Complete Private [Homecoming] Another Chance

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno gave @Glamora Dark a brief struggling smirk when she questioned if he had just suplexed a tree. Truly, that was proabably one of the weirdest feats he had accomplished in Terrasphere, but it did help that the tree in question was remotely humanoid.

"Just don't push... Yourself too much..!" He grunted, trying to keep a grapple on the tree that was slowly regaining consciousness, wiggling its body just before Glamora managed to slash away the rare fruits, snatching it away from the plant-beast. "Good! And still alive!" He grinned, with twitching lips and eyelids as he tried to contain the strength of the treant, that clasped its branch-arm against his back, forcing a groan out of him before he stood, lifting it off the ground.

Its tiny legs flailed, just as its arms did, but Hanno gave it no time to recover, spinning and tossing it away to make it crash on a 'wall' of bushes and shrubs.

"BEEEEEROOO-!!"

*CRASH!*

Hanno winced, and clasping his hands against his knees, he tried to catch a breath, glancing at Glamora as she asked for a getaway while asking him what was one of the most absurd things one could ask to the Lions.

"As long as you aren't forcing or coercing them to do it-" He got on his feet, tilting his head. "Consent is all you need-"

The wiggling tree managed to get back on its feet, with a huge scowl on its face.

"BERO!"

"Shit-" He pursed his lips, placing the shield on his back and rushing near Glamora. "Darkest Master of all, excuse me, but the get away is running as fast as possible!" Seeing how wobbly she was, Hanno simply picked her up and tucked her behind him, keeping her pressed between his back and Ghast as if it was an improvised baby bag.

Hanno then darted off, with the angry tree rushing right behind them, glued to their tail while Hanno attempted to rush past the vegetation, and use it as obstacles, sometimes snatching a rock from the ground to toss at its face.

"Get away already!" He huffed, with another rock slamming against the tree's face, and even as it staggered, it soon picked up pace again!

 

[Glamora Dark]

"Oh... so... I ----- just need a ----- contract..."

She somehow managed to say between the jostling as they, or rather @Hanno Futaba , ran for their lives.

"...You know if you were ------ willing to carry me ------ you should have just ---- done it from the start. I'm positively tired..."

Glammy blinked. Her view was behind them as Hanno carried her and was making considerable ground. That changed momentarily as he spun around for a bit and threw a rock.

"Nice throw~"

And her vision of the gross treant returned as Hanno attempted to pick up the pace again.

"But I think it's still gaining on us. Sigh."

She actually said the word sigh out loud.

"I'd hoped to keep at least one bottle for a contingency, but it is what it is."

Wiggling an arm free, The Darkmaster Glamora Dark revealed her wand. She flicked it with a little wave.

"Au re'livista baby~"

The bottles flew out on arcanamancy threads like, well, bottle rockets. And then...

*Boom.*

There was another explosion. Zero bottles left. The rumbling of the forest seemed to confirm it. And the very Jurassic Park like roar after it confirmed that the treant was alive and well and gaining on them again.

"That bought us a little time, all that remains now is a contest of wills. I need you to embody Bursty, Hanno. (I believe that was the horse that won). No, wait, I need you to embody a Bursty that doesn't let me down. Because that traitorous horse helped get me into this mess in the first place. Talk about biting the hand that makes..."

The witch paused as she continued to wave a finger around as if conducting her little lecture. That, too, stopped soon after. Then, she frowned. Then... she poked Hanno repeatedly for emphasis saying:

"What. I. Am. Trying. To. Say. Is. Go. Go. Go. Run. Faster. Why. Is. It. Only. Bad. Memories. With. You. Poke. Poke. Poke."

She also said those last 3 pokes out loud...




@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Well, we are starting to run away now, aren't we?" Hanno asked rhetorically, keeping the pace of the run without really turning his face to look back. He didn't need to look behind to know that thing was chasing them down at full speed. He could hear it, and on top of that, Ghast kept him informed with the typical signals she had with her tentacles.

The explosion brought a hint of hope that the thing would finally stop, but @Glamora Dark's words, followed by her constant poking made it clear that they were still far from having solved that problem.

"Okay, okay, OKAY! I get it, I get it! I will be running faster!" Hanno forced his legs to move quicker, no matter how much his muscles began burning, feeling the heat of the faerin's exertion. But there was one thing among Glamora's words that clicked his head. "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE SO WE CAN MAKE GOOD MEMORIES, HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

He roared, determined, darting off at full speed while keeping the Dark Master safe on his back...

...

...

...

"Huff.... Huff..." Hanno swallowed, feeling his heart nearly leaping out of his chest while he breathed heavily. He haven't really noticed when exactly they had lost the sight of that treant, but the knight was blinded by his sudden burst of determination, that made him run at full speed all the way back to the small town, as absurd as it sounded.

Finally finding a bench, he placed Glamora down, rested Ghast aside, and shoved his butt on the bench, with his chest heaving as he planted his back against the seat.

"Damn it... How marathonist manage it..?" He coughed briefly, moments before a familiar faces showed up...

"Oh~! Look, Jack~ The little corrupt noble and the knight wannabe returned~"

"Are you two okay? You look exhausted."

He frowned.

 

[Glamora Dark]

Placed down on the bench, Glamdark stretched her legs out and just let the daze fall over her as Hanno attempted to catch his breath.

"It's a matter of drive, I suppose, or just hating to lose. That's how it works for me anyway."

Glamora cast a side glance under her witch hat at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"I don't even have to look up to tell whose whiney voice that is. Seriously Jack, how do you put up with him?"

She sighed.

"And yes. We are fine. Perfectly fine. Because of course we are. He's the Hero of Astorea, and I am the person important enough to have him protecting me. Not that I need it, mind you, but I digress..."

Glamdark looked up.

"You said the treant would have six fruits and that it did. But, I felt it would be cruel and irresponsible to take so many. So I have procured you four. I leave them in your expert care."

She gently tossed them to Jack, one by one.

Then, she held up a twig. It was... a branch of the treant... oh no...

"More importantly, I will need a bottle of Vinegar or Wine. Water. A ceramic pot. And local soil."

She looked Larry directly in the eyes.

"That will be your job, errand boy. You'd better hurry or you will see why my knight among knights is looking... just a little tired."

There was a crash in the far distance. As if something was looking for them. The witch smiled pleasantly.

"..."

Slightly rolling over to face Hanno, Glamdark seemed just a little excited. Like she'd pulled off some great trick.

"I hope you've caught your breath Hanno, this next part will be crucial. We have fulfilled the client's request but that doesn't mean we can't fulfill one of my own. Have you ever heard of tree propagation? Hm hm~ Why go hunt stupid treants when we can just make one of our own? And just think, they also double as home security. What more could a homeowner/landscaper/chef want?"

Evil grin. Twinkling eyes. She raises her finger and goes into lecture mode.

"But. We'll have to act fast. When that mess of an assistant returns with the goods, grab the vinegar or wine and and dump it all over yourself, me, and the branch. We might have to huddle a little close, but that's just a sacrifice I'm willing to deal with. We need to erase our scent with something stronger. Then, we can begin to plant this devil tree..."

The rumbling in the distance continued.

"Heh. heh. heh. Isn't doing the right thing just the best, Hanno? Just think, now nobody will have to bother those poor murderous treants anymore. We've not only solved the problem we've come up with a permanently profitable solution~"


@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"Whi-WHINEY~?!?! H-Ho-Hoooow dare yoooou~?!?!"

Larry gritted his teeth, resting a hand on his chest as if something has just stabbed his heart and twisted it.

"I'm used to it."

"And you didn't even defend me now~?!"

After hitting Jack's arm several times (very weakly), Larry sighed and complied with @Glamora Dark's request, hand waving and going to fetch the desired items, all while Jack took the fruits with a faint and grateful smile before moving away to prepare the desserts...

While the two of them bothered with it, Hanno listened to the most of the lies with a neutral expression, honestly hiding more of a curious expression than a disapproval one, that was revealed when the two men were away, with his eyebrows perking up. "So you are planning to plant them?" He muttered. "Why pouring vinegar on ourselves though?"

Still, the plan was solid. Even if Hanno was slightly concerned about the potential issues that it can be caused if they aren't cautious about it.

"Well, I like the idea. So let's go ahead with it. I may even want some of it to myself, there is a place I want to make that would love some protection with treants and free food." Hanno nodded eagerly, though Ghast narrowed her giant eye at the idea of getting poured by something as horrible as vinegar.

When the two men returned, all the ingredients asked were offered, and with it, a pudding rested gently inside of a nice transparent box with wooden frames, making sure the pudding will stay firm in its place without the box breaking.

 

[Glamora Dark]

@Hanno Futaba

"Well, I wouldn't recommend trying to keep one yourself until we've sold a few test batches and seen what happens."

Glamdark said matter-of-factly without a hint of shame. Her eyes were like clear glass bobbles as the thoughts flickered behind them like shooting stars.

*Pwop!*

*Plup, Plup, Plup*

That was the sound of her opening the vinegar and dousing herself. It was like how those distance runners pour water bottles over their heads.

"Well, what are you waiting for? No time to be shy while our lives are on the line. If that treant picks up our scent, or his branch's we're all dead."

Glamdark grinned wickedly as she moved closer and closer with the bottle. It reeked.

"Hehehe, don't be shy..."

***

"That should cover it."

Glammy was about to toss the bottle but she paused... Then she put it into her inventory.

"Might need it later."

And resumed the process.

"Okay Hanno. I'll do the magic and you do the things I don't want to do. If this works we won't look like a couple of idiots. If it doesn't, well I know a certain Tertorian memory curse I've been meaning to try..."

She nodded, while revealing her wand and pointing it at the pot.

"I'm going to start reciting the spell. While I do so, I want you to slowly pour the soil in. You liked baking didn't you? It's probably something like that, you know, with the flour. So just do that. When it's full, stick the twig in and think of a Name. Names are important. Especially True Names. So don't pick wrong."

Glamora was in lecture mode, but her wand was held aloft instead of her finger. One eye was closed as if she was taking aim at something.

"Got it? Of course you don't. But time is of the essence. Let's get to it."

*Deep breath*

"Darker than Dark and Darker Still."
"Where none may wander or be fulfilled."
"Where I step, the Golden Path is tilled."
"For such is the might of my bonny will."

"Set!" "Set!" "Set!"

"...In accordance with the wandering fancy of a singular beautiful genius."​

As she spoke the pot began to glow in dark negative as the soil began to sparkle like golden dust.

And then, there was a great, harmless, poof of dark magic.

What what remained was...

"Paku Paku"​

...

Right. So, for the Tertorian Memory Erasure Curse we're going to need a new things.

*Grabs pudding*

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno's usual smile twitched when @Glamora Dark approached with the bottle. He took a step back, and his shield wiggled her tentacles in hesitation. "Goddess... Rhiannon, protect me..." He frowned his lips, taking another step away. But Glamora's determination on it was immense, and the knight couldn't really reject "his lady" after all.

...

"I am already doing what nobody wants to." Hanno responded, with a scowl covering his expressions. It was almost like all of his face has shrunk and concentrated on the center of his head, like he had licked the most sour lemon of all Arcia. Ghast was several feet away, laying next to a tree as she tried to avoid the terrible smell.

The mention of baking made his face less sour, and he pondered about it. A name, huh.

His lips quirked up. "Of course. I am great at names."

How someone picked up a name wrong, anyway?

And so, the knight did as "his lady" said, and he stuck the twig in without restraint, and focused on a name... A name... A name... That Treant said 'Bero'. Bero... Beri... Beo...

A grin covered his lips.

"Bea!" He choose.

And the small creature revealed itself. Hanno's eyes opened widely, and he couldn't help but take a gentle and warm hold of it. "It is so cute, look at it, Dark Master Glamora Dark!" He showed, and as soon as she mentioned the memory erasure curse, Hanno slipped a flat and blunt.

"No."

 

[Glamora Dark]

*Eating pudding*

(Woah, that guy knew his stuff.)

No? Can you say no? I thought knights were supposed to say yes.

...

...not even a little? Just a pinch of memory manipulation?

...

okay.

Bea would say yes, you know.

Right Bea?

No.

The end.
(-for now.)

@Hanno Futaba