Swan Wrangling

The treasure hunters encounter an angry swan. Considerable difficulty comes of it, to say the least.

Characters: Castus, Madison, Magramba, Claviger

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"Hmm." Castus looks up and down the bank of the river. It's late afternoon, and the sun is beginning to set. Everyone seems to be asleep or scouting or doing something else. It's the perfect time to investigate a certain shrew's logboat. He's never seen one in action before, and is intensely curious... it's not like he's going to untie it or anything. He hops down onto the muddy bank and looks inside. Looks like a typical log, just with a giant hole cut out of it. Gently, he tries to settle himself down inside. He's only been on ponds before.

"I hope you're not going to untie that or anything." Magramba emerges from the river, shirtless once more. He's removed the field dressing; a long, wet slashing slice of congealed blood can be seen, apparently the cause for the hasty bandage job.

"Re/lax,/" Castus insists, not even looking at Magramba. "It's not like I'm taking it for a spin. I've just never sat inside one before." He shifts his weight about. "Are you sure you should be swimming around? That cut looks pretty, ah... nasty. And there might be fish. Lethal ones."

"I wasn't /swimming,/ I was cleaning my 'nasty' cut." Magramba grins, stepping up onto the shore. "It just had the added bonus of a cooldown."

Napping in a tree is where Claviger happens to be. Well, she was napping. Now she's away, inclining her head to peer down upside down at them. Scope out what's going on, first.

Magramba room-pages, "Apparently it's time to eat. I shall return; 15, 20 mins, I imagine.".

Castus remains in the boat, for now. He glances about, apparently checking if the coast is clear. It isn't. Claviger's antics catch his attention. "Oh, hi," he says simply, and his shoulders sag just a tad. He turns his attention back to the task at hand: checking out the boat.

Magramba notices that Claviger is up and about as well; he raises a paw. "Hey, sleepy head." The squirrel leans over to retrieve his tunic. He keeps an eye on Cas, though. He's behaving suspiciously.

Claviger raises a paw. Which means hanging a paw down from the tree. Nope, she's comfy up here, not coming down. "Mornin' all." She's aware it probably isn't morning...

"Afternoon, actually," Castus murmurs, and then glances down into the water... suspiciously! He is quiet, for now, but something seems to have caught his eye.

Magramba says, "I think she knows, Cas." Magramba pulls on his shirt, reaching down for the armored plate to toss one strap over his shoulder, wrapping the other two around his torso and fumbling with the clasp in the back. "

"'s daylight..." Comes the reply. "'N I was sleeping; t' say good morning's traditional... or something..." Claviger points out, still rather relaxed. She dangles an arm. If her branches were lower, she'd be touching water.

"What... what is..." Castus reaches down into the water from the boat, fishing about under the surface. He comes back up with what appears to be a soaked, torn net. It's been underwater for some time, but it's exceptionally large and heavy by Castus' reckoning. "Now that's interesting," he murmurs, wondering what could possibly be caught in something this large. And then his ears perk up. "Do you..." He turns to Claviger, since she's nearest. "It sounds like... flapping." And loud, too. He'd remark on it more if something didn't suddenly drop out of the sky in front of him, sending water splashing all over. Something big, white, and feathery. Castus collapses backward, toppling out of the boat and scrambling for the shallows, his ears filled with a swan's hissing. The great bird spreads its wings and flaps mightily, screeching as it rears up. Whatever the swan wants, it seems extremely angry about it.

Oh look, pretty white birdy. Claviger yawns sleepily, then widens her eyes and sits, up, turning over. Ack! Potentially lethal pretty white birdy! "Uh. What did you do?"

Magramba smacks his lips thoughtfully as water splashes all over his back, contemplating how to punish Castus for his impudence, when he hears a hissing that is most definitely /not/ Castus, or anything he could have chucked into the water. The big squirrel turns calmly to see a much bigger, much more angry swan. "Oh. Well, that doesn't look good."

Claviger pauses on her branch. Hey... she's pretty safe here, maybe... Thus she holds fast to watch. "I think I'll sit here 'til you've chased it off, 'kay?"

The swan is indeed a pretty example of its species. Smooth, clean, and mighty. "How should I kn-AHHH!" Castus screams as he feels himself lifted off the ground, paws clearing the forest floor. For just a moment, he feels himself flying, cartwheeling his arms before he /slams/ into earth and goes rolling into a heap. Apparently, the birdy beauty struck him with a glancing blow of its flapping wings as it turns about, finding... Claviger to be the closest target. She didn't do anything either, but she gets a snapping swan beak aiming to rip something important off for her trouble.

Hmm. Magramba's eyes narrow as his little buddy goes flying, and after realizing that the swan's already acquired its next target, the squirrel darts into action. He makes a mad dash for his sword, handily stowed nearby, and pulls it out, discarding the sheath haphazardly.

"GAH! Get it away!" Claviger scampers. Further up the tree. "Go back to being tavern food or whatever y'r for!" She shouts as she goes, hoisting herself up to get footpaws and tail out of beak-reach.

"Oww..." Castus groans, clutching his back. Fortunately his traveling pack absorbed some of the hit, but that doesn't mean it wasn't almost incapacitating. He grasps around for his staff, leaning against a tree, and wishes he had an actual spear at the moment. He's fairly certain attacking something like that with paw weapons is insanity... he begins to cast around for something, anything that might give them an edge. The swan is distracted meanwhile, wanting apparently to hit each of them at least once as it lunges up after Claviger, hissing in frustration as she finds shelter in thicker branches. It furiously beats its wings, making it dangerous to approach to attack.

Danger frequently fails to dissuade Mag from taking action. The squirrel splashes out into the shallows, slowing as the water deepens. He waves his arms and shouts. "Hey! Hey, over here!"

Claviger is... poking her tongue out and making rude gestures at the big white bird. If it's stuck down there, good. She'll insult it. Cheek of the thing, attacking them like this.

The swan's ferocity is directed at just about everything around it. The tree Claviger is in gets a rough buffeting from the swan's wings, before it spins around at Magramba's behest, and lunges, its strong neck darting forward with that dangerous beak opening up. "Mag! Get *out* of the water!" Castus screeches, snatching up some of the rope they saved from tying up Wesley Weasel.

Mag's face is a mask of grim determination as the squirrel maneuvers through the water. He's up about to his waist, and the implacable pull of the river makes each step treacherous. With some measure of satisfaction, he notes that the swan has changed trajectories, heading towards him. He keeps the point of his sword up, churning up water with his free paw to make himself seem bigger and more intimidating. Whether it works, he can't tell. If anything, he's getting closer to the swan, and the swan is definitely getting closer to him.

Castus has no idea what Mag is trying to do exactly, but it doesn't seem like a very good plan from where he's standing! He yells, mostly because he can't do anything else without doing something stupid. "Mag! MAG!" The swan advances on his mentor, wary of the sword he's holding. Its hissing head sways and bobs like a snake's, and instead of striking directly at him, it lunges into the water, creating waves, and buffets its wings to knock him off balance. Castus meanwhile is working on... something. Hurriedly tying a knot and apparently making, of all things, a lasso.

Madison arrives then. Luckily she seems to know what's happening and isn't just stumbling on the scene, because she... already has a lasso. :D Businesslike, she casts for the swan's flailing head. C'MERE >.<

Magramba's plan apparently involves climbing up onto this large, somewhat flat rock, as well as ignoring Castus' shouts. The squirrel produces his long knife, one of the things he took the time to pick up before charging into the water, and holds it between his teeth, like a pirate preparing to swarm up a rigging. Safe from the waves on his perch, the warrior appears to be glaring down the swan, weaving his sword in a fashion similar to the one the swan's head is using.

Claviger is safely up a tree, thankyou. And settled back to watch all this. She could throw things, she supposes, but what would that actually achieve? She watches the others with lassos or knife and shakes her head slightly. "Y'r all mad."

"That's... just... crazy," Castus mutters to himself as he picks up his lasso, steeling himself. He looks over at Madison already making a cast, which, unfortunately, misses the head just as the swan ducks it down to make its first strike, bulling forward with its entire body bulk. If it won't catch him with its beak, it'll try to just bowl him over into the water.

The beak and head miss Magramba, but the body hits him full force. However, the squirrel's blade was pointed roughly towards the swan, and opens a sizeable gash before being swatted away by a flailing wing. The warrior is knocked from his rock, falling backwards into the water, knife still clenched in his mouth as he goes under. The sword hurtles through the air, towards Claviger's perch in the tree.

Madison barely notices the cast missing. She's reeling it back in as she looks up at Clav. "You what?" And then another cast.

"I said you w-ACK!" Claviger dodges as a sword hurtles past her. "Kill the bird! Not me!" She yells, as the sword drops to become stranded on the branches. Back to what she was saying "..I said you're mad!"

Madison snaps the cast back halfway. Drunk enough to disregard killer swan, not drunk enough for a lack of heroics. Come on... recalculation... CAST!

This time, Madison catches the head as the swan rears back up, still hissing. It was just angry before, but the bloody wound has made it furious, and it actually stomps around, trying to find and crush the squirrel beneath. The bird seems to barely notice the lasso looping around its neck, which serves to bring Madison to its attention. Instead of struggling backwards out of the loop, it simply springs away from Mag and hop-skips straight /towards/ Madison, head held out straight... giving Castus the opportunity to lash it as it passes under his perch. "Gotcha!" he yells, and drops like a rock, tugging the rope in the opposite direction. The swan's next honk becomes a confused, strangled "WARRK!" of alarm as it tries to face both threats at once. Ahh, teamwork.

This time, Madison catches the head as the swan rears back up, still hissing. It was just angry before, but the bloody wound has made it furious, and it actually stomps around, trying to find and crush the squirrel beneath. The bird seems to barely notice the lasso looping around its neck, which serves to bring Madison to its attention. Instead of struggling backwards out of the loop, it simply springs away from Mag and hop-skips straight /towards/ Madison, head held out straight... giving Castus the opportunity to lash it as it passes under his perch. "Gotcha!" he yells, and drops like a rock, tugging the rope in the opposite direction. The swan's next honk becomes a confused, strangled "WARRK!" of alarm as it tries to face both threats at once. Ahh, teamwork.

Magramba's soaked, spluttering head emerges just in time to see a massive foot bearing down on him. Exactly what happens at slashdown is hard to tell, but when the swan charges off in Madison's direction, Mag does not resurface.

Madison probably IS mad as she pauses long enough to look up at Clav even at the swan thunders toward her. "Thank goodness for that, 'cause if I wasn't this would probably never work." And no sooner does she say that than she takes a headbutt to the middle from a very big head. This at least has the advantage of 'scooping' her up. Wait, advantage? CLinging, winded, to the flailing swan's head and neck isn't the best advantage ever.

Claviger is busy retrieving that sword that someone chucked at her. She blinks as Madi is swanbourne, staring rather dumbly at the scene, with her paws rather loose around the sword. "... What would never work? Your clinging to a beak!" She starts to look around for the others; there's Castus... And. Where's Magramba? Hrm. Tentatively, Clav' descends.

Madison takes the opportunity to wrap her arms hard around the swan's neck at the base of the skull. It's the world's biggest headlock! "Erm... do swans have jugulars!?" she yells. Probably should have asked that first.

"What are you *doing?!*" Castus shouts as Madison stubbornly clings to the swan's head. "We had him!" Well, he thought they did. Now he has nobody to help keep the swan from going where it wishes, and these ropes aren't that long... well, better just to go with it. "Clav! Get Mag before he drowns! AHH!" he manages to bark out before the swan beats its wings and attempts to ascend, *flailing* with all its might. Undaunted as he finds himself faceplanting into dirt again, Castus scrambles for a tree to try and tie off his rope. Trunks will fare better than lightweight squirrels at this sort of thing.

Under the water, Magramba calmly gazes up at the light piercing the surface of the river. His cheeks are balooned with the air he's holding in; the pain in his left leg and side have faded to a dull throb, almost a memory. Vaguely, as though from a great distance, he can hear shouts and the occasional girlish shriek. A smile steals across his sublime expression; that would be Castus.

Claviger is in the water. And she's stuck the sword in a tree. What's she going to do with it? She doesn't plan on trying to fight that thing! She does start looking for Magramba though; which mostly involves waving her paws around in the water and hoping she doesn't tread on him or trip on him.

Madison tightens her armhold on the swan's neck and can only hope swans can't hold their breath for very long. She's surprisingly not as scared as she thought, but a tidal wave of adrenaline is sobering her up fast. Bah. "One day I'll meet somebeast who can talk me out of things like thi-i-i-i-i-s!"

Perhaps it is time to get out of the water. Magramba tries to get up, but it seems his body is not cooperating with him. With a burble, the squirrel lies back again to think. Under the water, he can see what appears to be the rock he was knocked off of; however, it's not that nearby. He reaches out with his right paw and grabs something that looks sturdy and pulls, trying to drag himself towards the rock. The 'something' is Claviger's ankle.

"Madison! Throw me the other rope!" Castus yells as he rushes to the scene of insanity. The swan's movement is only partially restricted as he finishes tying off the rope, tangling it in branches to make it harder on the bird. Castus sprints towards Madison, rolling under a blustering wing. The draft yanks on his tail and nearly makes him fall over again. "Down here! Throw! Then steer it into a tree if you can!" The swan, meanwhile, seems to be tiring, at least marginally, as it staggers about, making half-hearted little hops.

Claviger acks as something grabs her ankle. Were this a horror film, or a different scene, she might have been rushing back for that sword about now, but she's reasonably confident of exactly what might be down there to grab her. So she reaches down to grab at Magramba's arm and pull. She's probably not that gentle.

"Do I look like a qualified swan pilo-o-o-t!?" Madison's voice sails back. Squeeze. Squeeze. Go DOWN, swan! >.< Because even Madison's stomach is beginning to turn from all this whipping around.

Magramba breaches the water, hauled aloft, although not by his own power. He seems to be all in, so unless he's kept aloft, he'll probably sink again. His face is docile, eyes closed, knife lost.

"Just keep holding on!" Castus shouts back, grabbing the rope presumably thrown back or left lying around, the other lasso still attached to the swan's neck. The swan seems confused now, unable to attack or retreat and baffled by the fluffy thing that it still hasn't managed to toss off. This gives Castus the reprieve he needs to shoot up another tree and begin to tie off another anchor. The swan, suddenly, begins to shiver and shake, gathering its strength for one last attempt at freedom. Castus frantically swings the rope around several branches, using his natural agility for all it's worth. The swan begins to lurch forward again, letting an extra loud hiss, just as Castus finishes a final knot. The swan's forward progress is halted with a jerk, and it begins to flap its wings this time. "Madison!" Castus calls from behind the swan, ready to catch her if necessary. "Off! Now!"

Claviger continues to pull on Magramba. Trying to wake him up, get him standing or something. She mumbles something very quietly, annoyed, and possibly rude but not in a familiar language, before she decides to pull him toward the bank. "This would be easier if you'd get up..."

Madison args. "Great advice!!!" to his first bit. Then, "No, YOU 'off'!" Ooh, hidden expletives. Whether through choice or force, though, the squirrel is extricated and sails toward the water - or Cas - in a curled-up bomb fashion, defensively, totally expecting a beak in the back.

Magramba's response is to do nothing. For a moment, anyway. Then he suddenly begins to hack and wheeze and otherwise expel water through his mouth, chest shuddering with the effort.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa!" Castus holds up his arms as Madison doesn't come sailing, but cannoning towards him. Nevertheless he takes the hit like a male, and flops backwards into the ground, thoroughly smashed into a heap of agonized rodent. He hasn't caught Madison so much as let her use him as a crash test dummy. The swan, meanwhile, takes the opportunity of being free from Madison's grasp to stomp and honk, flapping its wings. It seems confused as to why it can't get going anywhere, and this has pulled it away from its original, murderous intent.

"In a world of hurt," Castus mumbles from behind Madison. Honk honk goes the swan.

"...Spew water is not the same as get up." Claviger mumbles, but continues to try and get him over to the bank. She's trying to keep him out of the water while she moves him, but finding it an awkward task.

But spew water is what he does. When his coughing seem to have petered out, Magramba's eyes flutter open and he draws a ragged breath just as Claviger lets his face dip back down in the water, then hacks it back out when he reemerges.

Claviger shakes her head and pulls. "That. Is. Not. Standing." She huffs. "Look, y'r heavy... and waterlogged. And if we have t'go much further, -I'm- probably going to fall in and drown too." Still, the bank is right there... She's exaggerating a bit, now.

Magramba isn't /trying/ to be difficult, it's just happening. He makes an effort, though; the squirrel manages to get one foot under himself, so that he can stand while leaning on Claviger. He attempts to use the other, as well, but judging by the look on his face, the pain of doing so is exquisite.

Castus sits up with a hapless groan, holding his chest, his back, his tail... getting whomped by a swan wing and slammed a few times into the ground isn't the best experience one can have. He looks up at the swan in astonishment. It is, for all intents and purposes... harmless. "We... we did that," he says breathlessly, looking over at Mag and Claviger. "He's alive," is all he can gasp out, shoulders sagging with relief.

It's enough to get them onto the bank. And a relieved Claviger actually seems gentle in trying to let go of him without having Magramba fall down fast. "Well done." She's saying. Probably having noticed the pained expressions he was making. "Can you talk?"

"Yeah." Magramba lies back on the dirt and grass and stones, gathering a tussock of grass in his right paw. "Yeah, I can talk." He's wet; soaked, as a matter of fact. Blood seeps from a few scratches, mixing with the water to quickly spread a bright red tint to his clothing. The squirrel struggles with the light armor strapped to his chest for a moment, just using one paw, then gives up. "Can you get this off me?" The question is asked of Claviger.

Castus still tries to catch his breath, and looks around as he stands up. Their things are strewn about all over the place, and the swan is still making a racket, occasionally giving a breeze as it flaps its wings mightily to no avail. It's a ferocious swan, but not a very smart swan. "I can't believe we just did that..." he mutters again, lending Madison a paw to help her stand. "Where's that shrew and his boat?" he wonders. He doubts Magramba will want to be walking anytime soon after this.

"Yes I can..." Claviger mumbles the rest of this sentence as she starts to do as requested. "So what's wounded 'r broken 'r don't you know? Y'll have to guide me through what to do here; I don't make a habit of getting injured enough to know much on how to fix you..."

Madison is dazed, but with Cas's help, finds her footpaws. She looks to the swan, rubbing her head. Since she arrived late... "So, anybeast wanna tell me how the swan happened then?"

"Can't move m' arm or leg," Mag says, moving his right arm and leg so she knows which ones don't. "Well, my leg moves, but I don't want to, and my arm doesn't move at all." The squirrel also points to his left clavicle, but doesn't touch. "I might've broken that."

"I imagine it all started with a girl swan an' a boy swan..." Claviger pipes up, after noting where Magramba indicates and what he says. "Anyone know how to patch up a broken squirrel?" She then addresses Magramba again. "If we had the right things around here, and... we might... I can make a pain killer. So could she, I'll bet," A grin and head tilt toward Madison "But I'm no good wi' injuries and such otherwise."

"I... don't really know," Castus admits to Madison's question. "It wasn't there, and then it was there... just attacking," he says, mightily confused. "I found a net, right before it came after me... maybe... maybe it's been threatened before. I thought they only attacked if you went after a nest." He gives the trapped swan a wide berth and looks at Madison when Clav suggests a painkiller.

"Lovely." Magramba winces as he pokes at his collarbone. "If they're broken, you just have to put some splints on, and... I'll find a nice staff or something."

"Oh," Magramba adds, remembering something. "We'll need to set the bones."

"You could use mine," Castus offers when Mag mentions a staff.

Madison shakes her head. Brr, still a bit nauseous. "You're not having my staff." She warns. Bah. At the gazes in her direction re painkillers, she pffffffts. "If I am that is when it comes to painkillers, just look to Martin the Pharmacist over there." Clavpoint.

"Set bones, give splints, acquire staff." Claviger nods. "Right. Fine." She actually smirks a bit as Madison points. "Well, I don't like to boast... Eh. Sure t' be something we can use if you need one, though." Setting the bones. Hrm. "So, I just force them straight? I guess we should get the splints and such ready first though?"

Magramba shakes his head at Castus' comment, then instantly regrets it. "No, Cas, I just need any old stick the right size." He nods, pushing himself up with his good paw. "Yeah. Yeah, good idea."

"Well, let's get to it then," Castus says, moving forward to help however he can with the bone setting. He looks at Mag and smiles wearily. "We did pretty good though, didn't we?" Honk honk goes the swan.