forgotten about the lights he was having such a good time with Autumn. "Yeah Sure! Umm..." Carefully the brownblood wrapped up the lights and stowed them into his bag. "Oh man oh man! What to show you first, THERE ARE JUST SO MANY CHOICES!!!" Caiden thought a second, but immediately went right back to chatting as he guided Autumn on his tour of the mountain.

The two visited Caiden's rock town, where he had painted faces on all of 305 rocks. The brownblood introduced each and every rock to Autumn. They were all very impressed by the winged troll's beauty, and they bestowed a clover crown to the yellowblood. Caiden blushed as he role played his rock citizens crowing her the princess of their fair town.

Then the brownblood lead the party to where he had decorated several tree trunks in bio degradable paint. "Yeah this really nice tree troll taught me about how you have to take care of trees when making them pretty. Apparently some paints are TOXIC to the poor trees! So i use this stuff, its all natural and stuff, but i have to come back every few months and re-do it, cuz it kinda degrades and stuff. BUT THAT JUST MAKES IT BETTER, SEE?!? THEN I GET TO PAINT IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN! ITS GREAT!!"

Finally Caiden lead his entourage to his hive. "And this is where i live!!" Caiden shouted as he posed in front of his hive. The walls were all different colors, with various animals, plants, and bursts of color everywhere. Not a single rock in his lawnring was spared, all were decorated, painted, and given names. Inside the hive was if anything, worse. It was as if a unicorn had puked rainbows inside, and Caiden had only added to the mess by filling his hive full of knickknacks and art supplies. "THE END!" Caiden announced, ending his tour.

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

Autumn followed along behind Caiden, happy to indulge him. She ooh'd and ah'd at all the right times, sometimes genuinely clapping her hands together with delight. As he introduced her to all the citizens of rock village, she nodded along, trying hard to stifle a yawn. Her boredom was resolved however when they presented her with a clover crown and named her princess. Getting into the spirit of things, she curtsied, and kissed one of her rock subjects on the cheek, while winking at Caiden.

Afterwards, they detoured through a wood, where Caiden had (once again) covered everything in paint. In some places, the paint had chipped and faded, and when Autumn asked about it, Caiden was more than happy to provide her with an explanation. Autumn reeled from his enthusiasm, but found it rather charming how he took in the well-being of the trees in his art. His kind and gentle naiveté made up for his sometimes over the top antics.

As they progressed through the forest, the paintings grew more and more frequent, until at last they arrived at a hive which could not belong to any troll but her companion. Sure enough, he announced it with his usual high-energy and sweeping gestures. Autumn pretended to look shocked. “I never would have guessed.” Following Caiden inside, she blanched at the brightly coloured walls. They were a bit much to take in all at once and she felt a bit nauseated. She took a seat next to one of Caiden's art tables and closed her eyes. “It really is something,” she said, faintly.

Micillia

I know we talked about ending this, but I had a couple things I wanted to do still. Sorry!

 

[Micillia]

Caiden grinned at his friend, happy to share his place with someone. Autumn was looking a little off tho, and the slime fled from Caiden's face. A look or worry appeared in its place. "Autumn! AUTUMN!" Caiden exclaimed loudly, slapping his hands to his cheeks. "Are you okay?! Can i get you something?! A DRINK!" Caiden went zooming to the kitchen block, and opened the drawers. "Ive got juice, SOMEWHERE!" Throwing the contents of the drawer all over as he frantically searched for the beverage, Caiden grew more and more worried as his search was coming up empty handed. He abandoned the drawer and filled a cup with water. "HERE!" The boy said, kneeling next to his friend, offering the water.

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Ⅱ Autumn Vikare

Eyes fluttering open, Autumn saw Caiden kneeling before her, holding up a glass of water for her to take. His big, black eyes stared into hers, full of worry and terror. Autumn felt a pang of pity. Accepting the glass, she took a sip. It helped, but not much. After all, most of her nausea came from the vibrant colours spattered across the walls. Some of those were most definitely not on hemospectrum. An interesting choice for one not from the swamp.

“Thank you,” Autumn said, smiling. She crossed her legs daintily.“That was just what I needed.” She took another long drought. As she did, her eyes roamed the room. Aside from the paint job, the block was a mess. Knickknacks and art supplies were scattered across the floor. Off to one side, Autumn saw a stack of papers for what must have been Caiden's attempt at finger painting.

“You must have had quite the party the day before,” Autumn joked.

Micillia

tiem 2 clean