Wisps and Whispers (Skire Event)

The moment the door opened, Vette was met with a Whick who wasn't terrified nor panicked, but was running low on energy. She had been running around, trying to gather as many folks as she could to help with a small problem.

"Hello. My name is Suteo, and-" Vette mistook Suteo for someone in need of help and immediately held the waxy creature's hand to bring her in before the situation could be explained. This took the Whick by surprise.

"Ma'am! Please give me a quick moment to talk!" Suteo spoke as she was taken to the living room. "I'm not hurt or scared."

Vette didn't stop, though. She made sure the new guest was nice and comfortable on the sofa before she'd fully listen. "It's still better to be inside." She said, then had one of the club members grab food and hot tea for the Whick. Admittedly, it was nicer than standing outside in the chilly wind. Suteo smiled a bit from the hospitality, taking the plate of food and cup of tea, then began speaking again.

"Thank you for the food and drink, ma'am. As I was saying, I'm Suteo the Whick. I've been running around this area alerting people about an issue."

"Hm.…If that's the case, we're gonna need to open the doors to the basement." Baker replied while mixing cake batter in a bowl.

"No, no. It's not a harmful problem. There's just a surge of wisps around here, biggest one I've ever seen. They must be collected in order for the environment to become normal again and I came by to inform everyone here."

Ace raised a brow at the info they were given, but everyone else were interested. "Is there some catch to this? It feels like some weird sales pitch for a wisp repellant," He said. Suteo shook her head with a sweet grin.

"Not at all, young one. I want as much help as I can get by teaching everyone I see how to create lanterns to catch these wisps. It takes a bit of time to make, but it'll be well worth it since it'll give them a safe home," Suteo explained further. She appeared cheery that she got more aid in catching wisps. Vette was the most excited one about the news and was ready for the lessons.

"That sounds like it'd be a ton of fun if most of us made lanterns! As a bonus, we'd be helping these wisps! Oh, I can't wait!" Vette bounced and made fast small claps with her hands. "We should get started right now! What do we need to craft lanterns? Anything special we need to know?"

Suteo appreciated the small Nautipod's enthusiasm, so she began teaching the group of wisp collectors after Baker was done making cake and cookies. They sat around the Whick to watch and listen as she made a lantern with pretty basic materials; paper, glue, tape, and a stick was all it took.

"Now, this one can't be used because it's not made tobe a home. A lantern is useful only when it's made with care by the person who'll wield it which means I want every one of you to grab the materials you'll use to craft a lantern. It can be metal, wood, maybe cloth if you're careful enough. Things that speak to you will make a spectacular lantern," Suteo spoke as she placed the paper lantern aside. Despite everyone else scattering to grab things, Ace stayed in the living room, sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed and one leg over the other. Suteo looked at him with curiosity. "What's wrong? Don't you want to join your friends?"

"No. Doing things myself is better for me," He answered.

"You don't have to collect wisps as a group. They can be easier to catch when one is alone, but it would be thrilling to make it into a game."

".…A game? Like who can catch the most?" He asked. Now he was liking the sound of it. Ace wasn't one for teamwork, but he loved a good competition. Suteo smiled and nodded.

"Yes! Exactly like that! Nothing says you can't have fun with it. I'd much prefer if enjoyment was involved," She answered in a joyous tone, hoping that was enough to get him to started on making his lantern which it was. Ace went around to look for what he needed to make his wisp catching lantern. It took a couple of hours since some members had to start over from mistakes, then they were equipped and ready. Baker's candle lantern was made out of pumpkin with their club's logo carved in the panels in the cage frame, ornate parts carved from pumpkin, and a blue candle in the cage as the stick for a staff. Vette's oil lantern wasn't angular in shape despite being made of car parts. It was rounded with a bubble shape to it and painted black with hot rod flames on the roof and bottom half of the glass panels. The cage frame was made out of steel and she took a pipes for the exhaust system to create the staff. Ace's candle lantern was also made out of car parts, but his was angular and had a paintjob similar to his markings with tinted glass panels. The staff was from a car frame that was cut to be the right length. With their unique lanterns in hand, the wisp catchers went outside with Suteo to start catching, then Ace looked at Vette and Baker to smirk at them.

"Whoever catches the most gets to clean the bathrooms next time."

The couple were confused by that statement and couldn't ask before he hurried off. Vette took a moment to process it before a big smile was across her face.

"He wants to make it a challenge, then we'll show him we can get a mountain of wisps! Let's go, Donut!" The metallic Nautipod loudly claimed, heading in a different direction and leaving Baker and Suteo at the door. Great…Now he had to corral his wife and the new member while getting wisps. Not knowing how it was being with them, Suteo giggled at their antics.

"They're quite the interesting pair," She commented.

"Sadly, that's an understatement…" Baker responded with a sigh. Well, time to get started with their "challenge".

To be continued