2019-10-16 - The Ugly Naiad

Justin often comes down to Gray Pond to run or to walk Caleb. Today he's just wandering, without pup, and not dressed for running, just in a pair of jeans and hiking boots, a light sweater against the chill of the breeze, and seems to be strolling leisurely along the bridge on his way to make a circle around the pond. With his hands in his pockets, he drifts along, noting the gentleman fishing and coming to a stop not too far away just to look out into the water.

James left the beat-up old jalopy that somehow made the drive from NYC to Gray Harbor in one piece (mostly, some duct tape may have been involved near the end of it) some distance back. Apparently a bit of a walk was what the James Hecker Memory Tour needed today, and that walk's brought him back to Gray Pond. His lips quirk in an almost dreamy smile as his mind summons up old memories of swimming here back in his teens. Giant tadpoles? Never heard of them. Are they a local band or something?

Love wanders into the park, across the bridge, headed casually around to the pond. She's wearing black skinny jeans, Chucks, and a grey cable-knit sweater that's a little big on her, but 100% cozy, sleeves falling a little long to nearly cover her hands. Her long grey hair is pulled up in a messy knot atop her head. The last time she was here, it was a warm day, and, oddly enough, she ran into Justin by the pond (with his pup that time, though)! A man was fishing on that occasion as well. The fair-skinned woman pauses on the bridge to return a text message, her long, almond-shaped nails tapping across the glass screen of her mobile. Pause near the middle of the bridge, she glances up briefly to note the fisherman today looks a little like Santa on an weekend chill. She smiles at the thought and hits send on a text. The holiday season is coming.

From one end of town to the other Shauna has walked, just getting to know her surroundings since her arrival. Her stupid Jeep is in impound still so that leaves her afoot. Hearing the fisherman whistling just makes her want to whistle too, but it's a tune she doesn't know so she doesn't try and join in. There's a few other folks nearby that she doesn't recognize so she just shoves her hands in her jeans pockets and nods as friendly a greeting as she can.. for a nod.

Light footfalls crunch along the path around the Pond. Penelope Haven is in the midst of doing some lazy laps. Her short-ish platinum blonde hair is held back by a blue headband, a form-fitting hoodie in heather grey with GHPD in white over the left breast covers her torso, a pair of black form-fitting leggings on her legs and a pair of slim looking sneakers in all grey on her feet. She's been here a while, maybe five laps so far and doesn't look like she's going to be stopping any time soon, sweat be damned.

Justin wanders down toward the edge of the pond as the old guy begins to reel something in, perhaps curious as to what he might get. "Last time I was down here, nothing was biting," he comments idly, noticing Love. "Hey, how's it going?" He takes note of the others around, out enjoying the cool day. He then turns back to see if he can catch a glimpse of what the old guy caught.

James happens to be wandering not too far from the fisherman (and the others noticing said fisherman, funny how that works), and though he doesn't see any faces he recognizes, he still gives pleasant smiles all around. Hands in his pockets, his hoodie maybe a touch too thin for the weather, but that's what beards are for, he takes a few steps further before the fishing pole goes nuts. His steps slow, and he watches curiously to see how this will play out.

Love steps forward, her hip resting on the ledge of the bridge. She takes a seat, peering over into the pond, too, curious about what kind of thing the old man could have hooked that would be big. How long ago was it someone told her they restocked this pond? "Hey, I remember!" She says to Justin with a little laugh. "Looks like it takes a professional." The waders, she reasons, help out. "How's your pup?" Idle, friendly conversation. She glances over as the pale-haired Haven runs by. "Afternoon." She glances over at James, too, as he passes nearby. "I keep hearing weird stories about this pond." And then her gaze returns to the fisherman. "If you pull out a foot, then I'll worry. Probably just a fat catfish. They always fight, surly little beasties." She spent some time in Georgia. Catfish crankiness is known.

Haven draws up short when the portly gentleman calls out and starts working hard on his pole, so to speak. Her run momentarily forgotten, she moves closer, giving RBF to James, Justin, Love... well, everybody. "It's not a boot this time?" she asks the fisherman, the barest hint of amusement creeping into her expression. Still, her RBF remains potent and powerful. Also she stays just shy of him so as to not get in the way.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shauna tries to get out the warning, but that's about all she can say. "Man, a pole isn't worth all that, let it go! That's," she points a finger towards the water, "Looks way to big to be any regular fish." She doesn't have a clue what it is, but it looks big and heading towards the man's line.

"He's growing fast," Justin tells Love with a grin. "He's going to be big pretty soon. But he's a good boy. I should have you dog sit for me soon." He then looks back out over toward the pond and says, "Yeah, I've heard a few stories, too." They weren't that pleasant, either. Shauna's shouting and freaking out though draws a puzzled glance from him, not quite sure what to make of it, because he has no idea what lurks beneath the water's surface.

"Yeah," the fisherman says, voice strained with the effort his putting into reeling. "Caught three rainbows already." He glances at Love, nods, says to Haven, "Maybe someone's--backpack--"

The old man, for all that he's old, isn't frail, and yet he struggles to haul in his catch. The closer it gets to shore, the easier it becomes to see: a glossy, verdant green and dark blue ovid body, about a foot long and easily almost that much girth, will two yellow, amphibian eyes and a little mouth. A tadpole; a huge one.

"What on Earth?" The fisherman keeps reeling. They can see the tadpole's tail, a brighter shade of green with black spots. He seems uncertain, maybe even inclined to heed Shauna's advice.

Where Shauna has pointed, a ripple in the pond is closing on the tadpole. Something equally big.

No--bigger.

James hasn't heard any stories- not back in town long enough to have heard anything, and any stories from his childhood are long forgotten. Or at least he probably hopes they are. Still, his left eye twitches a bit as more folks gather to watch the spectacle- and then there's that warning from Shauna, taking his attention away from the fisherman long enough to notice her. Red hair, and as short as he is. He gives a quiet nod of approval. Short People Solidarity! Then he looks back at the fisherman, just in time to catch sight of that... thing. The one the fisherman is reeling in. "... oh, fuck me. What?", he mutters under his breath, stopping in place as his eyes widen. And there's more ripples. His eye twitches again.

Justin stares at the size of the tadpole that comes out of the water on the guy's hook. He's a little bit in awe of the thing, enough so that he doesn't immediately notice the ripple that seems to be coming after it. "I'm a little more worried about what might be big enough to want to eat a tadpole that big. You may want to get out of the water," he advises the old guy from where he stands near the bridge, looking a bit concerned.

"That isn't normal," Haven points out, reaching up to scratch the tip of her nose absently as she watches what's unfolding. While she doesn't give any ground, she does plant her feet more solidly on the terra firma she finds herself on and maybe drops her hips just a mote, subconsciously drifting into more of a fighting stance. She glances aside at Justin, then back to the fisherman. "I tend to concur. This isn't going to end well."

"I'd love to dog sit for you. He's such a cutiepie."

Love has never known an angler to listen to reason, so she quirks a little smile when Shauna offers the 'cut it loose' kind of advice. There's just something too enticing about the mystery of a fish surfacing up to the light, in seeing what is on the end of the line, even if it's usually a GD bluegill or something boring.

Not like that. "Kind of pretty in a slimy, fat tadpole kind of way." So at least one of the rumors about this pond is true. "Fat little sucker." You'd think she'd be more alarmed, but, again, Georgia. "Kind of sparkly. I wonder..." What exactly they stocked this pond with. "Not an American Bullfrog tadpole." That's the extent of her knowledge on the subject. "You got a net?" She moves over to assist the fisherman, if so, in bringing in his catch. You can take the girl out of the country. (Course she sounds like she's from California or Hawaii.) "Catch and release around here, right?" Still, doesn't hurt to take a closer look. Right?

Yeah Shauna gave her one and only warning, she's taking several steps back because whatever that thing is, it appeared the fisherman was going to pull it out. "Just think of all the kids at Christmas if it eats your face," she mutters darkly. Lifting her feet to step over a clump of dirt, she stands closer to the guy about her height. He wasn't as intimidating as Santa and the rest.

James has been accused of many things in his life- a hack, a lazy bum, a coward, and as early as last night, a perv. He's only denied the last one. But never of being intimidating. He glances at Shauna again for a moment, giving a half-smile. "... don't see that every day, do you?", he asks. And hopes. Glancing back at the lake and Fisherman and Co., he notices the ripples that had been approaching are gone. "... huh. Hey, did you see... uhm... there were some ripples. Like something else? Out there? I don't know anything about fish.", he asks/explains over to Shauna.

Justin doesn't appear to be volunteering to take a hook out that he didn't put in to begin with. Instead, he's just watching with a kind of idle curiosity, both the tadpole and the ripples. Though, when the ripples stop, he purses his lips just a bit and takes a step or two back from the water, just in case. "Can't say as I've ever seen a tadpole that big before. Even those giant frogs, the ones that are about yea big?" He holds out his arms in a bit of a circle. "Pretty sure their tadpoles don't start out that big."

There is absolutely no effort on Haven's part to move any closer to the waterline or to assist in de-hooking the "tadpole" from the line. She shakes her head and asides to Justine, "If that's a tadpole, the frog would be the size of a Volkswagen minibus." Ok, so maybe she takes a step back from the shoreline now. "But that's only if one follows rational trains of thought. It could very well not be a tadpole at all, but merely resemble one, which leads back to the question that is troubling my mind: exactly what the fuck is it then?" A beat. "Then again, they're warning people about meth-gators in Florida now."

Love isn't the least little bit shy about putting her hands on something slimy. "Let me help." This is how horror movies start.

Those long legs close the distance and she crouches to reach up under the net to get that fat little bubba in one hand, then goes in with the other. One hand cradles Mr. Polly-ate-all-the-other-wogs, and she carefully reaches in to grab for the hook to try to work it out of the little bruisers mouth with gentle efficiency. She's done this about a hundred times before, just never on something this size that wasn't a catfish. Her long nails are clear gels set with sparkly little inlay of rose gold foil stars. That's an expensive mani going a round with a barbed shank hook. "Come here, little darling."

"Did you say meth-gators?" Busy with the hook, Love doesn't look away.

Oh well that's a relief. Better to stand by the perv. (Maybe she could teach him a few things.) Hands remain shoved in her pockets and Shauna watches the retrieval of the tadpole with the hooked mouth. "He's going to eat your face. I'm telling you. Look at those eyes. If he doesn't the thing chasing you is. Either way, you're fucked." The Irish lass is outspoken at even the worst of times. Or especially the worst of times. Either way, she talks too much. "Don't. I'm telling you.. don't."

"Wait.. meth-gators?" Justin asks Haven, blinking over at her. "Like, gators that have a meth addiction from.. meth labs.. or something?" How does that even happen, he has to wonder. Just then, the dragonfly larvae comes jumping out of the water, leaping for the tadpole and his eyes widen. "Holy shit.." That's all that he manages to get out, his mouth hanging open as he stares. The giant tadpole was weird but mostly harmless, but the big pincered insect freaks him out a bit, and he stumbles back reflexively.

James winces as Love moves over to take that hook out. And the talk of the lake being contaminated. There's one more childhood memory ruined. Then again, look at the size of that thing. It's gotta be some kinda toxic waste thing, right? Right. He starts to take a step back- looks like the Tadpole Crew won't need his help today, no sir, his services won't be required to deal with this particular freak of nature, and ain't that a damn shame. Except right as he takes that step, they're joined by a celebrity- Zorak from Space Ghost! He reacts in the traditional way of his people when giant bugs leap out of the water: by letting out a decidedly un-manly yelp and turning that step backwards into a proper leap back, arms windmilling to keep his balance.

"I damn well told you!" So Shauna is an I told you so type person. Go figure. She lets out a string of curse words in her native tongue. She doesn't exactly seem worried, but more angry. "Guys if she falls in it's all over. I say we all go grab her and let her fight the thing while we hold her out of the water." Or keep her from being dragged in.

"Meth-gators from flushing meth into the waterways. They get more rage-y and chaotic. Oddly they don't lose teeth like humans do," Haven clarifies even as the bug erupts from the water. She reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small black baton. It's given a flick and extends a bit.

She asides to the fisherman, "Or maybe a dark dimension parallel to our own is leaking across the thin barrier between worlds bringing with it fantastic and horrible creatures from our dreams and nightmares?" Without waiting for his response, she rushes forward and brings the baton in for a hammer blow on the insect's carapace.

This is how heavily-tattooed painters get into a tug-o-war with cranky ass cricket larvae M-fers over a slimy, enormous sparkle-tadpole. The net tangles and falls, and the tadpole flings itself at her. Love grabs for it with her arms and holds on tight, like the squishy toddler-sized chonk is her precious little baby and no she is not letting go! Not today, naiad! Team Save The Chonk ftw!

When the insect fiend releases its tail due to Haven's well-placed baton, Love nearly topples over. Her quick feet and long legs save her, and she feels someone's hands slip off then they sprawl back, but she takes several steps up the bank, away from the water's edge. The tadpole remains cradled in her arms. She calms down marginally once she's free of that, her silvery-eyed gaze fixing on the insect warily. Is she petting the tadpole? Yes, yes, she is.

Stress response, ok.

When the naiad begins to advance on them, Justin scours around his immediate vicinity for a big stick, and lo he finds one that looks pretty solid. This, he holds up in front of him as he attempts to back away. "Okay, down boy.. girl.. bug.." He looks visibly rattled. Bugs suck. Giant bugs are downright unsettling. "Hey, buddy, you probably want to.. I'm not sure which one of us it wants to eat, but we should.. back up." This is said to James.

"If people would just trust that danger instinct. I know you all have it! You've been alive this long!" Shauna bitches at them as she stomps over to help Love, holding on to her and pulling with all her might. When they are all knocked over like bowling pins, she tries to stop it from eating her newfound short-person crew. Fighting was the only reaction she knew. She's a scrapper and she tries to fight everything that angers her. She throws a few punches and smacks her around a bit, but like she has some rules or something, her feet remain uninvolved. No kicking or anything. But she manages to strike it a few times.

Undeterred by the lack of effect of her weapon of choice in the current melee, Haven easily dodges a whiff from the naiad, then as it lunges forward, flips and lands on its slippery back. Like a ninja. Or a certain elf in a fantasy movie/book franchise. It's clear in the first few seconds that maintaining her perch is harder than she's making it look and one of her arms goes around the thing while her other brings the baton up and tries to crack it in the back of the head. "I need a sword," she thinks outlaid, then she shouts over towards Love, the Fisherman, et al: "Does anyone have a sword?" Because that's something normal people carry around.

Everything's happening really fast- too fast, and from the way that giant bug seems to be eyeing James, too furious as well. People are yelling and hitting things and flailing about and James? James is scared. Look, NYC rats he can face down (so long as it's only one of them), but this thing? This thing ain't adorably trying to drag a slice of pizza back home, it's looking for some James sashimi. In his panic, something inside him lashes out, broadcasting his fear like a beacon aimed mostly at the thing he's most focused on: the Naiad. There's a tug of war, just for a fraction of a second, a thickening of the air between himself and the bug, but it shatters, hunger overriding fear in the giant bug and bringing its attention to bear on him all the more intensely. "... ohshitohshitohshit..." is the Mantra of James as he takes a careful step back, holding up his hands placatingly. "... h-hey, buddy... nice giant bug... anyone ever tell you you've got great mandibles? It's true.."

Love is still scrambling for a safe zone, while also trying to remember how well tadpoles fare out of the water, for how long, and whether sane earth logic even applies in these situations. She's got her arms around the little guy still, unwilling to drop it back in the pond until Hangry has been dealt with. "Kick its ass, you guys!" Helpful as ever. She winces when cold water soaks into her sweater, but even slimy baby creatures from the pond are babies, ok.

Justin goes a'scrambling when the Naiad starts flailing around and stumbles, falling on his ass unceremoniously with a grunt and tries to scrabble backward, but then there are legs. Legs everywhere! Too many legs. He takes the stick and gives one a solid whack, making a bit of a crunch sound and pending it in a way that it just shouldn't bend. "Get.. back in the water!" he shouts at it.

Insect legs flail in his direction, and so once again James calls upon the Power of Being Really Really Fucking Scared Man Like Whoa. He leaps up into the air, fueled as much by adrenaline as by the half box of donuts he ate on his way to the lake (explains the crumbs in his beard in any case), and leaps clear of the Naiad's attack, landing a couple of feet again. "W-whoa! Hey! Play nice!" Every part of his body is screaming at him to cut and run, but there's like three people beating on this bug, yet it keeps glaring hungrily at him, so... time to keep it distracted so the others can do some proper bug-stomping. "Or at least buy me coffee first!" Yes, James. Flirt with the bug.

Shauna gets out of the way of the scrambling, flailing thing, especially now that there are people with sticks and batons trying to hit it. She shakes out her hand, fist stiff from the punching. She's not jumping back into the fray and risk getting hit by those attacking the thing.

As no sword appears to be forthcoming, Haven settles for whacking the naiad again (and again and again) with her baton. "Nobody! Eats! People! In! My! Town!" Whack! Whack! Oh and whack! "Or Mutant Tadpoles!"

"Am I going to have to take this bruiser home in a bucket..." It's the circle of life, Love, get a grip! The call of a huge frog actually seems to calm Love down a little bit. That means mama's nearby and the baby tadpole might be safe to go back in the water. She glances around, and then moves on a little closer to the water's edge. Like she didn't just watch a bunch of people play whack-a-mole with a big bug. She gives the squirmy dude in her arms a little pat-pat, wetly. "Go on little dude, back to your watery home." She holds it out over the pond's edge. Sucker's heavy. She doesn't drop it, but lets it wriggle off her hands if it wants to go back into the murky depths.

The sound of that croaking, the loudness of it. "So, what I said about the thing that wanted to eat the tadpole.." He trails off. Now he's a lot more worried about the thing that might want to eat that rapidly fleeing Naiad. While the Naiad scrambles toward the water, Justin works to scramble away from the water, accepting the fisherman's help to get back up to his feet and helping the guy to back away as well. "That sounds like one enormous frog.."

James is in the middle of trying to come up with some new clever quip to launch at the bug- y'know, everyone thinks writers are clever, but the truth is that it's a lot easier to be clever when you have hours behind a keyboardto craft the perfect bon mot. James does not have hours. Or even seconds. Because when that loud croak sounds out, whatever weird emo-antenna turned on when he came back into town picks up a new station: WFEAR, Radio Fear! Playing all the classic hits, like 'Oh Shit I'm Gonna Die!', and the rocking beats of 'This Is Totally Fucked And I'm Screwed!'. It's a good thing the bug decided to turn tail and run, because poor James is just frozen, eyes wide and darting around looking for the source of the croak.

"Whatever it was, I want nothing to do with it." Shauna was already on her feet, flexing her hand before dropping it to her side. "Yo, I'm not judging anything or anyone." The sound startles her though and she stumbles several steps backwards, almost falling in the process as putting as much distance between Love and the tadpole, the water and the sound as she can.

As the Naiad hears the Thunder so to speak and proceeds with Escape Plan Alpha, Haven attempts a dismount and mostly ends up on her feet. In the water. But on her feet! She looks down at her now wet shoes, then after the retreating bug and casually flicks her baton again, collapsing it. The RBF is back and she trodges back up onto the shore, glancing amongst the others who faced the Naiad in mortal combat.

"That was exciting. We should do it again sometime." This is said completely deadpan as she looks back out over the water.

Justin stares, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the giant frog, and he just keeps backing up, and backing up, and backing up, until he hits the road, because he's not turning his back on it, but at the same time, he's not stopping his movement away, away from the giant frog, and the giant bug, and all the giant things that might potentially want to eat him. It might be a good long while before he walks around Gray Pond with Caleb again at this rate. He pauses only long enough to make sure that the others are likewise retreating, not meaning to abandon anyone, but a little overwhelmed all the same.

Love, bless her, says, "That's what you get for trying to eat the babies." Her righteous indignation is somewhat shaken a moment later when the mama frog that exits the bushes lands with a whump capable of tremoring the ground. "Uh... cute... babies you have, mama." Love lowers her hands slowly into the water to rinse them off, then gets to her feet with a little mud on the knee of her skinny jeans, and proceeds up the bank. Don't think about crispy delicious frog legs. Don't think about deep fried, black pepper cajun frog legs.

This is how rumors about witchery start.

Giant tadpoles? Freaky, but fine. Giant bugs? Less fine, but they at least seem to appreciate a bit of stand-up. But ginormous devil frogs? James spends 3 brown mana and activates his NOPE card: "When this card is activated, the bearer turns around and runs for his goddamn life."

James turns around and runs for his goddamn life.

The frog is eyed for a long couple of seconds by Haven who doesn't move when it leaps out into the open. She considers it quietly, then notes: "I was wrong. She's much larger than a Volkswagen minibus." The baton is stuck back in her pocket and she tucks her hands in her hoodie to warm them. "You, your Grace," because that's what you call Mother-f-ing Queens, "Are a magnificently beautiful specimen of amphibian kind. Peace and long life." She gives ye Old Vulcan salute and turns to walk from the bank.

So Shauna barely keeps from losing her shit when the dump truck sized frog thunders forward. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS TOWN?" She's not as glimmertastic as most, so all of this is new to her. All of it. Not to mention the words are shouted as she hauls ass away from the pond she will never, ever see again because hell no.