Shepherding(open)

[forwearemany]

Who: Legion and YOU
What: Collecting Veep and moving them to the farming islet
When: Early August
Where: Nastrandir C4
Warnings: Probably none

(Legion is not the only person who works to maintain the farm island, nor do they particularly benefit from new additions to it, but when they learn of a sheep like creature discovered on Nastrandir they cannot ignore the opportunity.

It doesn't take them long to gather a group of friends, friendly acquaintances, and people they don't know but who apparently want to tag along, to see if they can round up some of these animals to take back to the farm.)

Comments

[journalname]

[Asgore is not particularly experienced in caring for livestock, or even animals in general. But he enjoys helping out where he can, and herding sheep along is not difficult. Really, he could easily just pick one or more of these creatures up; for right now, though, he's just trying to herd them.

The veep are not sure what to make of this large sheep-lion beast!]

What interesting creatures! Their wool seems nice. [Their faces are the void.]

[forwearemany]

(Convincing herding creatures to move where you want them to is all well and good; right now, however, Legion's focus is on transporting one particular Veep that managed to get itself stuck in a mess of tangled plants and mud to the safety of the farm, and that's most efficiently accomplished by picking up the frightened, dirty creature and carrying it.)

Affirmative. It will be useful to harvest.

[journalname]

Do we have the right tools to do so? I should hate to see them injured...

[His memory of the Surface is distant, and he was never near to any farms to begin with, but he feels like they probably used something other than just regular knives or shears?]

[forwearemany]

It is likely we will be able to acquire them.

(If nothing else, they can ask the storyteller.)

[journalname]

I suppose you're right. [.....] Ah, and then it will have to be spun, right?

[forwearemany]

Affirmative.

[journalname]

Are you going to take charge of all that?

[forwearemany]

(They chatter, still holding the veep.)

...

(Maybe?

They've never done such a thing, though it may be beneficial to learn.)

[journalname]

I never spent very much time around farms in my youth, I'm afraid.

[He has some vague notion of how it was done back in the day, but not enough to be getting on with practically. Monsters always involved a lot of magic, anyhow.]

But the Storyteller has given me a lot of useful books, in the past! I am sure they could help, if no one else knows anything.

[forwearemany]

Affirmative.

(Collecting resources is time sensitive. Learning to properly utilize them is not.)

[journalname]

Best to have the knowledge recorded, at any rate.

[Who knows when someone may vanish?]

[forwearemany]

Affirma-

(The veep in their arms thrashes suddenly, and they struggle to keep ahold of it.

Probably good that they'll be reaching the mana pool soon enough.)

[journalname]

Do you need some help with that?

[Although the sudden thrashing has alarmed the veep he was herding, as well. Asgore spreads his arms, hands held low, to try to ward them off from running.]

[hyperlit]

[This seems...propitious? The Knight had a habit of accumulating creatures to look after. Now that the Drifter has essentially moved into their abode (looking after it, they've told themself carefully, repeatedly), it seems fit to continue that tradition.]

[They don't recognize these creatures at all. But they're interested in seeing what might come of trying to herd these beasts into better conditions. It's unlikely, after all, that Nastrandir will last forever. It's best to take advantage of the resources when they can.]

[forwearemany]

(There's an algorithm to it, the movements of the herd. Skirt the edges to get them to cluster. Drive at the heart to send them forward. Legion's movements are rapid, seemingly instinctual.

They remember being part of a greater whole.

They remember Geth flowing and clustering in networks, a billion interconnected points of light.

They glance at the Drifter, like them but not like them. They and their other allies are many working towards the same goal, but they are not a collective.

The Geth are gone.)

[hyperlit]

[They're not susceptible to instantaneous communication. They don't know what expectations are present in this configuration. The most they can do is study Legion's movements, and then use that as a template to form their own strategy.]

[Drawing their sword seems a tad overzealous, and it would potentially hurt the beasts. So the Drifter settles for dashing forward in short little bursts, skidding to a halt with a spray of mud and dirt, in an effort to start driving the things closer to where they need to go.]

[forwearemany]

(The Drifter, it seems, is quick to learn. Legion adjusts their own movements a-

A slip, on soft uneven ground, is all it takes to send the sprawling with a bust of screeching chatter. The disruption is disastrous, the veep nearest them immediately beginning to scatter.)

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter adjusts their trajectory at once. They can't know how difficult it might be to try and herd the animals back to the position they were in before, but a potential injury takes priority.]

injured?

[forwearemany]

(They stand up, brushing off clumps of mud.)

Negative.

(They turn, and watch as the herd of Veep loses unit cohesion.)

[hyperlit]

[Hm. Looks like they'll have to start over.]

directing to mana pool?

[They would presume so, unless anyone intends to try and ferry these creatures all the way back to Ensō by boat. Considering that they eat anything, that seems like a recipe for absolute disaster.]

[forwearemany]

Yes.

(As it is, this task will already take most of the day. Ferrying them would only add unecessary time and effort.)

[hyperlit]

[The group might have split and will make things that much more difficult, but that doesn't mean it's unsalvageable.]

may continue together
will be faster

[forwearemany]

(Their headflaps lift, flutter.)

Affirmative.

(They pause a moment.)

Will you accompany us once this task is complete?

[hyperlit]

transfer to farming islet?

[To complete the task, or...after?]

[forwearemany]

We are requesting your company after the completion of this task.

We have succesfully managed to grow candle flowers and living lanterns.

(They want to show them to people.)