Closed [Bronze Woods] An Unexpected Encouter

[Crystal Nightshade]

15th of Fall, 515AV 7th Bell, Morning Bronze Woods It was a beautiful morning in the Bronze Woods, the leaves tinted in oranges and bronze. The calm fall breeze brought travels the occasional chill, but others relished it. One could walk happily through the woods, mindful of dangers but still enthralled by the scenery. The grass was green, leaves were crunchy and ripe, falling gracefully to the woodland flooring. All was peaceful, quie-- "Wait! I didn't signal yet Leo!" A woman's cry vanquished the silence, shattered even further by excited yipping of a certain hunters' leopard cur. The hunter, Crystal sighed and retired the idea of giving further chase. The ebony shook her head and watched the dog run off. He was always like this, every time they entered the Bronze Woods to hunt. He would sit and wait his tail before running off and making her give chase. He would then yip and run off quietly in search of game. She smiled softly at the thought. He would always play around before focusing on his job, but he was shaping up to be a very wonderful hunting dog. Leo, the Catahoula Leopard Cur, was a joyful puppy. He was outgoing and loving, but most of all mischievous. She loved him, but sometimes had her hands full with his nature. Crystal would never be able to sleep alone as long as Leo had a way in it. She'd never get her extra chimes of sleep either. She laughed quietly, but soon put on her game face. She had to be careful in the Woods, just as her companion had to. She hated that she put him in danger, but it was something he wouldn't give up on. She started to hike in the direction the pup had run off in. In a few chimes she'd use the signal whistle to call for him. --- Leo sniffed the air and continued to stalk the area. Smell, track, repeat. These were the pups steps. He needed to bring Tall Friend game. He sniffed the air again and turned his head, in the distance he smelled an animal, but it didn't seem like game. Unique, different, Tall Friend be proud. And so off he went, in search of something for Tall Friend. NoteFeel free to use Leo in your post. Sorry it took so long

[Revali]

Revali knew that there were some Kelvics out there that were forced to use either their Human or Animal form the majority of the time. He could not imagine such a hellish fate. Revali enjoyed the balance between meerkat and man.

He enjoyed standing tall and conversing with others. He enjoyed having hands that could work dexterously and eye that could read text. But he also enjoyed running on four legs. He enjoyed scooping berries and bugs from the ground and digging with his sharp claws. Most of all, he enjoyed laying on rocks, just sunbathing.

And sunbathing was exactly what he was doing the day he met the dog.

Though it was chilly in the Fall breeze, and the air smelled of the cold to come, the Syna still shone, and warmed the surfaces below. Rocks absorbed heat especially well, and thus, the Revali absorbed the heat best when laying on the rocks.

He stretched out, reaching his front claws high above his head, and pushing his feet out beneath him. Though vulnerable in this position, Revali felt relatively safe in the Bronze Woods, for he spent enough time in them to know what to expect. Apart from the occasional bird of prey, Revali felt that he was fairly safe.

He shouldn't have assumed. For no sooner had he stretched his body out than he heard a snuffling sound from nearby. This snuffling would not have been alarming on its own, but it was closely followed by the distinct sound of barking and the crunching of small paws over the leafy floor.

Revali snapped up as fast as he could, arching his back and opening his mouth to bare his teeth, as the dog came crashing through the foliage. Revali hissed, his claws curling beneath him and his fur fluffing on his back. He tried to look large and menacing, but the dog paid no mind.

Instead, the beast began yapping happily, jumping about as though Revali was going to play with him. Revali hissed again, angry that the dog had interrupted his alone-time, but the dog simply padded closer, his fat tongue hanging out of his mouth. Revali tried to back up, but unfortunately his rock was too small, and his back claws slipped off the end.

Revali stumbled to the ground. The dog took this opportunity to pick the squirming meerkat up in his mouth, and shake him side to side excitedly. Disoriented and mad, Revali lashed out with one hand. But he was nowhere near making his mark.

Petching dog!

[Crystal Nightshade]

Toy fun, fun toy. Leo grabbed the strange animal, clearly proud of himself for finding a new toy. So he shook it a few times. Annoying toy, make noise. He growled in warning for the toy to quiet itself, closing his teeth around it just a tad bit tighter before loosening them a bit. Crystal however, stalked deeper into the woods in Leo's direction. She was just about to sound the whistle to return when she heard his excited hips and yaps. He was far away as the sound was dull, yet close enough for the human ear. She took the whistle from her pocket, and exhaled through it. Fweeeeeee. Leo's ears perked at the as a loud sound echoed through the air, piercing the thin, almost silent air. Tall Friend calling, go find. Follow noise. He shook the creature in his maw excitedly. Tall Friend be proud, hopefully not catch before. And so he ran off, Meerkat and all to find his Tall Friend. Crystal stopped whistling as she heard crunching leaves. It had taken about a chime, but eventually Leo returned with game in his jaws. She kneeled as he approached, patting his head when he stopped in front of her. "Good boy!" She praised, attempting to remove the small animal from his maw. He shook his head and planted his rump on the ground in protest. "Leo, game are not toys. Hand it over." Of course, her tone was stern so he had no choice but to folllow orders. He dropped the animal into her palm and tagged his tail with a happy yap. She petted his head once again with a smile. "We'll play when we get home." She examined the animal a bit closer. She'd never seen it before. "Is it a squirrel..? Perhaps a chipmunk..?" She mumbled to herself as she removed the dagger from her sheath.

[Revali]

Thank Aquiras this woman had rescued him. Revali lay dazed in the woman's hands. His head was spinning from the bumpy ride and he felt sore from the squeeze in the dog's jaws. He felt roughed up and abused, and frankly, did not want to do anything but lay there while she carried him home. Or better yet, to a doctor.

That was, until he saw the dagger.

At the sight of the blade, Revali sat straight up. Thoughts ran through his mind faster than he could comprehend them. What if she meant to kill him? Cook him? Skin him alive? He flailed his hands and kicked his feet in the image of a trantruming child. He squiggled and squirmed chaoticly until, finally, he fell upon the ground with a muted thud. With a drawn out groan, Reavli resigned himself to the idea that he would have to change. So much for a relaxing day in the woods.

In a tick, there was a splash of light that even he could not see through. He could not feel a thing, but when he opened his eyes he was considerably larger. He now lay facedown on the ground as a man; he was a bruised, dizzy, frightened man, but a man all the same.

Revali rolled over so that he lay on his bare back, and sat up to examine his stomach. Although the dog had been gentle with his bite and had not pierced the skin, there were clearly defined red and purple marks on his abdomen. Revali groaned again and flopped back down to the ground.

"Do, do you always t-treat innocent w-woodland critters l-like that?" He asked bitterly.

[Crystal Nightshade]

Crystal turned the creature in her hand, but just as she was about to strike it, it clawed her hand and scattered from her hand. She sucked in a breath and attempted to grab the creatures until a bright light enveloped him. This light looked familiar... Well that settles it. Before her where the meerkat lay was a man. Naked at that. She turned away and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Do all petching Kelvics go without clothes..!" She growled before she realized what he'd said. "Sweet Sylir, I'm so sorry!" She said with panic. She had almost killed him! She couldn't believe she'd made the same mistake twice. And by Syna's light, Leo had already fluffed him up! She honestly felt terrible. She would need to verify the next few animals before shooting them down.. "How many of you are there!? Look, I'm really sorry, I had no idea you were also a kelvic! And I'm a Hunter, that's my reason for it!" She babbled with alarm. She calmed down after a bit though. She turned to Leo who had tiled his head in confusion before snarling with a low growl. "Hush. It's fine." She said as she leaned to pet him. He seemed to calm immediately, but kept his eyes on the naked man Crystal refused to face. She picked him up, before speaking. "What are you anyway? A squirrel man?" She asked curiously. She didn't want to look at the man, but she could at least converse with him. Now that she thought about it, none of the Kelvics she'd met wore clothes. It made her wonder what kind of society they hailed from. Still, it was always embarrassing to meet a Kelvic when they were first in human form. If she could she would lecture them all about how to bring a change of clothes.. Ah, but such is life. NoteSorry for the shortness.

[Revali]

Even in his human seeming, Revali could feel his fur ruffle at the woman's harsh tone. First she sent her crazy dog after him and interrupted his nap, and then she tried to slice him up. And after all that, she still had the nerve to gripe about his lack of clothing?

Absurd.

"I could w-wear clothes, sure, but I'd rather not be t-trapped in giant clothes every t-time I change forms! Some of us d-don't appreciate being suffocated." He snapped.

Revali stood and dusted himself off, muttering curses under his breath as his muscles protested the movement. He straightened up in front of her and crossed his arms defiantly, refusing to cover himself up in any way. She'll just have to deal with it, he thought. Serves her right.

"I'm not a squirrel-man either!" He continued, gradually working his way up to a full rant. "You, you said yourself that you know I'm a Kelvic, and I d-don't appreciate being called anything else. Especially w-when you know the proper t-term! My name is R-revali, and I am a Kelvic meerkat, thank you very much!"

The boy bristled once more, resisting the urge to snap at the pup by her side. Though the pup wouldn't understand his ranting, the woman certainly would. And he wasn't done with her quite yet. Oh, no. He had more to say.

"And if you didn't notice, I hardly have much meat on me, even in this form." He gestured roughly to his lithe body. "Let alone in my smaller size. So I'm not sure what kind of 'hunter' you are that goes after tiny things without meat on them, but I do not approve of it. Hunting should be for survival, not fun. Killing," He emphasized, "Is not fun."

The boy ended the long-winded reprimand with a haughty huff and an upturned lip, waiting to hear her rebuttal. This should be good...

[Crystal Nightshade]

Well, a spectacular day this had been. Rolling her eyes at her own sarcasm, Crystal listened to the Kelvic rant. She soon found herself upset at his tone, and she had even gone through the trouble of apologising for her actions. In the first place, how would she know he was a Kelvic? They all transformed into petching animals! Now it was her turn to rant. "Oh yes, I know tons of animals that can transform into humans, so I always look for that while hunting!" She said sharply, turning around to face him with an eye roll. Leo growled as he felt Crystal's hostility toward the male, and she did nothing to stop him. She simply continued. "Oh, but you know what I do know? A nice place that makes squirrel soup, mm, real tasty! And I doubt it if they didn't consider meerkat as a speciality." Of course, it was just a tease. She didn't really, but that didn't stop her anger from flooding her mouth. She was simply letting off steam in one of the most common ways. And oh, that wasn't even the end of it. "Better yet, let's see how they react to you turning into a human!" She seethed. She placed Leo on the ground knowing he wouldn't move without commands. "And I don NOT live to kill, I kill to live. I've never even seen a meerkat, let alone would I know the difference between it, a squirrel, or a chipmunk! I was raised to hunt, but I didn't get enough lessons on animals okay?! So I'm soo sorry, but I didn't know!" She said as she walked towards him, jabbed her finger into his stomach and walked back to Leo with a scowl. Revali was being a real pain, and she didn't even know him.

[Revali]

Revali was taken aback by the hunter's sharp attitude. He had not expected her to touch him at all once he was Human, let alone do something so bold as to jab him.

For a tick, he was speechless, his mouth flapping open in an asinine manner, with nothing coming out. He was almost ready to apologize, as it was clear she was genuinely surprised that he hadn't been a simple squirrel. But, of course, it was far too late to back down now.

"I don't need this." Revali growled, kicking his bare feet in the dirt. "I've g-got things to do. So if you d-don't mind..."

Revali took a step toward the treeline, pushing past her in the process. He was uncertain of where he was going, but he couldn't let the hunter know that. Instead, he plowed forward, strolling straight into a tangle of branches. He shoved them away with his hands, ignoring the scratches that they left on his body. They hurt, of course, but once again, his pride took over and would not let him show it.

The boy was a handful of steps into the woods when a single flare of anger brightened once more. Turning about, Revali made his way to where he could see the woman again. "And another thing," He added, with significantly less vigor than before, "You have got to keep that dog under control. It nearly ate me for lunch, too."

He pointed a single, threatening finger at the dog, who was riled by all of the commotion. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he just wagged his finger scoldingly, as a mother might scold her child for eating sweets before dinner. Although there was really nothing more to say, Revali hovered there on the treeline a moment, waiting for some kind of reaction from either the huntress or her pup.

[Crystal Nightshade]

Crystal was satisfied with the man's, Kelvic's silence. Pleased with herself, she looked at him as he mouth opened and closed. She smiled smugly, almost as if daring him to say anything more. He didn't need it?! How the petch was this Kelvic alive with such an attitude? If she'd been anyone else, she might have skinned him just for his mouth alone. And oh, now he dared to walk away?! The raven-haired girl was near hysterics now. Positively livid. That was the proper description. Obviously he had to come back and scold Leo as if he was actually clued in to his mistake. Leo growled as the man walked away, and barked as he returned. "Now wait just a tick!" Crystal channeled that anger into a growl. "You expect me to just sit here as you disrespect me? I'm a Hunter, and in case you didn't catch the gist of it, my job is to hunt. And here I was apologizing to the likes of you... And consider yourself lucky Leo thought you were a prized toy, otherwise you'd be dead now!" She raged, gesturing with her hands dramatically. She huffed and turned away. "You should learn some manners Kelvic. Otherwise you'll end up nowhere, fast." She scolded in annoyance. Now that she thought about it, there was the fact he interrupted her hunt.. Hm, what to do..? Ah, perfect! "At least be a man and take responsibility for ruining my hunt. Now, I think Leo has memorized your scent, so why don't you lead me to some other animal? After all, there's not point in running when Leo can easily find you again." Cue know-it-all smirk. Hopefully she could intimidate the man into doing what she wanted, but not because she wanted to hurt him, no. It was simply business. Which she had lost partly because of him. It was only fair that he compensated her for her lost time, either that or she would find a way to force him. Leo had settled for growling, hiss eyes trained on the Kelvic, ready to pounce if need be.

[Revali]

Head hanging and shoulders slumping, Revali sighed in defeat. Though he would never admit it, she was right. He couldn't outrun an energetic young pup in his prime, let alone in his current, vulnerable state. Though he didn't necessarily want to lead forest critters to their deaths, it seemed to be their life or his, judging by the expression on the huntress' face.

"Let's just hope that dog is as g-good of a t-tracker as you say he is," Revali grumbled, "And he'd better be quiet, t-too, or he'll scare everything off."

Before another word could be said, there was a flash of light, and the man was gone, replaced by his smaller, more bestial form. His long nose twitched, instinctively trying to scent predators on the wind. It was only a few ticks before Revali stomped a tiny paw in warning, and then slipped into the woods, away from the clearing.

Revali walked with his stomach low to the ground, trying to avoid the gaze of hungry Kriitals or angry mama bears. His fur bristled in the stiff autumnal wind and his paws made soft crunching sounds against the leaves of the woodsy floor. And yet, among these distractions, Revali listened. High above him, he could hear the sound of songbirds and the tiny noises of many bugs. But that was not what he was looking for. What he was looking for was the near-silent skittering of squirrel claws on wood. And soon enough, he heard it.

The meerkat stopped, sitting naturally on the floor and looking up at the squirrel. Its eyes danced over to the meerkat, but recognizing him as some form of kin, paid no mind. Instead, he picked up a nut and began hammering away at it. Revali clicked his teeth together, emitting a sound not so unlike a squirrels' own. The furry creature looked up, staring straight at Revali.

Hopefully, the dog wouldn't be too close behind.