Submission (#29) Approved

EC Reward: Written Entry
Prompt Completion: 6EC
Word Count 1200 Bonus: 2EC
Bank Adjustments: 64 --> 72


Region Affinity Reward:
For Elnin: ELN1404 You have earned 1 AP for Region: Faerindell

     "I don't know if this is the best idea Astra..." The more timid kittom looked at the small pile of items they had been collecting for the past few hours. "I mean, this seems a little involved for a harmless prank..." His voice wavered with unsurety.

     "Nonsense! This will be a brilliant plan and will go off so smooth you could use it for a slippery slide!" Astraea grinned with self-asurred merriment as she rustled among all the different flowers, trinkets, vials, and knicknacks they had gathered together. "It's just sap and it can easily wash off after. Shards! We could even add that to the end so they get dunked into the water pond at the end of the garden!" They were visiting Faerindell where a bunch of their friends were gathering for the flower festivals of the next season. Already the lands were in full bloom, showing their rainbow colours pretty much everywhere. These flowers she had borrowed from heavily, gathering large bushels of pink, blue, purple, gold, and orange blossoms to be used in this glorious prank. The trick would be to find a way to spread the thin sap over the poor, unsuspecting elnin so that all those beautiful flowers would stick.

     Astraea looked over the pile again with a small frown. She distinctly remembered picking up a wide net for them to hoist the flowers up until they were ready to be dropped. After shuffling through the pile once more she turned to Ametrine. "I think we are missing something..." Her tail twitched a few times as she spoke, thinking hard at where they had been. The sap had been gathered from the forest groves and then watered down slightly with the river water. She remembered stopping along the green banks on their way to the market to gather some mosses and a bit of slime for a later project, and then continuing on down the main pathways. At the market place of the nearby village she had gathered up some sweet honey in small round jars, admiring the thatched roofs of the stone houses as they traveled through. Her tail twitched once more, "The net! We are missing the net. I bought it from that fisherman right outside the village, remember?" She wrinkled her nose and looked around again.

     Ametrine made a moment to look around and search for the missing net. He was still not sure this prank would go over well, especially as the goal was to prank all their friends at the same time. "I think we rolled it up and placed it into the traveling pack." As he spoke he reached in and felt around for the woven vines and rope. "Here it is!" The kittom pulled out the net and passed it to Astraea. "Does this mean we have everything ready?"

     The main pranker nodded as she scrutinized the pile with a wide grin, "Looks like it!! We just need to figure out how to turn this sap into a spray and then we are done!" This was her favorite part of the year and she was always happy to participate in a prank, especially a good one. Her finest was a few years back when she managed to release a whole pond of frogs into her tutor's classroom. It was a day or two before they were able to get them all out and even a few years later, some of the frogs still came back to that room in the middle of spring to sit on the desks and croak their little hearts out. However, they were in Faerindell and Faerindell was all about the flowers! Astraea loved her glowing mushroom home quite a bit but if she ever had to move to a new place, Faerindell would be it. She adored all the plant life, the tiny fairy flowers, the bright colours, the quaint houses and villages, and especially the rich verdant forests. She also had to admit, the brighter, sunnier weather was nicer too but only a little... the gloom of Silveil was her home, mysterious and magical, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

     Which was the other reason why she had picked flowers to be her 'weapon' of choice! Astraea wanted to have an excuse to be surrounded by bright floral colours and warm sunlight for as long as possible while she was here visiting. The dark kittom smiled as she gathered all the blossoms they had gathered into the net and hoisted it up into the trees, making sure each leg of the net was tied with the appropriate slipknot. One firm tug on the guide rope and the whole net would come down, smothering the surprised elnin under it with bright, colourful petals. While that part was nice, it wouldn't be a prank unless there was a twist. That is where the sap came in. Astraea juryrigged a spritzer to cover her victims with a fine mist of sap. This way all the falling petals would stick to the fur and cover the nin with fragrant blossoms. Easy to wash off, it was a harmless addition, but one that would hopefully pull a laugh from her unsuspecting friends. She was going to be the lure, while Ametrine was going to be the one in charge of the trap.

     After making sure the last piece was in place she turned to the purple kittom beside her and nudged his shoulder. "I do believe we are all ready to go!" Her bright smile gleamed as she almost danced in excitement. "I'm going to get our friends. Try and wait for me to get past the mark before setting off the trap. I'd prefer not to get caught in it too." Her tail twitched again as she went over what she was planning on saying to get their friend to come to this secluded glade. "Hmm... maybe we should set something out..." Looking through her pack for a moment, Astra pulled out a blanket and a few other small items. "Here we'll turn it into a picnic! I do have some cake in here too we can use to sooth any ruffled feathers if needed." She made a mental note to herself to stop by the bakery before luring her friends over to the glade and then turned back to Ametrine. "Are you ready for some fun?!"

     "Not really, but I'll be there to help out as needed." He picked up the rope and gave it a gentle tug; not enough to set off the trap, but just enough to test it. "I have to admit, this is one of your better ones." While he wasn't too big on pranking, he knew who had been picked for the prank and was sure they would find it hilarious. "You better go soon, it's almost lunch and we want this place to be warm if you intend them to go wash off in the brook near by."

     Astra nodded and gave him a salute. "Right-o! I'll be off in a jiffy!" She hopped from foot to foot in excitement. "I'll give you a warning when I get close. Maybe sing my favorite song or something so that you know we are on our way. It'll be easy to tell."  With another quick skip and a hop towards the village she waved before dashing off. "See you in a few... with friends!"