Monster Wrangler

Milo stopped and looked around. He nods a couple of times in satisfaction. Even so, he deferred to his temporary companions for input. "Okay, this looks like a good spot to me. What do you think? Think we might see a Staguar here?"

Diva, who had been scouting ahead, turns back around to return to the group. Meanwhile Milo's strange new companion came to a stop beside Milo. The boy was having trouble deciphering how the construct processed its surroundings. What was it like? He'd have to keep observing to find out.

'Yeah, this is perfect. I actually grew up maybe a day or two's walk from here.' Mara had a few companions of her own tagging along. Blitz seemed to rather like Tinder, probably because she was so sweet. Blitz was more than a little restless.

'Staguar don't get along, so maybe Blitz acting like this is a good sign. That or she just wants to see Orlok.'

Tinder, being affectionate, had to stop and nuzzle Diva every so often. She seemed to enjoy singing and trilling softly in the warwolf's ear.

'Do you have some bait ready or want me to cook it up?'

"Really?!" Milo's eyes lit up. "That's so cool! Whereabouts?" He was scanning the horizon as if he might catch a glimpse of Mara's home town.

Diva was chill around Blitz, but something about Tinder had the Warwolf a little wary. It shirked away from the nuzzles. It also often glanced at Tinder's flaming feathers. That aside, it did perk up at the singing and trilling whenever Tinder did so. After the long walk here it'd be easy to figure out that Diva viewed flames as a potential threat. Poor Tinder.

"Yeah, I bought some yesterday. Hmm. Should Blitz wait further away? I don't want to cause a fight."

'It's probably for the best that she wait further back towards me.' Blitz took the hint and sunk into the grass, fading from view.

Tinder seemed a bit sad that Diva appeared to not like her. Her songs sounded a bit mournful. Her head lowered a bit.

(OOC: Blitz activating Stalker 5' from Mara)
Co-op to set it up 2

"Thanks, okay, well... here goes nothing. Do let me know if you have any tips for this."

Milo sets down his bag and gets out the bait that was ready to mix. With Mara's guidance he'd create an enticing bait and set it up just beyond where the tall grass ended.

"Shall we hide and wait?"

-----
Nature roll with bait: 2 successes (4 total with Mara's assistance. Rarity 4 beast bait)

Mara sat back and waited, careful to position Tinder away from anything potentially flammable.

After a half hour or so, a three-foot-tall flaming bird can be seen trotting toward the bait. Tall grass smolders in its wake as it trots up toward the bait and starts to peck at it.

'Easy, easy...' Mara stepped forward her voice a soft purr, that was potentially something Milo was a little to young to hear.


(Wrangle assist for Milo=3)

"Oh wow..." Milo hushed a moment later as Mara stepped forward. He tried moving slowly and speaking quietly, but his inexperience with bird-like monsters was obvious.

Wrangle = 1 success (thankfully 4 with Mara's assistance)

The flaming bird saunters over to Milo and squawks at him a few times before settling down in front of him. The grass around the roosting monster starts to smoke.


[Female Juvenile Tayirramad, Frantic Scratcher secondary trait, Personality is Lazy and Affectionate.)

"It seems friendly...?" Milo ponders aloud, glancing to Mara. "How can you safely interact with a Flamebird?"

As Diva stays away and the Jinglot watches on the boy takes a seat on the grass a couple of feet in front of the bird.

'Besides the parts that are on fire, they seem to be really warm but it's not like Riki. They don't seem to burn everything near them.' Mara stomped out a few smoldering embers.

Tinder came over and cuddled the new firebird.

Mara pulled out the cooking kit and began to make new bait.

(4/5 uses spent, making a beast bait by cooking/mind, wait for the co-op=1)

"That's good. I don't want to get hurt or for anyone else to. Hmm. I just wish Diva wasn't so skittish about the flames."

Milo watched as the two firebirds interacted. Diva was staying well, well away.

"Um, need any help?"

-----
Cooking (mind) assist roll: 2 successes (Mara nets 3 successes total)

Mara began to set up the new bait with Milo a bit further ahead, hoping they'd find a staguar for him.

(PMing mindshred rolled wrong roll)

Once again Milo would help. By this point Diva had flopped down a way away from the two firebirds. The ground near them both had ceased burning after most of the grass had turned black and shrivelled up.

-----
Nature assist roll: 2 successes

After a short while, another flaming bird wanders over towards the bait. It eyes the other Tayirramad suspiciously for a moment, then opens its wings and flaps them a few times, spreading cinders everywhere.

The other two Tayirramads mimic the gesture and squawk in annoyance, causing even more cinders to take to the air.

Smoke starts to rise up around the group as the tall grass starts to catch fire in numerous places.

'It's okay! Calm down!' Mara tried to soothe the newcomer, with any aid from Milo.

wrangle co-op 5 successes, 3 if it's diff 8 or 9

"Don't fight. There's food." Milo assists Mara in calming the newcomer.

"This spot must be near a nesting site."

He was wary of the growing flames. That made his efforts to calm them down that bit more determined.

-----
Wrangle: 4 successes (or 3 if higher difficulty)

The Tayirramad calms down a bit, only scratching at the ground a few times as it stares at the other birds.



(Go ahead and make Mischief Checks for your monsters, Difficulty 1 Wrangle (Energy) rolls for each of them.)