singlemilletgrain: (Faint Surprise)
[personal profile] singlemilletgrain posting in [community profile] vivala
Who: Shu, cows, and you
What: Udder cowtastrophe
Where: Farmlands outside of Elysium
When: Mid-month
Warnings: Animal cruelty



As the farmer plods away to resume tending his fields, Shu shakes her head with a frown and addresses her companion. "That is the fourth farmer this week to report a missing herd of livestock. These aren't small losses, either. It is unimaginable that they simply vanished off the face of the earth."

Not coincidentally, Shu is currently seated atop her own oxen, who is placidly chewing on some grains underfoot.

"Let us examine the pasture. He said there were numerous markings he could not make sense of. These disappearances will be catastrophic for the small farmer if they continue and have a lasting ripple effect on the supply chain of meat. Not just for the Corsairs."

She nudges He Sheng with her ankles.

Date: 2024-10-22 04:05 am (UTC)
purplexing: (no i don't believe you)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
((Oh no! DW being sneaky again!))

"Only if it's unavoidable," Donnie says, but he nods back. Should he be concerned that he can't really see the slight clearing that they'd left the unconscious workers? ...nah.

Locks aren't a problem at all, and it's quite clear that the turtlekin has done this sort of thing before. They're like puzzles, after all, although this padlock isn't particularly difficult and hardly takes half a minute to open.

Up and up they go, Donnie moving swift and silent like the shadows he said he's been trained to hide in. He slows a little, shoulders tensing at the sounds behind him, figuring perhaps by the time she makes it up, he can be done with his scouting. That is until he sees the sentry. Ah, what a pain.

Donnie holds a hand out behind him in case Shu's paying attention, a halting gesture before he turns to look back at her and point out what he'd seen. This puts a bit of a damper on moving ahead, and it makes it particularly difficult to see who else might be about. He skulks along the stairs just a little higher, hand fumbling around in his belt pouch before he pulls out a bolt. It's a standard thing used in most types of machinery, and he rolls it around between his forefinger and thumb before palming it and flinging it high up past the roof's edge, counting on the drop to be somewhere behind the guard and hopefully with enough of a sound to draw their attention so he can make his move.

((Yeah, let's do it!))
Edited Date: 2024-10-22 04:05 am (UTC)

Date: 2024-10-23 03:43 am (UTC)
purplexing: (past visiting hours)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
It's all Donnie needs. One moment he's leaning forward on the steps and in the next he seems to have teleported to the top of the step. A brief, eerie shadow appears at the sentry's shoulder before hands snake out to put him on an early shift break.

The turtlekin lowers him slowly to the floor as he looks around, ready to move if it turns out there's others on duty in the near vicinity.

Date: 2024-10-24 01:15 am (UTC)
purplexing: (I have an app for that)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
((WOO!))

...not particularly. Maybe it's just not his brand of music.

Donnie skulks along until he gets to the walkway. He glances back just to check where Shu is before he heads across, still keeping low, as though being low to the floor makes him blend in. Which...wouldn't be a bad tactic if his pancake shell only blended in with the surface below him.

The ship's small in comparison to the ones he's been used to, but he figures the areas are the same and something like this will be built for more practicality. It doesn't take him long to do a sweep of the main deck, intending to make sure it's clear before he heads inside.

Date: 2024-10-24 02:18 am (UTC)
purplexing: (dubious leo plans)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
Donnie creeps along, keeping close to the walls as he makes his way in. He wrinkles his snout at the scent, moving onwards before pausing at the distant sound of footsteps.

Hmm.

At least one person down that way. If there's trouble with the engine then that would be the place to check for sure. The crew quarters...

He sneaks over to the door to try peeking through the keyhole if he can't catch any sounds. If anyone's within, maybe he can just lock them in and that'll at least take care of one problem.

Date: 2024-10-25 03:39 am (UTC)
purplexing: (Hmm)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
He deliberates on welding the lock in place, wondering if it's worth the trouble. After some thought he decides to leave it for the moment, unless he manages to find a chair, but he's still got some scouting to do.

The turtlekin moves back along the hall again, listening as he makes his way towards the where the engine would be.

Date: 2024-10-26 04:55 am (UTC)
purplexing: (this is me disbelieving you)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
Three mechanics... Donnie winces at the pun. That alone deserves a braining, but he doesn't want to get into a fight in an engine room, especially not when they've fixed things up. They're going to need a functioning ship if they're going to be returning that herd.

He drums his fingers lightly against his belt pouch before he comes to his decision, slipping out a vial and giving it a shake so the contents within start to mix. It's a more concentrated form of the knockout gas employed during their airship infiltration, and should do the trick for even a room that size.

Donnie sneaks closer to the doorway, glancing towards the toolkit before looking at those within. Now or never...

He slides the end of his staff along the edge of the door to snag the toolkit, popping the cork off the vial as he rolls it into the room before dragging the kit out.

Date: 2024-10-27 04:40 am (UTC)
purplexing: (laaame)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
Wow. Leo might've appreciated the guy's dedication.

Silently counting down, Donnie waits a few more seconds after the sound of bodies hitting the floor to crack the door open again, holding his breath as he peeks inside. That takes care of those guys for the time being at least.

He lets the door close again, listening for any signs of other guards about as he leaves that area.

Date: 2024-10-28 03:39 am (UTC)
purplexing: (of course I did...n't)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
The cargo hold he's left for last, not looking forward to dealing with the smell. His filtration mask doesn't really work for scents, but he supposes if he's survived riding a cow and being in the middle of a whole herd of them, then surely he can handle a lingering eau de cattel.

Donnie creeps towards the cargo hold's entrance...

Date: 2024-10-29 04:32 am (UTC)
purplexing: (laaame)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
Two more... Donnie covers his nose as he tries to have a good look around from where he is. It's unfortunate that the place is so wide open. That'd definitely make it difficult to take them by surprise. You know, if he were so inclined to do that to try clearing everything out himself rather than simply scout the place out like he'd said he would.

At least it seems like the two workers are preoccupied. Maybe he won't have to worry about them just yet.

He pulls his goggles down to make sure no one else might be moving around behind any of those hay bales before he starts to duck back out. Flipping up the cover on his ENC bracer, he starts tapping out a message to Shu to give her a rundown of what he's found so far.

Date: 2024-10-30 03:39 am (UTC)
purplexing: (dubious leo plans)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
Got it.

Donnie can't help but be a little anxious given Shu's sneaking skills, but at least the worst of the steps are literally behind them. That she manages to get to his position without detection is a relief.

"May as well. Better to do it now while they're still preoccupied," he says, nodding.

Date: 2024-10-31 03:44 am (UTC)
purplexing: (barbed)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
The turtlekin tilts his head at that, but he steps back at Shu's indication. His eyes widen, maybe a touch startled as to just how realistic that cattle call sounds.

Well, that...works?

He glances back towards the cargo hold at the confused voices, stifling a snicker. At the sound of their approaching footsteps, he presses back against the side of the doorway with his own weapon readied.

Date: 2024-10-31 04:03 am (UTC)
purplexing: (myeh)
From: [personal profile] purplexing
That doesn't look like a pleasant spill, but Donnie's not here to be pleasant with cow thieves, or Imperials for that matter. He follows up quick to make sure the fellow's companion won't get back up so soon himself, looking to Shu with a nod.

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