Heart of the Wild (Hania)

[Mao]

The darkness never bothered Mao very much. She was used to reverting to her beast form and crawling up the nearest and safest tree available, and settling herself there for the night. Often times the night was the veil that allowed her to hunt, but the harsh jungles of Falyndar were filled with dangers she could never imagine. She knew this, thus she opted to stay in her human form to better relate to this stranger who was apparently either leading her to safety, or to her death. The Kelvic was already on edge as her ears picked up the sounds of distant rustling and subtle growls, but she refused to get any closer to the Myrian.

She noticed the stranger did not directly answer her questions, and she wondered if he was mulling it over, or he was building suspense until the time was right. Either way, when she heard his whistle, she turned and looked at the direction he was gesturing towards. She said nothing, but she did not enjoy the idea of being in such a cramped space with the hunter. It was one of her greatest fears, being closed in; locked away to rot in a dungeon, no one to listen to her screams. No, she thought quickly, Don't think of such things now Mao, do you want this man to see your weakness? Biting her lip softly, she followed him into the 'safe haven' as he seemed to suggest. She settled herself as comfortably as she could near the far corner, with as much space in between them as possible. The smoke did not bother her, but it dulled her senses, which made her slightly more uneasy. She eyed him warily as he spoke.

"I told you this. The jungle calls to me. It's instinct." She could see his outline in the darkness, and only when she was sure he wasn't looking at her did she decide to go about meddling with her bandages. At his next comment she looked up at him, lifting an eyebrow in surprise. "My fight? I'm not the strange one here. You say that I should be dead by now, but here I am, still alive." She scoffed. This man was far more difficult to read than anyone else she'd ever met, but she enjoyed the challenge. "I will not leave, I told you this. And where will you lead me? If I am to face death I should know what it will be first, right?"

Mao brought her knees up to her chest as the Myrian spoke of retying her bandages. She was unsure, and did not enjoy the idea of a stranger touching her, even if it was for her own good. "I can lick it clean. I was only holding out for a safe place.." It was dark, but even if it hadn't been she wouldn't have cared if he watched as she lifted her tunic over her head and dropped it on the ground next to her. She did the same with her pants until she sat naked against the wall. Untying her bandages freed her to transform herself into her bestial form. She sat on her haunches, carefully licking the wound on her back paw, cleaning it of the dirt and grime plastered onto it. As she glanced up to the Myrian, her eyes flashed with the glare of a predator, but her intent was not to engage him. She stood there staring at the other as if to say, I would keep you warm, but why would I do so to my potential killer?

Instead the Kelvic promptly morphed back to her human body and settled herself back on the wall furthest from the man, slipping her tunic back over her head. "You see what I am now. I am named Mao, I am Kelvic. I have come to your lands to find a home. What are you called?" This was the first time Mao had ever attempted pleasantries with another, it was obvious it was difficult for her, due to the tone she held, but she would rather avoid a quarrel, for now.

[Hania]

"My name is Hania of The Hunters In Darkness, but they call me many things. You come to our home to find one of your own, but you were not born here. This place is new to you, it is normal for us, that makes you strange in what we see as normal. You might want this to be home, but everyone must earn everything here. If you do this then things will not be strange. It is simple." He paused while something trundled by their resting place, paused, and then continued on it's way. A larger part of him wanted to sneak out and hunt the animal down, what ever it was, it was alone and an easy mark; but then again he usually traveled the same way.

He carefully avoided commenting on her transformation since he clearly saw the lighter shade of her skin one minute and then a dark shadow the next, but details were lost in to him. The setting sun would be down and the moon would be in full swing in a short while and then he would be able to see properly again. Until that point however he needed to keep the attention of this Mao elsewhere, it was his only defense. "There are many things you will have to learn fast if you plan to be on your own. Animals here are not dangerous on their own, but more than one of anything is your end." He pointed to the east, left of where he sat. "There is an ant...hill, not too far that way where they grow big," He held his hands apart until a large house cat could have laid between them, "Never bother them, I have watched them take down game bigger than me, and run if they look for food. Do not fight them. Standing up to everything that growls at you is stupid. Many things here grow bigger than where humans live, this will be a hard life for you, kelvic."

He leaned forward to prod the pile of leaves, having to poke around once or twice before actually managing to shuffle them around a bit. "I think you would be happy near Taloba, good hunting even when the floods come. There are traps in the ground and trees, Myrian hunting parties and patrols, large tigers, crocodiles, large spiders, poisonous plants and bugs, fungus that kills, blood bill nests, and Dhani. But it is what you don't see that will kill you. Near Taloba it is safest." He let a smirk crack the stony set of his face, which turned into a grin and a low chuckle. "You might live longer in Taloba, than out here. I can only stay out here several days, I head back that way now."

[Mao]

Earn it, he says. Mao nearly snorted at his words. But she had to be wise in this situation. She did not enjoy authority, but if she was not careful she may as well end up on the next fire pit. "I will remember your name Hania, and the hospitality you have shown me." She, too, heard the noise, and she also noticed the pause Hania had given when the object was made apparent. She said nothing for the moment, however. Instead, she listened intently to his words. When he'd finished speaking, she sat quietly, mulling over what to say next. She was itching to escape the claustrophobic feeling she felt that threatened to overwhelm her, but the insects the Myrian had spoken of made her apprehensive about their current location.

"If they are not far, why do we linger here?" She said quickly. "You speak of a hard life as if I have not lived one for three summers." She paused, staring at the mildly visible outline of Hania who at the moment was toying with the leaves. If we are to head there now then let us hunt. The night will be our guide." Although he might not have been able to see it, Mao grinned as she grabbed Hania's arm and tugged him outside. She was itching to stretch her legs and feel the cold wind on her cheeks, and a little exercise on her injured foot would help relieve her of the pain.

"Come!" She called as she ran a few paces ahead to strip and hide her belongings below a large frond. "If only for this night, let us hunt as a team. I can see it in your eyes, Myrian. You long for it, as do I." With this, she transformed into her bestial form, black coat melting with the shadows and her pale eyes illuminated by the faint light overhead. She growled at Hania to gain his attention and move to circle him. After nudging his legs to signal him to move, she bounded off into the abyss of the jungle.

oocHunting for the win? :>

[Hania]

He was about to explain 'not far' was a half days difficult hike by human standards when her form swept past him and caught up his arm in hers. Again the urge to cleave her in two boiled in his chest, and again he managed to quell the emotion by wrenching his arm away. "If you get me killed I'm coming back to kick your head into the next age..." He waited long enough to see where she put her clothes and then ducked back into the circle of trees. He found his spear, rubbed out the smoldering leaves, finally feeling around with a bare foot for any small knickknacks they might have left behind. When he came out the moon was just high enough in the sky to provide enough light for his eyes to function enough for land travel again.

He knelt low to the ground, face inches away from an odd track in the dirt. "The animal drags it's claws as it walks." He crawled forward to an odd drip of foam. "It is sick. We do not run it down, it has to be followed. The sick might spread to us." The growl more than got his attention for it was the first time he was able to properly see the kelvic. "You are a predator." he muttered to himself in Myrian, having imagined her as some pain in the neck rimma. "Do not hurry. Nightmares roam these trees at night, more worse than a pack of Myrians....or me." He tiptoed over to where she had deposited her personals and picked them up, tucking the clothes in the back of his waistband; the leather chord and claw was tied around his bicep.

"We will not come back this way. Forward only. Two days steady travel to Taloba, three if we stop." Mao's little hop forward was almost comical and he couldn't stop the bemused, one sided, smile. He followed her lead since she would have better eyesight at night than he would and soon fell into a slow trot behind her he could keep for hours. "Don't mistake this leniency for mercy, cat. Lead me astray and I'll offer you up to Myri herself."

[Mao]

Mao didn't have to look back to know Hania was following close behind. His scent was strong and familiar enough for her to trace it from a few kilometers away. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes and smiled. He wasn't so bad, no matter how he made himself out to be. However, she couldn't afford such thoughts now. Her inner instincts were forcing themselves out, directing her to the nearest climbable tree. The Kelvic crouched low, eyes focused on the branch she was aiming for before she pushed hard off the ground and gripped the trunk, bounding from one notch in the bark (possibly from other travelers) to the next until she'd settled herself comfortably on the woody stem.

She was not sure if Hania would be able to follow her from branch to branch, but she was sure he would be able to keep up on foot. The smell of fear emanating from the lesser beasts of the jungle soothed her considerably. She was sure she would be able to garner a kill regardless of her injury, and with the Myrian with her it was almost guaranteed. Slowly and carefully, she moved across the sturdy branch beneath her. She scouted the area and the foliage that shrouded potential meals. Nothing as of yet. Growling softly to Hania below, she dropped to the ground and continued a faster paced jog, leaping over overgrown roots and other, larger obstacles she was unsure of.

Half an hour had gone by until an ambiguous noise forced Mao to a halt. She crouched low, straining her eyes past a pair of large fronds directly in front of her. This must be the animal that lingered near their little encampment a while ago, but the scent of the wind did not support this claim. The panther was as silent as a leaf floating effortless to the jungle floor, inching closer and closer toward the source of hissing that sliced through the calm of the night. But this was no prey Mao had stumbled upon, before she could react, the predator had noticed her presence, and with eyes flashing and mouth agape, it leaped at her throat. If it were not for her stumble over her attempt to back away a large chunk of skin would have been torn off. It was an instant cat fight. The two predators rolled and stumbled across the forest floor, crushing twigs and dried leaves in their wake, and causing a racket that frightened off most animals in a large radius. Enraged growls tore it's way out of Mao's throat as she clawed at the other beast and attempted in vain to see an opening to clamp down on the predator's skull. It was all she could do to keep from allowing the other predator from noticing an open, but in her mind, Mao hoped Hania would not abandon her in the heat of the fight.

[Hania]

It was strange to hunt with someone, especially since the person was, at the moment, an animal. More over, the experience felt unpleasantly novel because he was following the lead of someone else. Any normal day and he would to do all of the work himself and gladly suffer alone, rather than traipsing around with a group of his kind that let their minds cloud with blood. Occasionally he was asked by some in the military to take a new recruit, or unruly individual, out into the trees and shape them up. He made them shape up alright, and quickly, but they were the majority of anyone accompanying him and their minds were only focused on adding another kill notch to their streak. A blood haze. He'd gotten one himself once. Once.

Slowly however, ever so slowly, he began to enjoy the hunt. His eyes were constantly flicking between the ground, around him, and to the trees where a slinking shadow guided his way. It was a lot to take in all at once which then had to be deciphered into understandable, correlated, information. If he missed a track that gave some clue as to what it was they were following he might just get them killed. Or if he lost sight of his temporary partner he'd have to scramble to find shelter for the night, since being alone at night was only advisable in emergencies. This was something new and challenging for him. A chance to test himself. Yes, there was no denying it, this was fun.

When the shadow dropped to the ground beside him he gave a low series of clicks, the sign someone in a hunting party understood, or when everything was copacetic. After they covered a fair bit of ground, all things considered, he caught sight of a muddy print on a large root he was just about to vault over. He let out a silent string of curses and looked up to tell the girl but all he saw in front of him was a blur of motion, and yellow white teeth flashing in the beams of moonlight. He leaped over the root, bounded over the ferns and broke into a flat out run. His timing had to be perfect. A double step, and the large cat was on top of the jaguar. Han sprang forward, flying towards the animal's side where it's attention wasn't focused. He looped his left arm under the beasts chest, then his right arm under as he sailed over it's back. His feet touch ground and with a tremendous effort twisted his torso right side around, heaving with all the upper body strength he had, flinging the cat four feet through the air. The cat landed on it's feet, screaming in surprise and frustration.

The Myrian retorted with a roar of his own expelling all doubt and apprehension he had about tangling with the large cat. The cat began to circle, Han stepping the opposite way to stay in a straight line. "Follow. Trip it. Make the kill. Do not let it bite you." And that was all he had time to say for the cat pounced for him but he was already running again. He hoped she'd understood him. The cat was close behind him, faster, and more maneuverable; he wasn't going to last long. Up the bent trunk of a tree and then off again, claws scrabbling across bark as they followed his footsteps. "Come on," He whispered. "I'll gut you from the inside out if I have to."

[Mao]

Deep, jagged wounds were torn through Mao's coarse coat, and she could feel the hot blood pouring from the tears. But she couldn't stop now, she had to fend this creature off and live another day. With a vicious growl she slashed at the cat's face, catching one of it's eyes in the process and slicing it enough to hear it cry in pain. Before she knew it, she felt the heavy load of the creature lifted off of her and fly through the air. Amazing... She thought, awed at the Myrians strength. But the battle was far from over, she watched as the predator got on it's feet again; watched as Hania challenged it then shouted orders to her and was off in another instant.

Quickly the jaguar got back on her feet, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she pounded off after the two. She had to be swift, less Hania suffer a fate worse than she could ever have imagined. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her back leg, Mao pushed herself off the ground with all the might she could muster and grasped the rough trunk of the tree in front of her. She pulled herself up, steadied her balance on the branch and moved quickly, leaping from branch to branch, careful to choose the ones closest to her and always thick and sturdy. She could see the animal and the man below, a cruel test of speed, one the Myrian would most likely not survive. Mao kept her eye on an opening before she spotted the animal slipping on a mud pit due to the injury she had inflicted to its eye and collide with the nearest visible tree. That was her chance. With body coiled and ready to spring, she leaped from her perch and crushed the predator with her weight, clamping down on the skull with the a force fueled by her rage. There was a sickening crunch as Mao shook the animal's body viciously, but she would not let go. This was the beginning of the blood frenzy.

She tore the creature apart, her anger blinding her to her actions. More and more the blood covered her entire body, until she stood there, breath heavy with a metallic scent and the heat of the kill. As the frenzy died down, the Kelvic sat in the pool of bloodshed, eyes glazed and unblinking as she stared at her gruesome work of art. She had, absently, morphed back into her human form, and the scene that lay before the Myrian seemed as if from a horror story. And yet Mao merely threw back her head and let out a bone chilling laugh. There was no regret, only the feeling of relief that washed through her. Riddled with jagged wounds that bled profusely, she would have fainted by then were it not for the adrenaline that kept her awake, for now.

"That was fun.... We should do that again sometime." She managed to say as she breathed heavily. She directed a small smile to Hania, clutching the trunk of the tree nearest her for support as she pulled herself up on wobbly legs.

[Hania]

Han heard the thunk of a collision but instinct still told him to run. Common sense still told him to run, a giant cat was trying to remove his favorite head. But he was Myrian, he was Hania, and there wasn't anything Han backed down from. He turned left, still racing across the terrain, and circled around. He could hear wet, sopping, splattering sounds, the unique sound of tearing flesh, and bones popping. One of the cats had finally latched on to the other and the realistic part of his brain wished he would be rid of the kelvic, and not have to babysit her anymore.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, he came up behind the black panther ravaging the body of his would be killer. Han stopped to adjust his breathing from bothered, to normal while allowing Mao to relish the victory of her kill. "Enough." He said, waving a hand but she did not stop. "Enough!" Blood sprayed everywhere creating a macabre rendition of abstract art. He was showered in a good deal of the hot, steaming, liquid as well as a few chunks of gore. "You damned nuisance, STOP!" He didn't dare approach her in her rage so he would have to wait this out. It took several more seconds before she had had her fill of violence, though he just stared at her just to be sure she wasn't going back for seconds.

"Happy?" He asked as she slipped back into her other, more humanoid, form. It was hard to access what it was that had attacked them in it's current condition and he had to squat down, and prod around in the meat pile for a scrap of hide, or teeth still attached to the jaw for any sign. "Ocelot," The word was in Myrian since he did not know the translated name for the cat, "Normally they are small, but this one was big. Many things here are big. Big bugs are the worst." He looked up when she spoke, catching a slightly distant note to her voice; and that's when he finally noticed her wounds. "Aah," he growled, "You are like a child." Han put his hands on either side of her shoulders and forced her to sit down. "Too much noise, do not listen." Surprisingly gentle fingers touched at the more serious wounds, apparently oblivious to her complete lack of clothing.

"This was supposed to be a quick trip. Up to the pass, back down from the pass, home. No fights, no surprises, no kelvic women. A boar if I was lucky but..." The grumbling continued as he foraged for various plants around them, casting a glance to the girl every few seconds as if she was going to do some amazing trick he was afraid to miss. "I don't know anything about plants. Plants aren't my specialty. I kill things, that's what I'm best at, why would you make me fool around with plants?" Several vines and leaves were put through a series of tests. He smelled and discarded some immediately, nibbled on others and tossed those away too. The one's remaining he rubbed on his bare arm and of those he only kept the ones that didn't turn the skin red. "You let your head go. Never do that. Not here. Do only what you need to kill, not more. Always need extra....energy, out here." He started to roughly pack the good leaves against the most serious gashes, and tie a length of vine around it. Once the leaves were gone he resorted to tearing strips of material from the bottom of her shirt to use as padding.

After he'd patched up what he could with non existent healing skills he helped her back into what remained of her clothes. Her wounds were deep, and there was so much blood around he wasn't sure who's was who's. There was no way to tell how much trouble she was in but he knew things weren't good. "Climb on," he said as he turned around and waved a hand for her to get on his back. "Teach me this word, energy. It is what you use to do things. You feel tired when it is gone, yes? How do you say it?"

[Mao]

Her body felt oddly soothed and warm, as if she was curled up near a comforting fire. There was no pain, however, only the small throbbing that plagued her bones and the skin around them. The adrenaline was still coursing through her, even as she strained to listen to Hania; even as her eyes attempted to adjust to the sudden lack of light allowing her to see clearly in the darkness. The moon made visible the glint of the blood that pooled around her, hers mingled with that of her victim laying at her feet. When the Myrian spoke, it was as though he was 10 feet away, and not right beside her. He had called her a child, she would have to repay him heavily for saying such things in her presence.

"You talk too much.." She managed to say. She was definitely a gruesome sight. But it was not in her mind to understand or feel shame for showing other people the way she truly is. A girl with blood covering her mouth, hands and more than half her torso would frighten nearly most people, but Mao would not care. On the contrary, she would most likely revel in the fact that people shied away from her. But here, Hania was different. He was helping her, and for this she was amazed. She allowed him to treat her wounds as thus only because she had no strength to push him away. Any other day and she'd probably nip at his fingers, just as he seemed angry when she laid so much as a hand on his arm. When she was all dressed and done and Hania had gestured for her to get on his back, she wanted so badly to deny it. But instinct told her that she would not survive the hour alone, and so she promptly climbed onto the Myrian's back and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "Adrenaline.." She murmured, "Energy, life."

The Kelvic's eyes began to feel heavier than usual, and it was all she could do to hold on as Myrian carried her deeper into the heart of the jungle.

[Cayenne]

Interesting thread! Great interaction between the pair of them, even though Mao certainly was a mouthy little thing, but being a Kelvic, I'd bet she's pretty much forgiven. Well done, both of you. I hereby award the following: Hania: Tracking: 3 XP Hunting: 2 XP Spear: 2 XP Plant Identification: 1 XP Herbalism: 1 XP Wilderness Survival: 1 XP Interrogation: 2 XP Mao: Hunting: 3 XP Tracking: 2 XP Unarmed Combat: 3 XP Medicine: 1 XP Rhetoric: 2 XP