[Flashback] So Much For Hunting... [Darren]

[Atyvn]

Finally catching up to his prey, he now could see Darren lounging about against some ice dome thing. He shook his head and started out towards the older boy and when he felt that he was within a decent range, he called out to him but trying to be only loud enough for Darren to hear him. He was a cautious fellow by instinct and he never liked to make more of a disturbance than necessary. "What the hell are you doing?" He slowly made his way over to his hunting companion casually. "And way to make me track you down, though it wasn't that hard." he teased, though it was slightly obvious that he was a bit annoyed at the older boy for his wandering.

Something didn't feel right about this place. It made him stand on edge, ready to dodge some unheard force. He did not like this place and he really wished Darren would get up so they could leave. "Let's go. I feel uneasy about this place." he said, his voice lowering to a whisper. Something just wasn't right and the unexplained structures left him curious, but not curious enough to figure out why they were here.

[Darren]

After taking a good amount of time contemplating Darren found that he was at a lost of what to make of circumstances. The thing he was trailing, it's uncanny ability to elude his sights as he tried to follow it through the tundra. Whenever he though he would have been able to get a glimpse of his target he was constantly interrupted by a quick flash of light over his face. It didn't answer me when he tried calling to it, so a normal Vantha or foreigner is out of the question. So that leads to to think whatever this is, is far from human. Possible have to do with magic, the blasted art he thought as he closed his eyes, thinking quietly to himself some more. Having only very little and very limited formal training about magic, he knew that he would have to ask some of the more...gifted individuals he can find in the village. "Granted they are few and far in between such practitioners in Avanthal. Even the ones that I readily know that can invoke magic can be counted off by my fingers" he commented to himself. Kaivanna of the Icewatch of course, myself, my father, Faust, and Cara. And perhaps I can ask Sefarrah from my hold, Jenna, and if I am desperate enough to know. Morwen herself. he shook his head fervently as he thought of the last option. It won't come to that. I'll find that out for myself if the chance presents itself he concluded. This is but a minor phenomena, nothing I can't figure out for myself. Nothing I should bother Morwen about, besides... it's much more fun finding out for oneself anyways. Getting his initiative back, Darren tilted his head as he saw another figure walking haphazardly through the ice. Darren let out a soft chuckle as Atyvn approached him, the other Vantha's edgy mood seemed out of place compared to the relaxed stance he took against the wooden pile. "The hell that I'm doing? The hell are you doing? Watch where you step. The ice beneath us might not be too stable if you know what I mean" he explained as he wore an amused look on his face. That was actually a very serious issue but seeing Atyvn's reaction was well worth the risk to him. He shrugged nonchalantly hearing the other Vantha complain. "You'll get over it. Though I find it a bit difficult to trust you would be able to track me down so easily" he remarked completely straight faced. But Atyvn wasn't paying much attemtion to him at the moment, rather his mind seemed a bit distracted by where they were. Again the composure of the other man did much to entertain Darren as he watched Atyvn's composure degenerate gradually. A smile reached his lips as Atyvn whispered for them to leave. "What was that?" he replied, a bit louder then what was deemed necessary. " You want to get out of here?" he repeated as he pushed off the wooden pile. A sudden snap was heard, the sound hung over them for a bit as Darren quickly looked back and forth for it's source. Another loud snap. Almost forgetting to breathe Darren dropped on all fours slowly. Trying to concentrate, trying to find where the sound was coming from. The source of the sound would been still left a mystery if it stopped altogether. Instead it continued on a few more times. More then enough times for Darren to finally figure out it was coming from the wooden dome. Taking a moment to pause, he glanced at Atyvn to see if he realized where the sound was coming from also. It resonated on what he was putting his back on not so long ago. It was so simple, yet it eluded his attention until he leaned in closer. He paused for a moment listening until he heard the snap again. That was all the confirmation he neded, the sound was crisper, cleared then before. He then started to systematically tear away at the dome, pulling away branches and throwing them away it only took a short chime until they were able to see what was inside. Looking back at them were a few pairs of curious, scared eyes. The eyes of a smalll animal, a rodent if Darren didn't knew better. It had the same characteristics as one, having huge teeth and short stubby legs but the look of it's fur looked sleek, smooth even. "Erm wow... I wasn't expecting whatever that is He looked at Atyvn for a moment, trying to figure out another name to call him by, drawing a blank. Any idea what these little things are? he asked as he waved a finger in their direction. The movement caused a bit of panic with the dome's inhabitants, causing a mass sound of snapping twigs and scurrying within the small enclosed space. Ah so that was where the snapping came from he noted as he finally found a name for Atyvn. "Aww don't be afraid... me and Heather here are just gonna round you and possible sell you in Avanthal" he cooed as he reached out to grab one.

[Atyvn]

Atyvn wore a mirthless expression as he showed Darren the snowflake marking on the back of his hand and then kneeled to lay his hand on the ice briefly. "It's fine. As long as we don’t fight on it." he said and stood, crossing him arms. "Who’s the hunter here? And no one is very hard to track when they walk through snow. The only problem is tracking on the ice and by then I could pretty much see you or at least guess where your curiosity was going to lead you." he said with a slight bitterness in his tone at his skill being questioned. He ignored Darren completely at his joking. Why couldn't he be serious for just a moment? What Reaches wasn't the best known place in the world and what it was known for wasn't its forgiving nature. One of his constant precautions was that he remained quiet out here to not attract more attention than needed. Of course, that was easy for him but apparently not for his wrongly chosen hunting companion. This is the last trip I'll take him with me... he thought and shook his head slightly. He looked about cautiously upon hearing the noise. Sound like... something being cracked. Like tree limbs or something... he thought. He grasped his forehead and closed his eyes at seeing Darren's ability to disturb something that was more than likely better left alone. Though, when the older boy finally started to get through the sticks, it didn't hurt to keep a ready hand on his scimitar. Except that it wasn't some monster, but a little creature. "I... can't remember. I know they don't normally hang out in the cold though... Starts with a B or an O or something..." He sighed and rolled his eyes slightly at Darren's "reassuring" statement to the creatures. I hope it bites you... he thought, a bit annoyed now.

[Darren]

Darren rolled his eyes, somewhat dissappointed by the reaction Atyvn gave him. Of course he had to check. he mused as he looked away from the B or O named creatures. Without looking he reached for the nearest "rodent" he can get his hands on. With a small whine he grabbed one of the younger creatures as it squirmed helplessly in his hand. Darren brought it up to face level to have a closer look. Seeing it up close he couldn't help to jerk his head back in disgust at the creature. The small animal didn't stop squirming, trying to break free he clawed his way out of his grasp as Darren let out a small rumble of amusement. He sighed before he poked his head out of the hole, looking at Atyvn. "What do you think? Something we can take advantage of?" he grinned as he motioned inside of the wooden home. Inside already the family of rodents rallied together against the foreign threat Darren posed. A loud rasping sound was heard. Then another. Then once more. Darren paused as he looked inside to see what the...erm things were doing. He was received by a numerous set of angry, red eyes glaring straight back at them.The rasping sound was made by the creature's tails, smacking the water or wood beneath them as a warning. "Oh hey! Amanda, you gotta take a look at this!" he exclaimed as he almost pulled Atyvn to his position. As Darren turned back to show Atyvn what they were doing, some of the lead creatures already moved towards them. Darren's gasp of surrprised was cut off as a mass of beaver bodies flung themselves at his chest. He was pushed into his back as his body smacked the ice below him. A worried yelp came from his throat as some of the bigger members tried to nip him, pushing them off as they bit into the leather covering his body. oocI tried to pull you in to look. You can change that if you want. Maybe you can dictate what happens next?

[Atyvn]

OOCMy apologies for taking so long with this. I do believe this should end soon though. After the initial shock of the attack and back peddling, Atyvn almost fell over laughing at the situation. But there was no laughter because the reality was that Darren was in danger and he pulled his scimitar from his belt. It was a great idea when instinct told him to do it, but he couldn't swing at the creatures without slicing the other vantha. While it was possible to do, he was not sure of himself enough to be able to pull that off. So he grabbed a solid feeling stick from the pile, as rough as it was to pull it free, and proceeded to beat the things until they let off. His thoughts played quickly after a plan had been set, but they were of sympathy for the creatures. Darren had invaded their home and tried to take their family. Naturally he felt no sympathy for attacked vantha in this case, but he could not say a thing of it. He could say he was an idiot for what he did, but not for trying to take advantage of the animals. He was a self-proclaimed hunter; he killed animals for food and money, and that thought made him feel no better about beating the things. But he had to save the older boy, no matter how he felt about the situation. Stupid idiot! he thought bitterly at Darren, wondering when the hell these things would let up.

[Darren]

Darren curled up into a ball as the furry defenders managed to send him to the ground. The furry abominations went to work trying to dismantle the Vantha, tearing at whatever pieces of him they could find, tearing at his outer coat. Though suffering from the initial ambush and aftermath of bites and scratches Darren managed to stay somewhat composed as he worked to free himself from the beaver's clutches. That was until he heard a very foreboding hiss of steel from Atyvn. "Get the petch away from me!" Darren managed to shout before squirming a few feet away. By now, the majority of the creatures have been expeled from his persons, asides from the ones hanging on his back and hard to reach areas. They would be violently detached as Atyvn caused the taller Vantha to shake violently. Under the rain of blows, it only caused more confusion then help as Darren thought it was Atyvn's blade hitting him. Managing to glance up to see Atyvn rear up for another hit, Darren deftly closed in before the other swung. His arm moving to stop the swing before it picked up momentum hopefully now Atyvn would realize that he should stop. Breathing heavily only a few inches away from Atyvn's face, one could easily see the unamused face on his brow. Maybe even a vein popping out as Darren glared at Atyvn, "What is the matter with you?" he asked slowly, as he gritted his teeth. He aimed a swipe at the length of wood he had before cringing slightly. Sighing deeply Darren noticed a new beaver hanging on his arm and one munching a new hole in his coat pocket. Grabbing the one hanging off his arm, Darren squeezed it slightly before he looked at the other critters. Though most have retreated back into their home there were still a few of them outside the relative safety of their haven. Sigh* "See if you can muster up some of them while I keep watch, I didn't come here for no reason you know" he said as he looked around. Darren took a few paces away from Atyvn as he looked closer to the ground, seeing if there was any possible tracks that he might have missed. "Say... Atyvn, Did you see anything on the way here? Something white, spectral maybe?" he asked as he grabbed the beaver in his coat pocket. Grimacing slightly at the new tears in his clothes he looked at the creature as he compared it to the leather he was wearing. "Hmm these would be great for an underlying material" he said to Atyvn as he looked at what his hunting compaion was doing. "See how soft they are" he said as he heaved a furry beady eye'd cretin at Atyvn. Regardless of whether of not the creature would harass him Darren would look forlorn at the snowy expanse in front of him. "Don't you get the feeling there's something out there?" he asked, slightly irked by the otherwise feeling of helplessness.