RP Closure

[Katpride]

Harper will miss being a raven. In preparation for her mission, she had taken to long afternoon flights, tracing the path from the old woman’s home, through the woods, and to the closest towns. It’s different, watching everything from above. Quieter. Calmer.

She has tapped into that well of calm now, as the scenery around their small group settles from ribbons of colors into a steady and familiar sight. Despite herself, her heart beats faster as the gates that lead into the Baron’s gardens loom above, wrought iron set flush into the wall of tall hedges that blocks his estate from view.

Harper beats her wings and takes to the air, flying in a circle around everyone before leading the way along the hedge to a smaller entrance, one reserved for servants and staff. There, she lands and unbuttons one of her cloak’s fastenings, growing to human size just inside the wall so that she can ease open the door.

“Quickly now,” she insists, her voice low as she holds the door open for her accomplices. She digs through her bag as she does so, handing a little spray bottle to each person to pass her.

Once everyone is through, she closes the door carefully and takes a moment to adjust her own spray bottle, inspecting the liquid inside. Satisfied with what she finds, she turns the same sharp look on the group, looking them over. The area they’re in is quiet, enclosed on two sides by the same tall hedges, with a pathway that leads away from the door and turns sharply only a few feet away. No one appears to be nearby for the moment, so she takes a breath and straightens her vest before asking, “Does everyone remember the plan?”

 

[HighVoltage]

As the dazzling lights and colors fade away, a bittersweet feeling lodges itself in a grizzly’s chest as it pushes through some of the denser undergrowth that exists outside the Baron’s garden. With any luck, this will be the last time he will ever make a journey with his friend.

He hopes this one will tip the scales in his favor.

The bear staggers up to its hind legs, paw moving towards its chest. Its claws move with unnatural dexterity as they clasp at something and twist. Two buttons come undone, and the figure shrinks dramatically. Otis shakes himself, the shudder moving through his thick cloak. The transition never gets easier for him, always takes a moment to get his body feeling like his own again.

Otis takes the worn leather gloves out of his hands before taking the spray bottle from Harper. He inspects the liquid as he does so, wrinkling his nose at the bitter smell. He strides past her, a quick smile in her direction as he goes.

“It’s gonna work, Harp. Trust yourself.” He mutters before pushing his way into the garden. Various carefully plucked and pruned flowers and bushes line the area, brilliant colors and blossoms, trees laden with fruit, without so much as a dead leaf to sully the view.

It was a shame they’d have to kill it. Otis didn't like killing plants if he could help it. But it was for Harper, which meant he'd do anything.

 

[illirica]

Aiona DeSalle was in a jam jar.

This was, by far, her least favorite part of the whole experience. It made her wonder a bit about those who had ended up being larger aquatic species. What would she have done, for example, if she had been a shark? Flopped about a bit and hoped she made it in the right direction before her gills dried out? Abhorrent.

Still, there was something just a little bit inelegant about being carried around in a small glass container bearing a worn piece of paper with the lettering Miss Tilly's Strawberry Preserves. Perhaps, if she were going to do this more often, she could acquire a more befitting mode of travel. A crystal perfume vial or something? Or at least a vase - perhaps she would look around while she was here and see if this Duke had anything that might fit.

Fortunately, they had made it through the portal or whatever one called it, and she pushed the lid off and oozed out onto the pavement before wriggling a little bit in a certain way and standing up once more, human for the most part, a well-dressed young woman in a pale blue cloak edged with yellow ruffles, her hair a lustrous black but for the twin streaks of palest lavendar.

She screwed the lid back onto the jam jar with abhorred practicality, tucking it up beneath her bustle and out of sight, where it wouldn't attract attention. Of course, with the black-edged lavendar of the dress that mirrored her hair, no one was going to be looking for a jam jar unless they got particularly close, which... well, perhaps, if things went a certain way. Aiona smiled to herself, taking a moment to peer around the place.

Quite attractive, really. Aiona could get used to a place like this.

The raven girl was asking about the plan. Dreadfully plain, unfortunately. Aiona thought she had potential, if she would just do something with her hair... maybe add a little color...

"Of course, love. Murder the gardens, distress the Duke. Or... the other way around? So hard to recall..." She was teasing, of course. Although, privately, Aiona thought that it did make a lot more sense to do it the other way around, but it wasn't her past, after all.

 

[Azra]

Aurora Demiscura didn't like this. The idea of heading toward a barons home. She was far from her home and possibly before her own time. The idea of venturing toward any politician's home bothered her all the same. She was a princess once and had grown to fear recognition. The world she knew saw her as a traitor as a murderer. Sometimes she couldn't help but we nder if it'd be better to stay a dear. Sure that might lead to a life of stagnation, but the freedom from all the trappings of her past life had aspects that were endearingly simple.

A deer grazed through the fields slow to walk and occasionally dipping head down to bite at the grass or fruit in a bush. She liked to think it helped to maintain a disguise. Some deception to play the part, imagining herself as a spy was nice reprieve from remembering home. There was another vice to it however, just the obtaining of food. Maybe she should have stuck around to make friends with the group Ottis might have whipped up something perhaps more editable. The once princess didn't want to be a bother though, so her diet before the venture was still that of a beggar. Eating as a deer helped fill that hole in her stomach. Help at least have some energy for the venture to come.

Nearing the entrance she turns bag a hoof undoing the buttons needed to switch back to human. She looked a beggar honestly a street urchin not worth paying mind to by anyone. Her boots were well maintained and nice, and under tattered dress a shirt properly regal and violet. On face value though she looked tattered clothes dirty from the streets. Entering the room she was quick to turn to a window away from the others. A hand digs through a pouch to find an eyepatch to put on. By now they knew Aurora was missing an eye but she didn't like to show it all the same. Hands rummaged through her hair intentionally matting it in places and pulling bangs over the patch.

Disguise to her came first before she took the little bottle in hand. "Mind giving a recap, how you'd at least like me to do my part? Improv is a pain, anything would help a girl with the script." She smiled, confidence in idea of playing her own part in things. She wanted the bird girl to feel confident things would get done. Aurora just also was attached to the idea of the actress and spy of subterfuge and deceptions. Giving herself a part helped her escape well being her.

 

[Katpride]

Harper takes Otis’ well-meant platitudes with little more than a nod, her face still somewhat paler than normal. She’s actually doing it. Heavens, she’s actually here, in the past and just on the outskirts of the Baron’s estate. Oh, but it will be nice to get back at the wretched man who took her parents from her.

She clears her throat before speaking, a bit of color returning to her cheeks as she finds her resolve. “Yes, Ms. DeSalle, it is as you said. A few spritzes of the solution should be enough to kill the outer layers of any plant, but it really would be best if we can get it into the water source or very near the roots.”

She brandishes her own spray bottle as she mentions it, demonstrating with a small spritz on a nearby hedge. As they absorb the liquid, the leaves on the hedge wilt slightly, slowly darkening in color. With any luck, it should work slowly enough for them to get the entire garden before anyone notices.

“Oh, and do try not to breathe the vapors. I can’t say precisely what they’ll do to you, but, in the most likely case, it certainly won’t be entirely pleasant.” After all, the distinction between a plant killer and a human killer was often a matter of quantity. But she’s not going to say that, because it really should be common sense.

“We will stay together for now. I will locate the main gardens from above and lead the way there, if you three could get the hedges to either side as we go. Once we reach the garden- well, I’ll tell you when we get there. Any questions? No? Good. Off we go.”

Harper starts to shoo the others down the path, tucking her bottle back into her pack before re-fastening her cloak and taking to the air. It shouldn’t be too hard to spot the gardens from above. She would’ve preferred more scouts than just herself, but she shall have to make do.

 

[illirica]

Miss Demiscura seemed a bit out of her depth. It was possibly because she also seemed like a nice girl. Aiona, on the other hand... well, there weren't so many depths she wasn't willing to go to, given the right impetus.

"Just stick with me, doll. I'll talk us out of whatever we get into. Or talk us into whatever we get out of." She offered a wink, which may or may not have been reassuring. The nice man would undoubtedly take care of their leader. They seemed to have that sort of, hm, arrangement. Aiona wouldn't pry. She'd just listen for gossip.

For now, there were innocent plants to murder, as it were. Harper was spritzing them with her little bottle, and it was hardly any time at all before the leaves showed discoloration.

"Oh, it's a quick one, isn't it?" Not too quick, of course, but at least they wouldn't be waiting weeks for things to get around to dying. Aiona leaned in closer, peering at the shrub, then reached out and plucked one of the wasted leaves, popping it into her mouth and chewing on it idly.

It tingled a bit, but the best poisons usually did. The taste was certainly uninspired. Perhaps later on they could spritz a few ornamental lettuces or something; they would certainly taste better. But no, if she was going to toxify by the time they reached the duke, she needed to start the ingestion process sooner rather than later. Hedgerows it was.

"Ugh. Vile." Aiona picked off another leaf, staring at it as if hoping this would make the second one more appetizing, then shrugged. "The things I do for history."

 

[HighVoltage]

Otis returns the nod, taking Harper’s seeming dismissal of his comments in stride. For her, a simple nod is the equivalent of a full-bodied thanks. He knows that her heart’s in the right place, she just keeps it tucked away. Otis can’t blame her after what she went through.

But that’s what they’re here to fix, he thinks. He half-heartedly sprays the nearest hedge with this bottle, watching the leaves discolor as the poison takes effect. Normally Otis is against harming plants, but this is Harper’s mission. He’s not going to let something as silly as his personal feelings towards proper gardening techniques get in the way of helping his friend avenge her parents.

The same, however, cannot be said about his teammates eating probably toxic leaves. Otis is about to say something to Aiona as he watches her pluck a few more leaves off the well-seasoned shrubbery, but isn’t sure how best to go about it.

“Excuse me, Miss Desalle?” He finally says. “It’s not my place to tell you what to eat, but if you’re peckish I did bring along a few things just in case.” Otis reaches into his bag and pulls out a smaller pouch, opening it with the scent of freshly-baked bread.

“I know it’s not much, but maybe it’ll make the leaves taste better?” He isn’t really sure how far his baking skills can go to make poisoned leaves better, especially when it’s just something as simple as rolls. Now if it was something like a cake or a turnover, then there would be a good chance of hiding them.

Otis offers the rolls to Aiona and Aurora if they take them, securing the bag and tucking the rest back into his pack for later. He pushed on ahead, ensuring that every bit of hedge he could reach was sprayed with the noxious liquid.

 

[Azra]

"Sure follow your lead, maybe not diet advice though." Aurora remarked with a smile. The general plan so far was an easy one to go with and moving behind Aiona provided that extra sense of direction. It helped make the task easier, one day Aurora would need to sneak in to a castle and kill family. She liked plans she liked the idea of knowing a role to play. She wasn't a leader in these kind of things so she was content to follow. Having said that if she ate everything sprayed with poison she figured her dreams of regency would be incredibly short lived. So she made a pass on digesting poisoned leaves. Though the thought of food made her stomach grumble.

While skinny and small, form a deer the way her stomach growled in the moment seemed far more ravenous and large of a beast. She might avoid eating poison as a hobby but her life on the streets hadn't helped her consume much better, really not much at all. Resulting in her all to gladly seizing a roll for herself. Bagged snacks weren't going to be the comfort of warm bread or toast but the fluffy nature was divine on its own. The way she melted at simple delights allowing her to ignore the swaying of her bangs for a moment. The eye patch of hers no longer covered as she beg a looking for plants to spray down. "Thank you."

At five foot four she figured herself amongst the shorter of the group if not shortest so she opted to aim for the lower plants in particular. "If you don't mind me asking how'd you make the poison? And how would you make it that efficient for people?" Aurora dared to inquire. From the little time they'd known eachother she hadn't seemed all that much a fighter let alone a killer. Still she had to ask Aurora concluded. One day the mission would be hers and she would need a variety of talents to do it. Maybe one of them could be poison making.

Her eye briefly watching one of the plants die. She found herself terrified to do such things to a person let alone her sister. She also though could appreciate how fast it worked. Ideally it could be used then to end things quickly. "You think it hurts?" Shehadnt really meant to ask anyone the inquiry just escaped her in audible form. The once princess worrying of well being. She didnt think plants could feel, people did however. She was a little to familiar with pain in her book and didn't want someone else to suffer.

 

[Katpride]

From above, navigating the hedge maze is trivial. But she supposes the Baron wouldn’t have thought to account for magically shape-shifting time travelers when designing his manor’s defenses. Harper leaves her group for a moment to follow the twists and turns of the maze, memorizing the quickest route before returning.

There is little fanfare to it; she lands at a fork in the maze ahead of her volunteers and partially undoes her cloak again, growing from a small bird to a tall woman in the blink of an eye. She fluffs her hair out from her cloak and gestures down the left path before taking it herself.

“It’s a mix of herbicides that I found to be simple enough to survive the Traveling. I selected for longevity and broadness of scope, so in theory it may be enough to kill a human given enough exposure, but there are really far better ways to go about that if that’s your goal.” She is quiet for a moment, eyes focused ahead as she walks steadily down the path. Her next words are full of surprising venom, though directed at no one within their group. “I hope it hurts.”

Drawing her cloak tighter with one hand, Harper falls back to spritz the ground behind them. The Baron will have not an inch of untainted soil in his whole domain, not if she has anything to say about it.

 

[illirica]

Bread?

Aiona didn't know exactly what she had expected, but it hadn't been that. She'd heard people tried to bring back things they might find useful. Usually it was weapons or incriminating evidence or something along those lines. What sort of person brought back bread?

Apparently an Otis sort of person. She wasn't really sure what to say about that, but went with "...Thank you."

It seemed to fit. Aiona tore off a little piece of the roll in her hands, savoring the flavor of anything-but-poisoned-leaves. She supposed she could try to make a little sandwich or something, but it seemed like a waste of perfectly nice bread. She'd just alternate, as she could.

Aurora was questioning whether or not the poison hurt the plants, which was maybe just a little bit insulting, given the circumstances - but then again, maybe it was just being assumed that Aiona wouldn't be eating them if she couldn't handle it. Then again again, maybe she was just stupid!

No, actually, that wasn't any better. "I think the real question is whether it hurts any more than when I eat them," she offered, unhelpfully. Maybe a little bit deliberately unhelpfully. "Or when anyone else eats them. Have you ever eaten a salad and wondered if the carrots were crying? Or those little tiny tomatoes, while you pop them in whole and squoosh them up and arrrrrgh oh no, please."

She pulled off another leaf, waggling it at Aurora in helpless contortions before tearing it in half with her teeth. "Really, they're plants. They're not that complicated. Which way do we turn?"

 

[Azra]

"Gods I'm sorry!" Aurora remarked almost caught by surprise by the words that followed. "Assumed it wasn't a lethal dose for obvious reasons but I shouldn't ignore hands on experience." There wasn't signs of harm from Aiona so the concern for a...what were they teammates? Accomplices of a criminal variety? It dawned on her they were criminals here by all accounts. The princess finding herself starting to sweat at the thought of such a thing. It was easy taking the occasional bit of food from someone. She knew how wasteful people could be but to be a criminal.

What would her family have thought? She didn't care for her prince sure but he was at least decent. Here she was doing a crime. She supposed her sister would have approved though wouldn't she?

"What would you say it tastes like? Could the taste be hidden do you think into another meal? I don't usually dwell ideas of how plants feel. I do question it's use as a poison against people however. Or if either of you know of a better means for such result as poisoning someone. I think that might be...needed on my own mission. I..I don't want it to hurt though." She paused for a second.

"Ugh that's a lie. Sorry I do want it to, I just shouldn't want it to." The princess stuttered fumbling with her eye patch nervously. Noticing Harper moved to also spraying the soil Harper tried to factor it into her routine. Though with how tall the hedge maze was and ground it likely entailed she had to wonder if a few spray bottles were enough?

 

[HighVoltage]

Otis beams with pride when his companions enjoy the roll. As much as their other Travelers seem to enjoy his baking, he’s always nervous whenever someone eats his cooking. But their expressions can’t seem to hide it, so he thinks he’s done a good job.

Unfortunately, the satisfaction of bread well baked is taken over by shock at just how quickly the conversation turns to poisoning people. Otis hasn’t really imagined the food to be crying when he eats it, although he isn’t really sure that it’s not crying when he’s cooking. Baking is his specialty, but otherwise he’s a disaster. He had somehow managed to burn pasta, and the look Harper had given him was enough to keep him out of the kitchen for almost a week.

“Herbicides aren’t typically good for putting in food.” Otis speaks up. After all, a good teammate should contribute to the conversation. “Most poisons have a bitter or acrid taste, so you’d need something to either counter it or cover it. Fatty and sweet things work really well. Maybe a poisonous cheesecake?” Otis looks thoughtful. Harper has talked plenty to him about various poisons and their effects, so he has a decent knowledge of them. To be fair, “talked to” is a strong way to put it. “Talked at” is probably a more accurate one.