Wisp Hunts for Fizzgrpyon

Chapter 2: Wisp Hunt 2

Auburn, Cheeky, Pie and Raelith, along with their handler Eluvien were off into the misty forest as the base of the southern mountain range to hunt for wisps. They’d had to wait until the sun was starting to set to begin their hunt, as wisps were rarely spotted during the day. Armed with lanterns, nets of all types and sizes and containers to keep the incorporeal creature contained, the group of five were ready to hunt!

Auburn was carrying the wisp lures, Pie was carrying the spirit-web nets, Raelith was carrying the magic jars to keep the wisps in, Eluvien was carrying the medical supplies, while Cheeky was not carrying anything. Cheeky, being a hawk, with their sharp wings would have the easiest time chasing and corralling the wisps. Due to how dense the mountain forest was, Cheeky wasn't carrying anything, nor did he have a harness that could get caught on anything. As the group entered the forest the well established trees, branches quickly blocked out the now dimming colors of sunset.

By the time the group had spent a few minutes making decent progress into the forest the evening light was gone completely, and through the small patches of light they could catch between the trees, the stars were out. It was the perfect time and place for a wisp hunt.

“Now should be about the right time,” Eluvien suggested, and thus they began constructing the wisp lures that Auburn would use.

Once night was truly upon the group Auburn set up the wisp lures. The lures were clumps of strangely glowing moss like rocks, that for reasons no one had figured out, wisps were attracted to and curious about. Auburn would not be actively chasing or trying to capture the wisp, but their role was critically important to the hunt. And so Auburn with the moss-like glowing crystal dangling from the large stick in his mouth started to bob and dance with the rock. Sometimes moving in slow circular movements, other times moving swiftly and rapidly, hoping that the light of the glowing stone would lure wisps to the group.

Thankfully for Auburn, they did not need to dance around with the lure for very long, a low whistle from Eluvien that sounded more like the wind than a whistle, let the group know they had spotted a wisp. Cheeky, Raelith and Pie were instantly on alert, eyes peeled to the right, where Eluvien had pointed they’d spotted the wisp.

Auburn had fulfilled their task in the hunt, now it was Cheekys time to shine. The unburdened hawk silently slipped out of the group into the dark, tangled branches of the forest.

As Cheeky was circling around the wisp, the remaining three stryx and elf fanned out into the forest. Close enough to still see each other with their keen eyesight, but far enough away that there was a good amount of space for Cheeky to chase the wisp into. The spreading out ended up creating a loose U shape, where once the wisp was chased into it, it was unlikely to escape them and their many nets.

The wisp itself was a good twenty meters or so away, the blue light emanating from it flickering, leaving tiny trails of blue before dissipating. It was intrigued by the lure, but too wary to come closer. Cheeky slowly, carefully spent a while going the long way around the wisp, until they were directly behind the glowing blue spirit. He was only just able to spot Pie, Auburn, Raelith and Eluvien in the far distance, but that confirmed he would be chasing the spirit to the correct direction.

Cheeky began the chase! Immediately the wisp was spooked, and flew away from them, flustered, and panicked it moved erratically, but Cheeky was speedy enough to both keep up, and also corral the wisp in the direction they needed it to go, which was forward, straight into the waiting nets of Pie, Raelith and Eluvien.

As the wisp entered the loose U shape the group had taken it was Pie the wisp ended up going closest to, and Pie that jumped into action with their net. Pie used their powerful legs to full effect, swiftly charging at the wisp, net in beak. As Pie got close to the wisp it suddenly darted to the left, deftly avoiding being caught in Pie’s net. But pie was keen to prove themselves, and so twisted their body around and threw the net where the wisp had gone, hoping to catch it.

Success! The net landed on the wisp!

“Got it!”, Pie cried out, triumphant.

But that was not the end of the hunt, for the net was made of soul-silk. Such a net weighed next to nothing, and even though the wisp was not fully corporal, it was still able to run with the net covering it, though it’s wings were restricted.

In it’s haphazard running the wisp ran toward where Raelith was, in the deepest part of the group's U shape. Raelith had a magic jar in beak ready,and so Raelith went running after the wisp to try and complete the capture.

“I’ll get it!”, Raelith spoke as she dashed off after the wisp.

The group watched Raelith with her long legs and stature chasing after a netted wisp with a magic jar in beak was admittedly very comical. Pie, Auburn, Cheeky and Eluvien all tried to corral the wisp into a tighter area, but it was FAST. It was the work of many minutes, and eventually the group was growing tired. In frustration Raelith threw the magic jar at the wisp with all her gryph strength, expecting to scare the wisp at best.

Instead the large magic jar sailed triumphantly through the air, before landing on the top of the frantic, half-corporeal wisps head with a subdued ‘thunk’. The jar rolled slightly away from the now stationary and dazed wisp, and Raelith wasted no time placing the wisp into the jar and sealing it.

Only when the wisp was captured did the group give in to the hilarity of the situation, and what just happened.

Raelith sighed heavily, “I’m never going to live this down am I?”

Cheeky, true to their name, answered them, “Absolutely never.”

“Well done everyone,” Eluvien said, out of breath from all the running, as she was an elf among large dragon-birds.

“What say we try catch some more?”, Auburn asked the group, and everyone nodded.

“Just but Raelith up front with the jars, they’ll all be full in no time.”, Came Cheeky with the last cheeky comment.

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Wordcount - 1102: 22

Personal Art: 3

Rider: 5 (Eluvien: Elf Form www.deviantart.com/comments/1/…)

Extra Stryx: 3 (www.paperdemon.com/app/g/draco…)

Total: 33