[Seasonal Quest] Hunt of the Season (Open)

[Lariat]

A rough hand clasped none to gently around the fabric clinging to her back, and abruptly arresting her fall before it even began. "I'd not have those men disturbed" The deep voice resounded behind her, and as she turned she'd see a broad shouldered drykas that bore long brown locks and a shaved face. His face was crosshatched in numerous scars and seemed to enhance the perpetual scowl that so influenced his features. With his hand raised and pointing away, and his face offering no other alternative, he made it quite clear that the woman needed to busy herself elsewhere, and once she had he would quietly move into position at the front of the tent, his broad arms crossed defiantly before him. He needn't have bothered though for a few moments later all of the men existed the tent save for the shadow figure, and one by one the men disappeared into the crowd leaving only the emerald clan host at the forefront of it all once more. Faren's eyes carefully combed the men and women that milled about. His words had spoken of the men doing great things but women where often to be let in on such special occasions, a husbands pride quintupled at the prowess his wife might portray in the field. Even he himself was armed to hunt, but this was more for looks, and more for his protection inside that tent, though he had little use for spear in his hand now that the danger had passed. It only served to keep the paranoid whispers of the man strong in his ear, and it was a small decision to hasten the time in favor of putting all this troublesome business far behind him. Quietly, and measured he removed the horn once more from it's case, and bleated out three loud booms with the horn before replacing it in it's case. It was a signal clear to any drykas to understand. The hunt was underway and no more words needed to be spoken. For the start he'd let them simply wander in their own directions, but soon as he felt they had become enough acquainted with each other he would be sending the webbers out to aid them in the tracking of the beast, but not helping them out too much for this needed to be a fair competition based on their instinctual skills. Now he could rightfully settle back in his tent, pray hope he be alone, and sip quietly on his brandy as he relaxed the rest of the afternoon. oocRush off my children of the grass, spread out, cluster together it makes no difference but clearly make up your groups for my next posts will weigh heavily on this being implemented

[Auldwin]

OOCJust kicking things back off again.

Auldwin watched as Caoin got closer and closer to that tent. In the back of his mind he knew exactly what she was doing, but he didn't stop her. That was the type of forwardness he lacked in his life. Watching it occur in a living person was like watching an artist work. It was like listening to a musician play. It was like watching an acrobat perform. It was the thing he could never force himself to do when he was alive, when actions had real consequences. Even if he was a more initiated person now, the reflections of his actions felt watered down. There wasn't much a person could do to a Ghost in retribution, save for getting a Spiritist after them. Spiritists were in short supply, Auldwin knew this because he often sought for one with every fiber of his being. To find a Spiritist would be to find the one conduit that could allow him to experience life again, at least in some fashion even if it was just a falsity.

"Heh, go for it Drykas girl. Someone like you could learn me that I would." the Ghost's thoughts were on her side, at the very least. If it was nothing, if there really was no reason to worry then Caoin of all people could get out of any potentially awkward situation. At least he hoped she could. She seemed to get along with everyone well enough. That was until her apparent lack of coordination kicked in. It all seemed to happen in slow motion with Auldwin approaching from behind as Caoin began to fall forward into the Pavilion. Simultaneously Auldwin's hand was coming up to his head, his palm looking to rest upon his face, a simple gesture of this precarious situation. A remnant of a reaction he would have done in life that still lingered with him even though he possessed no true body.

Someone's favor smiled upon Caoin as she was caught before things could get too out of hand. He couldn't exactly hear what it was the man said to her, but he didn't seem at all concerned about whoever followed the rest of the men into tent. That was good enough for Auldwin, he would take the time then to focus on the hunt instead. He'd have to give it every bit of focus he could considering he had no actual hunting experience. He had stalked and Possessed animals before, but any stealthy approach was only made possible due to his incorporeal nature.

In the meantime Auldwin could do whatever he could in order to help Caoin and Skram get ready. That was until the triplet of booming blasts from the horn echoed throughout the entire encampment. "That must be important." Auldwin commented, watching various groupings of the Drykas start to mobilize, their movements becoming faster and more directed. Was that the signal that the hunt was underway, then? "Caoin, Skram, either you ever participate in this before? What is the first thing must do?" he tried to sort everything out. He had some second hand knowledge of the way these hunts went, but only from hanging around the Endrykas for several years. Actually being a part of one was completely different. These Drykas came from a lineage of hunters and wilderness folks, Auldwin on the other hand was a city man, a common laborer in life. Although his body was certainly anything but ordinary, a great deal of his knowledge and lore remained constrained within the confines of typical daily life.

[Skram Silverstrider]

Skram was too busy talking to Auldwin to notice that his cousin had shrugged off his advice and was making her way towards the tent after the man she claimed that she saw. "Excellent. You may not be a drykas" which Skram could tell from the way the ghost made himself appear to all the others as the human he was when he died "but your history with the glassbeaks would make you a fine addition." Like the glassbeak which brought everyone to the tents today, Auldwin is like every other drykas as they all have a history with the glassbeaks in the grasslands. A history which has trained them to try and hunt the blight on their people, every season making at least another few men lost. For that, what they need most is the most trained person like "a hunter from the Diamond clan if we can find no one from the Emerald. I am sure that Caoin can take care of that. She always does when it comes to men."

"Right cousin?" Skram asked looking to his side only to see that his cousin had vanished. "She didn't..." but she would not be Caoin otherwise and Skram's fears were true when he turned to look towards the tent and saw his cousin being manhandled by the tent's guard who would have stopped the man that Caoin thought she saw just like he did her anyway. Skram hurried towards his cousin holding on to her clothes to help her follow the guard's orders whether she wanted to or not telling her "it would be better if we prepare for the hunt instead of trying to get uninvited from it?" Once they were back together Skram would ask his cousin whether or not she thought "was it worth it?" looking at the men exiting the tent all of which were respectable drykas as far as he could tell and "none of them looks suspicious to me." Whoever they are they are all gone now but to think that Caoin would get so distracted because of them.

The horn marked that "the hunt begins" but the problem that they had was "it is only the three of us in this group so far" while the others were already moving out. Skram might have participated in the past but never in any form of important role so he just shook his head telling Auldwin that "it would be better if you can ask someone else" before asking the ghost and his cousin "do you know of anyone like that? Someone capable we might team up with as well."

[Caoin]

While it wasn’t quite as embarrassing as if she’d actually fallen through the tent flap and into the tent, it was still embarrassing to be caught eavesdropping. Caoin turned to look at the broad shouldered Drykas that had caught her and smiled up at him as innocently as she possibly could. “Heh… heh… Sorry,” she started, “I… I thought that I saw… a poisonous snake.” It was a terrible lie, an even worse excuse. There was no way he was going to buy it, but it was worth a shot. His pointing finger and facial expression were quite clear though, he wanted her gone and he wanted her gone as quickly as she could possibly go. She hadn’t even had time to find anything out while she’d been listening. It wasn’t exactly how she had hoped her little espionage venture would go, but her efforts were over for now, she might as well return to where she had left her animals, with Skram and Auldwin. Caoin brushed herself off and glanced at the Drykas bouncer and the flap that he guarded once more before she started back through the gathered crowd to where she had left her companions waiting. She weaved her way amongst the hunters, looking over the ones that she passed, searching for suitable hunting companions. She was sure that they would need more than just the three of them in their group if they were to have any chance of competing in this hunt.

As she drew closer to her companions, she heard the horn for the start of the hunt to blow. She needed a group fast. She heard her cousin berating her for her attempts to eavesdrop and rolled her eyes at him and ignored his question about her efforts. “Well,” she sighed softly at Skram’s question of whether they could get anymore help, “I suppose there’s one way we could go about this… though it won’t be all too flattering for me.” The Drykas woman looked at the crowd around her and sighed once more as she pulled the front of her top down and pushed up on her breasts to plump them and make them seem a little larger. “Hey boys,” she called out to the mingling hunters, “can any of you help a girl out with this hunt?” Caoin winked and batted her lashes, staring at the men with her dark brown eyes. Her tongue flicked out over her lips to moisten them before she offered a smile to anyone in the crowd that happened to turn their attention to her, hoping that a few of them might respond to her blatant use of her womanly charms. She could feel her face burning, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the idea of resorting to such tactics, and inside, Caoin felt like a terrible person, and even more so, felt like a terrible woman. If she didn’t land any help with her efforts, she was going to be awfully upset and possibly even very cranky on the hunt.

MizNo Word Count505

[Akilah Windsong]

As she hesitated, another Drykas took the lead and slipped after the shadowy figure. Instantly, her decision was made and she darted after the slim woman, keeping her eyes on the tent even as she moved around the milling hunters. Quick as she was, the stranger was quicker and had reached the tent before Akilah could catch up. Like a snake, she had made it to the tent's edges as well, almost entering as silently as the previous visitor.

Only, she made a fatal error in her footing and was caught. Watching as a guard accosted the woman, barring her entry, Akilah stopped in her tracks. Clearly there was no point in trying to enter--that guard was alert now and wouldn't be so kind if there was a second attempt. Still troubled, she watched as the Drykas awkwardly picked herself up and left.

The three loud booms echoed through the tent, deep and clear. The hunt was going to begin and she had yet to pick her team or get her gear. Ronan and Khasr could be good teammates, but Khasr hunted trees and she had yet to witness Ronan's skills. No, while she would team up with them, it would be best to find others as well.

As she waited for the other two, she heard a voice nearby, a familiar one. Searching, she tried to pinpoint the voice through the host of noises. Where had she--ah, the ghost. Auldwin.

This time as she hunted, she tried to see the faint shimmering, the distortion of air and light that gave her a faint sign of his presence. Though she was tall for a female, the majority of hunters around her were male and her height was nothing to theirs. A blockade of bodies kept her from seeing very far, forcing her to move as she looked. "Auldwin?" She warily called out, walking slowly. "Are you hunting as well?"

It felt as stupid as it had the first time, talking to thin air. She couldn't even tell if he was there--she might have misheard the sound. A voice called out now, overpowering the rest, and she stopped to see the woman from before. Her voice was sultry as she displayed herself, her tactic obvious.

Grimacing at the sight, Akilah had to admit it was a good ploy. Many men here were hunting for wives as well as glory and here was one ready for the taking. As her eyes slid away, she found the disturbance she was looking for.

"So there you were, Auldwin," and she pushed her way to the woman.

[Auldwin]

Auldwin seemed a bit lost as Skram and his cousin talked tactics for getting additional teammates. She was good at that, was she? In what way? Was Caoin overly persuasive? Did she possess a silver tongue perhaps? Auldwin hadn't really gotten to see that many sides of Caoin, thinking more deeply upon the subject of their relationship. It was more professional than anything else, not that a Ghost could have much more than that, relationship wise with the living. He needed things, even if those things weren't exactly tangible. Knowledge, experience, acceptance, those were good things and quite valuable to a Ghost. He had a few things in exchange, knowledge and experience to be sure, as well as a few hidden secrets of his own. A thing or two he could show anyone with a heart beat.

Things became more clean as Caoin 'set herself up' for the hunt. The hunt for partners. Male partners. All at once everything made sense inside of Auldwin's head. "Ohhhhh..." he actually let his realization escape his lips as his head tilted back slightly, as if giving a nod toward the sky. He leaned in toward Skram to notate, "So, this is very special tactic. When alive, wife used often to get what wanted. Very effective." It was almost like the Ghost was joking, but from a man's point of view he was very serious. A look and a particular tone of voice made all the different, and very often in his house hold it turned 'no' into a 'yes'. What cleverness. When you didn't have a physical body, you learned to value character traits beyond strength and stamina. Traits like charisma and cunning.

Auldwin was just looking to see what reaction Caoin's act had brought about when he heard yet another familiar voice. The Ghost was starting to recognize that he knew more people in the Endrykas than he realize. Perhaps he was genuinely starting to become a part of the migratory population. "Ah, young girl. Akilah yes?" he struggled at first to remember her name. After a moment of contemplation it came quickly enough due to the peculiar meeting they happened to have some time ago. She was also one of the younger Drykas that made an effort to deal with Auldwin. Knowing she understood Common well enough, he switched his dialect when speaking toward her, making the words flow a bit easier, "I was just preparing for the hunt. I'm quite interested in seeing the famed Drykas hunt for myself, as well as to participate. My father was half-Drykas after all, I should do him proud. In just a moment we'll be heading out. Why are you out here? Seeing someone off?"

[Ronan]

Ronan could only stand and watch as Akilah suddenly plunged forward, hoping to sidle right on into the tent. But the woman in front of her was pushed back, and Akilah paused, unable to continue.

That was when she turned to someone else and began a conversation. Ronan folded his arms. He'd wanted to do this hunt alone... he was making an effort, yet Akilah had decided to seek out others. Was three not enough?

Obviously she had no idea of his skill. He had spent half his life in the wilderness. His parents and brother had died by Glassbeak - he would not allow the same to happen to himself. He could track, trace, and survive in the wilderness. And he was quite handy with a dagger too.

"Looking like she wants to do her own thing anyway," he said to Khasr.

He continued to watch, reserving judgement for the time being.

[Akilah Windsong]

As she approached them, she could see the faint lines that made the ghost's body. Tilting her head up, she greeted him.

"Yes, Akilah," she chuckled at his words, the accent on it. Even spending years here and having a Drykas father had yet to make him fluent. Even as he switched to Common, the accent remained, a subtle blend to his words. "So you're hunting too?" That would be a sight to see. How does a ghost hunt? Auldwin could take over the bird and kill it, she knew, but that didn't seem quite sporting. "How?"

"No, I'm joining too, with my cousin and friend. This is Ronan--" Turning around to introduce them, she realized they hadn't followed her into the fray. Her smile dropped. "Ah...they were here."

She stared at the empty spot behind her for a moment, surprised. How long had she been alone? Since the tent? Since before then? Fuming, she hunted for the two males. They hadn't followed her at all!

How many people could claim they've met a ghost? Not many and she had hoped not them. She would've surprised them, revealing the thin air she was talking to wasn't thin at all. Instead, they were watching her from a distance, and wondering what she was doing by herself.

She knew Khasr would have issues with the crowd, but Ronan too? Then again...she bit her lip, recalling her cousin's situation, the forced solitude. No, it seemed like she was the only one who was comfortable mingling with others. Both men were too used to the emptiness of the wild, the quiet of it all. Even her own voice seemed too loud sometimes when she was with them.

"Ronan? Khasr?" She called out, wishing she was tall enough to peer over the shoulders around her. With a sigh, she faced Auldwin once more. "I'm sorry, I'll be back. I need to find them."

[Skram Silverstrider]

"Won't be to flattering for her she says..." Skram mumbled to himself very unsatisfied with what his cousin was doing as she tried to get some men to join them with one of those things all drykas men loved. But what Caoin did, Skram followed through with the opposite as he stood close enough to her to let everyone know that he is associated with her but far enough not to directly interfere with her efforts. Any man who looked to Caoin for her womanly charms would see Skram with the face of a glassbeak staring right back at them standing tall with his arms crossed in his manly brutishness to ward them off. He told Auldwin the reason for this just as Auldwin talked about his wife that "effective but you did not like it. If this men are so weak to keep away from me they don't deserve my cousin."

The only woman here Skram had his attention on was his cousin and the appearance of this new one did not deter his efforts to protect her in his own way one bit. He locked eyes with another man and kept it open furiously as he straightened his lips in anger to try and drive him off. They were at it for a while longer right until Skram could not hold it anymore and blinked. He had lost and he looked away back to his cousin in shame and waited until she was done. At least no one else saw his own display other than those in the receiving end he hoped and with luck, he would not have to worry about Caoin getting any of the undesirables attention.

[Colt]

Khasr shifted, eyes locked onto the encounter between the guardian of the tent and the woman who tried to enter. He tilted his head to one side and followed her as she retreated, obviously unhappy and anxious. Curious, he started towards her. She didn’t look like a huntress, but he was an inquisitive boy. Every Drykas worth their salt could do something useful on a hunt, and he wanted to see— He stopped short and stared as she… well, flirted wasn’t the right word, but he honestly didn’t know anything else to call it. “Uh…” He shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, his approach completely halted. He had never in his entire life actually courted women, and the sheer alien nature of the situation rendered him speechless. He just looked at her, eyes as wide as an owl’s. He remained there for a bit before summoning the courage to speak, though it felt about as easy as ripping his arm off. “I take it you… er… don’t have a team?” he said awkwardly. He heard Akilah call his name. He moved to bolt to her, but after half a step he jerked back to his original spot, as if yanked to a halt by bindings. He looked back and forth fervently between the woman he had been trying to speak to and when Akilah’s voice had come from, suddenly falling prey to severe indecision, looking like he wished to run in both directions simultaneously. Then the man came and stood near her, and Khasr didn’t need to read minds to see what his glares meant. But still, he couldn’t leave, not until he knew if she had a team or not. Khasr and the man locked gazes, and he did his best to keep his fear invisible. He was absolutely terrified, it was true, but he could ignore it. For now. His eyes hurt. Ouch. Time passed. Ouch. The world started moving. Was it supposed to do that? More time passed. Ouch. Colors changed, and Khasr prayed fervently to every god he knew of to get the man to petching blink! Then, like a miracle, he did. The man blinked, then looked away, causing Khasr to close his eyes and let sweet saltwater wash over them for a few long moments. He waited until he could feel them again, then opened and looked at the flirtatious woman. “Team,” he said to the woman, voice flat. “Do you have a team?”