As a hunter stalks... (Somewhat mature)

[Ashen Rain]

~(This is mature in the way of bloody stuff... Not really much anything else. So basically, if you don't like blood, or references to something gory, you've been warned.)~

Under the chill blanket of night, the village of Sol'Arten fell into a quiet slumber. Many years ago, when this same village was founded, only those of the normal human race were considered welcome. Anyone else who looked even remotely different were chased away. Those too who had powers beyond that of a normal human met a similar fate.

It was somewhat ironic that the title 'Arten' was an old tongue for the word 'Welcome'.

As times grew, many new things shaped and evolved. In those new times, the normal people of Arten (As the village had once been named) soon fell to the fate of the new beasts the the world had brought forth. Being normal, many a person was killed in an attempt to destroy beasts such as this, without ever realizing that perhaps normal was not always good enough.

It was meant that an event one day would happen, and someone who was not normal- who was special- would save them. Soon after that event, the village received it's new name- Sol'Arten, which in the old tongue meant 'All Welcome'.

Though the village was now re-named, the normal people soon fell into their old ways. Different races were indeed now welcome, but the thought of special powers- witch craft as many deemed it, though this was often not the case- still frightened those unwilling to adapt. Some were accepting of the special people, while others wanted to continue life in their normal village, only calling upon the special ones when they were so needed.

To curb this problem and keep from having an all out war, someone founded the Hunters Guild- an inn and tavern where many a special person could visit for a long while without being ridiculed.

And it was to be that in this Guild the Banded Hunters flourished. It was the closest village to their natural home, and the place where they could most often find a task that they loved to perform.

Hunt.

Years passed though, and in present times only one Banded hunter was still known to exist. After the disappearance of her parents and her brother, this huntress was alone.

And alone was the way she came as she headed toward Sol'Arten, led in the darkness only by the light glimmering from within a jar of glow bugs that she carried.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Ashen tilted her head back slightly, looking in the direction of the silent town. No one was out this late generally, because so many rabid beasts were of the nocturnal sort. The bloody smears on her clothes were a clear sign that she had already dealt with a few of them.

Turning her gaze, she smiled faintly at the glow bugs in the jar she held. Such bright little creatures in the dark, giving off a brilliant shade of blue.

As she neared the village, she placed the jar down on the ground and lifted the lid. All at once the blinking blue creatures escaped into the dim sky, illuminating Ashen's outline like tiny earth bound comets.

She continued on into the village, passed closed up shops and homes, wondering how many looks she would have gotten had it been day time. Generally the towns people that had a problem with 'special' people wouldn't pay you any mind as long as you kept moving or were buying something from them- but to window shop wasn't the smartest thing when one knew that they were not wanted for too long.

Finally she came upon it- the lit windows of the Hunters Guild. She smiled, knowing that many a person within would still be up this night, resting, feasting, and taking petitions. The latter of the three was what Ashen was here for tonight.

As she pushed open the door, many 'hunters' (those that were still awake and not too drunk) greeted her in a friendly manner- something she wouldn't have found out in the busy streets at day. She laughed and returned welcomes before heading up to the petition board. Some nights she would sit and chat with the other special folk here, but they could tell she was busy tonight, so after the initial hellos, they returned to their meals and drinks.

Though Ashen seemed cheery on the outside, inside she was very deep in concentration. She had been pondering the whereabouts of her family again (if they were still even alive), and recently she had come up with no leads. She was here tonight for one thing- to find a hunt difficult enough to get her mind off of it. Or to get her killed. Whichever came first.

She traced her fingers along the many sketched pictures of monsters, along with their information letters- until one in particular caught her eye.

A worn poster with a rat like creature on it sat off to one corner of the poster board. Coming from it's nose were quite a few odd looking tentacles.

"You'll not want to take that one on," another hunter shouted from across the room. His words were slowed with his drink, but he still appeared to know what he was talking about. "It's a squid tapir. We've already lost three good hunters on that one. And a few good hunters have already lost an arm or two."

Without looking back at the man, Ashen gave a small smirk and pulled the picture down from the wall. "That sounds fine to me." She glanced over the letter for a moment. Squid tapir, of course, and not all that common an animal around these parts. It seemed to be bothering a farmer by eating his crops- and occasionally his scare crow- at night.

Chuckling softly, the auburn haired hunter headed over to the main counter, where a large and tired looking man stood. He rubbed his eyes as his attention turned to her. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Could I have two loaves of bread and a water satchel please?" Ashen replied. "And I'll be taking on the squid tapir hunt, if you don't mind."

The wide man looked at her for a moment before taking the paper that she held out to him. He only glanced at the paper as he tugged on his thick brown beard- he had probably read it many times before, and he probably wasn't so sure he should be letting her take on this monster.

"You positive you want to do this, Ash?" the man asked. She had taken on many a quest from this place, but the guy had no idea what she did in her spare time.

"Fairly," she responded, her smirk widening into a grin. "Don't worry Mic. When I get back, I'll either have that thing as a pet, or I'll be carrying it's head with me. You wont need to be putting that poster back up."

Mic nodded hesitantly, before turning and heading to the back supply room. "Whatever you say," he grunted over his shoulder.

~(Alright, feel free to reply now. If you'd like to go with her, start your own hunt, or even become a creature that annoys random towns folk, feel free [though if you're a monster, you might be getting poked with a sword more than you'd like to be]. ^^)~

[Mitsukai]

"There you go."

Her patient smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you. If you're ever in need of a hunter, please do not hesitate to ask me," he offered her.

Eve smiled back. "I'll keep that in mind."

The hunter nodded once before exiting the Hunters' Guild.

Eve sighed and rubbed at her temples. She could feel a headache coming on.

As a healer, she was welcomed in the building. It was not as if she mind healing the injured; she was more than glad to help. What annoyed her was the fact that she had meant to rest at the village for a night and move on- not stay for almost a week already. She would have been well on her way if not for the constant number of people in need of healing.

That's the 13th one this week...

The men- and women, was not at all hesitant to fill her in on the details and reason of injury when she requested. Based on her conversations with her patients, she gathered that there was a bounty for an monster called, "squid tapir"; a rat like creature with tentacles protuding from its nose.

How pleasant.

In addition to the many injured was the circulation of 3 men already gone at the tentacles and whatnot of the monster.

Something had to be done.

"And I'll be taking on the squid tapir hunt, if you don't mind."

Eve glanced over at the main counter.

Another hunter- female this time.

Eve sighed again. No doubt that this hunter could take care of herself, or so Eve assumed based on her quick assessment, but the faster the monster was dealt with, the faster she could be on her way.

Waiting until the two were finished talking, Eve strolled over to the female hunter.

"Mind if I accompany you on this hunt?"

[Ashen Rain]

~(Thank you for joining. I was beginning to think this role play idea was a flop. )~

"Mind if I accompany you on this hunt?"

As the first of this question fluttered into Ashen's ear, she thought that it was not in fact, directed at her. After hearing what had gone on during previous hunts on the beast, the huntress was fairly certain that no one else would want to try it.

After a moment of standing there without hearing any response to the question, Ashen realized that it had been posed toward her. She frowned slightly and turned to look at the girl who had asked.

Without a reply to the young woman's question, Ashen looked the girl over. Surprisingly, she was strikingly similar in appearance to Ashen- except more miniature. Both of them were slim for their heights, and both had auburn hair with green eyes- though the girl's were a tad brighter compared to Ashen's (at least in this form). The huntress took note of the fact that magic seemed to sparkle within them- and if the girl were aware of her abilities, then all the better. She looked to be around the age of seventeen or so... Which was well past the age for a hunt on ones own, by Ashen's morals. What could a hunt together hurt?

"Mic," Ashen called over her shoulder, barely turning her head. "Why not make that four loaves, and add another water satchel in there... Some cheese and dried meats too."

Mic simply grunted loudly in reply.

Hoping the addition to the food supplies would give the girl her answer, the red banded huntress smiled and held out a hand. "Nice to meet you," she stated pleasantly. "I'm known around here as Ashen. And you would be?"

Normally, Ashen might have said no to a request of a shared hunt. Banded hunters never really invited another on a hunt unless it was another banded hunter- any other that came along would jeopardize the secrets of their ways and tattoos. Then again, this girl was in a place with the more special people, so it either meant she was kind hearted, or she had some special secrets as well. In either case, Ashen wouldn't mind having someone to talk to this time.

[3kul]

((Wow, this looks like a really interesting RP Ashen Hope you don't mind if I join (let me know if you do though ), I might go for a different character for this though, since I need to fix HE and LS up a bit before I use them again.))

A bulbous yellow eye peered through the window of the Hunter's Guild, attempting to get a glimpse at the people inside and what they were doing, but only able to get a very limited view. The owner of the eye could clearly see the bounty board, but sighed in dismay as the girl inside went for the squid tapir.

"Alas, yet again I am passed up for a more impressive bounty..."

"Why is that, yasu?"

A small bobble headed puppet rose up next to the beast, a long strand attached to his head indicating that he had control over the appendage. It looked very much like a child, but it was really just another limb - the lonely monster was talking to itself. "Because, seedling, the Demon Who Hides In The Grass does not strike fear into the hearts of man. At best, he strikes mild irritation into the hearts of young children."

Slumping down underneath the windowsill, the large green creature held his head in his paws. He did not worry about being spotted, his shaggy green fur made him look like an oversized bit of shrubbery most of the time anyway. "Maybe if you were to kill some people, yasu?" A second puppet was wung around in front of him, the expressionless limb allowing the creature to vocalize his inner-most thoughts.

"'Cha!" The creature scoffed, "you know very well why the Demon Who Hides In The Grass cannot do such a thing - all his prey has to do is run as their instincts tell them to do and he cannot touch them!" The first puppet danced about with the second for a moment, before turning back to it's puppetmaster. "Why do you not just chase them, yasu?" The other puppet dips in closer, bobbing next to the first. "Didn't we figure out a way to do that, yasu?"

He huffed and swiped at the puppets, though since they moved with him he missed. Not that the appendages could actually care that he was doing such a thing, but he was getting irritated with the puppets and 'their' constant pestering. "As long as he is in the grass the Demon Who Hides In The Grass can move about freely, you know the Only Rule, yes?" The puppets bounce up and down, but as he was willing them to hold their tongues they did not speak. "We figured out the One Bending of the Only Rule, if he carries a smaller amount of grass with him, the Demon Who Hides In The Grass may move outside of the larger grass that he is otherwise bound to." Again the puppets bounce about, though their painted smiles and unmoving features indicated that they were not able to register any of this. "The One Bending is held back by the Ultimate Solar Truth - where the sun does not shine, the Demon Who Hides In The Grass may never tread, lest he wishes to wilt and die."

It was a truth that frustrated him to no end, and he always hated thinking about it. Things like shade and places that lacked sunlight at that moment were fine to step in, it was places that never received sunlight that would harm him the most. Given that he couldn't be sure about these places and where they were, he'd never left the few patches of grass that he could explore, with only one exception.

"Away with you seedlings, this Demon Who Hides In The Grass no longer wishes to speak with you." Without any words, the puppets recoiled back into his long shaggy fur, and he resumed looking through the window.

Unlike the others that dominated the board in the Hunter's Guild, his poster had a pitifully low bounty, and had been covered with several other more dangerous posters that were more likely to interest hunters. To him, this was proof enough that his very existance was doubted by people, for despite the fact that he lived right under their noses he was practically invisible to them.

((Hm... He's quite a strange character to RP with, but I'm enjoying him so far. I'll have to draw a picture of the DWHITG sometime, I don't think I've described him very well here .))

[Ashen Rain]

~(No! Get out of my role play 3kul, you aren't wanted here!

Kidding, kidding. =p I like the demon! This may turn out to be a very funny adventure, as Eve and Ashen were going to have to cross some grassy plains to get to the farm land that the squid tapir is terrorizing. Lordy, it was going to be somewhat funny once they reached the farmers house any way (for a secret reason!) but this only serves to make things better. =p

At the moment, I'm waiting for Mit to return and post, since Ashen hasn't seen your creature outside the window. Would you like me to role play a random NPC hunter to come attack you, or would you rather just wait for Eve and Ashen to stumble across your lair?)~

[3kul]

((Not wanted? D: *runs off crying*

Don't worry, you won't need to do anything to keep the Demon amused, I've got a few ideas for how he's going to be moving soon (but like yourself, I guess I've got to wait for Mit to post too ).

Besides, if you made a random NPC hunter attack him, the Demon would probably lose . His dismay at not being hunted comes more from a desire to be noticed rather than any kind of bloodlust, as he doesn't have much in the way of teeth, claws or other natural weaponry like most deadly mythological beasts.))

[Mitsukai]

((Oh my... everyone waiting on me? I'm flattered. Joking. Sorry for the wait; it took quite a while for me to think of something. Let the RP go on!))

Eyes so much like her own examined her, and Eve could almost see Ashen assessing her and considering her offer.

She must have passed for a few seconds later, the huntress asked told the man to get more materials for the trip and introduced herself.

Eve grasped the Ashen's outstretched hand firmly with her own slender one and shook it once.

"I am Nynaeve Al'Meara, but since we'll be working together, just call me Eve," she answered, smiling warmly back.

If Eve had been in need of anything, she would have added her own two cents to Ashen's request. However, seeing as food and water would be provided, Eve had no need of anything else. Her clothing, a moderately tight-fitting tunic and leggings made of shedded dragon skin, was suitable for traveling and also doubled as armor. Her cloak, a dark midnight blue, protected her from the chilly wind.

Should she not be able to use her magic, she had the two special fans tucked in her belt and the pair of enchanted daggers hidden in her sleeves at her disposal.

Lastly, hidden underneath her cloak and slung over her left shoulder, was a leather bag. This bag was filled with emergency provisions, a special map, dried herbs for healing ointments, pieces of cloth for bandages, and other assorted knick-knacks that Eve decided were essential, 'just-in-case" items after many years of traveling. Amazingly, all the items were neatly organized.

Whatever that monster had in store for them, she was ready.

[Ashen Rain]

~(Yay for posts. =D

By the way... Would you like me to role play the squid tapir when we find it? That way you can reply back to it's attacks and the like?

If you think up a monster to hunt after this, feel free to bring it up in character and role play it when we come across it as well. =p)~

Ashen smiled and nodded in reply to the girls nick name. Eve was intriguing to say the least... It was almost as it were foreshadowing something, like this was the eve of some action or event that may very well change their lives. For the better or for the worse however, Ashen could never be sure. Prediction wasn't her forte any way- hunting was.

The huntress opened her mouth to speak again, only to be halted by the sound of Mic dropping the provisions down on the table with a thud. As Ashen turned back to the man behind the counter, he held out a somewhat worn and bloodied envelope- the rest of the information regarding the hunt for the squid tapir.

Mic's bushy eyebrows seemed to frown at Ashen as he looked on. "Still sure about this one?" he repeated. "A man lost his leg the other day. The bugger sliced it clean off in one chomp. He was lucky to have his life after that, you know."

Ashen nodded. "I'm sure." she replied, flashing him a smile. "I've got help this time, so don't worry about me. The tapir is the one whose going to need worrying about."

"So sure of yourself," Mic said, shaking his head with a somewhat grim smile. "You know what the price of this stuff is. Pay me and you two can be on your way."

Ashen nodded, dropping the correct amount of currency onto the counter. The coins jingled as they clattered on the counter, one of them nearly rolling off the edge. As Ashen reached to catch it, Mic's hand came forward atop hers- stopping both the coin and her movement.

"No one can run well," Mic muttered once he had Ashen's attention again, "With only one leg. No one can fight well with only one arm. And no one can think well without a head on their shoulders." For emphasis, he squeezed her wrist. He knew she may very well be one of the last banded hunters in the world- if she was lost, so were the generations meant to follow after her. "I'm serious now- be careful."

Ashen stared on at him, giving a slight nod as he released her wrist. She only looked back at Eve when the Guild keeper finally turned away to return to his job.

The words had shaken her- perhaps she needed to be more serious about this. Clearing her throat, she gave Eve a slightly smaller than average smile, and scooped their provisions into her arms.

"Shall we then?" she asked quietly, leading them toward Guild's exit.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

In the streets outside of the Guild Hall, Ashen could see that the sun was slowly rising. This caused her to frown- she hoped that the next step in this hunt would be quick enough that they could still get out of the village before the rest of the normal towns folk woke up. Non-morning people were bad enough as it was, but irate, special hating non-morning people were even worse.

Ashen passed on half of the food stuff she had bought to Eve- two loaves of bread, a wheel of cheese, and rather than keep any meats for herself, she handed all of those to the cloaked girl as well. Dried cow, lamb, pork, or whatever the meats were that Mic had given here never really rested in her stomach very well- and she wanted to keep it empty of any other meats in the instance she needed a power boost from a special dried meat of her own making. Besides- how would becoming half lamb help stop the squid tapir? Distract it with her suddenly more appetizing look?

After all of the foods were put away, Ashen pulled the parchment from a pocket in the side of her leather skirt. The paper was crinkled, smeared, and dirty. It should have had information on the petitioner, as well as the monster needing disposed of, but the banded huntress could barely make out the name of the farmer who needed help in the first place.

"Right then," Ashen mumbled in the general direction of Eve, "From what I can see in this paper, Farmer 'what's his name' has a squid tapir eating his crops at night. Even though you can't really read it on here, we already understand that they're pretty dangerous..."

Tilting her head back, Ashen tried to recall the things she had read on the beast- as she remembered coming across an article about it in her studies once, though she had never encountered a live specimen before. "The best description of one I can give you is that it's around the size of a small cow, without any fur. It has flat feet with very undefined toes- kind of like an elephant or something. No ears, two large, inky black eyes, and a rat like face- except without a snout, and a load of writhing tentacles in its place, which it uses to pick up food. It does have random tentacles hanging on it's sides as well, but those are just for decoration. What else... Oh, right- it looks slow, but it's actually a fairly fast moving predator- the tentacles on it's mouth can shoot out five feet, and it has two longer and thinner tentacles with barbs on the end that can reach ten feet long. It's pretty much a carnivore, so I have no idea why it would be messing with anyone's crops, but hey... A petition is a petition. We still get payed if we solve the problem."

She smiled again, and nodded. "That's about it," she stated finally. "Just remember- if it gets a hold of you with it's tentacles, trying to pull off the gripping suckers on the bottom will leave a bruise. Then again, a bruise is much better then letting it bite off your hand with the sharp beak it hides under it's wriggling nose.

"So how about it?" She continued. Turning her head, she pointed off down a street. "We're headed that a way. If you still want to go, feel free to lead the way." She smirked, tilting her head at Eve playfully. "Then again," she added, "If you get nervous at any time, don't feel bad about heading back."

[Mitsukai]

When Ashen's mouth opened to speak, Eve prepared herself for whatever the huntress had to say... but the Guild keeper's dropping of the provisions interrupted the moment.

Nevertheless, Eve kept her mouth shut as she watched the exchange between the two. Now Eve, not that she would ever admit it, was a hopeless romantic.

If- IF- the Guild keeper had been younger, she would have gone in a fit of girlish awwwwwwwww-that-is-so-sweet type thoughts inside the safety of her head. No doubt that if she was to express those thoughts in actuall words and actions, many people would think her strange in a she's-a-nutcase-that-should-be-put-in-a-asylum-and-made-to-wear-a-stiff-white-jacket way. Including certain friends. There was the off chance that she might attract the attention of a fellow hopeless romantic, but the chances of that was unlikely.

However, as much as Eve would have liked to pursue this idea of romance, the mood seemed to be more like a father-warning/reluctant to let go-daughter type tone.

Realizing this, Eve patiently waited until the exchange was over and the Guild keeper turned away. Watching Ashen carefully, Eve noted Ashen's slight change in demeanor.

"Shall we then?"

Eve gave a slight nod and followed after the huntress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now outside of the Guild, Eve walked briskly besides Ashen. Already the sun was rising. Eve breathed deeply. She was by no means a morning person, yet she loved seeing the sun rise over the horizon... only if she was forced to be awake at the time. Rather ironic really.

For the past few nights, Eve had been lacking sleep; especially last night. The excitement and adrenelin rush she recieved from the prospect of a new adventure negated the effect from being deprived of sleep, and so Eve's steps were quite a bit lighter then they would have usually been.

Slightly surprised by Ashen's sudden providance of provisions, Eve just shrugged and placed them in her bag.

Thoughout Ashen's informative lecture, Eve merely nodded at the appropriate places and let all the information sank in. Certainly sounded like an... interesting creature to say the least.

"...don't feel bad about heading back."

Eve laughed, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"And leave you to fend for yourself? That would be quite cruel of me," she replied with a grin, her voice taking on a light-hearted teasing tone. She was pleased to see that Ashen was less... down or so it would seem, though it was not her place to say anything since she didn't know the Huntress very well. Despite having only been each other's acquaintance for a mere while, Eve could already feel sort of a connection.

[3kul]

The hulking shrub sat silently in the centre of the Guild Hall's front lawn, attempting to listen as best as he could to the conversation between the two women.

"Hou, these two small females would attempt to slay the Beast With The Squirming Mouth?" He was sure that he must've heard incorrectly, but the longer he listened the more certain it seemed to be. "How truly bizarre of them, to risk their lives for shiny scrap metal."

"Do you dislike gold, yasu?"

The puppet-like Seedlings had re-emerged once more, indicating that the Demon wished to voice his inner thoughts, though he kept them low and faced them away from the two women so that they wouldn't be seen. 'They' had given him something to think about, as he rarely thought about wealth and the like. After all, as far as he knew, he'd never be able to enter any kind of store to spend it, so what was the point in having money?

He had contemplated a few solutions to this problem, but with little success. Most recently he'd considered the possibility of hiring someone to go into shops for him, but this only raised more problems - firstly, that it was far too easy for people to steal from him, and secondly, that he didn't actually have any money to begin with.

"I suppose if he were offered gold, the Demon Who Hides In The Grass would accept it." Considering his status as a monster though, this was pretty unlikely. People would have to know that he existed first before making any kind of offer to him (whether it be one of worship or one of fear), and at the moment he seriously doubted even that.

His own bounty was little more than pocket change, and the drawing looked nothing like him... With a poster like that, the odds of him ever being found were slim to none. "Wouldn't killing someone make them take you a little more seriously, yasu?" The wooden appendage swung about in front of him, a light breeze causing it to bounce playfully, as if it were suggesting something as simple as throwing a stone. He leered at the dummy, not wanting to repeat himself to his 'companions'.

"Or something, yasu?"

His eyes widened at this suggestion by the Seedling, his expression changing entirely. "Yes, an intelligent creature like a person is too clever for the Demon Who Hides In The Grass to catch, but something dumber, less nimble..." His head was buzzing with ideas now, it was as if somebody had unlocked the doors to his cage of limitations. Many monsters were infamous for killing animals and such, but more important than that was the fact that animals tended to live outdoors. "Of course, farmlands and fields are well within the boundaries of the Demon Who Hides In The Grass, and the animals that dwell within these places are bred to be killed anyway."

"Perhaps something bigger though, yasu?"

The Demon raised an eyebrow, as if he was unsure as to what the puppet was getting at. Yes, it was true that the puppets was little more than a mindless toy controlled entirely by the Demon, but it was through these puppets that he voiced his innermost thoughts. More often than not these were thoughts that he'd consider, but sometimes they were a different kind - the kind that one might vaguely think of but never take seriously, they were not usually safe ideas to follow through with. "That would depend upon what you have in mind, Seedlings."

"Aren't those two females trying to slay the Beast With The Squirming Mouth, yasu?" The two puppets swung together, dancing about in an almost sinister manner. "Should they fail, could you not step in and finish the job, yasu?" They darted about, left and right, speeding up as they became more and more rapt in their 'own' scheming. "And if they succeed, could you not steal the Beast's head and claim it's slaughter as your own doing, yasu?" They suddenly ceased moving, and both of them spoke at once.

"Does that not sound very easy for you to do, yasu?"

As he had predicted, the Seedlings' idea was much riskier than simply terrorizing farm life, but it would almost certainly earn him instant recognition. A monster harassing farm animals was a nuisance, but a monster that slaughtered other monsters... That would be regarded as a truly powerful creature.

The Demon Who Hides In The Grass did not speak, he swept the Seedlings up and into his long shaggy fur, leaning down low into the grass. His body melded into the ground, allowing the demon to become one with his element. His bulbous yellow eyes disappeared, yet he was still able to see out above and around him.

The Demon lay in wait, anxious for the two women to leave. He did not want them to spot him as he followed them after all, and he'd have to leave the grass to cross the paths until they reached a less urban area.

((Damn, I did not intend for this post to be so long... Don't worry about the DWHITG stealing your bounty or anything like that (for now at least), I just needed to give him a bit of motivation to get moving from his little plot of grass out the front of the Guild ))

[Chronos]

((Heylo, people. I'm loving this thing so far. If you'll have me... I must jump in. It's perfect.))

She could taste the salty wet droplets just beneath the surface. Delectable! Yes, the taste of distressed anxiety. It was enough to keep one alive for millennia. Mortracta had no intention to live eternally, but she did love the taste of uneasiness. When a creature was nervous or anxious, it was something... exhilarating. It brought out the best and worst of them. It certainly brought out the best in Mortracta.

A human- hunter, no doubt- was walking on the surface. a mere five feet above Mortracta. It was most likely looking for her. In these areas, she was often ambushed by the humans. She felt terror, she felt adrenaline, but more than those, she felt hate from the hunters, the victims. This one was walking very slowly. Did it know she was in these parts? It mattered not. Whatever the case, Mortracta was sure it did not know that it had become the hunted. Slowly working five roots to the surface, she surrounded the hunter, who had now come to a stop.

Above the ground, the hunter was scoping the forest ahead for leaning trees, a telltale sign that the root monster had been through. He did see many leaning trees, all in one swath. The root monster had been here, but which way was it going, away from or toward him? The unfortunate man found the answer to his question as he was surrounded by four immense roots simultaneously breaking the ground around him and collapsing it.

He tried to jump out of the entanglement to no avail. One caught him in the face hard, sending him flying back into the other three. Now ensnared by the other four, he could see- as his face was still exposed- a fifth root slowly emerging from the soil. Three times the man's length, the cap of the fifth root came slowly toward his face, as if looking at him.

A horrible scream of terror rent the just docile forest.

After dragging the doomed hunter to the depths, literally suffocating him and draining his body of nutrients, Mortracta moved on closer to the city. These hunters were abundant and they were a good source of energy.

[Ashen Rain]

~(Glee! More posty peoples! Absolutly, you are welcome Chronos.

3kul: What about me? That's not what you said when I got here!
Ashen: That's because I'm a mean hearted person who likes to make you cry.
3kul: D:

=p

In any case, sorry for the delay! I had a terrible headache and a stress induced break down at the same time yesterday- but I'm much better now.

As I need to hop to a different computer, I'll just let you know that this is where my actual post will be shortly.

Also, Chronos, would you like someone to role play a hunter to attack you, or were you planning on running into Ashen and Eve or something?

Also, forgot to mention, this is Ashen's consiousness that doesn't remember the dojo- so even if she had met Morty (tee hee... Morty) she doesn't remember it right now. In fact, if Ensi walked up to her at this very moment, she wouldn't remember him either. Ashen's brain is weird that way...)~

[GBE]

((I think I'm going to road test a new character here. Hope I'm not going to steal anyones thunder..))

Rolan was new to this area. He'd gently meandered his way here, not really paying much attention to where he was going, but only look to what was about him. He enjoyed leisurly strolls to occupy his mind and enjoying the scenery and the abundance of animal life.

Every so often he'd come across a stranger who had some kind of story to tell about the different people around here, the special people who dealt with monsters and demons of all kinds. It was almost the same story, just a diferent monster with a different taste with different heroes hunting the monsters down.

It was a shame really, that these people hadn't learnt to co-exist with the nture about them, and the people that go out oftheir way to help them. Rolan himself looked like every other normal person apart from a faint silver tattoo on his face that slightly glimered in the light. If anyone asked, he passed it of a sign of his people and no-one said anything more about it.

Somewhere nearby, Valis had quietly watched a man get eaten by roots in the ground that had randomly grown, and then shrunk away again. Fortunately, Rolan would miss the strange creature by a few metres if he was careful where he stood. His route had somehow brought him to a farm, which was good for him, as they might have some provisions he could purchase from them. He stands at the gate that would lead him down a path to the outer-building of the farm.

He stands and watches as he sends a nudge to Valis to scout the farm for hidden dangers and to find where the owners are. With a slight ruffle of her feathers, Valis shuffles along the branch upon which she is perched, and leaps into the air, expandng her wings, and catching a thermal. Circling once, she flies towards her masters location, and within a few short minutes, she spies the farm, far and down below.

Gently circling around and around, she brings herself lower, to inspect the farms surroundings and sees nothing out of the ordinary other than nobody is about on the farm. Unusual for a farm to have no farmer meticulously busying himself. She flies in closer to the farm house, and lands on a tree outside the kitchen window. Hopping further along the tree, she cocks her head to one side, and looks inside for any sign of life...

((I hope you don't mind, but I've put Rolan at the destination farm. What's going to happen I wonder..?

As for the farmers and the rat-squid thing, who is roleplaying them..? Or do I just cheat? ))

[Chronos]

((Actually, it would be cool if someone role played a hunter to hunt Mortracta. And to think that Ashen could possibly forget Ensichrys... hmm... lol))

Mortracta was now in a good mood. Nothing got her more excited than the taste of terror. It especially pleased her to attack small towns. Often she would take a small child under and then the grieving parents just after. When that happened, usually, the whole town would panic and it was well within her abilities to kill 20 at a time if she so chose. The closest thing to that around these parts was that awful city. She was too far away from the farm to pick up the chemicals from it, otherwise she would have headed straight for it. Mortracta now dug a larger opening, creating an air pocket underground. This sinkhole would prove a useful trap if one heavy enough came along.

[Ashen Rain]

~(So you know, the squid tapir isn't there yet. It's about mid day, and the creature really only comes out at night, though I suppose the farmer wouldn't be out tending his crops just in case...

As for the actual role play of the monster... I suppose I'll do it. I also suppose I'll role play any NPC's you may want to chat with as well... Like the farmer...

Also, I'll play an NPC hunter dude for you too Chronos.

I get the feeling my next post (or this post edited) will be a loooooong one.

I'll try to get it up as soon as I can. At the moment I've actually had to write it by hand so far, due to the fact that I'm baby sitting. I just got a moment to write this, but off I go now!

I've just realized that I'm going to be writing for two hunters, a farmer, and a squid tapir when it finally appears. I get the feeling all of my posts are going to be pretty long for a while.

EDIT: One a side note, just to save everyone else time, I'll write down which parts of my post are directed at... whoever they're directed to. I'll put names above each section, so you don't get confused or anything. That way you only have to read the parts pertaining to the other people if you really want to.)~

To Mit and 3kul

"And leave you to fend for yourself? That would be quite cruel of me."

Ashen's smirk widened into a grin at the comment. An interesting adventure this would be indeed.

And so they made their way- first on roads paved by the hands of man, and then on roads paved by their footsteps. As the cobblestones of the village faded away into the dirt and grass pathways beyond town, Ashen grew silent. This was one of the few hunts she had ever been on with any other person, and though there was much to be said, she made no effort to begin a conversation. If she had been on her own, she would have been quietly using this time to think of strategies for the later attack- which was the habit she had lapsed into now.

How to face this creature, she thought. Should she come off strong to any attack, or should she be soothing in an attempt to tame it? She might use her flute, but she was unsure if that would calm the creature effectively. If it was busy gorging itself, then it might not enjoy being interrupted from it's meal. It would be difficult to lure it close and reassure it with food as well, as the farmer had stated that the beast was eating his crops- and crops weren't that hard to devour in the first place. Ashen frowned at this. The squid tapir was a strict carnivore from what she remembered during her studies. Perhaps her ancestors had been incorrect? Pulling the soiled petition from her pocket and flipping it open once more, she pursed her lips. It was still difficult to read with all of the smears, but at least the map was some what legible. It was indeed confusing, especially the part written under the map- 'You'll understand when you get here'.

Shrugging she slipped the parchment back into her pocket. She wouldn't be sure about taming the beast until she could see the full situation, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't work no matter what the circumstances. If that was the case, then how would she kill it? It was true it would be distracted with it's meal, so perhaps if she were able to sneak up on it before it had a chance to attack...

The sound of a small rock clunking into the side of her shoe caused Ashen to turn her head- only to find the silent Eve walking along side her. Looking away, the banded huntress grimaced inwardly. She hadn't meant to ignore the girl. Looking up into the sky, she realized that it was already mid day. had she really been thinking about what to do all of this time?

"So," Ashen finally stated, a guilty cough following not far behind, "What... is your story?"

She waited for an answer before pausing to shake her head. "Wait, no, don't answer that," she added. "Or rather, do, but not quite in that fashion. I don't want to intrude on your past or anything, as that's private. What I do want to know however, is your future.

"Where are you headed?" she gestured along with her question. "What are you planning on learning as you go, and what do you know of already?"

The questions seemed vague, she knew, but if answered in the was Ashen expected them to be, they would actually help in the situation. If Eve did know she had the abilities for magic (which she looked like she did), and she explained to Ashen what she knew to do with it, perhaps they could fit together a plan to defeat the squid rat. the thought of hunting once again and bringing down a might beast for the betterment of everyone else caused her to smile softly. The look lingered for a moment as she stepped into a thick section of grass in her path way, but would break for a more interested look as soon as Eve answered.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

To Chronos

On the outskirts of the village, Allan sat looking quite annoyed. his pale, unkempt hair shifted in a soft breeze, and he absentmindedly scratched his thin mustache.

He was dressed in what looked to be a very poor set of leather armor. Earlier in the day, the hazel eyed seventeen year old had informed his father that he was going to seek out a monster to defeat at the hunters guild- which had caused the man to laugh heartily in a very un-fatherly manner. Allan's unsupportive parent had then removed the sharpened wooden sword (which Allan had worked on for hours) from his son's hand and replaced it with a pair of trimming shears. The man had even chuckled while telling him that hunts were much to dangerous, and he would need to practice attacking something else first- like the over grown bushes in the back yard.

And so Allan sat now, sulking well away from his father's mocking view with the tool laying idle at his side. Why should he have to trim the bushes when there were beasts about needing to be slain?

As he sat there mulling over his predicament, his gaze was called to a movement not to far in the distance. Allan squinted, attempting to make out what it was before paling considerably.

There was a strange and creepy looking flower walking- yes, walking- toward his village.

Allan jumped into action, stumbling before he could grab on to the only weapon he had available- the trimming shears. Maybe Allan would trim the weeds after all?

A triumphant (if not disturbed) grin crossed his partially shaken face as he rushed toward the thing, shears brandished threateningly. He'd prove to his father that he could do this. A giant moving plant had to have a bountty on it after all, and it couldn't be too hard to kill a flower, could it?

Little did Allan know how terribly wrong he was.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

To GBE (I hope you don't mind that I kind of... Moved Rolan. =p)

As Rolan stood at the gate, a silent form moved toward him. Without a sound it drew closer, glancing about to see if anything was watching before it finally pounced...

"What do you think you're doing outside?"

Before Rolan had any time to recover on the intrusion of his private thoughts, the gate had swung open before him. Standing behind was a freckled girl in a soft pink dress. Her eyes were a silvery blue, and her greenish hair sparkled with bronze streaks in the mid day light. A basket was hanging heavily from her elbow, and it seemed to be stuffed to the brim with breads of many sorts- though this didn't stop her from firmly gripping Rolan's arm and trudging toward the house sitting in front of most of the farm land.

"Hurry," she commanded in a hushed tone. She acted in such a bossy manner, but she couldn't have been more than twelve or so. "you don't want to be out here when the wind picks up, trust me. It's terrible."

The girl said hardly a word as they neared the front door. It only took her seconds after releasing him to get it open- and only seconds more to push him inside.

Beyond the door Rolan came face to face with a green haired and exasperated looking man, nearly running into him. Before anything could really be said, Rolan was pushed out of the way again, so that the man could look down at the little girl.

"Deanna," he stated in an athorative tone, "What have I told you abo-"

She simply interjected long before he could finish. Strangely, this seemed normal. "No, I don't know who he is," she began quickly, placing her free hand on her hip. "But he was outside- and you know how it is out there. Dangerous. So I brought him here where it's slightly safer, because that's the right thing to do. It isn't like he can't wait here for a while. I'm sure a new hunter will get here soon, and it will be a little safe again- at least until the hunter gets eaten. So, he should stay till the beast is distracted, and then he can be on his way."

With that, the girl turned and walked off down a seperate hall, though not before setting the basket on a near by table.

The green haired man sighed, giving Rolan enough time to focus on the room around him. It appeared that he was standing in a well cleaned, nicely furnished kitchen of sorts- and that fresh foods were abundant in baskets and barrels. It was almost as though they were stock piling the food stuffs for some reason.

Finally the man shook his head and turned back to Rolan. "I'm sorry," he stated simply, only looking a tiny bit embarrassed. "Apparently my daughter has decided for the both of us that you'll be staying here for now. She's been doing that lately...

"In any case, feel free to make yourself at home." The man smiled a bit, and held out his hand. "I'm Morgin, the owner of all of the farm land out back. Nice to meet you."