{HAZE-5} Stakeout — Climax

The preparations have been made.

Scraps of camouflaging fabric from Velveteen (The Purveyor of the Threads of Fate), an apparatus for catching fiends from Hutch (The Tamer of Wild Beasts), and sustenance to last through a night from Shibani (The Duke of the Dreamworld) … all of these things are essential supplies to catch the boldly feasting fiend that snacks on gardens as such.

Especially after the fields had been ravaged another time, so close to the blooming point… the time is nigh. The culprit MUST be caught. Justice MUST see the light of day… through the darkest of nights.

The plan was made in advance, and now the night of the Wonderland Casino Garden Stakeout was upon them. Calcifer’s reward, Hops’ sanity, and the state of the hazebloom harvest—nay, of every single garden in Burrowgatory—rest upon their shoulders as they lay low in a quiet nook of the back area. What a quaint little spot… perfect for watching over most of the hazebloom plots as well as some of the regular vegetable ones. Hops’ body was clad in camo; they… only had enough fabric for one outfit and a tarp to cover their hiding spot, so Calcifer wore his regular dark clothing… with the addition of a set of dark goggles to hide the glow emanating from his eyes.

“I… think we can move around a little bit, but not too much — I got this book about capturing imps from Hutch a while back, and they told me that the most important part of this all was… staying conscious of your surroundings.” Net in hand, peering out of binoculars with the other, and laying over an open book with tips on how to catch garden imps, Hops stared outward without so much as a single squirm. Seems she’s had a LOT of experience with not moving without a command…

“I see…” And in reality, Calcifer was much more interested in the book at this very moment than the act of the capture. The night was young, after all — how could they expect their culprit to just… show up right out of the gate? As Hops swiveled her body to look at a different area, Calcifer plucked up the book and started flipping through pages as quietly as he could. THIS was why he enjoyed how glowy his eyes were; they were the perfect reading light.

“Ach! Lord Calcifer…” Taking her eyes away from the fields briefly, Hops looked up at Calcifer.
“Fret not, Damsel Hops. I am studying the tools of the trade, as one does in these situations. Naturally I partake of the darkness as those with lungs breathe or those with fins swim… but one can never be too prepared for what lurks deeper within.”

Normally he would have gotten one of those dismissive “oh yeah?”s or something similar… but with how annoyed Hops had gotten, she simply gave him an affirmative nod.

Fae king, new imp, or whatever it could be… looks like Hops was apt on sticking this out to the bitter end. And Calcifer was, too — everything rode on this stakeout, so it’d be a sin to let his attention wander too far…

…

Aaand… Hops had dozed off. Well, that was to be expected right? She’d put in a lot of long work hours getting the plots back up to shape for the harvest, she couldn’t chat with Calcifer like she normally would during a busy bar day, and she had to stay perfectly still… one moment she decided to close her eyes, and off in her own nap world she was.

Calcifer, on the other hand, often spent his days unmoving; it took a lot of willpower to sit through towers of books, and Calcifer Ichabod VII, the Sanguineous Scourge Upon the Lands was more than qualified to do as such. It wasn’t like much happened in the past couple hours anywho — a passing guard who didn’t get the memo, a couple friendly (non-pest) wild imps fluttering overhead, and the shimmering of the overhead sky. Really… this whole situation was actually quite calming.

But then, there was movement. Movement down near the bushes, low to the ground and quite… suspicious. Calcifer prodded Hops’ shoulder to wake her up from her light slumber, and the two looked out onto the scene with an intense vigor.

A group of shadows sliding along the ground, growing ever closer to the recently-sprouted patch of hazeblooms.

Calcifer pulled his glow-defusing goggles back over his eyes and looked to Hops… they had to wait for just the right moment…

AND THE RIGHT MOMENT WAS NOW.

With an intense battle cry, both Hops and Calcifer sprung from their hiding spot, nets whistling in the wind.

“HYAAAAAH!” Hops swung forward with reckless abandon.
“FOUL BEAST! BE CAPTURED WITHOUT A FUSS!” Calcifer came in from the side to attempt to box the creature in, and—

“WHAT THE—OW?! WH—OW, FUCK, WHAT THE—STOP! STOP HITTING ME!”

The figure deftly knocked the nets from both Hops and Calcifer, sending the duo tumbling to the ground…

And the light from Calcifer’s uncovered eyes beheld a ghastly sight.