a web of lies [ o, weekly task ] and fishing line

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    DOWN IN THE FOREST, WE'LL SING A CHORUS

    What a great way to start off his week, facing a deeply-rooted fear. After he had been assigned his menial task, Pad found himself stealing from the nearest sporting goods store, which was extraordinarily hard to find, and even harder for him to wait for it to close by the time he got there. The ghost had settled himself with a plastic bag of fine, but sturdy thread spools. The fishing line was almost like spider's silk, nearly invisible to a careless eye. It was easy for him to fashion a net, and soon, Pad had crafted himself six heavy-duty nets, and he still had plenty of line left over.


    Now there was only the difficult part. The nets had been designed to be anchored in a river, or similar body of water, and checked back upon every so often to gather up the captured fish. So, Pad found himself clinging to a slippery boulder, its jagged claw-holds eaten away by the current, and the algae spreading across its surface did nothing but to upset his fragile balance even further. He held a net in his mouth, awkwardly fumbling around the river's rocky edge as he attempted to find a peaceful spot to set the fish trap up in. Pad allowed a regretful misstep as he grew to ambitious, and the next thing he remembered was crawling up back onto the muddy banks, appearing like a soaked mass of terrified fur. Fuck it, Pad was not going to try that again. The net he once had was long carried away by the water, but as he wrung himself out, glaring at the remaining nets as if trying to will them to set up on their own, he got an idea. With a wicked smile that could of made the Grinch look like a nun, he recalled that Sweetophelia had only required him to build the fishing nets, not nessicarily use them for just fishing.


    Pad was an expert in setting traps for the unexpecting. He could of made a livelihood out of it if he wanted to. Five simple snares were now rigged around the same clearing, although hidden from sight. He had used the nets to create the kind of trap that would snatch someone up from the air if they stepped on it. Sticks and stray twigs were makeshift triggers, and with the nets themselves covered in leaves and attached to hardy branches, Pad stepped back to admire his handiwork. Now all he had to do was wait. The impish demon chose a suitable hiding place in the trees for the time being, and he began his stakeout with surprising patience.

    ONE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS


    ***
    when you can't match the muse
    ***
    Ska'arq had heard that Pad had to make fishing nets for his weekly task. Even if he was nowhere near an expert in fishing, who was to say he couldn't help out? Ska'arq was very unaware of Pad's impish nature, and was caught by surprise when the twig snapped under his foot. Almost at once, he was swept off of his feet with a shriek of surprise. The dragon shot into the air before coming back down, bouncing a few times before the net became still. Flailing, wings stretching out uselessly, he dug his claws into the net. What the hell? He couldn't even see it? What was going on? "Pad! Pad, where are you? I got caught in one of your traps! Sorry!" He felt like an idiot. He wasn't prey! He just wasted a net. Fantastic.
    ***
    ATTACK IN BOLD #6e65b5 - TAGS - EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD

    DOWN IN THE FOREST, WE'LL SING A CHORUS

    He had no idea he had made his nets big enough to ensnare the dragon of the clan. Pad was quite shocked himself. But the sight of Skra'arq flailing about in the air brought him back to his senses. While not moving from his hidden perch, he taunted with a raspy laugh, "I can't believe I caught a dragon! This will go down in the record books for sure!" In truth, he wouldn't release his captives or even budge an inch from his spot until all the nets brought up a profit. But for now he would entertain himself with Skra'arq.

    ONE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS

    London had heard voices, but she hadn't heard their words. She was working on another song to maybe sing. She didn't really know if she had any talents, but singing for her task had been fun, so she wanted see what she could do with her voice. "... stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight ..." she sang quietly, smiling. It was around then that the youth too felt herself being tossed into the air. She screamed half a scream, barely any noise came out of her before her vocal chords seemed to have forgotten how to work.

    After it bobbed around a bit, London's trap finally stopped moving, or at least stopped moving as much. The child inside the trap was trying to break free, wriggling around and scratching at the netting with her claws. She soon stopped scratching though, as she noticed how far off the ground she was. The clouded leopard cub didn't fancy falling out of the net anymore, it seemed like it'd hurt. Maybe someone could come and save her, like Harrison. She wouldn't be scared of falling onto him since he was so tall. "Help!" the youth called, fear evident in her voice. She was a little unsure of what to do, but then again she'd never been caught in a trap before.

    would they like what they saw

    or would they hate it too ? - tags

    Ever since they'd become friends, Jacob had become inseperable from London. However, that was not why the puppy was in the area today. No, he was just going about and looking for some new flowers he hadn't seen before. The more he exposed himself to various types of plants, the more he'd be able to grow with his powers, which was an idea that intrigued the little boy. However, all that would stop when he heard London calling for help. He would save her! He would be a hero and then she'd really want to be good friends with him! Well, they already were friends but maybe if he could save her, they'd be even better friends! For that reason, the puppy would dash towards her without much caution. He moved rather slowly, despite running, because of his limp but soon he would catch view of her. "Oh, don' worry! I help!" He would call, glancing about and then noticing a large stick nearby. He would grab that to use to get her down. However, when he began to walk over he would suddenly be snapped inside a net. He'd let out a gasp, too shocked to even scream. He would grimace once things settled down, the pressure of the net causing great discomfort to the burns that hadn't quite healed yet. Still, he tried to flip around to where he could see London, his face burning in embarrassment. Now she would think he wasn't capable of anything. Wonderful. "Uh... don' worry. I still get us down," He would try to reassure her, twisting about in the net before noticing Pad. "Oh, help!" He would call towards the older creature. He'd never really had a positive interaction with Pad but he assumed he wouldn't just leave them up here.

    DOWN IN THE FOREST, WE'LL SING A CHORUS

    While there were still two more nets ready to be sprung, Pad couldn't help himself. He finally revealed himself to his audience, vicious teeth grinning in victory. Although two-thirds of them were just kids, he had still succeeded. "If you want me to let you go," he paused for unnecessary effect, "You have to say the magic words." As he paced in front of them, holding back a fit of giggles, Pad wasn't paying attention to were his paws were stepping.


    Just like Skra'arq, London, and Jacob, Pad was soon hoisted up into the air, a stunned expression splitting through his once mocking face. He remained frozen in embarassment, before he was up to his senses, beginning to frantically shift between his forms, the net appearing to stretch and collapse with the different changes in sizes. He eventually ended back at his common feline body, even more tangled up than before, still kicking uselessly at his own creation. Pretty soon, he was practically upside down with his limbs every which way and his body twisted way out of whack. Completely immobilized, Pad swiveled his neck around the best he could to sheepishly mutter out towards the general direction of everyone else, "Whoops."


    Proof that instant karma did exist.

    ONE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS

    would they like what they saw

    or would they hate it too ? - tags

    Jacob would frown as he listened to Pad go on about a 'magic word'. What was that even supposed to be? Whatever it was, it was probably stupid. The little boy was starting to feel a little bit bitter about this whole thing, especially now that he knew Pad was the one who had laid the traps. However, when the creature would step in his own creation, becoming entangled in it even after trying to change forms to avoid it, Jacob couldn't help the wide smile that would spread across his face and the fit of giggles he was suddenly sent into. Served him right, trying to catch his own clanmates. Of course, moments later it did occur to him that now there was no way any of them could get down with help from anyone that was already here. "Shoul' I yell for Daddy or Jersey or Ria or Miss Lottie or Ala?" He would ask, just listing off a few names off the top of his head. Usually if he yelled, one of those people would show up. He wasn't too sure if his Daddy would (he knew at this point that the stallion didn't feel very good most days) but he knew any of the others would, other than perhaps Alastor, who he'd really only spoken with at length one time but who he trusted greatly.


    ***
    OOC
    ***
    Ska'arq had struggled and stretched the net. His legs now dangled through large holes, but he was stuck. He couldn't get at the bag at all. He heard a familiar shout, and jerked his head in that direction. He yelped as his horns became caught on the netting. "Pad, that's not funny! Someone could get seriously hurt!" Great, now he was really stuck. He couldn't move his head, and it was in an uncomfortable position. Just great. Sulking in silence, he began to struggle again as he heard children getting caught in the nets. "Please, Pad, for the love of-" Oh. Great. He was caught too now. For the first time in a while, Ska'arq's red vial began to glow brightly. He scowled. "Pad, look what you've done! Don't you realize it could be several hours before someone finds us? What then? You've put yourself and children in danger! Don't you think before you act? What if others get caught too? How many fucking nets did you make?" Cursing. Ska'arq never cursed aloud. Especially when children were nearby. The dragon was mad.
    ***
    ATTACK IN BOLD #6e65b5 - TAGS - EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD


    DOWN IN THE FOREST, WE'LL SING A CHORUS

    He flattened his ears against his skull at the mention of Jacob's father. "No, don't yell for Harrison. And relax, would you? I can get us out of this." He confidently ordered back, unsurprisingly remaining collected, and pointedly ignoring Skra'arq reasonable anger. Pad ceased in attempting to separate his front and behind paws, both intertwined in the fishing line. People could almost see the gears turning in his head, before he spoke again, "Skra'arq, you have the longest reach, right?" He couldn't actually see the dragon with breaking his neck to do so, so he continued without an answer, "There's a single rope holding the nets up, if you can cut it, the net will fall." Pad twisted himself around, trying to watch if Skra'arq would actually take his instructions to heart.

    //mobile

    ONE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS

    would they like what they saw

    or would they hate it too ? - tags

    When Pad would tell him not to call for Harrison, Jacob was very tempted to do just that. His Daddy was big enough to get them all out of here in no time. "But Daddy 's tall. He get us out," He would say, hoping he was being convincing to the older male. He knew that Ska'arq was very big too but what good would he be stuck in a net? Wouldn't it hurt if he cut himself out and fell to the ground? It seemed like a fairly large drop to the pup, one he wasn't quite prepared to take given the condition of his burns.

    London smiled as Jacob came to her rescue, but sadly he was trapped as well. She smiled at him, glad to have him as a friend. Even though he couldn't help her, at least she there was someone with her that she knew. As the trapper revealed himself, London looked puzzled. Why would someone want to trap his own clanmates, and then step on a trap himself. It confused her a little, especially when she saw him transform into a whirl of different creatures. She was only familiar with the power Jacob had, flower prints. This ability looked slightly terrifying, but it also intrigued her. She was like a sponge, wanting to soak up all the information she could. London listened to Pad and Jacob as they spoke, smiling as Jacob mentioned that his father was tall. It seemed their minds thought alike.


    ***
    OOC
    ***
    Ska'arq was struggling in the net again, and had almost missed what Pad called out to him. His teeth were bared in a silent snarl, and he almost considered ignoring him. Trying again to wrench his head free of the netting, he only succeeded in tying it up worse. The dragon spat out a profanity. His tail lashed. Feeling the net press against his scales, he craned his neck in an attempt to see the rope that held his weight. There. It was stretched taut. His legs were dangling outside of the net, the rest of him tangled inside. Wriggling around, Ska'arq managed to get one foot back inside the fish net as he pushed against it as hard as he could. Another foot inside. That should work. Grabbing the net, he pulled himself up as he groped at the rope above. Pushing his foot outside again, he scored his claws against it as he began to cut through. Unlike Jacob, the fall to the ground didn't pass through his mind. He was automatically thinking he could fly away; the fact that his wings were tangled up wasn't considered. The rope snapped. The beast let out a sharp yelp as he promptly fell down, slamming into the ground with a wheeze. Lovely. Struggling to get air back in his lungs, the tangled dragon tried desperately to get the net off of himself. It was firmly stuck to his limbs and horns. He flipped onto his feet. He could just ignore it. Ska'arq took one step in the direction of the others and tripped. Another swear. Grabbing it in his jaws, he began jerking his head to try and rip it off. Why was fish netting so stupid?


    Using his jaws to keep the netting away from his feet like a dress, he awkwardly made his way to the other nets. It would be just his luck to end up caught in another net. As movement caught his eye, Ska'arq picked up some speed. There was London. Shaking his head, he got some netting out of his mouth as he reared up, stretching up the trunk. No use. He couldn't reach. He tried to spread his wings, but they were trapped against his sides. He had to climb. "I'm coming. Just stay still." Claws scraping at the bark, he heaved himself up the trunk. As he made his way up, he gave the wood a death grip as he released one arm, reaching out. Pushing his arm inside her net, he paused. How would he do this? Oh. He pulled the net towards him. "Grab me. Anywhere. Just make sure you hold on tight."
    ***
    ATTACK IN BOLD #6e65b5 - TAGS - EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD

    Alexus had heard the group's calls from afar and had rushed over to the scene only to see a group of her peers trapped in a bundle of nets. The girl let out a light peal of laughter as she momentarily watched them struggle to escape their tangled prisons. The serval approached cautiously, not wanting to be swept up in a trap like the others. It looked as if Ska'arq's attempt to free himself was working, although it would surely be a quicker process with another pair of helping hands that weren't entangled in a fishing net. "Hey, guys, need some help over there?"


    tags

    wi also came over to watch the madness as it unfolded. however he soon realized that ska'arq would probably need help. well, he would go for the little kid. sure he was a lion but he was young and he could only carry so much weight. he assumed the dragon was going to have everyone hold onto him and then cut the rope? he wasn't quite sure how this was working but it almost made him want to laugh. this was truly a good idea for a prank, had it only not caught it's pranker. he then turned to the tree closest to jacob, who he was fond of because who wouldn't be fond of such a cute kid, and lept at the tree. he easily made his way up, his claws making the job easy. felines were built to climb trees. luckily jacob was closer to his tree than london had been to ska'arq's- though this was still going to be difficult. he didn't have long enough arms, he realized, as he got to a good location on the tree, but maybe he could pull the net over if he caught it. he didn't want to put the kid in harm's way though so he would have to be careful. wi carefully crawled along a sturdy branch, inching closer to where the net was caught,"how do you even string these up.." he muttered under his breath, now as close to the net as possible. "hey, i'll help you get out of there bud." he gave the pup a grin before reaching a paw out to drag it towards him, keeping hold of the net as he brought it back to the safest and largest part of the tree. "i think you should probably hold onto me, that's what dragonguy over there is doing."

    London watched the dragon dude free himself and smiled as he came over to her tree. She grabbed onto him like she'd been told, trying not to hurt the beast. At first she just kind of touched his scales, but she knew that wouldn't work. She unsheathed her claws then, and hung on tighter, trying not to prod the skin under the scales. "I'm sorry." she whispered, just in case. She didn't know if grabbing his scales hurt too, but she assumed it wouldn't hurt as much. The albino youth glanced over at Jacob, happy to see that he was being helped too. That meant that Pad would be the last one in a net, how ironic. Would someone rescue him, or would they just leave him there? She wanted to see what would happen, but first she had to focus on getting out of her net.


    ***
    OOC
    ***
    Ska'arq huffed. Staying in this position for a long time wouldn't end well. He didn't move until he felt the prick of London's claws dig in deeper. Releasing the net, he reached up, tearing his way through the rope until it broke. The net fell limp. Puffing, he resumed gripping the trunk with all four limbs as he slowly made his way down. "I uh, can't tear through the net. We're gonna need some help with that." The dragon bent down so that London could get off easily. "Stay here for a bit. I'll go help the others with Jacob." Moving awkwardly as to not trip over the netting tangled around him, he made his way over to Wimund and Jacob. "I'll catch you guys if you fall," he called up to them.
    ***
    ATTACK IN BOLD #6e65b5 - TAGS - EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD

    She'd been released from the tree's grasp, but the net still surrounded her. She sheathed her claws once they made it back to the ground, and half jumped half rolled off of the other. "Thank you! She would say, watching as the dragon went over to Jacob's tree. She tried to walk over to her friend as well, but her paws got tripped up in the netting and she fell. She righted herself up and got her feet untangled-ish and tried again, more carefully this time. This rescue thing looked disasteriffic, and she didn't know if she could watch. Hopefully Jacob got down safely, London was really worried.

    DOWN IN THE FOREST, WE'LL SING A CHORUS

    And then there was one. While the demon couldn't see the happenings behind him, he heard a heavy thud hit the ground, followed by voices that weren't restrained by his handiwork. His own net was relatively higher up compared to the others, and he couldn't do much other than helplessly dangle like a marionette tangled and matted in his own strings.


    God, he hated being vulnerable. But he was curious to see if they actually cared enough to try and free him. So Pad resisted from struggling any further, ears keen on picking up any snippets of conversation. Either he was facing the wrong way, or the net's meshing was too thick for him to catch blurred glimpses of his peers. However, it seemed like Skra'arq had succeed and was now stumbling about with his fishing net wrapped around him like a toga. At least that lightened his mood, disclosing his position as he broke out into trembling laughter.

    ONE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS

    Vaughn had come just in time to see the aftermath. His eyes were wide behind his green lensed glasses as he watched Pad tumble around tangled in a fishnet. "What the hell happened?" he'd ask, furrowing his eyebrows in utter confusion. "Uh... here. Do you need some help getting out of that?" he'd ask before looking to the others to make sure the others were alright as well.