A long patrol.[Open]

[Rage]

As Corvo moved in front of it, the large Yukman held up its arms to slash at the scout. But there was little power behind the blows and Corvo shrugged them off easily. His retaliatory strike, however, left a jagged hole in the beast's neck, stilling it at last. The Yukman fell forward though it remained upright in an awkward position, the shaft of Jakai's spear bracing it up. The creature's death seemed to have an adverse effect on the remaining Yukmen. They became hesitant in their approach now, giving Kreesha a wide berth as they attempted to harass Sheika and his shield-wielding partner. But they were an effective tandem, Jakai's defense was impenetrable while she created openings for the bone shaman to stab his wicked knife through. Soon enough, they were able to join the fang leader and Corvo, who made his way there much sooner. United into a single fighting force, backed up by the pair of archers behind them, it was the Myrians' turn to advance and woe befell the scattered Yukmen at their assault. Led by Kreesha - twice marked of Myri and bearing twin spinning balls of death - their small group crushed any and all of those Yukmen who still had the guts to attack them. The fight at that point did not last long. With their alpha dead, the few remaining Tupahi Yukmen turned tail and ran, and those moving too slow were cut down by the Myrians. Eventually, the morningstars stopped spinning and the blades were lowered as not a single Yuman remained. Not one standing at least. "Where. In Myri's name. Were. You. PEOPLE?!" Kreesha exploded at the three other Myrians. The three glanced guiltily at each other but they were saved from having to answer by the pitiful sounds coming from the piles of Yukmen bodies all around them. Some, it seemed, were not as thoroughly dispatched by Kreesha's weapons as she would have liked. Coldly, the woman stared at her subordinates. "Kill them," was all she said, before she stomped off towards the Yukman Corvo had slain, working out her pent up fury and remaining energy upon the lifeless carcass. The morningstars started their deadly spin once more and Jakai excused herself from the pair to placate their leader's anger...as well as retrieve her spear before Kreesha's wrath shivered it to pieces. By themselves again, Sheika and Corvo were left the task of finishing off the maimed and broken landspawn around them and, perhaps, search for the four missing scouts who failed to report the presence of the Yukmen in the first place.

[Corvo]

Corvo blinked in bewilderment. One would think that Kreisha would be relieved that the skirmish was over and that no one in the immediate area was dead or lethally wounded. Admittedly the scouts were probably incapacitated or worse but Corvo wasn't thinking about them. He was thinking about what Kreesha was going to do to his kill. He was hoping to take a piece of it as a trophy. He doubted that would be possible now. His stomach started to rumble as he made his way over to the pile of Yukmen bodies. Wonderful. He was hungry and fruitless. Maybe Sheika had some fruit on him? Probably not. He didn't seem like the fruit carrying type. Corvo let out a sigh as he started to kick over bodies that didn't look mangled or crushed enough. Dead,dead,alive,and stab. He repeated the process a good twenty or thirty times before he felt Kreisha would be satisfied if she felt the need to check herself just incase she felt she needed another reason to unload on him. His irritable mood from earlier had returned. He wanted fruit. He also wanted to leave the jungle and take a nap. Would any of this happen? He doubted it very much.

[Sheika]

Sheika and his Shield-wielding partner, who he had come to greatly respect for her strength and almost seeming gentle in contrast to the typical Myrian female, made their slow but steady way towards Kreesha as the remainder of the standing Yukmen were downed by the archers above them. There was, it appeared, no more dangers left at that moment. The Yukmen would most likely have scared off anything else in the area for several hours, so attacks from any other creature were unlikely. It was time to regroup. 'Kill them!' Kreesha's shrill harsh voice exploded through the air as he felt himself remembering just how dangerous it always was around her. He was ordered to finished off the remainder, the dying, the soon-to-expire. There was no risk to be left. If one was alive and wasn't dying, it could spell trouble. Oh, of course Sheika didn't believe that was Kreesha's immediate reasoning. She was pissed off, she wanted everything brutalized, mutilated, utterly and dishonorably destroyed. She was truly frightening. Sheika was too smart and cowardly to refuse her orders as well. Sheika's first step towards a groaning Yukman was followed by a giving out of his leg as he dropped to one knee. His leg burning, it was the reminder of just how deep the Yukman had managed to get him. The leg, though covered in blood, seemed to have stopped the bleeding itself, perhaps with the assistance of mud. He stood up again, this time pushing through the pain with a limp as he dropped on the back of the groaning Yukman. It was alive, but only so slightly that it could breathe and moan. It was not only destructive, but merciful to do this. Mercy, something the Myrian Witch Doctor never really was taught to have, but nature had given him regardless. His mother would not approve of compassion for your assailants. Delicately, Sheika took his steel dagger and drug it across the throat of the creature, ending its life in moments. Now it knows peace. Sheika did not stop there though. He pulled the body over onto its back so that he could see its chest. Again with his knife, he began to dig, peeling away flesh (or whatever it was) and slicing through the meat (or again, whatever it was). He wanted the ribcage of the monster. He didn't know why, didn't need to know why, he knew he would find something for it. However, he was no professional skinner, not even a decent one at that, but his goal was simply to extract the bones without damaging them. If he could manage that, he could leave this patrol with an inward grin and knowing he took something out of it. Slowly, carefully, and without much skill, he tried to peel away everything from the ribcage.

[Rage]

Sheika: Sheika's efforts paid off, but not without difficulty. It took him a while to carve open the dead beast for his knife would often run across hard stone embedded in the Yukman's flesh. But eventually he managed to cut a hole large enough to expose the chest cavity. After that, it was only a matter of picking which bone he wanted to extract. Fortunately for him, the creature was not one of those hit by the fang leader with her crushing weapons, and the ribcage was undamaged. Its still heart was whole as well, should Sheika decide to feast upon it or offer it the Goddess-Queen in honor of their victory over superior number of the enemy. -o- Corvo: Cleaning up was always drudging work, as Corvo soon found out. Those he killed hardly offered any resistance at all and would have soon expired even if left alone. But orders were orders, and with Kreesha in such a bad mood, it was never a good idea to go against them. The Myrian scout did not realize he was done until a hand grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around. It was Jakai, her fist help up before her. "All I could save," she said as she unclenched her fist and dumped its contents on Corvo's waiting hands. It was a set of fangs, all four of the alpha yukman's canines. There were still bits of gum and blood over them but they were whole and unmarred. "The heart is still in its cage if you wish to claim it, it is you who slayed the beast after all. But the brain has been turned to much by our fearless leader, I'm afraid." The woman offered him a pat on the shoulder before moving off towards the two archers, who were even now assisting one of their own who had just staggered into the clearing, all severely injured and weak from the loss of blood. It was one of the scouts, and he had news that he was the only one left from the two pairs sent ahead earlier. The others had been slain from the Tupahi Yukmen's ambush, and he would have died as well as he lay on the ground unconscious if Sheika and Corvo had not arrived. The presence of the two had distracted the pack, leaving the man to recover from his wounds - a fortunate things. The man reported all this to Kreesha as Jakai treated his wounds. Moderator Note : Guys, send me a PM if you still want to continue this thread or if you want this to be the conclusion. I'll proceed to awarding XP if you want this to be the end of the thread.

[Sheika]

Sheika, finally pleased with the exposed ribs of the beast, took the best, the biggest of them he could manage, and of course did his best not to break, shatter, or even crack the bone. It held more value unblemished as possible. Sheika did then notice the heart, the organ that was not punctured, not bashed in like the Yukman leader's brains, not blemished. He could steal that from the corpse with relative ease, and yes, Sheika would do just that. With rib and heart in hand, Sheika finally stood up again, the fiery pain in his thigh reminding him once more of the long journey home he had to make. Nevertheless, Myri be praised, they lived and were victorious. She deserved a large heart. OOCI'm good with finishing here.

[Rage]

GRANTING OF XP Corvo: Observation - 2xp Stealth - 2xp Running - 1xp Tactics - 2xp Conditioning - 1xp Weapon: Sword Gauntlet - 4xp Intimidation - 1xp Unarmed Combat - 1xp Climbing - 1xp Lores: Depression from fruit deprivation NPC: Kreesha NPC: Jakai Myrian animal cry: Distressed Fox Knowing when to keep your mouth shut Pain Tolerance Famous last words: Papayas are awesome Refusing to be Intimidated despite disparity in size Throat slitting Bragging rights: Killing an Alpha Tupahi Yukman Hamstringing Prowess (Myri's mark - partial): Effective team dynamics in fights Always wipe out the enemy Item: Set of the Alpha Tupahi Yukman's fangs (4 pieces) Contacts: Corvo is part of Kreesha's fang Sheika: Detection - 1xp Observation - 2xp Running - 2xp Acrobatics - 1xp Weapon: Dagger - 4xp Intimidation - 1xp Tactics - 2xp Wrestling - 1xp Skinning - 1xp Lore: Death of others for gain NPC: Kreesha NPC: Jakai Not leaving a mate behind Backstabbing a distracted enemy Tupahi Anatomy (Partial): Chest Cavity Battle Rage Prowess (Myri's mark - partial): Effective team dynamics in fights Throat slitting Always wipe out the enemy Items: Mother's Skull (Partial Ability): Grants the possessor of this item a small boost in speed when running to and from real danger (not perceived ones) A Tupahi Yukman's rib (undamaged) A Tupahi Yukman's heart Appearance: Scar on the right thigh inflicted by a Tupahi Yukman Contacts: Sheika may join Kreesha's Fang whenever it is underhanded (OOC: You may join any thread that has Kreesha or her fang in it even if you are not part of said thread, provided it does not conflict with your existing threads. Of course, be polite and ask permission from involved PCs first.) Notes: Excellent read! I love reading your characters in action.