Closed Is This Smart? (Claude et all)

[Phoenix]

Timestamp: 45th of Spring
Where: Wind Reach, The Unforgiving
Who: Claude, Lander, Rengar

To Whom it may Concern,

As of the last twenty-four bells, the storeroom in the Kitchens has been raided not once, but twice. The stockpile of meat, fish, and vegetable that had been preserved within has been compromised to a very shocking degree.

Because of this, we are sending out extra Endal, Avora, and even Chiet who possess any kind of hunting, trapping, or weapon skills that can help aid in this situation. We are going to try and replenish the food that has been stolen in a timely manner so that we can continue to feed the city.

If you have received this message, please report to the Sanikas Gates at no later than 10th bell. Please pack for a hunting excursion and take whatever gear necessary. Those individuals without Eagles will be paired with Endal.

Signed,

Kaden Avin
The Valintar

Dek scampered all over the city, rapping loudly on doors before Syna's light even managed to tickle the mountaintop, her morning glow only barely showing above the horizon. Crisis, however, did not wait.

The trio would be roused by the knock and would each find a similar scroll of parchment with their named scrawled on the outside left outside their doors. Even if the initial knock failed to disrupt their slumber, the clamor that erupted in the hallways as nearly every able bodied individual scampered around to get ready would have.

Either way, Inartans began to trickle down to the Gate, where a growing sea of redheads began to gather, dotted here and there by the blonde, black, or brown of a non-native.

OOCThis is just a starter to get the three of you together. Do so as you wish. I left it pretty open!

x

[Lander]

The furious flurry of knocks against his apartment door didn't rouse Lander at first. He was dead to the world, lost in a dream about women and good liquor. In fact, the night before, he had been surrounded by women and good liquor. One of his favorite ways to spend a night out. He was a little hung over after trying to impress a particularly well endowed Inartan woman, who's name and even face he would probably never remember for the rest of his life. It was quite a while after the knocking at his door before he finally woke. Steady movement in the corridor yanked him from the borders of sleep, and he rolled over to glare at the door. "Oh for the love of Nysel..." He dropped his face back into his pillow and stretched, groaning as his muscles shivered and protested, still wanting sleep. But there was no going back now. Lander sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, rolling the stiffness from his neck and shoulders. He'd slept wrong at some point throughout the night, giving him a bad kink. The stone floor was cold against his bare feet as he shuffled across the room to open the door to see what all the hullabaloo was about. He stretched again and yawned, arching his back so it popped. Lander then poked his head out of the doorway and into the hall, frowning, with prominent dark circles under his eyes. Several pairs of men and women were traipsing down the halls, laden down with weapons and packs. Can't a man get some sleep? Just as he was about to slam the door, he spotted the scroll lying in front of the threshold of his apartment. He looked at it in a long moment of hungover confusion before scooping it up and rolling it open. He had to read the message several times before it actually sunk in. Being low on food was not a good thing, for any city. The fact that so much had actually managed to have been stolen was even worse. How had that even happened? It was nearing the ninth bell already, so Lander would need to get moving if he was to help. Tasks like this were down his alley. Maybe not so much when he was hungover, but he'd manage. A Konti woman was walking briskly by his open doorway, and she absently glanced over then stumbled to a stop. He looked up from the scroll and they stared at each other for a moment before her face flooded with color. Lander frowned and looked down at himself, then back up at her with a slow smile of realization. He'd slept naked throughout the night, and hadn't put anything on when answering the door. It obviously wasn't in this Konti's daily itinerary to see a butt naked man. He winked a blew her a quick kiss, making her full lips pop open in shock. He barked a quick laugh before slamming the door in her face, then turned back to his room to ready himself. It took Lander several chimes to get ready, which was mostly packing all of his gear into his backpack. Getting dressed and retrieving his bow and quiver of arrows was last, then he was out and on the move, trying to ignore the dull headache pulsing behind his bloodshot eyes. Perfect petching morning to have to go out into the Unforgiving, he thought irritably. Beggars couldn't be choosers though, he'd take what he was given. Lander arrived not long before the tenth bell. A mass of citizens were gathered at the Gates, awaiting further orders. He pushed through the fringes of the crowd, squeezing past the milling bodies until he couldn't forge on any further. He ended up stuck somewhere in the middle between an Avora and some hulking Akalak. Probably should have hung back. The Avora needed a bath.

[Rengar]

Three raps on the door and Rengar awoke, his nose picking up the scents of the morning. He looked over at the woman who was still asleep next to him and smiled. Which quickly became a frown when he couldn't remember what her name was. His nose picked up smells of sweat and sweetness, and the smoky smell of living in the mountain. He slid out of bed naked, wondering where he'd put his clothes. Lacking in shame, Rengar walked over to the door and opened it, finding no one on the other side. There were two scrolls of paper there, and he picked them both up. One was addressed to Nyara, and another addressed to him. How anyone knew for sure he was here, he didn't know, but Deks did have unseen eyes and ears everywhere. He suspected hers to say the same thing as his, so he walked back in and set it on her table, and unsealed his. A massive hunting expedition was underway, and they needed all the hands they could get. Rengar wondered what time it was, when the nearby tower rang out, seven loud tones. Perfect. Rengar's pack with all of his belongs was sitting in a corner of the woman's apartment, a habit from decades of traveling. Always have your gear and always be prepared. And thanks to that, he now had a couple of bells for fun before the hunt. He slid back into bed, and pulled back the covers, exposing his sleeping partners naked buttocks to the cooler morning air. She stirred, wiping the sleep from her eyes, and rolled over to face him. She placed an arm around his dark torso, and scooted closer, pressing the entirety of her body against him, hooking a leg over one of his. "Good morning Rengar, I had so much fun last night." She nuzzled her head into the crook of his shoulder, her fingers tracing down his pectorals, the ridges of his stomach, following the line down to his groin. "I guess that old saying is true, the ones the foreign women use. 'Hung like an Akalak'." Rengar chuckled, kissed the top of her bouncing, fiery curls, as she started getting him ready to go. Her breasts were small, not perfectly round, sort of sloping out at the top, but she was still beautiful. A little thin, her ribs showing, and her hips not really wide. He wondered if she would get with child, though he hoped she wouldn't. A woman needed proper birthing hips to handle an Akalak birth and live to tell the tale. But the odds were in her favor, "And I guess it is true that the curls below will always match the curls above." He moved down her body, firmly pushing her on her back, a kiss between her breasts, another at the bottom of her ribs, another just above the short red curls, before continuing onwards. The woman hadn't met a man who had done this before, and soon found herself in the throws of ecstasy, moaning loud enough to startle a passing Dek or cause some nosy Yasi to listen at the door. Then Rengar plunged into her, and her sounds became more primal, guttural, and needing. Chimes came and went, positions changed, and soon the pair were spent, as the ninth bell tolled. She laid there, chest rising and falling fast, seemingly unable to move, body bare in the air. Rengar got out of bed and found his clothes in a pile on her side of the bed. Time to get down to business, "We received word of a hunting expedition meeting in one bell down at the gates. Apparently they are calling in a lot on this one. Will you be joining me Nyara?" Not moving to even so much as look at him, "After all that hun, I'd be surprised if I could even walk to the door, let alone hunt. You'll have to go without me. I think I'll lay here until I slip into a slumber for the entire day. Feel free to stop by anytime though, my door will always be open for a man like you." Rengar chuckled and smiled at her, pulled on his clothes, laced up his boots, hooked his battle axe and throwing axe into their appropriate loops on his belt, then grabbed his pack. He hefted it onto his back, walked over to Nyara and planted a gentle kiss upon her lips, then made his way toward the Sanikas Gates. Rengar found several people standing around at the gates, and he easily muscled and bullied his way through the crowd, making his way to the front, standing a good head taller than most there. He was near a man with bloodshot eyes who looked to not be having the greatest morning of his life. "Long night?" Rengar knew he smelled like sex, but didn't care, he liked the smell of a beautiful woman on him.

[Claude]

Waking to the hard beat of someone thumping their toes against his tiny door and the creaking rattle as it quite literally shook within its frame, there was a moment of disorientation for the little Pycon as the last gasps of a fading dream tried to impose themselves on his vision... before fading away completely to leave him staring up at the jagged and unworked stone above his bed. Left only with the last shreds of a strange combination of tension and pleasure from his unremembered dream, he moved to roll out of bed before the sleepiness that made him feel so heavy could coax him back down into his dreams again. Still groggy, he didn't notice what was different until he tried to put his feet underneath him and promptly rolled right off the bed to smack face-first against the floor with a quiet plop. Frustrated, Claude pushed his hands underneath his chest and tried to lift himself up into a sitting position only to find that his lower body was not only not responding the way it should be, but was much heavier than it ought to have been.

The sting that tingled through his body in the wake of the two inch drop to the floor didn't precisely hurt, but it was enough to clear the last cobwebs of sleep from his mind and left him sharp and lucid. Thumping his forehead against the floor in exasperation with himself at not realizing already, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and down his body at what changes his dreaming had wrought in his form. Snatches of it drifted back to the surface of his mind as he saw the bulky slope that extended back from his waist, images of grass rushing by underneath him as he crossed ground at a thumping pace. Shaking his head slowly, he stopped paying attention to what he could see and simply focused on trying to find the right movements to control his lower body. Changing shape had never come as easily to him as to some others he had known in his old home, and it always took him a few moments to orient himself to the new movements of his altered flesh.

Twitching his flank at first, Claude managed to find the right way to move his forelegs so that he could use them and his arms to push himself back onto his haunches. Another test and the long hair of his tail twitched and swished against the floor. It didn't move like proper hair, each strand separate, but more like a solid tail with the thin lines of hair simply etched into it. At last he managed to shift his hind legs and pushed himself shakily up onto all fours. Around him the room seemed taller than usual, the mass necessary to form his equine lower body having been taken from the rest of him. Normally he stood nearly a foot in height and was tall and heavy for his kind, but now with his weight unchanged and so much of his flesh centered in his lower body he found himself several inches shorter and perhaps a little stockier.

Stamping his hoof-like feet against the ground to make sure he'd gotten the hang of moving his altered legs, Claude reached for his robe where it hung by the bed before realizing that it was quite pointless now. Aside from not fitting him, there was no need to feign human modesty for the sake of others' propriety. Turning around in the small room was a bit of a chore, but easier by far than trying to change himself back into a more human shape. Besides, there was a certain beauty to this form that appealed to his less-proper nature, and he liked knowing that in this shape there was nothing under the sun that looked quite like him.

Moving across the room to a stone bowl that held clean water, he splashed some of it on his face before rubbing it down his strongly-built torso and along his arms. With his human upper body clean as it was going to get, he considered giving his horse-half the same treatment and then decided against it. It would take too long, and just be too hard to reach. Perhaps he could get someone to dump a cup of water on him later. Pale and glittering slightly in the light that trickled through the curtain that covered the window between his room and the infirmary, he remembered the knocking on his door and trotted over to open it. The scroll in front of his door was just like all the others, that is to say it was almost as big as he was.

Though his face was blank as ever as he looked it over, the little Pycon couldn't help but give his species' equivalent of an eye roll at the ridiculousness of it. The little motions in his flesh and slight color changes that were expression to his people faded away quickly though, and he began to pry at the seal. Strong for his size, it only took him a little longer than it would take a full-sized Inartan, but he had to work for it and by the time he had the scroll unsealed he could feel the light burn of exertion in his upper limbs. Pinning the free edge under his hind hooves, he began to walk across the surface of the scroll, pushing the rolled up portion along with his front legs. Straddling it to keep it open made it difficult to read, and his Nari wasn't as fluent as he'd like, but he managed to struggle his way through the gist of it.

Unsure of what time it was exactly, he threw up his hands in a fit of momentary exasperation. Hunting? What in Cracked Land do I know about hunting? For a moment he felt the urge to kick the scroll as hard as he could, but instead he simply left it where it lay on the infirmary floor. Someone else would have to clean up the beastly over-sized thing, as it certainly wasn't going to fit in his apartment. Grabbing his pack, he began slinging in anything and everything that looked like it might be useful. Waterskin, rations, knife. Cursing whoever dropped that scroll at his door in colorful Common, he slammed a drawer that didn't have anything he wanted in it. Flint and steel, boots in case he need to have human legs again, and a robe for the same reason. Stomping out into the infirmary, he found the supply cupboard that was set down to his level and began rooting through it. Scalpel, scissors, thread. Confound whatever fool dragged me into this... this... adventure. Needles, bone-saw, and as much clean cloth as he could fit were stuffed into his bag before he was finally satisfied that he'd done all he could.

Slinging the pack across his shoulders, he clip-clopped his way to his door to shut it rather harder than was exactly necessary before heading for the Sanikas Gates as quickly as his four little legs could carry him. Upon arriving, he despaired at seeing the crowd that had gathered. Most were burly, or lithe, and all had an air of the dangerous about them as far as the tiny medicinal practitioner was concerned. One particularly huge and beefy specimen was plowing his way through the crowd, head and shoulders above the rest of them. As if that didn't make him stand out enough, he was purple. Deciding there and then that if he was going to survive this madness that his best chance would be to stay near the hardest, roughest looking fellow that he could find, Claude pushed into the crowd in the wake of the giant's passing.

Though mostly he was ignored or unseen and had to dance this way and that to avoid being stepped on, he did manage to almost keep up with him by slipping between legs and hopping over feet until he got close enough to hear him address an Inartan fellow who appeared to have had a very busy night. Or, at least, a wild one. If he'd had the right organs for the task, Claude would have swallowed nervously at being hemmed in by so many giants. From his perspective, the purple one wasn't too much scarier than the others since being stepped on by any of the them would probably be equally fatal, and so he gathered up as much courage as his little body had and clenched it in his fists to keep it from getting away. Trotting up to the both of them, he unclenched his fingers long enough to slap an open palm against the calf of the hung-over looking fellow, since that was probably the only way he could get the attention of people who towered over him so much, before speaking in a voice strangely deeper and mellower than any human might have. "Warm Rain to the both of you, and raucous be your nights. The first greeting was from his own people back home, the second was a decent translation(he hoped) of an Inartan greeting that he'd read in a local book. "I hope I'm not being too forward, but I'm entirely out of my depth. No idea why I was called in on this dreadful business at all, and I was hoping one of you might be interested in a traveling companion. Without which, I doubt I'd last more than half a day in the..." And here Claude shivered slightly enough that it might not be visible from as high above him as they were. "Wilderness."

-

[Lander]

Lander yawned loudly, feeling like his face would split in half at the hinges of his jaw. It so happened that it was right when the sexed up Akalak spoke. He paused for a moment, looking a little confused, before he realized what he'd been asked. It had been a long night. Shorter than some, but still a good one. Even if he hadn't gotten between the woman's thighs. A shame, even though he couldn't remember her face. He had standards, so she was probably a looker. Or maybe he'd gotten too drunk and tried to seduce a hag. In that case it'd be good that he hadn't gotten into her bryda. Lander looked up at the hulking foreigner and smiled a conspiratorial smile. "Not long enough, in my opinion." At least this one didn't stink like boiled cabbages like the Avora on his other side. Lander should have put some wine in his waterskin. The best thing for a hangover in his opinion had always been more alcohol. Too late now. He rubbed his stubbly cheeks and neck, squinting into the crowd ahead. "Let's hope at least half the people here are better rested than I am." But he got woken up pretty quick after that. The sudden slap against his leg wasn't particularly strong, but he definitely noticed it. And when something like that came unexpected, it was a bit of a shock. "Mother of Gods!" he yelped, stumbling into the odorous Avora and sending him into a string of protests. "Watch where you're stepping! You made me drop my breakfast!" Lander held up his hands in a sign of peace, shrugging his apology. "My fault, sorry. Lost my balance." The Avora glared and turned away, actually turning up his nose. He had to smother a laugh at that, as he looked down to what hit him. "Not what I was expecting," he told the little Pycon. And he couldn't help but bluntly add, "I've no idea why you were called here either. You're a wee bit too small to even be in this crowd, let along go out there." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the gates. It was called the Unforgiving for a reason. It didn't care if you were Pycon or Inartan. It'd chew you up and spit you out. "Surprised you haven't been squished already, honestly." Lander squatted down and poked the Pycon's strange horse flanks, which was likely rude. "I could throw you in my backpack and there'd still be room." He was probably being an ass, but the only Pycon he'd even met was when he was a Yasi, and it had be an idiot and a half. Maybe he was a little into stereotyping. This one had a very unique shape, albeit. Lander stood back up and looked between the two. The Akalak, he could see how that one could be beneficial in the wilds. He was huge and laden down with axes, and he was sure he could use them. But the Pycon? He didn't even try to hide the skepticism on his face. "I guess you can go with either one of us. But we'll be being paired with Endal, so I don't think you will be in any danger anyways. Of course the Unforgiving might have other plans in mind. Think those little legs could outrun the big beasties?"

[Phoenix]

The Sanikas Gates hadn’t seen this much activity in seasons upon seasons, the raucous atmosphere that spawned whenever more than two Inarta were confined to the same space was magnified tenfold by the towering peaks that hemmed in on either side of the gate; Jubilant voices echoed from the craggy rock walls, laughter filling a majority of the space while some grumbles and yawns snuck through here and there.

All it took to cull the excitement of the crowd was the appearance of The Valintar; if the utter silence that washed over the sea of Redheads as Kaden stepped forward and made his presence known, he didn’t show it. A wide smile and a hand extended above his head in a wave was more than enough to garner the full attention of everyone present. Where excitement once reigned, an air of trepidation slowly began to spread.

“Fellow Inarta and beloved guests! I am pleased to see the majority of you bearing your packs and gear as instructed! Those of you who don’t have either, or have no idea what I’m talking about, please go back to your daily activities because this does not pertain to you.” A smattering of snickers throughout the crowd as red faced Inarta ducked and weaved their way from the crowd, chastised and sent on their way.

“You all know why we are here, so there is no need to elaborate. We will be splitting into groups from here and heading out into the forest. Those of you without Wind Eagles, or not paired with an Endal, will be heading out on foot.” Forestalling any shouted complaints, The Valintar held up one hand and put a finger of the other to his lips for silence. “Obviously, there will not be a quota for this hunt. We simply expect everyone to try their best and to come back with what they are able to safely capture or kill.” Putting stress on the word, Kaden indicated the crowd where a group of Inarta huddled, conspicuously weaponless though they did bear bulging packs. “Healers have been invited along as well, and there will be one in every group for those incidences where we are not careful.” The dry humor in his voice dredged a chuckle from the crowd.

“But how do we know what groups we are in?” A voice piped from somewhere in the center of the group.

“A good question! I hope you all brought the parchment that was delivered to you this morning?” As a reply, the deafening rustle of paper filled the space. “On the back, there is a number. Everyone of the same number goes out together. It is up to you all to decide where and how you will start. Feel free to spread out and find your group mates. I am confident that you all have the smarts to do so without direction.” And with that Kaden took his leave, ducking back into the corridor that lead from the Gates and towards the lift that lead to the Gatekeepers abode; Val was not far behind the Valintar, shuffling as fast as his old legs allowed.

OOCYou three are together and have the number 6. I expect you all to find one another and work out where you are going, how far and how long you can stay away from the city with the supplies provided and to start on your way into the forest. Take as many posts as you want, but if you do more than one make sure someone lets me know when you’re ready for me to jump back in. Otherwise, I will just jump in when I feel like it!

x

[Claude]

Unable to stop himself from flinching as the(to him) huge Inarta leaned down and began to poke and prod at him in much the same manner as he himself might examine a patient, Claude resolutely pretended that was exactly what was happening so that the flinch wouldn't turn into a full-blown retreat. Something seemed to move under the muscles of his stomach and chest, just a faint ripple that would barely be visible to someone as big as Lander, but it would have been as blatant to another Pycon as if he's closed his eyes and shuddered. Steeling himself against the little flutter of panic inside his belly, he turned his blank face up to look at the brashly inquisitive fellow that was almost manhandling him and would have replied if a commanding voice hadn't suddenly cut through the hubbub around them both.

Though he was not tall enough to see what was going on, or who was speaking, he could tell that he needed to listen by the immediate rapt attention of everyone around him. When the speech was over, he was hardly more reassured than he had been before, but at least now he knew what was needed of him. Recalling the number on his summons, though he hadn't given it any thought at the time, he took a deep breath despite his lack of any mouth or nose by which he should have been able to perform such a task. Shaking himself thoroughly, just in case the sigh wasn't enough to push the tension from his body, he managed to turn his blank face back to the touchy giant without showing more than slight quake in his voice that was almost completely hidden by the deepness of its tone.

"You'll get no argument from me about my fitness for this task, but all the same I'd appreciate it if you took your hands off my ass. You're a party-er, by the look of you, but I don't swing that way." The uncertain fear of being sent out in the Unforgiving coupled with the barely controlled terror of being poked around by something that could likely crush him between its fingers made him retreat behind a dry tone laced with more than a little of the sardonic. Side-stepping away with a little hop-trot, he nonetheless kept his attention focused on the purple fellow and the slightly smaller Inartan. To be perfectly honest, Lander's reaction to him was actually pretty common and so, despite the panic that their sheer size inspired, it didn't particularly phase him.

"I'm far more fit for my duties in the infirmary than wandering around in the abandoned wilderness looking for beasties to hack up, especially since I don't need the meat. It's a Dry and Cracked idea to send me out, but I don't figure I have much of a choice. Someone probably figured I'd be useful to patch up anyone who can't figure out the pointy end of a weapon, and I'd love to give the daft algae-sucker who signed me up a tongue-lashing on general principle." Winding down, he shrugged and the fury that had been building in his little chest abruptly left him. "In any case, I'm in group six. What about the pair of you?"

OOCWe can just assume Rengar drew a different number and side-step him out of the RP. Sorry the post took so long, Lander, I didn't find out about the Rengar drama until a couple days ago.

-

[Lander]

OOCDon't worry about it, Claude. And I wasn't sure what else to put in this post because we're now minus Rengar. I think my lovely lover (Jules) needs to fill us in on how to proceed now.

Lander turned around when he noticed the silence that started to fall on the crowd. It was the Valintar. Now they would all get some much needed direction. This crowd was nothing but a party without it. He felt his ears turn red when almost everyone pulled out their scrolls, right on cue, to Kaden's suggestion. He's seen the number on the back of his, luckily, but a few people grinned at him when they noticed his empty hands. Everything else had been rather straight forward and common sense. Go get food, bring it back. Sounded easy enough. With so many being sent out for the task, there was likely to be much success. Either that, or the colossal sound of so many people in the Unforgiving would send all the prey running. He'd be sure to avoid any other groups while out on the hunt.

He looked back down at the Pycon when he piped up again, as the mass around them started to go about finding their groups. Lander couldn't help but smile. The little guy was just so adorable. And the attitude. He loved it! Though it was a little strange talking to a clay horse-man with no face. He groaned as he crouched low again, putting himself more of the level of the little Homunculi. "Group six for me, too." He glanced up at the Akalak, forking a brow. "What about you?" He wasn't too annoyed about the idea of carrying the Pycon around. It was almost like a toy, really. He just hoped it wasn't annoying. But if it was a healer of some kind, like it hinted at, then it'd be useful. Not that he planned on getting hurt. In the back of his mind he wondered, though, how this little creature could possibly be a healer.

x

[Harrier]

Skills	Amount
Observation	3
Rhetoric	1

Lore

Be careful what you dream of; you might wake up as a horse

Carrying more than you can

Inartan Greetings: Raucous be your night

A Pycon among Giants

Lander: The party-er

Additional Comments: Be careful about what you grab for bags. Your pycon may be a little larger than other Pycon, but that much stuff in a single backpack that's the size of a pycon doesn't work. He's going to be fairly burdened by the bonesaw alone! Alas, I couldn't give more with the remainder of this posse having retired...Lemme know if you need anything

(c) abstract