#bergen_county

LIttle dusty fluffy nods. Five of them, while the younger dust bunnies retreat

Her expression goes sad, then determined and serious. She gives a respectful nod. "You're doing a great service. I'll tell your story. Thank you."

The Old Home guard Salute

"Then...okay...here we go..." She approaches the vent and holds the burning shirt nearby.

And catchfire they do, chimerical fire... Sylvi is a daughter of the Hearth. Her mother has spoken of dustbunnies as TENACIOUS foes, enemies who do not surrender easily.... for the first time Sylvi must wonder if there was an undercurrent of respect in her mother's complaints. Such courage among a people that may defy Hearth rule, yet share a love of the land itself to drive out a common foe, will not be forgotten. As a diplomat and emmisary who must often forge strange alliances, Sylvi realizes that in a way, the Dreaming once again is having her take that role... this time, with the those who are often enemies, coming to her for aid.. even if that aid is their own destruction. Their fluffs and grand fluffs will live on.. to set up a colony elsewhere. And if that colony should be born on a legend of their brave grand floofs sacrifice to save the land from being over run by nightmarish invaders? Who can deny them their dustbunny pride?

It brings a tear to her eye...and it would be quite acceptable to utter "...dusty in here..." to cover it, but she wouldn't. Not in the face of such selfless sacrifice.

DAGMAR ADAM and Dirk may notice at first the swarm of dustbunnies, little ones mostly, escorted by a few medium ones... departing in a throng that looks both grieving and proud. They are leaving their home, but they do not go in defeat. Rather, the five who remained, have brought them a source of eternal pride.

" what the hell are those things?"

"Edible maybe? " The Redcap says

"Dust Bunnies. No, not edible."

And INSIDE... the chimerical smoke flows through the vents.. and the Memory ticks are forced to go.. the first ones are the ones loose of prey. Perhaps fed but not attached. The ones still embedded also begin to cough. Do they breath out of their butts? We do not know.. but with pops ... they start to remove themselves all over.. dozens of them... and Sylvi , covering her own mouth, realizes a few are coming close to her

Adam gets focused on his happy thoughts, drawing the ticks out of the building. The carrot to Sylvie's stick.

Then the memory ticks, at least the first come outside!

She drops the shirt on top of one at STOMPS on it. Another she slashes at with her blade.

And then dirk says "BURN Baby Burn!" And some of the memory ticks combust.

Ice and fire!

Sylvi slashes in the smoke, some gets in her eyes... she can't see as clearly.. and that's when she feels something land on her neck and start to scurry up!

This is going to SUCK she thinks without any conscious intention of irony. Instead, she turns and drops directly down onto the burning shirt, aiming the back of her neck (and the scuttling thing) directly at the flames.

OWW!!!

She was right. It sucketh muchly!

She screams. Loudly.

And scrambles to get up, hoping she left the dead bug behind and burning.

She did.. as the memory light flies to an old woman remembering, at last, what her daughter's name is!

Nor is she the only one sending memories back...

DAGMAR is a verible goddess of winter , the cold about her slowing the bugs, making them easy to finish off with a sweep of Flyswatter! Perhaps the weapon itself has taken to the name, for her accuracy is dead on against insects!

Sylvi wants to put her hand over the burn on her neck, but that only makes it worse. Instead, she tries to whistle as she stomps out the fire on the shirt before gathering it up, and her knife. It's a wavery whistle at best, but eventually the tune of "My Favorite Things" comes clearer as she tries to heal herself with Spring.

Sylvi tries to focus... but there's so much smoke, and as she's fae, it doesn't matter if it's chimerical.. some of it has gotten blow back at her

And the whistle is ruined.. the bunk is... she coughs.. no cantrip. This place is filling up with smoke.. the dustbunnies were wise to send out there youngest

Between the emotion and the pain and the tears and the smoke, and she's realizing she should have brought Flopsy he'd be able to help....she hurries to get back outside.

Adam exhales, trusting his team mates to handle defence as he tries to lure the bugs out of the building.

Adam is getting kind of stirred remembering THAT scene over and over again

Sylvi comes out coughing to find a mountain of memory ticks... burned or frozen ,cut or smashed...

She has her blade in one hand, the remains of the shirt in the other, and her head is smoldering.

She approaches them, but has to stop because of the coughing, trying to get her breath.

Suddenly there's a SPLASH of water soaking Sylvi to the bone..

And the redcap stops the down pour of one with a snap of his fingers "You was on fire"

"Yeah." cough, splutter "Thanks." cough "...ow."

"Geez.. your hair looks like a cartoon character's on the side too" Dirk says... showing why he's not often asked on diplomatic missions

She winces. "Well, if it's She-Ra, that's okay, I guess." She waves him off. "I'm okay. Finish killing the things...."

A rumbling.... and a hissing.. a spitting as bursting out comes the last one... the HIVE MOTHER! It's Boss Battle time! She's huge.. she's...

the size of a watermelon

which is REALLY impressive by bug size

but uhm.. still much much smaller than trolls... and for that matter, even Adam

Adam opens one eye to peek.

"Dagmar you want to kill it or you want me to?" Dirk says

"Oh, Flyswatter's been having fun..."

She kisses the blade, and makes a casting motion with it - hitting the Big Bug with ice.

The ice spike forms through it! And kills it dead.

"Well.. as boss battles go.." Dirk snorts "That was kind of disappointing"