They were so far away... (Alkor/Griffith/mostly open?)

[Alkor Korinado]

Timestamp 8th Day of Spring, 510 AV
Location: Deep in the Sea of Grass
Time of Day: Midday
Tag: Griffith

The midday sun blazed overhead, a temperate day when all things were considered, though the grasslands were plagued by ebbing and flowing winds that were reminiscent of tides at sea. The green blades sprang up all around the paths, leaving much about sounds that might emerge to the imagination. The land stank of fire, though it was admittedly distant from the boy who was looking around rather casually despite his awkward situation.

Alkor looked up and down, trying to discern the proper path, and suddenly realized he was lost. Though being lost was never a problem for Alkor, since he never really had anywhere particular to be, he found himself rather bent out of shape about it. His eyes flickered a ruby shade for a moment as he bristled, gazing in one direction, then the other.

Something about this place just doesn't sit right with me...

Shifting uncomfortably, he turned and peered into his grassy surroundings, trying to make out whatever it was that was making him antsy. Though it could just be his imagination. He was just so used to...

Wait.

He wasn't imagining it. There was a sound rustling in the grass, albeit some distance away. It was a creature, diminutive in size, but it looked just a bit dangerous. And where there were small ones, Alkor knew, big ones never strayed far behind.

Oh great. Just great. What is that thing?

With a deft motion, Alkor took a half step back, kicking off his left foot for some power and threw himself into a shaky flip, landing a few feet back in a somewhat clumsy, though balanced position. He seemed to have avoided the sight of the creature, for it made no calls for help, but he watched it carefully nonetheless.

But he couldn't help feeling something was wrong. It was hotter here than it had just been a moment ago. Humid even... like steam, but there was something...

OW! THAT'S HOT!

As the geyser began to erupt just a few centimeters behind him, Alkor jumped frantically into the air and bolted forward without abandon. He trampled over the tiny creature, succeeding in angering it and he cringed as it cried out, wincing as if in pain and shutting his eyes

Bloody little git...

Without thinking, Alkor kicked the tiny creature in the direction of the geyser, and though it only moved a foot or so, it seemed to have gone limp. Alkor's chest swelled with slight pride for all of a moment before he heard it...

Something loud. Something menacing. Something very, very close behind him.

This is just not my day...

He made no sudden movements, attempting to look at the... whatever it was... out of his peripherals... but it seemed like there was more than one. Without taking another second to think, Alkor sprang with a start, bolting in terror down whatever path he could manage to keep his footing on... which was, admittedly, proving difficult; he stumbled slightly here and there, the crunching of small twigs and roots beneath his feet giving him up every time he thought they might not be following. And there was no mistaking it. They were most definitely following him. He could hear them on his heels.

[Griffith]

Off in the distance, an insect of some kind chirped, and a young Benshira traversing the road stopped to listen, trying to identify the local bug that might make such a noise. Of course, he knew his efforts were in vain. This was not his first time venturing into the Sea of Grass, but he'd never done excessive research on the less dangerous forms of fauna out here.

Griffith wore his usual attire: a red vest with gold lining over a black shirt, the later of which was tucked into the red cloth pants he wore, secured in place by a belt which looked more like a sash than something used to support clothing. Sweat stains dampened the material under his arms and on his back, and he leaned wearily on an iron staff he walked with. He'd been on the move for at least a good two hours, looking for a change in scenery.

His teacher, Vincent Toller, was an accomplished Reimancer who made his home back in Riverfall. The previous day, he'd assigned his Benshira student a task: go into the grasslands and draw water to him using only Res. Bring this water back to be examined. And for the love of life, stay on the traveling path.

Now Griffith began to suspect the fetch quest to be a joke. There were lakes and water aplenty, off in the distance. Moreover, that same water would seep into the ground. He could very well just dig a hole in the middle of the path and collect any water which welled up. Or he could just fill his canteen with Res and transmute it into water. Once transmuted, an element was just an element. The Benshiran apprentice was fairly certain that his teacher might not be able to tell the difference.

Griffith sighed and patted the hindquarter of his packhorse, Ebrah, whispering something commanding it to continue moving as he resumed walking after listening to the insect's calls.

He wasn't going to resort to either such tactic. It would be dishonest, and he was still a son of Benha, damn it!

The twenty-one year-old had developed something of a plan for how he planned to go about the task. The first thing he had to do was find a drier patch of ground. Too wet would make this task too easy, and his Master probably intended a high degree of difficulty in this venture. Furthermore, he was a Benshira. If he wasn't willing to test himself against the land, he would never survive anyways. So there was no point in skimping on working towards his goals.

He had been walking for some time, looking around and occasionally kicking off a sandal to dig his toes into the dirt to get a feel for how damp the ground would be beneath the surface. No change so far. It was why he was so deep into the Sea of Grass now.

Maybe he'd find something soon. If not, he'd have to go ahead and collect water from ground already filled with moisture, or else he'd not make it back before dusk.

Griffith's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls. Running. Coming from up ahead. And coupled with... Well, it was unlike any noise he had ever heard before.

A particularly tall stand of grass had been blocking the view of the road ahead, and around the bend swerved a man of a similar age to the Benshira. But the other Human did not command the attention of the Reimancy apprentice for long. Three quadrupedal creatures with short fur, tufted ears, whiskers, and fangs came around the corner, hot on his heels. The twenty-one year-old recognized them as grasslions, of which he'd heard tales from Riverfall hunters. Recognition dawned on the young Benshira, and was swiftly replaced by the realization that he may well be about to die.

Griffith readied himself to turn tail and flee, until he remembered Ebrah. Right. The horse was weighed down, meaning these things might turn their attention to her if he chose to run. While he wasn't particularly attached to the horse, however, he did happen to have stored his father's flute in the saddlebags currently attached to said horse.

Running wasn't an option. He wouldn't make it more than a hundred feet before those things were on him. He dropped into a stance with his left leg forward and bent at the knee while his right leg was turned out and inward, holding the iron length of his weapon at an angle, ready to block high of low. If one of those things came at him, he would probably die. If all of them abandoned chasing the other man, Griffith was as good as dead. But it seemed there was nothing to be done about it.

The Benshira dropped into a crouching stance, ready to fight...

[Korin]

Korin looks up at the blazing sun, and around at the tall grass, and feels safe. He knows there is a pack of lions around there, but he can’t help but feeling comfortable in that environment. After waking up with the sun, and doing his daily exercise and stretches Korin feels his hunger start to peak. He still has a weeks worth of dried meats, but the land is making him hunger for something fresh, something bloody.

Carefully removing his trousers and cloak, he folds then and places them in his backpack, replacing the loose backpack over his shoulders, he transforms. He easily slips back into the form of the animal inside him, a mighty lion. The massive beast weighing well over 550 pounds is an intimidating sight, though slightly less so due to the backpack on the back of the creature.

As he enters into the Leonin form he gains the senses of the predator. Including, the smell. The scent of other Lion not far off assaults his nose, as well as the smell of humans. Normally, Korin would let the humans be. Today though, he is truly feeling alive, and as always, when he feels this way, is in the mood for a little danger.

Moving swiftly and silently through the tall grass he quickly nears the scent of humans and beasts. Peering through the grass, Korin sees one human running from three lionesses, and another human down the road from him. He can smell the fear in both humans, though the one farther down the road doesn’t seem to be running. He was thinking about just watching the little engagement, but the sight of the one human bravely standing in front of three charging lions impresses the Kelvic.

As the first human run past Korin, he jumps in front of the three charging lions, and with a mighty roar, yells “Stop” in the tongue of the lions.
The lionesses skitter to a halt, pacing in front of Korin they growl, “That thing you just protected killed one of our cubs. Now get out of our way, this is not your territory.”

Korin looks back at the human he just saved, the one who was running the Kelvic does not care about, but the one who stayed to fight, that was the one who impressed him. Hmmm, if I let them kill the other human, they will probably also take down the other one. While, I have no desire to save a child killer, I want to protect the other one for some reason, Korin thinks to himself.

With a low threatening growl Korin says, “Get the leader of your pride then, these humans are part of my pride and I will not let you attack them.” With his hair bristling and his main flaring, Korin is an intimidating sight.

The lionesses growl menacingly, “We will be back, and we will kill you and your humans.” They quickly disappear into the grass.

Turning to the two humans, Korin shifts back into his human form. Addressing the one holding the sticks, he says in the common tongue, “We should get out of here quickly, the whole pride is coming back soon, and they mean business.” Shifting his gaze to the other human he says, “You really shouldn’t kill babies, it can make mothers angry, you are lucky the other one impressed me.”

[Alkor Korinado]

For some reason, the feeling of having predators chasing him made Alkor far too antsy to just stop when someone was addressing him. That and the fact that it sounded like they were roaring at him made him not feel like stopping at all. He was exasperated, hyperventilating as he finally found himself back on the beaten path.

Alkor wasn't exactly trained and ready to deal with wild animals. Especially not ones that hunt and kill to survive. True, his father and brother had taken him hunting when he was younger, but he was good for virtually nothing at that. Whether or not the others survived was none of his concern; Alkor knew one thing that they didn't.

You don't have to outrun whatever's chasing you. Just the person who's slower than you.

Tripping and stumbling over rocks in the path, Alkor fell forward and threw up his hands, just barely supporting himself and scratching up his fingertips, his palms protected by his uncle's gloves. In the terrified moment it took him to push himself back up, he looked back, only to see the newcomers interacting with the lions. One was rather intimidating and the other ready to fight, and he thought one was actually attempting to address him, though he was too far away to hear.

He was up and running quickly, though he could feel the wear already. If he was still being chased, it wouldn't be any fun for him... though the heat of fires blazing up nearby caused his skin to dance with sweat and anticipation. He was almost welcoming the idea of a challenge, though only because he saw opportunity in the distance.

With his second wind, albeit still quite tired and ready to pass out, Alkor sprinted toward the tree that screamed out safety to him, leaping out toward one of the branches and stubbing his toes as he clambered up it and sat down, gasping for air

Forget... the... others... dammit... I... want... to... live!

[Griffith]

Griffith watched in bewildered silence as a male lion with a backpack jumped past him, seeming to bar the path of the three oncoming lionesses. Was this one the pack's male? Was it coming in to claim the kills it might not be credited for otherwise? Was that how lions worked? Or was it only females that were supposed to do the hunting?

The young Benshira made no claims at having much knowledge on the subject of grassland pack animals, and he was entirely uncertain of what this intervention could mean. Judging from the reactions of the females, that of stopping and then growling, some display was occurring. The twenty-one year-old glanced back and forth between the two sides which spent at least a few seconds uttering guttural noises at one another.

Finally, the smaller lions backed off. In a nervous reaction, the Human shifted his grip on his escrima slightly, still fairly certain that death was looming upon him.

Then something happened. Something which Griffith was quite unprepared for. The large lion became engulfed in a bright glow, and when the shine faded, it had become bipedal and lost most of its fur. Scars had formed across the creature's body, and the facial structure was changed, rearranging itself into something Human. In fact, the only thing which remained the same were those long, deadly looking claws on the hands and feet. Those were still quite feline and big-cat worthy. Before him stood a nude man with only a backpack hanging very loosely off his shoulders.

The Benshira's head had tilted during the entire interaction between the lions. Now he looked between the man and the direction the lions had taken off in, brow furrowed and mouth slightly agape in consternation.

Living in Eyktol, Ahnatep, and then Riverfall meant that he had not encountered abundant numbers of Kelvic, and so having one morph unexpectedly was still a bit of a surprise. He didn't know much about Kelvics, either, besides that they could shape-shift, as had just been demonstrated.

But their lives were still under threat, if the Kelvic's words were any indication. Griffith recovered from his shock quickly, shaking his head furiously as he regained his focus. "Right," he said. "You're right. We should get moving. Kelvic, I assume?" he asked without expecting a reply to the rhetorical question.

He walked towards Ebrah, storing his weapon in an loop - which would come undone with a sharp tug - on the horse's saddle. He slipped his fingers through the horse's bridle, gently but firmly guiding it to turn, whereupon he spoke a muttered command and slapped the horse's hindquarter, sending the creature into a quick trot. Griffith took to running alongside the packhorse, only pausing long enough to make sure the Kelvic was following.

It was not long before they passed the tree into which the other Human had climbed, and the Benshira slowed his pace - and that of his horse's - to look up and address the man. "They're gone for now, but they'll be back. And in greater numbers. I suggest you get down from there and start running."

[Korin]

Without saying a word, the Kelvic keeps pace with the young human and his horse, till they reach the tree. After the the human who he just saved addresses the one in the tree, Korin cant help but chortle at the cowardly human.

"Hey, if you didn't know, lions can climb trees better then you can..., I would advise you get down and start running, they are after your blood." The Kelvic says, while looking up at the human. As he talks, a big grin splits his face, showing his razor sharp teeth.

[Alkor Korinado]

Without a tact reply, though Alkor had a few bubbling beneath the surface for these would-be professional lion fighters, he straightened himself up and threw his weight around in a twist, turning a 180 in the air as he plummeted toward the ground below. He tucked his legs into his chest and landed on all fours without much grace, looking around as if he weren't trusting the situation completely.

After a moment of consideration and the time it took to stand to his full height, albeit diminutive when compared with that of the others, he decided to bite back. Seemed appropriate.

Its almost as if I meant to kill the thing. I mean come on, it was pretty intimidating, considering I had no idea what it was. If anything, I'm a victim of circumstance here.

He didn't seem to care much about the prospect of the lions coming back, though he flinched whenever the grass shifted, and he could swear he heard them roaring off in the distance. It might have been his mind playing tricks on him, but he felt like it was best to get out of there while he still had a chance.

I come from a place that's nothing like this. I can't help not knowing the first thing about the natives. And if you couldn't tell, I'm not that physically strong, so fighting giant cats doesn't exactly work for me.

[Griffith]

Griffith shrugged, not particularly caring for any excuses proffered. None overrode the fact that he had been moments away from a world of agony - at best. And dying here would serve no purpose. It would mean... No, best not to dwell. They needed to get moving, and fast.

"Same," he told the other Human. "But the point is that we need to get moving, and quickly."

The Benshira turned back to Ebrah and ushered the horse into a trot heading down the path back to Riverfall, and he followed after at somewhere between a jog and a run, meaning to pace himself.

[Korin]

Looking at the little man who jumped from the tree, the lion like Kelvic smirked, and said to him, "Ignorance does not excuse you from your actions, especially with people defending themselves from you."

After speaking, he turns to trot after the human running next to the horse.

[Alkor Korinado]

Well you keep thinking that. Knowing things and being intimidating only gets you so far. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches. Discretion is the better part of valor.

Alkor didn't seem to have much to say to either of them. Condescension had little affect on the young man, after all he'd been so used to hearing what people had to say about him.

Well, if that's all you've got to say to me, we should get on our way. They're probably just coming back to invite us to a tea party, but I'd rather not take my chances.

He rolled his eyes quite blatantly, adjusting his belt as he sauntered past the others. He didn't really care if they kept up, but for now, he'd use what he knew about problem solving to get them out of this situation. They'd helped him, after all.

Obviously we need to stick to the path. Something tells me that we should head toward that...

He pointed toward some water off in the distance, inclining his head.

To cover our trail. Any objections?