Roleplay

Larry - Interacting with: Aaron, Bingus

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Larry lit up at the offer, a grin breaking out across his maw. More of a terrifying display of his teeth than joy, but his excitement was evident in how he dropped to the ground and bounded off toward the Bingus. He ran hunched to the ground, arms almost touching the ground, but not technically on all fours. He darted between the trees, keeping his gaze peeled for the dragon.

He spotted Bingus a little ways away and let out a warning growl. "Yooouuu!" he shouted the best he could, hoping the dragon would at least slow down so he could get the book back

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Benjamin pursed his lips when Mothman made the offer to Daniel, knowing the cryptid had good intentions. He shugged at Daniel's suggestion, not really able to refute it.

"Some days you can even fry an egg on the sidewalk," he said simply, more agreeing with Dan than anything else. To Aaron, he said, "I'd be willing ta help look around if ya want."

Ben gave Crystal a look, a mixture of exasperation and curiosity. Campers had a tendency to act like they could plop down wherever, which was bad fo a few reasons. Obviously the local litter monitor would enjoy a snack off of wayward campers, sure, but there was also the issue of people not picking up after themselves and leaving trash and fire hazards throughout the forest.

"Hope they didn't give you any trouble then, yeah? Most folks stick to the trails, but folks that don't seem to think the forest belongs to them."

Ryan seemed a nice enough fellow, and Benjamin hoped the guy got what he was looking for throughout this. "You an intellectual type then? Folks like you get real invested in the happenings 'round here. We need more of that I think, seems most people would get scared off it when they get wind."

[bingus/interactions: Larry the vegetable]
I let out a exited squawk; the chase was on.
I pushed myself a bit faster, keeping a lead on the Wendigo yet not going to far ahead to loose sight of Larry, adjusting my grip on the book so I could hold onto it as I weaved between the trees, jumping over roots and ducking under vines and branches as if I was a creature of the forest- One could suppose I was, but who knew. I angled away from my camper, very intent on keeping Larry on a 'wild goose chase', per say.

Crystal and Derrick (Mothman) - Location: Walking to the visitor center
Interactions: Everyone at the visitor center

Crystal shrugged at Ben. "I mean, they were 'oh but it's all forest' and 'what does it matter?' I did the best I could. If they want to get eaten by Larry or the other... creatures. That's on them."

She then turned to the phone, listening intently to the story.

"Holy sh*t," she mumbled. She had never heard of blood wyverns being hunted, so this sent chills down her spine. "Let us know if there is any way we can help. And please, don't push yourself to the brink of exhaustion."

Mothman wasn't focusing on Ryan as the phone still held his attention. He thought the "Great Light" had placed a messenger in the phone to tell this story, as he has never met Aaron. He paid close attention to the words, placing his moth friend on his shirt.

May I offer up my assistance to the Great Light? Derrick asked. He wasn't really directing the question to anyone, but generally stating he was going to help.

Location: Visitor center
Interactions: anyone in there
"Oh sh-t… I… Umm… I understandable. Whatever the hell did that must either be adapted or have some sort of magic for it. Since our blood is generally inedible in amounts that would be worth eating as it really does what Aaron said. I've been bitten by a couple of idiot vamps somewhat recently and they paid for it."
Scarificator replied, looking slightly concerned as he thought,
That's still incredibly weird, not much would even consider my species prey let alone have the strength to take out an adult of what I'm assuming to be around a century? Maybe a bit closer to my own age? Can't be certain and it can be really hard to tell just by looking at one.
He then added,
"But I'm willing to go out there and have a look, since if it's hunting blood wyverns that's not something we want around here."

Ryan on the other hand took a few photographs of the mothman as he said,
"Same here really. Even if I'm not much use putting down that sort of creature…"
He didn't sound all that disappointed by that, since that just wasn't the sort of person he was.
I know Scar told me I have magic when we did a curiosity blood test… But I've been alive this long and not so much as had a hint of being magical. Also couldn't do anything when he tried to show me how to make plants grow a couple different times.
He thought, turning more to face the others as he replied to Benjamin,
"Wildlife photography is my main thing… But when I was like 14 I saw what likely was fae of some sort during a summer camp. I… Umm… Lost a lot of my fear for the 'scarier' things when I talked to several vamprics a couple weeks ago and they were perfectly reasonable and fairly adjusted individuals. E-Even if in the end we found one that wasn't so great and decided to be an actual problem."

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Location: Behind the visitor center, in a tree
Interactions: Y'all are in on this and you know it
Aaron chirped a bit at some of the responses before he replied,
"My sleep schedule has been f-cked since I was little, so I'm somewhat used to this. But I… I can take y'all out to the incident site. It'll feel less risky in a group if whatever the hell that creature was comes back."
There was a slight pause as he took a drink and continued,
"But seriously, I'll sort myself out on how to feel eventually… But whenever you guys are ready it's about a day and a half hike for a human to make it there reasonably."

Look I don't know how to feel as the two halves of my species both have conflicting opinions and I just need to let them sort it out.
He thought before snorting out a laugh as he replied a little late to the concern about some campers trying to not use the designated areas,
"I'll let Axe know about that if I see her, since you never know with some people if they'll just disregard the rules once you leave."
Aaron shrugged a bit, since he knew Axe wasn't much of a man eater but getting visited by a blood wyvern in the middle of the night was sometimes enough for these sort of people to believe the rules.

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Location: Visitor Center, front desk
Interactions: you in the visitor center over there, yeah you
Daniel smiled a bit as he replied more to Ben first,
"It really do be like that sometimes. Arizona likes to break heat records."
However he turned his attention back towards Aaron as he said,
"Let me go check the animal skin chest in the break room for a few things… Since I think I've got some I don't use regularly in there or a couple I'm willing to part with."
He put his phone down on the desk and started to walk off.

He then paused and thought,
Now hold on… There might be some questions worth hearing yet.
Dan then added,
"But yeah, I'm down to investigate it with others."

Larry - Interacting with: Bingus

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Larry hissed to himself and picked up the pace to close the distance between himself and the dragon. It was slow, but the distance seemed to be closing, at least a little. Aaron was counting on him to get the book back - a reading lesson was riding on this!

"Youuuu!" he shouted once again, "Slowwwww!"

Larry decided to take a bit of a risk - he scrambled up a tree and began leaping from branch to branch, hoping he could get the drop on the dragon. He wasn't closing the gap nearly fast enough, so maybe getting out of sight would help.

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Benjamin - Interacting with: The Dudes at the visitor center

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Benjamin nodded once to Ryan. "It's great ya kept an open mind then. I won't pretend all us cryptid folk are well-meaning, but most of us are. There'll be plenty for you to photograph here, s'long as you follow the park rules."

Benjamin cocked his head at Scar's comment. "Forgive my ignorance - you're a blood wyvern, too, then? That's interesting, then, although if you're saying most things can't stomach your blood, I'm a bit concerned about what can," He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll be ready pretty much whenever, Aaron. Not sure how much we can prepare if we don't know hardly anything about what we're looking for."

Crystal and Derrick (Mothman) - Location: Walking to the visitor center
Interactions: Everyone at the visitor center

Moth looked over at Ryan when he saw the flashes of the camera. He waddled over, wanting to get a closer look at the device, muttering to himself in his made up language. He stared directly into the lense, curious as to what this device was as well. His red eyes glowed softly against his fur.

Shiny…

Crystal glanced over at Ryan, moving so that she was out of the pictures.

“I mean, it makes sense that not much can stomach blood wyvern flesh,” she mumbled. “I'm ready to go whenever, unless you all want me to do a coffee run first? I'm sure this is going to take quite some time, so caffeine can't hurt.”

Of course, she was worried that if she got Aaron a coffee, it'd only do more harm. On the other hand, he was a grown *ss man and could make his own decisions. She looked around, counting softly everyone who might need a drink.

Sennit - Location: Now behind the visitor center (he's staring at everyone ;w;)
Interactions: The window, technically

The giant beast had wandered about for a bit, and had come across the visitor center, there were quite a few different scents coming from inside, making him even more curious as to what was happening, he didn't usually interact with the others that came in and out of the park, so this was new. He sniffed at the window, before just looking through it, spotting those inside. Hm... they smell a bit odd...not quite...what I expected.

[bingus - location: visitor center - interactions: people there ig]
Growing bored of the "exhilarating" chase, I dropped the book with less than a thought, before shooting off towards the center.
As I approached, I rushed past Sennit in a quiet whoosh of leaves, scales rapidly changing color to conform to a deeper, forest green, before changing to a pale concrete gray. Approaching the back garbage exit of the building, I easily picked the lock to enter the back of the building, stealthily making my way through shelves of plushies, and other gift-shop items. I paused at the sound of voices, before poking my white, slightly red-colored head through the hallway to make eye contact with the human across from my bird-esc head- Scar.

Azerheil - Location: Behind the visitor center
Interactions: Yeah, pretty much everyone involved, mainly Aaron

Azerheil walked up to the tree Aaron was currently sitting in.

“Greetings,” the General said, not needing to look up at Arron, as he was right about eye level to the alien. Xeraphi sat in the park ranger’s lap, cooing softly. Azerheil cringed softly, knowing his furry little pet would probably need a bath soon. While he didn’t believe Aaron was ‘dirty,’ he was sitting in a tree, which was not clean to the General’s standard. He could only imagine the bugs, and therefore diseases on the large plant.

He allowed the ranger to tell his story without interruption, listening intently. While he knew blood wyverns’ blood was technically clean, the thought of eating something without properly cooking the bacteria out made him feel quite nauseous. He clenched his jaw, trying to hide his reaction from the clearly stressed humanoid.

“I will assist in finding this… creature. I highly doubt proper protocols were followed during the process of hunting, for lack of a better word, your friend, Hatchet,” Azerheil said. Xeraphi cooed again, cuddling into Aaron, seeming to sense the stress.

Location: Visitor center
Interactions: anyone in there
Scar looked over at Benjamin first as he nodded and replied,
"Correct, full blooded as well. And that concern is valid since I haven't really seen anything quite like it before."
He glanced over at Crystal as he thought,
Some of you might need a bit of caffeine depending on how nocturnally oriented things get… But I'm pretty much fine since I've adjusted over the years to being a little more diurnal.
Scarificator then noticed a somewhat odd sight, what appeared to be an adolescent dragon of some kind slipping in. He tipped his head a bit and chirped before saying,
"Dunno if it's a common occurrence here or not but ummm… There's a young dragon over there."
He pointed over at it as he spoke.

Ryan smiled a bit as he said,
"It's more fun to believe in the supernatural sometimes, and it paid off in the end."
He noticed how the dark colored moth had taken an interest in his camera and that Crystal had stepped out of frame, making a mental note of it since it wasn't cool to take someone's picture if they didn't want that. He then said more to Mothman,
"That's just the shudder of my camera, I like to take pictures and footage of wildlife either to look back at or let others use in papers or documentaries. I can show you the ones I just took if you want."
He retracted the lens before putting the cover back on over it. Ryan started to bring up the photos in the memory as he said more generally,
"I don't think I'll need any coffee, thanks for the offer though."
He then looked over to where Scar was pointing as he continued,
"... But I'm ready to head out."
I'll have to get a good photo of you later, since I'm not sure how a dragon would react to me doing that… I know Stern's cool with it but he also practically gave me permission to film him hunting one night. And interacting with a hatchie, but that was different.
He thought, doing a slight double take when he saw a 'hairy-man' adjacent being looking in the window.

((By all means there is no offense meant by the term hairy man here, just that Ryan wouldn't know exactly what Sennit is and the hairy man is a very common thing in american cryptids.))

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Location: Behind the visitor center, in a tree
Interactions: Y'all are in on this and you know it
Aaron giggled a bit as he replied to Crystal,
"Do that at your own risk as this is what, like the 4th cup I've had today alone. Probably wouldn't kill me since I'm just that different."
He wasn't at all being mean either, as that was mostly a self burn really. Glancing around a bit he noticed a couple newer arrivals and jumped slightly when handed the little ball of fluff before gently stroking the little guy with a couple of fingers as he said,
"Greetings to you as well Azerheil, and you can bet that proper actions weren't taken as the only time it's 'legal' to kill a Blood Wyvern is between self-defense and the occasional problematic man-eater."

Aaron refrained from offering a handshake, since he knew the extraterrestrial was germaphobic. Not that he really took that sort of thing personally since he had some instincts rooted in hygiene himself that were pretty hard to break, such as being unable to stand anything getting under his nails or sticking to his skin for very long. He then said a little more to Daniel,
"I'd personally recommend getting that thing you bound some of the larger skins to out… Moose and sh-t are actually scary to encounter."
Aaron gently took Xeraphi in one hand, held close to his chest as he thought,
Don't wanna accidentally drop you cutie. As I'm not about to be the one to break the baby here, I'm leaving that crime and the consequences to someone else as I'm not prepared for that.
He then slid his phone into a shirt pocket and rather carefully started to make his cup levitate for the moment as he maneuvered to cling to the trunk with one hand and leverage his feet against it to make up for lacking a few properties. While it looked rather awkward he did manage to make it down as he took his drink in his free hand and said,
"But seriously, if y'all need a moment to prepare or anything take it. When you're ready, come out back and meet with me."
He wasn't just addressing the folks on the other end of the phone either, as he'd noticed Sennit looking in the window and figured no harm could come from the guy aiding if he wanted to.

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Location: Visitor Center, front desk
Interactions: you in the visitor center over there, yeah you
"The 'wendigo' antler fragment? I mean I don't usually get that out but this counts as an emergency."
Daniel said as he bent over to pull open a drawer on the desk and dug around for a moment to take out what looked like a carved fragment of deer antler made into a necklace. The person who'd given it to him claimed it came from a wendigo, but there was no real way to prove that. That was also beside the point as Dan had gotten someone to bind a few larger animal skins to it that just weren't practical to carry around. The reason he didn't wear it all the time was more or less the fact he usually didn't need that sort of thing and almost considered it cheating in a sense.
He then said,
"If anyone else is getting coffee I'll go for an iced one, but if I'm the only one then whatever."

Standing back up as he looked over at Bingus and said,
"That's just Bingus, a younger dragon that got relocated here and likes to get into things they really shouldn't sometimes."
Dan started doing a quick check of his own supplies as he thought,
We got the General and I think the forest spirit here as well… Aaron's ready for us when we are and the hike up there like he said, about a day and a half for a normal human… Though the only one here currently is Ryan and honestly if he starts to fall behind he's got options for a willing ride.
He looped the necklace over his head and it sat below some of the others he wore more frequently.

((If I missed anyone here by all means yell at me, but I think I got the interactions all covered for the most part. Even if some are a bit more indirect than others.
For the record I did the enchanted object for a somewhat specific reason when it comes to Dan as it's more practical than the alternative.))