Closed They Who Hunt Monsters? (Kouri, Clyde, Zand)

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde waited for a few moments to hear the others responses to his offer. First the female he had met in the labs, whose name was escaping him, seemed alright with the arrangement. She continued on in some bent in regards to Kouri and Anna, but that seemed of little relevance. Next was Anna herself, or Wizard Marin as he had been told was proper to call her. She managed to correct him on his attempt at recovering the odd saying, which at the moment his mind had been unable to recall. "Without risk there is no reward." That had been what he had been trying to say, more likely than not. Clyde simply nodded as Anna corrected him, and thought it out once in his head... Yes, it certainly made more sense than what he had said... Clyde grinned back at Anna as she used his new alliteration prone title of Sir Sullins, and also agreed to his terms. He was of course a bit disappointed to hear there was not more info than its name and where it likely existed, but still it was better than nothing. With his luck in such things he'd probably walk right into a nest of them... Assuming they even had nests, which as Clyde thought to himself they might not. For all he knew they manifested upon the air from stray flower pollen fragments, and shot foot long snot icicles as projectiles. Of course, as this thought occurred to him it also occurred to him that such a situation was also not to likely. But better to be prepared for any eventuality, than to be caught off guard. And he found that few things could not be dealt with by a combination of magic, staff, and hammer. Finally was Kouri, the third female of the group... A further thought occurred to him just then, that Clyde was the only male of this expedition, all the others were female, or in Kouri's case female seeming. Did a ghost truly have a sex in the normal sense of things? A further thought also occurred to him. Though Clyde had been possessed by several different ghosts, at least three, he was fairly certain all of them had been female... A odd coincidence. As Kouri went on about the odd scorpion thing which was a threat to her, Clyde wondered what she was speaking off. He had not heard of such a thing, but then he did not doubt that many creatures lived on Sahova that he had yet to hear of. But a scorpion creature that could hurt a ghost? Odd... "Ah, Kouri, what is this of a scorpion creature? One that hunts ghosts? I've never heard of such a thing! Clyde was clearly deep in thought for a few moments, as he thought about Kouri's situation. After thinking on it, he quickly responded. If you'd like, you could borrow one of my hammers, I have extra, and I think a good smack from one could put a beast-y off the idea of coming at you... Well, assuming you can carry it. I've never seen all your ghostly skills, so I don't know what you as a ghost can do... But if you'd like, you can borrow one." When it came time to leave, Clyde would follow whomever took the lead. He did not know the testing grounds very well, and would likely get them lost, so he would happily let another person take charge of directing their charge into the prairie.

[Zandelia]

Her brow lowered as Annalisa spoke upon the creature that they were to hunt, a small lizard that was located in extremes of environment. A well worded phrase that was innocent enough to hear so simply put but even she knew enough of Sahova to believe that it was a sham of advertisement. Of course the mages here considered menial work above their station, were perhaps even allergic to it as far as she could discern but at the same time they didn’t just give up magical artefacts for free. The gold was perhaps unimportant to whomever had placed the notice for attention of the populace and she considered that viewpoint acceptable. Gold had little value to those whom could never spend it. It was clearly a task tailored to the visitors who could leave and use it elsewhere.

And that brings us to the other side of the equation – expendable. Visitors and Pulsers are expendable. So this is likely not as easy a task as it seems. Still…a lizard worth that much. Interesting and fun…after a fashion. I wonder why? What does it do and what is it capable of exactly? she mused.

It was knowledge that couldn’t be used really but knowledge all the same. She had entered into the agreement seeking nothing and so perhaps it was apt that information was all she would gain from this escapade. Of course, there were other considerations. An adventure put people in situations that they wouldn’t normally react to with a mask of well-crafted nature and so she could learn something of their companions. Clyde and Anna were high upon her list of those she wished to know more about. Perhaps she could use what she learnt, perhaps not. It was still interesting to her. This ghost though…this Kouri. She could have done without that involvement. The words slipped to her were innocent enough but they held a depth to them, the smile was all too gauged to her discomfort.

“No thank you, not right now. Perhaps later. Dying would be bad though” was all she responded with, trying for unity’s sake to stop any aggravation from rearing its head.

“I doubt they will be so easy to catch though or else they’d be trapped already. I suspect we can look forwards to something uniquely destructive. That’s how Sahova seems to work after all” she stated in response to the words from the others about the creature.

“You have hammers Sir Sullins? Why do you have hammers? And you’ve seen some of her skills?” she asked, wondering what he could possibly use them for and what he had seen.

This scorpion creature was another consideration she absorbed for a few moments, clearly interested but not entirely sure that it hadn’t been a joke at their expense. The words and tone were spoken honestly enough but still…something that could hurt a ghost? She wouldn’t put it past the islands but she tucked it away for future consideration. She doubted it would prove catchable and at any rate she had no ghostly enemies to fight – she hoped. Still she smiled as she spoke.

“Yes Anna, we will all protect her from these scorpions. I’d love to hear what they can do and who created them. Can’t see them being a natural creature,” she continued smoothly, “and what can a ghost do exactly?” she asked the little girl now with interest, it was good to know whether a companion could eviscerate her whenever they pleased after all and the knowledge was likely not well known – though she doubted she would learn it.

“Still, time is of the essence and I don’t fancy continuing into the dark hours. I propose Anna as the leader, she found the note first. Shall we?” she asked.

She hoped that giving leadership to Anna might at least save her from the clutches of the ghostly girl for a while. Difference and respect went a long way.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna frowned slightly at Kouri’s irritation with Zand and the slight threat directed towards the older woman, noting that if she didn’t nip that in the bud it would be an issue. Fortunately the sorceress had the means to ensure Kouri wouldn’t bother the spy over much for this little job at the very least. Clyde was apparently well enough liked by the ghostly child so as not to be targeted, however it was important to always keep in mind how fickle Kouri could be. She didn’t have many options in regards to Anna herself, but those around the sorceress could very well find themselves in danger considering Kouri’s regressed mentality and lack of moral grounding.

The sorceress lightly brushed the girl’s hair with her hand, an ill chill coursing down her spine at the contact with the girl. She needed to comfort her considering that soulmist creature certainly sounded like threat. Her fashion had changed a bit to emulate the tall woman, which pleased Anna very much so as it indicated a bit more acceptance from the child in regards to their bond. Of course Anna would need to keep working on Kouri, to try and breed affection in the place of acceptance. The ghost was her most valuable piece, one that could very well combat most beings in this life.

“Hush now, my girl. Any creature that tries to harm you will find themselves a stain on the ground soon enough. Also, Dasoma is a woman worth some respect. You mother is fond of her.” The sorceress whispered, leaning in to peck the girl lightly on the cheek.

The sorceress sent a slight smile to Clyde at his offer of a hammer to Kouri, knowing full well that might very well give her a bit of security. The other Chaon was a smart man by all means and clearly displayed a bit of experience with ghosts, considering his knowledge of Kouri and her daughter’s earlier words. How much was yet to be determined but as long as he was on the same side as Anna herself the tall woman was fine with his dealings with her daughter. So far the pair appeared to have some understanding between them, shaky perhaps but it was there nonetheless.

Next Anna turned her notice to the other woman in the group, raising an eyebrow at the comprehensive questions. Dasoma was always so very good at asking the right questions, so very organized and attempted to be in control most of the time. Anna smirked as her nomination of leadership, it made logical sense given she had explored Sahova a bit more than the others here. Already she started thinking over exactly how to handle this, likely Kouri could serve as a form of scout. She was mobile and could travel faster without those bound to shells of flesh to weigh her down.

“If you insist, Dasoma, though words does not a leader make. In any event, the Prairie seems a good starting point as one does not get more extreme environments than that.” Anna said with a nod, turning her attention back to her daughter.

“Kouri, I want you to go ahead of us. Sweep as much of the Prairie as you can, if you find any of these lizards or a lack thereof we’ll linger on the outskirts closest to the Citadel. Return when you have news of either their presence in the Prairie or not.” The tall woman said, the wording very much phrased as an order to the young child.

Provided Kouri would head out the sorceress would turn her attention to her two other companions, jerking her head slightly towards the exit to the Vestibule. The great entrance hall of Sahova would give way into the world beyond, ancient stairs leading downwards and giving way to a dirt path that led to the Harbor. The sorceress would walk down the steps and onto the well-traveled path, which was rocky and lined with trees. After a little ways Anna would diverge from the path itself and head into the forested area.

“Past these woods is the Prairie, keep an eye out for the creatures we are looking for. I’d watch your step as well; some nasty failbeasts can come up from the ground. The Alchemists do so love dumping their experiments out here.” Anna said, her tone laced with a bit of bitterness and a slight pang of sympathy for the Wardens and their Initiates.

“This is also the domain of Warden Riyanna Sterder. If we encounter her I’d suggest giving her the same degree of respect you would a Master in their lab.” Anna said, ducking under a branch and brushing a few leaves out of her hair.

After a bit of walking they would eventually find the forests fade out into an almost desert like terrain, a massive flatland opening up before them. The Prairie was easily the largest bit of land in Sahova, expansive and rather necessary for highly destructive tests. Anna was familiar with most parts of the Testing Grounds, most intimately the Prairie and Forest of Thorns. The sorceress was secretly hoping not to encounter the Warden of this land, she and her mistress had seemed rather frosty towards each other last time.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Kouri's large crimson eyes widened slightly when Clyde inquired her about the giant-scorpion-cobra-thing that almost ate her, she didn't want to discuss about the creature, but she supposed she must since they would be traveling together and these three humans were her only hope of defeating that ghost-hunter creature, "Uhm... It's big," Kouri gestured with her hands, like a child trying to explain something visually, "White, mist around its body, it also has uh... snake for a tail, it can uhm... launch something from its tail, w-which uh..." Kouri struggled, she pondered a proper Common word before continuing, "incapa... incapacitate me, yes. I can't move after it shot me." She sincerely hoped the explanation was enough.

She noted about his offer then nodded, "Okay! I'd love to, thank you!" Then Kouri excitedly formed her words, she loved to explain about her powers, but she lacked the proper Common words to describe them, "I can uh... grab things, use my daggers, I can also stab and slash with my tendrils, also, I can freeze things with my body and uhm... I can go inside someone, among other things." There were other stuffs she could so such as floating, dashing, phasing through walls, and blinking, but she didn't want to bore Clyde with unnecessary informations, he was a Mage and Spiritist, he should know about her kind.

The ghost girl's eyes perked, ever since she met Clyde a few chimes ago, she sensed... something in him, or to be specific, with him. One of his possession, Kouri drew an unneeded breath then held it as her eyes raked Clyde's form, then they homed in on the elegant staff that Clyde carried with him, "Uhm, Sir Sullins," she raised her right index finger as she pointed at his magecrafted staff, "What is that staff? I uh..." She wasn't sure at first, but she felt it now, she felt herself in that staff, like a literal piece of her was somewhere within the object, "I can feel 'myself' in it, for a lack of better words..." Curse her lack of Common, she would ask her mother to teach the universal language later. She needed more fluency if she wanted to stop sounding awkward amidst these fluent speakers.

Kouri turned her attention at the blonde-haired one-eyed woman, whose she was oddly jealous of for 'robbing' Anna's affections. The ghost girl gave a mock disappointed look at Zandelia, in the back of her mind though, she began to respect this woman, she had guts and courage, to look her in the eye without a noticeable flinch. Most common men would usually do so when they gazed into her translucent crimson eyes, but this was Sahova, no one could be called 'common' here.

She gave a surprised expression then a sincere smile when Zand spoke her concern for Kouri's well-being though, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense, if Zand liked her mother, then she would like her daughter as well, "Ehehe~ T-thank you, Madame..." She sheepishly giggled as Kouri swayed her body from side to side, she felt bad for teasing Dasoma before. "Uhm, my friend Celeste, one of the Wardens, told me they are failed experiments though, living weapons made by the Wizards." If they were going to protect her from the scorpion horror then by Morwen, she would tell everything she knew about them. She skipped Dasoma's next question about what a ghost could do, assuming her previous answer to Clyde would satisfy the blond woman.

Her mother would lead this expedition, of course she would, Anna was powerful, she haven't witnessed Clyde or Dasoma's extent of powers yet so in her child-like mind, Anna was the most capable to lead the group. "Mmm.." Te ghost girl unwittingly cooed in comfort when Anna brushed her alabaster locks, her form immediately absorbing the human's warmth, it assured her so much that these three would protect her, all semblance of fear left her mind, "Okay, Mommy..." Kouri leaned her head at Anna's body, letting the woman brush her long hair more, her answer was both to confirm Anna's promise and request to accept Dasoma, if her mother wished her to respect the woman, then she would do so, now that Dasoma proposed concern for her, Kouri found it easy to respect the one-eyed female. Kouri simply smiled at her mother as the human kissed her.

"Hn?" Kouri raised her head as Anna gave her a task of finding these lizards, Kouri had no idea about how they looked like visually, but she would know when she saw them... maybe, should be enough assumption... hopefully, "Okay, mommy!" With a cheerful nod, she disappeared from the group, appearing a short distance to the front in an instant, then began flying towards the Prairie.

.........

.....

...

As she arrived in the Prairie, the ghost girl would fidget with her hair for a bit, wondering on where she could go first and hoping no scorpion-cobra would show up, after figuratively gulping, she floated off, her crimson eyes searching left and right, in search of anything unique. The more she searched, the more she realized on how poor-planned the order was, but... an order was an order, the Grand Oath deemed her unable to refuse even if she begged for it. So there she was, a young phantom girl, floating in the barren land, searching for the unknown.

OOCI think I'll let you guys decide on when to PM Mirage about whether Kouri would encounter a Rankar or two in her next post.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde's head was abuzz with conversation. To much conversation. With all of the people speaking at once, to each other, some to him, crossing words into a confusing mix, Clyde could feel his breathing pick up a bit. This was one of the reasons Clyde preferred to work alone, or only with one or two people. Each additional person added to the complexity of the encounter. And with a third additional person beyond himself, it had changed into a much more difficult situation. As it was he tried to keep track of the multiple conversations and all that was said, but decided against it. It would be far to much trouble. Instead, he would just focus on the things that directly involved him, that directly related to him. Anything more would just be to much trouble. If he broke up each bit of conversation as it invovled him, and responded person to person, it would almost be like he was just listening to one person at a time. Assuming two people did not talk specifically to him at the same time. --- “You have hammers Sir Sullins? Why do you have hammers? And you’ve seen some of her skills?” Clyde nodded at her question of him having hammers, lady so and so with one eye who's name escaped him once more. Of course she had seemed a bit... Evasive and shifty... So perhaps she was of the type to not truly trust. Odd though that Clyde trusted Anna more than this one eyed lady who was not a chaon. “Ah, well in my line of work, I do use hammers. I suppose partly due to that, I decided to wield as a weapon a hammer for fighting.” Of course in this regard when he mentioned using hammers Clyde meant for his Magecrafting. MCing hammers were a common tool used in that world magic. Anna would likely pick up on this reference, but unless the one eyed lady knew of Magecrafting his words would likely clear up little. “Also, I find smacking someone or something with a hammer uniformly has a similar reaction. As opposed to say a sword or some such thing, which requires a bit more finesse and forethought and positioning and aiming. And generally when my foes get close enough that I need to use my hammer, I have little time for such things as finesse or forethought. Usually by then I have little time more than to wail away at any part of them within reach. Besides, I have... Other capacities, which are better suited at other distances.” This time Clyde referred to his Reimancy, since it was a thing he fought with much more commonly than staff or hammer. But of course, neither of these two had seen Clyde use his Reimancy to his full extent and ability. In fact, he was unsure for sure if Anna had even seen him use Reimancy. The one eyed lady had, since he had used it directly on her but... But Anna he believed knew nothing of his Reimancy. --- Clyde did not object to Anna taking the lead. In this case she knew more of the surroundings, of the lands and such, and so if nothing else would serve better as a navigator. He also had learned that part of being a good leader was being able to be led. And by watching other people lead and take charge, one could also note things they did as working well or poorly, and then in turn use those good things when later one was in charge. So really, following another leader was nearly as useful in becoming a better leader as leading in and of itself. Not quite, but almost. “Past these woods is the Prairie, keep an eye out for the creatures we are looking for. I’d watch your step as well; some nasty failbeasts can come up from the ground. The Alchemists do so love dumping their experiments out here.” “This is also the domain of Warden Riyanna Sterder. If we encounter her I’d suggest giving her the same degree of respect you would a Master in their lab.” --- Finally was Kouri, speaking in a manner far different than the other two. It seemed far more conversational, and also seemed far easier to Clyde to respond to. Her odd wording did not bother him. Instead he simply cut to the meat of what she said, and focused on the specifics. "Uhm... It's big, white, mist around its body, it also has uh... snake for a tail, it can uhm... launch something from its tail, w-which uh... incapa... incapacitate me, yes. I can't move after it shot me." Clyde listened to her explanation, and nodded. By its description, it seemed like a beast that to a degree naturally produced or manifested soulmist... Which made sense of how it could harm or interact with a ghost. He was less sure about the thing it shot that stabbed into a ghost and made them unable to move. Perhaps this was some higher level spiritism type technique he had yet to hear of? That would make sense. His scholarly experience in spiritism had been limited to the study of soulmist. The rest had been gained by trial and error. "Okay! I'd love to, thank you! I can uh... grab things, use my daggers, I can also stab and slash with my tendrils, also, I can freeze things with my body and uhm... I can go inside someone, among other things." Since Kouri said she did want to use one of his hammers, Clyde turned about for a moment till he got a hand inside of his pack, and rooted around for a few ticks. After a small chunk of time he extricated his hand, now holding a light hammer in his hand, a small simple sledge good for smashing or tossing. He supposed that meant that to a degree it was aerodynamically sound. Or something akin to that. Offering the hammer to her, he would lend it to her for their journey, giving her one more tool for her ghostly quiver. “Here you go. Its a simple weapon really, just use this flat metal sledge-ey end to smash stuff, and hold it by the handle here. I find a bit of blunt forth can put a good dent into something that often a blade would simply skate off. Just don't go losing it.” The weapon offered to Kouri, Clyde was surprised to hear her next question, this time asking of his staff. "Uhm, Sir Sullins, what is that staff? I uh... I can feel 'myself' in it, for a lack of better words..." Clyde smiled and nodded as she referred to the staff in his hand, the one she had assisted in. “This, ah yes well if you will recall I asked you for a bit of your soulmist the last we met, for an experiment I was trying. Well, this staff is what it was for. Cha is the staffs proper name. It means blue in ancient tongue. Which is rather fitting, seeing as its well... Blue... That's because its of Vian Wood.” Clyde paused for a moment, recalling back to Mura and the Konti he had met who had assisted him in finding the wood. “Anyways, since I used a bit of your soulmist in the enchantment of this staff, it is now endowed with a element of ghostliness. Which means it can touch and interact with ghosts. For instance if I so chose I could poke you in the belly with it, without doing anything to prepare it beforehand, and it would thus be able to interact with and successfully poke you in the belly. Interesting isn't it? Thanks once more for that gift of soulmist, so that I could test this out on this staff.”

[Zandelia]

There was a small snort in response the words, not out of scorn but out of amusement. Considering the group in question it seemed there were no other choices but for Anna to lead them. One wasn’t even alive, and the other she wasn’t sure of in terms of rank. As for herself she was a Pulser, a pointless creature in the city and whether she had experience in the ability to sneak and fight she held no magic that was useful to a grand degree as Anna possessed. Not to mention that she was a Wizard, she had the ring and the respect too. That made her the leader, even if were for the sake of convenience in terms of getting through the portions of the island and the Citadel smoothly. She shrugged in response.

“A leader is made by the ones who follow, I follow. If another wishes to step forwards then I will let you put them in their place” she stated, the faint flicker of a smile, “you have the magic and magic is the currency here apparently. So…leader” she would like to see the one whom tried to take anything from the other woman - she was both adept and fiery when prompted.

“You are welcome I wou-” she began but the ghostly girl slipped away, faster than any wind that she had ever seen, flitting and shifting her gaze lost track quickly and she shook her head.

“An obedient daughter? What is the world coming to? Who is this Celeste?” she asked Anna curiously as they began the walk towards these Prairies.

***

It was a shorter walks than she expected and she took the time to study both her companions and the environment around her. The two were both impressive in their own ways. Anna, of course, she knew more and far more intimately. The other woman held much back but she had experienced various moments of closeness and points for concern that she had tried to aid her with. Their relationship was still inextricably linked to their desires, more carnal than anything else but building towards a firm friendship - if either of them could be considered to possess friends.

The other she owed, favors three and a debt of respect for what tuition and learning had been granted. He had taught her scant of what he truly knew she suspected but anything had been a gift and as such she respected that. The strangeness that the two she would be upon this little jaunt with were the ones she had met previously was not lost upon her.

The environment, however, she had not seen before. Barren it was and there were few organic components to the landscape. Flat, scarred from what she could only assume were magical attacks - experiments perhaps though she was fearful of what things could cause the glassy shimmering across some of the ridges and furrows. Gaze flickered here and there and found little to make her feel easier about this expedition. Oh the curiosity and the call for adventure was strong and pulsing but there was always the ever-present knowledge that death could be possible.

“Well…this is delightful. Where do we start? Should we fan out? Or stick together?” she asked the question simply.

“Or, do we attempt a lure? Do we know anything magical that could attract them? You are both talented after all. Get them within my reach and I’ll be able to snare a few out of the air I’m sure”

She pulled the tonfa from her hip and swung them lazily, fingers and wrists getting the feel for the movement in a warm up. Nothing fancy was in the movement, merely a small selection of movements in order to get the blood pumping and the muscles warmed.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna was pleased that there was no immediate dissention towards her being elected as the leader of this little group, though she actually had very little idea of what she was looking for. The description was vague and she was only upon the Prairie as it was one of the more extreme environments upon the island, barring the Heartlands. A slight shudder ran down the sorceress’ spine, she had no desire to enter the feared and secret place again. So the vast expanse of the Prairie was their best bet, at least in her opinion as she knew the island rather well given her time upon it.

The sorceress turned her head ever so towards Zand, her eyes growing a bit distant and somewhat cold in the question regarding Celeste. The girl that had followed her into the depths of the darkest pit upon Sahova, the sorceress still had no idea what happened to her. In all honesty, Anna really did not want to know what horrid fate had befallen the young warden initiate. The tall woman had enough nightmares about how she had abandoned her, always the same with the girl staring at her in pain. Her form twisted and shifted, rending Anna’s flesh from her bones. Nightmares, they were all she had.

“Celeste… is no one you need concern yourself with, Dasoma. An old associate. Nothing more.” Anna said simply, her tone indicating that she considered the matter closed.

The tall woman pondered over their next move, her gaze turning from Clyde to Dasoma as she pondered how to turn their own abilities to service the mission. Clyde was a powerful Glypher and Magecrafter, but he did not seem to be the type to track the whereabouts of creatures. Dasoma was a little better suited for that role but one tracker among the group did not a search party make. As for herself, the sorceress was much the same as Clyde only she had Reimancy and more sophisticated Voiding at her disposal as well.

Then it hit her, both Clyde and Dasoma were Aurists. Anna knew a little about the art; however what she did know was that the sight allowed one to better view the world with a form of magical sight. Perhaps that could help to track their prey, if nothing else it was far better than just sifting through every rock until they or Kouri found one of the little creatures. Any edge they could get on this search was something to employ in full to their advantage. Of course, it would result in draining upon her companion’s Djed but it was the best idea she had at the moment.

“You both are Aurists yes? Perhaps your sight can grant better use in finding these creatures than our normal eyes might? After all, they could very well have the ability to burrow underground, though I am unsure if Auristics can see through things. In any event I suggest spreading out a little bit, do not stray overly far however. At least within seeing distance, it would not do for us to get separated in the Testing Grounds.” The tall woman said.

Whether they thought that was a good idea or not was up to them, she suspected Dasoma might be more comfortable with the idea than Clyde. Clyde seemed to be a rather conservative wizard, the type to use personal magic only when necessary unlike Anna who tended to flaunt her abilities ever so slightly to breed a bit of intimidation. It was a habit she was attempting to curb, but magic was rather like a drug in its addictive nature.

[Fubuki Kouri]

As the chimes passed, Kouri was getting bored... very bored, in fact, the initial excitement of flying through the Prairie in search of an unknown creature died down, making way for frustration and boredom, "...*Sigh*..." The ghost girl stopped as she let out a long haunting sigh, her voice carrying the echoing ghostly nature. She could hear the distant howls and scuffles of creatures around her, but Kouri not one of them was the creature she was looking for.

Idly, the ghost girl examined the hammer that Sir Sullins gave her, it looked to be an ordinary hammer... or at least it was so as far as Kouri could see, she was no mage, not directly, if there was something odd or magical about the hammer, Kouri forgot to ask. In her boredom, Kouri floated towards the ground then sat on a particular spot, using a soulmist tendril to twirl the hammer and played with it, tapping the barren Prairie ground with it.

Then, something caught her attention at the corner of her crimson eyes, like an owl, Kouri swiveled her head towards the general direction, a... small creature was burrowing out of the ground, she squinted her eyes, it looked to be a small lizard or some kind, with scales and dirt-like quality on its body, similar to the ground it just burrowed out of. What is it? The ghost girl asked curious in her mind, true to her curious nature, Kouri forgot about her current task as she raised her left hand then launched a swift tendril to wrap around the lizard's body, she caught it easily enough to her masterful projection, the creature squirmed as it desperately trying to wrench away the ethereal tendril coiling around its body.

Kouri then pulled the lizard to her hands, still holding it with her tendril, examining it with her crimson eyes, the creature was moving oddly, as if it was trying to dig into her tendril, but of course, it merely passed through her as Kouri didn't materialize herself, its claws scratching at thin air. "Hey..." The thing looked... cute, an adorable giggle escaped her lips as Kouri kept examining it...

So entranced by her task, Kouri didn't realize she was gradually surrounded by more of these creatures, more and more, and the lizard's brethren all examined the white phantom with caution, feeling threatened at the sight of their brethren being captured.

OOCI'm going to PM Mirage now.

If there is something I need to change, just PM.

[Clyde Sullins]

Soon enough their treck carried them onwards, into a much more barren and desolate part of the undead isle. Clyde fell in and out of attention, focusing not on all the words, but instead more on the salient points of the conversation. He listened to the other woman's ideas, her tactics if they could be called that. He supposed since he was not leading it was not up to him, but he could not help but think over the various options she worded. Fanning out or sticking together was simple enough, since spreading out made them vulnerable. Strength was in numbers, and while it might make it easier to catch them if they spread out, it would also make them weaker should they find their prey. Along with that the idea of a lure was funny, since they did not know what the creatures were attracted to... So what could they even use as a lure? As for using magic to attract them... This simply made Clyde wonder how much the woman knew of magic. Apparently not as much as he had supposed if she thought they could just lure them out with some unmentioned magic that just so happened to allow one to call out and attract unknown beasts. Clyde doubted such a magic existed. But still, it was useful to run through the tactics, and think out logically how each might conclude, and which was of most use in their situation. Even if in the end it was Anna's choice. Having listened to the other woman's ideas though, finally Anna offered a idea of her own. “You both are Aurists yes? Perhaps your sight can grant better use in finding these creatures than our normal eyes might? After all, they could very well have the ability to burrow underground, though I am unsure if Auristics can see through things. In any event I suggest spreading out a little bit, do not stray overly far however. At least within seeing distance, it would not do for us to get separated in the Testing Grounds.” Some of what she said made sense. Stay close, but spread out a bit so as to allow them to search over a wider area. Close enough to come to each others aid, but far enough away to increase their search pattern... It seemed a good middle ground. However her idea of searching via Auristics... That seemed a bad idea. So his response to her proposal would not come to surprise Anna. “Perhaps we could detect something if their is a creature alive about, but telling it is the thing we are looking for would be far trickier. Aurists can see through things, but we can only look so far, and we can only focus so much. Trying to spread out ones sight to vaguely look for something about does not seem like it would be successful, unless one is looking for something with a large and easily noticeable Aura.” “Plus since I am carrying about two Magecrafted items, along with our three living human aura's, I think we might overpower any small creature. There would be far to many distractions for us to find such a creature with Auristics, particularly if it is not close to hand.” Having summarized the reasons why searching with Auristics was a bad idea, Clyde let out a sigh. They were better off searching mundanely, particularly since they were not quite sure what they searched for. Clyde did not specify what these two Magecrafted items were, though Anna would know about his staff being a work of Magecrafting. He was fairly certain she did not know his robes were also enchanted with Magecrafting, and it did not cross his mind to explain himself. He did not think the other woman knew about either of his items.

[Zandelia]

She had been expecting the suggestion if truth be told, it made sense for them to use what tools were available to them in their seeking and Auristics was as good a toll as any if a bit limited with what she knew - she was far from powerful in it she suspected. It was with a small tilt of the head and the folding away within of the information that Clyde could use the magic also that the conversation suddenly interested her no end. She reflected that it made sense, he had sensed her use it and so logically he would possess the magic himself. She had assumed it was some other ability before but now the information slotted nicely alongside her experience of the man - something that always gave her a slight frisson. She liked the puzzle games people were after all.

Still Clyde’s counsel was wise and suggestive that they would find little success with its use, she had no reason to doubt him but had always been a creature of her own making. Even if she failed she did not consider that it would be a total loss, she would still perhaps learn something more in her quest to develop her talents and that was worth the effort. She was not reckless, not anymore, she would be careful and hopefully clever enough to avoid any serious consequences. Though it did always leave her tired and lethargic. Still, it was worth a little try. If it proved fruitless she would stop quick enough.

“Well couldn’t hurt to try at least,” she echoed her thoughts with the words, “if we fail we fail. In any case spreading out seems to be the best way to canvas as much ground as possible and within visible range we can alert each other easily if we find them”

“As to trapping, well I’m sure you can make a box with your own talents Anna, I’ve seen you do enough with it to make that seem relatively simple. Well…soonest started quickest finished. I’ll take the area to our right I think. Matches my eye” she gave a grim smile before turning to begin her seeking campaign.

It wouldn’t be overly difficult to see anything move she thought, even if it were relatively small. Nothing seemed to live here, at least nothing normal. All scorched earth and barren ridges and furrows. Still she kept up her end of the bargain and swept her gaze around in wide, careful arcs as she twisted her head to get the full visual range afforded to those with two eyes. It hurt her neck occasionally but then life was pain, it told her she was alive still at least. She span her tonfa loosely, idly almost, as she stepped carefully. She placed each foot in front of the other as she walked a large circle around the perimeter of how far she could wisely go whilst still seeing the others whenever she turned her gaze back towards them. It was not overly taxing, if it still made her eye ache slightly with the intense focus. She tilted her head and paused, listening carefully for any movement and hearing nothing but the soft sighing of what breeze there was.

She sighed herself and made the decision - a small try of Auristics would at least exercise her mind and focus her concentration further for anything she might have missed. She pulled at the inner channels, slipping the energies into her eye and closed it for a moment as she centered herself with a deep breath. She brought her tonfa up before her and opened her eye - focusing just upon the weapons fro now. A small, unchanging sheen of dark grey coated them and seemed to match their material state - nothing out of the ordinary. She shifted her gaze to her feet and then, keeping as narrow a focus as she could, turned and slowly expanded her sense in a small spiral about her….nothing. She let t go slowly and snorted to herself.

Trust a damned wizard to be right. Always right it seems she noted bitterly, at least when it came to magical arts. It made sense at least. Even if her presence on Sahova was beginning to make less sense by the day.

She returned to her normal searching now, going back and forth in a meandering route that covered as much ground as possible. She even stopped to crouch and put and ear to the ground experimentally here and there to see if she could hear any signs of this potential burrowing. She found little but dry dust and arid air to fill her lungs. She coughed as she inhaled some of the aforementioned and a small creature was disturbed, flickering away. She frowned and followed it, in case it led her to any other life. It was heading back the way she had come, towards the others and she thought for all the world that it matched the description given.

“Might have found one,” she raised her voice so that it could be heard and continued to track it until it seemed to join up with a few others and they were…scattered around but seemed to try to band together, "or a few!"