Completed [Pavi Lake] Chasing The Salt Thief

[Jervis Hill]

Jervis had been walking back for a while now and knew he was close because he heard voices. They mustn't have had much luck either I guess Jervis thought, picking up his pace a slow jog. Soon he could make out the group's silhouette in the distance.

As he drew closer he noticed something was wrong. There was a large cat there and it seemed to be facing off with Kaie, he could recognize her because of the blade. Vanari appeared to be helping Ardea up.

Damn cat must have got the drop on them Jervis thought, getting worried. Having to do something quickly, Jervis charged head long at the beast hoping Kaie could keep it's focus long enough for him to grab it and give her a clean shot. Jervis didn't say a word just focused on the task at hand. Just as he was moving in to wrap his arms around it he shouted "Kaie Kill the beast while I hold the devil down for you."

[Vanari]

In all their time together, Vanari had rarely seen anyone directly attack her friend. And, even if they did, Ardea was far too experienced for them to do much damage, especially with her ability to blind any attackers with the bright lights of her transformations. Most of the time, it was Vanari that they had to worry about, being about as useful as a human-sized diversion in a real fight.

Even so, the Vantha choked with horror as Jervis attempted to grab Ardea, encouraging Kaie to fatally engage. Her mind spiraled into panic and she barely heard herself scream, "Stop, it's Ardea! Don't hurt her!"

The Kelvic had called her a fool on countless occasions, and perhaps she was right. Normally, Vanari simply let Ardea handle the dangerous bits on her own, since it would be a terrible nuisance if she got in the way of the tigress's enormous teeth or claws. But, seeing her friend outnumbered by such conspicuously competent fighters sent her rushing headlong into desperation, and she had her daggers in her hands before she could even think.

"Don't hurt her," the Vantha repeated with uncharacteristic anger, her hands steady as she raised the Tamo's before her.

[Jervis Hill]

"Stop, it's Ardea! Don't hurt her!" Jervis heard Vanari scream just as he was about to grab the cat.

"Don't hurt her," He heard Vanari continue angrily.

The news slammed him into as if an anvil had been dropped on his head, He slumped to his knees beside Ardea all pretenses of attack dismissed.

A beast walker. Right here on my first day in town. Was I too blind to notice. He thought to himself as his mind combed over his memories of his recent encounter with Ardea. No, She was so standoffish it would have been impossible to tell he quickly decided.

Jervis looked up at Vanari with his emerald green eyes and a puzzled look.
"But if the cat is Ardea why do they look like they about to fight?" He asked her quizzically

[Tessabelle]

"That would be because of me." Tessabelle told the man with the large arm. He was an isur, this would be the second time she seen one. The first time would be when she helped Edward pick out a sword to be handmade. They found an old man with a large arm who was very good at his job."Um, the Myrian attacked me." Tessabelle pointed." I think the kelvic heard my scream."

This had to be the worse night the Ethfael ever experienced. It was the first time she was ever attacked, the first time she's ever been scared of anything other than the laws of Syliras and the God Leth and the first time she started an uprising. Wait, that last one wasn't her. It was more of the savage Myrian's fault for attacking instead of talking. Tess' looks we're not deceiving either. She looked nothing like a theif or any thing bad. But it's also dark, that could've of been a problem too. Tessabelle.wouldn't know what she'd look like from behind in the dark."This pycon, who is it and what happened to him or her?" She asked looking straight at the Vantha.

[Vanari]

After an awkward moment or two, Vanari realized that people were asking her questions as she continued standing there, panting from the adrenaline, not answering any of them.

"Wha--Um, yes. Well, they're not about to fight. That's kind of what we're trying to establish here," she explained, snapping out of the panic-induced daze and looking first to Ardea, then to Kaie. It wasn't very clear if either warrior had accepted the idea, but at least they weren't at each other's throats.

Yet.

"The Pycon's name is Opala Rada," Vanari continued, turning now to the woman and her lovely horse. This stranger had said something about her Ethfael form--the Vantha had heard myths of such creatures, but knew next to nothing about their true natures. Well, lessons could wait. Rada could not.

"We're not entirely sure what happened to her; one minute we were convening at The White Swan inn, about to have an impromptu meal together, and the next some mysterious villain was stuffing her in a bag before it bolted out the door. We found traces of salt that it left behind, and figured our best bet was to come to the largest source of salt we knew of: Pavi Lake."

Vanari took a breath, looking around at their bizarre group and feeling a pang of sympathy for the Ethfael stranger. Certainly, if the Vantha had been the one yanked off a horse instead to be confronted by this crazy collection of individuals, she would be quite shaken up herself.

She let go of her breath, suddenly forgetting what she was about to say. "Ack. Well, um, I think that about sums it up...are you hungry? We have some food."

Vanari started opening up her little portion of picnic food, then stopped and decided to wait for the woman to answer first. Besides, she wouldn't want to be admonished by either Kelvic or Myrian for being over trusting. Again.

[/indent]

[Ardea]

A fearsome snarl curled her lips as Ardea's name graced the woman's lips. So she was sharper than she seemed, all the more infuriating. Any plans to conceal her identity dissolved, hastily replaced with more gruesome ones, namely those which involved this particular human's skull being caved in. What an appealing thought. Not that it mattered at this particular point, but the Kelvic could not pinpoint exactly what she loathed so much about Kaie. Perhaps it was her condescending nature or perhaps Ardea felt challenged by such a commanding presence, but whatever the reason, she had been presented with a prime opportunity to put the Myrian in her rightful place: beneath Ardea's claws.

The tigress' smouldering eyes never moved a millimetre from the Myrian's. A crackling, unstable tension hung over them like an ominous storm cloud and everyone else seemed to fade out around them, insignificant, unthreatening. At that moment, there was only a beast and her victim, but who was who? Instinctively, Ardea flattened herself against the ground, fury coursed through her veins, this would be settled. Tonight. Aim for the throat. However, before the feline could execute would would have been an undoubtedly bloody attack, something other than air placed itself in between her and the enemy.

Enraged, Ardea almost let out a yowl of protest, but stifled it to spare the Vantha's ears. Almost as swiftly as her glare had been broken, she repaired it, peering through Vanari's legs at Kaie. A simple intervention would not halt the tornado of hatred that wrecked havoc in the Kelvic's mind. If she had her way, and she would, then that Myrian would not escape unscathed. She was very vaguely aware of the conversation Vanari seemed to be having with the woman who had captured the lethal attention of Kaie only a few moments earlier, however the tigress' main priority was the Myrian, nothing else mattered.

The very moment Vanari's guard was down, Ardea would pelt past her and, with nothing to stop her, tackle the Myrian. Flawless. Although the thought was prominently sarcastic, the kelvic could not think of a better plan that wouldn't involve Vanari being harmed in any way. To put her friend in danger would be unthinkable. If anything positive could be said about the Kelvic, then it would be her unyielding fidelity, also known as stubbornness, in some cases. The full extent of her mind preoccupied with staring down Kaie through the Vantha's legs, Ardea did not notice Jervis' swift approach until he was much too close for comfort.

"Kaie Kill the beast while I hold the devil down for you."
The kelvic spun hastily around, focusing her attention on Jervis, allowing a surprised hiss to break free. Her hiss quickly turned into one of fury, he was too near for her to retreat and Ardea was just about ready to leap into a violent defence when Vanari's voice sounded behind her. The Isur stopped and so did the Kelvic. How dare he attempt to handle her! Ardea bared her teeth fiercely at the Isur, adrenaline surging into her muscles. Obviously, if I was an actual tigress, I would have attacked you by now. The thought came in answer to Jervis' question, but she quickly realised that he could not read her mind.

Rather reluctantly, Ardea caved into the persistent urge. Within a matter of seconds, she had shifted into a bright daze of whirring little lights and where an enormous feline once stood, was now a slender woman. Her feral form might have gone with the shift, but her fury had not. It did not matter at all to her that she now stood completely naked in the view of four strangers, no, the Isur had been about to pin this 'devil' down and that 'devil' was not at all pleased. Despite how vulnerable her porcelain-skinned human form was, Kaie had been temporarily forgotten. Now, with nothing to hide, Ardea produced a growl unfitting of such a lithe woman, her extraordinarily large canines on full display. Is this proof enough for you?!

[Kaie]

The Myrian hadn't moved a muscle the entire time Vanari tried to reason with the two killers. There was surely logic to her points, but with a tiger posed ready to pounce, letting down her guard would be foolish. She wasn't one to trust any easier than the Kelvic. Part of her wondered if it would've just been for the best to let them fight it out. See who came on top if anyone at all. It would indeed be a bloodbath but at least they'd eventually be able refocus on the task.

Kaie couldn't help but roll her eyes at the shell shocked woman. Goddess, she looked about do drop dead from sheer fright. The Myrian had never seen someone so dramatic. The more she watched the Ethaefal the more irritated she became. Who the hell wanders the woods alone without any defense? The Myrian almost eyed the Kelvic and nodded toward the blonde. It seemed that perhaps only the most feral two of the group were able to see a similar side of the coin in that respect. Survival was a key thing both were aware of. They were born to be masters of it. No longer did the foolishness of barbarians seem to blasphemous to her. More like natural selection.

Before Kaie had a chance to comment on the blonde's story, Jervis dashed from behind the Kelvic like a madman. The Myrian couldn't believe her eye when he reached for the tiger. It seemed obvious he had some sort of death wish. Of course it only made matters worse when he shouted for her to finish Ardea off. As inviting as the idea was, Kaie didn't even step forward. Actually she was deciding whether she should gut the Isur or the tiger first. Either Jervis was going to try to wound Ardea or she'd turn around and maul him. The situation was so backward Kaie had to fight the urge to laugh. That is until Vanari made it very clear there'd be no harming her friend.

Kaie raised a brow in amusement and awe at the little Vantha. Dagger out and everything, she seemed serious. Though Kaie doubted she had the will or the strength to drive steel to flesh, she respected her resolution all the same. And then the Ethaefal started explaining. Immediately Kaie's irritation skyrocketed again.

Oh so it's all my fault now?

Suddenly focus was shifted from the conversation at hand to the furious Kelvic. Growling and snarling in Jervis's direction. Just when the Myrian was sure she was about to tear him limb from limb she stopped. Within a moment she was covered in swirling lights until the copper headed woman appeared again. Though naked, Kaie's expression nor mindset changed. Her people [i[did[/i] run around in petching loincloths in the jungle. Nudity wasn't something that really made her uncomfortable. Besides, she'd had plenty of Kelvics appear before her and few ever had a change of cloths. This here was nothing new. One would've thought the sarcasm would've left at least.

"It's a shame really, Ardea. For a second you were almost something close to intimidating," Kaie teased while finally easing from her stance. She played with the gladius a bit in her hand, fighting a laugh from breaking free at the very sight of the Isur. Had that crazy bastard really just tried to manhandle a tiger?

"As far as the Pycon, I'm sure anyone we might've been onto is long gone now. Our little Ethaefal friend here has a lovely set of lungs on her. Isn't the rule of thumb usually not to scream when someone has a blade at your throat? Had our heroic little jungle cat been elsewhere, I wouldn't have thought twice about splitting you wide open for compromising us," The Myrian reasoned bitterly with her eyes back to the blonde. Worse than the unknown they had faced before, this uncertainty was far more dangerous. They were no longer blindly chasing an alleged thief in the woods. Now they were the ones who location was identified. With all the noise following the scream, no doubt anyone in the area knew they were there. That could mean two things. Either their target had long fled the area or they were about to be mercilessly ambushed. That would be assuming there were indeed people here of course.

"So. How do you propose we find our little clay friend now?"

[Jervis Hill]

Rage snapped across Jervis' face the Ardea roared at him, his furrowed brow giving his normally placid features a feral reptilian look. If you had not known of his friendly demeanor you'd be hard pressed to believe he had one. He was on his feet mid roar staring back at her with rage equal to her own from a low stance prepared for attack with his left arm facing Ardea.

Crush her throat, She's dares react like that when you where trying to protect Her and Vanari. She's just another bully who needs to be put down and no one is here to stop us this time, This time the bully has no one to save them when we tear out her throat. Jervis' dark side whispered in his mind's eye seductively wanting desperately to be left out after being trapped for so long by his light side's fierce will.

"Oi ..." Jervis started angrily, fighting to remain in control when interrupted by Ardea's sudden transformation. Jervis had always been an outcast so had never had much time around women of his species, None in fact as women never seemed to see him that way with his reputation. So seeing a woman, even a human one caused his jaw to drop and him to blush deep crimson.

Were all human girls so bold Jervis thought as he quickly turned around embarrassed to be staring at a naked maiden, He slid his cassock from his shoulder hastily and offered it behind himself towards Ardea in apology.

"Look Ardea I ... I'm really sorry, I ... I thought you or Vanari were injured. I'd never have attempted to grab or harm a woman otherwise, though I didn't exactly know you were a pretty girl at the time you see. Please forgive my impulsiveness, I am so, so sorry." Jervis blurted out hastily rubbing his spikey red hair with his free hand.

[Tessabelle]

"I don't know how you beast do it in the jungle, but A questions comes before an attacked." Tessabelle glared at the Myrian." But you're right I do look like a savage who would kidnap a pycon." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She ignored the Myrian who tried to make it seem like it was Tessabelle's fault. In her opinion it wasn't.


"No thank you." She shook her head and smiled softly at the vantha. At least there was someone kind in the group. She wanted to help in anyway. This pycon was obviously important, who just runs into a lodging and randomly snatches a small clay person. Did she do something, was there someone after her? Is she gonna be killed? Tessabelle highly doubt they could answer her questions. By the way everything looks there, no one had a clue."What's her history? Did she ever talk about an enemy or rival?"


Tessabelle leaned against a tree, waiting for a response. Syliras wasn't a common place for villians. Edward told her that. There wasn't an evil mind or villian that the knights didn't know about."Where are the knights?" This was a lot bigger than thievery. Someone's life is involved. There's all types of possibilities for this situation.

[Vanari]

Gods, there was so much tension. It seemed like nobody was happy with anybody right now, and that was just about the last thing their group needed.

"I don't know," Vanari admitted in answer to Kaie's question, trying her best to redirect their focus. "We could probably assume that this direction won't yield any answers, since our new acquaintance and her horse seemed to have travelled it without any disturbances. Plus, none of us seemed to have found anything on our own. Perhaps we should stay together from now on, as we've probably alerted the entire region of our presence at this point."

The group was silent for a moment, and it was unsettling how still everything suddenly became. The longer they stayed, the more unnatural she felt this place was; something was keeping them all on edge, and it wasn't just the mutual company.

Fwoosh! Vanari flinched as something darted past her face and slammed itself into a nearby tree, exploding in a shower of feathers. It had flown so close she swore she had felt its plumage brushing swiftly across her nose.

"What the petch was that?!" she hissed, eyeing the now lifeless pile of black feathers lying motionless between the tree's giant roots. Just then, something rustled the canopy above them and leaped off a branch, sending a rain of leaves flittering over their heads.

Vanari's head snapped up at the disturbance, but she was too late; the intruder was long gone and her human eyesight too inadequate to catch much more than a flapping cloak.

Frustrated, she picked up a stick and gingerly prodded the mystery carcass, making sure to stand as far back as possible in case it was some kind of trap. It seemed to be a very peculiar looking bird, with a large, lumpy head and rather small looking wings. Most peculiar of all, however, was the tiny pouch tied to its leg, its size able to hold nothing bigger than a pebble.

The Vantha hesitated, then stooped down to yank the pouch off, careful not to touch any part of the creature. She studied the knot for a moment, then shrugged and used her dagger to nick a hole on the bottom. Immediately, a steady trickle of salt poured through, creating a small, white pile on the ground beneath.

"More salt...?" Vanari looked at the tiny pile, confused, until her gaze swept in the direction the spy had escaped and noticed a trail of tiny, white specks glimmering under the luminous moonlight. It continued down the path, then made a distinct turn at a fork, heading right instead of left. She blinked, then the painfully obvious message dawned on her. "More salt!"