tw: mentions of animal cruelty
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Friends of a Feather
-The questgiver, Bethric, is a veterinarian. He oversees the Facet of Nourishing for culinarians and alchemists.
-I see him tend to an injured amaro, and I can already tell I’ll love this quest.
-Amaros are used for transport, like chocobos, but they were bred magically by ancient Ronkan mages.
-Benthic REALLY loves amaros. He seems to want to transform into one.
-He’s called away to tend to another amaro who has been poisoned. Poachers often cut out and sell amaro tongues, leaving the beasts to die. This one escaped wounded but with tongue intact.
-For my first task, I craft an antidote.
BETHRIC: “Would that I had met you in my youth. Perhaps then I could have- <sigh> Or perhaps not…”
Oh noooo, did he lose a beloved pet to some poison?
-The recovering amaro is a rare breed called a Berude Skipper, nearly extinct. We name it Skip.
It was domesticated before the Flood and nearly wiepd out there. Bethric is unsure how it survived the wild.
-Aha. When he was younger, he rode headlong into battle on his amaro, heedlessly, and… more to be revealed later, no doubt.
-Sounds like he was a mercenary. He’s turned aside from that path, from love of coin to love of amaro.
-Some time passes. Skip is progressing, but refuses to eat anything unless he sees someone else eat it first. Gun-shy from his poisoning.
-He gets along with me okay. He’s wary of Bethric.
-As I continue to prepare medicine and food for Skip, Bethric continues his tale. His amaro was gravely wounded in battle one day. He brought the amaro back to the Crystarium, but there was no veterinarian.
So he took the role on himself.
BETHRIC: “It wasn’t until he began convulsing that I realized the dosage was too strong. I could only watch in horror as he thrashed about in pain – screaming, pleading for help.”
Jeeeeeeeesus. Like. Jesus. This is legit hard to read.
-Since that day, he swore to do better. Dove into research and study to learn to care for amaro.
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Where We Belong
-Skip has made a near full recovery. Physically, anyway. Mentally, he’s still brooding, down.
-I’m able to reassure Skip. We have a bond, but he still ignores Bethric.
-OH HEY! I met a talking amaro in Il Mheg. They could probably help and translate.
-We all head over to Il Mheg… AND BETHRIC IS IN HEAVEN.
-The amaro here recognize Skip! They call him Lugg Lugg. He can speak, but he just chooses not. Lugg Lugg used to love people, and being poisoned traumatized him.
KINDLY AMARO: “Now that love gives way to fear.”
-Lugg Lugg had a companion long ago. They left their home behind and traveled the world, coming here to Norvrandt and inadvertandly sparing them from the Flood. In time, he wandered over to Il Mheg. Lived here for over a century.
-Even now, he mourns his companion’s loss.
KINDLY AMARO: “Oh, Lugg… You sought man’s companionship, but instead found his cruelty.”
-Bethric and I will leave Lugg behind here for now, to recover.
-We head back to the Crystarium… and HE CAME BACK. He met us here. My heart <3
-And now, he speaks. He’s thought on the kindness of us nursing him back to health, and decided to give the companionship of people another shot.
SKIP: “It reminded me that I must endeavor to seek the good in men’s hearts.”
-A nice little bonus of Skip staying around is that he can translate for the non-speaking amaro. Has me make some delicious amaro food for them all.
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Healing Old Wounds
-The stablemaster at the rookery here (reasonably) asks that Skip try eating the regular amaro food, so that he doesn’t have to prepare separate meals for this one single amaro.
The problem: this is the food Skip ate when he got poisoned. This is kind of traumatic…. Ginger ale..
-To help ease him into it, I prepare this batch of food as well, though it’s basically just a high-quality version of their standard feed.
-His next task: learn to carry others. And it makes sense. Everyone in the Crystarium does their part, and Skip is as sentient as any. He’s willing.
-Skip and I start to head off for a test ride, when the stablemaster stops us. Skip and Ququshu have developed a special bond. Most riders will not have that same bond with him.
The test flight must be with Bethric.
I LOVE THIS! The “Healing Old Wounds” quest name refers not just to Skip, but to Bethric too. Bethric is freaked out at the possibility of once again riding an amaro, knowing how badly he hurt his last one.
-They head out to Lakeland to start the flight back to the Crystarium, when the two poachers from before approach.
DEPRAVED POACHER: “They say the tongue of an amaro like that can cure any iullness. Should fetch a nice price from those overfed prigs in Eulmore!” HOW FAST CAN I KILL YOU
-OH NOOOO POOR SKIP, HE’S SHAKING
-Bethric convinces him to take flight, leading him just out of range of the poachers’ arrows.
-AND HURLS A LIGHTNING BOMB AT THE ASSHOLES HAHA (though it basically just hurts and stuns them before they flee)
-They're wounded, but healthy enough to flee in terror. We'll get them later.
-This has been a healing experience for all. I think both Bethric and Skip/Lugg Lugg are going to be fine. What a delight this was.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
-I tried out the new ocean fishing feature! Went with three rl friends and had a blast. A boat takes 24 players out every two hours for a fishing mini-game, where you try to get as many points in about 20 minutes as you can across a few different fishing spots.
The crowded wait to board the boat.
The moment my friend aproustian caught a lucky fish, and turned a normal night into a freaking aurora borealis.
-A dino minion:
-A Miqo’te in a beautiful orange dress:
-A purple-clad viera:
-A kingly costume:
-Using Titania’s castle to give my behemoth an angelic appearance:
-A frog with their metal frog:
-Some great player names:
Explo Sean
Euclid Pythagorean
Sky Blu
Rn Gesus (who, of course, is a carpenter)
Penicillin Healsu
Aqua Pheena
Lady Banana
King Burrito
Swift Bootytoots
Secret Buttstuff
Kimboslice Lolcatz
Casty Mcspell
Son’ Goku
Red Riding-hood
Dilly Dally
Dra Gon
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Next time: Only one more Shadowbringers crafting quest to go. The Facet of Metalworking.
