[Flashback]Heart of the Jungle (Gunto pls)

[Siiri]

Timestamp: 1st of Summer, 505 AV
Location: Northeast of the Kandukta Basin

Edit :

Adjusted the location, to correct the geography. As pointed out by Cayenne, only Zinrah is pushed further back to the northwest (right below the 'F' on the map. Taloba is still where it is in the original map.

The sound of the torrential rain, when it began, was deafening. Large droplets peppered the earth and instantly made everything wet, falling with the force of a volley of arrows and slamming against the trees, the leaves, the ground - everything. Siiri's jaw clenched as they smashed against her, feeling like a thousand needles prickling every inch of her exposed skin. She was drenched in seconds.

Lovely, she thought as her mood turned for the worse. Bad enough that she got separated from her fang, thanks to Eena's insistence that they would cover more ground looking for Derro that way ("You have your 'roarers' with you, call if you find any trouble," she had said), but now Siiri had to contend with the rain as she searched for the idiot male how probably fell into a ravine and knocked himself unconscious and then most likely have to carry him as she searched for the rest of her party. Several colorful curses escaped her lips then, not caring if anyone, or anything, heard her. They probably couldn't anyway, not with the racket the stupid rain was making. So much for using the tiger-roarers when no one would be able to hear it.

"Imbecile," she grumbled about her fang leader.

It was not unusual to hear Siiri speak of her superior so. She shared a love-hate relationship with the older Myrian, though Eena's cool exterior often meant Siiri was the one doing most of the hating. The warrior from the Swooping Talons let her get away with a lot of things however, and Siiri was not sure if it was because of her talent (for she heard whispers that she was being groomed to be Eena's second in command) or because she was the favored daughter of the matriarch of the Snapping Jaws. Both their clans worked closely together after all and have developed a strong bond over the years.

Some more than others. Siiri snorted and spat on the ground viciously, her sputum instantly washed away by the rain. At the moment, she didn't care if Eena was directly related to Myri, she still thought the woman was an idiot for splitting their fang up, especially considering the weather conditions. It was the first day of summer and the turn of the season meant only one thing: lots and lots of rain. In fact, the start of the rain just then signaled the beginning of the festivities in Taloba in honor of Makutsi. Siiri felt like cursing the goddess' name too, for the deluge she brought with her, but wisely refrained from doing so, concerned that the deity might take it personally and toast her to a crisp with lightning.

That didn't stop Siiri from hating the rain however. It simply brought too many problems with her. For one thing, the whole of Falyndar would turn to one giant swampland in the space of a few days with the constant downpour. It also meant all sorts of nasty creatures would be prowling about and swimming out of the flooded Kandukta Basin. Crocodiles, serpents, piranhas...Dhani. All kinds of wonderful, wonderful things, Siiri groused sarcastically. And with those out and about, the trappers will be bitching at the Snapping Jaws clan about "unnecessarily triggering our handiwork" and tell them to "deal with the problem". Naturally, Siiri would be chosen among those tasked to do so. As heir apparent to her clan, who better to lead the company in performing the duties of the Snapping Jaws?

In annoyance, Siiri struck at the foliage before her with her greatsword, and so self-absorbed was she in her foul mood that she only just noticed another Myrian crouching several feet away from her. At first, she thought it was Garou, from the amount of tattoos he had on his body, but the man seemed taller and leaner than the eccentric scout and she realized that her fangmate wouldn't let himself be seen by her or any other if he didn't want to be seen. The man before her however, had his back turned to her and didn't seem to be aware of her presence yet. Siiri doubted he's heard her over the noise of the rain. He appeared to be intent on studying the ground for tracks that was already being obscured by the heavy downpour. There was nothing to see but the footprints and leavings of hippos in this part of the jungle so Siiri was suddenly curious what he was about.

"Ho, Myrian!" she called out. "What brings you on my fang's route?"

OOCWhat you're studying are strange marks you don't recognize to belong to any jungle creature you are familiar with.

[Gunto]

"Skurak..." Gunto muttered to himself. He had been following an odd set of tracks for close to a bell, but between his own inept ability as a tracker and the sudden downpour, this was the last track he would find. He smeared the muddy ground before him, the scooped earth soon filling with water as if it were a bowl. Gunto closed his eyes, trying to recall the path of that which he sought... but it's trajectory had been so irregular, he could not come to a conclusion. Much less as to what it actually had been. Gunto sprang to his feet and turned upon hearing Siiri's greeting, resisting the impulse of unsheathing one of the two kukri knives sheathed at his hips. They were crafted of bone, and honed to a razor's edge. Crude, but dangerous weapons. The woman was larger than he, but this was no surprise. "Tracking something... odd. My fangmates and I discovered this set of tracks earlier in the day, but it was so wild and irregular we were forced to split our ranks and search for it. What started as six, became two groups of three... and then we were forced to split up yet again." Gunto said, relaxing his body a bit and stepping aside. He pointed down, to the barely visible remains of the odd tracks. "This was the last one I found before the rains came. I'm at a loss, as are the rest of us i'm sure... my name is Gunto of the Shadow Hand." He said, bringing his eyes from the muddied imprints up level with Siiri. She had surely noticed, but his body was heavily tattooed. Perhaps she had heard of the Shadow Hand's grasp, the ritual of the Shadow Hand. Every member would have their hands tattooed black as night, and with every victory their elaborate markings would spread in a collage of crimson and white. Gunto's face bore the grasp, inked white and crimson and forming a skull that would likely threaten any non-Myrian he crossed. "I don't know what to do. I've never seen tracks like these... I would have preferred to handle whatever it was out here, rather than go back and report it." Gunto said, hanging his head with a bit if disappointment in both himself for not having been able to locate it's source, and for the weather having stymied his slow progress.

[Siiri]

As he introduced himself, Siiri nodded at the male warrior and clasped his forearm in greeting, her movements and words automatic as she returned with her name and clan. Brow furrowing, she immediately forgot her annoyance at her fang leader, or her purpose out in the jungle for that matter, as soon as the man mentioned about the unfamiliar tracks. Trespassing was a serious offense in Falyndar and outsiders had to be dealt with as soon as they were detected. Siiri moved to inspect the tracks herself.

"Looks Charodan," she commented as she beheld a strangely shaped footprint. It was narrow at the heel but widened as it progressed towards the toes. She could not get any detail other than that for the rain had already obscured it too much. Drawing closer, she dipped a finger at the puddle of water that had collected in it instead. Her finger came out muddy halfway up to the second knuckle. "Looks too heavy for one. Must be big."

Siiri noted with interest that the tracks seemed to be moving eastwards, away from the Kandukta Basin. Why would a Charoda do that when it would be safer in the water? "It's chasing something," she decided but shook her head and changed her mind as soon as the words left her mouth. It was Charoda she was talking about after all. "It's being chased."

She exchanged a knowing glance with Gunto, a hint of a predatory smile on her lips. Charodae were considered a delicacy by the Myrians, their tender meat flavorful whether cooked or otherwise. To bring one back to Taloba would mean a small feast when they returned. It was obvious they had to beat whatever was hunting the Charoda if they wanted to catch the fish-creature. Siiri did not even consider what was chasing it. Charodae spooked easily anyway.

"Up for a hunt, warrior?" she asked Gunto. "We follow, quiet-like. No signals, we don't want to warn our quarry that we're after it."

She did not wait for the man's reply, slipping into the foliage where the tracks were headed, her greatsword poised and ready to strike.

It never occurred to her to question Gunto if he spotted any tracks of whatever was chasing the Charoda.

[Gunto]

"Of course, but..." Gunto began, unable to get a word in as Siiri moved out of range. He would have been forced to yell over the rain despite the short distance, immediately breaking her imposed decision that they would move silently. This track had been strange, but a Charoda crashing through the jungle as fast as it could may have been feasible. What was more disturbing were the much larger, pronged tracks that he and his fangmates had found intermittently around the smaller tracks. Those tracks, if they could have even been called tracks at all had belong to no creature he knew of. He hadn't had time to adequately explain that there were in fact two sets of tracks that seemed to be circling eachother, as if in engaged in a life and death game of chase. Despite, Gunto slid into position behind Siiri. While she moved through the mud and filth ahead of him, Gunto kept his eyes in perpetual motion. He scanned high and low, searching for the smashed bark of trees, uprooted vines, and gouges in the mud that could be more tracks. He slid one of his bone kukris from it's sheath on his hip, using it to push and cut away any obstacles that cropped up in front of him. As they cut through the jungle wilds, a thought occurred to Gunto. "Myri scoffs at my foolishness..." Gunto muttered to himself, likely sure that Siiri could not hear him over the sounds of raging nature around them. As irregular as the path his quarry had taken, he began to see some rhyme and reason to it. It was if who or whatever was giving chase was toying with it's prey, cornering it... but allowing it to escape. This would account for the areas that seemed to burst with the markings, leading in what seemed like several directions at once. It was as if the prey was seeking escape and finally broke free, only to be caught again. It could be a predator toying with it's prey... or it could be a predator dealing with very elusive prey. Either way, their game had drawn the attention of Siiri of the Snapping Jaws and Gunto of the Shadow Hand. While they were not the best trackers in the jungle, Gunto was fairly sure they could handle whatever happened to be at the end of their search. Siiri had wielded a blade forged of metal, quite heavy and imposing. Gunto's own bone knives seemed crude in comparison, but he knew this not to be total truth. The last Charoda he had encountered had been beheaded in one fell swoop by the very blade he carried now. There. A thin tree, still young yet. It's bark was slashed, as if something had struck it. Perhaps moving too quickly, crashing through the jungle in fear. Gunto halted, waiting for Siiri to look back to him so he could point it out to her. As they had moved, she had occasionally glanced back at him; probably to make sure he was still there, and to check for any such clues. He couldn't tell from this vantage point what could be making such a disturbance. Gunto wondered if Siiri would be able to decipher this riddle, or if they were to blindly wander about the jungle in search of invisible prey.

[Siiri]

Siiri moved as swiftly as she could over the mess of roots and fallen logs, pushing aside low-hanging branches and knots of vines in an effort to follow the faint, and now almost non-existent, trail left by the Charoda. The rain proved both a blessing and a curse for her and Gunto in their mad chase. While it masked the noises they both made as they ran, it also made tracking so difficult that it was almost an impossibility, the footprints they were following slowly being obliterated as the soft earth turned into mud.

But they persisted, and Siiri, leading like a bull in a wild charge, crashed headlong into the underbrush, heedless of the obstacles before her. Oftentimes, whenever the trail seemed to come to a stop because she couldn't find any sign of where their prey might have headed to, the Snapping Jaws warrior would forge a path of her own, cleaving through the part of the vegetation that appeared to have been disturbed by a passing creature. She never stopped to think that she might be headed in the wrong direction, fully believing in her gut feeling, a sort of predatory instinct she felt whenever she was out on a hunt.

As she cut through the last set of large, broad leaves that the Myrians called 'elephant ears', Siiri came across a sight that had her digging into her heels. She held up a fist to signal Gunto to halt and proceed no further. The man stepped up beside her - she could see him in her peripheral vision - and surveyed what was before them. Another Myrian, a male, was hanging a couple of feet from the ground on a thick curtain of vines, his head bowed and arms spread and hanging limply. The man's topknot had come loose and his long locks hid his face from view. It was obvious that the thick tendrils were the only thing keeping him in an upright position as he seemed unconscious. From the set of tattoos on his body, Siiri could tell it was Derro the scout, her fangmate. She glanced at her companion in apprehension, wondering how they found the other Myrian when they were supposedly chasing a Charoda.

"Derro?" she called out, loudly.

No answer.

She repeated her call, even louder than before, but there was still no reaction from the man.

Warning bells sounded in Siiri mind; there was something terribly wrong here. What could have done this to a Myrian that he did not even have time to call out for help? Derro's tiger roarer, the device Myrians used for long range communication when out in the jungle, remained strapped and unused on his belt.

With a gesture, the woman signaled Gunto the approach from the man from the right side while she herself would come from the left. They had to find out what had happened.

OOC Secret :

Derro is indeed unconscious. His face is bloody and swollen as if struck by powerful blows. His weapon, a two-headed spear, lies broken in two at his feet.

[Gunto]

Gunto and Siiri had indeed stumbled upon something strange here. By the way Siiri had called the man's name, it seemed she knew him well. Probably a fangmate. Having no qualms with her gestured plan, Gunto steadily circled wide, keeping his kukris low and at his sides as he stalked through the thick undergrowth. He saw nothing, heard nothing... the rain continued to fall, crushing his peripheral vision and handicapping his hearing. To rely solely on sight to locate a threat from afar was not preferable. "I'll cut him down. What... or whoever did this, may have left a trap." Gunto yelled, gesturing as he spoke with his kukris. If Siiri couldn't hear him completely, the gestures should at least give Siiri a decent idea of what he was saying. Crack! Gunto heard a snapping sound, whipping his head to the left and brandishing his left hand's blade toward the sound. It was disorienting, but he could have sworn it had originated from that side, and fairly close. Yet he saw nothing. Gunto looked up, scanning for Siiri to see if she had heard it as well. He couldn't tell by her face if she had, so he pressed onward towards the hanging body of her friend. Once he reached Derro's hanging form, Gunto lifted his left hand kukri to his face, clamping down on the thick back edge with his teeth. With one hand free, he took hold of the vines above Derro's arm closest to him and began to saw at them with his other curved knife. As the initial constraints were cut, Derro's unconscious body began to sag closer to the ground. He was horribly tangled in the vines, but it was far too methodical to be an accident. Gunto was far too busy sawing through the vines to hear anything Siiri said at the moment, and the rain and wind blunted his senses elsewhere. If anything were to approach, Siiri would have to get his attention somehow.

[Siiri]

Siiri, coming from the opposite direction, saw the attack where her companion could not from his angle. As Gunto began to work through the vines holding the unconscious Myrian, more of the ropey material seemed to come down from above, like slithering snakes creeping to ensnare the unsuspecting scout in their coils. The vines appeared to be clumping together - Siiri could think of no other word to describe it - gaining in size. AS she watched in morbid fascination, the mass of vines reared backwards, like a...

"...fist," Siiri gasped. "Gunto, watch out!"

Her warning came out too late as the viney appendage bludgeoned her companion from behind, sending him sprawling several feet away. Trusting that the man would be all right despite the heavy blow, Siiri moved to engage, determined to free Derro from its grasp. She lunged at it, her greatsword leading, but she knew not where to strike, not even knowing what she was attacking, for all she could see were vines. But before she could hit anything, another thick - thicker! - mass of vines whipped from somewhere to her left, slamming against her side. The blow was powerful, blasting her away as if she weighed nothing.

Siiri landed face first beside Gunto, fortunate that the mud cushioned her fall, but unfortunate that she had a fistful of it stuffed in her mouth. She struggled to get up, cursing and spitting out the viscous liquid. Turning to face their attacker, she and Gunto bore witness as vines and other plant material coalesced into a large humanoid form. Twin pinpoints of bright green light flared to life where eyes would have been on its reptilian-shaped head. Siiri paled as she realized what they stood against.

It was a Vinumia, a rare creature borne from magic. Their numbers were mostly confined in marshlands and swamps during most of the year but the start of the rainy season meant they have begun to expand their territories. While slow and heavy, reports from those who have engaged them and survived spoke of how extremely difficult there were to take down, especially in a wet environement.

The one they faced now seemed young, its body a light shade of green, though Siiri honestly did not know if she was correct in that assumption. It was large however, towering over the both of them by at least half a foot. With a lumbering step, it approached to do battle with the two Myrians. Derro, still unconscious, remained in an heap at its feet.

[Gunto]

Gunto didn't really understand what had happened. Had he slipped? No... he had been struck, and launched from his position. Gunto rolled to his back and leaned forward, grasping wildly for his curved knives. His fingers curled around the bone hilt of one, but the other was nowhere to be found... ... until he looked upon the beast before him. A tangled creature, sinister in it's mass and almost mythical appearance. Two glowing green orbs projected their gaze in the Myrian duo's direction. Tangled in it's body was Gunto's other kukri; the one he had been using in his attempt to cut Derro free. "Beast... i'll cut you down..." Gunto groaned, rolling to his knees and up to his feet. He gripped his blade tight in his right arm, and without heeding any warning from Siiri he lept forward. His charge carried much momentum, but as he neared the mass of vines his course was diverted. A snakelike length of thick tendrils whipped about, nearly swatting him aside again. Gunto was forced to spin his body and throw himself forward, literally launching himself into the belly of the beast. As he clawed at the plantlike growths that squirmed all around him, Gunto began to chop wildly at the creature. His attacks were not totally without purpose; Siiri would see that he intended to free his other blade from the creature's bulk. Gunto's body clung to the Vinumia, his right arm working in a crazed chopping pattern as lengths of vine spiraled away from his blade. It took several repeated chops, but at long last he managed to delve his left arm into the mass of vines and retrieve his other blade. ... Now what? Gunto's legs had been overtaken by the creature itself as he had attack, and though he had retrieved his weapon it now held him firmly. He couldn't escape... but he tried. Gunto jabbed his blades into the creatures bulk, embedding them as deep as he could. As it's 'arms' seemed to swoop around and prepare to enclose around him, Gunto throw his arms back and ripped the embedded blades free. A mess of plantlike growths erupted from the creature as the wounds were created, and it seemed to halt it's movements for a moment. But only a moment. If Siiri couldn't do something to free Gunto soon, he would likely be consumed and killed by this monstrosity.

[Siiri]

"Wait!" Siiri called, but Gunto had already exploded into motion, throwing himself against the gigantic mass of plant matter and attacked it with reckless abandon. Left with no other option but to follow, the Snapping Jaws warrior ran in the wake of her companion.

She had not even taken more than three steps when she was forced to execute a duck and roll as the vinumia's tail-like appendage whipped at them from the side. When Siiri looked up next, she found Gunto toe to toe with the beast, his twin blades ripping chunks out of its torso. Thick green vines had wrapped themselves around the Shadow Hand's legs, rooting him in place. He may not have noticed with adrenaline pumping in his veins, but the vines had latched onto his skin like oversized leeches, sucking blood and organic matter from his body. Siiri, a good distance away, had a clear view of what was happening, however.

It's feeding on him! It must have been doing the same thing to Derro before we found him!

The realization made her wonder if her fangmate was still alive. She hoped so. But it would be a moot point if they could not destroy, or even just get away from, the plant being. She needed to get Gunto away from its grasp first before they decide on whether to engage it again or just drag Derro out of there. She swore, however, that she would kill it herself, rip it with her bare hands if she had to, if Derro was dead.

Running to the side where Gunto was, Siiri inspected the beast and her companion. The two of them seemed joined at the hip now, facing each other, the Shadow Hand beginning to look like part of the creature's leg. The vines were already wrapped up to the man's thighs though he still did not seem to notice. His relentless attacks continued, albeit a little slower now, his body taxed as he expended his energies while at the same time the vinumia was draining him with its coils. Siiri knew she had to separate the two as soon as possible - and she did not have time to hack through the beast to get the man out. The vinumia could get a solid blow in any time now.

"Gunto!" she shouted, drawing his attention. "I'm going to hack you out of there with one strike. Prepare to block my blade if you don't want your legs to be parted from the rest of your body! Trust me, I've done this before!"

That was all the warning she gave him. It had to be enough.

Even though she was lying about having done it all before.

Bracing her leading leg on the forest floor, Siiri brought her massive blade up and spun on her heel, generating as much force as she could to unleash Slayer into a horizontal, two handed sweep aimed at the part of the vinumia where a person's hamstring would be. It was also the topmost point where it was joined with Gunto.

Siiri knew she had to control the bite of her blade if the Shadow Hand was to survive the strike. Hit too hard and she might just blast through Gunto's bone weapons and cleave him in half. On the other hand, if the hit was too weak, she might not be able to cut through the thick vines enough to topple the monster and that might just give it enough time to swat Gunto with its own powerful blows.

She swung, letting her blade's momentum loose on the vinumia's leg. She prayed to Myri to guide Slayer and make her strike clean and true.

She also prayed for Gunto's blades to hold upon impact.

[Gunto]

The rush of battle Gunto had felt began to slip away from his body, leaving his hacks and slashes progressively more feeble. He had never encountered such a creature, nor even heard of one. It was the realization that the anesthetic bite of this creature was the source of his sluggishness that spurred Gunto into a frightened and spastic scramble to escape. Yet he couldn't, for the creature had firmly wrapped it's thick appendages around his legs, and it's arms were beginning to consume him. Only then did he hear Siiri's screaming command. She intended to... damn near cut him in half! Gunto frantically slashed his kukris back and forth, freeing his arms from the few vines that constrained him. Siiri's blurred form and the gleaming edge of her blade were all consume in his vision, and Gunto could do nothing but rely on instinct. Gunto left hand had little to offer other than his thick bone blade, but his right forearm was clad in a steel buckler of Drykas design. Gunto twisted and dipped his right shoulder, thrusting the metal shield as well as the blade of his other hand's kukri deep into the tangled vines. His arms froze as they were consumed in the mass, but he had managed to place them in the path of Siiri's strike... His body whipped around as if he were a rag doll, the immense force that was applied to his arms in an instant lost on him as his vision spun and swirled. The creature's hold on his legs had been broken, but it still meekly held on. Gunto's body fell backwards, suspended by a single leg that the creature held with it's arm. Gunto was weakened and disoriented, perhaps accounting his hasty decision to bend his body upwards and cut through the last of the vines holding him aloft. As his kukri made a clean slice, he found himself briefly in freefall and an impact that took his breath away. Gunto lay on his back, eyes widened and his kukris momentarily relinquished from his grip. "Siiri! What... what is this creature!?" Gunto cried out meekly, sputtering and crawling backwards away from the beast. He snatched both of his fallen knives as he passed them, attempting to center himself for the coming battle. Yet he had no idea how they could kill such a beast. He had done enough physical damage to have killed most animals outright, but the beast seemed unaffected. Worse yet, he felt queasy and weak after being leeched by it's insidious vines. Gunto could not win this fight alone, but if Siiri had time to formulate a plan. Perhaps it had sensed Gunto's weakness. The Vinumia was crashing down upon Gunto, closing in for the kill.