Hunting by Numbers(Hunting Party)

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu caught the whistled signal from Seyp and sighed, knowing that the apes had gone defensive rather than offensive. She had hoped they would be able to get it done quickly. She hated the rain, sopping and unending. The jungle was never comfortable. It was too hot for her, the plants too thick on the ground. But she endured, and loved it because her bondmate loved it, and always would.

She turned and weaseled her way through the thick underbrush back towards the camp, careful to weave over the previously laid trails left by the various members of the group to confuse any predators that might think to follow.

When she finally slithered up to camp, she heard the white ghost speaking of her goddess of healing. She silently lowered herself to her belly, pausing to hear what she would say. Miharu considered herself a healer, for all that she took more lives than she gave. But she knew little about the goddess of healing, not much more than that she existed. She didn't understand much about the gods, often unable to really comprehend them as much more than a magically gifted race, simply a more powerful sort of human.

Now, listening to the women converse about the divinity of healing, she wondered if perhaps that were something she might do to help Siiri.

Ask her if one must go to Mura to learn these things, she sent softly across the bond, curiosity and sympathy reverberating to the Myrian.

[Siiri]

"Who has not heard of her?" Siiri asked rhetorically. Wood chips still flew as she ran her blade on the piece of wood in her hands, hardly seeming to care where her blade cut into it. "You are not the first Konti to wander into our lands, Satu, nor will you be the last. Most were spared for the gifts of healing the brought with them. As you said, they do heal even those who are their foes. A strange thing. Of course, some were killed, though I've not had the pleasure to taste their flesh." She eyed Satu then, as if considering what she had just said, then shook her head.

"At any rate, it seems the 'gift' of this goddess is a curse as well. It is like a prison, this service to have to heal in such a way that you have not the choice who lives or who dies. Like a tool, a slave! No freedom!" Siiri said the last part with such vehemence that she ran her blade through the block of wood with more energy than she should have. The end, which she had carved into a round shape, flew off as her blade broke free and she stared at it with surprise. Disgusted, she threw the wood away in the same direction which the first piece flew off. If Satu chose to inspect the piece, she would note that it was shaped like a woman. Despite not being overly detailed, it was obvious that it was shaped less like the muscular Myrian women but more rounded - like a human, or perhaps a Konti. Siiri seemed to say something about it when she cocked her head, as if listening to something that only she could hear. She turned back to Satu, ignoring the carving she had just ruined.

"It is good then that your people, those with the mark at least, continue to venture in our jungles despite the danger to their lives. They will never have a lack of people to heal around here. But are your people the only ones to receive this mark? Must one who wants to petition for it, or even ask a boon from the goddess, go to your homeland to receive from her?"

As she waited for the Konti's reply, Siiri stood up, sensing the arrival of the others that left with Miharu.

[Seyp]

Seyp soon broke the thick of the jungle, stepping back into camp as he looked Siiri. He rubbed his chin for a moment in contemplation as he looked up to the trees for a moment to see Pua keeping watch with Koa looking slightly bored behind him. Seyp remained silent for another moment, looking over the group before stepping next to Siiri.

“Camp with some shelter will be needed, it will take me at least a day of study to get anything worth while for Malediction purposes.“ Seyp finally said, stripping unessential gear to make himself lighter. His hands were ran through his hair for a moment before he looked over the fading battle plan Siiri had been digging into the ground. “The Kithskin are defensive, so chances are we won’t be luring it to an ambush spot, but rather chasing it. Where that spot will be will need to be determined a little later. In the end, it‘ll be Pua and his crossbows who will be getting the Alpha to move where we want to initially.”

Seyp then grabbed his waterskin, taking a long draw from it before digging into some of his rations to regain some of his energy after having used Auristics for a short time. “I’ll need the first bell to simply observe the Alpha in it’s natural habitat.” Seyp then continued. “It will be good for others to brush up on their jungle tree maneuvering after camp has been set, some of the guiding will have to be done in the trees as the Alpha will eventually reach there when the chase begins. Eventually I'll need Pua, Hania and Miharu for the studies though.”

[Satu]

“You may have heard of her, but you do not know her!” Satu told Siiri, protective of the Konti goddesses. “Rak’keli will not make you do anything. To worship her is a choice! It is the healer that must choose to act. You bow before her because you wish to, not because she chooses to bend your will!” But then, she added slyly, “Rak’keli will not mark the half-hearted.” The Konti looked strangely more attentive as the Myrian said, “Freedom,” the word having been Satu’s perceived soul-saving mantra for so long. “You wish to have Freedom?” she asked drawing nearer. “You fear to be a slave? To lose control?” The HeartSeer’s eyes glowed, “Freedom is my wish also – and it is out there,” she pointed away, far beyond them and whispered as if they shared some secret, “It is stronger than the jungle’s call. I will go soon to find it…” And her small hand moved to touch Siiri’s. Satu’s fingers had barely brushed against the Myrian’s before she withdrew it awkwardly, unwilling to share this moment of perceived connection with the others in the hunting party. Satu fell quickly silent as Seyp spoke. The Konti could not understand how the man lived in the hollow of his clamped down emotions. So strange did he appear to her HeartSense! At his words though, she found herself looking up into the canopy of the trees above her. The trees heights and girths, she eyed suspiciously. Seyp couldn’t have meant her when he said tree climbing! Satu had never even made an attempt to scale a tree.

[Siiri]

"A willing slave then," Siiri snorted at the Konti's tirade. And then she shrugged, not wanting to continue the line of conversation any longer. Their previous fight had revealed something about the outsider to her: she firmly believed everything she said, no matter if her perception about certain things were skewed by her damaged state of mind. It made conversing with her difficult when they could not see eye to eye on the topic but the Myrian knew there would be no lies coming from the lips of the smaller woman. It was easy for Siiri to pick up: anything Satu said with passion was most certainly tied to her beliefs, and there would be no duplicity there for sure.

Like how she perked up now after the word 'freedom' was mentioned. Siiri could only shake her head with each word the Konti uttered.

"Freedom is within, not without. Anything that denies you from it in this world you should meet with might. If you are too weak to break the bonds that tie you down, then you deserve to be in that situation."

She said the last part with finality, leaving the Konti's side as she spoke the last word to confer with Seyp. The man was muddy from lying around on the forest floor but the constant downpour had already washed away most of it. Siiri nodded in agreement as he detailed his plan for the return to where the Kithskin troupe was situated, not countermanding any of them. As he finished, she only added, "Since your return there will only be for observation purposes, I'll accompany you this time. I want to see these beasts for myself. Miharu will stay here until you need her to test the Alpha's reactions."

Turning to the tree where Pua had chosen his perch, she waved at him, an intricate movement. The other Myrians would recognize it as a signal to break for camp and to make the spot more or less their rendezvous point should things go awry. Pulling of of the wrapped rations from her own pack, Siiri took a bite out of the gamey dried meat. Better that she supped now while she had the luxury to do so. There was no guarantee she'd have the chance again later.

[Seyp]

Seyp gave a slow nod to Siiri, leaving behind what things he didn’t need to carry with him before looking up to her. “When you are ready then.” Seyp simply said, slicking back his hair again under the heavy rains.

Seyp then began leading the way, following the same path back that he had taken both times. In the heavy rains, it wasn’t likely his scent would carry far, but when it came to animals such as Kithskin, there was no point in spreading your scent around all over the place. His gaze slipped over his shoulder, looking at Siiri for a moment. “The most difficult aspect of this hunt will be to separate the Alpha from the rest.” Seyp said, looking upward to the trees then as his frame dropped a little, every few feet as they drew closer to the troupe’s nesting ground. “They are defensive creatures, to be sure, but they are a community animal. A pack. The Alpha will only stay along the ground for as long as it will take for the others to take to the tree, then it will join them. This is the information I have gathered in that initial test.”

Seyp eventually dropped to his hands and knees, starting a slow crawl as they came to the incline just before the nesting grounds. “I suspect it will be this moment when we’ll have the best chance.” Seyp explained, his frame now dragging along the ground then. “A team of three, surrounding the Alpha and then coming at it, only leaving a slight gap on the emphasis of what direction we want it to flee. The tricky part will be in the timing. Too soon, and the Alpha will fight, wanting to protect any other of its troupe still on the ground. Too late, and the Alpha will be able to escape into the trees with the troupe. I can make some suggestions, but we can discuss it as a group when we return.”

Seyp then came to the edge, waiting for Siiri to join him there before pointing out the Alpha. The troupe itself had returned to the nesting grounds by then, but they were all on high alert, the Alpha, it’s white stripe of fur down the center of it’s back, prominent at the center of the entire grove below. It continued to gaze around, searching for signs of threat. Two other males kept sentry with it at the north and south side of the nesting grounds. None had spotted Seyp or Siiri as yet. “Once it has taken to the trees, it will be Pua’s ability with his projectiles to guide it to our ambush spot. The three starting it all heading back to cover the rest of the group from any other Kithskin coming to the Alpha’s aid. This will most definitely be a reason why they should all brush up on their tree skills, because they’ll need to be up in the trees to cut off any pursuing Kithskin.”

Seyp then laid to his side, looking to Siiri directly now. “I’ll be one of those people at the ambush site.” Seyp said, his hand reaching down to his chain. “I’ll use my chain to entangle it for a brief moment and bring it down to the ground from the trees. From there, before it can escape the chain, the rest of the ambush team should be launching their strike the moment it hits the ground. Small weapons though. The less damaged the Alpha is at the end, the more I will have to work with. I suggest the Konti be one of them, with her Suvai for such purpose, provided you believe her skill to be up to the task.”

Seyp slowly reached up with his left hand, brushing away strands of wet, matted hair that had fallen in front of his face. “I would have preferred to have seven days to study these creatures, but I can likely gather enough information in a day if the rest of the party is not willing to wait that long.” Seyp then finally said. “I do need as much information as possible in order to create the Malediction Circle. Otherwise, the item could produce negative results, or worse yet, do nothing at all. Thoughts?”

[Siiri]

Siiri stuffed the rest of the jerky in her mouth, chewing vigorously as she nodded to Seyp. The meat tasted human - salty. Rather than just discard her light meal's dried leaf wrapper, she rolled it up into a small ball and dumped it into the many pockets of her pack. She knew the many predators of the jungle had a heightened sense of smell, and throwing away her litter on the jungle floor could lead those predators to her tail even with the heavy rain washing away any lignering scent of the meat from the wrapper. She couldn't risk exposing their camp to anything; it would tip off the Kithskin of their presence.

"Lead on," she told the shaman as she handed her pack to Miharu for the Kelvic to look after. She nodded in appreciation at Seyp's precaution as he retraced his steps back to the Kithskin troupe. At least the wilderness survival lessons taught during the mandatory three years in the army still stuck to the man. She knew of some Myrians who have left the army after their service and immediately forgot about such things, as if they would not use such skills any more. Silly people.

Siiri followed in the shaman's steps, planting each foot over the spot where Seyp's had just vacated, to hide their numbers. Slayer she pulled free from her back to stop the sound it made as the blade bumped against her buttocks. She held it with the blade pointed behind her, one hand on the ricasso to hold it steady, the other hand near the pommel to control its swinging as she moved, much like a boatman would control his steering pole or oar. The weapon hardly hampered her and she paced Seyp easily.

As the shaman shared his thoughts about their targets, Siiri merely grunted. She couldn't form an opinion until she saw the beasts. Once they were on the muddy ground hidden from sight and Seyp had pointed out the Alpha, Siiri had to suppress a disgusted snort lest she reveal their location to the creatures.

The Alpha was enormous.

It had a primate's frame, with its longer arms and stubby legs, but its eyes seemed much more possessed of intelligence. And while it wasn't so large that it would be a plodding beast, as Siiri watched it in its motions she could tell it was quick. Not as quick as the reflex of a jungle cat perhaps, but just enough that it could decently defend itself from threats. Coupled with the power that surely lay underneath the corded muscles of its stocky limbs, the Alpha Kithskin looked like it would prove more than a match for any one of the Myrians.

"Big bastard, isn't he?" Siiri muttered. She scanned the rest of the troupe, noting the defensive positions of the two other males and the behavior of the rest. Most seemed to be feeding off the fruit trees. "They have several young. Good."

Crooking her finger for Seyp to follow her, Siiri retreated back to the path leading to their camp. After a good enough distance to ensure that they would not be detected by the Kithskin anymore, she stood up and immediately began wiping off the mud from Slayer with her hand as she walked.

"Your plan is bold," she commended. "But I see two problems: one, we're only afforded a very short window to slay your beast before he can retreat, and, two, we'll be sacrificing our proficiency in fighting on solid ground if we choose to engage it in the trees."

Siiri looked up and pointed at the dense canopy of branches and leaves above them - thick enough to alter the course of a crossbow shot or snag the blades of their weapons.

"We need to keep it down and make sure it stays there." Pulling her greatsword close, she inspected its edge to make sure it was grime-free. "You're not going to need the bones in its neck, are you? No? Good.

"Here is my plan: we get one of its young as bait. We shouldn't target the slower and older ones as the troupe will just leave it when they know they can't rescue it - an eventual casualty in nature's game of survival of the fittest. But with the young, the Alpha is much more likely to rescue and defend it, both to garner the favor of its females for future mating and to ensure the survival of its kind."

She gestured at Seyp's unique weapon. "You can trap it with that and the Konti's blades can assist in subduing it afterwards. When the Alpha comes for it, we deal with it as soon as possible."

Eventually, they arrived back in camp and Siiri ordered everyone to settle in for a longer wait that was anticipated. She returned to Seyp's side once everyone was busy with their assigned tasks guarding the perimeter or preparing their makeshift meals. She had agreed with the shaman that he can take as much as three days observing the beast but anything longer and their camp might attract unwanted attention for the other predators of the jungle.

"We'll only have one problem then: the rest of the troupe might come after us. Pua could serve as cover, and I have a trick to keep them at bay, for a while at least. But we need to take out the Alpha as soon as possible to deter the rest from overrunning us..."

[Satu]

Satu sat balanced cross legged on a massive, vine covered log. At first she idly pulled wet bark from its truck, but that activity did not hold her attention for long. Soon her precious suvai lay in her restless hands. And every so often, one of her strong wrists rotated and sent the corresponding three pronged blade spinning in an arc from front to back, to front again. The movement of the blades appeared to hypnotize the Konti, as they glinted in the sun from their quick movements. But the HeartSeer was in thought. Subdue a kithskin. Satu understood the role they wanted her to play. Seyp desired the beast to be immobilized, though she still did not understand why. The dance of dodge, and feint, and stab, and retreat was to be hers once again. She did not appear nervous or concerned as she sat upon the fallen tree. Perhaps she should have been. Having never seen such a beast, Satu did not know to be wary, though she felt the emotion from the rest of the party. Dismissing it, with a shake of her white haired head, she would not bother to dwell upon it. There was too much to see from this vantage point. Siiri and Seyp continued to discuss their plans, and Satu’s eyes rested upon the warrior and the man. Their interactions seemed strange to her, as they planned and schemed. Emotions swirled about Siiri, yet Seyp’s were still dulled and hazy. It was an odd occurrence to a HeartSeer. Ultimately though, her attention waned and it only took a glance into the Jungle to snag her attention. Within the dark shadows of the foliage, Satu searched and smiled. Within its dripping reaches of leaves and trees and vines held messages that only she could hear. And the suvai continued to turn in her hands.

[Seyp]

Seyp soon took a lean along a nearby tree, listening to Siiri for a moment giving a nod as she pointed out the flaws in his plan, at the same time laying one of her own out in its stead. Seyp waited for Siiri to finish, before giving a nod and looking to her. “I agree we sacrifice familiar territory in the trees, but I must humbly disagree with your idea of abducting one of the young.” Seyp then said, looking back in the direction of the Kithskin troupe.

“I have studied everything that available in Taloba about the animal, talked with those who have encountered hand hunted them before.” Seyp began to explain, cupping his hands in front of him. “Everything I have learned about them suggest they are a community animal. It is true they all flee in signs of danger, but considering the young are their future, they would all likely turn and attack in defense of the young, like any family would with a child.”

“The Alpha, however,” Seyp then continued as he looked back to Siiri, “well it’s the Alpha’s job to protect and if necessary die. I think they would be less likely to all attack if it was just the Alpha in danger.”

Seyp then paused for a moment, falling silent. His gaze fell to Satu for a moment, observing her posture as she sat, trying to read her body language and how she took everything in so far. In the end, his shoulder rose for a moment before falling neutral again. “Let us reserve a final plan for now. Give me my time to observe the behavior in certain scenarios.” Seyp then finally suggested. “Based off that information, we should come up with a plan that would be best suited then.”

[Siiri]

"Hmm...very well, we'll hold the plan for now," Siiri agreed after hearing Seyp's counterargument. While she detested being told that she was wrong (a trait she probably picked up at a young age from being constantly berated by her mother), but she respected the shaman's knowledge of their prey. As well, she did not want to needlessly endanger the group just to prove that she should get her way rather than his.

Nodding towards the rest of the group, she bade the male to take his pick for companions during the time he needed to observe the Alpha. "If you can see some way to keep it grounded for as long as possible, I want to know about it. The moment it takes the trees, it escapes or attack us at its leasure. We need to keep it down for as long as possible."