Kanan arrived at the cemetery while the sky was still bright, planning to scope it out ahead of time.
A rusty gate blocked his path, part of a larger iron fence that surrounded the area. A large keyhole sat in its center, and he approached it with apprehension — the mission hadn't said anything about needing a key.
Taking a closer look, he placed his hand on the gate's latch, putting his weight into it. Without even turning the handle, though, the gate gave way before him and he stumbled forward.
Creeeaaaaakk
The gate swung open with a grating sound, the latch turning uselessly to the side. The hinges that kept it from moving horizontally had long since rusted away.
Inside, rows of headstones spread out before him, their heads peeking out among overgrown weeds. Many were illegible — the stones crumbled and the carvings worn away, the names on them lost to history.
Clearly, the graveyard was ill-maintained, though Kanan had an inkling as to why. In his research for the mission, he had learned that the city was no longer building cemeteries within its walls. The people were endless, and the city only had so much space.
People who wished for a more traditional burial would bring their loved ones outside of the city walls, but cremation had become the norm. Beasts capable of the incineration were common enough so funerary services were free, sponsored by the Association.
Still, as areas of historical and emotional significance, finding the graveyard in this bad of a state was unusual. Surely there would be people to maintain it at least once or twice a year. Perhaps the usual cleaners were avoiding it — scared away by the paranormal activity.
Walking through, Kanan looked around for any traces that seemed useful. He could spot traces of human activity here and there, cleared out areas and tent stakes buried in the ground. Considering their recency, he guessed that they were left behind by others who had accepted the mission.
One such cleared area in the heart of the cemetery caught his attention, being larger than the rest. This must be where the majority of Tamers had stayed. The location was convenient and the area was already cleared, so Kanan set down his gear. No sense in doing work that someone else had already done.
The overgrown weeds presented another problem for Kanan. There was virtually no chance of him catching an elusive enemy in this area, especially one that had seen him first. He was forced to discard any ideas about marking or pursuing the mysterious introducer, it would have to come to him.
Thankfully, Poppy's skillset was tailor made for setting traps. The only thing that concerned him was the time — Poppy's light manipulation wouldn't be nearly as effective in the dim moonlight. Hopefully the foe didn't have superior night vision, Kanan was counting on the cover of darkness to hide his intentions.
Formulating a plan, he summoned Poppy and set to work. His setup had to be complete before night fell, lest he be discovered.
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Just as dusk began to break, Kanan's preparations came to a close. White threads formed a net over the area, tied to small stakes that he had driven into the ground.
Now, everything would hinge on how well Poppy was able to hide herself and her traps. Kanan himself would stay out in the open. It was necessary to have bait, after all, to make sure that the ambusher moved as they intended.
As the darkness set in Kanan turned to the spider, looking it in the eye.
"Alright Poppy, we're all set. Hide yourself with Light Curtain, and don't come out until someone, or something, shows up. We might have to stay up a while, I'll make it up to you tomorrow."
Poppy nodded in understanding, and promptly disappeared along with her threads.
Kanan's eyes widened in confusion. He could still feel her through their spiritual connection, but to his eyes she was truly, completely gone.
It didn't make sense. Even during the day he would be able to notice her presence if he focused intently. Light Curtain was a pure Light type move, it was a given that it would be more effective in the sunlight.
The night was clear, allowing plenty of moonlight to blanket the cemetery, but the result still didn't make sense. At best Poppy should have been slightly harder to see. Her proficiency with the skill simply wasn't at that level yet, bottlenecked by the energy reserves and control of the Low-Tier.
Kanan wanted to investigate immediately, but it was neither the time nor the place. He didn't even have a hypothesis, he would need the consul of someone with more experience. Inwardly, he resolved to bring it up with Professor Quartz the following day.
Still, in the short term the unexpected result was nothing but a boon. Having this level of camouflage meant that the success rate of their plan had improved dramatically.
Lighting the small fire that he had built during the day, Kanan took a seat on the grass and began his vigil.
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The night went on, and Kanan's focus began to waver. The moon had fully risen, settling in the sky above his head. It must be around midnight, he figured.
His eyes swept over the cemetery, looking for signs of movement in the tall grass. The gravestones eerily reflected the moonlight, the farthest among them fading into darkness as a cloud passed overhead.
The darkness gradually encroached on his surroundings, leaving him unable to see past the narrow range of his fire. Unnerved, he considered calling out to Poppy but suppressed the thought.
He leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment to calm his thoughts. But what greeted him as they re-opened wasn't a dark, turbid night sky that he had expected but instead the full moon in all its glory, shining directly down onto him. There was not a cloud in sight.
Something was wrong. He jumped to his feet in shock, landing on his feet right as a whine sounded out from behind him.
Spinning around, he came face to face with a furry beast bounding out of the darkness on all fours. It was a relatively small, squirrel-like beast, its upper body obscured in a shadowy haze. In its mouth it held a staff, wooden and adorned with a skull.
The beast glared at Kanan menacingly, its trajectory clearly directed straight at him. However, as its front two feet touched the inside of the clearing its balance collapsed, upturning the beast and sending its staff clattering to the ground.
This was the first trap that Kanan and Poppy had set. The edges of the clearing were coated with a thin film of water, ready to disrupt any intruders if they were on foot.
Kanan hadn't been sure that this particular piece of preparation would pay off. There was a chance that the beast would fly or teleport, or attack from outside the clearing itself. However, he felt like there was a decent chance that it was utilizing its speed.
Low-Tier beasts generally did not have the range or control to incapacitate a tamer and their beast from that far away. Similarly, teleportation was a move with a high energy expenditure, which would leave the beast vulnerable and tired before their attack.
Flight was more likely, but as flying beasts only comprised a small percentage of the whole, that was a gamble that Kanan was willing to take. The water film — a less-intensive application of the move Quagmire — was not something that would impact Poppy's combat ability significantly in the first place.
GYUUU!
Seeing its staff roll away, the beast cried out, its voice filled with anger and desperation. It quickly scrambled to its feet, changing its course away from Kanan and diving towards the rod. Just as it grasped it, Poppy's figure appeared in the air above.
"Vortex Fang."
At kanan's call, Poppy's chelicerae were covered in blue energy, spinning around them like a whirlpool. The spider bit downwards, its energy fangs tearing through the shroud of darkness and sinking into the squirrel beast's back, pinning it to the ground.
With the veil torn, the beast's features could be more clearly seen. The beast's face was gaunt, its appearance haggard.
The squirrel struggled, rising to its feet and jumping away from Poppy. It panted heavily, the surprise attack having taken its toll.
It hesitated, its eyes flicking between Poppy and Kanan. Then, coming to a decision, it turned tail and ran.
Unfortunately for it though, it didn't get far. It had only taken a few jumps forward before its momentum was halted once again as it slammed into Poppy's hidden web.
The beast struggled, its arms and legs flailing in the air. It bit at the webbing but was unable to tear itself free in a short time, its movements weakened from the damage it had taken.
Kanan and Poppy closed in on it, and realizing that it was beaten the squirrel gave up its struggle, its head dropping in resignation.
Seeing its surrender, Kanan hesitated, suspicious. He didn't trust that a beast that had caused so much trouble would be incapacitated quite this easily. He reached into his pouch, pulling out two capsules and handing one to Poppy, placing the other in his mouth.
Then, as the two neared the beast, its eyes flung open, its two front paws raising the staff into the air. A pulse of cold, ghastly energy was fired out, permeating the area around it and enveloping Kanan and Poppy.
An irresistible wave of drowsiness flooded over Kanan. It was a sleep attack, Hypnotic Wave, and it was exactly what he had been waiting for. He crunched down on the capsule, a burst of bitter liquid filling his mouth. It traveled down his throat just as he began to succumb to sleep, and immediately his mind cleared.
It was an Insomnia Pill, and his final piece of insurance. The pill, widespread among tamers, cleared the mind and sent the one taking it into a state of complete wakefulness. The duration was short and the repeatability limited, so it was usually used to ready oneself when entering combat late at night.
Using it in battle, as Kanan had, simply wasn't done. Not because the effect wasn't good enough, but because there was just no time to take the pill out and ingest it after identifying the attack.
What made this situation different, however, was that Kanan had an idea of the squirrel's tricks. The Tamers posting about the mission all mentioned that they woke up with no idea of what had happened to them. It was more reasonable to assume that they were put to sleep than knocked out, considering the lack of pain or aftereffects.
So, with that in mind, Kanan had readied the pills beforehand. A trump card against what was likely the attacker's killer move. And it worked — the confused beast stared up at him with wide eyes, unable to understand why this human was still standing.
It had the limitation of needing to be close to the opponent, but nobody had managed to resist its sleep in the past once hit.
And it never got another opportunity, as Kanan plucked the staff from its hands and Poppy neatly tied it up into a thread cocoon.